1870

6 Apr and 5-8 May 1870, 40th Annual General Conference, Tabernacle.
[Deseret News Weekly, 19:114, 4/13/70, p 6; 19:160, 5/11/70, p 4; Millennial Star 32:277, 344, 353, 369]

[6 Oct, 10 am]

[DNW 19:114, 4/13/70, p 6]

FORTIETH ANNUAL CONFERENCE

OF THE

CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS, APRIL 6, 1870

_____

According to adjournment of the Conference held on Oct. 6th, 1869, the Saints met in a Conference capacity, this morning at 10 o'clock. The meeting was merely of a preliminary nature; as the Saints had been notified that, in consequence of the absence of Presidents Brigham Young and Geo. A. Smith, and also owing to the present unfinished condition of the gallery in the New Tabernacle, Conference would be re-adjourned until May 5th. The attendance was as large as might have been expected under the circumstances. The heavy snow storm which has prevailed almost without intermission, since yesterday morning, doubtless deterred many from being present who otherwise would have attended.

            The postponement of Conference seems to have been opportune, as but few of the Saints from the country settlements could have attended on account of the stormy weather.

            On the stand were President Daniel H. Wells, of the First Presidency; Orson Pratt, Wilford Woodruff, Geo. Q. Cannon and Joseph F. Smith, of the Quorum of the Twelve; Edwin D. Woolley and Samuel W. Richards, of the Presidency of the High Priests' Quorum; George B. Wallace, of the Presidency of this Stake of Zion; Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge and John Van Cott, of the First Seven Presidents of the Seventies; Edward Hunter, Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse c. Little, the Presidency of the bishopric; John W. Hess, Bishop of Farmington, F. A. Hammond, Bishop of Huntsville, and several other prominent Elders.

            Conference was called to order by President Daniel H. Wells. The Tabernacle choir sang the hymn, commencing, "See! all creation join To praise th' eternal God."

            Prayer was offered by Elder John Van Cott. The hymn "The towers of Zion soon shall rise Above the clouds and reach the skies." was sung by the Tabernacle choir.

PRESIDENT DANIEL H. WELLS

Said we have convened in a Conference capacity this morning, but we do not propose to transact the business that is usually attended to on such occasions, as those matters will be left over until the re-convening of Conference on the 5th of May. President Young and party were at Tokerville last night, all well.

ELDER JOHN TAYLOR

            Spoke. It has been customary for the Latter-day Saints to meet on the 6th of April; although it has been considered wise and necessary to adjourn till another time. It is not so much mere forms and observances that we are after, but we are in search of truths and principles. Yet we feel a particular attachment for the times that have been set apart, not only in this city but in other parts of the Territory, and in various parts of the world where an organized portion of the church exists. The carrying out of the purposes of Jehovah and establishing righteousness on the earth ought to be the polar star of our ambition. If we have the spirit of the gospel this will be our aim. This is the object of the First Presidency, of the Twelve and of the Elders, Priests, Teachers and Deacons. The object for which we are here is not to introduce ideas of our own but to promulgate the laws of life. There were no philosophers, theologians, or scientists that knew our relationship to God, or His purposes with regard to the earth, before He revealed these things to Joseph Smith the Prophet; neither they nor we knew anything about them. It was the Lord, through His Prophet, who revealed the sealing ordinances; how we might save ourselves and our families. It was He who taught us to be baptised for our dead. We are indebted to the Lord for all the blessings we enjoy. The kingdom of God will stand whilst all that is not founded on the rock of truth shall pass away like the baseless fabric of a dream. We know in whom we trust and he will sustain His Saints and will cause the discomfiture and overthrow of their enemies. May God bless all who love and favor Zion. Amen.

ELDER ORSON PRATT

            Addressed the conference. forty years ago God organized His Church. It has not been sustained by human wisdom but by the power of God who is its Author. On the day when the Church was organized God gave many instructions relative to the duties of its officers. The Lord continued to give line upon line and precept upon precept. The command for the Saints to assemble together in conference, at stated intervals, wherever the Church was organized, came direct from the Almighty.

            When it became necessary to build a Temple the plan was not devised by man's wisdom, but the Lord commanded that three men should be selected, unto whom the plan of the Temple would be shown, and it was done as directed and the Temple was erected according to the pattern given. The ordinances which were administered in the Temple were given by direct revelation. As the Elders went forth and declared unto the people, in the surrounding country, what the Lord was doing, persecution arose. The Saints were driven from place to place and despoiled of their property. Their persecutors had not polygamy then to plead as an excuse for their course; the reasons stated by them were that the Saints professed to have revelations from God, that they believed in the laying on of hands and anointing with oil for the healing of the sick; and another great objection urged was that the Latter-day Saints were too united. In the various parts where the Saints located and from which they were so ruthlessly driven, they petitioned the State authorities and laid before them their grievances, some of whom listened respectfully and others treated the matter with contempt. After we had been driven from Jackson county, Missouri, our steps were directed towards the West, and whilst we were out on the prairies a deputation was sent to inform us that we were required to furnish five hundred men to fight the battles of the country in Mexico; and although the circumstances under which the request was made were so peculiarly disadvantageous to the Saints, yet the quota of men was furnished.

            When we came here we brought polygamy with us. It is an eternal part of our religion, and we will never relinquish it. We love the glorious principles we have received better than we do our homes, better than we do our lives. When compared with our hopes of eternal exaltation life is as nothing. When the Government granted to us, as a community, our present civil rights and government they were perfectly aware that we were a polygamous people. When the homestead law was extended to us it was well known that we believed in and practiced plural marriage. When the homestead law was made applicable to the people of this Territory we went forth in good faith and paid our money for our land, and we are now coolly informed that we shall not be permitted to possess these lands that we have pre-empted, cultivated and paid for. Is this just?

            It is not in the province of congress to say what portion of the Bible we shall or shall not believe in. Should the bill,which has just passed the House of Representatives, become law, then alas! for the liberty of our common country. The enjoining or compulsory enforcement of the monogamic law is one of the "twin relics of barbarism."

            May the Lord bless us: Amen.

ELDER WILFORD WOODRUFF

Spoke. Our religion is God-given, and were we to relinquish it because of the fear of man, we would be recreant to every heaven-born principle. Civil and religious liberty is the keystone in the arch of the glorious Constitution of our country; if that be taken away the whole fabric must fall to pieces. This Government is in the hands of God. My life is of but small consequence when compared with my hopes of eternal happiness. No power will put down this work for God is at the helm and will guide it safely through. President Young has done and is doing all in his power to benefit mankind, thus following in the footsteps of the prophet Joseph. I pray that we may be faithful to the holy principles we have received. Amen.

ELDER GEO. Q. CANNON.

            Addressed the Conference. The Lord is calling the Saints to pass through circumstances that will conduce to make them a great people. We have had trials and persecutions, and the end is not yet. We shall doubtless have to pass through trials that will prove to God that we love Him supremely. All who have read the history of this people cannot but acknowledge that it is not plurality which causes the intense hatred that exists against them. If polygamy did not exist something else would be urged as an excuse for attempting to crush us out of existence. This we have bitterly experienced in the past.

            It is not a light thing to embrace the gospel of Jesus. We are engaged in a joyous work and f we have to suffer in sustaining it, it is a glorious reflection that we are but following in the footsteps of others who have labored in the same cause. Although the clouds that seem now to be hovering over us, appear dark, doubtless God will deliver His people as signally as He ever has done heretofore, for we are laboring for the triumph of a principle that will tend to purify the human family. When the gospel was first revealed, revelation was not believed in. How widely revelations are believed in to-day! Thus it is that, although it may be unacknowledged, the world follow in our footsteps, although it may be in their own peculiar way. So will it be, probably, in relation to polygamy. If the Saints will be faithful the Lord will deliver them which is my desire in the name of Jesus, Amen.

PRESIDENT DANIEL H. WELLS.

            If the Saints will be directed by the authority of the Holy Priesthood, the thing that is aimed at us will miss its mark. The blessings of God cannot be obtained on any other principle than by abiding His law.

            President Wells then moved that this Conference adjourn to the 5th day of May. The vote in favor of the motion was unanimous.

            The Tabernacle choir sang the hymn commencing "Daniel's wisdom may I know, Stephen's faith and patience show."

            Conference was dismissed by prayer by Elder Joseph F. Smith.

            The Spirit of God was manifested and felt throughout the meeting; and the speakers were blessed with extraordinary freedom and power We feel assured that none present, who came for the purpose of being edified, left, without feeling an increased desire, come what may, to sustain the work of God. We may look upon this as a harbinger of the good time that will be enjoyed at the Conference on Thursday the 5th of May.

JOHN NICHOLSON,
Clerk of Conference.

[5 May, 10 am]

[DNW 19:160, 5/11/70, p 4]

FORTIETH ANNUAL CONFERENCE
OF THE
CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS.
_____

The Fortieth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints convened, according to adjournment on April 6th, this morning at ten o'clock, in the New Tabernacle.

            The interesting nature of the times, the increased facilities for travel from the northern settlements and the beautiful weather having induced larger numbers of the Saints than usual from the country districts to flock to the city, the congregation was more numerous than is usual at the first meeting. For nearly an hour before the opening of the gates, and about two hours before the time announced for opening Conference, a living stream flowed towards the Temple Block and collected on First south street. Many faces could be observed among the throng, that had not been seen in this city for years. Capt. Beezly's Martial Band was on the ground and increased the interest and animation of the scene with its enlivening strains.

            On the stand were:

Of the First presidency:

Brigham Young, Geo. A. Smith and Daniel H. Wells.

Of the Twelve Apostles:

            Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, Geo. Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, jun., and Joseph F. Smith.

Patriarch

            John Smith

Of the First Seven Presidents of Seventies:

Joseph Young, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge and John Van Cott.

Of the Presidency of the High Priests' Quorum:

            Edwin D. Woolley and Samuel W. Richards.

Of the Presidency of the Bishopric:

            Edward Hunter, Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little.

            There were also Bishops, Elders and leading men from every settlement in the Territory.

            Conference was called to order by President Brigham Young.

            The choir sang the hymn commencing: "The morning breaks, the shadows flee."

            Prayer by President Geo. A. Smith.

            The choir sang: "The towers of Zion soon shall rise."

PRESIDENT GEO. A. SMITH

            Addressed the Conference on the first principles of the gospel. The Latter-day saints had never been permitted to stay long enough in one place to enable them to build a house large enough to accommodate all who wished to attend our conferences. By the blessing of God, however, we are now in a position that we will not be under the necessity of requesting any of our brethren and sisters of the city to stay away to make room for the Saints from the country.

            Forty years since, on the 6th day of last April, the Church of Jesus Christ was organized with six members. at that time fragmentary portions of the gospel of Christ could be found in the various sectarian churches throughout the world; but when the gospel was restored by the Almighty through the instrumentality of the prophet Joseph, a complete system was introduced. Have we adhered to those ordinances and those glorious principles which were incorporated in that system? In the days of Joseph men were tried and tempted and many were led astray by false spirits. At one time Oliver Cowdery remarked that if he should apostatize the church would be broken up. The Prophet told him, however, that it was the work of the Lord and it would roll on without him. This work is not dependent upon any man or set of men. In the days of Joseph it was predicted by many that if he were destroyed the Church would fall to pieces, yet it exists to-day and is more powerful than it ever was. May the Lord of life and glory bless his servants and all Israel, is my prayer, Amen.

[George A. Smith]

[DNW 19:186, 5/25/70, p 6; JD 13:345]

REMARKS

By President GEORGE A. SMITH, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 5th 1870.

_____

[REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.]

_____

      It is a great pleasure to meet with the brethren again in Conference, and it is certainly very gratifying to see the people so comfortably seated, with a prospect of enjoying the benefits and blessings of the Conference; even should the elements not be favorable we have a shelter and a shade. It has been the fortune of the Latter-day Saints never to stay in any place long enough to build a house sufficiently large to hold the people; but, with the blessing of the Lord and the united efforts of the brethren, we have room sufficient to hold a very large audience, though no doubt occasions will still occur when we shall cry out, "More room," and probably before our Conference closes. I think, however, that we need not ask any of our brethren who reside in this city, as we have had to do, to stay at home to make room for those who may be in from a distance; all may come and be accommodated. The acoustic properties of the Tabernacle are evidently improved by the erection of the gallery, and if all who attend Conference will leave their coughing at home, sit still while here and omit shuffling their feet, they may have an opportunity of hearing pretty much everything that may be said. It will certainly require, even when all these conditions are complied with, considerable effort to fill so large a house with one voice, and that effort must be met by a corresponding effort on the part of the audience to preserve perfect stillness.

      It was forty years ago on the 6th of last month since the organization of the Church took place, in the chamber of Father Whitmer, in Fayette, Seneca county, New York, with six members. The history of that forty years would require volumes to record. The institution, as it then commenced, was in its infancy; yet the Lord revealed to His servant, that He had laid the foundation of a great work; the truth of that saying has been realized by the progress of events. The changes that have transpired in connection with this people have been very remarkable. The work commenced by preaching faith in the Lord Jesus, repentance and the ordinance of baptism for the remission of sins, and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, which was an innovation upon the creeds and practices of every other religious sect; I am not aware that any one denomination believed in and practiced all the principles that were introduced at the organization of this Church. The first three of these principles were faith in the Lord Jesus, repentance, and baptism by immersion for the remission of sins. The next principle was the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, precisely as it was pointed out by the Savior and practised by his disciples in Judea.

      There were denominations who believed in baptism by immersion, but not for the remission of sins, they believed that remission of sins was necessary previous to baptism; but they were ignorant of the possibility of the reception of the Holy Ghost, and, consequently, of the doctrine of the laying on of hands. The Church of England, it is true, would confirm by the laying on of the hand of the bishops, but not for confirming the gift of the Holy Ghost on the heads of the believers; and while all the professed believers in the doctrine of Christ had some portions or fragments of his Gospel as revealed and established by him and his Apostles, it was the Church of Latter-day Saints which introduced and established, complete, the principles of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance towards God, baptism for the remission of sins, and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. These principles were all important, and the moment the Bible was brought forth everybody could find that they coincided exactly with the principles set forth by the Savior, and it required to be spiritualized and changed to make it appear otherwise. But the Christian world had gone astray from these things, and when they were restored they rejected them. There were, however, honest persons in all of the denominations, and God has respect to every man who is honest of heart and purpose, though he may be deceived, and in error as to principle and doctrine; yet so far as that error is the result of their being deceived by the cunning craftiness of men, or of circumstances over which such have no control, the Lord in His abundant mercy looks with allowance thereon, and in His great economy He has provided different glories and ordained that all persons shall be judged according to the knowledge they possess and the use they make of that knowledge, and according to the deeds done in the body, whether good or evil.

      "And again, we saw the terrestrial world, and behold and lo, these are they who are of the terrestrial, whose glory differs from that of the church of the first born, who have received the fullness of the Father, even as that of the moon differs from that of the sun in the firmament. Behold, these are they who died without law, and also they who are the spirits of men kept in prison, whom the Son visited, and preached the Gospel unto them, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, who received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards received it. These are they who are honorable men of the earth, who were blinded by the craftiness of men. These are they who receive of His glory, but not of His fullness. These are they who receive of the presence of the Son, but not of the fullness of the Father; wherefore they are bodies terrestrial, and not bodies celestial, and differ in glory as the moon differs from the sun. These are they who are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus; wherefore they obtain not the crown over the kingdom of our God."

      In opening this Conference it would be well for us individually to ask ourselves, Have we received the first principles of the Gospel of Christ, and have we continued in those principles which were first taught unto us; or is it necessary for us again to lay the foundation of repentance from dead works? It is very singular that when the principles of the Gospel, as I have stated them, were presented to the different sects, they were disposed to reject them and to persecute those who preached them in their fullness. Such, however, was the fact, and it is owing to this that the Latter-day Saints are now in the Great Basin of the Rocky Mountains, in the heart of the American continent, in the enjoyment of political and religious liberty and freedom, for which they have sacrificed more perhaps than any other people on the face of the earth. And we have the greatest reason of all people to be thankful to God for these blessings.

      Then let, us ask ourselves, Are we prepared for the great blessings which God has bestowed upon us? Are we living up to our callings and magnifying the same? Do we observe the duties which are imposed upon us by our holy religion? Or are we foolish enough, while recognizing its truth, and professing to be Latter-day Saints, to treat it with carelessness and neglect, and failing to live up to our high and holy calling?

      From the earliest days of the preaching of the Gospel by Joseph Smith men were tried and tempted and led astray by false spirits and doctrines of devils. We find at the commencement of Joseph's mission that many who entered into covenant turned away, and some became very bitter enemies. It was necessary from the very beginning that there should be a sifting, for the Lord declared unto His people that He would sift them as with a sieve. This sifting had to continue, and hence every time the Latter-day Saints were driven, scattered, or otherwise persecuted, it caused those who could not abide in the faith to pass quietly away, or to make their wickedness manifest unto the church and unto the world. But while this was going on, the strength of Zion was increasing. It is said, and I presume correctly, that Oliver Cowdery remarked at one time to Joseph Smith, "If I should apostatize and leave the Church, the Church would be broken up." The answer of the Prophet was, "What and who are you? This is the work of God, and if you turn against it and withdraw from it, it will still roll on and you will not be missed." It was not long until Oliver turned away, but the work continued. God raised up men from obscurity to step forth and shoulder the burdens, and it was hardly known when and where he went. In about ten years he came back again, came before a local Conference at Mosquito Creek, Pottawattamie Co., Iowa, Oct., 1848, and acknowledged his faults. He bore testimony of the mission of the Prophet, Joseph Smith, and of the truth of the Book of Mormon; he exhorted the Saints to follow the authority of the Holy Priesthood, which he assured them was with the Twelve Apostles. He said, "When the Saints follow the main channel of the stream, they find themselves in deep water and always right, pursuing their journey with safety; but when they turned aside into sloughs and bayous, they are left to flounder in the mud and are lost, for the Angel of God said unto Joseph in my hearing that this Priesthood shall remain on the earth until the end."

      Oliver declared he took pleasure in bearing this testimony to the largest congregation of Saints he had ever seen together. He was re-baptized and made arrangements to come to the mountains, but died soon after, while on a visit to the Whitmers, in Missouri.

      This circumstance shows how little God depends upon man to carry on His work. He does it by His own power, His own majesty, by His own mighty hand and for the accomplishment of His own glorious purposes.

      It was thought and felt throughout the world, about the year 1844, that if Joseph Smith, the Prophet, could be destroyed, that would be the end of the Latter-day Saints. Men conspired together to shed his blood; they sought occasion against him; they made him an offender for a word; they swore falsely against him, and some who had been his friends turned traitors and conspired with the wicked and shed his flood. It was generally believed by the enemies of the Saints that that was the end of the work of the Lord. The pulpit resounded with thanks to God that the great arch-impostor, Joseph Smith, was slain. The priests rejoiced over it; and though there was a feeling, tolerably wide-spread, that it was barbarous to kill him, under the plighted faith of Illinois, yet the general feeling was that it was a good thing that he was dead. But God had a work to perform, and it did not depend upon the life of one or two individuals. It was His work, His kingdom, His Church, His plan of salvation, and He, by His own wisdom and His own mighty hand bore it off.

      These were the facts, and these continue to be the facts; and all that the Latter-day Saints have to do is to live within the confines of God's holy law and up to their privileges. Are we doing so? Are we walking in accordance with these principles? Let us ask ourselves these questions, and if any of us are remiss, let us immediately commence to reform, humble ourselves before God, and be ready to sacrifice ourselves and all we have, if necessary, for the building up and redemption of Zion and for our salvation.

      We have come together as a Conference to compare notes with each other, to rejoice together and to receive instruction; and let every man and woman that has come or that may yet come, lift their hearts to God in solemn prayer that His blessing may rest upon His servants, that they may be inspired with a double portion of His holy Spirit, that the Priesthood, in all its life, power and glory, may speak forth the words of truth, light and intelligence. that shall pour comfort into the hearts of the Saints, and guide and strengthen them, and illuminate their path, that we, one and all, may continue in the great and glorious work which we have commenced.

      May the Lord God of Hosts bless you, and peace be and abide in your hearts, that you may appreciate these things, and exercise faith, union, knowledge, power, and wisdom in your walk and conduct henceforth, and that these meetings may be a blessing to all who attend them, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

PRESIDENT DANIEL H. WELLS.

            The Lord knew the right time to reveal His gospel to His children, and He sent His messenger to the right Joseph. He knew that Joseph would receive it and could never be induced to deny it. The children of men have their agency to accept or reject the principles of the Holy Gospel, when those principles are unfolded to them. Those who reject the gospel take upon themselves an awful responsibility. The Lord will leave all of His children without excuse. Those who do not know the gospel in this life will have an opportunity in another sphere. The Latter-day Saints know in whom they have trusted. They have relied upon Him who is indeed their Father. The gospel should be sweeter to us now than it has ever been, and we should be willing, were it necessary, to place our all, even to our existence, on the altar, for the furtherance of the cause of God on the earth. When any new principle, or even a new idea respecting some old principle is advanced, many are ready to oppose it. How many, for instance, have raised a hue and cry because the people were counseled not to trade with their enemies. The kingdom and the greatness thereof will never be given to a people who would hand them over to the Devil as fast as the Lord bestowed them. The Lord tests and tries his people to see whether they have integrity, and those who fly the track the moment they are tired show to Him that they have no integrity. It is the greatest calamity tat can befall a person, to make shipwreck of his most Holy Faith. In all ages of the world the people of God have had to endure the hatred and persecution of the world. The tables, however, will finally be changed. The Saints will yet have power to erect a holy temple to the Lord, and the glory of God shall rest upon the Temple and the habitations of the Saints.

[Daniel H. Wells]

[DNW 19:187, 5/25/70, p 7; JD 18:349]

REMARKS

By President D. H. WELLS, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 5th, 1870.

_____

[REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.]

_____

      It has pleased God in the day and generation in which we live to reveal His holy Gospel. I expect that He knew the time to bring it forth; that lie understood the proper time to introduce its principles, and chose that period in the world's history in which it would be received by, at least, a portion of His children. I apprehend that He made no mistake; that the angel which John prophesied should come forth, bearing the everlasting Gospel to the children of men, came to the right person, to the true Joseph—to the one who would receive it, and bear testimony that he had seen an angel, though all the world should deride and point the finger of scorn, call him a dreamer, and treat him with every kind of contumely and reproach; and though they eventually persecuted him unto the death, they could not prevail upon him to deny that he had seen an angel, and that he received from the Lord those principles which he taught.

      We believe, then, that it was the right time, and that he, the angel, came to the right person; that the Gospel has gone forth unto the world, that the minds of the children of men have been touched with the light of truth, and that it has had the effect to inspire some to seek after the Lord, to observe and keep His laws, learn His ways and walk in His paths. The object and purpose of our gathering together, brethren and sisters, is to learn of His ways, and walk in His paths.

      It is one of the greatest conceivable blessings which can be conferred upon the children of men to live in the day and generation in which the Lord has sent forth His Gospel; in an ago in which He has conferred upon men the authority of the holy Priesthood to administer in sacred and holy things. It is one of the greatest blessings that could be conferred upon His children to become the happy recipients of that knowledge which leads to eternal life and exaltation in His kingdom. All people have this privilege so far as the knowledge of the Gospel has come to their ears. In this the children of men are independent; they have their volition and agency to receive or to reject these principles when they shall hear them; but when they are sent forth with the authority of the holy Priesthood, which is the authority of God, and are sounded in the ears of God's creatures here on the earth, and they reject them, they incur a fearful responsibility. Still they have the power to act as they please in this matter; but the consequences rest upon themselves—the Lord has left them without excuse. It is a matter for you and me and for all persons to canvas in their own minds, and we can then act upon our own volition in receiving or rejecting the truth.

      All who have not heard the principles of life and salvation proclaimed will have the privilege of doing so; if not here, then in some other sphere or state of existence. The plan of salvation is ample, full and complete, and will save all the children of men who let it, and the Lord will be left without excuse in the final winding up, so far as the probation of man on the earth is concerned.

      We read in the Scriptures that to know the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom He has sent, is life eternal. To enable His creatures to obtain this knowledge the Lord has kindly sent forth His revelations from time to time; but we do honestly believe that the Latter-day Saints are the only people on the face of the earth at the present time that have any true knowledge of God, of the relationship that does exist between Him and the inhabitants of the earth and of the design and object of the Almighty in bringing them into existence, and the purpose to be accomplished thereby in their future state. I say we believe that the Latter-day Saints are the only people who possess this knowledge. The world have no just conceptions of the Deity; even the Christian world are without the knowledge of God as much as the heathen nations. This may be deemed a sweeping declaration, but it is susceptible of proof, if we take the Scriptures for our guide and as the foundation of our argument; that is, if the Christian world believe as they profess to do. I do not care to illustrate at this present time, or to bring evidence to bear to sustain my position, to a people who understand these arguments and principles, and who have learned better things, as is the case with this congregation. We know in whom we have trusted; we know who has led us forth to the valleys of the mountains; who has blessed the land and caused it to bring forth its strength for our sustenance; who has shielded and protected us from the power of the adversary—those who have sought our overthrow and destruction. We have learned to know Him as our Father, the Father of our spirits, and the God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He has exercised a parental care over us, and has delivered us at all times from the power of our enemies, brought us an inheritance in a goodly land, blessed the land and caused it to bring forth in its strength for our sustenance. We know that we are dependent upon Him for our very existence, and that by Him only are we preserved, just as well as we know that the children of men, impelled by the great adversary, Satan, are seeking to overthrow us, to break in pieces the kingdom of God, and to destroy from the face of the earth the rule and authority of the Priesthood of God.

      Are we prepared to take upon ourselves the labor, the self-denial, the self-abnegation, I might say the persecution, it it should be permitted to come upon us, that continually besets the pathway of the Saint of God? If we are, we are all right; if we are not, we had better repent and seek unto the Lord for strength, retrace our steps, and get the Spirit of God in our hearts that we may become more confirmed in our most holy faith. When we received the Gospel we felt as though it would be a great privilege to devote our whole lives and all our interests in this existence to the extension of this great and glorious cause. Have we grown lukewarm in our feelings and love? If so it is time to retrace our steps, lest we become darkened in the counsel of our minds and turn away to the beggarly elements of the world.

      I will say, this morning, that the Gospel that I received is as sweet to me to-day as it ever was during my existence on the earth, yea, more so, for as I advance, greater and more glorious truths and beauties develop themselves and come home to my understanding. If the first principles of the Gospel were true in the days of Joseph, they are true to-day. If the principles that have been developed as we have passed along were true when they first struck our minds with their convincing proofs, they are also true to-day. If what we believed were the whisperings of the Spirit of God confirming these truths on our minds, were really so, and we received them from Heaven, we should live faithful to what we have received, that we may progress and improve as we pass along. We have received an item of truth here and another there, as we could receive and maintain it; but the revelations declare that there are things yet to be revealed which have been kept bid from the foundations of the world. I, for one, expect that the volume of revelation will remain open, and that the servants of God will, in the future as they have in the past, read to us from the Book of Life. The reflection that we shall not be confined to what has already been given, but that we shall continue to grow and increase in the knowledge of God, and in every good, is one of the most highly-prized principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

      How true it is that, when any new principle, or any new idea concerning an old principle is promulgated, the human heart seems to rise up in rebellion against it, and the Saints are no exception in this respect, for when the Lord condescends to reveal any new principle pertaining to their welfare and the building up of His kingdom on the earth, many are ready, both in feelings and practices, to rise up and rebel against it. What is the matter? Are we pent up in a nut-shell and confined in our feelings to such an extent that we cannot receive new revelations and instructions from time to time when they come from the proper source? No. I think that, for the great majority of the Latter-day Saints, I can answer it is not so. It may be so with individuals; but as a general thing the Saints are glad to receive instruction, line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, as they can receive and endure it. I heard President Young say that he told the Prophet Joseph never to reveal a new principle to him if he thought that he could not receive it, that it would be detrimental to his faith or cause him to turn from that which he had received. He said he would rather remain in ignorance than to have it prove a stumbling-block to him. I have seen a great many people anxious for revelation, and for the development of some great mystery concerning the kingdom of God. I have never felt so; I have been satisfied with what the Lord should condescend to reveal, and more than glad if, when it did come, I was able to receive and practice it.

      How many are there within the hearing of my voice who have felt infringed upon in their feelings when they were told to sustain Zion and not to trade with their enemies. This was a new feature, but it touched things of a temporal nature. Why a great many felt as though they could not submit to be dictated to, though it was by the servant of God, in regard to temporal affairs. Is not this true, and we, too, right in the midst of Israel? O, yes, we can't deny it, there has been considerable howling made concerning this item. But yet this is the kingdom of God, and the kingdom and the greatness thereof are to be given to the Saints of the Most High. Can we expect anything else than that His servant will dictate us concerning our temporal matters? I do not understand it in any other way. When, I would ask, can the kingdom of God be established on the earth, or in other words when can the kingdom and the greatness thereof be given to the Saints of the Most High? Never until a people is found possessing sufficient good, hard, sound sense to use the blessings of that kingdom to build it up and not to give it to the devil just as fast as the Lord hands them over to them. We have come up to Zion that we may be taught in the ways of the Lord and that we may learn to walk in His paths. And you know I have told you how independent we are—we can either receive the Gospel, or reject it and take the consequences. But let no man lay the flattering unction to his soul that he can do just as he pleases and obtain celestial glory. We can never do this except we make our ways, notions and ideas correspond with the Lord's. If we expect to attain to celestial glory, and be prepared and qualified to receive the kingdom of God in its greatness upon the earth, we shall have to make our ways correspond with the Lord's, so much so at least as to be found faithful in making good use of the blessings which He has entrusted to us. It is those who are found faithful over a few things unto whom the promise is made that they shall become rulers over many things. It is not those who fly the track at the moment of peril and difficulty who will obtain the blessings of high heaven; no, the Lord tests and tries us, to prove if we have integrity, and the man who flies the track, when tested, proves that he is lacking in integrity and is not worthy to receive the blessings of those who are faithful and true. Blessings are no doubt withheld in kindness for a time, for many who receive them grow fat and kick, thus proving to the Lord that they are not worthy; and peradventure He withholds blessings from many very good people, who will finally triumph over their own peculiar notions and ideas, and make their ways so far correspond with the Lord's as to be worthy.

      We are in a school of experience, brethren and sisters, and it will be well for us if we will wisely use and apply the blessings we receive and the experience that we are passing through, and so govern and control ourselves in the future that the experience of the past may be a light to our feet in time to come.

      It is most desirable to us all that we should be preserved in the purity of our most holy faith, and never depart therefrom or swerve either to the right hand or to the left. The fate of others who have departed from the path of rectitude ought to be a warning to as all to be careful not to grieve the Holy Spirit, lest we fall into the same pit. It is a very easy thing for a man to get into the dark, and small things often lead to it. He sees, peradventure, something in his Bishop or Teacher, or in some of the authorities, which he does not like, and instead of going to the proper place to ascertain the truth in the case, and informing his mind correctly concerning the matter, he lets it corrode in his heart until disaffection is produced and he begins to lose confidence. In a short time, if he indulges in this spirit, he mouths it to some confidant or friend, and after doing it once he mouths it again, and if you follow that man a little longer you will find that he neglects his prayers and the duties of his calling, and very soon the counsel of his mind becomes darkened, and soon he is on the highway to apostasy, and, in fact, he has been there from the beginning, if he had only known it; and if no good friend should tell him his error, in a short time such a man goes over the dam and makes shipwreck of his faith, and that is the greatest calamity that can befall any person.

      What matters it to the Saints what path they are led into if the Lord leads? If they are submissive and yield to His dictation, no matter whether it brings weal or woe, it will work out good; it may bring poverty, so far as the things of the world are concerned, but it will never bring poverty to the soul. And it will be a happy reflection when we have passed through this mortal existence, that we were able to stand the test, enduring the ordeals and remaining steadfast and faithful to the end.

      I do not know that we are promised anything here but the hatred and persecution of the world; and this has been the portion of the Saints of God in every age of the world. I do believe, however, that the table is going to change; I believe that when the people are sufficiently pure and worthy, and capable of wisely using the blessings of which I have spoken, the blessings of earth and heaven will be poured upon them in rich abundance. We have a little foretaste of this in the blessings that we have received and enjoy to-day. Although the power of the Adversary is very great, and he still seeks the overthrow and destruction of the cause and kingdom of God on the earth; yet it is a different age of the world, it is a different dispensation; it is the dispensation of the fulness of times, in which, no matter how much we may be overturned, no matter how much individuals may suffer, or how much they may be called to endure, the final result will be triumph to the kingdom, and it will not be given to another people; but we shall have power to redeem Zion and to build that great and glorious temple in which the Saints will receive the blessings of eternity, and on which the glory of God will rest as a cloud by day and as a pillar of fire by night. This people are that people; these Saints are the Saints of the Most High, to whom the kingdom and the greatness thereof will be given, and another people shall never possess it.

      This should be a great satisfaction to us, and should encourage us in our pathway through all the difficulties we may have to encounter. We would not be worth much if we could not pass through ordeals. The Savior of the world had to pass through them, and we should not complain if we have to tread in his footsteps in order to obtain great blessings at the end of the race. Let us reflect on these things and go on our way rejoicing, filling the full measure of our creation with credit to ourselves, and with honor to God, our Father, who brought us to this state of existence, Which is my prayer for Jesus' sake. Amen.

 

PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG

Said that the people would be required, during conference, to pay strict attention and to keep good order. He thought it would be advisable for the sisters to make arrangements to leave their babies at home, as little children could not possibly understand anything that might be said, and by their noise, they prevent the congregation from hearing. As our congregations will be of necessity large, we will be compelled to be a little exacting on those points. Referring to the filthy practice indulged in by some, while at meeting, of chewing tobacco, Present Young said:

            On Sunday, after meeting, going through the gallery which had been occupied by those claiming, no doubt, to be gentlemen, and perhaps, brethren, you might have supposed that cattle had been standing around there and dropping their nuisances. Here and there were great quids of tobacco, and places a foot or two feet square smeared with tobacco juice. I wish the door-keepers, when, in the future, they observe any persons besmearing the seats and floor in this way to request them to leave the house; and, if they refuse and will not stop spitting about and besmearing their neighbors, just take them and lead them out carefully and kindly. It is an imposition for those claiming to be gentlemen to spit tobacco juice for ladies to draw their clothes through and besmear them, or to leave their dirt in the house. We request all addicted to this practice, to omit it while in this house. Elders of Israel, if you must chew tobacco, omit it while in meeting, and when you leave, you can take a double portion, if you wish to.

            PRESIDENT YOUNG made some excellent practical remarks in relation to the necessity for the Saints being continually taught in the things of God.

[Brigham Young]

[DNW 19:199, 6/1/70, p 7; JD 13:343]

REMARKS

By President BRIGHAM YOUNG, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 5th, 1870.

_____

[REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.]

_____

      During our Conference we shall require the people to pay attention and to preserve good order, and perhaps we shall require that that will not be altogether pleasing in some respects. One thing which strikes me here this morning, and which is a source of considerable annoyance to the congregation, appears to me might be avoided, and that is bringing children here who are not capable of understanding the preaching. If we were to set them on the stand, where they could hear every word, it would convey to them no knowledge or instruction, and would not be the least benefit to them. I will ask my sisters: Cannot we avoid this? Have you not daughters, sisters, or friends, or some one who can take care of these children while you attend meeting? When meetings are over, the mothers can go home and bestow all the care and attention upon their children which may be necessary. I cannot understand the utility of bringing children into such a congregation as we shall have here through the Conference, just for the sake of pleasing the mothers, when the noise made by them disturbs all around them. I therefore request that the sisters will leave their babies at home in the care of good nurses. And when you come here, sisters and brethren, sit still and make no noise by shuffling your feet or whispering. Wait till meeting is dismissed, then you may go out and talk and walk as much as you please; but while you are in this house it is necessary to keep perfectly still.

      I hope our doorkeepers are instructed and understand, so that they will keep order, and also be still themselves. I have noticed sometimes that our doorkeepers and policemen will make more disturbance in a congregation than the people do. This is very unbecoming, and it certainly exhibits a great lack of understanding. If a look or motion will not answer, do not holloa; we, on the Stand, will do all the talking necessary. But if a doorkeeper holloas to this one and that one, he makes more confusion than the people will make. Now, doorkeepers, be sure their you are perfectly still; and if you are obliged to walk around here much, I would recommend that you wear india-rubber overshoes, so that you may be able to walk without making a noise.

      There is another subject I wish to refer to. Last Sabbath this front gallery, the gentleman's gallery, was very full. After meeting was dismissed I took a walk through it, and to see the floor that had been occupied by those professing to be gentlemen, and I do not know but brethren, you might have supposed that cattle had been there rolling and standing around, for here and there were great quids of tobacco, and places one or two feet square smeared with tobacco juice. I want to say to the doorkeepers that when you see gentlemen who cannot omit chewing and spitting while in this house, request them to leave; and if such persons refuse to leave, and continue their spitting, just take them and lead them out carefully and kindly. We do not want to have the house thus defiled. It is an imposition for gentlemen to spit tobacco juice around, or to leave their quids of tobacco on the floor; they dirty the house, and if a lady happen to besmear the bottom of her dress, which can hardly be avoided, it is highly offensive. We therefore request all gentlemen attending Conference to omit tobacco chewing while here. To the Elders of Israel who cannot and will not keep the Word of Wisdom, I say, omit tobacco chewing while here.

      In all probability our congregations will be large, and we shall be under the necessity of being a little stringent and exacting in regard to leaving the children at home and in preserving quietness and order while in the house. You may think it a little unreasonable, sisters, to make such a request, but it is not so, for you who are here this morning have seen the great amount of confusion and annoyance the crying of children has caused; and if you cannot, for the space of two or three hours, forego the pleasure of gazing upon the faces of your little darlings, just stay at home with them. This we earnestly request while we are here in Conference. We have all the brethren of the Twelve here, except Brother Carrington, who is in Liverpool, and we shall have speeches, exhortations and advice from them, which, if followed and observed by the people, will lead them in the path of truth, light, intelligence, virtue, soberness and godliness, and we want such good order preserved and maintained that all attending Conference can hear the instructions given.

      We have many things to say to the people. They need a great amount of talking to and instruction. They are a good deal like children and need to have words of counsel and advice constantly reiterated. The mother says to the child, "My darling little Johnny, don't you get that knife," or "Can't you let your father's razor alone," or "Let the crockery alone, you will break it." And the "little darling Johnny" lets it alone for a minute or two, but soon he makes another stretch after the knife, razor, tumbler, pitcher, or something that his mother does not want him to have, and again her voice is heard, "Johnny, let that alone, it is not good for you to have;" or, "You will break that pitcher." Johnny sets down the pitcher, and pretty soon it is gone from his mind, but he runs around a little, and then he wants a drink, and while getting the pitcher, or perhaps the knife, the mother coaxingly says, "My darling dear, will you let that alone," and finally, wearied with talking to "Johnny," she probably boxes his ears. It is precisely so with the people, or many of them. We exhort them to observe the Word of Wisdom, to be faithful, truthful and prayerful, and so on, but many of them forget, and we have to ask and beseech them again and again.

      We shall now dismiss our morning's meeting, and shall assemble again at two o'clock this afternoon, and I trust that strict attention will be paid to what is said. I am of the opinion that what is said will be instructive and good for the people. We do not want the teachings of the Elders to drop upon senseless, careless, indolent ears; but let every ear be open, and every heart receive understanding, that good may result from our labors. We are teaching the people how to be saved—how to walk and talk so as to secure eternal salvation, and I do hope and pray my brethren and sisters to pay attention, that the Spirit of the Lord may be in your hearts, that you may see and understand things as they are. I would say, still further, if there be error advanced here, do not receive it, pass it by, and live so that you will know truth from error, light from darkness, the things that are of God from these not of God; and if an error should drop from the lips of one of our Elders, do not receive, believe, or practice it. Truth is what we want, and we ought to live so that we can understand and know it for ourselves. This is our privilege and duty; and we request of the Latter-day Saints; and of all people, to live so that they may know and understand the things of God, and receive and embrace them in their faith, and practice them in their lives.

 

            The choir sang "Holy Lord God of Hosts."

            Conference adjourned till 2 p.m.

            Prayer by Elder Geo. Q. Cannon.

_____

[5 May, 2 pm]

[DNW 19:160, 5/11/70, p 4]

THURSDAY, 2 p.m.

            Meeting was called to order by President Brigham Young.

            The choir sang: "Hosannah to the great Messiah."

            Prayer by Elder Brigham Young, jr.

            The choir sang: "What wondrous things we now behold."

ELDER ORSON HYDE

            We are engaged in the cause of God. I know that Joseph Smith was a true Prophet, and although we cannot see him with the natural eye, yet he is moving in that cause we are engaged in. Not only can I bear my testimony that Joseph Smith was sent of God, but that Prest. Brigham Young is his legal successor. Although the enemies of President Young may vent their rage and spleen against him, yet their machinations will have no more effect on him than the warring elements which gather around our mountain tops have up- the Twin Peaks, which have withstood the storms of ages. The man who has been appointed to lead Israel will stand an immovable pillar of the Almighty.

            The Latter-day Saints should be prompt in paying their debts. They should owe no man anything but love and good will. We may turn away those to whom we are indebted with some frivolous excuse, but we cannot in this way, turn aside the demands of justice. If we are slack in discharging our obligations and have no fixed determination to do so, will the Lord hear and answer our prayers? Some people run into debt to gratify pride an fashion; this is not right. Some actually sell their crop of wheat as soon as it is sown. Such should deny themselves indulgences that can be dispensed with. It would be well for the people to ask themselves whether they have settled their indebtedness to the Emigrating fund, whether they have paid up their Tithing, their newspapers, &c. Joseph the Prophet once said that the majority of this people would never go astray. If we will walk uprightly and honestly the blessings of the Lord will rest upon us. I expect to see the day when those who have sought the injury of the Saints will feel ashamed in the presence of honorable men. God defend this people and their rights, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus, Amen.

[Orson Hyde]

[DNW 19:235, 6/22/70, p 7; JD 13:363]

DISCOURSE

By President Orson Hyde, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 5th, 1870.

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REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.]

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      Brethren and sisters, my heart almost falters at the idea of attempting to make you all distinctly hear me, but by the aid of the Spirit of the Lord, in answer to your good wishes and prayers, I will do my best to make you hear such things as it may suggest to me. I am thankful for this opportunity of meeting the Saints from different parts of the Territory, of beholding their friendly faces, and of greeting them with a cordial "How do you do?" and "God bless you." It really fills me with joy and gladness, and I am thankful that I have the privilege of meeting with my brethren who bear the Priesthood, and of mingling my testimony with theirs, to establish the truths of heaven long since revealed by the Lord to His people—the Latter-day Saints. Brethren and sisters, I know that the cause in which we are engaged is the cause of God. I know that Joseph Smith was a true and faithful Prophet of the Most High God. I know that be sealed his testimony with his blood, and though he is invisible to our natural eyes at the present time, he is moving the cause of Zion by an influence which we can better feel than see. I feel thankful that I have the privilege of bearing this testimony; and not only do I bear it in behalf of the martyred Prophet, but I bear the same testimony in behalf of him whom God has placed to lead, guide and govern the affairs of His kingdom on the earth—namely, President Brigham Young.

      You can all behold the "Twin Peaks" down here, when you are out in the open air, towering aloft towards heaven. You have seen the clouds gather around their brow, you have heard the thunders roll and seen the lightnings flash as if they would demolish those proud monuments of nature, and the elements have expended upon them their fury, yet after all, the clouds retired, the thunders ceased to roll, the lightnings to flash, and the sky became clearer; and there stand to-day those proud monuments, unscathed and unmoved. Why? Because God Almighty's hand reared them and placed them there. And the elements by which we are more or less surrounded may gather around our President, Brigham Young, until his name is almost obscured for the time being; the thunders may roll over his head, the lightnings may flash or the clouds gather; is he affected? Is he not the same identical pillar, leading, guiding and sustaining the cause of God? Most assuredly he is. And remember that, although the elements are lively and they play around the "Twin Peaks" with a great deal of force and fury, they can have but very little effect upon them; and so it is with the man whom God has ordained and placed to guide His Saints. Apostates may cause the clouds to gather, and they may thunder and they may lighten, and they may do this, that and the other, but at last they must yield and give place to the monument that God has erected; and he will stand forth in hold relief, towering to heaven and pointing the way to eternal life.

      This is my testimony. This is the way my heart feels to-day; and it is the way it has ever felt towards that individual; it is the way that I am inclined to think that it ever will feel. It is my determination. Why? Because I have had evidence that is unmistakable that I am occupying grounds that are correct, that are true and faithful, and I cannot forget it. I pray the Lord that He may always lead me to keep the truth in mind, vivid and clear as the sun at noonday.

      Brethren and sisters, if we will be united in keeping the commandments of God, in observing and cleaving to the Word of Wisdom, not for the time being only, but always while life shall last; if we will remember our prayers and be faithful in the discharge of our duties, I will tell you that any measure, inimical to our welfare and interests it may seem, that may be sought to be carried against us, will utterly fail. We have the means within ourselves to defeat almost anything that is intended for our destruction and overthrow. However I want to talk but little about this. I have endeavored to instruct the brethren and sisters where I bare labored in relation to this matter, and if I shall repeat here to-day some things that I have said heretofore, do not think that it is because Brother Hyde lacks a subject; but he is happy to have the opportunity of declaring the truth; and truth never becomes stale because of being often repeated.

      We are a commercial and trading people, although far inland, and hence we buy and sell. Now the question is, are we always punctual to pay according to promise and agreement? I am sorry to say that in too many instances we are careless and indifferent with regard to fulfilling our word and agreement. We are told in the good Book that we should owe no man anything but love and good will; and if every man that hears the sound of my voice to-day could stand out like an angel of God and say, "I owe no man anything but love and good will," what missile from the enemies' ranks could he successfully hurled against us? I say not one. We have paid that which we owe, and no man can say aught in complaint against us because we are delinquents; and every one that knows us will he ready to say, "God bless you, you are punctual and faithful." Do we all desire, brethren and sisters, to maintain this character and stand upon this ground? I know that cases will arise, and almost unavoidably, in which we may be indebted to our brethren; but how is it with some of us when those to whom we are indebted apply for payment? I am afraid that such creditors, instead of receiving that which is their due, are sometimes turned away with an excuse; when, if the debtor would exert himself, he might pay about as well then as at any other time. But though we may turn away a brother with an excuse, does that turn away the demands of justice and right? I tell you no. I have seen individuals who would contract a debt, apparently regardless whether they paid or not. I do not know that there are any here, but if there are I hope they will heed the words which I speak. Let me say that I very much question whether, if we have contracted debts and do not pay them, nor manifest any desire to do so, we shall go into the celestial kingdom. I cannot tell how this will be, but I should rather fear that, instead of going into the celestial kingdom, we should go down to that prison that is spoken of in the Scriptures. Hence we are exhorted to "agree with thine adversary quickly whilst thou art in the way with him, lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison: verily, verily, I say unto thee that thou shalt not come out thence until thou hast paid the uttermost farthing." Whether this Scripture legitimately applies in this case, I will not say; but to my mind it has a strong beginning in that direction. Well, if I have to go to prison and there work to pay the uttermost farthing, heaven nerve my arm so that I may meet and pay my obligations while I am in the flesh. I know that in relation to these matters some of us have been in the habit of considering, "Well, it is a brother to whom I owe this debt, and I can put him off, he will bear with me, and if he begins to make any particular demonstration towards collecting it, I will twine around him, and say, 'Bear with me a little, and I will pay you,'" when perhaps we have no real, firm and fixed determination to pay that debt at all.

      Will the Lord hear and answer our prayers if this be our condition? I cannot say, but I will tell you I would rather be clear of any obligation except those of love and good will. I would rather risk prayer offered under these circumstances than when offered while the suppliant is involved in debts and obligations he has failed to discharge.

      Now, brethren and sisters, if we will train ourselves never to contract a debt, unless we feel sure, and not only feel sure, but determined, to pay according to promise, we shall not have the burdens on our shoulders that we otherwise shall have. Times are changing. Sometimes we are tempted by the allurements of the world, by the flow of money and by the abundance of everything, to go beyond the mark, and we contract debts; then perhaps there is a shutdown on the sources of prosperity, and a dark, dull time, financially, may set in, and everything we have got is at stake. Which, then, is the better way? The better way, in my opinion, is to keep clear of debt; whether times are prosperous or tight, keep clear of debt if possible.

      Some will run into debt to gratify pride, and they will really rob themselves and their creditors just to keep up. with this fanciful thing called fashion. Brother or sister So and So says, "I must have this or that, because somebody else has it;" or somebody has got such a thing, and I feel that I am as much entitled to it as he or she. I say let somebody else have as many fashions as they like, but let us abide by what God has given us and be content therewith; and if we really want more, let us make a little extra exertion, and before we spend money let us earn it. I know men who will actually go to work and sell the crop, that they are perhaps planting now, to merchants; and when they irrigate those crops it is not for themselves, but for them to whom they have sold it. The same is true when the grain is harvested and when it is threshed. There is no liberty, independence or nobility in this; but they who take this course are bound down and are slaves to somebody else. I feel that a little economy and self-denial would relieve us very much from this embarrassment and incumbrance. I believe the good Book says, "Except a man deny himself, take up his cross and follow me, he cannot be my disciple." Do we seek to deny ourselves or to gratify ourselves? Which is the greater labor, to gratify or to deny ourselves? I will tell you that if we would bestow as much labor in denying ourselves as we do in gratifying ourselves, we should feel better and should be happier, and the heavens would plead our cause more effectually. How comfortable a man feels when be can say to himself, "Though I have but little, thank God I do not owe anybody anything." I have paid up my tithing, my emigration indebtedness, I have paid for my newspaper, and done the best I could to keep the hearts of my brethren whole by paying promptly, according to promise, so that the great machine of progress may move without obstruction and hindrance? I believe that if we will all turn in from this time and be honest, and really pay our debts and obligations, we have no great reason to fear anything injurious proceeding from any quarter.

      Suppose now, brethren and sisters, that we should be united in this one thing, and should actually go to and pay our debts and obligations. Let me suggest to you one thing. Says one, "Really, I would very much like if I had the assurance that God heard my prayers." Now, when you go home, just think of them to whom you are indebted and who is in most need among your creditors, and then go right to that individual and bless him with an instalment of what you owe him, and I tell you that will aid very much the acceptance of your offering unto God; it will induce Him to hear your prayer and to answer it. If you don't believe it, try it, and instead of putting off your brother, to whom you are indebted, and making a thousand excuses and apologies, and trying to get out of his road, go right to him, be honest, lay your heart open to him, and say, "My brother, I will do all I can for you. I will bless you by paying you what I owe, or a portion of it, and I will pay you the remainder as fast as I possibly can." Let this course be taken throughout Israel, and see if the tables will not turn in favor of Zion. I feel that they will; let us all take this course and see.

      I intend, if the Lord will let me live, and I believe He will, to work just as hard as I can to pay every just obligation that I owe, and I believe I shall accomplish it. I pray the Lord to let me live until I can say, boldly and honestly and truly, that I owe no man anything but love and goodwill; and then as much longer as He pleases. That is what I desire and intend. And I believe that if we, as a people, do this, remember our prayers, and keep the words of wisdom, the Lord will not suffer the enemy to prevail against us.

      Now I look around this congregation, and contemplate that there are, perhaps, some ten or twelve thousand persons, and it may be more, I do not know, there is a very large number; then when I think that numerous as we are here we are but the representatives—not more than a tithing of those left behind, of the same stripe, if reminds me of the words of Joseph the Prophet, when he said, "Brethren, remember that the majority of this people will never go astray; and as long as you keep with the majority you are sure to enter the celestial kingdom." I am satisfied, brethren, that if we will go to with our might and strength and pay our debts and liabilities the blessing of God will attend us, and that too in the eyes of all the world.

      I will tell you what I expect. I expect to live to see the day when those in our midst, who have sought our injury and ruin, will stand the same as men do, when discovered, that I read of in the papers, who rob henroosts or steal sheep. You know how they feel—they feel "cheap," they would feel very mean in the presence of honorable men. I expect to live to see the day, brethren, when those who have sought our injury will quail in our presence.

      Well, this is no time for long sermons. There are my brethren of the Twelve here, besides many others, who want to speak; and I presume to say that I have occupied my share of the time. One thing more, however, I will say. You who have money owing to you, do not, from my remarks, go to him who owes you and take him by the throat and say, "Pay me that which thou owest." Do not do that. No, let your debtor remain undisturbed by you; you be silent, and see whether that man's conscience will operate upon him so as to induce him to come and make reasonable and proper satisfaction to you; and if he will not when this subject is fully laid before him you may begin to think that he is not as honest as he should be, and by and by he will work himself out of the kingdom.

      I feel, brethren and sisters, that I am in the right company. If I can only manage to keep right myself, if I can only manage to be true and faithful to my God and myself, while I am in the midst of this assembly—the representatives of a host of Latter-day Saints—their hearts beating in unison with my words, and my words with their hearts, I feel that I am not following the few who break off, but that I am with the majority, and we are bound for the celestial kingdom.

      God defend His people and their rights, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

ELDER ORSON PRATT.

            Here in these wilds of North America is a great people whose views are one; who believe that God has commenced for the last time to establish His kingdom. No other consideration than the building up of Zion could have induced this great people to gather together in these valley. Had they gathered to a rich country, other motives might have been assigned for their gathering. We came here because God commanded us to come. We were willing to forego the luxuries that abounded in the countries from which we have come. We believed before we came ere that the Lord would, in this mountainous country, raise up a great and powerful people. We had faith in the prophecies contained in the bible, some of which say that Zion should be commanded to get up into a high mountain, and that an ensign shall be lifted up to the nations and unto which many people shall flow. The kingdom of God will stand forever, whilst all earthly governments shall crumble to pieces. Jesus said if ye love me, keep my commandments. Before a people can obey these commandments it is necessary for them to know what they are. I remember when I was a boy, visiting the Prophet Joseph, in Seneca county, New York, on the 2nd day of January, 1831, a Conference of the church was held, and at the solicitation of the people for the Prophet to enquire of the Lord what was required of them, a revelation was given to the effect that they were to gather up to the State of Ohio. Under these circumstances the only way those people could have manifested their love for Jesus would be to obey this commandment. The people, at that time, with but few exceptions, rejoiced to have the privilege of obeying that command. Commandments and revelations are given according to the circumstances of the people unto whom they are given. Many commandments and revelations were given to the Saints, whilst in Kirtland, Ohio. He commanded that a Temple should then be built, and gave, by revelation, the pattern after which it should be erected, even to the minutest particular. The people manifested their love for the Lord by obeying His commandment. In that Temple, the Prophet Elijah visited the Prophet Joseph. This was in fulfillment of the prophecy of Malachi: that the hearts of the children might be turned to the fathers and the hearts of the fathers to the children. Previous to this we knew nothing of salvation and baptism for the dead who had died without the knowledge of the gospel. Elijah was not the only ancient prophet that came and ministered in that temple. Others came and delivered to the servants of God keys connected with the great and last dispensation. And here around me are men who hold those keys, which were delivered by heavenly messengers. And although apostates may arise and raise their heel against the Lord's anointed, yet those keys will never again be taken from the earth. The saints were told by the Lord that unless they obeyed strictly his commandments in relation to the purchase of lands they should be scourged and driven by their enemies; and although the prophet Joseph, accompanied by a number of prominent Elders, traveled over one thousand miles among the Saints and warned them of the judgments of God that would visit them if the did not repent of their short comings, the Saints were driven from place to place, until finally they, being led by the servants of God, came to this country. In 1831 the Lord promised that the Saints would, before the generation had all passed away that was in existence then, build up the centre stake of Zion where a Temple should be reared and the glory of God would rest upon it.

            I rejoice to see so great an improvement in the Latter-day Saints as has taken place since then. They are more united now than they have ever been at any former time. They will continue to improve until they shall be prepared to associate with heavenly beings.

[Orson Pratt]

[JD 13:354]

DISCOURSE

By Elder Orson Pratt, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 5th, 1870.

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[REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS]

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      It is with great pleasure and satisfaction that I, arise before so large an assembly of people this afternoon, in the capacity of a General Conference. It is truly wonderful to me that God has begun so great and important a work in the day in which I am permitted to live. I do not read in history of any other work of a similar character since the creation of the world. We behold before us, in these interior wilds of North America, a great people called the Latter-day Saints—a people whose faith and doctrine are one, who believe in the same God, and in the same great plan of salvation; who believe that God has established His kingdom on the earth for the last time. It has been a manifestation of faith on the part of this people to gather here; they have exhibited to one another and before all mankind that they have faith in the doctrines which they have received. What other purpose could have gathered out so great a people? If we had gathered into a healthy, rich country where there was an expectation of bettering our condition, temporarily; where there were prospects of our becoming exceedingly rich in the goods of this world, it might have been supposed that we had some selfish motive in view in thus assembling ourselves together. But there were no such prospects before us. We came here, some 1200 miles, from the Eastern settlements to this isolated region, almost naked and barefoot, having been despoiled by our enemies—having suffered the loss of property to the extent of millions—having been reduced to the last degree of poverty. We came here—not into the midst of a land of cities and villages, not into the midst of a country where all was prepared for us beforehand; but we came into the heart of a desert, since, in some measure, reclaimed from its barrenness and sterility. We came because we had faith in our religion, because we not only believed, but most of us knew with a certainty, that God had spoken from on high and had commanded as to gather together. In this we have manifested a sincerity that ought to be convincing to all the world that we have embraced a religion in all of the depths of the sincerity of our hearts. We did not care for the riches and honors of the world; we did not care for the pleasures of our native countries, nor for the luxuries with which those countries abounded; but we came because we verily believed in our hearts that it was our duty to do so in obedience to the voice of the Lord through His servants. It is true that some of this people came to this land because they were forced hither by persecution; but whether obliged to come or not we, many of us, clearly understood from the spirit of prophecy and revelation, as manifested through our prophet and leader before his martyrdom, that we should be required to locate ourselves in the heart of this continent. We came here then to fulfil the commandments of the Lord our God, and to be free, in a measure, from the persecutions of our enemies, that we might have none to mob or molest us as they had done from the time of the rise of the Church until our flight to these mountains. We came here because we loved God, because we loved His laws—we loved the plan of salvation, we loved the principles that He had revealed, and because we knew that in process of time, in fulfilment of ancient prophecy respecting the Latter-day Zion and the Church of the Most High God, we should become a great and powerful people.

      We are taught in the Jewish record, the Bible, that a little one shall become a thousand and a small one a strong nation. We believe these prophecies, we know this to be the kingdom of God. We well understood by the spirit of revelation that God intended to fulfil all that was spoken by the mouths of His ancient prophets, as well as that which had been delivered in our day in regard to the future glory and prosperity of Zion, or the Church of the living God. We understood that Zion was to be located in the mountains; we understood, as I have often repeated, from the 40th chapter of Isaiah, that the time would come when the Lord would command His people, saying unto Zion, "Get up into the high mountains." These things had not been fulfilled in former ages, consequently we know that they were yet in the future. We knew that the Zion of the latter days must be located in the mountains. We could read the ancient prophecies of that great prophet—Isaiah, in the 18th chapter, that a great work should be performed in the mountains, a work that should attract the attention of all the nations of the earth, so much so that the prophet, when gazing upon the work as shown to him by the spirit of prophecy, calls upon all the inhabitants of the world and the dwellers on the earth to see when the Lord should lift up an ensign upon the mountains. That ensign we knew must be reared, that great work must be accomplished, and all people—not only those on the American continent but all dwelling in the four quarters of the globe, however obscure, and however distant they might be from the place where the ensign was to, be reared, would be required by the power of the Lord, and by the marvelous work that He should perform, to open their eyes and contemplate that ensign, understand its nature and comprehend, in some measure, its purpose.

      We came here to fulfil these ancient prophecies. God has lifted up this Church—this kingdom, as a standard—as an ensign to which the nations are invited, and the ambassadors of the Most High are sent forth from these mountains carrying the glad tidings of salvation in their months—carrying forth the great and glorious principles that God has revealed in establishing his latter-day kingdom on the earth. Beautiful indeed are the feet of those who are sent forth from the mountains of Zion to publish glad tidings of great joy among the various nations and kingdoms of the earth; God is with them in very deed. His power is over them, and His arm encircles them round about. Their voice is lifted up to the nations; their hands are pointed to the West, to the heart of the American continent—to the everlasting hills, saying to mankind, "Yonder, in those mountains, is a kingdom that is never to be destroyed, a kingdom that must exist for ever; while all earthly kingdoms and governments will crumble to the dust and will be blown away, like the chaff of the summer threshing floor, to the four winds of heaven."

      Jesus said on a certain occasion to his disciples, and to the multitudes, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." There are tens of thousands, yes, hundreds of thousands, of people now upon our globe who profess to love Jesus Christ. Do they keep his commandments? Some of them no doubt strive to do so. But there are many things to be taken into consideration in connection with the keeping of the commandments of Jesus. In the first place it is very essential and necessary that we should know what his commandments are before we can keep them. In the second place it is very important and essential that we should give heed to all those commandments, whether they appear great or small in our estimation.

      Do this people, called Latter-day Saints, really love the Lord their God, or is it a mere profession? When God raised up His servant Joseph Smith and inspired him from on high to give commandments and revelations and to organize His Church, forty years ago, we were but few in number. I well recollect when I was but a boy of nineteen visiting the place where this Church was organized, and visiting the Prophet Joseph, who resided at that time in Fayette, Seneca County, New York, at the house where the Church was organized. I became acquainted more fully with that man and with the revelations and commandments that God had given to him; also with the few people who had been organized into a Church capacity. I saw the spirit of the people, that is, I saw there was a desire to do good, to love the Lord, and to be obedient to the commandments which the Prophet Joseph had delivered unto them.

      On the 2nd day of January, 1831, a Conference was held in the same house where this Church was organized, and the various Branches in the State of New York were there gathered together. By the solicitations of the Conference the Prophet Joseph enquired of the Lord to know what was His will concerning the few Latter-day Saints that were then in existence. The Lord hearkened to him, and gave on that occasion a revelation contained in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, in which certain commandments were given, one being that all the Elders, Priests, Teachers, and Deacons of the various Branches of the Church, instead of going out to preach, should go to with all their might and labor for the gathering up of the people from the State of New York to the State of Ohio; that is, they were to assist those in the various Branches who had property to dispose of the same, and in regulating all their affairs, and to arrange business in such a manner that they might be able to keep this commandment to gather together.

      Now, suppose the people had refused to comply with this commandment; suppose that the Elders, Priests, Teachers and Deacons had considered the physical labor which the carrying out of this command entailed upon them beneath their notice, and had refused to make preparations to flee from the State of New York and to gather up some six hundred miles to the State of Ohio, what would have been the result? Would the love of God have dwelt in their hearts? No. Would they have manifested before the heavens that they loved God with all their hearts? No. Would they have manifested to the Prophet, to the Priesthood and to one another that they really were sincere in their religion? No. There was no possible way for these Latter-day Saints to show their love to God, only by obeying His command that was given and written for their instruction on that occasion. If there were any who refused to do that, I will venture to say that they are not members of the Church to-day. If there were any who had so much means or property that they did not feel disposed to leave their pleasant homes and make a sacrifice of their wealth, in some measure, in order to fulfil the commandment of Jehovah, I will venture to say that they are not in the Church to-day. Why? Because God would withdraw His Holy Spirit from them They might make great profession, and say how much they loved the Lord and His ways; how much they loved Jesus, who was crucified for the sins of the world, yet all this would be foolish and vain if they refused to keep his commandments, for, "If ye love me, keep my commandments," saith the Savior. Again, it is written, "This is the love of God, that ye do keep His commandments, and His commandments are not grievous." His commandments to most of the people of the Latter-day Saints were not grievous in the winter and spring of 1831. They rejoiced in having the privilege of obeying the Lord's commandments, through His servant, the Prophet. Hence they gathered up all the various Branches of the Church, with some few exceptions, to Kirtland, in the State of Ohio.

      This is the right way to keep the Lord's commandments; but it is, in the first place, necessary to find what His commandments are. You might have taken this big book, the Jewish record, or Bible, and searched it from the beginning of Genesis to the end of Revelations to find out your duties as Saints, and you never could have found within it what the Lord required of His Saints at that time—namely, to remove from the State of New York to the State of Ohio. No such Scripture as that was given. That was the duty required of individuals in the nineteenth century. No other people were ever required to do that; it cannot be found within the lids of the Bible. That commandment was specially adapted to the circumstances of the few Latter-day Saints then existing, and they were the ones required to keep it. The ancients were not required to do that, neither are we; it was a commandment having relation to the time then being, and it was fulfilled. With that commandment we have nothing further to do, provided that we, or as many of us as were included among those to whom it was given, kept it. If we have not kept it we have something further to do with it—we shall have to meet it in the great judgment day.

      When we came to Kirtland the Lord gave us further commandments, and He revealed a great many things through His servant Joseph. Among others, He gave one that the Latter-day Saints in Kirtland, Ohio, should go to with their might and build a house to His name, wherein He promised to bestow great and choice blessings upon His people. He revealed the pattern according to which that house should be built, pointing out the various courts and apartments, telling the size of the house, the order of the pulpits, and in fact everything pertaining to it was clearly pointed out by revelation. God gave a vision of these things, not only to Joseph, but to several others, and they were strictly commanded to build according to the pattern revealed from the heavens.

      Now, then, no other people was ever commanded to do that work in Kirtland, Ohio, but the people then living there, called Latter-day Saints. It was not a work required of Noah, Abraham, Moses, Solomon, nor of any other man that ever existed on the earth, nor of any people but those to whom it was given, then living in the State of Ohio. Supposing they had said, "We will not build the house; we can meet in a common meeting-house, after the order of the Gentiles, and we will take their forms of building, it does not matter, we do not think it necessary to be at all this expense, and we can hire a house." Would that have been sufficient? No, the only way we could witness to one another and before the Lord of hosts that we loved Him with all our hearts was to go to and build a house just according to the pattern.

      Well, when we did build it, did the Lord accept it, according to promise? He did, and He revealed great and important things in that house through His servant, Joseph the Prophet; and not only did Joseph have the privilege of seeing and understanding the mind and will of the Lord, but after the house was built many others had this great privilege given to them. For instance, the Lord had promised to reveal Himself unto many of His people and His Priesthood in that house. He did so. Among other great revelations and visions given there, was the revelation, which you will find recorded in our Church history, of Elijah, the Prophet, of him who was translated to heaven in a chariot of fire. That same personage came and stood in that temple and manifested certain keys, gave these keys to the servant of the Lord, the Prophet Joseph, and said unto him that that was the fulfilment of that which was spoken by the Prophet Malachi. What has Malachi said? He has told us of the great day of the Lord that should come, when it should burn as an oven, and when all the proud and they that do wickedly shall become as stubble and shall be burned up, leaving them neither root nor branch. He has told us that before that great and terrible day the Lord would send Elijah the Prophet. Or, to quote the words of Scripture, "Behold I will send you Elijah the Prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord shall come." What great object had the Lord in view in sending His ancient prophet as a ministering angel to His people on the earth? It is expressed in one sentence—"He shall turn the hearts of the fathers unto the children and the hearts of the children unto the fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." In other words, there will be no flesh prepared to escape the day appointed—no flesh but what will become as stubble, no flesh will be able to abide the presence of the Lord until Elijah comes. He did come in that Kirtland Temple; he appeared in his glorious majesty, and there revealed the keys unto the servants of the Lord which should restore this union between the fathers and the children—something that we did not understand anything about, until the angel Elijah revealed it unto us. This was a great work to be accomplished in the latter days, in order that the fathers, from the days of the ancient Priesthood, or those who were in the spirit world—millions and millions of them, might be redeemed through the ordinance of baptism for the dead, turning the minds and thoughts and affections of the children, living on the earth, to search after their ancient fathers and to be baptized for them according to that which is contained in the New Testament about baptism for the dead. Moreover it turned the hearts of those ancient fathers to their children, for they looked to us, their children, to accomplish a work that is needful to be accomplished in their behalf, for God's house is a house of order; God's kingdom is a kingdom of order; and His ordinances were instituted from before the foundation of the world, and they are adapted to the condition of the living and the dead; and God revealed these things that our fathers, in all past generations, might rejoice with their children in the latter days, by being united in the same bonds, in the same New and Everlasting Covenants. They died without the Gospel, without understanding the plan of salvation. They were brought up in the midst of the sectarian world, where all was confusion and darkness; where no voice of God was heard; no voice of living prophets or Apostles to direct them, or to teach them in the mysteries of the kingdom of God. They went down to their graves as sincere, many of them, as you and I are. Must they be for ever cast off? Must they always remain in prison and be forever deprived of the society of their children that should live on the earth in the latter days, when God should again open the heavens and send His angels to minister to His people? No; they without us cannot be made perfect; for there is no way for them to receive the Gospel only through their children. We have the work to do for them, and that work we could not commence until Elijah the Prophet was sent from heaven, holding the keys that were to be committed to the children in behalf of the fathers, in the last dispensation, before the great day of the Lord should come.

      Then you see that even this one revelation, which God gave in that Temple, paid the people for the toil they had endured in erecting it. What a satisfaction it was to them to know that angels administered in that Temple! What a satisfaction it was for them to go into that Temple and have the heavens opened to them so that they could gaze on the glory of God! What a satisfaction it was for them to know that the Lord accepted, as His own, the house which they had built according to the pattern which He had given! And what a satisfaction it was for them to know that they loved God by keeping His commandments!

      Elijah was not the only angel that administered in that house. Others holding keys pertaining to the last dispensation of the fullness of times came forth and manifested those keys and bestowed the authority upon the servants of God living in the flesh to carry out certain great and important purposes pertaining to this dispensation. These keys are still on the earth. Here are the servants of the living God, sitting on my right hand and on my left, who have had these keys committed into their hands by authority from the proper source, from those who received them from the heavenly messengers. These keys, being now in the hands of the Priesthood, never will be taken from them while the earth shall stand or eternal duration shall roll on. There may be apostates, those who fight against the anointed of the Lord and lift up their heel against those holding these keys; yet be it known to the Latter-day Saints and to all the ends of the earth that the almighty hand of the Great Jehovah is stretched out and He will accomplish the purposes ordained by Him in regard to this great and important work of the latter-days.

      Are these the only commandments that God has given for us to keep wherein we have manifested our love towards Him? No. God gave commandment to His people in the summer of 1831 that they should gather up from the Eastern lands, New York, the New England States, Pennsylvania and the Middle States, from Ohio and various parts of the United States, upon the western frontiers of Missouri; that is, that they should continue to gather, but not let their flight be in haste, and let all things be prepared before them. God led forth the Prophet that He had raised up to the western part of Missouri, and pointed out, by His own finger, where the great city of Zion should stand in the latter days, the great city of the New Jerusalem that should be built up on the American continent. I say He pointed out these things and gave direction to His people to gather to that land, and commanded them to lay the corner stone of a great and magnificent temple that was to be built during the generation in which the people then lived. The corner stone was laid in the summer of 1831, in Jackson County, State of Missouri. All these things were done by the people of God by commandment and revelation, and in this way they still further showed, one to another and to all people as well as to the heavens, that they did love the Lord their God.

      Many commandments were given to the people about affairs there in Jackson county—how they should regulate their property and how they should become one—revelations that were intended to produce the greatest possible union that could exist among the people of God, if they had been complied with. The people complied with them in part, but yet, through inexperience, for the want of understanding, because of the weakness of mortality, and because of the wicked and corrupt traditions that they had imbibed in regard to property, they did not fully carry out the mind and will of God in relation to their consecrations and inheritances. It is true that they purchased the land from the American Government, or much of it, and paid their money into the land office in that county; but yet, not carrying out the command of God to the very letter, the Lord was not pleased, and before they had been located there fourteen months He threatened them very severely. Said He, "If you do not remember my commandments to keep them, and not only my commandments, but the Book of Mormon, which I have caused to come forth and to be written for your edification, as the New and Everlasting Covenant; if you do not give heed to the words of instruction and counsel, and the commandments written in that book, behold, saith the Lord, there remains a scourge and judgment to be poured out upon the inhabitants of Zion."

      We did not know what the judgment or scourging was. We had only been about fourteen months on the land, and we did not understand the nature of it. The Lord told us in another revelation, which is published in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, that, inasmuch as we did not do just precisely as He told us to do in regard to obtaining our lands, we should be driven by our enemies—"Behold and lo, your enemies shall be upon you; you shall be persecuted and driven from city to city, and but few of you shall stand to receive an inheritance." We could not comprehend all this. We thought perhaps we should be faithful enough that this prophecy might not be fulfilled upon our heads. Although they were the very best people on the earth, yet there was a lack among them, through want of experience or through the former traditions of the Gentiles which they had imbibed from their childhood; but the Lord required us to be very good and to give heed to every word that proceeded out of His month, and never disobey the least filing; and consequently when He found that we lacked in some of these things, He told us He would not suffer that land to be polluted by those who were called by His name; for it was a choice land—a holy land, and those who were called by His name, and professed to be His disciples, should not pollute it, and if they did they should be scourged and driven away and persecuted, and there would be few left who would receive their inheritance there.

      In the year 1833, in the month of November, we began to feel this scourge that the Lord had forewarned us of. Yet so anxious was the Prophet Joseph that the scourge might be averted that he took a journey, in connection with some of the prominent Elders of the Church, from the State of Ohio, about one thousand miles, to the western frontiers of Missouri, to warn the people of the terrible judgment that would overtake them, if they were not more obedient. But, alas! their repentance was not sufficient, though they were such a good people—far better than any other people or Church on the face of the earth; but yet they did not come up to the letter of the law which God had revealed, consequently they did not manifest before Him that they loved Him with all their hearts, souls, might, mind and strength, and judgment carne upon them and they were driven. Two hundred houses were burned, our haystacks were burned, our cattle were shot down by the mob, our merchandize were strewn in the streets, our household furniture broken up and scattered, and the people were driven forth on the bleak prairies in the cold month of November. Then they remembered the prophecies which the Lord had delivered by His servant Joseph; they remembered what had been written and published, which they had been warned of time and time again, both by letter and by the personal ministry of the servants of God in their midst.

      They fled to Clay County and were driven thence in a few months, when they fled still further north into other unsettled portions of the State of Missouri, and again purchased lands of the Government, and entered them and continued there a few years; but by and by we were again driven, thus fulfilling the word of the Lord through His servant Joseph—that we should be persecuted and driven from place to place and from city to city unless we did as He told us. Finally, we were driven into the State of Illinois, where we purchased a beautiful spot of ground on the eastern bank of the Mississippi river, called Commerce, which we afterwards called Nauvoo, a Hebrew word which means beautiful for location.

      After we had worked in Nauvoo for a few years, and had gathered together our people from various parts of the United States and some from Great Britain, to the number of some fifteen or twenty thousand souls, in Nauvoo and the regions round about, behold the mob was again upon us and we were driven again, thus fulfilling more fully the prophecies that had been made, and we were driven here to these mountains. We came here by the direction of the servant of God, being led by him on whom the Lord had placed the great responsibility of leading this people. He brought us here, and established us in the heart of this country. Here we have extended our settlements south, north, east and west, until the country is now populated with, as I suppose, some hundred thousand inhabitants. I do not know how many, it may be a hundred and fifty thousand for aught I know. Suffice it to say, we have over a hundred towns, cities and villages built up in the various portions of this great Basin, this desert country. We have beautified our inheritances; we have planted fruit trees in abundance and ornamental shade trees, so as to make our residences cheering and beautiful in the midst of a desert. God has been with us from the time that we came to this land, and I hope that the days of our tribulation are past. I hope this, because God promised in the year 1832 that we should, before the generation then living had passed away, return and build up the City of Zion in Jackson County; that we should return and build up the temple of the Most High where we formerly laid the corner stone. He promised us that He would manifest Himself on that temple, that the glory of God should be upon it; and not only upon the temple, but within it, even a cloud by day and a flaming fire by night.

      We believe in these promises as much as we believe in any promise ever uttered by the mouth of Jehovah. The Latter-day Saints just as much expect to receive a fulfilment of that promise during the generation that was in existence in 1832 as they expect that the sun will rise and set to-morrow. Why? Because God cannot lie. He will fulfil all His promises. He has spoken, it must come to pass. This is our faith. It will depend upon the conduct of the Latter-day Saints whether we suffer more tribulation. We may suffer tribulation although we are righteous in every respect, though there were no sin found in the midst of the people. Why? Because the wicked always did persecute the righteous, they always did hate the principles and plan of salvation; still we have greater claim upon the arm of Jehovah for protection and assistance when we keep His commandments and love and serve Him.

      Did you ever hear of the Elders of this Church getting up like the sectarian world and speaking about the love of God dwelling in their bosoms, and saying how much they loved Jesus, and at the same time transgressing his laws? No, we have no right to make any such declaration as this; hence we show to the heavens that we are determined to do the will of God. Then we may say that we love God; then we can say that we love His ways, and His Priesthood, and His Church, and His kingdom, and His Gospel which He has sent forth by His angels in the latter day.

      I feel truly grateful to the Most High God that such a great improvement has been made among the Latter-day Saints in these mountains. I think I am able to judge. I have been with this people from my youth up. Forty years have almost expired since I was baptized into this Church and kingdom. I have known the former history of the Saints; and I know and understand, in some measure, their present condition, and I can contrast the two, and I see a decided improvement. Is there more union amongst them? Yes; far more than there was in the lifetime of Joseph; and all that the great mass of the people want is to know what God requires, and, with one heart and mind, they will do it. If God requires them to be baptized for their dead, as far as they can search and find out their ancestors' names, they will do it with all their hearts and souls. If He requires them to receive the sacred ordinance of the endowments, by which they may attain to greater blessings and glory in His presence, they will go to with one heart and mind to receive those ordinances. If God requires His people to take a plurality of wives and have them sealed to them for time and eternity, behold they will do these things. If God requires the young, middle-aged, or even the aged, Elders to start from their farms or from their various occupations and leave this Territory on a journey across the Plains or across the great ocean and to the different nations of the earth and study their language and preach to the people, behold they will do it. If God calls upon this people to go forth into the South country, which is still more barren and desolate than the northern portion of the Territory, behold they are willing to go and do it. If God requires anything at their hands there is a union, oneness and willingness to go forward and carry out His great designs and purposes in regard to the rolling forth of His kingdom in the last days. By all these acts, by all these manifestations, by the good feeling that exists in the bosoms of this people, we know that they have made great improvement and advancement in the things of the kingdom of God since our Prophet was called upon to offer his great and last testimony by the shedding of his blood.

      This union will increase and become stronger and stronger; it will continue until this people shall be prepared and sanctified before the heavens, and be permitted to return and build up the waste places of Zion in the western frontiers of the United States. This people will wax stronger in faith, in love towards God, in the power of the Priesthood and in the demonstration of the Spirit, until they are able to build the city wherein God shall reveal Himself, as He did in ancient times before the flood, among the people of ancient Zion—the Zion built up by Enoch. This people will increase in union, faith, greatness and glory, until the heavens shall come down and embrace us, and we shall embrace them, and all the heavenly host shall be united together in one with the hosts of the Saints of God here on earth, and a union will be created such as exists nowhere but in the celestial kingdom of our God, for the Saints themselves will ere long become celestial. Amen.

 

            Conference adjourned till to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock.

            The choir sang: "We thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet."

            Prayer by Elder John Taylor.

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[6 May, 10 am]

[DNW 19:160-161, 5/11/70, p 4-5]

FRIDAY, 10 a.m.

            Meeting was called to order by President Brigham Young.

            The choir sang: "Hark! listen to the Gentle breeze."

ELDER JOHN TAYLOR.

            All mankind need the guidance of the Almighty; without it it is impossible for us to do right. The world, by wisdom, know not God. Yet they comprehend many things. Many entertain the idea that, by advancing in the knowledge of science and philosophy, God can be known. This is not the case. No man knoweth the things of God, but by the spirit of God. Scientific knowledge has wonderfully increased during the present age, and has been a great benefit to mankind, as instanced in the utilization of steam, electricity, etc. Because of the progress made in those things it has been supposed that the intellect of man is capable of grasping all things. Men get puffed up because of their discoveries, forgetting that they owe all to the Almighty, from whom proceeds every good gift, forgetting also that they are still grasping in the dark relating to God and His designs. There is a philosophy of the earth and there is a philosophy of the Heavens. The philosophy of the Heavens comprehends all things, but the philosophy of the earth cannot comprehend the nature and designs of God. Who among philosophers can tell how this earth was organized, by what power it moves, or what is the nature of the inhabitants of the worlds we behold above us? No man ever has or ever will comprehend those things by human philosophy or wisdom alone. They can only be understood as the knowledge of them is imparted by the Heavens. It is the greatest absurdity for man to boast of his superior intelligence. None of the principles that have been discovered by man were originated by human wisdom; they emanated from Nature's God. The boasting of men with regard to their intelligence reminds us of an infant who lifts its hand, and discovers for the first time that it has a hand, although the hand was there before it made the discovery. Notwithstanding the ignorance of mankind in relation to the knowledge of God, they would undertake to dictate what we shall and shall not believe in, and what shall be our code of morals, just as if they were immaculate. The gospel is everlasting; it brought an everlasting priesthood with it and has everlasting covenants connected with it. According to promise, when we obeyed, we received the Holy Ghost, which placed us in communication with the heavens. Things that, previous to our obedience to the gospel, we did not comprehend, were made plain to our minds. And although we were derided by the world, because of our acceptance of the plan of salvation, yet we knew that whereas we had been blind, to the things of God, we had been made to see. We care not for the opinions of men, but desire to be judged according to our works. We know that God has pointed out the path we should pursue and we will walk in it independent of all the powers of earth and hell. What did we know pertaining to the future before obeying the gospel? When we went to be married, the priests of the day said we were married till death did us part. Under the gospel dispensation we are married not only for time, but for all eternity. The gospel is eternal and so are its covenants.

            Elder Taylor spoke eloquently and interestingly on the resurrection and bore a powerful testimony to the final success and triumph of the Kingdom of God on the earth. His remarks will be printed in full.

[John Taylor]

[DNW 19:355, 8/31/70, p 7; JD 13:221]

DISCOURSE

By Elder JOHN TAYLOR delivered, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 6th, 1870.

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REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS

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      The Scriptures inform us "that no man knows the things of God, but by the Spirit of God;" and then no man can speak the things of God unless aided by the Spirit of the Lord; and no people can comprehend the things spoken unless inspired and guided by the same Spirit. We need this Spirit continually and so do all mankind, to guide us, to enable us to comprehend the laws of life, to regulate and concentrate our thoughts, to elevate and ennoble our feelings, to give force and vitality to our actions, and to place us in a position before God, before men, and before the holy angels, that will be right, acceptable and proper to all true intelligence, to the angelic host, and to our heavenly Father. It matters very little what we are engaged in, it is impossible for us to do right without the guidance of the Almighty; but aided and directed by the Spirit of the Lord, we can act in consonance with the dignity of our high position as immortal beings possessing the holy Priesthood, and participating in the new and everlasting covenant; by the aid of that unerring Spirit we can fulfil the measure of our creation and prepare ourselves for an inheritance in the celestial kingdom of our God.

      We are told "that the world by wisdom knows not God;" yet they do comprehend a great many things, and because of the spread of general intelligence and the great progress of science, literature and the arts, they believe they can find out God. Like the framers of Babel's Tower, they seek to penetrate the heavens on natural principles. Like them they are mistaken, as all men have been who have sought to solve the problem of life through the influence of human wisdom. No man ever did understand God on this principle; neither can they by mortal agency alone understand the principles of life and salvation. No man in the present generation comprehends them on this principle; neither will human wisdom enable any man who ever will live to understand them. It is true that mankind, within a short time, have made great advances in the arts and sciences. During the last half century scientific research has made many wonderful developments; and many things which, before that time, were unknown to the human family, are now quite familiar. There was very little known of the application of the power of steam half a century ago. I remember, very well, the first steam-boat and locomotive that were propelled by steam, and riding on the first railway. Before that, locomotion had to depend upon the winds and tides and horse power and a few other agencies. These are now supplanted by what all will acknowledge as a very superior agent—namely, the power of steam.

      Electricity, or rather its application, so as to subserve the wants of man, was unknown until a comparatively recent period. I refer now more particularly to the electric telegraph. That has been a means of greatly facilitating the transmission of thought and the spread of intelligence among the human family, and has been a great advantage to the world at large. When we came to this valley, for instance, even so late as that, we had to depend upon ox teams to bring our mails and to convey intelligence from the East, and I have known it to be four, five, and sometimes as long as six months before we knew what President was elected. Now we can have it in fewer minutes; this exhibits a great improvement in such matters.

      I can remember the time when we had to plod along at night, nearly in the dark, in our largest cities, the streets being lighted only by dim oil lamps. Now we have gas and various luminous oils, which we have made the earth teem forth by millions of gallons, that are almost equivalent to gas. Daguerreotyping, or as it is more generally called photography, is another great achievement of the human mind, conferring the power to take likenesses, landscapes and views in a moment, which formerly required days or months, even by the most eminent artists.

      In machinery and chemistry, manufactures, and many other scientific developments connected with human life, wonderful advances have been made, and the world seems to have been progressing with great rapidity in the arts and sciences, in regard to manufactures. Some years ago every texture had to be spun by a single thread, now, by the aid of steam and machinery, it is done by thousands and hundreds of thousands. We might go on enumerating many other improvements which have taken place within the past few years; from which it is very evident that the progress of the present generation has far eclipsed that of any preceding it, of which we have any knowledge. Because of these things it has been supposed by many that the human intellect is capable of grasping everything in this world and the world to come—even eternal things, and many men have got puffed up and vain in their imaginations because of the discoveries they have made and the advancement in science, literature and the arts. They forget "that every good and perfect gift proceeds from God, the Father of light, in whom there is no variableness nor the shadow of a turning." They forget that every particle of wisdom that any man possesses comes from God, and that without Him they would still continue to grope in the dark. They forget that, with all the increase of wisdom and intelligence and the expansion of the human mind, they are in the dark in regard to God, and that no man by wisdom can find Him out. The mystery which enshrouds Him is as high as heaven, as deep as hell and as wide as the universe; and it is unfathomable and incomprehensible by human intelligence, unaided by the inspiration of the Almighty.

      There are men, it is true, who profess from the little knowledge they have of earthly things, by a series of deductions, to be able to find out heavenly things, but there is a very material difference between the two. There is a philosophy of the earth and a philosophy of the heavens; the latter can unravel all mysteries pertaining to earth; but the philosophy of the earth cannot enter into the mysteries of the kingdom of God, or the purposes of the Most High. But because of the advancement to which I have alluded, men set themselves up as teachers of things pertaining to spiritual matters, of which they know nothing. But the moment they do that, they exhibit their folly, vanity, imbecility and shortsightedness, for, as I have stated, they never did comprehend the things of God without the Spirit of God, and they never will. What folly it is, for men with the breath in their nostrils, who are but worms of the earth, existing as it were for a day, and to-morrow are cut down like the grass; or like the moth or butterfly, which flutters around for a brief space and then passes away into everlasting oblivion; I say what folly it is for beings so circumstanced, so weak, imbecile, circumscribed and controlled to set themselves forward, unaided by the Spirit of the Almighty, to fathom the designs of God, to unravel the principles of eternal life, to comprehend the relationship that subsists between God and man and to draw aside the curtain of futurity. Who is there who has seen God or can comprehend Him, His designs and purposes? No man is capable of fathoming these mysteries. Man, indeed, can comprehend some of the principles which are developed in nature, and only a few of these. But who can grasp the intelligence theft dwells in the bosom of Jehovah? Who can unravel His designs and penetrate the unfathomable abyss of the future? Who can tell upon what principle this world was organized or anything about the denizens of those worlds that we see moving around us? It is true that by the science of astronomy nice calculation in regard to the heavenly bodies can be made; but none can tell who put those bodies in motion, how they are controlled, or by what class of people they are inhabited. As the Scriptures say, "What man, by his wisdom, can find out God?" No one can comprehend Him. We can find ourselves to be a remarkable enigma, both in regard to body and mind—each individual man, woman and child; but who can draw aside the veil and tell how or why we came here, and what awaits us when we lay aside this mortal coil? None can do this, unless God reveals it. There never was a man, neither is there a man now, nor ever will be, that can comprehend these things upon the principle of natural or human philosophy, and nothing short of the philosophy of heaven—the intelligence that flows from God, can unravel these mysteries.

      Some men will stultify themselves with the idea that in ages gone and past the human race was in a semi-civilized or barbarous condition, and that any kind of a religion would do for the people in those days; but with the progress of intelligence, the march of intellect, the development of the arts and sciences and the expansion of the human mind, it is necessary that we should have something more elevated, refined and intellectual than that which existed then. To me such notions are perfect foolishness. If I read my Bible aright and believe in it, known unto God were all things from before the foundation of the world, and I do not think that the intelligence of the nineteenth century can enlighten His mind in relation to these matters. He that framed the body, shall He not know its structure? He that organized the mind, shall not He understand it? Before this world rolled into existence or the morning stars sang together for joy, the great Eloheim comprehended all things pertaining to the world that He organized and the people who should inhabit it; the position that they would occupy and the intelligence that they would possess; their future destiny and the destiny of the world that He then made. It is vanity, puerility and weakness for men to attempt to gainsay the designs of God, or to boast of their own intelligence. What do they know? Why, they discovered awhile ago that there is such a thing as electricity. Who made that electricity? Did man? Did, he originate and place it among the nature's forces? Did it proceed from the acumen of man's intelligence and his expansive mind? No, it always existed, and the man who discovered it—a little smarter than his fellows—only found out one of the laws of nature that emanated from and originated with God. It is just so with steam—the properties which render it so useful in subserving man's purposes always existed, but man discovered them; if there had been no God to make these properties, no one could have found them out. It is so with the various gases and their properties, with minerals—their attractions and repulsions—they originated with God; man is incompetent to form anything of the kind. So we might go on through all man's boasted achievements; they amount to no more than the discovery of some of the active or latent laws of nature, not comprehended by men generally, but discovered by some who consider themselves, and they no doubt are, smarter than their fellows. Where, then, is the boasted intelligence of man? Science reveals the beauty and harmony of the world material; it unveils to us ten thou, sand mysteries in the kingdom of nature, and shows that all forms of life through fire and analogous decay are returned again to its bosom. It unfolds to us the mysteries of cloud and rains, dew and frost, growth and decay, and reveals the operation of those silent irresistible forces which give vitality to the world. It reveals to us the more wonderful operations of distant orbs and their relations to the forces of nature. It also reveals another grand principle, that the laws of nature are immutable and unchangeable as are all the works of God. Those principles and powers and forces have undergone no change since they were first organized, or, if changed, they have returned again to the original elements from which they were derived. All of the properties of nature were as perfect at the creation as now; all the elements of nature possessed the same specific properties, affinities and capacity of combination that they do at present. Trees, shrubs, plants, flowers, birds, beasts, fishes and man were as perfect then as now. God's works are all perfect and governed by eternal laws. It reminds me of an infant; I can compare it to nothing else. The new-born child is perfectly oblivious to anything and everything around it, although marvelous in its organization and perfect in its structure. By and by it holds up its hand and discovers for the first time that it has a hand. It had it before, but a new light bursts upon the brain of the child, and it discovers it has a hand, and no doubt thinks it is wonderful wise in finding it out, just as some of our philosophers do when they discover the properties of matter. But God made the child's hand, and it was in existence before its brain was capable of comprehending it. And so were all these things, about the discovery of which men boast so much. God made them and made them perfect. Yet men will boast that they know things independent of God, whereas unless they had been aided by the Spirit of the Lord, and unless the principles had existed they never could have been found out, for no man could have originated them himself. All that man has ever done, with all his boasted intelligence, has been simply to develop or find out a few of the common principles of nature that always have existed, and always will exist, for these things and every principle of nature are eternal. The Gospel is also eternal. But where is there a man who understands heavenly things? Who can unravel them? Who has been behind the vail and talked with the Gods? Who among the wise men, philosophers, divines, philanthropists, kings, rulers or authorities of the earth can comprehend God or His designs. If we can understand so imperfectly the laws of nature with which we are surrounded, with the privileges of seeing, feeling, comparing and analyzing, what do we know of things beyond our vision, hearing, or comprehension? We can read, in the history of the past, of the rise and fall of nations, of the downfall of thrones and of the destruction of kingdoms; we can read of wars and rumors of wars. History points out what has transpired in relation to the nations of the earth and to men who have lived upon it, but who can penetrate into the future? Man is an immortal being: he is destined to live in time and throughout all eternity. He possesses not only a body, but a soul that will exist while "life or thought or being lasts, or immortality endures." Who can tell in relation to this future? Who can tell things pertaining to our heavenly existence, or the object God had in view for creating this and other worlds, and the destiny of the human family? No man, except God reveals it to him. What has been and still is the position of the world in relation to these things? It has been governed by every kind of dogma and theory of religion. "Isms" of every kind have prevailed in turn—polytheism, infidelity, Christianity in its ten thousand forms, and every kind of theory and dogma that the human imagination could invent. Such contrarieties show definitely and positively that men, by wisdom, cannot find out God. And Christianity, at the present time, is no more enlightened than other systems have been. What does the Christian world know about God? Nothing; yet these very men assume the right and power to tell others what they shall and what they shall not believe in. Why, so far as the things of God are concerned, they are the veriest fools; they know neither God nor the things of God. Our Government is engaged just now in an act of this kind. Our legislators would tell me what I shall and shall not believe in, what shall be the course of my morals, as if they were immaculate and had been made perfect; as though they had inspiration from on high, and had found out the truth in all its richness, power and glory; as though they had conversed with the heavens and were acquainted with God. Oh, fools! What do they know about the truth? No more than a child about its hand. They are imbecile and ignorant and in the dark, and the greatest difficulty in the matter is—they are fools and don't know it.

      We consider, and always have since this Church was organized, that that part of Scripture that I quoted before is true—namely, "No, man knows the things of God but by the Spirit of God." We, as Latter-day Saints, understood no correct principle until it was revealed to us. I did not, nor have I ever met with anybody that did, and I have travelled very extensively over the world that we live in, and have met with all classes and grades of men in different nations, We, as Latter-day Saints, are indebted to the revelations of God, given unto Joseph Smith, for the knowledge of the very first principles of the doctrine of Christ, and he could not have known it unless it had been revealed to him. One thing I did know of myself before I came into this Church, and that is more than a great many know of themselves—namely, that I was a fool, and did not know anything unless God revealed it. It takes a great deal of hammering to get that into some men's minds. The main questions in my mind, when this Gospel came, were, "Is this true?" "Is this from God, or is it not?" "Has God, indeed, spoken as this man says He has?" If He has not, it is all a fiction, a farce and delusion, like the other "isms" that exist in the world; if He has, it is for me to obey, no matter what the consequences may be.

      There is one thing that has always been satisfactory to my mind in relation to this Gospel—there has never been one principle revealed, at any time, but what has been instructive and in accordance with the Scriptures, which we consider to be of divine origin. Never one principle but what could be substantiated by the word of God, although we did not know it before, and the world does not know it now. And I may also say that there has never been a principle revealed but what has been strictly philosophical and is in accordance with good, sound common sense; and, furthermore, I will go on beyond that and say that no principle ever will be revealed but what will be in accordance with philosophy, if we can comprehend it. As there is a philosophy of the earth and a philosophy of the heavens, it needs heavenly instruction to comprehend the heavenly things. But, as I said before, "no man knows the things of God, but by the Spirit of God." The Scriptures show unto us how we may obtain that Spirit, which will give us a knowledge for ourselves.

      When this Gospel was revealed, it was declared unto us that it was an everlasting Gospel, that there was a Priesthood associated with it, and that that Priesthood was everlasting; so we were presented with an everlasting Priesthood, and with an everlasting Gospel. There was also an everlasting covenant associated with it. We were told how we might obtain a knowledge of this Gospel for ourselves—the promise being that if we would repent of our sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of them, by one having authority, we should receive the Holy Ghost. We were also told that that Holy Ghost would place us in communication with God; that it would take of the things of God and show them unto us, and that we should know for a certainty, each of us for ourselves, of the truths that had been proclaimed unto us.

      This was the position that we were placed in. We went forward and obeyed it, for we were told that God had revealed Himself from the heavens, that He had restored the Gospel by the means of a holy angel, as referred to by John the Revelator, and that He had restored, by authority direct from heaven, communication between Himself, the heavenly world and His creatures here. We were told that by obedience to that Gospel we should be made the recipients of a Spirit which would bring things past to our remembrance, that would load us into all truth and show us things to come.

      Believing in this message, this vast crowd of people before me to-day, went forth and bowed in obedience, and they received that Spirit, and they knew and do know that the Gospel they had preached unto them came not in word only, but, in power and in the demonstration of the Spirit, and that the Holy Ghost accompanied it. You know, and I know, that when you obeyed this Gospel and had hands laid upon you for the reception of the Holy Ghost, you received it. Who else knows anything about it? Nobody. Do any of these strangers around? No. Jesus said to Nicodemus, "Except, a man is born again, he can not see the kingdom of God." Then what do they know about it? You talk to a blind man about colors, and ask him to tell the difference between red and white, black and blue, and he would tell you perhaps that one was long and the other short, that one was light and the other heavy. He could not describe, nor his sense comprehend it. Jesus said a man could not see the kingdom of God unless he was born of the Spirit. Did he speak the truth? I think he did. And when you were born again of the water and of the Spirit, you saw and you entered into the kingdom of God, and things that, you were ignorant of before, you then comprehended. Many of you felt a good deal like the blind man spoken of in the Scriptures, after he had been healed by our Savior. The Scribes and Pharisees, a learned and very holy body of men—spoke to his father, saying, "Give God the glory, for we know that this man is a sinner." They knew that Jesus was an imposter, a deceiver, a false prophet, a blasphemer, and that he cast out devils through Beelzebub, the prince of devils, and that he was one of the wickedest, meanest curses in existence. "Give God the glory," said they, "for we know this man is a sinner." The father of him who had been healed of his blindness said, "Whether he is a sinner, I know not; but this I do know, that whereas this my son was once blind and now he sees." Now a great many of you here are very much deluded in the estimation of the philosophers, wise men and priests of the world; but if you do not comprehend the philosophy of the whole matter, one thing you all know—that once you were blind, but now you see. You understood that years ago and you understand it to-day, and no man can deprive you of that knowledge, or strip you of that information. No man can rob you of that light: it is the gift of God, it emanates from Jehovah, and no man can take it away, or reason or legislate it away; it is an eternal principle, emanating from God, and that is something the worldly-wise and great know nothing about. You who are here to-day, who have obeyed this Gospel, are witnesses of the truth of which I speak; I am a witness and I bear witness to it.

      We are told that Jesus said on a certain occasion to his disciples, "It is necessary that I go away, for if I go not away the Comforter will not come. If I go away I will send you a Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost." What will it do for you? It will lead you into all truth, so that you will see eye to eye and comprehend the purposes of God; you will march in line; you will be under one instructor; you will have one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God who is in all and through all, will inspire and guide and dictate you; you will not be split up and divided as the sectarians are—every man taking his own course, every man for himself and the devil for the whole; it will not be setting up human intellect above the intelligence and inspiration of the Almighty. Instead of this, all will bow to the dictates of Jehovah; the aspiration of every heart will be, "O, God, thou that rulest in the heavens; O thou Supreme Governor of the universe, that created all things and controls all things, impart to me a small moiety of Thy wisdom! Inspire me with a little of that intelligence that dwells in Thy bosom! Give me a little of Thy Holy Spirit, that I may comprehend Thee and Thy laws, and walk in obedience to Thy commands!" This will be the feeling of that individual. "O God, teach me the paths of life and then give power to walk in them?

      Jesus told them they should have the Holy Ghost, the Comforter; the Spirit should bring things past to their remembrance, it should enable them to comprehend something about the world and why it was organized and by whom; why man was placed upon it; what the position of the human family is in relation to the present, past and future; find out what God's dealings had been with the human family in ages gone and past, and His designs in relation to the world. Then it should unfold things to come, it should draw back the curtain of futurity and by the inspiration and intelligence of that Spirit which proceeds from God, it should grasp the future. It should comprehend the destiny of the human family, and by the revelations which God should communicate, make known the life to come in the eternal worlds. This is the kind of thing that the everlasting Gospel communicates, and it is the revelation of God to man. But the world, as I said before, know not the things I of God, and they cannot comprehend them.

      I have had it asked me by philosophers, "Is this the only way you propose to ameliorate the condition of the human family—faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, baptism for the remission of sins and the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost?" Yes, that is God's way of doing it; that is the way He has pointed out. I remember, on one occasion, being in the city of Paris, and a gentleman came to me to inquire concerning the Gospel. He was associated with a system of socialism, very common in France, called Icarianism. A company of them went to Nauvoo after we left. This gentleman was a philosopher, and the society was trying to carry out its philosophy in France, and they aimed to bring about the Millennium. They never prayed to God, they were going to do it by human intelligence. This gentleman, whose name was Krolikrosky, called upon me, when after a lengthy conversation on the principles of our faith, said he, referring to faith, repentance, baptism and the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, the first principles of our Gospel: "Is this all you propose to ameliorate the condition of the world?" "Yes." He answered, "I hope you will succeed, but I am afraid you will not." "Permit me," I said, "to draw your attention to one or two things. I am a religionist." "Yes." "I profess to have had revelation from God; you do not." "That is so," said he. "You have sent out to Nauvoo a number of your most intellectual men, well provided with means of every kind and with talent of the first order. Now what is the result? They have gone to a place that we have deserted; they found houses built, gardens and farms enclosed, nothing to do but to take possession of them?" "Yes. They found buildings of all kinds, public and private, in which they could live and congregate." "Yes. Was there ever a people better situated in regard to testing your natural philosophy? You could not have hit upon a better place. It is a fertile country, on the banks of the most magnificent stream in the United States—the Mississippi. Houses built, gardens made, fields enclosed and cultivated. You have wise men among you—the wisest, the creme de la creme of your society, yet with all this and the favorable circumstances under which your people commenced there, what have you done? Every time that I take up a paper of yours the cry from there is, ' Send us means ;' ' we want means ;' ' we are in difficulty ;' ' we want more money.' This is their eternal cry, is it not?" "Yes." "Now," said I, "on the other hand, we left our farms, houses, gardens, fields, orchards, and everything we had, except what we took along in the shape of food, seeds, farming utensils, wagons, carts, and we wandered for from ten to fifteen hundred miles, with hand-carts, ox teams and any way we could, and settled, finally, among the red savages of the forest. We had no fields to go to and no houses built; when we went there it was a desert—a howling wilderness, and the natives with which we were surrounded were as savage as the country itself. Now then, what is the result? We have only been there a few years, but what are we doing? We are sending money to bring in our emigration; we are sending hundreds of thousands of dollars, and have expended half a million a year in teams to bring in our poor from the nations. But what of you wise men who know not God, and think you know better than He does, what are you doing—you philosophers, intelligent men and philanthropists, crying out eternally, ' Send us help?" Which is the best?" Said he, "Mr. Taylor, I have nothing to say."

      We care nothing about the opinions of men, let them look upon us as they may. We can say as the old Apostle said, "We are living epistles, known and read of all men." Judge us by our works. Do thieves, renegades, blacklegs and corrupt men accomplish the work done here? Where are your Gentile associations? Here we have a magnificent city called Corinne, instituted by you gentlemen Gentiles here. What a magnificent place it is! It looks as if Topher has been been spewed out to people it with honorable American citizens! Yet these men will prate to us about morality, the poor miserable curses! O, shame, if thou hadst any blood in thy body, thou wouldst blush for very shame at the transactions of this world in which we live.

      But we believe in God, and you Latter-day Saints, your religion is as true as it was ten, twenty, thirty, or eighteen hundred or six thousand years ago. It has not changed, and I do not think that it will. It is everlasting; it is eternal in its nature and its consequences, and, whether other men know what they are doing or not, we do. If others do not attend to eternity, we do; if others know nothing about God, we do, and we know where we are going and how we are going. God has pointed out to us the path, and we intend to walk in it, in spite of all the powers of earth and hell.

      God has taught us the relationship that should exist between us and the eternal worlds. That is a thing that is very much found fault with. He has unveiled the future to us and told us that man is not made for here alone, and then to die and rot and be forgotten, or to sing himself away somewhere beyond the bounds of time and space where nobody ever was nor ever will be. We have been taught something different from that. We are aiming at eternal exaltation, at thrones, principalities and powers in the eternal worlds. Being made in the image of God, male and female, and having had developed to us the laws of this life and the laws of the life to come, we take the privilege of walking according to these laws, despite the ideas and notions of men.

      Who is there among the men of the world who know anything about the future? I know how it was with me, and how it was with you, Jew, Gentile, Mormon, everybody. What was it! If you applied to the priesthood of the day to be married, the priest told you he joined you in the holy bonds of matrimony until death. And what then? You had to find out the rest by your own ingenuity. No matter about the future. Is that all man was made for—to live, marry and die—and nothing pertaining to the future? Is man made in the image of God? Is God our Father? Is there a heaven above? Is there an eternity before us, and are we to prepare ourselves for it or not? We take the liberty of following the counsel of Jehovah, revealed to us in relation to it.

      What man has a claim upon his wife in eternity? It is true that some of the writers of the yellow-backed literature have a philosophy a little in advance of the priests of the day. Some of them do tell us about eternal unions. They expect to be married here and hereafter. They know nothing about it, still they are in advance of the clergy. They follow the instincts of nature, and nature unperverted looks forward to a reunion. We are not governed by opinion in these matters. God has revealed the principle, and our wives are sealed to us for time and eternity. When we get through with this life we expect to be associated in the next, and therefore we pursue the course that we do, and no power this side of hell, nor there either, can stop it.

      Our course is onward. The Lord has revealed to us the pearl of great price. We have sacrificed everything that the world calls good to purchase it; we are in possession and we will not part with it for worlds. We "fear not men, who can kill the body," as Jesus said; and after that there is no more that they can do. We fear God who is able to cast both soul and body into hell. Yea, we fear Him.

      We make our covenants, then, for eternity, because the Gospel is an everlasting Gospel. Every truth that ever did exist is everlasting. Man is an eternal being; his body is eternal. It may die and slumber, but it will burst the barriers of the tomb and come forth in the resurrection of the just. I know that some of our wise men, even some among us, profess to think that these things are only folly. However, I look at them differently. I believe the Bible; I believe in the revelations of God and in the manifestations of the Spirit of God. I would rather possess the feeling that Job had when he was afflicted, cast out, oppressed and despoiled, when he lay scraping himself with a potsherd, wallowing in ashes, than the proud and lofty folly that dwells in the heart of the unbeliever and scorner. Said Job, "I know that my Redeemer lives, and that He shall stand in the latter days upon the earth; and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God; whom I shall see for myself and mine eyes shall behold, not for another; and though worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God." Those were his feelings. This transpired in the "dark ages," when men did not know so much about electricity, locomotives and a few other scientific discoveries, as they do in this enlightened age. I also read in the sayings of the prophets, given under the inspiration of the Almighty, that "the dead, small and great, shall rise, and that bone shall be joined to its bone, sinew to sinew, and they became a living army before God." I knew a man, whom many of you knew, who built a tomb for himself in the city of Nauvoo. His name was Joseph Smith, and many of you heard him say what I shall now relate. Said he, "I expect when the time of the resurrection comes to rise up in my tomb there, and strike hands with my brethren, with my father and with my mother, and hail the day when we shall burst from the barriers of the tomb and awake to immortal life." Have you never heard him talk thus? I have. Shall we reject from our belief the glorious principles of eternity—the resurrection of the just? Says John, when wrapt in prophetic vision, and clothed upon with the Spirit and power of God and the revelations of Jehovah, "I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them, and all nations stood before God."

      I want a part in the resurrection. The angel said, "Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection." I want to have part in the first resurrection. It is that which leads me to hope. It is that hope which buoys me up under difficulties and sustains me while passing through tribulation, for I know as well as Job knew that my "Redeemer lives, and that He shall stand in the latter day upon the earth," and I know that I shall stand upon it with him. I therefore bear this testimony.

      Allow me to quote a little Scripture. You know that there is a saying, by one of the Apostles, that Jesus was a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedec; and speaking further of this Melchizedec, the Apostle says he was "without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days nor end of years." A very singular sort of man, was he not? Did you ever see a man like that? We are told that Jesus was a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedec. Now, there never was a man without father or mother, but this refers to his Priesthood, that was without beginning of days or end of years, and Jesus had the same kind of Priesthood that Melchizedec had.

      Now we talk about the everlasting Gospel, and we will go back to some of these dark ages referred to. The Melchizedec Priesthood holds the mysteries of the revelations of God. Wherever that Priesthood exists, there also exists a knowledge of the laws of God; and wherever the Gospel has existed, there has always been revelation; and where there has been no revelation, there never has been the true Gospel. Let us go back to those times. We find that the Gospel was preached unto Abraham, and that Melchizedec was the man to whom Abraham paid tithes, and that Melchizedec blessed him. Paul tells us, "Verily the less is blessed of the better." Now Abraham had the Gospel, and Melchizedec had it, and the law was added because of transgression; and by and by, when Jesus came, He was a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek, and he restored the Gospel, and consequently revelations, the opening of the heavens and the manifestation of the power of God; and whenever the Gospel has existed, in any age of the world, these same manifestations have existed with it; and whenever these have not been upon the earth, there has been no Gospel. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes, for therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith."

      In addition to Melchizedec, the Bible also mentions a man called Moses, and he bad the Gospel, for Paul tells us "that he preached it to the children of Israel in the wilderness, but that it profited them nothing, not being mixed with faith." There was another man called Elijah, that we read of in the Bible. He was one of those fanatics who believe in revelation, and he had the Gospel. We come down to the time that Jesus was here on the earth; and on one occasion we read that he was on the mount with three of his disciples, Peter, James and John, and Jesus was transfigured before them. And Peter said, "Master, it is good for us to be here, let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, one for Moses and one for Elias." What? Was Moses, that old fellow who led the children of Israel from Egypt, there? That shows that he had the everlasting Gospel and Priesthood; and having got rid of the affairs of this world, he returned to minister to Jesus when he was on the earth. Was Elias there too? So Peter said. What was he doing there? He died long before, but having held the everlasting Priesthood he lived again, and lives for evermore. We will go to another man. There are curious things in the Bible, if the people only believed them; but they do not, and that is the trouble. I refer to John, the beloved disciple. We are told that he was banished because he was a fanatic—I was going to say a Mormon—as John did not agree with the enlightenment, philosophy and intelligence that existed then. What did they do with him? They banished him and sent him to the Isle of Patmos; and compelled him to labor among the slaves in the lead mines; he was not fit for civilized society, but they could not deprive him of fellowship. While there with the Almighty, he was carried away in the Spirit, and that Spirit manifested to him things past, for generations gone; things present—the condition of the churches that then existed; and also things to come—the world with all its myriads of inhabitants down to the winding-up scene. He saw the dead, small and great, stand before God, and the books were opened; and another book was opened, called the Book of Life; and he saw a hundred and forty-four thousand, and a number that no man can number, who sang a new song, and the glories of eternity, and the past, present and future were unveiled before his vision. He saw the new Jerusalem descend from above, and the Zion from above meeting the Zion from below, and they were married and became one. He saw the end of the nations, and of the world. "Cloud-capped towers and gorgeous palaces were dissolved," and everything passed away. He gazed upon the whole; and a mighty angel stood before him, and he was about to bow down before him and to worship him; but the angel said, "Stop, do not worship me?' "Why? Who are you? You are a glorious personage; you are filled, with greatness, and surrounded by majesty, glory and power, and the visions of eternity seem to be at your command, for you have unfolded them to me. Will you not let me worship you?" "No." "Who are you?" "I am one of thy fellow-servants, the prophets, who kept the testimony of Jesus, and the word of God, while here upon the earth, and feared God and kept His commandments. Do not worship me, worship God." Said he, "I am one of those old fellows who were buffeted, persecuted and misrepresented just as you are; despised as you are by fools who knew nothing about God or eternity."

      Well, now, we believe these things. We believe in a religion that will reach into eternity, that will bring us into connection with God. We believe that God has set up His kingdom on the earth; we believe and know that it will roll forth and spread and extend, that Zion will be built up, that the glory of God will rest upon it; that the arm of Jehovah will be made bare in its defence; that the power of God will be exerted in behalf of His people; that Zion will rise and shine, and that the glory of God will be manifested among His Saints. We know that this kingdom will grow and increase until the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our God and His Christ, and that He shall rule and reign for ever and ever. And we expect to join in the universal anthem, "Hosanna, hosanna, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth," and will reign until all enemies are under His feet.

      God bless Israel. God bless all His Saints, and let the wrath of God be upon the enemies of Zion from this time henceforth and for ever, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

            The names of the following Elders were presented to the Conference by Elder George Q. Cannon, as having been called to go on missions. The vote in favor of their going was unanimous:

President Joseph Young,
Horace S. Eldredge,
Wm. C. Staines,
Wm. W. Cluff,
Geo. G. Bywater,
David Brinton,
Robert F. Neslen,
Joseph Parry, of Ogden,
Thomas Howell,
Eleazer Edwards, of Newton,
N. C. Edlefson,
Oliver Snow,
Peter Madsen, of Brigham City,
Joseph Argyle, Sen.,
Geo. Barber,
Peter Evans,
Ralph Thompson,
Edmund F. Bird,
Hezekiah Thatcher,
Geo. W. Thatcher,
Seymour B. Young,
Soren Christiansen Turd, of Ephraim, San Pete county.

            The choir sang the anthem: "The earth is the Lord's."

            Conference adjourned till 2 p.m.

            Prayer by Elder Erastus Snow.

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[6 May, 2 pm]

[DNW 19:161, 5/11/70, p 5]

FRIDAY, 2 p. m.

            The choir sang: "Let every mortal ear attend."

            Prayer by Elder Lorenzo Snow.

            The choir sang: "Sweet is the peace the gospel brings."

PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG

Delivered an excellent, instructive discourse on the condition and practices of the Latter-day Saints, and compared them with the condition and practices of the world. In the course of his remarks he alluded to the foolish practice of many of the Saints, in patterning after the world in relation to the absurd styles of fashionable dress. He showed that they who love the things of the world, are more or less destitute of the love of God. It is an imperative necessity for all the Saints to live in accordance with the word of wisdom. A portion of the discourse was devoted to instructing the Saints as to the best course to pursue in order to become self-sustaining. His remarks were replete with plain, practical facts and instructions; they will shortly be published verbatim.

[Brigham Young]

[DNW 19:199, 6/1/70, p 7; JD 14:15]

REMARKS

By President BRIGHAM YOUNG, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 6th, 1870.

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[REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS]

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      If I can have the ears and attention of the people, I want to preach to them a short sermon on our present condition and on some particulars with regard to our customs. We, the Latter-day Saints, as a people, received a command many years ago to gather out from the wicked world and to gather ourselves together to stand in holy places, preparatory to the coming of the Son of Man. We have been gathered together promiscuously from the nations of the earth, and in many respects we are like the rest of the world. But I wish to make a few remarks on some points wherein we differ. We differ from the infidel world in our belief, and from the vulgar world in regard to the language we use. It is not common for the Latter-day Saints to take the name of the Deity in vain, while it is common and quite fashionable to do so in Christendom. Herein we disagree with the outside world, or we may call it the vulgar world, for no matter how high or how low their position may be, or how poor or how wealthy, when people use language which is unbecoming they descend to a very low level, and in this respect I am happy to say that the Latter-day Saints differ from the wicked or vulgar world. I will also put in the political world. It is a very common practice throughout the fashionable, political world to gamble; we differ also in this respect, for the Latter-day Saints are not in the habit of gambling at any game whatever; neither are they in the habit of drinking intoxicating liquors, which, throughout the world at large, and especially the Christian world, is such a prolific source of wretchedness and misery. In a great degree, I may also say that, as a people, we are not in the habit of lying and deceiving; but there is one thing that we are too much guilty of, and that is, evil speaking of our neighbors—bearing false witness against them. As a people we are too lavish in our conversation in this respect, our words come too easy and cheap, and we use them too freely in many instances. This is one thing in which we do not differ so much from the world as I should wish. There is another point on which the same remark is true, and that is fashion in dress. Look over this congregation and we see this demonstrated before us, and on this particular item I wish to lay my views before the minds of the people.

      To me a desire to follow the ever-varying fashions of the world manifests a great weakness of mind in either gentleman or lady. We are too apt to to low the foolish fashions of the world; and if means were plentiful, I do not think that there are many families among the Latter-day Saints but what would be up to the highest and latest fashions of the day. Perhaps there are a great many that would not follow these fashions had they ever so much means. But too many of this people follow after the foolish, giddy, vain fashions of the world. It any persons want proof of this they need only look over this congregation, and view the bonnets, hats or headdresses of our fashionable ladies. Do they wear bonnets that will screen their faces from the sun, or shelter their heads from the rain? Oh, no, it is not fashionable. Well what do they wear? Just such as the wicked would wear.

      My discourse will have to be brief, and I am going to ask my sisters in particular to stop following these foolish fashions, and to introduce fashions of their own. This is the place, and this the time to make known the word of the Lord to the people.

      It is vain and foolish, it does not evince godliness, and is inconsistent with the spirit of a saint to follow after the fashions of the world. I wish to impress these remarks especially on the minds of my young Sisters—the daughters of the Elders of Israel. Not but what our wives as well as daughters follow many fashions that are uncomely, foolish and vain. What do you say? "Snail we introduce a fashion of our own, and what shall it be?" Do you want us to answer and tell you how to make your bonnets? Let me say to you that, in the works of God, you see an eternal variety, consequently we do not ask the people to become Quakers, and all the men wear wide-brimmed hats, and the ladies wear drab or cream-colored silk bonnets projecting in the front, perhaps six or seven inches, rounded on the corners, with a cape behind. This is Quakerism, that is, so far as headdresses are concerned for ladies and gentlemen. But while we do not ask this, we do ask the sisters to make their bonnets so as to shelter themselves from the storm and from the rays of the sun. I have heard a saying that three straws and a ribbon would make a headdress for a fashionable lady. This was a year or two ago; and the same varying, fantastic, foolish notions prevail with regard to other portions of a lady's habiliments as much as with her headdress. A few years ago it took about sixteen yards of common-width cloth to make a dress for a lady, for she wanted two or three yards to drag in the streets, to be smeared by every nuisance she walked over. Now I suppose they make their dresses out of five yards and a half, and then have abundance left for an apron. They put me now strongly in mind of the ladies I used to see in Canada some years ago, who made their dresses out of two breadths of tow and linen, and when they were in meeting they were all the time busy pulling them down, for they would draw up. The young ladies look now as if they needed somebody to walk after them to keep pulling down their dresses.

      How foolish and unwise this is, and how contrary to the spirit of the Gospel that we have embraced! This Gospel is full of good sense, judgment, discretion and intelligence Does this look intelligent? Suppose the ladies continue the fashion of shortening their dresses how long will it be before three-quarters of a yard will be enough for them? You may say that such extravagant comparisons are ridiculous. I say, no more than your dresses and many of your habits and fashions now, only they may be a little exaggerated, that is all. Anything is ridiculous, more or less, that is not comely. I do beseech my sisters to stop their foolishness and to go to work and make their own headdresses. If they will they will be blessed. Do you say, "How shall we be blessed?" I will tell you—by introducing a spirit of industry into your families, and a spirit of contentment into your hearts, which will give you an interest in your domestic cares and affairs that you have not hitherto enjoyed. Doctor Young says that "Life's cares are comforts," and they who take an interest in and try to promote their individual welfare, that of their neighbors or of the human family, will find a pleasure such as is derived from few other sources. They derive delight and pleasure from it, and are filled with peace. But when, the eyes of people are like the fool's eyes—wandering to the ends of the earth, continually wishing, longing for and desiring that which they have not got, they are never happy. If we will take the course I have indicated, we shall be benefited in our spirits, and shall have more of the Spirit of the Lord.

      I wish to say to you, and you may read it in the Bible if you wish, that he who has the love of the world within him hath not the love of the Father. They who love the things of this world are destitute of the love of the Gospel of the Son of God. This is my Scripture: They who long and lust after the fashions of the world are destitute of the Spirit of God. Every person of experience will testify that this is the truth. Now, my sisters, let me urge you to make your own headdresses. You have the material here, and if you wish to make your hat with a brim six, twelve, twenty, or three inches wide, we will not quarrel with you; but make your own headdresses, and do not hunt after the fashions of the wicked world. If you wish to make a cottage, or a corn-fan bonnet, or a hat, make it to suit yourselves, but do not run after the fashions of the world. I expect, by and by, if this taste for fashion, be not checked, to see this house alive, more or less, with what are termed "shoo fly" hats, bonnets and headdresses; and what else you'll get I do not know. But no matter what the name nor what the fashion if we do not lust lifter the wicked world. And when you buy yourselves dresses do not purchase one for six or eight dollars, and then want about twenty more for trimmings. What is the use of of it? I asked some of my wives the other evening, "What is the use of all this velvet ribbon—perhaps ten, fifteen, twenty, or thirty yards, on a linsey dress?" Said I, "What is the use of it? Does it do any good?" I was asked, very spiritedly and promptly, in return, "What good do those buttons do on the back of your coat?" Said I, "How many have I set?" and turning round I showed that there were none there.

      This reform in fashion and extravagance in dress is needed. God has a purpose in it, and so have his servants. What is it? If the Lord has given me means and I spend it needlessly, in rings for my fingers, and jewelry for adornment, I deprive the Priesthood of that which they ought to have to gather the poor, to preach the Gospel, to build temples and to feed the hungry in our midst. I deprive a people, who will by and by inherit the earth, of so many blessings. Every yard of ribbon that I buy that is needless, every flounce, and every gewgaw that is purchased for my family needlessly, robs the Church of God of just so much. But it seems as though the people do not think of these things; they do not lay them to heart. Our wives and daughters seem to forget that they have responsibilities resting upon them in these respects. The conduct of a great many of them indicates a care for nothing but, "How much can I get? Can I get everything I want? I wish I could see something new, I want to pattern after it!" This manifests the spirit of the world, and a foolish, vain disposition. Not but that I am guilty myself, perhaps, of using means for my individual person that is not necessary; but if I do, will some of you kindly tell me? I recollect once, when preaching in England, that I passed through Smithfield Market, in Manchester, and I saw some very fine grapes just arrived from France. I spent a penny for some of them, but I had not taken half a dozen steps from the stand where I purchased them, before I saw an old lady passing along who, I could tell by her appearance, was starving to death. Said I, "I have done wrong in spending that penny, I should have given it to that old lady." I made it a practice, before leaving my office, of going to a drawer, taking out a handful of pence, in order to give to the numerous beggars which everywhere meet the eye in walking the streets in the large towns in that country, and in this instance I felt guilty at having spent a penny in grapes, and I thought of it many times after. What else did I spend needlessly? Not much. "Well," but say some, "Brother Brigham do not you have good horses?" Yes, I do. Do you know where I got them? But some of them were given to me, and I thank God and those who bestowed them, and I use them prudently. But I would as lief my poor brethren and sisters would ride in my carriage as to ride in it myself. Yet in many things I may be to blame, and do wrong, but in many things I know that we as a people do wrong.

      "Well, Brother Brigham, what shall we do?" I say make your own headdresses; here is abundance of material to do it with, and it is not right for me to pay out hundreds and perhaps thousands of dollars annually for needless articles of dress for my family. The same is true of my brethren. If that means were to go to gather the poor this season, it would bring many from the old countries. About this, however, I will say that it is rather discouraging to bring people here and to put them in situations to live and accumulate, and then they, as soon as they make a little means, lift their heel against God and his anointed. Nevertheless it is Our duty to feed nine persons who are unworthy rather than to turn away the tenth, if he be worthy. It is better to bring ninety-nine persons here who are unworthy than to leave one that is worthy to perish there, consequently we say we will do all we can. They, whom we bring here, are agents for themselves before God, and they act for themselves.

      But now, brethren and sisters, let us stop and again consider and think. Can we not sustain ourselves more than we do? I do not ask my sisters to make themselves sunbonnets and wear them and nothing else. I do not say, all of you adopt some particular fashion and stick to that alone. This is not the question; the question is, will we stop wearing that that is so useless and needless? If we will, we can have scores of thousands annually to bestow upon the poor, to rear temples, to build tabernacles and schoolhouses, to endow schools, to educate our children, and to aid every charitable institution and every other purpose that will advance the kingdom of God on the earth.

      This would be wisdom in us. What do we think about it? What do you say, young ladies—I mean all of you this side of a hundred years old—will you step following the foolish fashions of the world, and begin to act like people possessing moral courage and good natural sense? If this is your mind, brethren and sisters, I ask you, young and old, to make it manifest, as I do, by raising your right hand. (A sea of hands was immediately raised.) Some, no doubt, feel ready to say, "Why, Brother Brigham, do not you know that your family is the most fashionable in the city?" No, I do not; but I am sure that my wives and children, in their fashions and gewgaws, cannot beat some of my neighbors. I will tell you what I have said to my wives and children; shall I? Shall I expose what I say to them on these points? Yes, I will. I have said to my wives, "If you will not stop these foolish fashions and customs I will give you a bill if you want it." That is what I have said, and that is what I think. "Well, but you would not part with your wives?" Yes, indeed I would. I am not bound to wife or child, to house or farm, or anything else on the face of the earth, but the Gospel of the Son of God. I have enlisted all in this cause, and in it is my heart, and here is my treasure. Some may say, "Why, really, Brother Brigham, you almost worship your family; you think a great deal of your wives." Yes, I do, but, from my youth up, I never had but one object in taking a wife, and that was to do her good. The first one I had was the poorest girl I could find in the town; and my object with the second, and third, and so on to the last one was to save them. You say," Do I humor them?" Yes I do, and perhaps too much.

      Now, my brethren and sisters, a few words more. We have been striving for some time to get the people to observe the Word of Wisdom. But why do they not observe it? Why will they cling to those habits that are inimical to life and health? "Well," says a sister, "I cannot leave off my tea, I must have a cup of tea every morning, I feel so sick." I say then, go to bed, and there lie until you are better. "Oh, but it will kill me if I quit it." Then die, and die in the faith, instead of living and breaking the requests of Heaven. That is my mind about the sisters dying for the want of tea. With regard to drinking liquor, I am happy to say that we are improving. But there are some of our Elders who still drink a little liquor occasionally, I think, and use a little tobacco. They feel as though they would die without it, but I say they will die with it, and they will die transgressing the revelations and commands of Heaven, and the wishes of our heavenly Father, who has said hot drinks are not good.

      Now let us observe the Word of Wisdom. Shall I take a vote on it? Everybody would vote, but who would observe it? A good many, but not all. I can say that a good many do observe their covenants in this thing. But who is it that understands Wisdom before God? In some respects we have to define it for ourselves—each for himself—according to our own views, judgment and faith, and the observance of the Word of Wisdom, or the interpretation of God's requirements on this subject, must be left, partially, with the people. We cannot make laws like the Medes and Persians. We cannot say you shall never drink a cup of tea, or you shall never taste of this, or you shall never taste of that; but we can say that Wisdom is justified of her children. Brethren and sisters, hearken to these things. I do not know that we shall have much time to talk about them; but take the little counsel given, and observe it. This is the place to give counsel to the people. Go home, Bishops and Elders, when the Conference is over, and observe what has been told you here. If we commence making our own bonnets, we shall find that we shall increase in other directions besides making leather for our boots and shoes, and cloth for coats and pantaloons.

      It is very pleasant in passing through the Territory to have brethren in the various settlements say, "Bro. Brigham, Brother Geo. A., or Brother Daniel, come and see our store, or our shop; here are boots and shoes made from leather of our own manufacture;" and some are as fine looking as you can see anywhere. They are doings good deal in this city, and also in other places Some are making straw hats and bonnets, and others are endeavoring to promote other branches of home manufacture. This is very pleasant, but we want to see it more general in this great community. If it were so this season in the one branch of straw hat and bonnet manufacture we should not see the scores and hundreds of five-dollar hats brought here and sold, that are good for nothing in the world. They have no strength about them. The manufacturers of these hats pick up old cloth that is rotten and good for nothing, and make hats of it, and the result is that the hats brought here have very little wear in them. They may look decent to begin with, but after being worn a few times they are shapeless and worthless. Let us go to work and make them for ourselves and save this expense. If we do this, we are wise; if we do it not, we are foolish.

      We heard Brother Taylor's exposition of what is called Socialism this morning. What can they do? Live on each other and beg. It is a poor, unwise and very imbecile people who cannot take care of themselves. Well, we, in the providences of God, are forced to do a great many things that are very advantageous to us. Let us observe the Word of Wisdom, and also begin and manufacture our clothing. We are doing a good deal now, but let us do more. I have learned one fact that is very gratifying: A few years ago when we commenced our little factories here we could obtain no wool—the sheep were not taken care of. A seen as we commenced to manufacture cloth and to distribute it among the people, taking their wool in exchange, we found that the wool increased; and this season, if we had had the factory, in course of construction at Provo, finished, the supply of wool would have been so great that the factory would have been overstocked. Some idea may be formed of the great increase in the supply of wool when I state that the Provo factory, when running, will be capable of making perhaps ten or twelve hundred yards of cloth per day. This is pleasing. Let us get factories built. I find they are building South, and they are preparing to build North; and pretty soon you will see the brethren, as a general thing, dressed in home-made.

      Some here are thinking, probably: "Brigham, why don't you dress in home-made?" I do. "Well, have you got it on to-day?" No, but I want to wear out, if I can, what I have on hand. I give away a suit every little while, and I would like to give some more away if I could find anybody my clothes would fit. I travel in home-made and wear it at home. As for fashion, it does not trouble me, my fashion is convenience and comfort. The most comfortable coat that a man can wear in my opinion is what the old Yankees and Eastern and Southern people call a "warmus." Some of the people here know what I mean; it is something between an overshirt and a blouse, buttons round the neck and wrists. I have worked in one many a day. If I introduce the fashion of wearing them here who will follow it? I expect a good many would. I recollect that I wore one when Colonel Kane was here. Said he, "I am gratified to see that you do not ask any odds about the fashions, you have one of your own." My feelings then, as now, were, whatever, in Brother Brigham's judgment, is comfortable and comely is the fashion with him, and he cares nothing about the fashions of the world. There is a style of pantaloons very generally worn, about which I would say something if there were no ladies here. When I first saw them I gave them a name. I never wore them; I consider them uncomely and indecent. But why is it that they are worn so generally by others? Because they are fashionable. If it were the fashion to go with them unbuttoned I expect you would see plenty of our Elders wearing them unbuttoned. This shows the power that fashion exerts over the majority of minds. You may see it in the theatre; if you had attended ours recently you might have seen that that was not comely; you might have seen Mazeppa ride, with but a very small amount of clothing on. In New York I am told it is much worse. I heard a gentleman say that a full dress for Mazeppa there was one Government stamp. I do not know whether it is so or not. Fashion has great influence everywhere, Salt Lake not excepted. No matter how ridiculous, the fashions must be followed. If it be for the ladies to have their dresses to drag along the streets, or so short that they show their garters, we see it here; the same is true if they are sixteen or twenty-four feet round, or so tight that they can hardly walk. A great many seem to regard and follow fashion, with all its follies and vagaries, far more fervently than duty. How foolish is such a course. I have talked long enough. God bless you.

 

ELDER WILFORD WOODRUFF.

            No dispensation has ever been looked upon with so much interest as that which was ushered in through the instrumentality of Joseph Smith. The Zion of the latter-days has been before the face of God from before the foundations of the world. The hand of God sustained the prophet Joseph, when he was encompassed by his foes. He knew that God lived. This has been the case also with President Young. Notwithstanding the machinations of his enemies, he has had faith in the Lord and the Lord has sustained him. Without the inspiration of the Almighty President Young could not lead the church twenty-four hours. Neither could Joseph Smith have done so; nor any other man. I would say, in the name of the Lord, that no man who will operate against the counsel of Joseph Smith or Brigham Young will ever prosper. No man will ever gain honor or prosperity by fighting against the work of the Lord. If any man undertakes to stand in the way of the Kingdom of God, it will roll over him. Its progress cannot be stayed. If the ancient prophets have seen our day and rejoiced, what manner of men should we be? I rejoice to see manifested the faith that has been and is shown by those appointed to lead Israel. I trust that the Female Relief Societies will institute schools to instruct the young in the art of straw braiding, and other useful employments. It is necessary we should be united in all our temporal labors. In all matters, where the principle of co-operation can be applied, we ought to co-operate.

[Wilford Woodruff]

[DNW 19:402, 9/28/70, p 6; JD 14:31]

DISCOURSE,

By Elder WILFORD WOODRUFF, delivered in the new Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 6th, 1870.

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REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

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      I believe this is the largest assembly of Saints or sinners, Jew or Gentile, that ever I saw together under one roof. There are very few of us capable of making such an assembly hear, unless it is very still; and when persons have come from twenty to two hundred and fifty miles to attend Conference, it certainly is important that we give them a chance to hear what is said.

      It is true that God has set his hand in these latter days to bring to pass his act, his strange act, and to accomplish his work, his strange work—that truth should spring out of the earth, and righteousness look down from heaven; and it certainly would be strange if these things were not performed. The Supreme Ruler would not be like a God who had created a world like this and peopled it it he let it go at random, without any purpose or plan for the benefit and salvation of the children of men.

      I want to say a few words on this subject. I consider that the work we now see taking place in these mountains, and which has been going on from the time this Church was organized, is but carrying out the great plan of our Father in heaven—that plan which was ordained from before the foundation of the world. In fact there is no dispensation that has been looked upon with as much interest by all the prophets of God and inspired men, from the day of Joseph Smith, as that in which we live, in which the Zion of God is being built up, and the earth is being prepared for the coming of the Son of Man.

      Isaiah, in looking by prophetic vision to this day, makes use of very strong language in endeavoring to express his feelings in relation to it. In one instance he says, "Sing, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth! Break forth into singing, O ye mountains, for the Lord has comforted his people, and will have mercy on his afflicted yet." Zion says, "The Lord has forsaken me, my God has forgotten me." "Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb?" "Yea," the Lord says, "a woman may do that," but he will not forget Zion. Says he, "Zion is engraven on the palms of my hands, her walls are continually before me."

      Now this Zion of God has been before his face from before the foundation of the world, and it is no more going to fail in the latter days than any of the purposes of God are going to fail, hence I look upon this work as the work of God, and it makes no difference to the Lord Almighty, nor to his Saints, what the world may think or do about it, or what course they may pursue with regard to it; they cannot stop its progress, because it is the work of God. If it were the work of man it would not exist as it does to-day. If God had no hand in this work, we should not have seen this assembly here to-day in this Tabernacle, nor this Territory filled with cities and towns. But being the work of God, he asks no odds of any nation, kindred, tongue or people under the whole heavens, any further than they are willing to keep his commandments and do his will; for as the Lord God Almighty lives, so true will the work, the foundation of which has been laid in these latter days, increase and continue until its consummation is effected, and the great Zion of God is established in beauty, power and glory, and the dominion of the kingdom of our God extends over the whole earth.

      Joseph Smith laid the foundation of this work; he was chosen by the Lord for that purpose, and was ordained by prophets and inspired men who formerly held the keys of the kingdom of God upon the earth. They laid their hands upon his head and ordained him to the Priesthood, and gave him power to unlock the heavens and to administer the ordinances of the house of God upon the earth. This work he performed in the face of difficulty, persecution, opposition and oppression; but the hand of God sustained him. He knew what few men or people on the whole face of the earth know—that God lives, and he also knew that the work whose foundations he laid was the work of God.

      This is what has sustained President Young through all his labors. Many men have looked upon him, and, in consequence of outside pressure, have expected him to say this, that, and the other; but all the time he has taken a straightforward course, walking in the path pointed out by the God of heaven; and that same hand has sustained him and you and me and every good and virtuous man and woman on the face of the earth who has listened to the commandments of God.

      Isaiah and other prophets saw in vision much concerning the building up and establishment of the latter-day Zion of God upon the earth. They saw the people gathering from the nations of the earth to the mountains of Israel; they speak of a great company coming up to Zion, the women with child and her that travailed with child together; and a great many other things in relation to the internal workings of the inhabitants of Zion in building up the kingdom of God they do not mention, whether they ever saw them or not. Isaiah has not written concerning many of these things, neither has anybody yet that we know of. Perhaps when the remainder of the plates, which were delivered to the Prophet Joseph, and which he was commanded not to translate, come forth, we may learn many more things pertaining to our labor on the earth which we do not know now. But be this as it may, all this internal work is left for the Holy Ghost to reveal to the living oracles, as they guide, lead, dictate and direct; the people day by day. This is one thing I want to say to my friends and to the Saints of God, that without the Holy Ghost, without direct revelation and the inspiration of God continually, Brigham Young could not lead this people twenty-four hours. He could not lead them at all. Joseph could not have done it, neither could any man. This power is in the bosom of Almighty God, and he imparts it to his servants the prophets as they stand in need of it day by day to build up Zion.

      I want to say to my brethren and sisters that President Young is our leader; he is our lawgiver in the Church and kingdom of God. He is called to this office; it is his prerogative to tell this people what to do, and it is our duty to obey the counsel that he has given to-day to the sisters and the brethren. We, as a people, should not treat lightly this counsel, for I will tell you in the name of the Lord—and I have watched it from the time I became a member of this Church—there is no man who undertakes to run counter to the counsel of the legally authorized leader of this people that ever prospers, and no such man ever will prosper. Many things I might name, if it were wisdom to do so, to prove the truth of this statement, but you may watch for yourselves, and you will find that all persons who take a stand against this counsel will never prosper.

      A great deal has been said with regard to guiding this people in temporal matters. I ask you in the name of the Lord, who is called to guide the temporal affairs of this Church and kingdom, for its advantage, redemption and exaltation, as pure as a bride adorned for her husband, if it be not that man who is placed as the lawgiver and leader of Israel? There is no man on the footstool of God who has this authority but him who stands at the head; and his Counsellors and the Apostles, Bishops and Elders ought to be coworkers with him, and they should work together in carrying out his counsel. And when counsel comes we should not treat it lightly, no matter to what subject it pertains, for if we do it will work evil unto us. Co-operation, it is well known to every Saint who has his eyes and ears open, has brought much good to Israel, yet from the very commencement of it there has been more or less discontent and dissatisfaction felt and manifested towards it; but there is not an individual who has attempted to work against it but who has lost the Spirit of God unless he has repented. It is so in all things, as every one of us who has had experience in this kingdom has seen over and over again. No man has ever prospered by this course, but if he has continued it he, by and by, has gone downward instead of upward; no such man ever received and gained to himself honor by taking such a course, and no man ever will. They may try it as often as they wish; no matter whether they are insiders or outsiders, every man who undertakes to fight against this work and people will, in God's own time, receive chastisement at his hand. Many who have done so, have been cut off, and others will follow. This is true, whether it is in regard to following counsel or not. We cannot treat lightly the counsel of God without incurring his displeasure.

      Does any man or woman wonder that President Young leads out, and calls upon us to follow, in directing temporal affairs? What would become of us and Zion if there were no one to give counsel in temporal matters? We could not advance if such were the case; but we have been guided so far by the servants of God and the Spirit of God. We have been dull scholars perhaps in a great many things, but I thank God that it is as well as it is with us to-day. The organization of this Church took place forty years ago with six members, and here is a congregation that would make two thousand branches of the Church as large as the first branch that was established, and this is only one congregation, while we have 600 miles of towns, villages and settlements in this Territory. It is progress all the time. Why? Because it is the work of God. No one can stand in the way of the work of God in safety. The Lord is not dependant upon any man on his footstool; if one man will not do his bidding, another will. He gives his law to all men, and inasmuch as they reject it they ate under condemnation.

      I fear not the world. We are the only people under heaven who are one, and we are not half as much one in we ought to be; we have to improve. We are the only people in the whole Christian world who make any pretensions to oneness in building up the Zion of God on the earth. We profess to be one in the Gospel, and we have to become so in temporal matters. We have to become of one heart and mind in giving attention and obedience to the counsel of God in all things, both spiritual and temporal. Zion has got to advance; she has got to rise and shine and put on her beautiful garments. She is advancing and has been from the time of the organization of this Church, and she will continue to do so until the winding up scene.

      When I look at the blessing of the Gospel of Christ, and at the blessings which we as a people enjoy; when I look at the glorious principles which God has revealed for the exaltation and glory of man, I rejoice in them, and ask who will obey them? I feel that we ought to be thankful to God day and night; we should be humble and always ready to listen to counsel. Let us go to and carry out these principles. "If ye love me, keep my commandments," says the Lord Jesus. President Young preached on that subject a few Sabbaths ago, showing that however great our professions as Saints may be, they are vain unless we keep the commandments and counsels of the Lord given unto us. What are they? We have the moral law and we have the Gospel in the Scriptures; but there are commandments and ordinances, and there is counsel which we have to observe which are not contained in the Bible, in the Book of Mormon, or in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. In fact there is very little there in regard to our work and labors here as a people.

      The Lord has put into our hands the power to build up this great Zion, which all the ancient prophets rejoiced in and prophecied about. What manner of people ought we to be who are called to carry out this work? We ought to be the Saints and children of God in very deed. Our hearts ought to be open and prepared to receive instruction, light and truth, and to carry out, all principles which may be communicated unto us by the servants of the Lord. The counsels we have had to-day are of great value to the Latter-day Saints. By and by Babylon will fall; in a little while "no man will buy her merchandise," and the sooner we are prepared for the changes which are about to take place in our nation and in the nations of the earth the better for us. We are all interested in the welfare of Zion. Our wives, daughters and sons are interested in the welfare of the husbands and fathers, and the children in that of the parents; and we all should be interested in each other's temporal and spiritual labors, and there should not be a selfish feeling on the part of any portion of a family—"I do not care what becomes of this, that or the other, if I can only get what I want myself." This is selfishness, it produces disunion and is inconsistent with the profession of a Saint of God. We should labor, each and every one of us to put such feelings from our hearts, and then we, in our family organizations, should strive to promote the general interest of the members thereof; but the interest of Zion and the kingdom of God should be first with us all the time, for we are all members of that kingdom and its welfare is ours.

      I consider that we are in a position in which we have every chance to do a great deal of good in our day and generation, we have every chance to work with the Lord, every chance to fulfil our mission and calling here on the earth. We have every chance to build up the Zion of God. I rejoice in the faith that has been manifested by those who have charge of the affairs of the kingdom of God, in the revelations of God. By their works they have manifested their determination continually to carry out the commands of God. "Who am I," saith the Lord, "that I command and am not obeyed?" "Who am I," saith the Lord, "that I promise and do not fulfil?" The Lord has never made a promise to the children of men but what he has fulfilled it; and all the promises that the Lord has made and all the revelations that have been given by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, will have their fulfilment, and we have nothing to fear. As President Young said a few Sabbaths ago, the only thing we need fear is that we shall not keep the commandments of the Lord. Let us keep the commandments of God and then we shall have power with him; the word of the Lord will sustain us and he will fight our battles. "Vengeance is mine, I will repay," saith the Lord. We need have no fears with regard to the future. The Zion of God is before his face continually. He has laid a foundation and He will build upon it, and his Saints will build upon it; and thousands and tens of thousands of the meek of the earth will yet take hold and become co-workers in the great work of God. I feel, myself, as though we should lay these counsels that we receive to heart; we should not treat them lightly. We have been called upon by the Lord and his servants to keep the Word of Wisdom; it is time we did it. Wherein we have failed in these things in the past we should try to improve.

      I rejoice in this work, I rejoice in the Gospel of Christ. I rejoice that we live in a day when we have inspiration, when we have prophets, Apostles and inspired men to lead us, and when we are made partakers of the blessings of the kingdom of God upon the earth. It is safe for us to pursue that course wherein we can walk in the light, and we need not find fault with the principles of the Gospel because any brother does that which we cannot endorse. It is for us, each of us, individually, to see to our own conduct, and never follow the errors of others. It is not difficult to find them in our own conduct. We should all bring this home to ourselves.

      I do hope that the sisters, generally, and the Female Relief Societies in particular, will listen to the counsel that has been given to-day, and that they will go to and establish braiding schools in all their societies, where the young ladies may be taught to braid straw. President Young has called upon them to do it from time to time. It is true that he has not always commanded them, in the name of the Lord, to do thus and so, and this has been a great blessing to Israel. We have been governed by counsel instead of commandment in many things, which has been a blessing to the Saints, for "he that is commanded in all things" and obeyeth it with slothfulness and not a willing mind, is not qualified before the Lord as that man is who, having the power within him, bringeth to pass much righteousness without being commanded in all that he does.

      I feel thankful for the blessings that we enjoy. The Prophet Joseph was called an idler and a gold digger. We have been called a great many things—such as lazy, indolent, and many other things discreditable. Why, every man possessing reason and judgment, who knows anything about the Territory of Utah, will at once pronounce such assertions nonsensical, for this city and every portion of the Territory bear witness to the untiring labor and industry of the Latter-day Saints, and the people, as a general thing outside, are beginning to give up the idea that we are an idle people. They formerly found a great deal of fault with Joseph Smith, because they said he was a gold digger; but since then nearly all the Christian world have turned gold diggers. Hundreds of thousands of them have run into this western country to dig gold; and, while they formerly found fault with us for digging gold they have latterly found fault because we do not dig it. I hope and trust that all the accusations of wrong brought against us in the future will be as groundless as those of the past. Let us show our faith by our works, let us show to the Lord our God that we have faith and confidence in his word and works.

      We have to become united as a people in all our labors—in our agriculture, manufactures; and every branch of our temporal labors. It is of great importance to the Latter-day Saints that they should unite together on the principle of co-operation. Where this is not done we still ought to try individually to manufacture all we can. I was pleased, a few days ago, while paying a visit; to Jenning's shoe factory, to see the large number of home-made boots and shoes, many of which were made with machinery which had been imported for the purpose. This should be done wherever it is possible; the people should co-operate and import labor-saving machinery, so as to be able to compete with foreign manufacturers of goods of all kinds. President Young has set an example in introducing carding machines and in establishing factories here. He has done all he could in this direction, and we should follow in the wake as far as we can. I know that God will bless the people by doing this.

      I do not wish to occupy any more time. I feel to say God bless you. Lay these things to heart. Let us lay hold and build up Zion. Let us realize that we are the children of God, that he is at work with us and that we are at work with him. It has been said that the Lord and a good man are a great majority. He has got a great many good men on the earth, and he is gathering them together to build up Zion, to carry out his work and to do his will. He will also control the course of human events so as to forward his purposes. He holds the destinies of the nations in his hands. He holds Zion in his hands and he will carry out his work and do all he has promised. Those who fight against Zion fight against God, and he will break every weapon formed against his kingdom, and will bring his people triumphant over every obstacle, and finally give them eternal life, which is the greatest of all the gifts of God. May God grant that it may be bestowed upon us by our faith, works, and labors, through his mercy and goodness, for Jesus' sake. Amen.

 

PRESIDENT GEORGE A. SMITH.

            Soon after the organization of the Church, the Lord gave a command that the beauty of the garments of the Saints should be the workmanship of their hands. Many of the commandments of God that were given in the early rise of the Church are only now beginning to be fully considered. We have made slow progress, but we understand that it took Enoch three hundred and sixty-five years to prepare a people to dwell in a purer sphere than that of this earth: we therefore rejoice at the progress already made by the Zion of the last days. It is necessary that a people should be prepared to sustain themselves when Babylon shall have fallen; for that prophesy shall be fulfilled. Some years ago, many were called to go and build up settlements and cultivate the land in the southern parts of our Territory. Some had no faith that anything could be accomplished in that direction. Yet much has been done. I feel that those who have been called to go there and have not fulfilled their mission, have lost a blessing. If we co-operate in building factories an introduce all kinds of manufactures we make ourselves independent. This is the only way in which we can become independent of the world. What has already been done in this direction is an evidence of what can still be accomplished. I have been astonished at the patience and perseverance of President Young in teaching the people their every day labors and duties. We are still ignorant in regard to many things, therefore, never let us be too proud to e taught. May the Lord bless us all, Amen.

[George A. Smith]

[DNW 19:234, 6/22/70, p 6; JD 14:12]

REMARKS

By President GEORGE A. SMITH, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 6th, 1870.

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[REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.]

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      In February, 1831, just after the organization of the Church, we received a revelation through Joseph Smith, commanding the members of the Church to let the beauty of their garments be the workmanship of their own hands. It reads as follows: "And again, thou shalt not be proud in thy heart; let all thy garments be plain, and their beauty the beauty of the work of thine own hands; and let all things be done in cleanliness before me. Thou shalt not be idle; for he that is idle shall not eat the bread nor wear the garments of the laborer." This revelation was given almost forty years ago, but slowly, very slowly, have we advanced in fulfilling it; and it really seems that some of the first commandments given to the Church are amongst the last obeyed. I realize the reason of this, when reflecting upon the great work to be done in moulding the children of God, gathered from the various nations and denominations, with all their prejudices, traditions, and varied habits of living. They come here filled with ideas averse to those of God and differing from each other; and under these circumstances it is difficult for them to arrive at a oneness in their associations—to use an expression common amongst us at the present—it is difficult for them to co-operate to build up Zion in the last days. Enoch, the seventh from Adam, was three hundred and sixty-five years preparing the people, before the saying went forth: "Zion has fled." "Enoch was 25 years old when he was ordained under the hand of Adam, and he was 65 and Adam blessed him, and he saw the Lord, and he walked with him, and was before his face continually; and he walked with God 365 years, making him 430 years old when he was translated." Doc. and Cov., sec. 3, par. 24. Three hundred and sixty-five years teaching and instructing the people, and setting examples before them, and forming a city that should be a model city of Zion. It was in an age when men lived longer, and when, peradventure, they had not become so full of tradition as at the present day; yet when we consider the time that it took Enoch to accomplish this work, we have every reason to rejoice at the progress of Zion at the present time. Most of the efforts we have made to advance the cause of Zion we have been able to carry through successfully. For instance, when in the temple of the Lord at Nauvoo, we entered into a covenant that we would, to the extent of our influence and property, do all in our power to help our poor brethren and sisters in emancipating themselves from tyranny and oppression, that they might come to the mountains, where they could enjoy religious liberty. Just as soon as food was raised in this Valley this work continued, and every effort and energy was used to fulfil this covenant. It required unity of effort, but it has been a success. Roads had to be constructed, bridges built, ways bought out, mountains, as it were, torn down, deserts turned into fruitful fields, and savages more wild than the mountain gorges they inhabit conciliated and controlled, and all this to effect a purpose. But it has been done by unity of effort, and hundreds and thousands of Latter-day Saints rejoice in the fact.

      We extended our work of gathering the Saints across the mighty deep, and aided the poor brethren in Europe, continuing our donations in money, and, in addition to this, we went with our hundred, two hundred, three hundred or five hundred teams annually across the great desert plains, to bring home to Zion those who desired to be gathered. This was done by co-operation, by unity and a determined purpose.

      It appears that we have gathered many to Zion who do not fully appreciate the great work of these Says—namely, to place the people of God in a condition that they can sustain themselves, against the time that Babylon the Great shall fall. Some will say that it is ridiculous to suppose that Babylon, the "Mother of Harlots," is going to fall. Ridiculous as it may seem, the time will come when no man will buy her merchandise, and when the Latter-day Saints will be under the necessity of providing for themselves, or going without. "This may be a wild idea," bat it is no more wild or wonderful than what has already transpired, and that before our eyes When we are counseled to "provide for your wants within yourselves, we are only told to prepare for that day. When we are told, "Unite your interests and establish every variety of business that may be necessary to supply your wants," we are only told to lay a plan to enjoy liberty, peace and plenty.

      Many years ago efforts were made on the part of the Presidency to extend the settlements into the warm valleys south of the rim of the Basin. The country was very forbidding and sterile. Many were invited and called upon to go and settle there. Numbers went, but many of them returned disheartened; but the mass of those who went, confident that the blessings of God would be upon their labors, pushed forth their exertions and built up towns, cities and villages; they established cotton fields and erected factories, and supplied many wants which could not be supplied within the rim of the Basin.

      It has been my lot to visit these regions recently, and I have felt to rejoice to see the kind spirit, genial dispositions and warm hearts that were manifested in all those settlements, where men and women had taken hold with all their hearts to obey the commandments of God, and to lay a foundation for Zion to become self-sustaining. I feel that those who have turned away from that country and swerved from the mission assigned them there have lost a great and glorious blessing, which it will be exceedingly difficult for them ever to regain. I am exceedingly gratified at the progress which has been made in that country, and I realize that our brethren, from year to year, are becoming more and more united.

      Some tell us that we want capital, and that we should send abroad and get men to come here with money to build factories. This is not what we need. If the cotton lord and the millionaire come here and hire you to build factories and pay you their money for their work, when the factory is erected they own it, and they set their price upon your labor and your wool or cotton—they have dominion over you. But if, by your own efforts and exertions, you cooperate together and build a factory it is your own. You are the lords of the land, and if fortunes are made the means is yours and it is used to oppress no one. The profits are divided among those whose labor produced it, and will be used to build up the country. Hence it is not capital, that is, it is not so much money that is needed. It is unity of effort on the part of the bone, sinew, skill and ingenuity which we have in our midst, and which, in whatever enterprise has been attempted hitherto, under the direction of the servants of the Lord, with whole-souled unity on the part of the people, has proved successful. Let us be diligent in these things. Why send abroad for our cloth when we have the necessary means and skill to manufacture it for ourselves? Why not let these mountains produce the fine wool? and why not let the low valleys produce the silk, flax, and all other articles that are necessary which it is possible to produce within the range of our climate, and thus secure to ourselves independence? I am very well aware that this has looked, and to many still looks, a wild undertaking; but that which has been accomplished gives abundant evidence of what may be. If we continue to import our hats, bonnets, boots, shoes and clothing, and send away all the gold, silver and currency that we can command to pay for them, we shall ever remain dependent upon the labor of others for many of the actual necessaries of life. If, on the other band, we devise means to produce them from the elements by our own labor we keep our money at home, and it can be used for other and more noble purposes, and we become independent.

      Some may say, "We are willing that you should preach faith and repentance, and baptism for the remission of sins, but we do not want you to have anything to say about business matters." No idea could be more delusive; this oversight in temporal matters being indispensably necessary; for the Latter-day Saints have been gathered from the old settled nations of the earth and are unacquainted with the manner of life in new and sparsely settled countries. An intelligent citizen of Provo, on his arrival in this country, came to my garden to work; he undertook to set out some vegetables—onions, carrots, and parsnips, and he set every one of them wrongside up. My wife went out, and, seeing what he was doing, she said, "You are foolish." "Why so?" said he, "I thought I was pretty smart." "Why you have planted these things all wrong end up." "Have I, I did not know any better. I never saw such things planted before." That man became a wealthy farmer. But he had to learn; he had never seen a carrot planted to produce seed in his life, and did not realize which end up to put it in the ground. We have tens of thousands of men, women and children who have had to learn how to get a living in this country, who perhaps had spent their days in painting a tea cup, turning a bowl, weaving a ribbon or spinning a thread, and knew nothing else. Here they have had to work at several kinds of work at once, and had to learn how, and it required all the power, energy and influence of the Elders of Israel to instruct them and tell them holy to live. I have been astonished at the patience, perseverance, determination and incessant labor of President Young in giving these instructions—telling men how to build mills and houses, so that they would not fall over their own heads; telling them how to yoke cattle, harness horses, how to make fences, and, in fact, how to do almost every kind of business.

      There are very few in our midst now Who know how to make good bread. I advise the ladies' relief societies to teach all the sisters to make first-class bread. Many of them do not know how; and let every sister in Israel be thankful for instruction in relation to cooking or any other useful information that can be imparted unto her. Do not let pride and independence make you feel that you know how to do everything. There are a great many things that the smartest among us do not know how to do; then we should be anxious and willing to be taught, and go to work and learn.

      Much of the sickness which is amongst our children is the result of improperly prepared food. We raise choice wheat; our millers make good flour, yet in many instances bread is so prepared that it is heavy and unpalatable, causing disease of the stomach and bowels, with which many of our little ones are afflicted, and find rest in premature graves. Give the children good light bread that they may be healthy.

      Brethren and sisters, may the blessings of Israel's God be upon you and may you continue to improve in everything useful and good. Seek after the Lord with all your hearts. Co-operate in building factories, importing merchandise and machinery, taking care of your cattle, and in every kind of business. Remember that, "United we stand, divided we fall."

      May God bless you for ever. Amen.

 

            Conference adjourned till to-morrow morning at ten o'clock.

            The choir sang "Hail to the Prophet, ascending to Heaven."

            Prayer by Elder Franklin D. Richards.

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[7 May, 10 am]

[DNW 19:161, 5/11/70, p 5]

SATURDAY, 10 A.M.

            The choir sang: "An Angel from on High."

            Prayer by Elder Joseph F. Smith.

            The choir sang: "Come ye that Love the Lord."

ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON.

            The congregation are probably aware, from reading the papers, that the Rev. Doctor Newman lately preached a discourse at Washington, against plural marriage, in reply to a speech made in the House of Representatives by Hon. W. H. Hooper, entitled a plea for religious liberty. Doctor Newman's discourse was delivered in presence of President U. S. Grant, Vice-President S. Colfax, Chief Justice Chase, the speaker of the House of Representatives and a large number of other distinguished personages. Doubtless Dr. Newman had taken considerable time and great care to prepare his discourse, as he had it announced two weeks before he preached it. Elder Orson Pratt had written a reply to Doctor Newman, which he had but a short time to prepare. Elder Cannon then read Elder Pratt's reply to the Conference.

            At the close of the reading of Elder Pratt's reply to the Rev. Mr. Newman, President Young arose and made the following remarks:

            I feel to bear my testimony to the divine truths of heaven and the revelations given upon the doctrine of celestial marriage. I wish to say a few words upon this subject. I will not appeal to the scriptures, you can read them for yourselves; but I will appeal to the reasoning of revelation direct from Heaven, saying nothing about the Old Testament or about any man's work.

            We find ourselves on this earth, male and female. Whether there are just as many male born as there are females, or just as many females as males, it matters not; here are facts that we should understand. Man is the Lord of the creation, man is the head of the woman. Man is accountable to God; man is the transgressor, and man must be the restorer. The statistics of both past and present will sustain this. Take for instance those of one city in our own Government -- I mean the city of New York. Since we came to these mountains I suppose there have perished in the streets and sink-holes of that one city between two hundred and fifty and three hundred thousand females, from sixteen to twenty years of age. This number far exceeds the number of females in these mountains.

            Some of the leading men of our own Government, the adjudicators and framers of the law, are more or less guilty; they suffer and permit it and have a share in it. Is this a sin? Yes it is. It is a national and an individual sin; it is a sin that God will reckon with the people for, and for which He will call the nation to account.

            Man is the transgressor. Will man repent of his sins? No. Man, the head, the king, the lawgiver and protector on this great earth, or little earth, whichever you have a mind to call it, is the lord of the vineyard, the lord of the earth now. Call upon men, the male portion of the inhabitants of the earth, to repent of their sins, and if they will do so and receive the gospel how many women would be left who would reject it? They would be just about as scarce as white blackbirds: you would not find one, probably, to a million but what would receive the gospel; and if the husband, or father, was faithful to its principles, the wife or wives and daughters would be. But men will transgress the law of God; they have done it all the time, and changed the ordinances and broken the everlasting covenant. Take our own society and see men apostatize; and then women apostatize because the husband or father does so. If the husband and father were to remain faithful, do you think the wife or daughter would apostatize? I reckon not. Man is accountable and man will have to bear this sin; he will have to pay the debt. Women, generally, are inclined to believe and embrace the truth and live according to its dictates a great deal more than men are.

            It is no matter with regard to the monogamy of father Adam and mother Eve: they were just enough to start the work of populating the earth; if man had lived as he ought to have lived, the earth would have been peopled quite soon enough, and to its utmost capacity, but there is enough upon it now; and if men will hearken to, obey the truth and will cease their adulterous practices and whoredoms, cease their wickedness with the sex, and repent of their sins, we will fling up at once and will have but one wife; and if there are two or three women left without husbands we will give them to the best man we can find. The reason the Lord requires His people to practice the principle of celestial marriage is to save those who are willing to be saved; to gather up the pure in heart, those who will hearken to and receive the gospel. We have a great many more women than men in this church, because more of them are inclined to believe the gospel. A great many more females than males leave their families and friends to gather with the Saints; for this reason there are more women than men here.

            In the world many men will not marry; and I am ashamed to say that in our own midst many young men are not inclined to marry. It is their duty to take o themselves wives. I would be willing, and should rejoice and be thankful, and would praise God if the men would be humble, repent of their sins, turn to God and take to themselves wives and save them without putting us to this great trouble. I should be very willing to part with mine and say "if you can only get better men, take them and give them to them." These are the reasons why God has called upon His people in the latter days to enter into the practice of plural marriage. They do not practice it because Abraham did it, or because Jacob did it, or because anybody else did: but they practice it because it is right, because it is a duty imposed upon them by Heaven, and it will save the souls of the children of men who receive it.

            According to the reading of the Bible, Isaac was not a polygamist, that I am aware of. When he was about forty years old Abraham called one of his servants unto him, and said he: "Put your hand under my thigh and swear that you will go unto my country and my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.' And the servant did get a wife for the lad; and though forty years of age, Isaac, in this and other places was called "the lad." He was not old enough to choose for himself, but the servant of Abraham must go to the house of a certain kinsman, and bring him a kinswoman to wife. But what Isaac did in regard to this matter we care nothing about, nor what anybody else did. God has revealed the fact that this is a celestial law, and h who received this law shall be blessed; and whosoever received not this law, and rejects it, is damned, no matter who, whether kings, princes, presidents, rulers, governors, legislators, or authorities whether nations or individuals; all who reject this everlasting covenant are damned.

            I have received it. I received it on this principle -- because it was the commandment of the Lord, -- because it was the will of the Lord, and I mean to save all I can. Whether I shall take any more wives or not I do not know. There may be something to be said on this principle, perhaps, before we get through with our Conference. I do not think anybody will have power to hinder this people going along serving God, and building up His kingdom on the earth. I rather think they will not. They may war, they may legislate, and they may take counsel together and devise mischief against God and His Anointed. But the work is the Lord's, and I rather think He is able to carry it on if we will do our part. If we will not we will be removed out of the way and others called to labor in this great work; and the Kingdom of God will prosper, for it is onward and upward in spite of earth and hell.

            The choir sang: "Though Nations rise and Men Conspire."

            Prayer by Elder Orson Pratt.

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[7 May, 2 pm*]

[DNW 19:161-162, 5/11/70, p 5-6]

SATURDAY, 2 p.m.

            The choir sang: "O God! our help in ages past."

            Prayer by Elder Wilford Woodruff.

            The choir sang: "How beautiful upon the mountains."

PRESIDENT GEORGE A. SMITH.

            We have established in this city a University and also a branch of the same institution at Provo, that our young people may be educated. It is necessary we should be careful in the selection of teachers. We advise our young brethren and sisters to avail themselves of the opportunities afforded, in our University, of qualifying themselves to act as teachers. As we increase in wealth we desire that our facilities for education be proportionately increased. We have heretofore labored under almost unparalleled difficulties with regard to educating our young. We are improving greatly in this direction, insomuch that none need be destitute of a knowledge of at least the rudiments of education. Parents should take an interest in the education of their children more than by merely sending them to school. The Sunday school is an excellent means of impressing proper sentiments and truths on the minds of the young. I would recommend to the Saints the Juvenile Instructor as a suitable periodical to put into the hands of children from which they can gain a great deal of suitable information.

            ELDER GEO. Q. CANNON presented the Authorities of the Church to the Conference. The votes to sustain them in the following order were unanimous:

            Brigham Young, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; George A. Smith, his first, and Daniel H. Wells his second counselor.

            Orson Hyde, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Orson Pratt, sen., John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, jun., Joseph F. Smith, and Albert Carrington, members of the said Quorum.

            John Smith, Patriarch of the Church.

            John W. Young, President of this Stake of Zion, and George B. Wallace, and John T. Caine his counselors.

            William Eddington, John L. Blythe, Howard O. Spencer, Claudius V. Spencer;, John Squires, Wm. H. Folsom, Emanuel M. Murphy, Thomas E. Jeremy, Joseph L. Barfoot, Samuel W. Richards, Nathaniel H. Felt, John H. Rumell, Miner G. Atwood, Hampton S. Beatie, Wm. Thorn, Dimick B. Huntington, Theodore McKean and Hosea Stout, members of the high Council.

            Elias Smith;, President of the High Priests' Quorum.

            Joseph Young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Harriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates, and John Van Cott, members of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies.

            Edward Hunter, Presiding Bishop, Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little his counselors, if they will keep the Word of Wisdom.

            Benjamin L. Peart, President of the Elders' Quorum, Edward Davis and Abinadi Pratt, his counselors.

            Samuel G. Ladd, President of the Priests' Quorum; Wm. McLachlan and James Latham, his counselors.

            Adam Spiers, President of the Teachers' Quorum; Martin Lenzi and Henry I. Doremus, his counselors.

            James Leach, President of the Deacons' Quorum; Peter Johnson and Chas. S. Cram his counselors.

            Brigham Young, Trustee-in-Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

            Truman O. Angell, Architect for the Church.

            Daniel H. Wells, Superintendent of Public Works.

            Brigham Young, President of the Perpetual Emigration Fund to gather the poor; Geo. A. Smith, Daniel H. Wells, and Edward Hunter, his assistants for said fund.

            George A. Smith, Historian and General Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff, his assistant.

_____

SATURDAY AFTERNOON (concluded).

ELDER ERASTUS SNOW

            Alluded to the saying of Jesus "except ye are one, ye are none of mine." He spoke at some length on the necessity of the saints increasing in unity and in their efforts to develop home manufactures and to cease importing from abroad. This might be considered a hackneyed subject but the Lord will never allow His servants to be silent with regard to it until the people thoroughly understand it and are willing to take hold of it in the right way. Capital should not be viewed as individual property, but should be devoted to the building up of the Kingdom of God. Our young men should not feel above entering the workshop; and our young folks, male and female, should have a practical as well as a theoretical education. Co-operation as applied to merchandizing is but an initiatory step towards its universal adoption. Zion's Co-operative Institution is now purchasing woolen goods manufactured at the Deseret Mills. This is a step in the right direction. When people wear good home-made cloth and discover that one pair of pants suffices where they previously had to have two pairs, they will probably cease to import foreign goods.

ELDER LORENZO SNOW

            Spoke on the eternal nature of the Kingdom of God and the necessity of being planted on the rock of revelation.

ELDER JOSEPH YOUNG, SEN.

            My lungs are not so strong as they formerly were. The promise of Jesus was that "if any man will do my will he will know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself. For one I know his to be true. It is required of all men that they should be baptized for the remission of sins, and receive the Holy Ghost. This is part of the will of the Lord. If we are faithful God will take care of us.

            The choir and congregation sang: "The spirit of God like a fire is burning."

            Prayer by President Geo. A. Smith.

_____

[8 May, 10 am]

[DNW 19:162, 5/11/70, p 6]

SUNDAY, 10 a.m.

            The choir sang: "O God, thou good, thou great, thou wise."

            Prayer by Elder John Taylor. The choir sang: "How beauteous are their feet."

PRESIDENT GEORGE A. SMITH.

            A very pleasant feature of our assembling here and one that is noticed by nearly every visitor, is our music. The material of which our grand organ is composed has been almost entirely obtained in these mountains, and it has been constructed by our own brethren. For one I sincerely thank our brethren and sisters who have labored to attain to a sufficient knowledge of music so as to make it an important part of our worship. Our door keepers are deserving of our thanks for the way in which they have attended to their duties. It is gratifying to know that this building is so constructed as to be emptied of an assembly of twelve thousand persons in three minutes.

            I have been asked by some of the brethren whether it would not be well for them to devote their time in discovering and developing gold mines in our Territory. Hitherto such pursuits have not proved advantageous to the brethren who have engaged in them. They can occupy themselves to better advantage by devoting themselves to agriculture and manufacture, in preference to mining. As soon as consistent, it is our intention to enter into the manufacture of Iron.

            I wish to notify the brethren that most of the land in their localities either has been or is being surveyed and is being made subject to entry. I advise them not to loose any time in obtaining the United States titles to their lands. It is advisable that all new comers should take steps to obtain their citizenship papers.

            Our country is capable of sustaining a large silk production; therefore this branch of industry should not be neglected. It has been remarked by Chief Justice Wilson that the culture of hope would prove a profitable trade in this Territory. The people should not neglect the culture of the peach. Let all the brethren leave off chewing to bacco and drinking hot drinks that our posterity may not inherit our weaknesses. It is the business of the Latter-day Saints to reclaim humanity from disease. Let the Saints be satisfied in wearing clothing made by themselves. Let those settlements that have not already done so obtain libraries, that we may obey revelation in obtaining knowledge from good books. The work continues to roll and will roll till Zion is built up on this continent.

[Elder Joseph Young, Sen.]

            ELDER JOSEPH YOUNG, Sen., bore testimony to the restoration of the gospel through Joseph Smith, and exhorted the Saints to faithfulness.

[Elder Charles C. Rich]

            ELDER CHARLES C. RICH spoke on the present as well as future benefits to be derived from a practical application of the principles of the gospel in this life.

[Elder Franklin D. Richards]

            ELDER FRANKLIN D. RICHARDS delivered an interesting discourse on the great causes for the gratitude of the Saints, to the Almighty, the nature of the power bestowed by God on His elders, and the difference betwixt the spirit of the world and that possessed by the Saints.

            ELDER GEO. Q. CANNON read the names of the following brethren, as having been called to go on missions:

P. C. Thomassen
Peter Brown, of Coalville,
Joseph Bean, 11th Ward,
Peter Madsen, Provo
Richard Smith,
Francis Fouk,
Thomas W. Ellerbeck,
Caleb Parry
DAniel McAllister,
Thomas Woolley, Pleasant Grove.

ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON.

            I have had peculiar reflections in witnessing the spirit of infidelity in the world, in seeing men who were once numbered among us calling light darkness and darkness light. Probably there never was a generation more inclined to yield to the spirit of infidelity than the present one. When men entertain the idea or believe that God is the same yesterday, to-day and forever, they are considered fanatical. Where is faith to be found? Go to any of the religious sects and enquire of them whether God is a God of revelation today, and they will inform you that He is not. They are united in this belief. This is infidelity. No wonder that men are divided and that sects are multiplied. How is it with those who have tasted of the good word of God and turned away and denied that which they have received? how great is the infidelity of such? They are like persons who, seeing the sun shine, say there is no light, and, tasting something which is sweet, call it bitter. When the light within a man becomes darkness, how great is that darkness! Such falling away from the grace of God is caused by the withdrawal of the good spirit of God. No person will abandon the truth unless he does something to cause the withdrawal of the Holy Spirit. No matter what may be the standing of men; they may even have had the Heavens opened to them, but if they do wickedly they will deny the faith. We ought therefore to be careful how we conduct ourselves. May God bless you all. Amen.

            The choir sung "Jerusalem y Glorious Home."

            Prayer by Elder Brigham Young, Jun.

_____

[8 May, 2 pm]

[DNW 19:162, 5/11/70, p 6]

SUNDAY, 2 p. m.

            The choir sung: "Sweet is the work, my God, my King."

            Prayer by Elder Orson Pratt.

            The choir sang: "Arise, my soul, arise."

            The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was administered to the congregation.

ELDER BRIGHAM YOUNG, JR.

            There are thousands of people in Europe and on the islands of the sea who are anxious to be gathered to these valleys. Many people who have gathered here, who were assisted to emigrate by their brethren, and who left, with those from whom they borrowed means, their written obligations to refund the money as soon as possible. A great deal of indebtedness of this kind remains yet unpaid. It is a gross wrong on the part of those thus indebted to delay the gathering of those who assisted them by keeping from the m the means that rightly belongs to them. It is impossible for any to enjoy the Spirit of the Lord who thus forsake those who have substantially blessed them. Who are the enemies of this people? They are the enemies of God; for they are our enemies, because we are determined to serve God. A few have told the truth concerning us, as far as they knew it, but the many have spoken evil against us falsely.

            Elder Young then read the 6th chapter of Daniel, from the 1st to the 26th verse. After which he sat down, as the passage which he read was a sermon of itself, and spoke volumes. No one could fail to see its applicability to the present situation of the Latter-day Saints.

ELDER JOSEPH F. SMITH.

            We believe in the atonement and resurrection of Christ and if we are obedient to the laws of God we shall arise and be like him. All who have once been connected with the Church and now deny this, have apostatized and denied the faith. Should the world be arrayed against us to prevent our obeying the commands of God, there is but one alternative for the Latter-day Saints, that is to obey God rather than man. We will continue to preach Christ and Him crucified and Joseph and him martyred for the truth. I know that the power to unite on the earth for time and eternity has been revealed for the salvation of man. On the reception of this principle depends the power of eternal increase in the world to come, without which the future, to the mind of man, is but a blank.

PRESIDENT GEO. A. SMITH.

            Let every Saint us his and her influence in having the Sabbath remembered that it may be kept holy. Also let us remember our fast days; remember our fast offerings to feed the hungry. It has been plainly manifested in all apostacies that they have resulted from a violation of the laws of God. They who defile the temple of God will deny the faith. When a man corrupts his way before the Lord, he denies the faith, and is soon found among those who would shed the blood of the Lord's anointed. The sin of shedding the blood of innocence is one of the hardest to wash out. Never get alarmed and jump out of the good ship Zion; stick to it and you will come safely to port.

[President Brigham Young]

            PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG spoke upon the blessings that have accrued to the Latter-day Saints, from being thrown upon their own resources, upon infidelity, the personality of God and upon Celestial Marriage. His remarks were eloquent and encouraging. They will, in a short time, be published in full.

[Brigham Young]

[DNW 19:223, 6/15/70, p 7; JD 14:37]

DISCOURSE

By President BRIGHAM YOUNG, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 8th, 1870.

____

[REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.]

_____

      We have now been together in a Conference capacity for four days. It seems a very short time; we would like to stay a little longer, if it were prudent. This is the place to give general instruction to the Latter-day Saints. It is good when the Saints meet together to look at each other, to hear the brethren bear testimony of the truth and to feel the fellowship of the Holy Ghost. This makes our hearts joyful and glad. It will be prudent for us now to bring our Conference to a close, and, after I have spent a few minutes in speaking, we shall adjourn until the 6th of next October, at ten o'clock in the morning, at this place.

      There are many things which we would like to talk about; I would like to do a great deal of talking if I had the opportunity and were able to do so. There are many little items pertaining to what are called temporal matters, which it would be well for the people to understand in order to promote their happiness here on the earth and to aid them in securing eternal salvation. It is not those who are bearers of the word only who are blessed and who secure to themselves the blessings of eternal life; they who secure eternal life are doers of the word as well as hearers. If we hear the word and do not perform the labors indicated by it, it will profit us noticing. To hear the word, as the Latter-day Saints do, and then to perform the labor devolving upon them, requires a great deal of wisdom; and to bring the people up to this standard much labor and instruction from the Elders is necessary.

      If we can remember what we have heard at this Conference, and carry it out in our lives, it will profit us. I hope and trust that we may. Let us apply our hearts to the wisdom that has been exhibited before, the Conference, and observe the little duties of every-day life, that we may be prepared to receive more. It is not possible for a person to learn all the will of God in an hour, a day, or a week; it requires much time and attention to do this. The Lord gives a little here and a little there, a precept now and a precept again, and by close observance of these things in our lives we grow in grace and in a knowledge of the truth.

      We are thankful for the privilege of talking a little. We ought all to be very thankful that we have the privilege of the Gospel and of the ordinances of the house of God, for by applying them to the duties of life we can increase in knowledge, wisdom and understanding. We are thankful to see the increase that there is in the midst of the people.

      You very well know that it is said by many of those who wish to traduce the character of the Latter-day Saints that we are a poor, miserable, ignorant people. If we are, there is a great chance for improvement. We will acknowledge that we are very ignorant, and that the Lord has taken the weak things of the world to confound the wisdom of the wise. He has picked up the poor of the earth and brought them together, because they seek after him; while the hearts of the rich and the proud, the high and the noble, are lifted up, and they cannot hearken to the principles of the Gospel and receive them and obey them. They feel themselves too good; they know too much; while the poor and needy, those who suffer from hunger and nakedness, and from hard labor and taskmasters, are the ones who naturally seek after the Lord. The Lord is just as willing to bless and to pour out his Spirit upon the king on the throne as upon the beggar in the street; but the king has sufficient—he does not feel after the Lord; but the beggar cries unto the Lord for his daily bread. Hence the Lord gathers the poor. When we are gathered together, if we will improve ourselves by and by we will be filled with wisdom.

      When we look at the Latter-day Saints and remember that they have been taken from the coal pits, from the ironworks, from the streets, from the kitchens and from the barns and factories and from hard service in the countries where they formerly lived, we cannot wonder at their ignorance. But when they are brought together they soon become scholars. Many of them become farmers and merchants, and they soon learn to procure a sustenance for themselves and families, and gather around them the necessaries and comforts of life. They also learn the object of their being, of the creation of the earth, and how to organize the elements so as to subserve their own wants and necessities. This is a blessing, and we are proud to see the industry of the Latter-day Saints, and also their improvements and faithfulness. If we are ignorant, let us become wise; if we are poor, let us gather around us the comforts of life. I look around among my brethren and I see scholars. The world say we are ignorant; we acknowledge it, but we are not as ignorant as they are, although they have had opportunities of education perhaps that many of our brethren have not had. We study from the great book of nature. We are driven to this of necessity Where is there another people who have done what this people have done in these mountains, by way of making improvements in their own midst—upon the soil and in their cities and towns. They are not to be found on the face of the earth. If this is not intelligence—if this is not good, hard, sound sense, I wish somebody would come and teach us a little. If we are taken from the poor, ignorant, low and degraded, and make ourselves wise and happy, it is a credit to us.

      There are causes for this which some may not have thought about. I often think of them. You take, for instance, a father, who has, say, four, ten or twelve sons. He may have abundance to dispose of to each and every one; but he dislikes some particular one, and perhaps feeds and clothes eleven, but the twelfth, whom he hates and despises, he turns out of doors to provide for himself. This one son goes forth weeping, and says, "I am forsaken of my father and his house; now I have to look after myself. I have the earth before me; I have to live; I do not want to kill myself, and as I have lite before me I certainly must make my own future. I will go to work and accumulate a little of something, so that I can purchase me a piece of land. When it is purchased I will put improvements upon it. I will build me a house; I will fence my farm; I will set off my orchard and plant out my garden; and I will gather around me my horses, my cattle, my wagons and carriages, and I will get me a family." Pretty soon here is a boy who knows how to live as well as his father does. How is it with the rest of the family? They are led and clothed by their Father; they know not where it comes from nor how it is obtained, and they scarcely know their right hand from their left with regard to the things of the world.

      This illustrates the history of this people. We have been under the necessity of learning every art—to cultivate the soil and how to provide for our own wants under the most adverse circumstances. We have been compelled to do this or go without, for none would do it for us. We have been forced to study mechanism, all kinds of machinery, how to build, and how to provide and take care of ourselves in every respect I thank the parent and the boys for turning us out of doors. Why? Because it has thrown us on our own resources, and taught us to provide for ourselves. We have a future before us, and God will take care of us. In my meditations I say, "Shall I complain of father? No. I will not complain at all, he has done the best he could for me, though he knew it not. If he had made my house, opened my farm, planted my orchard, seen to my planting and ploughing as well as the gathering; and then had brought my food to my chamber and appointed a servant to feed me, what should I have known about, getting my living? How could I have known anything about raising fruit or anything else? I could not have known. I might read books until Doomsday, and unless I apply the knowledge thus obtained I should know but little." Without the application of knowledge acquired by reading, it makes mere machines of us; we can tell what others have done, but we know nothing ourselves. Then speak evil of no man, and acknowledge that it has been a blessing to us to be cast aside and compelled to take care of ourselves.

      When we left our homes in the East and started for the Rocky Mountains the feeling in regard to us was, "There is starvation before you Mormons; but if you do not die of starvation the Indians will kill you." We knew that they would do no such thing; we knew that we could live when we got here, and we also knew that we could travel twelve or fourteen hundred miles with our cows, calves, colts, lame cattle, our seed grain and provisions and farming utensils on wagons, carts and handcarts, without an ounce of iron on some of them. It was said that we could raise nothing when we got here; but I said, "We will wait and see; we know that God has led us out here, and we will wait and see what he will do for us." You can see what he has done, and thank his name and be humble. Shall we speak evil of others? No. Why? Because the result of their treatment towards us has made us better and greater than we could have been otherwise. It has brought us closer together than we could possibly have come without a great deal more revelation than we have had. Our enemies have pushed us together; and it is excellent to be surrounded by circumstances that will bring us close together. We learn then whether we have fellowship one for another. Let us thank God, and speak evil of none; and instead of finding fault with father, let us thank him for turning us out of doors, for we have learned a great many useful lessons in life that we could not have learned without. We can read just as much as the inhabitants of the earth, and after reading we can practice a thousand times more than many of them.

      I wish now to say a few words in relation to a subject which is attracting the attention of thousands of people in the world. I refer to what is termed infidelity. We are very well aware that a statement made in reference to this matter in this Conference is true—namely, that the inhabitants of the earth are drifting, as fast as time can roll, to infidelity. I do not profess to know a great deal; but some things I do know. Shall I take the liberty of telling you the story of the boy who went to the mill? He was looking at the miller's hogs, which were very fat, clean and fine. The miller came out, and, seeing the boy attentively observing the pigs, said to him, "What are you thinking about?" Said the boy, "I was thinking that millers have fat hogs." "Were you thinking of anything else?" said the miller. "Yes." "What was it?" "I do not know whose grain they are fed on," said the boy. I take the liberty of telling this story for illustration. Some things I do know and some I do not know; if I do not know whose grain the pigs eat, I do know that there are some fat hogs.

      What shall I say with regard to infidelity? I do not know a great deal, but I say that a man has not good common sense who denies his Maker; such a man is not endowed with reasoning powers. I hold this book in my hand, and I say that for its production from the crude element it required a type founder, paper maker, printer and a book binder, and by their united exertions the book was made. But the infidel bases his argument on the principle that the book is here without a producer—that no type founder, paper maker, printer, nor bookbinder was necessary. Is not a man who argues on this principle a feel? If he is not he comes pretty near it.

      There are a great many who say that there is no embodiment of the Deity. Our Christian brethren almost deny the existence of a God; but it is in word only; they do not feel it in their hearts, they do not mean any such thing. They are like the people of whom Paul speaks, who had temples reared to the unknown God. The Christians do not know anything about God, neither does the infidel. The Christian world say, "We believe in a God who has no body." You do not believe in anything of the sort, Christian world! You think you believe it, but it is only tradition with you. Your fathers told you that God has no body; the priests told them; the schoolmasters have joined in the endorsement of the same ridiculous idea; it is also written in your church creeds; but, when you let common sense have place in your hearts, you do not believe in any such nonentity or nondescript as a God without body, parts or passions.

      But foolish and absurd as is such an idea, it is not so ridiculous as that of the infidel. The Christian world, while virtually declaring that God is nothing, also declare that the world was created by him; but the infidel says the world had no creator, it is the result of chance. Now I defy any infidel, or any other person on the face of the earth, to prove that anything can be made or exist without a maker. The world and all its various grades of organized denizens, from the lowest forms of vegetable or animal life, up to man, the lord of creation, were framed and made, or they would not have been here.

      I just want to say with regard to infidelity, it means nothing more nor less than to disbelieve anything we have a mind to. If we disbelieve in the existence of the Eternal, as an embodiment or personage, we are infidel on that point. If we disbelieve in the efficacy of the blood of the Savior and his atonement, we are infidels on that subject. I wish to say, however, to the Christian world, that the moment the atonement of the Savior is done away, that moment, at one sweep, the hopes of salvation entertained by the Christian world are destroyed, the foundation of their faith is taken away, and there is nothing left for them to stand upon. When this is gone all the revelations God ever gave to the Jewish nation, to the Gentiles and to us are rendered valueless, and all hope is taken from us at one sweep.

      What proof have you, Infidels, that Jesus is not the Christ? What proof have you of the negative of the existence of God the Father, or of Jesus as the Mediator, or of the Holy Ghost as God's minister, or of the gifts and graces that God has bestowed upon his people? None at all, not the least thing in the world. Is there anybody living on the earth that has the proof of the affirmative? Yes; we have. We have proof that God lives and that he has a body; that he has eyes, and ears to hear; that he has arms, hands and feet; that he can walk and does walk. He has declared himself to be a man of war—Jehovah, the great I Am, the Lord Almighty, and many other titles of a like import are used in reference to him in the Scriptures. But take away the atonement of the Son of God and the Scriptures fall useless to the ground.

      How is it, Infidel, have you any proof that Jesus did not die for the sins of the world? No; not the least, any more than you have proof that there was no need to go to the mountains to cut the timber used in building this house, or to quarry the rock of which the pillars of this house are composed. How is it, Mr. Infidel, have you any proof of the non-existence of Him who rules and reigns in heaven, and who controls the destinies of the earth? No; not the least. But you say, "I do not believe it." That is your affair only, nobody cares about that.

      Infidelity extends to other subjects besides the existence of God and the atonement of the Savior. Some are infidel on one point and some on another. I want to say that so far as a God without a body, parts and passions is concerned, I am a complete infidel. The God whom I serve has got eyes, ears, nose and mouth. He has hands to handle; his footsteps are seen in the midst of his people, and his goings forth among the nations; and he who has the Spirit of the Almighty can see the providences of God and behold his ways. I ask the infidel if he has any proof that I do not enjoy that Spirit? I have proof that I do. What is that proof. The peace, light and intelligence that I enjoy, which I have not obtained from the infidel, from reading books, from going to school, nor from studying the wisdom of any man that ever lived on the face of the earth. "Where did you obtain it?" says the infidel. From heaven, from the fountain of light and intelligence. "Where is your wisdom?" again says the infidel. Here, right before me, teaching the people how to be saved, how to live, and to live with each other; how to improve their minds; how to govern and control themselves. It was so with Joseph Smith, in his day. So it is to-day; how else could it be done? Who can gather rite people from the nations in their poverty and ignorance and fill them with light and intelligence, teach them how to live, what the earth is and what it is for, make them understand that God is our father, Jesus the Mediator, and that we belong to the highest intelligence that there is in existence, and that we are the natural offspring of God the Father? God only can do this Yet the infidel will say there is no God, that we are creatures of to-day that we had no existence before this, and that when this is over there is nothing after. And following down the chain of his reasoning, he will say there was a time when there was no earth, no stars, no worlds, no anything. Well, I know there never was such a time. That is faith against faith, declaration against declaration. What a pitiful condition it would be for all space to contain nothing! To suppose that element, worlds, men, the grass of the fields, or the trees of the forest were created, is all folly! They are from eternity. It is equally vain to imagine space empty! There is no space without a kingdom, neither is there any kingdom without space, and they are from everlasting to everlasting. "How do you know it?" asks the unbeliever. By the revelations of God, by the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ. "How do you know how to teach the people to control themselves and make them of one heart and one mind?" By the revelations of the Lord. Well, then, I guess we will sing and pray and serve our God and keep his commandments; and I rather think that Zion will prosper. That is my opinion.

      While the chapter from the prophecies of Daniel was being read, showing the plans and schemes of those who sought to entrap Daniel, and their miserable end, I was thinking how wise (!) men were in those days. How wise were those great captains, counselors and presidents! Could they not foresee that they could not overthrow Daniel? No, they could see no further than to believe that if the King would sign the decree that no petition should be presented to any potentate, on, above, or around about the earth, but to himself, for the space of thirty days, they would entrap and destroy Daniel. What was the result? Just as quick as they commenced their special legislation against Daniel the Lord commenced special legislation for him and against those who got him into the lion's den. The final result was that Daniel lodged with the lions over night and came out unscathed, not injured in the least; the lions lay there peaceable when the stone was rolled away, and those who had caused him to be thrust there were condemned to take the place he left, and the lions devoured them. they could not foresee what Daniel could; he could have foretold their destiny, and that the legislation of the Lord Almighty would be a little above the special legislation of which they were the authors against him.

      Brethren and sisters, will you keep the Word of Wisdom, say your prayers, observe the Sabbath, speak evil of no man, and strive to be humble and faithful in all things? It you will, we shall be one by and by; we are not yet. We must overcome the love of the world. He that hath the love of the world hath not the love of the Father. He that loves the things of the world loves not the kingdom of heaven on the earth. Whosoever serves mammon cannot serve God. We must let these things go out of our affections, then lay hold of the principles of eternal life and sustain the kingdom of God on the earth, or else we shall go by the board. If we jump over, we shall certainly sink, and if we stay aboard Zion's ship, we can do no more than sink, and it will be just as well if Zion's ship sink to be aboard as to jump overboard and sink. We had better stay aboard, she may go into harbor; and I can promise you in the name of Israel's God that she will go there safe and carry every one of her passengers. Will we be humble and faithful? I trust we will. I hope—I pray you, brethren and sisters, let us be humble, be faithful to our God, our religion, and each other.

      I will say a few words on a subject which has been mentioned here—that is, celestial marriage. God has given a revelation to seal for time and for eternity, just as he did in days of old. In our own days he has commanded his people to receive the New and Everlasting Covenant, and he has said, "If ye abide not that covenant, then are ye damned." We have received it. What is the result of it? I look at the world, or that small portion of it which believes in monogamy. It is only a small portion of the human family who do believe in it, for from nine to ten of the twelve hundred millions that live on the earth believe in and practice polygamy. Well, what is the result? Right in our land the doctrine and practice of plurality of wives tend to the preservation of life. Do you know it? Do you see it? What is our duty? To preserve life or destroy it? Can any of you answer? Why yes, it is to perpetuate and preserve life. But what principle do we see prevailing in our own land? What is that of which, in the East, West, North and South, ministers in their pulpits complain, and against which both gentlemen and ladies lecture? It is against taking life. They say, "Cease the destruction of pre-natal life!" Our doctrine and practice make and preserve life; theirs destroy it. Which is the best, saying nothing about revelation, which is the best in a moral point of view, to preserve or to destroy the life which God designs to bring upon the earth. Just look at it and decide for yourselves.

      This house is very large, but as a general thing the people bare been very attentive, and they have tried to keep as still as possible. Still, I believe they can improve a little. I think that many of our sisters who have children can stay nearer the doors, and then, if they cannot prevent their children crying, they can step out. I do believe they can stop their whispering. When there is anything said from this Stand that pleases or displeases you, you turn to your neighbor and whisper, and the next one does the same, and directly there are a few thousand whispering, creating a noise like the rushing of many waters. Then you scrape your feet a little, and the many little noises are like the dust that composes the mountains and the whole earth. Every person should be silent when we meet here to worship God. Remember and try to keep perfectly quiet, and do not whisper, talk, nor scrape your feet; and do not let your children cry if you can help it. Twenty years ago I used to tell you that you might pinch your children to make them cry as loud as they could if you wished, and I could preach louder than they could cry. I could do it then, but now I want all to keep still.

      I trust we shall long have the privilege of enjoying this shade which we have built; it is a cover from the burning sun in summer; and when the storm of rain comes this umbrella will shelter us. I perceive that, in the gallery, there is a little more heat now than before; we shall open the ventilators and put in some skylights, then I think it will be as cool as in the past.

      Brethren and sisters, I feel to bless you. I ask my Father in heaven to bless the Saints, to bless every quorum and organization of his kingdom, from the First Presidency down to the last organization to promote good in the midst of his people. I pray continually for the Bishops, presiding Elders, High Councillors, and the Female Relief Societies. I will bless you, my sisters, if you will hearken to the counsel which has been given you with regard to these fashions. Then, to my brethren, I say, I will bless you, if you will seek a little closer to sustain yourselves, by preserving and wisely using that which the Lord gives you, and not suffer your cattle and sheep to die on the prairies, but preserve them, that we may have the wherewithal to supply ourselves with the necessaries of life, by raising sheep, building factories, raising flax, the mulberry and silk and other things useful. I do not care how beautifully you are adorned, ladies, if you will only raise the silk and adorn yourselves with your own hands. That is the requirement of heaven. It was so almost forty years ago. The word of the Lord to his Saints then was, "Let the beauty of your apparel be the beauty of the work of your own hands." If you will observe this, adorn yourselves as much as you please. Make your hats and bonnets, and also make hats for your brothers and sons. It is your duty to do it. Preserve that that the Lord has given you, and waste nothing. I can say to the Latter-day Saints that there is no man nor woman, person or persons, but what I would rather feed, clothe, and sustain than to see a particle wasted in the midst of my family or this people. God does not like it, his Spirit is grieved with it. Idleness and wastefulness are not according to the rules of heaven. Preserve all you can, that you may have abundance to bless your friends and your enemies, as we did in '49, '50 and '61. In those years we fed thousands and thousands of poor, starving emigrants, who had gold so big in their eyes that, when they started for the Plains, they did not know whether they had anything to eat or not. By our instrumentality they were fed and sent on their way rejoicing. If we take the counsel now given we shall have abundance to bless our enemies if it be necessary. Shall we say that we have any? Yes, there are those who would delight to be our enemies if they knew how; but they do not know how. I do not suppose that there was a greater enemy to the Savior, when he was on the earth, than the devil. How he did plead with the Savior to worship him! Said he, "I will give you all you can see, if you will fall down and worship me." But Jesus rebuked him. Yet the devil hunted and followed up Jews and Gentiles, that is, the Romans, until they betrayed the Redeemer into the hands of his enemies, who crucified him, and in doing that they consummated the great act for the salvation of the human family, which will cheat the devil out of pretty much all of them, one way or the other. If he had had any good sense about him—but he was as short of that as the infidels in our day—he would have said, "I am with you, I will go with you, pay your taxes, and will make you welcome to my house." But no, the devil and his followers did not know enough to do this, neither do our enemies, and thank God for it!

      Again I say, I feel to bless my brethren and sisters—every quorum, every authority; our brethren and sisters who have sung for us, or played on the organ. I thank you, doorkeepers, and you who have waited on the congregation, and I say God bless you, and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I bless the whole house of Israel. I pray for the redemption of the centre stake of Zion, and the upbuilding thereof. It is before us continually in our faith, and I hope that we shall live to see it. Amen.

 

            Conference adjourned till the 6th of October next, to meet in the New Tabernacle.

            The choir, joined by the congregation, sang: "Praise God from whom all blessings flow."

            Benediction by President George A. Smith.

            There are but few, if any, sights more grand, or more calculated to inspire sublime emotions and a high sense of the power of the Omnipotent Jehovah, than a vast multitude of people assembled for divine worship. Such a spectacle has been presented in the New Tabernacle during Conference. The huge building, at nearly all of the meetings, was filled in every part. At each meeting, before the people were fairly seated and called to order, the murmuring noise of the voices of the great assembly sounded, as aptly remarked by President Young, like the rushing of many waters or the roaring of the sea.

            The spirit and power of God were abundantly manifested at conference. And such an immense gathering of the Latter-day Saints and the feeling of unity that prevailed among them must have thrown a damper on those who have been so lavish in their prognostications of the downfall of the Kingdom of God. We are safe in saying that the Saints never felt more like adhering to the good ship Zion and sustaining the Lord's anointed than they do now.

            The singing of the choir and the music of the grand Organ were interesting features of the Conference.

JOHN NICHOLSON,
Clerk of Conference

_____

 

6-9 Oct 1870, 40th Semi-Annual General Conference.
[Deseret News Weekly 19:417-420, 10/12/70, p 5-8; Millennial Star 32:684, 698, 705, 721]

[6 Oct, 10 am]

[DNW 19:417-418, 10/12/70, p 5-6]

FORTIETH SEMI-ANNUAL CONFERENCE

OF THE

CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS

_____

THE Fortieth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints convened on this the sixth day of October, at 10 o'clock a.m., in the New Tabernacle.

            On the stand were:

Of the First Presidency:

            Brigham Young, Geo. A. Smith and Daniel H. Wells.

Of the Twelve Apostles:

            Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, Geo. Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, jr., Joseph F. Smith and Albert Carrington.

Patriarch:

            John Smith.

Of the First Seven Presidents of Seventies:

            Joseph Young, Albert P. Rockwood, Jacob Gates and John Van Cott.

Of the Presidency of the High Priests' Quorum:

            Elias Smith.

Of the Presidency of this Stake of Zion:

            George B. Wallace and John T. Caine.

Of the Presidency of the bishopric:

            Edward Hunter, Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little.

            There were also Bishops, Elders and leading men from every settlement in the Territory.

            Conference was called to order by President Brigham Young.

            The choir sang: "Lord, we come before Thee now."

            Prayer by Elder Albert Carrington.

            The choir sang: "Great God, indulge my humble claim."

PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG

Addressed the Conference. His instructions were practical and pointed, showing that to truly worship God is to perform well our duties in every position we may be placed in. He exhorted the people to pay diligent attention to the instructions that would be given during Conference, and practically carry them out. His remarks were reported in full and will shortly be published.

[Brigham Young]

[DNW 19:442, 10/26/70, p 6; JD 13:260]

REMARKS

By President BRIGHAM YOUNG, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, October 6th 1870.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      As we have met in the capacity of a General Conference, we shall expect to hear instructions from the Elders pertaining to the building up of the kingdom of God on the earth This is our calling, this is the labor devolving upon us, and it should occupy our attention day by day from morning until evening and from week to week; in fact, we have no other calling or business, and if we are humble and faithful, God will strengthen us and increase our ability and give us power sufficient to accomplish the tasks devolving upon us in the performance of His work.

      The oracles of truth are delivered; men have been called and ordained; the gifts and graces of the Gospel are restored; the kingdom is organized; it is committed to the servants of the Lord, and if we are faithful we shall bear it off; we will establish it and make it firm in the earth, no more to be interrupted or removed, and the teachings that we shall hear will be pertaining to our spiritual and temporal labors in this kingdom. With God, and also with those who understand the principles of life and salvation, the Priesthood, the oracles of truth and the gifts and callings of God to the children of men, there is no difference in spiritual and temporal labors—all are one. If I am in the line of my duty, I am doing the will of God, whether I am preaching, praying, laboring with my hands for an honorable support; whether I am in the field, mechanic's shop, or following mercantile business, or wherever duty calls, I am serving God as much in one place as another; and so it is with all, each in his place, turn and time. Consequently our teachings during Conference will be to instruct the people how to live and order their lives before the Lord and each other; how to accomplish the work devolving upon them in building up Zion on the earth. To accomplish this will require steady faith and firm determination, and we come together in this capacity that our faith and determination may be increased and strengthened. When we have spent three, four or five days together in giving instruction, we shall only just have commenced to instruct the people; and when we have spent a lifetime in learning and dispensing what we do learn to our fellow beings, we have only commenced in the career of intelligence. Our faith and prayers, the ordinances that we attend to, our assembling ourselves together, our dispersing after attending to the business of life, in our schools, all our educational pursuits are in the service of God, for all these labors are to establish truth on the earth, and that we may increase in knowledge, wisdom, understanding in the power of faith and in the wisdom of God, that we may become fit subjects to dwell in a higher state of existence and intelligence than we now enjoy. We can attain to this only by adding faith to faith, knowledge to knowledge, temperance to temperance, patience to patience, and godliness to godliness, and so increasing in the principles of happiness and salvation.

      We shall call upon the Elders to speak to the congregation as they assemble here from day to day, and I hope and trust that the brethren and sisters will treasure up in their hearts the instructions that they receive, and that they will carry them out in their lives. This Sunday religion that a great many of our Christian brethren believe in and practice, when their every-day life is spent in selfishness and for self-aggrandizement, will not do for the Latter-day Saints; with us Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday must be spent to the glory of God, as much as Sunday, or we shall come short of the object of our pursuit. Consequently we must pay attention to the things that we hear, and to the principles of the religion that we have embraced in our faith, and seek diligently to break up the prejudices and prepossessed notions and feelings that have woven themselves around us through the traditions of the fathers, and endeavor to know and understand as God knows, that we may do His will. Our traditions are so firmly fixed in our feelings that it is almost impossible to rise above, over-ride, or get rid of them; they cling to us like the affections of tender friends. But we must learn to know the will of God and do it, and let our traditions go, then we shall be blessed.

      There are many things that we should understand with regard to ourselves and our children; and when the mind opens upon the vision of life by the spirit of revelation, there is not a person but what can see the eternity of teaching yet to be imparted to the Saints.

      I trust that we shall be edified and rejoice together, and shall return from this place strengthened and confirmed in our faith and hopes, feeling that steadiness of nerve, by the spirit of revelation, that we shall not be wafted to and fro, imagining a thousand things incorrect, and pass by those doctrines and truths that are calculated to exalt the human family.

 

ELDER ORSON HYDE.

            The Lord is perfectly capable of taking care of his people. I know that the work we are engaged in is true, and the opposition of the world can never extinguish this testimony from the hearts of the faithful Saints. I know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God and that he faithfully laid the foundation of this great work. I also know that President Brigham Young is his true and legal successor, and that under his direction the Saints have prospered and flourished. There may be some who murmur because he does not give revelations with "thus saith the Lord," but he who cannot see the voice of God in the dictations of the Holy Spirit to His servant Brigham must be blind indeed. In relation to the late discussion on the system of plural marriage, I do not know that the perusal of the arguments used made any difference to my feelings or views for, although the scriptures are replete with evidences to sustain the position of the Saints in that matter, yet we have a more sure word of prophecy unto which we would do well to take heed. Elder Hyde continued to speak for some time on the designs of the Almighty and showed that the great plan of salvation for the human family is not only applicable to those who live on the earth during a dispensation of the gospel to man, but the plan of redemption can be offered to, and received by those who have died without a knowledge of its principles, and that the labors of the servants of God do not cease here but become even more extended behind the ail. He wound up by bearing a powerful testimony to the final triumph of the Saints and the discomfiture of their enemies.

PRESIDENT GEORGE A. SMITH.

            We should be prepared to receive instructions that the spirit of our Heavenly Father may be with us. The path of Zion has been one of great difficulties, but there is a saying, "the fiercer the battle the greater the victory." Some people try to make themselves acceptable both to the righteous and the wicked. The fate of such is darkness inevitably, as the records of the past show. I have lately devoted some little time to examining the fate of those who once belonged to the Church but who have left. The cause of their fall, in the first place, generally resulted from their infringing on the principles of righteousness. It is good to preach repentance at our Conferences, to tell the people to put away their follies. I am not simply a believer in this work, I have a knowledge of it. The Prophet Joseph was slain by the wicked after he had laid the foundation of the Church. The Lord, however, caused his inspiration to rest upon his servant Brigham. I consider it a great miracle that the Lord raised up a man who has miraculously led the Saints through difficulties, and over superhuman obstacles, to a place where they can enjoy peace, happiness and liberty I warn my brethren to be faithful that they may gain the reward of the righteous, which may God grant: Amen.

            The Parowan choir sang: "Praise ye the Lord!"

            Prayer by Elder John Taylor.

_____

[6 Oct, 2 pm]

[DNW 19:418, 10/12/70, p 6]

Thursday, 2. P. M.

            The choir sang: "Come all ye saints who dwell on earth."

            Prayer by Elder Orson Pratt.

            The Parowan choir sang: "Oh Lord! responsive to thy call."

PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG

Requested the door keepers and those who are engaged in seating the congregation to see that a few seats be reserved in the front for the accommodation of strangers who may attend the Conference. He gave some texts to the brethren who would speak, unity of action, the necessity of overcoming our traditions, and the proper training and instruction of our children are subjects worthy the attention of those who may address the people. The building of the Temple might occupy a share of attention by the speakers. Those, however, who may not wish to preach to any of these texts can preach from them. The union of the sexes is also a subject which he would just as soon hear treated upon in this as in any other place. The Elders should never attempt to teach anything that they do not understand. There is scope enough without this. He delivered a very stirring and instructing discourse in which he showed that unless the people are inspired by the Spirit of God it will be impossible to serve the Almighty acceptably. He spoke on the nature of what is called the one-man power and other topics. A synopsis of his discourse would give but a very inadequate idea of it. It will shortly appear in the NEWS verbatim.

[Brigham Young]

[DNW 19:442, 10/26/70, p 6; JD 13:261]

REMARKS

By President BRIGHAM YOUNG, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, October 6th, 1870.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      I have a request to make of the door-keepers and of those brethren who seat the congregation, as also of our sisters, some of whom, I see, are occupying a few of the seats that we usually reserve for strangers. We should be very much pleased if the sisters would fill up other parts of the house first, and we would like the brethren who seat the congregation, to see that the seats generally occupied by strangers are hold in reserve to-day until the meeting commences; then, if those for whom they are reserved do not come to fill them, they may be used by the sisters. I hope this will be recollected and observed.

      As our brethren of the Twelve will address us during the Conference, I feel like giving them a few texts to preach upon if they choose to do so. I should have no objection to hear them discourse upon union of action, or concentration of faith and action, or, as some call it, co-operation. That is one item. I would also like to hear them give instruction with regard to our traditions; instruction on this subject is necessary all the time. We must overcome them and adopt the rules laid down in revelation for the guidance of man's life here on the earth. If any of our brethren feel to speak upon this subject we should be very pleased to hear them; if they are not disposed to preach to the text, they may preach from it, as most ministers do. I have heard very few ministers preach to their texts, they generally preach from them.

      The education of our children is worthy of our attention, and the instruction of the Elders from this stand. It is a subject that should be thoroughly impressed upon the minds of parents and the rising generation; and those who wish to preach from this text may do so. And if they do not feel to preach to the text, they may preach from it.

      The subject of the building of the Temple is a very good one for occupying a portion of the time. The ordinances of the House of God are for the salvation of the human family. We are the only ones on the earth at the present time, that we have any knowledge of, who hold the keys of salvation committed to the children of men from the heavens by the Lord Almighty; and inasmuch as there are those who hold these keys, it is important that they should be acted upon for the salvation of the human family. The building of Temples, places in which the ordinances of salvation are administered, is necessary to carry out the plan of redemption, and it is a glorious subject upon which to address the Saints.

      The gathering of the House of Israel is another text upon which the brethren might address the Saints with profit. We are in the midst of Israel; they are also scattered among the nations of the earth. They are mixed with all nations, especially the tribe of Ephraim. These are to be gathered out. We have Israel in our midst; we live upon their land; we have communion with them and we are under the necessity of feeding and clothing them to a certain extent, and to preserve peace with them at present, until they come to a knowledge of the truth. I mean the Lamanites, the aborigines of our country. They are of the House of Israel.

      Not least nor last, but one subject that I would as soon hear treated upon in this house as in any other place, is the union of the sexes. We cannot go into any town or little village in the Territory but we find quite a large number of young people who have arrived at a marriageable age and still they remain single. But this can be accounted for to some extent. The young man says, "I dare not marry a wife, the fashions and customs of the world prevail among the ladies here to such a degree that I should need a fortune to maintain one." The young lady says, "I don't wish to marry unless I can find a husband who can take care of me and support me according to my idle wishes." By their acts only can people be judged, and from observing them we must conclude that the ideas of the young men are too true, they are founded in fact. This should be done away. Such feelings, views and influences should be dispelled from and broken up in the midst of the people. Our young men and women should consider their obligations to each other, to God, the earth, their parents, and to future generations for their salvation and exaltation among the Gods and for the glory of Him whom we serve. These are not idle tales, they are not fictions, but facts; and for a community, believing as we do, to live like the Gentile nations in these things is very incorrect. It is not according to our faith; we should put our faith into practice, and be willing to sustain ourselves, each and every one of us. Our young folks who have arrived at years of maturity should think and act for themselves. They are citizens of the earth; they have a share here, and have a part to bear—a character to form and frame and present to the world, or they will sink into oblivion and forgetfulness. These things are of importance to us at least, and especially in this nation, where many of the people are wasting away their lives, bartering away their very existence, and will hardly receive in return therefor a mess of pottage.

      The education of youth is an important text for the brethren to preach from. A very high value should be placed upon it by the Saints. We have the privilege of enjoying the spirit of revelation and the knowledge which comes from above, and in addition to this, every branch of education known in the world should be taught among and acquired by us. All the arts and sciences, and every branch of mechanism known and understood by man should be understood by this people. But no matter how much knowledge we may acquire in a worldly point of view, by study, unless the revelations of the Lord Jesus are dispensed to each and every individual, they cannot use or apply their acquirements to the best advantage. A man may know facts without revelation. The mathematician, for instance, may acquire a great amount of knowledge without any special revelation by the Spirit of the Lord to enlighten his mind; but still he will not know and understand what he might if he had applied his heart unto wisdom. So it is with all the sciences.

      These principles should be considered by this people. This is the place, brethren, to teach them. But I will give a caution to my brethren, the Elders—never undertake to teach a thing that you do not understand. Such things will come into your minds; but without launching out on such subjects, questions may be asked and answered, and we gain knowledge from each other. There is plenty within the scope of our own brains that, by the assistance of the Spirit of the Lord, will enable us to tell many things—more than the world or even more than the Saints can receive.

      Suppose a man should come here and tell you the very nature of our Father Adam—tell precisely how he was organized, his height, his proportions, the extent of his knowledge, tell you the agreement that was entered into, the amount of knowledge that he had to forgot to reduce himself to the capacity of a corruptible being! Suppose this could all be told to the congregations of the Saints, what would they know about it? Very little. There may be some minds which could grasp some things pertaining to it, but others could not. The spirit of revelation can reveal these things to the people, but unless they live so as to have the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ, they will remain a mystery, for there is a vail before the minds of the people, and they cannot be understood. Some of these principles have been taught to the Latter-day Saints, but who can understand them?

      Brother Orson Hyde referred to a few who complained about not getting revelations. I will make a statement here that has been brought against me as a crime, perhaps, or as a fault in my life. Not here, I do not allude to anything of the kind in this place, but in the councils of the nations—that Brigham Young has said "when he sends forth his discourses to the world they may call them Scripture." I say now, when they are copied and approved by me they are as good Scripture as is couched in this Bible, and if you want to read revelation read the sayings of him who knows the mind of God, without any special command to one man to go here, and to another to go yonder, or to do this or that, or to go and settle here or there. In the early days of the Church, if a man was going to sell a farm he must have a revelation—Joseph must receive and give a revelation. Many men would not do one thing until God had given them a revelation through the prophet. It must be: "Thus saith the Lord, sell your farm, devote such a portion of your means to education, or printing, or for distributing knowledge to the world. Devote such a portion of your means to do this, and such a portion to do that." I have known a good many men in the early days of the Church who had property, that must have revelation to know what disposition to make of their substance; but who, when they received it, were sure not to strictly obey it. What did revelation do for such persons? Nothing but seal their condemnation. Why do the people want revelations to damn themselves?

      Give the mind of the Lord to this people here in this Conference, would they observe it? There is a few who would like to; but take some of those who are called Latter-day Saints, would they follow it if it were given them? I know they would not, still the Lord is merciful and forbearing and He bears with His people. He has borne with and blest us, to see if we would walk in the knowledge of the truth and yield strict obedience to His requirements.

      Poverty, persecution and oppression we have endured; many of us have suffered the loss of all things in a worldly point of view. Give us prosperity and see if we would bear it, and be willing to serve God. See if we would be as willing to sacrifice millions as we were to sacrifice what we had when in comparative poverty. Men of property, as a general thing, would not be. We know this, God knows it, and He has to treat us as unruly, disobedient, slow to think and slow to act—as a set of children.

      It has been said, time and time again, that if the people would live worthy of the great things God has in store for them, they are ready to come forth for their salvation and edification; but until we improve upon little things and hearken to the voice of the Lord in our first duties, He is not going to bestow the great mysteries of the invisible worlds upon us. We know too much already unless we do better. You may think I am complaining; well, I am just a trifle. I see the Latter-day Saints here and there going to destruction, apostatizing. "Oh," say they, "we have a little wealth, a little means," and in some instances that is leading them to destruction.

      These merchants that we have made rich, where are they? Those who are not in fellowship and some who are in fellowship with us? They are in our midst, but their feelings are, "We want more, we want your money, Latter-day Saints." Ask them to sacrifice their all and see what course they will take. When they came here they had not a wagon and did not own five dollars in the world; we have made them rich. Is there one in ten that would endure if we were to get a revelation for them to make a sacrifice of all they have? No, they would lift up their heels against the Almighty and His Anointed. Whether I am complaining or not, this is too true.

      Now, brethren, preach the things that we verily believe, and when we come to points of doctrine that we do not know, even if we have good reason to believe them, if our philosophy teaches us they are true, pass them by and teach only to the people that that we do know.

      You can know nothing of this Gospel short of the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ. If our Gospel, that we preach in this house and that the Elders of Israel teach, is hid to any man on earth, it is because he is lost. It is not hid to him whose eyes are open to the things of God; he understands it. When he hears the voice of the Good Shepherd, when he hears sound doctrine—that that comes from God, he knows it and receives it. Says he, "That is right, correct, that is congenial to my ears and sits smoothly and satisfactorily on my understanding. I like that doctrine because it is true. The reason we like "Mormonism" is because it is true. It is good; it embraces all the good there is in the sciences, and all that ever was revealed for the benefit of the children of men. There is no art beneficial to the human family but what, is incorporated in our religion. The only true philosophy ever revealed by God to man on this earth is comprised within and is part of our religion. It embraces the whole man and all. his talents and time while he lives here on the earth, and then will only prepare him, let him do his best, to enter a higher state of glory, where he will see that he is but just commencing to learn the things of God and the riches of eternity, to know and understand the life of those immortal beings who dwell in light and live in glory and who are surrounded with light, glory, immortality, and eternal lives, and live in accordance with the laws which control the Gods. When we have learned all that we can learn here by a close application in our lives to the faith which Jesus has unfolded, we shall see that we are then just commencing to learn, as it were; and when the spirit is reunited with the body we shall be prepared to enter into the joy of our Lord.

      A good deal is said about so much power being given to one man. What does man's power on the earth consist of? Of the influence he possesses. If a man have influence with God he has power with Him. Again, if he has influence with the people he has power with them; that is all the legitimate or righteous power man has. We have influence; God has given it to us, and the Latter-day Saints delight to place that confidence in us that is deserving, and the wicked world cannot help it. It may be a great pity in the estimation of a great many, but still the world cannot help it; and justice, mercy, truth, righteousness, love, and good will command this respect, and the worthy get it. We have heard considerable about "down with the one-man power!" All right, down with it! What is it and how are you going to get it down? When you get down the power of God, that which is called one-man power in the midst of the Latter-day Saints will fall, but not before! It is no more nor less than the concentration of the faith and action of the people. And this brings to my mind the facts that exist with regard to the faith of the Latter-day Saints.

      When we go into the world we find quite a portion of the people who belong to a class called Spiritualists. I do not know that I am right in styling them a class, but they aspire to be so considered. They would like to have it considered that "Mormonism" is nothing but Spiritualism; but it is temporalism as well as Spiritualism. A great many want to know the difference between the two. I will give one feature of the difference, and then set the whole scientific world to work to see if they can ever bring to bear the same feature in Spiritualism. Take all who are called Spiritualists and see if they can produce the order that is in the midst of this people. Here are system, order, organization, law, rule, and facts. Now see if they can produce any one of these features. They cannot. Why? Because their system is from beneath, while ours is perfect and is from above; one is from God, the other is from the devil, that is all the difference. Now see if the whole Spiritualist world can organize a community of six individuals who will agree for a year, that will not fall to pieces like a rope of sand. Now, Spiritualists, go to work, bring your science to bear and demonstrate the fact that you have a system if you can. We have demonstrated it to the world; it is manifest, it is before us, we see it, it is tangible, we can see its results, it has wrought wonders. See if they can do like this. If the kingdom of the devil can do like the kingdom of God on the earth, it is deserving of credit; but its members can only divide and subdivide, produce confusion on confusion, disorder following on the heels of disorder, one to the right, another to the left. another for the front, another for the rear, one pulling this way, another pulling that, sect against sect., people against people, community against community, politically, religiously, and I may say morally to a great extent; and I do not know but I might say scientifically, although the sciences agree better than the faith, feelings and imaginations of the people. Now try this, Spiritualists! This is a text for you; and when you have produced order, system and unity among the inhabitants of the earth we will look and see what more there is that we have that the world have not. I am not going into details at all, but I just mention this to see if the Spiritualists can systematize or organize anything. When they have done this it will be time enough to admit that they have some science; but until then we will say that Spiritualism is a mass of confusion, it is a body without parts and passions, principle or power, just like, I do not like to say it, but just like the so-called Christians' God. The creed of the so-called Christians represents that their God is without body, parts or passions; and it should be added, without principle or power, for the latter is the corollary of the former. When we see anything that has solidity and permanency, that produces good, that builds up, creates, organizes, sustains, and betters the condition of the people, we pronounce that good and from God; but when we see that that injures, hurts, destroys, produces confusion in a community, disturbance and discord, strife and animosity, hatefulness and bitter feelings one towards another, we at once pronounce it evil, and declare that it springs from beneath. All evil is from beneath, while all that is good is from God.

      I did not think to preach you a sermon when I commenced, but to call upon some of the brethren to do so. I have given them some texts, and they may preach to or from them, just as they please. Some of them will probably talk about organizing the kingdom of God on the earth, and so governing a community as to make them of one heart and one mind. I am prepared to prove to any sensible congregation, any good philosopher or thinking person or people, who have steady brain and nerve to look at things as they are, that can tell white from black and daylight from midnight darkness, that the closer the connection in a business point of view that a community hold themselves together, the greater will be their joy and wealth. I am prepared to prove, from all the facts that have existed or that now exist in all branches of human affairs, that union is strength, and that division is weakness and confusion.

      I do not know but I will advert once more to Spiritualism. Spiritualism is like Methodism and the sects of the day exactly, I mean so far as unity of faith or action is concerned. When I was a Methodist, as I was once, they said to me, "You may be baptized by immersion if you absolutely require it, but we do not believe in it, but we do believe in giving every person his choice." "Well," said I, "I believe in it. There are some things required in the doctrine of the Close Communion Baptists which I cannot subscribe to as well as to most of the principles that you hold in your catechisms, and in the tenets of your church, but," said I, "they believe in baptism by immersion, and I want to be baptized by immersion;" and finally they consented to baptize me, and did do it. So say the Spiritualists.

      Another one says, "I want to kneel down in the water and have the water poured on my head." Says the Methodist priest, "We don't believe in it, but you can have it done. It is no matter, one method of baptism, perhaps, is as good as another." So say the Spiritualists. Another one says, "I want to get down into the water and be baptized face foremost." "Well," says the priest, "we don't think it makes any difference, and if you really desire it, you may have the ordinance administered to you according to your wishes." So say the Spiritualists. Another one says, "I want to sit in my chair and have the minister dip his fingers into a bowl, and put it on my forehead, add call that baptism in the name of the Trinity, The Methodist says, "We will consent to that; it is just as good as anything else." So say the Spiritualists. Another one says he wants to kneel down in the water and have water poured on him. The priest consents to this also. So do the Spiritualists. Why do I say this? Because men baptized by these various methods can all get communications, they say, from the spirits sanctioning each and every different form of baptism. The Methodists say, "We believe in a God without body, parts and passions;" so say the Spiritualists, the Presbyterian and other sects, but the Latter-day Saints do not. And in reference to the ordinance of baptism; the Latter-day Saints say, "Go down into the water and be buried with Christ in the water; and come out of the water as Christ came up out of the water, when the Holy Ghost in the form of a dove rested on His head, and a voice from heaven was heard saying, 'This is my beloved Son, hear ye him.' He will tell you what to do, teach you correct doctrine. He has no traditions to overcome, no prepossessed notions taught by parents, binding him to the sects that are now on the earth. Hear ye Him! have hands laid upon you that you may receive the Holy Ghost." The Latter-day Saints say to the people, "Believe in God the Father and in Jesus, the Son! Believe in the gifts of the holy Gospel! They are as ready to be bestowed upon His children at this day as any other in the history of the world. This is the time to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ; this is the very time that we should acknowledge him and believe in his ordinances and in the gifts and graces that are promised to the children of God. We are living in a Gospel age and dispensation, we are living right in the day in which, as the Apostles said on the Day of Pentecost, the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." Has the Lord called upon the children of men in this day? Yes, in the east and the west, from the north to the south, and in the uttermost parts of the earth. He has called upon the inhabitants of the earth to believe in the Lord Jeans Christ. Suppose this order of things had continued from the days of the ancient Apostles; suppose there had been no backsliding, no merchants to lift their heels because they are getting rich, no apostates, and the successors of the Apostles had received the holy Priesthood and had gone to the uttermost parts of the earth, where would have been your paganism to-day? It would not have been on the earth; infidelity would not have been known. Children would have been taught the ways of the Lord and brought up in the way they should go, and the whole world would have been full of the knowledge of God, instead of being in darkness as now!

 

ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON.

            The day in which we live is one of the most important, if not the most important that man has ever seen on the earth. It is the day in which the purposes of God shall be accomplished. The subject of unity can not receive too much of our attention. Without unity of action, in our temporal matters, our professions would be useless. The gospel brings salvation in every situation of life; it permeates the whole from the cradle to the grave. Therefore I love it. It is the Gospel carried out which has built this city and the various cities and settlements throughout this Territory. Our President has given us many wise counsels which we have not yet carried out. No people on earth have been so wisely counselled with regard to the affairs of life as the Latter-day Saints. In many respects we, as a community, are far from being united as we should be, considering our opportunities. Many who claim to be Latter-day Saints are so blind to the interests of everything connected with the Kingdom of God that they are loud in their denunciations of the principle of co-operation. It is opposed by individuals in the city, who ought to be the foremost to sustain it. But nevertheless it gradually gains influence and obtains more wide support from the masses of the people, who as a body are in favor of it. There is no man who has faith in the work of God who hesitates or feels doubtful respecting this principle. Yet it, like other true principles, has to meet with opposition. It has been the same with nearly every other principle the Lord has revealed. It is God's will that we should be united in all things. The Lord said, through Joseph, "except ye are one ye are not mine." I do not fear the pressure from the outside world it will never triumph. Because we are willing to be led and counseled by the servants of God. The world call us foolish, and there is a class calling themselves Latter-day-Saints who seem to have caught the same spirit. All the foothold that our enemies gain is the result of our want of unity. We have been advised in relation to our grain, about how to direct our labors and with regard to the railroad from Ogden to this place. I have often regretted the indifference manifested by many parents with regard to the education of their children. Education is of incalculable benefit to those who use it aright. Education should not be confined to the school room. children should be trained to draw near to the Lord. When the father of a family is absent the son should call the family together to family worship, and should ask a blessing on their food. Many of our young people are rude and unmannerly. A great deal of he proper training of children devolves upon mothers. Sons and daughters will eventually bless fathers and mothers who have been strict with them in wisdom. There is nothing more beautiful than well ordered society.

            Elder Cannon continued to speak for some time interestingly on the importance of training the young.

            Conference adjourned till tomorrow at 10 o'clock.

            The Choir sang: "Great God attend while Zion sings."

            Prayer by Elder Wilford Woodruff.

_____

[7 Oct, 10 am]

[DNW 19:418, 10/12/70, p 6]

            Friday, 7th, 10 a. m.

            The choir sang: "Behold! the harvest wide extends."

            Prayer by Elder John Taylor.

            The Parowan choir sang: "Sweet is the work, my God, my King."

ELDER ORSON PRATT.

            The great object of these conferences is that we may be edified concerning the things of God, to examine ourselves to see if we are alive to our duties. God has wisely designed that men should be placed in this probation that he may be prepared to obey higher laws. We have a great variety of ideas and notions of our own, but God designs that we should all be instructed in one grand system. All nations have traditions that have been handed down to them from their fathers. Some of these traditions are erroneous and some correct and beneficial. Let us see whether some of our traditions are consistent with the laws of God. We have been educated with regard to our property. We have been taught that all men and women should use all their efforts to accumulate wealth for their personal aggrandizement. This seems to be the main object of the people in all nations and in all classes of society. They believe that wealth is power and happiness. Is tis a correct tradition? It is in one sense and in another it is not. God created man to eventually possess wealth. It was He who created the vast resources of wealth that so abound on the earth. That same God that made those riches and endowed men with the power to accumulate them designed that they should be used for His own honor and glory. He did not design that the use of them should cause man to be lifted above his fellow, but for him to do good in the use of them. This is one of the traditions of which the Latter-day Saints are called, by the voice of God and revelation, to free themselves. To free themselves from selfishness and devote their substance to building up God's kingdom, to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. To use wealth for self aggrandizement only, is a tradition which entwines itself around the hearts of the children of men probably more than any other. Jesus instructed his disciples to pray that the will of God be done on earth as it is done in Heaven. This prayer is taught in all Christian nations. The difference between the order of things, in relation to property, in Heaven and the order existing on earth is very great. The riches of eternity are for the Saints of the Most High God. Those who shall be counted worthy to inherit the kingdom of God will be made heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ; joint heirs to riches, happiness, dominion and glory. This is the destiny of the Latter-day Saints. How great, then, will be your individual possessions. There should, therefore, be a preparation in this life before such a condition of things can be entered upon. We should have a very different order of things in relation to property from that which has obtained in the world. Some have murmured concerning what they term the strictness of matters about property, but there has been no strictness compared with what must ere long be introduced. Who has violated the vote that was taken at one of our Conferences that we would cease to sustain our enemies and that we would seek to sustain ourselves? There are men in our midst who would like to see this people persecuted and driven. If you trade with and sustain such characters here you will be miserable as well as accountable for the blood of the brethren providing it should be spilt.

            There are other traditions besides the one I have referred to which need the attention of the Latter-day Saints. It is not considered dishonorable in the world for a young man to marry a young lady without the consent of her parents. A young man who would do this is guilty of robbery of the meanest description. No young man has any right to make any advances whatever to a young woman without first consulting her parents, and no language could portray his contempt for a person who would take any other course. It is true, as was said here yesterday, that our young and young women are, as a general rule, virtuous, yet the practice, that has obtained here somewhat, of young people staying out of evenings in by places courting and probably keeping up that courtship for years is highly reprehensible. Those who oppose the true order of marriage as revealed by God virtually shut themselves out from a prospect of having wives and children in eternity. The speaker continued to speak for some time on the true order of marriage.

PRESIDENT GEO. A. SMITH.

            The Lord commanded the first man to take a wife and the commandment is applicable to every other man, therefore those who do not obey it are living in persistent opposition to the will of heaven. It was suggested at one of our Conferences, that all the unmarried young men over a certain age, should pay $200 annually to the P. E. Fund till married. Those young men who are liable to this fine are reminded that the fund needs replenishing and he would advise those young ladies who are still single through the dereliction of such young men, to stir them up and help collect the fines. The principle of union in temporal matters is not only applicable to merchandise but to everything else. We should unite so that we shall not build up merchant princes or an aristocracy of wealth in our midst. Let union be introduced in agriculture and agricultural machinery might be brought here that would reduce the labor of the farmer at least one half. Agricultural unions can be formed with success. There is but little of anything raised here to be sent abroad. Some Latter-day Saints have got wrong ideas on the mining question. They seem to think that, when they enter a mining camp, they must drink, swear, &c. This is a foolish tradition and, if any Latter-day Saints should enter into mining, let them not be foolish enough to indulge in vicious practices that degrade them. Let us support our tanneries and home shoe establishments. Let us see that sheep herds cover our mountains and that the necessary roots be raised to support them during the rough season, and give the charge of the herds to men who know how to treat sheep, and let the community own the herds. Thus, with union, factories and union sheep herds, we will clothes our backs with our own wool. We can just as well as not have co-operative butcher stalls. Unity can accomplish all these things. Why should we not have union cattle herds, having one brand on each animal, have it put in at a value and, when taken out, let it be taken out at a value. The same is applicable to horse herds. Cheese can be manufactured in every settlement just as well as not. He would advise our Dixie brethren to commence some cotton fields on the principle of co-operation and give the cultivation of this important article more attention than it has yet received.

            The choir sang: "Daniel's wisdom may I know."

            Prayer by Elder Geo. Q. Cannon.

            Conference adjourned till 2 p.m.

_____

[7 Oct, 2 pm]

[DNW 19:418, 10/12/70, p 6]

Friday, 7th, 2 P. M.

            The Parowan choir sung: "We shall know each other there."

            Prayer by Elder Joseph F. Smith.

            Choir sung: "See all creation joins, to praise the eternal God."

ELDER CHARLES C. RICH

Spoke on the necessity of the Latter-day Saints being united, and on the beneficial results of all the experiences they have been called to pass through as a people.

PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG

Delivered a discourse on the subject of co-operation, showing that the principle can be applied in every department of industry, and how its application in domestic affairs and all other matters would be the very best system of economy that could be adopted. He advanced powerful reasons in favor of co-operative stock herds.

PRESIDENT GEORGE A. SMITH

Spoke on the strict observance the words of wisdom, the necessity of sustaining schools, and especially those which have been established for the purpose of sustaining schools, and especially those which have been established for the purpose of graduating teachers, that we may never be under the necessity of engaging teachers of doubtful character. He advised those who attend Conference to take memoranda of the teachings given and carry them to the various settlements that they may be carried out by the whole: For the time will come when we will build a Temple in Jackson County, Missouri, and the Saints will have to be prepared before they can perform the work.

            The choir sang: "O my Father thou that dwellest In the high and holy place.

            Prayer by Elder Lorenzo snow.

            Conference adjourned till to-morrow at 10 a.m.

[7 Oct, 6:30 pm]

[DNW 19:418-419, 10/12/70, p 6-7]

            A Priesthood meeting, which was numerously attended was held at half-past six, p.m., in the Tabernacle. On the stand were the First Presidency, the Twelve Apostles, First Presidency of the Bishopric and many Bishops and other leading elders. The spirit of God was powerfully manifested. Bishop Hunter, and Presidents Daniel H. Wells, Geo. A. Smith and Brigham Young were the speakers and much valuable instruction was given.

            Another meeting of the same kind will be held this evening at half-past six o'clock, in the same place.

_____

[8 Oct, 10 am]

[DNW 19:419, 10/12/70, p 7]

Saturday 8th, 10 a.m.

            The Choir sang: "Give us room that we may dwell"

            Prayer by Elder Erastus Snow.

            The Parowan Choir sang: "There is not time like the present time."

ELDER ERASTUS SNOW

Spoke on the first principles of the gospel. In the course of his remarks he alluded to some of the causes which induce people to apostatize from the truth. He also treated upon the transient nature of worldly honors and pleasures and the consequences which result to those who are engrossed by them, and the glorious destiny of hose who become grounded in the love of God in Christ Jesus through a faithful observance of His laws. He alluded to the calling of missionaries to settle new sections of country, and stated that many who had been called on such missions, and had run well for a season and then given up, are now going into darkness. Such are in danger of forsaking the service of God. He showed that it is the duty of the Saints to go where the Lord and His servants want them and to labor as they are directed.

PRESIDENT GEO A. SMITH.

            Spoke: He advised the brethren to work for a reasonable remuneration, and to do all the labor that has to be done in this Territory, instead of making it necessary for those who want it done to import it, on account of the high price demanded for it. If the brethren go to mining,he would advise them to work for pay instead of taking up claims for, in most cases those who invest in mining speculations fall, financially. If those who own mines want the brethren to work for them, do so and get money. He continued at some length on this subject and gave some very practical illustrations.

PRESIDENT D. H. WELLS

Spoke on the religious beliefs and practices of the world, showing that whatever of a saving nature may be inculcated in the various systems extant, is comprehended within the purview of the gospel of Jesus which we have received, and what is lacked by them to make up the plan of salvation is also incorporated in the gospel which is a complete system. He showed that the principles of the gospel would yet infuse themselves into the minds of the Saints to such an extent that they would be sought after to fill positions of trust all over the world.

PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG.

Spoke briefly on the labor question. He advised the brethren to work for strangers who come here if they desire it, and use the means they receive in payment for the building up of the Zion of God.

            The choir sang: "Awake ye Saints of God, awake."

            Prayer by Elder Jacob Gates.

            Conference adjourned till 2 p.m.

_____

[8 Oct, 2 pm*]

[DNW 19:418, 10/12/70, p 6]

Saturday 8th, 2 P. M.

            The choir sang: "Glorious things of Thee are spoken."

            Prayer by Elder Elias Morris.

            The Parowan choir sung: "Hark! the song of Jubilee."

            ELDER GEO. Q. CANNON presented the Authorities of the Church to the Conference. The votes to sustain them in the following order were unanimous:

            Brigham Young, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; George A. Smith, his first, and Daniel H. Wells his second counselor.

            Orson Hyde, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Orson Pratt, Sen., John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Jun., Joseph F. Smith and Albert Carrington, members of said Quorum.

            John Smith, Patriarch of the Church.

            John W. Young, President of this Stake of Zion, and George B. Wallace, and John T. Caine his counselors.

            William Eddington, John L. Blythe, Howard O. Spencer, John Squires, Wm. H. Folsom, Emanuel M. Murphy, Thos. E. Jeremy, Joseph L. Barfoot, Samuel W. Richards, John H. Rumell, Miner G. Atwood, Wm. Thorn, Dimick B. Huntington, Theodore McKean and Hosea Stout, members of the High Council.

            Elias Smith, President of the High Priests' Quorum, and Edward Snelgrove and Elias Morris as his counselors.

            Joseph Young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Harriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates and John Van Cott, members of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies.

            Edward Hunter, Presiding Bishop; Leonard w. Hardy and Jesse C. Little his councilors.

            Benjamin L. Peart, President of the Elders' Quorum; Edward Davis and Abinadi Pratt, his councilors.

            Samuel G. Ladd, President of the Priests' Quorum; Wm. McLachlan and James Latham, his councilors.

            Adam Spiers, President of the Teachers' Quorum; Martin Lenzi and Henry I. Doremus, his councilors

            James Leach, President of the Deacon's Quorum; Peter Johnson and Chas. S. Cram his counselors.

            Brigham Young, Trustee-in-Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

            Truman O. Angell, Architect for the Church.

            Horace S. Eldredge, President of the Perpetual Emigration Fund to gather the Poor.

            Albert Carrington, Historian and General Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff, his assistant.

            Elders Lorin Farr, of Ogden, and Wm. L. Paine, of Kaysville, were cal[led] to go on missions to England.

            When the motion was put to the Conference to sustain President Brigham Young as Trustee-in-Trust for the Church, he arose and tendered his resignation of that office. At this the congregation manifested strong signs of disapproval. And, when Elder Cannon stated that there were two motions before the Conference, one to sustain President Young as Trustee-in-Trust, and the other to accept of his resignation of that office, thousands of the people shouted "no," "no;" and, when the first motion was put, the vast congregation, agitated by one common feeling, moved and surged for a few moments, and, not satisfied with merely holding up the right hand in token of sustaining the motion, great numbers rose to their feet and held up both hands and a murmur went up from the human sea. Many of the strangers present held up their hands as if impelled by the same spirit that moved the great assembly. The scene was one which will never be forgotten by those who beheld it, and but few persons present could prevent feelings of intense emotion swelling up in their bosoms. There stood the veteran, faithful leader of a people who had been led by him through the most trying scenes that have proved him to be their best earthly friend as well as spiritual guide, and the people uttering a united protest against his resigning to act for them in a position of trust.

            President Young tendered his resignation of the office of President of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund, and nominated Horace S. Eldredge as his successor to that office. The resignation was accepted and the nomination unanimously sustained.

            When the motions were put to sustain President George A. Smith as Historian and General Church Recorder, and President Daniel H. Wells as Superintendent of Public Works, they resigned those offices. Albert Carrington was nominated to the office of Historian and General Church Recorder, which was carried unanimously. Nominations to the office of Superintendent of Public Works was left over for the present.

            A vote of confidence and thanks to the First Presidency, for their labors in the offices they had just resigned, was carried unanimously.

PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG

Gave it as a reason for the First Presidency resigning those offices that they would be more free to travel among the people and preach to them. He delivered a very powerful discourse in which he showed what had produced the wonderful union that exists among the Latter-day Saints. His remarks were reported.

ELDER ORSON HYDE

Addressed the Conference for a short time. He stated that none had ever helped the Saints but the Almighty, and that He would continue to be their friend. He prophesied of the ultimate triumph of the Saints over all their enemies and that no power would ever stay their progress.

            The choir sang: "Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah."

            Prayer by President George A. Smith. Conference adjourned till to-morrow at 10 a.m.

_____

[9 Oct, 10 am]

[DNW 19:419, 10/12/70, p 7]

Sunday 9th, 10 a.m.

            The Parowan Choir sang: "How beautiful upon the Mountains"

            Prayer by Elder Albert Carrington.

            The choir sang: "The morning breaks, the shadows flee."

ELDER JOHN TAYLOR.

Showed that, in the Latter-day Saints taking the course they do they are but carrying out the designs of the Almighty, and that no power will ever hinder them from performing the work they have commenced if they are faithful.

            The gospel addresses itself more particularly to those who love truth and right. There is ;no wickedness so despicable as that which is perpetrated under the garb of religion. It has been mostly men who were enwrapped in the cloak of pretended Christianity, who in the past have driven and persecuted the Latter-day Saints. God, in inaugurating the work in which we are engaged, has commenced to correct all the evils that are in the world. Notwithstanding the numberless religions and vain philosophical organizations that exist, the demon of war and other great wrongs still stalk abroad. No power can correct them but that of the Almighty, through revealing heavenly principles to those who are willing to receive them. There has been considerable said about the one-man power. It is a mistake to use this expression in connection with the Latter day work unless God be called that one man. He believed in the power of God; but the Almighty raises up men to act for him on the earth, as he raised up a Moses to lead Israel anciently. President Brigham Young is the mouth-piece of God to us. We are all instructed by him; we receive intelligence from the same source as he does and we therefore know that he speaks by the inspiration of God. This cements us together. We sustain him as our head and this is the one-man power. Our unity extends to temporal concerns because it is right. God has a right to govern us in those matters, for he created them all. He created all our surroundings as well as those beautiful bodies which our spirits inhabit.

[Mr. Martin Harris]

            MR. MARTIN HARRIS, one of the three witnesses to the Book of Mormon, arose and bore testimony to its divine authenticity.

[President George A. Smith]

            President George A. Smith spoke a short time: he said it is remarkable to have the testimony of Martin Harris. The Book of Mormon, however, carries evidence with it. The promise has been fulfilled that those who do the will of God should know of the doctrine that it is true; thus the book of Mormon has thousands of witnesses. He bore a powerful testimony to the truth of the latter-day work.

[Elder George Q. Cannon]

            ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON read the testimony of the witnesses of the Book of Mormon as published on the first page of that book.

[President Brigham Young]

            PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG gave a brief account of the manner in which the witnesses of the Book of Mormon left the church. He related circumstances showing that none of those witnesses had ever denied their testimony. He bore testimony that Joseph Smith was as great a prophet, as true and faithful, and as good a man -- Jesus excepted, as ever lived.

            The choir sang: "Go, ye messengers of glory."

            Prayer by elder Charles C. Rich.

            Conference adjourned till 2 p. m.

_____

[9 Oct, 2 pm]

[DNW 19:419-420, 10/12/70, p 7-8]

SUNDAY 9TH, 2 P. M.

            The Parowan choir sang "He's gone to the silent land."

            Prayer by Elder George Q. Cannon.

            The choir sang: "Arise my soul arise, Shake off thy guilty fears."

ELDER ALBERT CARRINGTON

Addressed the conference: He showed that there is but one way by which the human family can attain to the things of God; that is by obeying the simple principles of the Gospel of Jesus. He desired the welfare of all mankind whatever might be their views or traditions. We gathered to these valleys to devote ourselves to the worship of God and there can be no better or nobler pursuit. Many would like to see us give up this pursuit and introduce the institutions of so-called civilization amongst us; but we will never do it. Although he, in common with the rest of the Saints, had been driven and persecuted for worshiping God according to the dictates of his own conscience, yet he had no bitter feelings against his persecutors, as he believed they did it in their ignorance. He continued to speak for some time on the political position of the people of this Territory, showing that Congress could not be Constitutionally sustained in the position it assumed toward them. The programme of the enemies is to oppress them, so as to goad them on to the commission of some overt act that would be a pretext for waging an exterminating crusade against them. Those, however, who plot and scheme for the overthrow of this people will accomplish their own discomfiture.

PRESIDENT GEORGE A. SMITH

Addressed the Conference. He stated that when the State of Deseret applied for admission into the Union as a State Congress was bound, according to the Constitution, to give us a republican form of government in which all the officers would be elected by the people, but they did not do it. He spoke in relation to the ordinance of baptism for the dead, showing that all the benefits of that ordinance could not be fully enjoyed until a temple should be built in which it could be administered; and that, if we go to work with a determination to finish the Temple here, our enemies will begin to howl; yet, if the Saints continue faithful, they will accomplish the work. We should devote some of our attention to erecting that building. Let the Saints learn all they can about their fathers, that the ordinances pertaining to the dead may be attended to.

            President Smith then spoke on the nature of the institution of marriage. He said, let every man marry for eternity and every woman seek after a good, faithful husband, for the man is not without the woman nor the woman without the man in the Lord. The speaker gave some excellent instructions on the subjects upon which he treated.

PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG

Spoke for some time on the subject of salvation for the dead, who had passed from earth without the privilege of obeying the gospel. He showed the comprehensiveness of the plan of salvation At the conclusion of his discourse he blessed, in the name of Jesus, the congregation, all the Saints and all the inhabitants of the earth who are for the promotion of truth and righteousness.

            Elder Cannon called over the names of the following brethren as having been called to assist Elders c. C. Rich and Lorenzo Snow in settling the northern part of the Territory:

Ezra T Clark
Bro Vitsall, 13th Ward
John L brushes
David Hess, Farmington
Niels Wahlstrom, 17th Ward
Ludwig Shurke, 14th Ward
Charles E Robinson, Pleasant Grove
John A Robinson, do
Charles A Berry, Springville
Horace Drake, 12th Ward
John Luther Dolton, Weber City
Ebenezer Farns
Charles Hubbard
James Peterson, Mill Creek
Jeppe George Farlkman
Joseph Evans, Lehi
Joseph Thomas Kingsberry
Carl Marcussen, North Ogden
Wilholm Hiskey
J E Lane
Daniel Law
Benjamin Clark
Peere Fordham
William Jenkins
Walter Hoge, Providence
Lewis Gerand
George B Morris, 19th Ward
George Clissold, 11th Ward
William Andrus, Morgan County
Benjamin Wright, South Cottonwood
Frederick Y Bishop do do
Charles K Wright, West Jordan
Henry Lewis, 20th Ward
Joseph E Mullet, 19th Ward
Milo Andrus, Jr, Dry Creek
Laron Andrus, do do
Samuel M Price
David B Bybee
Alma Peterson
Charles Peterson, Weber City, Morgan Co
Thomas Ashment
Benjamin Peart
Miron Higley, Jr
Henry Dixon
Neils Rassmussen
Ezra F Martin, 3d Ward
Andrew J Johnson, 15th Ward
Robert Collins
Fritz L Johnson, 19th Ward
Benjamin M Harman, 15th Ward
Henry Hayward, 16th Ward
Robert S Wood, 14th Ward
Stephen Theobald, West Jordan
James Johnson, 16th Ward
Franklin Merrill
Albert M Merrill
Daniel Bryan

            Also the following to go on missions to England:

John I Hart, Ogden
Charles Lambert, 7th Ward

            Conference adjourned till the 6th day of April next.

            The choir sang: "The earth is the Lord's."

            Benediction by President George A. Smith.

            The Conference throughout has been characterized by the rich outpourings of the Spirit of God. The instructions have been of a nature to make all true-hearted Saints rejoice, and none who attended could fail to see that the power of Israel is on the increase.

JOHN NICHOLSON,
Clerk of Conference.

_____

1871

6-9 Apr 1871, 41st Annual General Conference, Tabernacle.
[Deseret News Weekly, 20:112-114, 4/12/71, p 4-6; Millennial Star 33: 273, 289, 305]

[6 Apr, 10 am]

[DNW 20:112-113, 4/12/71, p 4-5]

FORTY-FIRST

ANNUAL CONFERENCE

OF THE

CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS.

_____

THE Forty-first Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints convened on this the sixth day of April, 1871, at 10 o'clock a.m., in the New Tabernacle.

            On the stand were:

Of the First Presidency:

            Brigham Young, Geo. A. Smith and Daniel H. Wells.

Of the Twelve Apostles:

            Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Charles c. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, jr., Joseph F. Smith and Albert Carrington.

Patriarch:

            John Smith.

Of the First Seven presidents of Seventies:

            Joseph Young, Albert P. Rockwood and John Van Cott.

Of the Presidency of the High Priests' Quorum:

            Elias Smith, Edward Snelgrove and Elias Morris.

Of the Presidency of this Stake of Zion:

            George B. Wallace and John T. Caine.

Of the Presidency of the Bishops:

            Edward Hunter, Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little.

            There were also Bishops, Elders and leading men from every settlement in the Territory.

            Conference was called to order by President Brigham Young.

            The choir sang: "The towers of Zion soon shall rise."

            Prayer by Elder John Taylor.

            The choir sang: "Mortals awake! let angels join."

PRESIDENT GEO. A. SMITH

Made a few preliminary remarks. He said it was a source of joy that we could assemble here on the occasion of the Forty-first Annual Conference of the Church. He alluded to the changes and persecutions through which the church had passed since its organization. Our coming here, building cities, towns, &c., has constituted us the pioneers of civilization in the great West. These things are now matters of history. During the Conference instructive addresses will be delivered by the apostles and Elders. Also a number of matters of business will be laid before the people; among which will be the building of the Temple, the payment of tithes. The construction of a railroad south will be considered. This road would greatly facilitate the transportation of the necessary material to build the house of God. Measures will probably be taken to build a Temple at St. George. The time will come when each stake of Zion will have its Temple. On account of President Eldredge's health failing, it will be necessary to appoint some one to fill his place as President of the European mission; and, as Elder W. W. Cluff will probably return this season, also some one to fill his present position in the Scandinavian mission. The foreign mission, however, may not be very much extended at this Conference. We would be glad if the people of this city would understand that there is plenty of room in this tabernacle for them. He hoped they would tell this to their friends. He continued to speak on the present condition of the nations of the earth and bore testimony to the truth of the great latter-day work.

ORSON HYDE

Next spoke. He said that the weather having been for some time unpropitious for farming and the farmers in consequence being very busy, this conference may probably not be quite so well attended as some previous ones. Whether there be few or many, if the spirit of God is poured out on us we can enjoy ourselves. He read a passage from the 18th Psalms beginning at the 25th verse, and then spoke for some time on the attribute of mercy as shown by the Almighty and how it should be exercised by all men and women in every department of life. In the course of his remarks he alluded to the eternal nature of man and all the ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ, speaking more particularly of the law of marriage. He also made some remarks with regard to the opposition manifested against the work of God, stating that he was inclined to believe that many who thus array themselves against the Latter-day Saints are imbued with a degree o sincerity, as all have their peculiar stand-point from which they view the Kingdom of God. Such sincerity, however, does its possessor more injury than good. In speaking of polygamy, he said, how many of those who oppose the practice of that principle by the Saints, if they should be arraigned before the bar of God with the polygamist, could say, "here are my wives and children whom I have honored, acknowledged and sustained?"They would be compelled rather to tell a tale of sin and shame, in giving their account. He exhorted the Saints to increased diligence in keeping the commandments of God. If the Saints will do right, they will live to see their enemies humbled in the dust. He hoped there would be an abundant harvest, that tithes and offerings may flow into the storehouse of the Lord.

            The Choir sang: "Great is Jehovah."

            Prayer by Elder Franklin D. Richards.

            Conference adjourned till 2 p. m.

_____

[6 Apr, 2 pm]

[DNW 20:113, 4/12/71, p 5]

            2 p. m.

            The choir sang: "Let every mortal ear attend."

            Prayer by Elder Wilford Woodruff.

            The Choir sang: "Arise, O glorious Zion."

ELDER LORENZO SNOW

Addressed the Conference. He said, although the church has passed through many checkered and trying scenes since its organization, and notwithstanding the circumstances of the Saints have undergone many changes temporally, their faith and the principles of the gospel remain unchanged. He spoke of the various dispensations in which God had revealed his will to man, showing the opposition with which such dispensations had been met by the great bulk of the human family. He showed the absolute necessity of mankind being guided by revelation and alluded to the gift and power of the Holy Ghost and the only way by which that great gift could be obtained. There need be no dubiety in the minds of any respecting the truth of the gospel we preach, for the servants of God declare they have authority to administer the ordinances of the House of God and that if people will repent of their sins and be baptized for the remission of them, they shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and they will thus have the truth revealed to themselves. This has been tested and proved by tens of thousands in various parts of the earth, who are living examples of the fulfillment of those promises. Many who see the good effects of gathering the poor to these valleys, thus enabling them to better their circumstances, say President Young is a very smart may. But those good effects are not particularly because he is a smart man, but because the Lord continually inspires him with the necessary wisdom to direct the work we are engaged in.

BISHOP JOHN SHARP

Said he was fortunate enough to be one of those to whom the servants of God brought the plan of salvation. When he heard the glad message he received it readily. The spirit of the Lord bore testimony to him that what he heard was the truth. The gospel found him in a coal pit and had brought him from darkness to light. He was not an enemy to mankind and he never would quarrel with his neighbor if he could not see as he did. He claimed the same right of religious freedom he was willing to accord to others, and in exercising that right, he took pleasure in bearing testimony that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God raised to introduce the fullness of the gospel of truth. It takes but little education to tell of the testimony he has received and the peace he enjoys in this world of strife. He alluded to the comprehensive nature of the gospel, as illustrated in the design of the Almighty to save not only those being in the flesh, but the dead who have gone before who will listen to His voice.

PRESIDENT GEORGE A. SMITH

Addressed the Conference for a short time. He gave a graphic description of some of the persecutions endured by the Saints in the early rise of the church. He showed the great obstacles to be overcome in first bringing so many people, nearly all of whom were very poor, to these valleys. He also alluded to the help that had been extended in gathering the poor from the nations of the earth. The contributions for carrying on this important work have been limited for some time, on account of the destruction of crops by grasshoppers, &c. Let the brethren consider, during this conference, what they will donate for this purpose and, when they become liberal, say what they will do. This is one of the items of this Conference. Those who owe the P. E. fund should immediately pay up. Let all the elders who have been on missions remember their brethren in the old countries. May God bless us in doing this and every good thing.

PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG

Briefly addressed the Conference. He said it would be gratifying if those who spoke would take the course that had been pursued this afternoon, viz., not so speak too long. He bore his testimony to the truth of the gospel, and stated that a great many evil spirits were seeking to overthrow every good Saint. The Saints should be on their guard against such influences. He showed that there was not a science in existence but substantiated the truth of the gospel we have received, for it embraces all truth. He requested that, to avoid confusion, the people should remain quietly until meeting be dismissed, and that the door-keepers see that the door be kept closed.

            It was announced that a Priesthood meeting would be held to-morrow evening, at 7 o'clock.

            The choir sang: "Make a joyful noise."

            Prayer by Elder George Q. Cannon. Adjourned till to-morrow, 7th, at 10 a.m.

_____

[7 Apr, 10 am]

[DNW 20:113, 4/12/71, p 5]

            7th, 10 a.m.

            The choir sang: "See! all creation joins To praise th' eternal God."

            Prayer by Elder Orson Hyde.

            The choir sang: "Hosannah to the great Messiah."

ELDER WILLIAM C. STAINES

Addressed the conference. He said he had no subject but life and salvation which he had studied for many years. It was thirty years since he heard the gospel. The first prayer he heard offered up by an Elder of Israel was commenced thus: "O thou God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, unto Thee I lift up my voice this morning." He felt convinced that he indeed addressed the true and living God, and by his discourse he felt he was a servant of the Almighty.

            Previous to this he had been a Methodist. He was baptized for the remission of sins and received the Holy Ghost. After this he sought for the gifts of the spirit. Once while alone, the Spirit of prophesy came upon him. He was tempted to think that his having that gift and exercising it while alone, was useless. On consulting Elder Lorenzo Snow upon the subject, he told him that he would yet exercise that gift publicly and repeat the same prophesy h e had uttered when alone. This was fulfilled afterward, just as Brother Snow had said.

            Elder Staines bore a powerful testimony to the truth of the work of God, saying he knew by revelation that Joseph Smith was a prophet, and also that the Spirit and power of God had rested upon President Young from the death of Joseph to the present time. He spoke of the great difficulties that had to be encountered and overcome by the Saints since their settlement here, and through which they had been safely led by the servants of God. He exhorted the Saints to increased faithfulness and especially the young brethren and sisters to be obedient to their parents. He said he knew that when the prophet Joseph was martyred, his mantle fell upon Brigham and had remained with him from that day to the present. He desired that the blessings of God should be upon the people.

ELDER FRANKLIN D. RICHARDS

Spoke. He said that he first heard the gospel preached by President Young in Massachusetts. It was over thirty years since he embraced that gospel. He had not long obeyed its principles until it was revealed to him, by the Holy Ghost, that he had received the truth. He had never doubted the truth from that time until now. His only object in life was to assist in building up the Kingdom of God. He alluded to the probable great influx of strangers that the opening of our mineral resources would bring here, and the mistaken notions of many with regard to the way in which we look upon such an advent. We do not look upon strangers with hostility, but otherwise. We have been expecting strangers to come here. No gentleman or lady has ever come here who has been uncourteously treated. There are, however, many who come with their minds filled with prejudice and with a determination to find fault with everything and, when they leave, they speak evil falsely against the people. The honorable, however, will tell the truth concerning us. He alluded to the war and contention in some parts of the world, showing that peace was being taken from the earth; that the spirit of peace is with the Saints and that President Young is the greatest living benefactor of the human family. He spoke of the allurements that would probably be placed before the people by the introduction of so-called civilization, and warned them against being led astray by them. We are greatly blessed in having the privilege of rearing two Temples at the present time. The prophet Joseph said there was no greater responsibility resting upon the Saints than looking after the interests of their dead. It is time we looked after our progenitors, to whom we are indebted for our existence. It is to be hoped that tithes and offerings will flow in to help carry on this work. He spoke of those who are indebted to the P. E. fund and the necessity of their paying up and of the brethren donating of their means to gather the poor. He bore a strong testimony to the restoration of the gospel in these days.

PRESIDENT GEO. A. SMITH

Addressed the conference. He said the hard labors of the Saints, such as moving the people to these valleys with insufficient outfits, building cities and settlements, &c., have hitherto operated against the extension and introduction of facilities for education. Yet, whenever a settlement has been established, a school house has been the first building erected and the means of education have spread as rapidly as circumstances will permit. In this city and at Provo graded schools have been instituted. Government has rendered us no assistance in this direction. Let the brethren and sisters sustain these institutions by sending their children to attend them and furnish means to carry them on. It has been a great misfortune to us, he continued, that some of our school trustees', have engaged teachers of irresponsible character. The greatest and best foundation for a good teacher is a sound moral character, that his or her influence with pupils may be on the side of righteousness and purity.

            The choir sang: "Glory to God."

            Prayer by Elder Geo. Q. Cannon.

            Adjourned till 2 p.m.

_____

[7 Apr, 2 pm]

[DNW 20:113, 4/12/71, p 5]

            7th, 2 p. m.

            The choir sang: "The great and glorious gospel light."

            Prayer was offered by Joseph F. Smith.

            The choir sang; "Author of faith, Eternal word."

ELDER JOHN TAYLOR

Addressed the assembly. He said he would take a text from the Church of England prayer Book: "As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, worlds without end." He thought, as great improvements had taken place in literature, science, &c., that there ought to be a corresponding improvement among men in religious matters. The rapid progress in science, art, and mechanism, however, affect us only temporally. Discoveries are but the development of latent principles which have existed eternally in nature. Man, he said, was formed in the image of God; had come from and would, in due time, return to him. Elder Taylor discoursed, at considerable length on the nature and constitution of man; his relationship to the Deity; what should be his present hopes and aspirations, and what shall be his ultimate destiny. He also alluded to the eternal nature of the plans and purposes of the Almighty. This discourse was reported in full;.

ELDER JOSEPH F. SMITH

Briefly addressed the conference. He said that all Latter-day Saints should devote themselves exclusively to building up the kingdom of God. However assiduously we may work to that end, the fruits of our labors are with the Lord. We have, he said, been able to accomplish what has already been done by His blessing. Our enemies, have, at various times, endeavored to overthrow us. Their operations against us have invariably been overruled for our benefit. As this has been the case in the past, so will it ever be in the future. He alluded to the sending of the army here in 1857-8; the object of those who were instrumental in having it sent, and the benefits to the Saints accruing therefrom. He referred to the magnitude of the work that lies before the people of God, and exhorted the Saints to cast aside every evil habit, and practice the holy and ennobling principles of life and salvation.

            The choir sang: "Praise Him."

            Prayer by Elder Orson Pratt.

            Adjourned till 10 a.m., to-morrow.

____

[7 Apr, 7 pm]

[DNW 20:113, 4/12/71, p 5]

            According to appointment, a meeting of the priesthood was held in the old Tabernacle, last night, commencing at 7 o'clock, at which many valuable instructions were given, principally with regard to the necessity and best method of carrying on the work of building the Temple in this city. Elders Geo. Q. Cannon, and Orson Hyde, and Presidents Daniel H. Wells and Brigham Young were the speakers.

_____

[8 Apr, 10 am]

[DNW 20:113-114, 4/12/71, p 5-6]

SATURDAY, 8th, 10, a. m.

            The choir sang: "An angel from on high."

            Prayer by Elder Orson Pratt.

            The choir sang: "Ye wondering nations, now give ear."

ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON

"Addressed the assembly. He read a portion of the 17th chapter of the first book of Chronicles, commencing at the third verse. After which he delivered a highly instructive discourse upon the subject of rearing Temples to God. He alluded to the desire which David of old had to erect such an edifice and the reason the Lord had for not permitting him to do so, and why that important labor was transferred to Solomon. No people, he said, excepting the Latter-day Saints, now design to build an house unto the Most High God, upon which His glory might rest and in which His power could be manifested and the ordinances of the everlasting gospel attended to. He spoke of the Temples that were built in the places from which the Saints had been driven by persecution, and the blessings and endowments that were received therein, and which can only be bestowed and conferred in a house built and dedicated for the purpose.

            The servants of God, he said, are very desirous that the Temple in this city should be pushed to completion. If the people would faithfully pay their tithes, there would be no difficulty in accomplishing this. There has been much negligence on the part of many in this matter. There was, however, a chance now to make up for past negligence. He showed that additional power would be bestowed on the Elders of Israel if the Temple were finished. This has been illustrated in the past by the power received through the ministrations in the Temples already built by the Saints.

            To the keys, powers, &c., thus received could be attributed the miraculous intervention of God's power in our behalf when we were hemmed in by dangers on every side, and there seemed to be no means of escape. If it must be fulfilled that "the tabernacle of God shall be with men," and that God will suddenly come to His Temple, we must build that Temple, that He may visit it.

He showed the eternal nature of the ordinances of the House of God and their absolute necessity in binding the human family together in all the relationships of life and in joining the connecting link between the living and the dead. He gave numerous and conclusive reasons why the Saints should prosecute with energy the work of completing the Temple.

[George Q. Cannon]

[DNW 20:209, 6/7/71, p 5; JD 14:122]

DISCOURSE.

By Elder GEORGE Q. CANNON delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, April 8, 1871.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      I will read a portion of Scripture which is found in the 17th chapter of the First Book of Chronicles, commencing at the 3rd verse—

      "And it came to pass the same night that the word of God came to Nathan, saying,

      "Go and tell David my servant, Thus saith the Lord, Thou shalt not build me an house to dwell in:

      "For I have not dwelt in an house since the day that I brought up Israel until this day; but have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another.

      "Wheresoever I have walked with all Israel, spake I a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people, saying, Why have ye not built me an house of cedars?

      "Now therefore thus shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, even from following the sheep, that thou shouldest be ruler over my people Israel:

      "And I have been with thee whithersoever thou hast walked, and have cut off all thine enemies from before thee, and have made thee a name like the name of the great men that are in the earth.

      "Also I will ordain a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, and they shall dwell in their place, and shall be moved no more; neither shall the children of wickedness waste them any more, as at the beginning:

      "And since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. Moreover, I will subdue all thine enemies. Furthermore, I tell thee that the Lord will build thee a house.

      "And it shall come to pass, when thy days be expired that thou must go to to be with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom.

      "He shall build me an house, and I will stablish his throne for ever.

      "I will be his father, and he shall be my son; and I will not take my mercy away from him, as I took it from him that was before thee:

      "But I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom for ever; and his throne shall be established for evermore.

      "According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David."

      There is one point, brethren and sisters, in the passages I have just read in your hearing, to which I wish to call your attention—namely, the pleasure that was evinced by the Lord at the disposition which David manifested—a disposition which none of his predecessors, apparently, had exhibited, to build unto the Lord of hosts a house, a temple, a place upon and within which his glory could rest. So pleased appeared the Lord to be with this disposition of David that he promised him that he would establish his dynasty, that his son should reign after him, and that this son should be the instrument in his hands of building a glorious temple unto his name. The reasons are given in other portions of Scripture why the Lord did not accept this offering on the part of David. The Lord, in one place, alludes to his life, saying that he had been a man of war and blood; that he had gone forth and fought his enemies, and because of this the Lord Was not disposed to accept his offer, but he promised David that he would raise up a son after him who should be a man of peace—a man free from war and blood, and that during his lifetime his temple should be reared; and, according to the prediction of the Lord God, through Nathan the Prophet, Solomon was raised up and did accomplish the work which his father David had desired to do, and he did rear a temple unto the name of the Lord upon and within which his glory rested and was manifested; and the blessing of God rested upon Solomon so long as he continued to serve with a perfect heart the Lord God of his fathers. Israel was also greatly blessed and prospered in rearing that house; and though Solomon, in his prayer, when dedicating it, said how was it possible that God could take up his residence upon earth, when the heavens, and the heaven of heavens could not contain him, still God did condescend to manifest his glory in that house to such an extent that the priests could not endure it; and the blessings of God rested visibly, in the presence of the people, upon that house, and they knew that he bad accepted their labors and the dedication of their means for the erection of a house to his name.

      This labor appeals to us in a very peculiar manner. There is no people or community on the face of the earth to-day, except the Latter-day Saints, who think of rearing unto the Lord of Hosts a temple upon the same principle and for the same objects and ends that the temple was reared in Jerusalem. Already we have completed two temples, and laid the foundation of five. The Saints are all familiar with the history of the building of the temple of Kirtland, whether they were there personally or not; they are also familiar with the blessed results which followed its erection. They know that God did manifest himself to his servants and people in a very peculiar manner, and poured out upon them great and precious blessings; many ordinances which bad been lost to man, or of which he scarcely knew anything, and for the administration of which there had been no authority upon the earth for generations, were restored, and men and women received ordinances, promises and blessings which comforted their hearts and encouraged them in the work of God. And not only were these ordinances administered, but additional authority was bestowed upon the prophet of God who stood at the head of this dispensation. And so also the completion of the temple at Nauvoo brought many blessings; that is, so far as it was completed, for the enemies of God's kingdom did not permit us to complete it entirely; but so far as it was completed God accepted the labor of the hands of his servants and people, and great and precious blessings were bestowed upon the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for the faithfulness and diligence of its members in rearing that house.

      I have often thought of the shortness of the period, after the death of Joseph, which was continued in building that house. He died, as you well know, or was murdered, on the 27th of June, 1844. Before 1845 had passed away the Saints were receiving their endowments in that house. The walls were completed, it was roofed, the spire finished, and the upper story so far completed that the Elders could go in and administer in the ordinances of God's house—the sealings, washings and anointings, and in the performance of those ceremonies and ordinances which were necessary for our growth, increase and perfection as a people; and when it is recollected that all this was done in a very short period over one year, it bears testimony to the zeal of the Saints and the mighty exertions they made to fulfil the word of God and the requirements He made of us as a people, that we and our dead might not be rejected. But we were not permitted to enjoy that house, we were not permitted to continue receiving blessings there; the enemies of God's kingdom were upon us, and we were compelled to abandon it and our homes, and it fell a sacrifice to the wickedness of the wicked and it was burned with fire—probably a better fate than to have it stand and be defiled by the wicked.

      We have now to commence again the erection of another temple. For many years the foundation of one on this block has been laid, and the Saints have labored upon it to some extent; but it has not been pushed forward with very great rapidity. There have been reasons for this—good and weighty reasons. It is desirable when we build another temple that it should not fall into the hands of the wicked, as those we have already built have done; but that it should stand as an enduring monument of the faith, zeal and perseverance of the Latter-day Saints, in which the ordinances of God's house and kingdom may be administered through all coming time. There seems to be a spirit now resting upon the servants of God to push this house forward to its completion; and I doubt not that this spirit will be received and cherished by the Saints. throughout Utah Territory, and throughout the world. Judging by my own feelings on this subject and by the expressions of those who have alluded to it, I confidently believe that a spirit is resting upon the people to receive the counsel that is given concerning it, and to carry forward the work to a speedy completion.

      There are many reasons why we should do it. It is true that God, in his mercy, has permitted us to build another house, which we call the Endowment House, and in which we have received many ordinances and blessings; but there are several which cannot be attended to in the Endowment House; they must be postponed until a temple is completed, in which the Elders and men of God who bear the Holy Priesthood, can go and administer the things of God, and have them accepted by him. This, of itself, is sufficient to stir us up, as a people, to exceeding great diligence in pushing forward this work.

      When David announced his intention to prepare the means for the building of the house that should be erected by his son Solomon, he accumulated everything that could be prepared beforehand, So that when Solomon should come to the throne after his decease, he might be full-handed and have abundance wherewith to commence the labor of building. To accomplish this, David called upon Israel to come forward and exert themselves, and they did so, so we are told, and had exceeding great, joy in contributing of their means for the erection of that building. Of course there is no objection to the Latter-day Saints doing the same; still, that requirement is not made of us at the present time. All that we are required to do is to obey the law that God has given unto us, that is, to pay our tithing. It has been said, and I do not doubt the correctness of the statement, in fact, I may say I am fully aware and conscious of it, that if this people would pay one-tenth of their tithing this temple could be pushed forward to completion very speedily. As a people we have been very negligent in paying our tithing; there are doubtless many exceptions, but as a rule we have not complied with that law with the strictness which we should have done. Now, however, there is an opportunity for us to compensate for our shortcomings in the past, and to go to with zeal and energy to rear this house, so that there may be a temple of God in our midst in which ordinances can be administered for the living and for the dead. I fully believe that when that temple is once finished there will be a power and manifestations of the goodness of God unto this people such as they have never before experienced. Every work of this kind that we have accomplished has been attended with increased and wonderful results unto us as a people—an increase of power and of God's blessings upon us. It was so in Kirtland and at Nauvoo; at both places the Elders had an increase of power, and the Saints, since the completion of, and the administration of ordinances in, those buildings have had a power they never possessed previously.

      If any proof of this is needed let us reflect upon the wonderful deliverances that God has wrought out for us since we left Illinois. Up to that period or up to the time that the temple was partly finished and the blessings of God bestowed within its walls, our enemies to a very great extent had triumphed over us. We had been driven from place to place; compelled to flee from one town, county and State to another; but how great the change since then! We started out a poor, friendless people, with nothing but God's blessing upon us, his power overshadowing us and his guidance to lead us in the wilderness; and from the day that we crossed the Mississippi river until this day—the 8th of April, 1871—we have had continued success and triumphs. God has signally delivered us from the hands of our enemies, and when it has seemed as though we would be overwhelmed, as though no earthly power could succor or deliver us from the hands of those who sought our overthrow, God has done for us as he did for his ancient covenant people, when he caused the waters of the Red Sea to separate, that they might pass through and escape the destruction their enemies threatened. So have we been in as remarkable a manner delivered from, apparently, overwhelming difficulty and danger.

      Whence, I ask, my brethren and sisters, has this power come? Whence has it been derived? I attribute it to the blessings and the power and the authority and the keys which God gave unto his Saints, and which he commenced to give in the Temple at Nauvoo. The Elders of Israel there received keys, endowments and authority which they have not failed to exercise in times of extremity and danger; and clouds have been scattered and storms blown over, and peace and guidance, and all the blessings which have been desired have been bestowed upon the people, according to the faith that has been exercised. Others may attribute these things to other causes; but I attribute them to this, and I feel to give God the glory; and I trace these deliverances to the power that the Elders received in that temple and previously. I fully believe also, as I have said, that when this and other temples are completed, there will be an increase of power bestowed upon the people of God, and that they will, thereby, be better fitted to go forth and cope with the powers of darkness and with the evils that exist in the world and to establish the Zion of God never more to be thrown down.

      I know that there is a feeling in the breasts of many people that this sort of thing is fanaticism. This is characteristic of the age of unbelief in which we live. God, in the minds of this generation, is removed far from them. He dwells at an illimitable distance from man, and is not supposed to interfere with his affairs. Man, they think, is left to work out deliverance and salvation according. to his own wisdom; and there are a great many people, and it may be said, a great many nations, who do not believe that God interferes at all with matters off the earth. They think of and speak about him; but it is mere form and tradition with them; very few believe that he interferes directly with the affairs of men. Of course when such a belief is prevalent, or rather when such unbelief prevails, the idea of building a temple or temples to the Most High God, in which ordinances shall be performed for the living and the dead, strikes the people as something strange and fanatical. But, let me ask, what was the object of building a temple in the days of Solomon? What was the object of rebuilding it after its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar? Why was it that Ezra and the Jews who were him in Babylonish captivity were strengthened to go forth to rebuild the temple of God at Jerusalem? We read in the Scriptures that God's blessing rested upon them. Their enemies, it is true, harrassed them and did all in their power to check their labors, but nevertheless they were exceedingly blessed, and God accepted their work and bestowed choice and peculiar blessings upon them.

      When Jesus came the temple still stood in Jerusalem, but it had become defiled. He was so angered on one occasion on this account that he took a scourge of cords and beat out the money changers and others who had defiled it, and upset their tables, and in this visible manner showed his anger at the defilement of his Father's house.

      We read in the revelations that the time will come when the tabernacle of God will be with men on the earth. How shall we, as men and women, prepare for this? One of the prophets says, "And the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his Temple," showing that there will be, at some period or other, a temple or temples built on the earth to which God will come.

      I have often thought, in reflecting on this subject, how careless mankind are in relation to the future. We are born on the earth, where family relationships that are most desirable are formed. Parents have their children whom they love beyond expression. These children grow up and form associations in life and raise families, and these relationships are the most tender known to the human heart. There is nothing so much calculated to make life desirable as the relation of parents to children and children to parents, husbands to wives and wives to husbands; and many a man when he loses his partner, loses all the hope that he has; his heart sinks within him, and he feels as if life was undesirable; and instances are not rare of men, through grief on this account, having their lives shortened. And so with the other sex; sometimes through the loss of a husband a woman's heart will break and she goes down to an early grave. And yet, in the midst of the world where all these tender ties and emotions exist there is no preparation for their perpetuation. The people do not believe that they exist beyond the grave. Imagine, if you can, a state of things where all these relationships are utterly destroyed and all mingle in one common herd! This is the kind of heaven that many people believe they are going to. I have heard ministers say, "O, I will not know any relationship between myself and my wife hereafter; she, then, will be no nearer to me than any other woman, nor I to her than any other man; our children will be no nearer to us than any other children, and we will live in this condition throughout the endless ages of eternity." This is a dreary prospect for any human being who has the affection of a husband, wife, parent, or child—a dreary prospect for that endless eternity to which we are all hastening.

      But God, in ancient days, gave certain authority unto one of his Apostles—namely, Peter. He gave to him authority to bind on earth, and it should be bound in heaven; to loose on earth and it should be loosed in heaven. Where is this authority now? Shall we go to the Roman Catholic Church to find it? If it be there it is not exercised. Shall we go to the Episcopal Church to find it? If it be there they fail to proclaim it. Where shall we go to find a man who has authority to bind on earth and it is bound in heaven, as Jesus told Peter? Where shall we find a man whose acts will be thus recognized of God, and whose performances or solemnizations are confirmed by the heavens themselves? You travel throughout all the earth and mingle with the various sects who claim to be the descendants of the Apostles, and you will look in vain for any claims to such authority. But come among the Latter-day Saints, who claim to be the original Church restored to the earth again, who claim to have the authority of the Apostleship—the same Apostleship that was exercised by Peter, James, John and the other Apostles, and you will find the authority to bind and loose on earth and it will be bound or loosed in heaven, claimed and exercised in their midst. It is claimed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that God has restored the keys of the Apostleship; that he has restored the authority by which the ordinances shall be performed on the earth that will bind man to woman, woman to man, children to parents and parents to children, so that these relationships which are so acceptable in the sight of God may not only exist for time, but may be perpetuated throughout the endless ages of eternity.

      This is the claim the Latter-day Saints make, and it is the authority they exercise. To claim the Apostleship and authority without claiming and exercising its functions would be altogether contrary to the spirit and power of that office and authority when it was upon the earth in ancient days; therefore we wish to rear temples and administer ordinances, looking, as we do, upon this life as a state of probation in which we may gain experience and prepare ourselves for higher exaltation and a greater degree of felicity in the world to come.

      We build temples and we administer and submit to ordinances and perform those things within them which will prepare us to dwell eternally with our God, with Jesus and the Apostles in the heavens. There each man will have his family and kingdom. It is said that God is Lord of lords and King of kings; but how can he be King of kings unless there be kings under him to give him homage and pay respect unto him and acknowledge him as their Lord and their King? When God led forth Abraham and told him that as the stars of the firmament were innumerable so should his seed be, he proclaimed to him the greatness of his kingdom in eternity. He told Abraham that he should be a king Over this innumerable host; for if Abraham were not to be king over them, of what use or glory would his posterity be to him? When God pointed Abraham to the sand on the sea shore and told him that as it was countless so should his seed be, he told him in accents that could not be mistaken of the future glory of his eternal kingdom. And if all mankind attained to the same promises as Abraham, they also would have an innumerable posterity to reign over. As the prophet says concerning our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, "To the increase of his kingdom there shall be no end." It shall go on increasing with every cycle of eternity, as long as time endures. There shall be no end to the increase of his kingdom. His glory consisted of this; and the glory of God consists in the number of his posterity; and as generation succeeds generation, until the earth is filled and glorified, other worlds will be rolled into existence, upon which the posterity of God, our heavenly Father, shall increase throughout the endless ages of eternity.

      As it was said to Abraham and Jesus, so it will be said to the faithful sons and daughters of God; hence the Latter-day Saints believe in the eternal nature of the marriage relation. When we marry there is a power here to bind on earth and it is bound in heaven. Men and women are married to each other for time and for all eternity; not as it is in the world, "until death shall them part;" but that tie shall be as enduring as eternity itself, and there shall never be a time when it shall be dissolved; and to their increase there shall be no end, for this is the glory of God, and this is the blessing of God upon his faithful children. The godlike power has been given us here on the earth to bear and perpetuate our own species; and shall this power, which brings so much joy, peace and happiness, be confined and limited to this short life? It is folly to talk about such a thing; common sense teaches us better. It teaches that we have been organized, not for time alone; that we have been endowed as we are, in the image of God, not for thirty, forty, fifty, seventy or a hundred years, but as eternal beings, exercising our endowments and functions for all eternity, if we live faithful or take a course that God approves. Therefore there is great sense, beauty and godliness in the idea that God taught Abraham with respect to his posterity becoming as numerous as the stars of the firmament.

      The Latter-day Saints live for this. We look upon this life as a very short period of time. We have suffered and are likely to suffer as the Saints of God did anciently; and this life is a state of probation—a short period filled with sorrow. Difficulties, thorns, briars, brambles, and obstacles of various kinds beset our pathway; but, as was said yesterday, we look forward to a heavenly city, whose builder and maker is God. We look forward to the time when this earth will be redeemed from corruption and cleansed by fire; when there shall be a new heaven and a new earth, and when the Saints shall possess their native inheritance purified from sin, redeemed from corruption, with the power of Satan curtailed, and when we shall be able to increase and multiply and fill this earth, go to other earths and carry on the work of emigration through the endless ages of eternity.

      This is a little of the heaven that the Latter-day Saints look forward to. It is not a heaven where all distinctions are abolished—where parents and children are mingled with the common mass, where wives and husbands are undistinguishable; but where all these ties exist and are preserved and perpetuated, and man goes forward on that heavenly career which God, his Heavenly Father, has assigned to him, and which he designs that all his faithful children shall walk in. These are some of the reasons why we want a temple built. There are innumerable reasons why we should go to with our might and rush forward this work. Let us push it to its completion as speedily as may be required, and God will bless us; he will make our feet fast in these valleys; he will give us increase and make of us a mighty nation. Already he has set his seal upon us; already he has given us the glorious privilege of bearing his name. Let us rear a house upon which his glory shall rest, and that shall be called by his name. This is required at our hands; and that God may help us to accomplish it, and keep us faithful to the end, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

ELDER CHARLES W. PENROSE

Addressed the Conference. He spoke of the joy that had animated the breasts of all the Saints, in every part of the world, when it was announced to the that they would have the privilege of building a Temple to the name of God. He alluded to the prophecies of the ancients in relation to the establishment and building of the House of the Lord in the last days. Our gathering here has so far fulfilled those prophecies, but there is an immense amount of labor yet remaining, one of the initiatory parts of which is to build temples to the Most High. The Lord now requires that we should go to and build a House to His name, not for His benefit, but for our own. He thought that when this announcement was made to all of the Saints it would be received with gladness and acted upon, and explained the necessity for this important matter being attended to. After showing that the living Priesthood was the only channel through which heavenly intelligence can be received and by which life and exaltation can be obtained, he bore testimony to the restoration of the gospel in these days and that the power of God was with President Young and his associates, and predicted the final triumph of the cause of God on the earth.

            The choir sang: "Seraph's Anthem."

            Benedictory prayer by Elder Brigham Young, jun.

            Adjourned till 2 p. m.

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[8 Apr, 2 pm]

[DNW 20:114, 4/12/71, p 6]

2 p.m.

            The Choir sang: "Great God, indulge my humble claim."

            Prayer by Elder Joseph W. Young.

            The choir sang: "Hark! ye mortals, hist! be still."

            ELDER GEO. Q. CANNON presented the Authorities of the Church to the Conference. The votes to sustain them in the following order were unanimous:

            Brigham Young, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; George A. Smith, his first, and Daniel H. Wells his second councilor.

            Orson Hyde, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Orson Pratt, Sen., John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young Jun., Joseph F. Smith, and Albert Carrington, members of said Quorum.

            John Smith, Patriarch of the Church.

            John W. Young, President of this Stake of Zion, and George B. Wallace and John T. Caine his councilors.

            William Eddington;, John L. Blythe, Howard O. Spencer, John Squires, Wm. H. Folson, Emanuel M. Murphy, Thos. E. Jeremy, Joseph L. Barfoot, Samuel W. Richards, John H. Rumell, Miner G. Atwood, Wm. Thorn, Dimick B. Huntington, Theodore McKean and Hosea Stout, members of the High Council.

            Elias Smith;, President of the High Priests' Quorum and Edward Snelgrove and Elias Morris as his councilors.

            Joseph Young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Harriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates and John Van Cott, members of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies.

            Benjamin L. Peart, President of the Elders' Quorum; Edward Davis and Abinadi Pratt, his councilors.

            Edward Hunter, Presiding Bishop: Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little his councilors.

            Samuel G. Ladd, President of the Priests' Quorum; Wm. McLachlan and James Latham;, his councilors.

            Adam Spiers, President of the Teachers' Quorum; Martin Lenzi and Henry I. Doremus, his councilors.

            James Leach, President of the Deacon's Quorum; Peter Johnson and Chas. S. Cram his counselors.

            Brigham Young, Trustee-in-Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

            Truman O. Angell, Architect for the Church.

            Horace S. Eldredge, President of the Perpetual Emigration Fund to gather the Poor.

            Albert Carrington, Historian and general Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff, his assistant.

            He then presented the names of the following brethren as having been called to go on missions to Europe, which were unanimously sustained:

      Albert Carrington to succeed Horace S. Eldredge as President of the European mission; Canute Peterson to succeed W. W. Cluff as President of the Scandinavian mission.

Antoine H. Lund, of Ephraim;
Christian Willardsen, "
Jens C. A. Welbye, Manti;
Christian Madsen, Gunnison;
Paul Dehlen, Mount Pleasant;
Paul Paulsen, Fountain Green;
Philip Lenba;
Ferdinand Oberhaensh, of Payson;
Johannes Huber, Midway, Provo Valley
        TO THE EASTERN STATES:
Jesreel Shoemaker.

ELDER ALBERT CARRINGTON

Addressed the congregation. He delivered a discourse on the object of the existence of man on the earth, showing the foolishness of men who take credit to themselves for the discovery and development of principles which had been in existence throughout all eternity. He alluded to the instability of human governments and the eternal nature of a government founded upon the rock of revelation, explaining that such was the nature of the kingdom of God, which the Latter-day Saints are seeking to establish. He alluded to the desire manifested by a large portion of the human family to apply the principle of force to compel their fellows to think as they do. He continued at some length, touching upon many important points. His remarks were reported in full.

PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG

Addressed the assemblage. He showed that the objectionable point in Mormonism, to those opposed to it, was the unity manifested by the Latter-day Saints. He said that there was no iniquity in a people being united. Our doctrine is true and we like it, our object is one, and we pursue it. This is the cause of our unity. He explained that there was no confusion in the House of God. There are no two sides to the question. He continued at some length, giving much valuable instruction and dwelling upon many important points, showing the broad, free and comprehensive nature of the plan of salvation. An adequate idea of his remarks could not be conveyed in a synopsis. They were reported in full and will shortly be published.

[Brigham Young]

[DNW 20:149, 5/3/71, p 5; JD 14:91]

DISCOURSE

By President BRIGHAM YOUNG, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, April 8th 1871.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      I have a few words to say to the congregation and I wish perfect silence. This is a very large room, and for any person to fill the space within these walls with his voice, he needs strength of lungs and stomach and the attention of the congregation.

      We have been witnessing, this afternoon, the world's great objection to "Mormonism," for we have had the privilege of beholding the unanimous vote of the people when the names of the officers of the Church were presented for election or rejection. We have seen the same oneness and unanimity this afternoon which characterize the Latter-day Saints on all occasions, and this is objectionable to the world. They say it is anti-democratic, though we think not. I looked over the congregation pretty diligently to discover a contrary vote; but I could not see such a thing. When the vote was called all hands were up. I thought, while witnessing this spectacle, "What harm is there in a people being of one heart and one mind?" but, to use a common phrase, I could not see the point. I cannot discover any iniquity in a people's being one. If they are disposed to chose evil instead of good, sin instead of righteousness, darkness instead of light, falsehood instead of truth, where is the utility in being divided and quarrelling about it? And if they have embraced, believe in and love the truth; or if they desire and are seeking for it, I ask, where can be the harm in being one in this? This is the "one-man power" that there is so much said about.

      Now, ask yourselves, and let me ask you, who has been to you, individually, and told you to vote just as you have voted here to-day? Has any man visited your habitations to tell you that when you came to this house you must all vote precisely alike? I will pause right here and will request that, if any person present has been so instructed, he or she will let us know it. I do not see any person rise, and I need not look for any one to do so, from the simple fact that not a word on this subject has been said to the Latter-day Saints. Our doctrine is true and we like it; our faith is one and we are one in it, our object is one and we unitedly pursue the straight and narrow path that leads to it.

      This is for those who have only one ear, half an ear, or no ear at all for the truth; or for those who wish to leave the truth. Though I do not suppose there are any here this afternoon that wish to leave the truth for error, that wish to forsake righteousness, holiness and truth for unrighteousness, corruption, disorder, confusion and death. People do, however, leave this Church, but they leave it because they get into darkness, and the very day they conclude that there should be a democratic vote, or in other words, that we should have two candidates for the presiding Priesthood in the midst of the Latter-day Saints, they conclude to be apostates. There is no such thing as confusion, division, strife, animosity, hatred, malice, or two sides to the question in the house of God; there is but one side to the question there.

      You ask the kingdoms of the world if they have such an organization as the kingdom of God, and they will tell you they have not. They have no organization amongst them so perfect and complete. Well, is it right for the people of the world to elect their presidents and rulers? Yes, if they wish to. For four years? Yes, or for one year, or for six months or one month, if they wish to; but when the Lord appoints presidents, he does not change them every month or year, or every four years. Should they be changed? No, they should not. Should they be changed in human governments? No, they should not; and the nation that would delight in a good government, the best possible for its preservation and strength, should pattern, in its organization, after the kingdom of God on the earth. Here are our tribunals and courts; and our courts are courts of error, to judge every matter and cause according to its merits and demerits.

      Well, where is the harm in this I wish the world, or any scientific men in it, would detail the error in a people being one; and I will go still further, and say, being one in the Lord, as we are commanded and recommended to be. Even in the wicked world, where there is so much confusion, where is the good that arises from contention and opposition? I have not seen it, and, as I have said, I cannot see the point. But here in Utah that "one-man power" is such a terrible thing. I would ask: Who is that man, and where is the power, and what is the power? It is the power of him who brought us into existence, and he is the MAN who wields it, and he is the Father of us all, and the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Maker and Possessor of this earth that we inhabit, and is the Producer of all things upon it. Is he one? Yes. Is his trinity one? Yes. Is his organization one? Are the heavens one? Yes. Although we have a short account, in what are called the Scriptures of truth, that on a certain occasion there was a little confusion in heaven. The Lord has revealed something of this in these latter days. What was the result? One-third part of the hosts of heaven walked out. I do not think the election lasted a great while, if they had two candidates, and it appears they had; and I do not think they stopped very long at the polls, or were very long counting the votes to find out who would be president or who would not, for they turned them out. Was there any reason for this? Would it be democratic to get up an election in heaven and have opposition? Why, yes, according to the feelings and understandings of the political world it would be very democratic; but I would say to the political world, if they were before me, that the opposition they are so anxious to promote contains the seeds of the destruction of the government that we live in. This is the plant or tree flora which schism springs; and every government lays the foundation of its own downfall when it permits what are called democratic elections. If a party spirit is developed, the formation of one party will be speedily followed by another; and furthermore, the very moment that we admit this, we admit the existence of error and corruption somewhere. Where is it? Right points out its hiding place, and says that truth, and truth only, will endure, and that falsehood and corruption and error of every description are from beneath—are of the enemy; and the Lord Almighty suffered this schism in heaven to see what his subjects would do preparatory to their coming to this earth, which we need not talk about to-day. But the division did not take place in those who were redeemed from the earth and exalted and brought up into the presence of the Father and the Son, to live in their presence and in their glory, and be partakers of their power. But it was among another class, and we are now in the midst of them. There is but one thread that can be followed that can endure for ever, but one path that we can walk in that is eternal—and that path is the path of perfection, purity and holiness, By this, and this only, have the Gods been exalted, the angels live and the heavenly hosts bask in purity. We are trying to prepare for it.

      Can error live? No, it is the very plant of destruction, it destroys itself; it withers, it fades, it falls and decays and returns to its native element. Every untruth, all error, everything that is unholy, unlike God, will, in its time, perish. Every government not ordained of God, as we have just been hearing, will, in its time, crumble to the dust and be lost in the fog of forgetfulness, and will leave no history of its doings. Why, with all the knowledge and learning now in the world we have the history of only a very scanty portion of those who have peopled our earth from the days of Adam until now. And we, in our turn, should go into the land of forgetfulness were it, not for our organization and the oneness which prevail in our midst. Says Jesus, "Unless ye are one, ye are not mine." The counsel contained in this saying is the best that could be given. Who could have given better advice to his friends than Jesus gave to his disciples? Be one, for union is strength, is it not? Yes. Go into the political world, and you will find that union is strength; it is the same in the mechanical world; and if we take every art and science, and all the pursuits of the human family, in oneness there is strength. Said Jesus, "Be ye one, as I and my Father are one, he in me and I in him; I in you," &c. Now, I finish this by saying if there is a person on the face of this earth that can give a true and philosophical reason why we should not be one, I wish he would bring it forth, for the Latter-day Saints want to have the best organization that can be formed, and they want the best of everything that can be got. We want the truth, and the whole truth; and we look forward with gladness to the time when we can say we have nothing out the truth. We cannot say that now; we have an immense amount of error, and we are very far from being perfect; but we hope to see the time that we can say that we have truth only, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

      I want to say a few words for the benefit of my brethren the Elders, and of all the Latter-day Saints, male and female, old and young; and then for the benefit of strangers, Christians and ministers of the different religious sects, if they could all hear me to-day. I can tell you the difference in one grand principle, between your religion and ours. It is this: we would not make everybody bow down to our religion, if we had the power; for this would not be Godlike; but other religionists would. It is not discovered by the world, and it is not perceived enough by the Elders of Israel. The reasons why we do not prosper and travel faster and further than we do, we have not time to talk about, perhaps, to-day; but I will say this: our religion, the religion of heaven, differs very much from man's religion. It has just been told us that the divines are in the habit of taking a text from the Scriptures, but when they do so they almost invariably preach from it. I hardly ever heard a man in my life, when in the Christian world, preach to his text, but directly from it. This makes confusion.

      Now, suppose that we were to issue our edicts to the whole world of mankind for them to obey the Gospel we preach, and had the power to compel them to obey, could we do it according to the dictates of our religion? We could not. We could invite them, and could tell them how, but we could not say, and maintain the faith that we have embraced, you must bow down and profess our religion and submit to the ordinances of the kingdom of God. I will give you a reason for this. If this were our duty, and it were legitimate, if we had the power, for us to make every person on the earth submit to the code of laws and ordinances that we have submitted to, it would prove that God is in fault in not making them do so. But if we become Godlike we will be just as full of charity as he is. We would let pagans worship as they please, and to the Christians and Mahommedans, and all sects and parties in the world we would say, "Do just as you please, for your volition is free, and you must act upon it for yourselves before the heavens. Our religion will not permit us to command or force any man or woman to obey the Gospel we have embraced. And we are under no obligation to do this, for every creature has as good a right, according to his organization, to choose for himself as the Gods. To use a comparison, all have a right to eat bread or let it alone; they may make and eat unleavened cakes as the people did anciently, if they choose; and no person has a right to say to another, "Why do you eat wheat bread, corn bread, or no bread at all? why do you eat potatoes, or why do you not eat them? why do you walk, or why do you sit down? why do you read this or that book? or why do you go to the right or the left?" for everyone has a right to do as he likes in these respects, all being independent in their capacity and choice. Here is life for you, here is salvation for you, choose ye this day whom ye will serve. If the Lord be God, serve him, or you may serve Baal, just at your pleasure. If the Elders of Israel could understand this a little better, we would like it, for the simple reason that if they had power given them now they manifest the same weaknesses in the exercise thereof as any other people. They have not an eye to discern between the spirit, power, and principles by which the the Gods live, and those which govern and control the children of men; and yet between the two there is an infinite difference.

      Can you find a Christian denomination which would not make us bow down to their creeds if they had the power? Not one. We have plenty of evidence to prove this. We have history enough to prove that when they have the power their motto is, "You shall." But there is no such thing in the economy of heaven. Life is before us, death is before us, we can choose for ourselves; and this is one of the differences between the religion of heaven and the religions of men. Do we profess to say that the various religious systems of the world are the religions of men? If they are not, what are they? If the sects and parties have not been formed by man and the wisdom of man, what power did form them?

      I will now say a few words with regard to our faith. Our religion, in common with everything of which God is the Author, is a system of law and order. The earth on which we live hangs and floats in its own element, rotates upon its axis and moves at an immense velocity without our perceiving it either asleep or awake, it performs its revolutions, the atmosphere moving with it, so as not to injure, disturb, or molest any being on its face. But how long would it retain its position and move unwaveringly in the orbit assigned it without law? Can you tell us, you astronomers? How long would the moon and the members of our planetary system retain their positions, were it not for strict law? Who gave that law? He who had the right. The world do not know him, but he will call around one of these days and let them know that be is in being. I will say to Saint and sinner, that if we do not know him, he will call by and by, and let us know that he lives, and will bring us to judgment. If we do know him, happy are we if we obey his laws. He is not a phantom; he does not exist without law, order, rule, and strict regulation. And the laws by which he is governed are the laws of purity. He has instituted laws and ordinances for the government and benefit of the children of men, to see if they would obey them and prove themselves worthy of eternal life by the law of the celestial worlds; and it is of these laws that our religion is composed. This holy Priesthood that we talk about is a perfect system of government. The best way I can think of to express my idea of Priesthood of the Son of God is to call it a perfect system of laws and government. By obedience to these laws we expect to enter the celestial kingdom and be exalted.

      We have had a few words with regard to temples. We are going to build temples. This law is given to the children of men. I will carry this a little further, and say to my brethren and sisters and all present, that the law of the celestial kingdom that is introduced here upon the earth in our day is for the salvation and exaltation of the human family. Previous to the coming forth of this Priesthood and code of laws, there was no law on the earth that we have any knowledge of whereby a man or woman could be sanctified and prepared to enter the presence of the Father and the Son. This may sound in the ears of many like strange doctrine. But pause a moment; do not let any of your hearts flutter, not for a moment. If you and the world generally knew all that we know, I do not believe that there is a wicked man on the earth, unless he be past the day of grace, but would say, "Thank you, Latter-day Saints, God bless you! I will help you to carry on your work, for you have the keys of life and salvation committed to you for this last dispensation." We could enumerate a few of the laws that we have embraced in our faith pertaining to the building up of the kingdom of God on the earth. How is it with regard to the authority to proclaim the words of salvation to the children of men? According to the Scriptures of divine truth, and the revelations that God has given, "no man taketh this honor unto himself, except he be called of God, as was Aaron." These are the words of the Apostle. Did Joseph Smith ever arrogate to himself this right? Never, never, never; and if, God had not sent a messenger to ordain him to the Aaronic Priesthood and then other messengers to ordain him to the Apostleship, and told him to build up his kingdom on the earth, it would have remained in chaos to this day. There is no objection to people having the spirit of their calling, and having it even before they are called; but if they have the spirit of wisdom given to them they wait until a servant of God says, "My brother John," or, "My brother William, the Lord Almighty has called thee to be a minister of salvation to the inhabitants of the earth, and I ordain thee to this office. This is the law of heaven. Is it observed in the Christian world? No, it is not; there man's authority and notions prevail entirely, and this is the cause of their confusion and variety in their methods of expounding the Gospel as contained in the Scriptures; but when a man who is called and ordained of God goes forth he preaches the ordinances, faith in Christ and obedience to him as our Savior. He declares that the first step to be taken, after believing in the Father and the Son, is to go down into the waters of baptism and there be immersed in the water, and come up out of the water as Jesus did. Some may inquire why the Latter-day Saints are so strenuous on this point? We do it for the remission of sins; Jesus did this to fulfill all righteousness. John said to him, when he went and demanded baptism at his hands, "I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me!" Jesus answered: I do this to fulfill all righteousness; I do this to set a pattern for my brethren, and for all who come after me and believe on my name; and this is why the Latter-day Saints are so strenuous with regard to baptism by immersion. What was the result of obedience to the ordinance of baptism in the case of the Savior? The Holy Ghost, in the form of a dove, it is said, rested upon him. This is not exactly the fact, though a natural dove descended and rested on the head of the Lord Jesus, in witness that God had accepted the offering of his Son. But the dove was not the Holy Ghost, but the siren that the Holy Ghost was given to him. And after that, Jesus went forth and was tempted, as you read.

      Obedience to the ordinance of baptism is required that people may receive the remission of their sins. After that, hands are laid upon them for the reception of the Holy Ghost; and this Holy Ghost teaches you and me to vote exactly alike; it teaches us to believe alike and to receive the ordinances of the house of God. No man or woman ever received the faith of this Gospel but what desired to be baptized by immersion for the remission of sins and to have hands laid upon them for the Holy Ghost. Then come the blessings of healing, faith, prophecy, tongues, and so forth.

      I recollect when brothers Kimball and Hyde went to England the first man they baptized was George D. Watt. In the second or third meeting after his baptism, Brother Watt got up and said: "I have the spirit of prophecy upon me;" and said he, "We are all going to leave England, and are going to America, for America is the land of Zion." Not a word had been said to Brother Watt about the gathering. Is not this so, Brother Hyde? (Brother O. Hyde: Yes, sir.) I wanted to say these few words on this subject.

      And now, my brethren, the Elders of Israel, have compassion on all the inhabitants of the earth, for we shall never have the keys of authority committed to us to he rulers until we will rule just as God would rule if he were here himself. We have been persecuted, driven, smitten, cast out, robbed and hated; and I may say it was for our coldness and neglect of duty; and if we did not exactly deserve it, there have been times when we did deserve it. If we did not deserve it at, the time, it was good for and gave us an experience, though I must say that one of the hardest lessons for me to learn on earth is to love a man Who hates me and would put me to death if he had the power. I do not think I have got this lesson by heart, and I do not know how long I shall have to live to learn it. I am trying. I believe that if the reins of power were in my hands to-day, I never would ask a man to be a Saint if he did not want to be; and I do not think I would persecute him if he worshiped a white dog, the sun, moon, or a graven image. But let us alone; let the kingdom of God alone that is all we want. If the principles of eternal life are not sufficient to win fine hearts of the children of men, just take your course—the downward road. I will say if there be any here who were once Latter-day Saints, but have apostatized, do not persecute us; do not try to hinder the work we are engaged in. We are trying to save the living and the dead. The living can have their choice, the dead have not. Millions of them died without the Gospel, without the Priesthood, without the opportunities that we enjoy. We shall go forth in the name of Israel's God and attend to the ordinances for them. And through the Millennium, the thousand years that the people will love and serve God, we will build temples and officiate therein for these who have slept for hundreds and thousands of years—those who would have received the truth if they had had the opportunity; and we will bring them up, and form the chain entire, back to Adam.

      I will say that there is not a man on the face of the earth but, if he knew the objects the Saints have in view, and the work they are engaged in, would rather say, "I have a sixpence to help you," sooner than he would persecute and slander this Priesthood or people. No, he would say, "I have a sixpence or thousands to help on this good work." We Will bring up all the inhabitants of the earth, except those who have sinned against the Holy Ghost, and save them in some kingdom where they will receive more glory and honor than ever the Methodist contemplated. This should be a comfort and a consolation to all the inhabitants of the earth. They will not save themselves, millions have not had a chance, and millions now living, through the strength of their traditions, will not do it; their consciences and feelings are bound up in their systems and creeds, whereas, if they felt as independent as they should feel, they would break loose and receive the truth; but they will live and die in bondage, and we calculate to officiate for them. Many a man I know of, who has fallen asleep, we have been baptized for since the Church was organized—good, honest, honorable men, charitable to all, living good, virtuous lives. We will not let them go down to hell; God will not. The plan of salvation is ample to bring them all up and to place them where they may enjoy all they could anticipate. Is there any harm in this? No. God bless you. Amen.

 

            The choir sang: "Star of Bethlehem."

            Benedictory prayer by President George A. Smith.

            Adjourned till Sunday 9th, at 10 a.m.

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[9 Apr, 10 am]

[DNW 20:114, 4/12/71, p 6]

            Sunday 10 a. m.

            The choir sang: "Though nations rise, and men conspire, Their efforts will be vain;"

            Prayer by Elder John W. Young.

            The choir sang: "Oh God, our help in ages past."

ELDER JOSEPH YOUNG, SEN.,

            Addressed the congregation. He stated that he was glad that he was numbered among the Latter-day Saints that their God was his God, and that, with them, he had been permitted to enjoy the spirit of the gospel of Jesus, through which he had been enabled to learn something about the Creator. He impressed upon the Saints the necessity of being humble, submissive and forgiving. He bore testimony that the gospel preached by the Elders of Israel was the same as that taught by Jesus and His Apostles, and declared that he knew Joseph Smith was a true prophet on the same principle as Peter knew that Jesus was the Christ; by revelation from the Almighty. He reviewed some of the trying circumstances through which the Saints passed in coming to these valleys and at various times after their settlement here, and alluded to his late mission to Europe and the peculiar feelings he experienced in being so far from his brethren, kindred and friends. He drew a picture of the extremes of wealth and squalid penury which characterize England, in which country he had labored. He described the wretched condition of many of the poor Saints there and strongly advised those who had means to send assistance to enable them to come here.

ELDER ORSON PRATT

Addressed the assemblage. He showed that no blessing pertaining to life and salvation can accrue to any of the children of men otherwise than through strict obedience to law. The blessing of the remission of sins could be obtained in no other way than through obedience to the laws of faith, repentance and baptism, and the Holy Ghost could only be received through the laying on of hands. Those ordinances could only be administered by those holding authority from God, for the House of God is a house of order. He spoke of the glorious promise given to the pure in heart, that they should see the face of God, and of the promise of the Almighty that when a house should be built to His name, providing it should not be defiled His power should rest upon and be manifested in it, and that He should visit it. He referred to the blessings that were received in the Temple at Kirtland, and said that the time would come when all that were pure in heart who should enter the Temple of the Almighty, which should be built in the "tops of the mountains," would see the face of God. He continued to speak for a considerable time with regard to the building of temples in these days, upon which the glory of God shall rest, quoting several prophecies, ancient and modern, bearing upon those things. He showed clearly through his entire discourse that all things must be done in order; in accordance with law, to be acceptable to heaven.

[Orson Pratt]

[DNW 20:161, 5/10/71, p 5; JD 14:271]

DISCOURSE

By Elder ORSON PRATT, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, April 9th, 1871

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS, TRANSCRIBED BY MASTERS FERAMORZ YOUNG AND JOHN Q. CANNON.

_____

      Brethren, sisters, and strangers, I wish to address you for a few moments this forenoon, and to speak upon those things that may be put into my mind. We, all of us, believe that our God is a God of order, that all things that are conducted by him are conducted in the most perfect order, according to law. Hence it is written somewhere in the New Testament, I think in the 14th chapter of Paul's 1st epistle to the Corinthians that: "My house is a house of order and not a house of confusion." What we mean by this is, that everything pertaining to the salvation of men, which is acceptable in the sight of heaven, must be in accordance with strict law. In other words, that the Lord designed a work among the human family according to those laws that were ordained by him from before the foundation of the world. If he desires them to be baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, he has ordained a law through and by which mankind may be made partakers of the blessing. If he is willing to extend mercy and pardon to the children of men he has ordained a law, namely, faith in his Son Jesus Christ, in the atonement that he wrought out in the ordinances and institutions of the Gospel that he established, requiring the human family to repent, and reform their lives, to put away their sins, break off from every manner of evil and enter into a covenant with him to serve him faithfully, and to manifest their repentance by obeying a certain ordinance, then comes forgiveness. That ordinance is baptism, which must be performed according to the pattern and law of heaven; it must not be varied from. Sprinkling will not do; pouring water on the head will not do; baptism administered by a man having no authority from heaven will not be accepted; it must be administered according to law, order and authority, by one who is commissioned, to whom the Lord has spoken and to whom he has given revelation and called to perform that work, then it will be acceptable, and will be acknowledged in heaven, and be recorded in the archives of eternity; and when the books are opened it will be found in those books that that man or that woman has complied with the order of God's house, given heed to the institutions and ordinances of his kingdom, and having continued to do so to the end he or she can be saved.

      God has also ordained that when he bestows upon the children of men spiritual gifts that they must be received in order; they must be given according to the laws and institutions of the church, through the administration of that authority and power that he has established here on the earth. Hence, Paul, in writing to the saints in his day, said to them on a certain occasion that he greatly desired to visit certain branches of the church in order that he might impart to them some spiritual gifts. Why not receive these spiritual gifts in some other way? Why not receive these great and choice heavenly blessings according to our own will? Because God is a God of order and his house is not a house of confusion. If he desires to bestow any great, choice heavenly gift upon his servants and handmaidens he has ordained an authority and set that authority in his church, and through the administration of the ordinances that pertain to that heavenly gift they may be made partakers thereof.

      God has promised in the sermon on the mount a very great blessing to the pure in heart:—"Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God." How great is the blessing that is here pronounced! They shall see God. God is a being who is willing to reveal himself, even to his children here on the earth. If they will abide by law, give heed to the ordinances that he has ordained, and walk in consistency with the principles that are revealed, they may come up to that high privilege here, in time, that the vail will be taken away and their eyes can look on the face of the Lord, for they are pure in heart. I know it is written in other places that no man hath seen God at any time. In the book of Exodus it is written that "no man shall see my face;" and then again, the same book says that Jacob saw God face to face and talked with him. Again it is written that Moses talked with the Lord face to face as a man talks with his friend. How shall we reconcile these passages of scripture? If we take the scriptures in their true import, and according to the general tenor of their reading, they are easily reconciled. No natural man hath seen God at any time. A natural man could not behold the face of the Lord in his glory, for he could not endure it; but when a mortal man or woman here on the earth has put away the natural or carnal mind; when he or she has put away all sin and iniquity, and has complied with the laws and commandments of God, then, like Jacob of old, he or she may see God face to face, and, like Moses, talk with the Lord as one man talks with another. It is written here in this book which you and I have received as a part and portion of our rule of faith and practice, "The Book of Covenants," as follows: "Verily thus saith the Lord, it shall come to pass that, every soul that forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me and calleth on my name and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments shall see my face, and know that I am, and that I am the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world, and that I am in the Father and the Father in me; and the Father and I are one." Again it is written in another revelation: "And in as much as my people shall build up a house unto me in the name of the Lord, and do not suffer any unclean thing to come into it that it be not defiled, my glory shall rest upon it, yea, my presence shall be there, for I will come into it, and all the pure in heart that shall come into it shall see God; but if it be defiled I will not come into it and my glory shall not be there, for I will not come into unholy temples, etc."

      I have read these sayings, in order that the Latter-day Saints may perceive that God is willing that you and I and the least of those that are called Latter-day Saints, if they will purify themselves before him and call upon his name, keep his commandments, obey his institutions, comply with the order of his house, regulating their lives and conduct by every word that proceeds forth out of his mouth—may rend the veil, and be permitted to gaze upon the face of our Redeemer and Creator. This was the privilege of the Saints of God in times of old. Paul in addressing the Saints who lived in his day writes thus:

      "Ye are came unto Mount Zion, unto the city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, unto God the judge of all, and Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant."

      What high privileges and great blessings were conferred upon those former-day Saints! They had been enabled by their faith to come up before God and claim, not only those common spiritual gifts that are imparted to the church for the mutual edification of its members, but they were also permitted to rise still higher, by virtue of their faith, and gaze upon the heavenly Jerusalem, to come unto mount Zion, to the city of the living God. They could behold the face of God, the face of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the faces of an innumerable company of angels,—the church of the First Born, and mingle themselves, as it were, in their society. All these things were obtained through obedience to the laws and institutions that God had made manifest in the midst of his house.

      When the Lord commanded this people to build a house in the land of Kirtland, in the early rise of this church, he gave them the pattern by vision from heaven, and commanded them to build that house according to that pattern and order; to have the architecture, not in accordance with architecture devised by men, but to have every thing constructed in that house according to the heavenly pattern that he by his voice had inspired to his servants. When this was complied with did the Lord accept that house? Yes! They having complied with the order and built the house according to the pattern, the Lord condescended to grace that house with his presence. In that house the veil was taken away from the eyes of many of the servants of God and they beheld his glory. In that house the Lord Jesus Christ was seen by some of the Elders of the Church in heavenly vision standing upon the threshold of the pulpit, proclaiming himself to be Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the Great I Am, &c. And he gave keys of instruction and counsel and authority to his servants, declaring unto them that he accepted that house at their hands, and inasmuch as they had been faithful in the performance of their duty in building a temple to his name, he blessed them therein. He also proclaimed unto them that from that house his servants should go forth armed with the power of his priesthood, and proclaim the Gospel among the various nations, and that many people should come from the uttermost parts of the earth and praise the name of the Lord in Zion, and in the midst of his house. Thus did the Lord, when we fulfilled on our part, fulfil his promises on his part. So, in the latter-days, when the Lord our God shall permit us to build that house of which he has spoken in the paragraph just quoted from the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, it shall come to pass in that day that all who are pure in heart that enter into that house shall see God. Thus we perceive that the Lord chooses to have a house built unto his holy name, wherein he shall manifest his glory and power.

      When Moses reared a tabernacle in the wilderness of the land of Egypt according to the pattern that God gave unto him did the Lord acknowledge it? He did. Did he show forth his power and glory in that house? He did. Did a cloud rest upon it by day and a pillar of flaming fire hover over it by night? Yes! It was done according to the pattern and according to the heavenly order and commandment of the Great Jehovah. So, when the servants of God in the last days shall build a house in the the tops of the mountains, he will acknowledge it if they build it according to the pattern which shall be revealed from heaven, on the spot that the Lord shall designate by his own voice, and in the time and in the season, proclaimed by the Almighty. It shall come to pass in that day, also, that the Lord will show forth his glory in that house, and the fame thereof shall go forth to the uttermost parts of the earth: all people, nations, languages and tongues, kings upon their thrones, and many nations will say, "come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us of his ways." That is, that he may inform our minds concerning the order and laws that pertain to his house and kingdom, that everything may be done by law and authority, that what is done here on the earth may be acknowledged and recorded in the heavens, for the benefit of those who believe.

      I have about five minutes more. We read in the scriptures of diviner truth that the Lord our God is to come to his temple in the last days, as was quoted yesterday by Elder Penrose. It is recorded in the 3rd chapter of Malachi that "the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to. his temple." This had no reference to the first coming of the Messiah, to the day when he appeared in the flesh; but it has reference to that glorious period termed the last days, when the Lord will again have a house, or a temple reared up on the earth to his holy name. "The Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple, but who shall abide the day of his coming? Who shall stand when he appears? For he is like the refiner's fire and like fuller's soap. He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver upon the sons of Levi; that they may offer an offering unto the Lord in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord as in days of old and as in former years." The Lord intends to have a temple not only in Zion, but, according to this, in old Jerusalem; and he intends that the sons of Levi shall receive their blessings—the blessings of their priesthood that were conferred upon them in that temple; and he is determined that the ministers in that temple shall be purified as gold and silver is purified, and he is determined to sit as a refiner's fire in the midst of that temple. So it will be in the temple in Zion, for behold in the last days the Lord will rear up Zion upon the American continent, and he will also rear up Jerusalem on the eastern hemisphere. Zion on the western continent will be the place where the Lord will also purify and cleanse these two priesthoods,—the priesthood of Levi and the priesthood of Melchizedec—the lower and the higher priesthood,—and they will be filled with the glory of God upon Mount Zion in the Lord's house.

      Let me read a few passages in the Book of Covenants. Thirty-nine years ago a revelation was given, a passage or two of which I will now read; "A revelation of Jesus Christ unto his servant Joseph Smith and six Elders, as they united their minds and lifted up their voices on high. Yea the word of the Lord concerning his church, established in the last days for the restoration of his people, as he has spoken again by the mouth of his prophets, for the gathering of his saints, to stand on Mount Zion, which shall be the city of the New Jerusalem, which city shall be built, beginning at the temple lot which is appointed by the finger of the Lord in the western boundaries of the State of Missouri, and dedicated by the hand of Joseph Smith and others with whom the Lord was well pleased."

      I now notice another prediction: "Verily this is the word of the Lord, that the city of the New Jerusalem shall be built up by the gathering of the saints, beginning at this place, even the place of the temple, which temple shall be reared in this generation, for verily this generation shall not all pass away until an house shall be built unto the Lord, and a cloud shall rest upon it, which cloud shall be even the glory of the Lord, which shall fill the house."

      We will now read an item from the sixth paragraph: "The sons of Moses," that is, those that pertain to the two priesthoods, "the sons of Moses and the sons of Aaron shall offer an acceptable offering and sacrifice in the house of the Lord, which house shall be established in this generation upon the consecrated spot, as I have appointed; and the sons of Moses and of Aaron," that is, those who receive the two priesthoods," shall be filled with the glory of God upon Mount Zion in the Lord's house, whose sons are ye, and also many whom I have called and sent forth to build up my church; for whosoever is faithful to the obtaining of these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying of their calling are sanctified by the spirit unto the renewing of their bodies, that they become the sons of Moses and of Aaron and the seed of Abraham, and the church and kingdom and the elect of God," etc.

      Here then we see a prediction, and we believe it. Yes! The Latter-day Saints have as firm faith and rely upon this promise as much as they rely upon the promise of forgiveness of sins when they comply with the first principles of the Gospel. We just as much expect that a city will be built, called Zion, in the place and on the land which has been appointed by the Lord our God, and that a temple will be reared o~ the spot that has been selected, and the cornerstone of which has been laid, in the generation when this revelation was given; we just as much expect this as we expect the sun to rise in the morning and set in the evening; or as much as we expect to see the fulfillment of any of the purposes of the Lord our God, pertaining to the works of his hands. But says the objector, "thirty-nine years have passed away." What of that? The generation has not passed away; all the people that were living thirty-nine years ago have not passed away; but before they do pass away this will be fulfilled. What is the object of this Temple? The object is that the Lord may, according to the order that he has instituted, unveil his face to his servants, that those that are pure in heart and enter into that temple may be filled with the glory of God upon Mount Zion in the Lord's house; and, finally, whatever we may be called upon to do, whether it be building temples, cultivating the earth, organizing ourselves into co-operative companies to carry out the purposes and designs of Jehovah; whether we are sent abroad on missions or remain at home, it matters not, all things must be done in order, all things must be performed according to law, so that they will be acceptable in the sight of heaven, and be recorded there for the benefit of the people of God here on the earth. Why? Because God is a God of order; he is a God of law. God is that being that sways his scepter over universal nature and controls the suns and systems of suns and worlds and planets and keeps them moving in their spheres and orbits by law; and all his subjects must comply with law here on the earth, that they may be prepared to do his will on the earth as his will is done by the angelic hosts and those higher order of intelligences that reign in his own presence. Amen.

 

            The choir sang: "How beautiful upon the mountains."

            Prayer by Elder George Q. Cannon.

_____

[9 Apr, 2 pm]

[DNW 20:114, 4/12/71, p 6]

            2 p.m.

            The choir sang: "Behold the mountain of the Lord."

            Prayer was offered by Elder Orson Pratt.

            "Prayer is the soul's sincere desire," was sung by the choir.

ELDER ALBERT CARRINGTON

Expressed his gratitude that, after a short sojourn at home since his return from Europe, he should again be called to go forth to assist in spreading the gospel and gathering Israel. He had no desire but to go where he was sent and where he could do the most good. There were many saints in Europe who would like and who deserve to be gathered. A great deal of care should, however, be exercised in assisting the poor. The last financial report from Liverpool showed that that office was not in possession of any means; therefore he wished it to be understood that all letters sent from here to that office asking the mission to help out their relatives and promising that they would pay when they could, would received no attention whatever; unless means was supplied from some other source no help could be rendered. There were many saints in England who had saved considerable towards their emigration and who could therefore be brought out with but a little assistance. He spoke of some Elders who had been sent from here, and, after having been sustained by the saints, had borrowed means from poor people, under solemn promises that it should be refunded, which promises had never been fulfilled. Such conduct could not be too strongly reprobated. He spoke for some time on the gathering of Israel from the nations.

            Elder George Q. Cannon read over the following additional names of Elders who were called to go on missions, the vote that they should go being unanimous:

William C. Staines, Emigration Agent at New York;
Warren N. Dusenberry, to assist Elder Staines;
Benjamin Hulse.

            The following brethren were called to go to Europe:

George Reynolds, Salt Lake City;
Ralph Harrison, Providence, Cache Co.;
William M. Bromley, Springville;
George Wilkins, Spanish Fork;
John Roberts, Lehi;
Solomon Chase, Springville;
John Pyper, Nephi;
John B. Fairbanks, Bishop of Payson;
Jacob Miller, Farmington;
Benjamin W. Driggs, Pleasant Grove;
Elijah Box, Brigham City;
David John, Provo;
Caleb Hawes, Provo;
Joseph V. Robinson, Fillmore;
William C. Anderson, Salt Lake City;
Thomas Dobson, Coalville;
James A. Leishman, Wellsville;
George P. Ward, Hyrum;
B. W. Carrington, Salt Lake City;
George W. Thatcher, Logan.

PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG

Said he had a few sermons to preach, and that they would be short. He had to say to the Elders who would go to preach the gospel, when people who might even be unworthy applied to them for baptism, to forbid them not, and they would thus clear their skirts. He explained that many embrace the gospel because they know it to be true, but many such have not the love of the truth in their hearts. He expressed the pleasure he experienced in laboring for the building up of the Kingdom of God, because he took care to keep his conscience clear and leave all results with the Lord, and advised the Elders to take the same course. There was no such thing as a miracle only to those who are ignorant of the principle upon which such results are produced, and related many instances of the scanty supplies of the Saints being increased by invisible powers, in times of scarcity. He commented severely on the conduct of Elders who, while on missions, had borrowed money and had not repaid it. We must, he said, carry on the work of gathering the good, bad and indifferent, for the net catches all kinds of fish. It does not matter whether they come here and apostatize or not. He made a powerful appeal to the Saints to contribute freely of their means to help gather the poor. He alluded to the mining excitement here and advised those who came to open mines, and all others, not to go to law, for by doing so they would but waste their substance. There is a certain class who, instead of directing their energies in legitimate labor, try to lie by their wits; such characters are useless. He defined the difference between true and false education, and showed how men of wealth, intelligence and education could direct their resources and ability so as to be benefactors to the human family. He advised the Latter-day Saints to work for capitalists who come here to open mines, and they would pay them honestly. Many of them are here to make money and they wish to make it honorably. There has been a great deal of negligence in regard to the payment of tithes. A few have been strict in this matter but they were the exceptions, and those exceptions were among the poor and not the rich. His discourse was eloquent, powerful and highly instructive, comprehending many matters of vital importance. It was reported in full and will soon appear in the NEWS.

[Brigham Young]

[DNW 20:125, 4/19/71, p 5; JD 14:78-91]

DISCOURSE

By President Brigham Young, delivered
in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, April 9th, 1871.

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REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

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      I have a few sermons to preach, and as the time is short I do not know that I shall be able to deliver as many as I wish to. I want your attention, and you will have to be quiet. I find that my voice is a little broken, and it will be pretty hard for me to speak so that you can hear me. I shall not try to talk down the crying of children, the whispering of the congregation, or the shuffling of feet, as I have often done. I want your attention to the various subjects I wish to lay before you; for I shall have but a few minutes to speak on each one.

      In the first place, I want to say to the Elders who go forth to preach the Gospel—no matter who may apply to you for baptism, even if you have good reason to believe they are unworthy, if they require it forbid them not, but perform that duty and administer the ordinance for them; it clears the skirts of your garments, and the responsibility is upon them.

      A few words now with regard to gathering. I will say that if unworthy people are gathered in the future, it is nothing new or strange, nothing more than we expect. If this net does not gather the good and the bad we should have no idea that it is the net that Jesus spoke about when he said that it should gather of all kinds. Furthermore, there are a great many who come into the Church because they know the work is true. Their judgment, and every reasoning faculty and power of their minds tells them it is true; consequently they embrace the truth. But do they receive the love of it? That is the question. I will tell you that very few of those who receive the love of the truth, but many of those who fall away, though they know the Gospel is true, do not possess the love of the truth, and they will not apostatize while scattered. We try to get them to do so in the old country, but they will not. Bring them over to New York and they will not apostatize. They will labor there year after year, and struggle and toil until they can get to the gathering place, they must come to headquarters, then they can apostatize, forsake the faith, and turn away from the holy commandments of the Lord Jesus. This is not our business. Our duty is to preach the Gospel and to receive all that wish to have the ordinances administered to them, and leave the result in the hands of God. This is his work, not ours. He has called us to be co-laborers with him.

      I want to say for the consolation of the Elders of Israel and those who go forth to preside, you need have no trouble with regard to the building up of this kingdom, only do your duty in the sphere to which you are assigned. I think there is more responsibility on myself than any other one man on this earth pertaining to the salvation of the human family; yet my path is a pleasant path to walk in, my labors are very agreeable, for I take no thought what I shall say; I trouble not myself with regard to my duties. All I have to do is to live, as I have often made the comparison, and keep my spirit, feelings and conscience like a sheet of blank paper, and let the Spirit and power of God write upon it what he pleases. When he writes I will read; but if I read before he writes, I am very likely to be wrong. If you will take the same course you will not have the least trouble.

      Brother Carrington was telling us about the way in Which money turned up to clear the ship after sending off more Saints than he had means to pay for. Was this a miracle any more than many other things in our lives and in the work of God? No, the providences of God are all a miracle to the human family until they understand them. There are no miracles only to those who are ignorant. A miracle is supposed to he a result without a cause, but there is no such thing. There is a cause for every result we see; and if we see a result without understanding the cause we call it a miracle. This is what we have been taught; but there is no miracle to those who understand.

      While Brother Cartington was speaking about getting twenty pounds, I thought of a few circumstances which have transpired here. I will refer to one that came along in 1856. In that year our agents in England loaded up the Saints, brought them over the ocean, up the rivers and railroads, and fitted them out with ox teams, wagons, and provisions, and then sent on their drafts to me, and within thirty days I had piled upon me $78,000 that I had to pay. I never was apprized of any draft being drawn upon me, or one word sent from the Liverpool office, until I saw the drafts as they commenced to come in for five, ten, or fifteen thousand dollars. I did not know where I was going to get the first dollar; but I did just as I always do—my duty and trusted in God. I had not, a draft protested, and I do not think that any man went without his pay. But let me have done the business, I should have done it differently. When I have the privilege of acting, I act a little more by works than altogether by faith. I dare not trust my faith quite so far, but others dare, and they have not swamped me yet; they have not lettered my feet so that I cannot walk, nor tied my hands so that I cannot handle; nor my tongue so that I cannot speak; and the Lord has delivered me every time with the help of my brethren.

      We do not care anything about these things, they are but trifles. We could stand here and talk until tomorrow morning, telling remarkable instances of the providences of God towards his servants and people, and then only have just commenced. Who put flour into the barrels here when we were destitute and had nothing to eat? The women would go and scrape the precious barrel and take out the last half ounce of meal and make up a little cake to divide among the children; and perhaps the next time they would go to the barrel they would find it halt full of flour. Who put it in? Their neighbors? No, they had none to put in. Was it from the States? If it was, they who brought it must have flown through, the air, for they could not have brought it with ox teams quite so quickly. But without stopping to inquire further about how this replenishing of the flour barrels was effected, I know now, and knew then, that these elements that we live in are full of all that we produce from the earth, air, and water. I told the people when we settled here that we had all the facilities here that we could ask for, all we had to do was to go to work and organize the elements. How far Jesus went to get the wine that was put into the pots which we read about in the account of the marriage at Cans of Galilee I do not know; but I know that he had power to call the elements that enter into the grape into those pots of water, unperceived by anybody in the room. He had power to pass through a congregation unseen by them; he had power to step through a wall and no person be able to see him; he had power to walk on the water, and none of those with whom he associated could tell how; he had power to call the elements together and they were made into bread, but it was done by invisible hands.

      Well, I will change the subject a little, and I say to the brethren, do not be discouraged; bring on all who wish to obey the Gospel, that they may apostatize. We want them to apostatize as quickly as possible. How long will the people continue to apostatize? Until the Master comes. When he comes the word will go forth, "Gather my wheat into my garner, and bind the tares in bundles, that they may be burned." The wheat and the tares will grow together until harvest, and we cannot help it, and we need not worry about it neither.

      We want the brethren and sisters to feel around and see if they can find a sixpence, a dollar or five dollars to help out the poor. Talk about the people over yonder being hungry, why I have known them eat not more than a third of a meal for a whole week in order to save enough to feed two or three of us Elders. I was always ashamed to take it; and I will tell you what else I am ashamed of. I am ashamed that any man calling himself an Elder of Israel should go to any country to preach the Gospel and then commence begging. Such a course is disgraceful. I have no fellowship for those who do it; and those who will borrow and not repay ought to be cut off the Church. I will give you a little of my experience when on my English mission. When I landed in Liverpool I had six bits, and with that I bought me a hat. I had worn, on my journey to England, a little cap that my wife had made me out of a pair of pantaloons that I could not wear any longer. We stayed in Liverpool one year and sixteen days, and during that time we baptized between eight and nine thousand persons, printed five thousand Books of Mormon, three thousand hymn books, over sixty thousand tracts that we gave to the people, and the Millennial Star; established a mission in London, Edinburgh, and I do not know but in a hundred other places, and we sustained ourselves. Who was there on that mission, I mean among the missionaries, that had a coat or cloak that I didn't pay for? I transacted the business myself, and we paid every dime. We got money from the brethren and sisters and paid them up. Besides doing this, we fed family after family; and I never allowed myself to do down to the printing office without putting my hand in the drawer and taking out as many coppers as I could hold, so that I might throw them to beggars without being stopped by them on the road. Did we borrow that which we did not pay? No. Did we beg? No. The brethren and sisters, and especially the sisters, would urge us to come and eat with them. I would try to beg off; but that would not do, it would hurt their feelings, we must go and eat their food, while they would starve to procure it. I was always ashamed of this; but I invariably had a sixpence to give them. How much had I given to me? One sister, who now lives in Payson, gave me a sovereign and a pair of stockings; and when I came away a hatter, by the name of Miller, sent two hats by me to my little boys. The sisters, when I first went to Liverpool, made a little contribution and got me a pair of pantaloons. I was not in the habit of begging, but I said to them, "When my trousers are a little ridiculous, I guess you will know it. won't you?" and they gave me a pair of pantaloons, otherwise I do not think I received one farthing. I might have received a shilling or two from others, but I do not recollect. When we left we sent over a shipload of the brethren and sisters, a good many of whose fares we paid. When I went into Liverpool I do not think I could have got trusted a sixpence if I had gone into every store and shop in the place. When we came away a certain Captain wanted to bring us over, and said he, "Are you ready?" "No." "How long must I wait for you? "Eight days;" and they tied up one of the finest vessels in the harbor of Liverpool in order to bring us over. I thought, this was a miracle, don't you? I am sure there are some sisters now here who came with us in that vessel. I received that as a miracle. It was the hand of God. Was it our ability? No. Is it our ability that has accomplished what we see here in building up a colony in the wilderness? Is it the doings of man? No. To be sure we assist in it, and we do as we are directed. But God is our Captain; he is our master. He is the "ONE MAN" that we serve. In him is our light, in him is our life; in him is our hope, and we serve him with an undivided heart, or we should do so.

      What do you suppose I think when I hear people say, "O, see what the Mormons have done in the mountains. It is Brigham Young. What a head he has got! What power he has got! How well he controls the people? The people are ignorant of our true character. It is the Lord that has done this. It is not any one man or set of men; only as we are led and guided by the spirit of truth. It is the oneness, wisdom, power, knowledge and providences of God; and all that we can say is, we are his servants and handmaids, and let us serve him with an undivided heart.

      Let us gather the poor. Look up your sixpences, dimes, and dollars. Just think what your feelings would be, if your children had to go to bed to-night crying for bread and you had none to give them! Think of it, families, you who profess to be Saints! Fathers, think of getting up in the morning and not a mouthful to feed your families with. I have seen them totter along, although it was good times when I was there to what it is now, so they say; but I have seen them totter along the streets when they could hardly stand up, for want. But I never failed to give such persons sixpence, a shilling, or a penny, when I realized that such was their position before they passed me. The Lord gave it to me and I dealt it out freely, and am doing so still, and I calculate to do so.

      Now, let us help the poor, bring them here, place them in good, comfortable circumstances, so that they can strut up and say, "I guess I am somebody, and I ask no odds of the Lord." O, fools! When I hear such expressions, or see such a disposition manifested, I think, "O, foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you? who has turned your brain and made you believe that you are independent of that Being who brought you and all the human family on the earth? Who has instructed you to believe that God has nothing to do with us, that everything that is is by the providence of chance, or no providence at all, and that man is all there is?" Who has taught the people this? Not the wise, not the true philosopher. Find a true philosopher and you find one who has the true principles of Christianity. He delights in them; and sees and understands the hand of Providence guiding and directing in all the affairs of this life. Though Inert are severed far from God, and though they have hewn out to themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that will hold no water, the true philosopher recognizes the hand of the Supreme, guiding and controlling the affairs of the children of men.

      I have a short discourse to preach now to my friends who may be here to-day, who are engaged in, or who may contemplate commencing operations in, the mining business. It is the general belief now, that there is a great deal of mineral wealth in these mountains. The reports that have gone abroad concerning this are causing great excitement; and I will preach a short discourse now to miners, merchants, lawyers, doctors, priests, people, everybody. I want to talk to you a little and give you some counsel; and I want the Saints to take this counsel. But they take it all the time, and I expect they will continue to do so. This counsel is with regard to lawing with one another. I want to say to you miners: Do not go to law at all; it does you no good, and only wastes your substance. It causes idleness, waste, wickedness, vice, and immorality. Do not go to law. You cannot find a court room without a great number of spectators in it; what are they doing? Idling away their time to no profit whatever. As for lawyers, if they will put their brains to work and learn how to raise potatoes, wheat, cattle, build factories, be merchants or tradesmen, it will be a great deal better for them than trying to take the property of others from them through litigation.

      We have got to a state in our nation when there is quite a portion of the young and middle-aged men who calculate to live, as the saying is, by their wits. I would like to have a man look philosophically into his own heart, by the spirit of truth, and examine himself, and see what he is, what he was made for, and what, use he is on the earth if he never did a thing to produce a morsel of bread. Such a man eats the bread of the laborer, he wears the clothing of the laborer; every time he lies down on his bed he lies on that which the labor of another produced; he never took the pains to raise a goose, duck, lamb, or sheep. He never sheared a sheep or tried to make cloth of the wool; he never took the pains to plough the ground and sow a little wheat, to plant a few potatoes, to raise a calf, a pig, or a chicken. No, he never did anything useful; but still he eats, drinks, and wears, and lives in luxury. In the name of common sense What use is such a man on this earth? The question may arise, "Must we not have law?" We have plenty of it, and sometimes we have a little too much. Legislators make too many laws; they make so many that the people do not know anything about them. Wise legislators will never make more laws than the people can understand. But by reason of the wealth of our country, young men are sent to schools and colleges, and after receiving their education they calculate to live by it. Will education feed and clothe you, keep you warm on a cold day, or enable you to build a house? Not at all. Should we cry down education on this account? No. What is it for? The improvement of the mind; to instruct us in all arts and sciences, in the history of the world, in the laws of nations; to enable us to understand the laws and principles of life, and how to be useful while we live. But the idler is of no use to himself or to the world in which he dwells.

      In all nations, or at least in all civilized nations, there are distinctions among the people created by rank, titles, and property. How does God look upon these distinctions? How do Truth, Justice, and Mercy look upon them? They are all alike in their eyes. The king upon the throne and the beggar in the street are the same before the Heavens—the same in the eyes of Truth, Justice, Love, and Mercy. Find a true philosopher and he will look at the children of men as they are. I do not care whether he says so or not, he regards the poorest of the poor as human beings—men and women, and the kings and great ones, no matter how they are clothed, if they wear crowns, diadems, and diamonds, and ride in gilded coaches, are but human beings.

      Our education should be such as to improve our minds and fit us for increased usefulness; to make us of greater service be the human family; to enable us to stop our rude methods of living, speaking, and thinking. But you take those who bear the sway among men, those who hold the affairs of the nations in their hands, catch them in the dark, and they are the lowest of the creations of God. Many of them descend to the lowest gutters they can find, and there, in darkness and in private, wallow in filth and wickedness. This is a waste of their lives, a prostitution of their knowledge and of the blessings Providence has bestowed upon them. Many of them will sit and gamble all night, to see who shall have the pile; and such men are called gentlemen! And in the day time they seem the most perfect gentlemen imaginable. They are accomplished to the highest degree; they understand languages, and amongst them are to be found lawyers, doctors, statesmen and members of the highest classes of society. I heard of one in New York. A young man went there from Boston, and a gentleman wished to show him around, and initiate him into the mysteries of high life in New York. He took him to one of the finest houses on Fifth Avenue, I think it was. The young man supposed it was the residence of a private family. He was led into a long hall, so richly adorned and ornamented that his eyes were dazzled. There was table after table, table after table, surrounded by gentlemen who were gambling, and the furniture and the room throughout were gorgeous in the extreme. Here was hall after after hall, side rooms, refreshment rooms, etc., and the young man found out that he was in a fashionable gambling hell. He had not believed in such things before; but he sat there all night watching, for he wanted to find out something pertaining to fashionable life in the metropolis. About 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning there was a gentleman sat back from one of the tables. He had played, played, played at one of the tables until he had played himself perfectly out, his money and estate all gone. He entered the place the night before a wealthy man, and by 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning he was not worth a penny in the world. He threw himself back from the table, and saying, "Gentlemen, I am played out," he took a derringer pistol from his pocket, put it to his ear, and put a ball through his brains. He was one of the wisest of that class of men I ever heard of. If each and every one of them would do like this one, before commencing to game, and leave their substance to men and women who would labor, they would prove themselves wise, for their wealth would benefit the earth. "O," say they, "we have plenty." If you have, go and build up another city or town; go into the wilderness, take the poor with you, teach them how to farm, how to raise cattle, how to gather around them the comforts of life, and prove yourselves worthy of an existence. If you have money to gamble with, you have money to buy a farm and set the poor to work. In doing this, you are helping to elevate the human family; but in gambling and otherwise abusing the blessings, power and influence you possess, you do no good to anybody, and work out your own destruction. When you have bought a farm and set the poor to work, get a school on your farm, and begin and teach those who never had the privilege of going to school. There are hundreds and thousands in the City of New York who never went to school a day in their lives; they are wallowing in the gutter, ragged, dirty, and filthy. They learn sharpness, it is true; but where do they sleep? By the wayside, or crawl into some old building—girls and boys, and live there by the thousand. They have not a shelter to place their heads under, but when night comes their only refuge is old buildings, hovels, and corners of streets forsaken by the police, and there they must spend the night. Why not take such characters and bring them out to this country, or take them to California, Oregon, or to the plains of Illinois, Wisconsin, &c., and make a town, settle up the country, and make these poor, miserable creatures better off? You would prove yourselves worthy of existence on the earth if you would. But no, "We will gamble." Now gamblers, stop your gambling here and go to work; that is my advice. "Well but," say some, "we are not going to be instructed by Brigham Young." Who cares for that? If you will not receive my instructions, instruct yourselves. I want you to see, in and of yourselves, that your life is a poor miserable life of waste, a disgrace to the human family. Go to work, improve the country, build towns and cities, set out shade trees, build school houses and meeting houses and worship what you please, we do not care what. Be civil, honest in your deal, be upright, do not take that which belongs to your neighbor; and miners do not go to law, and lawyers go to work. If you have difficulties that you cannot settle among yourselves, have recourse to arbitration. Select your men, three, five, seven, nine, eleven, thirteen, or what number you please, men without prejudice for this or that side, place them in possession of the facts of the case; and when they say, "Mr. James Munroe, you do so much;" or, "Mr. John Jones, you do so and so, this is our decision," abide by it. This course will cost you nothing, you go about your business, the country is quiet, and the community is not running after these infernal courts. Excuse me for the expression; but the whole nation think we must have courts, and the courts adjudicate; and some courts take the liberty of legislating as well as adjudicating, when, the fact is, if all difficulties now taken into courts were submitted to men's honor, honesty, brains, and hearts, they could be adjudicated without the least trouble in the world. What would we do with our judges in such a state of society? Let them go to farming, get a factory, or go into business and improve the country.

      I cannot say that this counsel is especially for the Latter-day Saints. Why? For this simple reason—you take out of these mountains the whole of the community except the Latter-day Saints, and I might include a good many who do not belong to the Church, and we would not have a lawsuit in our midst from one year's end to another for five hundred miles square. And if the counsel I have just given be adopted, we shall have the most stable mining districts through our settlements that have ever been found in the western country. You will never see the excitement that you have seen in other mining localities. Of course there may be some who will crawl up into the mountains, build up little towns, and have their games and a little rowdyism, but not much; you will see a steadfast community.

      We say to the Latter-day Saints, work for these capitalists, and work honestly and faithfully, and they will pay you faithfully. I am acquainted with a good many of them, and as far as I know them, I do not know but every one is an honorable man. They are capitalists, they want to make money, and they want to make it honestly and according to the principles of honest dealing. If they have means and are determined to risk it in opening mines you work for them by the day. Haul their ores, build their furnaces, and take your pay for it, and enter your lands, build houses, improve your farms, buy your stock, and make yourselves better off; but, no lawing in the case. I have had an experience in this. I never lawed it much in my life; but from my youth my study has been to avoid law, and to take a course that no man could get the advantage of me.

      The esteem in which I hold law prompts me to keep out of it. You recollect the story of the lawyer and the two farmers. The farmers had quarreled about a cow, and they went to law, and the result was the farmers held the cow and the lawyer milked her. I never see law going on much without the lawyer getting the milk and the cream, while those who go to law hold the cow for him to milk. I know you think my esteem is not very high for lawyers. I will say it is not for their evil practices; but as men and gentlemen I have known many who never dabbled in dishonesty. I have marveled many times at the oath that is required Of a lawyer with regard to his client; it gives him license to make white black, and black white. If I were to fix up an oath for a lawyer to take when he entered upon business, I would make him swear to tell the truth, and to show the right of the case, for or against, every time, that is what I would do. But they are licensed from the very oath they take to justify their client, let him be ever so wrong; this, however, does not compel them to be dishonest. Now, I do beseech you, I pray you, for your own sakes, you capitalists, to have no law. I have heard it said that a mine is good for nothing until there has been two or three lawsuits over it, but I say that will make your claims no better whatever.

      I will say still further with regard to our rich country here. Suppose there was no railroad across this continent, could you do anything with these mines? Not the least in the world. All this galena would not bear transportation were it not for that; and, take the mines from first to last, there is not enough silver and gold in the galena ore to pay for shipping were it not for the railroad And then, were it not for this little railroad from Ogden to this city these Cottonwood mines would not pay, for you could not, cart the ore. Well, they want a little more help, and we want to build them a railroad direct to Cottonwood, so that they can make money. We want them to do it and to do it on business principles, so that they can keep it, and when you get it, make good use of it and we will help you. There is enough for all. We do not want any quarreling or contention; and I believe that, if dishonest capitalists were to come here and commence a dishonest course with our citizens in hiring them, there are men of honor sufficient to say, "You had better get out of this place; we are an honest and industrious community, and we wish to deal on honest principles and make this community substantial. We will finnish you with all your supplies that we can produce here, and take our pay for it; you take your capital and add to it, and then when you leave you will, feel well about us and yourselves."

      I do not want you to think that I have ever counseled this. Do it, in and of yourselves, for you know it would be ridiculous in the eyes of some to take counsel of Brigham Young; it would be preposterous to suppose he can give good counsel. I leave that, however, to every man or woman to decide whether or not it is good counsel. There has been but little of this contention and lawing here, and I do hope and pray there will be less; it only creates bad feelings and distress in any society in the world.

      We are here as a human family. Bless your hearts, there is not one of us but what is a son or daughter of Adam and Eve, not any but what are just as much brothers and sisters as we should, be if born of the same parents, right in the same family, with only ten children in the family. It is the same blood precisely. I do not care where we come from, we are all of this family, and the blood has not been changed. It is true that a curse came upon certain portions of the human family—those who turned away from the holy commandments of the Lord our God. What did they do? In ancient days old Israel was the chosen people in whom the Lord delighted, and whom he blessed and did so much for. Yet they transgressed every law that he gave them, changed every ordinance that he delivered to them, broke every covenant made with the fathers, and turned away entirely from his holy commandments, and the Lord cursed them. Cain was cursed for this, with this black skin that there is so much said about. Do you thing that we scald make laws to change the color of the skin of Cain's descendants? If we can, we can change the leopard's spots; but we cannot do this, neither can we change their blood.

      There is a curse on these aborigines of our country who roam the plains, and are so wild that you cannot tame them. They are of the house of Israel; they once had the Gospel, delivered to them, they had the oracles of truth; Jesus came and administered to them after his resurrection, and they received and delighted in the Gospel until the fourth generation, when they turned away and became so wicked that God cursed them with this dark and benighted and loathsome condition; and they want to sit on the ground in the dirt, and to live by hunting, and they cannot be civilized. And right upon this, I will say to our government if they could hear me," You need never fight the Indians, but if you want to get rid of them try to civilize them." How many were here when we came? At the Warm Springs, at this little grove where they would pitch their tents, we found perhaps three hundred Indians; but I do not suppose that there are three of that band left alive now. There was another band a little south, another north, another further east; but I do not suppose there is one in ten, perhaps not one in a hundred, now alive of those who were here when we came. Did we kill them? No, we fed them. They would say, "We want just as fine flour as you have." To Walker, the chief, whom all California and New Mexico dreaded, I said, "It will just as sure kill as the world, if you live as we live." Said he, "I want as good as Brigham, I want to eat as he does." Said I, "Eat then, but it will kill you." I told the same to Arapeen, Walker's brother; but they must eat and drink as the whites did, and I do not suppose that one in a hundred of those bands are alive. We brought their children into our families, and nursed and did everything for them it was possible to do for human beings, but die they would. Do not fight them, but treat them kindly. There will then be no stain on the Government, and it will get rid of them much quicker than by fighting them. They have got to be civilized, and there will be a remnant of them saved. I have said enough on this subject.

      I want to say a little now with regard to tithing. Some of this people think they pay their tithing. I expect they do; but I can make the same comparison that Jesus did when in Jerusalem. Here came the Scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, &c., and put their substance in the Lord's storehouse; and there came along a poor widow with nothing, to all appearance. She had not clothing to make her comfortable, but she had two mites, which she had saved probably by her labor, and she placed them in the storehouse of the Lord. Jesus lifted himself up, and, seeing what they were doing, said, "Of a truth I say unto you that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all; for all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God; but she of her penny hath cast in all her living that she had." Now there are a few of just this same kind of characters here who do pay their tithing. But do we rich men pay ours? Not by considerable. I can inform the Elders of Israel and everybody else that since we have been raising grain in these valleys the deposits paid in on tithing have not amounted to one-hundredth part of all that has been raised, whereas one-tenth was due the storehouse of the Lord. You may say, "Brother Brigham, have you paid in yours?" No, I have not. There is a number of the brethren who have paid in considerable, but I expect I have paid more tithing than any other man in this Church. I expect I have done more for the poor than any other man in the Church; yet I have hardly commenced to pay my tithing. How is it with you? I know how it is. There are a few poor who pay their tithing, and who are pretty strict; but take the masses of the people, and they have not paid one-twentieth of their tithing. Do you believe it? I know it. If I were to reason over this and attempt to show the Latter-day Saints the inconsistency of their course in the matter, I would plant my feet on this ground: We are not our own, we are bought with a price, we are the Lord's; our time, our talents, our gold and silver, our wheat and fine flour, our wine and our oil, our cattle, and all there is on this earth that we have in our possession is the Lord's and he requires one-tenth of this for the building up of his kingdom. Whether we have much or little, one-tenth should be paid in for tithing. What for? I can tell you what for in a hundred instances, but I will only tell you just a few, and will commence with the poor. You count me out fifty, a hundred, five hundred, or a thousand of the poorest men and women you can find in this community; with the means that I have in my possession, I will take these ten, fifty, hundred, five hundred, or a thousand people, and put them to labor; but only enough to benefit their health and to make their food and sleep sweet unto them, and in ten years I will make that community wealthy. In ten years I will put six, a hundred, or a thousand individuals, whom we have to support now by donations, in a position not only to support themselves, but they shall be wealthy, shall ride in their carriages, have fine houses to live in, orchards to go to, flocks and herds and everything to make them comfortable. But it is not every man that can do this. The Bishops cannot do it; not that I would speak lightly of the wisdom of our Bishops, but we have hardly a Bishop in the Church who knows A with regard to the duties of his office. Still we have good men, but our hearts are somewhere else, and we are not studying the kingdom, the welfare of the human family, nor what our office calls upon Us to perform. We do not seek after the poor and have every man and woman put to usury. This ought to be, for our time is the Lord's. All we want is to direct this time and use it profitably. There is abundance of labor before us. We have the earth to subdue, and to make it like the Garden to Eden. Do you believe it? I know it. But how do we live? Very much like the rest of the world. We are ready to run over all creation. Just as I have said to some of the brethren, and to some that I have known in the world; they get their eye on a dime; they see it roll away and they go after it. By and by they stub their toe against an eagle; soon they come to another one, a doubloon or a slug, and they will stub their toe against it, and down they go; but they are up again, for their eye is on that, dime, and, in their eagerness to obtain it, they stumble over the eagles they might pick up if they had wisdom to do it. Is this so? O yes, they who have eyes to see can see. Take things calm and easy, pick up everything, let nothing go to waste.

      You, sisters, know I have sometimes told you what my office is. Does it make you ashamed of me when you hear some of the brethren say, "Well, I do not believe that Brother Brigham has anything to do with my farm or household matters; or with temporal things; I do not think the First Presidency has anything to do with my temporal affairs." O, yes, we have; and to come right down to the point, it is my privilege, if I were capable, to teach every woman in this Church and kingdom how to keep house, and how to sweep house, cook meat, wash dishes, make bread without any waste, &c. I may go to a house and what do I see? Perhaps the bottom or top of the bread is burnt to a coal. Why did you not do different? "O, these are accidents." Yes, because we never think of the business on our hands. Mother gets up and it is: "O, Sally, where is the dish cloth, I want it in a minute?" "Susan, where in the world have you put that broom?" or, "Where is the iron holder?" and Susan knows nothing about either dish cloth or broom, and says, "We have no iron holder except some waste paper? If I had nothing but a piece of an old newspaper folded for a holder I would have it where I could put my hand on it in a moment, in the dark if I wanted it. And so with the dishcloth, the broom, the chairs, tables, sofas, and everything about the house, so that if you had to get up in the night you could lay your hand on whatever, you wanted instantly. Have a place for everything and everything in its place.

      If I only had time I would teach you how to knit stockings, for there are very few women now-a-days who know how many stitches to set on to knit stockings for their husbands or for themselves; or what size yarn or needles they require; and when their stockings are finished they are like some of these knitted by machinery—a leg six inches long' while the foot is a foot or a foot and a half long; or the leg only big enough for a boy ten years old, while the foot is big enough for any miner in the country: You know this is extravagant, but it is a fact that the art of knitting stockings is not near so generally understood among the ladies as it should be. I could tell you how it should be done had I time and knew how myself.

      I will ask the whole human family is there any harm in teaching people how to be mechanics and artists, and what their life is for? Is there any harm in teaching them the laws of life and how to live, so that when they go down to the grave they can say, "There is my life, and it has been one of honor; look at it and do as much better than I have as God will give you ability to do. This is the duty of the human family, instead of wasting their lives and the lives of their fellow-beings, and the precious time God has given us to improve our minds and bodies by observing the laws of life, so that the longevity of the human family may begin to return. By and by, according to the Scriptures, the days of a man shall be like the days of a tree. But in those days people will not eat and drink as they do now; if they do their days will not be like a tree, unless it be a very short-lived tree. This is our business.

      Then pay your tithing, just because you like to, not unless you want to. They say we cut people off the Church for not paying tithing; we never have yet, but they ought to be. God does not fellowship them. The law of tithing is an eternal law. The Lord Almighty never had his kingdom on the earth without the law of tithing being in the midst of his people, and he never will. It is an eternal law that God has instituted for the benefit of the human family, for their salvation and exaltation. This law is in the Priesthood, but we do not want any to observe it unless they are willing to do so. If I ask my brethren, "Are you willing to pay tithing?" Many of them would say, "Yes, we are not only willing to pay tithing, but all that we have, for we are the Lord's, and all that he has given us is his." That would be the reply of thousands here to-day. If the law of the land would permit us we would show whether we are willing to deed our property to the kingdom of God or not. Mine has been deeded; and now I will tell you that the insurance company that I have taken stock in is up yonder, and the Lord of Hosts is President of that company. I do not want to insure my life in any other; and if we want to insure property, let us insure each others' and our own. I say, my brethren and sisters, that if we had the privilege, we would show to the world whether we would deed everything to the kingdom of God or not. But can we do it here? The Government has passed a law to the effect:

      "That it shall not be lawful for any corporation or association for religious or charitable purposes to acquire or hold real estate in any Territory of the United States during the existence of the territorial government of a greater value than fifty thousand dollars; and all real estate acquired or held by any such corporation or association contrary to the provisions of this act shall be forfeited and escheat to the United States: Provided, that existing vested rights in real estate shall not be impaired by the provisions of this section."

      That is how the Government binds us up. Never mind, we can build temples, pay our tithing and our free-will offerings; we can raise our bread, hire our school teachers and teach our children without help. We came here stripped of everything, and men in high places sat and laughed at us, and said we should perish; but we have not perished. Many of them have gone down to their graves and their spirits have gone into the spirit world, where they will not have the comforting influences of the angels of God as the Saints will. Hades, the grave and the world of spirits are called hell in the original language. Now I don't expect them to go down, down, down to the bottom of the bottomless pit, where they will be pitched over with pitchforks. I do not have reference to anything of this kind when I speak of hell, or the world of spirits. I do not wish to frighten people to the anxious seat, and then say, "O, my beloved sister, how did you feel when your dear little infant died?" and, "O, my beloved brother, did not your heart bleed for your dear companion when you laid her in the silent bourne from whence no traveler returns." This is not our religion; our religion does not consist of sensation or animal magnetism, as that of the sectarian world does. I have seen it from my youth up, working on the passions of the people, making them crazy. About what? Nothing at all. I have seen them lie, when under their religious excitement, from ten minutes to probably an hour without the least sign of life in their systems; not a pulse about them, and lay the slightest feather in the world to their nose and not the least sign of breathing could be discerned there, any more than anywhere else. After lying awhile they would get up all right. "What have you seen, sister or brother? What have you learned more than before you had this fit?" I do not know what kind of a fit it would be, whether a falling sickness or fainting fit, or a fit of animal magnetism. "What do you know, sister?" "Nothing." "What have you seen, brother?" "Nothing nor nobody." "What have you to tell us that you have learned while in this vision?" "Nothing at all." It always wound up like the old song, "All about nothing at all."

      That is not the faith of the Latter-day Saints. Their religion consists of the knowledge that comes from God; a knowledge of the law of heaven, the power of the eternal Priesthood of the Son of God; and by obeying this law and these ordinances we, in a business manner, philosophically, in a manner that can be demonstrated as clearly as a mathematical problem, gain the right to eternal life; and though we do not see the Lord in the flesh we can see him in vision, and we have a right to visions, administration of angels, the power of the eternal Priesthood with the keys and blessings thereof. And by and through the labors of his faithful servants the Lord offers salvation to the human family; and though they will not save themselves we calculate to do all we can for them.

      God bless you. Amen.

 

            The choir sang: "Rejoice in the Lord."

            The benediction was pronounced by President Brigham Young.

            Conference adjourned till the 6th of October, at 10 a.m.

JOHN NICHOLSON,
Clerk of Conference.

_____

 

5 Oct 1871, Special Conference, Tabernacle.
[Deseret News Weekly 20:416, 10/11/71, p 4]

[5 Oct, 10 am]

[DNW 20:416, 10/11/71, p 4]

SPECIAL CONFERENCE OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS.

_____

According to previous announcement, a Special conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints convened on this the fifth day of October, 1871, at ten a.m., in the New Tabernacle in this City.

            On the stand were

Of the First Presidency:

            Brigham Young, Geo. A. Smith and Daniel H. Wells.

Of the Twelve Apostles:

            Orson Pratt, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young jr., Joseph F. Smith.

Of the First Seven Presidents of Seventies:

            Joseph Young, Albert P. Rockwood, John Van Cott and Horace S. Eldredge.

Of the presidency of the High Priests' Quorum:

            Elias Smith;, Edward Snelgrove and Elias Morris.

Of the Presidency of this Stake of Zion:

            George B. Wallace and John T. Caine.

Of the Presidency of the Bishopric:

            Edward Hunter, Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little.

            There were also Bishops, Elders and leading men from every settlement in the Territory.

            The choir sang: "The towers of Zion soon shall rise."

            Elder john Taylor offered up the opening prayer.

            "Mortals awake! with angels join." was sung by the choir.

[President George A. Smith]

            PRESIDENT GEORGE A. SMITH said the design in the appointment of this meeting was to have a day's preaching to the Saints previous to commencing the business of the Semi-Annual Conference. He spoke of the kind manner in which the Lord had dealt with the people. It seemed to be a weakness with most people that in the midst of prosperity they were apt to measurably forget their duty to God, and it required something occasionally to stir them up to diligence. There was a sufficiency of the necessaries of life in the Territory, business had increased among us, and great energy had been displayed by the people in the building of railroads and developing the resources of the country. co-operation had succeeded, thus far beyond the highest anticipations of its advocated and supporters. But in the midst of our prosperity had we been consistent with our profession as Latter-day Saints, and remembered the interests of the kingdom of God? However this might be, there were strong indications that the Lord was still mindful of us. Jesus said, "Blessed are ye when all men shall speak evil of you for my sake." There never were more lies sent abroad concerning us than now. We should so live that no evil can be spoken of us truthfully.

            The Elders would be called on to preach to the people during the four days we should probably be together. President Young was in feeble health yet it was exceedingly gratifying to have his presence at Conference. The faith and prayers of the Saints were desired for his recovery.

            Quite a number of missionaries might be called during conference, to visit various portions of the United States to declare the gospel. President Smith then bore testimony to the truth of the gospel and the final triumph of the Kingdom of God on the earth.

[President Daniel H. Wells]

            PRESIDENT DANIEL H. WELLS testified that God had spoken from the heavens and revealed the fullness of the holy gospel, of which the Latter-day Saints were the recipients, Joseph Smith was inspired of the Almighty and he communed with holy angels. The world might ignore our testimonies, yet the plan of salvation for the living and for the dead had been restored, and nothing could impede the progress of the great work the Lord had commenced. We were here, and God was with us. We had come up together to the valleys of the mountains to learn of the ways of the Lord and we had the most virtuous and industrious community on the whole earth. At no moment since the commencement of this work had it ceased to grow and increase, and it would continue to be so, and we would come off victorious in every struggle. We might expect opposition. In fact the road we had traveled had not been near so rough as he expected it would be. We know we had the truth, so do many others who came in contact with us, whether they were willing to admit it or no, and since, knowing they were unable to cope with the truth by fair means or argument, resorted to disreputable and unfair means to accomplish its overthrow.

[Elder George Q. Cannon]

            ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON addressed the Conference. He said there were many subjects which could be spoken about and listened to with profit. There were probably more reasons why the present Conference should be a good one than might be expected under other circumstances. Occurrences which were transpiring should arouse the people to diligence and unity. He felt in his heart to prophesy peace to Zion. There was nothing in our surroundings to cause us to feel downcast, but everything to the contrary. The Lord had blessed us in these valleys during the past twenty-four years in a marvelous manner, and should the adversary not marshal his hosts and show his anger, it would indeed by astonishing. Whether we resided here or went anywhere else, it did not matter; God had established His work, never more to be thrown down. He did not anticipate, however, that we should have to leave this city or Territory. He rejoiced that the devil was not yet dead, for we were not yet perfect and his services could not yet be dispensed with.

            There was one thing which had been demonstrated beyond doubt, that was that no dependence could be placed on the man who did not live his religion, and who might be simply what was called "a good fellow." It took faith, humility, honesty, virtue, sobriety and other qualities to constitute a true Saint, and it would only be those who sought to cultivate such qualities who would stand.

            He had watched the course of the First Presidency and others against whom combinations had been formed, and he rejoiced in seeing the serenity and peace that had pervaded their hearts, notwithstanding the circumstances which surrounded them, and in witnessing this he had thought what a blessed thing it was to be a servant of God, having implicit confidence in the Almighty. What a blessed feeling it was to have the assurance that nothing could occur to us but what was permitted by Him. We had broken no law, we had not violated the Constitution, but we had served God and accomplished the work that was to be seen in these valleys. The persecutions now being inaugurated against us would only enhance the interests and accelerate the progress of the work of God.

            The Choir sang: "Praise Him."

            Conference was adjourned until 2 p.m.

            Prayer by President George A. Smith.

_____

[5 Oct, 2 pm]

            Two p.m., Thursday, Oct. 5th.

            The choir sang: "God moves in a mysterious way."

            Prayer by Elder Lorenzo Snow.

            "Ere long the vail will rend in twain," was sung by the choir.

[President Joseph Young]

            PRESIDENT JOSEPH YOUNG endorsed the sentiments advanced by those who spoke at the morning meeting. He alluded to the manifestations of the power of God in behalf of His people in every age, and especially dwelt upon the goodness of the Almighty to His Saints in these latter ays. If he should represent the feelings that animated him, he would but express those entertained by his brethren. The Latter-day Saints believed in the efficacy of the blood atonement of Jesus Christ, for the redemption of the human race, for it was a true principle. If a person, upon evidence presented, received an impression with regard to the truth of the gospel, and should drive such impression away by resisting it, he would be held guilty in the sight of God. He continued to speak for some time and bore a powerful testimony to the truth of the great Latter day work.

[Elder John Nicholson]

            ELDER JOHN NICHOLSON alluded to the promise of Jesus that those who obeyed heavenly principles should obtain a knowledge and testimony of their divine nature. Wherever the plan of salvation was found the people who embraced it would have a testimony of its truth and would hold out the same promise to all who would obey it. The ability to testify of the divine nature of the principles they had received was one of the peculiarities which distinguished the Latter-day Saints from all other people.

            It was a bad sign when those who professed to be Latter-day Saints manifested a disposition to "steady the ark" as they thus showed an inclination to mistrust those whom the Lord had appointed as His agents to oversee and carry on His work. The Almighty, in His supreme wisdom, knew who were qualified to assist in bringing about His purposes and it was for us to sustain the priesthood.

            He testified that he knew that God had revealed the everlasting gospel in these days, that His work would stand forever, and that those who endeavored to overturn it would but accomplish their own ultimate discomfiture.

[Elder C. W. Penrose]

            ELDER C. W. PENROSE said every stage of his experience connected with the Church of Jesus Christ only served to strengthen his faith in the work. God had given him a witness that was satisfactory to his mind; wherever he traveled and bore testimony and the people received it, they invariably testified that they also received a like witness. What he said before this congregation he would be willing to meet before the bar of God. Plurality of wives was an article of his religious faith. He adduced scriptural evidence to the truthfulness of that doctrine, and spoke of the evidence impressed on his mind by the Spirit of God when the revelation upon it was first made to him.

            He continued to speak on the nature of true marriage. Marriage with the Latter-day Saints was not a mere civil contract. A marriage by a magistrate or civil officer was to them no marriage at all -- mariage was "ordained of God" and, whether single or plural, must be administered by one having authority from God. This was a part of their religious faith previous to the passage of the act of 1862, which was a piece of special legislation for the people of the Territory, and, being aimed against their religion, was unconstitutional, as the great American people would one day acknowledge.

            He testified strongly concerning the future triumph of the Church of the living God, and the crumbling of every opposing power, and that the efforts now being made against us would but serve to bind us closer together. They would serve as a purifier of the Church, and we were now in need of a little purification.

[Elder Brigham Young, Jun.]

            ELDER BRIGHAM YOUNG, JUN., next addressed the assemblage. He said if a call were made for those who had received a testimony that God had spoken in these days to arise, a very large majority would get upon their feet, and the effect would be the same throughout the Territory. His testimony today was that God was able to defend His people now as He ever was, and He had shown His ability to do so in the past. He quoted the saying, "Trust in God and keep your powder dry." He knew that every honorable man would go with us in standing up for our rights as men.

[President George A. Smith]

            PRESIDENT GEORGE A. SMITH said he had been pleased to listen to the testimonies of the brethren. He was also gratified to see so many people from a distance. There was still plenty of room for the people of this city to come here. God had commenced, so to speak, a reconstruction of the human family, and He used us as His instruments. It was good for us to come together to talk over matters of profit, that we might be stirred up to activity in the work we were indemnified with. Peace reigned in the one hundred and fifty settlements of the Territory, and peace was one of the fruits of the gospel. The tree was good, and so therefore was the fruit.

            The choir sang: "Sing unto God."

            Prayer by Elder C. C. Rich.

            The Special conference adjourned, and it was announced that the Semi-Annual Conference would commence the next day at ten a.m.

 

6-8 Oct 1871, 41st Semi-Annual Conference, Tabernacle.
[Deseret News Weekly, 20:417, 10/11/71, p 5; Millennial Star 33:689, 705]

[6 Oct, 10 am]

[DNW 20:417, 10/11/71, p 5]

Forty-First Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

_____

THE Forty-first Semi-Annual Conference convened in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, at 10 a.m., on this the Sixth day of October, 1871.

            The names of the authorities and leading elders on the stand being much the same as published in the minutes of the Special Conference held yesterday, it is deemed unnecessary to include them in these.

FRIDAY, Oct. 6th, 10 a.m.

            "Ye wond'ring nations, now give ear." was sung by the choir.

            The opening prayer was offered up by Elder Orson Pratt.

            The choir sang: "See! all creation joins To praise th' eternal God."

[Elder Wilford Woodruff]

            ELDER WILFORD WOODRUFF addressed the Conference. All of his experience confirmed him in the faith that we were entirely dependent on the Almighty for all things. The servants of God bore record that the work we were engaged in was true. They did not gain this knowledge through hearing others testify to its truthfulness. Each individual must receive it for himself or herself, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. This had been the principle upon which the people of God in all days had relied. Upon this principle he could testify that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the living God, raised up as an instrument to usher in the great last dispensation. He had been intimately acquainted with the prophet, whom he knew to have been animated with a fervent desire to bless and benefit his fellowmen. Joseph Smith was taught by holy messengers. These were his teachers, and they informed him that the time had come for the establishment of the kingdom of God on the earth, which would gather people out of every system and sect in the world. He labored faithfully in laying the foundation of the great work of the Lord until he sealed his testimony with his blood. Although he was slain, the principles he sacrificed his life to establish still lived and flourished.

            President Brigham Young was before the world. He had been acquainted with him since 1833, and could bear record, with uplifted hand before heaven, that he never had heard him give any counsel to any person other than was consonant with principles of peace and righteousness. His course had been one of uprightness and justice. Many then in meeting knew that he had been a true man in every respect. When the dark days existed among the Saints at Kirtland, when it was almost as much as a man's life was worth to confess that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, Brigham Young upheld and sustained the prophet. He came with him to these valleys, when they present a barren and uninviting appearance, and now look at the great work that had been accomplished here, through his untiring energy and wisdom in the hands of God, and in connection with his brethren.

            He continued speaking for some time longer, expressing his desires concern[ing] the salvation of the human race, alluded to his travels and labors for that purpose, and showed the extent and disinterestedness of the labors of the Elders of the Church in carrying the gospel to the nations. He explained the religious rights to which all men were entitled, stating that God the Father and Jesus Christ the Redeemer allowed the human race perfect liberty in this respect, and no man or class of men had the least right to curtail it. The constitution of the country guaranteed it to all. He also discoursed on the patriarchal order of marriage, explained the eternal nature of that ordinance, and the only way by which the social or family relations formed here could be binding in the world to come. He was willing, and so were the great bulk of the Latter-day Saints, to obey every good and constitutional law enacted by the government of our country. With laws, however, which were designed to infringe upon his or their rights, as freemen, he could not say quite so much.

            The building of Temples was mentioned by the speaker. The saints should be energetic in performing that work, that those sacred and holy ordinances necessary for the salvation of the dead might be attended to.

            The Brigham City (Professor Fishburn's) choir sang: "Praise ye the Lord."

[Elder C. C. Rich]

            ELDER C. C. RICH expressed his gratification at the privilege afforded him of listening to the testimonies and instructions enunciated by his brethren. He had been connected with the church for the past forty years, during which time he had labored, in connection with others, in helping to build up the kingdom of God. In doing this work, they had met with many and formidable obstacles, yet in every trial a spirit of peace and comfort from the Lord had been enjoyed. They never had sought to encourage principles that would tear down or destroy, but, on the contrary, had sought to foster and develop whatever tended to build up and save. The works of this people showed that they had taken that course. They had sought to establish good. Satan had been at the beginning, and would continue to oppose them until he was bound and had no longer any power on the earth. He then contrasted the gospel of Jesus Christ with the various religious systems now extant on the earth, showing that the former not only pointed to a glorious and happy future in the world to come, but the practical application of its principles brought salvation and peace in the present existence. He bore testimony that he knew Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and also that Brigham Young was a prophet, and that he had obtained this knowledge by the inspiration of the Almighty.

            The meeting adjourned till 2 p.m.

            "I will praise thee." was sung by the choir, and prayer was offered by Elder George Q. Cannon.

_____

[6 Oct, 2 pm]

[DNW 20:417, 10/11/71, p 5]

2 P.M., FRIDAY, Oct. 6th.

            "Though nations rise, and men conspire, Their efforts will be vain," was sung by the choir.

            Prayer by Elder HORACE S. ELDREDGE.

            The choir sang "All praise to our redeeming Lord."

[Elder James S. Brown]

            Elder JAMES S. BROWN spoke of the nature of the testimony received by those who embraced the gospel, showing that it was not a testimony that was received through the evidence of the outward senses. It was "a more sure word of prophecy," and it was this testimony that had induced so many people to leave their homes and friends in distant lands to come here. He had received that testimony himself, and could bear witness that the same gospel taught by Jesus in his day, was being preached by the Elders of this church; also to the truth of the Book of Mormon and the Bible. He brought forth evidence from the latter book in support of the patriarchal order of marriage.

            Professor Fishburn's choir sang, "Great is the Lord! 'tis good to praise His high and holy name."

[Bishop William H. Cluff]

            BISHOP WILLIAM H. CLUFF Spoke of the manner in which the elders of Israel went forth to preach the gospel of salvation, and alluded to his labors while on his recent mission to Scandinavia, giving a brief sketch of his travels and ministry in that part of the globe. The people in the church there were generally poor, but notwithstanding this they were liberal in sustaining the mission and were doing all in their power to emigrate. Before leaving to return home, he had promised such that he would lay their case before their friends in Utah on the first opportunity that presented itself. Many people here had promised, by letter to them, that if their friends in the old country could borrow the means necessary to emigrate with, they would refund the same in grain, stock, real estate or some such way. He would say to such that there was an excellent opportunity for such persons to fulfill their promises. He would address himself more particularly to the Scandinavians on this subject.

            PRESIDENT GEORGE A. SMITH here requested Bishop Cluff to speak in the Scandinavian language, which he did continuing his remarks for some time in that tongue.

[Elder George Q. Cannon]

            ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON thought it was an excellent thing to have the Elders bear testimony to the work of God. Their testimonies had a responsive echo in the heart of each Saint. One of the most remarkable features connected with this work was that people receiving its principles in every land obtained the same testimony concerning it. It was also a remarkable thing that this great and wonderful work was founded by a boy. This work was a problem that none of the learned of the age had been able to solve. If the statements made concerning it were true -- that it was an imposture, where could the true gospel be found? Where could be discovered so many evidences of divinity in any other system? We went forth to preach this gospel because we had received the holy priesthood, and woe unto us if we failed to declare it after having received the authority to disseminate its principles. We had gone forth in weakness, but had been sustained by God, for when we had baptized people and laid hands upon them, He had sent among them the Holy Ghost. He knew this was the work of God because the Almighty had revealed it to him.

            PRESIDENT GEORGE A. SMITH announced that a Priesthood meeting would be held at 7 p.m., in the Old Tabernacle, the principal object of which was to take into consideration the building of Temples.

            Conference adjourned till Friday at 10 a.m.

            The choir sang, "Give ear to my word."

            Benedictory prayer by President D. H. Wells.

            While the assemblage were leaving the Tabernacle, the Fishburn choir sang, "The mountain brave.

_____

[6 Oct, 7 pm]

[DNW 20:417, 10/11/71, p 5]

7 P.M.

            The priesthood meeting in the old Tabernacle was well attended, the building being completely filled. Bishops John Sharp and Edward Hunter, President D. H. Wells and Elder Wilford Woodruff were the speakers, each of whom spoke with great power, imparting valuable instructions regarding the building of the Temples and kindred subjects. It was concluded to build a Temple in St. George, and, if possible, to complete the mason work of the same during the coming winter.

_____

[7 Oct, 10 am]

[DNW 20:417, 10/11/71, p 5]

SATURDAY, Oct 7th, 10 a. m.

            "Come listen to a prophet's voice," Was sung by the choir.

            Prayer by Elder Joseph F. Smith.

            The choir sang, "Come, all ye saints who dwell on earth."

[Elder Isaac Groo]

            ELDER ISAAC GROO said we were a peculiar people. The people of God in all ages had been regarded as such by the bulk of mankind. The Latter-day Saints were peculiar because they warned the world to abandon their sinful ways and turn to the Lord. When the generations of men had been thus warned by the servants of God in all ages and those warnings had been unheeded, the consequences had been disheeded, the consequences had been disastrous to the disobedient. The same results would follow the warnings uttered and testimonies borne by the Elders of Israel in these days. He referred to the 3rd chapter of the Acts, in support of the faith of the Latter-day Saints in the doctrines of faith in Jesus Christ, baptism, by divine authority, for the remission of sins, and the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost. He testified that he knew that the Latter-day Saints taught and practised the same gospel that was taught by Jesus and his ancient apostles, and spoke of the prophetic sayings of Paul and others with regard to the falling away from the true plan of salvation and its ultimate restoration in the last days, showing that those predictions had been fulfilled. The wicked might scheme and plan for the overthrow of God's work, but all their plots would utterly fail. This work would never stop, but would triumph over all its enemies. He exhorted the people to sustain the priesthood and not indulge in finding fault with God's anointed. He knew that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and that Brigham Young was his legal and duly authorized successor; he knew this by revelation from God.

            "Up, awake, ye defenders of Zion," was sung by the Fishburn choir.

[Elder David McKenzie]

            ELDER DAVID MCKENZIE felt that he was in the house of his friends; among those whose hearts were open to the revelations of the Almighty. He had no disposition to say anything that would cause any additional friction to the ill feeling which, to say the least, had been most maliciously stirred up by certain parties. His disposition was more to pour oil on the troubled waters. He would say that if those endeavoring to cause trouble here would repent of their sins and seek unto the Lord for wisdom to enable them to administer even-handed justice, they would feel much better than they now did. He continued to speak on the doctrine of plural marriage, and quoted the scriptures in support of the faith of the Latter-day Saints concerning that order. If those adopting and practicing that law were, as claimed by some, guilty of "lascivious cohabitation," why did not the Lord check it among ancient Israel? He quoted form the history of the Reformation to show that Melancthou, Luther and other great reformers were of the decided opinion that there was nothing in the gospel of Christ which set aside the law of Moses relating to marriage. Polygamy originated by revelation from God, and he wished to know whether it would not be as consistent for certain parties to send their Marshal, with a writ, after the great originator of the doctrine, as to taking their present course toward certain respected citizens.

            In the days of Joseph Smith, the prophet, there was not a true Elder in the Church, who would not have freely sacrificed his life rather than that Joseph's blood should have been shed. He wished to know whether the feelings of the people were different to-day with regard to President Young. The response of the vast congregation was, "No!"

            "We thank thee, O God, for a prophet," Was sung by the Fishburne choir.

[Bishop Elijah F. Sheets]

            BISHOP ELIJAH F. SHEETS made some remarks principally concerning the law of tithing and the building of Temples. Were the Savior to come to the world now, he would not have a house to come to. We looked forward to His second advent, and when he did appear, he would suddenly come to His Temple. The duty of this people therefore was to pay their tithes and offerings, that a place might be prepared to receive Him, and in which the holy ordinances for the living and the dead could be given an received, that the connecting link might be formed between us and our fathers who have gone before us, for the faith of this people taught them that they would have the privilege, if faithful, of striking hands with their ancestors in the kingdom of God. Let the people therefore pay their tithes and offerings, that the store house of the Lord might be filled, and pay them in their kind and at the proper time. He knew that this was the work of God, that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that Brigham Young was his rightful successor

            He spoke of the past history of the Church, showing that each time the Saints had been driven, it had increased their strength, and said that if their enemies wanted them to stop growing the best thing they could do would be to let them alone.

            The choir sang "The Seraph's anthem."

            Conference adjourned till 2 p. m.

            Prayer by Elder B. Young, jun.

_____

[7 Oct, 2 pm*]

[DNW 20:417-418, 10/11/71, p 5-6]

SATURDAY, OCT. 7th, 2 P. M.

            "Behold, the mountain of the Lord In latter days shall rise," was sung by the choir.

            Prayer by Elder GEORGE Q. CANNON.

            The choir sang, "How beauteous are their feet, Who stand on Zion's hill!"

            ELDER GEO. Q. CANNON presented the Authorities of the Church to the Conference. The votes to sustain them in the following order were unanimous:

            Brigham Young, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; George A. Smith, his first, and Daniel H. Wells his second councilor.

            Orson Hyde, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Orson Pratt, Sen., John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young Jun., Joseph F. Smith, and Albert Carrington, members of said Quorum.

            John Smith, Patriarch of the Church.

            John W. Young, President of this Stake of Zion, and George B. Wallace and John T. Caine his councilors.

            William Eddington, John L Blythe, Howard O. Spencer, John Squires, Wm. H. Fulsom, Emanuel M. Murphy, Thos. E. Jeremy, Joseph L. Barfoot, Samuel W. Richards, John H. Rumell, Miner G. Atwood, Wm. Thorn, Dimick B. Huntington, Theodore McKean and Hosea Stout, members of the High Council.

            Elias Smith, President of the High Priests' Quorum, and Edward Snelgrove and Elias Morris as his councilors.

            Joseph Young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Harriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates and John Van Cott, members of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies.

            Benjamin L. Peart, President of the Elders' Quorum; Edward Davis and Abinadi Pratt, his councilors.

            Edward Hunter, Presiding Bishop; Leonard W. Hardy and Jessie C. Little his councillors.

            Samuel G. Ladd, President of the Priests' Quorum; Wm. McLachlan and James Latham his councilors.

            Adam Spiers, President of the Teachers' Quorum; Martin Lenzi and Henry I Doremus, his councilors.

            James Leach, President of the Deacon's Quorum; Peter Johnson and Chas. S. Cram his councilors.

            Brigham Young, Trustee-in-Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

            Truman O. Angell, Architect for the church.

            Horace S. Eldredge, President of the Perpetual Emigration Fund to Gather the Poor.

            Albert Carrington, Historian and General Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff, his assistant.

[Bishop Abram Hatch]

            BISHOP ABRAM HATCH bore testimony that President Young was a prophet of God and that he was a father as well as a leader to the people. This people were peaceable and law abiding. There had not been a lawsuit in his county for the last three years. There was but one lawyer there, and he had so little business that he had not money enough to buy a law book, and he had recently commenced to run a grist mill and become an honest miller.

            In relation to the much talked of doctrine of polygamy, it was plain to him that a person could not believe the Bible unless he believed in that doctrine. He thought the Christian world were in the position of the man who told his friend he had given up drinking whisky. The friend said, "Then why don't you take down your sign?" He had a red nose. If the world wanted to cast aside polygamy, why did they not take down their sign by throwing away the Bible.

            It was the height of the ambition of the Elders of Israel to devote their time, talent and means for the rolling onward of this great work. He thought Bishop Hunter's advice excellent -- to talk little and do much.

[Bishop A. O. Smoot]

            BISHOP A. O. SMOOT bore a powerful testimony to the restoration of the gospel to the earth in these days. He showed the opposition manifested toward the latter-day work, and that every step of advancement taken by the Saints, would but increase that opposition. Every effort put forth by the people to rear temples to God would cause the devil to howl through his emissaries, yet the Kingdom of God would triumph and the Saints would rejoice under all circumstances.

            The Fishburn choir sang, "Hard times come again no more."

[Elder W. C. Staines]

            ELDER W. C. STAINES gave a brief account of his labors as agent in forwarding the emigration from New York. Everything had passed along satisfactorily, there having been little sickness and only two deaths among the people. He had talked in relation to the people of Utah with many gentlemen, and ladies in the east, and found that the prevailing sentiment was that we should be left alone. He testified to the uprightness of the characters of the leaders of the people. He alluded to the efforts being made by parties who said we should not practice plural marriage. God revealed that doctrine -- to whom therefore should we appeal in this matter? We would appeal it to the God of heaven. The priesthood was with us and in the name of Israel's God the people should be blessed.

            The choir sang "Sing ye Jehovah's praise."

            Adjourned till ten a. m., to-morrow.

            Benedictory prayer by President George A. Smith.

____

[8 Oct, 10 am]

[DNW 20:418, 10/11/71, p 6]

SUNDAY, OCT. 8th, 10 A. M.

            "O God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come," was sung by the choir.

            Opening prayer by Bishop LORENZO D. YOUNG.

            The choir sang, "Sweet is the work, my God, my King."

[Elder John Taylor]

            ELDER JOHN TAYLOR addressed the Conference. He was pleased to see so many people who had come together to learn concerning the interests of the Kingdom of God. They did not come together to combine against men, but to learn that which would be most conducive to their present and eternal happiness and the progress of the principles of eternal truth, as they had been revealed unto them.

            Those principles were like their author, eternal in their nature. The gospel threw light upon their minds concerning their relationship to God, the purposes of their being on the earth and their duty to mankind, and they went forth in the name of Israel's God to accomplish that destiny which he had placed in their hands. This vast assemblage were witnesses of the truth of the holy gospel which had been revealed. They received this gospel not of man, but by the influence of the holy spirit and through the priesthood, by whom it was administered.

            Elder Taylor continued to dwell for some time on the comprehensive and eternal nature of the gospel of Christ, and declared that the most untrammeled freedom should be allowed to all men, to enjoy whatever religion they chose. He had no fault to find with anybody, not even the devil, for had it not been necessary to have one, the devil would not have existed.

            Since the organization of this Church the Elders had preached to the world that it would gradually grow worse with regard to deceiving and being deceived, also that thrones would be cast down, and that any people would come out of the world to escape the sins and judgments which would exist, and it was not strange that those things had been fulfilled. The Latter-day Saints did not want the corruptions, the iniquities and abominations that existed in the world, and had become a stink in the nostrils of Jehovah, but whatsoever was good, pure and holy, that they wanted.

            The speaker alluded to the ill-treatment heaped upon the Latter-day Saints by their enemies, and said that the servants of God could not be made afraid, for God, angels and all good men were their friends. Some might think that fear existed among them, but it was a mistake, there was no such thing. He quoted the saying of one of the ancient prophets -- "They who be for us are more than they who be against us."

            He spoke with much eloquence and power, prophesying of the glorious triumph of Zion, and the overthrow of all her enemies.

[John Taylor]

[DNW 20:441, 10/25/71, p 5; JD 14:245]

DISCOURSE.

Delivered by Elder JOHN TAYLOR, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday ;Morning, October 8th, 1871.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      We are met here in a conference capacity, and have assembled ostensibly, and in reality, to confer together about the general interests of the church and kingdom of God upon the earth. The authorities from the distant settlements are here to represent themselves and their people, and a great many are here from the surrounding settlements to listen to the teachings that may be given, to the business that may be transacted, to the doctrines that may he promulgated, and in general to make themselves acquainted with the spirit of the times, with the obligations that devolve upon them; and the various responsibilities that rest upon all parties.

      We meet, then, as I have said, to consult on the general interests of the the church and kingdom of God upon the earth, and not upon our own peculiar ideas and notions, to carry out any particular favorite theme or to establish any special dogma of our own devising; nor do we meet here to combine against men; but to seek, by all reasonable and proper means, through the interposition and guidance of the Almighty, and under the influence of His Holy Spirit, to adopt such means and to carry out such measures as will most conduce to our individual happiness; the happiness of the community with which we are associated; to the establishment of correct principles; to the building up of our faith, and strengthening us in the principles of eternal truth; to our advancement and progress in the ways of life and salvation, and to devise such measures and carry out such plans as will best accord with the position and relationship we occupy to God, to the world we live in, and to each other.

      So far as the principles of truth are concerned they are like the Author of truth—"the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever." No change has taken place in the programme of the Almighty in regard to His relationship with men, the duties and responsibilities that devolve upon men in general, or upon us, as the elders of Israel and representatives of God upon the earth. Years ago, when we listened to the glad tidings which had been again revealed to man, by the opening of the heavens and by the revelations of God, we rejoiced in the great principles of truth that were then divulged. The gospel that we then obeyed brought peace to our bosoms; for it enlightened the eyes of our understandings and gave us a knowledge of our standing with and relation to the Almighty; made us acquainted with the position we occupy in relation to the living and the dead; opened up a way whereby we might pour blessings on the latter, and, as ancient patriarchs and servants if God did, by which we could confer blessings on unborn generations. That gospel unfolded unto us some of those glorious principles associated with the present position and future destiny of man. The work in which we are engaged is like the Great Jehovah—eternal and unchangeable. It emanated from God, and was imparted to man by revelation. By obedience to that gospel we received the Holy Ghost, which partook of the things of God and showed them unto us. That spirit imparted light, truth, and intelligence, which have continued to be manifested to the church of the living God and to all who are faithful in that church up to the present time.

      Men have their ideas and theories and notions, their views of morality, politics, science, and philosophy; we have our ideas in relation to God, to angels, to eternity and to our responsibility to God and to the world; and acting upon that faith we go forth in the name of Israel's God to accomplish that destiny which God has placed in our hands. God has decreed certain things with regard to the earth and the people who live on it. He has revealed unto His servants, the prophets, certain things that should transpire in connection with the world and its inhabitants, and we are left no longer to the wild chaos of fleeting thought that exists, everywhere in the world; for God has placed us under His inspiration, given unto us a knowledge of His law, revealed unto us His purposes, drawn back the curtain that intervenes between man and his heavenly Father, and divulged unto us His will; designs, and purposes concerning us. We know for ourselves of the truth of those principles that God has revealed, and if in former days Paul could say, "Ye are our witnesses, as also is the Holy Ghost who bears witness unto us," it can be said more emphatically of this day. This assembly now before me have received the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost accompanying that gospel; and every man and woman present who has lived the religion of Jesus Christ has the witness of the truth of the work they have obeyed, and they are ready with one acclaim to pronounce:" We are His witnesses, as is also the Holy Ghost which bears witness unto us." You, my brethren and sisters, know of the truths of that gospel which you have received, and you are not indebted for that knowledge to any organization that exists under the face of the heavens, other than the one you are now associated with. No philosophy, no religious combination, no school, no doctors of divinity, no priesthood of any order revealed unto you the principles which you are in possession of. The gospel that you received, you received "not of man nor by man, but through the influence of the Spirit of God and the power of the holy priesthood that administered it." This you know now, and this you then knew. It is no wild phantom, no idle theory, no notion propagated by man; but it is the word of eternal life, the revelations of God, the gospel of Jesus Christ, the principles of eternal truth, which you have received, from the God of truth, through the medium of that priesthood which He has organized on the earth; and this you know, realize, and understand for yourselves. You understood it years ago, and you understand it to-day. It is the same gospel, the same priesthood, the same principles of truth; it imparts the same hope, fills the besom with the same joy, disperses that uncertainty and doubt that dwell in the bosoms of unbelievers, and opens to the view of the believer visions of "glory, honor, immortality and eternal lives." And there is nothing in this world that can change these feelings—no vain philosophy, no political influence, no combinations of any kind that can root out of the mind these principles of eternal truth which are inspired and implanted there by the spirit, of the living God. They are written on the tablets of the heart in characters of living fire, and they will burn and extend while time exists or eternity endures. So far then we feel comforted and blessed. If others are satisfied with their views, all right. If a man wants to be a Methodist, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, Shaker, or Quaker, all right, he can be what he pleases; but let me have my religion. Let me have principles that will draw aside the curtain of futurity and introduce me to those scenes that exist behind the veil. Let me, as an immortal being, know my destiny pertaining to time and eternity, and the destiny of my brethren and friends, and of the earth that I live upon; let me have a religion that will lead me to God, and others may take what they please, it is immaterial to me. I have no quarrel with them. They can have their own ideas and carry out their own views, so far as I am concerned, untrammelled, if they will let me have mine. Let me be surrounded with the panoply of truth, let me have the favor of Jehovah, let me associate with angels and the heavens, and eternity be opened to my view, and be placed in such a relationship with God that He can communicate His will to me, and I ask no more of this world. I have no complaint to make about anybody, I don't even complain of the devil. I know that he was sent here for a certain purpose—to carry out the purposes of God, and God did not even banish him His presence when the sons of God met together, for the devil was also among them, and we need not be surprised at anything of that kind now. When the Lord asked him where he came from, said he, "I came from wandering to and fro in the earth." What did he do in the earth? Not much good, and, I presume, all the evil he could. And I presume it was absolutely necessary that there should be devils, or there would not have been any.

      Years and years ago, I preached abroad among the nations of the earth, and I see around me here many of my brethren, the elders, whose heads are now as grey as mine, who did the same. We preached to many of you who are here, and told you that the world would wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. Did we not preach this doctrine? I think we did, ten, twenty, thirty, and forty years ago. We told you then that in consequence of the wickedness that would exist upon the earth, thrones would be cast down, empires be demoralised, and that wars and bloodshed would exist upon the face of the earth, and that God would arise and vex the nations and bring them to judgment, because of their iniquities. Is it anything astonishing that these words should be fulfilled? Why, they are the words of truth! They were spoken by the spirit of revelation, and were in accordance with the revelations given to ancient men of God, who spoke as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost, and who, while rapt in prophetic vision, saw and foretold what should transpire on the earth. God revealed the same things to us that He did to them.

      And what other doctrines did you bear the elders proclaim, my friends? You heard them proclaim, "Come out of her, my people." Why? "That you partake not of her sins and receive not of her plagues." Didn't you hear that? I think you did. Did you hear that her sins had reached up to heaven, and that God would remember her iniquities? Yes, you did. Do you believe it to-day? Yes: you believe just the same principles now that you believed then. Your ideas and views, feelings and theories in these respects have not advanced, as people tell us sometimes, with the intelligence of the age. God save me from such intelligence, the Lord deliver me from their infidelity, corruption, and iniquity, social, moral, political, and of every kind you can mention; and the Lord God deliver this people from it. I don't want it. I want to know God and the principles of truth. I want, as an immortal being to understand something of my relationship with the other world. I want to know how to save the living and to redeem the dead, and to stand as a savior on Mount Zion, and to bring to pass the purposes of Jehovah in relation to this people and the earth whereon we live. That is what I want to know; that is the kind of intelligence I am after. Then, if there is anything else that we have not got, that is good, virtuous, holy, pure, or intellectual, give it to us, and we will embrace it; but we don't want your corruptions, debaucheries, and crimes, which everywhere prevail, and which are a stench in the nostrils of God, angels, and all good men; and I would make a prayer here which I used to hear very often when I was an Episcopalian: "From all such things, good Lord deliver us." We want truth, purity, integrity, and honesty; we want men who live so that they dare face any man, or, even God himself; and to reach this standard is what we are after, and it is our constant aim and desire. I was very much pleased with a song I heard sung yesterday. I don't know that I can remember it, but it was something like this:

"Hurrah, hurrah, for the mountain brave,
No trembling serf is he;
Nor earth, nor hell can him enslave—
The Gods have set him free."

      There is nothing faltering in the knees of a man of God, you can't. make him quail. God is his friend, and angels and all good men are his friends. He is living for time and eternity, and all is right with him, living or dying.

      Well, but don't you think some folks are very bad? I always thought so; my mind is not changed about that a particle. Well, but don't you think the folks don't treat us very well sometimes? I never knew the time they did; I never expect to be well treated by them. I never knew nor read of any men of God that were well treated by the people of the world, and if we were I should not think we were men of God at all. Why men who feared God anciently were generally the most unpopular of men, they were considered a kind of fools, or half crazy, or something the matter with them. The enlightened pagans of former days did not like either the religion or the God of the Hebrews. They thought them a shame and a disgrace, and that Baal and their gods were much better. Men of God, in old times, we are told, had to wander about in sheepskins and goatskins, and to dwell in deserts and in dens and caves of the earth. "They must have been very wicked people in those days," say you; and they were, and so they are to-day. There is not much difference, only I think we are a little better situated, for we have our good houses and farms and an extensive territory. We live under our own vine and figtree, and none can make us afraid. They think they can, but they make a mistake; there is no trembling of the knees here. Fear does not dwell here, and if it did a little more of the principles of that gospel you have received would dispel it. I remember a kind of shaky-kneed fellow in old times, and they were in rather a critical position. There was some Gentiles holding court there. Oh no, it was not that, I forgot; it was another affair, an army was surrounding them. Excuse me for making the mistake! There was an old prophet there, rather a rough sort of a fellow, and very unpopular. His servant was a rather shaky-kneed sort of chap, was in a tremble, and wanted to know what was going to be done. "Why," says the prophet, "They are more who are for us than those who can be against us." The servant didn't understand this exactly, and the prophet prayed that he might get a little more religion. Said he, "O God, open the young man's eyes," and the Lord did so, and as soon as his eyes were opened he saw thousands of the heavenly hosts surrounding him, and said he, "The chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof." That inspired him with confidence, and did away with that trembling in the knees. Now if any of you should have had a little trembling of that kind, go to your God, seek for the spirit of revelation that flows from Him; get hold of the light and intelligence which the Holy Ghost imparts, and you will cry, "Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna to the God of Israel, for He rules and will rule until He has put all enemies under His feet," you will cry out, "Zion shall arise and shine, and the glory of God shall rest upon her!" You will cry aloud, "The principles of eternal truth will triumph, not all the powers of earth and hell can stay their progress, for Zion is onward, onward, onward, until the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God and His Christ, and He will rule for ever and ever!"

      If there is anything the matter with any of you, I don't think there is much; but if there is, get a little more religion; live your religion, seek for the spirit of revelation, which has led you on to the present time. If you cling to that it will lead you to the portals of eternal life. Talk about the Saints of God quailing, pshaw! The work of God is onward, the kingdom of God is forward, and all that I have to say is, get out of the way, for the chariots of Israel are advancing, the purposes of God are being unfolded, the work of God will roll forth, and woe to that man who lifts his puny arm against it.

      But I am not strong in body, rather feeble in health, and I do not feel that my bodily strength is sufficient to talk much longer to this large assembly. I have heard men say they know this is the truth; so do I. I know that God has spoken. If nobody else knows on the earth besides, I know that the truths of God have been revealed; I know that the gospel has been restored; I know that this people will continue to cleave to the truth, that the kingdom of God will progress, and that by and by we will shout victory! victory! victory! now and for ever, worlds without end. May God bless Israel and all who bless Israel, and let the curse of God rest, upon her enemies, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

            The Fishburn choir sang, "Hark! the song of Jubilee."

[Elder George Q. Cannon]

            ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON said the spirit that had rested upon the Elders who had addressed this Conference had been exceedingly comforting. It as a spirit of calm resignation and trust in God. The same spirit had rested upon the congregations. This was as it should be. The Saints had received the gospel f Christ, and the spirit of it had rested upon them with power. It was far better to live on the earth but a brief period and enjoy the blessings accruing from embracing the gospel than to live an extended time in possession of all earthly privileges and emoluments, but destitute of those heavenly blessings. The past history of the church shows that adversity in temporal circumstances does not bring that misery and hopelessness that would be produced upon other people in a like position. They enjoy the Spirit of God, which brings peace and joy under all circumstances. That spirit of peace is enjoyed to-day.

            Elder Cannon then gave some excellent instructions relative to the Word of Wisdom. It was a subject of extreme importance, and it was God's will that it should be observed. It was calculated to make us a healthy and long lived people, and its observance would also bring the gift of wisdom. Abstinance from those substances which were injurious to the systems of men and women would bring blessings, and each should, from this time, seek unto the Lord for strength to enable him to abstain. He did not think the spirit of God would rest to that extent upon those who used substances of an injurious nature, as upon those who kept the word of wisdom. He knew that the observance of those matters would make the Lord better pleased with the people; they would have more faith and better health.

            He next spoke of the erection of temples. Steps were being taken to push the one in this city to completion. The railroad south would make the work easier, as the rock to build it would be more readily obtained. It had been concluded to build a temple at St. George. This was a great necessity, as it was too much of a labor for the people to travel from there to this city in order to receive the holy ordinances of the gospel. It would also have the effect of dividing the attention of the adversary. Men would be wanted to go to St. George to erect the house there, and men would also be wanted to work on the temple in this city. The Lord did not wish to depend upon the spasmodic offerings of His people for the carrying on of such work; He had instituted the law of tithing for that purpose, and the people therefore should promptly pay their tithing, a tenth of their increase. They had been blessed of the Lord the present season, the wheat and some other crops this season being unequalled on the continent, also the fruit crops, and if the Saints would keep His commandments the Lord would bless the land, but if they did not He would withdraw His favor.

            The speaker continued, at some length, showing that in no age of the world had the righteous ever persecuted the wicked, but the wicked had invariably persecuted the righteous. His remarks were most eloquent and instructive. He concluded by bearing a faithful testimony to the truth of the Latter-day work.

            The choir sang, "The Lord reigneth."

            Conference adjourned till 2 p. m.

_____

[8 Oct, 2 pm]

[DNW 20:418, 10/11/71, p 6]

2 P. M.

            "Arise, O glorious Zion," Was sung by the choir,

            Prayer by Elder George Q. Cannon.

            The choir sung "Arise, my soul arise."

[Elder Orson Pratt]

            ELDER ORSON PRATT delivered an elaborate and powerful discourse concerning the salvation of the living and the dead, taking his text from the last chapter of Malachi. It was reported in full and will be published.

            Fishburn's choir sang, "How beautiful upon the mountains."

            ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON presented the names of a number of brethren to the Conference as having been selected to go on missions, the vote to sustain them being unanimous.

            President Brigham Young motioned that the Conference be adjourned till the 6th day of April, 1872, at 10- a.m., which was unanimously sustained.

            The choir sang, "Rejoice in the Lord."

            Benediction by President George A. Smith.

            The Conference throughout was well attended, large numbers of people being present from all parts of the Territory. The large Tabernacle, during the last three meetings, was well filled, there being probably not less than 12,000 present to-day. The attendance in the afternoon was somewhat smaller, owing to the rain.

            The spirit of God was manifestly poured out upon the Elders who spoke and upon the congregations, and notwithstanding the apparently threatening nature of surrounding circumstances, no cloud was felt to be hanging over the work or the people of God. On the contrary, the spirit enjoyed indicated an implicit trust that the all-powerful arm of Jehovah would be stretched out to defend Israel from all her enemies, and that the work of the Most High would continue to roll onward until the purposes of its inauguration were fully consummated.

JOHN NICHOLSON,
Clerk of Conference

_____

1872

6-9, 14, 21, 29 Apr 1872, 42nd General Conference, Tabernacle.
[Deseret News Weekly, 21:120, 4/10/72, p 4; Millennial Star 34:289, 305, 321, 337]

[6 Apr, 10 am]

[DNW 21:120, 4/10/72, p 4]

GENERAL CONFERENCE,

_____

SATURDAY MORNING, April 6.

THE Forty-second Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints assembled in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, at 10 o'clock this morning.

            On the stand were,

Of the First Presidency.

            Geo. A. Smith and Daniel H. Wells.

Of the Twelve Apostles.

            Orson Pratt, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, Brigham Young, Jr., Joseph F. Smith, Albert Carrington.

            Patriarch -- John Smith.

Of the First Seven Presidents of Seventies.

            Joseph Young, Albert P. Rockwood, John Van Cott and Horace S. Eldredge.

Of the Presidency of the High Priests' Quorum.

            Elias Smith, Edward Snelgrove and Elias Morris.

Of the Presidency of this Stake of Zion.

            John W. Young, George B. Wallace and John T. Caine.

Of the Presidency of the Bishopric.

            Edward Hunter, Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little.

            There were also Bishops, Elders and leading men from every settlement in the Territory.

            Conference was called to order by President GEORGE A. SMITH.

            The choir sang: "An angel from on high."

            The opening prayer was offered by Elder ERASTUS SNOW.

            The choir sang: "See, all creation join To praise th' Eternal God."

[President Geo. A. Smith]

            President GEO. A. SMITH addressed the Conference. He said that owing to a spirit of persecution disgraceful to the age our First President was not permitted to be with us. But notwithstanding the prevalence of religious bigotry, and its being brought to bear against us, we rejoiced in the blessings of God. It was not strange that men, in some respects probably illiterate, yet declaring that they possessed the principles calculated to exalt and elevate the human family, should be misunderstood. The persecutors of Jesus and his ancient disciples were men who were loud in their professions of religion and of holiness. The same principle now existed and the Saints had to contend with it. From the time the church was organized in 1830 this spirit of persecution had been manifested toward the Saints. Abuse was a poor argument to use against a system of religion.

            God had commenced a work to cause men to love one another and bring about a reign of peace. There was no doubt Satan stirred up the hearts of men to oppose the principles that would produce this result, and they followed his suggestions.

            The brethren should free their minds from all business cares and pay attention to what might be said and done, and offer mighty prayer for the redemption of Zion, for the blessings of God to rest on President Brigham Young, that he might e strengthened in body and enabled to counsel and instruct in the kingdom of God. All should consider what they could do in aid of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund, that the poor might be gathered.

            President Brigham Young, when on his last visit to St. George, selected and dedicated the ground for a Temple, that the ordinances of the holy gospel might be administered there The work upon the Temple in this city should be forwarded with even greater rapidity than heretofore.

            The principle of co-operation had been adopted in many ways in the settlements, and had been gratifyingly successful, and the Female Relief Societies had been productive of good, showing what could be accomplished by the people when they were united.

            The speaker than bore a powerful testimony to the truth of the work of God. The Almighty had revealed it to him, and he therefore knew it to be true.

[George A. Smith]

[DNW 21:136, 4/17/72, p 4; JD 14:368]

REMARKS,

By President GEORGE A. SMITH, Delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Saturday Morning, April 6th, 1872.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS

_____

      Owing to a spirit of persecution and religious bigotry, alike disgraceful to the age, the enlightenment of the present generation and the nation in which we live, our First President is not permitted to be with us. While we regret such a state of affairs, we rejoice in the many liberties, privileges, blessings and powers which are extended unto us. It is not by any means strange that, while the world has been plunged in ignorance upon matters of religion and morality, and broken up into factions, on the appearance in the midst of the whole, of a small body of men, illiterate in their character, proclaiming to the world that they are inspired of the Lord, and undertake to introduce system and principles calculated to elevate mankind from degradation and destruction, and exalt them to eternal glory and endless increase, they should be misunderstood; it has been so in all ages of the world. When our Savior visited the earth bringing the simple principles of salvation, he was misunderstood, mis-apprehended, persecuted, imprisoned, crowned with thorns, tortured, as a man who was opposed to the religion of the age, and dangerous to the State. He was accused of a great variety of crimes, of being a pestilent fellow, and was finally put to death by a class of men a great number of whom were zealous professors of religion—elders, high priests, rabbis, doctors of the law and others claiming to be exceedingly holy. Jesus, in referring to the history of the past, said that the fathers of those who persecuted him had slain the prophets, and such was the case; and we find that, in every age, when God inspired a man to proclaim the Gospel of salvation, all, or a large portion of mankind, were ready to denounce him and put him to death, to whip, imprison, annoy, lie about him, proclaim all manner of evil against him, and so on, until his influence should be annihilated from the earth. The same principle still exists, and the Latter-day Saints have had to contend with it. When Joseph Smith, in 1830, organized the Church with six members, the war as it were commenced; a few hours only had passed away when he was arrested, taken before a magistrate and accused of prophesying. He was discharged, arrested again, taken before another magistrate, and finally a declaration was made that if the law could not reach him tar and feathers and mob power should. This is a very poor argument and shows the weakness of those who have recourse to it.

      We live in an age of science, in an age when intelligence is being developed in a great many directions, and when the learning of man is vastly extended. The Apostle Paul cautioned the Saints in his day to beware lest any spoil them through philosophy and vain deceit; yet the religion of Jesus Christ embraces every true and perfect principle, every correct science, every principle of philosophy—that is every true principle, and is calculated to benefit mankind in every way; and yet the laws of life as revealed, explained and developed in the organization of the human family are trampled under foot and very little understood. God has commenced a work in these last days to elevate mankind, to save them to increase them, to place them on a footing of independence; to cause them to love one another and to lay a foundation for peace and harmony, that bloodshed and war, contention and devastation shall cease; that the power of the oppressor shall be broken and that the honest in heart may have the privilege of dwelling together and building up Zion in all the earth, and of continuing the blessings and ordinances of exaltation for time and throughout all eternity.

      There is no doubt but Satan stirs up the hearts of the children of man to disobedience and to war against the principles of righteousness; but they are true. Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, he was a minister of the Most High; he brought forth pure and holy principles, principles which are calculated to save and exalt mankind. He was slain, and those who received his testimony were rob bed of all they possessed and driver into the wilderness under the influence of religious fanaticism and bigotry, which apprehended nothing but their utter destruction. God preserved them, blessed them, and they spread abroad in the midst of these valleys; they converted the desert into fruitful fields, and laid a foundation for the redemption of the human race, and thank God for these privileges.

      We want while we are here at Conference, to have our brethren collect in their minds—that is, leave their business out of doors. It is a good time to come to Conference, a splendid time to do business and all that; but while the hours of Conference are on, let us come to meeting, give strict attention to what is said and done, and call upon God in mighty prayer, that he will deliver Zion from her oppressors; that he will bless the efforts of his servants for the advancement of his work; that he will bless the Missionaries that are sent abroad, and those who are abroad among the nations, and the missions of the native elders in the various counties; that he will open the way that the poor may be gathered. And, by the way, while we are doing this, let us reflect how much we can do to aid the Perpetual Emigration Fund, in bringing home the Poor. Many of them have been scattered among the nations half a generation and more, and they are unable to gather home. Think of these things. Pray the Lord to give his servants wisdom; pray the Lord to strengthen the President of the Church—Brigham Young, heal his body, make him strong, sound and healthy, deliver him from the power of the oppressor and those who seek to destroy him, that he may have wisdom, intelligence and power to preach to and teach the Saints, and to counsel and guide the affairs of the great work which God has entrusted to him. Let us devote a few days, as the case may be, to counsel, to instruction, to bearing testimony, to acquiring a knowledge of the things of God, speaking of those things that are for the welfare of Zion; taking counsel together as to the best course to pursue on the various subjects that are before us—forwarding the building of Temples, &c.

      After last Conference President Young and myself made a journey to St. George. His health was very poor and he was quite feeble when he left here. When he reached that mild climate, or rather, that even, dry climate, he seemed immediately to commence to recruit, and while we remained there—we were absent about ten weeks—he improved very much; but in consequence of the persecution which was inaugurated against the Latter-day Saints, aiming at him directly, it became necessary for him to return in the midst of a very cold and stormy season, and very muddy roads. While at St. George he selected a spot, laid out the foundation and dedicated the ground and made a commencement, to build a temple, which is being continued under the direction of President Erastus Snow, that the ordinances of the holy priesthood, which should be administered only in a Temple, may be attended to in that part of the Territory, in the neighborhood and vicinity of those settlements.

      Our brethren can observe that a very handsome addition has been made to the foundation of the Temple here since the last Annual Conference, and they can now begin to form some idea of how the work is going to look. When you realize that all the granite that is in that immense foundation has been hauled some seventeen miles with oxen, mules and horses, you must realize that a very great job has been accomplished. But at the present time we have a railroad almost into the quarry, and the result is that the labor has been greatly lessened, and the rock and the sand and other building material can be brought here at vastly less expense than formerly, and consequently we will be able to push the work forward more rapidly. We want the brethren and sisters—all of them, to feel an interest in the tithes and offerings for the Temple, and in the labor upon it.

      All must be aware that considerable expense and a great deal of time and disarrangement of business has been caused by the persecutions and prosecutions of the last year. But we are very glad that Co-operative Associations for mercantile, manufacturing, agricultural, grazing and other purposes that have been forming in this City and throughout this Territory for several years past, have proved in an eminent degree successful, manifesting what wonderful results can be accomplished by the Latter-day Saints when united in the exercise of their several duties and in the performance of their labors. The want of unity and organization causes the loss of a good deal of time, and hence the necessity of organization and united efforts.

      The ladies relief societies in all the several settlements wherever they have existed have also been in many respects highly successful, and great blessings to the community—looking after the poor and introducing improvements, encouraging and enabling women to take charge of branches of business that are suited to their strength, knowledge and condition. It always did seem to me ridiculous to see a man six feet two and weighing two hundred and twenty measuring tape or ribbons in a store; and I shall be very thankful when I can see changes effected to such an extent that nimble fingers, suited to handle light goods will be permitted to follow that kind of employment, and so on throughout the whole organization of society. Let those great big men go and dig the rock, handle the saw log, or do something that their strength was made for, and not let their giant power wilt away in the shadow of a store. However these are things yet to come. It is not my design to offer many remarks, but merely as an introduction to the conference, to express my faith. I know that this is the work of God, and that all the efforts of wicked men to trample it under foot will be vain. I know the Lord has commenced his great work of the latter days, and that Zion will triumph. This is my testimony. I am not talking what I guess at, what I imagine or what I think, but what I verily know—God has revealed it unto me. Brethren, if you have not this knowledge within yourselves, seek it of the Lord by obedience to his laws, by observing his counsel, by walking in his ordinances, by laboring for the upbuilding of Zion, and you will obtain it, and it will be like a well of water springing up in your hearts unto everlasting life.

      May the blessing of Israel's God be and abide upon you for ever and ever. Amen.

 

[Elder Wilford Woodruff]

            Elder WILFORD WOODRUFF was the next speaker. He referred to the organization of the Church forty-two years ago by a prophet of the living God, and stated that we understood than on the 6th day of April, 1842 years ago, the Savior was crucified for the sins of the world. He quoted from the prophecies of Isaiah, showing that that prophet, in looking through futurity by the prophetic gift, could see the inauguration of the work that we, by the help of the Almighty, were engaged in forwarding. Whether men believed it or not, the predictions of holy men of old concerning the last days would follow each other in fulfillment in rapid succession from this time on. The progress of this kingdom had been onward, and its progress could not be retarded by the combined efforts of all existing powers. The set time had come to favor Zion and every weapon formed against it would fall. Every President, Judge, officer and priest who had exerted their power against this work in the past, had felt the chastening hand of God.

            Joseph Smith was a prophet of the living God, and he lived long enough to receive all the keys and powers of the Holy Priesthood that had been held by any man of God that ever lived. He lived long enough to confer keys and powers and blessings on the Twelve Apostles and he sealed his testimony with his blood.

            The blessing of God had been upon President Brigham Young, and although his liberties had been curtailed by the persecutors of the Saints, he had felt calm and collected throughout.

            We had every reason to have faith that the blessings and protection of God would continue to be poured out on us as a people. Had we not come here we could not have fulfilled the predictions in the bible, Book of Mormon, and Book of Doctrine and Covenants concerning us.

            The speaker gave some excellent advice to mothers, showing the powerful influence they exercised over children, and the course they should take to properly educate them.

[Wilford Woodruff]

[DNW 21:152, 4/24/72, p 4; JD 15:7]

DISCOURSE

By Elder WILFORD WOODRUFF, delivered in the new Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, April 6, 1872.

_____

REPORTED BY D. W. EVANS.

_____

      Through the mercy and loving kindness of our Father in the heavens we are again permitted to meet in a general conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Forty-two years ago this day this church was organized with six members, by a prophet of the living God, raised up in these last days by the administration of angels from God, and ordained unto all the keys and powers of the Melchizedec priesthood and apostleship, and of the kingdom of God on the earth. According to the best knowledge we have, 1842 years ago to-day, the Lord Jesus was crucified on Mount Calvary for the sins of the world. The 6th day of April is a very important day in many respects. It has certainly been very interesting to the Latter-day Saints to watch the history and progress of this Church and kingdom during the last forty-two years. This is one of the most important generations that men, or God, or angels have ever seen on the earth: it is a dispensation and generation when the whole flood of prophecy and revelation and vision given through inspired men for the last six thousand years is to have its fulfillment, and especially in relation to the establishment of the great kingdom and Zion of God on the earth. Joseph Smith was one of the greatest prophets God ever raised up on the earth, and the Lord has had his eye upon him from the foundation of the world. Any man who has ever read the book of Isaiah, which we frequently have quoted to us, can see that he, with other prophets, had his eye upon the latter-day Zion of God. He says in one place, "Sing O heavens, rejoice O earth, break forth into singing, O ye mountains, for the Lord hath comforted his people, he will have mercy upon his afflicted. But Zion said: The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me;" "Ah," says the Lord, "Can a woman forget her sucking child that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will not I forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me."

      The Lord never created this world at random; he has never done any of his work at random. The earth was created for certain purposes; and one of these purposes was its final redemption, and the establishment of his government and kingdom upon it in the latter days, to prepare it for the reign of the lord Jesus Christ, whose right it is to reign. That set time has come, that dispensation is before us, we are living in the midst of it. It is before the Latter-day Saints, it is before the world; whether or not the people have more faith in the promises of God now than they had in the days of Noah makes no difference, the unbelief of men will not make the truth of God without effect. The great and mighty events that the Lord Almighty has decreed from before the foundation of the world, to be performed in the latter days are resting upon us, and they will follow each other in quick succession, whether men believe or net, for no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, but holy men of God spake as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost, and what they said will come to pass; though the heaven and the earth pass away net one jot or tittle of the word of the Lord will go unfulfilled.

      Some of us have lived in and been intimately acquainted with this church for the last forty years, a very few more than that, and some less; but where is the Latter-day Saint or any other person who has ever seen this church or kingdom go backward? No matter what position we were in, whether exterminated by the order of Governor Boggs of Missouri, or whether we lay, sick and afflicted, on the muddy banks of the Missouri river; whether it was Zion's Camp going up for her redemption; whether it was the pioneers coming to these mountains, making the roads, building the bridges, killing the snakes and opening the way for the gathering of the people, no matter what our circumstances may have been, this kingdom has been onward and upward all the day long until the present hour. Will it ever go backward? No, it will not. This Zion of the Lord, in all its beauty, power and glory is engraven upon the hands of Almighty God, and it is before his face continually; his decrees are set and no man can turn them aside.

      There never was a dispensation on the earth when prophets and apostles, the inspiration, revelation and power of God, the holy priesthood and the keys of the kingdom were needed more than they are in this generation. There never has been a dispensation when the friends of God and righteousness are among the children of men needed more faith in the promises and prophecies than they do to-day; and there certainly never has been a generation of people on the earth that has had a greater work to perform than the inhabitants of the earth in the latter days. That is one reason why this church and kingdom has progressed from its commencement until to-day, in the midst of all the opposition, oppression and warfare which have been waged against it by men inspired by the evil one. If this had not been the dispensation of the fulness of times—the dispensation in which God has declared that he will establish his kingdom on the earth never more to be thrown down, the inhabitants of the earth would have been enabled to overcome the kingdom and Zion of God in this as well as in any former dispensation. But the set time has come to favor Zion, and the Lord Almighty has decreed in the heavens that every weapon formed against her shall be broken. And if we take the history of any man, from the days Joseph Smith received the plates from the hill Cumorah, and translated the Book of Mormon by the Urim and Thummim, until to-day, whoever has raised his hand against this work has tell the chastening hand of Almighty God upon him; and I am at the defiance of the world to show me a president, governor, judge, ruler, priest or anybody else on the earth who has taken a stand against this kingdom who is an exception, and you may search their whole history. We have outlived several generations of our persecutors. Where are the men who tarred and leathered Joseph Smith in Portage County, Ohio? Where are the men who drove this people from Kirtland? Where are the men who drove the Church and kingdom from Jackson County, Missouri? Where are the men who undertook to kidnap the prophet while in Illinois? Where are they who drove the Latter-day Saints from Illinois into these mountains? Trace their whole history and see for yourselves. The fact is many of them are in their graves, awaiting their final judgment. And in the whole history of this people and their remarkable preservation, the invisible hand of God is as plainly to be seen as it has been in the history of the Jews from the days of Christ until now; and it will continue until this scene is wound up.

      We are led by men who are filled with inspiration. Joseph Smith was a man of God, through the loins of the ancient Joseph who, through the wisdom which God gave him, redeemed his father's house after having been sold by his brethren into Egypt. All the blessings that old father Jacob pronounced upon Joseph and upon the sons of Ephraim, his son and grandsons have rested upon them until this day. Joseph Smith was through that lineage. In his youth he was inspired of God, and was administered to by angels. Under their guidance and counsel he laid the foundation of this work, and lived long enough to receive all the keys necessary for bearing off this dispensation. He lived long enough to have these individuals administer unto him—John the Baptist, Peter, James and John the Apostles, Elisha and Elijah, who held the keys of turning the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers; and Moroni, who held the keys of the stick of Joseph in the hands of Ephraim to come forth in the latter day, administered in person to Joseph Smith, and gave him these records and instructed him in the things of God from time to time until he was qualified and prepared to lay the foundation of this work. The Prophet Joseph lived to see the Church organized with apostles and prophets, patriarchs, pastors, teachers, helps, governments, and all the gifts and graces of the spirit of God; to give the Twelve Apostles their endowments and to seal upon their heads all the authority and power that were necessary to enable them to fulfil their missions. Why did the Lord take him away? He laid down his life, and sealed his testimony with his blood that it might be in three upon the heads of this generation, and that he might be crowned with crowns of glory, immortality and eternal life; that he might go to the other side of the vail, and there organize the Church and kingdom in this last dispensation. He and his two brothers were taken away into the spirit world, and they are at work there, while Brigham Young and the quorum of the Twelve were preserved on the earth for a special purpose in the hands of God. These things are true, and the hand of the Lord has been over Brigham Young, although now he is under bonds and a prisoner, and has his privileges curtailed for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. Yet in the midst of all this he is calm and composed before the Lord, and has his mind open to the things of God. He still lives in the midst of this people and will live as long as the Lord wishes him to remain in the flesh to guide the affairs of Zion.

      I will say to the Latter-day Saints that we have been more blessed in this land than has any other dispensation or generation of men. The Lord has been at work for the last three hundred years preparing this land, with a government and constitution which would guarantee equal rights and privileges to the inhabitants thereof, in the midst of which he could establish his kingdom. The kingdom is established, the work of God is manifest in the earth, the Saints have come up here into the valleys of the mountains, and they are erecting the house of God in the tops thereof, for the nations to flow unto. A standard of truth has been lifted up to the people, and from the commencement of this work the Latter-day Saints have been fulfilling that flood of revelation and prophecy which was given formerly concerning this great work in the last days. I rejoice in this, and also because we have every reason to expect a continuation of these blessings unto Zion. We have always had a vail over us, we have had to walk by faith all the day long until the present time: this is the decree of God. When we were driven from Jackson County, Clay County, Caldwell County, Kirtland, and finally from Nauvoo into these mountains, we did not see and understand what lay before us: there was a vail over our faces, in a measure. It has been the same with the people of God in all ages. At that time we could not see this tabernacle, and the five hundred miles of villages, towns, cities, gardens, orchards, fields, or the desert blossoming as the rose as we see them to-day. We came here and found a barren desert: we were led hither by inspiration, by a law-giver, by a man of God; the Lord was with him, he was with the pioneers. If we had not come here we could not have fulfilled the prophecies which the prophets have left on record in the stick of Judah as well as in the stick of Ephraim—the Bible and the Book of Mormon. We have done that, and we can look back twenty-four years and see the change that has been effected since our arrival; but who can see the change that will be effected in the next twenty-four years? No man can see it unless the vision of his mind is opened by the power of God. The Lord told Joseph Smith to lay the foundation of this work; he told him that the day had come when the harvest was ready, and to thrust in the sickle and reap; and every man who would do so was called of God and had this privilege.

      The Lord has sent forth the Gospel, and it is offered to the children of men as it was in ancient days; men are required to have faith in Jesus Christ, repent of their sins, and to be baptized for the remission of them, and the promise is that they shall receive the Holy Ghost, which shall teach them the things of God, bring things past to their remembrance, and show them things to come.

      What principle has sustained the Elders of Israel for the last forty years in their travels? They have gone forth without purse or scrip, preached without money or price; they have swam rivers, waded swamps, and traveled hundreds of thousands of miles on foot to bear record of this work to the nations of the earth. What has sustained them? It has been this power of God, this Holy Ghost, the spirit of inspiration from the God of Israel that has been given to his friends on the earth in these latter days. The blood of Israel has flowed in the veins of the children of men, mixed among the Gentile nations, and when they have heard the sound of the Gospel of Christ it has been like vivid lightning to them; it has opened their understandings, enlarged their minds, and enabled them to see the things of God. They have been born of the Spirit, and then they could behold the kingdom of God; they have been baptized in water and had hands laid upon them for the reception of the Holy Ghost, and they have received that Holy Ghost among every Gentile nation under heaven wherever the Gospel has been permitted to be preached; and here they are to-day, from all those nations, gathered in the valleys of the mountains. And this is but the beginning; it is like a mustard seed, it is very small; but the little one is to become a thousand, and the small one a strong nation. The Lord will hasten it in his own time. Zion shall be called a "City sought out." The Lord is watching over us.

      I wish to say to the Latter-day Saints, we must not forget our position, nor the blessings that we hope for. All that we expect, we have got to inquire of the Lord for. Some of our brethren, as has been said here, have suffered a little through the spirit of bigotry and persecution that is in the world. I wonder many times there is not a great deal more of it. the Lord Almighty is going to make a short work in the earth; lest no flesh should be saved he will cut his work short in righteousness. The Lord is putting his hook into the jaws of the nations. He holds Great Babylon in his hands as well as Zion. He will control the children of men; and, as the Lord God lives, if the Latter-day Saints do their duty—live their religion and keep their covenants, Zion will arise, put on her beautiful garments, be clothed with the glory of God, have power in the earth, and the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Then let our prayers ascend into the ears of the Lord God of Sabbaoth, for he will hear them, that the wisdom of the wise may perish and the understanding of the prudent be hid. Our weapons are faith, prayer, and confidence in God, for he is our friend if we have any, and we are his if he has any on the face of the earth. The Lord will work with us, and we should work with him; therefore, brethren, let us live by faith, walk by faith, overcome by faith, so that we may enjoy the Holy Spirit to guide and direct us. All the institutions pertaining to the work of God in these latter days are going to progress, Zion is bound to arise, and to arrive at that position in our great future that the Prophets have seen by prophecy and revelation.

      I want to say a few words to the sisters, who have been referred to this morning—the Female Relief Societies. Our mothers, sisters, wives and daughters occupy a very important position in this generation, far more so than they realize or understand. You are raising up your sons and daughters as plants of renown in the house of Israel in these latter-days. Upon the shoulders of you mothers rests, in a great measure, the responsibility of correctly developing the mental and moral powers of the rising generation, whether in infancy, childhood, or still riper years. Your husbands—the fathers of your children, are messengers to the nations of the earth, or they are engaged in business, and can not be at home to attend to the children. No mother in Israel should let a day pass over her head without teaching her children to pray. You should pray yourselves, and teach your children to do the same, and you should bring them up in this way, that when you have passed away and they take your places in bearing off the great work of God, they may have principles instilled into their minds that will sustain them in time and in eternity. I have often said it is the mother who forms the mind of the child. Take men anywhere, at sea, sinking with their ship, dying in battle, lying down in death almost under any circumstances, and the last thing they think of, the last word they say, is "mother." Such is the influence of woman. Our children should not be neglected; they should receive a proper education in both spiritual and temporal things. That is the best legacy any parents can leave to their children. We should teach them to pray, find instil into their minds while young every correct principle. Ninety-nine out of every hundred children who are taught by their parents the principles of honesty and integrity, truth and virtue, will observe them through life. Such principles will exalt any people or nation who make them the rule of their conduct. Show me a mother who prays, who has passed through the trials of life by prayer, who has trusted in the Lord God of Israel in her trials and difficulties, and her children will follow in the same path. These things will not forsake them when they come to act in the kingdom of God.

      I want to say to our mothers in Israel, your children are approaching a very important day and age of the world. In a few more years their parents will pass away. We will go where our brethren have gone—to the other side of the vail. Our children will remain and will possess this kingdom when God's judgments await the nations of the earth, when war, calamity, sword, fire, famine, pestilence and earthquake will stalk abroad and distress the people. Our children should be prepared to build up the kingdom of God. Then qualify them in the days of childhood for the great duties they will be called upon to perform; and that God may enable us to do so is my prayer for Christ's sake. Amen.

 

[Elder C. C. Rich]

            ELDER C. C. RICH said we were so constituted that we needed continual instruction upon the principles of truth, in order to impress them upon our minds. We were laboring for salvation, and it was the only thing we should strive for. As fast as we learned truth and applied it to our lives, we were saved from error.

            The speaker spoke of the effects of obedience to the gospel of Christ, all of which were a sure testimony of the correctness of that which was obeyed, and alluded to the glorious results that would accrue were the people all over the world to cease doing wrong, and to the fact that e should form a nucleus of righteousness. It was a little over forty years since he had embraced the gospel and he knew it to be true. He had proved it for himself.

            PRESIDENT GEORGE A. SMITH requested the people present to tell their friends that there was plenty of room here for all who wished to come and hear the gospel preached.

            The choir sang: "Sing ye Jehovah's praises."

            President DANIEL H. WELLS offered prayer and Conference adjourned till 2 p. m.

_____

[6 Apr, 2 pm]

[DNW 21:120, 4/10/72, p 4]

SATURDAY, April 6th, 2 p. m.

            The choir sang: "Jehovah, Lord of heaven and earth."

            Prayer was offered by Elder JOHN VAN COTT.

            "Hosannah to the great Messiah," Was sung by the choir.

[Bishop A. O. Smoot]

            Bishop A. O. SMOOT addressed the assemblage. He spoke of the earthly mission of the Savior, stating that he came to revolutionize the world. He organized a kingdom with its officers, immunities and privileges. He was persecuted and reviled. The speaker next touched upon the progress of the Church of Christ in these latter day, and of the growth of persecution in proportion. Persecution was first manifested in the capacity of a neighborhood and has extended gradually until it has reached what we now see. It was similar in Jesus' day. Herod issued a proclamation -- not exactly a fourth of July proclamation (the Bishop here desired to be excused for the allusion), but a proclamation that the male children of a certain age should be slain, that the child Christ might be destroyed.

            The speaker next alluded to the blessings promised to those obedient to the principles of the gospel, and, in illustration of his discourse, mentioned the day of Pentecost, when power was sent from heaven upon the ancient disciple. The same spirit and blessings were enjoyed by the Latter-day Saints. It was through great tribulation that eternal life could be obtained. We enjoyed a very inspiring hope -- the kingdom of God now set up would never fall, but would stand for ever. Our mission was not only one of a spiritual nature, but it partook of every element of life, and was both temporal and spiritual. The principles the Latter-day Saints had embraced would revolutionize the whole world eventually. Our mission was not only to disabuse the minds of people of religious error. "Mormonism," in its broad platform embraces ever[y] truth.

            The speaker concluded by bearing testimony to the truth of the great latter-day work. He knew that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and that President Brigham Young was his legal successor.

[Elder John Nicholson]

            Elder JOHN NICHOLSON spoke of the antipathy and bitterness manifested by the people of the world generally to the work of God, and of the liberal and comprehensive nature of the gospel, showing that it was destined to save not only the living but its provisions were also applicable to those who had gone before into the spirit world. He dwelt on the importance of the work we had to perform in behalf of the dead in building temples, attending to holy ordinances, &c., and concluded by bearing testimony that God was doing a work on the earth, and the Latter-day Saints were engaged in forwarding its interests.

[Elder John W. Young]

            Elder JOHN W. YOUNG next addressed the Conference. He was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, and was willing to bear testimony to its truthfulness. He knew that Joseph Smith was a prophet, and that our present leaders were also inspired and led by the Almighty. If any thought the work of God was less potent now than heretofore it was they who were wrong and not the work.

[Elder Charles W. Penrose]

            Elder CHARLES W. PENROSE bore testimony to the work of the Lord. Our knowledge of the truth was the cause of our coming to Utah. We did not come to learn that "Mormonism" was true, for we already knew it. It was comforting to know that God was at the helm of this work. We ought to acknowledge the hand of God in all things that transpire. If we do so all things will be overruled for our good, and his kingdom will ultimately gain the victory. Arguments had been adduced by men to show that it was a fallacy for the Latter-day Saints to trust in God, but none who ever trusted in him ever trusted in vain; not even if they died thus trusting, for the principles that men and women of God had died for would live, spread and accomplish their high destiny.

            The speaker said he had no principle to sacrifice. The principles of truth had brought him to Utah and he intended to stand by them; to live, and , if necessary, to die for them. He could not give up any principle of the gospel for any earthly fear or consideration. His experience had been that when he had gone forth to perform any duty connected with the work of God the lord had sustained him.

            He continued at some length, and concluded by exhorting the people to maintain their integrity to God and his servants.

            The choir sang: "Great is the Lord."

            Prayer by Elder JOHN TAYLOR.

            Adjourned till 10 a.m. to-morrow.

_____

SECOND DAY.

_____

[7 Apr, 10 am]

[DNW 21:120-121, 4/10/72, p 4-5]

SUNDAY, April 7, 10 a.m.

            The choir sang: "When earth in bondage long had lain."

            Prayer by Elder JOSEPH W. YOUNG.

            "Behold the mountain of the Lord," was sung by the choir.

[President George A. Smith]

            President GEORGE A. SMITH said he had been requested by President Young to state to the conference that he was in comfortable health and good spirits, and that he regretted the circumstances which prevented him from meeting with the people this morning. He hoped, however, at no distant day, to meet again with the people and bear testimony of the goodness of God, and of the principles of truth.

            We need not be surprised at the feeling of malignity manifested towards the work of God when pulpit and press were given over to lying, slandering, and misrepresenting.

            The speaker desired to call the attention of the brethren who had been on missions to Europe to the fact that some of them, when they returned home, seemed to forget that they were missionaries. At times the people who had treated them with kindness while on their missions were forgotten by them. This should not be. We should continue to be missionaries and instruct the people after they came here, that they might not be lead away by wrong influences.

            The Elders should remember those who entertained them while on their missions, at a sacrifice to themselves. Those who could should extend a helping hand to them. It should be made a point to do something handsome annually to help to emigrate the poor. Here were a hundred thousand Saints in Utah and could they not assist in emigrating the few thousands who wanted to come here? If they apostatized after they came here, all right. If we did our duty the responsibility rested with them.

            When President Young returned from St. George and gave himself up voluntarily into the hands of the U. S. Marshal, he, the speaker, received a letter from a prominent gentleman of Massachusetts, who stated that it was nothing but a put up job, and that President Young had done more than any other living man, to benefit large bodies of people, and this was true. God bless such a man and God bless every man and woman engaged in so good a work.

            The history of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund was one of great interest. The people had in the past sent 200, 300, 400 and 500 wagons and teams in four separate years to the Missouri river to help the poor. This was the work of Brigham Young in conjunction with the efforts of a free-hearted, generous people.

[George A. Smith]

[DNW 21:136, 4/17/72, p 4; JD 15:13]

REMARKS.

By President GEORGE A. SMITH, Delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Saturday Morning, April 6th, 1872.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      We are again assembled this morning to continue the duties and services of our Conference, and I am requested by President Young to state that he is in the enjoyment of comfortable health and in excellent spirits. He regrets very much the circumstances which render it inexpedient for him to meet with you this morning, and hopes the time may soon come when he will again enjoy theft privilege, also the privilege of bearing testimony to the glorious work of the last days, in the public congregation. He desires and appreciates the prayers and faith of the Saints; he thinks that it is quite proper that any man before he is thoroughly qualified to rule shall learn to be ruled—that, he shall learn to obey before he learns to command. All these lessons in their time and in their season are proper for us to learn.

      When we realize the malignity of the spirit of persecution which is aimed at the Latter-day Saints in these valleys, we need not wonder that we have to contend with vexatious lawsuits and with illegal and unjustifiable prosecutions, for the influence of the pulpit and the press when controlled by the spirit of lying is very great for evil, but God is greater—his power is more omnipotent; and although thousands of prophets, priests and wise men in the earth have been compelled to lay down their lives for the cause of Zion, and for the sake of the principles of the gospel of peace, and in doing so they have acquired honors that could not be attained in any other way; their reward is certain, eternal and sure.

      I wish to call the attention of the elders who have been in years past, on missions, to one important item of duty. It is well known that our emigration annually brings some thousands of persons among whom our missionaries have labored and with whom they are acquainted, and among whom are many who still look to them for fatherly advice and encouragement, but many of the elders who return immediately forget that they have been missionaries. When they reach home they perhaps find their affairs a little deranged, business having stopped in their absence, money making or procuring the means of living having gone rather behind hand, they drop right into a groove as it were to catch up, and they forget their duties, and the people whom they have been acquainted with and who have treated them with kindness and generosity are also frequently forgotten and neglected. The emigrants come into these valleys and fall perhaps under influences that are wrong and wicked, for men inspired with a spirit of hostility to the work of God will take more pains to poison their minds than those who feel all right do to give them correct information. I wish to say to all such elders and to all the brethren, that when they get home their mission is not consummated, and that when new comers arrive we should take pains to look after their welfare, give them counsel and instruction, aid and comfort, and realize that we are missionaries all our lives, and that it is our duty to instruct such in the things of the kingdom, to encourage them and set before them principles of intelligence, such as will be for their benefit.

      I wish further to say to the Elders and to the brethren who have emigrated, that they should remember their friends they visited before they came here, or when they were on missions in the old world. Remember the poor family that went without their provision, perhaps, to give you a feast, or the family that to make you warm and comfortable gave up their beds to you, themselves enduring cold, discomfort and inconvenience to do so; or the family that opened their doors to shelter you from the storm when their neighbors hooted and scouted them, as it were, for entertaining a stranger. You missionaries in your experience have all met with such families, and many of them are there yet without the means to get here. Perhaps they have said to you, "Will you help me when you get home?" and you may have given them a look of encouragement, a half promise, or expressed a hope that you might be able to do so. Have you forgotten it? Perhaps a little effort on your part and on the part of your neighbors might bring these families to this country and place them in a position to acquire lots, farms, and homes of their own, redeem them from thraldom and bondage worse than slavery, and place them in a position of independence on their own soil, enjoy the fruits of their own labors and help to build up and develop the rising, spreading glory of Zion.

      I have heard there is an Elder who, when on a mission borrowed some money of a widow that had not means enough to get away, but had a little she could spare until she could acquire enough to bring her family here; and that Elder, peradventure, has forgotten to pay it. I have heard there is such an Elder in Utah. Shame on him if there is! Under such circumstances we should not only pay punctually and faithfully what we owe, with good and reasonable interest, but all of us European missionaries should be prepared to do something handsome annually to help those from the bondage and thraldom in which we found them, and where they must remain until means are obtained to deliver them. I am calling now for the donation to the Perpetual Emigration Fund. A hundred thousand Latter-day Saints in Utah, and can we riot help a few thousand that yet remain in the old missions, and bring them here? "Well," some may say, "they will apostatize if they come." That is all right, they must have the privilege. I understand that we have brought some men here with the Fund that have apostatized, betrayed the Saints and done all in their power to stain their garments in the blood of the prophets; but that is not our fault, it is theirs. We should gather the Saints and they themselves are responsible for the use they make of the blessings which God bestows upon them, even if they come through our hands and exertions. Look at the tens of thousands of families now in Utah in comfortable circumstances with houses, farms, wagons, cattle and horses of their own, many of them with carriages, and these families taken by the contributions of the Latter-day Saints from the most abject servitude and poverty from the bowels of the earth, from within the walls of factories, where but for this fund they must have remained for their lives; but now they are in comparative independence and enjoying the blessings of freemen.

      After President Young returned from St. George for the purpose of voluntarily placing himself in the custody of United States Officers, as is well known, I received a letter from an eminent gentleman in the State of Massachusetts, who said that the prosecution against him could be nothing more nor less than a put-up job, and that the people of the country understood it as such; "and the fact is," said he, "Brigham Young has done more for the benefit of large bodies of people than any other living man on the earth." That is true. By the inspiration of Almighty God through his servant Brigham Young, this Fund was organized, and he has been the President of it, and through his energy and enterprise and the aid of the Latter-day Saints—his friends—he has gathered tens of thousands that could never have owned a rod of ground or a house as long as they lived, but would have been at the mercy of employers who looked upon them only as a portion of their property, and the question with them has been how much of this man's labor can I get for the smallest pittance; but through the exertions and counsels of President Young and his brethren they have been delivered from this bondage and placed in comparative independence. I say God bless such a man, (Congregation said Amen) and God bless every man and every woman who will contribute to carry out this glorious purpose.

      I am very anxious to wake up the Elders to labor at home, to keep alive in the hearts of the Saints the spirit of truth. While all those who so desire are free to apostatize, it should not be for the want of proper information, care and instruction, or in consequence of the neglect of the Elders to do their duty. I exhort the Latter-day Saints to unite in carrying on the work of gathering. A few years ago we thought that we would gather them all. When we had raised what means we could, and had expended it, we found the Elders were baptizing about as fast as we were bringing the Saints away. That is all right. Let us get the old and faithful Latter-day Saints away, and keep baptizing all that desire to be baptized. In the Scandinavian Mission the number of baptisms keep up, and some years a little more than keep up, with the emigration. There are families from year to year that can be brought away by a little assistance; they have part means, and only need a little more to emigrate. I do think that the history of the Perpetual Emigration Fund is a wonderful one. The Latter-day Saints in Utah sent from here two hundred wagons one year, three hundred another year, four hundred the next, arm for two years five hundred wagons each year, each wagon having four yoke of oxen, or their equivalent in mules and horses, and bore all the expenses consequent upon bringing people across the Plains, bringing from one to four thousand persons a season. This is certainly creditable, and it has been done through the influence of Brigham Young and the united efforts of a free-hearted and noble people. We have got a railroad now and do not have to send the wagons; the business assumes another shape. The emigration is brought here with less labor and in less time, but with more outlay.

      I have now laid before you my views on the emigration of the poor Saints from abroad. Consider upon and think about them. Make your calculations, and feel in your pockets and contribute to help on the work, and carry with you to all the settlements of the Saints a spirit that shall bring home to Zion the brethren and sisters from abroad. In that way the work can continue. May God bless all who aid in this glorious work is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

[Elder John Taylor]

            Elder JOHN TAYLOR addressed the conference. We had met in our present capacity to be instructed in matters pertaining to our faith and practice in the building up of the church of God upon the earth. We were under the guidance of the Almighty, for he has revealed to us the everlasting gospel, and we had been gathered here under its auspices, and to help to fulfill the designs of the Lord which were in his mind before the world was.

            The speaker commented upon the church of Christ as it existed in the Savior's day, its priesthood, offices, blessings, &c., and upon the other religious systems and people contemporaneous with it, showing points of similarity to things as they existed in these days. He spoke of the necessity for our manifesting an appreciation of the incalculable blessings we had received. We should cast aside all sluggishness and be active in honoring our great calling. It was to the principle of revelation that we were indebted for all the light and intelligence in the possession of man in relation to God and eternity, and every system not founded upon it was destined to pass away. The people of the world did not understand the principles which God had revealed to us, therefore they could not do as our elders had done. Their ministers would not like them, go forth among strangers and preach without purse or scrip. They would not sufficiently trust in God.

            "Mormonism" was an enigma to the world. The United States had been endeavoring to solve it for years, but they had not yet done it, and they never would. It was incomprehensible to the world, for it was as high, deep, wide and comprehensive as eternity Our faith was the same as the faith of the Saints of all ages. Men differed from us in views and practice and they had a right to do so, and we had no objection.

            The speaker predicted that no power could stay the fulfillment of the purposes of God, commented upon the future glorious destiny of Zion, and upon the prophecies of the ancient prophets, relating to the work of the latter days.

[John Taylor]

[DNW 21:186, 5/8/72, p 6; JD 15:21]

DISCOURSE

By Elder JOHN TAYLOR, Delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning April 7, 1872.

_____

REPORTED BY D. W. EVANS

_____

      We are again met, in our Annual Conference, for the purpose of hearing the words of life, and of being instructed in the various duties and responsibilities that rest upon us, and that we, as Latter-day Saints, may be taught principles pertaining to our holy faith, and be instructed in the duties devolving upon us in the various positions that we occupy; that by a unity of faith, purpose and action, we may be able to accomplish something that will promote truth, advance the interests of Zion and the establishment of the kingdom of God upon the earth.

      We are told that it is not in man to direct his steps, and we stand here in a peculiar position under the guidance and direction of the Almighty. The Lord has seen fit to reveal unto us the everlasting Gospel, and we have been enabled, by the grace of God, to appreciate that message of life which he has communicated unto us, and we have been gathered from the nations of the earth under the influences and auspices of that Gospel. We are gathered here for the accomplishment of certain objects relative both to ourselves and others, the great leading principle of which is—to help to fulfil the designs that existed in the mind of the Almighty before the world was, relative to the earth and humanity; and I presume that that exhortation which was made eighteen hundred years ago to certain Saints, would be just as applicable to us to-day as it was to them. They were exhorted to "contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the Saints." That, no doubt, sounded very strange to them in that day and age of the world; they had had Jesus among them, he had preached his Gospel unto them; the light of eternal truth had been made manifest, and they had participated in the blessings of the Gospel; and yet, under these peculiar circumstances, blessed, as it were, with the light of revelation, with Apostles in their midst, with a complete Church organization, with everything that was calculated to enlighten, instruct and lead them on in the path of righteousness, they were told to contend earnestly for that faith once delivered to the Saints.

      It seems that in the different ages of the world in the past, there has existed, as there does to-day, a species of self-righteousness, self-complacence, a reliance upon the wisdom, intelligence and virtue of man. In that day the Scribes and Pharisees, the lawyers and doctors, the great Sanhedrim, the pious men, thought they were the peculiar elect of God, and that wisdom would die with them. Jesus came among them and told them very many unpalatable truths; among others, that they were "whited walls and painted sepulchres; that they appeared fair on the outside, but inwardly there was nothing but rottenness and dead men's bones." He told them that for a pretense they made long prayers; not that they had any reference to God at all, for God had very little to do with them. They did it, he told them, in order that "they might be heard of men." They made broad their phylacteries, (that is a species of writing which they bound on all their garments,) with certain passages of Scripture. They made them very broad, that they might he considered extra pure, virtuous and holy. Jesus called these very pure, holy, virtuous people, painted sepulchres.

      But there is something else associated with these matters very peculiar. Jesus taught the principles of life and salvation—the everlasting Gospel. He introduced men into the kingdom of God; he organized a pure Church, based upon correct principles, according to the order of God. Men were baptized into that Church; they had hands laid upon them for the reception of the Holy Ghost, and they received it. They had among them Apostles and Prophets, Pastors and Teachers, Evangelists and inspired men. The Church enjoyed among themselves the gift of tongues, visions, prophecy; the sick were healed, the blind received their sight, the deaf heard, and the lame leaped for joy; the visions of heaven were unfolded to their view, and they had a knowledge of many things pertaining to eternity; and yet, with all their light, intelligence and blessings, with all their Apostles, with the fulness of the Gospel in their midst, they were advised to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the Saints. The Lord has revealed to us many blessings, and I sometimes think that we hardly appreciate the light of truth which has been developed, the glory that is connected with the Gospel which has been restored, the light of revelation which has been communicated, the position that we occupy in relation to God, angels, our posterity and our progenitors, the hope that the Gospel has implanted in the bosom of every faithful Latter-day Saint, which blooms with immortality and eternal life; and sometimes, when exposed to the various trials with which we are encompassed, to the opprobrium and reproach frequently heaped upon us by ignorant and evil disposed persons, some of us, perhaps, think that our religion is something like that with which we are surrounded. We sometimes forget our prayers, responsibilities, duties and covenants, and we give way in many instances to things which have a tendency to darken the mind, becloud the understanding, weaken our faith, and deprive us of the Spirit of God. We forget the pit whence we were dug, and the rock from which we were hewn, and it is necessary that we should reflect on the position that we occupy, upon the relationship we sustain to God, to each other and to our families, that our minds may be drawn back again to the God who made us—our Father in the heavens, who hears our prayers, and who is ready at all times to supply the wants of his faithful Saints. And it is sometimes necessary that we should reflect upon the position we hold in relation to the earth on which we live, to the existence that we had before we came here, and to the eternities to come. We should not be sluggish and dull and careless and indifferent; but as the ancient Saints were exhorted, so let us exhort you to-day—contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the Saints.

      The religion of the everlasting gospel did not originate with any man or any set of men. It is wide as the world and originated with the Great Eloheim. It is a plan ordained by him before the world was for the salvation and redemption of the human family. It is a thing that men, in various dispensations, under the influence and inspiration of the Almighty, have possessed more or less; and it is to that that we are indebted for all the knowledge, and the light, and all the intelligence in relation to eternity. The gospel which you have received you received not of man, neither by man, but on the same principle as they received it in former days—by the revelation of Jesus Christ, by the communication of God to man, and any religion that has not this for its foundation amounts to nothing, and any superstructure built upon any other foundation will fade and vanish away like the baseless fabric of a vision, and leave not a wreck behind.

      One of old in speaking of these things said: If any man build with wood, or hay, or stubble, or anything perishable, the day would come when it would be burned up and there would be left neither root nor branch. But we, as eternal beings, associated with an eternal God, having a religion that leads to that God, are desirous, as the ancients were, to know something about him, to be brought into communication with him, to fulfil the measure of our creation and our destiny on the earth, and to help the Lord to bring to pass those things that he designed from before the foundation of the world, in regard to the human family. God has designed to redeem the earth whereon we live. Mankind were placed on this earth for a certain purpose, and however erratic, foolish and visionary the course of man may have been, the Almighty has never altered his purpose, never changed his designs nor abrogated his laws; but with one steady, undeviating course from the time the morning stars first sang together for joy, until the earth shall be redeemed from under the curse and every creature in heaven and on the earth shall be heard to say: "Blessing and glory, honor and power, might, majesty and dominion be ascribed unto Him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb for ever;" and throughout all the successive ages that have been and that will be, his course is one eternal round. He has had one object in view, and that object will be accomplished in regard to man and tide earth whereon he lives. The only question with us is whether we will co-operate with God, or whether we will individually work out our own salvation or not; whether we will individually fulfil the various responsibilities that devolve upon us or not; whether we will attend to the ordinances that God has introduced or not; for ourselves to begin with, for our families, for the living and for the dead. Whether we will co-operate in building temples and administering in them; whether we will unite with the Almighty, under the direction of his holy priesthood, in bringing to pass things that have been spoken of by the holy prophets since the world was; whether we will contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the Saints. These things rest with us to a certain extent. God has communicated to the Latter-day Saints principles that the world are ignorant of, and being ignorant of them they know not how to appreciate our feelings. They call good evil, light darkness, error truth, and truth error, because they have not the means of seeing the difference between one and the other. "But you are a chosen people, a royal generation, a holy priesthood," separate and set apart by the Almighty for the accomplishment of his purposes. God has ordained among you presidents, apostles, prophets, high priests, seventies, bishops and other authorities; they are of his appointment, empowered and directed by him, under his influence, teaching his law, unfolding the principles of life, and are organized and ordained expressly to lead the people in the path of exaltation and eternal glory. The world know nothing about these things—we are not talking to them to-day, they can not comprehend them. Their religion teaches them nothing about any such things—they are simply a phantasm to them. They have not any revelation, they do not profess it. All that they have is their Bible given by ancient men of God, who spoke as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost. They repudiate the Holy Ghost, not in name, but in reality. Many of them are very sincere; we give them credit for that. That is all right, but they do not understand our principles, views, or ideas. They could not do as we have done; they could not trust in God as our Elders do. Their ideas are more material. Ask any of them to go to the ends of the earth, as these Elders have done, without purse or scrip, trusting in God, would they do it? No, they would not, they would see the gospel damned first, and then they would not. They do not understand the principle by which we are actuated, we have done it and we will do it again, and we will keep doing it; we believe in a living God, in a living religion, in the living, vital, eternal principles which God has communicated; this is the reason why we act as we do, why we talk and believe as we do. Men are not supposed to understand our principles. The Scripture says that no man knows the things of God but by the Spirit of God. And how are they to get that? Just as you got it. And how was that? By repenting of your sins, being baptized in the name of Jesus for their remission; by having hands laid upon you by those having authority for the reception of the Holy Ghost. This is the way God appointed in former days, this is the way he has appointed in our day.

      And what brought you here? Why the light of revelation—the light of truth, the gift of the Holy Ghost, the power of God. That is what brought you here. The Gospel you received you received not of men, but by the revelations of Jesus Christ; and consequently how can men outside comprehend these things? They can not do it, it is beyond their reach. They can reason on natural principles; they have their own peculiar ideas, but they cannot comprehend the Latter-day Saints. "Mormonism" is an enigma to the world. Why, the United States have been trying to solve the problem of "Mormonism" for years and years; but with all their sagacity and intelligence they have not made it out yet; and they never will. Philosophy can not comprehend it; it is beyond the reach of natural philosophy. It is the philosophy of heaven, it is the revelation of God to man. It is philosophical, but it is heavenly philosophy, and beyond the ken of human judgment, beyond the reach of human intelligence. They cannot grasp it, it is as high as heaven, what can they know about it? It is deeper than hell, they cannot fathom it. It is as wide as the universe, it extends over all creation. it goes back into eternity and forward into eternity. It associates with the past, present and future; it is connected with time and eternity, with men, angels, and Gods, with beings that were, that are and that are to come.

      The Saints of God in all ages had the kind of faith that we have to-day. You Latter-day Saints know it, but other men do not. They will talk about their nonsense, their ideas and theories, and call it the religion of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Well, I am quite willing they should enjoy their notions. It is all right; we would not interfere with them if we could. Our feelings in regard to that are just the same as the Lord's. And what are his? His ideas are not bound in a nutshell, there is nothing contracted about the Almighty. He makes his sun shine on the evil and on the good; he sends his rain on the just and on the unjust. He is liberal, free, generous, philanthropic, full of benevolence and kindness to the human family, and he hopes and desires that all men may be saved, and he will save them all as far as they are capable of being saved. But he desires that his people shall contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the Saints, that as immortal beings they may act in unison with the Almighty, that they may be inspired by the principle of revelation; that they should comprehend something of their dignity and manhood; of their relationship to eternity, to the world that we live in as it is and as it will be, and to the worlds that are to come. The Lord has no such idea as some of these narrow, contracted sectarian people have that we read of. They remind me of a prayer of a man I once heard of, who in his prayer said: "Lord bless me and my wife, my son John and his wife, us four and no more, amen." I do not believe in any such thing as that. I think the world on which we live was organized for a certain purpose. I think that man was made for a certain purpose, and so do you as Latter-day Saints. We think that the spirit of man, possessing a body, will through the medium of the everlasting Gospel, be exalted; and that man, inasmuch as he is faithful, will, by and by, be associated with the Gods in the eternal worlds; and while we plant and sow and reap, and pursue the common avocations of life, as other men do, our main object is eternal lives and exaltations; our main object is to prepare ourselves, our posterity and our progenitors for thrones, principalities and powers in the eternal worlds.

      This is what we are after, and what the ancient Saints were after. This is what Adam, Noah, Enoch, Abraham and the Prophets were after, that they might fulfil their destiny on the earth, and, as one of the old Prophets said, "stand in their lot in the end of days," when the books should be opened, when the great white throne should appear and he who sits upon it, before whose face the heavens and the earth fled away; that we and they, and they and we might be prepared, having fulfilled the measure of our creation on the earth, to associate with the intelligences that exist in the eternal worlds; be admitted again to the presence of our Father, whence we came, and participate in those eternal realities which mankind, without revelation, know nothing about. We are here for that purpose; we left our homes for that purpose; we came here for that purpose; we are building temples for that purpose; we are receiving endowments for that purpose; we are making covenants for that purpose; we are administering for the living and the dead for that purpose, and all our objects, and all our aims, like the object and aim of inspired men in former days, are altogether with reference to eternal realities as well as to time. We have a Zion to build up, and we shall build it. We shall build it. WE SHALL BUILD IT. No power can stop it. God has established his kingdom, it is in his hands, and no influence, no power, no combination of whatever kind it may be can stop the progress of the work of God. You Latter-day Saints know very well that you have not received a cunningly devised fable, concocted by the wisdom, ingenuity, talent or caprice of man. All of you who comprehend the Gospel comprehend this; you all, male and female, if you are living your religion, know this. Men of old knew it as well as you; and by and by we expect to live and associate with them, with Patriarchs, Prophets and men of God, who had faith in him, the accomplishment of his purposes in former times, and we are contending for the faith which they possessed. For instance old Moses and Elias, you know, came to Peter, James, John and Jesus while they were on the mount. They did not think they were very old fogies that it was not worth while to listen to; but said they, "Let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, one for Moses and and one for Elias. It is good to be here, why here is old Moses, and old Elias." Who was Moses? A man who had the ancient Gospel in former times. Who was Elias? A man who had the ancient Gospel in former times. They came and administered unto Jesus, and his Apostles would have liked to stay with them for ever. But they could not do it at that time.

      Then again we read of John on the Isle of Patmos. You know he was in vision, and the Lord revealed unto him many great things, and there was a personage appeared, one of the old Prophets that used to be led around probably by a marshal. John thought he was an angel, and he was about to fall down and worship him after he had unfolded to him the glories of eternity. "But," says he, "do not do it." "Why?" "Because I am one of thy fellow-servants, the Prophets; I am one of those old fellows that used to have to wander about in my day in sheepskins and goatskins. The priests, hypocrites, &c., of that day persecuted me; but now I am exalted, and have come to minister unto you John."

      While the world was wrapped in superstition, ignorance and darkness, the angels of God came and ministered to Joseph Smith, and unfolded to him the purposes of God and made known his designs. Joseph told it to the people, and through this means you are gathered together as you are to-day. What did men, the best of them, know about the Gospel, or about Apostles or Prophets, when the Prophet Joseph made his appearance? Nothing at all, and yet there have been good men. Old John Wesley, for instance, in his day, was very anxious to see something of this kind, but he could not see it. Says he—

"From chosen Abraham's seed,
The old apostles choose,
O'er isles and continents to spread
The dead reviving news."

      He would have been glad to see something of that kind, but he could not. It was reserved for Joseph Smith and the Latter-day Saints; it was reserved for our day. Well, then, what will we do? Fulfil the measure of our creation; go to work and redeem those men who had not the Gospel, be baptized for them, as the Scriptures fell us, and bring them up, for they without us can not be made perfect, neither can we be made perfect without them. And we will fulfil and accomplish the purposes of God, and bring to pass the things which were spoken of by the Prophets.

      This is what we are after, and we shall accomplish it, and no man can stop it, no organization, no power, no authority, for God is at the helm, and his kingdom is onward, onward, onward, and it will continue, and grow and increase until the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ.

      May God help us to be faithful, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

[Elder Joseph W. Young]

            Elder JOSEPH W. YOUNG bore testimony that God had spoken by the voice of revelation and of holy angels, and had bestowed divine authority on Joseph Smith. Those who did not know any better had ascribed the great work accomplished by the Latter-day Saints to the shrewdness and intelligence of the leaders of this people. This was not altogether the case, for although credit was due to those leaders for what had been done, still what had been accomplished had been done by the power and efficacy of the principles of the gospel. When the people first settled these valleys, they were comparatively destitute of the necessaries, and almost entirely so of the comforts of life, and there was no source of supply nearer than a thousand miles. What was it that brought us here? Was it that we might become rich by development of mineral resources? No. It was that we might find a home where we would be free from the persecution of bigots, and live in peace unmolested. It took a great concentration of faith to accomplish this.

            Allusion had been made to the labors of our elders who had willingly gone forth preaching the gospel, trusting in God, trusting that their families would be provided for in their absence. This was considered fanaticism by some. No important truths, however, had ever been introduced among men but the promulgators of those truths had been considered fanatics.

            Elder Young, in conclusion, predicted the ultimate and sure triumph of the work of God.

            The choir sang: "When the Lord shall build up Zion."

            Adjourned till 2 p.m.

            Elder BRIGHAM YOUNG, Jun., pronounced the benedictory prayer.

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[7 Apr, 2 pm]

[DNW 21:121, 4/10/72, p 5]

SUNDAY, 2 p. m.

            The choir sang: "Arise, O glorious Zion."

            Opening prayer by Elder JOSEPH F. SMITH.

            "Behold the great Redeemer die," was sung by the choir.

            The sacrament of the Lord's Supper was administered.

[Elder Orson Pratt]

            Elder ORSON PRATT delivered a powerful and elaborate discourse on the restoration of the gospel in these days and its effects, as illustrated in the work accomplished by the Latter-day Saints, and the judgments of God which would be poured out upon those who rejected the message of salvation. He quoted a large number of prophecies in the course of his address, showing their literal fulfilment. He showed in a lucid manner how the saving power of the gospel reached the dead who had departed from the earth without a knowledge of its principles, and also treated upon the eternal nature of marriage. It would be impossible to give a definite idea of the discourse in a short synopsis. It was reported in full, for publication.

[Orson Pratt]

[DNW 21:200, 5/15/72, p 4; JD 15:44]

DISCOURSE

By Elder ORSON PRATT Delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, April 7th, 1872.

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[REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS]

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      When I look over this vast congregation, assembled in the body of this house as well as in the gallery, it seems to be an impossibility to make all hear; and to give all an opportunity to do so it will be necessary that the closest attention be given and that shuffling of feet and whispering cease. I suppose there must be congregated here something in the neighborhood of twelve thousand persons, and there are but very few voices or lungs that are able to reach such a multitude, and edify and instruct them. I know from former experience in speaking from this stand, that it requires a great exertion of the lungs and body to speak so as to be understood, and this great exertion of the physical system is calculated in a very short time to weary also the mind, therefore I may not be able to address you for any great length of time.

      It is now forty-two years since the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ on the earth. Forty-two years ago, on the 6th day of April, the Prophet Joseph Smith was commanded by the Lord Almighty to organize the Kingdom of God on the earth for the last time—to set up and make a beginning—to form the nucleus of a Government that never should be destroyed from the earth, or, in other words, that should stand forever. The founding of governments, of whatsoever nature they may be, may be considered in the estimation of some, very honorable; but there is no special honor attached to a man who is called upon by the Almighty to found a Government on the earth, for it is the Lord who works by him as an instrument, using him for that purpose. That, of course, is honorable. Perhaps there never was a work accomplished among men of so great and important a nature as that of the foundation of a kingdom that never is to be destroyed. About six thousand years have passed away since the Government established by the Patriarchs, or by the first man, was commenced here on the earth. From that time until the present vast numbers and descriptions of Governments, some Patriarchal in their nature, others taking the form of kingdoms, others of empires and so forth, have been organized here on the earth. During that long interval of time whenever a man has founded a Government he has been greatly honored, not only by the generation among whom he lived, and in which he formed the Government, but he has been honored generally by after generations. But nearly all the Governments that have been established have been thrown down—they have been only temporary in their nature—existing for a few centuries perhaps, and then overthrown. It is not my intention this afternoon to examine the nature and forms of these various human Governments, but to state in a few words that there is now organized on the earth a Government which never will be broken as former Governments have been. This will stand for ever. It began very small—only six members were organized in this Government on Tuesday the 6th day of April, 1830, that is according to the vulgar era; according to the true era it was some two or three years longer. The Christian era, that is in common use now among the human family is called the vulgar era, because it is incorrect. Jesus, it is acknowledged by the most learned men at the present day, was born two or three years before the period that is now commonly called the vulgar Christian era. It is also acknowledged by the greater portion of the learned men of the day, who have carefully examined the subject, that Jesus was crucified on the 6th day of April; and according to the true Christian era it was precisely eighteen hundred years from the day of his crucifixion until the day that this Church was organized. Why the Lord chose this particular period—the anniversary of the day of his crucifixion for the organization of his kingdom on the earth I do not know. I do know that he has a set time in his own mind for accomplishing his great purposes; but why he should purpose in his own mind that precisely eighteen hundred years should elapse from the day of the crucifixion until the day of the organization of his church, we do not know. Suffice it to say that this is the interval that elapsed. The Book of Mormon gives the exact interval from the day of his birth to the day of the crucifixion, and by putting these two periods together we can ascertain the true Christian era. There is a great dispute, however, among chronologists in regard to this matter; many of them say Jesus was born one year before the vulgar era, others that he was born two years before that. Four different chronologists, mentioned by name in Smith's Bible Dictionary, place the period three years before the vulgar era; others place it at four years before, some five, and some have placed it seven years before the present vulgar era. If we take a medium between these combined with the testimony of a great many who have written upon the subject, we find, as I said before, that it makes precisely eighteen hundred years between the two great events that took place, namely the crucifixion and the building up of his kingdom in these latter days.

      God has seen proper in the progress of this kingdom to restore to his servants holding the priesthood every key and power pertaining to the restitution of all things spoken of by the mouth of all the Holy Prophets since the world began. One of the first things that he condescended to restore was the fullness of the everlasting Gospel, just according to the prediction of the ancient Prophets—by the coming of an angel from heaven. Mr. Smith fulfilled that prediction, or rather it was fulfilled to him. He declares, in language most plain and positive, that God did send an angel from heaven and committed to him the everlasting Gospel on plates of gold; or in other words, he had it revealed to him by this angel, where the plates of gold were deposited containing the everlasting Gospel, as it was preached to the ancient inhabitants of this American continent, by the personal ministry of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This was the restoration predicted by John in the 14th chapter of Revelations, where it is declared that such an event should take place. John says that he saw, in vision, an angel come from heaven to earth, to restore the everlasting Gospel. No people on earth, prior to the advent of the Prophet Joseph Smith, ever testified to the fulfilment of John's prediction. If you make the inquiry of the various Christian denominations, whether Catholic, Greek or Dissenters, they will tell you unitedly that no such event characterized the rise of their churches; we have therefore their testimony, proving that God never fulfilled this portion of his word through them; but on the contrary the united voice and testimony of all these Christians, from one end of the earth to the other is that the Bible contains the Gospel, "And we have preached the Gospel," say they, "as we found it recorded in the Bible," and no angel to restore the authority to preach the Gospel, to baptize, to confirm by the laying on of hands, to administer the Lord's Supper, or to restore or give authority to organize the kingdom of God on the earth, was necessary." To this we reply, the history of the Gospel is one thing, and the authority to preach it and administer its ordinances is another. We can read its history in the New Testament; and we can also read there how the ancient servants of God organized the Church in their day; we can read what ordinances they performed or administered among the children of men; we can read what was needful for the organization of the Christian Church eighteen hundred years ago. We have the history of all these things in the Scriptures, but for some seventeen centuries past prior to the coming of this angel, there has been no authority to preach it; no Apostles, no Prophets, no Revelators, no visions from heaven, no inspiration from heaven; no voice of the Lord has been heard among the nations during the long interval that has elapsed since the putting to death of the ancient servants of God, and the destruction of the ancient Christian Church. Joseph Smith came to this generation testifying to the fulfillment of that which God predicted in the Revelations of Saint John—the restoration of the Gospel. But says John the Revelator, "when it is restored it shall be preached to every nation, kindred, tongue and people."

      Is there any prospect of this Gospel being thus extensively preached among the inhabitants of the earth in this generation? We need not refer you to the missions that have been taken by the Elders of this Church. Their works speak for themselves. Behold this vast congregation of people assembled here, and nearly all who inhabit this Territory. Why are they here? Because the angel has brought the everlasting Gospel, and because the servants of God have been commissioned and sent forth with the sound of the Gospel among the various nations and kingdoms of the earth; and because they have succeeded in preaching it among vast numbers of people, and gathering them out from the midst of the nations. But it has not yet gone to all nations, kindreds, tongues and people; but wait a little longer, it will shortly go, for just as sure as it has already been preached to nearly all the nations of Christendom, so will it go to every other people—heathen, Mahomedan, and every class, whether in Europe, Asia, Africa, or the uttermost parts of South America, the frozen regions in the north, or the numerous islands in the great western and eastern oceans. Every people must be warned that the great day of the Lord is close at hand; every people must know that the Lord God has spoken in these latter times; every people must know something concerning the purposes of the Great Jehovah in fulfilling and accomplishing the great preparatory work for the second advent of the Son of God from the heavens. Here then is the fulfilment of one prophecy. Let us now come to another.

      John, who saw this angel restore the everlasting Gospel to be preached to all the nations, declares that another proclamation was closely connected with the preaching of the Gospel. What was it? "The hour of his judgment has come"—the eleventh hour, the last time that God will warn the nations of the earth. "The hour of God's judgment has come," and that is the reason why the Gospel is to be so extensively preached among all people, nations and tongues, because the Lord intends through this warning to prepare them, if they will, to escape the hour of his judgment, which must come upon all people who will refuse to receive the divine message of the everlasting Gospel.

      We will now pass on to another prophecy. Another angel followed. What was his proclamation? Another angel followed, and he cried with a loud voice, saying: "Babylon is fallen, is fallen. She has made all nations drink of the wine of the Wrath of her fornication," &c. Spiritual Babylon the Great, "the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth." "Mystery Babylon"—that great power that has held sway over the nations of the earth—that great ecclesiastical power which has ruled over the consciences of the children of men, she is to fall and is to be destroyed from the face of the earth. Will the righteous fall with her? No. Why not? Because there is a way for their escape.

      Now mark another prophecy. "I heard a great voice," says John, "from heaven, saying, 'Come out of her, O my people!'" Out of where? "Mystery Babylon, the Great"—out of this great confusion that exists throughout all the nations and multitudes of Christendom. "Come out; of her, O my people, that ye partake not of her sins, that ye receive not of her plagues; for her sins have reached to the heavens, and God hath remembered her iniquities!" Is this being fulfilled? Do you see any indications of the people of God coming out from "Mystery Babylon the Great?" Yes, for forty-two years, and upwards, God has commanded his people, not by something devised by a congregation of divines, or by human ingenuity, but by a voice from heaven which has been published and printed, requiring all who receive the everlasting Gospel to come out from the midst of great Babylon. One hundred thousand Latter-day Saints, approximately speaking, now inherit these mountain regions. They are here because of this prediction of John, because of its being fulfilled, because of the voice that has come from heaven—the proclamation of the Almighty for his people to flee from amongst the nations of the earth. I need not say any more in regard to this prophecy; it is in the Bible, and is being fulfilled before the eyes of all people.

      Let me refer now to another prophecy. Daniel the Prophet has told us that in the latter days after the great image that was seen in dream by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, representing the various kingdoms of the world, should be destroyed, and those nations should pass away and become like the chaff of the summer threshing floor, the Lord would establish an everlasting Government here upon the earth. The Lord God saw proper to reveal to his servant Daniel the nature of this Government. He represented it as having a very small beginning—as a stone cut out of the mountain without hands, which stone should fail upon the feet of the image, and they should be broken in pieces. After the destruction of the feet all the image should fall—the legs of iron, the belly and thighs of brass, the breast and arms of silver, the head of gold—representing the remnants of all those ancient nations—the Babylonians, Medes and Persians, and the Greeks; also the remnants of those that once constituted the great Roman empire—those now in Europe and those of European origin which have come across the great ocean and established themselves here on the vast continent of the west, all, all were to be destroyed by the force of this little kingdom to be established by the power of truth, and by the authority that should characterize the nature of the stone cut Out of the mountains. "In the days of these kings," says the Prophet, "shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, neither shall it be left to any other people, but it shall stand for ever," etc. The Prophet Daniel uttered the prophecy; Joseph Smith, by authority of the Almighty, fulfilled it, so far as the organization or setting up of the kingdom was concerned.

      Let me refer now to some other prophecies. I do not want to dwell long upon any of them. We are told in the prophecies of Isaiah that before the time of the second advent, when the glory of the Lord should be revealed and all flesh should see it together, there should be a Zion built up on the earth. The Prophet gives the following exhortation to that Zion—"O Zion, thou that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain." Here then is a prophecy that, in the latter days, God would have a Zion on the earth before he should reveal himself from heaven and manifest his glory to all people; and the people called Zion are exhorted, in the 40th chapter of Isaiah, to get up into the high mountain. Here we are in this great mountain region, in a Territory called the mountain Territory. Here we are on the great backbone, as it were, of the western hemisphere, located among the valleys of this great ridge of mountains, which extends for thousands of miles—from the frozen regions in the north, almost to the southern extremity of South America. Here are the people called Zion, gone up into the high mountain, according to the prediction of the Prophet Isaiah. Isaiah uttered the prophecy; Joseph Smith also prophecied the same thing, but died without seeing it fulfilled. His successor, Brigham Young, lived to be the favored instrument in the hands of God, of taking the people from those countries down in the States, those countries upon the low elevations of our globe, and bringing them up here into this vast mountain region. Thus the prophecy was uttered—thus it has been fulfilled.

      We will pass on to some other prophecies. In the eighteenth chapter of the prophecies of Isaiah we have a prediction about a time when the Lord should make a great destruction upon a certain portion of the earth. The Prophet begins the chapter by saying, "woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia. Recollect where the Prophet dwelt when he uttered this prophecy—in Palestine, east of the Mediterranean Sea. Where was Ethiopia? South-west from Palestine. Where was there a land located beyond the rivers of Ethiopia. Every person acquainted with the geography of our globe knows that this American continent was beyond the rivers of Ethiopia from the land of Palestine, where the prophecy was uttered. A woe was pronounced upon that land, and that woe is this: "For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect and the sour grape is ripening in the flower, he shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning-hooks, and take away and cut down the branches. They shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth. And the fowls shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them." But first, before this destruction, there is a remarkable prophecy. Says the Prophet: "All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains, and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye." From this we learn that, before this great destruction, there is to be an ensign lifted up on the mountains, and this, too, beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, from Palestine. This is the reason why Zion in the latter days goes up into the mountains, in order that an ensign might be lifted up on the mountains. This prophecy was uttered some twenty-five hundred years ago, and has been fulfilled before the eyes of the people in our day.

      But more in regard to this ensign; we find that it was not an ensign to be lifted up in Palestine, for in the fifth chapter of his prophecies, Isaiah, speaking of it says—"The Lord shall lift up an ensign for the nations from afar." What does this mean? It means a land far distant from where the Prophet Isaiah lived—the land of Palestine. Now there is no land of magnitude or greatness that is far off from Palestine that would answer the description of this prophecy any better than this great western hemisphere; it is located almost on the opposite side of the globe from Palestine. The Lord, then, was to lift the ensign on a land that was far off from where the Prophet lived; and that ensign, we are told, should be set up on the mountains, and that, too, on a land shadowing with wings. When looking on the map of North and South America it has oftentimes suggested to my own mind the two wings of a great bird. No doubt the Prophet Isaiah saw this great western continent in vision, and recognized the resemblance to the wings of a bird in the general outline of the two branches of the continent. On such a land, on the mountains afar off from Palestine, an ensign was to be raised. But remember another thing in connection with this ensign—See how extensive the proclamation was to be—"All ye inhabitants of the world and dwellers on the earth, see ye when he lifts up an ensign on the mountains." It was to be a work that was to attract the attention of all people, unto the ends of the world.

      "But," enquires one, "what do you call an ensign?" Webster gives the definition of an ensign or standard—"Something to which the people gather; a notice for the people to assemble." In other words it is the great standard of the Almighty—the great ensign that he is lifting up in the shape of his Church and kingdom, on the mountains in the latter days, with all the order and form of his ancient system of church government, with its inspired Apostles and Prophets and with all the gifts, powers and blessings characterizing the Christian Church in ancient days. That is an ensign that should attract the people unto the very ends of the world.

      With the establishment of this ensign God has not only restored the Gospel, but the keys of gathering the people together and building up Zion, and he has also restored other keys and blessings that were to characterize the great and last dispensation of the fullness of times. What are they? The same as predicted in the last chapter of the prophecy of Malachi. That Prophet, speaking of the great day of burning says, "Behold the day shall come that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud and they that do wickedly shall become as stubble, and the day that cometh shall burn them up saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch." This is something that has never been fulfilled yet. But mark! Before the Lord burns all the proud and those who do wickedly, he has told us be would send Elijah the Prophet. He says, "Behold, I will send unto you Elijah the Prophet, he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." Recollect, this is to be just before the day of burning, before the great and notable day of the Lord should come.

      Elijah, the Prophet, then, must come from heaven—that same man who was translated in a chariot of fire, and who had such power while on the earth that he could fight, as it were, all the enemies of Israel that came against him; he could call down fire from heaven and consume the fifties as they came by companies to take him. That same man was to be sent in the last days, before the great and notable day of the Lord. What for? To restore a very important principle—a principle which will turn the hearts of the children to the fathers, and the hearts of the fathers to the children. Has that Prophet been sent to the earth, according to the prediction? Yes. When did he come, and to whom did he come? He came to that despised young man, Joseph Smith. According to the testimony of Joseph Smith, the Prophet Elijah stood before him, in the presence of Oliver Cowdery, and gave them these keys. What is included in this turning of the hearts of the children to the fathers and the hearts of the fathers to the children? There is included in it a principle for the salvation of the fathers that are dead, as well as for the children who are living. You have heard, Latter-day Saints, for years and years, that God has given keys, by which the living in this Church might do, not only the works necessary for their own salvation, but also certain works necessary to the salvation of their ancestors as far back as they could obtain their genealogies. What can be done by us for our fathers who have lived and died during the last seventeen hundred years, without hearing the Gospel in its fullness and power? Hundreds and thousands, and millions of them were sincere and honest, and served the Lord the best they knew; but they lived in the midst of apostate Christendom, and never heard the Gospel preached by inspired men, neither had they the chance of having its ordinances administered to them by men having authority from God. Must they be shut out from the kingdom of God, and be deprived of the glory, joys and blessings of celestial life because of this? No, God is an impartial being, and when he sent Elijah the Prophet to confer the keys I have referred to upon Joseph Smith, he intended that this people should work for the generations of the dead, as well as for the generations of the living; that these ordinances which pertain to men here in the flesh might be administered in their behalf by those of their kindred living in this day and generation. In this way the Latter-day Saints will be baptized and receive the various ordinances of the Gospel of the Son of God for their forefathers, as far as they can trace them; and when we have traced them as far back as we can possibly go, the Lord God has promised that he will reveal our ancestry back until it shall Connect with the ancient priesthood, so that there will be no link wanting in the great chain of redemption.

      Here then was a restoration in fulfillment of the prediction of Malachi, and for this reason Temples are being built. The Temple, of which the foundation is laid on this block, is intended for that purpose among others. It is not intended for the assembling of vast congregations of the Saints, but it is intended to be for the administration of sacred and holy ordinances. There will be a font for baptism, in its proper place, built according to the pattern that God shall give unto his servants. It is intended that, in these sacred and holy places, appointed, set apart and dedicated by the command of the Almighty, genealogies shall be revealed, and that the living shall officiate for the dead, that those who have not bad the opportunity while in the flesh in past generations to obey the Gospel, might have their friends now living, officiate for them. This does not destroy their agency, for although they laid down their bodies and went to their graves in a day of darkness, and they are now mingled with the hosts of spirits in the eternal worlds, their agency still continues, and that agency gives them power to believe in Jesus Christ there, just as well as we can who are here. Those spirits on the other side of the veil can repent just the same as we, in the flesh, can repent. Faith in God and in his son Jesus Christ, and repentance are acts of the mind—mental operations—but when it comes to baptism for the remission of sins they cannot perform that, we act for them, that having been ordained to be performed in the flesh. They can receive the benefit of whatever is done for them here, and whatever the Lord God commands his people here in the flesh to do for them will be published to them there by those holding the everlasting Priesthood of the Son of God. If, when the Gospel is preached to them there, they will believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, they will receive the benefits of the ordinances performed on their behalf here, and they will be partakers, with their kindred, of all the blessings of the fullness of the Gospel of the Son of God; but if they will not do this they will be bound over in chains of darkness until the judgment of the great day, when they will be judged according to men in the flesh. We are here in the flesh, and the same Gospel that condemns the disobedient and the sinner here, will, by the same law, condemn those who are on the other side of the veil.

      We have an account of baptism for the dead, as it was administered among the ancient Saints. Paul refers to it in his epistle to the Corinthians, to prove to them that the resurrection was a reality, "else," says he, "what shall they do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead rise not at all, why then are they baptized for the dead?" It was a strong argument that Paul brought forward, and one that the Corinthians well understood. It was a practice among them to be baptized for their dead, and Paul, knowing that they understood this principle, uses an argument to show that the dead would have a resurrection, and that baptism or immersion in water, a being buried in and the coming forth out of the water, was a simile of the resurrection from the dead. The same doctrine is taught in one of Peter's epistles. About preaching to those who are dead, Peter says that "Jesus was put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit, by which also he went and preached to the spirits in prison, which sometimes were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah while the ark was preparing?" Indeed! Jesus himself go to the dead and preach to them? Yes. Go to the old antediluvian spirits, and preach to them? Yes, preach to spirits who had lain in prison over two thousand years, shut up and deprived of entering into the fulness of the kingdom of God because of their disobedience. Jesus went and preached to them. "What did he preach?" He did not preach eternal damnation, for that would have been re use. He did not go and say to them, "You ante-diluvian spirits, I have come here to torment you." He did not declare that "I have opened your prison doors to tell you there is no hope for you, your case is past recovery, you must be damned to everlasting despair." This was not his preaching. He went there to declare glad tidings. When he entered the prison of those antediluvians, Peter says he preached the Gospel. "For, for this cause was the Gospel preached to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, and live according to God in the spirit." Yes, the inhabitants of the spirit world—far more numerous than those in the flesh—must hear the glad tidings of the Gospel of the Son of God, that all may be judged by the same Gospel and the same law; and if they will receive it be blessed, exalted from their prison house, and brought into the presence of the Father and the Son, and inherit celestial glory.

      This, therefore, is among the greatest of all the keys that God has revealed in the last dispensation—the saving of the generations of the dead, as well as the generations of the living, inasmuch as they will repent. Shall we stop here? Perhaps I have spoken sufficiently long. There are other principles, just as important in their nature, that must be restored in the latter-days, but I have not time to dwell upon them. I have reference now to the restoration of that eternal principle—the marriage covenant, which once was on the earth in the days of our first parents, the eternal union of husband and wife, according to the law of God, in the first pattern of marriage that is given to the children of men. That must also be restored, and everything in its time and in its season must be restored, in order that all things spoken of by the mouth of all the holy Prophets since the world began may be fulfilled. But we will leave this subject for some future time. There must, however, be a restoration of the eternal covenant of marriage, and also of that order of marriage which existed among the old Patriarchs, before the prophecies can be fulfilled, wherein seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, "we will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel, only let us be called by thy name to take away our reproach." That must be restored, or the prophecies of Isaiah never can be fulfilled. A great many other things might be named which must be restored in the dispensation of the fulness of times. It is a dispensation to restore all things, it is the dispensation of the spirit and power of Elias or Elijah, "to seal all things unto the end of all things" preparatory to the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

      The wicked as well as the righteous will feel the power of these keys. The wicked as well as the righteous must be sealed to that end for which they have lived. The wicked, who have disobeyed the law of God, must be sealed over unto darkness, until they have been punished and beaten with many stripes, until the last resurrection, until the last trump shall sound. But the righteous, in the flesh and behind the veil, will come forth in the first resurrection, but prior to that great event they will co-operate in their labors for the consummation of the purposes of the Almighty so far as necessary to prepare the way for the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to reign here, personally, on the earth for the space of one thousand years. Amen.

 

            Elder ALBERT CARRINGTON read over the names of the following brethren as having been called to go on missions. The motion to sustain their going was unanimous.

TO EUROPE

David O. Calder, Salt Lake City.
Samuel S. Jones, Provo.
James G. Bleak, St. George.
Jesse Gardiner, Springville.
W. H. Kelsey, "
David Cazier, Nephi.
John Neff, Mill Creek.
Erastus W. Snow, St. George.
Junis F. Wells, Salt Lake City.
David Duncanson, "
John A. Lewis, Spanish Fork.
John Reese, Wales, Sanpete County.
C. F. Schade, Huntsville.
P. C. Carstensen, Ogden.
P. C. Christiansen, Manti
Jens Mickelsen, Spanish Fork.
John Keller, Santa Clara.
Henry Riser, Salt Lake City.

TO THE WESTERN ISLANDS.

William Moody, Dry Valley.
John A. West, Parowan.
F. A. Mitchell, Salt Lake City

TO THE UNITED STATES

Charles C. Rich, Paris, Rich Co.
Joseph C. Rich, "
Charles S. Cram, Salt Lake City.
Joshua Clark, Grantsville.

            Elder Carrington then briefly addressed the conference. He knew for himself that the work we were engaged in was true, that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the living God, and that Brigham Young was his legal successor and also a prophet of the living God, and the contradiction of all the world would not invalidate those great truths. He also spoke of the founding of the work of the latter days by the prophet Joseph Smith, showing that the Lord undoubtedly operated through him.

            President GEORGE A. SMITH said the conference had only about just begun, and he invited all to come and fill the Tabernacle, that all might be strengthened and encouraged by the instructions given and the blessing of God which was being poured out upon us.

            The choir sang. "How beautiful upon the mountains."

            Prayer by Elder ALBERT CARRINGTON.

            Adjourned till to-morrow at 10 a.m.

            The congregations to-day were very large, there being probably from eight to ten thousand persons present in the forenoon, and in the afternoon the large building appeared to be filled to its utmost seating capacity, there being from ten to twelve thousand in attendance.

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THIRD DAY

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[8 Apr, 10 am]

[DNW 21:121, 4/10/72, p 5]

MONDAY, April 8th, 10 a.m.

            "See, the morning sun Pursues his shining way." was sung by the choir.

            The opening prayer was offered by President JOSEPH YOUNG, Senr.

            The choir sang: "Come we that love the Lord, And let our joys be known."

[President George A. Smith]

            President GEORGE A. SMITH addressed the assemblage. He felt gratified for the privilege of continuing the conference and for the good spirit that had been thus far manifested. There were many subjects to lay before the brethren. A great responsibility rested upon our heads, and we should be accordingly diligent in magnifying our priesthood. One item of responsibility was the education of our children, not only in branches of book learning, but in the principles of our holy religion. The report of school superintendent R. L. Campbell showed that there were about 30,000 school children in the Territory, between the ages of four and sixteen years. It seemed to be the policy of government to give no assistance to Territories in educational matters, but to States the government was liberal. Therefore whatever improvements were made in the Territories in this direction depended entirely on the energy of the people thereof. The school report for the Territory also showed that the children generally attended school for a longer period than in places where greater educational facilities were enjoyed. Notwithstanding this, there was considerable in our school system that was faulty. A free school system had not yet been inaugurated, and any man who would view the matter clearly and deliberately could see that it would not be wise to do so until we enjoyed the privileges and immunities of a state form of government. There might, however, be some counties where such a system could be adopted, but in others it could scarcely operate.

            The building of good, substantial, well ventilated school-houses was a matter which should receive a great deal of attention, and to have them furnished with suitable benches, which should be arranged, with regard to height, &c., to suit the size of the children. There were numbers of Elders who were willing to take missions to the nations of the earth, but were unwilling to take a mission to teach a common school, yet the latter was probably as important a mission as the former. It was of no use to whip "Mormon" children, for they could not be coerced. In most cases they could be ruled and governed by kindness, but hot otherwise.

            A considerable number of young men had been under the necessity of going to universities abroad to obtain an education that we should have the facilities to give them here. It was a noble mission to educate the rising generation.

            A great deal of labor and attention should be bestowed on the subject of Sunday Schools. Dr. Vincent and Mr. Moody, two gentlemen interested in Sunday Schools, who visited here last summer and who attended some of the ward Sunday schools here, said they were free to admit that our system of this class of schools was most excellent, although those gentlemen were strongly prejudiced against the Latter-day Saints. The brethren should continue this work. Those who wished to see the destruction of the Saints said that their only hope was to lead away the "Mormon" children. The Juvenile Instructor and the standard publications of the church should be taken and widely disseminated among the people.

            President Smith next spoke of the influences of the so-called civilization which was being manifested in this Territory, and which, unless care were taken, might tend to lead our children astray. The moral influence would be likely however still to maintain a good hold in these valleys.

[George A. Smith]

[DNW 21:137, 4/17/72, p 5; JD 14:371]

REMARKS,

By President GEORGE A. SMITH, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Monday morning, April 8, 1872.

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REPORTED BY D. W. EVANS.

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      I am gratified in the enjoyment of the privilege of continuing our Conference, and rejoice in the instructions and testimonies of the Elders which have been given during the two days past. There are a few subjects I feel anxious to lay before the brethren and sisters. I should be glad, had I strength and opportunity, to explain many things more minutely. I feel that God is with us, but that a great and fearful responsibility rests upon our heads. In order that we may be prepared to enjoy the blessings of our high and holy calling we should be diligent, humble, faithful, and constantly unite our powers of mind to magnify our Priesthood. One great responsibility which rests upon us is the education of our children—the proper forming of their minds and understandings, not only in the ordinary branches of education, but in the principles of our holy religion.

      I understand from the reports of Mr. Robert L. Campbell, Superintendent of common schools for the Territory, that there are about thirty thousand school children in the Territory, between the ages of four and sixteen.

      Our golden browed neighbors here in Nevada, who have for several years enjoyed all the benefits and blessings accruing to common schools from a State government, have about four thousand, if I am rightly informed, and no doubt, with the means which they possess, they are enabled to get up excellent schools.

      It appears to be a portion of the policy of the national government never to do anything for schools in a Territory. When a Territory becomes a State, the policy of Congress, in years past, and it will probably continue to be so in years to come, has been to extend liberal privileges and immunities, in the donation of lands and of the per cents from the sales of public lands within the State for educational purposes—the support of common schools and universities. This parsimonious policy towards Territories may be an enlightened one, and it may not; having lived in a Territory most of my life I may not be considered a proper judge. Suffice it to say, however, that so far as legislation for education is concerned, or any encouragement or assistance extended from the United States to the people of the Territories, their children must be raised in absolute ignorance. The result is, that whatever progress is made or improvement attained in these directions in the Territories is due entirely to the energy, enterprise and enlightenment of the inhabitants—the hardy pioneers who break the ground, make the roads, fight the Indians and create the State.

      The report of the Superintendent of Common Schools for this Territory goes to show, not only that there are about thirty thousand school children, but that they have attended school a greater portion of the time than is sometimes reported in the new States, and in some of the older ones, where they have all the advantages granted by the general government. This speaks well for the pioneers of Utah; it is a proud record, and one of which the Latter-day Saints may justly boast. It is true that most of our schools are simply primary schools; but, from what I have seen while visiting a good many of them, I know they are vastly superior to schools which I attended, more or less, in my earlier years in other States and Territories. I am proud of these facts; but at the same time there is a great deal in our system that is not by any means up to the mark. All that has been done has been done voluntarily. The school laws of Utah Territory authorize districts to establish free schools, if they choose to do so, by a two-thirds vote of the inhabitants of the district, and a number of districts have adopted this system with satisfactory results. Otherwise the schools are sustained by the tuition fees of the pupils, with the exception that taxes are generally levied on the property in the school districts to assist to build school houses and to supply a portion of the expenses and extend some little aid to the more indigent, that all may have the privilege of going to school. A general free school system has not been inaugurated, and any man who will coolly, deliberately and wisely consider the condition, associations and changeable nature of the government of our Territory, will see the wisdom of not entering upon such a system until it can be done under the regulations and privileges which a State government would bring. At least, that is my judgment on the subject, though we have advocates for the establishment of a general free school system now. I want to say in relation to this, that perhaps there are counties where such a system might be adopted with advantage; but if it were adopted generally throughout the Territory, it would have to contend with difficulties and dangers which I would wish to avoid. As I am not here to deliver a political speech I shall not, of course, undertake to explain what these are. I will simply refer you to certain little difficulties that have occurred in neighboring States in relation to the handling of school funds, and other important items, which show the delicacy of these matters unless they are in the hands of the most reliable men, who are absolutely responsible to the people by whom they are appointed and elected.

      I feel satisfied, notwithstanding this good record, that there is a very great necessity for the minds of many people to be stirred up in relation to the education of their children, the building of good, healthy, well ventilated school-houses, and the sending of the children to school, providing suitable books and seats. I remember once, in a new country, going into a school-house, and finding the children packed almost like herrings in a box, some on the floor, some on seats, little fellows with short legs sitting on high benches, and all breathing air that, perhaps, might not inaptly be compared to that of the black-hole of Calcutta. A couple of men, ignorant even of the most simple principles of ventilation, were laboring to teach these children, and I have sometimes taken the liberty to carry a carpenter's saw into a school to saw off the legs of the benches to make them a proper height to correspond with the length of the children's legs, for I do despise the idea of putting small children upon a high bench and large children upon a low one. I am very fond of seeing straight, erect, well formed boys and girls, and in three months a little inattention on the part of teachers trustees, and school superintendents in matters of this kind, will crook the necks, crook the backs, weaken the stomachs, produce deformity, lay a foundation for consumption, and shorten the children's lives ten years. I suggest to the brethren from all parts of the Territory—go into your school-rooms, measure the children's legs, if you please, and the benches, and see how they correspond. See whether the little fellows sit up straight, or humped up as if they were trying to imitate the back of a camel or dromedary, and give particular attention to the manner in which the school-rooms are ventilated. Do not deprive the little fellows of the most necessary and the cheapest of all elements—atmospheric air, in its purity, and thereby sow in their systems the seeds of premature death.

      There are many persons come into the Territory who do not speak the English language. I think more institutions should be got up in all the neighborhoods to encourage the learning of our tongue. I know young people generally learn it pretty quickly; but as the laws and most of the public speeches are made in the English language, it is important even in Welsh, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, German and French settlements, that the language in which law and justice are administered, and in which public meetings are generally conducted, should be well and properly understood.

      It occurs not only with some of the foreign emigration, but with some other persons, that they fail to appreciate the necessity of education, and of sending their children to school. Good and wholesome influences, exercised through teachers, Elders and Bishops, should be brought to bear on all this class of people, to show them the importance of educating their children. There are Elders who seem willing and ready to take missions to the most distant foreign countries, but when they are invited to go into a school-room to teach a school, they will say, "Well, I can make more money at something else, I would rather be land speculating, go a lumbering, or set up merchandizing." Let me say to you, brethren, that there is no calling in which a missionary can do more good, either man or woman, than to teach a common school, if he or she is qualified to do so.

      We are very well aware that it is but little use to whip "Mormon" children. You undertake to thrash anything into them, and you will most surely thrash it out of them. It was never any use to undertake to drive or coerce Latter-day Saints, they never could be coerced in their religious faith or practice. It is not their nature, and the mountain air our children breathe inspires them with the idea that they are not to be whipped like dogs to make them learn. The manner in which it must be done is by moral suasion, superior intellect, wisdom, prudence and good straightforward management in forming the judgment of the pupil by cultivating his manly qualities. This principle should be carried out in all our schools. In my boyhood discipline was enforced by the application of the blue beech switch. The blue beech does not grow in this country, but many school-masters in former times in New York and New England were provided with these tough limber switches, and I have seen them used among the scholars with fearful effect, and in cases where I am satisfied the pupil was less at fault than the preceptor. I know they say Solomon declared if you spare the rod you will spoil the child. My opinion is that the use of the red is very frequently the result of a want of understanding on the part of a spoiled parent or teacher in guiding, directing and controlling the feelings and affections of children, though of course the use of the rod in some cases might be necessary; but I have seen children abused when they ought not to have been, because King Solomon is believed to have made that remark, which, if he did, in nine cases out of ten referred to mental rather than physical correction. I will, however, allow other men who have taught school, as a profession, to offer their suggestions on these subjects; but I will say that I have known Professor Dusenberry teach a hundred scholars—the wildest, roughest boys we had in a frontier town, and never lay a stick on one of them. He has done it term after term, and the children liked and respected him and would mind him, and there was nothing on the face of the earth that seemed to hurt their feelings more than to feel that they had lost the confidence of their preceptor. This was simply the result of cultivating reasoning powers in the minds of the children, and I am happy to say there are many such teachers now in Utah.

      I will say a few words in relation to normal schools. As I said before, we have had nothing to encourage primary schools but what we ourselves with our bone, sinew, energy and enterprise have done. So it is with the more advanced branches. The Deseret University has made efforts to establish graded schools for the education of teachers. This has been done by small appropriations from the Legislative Assembly and Salt Lake City and County; but the great mass of the work has been done by individual enterprise. There are many at the present time in Utah who have been thus educated, who devote the winter season, and many of them the summer, to teaching schools. The energy of Superintendent Campbell in introducing suitable books and apparatus, and to improve the condition of our schools has been commendable; and the Timpanogus branch of the University of Deseret, at Provo, one at St. George and several others established in the Territory for the education of teachers have had their good effects. But their effects are limited, compared with what they might be, and I am sorry to say that several of our young men have been under the necessity of going to universities in other parts of the world to obtain an education, which it is desirable we should have the facilities to give them here. Brethren and sisters, take this matter to your hearts, for it is one of the great missions of the Latter-day Saints to do all in their power to educate the rising generation and to teach them the principles of eternal truth.

      I have had the pleasure of visiting a good many Sunday-schools, from time to time, from a very early period after they were established in this Territory, and I can speak highly of their influence and the benefits they have produced. I visited a Bible class while at St. George, composed of young gentlemen and ladies, and I found that they were as well instructed in relation to the principles of the Gospel, as laid down in the Bible and in the revelations of the Lord, as a very large portion of the Elders. I was very glad to see it. I visited Sunday-schools when I could in the course of my travels, and I was gratified to see the progress that has been made. I want to stir up parents to the necessity of fitting up and encouraging their children to attend Sunday-school. I also want to encourage them to attend themselves and act as teachers; and for the young men and young women, whenever they can, or those whose family arrangements are such that they can attend to it, to volunteer and contribute their exertions in carrying on Sunday-schools. A great many Elders have devoted much time to this useful and important subject, and have labored to teach, encourage and strengthen Sunday-schools. Last summer, two weeks previous to the celebrated Methodist camp meeting that was held in this city, Dr. Vincent, a Methodist minister, and two others connected with Sunday-schools, by their own request, addressed in this Tabernacle about four thousand Sunday-school children. They told me they had visited the Sunday-school in the 13th Ward, and had addressed the scholars there, and they said that that Sunday-school was highly creditable. But although they gave us so much credit, they went away feeling very bitter towards us. I asked them if they had not been treated as well here as we would be in their society. "O, yes," said they, "We were invited to attend Sunday-schools and we did so. We were allowed to address the children, and at our request four or five thousand were brought together for us to talk to." And they went on and told how well they were treated; but notwithstanding that, they said they had been told from the most reliable sources that a great many men had been killed in this country for not being "Mormons." Said I, "You have been most foully gulled by somebody." Dr. Vincent replied, "The authority is most reliable, for it came from our officers." I said to him, "The officers change so often that they can have no personal knowledge on these subjects. Some of them are interested in promoting difficulty with the people of Utah. No man was ever killed in Utah for his religion; and if the few cases of murder that have occurred here were thoroughly investigated they would be found to be the result of private quarrels; and there have been five hundred per cent. less of such cases here than in any other new State or Territory with which I have been acquainted; and the country can not be found on the face of the earth where the population is scattered over such a large area which has maintained such perfect police regulations, and these statements are simply scandal."

      I name this circumstance from the fact that a man who bad been so liberally treated by the Latter-day Saints, who had had the privilege of speaking to the largest collection of school children that he probably ever saw in his life, would believe lies told him by renegades, and carry them away and publish them rather than the real facts which he had the privilege of seeing, hearing and learning from reliable authority while here.

      I wish to stir up our brethren to continue their labor in Sunday-schools, and, in doing so, to continue to sustain liberally the Juvenile Instructor. Place it in the hands of your children, it contains some of the best reading matter for them I know of, and its circulation should be widely extended. I notice from pieces published by Protestant ministers who have established churches in this city, that their principal hope of converting the "Mormons" is by leading, (I call it misleading) away their children. They despair of converting the old ones who are perfectly established in their religious faith; and their hope appears to be in misleading their children by getting them into their schools. By so doing they can probably draw them away from the Latter-day faith, and through the children they may also succeed in gaining over some of their parents. The enemy of all righteousness is sagacious, and so are his servants, and I think it quite honest, but not very creditable to Christian ministers to frankly acknowledge that their business here is to try and entice children from their parents. But so far as this is concerned our brethren and sisters should learn a lesson by it, and see that the persons who educate their children do not plant in their hearts falsehood, deception, wickedness and corruption. They should place them under the tuition of those who will teach them the principles they are employed to teach, and not instil into their minds those things that will lead them to destruction. The catechism for children, exhibiting the prominent doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, should be in every family, school and Bible class.

      I think measures should be taken to increase the circulation among the people of the Deseret News, and the standard works of the Church. A great many read them, and many do not; and if in the various neighborhoods, a little more pains were taken, the information they contain could be more widely disseminated. I know the enemies of Zion are willing take any pains in the world almost to circulate lies; why should we not take a little pains to circulate truth, and to spread and to disseminate abroad pure and holy principles? I call the attention of Elders of the various stakes to these subjects.

      Peace to the faithful. Amen.

 

[Elder Erastus Snow]

            Elder ERASTUS SNOW was the next speaker. He had been preaching thirty-eight years and could not speak so loud now as formerly. He had seen the time when all the Latter-day Saints could have been comfortably seated in one of our ordinary primary school houses. He had witnessed the rise and progress of the church in the various stages from that time to the present. During that time some had lifted their puny arms and voices against the work in order to cover up their own cupidity and folly. All such had but shown their own weakness and mendacity, while those who had maintained their integrity had grown with he work of the latter days. All that the Latter-day Saints had to fear was that they might forget the testimonies they had received, the glitterings of wealth and the allurements of crime. Too much care could not possibly be bestowed on the moral and intellectual education of children. Our boys who had been accustomed to the hardships of frontier life, were being wrought in contact with influences that were strange to them. They might be somewhat uncouth in manners, yet they would generally fight for their religion, but they did not generally pay sufficient attention to living it, and were probably too apt to strike hands with the wicked, especially in the vicinity of mining camps.

            We were waging a war against wickedness of every kind. We were not blindly led in the work that we had undertaken, but our leaders saw, and so did they who followed them. The opposition manifested towards us to day was because of our consolidation and unity, for we were the best ordered community, so far as the old citizens were concerned, in the land. He said this knowingly, having traversed this continent from one end to the other, and many of the countries of Europe. In this city, it was true, under the auspices of a federal and judicial ring, crime was beginning to manifest itself. There was a time in this city when locks and keys were unneeded, but that time was past.

            It was probable that the people would be tried by circumstances, and many would be found wanting. Not by prisons or persecutions of that kind, but by the allurements of wealth, crime and corruption. There were many who had not yet learned the proper uses of the good things of the world. If we would use all things for the forwarding of the interests of the kingdom of God, we would be permitted to live long upon the land which the Lord had given us.

            Should the government continue to listen to slanders and lies concerning us, and refuse to admit Deseret, we would still go onward and upward, for Zion must and would be built up and redeemed.

            The choir sang: "Jerusalem, my Glorious home."

            Adjourned till 2 p.m.

            Prayer by Elder Lorenzo Snow.

_____

[8 Apr, 2 pm]

[DNW 21:138, 4/10/72, p 6]

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

_____

THIRD DAY.

_____

MONDAY, April 8th, 2 p.m.

            The choir sang: "Mortals awaked with angels join, And chant the solemn lay."

            Prayer by Elder FRANKLIN D. RICHARDS.

            The choir sang: "Sweet is the work, my God, my King."

[President Joseph Young]

            President JOSEPH YOUNG addressed the Conference. He had listened with great please to the testimonies and preaching of the brethren who had preceded him in speaking. We lived in a world whose history furnished many problems, which could only be solved by revelation from God. God himself could see it all, and could we but do so we would be more willing than we were to extend charity toward our brethren and sisters who had sprung from the same parent source as ourselves. Mankind had become fallen, and consequently generally unbelieving and dark, but God had at different periods of the history of the world sent messengers to the human race and proclamations of mercy had been published, yet those proclamations had almost invariably been rejected by those unto whom they were sent.

            The speaker continued at some length, dwelling especially upon the different gospel dispensations of God to man, and the consequences which invariably attended the rejection by man of heavenly messages.

            We did not believe in coercion, and it was the speaker's belief that we could exist as a religious organization under a republican form of government without infringing upon anybody's privileges. We were willing all other people should enjoy their rights.

            Brother Young concluded by exhorting the Saints to be faithful to their religion.

            Elder ALBERT CARRINGTON presented the authorities of the Church in the following order, the vote to sustain them in their various positions being unanimous:

            Brigham Young, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; George A. Smith his first, and Daniel H. Wells his second councilor.

            Orson Hyde, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Orson Pratt, Sen., John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Jun., Joseph F. Smith, and Albert Carrington, members of said Quorum.

            John Smith, Patriarch of the Church. John W. Young, President of this Stake of Zion, and George B. Wallace and John T. Caine his councilors.

            William Eddington, John L. Blythe, Howard O. Spencer, John Squires, Wm. H. Folsom, Thomas E. Jeremy, Joseph L. Barfoot, John H. Rumell, Miner G. Attwood, Wm. Thorn, Dimick B. Huntington, Theodore McKean and Hosea Stout, members of the High Council.

            Elias Smith, President of the High Priests' Quorum, and Edward Snelgrove and Elias Morris, his councilors.

            Joseph young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Harriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge and John Van Cott, members of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies.

            President GEORGE A. SMITH made a motion that the presentation of the name of Jacob Gates to the Conference, as one of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, be deferred until certain matters of business were investigated and an understanding arrived at, which was carried unanimously.

            Benjamin L. Peart, President of the Elders' Quorum; Edward Davis and Abinadi Pratt, his councilors.

            Edward Hunter, Presiding Bishop; Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little, his councilors.

            Samuel G. Ludd, President of the Priests' Quorum; Wm. McLachlan and James Latham his councilors.

            Adam Spears, President of the Teachers' Quorum; Martin Lenzi and Henry I Doremus, his councilors.

            James Leach, President of the Deacon's Quorum; Peter Johnson and Chas. S. Cram his councilors.

            Brigham Young, Trustee-in-Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

            Truman O. Angell, Architect for the Church.

            Horace S. Eldredge, President of the Perpetual Emigration Fund to Gather the Poor.

            Albert Carrington, Historian and General Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff, his assistant.

            The names of the following brethren were then presented, and unanimously sustained, to go on missions--

TO EUROPE.

N. P. Lindelof, Plain City.
John Mendenhall, Springville.
Joseph Wadley, Pleasant Grove

TO THE UNITED STATES.

James S . Brown, Salt Lake City.
Moroni Brown, Ogden.

            President GEORGE A. SMITH said he hoped the brethren and sisters were prepared to remain in Conference a few more days.

            The choir and congregation sang: "Praise God, from whom all blessings flow."

            Adjourned till 10 a.m. to-morrow.

            Prayer by President DANIEL H. WELLS.

_____

[9 Apr, 10 am]

[DNW 21:138; 4/17/72, p 6]

FOURTH DAY.

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TUESDAY, April 9th, 10 a. m.

            The choir sang: "The morning breaks, the shadows flee."

            The opening prayer was offered by Elder LORENZO D. YOUNG.

            "Once more, my soul, the rising, Salutes thy waking eyes." was sung by the choir.

[Bishoop E. F. Sheets]

            Bishop E. F. SHEETS said he had had the privilege of meeting with the saints in every General Conference that had been held in this city. Whenever God had a people upon the earth he always required them to do a certain work, and his revelations differed at various times according to the nature of the work to be accomplished. The work committed to us is that of building up Zion, to prepare for the second coming of Christ. When we gathered together we had to open up farms, make roads, build towns, cities and temples, &c. We had accomplished considerable in this direction and we had been directed in what we had done by the servants of God. These things constituted the foundation for the building up of Zion in its glory and beauty. We could all do something towards building Temples, for although we could not all quarry rock or prepare and lay it, yet we could pay our tithes and our offerings to help on this good work.

            The speaker commented at some length on the inseparability of temporal and spiritual things, and urged the Saints to be faithful in the performance of their duties. He bore testimony that he knew the work he was engaged in to be the work of God.

[Elder F. A. Mitchell]

            Elder F. A. MITCHELL said that it afforded him inexpressible satisfaction to have a testimony to bear to the truthfulness of the work of God with which he was identified. It was by the blessings and power of God that we had been enabled to gather together and work unitedly in his cause. We knew that God would justify his cause and that of his people. He had been called on a mission to the Western Islands and with the help of God he purposed going forth to fulfil it, for he knew that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the living God, and that Brigham Young was his legal successor. He desired nothing more than to be able to do whatever God through his servants required of him.

[Elder Wm. C. Saines]

            Elder Wm. C. STAINES addressed the Conference. Twenty five years ago the general Conference of the Saints assembled on the warmest side of a haystack, which covered an area not larger than that of our large organ. What an evidence was this that the progress of this work was onward and upward. The first time he heard the sound of the gospel he believed it. He was informed by the person whom he first heard preach, that if he obeyed the first principles of that gospel he would know the truth for himself. He responded to the invitation of the servant of God and he received the promised testimony and had retained that knowledge till the present moment. He regretted that President Young was not permitted to be present with us. We all knew the reason of his absence. He knew, however, that God would ultimately bear him off victorious. During the past ten years he had assisted in gathering thousands of the poor, and he always rejoiced in doing any public service connected with the work of God. He predicted that President Young would be again among us before long, that the Saints would not only see the Temple built in this city, but temples would be reared in other places and ultimately all over the land.

[Bishop Samuel A. Woolley]

            Bishop SAMUEL A. WOOLLEY said he had been a member of the church thirty-one years, six months, and two days. He had in his time circumnavigated the globe, preaching the gospel in distant lands without purse or scrip, and he had done so because he knew that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and that it was indeed the gospel of Christ which he had to deliver to mankind. He knew Brigham Young was the legal successor of Joseph Smith. He was in Nauvoo when President Young returned from Boston;, after Joseph and Hyrum were murdered, and attended a meeting in a grove. When President Young walked upon the stand and commenced to speak, his appearance and his voice were like unto Joseph's. He knew by these things and by the power of God which then rested upon President Young, that he was the legal successor of Joseph.

            The speaker adverted to the work which had been accomplished by the Saints in these valleys, and thought we should remain here, at least as long as the Lord wished us to.

[Elder Robert L. Campbell]

            Elder ROBERT L. CAMPBELL was the next speaker. He testified that the gospel introduced by Joseph Smith and which was being taught by President Brigham Young and the present authorities of the church was true. No power would ever succeed in destroying this work, for it was of God. He exhorted the Saints to live for the salvation of the living and the dead, and to be charitable to the children of men. To be charitable was Godlike. Many would be brought under the auspices, saving power and benign influences of the gospel of salvation.

[Elder Jesse N. Smith]

            Elder JESSE N. SMITH bore testimony that he knew this to be the work of God There was no point in our earthly career when we should not need to exercise faith in God. Faith in the Almighty was something much lacked by the people of the world. It was difficult for people to give up ideas in which they had been traditionated from their childhood. It required divine assistance to enable them to do so. It had required the blessing and power of God to enable him, the speaker, to do some things in which he had engaged connected with the work of God.

[Bishop W. W. Cluff]

            Bishop W. W. CLUFF referred to the inestimable blessings and privileges enjoyed by the Latter-day Saints, and especially to the improvement of the circumstances of the people who had come from the countries and gathered here. He, the speaker, in fulfilment of the mission to which he was called last conference to peach to the Scandinavians in the Territory, had visited many of those people in their new homes and he knew their temporal condition was greatly improved, and did we accomplish no more than this we should do a good work among the poor. Notwithstanding the apparent cloud that had been hanging over the Saints lately, he had seen more unity among them within the last few months.

                        The speaker referred to the statement of Bishop S. A. Woolley that when President Young was upon the stand at Nauvoo after the death of Joseph, he resembled the latter, and Elder Cluff testified that he too was the same way impressed. He was a boy at the time and he could well remember that it actually seemed to be Joseph whom he saw and heard speak.

            The choir sang: "Arise, shine, for thy light is come."

            Adjourned till 2 p.m.

            Prayer by President DANIEL H. WELLS.

_____

[9 Apr, 2 pm]

[DNW 21:138-139; 4/17/72, p 6-7]

TUESDAY, April 9th, 2 p.m.

            The choir sang: "Though nations rise and men conspire, Their efforts will be vain."

            Prayer by Elder A. M. MUSSER.

            "Hark! the song of jubilee, Loud as mighty thunders roar." was sung by the choir.

[Bishop Henry Moon]

            Bishop HENRY MOON said:

            I was one of the missionaries who were called to go to the United States last fall. In my travels I met with Mr. David Whitmer, one of the witnesses of the Book of Mormon. What made me visit him was, I was reading the testimony of the witnesses to some people on Shoal Creek, in Caldwell County. One of them, Mr. John Lefler, was very anxious to see one of these witnesses, and to hear his testimony. I went down to Richmond with him. We got to Mr. David Whitmer's a little after dark. I told Mr. Whitmer that I was from Utah. "From Utah?" said he. "Yes, Sir." "Well, you have a good deal of trouble, I suppose in Utah?" Oh, not very much, I told him. He got up from his supper and went out of the house, and I followed him. I told him I wanted to have a few moments' talk with him. He said he had not time, he wanted to see after some horses, and his son was sick. But I hung to him, and followed him in the street, and told him that this gentleman, Mr. Lefler, who was with me, had come from Caldwell county, to see if that which was written in the book of Mormon -- the testimony of the witnesses -- was true. Mr. Whitmer turned round to the gentleman and said: "God Almighty requires at my hands to bear record of the truth of the Book of Mormon. That book is a true record; it is the pure gospel of Jesus Christ, translated by the gift and power of God through Joseph Smith." He then talked to Mr. Lefler, who also asked him a few questions. Then Mr. Whitmer talked a little to me about Utah. I asked the gentleman if he wanted any more conversation with Mr. Whitmer? He said, "No," he was quite satisfied, and we got on to the cars and went back to Caldwell county the same evening.

            I am glad that I, with my brethren, can also bear witness with regard to the truth of the Book of Mormon and the establishment of the kingdom of God upon the earth, and that this is the kingdom established through Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. I am as satisfied of it, and I know it as well as I know that I am talking to this large congregation. Amen.

[Elder Isaac Groo]

            Elder ISAAC GROO addressed the conference. He bore testimony to the divine authenticity of the work he was connected with. No people living had so much cause for thankfulness as the Latter-day Saints, for they were identified with a kingdom that would stand forever. The church of Christ, since the date of its organization forty-two years ago, had met with the most virulent opposition;, but instead of staying this had accelerated its progress. This gospel was still being preached and would continue to spread until all living people would have an opportunity of embracing it. Some who had embraced the gospel had turned away therefrom, after having borne testimony to its truthfulness.

            The speaker had obeyed the gospel while President Young was leader of the Saints, and had received a sure testimony under that administration. It was the individual knowledge enjoyed by the Elders of Israel that caused them to go forth into the world and preach the gospel. It was falsely reported that we were held in bondage by one man. What we did we conformed to because we knew it to be the will of God. Those who fought against us fought against God, for it was his work they opposed.

[Elder Wilford Woodruff]

            Elder WILFORD WOODRUFF delivered a very interesting and instructive discourse, being of a very practical character. He urged upon the Saints the necessity of attending to the development of the agricultural and manufacturing resources of the Territory, showing that our prosperity and comfort greatly depended upon the counsel we took to that direction. His remarks included wool-growing, cattle raising, farming, cotton and woolen manufacturing and kindred matters. He showed that our attention to those matters would enable us to be measurably self sustaining and consequently independent.

[Wilford Woodruff]

[DNW 21:216, 5/22/72, p 4; JD 15:77]

REMARKS,

By Elder WILFORD WOODRUFF, Delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, April 8th [9th], 1872.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      We have had a very good Conference; we have heard a great deal of testimony from the servants of the Lord, and that testimony has been true. The building up of the Zion of God in these latter days includes, I may say of a truth, every branch of business, both temporal and spiritual, in which we are engaged. We can not touch upon any subject which is lawful in the sight of God and man, that is not embraced in our religion. The Gospel of Jesus Christ which we have embraced, and which we preach, includes all truth, and every lawful calling and occupation of man. One subject that we are deeply interested in I wish to say a few words upon. In the first place I wish to give notice in this stage of my remarks to the members of the Deseret Agricultural and Manufacturing Society, that they are requested to meet, at the close of this meeting, at the Historian's Office, to appoint their president and board of directors for the coming season, for the times demand that we should hold a State fair in this city this fall.

      Strangers may think this a very strange subject to present in a religious meeting, but we are building up the literal kingdom of God on the earth, and we have temporal duties to perform. We inhabit temporal bodies, we eat temporal food, we build temporal houses, we raise temporal cattle and temporal wheat; we contend with temporal weeds, and with temporal enemies in our soil, and these things naturally give rise to the necessity of attending to and performing many duties of a temporal and arduous nature, and they, of course, are embraced in our religion. In building up the Zion and kingdom of God in these latter days, our agricultural and manufacturing interests are of the most vital importance; in fact manufacturing and agricultural pursuits are of vital importance to any nation under heaven. Show me a nation whose people cultivate the earth, and manufacture what they need, and I will show you a rich and independent nation. Show me a nation that lives entirely by mining and I will show you a poor nation—one that is, ready to run out and become obsolete. You see this manifest in the history of all nations under heaven. What gives England her wealth to-day? Her coal, iron, and the products of her soil, in connection with her prodigious manufactures; and it is so with all the nations of the earth. What makes the United States what she is to-day? Her products and the cultivation of her soil, and the constant efforts she has made to supply the wants of her people. Not but what mining is all right, there is no fault with the development of the resources of the earth under favorable circumstances. When we came here our position demanded that the very first thing we did was to plant our potatoes and sow our wheat, or we had starvation before us; and I will here say that the Saints and the Elders of Israel have gone before the Lord day after day and week after week, and prayed the Almighty to hide up the treasures of these mountains, lest even the Latter-day Saints, with all the faith they had, should be tempted to turn away from the cultivation of the earth and the manufacture of what they needed; and the Lord heard our prayers, and we dwelt here many years and filled these valleys for six hundred miles with cities, towns, villages, gardens, orchards, fields, vineyards, hundreds of school-houses, and places of worship, until we made the desert blossom as the rose, and had a supply of wheat, bread and clothing upon our hands. Then, I do not know but the Elders ceased praying for the Lord to hide up the treasures of the earth—I guess they did, for very soon after mines began to be opened, and now silver mines are being worked in many parts of the Territory. A few years ago General Connor and others, who dwelt here, with soldiers under them, spent very many days in prospecting these mountains from one end to the other for gold and silver, but they could find none; to-day you may go over the same places, and if you dig into the earth you may find plenty of silver, and you may find it almost anywhere in these mountains. I suppose this is all right, I have no fault to find with it; but I still say that the interest of the Latter-day Saints in these mountains is to cultivate the soil and to manufacture what they use.

      Through the influence of President Young We have many manufactories for wool and cotton already established in this Territory. He has done more than any man living in these last days, according to the means he has had at his command, to establish these branches of business in the midst of these mountains. We have now many large factories in this Territory that have to stand still for want of wool. I want to say a few words on this subject to the wool growers of Deseret. Instead of sending our wool out of the Territory, to eastern States to be manufactured into cloth, and purchasing it and paying eastern manufacturers a large per centage for it when brought here by railroad, I feel that it is our duty, and it would be far wiser for us, to sell our wool to those who own factories in this Territory, and to sustain ourselves by sustaining home manufactures.

      One of the first commands given to Adam, after being placed in Eden, was to dress the garden; and he was permitted to eat of the fruit of every tree except one. After a while Adam and his wife, Eve, partook of the fruit of this tree, and the history of the Fall is before us and the world. After Adam was cast out of the garden the Lord told him that there should be a curse on the earth, and instead of bringing forth beautiful flowers, fruit and grain spontaneously, as before the Fall, it should bring forth thorns, briers, thistles and noxious weeds, and that man should earn his bread by the sweat of his brow; and from that time to the present mankind has had this curse to contend with in the cultivation of the earth. In consequence of this the inhabitants of Utah, in their agricultural operations have to fight against the cockle burr, the black seed and sunflower, as well as thorns and thistles and many other noxious weeds, which, if not eradicated, speedily take advantage of us, and to a great extent, mar the result of our labors. It will pay us to pay attention to these things; it will pay us to dress the earth, to till it, to take care of and spend time and means in manuring and feeding it; it will pay us to gather out these noxious weeds, for the earth will then have a chance to bring forth in its strength. This, with the blessing of God upon our labors, has made the soil of Utah as productive as it is to-day. I wish to see this interest increase in our midst; and I hope, in addition to this, that those who are raising sheep—our wool growers—will pay attention to and carry on that branch of business systematically, and that we will sell our wool to those who manufacture it at home, instead of sending it out of the Territory to be manufactured. I feel that this is our duty, and the course which will promote our best interests, and it is a principle which is true, independent of religion, in any community or nation; it is a self-sustaining principle.

      God has blessed us, he has blessed the earth, and our labors in the tilling of the soil have been greatly prospered. As has been said by some of our brethren in their remarks, when the pioneers came here, no mark of civilization or of the white man, was found. If those who are now so anxious to obtain the homes we have made, had seen Utah as we saw it, they would never have desired a habitation here, but they would have got out of it as soon as they could. It was barren, desolate, abounding with grasshoppers, crickets and kiote [coyote?] wolves, and these things seemed to be the only natural productions of the soil. We went to work by faith, not much by sight, to cultivate the earth. We broke almost all the plows we had the first day. We had to let streams of water out to moisten the earth, and by experience we had to learn to raise anything. The stranger comes into Salt Lake City and sees our orchards, and the trees in our streets, and he thinks, what a fruitful and delightful place it is. He does not think that, for twenty or twenty-four years, almost every tree he beholds, according to its age, has had to be watered twice a week through the whole summer season, or they would all have been dead long since. We have had to unite upon these things, the Lord has blessed our labors, and his mercies have been over this people.

      If we had not cultivated the earth, but had turned our attention to mining, we should not only have starved to death ourselves, but thousands of strangers, who have passed through, would have shared the same fate. Utah Territory has been the great highway to California, Nevada, and all the western States and Territories, and they have all looked, in a measure, to Utah for their bread. Nobody but Latter-day Saints would have lived here, and endured the trials and afflictions that we endured in the beginning; none others would have stayed and fought the crickets one year, as we had to do year after year. Any people but the Latter-day Saints would have left this country long ago. Not only so, on account of the things I have already named, but I will here say that no other people could have lived here—no, they would have knocked each others brains out on account of the little water they would have had in their irrigating operations. When men saw their crops and trees withering and perishing for the want of water, the selfishness so general in the world would have worked up to such an extent, that they would have killed one another, and hence I say that none but Latter-day Saints would have stood it; but they, by the training and experience they had before received, were prepared for the hardships and trials they had to encounter in this country.

      Brethren and sisters, let us continue our efforts in cultivating the earth, and in manufacturing what we want. And I still urge upon our Female Relief Societies, in this city and throughout the Territory, to carry out the counsel President Young gave us years and years ago, and try, as far as possible, within ourselves, to make our own bonnets, hats and clothing, and to let the beauty of what we wear be the workmanship of our own hands. It is true that our religion is not in our coat or bonnet, or it should not be. If a man's religion is there it is not generally very deep anywhere else. But God has blessed us with the products of earth and the blessings of heaven, and his Spirit has been with us; we have been preserved, and the Lord has turned away the edge of the sword, and he has protected us during many years past and gone, and we all have to acknowledge his hand in these things.

      I do not wish to detain this Conference. I felt as though I wanted to make a few remarks on these subjects. I hope, brethren, that we will not slacken our hands with regard to the cultivation of the earth. In the prosecution of our labors in that respect we have everything to contend with that man has been cursed with for five thousand years. We should clean our fields, as far as we can, of the noxious weeds, and our streets of sunflowers. These things encumber the earth. We have one difficulty to contend with, unknown save in those portions of the earth where irrigation is practiced. It is true that a man may clean his fields of sunflowers, cockle burrs, blackseed and every other noxious weed that grows, and the very first time he waters his land here will come a peck or a bushel of foul seed from the mountains, and fill every field through which the stream flows. These difficulties we have to fight against, but we must do the best we can. As farmers, we should clean our seed, and not sow the foul along with the good. One man, in a few hours, with a good wire sieve, can sift enough seed for ten acres of land, and perhaps for twenty; while, to pull that bad seed out when grown will cost from one to five hundred dollars, for it will take a score of men days to do it. We should use our time, judgment and the wisdom God has given us to the best advantage in all these things.

      I want the brethren to come together this afternoon and elect their officers, for we desire to hold a fair this fall, in which the agricultural and manufacturing interests of the Territory may be represented and interested. Let us not be weary in well doing; let us not slacken our hands, either in cultivating the earth or in the manufacturing of what we deed. Co-operate in agricultural and mercantile matters, also in our tanneries, and in the making of butter and cheese. One man may engage in these branches of business with advantage if he have skill and experience to guide him; but in co-operation the wisdom of all is combined for the general good. This plan has been adopted with advantage in other communities, cities, States, Territories and countries, and it can be in this more extensively than it has been hitherto.

      I pray that God will bless us, and bless this whole people; and I pray that the testimony which we have received here during this Conference, which is true, may not be forgotten by us. I can bear the same testimony. I know this work is of God. I know Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God. I have heard two or three of the brethren testify about brother Young in Nauvoo. Every man and every Woman in that assembly, which perhaps might number thousands, could bear the same testimony. I was there, the Twelve were there, and a good many others, and all can bear the same testimony. The question might be asked, why was the appearance of Joseph Smith given to Brigham Young? Because here was Sidney Rigdon and other men rising up and claiming to be the leaders of the Church, and men stood, as it were, on a pivot, not knowing which way to turn. But just as quick as Brigham Young rose in that assembly, his face was that of Joseph Smith—the mantle of Joseph had fallen upon him, the power of God that was upon Joseph Smith was upon him, he had the voice of Joseph, and it was the voice of the shepherd. There was not a person in that assembly, Rigdon, himself, not excepted, but was satisfied in his own mind that Brigham was the proper leader of the people, for he would not have his name presented, by hid own consent, after that sermon was delivered. There was a reason for this in the mind of God; it convinced the people. They saw and heard for themselves, and it was by the power of God.

      May God bless you. May he give us wisdom to direct us in all things, and promote all the interests of Zion for Jesus' sake. Amen.

 

[President George A. Smith]

            President GEORGE A. SMITH said the Lord had blessed us in a most remarkable manner considering the efforts of the father of lies to hinder our progress. He did not believe it possible to find on the earth a more law-abiding, temperate and orderly people than the people of Utah. They had especially vindicated their character in those respects during the last few months. We did not propose to relinquish any of the principles of morality and virtue which we so dearly prized. The wicked have introduced a few places of immorality, but we should keep ourselves uncontaminated. We should keep the Word of Wisdom. To its observance were attached great promises. We should observe it strictly, not only for our own sakes, but also for the sake of our children. He urged those who were engaged in working mines to be careful not to fall into the vicious practices so often prevalent in mining camps. We could not be placed in any position where we could not serve God.

            The speaker again drew the attention of the Elders and Saints to the importance of supporting the Perpetual Emigrating Fund and urged those indebted to it to make payments. He spoke of he necessity of home missionary labor being vigorously prosecuted, and gave some excellent advice to all who had difficulties to settle to avoid law suits, and to settle disagreements by arbitration He said that fears were entertained by some people that some great trouble was coming upon the Saints, but there need be no fears, for this work was the work of God. He was our protector and ruler and we need not fear man nor his power.

            Elder ALBERT CARRINGTON presented the names of the following missionaries, which were sustained by the Conference --

TO EUROPE.

Walter Thomson, Ogden City.
Newel Clayton, S. L. City.

TO THE EASTERN STATES.

W. C. Staines, to take charge of the emigration business at New York.

HOME MISSIONARIES.

To the Scandinavians in the northern counties -- C. D. Fjeldsted.
Beaver County -- John R. Murdock, Wm. Fotheringham, Wm. Ashworth, M. L. Shepherd.
Box Elder County -- Lorenzo Snow, Jonathan C. Wright, Samuel Smith, H. P. Jensen, John Reese, G. W. Ward of Willard City.
Cache County -- W. B. Preston, Moses Thatcher, Wm. Hyde, O. N. Liljenquist, Lorenzo H. Hatch, Wm. Maughan, Samuel Roskelly, Jeremiah Hatch, M. W. Merrill.
Davis County -- Job Welling, Nathan T. Porter, Anson Call, Joel Parrish, Joseph Argyle, Roswell Hyde, John W. Hess, Thomas S. Smith.
Iron County -- Edward Dalton, Jesse N. Smith, Silas S. Smith, Samuel H. Rogers, W. H. Dame, Henry Lunt, Samuel Leigh.
Juab county -- Jacob G. Bigler, Joel Grover, Andrew Love, John Andrews, Elmer Taylor
Kane County -- Charles N. Smith;, Jehiel McConnell.
Millard County -- Thomas Callister, Marion Lyman, Piatt D. Lyman, Nephi Pratt, Collins R. Hakes.
Morgan County -- Lot Smith;, William Eddington, Jesse Haven, Bishop Petersen, Bishop W. G. Smith.
Rich County -- Charles C. Rich, Wilford Woodruff, David P; Kimball, Wm. Budge, James H. Hart, Jos. C. Rich, John Hart, Randolph Steward, Bishop Lee, Ira Nebeker
Salt Lake County -- David Candland, Milo Andrus, N. H. Felt, Samuel A. Woolley, Thomas Taylor, George G. Bywater, John Van Cott, Reuben Miller, Isaac Groo, Absalom Smith.
Sanpete County -- Noah T. Guyman;, R. L. Johnson, Abner Lowry, Christian Christiansen, George Peacock, W. F. Simon, W. S. Seeley
Wasatch County -- Abraham Hatch, David Van Waggener, John W. Witt.
Washington County -- Joseph W. Young, Miles P. Romney, Charles Smith, John E. Pace.
Weber County -- F. D. Richards, Lorin Farr, Richard Ballantyne, David M. Stuart, Robert McQuarrie, C. W. Penrose, Edmund Ellsworth, L. J. Herrick, F. A. Hammond.
Summit county -- W. W. Cluff, Geo. G. Snyder, William Black, Abraham Merchant.
Tooele County -- Orson Pratt, Lorenzo D. Young, Joseph Young, senior, George Bryan.
Utah County -- Abraham O. Smoot, David Evans, L. E. Harrington, A. K. Thurber, William Bringhurst, David Holladay, George Halliday, Zebedee Coltrin, Warren N. Dusenberry, L. John Nuttall, Joseph Cluff, Charles D. Evans, Orawell Simons.

            President GEORGE A. SMITH alluded to the nature of the duties of the home missionaries. He said Elder Albert Carrington was appointed at the last April Conference to preside over the European mission, and he went and still presided over that mission, though he had been called home on public business. He (President Smith) made a motion that Elder Carrington return to Europe in that capacity, which was unanimously sustained.

            President Smith also stated that we had been together in conference for days, and that all necessary business had not yet been attended to, and made a motion, which he put to the assemblage, that the conference adjourn to meet again next Sunday, April 14th, in the new Tabernacle, which was unanimously sustained.

            The choir sang: "Daughter of Zion."

            President GEORGE A. SMITH said that the thanks of the people were due to Brother George Careless, the Tabernacle choir, and all the brethren and sisters of the choirs from places outside of the city who had assisted him in singing during conference, also to brother Joseph Daynes, the organist, and all who had contributed to make our assembling together pleasant with sweet music. He felt to thank them and say God bless them.

            At his request the congregation arose to their feet and they all joined in singing that sublime hymn: "The spirit of God, like a fire is burning, The latter-day glory begins to come forth."

            It was a scene calculated to incite deep and peculiar emotions, to see the thousands of people, assembled from almost every known nationality, that they might learn to worship God in his own appointed way, arise, and unitedly mingle their voices in pouring forth soul-inspiring strains of worship to the Great Jehovah, while the magnificent organ sent forth its powerful tones which sounded at times like subdued thunder.

            Conference adjourned till Sunday, April 14, at 10 a.m.

            Benediction by President GEO. A. SMITH.

JOHN NICHOLSON,
Clerk of Conference

_____

[14 Apr, 10 am]

[DNW 21:140, 4/17/72, p 8]

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

_____

FIFTH DAY.

_____

SUNDAY, April 14th, 10 a.m.

            According to adjournment of Tuesday, April 9th, the Forty-second Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reassembled this (Sunday) morning, April 14th, at ten o'clock, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City.

            Conference was called to order by President GEO. A. SMITH.

            The choir sang: "The towers of Zion soon shall rise Above the clouds and reach the skies."

            The opening prayer was offered by Elder L. W. HARDY.

            "Come, listen to a prophet's voice, And hear the word of God," was sung by the choir.

[Elder John Van Cott]

            Elder JOHN VAN COTT addressed the Conference. He was aware that the Latter-day Saints were a discriminating people, being in possession of a spirit which enabled them to judge correctly as to that which was true and that which was erroneous. This spirit enabled them to perceive that God still manifested his power and wisdom at the head of his kingdom, and that he constantly inspired his servants, the leaders of the Saints, with the revelations of his will. The speaker had known for many years that h was identified with a work which was of divine origin. It was that knowledge which brought him to Utah. In his experience in the Church he had seen many manifestations of divine providence in behalf of God's people. He doubted if there was another man on earth who would have done as President Young had, in voluntarily delivering himself up and allowing vexatious writs to be served upon him. It was not only an evidence of the absolute innocence of President Young, but, to him it was an evidence that God directed his movements.

            Whatever the future political status of the Saints might be -- whether Utah became a State or not, he was satisfied the result, so far as the work of the Lord was concerned, would be the same. Zion would be built up and those who engaged in that work would be blessed. All should seek earnestly for the Spirit of the Lord, that they might e able to understand the dealings of the Almighty with his people, and with all the people of the world. The strength of the Latter-day Saints was not in numbers, ;neither in the arm of man, but in the arm of the great Jehovah.

[Elder Thomas Taylor]

            Elder THOMAS TAYLOR was the next speaker. When he first heard the message of the everlasting gospel, he saw no reason why that message should not be true, and that God should establish his kingdom. He felt certain that if the Lord did so, it would be such a system of government as would far excel in every virtue every other government. He was of opinion, if those who were so much opposed to us would lay aside prejudice and reason with us, that they would not feel so much embittered against us as they did. The constitution of this republican government was a most liberal and excellent instrument. The principles of the Kingdom of God were liberal also. Men did not apostatize from this work because the principles of the gospel did not allow them the exercise of the utmost freedom. Those who forsook and turned against the work of God generally did so because in the Church of Jesus Christ they were not permitted to take advantage of their neighbors and otherwise act unrighteously. The opponents of the Saints were not the good among men, but the reverse. They had been opposed generally by men who were actuated by ulterior motives. Some opposed us because perchance their craft was at stake, and who thought that if let alone the Saints would, by their faith in God and their unity, become a great and a powerful people. Those who had thought their interests were at stake had invariably been among the first to vilify and maltreat the Latter-day Saints. If people thought we were deluded, their best course would be to lay the principles they had to offer side by side with those we possessed and see how they compared. -- It indicated a lack of confidence in their own systems when they refused to do this, and they did refuse almost invariably.

            The speaker next commented upon the nature of the circumstances through which many of the Saints had been called to pass, and how they had had to trust in God as their only source of deliverance, and who had never failed them. Hundreds of sick, by the exercise of faith and the administration of the ordinances of the gospel, had been healed by the power of God. He had been cognizant of many instances of this kind in his personal labors, and administrations. We were engaged in laying a foundation for eternal bliss and glory in the future, for we believed in the eternal nature of the family unions and ties formed in righteousness in this life. The kingdom of God was an indestructible system and would stand for ever, notwithstanding the powers that might be arrayed against it.

            The choir sang: "O praise the Lord."

            Adjourned till 2 o'clock.

            Prayer by President D. H. WELLS.

_____

[14 Apr, 2 pm]

[DNW 21:140-141; 4/17/72, p 8-9]

SUNDAY, 2 p.m.

            Great God, indulge my humble claim; Thou art my hope, my joy, my rest." was sung by the choir.

            Prayer by Bishop JOHN W. HESS.

            The choir sang: "Spirit of faith come down, Reveal the things of God."

            The sacrament of the Lord's Supper was administered.

[Elder David Candland]

            Elder DAVID CANDLAND addressed the assemblage. It doubtless sounded peculiar to strangers to hear the Elders of Israel talk so much about the kingdom of God being established on the earth; yet those very people who sometimes expressed astonishment from this cause had been tutored, from childhood, to repeat the form of prayer taught by Jesus to his disciples in his day, in which the desire was expressed that the kingdom of God might come, that his will might be done here as it was in heaven. When we talk of the kingdom of God being inaugurated, we did not mean that the constitutional or other liberties and privileges of any of the human family would be abridged or taken away. The instituting of a divine system of government was for the benefit of the human family, and not to bring them into bondage.

            The speaker was surprised that people should be blinded with the belief that the canon of Scripture closed with the Bible, when it was distinctly declared in that sacred record that this was not the case. It was stated there that the work of bringing the ancient Israelites out of the land of Egypt and through the Red Sea would be comparatively insignificant when compared with the great work God would accomplish in the latter days. if he had called upon no man for the accomplishment of this great work, and to prepare for the coming of the Savior, we were in a pitiable condition. We knew, however, that such a man had been raised up and inspired by the Almighty. The time must and would come when all would be under the influence and dominion of the Kingdom of God.

            The speaker commented for some time on the necessity for revelation from God, and kindred subjects, and showed the nature of the work being performed by the Latter-day Saints. The works of the latter were before the world and spoke for themselves. He exhorted the people to avoid the evil practices that had been lately brought here by the so called "civilization" of the age. He concluded by stating that he knew the work with which he was identified to be one of divine origin.

            Elder ALBERT CARRINGTON presented the names of the following brethren, who were called on missions and unanimously sustained--

TO EUROPE.

Robert McQuarrie, Ogden City.

TO THE STATES.

Lucien Noble, Salt Lake City.
John Evans, Davis Co.

HOME MISSIONARIES.

William Jeffries, Grantsville; William G. Young, cottonwood; William Lee, Grantsville; Cyrus H. Wheelock, Mount Pleasant; Evan M. Greene, Smithfield; James A. Little, Kanab; John R. Young, Glendale; James L. Bunting, Kanab; John L. Smith, Beaver; Jonathan Crosby, Beaver; Joseph B. Nobles, bountiful; William Martindale, Duncan.

            Elder Carrington stated that it had been thought best to release Brother Walter Thomson, of Ogden City, from the mission assigned to him, and to substitute in his stead, Robert McQuarrie, of Ogden City. This was in consequence of Brother Thomson's important public duties. The motion for Brother Thomson's release was unanimous.

[Elder Carrington]

            Elder Carrington then proceeded to address the Conference. His remarks were interesting and instructive, being principally upon the necessity of all people endeavoring to honor God, showing that those who did so would be honored by him in turn. He show[ed] that our Father and God was the source of all the intelli8gence and truth possessed by mankind. He also spoke of the utter shallowness and worthlessness of all things outside the gifts, graces and blessings comprehended in the gospel of Christ. He described the nature and organization of the Church of Christ, and also the kingdom of God, and the consequences that would accompany and follow the growth and development of the same. He showed the distinction between the church and the kingdom of God. Elder Carrington's remarks were reported in full.

[President Geo. A. Smith]

            President GEO. A. SMITH then addressed the conference as follows --

            The snow storm has prevented the large gathering that was anticipated. A great many people that would have attended conference this morning could not consistently come on account of the weather, and the house is not as comfortable as it otherwise would have been; yet we are gratified at the liberal manner which has assembled in this rather unexpected storm at this season. We have learned, I believe, to make no particular or certain calculations on the weather in these mountains in the spring season. It very frequently happens we have our spring in the winter, and our winter in the spring.

            I have been edified in listening to the remarks of the elders who have spoken; but as the Conference has not been very large, and we shall not, at the present time, be able to entirely close our business, we think proper to adjourn from week to week until our business is completed. I wish, however, to offer a few suggestions for the benefit of the elders, who have been called to take part in the labor of preaching the gospel more directly than they have hitherto done in the various settlements. It will be necessary that they organize themselves into convenient companies for the holding of two-days' meetings. Where it is practicable perhaps the Twelve would superintend this organization; but where it is not, some of the more experienced missionaries can step forward and make the necessary arrangements. for instance, in this county, Elders Lorenzo D. Young and Milo Andrus, and perhaps some one or two others, might confer together, and appoint meetings in the different settlements -- say at Mill Creek, Draper, at the Cottonwoods, West Jordan, and others; and on the occasions appointed for meetings enough of these elders, as they arrange among themselves, could meet there and devote a couple of days to preaching, giving instructions, talking upon the things of the kingdom and bearing testimony to the plan of salvation, stirring up the hearts of the brethren to faithfulness and diligence.

            You know it is said by the apostle, "It pleased God, by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believed." I have felt satisfied that the preaching of the elders was very important, not only in instructing the young and rising generation, but in keeping alive and awake all those in the church who, peradventure, through the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches and a hundred other causes, may suffer themselves to become slothful, thoughtless and lukewarm. We see this very clearly illustrated in the revelation concerning Zion. The Lord through the Prophet Joseph Smith, speaking concerning Zion, in Book D. C., page 279, pars. 6 and 7 says:

            A certain nobleman had a spot of land, very choice; and he said unto his servants, Go ye unto my vineyard, even upon this very choice piece of land, and plant twelve olive trees, and set watchmen round about them, and build a tower, that one my overlook the land around about, to be a watchman upon the tower, that mine olive trees may not be broken down, when the enemy shall come to spoil, and take unto themselves the fruit of my vineyard. now the servants of the nobleman went and did as their lord commanded them; and planted the olive trees, and built a hedge round about, and set watchmen, and began to build a tower. And while they were yet laying the foundation thereof, they began to say among themselves, And what need hath my lord of this tower? and consulted for a long time, saying among themselves, What need hath my lord of this tower, seeing this is a time of peace? Might not this money be given to the exchangers? for there is no need of these things! And while they were at variance one with another they became very slothful, and they hearkened not unto the commandments of their lord, and the enemy came by night, and broke down the hedge, an the servants of the nobleman arose and were affrighted, and fled; and the enemy destroyed their works, and broke down the olive trees.

            Now behold, the nobleman, the lord of the vineyard, called upon his servants, and said unto them, Why! what is the cause of this great evil? ought ye not to have done even as I commanded you? and after ye had planted the vineyard, and built the hedge round about, and set watchmen upon the walls thereof, built the tower also, and set a watchman upon the tower, and watched for my vineyard, and not have fallen asleep, lest the enemy should come upon you? and behold, the watchman upon the tower would have seen the enemy while he was yet afar off, and then you could have made ready and kept the enemy from breaking down the hedge thereof, and saved my vineyard from the hands of the destroyer.

            Now if they had done as they had been instructed and kept awake, perhaps by faithful preaching and diligence on the part of some of them in getting up meetings, or in some other way had taken upon themselves to build the tower and set watchmen upon it, they would have seen the enemy when afar off and would have been prepared to defend the tower and the vineyard, and to preserve the property of their lord. I have quoted the parable, to show the importance, as I think, not only of our bishops and the presidents of stakes and branches being diligent with the aid of their teachers, but that the elders should wake up and have meetings more frequently than for some time past. In the county of Davis, a number of elders have been selected to take part in these home missions. We do not wish to confine any of them to the two days' meetings; nor to labor within the limits of that county. They should be alive, on any and every occasion that they may have opportunity, in ward meetings, or circulating round through the settlements, in preaching the gospel of peace, bearing testimony and stirring the Saints up to diligence. It will be well for Elders Anson Call, W. B. Nobles, or some of the other elders who have been appointed, to ;notify the rest, and make arrangements for their meetings in the different wards -- Bountiful, Kaysville, Farmington, and all those places, where there are large houses; and perhaps when the season advances, get up one or two county meetings. And if the houses are too small, hold your meetings under the shade of a grove or bowery, and have a general good time. And the same course may be taken by the elders in other counties.

            The Twelve will give advice or instruction at any time it is required, in relation to the duties of these missionaries. It is very likely that before the close of the Conference there may be more selected; but those we have already selected, we hope will be alive and diligent in the performance of their duties, and aid the bishops and all the presiding authorities of the several wards in giving instructions, preaching the gospel of peace, and causing comfort, satisfaction and happiness to dwell freely and abundantly in the hearts of all. We are very well aware that one of the great enjoyments of a Latter-day Saint, when he is living in the exercise of his holy religion, is in going to meeting, and in hearing the instructions of the servants of the Lord.

            These missionaries should also visit and encourage the Sunday schools in all the neighborhoods where they travel. I do not expect them to be stationary where they live, but to pass into neighboring counties, and, if necessary, and their circumstances will permit, to travel from one end of the Territory to the other. Those who have been appointed heretofore as home missionaries need not consider that they are released from that appointment in consequence of their not being included in this one. They should continue their labors and instructions among the Scandinavian brethren in their native tongue, as well as among the German, French, Welsh, or other branches wherever it may be necessary to have meetings in the languages of emigrants from other nations who have not had time, opportunities or facilities to learn the English language well enough to understand the general preaching and instruction.

            The day is cold, and the room somewhat unpleasant; it is therefore probably best not to continue our services. May the blessings of God be and abide upon you. Amen.

            President Smith moved that the Conference adjourn to meet again on Sunday, April 21st, at 10 a.m. in the New Tabernacle, which was carried unanimously.

            The choir sang: "O make a joyful noise unto the Lord."

            Benedictory prayer by Patriarch JOHN SMITH.

JOHN NICHOLSON,
Clerk of conference.

_____

[21 Apr, 10 am]

[DNW 21: 153, 4/24/72, p 5]

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

_____

SIXTH DAY.

SUNDAY MORNING, April 21.

            According to adjournment of Sunday, April 14, the Forty-second Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reassembled at 10 o'clock, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City.

            Conference was called to order by President GEO. A. SMITH.

            The choir sang: "May we who know the joyful sound, Still practice what we know."

            The opening prayer was offered by Elder LORENZO D. YOUNG.

            "The great and glorious gospel light Has ushered forth into my sight." was sung by the choir.

[Elder Robert F. Nelsen]

            Elder ROBERT F. NESLEN addressed the Conference. He rejoiced that the kingdom of God was organized for the permanent benefit of humanity at large. The principles of the gospel were efficacious in bringing happiness to mankind, but through the perverseness of the latter, those principles had not been so very extensively beneficial. The speaker quoted some passages of Scripture, indicating the organizing of the kingdom of God in the latter times. The knowledge received by the Latter-day Saints through obedience to the gospel of Christ had enabled them to overcome almost insurmountable difficulties, and the result of these things was that we beheld to-day, in the valleys of Utah, a God-fearing, industrious and happy people, and we also saw bursting into bloom the realization of the hopes, aspirations and prophecies of the ancient prophets and apostles.

            The speaker continued for some time, showing that the gospel net gathered of all kinds, brought together the opposite elements of humanity and made a homogeneous and united people. He stated that the principles embraced by the Latter-day Saints would eventually obtain all over the world, and through their agency would be brought about the reign of universal peace which was so frequently alluded to in holy writ.

[Elder M. B. Shipp]

            Elder M. B. SHIPP was the next speaker. He saw a congregation before him, among whom were representatives from nearly every nationality, who had been gathered together by the command of God. He spoke for some time on the gathering of the Saints, showed the progressive nature of the principles of the gospel, and commented upon the magnitude of the work we were engaged in. He predicted the ultimate victory of the principles of truth because of their superior power and efficacy. They would gain ground in proportion as they were put into daily practice by their exponents. He exhorted all to beware of the subtle insinuations of vice now appearing here, which had been introduced by the people of the world, and were calculated to lead astray the young and unwary.

            Elder Shipp spoke of the promise made to all who desired to become members of the Church of Christ, that they would receive for themselves a knowledge that what they had obeyed was of divine origin. This was a promise that could not be given by another class of men professing to be the servants of God.

[Elder Edward Stevenson]

            Elder EDWARD STEVENSON addressed the assemblage. He spoke of the agency given to man by his Creator, to choose good or evil, and showed that those opposite powers were constantly striving with man to lead him the one way or the other. The Latter-day Saints were on the side of the powers of good, and by adhering to so noble a cause they would be the means, in the hands of God, of turning the tide of wickedness which now flooded the earth. The people of God must of necessity be a people of sacrifice and self denial, for they only will be the ultimate victors who learn to govern themselves. The speaker commented on the benefits which invariably accrued from an observance of the Word of Wisdom, and exhorted the Saints not to neglect to take a course by which they could secure to themselves those benefits.

            He alluded to a prediction uttered by the prophet Joseph Smith shortly before his martyrdom, that the Saints would yet be established in the Rocky Mountains, and there become a great nation, and also of his own and others' martyrdom. He concluded by bearing testimony of the truth of the latter-day work.

            President GEO. A. SMITH gave out a notice that the funeral services of the deceased Elder Daniel Garn would be held at the latter's late residence, Sugar House ward, Monday, April 22nd, and stated that his making this announcement brought to his mind a long line of history among the incidents of which was the saving of the life of the prophet Joseph Smith by Brother Garn.

            The choir sang: "I will praise him."

            Adjourned till 2 p. m.

            Prayer by President D. H. WELLS.

_____

[21 Apr, 2 pm]

[DNW 21: 153, 4/24/72, p 5]

2 p. m.

            "Though deep'ning trials throng your way, Press on, press on, ye Saints of God." was sung by the choir.

            Prayer by Elder C. W. PENROSE.

            The choir sang: "Arise my soul, arise, Shake off thy guilty fears."

            The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was administered.

[Elder Reuben Miller]

            Elder REUBEN MILLER addressed the conference. He had had the privilege of meeting with the Saints at every General Conference during the last twenty-two years. He first heard the gospel thirty years ago, and obeyed it then, and had never regretted doing so. He never felt to murmur because we were persecuted, for opposition always followed obedience to the mandates of heaven. The speaker bore testimony that when he obeyed the first principles of the gospel he received a knowledge of the truth by revelation from the Almighty, and which enabled him to know that Joseph Smith was divinely inspired to usher in the great last dispensation, and he enjoyed the same spirit of revelation then, which enabled him to know that the inspiration of the Almighty was also with those who now led the church.

            Elder Miller showed that the means by which men could regain the presence of God the father had been restored to earth and were inculcated in the principles enunciated by the Latter-day Saints, and concluded by exhorting the people to live righteously.

[Elder George Teasdale]

            Elder GEORGE TEASDALE commented on the predictions of the ancient prophets, who saw, through the vista of ages, the restoration of the gospel plan in our day. We had received the message and the testimony of its truth, and it remained to be seen whether we would continue faithful and be redeemed; for only those who endured to the end would be saved. A great work had been performed, and it was often said it had been all done by the great mental abilities of President Brigham Young. What President Young had done he had been inspired to do by the Almighty. The great secret of the success that attended the efforts of the Latter-day Saints was that each individual identified with the work had a testimony of its divinity for him or herself, and the people were blessed of the Lord in their labors.

            Elder Teasdale spoke of the bitterness manifested by those who were once of us and had turned against us. The cause was that when a man embraced the gospel it appeared he must either adhere to, preach and sustain the truth, or fight against it. President Young had been slandered and maligned by such because he was a servant of God and had striven to keep the church free from false doctrine.

[Elder Milo Andrus]

            Elder MILO ANDRUS addressed the assemblage. He spoke of the peace enjoyed by the Latter-day Saints, and contrasted their condition in this respect now with circumstances through which they had passed in times gone by, and adverted to incidents which were calculated to cause them to appreciate peace when they had it. The reason the elders of Israel were enabled to declare the truth with boldness was because it was the power of God unto salvation. When we looked at the handiwork of God as displayed in the planetary system, etc., we beheld a portion of the gospel of Christ, because such things showed forth the power of God.

            It was easy for people to know whether we were impostors or not, for we promised that all who complied with the requisitions of the gospel would receive a knowledge for themselves of the truth. If people subscribed to the conditions and the result did not follow they might reasonably conclude that the Latter-day Saints did not tell the truth. The speaker had been identified with the work of God since 1832 and he had never had any reason to repent of his obedience to the truth.

            Elder Andrus stated that he once, when in a congregation of the Saints, was meditating on the power of the Holy Ghost, and felt a desire to understand its manifestations, and the visions of his mind were opened by the power of God and he saw, over the heads of the people in the congregation, cloven tongues of fire, and many of the people arose and spoke in various tongues and prophesied. He continued to speak of the nature of the work of God, its indestructibility and organization, and predicted the ultimate and glorious triumph of the same. He concluded by bearing testimony that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the living God, and that Brigham Young was his legal successor.

[Elder Orson Pratt]

            Elder ORSON PRATT said:

            I do not rise before this large assembly to enter into any particular investigation of any doctrinal point or subject, but as I have a few moments granted, I desire, with all my heart, to bear my humble testimony in regard to the divinity of the work which you Latter-day Saints have received. In the first place I would say that from my youth I have been a member of this church, having embraced the gospel when 19 years of age, in the State of New York. Forty two years, lacking only a few months, have expired since that time, and I have grown up in, or with, the history of this church. I know that this is the church and kingdom of God, I mean the latter-day church and kingdom predicted by the ancient prophets in the Bible. I know that the almighty has set up this kingdom, that this church was organized by his express direction and command, that the day was appointed by revelation on which it should be organized, that the officers that should be placed within this church were named by revelation, that by revelation the duties of those officers, so far as it was necessary, were made manifest on the day of the organization. I do also know, and bear testimony, that this book, called the Bible is a divine revelation. I know this from God, it having been revealed to me; and no person can know this book o be true unless it is revealed to him. I also know that the book of Mormon is a sacred record, a sacred history of ancient America, from the days soon after the Flood for some twenty-six hundred years. I know that combined with this sacred history and included within it are many great and important prophecies revealed from God to prophets who once dwelt on this continent. I know that Jesus, our Lord and Savior, whom we worship and serve, and whom we receive as our Redeemer, was also the redeemer of the ancient inhabitants of this country inasmuch as they gave heed to his sayings. I know that the Book of Mormon is the Bible of the western hemisphere as the Old and New Testament is the Bible of the eastern hemisphere; that one is equally as sacred as the other, and that God is the author of both, having revealed both unto a succession of prophets and inspired men. I know, also, that God has raised up, in our day, not only a church and kingdom, but men, filled with the Holy Ghost, inspired from Heaven as the ancient prophets, seers and revelators were inspired; and that these men, being directed by the Holy Ghost, have given revelations directly to this kingdom; so that we have the Jewish record, or eastern Bible, the record of the ancient inhabitants of America -- the Book of Mormon, and inspired writings given to living oracles in our day, all for our light, guidance and instruction in reference to our duties and to show us the path in which we should walk, and unfold to us those divine and heavenly principles that are needful for the government of our every-day conduct. It is a great thing to have knowledge of this kind, and to have the authority to bear testimony to that which we assuredly do know.

            In regard to Joseph Smith;, I knew him when he was a young man -- soon after the translation of the Book of Mormon. I became acquainted with him in the rise of this church. I boarded with him in his family; I was with him for weeks and months together, and know, not only by what I saw and heard, and what from my natural ability I was able to comprehend, but also by the revelations of Jesus Christ, that he is and was a prophet of the true and living God. I will go still further. I know that these men who sit upon these seats -- the Twelve Apostles, who have been ordained under the hands of those who had the authority by revelation from heaven to confer this office, to be men of God, inspired to build up this latter day kingdom and church upon the earth. I know that one part of their duty is to send forth this gospel unto all people, nations and tongues, first to the Gentiles, to fulfil their times, that they may be left without excuse; and then the commandment of the Most High will be given to them to carry this gospel to all the dispersed remnants of the house of Jacob. Then the work of warning the nations will be completed, and the purposes of God, so far as this is concerned, will be accomplished; then the fulness of the Gentiles will have come, the house of Israel will be gathered from the four quarters of the earth, Zion will rise upon the great western hemisphere in all her glory, power, and greatness, while Jerusalem will rise on the eastern hemisphere, clothed with the glory of her God and with the power of his might. Then the heavens will no longer stay themselves, but the curtain will be rolled back, and their whole grand concourse will be revealed, and they will come down and meet the Saints of God here upon this globe, and a day of everlasting rest will be ushered in. These, in short, are the few items to which I wish to bear my testimony this afternoon.

            May God bless all the Latter-day Saints assembled in this conference, and all dwelling in the regions round about, who have not this privilege. May his blessings rest upon all of his people throughout the whole world; and may Zion enlarge herself, and the glory of God be made manifest in behalf of his people, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

            President GEORGE A. SMITH presented the names of the following brethren, who were unanimously sustained as home missionaries:

Samuel Pitchforth, Nephi,
M. B. Shipp, Salt Lake City,
James P. Freeze, Salt Lake City.

[President George A. Smith]

            President GEORGE A. SMITH spoke as follows:

            We have great reason to be thankful for the peace we enjoy. Nobody feels free to smash in our windows and to break up our meetings, or to drag us about or abuse us, as they have done, in times past, in some other parts of the world. Our pilgrimage to, and our labor of twenty-five years in, the heart of the great American continent, have made us a home where even the intolerant spirit of Christian hate and persecution, stirred up by ignorance and falsehood, has not been permitted, materially, to disturb us. Without fear of molestation we can have a meeting, a prayer circle, a conference; the elders can bear testimony -- and I rejoice in their testimony and know it is true -- that this is the work of the Almighty, and that God has commenced, in these last days, a work for the redemption of the human race, from the thraldom and misery and degradation into which they have fallen. I thank the Lord for the privilege of participating in this work, and for being one of the number who are laboring, under his direction, to lay a foundation, in these valleys, for the enjoyment, by the whole human race, of peace and of civil and religious liberty, so that men, under their own vine and fig tree, may worship God and none dare to make them afraid. We thank God for these blessings, and we expect a good many more.

            We thank God, too, that our country has in it sufficient of the elements of honesty and integrity, that even principles of law may be determined by high tribunals unbiased by religious intolerance. We praise God for all these things, and we know that he will bring off his people victorious.

            The choir sang: "God be merciful."

            Conference adjourned, by unanimous vote, till Sunday, April 28th, at 10 a.m.

            Benedictory prayer by Elder WILLIAM G. YOUNG.

JOHN NICHOLSON,
Clerk of Conference.

_____

[28 Apr, 10 am]

[DNW 21:168, 5/1/72, p 4]

GENERAL CONFERENCE

_____

SEVENTH DAY.

_____

ACCORDING to adjournment of Sunday, April 21st, the Forty-second Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints assembled in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, yesterday.

            President Brigham Young, having been released from the custody of the U. S. Marshal, by whom he had been illegally held, was present on the stand, to the great joy of the Saints, many of whom had come from various distant parts of the Territory that they might have the pleasure of seeing him and hearing his voice.

_____

SUNDAY, April 28th, 10 a.m.

            Conference was called to order by President GEORGE A. SMITH.

            The choir sang: "An angel from on high, The long, long silence broke."

            The opening prayer was offered by Elder Brigham Young, jun.

            "When earth in bondage long had lain, And darkness o'er the nations reigned," was sung by the choir.

[President Brigham Young]

            President BRIGHAM YOUNG said:

            A word to the Latter-day Saints. Good morning. (Congregation responded, "Good morning.") How do you do? (Congregation replied, "Very well.") How is your faith this morning? ("Strong in the Lord," was the response.) How do you think I look after my long confinement? (Congregation replied, "First rate.") I do not rise expecting to preach a discourse or sermon, or to lengthen out remarks. I spoke a few minutes yesterday in the school, but I found that it exhausted me very soon. I will say a few words to you. The Gospel of the Son of God is most precious. My faith is not weakened in the Gospel in the least. I will answer a few of the questions that probably many would like to ask of me. Many would like to know how I have felt the past winter, and so much of the spring as is now past. I have enjoyed myself exceedingly well. I have been blessed with an opportunity to rest; and you who are acquainted with me and my public speaking can discern at once, if you listen closely to my voice, it is weak to what it used to be, and I required rest. I feel well in body and better in mind. I have no complaint to make, no fault to find, no reflections to cast, for all that has been done has been directed and overruled by the wisdom of Him who knows all things.

            As to my treatment through the winter, it has been very agreeable, very kind. My associate, my companion in tribulation, I will say, has acted the gentleman as much as any man could. I have not one word, one lisp or beat of the heart to complain of him. He has been full of kindness, thoughtful, never intruding, always ready to hearken and, I think, in the future, will be perfectly willing to take the counsel of his prisoner. So much for Captain Isaac Evans. I will say this to you, ladies and gentlemen, you who profess to understand true etiquette, I have not seen a gentleman in my acquaintance that possesses more of the real spirit of gentility, caution and of true etiquette than Captain Evans. He has passed the window where I have lodged through the winter every morning to his breakfast and every afternoon; he has walked in the street in front of my office and on the opposite side, and he has never yet been seen gazing and looking at my buildings, or to see who was at the window, or even look at my window. He has never looked into the second room in my office unless invited there—never. Can you say that for other gentlemen? They are very scarce; there are very few of them.

            I have no reflections to cast upon these courts. How much power, ability or opportunity would I have to possess, do you think, if all were combined, to disgrace them as they have disgraced themselves? I have neither the power nor the ability, consequently I have nothing to say with regard to their conduct. It is before the world; it is before the Heavens continually. The Lord has known the thoughts of the hearts of the children of men, and he has overruled all for his glory, and for the benefit of those who believe and obey the truth in Christ. I will say this: when they started out with a writ for your humble servant, and I had news of it before it was served, I told my brethren that all their efforts would avail them nothing, and that they would end in a grand fizzle. Do you think we have come to it? I think we have.

            Have you nothing to say, brother Brigham concerning the Supreme Court of the United States? A few words. I am happy to learn that there are yet men in our government who are too high-minded, too pure in their thoughts and feelings to bow down to a sectarian prejudice, and to hearken to the whinings and complaints of prejudiced priests, or those who are wrapped up in the nutshell of sectarianism; men of honor, nobility, judgment and discretion; men who look at things as they are and judge according to the nature thereof without any discrimination as to parties or people. I am thankful that this fact does exist. Have they decided in favor of the Latter-day Saints? Yes. Why? Because the Latter-day Saints are on the track of truth; they are for law, for right, for justice, for mercy, for judgment and equity, consequently they are for God. Would I admire the conduct of a jurist on the bench who would decide for a Latter-day Saint if he were guilty? If he would justify a Latter-day Saint and condemn a Methodist? No, I would despise hint in my heart. I might look upon him with pity, it is very true, and without malice, anger or bitterness, and pity him in his ignorance; but if he was a man of knowledge and understanding I would condemn him as quickly for justifying a Latter-day Saint, or one called a Latter-day Saint, in evil, as I would a Methodist. And a man who sits as President of the United States; as a Governor of a State or Territory, or as a judge upon the bench, or a member of a legislative assembly, who would reduce himself to the feelings, and narrow contracted views of partyism, is not fit for the place. As I said before a gentleman here, I think it was last summer, who was stamp-speeching through the country and proclaiming his right to the Presidency "He that most desires an office is the least fit for it." Perhaps I made a mistake in that declaration, for though on general principles it is true, it may not be true in every case. Some may desire an office for the sake of the good work that they perform, seeing that others have abused it. This is as much as I wish to say upon these subjects.

            As I shall probably desire to speak a little in the afternoon, I shall soon bring my remarks to a close. I will say a few words with regard to the Perpetual Emigration Fund. Perhaps you have bad a good deal said to you in the course of this Conference concerning gathering the poor, but if you have I have not learned it. I have not heard of any man coming forward and putting down his name for a thousand or two thousand dollars. At the commencement of the Conference I donated two thousand dollars for the gathering of the poor, but I have not heard of anybody adding another figure to mine or placing one under it. How is it? It is very true we gather the Saints; and when they get here and gather around them the comforts of life, and become the possessors of a little wealth, the spirit of the world enters into a few of them to that degree that it crowds out the Spirit of the Gospel. They forget their God and their covenants, and turn to the beggarly elements of the world, seek for its riches and finally leave the faith. But we had better gather nine that are unworthy than to neglect the tenth if he is worthy. If they come here, apostatize and turn our enemies, they are in the hands of God, and what they do will be to them everlasting life or everlasting condemnation. For the good, for the wise, or for the froward and the ungodly, it is our duty to do all we can. It is our duty to preach the Gospel to the nations of the earth, to gather up the pure in heart, and to lend a helping hand to the poor and needy; to instruct, guide and direct them, and when they are gathered together to teach them how to live, how to serve their God, how to gather around them the comforts of life, and glorify their Father in heaven in the enjoyment of the same.

            When I cast my eyes upon the inhabitants of the earth and see the weakness, inability, the shortsightedness, and I may say, the height of folly in the hearts of the kings, rulers, and the great, and those who should be wise and good and noble; when I see them grovelling in the dust; longing, craving, desiring, contending for the things of this life, I think, O foolish men, to set your hearts on the things of this life! To-day they are seeking after the honors and glories of the world, and by the time the sun is hidden by the western mountains the breath is gone out of their nostrils, they sink to their mother earth. Where are their riches then? Gone for ever. As Job says, "Naked I came into the world." Destitute and forlorn, they have to travel a path that is untried and unknown to them, and wend their way into the spirit world. They know not where they are going nor for what. The designs of the Creator are hidden from their eyes; darkness, ignorance, mourning and groaning take hold of them and they pass into eternity. And this is the end of them concerning this life as far as they know. A man or a woman who places the wealth of this world and the things of time in the scales against the things of God and the wisdom of eternity, has no eyes to see, no ears to hear, no heart to understand. What are riches for? For blessings, to do good. Then let us dispense that which the Lord gives us to the best possible use for the building up of his kingdom, for the promotion of the truth on the earth, that we may see and enjoy the blessings of the Zion of God here upon this earth. I look around among the world of mankind and see them grabbing, scrambling, contending, and every one seeking to aggrandize himself, and to accomplish his own individual purposes, passing the community by, walking upon the heads of his neighbors—all are seeking, planning, contriving in their wakeful hours, and when asleep dreaming," How can I get the advantage of my neighbor? How can I spoil him, that I may ascend the ladder of fame?" That is entirely a mistaken idea. You see that nobleman seeking the benefit of all around him, trying to bring, we will say, his servants, if you please, his tenants, to his knowledge, to like blessings that he enjoys, to dispense his wisdom and talents among them and to make them equal with himself. As they ascend and increase, so does he, and he is in the advance. All eyes are upon that king or that nobleman, and the feelings of those around him are: "God bless him! How I love him! How I delight in him! He seeks to bless and to fill me with joy, to crown my labors with success, to give me comfort, that I may enjoy the world as well as himself." But the man who seeks honor and glory at the expense of his fellow-men is not worthy of the society of the intelligent.

            Now, a few words to my friends here—my colleagues the lawyers, and others. I gave a little counsel here, I think it is a year ago this last sixth of April, for the people of this Territory and through these mountains not to go to law, but to arbitrate their cases. I will ask if they do not think they would have saved a good deal of money in their pockets if they had taken this counsel? And to see our streets lined with lawyers as they are! Why they are as thick as grogshops used to be in California. What is the business of a lawyer? It is the case with too many to keep what they have got, and to gather around them wealth, to heap it up, but to do as little as possible for it; to give a little counsel here, and a little counsel there. What for? To keep their victims in bondage. Say they: "Let us stick to him as long as he has a dollar in his pocket."

            I will tell you a story. A man was going to market, a pretty wicked swearing man, with his cart full of apples. He was going up hill, and the hindbeard as the Yankees call it—the Westerners call it the hindgate, slipped out of his cart, and his apples rolled down the hill. He stopped his team and looked at the apples as they rolled down the hill, and said he, "I would swear if I could do justice to the case, but as I can not I will not swear a word." I will not say a word more than to class dishonorable lawyers with other dishonest men.

            Now what are the facts? Why this world is before us. The gold, silver and precious stones are in the mountains, in the rivers, in the plains, in the sands and in the waters, they all belong to this world, and you and I belong to this world. Is there enough to make each of us a finger ring? Certainly there is. Is there enough to make us a breast pin? Certainly there is. Is there enough to make jewelry for the ladies to set their diamonds and precious stones in? Certainly there is. Is there enough to make the silver plate, the spoons, platters, plates and knives and forks? There is. Is there enough to make the goblets to drink out of? There is. There is plenty if we want to make the wine casks of gold, there is plenty of it in the earth for all these purposes. Then what on earth are you and I quarrelling about it for? Go to work systematically and take it from the mountains, and put it to the use that we want it, without contending against each other, and filching the pockets of each other. The world is full of it. If it goes from my pocket it is still in the world, it still belongs to this little ball, this little speck in God's creation, so small that from the sun I expect you would have to have a telescope that would magnify millions of times almost to see it; and from any of the fixed stars I do not expect that it has ever been seen only by the celestials—mortals could not see this earth at that distance. And here people are contending, quarrelling, seeking how to get the advantage of each other, and how to get all the wealth there is in the world; wanting to rule nations, wanting to be president, king or ruler. What would they do if they were? Most of them would make everybody around them miserable, that is what they would do. There are very few men on the earth who try to make people happy. Occasionally there have been emperors and monarchs who have made their people happy but they have been very rare. But suppose we go to work to gather up all that there is in the bosom and upon the surface of our mother earth and bring it into use, is there any lack? There is not, there is enough for all. Then do look at these things as they are, Latter-day Saints, and you who are not Latter-day Saints, look at things as they are. And I do hope and pray for your sakes, outsiders, and for the sakes of those who profess to be Latter-day Saints, that we shall have good peace for a time here, so that we can build our furnaces, open our mines, make our railroads, till the soil, follow our mercantile business uninterrupted; that we may attend to the business of beautifying the earth. I see around me a few of my neighbors who are beautifying their gardens. How beautiful! There is one herein the Seventh Ward—Mr. Hussey's, I never drive out but I want to drive by it. How much better that looks than it would Be for him to quarrel with his neighbors! Beautify your gardens, your houses, your farms; beautify the city. This will make us happy, and produce plenty. The earth is a good earth, the elements are good if we will use them for our own benefit, in truth and righteousness. Then let us be content, and go to with our mights to make ourselves healthy, wealthy, and beautiful, and preserve ourselves in the best possible manner, and live just as long as we can, and do all the good we can.

            Now, brethren and sisters and friends, I have said a few words about lawyers; but; I could pick up other classes of men just as bad, and we can find fault with all. Let us be honest, let us be upright, full of charity one toward another; and live as agreeably as we possibly can here on this earth that the Lord has given to man to cultivate and improve for his own benefit, and to prepare it for an everlasting inheritance. There is a great deal before us, and it is for us to live so that we will be able to perform our part well in this great work. And I say to the Latter-day Saints, it is for you to put forth your hands this season in emigrating the poor. We will receive any amount. If it is not more than a hundred dollars or so, we will be willing to receive it. Talk about this people being poor, why we will get so rich by and by that we will refuse to pay our taxes; we have got so rich now that we cannot pay our tithing. The rich do not pretend to pay any tithing, or but very few of them. I think I have mentioned one fact with regard to our merchants. A few years ago in the other tabernacle, I said that our merchants who lived on the business part of East Temple street and professed to be Latter-day Saints, if they were not very careful, would deny the faith and be damned, and it would be by the skin of their teeth if they ever got into heaven. How is it with the rest of us? About the same. No matter about this. But here is one of our merchants—William Jennings—about whom a great many have remarks to make. Well, it is no matter about his trade. I want to say to the rest of the merchants that he has paid a good many thousand dollars tithing, more than all the rest of them put together. That is for William Jennings. We are paying our tithing in the Co-operative, I would not consent to go into the business on any other terms only that the tithing should be paid on all we made. But the other merchants, if they pay tithing on what they make it has to come hereafter, for they have never done it yet; and I think the more they make the less tithing they pay. But you are welcome to give something to the poor; if you will help us a little with regard to the emigration we will be very much obliged to you, but you will have to trust in God for the future blessings.

            God bless you, Amen.

[Elder Orson Pratt]

            Elder ORSON PRATT addressed the conference. He expressed his pleasure at once more seeing the face and hearing the voice of President Young in General Conference, and spoke of the manner in which the world had been flooded with every kind of falsehood and misrepresentation concerning the latter-day Saints. The cause of this was that God had commenced to build up his kingdom, which was never to be destroyed, and all hell was boiling over in consequence. He commented on the positive knowledge possessed by the latter-day Saints that the kingdom of God would be ultimately triumphant, and that no opposition from any source could possibly destroy it. The people of God enjoyed peace under all circumstances, for peace was in their hearts. They did not harbor feelings of malice toward those who persecuted them, but desired that all should repent and be saved.

[Elder Albert Carrington]

            Elder ALBERT CARRINGTON addressed the assemblage on the emigration of the poor. He was exceedingly anxious that the Lord's poor should be gathered as speedily as possible. Those who had had opportunities in the past of gathering and had neglected to take advantage of them should by no means be among the first to receive assistance. He expressed the same opinion concerning those who felt lukewarm and indifferent about the work of God; but with the faithful poor among the nations it was different. Those who had been assisted to emigrate and been prospered should let no consideration deter them from settling the obligations to the P. E. Fund, and they should not stop at that, but should extend a helping hand to their poor brethren abroad. Elder Carrington spoke of people living in Utah who had borrowed money from Saints in the old countries, with a promise to refund with interest, but who had neglected to fulfil their agreements. Al thus indebted should pay such debts at once. He thought it would be a good thing for all means that might be applied to emigrating the poor to be used in helping those who were entirely destitute. People sending means to assist their friends or relatives should not fail to remit before the 1st of September.

            Elder A. CARRINGTON presented the names of the following brethren who were called to go on missions, by unanimous vote:

            To Europe -- Thomas W. Jennings.

            To the States -- George Pierce, Lyone, Edward Stevenson, S. L. City, Nathan T. Porter, Centerville.

            Home Missionary -- Joseph A. Young, Salt Lake City.

            The choir sang: "When the Lord shall build up Zion."

            Adjourned till 2 p.m.

            Prayer by Elder JOHN TAYLOR.

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[28 Apr, 2 pm]

[DNW 21:169, 5/1/72, p 5]

2 p. m.

            Hark! the song of jubilee, Loud as might thunders roar," was sung by the choir.

            Prayer by Elder WILFORD WOODRUFF.

            The choir sang: "Prayer is the soul's sincere desire, Uttered or unexpressed."

            The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was administered.

[President Brigham Young]

            President BRIGHAM YOUNG addressed the Conference on the necessity for the Saints to prepare themselves before they would be ready to receive the glorious blessings the Almighty had in store for them. He spoke also of circumstances connected with the past history of the church, showing their usefulness in enabling the people to gain necessary lessons of experience. He treated upon co-operation, emigration, and a variety of other subjects.

[Brigham Young]

[DNW 21:184, 5/8/72, p 4; JD 15:1]

REMARKS

By President BRIGHAM YOUNG. Delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, April 28, 1872.

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REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

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      I am very happy for the privilege of meeting with the Latter-day Saints, and I have reason to be thankful that I am able to speak a little to them. It brings many things to our reflections and causes many thoughts to arise. When we look over the human family what a variety we see and especially upon the subject of religion. We take Christianity, for instance, and as nations, as people, we believe in and on the Lord Jesus Christ. Most of Christian professors believe in the ordinances, or some potions of the ordinances of the house of God. Most of Christians believe in the breaking of bread, in blessing it and partaking of it in remembrance of the broken body of our Savior; also in taking the cup, consecrating it and then partaking of it, in remembrance of his blood that was shed for the sins of the world. And then take up the hundreds of different denominations and what a motley mass we present in our faith, feelings, sympathies, judgment, passions and conduct; man against man, priest against priest, people against people. Now let the Christian denominations come here: "Yes, the Latter-day Saints believe in taking the Sacrament, it is true, but what a pity," say they. "They profess to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh dear! I wish they did! Yes, they seem to manifest great confidence in the atonement, in the ordinances and commandments. I wish they were a better people! What a pity it is that they are such an outlawed, sin fill race of beings as they are! What a pity!!" "How we Christians do pity the Latter-day Saints." Then again, how we Latter-day Saints do pity the Christians! What a spectacle! And see us, as Christians, warring with each other! What for? For our pure faith, for our holy desires, for our great charity to each other, for the love of Christ, for the salvation of the souls of the children of men.

      Now is not this a spectacle to present to angels? Why if the Lord Almighty was not beyond the conception of humanity in charity and love, in mercy and longsuffering, in patience and kindness to his creatures, where would we have been ere this? We would have been weltering in his wrath, we would have been drinking his hot displeasure. But he is more merciful than we are. I have thought a great many times I was very thankful I was not the Lord Almighty. I should be consuming my enemies. How I should contend against those who hate me. I am glad I'm not the Lord. And to see the Latter-day Saints here following the example of the Savior when he took his disciples into an upper room, and bade some of them go and prepare to partake supper with him the last time before his crucifixion. He took the bread and blessed and brake. "Take and eat ye all of this, for this is my body in the New Testament." He took the cup and blessed it; "Drink ye all of this, for this is my blood in the New Testament." Here we are doing the same to-day. What more? Do this until I come, for I will neither eat nor drink any more with you in this capacity until I drink anew with you in my father's kingdom on this earth. Will he do it? Certainly he will. "Do this in remembrance of me until I come." We are doing this to-day. Do not other Christians do the same? They do. How do we Latter-day Saints feet towards them? Were we to yield to the carnal passions of the natural man and we had the power of the Almighty we would spew our enemies out of our mouths, yes, we would hiss them from the face of human society for their evils, their malice, for the revenge and wrath they have towards us. But we are not the Almighty. I am glad of it. I am happy in the reflection that I have not the power, and I hope and pray I may never possess it until I can use it like a God, until I can wield it as our Father in heaven wields it, with all that eternity of majesty, glory, charity, with his judgment, discretion, and with every faculty of compassion. I am happy in the reflection that I do not possess the power. I am glad you elders do not, I am really glad you do not. Will he ever grant power to his Saints on the earth? Yes, they will take the kingdom, and possess it for ever and ever; but in the capacity they arc now, in the condition that they now present themselves before God, before the world and before each other? Never, never! until we are sanctified, until we are filled with the wisdom of God, with the knowledge of God, will he bequeath the power that be has in reserve for his Saints; never will the Saints possess it until they are prepared to wield it with all that judgment, discretion, wisdom and forbearance that the Lord Almighty wields in his own capacity, and uses at his pleasure? How do you feel about it, brethren? Do not you wish sometimes you had power to pinch their ears? Do not you wish you had power to stop them in their mad career? Let the Lord Almighty do this. You think his eve is upon the work of his hands? It is. His ears are open to the prayers of his children, he will hear their prayers, he will answer their desires; and when we as a people possess the abundance of that patience, that longsuffering and forbearance that we need, to possess the privileges and the power that the Lord has in reserve for his people, we will receive to our utmost satisfaction. We shall not have it now. The Lord says, "I can not give it to you now." This church has now been traveling over forty-two years—forty-two years the sixth day of this month since it was organized with six members. What have we learned? We assembled in Missouri, at the place of gathering on the borders of the Lamanites, and there we bought our farms and built our houses; but could we stay there? Were we prepared then to enter into Zion, to build up the Zion of God and possess it? We were not, we must suffer. "You Latter-day Saints, you, my children," says the Lord, "are not prepared to receive Zion." Why, we have heard detailed by Elder Carrington the conduct of Elders at the present time, dishonest in the matter of a few shillings or dollars. Dishonest, covetous, selfish, grasping for that which is not our own; borrowing and not paying; taking that which does not belong to us; dishonest in our deal; oppressing each other. Are we fit for Zion? I say nothing to the Christian world with regard to this. Let them bite and devour as much as they please, it does not belong to the Latter-day Saints at least. Could we stay in Independence? No, we could not. What was the reason? Here are some hearing me talk who were there—some who are aged, some here who were then children and infants, some who were born there. But we stayed a very few years—two or three—and we must get up and march. Why did we leave? Why the enemy is upon us, our enemies are gathered around us, our foes are besetting us on every hand. There goes a house burned up; there is a man that is whipped; there is a family turned out of doors! What is the matter with all you Latter-day Saints? Can the would see? No. Can the Saints see? No, or few of them can; and we can say that the light of the Spirit upon the hearts and understandings of some Latter-day Saints is like the peeping of the stars through the broken shingles of the roof over our heads, when we are watching through the silent watches of the night and behold the glimmer of a twinkling star. "Oh yes, I see, I see, that we are not prepared to receive the kingdom." Another one says, "Yes, I can see, we were too selfish." Another one says, "I see, the wicked must be prepared for their doom as well as the Saints for their exaltation, and that the wicked are a rod in the hands of God to chasten the Saints." Here are the two classes—the righteous and the unrighteous, and the righteous must be prepared by suffering and by rendering strict obedience to the commandments of heaven. It seems to be absolutely necessary in the providence of Him who created us, and who organized and fashioned all things according to his wisdom, that man must descend below all things. It is written of the Savior in the Bible that he descended below all things that he might ascend above all. Is it not so with every man? Certainly it is. It is fit then that we should descend below all things and come up gradually, and learn a little now, and again, receive "line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little." But hark, do the people hear it? Do the people understand it? Scarcely! scarcely! Do the Latter-day Saints understand these principles, and are we prepared to receive Zion? Are, we prepared to receive the Kingdom and are we prepared for the blessings that God has in reserve for his children? Stop, think, consider, look around us! How is it? Are not the sordid things of this life before our eyes, and have they not thrown a mist before them so that we can not see? Are we not of the earth, and still earthy? Certainly we areal the earth and still earthy. What do we know of heavenly things? It is very true we have the Bible; but when we come to our elders, men of limited education and moderate reading, they are able to teach the whole Christian world theology. Take them from the anvil, from the plow, from the carpenter's bench, or from any occupation, if they possess good common ability and the spirit of our holy religion that God has revealed in these latter days, they understand more of the Bible and the building lap of the Kingdom of God than all the world besides that are destitute of the priesthood of the Son of God. And yet what do we know? Comparatively we have hardly learned the first lesson.

      Could our brethren stay in Jackson County, Missouri? No, no. Why? They had not learned "a" concerning Zion; and we have been traveling now forty-two years, and have we learned our a, b, c? "Oh," say a good many, "I think we have." Have we learned our a b ab? Have we got as far as b a k e r, baker? Have we got through our first speller? Have we learned multiplication? Do we understand anything with regard to the building up of the kingdom? I will say, scarcely. Have we seen it as a people? How long shall we travel, how long shall we live, how long shall God wait; for us to sanctify ourselves and become one in the Lord, in our actions and in our ways for the building up of the kingdom of God that he can bless us? He defends us, it is very true, and fights our battles. When we were driven from Missouri and had to leave the State I recollect very well, Gov. Boggs said, "You must leave;" Gen. Clark said, "You must leave;" the mob said, "You must leave," and we had to leave. And after we had signed away our property, I'd see a widow send up her little boy to brother Such-a-one, "Will you let me go to your timber land and get a load of wood for my mother?" "Tell your mother that I have got no more timber than I shall want, I do not think I can spare her a load of wood." I recollect very well of telling the Latter-day Saints, there and then, "I hope to God that we never will have the privilege of stopping and making ourselves rich while we grind the face of the poor; but let us be driven from State to State until we can take what we have got and dispose of it according to the dictation of the spirit of revelation from the Lord. Said I, "You will not stay here;" but long faces would come down, you know, with a gentle, mild scrowl, "I can't spare you a load of wood." Excuse me. When are the Latter-day Saints going to be prepared to receive the kingdom? Are we now? Not at all! We are prepared for some things, and we receive just as fast as we prepare ourselves. Well, what can we do, what more can we do? We can do just what we please to do. It is in our power to do just what we please to do with regard to sanctifying ourselves before the Lord, and preparing ourselves to build up his kingdom: Have we not the liberty to build this Temple here? We have, although earth and hell are opposed to it, and arrayed against it. Have we not the privilege of preaching the Gospel to the nations? We have. Have we not the privilege of uniting our faith and our efforts for the benefit of the whole community? Yes, we have.

      Now come down, for example, to our present circumstances and condition. Year after year, I labored with our merchants to unite their efforts together to supply the wants of the people without taking from them everything they had got; and when I assembled these merchants some years before we entered into our present co-operative institution in this mercantile trade, said I, "Will you unite your efforts and your means, and start a business here that we can put goods into the hands of the people that we will not take their last sixpence? Have a calico dress at forty cents a yard when it should be only eighteen, twenty or twenty-two, and so on and so forth." After a long conference one of the gentlemen present got up, walked the room back and forward, and finally said, "President Young, if you will furnish the money we will do as you say," as much as to say, "it is none of your business what we do with the means that we have." I dropped the conversation and said to myself. "Well then, gull the people, take what they have got."

      You recollect, a man here in the time of the Buchanan war by the name of A. B. Miller. He was a merchant here for Russell and Majors. Our people were not merchandising much then. Well, the merchants met together and wanted to put up their goods to a certain notch, a dollar a pound for sugar, for instance. This A. B. Miller—a gambler, though there were a great really good things about him, he just turned in and damned them. Says he, "Gentlemen, to turn in and cut the throats of these 'Mormons,' and take what they have got, we might do, but for being so damned mean as to ask a dollar a pound for sugar, I will not do it."

      Now then, is this co-operative institution one step towards bringing the people to a union? Yes, but it is a very small one, and there is danger of it growing into a condition that will cease to be one step in the right direction. Let men say, "Here is what God has given me, do what you please with it," and we shall be in the path of progress. But how is it now? "Brother, have you paid any tithing? You have made fifty thousand, ten thousand, a hundred thousand, one thousand or five hundred dollars as the case may be, have you paid any tithing?" "Well, no I have not yet, but I think perhaps, I will by and by;" and this is said with stammering tongue, faltering voice, and covetous heart. Wife gave you your money and possessions? Who owns this earth? Does the Devil? No, he does not, he pretended to own it when the Savior was here, and promised it all to him if he would fall down and worship him; but he did not own a foot of land, he only had possessed of it. He was an intruder, and is still: this earth belongs to him that framed and organized it, and it is expressly for his glory and the possession of those who love and serve him and keep his commandments; but the enemy has possession of it.

      Now then, a few other items, brethren and sisters. Can you do anything for the poor? "Well I do not know, but I can give you filly cents to gather the poor." "Brother, can you pay that debt? You recollect you borrowed some money of a widow woman in England. Do you recollect you borrowed a little money of such a brother? Can you pay that?" "Well yes, I am going to." You heard what Brother Carrington said about it, what fellowship does the Lord Almighty have for such men? I think not the least. What fellowship do angels have for such men? I should think not much. What fellowship do I have for them? Not, one particle. What ought to be done with them? I will answer the question—they ought to be disfellowshipped by the Saints: they are not fellowshipped in the heavens, and they ought not to be here.

      "Well, now then, Brother Brigham, what are you at, what do you want?" I want you to do just that which will displease the enemies of the kingdom of God, and that which will please the Lord Almighty and the heavenly host to perfection. What is that? Do as you are counseled to do by the spirit of revelation from the Lord. What is the cry against us? "Brigham Young has too much influence! All the people hearken to Brigham Young! All these poor deluded Latter-day Saints take his counsel!" I wish it was so. If this were the fact you would see Zion prosper upon the hills and upon the plains, in the valleys and in the kanyons, and upon the mountains. Go to with your might, seek unto the Lord your God until you have the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ upon you, until your minds are open, and the visions of heaven are plain to you. Then follow the dictations of the spirit, and watch Brother Brigham, and see if he counsels you wrong. I hope to see the time when I can say to the Latter-day Saints, if I preside over them, go and do this or that, and not ask a sixpence of this man or a dollar from that, or a hundred dollars from another. "Here is what I have, it is the Lord's. He has given me all that I possess, it is only committed to my charge to see what I will do with it. The heavens are his, the earth is his; the gold and silver are his, the wheat and fine flour are his, the wine and the oil are his; the cattle upon a thousand hills are his. I am his, I am his servant, let the Lord say what the wants. Here I am, with all thou hast given me." How displeasing this is to the devil is it not? I can not help it, this is the true track and path for the Latter-day Saints to walk in. Walk up, O ye Latter-day Saints, and wake up! Come to the Lord, forsake your covetousness, your back-slidings, forsake the spirit of the world, and return to the Lord with full purpose of heart until you get the spirit of Christ within you, that you, like others, can cry," Abba Father, the Lord he is God and I am his servant."

      Do you think it would be difficult then for us to accomplish anything we undertook? No. Very true the enemy, this potent foe that we have to contend with, we know but little about him, very little; but he is watching every avenue of the heart, rapping at every door and every window, and if there is a crevice between the clapboards, through the roof, or the brick or adobe wall, he throws a dart into the feelings of each and every individual. "Take care, think for yourselves, judge for yourselves; do not be led astray, do not you wander off after these deluded people, and their delusion. Be careful, there is danger in believing in the Lord, there is danger in being a Saint; there is great danger in you yielding your judgment in another man." Oh, what a pity! Where do you get your judgment? Where did it come from? What is your judgment? I tell you that the judgment of the world now is pretty much for all to do just as they please if they possibly can, to the injury of their neighbors, for their own aggrandizement.

      Can I not use my judgment in doing well just as much as in doing evil? Am I not just as independent in performing a deed of charity as a deed of cruelty? I contend that I am, what do you say? Have I not got my liberty just as much, and exercise it just as freely, in feeding the poor and clothing the naked as I have in turning them out of doors, or in lifting myself up against God and his anointed? Has a man got to apostatize from this kingdom, from the faith of Christ, to be independent? Am I not as independent in believing in the Lord Jesus Christ as I am in denying him? Am I not as independent in believing the Gospel as I am in believing in the whisperings and mutterings of these spirits that are floating through the air, rapping at everybody's door, sometimes tearing the clothes off their beds, rapping, thundering and telling this, that and the other? You hearken to that still small voice that whispers eternal truth, that opens the visions of eternity to you that you can discern, understand and follow, and the foul spirits that throng the air, and that fill our houses if we let them in, will not have power over you.

      Be just as independent as a God to do good. Love mercy, eschew evil, be a savior to yourselves and to your families, and to your fellow beings just as much as you possibly can, and go on with your independence and do not yield yourselves servants to obey an evil principle or an evil being.

      God bless you. Amen.

 

[President Geo. A. Smith]

            President GEO. A. SMITH gave some excellent advice to those brethren who had been called to be home missionaries. He advised them to be generally brief in their remarks and when they commenced to speak to enter directly upon their subject and not waste time in making preliminary excuses, &c. The speaker alluded to some advice which the prophet Joseph once gave him as he was about to start on a mission -- to preach short sermons, make short prayers and deliver his discourses with a prayerful heart. He had benefitted greatly by following this advice.

            President Smith expressed his intense gratification that in the providences of God President Young was enabled to attend the General conference. He (President Smith) had fully determined to adjourn Conference from one Sunday to another until President Young could attend, if it had to be prolonged until next October. President Smith closed his discourse by bearing testimony that the Latter-day Saints were engaged in the work of God and that the day would come when righteousness and peace would spread over all the world.

            President Smith stated that when the names of the authorities were presented to the Conference to be sustained, the name of Jacob Gates was omitted until a matter of business with which he was connected should be inquired into and settled. Since then Brother Gates had been communicated with and there now remained no doubt that the matter in question would be amicably adjusted. The name of brother Gates was then presented to the Conference as one of the first Seven Presidents of the Seventies. The vote to sustain him was unanimous.

[President Brigham Young]

            President BRIGHAM YOUNG said:

            To answer the feelings and wishes of brethren and sisters I will say a few words with regard to our temporal business, or the conduct of those who have been with us as officials, and our condition. There is a good many want to ask the question: "Brother Brigham, what is going to be done with you now?" I hope to see the time that I can have the privilege of proving before a court of justice my situation and condition, and if there is anything that can be proved against me I want to have it proved. Perhaps some of you recollect, just previous to this eruption taking place, that I made a statement in this stand, that I was at the defiance of the whole world to bring anything against my moral character. I am to-day, at the defiance of the world to prove anything in truth against my moral character. I happened to make this remark, I think, the Sunday before I heard there was a writ for me for murder. Folly in the extreme! I have talked with the prosecuting attorney of the Territory of Utah. If he wishes to know my feelings on the subject I will tell them here: Prosecute every one of these cases that have been presented before this illegal court, present them to a legal court, and try every man by the law of the land, and see where it will land us--every one, myself not excused. Now hear it, O ye inhabitants of the earth. Permit me to say one thing more. I make this request of the Prosecuting Attorney for the United States, and also the Territorial Attorney, that they preserve intact the records of the District Courts that have been held for a year and a half past, for future history. I sincerely hope they will not be destroyed. What do you say to this, Congregation, is it true and right everybody? (Congregation answered, "Yes.") Well then, manifest it by lifting your right hand. (All hands up). If any of you think it is wrong you have the same privilege. (Vote unanimous.) Keep the records, preserve the history of the people, the doings of kings, emperors, potentates, presidents and judges and see how they will read. Keep the history of this people, of the Christian nations, and of all that live, and see how it looks. There is another place where there is a record kept, it is very true, but suppose we assist in keeping this record that we may have corresponding proof and testimony to show that we are a people of record as well here as above.

[Elder Wilford Woodruff]

            Elder WILFORD WOODRUFF was the next speaker. The Spirit of God had borne record to the First Presidency, the Twelve and the elders generally that we should be delivered from the hands of our enemies, and the Spirit of the Lord never lied; hence we were enabled to listen to the voice of our President to-day. The leaders of this people had been constantly inspired by revelations from God.

            The speaker prophesied, in the name of Israel's God, that the church would never be without a law giver from that time henceforth and forever.

            On motion of President B. YOUNG Conference adjourned till the 6th day of next October, at 10 a.m., to meet in the New Tabernacle.

            The choir sang: "Great is the Lord."

            President BRIGHAM YOUNG pronounced the following

BENEDICTION.

            I bless you in the name of Jesus Christ, as Apostles, with all that pertains to you; as High Priests, as Seventies, as Elders, as Bishops, as Priests, Teachers and Deacons. I bless you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I bless you, my brethren and sisters, you that are parents, also the children. I bless you as musicians, as a choir to make music for us, and those who play on instruments. And I bless you strangers, and say unto you, peace be to you as well as to the Saints, in good words, in good actions, in a good life to serve the Lord our God. I crave blessings upon the good everywhere, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, peoples, sects and parties, wherever the honest and the pure in heart are found, God bless them; and I say peace to you from henceforth and for ever, Amen.

JOHN NICHOLSON,
Clerk of Conference.

 

6-9 Oct 1872, 42nd Semi-Annual General Conference, Tabernacle.
[Deseret News Weekly, 21:540, 554, 10/9/72, p 6-10/16/72, p 6; Millennial Star 34:705, 721

[6 Oct, 10 am]

[DNW 21:540, 10/9/72, p 8]

GENERAL CONFERENCE

_____

THE Forty-Second Semi-Annual conference of the Church of Jesus Christ, of Latter-day Saints, met in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday October 6th, 1872, at 10 a.m.

            Conference opening on Sunday, the weather being fine and the people in the settlements having mostly gathered their crops, the attendance was unusually large for a first meeting, there being probably in the vicinity of ten thousand people assembled.

            There were present on the stand:

Of the First Presidency.

            Brigham Young, Sr., Geo. A. Smith, and Daniel H. Wells.

Of the Twelve Apostles.

            Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Jr., Joseph F. Smith.

            Patriarch -- John Smith.

Of the Presidency of the High Priests' Quorum.

            Elias Smith, Edward Snelgrove and Elias Morris.

Of the Presidency of this Stake of Zion

            George B. Wallace and John T. Caine.

Of the Presidency of the Bishopric.

            Edward Hunter, Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little.

            There were also Bishops, Elders and leading men from every settlement in the Territory

            Conference was called to order by PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG.

            The grand choir sang: "Praise ye the Lord! my heart shall join, In work so pleasant, so divine."

            Opening prayer by ELDER ORSON HYDE.

            "Earth, with her ten thousand flowers, Air with all its beams and showers;" Was sung by the choir.

[President Brigham Young]

            PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG addressed the Conference. He requested the people assembled to be as still as possible, as the building was large and it was consequently difficult to make all hear. He also requested that those who might speak should direct their discourse in a direct line from the stand, without turning to the right or left. It was not necessary to speak excessively loud in order to be heard throughout the building, but each word should be distinctly enunciated, before commencing to articulate others.

            President Young then spoke of the objects for which the people met together in Conference. The various influences calculated to lead away the Saints from the spirit and genius of the gospel of Christ were alluded to in a clear and pointed manner. It was shown, in the discourse, that but a few of the people were able to bear prosperity. In prosperity many were liable to forget God, when they had most reason to be true to his cause, and show to him the devotion and gratitude of their hearts. There were some, however, who could be prospered materially and thank God for his blessings, and who were willing to sacrifice all, if necessary, for the cause of righteousness.

            The speaker next drew a vivid picture of the present condition of the Saints. He spoke of the causes of their gathering from the various nations, as well as the objects of their coming to this land, and pointed out the way in which the people could promote the cause of God and prepare for the coming of Christ.

[President George A. Smith]

            PRESIDENT GEORGE A. SMITH addressed the assemblage. He said if Latter-day Saints wished to be edified, they would be so according to their faith. If faith was exercised in God for our speakers to be inspired to deliver to us the revelations of the Almighty, our desires would be gratified.

            The speaker described the inevitable results of apostasy from the truth -- infidelity and its concomitant evils. He contrasted the present with the past temporal condition of the Saints, showing how greatly the Lord had blessed them. He was sorry that, in many instances, an increase of wealth had not produced a corresponding increase of faithfulness, but rather the contrary. Many who, when poor, faithfully and punctually paid their tithing, now neglect that important duty. He explained the nature of the law of tithing, and showed that compliance therewith was required of all the people of God in every age. He alluded to the bountiful harvest of the present season, and exhorted the Saints not to place themselves in the position of the people of Israel who lived in the days of Malachi, who were charged with robbing the Lord. This charge was preferred because of their neglecting to pay their tithes and offerings.

            President Smith next alluded to the recent visit of himself and other brethren to California, and to their visits to various sectarian churches in that State. It had been between thirty and forty years since he had visited such religious institutions previously and it was his opinion that they had made no visible progress during that period. He alluded with satisfaction to the condition of the Sunday school system of Utah. The speaker then bore testimony to the fact that God had raised up Joseph Smith to introduce a progressive system of religion, in which were the principles of eternal life.

[President D. H. Wells]

            PRESIDENT D. H. WELLS was the next speaker. He commenced by bearing testimony that the Almighty had restored, in this age, the power and authority of the Holy Priesthood. It was true that the Scriptures existed previously to this restoration, but there were none having authority to administer the ordinances taught in holy writ as being connected with the plan of salvation. Blessings were the results of obedience only, and could be obtained upon no other principle. The gospel of Christ was one of promise. The Elders of the Church went forth proclaiming that those who would receive the gospel would obtain a knowledge, by individual revelation, of the heaven-born nature of its principles.

            The speaker continued for some time, showing, in his remarks, that all who would ever attain to an exaltation in the celestial kingdom would arrive at that position by complying with the plan of redemption devised by God, and by laying aside their own ideas of religion wherever they were not in unison with the system adopted by the Almighty. The building up of the Kingdom of God on the earth was a co-operative work, and we were engaged in it only so far as we co-operated with and were obedient to the Lord.

            The choir sang the anthem "Praise God, in his holiness."

            Conference adjourned till 2 p.m.

            Prayer by Elder Orson Pratt.

_____

[6 Oct, 2 pm]

[DNW 21:540, 10/9/72, p 8]

SUNDAY AFTERNOON, 2 p. m.

            The Choir sang: "Hark! the song of jubilee, Loud as mighty thunders roar."

            Opening prayer by Elder JOHN TAYLOR.

            "'Twas on that dark, that solemn night, When powers of earth and hell arose." Was sung by the choir.

            While the Sacrament of the Lord's supper was being administered,

[Elder Orson Hyde]

            ELDER ORSON HYDE addressed the Conference. He read a portion of the 18th chapter of Isaiah, commencing at the 3rd verse, which related to the gathering together of the people of God in the latter days. After expressing thankfulness for himself and brethren being spared to mingle together, and to unite their testimonies regarding the goodness and work of God, he delivered a discourse on the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah, as well as other predictions, relating to the same subject, by other servants of the Almighty, delivered in modern as well as in ancient times. He introduced, as a branch of his subject, and commented upon, the nature of the Holy Priesthood, showing that without it no administrative act purporting to be connected with the gospel, performed by man, would be endorsed or considered as legal by the Almighty. The speaker also reviewed the causes of the antipathy which existed among the world towards the Saints. His discourse was elaborate, and was illustrated an embellished with appropriate and happy comparisons, and, before concluding, he alluded to the folly of parties in this Territory who were seeking and striving for the overthrow of the Latter-day Saints.

[Elder Orson Pratt]

            ELDER ORSON PRATT was the next speaker. He said he would endeavor to impress on the minds of the Saints an important revelation, given through the Prophet Joseph forty years ago, and which was contained in a letter written by the Prophet, at Kirtland, Geauga county, Ohio, and addressed to W. W. Phelps. Elder Pratt then read several extracts from the letter alluded to, which treated upon the laws of tithing and consecration, and also upon the fate of those who apostatized from the Church of Christ. The speaker then treated upon the importance of obedience to the law of tithing, which had been given by revelation from the Almighty. The revelation of the letter just read showed clearly that those who refused to comply with this law would, by this course, cause their own and their fathers' and children's names to be blotted out from the records of the Church. His discourse was short, but powerful, clear and impressive.

            Conference adjourned till Monday, the 7th, at 10 a.m.

            The choir sang the anthem, "The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof."

            Conference was dismissed by prayer by ELDER WILFORD WOODRUFF.

_____

            A noticeable feature of this Conference is the large number of singers in attendance for the purpose of participating in the musical exercises, there being a grand choir composed of an amalgamation of the Tabernacle choir and many members from the choirs of the various settlements of the Territory, the whole numbering about three hundred persons. The gathering and utilization of this large body of singers was in response to an invitation issued some time ago by Brother George Careless to the leaders of the different choirs, and to secure harmonious rendition of the various pieces to be sung at conference he sent them copies of music that was to be used on the occasion, he also had this grand choir practice in the New Tabernacle the evening before the commencement of conference, continuing each evening subsequent. by this means a degree of proficiency, as evidenced by the beautiful singing, was arrived at, which surprised and charmed all having a taste for music who have attended the Conference.

            The following are the names of the leaders whose choirs have contributed members to participate, with the Tabernacle choir, in the musical exercises of the Conference, and the names of the settlements to which they belong:

A. Lewis, Logan
R. L. Fishburn, Brigham City.
Brother Carter, Lehi City.
J. E. Daniels, Provo.
Wm. Robinson, Beaver.
D. P. Jones, Willard.
W. Frampton, Pleasant Grove.
W. Clayson, Payson.
F. W. Ellis, North Ogden.
F. Weight, Springville.
W. B. Smith, American Fork.
W. J. Pugh, Ogden.
W. R. Jones, Spanish Fork.
Brother Oliver, West Jordan,
Wm. Cottrell, Farmington.

            It was estimated that not less than twelve thousand people were in attendance in the afternoon, the huge building being so densely filled that not only were all the seats occupied, but there was, little, if any, standing room left.

_____

[7 Oct, 10 am]

[DNW 21:540-541, 10/9/72, p 8-9]

SECOND DAY.

            Monday, 7th, 10 a. m.

            Conference was called to order by PRESIDENT B. YOUNG.

            The grand choir sang -- "O God! our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come."

            Opening prayer by ELDER ERASTUS SNOW.

            "Come all ye Saints who dwell on earth, Your cheerful voices raise;" Was sung by the choir.

[Elder John Taylor]

            ELDER JOHN TAYLOR addressed the Conference. He delivered an elaborate and lengthy discourse on the various political and religious systems existing in the world and defined the only true order of government, as exemplified in the organized church and kingdom of God. He commented upon the liberty enjoyed by the Latter-day Saints in contradistinction to the lack of freedom among other people who looked upon the Saints as living under a species of bondage.

[John Taylor]

[DNW 21:728, 1/1/73, p 4; JD 15:211]

DISCOURSE

By Elder JOHN TAYLOR, Delivered at the 42nd Semi-Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, Oct. 7, 1872.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      I am happy to have the privilege of meeting with and speaking to the Saints on the present occasion. If I were inclined to take a text I would repeat a passage made use of by Jesus, which is something like this—"Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly of heart and you shall find rest to your souls." Perhaps I may not have got it verbatim, however the principle is there, and you can correct it from the written word. The ideas contained in the saying of the Redeemer are rather peculiar. The yoke that is there referred to would seem to imply a degree of servitude of some kind or other, and men generally look upon such expressions in that point of view. The nations of the earth, generally, are under some kind of rule and government. The religious portion of mankind are also under a species of government and rule, and no matter where you go, you find an influence of this kind more or less prevailing among men. We stand here in rather an anomalous position. We have a church with its government or laws, and we have also a government and laws according to the organization of the United States. Hence our obligations are twofold, one as subjects of the United States, the other as subjects of the Church of God. And then, were we to go a little further, we might also add, of the kingdom of God. Now, in every government of men that exists anywhere on the face of the earth, there is a species of rule associated with and founded on authority voluntarily given by the people or usurped by the rulers, according to circumstances; but all mankind, everywhere, are under some form of dominion, government or rule. The same thing applies also to churches and the worship of God. There are various systems in existence on the earth, including Judaism, Mahomedanism, Pantheism, and heathenism of many kinds, as it has existed for generations in many parts of the earth; and there is Christianity with the multifarious ideas, rule, and authority of the Christian churches as they exist, scattered abroad in the earth, principally in Europe and America as well as in some parts of Africa and Asia. But whether we refer to the Pagan, Jewish, Christian, or any other form of religion, its followers are expected to submit to some kind of authority; to subscribe to certain articles of faith, and to submit to certain forms, laws and ordinances, according to their several theories.

      The same thing precisely, exists among the nations; they have their various forms of rule, government and dominion, and they exact certain conditions from their subjects. No matter what kind of government, it requires a species of obedience from all persons living under it; for government, of course, necessarily implies rule, authority, dominion, governors and governed, or law and the execution of that law. All these principles exist in one form or another over all the face of the wide earth whereon we live. We can not separate ourselves from that, go where we will. In a despotic government the power to dictate and control all its affairs is vested in the emperor, according to his own will and pleasure, sometimes, perhaps, modified by counsel, which he can receive or reject at pleasure. In other kinds of government, such as are called limited monarchies, the people hold a certain part of the power or authority in their own hands, and give a certain part to the government. The government of England belongs to this class. There they have a king or queen, as the case may be, at the head of the government, and two houses called the Lords and Commons, the latter are elected by and represent the people. It is what is called a popular government, the people having a voice, but at the same time they concede a certain amount of their power to their legislators, who manage their affairs according to their ideas of what would be most beneficial for the nation.

      The government of the United States is what is called a republic. In a form of government Of this kind the foundation of all law, power and authority is the voice or will of the people; that is the genius of the government. It is based upon a written constitution granting unto the legislature power to do thus and so, and to go no further; and while they who make and administer the laws confine themselves within the limits of that constitution, their acts are what is called constitutional. When they go beyond that, their acts are called unconstitutional, that is, they deprive the people of certain rights guaranteed to them by the written compact that they have entered into. I speak of these things simply to elucidate certain ideas that I wish to communicate.

      But to proceed further. If we—the people in this Territory, or in other Territories or in the States, confer certain powers on the General Government, we no longer retain them, they are ceded away by us to others. If we give to our legislators certain authority, they hold that authority, and it is for us to submit to the laws which may be enacted by them. This is what is called republicanism, and it is also in agreement with the theory of a limited monarchy. Whenever a people give up certain rights they ought to honor the parties into whose hands they place them. The President of the United Stales ought to be sustained; so ought the ministers of the government of England, by the people over whom they preside, because they are acting for and on their behalf and according to their dictates. If you go to some other governments they ask no odds of the people. Say they, "We will be sustained, if we have to sustain ourselves by the sword."

      We come now to religions matters, and here in our own country are Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, and a host of others. I need not go to foreign countries and examine their religions. I wish to arrive at certain conclusions, and to do so I have no need to go beyond the confines of the United States. Here we have the Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, Episcopalians, Roman Catholics, Quakers, Shakers and so forth. Very well, all these sects have their own peculiar ideas of church government. The Methodist has his Discipline—a system got up by the ministers of that church that all its members have to be governed by. They must come within the purview and be under the influence thereof. If you ask a Methodist to become a Latter-day Saint, he might say, and truly, "I have not the privilege of being Methodist and Latter-day Saint at the same time." A man can not be a Baptist and a Methodist at the same time, neither can he be a Methodist and a shaking Quaker. Why? Because he is bound by the articles of the Discipline of his church, and he must submit to that. So it is in regard to the Catholics. Many, of you have no doubt read recently of Pere Hyacinthe, who, a short time ago, was very popular among the Roman Catholics. But he dissented from their views; and among other things he took to himself a wife, which was contrary to their ideas and creed, and probably his own views, the result was that they excommunicated him and they treated him as if he had been dead, and had a funeral, following him to his grave while he was yet living. This is according to their ideas, and he, being a Catholic, had no right to expect anything else. A Catholic priest must submit to the laws of the priesthood, and they have excommunicated him for departing therefrom, and he had no cause to complain. We may have our own peculiar ideas about the propriety of this, that and the other religious faith, ceremonies and forms of worship, but I am now speaking of law, and of governments, and of the arrangements that peoples, nations, churches, and the members of churches bind themselves to be governed by.

      The same thing applies to any of the various sects that exist in Christendom. The Baptist commences a church, and he believes in baptism by immersion, but he could not be a Latter-day Saint. Why? Because he can be baptized by anybody not having authority from God, and he does not believe that baptism is for the remission of sins. According to his ideas he must have his sins forgiven first, and then be baptized after a while. He could not be a Latter-day Saint, because his ideas and ours are at variance. If a man is a Baptist, as long as he remains so, he must submit to their law. If he is a Methodist, and remains so, he must submit to their discipline, be it right or wrong, the question of their laws being Scriptural or not has to be decided in and of itself. It is the same way with a nation. If I were in Russia, and did not like the government, I might, if they would allow me, go to England, come to the United States, or go to one of the Southern republics, and become a citizen thereof, but I could not be a republican in Russia. If I went to England, I should have to be subject to the laws of England, and the same if I came to the United States, hence the principle that I mentioned before is applicable all the way through, no matter which way you look at it. I am not saying at present which of these governments, whether religious or political, is right, I am merely trying to elucidate a principle that exists among and is acknowledged by men. If I go to live in any country on the face of the earth, I have to be subject to its laws, and if I am a reasonable, intelligent man, I acknowledge the propriety of my being so. If I join the Methodist church, I have a right to be a good Methodist, and to submit to their discipline. If I join the Baptist church I have a right to be a good Baptist, and to submit to their discipline, creed, laws and so on, for I join them knowing that I ought to submit to them, and as an honorable man I do so or leave it.

      Well, we stand here in a peculiar position, as before stated. We are here in a religious capacity, and we are here in a political capacity. As religionists our faith is that God has spoken, and that angels have ministered to men; that the everlasting Gospel has been restored in its fullness, simplicity and purity, as it existed in Jesus's day. We believe in Apostles and Prophets, and in the principle of revelation—in God communicating with the human family. These things were taught to us before we became members of this Church, and we received them as part and parcel of our faith, and having faith in this system we obeyed it. We believed in being baptized for the remission of sins, and having hands laid upon us for the reception of the Holy Ghost. That is our faith, it has been communicated to us by revelation, by the opening heavens, by the voice of God, by the ministering of holy angels, and by the testimony of God's servants, as they have gone forth through the world.

      We also believe in having a Priesthood—a ruling power to regulate and dictate, under the guidance of the Almighty, the affairs of his Church and kingdom upon the earth. That is our faith, and it was taught to us when we first listened to "Mormonism." Before we were baptized into this Church we believed the men whom we heard proclaim its principles were inspired by the Almighty, and we pray to God for them daily now, that the revelations of Heaven may be unfolded to their view, and that the purposes of God may be made plain to their understanding, that they may be able to instruct the people and lead them in the way of life. This is our faith, and when we talk about these things we do so understandingly, there is no halfway business about it.

      We meet here to-day in Conference, believing in these principles. When we talk about paying our tithing, we believe that it is the duty of all who ever obeyed the Gospel of Jesus Christ to contribute one-tenth of their increase to the Lord. As Latter-day Saints we subscribe to this, and we believe it is right to be honest, and to show integrity in this as in everything else. We believe in being truthful, virtuous, pure and holy, and we believe in keeping the commandments of God in all things. This is part and parcel of our religious faith and, belief, and we have, from time to time, of our own free will, subscribed to these very principles of which I have spoken; and we have held up our hands time and time again to sustain the authorities of the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth. Having said so much in regard to these things, I desire, very briefly, to compare the position that we occupy with that which others occupy.

      I have already told you that there exists a variety of governments on the earth, and that all men are expected to be in subjection to the laws and usages of the governments under which they live. I have told you that in England they have a limited monarchy. At the present time a queen presides over their destinies. How did she come to that office? She was born of royalty, and inherited it by lineal descent. The people had no choice in the matter. She has been, I believe, a very good, virtuous, exemplary woman, and has ruled with mildness, generosity and kindness among her people; but if she had done otherwise, she was still their queen. Now I want to talk about what people call equal rights, and to examine a certain principle in relation to these things. What say had the people of England in regard to their queen? None at all: The President of the United States is elected by the people, therefore he is what may be termed the people's candidate. How often do they elect a President of the United States? Once every four years, and consequently there is great excitement now on account of the coming Presidential election. The people are ranging themselves into parties, and each party using all the influence they possess to elect their own special and peculiar favorites. Besides the President, there are Legislators and Governors. Governors generally hold their office for four years; Senators of the United States from four to six years, according to circumstances; members of the House of Representatives for two years. In many of the States and Territories the Legislators are elected for two years, and hence, during the time for which they are elected, they have a perfect right to use their own judgment in enacting laws for the benefit of the people, being sworn not to transcend certain bounds laid down as their guide. If they should be ever so bad during their term of office, and should enact oppressive laws, the people have no right to change them until their time expires, unless, from some flagrant violation of their trust, they should be impeached.

      How is it in the churches? With the Catholics it is once a priest always a priest, except in such cases as that of Pere Hyacinthe, and then they bury them. In some churches the bishops and other authorities hold office good behavior, or for lifetime; in some churches they are voted for by a certain conclave according to circumstances and their own peculiar notions and dogmas, and in very many instances these officers hold their offices for life without any counteraction whatever, unless they violate their own constitutions, laws or discipline, when they are liable to be dealt with according to the laws and regulations of their several churches. Now nobody thinks they are very badly oppressed in all this. They enter these churches voluntarily, they are not bound to stay in them, and they leave them when they like.

      Now let us contrast our position with that of other people in these respects. We hear a good deal about one man power. I want to examine that power a little, and see how it exists, and how far it extends. We believe in two principles—one is the voice of God, the other is the voice of the people. For instance, we believe that nobody but God could set the religious world right, we believe that none but God could have given any man correct information in regard to doctrine and ordinances. We believe that God did instruct Joseph Smith in relation to both, and also pertaining to the government of his people here on the earth. How are this people selected and set apart? Joseph Smith was selected by the Lord, and set apart, and ordained by holy angels. How with the others? By the authority which God conferred on Joseph he selected, set apart, and ordained others to the various orders and organizations of the Priesthood. We know that the Lord, in former times, called some men who did not magnify their calling, and who were set aside as unfit for the Master's use. Jesus, for instance, called Judas to be one of the Twelve, and Judas betrayed him, and he was cut off from the Twelve. We have had many instances in our Church of a similar nature, men have been found unfaithful, and they have been cut off. By whom? By the authority of that Priesthood of which they formed a part. That Priesthood has the same power now that it had formerly—to bind on earth and it is bound in heaven, to loose on earth and it is loosed in heaven. How does this Priesthood stand in relation to the people? It is not thrust upon them as the queens of England, the kings of France, the emperor of Austria, or as the former king, but now emperor of Prussia, are; no, it is not thrust upon the people in any such way. It is precisely in the same way that the Israelites were organized in former times—God gave them certain laws, and all the people said "Amen," then the laws became binding upon Israel The position we occupy is this: the Holy Ghost, which has been given to all who have obeyed the Gospel, and have lived faithful to its precepts, takes of the things of God, and shows them forth through a living Priesthood to a people enlightened and instructed by the Spirit of revelation from God, and the people thus enlightened, instructed and blessed by the spirit of light, voluntarily and gladly sustain the Priesthood who minister unto them. When Joseph Smith was upon the earth, he did not force himself upon the people as these kings and emperors do, but he presented himself before them every six months, at the Annual or Semi-Annual Conference, and the people had a chance to lift up their hands to receive or reject him. That was the position occupied by Joseph Smith, and those associated with him, in guiding the affairs of the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth, and it is precisely so with President Young. He stands here as the representative of God to the people, as the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is, or ought to be, full of light, life, revelation and the power of God, and he is, and bears testimony to it. He ought to be able to lead the people in the paths of life, and he is. He is the choice of God, and what more? He is the choice of the people of God. Has he a right to say, "I am chosen, I am elected, I am President, and I will do as I darned please, and help yourselves?" No, he presents himself before you, and if there is any man who has aught against him, he has the privilege of holding up his hand to signify the same. That is the position of our President—he is brought to a test every six months, as it rolls around, before the assembled Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ, of Latter-day Saints. It is the same with the Twelve, the President of the Stake, the High Council, the Presidents of Seventies, and with all the leading officers of the Church—they are all put to this test twice a year, and the people have the privilege of voting for or against them, just as they please.

      Here then, on the one hand, there is the voice of God. Shall we object to it? Who made us? Who organized us, and the elements with which we are surrounded and that we inhale? Who organized the planetary system that we see around us? Who provides breakfast, dinner and supper for the millions that dwell on the face of the earth? Who clothes them, as he does the lilies of the field? Who imparts unto man his breath, life, health, his powers of locomotion, thought, and all the godlike attributes with which he is endowed? Where did they come from? Who has controlled and managed the affairs of the world from its creation until the present time? The Great I Am, the Great Eloheim, the Great God who is our Father. We bow before him. Is it a hardship to reverence the Lord our God? Is it a hardship to have him for our instructor? And shall we follow the notions, theories, ideas and folly of men, who seek to supersede the wisdom, light and paternal care of God our heavenly Father? No, we will not. God is our God, "the Lord is our God, the Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our King, and he shall rule over us." We do not object to bow the knee to God and say, "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven:" and we pray that it may be hastened. We acknowledge, we bow before, we reverence the name of our heavenly Father. That is one thing that we do for God, who causes seed-time and harvest, summer and winter, day and night, the God who has watched over us and all the myriads of the inhabitants of the earth from the time of creation until the present time; the God in whose hands are the destinies of the human family pertaining to this world and the worlds to come. If God will deign to teach, lead and dictate us, we bow with reverence before him, and say, "It is the Lord, let him do as seems him good." We ask the guidance of the Almighty, we reverentially present ourselves before him and we submit to his authority; for his yoke is easy and his burden is light.

      What next? Then comes the freedom of man. On the one hand the guidance of God, on the other the freedom of man. We ask God to dictate us and he does. He has given us a President, Apostles, Prophets, Bishops; be has organized his Church in the most perfect and harmonious manner. We see these things before us. I need not talk about the country that we inhabit, nor about the blessings that have been shed abroad among us, rich in comparison with those enjoyed by others by whom we are surrounded. These things are patent to all intelligent men, and surprise is frequently expressed at our improvements and at the wisdom and intelligence that have governed, managed and controlled our affairs; they do not know where they came from. We do—they come from God through the medium of his servants.

      What next? God having given as a President inspired by his Holy Spirit, we are required to vote for him—will we have him or will we reject him? We lift up our hands and say, "Yes, we will receive him." The world say this is despotism, being governed by one man. Is it despotism for every man and every woman to have a voice in the selection of those who rule over them? Is that despotism, tyranny or oppression? If it is I do not know what the terms mean. There are no people on the face of the earth to-day who have to undergo so severe a criticism as the President and Priesthood of this Church before the people, and why is it that the people vote unanimously for them? "Well," say the world, "there is a kind of influence, we hardly know what, we wish it did not exist, for we do not like this one man power." I know you do not, for it is one thousand men, ten thousand men power, it is the power of the kingdom of God on the earth, and the power of God united with it, that is what it is. As I have already said, it is not only the President of the Church who has to undergo this test, but the Twelve, the Seventies, and all the presiding officers of the Church have to go through the same ordeal.

      I will now go back to my text. I have been a long way from it, but you know it is usual to preach from the text. I have been from mine awhile, now I am coming back to it. Jesus says, "Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly of heart, and you shall find rest to your souls." What was the yoke placed upon the followers of Jesus? Precisely the same as that placed upon you. What did he tell his disciples to do? To go forth and baptize the people in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and it was promised that certain signs should follow them that believed. In his name they should cast out devils, speak with new tongues, if they drank any deadly thing it should not hurt them, and if they laid hands on the sick they should recover. The word was—"Go forth in my name and with my authority, and my Spirit shall accompany you. And it did, and the people became one in faith, doctrine and principle, just as the Scriptures say. "Take my yoke upon you." What was it? Said he, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth; blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God; blessed are they that hanger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled." This was the kind of yoke Jesus put upon them, and this is the kind that is put upon you—to love righteousness, keep the commands of God, live your religion and obey the principles of truth, is this a hard yoke? This is what is required of Latter-day Saints. "Take my yoke upon you and learn of me!" And how did he do it? He obeyed the will of his Father, and then he expected his disciples to obey his will. Said he, "Father, I pray for them, that they may be one"—a good deal of this one-man power there, was there not? "I pray for them, that they may be one, even as the Father and I are one, that they may be one in us;" and in his mind, looking to the universal expansion of this heavenly principle, said he, "Neither pray I for these alone, but for all them that shall believe on me through their word, that they all may be one, even as I and the Father are one, that the world may know that thou hast sent me." This was the kind of principle the Savior taught to his followers, and this is the kind that is taught to us.

      Now let me ask is it right for a Methodist to obey the Methodist discipline? Yes, or else leave them, he has the privilege to do which he pleases. Is it right for a Presbyterian to obey the Presbyterian doctrine and principles? Yes, or leave them. Is it right for a Roman Catholic to obey their principles? Yes, or leave them. Is it right for a Latter-day Saint to obey their principles? Yes, or leave them, one of the two. Do not try to drag in something else, do not make Methodists of us for instance, nor Presbyterians. Do not try to make Catholics of us, if you do not like "Mormonism" leave it. That is honest, straightforward and upright, and good doctrine, and according to the principles which are acknowledged to be correct everywhere. "Well," says one, "I think that things could be improved a little." Well then, go out somewhere and make your improvements, here is a big continent, go north or south, or where you please. Get as many to follow you as you can, and teach them what principles you please, and if you can build up a better system than ours all right, but do not start it here. This is the kind of faith that Paul spoke of when he said, "If thou hast faith have it to thyself." If you do not have it to yourselves take as many with you as you can get. That is right, the world is open, plenty of room in every direction, go and try your hand and see how you will succeed.

      The same principle is true in relation to other things as well as to religion. I might apply it to things political. Some people say, "You folks always vote together," we would be poor coots it we did not, and just as bad as the rest of you. Some folks here, a short time ago, got up a little political operation, and tried how it would answer to run one against another; but it did not work well and they had to quit. We believe in oneness, and our outside friends say, "We do not." Yes you do, y-e-s y-o-u d-o. Now all you gentlemen who go in for General Grant would you not like to elect him? Yes you would, and you will use all the influence that you have to do so, and if he is not elected it will be because you can not do it, because you have not influence enough to elect him. On the other hand, you who are in favor of Horace Greeley, how you would like to have him elected, would you not? Yes, you would. And will you not get all to vote for him that you possibly can? Yes, and if all do not vote for him it will not be your fault. Well, if the people do not vote as we want them it will not be our fault, and the only difference, in this respect, between you and President Young is, that he has a little more influence than you, therefore do not grunt about it, these things are fair and straightforward. When men talk about oppression they talk about what they do not understand, and the same when they talk about the one-man power and the bondage of the people. Is it not horrible bondage for the whole people to have the privilege of voting for whom they please? Terrible, let us get out of it, shall we not, and go somewhere where they will not let us do as we please, and have some of that liberty that would put shackles upon us, and bind us down? But we Latter-day Saints do not want that, we want. to be delivered from that, and to walk according to the light of truth. Well, let us take the yoke of Christ upon us, and learn of him, and keep the commandments of God. And if we Vote for a Bishop somewhere over yonder, let us sustain him as long as he is in office, and if he does not do what is right we will vote him out. And if we have Presidents or Apostles or anybody that we do not like, let us vote them out, and be free men, and cultivate and cherish in our bosoms the principles of liberty. But let us be careful that we do not grieve the Spirit of the Lord, and while we are looking at these things let us look at our own eternal interests, and lean upon God for wisdom and instruction, that his Spirit may lead us in the paths of life, that we may comprehend true principles, and be one as Jesus was and is one with the Father.

      May God help us to be faithful, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

            The choir sang: "An angel from on high The long, long silence broke."

[Elder Wilford Woodruff]

            ELDER WILFORD WOODRUFF was the next speaker. He alluded to the departure from the true order of the gospel by professing Christians. It was almost impossible for them to believe that continued revelation from the Almighty was necessary. The faith of the Latter-day Saints, however, was that it is God's right to rule and dictate by revelation. The law of tithing was given by revelation, and no Saint could neglect to comply with it and retain the spirit of the gospel. It was the duty of all to assist in building temples in which to attend to ordinances pertaining to the living and the dead. None of the requirements of the gospel would fall to the ground, for all must be fulfilled. The speaker exhorted the people to draw near to the Lord, that he might draw near to them, and that they might be filled with the light of truth. He also bore testimony to the greatness and the divine nature of the latter-day work.

            The choir sang the anthem, "I will sing praises."

            Adjourned by ELDER CHARLES C. RICH.

Concluded next number.

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[7 Oct, 2 pm]

[DNW 21:554-555, 10/16/72, p 6-7]

GENERAL CONFERENCE

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SECOND DAY

Monday, 7th, 2 p.m.

            The choir sang: "All you that love Immanuel's name, Whose spirits burn with ardent flame."

            Prayer by ELDER JOSEPH F. SMITH.

            "Awake, ye Saints of God, awake! Call on the Lord in mighty prayer;" was sung by the choir.

[Elder Charles C. Rich]

            ELDER CHARLES C. RICH was the first speaker this afternoon. He spoke of the beneficial results of obedience to the will of God, as manifested by the way in which the Almighty had blessed the Latter-day Saints, temporally as well as spiritually. He also alluded to the harmonizing tendencies of the principles and spirit of the gospel, as seen in the gathering together and uniting in the strongest bonds of brotherhood so many people from various nations as were represented among the Saints in the valleys of Utah. The speaker continued for some time, dwelling particularly upon the necessity of the people performing duties pertaining to the present in order to lay an immovable foundation for future happiness and glory. He also bore testimony that Joseph Smith and Brigham Young were prophets of the living God.

            Brother and sister R. L. Fishburn and brother George Gilbert sang "The Mountain brave," the grand choir joining in the chorus.

[Elder Erastus Snow]

            ELDER ERASTUS SNOW was the next speaker. The main portion of his discourse was devoted to explaining the peaceful nature of the mission of the Savior, and in showing that the mission of the servants of God in this age was of a similar character. He also spoke of the saving and happifying agencies of the gospel of Christ, as made manifest in the satisfactory condition of the Latter-day Saints. The fears of those who entertained the opinion that the Saints were evil disposed and inclined to wrong their fellows were entirely groundless. Their mission, like the Savior's, was one of peace and good will to mankind. They were desirous of saving all people from the tide of corruption with which the world was flooded, as well as from poverty and distress. President Young, under the blessing of God, had done more in this direction than any other man living. Numbers of people had been brought from the midst of poverty in the countries of Europe and were now enjoying a competency of the comforts of life in these valleys.

 

            ELDER ERASTUS SNOW (sic) addressed the assemblage. He stated that the Lord had said that Zion consisted of the pure in heart. The nations had corrupted their ways and the Saints had therefore been commanded to come out of the various nations of the world, and they had been called Zion. The Saints had been separated from the world by the preaching of the gospel. They should also separate themselves from the corruptions and errors of the wicked, that they might carry forward the work of regenerating the human race. The gospel was sent for the salvation of all who would be obedient to it, for Christ died for all. There was nothing in the constitution or principles of the gospel calculated to inflict injury on anybody, but they were designed for the peace and happiness of mankind.

            In the course of his remarks Elder snow treated upon the necessity of compliance with the law of tithing, the word of wisdom, attending to secret and family prayer and other practical duties. If the Latter-day Saints would thus live in purity and holiness, reproving wickedness of every kind they would soon become a terror to evil doers, for the arm of flesh was powerless when raised against a people who were pleasing in the sight of God. The Saints opposed not their enemies with carnal weapons, but by faith. He concluded by bearing testimony to the truth of the gospel.

[Erastus Snow]

[DNW 21:584, 10/30/72, p 4; JD 15:197]

DISCOURSE

By Elder ERASTUS SNOW, delivered at the 42nd Semi-Annual Conference, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, October 7, 1872.

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REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

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      God has said that Zion shall be as a city set upon a hill, whose light can not be hid. We are called to be the children of Zion. The Lord has declared that Zion consists of the pure in heart. He has said, further, that the nations of the earth have corrupted their way before him, and, referring to Babylon, his command to his Saints is—"Come out of her, O my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, that ye receive not of her plagues." The Bible is full of prophecies delivered by the Prophets and Patriarchs, and by the Savior and his Apostles, concerning the day and age in which we live. The end draweth nigh and the time approacheth speedily when the Lord will make a full end of all nations who fight against Zion, who reject his law and harden their hearts against him, his precepts and his government. It is our high privilege to bear this testimony, and the testimony we have to bear unto the people of the 19th century is but a renewal of that which was borne by Prophets and Saints in days days past and gone. They spoke of the time in which we live by the spirit of prophecy and revelation, which was like one looking through a glass darkly, yet it is our privilege to behold with our eyes and to hear with our ears those things which Prophets and Patriarchs long desired to see, but died without the sight. The duty especially enjoined upon us today is to awake to righteousness, and consider the calling wherewith God has called us. We should consider that God has separated us by the preaching of his word and by the testimony of Jesus; and has called us to be a distinct people, distinct in this particular, that we separate ourselves from sin and wickedness, and, as far as possible, from the company of sinners and from all those customs and habits that tend to darken, degrade and abase the human mind, and cultivate those which will sanctify, the affections, purify the heart and ennoble the whole being of man, and fit us, as far as in us lies, to regenerate ourselves and our race. In short, God desires, and has put forth his hand, to exalt his people from their low degree, and to lift them up and make of them a peculiar people, a holy nation, a kingdom of Priests unto the Most High God and the Lamb.

      In all this, is there anything that can hurt, destroy or injure, in any wise, any portion of our fellow-men who do not feel disposed to join us in this glorious work, or engage with us in this noble enterprise? Not at all. The salvation of God is revealed for the good of all men who will receive it. The Gospel is offered without money and without price to all flesh, and the testimony that we bear to the world is that Jesus died for all, and that through the shedding of his blood, salvation may come unto all men who will believe and yield obedience unto the requirements of his Gospel. The government which is inaugurated and established among men by the preaching of the Gospel, and the administration of its holy ordinances, is a government of peace, love and goodwill to men, prompting those who receive it to do good unto all, but especially unto the household of faith.

      The duties which are enjoined upon us are, first, to our own house-hold—the household of God, those who have been baptized into Christ by being born again of the water and of the Spirit, and become the children of God by adoption. Next, to all men who have not thus bees translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear Son; and that love which is wrought in the Saints of God by the fire of the Holy Ghost through faith in and obedience to the Gospel, prompts all who are brought under its influence to yield obedience to its requirements and to labor for the well-being of every creature that bears the form of God.

      There is nothing in the constitution of the Gospel, or the organization of the Church of Christ and the kingdom of God among men, and the precepts that are taught of God and his servants, that would in the least degree inflict injury or withhold blessings from any member of the family of man, inasmuch as they place themselves in a condition to receive them, and are willing to accept them. But God has ordained certain everlasting principles of truth by which his people may be exalted, and without which they can not be exalted into his presence and to the enjoyment of his glory. All things are governed by law, and all good and wholesome laws, which are ordained and enacted by men, designed for the peace, prosperity and wellbeing of their fellow-creatures, should be respected, maintained and honored by all people, and this is one of the duties enjoined upon all Saints in all the commandments and revelations of God to his people.

      It is, further, the duty of all who are entrusted with the administration of law, in any department whatever, to act in good faith, in all purity and integrity, and in good conscience for the wellbeing and happiness of their fellow-creatures in the administration of justice, truth and judgment; and it should be the aim of all law-makers to consult the best interests of the people from whom they derive authority, or in whose behalf they are called to act. It is the duty of Latter-day Saints, and of all good people to honor all laws and regulations that are ordered for the freedom of all flesh. And if there are people who do not feel disposed to, or who can not, receive the testimony of the Lord Jesus, they are left with as much freedom to enjoy the rights and privileges which are accorded to them, as the children of God on the earth, as though they did believe, taking and suffering the consequences of their own unbelief, which consequence will be a failure to attain to the blessings which are revealed, and which God deigns to bestow upon the obedient and faithful.

      The word of the Lord unto all flesh is, "Come unto me, all ye ends of the earth, and be ye saved. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly of heart, and ye shall find rest to your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light." If any doubt the yoke of Christ being easy and his burden being light, let them try the experiment, and demonstrate for themselves. If there are any either, within or without the Church of Christ, who feel his yoke to be heavy and galling, and his burden not to be easy, I can inform them that they have not taken upon themselves the yoke of Christ, they are not bearing his burden, for they are not meek and lowly of heart, they have not learned their lessons correctly—how to govern and control their own spirits by the principles and spirit of the everlasting Gospel. There is nothing in its nature that is oppressive, galling or hard to bear. In saying this I give the experience of my life, for it has been devoted from my childhood to the contemplation of these glorious truths, with an earnest endeavor to apply them practically unto myself, and I have demonstrated them, and I speak that which I know and have experienced, and most assuredly believe and testify of them. And many there are who believe this testimony and are able to corroborate it; and those who are not, and have not experienced it in their lives have the privilege of doing so.

      It is our duty to sanctify the Lord in this land that he has given us for an inheritance, by observing, not only the law of tithing, which is one means which he has given us for that purpose, but by observing every precept that emanates from him, and living by every word that proceeds from his mouth, not forgetting the words of wisdom, which are designed to improve us in a physical point of view, to add strength to our bodies, lengthen our lives, to increase our powers of endurance, and to increase the strength, efficiency and power of the rising generation. Every institution which God has established in our midst—social, political and religious—is designed for our improvement, individually and collectively, as a people and as families, to prolong our lives and to increase our usefulness and our ability for good in the earth; and if we observe these principles and apply them diligently in our lives, praying earnestly with our families and in secret to the Lord for wisdom in doing so, our light will continue to shine, our strength to increase and our influence both at home and abroad, on the earth and in the heavens, before God, angels and good men, and the strength, union, faith, light and purity of the lives or the Latter-day Saints will be a terror to evildoers.

      What can men do against the Lord, and against the people who fear him and are united in good works? What can the arm of flesh accomplish but its own discomfiture. The weapons of the people of God are not carnal, but they are mighty through faith. We war not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual wickedness in high places, and against corruption wherever it is found, reproving sin, folly, deception, dishonesty and wickedness of every kind· And if there are those who profess to be Saints, and who do not live the life of Saints, whose light is not shining, whose lamps are not trimmed and burning, whose lives and characters, precepts and examples do not correspond with the principles of the Gospel, this only testifies to the weakness of men and is nothing against the truth, the testimony of Jesus, or against the testimony of those who do live their religion and magnify their calling as Saints, and whose precepts and examples correspond. If some do not believe, will that make the truth of God of none-effect or less valuable? And what if some do not make their lives correspond with their doctrines and precepts, it will but show more Vividly and clearly the character of those who are clean and pure, and who do love the truth and delight to honor it.

      I am a witness of the truth which God has revealed unto man pertaining to the fullness of the Gospel: that Jesus is the Son of God, the Savior of those who will receive him, and that he has laid the foundation for a more glorious and extended salvation than the majority of us are capable of conceiving and properly comprehending; and his work is onward in the earth, and it will continue onward and upward, until the nations of the earth shall be warned, and all people who will hear may hear and receive the Gospel, he numbered with his children, be gathered into his fold, become the children of Zion, and prepared for his coming, for at the appointed time, which he has foretold, and which time is in the bosom of the Father, the Son will surely come in the clouds of heaven and the holy Angels with him, to assume the reins of government on the earth, and to reign King of kings and Lord of lords. Then, all those who will not bow to his sceptre, yield obedience to his rule, and accept of his government and of his dominion will be cut off. Then comes the time spoken of when every knee that remains shall bow, and every tongue confess, to the glory of God the Father, that Jesus is the Christ.

      It is to lay the foundation of this work, and to prepare a people for this era that the Lord called his servant Joseph Smith, and revealed unto him the fullness of the Gospel in this, the 19th century. Elder Rich testified that he knew, by the revelations of God to himself, that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God. The question will arise in the minds of the unbelieving, How can this be? They marvel, like Nicodemus marvelled when Jesus told him he must be born again. He wondered within himself how a man could be born again—how, when he was old, he could enter a second time into his mother's womb and he born. The marvel rises in the minds of many, How can a man know for himself that Joseph Smith was truly called to be a Prophet, seer and revelator to this generation? That God did reveal to him the fullness of the Gospel? That the Book of Mormon contains the fullness of the Gospel—the same that was taught and revealed by the Savior and his disciples, as recorded in the New Testament? How can a man know that Angels administered to him? That God opened the visions of heaven to the Prophet Joseph Smith? I answer, They may know it precisely as the Apostle Peter knew that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. It is in this manner that Elder Rich knows that Joseph Smith was a Prophet; it is in this manner that I know he was a Prophet and a servant of God raised up to commence this work in the earth, and to lay the foundation of the Church and kingdom of God on the earth. When Jesus asked Peter and the rest of the Apostles, "Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man am?" They answered, "Some think thou art Elias; others that thou art John the Baptist risen from the dead; others that thou art Jeremiah or one of the Prophets." "But whom say ye that I am?" Peter answered—"Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." "Blessed art thou Simon Barjonah, flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, but my Father who is in heaven; and verily I say unto thee, upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Not upon Peter, not his person, for he was flesh, and must pass away like the flower of the field. It was not on Peter, or his successors in office, as is taught by the Romish church Then who and what was this rock Christ referred to? It was the rock of revelation, revelation from the living God. "On this rock," said the Savior, "I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." And I repeat that I know the truth of the Gospel, as Peter knew that Jesus was the Christ, by revelation unto me from the Father who is in heaven, and I bear this testimony unto you.

      I know that there are many, very many, whose testimony has been proclaimed in the ears of this generation, and is recorded in heaven. Their words are like the precious things that John saw in the vials that were before the throne of God, and their testimony will remain, and blessed are all those who receive it. Blessed be the Lord God who revealed these things unto Peter and unto his servant Joseph, and who has revealed it unto many more who have sought him with an earnest desire to know his ways! Blessed are those who fear him and keep his commandments!

      May God help us to live as Saints, and let our light shine! May God seal the testimony of the Twelve upon the hearts of those who desire it, that they may come unto and walk in the light, be saved through the truth, and inherit exaltation with the sanctified, is my prayer, for Christ's sake. Amen.

 

            Conference adjourned till to-morrow, Tuesday, at 10 a.m.

            The choir sang the anthem: "O, Father, whose almighty power," in a most beautiful and effective manner.

            Dismissed by prayer by ELDER FRANKLIN D. RICHARDS.

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[8 Oct, 10 am]

[DNW 21:555, 10/16/72, p 7]

THIRD DAY.

Tuesday, 8th, 10 a.m.

            The choir sang: "My God, the spring of all my joys, The life of my delights."

            Opening prayer by ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON.

            "Come, Holy Ghost, our hearts inspire, Let us thine influence prove," was sung by the choir.

            PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG said that the meetings to-day would be occupied similarly to those of the two days previously, in hearing the Elders bear testimony to the things of God. To-morrow some business matters would be laid before the Conference, and he himself would address the Saints on some points connected with their present and eternal welfare.

[Elder Franklin D. Richards]

            ELDER FRANKLIN D. RICHARDS bore testimony that the work with which he was identified in unison with the Latter-day Saints, was the work of God. He also treated upon the magnitude of that work, showing the objects which it was destined to accomplish, and in order for people to enjoy the benefits it conferred they must keep pace with its progress. The promise of Jesus to the meek, that they should inherit the earth, had probably been realized to as great an extent by the Latter-day Saints as by any other people professing to be the followers of Christ. This was the last dispensation, and the fulfilment of many prophecies and the realization of many of God's promises were reserved for the people of the Lord in this age. The speaker next dwelt upon the gathering of Israel from the nations, the follies and fashions of the world, and the attempts of the wicked to lead astray the youth among the Saints by their allurements, and spoke of the necessity of encouraging and fostering Sunday and other schools.

[President B. Young]

            PRESIDENT B. YOUNG addressed the congregation as follows --

            I have a very few words to say to the Latter-day Saints, on the subject spoken upon by brother Richards, concerning our friends who have such care for us. Brother Franklin says there are a certain few who expect to lead away the children of the Saints, not being able to operate on the spirits and feelings of the older ones, and that they are getting up schools for this purpose. It is a matter I have never spoken upon, for my feelings would perhaps differ from others; but I will tell you my private feelings publicly with regard to those who are starting schools, seminaries, and by-the-by colleges. To all who take an interest in educating the rising generation, whether "Mormons," Catholics, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Methodists, or any other class of civilized, moral people, I say to you, I do thank you, I thank you sincerely for your kindness, and you shall receive your reward for all the good that you do. And I say to my brethren and sisters who are heads of families, if these schools can receive our children--and they are receiving many--and teach them without money and without price, send your children there, and bless the men who are engaged in this work. Live your religion yourselves, each and every one of you, before your children, teach them the truth just as God has revealed it in the latter days, and when they are old they will not depart from it, and you need not be concerned a particle. The Christian world, in their exertions to spread the Bible among what they call the heathen nations, will be blessed for all their good acts, and also for their labors in their Sunday Schools and in their day schools; and for the morals that they teach; for all the faith that they teach to parents and to children in God the Father, or in Jesus Christ our Savior; for every trait of the character of the Savior which they teach and imitate in their lives, God will bless them, and I bless them. But you need not have any concern with regard to the rising generation. Instead of our children running after the world, the ungodly, Babylon, I hope to see the time when they will live their religion, and when the children of strangers will live the religion of Christ, and when those who now think they will turn away our children from the holy commandments of the Lord will see the error of their ways, return to the Lord, repent of their sins and receive the Gospel in its fullness, that they may be saved. Our doctrine is not based upon tradition or the faith and doings of men, but it is a living faith in the living God, and it will bear all the scrutiny men are disposed to bestow upon it. Now it is faith against faith, work against work, and it is the power of God against the power of the enemy; and all good, all truth, and everything pertaining to that which we call truth is of God; and they who labor to promote it, whether in Sunday schools, day schools, in praying, preaching, refraining from evil, ceasing to take the name of the Lord in vain, being honest one with another, bearing no false witness against their neighbor, keeping the commandments delivered to Moses, and the commandments delivered to us, I say that all such individuals or people will be blessed in their deeds.

[Elder George Q. Cannon]

            ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON addressed the conference. In his opening remarks he touched principally upon the desire created in all people who embraced the gospel to gather and associate with those who were of the same faith, showing that this was a never failing effect of obedience o the principles taught by the Elders of Israel. He also spoke of the reasons for this gathering together of the Latter-day Saints, and the excellent effects resulting therefrom, and from the people being in possession of the Spirit of the Lord, which had permeated their hearts, uniting them in bonds that were indissoluble. The speaker next commented upon the encroachments among the Saints of the evil tendencies of the age -- fashion, extravagance, &c., and against which all should set their faces like flint that they might rear, in purity and beauty, the glorious superstructure of the kingdom of God, which work had been entrusted to them by the Lord. The Almighty was beginning to pour temporal blessings upon the people, and there was a prospect of this community becoming one of the wealthiest on this continent. It was a most important matter for the consideration of the Saints whether they would use the bounties of the earth with which they were being blessed for the building up of the work of God, or whether they would waste and scatter the blessings of the Lord to the winds. As a whole the people were not living in this respect as they should do. So far as inaugurating and carrying forward a system, under the direction of the Almighty, calculated to check the tide of corruption and impurity which flooded the world, they had taken a decided stand, fearless of consequences, and now that they were being brought in contact with the blandishments of wealth, would they continue, and manifest the same integrity of purpose when placed under a change of circumstances financially? The people might as well prepare now for the introduction of that order, under which there would be no poor among the people. The establishment of co-operation was a step in that direction, one of the effects of which had been to measurably break down class distinctions. He concluded by exhorting the Saints to sustain their own institutions, by patronizing all kinds of home manufacture.

[George Q. Cannon]

[DNW 21:648, 11/27/72, p 4; JD 15:202]

DISCOURSE

By Elder GEORGE Q. CANNON, Delivered at the 42nd Semi-Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, October 8, 1872

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      Since the commencement of our Conference we have heard very much valuable instruction, and testimonies which have been very cheering to the hearts of those who have heard them; and no doubt every person who has attended Conference from its commencement until the present time, and who will continue until the Conference shall terminate, will feel amply rewarded for the time spent, and will go away feeling better prepared to perform the duties which may devolve upon him or her.

      There is so much to talk about connected with our circumstances and condition, that it requires a portion of the Spirit of the Lord to enable a person, in speaking, to dwell upon those points which are best adapted to our present requirements. We are not situated as any other people, that is, in many respects, and instructions adapted to our circumstances would differ probably from those which would be required by others. We have been, from the commencement, a peculiar people; our religion is in many respects at the present time a peculiar one; yet, if there be any distinctive peculiarity about the religion of the Latter-day Saints, it is that they believe and receive the Scriptures as they are, and do not attempt to put double meanings to their teachings. Our religion being peculiar, the effect of it is somewhat peculiar. The message which the Elders of this Church declare when they go forth to preach the Gospel has a different effect, upon people who listen to it, to that which is declared by any other denomination. Not because faith in Jesus Christ, repentance of sin, baptism for the remission of sins, and laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost are taught, but because, following these principles, there is declared unto the people the propriety and the necessity of gathering out from the various nations where they dwell, from the midst of their kindred and their former associates, and concentrating at the place which God, as the Elders testify, has selected as the place for his people to reside in. This is a strange doctrine, and one that is peculiar to the Latter-day Saints, and, as I have said, the effects upon the people are peculiar. No sooner do they hear the proclamation of this doctrine, and in some instances before, than there springs up in the hearts of those who have received the testimony of the Elders a desire to gather out, and be associated with the people with whom they have joined, and whose faith they have received. I suppose that among the thousands who live in this Territory, who have been gathered from the various States of this country, and from the various countries of Europe, of Asia and the islands of the sea, there is scarcely one to be found who did not, as soon as he or she embraced the Gospel, have an intense desire to gather with the people of God, and to become closely associated with them, to believe as they believed, to live as they lived, to share their trials, to partake of their prosperity or adversity, as the case might be; to receive instructions from the man whom they believed God had chosen to preside over his Church upon the earth. And the effect upon the Latter-day Saints in every land is the same in this respect. You may travel to the most inhospitable climate—to the bleak regions of the north, or to the sunny climes of the south; to the lands of sterility and barrenness, where hardship seems to be the lot of the people, where privation is one of the incidents of their existence; or to the lands of fertility, where the inhabitants acquire a livelihood with ease; in fact, no matter where you go, nor whatever the circumstances may be which surround the people, when they hear the testimony of the servants of God, and receive and act upon it, the same spirit takes possession of the people, and they gladly forsake the lands of their nativity, and the associations of life—of early life and mature age, the homes of their childhood and the graves of their ancestors, and wend their way with joy and gladness to this strange land, which God, as they verily believe and know, by the testimony of his Holy Spirit, has prepared as a resting place for them. This is the universal effect wherever the Gospel has been preached, and in this respect the Latter-day Saints are a peculiar people.

      But though we have gathered together, as we have, in this country, there seems to be in the minds of a great many people a disposition to overlook the reasons which God our heavenly Father has had in view in gathering us out, and collecting us together, and making us one people. The prophecies which were recorded in ancient days, as well as those which have been given us in the day in which we live; all point forward to this great dispensation, as a time When God should do a great and mighty work in the midst of the earth, and when a great revolution. should be effected and a great reformation accomplished among the children of men; when he should have a peculiar people—a people who should be gathered out from all nations, a people who should be free from the vices and the evils of all nations, a people upon whom he should place his name, and whom he should recognize as his. We are told by the Revelator John, that a time would come when the people of God should be commanded to come out of Babylon, out of confusion, when they should be gathered out from every nation, from the remotest parts of the earth, and when he should make of them a great and mighty people.

      We see a partial fulfillment of this prediction in this Territory—this people are gathered from various lands, and are dwelling together in peace and in union, without litigation, animosity or strife, all harmonizing together—their interests blended in one. To my mind this is one of the most remarkable phenomena to be witnessed on the face of the earth. It strikes me as such, and although familiar with it from my childhood, I look with wonder and astonishment at the great work that has been done in gathering this people together. Visitors come here, and they are full of admiration for the great labors that have been accomplished by the Latter-day Saints in transforming this wilderness land into a fruitful field, in creating these gardens, in erecting these houses, in adorning this land with beautiful habitations and with groves, and making this soil, once so barren and sterile, teem with fertility. They admire the physical works which we have accomplished; but to my mind there is something greater than this to be admired. There are works which far surpass the work accomplished on the face of nature. When I contemplate the work that has been accomplished in gathering the people from the various nations; when I see men of various languages and, originally, of various creeds, born under various forms of government, spread throughout this land, dwelling together in peace, union and love, worshiping together in the one Tabernacle, or in the same places of worship throughout the length and breadth of this Territory, I see something which to my mind is far, far more surprising than anything wrought by our physical labors. I see a power wonderful in its effect—a power which has moulded the heart's and blended the feelings of the children of men, and created a oneness in their midst, the effects of which are witnessed all around us. God has done this, and to his name the glory must be ascribed. Man cannot do these things, he cannot thus affect and operate upon the minds of his fellowmen. He may produce some effect, may accomplish some results, but that union, love and harmony which we witness among ourselves is beyond the power of man to bring about—it is the power of God which he has manifested; and for wise and great ends has this wonderful Godlike power been restored, which binds the hearts of men to their fellowmen, and causes them to co-operate, as they have clone in this land, in accomplishing the labors which have devolved upon us.

      But yet, though I can admire these things, brethren and sisters, these are many things which we have neglected to do, which devolve upon us. God has given unto us a great mission in the earth, and whether we realize it or not it is a fact. He has entrusted to us, as a people, a great and mighty work to perform. We look around us in the various nations as well as in our own nation, and we see a great many evils existing, we see these evils increasing in magnitude, and becoming more formidable and threatening every year that passes over our heads. Probably we who reside in these mountains, and have done so for a quarter of a century, can realize the evidence of these evils better than they who live in the midst of them and witness their gradual growth without noticing the great changes which have been effected. But we see extravagance, corruption, and a lack of virtue and public morality; we see the breaking down of those barriers which formerly existed, and a sapping and demoralization of public sentiment and of private morality throughout the nation of which we form a part, as well as in other nations.

      Now there is laid upon us, as a people, the labor of establishing righteousness in the earth. There is laid upon us the duty of building up in purity and power a system which God has revealed unto us. Not a system of theocracy to be exclusive in its effects, not to build up a class, a priesthood that should domineer and wield unjust and oppressive power over the hearts and minds of the children of men. Our mission is to lay the foundation and to build up a system under which all the inhabitants of the land can dwell in peace and safety. But I notice a difficulty in our own midst, and that is that we yield, to a great extent, to the tendencies of the age, to the influences which surround us on every hand. We must refrain from this we must set our faces like flint against every species of corruption, against every kind of wrong, in whatever form it may approach us. We must seek with all the energy that we have, to build up in truth and righteousness that which God has committed unto us, and establish impregnably the system of reformation with which we are entrusted. There can be no better way for us to commence than by listening to the counsels that have been given unto us in the past, and which have been the means of producing the peace, happiness and prosperity which we witness among us.

      There are tendencies to be witnessed in this city, and among our own people here, that we have to guard against. We well know that, of late, there has been an increase of wealth, and of the means of acquiring luxuries and comforts. God has bestowed these upon us, and the question now is with us, Will we use these, means aright, with an eye single to his glory? Will we, with our increased prosperity, devote ourselves in the future, as we have in the past, to the building up of the kingdom of God, as our paramount duty? Not for our own aggrandizement, but for the benefit of our fellow-men in every land, as well as for the benefit of those who reside in this Territory. If we do this, God will bless us. But you know what the fate of all people has been who have been similarly situated to us in the beginning. In their early days they were pure, they were not extravagant, they were simple in their tastes, habits and dress. They did not allow their minds to go out after earthly things, or to be placed upon them. But means and wealth will always increase among frugal, economical, virtuous and industrious people, for it is one of the natural consequences which follow industry and well-directed labor, and we are no exceptions to this rule. We live in a land that has been barren and sterile above all lands on this continent, and by well-directed energy and industry, by perseverance temperance and frugality, we have been blessed, and now the fruits of our long-continued abstentiousness and industry are beginning to flow in upon us, and we are becoming wealthy. Our lands are becoming valuable, our surroundings are becoming, if not luxurious, at least comfortable, wealth is pouring into our laps, and the prospect is that ere long we will be as wealthy a community, probably, as can be found between the two oceans. This seems to be the natural tendency of events at the present time.

      Now the question arises—and I deem it an important one for this Conference—it has rested on my mind, as I doubt not it has on the minds of the brethren—will we as a people devote the means that God is giving unto us, for the preservation and continuation of that system that he has revealed unto us? Or will we scatter it abroad, destroy ourselves, and spoil the future which God has in store for us? We must be a different people from every other that has preceded us, if we fulfill the predictions of the holy Priesthood, for God has said, through the mouth of his prophet Daniel, thousands of years ago, that this kingdom should not be given into the hands of another people, but it should stand for ever. It should not share the fate of previous attempts of the same character, and be overthrown in consequence of the weakness of the people, and the abandonment by them of the principles of truth and righteousness. There is nothing plainer to my mind than this, that if the Latter-day Saints become luxurious and extravagant; if they love the world and forsake their former purity; if they forsake their frugality and temperance, and the principles which God has revealed unto them, and by the practice of which they are to-day the people that they are; we shall be overthrown as others have been overthrown. But I do not look for any such result, for I believe firmly in the prediction of Daniel, that this work, when established, shall not be given into the hands of another people, but it shall stand for ever, and there will be means and agencies used and brought to bear on the minds of the people, to prevent such a catastrophe as that to which I have alluded—to prevent the downfall of the system and the overthrow of those connected with it, and to prevent the victory of that which is evil over that which is good, holy and pure.

      These means have been indicated in revelations which have been given unto us. We are not living as we should live. As a people we follow the systems of our fathers in regard to the management of wealth. We follow in the footsteps of those who have preceded us. We are innovators so far as religious thought and doctrines are concerned, and we have been bold innovators. We have not hesitated to adopt great reforms, and to proclaim them, and we have sought, with all the energies God has bestowed upon us, to make them facts in the earth. We have proclaimed this doctrine of gathering, and the people have been gathered together. This is a great innovation, it is a bold step, and it has resulted in success thus far. It is not now a novelty, or a new and untried experiment, for the gathering of the people together has been going on for forty years and upwards. But it was a great innovation when introduced. It is so with other doctrines which the Elders of this Church have taught. God inspired their hearts, and they, regardless of all consequences, fearlessly proclaimed the truth which he imparted unto them. We have made a great revolution in our domestic relations, and in our social system. We have taken a bold stand, and have been fearless of the consequences, because God, as we testify, has revealed unto us a principle that should be practiced, and which we should carry out, and be the pioneers in inaugurating for the redemption of men and women, and that should check, and, in fact, effectually cure, the evils under which Christendom has groaned for centuries. The Elders of this Church did this, and have risked all the consequences, from the time the system was inaugurated until the present time. The results of this we can all see, in the purity and chastity of our community; for strange as it may seem, in no other land are the chastity and virtue of women so highly respected as in Utah. Throughout the length and breadth of this Territory public sentiment is utterly opposed to anything that would violate that chastity and virtue.

      In these directions, then, we have been bold and fearless innovators. But so far as financial matters are concerned, so far as the accumulation and management of wealth are concerned, we have not followed in the path which God has marked out. Yet the time must come, and we may as well prepare our minds for it, when we shall have to take a great step in this direction, and when we shall have to follow the path indicated by God in order to escape the evils that are inevitable, and that will otherwise most assuredly come upon, and overwhelm us.

      I have told you that others who have preceded us have fallen a prey to evils. The increase of wealth in every nation has been attended with fatal consequences. We have but to read the history of our race from the beginning until the present time to rest assured of that. Men have said, probably, to all of you who have been out and mingled with the world, "It is very well for you Latter-day Saints to talk about your condition now, because you are a primitive people, you are a young community, you have not been tempted and tried. Wait till you increase in wealth, and until you become familiar with the sins which surround the wealthy. Wait until you are brought in contact with luxury; wait until the spirit of reform which animated your pioneers dies out, and a generation rises up who will think more of the world, then there will be a different feeling and spirit, and you will not be persecuted, hated or despised. You will become more popular, because the world will become familiarized with your ideas. Then "Mormonism' and the Latter-day Saints will become like every other people that have preceded them—overcome by the luxuries of the world, and by the love of riches." Have you not heard remarks of this kind time and time again? Doubtless they have been made to you or in your bearing.

      Now, how shall we avert these evils? It is very well to say that God has established this kingdom; it is very well to say that this is his Church. Did he never have a Church or kingdom on the earth before? Did he never have a people on the earth before? Why, most certainly he did. He had churches before this; he had people before he chose the Latter-day Saints. He had communities that he owned and recognized before we were organized. Yet they went the way of all the earth, and the Church of God disappeared from the midst of the inhabitants of the earth. Luxury, corruption, vice, extravagance, the love of wealth and the allurements of sin prevailed in all the earth, and the devil—his satanic majesty—held high carnival throughout the earth because of the influence and power of these things over the hearts of the children of men. It is true that God established his work before; we know it to be true; and because he has established it in our day, we need not think that he is going to preserve it without using means to do so. He has revealed, and will continue to reveal, law, and that law must be obeyed by us, or we can not be preserved. The time must come when we must obey that which has been revealed to us as the Order of Enoch, when there shall be no rich and no poor among the Latter-day Saints; when wealth will not be a temptation; when every man will love his neighbor as he does himself; when every man and woman will labor for the good of all as much as for self. That day must come, and we may as well prepare our hearts for it, brethren, for as wealth increases I see more and more a necessity for the institution of such an order. As wealth increases, luxury and extravagance have more power over us. The necessity for such an order is very great, and God, undoubtedly, in his own time and way, will inspire his servant to introduce it among the people. I do not wish to foreshadow when it will be done, or what the circumstances will be that will call it forth, for this is not my province; but I feel led to talk upon it, and to prepare my own heart, and to seek, with all the faith and influence I have, to prepare the hearts of my brethren and sisters for the introduction of this order. It will doubtless be a time of trial, and will be attended with many things that will test our feelings; but When we view the great results that will follow its introduction and its perfect establishment upon the earth, we should be filled with thanksgiving and praise that God has devised a scheme of this kind. You can see already the effects of the partial introduction of something akin to it in co-operation. We have had that established in ore' midst, and what are its effects? We witness a gradual diffusion of means throughout the community, greatly benefiting all its members. One of the effects of this which we witness is that wealth does not increase so rapidly in the hands of the few, and that the poor are not kept in poverty so much.

      Before co-operation started, you doubtless saw and deplored the increase of wealth in some few hands. There was rapidly growing in our midst a class of monetary men composing an aristocracy of wealth. Our community was menaced by serious dangers through this, because if a community is separated into two classes, one poor and the other rich, their interests are diverse. Poverty and wealth do not work together well—one lords it over the other; one becomes the prey of the other. This is apt to be the case in all societies, in ours as well as others; probably not to so great an extent, but still it was sufficiently serious to menace us as a people with danger. God inspired his servant to counsel, the people to enter into co-operation, and it has now been practiced for some years in our midst with the best results. Those who have pot in a little means have had that more than doubled since Z. C. M. I. started—three years last March. And so it is with co-operative herds, cooperative factories, and co-operative institutions of all kinds which have been established in our midst, and all the people can partake of the benefits of this system. You can see the effect of co-operation on the people. But this is only a limited system, it does not extend as far as needed, although it required faith to enter into this; yet it will require more to enter upon the other of which I have spoken.

      While upon co-operation, let me here say that we can witness the good effects of this to the Church, and we shall feel them in days to come. President Young, the other day, paid into the co-operative establishment—Zion's Co-operative Mercantile Institution—a hundred thousand dollars tithing—the tithing of his own personal means—and it is now where it will yield profits for the benefit of the whole Church. Now, if this amount had been used to pay the hands on the public works and those laboring for the Church, how long do you think it would have lasted? It would very soon have been used up. But I have admired the wisdom, and have felt thankful that there was a sum placed where it could be used for the benefit of the work, and at the same time yield a handsome return for the investment. I do not think it will take more than three years, if the Co-operative Institution prospers as well in the future as in the past, for this sum to double itself in the shape of dividends. I refer to this in passing, because it is a testimony to-day, after three years and a half have elapsed, to the wisdom that prompted the establishment of this institution; but notwithstanding this you are aware that many cried out against it, and denounced it as very unwise, and likely to end disastrously, and several apostatized through its inauguration because they wanted all the profits themselves, and were unwilling the people should have any. But we have the facts before us. The people who entered into it have been blessed exceedingly, and they will continue to be so if they persevere.

      But I have said that this is only a stepping stone to something beyond that is more perfect, and that will result in the diffusion of the blessings of God to a greater extent among us. In other lands you see the people divided into classes. You see beggars in the street, and men and women who are short of food, dwelling in hovels and in the poorest of tenements. At the same time, others revel in luxury, they have everything they need, and more than they need to satisfy all their wants. Every philanthropist who contemplates this, does so with sadness, and measure after measure has been devised to remedy this state of things. Our community is not a prey to these evils. Beggary and want are unknown in this Territory; at the same time we have no very rich men among us. Like other new communities we are more on an equality than we would be if we were older, and if we were to become an old community under the system which prevailed before co-operation was established, then it is very probable that some of the class distinctions to be seen in other communities would be seen in ours. It is to avoid this that God has revealed that which I have alluded to, and his design is to bring to pass a better condition of affairs, by making men equal in earthly things. He has given this earth to all his children; and he has given to us air, light, water and soil; he has given to us the animals that are upon the earth, and all the elements by which it is surrounded. They are not given to one or to some, to the exclusion of others; not to one class, or to one nation to the exclusion of other classes or other nations. But he has given them to his children in all nations alike. Man, however, abuses the agency that God has given him, and he transgresses his laws by oppressing his fellow-men. There is selfishness in the rich, and there is covetousness in the poor. There is a clashing of interests, and there is not that feeling among men which we are told the Gospel should bring—a feeling to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. This does not exist on the earth now, it is reserved for God to restore it. We pray that God's will maybe done on earth as it is in heaven, and when it shall, then the order which exists in heaven will be practiced and enjoyed by men on the earth. I do not expect when we get to heaven, that we shall see some riding in their chariots, enjoying every luxury, and crowned with crowns of glory, while the rest are in poverty.

      I have spoken longer than I intended, but there are some few thoughts on my mind to which I will allude in this connection before I sit down, and that is, brethren and sisters, that we should, to the extent of our ability, foster these institutions that have been established among us. We should do all that we can to sustain ourselves—sustain our own factories, do all in our power to maintain these things that we have established, and seek with all our energy to foster them. We have factories here that can make as good cloth as any of their size, probably, in the nation. They ought to be sustained by us. Brother Erastus Snow related an incident a day or two ago in relation to their operations at St. George. They received quite a quantity of cloth from the factory of President Young. He told the store-keeper at St. George not to say anything about where it was manufactured. At the same time they received a consignment of eastern manufactured goods. They were put side by side on the shelves of the store and sold to the people. There were very few—some two or three persons—who knew that any of these goods were manufactured in the Territory. They sold very readily to the people, who said they were the best goods they had bought. They wore them, and they wore well. Several lots were received from the President's factory, and sold in the same way, the people remaining in ignorance a good while as to the place of their manufacture, and imagining that they were brought from the east. There is an idea prevailing among many of us that something manufactured abroad is better than that manufactured at home. President George A. Smith, Elder Woodruff and myself, on our recent visit to California, examined the Oregon and California goods. We went through a woollen factory there, where very excellent goods were made. We saw some blankets and some other things which were manufactured there, which can not be surpassed. I recollected that I had heard parties here, who had purchased Oregon cloth, praise it very highly; but in examining that class of goods in California, I found that the cloth manufactured in this Territory compared very favorably with it, and had they been put side by side, bolt by bolt, it would have been very difficult to tell which was Utah and which was Oregon manufacture. Indeed if there was any preference I was inclined to give it to our own cloth.

      We have factories that can make straw hats, straw bonnets and every thing of this kind. We have good tanners' and shoe shops, and harness shops. We have a great many manufactories in our Territory that should be fostered by us as a people. We should guard against luxury and extravagance, and use that which is manufactured at home.

      That God may bless us, that he may pour out his Holy Spirit upon this Conference; upon those who speak and those who hear, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

            The choir sang the anthem, "Open thou mine eyes."

            Adjourned till 2 p.m.

            Prayer by ELDER BRIGHAM YOUNG Junr.

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[8 Oct, 2 pm]

[DNW 21:555, 10/16/72, p 7]

TUESDAY, 8th, 2 p.m.

            The Choir sang: "How beauteous are their feet Who stand on Zion's hill."

            Prayer by ELDER ALBERT P. ROCKWOOD.

            "Come, dearest Lord, descend and dwell, By faith and love, in every breast," Was sung by the Choir.

[Elder Brigham Young Jun.]

            ELDER BRIGHAM YOUNG, JUN., bore testimony to the divine authenticity of the work with which he was identified. He spoke of the great privileges extended, through the restoration of the gospel, to all who would accept of its heaven-born principles. The Saints had something reliable and permanent to guide them, and were not liable to be blown about by every wind of doctrine. They not only had the written word, but were blessed with the teachings of the Comforter and of the living oracles. He depreciated the following after the fashions and follies of the world by many of the Saints, especially those living in Salt Lake City. Temptations not existing here hitherto were being introduced, and if they were resisted they would tend to exalt instead of debase them. The speaker also commented upon the importance of the people observing the Word of Wisdom and upon the promises attached to obedience thereunto. It had been given to the Latter-day Saints as a commandment from God. The speaker adverted, in a pointed manner, to the conduct of many of the young men in the community who were indulging in pernicious practices, which were in direct infringement of the precepts of the gospel. It was the duty of all to discourage such habits. The speaker expressed the opinion that those who would continue to utterly disregard the Word of Wisdom would lack the Spirit, and eventually leave the Church. He exhorted the people earnestly to devote themselves, with singleness of heart, to carrying out the aim they had in gathering from the nations.

[Brigham Young jun.]

[DNW 21:632, 11/20/72, p 4; JD 15:191]

DISCOURSE

By Elder BRIGHAM YOUNG, Jr., Delivered at the 42nd Semi-Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, October 8, 1872.

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REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

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      I believe it is pleasing, generally, for an Elder in this Church to have the privilege of bearing his testimony, though it may be done with fear and trembling, before the people; yet the knowledge which God has given to the Elders of Israel inspires them to declare it unto the world. Although I am considerably afflicted, as well as my brethren, with this manfearing spirit, yet it is a pleasure to me, and I hope it ever will be, to stand before the congregations, and tell them that I know, by the revelations of Jesus Christ, that this is the people of God. I may not be able to instruct the people to that extent which others might, but with the help of the Spirit of the Lord I can testify to that which I do know, which I have experienced in my life, and which has been brought home to my understanding. I think that it strengthens me in the principles of the everlasting Gospel every time I have the privilege of testifying to their truth.

      It is almost impossible for this people to realize that they are called by the power and authority of the Almighty, and that they are the Saints of God, nevertheless it is true if we are living that religion which we profess to believe in. Let those who have not received a testimony to that effect go before their Maker, seek him in all diligence, be faithful to that which they know, and he will reveal it unto their minds. We have not come to this earth to idle away our time, or to throw away that precious gift which is within the reach of all whom God has created. Eternal life is extended unto us by a merciful Creator, and we have the opportunity of gaining an exaltation in the kingdom of God if we have a mind to improve it. We have Come here without a knowledge of a former existence, we are like strangers in a strange land. The knowledge that we have acquired guides us to some extent, enables us to gain a living, and in part to understand the things of the kingdom of God. Brethren and sisters, we are here as strangers in a strange land, and a guide is what we want—a guide for our actions on the earth. God has given us one—he revealed a guide through Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and others who have lived in modern times, and they have revealed the will of the Almighty unto the people. We are not left destitute, so that we can be led away by every manner of doctrine; when we hear people say, "Lo! here is Christ, lo! there is Christ," we are not left to ourselves, neither have we to seek the advice of men to know whether these expressions are true or not, because the Spirit of the Almighty has testified unto us that the revelations contained in those books—the Book of Doctrine and Covenants and the Book of Mormon, which we received through Joseph Smith, are true, and they are given unto us for our guidance.

      Is it necessary to ask this people if they are acquainted with the revelations contained in these books, which have been given unto us as a guide to eternal life in the presence of God? Do we understand the revelations contained within the lids of these books? They contain blessings and truths inestimable, for they point the way back into the presence of our God. Do we study and understand them, or are our minds taken up with such light reading as naturally tends to distract the attention from the principles of the Gospel? There is too much faultfinding and confusion, and too much of the world in the midst of this people, and especially in the midst of the Latter-day Saints who dwell in Salt Lake City. It is true that temptations are broadcast in our midst, and we meet them on every hand. But is that any reason that we should give way to them? Is it any reason that we should adopt the follies and fashions of the world because they have been introduced into our midst? Well do I remember the time when, in this city, it was customary for the Saints to retire to rest without locking their doors. There was no necessity to lock granaries, or stables, or to guard property as we are compelled to do now. But times have changed, the temptations which the Lord said should overtake his people have come, and they have come for our salvation, for without them it would be impossible for us to show to God that we are for him and his kingdom and that, under any and all circumstances, we are determined to work righteousness upon the earth. I do not complain because these temptations have been introduced into our midst, for they are necessary. If the Lord sees fit to permit them, I have nothing to say only by way of counsel, and to exhort the Saints not to indulge in those things which would have a tendency to grieve the Spirit of the Lord. I am aware that these evils are not pleasant, and probably if we could understand and comprehend evil without coming in contact with it, God would never have placed us on this earth, so far from our home, so far from those with whom we dwelt in the eternal worlds. He never would have placed us here but for our own good.

      Here are the books—the Bible, 'Book of Mormon, and the Book of Doctrine and Covenants—which are given for a guide to the people of all the earth, if they will but listen to them; but they will not listen to the Book of Mormon and the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and yet I have failed to discover a learned man who could take those books and tell where they differed in doctrine in the least. They can not do this, because the doctrines of all are the same, for they all proceed from God, and they contain his plan for the salvation of his children upon the earth. Shall we obey the revelations which have been given? If I could have an answer from each individual here to-day, professing to be a Saint, I have no doubt it would be "Yes." And if strangers, and the nations of the earth knew that we believe in them as firmly as we believe in anything on the earth, they would say, "If you believe in them, practice and obey them in every particular, and live according to your conscience and the law which God has given you." I, by the revelations of the Almighty, understand these books to be true. I know that Jesus is the Christ. Not because I have read it in the books which I have named, or because I have heard Joseph Smith or others testify to it, but I know it by the revelations of God, just as others have known it in former dispensations of the Gospel, and just as others know it in this dispensation. Saints should live their religion; they should obey the principles which have been revealed and which are contained in these books. But there is too much ignorance concerning these revelations; they are not sufficiently studied; or if studied they are not remembered, if I am to judge from what I see around me. In traveling and preaching among the people, there is one revelation which presses itself particularly on my mind, and which I think the people would obey if they considered that it came from the Almighty. But as they do not obey it, I suppose they do not consider that it came from God. I refer to a revelation given in the year 1833, called the Word of Wisdom. We fail to obey it to-day, and we shall fail to-morrow unless we make a short turn and determine in our own minds that we will obey it. How many of us have disregarded that revelation, in every particular? It is to be found on page 240 of the Doctrine and Covenants, and it shadows to me that a time will come in the midst of this people when a desolating scourge will pass through our ranks, and the destroying angel will be in our midst as he was in Egypt when he slew all the firstborn of the Egyptians. God says "the destroying angel shall pass by" and shall not harm you if you will observe to do these things. Now if we believe this revelation, and I take it for granted that we do, though I may choose to doubt in my own case and some others, yet I assume that as a people we believe it; but what assurance have we that that angel will pass us by unless we do observe it? No more than the children of Israel would have had if they had failed to mark their doors and lintels with the blood of a lamb, as Moses had commanded them. What effect would a failure to comply with this commandment have had on them? Would the Destroyer have passed by the firstborn of Israel? I know not; I think the firstborn of Israel would have been slain as well as the first-born of Egypt. That was a revelation given by the Lord to Moses for the salvation of Israel; the Word of Wisdom is a revelation given by the Lord to Joseph Smith for the salvation of this people, and if we disobey we have no more assurance than Israel had that the destroying angel will pass through our ranks and leave us unscathed. There is not a father or mother before me to-day who would like to see a child borne away to the graveyard because of their disobedience. Well, light is given, it has come to us, and it is for us to obey it, and to put into practice the commandments which God has given us. It is true that the Word of Wisdom does not say anything about drinking tea and coffee, but our leaders—men inspired of the Almighty, in whom we have full confidence, have told us that it includes these things, era that should be sufficient for us. The Word of Wisdom says that in those times, through the wickedness which is in the hearts of men, they would seek to destroy this people, by introducing into their midst something deleterious to health. If these are not tide exact words, they are tantamount. Now is it necessary for us to observe the Word of Wisdom with regard to tea and coffee? Just, as much as with regard to tobacco and liquor, because it has been so defined to us, and I so understand it.

      When I think of these things, I think of what I have seen among the men who have been called particularly to labor on our railroads and in our co-operative institutions. What is the situation of some of the young men who labor in these institutions and upon our railroads? If they do not follow the examples set by those who travel and labor on other roads, then I do not understand it. I find that our young men are copying after the young men who travel on other roads—they smoke and they drink, with as much assurance as though they had followed it all their lives; and I doubt not, if they continue in the pursuit of such practices, they will become as proficient in other sins as some I have seen elsewhere. If young men wish to continue habits of this kind I have no objections, so far as I am concerned, but I do not wish them to invade my household. I do not wish my children to keep the company of men of this class. I do not wish my daughters to go into the society of men; even though they process to belong to this Church, who will smoke, drink and swear, and who are ready to commit all the other sins contained in the catalogue if they had the opportunity, and were from under the eye of those who would condemn them. I know these things exist upon our railroads, and also in our co-operative institutions more or less, throughout this country. Now what course shall we pursue with regard to these things? Shall we foster them? If you see a young man in a co-operative store he dresses better and has a little more means and influence than other young men of his own age in the community. He exercises that influence for good or for evil over the minds of younger members of the community. My sons see such young men smoking and drinking, and they say "Why should not we?" And they will be likely to, until they arrive at years of discretion, and get sense to know better. Some may say, "Oh, they will turn round by and by, and do better." We have no business to hope that, when once these evil habits are acquired by our children, they will turn round and do better when they arrive at years of maturity; at least I have no right to hope it on behalf of my own children I hope to prevent it in their youth, I could not hope to stop it after they had commenced and become confirmed in it, although in some cases I might succeed. But I wish to prevent it, for I believe that prevention is better than cure.

      It is our business, brethren and sisters, to put our foot upon these practices, and to discountenance and condemn them whenever we see our youth practicing them. This people are not gathered here to practice the sins which are prevalent in Babylon, at least I do not so understand it. The Scriptures teach me, and the Spirit of the Lord bears testimony, to cry unto the people to come out of Babylon, and not to drag Babylon or its sins into our midst. They are not necessary for our happiness. It is astonishing to me when I look over the people in this and other countries, to see the immense number who use tobacco and liquor. I sometimes wonder how the world lived so long without tobacco before the discovery of America! Now nearly everybody smokes or chews. They did without it before America was discovered, and they could now if they were so disposed. This people could if they would, and yet they are importing perhaps more tobacco, tea, coffee and liquor than ever before during their existence as a Church. I believe this is the case, from all I can hear and learn on the subject. This is wrong. We can go into our settlements in the north, south, east and west, and it is just as necessary to have tea, coffee and tobacco now, as ever. I can also find that where there is an almost boundless range, and the people can have an unlimited number of stock, all their cheese is imported—they eat States cheese there as they do in the city. Home manufacture is neglected, and our cows are left to die on the range, and we are expending the very bone and sinew of this community to get means to import articles which we can raise in abundance here. This will ruin us as a community if it is practiced long enough. These things may not be quite so prevalent as my words may imply. I do not mean to say that all the people disregard the Word of Wisdom; but I fear that the great majority do. If the brethren who have been called to occupy responsible positions in the midst Of the people fail to observe the Word of Wisdom, it will grieve the Spirit of the Lord, and if they do not turn. and repent they will leave this Church. That is my faith—if they continue to use these things, and to impress the minds of the people with the idea that it is utterly unnecessary to observe the Word of Wisdom, they will lose the spirit of this work and will eventually turn from it. The presiding Elders of this Church are called to observe the Word of Wisdom, and in all things to set a good example before the people. That is their business, and that is their mission, and as long as they live they will never have a greater.

      Brethren, let us seek to understand and practise these things, and also endeavor to instruct the minds of our wives and children with regard to the principles contained in these books. Endeavor, brethren, to build up Zion, and not Babylon. I think very often, when I am speaking to the people, of a remark to President Young. He has been in the Church a great many years. On one occasion, only a very few years after the Church was organized, the Prophet Joseph counseled him and others never to do another day's work to build up Babylon, and he has obeyed that counsel. I know he has for twenty-five years past, and I am satisfied he has from the time the counsel was given.

      Do we need to go away from home to build up Babylon? Do we need to leave this city to build up Babylon? No, continue to indulge our fancies for fashion and for the practice of those habits and customs which a corrupt civilization has introduced into our midst, and we are building up Babylon in the most approved style. That is my belief. Our outside friends have brought a great many good things here; they have improved our city, they are building fine buildings, and are expending their capital liberally. I do not object to this, but I do not want it to lead us from the path of truth and to bring us into bondage, to sin and iniquity. There is no necessity for this if we wisely use that which God has given us. You remember the time, brethren, after we had been in this valley a year or so, we were, in a manner, naked and barefooted, and were a thousand miles from any supply of clothing, and it was impossible for us to manufacture it, for there were no sheep in the country, nothing to manufacture cloth with, and no means to obtain it. You remember the prophecy delivered here upon this block by the late Heber C. Kimball, that within a certain time—a very brief period—clothing would be as cheap in Salt Lake City as in New York. What prospect had we at that time that his prophecy would be fulfilled, for a journey to the States and back again then required months to perform, and there was seemingly no chance of a supply of clothing from outside importation? Yet within the time specified, the prophecy was literally fulfilled, and clothing was far cheaper in the streets of this city than in the streets of Yew York. This is only one among the many prophecies which have been delivered and fulfilled. Some of you remember, and others of you have heard it spoken of, when President Young, in July 1847, while walking on this block, about where the Temple now stands, said to the brethren who were around him, "if our enemies will let us alone for ten years we will ask no odds of them." Ten years that day, brethren, we got news that an army had left the confines of the States at that time, for Utah. What for? Their boast was, to destroy the "Mormons." Did we ask any odds of them? No. Did we ask anything of them? No. We attempted to give them supplies, but they would not receive them. Brethren, this is the Church and kingdom of God, and we are led by holy men, men inspired by the Almighty. They give us a little now and a little then; we receive line upon line and precept upon precept, and if we give heed thereto, God will strengthen us, and the kingdom will grow and increase beneath our watch-care.

      Is it necessary for us to remember the prophecies and the revelations which have been given for our salvation? If we have the truth—the Gospel of the Son of God—and we testify that we have, it is just as necessary for us to remember these things as it is for us to be saved in the kingdom of God. That is our position to-day; and it is impossible for any human being who has made covenant with the Almighty to be saved in his kingdom if he disregards the revelations and counsels that are given by the servants of God. I do not expect strangers to understand and believe this as we do. Strangers have not come here for the purpose of identifying themselves with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but the people to whom I am talking came here for that express purpose. They came here for their souls' salvation, they want to be saved in the kingdom of God. They had the testimony in the old countries, in the States, or wherever they received the Gospel, that God had revealed himself to the children of men and that his kingdom was established on the earth, and they received light and intelligence which they never before possessed. They came here to build up the kingdom of God, and that kingdom is rolling forth and increasing and will continue to do. But are we giving way to folly and fashion to such an extent as to blind our minds to the great purpose we had in coming here? I hope not. I hope that we are living our religion.

      Brethren, I testify to you that this is the kingdom of God, and that you are in a faith that will lead you back into the presence of your Father and God. I also testify that if the people of the nations of the earth will obey the Gospel they will receive salvation at the hands of the Almighty, and if they reject it they Will receive condemnation at his hands at the last day.

      May God bless you, Amen.

 

            The Choir sang: "Jerusalem, my glorious home."

[Elder Joseph F. Smith]

            Elder JOSEPH F. SMITH addressed the assemblage. He spoke of the opposition manifested by the people of the world against the principle of direct revelation from God ever since the church was organized in this age, and also reviewed the causes for such opposition, taking the ground that revelation from the Almighty would eventually sap the foundations of all the man-made systems existing. He also spoke on the gathering and alluded to the opposition which had been brought to bear against it in the past. The principle of celestial marriage was now the main mark against which the shafts of the opponents of the truth were directed. It had been proved that those who showed the greatest vindictiveness towards it were generally the corrupt and impure. He continued to speak for some time on the subject and then directed his remarks to the Word of Wisdom, making plain that a man's greatest enemy was in himself, in the form of his appetites, when they were allowed to govern him, and that this enemy was all the more dangerous because of its silence and subtlety. The speaker then dwelt upon the principle of co-operation, explaining that its applicability extended not only to mercantile and a few other matters, but to every department of life. He directed attention to the appearance among the children of this city of swearing and other obnoxious habits. He thought the Saints should have sufficient interest in their neighbors to reprove and teach their children better things, when they heard or saw them doing anything wrong. The next theme touched upon by the speaker was the principle of tithing, clearly indicating that to obey it was not only a duty, but a great privilege.

            The Choir sang the anthem -- "Comfort ye my people."

            Adjourned till to-morrow at 10 a. m.

            Prayer by ELDER LORENZO SNOW.

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[9 Oct, 10 am]

[DNW 21:555, 10/16/72, p 7]

FOURTH DAY.

Wednesday, 9th, 10 a. m.

            The choir sang: "God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform."

            Opening prayer by ELDER JOSEPH YOUNG.

            "School thy feelings, Oh my brother, Train thy warm, impulsive soul," was sung by the choir.

            ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON presented the authorities of the Church to the Conference, in the following order, the vote to sustain them being unanimous:

            BRIGHAM YOUNG, Prophet, Seer and Revelator, and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in all the world.

            GEORGE A. SMITH, Prophet, Seer and Revelator, and first Counsellor to President Young.

            DANIEL H. WELLS, Prophet, Seer and Revelator, and second counsellor to President Young.

            Orson Hyde, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Orson Pratt, Sen., John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Jun., Joseph F. Smith, and Albert Carrington, members of said Quorum.

            John Smith, Patriarch of the Church.

            John W. Young, President of this Stake of Zion, and George B. Wallace and John T. Caine his counselors.

            William Eddington, John L. Blythe, Howard O. Spencer, John Squires, Wm. H. Folsom, Thomas E. Jeremy, Joseph L. Barfoot, John H. Rumell, Miner G. Attwood, Wm. Thorn, Dimick B. Huntington, Theodore McKean and Hosea Stout, members of the High Council.

            Elias Smith, President of the High Priests' Quorum, and Edward Snelgrove and Elias Morris, his counselors.

            Joseph Young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Herriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldridge, Jacob Gates and John Van Cott, members of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies.

            Benjamin L. Peart, President of the Elders' Quorum; Edward Davis and Abinadi Pratt, his counselors.

            Edward Hunter Presiding Bishop; Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little, his counselors.

            Samuel G. Ladd, President of the Priests' Quorum; Wm. McLachlan and James Latham his councilors.

            Adam Spears, President of the Teachers' Quorum; Martin Lenzi and Henry I. Doremus, his counselors.

            James Leach, President of the Deacon's Quorum; Peter Johnson and Chas. S. Cram his counselors.

            Brigham Young, Trustee-in-Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

            Truman O. Angel, Architect for the Church.

            Albert Carrington, Historian and General Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff his assistant.

            The following Elders were then presented to the Conference as having been appointed on missions:

TO THE UNITED STATES.

David Nelson, of Ogden.
James H. Nelson, "
Hon. Z. Snow, Salt Lake City.

TO EUROPE.

John C. Naile, of Tokerville.
H. B. Wilde, Coalville.
Wm. Parker, American Fork.
Joseph Alvord, North Ogden.
John I. Hart, Ogden.
Thomas Snarr, Salt Lake City.
M. H. Hardy, of Salt Lake City.
George Crismon " " "
Wm. K. Barton, Manti.
Luke Syphus, Panacca.
Mark Burgess, "

TO ICELAND.

Lofts Johnson, Spanish Fork.
Magnus Bjearnson, "

            The vote to sustain those brethren was unanimous.

[President George A. Smith]

            PRESIDENT GEORGE A. SMITH addressed the Conference. His opening remarks were upon the labors promised by the home missionaries. Those who had been called to that work had generally been diligent and their efforts had resulted beneficially, and their labors should not cease.

            President Smith then alluded to the course of some parties, professing to be members of the Church, who, under cover of some legal technicality or quibble, were attempting to rob others of their land and other hard-earned property. He had no more fellowship for such characters than for any other kind of dishonest individuals. He thought the bishops and others whose right it was to see after the welfare of the people, should give special attention to all cases of land piracy.

[President Brigham Young]

            PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG delivered a discourse on the necessity of the Latter-day Saints being self-sustaining, showing the inseparableness of spiritual and temporal things and of faith and works. H is remarks indicated, in a lucid manner, how the people could build up the kingdom of God, and included many valuable instructions of a very practical character, and calculated to benefit all who would give them a practical application in their lives. He alluded, in a pointed manner, to the foolish customs and habits of the world, and advised the Saints to avoid them, as being displeasing to the Spirit of the Lord. The speaker next dwelt on the importance to the people of obeying the Word of Wisdom, observing the Sabbath day and complying with the law of tithing. If the payment of tithing was neglected by the people, he Lord would chasten them. As a general rule the poor were more faithful in this matter than the rich.

            President Young then spoke of the excellent results which would flow from a society of families determined to serve the Almighty amalgamating and settling down in some place on one side and carrying out the order of Enoch. Ten years, he said, of such a course would present a picture of happiness and prosperity to the Latter-day Saints that would astonish them. An adequate idea of the discourse can not be given in a brief synopsis, and it will shortly be published in full.

[Brigham Young]

[DNW 21:568, 10/23/72, p 4; JD 15:158]

DISCOURSE

By President BRIGHAM YOUNG, delivered at the 42nd Semi-Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, October 9, 1872.

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REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

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      I want to express my feelings to the Latter-day Saints upon certain points of business which pertain to our welfare, and I wish to do it without being obliged to raise my voice so high and so loud as to infringe upon the organs of speech to that degree that I shall have to stop. If the people will be still, they can hear me in my common voice perfectly easy. I will not go into all the details with regard to the duties of the Latter-day Saints, and their desires, as they have manifested them by gathering out from the world, and assembling themselves together. They generally understand them, and they can read for themselves the doctrines of the Church, and the reasons why we are gathered together. But I wish now to impress on the minds of the people the necessity of our taking a course to be able to exist and to sustain ourselves—to have something to eat and wear—hats to put on our heads, and coats, mantles, blankets, vests, shirts, garments and other things suitable to wear and to make our bodies comfortable, provided that the Lord should knock the underpinning from under Babylon. The time will come when Babylon will fall. If it should fall now, it would leave us pretty destitute. We would soon wear out our head dresses and fine clothing, and what should we do? Why, we should be as badly off as the Saints were when they came into this valley, twenty-five years ago. They picked up a few buckskins, antelope skins, sheepskins, buffalo skins, and made leggings and moccasins of them, and wrapped the buffalo robes around them. Some had blankets and some had not; some had shirts, and I guess some had not. One man told me that he had not a shirt for himself or family. If Babylon should happen to tip over, so that we could not reach out and gather the necessaries of life, we should be in a bad condition. I want to put you in mind of these things, and it is my duty to say to the Latter-day Saints that they should take measures to sustain themselves—they should lay a foundation for feeding and clothing themselves.

      You are well aware that there has been a great deal of money spent in this Territory to get machinery for the purpose of working up the wool and cotton, and I think you are pretty well aware that there have been a great many thousand words spoken to the Latter-day Saints in these valleys, upon the necessity of raising sheep, though we have had a tide of opposition against this. Still, wool-raising is now proven to be a success in these mountains, any and all of the Bishops to the contrary notwithstanding. This is a fine wool growing country, no better in the world. We have proved this; and we have got a great deal of machinery. here to work up the wool, most of which is now standing still for the want of wool. Many of those who have been prevailed upon to raise sheep, have got so covetous and love money so well that they must sell their wool for money, and send it out of the country, in consequence of which the factories are now standing still. I think there are a few who will recollect that, in the excitement of purchasing wool here last May, June and July, in many instances I refused to buy their wool. If I would have paid a little more than agents from the east, I could have got it; in some instances I got it for a little less. I bought some and let a good deal go, and told the people with whom I conversed upon the subject, that I would let the buying of wool alone until Fall, then I thought I could send east, buy my wool and ship it back here, and I believe I could get it cheaper than I could get it then. And it is now verily so, for I can send to Philadelphia, New York, Boston, or anywhere in the eastern country, and buy wool and ship it back here from 10 to 30 per cent. cheaper than I could buy it here last spring. I can send west and buy wool and ship it here and save a still higher percentage. This is the difference in the price of wool last spring and the fore part of the summer, and now what our friends and brethren who own factories will do with regard to purchasing wool, I am not able to say. Some of them, probably, are able to buy wool, and quite a number are not, and they who are not will, in all probability, let their factories stand still.

      I want the brethren and sisters to take an interest in sustaining ourselves here in these mountains. It is the duty of the Bishops to see that the members of their Wards take a course that will build up the kingdom of God, not only in providing food and raiment, but see that the people do their duty with regard to the law of God in preserving themselves in purity. My mind is now upon those things which some people call temporal, and I wish to urge them upon the Latter-day Saints. I want them to save their wool and to keep it in this Territory. If we have not factories sufficient to work up all the wool that grows in this Territory, and in these mountains, we will send and get more machinery, and build more factories, and work up the wool for the people. It is the duty of those who grow wool to keep it here. It is the duty of the wife of the man who owns sheep to look to it, and see that that wool is not sold and carried out of the country. It is the duty of the Bishops to see these men, and urge upon them the necessity of keeping the wool in the mountains where it can be worked up; and the Bishops should set the example themselves. We expect they do; if they do not, they are not fit for Bishops. It is the duty of the Bishops to see the wives of these men and their children, that they may prevail on their greedy, covetous fathers or husbands, who would sacrifice the prosperity of the kingdom of God for a little worldly wealth, and see that they do not run distracted or go crazy over a little money. I say the Bishops should see to it, that these men who have sheep act like rational, reasonable men. What are you here for? What did you come for? Virtually you all say you left Babylon and came here to build up the kingdom of God; but our acts speak as loud, and a little louder than our words can. We witness to one another and to the Heavens, and to all people, that we believe in building up the kingdom of God on the earth. There is an item that ought to be before the Latter-day Saints with regard to the kingdom as it will be built up. They ought to teach themselves—read the Scriptures, the Old and New Testament, the prophecies, what the Savior and his Apostles have said, and what has been delivered to us in the latter days, and compare them, and then draw their own conclusions, and see if they are under the necessity of working temporally, literally, manually, physically for the building up of the kingdom of heaven. I say that we are or it never will be built up. With regard to the fundamental facts of our doctrines, we can not show to any person that we have faith therein, except by our works. If I were now in the world, and an Elder was to come along and preach, and I were to go and hear him, the act of walking to the meeting house or to the private dwelling house, would be manual labor. I might believe every word such an Elder said in preaching the Gospel, but if I never took any steps towards fulfilling his requirements who would know anything about it? Nobody on the face of the earth. Would there be any manifestation that I had faith? Not the least in the world, and if it slatted to grow in my heart while listening to the Elder, without works on my part it would soon die out and cease to exist. If I do believe, it is a manual labor to get up and say to the people, "I believe that what this man has said is true." That is an exercise of the body, and a temporal labor. Well, this Elder says, we should repent of our sins. I do repent. He says we should obey the Gospel, and the first thing after having faith or believing it, is to go down into the waters of baptism, and to do that is a temporal act, physical labor; and the act of baptism by him is also a temporal act or labor And so in everything else with regard to the Gospel and the building up of the kingdom of God on the earth—we must have works or we can not have faith. I can not divide between the two. The Elder is preaching, I believe, I confess and obey, and I can not, for my soul, divide the temporal, the manual, the physical labor from the internal faith and hope and joy which the spirit gives, and which cause obedience in my acts.

      I wish to make this application right here to the Latter-day Saints. If we believe that God is about to establish his kingdom upon the earth, we believe firmly that we have got to perform a manual, temporal labor to bring this about. If the kingdoms of this world ever become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ, it will be by his people conforming to the plans instituted for the establishment of a kingdom here on the earth. You may call it temporal, no matter what it is called, it is territory, it is dominion. In the first place we must have territory, then we must have people; and in order to organize this kingdom, we must have officers and laws to govern or control the subjects. To make the organization of a kingdom perfect, we must have every appendage necessary and proper, so that the Savior can come and reign king of nations as he does king of Saints. We shall be under the necessity of raising breadstuff, and then we shall want to eat it. We shall have to raise our fruit as well as eat it; we shall have to raise our vegetables as well as eat them. We shall be under the necessity then of making hats, or of going without them; we shall be under the necessity of making clothing—coats; vests, pants, shirts and so on, or else go without them. We shall be under the necessity of having courts organized, unless all are in the Lord and all walk in his way; if that were the case, I do not know that we should want any sheriff, marshals, constables, magistrates, jurors, judges or governors, because the word of the Lord would govern and control every person; but until that time arrives we shall want officers, so that we will be prepared to reckon with the transgressor, and we shall have transgressors in building this kingdom, for it will be some time yet before all are in the Lord. The law is for the transgressor, consequently we must have officers, and we already have in this kingdom as now organized all the officers necessary, every quorum, every organization, every court and authority necessary to rule all the nations that ever were or ever will be upon the earth, if they serve God, or try to do so. But if we must have an organization after the order and wishes of those who are ignorant of the things of God, we must have political and municipal organizations. Kingdoms are organized to suit the conditions of the people, whether the government is that of the people, in the hands of a few individuals, or centered in one. But the kingdom of heaven, when organized upon the earth, will have every officer, law and ordinance necessary for the managing of those who are unruly, or who transgress its laws, and to govern those who desire to do right, but can not quite walk to the line; and all these powers and authorities are in existence in the midst of this people.

      Now, we have this kingdom organized here upon the earth, and we shall be under the necessity, by and by, of understanding this, or we will be left in a very destitute condition. It is my duty to say to the people that it is their duty to make their clothing; and permit me to say, still further, upon the subject of the fashion of cutting cloth and putting it together again, that it is most useless, unbecoming and ridiculous. The present custom of many is such that I would as soon see a squaw go through the streets with a very little on, as to see clothing piled up until it reaches, perhaps, the top of the hedge or fence its wearer is passing. If I do not say much about such customs and fashions, I shall probably skip over some naughty words. In my feelings they are positively ridiculous, they are so useless and unbecoming. Do you recollect a fashion there was a few years ago, that has now nearly ceased, when a woman could not walk through the streets without holding her clothes two feet in front of her if her arm was long enough? I shall not say what I thought of those who followed this fashion. Now it is on the other side, and I do not know but they will get two humps on their backs, they have one now, and if they get to be dromedaries it will be no wonder, not the least in the world. I recollect a fashion of cutting up cloth some forty years ago, that was very peculiar. A lady would go into a store and say to a merchant, "I would like to get a dress pattern this morning." "Very well, what will you have?" "Oh, bring down your goods and show them. This suits pretty well! I think I will take this." "Madame," says the merchant, "If you will buy the sleeves, I will give you the dress." This, of course, is jocosely said. I refer now to what was called the "mutton-legged" sleeve—by comparison it took seven yards for the sleeves, and three for the dress. That was the way they dressed then. How unbecoming! How unbecoming it is to see ladies dress as they do in some places at the present day. Then another fashion is to wear their dresses short in front, walking through the streets, and a long train dragging in the dirt behind. How unbecoming! This is not modesty, gentility, or good taste; it does not belong to a lady at all, but to an ignorant, extravagant, or vain-minded person, who knows not true principle. I take the liberty of saying that these fashions are displeasing in the sight of truth, mercy and justice. It is displeasing to the Spirit of the Lord for persons to array themselves in any way whatever that is disgusting to the eye of the pure and the prudent. There is not a Latter-day Saint nor a Former-day Saint that ever did, or ever will expect to see any such customs or fashions when they get into heaven. If they were to see an angel, they would see a being beautifully but modestly dressed, white, comely and nice to look upon.

      I would like to advise the Latter-day Saints to avoid, these foolish customs and habits. Let them pass by and not follow them; they do not belong to us. I would like to repeat to the ladies What we have said hundreds and thousands of times—they should make their own head-dresses and fashions, independent of all the rest of the inhabitants of the earth. Pay no attention to what others do, it is no matter what they do, or how they dress. Latter-day Saints should dress in that plain, neat, comely manner that will be pleasing and prudent, in every sense of the word, before the Lord, and try and please him that we serve, the Being that we acknowledge as our God. Not flaunting, flirting and gossiping, as a great many are, and thinking continually of their dresses, and of this, that and the other that will minister to and gratify their vanity. Such women seldom think of their prayers.

      I am extending my remarks much longer than I intended. But how is it about the Word of Wisdom? Do we observe it? We should do, and preserve ourselves in all things holy before the Lord. How is it about keeping the Sabbath day? We have some articles that we would like to read here, but the people have them to read at their leisure. We should observe the Ten Commandments, for instance, that were given to Moses. If we do that, we shall be a pretty good people. But there is nothing in those commandments about building factories and raising wool, for the children of Israel, at the time they were given, were in a condition that they did not need factories, they did not need to raise wool. If they had goats and sheep with them, they made mutton, and tanned the skins probably, but I do not know what they did with them. It appears that their clothing did not wax old, and they probably had no need to spin or weave. But we have need to, we have got to make our own clothing, or to get it some other way—buy it or else go without it; and we ought to keep the Word of Wisdom, and keep the Sabbath day holy, and preserve ourselves in the integrity of our hearts before God.

      I want to ask if the people pay their tithing? Bishops, do the people of your wards pay their tithing? I will answer the question for you and say, No, they do not. Some people in modern times shudder at the word tithing—it is a term they are not used to. They are used to sustaining Priests, to donating for building meeting houses, and administering to those who wait at the table of the Lord, or that do their preaching and praying for them. And this is done by subscription, donation, and passing the plate, hat or basket, but the word "tithing" is frightful to them. I like the term, because it is scriptural, and I would rather use it than any other. The Lord instituted tithing, it was practiced in the days of Abraham, and Enoch and Adam and his children did not forget their tithes and offerings. You can read for yourselves with regard to what the Lord requires. Now do the Latter-day Saints pay their tithing? They do not. I want to say this much to those who profess to be Latter-day Saints—If we neglect our tithes and offerings we will receive the chastening hand of the Lord We may just as well count on this first as last. If we neglect to pay our tithes and offerings we will neglect other things, and this will grow upon us until the Spirit of the Gospel is entirely gone from us, and we are in the dark, and know not whither we are going.

      It is the duty of the Bishops to see that their wards pay tithing. But we have Bishops who are not reliable—men, for instance, who will take tithing grain when it brings a good price in cash, and when good beef is bringing cash they are so kind to their wards, and especially to their sons, that if a son has got a parcel of wild horses on the prairies that are not worth a yearling calf a head, they will say to him, "Drive up your wild horses, my boy, I will trade with you, and let you have neat stock, yearlings, or two years or three years old, or wheat that is in the tithing bin, I will take your horses. I will send down word to the General Tithing office, that there are so many horses here belonging to the tithing office." Such horses are a curse to us, or I can say they have been to me as an individual. I have raised stock enough to supply this whole Territory, if they had been taken care of. But they were like the Indian's boy. The missionary had been telling him that if he brought up a child in the way he should go, when he was old he would not depart from it. But the old chief has got it, just about as it is, and said he, "Yes, bring up a child, and away he goes;" and this is the way the horses go. And as for the neat stock, if any of it ever gets out of my sight that I do not know where it is, and can not send and get it, I always calculate that a thief will have it. I never trouble myself to look after it, there are too many men riding on the prairies with their blankets behind them, and their dinner in their blanket, and their lassoes with them to hunt up all the stock there is. This wild stock that is turned in on tithing is a curse to us. And where does the wheat go to? I am not disposed to, but I could tell names of Bishops who have taken our tithing wheat out of the bins and it has been sold by them or their families. And they have taken our stock that we wanted here for beef to feed the public lands, and traded it off for wild horses. This is a pretty hard saying, but it is true, and I could tell their names it I were obliged to.

      If the people will pay their tithing, we will go and do the work that is required of us. It is very true that the poor pay their tithing better than the rich do. If the rich would pay their tithing we should have plenty. The poor are faithful and prompt in paying their tithing, but the rich can hardly afford to pay theirs—they have too much. If a man is worth enough that be would have a thousand dollars to pay, it pinches him. If he has only ten dollars he can pay one; if he has only one dollar he can pay ten cents; it does not hurt him at all. If he has a hundred dollars he can possibly pay ten. If he has a thousand dollars he looks over it a little and says, "I guess I will pay it; it ought to be paid any how;" and he manages to pay his ten dollars or his hundred dollars. But suppose a man is wealthy enough to pay ten thousand, he looks that over a good many times, and says, "I guess I will wait until I get a little more, and then I will pay a good deal." And they wait and wait, like an old gentleman in the east; he waited and waited and waited to pay his tithing until he went down, I guess, to hell, I do not know exactly; but he went to hades, which we call hell. He went out of the world, and this is the way with a great many. They wait and continue waiting, until, finally, the character comes along who is called Death, and he slips up to them and takes away their breath, then they are gone and cannot pay their tithing, they are too late, and so it goes.

      Now this is finding fault with the rich, and I am going to find fault with the poor by and by. But if we will pay our tithing we will be blessed; if we refuse to do so the chastening hand of the Lord will be upon this people, just as sure as we are here. You may say I am threatening you Take it just as you please. I do not care. You may grease it and swallow it, or swallow it without greasing, just as you have a mind to. It is true, and we will find it so.

      Will the Latter-day Saints pay their tithing? Will they keep the Sabbath day holy? Will they deal justly with their neighbors? In my own feelings I excuse a great many naughty things that are done in our midst. I know that men and women brought up in different countries come here with their prejudices, and with the instincts which they have had bred in and born with them, and which have grown up with them; and many of these traits of character are obnoxious to others brought up under other circumstances. These traditions cling to the people, and cause them to do many things which they would not do if they had been differently taught. Their morals have not been looked after in their youth and as prudently preserved as they should have been. Children should be taught honesty, and they should grow up with the feeling within them that they should never take a pin that is not their own; never displace anything, but always put everything in its place. If they find anything seek for the owner. If there is anything of their neighbor's going to waste, put it where it will not waste, and be perfectly honest one with another. Take the world of mankind and they are not overstocked with honesty. I have proved that. In my youth I have seen men, who were considered good, clever, honest men, who would take the advantage of their neighbors or workmen if they could. I have seen deacons, Baptists, Presbyterians, members of the Methodist church, with long, solid, sturdy faces and a poor brother would come along and say to one of them, "Brother, such-a-one, I have come to see if I could get a bushel of wheat, rye or corn of you. I have no money, but I will come and work for you in harvest," and their faces would be drawn down so mournful, and they would say, "I have none to spare." "Well, deacon, if you can let me have one bushel, I understand you have considerable, I will come and work for you just as long as you say, until you are satisfied, in your harvest field, or haying or anything you want done."

      After much talk this longfaced character would get it out, "If you will come and work for me two days in harvest, I do not know but I will spare you a bushel of rye."

      When the harvest time comes the man could have got two bushels of rye for one day's work; but the deacon sticks him to his bargain, and makes him work two days for a bushel of wheat or rye. I used to think a good deal, but seldom spoke about any such thing, for I was brought up to treat everybody with that respect and courtesy that I could hardly allow myself to think aloud, and consequently very seldom did so. I thought enough of such religion, at any rate, that such Christians called me an infidel, because I could not swallow such things, but I could not if they had been greased over with fresh butter. I did not read the Bible as they read it; and as for there being Bible Christians, I knew there were none; and it their religion was the religion they liked, said I, "Just go your own way, I want none of it" I wanted no religion that produced such morals.

      If we pay our tithing, and begin to live a little stricter than we have heretofore, in our fairly, cease to break the Sabbath, cease to spend our time in idleness, cease to be dishonest and to meddle with that which is not our own, cease to deceive and to speak evil of cue another, and learn the commandments of the Lord, and do them, we shall be blessed.

      Suppose we should say to a few of the Latter-day Saints, if we could find those who would answer the purpose, "How would you like to build up a stake of Zion, a little city of Enoch? How would you like this? Would you like to enter into a covenant, and into bonds, according to the law of our land, and let us bind ourselves together to go into a systematic co-operative system, not only in merchandizing, but in farming and in all mechanical work, and in every trade and business there is; and we will classify the business throughout, and we will gather together a few hundred families, and commence and keep the law of God, and preserve ourselves in purity. How would the Latter-day Saints like it? Do you think there could any be found who would be willing to do this?" Let me say to you, my brethren, I have a very fine place to start such a society as this that would probably sustain from five to ten thousand persons. I would like to make a deed of this property to such a society, and enter into a covenant with men of God and women of God that we would go to and show the world and show the Latter-day Saints how to build up a city of Zion, and how to increase intelligence among the people, how to walk circumspectly before our God and before one another, and classify every branch of labor, taking advantage of every improvement, and of all the learning in the world, and direct the labor of men and women, and see what it would produce; follow it out for ten years, and then look at the result. Our friends who visit us here say that we have done a good work, and we bear testimony that we have been greatly prospered. It is true that most of the people in this house came here like myself comparatively naked and barefoot. I left all I had in the States. I say all—no. I had some wives and children whom I brought along with me. Some of them had shoes to their feet, some had not; some had bonnets, some had none. Some of my children had clothing, and some had very little; and we took up our line of march and left all. I believe for some four pretty nice brick houses, and a nice large farm, timber land and so on, I got one span of little horses and a carriage worth about a hundred dollars, the horses were worth about sixty dollars apiece, the harness about twenty. I think that was everything I got for my property. We came here and we have been prospered and blessed. If I had the privilege of living with a community that would do as I say for ten years, I would show them that our blessings now, in a temporal point of view, have been but as a drop to the bucketful. But would we bear this? Would our feelings submit to this? Would we not want to go and serve the devil if the Lord were to heap riches upon us? We see that what he does now makes melt covetous, they can not even pay their tithing. Well, do we get all that we want? No, each man wants it all, and as long as this is the case with us, I think the saying common among the boys in my youth will be good—"Every man for himself, the devil for us all." Just as long as every man works for himself we are not the Lord's; we are not Christ's, we are not his disciples in this point of view, at any rate. If we had faith to be baptized, we do not carry out the principles of the salvation that he has wrought out for us. He is going to set up his kingdom—a literal, temporal kingdom. It will be a kingdom of priests by and by if we had been willing to fully carry out the rules of the kingdom, followed counsel, and worked together for twenty-five years past, the blessings we have received are not a drop in the bucket to what we would hay received.

      Some twelve or fifteen years I labored faithfully with our merchant here, before I could get them to break through that everlasting covetous crust that was over them, and consent to operate together in merchandizing so as to give the people a chance with us. And it was the design and the feeling of men here, belonging to the Church, to aggrandize themselves and to monopolize to themselves the wealth of the community. And if another one sprang up and had good luck they would take him into the corps, into their fellowship, and he would belong to the order, and that was to make a few rich, and grind down and make every other man poor. That was the design, no question of it. But I determined with God and the good to help me that I would break that everlasting covetous crust and I succeeded at last. Are we making enough in our mercantile business here now? Yes, we are making all we should make. I suppose a great many would like to know how we are doing. It would be no harm for me to tell you perhaps that, the last six months, the Board of Directors of Zion's Co-operative Mercantile Institution are able to declare a dividend of ten per cent., with five per cent. in reserve, which is added to the capital stock, and is as good as money. That is good enough for me, it yields some thirty per cent per annum.

      If we would work together in our farming, in our mechanism, be obedient and work as a family for the good of all, it would be almost impossible for anybody to guess the success we would have. But we have got to do it in the Lord. We must not do it with a covetous heart. Always be ready and willing that the Lord should have it all, and do what he pleases with it. I have asked a favor of the Lord in this thing, and that is not to place me in such circumstances that what he has given me shall go into the hands of our enemies. God forbid that! But let it go for the preaching of the Gospel to sustain and to gather the poor, to build factories, make farms, and set the poor to work, as I have hundreds and thousands that had not anything to do. I have fed and clothed them and taken care of them until they have become comparatively independent. I have made no man poor, but thousands and thousands rich, that is, the Lord has, through your humble servant.

 

            The choir sang: "Hark! the song of jubilee."

            Adjourned till 2 p. m.

            Prayer by ELDER BRIGHAM YOUNG, junr.

[9 Oct, 2 pm]

[DNW 21:554, 10/16/72, p 8]

FOURTH DAY,

Wednesday, 10th, 2 p. m.

            The choir sang: "Praise ye the Lord! 'tis good to raise Your hearts and voices in his praise.

            Prayer by ELDER JOHN VAN COTT.

            "Lord, we come before thee now, At thy feet we humbly bow." was sung by the choir.

[Elder Joseph Young]

            ELDER JOSEPH YOUNG bore testimony to the truth of the gospel, and expressed great joy and satisfaction that man could receive revelation from God in this as well as in any former age. He earnestly exhorted the Saints to faithfulness and predicted that the day was at hand when those who would not serve God would be thrust aside from the Church of Christ.

[President George A. Smith]

            PRESIDENT GEORGE A. SMITH spoke of the appeals that had been made to the people on behalf of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund. The donations this season had been light, President Young and a few others had contributed liberally to it. He advised the Bishops and others to see that those who were owing the fund paid up their indebtedness. He next commented upon the importance of people being interested enough in the young to become teachers in Sunday schools. All should take an interest in those useful institutions. The Catechism was out of print, but another edition would at once be issued. Those acquainted with the contents of this book were in a position to defend the doctrines of the Church. The speaker also recommended the Saints to patronize the Juvenile Instructor, as an excellent means of informing the minds of the young; spoke of the DESERET NEWS as a journal not only valuable to the Saints as a Church paper, but as containing besides a great amount of general information.

            The speaker next treated upon the importance of family and secret prayer, and the cultivation of faith in God for the healing of the sick. He also commented upon the Order of Enoch, showing the great amount of good that could be accomplished by a concentration of effort and a co-operation of labor under that organization. The great impediment to the progress of such an important society would be the innate selfishness of those who might engage in it. He expected to see the time when Latter-day Saints would be so thoroughly trained in the principles of righteousness that they would be able and willing to conform to the regulations and laws of such an association. He continued at some length to show the great benefits that would arise from a proper application of the principle of co-operation, explaining how the people could, by this means, become rich. An effort would be made to organize a city, the affairs of which would be conducted on a more detailed and extended principle of co-operation than had yet been inaugurated. He concluded by exhorting the Saints to pay their tithes and offerings.

            "Let those who would be Saints in deed, Heed not what others do," was sung, the solo by Sister Careless and the chorus by the choir.

[President Brigham Young]

            PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG delivered a most interesting and instructive discourse, of which a full report will be published. He depicted the nature of true freedom, and also described the course that should be taken by the Latter-day Saints, and which would enable them to successfully build up the kingdom of God. A synopsis would not convey a correct idea of the discourse.

[Brigham Young]

[DNW 21:602, 11/6/72, p 8; JD 15:220]

DISCOURSE

By President BRIGHAM YOUNG Delivered at the 42nd Semi-Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, October 9, 1872.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      Suppose we should examine a city in a stake of Zion conducted after the order of Enoch! We would like to look, for a few moments, upon the facts as they would exist. If a people were gathered together, were they many or few, who would follow out the instructions given them in the Bible and in the other revelations that we have, they would have to be very obedient, and probably many would feel to say, "I wish to manage my own affairs, I wish to dictate myself, I wish to govern and control my labor, I can not submit to have anybody else dictate me. This is servitude, and is nothing more nor less than slavery!" I suppose there are some who would feel thus. When I look at the Latter-day Saints I think how independent they are. They have been very independent, there is no question of it. When they have heard the Gospel, though, perhaps, in the flood of persecution, and the finger of scorn pointed towards them, they have said, "The Gospel is true, and if my friends will not believe it, it makes no difference to me, I am independent enough to embrace the truth, and to gather out from the midst of Babylon and to make my home with the Saints. There are plenty of such people here in this house—men and women, old and young. There are young people here who have left their parents and every thing they had on the face of the earth for the sake of the Gospel. Middle-aged men have left their wives and their children, saying, "I am going to live according to the plan that has been laid down in the Scriptures for the salvation of the human family." This certainly exhibits as much independence as mortal beings can manifest, and yet we have said we will yield strict obedience to these requirements, preparatory to enjoying the glory that the Lord has for the Saints. I will ask, Is there liberty in this obedience? Yes, and the only plan on the face of the earth for the people to gain real liberty is to yield obedience to these simple principles. Not but that we should find a great many who do not exactly understand how to yield obedience, strictly, to the requirements of heaven for their own salvation and exaltation; but no person can be exalted in the kingdom of heaven without first submitting himself to the rules, regulations, laws and ordinances of that kingdom, and being perfectly subject to them in every respect. Is this the fact? It is even so. Consequently, no person is fit to be a ruler until he can be ruled; no one is fit to be the Lord of all until he has submitted himself to be servant of all. Does this give the people liberty? It is the only thing in the heavens or on the earth that can do so. Where is the liberty in subjecting ourselves strictly to the requirements of heaven and becoming one in all our operations to build up the kingdom of God upon the earth? By strict obedience to these requirements, we prove ourselves faithful to our God; and when we have passed through all the ordeals necessary, and have proved perfectly submissive to all the rules and regulations which give live eternal, he then sets us free and crowns us with glory, immortality and eternal lives; and there is no other path that we can walk in, no other system, no other laws or ordinances by which we can gain exaltation, only by submitting ourselves perfectly to the requirements of heaven.

      Now suppose we had a little society organized on the plan I mentioned at the commencement of my remarks—after the Order of Enoch—would we build our houses all alike? No. How should we live? I will tell you how I would arrange for a little family, say about a thousand persons. I would build houses expressly for their convenience in cooking, washing and every department of their domestic arrangements. Instead of having every woman getting up in the morning and fussing around a cookstove or over the fire, cooking a little food for two or three or half a dozen persons, or a dozen, as the case may be, she would have nothing to do but to go to her work. Let me have my arrangement here, a hall in which I can seat five hundred persons to eat; and I have my cooking apparatus—ranges and ovens—all prepared. And suppose we had a hall a hundred feet long with our cooking room attached to this hall; and there is a person at the farther end of the table and he should telegraph that he wanted a warm beefsteak; and this is conveyed to him by a little railway, perhaps under the table, and he or she may take her beefsteak. "What do you want to take with it?" "A cup of tea, a cup of coffee, a cup of milk, piece of toast," or something or other, no matter what they call for, it is conveyed to them and they take it, and we can seat five hundred at once, and serve them all in a very few minutes. And when they have all eaten, the dishes are piled together, slipped under the table, and run back to the ones who wash them. We could have a few Chinamen to do that if we did not want to do it ourselves. Under such a system the women could go to work making their bonnets, hats, and clothing, or in the factories. I have not time to map it out before you as I wish to. But here is our dining room, and adjoining this is our prayer room, where we would assemble perhaps five hundred persons at one time, and have our prayers in the evening and in the morning. When we had our prayers and our breakfast, then each and every one to his business. But the inquiry is, in a moment, How are you going to get them together? Build your houses just the size you want them, whether a hundred feet, fifty feet or five, and have them so arranged that you can walk directly from work to dinner. "Would you build the houses all alike?" Oh no, if there is any one person who has better taste in building than others, and can get up more tasteful houses, make your plans and we will put them up, and have the greatest variety we can imagine.

      What will we do through the day Each one go to his work. Here are the herdsmen—here are those who look after the sheep—here are those who make the butter and the cheese, all at their work by themselves. Some for the kanyon, perhaps, or for the plow or harvest, no difference what, each and every class is organized, and all labor and perform their part.

      Will we have the cows in the city? No. Will we have the pig pens in the city? No. Will we have any of our outhouses in the city? No. We will have our railways to convey the food to the pig pens, and somebody to take care of them. Somebody to gather up the scraps at the table, and take them away. Somebody to take the feed and feed the cows, and take care of them out of the city. Allow any nuisance in the city? No, not any, but everything kept as clean and as nice as it is in this tabernacle. Gravel our streets, pave our walks, water them, keep them clean and nicely swept, and everything neat, nice and sweet. Our houses built high, sleep up stairs, have large lodging rooms, keep everybody in fresh air, pure and healthy. Work through the day, and when it comes evening, instead of going to a theatre, walking the streets, riding, or reading novels—these falsehoods got up expressly to excite the minds of youth, repair to our room, and have our historians, and our different teachers to teach classes of old and young, to read the Scriptures to them; to teach them history, arithmetic, reading, writing and painting; and have the best teachers that can be got to teach our day schools. Half the labor necessary to make a people moderately comfortable now, would make them independently rich under such a system. Now we toil and work and labor, and some of us are so anxious that we are sure to start after a load of wood on Saturday so as to occupy Sunday in getting home. This would be stopped in our community, and when Sunday morning came every child would be required to go to the school room, and parents to go to meeting or Sunday school; and not get into their wagons or carriages, or on the railroads, or lounge around reading novels; they would be required to go to meeting, to read the Scriptures, to pray and cultivate their minds. The youth would have a good education, they would receive all the learning that could be given to mortal beings; and after they had studied the best books that could be got hold of, they would stall have the advantage of the rest of the world, for they would be taught in and have a knowledge of the things of God.

      Bring up our children in this way and they would be trained to love the truth. Teach them honesty, virtue and prudence, and we should not see the waste around that now is witnessed. the Latter-day Saints waste enough to make a poor people comfortable. Shall I mention one or two instances? I will mention this one thing any way, With regard to our paper mill. Can you get the Latter-day Saints to save their rags? No, they will make them and throw them out of doors. Is there a family in this community but what are too well off in their own estimation to take care of paper rags? I think a good many of them would rather steal their beef and what they want than stoop to pick up paper rags to make paper to print our paper on. Not all would do this, but a few; and the majority are so well off that they have not that prudence which belongs to Saints; and I feel sometimes a little irritated, and inclined to scold about it, when I see women who were brought up without a shoe to their foot, or a second frock to their back perhaps, and who lived until they were young women in this style, without ever stepping on to an inch of carpet in their lives, and they know no more how to treat a carpet than pigs do. Do they know how to treat fine furniture? No, they do not; but they will waste, waste—their clothing, their carpets and their furniture. I hear them say sometimes, "Why, I have had this three years, or five years." If my grandmother could have got an article such as you wear, she would have kept it for her daughters from generation to generation, and it would have been good. But now, our young women waste, waste.

      This is finding fault, and I wish I could hurt your feelings enough to make you think of it when you get home. If I could make you a little mad, when you get home if you see a pretty good piece of carpet, thrown out of doors you will go, perhaps, and shake it and lay it up, thinking that it may be serviceable to somebody or other; and if you cannot do anything else with it, give it to somebody who has not a bed to lie upon, to put under them to help to make a bed.

      If we could see such a society organized as I have mentioned, you would see none of this waste You would see a people all attending to their business, having the most improved machinery for making cloth, and doing every kind of housework, farming, all mechanical operations, in our factories, dairies, orchards and vineyards; and possessing every comfort and convenience of life. A society like this would never have to buy anything; they would make and raise all they would eat, drink and wear, and always have something to sell and bring money, to help to increase their comfort and independence.

      "Well, but," one would say, "I shall never have the privilege of riding again in a carriage in my life." Oh what a pity! Did you ever ride in one when you had your own way? No, you never thought of such a thing. Thousands and thousands of Latter-day Saints never expect to own a carriage or to ride in one. Would we ride in carriages? Yes, we would; we would have them suitable for the community, and give them their proper exercise; and if I were with you, I would be willing to give others just as much as I have myself. And if we have sick, would they want a carriage to ride in? Yes, and they would have it too, we would have nice ones to carry out the sick, aged and infirm, and give them exercise, and give them a good place to sleep in, good food to eat, good company to be with them and take care of them.

      Would not this be hard? Yes, I should hope so. If I had the privilege and the power, I would not introduce a system for my brethren and myself to live under unless it would try our faith. I do not want to live without having my faith and patience tried. They are pretty well tried. I do not know how many there are who would endure what I endure with regard to faith and patience, and then be persevering in the midst of it all. But I would not form a society, nor ask an individual to go to heaven by breaking all the bones in his body, and putting him in a silver basket, and then, hitching him to a kite, send him up there. I would not do it if I had the power, for if his bones were not broken he would jump out of the basket, that is the idea. I see a great many who profess to be Latter-day Saints, who would not be contented in heaven unless their feelings undergo a great change, and if they were there and you wanted to keep them there, you would have to break their backs, or they would get out. But we want to see nothing of this in this little society.

      If I had charge of such a society as this to which I refer, I would not allow novel reading; yet it is in my house, in the houses of my counselors, in the houses of these Apostles, these Seventies and High Priests, in the houses of the High Council in this city, and in other cities, and in the houses of the Bishops, and we permit it; yet it is ten thousand times worse than it is for men to come here and teach our children the a b c, good morals, and how to behave themselves, ten thousand times worse! You let your children read novels until they run away, until they get so that they do not care—they are reckless, and their mothers are reckless, and some of their fathers are reckless, and if you do not break their backs and tie them up they will go to hell That is rough, is it not? Well, it is a comparison. You have got to check them some way or other, or they will go to destruction. They are perfectly crazy. Their actions say, "I want Babylon stuck on to me; I want to revel in Babylon; I want everything I can think of or desire." If I had the power to do so, I would not take such people to heaven. God will not take them there, that I am sure of. He will try the faith and patience of this people. I would not like to get into a society where there were no trials; but I would like to see a society organized to show the Latter-day Saints how to build up the kingdom of God.

      Do you think we shall want any lawyers in our society? No, I think not. Do you not think they will howl around? Yes, you will hear their howls going up morning and evening, bewailing one another. They will howl, "We can get no lawsuits here; we cannot find anybody that will quarrel with his neighbor. What shall we do?" I feel about them as Peter of Russia is said to have felt when he was in England. He saw and heard the lawyers pleading at a great trial there, and he was asked his opinion concerning them. He replied that he had two lawyers in his empire, and when he got home he intended to hang one of them. That is about the love I have for some lawyers who are always stirring up strife. Not but that lawyers are good in their place; but where is their place? I cannot find it. It makes me think of what Bissel said to Paine in Kirtland. In a lawsuit that had been got up, Bissell was pleading for Joseph, and Paine was pleading for an apostate. Paine had blackguarded Bissell a good deal. In his plea Bissell stopped all at once, and, turning to Mr. Paine, said he: "Mr. Paine, do you believe in a devil?" "Yes," said Mr. Paine, who was a keen, smart lawyer. Said Bissell, "Where do you think he is?" "I do not know." "Do you not think he is in hell?" said Bissell. "I suppose he is." "Well," said Bissell, "do you not think he is in pain [Paine]?" They almost act to me as if they were in pain. They must excuse me if there are any of them here to-day. I cannot see the least use on the face of the earth for these wicked lawyers who stir up strife. If they would turn merchants, cattle breeders, farmers or mechanics, or would build factories, they would be useful; but to stir up strife and quarrels, to alienate the feelings of neighbors, and to destroy the peace of communities, seems to be their only business. For a man to understand the law is very excellent, but who is there that understands it? They that do and are peacemakers, they are legitimate lawyer. There are many lawyers who are very excellent men. What is the advice of an honorable gentlemen in the profession of the law? "Do not go to law with your neighbor; do not be coaxed into a lawsuit, for you will not be benefited by it. If you do go to law, you will hate your neighbor, and you will finally have to pick some of your neighbors who hoe potatoes and corn, who work in the cabinet shop, at the carpenter's bench, or at the blacksmith's forge, to settle it for you. You will have to pick ten, twelve, eighteen or twenty-four of them, as the case may be, to act as a jury, and your case goes before them to decide. They are not lawyers, but they understand truth and justice, and they have got to judge the case at last." Why not do this at first, and say we will arbitrate this case, and we will have no lawsuit, and no difficulty with our neighbor, to alienate our feelings one from another? This is the way we should do as a community.

      Would you want doctors? Yes, to set bones. We should want a good surgeon for that, or to cut off a limb. But do you want doctors? For not much of anything else, let me tell you, only the traditions of the people lead them to think so; and here is a growing evil in our midst. It Will be so in a little time that not a woman in all Israel will dare to have a baby unless she can have a doctor by her. I will tell you what to do, you ladies, when you find you are going to have an increase, go off into some country where you cannot call for a doctor, and see if you can keep it. I guess you will have it, and I guess it will be all right, too. Now the cry is, "Send for a doctor." If you have a pain in the head, "Send for a doctor;" if your heel aches, "I want a doctor;" "my back aches, and I want a doctor." The study and practice of anatomy and surgery are very good; they are mechanical, and are frequently needed. Do you not think it is necessary to give medicine sometimes? Yes, but I would rather have a wife of mine that knows what medicine to give me when I am sick, than all the professional doctors in the world. Now let me tell you about doctoring, because I am acquainted with it, and know just exactly what constitutes a good doctor in physic. It is that man or woman who, by revelation, or we may call it intuitive inspiration, is capable of administering medicine to assist the human system when it is besieged by the enemy called Disease; but if they have not theft manifestation, they had better let the sick person alone. I will tell you why: I can see the faces of this congregation, but I do not see two alike; and if I could look into your nervous systems and behold the operations of disease, from the crowns of your heads to the soles of your feet, I should behold the same difference that I see in your physiognomy —there would be no two precisely alike. Doctors make experiments, and if they find a medicine that will have the desired effect on one person, they set it down that it is good for everybody, but it is not so, for upon the second person that medicine is administered to, seemingly with the same disease, it might produce death. If you do not know this, you have not had the experience that I have. I say that unless a man or woman who administers medicine to assist the human system to overcome disease, understands, and has that intuitive knowledge, by the Spirit, that such an article is good for that individual at that very time, they had better let him alone. Let the sick do without eating, take a little of something to cleanse the stomach, bowels and blood, and wait patiently, and let Nature have time to gain the advantage over the disease. Suppose, for illustration, we draw a line through this congregation, and place those on this side where they cannot get a doctor, without it is a surgeon, for thirty or fifty years to come; and put the other side in a country full of doctors, and they think they ought to have them, and this side of the house that has no doctor will be able to buy the inheritance of those who have doctors, and overrun them, outreach them, and buy them up, and finally obliterate them, and they will be lost in the masses of those who have no doctors. I know what some say when they look at such things, but that is the fact. Ladies and gentlemen, you may take any country in the world, I do not care where you go, and if they do not employ doctors, you will find they will beat communities that employ them, all the time. Who is the real doctor? That man who knows by the Spirit of revelation what ails an individual, and by the same Spirit knows what medicine to administer. That is the real doctor, the others are quacks.

      But to the text. We want to see a community organized in which every person will be industrious, faithful and prudent. What will you do with the children? We will bring them up until they are of legal age, then say, "Go where you please. We have given you a splendid education, the advantage of all the learning of the day, and if you do not wish to stay with the Saints, go where you please." What will you do with those who apostatize after having entered into covenant and agreement with others that their property shall be one, and be in the hands of trustees, and shall never be taken out? If any of these parties apostatize, and say we wish to withdraw from this community, what will you do with them? We will say to them, "Go, and welcome," and if we are disposed to give them anything, it is all right.

      Where are we going to find the greatest difficulty and obstruction with regard to this organization? In the purse of the rich? No, not by any means. I have got some brethren who are just as close, tight and penurious as I am myself, but I would rather take any moneyed man in this community, and undertake to manage him, than some men who are not worth a dollar in the world. Some of this class are too independent. They would say, "I'll go a fishing," or "I guess I'll go a riding, where I please." Well, if I were to give out word, and say to the community, Send in your names, I want to see who are willing to go into an organization of this kind, who do you suppose would write to me first? The biggest thieves in the community. Do not be shocked at that, any of you, whether you are strangers or not, for we have some of the meanest men that ever disgraced God's footstool right in the midst of the Latter-day Saints. Do not be startled at that, because it is true. I have told the people many a time, if they want anything done, no matter how mean, they can find men here who can do it, if they are to be found on the earth. I can not help this. You recollect that Jesus compared the kingdom of heaven to a net which gathered all kinds. If our net has not gathered all kinds, I wonder where the kinds are that we have not got. I say that some of the worst men in the community would be the first ones to proffer their names to go into such an association. I do not want them there. Is this the fact? Yes it is. I understand it exactly. But if such a community could be organized, to show the Latter-day Saints how to build up the kingdom of heaven on the earth, I would be glad to see it—would not you?

      If this could be done I want to say to the Latter-day Saints, that I have a splendid place, large enough for about five hundred or a thousand persons to settle upon, and I would like to be the one to make a donation of it, with a good deal more, to start the business, to see if we can actually accomplish the affair, and show the Latter-day Saints how to build up Zion. Not to make a mock of it. Not go and preach the Gospel without purse and scrip, and gather up the poor and needy, and have them bring Babylon with them. Leave Babylon out of the question. Make our own clothing, but do not put seventeen or twenty-one yards in a single dress, neither be attired so as to look like a camel. It is not comely, it does not belong to sensible people, nor to any people who wish to carry themselves justly and correctly, before the heavens and intelligent men.

      If the ladies want silks, we have the mulberry here of all kinds; we have the silkworm eggs here, and we have made the silk. Go to work now and raise worms, and wind the silk, and weave it and make all the satin ribbons you wish for. We have men and women here, who did nothing sit their lives before they came here but weave satin ribbons and satin cloth. This is their business, they know how to get it up. If free will raise the silk, dress yourselves just as beautifully as you please.

      By and by when this people learn the value of the mulberry and the silkworm, you will see the women with their few trees in their yards and around their lots, and for shade trees in the streets; and the children will be picking the leaves and feeding the worms, and they will get up silk dresses here like those in the East Indies. The silk dresses they make there you can put them on and wear them until you are tired of them, and almost from generation to generation. We can make them here just as good. And we can have coats and vests and pants made of our home-grown material, which a man would wear for his best suit, and hand down to his posterity. When we have learned the worth of silk we will make it and use it instead of linen. We have a splendid country for raising silk, but not a good country to raise flax in; splendid for raising wool, grain, fruit, vegetables, cattle, milk, butter and cheese, and here we are importing our cheese. We ought to be making cheese by the hundreds of tons. We ought to export it in quantities; but instead of that we are sending to the States for it.

      Where are your cows? Have you taken care of them? If you see a community organized as they should be, they will take care of their calves; they will have something to feed them on in the winter, and they will take care of their stock and not let it perish. What a sin it, is to the Latter-day Saints, if they did but know it, to abuse their stock—their cattle, milch cows and horses! Through the summer they will work and use them, and in the winter turn them out to live or die as they can, taking no care of that which God has given them. Were it not for the ignorance of the people, the Lord would curse them for such things.

      We ought to learn some of these facts, and try to shape our lives so as to be useful. Let the men make their lives useful. Let the women make their lives useful. Mothers, teach your daughters how to keep house, and not how to spend everything they can get hold of. I will just say a few words on this subject. We have hundreds of young men heir who dare not take girls for wives. Why? Because the very first thing, they want a horse and buggy, and a piano; they want somebody to come every day to give them lessons on the piano; they want two hired girls and a mansion, so that they can entertain company, and the boys are afraid to marry them. Now mothers, teach your girls better things than these. What are the facts in the case? If you had been brought up to know what property—fine furniture, carpets, and so on, was worth, you would take care of it, and be prudent in the use of it, and teach your girls to take care, instead of wasting it. Do you believe it? This does not hit all, but too many. I wish you would hearken to these things. I am taking up the time, and not giving to others an opportunity to address you. We have not said what we want to say to the Latter-day Saints. We ought to have a house Cent times as large as this, and we ought to fill it; and we ought to sit together not only four days, but a week and perhaps two weeks, and leave home at home, leave Babylon in Babylon—leave everything and come here to worship the living. God, and learn of his ways, that we may walk in his paths. This is our duty, and what we should do. But there are so many who can hardly spend time to go to meeting on the Sabbath day; and they can hardly spend time to go to Conference. They have so much business on hand, so many cattle to take care of; they have money to let out, or money borrow; they have men to see to, or something or other, and it seems as if the affections of the people are hankering after the things of this world too much, too much! Stop, Latter-day Saints, and reckon with yourselves, and find whether you are actually in the path of obedience to the requirements of heaven or not. Some suppose that they are serving God and are on the road o eternal life, but many will find they are mistaken if they are not careful. We had better reckon with ourselves and look over our accounts, and see how we stand before the Lord. See if we are doing good, if we are bestowing our substance on the poor, that they may have food to eat and habitations to dwell in, and be made comfortable: see if we are sending our means for the poor in foreign lands, and aiding to send the Elders to preach to the nations and gather up the people and make them happy and comfortable. Instead of doing this I fear that many are wandering away from the commandments of the Lord. "O fools, and slow of heart to believe!" We can get rich a great deal quicker by serving God than by serving ourselves, do a great deal better, and do a great deal more good. The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. He is anxious, and is waiting with extended arms and hands, comparatively, to pour the wealth of the world into the laps of the Latter-day Saints, if they will not give it away to their enemies. But now, just as soon as anything is given to the Latter-day Saints they are looking from east to west, and from north to south, to see where they can strew that that God gives them among their enemies—those who spurn the things of God, and would destroy his kingdom from the earth. I say, let the Lord keep us poor rather than forsake our religion and turn away from it! Why can not a man serve God with his pockets full of greenbacks, and not lust after them one particle? If he can not do it, he is lacking in wisdom, faith, and knowledge, and does not understand God and his ways. The heavens and the earth are fall of blessings for the people. To whom do they belong? To our Father in heaven, and he wishes to bestow them upon his children when they can receive and dispose of them to his name's glory.

      We shall have to stop here. We are going to adjourn our Conference, though we have not said half what we wish to say to you and to ourselves, for we want to be co-workers together. Now let me say to the First Presidency, to the Apostles, to all the Bishops in Israel, and to every quorum, and especially to those who are presiding officers, Set that example before your wives and your children, before your neighbors and this people, that you can say: "Follow me, as I follow Christ." When we do this, all is right, and our consciences are clear.

      God bless you.

 

            It was motioned, by PRESIDENT GEO. A. SMITH that the home missionaries be sustained and that they continue their labors.

            President Smith then said:

            I wish to say to my friends that I am about to go abroad, on a visit to the Holy Land. I expect to start in the course of a few days. The contemplated journey will cost three thousand dollars in gold -- an amount which I am unable to raise without difficulty, and I thought of inviting the bishops and my friends generally -- all who feel disposed to do so, to donate something towards the expenses of this pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I feel as though I would rather not make this call or invitation, but I will say that inasmuch as they will contribute their mite towards defraying the expenses of y visit to the sites which form the foundation of sacred history, I have no doubt a share of the blessings thereof will fall upon their heads in due season, which may God grant in the name of Jesus, Amen.

            ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON presented the names of the following brethren as having been called on missions, the vote to sustain them was unanimous.

TO THE UNITED STATES.

William A. Neimoyer,
Mark Lindsey.

TO ENGLAND.

John Bennion.

            The choir sang: "Daughter of Zion."

            The congregation and choir sang, "Praise God from whom all blessings flow."

            Conference adjourned till the 6th day of April, 1873, at 10 a.m.

            Benediction by PRESIDENT GEORGE A. SMITH.

JOHN NICHOLSON,
Clerk of conference.

_____

1873

6-8 Apr, 3-4 May 1873, 43rd Annual General Conference, Tabernacle.
[Deseret News Weekly, 22:152-153, 169, 4/9/73, p 8-9; Millennial Star 35: 273]

[6 Apr, 10 am]

[DNW 22:152, 4/9/73, p 8]

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

_____

THE Forty-third Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints convened in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, on Sunday, April 6th, 1873, at 10 a.m.

            The number of people present was large, probably between eight and nine thousand.

            There were present on the stand:

Of the First Presidency:

            Brigham Young, Sr., and Daniel H. Wells.

Of the Twelve Apostles:

            Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Jr., and Joseph F. Smith.

            Patriarch -- John Smith.

Of the First Seven Presidents of Seventies:

            Joseph Young, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge and John Van Cott.

Of the Presidency of the High Priests' Quorum:

            Elias Smith, Edward Snelgrove and Elias Morris.

Of the Presidency of this Stake of Zion:

            George B. Wallace and John T. Caine.

Of the Presidency of the Bishopric:

            Edward Hunter, Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little.

            There were also Bishops, Elders and leading men from nearly every settlement in the Territory.

            The Conference was called to order by President BRIGHAM YOUNG.

            The choir sang: "Great God attend while Zion sings The joy that from thy presence springs."

            The opening Prayer was offered by Elder BRIGHAM YOUNG, Jr.

            "We're not ashamed to own our Lord, And worship him on earth," was sung by the choir.

            Elder GEORGE GODDARD was elected clerk of the Conference.

ELDER JOHN TAYLOR

Addressed the Conference. He spoke of the causes which brought the Latter-day Saints together in their present location, showing that without the principles of the gospel they would not have come here. He also touched upon the restoration of the gospel of Jesus in this last dispensation. The object of the gathering together of the Saints was that God might have a people to whom he might communicate his mind and will. When the Elders preached to the Saints in the countries from which they came, the silent whisperings of the Holy Spirit showed them the beauty and symmetry of the principles taught, and demonstrated to their minds the purposes of the almighty and the relationship they sustained towards him. This spirit operated upon the whole church and drew its members together. They were not here to do their own will, but to do the will of the almighty.

            The Saints had but started in the race, and the prize they had in view was salvation for themselves and mankind generally. Their business was to co-operate with the Almighty for the accomplishment of his purposes, to build up Zion, place society on a correct basis and to properly organize it.

            Elder Taylor discoursed for some time on the designs of God and the futility of all powers to hinder their accomplishment.

ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON

Was the next speaker. He treated upon the wonderful work which God had wrought in connection with this people. The promises connected with the work which Joseph Smith was instrumental in inaugurating on the earth were exactly similar to those connected with the gospel taught by the Savior and his Apostles, and not only were the promises similar, but the fulfillment of them had also been equally powerful and demonstrative. The speaker alluded to the remarkable fact of people coming together from the various nations of the earth, all having the same testimony regarding the dispensation of the fullness of times. That which had transpired in the gathering together of the Saints in the last days was clearly predicted by the ancient prophets. An actual kingdom of God had been founded and a Church had been organized after the Apostolic pattern. Everything connected with the Latter-day work showed that it did not originate in imposture, but that the principles upon which it had been organized and was conducted had been given by revelation from the Lord. It would be as easy to stop the rolling in of the tide as to stop the gathering from the nations of those who embrace the gospel for the love of it. When a person drank into the spirit of Christ he had an unquenchable desire to gather with those who had obeyed the same principles. This feeling and desire emanated from God and he had a purpose in imbuing his people with a desire of this character. The fact that the Saints had received the desire from God was a strong testimony that he wished them to separate themselves from the corruptions of the world, and that they should throw aside all old traditions and prepare to be taught of the Saviour through his servants. The Saints had been wonderfully preserved from the snares and machinations of the enemies of God's kingdom, and they had been marvelously blessed temporally. He had made the wrath of man to praise him and had restrained those who would not praise him.

            The speaker dwelt for some time upon the eternal nature of the work of God and its comprehensive character, being destined not only to benefit the Latter-day Saints, but all the human family. He spoke upon the labors of the Latter-day Saints in behalf of their fellow-men, and predicted that the time would come when they would be fully appreciated. He alluded also to the great labors of President Young, how he had devoted his time and means for the benefit of the people. He concluded by speaking of the great cause which the Latter-day Saints had for being thankful to the Almighty for his great blessings.

PRESIDENT YOUNG

Advised the people who attended the meetings to come well clothed and wrapped up, that they might not take cold.

            Adjourned till 2 p. m.

            The choir sang: "I will extol thee."

            Prayer by Elder Joseph F. Smith.

_____

[6 Apr, 2 pm]

[DNW 22:152-153, 4/9/73, p 8-9]

2 P.M.

            The congregation this afternoon would probably number not less than ten thousand people, the large building being nearly filled to its utmost capacity. Many strangers were present.

            "What wondrous things we now behold By Prophets seen in days of old." was sung by the choir.

            Prayer by ELDER WILFORD WOODRUFF.

            The choir sang "We'll sing all hail to Jesus' name! Honor and praise we give."

            The sacrament of the lord's supper was then administered.

PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG

Addressed the Conference. He said he wanted the attention and faith of the congregation. We had come here to be benefitted, and in all of our worshiping exercises the Spirit of the Lord was the best of all things we could possess. He directed attention to the great variety that exists in the mentality and physiology of the human family, as also in all the creations of God. He also discoursed upon the variety of ideas entertained by mankind on different subjects. It was represented by a certain class of persons that the Latter-day Saints were the enemies of mankind, but this was incorrect. Those were the enemies of mankind who wished to substitute error for truth, darkness for light, strife for peace. The peacemaker and those who delighted in virtue and purity were the friends of mankind.

            President Young then devoted a portion of his discourse to show by what means or course of conduct peace could be made to prevail between individuals and in families, neighborhoods and communities, showing that those who sought to establish such a condition were the genuine friends of the human family, while those whose influence tended in the opposite direction were the enemies of man in whatever sphere they might move. He next dwelt upon the causes that induced the Latter-day Saints to gather to these valleys, and also upon the causes which led some after they had gathered to slide away from the principles of truth and become engrossed in worldly things. Those who came up here and devoted themselves to things pertaining to the world might heap up gold and silver, but in due time it would go from them and would prove their destruction. Some of the Latter-day Saints had an idea that they could take the follies of the world in one hand and the Savior in the other, and expect to get into the presence of the Lord Jesus. They would, however, find themselves mistaken, for he would drop them. So far as the majority of the Saints were concerned, they were a good-loving, God-fearing people, but they carried with them a number who were not pure in their hearts.

            He next showed the gradual nature of the progress of the people in developing within themselves the principles of light and truth, and how a holy desire within the heart to become God-like was like a guiding star, leading the individual back to the Father. He adverted to the absurd fashions of the world, and counseled the Saints to avoid them. He clearly portrayed that those who kept the commandments of God would eventually enjoy everything that was worth possessing and enjoying.

            The next branch of the subject treated upon by President Young was the prevailing ideas in the world regarding God and Godliness and the differences between them and those entertained by the Latter-day Saints. Notwithstanding those differences the latter were the friends and not the enemies of mankind, and they purposed laboring in conjunction with the Savior of the world until the last of the sons and daughters of Adam that would be saved had been redeemed.

[Brigham Young]

[DNW 22:164, 4/16/73, p 4; JD 16:23]

DISCOURSE

By President BRIGHAM YOUNG, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday afternoon, April 6th, 1873.

_____

REPORTED BY D. W. EVANS.

_____

      In my remarks to you I want your eyes, ears, attention and faith. This is the Forty-third Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and we have assembled together for the purpose of being benefited. We like to see and hear each other, we like to give and receive counsel, and we like, above all things, to enjoy the Spirit of the Lord. In singing, praying, speaking and hearing, and in all duties devolving upon us upon such occasions as this, the Spirit of the Lord is the best of all.

      I have a great many reflections wish regard to the Latter-day Saints and the work in which they are engaged. I have many reflections in regard to the world of mankind. We all enjoy the power of sight, but how differently we look at and comprehend things! And we are very much like the people who have lived before us. We are a strange and curious composition—no two alike. Of all the faces before me this afternoon there are no two alike. We might possibly find those whose judgment would be pretty much alike on various subjects, still there are no two whose judgments are precisely the same. Human life is a great stage, and it contains a very great variety of scenes and scenery, of thought and of action. Some are not very beautiful, others are, and they are painted with fine colors. We see all this before us, and each and every person has the privilege of judging for himself, and upon each different impressions are produced.

      I see a large congregation before me this afternoon of people called Latter-day Saints. If the world of mankind were to give their opinion concerning us they would use terms I heard frequently this morning—"enemy," "enemies," "our enemies." These expressions would be frequently heard from the inhabitants of the earth about the Latter-day Saints, for the impression has existed and has been growing stronger for years past, that this strange people—the Latter-day Saints—are the enemies of mankind. I do not wish to convey the idea that all the inhabitants of the earth consider this people their enemies, but there are those who wish to have this impression or belief prevail. I hear many of the Elders of Israel refer to the outside world as enemies. I do it myself at certain times and on certain occasions, for certain deeds wrought by those who wish to destroy the truth from the earth, for every person who would uproot the truth of God is mine enemy, he would destroy me if he had the power. What shall we say of those who desire peace and whose hearts are filled with good will towards their fellow-men? We say peace to such persons, and give them ours and God's blessing.

      Who is the enemy of mankind? He who wishes to change truth for error and light for darkness; he who wishes to take peace from a family, city, state or nation and give the sword in return. He is my enemy, he is your enemy and the enemy of mankind. Who is the friend of mankind? He who makes peace between those who are at enmity, who brings together those who, perhaps, through some misunderstanding, have been at variance with and lost friendship and fellowship for each other, and shows them that their ill-will is without foundation and existed simply because they did not understand each other. To illustrate we will suppose that two men come in the same car to this city. One, of them is full of deception and carries false colors. If he speaks a word that would become a gentleman, it is not because be feels I it, for in his heart he is cursing trod damning, and his purpose is to sow discord and enmity among the people in a neighborhood. He delights to set the members of one family jarring with each other. He will teach the youth to believe that such or such persons are their enemies and it is no harm to burn their houses down, to take their horses, cut their carriages to pieces, to open the gate of their garden or field and let somebody's cattle in. Such a person is an enemy of mankind. But the other one is a friend. If he sees his neighbor's gate open, he shuts it; if cattle are in a neighbor's field, he tells him of the mischief that is being done. If he sees a fence down, and there is none of the family to come and put it up, he gets out of his carriage, or off his horse, or if he is afoot, he steps to the fence, turns the cattle out, puts up the fence or shuts the gate and prevents further mischief on his neighbor's premises. Who is your enemy and mine? He that teaches language that is unbecoming, that presents falsehood for truth, that furnishes false premises to build upon instead of true, or that is full of anger and mischief to his fellow beings. I call no others enemies, except such characters as I have named. There is no question that many have done much mischief while in ignorance of what they were doing. I have no doubt that the soldiers who were commanded to nail the Savior to the cross did not realize what they were doing. They treated him as they did the thieves, whom they knew to be worthy of death; but through prejudice, over-persuasion and much talk by the priests, Scribes, Pharisees and people, they perhaps supposed they were doing God's service when they crucified Jesus. But it was an enemy that did it, it was a bad act, a very heinous crime, it—but I pause. The question may be asked, What would have been the consequence suppose the Savior had not been crucified? I can only answer by saying that he was. The Scriptures say that offenses must needs come, but woe to him by whom they come. But we will resume our subject. Who is the man that is an enemy to his nation? The one that breeds mischief, prompts strife, and brings sorrow among the people.

      Now to the Latter-day Saints—What are you here for? Can you answer this question? Many of you can. One brother says, "Why, I came here to join the Saints." "Where did you come from?" "I lived in Scotland. I worked in the mines, or in the factory, or in iron works." "What did you come here for?" "When I heard the Gospel preached I believed it, and I received a desire to leave my neighbors. I believed the Bible and the Book of Mormon; I believed that Joseph Smith was a Prophet. My neighbors said, 'Oh folly, oh fool. There goes a Mormon,' and they pointed the finger of scorn at me." This is the spirit of the world, but if there had been no persecution whatever in the feelings of his neighbors he would have had a desire to leave his home and old associates to join the Saints, for the Spirit he received prompted him to do this. Ask a sister, "What are you here for?" "Why, I came here so that I could live my religion a little better than I could in Scotland, England, Ireland, Wales, France, Scandinavia," or wherever it might be that she came from. Ask another man, "What did you gather to these mountains for?" "Well, I think I came here because of my religion. I used to think I wanted to gather up with the Saints. I liked their society, and when I came up here I really delighted to be with them." "What are you doing now, brother?" "Well, I am trying to do about the best I possibly can. Here are a few dollars I want to pay on Tithing." "Have you paid your Tithing this year?" "No." "Did you pay it last year?" "No." "Have you not paid Tithing lately?" "No." "What is the reason?" "Why, I am after gold and silver, and the riches in these mountains, in this trade, I am after the world, I am after Babylon." This is the conduct. I do not ask for words, I do not ask anybody to get up and declare that their affections are turned away from the holy Gospel of life and salvation, and turned to the world. Let me see their daily walk and know their life, and I know what their thoughts and feelings are. And the sister that comes here for the Gospel's sake, her mind is so frivolous and easily wrought upon that she is led by every wind and breeze of fashion that blows through the streets here. "Oh, don't you see that lady's dress?" "Here, look here, did you see that lady walking down the street?" "Yes." "What a beautiful dress she has got on! Oh dear, how I want such a dress!" Go down the street and you can see it; go up the street and you can see it; go into the workshops, and even into the kanyons, and you can see it. What of it? Latter-day Saints, what of it? "Oh, I do love Babylon so well." "I do want a new dress." "I do want to go into the mines and dig." "I have a claim, and I am just going into the mountains to dig," says a brother. Another one says, "I have served the Lord about long enough, and I am going to serve myself now." This is the way with one here and another there, and if they have not got Babylon they want to get it. And here comes along a man who professes to be a Latter-day Saint, and the first you know he is using the name of the Deity in vain, and it is "curse" this, and "curse" that, with the name of our Father in heaven attached to it. Is that according to the faith that we have embraced? Mingle with the Latter-day Saints, and see them playing on the stage of life, and watch how some of them will change their colors and their coats, and some come out, in one fashion and some in another, according to the circumstances in which they are placed.

      Here we are assembled in the capacity of a general Conference. Babylon is in the hearts of the people, that is to say, there is too much of it. What did you come here for? "Why," says one, "I understood they were getting rich in Utah, and I thought I would gather up with the Latter-day Saints and get rich also." Without making many remarks on this subject, I want to say to every one of those who come up here, their minds filled with Babylon, and longing for the fashions and wealth of the world, you may heap up gold and silver, but it will leave you, or you will leave it, you cannot take it with you, and you will go down to hell.

      Perhaps I may be considered their enemy by some of those called Latter-day Saints, and by outsiders, for telling them these things. That is no matter, it is for their life and salvation that I tell them. If I should see men and women going blindfolded to an awful precipice, and not hail them and warn them of their danger, I should be guilty, and perhaps their blood would be found on my skirts. I will say, at once, not prolonging my remarks or multiplying words, that if my brethren and sisters do not walk up to the principles of the holy Gospel of life and salvation, they will be removed out of their places, and others will be called to occupy them. Elders of Israel, High Priests, Seventies, High Councilors, Presidents, brethren and sisters, no matter who, if you have an idea that you are going to take Babylon—I use this term, because it is well understood that Babylon means confusion, discord, strife, folly and all the vanities the world possesses—if you have the idea that you are going to take Babylon in one hand, and with the other cling to the Savior and drag yourselves into his presence, you will find yourselves mistaken, for he will drop you, and you will sink. You may just as well believe this to-day, and shape your lives accordingly, as to betray yourselves.

      There are a great many who say, "Why, yes, I say my prayers, I do not use the name of the Lord in vain, I do not injure my neighbor." That is true. How many of the Latter-day Saints live like this? I am pretty well acquainted with them. I see and understand their feelings by their works, and I can say that a large majority of the Latter-day Saints are a good, obedient, faithful, God-fearing, God-loving people, and yet we fellowship those who are full of iniquity and evil, individuals who are full of the spirit of anti-Christ. I talk and tell the truth to the good and to the evil, and I wish to comprehend the whole; and I tell you today that if our minds are not made up to serve God, if we are not for Christ, and for his kingdom upon the earth; if we are not willing to devote our time, talents, means, influence and everything that he has given into our possession, we are not in the way we should walk. I know that it may be said, and with great propriety, "Why, my brother, we can not be sanctified in one day, we cannot overcome every evil and every passion in one day." That is true, but this holy desire can dwell in the heart of every individual from the time that he or she is convinced that God reigns, that he is establishing his kingdom on the earth, that Jesus is our Savior, that the holy Gospel has presented to us the way of life and salvation, and we believe it and can receive it with our whole hearts—I say we can have that holy and pure desire from that moment to the end of our lives, and in possessing this we have faith and favor before the Lord, and his grace is witch us by the power of his Holy Spirit, and by this we can overcome temptations as we meet them. This is my experience, that is pretty good proof, is it not? And I have more evidence than this—this is the experience and testimony of every Latter-day Saint who has lived his or her religion since obeying the Gospel. Their testimony will corroborate mine, and strengthen the faith of all.

      I have not preached much to you this winter, and I pause and think. I was in the stone quarry the other day, and saw the men breaking a large granite rock. They first drilled the holes so as to break the rock in a direct line. I saw one man take up his hammer and give a blow. It was too hard. Said I, "My father taught me in my youth that light knocks would split great blocks. Tap light next time." The quarryman did this and pretty soon the rock divided almost as evenly as though it had been jointed. I wish to make an application of this to this people assembled here. If I and my brethren had strength, we would meet together here about one week, to begin with, then go to our work for a few weeks, and then we would come together again. By continuing this course, I expect that in about three months we could get the feelings of this people warmed up like wax before the flame, so that we could get at their judgment and affections and we could actually mould them over, and make them realize the work that they are engaged in. But to do it in one day would be like driving the wedges so fast that you would split the rock where you would not want it split. Still, many who want to receive the word can, and I say to all, you and I must be Latter-day Saints or we are not walking in the path that God has marked out for us. "What do you mean by that, brother Brigham? I want to know what you mean by that, I can not understand it." This is the difficulty, but thank kind heaven, I have found out in my experience, that learning a, b, c, d, does not hinder me learning e, f, g. I thank my Creator that the principle is implanted within us, that we can learn, if it takes a long time, and by a close application of the ability that God has given us, we can improve and in time become Saints in very deed. Were it not for this I should have been discouraged long ago. But, know that we can learn to be Saints if we are disposed to. Practice your religion to-day, and say your prayers faithfully.

      Says a brother, "I pray in my family sometimes, and sometimes I do not feel like it, and I do not pray in my family. Sometimes I am in a hurry, my work is driving me, my cattle are in mischief, and I do not feel like praying."

      If I did not feel like praying, and asking my Father in heaven to give me a morning blessing, and to preserve me and my family and the good upon the earth through the day, I should say, "Brigham, get down here, on your knees, bow your body down before the throne of Him who rules in the heavens, and stay there until you can feel to supplicate at that throne of grace erected for sinners."

      "Well, but I am in a hurry, and my cattle, perhaps, are in mischief and my work is driving me." I should say, if the cattle are in the corn, "Eat away;" if they are in the wheat, "Eat away, eat the wheat, we have more than we can use any how;" and if the children are in mischief and this wants seeing to, and that wants seeing to, I say, "Kneel down before the Lord and there stay until this body learns obedience, until my tongue learns to praise his name, and to ask for the blessings I need."

      "Well, but are you not afraid you will come to want?" Bless me, if I had all the gold and silver on the earth and no prayers, I should he in greater want than I should be with the prayers and without the gold and silver. I will make an application of this with regard to the feelings of the people. It is true that you and I can not learn every thing at once, but we can learn one thing at once and the one thing above all others that we should make it our business to learn is to yield strict obedience to the requirements of heaven, and we can learn that to-day just as well as any other time, and just as well as to spend a lifetime in doing it.

      Now, Latter-day Saints, do you know what you are here for? You know there is a field opens before us in talking about what we are here for, why the Lord suffers what we now behold, and why he permits this and permits that. It is all perfectly reasonable and rational, all according to his providences and his dealings with the children of men. I can say to all that you have got to learn this one fact—the Lord will have a tried people, and if my wife or my daughter can not see and pass by, as things of naught, the follies of fashion, she has not learned her duty, she has not learned the spirit of her religion, and is not, in the full enjoyment of the Spirit of God. Fashions are nothing to me, one way or the other. How long is it since ladies wore bonnets into which you would have to look with a spyglass if you wished to see their faces, and then from their faces to the crown of the head. From this fashion they got to one in which one flower or leaf and five yards of ribbon made a complete head dress. What of these fashions? They are nothing here nor there, and by trying we can learn to pass by every needless fashion, and to stop the use of every needless word, and to carry ourselves correctly before the Lord.

      Now let us consider, are we for the kingdom of heaven? "Oh yes," "Oh yes," everybody says, "certainly we are." Are we for happiness? Yes, certainly, the whole world is with us there. There is no person but what would say, Give me power, give me influence, give me wealth, give me gold and silver, houses and lands, goods and chattels, tenements, horses, carriages, friends, families, associations, &c. The whole world will join in saying, Give us heaven and happiness; but talk to them about "Mormonism," and they will say, "your doctrine is a speculation." The cry with regard to brother Joseph was, "He is a money digger, he is a speculator." Well, how long was it before the whole world was on his track digging money? It was no disgrace just as soon as the world commenced digging money, but when there were only a few accused of it, it was a disgrace. How things are changed! How differently we look upon our bonnets now! If a lady were to enter this building wearing an old-fashioned head-dress everybody would be looking at her. If a lady were to come into this assembly with sixteen yards of cloth—I am talking extravagantly now to illustrate—in her two sleeves, and only four in the waist and skirt of her dress, how ridiculous it would appear, would it not? And yet something very much like that was once the fashion.

      I look at this and make the application. The world would say, "Yes, if you are going to have happiness, we want some; if you are going to have gold and silver, look here, we shall come in for a share." Very good, all right. I used to tell the people—bless your heart, you accuse me of being in a speculation, and so I am. You cry out that the "Mormon" leaders are for speculation, for money making. We go in for wealth. I used to tell the people, and I tell them the same now, I do not go in for a few millions, I go in for the pile, and I calculate to have it. "How are you going to get it?" By serving God with all my heart and being a Saint indeed, and when the earth and its fullness are given rate the hands of the Saints, I shall go in for my share—the whole pile. I used to say, "Why, brother Joseph is the greatest speculator I have heard of in modern times—he is going to have the whole earth. Jesus is coming to earth to reign King of nations, and he is going to share the gold and silver with his brethren. That is not all—all things are yours for time and eternity—the heights and depths, the lengths and breadths, crowns of glory and immortality and eternal lives are yours." Well, I go in for the pile.

      I want to ask, Am I an enemy of mankind? Is a Latter-day Saint an enemy of mankind? No. I say to the intelligent world, if they did but know it, we in connection with God, Jesus the Mediator, angels, the good that are on the earth and the good that have been, are the only friends of mankind upon the face of the earth. That is a great word to say, and some may think it is extravagant. They say, "See what our benevolent societies, our ministers, our kings and our rich people are doing for the poor, and then say that the Latter-day Saints are the only friends of mankind." I want to say to all the world that no good or benevolent act, no act that sustains innocence, virtue and truth and does good to the human family will go unrewarded of the Creator. Do not be discouraged. Have they clone any good? Yes, a great deal of it. The Christian world have sent forth their missionaries and they have done a great deal of good, but they could do a great deal more if they had a mind to. They hedge up the way and try to destroy the little good they have done by instilling into the hearts of the people the necessity of dwelling in darkness and remaining in ignorance, and preventing them from receiving the Gospel. This is their practice, and in this they are doing injury, but they have done a great deal of good.

      What are we hated for? What do men lie about us for, and send forth their lies to the world right from this place? Are they who do this the friends of mankind? No, they are their enemies. They plant falsehood in the hearts of thousands of people. One liar is like a bad king. A corrupt and wicked king can corrupt a whole nation. One liar can deceive thousands. They are not the friends of mankind. Why are we hated? Is our religion obnoxious? Why?

      "Because of this one man power, because of the great influence there is in the midst of the people to unite them together."

      Do you not read in your Bibles that except ye are one ye are not the Lord's? Do you not read in the Bible, that you have had all your lives, that you must love God with all your hearts, that you must be united, that you must receive the Gospel of Christ? Do you not read that there is but one faith, one Lord, one baptism, one God and Father of all, &c.? Certainly you do. Well, we believe these things, but does that prove that we are the enemies of mankind? No, it proves that we are their friends. Why do we differ from them, and why do they differ from us? I can tell it in a few words—it is simply because we are disposed to believe the truth, and they are disposed to reject it. They are disposed to live and drink water, if they can get it, from cisterns that will hold no water. Is there anybody, do you think, who has transgressed the laws of God? Has anybody ever changed the ordinances of the house of God? Was there ever any such thing done as to destroy the principles pertaining to the ordinances of the house of God? Why, yes, in ancient days.

      Well, we know the reason why, we know why they did it—they hewed to themselves cisterns that would hold no water? Do we, as Christians, teach the Gospel according to Saint Mark, St. John, St. Luke, Matthew, Paul, Peter and James and the rest of the apostles and the disciples of the Lord? Do we teach the same doctrine as the Christian world? No, we do not. Do we teach the same doctrine as Jesus and his Apostles? Yes, we preach the same Gospel. How many modes of baptism have the so-called Christian world? I do not know how many. One is by immersion, or being buried in the water. Another is to get down on your knees and have water poured on the head; another is to stand up and have water poured on the head; another is to have somebody dip his fingers in water and touch the forehead with it; another is to plunge face foremost, and how many more modes of baptism there are I do not know. How many there are who say say that all these are outward ordinances and that they are non-essential? Did God ever say this? No. Jesus? No. Any of the Apostles ever say anything of the kind? No, they did not. Has any man in modern times received a revelation from heaven, doing away with the ordinances of the house of God? No, only false revelations; and we ask the simple question, If our doctrine is not true, and if there is no necessity for the ordinances of the house of God, will you not be pleased to tell us the name of the man who received, and the place where he received a revelation from God doing away with his own ordinances, and declaring that all miracles were to cease? &c. It is true that we differ from the Christian world in our faith in regard to these things. Does this prove that we are their enemies? No, it proves that we are their friends. We believe in doctrines that they do not believe in, and we disbelieve in some fanciful ideas that they profess to hold as doctrine. For instance they hold that God is an imaginary being. They can not tell where nor how he lives, nor anything concerning his character, whether he is material or immaterial; but, like many of the most eminent divines, who have spread it through their pages for the people to read, they have come to the conclusion that the centre of God is everywhere and his circumference nowhere—one of the most vain ideas that could be conceived by any intelligent being. Then what is their idea of the soul of man? That it is an immaterial substance. Who ever heard of such a thing? Ask any true philosopher if he can explain the meaning of an "immaterial substance." It is like the centre of a being everywhere and his circumference nowhere, or like being seated on the top of a topless throne. These are self-confounding expressions, and there is no meaning to any of them. We differ from them in our ideas of God. We know that he is a Being—a man—with all the component parts of an intelligent being—head, hair, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, cheek bones, forehead, chin, body, lower limbs; that he eats, drinks, talks, lives and has a being, and has a residence, and his presence fills immensity as far as you and I know. We differ with them, for we know that the Lord has sent forth his laws, commandments and ordinances to the children of men, and requires them to be strictly obeyed, and we do not wish to transgress those laws, but to keep them. We do not wish to change his ordinances, but to observe them; we do not wish to break the everlasting covenant, but to keep that with our fathers, with Jesus, with our Father in heaven, with holy angels, and to live according to them. We differ with them in the tenets of our religion, we cannot help it. We would not believe "Mormonism," as it is called, if it were not for one thing. I never would have believed it if it had not been for one simple thing. What do you think that is? It is true. I believed it because of that. What a strange idea! If it had not been true I would not have believed it, but being true I happened to believe it.

      Now there is quite a difference between me and the man who stands up to teach the people what he says is the way of life and salvation, and who has transgressed every law that God ever gave, who has changed every one of the ordinances of his house, and broken every covenant that he has made with the children of men. What do you know, Mr. Divine, about glory, exaltation, happiness and eternal lives? I will answer for him, and say, nothing at all. What do you know about God? Nothing at all. What do you know about his dwelling-place? Nothing at all. What about his person? Nothing at all. Pardon me for making these expressions, but look on this stage which I brought before the congregation—the human family acting and bringing out what they have behind the scenes. What a spectacle it presents!

      Are we the enemies of mankind? No, we are their only friends, and we calculate to hang on until we save the last son and daughter of Adam and Eve that can receive salvation. We calculate to be co-workers with Jesus, our Savior, until the last man and woman that can be saved in placed in the kingdom or mansion prepared for them, and none will be lost or turned away except those who sin against the Holy Ghost. What do you think of it? An enemy of mankind! Shame on the expression! and shame on those who give utterance to it when speaking of the Latter-day Saints. We have the oracles, the law and the commandments; we have all the laws or ordinances necessary to reach and take hold of our fathers, mothers, grandfathers and those who have lived before us, and to bring them up to eternal life. What divine teaches this doctrine? If there is no resurrection, says Paul, why then are ye baptized for the dead? It is the only expression that alludes to the doctrine of baptism for the dead in the New Testament, but it is true. We have this law, we have the ordinances. We have a knowledge of the covenants necessary to reach and pick up the last man and woman that has lived on the earth, and we calculate to preach the Gospel to the living until the line is drawn and Jesus comes to reign King of nations as he does King of Saints, and the separation is made. But until then the wheat and the tares will grow together. We are together now, the wheat and the tares are here.

      Now let us see your wheat heads bow down as though you were fully ripe or preparing to be so, your whole hearts and labors for the kingdom of God. The wicked may flourish for awhile like a green bay tree, but by and by they will be cut down, and the righteous will go forth and inherit the kingdom, which may God grant to be our happy lot for Jesus' sake. Amen.

 

            The discourse was an elaborate one, and an adequate idea of it could not be conveyed in a short synopsis. Adjourned till to-morrow at 10 a.m.

            The choir sang: "The eyes of all."

            Prayer by ELDER HORACE S. ELDREDGE.

_____

[7 Apr, 10 am]

[DNW 22:153, 4/9/73, p 9]

SECOND DAY.

MONDAY, April 7, 10 a.m.

            The choir sang: "The time is nigh, that happy time, That great, expected, blessed day."

            Prayer by Elder ORSON PRATT.

            "Come we that love the Lord, And let our joys be known," was sung by the choir.

ELDER ORSON HYDE

Bore testimony to the divine authenticity of the latter-day work, with which he was identified. He spoke of the existence of small-pox in Sanpete, which he said was of a mild type and had now almost entirely disappeared. He also mentioned a disease called spotted fever which had appeared there, mostly attacking little children, and proving very fatal. The speaker then spoke of the judgments which were to be poured upon the inhabitants of the earth in the last days, and said that judgment was to be visited first upon God's own house or among his own people and then upon the world. When the judgments of God should be poured out upon the wicked because of their corruptions, salvation would be found among the Latter-day Saints.

            The speaker next dwelt upon the fate of combinations which went out from and operated against the work of God, showing that such organizations invariably died out, notwithstanding that they started out with great pretensions, as had been plainly demonstrated during the last few years. He also exhorted the Saints to aid their brethren who were still in distant lands to emigrate. He concluded by bearing testimony that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that Brigham Young was legally appointed to succeed him and carry forward the work that he had begun.

[Orson Hyde]

[DNW 22:180, 4/23/73, p 4; JD 16:12]

REMARKS

By President ORSON HYDE, Delivered in General Conference, in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Monday, Morning, April 7th, 1873.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID. W. EVANS.

_____

      It is very gratifying to my feelings this morning, my brethren and sisters, to have the privilege of meeting with you in the capacity of a General Conference. I have not spoken much in public of late, in consequence of being, for the last six weeks, considerably afflicted, and confined to my room, and a good portion of the time to my bed. I do not feel like entering into any special or particular subject; but I rejoice in the opportunity of mingling and associating with my friends. We are separated for some six months in the year, and when we come together and meet with our co-laborers, it is joyful to look upon their countenances. I rejoice in this opportunity of meeting with my brethren of the Twelve and the First Presidency, and beholding them mostly in the enjoyment of good health.

      We have been endeavoring now, for more than forty years, to establish the kingdom of God and bearing our testimony to the nations of the earth. I, for one, do not know how much longer my voice may be heard among the living, but I rejoice in the opportunity of bearing testimony to the truth whenever strength will permit and opportunity offer. I take occasion to say to my brethren and sisters, this morning, that as the time is drawing near the cause seems more and more precious to me. It is part of myself, and myself, I trust, a part of it. I rejoice in saying that I know this is the everlasting Gospel, the truth of Heaven. Having experienced it for more than forty years, I know it is true and faithful, and no man can impeach my testimony. Not because there is so much sterling worth in me, as there is in the cause that I feebly advocate. It is true I lived in the days of the martyred Prophet. I was associated with him, and bore my testimony with him, and I feel no less like bearing my testimony this morning.

      I wart to say a few words in relation to the place whence I came, and where I mostly labor. We have had some affliction there, in the shape of small pox. There have been many cases of that disease, but it was of a mild type, and I am happy to say that it has nearly left us, and we are again comparatively free. But we have been afflicted with a disease that is much more to be dreaded than the small pox, and which we have generally called "spotted fever." The small pox is no more to be compared to that disease than the bite of a flea or mosquito is to the bite of a rattle-snake. There have been about sixteen deaths, mostly children, from spotted fever, and there are some half dozen cases yet remaining, but no new ones. They have lingered for ten or twelve weeks, and they, apparently, can neither live nor die, and are mere skeletons. I feel sorry to see children, who should grow up and develop an intellect and a power equal if not superior to any that now live, thus afflicted; and to see them cut down in the morning of their existence grieves me very much. But tide word of the Lord unto us has declared that scourges in the shape of sickness shall be sent forth, beginning first at his house, and from thence they shall spread and make the nations quake.

      We are living, my brethren and sisters, in an important period of time, and when I read over the testimony of the martyred Prophet, and the word of the Lord through him, it seems that in comparing the signs of the times at present with his testimony, there would be ample evidence to convince any rational being that God, our heavenly Father, sent him. I read of disasters by sea and by land. I read of a receding from the principles of honesty, and that great men go into wild speculations and dishonesty, and involve the country in ruin unless there be a speedy arresting of their course. The murders that are committed at the present time, show to me that the word of the Lord is true where he declares through the Prophet, "My Spirit shall not always strive with man." As the Spirit of the Lord forsakes the people, bloodshed, corruption, confusion and anarchy must follow, and all these are increasing in our country. I can not take up a paper without seeing the fulfillment of some of the sayings of our martyred Prophet, and of our brethren who are sitting behind me, on this stand. And what power is there that can arrest the course of evil? There is nothing but genuine repentance and obeying the everlasting Gospel. That is the only remedy that Heaven has provided; the only fountain of life and salvation for the nations exists among these poor, despised Mormons, and I know it. Brethren and sisters, I rejoice in the Lord our God, that he has moved graciously in favor of the Latter-day Saints; and inasmuch as we will forsake all evil and cleave unto him we shall find that his words unto us will be fulfilled, where he declares, "I will fight your battles." I would rather live near to God and serve him with all my heart and soul, might, mind and strength, than right my own battles. If the Lord will fight our battles there can be no treason in that, he is too high for treason to attach to him. He is beyond the reach of the power of this world and he can hurl his storms and blast the prospects of the most sanguine, and accomplish wonders, and none can stay his hand or say—"What doest thou?" The increase, in a thousand forms, of evils, accidents, and calamities through our land and the nations of the earth should admonish us to live near to the Lord our God, to remember our prayers, and the obligations we are under to the Most High, and to seek with all our hearts to discharge them with fidelity. Those who have held fast to the iron rod, and have remembered their God, Savior and prayers, feel to thank God, and to praise his holy name that they have endured. Let that feeling ever fill your hearts, and may the peace of God rest upon Israel, and confusion come upon them that seek to destroy the best and choicest principles that heaven ever revealed to man.

      I was thankful to hear the definition and distinction, given yesterday by the President, of the words "enemies" and "friends" of mankind. It was true and faithful. He is my friend who is the friend of truth and humanity; he is my enemy who seeks to trample under foot the truth of heaven and those who are striving earnestly to serve the Lord. Brethren and sisters, be faithful to him who has called you and from whom you have derived every blessing you possess to-day. Remember our brethren and sisters who are scattered and are anxious for deliverance. Strikes have been inaugurated in various portions of the old world, and thousands of people are out of employment in consequence thereof. Similar operations are threatened in our own country, and they are likely to seriously affect the welfare and interest of the nation. In what shape troubles may come I do not know, but it will be a wonder to me if bloodshed does not result. Well did the angel say, forty-five years ago, "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." This is the reason why the Saints are gathering from the countries of their nativity. Yet when the people see the Saints gathering they frequently say, "What folly, what folly!" Go to the fowls of heaven and learn a lesson. When you see the fowls, in the fall of the year, going to the south, creeping as they go, you say that winter is nigh; so when you see the Saints gathering together, remember that disaster awaits the countries they are leaving. God has declared it, and his arm is sufficiently potent to fulfill his words.

      I rejoice in the truth, and I bear my testimony, to-day, before you, that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of the true and living God. I bear my testimony that brother Brigham Young, the President of the Church here in Zion, is a man of God, and that he is carrying on the work that Joseph Smith began. When we came here how was it with us? We had nothing but a few worn-down teams and a few old wagons, very much demoralized. They were so in the start, because we could not get any other kind. But when we got through here, having brought seed, provisions, and implements such as we could command, our case was a pitiful one. But the Lord has had mercy on us and he has blessed us, and now we are beyond the reach of present want. I am thankful that all this has been brought about under the administration of our present honored President, and the world is trying to kill him and those who sustain and uphold him. It is a great warfare, it is a great wrestling; but I am aware how it will come out. It will be with the enemies and opposers of God and truth as it was with the Irishman who, as he was crossing over a bridge, saw the moon in the stream, and believing it to be a cheese, he said to his companion—"Let us go down and get that cheese." Well, one held on to the railing of the bridge and the other slipped down and bung to his heels, thinking that he would reach down and obtain the cheese. By and by, says the one that was holding to the bridge to his friend below—"Pat, hold fast below till I spit in my hands above," and down they went. That is the way the contest between the world and "Mormonism "' will terminate—while they are saying, "Hold fast below till I spit in my hands above," crash goes the whole concern.

      Brethren and sisters, God bless you, Amen.

 

ELDER ORSON PRATT

was the next speaker. He first discoursed on the importance and nature of the last dispensation. The Latter day Saints had made rather slow progress in the work of God, notwithstanding that they had done well in keeping many of the commandments of God. He thought, however, that a reformation was needed among the people with regard to temporal things. He alluded to the heavenly order that at one time existed among the Nephites, as described in the Book of Mormon. Before that order of things was established,there were class distinctions, and many men felt lifted up above their brethren, because of their great riches, but after the introduction of the order mentioned there were no poor among the people. The speaker next spoke of the revelation, given by God to Joseph Smith, regarding the law of consecration, and described the nature of the law and how it was designed to be operated. This order, he said, had not been carried out by the saints, and he elaborated upon the causes which had operated against its permanent establishment, the principal one being the covetousness of the people. The law of tithing had been given.

            He next showed clearly the character of the law of tithing. He hoped that the time would come when the distinction of class now existing would be done away, and which was manifested in all the walks of life.

            The speaker concluded by adverting to the labors of President Young in endeavoring to induce the people to engage in home manufactures.

[Orson Pratt]

[DNW 22:318, 6/18/73, p 14; JD 16:1]

REMARKS

By Elder ORSON PRATT, Delivered at the General Conference, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Monday Morning, April 7th, 1873.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      It is a pleasure to me to bear testimony to the great work which God has revealed, and which he is establishing on the earth. It has been a pleasure for me to do so for nearly forty-three years. In the early rise of this Church, when I was but a youth of nineteen, God revealed to me the truth concerning this great latter-day work, and I have felt from that day until. the present time to hear my testimony to the same, being commanded so to do. I have esteemed it above all other things The things of this world have been nothing to me, when compared with the ministry, or declaring the truth to mankind. We have one of the most important messages to deliver to the children of men that has ever been communicated to mortals—a dispensation of the same Gospel as was committed to men in the early ages of the world, and in the different dispensations down to the coming of Christ. In addition to this, which renders our message of still more importance to the human family, is the fact that we are living in the last dispensation that will be given to mankind, called the dispensation of the fullness of times. All preceding dispensations have come to an end, apparently, and those who have embraced the doctrines or principles communicated to them have passed away, and darkness has intervened. But in this last dispensation which God has given to man, there will be no uprooting and destruction of his kingdom from the earth—it is established never more to be thrown down, in fulfillment of ancient prophecy. This is what makes this dispensation of greater importance than all which have preceded it.

      Here in these mountains is established a kingdom, not earthly or transient in its nature, with officers who are called by uninspired men but a kingdom that is divine, and which acknowledges the Great Redeemer and Savior as its King and Lawgiver. It must endure forever.

      I look back with great pleasure upon the history of this people from the commencement down to the present time. I see what God has wrought in their behalf; I see what he has accomplished among the nations. It is true that we have not continued as faithful in all things as we should. We have not made that progression in this kingdom that we ought. We have been perhaps slow to hearken in all things to the counsels which God has given, and the order which he has revealed, and which was intended to be of the greatest advantage to, and to produce the greatest amount of happiness among the Saints of the Most High. I say that, in some respects, we have been slow to obey the order of Heaven. In many things we have done well. When the doctrines of faith, repentance and baptism for the remission of sins, the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost through the laying on of the hands of the servants of God, were taught to us, we laid hold of them with full purpose of heart. We covenanted before high heaven that we would keep the commandments of the Lord according to the best of the ability which we had. We did well in embracing these heavenly principles.

      When God spake to us some forty-two or forty-three years ago, and commanded us—then scattered about in the State of New York—to gather up to Ohio, we did well in hearkening to that commandment, and coming together in Kirtland—then in Geauga County. Again, when God gave a commandment through his servant, the Prophet Joseph, to gather up from all parts of the United States and form a nucleus in Jackson County, in the State of Missouri, we did well in obeying that commandment. When God, by the mouth of his servant, commanded that we should go forth and officiate and be baptized for and in behalf of our dead kindred, we did well in performing that which we were commanded to do. When he commanded his Saints, scattered abroad in foreign countries, to gather to this continent, all who gathered in obedience to that requirement, with full purpose of heart to do his will, did well. When we were driven from our inheritances in Jackson County, Missouri, and our lands and houses and goods were spoiled, we did well in being faithful to God. When our enemies, a few years after, rose en masse and drove us from our beautiful city of Nauvoo into these inhospitable western wilds, where to all human appearance we must perish of starvation, we did well to brave the dangers of the desert, and the difficulties we had to encounter in coming to these mountains. In many other things, too, we have done well. There are some few things, however, which I wish to name, wherein I think a great reformation is needed among the people of God. I read in this book, called the Book of Mormon, of a certain order, in regard to temporal things, which existed soon after the days of Christ, which was revealed and established by him for he benefit of the Saints who lived on this Western Hemisphere. It was the highest order and law of the kingdom of God in regard to temporal things. I read that the ancient Saints upon this continent entered into that order with all their hearts. They were not a small handful of people like the Latter-day Saints, but they were spread over the whole of North and South America. Millions on millions of people dwelt in large and populous cities in the four quarters of this great Western Hemisphere, and they all entered into this heavenly order which God had established on this continent and continued therein for 167 years.

      What was that order? They had all things in common. Not an isolated few where Jesus ministered to them; not a few individuals who dwelt in a certain region of country, but the Savior having chosen twelve disciples from among the multitude to whom he appeared, they were sent forth upon all the face of the land, and so great were the evidences given, concerning the appearance of Jesus, that the whole people were converted unto the Lord, and they were willing to be guided by those servants who were called and ordained to administer in their midst.

      Prior to that time there were rich and poor among the people, and, from the history given, no doubt an order of things existed on this continent in those days resembling that which now exists among all the nations and kingdoms of the earth—some lifted up in pride and popularity because of their great wealth, others bowed down in the dust because of their poverty, and class distinctions prevailed until this new order of things was established. What a blessed people! How happy they must have been! No poor either in North or South America. No beggars in the streets of their great cities, but all the property—the gold and silver, the flocks and herds, and everything that was calculated to make life happy in the possession of and enjoyed, as stewards, by the whole people. No inequality, so far as this was concerned, for the pattern was after the order of heavenly things.

      Now let us ask the question—has God ever revealed to the Latter-day Saints the necessity of entering into this heavenly order in regard to their wealth? He has. When? When we gathered up to Jackson County in the State of Missouri. in the year 1881, the land was consecrated and set apart by revelation for the erection thereon of a great and heavenly city unto the Most High God. Not the old Jerusalem, but a new Jerusalem, a city of Zion. God, by the mouth of his servant Joseph, who for a short space of time dwelt in the midst of the people there, revealed the law of consecration, not the law of tithing, but the law of consecration. Let me repeat that law, Latter-day Saints, for as it is a law which will come in force at some future period of our history, it will not be amiss for us to understand its nature and to prepare to approximate to its requirements, so that when it is introduced amongst us we may take hold of it with all our hearts. When we went up to that country in 1831, the commandment of the Most High to the Saints was that they should consecrate all that they had. Not one-tenth merely, not the surplus of their property, but, all that they had, whether it was gold, silver, household furniture, wearing apparel, jewelry, horses, cattle, wagons, mechanical tools, machinery, or whatever wealth or property they possessed, they were to consecrate the whole and deliver it unto the Lord's judge in the midst of Zion. Who was he? The Bishop. In those days we had not the necessity of so many Bishops as now. We were a small people then, and the Bishop in Zion, under the direction of the highest authorities of the Church, he being guided and inspired by the Holy Ghost, was to take charge of all the consecrations of the people of the Meet High. This made them all equal, every person stood upon the same platform, possessing nothing to begin with. All was consecrated and became the common property of the Church.

      Now how was this common property to be used? First, the Saints needed land, they needed means to build habitations; they needed farming utensils; they needed flocks and herds; they needed manufacturing establishments; they needed mercantile and all kinds of mechanical business to be introduced into their midst, just as fast as they procured means sufficient. By whom were the stewardships of the Saints laid off? The Lord's judge or bishop in Zion purchased land from the United States, and then laid off to each man his stewardship according to the number of his family. Those who were mechanics received the tools necessary to work with; those who were called upon to engage in some business wherein a greater amount of capital was needed had a capital accordingly. That is, that was the intention as the common property of the Church should increase.

      Perhaps the question may be asked, could this equality be maintained from that time, henceforth and forever? If there had been no law given instructing us how this equality could be maintained the people, before twelve months had passe away, would have been unequal again. Why? Because a man, perhaps, of small talent or ability, might mismanage his stewardship or inheritance, and instead of gaining anything he would lose. Another man, having a little more talent and industry, and perhaps a little more wisdom, would gain a little. Another man's business tact and knowledge were perhaps such that he could carry on a large manufacturing establishment, and in a short time he would gain his thousands, and thus in the course of a year we would again have had rich and poor if God had not provided against it.

      What provisions did the Lord make in order to maintain this equality among his Saints permanently? He made this arrangement by law—that every man should be considered a steward first, and prove himself a wise steward before he could be entitled to an everlasting inheritance. These stewards were to render an account to the judge in Zion of their stewardships, or in other words, as it is written in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants—"It is required of every steward to render an account of his stewardship, both in time and eternity." (Doc. and Cov., Sec. x c: Par. 1.)

      To whom does he render this report or account? To the Lord's bishop or bishops, as the case may be; he reports what be has done with the means entrusted to his care. If a man has been entrusted with fifty or with a thousand dollars, or with a million, to carry on some branch of business he must, at the end of the year, render an account; of that stewardship. If a man is only entrusted with a small farm, he renders an account of his stewardship at the end of the year, and thus all those who are occupied in these different branches of trade, render accounts of their stewardships, consecrating, at the end of the year, all that they have gained, excepting what it has cost to feed and clothe them. Are they not equal? Yes, and this maintains a permanent equality; for the man who has gained a hundred thousand in his stewardship consecrates all that he has not used; and the man with a smaller stewardship who in the whole year, has only gained fifty dollars over and above what he has used, consecrates that fifty. The man who has gained most consecrates most, the man who has gained least consecrates the least. This reduces them yearly to the same position and condition as they were in when they commenced this heavenly order.

      Did the people carry out this law? No. Why? Because they had imbibed the notions which had prevailed among the people of the whole earth, and these notions were in direct opposition to the order of heaven. The notions and traditions of the world were that every man must be for himself, every family for themselves, and they must labor with their might, mind and strength to gain all they possibly could gain, and use it only for themselves and their generations after them, caring nothing at all about their neighbors. These traditions had been instilled into our minds, and we were too full of covetousness and of false notions about property to carry out the law of God, and hence many, when they came up to Zion, looked abroad upon that beautiful, rich soil, and the excellent groves of timber, and the fine prairies and meadows, with springs breaking forth in numerous places, as they do in Jackson County, and their souls lusted after these things, and the rich man said, "No, I will not consecrate all my property, I will go to the General Land Office and purchase for myself, and I will buy largely in order that I may sell to my poor brethren when they come up here. I will buy land and speculate upon it, and make my fortune." That was the feeling which existed in the hearts of some of the Latter-day Saints. God saw this, and reproved us by revelation, and he said to the people in Jackson County, by the mouth of his servant Joseph, that if they did not repent of this covetousness he would pluck them up and send them out of Zion, for said he, "The rebellious are not of the blood of Ephraim, wherefore they shall be plucked up, and sent away out of the land." God fulfilled this revelation—he did pluck up the people; he did cast them away out of that land in the year 1833. Some two years and a few months after we first began to settle that country we were cast out of the land—plucked up, just as the Lord had predicted, and we were told that it was because of our sins and covetousness that we were sent away.

      Did the Lord forsake us? No; he had compassion upon us, as he had upon ancient Israel, when they were east, away out of their land from time to time. In what respect did he have compassion upon us? When he saw the hold that the traditions in which we had been trained had upon our hearts, he revoked, for the time being, the law of full consecration. Says one, "What! God revoke a commandment?" Yes, that is the way he did in ancient times, and he is the same God yet. He did it for our good; for if that law had been in full force this people would not have been in these mountains this day. Our selfishness and covetousness are so great that, as a people, we never would have complied with it. A few amongst us might have done so, but as a people we should have been overcome and ruined; but owing to that law being revoked, many of us will now, perhaps, be saved.

      In the year 1834, a few months after, we were driven out from that goodly land, God said unto us in a revelation, given on Fishing River, "Let those laws and commandments which I have given concerning Zion and her properties, be executed and fulfilled after her redemption." Thus you see, Latter-day Saints, that we are not under the law of full consecration, and if not under the law we are not under the penalty thereof. Where there is a law there is a penalty, and when we transgress the law we incur the penalty; but having been relieved, for a period, from the execution of that law, we were placed under another law, which, in some respects, may be considered an inferior law. When was that law given? In 1838, some five years after we were driven forth from our stewardships. What is that law? It is called the law of tithing. What is the law of tithing? Part of that law enjoins it upon the Saints as a duty to pay into the Lord's storehouse one-tenth of all their annual income. But let me refer you to the fulness of the law of tithing, for, although an inferior law, I fear that as a people we have not kept it. The first part of that law requires every man, when he comes into the midst of the people of God, to consecrate all his surplus property, reserving to himself a certain portion. This is not a full consecration like the higher law. Latter-day Saints, have we kept this inferior law? Has the man who possessed great riches, when he came to these mountains and numbered himself with the people of Goal, consecrated all his surplus property, and afterwards paid a tenth of all his annual income? I will tell you what we have done—as a general thing we, rich and poor, have kept all the property we had when we came here, and some have consecrated one-tenth part of their income, and so far as this is concerned the people have no doubt done very well, with some few exceptions; and I am happy to be able to state, from information I have obtained from some of the Bishops of the Church, that the Latter-day Saints, now, are showing more determination to pay their tithing, than they ever have done heretofore.

      But let us come back to the other portion of this inferior law. Have we felt a disposition to consecrate our surplus property? Go east, west, north and south, into all our settlements, and you will find that the men are few and far between who consecrated their surplus property, when they came here. In the first place, there have been but few wealthy persons who have come amongst us, and the people have been their own judges. Every man thought that he had no surplus, when he came here. If he had a hundred thousand dollars on his arrival he has said or thought, "O, I have made such and such calculations. I wish to become a merchant in the midst of the people, and I need thousands and thousands of dollars to set me up. I wish to make thirty, forty, fifty or a hundred per cent. out of these poor people, and to enable me to do so I do not think that any of this hundred thousand dollars can be called surplus property. I need it all, I can not carry on my merchandising unless I have it all to set me up.

      Another man who wishes to start some other branch of business makes his calculations so as to cover up all his property, for he thinks he will need it all to enable him to carry out the particular branch of business which he wishes to introduce into these mountains, for he wants to get exceedingly rich before the law of full consecration comes. When they are thus left to be their own judges, where is the man who is honest enough in his feelings to say, "I think I can spare fifty, twenty, ten, five or one thousand dollars as surplus property?" This in my opinion is wrong. They should not be their own judges: Who should be the judges in this matter? The Bishops whom the Lord has appointed in Zion, under the counsel of the First Presidency of his Church and the counsels of the Holy Ghost Which rest upon them to guide their minds. The people should be honest enough when they come up here with means, to say to the Bishops—"Here, I have so much means, judge ye, how much of this shall be surplus, and how much I shall retain."

      The reason I make these remarks is that I want this people to fully understand that there is a law given, a law inferior to that of full consecration, and for every man to enquire whether he has carried out this law according to the letter thereof. Perhaps the time has not come even for this law to be fulfilled in all its exactness. At any rate we are drifting along in about the same channel that the world does, so far as our property is concerned, with the exception of paying one-tenth of our annual income into the Lord's store-house, and the consequence is, there have become rich and poor in Zion, some possessing their hundreds of thousands, and others digging, in the dust, as it were, from year's end to year's end.

      How shall this be remedied? Is the time come for us to execute the higher law of consecration? In undertaking to do so in the settlements of this Territory, what a revolution it would produce? How many would apostatize and go away from the Church? How many of those who are comparatively wheat would be plucked up with the tares if we were to undertake to enforce the higher law of consecration, or the law of tithing in all its fullness. And it would produce the same revolutionary results in most of the old settlements, because we are not prepared for it. I do not see, for my part, how we can begin to approximate to that law of oneness in regard to our property unless we commence in some new place, where the Church and the settlers might be gathered together and set a pattern for all the rest. I do not know but we might accomplish it in that way. I hope that we shall see something that will do away with these distinctions of classes. I hate to see them in the midst of the people of God.

      There are many men of wealth, good, honest, upright men who would be willing to do anything that the Lord required at their hands; while there are others who hug their property close to their hearts, as though it were dearer to them than anything either in this world or in the world to come. There are certainly existing now among us distinctions of classes which if not cheeked, may prove the overthrow of many. For instance the rich can educate their sons and daughters in the best schools, academies and universities; others can not do this, because of their poverty. This makes the children of the rich feel themselves above the children of the poor. Have we not seen in our gatherings for amusement these distinctions manifested? I have. I have seen those who were poorly dressed come into our parties and take a back seat, and there they would sit, as the old saying is, like "wallflowers," during the whole party. Who would be out on the floor enjoying themselves? The rich. But in many instances there are parties of pleasure and amusement got up among the Saints, to which the poor are never invited; they are got up only for those who can dress in fine style, who can sweep the floor of the ball room with two or three yards of their dresses dragging after them.

      With the feelings engendered by these distinctions of classes, there is not that fellowship that should exist among the Saints of the living God. If we wish, brethren and sisters, to go back and build up the waste places of Zion, and to see the New Jerusalem erected upon the consecrated spot, let us endeavor to approximate more nearly to the celestial law, that when we do get back there, and that law more fully comes in force, we may be able to enter into it; for thus saith the Lord, in this Book of Covenants, "Zion cannot be built up only according to the law of the celestial kingdom, otherwise I can not receive her unto myself." We have got to come to that, and it is well for us in my opinion, that we begin to approximate as fast as possible, that when the time shall come, we shall be prepared for full consecration.

      How long our President has labored in the midst of the people here to get them to introduce home manufactures? How long and loud he has lifted his voice, in connection with his counselors, and the Twelve Apostles, to bring about this thing; but the people, instead of hearkening to their counsel, have imported from abroad almost everything they needed. The President is willing, but some of the people are not. Amen.

 

PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG

Delivered a short discourse in which he showed that the Lord had not the least objection to the Latter-day Saints entering into the order of Enoch.

            He said it was in accordance with his mind and the minds of his brethren that from one thousand to five thousand of the young and middle aged men among the Saints who were fond of study should go to work and study law, and advanced several reasons why the brethren should prosecute this study.

            He concluded by giving some excellent instructions relative to the necessity of the people being ready at all times to obey the dictation of the Almighty in all things, and showed how a community of people could become rich.

[Brigham Young]

[DNW 22:180, 4/23/73, p 4; JD 16:8]

REMARKS

By President BRIGHAM YOUNG, delivered at the General Conference,
in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Monday morning, April 7th, 1873.

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REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

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There are a few minutes to spare, and I wish to lay some matters before you. I will say, first, that the Lord Almighty has not the least objection in the world to our entering into the Order of Enoch. I will stand between the people and all harm in this. He has not the least objection to any man, every man, all mankind on the face of the earth turning from evil and loving and serving him with all their hearts. With regard to all those orders that the Lord has revealed, it depends upon the will and doings of the people, and we are at liberty, from this Conference, to go and build up a settlement, or we can join ourselves together in this city, do it legally—according to the laws of the land—and enter into covenant with each other by a firm agreement that we will live as a family, that we will put our property into the hands of a committee of trustees, who shall dictate the affairs of this society. If any man can bring up anything to prove to the contrary I am willing to hear it. But no man can do it.

      Brother Pratt has told you, in his explanations this morning, what the Lord has revealed and how he has been merciful to the people; and when we have not been willing to be Latter-day Saints altogether, but only in part, he has said, "Well, you are the best there is, and I will accept of you. I can not get anybody else who is willing to be part Saints, and I will lead you, my people, as long as you will let me, and I will forgive you your sins this time, and I will accept part of your property if you will not give it all," etc., all showing the kindness and forbearance of our Father in heaven; but he has not the least objection in the world to our being perfect Saints.

      I have a few things to lay before the Conference, one of which is—and I think my brethren will agree with me that this is wise and practicable—for from one to five thousand of our young and middle-aged men to turn their attention to the study of law. I would not speak lightly in the least of law, we are sustained by it; but what is called the practice of law is not always the administration of justice, and would not be so considered in many courts. How many lawyers are there who spend their time from morning till night in thinking and planning how they can get up a lawsuit against this or that man, and get his property into their possession? Men of this class are land sharks, and they are no better than highway robbers, for their practice is to deceive and take advantage of all they can. I do not say that this is the law, but this is the practice of some of its professors. The effort of such lawyers, if they are paid well, is to clear and turn loose on society the thief, perjurer and murderer. They say to the dishonest and those who are disposed to do evil, "Go and lay claim to your neighbor's property, or to that which is not your own, or commit some other act of injustice, and pay us, and we will clear you and make your claim appear just in the eye of the law;" and officers and judges too often join in the unrighteous crusades for the lawyers to wrong the just. I have been in courts and have heard lawyers quote laws that had been repealed for years, and the judge was so ignorant that he did not know it, and the lawyer would make him give a decision according to laws which no longer existed. Now, I request our brethren to go and study law, so that when they meet any of this kind of lawyers they will be able to thwart their vile plans. I do not by any means say these things of all lawyers for we have good and just men who are lawyers, and we would like to have a great many more. You go to one of the pettifogging class of lawyers, and get him to write a deed for you, and he will do it so that it can be picked to pieces by other lawyers. Employ such a man to write a deed, bond, mortgage or any instrument of writing, and his study will be to do it so that it will confound itself. This is the way that such men make business for their class. We want from one to five thousand of our brethren to go and study law.

      If I could get my own feelings answered I would have law in our school books, and have our youth study law at school. Then lead their minds to study the decisions and counsels of the just and the wise, and not forever be studying how to get the advantage of their neighbor. This is wisdom.

      My mind is so led upon the subject brother Pratt has been speaking upon with regard to the orders that God has revealed that I can hardly let it alone when I am talking to the people. He said there are many rich men who are willing to do anything that the Lord requires of them. I believe this, and there is quite a number of poor men, likewise, who would like to do anything if they could only know that it was the will of the Lord. I am about to make an application of my remarks with regard to the willingness of men. But in this I shall except brother Pratt, for the simple reason that I do not know a man who is more willing to do what he is told than he is. If he is told to teach mathematics, he is willing to do it; if he is told to make books, preach the Gospel, work in a garden or tend cattle, he is willing to do it, and I know of no man more willing to do anything and everything required of him than he is. But I want to say to our willing, kind, good brethren that, so far as obeying the orders which God has revealed, I can bring the rich into line quicker than I can get many poor men who are not worth a dollar, and who do not know how to raise a breakfast to-morrow morning. I have tried both, and know. Who is there among us who came here rich? It was alluded to by brother Pratt. Look over our rich men, where are they? Who is there among the Latter-day Saints that is wealthy? When I came to this valley I was a thousand dollars in debt. I left every thing. I think I grit about three hundred dollars, a span of horses, and a little carriage, for all my property I left in Nauvoo. But I bought cattle, horses and wagons, and traded and borrowed and got the poor here by scores myself; and I have paid for these teams since I have been here.

      When I got here I was in debt only about a thousand dollars for myself and family to a merchant in Winter Quarters, but I was in debt for others, and I have paid the last dime that I know anything about. When I reached here I could not pay one-tenth—I could not pay my surplus—I could not give my all—for I had nothing.

      Here is Horace S. Eldredge, he is one of our wealthy men. What did he have when he came here? Nothing that I know of, except just enough to get here with his family. William Jennings has been called a millionaire. What was he worth when be came here? He had comparatively little. Now he is one of our wealthy men. William H. Hooper is another of our wealthy men. He is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. How much had he to pay as surplus when he came here. He could pay no surplus, for he was worth nothing; but he is now wealthy. If he had gone to California I believe he would have been poor to-day.

      There is any amount of property, and gold and silver in the earth and on the earth, and the Lord gives to this one and that one—the wicked as well as the righteous—to see what they will do with it, but it all belongs to him. He has handed over a goodly portion to this people, and, through our faith, patience and industry, we have made us good, comfortable homes here, and there are many who are tolerably well off, and if they were in many parts of the world they would be called wealthy. But it is not ours, and all we have to do is to try and find out what the Lord wants us to do with what we have in our possession, and then go and do it. If we step beyond this, or to the right or to the left, we step into an illegitimate train of business. Our legitimate business is to do what the Lord wants us to do with that which he bestows upon us, and dispose of it just as he dictates, whether it is to give all, one-tenth, or the surplus. I was present at the time the revelation came for the brethren to give their surplus property into the hands of the Bishops for the building up of Zion, but I never knew a man yet who had a dollar of surplus property. No matter how much one might have he wanted all he had for himself, for his children, his grand-children, and so forth.

      If we are disposed to enter into covenant one with another, and have an agreement made according to the laws of our land, and we are disposed to put our property into the hands of trustees, and work as we are directed—eat, drink, sleep, ride, walk, talk, study, school our children, our middle-aged and our aged, and learn the arts and sciences, the laws of the Priesthood, the laws of life, anatomy, physic and anything and everything useful upon the earth, the Lord has not the least objection in the world, and would be perfectly willing for us to do it, and I should like, right well, for us to try it. I know how to start such a society, right in this city, and how to make its members rich. I would go to now, and buy out the poorest ward in this city, and then commence with men and women who have not a dollar in the world. Bring them here from England, or any part of the earth, set them down in this ward and put them to work, and in five years we would begin to enter other wards, and we would buy this house and that house, and the next house, and we would add ward to ward until we owned the whole city, every dollar's worth of property there is in it. We could do this, and let the rich go to California to get gold, and we would buy their property. Would you like to know how to do this? I can tell you in a very few words—never want a thing you can not get, live within your means, manufacture that which you wear, and raise that which you eat. Raise every calf and lamb; raise the chickens, and have your eggs, make your butter and cheese, and always have a little to spare. The first year we raise a crop, and we have more than we want. We buy nothing, we sell a little. The next year we raise more; we buy nothing, and we sell more. In this way we could pile up the gold and silver and in twenty years a hundred families working like this could buy out their neighbors. I see men who earn four, five, ten or fifteen dollars a day and spend every dime of it. Such men spend their means foolishly, they waste it instead of taking care of it. They do not know what to do with it, and they seem to fear that it will burn their pockets, and they get rid of it. If you get a dollar, sovereign, half-eagle or eagle, and are afraid it will burn your pockets, put it into a safe. It will not burn anything there, and you will not be forced to spend, spend, spend as you do now. See our boys here, why if my boys, by the time they are twenty, have not a horse and carriage to drive of their own, they think they are very badly used, and say, "Well, I do not think father thinks much of me." A great many things might be said on this subject that I do not want to say.

      Brethren, we want you to turn in and study the laws of the Territory of Utah, of this city and other cities, and then the statutes of the United States, and the Constitution of the United States. Then read the decisions of the Supreme Court. I do not mean the self-styled "United States Supreme Court for the Territory of Utah;" but the United States Supreme Court that sits at Washington—the seat of government. Read up their decisions, and the decisions of the English judges and the laws of England and of other countries, and learn what they know, and then if you draw up a will, deed, mortgage or contract, do not study to deceive the man who pays you for this, but make out a writing or instrument as strong and firm as the hills, that no man can tear to pieces, and do your business honestly and uprightly, in the fear of God and with the love of truth in your heart. The lawyer that will take this course will live and swim, while the poor, miserable, dishonest schemers will sink and go down. We live by law, and I only condemn those among the lawyers who are eternally seeking to take advantage of their neighbors.

      Now we will close, and adjourn until 2 o'clock this afternoon.

 

            Adjourned till 2 p.m.

            The choir sang: "The King of Glory."

            Prayer by ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON.

Concluded next week.

_____

[7 Apr, 2 pm]

[DNW 22:169, 4/16/73, p 9]

GENERAL CONFERENCE,

_____

SECOND DAY.

MONDAY, April 7th, 2 p.m.

            "Praise ye the Lord! 'tis good to raise Your hearts and voices in his praise," Was sung by the choir.

            Prayer by Elder A. P. ROCKWOOD.

            The choir sang: "Know this, that every soul is free To choose his life and what he'll be."

PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG

Delivered an address, which was more particularly directed to the ladies of the Relief Societies. These organizations had accomplished a good work in relieving and sustaining the poor, and it was desirous that their labors should be increased. There was an excellent paper mill here, and the ladies of the Societies might co-operate in seeing that the rags throughout the Territory were not destroyed, but husbanded, that they might be used for the making of paper. He also wished the ladies to learn typesetting. It never looked well to see a large man engaged in the light business of setting type or measuring tape. Ladies could do the light work while men should do laborious work. It was a disgrace to some of our Bishops, who have preferred to engage strangers as school teachers, who have led the children into infidelity, rather than employ brethren who were equally as capable. It the sisters would engage to see that the rags were saved we could make our own paper, write and print our own school books, and educate our children, and we can do all this ourselves. We must positively be self-sustaining in every respect. It was a sound principle that the idler should not eat the bread of the laborer. It was an evil to sustain the idler.

            The President reviewed some events connected with the early history of the church, illustrating that the Latter-day Saints had to depend upon themselves for education, and every thing else they needed. It was probable that a building would be erected for a printing office for the ladies. Some might advance arguments to the effect that women could not do the work of a printing office, but such arguments were ill-founded, as they were as quick and even quicker to learn than males.

            President Young showed that a large amount of means could be saved by the brethren if they would use oxen for farming and teaming work instead of horses and mules. He also argued that those who stayed at home and attended to their legitimate labors would get rich much faster than those who engaged in mining.

[Brigham Young]

[DNW 22:196, 4/30/73, p 4; JD 16:15]

DISCOURSE

By President BRIGHAM YOUNG Delivered at the General Conference, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Monday afternoon, April 7th, 1873

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

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      I will make a few remarks to the Indies of the Relief Societies. First of all I can say of a truth that, in sustaining the poor and ministering to the sick and afflicted, much credit is due to them for the good they have done; but I wish to add a little to their labors. If these societies will take into consideration the farther duties and obligations that we are under to each other, and the importance of becoming self-sustaining, we wish to enlist, their interest to aid us in making paper, by taking steps to collect the rags. We have an excellent paper mill here, and can make our own paper, as well as to send abroad and pay out our money for it, and then bring it here. We should cease importing paper, for paper-making is a branch of manufacture for which we have all the necessary facilities, and if we carry it on it will benefit us. We want the ladies of the Relief Societies to enlist the sympathies of the children, in their respective Wards throughout the Territory, to save the pager rags; we want mothers to do this, and also to show their children how to do it. When you see them throwing them out of doors, say, "Stop, my child, put that into the basket," or other place designated. "We will wash these rags, and when we get enough of them we will sell them and buy some books for you to read." If we can only enlist the feelings of the sisters on behalf of this great interest, it will lay the foundation for printing the books that we need in our own community, and then we can save this expense also. This is the first step. We want these cart loads of cloth saved that we now see kicked around the streets and lying around the yards. Go to the poorest family in this community, and I will venture to say that they waste rags enough every year to buy the school books that are needed for their children, and do even more. This is slothfulness and neglect, and produces wickedness. To be prudent and saving, and to use the elements in our possession for our benefit and the benefit of our fellow beings is wise and righteous; but to be slothful, wasteful, lazy and indolent, to spend our time and means for naught, is unrighteous; and we might think of this, and contemplate the facts in the case until our feelings and interests are so far enlisted that we will save our paper rags, and take them to the paper mill.

      When this is done I want the sisters to so far use the abilities which God has given them as to learn to set type, and have your printing office and carry it on. It looks very unbecoming to me to see a great,, big six-footer stand and pick up little type and put it in its place to make a word or a sentence, a book or a paper; and when he has got his stick full, taking the type out of the stick and setting it on the galley. To see a great six-footer doing this, and measuring off tape, which is about the same, has always appeared to me, according to that which I understand, as if men were out of their place. I have thought so all my days. I have occasionally seen women in the harvest field, ploughing, raking and making hay, and sometimes, though very seldom, I have seen them pitch and load hay. I think this is very unbecoming, this hard, laborious work belongs to men. But when you come to picking up type, and making a book of it, that belongs to the women. I know that many arguments are used against this, and we are told that a woman cannot make a coat, vest or a pair of pantaloons. I dispute this. It is said that a man is stronger and that he pulls his thread stronger than a woman does. I will take any of these ladies to a tailor's shop, and they will snap every thread a tailor sews with. Tell me they can not pull a thread tight enough, and that they can not press hard enough to press a coat, it is all folly and nonsense. The difficulty is the tailors do not want them to do it, and they try to shame them out of it or to make them believe they can not sew a seam, press a collar, wristband, sleeve or body of a coat, and if women do it ever so nice the tailors will say it is good for nothing, and so the great, big six-footer sits there crosslegged sewing. This is not the order of prudence and economy; neither is it according to the nature of the calling and the ability that God has given us as men and women, to see a man measuring tape, and such light work, it is far more suitable for women. "Well but," say some, "a woman can not do press work." I recollect what was said to me in my youth by a journeyman printer. We were working off Ball's Arithmetic together and we boarded together. I did not eat meat at that time, and he was very fond of it. We went into the office one day from dinner and he said to the workmen, "Young never eats any meat;" and said he, "I can just throw any man that don't eat meat." I said to him, "Mr. Pratt, if you will step here into the middle of the floor I will show you how to dirty coats." But he dared not try it. They say ladies do not eat enough to make them strong—why I have seen scores and scores of them that could pull a hand press, and we do not use them now; they would have nothing in the world to do only to take the paper and lay it down. "But don't you let a woman know she can do this, don't say to a woman that she is capable of setting type, or of setting a stick of type on a galley, and making up a form and locking it up with a little mallet that weighs eight or ten ounces. Do not tell a woman she can do this—no, no, it would spoil our trade."

      Suffice it to say we want to enlist the real understanding and good sense of these women, and to tell them what their duty is. We want to make our own school books. We are paying now from thirty thousand to sixty thousand dollars, a year for school books that can be made here just as well as to send and buy them abroad. This is carrying out the plan and principles of building up Zion, whether you know it or not. We may preach until Doomsday, and tell how Zion will look, how wide her streets will be, what kind of dwellings her people will have, what kind of carriages and what fine horses they will have, and what a beautiful looking set of people they will he, but it is all nonsense to talk about that we will never reach if we do not stop our folly and wickedness. We have the privilege of building up and enjoying Zion, and I am telling you how to do it. We want the women, from this time forth, to go to work and save the paper rags, and we will make the paper for them. And they can learn to make type. I can pick hundreds and hundreds of women out of this congregation that could go into a shop and make type just as well as men, it is a trifling thing. And they can learn to set type, and they can learn how to write for our school books. We have plenty of men and women that know how to write books, and how to teach too. We have just as good school teachers here as any in the world.

      While on this subject I will say that I am ashamed of our Bishops, who can not have anybody but a stranger for a school teacher. Let a "Mormon" come along, who can read all around and over and under him, and who, as far as learning is concerned, is his superior in every way, but because he, the "Mormon," does not come in the guise of a stranger, the Bishop will not hear him. Bishops, I wish you would just resign your offices if you can not learn any better than to get such characters into your school houses. Not but what there is once in a while a good man comes along as a school teacher who is not a "Mormon;" but, as a general thing, what have these men done? They have planted the seeds of infidelity in the hearts of the children, decoyed the hearts of their female pupils and led them to ruin, and they have turned round and cursed us. That is the character of some of the men our Bishops get into their school houses. There are many of our Bishops not fit to set type, measure tape or to teach a scholar. That is saying a good deal for the Bishops, is it not? but it is a fact. In many instances they have not wisdom enough to guide themselves one day without getting into error. They do not know truth from error, they do not know a Saint from a sinner, or righteousness from unrighteousness.

      Will you, Relief Societies, devote your time and talents and take hold of this business? We want you to commence forthwith. Say we take thirty thousand dollars, and that is only a portion of what we will pay out for school books in 1873, and devote that to making paper and for paying brethren and sisters for making books, and then distribute them among our own people. If this work is done by us there is so much saved. Will my sisters enlist themselves and endeavor to make this movement successful?

      We have no societies or persons to assist us in our efforts to school ourselves and our children; we never have had, and the feeling that is now exhibited, and which has always been shown towards us since the organization of the kingdom of God upon the earth, is that those who are our enemies would rather spend ten, yea, a hundred dollars to deprive us of the least privilege in the world, than give us one cent towards schooling our children. When we were leaving Nauvoo, in our poverty, we sent our Elders hither and thither to the principal cities of the United States, to ask the people if they would assist the Saints. Our brethren told them that we were leaving the confines of the United States, having been driven by the violence of mobs from our homes, and how much do you think we got in the cities of New York, Boston, Philadelphia and a few smaller towns? Their hearts and hands were closed against us. From the whole people of the United States, after making an appeal to them in our deep distress and poverty, we got but a few dollars, and we were then starting into the wilderness, and how we were going to live God only knew. Well, we have got to help ourselves, we have to school ourselves. Has Government given us the privilege of one acre of land to educate our children here? No. The school land is kept from us, and we get no benefit therefrom.

      I want to say a word or two here with regard to our schools. There are many of our people who believe that the whole Territory ought to be taxed for our schools. When we have means, that come in the proper way, we can make a fund to help the poor to school their children, and I would say amen to it. But where are our poor? Where is the man or the woman in this community who has children and wishes to send them to school, that cannot do it? There is not one. When the poor complain and say, "My children ought to be schooled and clothed and fed," I say, no sir, not so, you ought to yield your time and talents to the kind providences of our Father in the heavens according to the dictation of his servants, and he will tell each and every one of you what to do to earn your bread, meat, clothing, schooling, and how to be self-sustaining in the fullest sense of the word. To give to the idler is as wicked as anything else. Never give anything to the idler. "The idler in Zion shall not eat the bread of the laborer." Well, they do eat it; but it is a commandment and a revelation as much as any other, that the idler shall not eat the bread of the laborer in Zion. No, let every one spend every hour, day, week and month in some useful and profitable employment, and then all will have their meat and clothing, and means to pay teachers, and pay them well. Not that they should receive more pay than others. If men have learning, and they have the faculty of imparting it to others, and can teach children to read and write, and grammar and arithmetic, and all the ordinary branches of a common school education, what better are they than the man that plows, hoes, shoves the plane, handles the trowel and the axe, and hews the stone? Are they any better? I do not know that they are. What better is the man that can dress himself nicely and labor in a school house six hours a day, than the man who works ten or twelve hours a day hewing rock? Is he any better? No, he is not. Are you going to pay him for his good looks? That is what some of our Bishops want to do. If they can get a man, no matter what his moral qualities may be, whose shirt front is well starched and ironed, they will say—"Bless me, you are a delightful little man! What a smooth shirt you have got, and you have a ring on your finger—you are going to teach our school for us." And along comes a stalwart man, axe in hand, going to chop wood, and, if he asks, "Do you want a school teacher?" though he may know five times more than the dandy, he is told, "No, no, we have one engaged?' I want to cuff you Bishops back and forth until you get your brains turned right side up.

      Here I am talking to thousands of men and women who know that if we are ever helped we have to help ourselves, with what God does for us. We have heard considerable from some parties in this city about what they call free schools, which they say they have established here. I say, now, come out, and be as liberal as you say you are, and teach our children for nothing. If they knew the "Mormons" were willing to accept of their charity and send their children to these so-called free schools, their charity would not weigh much. Their charity is to decoy away the innocent. Send your children to their schools and see how far their charity would extend. We sent to them when we were in the wilderness without bread, without shoes, without coats, and ploughing our way through to get away from our murderers, and asked them for help. No, they would not give us anything to save the lives of women and children in the wilderness. When we were right in the midst of Indians, who were said to be hostile, five hundred men were called to go to Mexico to fight the Mexicans, and said Mr. Benton—"If you do not send them we will cover you up, and there will be no more of you." I do not want to think of these things, their authors belong to the class I referred to yesterday—the enemies of mankind, those who would destroy innocence, truth, righteousness and the kingdom of God from the earth. We sent these five hundred men to fight the Mexicans, and those of us who remained behind labored and raised all that we needed to feed ourselves in the wilderness. We had to pay our own school teachers, raise our own bread and earn our own clothing, or go without, there was no other choice. We did it then, and we are able to do the same to-day. I want to enlist the sympathies of the ladies among the Latter-day Saints, to see what we can do for ourselves with regard to schooling our children. Do not say you cannot school them, for you can. There is not a family in this community but what we will take and school their children if they are not able to do it themselves; and we do not do it through begging in the East and telling what others have told there about this people, and about their own efforts to establish free schools here. I understand that the other night there was a school meeting in one of the winds of this city, and a party there—a poor miserable apostate—said, "We want a free school, and we want to have the name of establishing the first free school in Utah." To call a person a poor miserable apostate may seem like a harsh word; but what shall we call a man who talks about free schools and who would have all the people taxed to support them, and yet would take his rifle and threaten to shoot the man who had the collection of the ordinary light taxes levied in this Territory—taxes which are lighter than any levied in any other portion of the country? We have no other schools but free schools here—our schools are all free. Our meetings are free, our teachings are free. We labor for ourselves and the kingdom of God. But how is it with others? Have they a meeting without a plate, basket, box or hat passed round? And, "Have you got a sixpence for us? Put in your sixpences, your half dollars, your dollars, or your five dollars." No, it is beg, beg, beg from one year's end to another. Ever see this in a "Mormon" meeting? I don't think you have in this city, if you ever did anywhere else. Are the "Mormons" eternally begging and sending round the hat and the plate, and asking every stranger, "Have you a sixpence for me?" No, we do not want your money, we have enough of our own, and we earned it and got it honestly, we have not stolen it nor lied for it either. Now that I am upon free schools I say, put a community in possession of knowledge by means of which they can obtain what, they need by the labor of their bodies and their brains, then, instead of being paupers they will be free, independent and happy, and these distinctions of classes will cease, and there will be but one chess, one grade, one great family.

      Now, sisters, what do you say? Will you give your attention to this? We want to erect a house for you to do printing in. Some one, perhaps, will use some little argument against women doing anything of this kind. But the truth is women can set type, and read and correct proof as well as any man in the world, if they learn how. Men have to learn it before they can do it, and when they tell you that that is not a woman's business, you tell them they do not know what they were born for. They were not born to wash dishes, to dress the babies, nor to have babies, they were born to go into the field and do the work that the women cannot do, and should not do for fear of exposing themselves. Keep the ladies in their proper places, selling tape and calico, setting type, working the telegraph, keeping books, &c.

      See a great big six-footer working the telegraph. One of them will eat as much as three or four women, and they stuff themselves until they are almost too lazy to touch the wire. There they sit. What work is there about that that a woman cannot do? She can write as well as a man, and spell as well as a man, and better, and I leave it to every man and woman of learning if the girls are not quicker and more apt at learning in school than the boys. It is only occasionally that a boy is met with who will keep up with the girls in learning reading, writing, spelling and grammar; as a general thing the girls will go ahead of the boys in these branches, and yet we are told they are not capable of doing these light kinds of work, such as I have mentioned. Shame on the boys, and shame on the great big, fat lazy men! Let these women go to work; and let those who have children teach them to handle the needle and sew, to make lace, to raise silkworms and the mulberry tree, to pick the leaves and feed the worms, and then to wind and weave the silk, that they may make themselves good, nice silk dresses. I saw a very pretty piece of silk made into a garment in St. George, that a woman had made from the silk-worms. She tended them, reeled their silk, wove it and made some beautiful cloth. This is far better than teazing the husband or father to get you fine dresses and then drag them after you in the street. Learn some good, solid sense. Learn how to raise silk, how to make the silk into dresses, and make it, as neat and beautiful as you possibly can. Then another thing—may I say it?—girls, learn to comb your hair in the morning, and fix up your head dress. "Well, but, pa will not buy me a chignon." Well, then, fix your own hair, that is all you ought to have. Wash your face nice and clean, and your neck, and comb your hair neat and nice; put on your dress comely, and make it look neat and nice. I do not mean protruding out behind like a two-bushel basket. And when you come down stairs look as if you were wide-awake, and not as if your eyes needed a dish of water to wash them clear and clean. Young ladies, learn to be neat and nice. Do not dress after the fashions of Babylon, but after the fashions of the Saints. Suppose that a female angel were to come into your house and you had the privilege of seeing her, how would she be dressed? Do you think she would have a great, big peck measure of flax done up like hair on the back of the head? Nothing of the kind. Would she have a dress dragging two or three yards behind? Nothing of the kind. Would she have on a great, big—what is it you call it? A Grecian or Dutch—Well, no matter what you call it, you know what I mean. Do you think she would have on anything of that kind? Not at all. No person in the world would expect to see an angel dressed in such a giddy, frivolous, nonsensical style. She would be neat and nice, her countenance full of glory, brilliant, bright, and perfectly beautiful, and in every act her gracefulness would charm the heart of every beholder. There is nothing needless about her. None of my sisters believe that these useless, foolish fashions are followed in heaven. Well, then, pattern after good and heavenly things, and let the beauty of your garments be the workmanship of your own hands, that which adorns your bodies.

      Now, sisters, will you go to work and help us to get up our school books? Whether you do or do not belong to the Relief Societies, we want you to join in and help us, and save your rags to make paper, and then go and set type and make the books. You who feel like doing this, hold up your hands. (Hands up.) There is a pretty good showing, enough to carry an influence—the day is ours. If you will only carry this out we will make our own school-books, and keep the money in the Territory that we now send out for them.

      Elders of Israel, I want to tell you how to save a little. You want to get rich. Go to the mines and you will be so poor that you never can pay any tithing. This is proved. I want to tell you now, how you can pay your tithing. You trade off your horses and mules and harness, just as quick as circumstances will let you. Raise the calves that will make oxen, break them and work with them; and let this community take this course, using oxen instead of horses, and mules for all their farming and teaming, and in one year they will save one million dollars, and this will increase year by year, and that will enable you to give a little to emigrate the poor Saints from the old country. I want you to swell this Perpetual Emigrating Fund so that we can send for a good many of the poor this year. What have you to give? Some will say, "I have not anything, brother Brigham." "What have you been doing?" "Oh, I have been mining, and it takes all my time and labor to support my family. I have a splendid claim—I am just going to have a hundred thousand dollars for it." We have plenty of this class around, and whenever I see a man going along with an old mule that can hardly stand up, and a frying pan and an old quilt, I say, There goes a millionaire in prospect! He is after a million, he calculates to find a mine that he can get a million toe next summer. These millionaires are all over our country; they are in the mountains, on our highways and in our streets. But ask them, "Can you give me a sixpence to buy me a morsel of meat?" "No, I have not got it, I am just going to have plenty of money, but I have not got it now. Cannot you lend me a little to keep me from need, I have no bread for my family, but I am going to have a fortune in a little while." There are numbers of the Elders of Israel in this position. Ask them if they can pay a little tithing? "No, not a dollar." "Give anything to help the poor?" "No, I have not any, will you lend me a little to buy some flour for my family?" and so they go on year after year. Why? Because they will not take the counsel of the wise. When you hear a man, outside or inside of the kingdom of God, finding fault, complaining or casting reflections, that President Young has got so much influence over the people called Latter-day Saints that they (the grumblers) are afraid of him, you just tell them that he has not a hundredth part of the influence he ought to have. He ought to have all the influence imaginable with them, he is deserving of it, he earns it, and he knows what to do with it, and he directs and guides for the advancement of the kingdom of God on the earth. Just think of these men, trailing through these canons, running after shadows—jack-o'lanterns—all over creation for something in prospect! They are just like some business men I have seen in my life—they have got their eye on a picayune, away off yonder in the distance, and they start after that and stub their toe against a twenty dollar gold piece; but they kick that out of the way, they do not see it. By and by they start again, and they pass fifty dollars in their path, and so they keep on, passing right by ten, twenty or fifty dollars. "Oh, that picayune does so dazzle my eye, for God's sake let me get it!" They are fools, they know nothing about life, nor sustaining themselves, they are worse than children. Well, now, brother Brigham ought to have influence enough over these Elders of Israel to keep them from deceiving themselves as much as they do; and when they run after this shadow and tire themselves out and fall in the mud, they lose the spirit of their religion, find out that "Mormonism" is not true and away they go to the devil.

      I am going to stop talking to the sisters, and will conclude by asking them, Will you be printers or clerks in stores? The brethren will keep every one of you out if they can, and I do not know but I shall have to go and keep store myself independent of every other institution, and hire ladies to tend it. I want them also to telegraph for us, set our type, write our books, and save the rags to make the paper.

 

ELDER WILFORD WOODRUFF

Delivered a discourse on the necessity of the Saints entering extensively into every description of manufacture. The policy of sending wool and other raw material out of the Territory,and then buying it back again in the form of cloth, etc., was ruinous and impoverishing in its character. The signs of the times indicated that the day was not far distant when, if we did not produce and manufacture what we wanted, we would have to go without.

            A large portion of the speaker's remarks were then directed to the fulfillment in these days of the predictions of the ancient prophets. At the conclusion of his remarks he alluded to the presence in the meeting of Father Kington whom he had baptized in England many years ago, together with all but one of the latter's flock, he having been a sectarian clergyman.

[Wilford Woodruff]

[DNW 22:244, 5/21/73, p 4; JD 16:32]

DISCOURSE

By Elder W. WOODRUFF, Delivered at the General Conference, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, April 7th, 173.

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REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS

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      One of the proverbs common among the Saints of God in the dispensation in which we live—the dispensation of the fullness of times, is, "The kingdom of God or nothing." President Young has been trying to get us to labor to build up the kingdom of God. This kingdom has been given into the hands of the Latter-day Saints to establish on the earth, and unless we labor for its advancement we shall certainly fall short of salvation, for all the salvation there is, whether for Jew, Gentile, Saint or sinner, is in connection with this kingdom.

      We have had a great many plain truths presented before this Conference, and if we will observe the counsels that have been given we shall be led to salvation. Every one of the prepositions made by President Young has this tendency. It is our duty as Latter-day Saints to sustain the Zion of God on the earth. What he has said to us is true. We have heard it thousands of times. We have been counseled for many years to try to lay a foundation for our own independence in these mountains. It is a well known principle in political economy, that any nation or people that expend more than they produce, or buy from other nations more than they sell in return, will grow poor. We should produce what we use—what we eat and wear, and as for what we drink, why the mountain streams supply that of the purest quality.

      There are several items to which I would like to call your attention. President Young has taken the lead in establishing woolen factories in this Territory. Others have assisted in this work, but he has done much more than any other man, and now we have several good mills for the manufacture of cloth and other fabrics owned and run by the Saints in Utah. Still we send many large quantities of wool abroad instead of using it in our own mills, and import goods of outside manufacture instead of making them at home. How long will it be before we are poor, and our Territory drained of all the money we can raise, if we continue this? We should not send our wool to be manufactured in the States, and then pay our money for cloth brought from there here. Where are our wool growers? What are they thinking about when they do this? This is an item which I consider of vital importance to the Latter-day Saints. We should keep our wool at home, and we should manufacture this wool into cloth, and we should buy and pay for that cloth, and support home manufactures. This is a principle which we have neglected in a great degree; but we have got to come to it sometime. We have got either to make ourselves self-sustaining, or we shall have to go without a good many things that we now regard as almost indispensable for our welfare and comfort, for there is not a man who believes in the revelations of God but what believes the day is at hand when there will be trouble among the nations of the earth, when great Babylon will come in remembrance before God, and his judgments will visit the nations. When that day comes, if Zion has food and raiment and the comforts of life she must produce them, and there must be a beginning to these things.

      This is the Zion of God, this is the work of God. The servants of God have borne record and testimony to this now for more than forty years, and the Lord has backed up their testimony, fulfilling his word in the events which have transpired in the earth. The Lord says, "I am angry with none except those who acknowledge not my hand in all things." As a people, we have been obliged to acknowledge the hand of God in our salvation and guidance. Some of the speakers have referred to the drivings and persecutions of the Saints in the past. The Lord says, "Offences must needs come, but woe to him by whom they come." If we had not been driven from Jackson, Caldwell and Clay Counties, and from Kirtland and Nauvoo, Utah to-day, would have been a barren desert, there would have been no railroad from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and we should not have fulfilled, I may say, thousands of the revelations of God as we have done. The hand of the Lord has been manifest in all these matters. He has watched this people, and over this work from its foundation until today, and he will continue to do so. But it is certainly true that, as a people, we must heed the counsels of the Lord through his servants, for these counsels, if observed, will secure us salvation, and lead us to prosperity, union and happiness.

      President Young, as an instrument in the hands of God, has brought his tens of thousands from the old world who never were worth, I may say, a farthing, who never owned a horse, carriage, wagon, cow, pig or chicken, and hardly had bread enough to keep soul and body together. There are thousands upon thousands now in these valleys of the mountains who were brought here by the donations of the Saints of God, and the mercies of God unto them. They are now settled through this valley for six hundred miles. They have enough to eat, drink and wear, houses and lands of their own, and plenty of this world's goods to make them comfortable.

      Everything that leads to good and to do good is of God, and everything that leads to evil and to do evil is of the wicked one. I will ask, Has not good grown out of the whole work of God from the organization of this Church until to-day? Has not this Gospel been offered for more than forty years to the nations of the earth in its plainness, truth and simplicity, as it was anciently by Jesus and his Apostles? It has, and thousands who are in this Territory to-day can bear testimony to its truth. The example is before the world. Zion is like a city set on a hill that cannot be hid. She is a beacon to the nations of the earth. The Saints of God are fulfilling the revelations of God; they are fulfilling the prophecies and sayings of the ancient Patriarchs and Prophets, who spoke as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost, and no prophecy is of private interpretation. If those holy men of God spoke the word of God, what they said will have its fulfillment, and no power can stay this work.

      The set time has come for the Lord to establish his kingdom of which Daniel spoke, that Zion which Isaiah saw and portrayed, and about which he and many other Prophets have left so many sayings in their prophecies. The history of the progress of this Church is before the world. It is the work of God, and not a saying ever made about it by an inspired man, whether in the Bible, Book of Mormon, or in the Doctrine and Covenants, will fail of its fulfillment. No matter whether these words came by the voice of God out of the heavens, by the ministration of angels, or by the voice of the servants of God in the flesh, it is the same; although the heavens and the earth may pass away, they will not go unfulfilled.

      This is the foundation upon which the Latter-day Saints labor, and upon which they have labored from the beginning of this Church. Joseph Smith has often been termed an illiterate, unlearned man. He was a farmer's son, and had very small chance of education. What primer had he to reveal the fullness of the Gospel to the world? None at all, only as he was taught by the administration of angels from heaven, by the voice of God and by the inspiration and power of the Holy Ghost. The principles which have been revealed to the world through him are true as the throne of God. Their influence is already felt in the earth, and will continue to increase unfit the coming of the Son of Man; and the blood of the Prophets which has been shed in testimony thereof will remain in force upon all the world until the scene is wound up.

      What other people on the face of the earth are preparing for Jesus Christ? The Lord Jesus Christ is coming to reign on earth. The world may say that he delays his coming until the end of the earth. But they know neither the thoughts nor the ways of the Lord. The Lord will not delay his coming because of their unbelief, and the signs both in heaven and earth indicate that it is near. The fig trees are leafing in sight of all the nations of the earth, and if they had the Spirit of God they could see and understand them.

      The Latter-day Saints can not stand still; we can not become stereotyped. God has decreed that his Zion must progress. We can not remain in one groove or position. This kingdom has continued to progress frown the beginning, and the little one is now more than a thousand, and it will hasten to become a strong nation, for it is God's work, and its destiny is in his hands. It becomes us, as Latter-day Saints, to realize these things as they are, and also our position and calling before God. We must build up the Zion and kingdom of God on the earth, or fail in the object of our calling and receiving the Priesthood of God in these latter days. The full set time has come, which the Lord decreed before the foundation of the world,—the great dispensation of the last days, and a people must be prepared for the coming of the Son of Man. How can they do it? By being gathered out from Babylon. How often has the question been asked, "Why can not the Latter-day Saints live abroad in the world and enjoy their religion?" We can hardly enjoy it as we are to-day—gathered together, the wicked will follow us up; and then we are overwhelmed like a mountain with tradition. But we have gathered together that we may be taught by Prophets, Patriarchs and inspired men, and we are endeavoring, under their instructions, to throw off the trammels with which we and our forefathers have been bound for generations. We are not prepared for the coming of the Son of Man, and if he were to come today we could not endure it. There is no people on the earth prepared for that. But the Lord is laboring with us, he has carried us through a school of experience now for forty years, and we should certainly have been dull scholars if we had not learned some wisdom. The Lord intends that we shall unite ourselves together, and in building up the Zion of God, if we can not attain to all that is required of us to-day, we will do what we can, and progress as fast as we can, that the way may be prepared for the fulfillment of the words of the Lord.

      Here is the Bible, the record of the Jews, given by the inspiration of the Lord through Moses and the ancient Patriarchs and Prophets. Is it an imposture, and as the infidels say, the work of man? No, it is not in the power of any man who ever breathed the breath of life to make such a book without the inspiration of the Almighty. It is just so with the Book of Mormon—all the ingenuity of all the men under heaven could not compose and present to the world a book like the Book of Mormon. Its principles are divine—they are from God. They could never emanate froth the mind of an impostor, or from the mind of a person writing a novel. Why? Because the promises and prophecies it contains are being fulfilled in the sight of all the earth. So with the revelations given through the Prophet Joseph Smith contained in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants—they are being fulfilled.

      We, the Latter-day Saints, have this great almighty work laid upon us, and our hearts should not be set upon the things of the world, for if they are we shall forget God and lose sight of his kingdom. The counsels, exhortations and instructions which we receive from the servants of God are just and true. As a people if we will do the will of God we have the power to build up Zion in beauty, power and glory, as the Lord has revealed it through the mouth of the Prophet. It rests with us, the Lord working with us. We are called upon to work with the Lord just as fast as we are prepared to receive the things of his kingdom. But I am satisfied there has got to be a great change with us in many respects before we are prepared for the redemption of Zion and the building up of the New Jerusalem. I believe the only way for us is to get enough of the Spirit of God that we may see and understand our duties and comprehend the will of the Lord.

      This is a great day, an important time—a time in which great events await the world—Zion, Babylon, Jew, Gentile, saint and sinner, high and low, rich and poor. Great and important events will follow each other in quick succession before the eyes of this generation. No generation that ever lived on the earth, lived in a more interesting period than the one in which we live; and when we consider that our eternal destiny depends upon the few short years that we spend here, what manner of persons ought we to be? Men spend their lives for what they call wealth or happiness, but they seek not after the way of life, and in a few years they lie down and die and open their eyes in the spirit world, and they will come forth at some time and be judged according to the deeds done in the body.

      A great deal has been said with regard to "Mormonism" and the strange people who dwell in these mountains. Many strangers have come to visit this city, thinking that their lives were hardly safe because of the horrid stories they had heard about these terrible "Mormons," when the fact is, if they had only known it, they were a great deal safer here, than in any of the great cities of the world.

      The Lord has been working, and this people have been working, and the object of their labor has been and is to establish the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to spread truth and righteousness. We came here, a few pioneers, on the 24th of July, 1847, and we found a desert. It looked as though no white man could live here. We have to acknowledge the hand of God in all the blessings we have to-day. This Territory is now filled with cities, towns, villages and gardens. The earth has blossomed like a rose, and the desert has brought forth streams of water from dry places. The Lord has blessed the people, we have to acknowledge his hands in this. This is only a beginning. The world have opposed us from the beginning, even very many honest-hearted men, ignorant of the nature and object of "Mormonism," have opposed us. If the vail were lifted one minute from the eyes of the world, and they could see the things of eternity as they are, there is not a man living, not excepting our friend brother Newman, or President Grant, or any other man that breathes, who would not bow down before God and pray for Brigham Young and the prosperity of this work. But there is a vail over men's minds. Darkness covers the earth and gross darkness the minds of the nations, and this is to prove whether they will or will not walk in the covenant of the Lord. There are a few who have had sufficient independence of mind and stability of character to obey the celestial law. But how few friends the Almighty and his servants have had in this age of the world? As it was in the days of Noah and Lot, so it will be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man. The numbers of the servants of God are few. Let the Lord Almighty send a message to the world now as he did in the days of Noah, Enoch, Lot, Jesus Christ and the Apostles, and few among the nations of the earth would be willing to receive it. In the days of Jesus the High Priests, Sadducees, Essenes, Stoics and every sect and party then known in the Jewish nation cried—"Crucify him! Crucify him!" So it was with Joseph Smith. From the day that he laid the foundation of this work, Priest and people, doctors and lawyers, high and low, rich and poor, with but few exceptions, have been ready to crush it to the earth. Why? Because, ignorant of its character and mission, they have believed that it interfered with their religion. Joseph Smith had to walk in deep water, he had to row up hill or up stream all the days of his life in order to try and plant the Gospel in the midst of the sons of men. A few here and there heard and were disposed to receive that Gospel, and the Spirit of God bore record unto them of its truth, and they went before the Lord and asked him if it was true, and the Lord revealed it unto them and they embraced it. From that day until the present this message has gone to the world. I have preached it to millions of my fellow-men, so has President Young, and I may say the same of hundreds of the Elders of this Church; and I do not believe that ever a man, with his ears open, stopped a moment to listen to the testimony of the servants of God about the truth of the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith being a Prophet of God, and the restoration of the fullness of the Gospel, but what a measure of the Spirit of God has backed up that testimony to him. When men have rejected these testimonies they have done so against light and truth, and herein is where condemnation rests upon this generation—Light has come into the world and men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil.

      "Mormonism" is not popular, and few, comparatively speaking, have embraced it. Jesus Christ was never popular in his day. The old Patriarchs and Prophets had but few friends, yet they were called and inspired by God, and held in their hands the issues of life and death, the keys of salvation on earth and in heaven. What they bound on earth was bound in heaven. Whosesoever sins they remitted were remitted, and whosesoever sins they retained were retained. Yet the world was ready to destroy them. It is so to-day. But the unbelief of this generation will not make the truth of God without effect to-day any more than it did in any other period of the world. Therefore I say to my brethren and sisters, let us try and prepare our minds and hearts by prayer before the Lord, that we may obtain enough of the light of the Spirit, and of the influence of the Holy Ghost, to see and be preserved in the path of life, and when we receive the teachings and counsels of the servants of God, that we may be disposed to treasure them up in our hearts and practice them in our lives.

      We shall soon pass away; in a little while we shall be on the other side of the vail. There is no man or woman who has ever lived on the earth and kept the commandments of God who will be ashamed of, or sorry for it, when they go into the presence of God. Our eyes have not seen, our ears have not heard, it has not entered into the heart of man to conceive the joy, glory and blessings which God has in store for his faithful Saints. As President Young told us yesterday, whether men believe or disbelieve, the Lord Almighty has wrought out salvation for the world. We are laboring for this; the Prophets and Patriarchs in days past and gone did the same. In these latter days Saviors have come up on Mount Zion, and they are laboring to save the world—the living and the dead. The Lord requires this at our hands, and if we do not labor to promote this cause and to build it up, we shall be under condemnation before him.

      The Gospel is the same to-day as it was in the days of Jesus Christ. The word to his disciples was—"Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature, he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned." That is a very plain and simple declaration, yet it involved the destiny of the whole human family. It is just so to-day. The Gospel has been offered to the world now for over forty years, in its purity, plainness and clearness, according to the ancient order of things, and the Elders of Israel have promised the world that if they would receive their testimony and be baptized for the remission of their sins, they should receive the Holy Ghost. When a man receives the Holy Ghost he has a testimony that can not deceive him or anybody else. In the days of Moses and Pharaoh the magicians could work as many miracles as Moses, almost; and you may go into our theatre here, or any other, and you may see and hear that which will deceive your eyes and ears, and all the senses you have; but get the Holy Ghost and you have a testimony that cannot deceive you. It never deceived any man, and if, never will. It is by this power and principle that the Elders of Israel have been sustained from the first day they commenced their labors until to-day. It was this power which sustained Joseph Smith from his boyhood up, in all his labors until he planted the kingdom of God on the earth to be thrown down no more for ever. He lived until he accomplished all that God raised him up to do here in the flesh, then he went to the other side of the vail to fill his place and mission there. His works will follow him there, and he and his brethren will labor for the accomplishment of the purposes of God there, as we are doing here. The Lord raised up President Young to be our leader and lawgiver, and he has been so from the day that Joseph was taken away. His works are before the world and before the heavens; they show for themselves. The tree is known by the fruit it brings forth. The Lord has revealed in this day every key that was ever held by any Patriarch or Prophet from the days of Father Adam, in the Garden of Eden, down to the days of Joseph Smith, that was necessary for the salvation of the sons of men. They have been sealed on the head of Brigham Young and other servants of God, and they will be held on the earth until this scene is wound up. What a glorious thing it is that we, like the ancient Saints, can be baptized for the dead, and thus open the prison doors and set the prisoners free! The Lord is no respecter of persons, and the fifty thousand millions of human beings who are supposed to have lived on the earth from the days the ancient servants of God were put to death, to the restoration of the Gospel through Joseph Smith, never having had the privilege of hearing the Gospel, are not going to remain in the eternal world without the privilege of hearing the Gospel; but they will be preached to by Joseph Smith and the Prophets, Patriarchs and Elders who have received the Priesthood on the earth in these latter days. Many of them will receive their testimony, but somebody must administer for them in the flesh, that they may be judged according to men in the spirit, and have part in the first resurrection, just the same as though they had heard the Gospel in the flesh. The Lord has revealed this to us, and commanded us to attend to this duty, the same as Jesus, while his body was in the grave, preached three days and nights to the spirits in prison who were rebellious during the long-suffering of God in the days of Noah. They lay in prison until Jesus went and preached to them.

      This and every other principle which the Elders of this Church preach and teach are from heaven—the Lord has revealed them. They are before the world, and all who hear them will investigate if they are wise. If there is a man on the face of the earth who has got a true principle that we have not, will he please let us have it? As President Young has said many a time, we will change a dozen errors for one truth, and thank God far it. We are after light and truth. We are not afraid of the doctrines of the inhabitants of the earth being presented before us or our children. We have truth, we have been called to present it to the world. We have done it. If they have truths that we have not we would like to obtain them.

      I will say by way of conclusion that I thank God for the privilege of attending these Conferences for so many years, and for seeing the increase and progress of his work. Here we meet from every nation under heaven, just as the Prophets said. We have been gathered by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I had the privilege, last night and this morning, of meeting with Father Kington, the old patriarch whom I met with over in Herefordshire, England, where, like John the Baptist, he was a fore-runner of the Gospel of Christ. Through his administrations the people in that county had been prepared to receive the Gospel, and when we went and preached to them, he and all his flock but one, numbering six hundred, entered into the kingdom, and that opened a door which enabled us to baptize eighteen hundred in about seven months' labor. I never expected to see him again in this city, but he came to my house last night, and he came to meeting to-day, and I felt more pride and joy in meeting him than I should if it had been the Emperor of Russia. I thank God that I have the privilege of meeting with the Saints with whom I ate and drank in foreign lands, who have listened to the voices of the Elders of Israel, have received their testimonies, have been baptized for the remission of sins, and received the testimony of the Holy Ghost.

      Brethren and sisters, we are in the school of the Saints. Let us progress, and try to improve and set our hearts on the things of God and truth, and carry out and do the work of righteousness for Jesus' sake, Amen.

 

            Adjourned till 10 a.m. to-morrow.

            The choir sang: "Hark, the song of jubilee."

            Prayer by ELDER JOSEPH F. SMITH.

_____

[8 Apr, 10 am]

[DNW 22:169, 4/16/73, p 9]

THIRD DAY

_____

TUESDAY, April 8th, 10 a.m.

            "See! all creation join To praise th' Eternal God." Was sung by the choir.

            Prayer by elder GEORGE B. WALLACE.

            The choir sang: "An angel from on high, The long, long silence broke."

ELDER A. O. SMOOT

Addressed the Conference on the object the Lord had in view in gathering his people in these valleys. He argued that it was that the people might be placed in a school of experience to enable them to perform the great work preparatory to the second advent of the Savior. It was binding upon the Latter day Saints to cease not their exertions and to spare not their means until all of the Lord's poor were gathered out from the nations of the earth. The Lord had multiplied blessings upon his people in making the soil fruitful, so that it had yielded of its strength for their maintenance, and he had also shielded them in the hour of danger. They should manifest their gratitude to him for his kindness by devoting their energies to the performance of his work.

            The speaker next directed his remarks to showing that the building up of the kingdom of God was essentially a work of a material character. He spoke of the vast resources of the Territory, which, he said, were, to a great extent, yet undeveloped. He alluded specially to the vast coal and iron deposits in this part of the country, and which might, if developed, prove a source of wealth to any country. Also to the advantages of this Territory for raising cattle, yet beef was largely imported from the east, and also butter and other produce. He also condemned the practice of sending wool out of the country when it could be used to advantage at home. If this raw material were kept in the Territory and worked up into cloth it would give employment to a great many home mechanics. He also spoke of the same policy with regard to other industries and manufactures, and portrayed very clearly that the policy of importing by the people, instead of producing or manufacturing the same was ruinous. Instead of importing many things as they now do. They could export very largely of corn, cloth, canned fruits, etc. It was impossible for any people to enjoy any great measure of material prosperity, without direct interposition of divine providence, unless their exportations exceeded that which was imported by them. He next referred, in this connection to the shipping out of the Territory of furs, which could be as well made up into useful articles here, both for home and foreign use. The discourse was eminently practical and contained many valuable financial hints.

ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON

Next addressed the Conference. The duty of bringing our brethren from the nations of the earth was one that we could not neglect, and each person should prepare himself to contribute, before the adjournment of conference, for that purpose. There were many honest souls who would gladly come and mingle with us if they had the means. Letters came from different countries requesting aid to enable them to get here, and the Saints should not refuse to give the assistance they asked for.

            The speaker then directed his remarks to the subject of entering into and encouraging home manufactures. He clearly portrayed that the policy of importing what could be manufactured here was a species of financial suicide. He mentioned the manufacture of paper, showing that although it might cost more to make that article here than to import it from the east, it was most beneficial to manufacture it, because that which was paid out for wages, raw material, etc., was kept in the Territory, and the whole community was benefitted. He also stated that this was the case with every branch of home manufacture and industry. The barrier to progress in this direction was that too many looked after the immediate return of the dollar instead of the benefit of the whole community.

            Elder Cannon spoke next upon persons who had speculated in the real estate business, showing that the great majority of the Saints felt to take the wise counsel given them and held on to their inheritances, while some took advantage of this to sell their land because they could get a high price for it. Those who held on to their land might not receive so much means all at once as those who thus speculated, but they would be blessed because they had not yielded to temptation in this direction.

            The getting of the rock for building the Temple was next dwelt upon. About two hundred boys should learn the business of stone cutting. The employment of girls and women in type setting and other branches was next mentioned, and the speaker showed the employment of ladies would not injure any business in the least. He advocated very strongly the necessity of teaching not only boys but also girls how they could make a living without being dependent on others. A boy should learn a trade whether he should ever have occasion to rely on it for maintenance or not. for it tended to discipline the mind and form business habits. No people needed skilled labor more than the Latter-day Saints. They had the Zion of God o build up, and it had been hoped that the rising generation among the Saints would do it. If this work shall devolve upon them they must be trained to bear off its responsibilities. Boys could make themselves far more useful by learning a skilled trade than by being clerks in stores. If the young would properly educate themselves there was a glorious future before them.

            The speaker then discoursed upon the blessings which had followed the Saints because of their giving heed to the counsels of President Young, in developing the agricultural and other resources of the Territory in preference to mining. He next alluded to the policy which had been pursued by the people here towards the Indians. They had demonstrated that the policy of President Grant so far as this matter was concerned, was correct. It had been predicted and would be fulfilled that the Indians would sometime become acquainted with the truth, and it should be a subject for prayer with the Saints that God would prepare their hearts for it.

            Adjourned till 2 p.m.

            The choir sang, "Jerusalem, my glorious home."

            Prayer by ELDER BRIGHAM YOUNG, Junr.

_____

[8 Apr, 2 pm*]

[DNW 22:169, 4/16/73, p 9]

WEDNESDAY, April 8, p. m.

            "Great God indulge my humble claim, Thou art my hope, my joy, my rest." Was sung by the Choir.

            Prayer by Elder JOSEPH F. SMITH.

            The Choir sang: "Great is the Lord, 'tis good to praise His high and holy name."

PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG

Wished to gather the poor Saints. It was mortifying to him to see his own name on the list with the amount he had donated and to see how little the community had donated, considering their wealth. Last year $14,000 had been donated, and of which he had given $2,000 or one-seventh of the whole amount. This year he would head the list by donating $1,000. (Elder W. H. Hooper said he would also give $1,000.) President Young then asked the sisters who were willing to assist in manufacturing paper, writing and making our own books, &c., to hold up their hands, and the show of hands was very large, including nearly all the ladies present.

            President Young then made some remarks with regard to the position he had held as Trustee in Trust of the Church, and said he wished to resign that office and that another might be appointed to fill that position. The man who would be appointed would have a committee of twelve to assist him. He had now two counsellors to aid him as President of the Church, and he purposed selecting five more. According to the order of the Church he had the privilege of having seven brethren to act in this capacity.

            President young then delivered a discourse containing many excellent and practical instructions, which could not be enumerated or described in a short synopsis.

ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON

            Presented the authorities of the Church to the conference, in the following order, the vote to sustain them being unanimous:

            BRIGHAM YOUNG, Prophet, Seer and Revelator, and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in all the world.

            GEORGE A. SMITH, Daniel H. Wells, Lorenzo Snow, Brigham Young, Jr., Albert Carrington, John W. Young, George Q. Cannon, Counsellors to President Young.

            Orson Hyde, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Orson Pratt, Sen., John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Jun., Joseph F. Smith, and Albert Carington, members of said quorum.

            John W. Young, President of this Stake of Zion, and George B. Wallace and John T. Caine his counselors.

            William Eddington, John L. Blythe, Howard O. Spencer, John Squires, Wm. H. Folsom, Thomas E. Jeremy, Joseph L. Barfoot, John H. Rumell, Miner G. Attwood, Wm. Thorn, Dimick B. Huntington, Theodore McKean and Hosea Stout, members of the High Council.

            Elias Smith, President of the High Priests' Quorum, and Edward Snelgrove and Elias Morris, his counselors.

            Joseph Young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Herman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldridge, Jacob Gates and John Van Cott, members of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies.

            Benjamin L. Peart, President of the elders' Quorum; Edward Davis and Abinadi Pratt, his counselors.

            Edward Hunter Presiding Bishop; Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little, his counselors.

            Samuel G. Ladd, President of the Priests' Quorum; Wm. McLachlan and James Latham his counselors.

            Adam Spiers, President of the Teachers' Quorum; Martin Lenzi and Henry I. Doremus, his counselors.

            James Leach, President of the Deacon's Quorum; Peter Johnson and Charles S. Cram his counselors.

            George A. Smith Trustee in Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and John Sharp, Joseph W. Young, John L. Smith, Le Grand young, Elijah F. Sheets, Joseph F. Smith, Moses Thatcher, John Van Cott, Amos M. Musser, James P. Freeze, F. A. Mitchell, Thomas Taylor, as his assistants.

            Elder Cannon then said that President Young desired to know whether the Conference were willing to release him from the office of Trustee in Trust. He said he presumed he spoke the feelings of the people when he said he believed they were willing to release him only because he desired it. At a previous conference President Young made a proposition to be released and the people, were then averse to it. Elder Cannon thought, however, that the people would defer to his desire now, with the understanding that President Young should still retain supervisory power over the trusteeship. Elder Cannon then requested if that was the mind of the conference that a show of hands be given, and the vote was unanimous.

            Truman O. Angel, Architect for the Church.

            Albert Carrington, Historian and General Church Recorder and Wilford Woodruff his assistant.

            The following Elders were then presented to the Conference as having been called to go on missions:

FOR SCANDINAVIA.

Christian G. Larsen, Spring City, Sanpete Co.
Peter O. Hanson, Fairview.
Lars S. Anderson, Ephraim.
Neils Anderson, "
John Frantsen, Spring City.

FOR ENGLAND.

Lester J. Herrick, Ogden.
Robert T. Burton, S. L. City.
John Clark, "
James T. Little, "
Robert J. Golding, "
John C. Graham, "
Arthur Bruce Taylor,"
Elijah Freeman, Ogden.
Henry Leigh, Cedar City.
Robert Heyborne, "

            It was stated that the Elders who had been appointed to be Home Missionaries would continue their labors and their numbers would be added to as might be deemed necessary.

            It was announced that the First Presidency would commence their home missionary labors after this Conference by holding two days' meetings on the first Saturday and Sunday of May, which would be a special Conference.

            It was unanimously resolved that the Trustee in Trust give bonds to the amount of $25,000 and each of his assistants $10,000 and the bondsmen be named at the above mentioned special Conference for the acceptance of the people.

            Conference adjourned till May 3, 1873, to meet in the New Tabernacle.

            The choir sang: "Glory to God."

PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG

Offered a few remarks relative to the nature of the Arizona mission, blessed the people, and their families, and made special mention of the services of those who had sung and played during Conference, when the assemblage dispersed.

            The singing exercises were acknowledged to be the finest ever rendered at any previous gathering of the kind, and reflected much credit on Brother Careless, the conductor. As usual, the fine voice of Sister Careless could be distinctly heard among the large number of choristers. The total number of singers who took part in the exercises was two hundred and fourteen, one hundred of whom were members of the Tabernacle choir and the remainder were from the choirs of the settlements, as follows:

            Brigham City, 18; American Fork, 12; Farmington, 14; Fort Herriman, 15; Bountiful, 16; Lehi, 17; Willard, 6; West Jordan, 6; Hooperville, 6; Alpine, 4. Brother Joseph Daynes, the organist, also performed the accompanyments well.

            An excellent spirit prevailed throughout the Conference, the meetings were numerously attended and the people apparently feel built up and strengthened in the faith of the gospel after listening to the many precious truths enunciated and the wholesome instructions which were given.

_____

[3 May, 10 am]

[DNW 22:217, 5/7/73, p 9]

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

_____

ACCORDING to adjournment of April 8th, 1873, the Forty-third General Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints re-assembled in the New Tabernacle, this morning, May 3rd, 1873, at 10 o'clock.

            There were on the stand:

Of the First Presidency:

            Brigham Young, Sr., Daniel H. Wells, Brigham Young, Jr., John W. Young and George Q. Cannon.

Of the Twelve Apostles:

            Orson Pratt, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Charles C. Rich, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young Jr., and Joseph F. Smith.

            Patriarch -- John Smith.

Of the First Seven Presidents of Seventies:

            Joseph Young, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge and John Van Cott.

Of the Presidency of the High Priests' Quorum:

            Elias Smith, Edward Snelgrove and Elias Morris.

Of the Presidency of this Stake of Zion:

            John W. Young, George B. Wallace and John T. Caine.

Of the Presidency of the Bishopric:

            Edward hunter, Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little.

            There were also a number of Bishops and other leading Elders from various parts of the Territory.

            Conference was called to order by PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG.

            The choir sang: "Great is the Lord, 'tis good to praise His high and holy name."

            The opening prayer was offered by ELDER JOHN W. YOUNG.

            "Know this, that every soul is free, To choose his life and what he'll be." Was sung by the choir:

PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG, JR.,

Was the first to address the Conference. He spoke of the willingness of the Almighty to bless his people in their assemblies, whether it was few or many that met together. More revelation had been already given to the Latter-day Saints than they now lived up to. If the people could properly realize it, the instructions given by the leaders of the people were revelations to the latter. The business done at the first session of this Conference was dictated by revelation, and this adjourned session had been called under the same influence. It was strange that the people did not give more heed to the teachings of the servants of God, who were led by the same spirit of revelation as was enjoyed by the ancient apostles. The speaker in a recent quorum meeting felt impressed to ask the brethren then present to resolve themselves into a corps of missionaries to labor with their brethren in the various wards, to induce them to attend their quorum meetings. He thought it would be a good thing for all present at Conference to engage in the same kind of labor and endeavor to get their brethren and sisters to attend meetings and live their religion. He next dwelt upon the necessity of the people doing whatever they might be called upon to accomplish, in the building up of the kingdom of God. Only those who ere thus diligent would receive the blessings of God. It was vain for any one to say that they believed in the patriarchal order of marriage or any other true principle and not act upon that belief. If a man believe in baptism let him be baptized, and so on through the whole category of ordinances and principles of the holy gospel. Those who do not practice or countenance one of the principles or ordinances of the order of the gospel create unbelief in themselves and in their children.

            The speaker next treated upon the necessity of aiding the poor to emigrate, and in the course of his remarks, related an anecdote in the life of a noted clergyman, who, on being asked to deliver a charity sermon said,

            "He that giveth to the poor lendeth to the Lord." "Now brethren, you who like the security, down with the dust." He predicted that those who lived forty years would see the Latter-day Saints the greatest people who ever lived on the earth. He next dwelt upon the character of the work done by the people and which had, under the blessing of God, conduced to bring them to their present condition. He concluded by bearing testimony to the truth of the work of the Lord.

ELDER JOSEPH F. SMITH

Said that he knew "Mormonism," so called, to be the "power of God unto salvation," and that peace and blessings resulted from an application, to the matters of every day life, of the principles incorporated in the gospel. Those who lived in accordance with the spirit and genius of the gospel were not likely to have quarrels in their families or with their neighbors, and were never mixed to any great extent in Teachers', Bishops' or High Council trials. The practice of the principles of truth brings peace, harmony and good-will. These re the results which flow from a course of this kind in this life, and the same effects will follow in any sphere of existence. The gospel teaches its disciples to love their neighbors as themselves, and to do good to all. Independent of all other considerations good actions brought their reward of themselves, but how much was the happiness of righteous men or women increased by the additional satisfaction of knowing that in doing good they were carrying out the direct commandments of God.

            No principle had ever been revealed from the Almighty through his servants Joseph or Brigham but was designed for the salvation of mankind. He spoke of the principle of patriarchal marriage, showing the great amount of wisdom necessary to be exercised in that order. It required people to be righteous to carry out that system in purity and holiness. Those who entered into its practice for the gratification of lustful desires would be damned. The speaker testified to the blessings of u;;union and peace that God had conferred upon him in his family in this order. It was the rule also that those brethren who righteously obeyed this principle, instead of becoming any poorer temporarily, were generally prospered and increased in this direction. He continued to speak on this subject for some time, showing that the acts of men, in abusing the practice of this principle, had proved stumbling-blocks to some of the people. It was absolutely necessary that those who adopted this order of marriage, should do so with a determination to govern themselves, that they might be in a position to lead and govern others in righteousness.

            The speaker exhorted all to not only refrain from evil practices that were becoming so common in this city, such as drinking, swearing, smoking, &c., but also to use their influence in checking these things in others.

            The choir sang: "I will extol thee."

            Prayer by ELDER DAVID MCKENZIE

_____

[3 May, 2 pm]

[DNW 22:217, 5/7/73, p 9]

MAY 3rd, 2 p.m.

            The choir sang -- "See! all creation join To praise th' eternal God."

            Prayer by ELDER WILFORD WOODRUFF.

            "Great God, attend while Zion sings The joy that from thy presence springs," Was sung by the choir.

PRESIDENT GEORGE Q. CANNON

Said that one of the objects of adjourning the Forty-third General Annual Conference was for the completion of the business which was unfinished at the first session, among which was the presentation of the bonds of

PRESIDENT GEORGE A. SMITH,

Trustee-in-Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and also the bonds of the Assistant Trustees. President Cannon read the bonds, which were accepted by the Conference, by unanimous vote.

            The names of the following Elders were presented to the Conference as having been called to go on missions, the vote to sustain the appointment being also unanimous:

To the United States.

            Eilliam Trost, of St. George.

England.

            Jesse Cleverly of Bountiful; John Forson.

Scandinavia.

            Andrew Jensen, of Pleasant Grove.

ELDER DAVID MCKENZIE

Addressed the Conference. He esteemed it a great privilege to have an opportunity to bear testimony before the congregation that Joseph Smith was sent of God, which he knew to his own satisfaction. There was a great deal of speculation in existence with regard to the best method of dealing with "Mormonism," it being considered that it was a problem difficult of solution. The best view for outsiders from the Church to take with regard to it was that the Latter-day Saints should be let alone, for if they were wrong then the systems would fall to pieces, but if God was with them they would triumph. The speaker next dwelt upon the necessity of obedience, and showed that the leaders of the Church had been tried and proved in this direction and the Saints generally should learn wisdom from the experience of those servants of God, who had demonstrated the beneficial results of obedience. He concluded by exhorting the Saints to avoid the insidious encroachments of the follies and fashions of the world, which appeared to be gaining ground in some of the cities and settlements of the Territory.

ELDER JOHN TAYLOR

Delivered a brief discourse upon the general lack of knowledge that existed in the world with regard to eternal things, showing that kind of information was only communicated to humanity by means of revelation. This was the method in ancient times and it is the same now, the Lord having unfolded some of the treasures of eternity to his Saints. Until the speaker met with Joseph Smith he never met with a man who could make plain the purposes of God as he did. He could testify before God, angels and men that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and expected yet to meet with him, his brother Hyrum and many others, and participate with them in the joys of the resurrection of the just. The discourse was short but powerful.

            "Hark, the song." Was sung by the choir,

            Conference adjourned till Sunday, May 4th,at 10 a.m.

            Prayer by ELDER ORSON PRATT.

_____

[4 May, 10 am]

[DNW 22:217, 5/7/73, p 9]

SECOND DAY.

_____

SUNDAY, May 4th, 10 a.m.

            The choir sang: "All hail the glorious day, By prophets long foretold."

            Prayer by ELDER JOSEPH F. SMITH.

            "What wondrous things we now behold, By prophets seen in days of old," Was sung by the choir.

PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG

Delivered a discourse showing the inestimable peace, happiness and general advantages resulting to those who lived in accordance with the principles of purity and righteousness, in contradistinction to the misery, condemnation and woe accruing to those who took an ungodly course. The broad, comprehensive character of the gospel of Christ was also dwelt upon, manifesting the applicability of its principles to all intelligent beings, in raising them in the scale of life, and upon the magnitude of the work to be performed by the Saints in redeeming the human family.

            President Young, before concluding, reminded the sisters of the proposition he made at the first session of the Conference regarding the Relief Societies co-operating in order to write and print books for use in the Latter-day Saints' schools.

            "Wake, the song of Jubilee," Was sung by the choir.

            Adjourned till 2 p.m.

            Prayer by ELDER JOHN T. CAINE.

_____

[4 May, 2 pm]

[DNW 22:217, 5/7/73, p 9]

2 P. M.

            "We're not ashamed to own our Lord, And worship him on earth," Was sung by the choir.

            Prayer by ELDER HORACE S. ELDREDGE.

            The choir sang: "Spirit of faith come down, Reveal the things of God."

            The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was administered.

ELDER CHARLES C. RICH

Alluded to the fact that since the organization of the Church of Christ in these days the combined wisdom of the world had been insufficient to successfully controvert one of the principles taught by it. The speaker also clearly indicated, in his discourse, the necessity for continued revelation from God to mankind. There was but one way to please God and obtain salvation, that was for men to accept of this propositions and not endeavor to bring him to their terms. Unless his mind and will were conformed to. He would withhold the outpourings of the Holy Ghost, who leads the minds of the people in the ways of truth.

            The work of preparation for the coming of the Savior in this generation was very great. All the knowledge and experience necessary to qualify the Saints to meet and associate with the Redeemer they would gain in the same manner as they attained to that which they then enjoyed.

            The speaker bore testimony that Joseph Smith was a prophet raised up by the Almighty, that the Lord had led and dictated in regard to his work on the earth from the date of its organization till the present, and that he would continue to do so until his coming.

PRESIDENT JOSEPH YOUNG

Exhorted each individual in the vast congregation before and around him to profit by the excellent instructions given them by President Brigham Young. He was a participator, with the rest of the Latter-day Saints, in the blessings of the gospel, which he knew to be true. He had realized a fulfillment of the promise of Jesus, who said if any would do the will of the Father, they would know of the doctrine, whether it was of God or not.

            The speaker next dwelt upon the liberty of conscience that should be enjoyed by all men, and which the Latter-day Saints were willing to accord to others, and the latter should be as liberally disposed to ward them in return. It was the design of the All wise Creator that the agency of man for good or evil should be untrammeled. He next treated upon the deplorable consequences of apostacy from the truth, and concluded with a general exhortation to the Saints to live faithful to the cause they had espoused, and rear their offspring in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG

Delivered a discourse replete with sound practical instructions applicable to the everyday affairs of life.

            The choir sang: "The eyes of all wait upon thee, O Lord."

            Conference adjourned till the 6th day of October, 1873, to meet in the New Tabernacle.

            The benediction was pronounced by Elder JOHN TAYLOR.

_____

6-8 Oct 1873, 43rd Semi-Annual General Conference, Tabernacle.
[Deseret News Weekly, 22:573, 10/8/73, p 13; 22:584, 10/15/73, p 8; Millennial Star 35:689, 708, 711

[6 Oct, 10 am]

[DNW 22:573, 10/8/73, p 13]

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

_____

            THE Forty-third Semi-annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, convened in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, on Monday, October 6th, 1873, at 10 o'clock a.m.

            The assemblage present was very large for a first meeting.

            Present on the stand were:

Of the First Presidency.

            Brigham Young, President; Geo. A. Smith, Daniel H. Wells, Lorenzo Snow Brigham Young, Jr., and Geo. Q. Cannon, counsellors.

Of the Twelve Apostles.

            Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Sen., John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, C. C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, Geo. Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, jr., and Joseph F. Smith.

            Patriarch -- John Smith.

Of the first Seven Presidents of Seventies.

            Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge and John Van Cott.

Of the Presidency of the High Priest's Quorum.

            Elias Smith, Edward Snelgrove and Elias Morris.

Of the Presidency of this Stake of Zion.

            George B. Wallace and John T. Caine.

Of the Presidency of the Bishopric.

            Edward Hunter, Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little.

            There were also Bishops, Elders and other leading men from nearly every settlement in the Territory.

            Conference was called to order by PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG.

            "My God the spring of all my joys, The life of my delights." was sung by the combined choir.

            The opening prayer was offered by PRESIDENT GEORGE A. SMITH.

            The choir sang: "With joy, we own thy servants, Lord, Thy ministers below."

ELDER GEO. Q. CANNON

read over a number of subjects suggested as being profitable to be dwelt upon by the Elders who would address the Conference.

PRESIDENT GEORGE A. SMITH

alluded to the visit of himself and party to Palestine and other countries, and stated that his appointment as Trustee in Trust for the Church, at last Conference, caused him to return home sooner than he anticipated. He returned thanks, and desired the blessing of God to rest upon all those who assisted him to go on that journey, and those who had not the means to carry out their desire. He believed that the visit to Palestine would ultimately result in much good.

            The desolation that had rested upon the land of Palestine, because of the disobedience to the commands of God by her people, should be an abiding lesson to the Latter-day Saints to be faithful to the Holy Gospel they had received.

            Every Elder who addressed the Conference should have the faith of the people assembled.

[George A. Smith]

[DNW 22:613, 10/29/73, p 5; JD 16:220]

REMARKS

BY President GEORGE A. SMITH, DELIVERED

In the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, at the Semi-Annual Conference, October 6th, 1872

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      Last October Conference I asked permission to take a journey to visit the land of Palestine, and some other portions of the old world, expecting that I should be absent, probably, about eleven months. I was accompanied on that journey by President Lorenzo Snow and several others; the party including eight. We visited Palestine any many other countries, a portion of us calling at the Fair in Vienna. But in consequence of my selection, by the Conference last April, to do the duties of trustee-in-trust, I returned home a little sooner than I anticipated, though we were all well satisfied with our journey and visit, and with every interview we had on the entire journey, and were very thankful to our heavenly Father that we had the means given us, through his mercy, and I, individually, through the kindness of my friends, to make such a journey. We feel that the results will be felt and realized hereafter, as having done much good. I feel, individually, to return my thanks and blessings to all those who contributed to aid me on that journey, and to all those who desired to, but had not the means. I feel that the blessing of the Lord, which we invoked on the Mount of Olives, will rest upon his people, and that the time is not very far distant when God will fulfill his promises concerning Israel; though, so far as we saw of the remnants of Judah, their hearts are very hard, and it will require the exercise of great power on his part to soften them. But as his word will not fail, and his promises are sure, we look forward to their fulfillment with regard to Israel. In the meantime we, with all our hearts, might, mind and strength, should take warning by the example of Israel, and not fall into the same snares. They neglected their Tithes and offerings, violated the Sabbath, forgot their prayers and worshiped other gods, and for these things God cursed them and scattered them to the four winds of heaven, and the curses rest on the land, and, as was predicted by the Prophet, the rain has been turned into dust.

      We, as Latter-day Saints, having had revelation from the Lord, and the fullness of the Priesthood revealed unto us, should be exceeding careful that we do not neglect the Gospel, turn from our duties neglect our Tithes and offerings, Sabbaths and prayers, forsake the Lord and go astray after other gods, lest peradventure the curse of the Almighty fall upon us, end the kingdom be rent from us and given to another people. I feel that the desolation, waste and barrenness of Palestine, and the degradation of its people should be a lasting and permanent lesson to us in all things, to keep the faith and obey the commandments, to remember our Tithes and offerings, to be friends to the poor, to remember our prayers, to remember the faith which God has revealed unto us, and to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the Saints, that we may have and enjoy all its blessings.

      We have had a glorious season, in abundant harvest and a good time to gather it. The weather has been fine and agreeable, and now, brethren and sisters, let us gather together a few days to talk with and strengthen each other upon the principles of the Gospel of peace. The Elders can bear testimony, for I know that this is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and that God has revealed it to us for our salvation; and our covetousness, and disposition to make a display in the world should not interfere in any way whatever, with us in devoting our time, talents, energies and our all to the upbuilding of his kingdom, for that is the greatest interest and glory, and the grandest speculation there is on the face of the earth.

      These are my sentiments and views. I wish all persons in the congregation, when they see a man rise to speak, to lift up their hearts to the Lord in prayer that the Lord will have mercy upon us and fill that man with the power of the Spirit, that he may speak to us directly by revelation from heaven, that every voice that is elevated may be elevated by the power of the Almighty.

 

PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG

stated that the gospel of Christ embraced in the faith of the Latter-day Saints, comprised every truth, of whatever nature, in existence. No false theory was admitted into the grand system of salvation. Predicating this remarks on those grounds, President Young delivered a most instructive discourse, manifesting great breadth and liberality of view. His remarks on the work which the faithful living had to perform for the dead were logical and conclusive. He said protesting Christians generally did not believe that the living could be baptized for the dead, or that they could act in any way for them. He maintained that if this position were correct and one intelligent being could not perform proxy or vicarious work for another, Jesus could not die for anybody but himself.

            Those who testified that Jesus was the Christ, without doing so by the Holy Ghost, did so by the promptings of a merely historical or traditional faith, but the true testimony of Jesus could only be given by inspiration, for the things of God were only made known by the Spirit of God.

            The next point dwelt upon by the President was the unity that existed among the Latter-day Saints. He also explained the cause that produced this oneness, and what would be the grand and beneficial result of the spread of this principle among the people. If the Saints could only see things as they were, there would never be another apostacy from the Church, and if the outside world could also understand the nature of the work of the Lord all their opposition to it would cease. He showed that to be self-sustaining in all material things was within the purview of the gospel.

PRESIDENT DANIEL H. WELLS

bore testimony that the system embraced in the faith and practice of the Latter-day Saints was the Gospel of the Son of God, and that Joseph Smith was the favored individual chosen as the instrument to usher in that plan of salvation in the present dispensation. All intelligent beings would eventually have to confess that Jesus was the Christ, before they could enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus said that none could enter that kingdom without first being "born of water and of the Spirit." All had to be baptised, and in the cases of those who went behind the vail without having attended to this ordinance somebody living in the flesh would have to be baptised for them. This was on the same principle as that explained by Jesus, when he said that in heaven there was neither marrying nor giving in marriage. Those ordinances had to be performed on the earth by the authority of the holy priesthood.

[Daniel H. Wells]

[DNW 22:644, 11/12/73, p 4; JD 16:239]

DISCOURSE

BY President DANIEL H. WELLS, DELIVERED

At the Semi-Annual Conference, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Oct. 6, 1873.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS

_____

      It is with great pleasure I rise to bear testimony to the great truths that have been announced here this morning. The President has given some reasons for the testimony that he has borne, and the testimony that the servants of God bear to the truths of the everlasting Gospel. I, too, can say that I know this to be the Gospel of the Son of God, which is the power of God unto salvation. The great plan of salvation, devised by our heavenly Father before the world was organized, when it is said the stars sang together, and the sons of God shouted for joy, has again been revealed in accordance with the prophecies of the servant of God. The Lord mad his own selection, he chose from among the children of men whom he would, and Joseph Smith was the favored individual who received the visit of the angel bearing to this generation the Gospel of salvation to be preached unto those who dwelt on earth. It was taken away in fulfillment of prophecy. If it had not been taken away what necessity would there have been to restore it? If it had not been taken away the Apostle could not have seen in the future the angel flying through the midst of heaven, bringing it back to earth to preach to all nations, kindreds, tongues and people. We bear testimony that it has been restored. If is not a new Gospel—it is that which existed from the beginning, and which was devised before the world was made for the salvation of those who should come to dwell upon the face of the earth.

      It is true that the terms of the Gospel are inexorable. Every son and daughter of Adam will have to bend the knee to this plan of salvation, either here or somewhere else. The ordinances of the Gospel pertain to this existence, and they have to be attended to in the flesh of by those in this state of existence. Except a man is born of water he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven. There is no getting around this, it is the declaration of the Savior, the Son of the living God, and I count that this is pretty high authority. Every man and every woman, including those who have died and passed behind the veil without hearing the Gospel, before they can enter heaven, will have to render obedience to the Gospel ordinances, and as they cannot be administered to in the spirit, those in the flesh will have to administer for those in the spirit. You cannot grapple a spirit to baptize it, neither can you perform the sealing ordinance in the spirit, hence the Savior said there was neither marrying nor giving in marriage in the resurrection. It is an ordinance pertaining to this state of existence, and by those dwelling in the flesh upon the earth have all these ordinances to be performed. If they are not by ourselves during this life they must be done by some one acting for and in our behalf still existing in the flesh, and in the authority of the holy Priesthood, which has come down from heaven.

      The acts and ordinations of that Priesthood are just as legitimate here as in any other state of existence. It is the same authority as exists in the heavens. Through the authority of the everlasting Priesthood, channels have been opened up between the heavens and the earth, by which we may seal upon earth, and it is sealed in heaven. This is the same authority that has always existed in the Church and kingdom of God when it has been upon the earth. Why? Because it is the same authority that exists in the heavens; it is the authority by which the Gods are governed, and by which the worlds are organized and held in existence. It has been conferred from time to time upon the servants of God in the flesh, to enable them to perform the ordinances which pertain to this state of existence, and reach back again within the vail.

      Having been called of God we stand ready to administer the ordinances of the Gospel and of the house of God to the children of men; we stand ready to bear off this Gospel to the nations of the earth, this great plan of salvation devised by our Father. There has never been any other, and there never will be. Men have tinkered at it; but their efforts do not change God's plan, it is like its author—the same yesterday, to-day and forever. God is the fountain of truth, righteousness and grace. All true science and every good thing emanate from him. It is from this heavenly source we draw our information and our inspiration, and, and as a matter of course, it comprehends everything good and worth having. Within the kingdom of God is everything enjoyable that is lasting. If we do not build upon this basis, then are we lost, because it is the only foundation that will stand. Everything else will be swept away in the due time of the Lord. The people are suffered to go their own way, to walk after the imaginations of their own hearts, to do this and do that, because they are agents unto themselves, to do as they please. We can accept these principles or reject them; it makes no difference in regard to their truth. They are true, whether we receive or reject them, and they are calculated to save all the children of men. The plan is ample and will save all who will let it; and if we are not saved by this, we shall be condemned.

      Now may God help us and all the nations of the earth to see the light, that we may all come to a knowledge of the truth and be saved in his kingdom, is my prayer for Jesus' sake. Amen.

 

ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON

spoke of the prejudices that existed in the world with regard to truth, caused by tradition and education. If a man went forth into the world with the Bible in his hand to search for the Church of Christ, and was devoid of prejudice, he would look for a church organized in every particular similar to that described in the Testament, and which would have the same attendant gifts and blessings. When he servants of God bore testimony of the work of the Lord, and did so under the influence of the God Spirit, many people believed, but considerations and reflections with regard to the immediate consequences of obeying so unpopular a doctrine as that taught by the Latter-day Saints had choked down the testimony of Jesus within them. It required an overwhelming desire for salvation and a sublime courage to obey and be faithful to the truth as revealed in the gospel. Hence Jesus had spoken of the straightness or narrowness of the way that led to eternal life.

            The Latter-day Saints, in their gathered capacity, were placed in a position to be tried and tempted in a way that they had scarcely previously dreamed of. Persecution had been endured by them without much of a failure of faith on their part, but the effects of the trials of the present day were having very visible and deleterious effects on the faith of some of the people.

            The speaker hoped that the Saints would never again be assailed by the violence of their enemies, but if they ever became fitted for exaltation in the presence of God they would have to be tried. The evil to be avoided now, however, was too much love for the things of the world. There was more danger to be apprehended from this source than all the mobs that could be organized and brought in opposition. Lust after the things of the world had ruined the most powerful nations that had existed. The Saints therefore should hold all that they had subject to be used for the building up of the kingdom of God. Wherever there existed a hunger for ease and wealth in place of a hunger for righteousness, sooner or later the parties thus inclined would lose the Spirit of God and go into darkness. After the lust for women, this greed for gain was next in order in its corrupting tendencies.

            If the people would only be devoted to the cause of God, they would eventually become wealthy, for there was nothing to hinder this result.

[George Q. Cannon]

[DNW 22:628, 11/5/73, p 4; JD 16:241]

DISCOURSE

By Elder GEORGE Q. CANNON, DELIVERED

At the Semi-Annual Conference, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, October 6th, 1873.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      The subjects that have been dwelt upon this morning are such as must interest every one who has a desire to comprehend the principles of salvation, as believed in and practiced by the Latter-day Saints. To my mind there has been an evidence of their truth accompanying every word that has been spoken. The Spirit of God bears testimony to the things of God, and there would be no difficulty in convincing the inhabitants of the earth of the truth of the principles believed in by the Latter-day Saints, were it not for tradition and the prejudices which exist in men's minds in relation to the truth. Let a man start out with the Bible in his hand, determined to receive the truth wherever it may be found, and commence examining the various institutions and churches that exist among men, and he would, if he believed the Bible, and were not prejudiced by tradition and education, expect to find, when he found the Church of Christ, a Church organized in every respect like that of which the New Testament gives us an account. He would expect to find Apostles and Prophets, and the ordinances of baptism, and the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost in that Church; he would expect to find the gifts of prophecy, revelation, tongues, the interpretation of tongues, healing, wisdom, the discernment of spirits, and all the gifts that existed in the Church of Christ in ancient days. He would look for just such a church as this, and if he did not find it he would conclude that that church had been withdrawn from the earth. The evidences that abound in the Scriptures all go to prove that this was the character of the Church of Christ in ancient days, and that there should be no change, for the Scriptures tell us that God is the dame to-day, yesterday and for ever, and that if men, in this day do the same things—exercising the same faith as they did in ancient days—the same blessings will follow their obedience. If we examine the Bible there is nothing to sustain the idea that there should be any change in any of these things; and when men here it proclaimed that God has restored the everlasting Gospel, and they have a desire in their hearts to comprehend the truth, there is a spirit accompanies the testimony of the servants of God which bears witness to their spirit that these things are true. But immediately another spirit steps in, and the reflection arises in the minds of many—What will my parents, relatives or friends say? what will the world say if I believe this doctrine? There is ignominy associated with belief in these doctrines. There is shame to he encountered if I go forward and join a people so despised as these. What will men say of me? In what light, shall I be viewed? These reflections arise, and the testimony of the truth is extinguished in the hearts of many. It requires, therefore, on the part of people now, as in ancient days, great strength of mind, great moral courage, and great love of the truth, an overpowering desire to obtain salvation, and the Spirit of God to aid them, in order to enable people to receive the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Hence it it that so few, comparatively speaking, in every age have received the truth. It requires courage to sustain men when opposed by every kind of treachery and of violence. It required courage to enable men to go forth to the stake, to be cast into dens of wild beasts, or fiery fur-nares, to be crucified, beheaded, sawn asunder, or to be exiled as was John the Revelator. It required, in ancient days, and it requires it in our days, this kind of sublime courage to enable men and women to receive the truth; and in view of all this, we can see and comprehend the truth of the words of the Savior when he said—"Strait is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it," and "wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat." It has been so easy for men to reject the truth and flow with the current; it has been so easy for men to spread their sails, catch the popular breeze and glide before it; and it has been so difficult for men to stem the tide of opposition which they have always had to contend with when they have embraced the truth, that it requires on our part, brethren and sisters, devotion to the work which God has restored. Every man and woman who has entered this church, however ignorant and illiterate, and has been humble and truly repented, has received a testimony from God that this is the truth. God bestows his holy Spirit upon those who obey his Gospel as he bestows light upon the earth. There have not been a privileged few, there has been no hierarchy, there has been no monopoly of knowledge, for some exclusive set to receive while the rest would be destitute; but it has been diffused like the blessing of air—it has been to all who have believed it, and every man and woman has received a testimony for himself and herself respecting the Gospel of Jesus Christ as it has been revealed and taught in these last days. Hence you travel from one end of this Territory to the other and you find all the people bearing testimony, when called upon, that they know this is the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, restored in its ancient purity and simplicity. You go to foreign lands, and they bear the same testimony everywhere. Illiterate, humble, uneducated, weak men have gone forth, and proclaimed this truth, authorized by God, and God has condescended to confirm the truth of their testimony and administrations among the people, and we are now brought together in this land. We are surrounded by peculiar circumstances, we are in a place to be tried and tested, as we never have been before. There are many tests, temptations and trials now assailing the Latter-day Saints, with which they never had to contend before. We have had mobs, expulsion from our lands, from the temple of God that we reared, and from the pleasant homes which we had created, from the graves of our friends and kindred whom we buried after they had fallen victims to the land which we had redeemed from the condition in which we found it. We have passed through these scenes and there has been but little faltering considering the circumstances we have had to contend with. Men have bravely stood all these things, and feeble women have been filled with courage and strength to pass through these privations without their faith failing them.

      I hope that we shall not have such scenes to endure again. I pray that we may be delivered from the violence of our enemies, that they may not have power over us again as they have had in the past. But we must make calculations on haying trials and difficulties to contend with, and having tests for our faith to be endured and passed through. We can not expect to accomplish the work that God has laid upon us without being tested and proved. Men and women need not expect that they will attain unto the glory which God has in store for the faithful without being tested in all things. If we have a weakness, or anything about us that is not thoroughly sound, we may expect that sooner or later, that weak spot in our nature will be found, and we will be tested to the very uttermost. If we expect to sit down with Jesus and the Apostles and those who have fought the good fight of faith, and who have laid down their lives for the truth in past ages, or in our age, we must expect, like them, to be proved and tried in all things, until everything in our nature that is drossy shall be purified, and we be cleansed and made fit to sit down with them, pine and holy—their peers.

      Can I then, or can you, give way to lust? Can you love the world, and the things of the world more than you do the things of God? Here is the danger that is before us as a people—it is the lust of the flesh, the last of the eye, the lust of wealth, the fondness for worldly ease and comfort. We are being assailed by these trials. As a people we are increasing in wealth. Wealth is multiplying upon us on every hand. I know of no people, to-day, who are prospering as the Latter-day Saints through these valleys are. God has blessed our land, rendered it fertile, and made it most productive. He has placed us, in the centre of the continent. We occupy the key position, and may be termed the keystone Territory or State of the West. Wealth is pouring into our lap, and we can not help being wealthy, that is, if we follow the course that has been indicated to us. We are as sure to be a wealthy people as that the sun shines. It is the inevitable consequence of our position, habits, union, &c.

      There are more dangers in wealth than in mobocracy. There is more danger in having abundance of money, houses, lands, comforts, carriages, horses and fine raiment, than in all the mobs that ever arrayed themselves against us as a people from the beginning until we came here. We should realize this, and there is only one way that we can escape the evil consequences thereof. Wealth has ruined and corrupted every people almost that ever lived and attained unto power. It has sapped the foundation and vitality of the most powerful peoples and nations that ever existed on the race of the earth. We are human as they were; we are exposed to the same trials and temptations as they were, and we are liable to be overcome as they were; and the only safeguard for us is to hold everything that we have subject to the counsel and will of God our heavenly Father, until a different order of things shall be instituted among us as a people.

      I see young men growing up, and in their growth is the love of wealth, the love of ease and worldly comfort, and the desire and greed for money. I will tell you that the man who has the greed or hunger for money within him, and does not repress it, can not be a Latter-day Saint. A woman who has the love of finery and of earthly ease and comfort within her, and that is the paramount feeling in her heart, can not be a Latter-day Saint. No man can be a Latter-day Saint in truth and in deed who does not hunger after righteousness and the things of God more than he does after everything else upon the face of the earth; and whenever you see or feel this money hunger, this dress hunger, this hunger for worldly ease and comfort, in yourselves or others, you may know that the love of God is being withdrawn from you or them, and sooner or later it will be extinguished, and the love of the world will grow until it becomes predominant. I do not know anything more corrupting than this greed, hunger and lust for the things of this life, or anything more degrading and debasing in its effects, except it be the love or lust for women. As a people we believe that lust for women is, next to murder, shedding innocent blood, the most deadly of all sins. Committing whoredom or adultery destroys the man who indulges in it, and next to that, in my estimation, is the love of wealth—the lusting after the things of this life; and there ought to be, and is in every rightly constituted nature, a constant warfare against this evil. We have this to contend with. We should watch it in our children and in ourselves, and we should endeavor to govern and bring all our feelings and desires into such a position that they can be controlled by the love of the truth.

      God has most wisely designed, in my humble view and opinion, that, as a people, we should be called upon from time to time to make sacrifices in order that we may be weaned from the love of the things of this life, that our love may be concentrated upon Him and upon the salvation of our fellow-men, for the mission that is entrusted to us is to save the inhabitants of the earth. And what a glorious field spreads out before us in this direction, when we see the thousands of poor, perishing souls who are dying for the want of the blessings that we enjoy. We build Temples, we organize emigration societies, and expend our means that we may be the instruments in the hands of God of saving and bringing salvation to the inhabitants of the earth—our brethren and our sisters.

      God required Abraham to sacrifice that which was most dear to him, and he will also require at our hands that which is most dear to us. If you have wealth, and are increasing in wealth, one of the best things, under such circumstances, is to be always particular in doing that which God requires of us. He requires of us one-tenth of all that we have. Let us be liberal in this. He requires that we shall pay means for the emigration of the poor from the distant nations of the earth. Let us be liberal in this also. Then, if he requires our time and talents and all that we have, let us be willing to devote ourselves to his Work, for he blesses us with everything that our hearts desire. There is nothing we have ever desired as individuals or as a people, that has been good for us, and proper that we should have, that he has withheld from us. On the contrary, he has multiplied blessings upon us, and he will make us wealthy if we will only be devoted to him. There is no danger that we shall not become wealthy, the danger is that we shall become wealthy and not be willing to use our means to his glory and for the advancement of his kingdom. That is the danger with which we are threatened.

      God bless you, my brethren and sisters, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

            Elder Cannon then presented the names of the following brethren as having been selected to go on missions:

TO THE UNITED STATES.

Simeon A. Dunn, of Brigham City.
Moroni Campbell, North Ogden, (New York State.)

EUROPE.

Joseph F. Smith, of Salt Lake City, (England.)
John Squires, of Salt Lake City, (England.)
Joseph Harker, West Jordan, (England).
W. N. Fife, Ogden, (Scotland)
Richard V. Morris, Salt Lake City, (Wales.)
Henry Hughes, Menden, (Wales.)
Chester Call, Bountiful, (England)
Charles Sansom, Salt Lake City, (England.)
F. M. Lyman, Fillmore, (Eng.)
Volney King, " "
Lafayette Holbrook, Fillmore, (England.)
Archibald McFarlane, West Weber, SCotland.)
William Geddes, Plain City, (Scotland.)
James Hanson, Brigham City, (Scandinavia.)
John Anderson, Grantsville, (Scandinavia.)
Knuk Peterson, Logan, (Scandinavia.)
Christoffer Winge, Hyrum. (Scandinavia.)
Saml. Johnson, Salt Lake City, (Scandinavia.

SANDWICH ISLANDS.

Richard G. Lambert, Salt Lake City.
Saml. Parker Richards, "
Bryant Stringam, "
Hyrum Smith Woolley, "

            The choir sang: "Great is the Lord."

            Conference adjourned till two o'clock p.m.

            Prayer by ELDER BRIGHAM YOUNG.

_____

[6 Oct, 2 pm]

[DNW 22:584, 10/15/73, p 8]

GENERAL CONFERENCE

_____

FIRST DAY.

_____

            Conference was resumed at 2 p.m.

            Singing by the choir of: "Though deep'ning trials throng your way, Press on, press on, ye Saints of God!"

            Prayer by Elder LORENZO SNOW.

            The choir sang: "Glorious things of thee are spoken Zion, city of our God!"

ELDER LORENZO D. YOUNG

said he had attended the first Conference held in this valley and every subsequent one excepting one. When he called to mind the past and compared it with the circumstances of the present he could not but acknowledge the interposing hand of God in behalf of his people. It was a question whether the Saints were sufficiently thankful for innumerable blessings from the Almighty. No people that ever planted a colony under such unfavorable circumstances as did the Latter-day Saints had ever been prospered as they had been in settling these valleys. Therefore no people should be humbler than they.
                Just as soon as the people were prepared to use aright the temporal blessings of the Lord they would become wealthy. It some times appeared that they had more of those blessings now than was good for them. It was not poverty and persecution that destroyed the faith and standing of the Saints, but rather the allurements and temptations of wealth.

            The speaker next directed the attention of the congregation to the necessity of parents giving a proper and salutary attention to their children. If parents were more careful regarding their conduct, the children would manifest a greater degree of interest in the principles of righteousness. Preaching by practice was the most effective mode of showing forth the beauties of the truth.

            The speaker concluded by desiring the blessing of God to rest on all who manifested a disposition to righteousness.

ELDER JOHN TAYLOR

delivered a discourse on the comprehensiveness of the gospel of Christ, in which he showed that the Latter-day Saints were endeavoring to carry out the programme of Jehovah in relation to the inhabitants of the earth. He also defined the difference between the government of God and the different governments and nationalities of human origin. The speaker dwelt elaborately upon the religious and political rights of humanity, asserting that they should not under any circumstances be curtailed or interfered with. In concluding, he prophesied of the final triumph of the kingdom of God.

ELDER BRIGHAM YOUNG, JR.,

bore testimony to the truthfulness of the work of God in the last days, and spoke of the evidence that the leaders of the Later-day Saints were led by inspiration, and that the latter had been gathered together under the direction of revelation. The Elders had not asked the people of the world to believe their unsupported testimony regarding their teachings, but all could prove the matter for themselves. The Saints had received a testimony of he truth, and the danger with them was that they would become absorbed in the things of the world. He knew that the Saints were not living up to their privileges and did not enjoy so much of the Spirit of God as they might. There was a deplorable disposition to run after money and to pay too much attention to dress and the vain fashions of the world. If the people would live more faithful they would have more power and influence, and the wicked would not have power over them. If the people would repent and live nearer to the Lord, the wickedness that now existed in Salt Lake City would not fester there to lead the youth astray. Wickedness was no part of the kingdom of God.

            It was noticeable that generally the first feeling manifested by parents when any of their children were sick was to send for a doctor, when they should have faith in God and his healing power. There was not that amount of faith among the people in that direction that had been displayed in years past.

            God could overrule all things for the benefit of those who loved him and kept his commandments. The speaker had seen many interpositions of Providence in behalf of his people. He exhorted the people to give heed to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit and not become contaminated with the evils of the world. The speaker desired that the Lord would bless the Latter-day Saints, that faith and good works might abound among them.

ELDER GEO. Q. CANNON

announced that a Priesthood meeting would be held in the Old Tabernacle at six o'clock p.m.

            The choir sang "Beautiful are thy towers."

            Adjourned till October 7th, ten a.m.

            Prayer by Elder CHARLES C. RICH.

[6 Oct, 6 pm]

[DNW 22:584, 10/15/73, p 8]

PRIESTHOOD MEETING.

            According to announcement, a large number of the brethren of the Priesthood met in the Old Tabernacle at six o'clock in the evening, and remained together for about two hours. The Spirit of God was largely enjoyed at this meeting, and the instructions given were of the most clear and pointed character, giving all who enjoyed the spirit which dictated them better conception of the way in which the Lord designed to build up Zion. The speakers were, in the order in which they addressed the congregation -- Bishop Edwin Hunter and Presidents Brigham Young and G. A. Smith. The building of Temples and co-operation in its fullest sense were the main topics dwelt upon.

[Brigham Young]

[WWJ 7:158.]

            Bishop Hunter spoke followed By G A Smith who spoke upon Tithing & the Temple. President Young spoke upon the Babylonian fashion in our Midst upon the Cooperative principles & the Tithing & Temple. He said those who did not pay their tithing & sustain the Cooperative Store would Apostatize. Write it down & watch the result.

_____

[7 Oct, 10 am]

[DNW 22:584-585, 10/15/73, p 8-9]

SECOND DAY.

_____

TUESDAY, Oct. 7, 10 a.m.

            "An angel from on high The long, long silence broke." was sung by the Choir.

            The opening prayer was offered by ELDER WILFORD WOODRUFF.

            The Choir sang "I saw a might angel fly, To earth he bent his way.

[Elder David McKenzie]

            ELDER DAVID MCKENZIE spoke of the fruitlessness of preaching that was not dictated by the Spirit of the Lord. When the Lord spoke through the Elders, the teachings of the latter never failed of being profitable to those who received and acted upon them. His remarks then turned upon the beauty, harmony and comprehensiveness of the gospel. Education to the Latter-day Saints, did not merely comprehend a training in book learning, but inculcated all things that would prepare the human family to occupy the position that the Lord desired they should ultimately attain to.

            The speaker then alluded to the signs of the times, showing that they were indicative of the fulfillment of the predictions of the ancient prophets, in the setting up of the kingdom of God and the demolition of governments of human origin. Some of the Latter-day Saints were not devoting sufficient attention to those matters and were giving too much heed to the things of the world. The lust after worldly gain did not bring unmixed happiness even in this life, but tended, in many respects, to an increase of care, anxiety and responsibility. The Lord was acquainted with the organization and consequently the wants of his children and could alone devise a plan that would bring happiness to them. The object of paying tithing, the necessity of obedience to the counsels of the living oracles of God, the ultimate establishment of the order of Enoch and other important subjects were touched upon in a very emphatic manner by the speaker. He advocated the Saints of the Saving Bank that had recently been established, that they might save their means to accomplish worthy objects that they might have in view.

[David McKenzie]

[DNW 22:682, 11/26/73, p 10; JD 16:222]

REMARKS

BY ELDER DAVID McKENZIE, DELIVERED

At the Semi-Annual Conference, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, October 7th, 1873.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

____

      I feel very thankful for the privilege of standing before this congregation this morning, notwithstanding it is with some degree of diffidence; yet, in common with my brethren, I have reason to rest assured that when an Elder stands up before a congregation with a desire to bless them with a portion of the good news that emanates from the eternal throne, I say I have reason to believe that that Being whom we serve and worship will not be unmindful of us, inasmuch as we draw near unto him with confidence and with prayerful hearts. I rejoiced exceedingly at the words of our beloved President, President George A. Smith, when he requested the congregation to lift up their hearts in silent player to Jehovah, that the Elders might receive the words of life to give unto the people. This is our privilege, brethren and sisters, and it is one that I esteem of the greatest value; and when I come to a meeting to listen to the words of truth, I make it an invariable rule to lift up my heart in silent prayer that the Lord will administer to us, for without his aid and assistance our words are of very little value to the Saints.

      I realize, this morning, that I am addressing a congregation of Latter-day Saints. If I were speaking to the people of the world, who know nothing about our holy religion, I might be directed to admonish them to be baptized for the remission of their sins. But I realize that I am talking to a people who are already acquainted with the first principles of the Gospel. I see before me those who have left all that was near and dear to them—forsaken their homes, the graves of their fathers, the associations of their friends, and have gathered here to Serve the true and living God—that Being who has revealed himself in this, the dispensation of the fullness of times, for the winding up of the affairs of this earth, according to the programme that was made before the world was. Inasmuch as we have done this, and have covenanted with God, the Eternal Father, that we would serve him and keep his commandments, if I can give you a word of comfort, or of exhortation, I pray that it may be so given to me from God that it may do you good.

      We have had some very excellent instructions given to us during the Conference. President Young brought the Gospel before us, as it were in a nutshell, when he told us that if there was anything good or beautiful, anything that savored Of virtue and righteousness, anything that tended to true happiness, it was a portion of the creed of the Latter-day Saints. I use the term "creed." It is of itself a word that circumscribes, a word that limits, but there is no limit to our creed. It is unbounded, it comprehends all truth that is, was or is to be. Whatsoever is good and noble, whatsoever tends to the salvation of the children of men and to happily their being here and hereafter, to bring up, to improve, to increase according to the order of the Gods, that is the religion of the Latter-day Saints, that is what constitutes their religion.

      It is fashionable to designate that as education which gives the young, an acquaintance with letters, numbers, science and philosophy; while that which tends to a future state, to happify hereafter and to prepare us for the presence of God is called by the world religion. With the Latter-day Saints it is all education, or it is all religion, just as you please. That which prepares us to live and enables us to provide for ourselves the necessaries and comforts of life, as well as that which prepares us for the presence of God our heavenly father, that we may dwell with him through all eternity with us is all education or all religion. We know not where to draw the dividing line, bearing this fact in mind, that whatsoever is good comes from God, and that whatsoever is evil comes from an evil source.

      I trust that we are awake to these things, that we do not let the time pass by unimproved, for to us is committed a great and important work—not only our own salvation but the keys for the redemption of the children of men from the earliest ages to the winding-up scene. That is the work the Latter-day Saints have before them. It is well to have this continually in our minds, that we may not trifle away the time, but that we may be awake to the signs that are looming up on every hand, and pointing out, as with the finger of Jehovah, that the time is drawing near when he whose right it is to reign will come and take the kingdom. Men have had it a long time their own way. When I read and reflect upon the history of the past I am led to believe that the Lord has let men take things into their own hands to a certain degree, to see what they would do for themselves. You all remember the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, which Daniel interpreted, wherein he saw a great image, the head of which was of fine gold, the breast and arms of silver, &c. Images are the work of men's hands. To Nebuchadnezzar was given dominion over all the earth, a kingdom which was comparatively pure, and which was compared to fine gold; but in process of time the kingdom degenerated, and was weakened and subdivided, as represented by the feet of the image—which were part of iron and part of miry clay. But in the last days the God of heaven was to set up a kingdom. A kingdom that was not a part of the image, it was not the work of man, it was the work of God, and was likened to a stone cut out of the mountain without hands. Mark the phrase—"with out hands," it was not the work of men, it was a stone cut out of the mountain without hands, that is, a kingdom set up by God, which was to smite this image—the work of men, and an order of things was to be instituted in accordance with the mind and will of Jehovah.

      I bear testimony to you this day, brethren and sisters, that God has set up his kingdom; that it has been revealed to me, to my understanding, to my most positive conviction, so that it is no longer a matter of doubt of uncertainty; but it is as substantial and real to me as the assurance that I am. And there are hundreds , yes, thousands in this congregation, who could bear the same testimony were they called upon.

      Do we as Latter-day Saints act up to this knowledge? Do we bear in mind that we have made certain covenants with God, and that we are responsible whether we keep them or neglect them? I am afraid, brethren and sisters, that, although the majority of the Latter-day Saints are doing very well, there are many men with talents, gifts and abilities given them by God, who might be bright and shining after idols, and are worshiping idols just as much as the heathen who prostrate themselves before things of wood and stone. What are they doing? Forgetful of the great aim and object which they should have in view as Latter-day Saints, they wander off after the things of this world, they seek to heap to themselves riches, and spend their time as if there were nothing beyond the vail. This course is not wise, even so far as this world is concerned, for what is the condition of such persons to-day? Their ideal does not give them that true lasting happiness that comes from God. It brings care and anxiety, and increases the lust for gain, and what they seek to obtain flees further from them. The acquisition of wealth entails greater responsibility as to what use they will make of it to acquire still more. Looking at it in this light it seems to me a self-evident fact, that although we are ostensibly engaged in seeking for and promoting our happiness, we are on the wrong track when we take a course of this kind. There is a proper course for us to pursue in order to increase our happiness. We have been thrown together on this planet, in pretty much the same circumstances in many respects. We are sensitive to pleasure and to pain, we have a desire to increase our enjoyments, and there are many things I might mention wherein we are all very much alike. Now don't you think that the Being who created you and me know of a certain plan which, if we would adopt, a certain course which, if we would pursue, would give us the greatest among of happiness? It is very reasonable conclusion.

      What course is that likely to be? The same course that our Father in heaven has taken before us. How shall we get to know that that is? Let us read the revelations, let us refer to our beloved Savior when he was upon the earth. What course did he pursue? He went about doing good. His admonition was to do good to all, to love your enemies, do good to them that hate you, and to do unto others as you would have them do to you. These were some of the principles laid down by our Savior and Redeemer. He said he came not to do his own will, but the will of his Father. Don't you think, brethren and sisters, that if we were to follow these golden rules we should see a very different state of things to what we now see? What would be the result if they were observed? Every man would be as willing to promote the welfare and advantage of his neighbor as he would his own. When two went to trade together in would not be—"Now let us see who will get the best of the bargain," or, "I don't care what you get, I want to get as much as I can." The desire would be that each should be satisfied. In a state of society in which these golden rules were observed by all, there would be no grinding the face of the poor that the rich might pile unto themselves wealth, which is a cankerworm; no, but we would be able to enter into the Order of Enoch, and live it, so that we might intensify our faith in God and receive and understand more of his will concerning us, and we should see a state of things, which you and I have never dreamed of, if we would overcome these feelings of selfishness which proceed from a power that is evil and that is opposed to our growth, and to the progress of the kingdom of God.

      Is it within our power to inaugurate and bring to pass such a condition of things? We have the priesthood of the Son of God bequeathed to us for this very purpose. Is it in the mind and will of Jehovah to pour out blessings upon His people, to increase upon them everything that is calculated to happify them here and hereafter. He has designed to make a nation of kings and priests, according to His promises made to Abraham. That promise has yet to be fulfilled, and will as assuredly be fulfilled as that the heavens are above us. He would pour out blessings on His people, but if they are not able to receive them, alas! they would prove curses. He has given us laws, and with every law given there are conditions. If we magnify them, blessings are promised, of which we are as sure to be the recipients as that we live. Why are we required to pay Tithing? What does the Lord want with a tenth of our substance? I will tell you what He wants with it. He wants you and me to manifest by this thing that we are His servants, that we respect his commandments, that we do not wholly set our hearts on filthy lucre, but that we do willingly, cheerfully and understandingly bring forth one-tenth of our substance, and say—"Here am I, O Father, ready and willing to lay down what Thou hast required of me, that I may manifest to Thee my integrity and prove that I am fit to receive more of Thy blessings." That is the law of Tithing as I understand it. That is the condition, that is the reward, if you please, which attends a person who pays it.

      Many times the Saints wonder why we do not progress faster than we do, and sometimes it creates a feeling of regret; but I realize that there is an abundance of things before the people which they do not live up to. We have the oracles of God in our midst. I may sit down and read the Scriptures of the past, the commandments given to the children of Israel engraven on the tables of stone, or the carnal commandments, but they benefit me comparatively little. What you and I want to-day is the word of the Lord to ourselves. Are we not His children as much as were the children of Israel in the days of Moses? Most assuredly. We want the word of the Lord to-day, and we require to walk up to it when we get it. As I said, we have the living oracles in our midst, and if we receive from them admonition, counsel, and commandments if you please, that is as much the word of the Lord to this people as is the doctrine of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins.

      We all look forward to the time when the Order of Enoch will be established on the earth. But in our present condition, with our feelings of selfishness, lusting after the things of the world, and craving after Babylon, we cannot expect that the Lord would have so little regard for his people as to require us to live this law, when it would be likely to prove our condemnation. But the servants of God who stand at the head of this people, with hearts yearning for their prosperity, with constant prayers ascending to God, for the advancement of his kingdom upon the earth, have seen fit to propose that we enter into a system of co-operation, as a step towards establishing this order that we contemplate will exist at no distant day. What should be our feelings at hearing of the organization of such a thing? We should give thanks and praise to Almighty God that there is a chance—a door opened—by which we may take a step towards establishing the Order of Enoch. It is a step in the right direction, and if we understood our true interests we would step forth in that direction, we would make everything bend to it, we would centre our faith upon it, we would give our might and our means for the advancement of this institution called the Co-operative Institution. It should be as the apple of our eye. The support of this co-operative system is just as much a commandment of God, as I said before, as the doctrine of baptism for the remission of sins. What makes it so? Because it has been revealed to us as such by the living oracles. And what do we care for the printed word, as compared with the living oracles? Is it not of more importance to you and me to know what we should do to-day? Most assuredly. We live in the present, we live to-day, and if we live right to-day, we are ready for to-morrow. It is of the utmost importance that we should know how to regulate our conduct to-day, because we are not only living ourselves to-day, but we have our families to train, instruct and educate, that they, in turn, in their day, may be enabled to carry our the mind will of God. If we understood our true interests as a people we would know that we had not a single individual interest outside the kingdom of God. If this fact is not apparent to our minds it is because we are more or less in the dark. What do we seem to possess here? I say seem to possess advisedly, because we have no control in and of ourselves. Who can guarantee himself one hour of existence? Who is assured of it? Even the very ability we have to gather around us the necessaries and comforts of life comes from God. Who of us has an inheritance? As President Smith remarked, not a soul of us on the earth has received an inheritance that we can call our own; and when we as a people have an opportunity given to us to unite our faith and energies in any one given direction, we should hail it as one of the greatest blessings that can be bestowed upon us.

      It is in that light I look upon the Perpetual Emigrating Fund for the gathering of the poor—it is a God-send to us because we are permitted to concentrate our faith and energies and means in one direction to accomplish a great and a good work. It is in that light I rejoice in the establishment of the Co-operative Institution, because, we are privileged to unite our energies and faith as a people in one direction, for a beneficial result. It is the same in the paying of Tithing; and what would we have to-day without these institutions? Have you any idea to what extent Tithing has been the means of bringing to pass the many improvements that have grown up around us? Many have not, but I am fortunate enough to be thrown into that position where I am able to see and understand and be acquainted with the figures and I know the use that Tithing is applied to, and that it is first and foremost in all improvements for the advancement of the cause of truth upon the earth, and setting an example for others to follow in the same wake, and one of the great sources of the propriety of this people is due to the fact that there is at least a certain portion of Tithing paid into the Lord's storehouse.

      It has been remarked here that Salt Lake City is, as it were, a battle-field between the powers of darkness. I never, as an individual, felt better in my life in this Church than I do to-day. I care nothing about the outside pressure so far as I am individually concerned, and I notice with the Saints who are awake, that the greater the opposition the stronger they get in the things of God. It is very true the young are growing up around us, and they have not had the experience of those of riper years, and are liable to be led astray. There is a great responsibility resting upon the parents of the young that they set their children wise and prudent examples; that they admonish them of the evils that are extant and that are encroaching upon the people to-day. When we see Babylonish fashions coming in amongst us we should be very careful that we avoid setting our children the example of patterning after them. If we find that our young folks must run after fashions, let us go to work and set them some good examples, create fashions for ourselves that they may pattern after. Just reflect, sisters, for one moment, who is it that inaugurate the fashions which some of our so-called ladies patronize on the streets of Salt Lake City to-day? Where do those fashions come from? Would you like to be looked upon in the light those poor creatures are who inaugurated those fashions? if you must pattern after something, pattern after the good, righteous and pure, and shun the very appearance of evil. I will tell you one thing that we may pattern after profitably. A savings bank has been opened in this city. It is gotten up for a wise purpose, the people may therein throw their means together, and peradventure if they want to send for friends and relatives abroad, when the day rolls round to do so they will have something they can use for this laudable purpose. There is something to pattern after, involving a principle of saving, husbanding your resources. By putting your pennies together by and by they become a pound. It is like the units of the actions of this people—when they are all aggregated together they amount to a mighty effort. Save your pennies instead of throwing them away on these foolish trifling vanities. It is the case with some of my brethren and sisters, they can not allow a dollar to stay in their pockets a minute. They want to go to some of the stores to lay it out on some trash, for it is a fact, patent to all, that this is a day of humbuggery, and the things you get in the stores are more or less counterfeit and sham, outside show and gingerbread gilt instead of sound, substantial things that we ought to seek after. For instance, the cloth that we wear, you go to a store and buy and article of wearing apparel, how rare it is that you can get the thing that is represented. No, you get a sham, a counterfeit, an imitation of the genuine stuff, and that is just what the world is rapidly coming to. By and by there will be nothing among them but sham and counterfeit. Let us prefer, rather, that which is good and substantial, that which we can use and which will be a benefit to us rather than that which is only for display. Let us seek, brethren and sisters, after those things which will benefit and improve our condition to-day, and leave Babylon alone.

      I tell you that if we would keep ourselves to ourselves, and would see very few of those institutions flourishing in Salt Lake City that are springing up around us that are now getting the patronage, I am afraid, of some of the Latter-day Saints. Let me beseech you, for your own sakes, and for the sake of Israel abroad to quit patronizing Gentile institutions and abominations, and turn your attention to building up the kingdom of God, for therein are all the interests you have on the earth for time and for eternity.

      May God bless us and help us so to do is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

ELDER WM. W. CLUFF

said he had devoted the greater portion of his life to forwarding the cause of God on the earth, and he felt an increased desire to continue in that labor. He believed the majority of the Saints were increasing in faith, knowledge and good works, but many had taken a course contrary to that of progress.

            The main portion of the speaker's remarks were devoted to defining the nature of the practical duties of the Latter-day Saints from the time of their baptism on wards, showing what the people had accomplished in gathering the poor from the nations, and urging upon those who had been assisted by the P. E. Fund to refund the means used in their cases, also in advocating the payment of donations to that fund.

            Elder Cluff said that since he had returned from his last foreign mission most of his time had been devoted to building a railroad between Coalville and Echo, that the people of this city might be supplied with coal from the beds at the first named place. Such temporal labor was as much a part of the duties of the Elders as preaching, or anything in that line.

ELDER JESSE N. SMITH

bore testimony that the work in which he, in connection with the rest of the Saints, was engaged, was of God. He had been reared in the Church. The company with which he travelled across the plains in 1847 was in the rear of that of the Pioneers, and when he ever came upon the tracks of the latter he felt that it was the road to Zion.

            The speaker saw, in the measures that had been inaugurated by the servants of the Lord for the furtherance of the work of the Almighty, the evidences of progress towards the attainment of that grand object. One of the most dangerous tendencies of the age was towards infidelity, and the Saints should see that their children did not become tainted with unbelief.

            Elder Smith devoted a large portion of his remarks to the subject of education, and urged the necessity of the children being properly taught in all useful branches, including a sound moral training. He held it to be one of the most important subjects which could be considered by the Saints. He also counselled the people to avoid and discourage the evil of intemperance.

PRESIDENT GEORGE A. SMITH

spoke on the necessity of keeping the Word of Wisdom, exhorting the saints to abstain from every thing forbidden therein, as far as climate and other conditions would admit. He adverted to the degrading and destructive effects of strong drink. Some people said they could "drink or let it alone;" they should let it alone. Those who would not keep the Word of Wisdom would be ultimately filled with deep regret at their neglect of duty on this point.

            President Smith's remarks on this subject were very clear and pointed. A portion of his discourse was devoted to educational matters; a short synopsis of his remarks, however, would not do them justice. His suggestions on the last named subject were highly instructive.

[George A. Smith]

[DNW 22:644, 11/12/73, p 4; JD 16:237]

DISCOURSE

BY President GEORGE A. SMITH, DELIVERED AT THE

Semi-Annual Conference, in the new Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, October 7th, 1873

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      I feel a deep interest in the subjects which have been brought before us this morning by the Elders who have spoken, as well as in every discourse that has been uttered since the commencement of the Conference, and I hope that the impressions which have been made will be lasting. In relation to intemperance, should observe the Word of Wisdom; and if we do not observe it, we lay a foundation to weaken ourselves. You will see young persons come to the table in the morning, and they want some tea, or coffee, or a cup of good, strong, warm drink. A habit of this kind has, perhaps, already been acquired by them, and it is likely to continue until they become slaves to it. In a little while it affects the complexion, it weakens the mind and the body throughout, and lays the foundation for a weaker generation to follow. Of course it is no use to talk to men about tobacco. It takes a man of energy to quit chewing tobacco, a man who has a mind and independence; boys who undertake it seldom accomplish it, though they are very foolish ever to indulge in the habit.

      I feel like exhorting my brethren and sisters to abstain from everything prohibited in the Word of Wisdom, and to live in accordance with its principles as near as our climate and the productions of our country will permit. So far as intoxicating drinks are concerned, it is worse than madness and folly for men to indulge in them. There is something comparatively innocent in tea, coffee or tobacco when compared with intoxicating drinks. Of course a man who uses tobacco freely for years gets an appetite for liquor; he lays a foundation for an appetite for liquor, and after a while in the start; but yet tobacco does not make a man insane in a minute. Some of our most promising business men, who have come to Salt Lake City at different periods, have carried themselves to untimely graves by indulging in intoxicating drink. Men whose voices have been heard in the Tabernacle, men who have rendered service in the offices, and who have been honored, have died like a dog in a ditch, or in a most degraded manned, in consequence of indulging in intoxicating drinks. A man says to another—"Come, take a drink." "No, I don't wish any." "Oh, don't be so pious, come and take a drink with us, don't be a coward;" and so, for fear of being a coward, he takes the drink. Shame on such a man! Why not quietly say—"No, I do not need it;" and if the invitation is repeated, say—"No more of that, gentlemen," and be man enough to let it alone, rather than yield and let a habit creep upon his that will destroy him. I have heard men say—"I can drink, or let it alone;" then let it alone; but some of those who can "drink or let it alone" will get drunk every day. They have sold themselves to the cursed alcohol. Let the Elders of Israel cease this habit and learn wisdom. When you come to meet the presence of your Father in heaven, when you wish for the rewards of your Priesthood, you who have not obeyed the Word of Wisdom will wail at the loss you have sustained in consequence of your folly. Think of these things, continue to think of them, pray over them, and set an example before your children that is worthy of imitation. If an old lady of seventy comes to my house at Conference, and I get her a cup of tea, if there is a girl there of fifteen, she will want to drink with grandma, and she will think she must have it because grandma does. This has been my experience in times past. I do not have it now; I do not get tea for people, unless they pretend to be sick, then I tell my folks to make them a tin cup full of good, strong catnip tea. That is a rule I have prescribed. I do not know how my folks keep it. I certainly do not intend to place any restrictions on them any further than their own wisdom dictates. But if they use these things they do it in violation of my advice and run their own risks, and so do all others.

      I say, brethren and sisters, let us observe the Word of Wisdom. We are doing a great business in the tea, coffee and tobacco in the Co-operative Store. When we first established it we thought we would not sell tobacco at all; but pretty soon the Superintendent asked the Directors if he might not bring in some poor kind of tobacco to kill the ticks on the sheep. It was very soon discovered that unless they sold tobacco, so many Latter-day Saints used it, that a successful opposition could be run against them on the tobacco trade alone, and they had to commence it, I believe, under the plea that it was brought on to kill the ticks on sheep. Shame on such Latter-day Saints, so far as tobacco is concerned.

      I will say a word in relation to the colleges which brother Jesse N. Smith spoke about. As he said, we have struggled against many difficulties as far as education is concerned, and our university and our colleges, so far, have simply been schools for the education of teachers in the primary branches. We have sometimes employed professors and taught many different branches. But a great effort has been made to educate teachers for primary schools, and some of them have taken great pains to inform themselves. They have geld associations and got up a normal and training class, have given lectures, and this summer they spent six weeks voluntarily to instruct each other.

      It has been the uniform custom of the General Government to give the different States public lands and money to a liberal extent for educational purposes. None of this has ever been made available for Utah; we have had to carry everything by our own individual effort. Now that there are many young men and women among us who wish to study more advanced branches than we have, as yet, been able to organize, they would like to go to famous seats of learning in distant parts of the country for that purpose. A co-operative effort is now required on the part of the people, as a matter of domestic economy, to establish schools of a higher order, and to provide the professors and apparatus necessary to impart instruction in the higher branches of learning, that our young people may be able to obtain the education they desire to home; for while they would go away and spend five or six hundred dollars a year each, the same amongst expended here would establish schools for the higher branches, and cut off a large proportion of the expense in all time to come. We would like to have all the Wards and settlements consider these questions, and make it a matter of real interest to bring about an organization and to supply the means necessary for this object.

      In the foundation of a country it is necessary, of course, to look well to its primary schools; we have tried to do this, we are still doing it, and, I believe considering their circumstances, the people of Utah have done more for education than the people of any other Territory.

      May the blessing of Israel's God be upon us in all our efforts to guide our children, in all our efforts to maintain the principles of temperance, to observe the Word of Wisdom and keep the commandments of God, and to establish such schools and colleges as shall enable us to advance in all branches that are useful, for our religion includes every good and true principle. There is no principle on the face of the earth or in heaven that is true, but what belongs to "Mormonism." May God enable us to do these things as we should, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

            The choir sang

Praise the Lord.

            Adjourned till two o'clock.

            Prayer by Elder CHAS. C. RICH.

_____

[7 Oct, 2 pm]

[DNW 22:585, 10/15/73, p 9]

SECOND DAY.

_____

TUESDAY, October 7th.

            Singing by the Choir of:

Though now the nations sit beneath
The darkness of o'erspreading death.

            Opening prayer by ELDER LORENZO SNOW.

            The Choir sang:

Praise ye the Lord! my heart shall join
In work so pleasant, so divine.

ELDER ORSON PRATT

delivered an elaborate and interesting discourse on the building of temples, and the purposes for which such structures were designed to be used.

            The address was reported.

[Orson Pratt]

[DNW 22:692, 12/3/73, p 4; JD 16:251]

DISCOURSE

BY ELDER ORSON PRATT, DELIVERED

At the Semi-Annual Conference, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Oct. y, 1873

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS

_____

      I will call the attention of the congregation to a portion of the word of God contained in the third chapter of Malachi—"Behold, I will send my messenger and he shall prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple; even the messenger of the covenant whom ye delight in, behold he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts, but who may abide the day of his coming, and who shall stand when he appeareth, for he is like a refiner's fire and like fuller's soap. He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he shall purify the sons of Levi and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness."

      I have read these words, because of the peculiar prophecy which is contained therein, of what the Lord will perform about the time of his coming. A prophecy that the Lord would come, and the nature of that coming should be such that but a few comparatively will be prepared to endure that day; that when he does come, he will have a Temple on the earth, to which he will come. A part of the programme which was read yesterday morning, if I recollect right, for the Elders to speak upon during Conference, was in relation to building Temples. The building of Temples of the Lord is promised in his word, for there we read that in the latter days he would have a house built on the earth. I know that in the ears of this generation it will sound very strangely to talk about the Lord having a house built on this globe of ours; yet we have such a promise, strange as it may be, and that when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven in flaming fire, and shall sit as a refiner's fire and as fuller's soap on the sons of Levi, to purify them as gold and silver, he will, in that day, come to his Temple, and come very suddenly. That shows, at once, that he must have a Temple on the earth in the latter time.

      There are two other Prophets, besides Malachi, who have spoken of the house of the Lord. Isaiah, in his second chapter, refers to the building of the Lord's house in the latter days. I will repeat the passage—"It shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the tops of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and nations shall flow unto it. Many nations shall say, 'Come, let us go up unto the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob and he shall teach us of his ways and we shall walk in his paths;" and "the Lord shall rebuke strong nations afar off"—meaning nations at a great distance from Jerusalem, where the Prophet delivered the prophecy. "He shall rebuke strong nations afar off, and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." The fourth chapter of Micah contains a similar prediction, which it is not necessary for me to repeat, as it reads, almost word for word, like that in the second chapter of Isaiah, showing plainly and clearly that in the latter days God would have a house built on the earth.

      Perhaps there may be objections by our Christian friends to the Latter-day Saints proclaiming in the midst of Christendom that the Lord intends to have a house built on the earth. They will probably say—"He has hundreds of them, and has had for many generations. God has houses scattered here and there throughout all the Christian nations, and there never has been a time since the days of the Apostles but what the Lord has had a house, either at Corinth, Athens, or somewhere else; and you can read the inscriptions upon them as you pass through the towns and cities of Christendom." These houses are called the houses of God, or Jesus, the church of St. John, St Peter, St. Paul, St. Mark and others, and all of them are considered the houses of God. Would to God that this were true! Would to God that he had given sense directions concerning the building of some of these houses! But alas! when we come to inquire concerning their origin, we find that they were built by uninspired men, that the architecture and everything pertaining to them has been devised by the cunning and wisdom of men. Ask them if God commanded them to select the particular location on which one of these houses stands? They will say—"No, God does not direct now-a-days. There was a time when the Lord did direct in such matters, but now we have wise men, we have bodies of learned men who have studied theology. We do not need the Lord to interfere in our day; he don't speak anything to the people in the age in which we live; these houses were constructed according to the best plans and architecture we were acquainted with by our wisdom, without any commandment or revelation from the heavens." Very well, then the Lord has nothing to do with them. What I understand by the building of a house of God, is to build one alter the pattern that he shall give. I do not mean a pattern that was given in ancient times, but one given to, the very people to whom the revelation comes to build a house to his name. Has such been the case with the houses of worship throughout the Christian nations? Not, in one instance. You may travel all through this great Republic, from one end thereof to the other, and among all the Christian denominations who deny new revelation, is there one house which God commanded to be built? Indeed these very prophecies would seem to indicate that, in the day when they should begin to be fulfilled, there should be no house of the Lord on the earth. Is it not a peculiar kind of a saying that in the latter days the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the tops of the mountains, and be exalted above the hills? It shows that for a long period prior to the erection of the house of God in the mountains, no such thing could be found on the face of the whole earth, and it was needful for the Lord, in the latter days, to begin a work of that kind. No place for Jesus to come to. He is to come in the clouds of heaven, in flaming fire, in power and great glory, clothed upon with all the brightness of the celestial heavens; his face will outshine the sun, and cause it to withhold its light in shame. No place for this glorious personage to come to—no Temple prepared into which he can come. When he does come, however, this work will have been accomplished—he will come to his Temple suddenly. It will not be like his first coming. Then, instead of coming to his Temple suddenly, we find him born in a very low condition, not even in the corn non mansions or dwelling-places of the inhabitants of Palestine, but in a stable or manger. When he visited the great Temple at Jerusalem, when about twelve years old, and also after he began his ministry, when about thirty years old, instead of sitting upon the sons of Levi and purifying them as gold and silver in a furnace of fire, that they might offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness, who was it who rejected the Son of God in that day? The sons of Levi. They cried out against and persecuted him; they were his greatest enemies; they crucified him. They were not purged and prepared to offer in the Temple of the Lord an offering in righteousness. The glory of God did not appear in their midst, and their offerings were not acceptable in that Temple before the Lord, but he found his house, in that day, a den of thieves, occupied by money-changers and brokers, speculation going on in the midst of the house of God, and he was under the necessity of making a small scourge and driving them out by whipping them. Not so in the latter times, when he comes to his Temple. In that day, when the mountain of the house of the Lord is established in the tops of the mountains, it will be an indication of a great period of peace, a period which is so often spoken of by the mouths of the ancient Prophets, in which nation shall no more lift up sword against nation, when they shall no longer have use for firearms or weapons of war, or anything that is calculated to destroy life; but these deadly implements will be converted into useful articles of husbandry. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war any more. That time has not come, and such a period was never known on the earth.

      There is another thing connected with the building of the Temple in the latter-days. When it is built, on the place, and according to the pattern that the Lord shall designate, it will be so strange to the nations, that they will actually come up from all parts of our globe. Many of them will say one to another—"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the house of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob." "What do you want to go up there for? Why do you want to travel several thousand miles across land and sea to go to the mountain of the house of the Lord?" "That he may teach us of his ways, that we may walk in his paths?' "Can you not be taught in his ways in your own chapels, which you have built in England, Scandinavia, Switzerland, Austria, or wherever you may have resided? Can you not worship in your own chapels?" "Oh, no, there is no house of the Lord, we have no teachers authorized of God, no Prophets and Apostles inspired by and called of God to officiate like the ancient Apostles; no one to say to us 'Thus saith the Lord God,' by new revelation; no visions are manifested among us; no angels have honored our houses of worship with their presence; no glory, no fire descending from heaven to light up these chapels and sanctuaries which we have built, and we have lost all confidence in our teachers, consequently let us go up to yonder mountain on which God's house has been built, and when we get there, he will teach us in his ways, and we will walk in his paths." "Is the only object you have in going to the mountain of the house of the Lord to receive teachings?" No, there are other things to be attended to in the house of God or in Temples that may be built in the tops of the mountains besides teaching. We have a great many important duties to perform pertaining to the house of God, duties that can not be performed anywhere else acceptably in his sight.

      Would you like to know some of the uses of these Temples or houses of God? I will read a little from one of our modern revelations, given through Joseph Smith, in Nauvoo, on the 19th day of January, 1841. I have not time to read the whole of the revelation, but; will select a few sections. Speaking of building a house to his name, the Lord says—"Verily I say unto you, let all my saints come from afar"—this we have fulfilled so far as the gathering is concerned.

      "And again, verily I say unto you, let all my Saints come from afar; and send ye swift messengers, yea chosen messengers, and say unto them, Come ye, with all your gold and your silver, and your precious stones, and with all your antiquities; and with all who have knowledge of antiquities, that will come, may come, and bring the box tree, and the fir tree, and the pine tree, together with all the precious trees of the earth; and with iron, with copper, and with brass, and with zinc, and with all your precious things of the earth, and build a house to my name, for the Most High to dwell therein; for there is not a place found on earth that he may come and restore again that which was lost unto you, or which he hath taken away, even the fullness of the Priesthood; for a baptismal font there is not upon the earth, that they, my Saints, may be baptized for those who are dead; for this ordinance belongeth to my hones, and cannot be acceptable to me, only in the days of your poverty, wherein ye are not able to build a house unto me. But I command you all, ye my Saints, to build a house unto me; and I grant unto you a sufficient time to build a house unto me, and during this time your baptisms shall be acceptable unto me."

      I want this Conference to understand that it is not only the Saints who are here assembled, but all in this Territory, and wherever our settlements extend, all who have entered into covenant with the Lord are under this command. I will read further.

      "But behold, at the end of this appointment, your baptisms for your dead shall not be acceptable unto me; and if you do not these things at the end of the appointment, ye shall be rejected as a Church, with your dead, saith the Lord your God. For verily I say unto you that after you have had sufficient time to build a house to me, wherein the ordinance of baptizing for the dead belongeth, and for which the same was instituted from before the foundation of the world, your baptisms for your dead cannot be acceptable unto me, for therein are the keys of the holy Priesthood, ordained that you may receive honor and glory. And after this time, your baptisms for the dead, by those who are scattered abroad, are not acceptable unto me, saith the Lord; for it is ordained that in Zion, and in her stakes, and in Jerusalem, those places which I have appointed for refuge, shall be places for your baptisms for your dead.

      "And again, verily I say unto you, how shall your washings be acceptable unto me, except ye perform them in a house Which you have built to my name? For, for this cause I commanded Moses that he should build a tabernacle, that they should bear it with them in the wilderness, and to build a house in the land of promise, that those ordinances might he revealed which had been hid from before the world was; therefore verily I say unto you, that your anointings, and your washings, and your baptisms for the dead, and your solemn assemblies, and your memorials for your sacrifices, by the sons of Levi, and for your oracles in your most holy places, wherein you receive conversations, and year statutes and judgments, for the beginning of revelations and foundation of Zion, and for the glory, honor, and endowment of all her municipals, are ordained by the ordinance of my holy house which my people are always commanded to build unto my holy name."

      It seems to be a standing command to the Saints, wherever they may be located, to build a house unto the Lord, wherever there is a stronghold pointed out for the gathering of the Saints, such as Kirtland, Nauvoo, Jackson County, Mo., and other places which are mentioned in revelation. The Lord has commanded his Saints in all these places to do a work, which will be effectually accomplished in due time. They are always commanded to build a house unto the Lord.

      We have been here twenty-six years and have only a foundation and a few tier of rock laid towards a house of the Lord. it is true we have a large tabernacle which will contain some fifteen thousand persons when they are closely seated, and the standing room also occupied. But this is not a Temple of the Lord. We meet here to sing praises, and to be instructed in our duties as Saints, but this is not a house of ordinances; it is not a house for the baptism of the dead, or in which the Saints receive their washings and anointings; it is not a house in which you will receive statutes, and judgments, and laws pertaining to the kingdom of God. God has ordained a building of a different pattern wherein laws, statutes, judgments, and ordinances are to be revealed for the benefit of his people. "And verily I say unto you, let, this house be built unto my name, that I may reveal mine ordinances therein unto my people; for I deign to reveal unto my Church things which have been kept hid from the foundation of the world, things that pertain to the dispensation of the fullness of times."

      I think that portion of this revelation which I have read, will give you a general idea of the sacredness of the house of the Lord, which is to be built in the latter times, a place wherein the angels may come and visit, as they did in the ancient Temple; a place wherein you can receive all those ordinances which the Lord has revealed, and which he will, hereafter reveal, from time to time, preparatory to the great day of the coming of the Lord.

      Now let me mention over some few things which should be administered in the Temple of the Most High. Marriage, for instance, is an ordinance of God. We know it to be not only an ordinance administered among the various nations according to their civil laws, but know also that it is a religious ordinance, administered by authority from God. If any one wants any proof on this point let him read the 6th verse of the 19th chapter of Matthew. "What God hath joined together let no man put asunder." It seems, then, that in marriage there is such a principle as the Lord officiating through his servants, in joining persons in this sacred and holy ordinance. There are a great many marriages that may answer the requirements of the civil law of different countries and nations, and there are some marriages performed even in our Territory, but the Lord has not directed them, neither has he directed his servants in their administration. He has not particularly forbidden these marriages, he permits and suffers them, but he has no particular hand in their performance. Do you wish me to explain this matter? I will. For instance, in the distant settlements of the Territory oftentimes a young man and woman desire to be married. They go and find a justice of the peace, or an Elder of the Church, as the case may be, and he officiates in the ceremony and marries them, somewhat similar to what people are married among the various nations. Does God really accept of this marriage, or does he merely suffer it to be so, for the time being? Has he joined them together, or has the justice of the peace, by virtue of his civil office? "How is it?" Says one—"I suppose it must be a legal marriage." It is legal so far as the laws of the Territory are concerned. If a young man and woman in any part of this Territory wish to be married, there is nothing illegal in a justice of the peace performing the ceremony, he has a right to do it, according to the laws of the Territory. But is it legal in the sight of heaven? No, it is not. Why not? Because God has appointed a place in which this sacred ordinance should be administered, and he has appointed certain authority to officiate in its solemnization, and a certain form, when it is done in the place and by the authority he has ordained. It is then legal in the sight of heaven, then they are married or joined together, not for time alone, but the union is to exist throughout all the ages of eternity. This is the real order of marriage. This is one of the purposes for which God has commanded us to build a house, that our young people may have the privilege of entering into that sacred union not only for time, or until they are parted by death, but that they may have a legal claim, by virtue of the marriage covenant, upon each other after the resurrection.

      Some may say—"I think I will wait until after the resurrection and then I will secure me a wife for eternity; or perhaps I will merely marry a women here for time, and put off the eternal part, until after the resurrection." What says Jesus on this subject? "In the resurrection they neither marty nor are given in marriage." Why not? Because that is an ordinance, like baptism, that must be administered by those in the flesh. If, while in the flesh, we fail to secure to ourselves the remission of our, sins, and the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost by going down into the water and being baptized for the remission of our sins, by one having authority to administer this ordinance, we can not attend to it in our own persons after the resurrection. That is an ordinance that cannot be administered after the resurrection; if it is not done until then, it must be done by some person still living in the flesh, for and in behalf of the one who has gone into the spirit world. Those in the spirit world have no claim upon blessings for eternity, unless they are secured while in the flesh. It is so with all the ordinances pertaining to eternity, they must be performed in the flesh, and not in the next life. Hence if an individual is so unfortunate that he fights against a principle, or becomes careless and indifferent; or if he goes to a justice of the peace, thinking that he will secure to himself a wife for eternity, he is grandly mistaken; and if he dies, having been married according to this form, he has no promise whatsoever that, after the resurrection, he will have a wife; for in that world, this sacred ordinance cannot be attended to.

      Another thing which I wish to explain is, that, in the sight of heaven, their children are illegitimate. Of course they are legitimate according to the laws of the country. Such children can claim the property of their parents, they are the legal heirs to the property descending from parents to children by virtue of the laws of the country. But when I say illegitimate I mean in the sight of heaven. Now, all you young people who have been married in this Territory or abroad, by justices of the peace, or even by Elders of the Church only for time, when you have the opportunity of coming up here to the house of God, and receiving these ordinances, and do not, your children are illegitimate in the sight of heaven.

      Perhaps you may enquire, "What is there to be inherited in eternity that makes it really necessary that our children should be legitimate, so far as divine authority is concerned?" The Lord our God is a God of law, his house is a house of order; and all blessings, and honor, and glory, and inheritance, that are to be received in the eternal worlds must be according to divine law and divine ordinances, and whosoever complies with the law of heaven has a legal claim in eternity. That which is performed by man, without divine law, however perfect human law may be, has no bearing upon eternity. Man's works are one thing and God's works another. A blessing bestowed upon men, such as the legitimate heirship to the property of their parents is one thing, and a blessing bestowed by the Eternal Father in the heavens is another. He performs all of his works by law, and he bestows blessings upon his children, by ordinances and by law. It must be secured here in this life, if we secure it at all in our own persons.

      It may be said, "I do not understand this principle. What will become of our good fathers and mothers who have gathered up from the nations that were married before they heard this Gospel?" "Indeed, were they married?" "Yes." "How?" "According to the laws of their respective nations. Their offspring are legitimate, so far as the Civil laws of their native countries are concerned, but they are not husbands and wives for eternity in the sight of heaven." "How are you going to remedy this?" asks the enquirer. "In the house of God. Temples or houses of God must be built to remedy this thing." "How can it be remedied there?" They must be married over again, not according to the laws of men or nations, but according to the laws and institutions of heaven." "Will that make their marriage legitimate?" "Of course." "But they have many children before they gather up here; you tell us they are illegitimate: how are you going to remedy this?" God has provided a remedy for all children born out of the covenant." "What do you mean by that?" enquires one. "I mean the new and everlasting covenant of marriage, that has a bearing upon eternity as well as time. All who are born before their parents enter that new and everlasting covenant have to be made legitimate heirs." "In what way?" "According to the ordinance and law of adoption." I rosy be asked—"Is this important?" "Yes, it matters a great deal. If there are family regulations, to preserve good order, in this world, you will find that God is more strict, in such regulations, in regard to the world to come. If patents hold certain authority over their children in this life, you will find that such authority, though in higher perfection, is transferred to the eternal worlds, and in that world there is a certain jurisdiction which parents hold over their children through all future ages of eternity. But in order that parents may have their children legitimately under their control, it is necessary that the ordinance of adoption in the house of God should he performed in regard to the children born before their parents entered into the eternal covenant of marriage. This shows the use or necessity of a Temple.

      Then again, we heard on Sunday afternoon considerable on the subject of baptism for the dead; it is not necessary, therefore, that I should dwell upon this subject. It is one thoroughly understood by the Latter-day Saints, and has been long preached to them, and they know that this, as well as the ordinance of marriage, pertains to the house of God. To be acceptable to him there must be a font, the same as there was in the Temple of Solomon. You recollect there was a brazen sea, a large place in the basement of the Temple of Solomon, underneath which were twelve oxen, their heads pointing to the four points of the compass—three to each point. This great brazen sea, standing upon these oxen, was a place intended for baptisms for the dead. As was said last Sabbath, it was underneath those courts, where the living, from time to time, assembled to attend to their worship; thus representing those that were in their graves, underneath the living. That was the reason it was placed in that position; and as that was intended for sacred and holy purposes, the administration of holy ordinances, so God has commanded, in these latter days, that there should be a baptismal font, and the ordinance of baptism for the dead must be performed in the place that God designates, in order to be legal and acceptable in his sight.

      We are told in the revelations which God has given, through his servant Joseph Smith, something about the pattern of this sacred and holy ordinance. We are told that the living are not only to be baptized for and in behalf of the dead, by being immersed in water in their respective names, but that they are also to receive the ordinance of confirmation by the laying on of hands, not for themselves, but for the dead, As far back as they can trace them. Hundreds of millions of people died before God gave this revelation, in these latter times, and they had not the opportunity of being married for time and all eternity, no man on the earth, in their day, having the authority to unite them. Would you deprive them of the blessings of this eternal union, because they did not happen to live in a day when God revealed and restored anew, from the heavens; these ordinances? No. God is a consistent being, and to say that people who die in ignorance, without having an opportunity of attending to the ordinances of the house of God, should not be made partakers of the blessings thereof, would be imputing injustice to the great Jehovah. To say that our fathers and mothers, who were only married for time, must be deprived of a union in the eternal worlds, because of their ignorance of these things, because there was no person having authority to administer to them, would be apparently unjust, and would almost seem to impeach the attributes of Jehovah, if we could suppose such partiality was his design. But we cannot suppose that God is an inconsistent Being. And if we have the opportunity of attending to the ordinance of marriage in the house of the Lord, and of securing certain eternal blessings for ourselves, our ancestors, who are dead, must have a plan devised, adapted to their condition, by which they also may be exalted to the same blessings. But it must be done by law. No haphazard work, no work of chance or confusion, but everything must be accomplished by the laws, ordinances and commandments of the Great Jehovah; then, what is done by his servants here on the earth, being sealed here is sealed in the heavens, and hence, we not only keep a record of all the names of the dead, but of all the ordinances attended to for and in their behalf; and in the great judgment day, when the books are opened, it will be found that such and such parties have been baptized for, confirmed for, and administered for, in the marriage ordinance, and that these various ordinances were recorded in the presence of witnesses.

      The records kept by authority here, will agree with the records kept in heaven, for they keep records there, as well as we; and the books on earth, when they are kept by divine authority, will agree with the records in heaven. When there is divine authority in the administration of an ordinance here on the earth, that ordinance is sacred and holy, and is recorded here and in the heavens, and the records of heaven will agree with the records of earth; and by these records and books will mankind be judged. The dead will be judged according to men in the flesh, or, in other words, as we shall be judged according to our works in the flesh. When we have been baptized, and it is recorded on the earth, it is for ourselves, and we will be judged by that, and if we are faithful, we shall receive the blessings and glories which the Lord has in store for those who are baptized here and are faithful to the end. So will the dead be judged according to the works which are done for them; and when the books are opened, and it is found that they have been officiated for, by those works will they be judged. Why? Because they have their agency in the spirit world, to reject what has been done for them, or to receive it, the same as we have the agency while living here to reject or to receive what Jesus did through the atonement of his blood. We have that agency here; it also exists among those in the spirit world. You need not suppose that their agency is destroyed because they are baptized for, and because ordinances are administered for and in their behalf; you need not suppose that this will be a security to them that they cannot resist. They will have the same freedom there to resist, that we have here.

      If the Latter-day Saints want some evidence or proof in relation to the agency of spirits that are in prison, or in the spirit world, let me refer them to the prophecy of Enoch, with which they are familiar, though strangers may not be acquainted therewith. Enoch saw the people that should perish in the flood; he saw that there was a prison-house prepared for them, and that they dwelt there for a long period of time, until the Son of God was manifested, crucified and rose from the dead; and he saw, when that event should take place, that as many of the spirits in prison of the antediluvian world who perished in the flood, as repented, came forth and stood on the right hand of God." As many as repented had this privilege. Does not this show that there were some who probably would not repent? Indeed, the very next sentence says that those who did not repent "were reserved in chains of darkness until the judgment of the great day." Hence, the agency of spirits, as well as the agency of men here in the flesh.

      A Temple is needed for the Saints who dome from abroad, that their marriages may be recorded on the earth and in the heavens, that they may not only be for time, but for all eternity; that when they come forth, male and female, in the morning of the first resurrection, they may embrace each other as husband and wife by virtue of the covenant they entered into in the Temple of the Lord, while they were in the flesh.

      Strangers will, perhaps, think that this is rather a partial doctrine, on one account. They may say, "Your fathers, whom you speak of, are not known; their names, in general, can not be obtained for more than two or three generations back; in a very few instances, perhaps, they may be found eight or ten generations back; but what will be done with all the generations, nations, and ages, that have lived since the Priesthood of God was upon the earth, and since those holy ordinances were administered in ancient times? How are they going to receive any of the benefits from this baptism for the dead, seeing that the very names of the nations, to say nothing of the individuals, are lost?" Here comes in, again, the use of a Temple of the Lord. The Most High says—"I deign to reveal ante you hidden things, things that have been kept hid from the foundation of the world." Among these hidden things that are to be revealed are the books of genealogy, tracing individuals and nations among all people, back to ancient times.

      It may be inquired—"How can all this be done?" We answer, by the Urim and Thummim, which the Lord God has ordained to be used in the midst of his holy house, in his Temple. You may inquire—"What is the Urim and Thummim?" We reply, it is a divine instrument, prepared in ancient times, by which he who possessed it could call upon the name of the Lord, and receive from him answers to all matters it was necessary that he should know. Aaron, the chief Priest in the midst of Israel, had this instrument in his breast plate, in the midst of rows of stones representing the twelve tribes of Israel; and when he passed certain judgments, he did not do it by his own wisdom, but he inquired of the Lord and received the same, by this sacred instrument. When that instrument is restored to the house of God, to the Temple of the Most High, our ancestry, that is, the ancestry of all the faithful in the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, will be made manifest. Not all at once, but by degrees. Just as fast as we are able to administer for them, so will the Lord God make manifest, by the manifestation of holy angels in his house, and by the Urim and Thummim, those names that are necessary, of our ancient kindred and friends, that they may be traced back to the time when the Priesthood was on the earth in ancient days.

      If they could not be traced back, there would be a great chasm, a broken chain in the genealogies, and it would not be perfect, but when the Lord God comes suddenly to his Temple, he will come to a people who have made themselves perfect by obedience to his commandments. They have sought after the redemption of their dead from generation to generation, until they can link on all those who were not officiated for in ancient times, and thus carry it back from one dispensation to another, until it reaches to our father Adam in the Garden of Eden, and then, the saying of Scripture will be accomplished—"The hearts of the children will be turned to their fathers," and the hearts of all those ancient fathers, who lived thousands of years ago, will be "turned to their children, lest the Lord should come," as the Prophet Malachi says, "and smite the earth with a curse."

      Why smite it with a curse? Because the people are careless and do not look after the salvation of their dead, do not let their hearts be drawn out after their ancestry, do not seek to perform those ordinances that are necessary for their redemption, that they may be redeemed by law. If we would not be smitten by a curse, let us seek after the redemption of our fathers, as well as of ourselves, for says the Apostle Paul, "they without us can not be made perfect, neither can we without them be made perfect." We may do all that we please for ourselves, and yet if we, through our carelessness and indifference, neglect to seek after the salvation of the dead, the responsibility will be upon our own heads; and the sins of the dead will be answered upon us, because we had the power to act for them, and we were careless and indifferent about using it.

      Many more things might be said in relation to the dead, and what is necessary to he done in Temples. It was asked, by one of the speakers, in relation to inheritances, "What man or woman among the Latter-day Saints has an inheritance sealed to them?" What man among all this people can determine the very spot of ground that the Lord intends that he should inherit for an everlasting possession? Not one of us. The Lord has told us that he intends to give a certain land to his people, for an everlasting possession. He told the ancients, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the same thing; but they wandered as strangers and pilgrims in their day; and the martyr Stephen said they had not as much as to set their foot upon. Yet they had a promise which secured it to them after the resurrection, and also to their seed, and that personally, for an everlasting possession. Have you got any such promise? You have, as far as the great mass is concerned, the promise of a great region of country. We know where it is, God has pointed it out. But is there an individual among us who knows what portion of that great, country he shall receive for his future inheritance, to possess either before or after the resurrection, and after this earth shall have passed away, and all things are made new? No. Why have we not got it? Because we have no house of the Lord built. When we have a house built, whether there be property, or inheritance, or union for eternity, or blessings for ourselves, or washings or anointing, or anything that pertains to eternity, it will be given to us by the ordinances of God's holy house, according to law. No wonder then, that the nations afar off will say—"Let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us of his ways, that we may walk in his paths" He has a great many ways to teach the people, pertaining to the salvation of the dead, many ordinances, many principles' and laws, statutes and judgments, and the law will go forth from Zion, and he will rebuke strong nations afar off, and fulfill and accomplish that which he has spoken; and wisdom, and knowledge, and glory and intelligence, the laws of the Most High, and the ministrations of angels will be unfolded to the Latter-day Saints, just as fast as they are prepared to receive them.

      Wake up, then, Latter-day Saints, and prepare yourselves Temples in the places that shall be designated, by the oracles of the Most High God, so that your aged fathers that are in the southern part of the Territory may not be Under the necessity of traveling some six hundred miles, back and forth, to attend to the ordinance of baptism for the dead. They must have a Temple there, wherein these ordinances may be administered; another here, another in the northern part of the Territory, and multiply them according to the wants of the people; for the work is becoming continually greater and greater, and the Latter-day Saints must wake up to these principles, and not have their minds absorbed with the things of this world, forgetting the great plan of salvation revealed from heaven.

      May God bless the Saints, and Wake up their minds to these important duties. Amen.

 

ELDER LORENZO SNOW

made some very clear and instructive remarks on the order of Enoch in which he declared that the Saints would not be permitted to go to Jackson County to build up the centre stake of Zion until they had obeyed the requisitions incorporated in that system of things. Co-operation was a progressive step in that direction. The speaker told what was being done at Brigham City in the matter of co-operation, showing that much advancement was being made in those matters there. Cloth, leather, boots and shoes, cheese, butter, &c., were being manufactured extensively on this principle. Besides, there were sheep and cattle herds, a mercantile store, a butcher shop and a dairy, all conducted on this plan. Those things gave the people there excellent advantages, especially in these times of scarcity of money.

[Lorenzo Snow]

[DNW 22:772, 1/7/74, p 4; JD 16:273]

DISCOURSE

BY Elder LORENZO SNOW, DELIVERED

At the Semi-Annual Conference, in the new Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Tuesday Afternoon, October 7th, 1873

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REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

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      The position we profess to occupy as a religious body, is a subject for profound reflection. We testify to having received a knowledge, through the revelations of heaven, concerning the restoration of the ancient Gospel and holy Priesthood, whereby we have been authorized to preach by, inspiration, and administer to the world the principles of life and salvation. All profess to have experienced some understanding or knowledge of this wonderful work, through divine blessing or peculiar manifestation. In consequence of these divine intimations which have followed the administration of this restored Gospel, this vast audience of over twelve thousand people, are here assembled, having gathered from many climes and nations. The Latter-day Saints did not gather to these valleys for the purpose of knowing this Work to be of God, but in consequence of having previously obtained this inspired knowledge through the administrations of the Gospel in their native lands. And having come to a knowledge of these important facts, it certainly becomes us to be devoted to the work in which we are engaged, and do our best to promote its interest. In building up the kingdom of God, which is the work assigned us, our whole attention and highest efforts are demanded, that we may be qualified, through the Holy Spirit, to properly magnify our respective callings in the holy Priesthood.

      I wish this afternoon to confine my observations to the subject of our temporal interests and obligations. Before we are prepared to return to Jackson County, to build up the centre Stake of Zion, I believe that a system or order of things will be introduced for our practice, requiring more faith and devotion than, I fear, some of us possess at the present moment. This will call forth a perfect submission in respect to our temporal affairs, equal to that in which We now yield ourselves in spiritual matters. This principle of devotion and obedience in temporal affairs, as being connected with the plan of eternal life, is fully illustrated in the conversation between the Savior and the young man who applied for information on the subject of salvation, recorded in the New Testament. On being questioned by this young man what was required of him in order to inherit eternal life, the Savior replied, "Thou shalt do no murder, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, honor thy father and thy mother, and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." The answer was, that all these duties had been performed from his earliest youth. But, still one thing was lacking to make him perfect in the sight of the Savior, viz., to allow his means and property to be controled in the cause of God, and by the will of God. "Sell all thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and follow me." But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. In all other duties he had been faithful and blameless, but in this, his selfishness and love of riches held complete control, which called forth the remark of the Savior, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." This saying created great amazement among the disciples, who asked, with astonishment, "Who then can be saved?"

      This principle of submission, and being controled in property matters, is a doctrine which belongs to the Gospel and the building up of the kingdom of God. It was preached and practiced in the Apostolic dispensation, also by the Nephites upon this continent, after the introduction among them of the Gospel in its fullness, as recorded in the Book of Mormon. It was also a doctrine introduced to us, over forty years ago, which we find set forth in various revelations contained in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants.

      This consecration, or yielding our temporal interests to be directed for the work of the Lord, as being a fundamental element in the work of salvation, and in the union and perfecting of the Saints, is very clearly shown in the second and fourth chapters of the Acts of the Apostles: "And all that believed were together, arm had all things common; and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. Neither was there any among them that lacked, for as many as were possessors of lands, or houses, sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them down at the Apostles' feet, and distribution was made unto every man according as be had need." Ananias, and Sapphira his wife, also sold their possessions, but fearing, perhaps, that this scheme of things might not operate altogether successfully, they therefore concealed a portion of their means, and made a false report, but were fearfully punished for their duplicity and hypocrisy, showing that this principle of consecration was acknowledged of the Lord, and that he regarded disobedience with the utmost displeasure.

      When the Church was established among the Nephites, as recorded in the Book of Mormon, this doctrine was preached by them, and practiced nearly two hundred years, resulting in peace, union, great prosperity, and miraculous blessings, greater than were ever experienced by any people of whom we have record. The most remarkable miracles were constantly wrought among them; their sick were healed, and in some instances their dead restored to life. These extraordinary manifestations of the approbation of God continued so long as they remained one in their temporal interest, or were controled in their financial matters according to the Order of Enoch. At the close of two hundred years they began to separate their interests, and each one to control his own financial affairs to suit his individual and selfish purposes. Upon this change, strife and divisions arose in every quarter, wars ensued, and misery and total destruction followed. The first starting point of these people in wickedness and apostacy, appeared to be a disregard of this heavenly system of holding property in common, and refusing to be controled in temporal matters.

      In the first instance referred to, in the case of the young man, he cut himself off from the blessings of eternal life by refusing submission to the Savior's counsels in reference to his possessions. in the case of Ananias and his wife Sapphira, sudden destruction visited them, in consequence of dishonesty and hypocrisy in those matters. Also in the case of the Nephites, as we have seen, the whole were destroyed by the judgment of God, after having ignored these principles. But, we have an example in our own time, of the judgments of God falling suddenly upon a people, because of refusing to comply with this order of consecration.

      In the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, see. 18, page 146, the Lord says: "And now I give unto you further directions concerning this land. It is wisdom in me that my servant Martin Harris should be an example unto the Church, in laying his moneys before the Bishop of the Church; and also this is a law unto every man that cometh into this land to receive an inheritance; and he shall do with his moneys according as the law directs." Again, the Lord says, sec. 13, page 125: "If thou lovest me, thou shalt serve me, and keep all my commandments. And behold thou will remember the poor, and consecrate of thy properties for their support, that which thou hast to impart unto them, with a covenant, and a deed which cannot be broken," &c. Again, on page 235, the Lord says: "Verily I say unto you, the time is come, and is now at hand; and behold, and lo, it must needs be that there be an organization of my people in regulating and establishing the affairs of the storehouse for the poor of my people, both in this place, and in the land of Zion, or, in other words, the city of Enoch, for a permanent and everlasting establishment and order unto my Church, to advance the cause which ye have espoused, to the salvation of man, and to the glory of your Father who is in heaven, that you may be equal in the bands of heavenly things; yea, and earthly things also, for the obtaining of heavenly things, for if ye are not equal in earthly things ye cannot he equal in obtaining heavenly things; for if you will that I give unto you a place in the celestial world, you must prepare yourselves by doing the things which I have commanded you, and required of you?' Again, on page 288, the Lord says: "Behold, all these properties are mine, or else your faith is vain, and ye are found hypocrites, and the covenants which ye have made unto me are broken; and if the properties are mine, then ye are stewards, otherwise ye are no stewards."

      But we learn that the Saints in that early period of our history, refused to be governed in those matters. The Lord says, page 284: "Therefore, inasmuch as some of my servants have not kept the commandment, but have broken the covenant by covetousness, and with feigned words, I have cursed them with a very sore and grievous curse; for I the Lord have decreed in my heart that, inasmuch as man belonging to the order shall be found a transgressor, or in other words, shall break the covenant with which ye are bound, he shall be cursed in his life, and shall be trodden down by whom I will, for I the Lord am not to be mocked in these things." Also on page 295, the Lord says—"Behold, I say unto you, were it not for the transgressions of my people, speaking concerning the Church and not individuals, they might have been redeemed even now, but, behold, they have not learned to be obedient to the things which I require at their hands, but are full of all manners of evil, and do not impart of their substance as becometh Saints to the poor and afflicted among them, and are not united according to the union required by the law of the celestial kingdom; and Zion cannot be built up unless it is by the principles of the law of the celestial kingdom, otherwise, I cannot receive her unto myself, and my people mast be chastened until they learn obedience, if it must needs be by the things which they suffer. Therefore, in consequence of the transgression of my people, it is expedient in me that my Elders should wait for a little season, for the redemption of Zion, that they themselves may be prepared, and that my people may be taught more perfectly, and have experience, and know more perfectly concerning their duty, and the things which I require at their hands."

      Hence we learn that the Saints in Jackson County and other localities, refused to comply with the order of consecration, consequently they were allowed to be driven from their inheritances; and should not return until they were better prepared to keep the law of God, by being more perfectly taught in reference to their duties, and learn through experience the necessity of obedience. And I think we are not justified in anticipating the privilege of returning to build up the center stake of Zion, until we shall have shown obedience to the law of consecration. One thing, however, is certain, we shall not be permitted to enter the land from whence we were expelled, till our hearts are prepared to honor this law, and we become sanctified through the practice of the truth.

      The Lord required that those lands in Missouri should be obtained, not by force, but by purchase, through the consecrations of the properties of the Saints; and the manner was pointed out how these consecrations should be made, but it was disregarded. I mention these points, partly in view of their being intimately connected with the principles of Co-operation, which is now strongly recommended by our President to the attention of the Latter-day Saints in the various settlements of the Territory.

      I view co-operation, when properly understood and practiced, as being a stepping-stone to the Order of Enoch, and will enable the Saints who receive it in a proper spirit, to gradually prepare themselves to enter, in due time, more fully into the practice of principles necessary to accomplish the building up of the kingdom of our God. We must have experience in order to properly understand how to sustain temporal institutions, and manage financial concerns, and wisely use concentrated means. Co-operation is of little benefit unless the people understand, appreciate, and feel disposed to sustain it; and in order for this we must be taught and instructed in regard to its object and advantages. "Wait a little season, for the redemption of Zion, that my people may be taught more perfectly, and have experience, and know more perfectly concerning their duty and the things which I require at their hands. For behold, I do not require at their hands to fight the battles of Zion; for, as I said in a former commandment, even so will I fulfill, I will fight your battles." But this be does require of us, that we attain to a devotion of heart and sanctification of feeling, that we be willing that all our substance be controlled by counsel for the advancement of the kingdom of God. It is more than forty years since the Order of Enoch was introduced, and rejected. One would naturally think, that it is now about time to begin to honor it, and that we had gained sufficient knowledge and experience in the Lord's dealings with us, to prepare us with faith and devotion to cheerfully comply with all its principles and requirements. But how many of us, upon such a requisition, would follow the example of the young man referred to—turn away sorrowfully?

      I notice the great interest which is now being taken by the Saints in the various settlements in establishing co-operative institutions. These embrace the great principles, in connection with the Order of Enoch, which are intended to join together our hearts, feelings and interests, and effectually build up the kingdom of God and redeem the earth.

      The people of Brigham City have been operating a number of years upon these principles, and are beginning to derive therefrom various financial advantages, as well as many spiritual blessings. The hearts and feelings of the people are being considerably united through practicing this system of co-operating in our temporal interest.

      Honesty, ability and devotedness are required in order that co-operation may be successfully carried out, and the Spirit and wisdom of the Lord are necessary, as much so as proclaiming the Gospel or administering in its holy ordinances. Some Elders are very devoted and whole-hearted in going on missions and in most everything that pertains to the advancement of the spiritual interests of the kingdom of God, and almost blameless, and seemingly without fault, but, strange to say, in temporal affairs they are highly remiss, if not dishonest. When Saints feel like this they cannot act to advantage or with profit in co-operation; they cannot inspire confidence nor exercise a proper influence. In temporal administration, the same as in spiritual, one should exhibit in his labors a self-sacrificing principle when necessary, that is, he should show that he labors for the interests of the people rather than for building up himself. With this spirit one will be very sure to maintain an influence, and instill into others the same character of feelings.

      When one goes into co-operation with proper spirit and proper views, to superintend or operate in any of its departments, he has a lawful claim to the Spirit of inspiration, to aid him in his calling. We read that Jacob, through his honesty of purpose, fair-dealing, and freedom from selfishness, was assisted by an holy Angel with information how to increase and multiply his flocks. It is far better to build up the kingdom of God, in its temporal interests, by the Spirit of God and the wisdom of God, than by the spirit of man and the wisdom of man; on the latter principle we shall always fail, but on the former the results will always be successful.

      Our Co-operative Institution, at present, in Brigham City, comprises eight distinct departments, and is generally very well sustained by the people. It embraces a mercantile department, a tannery, a butcher shop, a boot and shoe shop, a woolen factory, a farm, a sheep herd, a cattle herd, and a dairy. These branches aid in sustaining one another. The profits of the mercantile department help to furnish the necessary cash to carry on other industries—to purchase hides, dye stuffs, cotton warps, &c., &c. The tannery supplies our boot and shoe shop with what leather is required, and our sheep herd, in part, with wool for our factory. A considerable share of our clothing is now furnished at our factory, and our boots and shoes at the shoe shop, and a sufficient supply of meat at the butcher shop, all of which can be obtained on dividends, labor, or exchange of products. This is a great blessing to the people, especially at the present time of scarcity of money. Many of our manufactured articles are nearly as fine as, and much more substantial than, the same class of imported articles.

      I engaged a suit of clothes, last fall, of a tailor in Brigham City, the material of which was made at our woolen factory. I wore this as a traveling suit through Europe and Palestine, and felt rather proud in exhibiting it as a specimen of "Mormon" industry, amid the vales of the Great West. While in France, we had an interview with President. Thiers and his cabinet; this was at Versailles, and it so happened I then was dressed in this home-made suit, my aristocratic one being locked in my trunk at Paris, twelve miles distant. It was agreed by our party that I looked sufficiently respectable in my home product boots and suit, to appear with them in the presence of the President of the French Republic. I respected their judgment and honored their decision. I was received by the President as cordially, and I believe he shook hands with me as warmly and fervently, as though I had been arrayed in superb broadcloth. In several other instances, in our interviews with consuls and American ministers, and men of rank and station, my reserved suit was not come-at-able, so I had an opportunity of showing a specimen of what we are doing here in the mountains, which was an occasion of both surprise and commendation. On my return to London, this suit was nearly as good as when I left Brigham City. I made a present of it to President Wells' son, one of our missionaries now preaching in London.

      Lest some of my friends in this audience, may imagine that I have apostatized from these humble practices of sustaining home institutions, permit me to say, that this suit I now wear, is not imported broadcloth, as you probably imagine, but was made and manufactured in Brigham City, and the boots I have on are those worn through my Palestine tour, and nearly as good as when first put on in Brigham City. We manufacture, per annum, over thirty thousand dollars worth of various kinds of cloth, which is principally used by the people of Brigham City, and in the adjacent towns and settlements. This year we shall manufacture probably over fifteen thousand dollars' worth of boots and shoes, which will be used in the same localities, and in our dairy we will make over thirty thousand pounds of cheese, equal in quality to any that can be imported.

      Our Co-operative cattle herd, together with our sheep herd, and hogs kept at the dairy, supply our butcher shop, and partially our tannery with hides, and our woolen factory with the raw material. All these, together with other branches of industry, working in union, afford us important advantages in the present financial crisis, and supply, in a great measure, our real wants in a way that is easily come-at-able by the very poorest in the community.

      The Bishops and presiding Elders, no doubt, many of them, will lead out in co-operation, in view of which, I will simply say, much prudence, carefulness, wisdom, patience and perseverance, aided by the Spirit of God, will be necessary in operating upon these principles. They need to enter upon this business with their whole heart and soul, as upon a sacred mission. The people must be taught and led in all kindness, and not forced into measures which they do not comprehend and have no heart or willingness to enter. Move gradually, take one thing at a time, make each, at least partially, successful, before introducing another, in order that the advantages and object of what we are doing may be felt and understood. The difficulty in obtaining means to establish cooperation is not so great, perhaps, as that of finding men of ability, wisdom and devotedness to manage in a proper manner such means when gathered, and get the people up to that standard of proper feeling and knowledge, to be comparatively satisfied when their means are justly and wisely managed.

      May the Lord bless us with his Holy Spirit, that we may be wise and devoted in all our thoughts and administration, spiritual and temporal. Amen.

 

            The Choir sang:

I will sing of the mercies of the Lord.

            Adjourned till ten o'clock a.m. to-morrow.

            Prayer by ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON.

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[8 Oct, 10 am]

[DNW 22:585, 10/15/73, p 9]

THIRD DAY.

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WEDNESDAY, Oct. 8th, 10 a. m.

A holy angel from on high,
The joyful message has made known.

            Was sung by the Choir.

            Opening prayer by ELDER JOHN TAYLOR.

            Singing by the Choir of:

Great is the Lord, 'tis good to praise
 His high and holy name.

ELDER WILFORD WOODRUFF

spoke of the eternal nature of the gospel. There never had been but one plan of salvation and never would be. The prophecies of ancient men of God all pointed to these latter times as the period when the Lord's purposes would be accomplished. The human instruments chosen by the Almighty to fulfill his behests were generally not taken from those who were considered powerful or influential among men, but rather to the contrary. This had been the case in this dispensation. The surroundings of Joseph Smith were of a humble character, but he was taught for years by visions and by angels sent forth from God, until he was prepared to commence the great work of the Lord in the last days. He had to be taught of God, because he had no other source of information. He laid the foundation of a mighty work. He brought forth ancient records and translated them by the gift and power of God into the English language. Joseph Smith never attempted to officiate in any ordinance of the gospel until he received the priesthood, which was authority from God invested in man. The Lord sent forth John the Baptist, who ordained the prophet Joseph to the Aaronic priesthood, which gave him authority to baptise, &c. and afterwards Peter, James and John, who conferred upon him the Melchisedec priesthood, giving him power to minister in the spiritual things of the gospel. Joseph Smith, under the direction of God, laid the foundation of the greatest work ever inaugurated, and which was perfect in all its parts. Joseph Smith lived sufficiently long to confer upon Brigham Young and his brethren all the keys, powers and blessings necessary to carry on the great work of the last times and then sealed his testimony with his blood.

            The Latter-day Saints had been led here by the hand of revelation, through the instrumentality of Brigham young, and they had been blessed and prospered, and had, in these valleys, fulfilled many prophecies. The Saints were called upon to build Temples and do other temporal work. This kind of labor was as much required of us as it was required of Jesus to die.

            Joseph and Hyrum Smith and the Elders of Israel who had passed away were still engaged in the great work of redemption. They were p reaching the everlasting gospel to the spirits of those who lived on the earth. The Latter-day Saints had to work in unison with them in attending to ordinances for the benefit of the dead. The Lord had raised up a people to fulfil his purposes and perform his great work. President Brigham :Young was as much under the inspiration of the Almighty as any man that ever breathed the breath of life, and he would never hold his peace or cease to urge the people until Zion was built up and perfected.

            The speaker had been reading the third chapter of Isaiah and had hoped that it did not apply to the daughters of Zion in this dispensation. It appeared, however, that it did. President Young and his brethren had called upon them to turn from the foolish fashions of the world, but they still persisted in following after them. If this could not be corrected in any other way, it would probably be better if they went ahead in these foolish ways, that woe might come upon them and the matter be the sooner corrected.

[Wilford Woodruff]

[DNW 22:678, 11/26/73, p 4; JD 16:263]

DISCOURSE

BY Elder WILFORD WOODRUFF, DELIVERED

At the Semi-Annual Conference, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Oct. 8, 1873.

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REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

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      I am called upon to occupy a little time this morning, and I realize that I and my brethren are all dependent upon the Spirit of God to guide, dictate and direct us in all our public teachings, as well as in all other acts we are called upon to perform in the kingdom of God. The Apostle says I there is no prophecy of the Scripture which is of any private interpretation, but holy men of old spoke as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost. The Lord has told us in some of the revelations which he has given in our day, that all of his messengers or servants, his Elders who are sent forth to teach, should speak as they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and when they follow this counsel, what they say, the Lord says, is Scripture, it is the mind and will of the Lord, it is the word of the Lord, and it is the power of God unto salvation. "And this is an ensample unto you, even all my servants who go forth to declare the words of life unto the inhabitants of the earth."

      Again, the Lord has said that it matters not whether it be by my own voice out of the heavens, whether it be by the administering of angels, or whether it be by the voice of my servants, it is all the same, and their words shall be fulfilled though the heavens and the earth pass away. This is the position which the Prophets, Apostles and Patriarchs have occupied upon the earth in every age and dispensation. They have had to be governed by the Spirit of God; and when men are sent with a message, and they speak as they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost, their words are the words of the Lord, and they will be fulfilled.

      We have had a good deal of teaching during this Conference from the servants of God, teachings given by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. We occupy a very peculiar position on the earth, a position differing in many respects from any other dispensation of men. Paul says—"Though we or an angel from heaven preach unto you any other Gospel than that which we have preached, let him he accursed." All the teachings of the Patriarchs and Prophets have shown us but one Gospel. There is but one Gospel, there never was but one and there never will be. The Gospel revealed for the salvation of man is the same in every age of the world. Adam, our first great progenitor and father, after the fall, received this Gospel, and he received the holy Priesthood in all its power, and its keys and ordinances. He sealed these blessings upon his sons—Seth, Enos, Jared, Cainan, Mahaleel, Enoch and Methuselah. All these men received this high and holy Priesthood. They all professed to give revelation. They all had inspiration and left their record on the earth; and not one of them but what saw and prophecied about the great Zion of God in the latter-days. And when we say this of them, we say it of every Apostle and Prophet who ever lived upon the earth. Their revelations and prophecies all point to our day and that great kingdom of God which was spoken of by Daniel, that great Zion of God spoken of by Isaiah and Jeremiah, and that great gathering of the house of Israel spoken of by Ezekiel and Malachi and many of the ancient Patriarchs and Prophets.

      When the Lord has attempted to perform a work on the earth there has been one peculiarity with him, and that is, the instruments which he has made use of have occupied a peculiar position in the world. He has generally chosen the weak things of the world to confound the wise, and things that were nought to bring to pass things which were. When he wanted a man to deliver Israel, he called Moses, who was in an ark of bulrushes among the crocodiles and alligators of the river Nile, put there by his mother, a Hebrew woman, because Moses was her first born, and all the first born of the Hebrews had to be slain. The daughter of Pharaoh, through the providence of God, preserved Moses, and by her he was given to his mother to raise. When called to deliver Israel, Moses told the Lord that he was a man slow of speech. He did not feel qualified to perform so great a work, yet the Lord chose him, and he performed the work the Lord assigned him.

      So when the Lord wanted a king for Israel and the lot fell upon the family of Jesse. The Prophet went and called for the sons of Jesse to pick out this king. All the boys were brought before him except David. He was the smallest of the flock, and was out taking care of the sheep. Jesse never thought of him at all. He brought his other sons, who had been trained in all the arts, sciences and learning of the day, and when they came in Samuel could not see the one he wanted. He asked Jesse if he had not any more sons. Yes, he had a boy taking care of the sheep. "Let's see him," said the Prophet; and when he came he was anointed king.

      Jesus himself was born in a stable and cradled in a manger and traveled in poverty all the way through his life. When he chose his disciples he did not take the great, learned, rich and noble of that generation, but he chose fishermen, the most illiterate men and, in one sense of the word, we may say, almost the lowest calling among men in that day. They were the ones the Lord made use of to go forth to preach his Gospel and to build up his kingdom on the earth.

      How is it in our day, in this great and last dispensation? The Lord required an instrument who would take hold and work with him. He required some one to lay the foundation of this great Church and kingdom who would be willing to step forth and be led in the channel that was according to the mind and will of God; a man who could hot be swayed by the traditions and religions of the day. Whom did the Lord call? The Patriarchs and Prophets not only pointed out the Zion of God and the manner in which his Church and kingdom should be established and built up, but they even called the name of the man who should be called to establish this work, and I do not know but the name of his father. His name was to be Joseph and he was to be a lineal descendant of ancient Joseph, who was sold into Egypt, separated from his brethren. The record or stick of Joseph in the hand of Ephraim, which Ezekiel speaks of, which was to be put with the record of the Jews in the last days, was to be an instrument in the hands of God of performing this great work or laying the foundation of this Church, and the gathering of the twelve tribes of the house of Israel. In that record the man's name was pointed out as well as the work be was to do. Joseph Smith knew nothing of all this until after he was administered to by the angel of God; he had no knowledge of this when he brought forth that record to the world, and until he translated it, by the Urim and Thummim, into the English language. He had no knowledge whatever of this; but here was that great band, as strong as iron, that surrounded him by the revelations of God, for the last six thousand years, by every man who spoke of the work of God in the last days. These prophecies, revelations, and decrees of the Almighty, as it were, surrounded that man, and he had to be taught, not by man nor by the will of man, but he required the angels of God to come forth and teach him; it required the revelations of God to teach him, and he was taught for years by visions and revelations, and by holy angels sent from God out of heaven to teach and instruct him and prepare him to lay the foundation of this Church.

      As I before remarked, these prophecies surrounded him, forming, in one sense of the word, a band and a power he could not get out of. Why? Because no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, but holy men of old spoke as they were moved upon by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, and when any of those Prophets and Patriarchs for the last six thousand years spoke, when wrapped in prophetic vision, of the Zion of God being established in the last dispensation, those decrees had to be fulfilled to the very letter.

      When Joseph Smith received these revelations he was an illiterate boy, like David among the sheep. The Lord, in this day, did not choose one from among the great, mighty, rich or noble, but he choose one prepared from before the foundation of the world, to come forth in the last days, through the loins of ancient Joseph who, in the hands of God, was the savior of the house of Israel and of the Egyptians in his day. This man was raised up in his proper time, and came forth into the world, and the Lord began to feel after him and to prepare him; but he, himself, did not know even when he laid the foundation of this work. The Lord told him—"you will lay the foundation of a great work, but you know it not." Joseph himself could not comprehend, unless he was wrapped in the visions of eternity; the importance of the work the foundation of which he had laid. When his mind was opened he could understand, in many respects, the designs of God; and these revelations were around him and they guided his footsteps. They could not fail of fulfillment, they had to be accomplished in the earth. The servant of God came forth and he received the Book of Mormon—the record or stick of Joseph in the hands of Ephraim. He brought forth that record according to the dictation of Moroni, Nephi and Lehi, the angels of God who administered to him, and he translated it into the English language. before he laid the foundation of this Church. Joseph Smith did not call upon any man to ordain or to baptize him, but he waited until the Lord sent forth his servants to administer unto him. He was commanded of the Lord to go forth and be baptized, but not until he had received the Priesthood. Where did he get it, and in fact what is the Priesthood? It is the authority of God in heaven to the sons of men to administer in any of the ordinances of his house. There never was a man and never will be a man, in this or any other age of the world, who has power and authority to administer in one of the ordinances of the house of God, unless he is called of God as was Aaron, unless he has the holy Priesthood and is administered to by those holding that authority.

      There was no man on the face of the earth, nor had not been for the last seventeen centuries, who had power and authority from God to go forth and administer in one of the ordinances. of the house of God. What did he do then? Why, the Lord sent unto him John the Baptist, who, when upon the earth, held the Aaronic Priesthood, who was beheaded for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. He laid his hands upon the head of Joseph Smith and ordained him to the Aaronic Priesthood, and he never attempted to act in any authority of the Gospel until he received this Priesthood. Joseph was then qualified to baptize for the remission of sins, but he had not the authority to lay on hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, and he never attempted to administer in this ordinance until Peter, James and John, two of whom—Peter and James—were also martyred for the testimony of Jesus and the word of God. These three men were the last who held the keys of the Apostleship in its fullness and power previous to this dispensation. They laid their hands upon the head of Joseph Smith, and sealed upon him every power, principle, ordinance and key belonging to the Apostleship, and until he received this ordination he was not qualified and had no right to administer in the ordinances of the house of God, but he did this after he received the Priesthood, and on the 6th day of April, 1830, he organized this Church with six members, Which was the foundation of what we see to-day in this Tabernacle, and for six hundred miles through this American desert. This has all come from that small seed—the foundation of the great kingdom of our God upon the earth.

      What did Joseph Smith do after having received this Priesthood and its ordinances? I will tell you what he did. He did that which seventeen centuries and fifty generations, that have passed and gone, of all the clergy and religions of Christendom, and the whole world combined were not able to do—he, although an illiterate youth, presented to the world the Gospel of Jesus Christ in its fullness, plainness and simplicity, as taught by its Author and his Apostles; he presented the Church of Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God perfect in their organization, as Paul represents them—with head and feet, arms and hands, every member of the body perfect before heaven and earth. How could he, an illiterate boy, do that which the whole of the learning of the Christian world for seventeen centuries failed to do? Because he was moved upon by the power of God, he was instructed by those men who, when in the flesh, had preached the same Gospel themselves, and in doing this he fulfilled that which Father Adam, Enoch, Moses, Elias, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Jesus and his Apostles all prophecied about. Well might Paul say—"I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation unto every one that believes." So may the Latter-day Saints say—"We are not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ." I am not ashamed to say that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God; I am not ashamed to bear record that he was called of God, and laid the foundation of this Church and kingdom on the earth, for this is true, and any man or woman who is inspired by the Holy Ghost can see and understand these things.

      My brethren and sisters and friends, here is laid the foundation of the fulfillment of that mighty flood of prophecy delivered since the days of Father Adam down to the last Prophet who breathed the breath of life. There has been more prophecy fulfilled in the last forty-three years upon the face of the earth, than in two thousand years before. These mighty prophecies, as I said before, like a band of iron, governed and controled Joseph Smith in his labors while he lived on the earth. He lived until he received every key, ordinance and law ever given to any may on the earth, from Father Adam down, touching this dispensation. He received powers and keys from under the hands of Moses for gathering the house of Israel in the last days; he received under the hands of Elias the keys of sealing the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers; he received under the hands of Peter, James and John, the Apostleship, and everything belonging thereto; he received under the hands of Moroni all the keys and powers required of the stick of Joseph in the hands of Ephraim; he received under the hand of John the Baptist the Aaronic Priesthood, with all its keys and powers, and every other key and power belonging to this dispensation, and I am not ashamed to say that he was a Prophet of God, and he laid the foundation of the greatest work and dispensation that has ever been established on the earth.

      Joseph Smith lived until he gave his testament to the world, and when he had sealed all these keys, powers and blessings upon the head of Brigham Young and his brethren; when he had planted these keys on the earth so that they should be removed no more forever; when he had done this, and brought forth that record, that book of revelation, the proclamation of which involved the destiny of this whole generation—Jew, Gentile, Zion and Babylon, all the nations of the earth, he sealed that testimony with his blood in Carthage jail, where his life and that of his brother Hyrum were taken by the hands of wicked and ungodly men. Why was his life taken? Why were not John Taylor and Willard Richards, the only two of the Twelve at that time in Nauvoo and with him, also sacrificed? Why did Willard Richards, the largest man in the prison, stand in the midst of that shower of balls and escape without a hole in his robe or garment, or clothing? Because these things were all governed and controled by the revelations of God and the word of the Lord. The Lord took whom he would take, and he preserved whom he would preserve, and he has done this all the way through. Why has Brigham Young been preserved, when he has stood as much chance to lay down his life in defence of this cause, and run as many dangers in one position and another as anybody else? Because the Lord has had a hand and a meaning in this, and he has preserved him for a certain purpose, and other men have been preserved by the same power. The whole of it has been the work of God on the earth. The revelations of God have surrounded Brigham Young. The revelations of God in ancient days affect him and the Apostles, and the Elders of Israel, as much as they have affected any people in any generation.

      I will speak of another branch of this subject. We have the kingdom organized, the prophecies have been fulfilled, the Church has been planted in the earth, and now there are other portions of these revelations which must be fulfilled. We were settled in Jackson County, Clay County, Caldwell County, in Kirtland and finally in Nauvoo. We were driven from one place to another until we settled Nauvoo, and at last we were driven from Nauvoo into the wilderness and to this land, led here by President Brigham Young, under the inspiration of Almighty God. Some felt their faith tried that we had to leave our lovely Nauvoo and go into the wilderness. Bless your souls, there would have been a flood of revelation unfulfilled if these things had not been so. Isaiah speaks of the foundation of this great Zion, and writes the whole of her history and travels up to the present day, and from this time on until the winding-up scene. If we had not been driven from Nauvoo we would never have come up the Platte river, where, Isaiah says, he saw the Saints going by the river of water wherein went no galley with oars; a great company of women with child and her that travailed with child would never have come here to the mountains of Israel if we had not been driven from that land, and a whole flood of prophecy would have remained unfulfilled, with regard to our making this desert blossom as the rose, the waters coming forth out of the barren desert, our building the house of God on the tops of the mountains, lifting up a standard for these nations to flee to; all this and much more would have remained unfulfilled had we not been guided and led by the strong arm of Jehovah, whose words must be fulfilled though the heavens and the earth pass away.

      Having been brought to Zion, another subject presents itself to our consideration—namely, the position which President Young occupies in regard to us to-day. He calls upon us to build Temples, cities, towns and villages, and to do a great deal of temporal work. Strangers and the Christian world marvel at the "Mormons" talking about temporal things. Bless your souls, two-thirds of all the revelations given in this world rest upon the accomplishment of this temporal work. We have it to do, we can't build up Zion sitting on a hemlock slab singing ourselves away to everlasting bliss; we have to cultivate the earth, to take the rocks and elements out of the mountains and rear Temples to the Most High God; and this temporal work is demanded at our hands by the God of heaven, as much as he required Christ to die to redeem the world, or as much as the Savior required Peter, James and John to go and preach the Gospel to the nations of the earth. This is the great dispensation in which the Zion of God must be built up, and we as Latter-day Saints have it to build. People think it strange because so much is said with regard to this. I will tell you Latter-day Saints, and the Christian world too, our work will fall short, we will come short of our duties, and we never shall perform the work that God Almighty has decreed we shall perform unless we enter into these temporal things. We are obliged to build cities, towns and villages, and we are obliged to gather the people from every nation under heaven to the Zion of God, that they may be taught in the ways of the Lord. We have only just begun to prepare for the celestial law when we are baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

      There has been a good deal said here with regard to baptism for the dead. When Joseph Smith had laid the foundation of this work he was taken away. There are good reasons why it was so. Jesus sealed his testimony with his blood. Joseph Smith did the same, and from the day he died his testimony has been in force upon the whole world. He has gone into the spirit world and organized this dispensation on that side of the vail; he is gathering together the Elders of Israel and the Saints of God in the spirit world, for they have a work to do there as well as here. Joseph and Hyrum Smith, Father Smith, David Patten and the other Elders who have been called to the other side of the vail have fifty times as many people to preach to as we have on the earth. There they have all the spirits who have lived on the earth in seventeen centuries—fifty generations, fifty thousand millions of persons who lived and died here without having seen a Prophet or Apostle, and without having the word of the Lord sent unto them. They are shut up in prison, awaiting the message of the Elders of Israel. We have only about a thousand millions of people on the earth, but in the spirit world they have fifty thousand millions; and there is not a single revelation Which gives us any reason to believe that any man who enters the spirit world preached the Gospel there to those who lived after him; but they all preach to men who were in the flesh before they were. Jesus himself preached to the antediluvian world, who had been in prison for thousands of years. So with Joseph Smith and the Elders—they will have to preach to the inhabitants of the earth who have died during the last seventeen centuries; and when they hear the testimony of the Elders and accept it there should be somebody on the earth, as we have been told, to attend to the ordinances of the house of God for them, that they may be judged according to men in the flesh and come forth in the morning of the first resurrection and have a part therein with us.

      These are eternal principles of the Gospel of Christ. We have been commanded and have been under the necessity of going forth and declaring it to the sons of men. I will ask by what power have these Apostles and Elders taken their knapsacks on their backs, wading swamps and rivers, and preaching without purse and scrip, as they have done for years and years past and gone. What power has sustained them? As I have said before, these revelations of God, these great commandments and prophecies that have been given for the last six thousand years. They have been inspired by the Spirit and power of God, they have been commanded to go forth and warn this generation by preaching the Gospel to them. Here is President Brigham Young has traveled, as poor as any man could be, tens of thousand miles, without purse and scrip, to preach the Gospel to the sons of men. So have his brethren. They have been sustained by the hand of the Almighty, and if they had not done it they would have been under condemnation. Why? The angel of God, who restored the everlasting Gospel to earth, said it must be preached to every nation, kindred, tongue and people under the whole heaven, for the hour of God's judgement had come. The hour of God's judgment is at the door of this nation and the Christian world. Brother Erastus Snow here, a week last Sunday, told us about preaching to the dead, and the judgments that awaited the nations. Other Elders have referred to the same subject. But seventeen hundred years have passed without Prophets, Apostles and Patriarchs. The judgments of God did not rest upon the nations of the earth during that time as they will after the proclamation Of this Gospel. This message that Joseph Smith brought to the world involves the destinies of this whole generation, not only of this nation, but the whole Christian and Jewish world, Zion and Babylon, the whole of it. They now stand, as it were, warned of the Lord. The Gospel has had to go to them. We have beth obliged to go abroad to preach the Gospel to the nations; we should have been condemned, and smitten by the arm of Jehovah; if we had failed to fulfill the revelations given unto us. It is by that power that President Young, Joseph Smith, the Twelve Apostles, and the thousands of Elders of Israel have been moved upon to go forth and do the work of God.

      Now then, my friends, are we going to stop here? Are the rest of the prophecies not to be fulfilled? Is the Lord going to cut his work in two, or let the rest go unfulfilled? I tell you nay, the word of the Lord is going to be fulfilled, and the Lord is not going to give this kingdom to another people. The Lord has raised up a set of men and women, and he will inspire and move upon them to carry out this great work, and we have got it to do. Zion is going to rise and shine, and to put on her beautiful garments; she will be clothed with the glory of God, and for brass she will have sold; for iron silver and for stone iron. All these revelations touching the last, days have got to be fulfilled. President Young is moved upon to call upon Zion to do her duty. Why is he thus moved upon? Because the power of revelation surrounds him and crowds upon him to magnify his calling and do his duty among the sons of men. The power of God rests upon him, and he will never hold his peace until Zion is built up and perfected, the house of Israel gathered and the work of God performed under his administration as long as he dwells in the flesh. He is as much under the power of God and the revelations of Jesus Christ as any man that ever breathed the breath of life.

      We have got to build this Temple. The Lord requires it at our hands. We have to pay our Tithing the Lord requires it at our hands. The Lord has never said by any revelation that Brigham Young should build a Temple alone, that his counsellors, or that the Apostles or Bishops should do it alone. This responsibility rests upon every man and woman who has entered into covenant with the Lord in these latter days; and if we do not discharge it we shall suffer, the Lord will chastise he. He is not going to leave us, and he is not going to take this kingdom away from the Latter-day Saints and give it to anybody else, for they are the Saints, and although mixed like corn in a sieve among the Gentile nations they have been prepared from the foundation of the world to come forth as the sons of Jacob in these latter days, to build up the Zion of God on the earth. We have got to come to it. We must give our earnest support to co-operation, for it is a step in advance towards establishing the Order of Enoch and the building up of the Zion of God. The servant of God is moved upon to call upon us to perform this work, and we have it to do.

      There are some prophecies pertaining to these latter days that are unpleasant to contemplate. President Young has been calling upon the daughters of Zion day after day, now, for years, to lay aside these Babylonish fashions. I have been reading the third chapter of Isaiah, and I have been hoping, all the days of my ministry, that the sayings contained in that chapter would never apply to the daughters of Zion in our day; but I believe they will, and inasmuch as they will not listen to President Young and to the Prophets, Apostles and Elders of Israel with regard to throwing off these nonsensical things, I hope they will hasten the lengthening out of their skirts and drag them in the streets; that they will increase their round tires like the moon, increase their hoops, and their headbands, increase their Grecian bends at once and carry it out until they get through with it, so that we can turn to the Lord as a people. Some of the daughters of Zion do not seem willing to forsake the fashions of Babylon. I to such would say hasten it, and let the woe that is threatened on this account come, that we may get through with it, then we can go on and build up the Zion of God on the earth. But in spite of the follies that some among us delight in, we are going to build up Zion. We are going to fill these mountains with the cities and people of God. The weapons formed against Zion will be broken, and the nations of the Gentiles will visit her and their kings will, come to the brightness of her rising. I often think when I see gentlemen and ladies sitting in our Tabernacles, who have come over this great highway that has been cast up, whether they realize that they are fulfilling the prophecies of Isaiah. I think this many times in my own mind. I am satisfied that they do not realize it, but they are fulfilling the revelations of God. The Gentiles are coming to the light of Zion and kings to the brightness of her rising. All these things have been spoken of and will be fulfilled; and by and by, when we are sanctified and made perfect, when we are chastised and humbled before the Lord, when we have got our eyes opened, and our hearts set upon building up the kingdom of God, then will we return and rebuild the waste places of Zion. We have got this to fulfill in our day and generation. Then think not, ye Elders of Israel, ye sons and daughters of Zion, that we are going to live after the order of Babylon always. We are not. We shall be chastised and afflicted, and shall feel the chastening rod of the Almighty, unless we serve the Lord our God, and build up his kingdom, for he has given us all power; yes, all power is given into our hands to perform this work.

      Where is the man or the woman on the face of the earth who cannot see the hand of God in our deliverance until to-day? Every weapon has been broken that has ever been formed against us. Point me out an individual or a people who have ever taken a stand against Joseph Smith or Brigham Young, the Zion of God or the Elders of Israel, and who have sought to overthrow this work, but what the curse of God has rested upon them. Show me one of that class who has not gone down to the dust, and as it has been in days past so it will be in days to come. Woe to that nation, kindred, tongue and people under the whole heavens who war against Zion in the latter-days; every weapon shall be broken that is formed against her, and that nation that will not serve her shall be utterly wasted away saith the Lord of hosts. These things are true, and I would warn Jew and Gentile, Saint and sinner and all the world to be careful what they do as touching them.

      A few words more to the Latter-day Saints. I want to say to the brethren and to the sisters, let us cease finding fault one with another; let us not say that this man or this woman does wrong, this family does wrong, this person or the other sets a bad example; let us realize that we ourselves are held responsible for what we do. It will do me no good if I apostatize because somebody's family follows the fashions of Babylon, or because some man or woman or some set of men and women do wrong. Let us cease this kind of work, and all of us look to ourselves. It will do me no good if I apostatize because I think somebody else does not do right. We should lay aside this, there is too much of it in the Zion of God today, and has been a good while, finding fault with this, that and the other, instead of looking at home. Let us all look at home, and each one try to govern his own family and set his own house in order, and do that which is required of us, realizing that each one is held responsible before the Lord for his or her individual actions only.

      I pray God, my heavenly Father that he will pour out his Spirit upon the daughters of Zion, upon the mothers in Zion, upon the Elders, and upon all her inhabitants, that we may listen to the counsels of the servants of God, that we may be justified in the sight of God, that we may be preserved in the faith, that we may have power to build Temples, build up Zion, redeem our dead, and be redeemed ourselves, for Jesus' sake. Amen.

 

ELDER JOSEPH F. SMITH

could not believe that the congregations that had attended the Conference would treat lightly the many valuable instructions which had been advanced at the meetings. The way in which benefit could be derived from those precious instructions was for all to consider that they applied directly to themselves. Fidelity in carrying out the counsels of the servants of God would alone prepare the people for the receipt of the blessings which the Lord had in store for his people. None had claim upon the power of God or their brethren any further than their own actions merited. some, however, appeared contented with seeing others keeping the commandments of God, without making any effort in that direction themselves. The pleasures of the wicked would cease, but the joys of the righteous would endure and increase eternally. Those who would secure eternal riches and happiness must work to that end, or they would fall short of accomplishing their desires. Al had their agency to walk in whatsoever path they chose, according to the volition of their own will. The p roper order was for the man to follow Christ and for the woman to follow the man, in Christ. But both sexes had equal freedom of action. The women had been counseled and talked to by the servants of God, that they might cease following the vain and disgraceful fashions and practices of the wicked world. Women were responsible as well as men, and it was necessary that they, as well as men, should be obedient. Obedience was the first law of nature and of God, for without it there could not be harmony, order and beauty. Disobedience was the great curse of the human family to-day. Because of it the world was enthralled in sin and was under condemnation, and just so far as the Latter-day Saints were disobedient to the counsels of the servants of God, they also were under condemnation. The safest course was one of intelligence, beauty and voluntary obedience to what was required for the building up of the kingdom of God. There were individuals who held a standing in the church, who in their hearts were opposing that which it was their plain duty to uphold and sustain. They were known and should not act the hypocrite, but should come out and show their true colors. It would manifest more consistency if they would do so and not pretend to be what they were not.

            The speaker concluded by exhorting the people to forsake everything that tended to oppose the progress of the work of God, but rather to seek after anything that would promote its interests. There was nothing desirable outside the kingdom of God, but everything that was desirable was within its pale.

[Joseph F. Smith]

[DNW 22:644, 11/12/73, p 4; JD 16:246]

DISCOURSE

BY Elder Joseph F. Smith, DELIVERED

At the Semi-Annual Conference, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, October 7th [8th], 1873

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REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

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      To say I have been very much interested in the instructions that we have had at this Conference is but faintly to express my feelings. We have had much very excellent teaching, which we will do well to give heed to. I can not believe that the congregations that have attended this Conference will cast lightly aside these teachings. Certain it is that all the preaching that can be done by those who are most competent, and most richly endowed with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, will not benefit the people in the least, unless they will receive it, and will realize that the counsels which are given are designed expressly for themselves. It is not for us to say, "that does not mean me," and" that applies to my neighbor;" or "that has reference to the doings of so and so." We should each feel that the instructions given have direct reference to ourselves individually; that counsel or that Commandment is for me, and it is for me, as a individual, to put it into practice. This is the only course that will benefit, and fit us for the responsibilities that will devolve upon us in the future. It will not do for us to say—"If brother so and so, or sister so and so, will observe and carry out that counsel, I shall be satisfied to remain as I am." We can not obtain blessings from God by taking this course; the only way to secure them is by diligence on our own part. When we are prepared, by our own works and diligence, to receive the blessings that God has in store for the faithful; then, and not till then, shall we receive them. It will not do for us to be satisfied for our brother to prepare himself to receive the blessings God has promised to his children, and to rest content, with seeing him receive the light of truth, the blessings of the Gospel, and manifest a willingness to work righteousness in the earth. That will not reach us, only so far as we adopt his course and follow his example.

      This is how I look at the requirements which God has made upon his people collectively and individually, and I do believe that I have no claim upon God or upon my brethren for blessing, favor, confidence or love, unless, by my works, I prove that I am worthy thereof, and I never expect to receive blessings that I do not merit. Who does? I do not know that anybody does, yet if we were to judge by the actions of some, we must come to the conclusion that they ate satisfied by seeing others live their religion.

      I love the society of the good, honorable and pure, of those who love virtue and work righteousness. To associate and be numbered with such and to have my portion and my lot with them in this life, and to live so that I can secure that association in the life to come, throughout the countless ages of eternity. I take no pleasure in the society of the wicked, for this reason—the pleasures of the wicked will cease and be forgotten, and the wicked will die and will not be regretted, their names will be cast out from the presence of God and from the things of the righteous for ever and ever. I, therefore, want no part with them, but I want to cast my lot with those who are securing to themselves eternal riches and happiness. To obtain these blessings I must be found walking in their footsteps and following their examples, otherwise I shall come short.

      This is how I understand the principles of the Gospel and the work we are engaged in. It is an individual work. You and I must secure the blessings of eternal lives for ourselves, through obedience and the mercy of God. We have the volition of our own wills and we can choose evil or good, the society of the wicked or that of the good; we can enlist under the banner of Christ, or under that of Belial. We have this option, and can do whichever we choose. Therefore we must look well to our ways, and see that we choose the right course, and build upon a foundation that will not wash away. We have got to learn to stand or fall for ourselves, male and female. It is true that we are taught in the principles of the Gospel that man is the head of the woman, and Christ is the head of the man; and according to the order that is established in the kingdom of God, it is the duty of the man to follow Christ, and it is the duty of the woman to follow the man in Christ, not out of him.

      But has not a woman the same volition that the man has? Can she not follow or disobey the man as he can follow or disobey Christ? Certainly she can, she is responsible for her acts, and must answer for them. She is endowed with intelligence and judgment, and will stand upon her own merits as much so as the man. That is why the brethren, during this Conference, have been teaching the sisters that they must refrain from the fashions of Babylon. They must use their own judgment and agency as to whether they will obey this counsel or not. If they will not obey it, they will be responsible as much as the men are responsible for their acts. The man is responsible for the woman only so far as she is influenced by, or is obedient to, his counsels. Christ is responsible for the man so far as the man walks in obedience to the laws and commandments he has given, but no further, and so far will his atoning blood redeem and cleanse from sin; so far as they obey them will the principles of eternal life revealed in the Gospel have effect upon the souls of men, so also with women. So sisters, do not flatter yourselves that you have nothing to answer for so long as you may have a good husband. You must be obedient. Obedience is the first law of heaven. Without it the elements could not be controled. Without it neither the earth nor those who dwell upon it could be controled. The angels in heaven would not be controled without it, and in fact without obedience there could be no union or order, and chaos and confusion would prevail. When we are obedient we may be guided to the accomplishment of all that is required of us by our heavenly Father, for it is on this principle that the designs and purposes of God are accomplished. The elements are obedient to his word. He said "Let there be light and there was light." He commanded the land and the waters to be divided, and it was so. When Christ commanded the storm to be still, and the sea to be calm the elements were obedient to him. The earth, and all the worlds which God has made are obedient to the laws of their creation, for this reason there are peace, harmony, union, increase, power, glory and dominion, which could not exist without obedience. For the lack of obedience the whole world to-day lies in sin, for except, the little existing among this people, obedience can not be found on the face of the earth. Go to the religions of the day, do you find obedience manifested by the people? No, but you find man everywhere self-willed and untractable, therefore confusion and anarchy reign. It is said in the Scriptures that all things are possible with God; but he only works in accordance with the principles by which he himself is governed; and hence he can not Convince nations of the truth against their will. As the poet says—

Know this, that every soul is free,
To choose his life and what he'll be;
For this eternal truth is given,
That God will force no man to heaven.

He'll call, persuade, direct aright,—
Bless him with wisdom, love and light,—
In nameless ways be good and kind,
But never force the human mind.

      That is the way that God deals with man, therefore I say, he cannot work with this generation. They have set him aside and made themselves supreme. They have fulfilled the words of the prophet Paul when he said that "In the last days perilous times should come, for men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affections, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; having a form of Godliness, but denying the power thereof," &c.

      No one could better describe the condition of this generation, and yet light has come into the world, but it is rejected, and for this reason the world lies in sin, and under condemnation. The people of God lie under condemnation too, so far as they are disobedient to the counsels of God's servants. We talk of obedience, but do we require any man or woman to ignorantly obey the counsels that are given? Do the first Presidency require it? No, never. What do they desire? That we may have our minds opened and our understandings enlarged, that we may comprehend all true principles for ourselves; then we will be easily governed thereby, we shall yield obedience with our eyes open, and it will he a pleasure for us to do so.

      The Lord does not accept obedience from men except that which they render cheerfully and gladly in their hearts, and that is all that is desired by his servants. That is the obedience we ought to render, and if we do not we are under condemnation.

      What matters what the world say in regard to us? Nothing. What do I care? Have I spent thirty years of life, with the opportunities that have been afforded me, and am yet ignorant of the way of eternal life. If I have, then I am to be pitied. "Why then," says the blasphemer, "do you yield obedience to the servants of God?" Because it is meat and drink to me to do so. Because it is for my safety and for my best good. I ask no odds of the world. I have learned that it is the very best thing that I can do, and I should be a fool indeed not to do that which is for my best good I intend to do it, and I do not care what the world say about me.

      I am sorry to say that there are some of those who profess to be Latter-day Saints, who meet with the Saints on the Sabbath and partake of the Sacrament, witnessing that they are willing to take upon them the name of Christ, and to follow him through evil as well as good report, and yet in their hearts they oppose the plans and projects of those whom they pretend to upheld and sustain. I know and could call the names of some of these men. Shame on them! I say, in the name of manhood, come out and show your colors! Say you will not be obedient, and cease to be hypocrites, cease lying in the presence of God, and trying to deceive yourselves and your brethren. Tell us what you are, fake your stand where you belong, and do not deceive the unwary. You can not deceive those who have the Spirit of God, for they can discern your hearts.

      I love the cause of the Gospel. I love this people, because, of all others on the face of the earth they have enlisted under the banner of King Emanuel. They have covenanted with God to keep his commandments, and they are the most willing of any on the face of the earth to hearken to God's inspired servants. I love them for this reason, and I want to be identified with them, not only in time but throughout eternity. Without them I would have no home, no friends, I want none without them.

      Let us keep the commandments and counsels that have been given to us, let us not be hearers of the word only, but let us be doers of it as well as hearers. Let us put away the foolish fashions of the world, live up to the truth, and seek to find out God, whom to know is life eternal. The road to this knowledge is obedience to his laws and to the whisperings of the still small voice in our own hearts. That will lead us into truth if we will hearken, and do not blunt the monitor that is within us. Let us do our duty, and be for God and his kingdom. Let our motto be—"The kingdom of God or nothing." Because in the kingdom there is everything, and outside of it nothing at all. We heard here, the other day, from the President, that the Gospel embraces every thing that is good and true or desirable to the pure in heart. I have said that outside the kingdom of God there is nothing, but there is something. What is it? Disappointment, sorrow, anguish and death, and everything that will make us miserable; while everything that is good, desirable and worth possessing eternally is to be found only in the Gospel of Christ.

      Says one, "Do not people who are not Latter-day Saints have a great many blessings and enjoy a great many good things? Certainly they do, they enjoy gold, silver and worldly honors—they have a plentitude of greenbacks, houses, lands, carriages, horses, luxury and ease; Dives had all these, in this world, while Lazarus crawled at his feet and begged for the crumbs that fell from his table; but afterward Dives lifted up his eyes in hell and saw Lazarus in Abraham's bosom enjoying the good things that he had formerly possessed in the world, and he begged Abraham to send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water to alleviate his parching tongue. But even this poor boon was denied him, he being informed that there was an impassable gulf between them; and said Abraham to Dives—(in effect,) "When you were in the flesh you had Moses and the Prophets, you had the Gospel preached to you, but you rejected and refused to obey it. You had your good portion and your enjoyments in the world, now you are demed them, they are given to Lazarus." How long do the honors, wealth, and pleasures of the worldling last? Until death claims him for its own, then he ceases to enjoy them, because he has failed to secure his title to them, they have not been sealed upon him by the authority of the Priesthood of the Son of God, which has power to bind on earth and it is bound in heaven. If they have wives and children, when death calls them they are no longer theirs, because they have not been sealed unto them by the power of God. They do not obey the truth, they do not receive the ministrations of the Priesthood, and consequently they are deprived, not only of their wealth, but of their wives and children.

      We are not living only for the few miserable years that we spend on this earth, but for that life which is interminable; and we desire to enjoy every blessing throughout these countless ages of eternity, but unless they are secured to us by that sealing power which was given to the Apostle Peter by the Son of God, we cannot possess them. Unless we secure them on that principle, in the life to come we shall have neither father, mother, brother, sister, wife, children, nor friends, nor wealth nor honor, for all earthly "contracts, covenants, bonds, obligations, oaths, vows, connections, and associations," are dissolved in the grave, except those sealed and ratified by the power of God. It is said in the Scriptures that the earth and its fullness are the Lord's, and that they are to be given to the Saints of the Most High God, and they are to possess them for ever and ever.

      You know that those who have not faith in the Gospel call us exclusive and uncharitable; they say—"You cast out all except those of your faith." Then enroll yourselves under the banner of King Emanuel, to whom the earth and its fullness belong, and when it shall be given to the Saints of the Most High God, you will come in for your share, and only in that way can you do so. Obedience to the Gospel of Christ is the only way to secure blessings for the life that now is, or that which is to come. We are not talking in parables, neither are we ignorantly repeating the words of the ancient Apostles. Our declarations are founded upon modern revelation and inspiration, and we know whereof we speak. We know that angels have come to earth and that God has spoken in our day, that he has raised up Apostles and Prophets, restored the holy Priesthood, and shown himself to man and revealed his truth to those who dwell on earth. We know these things, it is this that makes us bold to declare it to the world. We are not ashamed of it, because we know it is the power of God unto salvation.

      May God help us, and all who love the truth, to keep an eye single to his glory and to the building up of his kingdom on the earth, that we may be among those who shall be counted worthy to possess the earth and its fullness for ever and ever, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON

presented the names of the following brethren who had been appointed to go on missions --

TO THE UNITED STATES.

James A. Allred, spring City.

DOMINION OF CANADA.

William S. Seeley, of Mount Pleasant.
Jos. Nephi Seeley, of Mount Pleasant.

EUROPE.

James Bywater, Brigham City, (England.)
John Quayle, Salt Lake City, (Isle of Man)
Peter C. Gerisen, Huntsville, (Scandinavia.
John F. Oblod, Salt Lake City, (Scandinavia.)

SANDWICH ISLANDS.

William Henry Branch, St. George.

            The vote of the Conference on these appointments as unanimous.

            The Choir sang:

Lift up Your Heads,

            Conference adjourned till 2. p.m.

            Prayer by ELDER GEO. Q. CANNON.

_____

[8 Oct, 2 pm*]

[DNW 22:585, 10/15/73, p 9]

OCT. 8th, 2 p. m.

            The Choir sang:

Come all ye Saints who dwell on earth,
Your cheerful voices raise.

            Opening prayer by ELDER CANNUTE PETERSON.

Hark, the song of jubilee,
 Loud as mighty thunders roar,

was sung by the Choir.

ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON

presented the authorities of the Church to the Conference, the votes to sustain them being unanimous --

            BRIGHAM YOUNG, Prophet, Seer and Revelator, and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in all the world.

            GEORGE A. SMITH, Daniel H. Wells, Lorenzo Snow, Brigham Young, Jr., Albert Carrington, John W. Young, Geo. Q. Cannon, Counsellors to President Young.

            Orson Hyde, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Orson Pratt, Sen., John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Chas. C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Jun., Joseph F. Smith, and Albert Carrington, members of said quorum.

            John Smith, Patriarch of the Church.

            John W. Young, President of this stake of Zion, and George B. Wallace and John T. Caine his counsellors.

            William Eddington, Howard O. Spencer, William H. Folsom, Thomas E. Jeremy, Joseph L. Barfoot, John H. Rumell, William Thorn, Minor G. Atwood, Dimick B. Huntington, Theodore McKean, Hosea Stout, Thomas Williams, Robert F. Neslen, Milando Pratt, David McKenzie, Charles R. Savage, John R. Winder, Alexander C. Pyper, John Sharp, Jr., George J. Taylor, George B. Spencer, Henry Dinwoodey, Millen Atwood, Angus M. Cannon, Henry P; Richards, Joseph Horn, Ernest Young, Andrew W. Winberg and George Nelbeker, members of the High Council.

            Elias Smith, President of the high Priests' Quorum, and Edward Snelgrove and Elias Morris, his counselors.

            Joseph Young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Herriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates and John Van Cott, members of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies.

            Benjamin L. Peart, President of the Elders' Quorum; Edward Davis and Abinadi Pratt, his counselors.

            Edward Hunter, Presiding Bishop; Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little, his counselors.

            Samuel G. Ladd, President of the Priests' Quorum; Wm. McLachlan and James latham, his counselors.

            Adam Spiers, President of the Teachers' Quorum; Martin Lenzi and Henry I. Doremus, his counselors.

            James Leaach, President of the Deacons' Quorum; Peter Johnson and Charles S. Cram, his counselors.

            George A. Smith, Trustee in Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints, and John Sharp, John L. Smith, LeGrand Young, Elijah F. Sheets, Joseph F. Smith, Moses Thatcher, John Van Cott, Amos M. Musser, Fames P. Freeze, F. A. Mitchell, Thomas Taylor, as his assistants.

            Albert Carrington, President of the Perpetual Emigrating fund for gathering the poor.

            Truman O. Angell, Architect for the Church.

            Albert Carrington, Historian and General Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff, his assistant.

ELDER C. P. LISTON

said he was one of those called, who were to go to southern Utah as early as 1853. He had travelled a good deal as a missionary among the natives of that section of country. Of late years, since it had been more thickly settled by white people, he had travelled considerable with Elder Erastus Snow, and assisted in organizing new settlements, &c. It was a land of desolation when first settled, but since it was blessed and dedicated by President Young streams had burst forth and it had become a good country, showing that the power of God was with his priesthood, and that the blessing of God could redeem any part of the land of Joseph. With regard to the Arizona mission he would say that, although St. George was the capital of the South;, there were many of the citizens there who were ready to sell out for half what their property cost and were willing to take their chances in Arizona. The latter was a splendid country in which to manufacture Saints, and no other class of people need go to such a country. The speaker had never been absent from his southern home longer than a few days at a time, except when he filled a mission to England, to which he had been called and appointed. He had been acquainted with the Latter-day Saints ever since he was eleven years old, and although but a boy he embraced the truth and had adhered to the work since his first connection with it.

            Elder Liston exhorted the Saints to be alive to their duties in the payment of tithing, assisting to build temples, &c. The temple at St. George was progressing, the walls of the foundation being now about six feet high.

ELDER CHAS. C. RICH

addressed the Conference on the necessity of an increase of unity and faith among the Saints. In their past history the latter had been properly led and directed, and this should inspire them with confidence for the future. The Lord had said it was his business to provide for his Saints and it was therefore his business to dictate to them. A strict adherence to duty on the part of the people begat confidence in them that the Lord would sustain them, and disobedience had the directly contrary effect.

            Elder Rich also enumerated many of the great blessings enjoyed by the Latter-day Saints, and showed that those things should act as an incentive to cause the people to train themselves that they might reach a point of progress when they would be willing to do anything required of them for the furtherance of the cause of truth and righteousness.

PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG

delivered a most eloquent, powerful and profitable address, the principal topics dwelt upon by him being the subjects of schools and the rightful us of the means placed in the hands of the people, to bring about the most desirable and beneficial results.

PRESIDENT GEORGE A. SMITH

addressed the congregation on the building of the Temple in this city. He described what had been done and what was being done in the rearing of this structure. This work required much means and it was necessary that the Saints should be prompt in coming forward with their tithes and offerings. He spoke of the greatness of the blessings that would be enjoyed when the building was completed and dedicated.

            President Smith also exhorted the brethren to leave intoxicating drinks entirely alone and to keep the Word of Wisdom; if they did not they would see the day that they would feel to mourn that they had wasted their health and life. The centre stake of Zion would have to be built up, and this work would be done by a united people. As sure as the Lord God of Israel lived, those who would sustain the enemies of Zion would be cut off. The publications of the Church should be sustained and the discourses of the Presidency, published in the DESERET NEWS, should be read in every household. Sabbath Schools should be upheld. At the meeting of the superintendents and teachers of these institutions 18000 Sunday school scholars were represented as regular attendants. The people had never received any aid outside of the territory for the support of schools, beyond what they had contributed themselves.

            President Smith next spoke of the visit of himself and other brethren to Palestine and other lands and, among many other points, he stated that it might be deemed advisable at some time to select some brethren and send them to the Turkish Empire to learn the languages spoken there and endeavor to disseminate the principles of the gospel. He also desired the blessings of God to rest on all those who had contributed to the please of the Conference by providing such excellent music as had been listened to, and that the peace of the Almighty might rest upon all Israel.

[George A. Smith]

[DNW 22:628, 11/5/73, p 4; JD 16:279]

DISCOURSE

BY President GEORGE A. SMITH, DELIVERED AT THE

Semi-Annual Conference, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, October 8th 1873

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      Before the brethren and sisters disperse, we wish to say a few words to them in relation to building the Temples that are in progress. I think it was in 1852 that we broke the ground for this Temple. We have met with a great many obstacles in the way of its progress. After the foundation was level with the ground, we commenced to use granite, which had to be hauled some eighteen miles, and we hauled it with oxen and mules. Whenever oppression from our enemies or other causes did not prevent, we progressed with this great work. The building is nearly 200 feet long and about 120 feet wide. The foundation of the side walls is sixteen feet wide, while that of the towers at each end has a proportionately broad footing. When completed, the pinnacles will be 112 feet high, while the main tower will be 225 feet high, The building will be a majestic one, and will creditably compare with any large building in the world. We have now gained an advantage that we never had before—that is, railway Communication directly with the granite quarry. It is true that we have to change from narrow to broad guage, causing a little trouble; we bring from two to four car-loads a day of this granite on to the Temple Block. There are some eighty men cutting these stones, and there is a party of men now engaged in laying them. I invite all the brethren from a distance to go on to the ground when the men are at work, and see how beautifully they handle these large stones, and how accurately they place them in their position, for I hope that every Latter-day Saint feels enough interest in the building of the Temple to lift his heart in prayer to the Most High that he will enable us to build the Temples which we have commenced, that we may continue the work of salvation for ourselves and our dead.

      We are employing a considerable force of men in the stone quarry, and have been increasing the number of late. Our hope in doing so is to get a quantity of stone quarried before the winter sets in, that we may continue the work of stone cutting through the winter. As it is now, when only two car loads a day arrive, some of the stone cutters on the block will be idle, for it requires nearly three car loads a day to supply them. We are very glad that we are able to move the Temple forward, but you must be aware that all this takes means. The mining companies in the mountains pay, or promise to pay, high wages; and we have to pay a pretty liberal price in order to satisfy the brethren who work on the Temple. A portion of this is paid in the staple products of the country, and the residue in money, or merchandize, which is the same thing as money to us, for we have to pay money for it. We accordingly appeal to the brethren, both here and throughout the world, to remember their duties and their offerings for the Temple. Remember that the ordinances by which we gain exaltation for ourselves and our relatives, who have gone before us, are only administered in a holy house, which has been built in the name of, and dedicated to, the Most High God, according to his laws and commandments.

      It would seem that in Salt Lake City and vicinity, there should be abundance of Tithes and offerings to carry on the work on the Temple; yet we are suffered to go behind, get into debt and incur responsibilities. It is the duty of our brethren and sisters, Bishops, teachers and all, to wake up to this subject, and remembering what is required of them by the law of the Lord, to contribute of their mites and of their abundance, that when this great building shall be dedicated, they can come forward knowing it is their offering to the Most High; that their tenths have been expended upon it, and that they have the right to the privilege of entering its basement and receiving the ordinances of baptism for their dead, to pass through the various ordinances of the Priesthood, and have the necessary sealings duly recorded, for themselves and their ancestors, and bequeath to their posterity the blessings which are there sealed upon them for ever. I exhort the brethren to consider these things.

      It is said that in judging the conduct of others we should be merciful. This is a kind of proverb or select sentence. But it goes on further to say, that in criticizing ourselves we should be exact and severe. Now when we come to judge our Tithing, and the interests we invest in the Temples of the Lord, let us do it conscientiously, each one for himself or herself.

      I spoke here, the other day, a little in relation to the Word of Wisdom, and I again appeal to my brethren and my sisters to observe it, for I know that it they neglect to do so, before they pass behind the vail they will mourn, wail and weep in their hearts, for it will have a tendency to shorten their days, decrease their strength and lessen their glory. To those brethren who indulge in intoxicating drinks I say, Cease this folly. Brethren, I appeal to you in the name of humanity, in mercy to your wives and children, in the name of my Father in heaven and in the name of his Son, and say, Waste not your strength and your life with folly of this kind. Let intoxicating drinks alone, entirely alone.

      We are looking forward to the day when we shall return to Jackson County. The time will come when the Latter-day Saints will build, in Independence, Mo., a holy city. That will one day be the centre stake of Zion, the centre spot of the New Jerusalem which God is to build on this land. We can only be prepared for that work by being united. Can we not unite a little in building a Temple, in contributing a tenth of all our substance to that work? Can we not unite a little in erecting a factory, in establishing a store? Can we not learn, step by step, the principles of unity, which will enable us to be the people of God, like the Zion of Enoch, and prepare us for a dwelling with the blest? Let us consider these things, and sustain with all our powers all the efforts that are made to bring about a unity among the Saints. Every step we take of this kind is in the right direction. Sustain our Cooperative stores, and cease to sustain those who do not build up Zion. The Elders of Israel have traversed the earth and gathered you from distant nations, and you have some here to serve the Lord; but if you expend your energies and means in sustaining those who would destroy the Saints, you are only laying the foundation of your own degradation, for as the Lord God lives, the man who will not sustain Zion will be cut off.

      Remember these things, brethren and sisters, and sustain the servant of God and the institutions of heaven. Pray for those who are in authority, sustain the organizations that are established for the welfare of Zion, and cease to sustain her enemies. Circulate among the people our publications. Let the sermons of the Presidency and of the Apostles, that are published in the Deseret News, be read in every habitation. Circulate the publications of the Church wherever you can, and supply your families with Bibles and Testaments. Sustain and maintain Sabbath schools, and encourage all the children, and as many grown people as may be necessary, to attend, that these schools may prosper, and be useful.

      I thought, in the start, of a great many subjects that I wished to talk about. In the Sunday School Union, which met last evening, eighteen thousand children were represented, who were regular attendants at the Sabbath schools in this Territory. This is not what it should be. It is very extensive I will admit, but at the same time there is a school population in this Territory of about thirty-five thousand. The State of Nevada has for years received very large means in various ways from the United States for sustaining schools; but the whole population of that State is probably not equal to the number of school children in this Territory, and yet they have had all the resources usually given by the national government to States to sustain schools The State of Nebraska was admitted into the Union when it had but a small population, but it received the same liberal school bequest, and it is reported that the Governor stole the outfit, and was impeached and dismissed from office for so doing. Whether they recovered the money or not I do not know. At any rate they disgraced him. The idea among many of these public officers is that if they can only steal skillfully enough not to be caught and brought to justice, it is all right. But the Governor of Nebraska was a little clumsy, and consequently they impeached him. There is said to be a great deal of swindling among these public officers, and in Nebraska it was the school fund that was assailed.

      We have never had in this Territory national aid for schools to the amount of a dollar, or from any other source than our own pockets, and I am proud of the achievements of the Territory with regard to schools. We should not relax our efforts. Our Sunday School Union should be able to bring out more Sunday school scholars than now attend.

      I want to say to my brethren that our journeyings in the Holy Land had a tendency to inform us with regard to many things we did not understand, and we now know much better than before our visit how to establish missions in those countries, which will be done at a proper time as the Lord opens the way. They are, however, fearfully tied up with ignorance, superstition and oppressive laws. &c. But we found more bigotry, narrow-mindedness and disposition to proscribe each other among those professing Christianity than among any other class of people in the Turkish Empire.

      In Jerusalem there was an attempt made by certain men of science to search for the old foundations of the city. They sank down some hundred and seventy feet, and they found that the old foundation was built among the mountains, and little valleys running between them. Mount Moriah, Mount Zion, Mount Calvary, the Mount of Olives and others are all in the neighborhood, and there were anciently deep ravines between, and the city was originally built with terraces, one street rising above another. It is said that some of the Christians feared that this investigation would result in proving that the holy places, which are so much worshiped and adored, were not the true holy places, so they, I was told by some respectable Jews who were anxious to have the investigation go on, exercised an influence with the Turkish government to stop it, on the ground that the excavation were likely to undermine Jerusalem. At any rate the investigation was stopped. The Greek, Latin, Coptic and Armenian sects were said to have been principally interested in this matter.

      The American minister to the Turkish empire assured me that he had greater difficulty in promoting peace among the different Christian sects toward each other than he had among the Mohammedans and Christians, and in most cases the Christians were far less tolerant towards each Other than the Mohammedans were towards them. When we find Elders who have the spirit of such a mission and wish to labor in the work of the Lord, and to go into those countries and learn the languages, we shall send some of them there to make an attempt to introduce the Gospel. President Joseph Smith laid us under obligations to preach the Gospel or send it to all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, and wherever the way has opened we have exerted ourselves to the utmost to do this. We have a Territory here hundreds of miles in extent, occupied by a thriving population. Where did they come from? They have been gathered from the nations wherever the Elders of Israel have been permitted to preach. A great many of the Christian nations are locked up. A man could now preach in Italy, but the traditions of the people are so strong that it would be a dangerous experiment probably to undertake it. While conversing with some Greek members of parliament they said to us—"We are Christians already, why not. go among the heathens and teach them Christ? We know something about Christ now, and that is enough." The constitution of Greece provides that all sects may be tolerated, but proselytism is prohibited from the Oriental Greek church, so you may think as you have a mind to, but if you get any of the people to believe in the Gospel and they are baptized you are subject to a penalty.

      I wish to bear my testimony to the truths of the Gospel, to express my gratitude to the Conference for the attendance and attention, and to return my heartfelt thank to our brethren and sisters who have made us music. I am gratified at the attendance of the singers from the various settlements. I feel that the blessing of Israel's God will be upon them. I hope the brethren and sisters will treasure up what they have heard and profit by it. Every man who has spoken has seemed to be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. At the opening of the Conference I requested that the prayer of faith should ascend on high that the Spirit of the Almighty might dictate and control those who spoke, that we might be edified by the power of the Almighty. Our prayer has been heard, and we can now go away from this Conference to the different parts of the Territory, or to our several missions abroad, wherever we are called, with a united faith and confidence that we shall be better men, and that we shall more truly and faithfully perform our duties than we have done before.

      The blessings of Israel's God be upon you all, and may we all be faithful in the performance of our several duties, exercising faith before God to deliver us from our enemies, and cause that the Lamanites may be peaceable in our midst; for I will assure you, brethren, that if you want the Lamanites to be peaceable towards you, you must cultivate peaceable feelings in your hearts towards them, and never desire to shed their blood.

      The peace of God be upon you all, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

            The Choir sang

The Hallelujah Chorus.

            Conference adjourned till the 6th day of April, 1874, to convene in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City.

PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG

pronounced the following benediction:

            According to the authority of the Holy Priesthood vested in me, I bless this congregation in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the brethren, my counsellors, and the Apostles with all the officers of the Church and Kingdom f God. I bless those who have spoken and those who have heard, those who have made music for us, and those who have prayed. I bless my brethren and sisters, those that fear and serve the lord, and their children and children's children. I pray my Father in heaven to let his choice blessings rest upon them. I bless the honest strangers who are within our gates, hoping that they will receive the truth by seeking unto the Lord our God to know his mind and will, that they may be ready to do it. I bless you, my brethren and sisters, and all that pertain to you. And I bless the human family according to the authority that the Lord has bestowed upon me; and if it would do any good, I would ask the Father in the name of Jesus to make them honest, and to open their eyes and their ears and their hearts to receive the truth, that they might be messengers of salvation upon the earth and be prepared for a glorious resurrection But they are as they are, and I bless them and pray that the Lord will bless them and have compassion upon them who have not sinned against the Holy Ghost, that they may be saved in the kingdom or kingdoms of our God.

            You are dismissed.

_____

1874

6 Apr, 7-10 May, 44th Annual General Conference, Tabernacle.
[Deseret News Weekly, 23:153, 4/8/74, p 9; 23:225, 5/13/74 p 1,8; Millennial Star 36:337, 353, 367]

[6 Apr, 10 am]

[DNW 23:153, 4/8/74, p 9; MS 36:337]

THE GENERAL CONFERENCE

_____

THE Forty-fourth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints convened in the New Tabernacle in this city this morning.

            On the stand were president D. H. Wells of the First Presidency; Elders Orson Pratt, John Taylor, W. Woodruff and A. Carrington, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. John Smith, Patriarch of the Church; Joseph Young, Sen., President, and John Van Cott and a. P. Rockwood of the seven presidents of the Seventies. George B. Wallace and John T. Caine, Counsellors to the President of this stake of the church; Elias Smith, President of the High Priests' Quorum, and E. morris and H. Snelgrove his counsellors; Bishop Edward Hunter, Presiding Bishop of the church, and his counselors, L. W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little; also Bishops E. D. Woolley, W. Hickenlooper and N. Davis, of this city, and Bishop L. E. Harrington, of American Fork. There was a congregation of nearly three thousand persons present.

            The conference was called to order by President Daniel H. Wells.

            The choir sang the hymn on page 302 of the Hymn Book, commencing --

"When earth in bondage long had lain."

            Prayer by L. E. Harrington.

            Choir sang hymn on page 61 --

"My God, the spring of all my joys."

ELDER ORSON PRATT

then addressed the congregation, opening his discourse by referring to the organization of the Kingdom of God forth-four years ago to-day, and the nature of that organization, it being the Kingdom of God, organized on the earth, never to be thrown down again, but which was to continue from that time henceforth and forever. That Kingdom was not organized by man, nor by man's wisdom, but by revela[tion] from Jesus Christ, he having guided and directed everything in connection with it, and bestowed authority upon his chosen agents to perform the work. For centuries prior to that event, Christian denominations had been organized without revelation, their organizers not even pretending to have received one sentence from the Lord in relation tot he work they had undertaken; and in this respect the Latter-day Saints differed widely and essentially from all other denominations of Christians. Men, without revelation, might organize a great variety of forms of government, both of a civil and ecclesiastical character; but though, in the framing of these several organizations, their founders obtained all the information possible from history, sacred and secular, without revelation from heaven they lacked the foundation and authority necessary to secure the approval of the Almighty, and to insure recognition by him.

            It was impossible for people to learn their duties to-day from what God had said to somebody else centuries ago. It would be just as reasonable, in the organization of a civil government, to say "the canon of laws is sealed up, and we need no legislators now, the laws framed by those who have lived are all-sufficient." This would be quite as consistent as to suppose that God, eighteen hundred years ago, gave all the information he ever intended to give in relation to the guidance of his people and the government of his affairs here on the earth. in civil governments, continually changing circumstances required the continued labor of the legislator; the laws of last year would not meet all the requirements of this year, and those which were made ten years ago might be altogether unsuited for the events and circumstances of to-day.

            The speaker then adduced instances of commands given by the Almighty, to individuals and communities in times past, which would be totally inapplicable to those now living; among them the command given to Abraham to leave his native land, Chaldea, to go to a land he knew not of, which was to be given to him and his seed for an everlasting possession; also the command given to Moses to go and deliver Israel from Egypt. These and other instances referred to, and almost numberless others which might be adduced, were intended for and were binding only upon the persons or people to whom they were given. It was not so, however, with the great moral principles which God had at various times revealed, neither with the ordinances of the gospel; they were binding throughout all time upon all people when declared and made known to them. But in regard to special revelations and commandments, there would be thousands and tens of thousand given, during the establishment of God's Kingdom in the last days, which would be binding only upon those to whom they came. Of this latter class several were mentioned among them, a revelation given to Joseph Smith to organize baptized believers into the kingdom of God on the 6th of April, 1830; also one given through the Prophet Joseph to himself (the speaker) in November, 1830, commanding him to go forth and preach the gospel to the nations of the earth, to prepare the way of the Lord for his second coming, and to lift up his voice long and loud, and cry repentance to this crooked and perverse generation.

            Elder Pratt then referred to the principle of consecration and to the practice thereof and the results it produced among the ancient inhabitants of North and South America, who, as the Book of Mormon informs us, were converted to the truth very shortly after the crucifixion of the Savior, who, soon after his resurrection and ascension in Asia, appeared to the people of this land, and organized his church among them, and so great were the manifestations of the power of God in their midst, that they were soon all converted to, and carried out, the law of full consecration, for a long period, realizing as the result thereof, a great foretaste of heaven upon earth. But when they apostatized from that order, God's judgment speedily followed them, and they were finally almost wholly destroyed, in a great battle which took place in what is now called New York State.

            In the early history of the church God had revealed this law to the Latter-day Saints, and required them to obey it. They had failed to do so thus far; but now the servants of God were being moved upon to urge an order upon the attention and practice of the Saints, which would approximate to, and prepare them for, this higher order, which must e practiced by all in the church when they returned to Jackson county to rebuild the waste places of Zion.

[Orson Pratt]

[DNW 23:180, 4/22/74, p 4; JD 17:24]

DISCOURSE

By ELDER ORSON PRATT, DELIVERED

At the Forty-fourth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Monday Morning, April 6th, 1874

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REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

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      Forty-four years ago to day, the kingdom of God was organized on this earth, for the last time, never to be broken up, never to be confounded or thrown down, but to continue from that time, henceforth and for ever, This kingdom was not organized by man, nor by the wisdom of man, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ, he having guided and directed, by revelation, everything in regard to its organization, and bestowed authority upon his servants to perform the work, and they being only agents or instruments in his hands.

      All other Christian denominations for many long centuries, have been organized without revelation. The organizers of these various denominations did not even pretend that God had given them any information from Heaven; they did not even pretend that there was one sentence which had been received in their day from the Lord, in relation to the organization of their institutions, In this respect the Latter-day Saints differ widely from all Christian denominations! it is an essential difference, a peculiar characteristic, and one of the utmost importance. Every person with a little reflection, can see that without divine information, man is utterly unable to organize the Kingdom of God on the earth. He may organize kingdoms, empires, republics and various kinds of civil government and a great variety of governments in a religious capacity, and when he has organized them they are without foundation and authority. The Lord communicates nothing to them, but they are compelled to ponder over that which had been revealed in former ages, and get all the information they can from what God spake formerly. But how impossible it is for people to learn their duties from what God said formerly to somebody else. We might as well, in the organization of a civil government, say, "the canon of laws is sealed up, we need no legislators or Congressmen," If the question be asked why we do not need them, the answer is, "Oh, we depend upon the laws which were made by our fathers; they are sufficient for our guide." Just fancy the People of this great republic being governed by the laws enacted in the first Congress after the revolutionary fathers framed the constitution. Only think of all the people now appealing to those ancient laws, made before any of them were born, and having nothing further to govern them!

      This would just be as consistent as it would be to suppose that God some eighteen hundred years ago, gave all the information that he ever intended to give in relation to the government of His kingdom and His affairs here on the earth. You know that in civil governments laws are continually required, circumstances call them forth. Laws made last year are not always suitable to the circumstances of this year, and those made ten years ago, might be altogether unsuitable for events now happening, and hence the necessity of something new, direct from the law-making department. So in regard to the kingdom of God. God spake to the ancients, but many of the words he spake then are not binding upon the people now. Some few of the great moral principles revealed to the ancients are binding for ever, but the great majority of the revelations from Heaven were only suited to the individuals to whom they were given. Take, for instance, the case of Abram He was living in Chaldea, the land of his fathers. The Lord spake to him, and commanded him to arise and leave his native country, and journey tea strange land, which was promised to him for an inheritance. Now, I ask, was any other people upon the face of the whole earth bound to obey this divine law given to Abraham? No; it was suited to him and to him only. If we were all under this ancient law, then every one of us would have to go to Chaldea; and after we got there we should have to leave that country and go to some land which we should expect to receive for an inheritance, which would be the very height of absurdity.

      Again, when God led forth Abraham into the, land of palestine, we find that he not only communicated laws to him, but that he also made precious promises relating to him and his seed, which did not pertain to all the nations and kingdoms of the earth. God commanded Abraham on that occasion to arise, and to pass through the length and breadth of the land, and to go out on to a certain high place and to cast his eyes eastward and westward and northward and southward, for said the Lord unto him, "All this land which thou seest shall be given to thee, and to thy seed after thee for a possession." Under this law have I been commanded to go to the land of Palestine and walk through the length and breadth of the land? Never. Have you been commanded to do it? Never. It is not a law that is binding upon us, neither was it binding upon future generations after the days of Abraham.

      Again, when God made the promise to Abraham that he should have that land for a possession, and his literal seed after him, he did not mean you nor me, nor the generations of the earth who are not the literal descendants of Abraham.

      Again, when God revealed himself to Moses, and told him to go down into Egypt and deliver Israel from bondage, that was a law binding upon Moses and Moses alone. The Latter-day Saints are not under that law, neither are any other people. So we might continue to multiply instances by thousands where God spake to individuals, and they, and they alone, were the persons who were to give heed to his laws. Again, where he spoke in some cases to the nation of Israel, Israel and Israel alone could obey those laws. But sometimes he would reveal to an individual or to a people certain great moral principles that were binding upon them and upon all people unto the ends of the earth, when they were made manifest Unto them. Such laws are everlasting in their nature. Sometimes God revealed ordinances as well as commandments and laws. These ordinances were binding just as far as God revealed them for the people to attend to. For instance, the law of circumcision was binding upon Abraham and his seed, and was to be continued for a certain season, but by and by it was to be superseded by some other. God also revealed, in the days of the introduction of the Gospel, many eternal laws, different from those that had been revealed in former times. He revealed many things afresh and anew when he came personally on the earth, which had also been revealed prior to his day. For instance, we will take the law of faith, and repentance. These principles were taught in every dispensation, and were binding upon all people in the four quarters of the earth, and in all generations before Jesus came; they were eternal principles, and were to be continued forever. We will take, again, the law of baptism for the remission of sins. Wherever the Gospel was preached this ordinance was binding upon the people. Wherever men were sent forth with the fullness of the plan of salvation to declare to the children of men, the law of baptism accompanied that message, and all people, as well as Israel, were required to obey that sacred ordinance.

      In the latter days, when God establishes his kingdom on the earth for the last time, there will be thousands and tens of thousands of precepts and commandments revealed to certain individuals, which will be binding upon them alone. Then there will be other commandments that will be adapted to all the Church, and they will be binding upon the Church and upon the Church alone. Then there will be certain commandments that will be binding upon all nations, people and tongues, and blessed are they who give heed to the commandments and institutions and ordinances which pertain to them and which are adapted to their circumstances, and which are given for them to obey. But we will return again to the Church and kingdom.

      Forty-four years have rolled over our heads since God gave commandment to a young man, a youth, to organize baptized believers into a Church, which was called the kingdom of God, not organized in its fullness, for there were not materials enough at that time to institute all the officers that were needed in that kingdom. The kingdom needed inspired, Apostles, Seventies, High Priests after the order of Melchizedec; it needed the Priesthood of Aaron—the Levitical Priesthood, which the ancient Prophet said should be restored in the latter days. The kingdom needed all the appendages and blessings of these two Priesthoods, and there were not a sufficient number then baptized to make the organization perfect and complete; but so far as there were individuals the organization was commenced, although there were than only six members. Two of these were Apostles, called of God to be Apostles; called by new revelation to be Apostles; called by the ministration of angels to be Apostles; ordained by the laying on of hands of immortal personages from the eternal worlds. Hence, being ordained by this high authority, called by this high and holy calling, and chosen to go forth and organize the kingdom, and to preach the message of life and salvation among the children of men, they were obedient; and the other four individuals were organized in connection with them, upon the foundation that had been laid by the Lord himself, and not upon a creed that had been concocted in some council of uninspired men; not upon some articles of faith that were framed by uninspired men to guide and govern them; but what they received was by direct revelation. Not one step was taken without obtaining a revelation in regard to the manner of proceeding in relation to the laying of this foundation.

      How very different this from the Methodists, the Baptists, the Presbyterians, the Church of England, and the various societies and denominations that exist throughout all the Protestant world; not one of them was organized in that way! Supposing that some of these Christian denominations should happen to get the form pretty nearly correct, and yet not have the authority, that would make all the difference. The form with the authority is one thing, and the form without the authority and divine appointment and ordination is another thing. One has power, but the other has not; one is recognized by the Lord Almighty, but the other is only recognized by man. I think we can see the difference between man's churches and God's Churches, between man's organization and God's organization. In the first place there never were a people, since Adam was placed in the Garden of Eden to the present day, who were acknowledged of God, unless they were founded and directed and counseled by him; unless there were a Priesthood having authority from him; unless God spake to them, and sent his angels to them. There never was a people, in any age of the world, whom God recognized as his people, without these characteristics. Says one, "How very uncharitable you Latter-day Saints are! You exclude the whole of us, you do not except one of our churches or good Christian denominations, and there are very good, moral people in them." We do not dispute but what they are a very good, moral people; that is one thing, and a Christian Church is another. Morality is good in its place, and it must be in the Christian Church. Morality may exist outside of the Christian Church, but both can not exist together without God organizes the Church.

      Perhaps I have spoken sufficiently long upon the subject of the organization of the Church. I might enter fully into the investigation of these matters, and give you the particulars about the angels of God who descended from heaven and conferred the authority upon chosen vessels. I might tell you about the day which God set apart, and upon which he commanded that his Church. should be organized, for the very day was mentioned by revelation. I might also relate to you many instructions that were given at that time to all the members of the kingdom of God. But I have other subjects upon my mind that seem to present themselves before me.

      There have been probably scores of revelations given from time to time during the last forty-four years, which are not binding now, neither were they binding upon all the people at the time they were given. For instance, God gave a revelation, through his servant Joseph, on the 14th day of November, 1830, to your humble servant who is now speaking, commanding him to go forth and preach the Gospel among the nations of the earth, preparing the way of the Lord for his second coming, and to lift up his voice, both long and loud, and cry repentance to this crooked and perverse generation. I ask this congregation if there is an individual present here, but your humble servant who. is under this direct command? No. If you have been commanded to do the same, you have been commanded by a distinct revelation. The revelation given to me Was not given to any other individual, and was not binding upon say other, So in regard to the gathering up of the Saints. We were dwelling in the State of New York, and on the second day of January 1831, God commanded that all the Saints in that State, the State in which the Church was organized, and all who were dwelling in all the regions round about, should gather up to the State of Ohio. Is that a commandment binding upon any of this congregation? Not one of them, it was only suited to the circumstances that then extend, and when fulfilled it was no longer even binding upon them. The Lord gave a commandment after we bad gathered up to the land of Kirtland, that some of his servants should go forth, two by two, preaching through Indiana, Ohio, Illinois and Missouri, that they should meet together in general Conference on the western boundaries of the State of Missouri, and that the Lord God would reveal unto them the land which should be given unto them for an everlasting inheritance. These persons were commanded to do this. This commandment was binding upon them and them alone. They were the individuals who were commanded to do this work—it was not required of the rest of the Church. They fulfilled their appointment—as many as were faithful went through, two by two, on different routes, preaching and calling upon the people to repent and be baptized, confirming them by the water side, and organizing Churches. Finally those persons thus commanded assembled in August and September, on the western boundaries of the State of Missouri, in Jackson County. Then the commandment was fulfilled; and it was no longer binding upon those to whom it was given. Thus you see that what is suitable for this mouth is not always suitable for next month, and what is suitable for to-day is not always suitable for tomorrow. It needs new revelation.

      When these missionaries assembled in Jackson County, the Prophet Joseph, being with them, inquired still further, and a commandment was given on that occasion, before the Church had gathered, except one small branch, called the Coalsville-Branch, and that commandment was to be binding upon all the Latter-day Saints who should gather up to that land. What was it? That all the people who should gather to Jackson County, the land of their inheritance, should consecrate all their property, everything they had—they were to withhold nothing. Their gold and silver, their bedding, household furniture, their wearing apparel and everything they possessed was to be consecrated. That placed the people on a level, for when everything a people has is consecrated they are all equally rich. There is not one poor and another rich, for they all possess nothing. I do not know but you might call that poor; but they have something in common, namely, that which they have consecrated, and this brings me to an item which I happened to think of just about half minute before I arose.

      I will now read to you what took place on this American continent thirty-six years after the birth of Christ. Jesus appeared here on this continent and organized his Church. He chose twelve disciples and commanded them to go and preach the Gospel in both the land south and the land north, and they did so. This extract gives us a little information about the repentance of the people:—

      And it came to pass in the thirty and sixth year, the people were all converted unto the Lord, upon all the face of the land, both Nephites and Lamanites, and there were no contentions and disputations among them, and every man did deal justly one with another; and they had all things common among them, therefore they were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, and partakers of the heavenly gift."

      Now, was not that a marvel? Perhaps you may ask how it was that they were all so easily converted. That would be a very natural question to arise in the minds of many, for they must have been a very different people from those living now-a-days. We have preached, year after year, and have only converted here and there one. But all those millions, inhabiting both North and South America, were converted unto the Lord. Was not float a wonderment? If I explain a little what took place beforehand, it will clear up the wonderment a little.

      Just before Christ was crucified in the land of Jerusalem, the people on this land had become exceedingly wicked, and it was foretold to them by their Prophets that, when Jesus, their Savior, should be crucified in the land of their fathers, there should be great destruction come upon those who were wicked in this land, and that many of their cities should be destroyed—they should be sunk and burned with fire, and God would visit them in great and terrible judgments if they did not repent and prepare for the coming of their Savior, for they expected him to appear afar his resurrection. The wicked did not repent, and all those destructions came, just as the Prophets foretold. Darkness covered the face of this land for three days and three nights, while at Jerusalem it was only three hours. Three days and three nights they suffered darkness upon all the face of this land, and very many of their cities, which were great and populous, were sunk, and lakes came up instead of them; a great many were burned with fire, a great many were destroyed by terrible tempests, and a great destruction came upon the wicked portions of the people, who had stoned and put the Prophets to death, and only the more righteous portion of the people were spared.

      In the latter part of the year in which Jesus was put to death, he descended among a certain portion of the people on this continent, gathered in the northern part of what we term South America. He descended from heaven and stood in their midst; and on the next day, when a larger multitude were gathered together, he came a second time and there were a great many thousands on that occasion. He often appeared to them after that period, within the course of one or two years, and he chose twelve disciples, and so great was the power made manifest before those thousands, that when they went forth into the north and south and preached the word, according to the commandments of God, the more righteous portion of the people, who had been spared, and who had humbled themselves and partially repented, but did not understand the fullness of the Gospel, were easily converted, and that is the reason why all the people in North and South America were converted unto the Lord; and in the thirty-sixth year, reckoning from the birth of Jesus, they were not only all converted upon the face of this whole land, but they were all organized upon a common stock principle, and there were no poor among them, and they dealt justly one with another.

      Says one, "They did the same thing in the land of Jerusalem." Yes, but they did not keep it up in the land of Palestine—they seem to have failed, for we have no account that this common stock principle, as at first organized, continued among the Saints on the Asiatic Continent. Churches were built up in various parts of Asia and Europe, one in one place, another in another, and they all seem to have had property of their own; and I believe, myself, that they were unprepared, in their scattered condition, to enter into this order of things. There was too mush wickedness at Ephesus; in Galatia, at Corinth, and in the various places where small branches were organized, to enter into this common stock principle, and carry it out successfully. But on this continent there Was a fine opportunity, for all the people, millions and millions of them, were in the same faith. How easily, then, could they be guided and directed, and put in their property, and organize it as a common stock fund; and they did so, and were exceedingly blessed and prospered in their operation. And I will tell you how long it existed—about one-hundred and sixty-five years. But in the year two hundred and one after the birth of Christ, the people began to be lifted up, on this continent, in pride and popularity, and began to withdraw their funds from this common stock, and take them into their own hands, and call them their own, and they continued to do this, until the great majority of the people had corrupted themselves and withdrawn from this order. Then, after having broken up this common fund in a great measure, only a few individuals here and there still holding on to it, they became proud and highminded, and lifted up in their hearts, and looked down upon those who were not so prosperous as themselves, and in this way a distinction of classes was again introduced, and the rich began to persecute the poor; and thus they continued to apostatize, until, about three hundred and thirty-four years after Christ, their began to have great and terrible wars among themselves, which lasted about fifty years, during which millions of them were destroyed. Finally, they became so utterly wicked, so fully ripened for destruction, that one branch of the nation, called the Nephites, gathered their entire people around the hill Cumorah, in the State of New York, in Ontario County; and the Lamanites, the opposite army, gathered by millions in the same region. The two nations were four years in gathering their forces, during which no fighting took place; but at the end of that time, having marshalled all their hosts, the fighting commenced, the Lamanites coming upon the Nephites, and destroying all of them, except a very few, who had previously deserted over to the Lamanites.

      Before this decisive battle the Nephites, who had kept records of their nation, written on gold plates, hid them up in the hill Cumorah, where they have lain from that day to this. Mormon committed a few plates to his son Moroni, who was a Prophet and who survived the nation of the Nephites about thirty-six years, and he kept these few plates, while all the balance of them were hid up in that hill; and then, Moroni, being commanded of God, hid up the few plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated.

      I make mention of these circumstances for the purpose of showing you that, when people have been once enlightened as the Nephites were, and have had all things common, and have been blessed with an abundance of the riches of the earth, working together in harmony, until riches were poured out upon them in vast abundance, and then withdraw themselves from the order of God, they soon bring swift destruction upon their heads. We see the Nephites, after taking this course, descending lower and lower in their wickedness, going into idolatry, offering up human sacrifices unto their idol gods, and committing every species of abomination that they had ever known or heard of, all because they had been once enlightened and had apostatized from the truth, and withdrawn from the order of God, in which their forefathers had had a long experience.

      The Lord gave a caution to the Latter-day Saints, when he told them, in a revelation, given in 1831, to enter into the same order pertaining to our possessions in Jackson County. Prior to that, he gave us a promise, saying, that if we would be faithful we should become the richest of all people; but if we would not be faithful in keeping his commandments, but should become lifted up in the pride of our hearts, we should, perhaps, become like the Nephites of old. "Beware of pride," says the Lord, in one of these revelations, "lest you become like the Nephites of old."

      I have no doubt that you Latter-day Saints are the best people on the face of the earth. God has gathered you out from among the nations; you were the only people, to whom the message of life and salvation was sent, who received the missionaries of the Most High when they came to your respective nations. You not only received the Gospel of repentance and baptism, but you hearkened to those missionaries and the counsels of God, and gathered to this land. Hence, you have done better than all other people, and you have been blessed above all other people. But there is danger, after having been made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and having had the gifts of the Spirit, made manifest more or less according to our faith, if we become lifted up in the pride of our hearts and think, because we have gathered an abundance of the wealth of this world, that we are a little better than our poor brother who labors eight or ten hours a day at the hardest kind of labor. Any person having the name of Latter-day Saint who feels that he is better than, and distinguishes himself from, the poor and supposes that he belongs to a little higher class than they, is in danger. "Beware of pride. lest you become like unto the Nephites of old."

      In order that this pride may be done away, there must necessarily be another order of things in regard to property.

      Why does pride exist at all? Let us make a little inquiry about this. Do you know the reason? It all arises out of the love of riches. This is what generally constitutes pride. Now supposing you were all brought on a level in regard to property by a full consecration of everything that you have into a common stock fund, would there be among that number one who should thus consecrate all that he had, who would have anything to boast of above his neighbor? Not at all. He might have the use of property, one man might have perhaps a hundred times more than another, to use as a steward or agent for this general fund; but when he has used it he has his living out of it—his food, his raiment, the necessaries and comforts of life, whether he handles hundreds of thousands or merely a small stewardship, for the man that takes charge of a great manufacturing establishment would require more funds than he who has a small farm, but the funds would not belong to him, he only has his food, raiment and the necessaries and comforts of life. But here is another branch of business, just as important, as far as it goes, as this large manufacturing establishment. What is it? To make mortar, to lay up our buildings, for without them we should soon suffer. The man who makes mortar, then, is just as honorable as the man who takes charge of a large establishment which requires five hundred thousand dollars to carry it on. But in both cases, the surplus of their labor, after taking therefrom the necessaries of life, goes to the common stock fund; and the man who has had charge of the large establishment has nothing that he can boast of over the man who makes mortar—one is just as rich as the other.

      But I know there are many Latter-day Saints who have formed an erroneous idea or opinion in regard to this common stock fund. Some for want of reflection, may suppose that every man and every woman must have the same fashioned houses to live in, or there would not be an equality; they must have the same amount of furniture, or there would not be an equality. Some may suppose that all must have the same kind of bedding and everything precisely alike or there would be no equality. But this is not the way God manifests himself in all the works of his hands. Go to the field, the pasture or meadow, and learn wisdom. Search from one end of the pasture to the other and see if you can find two blades of grass that are exactly alike. It can not be done, there is a little deviation, a little variety, and hence we see from this that God delights in variety. But because one blade of grass might be formed a little more pleasing to the eye than another, would the first have any right, if it could reason, to say, "I am above that other?" Not at all. It was made for a certain purpose, and so in regard to everything else. No two men upon the face of the earth have the same features. We have the general characteristics of the human form, and we do not look like the original of man according to Darwin's idea; we do not look like the monkey or baboon, from which Darwin says man originated. Men the world over, have many features bearing a general resemblance, and their form is moulded in the image of the Most High. But when you come to scan the features of man minutely, you will see some deviation in the countenances of all men throughout all creation. Now, are they not equal? Do those little distinguishing characteristics in the features make them unequal? Not in the least. Then, because it might fall to my lot to make mortar, and to another man's to take charge of a great store of merchandize, both of us being agents, that does not make the mercantile agent any better than the man who makes the mortar, and I should not expect to wear the same kind of apparel that the man did who was behind the counter. If I was making mortar I should not want on broadcloth, silk, or satin; I should want apparel adapted to the particular class of labor I was engaged in. Hence, there will be a distinction in these things.

      Then again, do you suppose that when we come together it would be pleasing in the sight of God for every man and every woman to have on a Quaker bonnet or dress, or to pattern after the Shaking Quakers; that each of the ladies should have on a ribbon that should come under the bonnet, and be of just the same length? Not at all. God delights in variety; we see it throughout all the works of his hands, in every department of creation. Therefore men and women will dress according to their tastes, so far as they can get the means.

      You draw your means from the common stock fund, and if you have stewardships set apart to you to manage, and you make little in the stewardships, the Bishops who take charge of these matters will not begin to inquire of you, "Well, brother, what kind of a hat have you worn? Was it straw, and was the straw just so fine or just so coarse, or was it a palm leaf hat you wore? I should like to know what kind of a hat band you have had? Was it a hat band having a bow knot, and, if so, was it any longer than your neighbors?" No such questions as these will be asked; but each man, each family in the stewardship, whatever they make, can exercise their own judgment in regard to many of these things, as they do now; and when you come together on Sunday, it is not expected that every man's and every woman's tastes would be to dress precisely like their neighbors, but have variety, and that out of the means of your stewardship.

      But when you come to render up an account of that stewardship to the Bishop at the end of the year, there may be some prominent, leading questions asked, but not about these little matters. It will be asked if you have squandered your stewardship unnecessarily; have you been very extravagant in things unnecessary, and neglected other things of importance? If you have done these things, you will be counted an unwise steward, and you will be reproved; and perhaps, if you have gone too far, you may be removed out of your stewardship, and another person more worthy may step into it, and you be dropped because of doing wrong. But there never will be any Bishop, who has the Spirit of the living God upon him, who will inquire whether you have the same size stoves in your house, and the same kind of plates, knives, forks, and spoons as your neighbor; but you will have to give an account of those prominent items. That is the way I look at this common stock operation.

      Then again, I do not know that the common stock operation which God commanded us to enter into in Jackson County, Mo., will be suitable in the year 1874. I commenced my discourse by showing that what was suitable one year was not always suitable the next. I do not know but here in Utah it may be necessary to vary martially from the principles that were commanded to be observed in Jackson County, Mo. I do not know but we may be required here to not only consecrate all that we have, but even ourselves as well as the property we possess, so that we may be directed by the Bishops and their counselors, or whoever may be appointed, in regard to all our daily avocations. I do not know how it will be. I have not heard. Down in Jackson County they were not thus directed. Every man got his stewardship, and he occupied it, and rendered an account of the same from time to time. But I do not know but it may be necessary here in Utah that we should be directed oftener than once a year, it may be that we shall be told weekly, and perhaps in some cases daily; and perhaps the Bishop or overseer may say to-day, "Here, brother, I would like you to do so and so to-day," and to-morrow he comes along and says, "I would like you to stop that now; we have something else on hand; come with me, I will put in my hands as well as you, for, although you have selected me by your own voice to take charge, I am no better than you are, therefore I will take hold with you and do all I can in connection. with you, and let us go at this business to-day." Tomorrow there may be something else, and the next day something else, perhaps, according to the judgment of the Bishop and those who are appointed with him. In this way we could, perhaps, more effectually carry out the mind and will of God here in this desert country, than we could if we tried to imitate the pattern which was given to us in another country.

      We can not work here as we could in Jackson County, Mo. In that country we did not have to irrigate. We could settle on a piece of rising ground there, and the rains of heaven Watered it. We could settle in the valley, and there were no ditches to be made. We could settle in any part of the county, or of the counties round about, and the rains of heaven would descend and water our land. And furthermore, there was timber all around, groves of timber, and we could go out before breakfast and get a lead of wood, and in the course of a few days split rails enough to fence considerable of a patch of ground. Here we have to labor under other circumstances. Here we have not timber so that every man can fence his little farmer stewardship; we have not strength enough. If we happen to farm on some of these high grounds, it is very difficult to dig canals and water-ditches to water our little stewardships. What shall we do, then? Join in together, be of one heart and one mind, and let there be a common stock fund, so far as property is concerned, and so far as our own individual labor is concerned. Consequently, we need not think, because we may not be organized precisely according to the law that was adapted to Jackson County, that this counseling is void of the Spirit of God. Do not let any person begin to think this. You need to co-operate together in your labors. This is necessary in fencing a great many of our farms. You need to co-operate in getting out your water from your water-ditches to water your land, and you need to do it in a great many other respects.

      For instance, these mountains, which rise so majestically on the east and on the west, are full of rich minerals, this is one of the richest countries in the world. Will not some of the Latter-day Saints eventually be required to act in the department of mining as well as in the department of agriculture? Yes. Can one individual do as well as half a dozen, or as well as a hundred, at mining? It may require the experience of a vast amount of labor in order to develop the resources of these mountains, and in that case co-operation will be absolutely necessary.

      "But," says one, "the Gentiles have already done that." But very little, I will assure you. Here and there they have opened a mine, but not one thousandth nor one ten-thousandth of that which exists and which will be developed hereafter. Now, in all these departments the Latter-day Saints must learn to be united, and I am glad to see, I rejoice exceedingly to hear, that the President has been moved upon, not only before he left Salt Lake City to go down South, but while he has been there, to alter the order of things that has existed for many years here in these mountains, among the Latter-day Saints. In what respect? To bring about a united order of things in regard to their property and labor, and the development of the resources of our farming land; in regard to raising flocks and herds, building, and developing the mineral resources of our mountains. In all these respects the President has seen the necessity of beginning to bring about, gradually, as the way may open, a different order of things that will strike the axe at the root of this pride and distinction of classes. I am glad; I rejoice in it. Several of the Branches of the Church south have already entered into this order.

      Inquires one, "What is it, what kind of an order is it? Tell us all about it." I would tell you as much as I thought was wisdom, if I understood it myself; but I do not; I have had but very little information about it. Suffice to say that I know that the order of things that could have been carried out successfully in Jackson County cannot be carried out here, on the same principle, without a little variation, It cannot be done—circumstances require different laws, different counsel, an order of things suited to the condition, of this desert country.

      "Are all the people going directly into this thing at once." "Yes, if they choose; but you may depend upon it that in all cases whenever God has moved upon his servants to introduce anything for the good of the people, it takes time for the people to receive it—they do not receive it all in a moment. The Lord is long-suffering—he bears with the weaknesses and traditions of the people for a long time. When, by the mouths of his servants, he counsels the people to do this, that, or the other, and they are a little backward about it, he does not come out in judgment as he did to ancient Israel, and cut them off by thousands and tens of thousands. He does not do that, but he bears with them, waits year after year. How long he has borne with all of us! Forty-three years ago we were commanded to become one in regard to our property. Forty-three years we have been in disobedience. Forty-three years have rolled over our heads, and we are far from oneness still. God has not cut us off, as he did ancient Israel, but he has borne with us. Oh, how patient and long-suffering he has been with us, perhaps thinking, "Peradventure, they will, by and by, return, reform, repent, and obey my commandments that I gave them in the first rise of the Church. I will wait upon them, I will extend forth my hand to them all the day long, and see whether they will be obedient." That is the way the Lord feels towards us. Should we not pattern after him? If this order of things should reach Salt Lake City, if these different wards should begin to be organized in some measure, and the people begin to be divided, some entering into the order and others refusing, should we not bear with those who do not? Yes, bear with them, just as the Lord has borne with us, and not begin to think that we are better than our neighbors who have not entered into the order, and flatter ourselves that we are alive them, and revile and persecute them, and exercise our influence against them, saying, "Oh, they do not belong to the united order of God, they are outside of it, and consequently we have not much respect for them." We must not do this, for perhaps, though we may think we are on a firm foundation, it may slip from under us, and we also may be brought into straightened circumstances. If we exercise patience, long-suffering, and forbearance with the people until they learn by experience what God is doing in our midst, many of these rich people may come into the order, who now say in their hearts, "We will wait and see whether this thing will prosper." If they are honest in heart, they will finally come to the conclusion that the people in the united order are a happy people; they are not lifted up in pride one above another, and they will say, "I think I will go there, with all I have; I will become one of them;" and in a little while they will come along, while others, perhaps, will apostatize entirely. However, if they want to go, let them go, they are of no particular benefit if they feel to apostatize from anything which God has established for the benefit of the people. May God bless you. Amen.

 

            At the close of Elder Pratt's remarks, President Wells moved that the Conference adjourn until Thursday the 7th of May, to meet at 10 o'clock in the morning in the New Tabernacle; the motion was carried unanimously.

            The choir sang anthem --

Oh! Be joyful in the Lord,

and the Conference was dismissed with benediction by Elder W. Woodruff.

_____

[7 May, 10 am]

[DNW 23:225, 5/13/74, p 1]

FORTY-FORTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE.

_____

THE Adjourned Forty-fourth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints convened this morning in the New Tabernacle, at 10 o'clock, on this the 7th day of May, 1874.

            The congregation, for a first meeting, was very large. On the stand were --

Of the First Presidency.

            Brigham Young, President; Geo. A. Smith, Daniel H Wells, Lorenzo Snow, Brigham Young, Jr., Albert Carrington and John W. Young, Counsellors.

Of the Twelve Apostles.

            Orson Pratt, Sen., John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, C. C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, Brigham Young, Jr., Albert Carrington.

            Patriarch -- John Smith

Of the first Seven Presidents of Seventies.

            Joseph Young, Albert P. Rockwood, Levi P. Hancock and Horace S. Eldredge.

Of the Presidency of the High Priests' Quorum.

            Elias Smith, Edward Snelgrove and Elias Morris;

Of the Presidency of this Stake of Zion.

            John W. Young, George B. Wallace, and John T. Caine.

Of the Presidency of the Bishopric.

            Edward Hunter, Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little.

            There were also numbers of leading Elders from various parts of this Territory, and from Idaho.

            Conference was called to order by PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG.

            The choir sang:

My God, the spring of all my joys,
 The life of my delights.

            Opening prayer by ELDER JOHN TAYLOR.

Praise ye the Lord, 'tis good to raise
Your hearts and voices in his praise:

was sung by the choir.

PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG

requested that the brethren who would speak during Conference should express their views regarding the system of co-operation called the United Order. In a short discourse he described the benefits that would accrue to a community that would combine their interests. He spoke of objections that were raised against the Latter-day Saints joining together, but said notwithstanding the obstacles that some might place in their way to prevent the establishment and progress of a United Order of Brotherhood, the Saints intended to go to work and spread, foster and increase peace, happiness and prosperity among themselves, and extend those elements as far as their influence could be felt, until the whole earth was subdued, and harmony, peace and plenty prevailed everywhere.

            President Young then gave some valuable instructions on the principles of true domestic and political economy, and he concluded by expressing a desire for the Elders who should speak to give their views on both sides of the question of co-operation.

[Brigham Young]

[DNW 23:228, 5/13/74, p 4; JD 17:56]

REMARKS

BY PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG,

At the Opening of the Adjourned General Conference, held in the new Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 7th, 1874.

_____

      I do not expect to be able to speak much during this Conference, but I make a request of my brethren who may speak, to give us their instructions and views for or against this general co-operative system, which we, with propriety, may call the United Order. If any choose to give it any other name that will be applicable to the nature of it, they can do so. A system of oneness among any people, whether former-day Saints, middle-day Saints, eleventh hour of the day Saints, last hour of the day Saints, or no Saints at all, is beneficial; but I wish the brethren to give us their views for and against union in a family, whether that family consists of the parents and ten children, or the parents, ten children, fifty grandchildren, or a hundred and fifty great-grandchildren, and so on until you get to a nation. I ask of my brethren who may address the congregations, to give us their views for and against union, peace, good order; laboring for the benefit of ourselves, and in connection with each other for the welfare and happiness of all, whether in the capacity of a family, neighborhood, city, state, nation, or the world.

      We see the inhabitants of the earth, as individuals and nations, struggling, striving, laboring and toiling, every one for himself and nobody else; all are anxious to bless their own dear selves. If you will permit me I will quote an anecdote in illustration of this trait of character among the human family. A man, in asking a blessing upon his food, prayed, "O Lord, bless me and my wife, my son John and his wife, we four, and no more. Amen." If we have generosity of feeling sufficient to pray for blessings upon a fifth person, or upon a whole family, neighborhood or community, all the better.

      We are not entering into any new system, order or doctrine. There are numbers of organizations of a similar character, as far as they go, in our own country and in other countries. Our object is to labor for the benefit of the whole, to retrench in our expenditures; to be prudent and economical; to study well the necessities of the community, and to pass by its many uselss wants; to study to secure life, health, wealth, and union, which is power and influence to any community; and I ask my brethren, while addressing the people during this Conference, to take up these items of every-day life. It seems to be objectionable to some, for the Latter-day Saints to enter into a self-sustaining system, and the probability of our doing so causes a great deal of talk. If we were infidels, any other sect of Christians, or neither Christians nor infidels, but mere worldlings, seeking only to amass the wealth of this world, nothing would be thought or said against it. But for the Latter-day Saints to make a move to the right or to the left, to the front or to the rear, a suspicion arises directly in the minds of the people. I will say to the inhabitants of the whole earth, that the Latter-day Saints are going to work to sustain themselves, to do good to themselves, to their neighbors and to the whole human family; they are going to labor to establish peace and good order on the earth, just as far and as fast as they can, and to prepare them for a happier world than this.

      Talk about it, cry, about it, deride it, point the finger of scorn at it, we care not, we are the servants and handmaids of the Lord, and our business is to build up his kingdom upon the earth, and let all the world say what they please, it matters not to us. It is for us to do our duty.

      Now let me present one little matter. Here are brethren from all parts of the Territory, to represent the different branches of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We find our brethren in various parts of the Territory are in possession of a little land; take a man, for instance, who has got a five acre lot. He wants his team, he must have his horses, harness, wagon, plow, harrow and farming utensils to cultivate that five acres, just as though he was farming a hundred acres. And when harvest comes; he is not accommodated by his neighbors with a reaping machine, and he says—"Another year, I will buy one," and this to harvest five acres of grain. Take the article of wagons among this people, we have five where we should not have more than two; and the money that is spent needlessly by our people for wagons Would make a small community rich. Again, take mowing and reaping machines, and we have probably twice or three times as many in this Territory as the people need. They stand in the sun and they dry up and spoil, and this entails a heavy waste of property. We may take also the article of harness for horses. If this community would be united, and work cattle instead of horses, they might save themselves from two to five hundred thousand dollars yearly. Is this economy or wisdom? A few years ago we raised our own sweet; but when the railroad came it brought sugar to us very cheap, and where is our sorghum now? There is hardly any raised in the whole Territory. The people say—"The sugar is so cheap." Suppose sugar was only one penny a pound, and you had not that penny and could not get it, what good would it do you? None at all. If cotton cloth can be bought for fifteen, ten, or six cents a yard, what does it profit a people if they hard not the money to buy it? It does them no good. When they have the ground to raise the cotton, and the machinery to work this cotton up and make the fabrics they need, they can do it, money or no money. And so we go on from one thing to another, and we would be glad if our brethren, in their remarks, will give us their views and instructions on these points, and the bearing they have had upon the people in the past, and how they will affect them in connection with the United Order which we are now seeking to introduce.

      If any man, merchant, business man, or anybody else has anything to bring forward to show, as they think, that the United Order will militate against the interests of the community, we invite them to speak it freely, and give us both sides of the question. We are for the best, we are for the right, for that which will accomplish the greatest good to the greatest number. I shall now give place for others to speak.

 

PRESIDENT GEO. A. SMITH

prefaced an address to the congregation by reading that portion of Malachi in which the Lord says that, in the latter days, he would send Elijah the prophet, to turn the "hearts of the children to the fathers, and the hearts of the fathers to the children." He then related some circumstances connected with the early history of the Church. The Lord endeavored to establish the order of Zion then, but while some consider it a privilege to consecrate their property to the Lord, others were covetous, and thought about looking after their own interests in preference to those of the work of God. Because of the prevalence of the latter feeling, it was probable that the Lord permitted the enemies of the Saints to drive them. Many had looked forward with grateful anticipations to the time when they would go back to Jackson Co., Missouri, and a desire to live to see that time had been general. Forty years had passed since then, and several times since attempts had been made to establish a United Order, but the Saints had not, it appeared, been prepared for the inauguration of its laws. Since the earliest settlement of this Territory the leading men of the church had endeavored to impress the minds of the people with the necessity of being, as much as possible, self-supporting, and although there had been some progress in that direction, it had been far from what it ought to have been, and yet we anticipated that Babylon would fall, and our outside sources of supply be therefore ultimately cut off.

            When we, as a community, were sustained by home productions, we were not subject to the inconveniences produced by the financial panics and trade fluctuations continually occurring in the world.

            The design of the United Order was to use and direct all the skill, ingenuity and energy in the community for the benefit of the whole. Latter-day Saints surely could not enjoy so much of the favor of the Almighty when scheming and planning each to take advantage of his neighbor, as they could did each esteem the other as himself or herself. Again, the Saints could not prepare for the coming of the Savior but by becoming one.

            The speaker exhorted all to seek for the testimony of the same Spirit that communicated to their minds that God had spoken from the heavens, which would show them that the present movement was but another progressive step of the grand work that the Lord purposed to accomplish. He concluded a most interesting discourse by bearing testimony to the truth of the work of the Lord.

[George A. Smith]

[DNW 23:274, 6/3/74, p 2; JD 17:58]

DISCOURSE

By PRESIDENT GEORGE A. SMITH, DELIVERED

At the adjourned General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Thursday Morning, May 7th, 1874

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS

_____

      "Behold 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." This passage will be found in the 5th and 6th verses of the 4th chapter of the Prophet Malachi.

      The Latter-day Saints were driven from their homes in Jackson County, Missouri, about forty-one years ago. A portion of the mob commenced the outbreak in June or July, and among their first deeds of violence was the destruction of the printing office, plundering the storehouse, and the tarring and feathering of Edward Partridge, the Bishop. This was followed by whipping and killing the people and burning their houses, and finally culminated, on the 13th of October, in driving some fifteen hundred persons from their homes, on the public lands which they had purchased and received titles for from the United States. The people thus driven went into different parts of the State, the great body of them, however, taking shelter in the County of Clay.

      The settlements in Jackson County were commenced on the principle of the law of consecration. If you read the revelations that were given, and the manner in which they were acted upon, you will find that the brethren brought, before the Bishop and his counselors, their property and consecrated it, and with the money and means thus consecrated lands were purchased, and inheritances and stewardships distributed among the people, all of whom regarded their property as the property of the Lord. There were, however, at that period, professed Latter-day Saints, who did not see proper to abide by this law of consecration; they thought it was their privilege to look after "number one," and some of them, believing that Zion was to become a very great city, and that being the centre stake of it, they purchased tracts of land in the vicinity with the intention of keeping them until Zion became the beauty and joy of the whole earth, when they thought they could sell their lands and make themselves very rich. It was probably owing to this, in part, that the Lord suffered the enemies of Zion to rise against her.

      The members of the Church at that period were very industrious, frugal, and law-abiding, and there was no possibility of framing any charges or claims against them by legal means, and the published manifesto, upon which the mob was collected, boldly asserted that the civil law did not afford a guarantee against this people, consequently they formed themselves into a combination, a lawless mob, pledging to each other "their lives, their property and their sacred honors" to drive the "Mormons" from their midst. From that hour the heart of every Latter-day Saint has been occasionally warmed with the feeling—may I be permitted to live until the day when the Saints shall again go to Jackson County, when they shall build the Temple, the ground for which was dedicated, and when the Order of Zion, as it was then revealed, shall be carried out! And it has been generally understood among us that the redemption of Zion would not occur upon any other principle than upon that of the law of consecration.

      Forty years and more have passed away since these events took place. We have been driven five times from our homes; five times we have been robbed of our inheritances. Our leaders and presiding officers have been killed, and not in a single instance, in any State or Territory where we have lived, has the law been magnified in the protection of the Latter-day Saints, until we were driven into these mountains. In 1834, Daniel Dunklin, the Governor of Missouri, said the laws were ample, and the Constitution was ample, but the prejudices of the people were so great that he and the other authorities of the State were powerless to execute the law for the protection of the Mormons. We have had one protector—our Father in heaven, to depend upon; but governors, judges, rulers, officers of any kind, high or low, have utterly failed to extend protection to the Latter-day Saints. God alone has been our protector, and we acknowledge his hand in every deliverance we have hitherto experienced.

      Several times the Church has made advances to organize the Order of Enoch as it was revealed in the Book of Covenants in part, and in the ancient history of the Zion of Enoch; these advances, however, the Saints did not seem prepared to receive. We have been gathered from many nations, and we have brought many notions and traditions with us, and it has seemed that with these notions and traditions we could not dispense. In 1838, an attempt was made in Caldwell County, Mo., the Latter-day Saints owning all the lands in the county, or all that were considered of any value. They organized Big Field United Firms, by which they intended to consolidate their property and to regard it as the property of the Lord, and themselves only as stewards; but they had not advanced so far in this matter as to perfect their system before they were broken up and driven from the State. I understand that three hundred and eighteen thousand dollars in money was paid by the Saints to the United States for lands in the State of Missouri, not one acre of which any one of us has been permitted to enjoy or to live upon since the year 1838, or the Spring of 1839; though at the time of the expulsion, the Commanding General, John W. Clarke, informed the people that if they would renounce their religious faith they could remain on their lands. He said that they were skillful mechanics, industrious and orderly, and had made more improvements in three years than the other inhabitants had in fifteen, and if they would renounce their faith they could remain. But they must hold no more meetings, prayer meetings, prayer circles or councils, and they must have no more Bishops or Presidents; and in view of their refusal to comply with these conditions, the edict of banishment, issued by the Governor of the State, was executed by this general with an army at his heels, and the Latter-day Saints were driven from their happy homes, and thousands of them scattered to the four winds of heaven.

      Since our arrival in these valleys, sermons have been preached from year to year, to illustrate to us the principles of oneness. We find that we are one, generally, in faith. We believe on the Lord Jesus Christ; we believe in the first principles of the Gospel—the doctrines of repentance, and baptism for the remission of sins, the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost and the resurrection of the dead; we readily receive, by the power of the Holy Spirit, manifested to us through the Prophets, the doctrine of baptism for the dead, the holy anointing and the law of celestial marriage. This principle came in opposition to all our prejudices, yet when God revealed it, his Spirit bore testimony of its truth, and the Latter-day Saints received it almost en masse. In order to make a step in the right direction, and to prepare the people to return to Jackson County, the principles of co-operation were taught and their practice entered into; and for the purpose of instructing and encouraging the minds of the people upon the benefits of united action, from the earliest settlement of this Territory to the present time, the presiding Elders of the Church have, every Conference, endeavored to impress upon their minds the necessity of making themselves self-supporting. We have looked forward to the day when Babylon would fall, when we could not draw our supplies from her midst, and when our own ingenuity, talent, and skill must supply our wants. The effect of all this instruction is, that we have made some progress in many directions, but not so much as could have been desired.

      The cultivation of cotton was in. troduced in the South. Sheep-breeding has been extensively adopted, numerous factories have been erected to manufacture both the wool and the cotton produced. Several extensive tanneries have also been established for the manufacture of hides into leather, and various other kinds of business have been introduced with a view to making ourselves self-supporting.

      Within a few years the railroad has been constructed through our Territory, and the expense of freighting has been greatly reduced. Mines which, before the railroad was built, were perfectly worthless, have been developed and made to pay, and the minds of many of the people seem to have been impressed with the idea that we may expect some regular, general business to grow out of the production of the mines, and a great many have been led to neglect home manufactures, and to depend upon purchasing from abroad. Some settlements have, however, exerted themselves considerably to produce clothing, and many articles within themselves. These circumstances are all clear before us. You go through Utah County, to-day, and say to a farmer, "Have you got any sorgum to sell?" "No, haven't raised any for two or three years; sugar got so cheap, we could not sell it." "I suppose you have plenty of sugar?" "No, we are out of sugar, we haven't any money to buy it with." This is the position which our course of life has led us to, and which we already begin to feel.

      There is another principle connected with this matter which we should consider, and that is, when we as a community, in the valleys of the mountains, provide for our own wants, we are not subject to the fluctuations and difficulties that result from a money panic, or an interruption in the currency. When we came to this Conference a great many of us came with the determination to take such measures as should place us as a people on an independent footing, and hence we propose through our brethren, to go to work and organize a united order. Them is at present a deficiency in our organization so far as our business relations are concerned. Of course, in every settlement, there are many industrious men, then there's some who are schemers; and as each man looks out for himself, that good principle which the Savior taught so strongly, that a man should love the Lord his God with all his heart, and his neighbor as himself, is in a great measure forgotten, and a few gather up the property, while many of the laboring men, who do most of the work, come out at the end of the year behind, without a full supply of the necessaries of life. To avoid this, a United Order would organize a community so that all the ingenuity, talent, skill, and energy it possessed would insure to the good of the whole. This is the object and design in the establishment of these organizations. It is perfectly certain that there is in every community a sufficient amount of skill and energy and labor to supply its wants, and put all its members in possession of every necessary and comfort of life, if all this skill and energy be rightly directed. We propose to take measures to direct aright the labor that we have in our possession, and lay a foundation for comfort, happiness, plenty and the blessings of life within ourselves.

      We, further, do not believe that Latter-day Saints, in the service of the Most High, can enjoy that high degree of respect in the presence of the Almighty to which they are entitled, when they are biting, devouring, shaving, skinning, and manoeuvering, and out-manoeuvering and getting the advantage of each other in little petty deals. We want to see these things cease entirely, for we know that we can never be prepared for the coming of the Savior only by uniting and becoming one, in temporal as well as in spiritual things, and being prepared to enjoy the blessings of exaltation.

      The principles of life, which we now present for the consideration of the Latter-day Saints were carried out in times past, as we read in the Book of Mormon, among the Nephites and Lamanites, who each enjoyed over a hundred years of unity, peace, happiness and plenty, as the result of adopting this system of unity; and if we will unite in one, acting in good faith, every man esteeming his brother as himself, regarding not what he possesses as his own, but the Lord's, all carrying out these principles, the result is certain—it is the enjoyment of the Spirit of the Lord, it is the light of eternity, it is the abundance of the things of this earth; it is an opportunity to provide education for our children, amusement and interest for ourselves, a knowledge of the things of the kingdom of God, and all sciences which are embraced therein, and an advance in the work of the last days, preparatory to the redemption of the centre stake of Zion.

      Brethren and sisters, think of these things, and as the spirit, of the Almighty was in your hearts when you received the laying on of hands and the baptism of the Holy Spirit, bearing testimony that the Gospel of Jesus Christ was true, seek with all your hearts, and know, by the same spirit, that the establishment of the United Order, is another step towards the triumph of that great and glorious work for which we are continually laboring, namely the dawning of the Millennium and the commencement of the reign of Christ on the earth.

      This is the Work of the Almighty. These principles are from God; they are for our salvation, and unless we remember and abide in them our progress will be slow. If we are slow to learn and progress, but try to carry out the purposes of God, He will not cast us off. He has been very patient with us these forty years, and he may continue to be so. But understand that the hearts of the fathers must be turned to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers. A entry must exist, the Latter-day Saints must love one another, they must cease to worship this world's goods, they must lay a foundation to build up Zion and to be one, in order that they may be prepared for the great day that shall burn as an oven.

      I bear my testimony to you of the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, of the Book of Mormon, of the ministry of Joseph Smith and of his servants the Elders that were called of the Lord by him, Brigham Young and the Apostles and Elders who have borne these testimonies to the nations of the earth, and I say, brethren, give diligent heed to these things, lest by any means we should let them slip and come short of entering into rest.

      May the blessings of Israel's God be upon you for ever. Amen.

 

ELDER JOHN TAYLOR

addressed the Conference on the same subject treated upon by President Smith. The principles embodied in the ideas now being advanced to the Latter-day Saints, were not particularly new, yet that they should be objected to by those who are opposed to the work of God was not to be wondered at. The Latter-day Saints could not conform, however, to the ideas of other people and give up their religion. They had been asked to do this in Missouri, but they did not comply, and they were driven from their homes. The Saints united together then and helped each other to leave that part of the country. The same had been done in other places, until the people came here, that they might enjoy that freedom of conscience which was denied them by the so-called Christians who had driven and persecuted them.

            The Saints were generally ready to respond to calls to advance the cause of God, and there were sympathies existing in their hearts towards each other. Prayers had been offered up that the time might come that the order of Zion might be established, that Jackson County might be built up, yet when the thing came along the Saints appeared to be stuck with surprise. There was nothing new in a people being self-sustaining, and organizing in a common bond of union. Certain articles were required for sustenance, and it was only a question as to whether we shall make those things ourselves or employ others to do this labor for us.

            The wool and hides raised in the Territory should be kept here and worked up into articles which were required for wear. The speaker mentioned a large number of branches of industry that might be in operation. It was time the people stopped purchasing goods and learned how to make them. There was only one side to the question at issue, and that was in favor of union, peace and prosperity.

            Elder Taylor then alluded to the progress of co-operation at Brigham City, where there were a woollen factory, tannery, harness shop, boot and hoe shop, hat factory, dairy and other branches, all in the co-operative plan, and described the benefits which had already flowed to the people there from the adoption and practice of co-operative principles.

[John Taylor]

[DNW 23:314, 6/17/74, p 10; JD 17:63]

DISCOURSE

BY ELDER JOHN TAYLOR, DELIVERED

At the Adjourned General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
held in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Thursday Morning, May 7th 1874.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      Those things which we have been listening to are of very great importance to the Latter-day Saints. Situated as we are, entertaining the views that we do, in possession of the light and intelligence that have been communicated unto us, we stand, in these respects, in an entirely different position from that of the world with which we are surrounded; and, as has already been stated, it is necessary that we begin to reflect a little upon that which has been revealed to us, that we may understand our position and relationship to each other, the duties and responsibilities that devolve upon us as fathers, as mothers, as children, as Elders of Israel, and in all the various relationships of life, and that we may comprehend the requirements made of us by our heavenly Father. Some of those things which have been presented before us are obvious to every reflecting mind, there is nothing strange, anomalous or peculiar about them; they are things which have been more or less advocated by different statesmen among the various nations of the earth, and, according to circumstances, they have been adopted, more or less, by a great many people, and we, the Latter-day Saints, have approached nearer to them than many of us seem to have any idea of. There would not be time, at present, to enter into an elaborate detail of the various plans, ideas and workings involved in the principles which have been presented before us this morning; but in taking a cursory view of our position, we shall find that it is very different from that of any other people. We have already carried out a great many of those things which have been referred to, that is, a great many of us have; not all. The position that we have occupied in this nation, in the States of Missouri and Illinois, and in the various countries of those States, and the history of this people has been a very peculiar one. It is true, as has been said that if we would give up our religion, and act and feel as others act and feel, we should be hail fellows well met with the world, and we could have the fellowship of the devil and all his imps. We could have this all the time if we would conform our ideas to theirs. But what are their ideas? Who can describe them? They are simply a babel of contrarieties, contradictions, confusion, ignorance, darkness, speculation, mystery, folly, vanity, crime, iniquity and every kind of evil that man can think of, and if we were willing to join in with this it would be all right, and we should be hail fellows well met. But we do not propose to do that. God has spoken from the heavens; the light and intelligence which exist in the eternal worlds have been communicated, the heavens have been opened and the revelations of God given to man, and we have participated in them in part, and the light thus received has enabled us to look at the world as it is; it has opened to our view the visions of eternity; it has made us acquainted with our God, with the principles of truth, and we would not barter that for all the world has to give us. We rejoice, therefore, and thank God for the light and intelligence that he has communicates to us, and so far we have measurably been one, and we could not have helped ourselves and prevented it, if we had desired to, for the world was determined to make us one, or make hypocrites of us, like themselves; one of the two. We had either got to be one, or deny the principles that God has implanted in every honest man's soul, and we would not do that. No man will barter his independence, no man will barter his convictions, no man, who is intelligent and honorable, will barter his religion or his politics at the caprice of any other man. God has implanted certain principles in man, and as long as manhood is retained they can not be obliterated, they are written there as in letters of living fire, and there they will remain so long as we retain our manhood and standing before God. What has been the result of this, so far as it has gone? Why, when the people in Missouri proposed that we should live among them in peace if we would leave our religion, did we do it? Not quite. What did we do? We clung to our religion. And what did those honest, generous, gentle, intelligent, Christian people do? Robbed us of nearly all we possessed, and with the balance we agreed to help one another to get to some place where men could worship God according to the dictates of their conscience, if such a place could be found in republican America. Well, we left. Did we unite? Yes, we did; and every man that had a team, a wagon, two, three or four horses, two, three, four, five or six yoke of cattle, or bread, money or clothing, distributed among his brethren, and we helped one another out until every man who wanted to leave had left. There might have been a few miserable "skeezeks," such as we have among us here, a few miserable hounds left, but what of them? Why, nothing at all, they did not think anything of themselves, and nobody thought anything of them.

      We commenced again in Illinois, just on the same principle. There we built a Temple, end performed the ordinances of God in his house; there we attended to our sacraments, entered into our covenants, and commenced anew to worship God according to the dictates of our own consciences, and there again we found a lot of Christians, just the same as in Missouri, who did not like our religion. Said they—"Gentlemen, we do not like your religion; but if you will be like us, you can live among us; if you do not believe and worship God as we do, you can not stay here." Well, we could not quite come it then, any more than we did before; and they killed Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith, burnt our houses, destroyed our property, and let loose mobs upon us, and deprived us of the rights of American citizens; and finally we had to leave the States and come out among the red men of the desert, that we might find that protection among the savages that Christendom denied us. How did we get here? We helped one another. In the Temple that we had erected, and dedicated to the Most High God, we lifted up our hands before God, and covenanted before him that we would help one another to leave that land, so long as there was one left in it who desired to leave. Did we keep this covenant? We did. Why? Because we felt an interest in the welfare of our brethren; we believed in our religion, in building up the kingdom of God, and in carrying out his purposes and designs. The Christians object to all this? Of course they do, but who cares about them? I do not, not one straw; we have had so much of their tender mercies, that they take no effect now upon us. Again, we pay oar Tithing. Some may inquire—"Do not the Priesthood rob you?" I do not know, I do not think we are robbed very much, or that we are very much injured. We do not do enough of it to be injured very much, we are something like what the boy said of his father. A man asked a boy—"Are you a Mormon?" "Yes." "Is your father a Mormon?" Said the boy—"Yes, but he don't potter much at it." There are a great many of us who do not potter much at it, but still we make the attempt.

      What have we done since we came here? Before the railroad was made we sent from here, year after year, as many as five hundred teams to help the poor who were unable to help themselves. Hence you see that a good deal of this unity of action has been carried out among us, but we have only pottered a little at it, we have not got right into the matter, only in part.

      Our Ladies' Relief and other societies and organizations have done a good deal of this kind of thing, and they are looking after the interests of the poor, the widow and the fatherless. What is the business of our Bishops? Why, to attend to these things. Do they do it? They do. And then, if there is any enterprise, or anything required, the people are ready to take hold and do it, independent, say, of these covenants we have heard spoken of. A short time ago, in St. George, they commenced to build a Temple. Men were called upon from different parts, some from this city, a great many from Sanpete County, and from the different settlements, to go and assist down in that locality in building the Temple. Did they do it? Yes. Was there much grunting about it? I have not heard that there was. I happened to be in a meeting a short time ago, and it was said they wanted a little means to help to clothe these men, and to furnish them certain things, and in a very little while there were some ten or twelve hundred dollars subscribed, without any grunting. There is a feeling of sympathy in the hearts of Latter-day Saints towards one another, and for the upbuilding and advancement of the kingdom of God. But yet some of us are a little startled when we hear about uniting our properties, &c. I am amused sometimes to see the manifestation of feeling by some on this subject. We have been praying a long while that we might go back to Jackson County, and build up the Centre Stake of Zion; that we might enter into the United Order of God, and be one in both temporal and spiritual things, in fact in everything; yet when it comes along it startles us, we are confused and hardly know what to think of it. This reminds me of an anecdote, which I will relate to you. Among the passengers on a steamer crossing the Atlantic, was a very zealous minister who was all the time preaching to those on board about, the glory and happiness of heaven, and how happy they would all be when they got there. During the voyage a very heavy storm arose, and the vessel was drifted from her course and was in great danger of striking on a reef of rocks. The captain went to examine his chart, and after a while returned with a very sorrowful face, and said—"Ladies and gentlemen, in twenty minutes from this time we shall all be in heaven." "God forbid!" said the minister. Many of us are a good deal like this minister; for years we have been talking about a new order of things, about union and happiness, and about going back to Jackson County, but the moment it is presented to us we say—"God forbid." But then on sober, second thought, another feeling seems to inspire us, and wherever we go a spirit seems to rest upon the people which leads them almost unanimously to embark in these things; and when we reflect, saying nothing about our religion, an extended system of co-operation seems to agree with every principle of good common sense. Is there anything extraordinary or new in the doctrine that it is well for a community to be self-sustaining? Why, the Whigs, you know, of this country, have contended on that principle from the time of the organization of the government, and they have sanctioned it and plead in its behalf before Congress, in political caucusses, and before the people up to the present time. There is nothing new in the doctrine of a people being self-sustaining. The first Napoleon introduced into France what is known as the "Continental system," which encouraged the production of all necessary articles at home, and it is the results of this system which today gives stability to France, and has enabled her, after the severe trials of the late war, to pay off her indebtedness and stand independent among the nations.

      Now, for instance, we require a great many things in connection with human existence. We need boots and shoes, stockings, pants, vests, coats, hats, handkerchiefs, shirts, we need cloth of various kinds, and dresses, shawls, bonnets, &c., and in every reflecting mind, the question naturally arises, Is it better for us to make these things ourselves at home, or to have somebody abroad make them for us? Is it better for each man to labor separately, as we do now, or to be organized so as to make the most of our labor? We have a large number of hides here in this Territory, what do we do with them generally? Send them to the States. We raise a large amount of wool here, what do we do with it? We export a great deal of it to the States. We have got a large amount of excellent timber here, what do we do for our furniture? We send to the States for a great deal of it. Where do we get our pails and our washtubs, and all our cooper ware from? We send to the States for it. Where do we get our brooms from? From the States; and so on all the way through the catalogue, and millions on millions of dollars are sent out of the Territory every year, for the purchase of articles, most of which we could manufacture and raise at home. This is certainly very poor economy, for we have thousands and thousands of men who are desirous to get some kind of employment, and they cannot get it. Why? Because other people are making our shoes, hats, clothing, bonnets, silks, artificial flowers, and many other things that we need. This may do very well for a while in an artificial state of society; but the moment any reverse comes that kind of thing is upset, and all our calculations are destroyed.

      I believe in organizing the tanners and having the bides tanned at home. When the hides are tanned I believe in organizing the shoemakers, and manufacturing our own shoes and boots, I believe in keeping our wool at home, and in having it manufactured in our own factories, and we have got as good factories here as anywhere. They should work up all the wool in the country, and if there is not enough raised to keep them running, import more. Then I believe in organizing men to take care of our stock—our cattle and sheep, and increasing the clip of wool, that we may have enough to meet the demands of the whole community. Then, when our cloth is made, I believe in organizing tailors' companies to manufacture that cloth into clothing—pants, coats, vests, and everything of the kind that we need. Then for our furniture, I believe in going into the mountains and cutting down the timber, framing it into proper shape, and then manufacturing the various articles of furniture that we need; if we require another kind of timber, import that, but make the furniture here, When we talk about co-operation, we have entered but very little into it, and it has been almost exclusively confined to the purchase of goods. There is not much in that. I wish we would learn how to produce them instead of purchasing them. I wish we could concentrate our energies, and organize all hands, old, middle-aged and young, male and female, and put them under proper directions, with proper materials to manufacture everything we need to wear and use. We have forgotten even how to make sorghum molasses, and our memories are getting short on other points. We can hardly make a hat or coat, or a pair of boots and shoos, but we have to send to the States and import these paper ones, which last a very short time and then drop to pieces, and you have your hands continually in your pockets to supply these wants, and by and by your pockets are empty. It is therefore necessary that we right about face, and begin to turn the other end to, and be self-sustaining.

      The President said he would like the Elders to give both sides of the question; but there is only one side to this question, and that is union in all our operations, in everything we engage in. They started a little thing like this in Box Elder County some time ago, and I was vary much pleased to see the way things west there. I have spoken about it once or twice in public. They have got their co-operative store, it is true; but that is only a small part of it. Sometime ago I asked them—"You have a factory here, haven't you?" "Yes." "Well, do you sell your wool, send it to the States to mix up with shoddy and get an inferior article, or do you make it up yourselves?" "We make it up ourselves." "Then you don't sell your wool, and keep your factory standing idle?" "No, we don't, our factory has never stood idle a day for want of wool since it was organized." Said I—"That looks right. What do you do with your hides? Do you send them off?" "No, we have got a very good tannery and we tan them, and make them into leather for shoes, and for harness and for other purposes." "Oh, indeed? "Yes, that is the way it is." "Well, then, what next?" "Why, when we get our shoes made, we have a saddlers' organization, and they make all the saddlery and harness we want?" "And what do you do with your cows? Do you let them run on the plains, and live or die, just as it happens, without making any cheese or butter?" "No, we have a co-operative dairy, and we have our cows in that, and we receive so much from them all the time regularly." "Well," said I, "that looks right. And are you all interested in this?" "Well, about two-thirds or three-fourths of us are all engaged in these matters." "How about your store, does it run away with the best part of it?" "No." "Does the factory get the cream of it?" "No." "Does some keen financial man get his fingers in and grab it?" "No, we are all mutually interested in everything, the profits as well as the losses." I have learned, since I was there, that they have made it a great success.

      Now, then, if you can organize one little thing in that way, everything can be done in the same way. I was talking with President Lorenzo Snow, and he told me that they pay their men every Saturday night; they have a money of their own, and they pay their hands with it, and that is good for everything they require. And they make their arrangements unitedly, and they operate together for the general good. Said I—"How do they feel about this United Order?" "Oh," I was told, "They are ready for anything that God may send along." That is the feeling among the Saints, I believe, generally. I was, I think, at the biggest meeting I ever attended in Ogden City, along with some of the Presidency and Twelve and others, and I never saw more unanimity among the people on any question than on this one. That big Tabernacle was full, and the aisles were full, and everything was jammed to overflowing, and when a vote was called, nearly every hand went up. I thank God that his Spirit is operating upon the Latter-day Saints, and is leading them to a union in regard to these things.

      May God help us, and lead us in the right path, in the name of Jesus, Amen.

 

            Adjourned til 2 p. m.

            The choir sang:

Jerusalem, my glorious home.

            Benediction by ELDER ORSON PRATT.

_____

[7 May, 2 pm]

[DNW 23:225, 5/13/74, p 1]

FIRST DAY

AFTERNOON

What wondrous things we now behold,
By prophets seen in days of old,

was sung by the choir.

            Prayer was offered by ELDER WILFORD WOODRUFF.

            The choir sang --

Great God, attend while Zion sings
The joy that from thy presence springs.

ELDER ORSON PRATT

addressed the Conference on the United Order. He gave a brief history of this Order as it had existed in different ages of the world. In the fall of 1830 Joseph Smith translated the fore part of the book of Genesis. In it was a revelation given by God to Enoch, the seventh from Adam. Enoch was commanded to preach to the inhabitants of the earth the gospel of Christ. He obeyed the command, and built up branches of the church in various parts. Eventually the people who obeyed the warning he gave gathered together as the Latter-day Saints had done, and they built up a city, and the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and of one mind, and had o poor among them. After Enoch had fulfilled his mission of preaching to and gathering the people he continued preaching for three hundred and sixty-five years, at the end of which time they were prepared to leave this earth. That people, before their translation, had great power, by the exercise of which their enemies, who sought to destroy them, were defeated. The Lord made known to them that eventually the earth, in answer to their prayers, would be freed from wickedness, but that that time had not yet come; that they would be taken to another sphere, until the latter times, when they would again come to earth.

            The speaker then traced the history of the people of God in every dispensation, from the time of the flood until the latter times, and showed the different extents to which a united order of things had been practiced or rejected in different ages. The disciples in the days of Jesus and the ancient apostles, sold their possessions and laid the proceeds at the feet of the Apostles, which would not have been necessary had the Jews been willing to accede to the laws of an organization involving a union of property.

            He next dwelt upon the visit of Jesus to the Nephites on this continent, the establishment of his Church, the organization of a universal united order amongst them, the blessings and prosperity that were poured out upon them when there were no poor among them. Subsequently they began to withdraw from that glorious order of things, the fostering hand of God was consequently withdrawn from them, distinctions of classes sprang up, there being rich and poor. The people divided under the names of Lamanites and Nephites, and they warred with each other until the Nephites were all destroyed from the earth.

            In 1830 God gave a commandment to Joseph to organize the Church of Christ, which was done on the 6th day of April of the same year. In 1831 a Conference was held at the house where the church was organized. During the summer of 1831 the Lord revealed through the Prophet Joseph that the centre stake of Zion should be in Jackson County, Missouri, and indicated the spot where the Temple should be built. It was also revealed that those who should gather up there should consecrate all their property.

            We had heard of the difficulties that had been in the way of the establishment of the United Order, in the covetousness of the people. The Lord gave a revelation that the names of those who would reject the law of consecration would be blotted out form the books, and also that if the children of Zion would not comply with his law they should be driven out of the land, that they should be persecuted, and the land would not be a Zion to them, and but few should stand to receive their inheritances in it; and how strikingly had these things been fulfilled. It was promised, however, that inasmuch as this people would repent they should return to Jackson county and build up Zion; but few, however, of those who were driven from Jackson County would be left remaining to participate in that work.

            Elder Pratt then read some revelations contained in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, relating to the establishment of the United Order of Zion, and related and explained the circumstances connected with efforts of the Lord, through Joseph Smith, to inaugurate it in the early history of the church, showing that the people were too full of covetousness to fully receive and practice it.

            Those who entered into this Order now should remember that it is a most holy and sacred covenant, which could not be lightly treated with impunity.

            At the request of President Brigham Young, Elder DAVID MCKENZIE read to the conference the preamble and articles of agreement adopted by the United Order of St. George, which explained the reasons and causes leading to the organization of the Order, and also indicated its character by the nature of the conditions imposed in the agreement.

            Fourteen rules were adopted by the Order of St. George, for guidance in the daily walk and conversation of the members, which would create a most desirable condition of things, whenever practiced in fulness.

PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG

said--

            You can readily perceive that the United Order will be conducted strictly upon business principles, as much so as the business of any mercantile firm or bank in the country. No business will be attended to more strictly and correctly than our business in this Order, so that we can give an account to those who may have the right to ask it at any time. We shall not ask the people, at present, how they like the rules and regulations that have just been read; but before we get through with the Conference we expect to organize the centre stake of Zion in these mountains. Then we shall ask you how you like these rules, and shall perhaps have them read to you again. In the meantime study the matter over thoroughly, so that you can comprehend the objects and designs of the Order and what it will do for the people. I can tell you now, what it will do for you. It will not make any person any worse off in temporal matters, but it will place thousands and hundreds of thousands in a condition in which they will be as comfortable and as happy as they can desire. And when the question is asked -- "Whose is this?" -- the earnings and savings of this community, organized to sustain and promote the kingdom of God on the earth, the answer will be -- "It is ours, and we are the Lord's, and all that we have belongs to him. He has placed this in our possession for our improvement and to see what we will do with it, and whether we will devote ourselves, or time, talents and means for the salvation of the human family."

            It is time for us to close, and we shall adjourn until to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock.

            The choir will sing an anthem.

            Adjourned till Friday morning at ten o'clock.

            The choir sang --

O, be joyful in the Lord.

            Benediction by ELDER LORENZO SNOW.

_____

[8 May, 10 am]

[DNW 23:225, 233, 5/13/74, p 1, 8]

SECOND DAY

_____

FRIDAY MORNING, MAY 8th.

            The choir sang:

An angel from on high,
The long, long silence broke.

            Prayer by ELDER ALBERT CARRINGTON.

            Singing by the choir of

Sweet is the work, my God, my King,
To praise thy name, give thanks, and sing,

ELDER WILFORD WOODRUFF

said he would not make a very able advocate against the establishment of the United Order of Zion. He had thought on the subject, and could come to no other conclusions than those that were favorable to it. It might deprive us of the privilege of purchasing mustard from abroad and cause us to utilize that which grows on our farms; it might prevent us having the privilege of using brooms made by strangers, and cause us to make those articles ourselves.

            It was time that a change took place among the Latter-day Saints. There were many advantages that would accrue to them by uniting together in temporal concerns. It was surprising that any money was left in the Territory at all, under the ruinous importing and non-exporting policy that had been pursued heretofore. Aside from financial considerations we believed in the revelations of God. The Latter-day Saints had not been prepared for the Kingdom of Heaven in the condition in which they had been. It appeared that the day had come to favor and make a change in Zion. The Spirit of the Lord had more or less borne testimony to the congregations of the Saints regarding the correctness of the principles of the United Order. It had been a hard matter for us to bring our minds to the condition when we would be willing to be controlled in our affairs by the Lord. This was because there was a vail between us in our mortal condition and the heavenly worlds. Were it not so, we would always be ready and willing, but these things were measurably hid for a wise purpose.

            We had a sure hope of eternal blessings according tour faithfulness, and surely there could be no question as to whether the glories and blessings of eternity were worth all the earthly possessions we might have. It was somewhat different with us in commencing this Order to what it was with the Nephites, because w began it before the wicked were destroyed, while they did after that had been done. We organized that we might be prepared for the judgments of God, which would destroy the unrighteous. The speaker felt that it was the duty of the Saints, as a people who were anticipating the coming of the Savior, and the establishment, purification and redemption of Zion to take hold of the United Order, and should they not do so they would not enjoy the favor of the Lord. The spirit of the Lord manifested to the speaker that the Kingdom of God would progress and overcome all obstacles to its development, and eventually fill the whole earth.

[Wilford Woodruff]

[DNW 23:328, 6/24/74, p 8; JD 17:69]

DISCOURSE

BY ELDER WILFORD WOODRUFF, DELIVERED

At the Adjourned General conference, in the new Tabernacle,
Salt Lake City, Friday Morning, May 8th, 1874

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      We had a request given to us, at the opening of the Conference, yesterday morning, by President Young, to give evidences for and against the United Order of Zion. I do not know that I should be a very able advocate against it. I have been looking over in my own mind, the arguments which might be brought against it, and there are a few things I wail name. If we were to undertake to unite according to the spirit and letter of this order it would, in one sense of the word, deprive us of having half a dozen candidates at elections, as is the custom generally in the Christian world. It would, in a I measure, deprive these candidates of the opportunity of spending a month or two stump-speeching to get the votes of the people; then, when the election came, of paying for two or three barrels of bad whiskey to treat those who are going to vote for them. Then it might deprive Alderman Clinton, or some other justice of the peace, of the chance of collecting two or three hundred dollars as fines from those who had committed a breach of the peace. It might deprive the Benedicts and other surgeons of the opportunity of collecting five hundred or a thousand dollars for mending broken arms and legs got in free fights. Probably it would deprive the people of the opportunity of spending fifty or a hundred thousand dollars a year in importing mustard into this Territory, and require the farmers to collect and use that which is now a nuisance on their fields. It might also deprive us of the privilege of paying a hundred thousand dollars for imported brooms, and require us to plant two or three hundred acres of broom corn. These are about the only objections that I can think of against the order, though you might carry it out in detail, perhaps, a good deal further; but with regard to the benefits arising from it, they are so numerous that it would take a long time to enumerate them. I do not think it requires a great deal of argument to prove to us that union is strength, and that a united people have power which a divided people do not possess.

      I am very glad that I have lived long enough to see a day when the hearts of the people can be united so as to carry out these things, while they also act upon their own agency in receiving and obeying them. We have been a good many years preaching up the necessity of the Latter-day Saints being one in temporal as well as in spiritual things, and I have felt, for a long time, in my own mind, that there must be a change among us. The way we have been drifting, has not seemed to have a tendency, as a general thing, to carry out the purposes of the Lord, and to prepare us, as a people, for those events which await us.

      In our spiritual labors we have been united in a measure, and in some things perhaps in a temporal point of view. Now, for instance, the case I referred to in regard to our elections. I do not think that, for the twenty-four years we have resided in these valleys, any man has ever paid a sixpence in order to obtain any office to which he has been elected by the votes of the people, whether as Delegate to the Congress of the United States, Governor of the Territory, member of the legislature, probate judge, or any other office. I do not think that any man who has been in office has ever even asked for it in any shape or manner. So far as this is concerned we have been united, and we have one consolation in regard to our officers, I do not believe there has ever been a single defaulter among them in the whole Territory, so far as dollars and cents are concerned, in any office. In this respect then we see the advantage of being united.

      There are very many advantages that will accrue to Us if we unite our hearts, feelings, labors, interests, property, and everything that we are made stewards over, One thing is certain, we can not continue in the course that we have pursued in regard to temporal matters. It is suicidal for any people to import ten dollars' worth of products While they export only one, and it is a miracle and a wonder to me that we have lived as long as we have under this order of things. We have sent millions of dollars out of the Territory every year, for articles for our home consumption, while we have exported but very little; hence I say that the establishment and success of this new order among us will bring about our temporal salvation.

      We occupy a different position from the rest of the world. We believe in the revelations of Jesus Christ contained in the Bible as well as in the record or stick of Joseph in the hands of Ephraim,—the Book of Mormon, which gives a history of the ancient inhabitants of this continent, We also believe in the Book of Revelations, which were given through the mouth of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, to the Latter-day Saints and to the inhabitants of the earth. Inasmuch, then, as we believe these things, we, if we carry out our faith, must of necessity go to and prepare ourselves for the fulfillment of the revelations of God. When we are in possession of the Spirit of God, we understand that there is a change at the door, not only for us but for all the world. There are certain events awaiting the nations of the earth as well as Zion; and when these events overtake us we will be preserved if we take the counsel that is given us and unite ours time, labor and means, and produce what we need for our own use; but without this we shall not be prepared to sustain ourselves and we shall suffer loss and inconvenience thereby. I am satisfied that as a people, pursuing the course we have pursued hitherto, we are not prepared for the Zion of Enoch or the kingdom of God. Them was an order carried out anciently by the people of this continent and by the people of the city of Enoch, wherever that was located, which was very different from the practice which has prevailed among the Saints of latter days; and as far as such a system being any injury to us I can see none in the world. I can see no injury that can overtake the Latter-day Saints, by their uniting together, according to the law of God, and producing from the elements that which they need to eat, drink and wear, and I feel as though the time has come for such an order to be instituted; and the readiness with which the people receive the teachings of the servants of God in regard to this matter is a testimony that the time has come to favor Zion. The Spirit of God bears witness to the congregations of the Saints of the importance of the principles which have been given unto us, and hence their readiness to receive them.

      From the commencement of this work to the present day, the labor has been harder with the servants of God to get the people prepared in their hearts to let the Lord govern and control them in their temporal labor and means than in regard to matters pertaining to their eternal salvation. It was hard work for Joseph Smith to get the minds of the people prepared even to receive the Gospel in his day. But the Lord opened the way, the Gospel was preached and the Church was organized in its purity and in the order in which it existed in the days of Jesus Christ and the Apostles, and wherever the Gospel has been sent the ears of the people have been more or less opened and a portion of them have been ready to receive it. This Gospel has been preached in every Christian nation under heaven where the laws would permit, and people from these various nations have overcome their traditions so far as to obey it; but, as I remarked before, it has been hard work for the Latter-day Saints to bring themselves to such a state of mind as to be willing for the Lord to govern them in their temporal labors. There is something strange about this, but I think, probably, it is in consequence of the position that we occupy. There is a vail between man and eternal things; if that vail was taken away and we were able to see eternal things as they are before the Lord, no man would be tried with regard to gold, silver or this world's goods, and no man, on their account, would be unwilling to let the Lord control him. But here we have an agency, and we are in a probation, and there is a vail between us and eternal things, between us and our heavenly Father and the spirit world; and this for a wise and proper purpose in the Lord our God, to prove whether the children of men will abide in his law or not in the situation in which they are placed here. Latter-day Saints, reflect upon these things. We have been willing, with every feeling of our hearts, that Joseph Smith, President Young, and the leaders of the people should guide and direct us in regard to our eternal interests; and the blessings sealed upon us by their authority reach the other side of the vail and are in force after death, and they affect our destiny to the endless ages of eternity. Men, in the days of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and of Jesus and the Apostles, had blessings sealed upon them, kingdoms, thrones, principalities and powers, with all the blessings of the New and Everlasting Covenant. The question may be asked, are these eternal blessings of interest to us? They are, or should be. Are these blessings worth our earthly wealth, whether we have little or much? Is salvation, is eternal life worth a yoke of cattle, a house, a hundred acres of land, or anything that we possess here in the flesh? If it is, we certainly ought to be as ready to permit the Lord to govern and control us in all our temporal labors as we are in our spiritual labors.

      Again, when a man dies he can not take his cattle, horses, houses or lands with him; he goes to the grave—the resting place of all flesh. No man escapes it, the law of death rests upon all. In Adam all die, while in Christ all are made alive. We all understand that death has passed upon all men, but we none of us know when our turn will come, though we know it will not be a great while before we shall be called to follow the generations who have preceded us. When we reflect upon these things I think we all should be willing to let the Lord guide us in temporal matters. In the Book of Mormon we learn that the ancient Nephites, who dwelt on this continent, entered into, and continued in, this order for nearly two hundred years. They were wealthy and happy and the Lord blessed them. They had no poor among them. They were united in heart and in spirit, and the blessings of the Lord rested upon them. It is true they occupied a different position in one sense to what we do. They entered into this order just after the Lord had brought judgment upon the whole nation on account of their wickedness, and many of the wicked had been destroyed: their cities had also been destroyed, and it was while humbled by these judgments that they entered the United Order. But a reign of peace and prosperity rested upon them and continued until they broke the order and began to go, every man for himself and the devil for them all, then utter destruction soon overtook them.

      It is different with us. We are entering this order before the wicked are destroyed. We commence it to prepare us for the great events which are at the door, for if the judgments of God ever were at the door of any generation it is this. The whole volume of Scripture points these things out to us in plain language, and all the unbelief of the inhabitants of the earth will not alter the fact, it will not change the hand of God nor stay his judgments, which are at the door of Great Babylon. She will come in remembrance before God, and he will hold a controversy with the nations; his sword is unsheathed and it will fall on Idumea, the world, and who can stay his hand? These things have been proclaimed by almost every Prophet who has ever spoken since the world began. They point to our day, and their words must have their fulfillment.

      Over forty years the Gospel of Christ has been proclaimed to this generation and to the whole Christian world as far as we have had opportunity. Light has come into the world, but men have rejected it because their deeds are evil, hence the judgments of God will rest upon the nations of the earth in fulfillment of his word through the Prophets. The Lord has called upon us to unite together and take hold of this work, and to prepare ourselves for the great events which are at hand, that when the destroying angels go forth to reap the earth, beginning at the sanctuary, they need not destroy any man upon whom is the mark set by the writer with the inkhorn, who cried and mourned because of the abominations done among men. The Prophet, in seeing the vision of these things in the last days, saw that the earth was reaped, and the reapers began at the sanctuary, and the wicked were cut off by the judgments of God.

      The world now do not believe this any more than they believed in the days of Noah and Lot, and they are no more prepared for it, and they are growing wickeder and wickeder every day of their lives. Wickedness is increasing, for the devil has great dominion over the hearts of the children of men. The Lord is trying to direct and dictate his Saints and I feel that it is our duty, as a people, to unite our interests together, also our time, talents, labor, and all that we are stewards over, that as men who have faith in God, we may be prepared for those things which await us, and for the coming of the Son of Man. We are observing the signs of the times, and we can readily understand the necessity of entering into this order. I think we can all see this if we enjoy any portion of the spirit of our religion and the work of the Lord, which we profess to be engaged in. I can see everything in favor but nothing against the United Order. These teachings are of the Lord; the servants of God have been moved to call upon the people, and the Lord has moved upon the people, and their hearts are being touched by the light of the Holy Spirit, and they are entering into this organization; and my feeling is that if you and I, who profess to be the friends of God, and have entered into a covenant with him, withdraw our hearts from him that we do not see the necessity of uniting ourselves according to this law of God, we shall begin to dry up, and what little life, light, or spirit we have will leave us and we shall go down and we shall not walk in the light of the Lord. I view it as a day of decision to the Latter-day Saints throughout the whole Church and kingdom of God, and we shall find it to our advantage to decide rightly, and to walk in the path marked out for us by the servants of the Lord.

      I feel to say God bless the Latter-day Saints and the honest in heart and meek of the earth throughout the whole world, and I pray that the nations may be prepared for that which is to come, for as God lives there is a change at the door, and what the ancient patriarchs and Prophets said will be fulfilled; and if I were to express my feelings as the spirit reveals to me it would be a good deal as Daniel said, that all who will not prepare themselves for the coming of Christ must get out of the way, for the little stone that was cut out of the mountains without hands will shortly grind them to powder, and they will be cast away as the chaff of the summer threshing floor. The kingdom of God, which Daniel saw, the Zion of God in embryo, is on the earth, and is here in these mountains; and it will rise and rise, until it is clothed with the glory of God.

      May God help us to prepare for his coming and kingdom, for Christ's sake. Amen.

 

ELDER ERASTUS SNOW

also spoke on the United Order of Zion. It was a grand, comprehensive, co-operation system, designed to improve those who went into it, morally, socially, politically, domestically and in every way. It would enable us to live our religion and build up Zion. It would make us discreet in manners, dress, deportment, etc., in a way that could never be accomplished in an individual capacity. The co-operative institutions that had already been established had done much by a combination of capital. The new order, however, involved an amalgamation of capital and labor, and thus could the interests of every necessary industry be promoted among the people. The true and only righteous financial policy was to adopt and carry out such measures as would conduce to promote the greatest amount of good to the greatest number.

            No principle of manly independence was lost in adopting a system of co-operation of the kind intended. It was a fundamental principle of all good society and system of government for the members thereof to surrender certain privileges that all might be mutually benefitted. The great principle involved in the United Order was each one for the whole and God for all. Among other good things it was a mutual educational society for the industrious, frugal and well behaved. Should any one seek in a selfish and covetous manner to appropriate that which he had no right to, a bit would have to be put in his mouth. It was for the strong to sustain the weak. God did not reveal to us all that was necessary to build up Zion at once, but increased and added to our light according to circumstances as they arose. If we were frank and outspoken, honest and unselfish, no power under the Heavens could cause us to fail, but if we sought to aggrandize ourselves at the expense of our fellows we should be broken up.

            Our trade with the outside would not cease, but whatsoever we purchased would be got at first hand from the best markets. in the New Order of things we would have the full benefit of all our agricultural and mechanical productions; we would be enabled to purchase all kinds of labor-saving machinery. The merchants of the Order would not be any the worse off for being connected with it. It would be necessary to have the men to carry on matters of exchange between the various branches of the Order. We have been somewhat afraid because of a lack of confidence in each other. The remedy for this was for each individual to establish confidence in his own heart. Those who did not enter into this Order would eventually become the unpopular ones, and when we succeeded and were established, we would be enabled to look back and wonder how it was that it took us forty years to see the necessity of adopting such grand beneficial measures.

            Elder Snow continued at considerable length, and delivered a powerful, logical discourse, to which a synopsis can do but limited justice.

[Erastus Snow]

[DNW 23:228, 5/13/74, p 4; JD 17:74]

DISCOURSE

BY ELDER ERASTUS SNOW, DELIVERED

At the adjourned General Conference, in the New Tabernacle,
Salt Lake City, Friday Morning, May 8th, 1874

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REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

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      The United Order of Zion, proposed for our consideration, as will be seen from the remarks that have been made by former speakers, and from the articles which were read yesterday afternoon, is a grand, comprehensive, co-operative system, designed to improve us who enter into it, financially, socially, morally and religiously; it will aid us, as Latter-day Saints, in living our religion, and in building up Zion, and help us, by a combined effort, to cultivate every virtue, to put from us every vice, to conduct ourselves and our children sensibly, and to dispense with childish follies; it will enable us to adopt sensible and discreet fashions and habits of life and style of dress and manners; all of which can be effected by combined efforts, but not easily in our individual capacities. For what man, however good be his desires, can control himself and his family in their habits and manners of life and fashions, without the aid of the surrounding community? What sensible man can hold me or my brethren responsible, in all respects, either for ourselves or our households, unaided by the community and while the community are all working against us? But when the community learn to work together, and are agreed in a common purpose, what is it that they can not accomplish? Union is strength, and a combination of labor and capital will give us power at home and abroad. Our former cooperative systems in this Territory have accomplished very great good for us, but they have been only combinations of capital; the proposed system embraces labor as well as capital, and it designs to make the interests of capital and labor identical. True, there is one feature in the articles read yesterday which may require a little modification; it is at least a good subject for mature reflection and consideration before their final adoption; and these articles are presented before the people for this purpose.

      The combination of labor and capital in this order will enable us to promote all branches of industry which shall appear, in the judgment of the common Order, to be for the general good. At present, capitalists are loth to engage in any enterprise which does not vouchsafe to them profitable returns. It has been said by some among us that the best argument in favor of co-operation, was large dividends; but this is an argument that appeals only to cupidity and avarice, and is especially acceptable to the man who sees nothing but the God of this world to worship. Large dividends corrupt the morals of a community, just as large speculations and the profit resulting therefrom; for however desirable in a financial point of view to those engaged in them, their tendency is always to intoxicate the brain, and lead those engaged therein to further follies, until they overreach and ruin themselves. Moderation is as valuable in financial affairs as in social ethics, moderation in all speculation and in all business, fair profits for labor, fair dividends for capital, and the use of that capital and labor to promote the greatest good of the greatest number, and not for my own dear self. The selfishness that is limited to our own persons savors of the lower instincts of our natures, and comes not from above.

      Objections arise in the minds of some. "Shall we not by entering into this order, surrender our manhood, our personal liberty, and those rights so dear to every human being?" I answer, no, not in the least. We do no more than what all people do in the formation of government, of every kind, or associations for any purpose, whether charitable, religious or social. All organizations, corporations, and business firms agree to surrender certain personal privileges in order to secure mutual advantages. All governments, societies, corporations and firms are founded upon the principle of mutual concessions to secure mutual advantages. Without this there could be no government, no power to arrest and punish criminals and protect the rights of the citizen and the sanctity of home.

      The Order proposed before us affords the utmost freedom and liberty. All things shall be done by common consent, and all the Branches of the Order, throughout all the land, are to be organized by the selection of the wisest, best and most experienced persons in their midst, to form their councils, and to direct their business affairs and the labors of the community, for the best possible good of the whole, and not to the individual advantage of a few, who may be schemers or who may have acquired an education by which they are enabled to over-reach their fellow-men financially.

      The grand principle upon which the Gospel of life and salvation is founded and on which Zion is to be built, is brotherly love and good will to man. This was the theme of the angels of God in announcing the birth of the Savior. Hitherto, under our old systems, it has been "every man for himself, and the devil for us all;" but the principle which the Lord proposes is that we should square our lives by a higher and holier one, namely, every one for the whole and God for us all.

      Will this Order benefit the rich? Yes, it will afford security for themselves and families and their capital. It is a mutual insurance institution. Will it afford security and protection to the poor and the honest laborer? Yes, it will lay a foundation for wealth and comfort for them, and their families after them. Is it a free school system? It is a mutual education system. Free? Not to the lazy, vicious and wicked, but it is a mutual education system for the good and industrious, who abide in the Order and fulfill the obligations thereof. Who shall be heirs of the common property? Every child who is born in the Order. Heirs to the whole of it. No, nobody will be heir to the whole of it. To what portion of it will they be heirs? Just what they need. Who shall be the judges? Themselves, if they judge correctly; and if they do not, somebody will judge more correctly for them. "Well, shall I surrender my judgment to anybody else?" Of course, you will; we all agree to that, if it must needs be. But he who judges for himself correctly shall not be judged, but he ,who is unable to judge himself, but covets everything that he sees, and wishes to scatter and destroy what others are seeking to accumulate and preserve, must have a bit put in his mouth and nome, who are more sensible, must handle the reins. This is no agrarian doctrine, to level those who are exalted, down to the mean level of those who are in the mire, but it is the Godlike doctrine of raising those who are of low estate and placing them in a better condition, by teaching them economy, and prudence; it is for the strong to foster and bear the infirmities of the weak, for those who possess skill and ability to accumulate and preserve this world's goods, to use them for the common good, and not merely for their own persons, children and relatives, so as to exalt themselves in pride and vanity over their fellow-men, and sink themselves to ruin by worshiping the God of this world. This is beneath the character of those who profess to be the people of God. We have done that long enough, but the word of God to us is to change our front, and to learn to love our neighbor as ourselves and so cultivate the spirit of the Gospel.

      As to the minutae of the workings of the various Branches of this Order, the details of the business and the relations of life, one meeting of this kind would not suffice to tell, nor could the people comprehend it if we were able to tell it; but it will be revealed to us as we pass along, line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, and everything necessary will appear in its time and place, and none need be over-anxious to pass over the bridge before they reach it. God does not reveal to us everything at once, for our minds are not prepared to comprehend it. Like children we must have experience as we pass along. One thing is sufficient for us to understand, and that is that this Order has made all nations and peoples who have entered into and practiced it prosperous.

      If any one doubts for a moment the success and final triumph of these principles, that doubt is founded only in his own weakness, and in the weaknesses of his fellow-men around him, and the selfishness that is in our natures. If we are determined to make it a success there is no power beneath the heavens that can make it a failure. If we engage in it with full purpose of heart, with faith towards God, and seeking to cultivate confidence towards one another, and are outspoken and frank in all our business relations and intercourse with each other, and do all things by common consent, with a just and honest purpose of soul, there is no power that can hinder our succeeding in our undertaking. But if we are determined to be selfish, and seek to build ourselves up on the weaknesses of our fellows, instead of building up the kingdom of our God, we ought to go down, and the sooner the better. For the last dozen years many of this people have been going on in the way that our fathers and the world generally walk in; and instead of building up Zion, have been after their personal and individual interests. Forty years have passed over us as a people during which we have been trying a little to carry on the work of God; but we have been like the wary trout in the stream, we have been nibbling around the hook, but we have never swallowed the bait. Now the hook is placed before us naked, and we are simply asked the question, "Will you take it or not?" "What, are we going to be caught?" Yes, this is the fear—"We are going to be caught by the wily fisherman—we are going to be enslaved. Has not somebody got an eye on our property? Does not somebody wish to have our horses and carriages, our fine houses, our substance, and the property we have gathered together?" Yes, the Lord has an eye on all this, for it belongs to him. Which of us has anything that does not belong to him? Where have we got that which we possess? Who has given us ability to accumulate and preserve? To whom are we accountable for our talents and gifts, as well as our substance? The Lord has his eye upon all this. Is he anxious about our property? No. This anxiety is in our own breasts, and if we have any idols the sooner we put them away the better. The Lord cares nothing about our houses and lands, our goods and chattels, our gold, silver or raiment, for all upon the earth belongs to him, and at the best it is only something that perishes with the using. He requires us to be faithful in the use of it, for he has said, "He that is not faithful with the unrighteous mammon, who shall commit to him the true riches?" True riches relate to eternity; the riches that relate to this life all perish with the using. Our houses, horses, carriages, clothing, and our gold and silver perish with the using, together with our tabernacles. We look to a glorious resurrection, to a new and enduring earth, to riches that are immortal, to the habitations that shall not pass away, to a glory that is beyond the grave, as the only true riches, which the Gospel enjoins us to look after. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and its righteousness, and all things else shall be added unto you." They will be added in God's own way, and he wishes to show us a better way, and, in order to deal with us as a kind father does with his children, he proposes to enlighten and instruct us, and he will impart to all of his people who will obey his voice the wisdom that is necessary to make them the richest people on the earth. This is the purpose of the Lord concerning Zion and his people—they are to possess this world's goods in abundance, not to be foolish with them and to destroy themselves and their children, but that they may preserve themselves and their children from falling into the vices and follies of great Babylon. He will rise up in their midst wise counselors to provide for the welfare of the whole.

      Will our trading and trafficking with the outside world cease? Of course not. As long as we are in the world, gathering Saints, preaching to the nations and building up Zion, Zion will be as a city set on a hill, which can not be hid. But the Lord proposes to preserve his people as far as possible from the influences of Babylon, and the transactions outside of the Order will be carried on through the Council of the Order; agents will be appointed by the voice of the Order, that what we bring, from abroad may be bought from first hands and in the lowest market, that we may derive the benefits of it, instead of giving the profits to middlemen who are not of us; and what we have for sale we will sell in the best markets, and so enjoy the benefits of our labor, and not by interior competition and underbidding and underselling each other "scatter our ways to strangers," as we have done in times past. By this combined effort we shall be able to obtain the full market value of our products—the products of the farm, dairy, orchard, vineyard, the products of the woolen and cotton factory, of our shoe shops, and every mechanical appliance, to enable us to procure all labor-saving machinery, by our combined efforts, which men in their individual capacity are not able to do. We shall also be enabled to start new enterprises, and if they do not pay at first, they are bound to pay in the end, if they are necessary adjuncts to the prosperity of society. Our common fund will nourish these infant establishments, instead of individuals failing and breaking down in their vain efforts to build up new enterprises in a new country, as is often the case now. And if funds are needed from abroad to aid us in any general enterprise, we shall have the combined property and credit of the community as a guarantee to capitalists abroad, instead of individuals mortgaging their inheritances to procure money to carry on individual "wild-cat" speculations by which thousands are ruined. If they were operating in a United Order and would submit their enterprises to the candid decision of that Order, many an enterprising man would be saved from foolish ventures and from ruin, and the wise and prudent would receive the necessary encouragement and financial aid, to make their undertakings a success for the benefit of the whole.

      Will our merchants be worse off? No, our merchants, those who belong to this Order, will be just as well off as any of the rest of the Order· They will work where they are appointed, go on missions when called, or tan leather, or make hats or wooden shoes, if they are better adapted for that than for standing behind the counter; but if they are best suited to handle the products of the people and to carry on mutual exchanges among ourselves within the Order and with branch Orders and with the outside world, we will appoint them to this labor and service, and hold them to an account of their stewardships, and the results of their transactions go into the common fund. Then they will not be stimulated to avarice, overreaching, lying and deception, to put what they call an honest, but what I call a very dishonest, penny into their pockets. We will endeavor thus, by a union of effort, to take away temptations from our midst to be dishonest, and let the dishonest share the fate of Ananias and Sapphira; but let the virtuous, upright and good be frank and outspoken, and give their sentiments, the witness of the word of truth in their hearts, for the good of the whole. Those who lack business capacity and experience will labor where they can be useful, that the ability of all may be available for the general good.

      These are the principles embraced in the instrument we heard read yesterday afternoon. As to these little personal objections that arise in the mind, we shall find that they exist only in the imaginations of our own hearts, arising from our ignorance or a want of proper understanding, and partly from knowing each other too well, and comprehending each other's selfishness and weaknesses; because of this we are afraid to trust each other. The remedy for this is for every one to set himself to work to better his own condition, first establishing confidence in his own heart between himself and his God, and so deporting himself that he can command the respect and confidence of his brethren and sisters. Every man and every woman should set themselves to do this, and should enter into this Order with a firm determination to do this. Confidence will then soon be restored in our midst. Then every man and every woman will speak the honest sentiments of their hearts, and vote as they feel to do on every question, in the selection of officers and in the transaction of all business, and we will do whatever we do for the general good, according to the light that is in us. Such a people are bound to draw down from the heavens above the revelations of light and truth; they will tap the clouds from above; every man will be a lightning rod to draw electricity from the clouds, in other words, the revelations of light and truth, into their own hearts and minds; they will possess a combined intelligence that will accomplish all they undertake in righteousness, and they will prevail before the Lord and before the world, and will command the respect and honor of the virtuous and good, at home and abroad. Those who refuse to engage in these enterprises, and to eater into the holy Order, will become the unpopular ones; and after we have once succeeded in this effort, we shall marvel and wonder that we did not enter into it before.

      We have been over forty years trying to learn these lessons, and all the time putting them off to a future day, waiting for our children to carry them out; but we shall marvel that we did not rise up and carry them out before. Thousands of Saints have been anxiously waiting and might, perhaps, have entered into this before now; but we have been continually throwing new clay into the machine, drawing new materials from abroad and raising new elements at home, and the elements brought from Babylon has brought Babylon with it, and our habits, customs, notions and individuality have been so prominent, that we could not see the benefits of mutual concessions to secure the mutual advantages and benefits of combined labor.

      I am aware that some capitalists will object to the idea of drawing only fifty per cent. of what remains to their credit, if they should conclude to withdraw from the Order. Be this as it may, I can see no principle appertaining to the Gospel and to the building up of Zion, no principle of justice between man and man, which would permit the capitalist to-day to bring his capital into the Order and surrender it to the custody and care of stout hearts and strong arms to protect and preserve it and to increase it by the erection of factories and machinery and buildings and improvements, by the combined labor of the people, and then all the original capital, together with all the dividends, to be left at the disposal of the few capitalists originally composing the firm, and their be permitted, fifty years hence, to get up and walk off with the whole of it, leaving the great mass of the community, that have grown up from infancy, and preserved and insured and made it valuable, without anything but their daily wages, which they have eaten up as they passed along in supporting themselves and their growing families. I say I see no justice in allowing a few capitalists to draw the whole of their original deposits, together with the whole of the dividends and profits which have been made by the labor of the whole community, and I consider the provision which limits that withdrawal to half the original amount and half the dividends both wise and necessary. It is a question in my mind whether we should, in this Order, recognize the right of capital as above that of labor. This is a point which wild bear criticism. But I will pass that over now.

      There are many objections which will arise in the minds of the people. The enemy will endeavor to throw every possible objection before our minds; but the more we scan it, and the more we seek to understand the principles of this Order, as set before us in this instrument, the more we shall see the wisdom of God manifest therein, and the revelations of light and truth; the more this spirit goes abroad among the people, the more will their hearts be opened and prepared to receive it. I praise God that he has moved upon the heart of his servant Brigham to call this people to "right about face," that they may enter in at the strait gate, which may God grant we may be able to do in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

PRESIDENT JOSEPH YOUNG

said he dared not tax his lungs too much in endeavoring to throw his voice to the extremity of the building so as to make himself heard. He most heartily endorsed the remarks of the speakers on the text given yesterday morning by President Brigham Young. We were not required to surrender our agency in the United Order, because God could not hold us responsible for that which was wrested from us. We should be willing to concede much, however, for the general benefit of our brethren and sisters.

            The speaker then dwelt upon the object of the Creator in causing his children to pass through an earthly probation, showing that it was to prepare them for a higher and nobler state of being, and spoke upon the necessity of each seeking to carry out the object of his existence, and lay a foundation for the blessings of eternity. He devoted the latter part of his discourse to pointing out the necessity for and the character of the United Order.

PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG

made few remarks on the free agency of man.

            Adjourned till 2 p.m.

            The choir sang,

Praise God in His Holiness.

            Benediction by ELDER C. C. RICH

_____

[8 May, 2 pm]

[DNW 23:226, 5/13/74, p 8]

SECOND DAY.

_____

AFTERNOON, May 8.

            Singing by the choir of:

Praise ye the Lord, my heart shall join,
In work so pleasant, so divine.

            Prayer by ELDER BRIGHAM YOUNG, JR.

            The choir sang:

Sweet is the peace the gospel brings
 To seeking minds, and true.

PRESIDENT GEORGE A. SMITH

read section twelve of a revelation given to Joseph Smith, Jan. 19th, 1841, wherein the Lord told the Saints that certain ordinances must be attended to in a temple reared and dedicated for the purpose. The revelation was given in connection with the Nauvoo Temple. The same revelation informed us that if a people should go to work with all their hearts to do a work and their enemies came upon them and hindered them, the Lord would not require that work of them, and He would visit the enemies of his Saints with his indignation and judgments. The speaker then related circumstances connected with the building of the Nauvoo Temple, how the Saints completed the structure, and of their being driven from their homes. The revelation did not, however, end with the completion of the Nauvoo Temple, for God's people were always commanded to build a holy house to the Lord. It appears that, when energetic efforts were put forth for the building of the Temple in this city, the energies of the Saints almost invariably stirred up some persecution against them.

            President Smith then described what had been done in the matter of forwarding the work on the Temple, and showed the absolute necessity of the work being prosecuted vigorously, and of each Latter-day Saint, aiding liberally in forwarding it. He next detained what had been done in the building of the St. George Temple. It was absolutely necessary that additional means should be obtained to continue the work on both buildings at the same ration it had been progressing at for some time past. The brethren must either make a united effort to push forward the work, or it would be necessary to discharge a number of the public hands. The speaker did not believe that the Lord would justify the Saints if they were slow in building those Temples, and those who would contribute to that most excellent work would be blessed, for the people of God were always commanded to build houses to his holy name.

            The remarks of President Smith were mainly devoted to the necessity of paying tithing, and contributing in every possible way to the building up of Zion, and were very pointed and instructive.

PRESIDENT D. H. WELLS

said he had observed that the progress of the work on the Temple in this City had not been diminished by the work that had been done on the St. George building. After making a few remarks on the building of temples, he dwelt upon the principles of the United Order. President Young had talked about and urged the necessity of a united organization among the Saints for over twenty years. Notwithstanding the teachings we had heard we had gradually become less self-sustaining, but the people would go into the United Order. It would prove the turning point to unite us and make us self-sustaining. The discourse of President Wells was of an exceedingly practical character, and was mostly devoted to the subject of political and domestic economy, and plainly indicated the course by the adoption of which any people or community could become happy, peaceful and prosperous. A synopsis could not convey a correct conception of the speaker's remarks.

PRESIDENT GEORGE A. SMITH

said that about one hundred volunteers were wanted, to go to St George to help to put up the Temple walls.

            Adjourned till Saturday at 10 a.m.

            The choir sang:

Daughter of Zion.

            Benediction by ELDER LORENZO SNOW.

_____

[9 May, 10 am*]

[DNW 23:226, 5/13/74, p 8]

THIRD DAY.

_____

SATURDAY MORNING, MAY 9th.

            Singing by the choir of --

When earth in bondage long had lain,
And darkness o'er the nations reigned

            Opening prayer by Elder DAVID MCKENZIE.

With joy, we own thy servants, Lord,
 Thy ministers below;

was sung by the choir.

ELDER CHARLES C. RICH

said he had had the privilege of attending many conferences of the Church, and was certain that when the people came together in that capacity the will of the Lord was manifested to them. The principles leading to the unity of the Saints, laid before us at the present Conference, were not new, but had been measurably taught us since the organization of the Church. The United Order would yet prove the greatest blessing that could be imagined. It incorporated Godlike principles, enabling individuals not only to labor for the benefit of themselves, but also for the good of others. When Jesus should visit us he would not look upon us as high and low, rich and poor, but we would be one.

            Elder Rich continued, at some length, on the necessity of the Saints practising the principles of self-government, that they might not be overcome by temptation, and kindred subjects.

ELDER DAVID MCKENZIE

presented the authorities of the Church to the Conference as follows, the vote to sustain them being unanimous --

            Brigham Young, Prophet, Seer and Revelator, and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in all the world.

            George A. Smith and Daniel H. Wells, counsellors to President Brigham Young.

            Lorenzo, Snow, Brigham Young, Jr., Albert Carrington, John W. Young, and George Q. Cannon, Assistant Counsellors to President Brigham Young.

            Orson Hyde, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Orson Pratt, Sen., John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Jr., Joseph F. Smith and Albert Carrington, members of said quorum.

            John Smith, Patriarch of the Church.

            George B. Wallace, President of this stake of Zion, and William H. Folsom and John T. Caine his counsellors.

            William Eddington, Howard O. Spencer, Thomas E. Jeremy, Joseph L. Barfoot, John H. Rumell, William Thorn, Miner G. Atwood, Dimick B. Huntington, Theodore McKean, Hosea Stout, Thomas Williams, Robert F. Neslen, Milando Pratt, D. McKenzie, C. R. Savage, J. R. Winder, A. C. Pyper, John Sharp, Jr., Geo. J. Taylor, Geo. B. Spencer. Henry Dinwoodey, Millen Atwood, A. M. Cannon, Henry P. Richards, Joseph Morne, Ernest Young, Andrew W. Winberg and George Nebeker, members of the High Council.

            Elias Smith, President of the High Priests' Quorum, and Edward Snelgrove and Elias Morris, his counselors.

            Joseph Young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Herriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates and John Van Cott, members of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies.

            Benjamin L. Peart, President of the Elders' quorum; Edward Davis and Abinadi Pratt, his Counselors.

            Edward Hunter, Presiding Bishop; Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little, his counselors.

            Samuel G. Ladd, President of the Priests' Quorum; Wm. McLachlan and James Latham, his counselors.

            Adam Spiers, President of the Teachers' Quorum; Martin Lenzi and Henry I Doremus, his counselors.

            James Leach, President of the Deacons' Quorum; John H. Picknell and Thomas C. Jones, his counselors.

            George A. Smith, Trustee in Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and John Sharp, John L. Smith, Le Grand Young, Elijah f. Sheets, Joseph F. Smith, Moses Thatcher, John Van Cott, Amos M. Musser, James P. Freeze, F. A. Mitchell, Thomas Taylor, as his assistants.

            Albert Carrington, President of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund for gathering the poor.

            Truman O. Angell, Architect for the Church.

            Orson Pratt, Historian and General Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff, his assistant.

ELDER FRANKLIN D. RICHARDS

addressed the congregation. It appeared to him that the Latter-day Saints could have but one view of the principles prominently brought before their notice during the present Conference. There was no evading the fact that a unity of interests, temporal and spiritual, had always been accepted as a portion of our faith, if not fully of our practice. One powerful evidence of the time having come to establish the United Order was the readiness with which the people accepted it. Twelve hundred in Ogden had signified their willingness to become identified with the movement by giving their names. One aged brother who came forward, said he thanked God that the time had come when he had the privilege of subscribing to a system that he had endeavored to subscribe to and live in nearly forty years ago. The speaker could offer no objections to the principles advanced. He knew that the principles were correct. Surely none could fail to see the necessity of united movement among the Saints; it was so apparent as to be almost self-evident.

            Elder Richards elaborated upon the benefits that would be derived from the Saints organizing into a grand co-operative community, that they might become one, and be a great power in the earth.

ELDER DAVID MCKENZIE

was the next speaker. He delighted to reflect upon the important subject, which had been prominently brought forward at this Conference. The United Order was an association for commercial, manufacturing and agricultural purposes. It was a copartnership that we were entering into, an we drew the necessary inspiration from our religion to guide us in all the affairs of life. The Lord told Joseph Smith that none of the sects were in the right path, but that He would shortly commence a marvelous work in the earth. If so-called Christianity was wrong, what could e expected of the civilization based upon it? The answer to this was plain to all who would examine the present condition of society.

            The speaker then showed how, under the proposed condition of things, the people would be educated by a means superior to any other that could be devised. The next indication of the truthfulness of a system to the inspiration of the Lord was the howlings and revilings of the wicked. The great united movement would be inaugurated and would succeed. The people knew the voice of the good shepherd and they would follow it. The matter was not at present to be made a test of fellowship, and there were some probably who could not see it, but he expected that such would eventually be glad to fall into the ranks.

            Elder McKenzie then spoke of the value of unity, showing that there was scarcely any limit to what could be accomplished by the Latter-day Saints, were they fully bound together on that principle.

PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG

announced that the people would be organized into a co-operative or united system at the afternoon meeting.

            Adjourned till 2 p.m.

            The choir sang --

O! praise the Lord.

            Benediction by ELDER JOHN TAYLOR.

_____

[9 May, 2 pm]

[DNW 23:226-227, 5/13/74, p 8-9]

THIRD DAY

_____

SATURDAY AFTERNOON, MAY 9.

We're not ashamed to own our Lord
And worship Him on Earth

was sung by the choir.

            Prayer by ELDER BRIGHAM YOUNG, Jr.

            The choir sang:

Come, all ye Saints who dwell on earth,
Your cheerful voices raise.

            ELDER GEORGE GODDARD was elected clerk of the Conference.

PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG

announced that it was proposed to organize the Later-day Saints, in Conference assembled, into the United Order of Zion, and then made some instructive remarks on the subject of education, the comprehensiveness of the gospel, and other important subjects.

            The organization of the United Order was then effected, by the election of the following officers, by the unanimous vote of the Saints in the conference assembled --

            President: of the United Order in all the World wherever established -- Brigham Young.

            First Vice-President -- George A. Smith.

            Second Vice-President -- Daniel H. Wells.

            Assistant Vice-Presidents -- Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Sen., John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Jr., Joseph F. Smith, and Albert Carrington

            Secretary -- David McKenzie.

            Assistant Secretaries -- Geo. Goddard, D. O. Calder, P. A. Shettler, James Jack, and J. T. Caine.

            General Bookkeeper -- T. W. Ellerbeck.

            Treasurer -- G. A. Smith

            Assistant Treasurer -- Bishop E. Hunter]

            Board of Directors -- H. S. Eldredge, John Sharp, Feramorz Little, Moses Thatcher, John Van Cott, James P. Freeze, Henry Dinwoodey, Thomas Taylor and E. F. Sheets.

            Elder DAVID MCKENZIE presented the names of the foregoing named brethren to the Conference to be voted upon.

PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG

stated that those elected presidents of branches of the Order in the various wards should be added to the General Board of Directors, and if needed, other branch officers and other brethren would also be added to it.

            It was intended that the affairs of the Order would be conducted in such a strictly business-like manner that an exhibit of the financial condition of any department of it could be given at any time, when desired.

            The President then related some circumstances connected with the early history of the settlement of this Territory, and concluded with some timely, practical and instructive remarks bearing upon the United Order.

ELDER DAVID MCKENZIE

presented the names of the following brethren, who had been called to go on missions, and the saints voted unanimously to sustain them:

            Charles Hall, of Kanosh, Millard Co., to the State of Maine.

            John Neff, Pleasant Grove, Utah Co., to Illinois and other States.

            For England. -- Ernest Young, of Salt Lake City; Brigham Young, 3rd, Richfield, Sevier Co.; John Henry Smith; Bedson Eardley, of Salt Lake City; Alma L. Smith, Coalville, Summit Co.; Baldwin H. Watt, Kanosh, Millard Co.; Wm. Hodges, Lake Town, Rich Co.

            For Scotland. -- Peter Sinclair, Salt Lake City.

            For Wales. -- Thomas F. Thomas, 20th Ward, S. L. City; Miles Williams, 17th Ward, S. L. City; William Lloyd, 15th Ward, S. L. City.

            For Swiss and German Missions -- John Ulrich Stucki, Paris, Oneida Co., Idaho; John Jacob Walser, Payson, Utah Co.; Frederick Thurer, Providence, Cache Co.

            For Denmark. -- Peter Hansen, Huntsville.

ELDER ERASTUS SNOW

made the following remarks:

            I have a few reflections in relation to our schools throughout this Territory. The minds of the young are like a sheet of white paper, they will receive any impression that is made upon them. Our children are our heritage from God, and our duty, as Latter-day Saints, is to teach them the fear of God, and to educate them in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in every truth, teaching them faith towards God, and that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Fathers and mothers are responsible, in this respect, for their children. Mothers are their first teachers, and every mother should teach her children to pray. Every father and mother should see to it that the early training and education of their children are not neglected in the family circle, by the fireside; and as they grow up and begin to move out and mingle with the community, parents should know the company they keep, and see to it that they go not with the unbelieving, profane or corrupt. And when the time comes to send them from the parental roof and from the care of the mother, to prosecute their studies, it is the duty of parents to see that they are not placed under the influence of persons, male or female, who are unrighteous, who do not pray, who do not exercise faith in God, who do not believe in his revelations, and who do not seek to strengthen, in the hearts of the young, faith towards God, and sincere devotion to him; and all who neglect this most obvious duty will, sooner or later, reap the fruit of their evil sowing and neglect. Nor should we, through cupidity or a pretense that we are unable properly to provide for our children, send them to schools where, we have every reason to believe, every opportunity will be used to poison their youthful minds concerning the testimony of Jesus and the holy religion we have embraced.

            I honor and respect all men in the enjoyment of their religious rights, and in their religious views, feelings and faith. It has been my custom, from my youth, to honor, respect, and reverence every class of religionists in the world; no matter how ridiculous some of their ideas or practices might seem to be, if they were sacred in the minds and feelings of their devotees I honored and respected them, knowing that this devout feeling in the human heart is the foundation of all true religion. While I would labor to correct error I would never trifle with that which was sacred in the hearts and feelings of my fellowmen. I can honor and respect clergymen, teachers and religionists of every class who are in our midst for legitimate business and who mind their own business, and have sense enough to let other people's business alone. But there are persons who come among us, as avowed missionaries, not to preach the gospel of the Son of God for the salvation of men, but simply to be tools of corrupt persons and those who hate God and h is word, to marshal every element of discontent and to consolidate them in opposition to God and his Kingdom; who set themselves up for this express purpose, and then go to the Eastern States to lecture on "Mormonism" and the "Mormons," and tell the most abominable lies that ever issued out of the mouths of mortal men, misrepresenting us in every particular, and circulating every exploded lie ever originated in the bowels of hell concerning us. They appeal to the sympathies of the ignorant and prejudiced to raise money to support them, sometimes in preying upon our wives and children, and to establish schools in our midst for this express purpose. And occasionally they offer our children free schooling with the money contributed as the reward of their lies and infamous misrepresentations of this people. Will the elders of Israel say they can not school their children unless they place them in the care of such infernal hypocrites, liars and whoremongers? I say, God forbid. Will we make it a test of fellowship? What fellowship have such elders of Israel with God? They are ignorant. I would that they might learn righteousness.

            Let us establish and maintain good schools in which to educate our children; and let parents wake up from that apathy with which the minds of many are beclouded. And if we have any bishops or trustees who have not the revelations of the Holy Spirit enough to discern the spirits of men and women whom they wish to employ as teachers in their schools, let them humble themselves and repent of their sins until the Holy Ghost enlightens them sufficiently to enable them to select men and women to place in charge of our children, who, instead of sowing the seeds of infidelity and damnation in their hearts, will lead them in the way of life. We have fed and sustained men in this city, and they have been considered among our best school teachers, and almost all pupils who have been under their tuition a few years have turned out infidels. There are still men of this class employed in our schools in this and other cities in the Territory. They are enemies of righteousness, and they are leading away the hearts of the innocent and unsuspecting.

            Say some, "Oh, we must cultivate science." What has science to do with this? Science and every true principle pertaining to the heavens and the earth belong to God and his people. Infidelity is not science; it is the absence or opposite of science; it is a lack of capacity to comprehend the great Ruler of the universe, who has established all the immutable laws made manifest in science, whether it be in the heavens or on the earth.

            Away, then, with those who have no faith in God, who cannot ask his blessing on their efforts, and who do not set the fear of God before the eyes of children. My advice to every soul in Israel in all the land, who has a son or a daughter, is, if you do not know that they are under the custody and care of praying, believing , devout teachers, take them away and teach them at home. Amen.

ELDER JOHN TAYLOR

asked for a show of hands to see who were willing to be identified with the United Order. A forest of hands went up.

PRESIDENT GEO. A. SMITH

reminded those who held up their hands as a signification that they were willing to identify themselves with the United Order, that the act was of the nature of a covenant, and that he who put his hand to the plow and then turned back was not worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven. The object was to build up Zion and become one, that the Savior might deign to visit us.

[George A. Smith]

[DNW 23:350, 7/1/74, p 14; JD 17:80]

DISCOURSE

BY PRESIDENT GEORGE A. SMITH, DELIVERED

At the Adjourned General Conference, in the New Tabernacle,
Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, May 9th, 1874

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      The principles which we have presented before us in the plan of salvation require of us an effort, for we are told that if we would have the blessings of exaltation, we must continue unto the end; and, in the Lectures on Faith, contained in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, we are informed that if we would attain to the blessings of eternal life, we do it at a sacrifice of all things. The principles connected with this law call upon us to study our acts, designs and intentions in life.

      We came into the Church in different parts of the world, under the influence of the Spirit of the Almighty, and we gathered here by the aid of our brethren, or by our own efforts. We came to this land to learn the ways of the Lord and to walk in his paths; but we fail to understand or appreciate, altogether, the importance of a strict attention to our faith, and we become negligent and thoughtless, we are anxious to obtain wealth, and there arises among us a scramble, a kind of emulation one with the other, to obtain a greater amount of this world's goods than our neighbors. On this account many of us neglect to pay our Tithing, notwithstanding we are very anxious to receive the ordinances which are administered in a Temple. The real time to pay Tithing is when we have the means. When we receive money, merchandize or property, if we, in the first instance, go to Bishop Hunter and pay the tenth, making our record square with our faith, we can then use the remainder with a conscience void of offence, and we shall be blessed therein.

      Men may commence reasoning on this subject, and say, "We will figure all the year, and if at the end of it we find that we have saved anything, we will pay some Tithing; but if we do not save anything, we think the Bishops ought to pay us something." The spirit which prompts this feeling is entirely wrong, and those who come to this conclusion will, in the end, feel that if they lose a crop any year they ought to keep back their Tithing for several years after to make up that loss; but the fact is that a Tithing of what we receive from the Lord is due to him, and the residue we are entitled to use according to our best wisdom. The Prophet Malachi says—"Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." Jesus said, he that gives a cap of cold water, in the name of a disciple, to one of these little ones, shall in no wise lose his reward; but in order to have the blessing of faith connected with the payment of Tithing, it is necessary to realize the importance of the commandment of God concerning it, for no man can attain to the faith necessary to salvation and eternal life without a sacrifice of all things. Now, if we prefer the things of this world and the pleasures of life to the things of the kingdom of God, we can have our own choice, but, so far as the comparison is concerned, "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor yet hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive," the glory that is in store for those who keep the commandments of God, and live in accordance with his requirements. If we are to adopt the order of Zion now, it should become in our hearts a cherished desire, an earnest and determined purpose that, in all our actions, we will seek to love our neighbor as ourselves, that we will labor for the good of Zion, and put away selfishness, corruption and false principles.

      We have been instructed upon the necessity of economy, of living within ourselves, and of sustaining ourselves by the production of our own hands, yet we carelessly drift in another direction. How often we have been counseled to avoid getting into debt. When the Order of Enoch was organized in Kirtland the brethren were commanded, in the laws, not to get into debt to their enemies, and on a certain occasion it was commanded that we should make it our object to pay all our debts and liabilities, and that we should take measures to avoid the necessity of incurring more. One of the earliest things I can remember in my boyhood was an answer to the question—How to get rich? The answer was—"Live on half your income, and live a great while." We know how easy it is to live beyond our income, and to go on the credit system. Credit is a shadow, and debt is bondage, and I advise the brethren to realize that the balloon system of credit so general in our country and among ourselves is dangerous in its nature, and it is our duty, at the earliest time in our power, to close up all our liabilities, pay all our debts, and commence living as we go. I would rather walk the streets in a pair of wooden soles that I own and owe no man for, than in the finest morocco that some merchant was presenting a bill to me to pay for; I should, in my estimation, be more of a gentleman and more of an independent man with the wooden soles than with the fine boots, and I would advise our brethren, if necessity requires, to adopt the wooden sole leather in preference to being in debt.

      I visited the land where my ancestors lived in America, the graves of three or four generations of them, and I saw on the old farm, still occupied by some distant kinsmen, a shoe shop. Said I—"What are you doing here?" Said they—"Here is where we make our money, we work the farm in the summer, and in the winter we sit down here and earn three or four hundred dollars making shoes." "Where do you sell them?" "We make them for some houses in Salem and Lynn, that send them to California and the western Territories and sell them there." Now, brethren, think of this, a man can learn to make a shoe very quick it he has any ingenuity, and many of us spend our time in partial idleness through the winter, and we buy our shoes from manufacturers in the East, when we could just as well make them ourselves. Another bad feature connected with imported shoes is, that when we put them on and walk into the streets, if the weather is wet, our feet are damp very quick, and I believe, as a matter of health as well as economy, that if, in wet weather, we were to adopt the wooden sole, it would save our children from much sickness, and a great many of us from rheumatism, sore throats and coughs, for much of the imported sole leather is spongy, and that holds the water and makes the feet damp and cold, producing sickness; and I am inclined to believe the statement made by the agricultural societies of Europe, that the use of wooden soles for shoes has a tendency to prevent a great many diseases which are incident to the use of leather. But if we are determined to wear leather, if we set ourselves to the work with a will, we can produce as fine leather of every variety, and as fine shoes and almost every other necessary within ourselves as we import, and a great deal better. But we must stop sending away our hides by the car lead and must tan them ourselves. We have plenty of workmen who understand the business, and more can be trained, and we shall then not be compelled to ship car-loads of hair from the States for the use of our plasterers, in mixing the lime to finish our walls. This is true political economy.

      When I went to St. George last fall, I had a very good pair of boots, made of nice States sole leather, under my feet. The soil of St. George has a cold mineral in it, and although it may be dry and pleasant to walk about, a man wants a thick sole under his feet. I have bled a great many years from a rupture of the left lung which I got while preaching in the streets of London it, 1840, and I have suffered a great deal from it, and the moment I would go out to walk on the streets of St. George, a shock, almost like electricity, would strike, through the spongy leather of my boot, from the hollow of my foot to this lung and cause a pain there. I went and got an extra sole put on and a thickness of wax cloth put between the soles, and in this way I wore, all winter, a boot just as stiff in the sole as a clog, and had no rheumatism and escaped cold. This set me to reflecting why I should pay two dollars for those soles, brought from the States, when a piece of cottonwood was just as good, and would answer my purpose just as well. Says one—"Why not wear overshoes?" Who wants the air kept from their feet by wearing a coat of india-rubber, which sweats them and makes them tender? They keep the feet dry, it is true, but for my own part it is not convenient to wear overshoes, and never has been, and on this account I have been compelled to go without. I also observe that some of those who do wear them, if they are not very careful, or if they should happen to forget and step out into the wet without them are almost sure to take cold, and have an attack of rheumatism, especially if they have delicate health. But with us throughout the Territory, I believe it has become almost a financial necessity that we economize our shoe bills. Think of these things and remember that it is within our power to manufacture just as good leather and as much of it, and as good and handsome shoes here as anywhere else, only let us take the time necessary to do it.

      The same thing may be said in relation to hats and clothing, and in fact about nine out of every ten articles that we import. One car-load of black walnut brought here from the States, and paid for as a lower class of freight, will probably make half a dozen car loads of furniture, and we have the mechanics who know how to make it up; and if we lack the necessary machinery we can procure it. If we please we can also bring lumber for every variety of furniture that we want, that our mountain lumber will not make. The same rule will also apply to wagons, carriages and agricultural implements. This course will be much better than wasting ourselves by being slaves to others, and paying out hundreds of thousands of dollars for furniture of a not very durable quality, and other articles that we can manufacture ourselves.

      With me this is a very important item of religion, and it is time for us to cease importing shoes, clothing, wagons and so many other things, and that we manufacture them at home. This will reduce instead of increasing our expenses. When a man buys imported articles for the use of his family he helps to create difficulties for himself, for by and by the bills begin to come, and bonds and mortgages and all this sort of thing have to be met, and then he begins to worry and stew; but if he used home-made products the means is kept in the Territory, and he has a chance of working at some branch of trade which will in a short time bring it back to him again; whereas if it is sent out of the Territory it helps to impoverish all. Why not retrench? Says one—"I want to wear as good clothes and as fine shoes as anybody else, and I think I should be laughed at if I were to put clogs on." Well, if they did laugh they could not do a more foolish thing. Why not feel proud and independent of our own high character, that what we have is our own, and we are slaves to nobody? That is my feeling about it. By continually importing we run into debt and cast our ways to strangers, when it is perfectly in our power, if we will do it, to be independent, comfortable and happy, and owe no man anything.

 

            Adjourned to to-morrow at 10 a.m.

            The choir sang:

Awake! put on thy strength, O Zion.

            Benediction by Elder CHAS. C. RICH.

_____

[10 May, 10 am]

[DNW 23:227, 5/13/74, p 9]

FOURTH DAY

_____

SUNDAY MORNING, May 10th.

            Singing by the choir of

My God, the spring of all my joys,
The life of my delights.

            Opening prayer by Elder GEO. B. WALLACE.

            The choir sang:

All hail the glorious day,
By prophets long foretold.

ELDER BRIGHAM YOUNG, JR.,

said he had received a great deal of instruction during Conference, relative to the United Order, yet as it was with us when we first embraced the gospel, we could not all at once understand the purposes of Jehovah, and it was not expected that we would understand fully this great co-operative system at the commencement. It was sufficient for him to know that the man at the head of Israel was in that position by the will of God to cause him, the speaker, to join it heart and hand. With regard to the reasons for our not entering sooner into this Order, they were similar to those that prevented children at school taking a sudden jump from the fourth reader to a stage of education far in advance of that -- they had not been prepared to receive it. As far as he had been able to observe, however, the people in the settlements he had visited were prepared to enter upon that grand co-operative system. It was in our power to build up the kingdom of God, and it could be done by taking the counsels of those appointed to lead us. We needed not to care for the revilings and ridicule of the wicked, for the time would come when those scoffers would vanish like dew before the rising sun. They served a master, who, as soon as he got them in the position he wanted them to be in, would desert them.

            The speaker continued for some time showing that the United Order was the grandest plan that every had been instituted for the amelioration of the human family, and that it would accomplish all that had been predicted for it, according to the faithfulness of the people. He also bore a powerful testimony to the truth of the great latter-day work, and predicted the final triumph of the Kingdom of God.

ELDER ALBERT CARRINGTON

delivered a discourse on the religious and political condition of the world, in which he declaimed against the worship of gold, which had obtained so universally in the earth, and especially in the nation in which we live.

PRESIDENT GEORGE A. SMITH

made some closing remarks in which he exhorted the Saints to fulfil every duty incumbent upon them; that the proper way to pay tithing was when the property to be tithed was received by the individual. There was, however, but little use of paying tithing unless the person doing so had faith in the principle or law. We moved forward into the United Order of Zion, and we should do so whole-souledly, putting aside selfishness, corruption and dishonesty, and seeking to love our neighbors as ourselves. Those who were in debt should seek at once to discharge their liabilities. The speaker would far rather wear a pair of wooden-bottomed shoes that he rightly owned than a pair made of the finest materials that some merchant had to present a bill for that he could not pay. With regard to wooden bottomed shoes, they had been proved to be far more conducive to health in damp weather than leather, preventing rheumatism, colds, sore throats, etc.

            President Smith mentioned a large number of branches of industry that could be successfully carried on in this Territory, such as the manufacture of clothing, hats, caps, wagons, furniture. His remarks were strictly instructive and practical.

[George A. Smith]

[DNW 23:274, 6/3/74, p 2; JD 17:84]

DISCOURSE

BY PRESIDENT GEORGE A. SMITH, DELIVERED

At the Adjourned General Conference, in the New Tabernacle,
Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, May 10th, 1874

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

       When we come before the Lord to partake of the Sacrament, in memory of his death and suffering, we witness unto him that we do remember him, that we love one another, and that we are willing to endeavor to do all in our power to fulfill our several duties on the earth.

      One of the first and most responsible duties that rest upon us is the education, training and cultivation of the minds of our children. A child learns from us by our examples, the actions or examples of the parents being ever remembered by the children. A pious old deacon who may, by the way, have been a hypocrite, and had two half bushel measures, one to buy, and the other to soil with, may be very sure that his children will be dishonest. So it may be with our children if we do not act before them as becometh Saints; our precepts may be very good, but their effect will not be very powerful unless our examples correspond.

      We are more or less careless as to the observance of the Sabbath; and, in consequence of the neglect of the Latter-day Saints in this respect, I feel anxious to stir them up to diligence in attending meetings on the Sabbath and on fast days, and in having their children do the same. I have visited a number of Sunday schools, and I have found that there was a good deal of interest manifested in them, and that much benefit to the rising generation is resulting from spending a couple of hours on the Sabbath in giving them religious or such other instruction as may be necessary to cultivate their minds; and, I wish the Bishops and presiding Elders, on their return to their several Branches, to stir up the minds of the brethren and sisters to the necessity of encouraging the Sunday schools, that they may be interesting and agreeable as well as instructive. Stir up the parents, too, that they may be alive and awake in getting the children ready for school in season, and that punctuality in attendance be encouraged. Endeavor also to induce parents and other elder members of families who can do so, to attend the Sunday schools, that there may be no lack of teachers, for one of the most useful callings for persons who can possibly or reasonably attend to it, is to teach the youth in Sunday schools.

      I also advise that the "Juvenile Instructor" be circulated extensively among our children. It is a work calculated to inform their minds on the principles of the Gospel; from its pages they may also gain a knowledge of the history of the Church, as well as a variety of other useful and entertaining information. It is a very useful publication, and the benefits it is capable of conferring upon our young people are numerous and great. While speaking on this subject, I will refer to other papers published by our brethren in these valleys—the "Deseret News," the "Salt Lake Herald," "Ogden Junction," "Provo Times," and the "Beaver" and "St. George Enterprise," all of which contain a good deal of information about our home affairs specially, and of events in the world generally. I hope that, in all the Stakes of Zion, the people will manifest a spirit and determination to support papers which are published for their benefit. The "Deseret News," daily, semi-weekly, and weekly, besides the general news of the world, also contains many of the sermons of President Young and others of the Church authorities, and it should be widely circulated in all the settlements of the Saints. The mails now run to all parts of the Territory, and though we can not boast a great deal about the punctuality of some of them, yet in nearly every settlement a mail comes along once in a while bringing the "Deseret News," and a man is pretty safe on the main thoroughfares in taking the weekly, and in many locallities the semi-weekly or daily may be ventured upon.

      We must do something more in relation to printing. The Women's Relief Society are publishing a paper called the "Woman's Exponent," which is a very ably edited sheet, and one containing a great deal of information. I am surprised that all the gentlemen in the Territory do not take it. I invite all the Elders, Bishops and presiding officers in the Stakes of Zion, on their return home, setting the example themselves, to solicit all their brethren, and especially the sisters, to become subsribers to this little sheet, for I am sure that they will be interested in the instruction and information it contains. I will say that. we expect in a short time, through the patronage of the brethren and sisters, that the ladies will be able to enlarge this paper, and to extend its influence far and wide.

      It has been my privilege to make visits to, and to become acquainted with the Ladies' Relief Societies in many of the settlements in the Territory, and I am convinced that great good results from the labors of these organizations; and I feel certain that unless the ladies take hold of any movement designed to forward the work of the Lord in the last days, its progress will be tardy. In all parts of the world, when nations are at war, unless the women take an interest in the matter, the war goes on very heavily. I am of the opinion that in the next war between France and Germany, the French will get the best of it. Not but what I have a great opinion of German skill, energy and pluck, but I am satisfied, from traveling and personal observation, that the women of France are thoroughly aroused, and that in the next war between those two nations, the Prussians will have to fight the women of France, and then France will be likely to win.

      I say to our sisters of the Relief Societies, be encouraged, meet together and discuss all questions that are calculated to interest or benefit the community, as you have the ability; and as no man can be elected to office in this Territory without the vote of the ladies, make yourselves thoroughly acquainted, not only with the politics of the country, but with every principle of local government that may be advanced, and then, whatever is calculated to benefit the people in their private or domestic circles, you will be enabled to vote intelligently, and to carry it through without difficulty.

      We spend a great deal of money in following vain fashions, and in purchasing a great many articles that are useless. These societies, if they choose, can make their own fashions and they can make them according to wisdom, and so as to promote health; a great many of the fashions of the world are calculated to destroy health. A hundred questions connected with domestic economy—housekeeping, cooking, making bread and kindred subjects, that are of importance to the stomach, health and longevity of every man and woman in the Territory may be properly discussed in these Relief Societies, and useful information disseminated. A great many of the women in these valleys have not had good opportunities to become acquainted with the art of cooking, and that is an art which has something to do with every person's happiness. The example of the ladies, and the influence which they exercise, have a tendency, above all things else, to maintain, create, and preserve good morals. Men are apt to behave themselves in the society of women, and if women act wisely and prudently in guiding and controlling the course and conduct of each other, they will be able, to a great extent, to guide, control, and regulate the morals and the conduct of men. We think, however, that the policy of the Christian world, in throwing the responsibility, so far as morality is concerned, entirely upon the heads of women, is a blunder; the men should be held responsible for their own acts, and when they are guilty of that which is corrupt, low or degrading, they should be looked upon as transgressors and cast aside until, by repentance and uprightness, they prove that they are worthy of confidence.

      I have been, from the commencement of the formation of this Territory, more or less identified with its politics. I was a member of the Legislature of Deseret, before Utah Territory was organized, and while it was a provisional government. I was a member of the first Legislature of the Territory, and served twenty years. During that period I was brought in contact with five different sets of federal officers, and I had a pretty good knowledge of some forty-eight or forty-nine judges. They were men sent here, from different parts of the country, to administer the law. They had a general knowledge of politics, and of the law as administered in their own immediate localities. But few of them were of high minds and noble sentiments, and many of them were incapable of occupying, with honor, the high positions they were selected to fill. Our people here in these mountains did not take much pains to acquaint themselves with the politics of the country. We had been five times robbed of all we possesed. Our leaders had been murdered and we had been expatriated and driven from the United States into these valleys, then a portion of the republic of Mexico, but afterwards acquired by the United States. We were a great way from any other settlement. It took a month, generally, to get a mail, and for about twelve years we had about seven mails a year; and in the latter part of October or about the first of November, portions of the mails for the winter before would be brought in here with ox teams. This was our condition in early days. We did not pay a great deal of attention to politics; we were not very much divided and hence we cared very little about our elections, and did not pay much attention to them; and a good many who came from abroad were so careless that they did not obtain their naturalization papers, although, from time to time, we advised them to attend to this matter; and I now call upon the Bishops and presiding Elders, when they return home, to recommend the foreign brethren who are not naturalized to see to this; and in all localities or districts which are favored with judges who have more respect for the law than for religious bigotry, let the brethren take all pains to get naturalized, that they may have the benefits of the laws of our country, and be permitted to perform any duty required thereby, and be faithful to do so in all cases; and never let an election go by, or any other occasion in which it is important for us to take part, without paying attention to it. This advice is for the ladies as well as for the gentlemen, for every lady of twenty-one years of age, who is a citizen of the United States, or whose husband or father is a citizen of the United States, has a right, under the laws of Utah to vote; and no one need hope to hold office in Utah if the ladies say no.

      I wish to call your attention to the Saint George Temple. We have got the foundation of that Temple up to the water table, about eighteen feet from the ground, and a very nice foundation it is. The building is about one hundred and forty-one feet long and about ninety-three feet wide, and when the walls are up they will be about ninety feet high. We have a very fine draught and design. The building is in a nice locality and in a very fine climate, where, all winter, and in fact the whole year, there is almost perpetual spring and summer weather; and when the Temple is completed there will be an opportunity to go there and spend the winter and attend to religious ordinances or enjoy yourselves; and if you want to go there through the summer you can eat as delicious fruits as ever grew out of the earth in any country I believe. As far as I have traveled I have never seen anything in the way of fruit that I thought was superior to that which is produced in St. George. We invite a hundred and fifty of the brethren to volunteer to go down there this summer to put up this building, and to find themselves while they are doing it. We shall call upon the Bishops, presiding Elders, teachers and others from the various stakes of Zion to take this matter in hand when they reach home, and find brethren, if they can, who are willing to go and do this work, so that by Christmas the building may be ready for the roof, that we may, in a very short time, have the font dedicated and the ordinances of the holy Priesthood performed in that place. We appeal to our brethren and sisters in behalf of this St. George Temple. Our brethren in that vicinity are doing all they can to push forward the work, but five or six months' help from a hundred or a hundred and fifty men is very desirable.

      I will invite all the brethren and sisters from the settlements who may visit Salt Lake City this summer to step on to the Temple Block and see what we are doing for the Temple here. See the beautiful stones that have been quarried in the Cottonwood and brought here, every one cut and numbered for its place. And it is the duty of the brethren to call upon the Lord for his blessing upon the work and upon the workmen. I also call upon the Bishops and teachers in all the stakes of Zion, to be on hand and to see that, in the building of this Temple, in the centre stake of Zion in the mountains, we are not under the necessity of involving ourselves in disagreeable liabilities in order to move the work forward. For the last year we have had from sixty to ninety men engaged in cutting stone on this block, and a number of other mechanics to supply them with tools and other necessaries; last summer we had a considerable force of men laying these stones on the walls. In Little Cottonwood canyon we have continually at work a force of from twenty-five to sixty men quarrying granite, and every day, Sundays excepted, two or three car loads of this granite, from ten to twelve tons each load, are brought from the quarry to the Temple Block. It is really a delightful thing, to a person who has never seen it, to go on to the block and see the skillful manner in which our architects and workmen pick up these big stones and pass them all over the building, and lay them in their place to a hair's breadth. It shows what can be done with a little management, skill and ingenuity.

      We earnestly appeal to all Saints, Tithe payers, to donate liberally and punctually for the prosecution of this work. While we employ so many skilled mechanics and other laborers, their families constantly require a supply of not only home products, but of money, and merchandize which costs money, and unless the brethren furnish the means to supply these necessities, we shall be obliged to dismiss many of the workmen. We have already incurred liabilities which press upon us, and we call upon the brethren to supply the means necessary to enable us to maintain our credit and continue the work.

      It is the design of the teachers and superintendents of Sunday schools, to get up a children's musical jubilee. Some songs have been composed, and they are being learned and practiced, and they calculate to assemble some eight or ten thousand children in this building and have a general time of grand musical song. The enterprise is a very laudable one. We do not know when the festival will take place but brother Goddard, the Assistant Superintendent, and a number of others who are interested in Sunday schools are doing all they can, and we ask the co-operation of the Bishops, presidents, teachers and brethren and sisters in the several Stakes of Zion to take a part in it, and make it one of the finest festivals of the kind ever held. The progress of our Sabbath schools will be encouraged, and the elevating tendency of music may be appreciated by all who participate therein. We ask our brethren to act wisely and prudently in carrying this matter out, that it may be done in such a manner as shall be satisfactory; and if a little means is necessary on the part of parents or friends let it not be wanting. In the course of my year's travel I visited schools in various parts of the world, but I found none superior to our own. I think that ours compare favorably with them, and in many respects they are superior to most that I visited, and I hope that a spirit to encourage them will be developed.

      I wish to see the common school system encouraged as far as possible. The brethren in many settlements are forming Branches of the United Order, and as soon as they get fairly to work they will be able to introduce improved systems of teaching. I notice, in visiting our settlements, more or less carelessness in relation to schools. Very little pains will make a school-room quite comfortable, and I wish to stir up parents to the importance of visiting the schools and seeing what their children are doing, and what the teachers are doing, find out whether the little fellows are sitting on comfortable seats; whether they put a tall boy on a low seat, or a boy with short legs on a high seat, making him humpbacked. The happiness and prosperity of the whole life of a child may be a good deal impaired while attending school through a blockhead of a teacher not knowing enough to get a saw and sawing the legs of the seats his pupils sit upon, an as to make them comfortable. It is the duty of the people to look after the comfort of their children while at school, and also to procure proper books for them; and to see that the schools are provided with fuel, that in the cold weather they may be warm and comfortable. In a new country I know there are a good many disadvantages to contend with, but I feel anxious that nothing, within our power to promote the welfare of our children, should be neglected. There is no need, however, to send to the States to buy school benches. There is plenty of timber in these mountains, and a few days' work properly applied will seat any school room perfectly comfortable, for we can make just as good benches in this country as anywhere else, it is only a question of time and attention. Of course if we can do no better, send and buy; but in order that we may have means to buy what we are forced to buy, it is necessary that we exercise prudence and economy and supply our own wants as far as possible. The wholesale Co-operative Store here imports probably five million dollars' worth of goods per annum. One half of these goods could be produced at home with our own labor; it is only a question of time and management to do it. If we were to produce one-half of these goods we should be in easy circumstances all the time, and should have plenty to buy everything we wanted to buy. We could also produce many things to sell; but by purchasing, in such immense quantities, articles that we can make ourselves, we impoverish ourselves all the time, hence we advise our brethren and sisters, in all their councils, meetings, orders, associations, and relief and retrenchment societies, to take into account every question where economy can be exercised and prudence observed, and where we can save a dollar instead of spending one let us do it, for by taking this course we can lay a foundation for permanent comfort at home, and this will prevent us from being dependent upon abroad. This is a part of my religion and this I shall continue to preach.

      In relation to this United Order, I will say to those who are entering it, if questions arise that trouble you and that you wish to have explained; or if anything should arise upon which you wish for advice or counsel, it you will write your queries and send them along here to the President's office, we will answer them, and show you that the whole affair can be carried out with perfect ease. Only let this people act with one heart and one mind, as the Nephites did, and success is certain; and in a short time a great many will wonder, as some in the southern settlements have already expressed it, "Why did we not unite before?" I feel satisfied that the spirit which has been manifested here and elsewhere on this subject, is the same spirit which bore testimony to you, when you went down into the waters of baptism, that this was the work of God; and when we have this spirit in our hearts we can move forward with joy and thanksgiving, and can accomplish that which is required of us.

      I wish to return my thanks to our musicians—those who direct and all who have participated in the musical exercises of our Conference. I have enjoyed them. I have visited many parts of the world, and have been to see their organs and to hear their music; but I have heard none with which I am so well pleased as with our own. There is something sweet and lovely here, and I feel that the Spirit of the Lord has warmed the hearts and inspired the souls of those who have made melody for us during the Conference. I pray that God may bless them, that he may enlighten their minds, enliven their souls, and make their songs songs of glory for ever. Amen.

 

            Adjourned till 2 p.m.

            The choir sang:

Sing loud to God our strength.

            Prayer by PRESIDENT JOSEPH YOUNG.

_____

[10 May, 2 pm]

[DNW 23:227, 5/13/74, p 9]

AFTERNOON.

With all my powers of heart and tongue,
I'll praise my Maker in my song;

was sung by the choir.

            Opening prayer by ELDER JOHN TAYLOR.

            Singing by the choir of --

Arise, my soul, arise;
Shake off thy guilty fears.

            The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was administered to the vast congregation of Saints.

PRESIDENT GEORGE A. SMITH

addressed the Conference on the education and culture of our children, and adverted to the necessity of setting them suitable examples, which had a powerful effect upon their minds. He desired the Bishops and leading Elders of the various settlements to impress upon the minds of the people the value of Sunday schools, and advise them to patronize them. He considered that the Juvenile Instructor was a valuable aid in teaching children. The DESERET NEWS, Herald, Ogden Junction, Provo Times and Beaver and St. George Enterprises, published by our brethren, should be remembered and encouraged. The DESERET NEWS, besides a large amount of useful information concerning current events, in the world, published the discourses of the Church leaders, and should be taken by the families of the Saints. The Woman's Exponent was also a well edited and useful publication, and should be sustained. Every enterprise that was entered upon,that did not have the influence and aid of the ladies, would necessarily be tardy, and therefore their help was needed in every good work.

            He desired the Bishops to counsel the brethren, not natives of this country, who had not yet obtained their naturalization papers, and who were entitled to them, to immediately take steps to get them.

            From 100 to 150 men were wanted to go to St. George, to help to put up the walls of the Temple there, that it might be ready to receive the roof by Christmas, and if this were done it would not be long before the font would be dedicated and the holy ordinances of the gospel administered there.

            A children's jubilee was in contemplation by superintendents and others interested in the Sunday school movement, in which it was expected that from 7,000 to 10,000 children would take part. Songs had been specially composed by the brethren to be sung on the occasion. The undertaking was laudable and should be encouraged by the Saints. It would be held in the new Tabernacle.

            President Smith then made some remarks regarding common schools, and advised parents who sent their children to them to visit them, and see how the little ones were situated there. He commented on the necessity of having the school rooms properly fitted up for the comfort and convenience of the pupils. As there was plenty of timber in the mountains and mechanical skill among the brethren, there was no necessity for sending to the States for benches.

            If the brethren who were entering branches of the United Order met with questions that they could not solve, they should put them in writing and send them to the Presidency for answer.

            He concluded by returning his thanks to the leader of the choir, the singers and organist, who had contributed o much to the pleasure of the Conference by their sweet music.

PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG

delivered a discourse on the subject of the education of children, and made remarks bearing on the United Order, showing that Zion could only be built up by a people of one heart and one mind. He also spoke of the designs and purposes of God, clearly indicating that the only sacrifice required of the Saints was to dismiss from their hearts the power that sought to destroy every principle of light, truth and virtue, and be governed by the Spirit of God. He pronounced a blessing upon the brethren who had spoken during conference, those who had prayed, also the choir and its leader, the organist, the Latter-day Saints generally, and all the honest hearted people on the face of the earth.

            Conference adjourned till the 6th day of October, at 10 o'clock in the morning, to meet in the new Tabernacle, in this City.

            The anthem, "Gloria," was sung by the choir.

            Benediction by PRESIDENT GEORGE A. SMITH.

            The attendance throughout was probably larger than that at any previous conference since the organization of the Church. At the last meeting, Sunday afternoon, the huge building was filled in every available part. Owing to the great and important step upon which the church is entering with a view to the building up of the Zion of God on the earth, the proceedings of the conference were of the most intense interest to every true Latter-day Saint. A powerful spirit was manifested and the speakers were blessed with the spirit of inspiration, and the hearts of the people gladdened and made to rejoice.

_____

6-9, 11 Oct 1874, 44th Semi-Annual General Conference, Tabernacle.
[Deseret News Weekly, 23:577, 10/14/74, p 1, 8; Millennial Star 36:689, 707, 725]

[6 Oct, 10 am]

[DNW 23:577, 10/14/74, p 1]

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

_____

            The Forty-fourth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints, commenced this morning (Oct. 6), in the New Tabernacle at 10 o'clock.

            Present on the stand --

Of the First Presidency.

            Brigham Young, President; Geo. A. Smith, Daniel H. Wells, Lorenzo Snow, Brigham Young, Jr., Albert Carrington and Geo. Q. Cannon, counsellors.

Of the Twelve Apostles.

            Orson Pratt, Sen., John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, C. C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Franklin D. Richards, Geo. Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Jr., and Albert Carrington.

            Patriarch -- John Smith.

Of the First Seven Presidents of Seventies.

            Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge and John Van Cott.

Of the Presidency of the high Priests' Quorum.

            Edward Snelgrove and Elias Morris.

Of the Presidency of this Stake of Zion.

            Geo. B. Wallace, W. H. Folsom and John T. Caine.

Of the Presidency of the Bishopric.

            Edward Hunter and Leonard W. Hardy.

            Besides the above there was a general representation of leading men from all parts of the Territory of Utah and some from Idaho.

            The Conference was called to order by President GEO. A. SMITH.

            The choir sang --

All you that love Immanuel's name,
Whose spirits burn with ardent flame.

            Prayer by President GEO. A. SMITH.

            The choir sang --

Sweet is the work, my God, my King,
to praise thy name, give thanks and sing.

PRESIDENT GEO. A. SMITH

felt thankful to meet in these conferences and behold the faces of the Latter-day Saints. We have received the first principles of the Gospel, and thereby entered into covenants to which we will all do well to give heed, but owing to the manifestation of human weaknesses many in the early history of the Church apostatized from the faith, and some supposed that most of the talent of the Church went with it, but the subsequent progress of the Kingdom was such that the previous apostacy was scarcely felt.

            The subject for contemplation during this conference would be that of a general reformation, including the principle of union, which has been extensively preached upon, but there was still room for a great improvement in our practice, in order that we might become a self-sustaining community. Therefore we should commence in good earnest not only to manufacture what we require to use and wear, but also to patronize in our families every article of home industry.

            He then spoke of the progress of the Temple in St. George, and also that in this City, and the necessity of keeping up our donations of fifty cents a month in cash for the purpose of building temples.

            Some two or three hundred workmen were expected to go down to St. George after conference to hurry up the Temple; as in that country work could be done throughout the winter with very little interruption from storms.

            There would also e a number of missionaries called during the Conference to preach the gospel in the States and in Canada.

            Let us be united in our hearts' desire and prayer to God that his servant Brigham might be healed of his present infirmity, and that those who spoke might be filled with light and wisdom to instruct and bless those who attended this conference. Let us cleave unto righteousness and continue faithful to he end, that we might obtain eternal life.

[George A. Smith]

[DNW 23:616, 10/28/74, p 8; JD 17:195]

REMARKS

BY PRESIDENT GEORGE A. SMITH, DELIVERED

At the Semi-Annual Conference of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Tuesday Morning, October 6th, 1874.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      The present occasion, a Semi-annual Conference, is one which, in the history that we are making, is marked with more than ordinary importance. I always feel thankful to be permitted to meet the faces and greet the countenances of the brethren and sisters from the different parts of the Territory and elsewhere, who assemble at these Conferences; and I feel it important that, in doing so, we should lay aside the ordinary business transactions of life, and try and compare notes with ourselves as to our actual progress in the things of the kingdom. We have received the first principles of the Gospel, and we have started in their observance; and in doing so we have become obligated by our personal agreements, and covenants in the waters of baptism, and in the ordinances which pertain to the Gospel, to live in accordance with those principles which are revealed. In pursuing our daily avocations we become mixed up, more or less, with the world; we are called to battle with the world, and we have exhibitions from time to time of the weaknesses of human nature. I remember very well in the days of Kirtland, hearing men testify that they knew this was the work of God, and that they had seen visions of the armies of heaven and the horsemen thereof, as did Gehazi, the servant of the Prophet, and then, in consequence of the failure of a bank, or because some business transaction did not come out in accordance with their expectations or desires, they would apostatize and come to the conclusion that they never knew anything about it, and become infidels. This shows the weakness to which some individuals have been subject. I also remember, in the great apostacy which took place in Kirtland, that those who apostatized considered that all the talent of the Church had left it, and yet the work rolled right along, and, so far as they were concerned, they were never missed, and were soon forgotten, and nobody could tell where they went to. I have occasionally met them twenty or thirty years afterwards, and could hardly tell where they dropped out, their disappearance made no ripple. The facts are, brethren, that the work of the Lord does not depend upon us. If we go into darkness, if we let our hearts be filled with covetousness or corruption, or give way to licentiousness, drunkenness, Sabbath-breaking, unbelief, or any crime that corrodes our system or organization, so that our tabernacles become unfit for the holy Spirit to dwell in, it will withdraw from us, and the light that is in us becomes darkened, and that darkness is so great that we grope as a blind man and wander hither and thither, and those who suffer themselves to be led by these blind men fall into the ditch with them, but the work rolls right along.

      Now, we assemble here, and we want to review our conduct and our characters before the Lord. It is one of the weaknesses of human nature to sit in judgment on others, but on the present occasion we should bring ourselves to account, one and all, and determine whether we are living in accordance with the principles of the holy Gospel that we have received. I recollect hearing once that Satan had invented for men a certain kind of leather spectacles which, when a man looked at his own sins, made them look very small, and when he looked at his own righteous acts, made them look very large; when he looked at his neighbor's sins they seemed very large, and when he looked at his neighbor's righteous acts they appeared very small. Spectacles of this kind should be avoided, and we should be very careful when we are examining ourselves that we do not get them on, as well as when we examine our neighbors.

      The first step, then, in relation to the business of this Conference, is to preach the principles of repentance and reformation. We should question ourselves, and determine whether we have suffered ourselves, with the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, the desire of gain, or from any other cause, to become darkened in our minds. There are many false spirits gone out into the world, and when Joseph Smith communicated the keys of the Priesthood to the servants of the Lord, he gave them the power to try these spirits, and this power was given to the Church, and no man need he led astray only as he suffers himself to lose the Holy Spirit, which is the result of sin, wickedness, neglect or transgression.

      In addition to this general reformation which we wish to impress upon the minds of our brethren and sisters at the opening of the Conference, we want to take such steps as will be for the temporal and spiritual welfare of the Saints. The changes which have transpired in the world show us how uncertain a tenure our business arrangements are placed upon. From the time that the revelation was given to the Saints, commanding them to let the beauty of their garments be the workmanship of their own hands, to the present time, that doctrine has been preached, and yet, it now seems more necessary than ever that, in all our settlements and associations, we should organize and take such measures as will enable us to provide, within ourselves as far as possible, the articles which we need. It is our duty to ourselves and to our God to unite our interests in such a manner that we can produce what we need within ourselves, without being hewers of wood and drawers of water to strangers. We have made a good deal of progress in this direction, as we can see by the numbers of people who come here clothed in the manufacture of their own factories or looms. Still there is room for further progress in this direction, and during the Conference instructions will be given as may be considered necessary to aid us in facilitating the work of manufacturing our own wool, leather, shoes, hats and every other article of domestic necessity, just as far as our country will admit.

      We are always commanded, so says the revelation contained in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, given on the 19th of January, 1844, to build Temples to the holy name of our Father in heaven. We are now engaged in this work; we are building a Temple in this city and one in St. George; and if any of you ever east an eye at the beautiful foundation that is now raised up here by the Tithes and offerings of the brethren, you can but rejoice in the idea that we are building, to the name of our Father, an edifice creditable to the work for which it is designed. We wish our brethren and sisters to remember this. It has been counseled and advised by our President, and by those in authority, that it would be a wise thing for every person in the Church to contribute a monthly donation of a half dollar in money for the Temple, that their names may be put in the book of the law of the Lord, that old and young among the Latter-day Saints may feel an interest in this matter, that on their fast days they may make this contribution to aid in supplying the necessary means to the workmen that can not be procured without money, and the necessary materials to facilitate the work. If anybody will go and examine that foundation, and the granite blocks that are lying around, and consider the expense of quarrying them and bringing them here, and of cutting them and fitting them in that foundation, they will realize that the brethren have been very industrious, and that a great work has been done, for such edifices are not erected without great labor, time and expense. We therefore desire the brethren to take into consideration, during the Conference, such subjects as pertain to the advancement of these Temples. We also wish, during the Conference, to call the attention of the brethren to the propriety of some two or three hundred hands from different parts of the northern settlements volunteering to go to St. George this winter to work on the Temple, making a donation of their labor. During last winter quite a number of the brethren went down from Sanpete and some of the neighboring counties, and put in about three months work, and during the entire winter there were only seven and a half days they could not lay stone on the Temple, and they were mostly rainy days. Those of us who have not got anything to employ us to advantage during the winter, can go down there and put in three or four months' work, on that Temple, in getting lumber, and hauling it, in quarrying rock, and in cutting and setting it; in making mortar, providing lime and hauling it, and in aiding in all the various departments of labor necessary. We can have the walls put up and get the timber ready for the roof during the winter, while we should be doing comparatively little at home. This is one item that I wish to have considered through the Conference.

      There will be some missionaries called during Conference, whose duty it will be to preach the Gospel and defend the interests of Zion in the United States, Canada, and other parts of the world.

      We would invite our brethren and sisters living in this neighborhood, as long as there are vacant seats here, to come and occupy them while the Elders shall give them instruction; and we ask every man and woman who fears the Lord to lift their hearts to him in prayer, that his blessing may rest upon the Elders, that President Young may be healed of his afflictions, and have health and strength to perform the duties of his calling, and that all the Elders who rise to speak may be filled with the power of the Holy Ghost, that we may be instructed, not from the mere natural wisdom of the individual, but by the inspiration of the Spirit of the Almighty, that our testimony, our knowledge of the Gospel, the principles of salvation as revealed unto us, may be inspired unto us by the power of the Almighty, that we may know for ourselves and not for another that we have received the Gospel of Jesus Christ. These are some of the items that will be spoken of during the Conference as the Spirit may direct, as well as other matters pertaining to Zion. You remember the revelation in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, given June 22, 1834, on Fishing River, Clay County, Mo. It says:

      7. "And let all my people who dwell in the regions round about be very faithful, and prayerful, and humble before me, and reveal not the things which I have revealed unto them, until it is wisdom in me that they should be revealed. Talk not of judgment, neither boast of faith, nor of mighty works, but carefully gather together, as much in one region as can be consistently with the feelings of the people; and behold, I will give unto you favor and grace in their eyes, that you may rest in peace and safety, while you are saying unto the people, Execute judgment and justice for us according to law, and redress us of our wrongs.

      8. "Now, behold, I say unto you, my friends, in this way you may find favor in the eyes of the people until the army of Israel becomes very great; and I will soften the hearts of the people, as I did the heart of Pharaoh, from tame to time, until my servants Baurak Ale, and Baneerny, whom I have appointed, shall have time to gather up the strength of my house, and to have sent wise men to fulfill that which I have commanded concerning the purchasing of all the lands in Jackson County that can he purchased, and in the adjoining counties round about; for it is my will that these lands should be purchased, and after they are purchased that my Saints should possess them according to the laws of consecration which I have given; and after these lands are purchased, I will hold the armies of Israel guiltless in taking possession of their own lands which they have previously purchased with their monies, and of throwing down the towers of mine enemies that may be upon them, and scattering their watchmen and avenging me of mine enemies unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.

      9. "But firstly, let my army become very great, and let it be sanctified before me, that it may become fair as the sun, and clear as the moon, and that her banners may be terrible unto all nations; that the kingdoms of this world may be Constrained to acknowledge that the kingdom of Zion is in very deed the kingdom of our God and his Christ: therefore let us become subject unto her laws.

      10. "Verily I say unto you, it is expedient in me that the first Elders of my Church should receive their endowment from on high in my house, which I have commanded to be built unto my name in the land of Kirtland; and let those commandments which I have given concerning Zion and her law be executed, and fulfilled, after her redemption. There has been a day of calling, but the time has come for a day of choosing, and let those be chosen that are worthy; and it shall be manifest unto my servant, by the voice of the Spirit, those that are chosen and they shall be sanctified; and inasmuch as they follow the counsel which they receive, they shall have power after many days to accomplish all things pertaining to Zion.

      11. "And again I say unto you, sue for peace, not only the people that have smitten you, but also to all people; and lift up an ensign of peace; and make a proclamation for peace unto the ends of the earth; and make proposals for peace unto those who have smitten you, according to the voice of the Spirit which is in you, and all things shall work together for your good; therefore be faithful, and behold, and lo, I am with you even unto the end. Even so. Amen."

      Let us consider these things and sanctify ourselves in all humility. God has preserved us from all our enemies for over forty years since this revelation was given, and we occupy many cities, towns and settlements, and should improve in all the goodly graces of the Gospel preparatory to the great work still before us, for the promises of God are true and will not fail.

      Oliver Cowdery, previous to his apostacy said to President Joseph Smith: "If I should leave the Church it would break up." Joseph said to Oliver—"What, who are you? The Lord is not dependent upon you, the work will roll forth do what you will." Oliver left the Church, and was gone about ten years; then he came back again, to a branch of the Church in meeting on Mosquito Creek, in Pottawattamie County, Iowa. The body of the Church had come off here to the west, but there was still remaining there a branch of about fifteen hundred or two thousand people, and when he came there he bore his testimony to the truth of the Book of Mormon and the divine mission of the Twelve Apostles, and asked to be received into the Church again, and said that he had never seen in all his life so large a congregation of Saints as the one then assembled. We loved to hear brother Oliver testify, we were pleased with his witness, but when he passed off and went among our enemies he was forgotten, and the work rolled steadily along step by step, so that, ten years after, when he came back to an outside branch, he expressed his astonishment at seeing such a vast body of Saints. Some men in their hours of darkness may feel—I have heard of men feeling so—that the work is about done, that the enemies of the Saints have become so powerful, and bring such vast wealth and energy to bear against them that we are all going to be crushed out pretty soon. I will say to such brethren, it is very bad policy for you, because you think the old ship Zion is going to sink, to jump overboard, for if you jump overboard you are gone anyhow, and the old ship Zion will ride triumphantly through all the storms, and everybody who proves unworthy to remain on board of her and jumps overboard will repent of it when it is too late, as many have done already.

      The gospel of Jesus Christ is true, and the Lord has revealed this work. It has been said—"Oh what vast, what wonderful ability Brigham Young has possessed to do what has been done!" The fact in the case is, it is the Lord who has done it. He has guided and directed and has done the work, and his servants who have labored in it, have only been instruments in his hands, he has given them all the ability, wisdom and knowledge which have been manifested; and the same God has the power to still guide, control, instruct and uphold, and he will do so. Those who fall into darkness, error, folly and wickedness simply lose their position; but they who endure to the end the same will be saved. The great work which has been commenced in these last days will continue until, by and by, when the Lord sees fit, he will come to his Temple and will receive his Saints as his own.

      Let us then devote our time and attention for a few days to receiving instruction and counsel, that we may have our hearts comforted and renew our testimony, for I can assure you, as the Lord God of hosts lives, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true, and all of us who fall into darkness and go astray will be the losers. Zion will ride triumphant, which may God grant for Jesus' sake, Amen.

 

ELDER C. C. RICH

was pleased to know that we lived in a day of inspiration from the Almighty. Such a privilege had not been enjoyed for many generations past. To know that we had a work committed to our care from God should inspire us with courage and determination to do all we could. The labor we were called upon to do, not only pertained to our own temporal and spiritual affairs, but also to the salvation of our friends who were dead.

            He showed up the ruinous policy of supplying our wants from a foreign market, and strongly advocated a self-sustaining practice, which was the only way we could ever advance in temporal prosperity. No matter what amount of opposition might be arrayed against us as a people, if we would only be united in carrying out the counsels of the servants of God, all the efforts of the wicked would fall. We must obey the mandates of heaven through his servant Brigham, an the labor would be that of love. It was for us to be continually on the watch tower, to avoid every evil practice in ourselves and others, so that we might finally overcome.

ELDER BRIGHAM YOUNG, JUNR.

said he had a testimony to bear. It was a great thing to know God and his son Jesus, and that there was a man on the earth who was inspired to lead men in the path that would bring them back again into the presence of God. He had received the above testimony for himself and that God spoke to his servants in this our day, just as tangibly as ever to Isaiah, Jeremiah or any of the ancient Prophets. Flesh and blood did not reveal this fact to him, but he received it from God himself, and thousands of Latter-day saints could bear the same testimony. Therefore the world who heard this testimony and rejected it, would most certainly be under condemnation. Thousands had been gathered to this Territory in consequence of the promise of the servants of God, that a testimony should be given them if they would obey, with an honest heart, the principles of the Gospel. While the peaceful inhabitants of this Territory were honestly engaged in building up and happifying the condition of themselves and families, and emigrating the poor from foreign countries, besides spending thousands and millions of dollars in building temples, etc., why should they be persecuted by those who ought to know better? But as long as God revealed to him that it was his duty to preach the Gospel, he intended by his help to continue to the end, risking all consequences.

[Brigham Young Jr.]

[DNW 23:617, 10/28/74, p 9; JD 17:200]

DISCOURSE

BY Elder BRIGHAM YOUNG, Jr., DELIVERED

At the Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Tuesday Morning, October 6, 1874.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      I have a testimony also to offer to my brethren and sisters. It is a great thing, in my estimation, to know God and his Son, to know that God has established the kingdom of the latter-days, and to realize that there are men upon the earth, who are capable, through the revelations of Almighty God, to teach the people the way of life, to point out to them the path by which they may regain the presence of their Father and God. Such is the testimony I have bad, such a testimony I have at the present time. I am aware that to some it seems incredible, and that in their ears it sounds preposterous to utter such words, and especially does it seem so to those who consider that they are living in the blaze of of the Christian religion, for the large majority of that class of people will not for a moment entertain the idea that God will ever again speak to men upon the earth, or inspire them as he did anciently. They believe the day as gone by when such things can be, and that, having the Bible in their possession, it is no more necessary for God to make known his will to map. I am aware that the Christian world view it in this light, but I can not help that, I am not responsible for them, nor they for me. I stand for myself and am supported by the evidence which I have received from Almighty God. If they can testify to me that the Christian religion is true, I can, in turn, testify to them that God has revealed himself, that he has again spoken to men upon the earth, and that they hear his voice just as much as Isaiah, Ezekiel or any of the Prophets of ancient days. This is my testimony, and I know it to be true. By the same Spirit that revealed unto Peter his Lord and Savior I know that Jesus is the Christ. This has not become knowledge with me through the testimony of others alone. I sought and received that testimony for myself. Said Jesus unto Peter, "Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven;" and I testify to you this day, that that same God has revealed unto me that these things are true, that this is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and that this people represent the kingdom of God which Daniel and others of the ancient Prophets said should be established upon the earth in the latter-days? That is the testimony which I have to offer here this morning. If I stood alone in this matter, and there was no other person who could bear the same testimony perhaps people would be justified in disbelieving me, that is, if I gave them no evidence of the truth of my words; but when the proof is positive and the evidences incontrovertible; when there are scores of thousands of people gathered from as well as scattered through the nations of the earth who can rise as one person and bear this testimony, the nations of the earth will be condemned if they reject it.

      It is true that Joseph Smith was an unsupported witness in some respects of the Gospel which be had to reveal unto the human family. He came forth a boy, alone; his testimony was given to the world, and God, in his wonderful providences, fulfilled the words of that boy, and others were induced to believe what he told them. He told the people that if they would obey the will of the Father, if they would repent of their sins, be baptized for the remission of them and have hands laid upon them for the reception of the Holy Ghost, they should receive it, and it should be a witness unto them that his words were true and faithful.

      Have the words of Joseph Smith been fulfilled in this and in other respects? I answer yes. He bore this mission unto the people, and it, with its promises, came to me, and I obeyed it, doing as I was told in order that I might obtain the evidences of the Holy Spirit. Did I obtain them? Yes I did; and here is a congregation before me, the representatives of a great people, who can bear witness with me this day that the words of Joseph the Prophet were true and faithful to this generation. Our testimony is not unsupported, for I have gone forth into the midst of the nations of the earth, and have stood before strangers and have said unto them—"If you desire the knowledge that the Prophets who were with Jesus on the earth possessed, if you will do those things which have been commanded you shall know of the doctrine whether I speak of myself, or of God who sent me." I have borne this testimony hundreds of times to the nations of the earth, because I was sent forth to do it, and I had a testimony that it was my mission to testify of these things. What has been the result of the Elders going to the nations of the earth and bearing this testimony? We see before us a mighty people gathered in these mountains. There is scarcely an adult who has been gathered here who came with any other purpose but to build up the kingdom of God, because of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit which he or she received through obedience to the words which were declared unto them. If any have gathered here with any other purpose they are not in this Church or if they are they will not remain in it very long. This people have gathered here by scores of thousands can not those who are not of us put their prejudices to one side for a moment and take a fair and impartial view of the circumstances which surround us? Can not the would look upon the Latter-day Saints and ask themselves—"Is it possible for men to make these promises, and yet be impostors and deceive the people to the extent they have?" Have the Elders deceived the people? It looks to me like folly in the extreme for people to entertain such an idea. Have we deceived the people? No sirs, we have not. Were those words false which were uttered by the Elders when they called upon the people to repent? No. The people verily received that testimony of the truth of this work by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost which was promised them by the Elders, and that is the reason why so many have gathered to these mountains.

      But the majority of people now are like the Jews when they arraigned Jesus—they want a miracle. "Then did they spit in his face and buffetted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands, saying, Prophecy unto us, thou Christ, who is he that smote thee." That is exactly the same spirit that prevails now—"If you Latter-day Saints have the blessings and gifts you talk of, why don't you rise up in power? Why does not God come out of his hiding place and preserve you from your enemies?" I can testify to-day that he has done so. From my earliest recollections I have been wandering with this people. I have been with them when driven before their enemies, with my father and his family in their persecutions, and I know, as I know that I live, that God has stretched out his hand and preserved this people when nothing but his providences could have saved them.

      Who are they who smite this people? Are they righteous men, men who are seeking to benefit the human family? Are they men who are turning their whole attention to benefit their fellow-men, or building up principles of righteousness and truth, to sustain the poor, and to gather them from the nations of the earth to a land where they can possess those comforts and blessings which should surround the sons and daughters of our God? No, they do not busy themselves about such things as these, they have business on hand, which they think is more important; they have the Latter-day Saints to persecute. They do not have time to turn their attention, nor their minds to such trifles as bringing the poor from the nations of the earth or developing the resources of this great country. They have no time for this, they have a far greater work on hand, opposing the progress of this people and the fulfillment of the prophecies of men of God who have lived upon this earth. That is the view I take of it from my standpoint. Of course I do not expect others, outside of the Church, to look at it as I do; But this people are engaged in what? First, at the present time, in defending themselves, trying to secure their lives and property from men who are seeking to deprive them of both; they are also continuing their efforts to bring the downtrodden of Europe and every other nation, to this land of America, where they can enjoy freedom and religious liberty, and have a home and not be servants of those who are more wealthy than themselves. This people are expending millions of dollars to gather the poor from the nations of the earth that they, with us, may enjoy the blessings of religious liberty, and the blessings of this free land.

      Why don't these men who are persecuting us, and all the time telling how mean and contemptible we are as a people turn their attention, not to our sins, but to their own shortcomings, and pick the beam out of their own eyes before attending to the mote in ours, and then try and do something to ameliorate the condition of the human family? These are simply my views on this subject, and I would to God that every man in this great nation would do right himself and not seek to persecute his neighbors because he thinks they are doing wrong! A man might do a thing in which, according to his conscience, he would be perfectly justified, but from my standpoint it would be very wicked. A heathen might be justified in doing that which I should consider a great crime. Shall I go to work and persecute an individual that does not see exactly as I see? Should I be justified in doing this? No. If I see a person in the wrong I am justified in going to him and trying to teach him the principles of the Gospel which I find contained in the Bible, and which God has revealed to the human family for their salvation; in other words, I should be justified in trying to lead him in What I believe to be the path of righteousness, but I should not be justified in trying to drive him.

      Is this the course that is being pursued with us? By no means. The spirit manifested towards us continually is—"If you don't do as we say we will force you." Nobody comes here to persuade us, their object is to compel us to bow to their wishes. They wish to make us forsake that which we revere and consider holy, simply because they despise it, and deride it as something that ought to be put down by force. It is not a Christian spirit that induces persecution, not at all. Why not take the example of Jesus, whom they profess to worship? If this people are wrong, convince them of their error. "Oh," say they, "we can't do it." It is like the King of Denmark, Frederick the Seventh, if I mistake not. The Priests complained to him and said that they could not put down the Latter-day Saints, and that they were proselyting in spite of all they could do. Said the King—"Why dent you take the Bible, and confound them and let the people see their errors?' The Priests said—"We have tried that, but have not succeeded, they have more arguments in the Bible than we have." "Well," said the King, "I think yours is the poorest religion of the two, I will let the Latter-day Saints go on, and shall not interfere with them." I would like this position to be taken by those in this nation who are opposed to us. But they will not assume this position, for we can correct them with the Scriptures of divine truth. Why do they not use the word of God in their operations against us, instead of the carnal weapons which they happen to have because they belong to a certain patty? Why not imitate the example of Jesus and try and persuade us if we are in the wrong, and pat us in the right. We desire to be saved; it is salvation we hope for. It is the desire for salvation in the kingdom of God that prompts me to say these things; and as long as God shows to me that I am right, as long as I have an approving conscience before Him in carrying out the doctrines which I believe in, so long, with the help of God, will I advocate them, let the issue be what it may. Amen.

 

            The choir sang the anthem -

"Who is like unto Thee?"

            Benediction by PREST. D. H. WELLS.

_____

[6 Oct, 2 pm]

[DNW 23:577, 10/14/74, p 1]

AFTERNOON.

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            Choir sang --

Come all ye Saints who dwell on earth,
 Your cheerful voices raise.

            Prayer by Elder A. CARRINGTON.

            Choir sang --

Happy the man who finds the grace,
The blessings of God's chosen race.

ELDER JOHN TAYLOR

Felt happy for the privilege of talking over the things of the kingdom of God. The labor involved in this kingdom differs from every other on the face of the earth, and the situation we now find ourselves in he did not think we were responsible for, it being a part of a programme that was designed and planned before the world was.

            He reviewed the history of past generations in connection with the great purposes of the Almighty, the wickedness and degeneracy of man, an the justice of God in sweeping them from the face of the earth, not permitting them to propagate their corrupt species, but of their going into the spirit world, where they had to remain until Jesus, in the meridian of time, went to open the prison doors and preached deliverance to the captive, as it is written, he went and preached to the spirits in prison.

            He also adverted to the ancient men of God, who held the everlasting priesthood, and by it were enabled to comprehend the dealings of God towards his people, as parts of a great plan devised in the bosom of the Almighty. After the days of Abraham and the people gradually degenerated and fell into darkness, and God had to introduce the law of carnal commandments.

            We next found a family transplanted to this continent, who grew into a great and mighty people, partly righteous and partly wicked, and were visited by the blessings and judgments of the Almighty, according to their works. For over two hundred years they lived as a united and happy people.

            God had revealed many things to Joseph Smith which he knew nothing about, until they were revealed, such as the first principles of the Gospel, the gathering, the building of temples, &c. All these things that pertain to this dispensation came from God, and not from man, therefore we had been sustained, and should continue to be, so long as we adhered to his counsels through his servants. Those who combined together to stop the work of God were simply reckoning without their host, their feeble efforts would signally fail, for God was at the helm.

            Let us feel that we were engaged in building up the Kingdom of God, and lay aside all contracted notions. Let us help to build temples, that all peoples that had ever lived might be felt after, to do them good, and attend to the ordinances of the Gospel for them. All the ancient men of God, who once lived and now lived, were operating behind the vail in the rolling forth of this great latter-day work, as well as we were. Therefore let us labor with our hands and means to build these temples. Let us lay aside selfish and oppressive feelings and be more God-like and noble in all our labors. The Kingdom of God was onward and upward, and no power on the earth could prevent it. This he prophesied in the name of Israel's God.

[John Taylor]

[DNW 23:660, 11/18/74, p 4; JD 17:204]

DISCOURSE

BY ELDER JOHN TAYLOR, DELIVERED

At the Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
in the new Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Wednesday [Tuesday*], October 7 [6], 1874.
[*See WWJ 7:200]

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REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

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      I am happy to have the opportunity of meeting with the brethren and to talk over the affairs pertaining to the kingdom of God in this Conference. We are engaged in a work in which all of us are interested, individually and collectively. It is a work that differs from anything else that exists at the present time on the face of the earth, and in many respects it differs from anything that ever has existed. I do not know that we are in any wise responsible for this, or for the position in which we find ourselves. The circumstances with which we are surrounded are not, particularly or specially, of our own making, nor the principles in which we believe. We have an abiding faith, as we heard referred to this morning, in certain principles which have emanated from the heavens; and we find ourselves on the earth at this particular time, in this peculiar dispensation, and engaged in a work that is dependent, I was going to say, altogether upon the Almighty, and which is part and parcel of that programme which existed in his mind before the world rolled into existence.

      There have been different dispensations existing in the various ages of time, as the purposes of God have rolled on in relation to this earth; all of them, more or less, partook of the same principles that have been revealed unto us, that is so far as the Gospel is concerned, but all of them more or less differing.

      The first command given to man was to be fruitful, to multiply and replenish the earth; in other words, an earth had been created, and it was necessary, as it had been brought into existence and man placed upon it, that his seed should be propagated, that there might be bodies prepared for spirits to inhabit, that they together might accomplish certain purposes, in the designs of God, pertaining to the creation of the earth.

      By and by we find the people departing from the principles of truth, from the laws of the Gospel, repudiating the fear of God, grieving his Holy Spirit and incurring his displeasure. Then a flood came and the inhabitants of the world, with the exception of a very few, were swept from it, after the Gospel had been preached to all who then lived and all had had an opportunity to believe in and obey it. A few of them did so and lived in the fear of God, and, according to the revelations which we have, they were translated and caught up, they had a separate existence from those who lived upon the earth, and occupied the position of translated beings and were necessarily governed by other laws than the denizens of the earth. This was one peculiarity of the dispensation before the flood. Then came the flood, which many people, unacquainted with things as they existed in the bosom of God and with his purposes and designs, consider was a great cruelty, an act of tyranny, evincing a spirit of outrage and oppression upon the inhabitants of the world. Sceptics reason in this manner sometimes, the only reason of their caviling being that they do not understand God or his laws and designs in relation to the earth and the inhabitants that live upon it, and being ignorant of these things they are not competent judges as to the fitness of things generally, and the course pursued by the Almighty in relation to the inhabitants of the earth, hence they arrive at all kinds of foolish conclusions. The fact is there were certain ideas connected with the destruction of the world that were good, proper and merciful. Mankind had committed unto them certain. powers, among which was the power to perpetuate their own species, of which they could not according to the laws of nature be deprived while living. And they had a certain agency of their own, which they could act upon, add the people who were destroyed in the flood had departed from the laws of God. Man has a dual being, not only a body or mortal tabernacle, but a spirit, and that spirit existed before he came here; and if men before the flood had been allowed to go on in their iniquities and if, with every thought and imagination of their hearts, which were all unlawful and evil, they had been allowed to perpetuate that kind of existence, of course God would have had very little to do with the operations of the earth and the inhabitants thereof, it would therefore bare been unjust to the spirits created by our Father in the eternal worlds to force them to come and inhabit the degenerated bodies which they must have received from such characters as the generation drowned in the flood; and hence God took away their agency by destroying them from the face of the earth, because they were prostituting their powers to an improper use and not only injuring themselves by defying the law of God, but also inflicting an evil upon unborn generations by perverting their own existence and by their powers of procreation entailing misery upon millions of spirits that had a just right to look for protection from their Father. The Almighty therefore took this awful method to redress this aggravated wrong and he had a right to do it. Why, our stockraisers act upon that principle a good deal. I was talking to one of them a little while ago who had a large flock of sheep, and he told me that he had got some better stock, and was going to kill off the poor ones in order that he might raise only good stock and a better breed than he then had. I suppose that God had as much right to do this as sheep raisers and cattle raisers have, and thus by cutting off that wicked generation from the earth he deprived them of the privilege of propagating their own species. And what then? Oh, they were all damned. No, they were not quite, yes they were in part and partly not. God understands all these things and manages matters according to the counsel of his will, and hence he provided a way whereby the people who were then drowned, who would not listen to God's law and who had departed entirely from the precepts of Jehovah, might hereafter have a chance of obeying the laws of life and salvation. Well, were they not all tee-totally doomed to go and be roasted in flames forever and ever. Not quite; for we read that Jesus, when he was put to death in the flesh, was quickened in the spirit, by which he went and preached to the spirits in prison that sometime were disobedient in the days of Noah, when once the long-suffering of God waited upon them in those days. Hence we see that instead of being eternally damned, Jesus went to preach the Gospel of life and salvation to those whom God, in the days of Noah, swept off by the flood, in order that he might introduce another state of things, and try to raise up a people who would listen to his laws and obey his precepts.

      The Scriptures say that Jesus went and preached to the spirits in prison, the same as he had preached to others on the earth. What did he preach? Do the Scriptures say what he came to preach? Yes, they say "he came to preach the Gospel to the poor, to bind up the broken-hearted, to set at liberty those who were bound, and to open the prison doors to the captive." That is what he came to do, and he did it.

      We are not connected with a something that will exist only for a few years, some of the peculiar ideas and dogmas of men, some nice theory of their forming; the principles that we believe in reach back into eternity, they originated with the Gods in the eternal worlds, and they reach forward to the eternities that are to come. We feel that we are operating with God in connection with those who were, with those who are, and with those who are to come.

      We find that after the days of Noah an order was introduced called the patriarchal order, in which every man managed his own family affairs, and prominent men among them were kings and priests unto God, and officiated in what is known among us as the Priesthood of the Son of God, or the Priesthood after the Order of Melchisedec. Man began again to multiply on the face of the earth, and the heads of families became their kings and priests, that is, the fathers of their own people, and they were more or less under the influence and guidance of the Almighty. We read, for instance, in our revelations pertaining to these matters, of a man called Melchizedec, who was a great high priest. We are told that "there were a great many high priests in his day, and before him and after him;" and these men had communication with God, and were taught of him in relation to their general proceedings, and acknowledged the hand of God in all things with which they were associated. Noah and his descendants for a length of time, did that which was right in the sight of God to a very great extent, but by and by they departed from his law, and Abraham was raised up as a special agent in the hand of the Almighty to disseminate correct principles among the people, and as a medium through which God would communicate intelligence and blessings to the human family. He went through a very rigid course of discipline, and was tried in almost every possible way, until, finally, he was called upon to offer up his son; and then, when he attempted to do that, and the Lord lead fully proved him, the Lord said—"I know that Abraham tears me, that, he has not withheld his only son from me, and I know that he will command his children after him to fear my name." After God had tried Abraham, he took him on to a mountain and said unto him—"Lift up thine eyes eastward and westward, and southward and northward, for to thee and thy seed after thee will I give this land; and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed." That was a great blessing, and it placed Abraham in a most prominent and important position before God, before the people, and before the world. Now, although God made that promise unto Abraham, yet Stephen, who lived some two thousand years afterwards, said that "God gave him none inheritance in that land, no not so much as to set his foot on, yet he promised that he would give it to him and to his seed after him." There was a something peculiar about all these men—being in possession of the everlasting Priesthood, which is without beginning of days or end of years, they measured things with the eye of the Almighty, by the principle of faith, by the knowledge and intuition which the Spirit of God gave them, and the revelations which it imparted, and they felt like one of old who said—"When a man dies shall he live again? All the days of my life to my appointed time will I wait until the change come." Inspired by the Spirit of the living God, in possession of the principles of revelation, holding the keys of the everlasting Priesthood, which unlocked the mysteries of the kingdom of God, they looked forward and backward, and felt that they were a part of the great programme which God designed to accomplish in regard to the earth. It was not for the immediate possession of some temporary good; not for the grasping of something that they could hold for the time being that they were anxious; but they were after riches, exaltations, glory and blessings that would continue "while life or thought or being lasts or immortality endures."

      From the loins of Abraham a great many great Prophets, seers, revelators, men of God, kings, princes and authorities descended; and they raised up a nation that was powerful in its day and generation. But they, like others, finally departed from the lairs of God and from the principles of eternal truth, and then the power of the Melchisedec Priesthood was withdrawn from them, and the law was added because of transgression, and although they became a numerous, great, wealthy, wise and intelligent people, yet they lost for a long time the power, intelligence, life and light of revelation which the Gospel imparts.

      Then came the time when Jesus appeared on the earth. He was "a lamb slain from before the foundation of the world," and he came to accomplish things which had been planned by the Almighty before the world was. He was the Being to whom the antediluvians, and Abraham, and Isaac and Jacob, and the Prophets, Patriarchs and those who were filled with the Spirit of God and the light of revelation referred to, and to whom they looked; to him pointed all their sacrifices and the shedding of the blood of bulls and goats, heifers, lambs, &c. Jesus introduced the Gospel, and if the people would have received and obeyed the principles which he taught, the kingdom of God would have been established, the dispensation of the fullness of times brought in, and in the Temple at Jerusalem the baptisms for the dead would have gone on, and the redemption of the living and the dead would have proceeded. But the people could not receive the teachings of Jesus. Here was a dispensation different, from any of rite others.

      There was an Elias to come, who was to turn the hearts of the children to the fathers, and the hearts of the fathers to the children; and when it was asked Jesus—"Art thou the Elias which was to come, or do we look for another?" it was told them, "This is he if ye can receive it." But they could not, and consequently they beheaded John the Baptist and crucified Jesus, and it was declared that not one stone of their magnificent. Temple should be left upon another without being thrown down, which was literally fulfilled, and the ground upon which it stood was ploughed over. Jesus told his disciples that when they saw "Jerusalem encompassed about with armies they were to flee to the mountains." One of the Prophets, in speaking of the affairs that were then to take place, said that a certain power should arise which should malts war with and prevail against the Saints, and that that power should seek to change the times and the laws, and that they should be given into his hand, for a time, and times and the dividing of times. Very well, these things have taken place.

      We now turn our attention to this continent, and find that God transplanted a people who were of the seed of Abraham, from Palestine to this continent. Here they passed through all kinds of vicissitudes and changes, sometimes abounding in iniquity and vice, at other times full of virtue; sometimes they acknowledged the hand of God, and at other times disregarded it; sometimes they were chastened by the Almighty, and at other times permitted to go on in their iniquities. At one time there was a people on this continent who lived for nearly two hundred years in the fear of God, under the direction of his spirit, governed by the laws of the Gospel, and they had all things common among them, and we are informed that there never was a more united, happy and prosperous people upon the face of the earth.

      These are some of the changes that have taken place here. And now, we are living in another age and under other circumstances. The world is waxing old; myriads of people have lived upon it, generation after generation have come and gone, some good, some bad, some very wicked, some very righteous; some pure and holy, others to the contrary, embracing every kind, and all the peculiar phases that have been developed by the human family. They have come into existence and they have died, and what of them? What of the good and what of the bad? What of the righteous and what of the unrighteous? What of their standing before God, and what of the nations that have existed, that do exist and that will exist? These are things, which, as intelligent, immortal beings, demand our consideration. And what of us as part of them? We need to reflect, and it is, proper that we should understand something in relation to these things. We have our part to perform. We find ourselves in the world in this day and age, which is that which was spoken of by Paul—"the dispensation of the fulness of times, when God would gather together all things in one, whether they be things in the heavens or things on the earth." There is something very remarkable, very peculiar in that expression. What the gathering is in the heavens it is not for us to say at the present time; what the gathering is on the earth we have some little idea of from the things with which we are associated. There is a peculiarity about, it. As I said before, we find ourselves living in this day, and we are called upon to perform a certain work in connection with the economy and designs of God pertaining to the earth we live on, pertaining to ourselves, to our progenitors and to the whole human family that have existed upon the face of the earth. We are here to do a certain work which God has set us to do, and, as I have said, we have had very little to do in bringing about the matter. We did not originate it. We talk sometimes about Joseph Smith, he did not originate it. He told us about a great many things that we talk about, and unfolded many principles ante us. But how did he know them? God called him and set him apart as he called Noah in his day, and as he called Enoch, Abraham and Moses in their day, and as he called the Prophets and Jesus in their day, as he called Nephi, Lehi, Moroni and Alma in their day upon this continent. He has called us, and has introduced to our view certain principles, and we have been learning these princples gradually. The first thing was to get baptized, a very simple affair, a very little thing, nevertheless it was an ordinance of God, he appointed it, and we went and were baptized. Then we had hands laid upon us for the reception of the Holy Ghost, and we partook more or less of its influence, according to our faithfulness and diligence in keeping the commandments of God.

      We had not anything to do with originating this work; neither had Joseph Smith, neither had Oliver Cowdery, nor Brigham Young, nor any of the Twelve, nor the first Council, nor the Bishops, nor any other man living. God has his work to perform, and at the proper time and in his own way he will fulfill his own purposes and build up his kingdom. He commenced it at his own time, and he called Joseph Smith and gave him revelation. He told him about the ancient history of the people of this continent and enabled him to translate it, he gave him a key to all these things. He could not have done it without any more than you or I could. He was indebted to God, just as much as you and I are, and so were his brethren who were with him. Joseph Smith had many revelations, but who gave them to him, by what spirit and intelligence were they unfolded and communicated to his mind? God revealed them to him, he obeyed the behests of Jehovah. When God called him and set him apart he was obedient, just the same as you and I were. When the Elders of Israel came forth to preach the everlasting Gospel we obeyed it and, through obedience, we obtained the Spirit of God, and that brought us into the position which we occupy at the present time.

      And now about the gathering, who understood anything about it? The ancient Prophets prophesied about it, but what did we know about it, or what do the world to-day know about it? Nothing, only as it has been revealed. If God had not revealed it we should have been as ignorant as the rest of mankind are. And so we should about our sealings, and the covenants that men and women make with one another, that the fools around us do not comprehend; they think we are fools, but we know they are; that is the difference between us. We know they are ignorant, brutish, foolish and know not God nor his laws, nor the principles of truth; but we know something about these things, because God has revealed them to us.

      We heard this morning that this was a time in which to build Temples, and you know that we are now engaged in a work of that kind. Why are we thus engaged? Is it for our sakes only? God forbid. The Gospel that we preach is not for ourselves only. We have not preached it these many years that we might make money by it. I have traveled a great many thousands of miles to preach this Gospel without purse and without scrip, and I see many men around and before me who have done the same thing. Was it for ourselves? No. Was it because it was pleasant? No, but God had revealed certain principles to us pertaining to the salvation of the world in which we live; he had committed a dispensation of the Gospel to us, and it was woe unto us if we preached not that Gospel, whether we liked it or not. But we did like it, and we went forth in the name of Israel's God, and God went with us and sanctioned our testimony by his Spirit, and by the gift of the Holy Ghost. We could not have done these things or I will acknowledge that I could not, neither could any of my brethren, unless God had been with us, we had not sufficient faith and intelligence; but God imparted his Spirit, his intelligence and the gift of the Holy Ghost to the Elders of Israel, and they went forth bearing precious seed, the seed of eternal life, and they came again rejoicing and bringing their sheaves with them, and here they are gathered into the garner. What for? For ourselves? No, we are, or ought to be co-workers with God in the accomplishment of his purposes in relation to the world in which we live, and people that have lived before us, and those that shall come after us. The principles which we are in possession of emanated from God. The Priesthood which God has revealed emanated and originated with the Gods in the eternal worlds; it is the principle by which they are governed and by which God governs all things which exist, and we, as the servants of God, acknowledge the hand of God in all these things. Can I preach, do I have any intelligence? God imparted it. Can my brethren preach? have they intelligence? God imparted it. Did Joseph Smith or Brigham Young have intelligence God imparted at. Have we been delivered at various times, and has the hand of God been manifested in our behalf? Yes, or we could not have been here to-day, the powers of darkness would have prevailed against us, the enemies of Zion would have put their feet upon our necks, and would have trampled us to the dust of death long ago. We talk about the intelligence that has been manifested in connection with this work. Where did it come from? It came from God. As you heard this morning, God, in answer to the prayers of thousands, has inspired his servants and has given them intelligence to carry on his work, and it has been carried on under the influence, guidance and direction of the Spirit of God. Without that none of us could have done anything more than the rest of mankind. Who led us? God. Who has sustained us here? God, and who will continue to sustain us? The Almighty. These fools who think they can trample under foot the servants of God, and overthrow the kingdom of God are reckoning without their host, they are pushing against the buckler of the Great Jehovah, and they will find that he will put a hook into their nose and lead them in a path they know not of Israel will rise and shine, and the power of God will rest upon his people, and the work that he has commenced will roll forth "until the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ, and he shall rule for ever and ever." The purposes of God are not going to be thwarted by the folly, vanity and ignorance of men; and as we had very little to do with introducing these things, we have really very little to do with carrying them on. Somebody was speaking this morning, in reference to certain men who thought that, if they left the Church, the work would not go on; that is perfectly ridiculous. There are certain things that have to be accomplished in the economy of God, and no man or combination of men can stop them, no influence that he world can exert can hinder them, for God is at the helm, and he will roll forth his own work. Hear it, you men of the world, you cannot go further than God will let you, any more than the Latter-day Saints can. It is in God's work that we are engaged. There is nothing really selfish about our operations when we come right down to the bottom of the work; for we are all engaged with God, and with the spirits of just men made perfect, and with the Priesthood that have existed before us, and with the intelligences that surround the throne of God; with all these intelligences we are united in the grand work of rolling forth the designs and purposes of God. You do not have the Latter-day Saints only to fight against, but you have to fight all the just and good who have lived and died on the earth, and who live again; and besides these you have to fight with God and his angels and the intelligences who surround his throne.

      As Latter-day Saints, we are sometimes apt to think that we must look after ourselves individually. We are a good deal like the man who, when praying, said—"God bless me and my wife, my son John and his wife, us four and no more, amen." There was no philanthrophy, benevolence or kind feeling towards the rest of mankind there, and too many of us feel a good deal in the same way. As Latter-day Saints we ought to feel—and when we feel right we shall feel—that we are the representatives of God upon the earth, that we are engaged in building up his kingdom; that we are living in an age when God designs to accomplish certain purposes, and we are desirous of co-operating with him in that labor, and it is our mission to help to save the living, to redeem the dead and to bring to pass the things spoken of by the Prophets. This is the position that we occupy, and a great many things have yet to be introduced before these things can be accomplished.

      We are commencing to build Temples, and hence, as I said before, our dispensation differs from others which have preceded it. It is kind of a time for settling up accounts. You know when a man goes to work on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, he keeps account of what he does, and when Saturday comes it is a kind of settling-up day. It is so with us, it is so with the world, our day is a kind of settling-up day. The Elders have been forth and gathered together a few of the people to whom they have preached; others are gathering, and now we, at home here, are engaged in building Temples? What for, for ourselves? Yes. For somebody else? Yes. For our friends who have lived? Yes. For other people's friends who have lived? Yes, and to feel after all nations who have lived, for we are interested in the welfare of all the peoples who have ever existed on this earth, and like God, we are feeling after them with a fatherly, kind, generous and philanthropic feeling. That is why we are building our Temples, that is why men are called upon to labor upon these Temples, for we desire to enter therein and to officiate and administer for the living and the dead.

      "Well, but it takes a little money." Oh, does it? Never mind, the gold and the silver are the Lord's, the cattle on a thousand hills are his, and we shall get a little of his gold and silver, and in using it in building temples to the name of the Lord we are taken into partnership with him, we unite with God, and with the angels, and with the spirits of just men made perfect, with the priesthood that existed anciently and with the Gods. We all unite together for the accomplishment of God's purposes, and we will feel after the Inhabitants of the earth. If people are foolish around us we cannot help that; let them go on and exhibit their folly, God will take care of us, he is as much interested about us as we are, and a good deal more, and he is as much concerned about the rolling forth of this work as we are, and a good deal more. The ancient Nephites who lived on the earth, those men of God who, through faith, wrought righteousness, accomplished a good work and obtained exaltation, are as much interested in the welfare of their descendants as we are, and a good deal more; and Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and those ancient men of God who once lived on the earth, and who yet live, are as much interested in the accomplishment of God's purposes as we are, and a good deal more. Well, then, what have we to do? Why to fulfill the duties devolving upon us as they come along day by day, and to introduce every principle that is calculated to save the living sad redeem the dead. We are not alone in these things, others are operating with us, I mean all the men of God who ever lived, and they are as much interested as we are, and a good deal more, for they know more, and "they without us cannot be made perfect" neither can we be perfected without them. We are building temples for them and for their posterity, and we are going to operate in these temples, as we have done heretofore, for their welfare and for the welfare of their posterity. And then they are operating for us behind the vail with God and the intelligences which surround his throne; and there is a combination of earthly beings and of heavenly beings, all under the influence of the same priesthood, which is an everlasting priesthood, and whose administrations are effective in time end in eternity. We are all operating together, to bring about the same things and to accomplish the same purposes.

      Well then, what shall we do? We will build the temples. And don't you think we shall feel a little better while we are doing it? I think we shall, for while we are so doing we shall have the approbation of God our Heavenly Father, and of all good men who have ever lived, and we may need this by and by when we get through this world. These Gentiles do not need anything of this kind they are all going to heaven anyhow; but we want to make friends of the mammon of unrighteousness that when we fail they may receive us into everlasting habitations. I wang friends behind the vail. I want to be the friend of God and God to be my friend; I want to help to roll forth the Kingdom of God and to build up the Zion of the Most High, and I want to see my brethren engaged in the same work, and we will do it. In the name of Israel's God we will do it.

      We talk about the Order sometimes, well, we will do that too. What, would you? Yes, to be sure I would, or anything else that God wants of me. I am on hand, that is my feeling about these things. Well but, is there not, a good many weaknesses to see? I think there is, don't you think there is about you? Just examine yourselves and then answer the question whether you have not a good many weaknesses. I think there are a great many things among us that we ought to be ashamed of. We are covetous grasping and grinding; there is not enough human sympathy, brotherhood and kindly feeling among us. Every man in Zion ought to feel that in every other he has a brother and a friend, and not a ravenous character who would grasp everything that he has and grind him to the dust of the earth. I want liberality, generosity, kindness and the love of God within us, and flowing around us like wells of water springing up unto everlasting life. These are the principles by which we ought to be actuated and governed. Let the potsherds of the earth strive with the potsherds of the earth, God will take care of his own affairs and manage them his own way. Zion is onward, her progress can not and will not be retarded, I will prophesy it in the name of Israel's God. It is onward, onward, onward, until the purposes of God shall be accomplished, until the towers of Zion shall arise, until her temples shall be built, until the living shall be saved, until the dead shall be redeemed, and until "the knowledge of God shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea."

      Let us, then, cleave to righteousness and truth, lay aside our folly, vanity and nonsense, our egotism, ignorance and covetousness and everything that is wicked, sinful, narrow and contracted, and let us feel that we are servants of God, engaged in rolling forth his kingdom and accomplishing his purposes upon the earth.

      May God help us to be faithful, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

ELDER W. WOODRUFF

Rejoiced that he had lived long enough to see and hear men who had moral courage sufficient to advocate the unpopular doctrines of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ in this dispensation. God holds the destinies of all men, and no man could stay his hand, but his purposes would roll on, and all things would be accomplished according to his mind and will. All the revelations given by inspiration since the world began up to the present time would be fulfilled. All things spoken of pertaining to Zion in the last days would be brought to pass. The records which were deposited in the earth by the hand of the prophet Moroni many centuries ago, and in accordance with the sayings of Isaiah and Ezekiel, had been brought forth in this our day, by Joseph Smith the prophet. The prayers of the thousands of the Saints in these valleys ascended to heaven in behalf of the servants of God, and that the purposes of God might be accomplished. This great Latter-day work was commenced by the Elders of Israel going forth without purse and scrip, and testifying to the people what God had begun to usher in, and thousands were now to e seen here to-day as the result of their labors and the blessing of God accompanying them. All the revelations given by God through his servant Joseph Smith had been fulfilled to the very letter so far, and every other would be, for not one jot or tittle of the word of God would fail.

            When the Gentiles rendered themselves unworthy of eternal life the gospel would be taken from them, and offered to the Jews. No man need expect to prosper who dared to fight against God, but however much men might feel disposed to persecute and destroy this people, we had no desire to resent it, for our object was to build up and not destroy. We were not disposed to quarrel with any man about his religion, for that was a matter entirely between him and his God. We invited the closest investigation of our principles, for they were what God had revealed, and would bear the most rigid scrutiny and comparison, hence our tabernacle had been open to different religious teachers, for the advocacy of their peculiar tenets.

[Wilford Woodruff]

[DNW 23:741, 12/23/74, p 5; JD 17:188]

DISCOURSE

BY ELDER WILFORD WOODRUFF, DELIVERED

At the Semi-Annual conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Wed[nes]day [Tuesday*], October 7th [6th], 1874.
[*See WWJ 7:200]

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      I did not have the privilege of listening to all the remarks of Elder Taylor this forenoon, yet to what I did hear I can bear testimony of its truth. I always delight in seeing a man valiant in the testimony of Jesus Christ. There is something glorious in the principles of the Gospel. I always did, from my boyhood, hope and pray that I might live long enough in the earth to find some man who would have sufficient courage and independence of mind to believe in the same doctrine and Gospel that Jesus Christ taught, and I have lived long enough to see, hear and partake of it, and I glory in it, because it is true.

      The religion or Gospel of Jesus Christ is a very unpopular thing, and has been in every age of the world. Show me a man who was ever inspired of the Lord God of Israel to do a work for him who was popular. You can not find such a man in the whole history of the world. You may take Noah, who was about a hundred and twenty years building an ark, and how many friends did he have? I think about seven in all. Lot was very unpopular the morning he left Sodom and Gomorrah, and so have been all the Patriarchs and Prophets in every age of the world. Jesus Christ, when he came to Jerusalem, the Son of God, the Savior of the world, the great Shiloh of the Jews, came to his own father's house, yet there was not a man more despised in all Judea and Jerusalem than was Jesus Christ, from the day of his birth until he came to the cross. Why is this? Because men love darkness rather than light—because their deeds are evil. The Lord Almighty, in the last days, has set his hand to carry out and fulfill his words for the past five or six thousand years, given through the mouths of his servants the Prophets and Apostles whenever he has had them on the earth. He has commenced this work and be will perform it, for, as brother Taylor has justly said, there is no power on the earth that can stay his hand, for the simple reason that God controls the destinies of all men—kings, princes, rulers, presidents, statesmen, governors, nations, tongues and people, upon the face of the whole earth, and men are placed in a position where they are under the necessity of exercising faith in God in order to build up his kingdom. Read the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, and you will find that, beginning with the creation of the world, everything has been accomplished by faith. The whole of the work of all the ancient Patriarchs and Prophets was accomplished by the exercise of this principle; and it is just so in the last dispensation of the fullness of times. When God sent angels to Joseph Smith, he knew and understood, by the teachings given unto him, what he had to perform in a measure. The Lord called him to do a work, and raised him up for this purpose. Was Joseph Smith popular among men? No, never, he was persecuted until the day of his death, until he sealed his testimony with his blood. But the persecution against him, and the unbelief of the world, do not make the truth of God without effect. The Lord has carried out and fulfilled all these prophecies from the commencement until now; there meyer has been a jot or tittle allowed to fall unfulfilled; there never was a revelation, from the days of father Adam until this, given by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost through the mouth of Patriarch or Prophet that will fall unfulfilled. Though the heavens and the earth pass away, these things will not fail of their fulfillment, and, as brother Taylor has said, the world cannot stay the work of God. They never have done, and they never will.

      This is a different dispensation from all others. God has set to his hand to build up his kingdom and Zion, and that kingdom and Zion must be built up, or the revelations of God will fall unfulfilled. The Bible is full of these teachings, and they must have their fulfillment, and I bear testimony to their truth. The Bible is true, and its prophecies were spoken by holy men of old as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost. The revelations of Isaiah concerning the building up of the Zion of God in the last days will have their fulfillment. The house of God will be established upon the tops of the mountains, and all nations must flow unto it. Zion must arise and put on her beautiful garments, she must be clothed with the glory of her God. The Temple of God has got to be built also upon the tops of the mountains; the Gospel must be preached to every nation under heaven before the end shall come.

      The world say they do not believe these things; that is true, we do not expect them, we never have expected them to believe them, but the unbelief of the world does not change the work of God. We have to live by faith. When Moroni hid in the earth the record which the Book of Mormon was translated from, four hundred years after Christ came in the flesh, he did it by faith, as much so as Noah built the ark. He looked forward and saw that record come forth in the last days, in fulfillment of the sayings of Ezekiel and of the saying of Isaiah, when the stick of Joseph should be put with the stick of Judah, and they should become one stick in the hands of the servants of the Lord before the eyes of the world, and when the truth should spring out of the earth and righteousness look down from heaven. These things were to be a beginning of the great work of God preparatory to the gathering of the twelve tribes of Israel in the latter days. That work has come forth, just as everything has been fulfilled which has been done by faith and by the commandment of God.

      When Joseph Smith began to receive revelations from God he was a boy, an illiterate youth; and had he not had faith and the inspiration of the Almighty upon him, he never could have had power and courage to go forth and introduce the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the midst of a generation of false doctrine, ignorance and darkness. But God preserved, inspired and sustained him, and caused him to live upon the earth until he had planted this kingdom, in fulfillment of the revelations. He organized the Church, he receive the holy Priesthood from the hands of angels sent from God—men who had held the Aaronic and Melchizedec Priesthood in other generations upon the earth; they conferred upon Joseph all the powers and keys of the Priesthood necessary to build up the kingdom of God upon the earth, and he lived long enough to organize that kingdom, and it will never be thrown down any more forever.

      The revelations of God to us have been encouraging, and we have seen them fulfilled, and we shall continue to do so until the end. I will say to the Latter-day Saints, that we are in the same position that other generations have been—we have got to walk by faith, we must have confidence in the fulfillment of the revelations of God. No man or woman on the face of the earth will ever be disappointed with regard to the fulfillment of the word of the Lord, for he has uttered decrees, made covenants, and through his servants the Prophets has declared his word and will concerning the world and its inhabitants, and not one of his sayings will fail, all must be fulfilled. If it could be otherwise, the Zion of God would never be built up; but God has decreed that his kingdom will be established, that Zion will arise and shine, and that every weapon formed against her will be broken.

      The prayers of hundreds and thousands of Saints, dwelling in these valleys of the mountains, daily ascend into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, beseeching him to fulfill his word upon the earth and to sustain his servants. Do not the Saints pray for anybody else? Yes, they pray for everybody—for President Grant, Judge McKean, the Governor of Utah, and every man holding official positions here, as well as for Brigham Young and the Apostles. These prayers ascend before the Lord and they will be heard and answered.

      Talk about Brigham Young and Joseph Smith, how many have said to Joseph Smith—"How on the earth do you govern and control this people? How easy you do it!" Our enemies, to-day, look at Brigham Young, and they say—"If he would only die Mormonism would stop;" but in this they are mistaken. This work does not depend upon President Young; it did not depend upon Joseph Smith. All the world thought if they could only slay Joseph Smith there would be an end of Mormonism, and so there would have been had it not been the work of God Almighty; if it had been the work of man it would long since have ceased to exist on the earth. The power that has sustained this work from the beginning sustains it now. As brother Taylor has said, all the holy Prophets and Apostles who have been slain on the earth for the testimony of Jesus and the word of God, and who now sit on the right hand of God in the heavens, are just as much engaged in carrying on the work of God here as when they lived in the flesh, and more so, because they have more light and power. And Jesus Christ, himself, who died on the cross, and after his resurrection visited the other sheep of his fold on this continent, and offered the Gospel to Jew and Gentile, that same Jesus is pleading with the Father to-day, and has been from the day his body lay in the tomb, to carry out and fulfill his purposes and to accomplish his work in our day and generation. We are not alone in our efforts to carry on the work of God. If the eyes of the world were open, they would see that there are more for us than against us. We are only, in one sense of the word, worms of the dust in the hands of God. This work does not depend on any man or set of men. The Lord Almighty has set his hand to accomplish his purposes, and he is feeling after the honest and meek throughout the world, in order to find those who are willing to take hold and help to build up his kingdom in the latter days. He has found a few, and he will find many more.

      How has it been with Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, the Apostles, and thousands of the Elders of Israel who have gone forth to preach the Gospel to the world without purse or scrip, offering the word of life and salvation without money and without price? They have carried their knapsacks on their backs, or with valise in hand have traveled thousands and thousands of miles for this purpose. They have been inspired to do this by the power of the Most High God, and that inspiration has sustained them all the way through; it has upheld this Church from the time it came forth until this hour, and will unto its consummation. We came in here on the 24th of July, 1847, having been driven from our homes, the graves of our fathers, and from lands we purchased from the general Government because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ, or, in other words, because of our religion. We came here and found a barren desert, containing nothing but a few roving Indians, coyote wolves, crickets and grasshoppers. There was no mark of the Anglo Saxon race or of the white man here then, but the whole region of country was a desert of the most forbidding and desolate character. Now when strangers come up to Zion on this great highway, east up in fulfillment of the revelations of God, what do they see? They see no longer a desert, but a belt, for six hundred miles, of cities, towns, villages, orchards, fields and crops. Who has done this? The Lord God of Israel has inspired his Saints to do it. President Young has been led, guided, counselled and moved upon by the Holy Ghost and by the revelations of Jesus Christ, and that which strangers now behold in this Tabernacle, and throughout this Territory is in fulfillment of that volume of revelation which you can read in the prophecies of Isaiah and others of the Prophets and Patriarchs. These things are true and your eyes can see them, whether you believe them or not has nothing to do with it. I will tell you that if this work had not been of God, and God had not borne testimony to the preaching of the Elders, we might have preached until we had been as old as Methuselah and we could not have gathered the people from almost every nation under heaven as we have done, according to the predictions of the ancient Prophets contained in the Bible. But the Lord has never disappointed anybody so far as his work is concerned. It did not stop after the death of Joseph, and it never will on account of the death of any man, Prophet, Apostle or any other man, for it is in the hands of God, and he has decreed that it shall stand for ever, and that it shall extend until its dominion becomes universal.

      We do not see to-day what we saw twenty-four years ago, and we do not see to-day what will be seen twenty-four years hence; there will be no stoppage to the building up of the Zion of God, or to the carrying out of his work. Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, raised up by the Lord Almighty, and the inspiration of God guided and sustained him to the day of his death. He sealed his testimony with his blood, and that testimony is in force upon all the world. This record which I hold in my hands (Book of Doctrine and Covenants) contains the revelations of God, and in one of them the Lord says—"Let earth and hell combine against you, and they shall not prevail, the kingdom is yours—I have given it into your hands—and you are called upon to build it up." The Lord is at the helm to govern, guide and control this work, and he will do so unto the end.

      Now when men undertake to fight against this work, as brother Taylor has said, they fight against God; it is not against Brigham Young, the Apostles or this people alone, but it is against God. Every man will be rewarded according to his works. Our prayers go up before God day and night, that he will execute justice, judgment, righteousness and truth, that he will sustain everything that leads to good, and does good, and that he will overthrow all that lead to evil and do evil; and we are assured by revelation that the Lord will hear and answer our prayers. The Lord is with this people; but as Latter-day Saints, I do not think that we always prize our privileges. We are called upon to perform a work; the Lord has placed this work in our hands, and we are held responsible before the heavens and the earth to use the talents—the light and truth, which have been committed into our hands.

      What is this life? What are the things of this life? The Latter-day Saints are living for things the other side of the vail, the same as all servants of God have done in every age of the world. Now is it not a curiosity that so few of the human family have an interest in eternal things—things the other side of the vail? Bless your souls, our lives here are only a few days in duration, but on the other side of the vail we shall live eternally, we shall live and exist just as long as our Creator will exist, and our eternal destiny depends upon the manner in which we spend our short lives here in the flesh. Wall it not pay any man, any Prophet, Apostle or Saint, in this or any other age of the world, to be true and faithful to his God, to magnify his calling, to be valiant in the testimony of Jesus Christ, to preach the Gospel, to bear record of the things of the kingdom to Jew and Gentile in his day and generation? Yes, it will pay men to do right, and men will sorrow and bitterly regret taking any course in this or any other generation against God or his work. What have been the afflictions of the Jews who rejected Jesus Christ? Why every word spoken concerning them by Moses and Jesus has had its fulfillment until the present day, for hundreds of years past and gone. They have been a hiss and a by-word, and trodden under the feet of the Gentiles, in fulfillment of the words of Jesus Christ, and they will continue in their present position until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. Jesus offered his Gospel to the Jews in his day, but in these latter days it has been offered first to the Gentiles, thus fulfilling the saying that the first shall be last and the last shall be first; and when the Gentiles count themselves unworthy of eternal life, the Gospel will go to the House of Israel and they will receive it. The Gentiles should heed the warning given them by the Apostle Paul, lest they fall through the example of unbelief as did the Jews, who were broken off because they rejected the Messiah, and refused the message of salvation which he delivered unto them. From that day to this they have been scattered, peeled and afflicted; their city was overthrown and their Temples destroyed, and the land of their fathers has been in the hands of Gentile nations until to-day. The Lord has said—"Vengeance is mine and I will repay," and we may rest assured that the Lord will reward those who seek to destroy the lives of his people and to overthrow his kingdom. Vengeance is in the hands of the Almighty. "I will fight your battles," saith the Lord. We do not seek any man's hurt, however much of an enemy he may be to us, we leave him in the hands of God, we know that he will reward him, and the reward will be all that God, Saints, angels, devils or wicked men can ask, and it will be all that any man can want. When we undertake to fight against God we have to pay for it. Men will have to pay for every sin committed in the flesh; no matter what they do, they will have to be accountable for it. If a man does right, is valiant in the testimony of Jesus Christ, obeys the Gospel, and keeps his covenants, when he passes to the other side of the vail he has an entrance into the presence of God and the Lamb; having kept celestial law he enters into celestial glory, he is preserved by that law, and he participates in that glory through the endless ages of eternity. It pays any man under heaven to obey and be faithful to the law of God the few days he spends in the flesh. I say to the world, to every sect under heaven, if you ever obtain any blessings in the eternal worlds from anybody at all it will be from the God the Latter-day Saints worship, for God made us all; whether we are Methodists, Baptists, Mormons or anything else we are all the children of one parent. Then why should we persecute one another because of our religion? It is folly in the highest degree. We live in a land and under a constitution which guarantees the right to worship God according to the dictates of conscience to every sect, party, name and denomination under heaven, then why should we be so narrow-minded as to hate or seek to persecute or kill our neighbor because he differs from us in religion?

      We worship God and we are Latter-day Saints because we know that the Gospel which has been revealed in these latter days is true. We have received it and have realized the promises made to those who would obey it. The Holy Ghost and the testimony of Jesus Christ never deceived us, and we have received that testimony while abroad in almost every nation under heaven. By this power we have been gathered. That is the reason we are Mormons, as the world call us. We know this work is true, we know it is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We would not persecute, abuse, or quarrel with any man because of his religious views. A man's religion, let it be what it will, is between him and his God. He is going to the eternal world, and he will receive his reward, and there is no reason or use in quarreling about religion, and we have never felt to do this in our lives. Whatever may have been said concerning us, our Tabernacles—this and others—have been open to every minister who came along, no matter to what sect or party he belonged. We are not afraid of our doctrines, and we are not afraid to have our children hear the doctrines of others. If any man has got a truth that we have not got, let us have it. Truth is what we are after, and we are not afraid of the doctrines of any man; we are willing to stand by the revelations of God. These are the feelings of the Latter-day Saints. When our Methodist friends came to this city, erected their tent and held their big camp meeting, what was the course pursued by the Latter-day Saints? The President of the Church, the Twelve Apostles and citizens with their wives and children gave them a congregation of many thousands, and we sat in their tent and listened to them while they abused us just as much as they pleased. We believe in giving every man the privilege of saying what he pleases, we have always been willing to let every man express his sentiments here among us. We are not afraid of them. If we have not the truth, that is what we are after, we want it. But we know that we have it, that the Gospel as restored, revealed through Joseph Smith, is the truth of God, and we know that the Lord has set to his hand to build up Zion, and he is going to do it. We bear record of this because we know it is true.

      I pray that God will bless the Latter-day Saints. I pray that we may prize our privileges, that we may enjoy the spirit of our calling, and that the Holy Ghost may enlighten our minds continually, that we may not walk in the dark but in the light. I pray that the Spirit of God may bear record to the stranger within our gates. I am satisfied that it does, and it has done more or less for the forty years that are past and gone. But it is the same to-day as it was in the days of Jesus. He told Nicodemus that light had come into the world, but men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil, and here is where condemnation comes in, but we can not help that. My brethren and I have traveled a great many thousands of miles to preach the Gospel to our fellow-men; we have done this because we know this Gospel is true. We are willing to stand by this Gospel, this testimony and this work in life and in death, in time and in eternity. We shall meet the strangers who come here and visit us, on the other side of the vail; they will meet us there, and if they never know before, they will know then that our testimony is true.

      I pray God our heavenly Father that he will bear testimony by his Holy Spirit to the meek and honest among the children of men, that they may receive the truth and be prepared to inherit eternal life, for Jesus' sake. Amen.

 

            The choir sang the anthem --

Beautiful are thy towers.

            Conference adjourned to 10 o'clock to-morrow morning.

            Benediction by B. YOUNG JUN.

_____

[7 Oct, 10 am]

[DNW 23:577, 584, 10/14/74, p 1, 8]

SECOND DAY.

WEDNESDAY MORNING, October 7th.

            The choir sang --

The towers of Zion soon shall rise
Above the clouds and reach the skies.

            Prayer by Elder G. B. WALLACE.

            Choir sang --

Earth with her ten thousand flowers,
Air with all its beams and showers.

ELDER ALBERT CARRINGTON

Said in his reflections he often thought, "What is the use of talking," since the human family were determined to have their own will and enjoy their peculiar notions? But God had instituted the preaching of the gospel for the purpose of correcting error, and leading the children of men to a knowledge of himself. He then vividly contrasted the difference between the priestcraft prevalent throughout Christendom and the priesthood of God. He also dwelt on the imperfection of the Saints of God in these valleys, who had more or less imbibed Babylonish habits and customs, not only in their deal, showing a great amount of avarice and greed, but in their dress also, and other expensive and foolish indulgences. It would be better to strictly observe the law that God had revealed, which was intended to lead them back into the presence of their Father.

            The plan of salvation devised by our Father was so simple, so wise, and so cheap, that the wayfaring man, though a fool, need not err therein, but the very simplicity of its principles seems to constitute the great stumbling block to the world.

            We who inherit these valleys, and are regarded by mankind generally as ignorant and fanatical, once lived in Christendom, and knew all about the dogmas, tenets and practices of the Christian world, but, having embraced the Everlasting Gospel of the Son of God, and received the life giving power and influence of the Spirit of God, we occupy a very different position to what the world assign us. All knowledge now enjoyed by the scientists o the world, has been received from God. They obtained their intelligence from him, and therefore they have nothing to boast of, but every truth, whether scientific or otherwise, is couched in the Gospel of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God is the only author of the everlasting plan of salvation, revealed in its fulness in this our day, and therefore the world need not find fault with the Latter-day Saints for the principles it contains, but rather let them find fault and measure arms with the Lord Almighty.

            He rejoiced that God had chosen a poor unlettered youth by the name of Joseph Smith to reveal to, and usher in, the fulness of the everlasting Gospel, according to the prediction of John the Revelator and other prophets.

ELDER F. D. RICHARDS

bore testimony to the truth of those principles that God had revealed, and which had been taught to us, including baptism for the remission 0of our sins, and ushering us into the Kingdom of God. He also felt thankful that so many had been made the happy recipients of these blessings.

            He reviewed the past experiences of the saints in the early history of the church, many of whom had to succumb to the persecutions of the wicked and the ungodly, and dwelt on some of the choicest blessings and privileges to which the Gospel had introduced the saints.

            Joseph Smith, who was the instrument in the hands of God to bring forth these precious revelations, was a prophet to this generation, and has gone to the spirit world to unfold to them the great plan of salvation, and assist in rolling forth the great purposes of God in the redemption of the human family.

            He prayed that the Saints might so live as to see the truth triumph upon the face of the land.

            Conference was adjourned till 2 o'clock p.m.

            Choir sang an anthem --

Lift up your heads.

            Benediction by Patriarch JOHN SMITH.

_____

[7 Oct, 2 pm]

[DNW 23:577, 10/14/74, p 1]

SECOND DAY

_____

AFTERNOON, Oct. 7.

            The choir sang --

Hosannah to the great Messiah,
The long expected Savior King.

            Prayer by Elder JOHN TAYLOR.

            The choir sang --

We're not ashamed to own our Lord,
And worship him on earth.

ELDER ORSON PRATT

Said he had been requested to preach upon the subject of marriage. He did not think any one who believed in the Scriptures would pretend to deny that marriage was a divine institution. To prove what God did in the days of Moses, he referred to the 21st chap. of Exodus, where a law was given to a polygamic nation. He hoped that pious Christians in this congregation would not find fault with their own Bibles this afternoon. He hoped also they would not complain that those ancient men of God who were polygamists were now citizens in the Kingdom of God, not damned and cast out on account of their polygamy. Neither should they complain if God should see fit to reveal the same law to be observed in our day.

            In order to show that the polygamous practice continued with the house of Israel, he turned to the 21st and 25th chapters of Deuteronomy, where a law was given that a man was to marry the widow of his deceased brother. He also proved that the laws on polygamy given in the days of Moses, like those on honesty, uprightness, etc., were not abrogated by the Savior, but were just as binding after as before his coming. He spoke also on the penalty that attached to those who rejected or refused to obey the law of polygamy, which was a universal reproach by all Israel.

            When God commenced to usher in the last dispensation, and to restore all things which he had spoken by his servants the prophets since the world began, the law of polygamy would have to come with all the other things, and the Christian believer, to be consistent, must either abandon the Bible as a divine record, or admit the law of polygamy to be a Bible doctrine.

            He then spoke of the subject in reference to its existence among the Latter-day Saints. The reason why it was practised among us was because God commanded us to observe it, and gave revelation concerning it, and we believed it. Why should not God give laws in our day, pertaining to family relations, as well as in the days of Moses?

            He always thought, when a boy, that any one had a right to believe and practise Bible doctrine in this land of freedom, but it seemed that men had passed laws which prohibited the observance of one law, that of polygamy, on pain of heavy penalties. Should we therefore obey God or man?

            He then delivered a prophecy that every man or woman who rejected polygamy would go into darkness and lose the Spirit of God and finally be damned.

            He dwelt on the subject in reference to its future state. All the ordinances of the gospel had a bearing upon our future condition. Marriage being a divine institution, no persons joined together by a civil magistrate were legally married in the sight of God, neither were their children legal heirs, though they were so regarded, according to the laws of all Christian countries. He regretted that some of our young people, professing to be members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, had actually been married by a justice of the peace only, which severed their relation as man and wife when death did them part. Not so with those who were married under divine authority for time and all eternity. Their relationship would never be dissolved.

            He closed his remarks with a vivid description of the New Jerusalem, on whose gates would be inscribed the names of twelve polygamous children.

[Orson Pratt]

[DNW 23:772, 1/6/75, p 4; JD 17:214]

DISCOURSE

BY ELDER ORSON PRATT, DELIVERED

At the Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Wednesday, October 7th, 1874.

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REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

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      I have been requested, this afternoon, to preach upon the subject of marriage. It is a subject which has been often laid before the Latter-day Saints, and it is certainly one of great importance to the Saints as well as to the Inhabitants of the earth, for I presume that no person, who believes in divine revelation, will pretend to say that marriage is not a divine institution; and if this be the case, it is one which affects all the human family.

      I will select a passage of scripture in relation to this divine institution as it existed in the days of Moses. In selecting, however, this passage, I do not wish the congregation to suppose that we are under the law of Moses particularly. There are many great principles inculcated in that law which the Lord never did intend to come to an end or be done away—eternal principles, moral principles, then there are others that were done away at the coming of our Savior, he having fulfilled the law. Because we find certain declarations, contained in the law given to Moses, that does not prove that the Latter-day Saints are under that law; that same God that gave the law of Moses—the being that we worship—is just as capable of giving laws in our day as in Moses' day; and if he sees proper to alter the code given to Moses, and to give something varying from it, we have no right to say that he shall not do so. Therefore, in selecting the passage which I am about to read, it is merely to show what God did in ancient times, and that he may do something similar in modern times.

      In the 21st chapter of Exodus, speaking of a man who already had one wife, Moses, says—"If he take him another wife, her food, her raiment and her duty of marriage shall he not diminish." It will be recollected that this law was given to a polygamic nation. When I speak of a polygamic nation, I mean a nation that practised both plural and single marriage, and believed one form to be jest as sacred as the other. Their progenitors or ancestors were polygamists; and they were considered patterns for all future generations. Their piety, holiness, purity of heart, their great faith in God, their communion with him, the great blessings to which they attained, the visions that were made manifest to them, the conversation that God himself, as well as his angels, had with them, entitled them to be called the friends of God, not only in their day, but they were considered by all future generations to be his friends. They were not only examples to the Jewish nation, but in their seed, the seed of these polygamists, all the nations and kingdoms of the earth were to be blessed.

      I hope that pious Christians in this congregation will not find fault this afternoon with their Bible, and with the Prophets and inspired men who wrote it. I hope that they will not find fault with God for selecting polygamists to be his friends. I hope that they will not find fault with Jesus because he said, some two thousand years or upwards after the days of these polygamists, that they were in the kingdom of God, and were not condemned because of polygamy. Jesus says, speaking of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—"Many shall come from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of God." Do not find fault with Jesus, you Christians, because he has these polygamists in his kingdom, and because he has said that the Gentiles will be blessed through the seed of these polygamists; neither find fault with him because he has taken these polygamists into his kingdom, and that many will come from the four quarters of the earth and have the privilege of sitting down with them therein.

      Jacob married four wives, and may be considered the founder of that great nation of polygamists. He set the example before them. His twelve sons, who were the progenitors of the twelve tribes of Israel, were the children of the four wives of the prophet or patriarch Jacob. So sacred did the Lord hold these polygamists that he said, many hundred years after their death—"I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, and this shall be my memorial unto all generations." Now, Christians, do not find fault if God chose these polygamists and, at the same time, wished to make them a sample, a memorial to all generations, Christians as well as Jews.

      Several hundred years after God raised up these, his friends, and founded or began to found the twelve tribes of Israel, he saw proper to raise up a mighty man called Moses to deliver the children of Israel from the bondage in which they had bees oppressed and afflicted by the Egyptian nation. So great had this affliction become that the King of Egypt issued a decree commanding the Israelitish midwives to put to death all the male children, born among the Israelites. This murderous law was carried out. This was about eighty years before Moses was sent down from the land of Midian to deliver the children of Israel from this cruel bondage. How long this great affliction of putting to death the male children existed, is not given in the Bible; but it seems to have waxed worse and worse during the following eighty years, after which Moses was sent to deliver them. We may reasonably suppose that the oppressive hand of Pharoah was not altogether eased up, but continued on for scores of years, destroying many of the male children, making a great surplus of females in that nation. A great multitude of females over and above that of males, will account for the peculiar passage of Scripture to which I will now refer you. It will be found in the 3rd chapter of Numbers. I have not time to turn to it and read it, but I will quote you the substance thereof. Moses and Aaron were commanded to number all the males in Israel from a month old and upward that were called the firstborn among the various tribes. Now the firstborn does not mean the oldest male child of the first wife, for sometimes the first wife has no children, but it means the first born son that is horn to the father whether by the first wife, or second, or third, or any number of wives that he may have; the terra firstborn pertains to the first male child that is horn to the father. So it Was accounted to Jacob's family of twelve sons. Reuben only was called the firstborn of Israel until he lost his birthright, through transgression, which, we are told in the 5th chapter of first Chronicles, was taken from him and given to one of the sons of Joseph. But so far as age or birth was concerned, Reuben was the firstborn; and had it not been for his transgression, he would have inherited a double portion of his father's substance, for that was the law in ancient times.

      Now how many of the firstborn could be found in the midst of Israel? We are told that there were twenty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three firstborn males among the eleven tribes: the tribe of Levi was not reckoned at that time, but all the male members of the tribe of Levi, from a month old and upwards was twenty-two thousand souls. Now if the tribe of Levi numbered in proportion to the other eleven tribes, the number of firstborn males in all the twelve tribes would probably amount to between twenty-four and twenty-five thousand souls, it could not have run over that. There might have been some of the firstborn who were dead, which would make a few more families: then there might have been other families who never had any male children, which would increase the families still more. Supposing then, in order to give all the advantages possible, and to make as many families as we possibly can consistently, that we say, instead of twenty-five thousand firstborn in the midst of all Israel, that there were thirty thousand; that is allowing for all these contingencies I have named, where families have no males, and those families that have male children under a month old which were not reckoned, and those families which might have had firstborn male children who died and the number might possibly be increased to four or five thousand more, making the total number of families about thirty-thousand.

      Thus we see that the number of firstborn males from a month old or upwards give us a clue to the number of families; we may not be able to determine the number exactly, but these data will enable us to approximate very closely. It is generally admitted, that Israel, at that time, numbered twenty-five hundred thousand souls. There might have been a variation from this of a few thousand souls, but according to the Scriptural and all other evidences that can be gleaned, the number above referred to is about the number of souls that existed in Israel at that time. Among that twenty-five hundred thousand souls then, there were thirty-thousand families. How many were there in a family? All that you have to do to tell how many there were in a family, is to divide twenty-five hundred thousand by thirty thousand and you will find that the quotient is eighty-three, showing that number of souls on an average in each family. Now if these families were all monogamic, how many children must have been born to each wife? Eighty-one.

      This argument is founded on Scripture, and it shows plainly, even if you should double the number of families or of the firstborn, that they could not be all monogamic families, for if we suppose there were sixty thousand families, it would make every married woman the mother of forty odd children, and if such a supposition could be entertained it would go to show that women in those days were more fruitful than they are now. These declarations are given in your Bible, which is also my Bible; that is, in King James' translation. We all believe, or profess to be Bible believers or Christians. Do not he startled my hearers at these declarations of your Bible. No wonder then that this passage which I have taken for my text was given to that people, because they were a people who needed to be guided in relation to their duty. "If a man take another wife," that is, after he has got one, if he take another one, "her food"—whose food? the food of the first wife;—her raiment," that is the raiment of the first wife, "her duty of marriage, he shall not diminish." Now this is plain, pointed and positive language in regard to polygamy as it existed among the house of Israel in ancient times. Why did not, the Lord say, if polygamy were a crime or a sin—"If a man take another wife let all the congregation take him without the camp and stone him and put him to death?" or if that was too severe let them incarcerate him in a prison or dungeon for several years? If it be a crime why did he not say so? It is just as easy to say that, as to give directions as to what course a man shall pursue with regard to his first wife, if he take another one.

      This is Bible doctrine as it existed in those days. I know that it has been argued that the first woman, here spoken of, was merely a betrothed woman, and not married. But if this be so, what a curious saying this in our text—that her duty of marriage shall he not diminish if he take another wife. This and other expressions show clearly that they were both wives, and that there was a certain duty to be attended to by the husband, besides providing them with food and raiment. It, was argued here in this tabernacle before some eight or ten thousand people, on a certain occasion, that the Hebrew word translated "duty of marriage," ought to have been translated "dwelling"—"Her food, her raiment and her dwelling he shall not diminish." I recollect asking the learned gentleman, Rev. Dr. Newman, why he translated it dwelling, instead of translating it as all other Hebraists have done? I asked him to produce one passage in all the Bible where that word translated "duty of marriage," meant a "dwelling," but he could not do it. The Hebrew word for "dwelling," and the Hebrew word for "duty of marriage," are two entirely distinct words. I referred him to the learned professors in Yale College, and to many others who have translated this Hebrew word "duty of marriage." These professors and other earned translators, have referred to this special passage, and have translated it in two ways—one is "duty of marriage," and the other is cohabitation. Now, if this latter be correct—her food, her raiment and her cohabitation, shall not be diminished. I asked him why he varied in his translation of the Hebrew, from all these translators and lexicographers? His only answer was that he found a certain Jew in Washington who told him that it meant "dwelling," or rather that its original root referred to a "dwelling." I thought that was a very poor argument against all the translators of the Christian world, who are mostly monogamists. But we will pass on. I do not intend to dwell too long on these subjects.

      So far as the law of Moses is concerned, to prove that the house of Israel kept up their polygamous institution from generation to generation, let me refer you to another law to show that they were compelled to do this, or else to come out in open rebellion against the law of Moses. In the 25th chapter of Deuteronomy, we read something like this—"When brethren dwell together, and one of them die, the living brother shall take the widow of the deceased brother, and it shall come to pass that the firstborn that is raised up shall succeed in the name of his brother." This was a positive command given to all Israel. Now was this command confined to young men who were unmarried, or was it an unlimited command so far as living brothers were in existence? This is a question to be decided. There is nothing in all the Scriptures that makes any distinction between a married brother who survives and an unmarried brother; the law was just as binding upon a living brother, if he had already a wife living, as it was upon a living brother if he had no wife, it being a universal law, with no limits in its application, so far as the house was concerned. This law, then, compelled the children of Israel to be polygamists; for in many instances the living brother might be a married man, and in many instances there might be two or three brothers who would take wives and die without leaving seed, and in that case it would devolve upon the surviving brother to take all the widows. This law was not given for that generation alone, but for all future generations. Some may say, that when Jesus came, he came to do away that law. I doubt it. He came to do away the law of sacrifices and of burnt offerings, and many of those ordinances and institutions, rites and ceremonies which pertained to their tabernacle and temple, because they all pointed forward to him as the great and last sacrifice. But did he come to do away all these laws that were given in the five books of Moses? No. There are many of these laws that were retained under the Christian dispensation. One of the laws thus retained was repentance. The children of Israel were commanded to repent, and no person will pretend to say that Jesus came to do away the law of repentance. Another was the law of honesty, upright dealing between man and man; no one will pretend to say that that law ceased when Jesus came. The laws concerning families and the regulation of the domestic institutions were not intended to cease when Jesus came, and they did not cease only as they were disregarded through the wickedness of the children of men. The laws concerning monogamy, and the laws concerning polygamy were just as binding after Jesus had come, as they were before he came. There were some laws which Ezekiel says were not good. Jesus denounced them, and said they were given because of the hardness of the hearts of the children of Israel. Ezekiel says that God gave them statutes and judgments by which they should not live. Why did he do it? Because of their wickedness and hardness of heart. I will tell you how this law became done away and ceased to exist among the children of Israel—it was in consequence of their rejection of the Messiah. In consequence of this their city was overthrown, and their nation destroyed, except a miserable remnant, which were scattered abroad among the Gentile nations, where they could not keep the law in regard to their brothers' widows. When John the Baptist was raised up to that nation, he must nave found thousands on thousands of polygamists, who were made so, and obliged to be so, by the law which I have just quoted.

      Some of you may enquire—"Had not a surviving brother the right to reject that law of God?" He had, if he was willing to place himself under its penalty. I will quote you the penalty, and then you can see whether he could get away from polygamy or not. One penalty was that he should be brought before the Elders and that the widow whom he refused to marry, according to the law of God, should pluck his shoe from off his foot, and should then spit in his face, and from that time forth the house of that man should be denounced as the house of him that hath his shoe loosed, a reproach among all Israel. Instead of being a man of God, and a man to be favored by the people of God; instead of being a man such as the Christian world would now extol to the heavens because he rejected polygamy, he was a man to be scorned by all israel. That was the penalty. Was that the only penalty? I think not. Read along a little further, and it says—"Cursed be he that continues not in all things written in this book of the law." Oh, what a dreadful penalty that was, compared with being reproached by the whole people! Oh, what a fearful curse upon a man that refused to become a polygamist, and would not attend to the law of God! A curse pronounced by the Almighty upon him, also the anathemas of all the people as well as from God! The word of the Lord was that all the people should say amen to this curse. Now, if I had lived in those days, I should not have considered it very desirable to bring myself under the curse of heaven, and then have the curse of all the twelve tribes of Israel upon my head. I should not have liked it at all. I would rather have gone into polygamy according to the command, even if it had subjected me to a term of five years in a penitentiary.

      We find many other passages, touching upon this subject. I will quote one, which will be found in the 21st chapter of Deuteronomy. It reads as follows: "If a man have two wives, one beloved and another hated, and they have borne him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the first-born son be hers that was hated, then it shall be when he makes his sons to inherit that which he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved, flrstborn before the son of the hated, which is indeed the firstborn."

      Now this applies to two classes of polygamists. First, to those who may have two wives living at the same time, and then to those who may have married two wives in succession. It applies to both classes, for both classes existed in those days, and the Lord gave this, not to condemn polygamy, not to do away with it, but to show that the individual who had two wives should be impartial in regard to his children. Did he approbate this man that might have two wives in his hatred of one, and in loving the other? No, he did not, but inasmuch as man is weak and may sin against God, and suffer himself to be overcome with prejudice and hatred to one person, and feel in his heart to love and respect another, the Lord gave laws in case any such crime should exist among them as a husband's hating one wife and loving another; he gave laws to regulate it, not that he approbated the hating part.

      As I have already proved to you that there were great and valet numbers of polygamic families in Israel, and that there were thousands of firstborn from these plural wives, these firstborn persons, whatever might be the conduct of their mothers, were entitled to their inheritance, namely a double portion of all that the father had to bestow. That was the law in ancient times. We might close here so far as the law of Moses is concerned, but I wish to call your attention to a peculiar saying in this law.

      This law has got to be restored again. Says one—"You astonish me beyond measure, I thought it was done away for ever." Well, listen to what the Lord said to Israel in the closing of this book of Deuteronomy. When the children of Israel shall be scattered in consequence of their iniquities to the uttermost parts of the earth among all the nations, and their plagues shall be of long continuance, and they shall be cursed in their basket and in their store, and with numerous curses which he mentioned should come upon them; after these things had been of long continuance, the Lord says—"After they shall return unto me and hearken unto all the words contained in this book of the law, then I, the Lord God, will gather them out from all the nations whither they are scattered, and will bring them back into their own land." Oh, indeed! Then when they do absolutely return and hearken to all the words of the book of this law God has promised to gather them again; that is, they must enter into polygamy, they must believe when their brother dies and leaves no seed, that the surviving brother, though he has one, two, or a half a dozen wives living, shall take that widow. That is part of the law, and they must fulfill all the words of this law, and then God has promised to gather them again. Says one, "When that is fulfilled it will be in the days of Christianity." We can't help it; polygamy belongs to Christianity, as well as to the law of Moses.

      Says one—"The children of Israel have been scattered now some 1800 years among all the nations and kindreds of the earth, in fulfillment of this curse, but if we believe that saying which you have just quoted, we are obliged to believe that the children of Israel are yet to return to attend to all these institutions, and that too while the Christian religion is in vogue, and that they are to regulate their households according to the law of God, whether those families are monogamic or polygamic." What will the good Christians think when that is fulfilled? They cannot help themselves, for God will not gather Israel until they do return with all their hearts unto him, and hearken to and obey all the words of this law, written in this book. This is the word of the Lord, and how can you help yourselves? Says one "We will pass laws against them." That will not hinder, when God sets his hand to carry out his purposes, laws that may be passed by England, Denmark, Norway or any other Christian community will not hinder the Israelites from attending to all the words contained in the book of his law; for they will want to get back again to their own land.

      Inasmuch then as the Lord has promised to restore all things spoken of by the mouth of all the holy Prophets since the world began, supposing that he should begin this great work of restoration in our day, how are we going to help ourselves? I can't help it. Brigham Young, our President, can't help it; Joseph Smith could not help it. If God sees proper to accomplish this great work of restoration—the restitution of all things, it will include what the Prophet Moses has said, and it will bring back with it a plurality of wives. The 4th chapter of Isaiah could never be fulfilled without this restoration. The passage to which I refer is familiar to all the Latter-day Saints—"In that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely; and in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, we will eat our own bread and wear our own apparel, only let us be called by thy name to take away our reproach." Now will this prophecy ever be fulfilled, unless this great restoration or restitution shall take place? It cannot. If this great restitution does not take place, Jesus will never come, for it is written in the New Testament, in the 3rd chapter of the Acts of the apostles, that "the heavens must receive Jesus Christ, until the times of the restitution of all things which God has spoken by the mouths of his holy Prophets, since the world began." Jesus will have to stay a long time in the heavens providing that monogamist principles are the only principles that will be introduced, in fact he never can come, for the Scriptures say the heavens must retain him until all things are restored.

      God has said that seven women shall take hold of one man for the purpose of having their reproach taken away, that they may be called by his name, not cast off as harlots or prostitutes; not to take away the name of the father from the children, and east them into the streets, as the Christain nations have been doing for many long centuries that are past. But these seven women will be desirous of having the name of their husband for themselves and their children. Isaiah says it shall be so, and it will have to be under the Christian dispensation. How are the Christians going to get rid of this? Can you devise any way? Is them any possible way or means that you can think of that will put a stop to the Lord's fulfilling his word? I will tell you one way—if you will all turn infidels and burn up the Bible, and then begin to persecute, the devil will tell you that you can successfully overcome, and that God will never fulfill and accomplish his word; but if you profess to believe the Bible, by the Bible you shall be judged, for, edith the Lord, "My words shall judge you at the last day." The hooks will be opened, God's word will be the standard by which the nations will be judged; hence if you wish a righteous judgment I would say—Forbear, do not destroy the Bible because it advocates polygamy; but remember that every word of God is pure, so it is declared; and he has nowhere in this book, condemned plural marriage, even in one instance.

      I know that it has been argued that there is a law against polygamy; but in order to make the law the Scripture had to be altered. It is in that famous passage which has become a byword in the mouth of every schoolboy in our streets, Leviticus xviii. ch., 18 v. Now let us examine for a few moments that passage and see what it says. You will find that the fore part of this chapter forbids marriage between certain blood relations. Prior to this time it had been lawful for a man to marry two sisters. Jacob, for instance, married Rachel and Leah, and there was no law against it prior to this time. It had also been lawful for a man to marry his own sister, as in the days of Adam, for you know there were no other ladies on the face of the earth for the sons of Adam except their own sisters, and they were obliged to marry them or to live bachelors. But the Lord saw proper when he brought the children of Israel out of Egypt into the wilderness, to regulate the law of marriage, so far as certain blood relations were concerned, called the law of consanguinity, which speaks of a great many relationships, and finally comes to a wife and her sister. This law was given to regulate the marriage relations of the children of Israel in the wilderness. It was not to regulate those who lived before that day who had married sisters; not to regulate those who might live in the latter days, but to regulate the children of Israel in that day. It reads thus: "Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness besides the other in her lifetime."

      This passage has been altered by certain monogamists in order to sustain their ideas of marriage, and we find in some large Bibles what are called marginal readings that these monogamists have put in, and instead of taking this in connection with all other blood relationships, they have altered it—Neither shalt thou take one wife to another. The men who translated King James' Bible were monogamists, yet they had sense enough to know that the original Hebrew would not bear that construction which has been given by later monogamists. The original Hebrew, when translated word for word, makes it just as King James' translators have made it. The Hebrew words are—Ve-ishaw elahotah-lo takkah. These are the original Hebrew words, and if they are translated literally, word for word, the translation stands just as it is in the text. But this is not saying but what the words, El-ahotah, under certain circumstances, are translated in another form, namely, "one to another," "one sister to another," and I am willing that it should be translated that way. Then it would read—"Thou shalt not take one sister to another to vex her in her life time." So you may take it either way, and it bears out King James' translation, or the meaning given by him.

      I do not profess to be a Hebraist to any very great extent, although I studied it sufficiently many years ago, to understand its grammatical construction, and to translate any passage in the Bible; but then, having lacked practice for many years, of course a person may become a little rusty in regard to these matters. But I have searched out all the passages that can be found in the Old Testament, either singular or plural, masculine or feminine, pertaining to the words contained in this text, and I find a far greater number rendered according to the words that are here given, literally, in this text than what are translated—"one sister to another." But I am willing that this translation should be allowed.

      Now, if we thought the congregation would like to hear the translation of all this, and the reasons why, we could give it; but I presume that there are but few Hebrew scholars present, and if the translation were given, the great majority of the congregation would not understand whether it was translated correctly or not, and for that reason I shall not take up your time by referring to these technicalities. But I will make the broad statement, that there is not a Hebrew scholar living on this earth who can translate that passage from the words contained in the original Hebrew, without adding words of his own, not contained in the original text, if he translates it, as Dr. Newman did,—"one wife to another." If the first word—Ve ishaw means one, as he would try to have us understand, it does not mean wife also: but if it means wife, it cannot be translated as he has it, and therefore it cannot bear out that construction. But I see that I am dwelling too long on the subject of the law of Moses.

      Now I wish to come directly to the point in regard to polygamy as it exists at the present time among the Latter-day Saints. I stated in the beginning of my remarks, that polygamy, or any other institution that was given at one age, might not be binding upon another, without a fresh revelation from God. I made that, statement when I was discussing that subject in this house. I still say, that we are not under the necessity of practicing polygamy because God gave laws and commandments for its observance and regulation in ancient times. Why then do the Latter-day Saints practice polygamy? That is a plain question. I will answer it just as plainly. It is because we believe, with all the sincerity of our hearts, as has been stated by former speakers from this stand, that the Lord God who gave revelations to Moses approbating polygamy, has given revelations to the Latter-day Saints, not only approbating it, but commanding it, as he commanded Israel in ancient times.

      Now let us reason on this point. If God did do such things in former ages of the world, why not the same Being, if he sees proper, perform the same or similar things in another age of the world? Can any one answer this? If God saw proper to give certain laws in ancient times, and then to revoke them; or if he saw proper to give laws that were not revoked, but done away by the transgressions of the children of men, has he not a right, and is it not just as consistent for that same Divine Being to give laws, for instance, in the 19th century, concerning our domestic relations, as it was for him to do it in the days of Moses? And if he has that right, as we Latter-day Saints believe that he has, are not the people's consciences just as sacred in regard to such laws in these days, as the consciences of ancient Israel? or must there be some power to regulate our religious consciences? Here is a grand question. Shall our religious consciences be regulated by civil government or civil laws, or shall we have the privilege of regulating them according to the divine law of the Bible, or any divine law that may be given in accordance with the ancient Bible? I answer that, when I was a boy, I thought I lived in a country in which I could believe in anything that agreed with, or that could be proved by the Bible, whether it was in the law of Moses or in the doctrines of the New Testament. I really thought the Jews had a right to reject Christ, or, in other words, if they had not the right to do it morally, they had the right, so far as civil law is concerned, to reject this Messiah, and to believe in and practice the law of Moses in our land; but I am told, that such liberty of conscience is not to be tolerated in our Republican government. If the Jews should collect in any great numbers, and should say one to another—"Come brethren, we are the descendants of Abraham, let us now begin to practice according to the laws that were given to our ancient fathers, and if a brother dies and leaves a widow, but no children, let his living brother, though a married man, marry the widow, according to our law," it is doubtful whether they would be permitted to associate together and practice those laws now, if they were so disposed. Why? Because the prejudice of the people is so great that they are not willing others should believe, in the whole Bible, but only in such portions as agree with their ideas. If we were instituting a practice that the Lord God never approbated, but for the punishment of which he had prescribed penalties, or if we were introducing something foreign and contrary to the Bible, then there would be some excuse for the people in saying that such a thing should not be practiced in the name of religion. But when we take the Bible as a standard in relation to crime, it is altogether another thing; and I do think that every American citizen who professes to believe in any part or portion of that sacred record, on which all the laws of Christendom pretend to be founded, has the right to do so, and to practice it, and that, too, without being molested.

      Now, after having said so much in relation to the reason why we practice polygamy, I want to say a few words in regard to the revelation on polygamy. God has told us Latter-day Saints that we shall be condemned if we do not enter into that principle; and yet I have heard now and then (I am very glad to say that only a low such instances have come under my notice,) a brother or a sister say, "I am a Latter-day Saint, but I do not believe in polygamy." Oh, what an absurd expression! what an absurd idea! A person might as well say, "I am a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, but I do not believe in him." One is just as consistent as the other. Or a person might as well say, "I believe in Mormonism, and in the revelations given through Joseph Smith, but I am not a polygamist, and do not believe in polygamy," What an absurdity! If one portion of the doctrines of the Church is true, the whole of them are true. If the doctrine of polygamy, as revealed to the Latter-day Saints, is not true, I would not give a fig for all your other revelations that came through Joseph Smith the Prophet; I would renounce the whole of them, because it is utterly impossible, according to the revelations that are contained in these books, to believe a part of them to be divine—from God—and part of them to be from the devil; that is foolishness in the extreme; it is an absurdity that exists because of the ignorance of some people. I have been astonished at it. I did hope there was more intelligence among the Latter-day Saints, and a greater understanding of principle than to suppose that any one can be a member of this Church in good standing, and yet reject polygamy. The Lord has said, that those who reject this principle reject their salvation, they shall be damned, saith the Lord; those to whom I reveal this law and they do not receive it, shall be damned. Now here comes in our consciences. We have either to renounce Mormonism, Joseph Smith, Book of Mormon, Book of Covenants, and the whole system of things as taught by the Latter-day Saints, and say that God has not raised up a Church, has not raised up a prophet, has not begun to restore all things as he promised, we are obliged to do this, or else to say, with all our hearts, "Yes, we are polygamists, we believe in the principle, and we are willing to practice it, because God has spoken from the heavens."

      Now I want to prophecy a little. It is not very often that I prophecy, though I was commanded to do so, when I was a boy. I want to prophecy that all men and women who oppose the revelation which God has given in relation to polygamy will find themselves in darkness; the Spirit of God will withdraw from them from the very moment of their opposition to that principle, until they will finally go down to hell and be damned, if they do not repent. That is just as true as it is that all the nations and kingdoms of the earth, when they hear this Gospel which God has restored in these last days, will be damned if they do not receive it; for the Lord has said so. One is just as true as the other. I will quote this latter saying, as recorded in the Book of Covenants. The Lord said to the Elders of this Church, in the very commencement as it were, "Go ye forth and preach the Gospel to every creature, and as I said unto mine ancient Apostles, even so I say unto you, that every soul who believes in your words, and will repent of his sins and be baptized in water shall receive a remission of his sins, and shall be filled with the Holy Ghost; and every soul in all the world who will not believe in your words, neither repent of his sins, shall be damned; and this revelation or commandment is in force from this very hour, upon all the world," as fast as they hear it. That is what the Lord has said. Just so, in regard to polygamy, or any other great principle which the Lord oar God reveals to the inhabitants of the earth.

      Now, if you want to get into darkness, brethren and sisters, begin to oppose this revelation. Sisters, you begin to say before your husbands, or husbands you begin to say before your wives, "I do not believe in the principle of polygamy, and I intend to instruct my children against it." Oppose it in this way, and teach your children to do the same, and if you do not become as dark as midnight there is no truth in Mormonism. I am taking up too much time. I would like to dwell on another more pleasing part of this subject, if there were time. (President G. A. Smith—"There is plenty of time, brother Pratt.")

      I will go on and tell the people why polygamy was instituted in this dispensation. So far as a future state is concerned, God has revealed to us that marriage as instituted by him, is to benefit the people, not in this world only, but to all eternity. That is what the Lord has revealed. Do not misunderstand me; do not suppose that I mean, that marriage and giving in marriage are to be performed after the resurrection; I have not stated any such thing, and there will be no such thing after the resurrection. Marriage is an ordinance pertaining to this mortal life—to this world—this probation, just the same as baptism and the laying on of hands; it reaches forth into eternity, and has a bearing upon our future state; so does baptism; so does the ordinance of the laying on of hands; so does every ordinance which the Lord our God has revealed to us. If we attend to these things here in this life, they secure something beyond this life—for eternity. They neither baptize, nor receive baptism, after the resurrection. Why? Because neither was intended to be administered after the resurrection. After the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage. Why? Because this is the world where these ceremonies are to be attended to. That which is secured here, will be secured hereafter, if it be secured upon the principles of law which God has revealed. Marriage, then for eternity, is the great principle of marriage with the Latter-day Saints; and yet, I am sorry to say, that there are some of our young people who will suffer themselves to be married by the civil law; not for eternity, but just like the old Gentile custom—the way our forefathers were married. A justice of the peace, a judge, or some one having the right by the civil laws, will pronounce them husband and wife for a short space, called time; perhaps to last only about three score years, and then it is all over with the marriage contract; it is run out; they are husband and wife until death shall separate them, and then they are fully divorced. We do not believe in any such nonsense; it is one of the ideas of the Gentile world in regard to marriage.

      The first great marriage celebrated in this world of ours—that of our first parents—is a sample of marriage that should be introduced and practiced by and among all generations and nations, so far as the eternity of its duration is concerned. Our first parents were immortal beings; they knew nothing about death; it was a word that had never been spoken in their ears. The forbidden fruit had never been laid before them; no law in respect to that was yet given. But Eve was brought to our father Adam as an immortal woman, whose body could not die to all ages of eternity; she was given to an immortal husband, whose body could not die to all future periods of duration, unless they brought death upon themselves. Sin entered into the world, and death by sin; death is one of the consequences of sin; and they brought it upon themselves. But before that, they were married—the immortal Adam had the immortal Eve given to him.

      Now if it had been possible for them to have resisted that temptation, they would have been living now, just as fresh, and as full of vigor, life and animation, after six thousand years, as they were on the morning in which this ceremony of marriage took place; and if you should reflect upon millions and millions of ages in the future, they would still be considered husband and wife, while eternity should last. You could not set a time—you could not point your finger at a moment or hour, when they would be separated, and the union be dissolved.

      That is the kind of marriage that we Latter-day Saints believe in; and yet some of our young people, professing to be members of the Church, and who say they wish to keep the commandments of God, go and get married by a justice of the peace, or some person authorized to perform that ceremony by the civil law. Ask parties who are guilty of such folly, why they were married by these officers of the law until death should part them? and they will say, "We did it inconsiderately, and without reflection," or perhaps they will say that their parents did not teach them on that point. Do you not know that such marriages are not sealed by him that is appointed by divine authority? that they are not of God and are illegal in his sight, and your children are illegitimate in the sight of God? If you expect to have any benefits in eternity arising from your children, they must be yours legally, according to divine appointment, under a divine marriage. "What God has joined together let not man put asunder." But what has God to do with it, when a magistrate, who, perhaps, is an infidel, and does not believe in a God at all, says to a man and woman, "Join your hands together," and then, when they have done so, he says, "I pronounce you husband and wife?" What has God to do with such a marriage as that? Has God joined them together? No, a civil magistrate has done it; and it is legal so far as the laws of the country are concerned, and the children are legal and heirs to their parents property so far as the civil law is concerned, but what has God to do with it? Has he joined them together? No, and the marriage is illegal, and, in the sight of heaven, the children springing from such a marriage are bastards.

      How are we going to legalize these matters? There are many who are very sorry for the Latter-day Saints; so sorry that they would favor the passing of a law which would legalize all the children who have been born in polygamy, and thus prevent them from being what they consider bastards. Now we are just as anxious, on the other hand, to get all our fathers and mothers, who have been married by these Gentile institutions, joined together by divine authority, in order that they may become legal in the sight of God. We do not want their children to be bastardized; and hence, we get them adopted, or we shall do so when the Temple is built; I mean all those who have been born of parents that have never been joined together of the Lord or by his authority. All such children, as well as men and women, married only by the civil law, have got to have ordinances performed for them in the Temple. The men and women will have to be legally married there; and the children born before their parents were thus legally married, will have to pass through ordinances in order that they may become the legal sons and daughters of their parents; they will have to be adopted according to the law of God. You young men and women, who are married in a manner that the Lord does not authorize or own, put yourselves to a great deal of trouble, because you will have a great deal of work to do hereafter in temples in order to get things legalized. How much better it would be for you to come to those whom God has appointed, and have your marriages solemnized as immortal beings, who have to live to all eternity.

      It is true that we have all to die by and by, and we shall be separated for a little season; but this separation is a good deal like a man's leaving his family to go on a mission: he returns after a while to his wives and children, and he has not lost the one nor has he been divorced from the other, because they have been separated. And if death separates, for a little season, those who are married according to God's law, they expect to return, to each other's embraces by virtue of their former union; for it is as eternal as God himself.

      "Do you mean to say," says one, "that people in the immortal state, will be united in the capacity of husbands and wives, with their children around them?" Yes, we do believe that all persons who have these blessings sealed upon them here, by the authority of the Most High, will find that they reach forward into the eternal world, and they can hold fast to that which God has placed upon them. "Whatsoever you seal on earth," said the Lord to the ancient Apostles, "shall be sealed in the heavens." What could be of more importance than the relationship of families—the solemn and sacred relationship of marriage? Nothing that we can conceive of. It affects us here and if; affects us hereafter in the eternal world; therefore, if we can have these blessings pronounced upon us by divine authority and we, when we wake up in the morning of the first resurrection, find that we are not under the necessity of either marrying or giving in marriage, having attended to our duty beforehand, how happy we shall be to gather our wives and our children around us! How happy old Jacob will be, for instance, when in the resurrection, if he has not, already been raised—a great many Saints were raised when Jesus arose and appeared to many—if Jacob did not rise then, and his four wives, and his children, how happy he will be, when he does come forth from the grave, to embrace his family, and to rejoice with them in a fulness of joy, knowing that, by virtue of that which was sealed upon him here in time, be will reign upon the earth! Will it not be a glorious thing, when that polygamist, by virtue of promises made to him here, comes forth to reign as king and priest over his seed upon the earth? I think that in those days polygamy will not be hated as it is now. I think that all things that have been prophesied by the ancient prophets will be fulfilled, and that Jacob will get, his wives, by virtue of the covenant of marriage; and that he will have them here on the earth, and he will dwell with them here a thousand years, in spite of all the laws that may be passed to the contrary. And they will be immortal personages, full of glory and happiness. And Jesus will also be here, and the Twelve Apostles will also sit on the twelve thrones here on the earth, judging the twelve tribes of Israel; and during a whole thousand years, they will eat and drink at the table of the Lord, according to the promise that was made to them.

      Old Father Abraham will come up with his several wives, namely Sarah, Hagar and Keturah and some others mentioned in Genesis; and besides these all the holy prophets will be here on the earth. I do not think there will be any legislation against polygamy.

      By and by they will build a polygamous city, and it will have twelve gates, and in order to place as much honor upon these gates as possible, they will name them after the twelve polygamist children that were born to the tour polygamous wives of Jacob; and these good old polygamists will he assembled together in this beautiful city, the most beautiful that ever had place on the earth.

      By and by some Christian will come along, and he will look at these gates and admire their beauty, for each gate is to be constructed of one immense splendid pearl. The gates are closed fast and very high, and while admiring their beauty he observes the inscriptions upon them. Being a Christian he of course expects to enter, but looking at the gates, he finds the name of Reuben inscribed on one of them. Says he—"Reuben was a polygamous child; I will go on to the next, and see if there is the name of a monogamous child anywhere." He accordingly visits all the twelve gates, three on each side of the city, and finds inscribed on each gate the name of a polygamous child, and this because it is the greatest honor that could be conferred on their father Jacob, who is in their midst, for he is to sit down with all the honest and upright in heart who come from all nations to partake of the blessings of that kingdom.

      "But," says this Christian, "I really do not like this; I see this is a polygamous city. I wonder if there is not some other place for me! I do not like the company of polygamists. They were hated very badly back yonder. Congress hated them, the President hated them, the cabinet hated them, the Priests hated them, and everybody hated them, and I engendered the same hatred, and I have not got rid of it yet. I wonder if there is not some other place for me?" Oh yes, there is another place for you. Without the gates of the city there are dogs, sorcerers, whoremongers, adulterers and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. Now take your choice, Amen.

 

            The choir sang the anthem --

The earth is the Lord's.

            Conference was adjourned till 10 o'clock, to-morrow.

            Benediction by PREST. GEO. A. SMITH.

_____

[8 Oct, 10 am]

[DNW 23:584, 10/14/74, p 8]

THIRD DAY

_____

THURSDAY MORNING, October 8.

            The choir sang --

The morning breaks, the shadows flee,
Lo Zion's standard is unfurled.

            Prayer by Elder    JOHN VANCOTT.

            The choir sang --

Praise ye the Lord, my heart shall join
In work so pleasant, so divine.

ELDER GEORGE GODDARD

Made a few remarks on the importance of strictly carrying out the counsel of the servants of God in contributing freely to the erection of temples and carrying out a self-sustaining policy, by the encouragement of every possible home industry.

ELDER C. W. PENROSE

Spoke of the necessity of every public speaker being filled with the Spirit of the Lord in addressing an assembly of Latter-day Saints. He also spoke of the Gospel which had been preached by the Elders among the nations, and after close scrutiny and investigation of those principles which they preached many embraced them and were baptized for the remission of their sins. They then received a witness from God, testifying to their truth. They were then taught the principle of gathering, which they soon received and acted upon. Hence, thousands had gathered into these valleys, where they could learn more of the ordinances of the Gospel, might unite their energies, and fulfill the prayer of our Saviour, that they might be one even as he and his Father in heaven were one.

            He then made remarks on the Priesthood which is placed upon the male members of the church, for the building up of the Saints.

            Most of the Saints who came from the old country, were not, as some suppose, from the lowest walks of life, but from the ranks of the industrious or working classes, from the bone and sinew of the nation, who possessed moral courage enough to receive and obey truth as they found it, and were willing to risk the consequences.

            President Young was not opposed to the dissemination of education; he had always sustained and encouraged it, and as a people we ought to patronize our own publications which contained our principles, and lay aside the use of trashy works that come here in large quantities.

            He then defended the people against the unrighteous attacks made upon them of being guilty of murder and disloyal to the government. We are here to build up, not to tear down, to create, not to destroy. Let parents set good examples before their children and keep them from mingling with the corrupt, who were to be found in the saloons and others places where the profane and wicked were wont to meet.

            He closed by a faithful admonition to both Saints and sinners, and bore a strong testimony of the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

PREST. G. A. SMITH

Homed the instructions imparted this morning would be carried out in families and wards. Let us observe the Sabbath, and the Word of Wisdom, encourage the reading of our own publications, and do what we could to build up the Kingdom of God. No matter what false statements might be circulated, let us be up and doing.

            He said many were about to be called as missionaries to the States and other places, as there was a great generation grown up since the rise of this Church, who had never heard the Gospel.

            He then described the present condition of the Temple in this City, and invited all the Bishops and Saints generally to go and visit the Temple. He himself was delighted with the stability and beauty and progress of it.

            He hoped the brethren and sisters would carry out the suggestions given during this Conference. They should especially sustain the publications known as the Woman's Exponent, being the only journal published by the sisters.

            He also advocated the principle of self-sustenance, in connection with the growth of the United Order, and to never cease our efforts until Zion was free and independent.

            The choir sang --

O praise the Lord.

            Conference adjourned until 2 p.m. Benediction by Elder J. L. SMITH.

_____

[8 Oct, 2 pm]

[DNW 23:584, 10/14/74, p 8]

THIRD DAY.

THURSDAY AFTERNOON, Oct. 8.

            The choir sang --

All hail the glorious day,
By prophets long foretold.

            Prayer by ELDER J. C. LITTLE.

            The choir sang --

Great God, attend while Zion sings,
The joy that from thy presence springs.

ELDER G. Q. CANNON

Said five weeks ago he started on a visit to the Southern parts of the Territory. He found a willing and obedient people wherever he went. Elders Erastus Snow and A. M. Musser were with him most of the time, and they had excellent and large meetings at very place.

            God had inspired men in our day to lead and guide the people in the way of salvation, and we should hold ourselves ready at all times to be guided in the habits of life and the performance of any duty required at our hands. We should be willing to forsake old and erroneous traditions as fast as they were pointed out to us. There were many duties imposed upon us inasmuch as the foundation of the great Latter-day Kingdom had been committed into our hands, and it had to grow and increase until it should fill the whole earth. Hence there was much to do.

            He then reviewed the principles of the faith of the Latter-day Saints and contrasted them with those entertained by the outside religious world. He also spoke favorably of the labors and efforts of the Latter-day Saints. Though not perfect, yet they approximated towards perfection, and were attended with very beneficial results. We were striving to live in accordance with the life that was to come. One of the first lessons given to the Saints in this dispensation, through the Prophet Joseph, was to become one in their temporal labors, and submit to a union of interests. The lack of the Saints in not responding to that revelation was the chief cause of their expulsion from Jackson Co., Mo. He felt thankful, however, that God had again called upon the Later-day Saints to become one and lay aside their individual interests, by seeking the general good of the whole people.

            Some people had predicted the downfall of the people of God in these valleys, owing to the contact of various influences that would gradually come among us, but God had decreed that his kingdom should stand and not be given to another people.

            He traced the persecutions of by gone days towards the servants of God, who endeavored to establish a principle of brotherhood among the people. If we were to establish a greater work than any of our predecessors upon the earth, we had got to have more faith, more power, and practise a higher righteousness, or we could not do it. In our efforts, coupled with sacrifices and self-denial, God would assist us.

            He spoke very favorably of the progress of the New Order in some of the southern settlements, and made an energetic appeal to the bishops and leading men of this City to take hold of it, in the right spirit, and God would bless them. But if they continued to be so faithless and inoperative we need not be surprised if God visited us in his displeasure and scourged us until we were willing to be an obedient people.

            He then testified that he knew that God had revealed this United Order to this people, and wo be to us if we did not enter into it with good and honest hearts.

[George Q. Cannon]

[DNW 23:692, 12/2/74, p 4; JD 17:229]

DISCOURSE

BY ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON, DELIVERED

At the Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Thursday Afternoon, October 8th, 1874.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      Six weeks ago yesterday I left this city to visit the settlements throughout the southern portion of our Territory. My trip has been one of the most interesting and pleasant I ever undertook, and I have rejoiced exceedingly in the opportunity which I have had of meeting with the people in that section of country. There is a great anxiety in many places and with many people to know what the condition of affairs is in that region. I can say that I never saw our people feeling better as a general thing, and more willing to do that which is required of them than at the present time. There was great anxiety among them to be instructed, and the meetings in every instance were crowded, the people turning out with great alacrity, and expressing regret that we could not stay longer. Brother Erastus Snow and brother Musser and myself attended most of the meetings. Part of the time in visiting the western settlements I was alone. The anxiety of the people seems to be to know what to do and to be instructed in the best manner of doing that which God requires at their hands; and this is the spirit which, as Latter-day Saints, we should entertain and cherish. God has called us to be a peculiar people; he has raised up Prophets, has organized his Church, has placed within it those callings and offices and gifts and qualifications and blessings which characterized the Church in ancient days, and he has condescended in his mercy and goodness to reveal himself unto the children of men, to teach them, counsel them and inspire them so that they may be instruments in his hands in building up his kingdom, and laying the foundation of that work of which the Prophets have spoken, and which we are told shall stand for ever. We as a people, with the views which we entertain, should not make up our minds to live in accordance with the methods of life, the modes of doing business, and the habits and the traditions of our forefathers, who have lived in ignorance of these principles and of this spirit of revelation—for we are required, in obeying this Gospel, to hold ourselves in a position to receive the word of God, to be counselled, to be directed, to be guided by that word in all our transactions, in the doctrines which we believe, in the habits of life which we adopt and in all our practices and labors. This is one of the first lessons which is impressed upon us in starting out in obedience to the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The very first teachings we received impressed upon our minds the necessity of forsaking these errors and false traditions which we have received from our fathers—errors in doctrine, false traditions concerning God, concerning his kingdom, and concerning the plan of salvation which he has revealed; and if we have profited by that first lesson we have been continually progressing, learning new truths, new to us, acquiring knowledge concerning ourselves, concerning the work with which we are connected, concerning the earth and the inhabitants thereof, and we have been unlearning and forsaking the errors and the faults of our forefathers and of the world from which we have been gathered.

      The prayer which Jesus taught his disciples to ask the Father that his kingdom might come, and his will be done on earth as it is in heaven, will be fulfilled by means of this work with which we are identified. The foundation of that kingdom has already been laid. And the aim of every true Latter-day Saint, from the day that he or she joined this Church until to-day, has been to approximate to that life which we are told is led by those who are exalted through keeping the commandments of God—to do the will of God on earth as it is done in heaven; for as the Apostle John says—"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope within him purifieth himself even as he is pure." So with the Latter-day Saints, they have. a hope of salvation within them, they desire to keep the commandments of God, and they have been seeking, from the beginning until to-day, to purify themselves, to live a heavenly life, and to reduce to practice in their daily walk and conversation, those precepts and laws, obedience to which would prepare them to dwell eternally with God in the heavens.

      There is a characteristic about the faith of the Latter-day Saints, in which they perhaps differ from most of the professed followers of Jesus Christ—they do not believe that God expects or desires them to put off acquiring these perfections, powers, gifts and graces which belong to the heavenly world until they reach "that world; but they believe that God has placed them here in a state of probation, and that be has hid himself only to a certain extent from them; that he has drawn a veil of darkness between himself and his children on the earth for the purpose of trying their faith, of developing their knowledge and testing their integrity, so theft those who will feel after him in faith, persevering in the midst of ignorance, darkness, doubt, confusion and the temptations of Satan, and all the evils with which we come in contact in this state of being may receive his blessings and the gifts, graces and favors which he bestows upon his most favored children. Hence, the Latter-day Saints believe in doing everything here that will help to prepare them for life eternal in his presence. They look upon this world as a place where they should attend to these things. By baptism? Yes. By having hands laid upon them? Yes. Have the gifts of the Holy Ghost? Certainly, have them here as well as hereafter; have them here to a partial extent to prepare them for the life that is to come. Have the voice of God here? Yes, why should we not know God's will here? Why should we be closed out entirely from all knowledge of God here, and yet believe that as soon as we die we are ushered into the fulness of his glory. Receive these blessings here? Yes, every blessing that is necessary. Be perfect here? Yes, it is man's privilege, the Latter-day Saints believe, to be as perfect in his sphere as God our eternal Father is in his sphere, or as Jesus in his sphere, or as the angels in their spheres. Said Jesus to his disciples—"Be ye perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect." Perfection, then, is to a certain extent possible on earth for those who will live, lives that are agreeable to the mind and will of God.

      Now as fast as the Latter-day Saints can comprehend the life that God, his angels and those who are made perfect in his presence lead, they should be willing, and I believe that the most of them are willing, to copy after that life in this state as quickly as possible. "Well but," says one, "how useless it is for frail, fallible, mortal beings to attempt to live lives of perfection like the angels and those who are just and perfect in the presence of God!" I know that if we are to judge of men naturally, as we see them in the midst of their sins, breaking the commandments of God, trampling upon his holy ordinances, disregarding his requirements, we should say it is useless; and it is not only useless but it is impossible for men ever to reach that perfection of which we speak. But I am encouraged in my hopes that perfection, to a certain extent at least, is possible even in this mortal life, by witnessing the results in the midst of a people who are striving after it. I know that the efforts of this people in this direction, though not always crowned with the success that we have desired, yet there has been abundant cause for rejoicing and thanksgiving in the progress which we have made. We have attained unto a degree of union and love that approximates to some extent to that union and love which we believe exist in the eternal worlds. We have not yet reached, probably, that point when we can love our neighbor as we do ourselves; but still, if we strive for and keep that object in view, and endeavor to reach that perfection, undoubtedly we shall overcome our selfishness, and all those feelings which seem to be a part of fallen human nature, sufficiently to carry out that command of God.

      If we could get a glimpse of heaven, that heaven to which we are hastening, or to which we hope we are hastening, have you any idea that there would be any conflict of interests among the inhabitants of that blissful abode? Do you imagine that we should see one arrayed against another, that there would be clashing and struggling, each one scrambling to get the advantage of his neighbor, and to acquire influence and power, and the blessings that belong to that abode more and greater than his neighbor? That is not the idea that we have formed of heaven; we have not entertained such views, but we imagine When we get there that God will be the possessor—he is the possessor—of all things that are comprehended within that sphere of existence, that the thrones, the principalities; powers and crowns, and even the very garments that the exalted wear belong to God, and that he will give them to us, that we shall possess them, subject, of course, to his law and to those regulations which he will enact, or which he has already enacted. I do not suppose there was a Christian that ever lived, I do not suppose there was a heathen that ever lived who expected that, when he got to the next world, to the place of bliss which he anticipated in his faith while here, he would live in anything like the condition he occupied here. Converse with the Christians about the next world, and they will all say that they do not expect, to have anything; that they are redeemed by the precious blood of the Lamb, and that all the glory and honor of their salvation they ascribed unto God and the Lamb; that they will be content with anything he chooses to give them when they reach there, they would be content to be door-keepers or to occupy the lowest position if they could only be permitted to dwell in the presence of God. And the heathen who believe in a future state of existence, and this belief is universal among them, (I believe it was Bancroft who said that atheism is the sin or crime of civilization, and not of heathendom or of natural men,) the heathen universally believe in a future state of existence, and they picture to themselves a condition such as I have described, of course varying according to their faith and their views of this life, thinking that they will have circumstances similar in that life which is to come, with this difference only, that they will be more perfect and will be delivered from the evils to which they are subjected here as mortal beings.

      If then, my brethren and sisters, we are striving to live in accordance with that life to which we are hastening, we, by a little reflection, can see how much there is for us to do in order to prepare ourselves for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. One of the first teachings or revelations that was given to this church after its organization, was to the effect that we should dwell together as one family: that there should be an identity of interests among us; that we should approximate to some extent at least, and as far as practicable to that identity of interest which we understood, by the revelations of Jesus Christ, to exist in the eternal worlds. This revelation is one of the earliest given to this people, and its practice was entered upon in early days. We have been told by those who are old enough to know, and who had experience at that time, that to the disobedience or failure of the people in carrying out this revelation was dec the expulsion of the Latter-day. Saints from Jackson county in the State of Missouri; and that, afterward, the same causes operated to produce the results which the people experienced at that time, God suffering the enemies of his kingdom and people to have power over them because of their disobedience to respond to the call which he made upon, and to the commandments which he gave unto, them.

      This is one of the traditions that has come down to us of a younger generation, from the fathers of this Church. It has been taught to us and impressed upon us for years, probably upon many of since we knew anything of this work, until the belief is fastened upon the hearts, consciences and feelings of the great bulk of the Latter-day Saints, and that at some time or other, in the future of this Church that doctrine would be again taught, and the requirements embodied in that revelation would be again made upon us as a people; in fact the teachings I have received have been that until we did obey that the privilege of going back and building up the centre stake of Zion and redeeming that land which God first gave unto his people as an inheritance, in the State of Missouri, would not be granted unto us, and that until we did obey it we should be pilgrims and wanderers, and should not have the privilege of going back and laying the foundation of the centre stake of Zion and of that great Temple which God has said shall be reared in this generation. So that for years, speaking of my own feelings, I have awaited, I will not say with anxiety, but, with great desire, the time when this people would have sufficient faith, and when the circumstances should be so favorable that God should command us to enter upon the practice of that principle, or to enter into that order which he commanded us in the beginning to obey.

      Every time I have traveled among the nations of the earth, I have thanked God that he had provided a panacea for the evils which I saw everywhere around me. When I saw the rich revelling in luxury, crowding upon the poor, crushing out their lives, the poor living in squalor and misery, their lives a burden to them, not having, in many instances, enough food to eat, or raiment to wear, or a shelter, and when winter approached dreading it with feelings indescribable. In society in the world there is a large class of people having more means than they can spend for their comfort and convenience. They have the finest houses, abundance of food, every convenience, troops of servants to wait upon them to do their bidding, and have all the wealth they can desire, every luxury they can conceive of. At the same time there are living in the same community thousands of poor creatures destitute of the necessaries of life. My heart has been pained within me in visiting the large cities of Europe, at seeing women degraded like beasts of the field, and their lives continual burdens to them, their existence almost joyless. It has been a wonder to me how people could keep from committing suicide in the midst off the want that was everywhere apparent. I have thought, how can God bear with this people, and the cries of the poor ascending to him continually; and, as I have said, I have thanked God in my heart that he had provided a means of deliverance from such evils for his people.

      There is an expression used in the prophets, which I have often thought of, about the rich grinding the faces of the poor. It is a most forcible and significant metaphor. The tyrrany and oppression that are practiced upon the poor are terrible. In many places their faces are literally ground by those who rule over them. Yet there are philanthropic men and women, rich people who do not take comfort in their riches because of the existence of this misery on every hand of which I have spoken, and they form benevolent societies of every name and nature in order to relieve the wants of the suffering poor, and yet with all their efforts the suffering is not lessened to any measurable extent. The people live and toil and die in the most squaled misery by thousands in all the large cities of thickly populated countries. I have also, in conversation at various times and under circumstances, been told by those with whom I have conversed and who have taken some interest in the work with which we are identified, that so long as we were a primitive people and were simple in our habits, so long as we did not have a great deal of wealth in our midst we should probably continue to prosper and increase and bring forth and manifest in our lives the virtues which I described as having an existence among us. Men have told me—"O yes, Mr. Cannon, the picture you draw of the manner of life of your people is very delightful; it is delightful to find a people exhibiting such qualities as you describe as existing among, or possessed by, your people; but you are a new people, a new sect or denomination; but wait awhile, wait until you have grown in wealth, importance, numbers and power, and then we shall see whether your system possesses elements superior to the systems with which we are acquainted and which have preceded yours." Men who have reflected, who have read and made themselves acquainted with the histories of other peoples, know full well that when once wealth increases in the midst of a people, when class distinctions make their appearance, when education is promoted and aspired after by certain classes which other classes cannot reach; when refinement, the refinement of education and culture, has its effects, creating distinctions among a people who originally were primitive, and luxurious habits come in to foster these differences, then the strength of former communities has disappeared, and nations which have been noted as possessing the strength and the union of iron, have fallen into decay and have lost their power and have been broken into fragments and have eventually disappeared. Judging us by the light of this kind of experience many have made predictions which you have probably seen in the papers thousands of times, that there were causes operating in the midst of the Mormon community that would work out its disintegration and eventually bring about its utter overthrow and downfall, or at least bring about an assimilation between it and the systems by which it was surrounded.

      There is one thing, however, that is not taken into account in measuring us, and that is that God has laid the foundation of this work. Men do not recognize that, but they recognize other causes and other influences that are apparent to them and with which they are familiar. We have consoled ourselves, in listening to these predictions, with the reflection that we are the people of God, that God has made promises unto this people, that he has said that this work shall stand forever, and shall not be given into the hands of another people. These predictions, therefore, have not had any discouraging effect upon us. But, with all our confidence, we must not lose sight of the fact, that God works by means. If we are to withstand the encroachments of the evil one we must, on our part, do that which will fortify us against his encroachments, we must take steps to render us impregnable to his assaults. We are not the first people to engage in such a work as this. Others have made repeated attempts to establish the kingdom of God on the earth. One by one the prophets fell, one by one they became victims to the power of the evil one and to the assaults of the wicked. The Son of God himself fell a martyr to this fell spirit; his apostles one by one, although they endeavored in their day and generation to establish this order of Enoch to which I have referred, also fell martys to the same spirit of persecution, until the inhabitants of the earth had, either slain or driven off every apostle, and not a man was left to stand up in the midst of the people to say—"Thus saith the Lord," having the authority and power of the apostleship and of the holy priesthood from God to administer in the things of God and to communicate the mind and will of God unto the people.

      What followed? A reign of night, darkness and confusion covered the face of the whole earth. There was no heavenly voice to disturb the solemn stillness that ensued. Every man of God who aspired to revelation had been killed or swept from among men, and then, and not till then was the vengeance of the adversary satiated; but as long as there was a holy man, who aspired to the distinction, or to the honor or blessing of knowing God's will so long there were those arrayed against him who scrupled not to shed his blood, and were not satisfied until that blood was spilled.

      You trace the various dispensations down from the days of Adam until the days of these apostles of which I have spoken, and see how short-lived were the attempts to establish a reign of righteousness. If we turn to the Book of Mormon, which gives an account of God's dealings on this land, we shall find that while the circumstances which surrounded the Jaredites and the Nephites were more favorable than those which surrounded the people of Asia, yet the same causes operated on this land, and after Jesus came and the wicked had been swept off by the judgments of God, and none were left but those who were righteous or partly so at least, that then they sought to establish this holy order among them and were successful, it continuing in their midst until the year two hundred and one after the birth of Jesus. And we are told that during that time all the generations that lived passed away in righteousness before the Lord. The circumstances were undoubtedly favorable for the establishment of an holy order among that people, because, as I have said, the judgments of God had visited the land, and the wicked had been swept off; but no sooner did they begin again to divide, each one seeking after his own affairs to the exclusion of the general affairs of the people than they began again to fall into sin and transgression, and the result was that they were punished of God, and the Nephites were eventually blotted out; but we are informed that one hundred and sixty-seven years, terminating in the year 201 of the Christian era, were passed in perfect peace and righteousness. It was almost millennial righteousness. Satan was bound almost as much during that one hundred and sixty-seven years in his operations among the Nephites, if we may judge by the short record which has come to us, as if he did not have an existence, or as he will be during the thousand years' reign of peace, that is so far as leading away the hearts of the people to commit sin is concerned.

      I have alluded to these various attempts on the part of holy men to establish truth and righteousness on the earth. We have seen that they have only been partially successful; they did not succeed in overcoming sufficiently to entirely bind Satan and to banish from the earth the evils of which he is the cause; but we are told that in the last days God will establish his kingdom Brother Penrose described, this morning, in the close of his remarks, some of the results which should follow. He said that the lamb and the wolf should lie down together, and the bear and the cow should feed together, and there should be nothing to hurt or destroy in all the mountain of the Lord, but that peace and union and love should prevail throughout the earth for one thousand years. The Prophets have spoken of this time, those to whom I have referred, who fell victims to the rage of their persecutors; they looked forward to the time when this kingdom should be established and should be successful, and they dwelt upon it with great delight and anticipation. The Apostles John, the Revelator, speaks about a thousands years of peace and righteousness, when Satan should be bould and should not have power over the hearts of the children of men to tempt them, or to lead them astray, and that this should last for one thousand years, and then at the dose of that period he should be loosed again for a little season.

      The revelations which we have received through the Prophet Joseph Smith speak of the same period, that is, anticipate such a time as this that the Apostle John speaks of; and we have been taught from the beginning until the present time that this work, this system, this gospel, called Mormonism, should be the beginning of this work, and that it should spread and increase until it should fill the whole earth, and bring to pass the fulfillment of these predictions. Now what I wish to impress upon your minds, in bringing them to this point is this, that if we are engaged in a work that is to be more successful than any other work that has been established by God our Heavenly Father from the beginning until now there must be greater faith and union there must be more power, there must be a willingness to sacrifice more than has ever been manifested by any people who have preceded us in works of this character, or in any dispensation which God has given unto men. I know that many think that God will do a great deal. I believe that I am a believer in God's power to the fullest extent, but I have noticed in my experience that God works by means, and that he does not himself come down in person, neither does he send his angels down, except on visits occasionally; but he commands his people, his children on the earth to do that which he requires at their hands, and then helps them in doing this, and my conclusion is that if we lay the foundation of a work that shall stand forever, that shall never be overthrown or given into the hands of another people, we must have mere faith, practice a higher righteousness, be more valiant for the truth and possess more of God's power than any people who have ever preceded us. Are we prepared for this? Did the Latter-day Saints take this into their calculation when they joined this church? If they did, it is well, if they did not, they had better begin to investigate the matter and satisfy themselves as to what their duties are. It may be said, as I have already stated, that God will assist us. Undoubtedly he will; he assisted his servants in ancient days. But we have a foe to contend with who is sleepless. The adversary of our souls has not lost his cunning. He knows that his time is short and that the last struggle is approaching, and he will not relax in the least degree his vigilance or his diligence in seeking to destroy this work and to martyr or destroy the men and the women connected with it. The supremacy of the earth depends upon the issue of the contest. He has held the sway, he has been dominant, he has been successful in destroying the holiest and the best that ever trod the earth's surface. The Son of God himself and the pure and holy in all ages he has succeeded in destroying, and in spreading his pall of darkness over the earth, and in destroying faith from the midst of the children of men, and now that the attempt is made to revive the work of God and to establish his kingdom on the earth we may make calculations with all certainty that he will not cease his endeavors until either he, or God and his kingdom are triumphant. He wants to vanquish and he will vanquish if possible, and he will spare no means to destroy this work, for if it is established the foundation of his kingdom is sapped.

      There are principles taught unto us now which will fortify us more effectually than anything that has ever been taught to us before, so far as resisting this pressure that is brought to bear upon us to destroy us. I refer to this Order to which I have alluded before—the Order of God, the order that is called after Enoch because, as we are told in the revelations, he established it among his people, and brought about that perfection which enabled him and his city to be translated. I know there are many feelings among the people in relation to this. I have heard more since I returned to Salt Lake City, in the few days I have been here concerning the feelings of men who call themselves Latter-day Saints, than I imagined existed among us. In the south the people have organized, and they have gone along very well during this last season. Bishop Callister remarked to me, when I was at Fillmore passing south, that he doubted whether Enoch himself and his people made more or better progress than they had made in the same time. I doubted it also, and subsequent observation confirmed the truth of this remark. So far as other settlements are concerned I found the people in some instances discouraged a little, but on the whole they were greatly encouraged by the results of the seasons labor, and they felt to organize themselves more perfectly according to the new articles of association, and to carry out the requirements which had been made upon them. I was delighted in visiting a little town on the banks of the Rio Virgen, called Price. There the superintendent of the farming, Brother Baker, remarked, "I wish you had come about an hour earlier, you would have seen us all here together at our meal." Said I—"What do you mean?" He said they had just got through dinner. Said I—"Do you eat together?" "O yes," said he, "we have been living as one family all this season." I was surprised for I had not heard of it, and I was so much interested in it that I commenced to make enquiries as to their condition. I found that there were from forty to forty-four men, women and children who had joined together in accordance with the counsel given by President Young while in the South. They had proceeded to farm together, and to live together as one family. I thought that the best persons that I could refer to, to obtain information as to the real workings of the affair would be the sisters, so I proceeded to interrogate them. The leading sister told me that sometimes it was rather hard work. I did not wonder at it when I saw the kitchen. They had three small cooking stoves, and they were quite inconveniently situated. But she added—"We have felt excellently add feel greatly encouraged." Said I—"Are the people satisfied? don't you sometimes have fault-finding with your cooking, or your meals, or something of this kind?" No, she said, there had been no fault found. "How do the sisters feel, are they tired of it?" No, she said, they were not, they felt greatly encouraged, and they divided the labor so that it was not very heavy upon any of them, not too heavy. "How do you arrange about your washing?" They told me, that in the beginning they put their washing all together, but they had no machinery, and they found that it was no advantage, as it was too heavy even for the strong women, and they concluded that it was better to divide their washing, and for each family to do its own. I spoke to the Superintendent—"How do you manage with your men? Are the brethren willing, when you require them to do anything, do they go with alacrity, or do you have difficulty in controlling them?" "Not in the least," said he, "I have never made a requirement or asked a man to do a thing that he has refused to do, and in our farming they have worked well and patiently together, and they are satisfied with the arrangement." I spoke to others who worked there and made inquiries of them, and I found, in every instance, that there was a good deal of satisfaction in the arrangement, and they hoped, if they could get up a suitable building and have suitable convenience for their cooking, that a great deal of this labor would be lightened and they would get along much better even than they had done.

      Brother Samuel Miles is one of the company, a man whom many of this congregation know, and who has been a long time in the Church. I talked with him, being an old acquaintance, and he told me that, from his observation daring the entire season, he deemed that what was originally an experiment was an entire success, and he felt very much gratified with the result. After rising in the morning they meet in one room together and have prayers; then they sit down to breakfast, and while at breakfast the Superintendent converses with the men as to the arrangement of labor for the day. After breakfast they go to their work, one to one department, another to another. At noon they again assemble, for dinner, eat their dinner after having asked a blessing upon it, and then spend a little leisure—until one o'clock or the hour expires—and then resume their labors. They come together again in the evening, when they have supper and attend to prayers, and spend the remainder of the evening in social conversation or in conversation on business or in arranging their affairs, as the case may be.

      I afterwards visited a little settlement of the name of Hebron, where there are about thirty families. The Bishop, George H. Crosby, said they had brick and lumber on hand to build several residences, but they hesitated about building as they had some thought of carrying out the suggestions which President Young made to the people, or to some of them, to enter into a family arrangement, and they thought, that, probably it would be well to use their material and build a suitable building. It was afterwards suggested that they build a dining-room and a commodious kitchen, etc., and that they live in their own residences during this coming summer and try the effect of eating together. This they may do. They had found that it would be far more convenient for them, in their labor, to be together during the summer season at least and, the weather being fine, they could walk from their houses to the dining room and eat their meals, and then the men go to their labor and the women and children separate again. In that settlement they have labored during this past season in the United Order, and they told me they had raised double the amount of crops they ever raised before; and all their labors are proportionately advanced, and this is the testimony of a good many settlements. There are some complaints as a matter of course. I heard some about tools being misused, about wagons not being greased, about animals not being fed, harness not being cared for; but these results are due to a great extent to want of system.

      Another objection that we found and that has resulted badly in some instances, is that men have put in a portion of their property only and kept out a portion; of course, the portion that is kept out absorbs nearly all their attention, while that which is put into the Order does not receive that share of attention which it should have, and when they were called upon to labor they had other interests which called them off, and they excused themselves or sent their boys to attend to it. In some wards and settlements they have been crippled in consequence of this. But recent instructions which have been given by the First Presidency, that no one should be admitted into the Order, unless he enters with all he has, (except in case of debt, then the board of directors to exercise their discretion about that,) will have a good effect throughout the entire South. It will concentrate the labors of the people in one direction, and where a man's treasure is there will his heart be also; and if all a man's property is in the United Order if he be a Latter-day Saint, he will labor with fidelity for the furtherance of the objects which the Order has in view.

      There is one thing which has been demonstrated by this season's labor, namely, that better results can be produced by a combination of labor, as proposed in the United Order, than by individual effort to the same extent. I was much gratified at finding that this was the universal testimony of all with whom I conversed on the subject.

      While at St. George, after holding two days' meeting, brother Smoky and myself held meetings with the Bishops, superintendents, foremen and leading men in the various settlements throughout that Stake. We requested them to give us a full and free expression of their feelings concerning the season's labors, to tell us all the causes of discouragement if there were any, and also the causes of encouragement, and those that I have already alluded to acre the principal ones given. There have been in some instances indolence, carelessness and indisposition to work, and an inclination manifested to throw the labor upon those who are industrious and energetic. It might be expected that such would be the result, it could scarcely be otherwise. I was reminded very much, in hearing the statement of the brethren, of what the Prophet Joseph said when alive about the indolence, carelessness and indifference to work manifested by some men. He said there were three kinds of poor—the Lord's poor, the devil's poor, and the poor devils. I thought that this Order was bringing to the surface the poor devils, and I should not be surprised if it would have this effect; in fact, if a man who is not inspired with right feelings should get connected with the Order, there is no doubt that he would shirk work and be careless and indifferent whenever he could be. We know that there are many eye-servants among us—men who work only when they are watched; and so far as the use of tools is concerned, any man who has employed other men, and has not been in a position to look after them and watch what they are doing, knows how men work, even as we are situated at the present time. He knows how his tools are misused and mislaid, arm his harness and his wagons and his teams are used or abused, and that it requires much care on his part, or on the part of somebody equally trusty to preserve his property. He has to frequently buy new tools—new spades, hoes, forks, ploughs, and it he has a mower and entrusts it to other hands than his own, in many instances he gets it broken. This is not always the case; but it is too much the case, and we have these things to contend with now, and in my opinion judging by my observation, as far as it has extended, they are no worse in the United Order; and there is this about this Gospel—it brings every imperfection to the light that a man has within him. When this Gospel has been preached for the first time in neighborhoods, I have heard hundreds say to me, at different times—"Oh, I am so glad that I have got this truth, there is Mr. So and so," or "there is my aunt" or "my uncle" or "such and such a friend," "my wife" or "such a relative," "there is my minister, if I go to him and tell him what I have received he will embrace it gladly and be a Latter-day Saint," and they go and tell what they have received. Probably hundreds of you who are here to-day, have gone filled with zeal—"Why, I have got the truth, I want you to hear the truth," and what has been the result? The devil has manifested himself immediately and they have found that their relatives had a spirit which they never dreamed of, and they have proved their ministers to be anything but willing to receive the truth. This Gospel has that effect, it brings men and women's imperfections to light, it shows the imperfections of their characters; it tests people and tears the covering from hypocrisy and false pretensions as nothing else can. The United Order being one of its principles will, I expect, have this effect; but would it not be better for our faults and imperfections to be brought to light in this life than to wait until the next and have them brought to the surface then?

      The people feel very well so far as I have had opportunity to observe. We have explained the articles of association to them; they have been gratified at the explanations which have been made. Many have reasoned upon it like this—"if I put all I have got into the United Order, and I begin to draw days' wages only out of the Order, I have got a large family, how can I sustain them upon my day's wages? It takes the product, of my property managed with care and economy, in addition to my own labor, to enable me to live, and if I put all my property into the Order, how am I to live?" This has been the inquiry more frequently made than another. It is not the intention, in establishing the United Order, to destroy the productiveness of property; it is not the intention to take property from men who have it and give it to those who have none. There are two extremes to be avoided, one is the disposition of the rich to aggrandize themselves at the expense of the poor. That is what we are trying, in this United Order, to put a stop to, so that we may prevent the growth of class distinctions, the increase of wealth in a certain class, and that class have interests diverse from and frequently adverse to the rest of the community. That is one extreme. The other is this idea, to which I have referred, the anxiety of poor people to get possession of the accumulations of the rich, and to have them divided among them, and a general levelling take place. There is no such idea connected with this order, such a thing could not stand very long; and let me say to you who find fault with this United Order, ask yourselves when you ever saw anything connected with this Church or its doctrines that was unnatural, that, was not consistent with good common sense? Do you think that we can teach and practice anything that will repress people, that will destroy individual effort, that will take away from enterprise its incentive? No, there is nothing connected with this system of this character, and it is upon this point that men and women are so much deluded by the false and slanderous reports which are circulated. There never was a day since our organization as a people, according to my ideas and my reading of our early history and my subsequent experience, when there were so many falsehoods in circulation about any principle as there have been about this United Order. There is far too much ignorance among us, and men take advantage of this to deceive the people by their falsehoods. It is the intention to preserve that which we have. If a man is a man of business let him have a chance to show his business capacity, not stop him, not take his property from him and give it to somebody who never had anything. The intention is to use the skill of the business man in elevating those who are not business men, to bring up the poor from their level to the broad upper level, not to pull down the upper level to the plane of the lower. That is not the design, but it is that we shall work for each other's good; and where men have property let them take means to preserve it, not to destroy it. It is not the intention for boards of directors to use arbitrary power over men and property.

      There are many cases where if a man were to put all that he has into the Order, it would be found that he already manages that property better than the board of directors could. Under such circumstances it would be better to say: "Here, you have managed this property economically, you have done well with it, we could not do so well with it if we took it. There is no object to be gained by our taking it from you; you continue to use and manage it as a stewardship, and keep up its productiveness." This will have to be done doubtless in many instances.

      But as to our farming interests, we can farm together far better than separately. Instead of having so many mowers and reapers, and so many tools, teams and wagons as we have now, we can concentrate our labors and have better results from the use of a given quantity of capital and labor than under our present system; and I do hope that the Bishops in this city will take hold of this matter as they should do. Will they do it? or will they stand in the way of the people? I firmly believe that many of our leading men are standing to-day in the way of the people in relation to the organization of this United Order; but if they were to do as they should do, as God requires of them, they would take hold of this principle in the spirit of it.

      "Well, but," says one, "suppose I lose my property?" Suppose you do, it is not intended that you should lose it, but suppose that you do? If my property goes, what odds is it? God gave it to me, and if I lose it in obeying his commandments, who cares? I do not. When I got old enough to understand this Gospel I saw that it might take everything men had, and even their lives, to maintain it in the earth, and if a man is not willing to lay down his life for this Gospel, he is not worthy of it; if he should not be willing to risk his property in carrying out a great principle, of what value are his professions of faith? And when God calls upon us, we who have been saying. all the day that our property was upon the altar, and proposes a plan to save and exalt us and give us strength, we begin to mourn about our property, and to tell what failures there have been in the management of property, about co-operation being a failure, and thus justify ourselves for refusing to do what God requires! And yet call ourselves Latter-day Saints! Out upon men and women calling themselves Saints of God and making the professions which they do, and striving for the exaltation which they profess to be aiming for, who would make such expressions. Suppose that in doing that which God requires, all of our property should be taken, which we may rest assured will not be the case? If God were to permit a mob to come upon us, they could sweep away the whole of our property. If a mob were to come upon us and drive us, how much would any of as be worth? And can not God let our enemies have power to scourge us? I think he can; and unless there is a different spirit manifested by leading men, by Bishops and by men who ought to have the Spirit and power of God resting upon them, and by the people themselves in many instances anger may be aroused against us. I believe that to-day President Young is prostrated under a lead that, if we were obedient he would be relieved from. I believe he would have been sound and well able, to-day, to teach us from this stand if we had done as we should have done. He is wearied by his labors in teaching and laboring in our midst, calling upon us early and late, entreating us to listen to the counsel of God.

      I have said, and I repeat it, that if we do not know that this United Order is true of ourselves by the revelations of God, we should be willing to obey it just because President Young teaches it, a man who has taught, us and led us for so many years, so faithfully and so successfully, God having blessed him as he has done in so signal a manner all the time. If this people would take hold of the principle in that spirit they would soon know that it was of God; the testimony of Jesus would rest upon them, and they would know it for themselves; and then, when they get that spirit, they would not care about property, if it took it all, they would say, "all right."

      When you made up your minds to obey this Gospel, did you hesitate because your friends told you that if you became Mormons you would spoil your prospects and lose your friends? No; you sacrificed every worldly consideration, you risked all for the truth, for the salvation which God promised you. And so in this United Order if you have a testimony that it is of God, you will feel—"No matter what it costs, all right." Failures, yes there may be failures. I expect there will be failures and mistakes as long as we are so full of frailty, but who cares for that? But this will not be the fault of the principle. If God commands us to do anything, let us do it with all our heart, and he will prepare the way and preserve us from the bad effects of failures; he always has controlled results for our good, and he will do it again. Why there are men who would say that the mission of Jesus was a failure, (was he not killed by the Jews?) and the plan of salvation is a failure, and that creation is a failure, and they may just as well say these things as to say that cooperation is a failure, and that many other things are failures. Some say that God failed in patting Adam and Eve in the garden and allotting the serpent to tempt them and cause them to fall, and the whole scheme was a failure. Why not as well say that as to say that other things are failures? There are some people who can only judge of merit by success. If successful, no matter what it may be, it is meritorious. It may have its origin in hell, and success is, in their estimation, a test of merit. The best of schemes and plans have failed frequently in this sense, and yet have been true and perfect.

      I know that God requires this union at our hands, and by the help of God I am determined, with all the influence and power that he has given me or that he may give me, to use my endeavors with the people to organize in a manner to resist every encroachment made against them. All hell is arrayed against us, and the powers thereof are bound to destroy this work if they can, and it is our duty, as Latter-day Saints, to band ourselves together in the power of God. We shall be able to do it if we do right, and the wicked will not gain a single advantage over us. That is just as true as that God lives, and I know it. I know that this United Order is of God, for God has revealed if to me; the revelations of Jesus Christ have imparted this knowledge to me, and I know it for myself. I know by the gift of the Holy Ghost that it is our duty as a people, and as individuals, to enter into this United Order and carry it out in the spirit that God has revealed it in. Listen to this testimony, and the men and women who have the love of the truth within them have, or will have the testimony of Jesus that these words are true and faithful.

      And I desire to say further—there has got to be a spirit of repentance sought for by many of those who are now called Latter-day Saints, or they will lose the spirit of God and their standing among this people. Will God prosper us in this United Order? Yes, and we cannot be a rich people, we cannot be the people which God designs us to be, until we live after that pattern. There are hundreds of men who are praying constantly to God to deliver them from apostacy and there are others who pray that God will deliver them from being rich, because, they perceive that, frequently, when men get rich, they are not easily bandied, they become intractable, they lose, in some instances, the Spirit of God; and therefore, they pray that God will deliver them from being rich, that they may not be lifted up in pride. Yet we know that the revelations and prophecies say that God will make us a rich people.

      Speaking about the Zion of the last days, Isaiah says that the Lord will bring for brass gold, for iron silver, for wood brass, and for stones iron to build up the Zion of God. When will that be done? When we are united, so that we shall not consume the wealth that God will give us upon our lusts, upon creating class distinctions, raising one class above another, one class living in luxury and another class grovelling in poverty; but when we are so organized that there will be no rich and no poor, but all partaking alike of the bounties that God shall give unto us, then, and in my opinion, not till then, can he bestow upon us the wealth that he has promised. It would ruin us to-day if we had it, and God, as I view his providence, withholds these blessings from us because of the effects they would have upon us as a people. He does not wish to destroy us. But when we are organized aright, then what? Why, then will be fulfilled after a while another saying of Isaiah's,—"And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your ploughmen and your vinedressers; but ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord; men shall call you the ministers of our God."

      All these problems of capital and labor can be solved by this principle and in no other way, and there will be an incessant and never-ending conflict between capital and labor until they are solved in this manner.

      That God may pour out his holy Spirit upon you, my brethren and sisters, and fill you therewith, to enable you to do his will perfectly, is my prayer in the name of Jesus, Amen.

 

            The following missionaries were then called and presented before the Conference, who were unanimously approved by the congregation with uplifted hands --

NAMES OF MISSIONARIES.

_____

To Scandinavia.

N. C. Flygare, Ogden City.
Soren C. Christofisen, Manti.
Andrew R. Anderson, Lehi.

To the British Isles.

Robert Easton,of Greenville, for Scotland.
Henry C. Fowler, 20th Ward, S. L. City, for England.

To the United States and Canada.

Chandler Holbrook, Fillmore.
Therdon Rogers, Fillmore.
Ansel P. Harmon, Holden.
James Z. Stewart, Draperville.
A. W. Smith, Draperville.
Thomas Steed, Farmington.
Truman Leonard, Farmington.
Wm. Rawson, Harrisville.
Lewis D. Wilson, Ogden
Erastus Bingham, Jr., Huntsville.
Alexander Brown, Lynne.
Moses Cluff, Provo.
Joshua Davis, Provo.
Ezra Barnard, Box Elder Co.
Samuel Henderson, Box Elder Co.
Abraham Hunsaker, Brigham City.
William Brown, Bountiful.
George Hickeson, Sen., Corn Creek
J. A. Ross, Corn Creek
David Savage, Sen., Holden.
M. B. Shipp, 11th Ward, S. L. City.
Ezra T. Clark, Farmington.
H. C. Haight, Farmington.
Joseph A. Taylor, Sen., Harrisville.
Noah Shurtliffe, Harrisville.
Mertillo Shaw, Ogden
Alanson C. Allen, Huntsville.
Myron B. Child, Riverdale.
Chas. Harding, Box Elder Co.
R. K. Homer, Box Elder Co.
Christopher F. Dixon, Payson.
George S. Rust, Payson.
Samuel Bills, Payson.
Robert Smith;, Payson.
George E. Steel, Provo.
Alfred Billings, Provo.
J. M. Ballinger, Pleasant Grove.
William Winn, Lehi.

            Elder GEO. Q. CANNON announced that on Friday afternoon the Church authorities would be presented to the Conference.

            The choir sang the anthem --

Give ear to my words.

            Conference adjourned till 10 o'clock on Friday morning.

            Benediction by President GEO. A. SMITH.

_____

[9 Oct, 10 am]

[DNW 23:584, 10/14/74, p 8]

FOURTH DAY.

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FRIDAY, Oct 0, 1874.

            The choir sang --

When earth in bondage long had lain,
And darkness o'er the nations reigned.

            Prayer by ELDER H. H. CLUFF.

            The choir sang --

Come all ye saints who dwell on earth,
Your cheerful voices raise.

ELDER JOHN VAN COT

Spoke of the many opportunities that were offered the Latter-day Saints for their improvement if properly attended to, but considerable slackness was very observable in many of late, which he thought could be accounted for by the fact of the Saints being in more easy and comfortable circumstances than heretofore, and allowing themselves to be allured into a slothfulness pertaining to the things of God, whereas such blessings ought to inspire feelings of gratitude and devotion.

            He then reviewed the travels and trials of the Saints incoming over the Plains to these valleys, and the union that existed among them in their then poverty stricken circumstances, and that continued in their midst, which accounts for the wonderful improvements that are to be seen everywhere throughout the Territory.

            We were now called upon by God, through his servant Brigham, to unite our temporal interests, that we might obtain more power and favor with God, and be able to repel the powers of darkness.

            He personally was ready and willing to thoroughly unite with the Saints, with everything he had, feeling very desirous to take those steps marked out for the saints, not only for our present benefit, but for the blessing of future generations. Greater blessings would grow out of this union than it is possible for the minds of the Saints to contemplate.

ELDER WILFORD WOODRUFF

Said that during the last forty years the Latter-day Saints had been taught many things and yet they still needed a great deal of preaching. In all ages of the world history tells us that persecution and trials had been the legacy and experience of the Saints, and any man who was not prepared to round up his shoulders to take what persecution, or even death, might be his lot, was not worthy of the blessings that were promised to the faithful.

            This dispensation was the one that all ancient prophets had their eye upon, and would not close until the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

            Eternal life was what we were aiming after, and what were goods and chattels, houses or lands, in comparison with it? We should have far more safety, if we united ourselves together, than in remaining in our present divided condition. God never had a better nor more valiant set of men and women in any age of the world, than he had in our day, and who were gathered in these valleys of the mountains.

            Speaking of persecutions, he said, we were no better than our Master was when on the earth, who suffered much poverty and persecution, and also death, and we need not fear, for God would not permit our enemies to do more than was necessary to accomplish his purposes. If persecution and even death awaited us, what of it? All the world had to die sooner or later, and it was far better to die in trying to establish the Kingdom of God than, as many did, on the battle field, simply for the glory of defending some earthly king or potentate.

            Let our prayers ascend before the Lord, for the Presidency of the Church. They were our leaders, and had been for many years. We should not only pray, but our works should correspond therewith, to sustain the Kingdom of God.

            Let us try to do our duty, and attend to all the ordinances of the Gospel, and enter into the United Order of God, or we could never attain to a celestial glory.

[Wilford Woodruff]

[DNW 23:802, 1/20/75, p 2; JD 17:244]

REMARKS

BY ELDER WILFORD WOODRUFF, DELIVERED

At the Semi-Annual conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Friday Morning, October 9th, 1874.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      We, as a people, have had a great deal of teaching and counsel in our day and generation. Some of us have been taught in the things of this kingdom for over forty years, and, by this time, we ought to exercise faith in the promises of God. We have looked forward to the fulfillment of the revelations which have been given in all ages and dispensations which are past and gone; and we have not only expected their fulfillment, but we have helped to fulfill a great many of them in the course of our lives. This work is the work of God, it is not the work of man. The Lord has set his hand in these last days in fulfillment of revelation and prophecy and the promises which have been made for thousands of years past and gone, concerning the earth and the dispensations thereof.

      I will here say that all inspired men, from the days of father Adam to the days of Jesus, had a view, more or less, of the great and last dispensation of the fulness of times, when the Lord would set his hand to prepare the earth and a people for the coming of the Son of Man and a reign of righteousness. One of the brethren was speaking here about the views entertained by some in the world who regard Christianity and the work of God as a failure. I will say that the work of the Lord has never bees a failure and it never will. His purposes have to be accomplished in the earth. There is one thing true with regard to the history and travels of the Saints of God in every age of the world—they have had to pass through trials, tribulations and persecutions, and have had to contend with opposition, and this will always be their fate until the power of evil is overcome. This is one of the legacies that is designed from God to the Saints while dwelling in the flash among a world of devils, for the world is full of them, there are millions and millions—all that were cast out of heaven; they never die, and they never leave the earth, but they dwell here and will continue to do so until Satan is bound. As a people we have to meet this warfare, and the Saints of God have had to contend with it in every age of the world. Any man who undertakes to serve God has to round up his shoulders and meet it, and any man who will not trust in God and abide in his cause even unto death is not worthy of a place in the celestial kingdom. Laid Jesus—"I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hate you; if you were of the world the world would love its own. They have hated me, they will hate you; and if they persecute me they will persecute you." This is the legacy which all Saints may depend upon receiving. True, there has been a difference in the various dispensations. This is the only dispensation that God has ever established that was foreordained, before the world was made, not to be overcome by wicked men and devils. All other dispensations have been made war upon by the inhabitants of the earth, and the servants and Saints of God have been martyred. This was the case with Jesus and the Apostles in their day. The Lord gave that good old Prophet Enoch, President of the Zion of God, who stood in the midst, of his people three hundred and sixty five years, a view of the earth in its various dispensations, showing him that the time would come when it would groan under the wickedness, blasphemy, murders, whoredoms and abominations of its inhabitants. The Prophet asked the Lord whether there would ever be a time when the earth should rest; and the Lord answered that in the dispensation of the fulness of times the earth would fill the measure of its days, and then it would rest from wickedness and abominations, for in that day be would establish his kingdom upon it, to be thrown down no more for ever. Then a reign of righteousness would commence and the honest and meek of the earth would be gathered together to serve the Lord, and upon them would rest power to build up the great Zion of God in the latter days. These things were also shown to Abraham, and many others of the ancient servants of God had glimpses of them by vision, revelation and the inspiration of the Spirit of God, and what they saw, or an account of what they saw, has been left on record.

      This dispensation is one that all the Patriarchs and Prophets had their eye upon, and the Lord has commenced it, and has carried it, on now for more than forty years, since this Church was organized with six members. We have not altogether traveled on beds of ease, we have had warfare and opposition from the commencement until this day; but we and the world may set our hearts at rest concerning "Mormonism," for it will never cease until the Lord Jesus Christ comes in the clouds of heaven. This nation and other nations will war with the Saints of God until their cup is full; and When they become ripened in iniquity the Lord Almighty will cut them off, and the judgments of the Most High God will follow the testimony of the Elders of Israel.

      This is the way I look upon it. We are called upon to do our duty with regard to the subject which has been spoken of by brothers Van Colt and Cannon. What is this world I would like to know? What are the things of this world? What are houses and lands, goods and chattels, and the treasures of the earth generally, to us? What are they to any Saints of God compared with eternal life? We should certainly be as well off to unite ourselves and our interests together in the things of God as to be separate. There have been too much selfishness and division and every man for himself amongst us, and the devil for us all. Eternal life is worth more to a Saint of God than all things else put together, in fact it is the greatest gift God ever gave to man, or that he can give to him, and whatever the Lord requires at our hands we should be ready to do, individually and collectively.

      As I have often remarked in my testimony, from my youth up I had a desire to live to see a people rise up in the earth and contend for the faith once delivered to the Saints, who would receive and teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ as it was taught in his day and generation. When I heard this Gospel I embraced it. The first sermon I ever heard the Spirit of God bore record to me that it was true, and I went forth and was baptized for the remission of my sins, I received the laying on of hands and the Lord gave me the Holy Ghost and a testimony, just the same as he gave to you, and to hundreds of thousands of those who have obeyed the Gospel.

      It was but a short time after embracing the work that I was called to go with my brethren a thousand miles for the redemption of Zion. I went willingly, for I knew it was the work of God, it was what I had sought for from the time I was eight years old, what I had been taught in the Presbyterian Sunday School and what I had read in the New Testament in my father's house. From that time up I had looked for these things, and I had a testimony that I should live to see them, and I did, and when I embraced this Gospel my heart was filled with joy and consolation; and as for this world, if I had the whole of it, I felt in those days ,as I feel now, it would not stand in my path in seeking for eternal life.

      I was called to take my life in my hands and go up to Missouri, and a little handful of us went up to redeem our brethren. We certainly had to go by faith. My neighbors called upon and plead with me not to go; said they—"Do not go, if you do you will lose your life." I said to them—"If I knew that I should have a ball put through my heart the first step I took in the State of Missouri I would go." I went, and I did not get shot, neither did any of the rest of us, but we fulfilled the commandment of God. That is the way I felt in those days with regard to the work of God, and that is the way I feel to-day. I am after salvation and eternal life, and I do not want anything to stand between me and that which I am in pursuit of. It does not make any difference what we as a people may be called to pass through. Men can go no further than they are permitted by the Lord. I have often remarked, and I repeat it, your destiny, the destiny of this nation, and the destiny of every king, prince, president, statesman and ruler under heaven are in the hands of the God of Israel. He made the world and all its inhabitants, and they can go no further than they are permitted. If we unite ourselves according to the law of God we shall have far more safety than if we turn away from the commandments of the Lord and set our hearts upon the things of this world. If we forget God we are liable to be scourged; that is my feeling this morning.

      This is the work of God. The Lord has set his hand to build up his kingdom, and be will do it whatever the consequences may be. Whatever the persecutions or difficulties his Saints may be called to pass through, the Lord will never withdraw his hand, for he decreed, before the foundation of the world, that in the dispensation of the fulness of times his kingdom should be set up upon the earth, never more to be thrown down.

      The world has had its dispensations: we are at the end of the sixth thousand years, and are bordering upon the coming of the Son of Man in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory, to reward every man according to the deeds done in the body; and whatever the feelings of the world may be the Lord has decreed a woe upon that man, that house, that nation or that people that rejects the testimony of his servants. The Lord says that he will hold a controversy with the nations, and judge the world with fire and sword, and he will plead with all flesh, and the slain of the Lord will be many. What if some of us do have to sacrifice our lives for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ? What of it? What is a man's life? The whole world will die. Armies, containing thousands of men, go forth for the honor of being killed, in order to defend a king or a government. Is it any worse to die for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ than to die serving the devil? Not a particle. I glory in my feelings at the valiant spirit that is and has been manifested by the servants of the living God in the cause of truth and in defence of the great latter-day work. The Lord never raised up a better set of men and women since the world was than are they who have embraced the Gospel of Jesus Christ in these latter days. They have the testimony of Jesus Christ with them, and they have been called to pass through many trials thus far in the history and progress of the work of God. It is true that many have broken their covenants and turned away from the Lord, and the reason is that they stopped serving God and undertook to serve themselves, and that led them into darkness. They rejected the things of the kingdom of heaven, and the spirit of God was taken from them, and that class of people, in every age of the world is the darkest of any who ever breathe the breath of life. They lose all confidence in every principle of salvation and eternal life revealed to man.

      With regard to our present position I want to say that it is the duty of every Saint of God in these valleys of the mountains to let his prayers ascend into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, day and night in the season thereof, in the family circle and in private places, for the Lord to sustain his people, build up Zion and fulfill his promises. We are in duty hound to fulfill ours, and the Lord will not fail now any more than he has any other time. He did not fail in the days of Jesus Christ, not a bit of it. Jesus was poor, and from the manger to the cross, spent his whole life in the deepest poverty, suffering and affliction; he descended below all things that he might rise above all, and we are told that he had not money enough to pay his taxes to Caesar, and had to send Peter to catch a fish to get money for that purpose. He was poor all the way through his life. Is it any worse for you, or me, or any other Saint of God, to suffer persecution, affliction, poverty or trials than for our great Leader, President, Redeemer, King and Savior, who is going to come in the clouds of heaven? No, not a particle. As some of our brethren have said, there is need for us to repent and humble ourselves before the Lord our God, that we may have and enjoy more of the Holy Spirit to prepare us for that which lies before us. It is our duty to unite together as a people; our temporal salvation lies in this, and we should not be backward in this matter We should not only preach it, but be also ready to practice it; as leaders and as people, all should unite in carrying out that which is required of us. As an individual I am not afraid of starving to death, I never was afraid of that in my life, and I have traveled a great many thousand miles to preach the Gospel without money and without price, and so have many of my brethren who are around me, and we never starved to death and we do not expect to. The amount of it is that everything we have herein these valleys of the mountains,—this Tabernacle, this Temple, these public grounds, and all the cities and towns that have been built over six hundred miles of Territory, are the gift of God to us. The Lord knows this country was barren enough when we came here, and a faithful people were tried here with cricket and grasshopper wars, until famine stared them in the face; but they trusted in God, and they did not get disappointed.

      Our prayers should go up day and night in behalf of our President, and the Presidency whom God has sustained from the beginning, and also for the leaders of the people and for each other. We should labor and pray for this. We are making history. The travels and experience of the Latter-day Saints have been as interesting as the history of any people in any dispensation since the world began. Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, and he was called to lay the foundation of this kingdom; he was raised up from before the foundation of the world for this purpose, and he came forth, through the loins of ancient Joseph who was sold into Egypt, and dwelt in the flesh, and nothing failed in its fulfillment as far as he was concerned. He lived until he planted the Gospel, until he received the apostleship, and every branch of the Priesthood of Aaron and Melchizedek, all the keys of the kingdom of God, everything that was necessary in order to lay the foundation of this Church and Kingdom, which God, through the mouths of holy Prophets, declared should be established in the latter days, to be thrown down no more for ever.

      Under these circumstances, of course, faith is required on the part of the Saints to live their religion, do their duty, walk uprightly before the Lord and build up his Zion on the earth. Then it requires works to correspond with our faith. I know the testimony of Jesus Christ is not palatable; it does not, and never did, suit the ears of the world at large. Christendom to-day does not like "Mormonism," because it comes in contact with the traditions handed down from the fathers; the world never did like the truth. We can not help that, it is our duty to bear a true and faithful testimony to the work of God, and to preach the Gospel which has been revealed to us in our day by the ministration of angels out of heaven. That Gospel is the same as was taught by Adam, and the ancient patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Noah, Enoch, Methuselah and all the ancient Prophets, also by Jesus and the Apostles. There never was but one Gospel, and never will be but one delivered to the children of men, and that never changed and never will change in time or eternity. It is the same in every age of the world; its ordinances are the same. Believers in the Gospel of had faith in Jesus before he came in the flesh, and repentance of sin was preached before his day as well as since; they also practiced baptism for the remission of sins and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost; and they had the organization of the Church with inspired men therein. Saith the Lord Jesus, "I have set in the Church, first, Apostles, second Prophets, third Teachers, pastors, gifts, helps, and governments." What for? For the work of the ministry, for the perfecting of the Saints, etc. These things are necessary in every age of the world, and they have been restored in these last days, and they are true and will have their effect upon the children of men. When this Gospel is preached to the Gentiles and they count themselves unworthy of eternal life it will go to the house of Israel, and the first will then be last, as the last has been first.

      It is our duty as a people to unite together and not to be slothful in well-doing. As I have already said, we should let our prayers ascend before the Lord. I have more faith in prayer before the Lord than almost any other principle on earth. If we have no faith in prayer to God, we have not much in either him or the Gospel. We should pray unto the Lord, asking him for what we want. Let the prayers of this people ascend before the Lord continually in the season thereof, and the Lord will, not turn them away, but they will be heard and answered, and the kingdom and Zion of God will rise and shine, she will put on her beautiful garments and be clothed with the glory of her God, and fulfill rise object of her organization here upon the earth. Therefore, I say, brethren and sisters, let, us do our duty. Let us pray for the Presidency of this Church; let us uphold and sustain them by our faith and by our works. They are called of God, they have been our leaders for years. President Young has led this Church longer a great deal than any other man. His works and his life have been before you, and you know him, and the course he has pursued. God has blessed him and he has been profitable unto us. The revelations of God and the principles which he has brought forth have been a consolation to Israel. Our prayers should ascend for him that he may be restored to health and be preserved by the hand of God. We should pray to the Lord for everything else that we stand in need of. Then we should go to and do our duty in building the Temples of our God, that we may magnify our calling, and be saviors on Mount Zion, for the living and the dead. In the seventeen hundred years which are past and gone, over fifty thousand million people have gone into the spirit world who never saw the face of a Prophet or of an Apostle, and never heard the words of an inspired man, for during the whole of that time DO man was called of God to build up his kingdom on the earth. Whatever the Christian world may think, these things are true. When the Apostles were put to death the Priesthood went from the earth, and the Church went into the wilderness, or, in other words, there was a falling away among the Gentiles, as there had been before among the Jews. Those generations are in the spirit world, shut up in prison; they have got to be visited by men who held the Priesthood in the flesh, that they may preach the Gospel unto them, the same as Jesus did when he went to preach to the spirits in prison during the three days and nights when his body lay in the tomb. This is our duty. And I will here say that every Elder of Israel who lays down his life, whether he dies in his bed, or is put to death by the enemies of truth, when he goes into the spirit world his works follow him, and he rests in peace. The Priesthood is not taken from him, and he has thousands more to preach to there than he ever had here in the flesh. But it depends upon the living here to erect Temples, that the ordinances for the dead may be attended to, for by and by you will meet your progenitors in the spirit world who never heard the sound of the Gospel. You who are here in Zion have power to be baptized for and to redeem your dead. The resurrection and the coming of the Messiah are at the door. The signs of heaven and earth indicate the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. The fig trees are putting forth their leaves in the eyes of every man who has the faith of the Gospel. Let us, therefore, try and do our duty. Let us attend to the ordinances of the house of God, and unite ourselves according to his law, for Jesus will never receive the Zion of God unless its people are united according to celestial law, for all who go into the presence of God have to go there by this law. Enoch had to practice this law, and we shall have to do the same if we are ever accepted of God as he was. It has been promised that the New Jerusalem will be built up in our day and generation, and it will have to be done by the United Order of Zion and according to celestial law. And not only so, but we have to keep that law ourselves if we ever inherit that kingdom, for no man will receive a celestial glory unless he abides a celestial law; no man will receive a terrestrial glory unless he abides a terrestrial law, and no man will receive a telestial glory unless he abides a telestial law. There is a great difference between the light of the sun at noonday and the glimmer of the stars at night, but that difference is no greater than the difference of the glory in the several portions of the kingdom of God.

      I always have said and believed, and I believe to-day, that it will pay you and me and all the sons and all the daughters of Adam to abide the celestial law, for celestial glory is worth all we possess; if it calls for every dollar we own and our lives into the bargain, if we obtain an entrance into the celestial kingdom of God it will amply repay us. The Latter-day Saints have started out for celestial glory, and if we can only manage to be faithful enough to obtain an inheritance in the kingdom, where God and Christ dwell, we shall rejoice through the endless ages of eternity.

      I thank God that my ears have heard the sound of the Gospel. I thank God that I have been preserved upon the earth to live to see the face of an Elder of Israel, to be called of God and to administer the ordinances of his house. I traveled a good many miles with President Joseph Smith, as some of you did; I have also traveled a good many miles with President Young and with the Apostles and Elders of Israel, and I have never seen the hour yet, in the midst of our deepest afflictions and persecutions, that I was sorry that I had embraced the Gospel, and I hope I never shall.

      I pray God my heavenly Father that he will inspire our hearts as Latter-day Saints, that we may become one and, not having the fear of man before our eyes, but the fear of God, that we may be ready to do whatever is required of us, and to carry out the counsels of the servants of God. When we do this we shall be happy, and we shall be saved whether in life or in death. I pray that we may pursue this course, and that we may overcome the world, the flesh and the devil, and inherit eternal life, for Jesus' sake. Amen.

 

            Conference adjourned till 2 o'clock p.m.

            The choir sang the anthem --

I will extol thee.

            Benediction by ELDER F. D. RICHARDS.

_____

[9 Oct, 2 pm*]

[DNW 23:584-585, 10/14/74, p 8-9]

FOURTH DAY.

_____

FRIDAY AFTERNOON, Oct 9th.

            The choir sang --

Hark, the song of jubilee,
Loud as mighty thunders roar.

            Prayer by Elder B. YOUNG, Junr.

            The choir sang --

A holy angel from on high
The joyful message has made known.

PRESIDENT GEO. A. SMITH

Said the Conference would be adjourned this afternoon until Sunday morning, and on Sunday afternoon would be adjourned until April 6, 1875.

            He said that there had been a remarkable unity in all our past Conferences among the Latter-day Saints, when holding up their hands to sustain the authorities, which was a prayer to Almighty God to sustain them in their duties.

ELDER GEO. Q. CANNON

Presented the authorities of the church to the Conference, all of whom were unanimously sustained by the vast assembly, as follows --

            Brigham Young, Prophet, Seer and Revelator, and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in all the world.

            George A. Smith and Daniel H. Wells, counsellors to President Brigham Young.

            Lorenzo Snow, Brigham Young, Jr., Albert Carrington, John W. Young, and George Q. Cannon, Assistant Counsellors to President Brigham Young.

            Orson Hyde, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Orson Pratt, Sen., John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Jr., Joseph F. Smith and Albert Carrington, members of said quorum.

            John Smith, Patriarch of the Church.

            George B. Wallace, President of this stake of Zion, and William H. Folsom and John T. Caine his counsellors.

            William Eddington, Thomas E. Jeremy, John H. Rumell, Miner G. Atwood, Dimick B. Huntington, Theodore McKean, Hosea Stout, Milando Pratt, J. R. Winder, Geo. J. Taylor, Henry Dinwoodey, Millen Atwood, A. M. Cannon, Joseph Horne, Andrew W. Winberg and George Nebeker, members of the High Council.

            Elder Cannon stated that the last four of the above mentioned brethren would act as High Councilors when required to do so on account of the absence of other members; he also stated that a number of brethren presented and sustained as members of the High Council at the last Conference, but whose names were not presented now, had been released because their business was such as to frequently compel their absence from the High Council when it was in session.

            Ellias Smith, President of the High Priests' Quorum, and Edward Snelgrove and Elias Morris, his counselors.

            Joseph Young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Herriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates and John Van Cott, members of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies.

            E. W. Davis, President of the Elders' Quorum. He would choose his own counsellors.

            Edward Hunter, Presiding Bishop; Leonard W. Hardy and Robert T. Burton, his counselors.

            The Conference was informed that Elder J.C .Little, formerly one of the counselors of Bishop Hunter, had tendered his resignation of that position, which had been accepted because the business of Elder Little required his almost constant absence from this City.

            Samuel G. Ladd, President of the Priests' Quorum; Wm. McLachlan and James Latham, his counselors.

            Adam Spiers, President of the Teachers' Quorum; Martin Lenzi and Henry I. Doremus, his counselors.

            James Leach, President of the Deacons' Quorum; John H. Picknell and Thomas C. Jones, his counselors.

            George A. Smith, Trustee in Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and John Sharp, John L. Smith, LeGrand Young, Elijah F. Sheets, Joseph F. Smith, Moses Thatcher, John Van Cott, Amos M. Musser, James P. Freeze, F. A. Mitchell, Thomas Taylor, as his assistants.

            Albert Carrington, President of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund for gathering the poor.

            Truman O. Angell, Architect for the Church.

            Orson Pratt, Historian and General Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff, his assistant.

            He also presented the officers of the United Order who were voted in at the last Conference, and were again sustained, as follows --

            President of the United Order in all the World wherever established -- Brigham Young.

            First Vice-President -- George A. Smith.

            Second Vice-President -- Daniel H. Wells.

            Assistant Vice-Presidents -- Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Sen., John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, Geo. Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Jr., Joseph F. Smith and Albert Carrington.

            Secretary -- David McKenzie.

            Assistant Secretaries -- Geo. Goddard, D. O. Calder, P. A. Schettler, James Jack, and J. T. Caine.

            General Bookkeeper -- T. W. Ellerbeck.

            Treasurer -- G. A. Smith

            Assistant Treasurer -- Bishop E. Hunter.

            Board of Directors -- H. S. Eldredge, John Sharp, Feramorz Little, Moses Thatcher, John Van Cott, James P. Freeze, Henry Dinwoodey, Thomas Taylor, and E. F. Sheets.

            The following names were also presented --

Names of Missionaries called since last Conference, who have gone to their fields of labor.

Soren Jacobson.
Wm. B. Barton, Salt Lake City.
David McKenzie, Salt Lake City.
Dirk Bockholt, Salt Lake City.
Joseph H. Parry, Salt Lake City.
L. J. Nuttall, Provo.
Jacob Zundell, Willard City.
John Woodhouse, Lehi.
Wm. Greenwood, American Fork.
Henry Eyring, St. George
Vernee L. Halliday, Pleasant Grove
Edward Hanham, Salt Lake City.
Peter Barton, Kaysville.

            The following names of missionaries were called --

To Europe

J. J. Taylor, Salt Lake City.

To the United States and Canada.

Edwin Harley, Nephi.
John Andrews, Nephi.
David W. Norton, Nephi.
Gilbert Belknap, Senr., Hooper City.
George Rose, North Ogden.
Thomas Grover, Farmington
Ammon Green, West Weber.
David E. Fackerell, Bountiful.
Samuel Anderson, Salt Lake City
H. Gorgensen, Huntsville.
A. Ingren, Tooele City.
James Barker, north Ogden.
Simon S. Higginbottom, Ogden.
Joseph Thatcher, Logan.
Simpson Nolan, Hyde Park.
Abel Gar, Millville.
Alma Harris, Cache Valley.
Thomas J. King, Kaysville.

To Scandinavia.

Soren Peterson, Huntsville.
C. I. Gustavsen, Salt Lake City.
John Larson, Salt Lake City.

ELDER JOHN TAYLOR

Said when we were in conference assembled to talk over the general interests of the church, it became a matter of great moment to those thus engaged. We felt that we were acting for the welfare of ourselves, our families, our posterity, and our progenitors, and for the building up of the kingdom of God for those who had lived on the earth and who now lived, and in concert with the Almighty. Encompassed with weaknesses and infirmities, we stood all the more in need continually of the sustaining power, wisdom and assistance of our Heavenly Father.

            We had been presenting the President and other authorities before the Conference. How did we know that we needed these officers? God told us. We had been under the direction and guidance of the Almighty since the organization of the Church.

            The officers of the Church to-day were wanted for the selfsame purpose as they were formerly, viz: for the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the ministry, &c., until we come to the unity of the faith, though there were many circumstances that indicated considerable union among us already, for instance, the raising of a great amount of means to assist the poor from the old countries, the sending of 500 teams to the Missouri River to bring them over the Plains, and even the other evening, 300 men were reported as being ready to go down to St. George to work on the Temple, a distance of over 300 miles, in all of which labor a great amount of union is absolutely necessary to bring them about.

            We were engaged in a life long service to last through time and all eternity, for the welfare of all who had lived, now lived, or would yet live. We were now living in very peculiar times, and under the necessity of forming our associations (with a view of uniting our interests together) so as to bring them in strict conformity to law.

            After making a few more remarks on the United Order, he closed by saying that we were heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ.

[John Taylor]

[DNW 23:820, 1/27/75, p 4; JD 17:172]

DISCOURSE

BY ELDER JOHN TAYLOR, DELIVERED

At the Semi-Annual General Conference, in the new Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Friday Afternoon, October 9th, 1874.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS

_____

      In our assemblies at Conference the representatives of the people from the various parts of the Territory meet together to be informed in relation to any and all measures that may be determined upon for the furtherance of our interests as a people, and the interests of the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth; for the Church and kingdom of God is established upon the earth, and God has communicated unto us his will, and, by revelation, has instructed us how to organize the various orders of the Priesthood as they have been presented before you to-day. I feel that we are acting in the presence of God and of the holy angels, and that we are operating for our own welfare, the welfare of our ancestors and, in part, for the welfare of the millions who have lived upon the earth, and for the introduction of principles which have emanated from God, which are calculated to regenerate, evangelize and redeem the world in which we live.

      There is something peculiar in the relationship that we sustain to each other, to those who have gone before us, to our God and to the building up of his kingdom. We are not acting for ourselves individually, but in the interests and for the benefit of all men that have ever lived upon the earth, as well as of those now living upon it.

      We are acting in conjunction with the Almighty; with Apostles and Prophets and men of God who have lived in the various ages of the world, to accomplish the great programme that God had in his mind in relation to the human family before the world existed, and which will as assuredly come to pass as God lives. We feel, at the same time, that we are encompassed with the infirmities, weaknesses, imperfections and frailties of human nature, and in many instances we err in judgment, and we always need the sustaining hand of the Almighty; the guidance and direction of His Holy Spirit, and the counsel of his Priesthood that we may be led and preserved in the path that leads to life eternal; for it is the desire of all Latter-day Saints to keep the commandments of God, live their religion, honor their profession and magnify their calling, and so prepare themselves for an inheritance in the celestial kingdom of God.

      We have had presented before us to-day, the Church authorities. This may seem to many of us a mere matter of form; but it is at the same time a matter of fact, and one in which we are individually and collectively interested. It presents to our minds a train of reasoning, ideas, thoughts and reflections which men generally do not experience. Here is a President and his council, here are the Twelve, the Bishops, High Priests, Seventies, Elders and the various authorities and councils of the Church upon the earth—the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. What is that Church? Is it a phantom, a theory, an ideality, something that has been got up by the schools, by the wise men and philosophers of the day? No, it is something that emanates from God, that had its origin with him. It is to him that we are indebted for all the light, intelligence and knowledge that we possess. How did we know that we needed a President? God told us. How did we know that we needed counselors? The Lord told us. How did we know that it was necessary that there should be a Twelve in the Church and kingdom of God? The Lord told us. How did we know that there should be quorums of Seventies, High Priests, Elders, High Councils, and all these various organizations? The Lord told us, and we have come together and passed upon these principles, and have united together in the Commonwealth of Israel. And when we talk about this Priesthood, as has been very properly remarked by one of the speakers during this Conference, why, we all of us belong, more or less, thereto. It is emphatically that which was spoken of in the days of Moses—a kingdom of Priests. We are in reality a kingdom of Priests, and we are in possession of principles that will endure throughout all eternity. We are associated with men who have lived before us, and who are connected with the same ministry and calling as we possess, and they are operating with us and we with them for the accomplishment of certain objects which God has in view. And who of us can point out the path wherein we should walk? Who of us can direct our steps in relation to the great principles that lie before us? We need the guidance, instruction, intelligence and revelation that flow from heaven to lead us. We have needed them to bring us thus far. When the Lord got angry with the children of Israel because of their follies, and said, "I will not go up with you, but, my spirit shall go with you," Moses might well plead and say—"O God, if thou guest not up with us carry us not up hence." He felt—what can we do, what course shall we pursue unless the Lord directs us? We, the Latter-day Saints are in the same position—unless the Lord guides us we are in a poor fix.

      Now then, what were Apostles, Prophets, Fasters, Teachers, Evangelists and other officers placed in the Church for in former days? Paul tells us for the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the ministry, and for the edifying of the body of Christ until we all come to a unity of the faith, to the knowledge of the Son of God, unto the fullness of the stature of a perfect man in Christ, that we be no more children, tossed about with every wind of doctrine, and the cunning craftiness whereby men lie in wait to deceive, and that we may grow up in him, our living head, in all things. What are Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, Teachers, &c., placed in the Church now for? For precisely the same reasons that they were then, only much more so, for they were connected with a system that had to succumb to the adversary, and to be rooted out—a certain power was to rise up and was to prevail against them; but it is not so with us—our course is onward. We are connected with that little stone that was hewn out of the mountain without hands, and that was to continue to roll until it filled the whole earth. That is the position that we occupy, and it is said that the kingdom shall not be given into the hands of another people.

      These several officers, we are told, were placed in the Church for the perfecting of the Saints—we need their labors; they are for the work of the ministry—we need a little of it; they are for the edifying of the body of Christ—we need edifying. How long? Until we all come in the unity of the faith, and until we are perfect in the knowledge of the Son of God. We are not quite there yet. There is a little faltering, shaking, tottering and stumbling like babes amongst us once in a while, and we need the sustaining hand, and instruction of God to support us and help us to pass along in the path marked out for us. He has led us along remarkably, and he has united us to a certain extent in many things, and there is something pleasant and delightful in union. We have done a good deal in being. united. Here are many of these Elders around me who have been ready, in any moment, to go anywhere, just as these Elders who have been called to-day to go to the States, England, Scotland, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, or any other part of the earth, to preach the Gospel, build up settlements or whatever else they are required to do in order to further the purposes and to build up the kingdom of God upon the earth. I was very much pleased at a meeting we had the other evening in the Tabernacle, to learn that over three hundred men could be found who would go down to St. George this winter, find their own food and work as teamsters, carpenters, stone-cutters, and in other callings necessary to forward the work on the Temple. That shows there is something like union among the Latter-day Saints. I like to see principles of that kind operating among us, it shows that we possess a portion of the spirit of the work, and that we appreciate the Gospel. And we have done a good deal of this kind of thing heretofore. Many of you remember what took place when we left Far West. When our people there had been robbed of everything that the thieves could get hold of, they put the balance of their means together to help one another out, until there was not a man left who wanted to leave the State. We agreed to do that and we did it. Then, afterwards, when we left Nauvoo, we covenanted, in the Temple that we built there, that we would never cease our endeavors until every man who wanted to leave that country and come here had had the opportunity, and that we would assist him in doing so. Did we carry it out? We did, and we were united in our efforts, and we did a good many things besides what we promised to do. We have sent as many as five hundred teams at a time from here with provisions and other necessaries, to bring the poor from the frontiers to this land, before the railroad was in existence; and since then we have operated and co-operated with our means to bring them by the railroad. So far these things are good, honorable and praiseworthy.

      Then again, we are a good deal united in our doctrinal affairs, and we begin to feel that we are part of God's creation, that we are operating in this particular day and age of the world to accomplish a certain work, and that work is not for our own individual interests alone, it is not to build up and aggrandize ourselves, but it is to build up the kingdom of God and to forward his purposes upon the earth. That is what we are here for. You might talk about principle to a great many men until your heads turned gray and your tongues cleave to the roofs of your mouths, and it would make no difference—they are not prepared to receive it. But the Latter-day Saints are to a very great extent. Why? Because the very first thing that God did with us was to get us converted, to get us baptized and in a position where we could receive the Holy Ghost, and then we were placed in what some people call en rapport with God—brought into communication and relationship with him so that we could recognize him as our Father and friend, and we are his friends; and he and we, and others who have lived and died here on the earth, who obeyed the same principles that we have obeyed, are all operating together for the accomplishment of the purposes of God on the earth. That is what we are doing. It is a great work, and, everyone of us needs to ponder the path of our feet, to mark well the course that is laid out to us, and seek to do the will of our heavenly Father. We are living in a critical and an important age. Men sometimes are astonished when they see the corruption, wickedness and evil, the departure from honesty and integrity, and the villainy that everywhere exist; but why should they be? Have we not been preaching for the last thirty or forty years that the world would grow "worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived?" Has it not been preached to us that the nations of the earth had the elements of destruction within themselves and that they were bound to crumble? And when we see honor trampled under foot, and integrity and truth standing afar off, while the wicked, corrupt and froward manage and direct affairs, we may expect that the axe is laid at the root of the tree and that it is decaying and will soon fall. And that is what is being accomplished among the nations today. We need not whine or think there is anything strange or remarkable about it. We have expected these things to transpire, and they will be a great deal worse than they are to-day. But we are engaged in introducing correct principles, and we are trying to get united. We are united, as I said before, in many things, for the religion that we have embraced, in its spiritual signification, brings us into communication one with another, and helps us to love one another, and I wish there was a little more of that disposition among us, and that we loved one another a little better, and studied one another's interests a little more. I wish we could sympathize with our brethren, and be full of loving-kindness and generosity one towards another. I wish that we could feel that brotherly love continued, and that it was spreading and increasing, flowing from the fountain of life—from God—from heart to heart as oil is poured from vessel to vessel, that harmony, sympathy, kindness and love might be universal among us. This is what the Gospel will do for us if we will only let it. Said Jesus, when speaking to the woman of Samaria—"If thou hadst asked of me I would have given thee water float should have been in thee a well springing up to everlasting life." Let us drink a little more deeply of our religion, it leads us to God, it opens up a communication between us and our Father, whereby we are enabled to cry "Abba Father." The principles of the Gospel that we have embraced reach into eternity, they penetrate behind the veil where Christ our forerunner has gone, if we are living our religion and keeping the commandments of God; and wherever the influence of this Gospel is exerted it binds people together, and at the same time unites them with their God who rules in heaven, and with Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant, and with the heavenly throng, and their minds are illuminated until, like the vision of Jacob's ladder, they can see the angels of God ascending and descending, carrying messages to and from God and his people. Said Jesus, about the last thing when he was leaving the earth—"Father, I pray for those whom thou hast given me, and not for these only, but for all who shall believe on me through their word, that they all may be one, even as I and the Father are one, that they may be one in us"—one in sentiment, feeling, desire and action for the accomplishment of the purposes of God, whether in the heavens or upon the earth.

      Can we conceive of these things? We have little glimpses in relation to them sometimes, by which we are enabled to form a very faint idea of the effect of that unity which exists in heaven, and of the unity that ought to exist on earth. What can bring this latter about? Some speculative theory? No. We want, in the first place, to have our hearts united to God; we want to have the Spirit of God planted in our bosoms; we want to have the power of the Gospel in our households; we want a union with each other there, and a union with our God, and everyone of us to feel as one felt formerly—"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." As a starting point, we each of us must feel—"No matter what others do, I and my house will fear God, keep his commandments, and do that which is right in his sight, and in the sight of holy angels." And what then? Why, we will do everything else that God wants us. If it is to build Temples? Yes. Is it profitable? God knows best about that. If it does not make much money, it brings something in the heart that the world cannot give and that man cannot take away—it gives peace and joy and satisfaction, and you feel—"I am of the household of faith, I am a child of God, I am carrying out the will of my Father, and they who have lived and we who now live are operating together for the redemption of the living and the dead, for the regeneration of the world, for the carrying out of the purposes of the great Eloheim, for the introduction of principles that will ennoble and exalt man and enable him to stand in the dignity of his office, calling and Priesthood as a Priest of the Most High God." that is the position that we ought to occupy, and that is what we are afar. It is no little boys' play that we are engaged in, it is a life-long service, and that life will last while eternity endures. We want to operate here all the time, so that we may have our own approving conscience, that we may have the approval of all good, honorable men; that we may have the sanction and approval of God and of the holy angels, and of the Priesthood who have lived before, and that we may feet that we are operating for the general benefit of the world that was, that is, or is to come.

      We are called upon once in a while to take a new step in this great work. At one time it was polygamy, at another it was baptism for the dead, then it was building Temples, then certain endowments, then the sealing of our children to us, then certain promises made to ourselves, such as God made to Abraham in former days, and now it is that we must get a little closer together, and be more united in regard to our temporal affairs, that we may be prepared to act and to operate in all things according to the mind and will of God and this step in advance, like every other, has caused us to reflect and ponder, and many of us are full of fears and doubts in relation to many things and many men. Well, have we all done right? No. Have we all been strictly honest? No. Have we all lived our religion? No. Have we all been upright in our dealings one with another, and done that which is right in the sight of God? No, we have not. What then? Shall we continue to do wrong? We are called upon, in this as in many other things, to take a new step that is contrary to our traditions, ideas and theories but not contrary to the doctrines that have been taught to the Latter-day Saints. But we hardly know, sometimes, how to get at these things, how to fix them up, how to put them right. We have been trying, since God moved upon his servant Brigham, to get things into order, but the ship moves very slowly, there seems to be a good many snags of one kind or other in the way. Many people are very much misinformed in relation to many of these things. There have been a good many things said, and a great many ideas in circulation about the order of things that it is desired should be established among us. I will tell you some of my ideas in relation thereto.

      In the first place, it has been a matter of fact with me, for years and years, that such a state of things has to be introduced amongst us. I think that is an opinion that prevails very generally among the Latter-day Saints, and I do not think there is much difference of opinion in relation to it. We have read about it in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. I think there are as many as a dozen revelations in that book in reference to this subject, and perhaps more than that. I do not propose to quote them, however, at the present time. We read an account of the City of Enoch, which was established on this principle, and how the people acted there; there is also an account of a people who formerly lived on this continent, who carried out the same principle; and when this Church was first organized by Joseph Smith, these very principles were among the first that he introduced to the people, and we have had them before us all the time, so that we have no need to begin and argue the points at all; but I want to come right to matters of fact as they exist among us here to-day.

      Many say, "I do not like the thing as it now is, I wish we had it as it is laid down in the Book of Doctrine and Covenant." No you don't. "Well, we think we do." Well, but you don't, I am sure you don't, and I will show you why before I get through. We are living in peculiar times—we can not be governed by "Thus saith the Lord" independent of other influences. We are associated with national and judicial affairs that are opposed to every principle that God would reveal or will reveal. That is a fact that I need not argue before the Latter-day Saints, they all know it. Well, what then? The Spirit of the Lord has operated upon President Young to introduce these principles in our midst, that is, as near as they can be to conform to the laws of the land, for the people in these United States profess to be so pure, you know, that they could not think of having anything contrary to law; they would never dream of anything of that kind. Why, the people of the United States, including their Presidents, Governors and rulers, are the most law-abiding people you ever heard of, according to their professions, are they not? They can not think of doing anything contrary to law.

      Well, we have to go with the general stream; or at least it is necessary that we protect ourselves from legal cormorants, and from every man who would devour, tear in pieces and destroy, who is after our property and our lives? This class of persons would he very glad to take not only the property but the lives of some of the leaders of God's people here on the earth; nothing would muir them better, they are so holy, pure and law-abiding. These are the circumstances that we are placed in. Now what shall be done? There are certain principles that emanate from God; but we have to protect ourselves in carrying them out, and make them conform, as near as we can, to the laws of the land. In the Book of Doctrine and Covenants it is said, in the first place, that a man shall place his property at the feet of the Bishop. That is what that lays down, and you say that is what you would like to do. Some would, very many would not. The Bishop, after examining into the position and circumstances of the man, and finding out what his wants are, and what his capabilities and talents, what the size of his family, &c., appoints to him a certain amount of means, which he receives as a stewardship. "Well," say some, "how does this order you are talking about introducing agree with that? Where does the stewardship come in?" I will tell you. We have organized this as near as may be on the principles of co-operation, and the voice you have in selecting your officers, and in voting for them and the stock you hold in these institutions is your stewardship. You may say—"Is not that taking away our freedom?" I do not think it is. I am not prepared to enter into details, but I should say that one-third, perhaps one-half, of the wealth of the world is manipulated just in the same way. How so? Why, there are among the nations national securities of various kinds issued, which are taken by the people; we have United States bonds, State bonds, county and city bonds in this country as well as in Europe, to which the people subscribe and in which they have an interest, all of which is voluntary, and the free act of the people; then we have railroad bonds, steamship bonds, and we have telegraph, mercantile, manufacturing and cooperative associations, which are represented by those who hold stock therein, and there are hundreds and thousands of millions of dollars throughout the world that are operated in this way by financiers, statesmen, men of intelligence—merchants, capitalists and others, in every grade and condition in life, none of whom consider that there is any coercion associated with it. These men all have their free agency.

      What is the modus operandi? For illustration,—a company is organized, men subscribe stock into that company, or they purchase bonds perhaps from a government, for which that government pays interest; or, if it is in a company, that company manipulates and arranges matters, not the stockholders individually, they never think of it; they select the officers to do these things for them, and all they have to do with it is to vote in these officers, each person voting according to the amount of stock he holds in the institution. And then they draw their dividends at certain specified times. This is the way, I presume, that one half or perhaps three quarters of the wealth of the civilized world is manipulated to-day.

      Well, is freedom taken from these men? Are the men engaged in these operations thieves and robbers? Some of them act very fraudulently it is true, and the amount of defalcation and fraud in our country, of late, is painful to reflect upon; but then, they consider they have a perfect right to buy or to sell any of this stock, and if parties enter into institutions of any kind, mercantile or manufacturing, they must be subject to the rules or laws thereof. But the stockholders do not individually operate these institutions, and what I wanted to say is, that herein we, as they, have our stewardship and freedom of action.

      Well, but you want to manipulate men's time as well? Yes. Will they have a vote? They ought to have, and will have if the law will let them; the great trouble is that the law will not allow us to do everything we would like; but whenever we can get at it we shall vote on all these things as you have voted here to-day. But we have to evade these things a little now, because the law will not allow us to do otherwise.

      Now then, there is another feature connected with this matter. You know that, in this order it is not all putting in, there is some taking out, and that is a point I want to get at; it would be a very nice and beautiful thing if we could carry it out. If, as described in the revelation, we could have a general treasury from which we could all draw what we needed, and then return it, together with our tens, fifties, hundreds and thousands, and all act as one family for the general interest of all, it would be a very beautiful thing; but everybody is not so honest, pure and upright as this state of things demands. If we had a general treasury some would be very willing to go the treasurer and request so much to enable them, as they would represent, "to carry out their stewardship," and he would have to hand it out to them according to the provisions made in the Doctrine and Covenants; but that would in all probability be the last of it with many. Would you business men like to have a system like that in the United Order? You say you would like this order carried out as it is laid down in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, but I say you would not. Would you like every man, simply because he was a member of the Order, to have power to go to the treasurer and draw out what he thought proper, and use it just according to his fancy? No, you would not, you could not and would not trust your neighbors as far as that, for all men are not capable and all men are not honest and conscientious; if they were we should be nearly ready to be caught up; but we have not reached that point yet, and consequently we have to do the best we can.

      Now I will tell you my opinion. I am living in the 14th Ward; we, in that ward, have selected a number of men for our directors, and I would just as soon trust these men with the management of my property as to manage it myself. I do not believe that every man is a thief, scallywag and rascal. I have no such idea. I think there is a great deal of honesty, truthfulness and integrity, and if there is not it is time we turned over a new leaf, and introduced better principles, that we may be governed by purer, nobler laws.

      I cannot conceive of anything more beautiful and heavenly than a united brotherhood, organized after the pattern laid down in the Doctrine and Covenants; when all act for the benefit of all—when while we love God with all our hearts we love our neighbor as ourselves; where our time, our property, our talents, our mental and bodily powers, are all exerted for the good of all; where no man grabs or takes advantage of another; where there is a common interest, a common purse, a common stock; where as they did on this continent, it is said of them that "they all dealt justly to each other," and all acted for the general weal, "when every man in every place could meet a brother and a friend," when all the generous and benevolent influences and sympathies of our nature are carried out, and covetousness, arrogance, hatred and pride and every evil are subdued, and brought into subjection to the will and Spirit of God. These principles are very beautiful and would be very happifying for a community, a Territory, a State, nation or the world.

      Now, then, these things are presented before us, and I suppose we shall have to come into them as best we can, and if we ever get into the celestial kingdom of God we shall find that they are just such a set of people. If ever we build up a Zion here on this continent, and in case Zion ever comes down to us, and we expect it will, or that ours will go up to meet it, we have got to be governed by the same principles that they are governed by, or we can not he one; and if we ever get into the eternal worlds we shall have to be heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ; and it would not do for a man of us to go up into heaven and say—"Look here, Jesus," or, "Look here, some of you great men who manage matters here, I wish you would set me off a place by myself, I would like to have my own house and garden and my own farming arrangements separate to myself, so that I could manage things a little in my own way as I used to, in the place I come from." "Well," says the individual addressed—"I do not see things exactly in that way. We brought you up here, believing you were a pretty decent fellow; but you have got to conform to our rules. These things are all ours, we are heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. This is a joint association, we are united together in the one thing, and we are all one, and if you want to go off by yourself you will have to leave here." That would be just about the position of things, this is the order that exists there—they are heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. This is the position we have to attain to, and to do this there will have to be less individuality of feeling than there is now, and we must seek to introduce and establish the principles of the kingdom of God upon the earth. We are not for ourselves; but for the kingdom of God. God called us not to do our own will, but his, and we are operating to prepare ourselves and our children and all who will be governed by the principles of truth for a celestial and eternal glory in the kingdom of our God.

      "Well, then," says one, "you believe in these things?" I do most assuredly. "Do you believe in the authorities?" Yes, I think I do,—I have voted for them for a great many years, and by the help of God I mean to sustain them still. That is my feeling. Brethren, is it yours? Shall we sustain the Elders of Israel, the Presidency and the authorities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? Shall we do it, ye Latter-day Saints? (The congregation answered, "Yes!") All who feel like it, say ("Aye," by the congregation). Now let us go and carry it out. Amen.

 

            Conference was adjourned till Sunday morning at 10 o'clock.

            the choir sang --

I will sing of the mercies of the Lord.

            Benediction by Elder JNO. SHARP.

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[11 Oct, 10 am]

[DNW 23:585, 10/14/74, p 9]

FIFTH DAY.

_____

SUNDAY MORNING, Oct. 11.

            The choir sang --

Mortals awake, with angels join,
And chant the solemn lay.

            Prayer by Bishop THOS. CALLISTER.

            The choir sang --

With joy we own thy servants, Lord,
Thy ministers below.

ELDER ORSON PRATT

Spoke upon the 9th to 14th verses of the 7th chapter of Daniel, also St. John's Revelation, 20th chapter.

            All bible believers were looking forward to the time when mankind would appear before God for judgment, and it would appear that the deeds of the human family are recorded and kept in books, but how many, and in what way these records were kept behind the vail was not known. We read in the Book of Mormon, which was just as sacred as the Bible, that Jesus said, about eighteen hundred years ago, that the Father kept an account of all the deeds of the children of men. One saying declared that the Saints should judge the world. Another said that the twelve apostles should judge the tribes of Israel. Another quorum was also spoken of in the book of Mormon, as acting as judges, so it appeared there was quite a number of quorums selected to sit as judges under the inspiration of the Almighty, when the final judgment took place, and which must be done in equity and righteousness.

            In another passage we were told that there were certain angels who would have judgment passed upon them by the saints of God. Every thought, word or deed would be subjected to judgment, and judges appointed for different ages of the world, so that judgment might be passed in a reasonably short space of time.

            He then referred to a time of judgment prior to the resurrection where the wicked would be cast out into outer darkness, and the righteous would go into Paradise. Those angels who kept not their first estate, who fell from the presence of the Almighty, were reserved until the final judgment of the great day, when the Saints, endowed with the authority of the Holy priesthood, would sit in judgment upon them, and assign to them their final doom.

            He then spoke of the Ancient of Days before whose presence stood ten thousand times ten thousand, making one hundred million. He would come as a great judge in flaming fire, to set in order the entire range of the priesthood, from the earliest to the latest period of time. This ancient personage was no other, according to the great modern Prophet, Joseph, than our Father Adam, and he delivered up the kingdom and the greatness of the kingdom to Jesus Christ and the place where this great conference would be held would be Adam-ondi-ahman, being about fifty or sixty miles north of Jackson county, Missouri, where Adam rose up and gave his final blessing upon his posterity, and they in turn blessed him. On that very spot was where the Ancient of Days would sit enthroned in power and glory and before him ten thousand times ten thousand would stand and minister unto him, and all the former-day Saints and latter-day Saints would receive their appropriate places according to the priesthood they held and honored in their probation. He also referred to the benefits and blessings that would accrue to those who had been duly and legitimately married according to the celestial order of marriage, and contrasted the disappointment of those who had only been joined together by a justice of the peace.

[Orson Pratt]

[DNW 24:4, 2/3/75, p 4; JD 17:181]

DISCOURSE

BY ELDER ORSON PRATT, DELIVERED

At the Adjourned Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning, October 11th, 1874.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      [The speakest took as a foundation for his remarks the 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th verses of the 7th chapter of the prophecies of Daniel, and the 20th chapter of the revelations of St. John.]

      All Bible believers are looking forward to the time when the inhabitants of this creation shall be brought into judgment, and be judged out of the books which are written, every man according to his works. We should rather conclude from these sayings in Daniel and in the revelations of St. John, that there is a record, or perhaps many records, kept of the works of men—their deeds done in this probation. How these records are kept in heaven is not for me to say; what language they are recorded in, or what are the symbols of the ideas of the heavenly hosts who are engaged in recording, how many records there are, etc., is not known to us; but from what is written, we can form some conclusions in relation to this matter, for we are told in the sayings of Jesus, in the New Testament, that for every idle word and every idle thought men shall give an account in the great judgment day. Hence these worths and thoughts must be had in remembrance either in books, or impressed upon the minds of beings who are capable of retaining all things in their remembrance. There must be some way by which the idle words and thoughts of the children of men shall be kept in remembrance, and if the dead are to be judged out of the books that are to be opened, we should naturally draw the conclusion that they are memorandum books of the idle words and thoughts of the children of men.

      We also read in the Book of Mormon—a record which all Latter-day Saints profess to believe in, and consider equally sacred with the rest of the word of God that is recorded in the Bible and elsewhere—the sayings of Jesus, that were spoken on this continent some eighteen hundred years ago. Jesus says—"All things are written by the Father." I suppose by his agents, that is through his direction, by his authority. "All things are written by the Father." Taking all these passages of Scripture together, we may look for a general reckoning with all the inhabitants of this earth, both the righteous and the wicked. How long this day, called the day of judgment, will be, is not revealed. It may be vastly longer than what many suppose. It seems to me that unless there were a great number engaged in judging the dead, it would require a very long period of time; for, for one being to personally investigate all the idle thoughts and words of the children of men from the days of Adam down until that time, it would require a great many millions of years, and therefore I come to another conclusion, namely, that God has his agents, and that through those agents the dead will be judged.

      This reminds me of what was said by the Apostle Paul when reproving the ancient Christians for going to law one with another. He tries to shame them out of this evil practice by referring them to the lowest esteemed among them that were called Saints. Says he, in substance—"Let them be your judges, it is not necessary for you to go to the highest authorities, but lot even those who are least among you become judges in regard to many of these things that you now take before unbelievers, and for which you require a judgment from those who have nothing to do with the Saints of God," or rather with the Gospel in which they believed. And, in connection with these sayings, he asks this question—"Know ye not that the Saints shall judge the world?"

      This reminds me of some sayings that are recorded in the Book of Mormon, as also of others contained in the Bible. Jesus said to his twelve disciples or Apostles—"You that have followed me in the regeneration, when the Son of Man shall come sitting upon the throne of his glory, then you shall also sit upon twelve thrones, and shall eat and drink in my presence, and shall judge the twelve tribes of Israel." It seems, then, that there are certain personages to be engaged in judging the world. The Twelve Apostles are to judge the twelve tribes of Israel, and the Saints will be set to judge the world.

      The Book of Mormon, speaking on this same subject, informs us that there were Twelve chosen among the ancient Nephites on this American land, and that, while the Twelve chosen by Jesus on the continent of Asia were to judge the twelve tribes of Israel, the Twelve chosen from among the Nephites should judge the remnant of the house of Israel that dwelt on this land.

      Here, then, is another quorum of judgment, another council that is appointed to judge, and so we might continue the subject and bring in all the councils that God has ordained in any generation of those whom he has appointed and selected, and ordained with power and authority from on high. To them was granted not only the privilege of acting here in relation to the ordinances of mercy, but hereafter in relation to the ordinances of justice; hence both justice and mercy were committed, in some measure, into the bands of those who were ordained of the Lord. But in these respects there is one thing to console the Saints of all ages, as well as to console the whole world, and that is, that when the final time shall come to judge the children of men, whoever the agents may be who shall sit in judgment upon their several cases, they will do it by the inspiration of the Almighty, and hence it will be done right.

      This reminds me of what Jesus said to the Twelve who Were chosen among the Israelites on this continent, eighteen hundred years ago. Said he—"Know ye not that ye shall be judges of this people? What manner of persons, therefore, ought ye to be, in all holiness, and purity and uprightness in heart, if you are to judge this great nation? In other words—"If you are to sit in judgment upon all of their deeds done in the body, and to render a righteous decision before the Almighty, how pure, holy, upright and honest you twelve disciples ought to be in order to become judges indeed of the people, that in judging them you may not condemn yourselves."

      Having quoted these passages, which give us a little understanding of the purposes of the Almighty in regard to judging the world, I will now quote another passage of Scripture that has a bearing in some measure upon this subject, showing that it was a Principle understood by the ancient Saints of God, and that the eternal judgment that was to be administered by the Saints at some future time was numbered among the first principles of the doctrine of Christ. It was not one of those hidden mysteries, one of those secret things, one of those wonders that were to be searched out by the faithful, but that it was a doctrine numbered among the first principles of the oracles of God. I will now, leaving the principles of the doctrines of Christ according to King James' translation, quote from another translation which I have seen, and which I believe to be more correct. The passage to which I will direct your attention reads—"Therefore, not leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, of faith towards God and of the doctrine of baptisms, and of the laying on of hands, and of the resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment."

      These principles of the doctrine of Christ were thoroughly understood by the faithful ones who lived eighteen hundred years ago. They understood that the day would come when God would set them, not only to judge the world, but to judge angels. Some angels have got yet to be judged, and the Saints will be the agents to perform this great work and render the decision of judgment. Jesus said to the Twelve among the ancient Nephites—"Know ye this, that your judgment"—speaking of their judging the Nephite nation—"shall be that judgement which the Father shall give unto you;" in other words—"You shall not judge by your own natural wisdom; you shall not judge according to the outward appearance; but it shall be that judgment which the Father shall give unto you." Now, the Lord judges mankind according to the law and the testimony. The revealed law is delivered to the people, and those to whom it is revealed will be judged by that law, hence Jesus says—"My words shall judge you at the last day." It is not the tradition of the children of men that is going to judge the world, that is not the law. The traditions of the children of men are one thing, and the law is another thing; popular ideas are one thing and the law of God is another thing. We are not to be judged by the creeds, doctrines, disciplines and articles of faith invented by uninspired men, but by the pure law of God as it issued forth from his own mouth and by the mouths of his ancient Prophets and Apostles. The testimonies will be forthcoming, one of which will be the record, the books that are written. Every idle word that is spoken, every idle thought that has ever entered into the hearts of man will be written and brought up, and out of theft record of our conduct—our thoughts, words and deeds—will we be judged.

      Now, if there is to be a vast number of individuals engaged in the work of judgment, it may be a speedy work; for let all mankind be classified—a certain portion delivered over to the Apostles of ancient days, another portion to the Twelve chosen from among the ancient Nephites, another portion delivered over to the Saints who lived in the first ages of the world, another portion to the Saints who lived after the flood, and another portion to the Latter-day Saints, and let all be engaged in this work of judging the human family and the work can speedily be accomplished. It may require years, and it may be accomplished, perhaps, in less than one year, that is a matter that we cannot decide upon now. There is to be, however, a prior judgment to the final judgment day, and we will speak upon that awhile.

      There is a certain degree of judgment rendered upon every man and every woman as soon as they have passed the ordeals of this present probation. When they lay their bodies down their spirits return into the presence of God, when a decree of judgment and sentence is immediately passed. Hence we read in the Book of Mormon, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they depart from this mortal body, return home again to that God who gave them life, and then shall it come to pass that the spirits of the righteous shall enter into a state of rest, peace and happiness, called Paradise, where they shall rest from all their labors. And then shall it come to pass that the spirits of the wicked—for behold they have no part or portion of the spirit of the Lord—shall depart into outer darkness, where there is weeping, and wailing and gnashing of teeth; and in these two states or conditions the children of men shall be placed until the time of the resurrection.

      Then again there will be a judgment after the resurrection, that will not be the final judgment, that is the judgment of the twelve tribes of Israel, spoken of by our Savior, which will take place when he and the Twelve return again to the earth. That judgment will be exercised more directly on the whole house of Israel that have loved the Lord and kept his commandments.

      Here then are the various times of judgment, the various conditions and circumstances of the children of men in the spiritual state, judged before the resurrection, assigned to happiness or misery as the case may be, and in the judgment of the first resurrection certain rewards, glory, power, exaltation, happiness and eternal life will be conferred upon the righteous. But another sentence of judgment will be pronounced upon those who are not favored with coming forth on the morning of the first resurrection, namely, those who have disobeyed the Gospel. To all such the voice of the angel will be—"Let sinners stay and sleep until I call again," their sins having been sufficiently judged beforehand, that they are not counted worthy of a resurrection among the just and the righteous ones of the earth. This agrees with another passage recorded in the Book of Covenants, that at the sound of the third trump then come the spirits of men that are under condemnation. These are the rest of the dead, and they live not again until the thousand years are ended, neither again until the end of the earth. Why? Because a certain measure of judgment is pronounced upon them even then. Now then let us go to the angels which the Saints are to judge. We find that the angels who kept not their first estate are reserved in chains of darkness until the judgment of the great day. Those angels that fell from before the presence of God were judged in a measure upon their fall, and were cast out to wander to and fro upon the face of this earth, bound as it were with chains of darkness, misery and wretchedness, and this condition is to continue during the whole of the temporal existence of this earth, until the final judgment of the great day, when the Saints, in the authority and power of the Priesthood which God Almighty hast conferred upon them, will arise and judge these fallen angels, and they will receive the condemnation of which they are worthy.

      Having made these few preliminary remarks in regard to the judgment of the children of men, let us now refer again to the passage contained in the seventh chapter of Daniel.—Says that ancient Prophet—"I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool; his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him; thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set and the books were opened."

      How many are ten thousand times ten thousand. One hundred millions. That would be a larger congregation than you or I ever saw, and larger, probably, than any congregation that has ever been collected together upon this earth at any one time. They would occupy a vast region of country, even for a foothold. A hundred million people stood before this personage—the Ancient of days. Who was this personage called the Ancient of days? We are told by the Prophet Joseph Smith—the great Prophet of the last days, whom God raised up by his own voice and by the ministration of angels to introduce the great and last dispensation of the fullness of times—the last dispensation on the earth so far as the proclamation of mercy is concerned; I say we are told by this Prophet that the Ancient of days is the most ancient personage that ever had an existence in days here on the earth. And who was he? Why, of course, old father Adam, he was the most ancient man that ever lived in days that we have any knowledge of. He comes, then, as a great judge, to assemble this innumerable host of which Daniel speaks. He comes in flaming fire. The glory and blessing and greatness of this personage it would be impossible even for a man as great as Daniel fully to describe. He comes as a man inspired from the eternal throne of Jehovah himself. He comes to set in order the councils of the Priesthood pertaining to all dispensations, to arrange the Priesthood and the councils of the Saints of all former dispensations in one grand family and household.

      What is all this for? Why all this arangement? Why all this organization? Why all this judgment and the opening of the books? It is to prepare the way for another august personage whom Daniel saw coming with the clouds of heaven, namely the Son of Man, and these clouds of heaven brought the Son of Man near before the Ancient of days. And when the Son of Man came to the Ancient of days, behold a kingdom was given to the Son of Man, and greatness and glory, that all people, nations and languages should serve him, and his kingdom should be an everlasting kingdom, a kingdom that should never be done away.

      This explains the reason why our father Adam comes as the Ancient of days with all these numerous hosts, and organizes them according to the records of the book, every man in his place, preparatory to the coming of the Son of Man to receive the kingdom. Then every family that is in the order of the Priesthood, and every man and every woman, and every son or daughter whatever their kindred, descent or Priesthood, will know their place.

      Where will this great conference eke place? The Lord has revealed this also. The Lord did not raise up this boy, Joseph, for nothing, or merely to reveal a few of the first principles of the Gospel of Christ; but he raised him up to reveal the hidden mysterious things, the wonders of the eternal worlds, the wonders of the dispensation of the fullness of times, those wonders that took place before the foundation of the world; and all things, so far as it was wisdom in God, were unfolded by this personage called by his enemies "Old Joe Smith," who was about fourteen years old when the Lord raised him up. I say that he, by the power of the Holy Ghost, and the spirit of revelation, revealed the very place where this great assemblage of ten thousand times ten thousand of the righteous shall be gathered together when the books are opened. It will be on one of the last places of residence of our father Adam here on the earth, and it is called by revelation Adam-ondi-ahman, which, being interpreted, means the valley of God where Adam dwelt, the words belonging to the language which was Spoken by the children of men before the confusion took place at Babel. In that valley Adam called together Seth, Enos, Cainan, Mahalaleel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah and all the high Priests and righteous of his descendants for some seven or eight generations. Three years before his death he there stood up, being bowed with age, and preached to that vast assembly of people, and pronounced upon them his great and last patriarchal blessing, and they rose up by the authority and power and revelation of the holy Priesthood which they held, and pronounced their blessing upon their great common progenitor Adam, and he was called the Prince of Peace, and the Father of many nations, and it was said that he should stand at the head of and rule over his people of all generations, notwithstanding he was so aged. That was the blessing pronounced, three years before his death, upon the great head, Patriarch and Prophet of this creation, the man whom God choose to begin the works of this creation, in other words to begin the peopling of this earth.

      Where was that valley in which that grand patriarchal gathering was held? It was about fifty, sixty or seventy miles north of Jackson County, Missouri, where the Zion of the latter days will be built. Where the garden of Eden was is not fully revealed; where Adam eat the forbidden fruit is not revealed so far as I know, that is, the particular location on the earth, no revelation informs us where he passed the first few centuries of his life; but suffice it to say that, when Adam was about six or seven hundred years old there was a great gathering of the people Enoch, the seventh from Adam, who lived contemporary with his old ancestor, and others who were called by him, went forth and gathered out the righteous from all the nations, and as there was no Atlantic Ocean in those days rolling between the eastern and western continents, they could gather together by land from Asia, Africa and Europe. In those days the earth was not divided as it was after the flood, in the days of Peleg. In that gathering many came from the ends of the earth. Adam might have been among the emigrating companies, if not, then, he most probably had his residence at that central place of gathering. Let this he as it may, it is not revealed. There is a place, however, where this great Conference took place in ancient times, where the Lord revealed himself to that vast assembly, and stood in their midst, and instructed them with his own mouth, and they saw his face. There is the place where it was ordained that Adam should have the power, as the Ancient of Days, after a certain period and dispensations had rolled away, to come in his glory accompanied by the ancient Saints, the generations that should live after him and should take up their abode upon that land where they received their last blessing, there in the valley of Adam-ondi-ahman.

      This man, will sit upon his throne, and ten thousand times ten thousand immortal beings—his children—will stand before him, with all their different grades of Priesthood, according to the order which God has appointed and ordained. Then every quorum of the Priesthood in this Latter-day Saint Church will find its place, and never until then. If we go behind the vail we will not see this perfect organization of the Saints of all generations until that period shall arrive. That will be before Jesus comes in his glory. Then we will find that there is a place for the First Presidency of this Church; for the Twelve Apostles called in this dispensation; for the twelve disciples that were called among the remnants of Joseph on this land in ancient times; for the Twelve that were called among the ten tribes of Israel in the north country; for the Twelve that were called in Palestine, who administered in the presence of our Savior; all the various quorums and councils of the Priesthood in every dispensation that has transpired since the days of Adam until the present time will find their places, according to the callings, gifts, blessings, ordinations and keys of Priesthood which the Lord Almighty has conferred upon them in their several generations. This, then, will be one of the grandest meetings that has ever transpired upon the face of our globe. What manner of persons ought you and I, my brethren and sisters, and all the people of God in the latter days to be, that we may be counted worthy to participate in the august assemblies that are to come from the eternal worlds, whose bodies have burst the tomb and come forth immortalized and eternal in their nature.

      It will be found then who it is who have received ordinances by divine authority, and who have received ordinances by the precepts and authority of men. It will then be known who have been joined together in celestial marriage by divine authority, and who by wicked counsels, and by justices of the peace who did not believe in God at the time that they did it, or those who have been married merely until death shall part them. it will then be known that those who have received the ordinances of marriage according to divine appointment are married for all eternity; it will then be known that their children are the legal heirs to the inheritances, and glories, and powers, and keys and Priesthood of their fathers, throughout the eternal generations that are to come; and every man will have his family gathered around him which have been given unto him by the sealing of the everlasting Priesthood, and the order and law which God has ordained, and none other. Amen.

 

ELDER C. C. RICH

Was much pleased and instructed with what he had listened to during the Conference, and especially during that morning.

            We were engaged in a great and glorious work, and could accomplish a work, not only for ourselves, but for those who had passed behind the vail, and should any of us neglect the labor binding on us we should certainly feel under condemnation when we met them behind the vail. We should also remember that the priesthood upon the earth had a right to direct us in our temporal as well as spiritual labor, and the more closely we adhered to their counsels the better it would be for us, for we could look forward with satisfaction, and without fear, to the day of judgment, about which we had heard so much this morning.

            Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, so was Prest. B. young and the Gospel that each of them taught, was nothing but the gospel of Jesus Christ. As we applied the principles of that Gospel in our lives, they would save us from every evil. This was exactly what we needed, viz., a present as well as eternal salvation, and if each one were actuated and governed by those principles the millennium would certainly have commenced. But trials being essential to our growth, let us humbly strive to overcome them, and be worthy of that exaltation and blessing that had been so encouragingly presented before us this morning.

[Charles C. Rich]

[DNW 24:20, 2/10/75, p 4; JD 17:169]

REMARKS

BY ELDER CHARLES C. RICH, DELIVERED

At the Adjourned Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday, October 11th, 1874.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      I have rejoiced in listening to the instructions that we have received this morning, as well as during the whole of this Conference. It seems to me that they ought to make an everlasting impression upon the minds of the Saints, and that we, one and all, should be determined, under the influence thereof, to live more faithfully, and to keep the commandments of God as near as possible in all things; and I have no doubt that this is the feeling, at the present time, of most of those who have attended this Conference. It is for us to guard against temptation that may be presented before us, and, when we leave this place, that we suffer not ourselves to do or to say anything that is wrong, but be willing, with an eye single to the glory of God, to carry out the counsels of his servants, and to perform all the labors required at our hands in aiding to advance his cause and to build up his kingdom upon the earth, that we may prepare ourselves for that which is to come both on the earth and in the eternal worlds. I know very well that there is no being upon the earth who is thus engaged, but what feels well; all such rejoice in their labors, and the Spirit and power of God will rest upon the Saints when they take this course and adopt this policy.

      We have been permitted to live in one of the most auspicious times or dispensations that, has ever been ushered in upon the earth—the dispensation of the gathering together of all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth. We may feel our weakness and inability, but it it not our strength or wisdom that is to bring about the triumph of the purposes of God upon the earth, we are simply co-workers with our heavenly Father, and his power will bear off his Saints in the future as it has done in the past and up to the present time. It is upon his arm that we have to lean, and in him we must put our trust. When has there been a time when the Saints have trusted in God and been disappointed? Never; inasmuch as we have done our part, the Almighty has never failed to do his and fulfill his promises. We have the power to carry on this work and to perfect ourselves, and also to perform a labor for our benefit and for the benefit of our friends who lived before us, who did not, have such an opportunity as we have. This should be impressed upon our minds, and we should not suffer ourselves to neglect any duty that is incumbent upon us, whether for our benefit or for the benefit of those who have lived before us. When we pass behind the vail and meet with our friends, if we can tell them that, while we were in the flesh, we attended to and performed certain ordinances and ceremonies in their behalf which they, while here, had not the privilege of attending to and performing for themselves, and which they had not power to accomplish in the spirit world, it, certainly will be a matter of rejoicing to us and also to them; but if, on meeting them there, we have to admit that we neglected to do that for their benefit which it had been in our power to attend to, we shall not feel pleasant, and our friends will most assuredly be disappointed.

      In speaking of the Temples now in course of erection in which to perform the ordinances for the dead, our hearts ought to he inspired with determinations to do all we can to push them forward to completion, that, in our day, while we yet live in the flesh, we may have the privilege of doing a work therein for our dead friends as well as for ourselves. All these things are before us, and our eyes should be single to the glory of God, and our hearts set upon building up his kingdom upon the earth, and not upon objects that do not tend in this direction. I have felt, for many years, that I was not safe in any place or upon any errand, and had no business to be engaged in any labor, no matter what it might be, unless that business, errand or labor was directed by the Priesthood; and I feel to-day that all the labors and operations of the Latter-day Saints, temporal and spiritual, ought to be organized and directed by the Priesthood which God has established to lead his people. If our labors are time directed they will tell in the right direction—for the upbuilding of the kingdom of God, and not for the promotion of evil upon the earth. This is a thing against which we should be continually on our guard. Human nature is weak, and many people when brought in contact with evil influences are liable to be led away, they are in danger, and the best, the safest policy is to keep away from dangerous ground and beyond the range of evil, and we should not associate with those whose influence is evil.

      Our lives are made up of small items, of labors performed a little at a time. If our acts are good, if our words are such that the righteous can approve of them, we need not fear when they are summed up and judgment rendered, for our lives having been spent in the performance of good deeds, it will be all right With us, and if we have this consciousness we can rejoice wherever we are. I can bear testimony that I have never been disappointed when I have been engaged in the work of the Lord, and in carrying out the counsels of his servants unto me. I can bear testimony that this is the work of God, and that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, that Brigham Young is a Prophet of God, and that the Gospel which they have preached to the Latter-day Saints is the Gospel of the Son of God; and inasmuch as we live according to its precepts we shall be delivered from evil. Salvation is revealed in the Gospel, and that salvation commenced to be received by us when we obeyed it. We can be freed from our sins when we learn and obey the truth, for in the Gospel there is deliverance from rain if we will but apply its principles to our lives. When we find a difficulty in the midst of the people, it is simply because some one or more have done that which they ought not to have done, and had they applied the principles of the Gospel applicable to that particular case, the difficulty might have been avoided. When we practice the principles of this Gospel to perfection, we shall be delivered from evil, whether in this world or in the world to come. For instance, if no murders are committed, none of the evils will be experienced which grow out of that crime; if the people generally would cease lying, the evils now resulting because of the great prevalence of falsehood in the world would be unknown. And so we might enumerate all of the evils that are committed by the human family and say that, if the principles of the Gospel of Christ were universally observed, the evils of every kind now so abundant in all parts of the world would be known no more. Then it is for us, to whom this Gospel has been revealed, to learn what is right, and to be faithful in practicing it, and the more faithful we are in applying ourselves to this important duty, the more speedily will evil disappear from amongst us, and the salvation promised by the Gospel be by us enjoyed, and that is precisely what we want—a present as well as an eternal salvation by an application of the principles of the Gospel to our daily lives.

      If this course were pursued by mankind generally, it would soon bring about a millennium, or that still more happy time spoken of by the Prophets, when the knowledge of God shall cover the earth as the waters cover the great deep, and when men all the world over are friends and brothers. This is the direction in which the practice of the principles of the Gospel leads us, and a continued and close attention thereto will enable us to overcome every imperfection. At the same time our heavenly Father is disposed to try those Who profess to have taken upon them the name of Christ, and, in fact, he is trying us continually in order to prove whether we will serve him in all things. If an evil is presented before us, we must either receive or reject it. If we reject it we have overcome; if we accept it, we are overcome of evil. And we may say that we have continually a trial before us, and it is for us to be on our guard that we enter not into temptation, and that we are not overcome, no matter in what guise or how temptingly evil may present itself to us. We need to be valiant before the Lord, valiant in testimony, valiant in keeping his commandments, valiant in rejecting every evil principle and practice that may be presented before us; and if this is our course, and we continue therein, the time will come when we will he counted worthy of an inheritance and exaltation among the sanctified in the presence of our Father.

      I feel to rejoice in the principles of the Gospel that the Lord has revealed to us, and that, many years ago I had the privilege of hearing and obeying them. I can say that, from that time until the present, I have never had the first moment's sorrow because of anything that I have been called to pass through in connection with the Gospel, and I hope I never shall. My experience in this cause and kingdom has been a source of continual rejoicing, and I believe it will be so to the end. I trust brethren and sisters that this is also your experience, and that you and I may continue faithful to the end, that we may be counted worthy of the privilege of mingling with that great company of the sanctified and just whom we have heard spoken of this morning, and that with them we may receive a crown of glory and immortality. This is my prayer in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.

 

ELDER A. CARRINGTON

had been much interested in the remarks made during the Conference. He had been led to ask himself this question what was crime? Simply the violation of law, whether human or divine, which law should be based upon justice and righteousness. All human laws, being necessarily tainted with more or less imperfection, would sooner or later be superseded by the perfect laws of the Kingdom of God.

            He then commented on the merits and value of the original constitution of our country, and that we as a people most rigidly observed and lived up to the principles of which it was composed, but the public administrators of law at the present time, filling the most responsible places of trust under the government, were corrupt, and they wilfully infringed upon the principles of the constitution.

[Albert Carrington]

[DNW 224:20, 2//10/75, p 4; JD 17:165]

REMARKS

BY ELDER ALBERT CARRINGTON, DELIVERED

At the Adjourned Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday, October 11th, 1874

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      I have been much interested during our meetings in this Conference, and, with you, I measurably realize the benefits to be derived in thus assembling together. In my reflections in reference to some remarks that have been made I have been led to ask myself—What is crime? Simply a transgression of the law, human or divine. What is law? It is, or should be, a rule of order founded in justice, for the benefit of those to whom it may apply. Now, so far as we are concerned in regard to law, we are under divine law, the Gospel, the grand plan of salvation—a law that is perfect, plain and simple as well as just, and applicable to the whole human family at all times, and in this we should rejoice. But we are also under human laws as well, we pertain to a number of what are termed human governments, subject, in a greater or less degree, to man-made institutions, and are they perfect? No, each and every one of them, notwithstanding the intelligence possessed by mankind, and their centuries of experience, contain the seeds of their own dissolution, and, in the providence of God, they are all destined, in their times and in their seasons, to be superseded by the government and kingdom of God upon the earth—a fact at which every human being should rejoice. But do they? Does even that portion of the world termed Christian rejoice in the ushering in of the kingdom of God upon the earth? I am sorry to say, and chagrined for humanity at being compelled to say, that all Christendom, almost to a unit, perhaps as much a unit on that subject as upon any one thing, although they have the Bible in their hands, are opposed to the establishment of the government of God upon the earth. What folly, absurdity and inconsistency on the part of so-called Christendom to oppose that which was devised in the wisdom of the Gods in the eternal worlds and which, in its very nature and constitution, is calculated to benefit and to promote, to the utmost possible degree, the welfare of mankind in all their relations!

      What about the government under which we live? Why, it is one of the very best, as to its form, that the human family have ever devised. It was founded by excellent, honorable, upright, liberal and high-minded men who, in framing the constitution, were measurably inspired by that Holy Spirit which our Father in the heavens bestows upon whom he will. That is the view that we, as Latter-day Saints, have in regard to the fundamental or basic instrument of the government of the United States termed the Constitution; and however much we may be misrepresented, maligned or lied about in regard to that matter, as a people we are loyal to that constitution to the minutest, principle therein contained. We understand that constitution its spirit as well as its letter—and, so far as it is observed, it is a very excellent instrument for the conducting of human affairs. We are a people that uphold that constitution, and we ever have done so, and take great pleasure in doing so, and so also with every constitutional law; and I am at the defiance of the wide world to truthfully controvert the statement that we, as Latter-day Saints, have ever transgressed one single particle of constitutional law, or have ever had any occasion to do so, or ever Will have in obeying the principles of the Gospel and laboring to build up and establish the kingdom of God on the earth. What do you think of that? The world will tell you that we are a terrible set, that we are disloyal, ignorant, stupid, fanatical, bigoted, deceivers and deceived, and in all these statements and as many more about the Latter-day Saints, the world will lie like the devil.

      Now, you heard me say constitutional law. Mark it well. I understand, as a general thing, somewhat of what I am saying when I speak, and I made use of the expression understandingly. The constitutional laws of this government, what are they? They are laws enacted in pursuance of the principles couched in that constitution under the authority given the Congress of our nation to enact. laws for the whole United States, and to make treaties for our government. All that is beyond that one hair's breadth is just that far usurpation, tyranny and wrong. Have we obeyed that, more or less? Oh, no doubt; we have had to do so now these many years. In the days of the stripling Joseph, when he was first called of, God to bring forth this great latter-day work that the Lord our God has set his hand to accomplish, he was assailed unconstitutionally, So far as the constitution of the State of New York was concerned, by the citizens of that State; and again, the same thing occurred in Ohio, in Missouri, and, finally, in Illinois, where, contrary to the plighted faith of the governor of the State, he was slain by a mob, because, according to their own testimony, the law could not reach him, for he had lived above it. What right, then, had they to assail or interrupt him? No right whatever.

      Now, we as a people, left the States, and I may say we left Christendom, from the simple fact that we were obliged to do so in order to live our religion. But would they let us alone after we had left the States? No. After having aided in the conquest of the very region to which we fled to avoid persecution and religious tyranny, they were not satisfied even then to leave us unmolested to worship the true and living God according to the dictates of our own consciences; but they have followed us as a nation, and are following us to this day—a professed Christian nation is trying to force upon us the tyranny and oppression of unconstitutional law, administered by officers for whose appointment there is not a scintilla of right under the constitution. What do you think of that? And we are enduring their interference with our domestic affairs with as much patience as we may. We have endured these things with considerable patience for many long years, and I trust that we shall still be able to do so, realizing that patience is one of the great requirements of our Father concerning us as his children. He desires that we should be longsuffering towards those who seek to afflict and oppress us, as he is longsuffering towards the human family in their wickedness and waywardness, and we must become like unto him in these respects if we are his; and if we expect to become perfect in our sphere as he is in his, we not only have to be patient and longsuffering, but we shall have to continue in patience and longsuffering. Will we do so? I trust so, knowing the blindness, ignorance, bigotry, superstition, and consequent intolerance of our fellow-beings; knowing also that they as well as we are answerable to the Lord our God, being careful, while leaving events in the hands of the Supreme Ruler, that our conduct, day by day, is such that it Will bear, not only the strictest examination and scrutiny of our fellow-beings, but also of our Father and his angels; realizing, also, now as anciently, that whosoever will live godly in Christ Jesus, must needs suffer persecution. Do not forget that, this is in the very nature of things, from the simple fact that, in order to constitute this a probation, wickedness has been permitted upon the earth, and hence good and evil; and wickedness is and ever has been aggressive, tyrannical, oppressive, cruel and murderous, and so it will ever continue to be. Do not forget these plain facts, and when you hear the wicked lie, and see them strive to oppress you and to deprive you of your rights do not get impatient about it and fancy that it is anything new, but remember that it has ever been so since the days of Cain, and that it will continue until wickedness is swept from this footstool of Jehovah, and not before that time can we hope to cease to be oppressed and wronged. And this is necessary to prove whether we will endure all things, as the great Captain, pattern, and exemplar of our faith and the great High Priest of our salvation endured, in his time. He was buffeted, scourged and mobbed and led like a lamb to the slaughter—a being in whom was no guile, who finally terminated his mortal career by a cruel death on the cross. He was opposed by his own when he came to call and gather them as their king and ruler. Who were his own? The tribes of Israel, and he came more particularly to that, most stubborn and stiffnecked of all the tribes—the tribe of Judah. And did the scribes and pharisees, the rabbins and lawyers, the wise, intelligent and noble hail and welcome him? No, most assuredly not; then how much less need we expect that they will hail and welcome us, his professed followers! When, instead of himself, his word, through the Prophet Joseph Smith, came to Christendom with its almost numberless free schools and its millions of bibles and legions of priests, did the people hail that word? No, they spurned it, and in every conceivable way derided him who brought it; and, as in the days of the Savior, the Priests, the pharisees and sadducees, the lawyers and scribes, the wise in their own estimation and the wealthy all banded together to keep from the children of men the word of God, which is truth, and which is the power of God unto salvation to all who will believe and obey it. Are not these facts? I know they are, though the whole world may gainsay I know that I am telling you the truth, as God lives I know it for myself.

      Now, then, with regard to these matters that we are immediately passing through—the attempted enforcement of laws that are not constitutional and, through not being constitutional, that are not valid, and consequently of no force or effect whatever, in justice, what are we going to do about it? I trust that we will endure, with all patience, whatever the Lord our God may permit the evil one and those who, through the exercise of their agency, list to serve him, to accomplish; and while enduring with all patience, that we seek, in all faithfulness and uprightness for the guidance of his Holy Spirit to lead us in the path of truth and to enable us to walk therein, and to endure meekly and patiently all things that he in his providence may see fit to place upon us, in order to prove whether we as individuals and as a people will serve him in evil as well as in good report. Is there anything bigoted or contrary to the principles of eternal truth as taught by the Savior and his Apostles in all this? No. Then why not the world turn to the Lord our God, and live? Why not, Latter-day Saints, for our own sakes, live faithfully, humbly and uprightly and in all respects honor the requirements of the Gospel, until we become powerful through good works and able to meet, with joy, the coming of the Savior, and prepared to hail with gladness the society and companionship of just men made perfect, being worthy to associate with them and to share in their blessings, and finally, be saved in the celestial kingdom of our Father? That this may be our lot is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

            Conference adjourned till 2 o'clock p.m.

            The choir sang --

O be joyful in the Lord.

            Benediction by BISHOP E. D. WOOLLEY.

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[11 Oct. 2 pm]

[DNW 23:585, 10/14/74, p 9]

SUNDAY AFTERNOON, Oct 11.

            The choir sang --

O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come.

            Prayer by Elder J. D. T. MCALLISTER.

            The choir sang --

'Twas on that dark, that solemn night
When powers of earth and hell arose.

            While the Sacrament of the Lord's supper was being administered,

PRESIDENT GEORGE A. SMITH

Addressed the Conference, said it was natural for us to call up the various works that were now immediately upon us, and would form a practical exhibition of our faith, for, as James said, faith without works was dead.

            He then read a few of the rules of the United Order, and made remarks on the same. After which he said there was a great lack of confidence among the people, but it should be restored by keeping our promises, and making good our contracts with each other.

            He strongly recommended the manufacture and use of every article of apparel that we need to wear, and especially the use of wood-bottomed shoes in damp weather, as a preventive of rheumatism. He also urged the establishment of schools in every settlement, the keeping of them clean and well seated, and the seats and desks adapted to the size and convenience of the children, also to have good teachers, and to sustain our own university.

            After this Conference, meetings would be held hereafter in the various assembly rooms of the city, at 2 o'clock p.m., instead of in this tabernacle. Sunday Schools would be held in the morning, at which he hoped there would be a good attendance of children and teachers. Let parents see that the children are got ready in good time, clean and tidy, and let the bishops render every accommodation throughout the Territory to the Sunday schools, so as to have them held at the most convenient time for the children.

            He hoped the brethren would better sustain our own publications, instead of spending our means for the lying trash that was sown broadcast throughout the community.

            He then spoke of the progress of the two temples now under erection. Much had been done and more remained to be done. He strongly urged the prompt payment of the fifty cents cash donation, called for towards the erection of Temples.

            He then rehearsed the labors of Prest. B. Young for many years past, especially since he accompanied the Twelve to the old country as missionaries, when the Gospel was first preached. Since then he had inaugurated the P. E. fund, or system of emigration as to bring out 40,000 people from that country, to this the free land of America, and most of whom were now enjoying comfortable homes and in easy circumstances. Such a philanthropic result could not be attributed to any other living man besides Prest. B. Young. His life was one of incessant labor and toil for the good of the human family. He was now feeble in health and unable to speak to us on the present occasion. Let the brethren pray for him, that he might so far be restored in health and strength that his voice might soon be heard again among us.

[George A. Smith]

[DNW 23:644, 11/11/74, p 4; JD 17:251]

DISCOURSE

BY PRESIDENT GEORGE A. SMITH, DELIVERED

At the Adjourned Semi-Annual Conference, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning [Afternoon], October 11, 1874.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS

_____

      This being the closing day of the Conference, and as we are administering the sacrament, we naturally call our minds up in a way of discipline for ourselves, on various subjects which pertain to our every-day life. The Apostle James tells us that "faith without works is dead, being alone," and good works are certainly the best illustrations of that faith which prompts us.

      As our brethren will soon scatter through the different wards and settlements of the Territory, and to other parts of the world, we wish them to carry forth just and wise impressions in relation to the simple principles of faith and practice which pertain to the holy Gospel, and to disseminate the instructions they have received, that all may be benefited thereby. When we come here and take bread and drink of the cup in memory of the death and sufferings of our Savior, we witness unto him that we remember him, that we love his law, that we are determined to abide by his Gospel and that we will do all in our power to walk in the principles of faith and patience, forbearance and longsuffering, and of truth and righteousness in which we are engaged. As a short illustration, and to draw the minds of the congregation directly to the points of instruction, I am disposed to read a portion of the rules of the United Order.

      Rule one says, "We will not take the name of the Deity in vain, nor speak lightly of his character or of sacred things." I am sorry to say that many professed Latter-day Saints are careless in the observance of this rule, which every Latter-day Saint, and every person who has respect for his own character must certainly consider most wholesome and wise, and absolutely obligatory. Let us be very careful, and never indulge in profane language or use the name of the Deity except in such a manner as becomes his high and holy position and our dependence upon him for every breath we draw; and let us also inculcate in our children a respect for that chaste, discreet, upright and pure language which is becoming Saints of the Most High.

      Rule two reads—"We will pray in our families morning and evening, and also attend to secret prayer." Now brethren and sisters, remember this. Those of you, if any, who have been careless and negligent on this subject, remember how often God has heard our prayers and how dependent we are upon him for every blessing we possess and enjoy, and for the protection which has been extended unto us. While almost all the world has been ready to destroy the Latter-day Saints from off the earth, the Lord has answered our prayers and has prelected us, as it were, in the hollow of his hand. Let us not forget to call upon him morning and evening, that our families may learn, from their childhood, to observe this great and important. duty. And before we lie down to rest or rise in the morning let us lift up our hearts in secret prayer to the Most High, asking his protection and blessing in all things, that by united faith we may be able to perform the great and arduous duties which are placed upon us. And in our prayers let us remember our Bishops and Teachers and those in authority,—the President of the Church, his counselors and all those who act in the holy Priesthood that the Spirit of the Almighty may rest upon them as well as upon us, that with one heart and one mind we may have a knowlege of the things of God; and that by observing these duties of prayer and preserving ourselves in purity before the Lord, when teaching, instruction, or counsel is sent forth among the Saints, or revelation is proclaimed unto us, we may have enough of the Holy Ghost in our hearts to know, each for himself or herself, whether these things are true or not; and that when false spirits go forth and lead men astray into darkness, error and folly, we may know the true from the false, detect those who are liars, and expose them as may be necessary.

      The third rule is—"We will observe or keep the word of wisdom, according to the spirit and meaning thereof," Remember this, brethren and sisters. I hear occasionally of brethren indulging in intoxicating drinks, and I see many of them yet, even young men, who indulge in the use of tobacco, a habit which is very pernicious and injurious to health, and a violation of the word of wisdom. There are also other violations of this rule among us which should cease, for we are told in the word of wisdom that if we will observe it with all our hearts, keeping the commandments of God, we shall have faith, health and strength, marrow in our bones, and have wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, and the destroyer will pass by us and not slay us Brethren, how general it is with us when persons are sick and afflicted, or when our children are sick, to say to the Elders—"Brethren, come and lay your hands upon them," and in thousands of instances they are healed. Perhaps we are losing some of our faith. We read in the Scriptures that King Asa, whom God had heated and blessed, when he was diseased he trusted not to the Lord, but sought physicians, and King Asa died. While we recommend and approve of using every reasonsable means within our power to preserve our lives and those of our children, we do depend, first of all, upon faith in the holy Gospel, the administration of its ordinances and the fulfillment of the promises of God; and inasmuch as we observe the word of wisdom and keep the commandments of God we have faith, and we have the promises of God, upon which we can rely, and by which thousands and thousands are delivered from the afflictions which prey upon them.

      "We will treat our families with kindness and affection; and set before them an example worthy of imitation. In our families and in our intercourse with all persons we will refrain from being contentious and quarrelsome. We will cease to speak evil one of another, and cultivate a spirit of charity towards all. We consider it our first duty to keep from acting selfishly or from covetous motives, and we will seek the interests of each other and the salvation of all mankind." This is rule four, and in calling your attention to it I wish it to be remembered that it enters into our business transactions and every-day life. I have noticed in the course of many years that I have traveled and preached, being in hundreds of families—that some men were pleasant and agreeable, while others were crabbed, cross, ill-natured and surly in their disposition; the very tone of their voice would show it. This is all wrong. We should cultivate kindness, forbearance and patience in our families, and a spirit that will incline them unto us, and in all things set such an example before our children that we may be as shining lights unto them, that as they grow up imitating our examples they may become pillars of society, plants of renown and ornaments in the kingdom of God, and not be led by covetousness, dishonesty, idolatry or any corrupt motive whatever. Consider all these things, and remember this as one of the rules of the United Order which it is of special importance that we should observe.

      Rule five teaches—"We will observe personal cleanliness, preserve ourselves in all chastity, refrain from adultery, whoredom and lust, and discountenance and refrain from all vulgar and obscene language and conduct." In regard to this rule, I am sorry to say that the influx of so-called civilization and Christianity in our midst has shown its effects upon some portions of our community, and that strict and firm adherence to the principles of chastity, for which the Latter-day Saints have been remarkable ever since the organization of the Church and the gathering of the people, seems, in some instances, to be wanting. We call upon all such persons to repent and humble themselves before the Lord; and we exhort all Latter-day Saints to maintain such a high position before God that every act of their lives may be approved of him. Never let us be guilty of any word or deed that we will be ashamed of before our father, mother, brother, or sister, or before our heavenly Father. This is a principle that we should cultivate, maintain and abide by in all things; and wherever any have been foolish enough to fall or go astray, through the toils or snares that have been set for them, let them repent and humble themselves before the Lord, and let a spirit of unity, harmony, peace, stern integrity, purity and chastity abide in every heart, for if we ever inherit blessings end glory, if we ever are made partakers of the thrones, dominions, principalities, powers and endless lives which pertain to the exaltation of the kingdom of God, we shall do so by maintaining a purity like that of Joseph who was sold into Egypt.

      The sixth rule is—"We will observe the Sabbath day and keep it. holy." I regret to say that I have noticed a great many instances of laxity in the observance of this rule, and I wish the Elders and teachers in all the Branches and settlements to preach and practice the observance of the Sabbath. Brethren, work six days, and on the seventh rest and observe the Sabbath according to the revelation; and impress this principle upon the Saints everywhere by practice. I remember once I was in a hurry to come to Salt Lake City. Fillmore was then the only settlement between my place in Parowan, Iron County, and the settlements in Utah County. The Sunday was very fine; we had attended meeting and, having been a long time away from the brethren in Salt Lake City, we wanted to hurry on. I certainly thought we could travel twenty miles on Sunday evening, as well as not, so we started. I was a little conscience-stricken; I said to myself—"This is not exactly right, and I am afraid we shall not get along as well as We would to have staid until Monday morning." We drove about twenty or twenty-two miles that evening. I told the brethren to tie up the horses, but some of them got loose and went clear back, and in the morning the brethren had to go the whole distance after them. That is what we gained at the start by breaking the Sabbath; but it did not end there. The next day we broke a wagon, and then we got into a storm, and we were six days in reaching Fillmore, and it took us some twelve days to reach this city. Now, I do not believe that, as a general thing, anything is gained in property or in time by working on the Sabbath; and I advise and exhort all men professing to belong to the United Order, or to be Latter-day Saints, to observe the Sabbath; keep it holy, devote it to worship, to the study of good books, to rest, to imparting instruction, to attending meeting, and do not, under any circumstances, lapse into a habit of thinking that you can do as you please on the Sabbath, and that so doing is clear gain. We have, some day, to meet our Father in heaven, and that day is not very tar off with many of us. I meet here at this Conference quite a number with whom, forty years ago this summer, or last spring, I marched on the Zion's Camp journey—a thousand miles. That does not seem long, but we are marching steadily to our last account, and we should not let our love for self, our desire for gain, or our anxiety for pleasure so mar our path that when we come into the presence of our Father in heaven we shall be smitten with the reflection that, instead of observing the Sabbath, according to the command, we went off spreeing, or hunting, or we went looking after cattle, or getting wood, or dashing around and breaking the Sabbath time and again, for if our conscience reprove us, God is greater than our consciences, and he surely will condemn us.

      Rule seven—"That which is not committed to our care we will not appropriate to our own use." That is a very modest way of agreeing or promising that we will not steal or take that which does not belong to us. One of the ten commandments teaches—"Thou shalt not steal;" and in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants we are informed that he that steals shall be cast out and delivered to the law of the land. These things should never be forgotten by those professing to be Latter day Saints. I have noticed, in the course of my life, a great many men professing a great deal of piety, who have been very dishonest. In the neighborhood where I was raised there were men who would charge a good round price for a bushel of wheat, and then use a false measure. In that way they reared children to be dishonest. If there are fathers or teachers in Israel who indulge in this covetous practice, or who take that which does not belong to them, they set examples before their children which cause them to grow up a generation of thieves. I was once conversant with an incident illustrative of this principle. A young man was cut off from the Church for stealing. When he came home his mother upbraided him for it, "but," said he, "mother, you have yourself to thank for it. My father always told me not to steal; he commanded me not to touch a thing that did not belong to me, but you used to send me to the neighbors to steal eggs; you taught me to steal, and you are measurably responsible for my disgrace." This was rather a bitter pill for the mother, but it contains an important lesson, if we will consider it.

      "That, which we borrow we will return according to promise, and that which we find we will not appropriate to our own use, but will seek to return it to the proper owner." There is too much of a want of confidence in the midst of the Saints. When some promise they too often fail to keep their word; and those who are in business do not feel as free to trust their brethren as outsiders do. I have had brethren come to me and say—"They are not as accommodating to me as outsiders are," and I sometimes answer them by saying—"Perhaps you are not as punctual to pay your brethren as you would be to pay an outsider." Many of our brethren are not, and this is all wrong. Confidence should be established in each other by fulfilling what we undertake. What we borrow we should return; what we agree to do we should fulfill. We should be careful to make our agreements so that we can fulfill them, and then do so, and if through some unforeseen circumstances we are unable to do so, we should immediately make known the facts of the case, and be honest. I hope these cases are by no means common, but I am satisfied they are more numerous than they ought to be.

      The ninth rule requires us, as soon as possible, to cancel all indebtedness, and thereafter to avoid getting into debt. For the last few years, owing to the opening of mines, the construction of railroads, and the good crops that have been raised, the prosperity of the people has been very great, and as a wise and prudent community we should have taken a course to have had the benefits of all this means without being involved in debt, for, notwithstanding we have been put to vast expense in consequence of persecution and oppression from our enemies, we have been in a condition to have saved a great deal. But many of our brethren are in debt notwithstanding all this prosperity. Now this rule requires that we take measures to pay, or cancel, our debts as soon as possible, and then avoid getting into debt by living within our means. Ambition to push forward and make wealth should not induce us to involve ourselves in debt, but we should, with economy and prudence, live within our means.

      The residue of these rules I will not read, but commend them to the consideration of all the brethren, as being of the utmost importance. There is one, however, to which I will just call your attention. It refers to our manner of dress and living, and requires us to use proper economy and prudence in the management of all things intrusted to our care. I exceedingly regret to see the disposition to extravagance which exits among us, as also a disposition to purchase from abroad a variety of articles that are not of the first necessity. I do think that it is right and proper that we should take the utmost pains in our power, as a United Order and a united people, to provide everything that we can produce within ourselves, and not be sending away all, the money we can get to buy things that we can make ourselves. Our brooms, for instance, and a great deal of our clothing, and most of our shoes can be made here. With all the ridicule that has been expended in relation to wooden-soled boots and shoes, I sincerely advise every man who is afflicted with a cough, or who is subject to colds or rheumatism, asthma, or any ailment of that kind, to put wooden soles under his feet this Fall. They will preserve health a great deal better than rubber; and if they happen to be paid for it will be much better than to owe a trader for them, or to wear leather that is like a sponge, through which the damp will penetrate, striking directly to and promoting cough or rheumatism. I am of the belief that wooden-soled shoes worn in winter will cure nine cases out of ten of rheumatism and will save the lives of many of our children, by keeping their feet dry and warm. I feel like preaching up wooden shoes as a medical prescription, if you please, as well as on the score of economy.

      I wish you brethren when you return to the settlements to look after the schools, see that they are established in all the settlements for the winter, that no child be left without a chance to acquire a knowledge of the common branches of education. See that all the poor are provided with the means of sending their children to school, that no child be deprived of the privilege of attending school through the poverty of its parents. Make your schoolhouses comfortable and pleasant. Make the seats of the proper height and comfortable, so that the children may not become humpbacked or round shouldered, nor contract spinal complaints, or anything of that kind through their seats being awkwardly constructed. There is plenty of lumber in the mountains, and plenty of workmen; let them make good comfortable seats for the children. See that your school-rooms are properly warmed, and be careful as to the characters of the men you employ for school teachers. Do not hire a scoundrel, a seducer, or blackleg for the position, for if you employ as teachers of your schools those who are foul, wicked, and corrupt in their habits, you assume a terrible responsibility, for the impressions made upon and the lessons taught to the children while attending school have a great influence for good or for evil, upon their future lives and welfare. I believe I have preached upon this subject almost every Conference since I can remember, or since I began to speak at Conferences, and I shall continue to do so. Let parents be stirred up in regard to the education of their children, and provide for their welfare. In the early days of the Territory the first house built in every settlement, as a general rule, was a school-house. Let this rule still be followed, and let our children receive their education directly within ourselves; and if we want them to study the advanced branches, fill up our home universities; instead of sending them abroad to be educated in foreign schools, uphold your own university and sustain your own schools.

      After the close of this Conference meetings in this building will be discontinued during the winter and will be held, under the direction of the Bishops, in the ward assembly rooms every Sunday afternoon and evening. The forenoons will be devoted to Sunday Schools, and I exhort the brethren and sisters to have their children ready, so that they can be at school in time. And I invite the young men and especially the young sisters, to attend Sunday schools; I want to stir up the young men to go there and form Bible classes. And I exhort the Elders to be present as teachers, that there may be no lack of teachers. I want to express my admiration of brother Goddard and a number of other school superintendents and teachers, with whom I am acquainted, because of their efforts to spread among the young throughout the Territory a knowledge of the principles of the Gospel, as taught in the Bible, Book of Mormon, Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and in the standard works of the Church. And I say to the young men, that if they will attend the Bible classes and study the catechism in use in our schools, and make themselves familiar with it, they will become so thoroughly informed in the principles of the Gospel and the evidences of it, that when called upon to go abroad to defend the doctrines of Zion they will be well prepared to do so. I invite the Elders to see that these classes are formed in all the settlements.

      I will again repeat the idea that has already been presented, to sustain our own literary institutions and publications,—the Juvenile Instructor, the Woman's Exponent, the Deseret News, which contains discourses by the First Presidency and Twelve, and also the publications in the several counties. They are conducted by men who take pains to disseminate the truth, as well as the general news of the world, and they ought to be sustained, that their influence may be extended and increased. Do not spend your money in buying lies, nor your time in reading yellow-covered literature, or in studying such things as are calculated in their nature to degenerate the human mind and degrade the soul. One of the best books you can read on the earth is the Bible. It is the finest history ever published in Great Britain. Study its history and its precepts. It is the foundation of the sciences of the world, and the basis of the laws of all the Christian nations; and although men in every direction have departed from it, we can read and understand it for ourselves. See that it is on every table, in every household, in every pulpit, and that it is the school book of every family throughout the Territory.

      I want to say, with regard to the Temple at St. George, that the walls are between twenty-five and thirty feet high. Some of the brethren remained at work upon it all summer, some of them without shoes and poorly supplied with clothing· About 309 persons have reported, I believe, as going there this winter to aid in pushing forward the work on this Temple, as volunteers from the different settlements of the Territory. We hope, by means of this help and the contributions that may be sent there, to have the roof on early next spring, and very soon a baptismal font in the basement, in which we can begin the administration of the principle of baptism for the dead and the ordinances of the Gospel in connection with our fathers. The climate in St. George is well suited to those in feeble health, and such of that class of persons as desire to do so can, after the Temple is completed, go there and spend the winter, and attend to the ordinances for their dead.

      I have invited the brethren, during the Conference, to go and look at the Temple foundation in this city. It is a very beautiful foundation, and the design of the building is grand. The labor of taking the granite from the mountains, bringing it on to this ground and cutting it and putting it in position is immense You saw a great many prepared stones that are not laid: I will explain how that has happened. We had a good many beginners who could shape a rough stone, but not so many stonecutters who could do a finished job, and all the stones for the outside had to be done by skillful workman. A great number of those that you see lying round, numbered up as high as thirteen or fourteen courses, were cut by men who were not skilled workmen. That is the reason why so many are not yet laid in the building. We found it necessary during the harvest to dismiss fifty workmen of this kind from the block, that they might go and aid in gathering in the harvest, because we could not supply them with work so far in advance of the laying. Brother Trueman O. Angell has been exceedingly zealous in attending to this work: he has been so fearful lest a stone should be laid wrong that he has been on the walls early and late to see that every stone has been set in its proper place, to a hair's breadth. His zeal has been such that I have almost feared that, in spite of the faith of the Saints and the energy of the man's soul, he would work himself into the ground. I want the brethren to pray for him that he may be sustained in his arduous labors.

      One great difficulty in getting along on this Temple, has been the want of money to supply the workmen with actual necessaries. We have been accustomed, during the prosperous times of the past year or two, to pay them one-fourth in cash or merchandize; this season we were unable to do that, hence an invitation was given by the First Presidency and the Bishops, to all the Saints, far and near, to make a donation of fifty cents a month to aid in the prosecution of the work on the Temple the names of all who respond are to be entered in the "Book of the Law of the Lord." Quite a number have responded, and some means has come in from this source. I now invite the brethren, sisters, strangers, and all who feel an interest in the Temple, and wish to have their names enrolled in the "Book of the Law of the Lord," to make this monthly contribution, that the hearts of the workmen may be gladdened and that the hands of those who are called to conduct this business may not be tied. We have been compelled to borrow money and to pay interest to carry on this work; the resources that have come in have been insufficient, and the kind that has come in has not been such that we could make it available in carrying on the work as vigorously as we desired to do on this Temple and upon that at St. George. I appeal to the brethren also to remember the Temple in their prayers. Let us pray that God will give us power to erect and dedicate it, and that he will preserve the life of our President to organize the Priesthood in all its beauty and order in that Temple, and fulfill to the uttermost the duties of those keys, which were delivered to him by Joseph Smith, pertaining to the twelve and to the church, and to the bearing off of this work in the last days. Let us lift our hearts to God that he will preserve his servants for the accomplishment of this work. And while we raise our hearts in prayer for this object, let our souls be filled with benevolence and liberality to pay our tithes and offerings. I fully believe that, if one half of the brethren had honestly paid tithing as we understand it, our hands would not have been tied. Think of these things and act upon them.

      Most of the emigration the present season has been through their own means and the aid of relatives and friends, and a goodly number have thus been gathered. We now again invite all those who owe the Perpetual Emigration Fund, or whose relatives or friends are indebted to it, to remember their obligations, that those in the old countries who desire may be gathered here as fast as possible. We also invite the brethren to send for their friends from abroad; but before espending your money for that purpose, find out whether those whom you wish to gather still remain Saints, of whether they have corrupted their ways before the Lord. It would be a very good idea to learn this before expending money to help them, though it is an act charity to bring anybody from the old world and place them on the broad plains of America, where they may be enabled to obtain homes of their own.

      I want to way, in relation to the missionary labors of President Brigham Young in going to Europe and founding and starting the system of emigration, and gathering thousands upon thousands of people from the old world and placing them in positions to get homes of their own, that he is the most distinguished and extensive benefactor of his race of any living man within my knowledge. We regret that he has been unable to speak to us during this Conference. We feel confident, however, that had the gospel which he has preached for the last forty-three years to the inhabitants of the world, been received as honestly by those who heard it as it has been declared by him and his brethren, all the human family would have had a knowledge of the gospel to-day, and the Millennium would have brought it. This, however has not been the case; but the forms preaching of President Young, and the acts of his life in teaching and being a father to the people will be had in everlasting rembrance; and we will exercise our faith that God will restore his health, that his voice may again be heard amongst us, though that is not possible at this time. We are gratified to know that he is able to be in our midst, to hear our testimonies, see our countenances, and know that within us there is a portion of that Holy Spirit which God has revealed for our salvation.

 

ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON

Rehearsed some of the experience of the Saints, their persecutions and trials, our present position in regard to the outside pressure, in all of which he could distinctly discern the hand of God, which was plainly seen in the past deliverance of the Saints under the most threatening circumstances. Union amongst this people had been and would continue to be the only safeguard. The object sought for at the present time by our enemies was our destruction, not perhaps of all our lives, but those of our leaders, and to destroy our union.

            We had always afforded every latitude and courtesy towards other religious teachers, to preach in our Tabernacles and meeting-houses, and find congregations for them to preach to. He intended to devote himself to the promulgation of the principles of union, for we must be united as a people that we might be enabled successfully to repel any unconstitutional attack that might be made upon us.

[George Q. Cannon]

[DNW 23:677, 11/25/74, p 5; JD 17:260]

DISCOURSE

BY ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON, DELIVERED

At the Adjourned Semi-Annual conference, in the New Tabernacle
Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, October 11th, 1874

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REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

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      The teachings which we have heard at this conference have been of a character most important to us as a people, and should be treasured up by all who have heard them; and those of us who reside in other places who have attended Conference should carry the instructions they have received to the places where they reside, that the spirit of this work and the spirit of this conference may be disseminated among all the Saints.

      We are living in one of the most important periods of the earth's history. Events are of such a character connected with us as to excite the greatest interest, and no one connected with the people, who feels as he or she should, can help being interested in the way in which this work is progressing and attracting attention throughout the earth. There is no people, to-day, on the face of the earth who are situated in this respect as are the Latter-day Saints. God is dealing with us in a most remarkable manner, and is fulfilling, through his people, the predictions of the holy prophets, and we behold on every hand, when we open our eyes to see and our hearts to understand, the great events which God said should transpire in some day and age in the future.

      There is one thing with which I am greatly impressed, and that is, within a few years how determined the enemies of the kingdom of God have been to destroy that work which he has founded. How they have envied, maligned, and maliciously persecuted this people, and how they have concocted plots for their overthrow! In this last Congress no less than eight bills were introduced, having for their object the subjugation of the people of Utah to the ring of men who have sought their destruction, and yet the population of this entire Territory does not number as much as a second class city in the United States. I remarked to members of Congress, of the House and of the Senate, that Congress was paying us a great compliment, a people so insignificant numerically, so devoid of wealth, in the estimation of many so illiterate, so deluded, so bound and fettered and so barbarous in our habits. I think it a great compliment that the representatives of forty millions of people should bestow such attention upon one hundred and fifty thousand. Yet it is not these representatives who wish so much to do us harm, but it is a body of men here who are anxious to gain power and influence at the expense of a people whose prosperity and influence they envy. I have been impressed with the wonderful manner in which we have been advertised now for some years back. I can not fail to recognize the hand of God in this. I look around me and I see a people who, if they were not Latter-day Saints, if they did not believe the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, would not be noticed in any particular manner, but who, because they are Latter-day Saints, are known more widely and whose movements attract more attention and excite greater interest, whose public men are more advertised and their lives and characters published more widely throughout the earth than those of many rulers of great nations. Men say it is because this is such a great imposture, because Brigham Young is a false prophet, and because the Latter-day Saints are deluded. These are singular statements to make, as though a few deluded and ignorant people, led by a false prophet, could occupy the attention of the nations of the earth. It is something unheard of in history except, as we testify, in the case of those who have preceded us in the same work. Jesus said to his ancient disciples, "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid." The eyes of the world were upon them. And in our day we behold the same effect. The Latter-day Saints and their work have been like a city set on a hill. They have attracted the gaze of the nations, and that, too, without any especial effort on their part to make themselves conspicuous. The clamor of our enemies has greatly contributed to this. What do their attacks accomplish for us? They advertise us and give us an importance to which we could not otherwise attain. Every effort that is made to destroy this work or to embarras its onward progress, or to deprive its leaders of their lives or of their liberties only enhances its importance in the midst of the earth, gives it publicity, preaches the gospel, attracts attention, causes then and women to think, to reason and to investigate what it is about this people that creates so much excitement.

      I have said, and I do not think I exaggerate in the least degree, that the efforts of the past three or four years, in this Territory, to destroy this work and to deprive the leaders of this people of their liberty have had more effect in preaching what is called Mormonism than the efforts of a thousand missionaries would have been able to accomplish. "Well, but," says one, "they say such terrible things about you, and it is no advantage to be spoken of in this manner, to be maligned and accused of wrong." It is an advantage, because, as I have said, it causes men and women to reason and reflect, and it promotes investigation. There have bees hundreds who have come here and been brought in contact with this people, who have been astonished at what they have seen, because what they have seen has been so different in every respect from the stories that they have heard, and the effect and revulsion of feeling have been much greater than they would have been had they never heard anything about us at all. And it is our businesss to live down the lies that are put in circulation about us. I, myself, rejoice in these things, because I see the hand of God in it all, I see the fulfillment of the predictions of the holy prophets, I see a people being gathered together who are united, not so much as they should be, but still more united than they were before they heard this gospel, and I rejoice that this is the case.

      I hope that we shall continue to cultivate within us the principle of union. Remember the story of the Scythian king. When on his deathbed he told his boys to bring him a bundle of arrows. "Now," said he "let me see you break this." They tried one after another, but they could not break the bundle. "Cut the string that ties them," said the king, "and try to break them singly." They cut the string and tried the arrows singly and broke the entire bundle with ease. There is power in concentration of effort, and it is this which gives us our character in the earth to-day. Cause the Latter-day Saints to be disunited, divide us asunder, split us into factions and what would we amount to? Why, nothing at all, we would not count anything in the history of the race or of the earth; but the very notice that we receive, the attention that we attract is a tribute to our union and to that amount of the cementing influence which prevails among us as a people. Union among us is all-important, because we have a power opposed to us that will destroy us if it can, there is no disguising this fact, it is publicly announced everywhere. It was hoped when the railroad was completed that that would do it; it was hoped that when the mines were discovered and emigration floated in here that the accompanying influences would accomplish it, that fashion, luxury, vice with all their corroding influences at work at this system would destroy it, or produce the disintegration of the entire people. Every effort of this kind has for its object the destruction of the union of this people. Why, if we were disunited, if we were split into factions we might have houses of ill-fame on every corner in juxtaposition with churches; we might have drinking saloons and gambling saloons; we might practice harlotry to the fullest extent, and who would indict us for it or say one word against our practices? No one; we would be following the fashion of the world. Why, it would furnish themes for preachers and they would have excellent texts, for where these things abound they flourish. But because we are united, because we have set our faces against these things, because we discourage vice we are unpopular, and we shall continue to be so until a better judgment prevail I have said there is no disguising the fact, nobody attempts to disguise it, that the object sought for at the present time is the destruction of this people as a people. Not that many would avow their wish to have our lives taken, but to destroy our union, to destroy the influence of our leading men. Now, I ask you, Latter-day Saints, are you so blind and so foolish as not to see that this is the object of every attack which is made upon us? You who do not feel in favor of more union and of concentrating our efforts, ask yourselves this question and reflect upon the objects sought to be obtained by those who are erreyed against us. We do not seek the destruction of any, we have never been aggressive, we have never sought to force our opinions upon any one; we have invited all to come to this land and proclaim their principles here, without let or hindrance. They have not been gagged in their faith, or restrained or restricted in any manner. They have had the privilege of preaching to the fullest extent in our tabernacles and meeting-houses, and we have not had the least objection thereto, but on the contrary we have been pleased to see them. This is the course we have taken. But when we are threatened with destruction, as a pure matter of self-defence it is our duty to organize ourselves to resist these attacks, and the people who would not do it are unworthy of an existence upon the earth. I, therefore, have ever been, am now, and will always be, while I feel as I do at the present time, in favor of greater union among this people, in favor of the United Order in favor of everything that will give us strength and cement us closer and closer together and make our lines more impregnable than they are. And as I said the other day so say I again, with the help of God, my life shall be devoted to that object with all the strength, influence and ability which God shall give me among this people. Is there any harm in this? Not in the least, so long as our objects are what they are. We want to save, we want to preserve, we want to disseminate good principles, and any man or woman who will practice this can live forever in the midst of the Latter-day Saints and never have any difficulty. Every fair-minded man who comes to this land and deports himself as a gentleman, and any fair-minded lady who comes and deports herself in like manner, might live here until they were as old as Methuselah was, if we continued as we have been, without ever having the least cause of feeling against us. We ask no more from others than we are willing to extend to them with the greatest liberality and freedom; but we expect to have liberty and freedom for ourselves, and we shall contend for them in every constitutional and legal manner as long as we live.

      My brethren and sisters, if you have not got this spirit of union let me advise you to seek for it. Humble yourselves before God and seek for it until the desire to be more closely united will burn within you, until you regard it as one of the greatest objects that can be attained. In a family capacity, in a ward capacity, or as a people, from north to south, we should not have these clashing and conflicting interests—Latter-day Saints against Latter-day Saints, and yet all of us professing to have the building up of God's kingdom at heart. I do not know of anything else that we have to do. God has sent us here for this object, and I do not know any better thing that we can engage in than to build up the Zion of God. It is as good and as great a labor as we can be engaged in, in fact it is the labor which God has assigned unto us as a people and as individuals, and if any of us are engaged in anything else we are not in the line of our duty, and we should turn aside from that and pursue the path which God has marked out.

      May God bless you and fill you with his Holy Spirit, that you may carry it with you to your various homes in the remote parts of the Territory, and that it may live and born within you, fill you with good and holy desires to do the will of God, keep his commandments and live in close communion with him, and then you need never be afraid of being deceived, for you can not be if you have the Holy Ghost within you, and that this may be the case, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

PREST. GEO. A. SMITH

Desired the encouragement of those efforts now being made by the sisters in teaching the young to become more economical in the style and cost of their apparel. He also desired to see far more economy in the burial of our dead friends, and instead of using those expensively imported coffins from Chicago, to have them made from wood that grew in our own canyons. He wanted to see pride abated among us.

[George A. Smith]

[DNW 24:81, 3/10/75, p 1; JD 17:160]

REMARKS

BY PRESIDENT GEORGE A. SMITH, DELIVERED

At the Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saings,
in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, Oct. 11th, 1874

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      I have been much interested in the remarks of the Elders this morning, as all through the Conference, and I hope the instructions we have received will be treasured up in the hearts of all, and carried home to our households and wards, and that the Elders who have attended Conference will stir up the people to diligence, teach them to remember the Sabbath day and to keep it holy, and instead of fooling away their time in labor or pleasure, to devote that day to the worship of God and to rest, according to the original design of heaven. We should remember our prayers at all times in our families, we should also remember to observe the word of wisdom, and be careful to continually pursue such a course as will entitle us to the blessings of the Lord, and that his Spirit may unceasingly abide in our hearts. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we should let our light shine before men, by observing the principles which we profess to have obeyed. We need not be troubled because false reports are sent abroad into the world concerning us; this has been the universal lot of Saints in all ages of the world. The Savior said—"Blessed are ye when men shall persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my name's sake." If we are only conscious within ourselves that these charges are false we need not fear, and we should never hesitate to lift up our voices among the children of men in bearing testimony of the truth revealed in these latter days, through the Prophet Joseph Smith.

      We are anxious to publish the standard works of the Church to a greater extent than hitherto. Some of them have been republished, and others are in progress, and we wish to have the co-operation of the Saints, generally, throughout the Territory, in helping on this work. Our publications should be in every family of the Saints, and we wish to exercise that kind of influence in the midst of our people that will lead them to make themselves acquainted with the contents of the Bible, Book of Mormon, Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and such other Works as are or have been published illustrative of the principles of life and salvation made known in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that they may be more generally understood by those professing to he Latter-day Saints.

      We expect, before the Conference closes, to call a considerable number of Elders to go and preach the Gospel in the United States. There have been but few missionaries sent to the States, and the present generation there have, to a great extent, formed their notions of us and oar faith from the false reports sent through the press; and as we all know that notions so formed can not be other than erroneous, we shall call a considerable number of Elders to go and travel through the States, representing the Gospel in its true light, and bearing testimony to the truth, that the generation that have grown up Since we were driven into the wilderness, may learn and know for themselves the facts concerning us.

      We are laboring, as has been referred to by some of the brethren who have addressed the Conference, to build a Temple in St. George, and one in this city. The work is moving on in both places: I feel quite gratified at the success of the workmen the present season on the Temple here. Taking the granite from the boulders in the mountains, bringing it here, cutting the blocks, placing the pillars in position, and getting everything in the mechanical style that it is, in the last two years, is perfectly wonderful to me. The erection of a Temple like this is a great work, it requires a vast amount of means, energy and skill, We have not had as much means to sustain the brethren who have been laboring upon it as we anticipated, in consequence of the change of the times, and the failure of some to come forward and pay their Tithing and thereby supply the demand. Yet we have moved the work forward gloriously. Brother Pinnock has the gates open, and I invite the Bishops and all the brethren and sisters from distant places to go and see the beautiful work we have done on that Temple; and while you are inspecting what has been done try and realize the amount of labor and means that have been required to accomplish it. Think of the millions of dollars that King Solomon expended in building the foundation of his Temple, and of the heavy tax it was upon the people; and then, if you want to compare his work with ours, think of the manner in which we are carrying this forth. I wish the Saints, also, when visiting the Temple, to raise their hearts in prayer to the Most High, that he will bless the efforts that are being made to rear a house to his holy name. We invite all the brethren and sisters to contribute their monthly offerings in money, that these workmen may have a portion of their wages in money, and such necessaries as can not be obtained without it. For a considerable portion of the present season the Temple workmen have had to do almost entirely with home products. Some of them have stuck to it faithfully, others have been compelled to quit. In fact, for want of means, we were under the necessity at one time of dismissing fifty hands. But we have kept the work moving, and if the brethren will go and see what we have done they can but be surprised and delighted. It is a glorious work, and one that is to be dedicated to the Most High God. Then let our hearts be lifted to him in prayer that this work may continue, that we may be protected from the wrath of our enemies and from the vengeance of the wicked one, and be able to complete this Temple and dedicate it, that the glory of the Lord may rest upon it, the various quorums of the Priesthood be organized within it, and that we and our children may be permitted to enter its sacred precincts, and receive the ordinances of the Priesthood and the blessings of the Gospel of peace which can be received only in a Temple of the Lord.

      I wish to bear my testimony to the principles of the Gospel which have been revealed. I never wish to stand before the Saints without doing that, for when I was called as one of the first Seventies to bear testimony to the people, I lifted my hand to heaven and said—"If I ever forget to bear testimony to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the true mission of Joseph Smith, let my right hand forget its cunning and my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth." From that day to this I always remember to bear my testimony when I address the people, for I know that this Gospel and plan of salvation, revealed by Joseph Smith and taught by the Apostles of this Church, is true. Men may say that Brigham Young and the Elders of this Church are impostors; but I know that they were called by revelation and ordained and set apart to do this work through Joseph Smith, and they are the servants of the Most High God. They were called to proclaim the Gospel and to administer its ordinances, and with all their hearts they have labored to accomplish the work assigned them.

      It is written that "Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain; and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months." This shows that a man of like passions to ourselves may obtain faith to perform great and good works, to give, wise instructions, to proclaim the principles of the everlasting Gospel, to bear testimony to the truth, to administer in the work of the Lord and bear of his kingdom. And it is our duty, as we have already been warned, to exercise faith for those in authority, that, while they contend with like passions with ourselves, they may have the Spirit of the Almighty to preserve and guide them, and to sustain their hands, and in all cases be careful never to be found speaking evil of the Lord's anointed. A tattling tongue is a curse, and, as the Apostle James expresses it, "is set on fire of hell;" and when we are found speaking evil against the servants of God and accusing the brethren we are only following in the wake of the wicked one. Let us then avoid these things, and learn to speak those things that are good, upright and true, and bear a faithful testimony of the Gospel.

      As I said before, I wish the Saints generally to remember the brethren who are laboring on the Temple at St. George. They have been working all the season, with very little to supply them, and some of them are destitute of clothing, and other necessaries. Some of the workmen there have labored on the Temple from the very beginning, and the walls are now thirty feet high, and the work is going ahead prosperously. We have invited the people in every settlement to contribute of their means to continue the work and we have also invited brethren to go down to St. George, and labor upon the Temple this winter, that the building may be prepared for the roof as soon as possible. It will be a magnificent Temple, and will contain all the conveniences of the Temples of Kirtland and Nauvoo. It will be one hundred and forty-three feet long and ninety-seven wide, and the walls will be eighty-eight feet high. It is desirable that the brethren contribute their means to supply the wants of those who are laboring on that Temple, that they may be encouraged to continue. We are anxious to push this Temple forward to completion as early as possible. It is not so large nor so elaborate in its design as the one in course of erection in this city. St. George is a place in which parties living in the northern settlements, who may desire to do so, can go and spend the winter, and attend to the ordinances of the Priesthood. When that Temple is finished we can go down there and be baptized for our dead, receive our anointings and ordinances and all the blessings pertaining to the Priesthood, and get our records made to perform that great work which is placed upon us for the salvation of all the generations from the time that the Priesthood was lost, the covenant broken, the laws trampled under foot and the ordinances forsaken, unto the present time, for the salvation of all who have died since then rests upon us as a generation. But if any of us suffer ourselves to be led into darkness by the cunning and craftiness of the wicked one or evil spirits, we lose great and glorious blessings, and a great and glorious responsibility which is laid upon us pertaining to the salvation of ourselves and our ancestors. We call upon all the brethren to consider these things, and we do not wish any to go and labor on that Temple this winter unless they desire to do so, and have got the spirit to go in order that they may assist in forwarding the work.

      It is very probable that some who live in the northern settlements, who are able to do so, will make practice of spending the winter in St. George, because of the mild pleasant weather which prevails there during the winter season. Last winter the masons worked on the walls of the Temple all the winter, except seven and a half days, when they were prevented by rain. But to all who may have any intention of going there to spend the winter, I would say, never go with light shoes and thin clothing, but take good warm clothing and thick-soled shoes. Do not be deceived with the idea that you will find summer weather there in the winter season, it is more like pleasant spring weather, and when evening comes, good thick warm clothing is needed.

      In speaking of the press I wish to name especially the paper published by our sisters—The Woman's Exponent. I feel as though I hardly need suggest, to the brethren that natural gallantry would require them, all through the Territory, to subscribe to this little sheet, and I believe that if the brethren would do so the paper would be much more widely circulated and would do much more good than at present. The brethren should remember that our sisters hold the ballot in this country, that they have equal influence at the polls with the men, and I certainly think that we should patronize them in their press, for I am satisfied that the prospects of any man being elected to the Legislature of Utah Territory would be very poor if the women were opposed to him, for I presume that the women compose a majority of the legal voters of the Territory, hence, under these circumstances, one natural gallantry and the national characteristic to desire office should prompt us to sustain their publication.

      I hope also that the brethren, in reflecting upon the instructions which have been given during Conference, will not forget what has been said in relation to sustaining ourselves with our own material. We have mechanics here who can make good coffins, yet a great many coffins am imported from the States into this Territory, for which the money has to be paid. I say that we ought to be ashamed of this, and I here publicly request my friends, whoever may live to place me in the ground, to place me there in a coffin made of our mountain wood by our own mechanics, and I prohibit anybody who may outlive me paying a dollar for a coffin for me that is imported from the States. That is my sentiment, and I wish it was of every man and woman in the Territory. It may be said to be a small matter, but it takes thousands of dollars of our money away just to gratify pride. Says one—"I am just as good as such a one, and why not I have a coffin from Chicago or St. Louis as well as he have one?" This is a sentiment resulting purely from pride and love of display, which is unworthy of a Latter-day Saint. Carry this principle out and it leads us to reject homemade shoes and other articles which are far superior to the foreign-made imported articles.

      We have been talking about the United Order, and getting up tanneries, shoe shops, &c., and initiatory steps have been taken in some of the settlements with these objects in view; but it takes time to carry out and successfully accomplish such projects. But we can produce these things within ourselves, and it is our duty to do it, and instead of manifesting a disposition to oppose anything of this kind, we should exert all the influence and energy we possess to bring it about, and to make ourselves self-sustaining. It is true that the principles of the United Order are such that a great portion of our people at the present time are not in a condition to take hold of it with all they have, for many of them have been foolish enough during the success of business for the last four years, instead of paying their debts, to launch into business of various kinds and get deeper into debt. That class of men have to get their hands untied before they can take bold to promote the great project of uniting the whole of the Latter-day Saints in all their business affairs. But this must be done as fast as possible, and the work of making Zion self-sustaining must be regarded as part of the work of the Lord; for it is an obligation devolving upon us to provide within ourselves labor and the necessaries of life. We must take hold of this matter, brethren and sisters, with all our hearts, and never let ourselves rest until Zion is independent of her enemies and all the world.

            May peace and the light of truth abide with you, that you may understand these things and act upon them with all the spirit and power of the gospel of peace, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus, Amen.

 

            Conference was adjourned till the 6th of April, 1875, at the New Tabernacle.

            The choir sang the anthem -- "Gloria."

            Benediction by Prest GEO. A. SMITH.

GEORGE GODDARD,
Clerk of Conference.

_____

1875

6-11 Apr 1875, 45th Annual Conference, Tabernacle.
[Deseret News Weekly 24:164, 4/14/75, p 4; Millennial Star 37:273, 289, 305, 321]

[6 Apr, 10 am]

[DNW 24:164, 4/14/75, p 4]

ANNUAL GENERAL CONFERENCE.

_____

            The Forty-fifth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints commenced this morning, April 6th, 1875, in the New Tabernacle, at 10 o'clock.

PRESENT ON THE STAND.

            Of the First Presidency -- Presidents B. Young, Geo. A. Smith, and D. H. Wells.

            Counsellors -- Lorenzo Snow, Geo. Q. Cannon, B. Young, Jr., Albert Carrington.

            Of the Twelve Apostles -- Orson Hyde, W. Woodruff, Erastus Snow, George Q. Cannon, B. Young, Jr., A. Carrington, Lorenzo Snow, C. C. Rich, Orson Pratt, Sen., F. D. Richards.

            Patriarch -- John Smith.

            Of the First Seven Presidents of Seventies -- Joseph Young, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge.

            Of the Presidency of the High Priest's Quorum -- Elias Smith and Elias Morris.

            Of the Presidency of this Stake of Zion -- Geo. B. Wallace, W. H. Folsom, and J. T. Caine.

            Of the Presidency of the Bishopric -- Edward Hunter and Leonard W. Hardy.

            In addition to the above, there was a good representation of bishops and other leading men from all parts of the Territory of Utah and the southern portion of Idaho.

            Conference was called to order by PREST. B. YOUNG.

            The choir sang --

Joy to the world, the Lord will come,
Let earth receive her King.

            Prayer by PREST. GEORGE A. SMITH.

            The choir sang --

The towers of Zion soon shall rise
Above the clouds and reach the skies.

[Prest. D. H. Wells]

            PREST. D. H. WELLS spoke of the steady and constant progress of the Kingdom of God, which was organized forty-five years ago, up to the present time. He rejoiced to know that the great majority of this people, who had been gathered from the various nations of the earth, were devoted to the establishment of those pure principles of the gospel, which was the power of God unto salvation. After dwelling upon the many duties devolving upon the Saints, he exhorted them to be morally courageous in the performance of the same. He also urged the necessity of opening up home industry in the midst of the people, so that we might become a self-sustaining community. He also alluded to the building of temples and the purposes for which they were needed, the building of school-houses and the necessity for the education of the young, etc.

[Daniel H. Wells]

[DNW 24:193, 4/28/75, p 1; JD 17:343]

DISCOURSE

BY PRESIDENT DANIEL H. WELLS, DELIVERED

At the Forty-Fifth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, on Tuesday Morning, April 6th 1875.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      To-day we have met together, as is our custom on the 6th day of April, according to appointment, in commemoration of the day on which the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized. We are professed Latter-day Saints, and have been called forth in this age of the world to be co-workers with our Father in heaven in bringing to pass his purposes and establishing his kingdom upon the earth, to be the recipients of the authority of the holy priesthood, to stand in holy places and to administer in the ordinances of the house of God, that once again upon this earth his authority and kingdom may be established, and holy and righteous principles and the institutions of high heaven have a place. We are the honored instruments, or may be so, of being co-workers with God, and he will through us his servants, his children, bring to pass his purposes if we will let him. This is a great, glorious and holy calling, and it is a happy thing for us to be born in a day and generation when these things are coming forth, for we can thus have part and lot in this matter. It is no joke or phantasy, no matter of mere enthusiasm, to rise in one's mind for a few days, weeks or months and then dissipate away into thin air; but it is our high duty and privilege, as long as we live, to bear off these principles that have been revealed, and to sustain and uphold the institutions of heaven, and that authority through and by which the mind and will of God our Father are made known unto us upon the earth.

      This work commenced small. Great and glorious instructions were given to a few in the commencement, and through the blessing of the Almighty they have been sent forth to the nations of the earth and, in obedience thereunto, a great people, in comparison with what the church was originally, have gathered to these mountains, and the work of the Lord has continued to grow and increase, taking root downward and bearing fruit upward. It is true that many have undertaken to run the gospel race and have faltered and fainted by the wayside, still the work has progressed and has been onward and upward until the present time; and during the forty-five years of its existence upon the earth this church and kingdom has never seen a day or an hour that it has not been growing and becoming greater in the earth, in numbers as well as in intelligence, for the stream of light from heaven has not been withdrawn or cut short, but has continued to flow to the minds of the children of men, bearing testimony to the hearts of the honest, and elevating them in the scale of human existence. I take pleasure in bearing this testimony, knowing that it is true, and also knowing that the great desire among God's people here in Zion is to sustain and bear off the principles of truth and righteousness in the earth.

      We are here for this express purpose, and to avoid the evils and judgments which are abroad in the earth. Are the judgments of God abroad in the earth? They are, and the word of the Lord to his Saints is—"Come out of her, O my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, that ye receive not of her plagues." This was Spoken centuries ago, but it is specially applicable to us, and to the work of God in the last days. But if we do not divest ourselves of the sins of the world, have we any assurance that we shall escape the plagues and judgments of the almighty? By no means. We gather up to these mountains that we may not be partakers of her sins. This is the appointed place where God can work with his people on the earth; and in order that he may be able to do so effectually it is necessary that we divest ourselves of every evil, stand before God blameless, and become united as the heart of one man in sustaining the cause of Zion. The responsibility of building up this kingdom rests in a manner upon us, who have taken upon us the name of the Most High. We have gathered together that we may build Temples to his holy name, wherein we may receive the blessings of time and eternity, both for the living and the dead. It becomes us, then, to enquire how we may best set ourselves about this great work; we mint find out the design of our Father concerning us, and to do this we must have communication with him, and we must live so that we can have the Holy Spirit to direct our minds, and to qualify us the better for the performance of the duties which devolve upon us The channel has been opened between the heavens and the earth by which we may learn the mind and will of our Father concerning us. But when we have learned that it is our business to go to and unflinchingly carry out and accomplish that which he requires of us according to our best skill and ability.

      Is it necessary that we should obey the principles of the gospel, which we are told is the power of God unto salvation? I think that no one will deny that. We must repent, we must be baptized for the remission of sins, receive the administration of bands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, and then go on with the light of the Spirit, having received the testimony of the truth of the work, and maintain that work against every opposing obstacle. What is a man good for who flies the track the very moment an obstacle presents itself in his way? Such a man will not obtain salvation and exaltation in the presence of God; he who does that must be unflinching in the path of duty.

      Is God ever going to establish his kingdom and bring to pass his purposes on the earth? All believers in Christianity say so, and they all pretend to believe it; but when will it be? As soon as the Lord Jesus finds a people who are willing to take upon them his name, and will follow him through evil as well as through good report, and who, if need be, will even go to death in the maintaining of the principles of truth upon the earth. Just as soon as he finds a people who will be united and will not sift their ways to strangers, but will hold that which he bestows upon them for him and for his kingdom, will he establish that kingdom upon the earth. What right has a Latter-day Saint, who has taken upon himself the name of God and has enlisted under King Emmanuel's banner, to strew the blessings he receives from God to the wicked. Are they given to him for that purpose? No, they are given him to use for the building up of the kingdom of God upon the earth. It is said, and we profess to believe it, that the kingdoms of this world are to become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and that that kingdom and its fulness shall be given to the Saints of the Most High. It is not to be given to the wicked, or to a people who will hand it over to the wicked as fast as the Lord hands it over to them. We may as well learn this lesson to-day as at any other time. The blessings of the Lord are not bestowed upon the Latter-day Saints to be placed by them in the hands of the wicked. When could the Lord establish his purposes with a people who will act in that way? Never in the world. The time will come and is now hastening when the people of God will not be a dependent people, that is, dependent upon the outside world; of course they will always be dependent upon the Lord, but the day will come when they, under the blessing of heaven, will be an entirely self-sustaining people, and the Lord is ready and willing, as he ever has been and ever will be, to sustain the efforts of his people in this direction. They must put forth their hands to be self-sustaining, and then the blessings of the Almighty will attend them even more abundantly.

      The Lord has, from time to time, through his servants, given forth a line of conduct or principle for us to be guided by, so that we may become more united than we have been hitherto; and while it may be said that we are slowly approaching that point, we are far from having advanced in the principles of unity to the fullest extent, and hence we cannot realize the blessings that will accrue when that unity which the Lord desires to see among his people is fully established. But we have commenced, and we can work in that direction, and it is our bounden duty to do so; and the farther we progress the more will his blessings be multiplied towards us; and if we continue in the path marked out for us by the Almighty through his servants, we shall ultimately attain to a fulness This is the way I understand it.

      We have come up here to be taught in his ways that we may walk in his paths. Men should not mark out paths for themselves to walk in, they are not capable of doing so. You may say that this infringes upon man's agency and independence; but it makes no difference what may be said or thought of this, it is true, and we need only look abroad in the world to see the difficulties which beset the people on every hand to find ample confirmation of this statement. Are the people satisfied with the paths they have marked out for themselves? No, nowhere on the face of the earth. There is one whose guidance we need, he is wiser than we are, for he has passed through all the ordeals and trials of a lower estate, and has gained an experience far beyond the experience of men, and he is now willing to lead and guide his children here on the earth if they will only allow him to do so. But men generally think they know best themselves, they are set willing to be guided by the God of heaven, they give the preference to the paths marked out by themselves. Are their own counsels the best? No, they are not, and the Latter-day Saints ought to know it by this time. A great many of them do know it; some do not, but I trust that they will, and that they will continue to learn and progress in these things, until they know beyond all question that God's way is the best, and that it is not only superior to man's way, but that there is no other by which men and women can build up a community which will be wise, virtuous and happy, and by which the resources of the earth may be developed and the elements used so as to best promote the general good. God's way is as much better than man's way, as the heavens are higher than the earth.

      There is no true principle, no true philosophy, no good thing that comes from any source except that which I have been speaking of. No matter through whom, or by whom it comes to the children of men, it has emanated from that source—from God our Father. Then why can we not; implicitly trust him, and put our faith and confidence in him? We may rest assured that he will withhold no good thing that will prove beneficial to us. He never did and he never will reveal a thing to the children of men but what, if it can be carried out according to his design, will prove an advantage and a blessing to them. Men may undertake to change that which God has revealed, and try to make it mean something else; but it is folly to do so. In taking this course they go into by and forbidden paths, and, being then without the light of truth, they are compelled to grope their way.

      Now, what is necessary in building up the kingdom of God on the earth? We are not talking about building up his kingdom in some far-off realm, away

"Beyond the bounds of time and space
Where human mind can never trace
The Saints' secure abode,"

      as our sectarian brethren sing about. I do not understand this to be the work of the Saints of God upon the earth at all. I understand that the kingdoms of this world are to become the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ, just so soon as the God of heaven finds a people who will be obedient to his law. Well, what is necessary then? Why, in the first place there must be a people to govern, and a king to rule over them. It takes that much anyhow to constitute a kingdom. The people must have a place to dwell. They must have land, streams of water, valleys, mountains, ranges, grass, timber, rock, canyons and everything we find here on the earth, the elements with which it is covered and surrounded, and which are found in its depths in order to obtain a sustenance. All these things are necessary in any kingdom. The people want houses to live in, orchards for fruit, also vegetables; they want land susceptible of irrigation and cultivation, cattle, horses, carriages, wagons, vehicles to transport things in and to do business. All these things are necessary in building up the kingdom of God. There must also be schools, Temples and cities built to the name of the Most High, according as he shall direct. It is necessary to build Temples that we may attend to the ordinances for those who have gone before, for millions of them have lived according to the best light they had, and they were moral and exemplary all the days of their lives, and did all the good they could. Without Temples they could not have the privilege and opportunity of being officiated for in the ordinances of the Gospel of salvation devised by our Father in heaven before the world was organized. This plan of salvation was devised before this earth was organized and made habitable for the children of men to dwell on, away in the eternities back, "when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy," if you know when that was. We have to obey that plan of salvation here in our earthly probation in order that we may have the privilege of going back into the presence of God. We need not go to tinkering that plan of salvation, for we cannot make it any better if we do. The world have been doing so ever since men came to dwell upon the earth. But I do not see that they have done anything to improve it. God's plan of saving his sons and daughters stands just the same to-day as it was in the beginning, and it will continue so through a never-ending eternity. I am not aware that God ever asked us here to help to devise a plan for our own salvation, I never heard of any such thing. he had the right to do it himself and he did it, and it is for mankind to receive it if they choose to do so; and if they do choose so to do it is nobody's business, they have that power if they have a mind to; and other people have a right to believe in and embrace man-made systems and to hold on to them if they choose to do so, and it is none of our business any more than it is theirs if we choose to obey the plan the Lord has revealed. We are on an equal footing in regard to this matter, and all we ask is hands off and show us fair play, the same as we are willing to extend unto you, that is all. We have a right to ask and demand that, and to maintain it, and we expect to do it.

      But we who have embraced the principles of truth, should we not begin to divest ourselves of some of our notions and ideas, and go to and build up the kingdom of God more perfectly? In our hearts and feelings we desire to do it, but our traditions, to which we cling with such tenacity, sometimes prevent us from coming quite up to the mark, and we do not advance in this direction perhaps quite as fast as we should do. The line is marked out; the Lord through his servants is continually showing us the way, but I sometimes think that we are slow coming to it. We should become more self-sustaining. We have been drifting in the wrong direction for the past few years. It is necessary for us to turn a short corner and drift in a direction that will make us self-sustaining. If we do this we shall become more independent and more closely united, and in a short time we shall find that it will be the path of prosperity. It is a matter of good political economy for any community to become sell sustaining; and not only to raise and manufacture what they need for their own use, but also some for exportation. Then the balance of trade will be in their favor. But I do not care whether it is the people of Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, the United States, England, or any other community or nation, political economy says that they must export more than they import, or the balance of trade will be continually against them, and any country or community in that position will be drained of the circulating medium, and will be more or less impoverished thereby. If a community wishes to become wealthy, it must manage to produce not only all it needs for the wants of its own members, but also to partially supply some of the wants of its neighbors. This is sound philosophy and political economy in any community, and particularly so with the Latter-day Saints. We have the elements around us, from which with our own industry and economy all our wants can be supplied in abundance, if our labor is applied in the right direction, which can only be clone by laboring unitedly and according to the counsel that may be given us by the Lord through his servants. By taking this course we can produce almost everything necessary for our own consumption and a great deal to export.

      We have commenced in this order, and some of our settlements have progressed more than others; and I am glad to believe that we are drifting in the right direction. I hope to see this work continue, and can promise the blessing of the Almighty upon those who will persevere therein. They will succeed if they are wise and do as they are told, and they will be blessed of the Lord and will come off victorious.

      These things are worthy of our attention, they constitute part of the building up of the kingdom of God on the earth. It is a material kingdom, and not something ethereal that we cannot comprehend nor have any part or lot in. It involves our everyday life, labor and duty, just as we pass along; it is not beyond our reach, but is right within the purview of our ability to accomplish to a certain extent. We cannot jump at a single leap to its fulness; but the small wedges break the big rock. Drill the holes here and there, then put in the wedges and tap them lightly, and after awhile these taps will break the big rock in two. That is the way the Lord has worked with this people. We commenced small, went in at the small end of the horn, and we are bound to come out at the big end, we cannot come back through the same channel. Here we are, a spectacle before the heavens and before the world, a handful of Latter-day Saints. What shall we do? Pursue that suicidal policy in regard to sustaining ourselves that is calculated to impoverish us and to make us depend upon our enemies, those who would only be too glad to see us overthrown, wasted away and destroyed? No, no! Latter-day Saints, we will not take any such a course as that, not if we know it. Well, let us be careful and learn what is the proper course to take and take it, that we may grow, increase in wealth, in numbers, and in every good and perfect thing that the God of heaven is willing to bestow upon us. Let us beautify the earth, bring forth from the elements those things which are necessary for our subsistence; work, be industrious, live prudently, economically, and walk in the path that the God of heaven marks out for us. Then we shall be successful; then the blessings of the Almighty will flow unto us abundantly, and we shall have great cause to rejoice continually in the name of the Holy One of Israel. We have clone this to a certain extent as we have passed along, and according to our faithfulness we have received the blessings, and beyond our expectations, for we could not have expected as much as we have received. We may go on still more gloriously if we will be more faithful.

      May the God of heaven bless us and help us to see the path marked out for us to walk in, and thus help us to be faithful and diligent, and put away our own devices and traditions that we have inherited from the fathers, inasmuch as they are wrong, and we have been led to see that wrong, and our judgments convinced concerning the work of the Almighty. Let us put away these things that are of no profit, and seek to that. which is good, which comes from above, and which is for our own best interests here, and for our eternal welfare in the world to come. that we may do this unitedly, as the heart and voice of one man, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

[Elder C. C. Rich]

            ELDER C. C. RICH felt gratified in listening to the principles of eternal life that had been referred to. They must be lived up to in order to be enjoyed. Principles of salvation were eternal in their nature. Prophets and apostles in ancient times had all had labors to perform. This was a dispensation of the fulness of times, and brought with it many labors. It was especially a gathering dispensation. We had no time to waste, but all our energies were wanted to build up the Kingdom of God upon the earth, and God alone could direct the same, so that our labors would all tend to bring about his purposes. Such labors were pleasurable, because they were right in the sight of the Lord. He also advocated a self-sustaining policy being carried out in the community. The gospel furnished a remedy for all the evils that existed in our midst, if we would only avail ourselves of the same, for God our Heavenly Father had condescended to reveal to us a plan that would increase upon the saints both temporal and spiritual blessings. Let us, therefore, exercise faith, and put our trust in him, and be determined to carry out the counsels of the servants of God, &c.

[Charles C. Rich]

[DNW 24:209, 5/5/75, p 1; JD 17:357]

REMARKS

BY ELDER CHARLES C. RICH, DELIVERED

At the Forty-Fifth Annual Coference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, on Tuesday morning, April 6th 1875.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      I have been gratified this morning in listening to the instructions that we have received in relation to the principles of life and salutation. It is no doubt the desire of every individual to obtain eternal life in the kingdom of God. But to do this it is necessary that we hear and obey the commandments which he has given on this subject, as well as on the manner of building up this kingdom upon the earth. In every dispensation of God to man he has had purposes for his people to fulfill, and a labor for them to perform, and those purposes and that labor have not always been the same in every respect; but as far as the principles of eternal life are concerned, they have been and will be the same from all eternity to all eternity. When Noah was upon the earth he was required to build an ark; Enoch to build a city; the Prophets, in their several dispensations, had a labor to perform, varying somewhat according to the nature of the circumstances by which they and the people to whom they were sent were surrounded. The Apostles, chosen by the Savior, had to proclaim the everlasting Gospel to all the world, and the same may be said of the servants of God in our day. But in every dispensation those who have been willing to receive the everlasting Gospel have been required to sanctify themselves by living according to its precepts, that they might prepare themselves for the coming of the Lord.

      As we have been told, the dispensation in which we are living is one of great importance—it is the dispensation of the fulness of times, in which all things which are in Christ will be gathered together, both those which are in heaven and those which are on the earth. The labor which is required of the Saints can not be performed short of their being gathered together, for it is absolutely necessary that they should, in all things, observe the commands of God in building up his kingdom here on the earth, which they could not do while in a scattered condition. The building up of the kingdom of God upon the earth, is a labor which will require all our time and attention, and our best efforts, and we have no time to idle away or to spend in foolishness, but our eyes should be continually single to the glory of God, and our efforts should be as the efforts of one man for the accomplishment of his purposes.

      We meet together in Conference for the express purpose of taking these matters into consideration, and of being instructed in our duties and in the requirements made upon us by our heavenly Father in spreading forth his Gospel among the nations, that the honest in heart therein may hear and embrace them and be gathered out with the Saints, and thus have a better opportunity of accomplishing their mission upon the earth. I esteem such opportunities as the present as glorious, and as a means of great blessing to us all. How is it possible for us to build up God's kingdom on the earth unless he directs our labors, and bestows upon us the influence and guidance of his Holy Spirit? It is not possible; and as the labor which he requires of us is of the greatest interest and importance to us, and indeed to all of the inhabitants of the earth, it behooves us to seek diligently unto him that we may become the honored instruments in his hands of building up his kingdom. This is no mere fancy or chimera on the part of the Latter-day Saints. We know that among the sects of the Christian world there is nothing certain about the life to come, or about their acceptance with God. The most they attain to in this respect is a mere hope—they hope they are accepted, and they trust their sins are forgiven; but with the faithful Latter-day Saints the case is very different—they know and can bear testimony by the gift and power of God that they are right in his sight; they know they have received the everlasting Gospel; they know that they are laboring in accordance with his mind and will, and they know that they are building up his kingdom here on the earth. This knowledge is a source of joy unspeakable to the Saints, and possessing it they can leave native lands, homes and possessions, parents, friends and everything they value and hold dear, if necessary, in order to perform and accomplish the labor which the Lord requires at their hands.

      The principles which have been laid before us this morning in regard to our becoming a self-sustaining people, are plain and easy to be comprehended. They are self-evident to every reflecting mind, and are worthy of our earnest attention, for while we are dependent upon others for this, that and the other which is indispensable to our well-being and comfort, we can plainly see that our course is not only not the most advantageous to ourselves, but also that it is not the most pleasing to our heavenly Father, for in the revelations given by him in the early rise of this Church, his Saints were requested to pursue such a course in their home affairs as would make them self-sustaining. We have seen times in our experience here in this Territory, when it has been extremely difficult for us to obtain from abroad many things which we needed, and there is little doubt that we shall see such times again in the future; hence the very great necessity to adopt a policy in regard to temporal matters that will free us from the inconveniences that would arise in such a contingency, and that can only he done by producing as far as possible, according to our circumstances and the possibilities of our climate and Territory, everything that we need to sustain ourselves in comfort and convenience.

      In the Gospel we find a remedy for every evil. A faithful observance of its principles will eventually free and deliver us from the consequence of every evil practice; and the principles of the Gospel we believe in are easy to adopt, and they are as applicable to a community as to an individual. We are told that in union there is strength; then, if as a community we will go to and, as the heart of one man, carry out the counsels of the servants of God, it will be easy for us to avoid any difficulties which we otherwise might have to encounter. A glance at matters abroad in the world will show the difficulties which the people everywhere have to contend with, and if we could trace them to their source, we should no doubt find that they arise through the absence of the principle of union; and one of the principal reasons of the great difference between us and them is, that we observe this principle much more generally and perfectly than they do, and hence we free ourselves from many of the difficulties and troubles under which they labor. This union will become stronger among us, in temporal as well as spiritual affairs, in proportion as we observe and keep the commandments and counsels of our heavenly Father. He has said that his Saints should become the richest of all people. But how will this be brought about? If we follow our former notions, and the notions of the world in general, what more can we do than they have done? We might say, simply, that we could bring about the very same result here as they have there; but that would not spread comfort and happiness, so far as temporal things are concerned, among the whole of his people, and hence if his promise unto us on this subject is ever fulfilled, it will only be by our following his counsel in all things.

      How thankful we should be that we live in an age of the world when God is again willing to speak to his people, and to tell them what he requires of them! I say, what a blessing this is to the Saints, and to the whole world if they would receive it! But it is written that as it was in the days of Noah, so should it be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man. This was verily so—the people were not willing to hearken to him, they would not believe his testimony, neither would they receive his counsel. It is measurably so in our own times. The world at large manifest the same unwillingness to receive the counsel of heaven as they have done in any preceding age. But a few have been ready and willing to receive the testimony of the servants of God, and they have been gathered out from the nations for the express purpose of preparing themselves for the coming of the Lord, and to engage in the labor of building up his kingdom upon the earth, and also to do a work for the salvation of those who have gone before. Then it is for us as Latter-day Saints, to hearken to the voice of God, and to give diligent heed to all things which he has proclaimed to, and which he requires of, us in these days. If we take this course, his blessings, which have been bestowed upon us liberally in the past, will be dispensed more abundantly. In these things we have a right to rejoice, and as Saints of the Most High God we do rejoicer in the knowledge of the fact that his hand has been over us from the day that the Church was organized with six members unto the present time. His hand has been visibly manifest in our behalf, and his blessings have been showered upon us, and we have been led by his power and dictated by his servants all the day long. If this had not been so, we should not have occupied the enviable position which we occupy to-day, our enemies would have overcome us long ago. But the outstretched arm of the God we serve has been over us, and his mercies and blessings have been freely bestowed upon us, and we have been sustained, and we shall be from this time forward. We have need to exercise faith; we have need to put our trust in him, and we have need to labor as he directs us. I presume that the feeling of all who have received a knowledge of the truth of the Gospel, is to do everything that the Lord requires of them, and that they will devote all their energies of body and mind to the building up of his kingdom here upon the earth.

      That we may pursue this course and adopt this policy, and perform the labors that may be continually required of us, and ultimately be saved and exalted in the celestial kingdom of God, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

            Meeting was adjourned until 2 o'clock p.m.

            The choir sang the anthem --

Praise him, all ye nations.

            Benediction by ELDER LORENZO SNOW

_____

[6 Apr, 2 pm]

[DNW 24:164, 4/14/75, p 4]

FIRST DAY -- AFTERNOON.

_____

            The choir sang --

Come, we that love the Lord
And let our joys be known.

            Prayer by Elder B. YOUNG, JUN'R.

            Choir sang the following

TEMPLE SONG
_____
Tune -- "Hold the Fort."
_____

Lo! a Temple, long expected, in St. George shall stand;
By God's faithful Saints erected here in Dixie Land.

CHORUS:--
Hallelujah! hallelujah! let hosannahs ring;
Heaven shall echo back our praises; Christ shall reign as king.

Th' noble task we hail with pleasure, coming from our head,
Brings salvation, life eternal, for our kindred dead.

CHORUS--

Holy and Eternal Father, give us strength, we pray,
To Thy Name to build this Temple in the Latter-day

CHORUS:--

Oh! how anxious friends are waiting, watching every move
Made by us for their redemption, with a holy love.

CHORUS:--

Long they've hoped through weary ages for the present time.
For the everlasting gospel, with it's truth sublime.

CHORUS:--

Lo! the prison doors are open, millions hail the day,
Praying, hoping for baptism, in th' appointed way.

CHORUS:--

Glory! Glory! hallelujah, let the structure rise;
Rear aloft those noble towers, pointing to the skies.

CHORUS:--

Hell may raze and Satan tremble, still that house we'll rear;

Heaven will aid us, angels guard us, we've no need to fear.

CHORUS:--

C. WALKER, St. George.

            The chorus was taken up by several thousands of Sunday school children, after every two lines sung by the choir.

            Notwithstanding the inclemency of the weather the children came pouring into the Tabernacle from all parts of the city, and by 2 o'clock they were comfortably seated, and their united voices filled the vast house with melody.

[Elder Orson Hyde]

            Elder ORSON HYDE was delighted to witness such a pleasing sight, and listen to the thousands of sweet voices singing the praises of God. He dwelt on the duties of parents towards their children, to take a proper and judicious watchcare over them, especially during the Sabbath-day, and during the darkness of night. He also advocated the necessity of parents giving their children a good education, being willing to pay their school bills, and placing them under the best of teachers. He bore testimony that what is called "Mormonism" was the truth of God, and he would bear it off. He then spoke of the policy of the Latter-day Saints in these valleys, in the instructing the Indians to lay aside their murders, and their savage and barbarous customs, and turn towards peaceful and industrious pursuits, and all seemingly to little or no purpose, but recently, they themselves say, they have been visited by three personages, who instructed them to go to the Latter-day Saints to be baptized, and then learn to cultivate the earth, and cease to rob, plunder, and murder. These personages told them they were more than a thousand snows old, which exactly agrees with what we find in the Book of Mormon.

[Orson Hyde]

[JD 17:350]

REMARKS

BY ELDER ORSON HYDE, DELIVERED

At the Forty-fifth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Tuesday Afternoon, April 6, 1875

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS

_____

      I do not know that I ever beheld a more pleasing sight than that which I behold here to-day. So many children, of both sexes, most of them born in this Territory, assembled here to offer up a song of praise to God our heavenly Father. To hear their childish voices chime in with the voices of those who are older and more experienced, is really something that I admire, and intelligence cannot refrain from doing so.

      I am pleased at the opportunity that is offered me on this occasion. I do not expect to detain you any length of time. Be this, however, as the Spirit of the Lord may direct. I listened to some very excellent remarks in the former part of the day, and I will say that if the loaf has been broken by more able and competent hands than mine, it will not be unbecoming in me to try and gather up some of the fragments, that we may enjoy the whole.

      Here, perhaps, are some five thousand of the rising generation before me who, in future time, will become actors upon the stage of life. How important it is that their characters be formed so as not only to reflect honor upon their parents, but also upon the cause of Zion in which we are engaged. How beautiful it is to see the rising generation growing up in intelligence, and in good will and kindness one toward another. As our settlements spread to the east, west, north and south, a certain element appears therein which some of you may understand and recognize by the name of modern civilization. This element, which seems to be un-congenial with the spirit of purity, righteousness and integrity, has reached down as far as our place, and it seems that nothing will satisfy it short of saloons, grog-shops, whisky-holes, and other concomitants of modern civilization. I want to say to our young friends—avoid these dens as you would avoid the source of pestilence, keep far away from them, and betake yourselves to learning. No doubt you do, but there are some, perhaps, who do not to the extent that they might. Instead of being in the streets of a night, making unearthly noises, as some do, seemingly under the influence of modern civilization, keep at your homes, study your books, and spend your time in improving your minds. Sometimes, when preaching in different parts of the Territory, While the congregation were listening to the words that were being spoken, I have seen our little boys in the streets playing at ball, or engaging in other recreations, and while such a course has been innocent on their part, it has been an evidence to me that they have not received that attention and instruction from their parents which I consider parents owe to their children; and while the parents would seek to enjoy the words of life themselves, they have seemed to be thoughtless with regard to the whereabouts of their children. This being the case, it is necessary that we pay more particular attention to our children, and to know that they are at the house of God. To be sure, children can not profit by every word that is spoken, their minds are not capacious enough to comprehend every idea that may be advanced; but every once in a while, a word will take root in their hearts, and grow, and this will enable them the more readily to appreciate and understand that which they may hear in the future.

      I realize that, as a parent, I have not been so faithful and diligent in this respect as I should have been, and I feel that I am far from being a proper example to my brethren and sisters; but sometimes when I have been about to open the meetings and have seen that all my children were not there, what have I done? I have left the stand, gone into the streets and found my boys, and brought them in and seated them in the congregation, that they might not set an unworthy example before others. Not only so, but sometimes when I have gone to bed at an early hour mad, after having had a nap, I have waked up about the usual bed time and found my boys not at home, I have got up and gone into the streets in search of them, and have searched until I have found them and brought them home.

      I feel that, as parents, we cannot bestow too much attention upon those who are rising up to inherit our responsibilities and to bear off the kingdom in the eyes of all the nations of the earth. I know that I come short of my duty in this respect, but I am trying to fulfill it in this as well as in many other directions, and I can not rest, either flay or night unless I know where my children are, and what they are doing. By following the dictates of this feeling I have been able, under the blessing of God, to rejoice in the society of my children, both morning and evening, and to know where they are; and I have proved that they will learn to respect the wishes of their parents, and now I have the pleasure to hear them say—"Father, may I go out to such a place to-night?" and they will set one hour or two hours. I reply, "Yes, if you will go nowhere else, and behave yourselves and make no disturbance in the streets, go, and God bless you, but return at the time you say. I will sit up until you come home, then we will have prayers together before we go to bed." It is very pleasing to me to call my wives and children together in the morning and to spend a few minutes in giving them a few words of kindly instruction. I have practiced it until it is as much of a pleasure to me as it is to eat my breakfast when I have a good one, and I feel lost without it. I say to this requirement and to that requirement—Stand aside until I discharge this duty. I do not make these remarks because I wish to show myself any better than anybody else; but if there is any blessing or benefit, brethren and sisters, to be derived from what I have said you are abundantly welcome to it, and to act upon it, or something similar to it that your own better wisdom may devise, but do not neglect to cultivate the tender minds of your children.

      It is good to have Sabbath schools; they are a source of amusement and recreation as well as of mental and intellectual improvement and development. But is this all that is necessary and needful? Our day schools should not be neglected. What are we here for but to raise up children and endow and qualify them for future usefulness? Says one—"It costs so much to keep up schools." It costs some persons something to do it, then there are others who let a school bill be about the last one they pay, and after having availed themselves of the labors of a teacher for the benefit of their children they allow him to go unrewarded until his ambition sinks within him, and he concludes to go to some other business, and thus we deprive ourselves of the best class of school teachers, and we have to put up with persons of second or third rate ability. We ought to employ the best talent that can be procured as school teachers. I have been through the world considerably, one time and another, but I have never yet seen a city in which a good educational system was maintained in which the people suffered in character or prestige, or where poverty was increased in consequence thereof; but it has added to their influence and prestige and improved their morals, and surely if heaven will thus prosper the efforts of parents to educate their children there is no reason why we should not go into it a little stronger than we do.

      Perhaps you who dwell in this city are far in advance of those who dwell in other parts of the Territory,—my remarks are more particularly intended for us country people, who do not live in the full blaze and refulgence of intelligence, but away yonder in the corners, on the outskirts and in the by-places, for I know that many among us do not pay that attention to education that we should do. Suppose that in a coming day we come up before our heavenly Father and say—"Father, thy pound hath gained ten pounds, or five pounds," as the case may be. "I have acquired so much and have laid it up in store." Another one says—"Father, I have here those whom thou gavest me, and have lost none of thorn; they are all here. I have no gold or silver, but I have gems, in the persons of these children; they are bright and intelligent, and are calculated to radiate society wherever they are. I have bestowed everything upon them which I could command to improve and elevate them, and I have withheld no opportunity from them." I am inclined to the opinion that the latter would receive much more commendation than the former, though he heaped together millions, especially if his children were not educated.

      "But," says one, "I am poor and can not do it." Well, so far as my experience has gone, those who are willing and determined to educate their children generally find the means to do it, while those who complain of poverty, as a general thing, make poverty the scapegoat to bear of their unwillingness to teach and instruct their children, or to put them in the way of instruction. Now brethren, what shall we do? I would suggest to all parents—I do not mean those in this city particularly, for I am not called to instruct with regard to these things here, yet if any are disposed to be benefited by my remarks, even in this city, I have not the least objection; but I would suggest to all parents that it is our duty, when we employ a good teacher to keep his heart whole, and his spirit up by paying him what we agree to pay him, and pay it before he starves to death or is forced to go away and engage in some other occupation. If you have got a good teacher, keep him, at almost any price, to educate your children. Suppose a man had forty children—some have as many as that—and they were all well trained and educated, how much honor would that reflect upon the father, upon the mother, and upon the community in which they dwell? Would it not be a cause of pleasing remark to the intelligent so far as they were known? Most assuredly. Well, now then, brethren and sisters, pay the teacher. We think a good deal of a horse or a span of horses, and they are animals given to us by Providence for our comfort and convenience; but to turn them out, after working, without food or care would certainly be cruel on our part. And to employ teachers and then not reward them so that they can feed and clothe themselves certainly reflects no honor upon any community; and I say that if we care for our teams, we certainly ought to care for our teachers, and pay them according to agreement; then their ambition is kept up to the highest pitch and they feel inspired; but if we subject them to the inconvenience of earning their wages three or four times by collecting small sums from one and another, they become discouraged and are finally compelled to turn their attention to some other vocation.

      Brethren and sisters, these are important matters. Our children are entrusted to our care and management, and unless we do our best to cultivate and improve them, have we any right to be the agents in bringing their spirits from the realms of say to earth and then neglect them? Are we justified in doing this? It seems to me not, it seems to me that we are not doing our duty towards them.

      Our enemies reproach as and our children on account of our alleged ignorance and general inferiority. Be this as it may, there was not intelligence enough in the "big tent" nor in the Rev. Dr. Newman to make headway against the small amount of knowledge that exists here in the Mormon community. Act as we may and do what we will, we cannot satisfy the accusers of our brethren. The name of their accusations is Legion; and we are not disposed to make any great effort to satisfy them. It is ourselves and our God that we labor to satisfy,—by no means ignoring the friendly hints of all honorable men.

      I feel thankful for this opportunity of bearing my testimony, and I bear my testimony that what is called "Mormonism" is the truth of God, and that the Lord is fulfilling his word in the last days. There are some very curious sayings in the Bible respecting John the Revelator, one, of which is—"If I will that he tarry until I come, what, is that to thee?" which led to the saying that that disciple was not going to die. But Jesus did not say that. Certain Nephites on this continent wanted to live to bring souls to Christ until he came. Their desires were granted to them, and they were permitted to live, or they had the promise that they should not pass behind the vail until the second coming of the Savior. Whether the saying of the old Prophet had anything to do with this matter I cannot tell, but he said—"Lord, they have digged down thine altars, killed thy Prophets, and I am left here alone, and they seek my life." The answer of the Lord was—"I have reserved to myself seven thousand men who have never bowed the knee to the image of Baal." Whether that has reference to any characters that were not to pass away, but that were to live and be witnesses in the earth and bring their testimony to a focus in the last days—the days in which we live—to make the truth of God blaze like the light of heaven upon all the world I cannot say, I do not know; but the Lord has not left himself without a witness, and some of you will no doubt recollect that, three or four years ago, I told the Saints in this Tabernacle that the testimony in favor of the truth of "Mormonism" would increase and that the source of evidence in its favor would multiply and grow stronger. Now we hear of a remarkable movement that has recently commenced among the Indians. Before proceeding further on this subject I will say that we have labored in our weakness among the Indians, trying to convert them from the error of their ways, and to persuade them to cease shedding blood, committing depredations on the white people, and to turn their attention to agriculture. I recollect going away up here to Snake River to visit a settlement that had been made there for the purpose of instructing the Indians in agriculture, and, if possible, to reclaim them from their disposition to steal and shed blood. I have also been to other places where similar efforts have been made; but we have not been able to accomplish much. I do not say that no good was done—perhaps some little good was done. But it seems that the time had not come for the means to be brought into requisition which Heaven had ordained to be used in the reformation of the Lamanites. For some time past, the Indians have been telling us very strange stories. They say that certain strange men have visited them and spoken to them, and have taught them what to do in order to be saved in the kingdom of God. Strange men have come to and talked with them perhaps an hour at a time, and while the Indians are looking at them they vanish out of sight, and they know not where they go. I do not know that it is so, but this is what the Indians declare and testify to, and I am a little inclined to believe that there is something in it, for you know the Apostle Paul, in speaking to his brethren, said—"Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." Perhaps one of these old men might come along in disguise, incog., not in his real character, and appear like any other man, clad as any other man, and stay over night with some of the brethren.

      Some say that the "Mormons" have no Priesthood, power or authority from God; but if this be so why do these good old men who go to the Indians send them to the "Mormons" to be baptized? Why do they not send them to the Methodists? You have Methodists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians and Catholics right here in town, why do not these men who come to instruct the Indians tell them to go to some of these bodies to get baptized? It is singular that they should tell them to go to the Latter-day Saints. it is a good deal like the angel who told Cornelius to send to the house of one Simon a tanner, and call for Simon surnamed Peter, and he would tell him words whereby he and his house might be saved. Why send to Peter when Cornelius and his house lived among the Pharisees and Sadducees? Peter had the keys of the kingdom; the angel knew that, and said he—"Go to Peter and he will tell you words whereby you and your house can be saved." These men say to the Indians—"Go to the "Mormons" and they will tell you words whereby you can be saved;" but if we had no Priesthood, no keys of the kingdom, no power to administer the ordinances of the Gospel, why should these old men, who declare that they are more than a thousand years old, and tell the Indians that their fathers were white and that they shall be if they only do as they are commanded, I say, why should these men tell the Indians to come to the Latter-day Saints? There is something singular about it. What san the world of mankind say to it? How can they meet it? I will tell you. It is a wave of evidence which, like a wave of the sea completely submerges everything on which it flows, it overturns every objection that the world can offer. God Almighty will vindicate his own cause—he has got the means prepared for that.

      Now let me say to you, brethren and sisters, look well to these little children. Teach them good morals teach them, when you go to meeting, to go with you, and be sure that you do not stay behind just because you do not feel exactly the spirit of it. If you do not feel the spirit of it yourselves, feel it for the sake of your children, and bring them to the house of God that they may be taught and instructed. I recollect very well in early days, sometimes I heard a good and kindly word from a sectarian minister, there were no other ministers when I was a boy; but they sometimes spoke words in my hearing that I have not yet forgotten, they took root in my heart, and I still bear them in mind. I exhort you, brethren and sisters, to cultivate the morals of your children, for we are not going to stay here always; we shall be gathered with our fathers by and by, and these little ones will have to assume the responsibilities which we now bear. Hence I say qualify them for the positions which they will be called to fill in future. Teach them that which is good and right, and may the blessing of the Father rest upon you and upon all Israel, and may we live to see the truth of God triumph!

      I feel thankful that God has heard our prayers. Says the Lord—"By this you may know whether God hears you, if you receive the things which you ask for." If you receive the things you ask for, know ye that God has heard your prayers. Who is there among the Latter-day Saints who has not prayed for the removal of an unjust judge? If there are any who have not done it they ought to be turned out of the citadel. I believe you all have. Well, the Lord has heard our prayers in that respect, and not only so, but I will say, that if we were to pray against every official who is a bigot, a fool and an ass, the Lord would hear our prayers and turn him out no matter by what agency it is done. Let us try it. Never pray against a liberal, good man, whether "Mormon" or Gentile; if he is a fair and honest man, and is willing to live and let live, let him live just as long as God is willing to let him, and do not pray against him. But if he tries to overthrow and destroy us, or to withhold from us our rights, let the volume of our prayers ascend up to God for him, and if he does not hear from it some time I shall wonder. But he will hear from it, you may be assured of this. Why should we despair when the means of self-defence and self-protection are embedded in our own spirits, when we have the weapons right here? Not carnal weapons, not the sword, not the deadly rifle, but we have something more potent—the sword of the Spirit. This is our means of self-defense and self-protection, and let us use it. I have tried it. Not that I have any reason to boast, but I have great reason to be thankful to God my heavenly Father. I do know that when we want anything special, if we will make that a subject of continual pleading; if we will go into our closets and shut the door, and lay the matter before the God that made us, lay our hearts, as it were upon the altar and importune at his feet, in process of time he will hear us and avenge our wrongs, no matter what the wicked do or how much they may rage; and there is no subject on the face of the earth that is exempt from the influence of our prayers, high or low, rich or poor, noble or ignoble.

      Let us exercise ourselves in this direction and teach our children to do the same. You know it is said that the religious world despair of converting us old Mormons, us old heads who are dyed in the wool; but they hope to convert our children by insidiously sending their missionaries to establish schools in our midst, by which they hope to entice and win their tender minds over to their side. That is the tack they are taking. Well, brethren and sisters, you do your duty toward your children pray for them morning and evening; instruct them by means of little short sermons every day, then you may turn them out to go to school if you like, as far as I am concerned, even to our friends of the sectarian world, and if they can exert a stronger influence than you with your prayers and instruction, and the parental tie that binds them to you, it will be something very singular, and I do not believe they can do it.

      One young minister, a very kind, gentlemanly man, has appeared among us down in Sanpete. I have not a word to say against his morality or behavior, it is all very nice, and to all appearance he is a polished gentleman. He has spoken in several of our settlements, and, in his way, has endeavored to teach the people. Said I, on one occasion, to Bishop Peterson, "What did you think of that man's sermon last night?" I did not happen to be there. Brother Peterson's reply was—"So far as morality was concerned it could not be beat; but when you come to doctrine and principle he was entirely ignorant. Our little children know better." In order that this minister might be properly posted with regard to some of our doctrines, I took the liberty of sending him the Deseret News, containing an excellent argumentative discourse by brother Orson Pratt. I did that for the purpose of informing his mind in reference to the arguments be would have to meet and controvert if he successfully prosecuted his labors in this country. I hope and I expect that he read it, for it certainly would not do anybody any harm to read it.

      Brethren and sisters, I will not detain you longer. My remarks have perhaps been a little scattering, but scattering shot sometimes hit more birds than a rifle shot. Suffice it to say, you have my best wishes for your success and prosperity. May peace be with you, and God bless you and me, and the Twelve, and the servants of God with whom we have labored from the beginning; and may our lives be spun out as long as they tend to the honor and glory of God. And that we may obtain a mansion and crown in the realms of bliss, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

Zion is Growing.

was then sung by the Sunday School children.

[Elder George Q. Cannon]

            ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON was much pleased to be present on this interesting occasion, and to listen to the instructions that had been imparted. The spectacle before him, of several thousands of children, was calculated to fill the minds of those of more mature years with serious and important reflections. It was delightful to listen to their united and harmonious voices and it would be well if we as parents carried out the good counsel given us by Elder Orson Hyde.

            He then spoke of education. We had been a very poor people for some years after we came into these valleys, and for several years most of our crops were eaten up by grasshoppers and crickets, and yet our parent government had never appropriated a dollar to aid us in the education of our children.

            He then spoke of "free schools" so popular in the minds of many in this country, and so strongly advocated. He begged respectfully to differ upon that principle of education. He believed it was a species of pauperism, which was not good and wholesome to inculcate in society. Let us learn to be self-sustaining, and not depend upon others' industry or means when we had the means of procuring what we needed by our own exertions. Those who were unable to aid themselves, let us render what assistance they required. It was more blessed to give than to receive.

            The children sang --

Our own Sunday School.

            The choir sang the anthem --

Daughter of Zion.

            Conference adjourned till tomorrow morning at 10 a.m.

            Benediction by ELDER WILFORD WOODRUFF.

_____

[7 Apr, 10 am]

[DNW 24:164, 4/14/75, p 4]

SECOND DAY.

_____

            Wednesday morning, 10 a.m. April 7, 1875.

            The choir sang --

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;

            Prayer by Elder Z. COLTRIN.

            The choir sang --

An angel from on high,
The long, long silence broke;

[Pest. B. Young]

            PREST. B. YOUNG felt thankful to be present at this conference, with improved health, to what it was six months ago, though the weather was very cold and unpropitious for our meeting together in conference. He hoped, however, the brethren and sisters would wrap up well and be prepared to spend a little time together in this large house, until we got through. He then spoke on the gospel and the proper training of children.

[Brigham Young]

[DNW 24:182, 4/21/75, p 6; JD 17:360]

REMARKS

BY PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG, DELIVERED

At the Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, on Wednesday Afternoon, April 7th 1875

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      There is a little matter of some importance to lay before the Conference, concerning those little insects that have done so much injury to our fruit the Just two years. I mean what are called the codling moths. We had better go to work and see whether we can destroy them: and when we have done all we can, perhaps we may have faith that the Lord will rebuke the devourer. We wish to recommend the people who have orchards, in this county and throughout the valleys of the mountains, to meet together and enter into some arrangements and adopt such mensures as will enable us to destroy these little pests. I recommend that brother Woodruff give out an appointment for a meeting of all who are engaged in raising fruit. Brother Woodruff is the President of the Deseret Agricultural and Manufacturing Society, and I should like for him and all interested in this subject to confer together and adopt such plans as they may think necessary and best to kill, not only the millers, but the worms before they become millers. They put me in mind of what I heard brother Kimball say, some years ago, at the time the revelation on celestial marriage was published. Brother Kimball got to talking upon celestial marriage, and he made a comparison; said he—"The cat is out of the bag; and that is not all—this cat is going to have kittens; and that is not all, those kittens are going to have cats." Well, these worms make millers, and the millers make worms, and if we wish to get rid of them we must go to work and kill both of them off. I want to have arrangements made for destroying these insects before Conference adjourns, while the brethren are assembled here from the various parts of the Territory.

      There is another item I wish to bring before this Conference, and especially before the brethren and sisters who have stock in Zion's Co-operative Mercantile Institution. There was quite a number of them together on Monday last, and the desire universally expressed on that occasion was in favor of continuing the business. If we do, I have some propositions to make; and, as I suppose there are as many of the stockholders here this afternoon as were together on Monday, and perhaps a good many more, I will make them now. I propose to the brethren and sisters that we build a house to do our trading in, and that we own it and pay no rent. I also propose that we get clerks who will wait upon the people and do right; and then I propose that we go to that place and do our trading; and if we want a cent's worth of candy, get it; if we want a dollar's worth of maple sugar, and they have it, get it; and if we want five yards of calico, have clerks who will cut it off for the person who wants it and will pay for it.

      Our brethren who are engaged in the retail trade may say—"You are going to make a retail store of this." Yes, for ourselves and for all who will patronize it.

      My proposition is that we build this store independent of the capital stock; we have none too much of that, and would rather add to it than not; and we will get our business settled up just as quickly as possible, and as fast as possible do our purchasing abroad upon a ready cash principle, without asking credit.

      I have said, not only to my brethren here, but to our creditors in the city of New York, "If you have any dubiety or fears with regard to crediting this Institution, I am very much obliged to you for having them, and I hope and pray that you will never trust it any more." I do not wish to injure the credit of the Institution, but I wish that we could not get anybody to trust us, but that we would do our trading altogether upon the ready money principle. We are perfectly able to do it, and could have done it from the beginning, if we had taken the course that we should have taken, and never asked credit, and never traded beyond our means. It is within my knowledge and the knowledge of thousands of this people that this institution has saved our community from one to three millions annually in prices. Our merchants have hearts that are too elastic, entirely too elastic; they are so elastic that they do not ask what they can afford to sell an article for, but they ask what they can get the people to pay; and as much as the people will pay, so much will the merchants take—a hundred, or a thousand per cent., if they can get it, and then thank God for their success. They put me in mind of some men I have seen who, when they had a chance to buy a widow's cow for ten cents on the dollar of her real value in cash, would make the purchase, and then thank the Lord that he had so blessed them. Such men belong to the class of Christians referred to on one occasion by Charles Gunn; and, if you will excuse me, I will tell you what he said about them. He said that "hell was full of such Christians."

      Zion's Co-operative Mercantile Institution has saved an immense amount of means to this community, and we wish to continue the business, hence I propose that we put up a building, and then, instead of paying somebody in New York, St. Louis, Sacramento or San Francisco, three, four, five, six or eight thousand dollars to insure it, that we insure it ourselves and save that money. I will tell you why; if another man can make money by taking my means and insuring my property, I certainly can save as much as he can make, consequently I keep my money and do not insure my property. I have about as many buildings as anyone in this Territory, and I never yet paid a dollar to insure one of them, or any of my property, or myself. My faith is to build a house so that it will not take fire; but when I ride round here and see stovepipes running through the roofs of houses and through wooden partitions, as many of them do, I do not wonder that we want fire companies. If I had the dictation of the building of a city there never would be any use for a fire company, and never any need to have an insurance company, but we need save all this clerk hire and the expense of keeping large offices. What a saving that would be to the people! Build your houses and your cities so that they will not take fire unless you purposely set them on fire. When we see an insurance sign over a door, and then read a list informing us that hundreds or thousands have insured, say in this city, then we may look for fires. Some will get their buildings insured as high as possible, and then they will accidentally take fire on purpose. Some of you recollect a circumstance which transpired here some years ago. Certain merchants got broken up with their pockets full of money, and they had a large amount of pork on hand, but they could not sell it. Finally they got it insured and stowed it away in a cellar belonging to brother Branch, who lived near to the Seventies' Hall. The pork got on fire in the cellar and was burned up, and all the insurance in the world could not put out the fire, But the house would not burn, and how they could burn the pork without burning the house, was a mystery to me. Whether they got the insurance money I do not know. These are facts right before us, and ought to teach us a lesson.

      If we call for the brethren and sisters who hold stock in the Institution, we shall expect them to meet together and decide with regard to building a house in which to do our trading.

      I think we had better hold our Conference during the continuance of this wintry weather, and wait until it moderates before we adjourn to go home.

 

            The Conference was adjourned to 2 o'clock p.m.

            The choir sang --

Jerusalem, my glorious home.

            Benediction by ELDER JOHN TAYLOR.

_____

[7 Apr, 2 pm]

[DNW 24:164, 4/14/75, p 4]

SECOND DAY.

_____

AFTERNOON, April 7h.

            The choir sang --

Great God, indulge my humble claim;
Thou art my hope, my joy, my rest.

            Prayer by ELDER A. CARRINGTON.

            The choir sang --

Arise, O glorious Zion,
Thou joy of latter days, &c.

[Prest. Joseph Young]

            PREST. JOSEPH YOUNG said yesterday was the 45th anniversary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and two years after that he was baptized by water into this church, making it forth-three years since he became a member. The principles taught by this people were true, and he knew it, and he was honest in his convictions. Whoever possessed a knowledge of God, the Father and his Son Jesus Christ, had the germ of eternal life within him. If the spirit of God was universally enjoyed, all jars and contentions and animosities between man and man would cease. There was nothing equal to the sweet communion of the Saints of God. He asked God to bless the conference, and to bless the singers, for how sweet and heavenly was the voice of melody! He could see a vast amount of labor resting upon this people, in reference to agriculture, our temple, our tithing, our railroads. A few years ago, none but a prophet could have realized that a railroad with its locomotive would be heard in this city.

            He then spoke of the insects that destroyed our fruit last year, recommended prayer and works combined to get rid of them. Said he wanted to go to St. George, not only to see the temple, but to lend a helping hand towards its erection. He had assisted on two, and this would make a third.

            He then addressed a few timely hints to children, recommending them to receive the advice of their parents.

[Elder Erastus Snow]

            ELDER ERASTUS SNOW said he loved this people because the majority were seeking after truth. We bore the image of God. No other people on the face of the earth had such faith and such holy aspirations as we who are called Latter-day Saints. The subject of self reliance had been spoken of. Let us take a course to be free from bondage, or dependent on others, and try by the labor of our hands to supply our own wants, and bring our wants into subjection to our ability to supply them. Let not the pride of life stand in our way, but let a God-like, noble principle stimulate us to improvement. Let us adhere to the true line of demarcation. We were very much mutually dependent on each other, and we should live with a view of developing those God-like social qualities towards each other. All God's creatures that lived upon the earth had to exert their energies to supply their daily wants, and he required of us to use the faculties we possessed in order to supply ourselves with what we needed. The United Order which God had called upon us to enter into, required that we should all try to liquidate our present indebtedness, and become free from all obligation.

            He then made some excellent remarks on the free school education principle. He believed in a combined mental and physical education. Every person should be willing to help themselves as long as they possibly could. Then the hand of brotherly kindness should be stretched forth to assist them. Practical education was what we wanted, and to show the poor how to help themselves. None in distress or poverty should be slighted, but we should try to place them in a position to provide for themselves, and not encourage vagrancy, idleness and laziness. Our motto was "The Hive of Deseret." We wanted no drones within it. Many tried to live by their wits rather than by honest industry. He did not speak against legitimate trade, which had no tendency to injure but benefit any community. There was a necessity for mutual exchange of commodities. The credit system always seemed to him to injure rather than benefit mankind. Especially with us as a laboring people it was and always had been a positive evil. It endangered our freedom. Many had their property mortgaged, and we therefore were under a yoke of bondage. Let all such take warning by having their fingers in the fire, and let them shun it hereafter. As a remedy, let us bring our wants within our ability to supply them. Bondage and dishonesty were the natural result of the credit system. Honesty was the best policy. He believed in it in families and nations. It was not good for us to go into the mountains and find nuggets of gold, but it was good to find a piece of land, upon which to raise onions, potatoes, etc. It was not big dividends from our co-operative stores, or United Order efforts, that was a sure sign of their healthfulness, but an honest and upright course of management. Over trading, over-straining, fast living, etc., had been the chief cause of the present reaction now experienced at our great commercial centre, and a steady retrenchment and curtailment of our wants and a determination to pay our debts was the only way to recover ourselves from present embarrassments.

[Erastus Snow]

[DNW 24:244, 5/19/75, p 4; JD 17:363]

DISCOURSE

BY ELDER ERASTUS SNOW, DELIVERED

At the Forty-Fifth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Wednesday Afternoon, april 7, 1875.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      If I can be heard I desire to make myself understood, for I have a tow reflections to present to the people. I love this people, because I am persuaded that the very great majority of them are seeking after truth. We desire to improve and to pursue the path that will lead us onward and upward in the scale of being, to develop the powers within us that pertain to the Godhead, created as we are in his image, bearing in mind this injunction of one of the Apostles—"Let this same mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, when he found himself in the form of God, thought it no robbery to be equal with him." No other people that I have any knowledge of upon the earth have such faith, such aspirations, such hope for the future as the Latter-day Saints possess, as is taught us in the sacred books of our holy religion, and as was taught us by the Prophet Joseph Smith, and which are manifested by the Holy Ghost in us. We look for greater things than any other people; and we must labor to develop within ourselves and within our children the gifts and powers that are within us, and which are embraced in our faith. Anything, therefore, that serves to stultify us in any wise tend downward rather than upward.

      The subject of self-reliance was spoken of this morning, in our individual capacity and in our family relationships; yesterday brother Wells gave us some very excellent instructions, some beautiful truths, touching national or political economy, portraying the necessity that exists for nations, or communities like ours, becoming self-sustaining, self-reliant, and taking a course to be free from bondage and oppression and of being needlessly beholden to others, and, instead of letting our eyes wander to the ends of the earth, lusting after everything we see or hear of, educating and training ourselves to so curtail our wants that we can supply them by our own industry. What is true of nations and communities is true of individuals, and the principles applicable in one case are so in the other; and unless these principles are appreciated and applied in our individual and family capacity, they will not be in our larger national capacities. As communities, that which stands chiefly in our way is the pride of life—the natural ambition that is within us, which in and of itself is a godlike and noble principle, prompting us to go forward and to imitate those who are higher and further advanced than ourselves. It is this which stimulates nations, communities, families and individuals to improve. But there is a true line of demarcation which we should learn to tread, and, as far as in us lies, we should neither vary to the right hand nor to the left from that true line; if we do we shall receive the reward of our error.

      To say that we are not mutually dependent upon each other, is to say that which is not strictly true; and I believe that our Father has organized us and society so that we should be mutually dependent, in order to cherish those principles of friendship, love, charity and brotherly kindness, and those noble social qualities that make us feel that we are one family, the children of one parent, and tending to one common end, and that we are in duty bound to work for each other as well as for ourselves. But the Lord requires no man or set of men to sacrifice themselves for others entirely, nor does he justify any man or people in leaning entirely upon others and doing nothing for themselves. In all the works of God we see this principle predominant. He has made ample provision upon this earth for all the inhabitants thereof to become self-sustaining, by using the bounties and gifts which he has bestowed upon them, and putting forth their hands and appropriating to their use the elements of life and prosperity with which they are surrounded; and though he permits the birds of the air and the fowls to prey a little upon our crops, and to pick the berries that grow in the mountains, yet even these have to arouse themselves from their nests and go in quest of their food, and all God's creatures on the earth are required to exercise the powers and faculties they possess to avail themselves of the bounties which heaven has so plentifully placed upon the earth for their sustenance. Industry is required of us, and coupled with industry, frugality and economy, without which the rewards of industry are squandered and lost. Industry, frugality and economy are parts and portions of our faith and holy religion. We are dependent upon our Father and God for our being, and all our faculties; for the earth, our dwelling place, and the elements around us; but, in order to avail ourselves of these blessings, he requires us to use the faculties we possess, to be industrious, economical and prudent, and to exemplify that charity and brotherly love which pertain to our holy religion. The Lord has said that the idler shall not eat the bread nor wear the garments of the laborer. One of the rules of the United Order says—"Thou shalt pay thy brother for that which thou hast of him;" and those rules not only make it obligatory to pay or discharge our present indebtedness, as fast as in us lies, but henceforth to contract no debt beyond our ability to pay, or without having a reasonable prospect before us of fulfilling our engagements. These principles become necessary not only to be spoken of, but to be treasured and lived up to in order to preserve and maintain confidence between us as brethren, and to entitle us to the consideration of friends and brethren to assist us when our time of adversity shall come.

      Those who are entitled either to free education, free meals, free clothing, or to be freely housed, entertained, comforted and blessed, are those who are industrious, prudent, frugal, using the faculties they possess, but who, through sickness, misfortune, or old age, are unable to minister to their own wants; or children of tender age who require the care of parents, friends or guardians. To all others it may be said—Bear your own burdens; and we may also quote the words of the Apostle Paul, when he says—"Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ;" also in another place the same author says—"Let every man bear his own burden." Both are true and correct when we understand how to apply them correctly. Let all men and all women bear their own burdens according to their strength, and when that fails let somebody else take hold and help them and So fulfill the law of Christ. So let every father and mother begin the work of education with their offspring, and teach them to bear their own burdens at the earliest practicable day, and let them begin to learn and receive this practical education of which our President gave us such illustrations this forenoon, such an education, both physical and mental, as shall fit them for all the practical duties of life. Let no mother, in her misplaced sympathy and her love, and her anxiety to serve her offspring, wear herself needlessly out in waiting upon them when they are able to wait upon themselves; but make such provision as is necessary, which children are not able to make themselves, and teach them to wait upon and serve themselves, and also repay their father and mother for the labor bestowed upon them. Let them have a place for their hats, bonnets and clothing to be hung up in, and instead of going round the house after them, picking up their shoes and other things, take them and, if necessary, spank them, and make John understand that it is his duty to hang up his hat, and Sally to put her sunbonnet in its proper place. And when they want a drink, let them understand that there is the cup and there is the pump, and teach them to help themselves, and bring a drink to mother, instead of mother waiting upon them; and so commence and so continue that practical education. And when they are able to begin to hoe the potatoes and sow the onions, teach them how to do it instead of doing it all yourselves, and leaving them to lie in the shade or to run round the streets, wearing out shoe leather and learning mischief. If you are too old and feeble to take the lead in the performance of these several labors take your rocking chair into the shade under a tree somewhere, and sit and give directions and tell james or John what to do and how to do it.

      This practical education has been before this people all the days of our lives; Or I will say that our President and leader has kept prominently before us the great and important lessons of self-reliance. His doctrine has always been that the best way to relieve the poor is to show them how to help themselves. To continue to hand out your food and your substance to the beggar who comes to your doors without putting him in a position to help himself and to supply his own wants is to encourage him in folly and wickedness, and is throwing away the blessings of heaven which God has placed in your hands. Shall we not feed the hungry? Yes. Shall we not receive the stranger into our gates? Yes. If any come along who are weary, hungry, without money and need relief, shall we minister to their wants? Yes. Shall we feed them? Yes. Shall we give them rest? Yes. Warm them by our fires? Yes. Let them stay and rest themselves under our roof? Yes. How long? Until they are able to begin and do something to help themselves. And supposing, when they have stayed one night and had their suppers, and their breakfast next morning, then dinner, and supper again, and then stay another night, and finally, finding that they fare very well, they want to stop altogether, then we should say, "Here is a spade, go and dig that ditch," or, "take this axe and cut that wood," "take this team and haul a lead of wood," or put them to something by which they may use their powers and minister to their own wants; and if they demur at this then say—"Well, you can go without eating until you are willing to hoe the potatoes; you can go out and cut your own wood, make your own fires and camp where you please, you can not have shelter loafer under my roof, the good things which God has given me are to bless and happify my fellowman, not to encourage vagrancy and idleness."

      These are no new principles before the Latter-day Saints. Our motto is "The Hive of Deseret," and here is the place for the working bees, the place where they sting the drones to death. There has been a tendency with some of us for a few years past to try and live by our wits, or with as little physical labor as possible, and to watch the corners of the streets and various places for some advantage, or some way or other by which we may obtain something for nothing; and some succeed—they find some unsuspecting person ignorant of the value of things, and they obtain something for nothing, something that is valuable for that which possesses very little value. I speak not in reference to legitimate trading. There is a legitimate trade and traffic recognized by all right thinking men of the world everywhere. A legitimate interchange of commodities is profitable to all and makes all better off, and it is as necessary to the prosperity of any people as any other class of labor. In my present remarks I refer to that class the members of which, in common California parlance, are called bummers and hoodlums. Some among us have been in the habit of giving way to this spirit too much, and when the re-acting comes we are repaid for our folly. We are in the habit too, of allowing ambition to prompt us to make improvements and to build for ourselves convenient and tasteful habitations; to adorn our persons, and those of our families. This is all noble and good, but in our efforts in this direction some of us overreach ourselves, that is, we go beyond the means which are legitimately at our command. We run a little too fast and we stumble, and by and by we find that there is an accumulation of debts upon us.

      The credit system has always seemed to me to be an evil to mankind in general. To the capitalists, who accumulate so much means that they can not take care of it, the credit system is a benefit, for they trust it to others to speculate upon, and so distribute it more or less through the community. In this respect the credit system may not be altogether without benefit to the world at large. But as for our community, composed mainly of laboring people, of comparatively small means, depending upon our industry, economy and frugality for all that we have and for all that we expect to have, I am persuaded that the credit system is and always has been a positive evil, though there may be even among us exceptional cases. But I am satisfied in my own mind that it is better for us to pay as we go, instead of obtaining credit from either brethren or strangers, and so endanger our freedom. We have done this too much, and in a great many instances our possessions are mortgaged to pay for our past follies. We have ceased to be free, we are in bondage, for debt is a yoke of bondage to all those who are brought under it, though some wear it much lighter than others. Some adopt the philosophy—"Let those worry whom I owe," while others adopt the philosophy of worrying because they owe, and they are greatly troubled about procuring the means to pay their debts. It is for the benefit of this class I speak, the other class is to be shunned. Let those who are troubled about paying their debts take warning and, having once had their fingers in the fire, be careful about putting them in again; and let all who still have them in the fire, and feel the smart, be as prompt and diligent as possible in freeing themselves from this yoke of bondage, and discharging their debts. This credit system involves us all more or less. Our great mercantile institution, in attempting to supply the wants of this great community, is under the necessity of resorting to the common credit system of the commercial world; and our several co-operative associations in the settlements throughout the Territory wish to avail themselves of the same privileges, and ask for time. They want goods on credit. And then in our individual and family relationship we adopt the same principle, and we think it hard if our home merchants do not extend to us the same privilege; and the wife and child are teasing the husband and father for this, that and the other from the stores, whether he has the means to pay for it or not.

      What is the remedy for all this? To my mind the proper remedy for this is for us to educate ourselves into the feeling that we can do without things until we are able to pay for them; that if we need a hat we will try and make one out of bamboo, straw, leaves, or imitate the Indians and use the covering that nature has provided for us. If we need shoes and can not pay for them, that we will patch up the old ones, or, if we can't do that, we will find some buckskin, or go barefoot, for barefoot came we into the world, and it mattereth not whether we have any shoes when we go out. If our clothes are getting scarce, hunt up the old ones and patch them up and make them last until we have earned enough to buy some new ones.

      But says the wife, or perhaps the husband, and if not they, then the sons and daughters—"Neighbor so and so has got a new bonnet, and my playmate yonder has got a new hat, and somebody else has a new pair of boots and I do not see why I am not just as good as they are;" and says the wife—"my children are just as good as the neighbors' children, and if they can have new hats, shoes or clothing, mine shall, and if father has not the means to pay for them he must run in debt for them at the store."

      This is not the doctrine, or the system of education I would inculcate among this people, for it tends to bondage, and downward rather than upward, because it leads to dishonesty; for when we are in debt the tempter tempts us to resort to dishonorable, unrighteous means to free ourselves therefrom. And furthermore, if we will indulge in every lust of the eye and yield to the pride of life, and seek to gratify them beyond our legitimate means, the tempter prompts us to resort to lying, swindling, thieving and all manner of mischief to supply and gratify these wants. It is an old and truthful adage that honesty is the best policy. I would apply it to nations, communities and individuals.

      In days of commercial prosperity, when capital is being diffused, and men of means use both capital and credit for great achievements, such as building railroads, towns, cities, factories, mills, etc., then is the time we are allured on to excesses. Prosperous times, high interest, big dividends and great bargains stimulate others to seek after the same things, and not unfrequently resort to unjustifiable means to acquire them. It is not best for us to go out into the mountains to hunt nuggets of gold; it is far better for us to go out and find a few raspberries, or a place to sow some onions or to plant some potatoes. These would supply our wants in a moderate way, without crazing our brain. But nuggets of gold turn the heads of many to leave their legitimate pursuit and follow a phantom. Nuggets of gold are not to be met with very often, and where one person finds one, ten thousand spend months hunting for them but never find one. But ten thousand might sow onions and plant potatoes and perhaps not more than one, unless through folly and neglect, would fail to reap the fruit of his labors. It is not great dividends that are going to make either the United Order, or any of our co-operative associations prosperous, permanent and successful, but honesty and straightforward business habits, and contentment with reasonable profits and rewards for our labors.

      The last year or two has been a time of pecuniary stress, not only throughout this community, but more or less in all parts of the land, though perhaps the effects of the re-action of this overtrading is felt in this community after it has been felt and measurably overcome in the great central marts of commerce. This community, on the outskirts of this great credit system, is now feeling the pressure of that re-action. What should we do to afford relief? It is not to be expected that either our banks or our great trading institutions can bear this strain alone; they have not been brought into this condition by their own acts which they could have well remedied, it has been by the acts of this whole community in over-trading, over-living, exceeding their legitimate bounds in every respect, and the weight and strain of this re-action centres upon these great central institutions which we lean upon. They must not go down, for if they do we go with them, and we all suffer. We must commence to remedy the evil where the evil commenced, and that is at home, by retrenchment. Every man and every woman must pay their debts as soon as possible, and instead of hunting around for opportunities to contract new ones they must hunt around for means to pay their old ones, and let every dollar be used for that purpose before new debts are contracted; and do without the sugar, tea, coffee, boots, hats, bonnets, ribbons and clothing until the old scores are wiped out.

      God bless you. Amen.

 

[President B. Young[

            PRESIDENT. B. YOUNG made a few remarks concerning the Z. C. M. Institution, insurance companies, etc.

            Meeting was adjourned till 10 o'clock to-morrow morning.

            The choir sang the anthem --

O Lord, most merciful.

            Benediction by PRESIDENT GEO. A. SMITH.

_____

[8 Apr, 10 am]

[DNW 24:164, 4/14/75, p 4]

THIRD DAY -- MORNING.

_____

            Thursday, 10 a. m., April 8th.

            The choir sang --

The happy day has rolled on,
 The truth restored is now made known.

            Prayer by ELDER GEORGE GODDARD.

            The choir sang --

See all creation join
 To praise the Eternal God.

[Elder John Taylor]

            ELDER JOHN TAYLOR said we were met together on this occasion, to reflect upon and talk over and advance principles that would benefit and bless the saints of the Most High. but to secure those blessings, both speakers and hearers must be under the influence of the Spirit of the Almighty. The gospel of the Son of God embraced the present, past and future, and was adapted in its nature to meet every want and condition of the human family. Our hopes and ideas of the past, present and future differed materially from those of all other people. The great work in which we were now engaged was all planned and mapped out before the world was. God was the author of our being, and the father of the spirits of all flesh, and therefore felt interested in the general welfare of his universal offspring. We were entirely dependent upon the Almighty for our existence, for our knowledge, for our protection and support, as much so as any other that dwelt upon the face of the earth. All his creatures were dependent upon him. His first great commandment which he gave to his children was, "Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth." Man was made in the image of God, and therefore was a son of God. He was made a little lower than the angels, but through the gospel he was destined to be in the future higher than many of the angels. "Know ye not," said the Savior, "that ye shall judge angels."

            He then spoke on the universal watchcare that God, the author of all living existence, exercised towards all his creatures. None were neglected, and in an especial manner he had sought to benefit and bless the human family from the beginning. Man had not only a being here, but would exist also hereafter, no matter who said to the contrary. The purposes of the Almighty could not be thwarted. The gospel and priesthood though existing in different times and dispensations were restored again through Joseph Smith in this our day, revealing those principles that the people should be governed by, and the word also came to build up Temples to the Lord, that we might be instructed in the laws of life, that we might attend to those ordinances that pertained to the living and the dead. Temples would not have been built unless God had given instructions about them. We who were of the household of faith should be willing to so operate with the Almighty in bringing about his general purposes pertaining to the human family, and when the time came to be baptized for our progenitors, who had lived and died without a knowledge of the gospel, how thankful we ought to be to have the privilege of thus becoming saviors upon Mount Zion! The great object that God had in view was to gather up all men that could be found to embrace and endure celestial principles, that they might be exalted to the enjoyment of a celestial glory. He had made provision for others who could only arrive at and enjoy a terrestrial glory, and also another class who would be prepared for a telestial or still lower glory. Thus had God provided a place of rest and exaltation for the human family through the gospel of Jesus Christ, all of which would be brought about in his own time and way. The gospel gave power to a parent to bless his posterity. Not only did the servants of God that now lived feel interested in the salvation of the human family, but the ancient prophets of God, behind the veil, were all operating in connection with us and the Almighty.

            He then spoke of our present organization, which was revealed by God through Joseph Smith. the pattern that we had existed on heaven and would endure for ever. No one knew anything about baptism for the dead, about new revelation, about bishops, seventies, &c. until it was revealed from heaven.

            He exhorted all present to repent of their evil deeds, and unite in building up the Kingdom. Let us honor the priesthood, do what was right, purify our families and teach correct principles, that we might finally be saved in the Kingdom of God.

[John Taylor]

[DNW 24:276, 6/2/75, p 4; JD 17:369, 18:1]

DISCOURSE

BY ELDER JOHN TAYLOR, DELIVERED

At the Forty-Fifth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Thursday Morning, april 8, 1875.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      We have met together, as is our wont, on this Conference occasion, to speak and to hear, to deliberate, to reflect, and to teach principles and doctrines that are calculated to benefit and bless, to comfort, cheer and direct the Saints of the Most High, here and throughout the world. But in our meetings, and in our teachings and instructions we need, to-day as much as we ever did, to be under the guidance and direction of the Almighty. There is no man living, and there never was a man living, who was capable of teaching the things of God only as he was taught, instructed and directed by the spirit of revelation proceeding from the Almighty. And then there are no people competent to receive true intelligence and to form a correct judgment in relation to the sacred principles of eternal life, unless they are under the influence of the same spirit, and hence speakers and hearers are all in the hands of the Almighty.

      We are met together for the purpose of trying to benefit each other, old and young, and the generation thus now lives, the generations that have lived, and those who will live hereafter; for there is something in the Gospel of the Son of God that is wide and expansive, and that extends to all circumstances and situations in life. It embraces the past, the present and the future, and in its principles we, both as individuals and as a community, are immediately interested; and so in fact are all the world, if they could only comprehend the situation. We occupy a peculiar position among the nations of the earth. Our faith and its doctrines and principles are different from those of any other religious body in many particulars; our prospects, our hopes of the future, and our ideas respecting man's present and past differ very materially from the ideas on the same subjects which are entertained by other people. We are not the originators of the peculiar ideas that we believe in, or of the peculiar doctrines which we inculcate. We happen to live in an age of the world when, in the economy of God, certain principles have to be introduced for the accomplishment of his purposes, as a part of the great work he has been engaged in from the time before the world was framed)or "the morning stars sang together for joy." Certain events have to be brought about; certain circumstances have to transpire; certain doctrines have to be made known, that we may operate in our day with the Almighty in the accomplishment of his designs. The principles of salvation are not so narrow and contracted as some men suppose. God is not contracted in his ideas, feelings, or general dealings with the human family. The Scriptures say that "we are all his offspring," no matter who we are, or when or where we lived upon the earth. God is the God and Father of all flesh, and consequently he feels interested in the welfare of all humanity, no matter of what age, clime, nation or people; and he has seen proper in the last days, in which we live, to reveal certain principles which were revealed in former ages to other peoples and under other circumstances; and as it was in former days, so in these—he has given these revelations to man for the accomplishment of his designs upon the earth; hence these revelations are of great importance, and while we are called to take an active part in bringing to pass certain events in the programme of the Almighty, we are as much dependent upon him for guidance, sustenance, intelligence and protection as any other people, and before we get through we shall find out that it is not in man to direct his own steps. We are all of us dependent, for all things, upon our heavenly Father. We are only an integral part of, and are operating in and with others, according to our intelligence, in our sphere, in the great plan which God organized before the world was, and in which all mankind, of all ages and nations, are deeply interested.

      We talk about the Gospel of the Son of God, and there are many curious ideas and theories prevalent among mankind in relation to it. The Gospel is not something new, or that never existed until Jesus Christ came upon the earth; but it is an eternal principle, and it has a Priesthood associated with it which, like the Gospel itself, is without beginning of days or end of years. When God organized the world he had in his mind certain ideas and plans which he calculated to bring about in relation to the inhabitants who should live upon it; and the first great commandment that was given to them was to "be fruitful, multiply, and to replenish the earth, to have dominion over the beasts of the field, the fowls of the air, and everything that creeps upon the face of the earth." Man was created in the image of God, and he was the offspring of Deity himself, and consequently made in his likeness; and being made in that likeness, be was a son of God, and the very object of his being planted upon the earth was that he might multiply. Why? That the spirits which had existed with their heavenly Father might have tabernacles to inhabit and become mortal, and, through the possession of these tabernacles and the plan of salvation, that they might be raised to greater dignity, glory and exaltation than it would be possible for them to enjoy without these; and hence, though a man was made a little lower than the angels, the time will come when he will be a little higher than many angels, for the Apostle says, in speaking of those who had received the Gospel, "Know ye not that ye shall judge angels?" God had a purpose, therefore, in the organization of this earth, and in the placing of man upon it, and he has never deviated one hair to the right or to the left in regard to man and his destiny from that time until the present. He is eternal and unchangeable, and so are his ideas in regard to the world that we inhabit and mankind who live upon it; and he has been seeking, from the commencement of creation to the present time, to benefit mankind, just as much as it was in his power to accomplish, consistent with certain laws governing and regulating the same, that he could not violate any more than we can.

      There are certain ideas that men entertain pertaining to the world that we live in, that it is enough for them if they have only something to eat, drink and wear. These ideas, of a sensual nature, men seem to be governed by to a very great extent. Jesus, in his day, said to the people, and to his disciples especially—"Take no thought for the morrow, what ye shall eat, what ye shall drink, or wherewithal ye shall be clothed, for after all these things do the Gentiles seek." That is the acme of their zeal, energy, struggles, perseverance and thought. "What shall we eat, what shall we drink, and wherewithal shall we be clothed?" Said Jesus—"Consider the lilies of the field they toil not, neither do they spin, and yet Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." God takes care of the beasts and the fowls, the creeping things, and of everything that lives and moves upon the earth; he regularly provides for them their breakfast, dinner and supper, and if he did not do it they would have to go without. He provides for us also, and has taken care of us from our birth up to the present time, and we are not so independent as many of us think we are in very many particulars. Witness, for instance, our breathing. We breathe what we call the breath of life; is it by any action of ours? God made us and planted that principle within us, and sleeping or waking our lungs continue to ply. There is something remarkable about it. I have sometimes gazed upon an old man, just on the verge of eternity, perhaps seventy, eighty, or ninety years of age, and I have watched the beating of his pulse, the drawing of the breath and the sight of the eye. His breath has been inhaled all the years of his life, not through any agency or volition of his own, but simply by the organism which God made and gave to him. Our pulse beats in the same way, from hour to hour, minute to minute, and our blood flows from the heart to the extreme parts of the system simply by the energy and vitality which God imparts. When we come to examine ourselves we are not so independent after all. What have we to do with the functions of digestion, and many other things connected with the human system? In God we live, in God we move, and from God we have our being, and let him withdraw the breath of life and the pulse stops beating, and in a short time we become helpless, inanimate clay. We are not very independent, we are all of us in the hands of God, and when he withdraws the vital power we go to decay.

      God is watching over us, and he is watching over his people. We realize that we possess certain faculties and powers of mind, and these and the power of conveying them to the brain, or thought and reflection, comes from God; we are indebted to him for every power we have, and so are all the inhabitants of the earth; and as I have already said, he has been seeking to benefit the human family just as much as lay in his power, from the beginning until the present time.

      The first thing was—"Multiply and replenish the earth." Then, by and by, through the power of Satan, who I suppose was a necessary influence to be used, or he would not have been there, men's minds got estranged from God, and every imagination of the thoughts of their hearts was evil and it was necessary that they should be cut off and that God should commence another seed, and that those men who lived at that time should not have the power to propagate their species in unrighteousness and entail misery upon their posterity. Why so? Because man is a dual being, possessed of a body and a spirit, having to do with time and eternity. Whether we think about and reflect upon, or believe it or not, it makes no difference. We existed before we came here; we exist here in another form from what we did then, and we shall live in another and different sphere when we leave here, whether we believe it or not; and no action of ours can alter it, and no matter what our thoughts and reflections on this subject may be, they will not change the course of the Great Jehovah in regard to man.

      Well, when God found that the people were transgressing his laws continually, and that they were raising up a posterity who followed in the same path, to prevent justice being done to spirits unborn by those who were in the flesh, he cut them off and raised up another seed; and change has succeeded change, and God has dealt with nations and with individuals according to his wisdom for the best good of the human family. He raised up Abraham, and Moses; and by and by Jesus came to accomplish certain objects, and to restore the Gospel, which had been lost in consequence of transgression. Jesus preached the Gospel. Was it right? Yes. Why did it not continue? I do not know, but it did not continue, and the Prophets said it would not, and one of them prophesied that a certain power would seek to make war with the Saints of God, and that it would prevail against them, and that they would be given into his hands until a time, and times, and the dividing of a time. And then other events had to transpire, and other plans and principles had to be introduced, and by and by the time came for the restoration of the Gospel again, and Joseph Smith was raised up, and through him the revelations of God and the Priesthood were restored, the same Priesthood that Jesus had, and which existed upon the earth long before his day. There was nothing new about it. Why, Adam, before he left the earth, gathered his people together in the Valley of Adam-ondi-ahman, and the curtain of eternity was unfolded before him, and he gazed upon all events pertaining to his descendants, which should transpire in every subsequent period of time, and he prophesied to them. He saw the flood and its desolating influence; he saw the introduction again of a people in the days of Noah; he saw their departure from the right path. he saw Abraham, Moses and the Prophets make their appearance and witnessed the results of their acts; he saw nations rise and fall; he saw the time when Jesus would come and restore the Gospel and when he would preach that Gospel to those who perished in the days of Noah; and in fact he saw everything that should transpire upon the earth, until the winding up scene. He was acquainted with the day in which we live and the circumstances with which we are surrounded. Many other men have possessed a portion of the same power, influence, knowledge and intelligence, and they have obtained it from the same source.

      There have been many peculiar circumstances connected with the past history of mankind. Enoch, for instance, occupied a peculiar position in his day, before the flood, when the imaginations of the hearts of the people were evil. In that day God endowed men with the spirit of revelation and prophecy, and they went forth and proclaimed to the people the same Gospel that we are proclaiming now. And Enoch gathered together his people and they were taught of God by the everlasting Priesthood, which holds the keys of the mysteries of the revelations of God, and which has done so in every age of the world whenever it has existed. Those men were taught of God; but they could not stop the evil nor stem the march and progress of iniquity, but they could gather together those who would be obedient to the revelations of God, and they did gather them together, and Enoch and his city being perfected, and the world doomed to destruction, the Lord moved them out of the way, and the rumor Went forth—"Zion is fled." They were taken up out of the way of the world into the keeping of the Almighty. Then came the Flood, then came many other events, and finally Joseph Smith came, through whom God revealed the principles by which he governs the world. Joseph knew nothing about these things until the Lord revealed them. There was nothing particular about him, he was a man like the balance of us. But the Lord, for certain reasons of his own, I suppose, selected him to be his mouthpiece to the nations in this age of the world. Perhaps Joseph, as well as many others, was set apart to a certain office before the world was. Christ was the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world. Abraham was set apart to his office, and a great many others in the same way; and Joseph Smith came to do his work.

      What was that work? Why things seemed to be changed around in a great measure here from what they were in early days. God said to Adam—"Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth." What does he say now? He says—"Build Temples! Build Temples!!" What for? "To accomplish certain purposes that I had in my mind before the world was; that you may operate for yourselves, that you may be instructed therein in the laws of life—the laws pertaining to your bodies and to your spirits; the laws pertaining to the living and the dead." Principles in which all mankind that have ever lived or that ever will live are interested. The Lord took Lehi and his family, and planted them upon this continent, and they increased and spread abroad, and the Lord revealed unto them his law; and after Jesus left the Continent of Asia, he came here and organized his Church and made the people acquainted with the principles of truth, as he did on the other continent, only more so, for they had more light, revelation and intelligence here than there, and they lived in union and harmony here for more than two hundred years. They had all things in common one with another, and covetousness was in a great measure destroyed. The great secret of their success in this direction was that "they dealt justly one with another."

      Well, these various Priesthoods that have existed, and these Prophets that have lived, such for instance as Nephi, Alma, Lehi, Mahonri, Moroni, Mormon and others, were taught and instructed in the principles of life and the laws of God, and they have left their testimony on record, and we have it here, in the Book of Mormon. They administered here in time, and they are all administering in eternity, and they are operating and co-operating with us and with the Almighty for the accomplishment · of his purposes upon the earth. We talk sometimes about co-operation; but the plan of salvation, if you please, is a grand Co-operative Scheme, as expansive as the heavens and as wide as eternity; it penetrates through all time, extends through all ages, and reaches men in every position, living or dead; they who have lived, we who now live, and they who will live hereafter are all working together in this grand co-operative plan, and we can not be made perfect without our progenitors, neither can they be perfected without us, and they are as much dependent upon us as we are dependent upon them. We can build Temples, they can not; it is not their province to administer in them at present, but it is ours, and we are nailed upon to do so. They are interested in our welfare, they are our fathers, we are their children; they are laboring there, we here, for our mutual salvation and exaltation in the kingdom of God. The plan of salvation is no isolated affair; it is not narrow and circumscribed like the man I have heard of, who prayed—"God bless me and my wife, my son John and his wife, us four and no more, Amen;" but it is as high as heaven, as deep as hell and as wide as the universal creation; it extends to the time that is past and to the eternities that are to come. The living and the dead so-called in Christ are all working for the accomplishment of the same great objects and purposes. Don't you think that they, behind the vail, feel as much interested in the work as we do? Read the little glimpse given by John in the Revelations, where he speaks about the souls of those before the altar, who prayed day and night that he would avenge them of their adversaries; and again, when the time came when Babylon was cast down there was rejoicing among the angels in heaven. This gives us sense faint idea of the feelings entertained by those on the other, side of the vail in relation to events here.

      Don't you think that Adam, the father of us all, feels interested in the welfare of his children? I think he does. Don't you think that Enoch feels interested in the welfare of his people? I guess he does. Don't you think that Noah does? Yes, and even some of the Prophets, in speaking about events in the future, tell of a time when Ethiopia shall stretch out her hands to God. Are they not all interested? Yes. Are not all of you interested in your posterity? Yes, you are. Does the Gospel show you how to take care of them? It does. Does it enable you to bless your posterity as Jacob did? It does, and to seal blessings upon their heads. Does it give you promises pertaining to the future? It does, pertaining to you and your posterity. And are not all of these men engaged with us in the same object? Yes, and they are just as much interested as we are, and ten thousand times more, because they know more; and they have been operating in the various ages, and when they were permitted they have come forth and communicated the will of God to man. And when Joseph Smith was raised up as a Prophet of God, Mormon, Moroni, Nephi and others of the ancient Prophets who formerly lived on this Continent, and Peter and John and others who lived on the Asiatic Continent, came to him and communicated to him certain principles pertaining to the Gospel of the Son of God. Why? Because they held the keys of the various dispensations, and conferred them upon him, and he upon us. He was indebted to God; and we are indebted to God and to him for all the intelligence that we have on these subjects. Who in this generation knew anything about Temples and their uses until Joseph revealed it? Nobody. Who knew anything about baptism for the dead until then? Nobody. Who knew anything about the past or the future? Why, when I commenced to preach this Gospel, years ago, it was enough to damn anybody to even mention the principle of revelation. In this enlightened age we were so far ahead of God that we could have a religion without him, and could go to heaven without him; we did not want any revelation from, or communication with, God. But the Gospel brings us into communication with God, and makes us one with him and with those who have operated before; and those holy men of God who have lived in the various ages feel interested in our welfare, and they are watching over us, and we are better taken care of than many of us think for. Many of us are careless, thoughtless, heedless, reckless, unbelieving and full of doubts and anxiety; but God has given his angels charge concerning us lest we should dash our foot against a stone. God's bowels of mercy have been extended to us in spite of our waywardness, folly, weakness, corruption and imbecility.

      We have an organization that was planned and ordained by the Almighty. We have the First Presidency—President Brigham Young, set apart by God to occupy the position that he does, and his Counsel. Who told men about such an organization as this? God. What did we know about it till then? Nothing. Who knew about the organization of the Twelve? Nobody. Who knew about an organization of High Priests? Nobody, yet they had them in various ages of the world, according to the record that we have. Who knew about an organization of Seventies, and of the various Quorums of the Priesthood, and the duties that should devolve upon them? Nobody. Who knew about the organization of Bishops? Nobody. Have they not got Bishops? Yes, but they are not in the right place, and they are not bishops, they call them so, but they are not bishops. I remember introducing brother Hunter to a gentleman in Provo. "Mr. So and So," said I, "this is Bishop Hunter, our presiding Bishop here. In England you have your lords spiritual, but," said I, "this is our lord temporal, and he attends to the affairs of our bread and cheese," &c. But elsewhere their bishops are made spiritual officers, which Bishops were never intended for. Who knew anything about other organizations of the Priesthood that we have, such as Elders, Priests, Teachers, Deacons, and their various duties? Nobody. Where did this originate? With God. Where is the pattern? In the heavens. When will this Priesthood cease? Never. It originated with God, and when we get through with the affairs of time you will find just the same organization, the same Priesthood, the same power, the same principles that exist here. Why? Because the things which exist in the Church of God here are patterns of those which exist in the heavens. God said to Moses—"See that thou make all things according to the pattern that I showed thee in the mount." The pattern that we have is a pattern of that which exists in the heavens, the organization of the Priesthood that will exist throughout eternity. And these are heavenly things committed to us in the flesh for our benefit, and for the benefit of the world that we live in. It is not to save or bless me or my family alone, or yore and your family alone; but it is to bless and save all who will avail themselves thereof, who have ever lived, and all who live now or ever will live.

      When the purposes of God in regard to the earth shall have been fulfilled, the earth will resume its former paradisiac glory, and go on to be celestialized. To help on this good time we are requested to introduce certain principles, and we have heard a good deal said about the United Order. Who would not want to be united with an order like this that I speak of? The order into which we are now requested to enter is a very, very, very little portion of the other, that is all; but as we show by our acts that we can not, or will not, be one in temporal things, how can we be one in spiritual things? Says Jesus—"If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how shall ye believe if I tell you of heavenly things?" But we do believe in these principles, and we are governed by them to a certain extent, and we are desirous to do what is right, and God desires to help us. What shall we do then? Why, keep his commandments, and obey the counsels of his servants, and esteem it a privilege to be one with them.

      We talk sometimes about the Priesthood. Who are we? Who are these Latter-day Saints before me to-day? Are they not the Priesthood? Are you not, really and truly, a kingdom of Priests? Do you not belong to the First Presidency, the Twelve, the High Priests, the High Council, the Elders, Priests, Teachers and Deacons, or hold some office in the Church and kingdom of God? Is not this really and truly a fact? To a very great extent it is, not exclusively or entirely. Have you not received this Priesthood? Are you not responsible to God to carry out his purposes and designs, so far as they have been committed unto you, in relation to the building up and establishing of his kingdom and the introduction of righteousness upon the earth? Are you not engaged in these things? If you are not you ought to be, this is your calling and profession. What shall we do then? Humble ourselves before God, every one of us. We all need it. Humble yourselves, repent of your sins, and evils, and waywardness, of your iniquities, falsehood, covetousness, pride, haughtiness and corruptions of every kind, and lay them aside, and become men of truth, integrity, virtue, purity and honor, that yore hearts and spirits and feelings may be pure before God. Say to the Lord—"Search me, oh God, and prove me, and if there is anyway of wickedness within me bid it depart, and let me live my religion, honor my God, walk in obedience to his laws, magnify my Priesthood, and prepare myself and my posterity for an inheritance in the kingdom of God. Let me associate myself with those men of God who have gone before, and with God, and with Jesus, who is the Mediator of the New Covenant, that, all combined, we may roll on the work of God, and accomplish his purposes here upon the earth.

      Why, some of these men you heard Elder Hyde talking about here the other day are beginning to visit the Lamanites. Somebody asked me why they did not come to some of us. Said I—"I do not know, but I think that if I was the father of these folks I should go to them first, seek after them first." But no matter, let them operate and us operate, and God operate, and don't let us stand in the way of God. Let us humble ourselves; let us reverence the Priesthood and honor those who are keeping the commandments of God and managing the affairs of his Church and kingdom on the earth. Let us operate also with the living Priesthood of all ages; with Adam, Seth, Enoch, Noah, Melchizedek, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the Prophets, Jesus, his Apostles, with Ether, Jared and his brother—Lehi, Alma, Moroni, Mormon, the Prophets and Apostles on this continent, and men that have held the same Priesthood that we do, and with them help our heavenly Father to establish and roll on this kingdom; to save the living and the dead and bring in everlasting righteousness, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

            The meeting was adjourned till 2 p.m.

            The choir sang --

Come, all ye Saints, throughout the earth,
 And join with one accord.

            Benediction by Elder . D. RICHARDS.

_____

[8 Apr, 2 pm]

[DNW 24:164-165, 4/14/75, p 4-5]

THIRD DAY.

_____

THURSDAY Afternoon, April 8, 1875

            The choir sang --

Come all ye Saints who dwell on earth,
 Your cheerful voices raise.

            Prayer by Elder GEORGE Q. CANNON.

            The choir sang --

Great God, attend while Zion sings,
The joy that from thy presence springs.

[Elder George Q. Cannon]

            ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON said he never enjoyed himself better in the faith of the gospel than at present. He then spoke of the ordeals that the Latter-day Saints as a people had had to pass through, and still greater and of a different character were awaiting us in the future, that would put to a severe test our doctrines and our system to the perfect satisfaction of all that were connected with it. A multiplicity of tests and trials would surely come, that would eventually place us in that eminent distinction that the prophets had predicted for us. Let us, therefore, be faithful to the performance of our duties, and cherish and cultivate the Spirit of God, so that we might be fully prepared to meet unflinchingly every difficulty that awaited us. In every effort of our enemies, is the murder of our Prophet and Patriarch, in the robbings and plunderings and drivings that we had had to endure, the faith of the Saints was stronger at the end of these troubles than when they first commenced. At the present time, notwithstanding all the efforts and machinations of the enemy to strip us of our liberties and wrench them from our hands, God had blesses us with far greater blessings, and stretched forth his Almighty power to make known his great kindness in preserving us from the grasp of the enemy. All those who had lived up to their privileges and enjoyed the spirit of God, and offered up their prayers night and day to him, had been able to see very plainly the wonderful deliverances that he had wrought for us. There was a great destiny awaiting the future of this people, that few were able to comprehend. There was such a thing as a living, vital faith, that could pierce the heavens and unvail the future. We had been slandered with the charge of disloyalty, and with the statement that, were it not for the presence of troops in Camp Douglas, the laws and constitution of our country would not be respected by us. Our whole history gave the lie to such a charge. But this lie and all others against us we had to live down by pursuing the path that God had marked out, by being upright and honest and truthful, and living the religion that we had received, until the world would be tired of listening to the misrepresentations and falsehood so freely circulated about us. From the experience of the past few years, we were certainly prepared to appreciate the blessing of a just judge sitting on our bench. And when the time came, and most assuredly it would, when power would fall into our own hands, he hoped it would be wielded in righteousness and justice be done, not only towards each other as a people, but towards all men, of whatever creed, that might happen to be among us. He felt to acknowledge the hand of God in keeping us in a state of vassalage as a Territory, rather than permitting us to become a State government. Our very insignificance seemed to have been a preservative against greater evils than we had hitherto been subjected to, citing the recent difficulties in Louisiana. He had ceased to have any anxiety about Utah becoming a State in the Union, but felt to leave that entirely in the hands of a wise and overruling Providence. Many efforts had been made to bring us under military law, by introducing petty tyrannical measures with a view of evoking resentment by the people to give a plausible pretext for placing us under despotic and military power. These repeated acts of aggression would stand out as a marvel in history -- that a people could be found who would submit tamely under such circumstances. He expected to see the day when the Latter-day Saints would have to stand forth and defend the constitution of our country. He had repeatedly told gentlemen that such would be the case. He had also quoted the prophecy of Joseph Smith, of civil wars, &c., that would soon devastate the country. He then spoke of our healthy financial condition, compared with that of almost every other State and Territory in the Union. We were the most lightly-taxed people of any he was aware of. Let us continue to be -- he was in favor of light taxation. This was one reason why he was opposed to free schools. A new set of officers would be required to handle the public funds, and there would be new temptations for manipulating them to their own advantage. He then warned the young against the vices of drinking, smoking and profanity, but recommended them to be true to the principles of their religion, and have moral courage enough to stand out in a virtuous example against the tide of evil practices around us, though they be ever so popular.

[George Q. Cannon]

[DNW 24:372, 7/14/75, p 4; JD 18:2]

DISCOURSE

BY ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON DELIVERED

At the Forty-Fifth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Thursday Afternoon, April 8, 1875.

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REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS

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      There have been a number of items of interest touched upon by the brethren who have spoken during this Conference, and as it is a time when we meet together for the purpose of receiving general instructions, it seems to me very desirable that the time should be occupied in dwelling ripen principles which immediately pertain to our condition and present circumstances. In the remarks which I shall make this afternoon, I trust I shall be led to speak upon those things which immediately concern us, and which pertain to our daily lives.

      I rejoice exceedingly in this opportunity, that is, the opportunity of being present at Conference. I believe that I can appreciate it better than I could possibly have done had I been here all the time during the winter. I have, however, during my absence, enjoyed myself better than I could have expected. I have felt that the Lord has been with us as a people, that his power has been manifested in our behalf, and that, so far as the prospects of Zion in the future are concerned, we have abundant reason to be thankful and rejoice. I know that the hope is indulged in in many quarters that the Latter-day Saints are fast losing that faith for which they have been noted, and by the operation of which they have been enabled to accomplish the labors that have devolved upon them in the past in this country as pioneers, and as pioneers in the religious world. I am quite willing, myself, if it is any satisfaction to any individual to entertain this idea, that he should do so; but for myself, and I believe I speak the sentiments of the people, I never, in my life, saw greater cause for rejoicing in the cause of God than I do to-day. I am not in the least discouraged, but, on the contrary, I feel exceedingly encouraged. I know, it seems to me, better than I ever knew, that God is with this people, that he hearkens to their prayers, and that he watches over them. It is true that there are influences operating upon us at the present time that we have only recently had to contend with, they are comparatively new influences and, to a certain extent, the Latter-day Saints are unaccustomed to them, especially the rising generation. But it has been taught us from the beginning that Zion is to become a great power in the earth, and that she will triumph; but I cannot conceive how Zion can become that which we have expected, or that it will achieve the destiny predicted concerning it, unless it be by passing through ordeals such as those we already have to encounter, and others, still greater, that are yet in the future, by which Zion will show its superiority over every institution and power that exists on the face of the earth.

      I have expected for years that the seclusion which we sought in coming to these mountains would be terminated. Everything in the predictions of the holy Prophets concerning the work of God in the last days conveyed this idea to my mind. I looked upon our retreat here as a temporary one, for I well knew from the character of the people and their achievements that, in a short time, we should have the world trooping to us; we should be like a city set on a hill, we could not be hid, and that the eyes of men would be attracted Zionward, therefore I have not been disappointed in witnessing that which we see around us to-day. It has come probably in some form that I had not looked for, because I could only take a general view, the details I did not understand, but that we should pass through ordeals that should test us, test our faith, test our institutions, test the character of our doctrines, test the practical value of everything connected with us, I never had a doubt; and so far as the future is concerned I look forward to an increase rather than a decrease of these things, to an increase of tests, a multiplication of ordeals that will be calculated in their very nature to test and try us and the system with which we are identified to the perfect satisfaction of every one connected with it. How else could we expect that Zion should become a power in the earth? How else could we expect that that respect should be accorded to Zion which we are led to believe will be the case? How else will the wisdom and power that God will bestow upon his people be made clear in the eyes of this nation and of the nations of the earth only by these practical tests, by these trials, by surmounting these difficulties, and by showing a capacity to meet, grapple with and overcome every emergency and contingency that may arise? Can we achieve that distinction which is inevitably in store for us as a people if the predictions of the Prophets be fulfilled short of such an experience as this? I think not. The enemies of this work may indulge in whatever anticipations of our discomfiture or downfall they please, but as for us, let us take a practical, sensible view of the work with which we are identified, and prepare ourselves accordingly, so that when the hour of trial shall come, be it severe or not, we may be prepared therefor, having strength and faith sufficient to endure it, and to bear witness unto all men that we have not cherished this faith in vain.

      There is this peculiarity about this work, that no power that has yet arrayed itself against it has succeeded in its attempts to gain advantage over it. It is true there have been seemingly temporary successes; there have been times when mobs and violent men have achieved a temporary success and when they have flattered themselves with the idea that their designs against this work have been successful. But one peculiarity has ever marked the career of this people, that is, that events in our history which have seemed to be deadly blows against us and the work in which we are engaged, have turned out to be magnificent successes for us as a community. Trace our history from the beginning, peruse it carefully, draw the lessons from it which I believe are intended to be conveyed by it, and what do you see? The Church and Zion of God emerging from the difficulties, trouble and seeming disaster sought to be brought upon it by its enemies, brighter, stronger, more firmly planted, more untied than it was when the difficulty commenced, or the trouble was first visited upon us. The loss of houses and lands, expulsion from homes that were dearly bought, had no such effect upon this people, produced no such thrill and such deathlike sorrow in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints as did the martyrdom of our beloved Prophet and Patriarch; had we lost our dearest friends; had we lost everything that we valued on earth, it seems to me it would not have compared with the poignant sorrow, the deeps heartfelt anguish that prostrated this people in the depths of humility when the news of the cruel murder of their beloved leaders reached them; yet deadly as that blow was, to all human appearance prostrating the entire people, who felt that they had lost those who stood nearest to God and nearest to them, God in his mercy, out of that great affliction brought forth a great triumph and raised up a man to take the place of the Prophet, who has been in some respects like Elisha following Elijah, possessing, as Elisha desired it might be the case with him, a double portion of the spirit that rested down on his master, Elijah. And God has led us, God has prospered us, and God gave us success that seemed to be commensurate with the depth of our anguish and sorrow, and lifted us up from the depths of humility into which we had sunk, and placed us upon the heights of gladness and joy, and caused us to rejoice as we could not have done probably under other circumstances. And so, when we were driven out of civilization so-called; when we wended our weary way through the wilderness, not knowing where we were going, it seemed as though the last blow had been struck and we had been left a prey to internal dissensions or to the violence of the savages. But God in his mercy, out of that seemingly great affliction, has brought forth great blessing and glory to us, and has honored us, has enriched us, has raised us up and endowed us with blessings that we could not have had where we lived; so that that great blow aimed at us by our enemies has been over-ruled to be the means of great and wonderful blessings to us, and as an entire people we rejoice today in the possession of a land that God has given unto us, to which he led us and which he designated by the finger of inspiration as the land which we should occupy, and which we this day possess despite all the machinations of the wicked and their efforts to strip us of all power herein. Until this day he has given unto us the supremacy in this land, from north to south, from east to west, and he has made it productive and fertile for our sakes. When we reflect upon our history since we came here; when we think of the many plots and schemes, of the many men who have lent themselves to these plots, who have done all in their power against and to entrap this people; when we reflect upon it all, so far as I am concerned, I am filled with amazement, and with thanksgiving to God our Eternal Father for his goodness and mercy unto us as a people. I know, as well as I know that I live, that no human power could have saved us time and time again as we have been rescued that there is no wisdom of man that was equal to the emergencies in which we have been placed; but God, in his infinite mercy and wisdom, in his kindness and watch-care over us as a people, has, at the very moment when salvation was needed, stretched forth his Almighty arm. He has rescued us from the grasp of the destroyer when it seemed as though destruction was inevitable and we could not escape. The last five years have been as fruitful, probably, as any period in our history in events of this character. Time and time again has it seemed as though destruction was sure to come upon us, as though there were no way possible for us to escape; but God has heard our supplications and has opened the way of deliverance in a most wonderful manner, and has rescued us from the grasp of those who would destroy us. Others may not see the hand of God in these things; they may say that these things come about from and are the results of natural causes, but those who have prayed to God, whose hearts have been drawn out in supplication to him and who have waited tremblingly for the salvation which he has promised, have seen and they cannot but acknowledge the hand of God in these deliverances, because, as I have said, they have watched, waited and prayed anxiously and earnestly in the name of Jesus for deliverance, and when it has come their faith has been strengthened and their joy increased in the Holy One of Israel; because he has heard and answered their prayers: and to-day the Latter-day Saints are the people of all people upon the face of the earth who know that God lives, because he hears and answers their prayers. And he, it seems, is determined to have a people upon the earth who will be compelled to put their trust in him and not in man, because man's power would utterly fail to save them, and no power but his can do it. When I look at all these things it is a matter of surprise to me that men cannot see the hand of God in this work. Yet there are many whose hearts have been touched by the evidences of God's favor unto us, and they have been surprised and have expressed their wonder that we have been so signally delivered as we have been.

      Now there is a great future in store for us as a people. God has said so, and his words cannot fail in being fulfilled. There is a destiny in store for this people that few can comprehend. We have to teach the world lesson after lesson that they have entirely forgotten, or that they never knew. We have to teach them and show them by our example that there is such a thing as living faith, that there is such a thing as trusting in God, being saved by him, that there is such a power as faith in the land, and that prayer, when offered in faith, is effectual in reaching him. We have to show the nations of the earth that God with a small people can accomplish wonderful results. When I think of our numbers, how few we are,—we are a great people in some respects, but in numbers we are few and feeble—yet with this few people what is God doing in the earth! What a name he is gaining for his people, his servants! You may travel throughout the earth, in every land, among every people, and let it be known that you are a Latter-day Saint, and you will find that the fame of the people has preceded you, and you will find yourselves distinguished from everybody else. It is exceedingly wonderful that a people so small, numerically so insignificant, a people not wealthy, but it may be said poor, are so noted in the earth. Yet this is the fact, that God intends to make us still more so, he intends to give us a name and a place among the nations of the earth that shall be distinguished above all other people. We are accused, you know, of being disloyal. This has been a story told of us, a charge repeated against us from the very beginning, because men have thought it would be most effective in destroying our influence. The idea prevails in many quarters that we are scarcely as true to the government as we should be. I have heard it stated that were it not for these troops at Camp Douglas, Utah Territory would rebel. By such nonsense as this do men who oppose us seek to deceive the world at large respecting us and our motives and feelings. I have had occasion frequently to talk upon this subject. I have told men that, from my early boyhood, I have been taught to believe that the constitution of the United States was revealed of God, and that the destiny in store for the Latter-day Saints was to uphold constitutional government upon this land; and, that being the case, how could it be reconcilable with the idea that we were disloyal to the Government? But there is a class of men who consider everybody disloyal who does not dance to their tunes, and who does not re-echo the sentiments which they express and seem to entertain. We have a class of men among us here who talk about the one-man power and the tyranny that exist in the Utah Territory, but at the same time if an official were to come here and associate with citizens of this Terrritory, "Mormon" citizens I mean, they would put him under a ban and brand him as disloyal and unfit to hold an official position under the Government. And why? For years here it has been considered by certain officials as one of the best recommendations to the favor of those in power to hate and abuse the "Mormon" people of Utah Territory; and if a man were to dare to associate with "Mormons," were to speak kindly of or to associate with them, and to treat them as he would other people he would be ostracised and banished, so far as association with them is concerned a non-intercourse act would be passed immediately. And these very individuals talk about the intolerance of the Mormons.

      We have these things to contend with, we have these lies to live down, and as far as we are concerned, let them always be lies; let no man have it in his power to say that the Latter-day Saints are an intolerant, prescriptive or an unjust people. Never let this be said of us with truth; but if it be said, let our enemies continue to lie about us until they are tired of it, or until the world become sickened with the falsehoods that are told concerning us. And for us, let us pursue the path that God has marked out, being liberal, truthful, upright, dealing fairly, honestly and tolerantly with every man, so that every class of men who come into our midst may learn that we have received a religion that admits of toleration in the broadest sense of the word.

      It has been a matter of considerable satisfaction to me to state that in Utah Territory our pulpits, stands, tabernacles and meeting-houses have always been open to every sect and denomination to come and preach their peculiar views, creeds and doctrines, and that our people have turned out in large congregations to listen to speakers or preachers of other denominations advancing their doctrines; and that not only have congregations of adults been furnished, but the children of the Sunday schools have frequently been assembled in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, that they might purposely hear and become familiar with the ideas and views entertained by other religious denominations. This stands out in marked contrast with the practice of almost every other sect, and it gives the falsehood to the stories which have been so frequently told about us.

      Now respecting all these things that we are passing through, I recognize the hand of God in them all. I think that we have learned lessons of late that have been profitable to us. For instance, we now know and, while the recollection of the past few years is vivid in our minds we shall continue to know, how to value a just man who sits as a judge, and it may be that it will be so impressed upon us, that when power shall come into our midst, and come it will, as inevitably as the sun rises in the morning over the eastern hills so sure will power come unto us; but when it does come I trust that the recollection of the past will be vivid in our minds and that we will always seek to deal justly and fairly with all who may seek justice at our hands. It has been said that when we acquire power we shall be intolerant, as other sects have been. The Puritans, who fled from England because of religious persecution became, in turn, themselves the persecutors when they had the power. Roger Williams fled from them and took refuge in what is now Rhode Island. They persecuted the Quakers and others who came within their borders with an intolerance that was quite equal to, if it did not exceed, the intolerance to which they themselves had been the victims. And it has been said concerning us, that if we had the power, we would probably tread in the same path, that persecution would only harden us and make us deal with others with a severity which we would not know anything about had we ourselves not been victims beforehand. But I think that God in his mercy will strip us if there be any vestige of this about us; I hope he will, at any rate. If we achieve the destiny that is in store for us, certainly to maintain that character and to retain that power, it will be necessary that we should be just, upright, forbearing and tolerant, and that we should be willing that every man in this broad land should worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience, whether his God be the workmanship of his own hands, whether it be the sun, the moon, some animal, or the God of heaven, with Jesus his Son, that we shall be willing that every man should worship God according to his own feelings upon the subject, so long as he does not interfere with us, or with others. I think we have learned this lesson in part. I think the lessons that have been impressed upon us have had an effect in this direction, at least they have had the effect to broaden us; and every lesson of this kind will have such a result as this with us as a people, and on this account I am thankful for them.

      I am thankful to-day that we are not a State. There have been times when I have wished exceedingly that we might be released from territorial vassalage and be incorporated in the Union as a sovereign state. I have desired, and labored for it; but this last winter I have been exceedingly thankful that Utah was a territory and not a state. We are told to acknowledge the hand of God in all things, and I do not see why we should not acknowledge it in being kept in this condition of tutelage and vassalage as well as in anything else. But it may be asked—"Why do you think our condition better as a territory than as a state?" When I heard of events in Louisiana, the federal troops maintaining a government there, against which I was informed, and as I believed, the mass of the people revolted, I thought to myself—Better be an insignificant territory than a state if we cannot have the right of choosing our own rulers and have them act in the offices to which they are elected. Thanks to our insignificance federal troops have not interfered with us here; but if we had been a State, with two votes in the Senate, a vote or two in the House, and electoral votes in the Presidential Election there might have been a temptation to have done with Utah as with other states. But we had no vote; our delegate in Congress had no vote; we had no senatorial representation; we had no vote at the Presidential Election, and this denial to us of our rights, by keeping us in a Territorial condition, has thus far helped to save us. With such a feeling as there has been in this city and territory, for contesting elections, when they have been overwhelmingly on one side—twenty thousand and upward against two or three thousand; when men will contest elections under such circumstances, and endeavor by unjust means to wrest the power out of the hands of the people and defeat the will of the majority; when they will do this, as has been done in this Territory, it would not need a very strong pretext to have them to go farther, to have thorn appeal for Federal interference, and to try and induce the government to say—"Those whom you call the minority are the majority, they have been unjustly dealt with; affidavits have come here showing that the polls have not been managed properly, the ballots have not been deposited as they should be, and we must decide against you "Mormons" and the men whom you have elected, and put your opponents into power." I do not say that this is the case in Louisiana, I do not pretend to decide upon that question, it admits of a good deal of argument; but I have been told by members of Congress who visited there—the Committee sent by Congress to investigate matters, that if the federal troops had been withdrawn from Louisiana this winter twenty-four hours would not have elapsed until the McEnery government would have been put in power, and the whole difficulty would have been solved. But the presence of federal troops maintained a government that could not be maintained in and of itself. What is the use, then, of being a State government if the Federal government is to interfere in this manner in State affairs? And with the causes that exist in Utah Territory to make interference popular and a thing to be approved of by thousands, a State government would not be so desirable. I have, therefore, so far as my own feelings have been concerned, been very much pleased at being a territory. I have seen the hand of God and his wisdom in this thing, when if my wish or my will could have been gratified we should have been a State long ago.

      The Lord, in his mercy, will preserve us from these evils; in his overruling wisdom and providence be will deliver us until the time shall come for us to be a state if that be his will, and I doubt not that we shall be surprised at it ourselves. I have come to the conclusion, as one individual, that I shall not be anxious on this subject in the future, and shall leave it to the overruling providence of God to bring about when it shall seem good unto him.

      As to some of the States in the South they are in such a condition that we, if we were in the same, should think our lot dreadful. I have heard stories of usurpation and tyranny by officials in those states that have caused me to think that, notwithstanding all that we have had to endure in Utah Territory, our lot has been a fortunate one compared with that of others. They have drunk the cup of humiliation to its very dregs. You know there was a time here when it seemed as though every effort was made to bring us under military rule in this Territory, and when the provocations endured by the people here come to be read in history surprise will arise in the mind of the reader, and admiration for the people who so patiently endured the wrongs that were imposed upon them, especially when it is remembered what power we hold here. Why, think of it, a few years ago a Governor came to this Territory immediately after a long and bloody Indian war, in which our citizens were masssacred, their property stolen, their settlements robbed and their stock driven off; and immediately after that war a Governor came here who prohibited the militia, every able-bodied man in the Territory, from bearing arms—a most unheard of tyrannical exercise of power; and then a Secretary, while acting governor, afterwards repeated the santo proclamation. And this people have borne it patiently and never lifted their hands against these contemptible tyrants. It was doubtless hoped that we would commit some overt act to provoke trouble, so that the federal troops could be brought in and be placed under the control of these officials, who for once in their lives happened to hold position. Not only this, but on one occasion when certain citizens met together as a company, to celebrate the fact of their band having got a new set of instruments a federal judge committed them to a military prison for violating this proclamation, as though a proclamation of the Governor was law! With as great propriety might an Executive claim that he has the power to restore the curfew, and say—"You must have your fires extinguished by eight o'clock at night, or we will put you in a military prison; and you must rise in the morning at the tap of the bell, or we will treat you as criminals." If a Governor's proclamation is law, and is to be respected as such, where will it end? Will it end with the imprisonment of men who act as militia men? No; if such acts of usurpation continue, no citizen will be safe, and they will end in the overthrow of liberty and constitutional right wherever permitted.

      We have borne these things, and we have borne others, the recollection of which, were I to recite them to you, would make our blood boil. It is not necessary that I should do so; but in talking thus do we talk disloyally? American citizens have the right to talk about officials who trample upon their rights in this manner; we all have the right to question the acts of men in power; it is a right given to us, and the man is not worthy of the name of freeman who will not thus criticize acts of oppression and, in a proper manner, resent them and show his abhorrence of them. It is because they are violative of the fundamental principles of our government that I thus talk about them: and in any other Territory than this they would have provoked a storm of indignation that would have overwhelmed their authors. One of the lessons we have to learn is to have patience, but not to stop remonstrating, not stop talking, not stop appealing, not hold our tongues and let our children grow up with the belief that these things are right. No, proclaim against them, let it be known that they are wrong, that they are contrary to the law of the land, to the Constitution and to the principles of our government; let this be known, and let our children understand what is right, and all men recognise the fact that we understand our rights, whether they are denied to us or not.

      I expect to see the day when the Latter-day Saints will be the people to maintain constitutional government on this land. Men everywhere should know that we believe in constitutional principles, and that we expect that it will be our destiny to maintain them. That the prediction will be fulfilled that was made forty-four years ago the seventh of last March, wherein God said to Joseph Smith—"Ye hear of wars in foreign lands; but behold I say unto you, they are nigh, even at your doors, and not many years hence ye shall hear of wars in your own lands;" but the revelation goes on to say that the day will come among the wicked, that every man that will not take his sword against his neighbor, must needs flee unto Zion for safety. A portion of that revelation has been fulfilled, the remainder will be. The causes are in operation to bring it about. We are not alone in the thought that the republic is drifting steadily in that direction; that we are leaving the old constitutional landmarks, and that the time is not far distant when there will be trouble in consequence of it, when there will be civil broils and strife; and, to escape them, we believe, men will be compelled to flee to the "Mormons," despised as they are now. Does this seem incredible? Why, look you, to-day, throughout our Union, the Latter-day Saints are the most lightly taxed of any people upon the face of this continent. I do not know a community as free from debt as we are. There are one or two States I believe free from debt, but they have had to tax heavily to free themselves. But as a Territory we have never been in debt, and although we have had many temptations to drift in that direction, not a bond belonging to the Territory has ever been issued; not a dollar is owing that cannot be paid. Our cities are out of debt; our counties are out of debt, and I hope they will continue so. Our legislators, county courts and city officers will doubtless take special pains to keep down expenses and let us be burdened as little as possible with taxation, so that we may be a happy and a free people. Let taxes accumulate, and there is a constant temptation for officers to steal your taxes; there must be men elected to take care of your taxes, and there will be hundreds of leaks by which your means will go without benefit to the community, therefore, let us be a lightly taxed people. We are that to-day, and that is one evidence of the good government there is in this Territory. We have peace here, and we should have little or no litigation if it were not forced upon us, and our courts, so far as litigation is concerned, would have very little to do from the Latter-day Saints; we would settle our difficulties by arbitration, and prevent litigation and money being spent therein. All the tendencies of this people are towards peace, and their aim is to preserve peaceful relations with each other and with the outside world, and we have shown this all the day long.

      What is the case elsewhere? Why corruption stalks through the land, and taxation and debt are increasing. It is considered a light thing for a man to get his hand into the government treasury; that is all right, and if so he steal the funds of a city, county or State, they do not call it stealing, however: O no, that is a vulgar name; it will do for the man who robs his neighbor's hen roost, but they have more fashionable language for the acts to which I refer.

      Men in public life, under the present reign of extravagance, can not meet their expenses, therefore they are exposed to temptation and are led to take advantage of their position. This is not always the case, there are many exceptions; but this is the case too frequently, and good men mourn over and regret it, and they would like to stem the tide and arrest this downward tendency.

      This is a lesson that we have to profit by; our officials must be careful, and we must maintain a standard of honesty that does not exist anywhere else. It will not do for the idea to prevail that because a man has an office he has the right to enrich himself from that office. This has not been the case in this Territory thus far; and we may reasonably expect it will not be.

      Now, my brethren and sisters, let us live for the destiny that is in store for us. Let us remember that God has a great future for this people, and that how soon it will be granted unto us depends upon ourselves. If we were prepared for it I know that that time would soon come, and we should have opportunities given us of doing good that we do not have to-day. But I am told that one of the effects of this ordeal through which we are passing, is that there are some young men, and possibly young women, who yield to certain temptations. Young men, who formerly would have been ashamed to be seen smoking on the streets or entering a billiard, a gambling, or a drinking saloon, are now seen in such places, and they do not scruple to use the name of God in vain, or to swear and be profane, and there are some who seem to imagine that it is an evidence of independence and smartness to indulge in these things; and it may be that they go a little further and are guilty of other acts of greater turpitude than these.

      No man loses credit by being true to his principles. If he is a Latter-day Saint, let him act out his principles wherever he goes. If he does not believe in drinking intoxicating drinks, let him refrain from doing so everywhere; if he does not smoke, refrain from smoking; if he does not swear—which no man ought to do—let him refrain from it, no matter where he is, and let him be true to the principles of his religion always and under all circumstances, and he will gain influence that he would not have otherwise. Let us as a people take a course of this kind. But there is this tendency—"O, we must be like somebody else." You, can see that tendency at the present time in many things besides men's conduct. There are men here who would change our city and make it like places they know. They would cut down our streets until they would not be fifty feet wide, and cut down our city blocks until they were like other city blocks, and would narrow our sidewalks, cut down our shade trees, and completely change the character of everything there is about us. They would rob the city of every distinctive feature, and fill the city with nest holes of vice. You can see this tendency here to imitate and do as somebody else does, instead of ourselves being the standard; instead of recollecting that. God has chosen us and placed his name upon us, that he has called us to be his Saints, and that it is our duty to maintain our principles, and carry them out in our lives, doing that which is right, regardless of whether it may suit other people or not. It is our duty to have some mind of our own, and if we have a good thing not to be willing to part with it because other people make sport of it. I like our city, our sidewalks and the width of our streets; others may not, but that is the pattern and plan upon which the city was laid out. I would like to see everything connected with our city—and I speak of this because it is a case in point, and I merely speak of it to illustrate everything else—I would like to see us carry out that which is right ourselves. If we have ideas of our own, cling to them, and not abandon them, because they do not happen to be popular. And so with our practices. A man who does not smoke is not any worse for it; he is no less a gentleman when he goes into company because of that. He is no less a gentleman because he does not drink or because he does not swear, because he does not go into a gambling house or a house of ill-fame; and how can a man who calls himself a Lather-day Saint, think that he is any more of a gentleman or any better a man because he can do these things when he, in and of himself, knows they are wrong. God has taught us that it is not good for us to do these things; he has given us counsel, he has given us a word of wisdom, and the man who thus disregards the word of God and his counsel does not show very great respect to him, and I do not imagine that God is going to show very great respect to him.

      Let us be true to our principles; men admire sincerity, truth and uprightness, and they admire a Latter-day Saint who abides by his principles much more than they admire one who is not true to that which he professes; and you will never lose anything by telling who you are and what you are in a respectful manner, and maintaining that which is right. Of course we need not be bigoted or offensive, or run to any extremes.

      May God bless you, my brethren and sisters, fill you with the Holy Spirit, and with desires to teach your children the ways of righteousness, and enable you to bring up a generation that is healthy, pure, virtuous and full of integrity in this land which God has given unto us. That he may thus bless and preserve us is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

            PREST. B. YOUNG preached a short discourse on the gospel of Jesus Christ.

            Conference was adjourned till tomorrow at 10 o'clock a.m.

            The choir sang the anthem --

Who is the King of Glory?

            Benediction by PRESIDENT B. YOUNG.

_____

[9 Apr, 10 am]

[DNW 24:165, 4/14/75, p 5]

FOURTH DAY -- MORNING.

_____

Friday, April 9.

            The choir sang --

Father, how wide thy glory shines,
How high thy wonders rise.

            Prayer by Elder LORENZO SNOW.

            The choir sang --

Sweet is the work, my \God, my King,
To praise thy name, give thanks, and sing.

[Elder W. Woodruff]

            ELDER W. WOODRUFF said we had all learned by experience that we needed the Spirit of the Lord to help us in our public duties. If ever there was a dispensation since the beginning of the world, that needed the spirit of inspiration, now was the time. e were living and were now engaged in the last dispensation, and needed the assistance of prophets and apostles. Where were the great nations and their history, that once stood in mighty grandeur and power like Babylon Tyre, Sidon, etc.? Not only had those cities been swept from the earth, but many others, all of whom had been the subjects of prophecy in their turn by the humble servants and prophets of God, which prophecies had received a literal fulfilment in the entire destruction of these cities, according to the word of the Lord. The Bible or stick of Judah contained records of many of those mighty nations, that had been preserved. So with the Jaredites, Nephites and Lamanites, and their cities and temples, people who once dwelt on this continent. The only complete record now in existence in reference to them is the Book of Mormon, or stick of Ephraim, brought forth by the spirit of revelation. All the prophesies contained in the bible and Book of Mormon, that had received a literal fulfilment, were a sure and certain guarantee that others that pertained to this last dispensation would also be literally fulfilled in their time and season. Not one jot or title of the word of God would fail. God had decreed by prophets, in the book of Mormon, that no nation should be permitted to continue on this continent and prosper unless they kept his commandments, but when the cup of their iniquity was full they should be utterly cut off and be destroyed. This continent was now occupied by a Gentile people, who had slain the Prophet Joseph and his brother Hyrum, cast the Saints from their midst and been persecuting them ever since their organization; and unless they repented and humbled themselves before God and embraced the Gospel, no power o the face of the earth could prevent the judgment of God being executed according to the prophecies of the servants of God. No previous dispensation was ever fraught with so ;many prophecies as this in which we lived. No man could indulge in fighting against God and his servants, without being cursed by the Almighty. There was no judge, president, or ruler that ever measured arms with the Prophet Joseph Smith or Brigham Young, but what had withered under the displeasure of God, and so it would continue to be. Wo be unto those who fought against Zion.

            He then reviewed the labors of the present Apostles and Elders who started out without purse and script, and exposed to huger and cold, traveling thousands of miles from State to State on foot.

            He then exhorted the Saints to faithfulness, as this was not a time for trifling away our time, neglecting our prayers, and other duties that God required us to diligently observe. In a short time the parents of the present generation among us, would be with Joseph and Hyrum, behind the veil, as a might work awaited them there. Then the responsibilities of this great work would rest upon the shoulders of our young people; hence, he said unto them, prepare yourselves for this labor.

            He then spoke of the value of keeping a record of the dealings of God among us a people. God had inspired him to keep a record since he became a member of the Church, and he earnestly urged upon the young men to do the same. Babylon would be swept away, her libraries would be burned up, and what records were kept by the servants of God would be invaluable in the future for generations to come to read and trace the work of God as it daily transpired. He strongly recommended the Elders to cease spending their means in smoking and drinking, and other evil practices, and have it devoted in educating the children and we would hear nothing said about a five cent tax to sustain free schools.

[Elder Lorenzo Snow]

            Elder LORENZO SNOW said that what had been accomplished by the preaching of he Gospel, the establishment of a Territory, the emigration of thousands from the midst of poverty and bringing them into a free country, where they had made for themselves comfortable homes and a thousand other things, we attributed to the wisdom, power and blessing of God. We had never relinquished one principle of truth that God had revealed for our salvation, with the view of keeping off the frowns and persecutions of the world or securing their favors. It is true we gave up our temples, our houses and possessions for the time being, but we fully believed we should return again in some future time and retake possession of those things, and accomplish what God designed us to bring about in those sections of country. We believed in Celestial Marriage. Joseph Smith told him personally, between twenty and thirty years ago, that holy beings revealed that principle to him, giving him much instruction pertaining thereunto, and commanding him to practise it and make it known to the Church. He believed as strongly in that doctrine to-day as he did when Joseph first revealed it, and he could not compromise it under any circumstances. We as a people had received a knowledge from God of the truth of this work, and had been sustained and backed up by a great amount of circumstantial evidence, such as the healing of the sick, and many other manifestations of the power of God. Therefore, from the nature and character of the everlasting gospel, and the bright and sure hopes of eternal life, we were prepared to endure whatever might lie before us.

            The meeting was adjourned till 2 o'clock p.m.

            The Choir sang the anthem --

I will extol thee.

            Benediction by ELDER BRIGHAM YOUNG, JUN.

_____

[9 Apr, 2 pm]

[DNW 24:165, 4/14/75, p 5]

FOURTH DAY.

_____

FRIDAY AFTERNOON, April 9th, 1875. 2 o'clock p.m.

            The choir sang --

Praise ye the Lord, my heart shall join
 In work so pleasant, so divine.

            Prayer by ELDER ORSON PRATT.

            The choir sang --

We're not ashamed to own our Lord,
 And worship him on earth.

[Elder C. W. Penrose]

            ELDER C. W. PENROSE felt thankful for the privilege of bearing testimony on the present occasion to the truth of the gospel. We had not come here to carry out our individual wishes and designs, but to devote our time and talents in the establishing of a better form of government than now existed, and that men might be taught to lay aside their wars, contentions, and conflicting notions, and learn somewhat concerning the designs and purposes of the Almighty, and walk in that straight and narrow path that led to his presence, the presence of God our Father in heaven, who thoroughly understood who we were, what we were, what our feelings were, and what we were doing, and therefore was well qualified to reveal to us the very plan that would suit our condition and circumstances to lead us back again to his presence.

            He then spoke of the ample provision that God had made for the human family, in meting out to every one according to his works. God had revealed to us the Gospel of his Son Jesus Christ through Joseph Smith the Prophet, and most of here present had embraced that Gospel, been baptized with the same baptism, received the same good Spirit by the laying on of hands, and received a portion of the Holy Priesthood, and just in proportion as we honored our calling, we should be blessed and prospered in the things of God. We were requested to ray with our families night and morning, to acknowledge our thanks and gratitude for our food, to attend our meetings, receive the sacrament, pay one-tenth of our increase as tithing, and many other things our religion enjoined upon us, and by strictly conforming to its requirements we should enjoy the Spirit of God and experience that he is very near to us. Our religion also taught us to devote ourselves unremittingly to the building up of his kingdom.

            He then made some interesting remarks on the subject of priesthood or authority, about which the Christian ministers knew so little, referred to the conversion of Saul and other instances in holy writ, showing that no man had any right to preach and administer in the name of the Lord,unless previously called by new revelation.

            He also spoke of the manner in which Joseph Smith received his authority from God to act in the name of the Lord, first by John the Baptist, who ordained him to the Aaronic priesthood, then by Peter, James and John, who ordained him to the Melchizedek priesthood, and that authority had been handed down from Joseph to the present times

            He spoke of the labors of the servants of God, who had been sent out to different nations on the face of the earth, all teaching the same doctrines, and all those who received their testimony, had been baptized and received the self same spirit which came from God our Father, and blest with the same kind of gifts that brought unmistakable proof that we had embraced the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Hence we were one, and united in our faith, and should be more in our works. We were not man-worshipers, but we honored the man whom God had placed over us to give us the word of the Lord, and we ought to give diligent heed to his counsels. God's laws were not given to us in an arbitrary way, but they came to us exactly suited to our condition. We had to learn the will of God as pertaining to our body, that we might know how to preserve and take care of it. Our religion therefore embraced temporal as well as spiritual things. It also taught us to be united in everything that would blend and tie us together in one universal brotherhood. God had designed us to become mighty in the earth and although in our efforts to become one we might meet with opposition nothing could successfully withstand the work, and prevent us from spreading forth in the land, and wielding an influence in this nation as well as all other nations on the face of the earth, until the priesthood of the Son of God should rule, and cause the will of God to be done on earth even as it was done in heaven. The object of the Church of Jesus Christ was to bring man from under the curse, and place him in a position to be blessed and exalted in the presence of God. We were not here for any evil purpose, to make war upon any one, but to establish truth and righteousness and peace among men.

            He knew that this was the work of God, having received the Spirit of God, and that it would rise and prevail, and no power on earth could prevent it, but it would grow in influence, in righteousness, and in power, until the earth should be filled with the glory of God.

            Elder GEO. Q. CANNON read the names of the following persons to go on missions to the several countries named respectively --

BRITISH ISLES.

            John Hopkin, of Almy, Wyoming; Charles E. Griffin, Ogden; Lorenzo Brown, St. George; Edward W. Clark, Santaquin; James Mellor, sen., Fayette, Sanpete co.; David K. Udall, Nephi; Arta D. Young, Salt Lake City; William A. C. Bryan, Nephi; Andrew Galloway and Richard Warburton, Tooele city; Jas. Payne, Salt Lake City; Wm. Nelson and Wm. J. Lewis, Provo; Don Carlos Johnson and Franklin Boyer, Springville; Wm. McKay, Ogden; Wm. Stimpson, Riverdale; Thomas C. Martell and Thomas Evans, Spanish Fork; John Wardrobe, 20th ward, Salt Lake City; Wm. L. Watkins, Brigham city; Arnold Goodliff, Malad, Idaho.

SCANDINAVIA.

            Chr. Jenson, Ephraim, Sanpete Co.; H. P. Iverson, Washington, Washington Co.; Mads Christensen, Farmington; Mons Petersen, Provo.

HOLLAND.

            August Teighten, or Titzen, Santaquin.

SANDWICH ISLANDS.

            Wm. Pulsipher.

UNITED STATES AND CANADA.

            Hayden W. Church, St. George; Henry G. Boyle, Payson; Ozias Kilbourn, Centerville; James S. Hamilton, Mill Creek Ward, Salt Lake Co.; John Leman, Morgan City, Morgan Co.; Wm. Maughan, Wellsville, Cache co.; A. W. Sabins, Grantsville, Tooele Co.

AUSTRALIA.

            Wm. S. Muir, Bountiful; Job Welling, Farmington.

LAMANITES.

            James Worthington, Bishop Tadlock, Lafayette Ball, Howard Egan, Samuel Worthington, A. C. Worthington, A. D. Larkins, of Deep Creek; George Boyd, Salt Lake City; James H. Hill, Cache Co.; A. K. Thurber, George W. Bean, Grass Valley; George W. Hill, John C. Badger, Ogden; Amos Wright, Bear Lake Valley; Wm. Lee, Grantsville.

ICELAND.

            Theodor Dedrickson, Samuel Bjearnson, Spanish Fork.

[Elder Geo. Q. Cannon]

            ELDER GEO. Q. CANNON thought the labors that the Elders of this Church had been called upon to perform were abundantly sufficient to refute and falsify the predictions of the wicked in regard to this work, who had so many times prophesied the downfall of "Mormonism." We knew that God would sustain, uphold, and establish Zion, notwithstanding the wishes and predictions of the wicked to the contrary.

[George Q. Cannon]

[DNW 24:260, 5/26/75, p4]

DISCOURSE

BY ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON, DELIVERED

At the Forty-fifth General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Friday Afternoon, April 9, 1875.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

I HAVE been much delighted in listening to the testimonies that have been given to-day as well as on the preceding days of this Conference, and especially to the discourse on prophecy by Brother Penrose this afternoon. I often think that the Lord has chosen this people and called them to do labors and to perform works that will vindicate the truth of all that he has spoken by the mouth of his holy prophets under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, and also to falsify all the predictions of those who are uninspired and who speak by their own wisdom and by their own authority. If there is one peculiarity that has been more prominent than another connected with this church from the beginning, it is the many times the predictions of the wicked have been falsified concerning us. It was said almost as soon as the Church was organized that only a few weeks, or a few months at most, would be necessary to settle this delusion, for it had no foundation in truth. And thus it has been from one time to another, until today we are in these mountains in the position that we now occupy.

      In listening to President Young yesterday, I was much impressed with the power and energy with which he delivered his discourse. While absent at Washington recently, reports reached there by telegraph -- in fact they were afloat before I left -- that he was on the verge of the grave, and I believe it was published in this city and calculated upon by a great many that some astrological prediction that had been made concerning his health and life would be fulfilled. That prediction was to the effect, I believe, that on the 8th of December, 1874 - the day on which the transit of Venus was to occur -- he would pass away and die, and great hopes were based upon this astrological prediction. I remember hearing President Young say, in the old bowery, before this tabernacle was erected, I rather think some eight or nine years ago, when astrologers were rather numerous in Salt Lake City, and were making a good many predictions, that if they would concentrate all their astrological knowledge and wisdom in on man, if such a man could be found, and he would commence making predictions, he would falsify every prediction that they made that prove them liars. This came very forcibly to my mind yesterday in hearing him speak with the old-time energy and strength.

      I think that we should be thankful to God for the blessing of life and health that he has given to those who preside over us, and I am sure it is the prayer and faith of all that the life of our President, and that the life of Brother George A. and the life of Brother Daniel and of all the veterans in this cause may be preserved for very many years yet to come. And, brethren and sisters, let the wicked predict evil concerning Zion if the wish to do so, we know that God will preserve, bless, uphold, establish and redeem Zion and bring to pass all that has been spoken concerning his great work in the last days; and he will prove in the future, as he has in the past, that those who predict the downfall of this work bear false witness and testimony, and are not inspired by the spirit of revelation and prophecy, while the predictions which he inspires his servant to make will be fulfilled to the very letter, and his work will roll forth in mighty power. May God grant it, for Jesus' sake, Amen.

 

            Meeting was adjourned till tomorrow morning at 10 a.m.

            The Choir sang the Anthem --

How beautiful are thy towers.

            Benediction by ELDER GEO. Q. CANNON.

_____

[10 Apr, 10 am]

[DNW 24:165, 168 4/14/75, p 5, 8]

FIFTH DAY -- MORNING.

_____

Saturday, April 10, 10 o'clock a. m.

            The choir sang --

O God, our help in ages past,
 Our hope for hears to come.

            Prayer by ELDER WILFORD WOODRUFF.

            The choir sang --

When earth in bondage long had lain,
And darkness o'er the nations reigned.

[Elder Brigham Young Junr.]

            ELDER BRIGHAM YOUNG, JUNR, desired that his words this morning, whether few or many, might be directed by the Spirit of God. This Church never could have been organized except under the dictation of the spirit of revelation. He believed the Christian reformers were influenced by a desire to do good, but they never laid claim to immediate revelation, nor the visitation of holy angels. Both themselves and their successors, as expounders of holy writ, rather discarded the idea of divine revelation being at all necessary for the preaching of the gospel and administering in its ordinances.

            He then referred to the bible, or stick of Judah, and the Book of Mormon, or stick of Ephraim, the latter coming forth in the last days, in exact fulfilment of prophecy and which is a fact before the eyes of all people, each book having unmistakable testimony of the truth of the other. We came here that we might become one in the building up of the Kingdom of God. On natural principles we could easily see that where political differences existed, and opposition parties prevailed, no solid republic could ever be built up. So with the purposes of God, in trying to unite this people and make us one. We could never fulfill the revelations of God, until we were sufficiently instructed in what he required, and then brought together on a principle of unity, that would blend our interests together as one. Our mission was to build up Zion, and it was absolutely necessary for us to establish the order of Enoch. There was no salvation for those who rejected this order, and that being one of the principles of the Gospel it could not be rejected with impunity, any more than we could reject baptism or the laying on of hands. If we ever expected to redeem Zion, if we ever expected to build up the centre stake of Zion, in Jackson County, Mo., we had got to enter into that order, or it could never be done. by observing all the revelations of God, there was safety, peace and prosperity. By neglecting them, we should have division and trouble. Many who started in this order a year ago have failed -- what of that? Many private enterprises had also failed, and on examination of the books it was plain to be seen the cause of all the failures throughout the Territory. To succeed they must be carried out on strictly honest and correct principles, both in theory and practice; and if failure marked the first effort, we should try again and keep on trying, until we could succeed in building up Zion to our God. We had sought our own wealth, our own aggrandizement, and self had been paramount in the race. Hence, failure was stamped upon our efforts, and always would be until we commenced with our eye single to the glory of God, and had no other motive than the building up of Zion.

            This order superseded the law of tithing. The Order of Enoch was revealed at an early day, and the Saints being unprepared to enter into it at that time, the Lord introduced the law of tithing as a lower principle or law, which had continued to the present, and now God had again revealed the above order for our observance, to prepare us for the greater things that were close upon us.

            He then spoke of the prophecies concerning the sending forth of the servants of God to preach to the Ten Tribes, before whose presence the mountains of ice would fall down.

            He also referred to what the Lord was now doing among the Lamanites, commencing to prepare them for the great work that they had to perform. We should received the United Order, sleep upon it, think about it, and be willing to live it, though, he frankly admitted, it was one thing to speak upon it in general terms, and was quite another thing to put it in practice. Many difficulties presented themselves the very first effort that was made, as most of those who had given in their names to enter it were the poor, blind and lame, but the able bodied and the wealthy stood aloof, waiting to see the result in regard to those who were willing to enter into it.

            He said we might look for trials and difficulties, but if we were united and determined to do the will of God we would come off victorious.

[Elder George Q. Cannon]

            ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON said the only way that we could become a power in the earth would be by a union of efforts in labor and means. He advocated the encouragement of home industries. Brigham City was far ahead in this respect of any other section of the Territory. In fostering and encouraging and sustaining every species of home manufacture we helped to build up and establish labor, wealth, and material prosperity. But by neglecting these things we impoverished, weakened and pauperized ourselves.

[George Q. Cannon]

[DNW 24:260, 5/26/75, p 4; JD 18:13]

REMARKS

BY ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON, DELIVERED

At the Forty-fifth Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints,
in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Friday [Saturday] Afternoon, April 9th [10th], 1875.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      We have abundantly proved in our experience that if we do not sustain ourselves, no other people will sustain us, and that we must be united, as was said this morning, in our temporal as well as in our spiritual affairs; and that if we would build up and strengthen ourselves in the earth, it must be by union of effort, and by concentrating our means in a way that shall produce the best results for the work with which we are identified. Co-operation, or a union of effort, has been proved in our experience, when properly carried out, to be most successful. With small means and limited incomes we can accomplish, by wisely uniting our efforts, great results, and to bring about greater union should be our continual effort. As has been said, there may be failures and mismanagement occasionally, but the principle itself is a true one, and it recommends itself to every reflecting mind. We, however, in our mercantile operations in this city and Territory, have been more than ordinarily successful. I have heard reproaches indulged in, or rather reflections cast, upon our general co-operative institution. I think it has been one of the most successful establishments and institutions that we ever have had among us, and I do not know that it has been equalled anywhere, when we reflect that in the short space of three years those who invested their means in that institution made one hundred per cent.—doubled their original stock; and when the financial crisis came in the east—the panic as it was termed, and many strong houses went down before it, our institution was able to withstand the storm, and tide over, and has met every dollar of its indebtedness promptly, or at least to the satisfaction of its creditors. We have been subjected to a great deal of expense in various ways; but the experience of the past few years enables us to see now how this expense can be curtailed; and profiting by this wisdom and experience, as a community we should take the necessary steps to establish, or rather to arrange it so that it will give the greatest satisfaction. A good deal might be said on this subject in this connection, but as we shall have a meeting very shortly in relation to our co-operative business affairs, probably that would be the proper place for remarks of this character. But I would say, as one individual, to all the Saints—Let us by every means in our power, that is, by collecting the little means that we have, seek to build up and strengthen these institutions in our midst, and they will prove profitable to us, and be a great blessing to the entire community and to Zion.

      At this afternoon's session of the Conference the authorities of the Church will be presented, and it is desirable that there should be a general attendance of the members of the Church, as far as they can possibly come.

      To refer again to this subject of co-operation. We have seen its good effects in the settlements throughout the entire Territory. I consider that if it had not been for our institution regulating prices and governing and controling the mercantile interests of this Territory, we should have lost, by having to pay high prices, thousands and thousands of dollars that we have saved. In Brigham City particularly, judging by accounts that we have heard, have the principles of co-operation been exceedingly beneficial to the people, because of the perfection to which they have been carried out. The great difficulty with us heretofore has been that, as a people, we have not had capital to achieve any very great results. No one man, until quite recently, has had sufficient means to carry on any great undertaking; but by the masses of the people uniting under a co-operative plan, and putting their funds in the hands of those who are judicious and good business men, we can establish every kind of manufacture that is necessary in this country to make us self-sustaining. The manufacture of iron into hollow-ware, and every thing of this character that is made of iron; the manufacture of rails for our railroads, of woolen goods of the best character, the establishment of sheep and cattle herds, of cheese factories and tanneries, and of every branch of manufacture that is adapted to our climate and Territory can be carried on upon this principle, and efforts should be made by us as a people to establish and make them successful. I took down with me, when I went to Washington last fall, a suit of clothes manufactured here in this Territory—the wool was grown here, the cloth was made at President Young's factory, and the clothes were made by our tailors. There was a good deal of discussion in the early part of the session concerning the resumption of specie payments. I remarked to a good many of my friends that if I were a believer, as some of them were, in the power of the General Government to make laws respecting such matters, I should be in favor of making a law that would prevent the importation into this country of anything that we could make ourselves; and I believe that specie payments will be postponed until there is a stop to the extravagance which reigns throughout the country. The stream of gold which ought to be setting in the direction of the United States, in consequence of the multiplicity of our productions and the greatness of our trade, is constantly flowing toward Europe; and while this is the case, we may struggle in vain to get back to specie payments. That which is true concerning a nation is true concerning us as a Territory. If we would be independent, if we would keep the circulating medium in abundance in our midst, we must stop the stream that is flowing from the Territory, and every dollar that we spend here in sustaining a home institution, for making clothes, paying the cloth manufacturer for his cloth, the wool-grower for his wool, the tanner for his leather, or the shoemaker for making that leather into shoes and boots, is that much saved to the entire community. One very prominent free-trade member of the House, during a discussion on this subject last session, remarked that the suit of clothes he had on cost him but a comparative small amount, and that he had them sent from Canada. Some one replied, by way of joke, that he had probably bought a second hand suit; but there is no doubt the clothes were new. But suppose they cost less in Canada than the same suit would in the States, can not you and every body see, without lengthy reflection, that that money all went into foreign hands, and did not benefit the people of this country? The producer of the wool, the manufacturer of the cloth, and the maker of the clothes in Canada received the benefit. But supposing that thirty-five or forty dollars had been paid for that suit of clothes in the United States, or in the community where the purchaser lived, you can readily perceive that by the circulation of that money in his immediate vicinity, he, himself, if he were in any business, would receive the benefit of the expenditure, and that the extra cost would not be an entire loss to him like paying it out to a foreign community. And so it is with our own manufactures. We talk about brooms and about cheese, butter and other things which can be brought from the east at lower figures than we can produce them; but it is better for us to pay twenty-five per cent. more, and I do not know but even a larger per centage, for our home productions, than to send the money away to a distant community where it is circulated and we receive no benefit from it. If we bought home made cheese, and had to pay ten or fifteen cents a pound more for it (which, however, we are not required to do) than if it were brought from abroad, it is not an entire loss to the community, for we all derive some benefit from the means so spent, because it is circulated amongst us, and if we have anything to sell we get prices in proportion for it, and thus we sustain ourselves. Men may say that such and such things can be bought cheaper abroad than they can be bought at home, and therefore it is better to buy them; but I say that it is suicidal for any community to pursue such a policy, and we, with the experience that we have had in this country on these points for upwards of a quarter of a century, should begin to learn wisdom, and begin to foster home manufactures and home institutions. Our co-operative institutions should take into consideration the people's good, and, if there is ink, matches, cloth, leather or anything else to sell that is manufactured in this country, they should give the preference every time to the home manufactured article so far as possible, and endeavor to stimulate and foster home production and not operate against it.

      By this means we build ourselves up, and the people themselves, where they are ignorant, will soon perceive the propriety and the advantage of taking this course; whereas if we pursue the old and opposite course we shall be impoverished and stripped of our means, and, having no branches of home manufacture, we shall continue to be a poor, dependent, helpless people.

 

            The choir sang the anthem --

O praise God in his Holiness.

            Benediction by PRESIDENT B. YOUNG.

            Adjourned till 2 p.m.

_____

[10 Apr, 2 pm*]

[DNW 24:168 4/14/75, p 8]

SATURDAY Afternoon, April 10th, 1875. 2 o'clock.

            The Choir sang --

What wondrous things we now behold,
By prophets seen in days of old.

            Prayer by BISHOP E. F. SHEETS.

            The Choir sang --

All hail the glorious day,
by prophets long foretold.

            The authorities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were presented to the Conference by ELDER GEO. Q. CANNON, all of whom were unanimously sustained by the uplifted hand of over ten thousand Saints present as follows --

            Brigham Young, Prophet, Seer and Revelator, and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in all the world.

            George A. Smith and Daniel H. Wells, counsellors to President Brigham Young.

            Lorenzo Snow, Brigham Young, Jr., Albert Carrington, John W. Young, and George Q. Cannon, Assistant Counsellors to President Brigham Young.

            John taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Sen., Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Jr., Joseph F. Smith and Albert Carrington, members of the Quorum of the Twelve.

            John Smith, Patriarch of the Church.

            George B. Wallace, President of this stake of Zion, and William H. Folsom and John T. Caine his counsellors.

            William Eddington, Thomas E. Jeremy, John H. Rumell, Miner G. Attwood, Dimick B. Huntington, Theodore McKean, Hosea Stout, Milando Pratt, J. R. Winder, Geo. J. Taylor, Henry Dinwoodey, Millen Attwood, A. M. Cannon, Joseph Horne, Andrew W. Winburg and George Nebeker, members of the High Council.

            Elias Smith, President of the High Priests' Quorum, and Edward Snelgrove and Elias Morris, his counsellors.

            Joseph Young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Herriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldridge, Jacob Gates and John Van Cott, members of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies.

            E. W. Davis, President of the Elders' Quorum, and W. W. Taylor and Junis F. Wells his counselors.

            Edward hunter, Presiding Bishop; Leonard W. Hardy and Robert T. Burton, his counsellors.

            Samuel G. Ladd, President of the Priests' Quorum; Wm. McLachlin and James Latham, his counselors.

            Adam Spiers, President of the Teachers' Quorum; Martin Lenzi and Henry I Doremus, his counselors.

            James Leach, President of the Deacons' quorum; John H. Picknell and Thomas C. Jones, his counselors.

            George A. Smith, Trustee in Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and John Sharp, John L. Smith, LeGrand Young, Elijah F. Sheets, Joseph F. Smith, Moses Thatcher, John Van Cott, Amos M. Musser, James P. Freeze, F. A. Mitchell, Thomas Taylor, as his assistants.

            Albert Carrington, President of the Perpetual Emigrating fund to gather the poor.

            Truman O. Angell, Architect of the Church.

            Orson Pratt, Historian and General Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff, his assistant.

            He also presented the following --

            President of the United Order in all the World wherever established -- Brigham Young.

            First Vice-President -- George A. Smith

            Second Vice-President -- Daniel H. Wells.

            Assistant Vice-Presidents -- John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Sen., Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, Geo. Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Jr., Joseph F. Smith and Albert Carrington.

            Secretary -- David McKenzie.

            Assistant Secretaries -- Geo.Goddard, D. O. Calder, P. A. Schettler, James Jack, and J. T. Caine.

            General Bookkeeper -- T. W. Ellerbeck.

            Treasurer -- G. A. Smith.

            Assistant Treasurer -- Bishop E. Hunter.

            Board of Directors -- H. S. Eldredge, John Sharp, Feramorz Little, Moses Thatcher, John Van Cott, James P. Freeze, Henry Dinwoodey, Thomas Taylor, and E. F. Sheets.

            George Goddard was sustained as Clerk of the Conference.

            PREST. B. YOUNG addressed the Conference.

            Meeting was adjourned till Sunday morning, at 10 o'clock.

            The Choir sang the anthem --

The eyes of all wait upon the Lord.

            Benediction by PRESIDENT B. YOUNG.

_____

[11 Apr, 10 am]

[DNW 24:168 4/14/75, p 8]

SIXTH DAY.

_____

SUNDAY Morning, April 11.; 10 o'clock.

            The choir sang --

The Time is nigh, that happy time,
That great expected, blessed day.

            Prayer by Elder JOHN W. YOUNG.

            The choir sang --

The great and glorious gospel light
Has ushered forth unto my sight.

[Elder Orson Pratt]

            ELDER ORSON PRATT read a few passages commencing with the 18th verse of the last chapter, of Isaiah. There were some very important prophecies contained in the above verses, especially in reference to the gathering together of the children of Israel in the last days, at which particular period of time a certain sign was to make its appearance, all nations and tongues were to be gathered to Jerusalem as predicted. Messengers were to be sent among the gentiles. The sign, promised by the Almighty God, was uttered by Jesus Christ to the inhabitants of this continent, was the "Book of Mormon." when it should come forth to the Gentiles, then the time for the gathering of Israel should commence, that the covenant of the Father might be fulfilled. The Book of Mormon should then go from the Gentiles to the Lamanites or Indians, who had previously dwindled in unbelief because of Their iniquity, and had become a dark and loathsome people. But these things were to take place on this continent because of the existence of civil and religious liberty, and for the purpose of establishing the Kingdom of God upon the earth. When the Gospel should be preached among the Lamanites, the scattered tribes of Israel were to be gathered together. Forty-five years had God's missionaries been sent forth among the Gentiles, and had held up and preached it to them the word of God as revealed in the Book of Mormon. some missionaries had been sent to the Lamanites, and it was reported that they had also been visited by the three Nephites who were permitted to remain upon the earth and not taste of death. It was stated that these men had visited the Indians and told them to seek after the Elders of the Latter-day Saints, to be baptized, to repent of their sins, to lay aside their weapons of war and stop stealing. The three Nephites were promised by the Savior that they should live upon the earth until all things should be accomplished, spoken of by the prophets, and until the glory of God should be revealed. They were also promised that they should not have any more pain or sorrow, were caught up into heaven, and saw and heard things which God told them not to reveal. Their bodies underwent some kind of a change, so that they should not taste of death. Thrice were these three Nephites cast into a furnace of fire, coming out unhurt. Thrice were they cast into a den of wild beasts, playing with them like a child would with a suckling lamb. They were thrust into prison, but at their word the prison walls fell down. No kind of torture nor any place into which they were thrust was permitted to hurt them. The remnants of the house of Israel did not embrace the whole house of Israel. The expression only had reference to the tribe of Joseph who was sold into Egypt. There were a host of other branches of Israel who were led into the north country. These had to come to Zion, and when that time came the mountains of ice would flow down at their presence the barren deserts would yield pools of water as they advance. This was a prophecy delivered by Joseph Smith the prophet, he being the greatest prophet that ever lived on the earth, Jesus excepted. The ten tribes would come to Zion, and receive a blessing under the hands of the children of Ephraim, and there were some in this congregation who would assist in setting apart one hundred and forty-four thousand as missionaries that would go forth and gather in the scattered remnants of Jacob from every part of the habitable globe.

            He then read another prophecy from the Book of Mormon, wherein it set forth that the Indians would be smitten by the hands of the Gentiles, after which if the Gentiles should reject the fulness of the gospel as set forth in the Book of Mormon, then the Lord would withdraw the fulness of the gospel from them, and send it to the poor degraded Indians. Every prophecy that had been uttered by the mouth of the servants of God in relation to this nation or other nations that fought against Zion should be fulfilled to the very letter.

[Orson Pratt]

[DNW 24:340, 6/30/75, p 4; JD 18:16]

DISCOURSE

BY ELDER ORSON PRATT, DELIVERED

In the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning, April 11th, 1875

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      If the congregation will give their attention I will read a few passages from the last chapter of Isaiah, commencing in the middle of the 18th verse. [The speaker read from the 18th verse, commencing—"It shall come," &c., unto the end of the 20th verse.]

      There are some very great and important events predicted in these few lines which I have read, concerning the gathering of all nations and tongues, but more especially the gathering of the house of Israel, a sign being promised—that when that period shall arrive, in the purposes of God, a sign shall be given to the children of men, that they may know when these great events are to take place. In this passage we are not told what the sign shall be, we merely have it promised; but we would naturally draw the conculsion that it will be something of a peculiar character, something that can be distinguished by the nations, kindred and tongues of the earth preparatory to the great gathering that is promised in the Scriptures of truth, "I will set a sign among them." And after setting this sign he will send missionaries to Tubal, to Javan, to the isles that are afar off, to Tarshish, Pul and Lud, and to them that draw the bow." And it is said concerning the missionaries who are thus sent forth, that "they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles." Then, when the sign is set, the missionaries are sent forth and the glory of God begins to be declared among the Gentiles, the Lord will bring about the gathering of his people Israel, bringing them upon horses, in chariots, in litters, upon swift beasts and upon mules to his holy mountain in Jerusalem; and he will gather all nations and tongues when that dispensation shall come.

      The Lord has set that sign; the Lord has sent forth the messengers here spoken of to the various nations, as predicted, and already the voice of these messengers is heard in the uttermost, parts of the earth, declaring the word of the Lord among the Gentiles, preparing them for the great event predicted by the mouth of Isaiah the Prophet.

      Do this people desire to know what the sign predicted by the mouth of Isaiah means? Do you wish to know the nature of that sign? Let me refer you to the words of the everlasting God that have been uttered from the heavens, declared in this record brought forth in the last days, the Book of Mormon. Let us refer to a prediction uttered by the mouth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, when he appeared personally upon this great western continent, and taught the ancient nations of America. He has told us by his own mouth what the sign should be for the gathering of all the dispersed of his people, the house of Israel. I will read the words of our Savior to the ancient inhabitants of this western continent. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, all these things"—the things which he had been speaking about to the multitude—"shall surely come, as the voice of the Father hath commanded me. Then shall this covenant which the Father hath covenanted with his people be fulfilled; and then shall Jerusalem begin to be inhabited with my people, and it shall be the land of their inheritance. And verily I say unto you, I will give you a sign that you may know the time when these things shall be about to take place, that I shall gather in from their long dispersion, my people, O house of Israel, and shall establish again among them my Zion. And behold this is the thing which I will give unto you for a sign, for verily I say unto you that when these things which I declare unto you, and which I shall declare unto you hereafter, of myself, and by the power of the Holy Ghost, which shall be given unto you of the Father, shall be made known unto the Gentiles"—that is, when this book, called the Book of Mormon, should be made known unto the Gentiles—"that they may know concerning this, my people, who are a remnant of the house of Jacob, and concerning this, my people, who shall be scattered by them in the latter days. Verily I say unto you when these things shall be made known unto them of the Father, and shall come forth of the Father from them unto you."

      Now, such is the sign. First, this work will be made known to the Gentiles, and will come forth from the Gentiles unto the Indians. "For it is wisdom in the Father that they should be established in this land, and be set up as a free people by the power of the Father, that these things might come forth from them unto a remnant of year seed, that the covenant of the Father may be fulfilled which he has covenanted with his people, O house of Israel. Therefore when these works, and the works which shall be wrought among you hereafter"—that is, the works which were performed during the first three or four centuries of the Christian era on the American continent, recorded in their records called the Book of Mormon—"when these works and the works which shall be wrought among you hereafter shall come forth from the Gentiles unto your seed, which shall dwindle in unbelief because of iniquity."

      Now this dwindling in unbelief of the American Indians is very evident even to the antiquarians of our country, all of whom will admit that once a civilized nation dwelt on this continent. No learned man living disputes this. Why do they suppose any such thing? The ruins of their ancient cities, palaces and temples, proclaim in the ears of all living that once there dwelt on this hemisphere a great and powerful people, who were civilized and understood the art of constructing beautiful and substantial buildings. But now, O! how degraded, fallen and sunk into the very depths of darkness are the descendants of that once great, powerful and exalted people! "They shall dwindle in unbelief because of iniquity;" because they rejected the Gospel. In the fourth century of the Christian era they apostatized from the religion of their fathers; they were cursed by the Almighty, a skin of darkness came upon them; they were cursed in all that they set their hands to do, and the withering curse of the Almighty has been upon them from generation to generation, until the present day. They were to dwindle in unbelief because of iniquity.

      "For thus it behooveth the Father that it should come forth from the Gentiles, that he may show forth his power to the Gentiles, for this cause, that the Gentiles, if they will not harden their hearts, that they may repent, and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, and know of the truth of my doctrine that they may be numbered among my people, O house of Israel."

      Such is the object of bringing this work forth to the Gentiles first. That is why God prepared the way for a great and powerful nation, free from all other nations under heaven, to be established here on this continent. The great purpose which God had in view was to set up a kingdom in the latter days in which there should be full and complete religious liberty and freedom of conscience, that the kingdom might go forth unto the ends of the earth; "and when these things shall come to pass, that thy seed"—the American Indians—"shall begin to know these things. It shall be a sign unto them, that they may know that the work of the Father hath already commenced, unto the fulfilling of the covenant which he hath made unto the people, who are of the house of Israel."

      Now then, here is a prediction in Isaiah, that before the Lord gathers Israel he would set up a sign, showing not only to us but to all people, nations and tongues in the four quarters of the earth that he is about to gather together all the people of the house of Israel. That sign is when these American Indians shall begin to know the Gospel taught and practiced by their ancient fathers. "When that day shall come it shall come to pass that kings shall shut their months, for that which had not been told them shall they see, that which they had not heard shall they consider; for in that day, for my sake, shall the Father work a work which shall be a great and marvelous work among them; and there shall be among them which will not believe it, although a man shall declare it unto them. But behold, the life of my servant is in mine hand," &c.

      We will now pass on to the next page. "And then shall the work of the Father commence at that day, even when this Gospel shall be preached unto the remnant of this people"—unto the Indians—"verily I say unto you, at that day shall the work of the Father commence among all the dispersed of any people, yea even the tribes which have been lost, which the Father hath led away out of Jerusalem, yea the work shall commence among all the dispersed of my people, with the Father to prepare the way whereby they may come unto me; that they may call upon the Father in my name, and then shall the work commence with the Father among all nations in preparing the way whereby his people may be gathered home to the land of their inheritance. And they shall not go out in haste, nor go by flight, for I will go before them saith the Father, and I will be their rearward."

      Forty-five years have passed away since God brought forth this sign, the Book of Mormon, and sent missionaries to the nations—to Tarshish, Pal, Lud, Tubal, Jayan, and to the islands afar off, that have not heard his tame neither have seen his glory and these missionaries have declared his glory among the Gentiles. Forty-five years of proclamation to the nations of the Gentiles! Forty-five years of warning to all nations and tongues! Now after so long a period has elapsed since God brought forth this wonderful sign, he has begun to work among the remnants of the house of Israel the American Indians, upon this continent, by his own power. What is it that has stirred them up to believe in this work? Has it been your exertion? Not altogether; yet, no doubt, you, in some small degree, as far as your faith would permit, have helped on the work among these wild tribes. You have sought to recover them, you have fed and clothed them to some extent; you have told them occasionally about the records of their fathers; you have tried to bring them to repentance; but, after years of labor, you have said—"Alas! alas for them! What can be done to reclaim a people so tar fallen into the depths of ignorance and corruption?" Your hearts have been almost discouraged so far as your own labors were concerned. But how soon and how marvelously, when the time had come, has the Lord our God begun to operate upon them as nations and as tribes, bringing them in from hundreds of miles distant to inquire after the Elders of this Church. What for? What do they want with the Elders? They want to be baptized. Who told them to come and be baptized? They say that men came to them in their dreams, and spoke to them in their own language, and told them that away yonder was a people who had authority from God to baptize them; but that they must repent of their sins, cease their evil habits and lay aside the traditions of their fathers, for they were false; that they must cease to roam over the face of the land, robbing and plundering, and learn to live as the white people.

      Who are these men who have been to the Indians and told them to repent of their sins, and be baptized by the "Mormons?" They are men who obtained the promise of the Lord, upwards of eighteen centuries ago, that they should be instruments in his hands of bringing about the redemption of their descendants. The Lord God promised them the privilege of working for and in behalf of their descendants in the latter days; and they have begun the work. All this was foretold in this record, the Book of Mormon.

      Now I will read a little for the benefit of the Latter-day Saints, for though they have this record lying upon their shelves, I fear there are some who are careless about reading its contents, and perhaps do not understand the signs of the times, and the fulfillment of the purposes of God, which are here so clearly set forth. Jesus appeared on this American Continent soon after his resurrection, three different times that are recorded, and how many other times that are not recorded, I do not know. But be showed himself to them and brake bread with them. But the third time he came to the Twelve whom he had chosen on this land,—as he was about to leave them he put a very important question to them. He said unto his twelve disciples, speaking unto them one by one—"What is it that you desire of me, after that I am gone unto the Father?" And they all spake save it were three—"We desire that, after we have lived unto the age of men, that our ministry wherein thou hast called us may have an end, and that we may speedily come to thee in thy kingdom." And he said unto them—"Blessed are ye because ye have desired this thing of me; therefore after that ye are seventy-two years old, ye shall come Unto me in my kingdom, and with me ye shall find rest." And when he had spoken these words unto the nine, he then turns to the three and said unto them—"What will ye that I shall do unto you when I am gone to the Father?" And they sorrowed in their hearts, for they dare not speak unto him the thing which they desired. And he said unto them—"Behold I know your thoughts, and you have desired the thing which John, my beloved, who was with me in my ministry before I was lifted up by the Jews, desired of me, therefore more blessed are ye, for ye shall never taste of death." These three men had the promise that they should never taste death; "but," said the Savior unto them—"ye shall live to behold all the doings of the Father unto the children of men, even until all things shall be fulfilled according to the will of the Father, when I come in my glory with the powers of heaven. Ye shall never endure the pains of death, but when I shall come in my glory ye shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye from mortality to immortality; then shall ye be blessed in the kingdom of my Father. And again ye shall not have pain while ye shall dwell in the flesh, neither sorrow, save it be for the sins of the world; and all this will I do because of the thing which ye have desired of me; for ye have desired that ye may bring the souls of men unto me while the world shall stand; and for this cause ye shall have fulness of joy, and ye shall sit down in the kingdom of my Father; yea your joy shall be full, even as the Father hath given me fulness of joy; and ye shall be even as I am, and I am even as the Father, and the Father and I are one; and the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and me; and the Father giveth the Holy Ghost unto the children of men because of me."

      What a glorious promise was made to these three men! Did they receive any change? Yes, they did; not to immortality however, but a change sufficient was wrought in their bodies that death should not have power over them. But let us read a little further, it is very interesting. "And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words, he touched every one of them with his finger save it were the three who were to tarry;" that is, he touched the nine who were to preach until they were seventy-two years old and who were then to be taken home to God, "and then he departed, and behold the heavens were opened and they (the three) were caught up into heaven, and saw and heard unspeakable things. And it was forbidden them that they should utter; neither was it given unto them power that they could utter the things which they saw and heard; and whether they were in the body or out of the body they could not tell, for it did seem unto them like a transfiguration of things." That is the way that they received their partial change. "But it came to pass that they did again minister upon the face of the earth; nevertheless they did not minister of the things which they had heard and seen, because of the commandment which was given them in heaven."

      Now these men lived in the first century of the Christian era on this continent; and when that generation all passed away they also lived in the second century of the Christian era, and ministered to the ancient inhabitants on this land. And when the second century had all passed off the stage of action they also lived in the third century; and in the fourth century the Lord took these three men from the midst of the remnant of Israel on this land. Where did he take them? I do not know, it is not revealed. Why did he take them away? Because of the apostacy of the people, because the people were unworthy of the ministration of such great and holy men; because they sought to kill them; because they cast them into dens of wild beasts twice; and these met of God played with these wild beasts as a child would play with a suckling lamb, and received no harm from them. They cast them three times into a furnace of fire, and they came forth therefrom and received no hurt. They dug deep pits in the earth and cast them therein, supposing that they would perish; but by the power of the word of God that was in them, they smote the earth in the name of the Lord, and were delivered from these pits. And thus they went forth performing signs, wonders and miracles among this remnant of Israel, until their wickedness became so great that the Lord commanded them to depart out of their midst. And ;he remnant of Israel, from that day to the present—between fourteen and fifteen centuries—have been dwindling in unbelief, in ignorance, and in all the darkness which now surrounds them; but notwithstanding their darkness and misery, the three Nephites, for many generations, have not administered to them, because of the commandment of the Almighty to them.

      But are they always to remain silent? Are there no more manifestations to come from these three men? Are they never again to remember the remnants of the House of Israel on this land? Let us read the promise. "Behold I was about to write the names of those who were never to taste of death, but the Lord forbade; therefore I write them not, for they are hid from the world; but behold I have seen them." Mormon saw them nearly four centuries after they were caught up into heaven, and after they received their partial change. Mormon saw them and they administered unto him. He says—"Behold I have seen them and they have ministered unto me; and behold they will be among the Gentiles, and the Gentiles knoweth them not." They will, no doubt, call them poor deluded Mormons, and say that they ought to be hooted out of society, and that they ought to be persecuted, afflicted, and hated by all people. "They will he among the Gentiles and the Gentiles knoweth them not. They will also be among the Jews, and the Jews shall know them not. And it shall come to pass when the Lord seeth fit, in his wisdom, that they shall minister unto all the scattered tribes of Israel, and unto all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, and shall bring out of them unto Jesus many souls, that their desire may be fulfilled; and also because of the convincing power of God which is in them; and they are as the angels of God. And if they shall pray unto the Father in the name of Jesus, they can show themselves unto whatsoever man it seemeth them good; therefore great and marvelous works shall be wrought by them before the great and coming day when all people must surely stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Yea even among the Gentiles shall there be a great and a marvelous work wrought by them, before that judgment day."

      Now, having read these things, let us come back again to this spiritual movement that we hear of among the remnants of Jacob, in these western deserts, in the northwest hundreds of of miles, in the west and in the southwest. It is not confined to hundreds, but thousands testify that men have appeared individually in dreams, speaking their own language and, as Brother Hyde said last Tuesday, these men tell their descendants what their duties are, what they should do, and how they should hunt up this people, repent of their sins, be baptized, etc. And the parties who have been thus instructed time and time again, have fulfilled the commandments that they received, and some of them have come hundreds of miles to be baptized, and they are now desirous of laying aside their savage disposition, their roaming habits, and they want to learn to cultivate the earth, to lay down their weapons of war, cease stealing and to become a peaceable good people.

      The work thus commenced will not stop here. The Book of Mormon says—"When thy seed shall begin to know these things, it shall be a sign unto them, that they may know that the work of the Father hath already commenced unto the fulfilling of his covenant which he hath made with his people who are of the House of Israel." This remnant, the American Indians, do not comprise all Israel, they are but a small remnant of one single tribe, namely the descendants of that Joseph who was carried into Egypt. Away in yonder north countries, where I do not know, but away in those regions are ten tribes of the house of Israel. How do you know they are in the north country? Because this Bible has told us that in the latter days they should come out of the north country, and if they were not in the north country they could not come from there. Jeremiah says in his thirty-first chapter—"Behold I will bring them from the north, the blind and the lame with them, and the woman with child; they shall come, a great company out of the north countries." Where will they go to? Will they go immediately to Palestine, where they formerly had their inheritance? No. Jeremiah tells us where they will go; he tells us there is to be a place called Zion before these tribes come out of the north countries, and when they come with a great company, the blind and the lame with them, and the Lord God leads them with supplication and with tears and with prayers, bringing them forth from those dreary, desolate, cold arctic regions: when that day shall come there shall be a Zion prepared to receive these ten tribes, before they finally go back to Palestine. Is there anything in the Scriptures about this? Yes. In the same chapter of Jeremiah we read that "they shall come and sing in the height of Zion." Zion, then, will have to be built up before they come; Zion will have to be reared somewhere and prepared to receive them; and it will be a holy place, and it will be a holy people who will build up Zion, so much so that the Lord will bring these ten tribes in to the height of Zion, into the midst of it.

      What will then take place? They shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord, for the wheat, the wine, the oil, for the young of the flock; their souls shall be as a watered garden, and they shall not sorrow any more at all. Why? Because they have got among a good people, where there is no need to sorrow; they have come up into a land that is choice above all other lands, a land that brings forth wheat, and grapes for the producing of wine, where flocks, herds, &c., are multiplied, and their souls will be like a watered garden, and all the sorrows they have experienced for twenty-five hundred years, in the cold regions of the north, will be done away; and they will not sorrow any more at all.

      This same thing is predicted in the sixteenth chapter, as well as in the thirty-first of Jeremiah. The Lord says in the sixteenth chapter—"Behold the days shall come when it shall no more be said the Lord liveth that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;" but instead of that saying, there will be another more glorious saying, namely, that "the Lord liveth who brought up the children of Israel from the north country, and from all other countries whither he has driven them." But will that do away the former saying—"The Lord liveth who brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt?" Yes. Some may suppose that as the Jews retain that saying to this day it never would be done away. The Jews, wherever they may be scattered, whether in Christian lands, or among the heathens where they are anxious to convert them to idolatry, say, "We worship that God who brought up our fathers out of the land of Egypt, and wrought signs, wonders and mighty deeds in bringing them forth, leading them through the waters of the mighty deep into the Promised Land, Palestine." But notwithstanding they have retained this saying, it will be one day done away, superseded by the manifestations of God's power in bringing Israel from the north country and all other countries whither they have been scattered, and gathering them to their own land. The Israel of the latter day has got to cross the sea dry shod, just as ancient Israel did. It is thus predicted in the eleventh chapter of Isaiah. After saying that the Lord would lift up an ensign for the nations, he declares, "I will gather the outcasts of Israel and the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth, and I will cause them to pass through the river in its seven streams, and I will smite the tongue of the Egyptian sea, and an highway shall be cast up unto Israel that was left from Assyria, like as it was to Israel when they came out of the land of Egypt." They shall go over dry shod. They will not have to refer back three or four thousand years to the miracles wrought anciently by the God they worship, but they will tell of things wrought in their own day, which have taken place while they themselves live. "The Lord liveth that brought up Israel out of the north country; the Lord liveth who, in our day, smote the tongue of the Egyptian sea, and also the river Nile in its seven mouths; the Lord liveth who, in our day, cast up a highway in the midst of the great deep, for his chosen to come over."

      Now I will quote a parallel prophecy, delivered to Joseph Smith, one of the greatest Prophets who has lived on the earth in any generation, save it be our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Some forty-three years ago, in speaking of the lost ten tribes of Israel, the Lord says—"They who are in the north countries shall come in remembrance before the Lord, and their Prophets shall hear his voice, and shall no longer stay themselves; and they shall smite the rocks, and the ice shall flow down at their presence. And an highway shall be east up in the midst of the great deep. Their enemies shall become a prey unto them, and in the barren deserts there shall come forth pools of living water; and the parched ground shall no longer be a thirsty land. And they shall bring forth their rich treasures unto the children of Ephraim my servants. And the boundaries of the everlasting hills shall tremble at their presence." To show that they come with power, they come on a highway cast up for them; the ice feels the power of God and flows down, making room for them; and the barren deserts of the north, wherever they may go and need water, will yield forth pools of living water to quench their thirst. As they come to sing in the height of Zion, the everlasting hills, this great Rocky Mountain range, extending from the arctic regions south to the central portions of America, will tremble beneath the power of God at the approach of that people. Then will be fulfilled the saying of David, that the mountains shall skip like rams, and the little hills like lambs, before his people. The very trees of the field will clap like hands, as the Psalmist David has said. Then will he fulfilled the passage that was quoted yesterday by brother Woodruff—"Sing O heavens, be joyful O earth, and break forth into singing O mountains, for the Lord hath redeemed his people," &c. And when they get to Zion they will begin to say—"The place is too strait for me, give place to me that I may dwell;" then the saying will go forth—"Behold I was a captive. Zion was a captive, moving to and fro, tossed to and fro, and not comforted. Behold I was left alone." But where have this great company been, where has this mighty host come from? They have come from their hiding place in the north country; they have been led thence by the Prophets of the Most High God, the Lord going before their camp, talking with them out of the cloud, as he talked in ancient days with the camp of Israel, uttering his voice before his army, for his camp will be very great. So says the Prophet Joel, trod his prophecy will be fulfilled. When they return to Zion to sing in the height thereof, "They will fall down there and be crowned with glory by the hands of the servants of the Lord, even the children of Ephraim."

      Now what does this mean? A people that have had such mighty power, a people before whose camp the Lord of hosts has been seen, and his glory by day and by night; a people before whom the mountains and the hills tremble and flee; shall a people of that description fall down and be crowned by another people? Who are this other people, that is, these highly favored children of Ephraim? What particular blessing has the Lord for Ephraim? He holds the birth-right. "Ephraim is my first-born," saith the Lord in the 31st chapter of Jeremiah. The first-born in the great latter-day work, holding the keys of blessings for all the twelve tribes of Israel. God has an order in his kingdom. Certain blessings can be received in one way; other blessings are ordained to be received. in another form, by certain authorities that are appointed, and who hold the keys pertaining to these blessings. God did not take away the birth-right of Reuben, the first-born of Israel, and transfer it to the heads of the sons of Joseph for a purpose that was of no particular account; but he transferred the birthright from Reuben to Joseph that they might hold it as the first-born among all the tribes of Israel, to bless them in the latter days.

      How long will they who come from the north countries tarry in the heights of Zion? Sometime. They have got to raise wheat, cultivate the grape, wine and oil, raise flocks and herds, and their souls will have to become as a watered garden. They will dwell in Zion a good while, and during that time, there will be twelve thousand chosen out of each of these ten tribes, besides twelve thousand that will be chosen from Judah, Joseph, and the remaining tribes, one hundred and forty-four thousand in all. Chosen for what? To be sealed in their foreheads. For what purpose? So that the power of death and pestilence and plague that will go forth in those days sweeping over the nations of the earth will have no power over them. These parties who are sealed in their foreheads will go forth among all people, nations and tongues, and gather up and hunt out the house of Israel, wherever they are scattered, and bring as many as they possibly can into the. Church of the first-born, preparatory to the great day of the coming of the Lord. One hundred and forty-four thousand missionaries! Quite a host. All this has got to take place. There are persons in this congregation who will be in the midst of Zion, when the ten tribes come to Zion from the north countries, and will assist in bestowing the blessings promised by the Almighty upon the heads of the tribes of Israel. There are servants of God in the midst of this congregation who will lay their hands upon many of each of these twelve thousand, chosen out of the ten tribes, and set them apart as missionaries to visit the nations of the earth and hunt up the remnants of the seed of Jacob.

      Having spoken concerning the gathering of the ten tribes, I will refer again to their Prophets. "Their Prophets shall hear his voice." Do not think that we are the only people who will have Prophets. God is determined to raise up Prophets among that people, but he will not bestow upon them all the fulness of the blessings of the Priesthood. The fulness will be reserved to be given to them after they come to Zion. But Prophets will be among them while in the north, and a portion of the Priesthood will be there; and John the Revelator will be there, teaching, instructing and preparing them for this great work; forte him were given the keys for the gathering of Israel, at the time when he ate that little book while on the Isle of Patmos. At that time, John was a very old man; but the Lord told him that he must yet prophesy before many kingdoms, and nations, and peoples, and tongues, and he has got that mission to perform, and in the last days the spirit and power of Elias will attend his administrations among these ten tribes, and he will assist in preparing them to return to this land. Whether missionaries will be sent from Zion to hunt up these dispersed tribes in the north I do not know; but one thing I do know, from that which is reported by those who have tried to find a passage to the pole, that there is a warmer country off there, and that birds of passage go north to find a warmer climate. That I know from the writings of intelligent men who have been on voyages of discovery. And I know, furthermore, that they have crossed by means of dogs and sledges a certain portion of this great band of ice and have come to an open sea, which proves that there is a warmer country further north. There is a tract of country around the pole, some seven or eight hundred miles in diameter, that no man among the nations. that we are acquainted with, has ever explored. But how much of that land may be fit for habitation I am not prepared to say, for I do not know. I know it would be a very easy matter for the Lord God, by the aid of great mountain ranges encircling them around about, to produce a band of ice which would prevent other nations and people very easily reaching them. I also know that it would be a very easy matter for the Lord God to cause deep and extensive valleys, very deep in comparison with high ranges of mountains around them, where the temperature would be comparatively mild, the same as in these mountains here. We see all the rigors of an arctic winter on our eastern ranges of mountains, while at the same time here are deep valleys in which there is a comparatively warm climate, which makes me think of that which was spoken by the mouth of Isaiah the Prophet in referring to the latter-day work. He says that "when it shall hail, Coming down upon the forests, the city shall be low in a low place," where the climate is warm.

      Let me say a few more words in regard to certain things that have already taken place, predicted in the Book of Mormon by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, when he appeared on this western hemisphere and taught this remnant of Israel. He told them of certain events which should transpire before the remnants of Joseph should be converted. He says—"Verily, verily, I say unto you that I have other sheep which are not of this land"—meaning America—"neither of the land of Jerusalem, neither in any parts of that land round about whither I have been to minister. But they of whom I speak have not as yet heard my voice, neither have I at any time manifested myself unto them; but I have received a commandment of the Father that I shall go unto them and they shall be numbered among my sheep, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd, therefore I go to show myself unto them." After leaving this continent, he went to the lost tribes and placed one measure of leaven in the meal that was in that country, having already planted a little leaven among the Jews at Jerusalem, and another little portion of leaven here in America, after which he goes to the lost tribes, and plants leaven in the third mess of meal, and left it to work. He says—"I command you that you shall write these sayings after I am gone, that if it so be that my people at Jerusalem, they who have seen me, and been with me in my ministry, do not ask the Father in my name, that they may receive a knowledge of you by the Holy Ghost, and also of the other tribes which they know not of, these sayings which ye shall write shall be kept and shall be manifested unto the Gentiles, that, through the fulness of the Gentiles, the remnant of their seed who shall be scattered upon the face of the earth because of their unbelief, may be brought in, or may be brought to a knowledge of me, their Redeemer. And then will I gather them in from the four quarters of the earth, and I will fulfill the covenant which the Father hath made unto all the people of the house of Israel."

      Now I want you to take particular notice of the following paragraph, or a portion of it, which I will read. "But woe, saith the Father, unto the unbelieving of the Gentiles"—having reference more particularly to the Gentiles of this great nation—"for notwithstanding they have come forth upon the face of this land, and have scattered my people who are of the house of Israel, and my people who are of the house of Israel have been cast out from among them, and have been trodden under foot by them, and because of the mercies of the Father unto the Gentiles, and the judgments of the Father upon my people who are of the house of Israel, verily, verily, I say unto you, that after all this, and I have caused my people who are of the house of Israel to be smitten, and to be afflicted, and to be slain, and to be cast out from among them"—just as our forefathers have done for two or three generations past in smiting, destroying, casting out and driving the poor American Indians—"thus commanded the Father that I should say unto you at that day, when the Gentiles shall sin against my Gospel,"—meaning sinning against this fullness of the Gospel, that is the Book of Mormon, when it shall be sent forth in the latter days)—"when the Gentiles shall sin against my Gospel, and shall be lifted up in pride above all nations, and above all the people of the whole earth, and shall be filled with all manner of lyings and deceit, and of mischiefs, and all manner of hypocrisy, and murders, and priestcrafts, and whoredoms, and of secret abominations, and if they shall do all these things, and shall reject the fulness of my Gospel, behold, saith the Father, I will bring the fulness of my Gospel from among them."

      This prophecy has been fulfilled. It was delivered and in print before there was any Latter-day Saint Church in existence. Now how did Joseph Smith, a farmer's boy, know naturally anything about the Lord's taking this work—the Book of Mormon—and this people who believe in the fullness of the Gospel and the bringing of them out from this Gentile nation to these solitary regions? How did he know this so far back as the year 1830? How did he know this before the Church was organized with six members? Yet it has all come to pass. How unlikely it was for such a thing to come to pass, if there was no God in it! If the Gentiles should reject this Gospel which the Lord has brought forth by his power; "and shall be lifted up in the pride of their hearts above all nations, peoples, kindreds and tongues, and shall be filled with all manner of lyings, deceits, mischiefs, hypocrisy, murders and whoredoms, and shall reject the fulness of my Gospel, Behold, saith the Father, I will bring the fulness of my Gospel from among them."

      For twenty-seven years the Lord has been fulfilling this directly before the eyes of all this nation. Little did they think when they came upon us in Nauvoo, and drove us out from our homes and firesides and told us to flee away beyond this great chain of rocky mountains, that they were fulfilling this great prophecy uttered before this people had an existence. "I will bring the fulness of my Gospel from among them;" and mark the next sentence—"and then I will remember my covenant." When? When he gets the people out from the midst of this nation. "Then I will remember my covenant which I made unto my people, O house of Israel, and I will bring my Gospel unto them." Has it been fulfilled? Yes. It is over a quarter of a century since the Lord brought us out, and laid a foundation for us to live here; and we have been enabled by his power to erect towns villages and cities, to open up farms, add begin to live, and we have got a broad foundation laid; and now, the next thing is—"I will bring the fulness of my Gospel unto thee, O house of Israel;" that is, unto the Indians; in other words—they shall come unto a knowledge of the fulness of my Gospel. "Yet if the Gentiles will repent and return unto me, saith the Father, behold they shall be numbered among my people, the house of Israel."

      That is the only hope that we Gentiles have. No hope for us whatever, no hope for this great and powerful nation, only by being numbered with these poor, degraded, despised, outcast, dark, and benighted Indians. Are you willing to be numbered with them? In what respect? Not to come down to their customs and habits, their uncleanness, filth, wickedness, darkness and ignorance; but be numbered with them in the inheritance of this great continent, which was given to them by promise, the same as Palestine was given to Abraham and Isaac. God gave it by the mouth of Jacob, who pronounced it upon the head of his son Joseph, it was promised that he should have a separate land from that given to Abraham and Isaac. Read it in the 49th chapter of Genesis. The Lord gave North and South America to these Indians, nearly six hundred years before Christ. And he promised that the Gentiles, in the latter days, who should come upon the face of this land, if they would repent when this Gospel should come forth unto them, they should have the privilege of receiving their inheritance in common with this remnant of Israel—these Indians. But if they did not repent there is another decree. And what is that? "They shall be utterly cat off from among my people." Thus it is predicted and you have read it for forty-five years. In another place the Lord says—" If they will not repent, behold I will cut off the cities of their land, I will throw down all their strongholds, and I will cut off their horses out of the midst of them, and I will execute vengeance and fury upon them such as they have not heard of. In another place, which I have not time to turn to and read, it says—"And it shall come to pass that every soul that will not repent of their sins and come unto my beloved son, will I cut off from among my people, O, house of Israel, and it shall be done unto them even as Moses has said, they shall be cut off from among my people."

      Now Moses has told us of that time, and it is repeated again in the 3rd chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, that the Lord would raise up a Prophet, and it should come to pass that every soul that would not hear that Prophet should be cut off from among the people. We are told that that Prophet was Jesus, and we believe it. Jesus Christ was that Prophet, and the day is to come, as sure as the Lord lives in yonder heavens, when every soul that will not repent, and receive his work, will be literally cut off from among the people, just as Moses has predicted. And it shall come to pass that "kings shall shut their mouths, for that which had not been told them shall they see, and that which they have not heard shall they beheld," a marvelous work and a wonder, a work that the Lord would perform in the latter-days. A strange work, a strange act, so-called by Isaiah the Prophet.

      O that I had time to go into the numerous prophecies in the Book of Mormon, and point out the desolations that are to come upon this nation and this generation, if they do not repent! But every jot and every tittle that has not been fulfilled since the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, will be fulfilled to the very letter. Zion will arise, clothed with the glory of her God; the Lord will be her defence; he will be her shield and her buckler; and the power of his own right hand will protect his people. And it shall come to pass that every nation, and every kindred and tongue and people that will fight against the people of God, and against his Zion, will perish out of the earth, and all nations that "fight against Mount Zion shall become as the dream of a night vision. Like a hungry man who dreams and thinks that he eats, but he wakes and his soul has appetite;" so, in the latter-days, it shall be with not only one nation but all the nations that fight against Mount Zion. God has stretched forth his hand to exert, the powers of the heavens, and he will fulfill and accomplish his work; and there is no power beneath the heavens that can stay his almighty hand.—Amen.

 

            Conference was adjourned till 2 o'clock p. m.

            The choir sang the anthem --

Glory to God in the highest.

            Benediction by Elder F. D. RICHARDS.

_____

[11 Apr, 2 pm]

[DNW 24:168 4/14/75, p 8]

Afternoon, 2 o'clock.

            The choir sang --

Our God, we raise to thee,
Thanks for thy blessing free.

            Prayer by ELDER F. A. MITCHELL.

            The choir sang --

We'll sing all hail to Jesus' name,
Honor and praise we give.

[Kulainamoku]

            While the sacrament was being administered, KAULAINAMOKU, a native of the Sandwich islands, addressed the immense congregation for a short time.

[Elder F. A. Mitchell]

            ELDER F. A. MITCHELL, a returned missionary from the Sandwich islands, interpreted the above address as follows -- He desire to express his love to the President and all his friends here. He spoke of the introduction of the Gospel by Elder Geo. Q. Cannon and others. He knew of their coming and joined the church on their arrival in 1853, and had been a steady and firm believer ever since. A short time after his entrance into the Church, he was laid on a bed of sickness, but was healed by the power of God. He went on a mission to other of the Sandwich Islands. He had come here to live among the saints for hit own estimation, but rejoiced in the knowledge of the plan of salvation, and prayed God to bless the Saints in the name of Jesus.

            ELDER F. A. MITCHELL said that Kaul-inamoku had obtained permission to leave his native country, and stay here as long as he pleased. He wanted to learn the English language, also a trade,and make himself generally useful. He himself had been on a mission to the Islands for nearly two years, was pleased to go and pleased to return and hoped to be useful in building up the Kingdom of God.

[Prest. B. Young]

            PREST. B. YOUNG addressed the Conference upon the Lamanites and other subjects.

            The following Elders were called in the list of missionaries to go on missions to the countries named, respectively --

HOLLAND.

Peter J. Lammers, Ogden; instead of August Tietzen, Santaquin, released.

AUSTRALIA.

Joseph Rees, Grantsville; instead of Wm. S. Muir, Bountiful; released.

UNITED STATES AND CANADA.

Riley Judd, Grantsville; Geo. Hamlin, 19th Ward, Salt Lake City.

BRITISH ISLES.

Thomas James Bellaston, Sen., Nephi; Wm. C. Parker, Riverdale, Weber Co.

            Conference was adjourned till Oct 6, 1875, at 10 o'clock a.m. at the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City.

            The Choir sang the anthem --

I will sing of the mercies of the Lord.

            President Young then arose, in conjunction with the whole congregation, and blessed the brethren who had spoken during conference, the choir and organist who had made melody and harmony, those who had prayed, and finally all the congregation of Saints, both here and throughout the world, and all the virtuous and honest of every clime.

            Professor GEO. CARELESS conducted the Tabernacle Choir and J. Daynes presided as organist.

            Thus ended one of the longest and most interesting conferences ever held in Salt Lake City. Notwithstanding the first four days were very cold and it was snowing most of the time, the interest of the conference never flagged, but a steady increase was kept up day by day until this afternoon, when the spacious Tabernacle was filled above and below, besides hundreds going away, unable to gain admittance.

GEO. GODDARD,
Clerk of Conference.

_____

6-10 Oct 1875, 45th Semi-Annual General Conference, Tabernacle.
[Deseret News Weekly 24:580, 10/13/75, p 4; Millennial Star 37:689, 705, 721, 737]

[6 Oct, 10 am]

[DNW 24:580, 10/13/75, p 4]

SEMI-ANNUAL CONFERENCE

_____

FIRST DAY.

_____

Wednesday, Oct. 6, 10 a.m.

            The Forty-Sixth [Forty-Fifth] Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints convened this morning, in the New Tabernacle, October 6th, 1875, at 10 o'clock.

            Present on the stand. -- Of the First Presidency.-- B. Young.

            Of the Twelve Apostles.-- John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Orson Pratt, Sen., Geo. Q. Cannon, C. C. Rich, Brigham Young jr., Joseph F. Smith.

            Patriarch.--John Smith.

            Of the first Seven Presidents of Seventies -- Joseph Young, Albert P. Rockwood, John Van Cott, and Horace S. Eldredge.

            Of the Presidency of the High Priests' Quorum.-- Elias Smith and Elias Morris.

            Of the Presidency of this Stake of Zion.-- Geo. B. Wallace, W. H. Folsom, and John T. Caine.

            Of the Presidency of the Bishoprick.-- Edward Hunter, and Leonard W. Hardy.

            Besides the above authorities, there was a large representation of bishops and other leading men from all parts of the Territory.

            Conference was called to order by PREST. B. YOUNG.

            The Choir sang --

My God, the spring of all my joys,
The life of my delights.

            Prayer by PREST, JOSEPH YOUNG.

            The Choir sung--

Praise ye the Lord, my heart shall join,
In work so pleasant, so divine.

PRESIDENT B. YOUNG

            We purpose at this Conference to dedicate this Tabernacle; the dedication prayer will be read on Saturday morning. We shall occupy the time throughout this Conference in talking to the Latter-day Saints, giving them such instructions and advice as we have for them, trusting that each and every heart may possess a due portion of the Spirit of God, so that the Saints may be strengthened, and that the truth may be taught in simplicity and may commend itself to those who are as yet unacquainted with it.

            As far as my experience has gone and as far as I have learned, I consider that we, as Latter-day Saints, treat our callings lightly, do not appreciate them as we should; their importance does not sink into our hearts. If the eyes of the people were open to see things as they are, and to understand what the Lord is doing, what he requires of his Saints, and the blessings that await and will attend the labors of those who are faithful in the discharge of their duties; if the people could understand these things, or, I will rather say, if the people would put themselves in a condition to understand them, for this is their privilege, and they can by their faithfulness understand the things of God, they would act very differently. Many search after the things of eternity and the wisdom of God and godliness by their earthly wisdom and knowledge; but no one can find out God by the wisdom that they get here in this world. They may have all the understanding that books can give, and they may read the history of the creations and the sustaining of those creations, and the object of the earth and the peopling of it; but without the Spirit of the Lord they do not understand it, it is like a mere matter of history of a country which they never saw, and they have but little or any conception of it. So it is with the things of God, and I hope and trust that our hearts will be right, so that we may receive the teachings of the elders and be able to profit thereby, and treasure up truth in our hearts, that, when our conference comes to a close, we can go from this place better prepared to fill the missions that God has appointed and canned us to than we were before we came here.

ELDER C. C. RICH

felt pleased for the privilege of speaking on the principles of salvation, for nothing should be of so much importance to us as the subject of salvation. We were preparing for the coming of the Son of Man, when peace should reign on the earth, and the Saints were raising a posterity to assist in the great work preparatory to that event. God had revealed great and glorious principles in the age of the world in which we lived. This was a great privilege, and to carry them out in our lives should be a constant source of joy and satisfaction. If we loved the truth we should live it; we should not partake of that which was evil. Herein was our trial, but we should try to overcome. Good and evil were before us all the time, and it behoved us to resist the evil; when we resisted and had an eye to the glory of God, we were doing what we ought to do as his servants. We were proud to say that we were the Saints of the Most High. God himself must be the dictator as to how his kingdom should be built up. This he had done from the beginning to the present time, and if we were willing as a people to be dictated by him through his servants it would be unto us as a labor of love. Wherein we had come short of this in the past, we were now called upon to repent and do better. If we indulged in the thought that we were abundantly able to guide our own affairs, we should be woefully mistaken and fall short of the blessings we set out to obtain.He rejoiced in coming to Conference, for it was here where the duties and requirements of the Saints were made known. The blessings of the gospel were offered to us free, without money and without price, and unless we embraced them on the terms proposed, we should be left without excuse, and the fault would be our own. He hoped to live long enough to receive every principle, and practically carry them out in his life, that God intended to reveal for our salvation.

ELDER JOSEPH F. SMITH

said it was a source of pleasure for him to respond to the call from the servants of God, whether in speaking or otherwise. He referred with thankfulness to the many deliverances that God had wrought out for us, as a people, from the machinations of our enemies. He could now discern the hand of God that was over us as conspicuously as at any previous time. He had revealed his will through a holy angel, and sent forth messengers to proclaim his gospel to the nations and warn them of the judgments that were to be poured out among the nations of the earth.

            He then rehearsed the dealings of God towards us as a people, in preserving and rescuing us from the hands of the wicked and the ungodly. The hate of the wicked and their desire to persecute the Saints was as great to-day as it ever existed in any age of the world. He did not fear, however, an open and avowed enemy, as the lurking, deceptive, and apostate spirit in our own ranks, the weaknesses and imperfections of our own nature, that were calculated to lead us astray from the truth, were far more to be dreaded than the outside enemy. Unless we were living in the line of our duties and enjoying the Spirit of God, we were altogether incapacitated to receive and appreciate the instructions of the servants of God, no matter with how much power those instructions might be enforced. We had received the truth, we had embraced the gospel, and received the Holy Ghost, but if we turned away and denied the light that we once enjoyed, there was no forgiveness in this life or the life to come. This was a doctrine taught by the Saviour himself. The antediluvians, who rejected the testimony of Noah and others and who on account of their wickedness were destroyed by the flood, after suffering in the spirit in prison for many ages, until the law of God was satisfied, Jesus, after he was crucified, went and preached to, and unfolded to them the plan of salvation, that they might have an opportunity of embracing the gospel and receiving an exaltation. This doctrine, though not understood in the world, was clearly taught in the Bible.

            After a few words of earnest exhortation to the Elders of Israel, he concluded by reference to one, who had recently left us, but whose example would live for ever, meaning Pres. Geo. A. Smith.

[Joseph F. Smith]

[DNW 27:708, 12/8/75, p 4; JD 18:89]

DISCOURSE

BY ELDER JOSEPH F. SMITH, DELIVERED AT THE

Forty-sixth [Forty-fifth] Semi-annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, on Wednesday Morning, Oct. 6, 1875

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      It is always a source of pleasure to me to meet with my brethren and sisters in the Gospel covenant. I rejoice exceedingly in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and that I have the privilege of being numbered with the Saints of latter days. I am thankful for the blessings that we enjoy as a people in these valleys. I feel grateful for the, many evidences we have experienced of God's mercy and protection. I am thankful that I have been able to see his hand in our deliverance from the powers and machinations of our enemies, from the earliest period of our existence as a people; and I am thankful that I am able to see the hand of the Lord over us at present as conspicuously and as clearly as at any former period of our history.

      We read in the revelations that have come to us through the Prophets, both ancient and modern, concerning the purposes of the Lord in the latter days, and the restoration of the Gospel to the earth by a holy angel, that it is to be preached to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people under the whole heavens, that every son and daughter of Adam shall have the privilege of hearing it, embracing it, partaking of its blessings, and of being saved by its power. We read that the Lord is going to do this work, and that he is going to cut it short in righteousness; that it is his design to gather out the honest in heart—those who are willing to hearken to his counsels and obey his laws. It is his design to gather all such out from the nations of the earth, that lie may make of them a people worthy of his name and his blessings, and prepare them to meet him when he shall come to make up his jewels; when he shall come to take vengeance upon the wicked and ungodly, who know not God, and who keep not his commandments upon the earth.

      The hand of the Lord has been visible in the gathering together of this people for the last twenty-eight years; yes, for the last forty-five years, and no more so in that than in everything connected with the labors of his servants, their counsels unto, and their guidance of, the people by the inspiration of the Almighty that was in them from the very beginning. At no time in the history of this Church has the hand of the Lord been withdrawn from this people, his power shortened, or his eye slept, but his eye has been upon us, his hand has been over us, and his providences have been in our favor. Circumstances have been over-ruled for good, the hand of the enemy has been turned away paralyzed, the efforts of the wicked to destroy us have resulted in our good and in their own discomfiture. The greater the efforts on the part of our enemies to destroy us, the greater the growth of the Church and kingdom of God, and the closer has our union been, the better have we been able to see the hand of the Lord over us, and the inspiration of the Almighty in the counsels of his servants, and the more have we been inclined to respect and abide by the counsels given. The very fact that the spirit of bitterness in the hearts of the wicked toward us at the present time is as virulent as it ever was, and is every way similar to that manifested against the former-day Saints, against the Savior when he was upon the earth, and against his disciples, or the people of God in any former age of the world, is an unmistakable evidence that the Lord God Almighty is with us to-day as much as he ever was since the organization of the Church, or as much as he ever was with any people he ever acknowledged as his since the world began. I do not believe there ever was a people who were guided by revelation, or acknowledged of the Lord as his people, that were not hated and persecuted by the wicked and the corrupt, and perhaps no people were ever more persecuted than this PeoPle would be, if it were in the power of the enemy to-day to persecute us, as it was in the power of Nero and the Romans to persecute the Saints in their day. There never was a time when it was more fixed and determined in the heart of the wicked to fight against, and destroy the kingdom from the earth, than now, and their failure will be due only to the impossibility of the task they have undertaken. And this is an evidence to every one that possesses the least spark of the light of the Holy Spirit—and should be to all mankind—that the kingdom of God is established, that his Priesthood is here, that the Saints, or many of them, are magnifying their calling and honoring the Priesthood, and also the Lord, both with their lives and with their substance, which are his.

      For my part I do not fear the influence of our enemies from without, as I fear that of those from within. An open and avowed enemy, whom we may see and meet in an open field, is far less to be feared than a lurking, deceitful, treacherous enemy hidden within us, such as are many of the weaknesses of our fallen human nature, which are too often allowed to go unchecked, beclouding our minds, leading away our affections from God and his truth, until they sap the very foundations of our faith, and debase us beyond the possibility or hope of redemption either in this world or that to come. These are the enemies that we all have to battle with, they are the greatest that we have to contend with in the world, and the most difficult to conquer. They are the fruits of ignorance, generally arising out of unrebuked sin and evil in our own hearts. The labor that is upon us, is to subdue our passions, conquer our inward foes, and see that our hearts are right in the sight of the Lord, that there is nothing calculated to grieve his Spirit and lead us away from the path of duty.

      Those only who possess the light of the Spirit of God and the faith of the Gospel, which can only be possessed through faithfulness and obedience to the requirements of heaven, can discern and know the voice of the true Shepherd when they hear it. We need not expect to be able to discern the right from the wrong, the truth from error, and light from darkness, unless our eye is single, and we have declared ourselves for God and his work. If we are divided in our thoughts, affections, and interests, like the rest of the world, we need not expect to comprehend the will of the Lord when made known to us, no matter how powerfully or directly it may come. It will be all the same to us unless we are in a position to receive the light and the truth when it is offered unto us.

      What shall we do if we have neglected our prayers? Let us begin to pray. If we have neglected any other duty, let us seek unto the Lord for his Spirit, that we may know wherein we have erred and lost our opportunities, or let them pass by us unimproved. Let us seek unto the Lord in humility, determined to forsake everything that would be an obstruction to our receiving the intelligence and the light that we need, and an answer to our prayers, that we may approach him confident that his ears will be open to our petitions, that his heart will be turned unto us in mercy, that our sins may be forgiven, our minds enlightened by the influence and power of God, that we may comprehend our duty and have a disposition to perform it, not to postpone it, not to set it aside, nor to say in our hearts, "We must serve the world or the devil a little longer; we are not yet prepared to serve the Lord fully, to give up our evil habits, to lay aside this and that folly, and walk straightforward in the path of duty; we must sow a few more wild oats before we can fully make up our minds and determine upon serving the Lord and doing his will upon earth as it should be done, and as we know how to do it, if we but yield obedience to the light that has come into the world." But when we see what is necessary to be done, it becomes our duty, and we should go to with all our might and do it, no matter what our desires may be to the contrary. Whatever comes from the Priesthood by inspiration we should be willing to receive as the counsel of the Almighty, which we must of necessity obey and execute in order that we may be accepted of him.

      This is a lesson that we, as God's people, should cheerfully learn. Do you think, my brethren and sisters, that we can climb up some other way, or enter in at some other door? Do you think that we can take the things of God and bring them to our standard, or square the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ by our rule? Do you think that we would ever succeed in an effort to dictate to the Almighty the terms of our salvation? If we think so we are mistaken, deceived; we cannot do it. The purposes of the Almighty are unchanged and unchangeable, his laws endure, and he is the same yesterday, to-day and forever. His purposes will ripen and be consummated, and his designs be completed. Therefore, if we do not conform to his will, obey his laws and yield to his requirements in this world, we will be consigned to "the prison house," where we will remain until we pay the debt to the uttermost farthing. This is a Scriptural, a reasonable, and a true doctrine; for it is a doctrine of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the Saints understand it, but there may be some here who do not, and for their benefit, as well as to refresh the memories of those who may not have reflected for a little season upon this principle, I will refer to it as briefly expressed in the third and fourth chapters of the first Epistle of Peter. There you will see that Jesus himself preached the Gospel to the spirits in prison, "which some time were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water." This may seem strange to some, that Jesus should go to preach the Gospel unto the wicked, rebellious antediluvians; whose bodies had been destroyed in the flood because they rejected the testimony of Noah, who had been sent to rebuke their iniquities and warn them of destruction decreed against them if they did not repent, nevertheless it is true. From this Scripture we not only learn the condition of those who are cut off in their sins because of their wickedness in rebelling against the laws of God and rejecting his servants, but such of them as have not sinned against the Holy Ghost, however wicked they may have been in this world—save committing that unpardonable sin—will have the privilege of hearing the Gospel in the spirit world; "for," as the Apostle says, "for this cause was the Gospel preached also to them that are dead." "Yes," says one, "dead in sin, but not dead as to the flesh." But the Apostle does not say so, but to the contrary, for the dead here referred to had perished in the flesh and the Apostle continues—"That they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit;" that is, out of the body until the resurrection from the dead. But first they must remain in hell—the "prison house," until they have paid the penalty of their sins in the flesh, even to the "uttermost farthing." "But," says one, "is this possible?" The people in Europe, where we have been preaching, were struck with wonder and astonishment when we mentioned this doctrine, and say they, "We had supposed that, 'as the tree fell so it should lie,' and that 'there was no salvation in the grave.'" Neither is there any salvation in the grave, and "as the tree falls, so it lies," but this is pertaining to the flesh. Does the spirit lie with the body? Is the spirit confined in the grave? No. As the body falls, so it will lie until the resurrection; there is no salvation in the grave, but in Christ, who is the "light of life," and the spirit soars beyond the grave; it does not slumber in the dust, but is wafted to the place prepared for it in the spirit world, to receive its reward or punishment, having passed the first judgment of God, there to await his mercy, and the resurrection from the dead and the final judgment of the great last day.

      Thus we see those wicked, unrepentant antediluvians who even had the privilege of hearing the Gospel in the flesh, as preached by Noah, and who rejected the message of that servant of God, were actually visited in the "prison house" by the Savior himself, and heard the Gospel from his own mouth after he was "put to death in the flesh." Their prison was opened, and liberty was proclaimed unto them in their captivity, in fulfillment of the prediction of the Prophet Isaiah, as you might read in his 61st chapter, that they may come forth, when they shall have fulfilled the decree of judgment upon them in the prison, or hell, to do the first works necessary unto salvation, which they refused to do in the beginning.

      Here will come in the principles of baptism for the dead, and of proxy and heirship, as revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith, that they may receive a salvation and an exaltation, I will not say a fullness of blessing and glory, but a reward according to their merits and the righteousness and mercy of God, even as it will be with you and with me. But there is this difference between us and the antediluvians—they rejected the Gospel, consequently they received not the truth nor the testimony of Jesus Christ; therefore they did not sin against a fullness of light, while we have received the fullness of the Gospel; are admitted to the testimony of Jesus Christ, and a knowledge of the living and true God, whose will it is also our privilege to know, that we may do it. Now if we sin, we sin against light and knowledge, and peradventure we may become guilty of the blood of Jesus Christ, for which sin there is no forgiveness, neither in this world nor in the world to come. Jesus himself declares (Matt. 12, 31,) that "all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men, but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men, neither in this world, neither in the world to come." This is not a new doctrine that has just, been revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith, or President Brigham Young, but it is the doctrine of Jesus, a part and portion of that Gospel which is the power of God unto salvation or unto damnation. For whosoever will believe, repent, and be baptized for the remission of sins shall be saved, and he that believes not and is not baptized shall he damned. And he that believes, is baptized and receives the light and testimony of Jesus Christ, and walks well for a season, receiving the fullness of the blessings of the Gospel in this world, and afterwards turns wholly unto sin, violating his covenants he will be among those whom the Gospel can never reach in the spirit world; all such go beyond its saving power, they will taste the second death, and be banished from the presence of God eternally.

      I feel well in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that it is true, and I never like to have an opportunity pass me without bearing my testimony to it. I, therefore, bear my testimony to you, that God has restored the Gospel, that Joseph Smith was and is a true Prophet, and that President Young is his rightful successor.

      I have been surprised before now at hearing remarks from the disaffected and apostates against the Priesthood, as if there was something terrible concealed beneath that term. What constitutes the Priesthood? A legal and direct commission from God to man. And who are clothed with its authority and power? President Young? Yes. But is he the only man who holds the Priesthood? No. Nor are his counselors and the Twelve, the only ones who hold it, but the High Priests, the Seventies, the Elders, Priests, Teachers, and Deacons, all hold a portion of the Holy Priesthood. There is scarcely a member of the Church who is not numbered in the ranks of those clothed upon by this power; certainly it is so with every man who has received blessings in the house of the Lord, inasmuch as he has continued faithful, and of such is the Church composed, for the unfaithful cut themselves off in a measure both from the Church and from the power and privileges of the Priesthood, and are not to be relied upon. Therefore, when the Priesthood—or those holding it—are ridiculed, reviled, or persecuted, the blow is aimed, and the evil is designed, against the whole Church and not individuals, although as our enemies single out individuals as targets on whom to vent their wrath and spleen. A blow openly aimed at President Young, is secretly destined against the whole people constituting the Church over which he presides; any attempt to proscribe or destroy him or his brethren as individuals, because of their influence or position among the people, is so far indirectly an attempt to proscribe and destroy the whole community of which they are but members, and every member of the community should, and so far as guided by a proper sense of justice and right, most assuredly does, consider himself or herself personally assailed and aggrieved by any such attempts. How contemptible in the eyes of this whole people, therefore, must they be who rail against the Priesthood, and at the same time make themselves so conspicuously loud in their professions of friendship to the masses. They leave the covering of their designs too thin to conceal their hypocrisy and their determined bitterness and enmity against the people and the work of God.

      A deacon in the Church should exercise the authority of that calling in the Priesthood, and honor that position as sincerely and faithfully as a high Priest or an Apostle should his calling, feeling that he bears a portion of the responsibility of the kingdom of God in the world, in common with all his brethren. Every man should feel in his heart the necessity of doing his part in the great latter-day work. All should seek to be instrumental in rolling it forth. More especially is it the duty of every one who possesses any portion of the authority of the Holy Priesthood to magnify and honor that calling, and nowhere can we begin to do so to better advantage than right here, within ourselves, and when we have cleansed the inside of the platter, cleansed our own hearts, by correcting our own lives, fixed our minds upon doing our whole duty towards God, and man, we will be prepared to wield an influence for good in the family circle, in society, and in all the walks of life.

      We should seek to do, and to be, good. It is true that Jesus says there is none good but one, that is God; we must accept this in the fullest sense of the word, but there are other degrees of goodness, so that we may be good, righteous, and even perfect in our spheres, as God is good, righteous, or perfect in his exalted and glorious sphere. These excellent qualities of mind and soul should govern our lives in the midst of our families and neighbors, among our brethren of the household of faith, and in all our intercourse with mankind, that we may win souls from error, ignorance, folly and crime, to God and his Christ, and help them to stand until they become strong in the faith, and thus become saviors of men upon Mount Zion, worthy of the name of our God.

      May the Lord bless you and all Israel, and especially his aged servant who stands at our head, and his associates in counsel, the loved face of one of whom, on looking round, I find gone from our midst, but his life-long example still lives with us, and will live forever. Amen.

 

            The Conference was adjourned till 2 o'clock.

            The Choir sang an anthem--

Open Thou Mine Eyes.

            Benediction by Bp. L. D. Young.

_____

[6 Oct, 2 pm]

[DNW 24:580, 10/13/75, p 4]

Thursday, Oct. 6, 2 p.m.

            The Choir sang--

Great God attend while Zion sings
The joy that from thy presence springs.

            Prayer by Elder BRIGHAM YOUNG.

            The choir sang--

All hail, the glorious day
By prophets long foretold.

ELDER F. M. LYMAN

loved the country and the people who lived here, for this was the place where God would have us to be. God had bestowed his priesthood upon this servants for the purpose of preaching and proclaiming the gospel to the people, and this gospel had not only to be taught, but to be practised and lived up to in our lives. We had partaken of the fruits of the gospel and we could not deny it. Theory alone would not do, but we must practise it. We must learn to love the kingdom of God, more than all things else. We must love it more than our lives, our property, our appetite and all things else. Then we should take pleasure in building up the kingdom of God acceptably. We must make it an individual work, and it required every man to become what he ought to be. Then union would grow and increase in our midst. We need not fear any outside influences. Our only fear was from our own selves, in not keeping the commandments of God. We must be honest, sober, and attend to every other duty, so that we could work out our own salvation. It was not enough for the twelve apostles to live their religion. They were only working out their own salvation. He felt more particularly anxious to save himself, for that was the most important business he had to attend to. This therefore was an individual work, and if each one would begin to reform himself the work of reformation would be general.

            He then bore testimony to Joseph Smith being a prophet of God, and President Brigham Young his lawful successor, &c.

ELDER R. V. MORRIS

had been absent on a mission to England nearly two years, during which time he had labored mostly in the midland counties. He had baptized nearly thirty persons during his stay there. Some of them were here to-day, and he hoped they would live their religion, and endeavor to become acquainted with God and his ways.

            He believed there was ample room for the faithful labors of the Elders of Israel in that country. In many places where he had visited, of several thousand inhabitants, the gospel had not ben preached for ten years.

            He returned here yesterday with a company of emigrants from the old countries, and he hoped they would not expect to find perfection in Zion, for every elder had his own weaknesses here, as in other countries, but if we sought for the spirit of God to guide us, and were true and faithful in our duties, there was no danger of our going astray. It did not matter what kind of labor, or in what country we might be sent to, if we enjoyed the spirit of our calling we should be happy, and enabled to do good.

ELDER JOHN SQUIRES

felt truly thankful to have the privilege of again returning to his home and friends in these valleys of the mountains. He also felt thankful to his brethren and to his Heavenly Father for sending him on a mission. He had been made happy many times while away from here, by realizing the hand of God being continually over him. He desired to continue to be an humble instrument in the hands of God in devoting the residue of his days to he building up of the kingdom of God, and to be a blessing to his family and friends.

            He exhorted the Saints to be one in all things, for it was the work of God, and to lay aside selfishness and do what we could to build up the kingdom of God.

ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON

said it was very interesting to listen to the testimony of the elders who had just returned from their missions It was easy to judge of their usefulness abroad by the spirit they made manifest on their return. There was no labor under the sun that was at all comparable with that of the labor of an Elder in Israel, while preaching the gospel without purse or scrip. If faithful to God and his priesthood, there was a joy and satisfaction attending him that the world knew nothing about. Even should he meet with persecution and perchance be cast into prison, it did not diminish his joy. This feeling was also experienced by all those who have made a covenant with God, and lived according to the requirements of the gospel.

            He then portrayed the gradual straying into by and forbidden paths, which if indulged in would inevitably result in total apostacy. No man could stand in the church if he were a hypocrite, or indulged in iniquity, for his sins would sooner or later find him out, hence the necessity for pruning the church occasionally, by cutting off the dead branches. The adversary seemed to have brought to bear against this people every conceivable bait that was possible to lead the people astray, but none of which was half so much to be dreaded, as the dullness and stupidity and darkness that had settled down upon the elders of Israel. He then spoke of the rapid development of Utah Territory. What it was to-day was due to the industry and labor of the Saints, accompanied by the blessing of God. If God had not raised up Joseph Smith, no such office would have been created as the governor of Utah. The object we had in settling these valleys was to secure lasting homes for ourselves, and also lay a foundation for the homes of others who might come here from every nation under heaven.

            After speaking of the attempts frequently made upon us by our enemies, to deprive us of our rights and constitutional liberties, he said our position therefore was one of preservation and defence, not of aggression. We must plainly see the necessity of looking well after our own interest by carrying out a self sustaining policy though many, through their selfishness, had thrown every obstacle in the way to prevent a union of interests among the Saints. There was only one way for us to insure the blessing of God upon us, and that was for us to be willing to do whatever the servants of God might dictate to us, let it be what it might. God had led his servant Brigham for many years, and he would continue to do so, and if we would follow his counsels we would prosper.

[George Q. Cannon]

[DNW 24:612, 10/27/75, p 4; JD 18:82\

DISCOURSE

BY ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON DELIVERED IN THE

New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, on the Afternoon of Wednesday, October 6th, 1875.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      It is exceedingly interesting to me, as I have no doubt it is to all Latter-day Saints, to hear the Elders who have been on missions bear a faithful testimony, on their return, to the truth of the work in which they have been engaged. It is a tolerably easy matter to tell, in listening to them speaking, whether they have been faithful or not in magnifying their Priesthood and calling, for a man who does not magnify his Priesthood, and who is not faithful in the discharge of the duties entrusted to him, generally manifests it by the spirit which he possesses and with which he speaks. And so, also, when men have been faithful and have striven to magnify their calling, a spirit and influence attend them that bear testimony of their faithfulness. No man can go out, ordained by those who have the authority, in faith and in humility to preach the principles of the everlasting Gospel, however peculiar and difficult the circumstances may be that surround him, however great the trials and the persecutions that he may have to contend with, without receiving an unction from the Holy One, that will bear testimony to him that the work in which he is engaged is of God, and that he has been called of God to declare the principles of life and salvation unto the people among whom his lot may be cast. There is this peculiarity and influence about this work, there is the demonstration of the Holy Ghost, which descends with convincing and overwhelming power upon all those who place themselves in a position to receive it; and there is no labor under the sun, I care not what it may be, or how pleasant the circumstances that surround him, at all comparable with the labor of an Elder in this Church, who endeavors, in humility and meekness, to magnify his calling; there is no joy which a human soul is capable of comprehending, that approaches the delight and the satisfaction which laboring in the ministry of the Son of God confers upon him who does so in faithfulness. He may be destitute, he may be without purse and scrip, as our Elders travel, he may be in the midst of enemies, he may be baled to prison, and treated with contumely, and have all manner of evil heaped upon him; but if he is faithful to God, if he is faithful to his Priesthood, and magnifies it to the extent of his ability, there is a power, an influence, and a joy resting upon and accompanying him, and tilling him from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet, that are incomprehensible to those who have lent experienced them; and for such a man to doubt that God is with him, and that the work he is engaged in is the work of God, would be as difficult as to doubt that the sun's rays ever beam upon him, or that there is no warmth or light connected with them; in fact, such a man could as easily doubt his own existence, and the testimony of every sense that he possesses, as to doubt the testimony of God which rests down upon him.

      And these blessings are not confined to those who go forth as missionaries, but they extend themselves to all who enter into covenant with God, take upon them the name of Jesus Christ, and resolve in their hearts to repent of their sins, and to tread humbly and meekly in the path which the Savior has marked out for all to walk in. They receive also, according to the measure of their responsibilities, and the position which they occupy, the same gifts and blessings, and the same joy fills their hearts that does the hearts of the faithful Elders.

      When I listen to the Elders, as we have to-day, speaking their experience, and relating that which they have met with, and the joy they have had, it has seemed to me that, if any of the Elders, or if all the Elders, could comprehend this and enter into the spirit of it, they would say that they would devote themselves with all they possess, with every feeling of their heart, with every power of their mind, with all the strength and the ability which God has given them, to the rolling forth of his work upon the face of the earth. But the difficulty with us as individuals is, that we are like the man of whom the Apostle James speaks: we look in the glass, we see ourselves, our features are distinct to us, every thing is plain to us, we see the mirrored resemblance of ourselves in the glass that we look upon, but we turn away, and we speedily forget what manner of men we are. And so it is with many who are in this Church. They have experienced joy, they have had testimonies from God, they have had the power and the gifts of God resting upon them; but after a little while, coming in contact with the world, and the spirit of the world, they forget these things, the remembrance of them fades away from their minds and other things appear more desirable to them. This is the difficulty that the servants of God have to contend with in their ministering among men. It would appear, looking at matters naturally, that if men and women had tasted the word of God, had received revelation from God, had knowledge poured into their souls concerning this being the work of God, they would always be faithful to the truth; but it is not so, and this is evidence of the great power which the adversary exercises over the hearts of the children of men. Men may behold the heavens opened and see Jesus, they may see visions, and have revelations given to them, and yet if they do not live as they should do, and cherish the Spirit of God in their hearts, all this knowledge, and these revelations and wonderful manifestations fail to keep them in the Church, to preserve them from the power of the adversary, and to deliver them from the snares that he spreads for the feet of all the children of God. And in our own experience we can comprehend very easily how the Church of God, in ancient days, fell away from the truth, wandered into darkness, and lost the knowledge of God and the ordinances which he had established in his Church for the salvation of his people. How long would it be, were it not for the teachings, warnings and reproofs of those who are set to preside over them, before many of the Latter-day Saints, and probably a majority of them would stray into by and forbidden paths, and forget the knowledge that they once had and the blessings they once enjoyed? And yet I am thankful that people cannot stay in this Church and practice unrighteousness. I am thankful that God allows those who do not keep his commandments to fall away, so that his Church may be cleansed, and, in this respect, this Church is different from any other that is upon the earth. A man may practice iniquity and do wrong in other churches, and he may cover it up for years, and nobody, or probably but a few—himself, his God, and a few others—be aware of this wrong, and he may pass along and nobody ever imagine that there is anything wrong with him. But it is not so in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—no man can stand in this Church, or retain the Spirit of God and continue in a course of hypocrisy for any length of time. God will tear away the covering of lies and expose the wrong; he will leave the transgressor to himself, and the strength that he formerly had, which enabled him to stand and maintain his associations with the people of God, will be taken away from him, and he will be left to go down to destruction unless he repents. It is true that the Lord has said that the tares shall grow with the wheat until harvest, but it is not said that tares will not be plucked up from time to time, for if it were not so they would overpower and choke out the wheat. The sifting or weeding process has been going on from the commencement of this Church until the present time; hence it is that the leaders of this Church are stirred up in their feelings from time to time to call upon the people to repent. They understand clearly that unless there is a godly life and conversation corresponding with our profession, this people would soon fall into darkness and error, and stray from the path of righteousness.

      Our enemies are not mistaken in some of their ideas respecting use that is, respecting the power that can be brought to bear to destroy us. They seem to be well aware of the fact that, if we only conform to their customs, fashions, ideas and practices, we would soon fall away and cease, as a people, to preserve our identity. They understand this, and hence the efforts which have been made of late. It has seemed as though the adversary has been exerting every power and bringing every influence within his reach to destroy us; and the most lamentable feature—the one that has given me most concern connected with it—has been the apparent blindness of our people respecting these designs; it has seemed as though we could not see and understand their nature, and we have to a certain extent yielded ourselves willing captives and dupes to the plots that have been undertaken in our midst to destroy us. The fact that God predicted, through the mouth of his servant Daniel, and through others, that this kingdom should stand for ever, has seemingly lulled a great many to sleep and caused them to think that we are perfectly safe, and that no danger can overtake us; and the fact also that We have remained in these mountains, now, for twenty-eight years without mobs, and that so many of the people who have grown up and have come here and never knew anything about them, who have joined the Church since the days of mobocracy, these causes combined have had the effect to cause a great many to be very supine, and to imagine, apparently, that we could not be disturbed, or that our safety could not be endangered by anything that might be done against us. Hence, when the servant of God has called upon us, and given us counsel upon many points, we have not seemed to understand the benefit of the counsel.

      We are here in these mountains, Latter-day Saints. We have made this country, notwithstanding all that may be said to the contrary, all that it is to-day. Why, the very officials of this Territory to-day may thank God that he raised up Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, because if he had not done so there would have been no governors, judges or other federal officials of Utah Territory; there would, in fact, have been no Territory of Utah if it had not been for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Men may say what they please, but, every thinking man in this country must admit that our settlement of this country has forwarded settlement in the adjacent Territories and States more than a quarter of a century. We have demonstrated one great fact—that men can live here, that fruit, corn and wheat, and all the cereals which belong to this latitude can be raised here by a judicious application of water, combined with industry and perseverance. We have demonstrated this; it is no longer a problem as to what this country can produce, hence you now hear of agriculture in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado and Nevada; but it is a very great query whether this would have been the case for another generation, at least, had it not been for the Latter-day Saints. What could have induced men to come here if they had not been prompted by the feeling that started us out? We had no place to go to excepting this. We wanted the meanest and most undesirable part of the continent, so that our enemies would not rob us of it, as soon as we had improved it; and when we came here we hoped we had reached a place where we could live, at least for a time, undisturbed, until we could increase and raise a generation who would be firm in the faith, and be so numerous that they could carry on the work whose foundations their fathers had laid. We came here in that spirit and with that view. Not to exclude other men from the land that we had settled; but to create homes, and a place to which men and women of every nation could come, and where they could worship God unmolested, as we desired to worship him. We cared not what their creed might be, or whether they were Jews, Pagans, Moslems, or Christians. We asked no man who came here to believe as we believed, and we had no disposition to deny them the rights that we enjoyed because they did not believe as we believed. It was in that spirit that the foundation stones of this superstructure of government in Utah Territory were laid. It was that here, not only Latter-day Saints, but, as I have said, men of every creed and clime might come and worship God unmolested by their neighbors.

      But there were others who did not feel as we felt, and they were determined to curtail us of our privileges, and now for years there has been a studied and unrelenting effort to destroy the work that we have done, and to strip us of all the advantages we have gained by coming here; to wrest from us by any means that could be used, however despicable and illegal, the power that God has given us, and to which we are entitled under the laws and constitution of our country. There has been no concealment of these designs, no attempt made to gloss them over; they have been avowed, plainly and publicly, to all the land and to all the Latter-day Saints throughout these mountains, that if they could get the power to strip us of our rights they would do it without any hesitation or compunctions of conscience.

      Now, my brethren and sisters, let me ask you, this being the case, what is our plain and bounden duty? It is to preserve ourselves, not only for our own sakes, not only for the sake of our children, but for the sake of humanity everywhere, and for the sake of civil and religious liberty, upon this land which God has given to us. Many will pass away after a little, and here are children, and here are mankind, many of whom, in witnessing the bold stand we have taken, are anxious to see us preserve ourselves and to see civil and religious liberty maintained by us on this land. And we owe it to them, as well as to posterity, that, by every means in our power; we do preserve ourselves and our liberties intact. if we do not, We are recreant to our high trust, and to the high calling which we have received from our Almighty Father. In doing this, must we intrude upon others? Is there any necessity for this? No; our policy is not aggressive; the true policy of the Latter-day Saints is a preservative and defensive policy; to preserve and defend ourselves when we are attacked; not to be aggressive, not to intrude upon others' rights, but to preserve our own rights. Every man and woman belonging to this community should therefore keep constantly in mind that this is the policy for which we should labor, and not consult individual interests; not say—"I can make one dollar or two dollars by stepping aside from the policy that has been marked out." Many so-called Latter-day Saints have done this. We have people among us who, if we may judge by their actions, would sell every liberty that God has given unto us for a few dollars, and yet they call themselves Latter-day Saints. When counsel has been given by President Brigham Young—than whom a wiser counselor does not live upon the face of the earth—instead of accepting that counsel and looking at it in its true light, in its elevated light, there have been persons who have looked at it from their picayunish standpoint. They have asked—"How is that counsel going to affect my individual interests?" And many have said by their actions: "Now is my chance to make money; while the bulk of the people are obeying counsel, it will be to my advantage to disobey in. I can make money by so doing." And they have actually taken advantage of the obedience of the people to make money by their disobedience, and yet have called themselves Latter-day Saints! Is not this the case? Do you not know it to be the case? And that spirit has been spreading and diffusing itself among this people, the example of one encouraging another, until too many have indulged in and given way to it, to the injury of the cause of God. And hence the leaders of this Church have been so deeply impressed, of late, to go forth and call upon this people to repent and turn from their folly and listen to God's voice through his inspired servant, lest He should send calamities upon them; for it is plain to be seen, as brother Squires said, except we are one we are not Christ's, we are not God's, and that union is the only principle upon which we can be preserved. We have not strength, we have not numbers, we have not wealth, but we have union when we choose to avail ourselves of it, and with union there is strength, especially when God has promised his blessings.

      Now, can you not see, you Latter-day Saints, how unwise it is for us to disobey counsel, when that counsel is given for the benefit of the whole people? This man says—"I can gain some advantage by disobeying that counsel;" this woman says—"I can gain some advantage by going contrary to that counsel," not caring anything as to what the results may be, so that their little ends can be served to some trifling extent, and being blind to the fact that we must preserve ourselves by looking after our own interests, and taking care of the great work which God has entrusted to us. Why, it took all the eloquence of President Young for years to cause this people to see that it was not to their interest to sustain their enemies, foster their enemies, feed their enemies, take all their wealth and give it to their enemies, and those enemies plotting all the time against their liberties and their lives, and avowing it publicly and undisguisedly. Do you not remember, before co-operation was started, how long and loud the President of this Church and his counsellers, and other men, had to plead with the people to get them to see this plain matter of self-preserving policy? They could not see it, that is, a great many could not see; and when co-operation was suggested they could not see that, and there are a great many who can not see it now, and who are opposed to it in their hearts, and they are opposed to everything that will bring this people closer together, and make them more one, and they fight it, and they do not know the spirit that prompts them. It is the same to-day respecting the United Order; many seem to be blind, they can not understand what it is that blinds them; but it is miserable selfishness; they become so eager after money that their judgment is beclouded. If we were united, we could control things in this country to an extent you have no conception of, and we could become rich, if riches were the desire of our hearts, there is nothing to prevent us; if we will be guided by the counsel of God's servants, we can have all the riches that heart can desire. But our miserable, shortsighted selfishness, that miserable, contracted, narrow policy that is not of God, blinds our eyes and darkens our understandings, and prevents us from seeing the true policy of building up the Zion of God on the earth, and preserving the liberty which God has given unto us.

      God requires one thing of the people called Latter-day Saints, and if they will receive and obey that, everything else will follow, and that is—to obey the counsel of God's servants. If you will do that, everything else will follow in the train. And why should we not do so? Have we not a leader whom God has blessed as he has no other man of whom we have any knowledge at present on the earth? Look at what has been done! See how God has prospered him and those who have received his counsel! Whenever he has told us to do anything, as a people, and we have done it, God has blessed us in its performance; and whenever the people, or a portion of them, have disobeyed his counsel, they have not been prospered. They have invariably lost the spirit and gone into darkness. Do you not know this? Has not the experience of the past thirty-one years confirmed this to us? How was it with us when we crossed the plains and when we came here? Did any of you know whither you were coming? I know the people did not know, but they followed his lead, believing that God led and inspired him, and that God would lead him to a place where we could locate. And look at what we see throughout these valleys today! Where is there anything like it on the face of the earth? A people gathered from every nation, speaking almost every tongue, brought up in the midst of every creed, and with every kind of habit, and yet homogeneous and dwelling together in union and love, without litigation and strife! Where can you see anything on the face of the earth that compares with it? Is it any wonder that we have faith in God and in his servant? I tell you that if there is any condemnation resting upon these Latter-day Saints, it is because of their unbelief and hardness of heart in not listening to his counsel.

      Now let us be taught; let us profit by the experience of the past, and not allow ourselves to be deluded by the adversary, and by any, even if they should call themselves our friends. But norman who weakens or tries to weaken that counsel which has led us all the time, is a friend to this people.

      May God bless you, my brethren and sisters, fill you with his Holy Spirit, rend the veil of darkness that beclouds our minds, darkens our eyes, and prevents our seeing the truth, and the true policy of the kingdom, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

PRESIDENT B. YOUNG

made a few remarks.

            The Conference was adjourned till 10'clock to-morrow morning.

            The choir sang an anthem--

"Rejoice in the Lord."

            Benediction by Elder W. WOODRUFF.

_____

[7 Oct, 10 am]

[DNW 24:580, 10/13/75, p 4]

SECOND DAY.

_____

Thursday, Oct. 7, 10 a.m.

            The following additional authorities were also present this morning--

            Of the First Presidency.-- D. H. Wells

            Of the Twelve.-- Orson Hyde, Erastus Snow, Lorenzo Snow and Franklin D. Richards.

            The choir sang --

Come, all ye Saints, who dwell on earth,
 Your cheerful voices raise.

            Prayer by Elder ORSON PRATT.

            The Choir sang --

Mortals, awake, with angels join,
 And chant the solemn lay.

PRESIDENT D. H. WELLS

made a comparison between the past and present condition and number of the Saints and the country they inhabit. The Lord made no mistake when he commenced this work. There were but very few at the start, and now the Saints number a great many thousands, occupying hundreds of settlements. The Temple of the Lord in St. George was progressing very favorably. It seemed to have sprung into existence with great rapidity. The Saints of God are increasing and multiplying very fast, and we should stand shoulder to shoulder for the rule of peace and righteousness. All we had to do was render obedience to the voice of the Lord. The word of the Lord some time ago to the United States through Joseph Smith the Prophet was for them to abolish slavery, and their owners to receive compensation for them out of the U. S. Treasury. This would not have cost the government near so much as the war, and would have saved the shedding of rivers of blood. The word of the Lord always came through the channel of the Holy Priesthood. It was the duty and privilege of all presiding men in this kingdom to have the mind and will of God pertaining to those over whom they preside. God had spoken from the heavens, and sent his servants to warn the people to flee from the wrath to come. We as a people had go the faith of the holy gospel, and yet many of us had gone astray, and were now called upon to reform our lives, repent of all our past errors and sins, be rebaptized for the remission of them, and get a renewal of the Holy Ghost. Wherein we had injured our neighbors, we should make restitution, and remove every obstacle out of the way, so that we could partake of the Sacrament worthily. Unless our repentance were true and genuine, we should never offer ourselves for rebaptism, for it would be solemn mockery before God, and would sink us deeper under condemnation. We could not stand still in this work. We must either go backward or progress. We had to be united and resist the encroachments of the enemy. It was a gratifying fact, of which he wished to bear testimony, that the majority of this people were for God and his Kingdom. A constant stream of revelation was continually flowing, and had been for many years past, and it was for us to observe it as it came along, so that we might not be left behind. We must not swerve to the right hand nor the left, but pursue a straight and onward course, that e might finally be saved in the kingdom of God. We must not trifle with the covenants we had made with the Lord, but be united as the heart of one man.

[Daniel H. Wells]

[DNW 24:644, 11/10/75, p 4; JD 18:95]

DISCOURSE

BY PREST. DANIEL H. WELLS, DELIVERED AT THE

Forty-sixth [Forty-fifth] Semi-annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, on the Morning of Thursday, October 7th, 1875.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      It affords me pleasure to meet once more with the Saints in General Conference assembled, where we may pledge ourselves again, and bear our testimony, and raise our warning voices to the world in regard to the great work that the Lord is accomplishing in the earth through the instrumentality of his children who have enlisted under King Emanuel's banner, and are willing to unite with him in accomplishing his purposes on the earth. His kingdom is being established here in the valleys of the mountains. Settlements are being formed, towns and villages are springing up, and people, who have made a covenant with God, are reclaiming the earth from the thraldom of sin and iniquity in which it has so long been held in bondage; and instead of being in a little city or town in Illinois, where we were not permitted to dwell, we are here in the valleys of the mountains, possessing from one hundred and fifty to two hundred towns, villages and settlements. The Lord has thus strengthened the stakes, enlarged the borders, and lengthened the cords of Zion, and he has reclaimed from the dominion of the wicked the amount of the earth's surface that is now occupied by his Saints, at least, so long as they hold it for him and his kingdom, and themselves for his work. The world belongs to the Lord, and he has the right to govern and control it, and he is going to do so. We are preparing the way for his kingdom and coming, for he certainly designs to come here just as soon as the people are prepared to receive him, and perhaps sooner than some will be willing to receive him. I have sometimes thought, that if he were now at the gate, we should feel we would rather he would wait awhile until we could fix up matters before he was introduced. The way is preparing, however, and I feel to rejoice this morning that I can bear my testimony to the increase of the numbers of the Saints of God, and to the increase of faith and good works among them.

      The dominion of the Lord is extending upon the earth, a little here and a little there, sometimes, perhaps, going a little too far, and dodging back a little for a time, and then springing forward again, and so going on, on every side. The Lord has made no mistake, he understands what he is doing a great deal better than some of us do, and I apprehend that a great many people are bringing about the Lord's purposes unwittingly. Perhaps they would not do as well in this respect as they are now doing if they understood, to the fullest extent, the result of the course they are taking. But really the Lord is at work with a great many people, some of whom see the kingdom, and some do not; and he has even said that be will cause the wrath of the wicked and ungodly to praise him, and the remainder of their wrath he will restrain. This is true, and has been illustrated in the history of this people. When they were driven from Nauvoo, the disposition of their enemies was to destroy every vestige of the authority of the holy Priesthood from the face of the earth; and that disposition still exists in the hearts of a great many people, and if they had the power they would carry it out. Well, the Lord, in the early days of the Church, suffered enough of this disposition to be gratified to cause the exodus of his people from Missouri and Illinois, and they were finally kicked right into the middle of the floor, into these valleys of the mountains; and when the purposes of the Lord were so far subserved by the wrath of the wicked, he restrained them, and his people have been blessed and prospered, and the earth has been made to bring forth its strength for their sustenance, and we see prosperity on every hand in the dwelling places of the Saints. A country has been put into their possession, where the Lord can strengthen their feet, and he is doing so, whether we understand it or not. Many will doubtless make shipwreck of their faith, and will be led away by the allurements of sin into by and forbidden paths; yet the kingdom will not be taken from this people and given to another, but a people will come forth from among us who will be zealous of good works, willing to do the bidding of the Lord, who will be taught in his ways, and who will walk in his paths. We, if we are willing, may be humble instruments in the hands of God, in bringing to pass his great and glorious kingdom.

      We have a Temple pretty near ready to go into in St. George. It is progressing very favorably, and is a magnificent structure, and in a short time we shall be able to enter it, and receive blessings for time and eternity, for ourselves and our dead. Let me say to the Latter-day Saints, that the blessings of the Lord, even life for ever more, are commanded here in these valleys of the mountains. I will read a few words from the Psalmist,—"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard, that went down to the skirts of his garments; as the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore." Anciently, this blessing was commanded in the mountains of Zion on the eastern hemisphere, but in our day the Lord has revealed himself, and has spoken from the heavens to his servant on the western continent, Where the authority of the holy Priesthood is, dwells the blessing of the Lord, and there has he commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

      We are united in our faith, in our works, and in our feelings and interests; and in every capacity that is possible the Latter-day Saints should stand shoulder to shoulder, presenting before the Lord and before the world an unbroken phalanx to resist the powers and insinuations of the enemy and the approaches of evil in every direction. The people here are increasing and multiplying, they are disposed, as a general thing, to do as the Lord wants them to do; but wickedness will creep in. We must purify our hearts. The Lord says—"Son, give me thy heart." We must give our hearts to the Lord our God, then he can accept of us. Many are called but few are chosen. We are all called to be co-helpers with the Lord in establishing his purposes in the earth, in sustaining holy and righteous principles, and the institutions of high heaven which the Lord has revealed, and the organizations which he has introduced in the midst of the earth. We are called upon to sustain them, and to bear them off triumphantly, to lay a foundation for the rule of truth, peace, and righteousness in the earth, and to prepare the way for the ushering in of that great and glorious kingdom of peace that will stand for ever and ever. This is the work of the Latter-day Saints, and the Lord will perform it through the instrumentality of those who are willing and obedient in the day of his power. We can have lot and part herein if we have a mind to; so may all the children of earth; all they have to do is to render obedience to the voice of the Lord, and the whole world ought to be glad of the opportunity to do that. The Lord invites us to come, he is anxious and desirous that we should come to him and learn of him. He says—"Take upon you my yoke, for it is easy, and my burden, for it is light; come, partake of the waters of life freely." "Turn from your evils, for why will ye die, O house of Israel." The Lord is talking to the people, and sending forth his warning voice to the nations of the wicked and ungodly, and as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man; the righteous were saved and the wicked were destroyed then, so they will be in these latter days, for the hour of God's judgment is come, and the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our God and of his Christ, and they will be given to his Saints.

      Who would not be a Saint? Why a great many people reject the word of the Lord and have no respect for it whatever, and too many of those who profess to be Latter-day Saints are in the same condition. It is not a great while since the word of the Lord came through Joseph Smith, the Prophet of the Lord, to this nation, to free their slaves, and for the Government to pay for them out of the treasury of the United States. Would the people receive the word of the Lord through his servant? No, they would not. What was the result? Why a fratricidal civil war in which thousands of millions of dollars were spent, devastation was spread over the land and rivers of blood were shed, and all this might have been avoided and the slaves liberated by peaceful means at not more than one-tenth of the expense, if they would have hearkened to the word of the Lord. Everybody can see now that that would have been the best course to take, but nobody could see it and nobody would receive it when it was given. Do not let us be afraid of the word of the Lord. He never did and he never will reveal a principle to the children of men, but what, if it be carried out, will prove to their greatest interest and advantage. I merely mention this to illustrate a subject which is quite familiar to the Saints, but which the world do not know so much about.

      Now, we are here in obedience to a great command, a command given by the Almighty to his Saints to gather out from Babylon, lest they be partakers of her sins and receive of her plagues. But if we are going to partake of her sins in Zion, and to nourish and cherish the wicked and ungodly, what better shall we be for gathering? Shall we escape her plagues by so doing? No, there is no promise to that effect, but if we practise the sins and iniquities of Babylon here in Zion, we may expect to receive of her plagues and to be destroyed. We have duties to perform here, which devolve upon us as Saints of the Most High. The Book of Doctrine and Covenants informs us that things will be revealed, in this the dispensation of the fullness of times, that have been kept hidden from before the foundation of the world. Should we be surprised, then, when a new principle is manifested among us from the Lord through the channel of the holy Priesthood? Do we realize that this is the channel through which the mind and will of God our Father is made known unto us? Here is the Bible, of what is it composed? Of a compilation of things made known to the children of men in former ages through the instrumentality of the holy Priesthood. The word of the Lord to the people has always come through that channel, and it always will. It is the same authority that exists in the heavens, by which the Gods themselves are governed, and by which they control all things; and it is among the privileges of every man and every woman to approach the Lord through this channel, and learn his mind and will concerning them. And through this same channel a Bishop may learn the mind of the Lord about his ward, the president of a quorum about his quorum, and the President of the whole Church the mind and will of the Lord concerning the people; and so through all the quorums and organizations of the Church, from first to last, all may approach the Lord through the channel of the holy Priesthood, and learn his mind and will concerning them. It is the privilege of the father and mother of a family to obtain the mind and will of the Lord, to enable them to guide their children in the ways of eternal life. This is no child's play, or fable. The Lord has spoken from the heavens, and we bear testimony thereof to all the nations of the earth. Listen, then, to his voice! It comes to all, it comes to the Latter-day Saints through the channel of the Priesthood located here in the valleys of the mountains. Hear it, all ye nations of the earth! Come up here, and learn the mind and will of the Lord. Take warning, that you may escape his wrath when his judgments shall be poured out, because they will be just as sure as they were in the days of Noah. This is the work of the Lord, and we bear testimony of these things continually in your ears. You, of course, do as you please about receiving or believing our testimony; that makes no difference in regard to the truth of the matter. It is God's truth, and it is extending and will continue to do so until it prevails and triumphs over every obstacle.

      The Latter-day Saints have a work to do, not only in proclaiming the Gospel and warning the people, but to build up Zion right here upon the earth. Not afar off in some far distant sphere, but here, where the Lord has planted their feet, in the valleys of the mountains. And we must he united and must operate together, as far as in our power lies, to bring to pass the purposes of the Almighty, because righteousness, and peace and harmony must dwell in the kingdom. A house divided against itself can not stand. Is a reformation needed amongst the Saints? Yes, it is needed with us all. We must reform and continue to reform. We have inherited lies from, and are full of the traditions of, the fathers. We have all imbibed errors in our infant years, and the enemy is on the alert, ready to enter in and to lead into by and forbidden paths the footsteps of the young, that he may cause them to make shipwreck of their faith and go away from the truth, the eternal truth of heaven. The world is waging a warfare against this little handful of people in the valleys of the mountains. Why? Because we have got the truth, the true faith of the holy Gospel; we have the authority of the holy Priesthood that has come down from heaven. They are anxious to destroy this authority and the servants of the Lord who bear it, and they are anxious to uproot and destroy us as a people. Then, in order to defend ourselves, let us go to with our mights, unite as the heart of one man, and stand shoulder to shoulder in building up the kingdom of God upon the earth. If we have lost our faith in the work, why, of course, we can't be expected to do anything more towards building it up; but if we are assured in our own minds that this is the truth, that "Mormonism" so-called, is the everlasting Gospel, that it has been revealed by direct revelation from the Lord in these last days, and that we are really his people, let us go to and reform our lives. There is need of it, we have been slack, negligent and dilatory, and peradventure we have done a great many things we ought not to have done; perhaps we have been guilty of sins of omission as well as sins of commission, and we need to repent, and to go down into the waters of baptism inasmuch as we have the privilege, and have our sins washed away, and have hands laid upon us for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and rise in newness of life, with a firm determination that henceforth we will divest ourselves of those evils, that we will keep the Lord's day holy, attend to our meetings, partake of the Sacrament, and that we will be more diligent in regard to the words of the Lord that have been given to us, and that are given to us continually, for the stream flows unceasingly through the channel of the Priesthood to the people. Let us listen to the voice and the whisperings of the Spirit, and if there be an obstacle in the way let us remove it. If we have hard feelings one towards another, envyings, strifes, or anything that is calculated to mar our peace and happiness, let us go and make that right, and then come and partake of the emblems of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, through whose sufferings and death an atonement has been worked out for our salvation. Every Latter-day Saint needs the inspiring, refreshing influence of the Spirit of God to flow to him continually. Reflect a moment, and remember that when the plants in our gardens and fields are withering under the scorching sun, how carefully we go along the water sects, clear out every obstacle and turn in the water, so that it may reach and revive every plant, that they may all live and grow. So should the Latter-day Saints remove every obstacle that lies in their way to the reception and flow of the Spirit of the Lord to them. If you have aught against your neighbor or friend, go and make that right; if you have done any wicked thing, broken any of the commandments of the Lord, repent and be baptized for the remission of these sins, and turn away from them. No man can get a greater evidence of the Lord's having forgiven him his sins, than the knowledge that he has actually turned away from them, and that he is living in obedience to the principles of the holy Gospel. Every man and every woman knows this for himself or herself, and if they have, then may they know that the Lord has forgiven them their sins, and not without. A person may commit iniquity and think he can hide it up; but let me say to such a person that you know it, and that is one too many, and the Lord knows it, and that is two too many, and out of the mouth of two or three witnesses every word will be established, and you will give this evidence against yourself sooner or later. And all who have committed sin or transgression of any kind must repent of it and be baptized for the remission thereof; and unless they repent sincerely, with a repentance that needs not to be repented of, they had better not go near the waters of baptism, for it will be a solemn mockery before high heaven. I say that if you intend to keep straight along in your own indifferent way all the time, stay away, never offer yourselves for baptism, for that would be a mockery and would only add to your condemnation, instead of being a benefit to you.

      I might enumerate what evils we are guilty of, but I do not wish to confess the sins of the people, I have enough of my own. But let us examine ourselves individually, and repent of that wherein we have done amiss in the sight of the Lord. How indifferent we have been about his word from time to time when it has been given to us! The servants of the Lord have proclaimed his will unto us year after year, and I sometimes think that we are preached to too much; but yet when a principle is revealed from the Lord, the people are very reluctant to take hold of it, which shows that we need to be instructed in regard to our duties as Saints of God, that we may be so in very deed. Latter-day Saints must progress, they can not stand still; and if they do not progress in the faith of the holy Gospel, and in the things of God, they are progressing in the other direction, and they will finally come to a point when the counsel of their minds will be darkened, and they will be unable to see the kingdom.

      This cause is great and glorious, and it is worthy of our utmost endeavors and attention, and all that we have and are, or can be. It is worthy of all the means we can control, and of all the talents and ability that pertain to us in this life, for in it lie our best interests, for by embracing and living according to the faith of the holy Gospel, we shall be exalted in the scale of human existence, and it is impossible to be otherwise. If we embrace principles of vice and go in the ways of wickedness and wicked men, we are on the way to death and destruction.

      There are some amongst us, perhaps, who, in their feelings, have given way to a spirit of fault-finding with those who are over them, it may be with their Bishop, or with the President. If they persist in this course, it will not be long before they give expression to their feelings to some friend who is of like mind, and who sympathizes with them, and it will not be a great while, if such persons do not turn a short corner and repent, before they make shipwreck of their faith, and they will go to the devil at last. How many of us have seen those who have stood firm in the faith a great while, and through whom the Lord has made manifest his goodness and deliverances from time to time, in the laying on of hands and healing the sick, and yet they have let the devil cheat them out of their salvation at last, by causing them to commit some kind of iniquity, peradventure adultery, and you know that the Book of Doctrine and Covenants says that whosoever will do that will deny the faith anyhow, unless they repent. If any have been guilty of any of these evils, it is important, if they want salvation, that they repent, and do them no more for ever.

      We read in this book, the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, how people may attain to the different degrees of glory, telestial, terrestrial, and celestial, and we are told that it is by observing the laws which pertain to these several kingdoms. There is no other way that I know of. If we ever expect a celestial glory, we must observe the laws of the kingdom where that glory exists; and so with any other degree of glory. Well, then, as Latter-day Saints, we see that we have enough to do. We have to be united that we may resist the encroachments of the enemy, that we may be prospered and blessed in the earth, and work to better advantage than we have been doing heretofore, and co-operate with each other and with the Lord in building up his kingdom upon the earth. If we can see that kingdom, let us go to and man the ship Zion.

      I feel to bear my testimony to this great work of the last days, and also in behalf of the people, that the predominating influence among them is, in my opinion, for God. I am gratified exceedingly to be able to make this statement, and to bear this testimony. Still we have need to repent, that we may progress faster, that we may accomplish a great work during the day, for the night cometh when no man can work. It is incumbent upon each and every one of us to do all that in our power lies, and not neglect our opportunity, for when once passed it has passed forever. It is for us then to work for the Lord and his cause and kingdom with all our might, mind, and strength, and to sustain the principles and institutions of high heaven that he has organized among his people, and so be prepared to receive that which may come; for we may expect, if we have the living oracles among us, which we have, and I bear testimony to it, that other new principles will keep coming along as fast as the people are prepared to receive them, and a great deal faster than a great many are prepared. I bear my testimony that there is a constant stream of revelation concerning us here, and that the mind and will of God is being poured out upon us continually. It has not been slackened one particle, but it is right here with us to-day. The Bible is a compilation of the revelations of God which have been given in various ages, and it is good. But the living oracles are for us. We are not called upon to build and enter into an ark, like Noah was; the ark of safety that we have to build is different from what it was in his day. But as Noah had to be guided in laying the foundation and rearing the superstructure of his ark by revelation from the God of heaven, so have we in these latter days; and by the revelations of heaven, through the channel of the holy Priesthood, we have to be continually taught in the ways of the Lord, that we may walk in his paths. It is not for every man to go after his own foolish notion, and the phantom of his own brain; the kingdom can never be built up if every one walks in the path he marks out for himself. It is God's kingdom, and it is ours also, inasmuch as we will make our ways correspond with his, and take a course to be reckoned among his jewels when he makes up those upon whom he will confer eternal riches.

      This earthly probation is a day of trial. We have to pass through tests and ordeals, and have to prove ourselves worthy to be numbered among that great company who will stand as saviors upon Mount Zion, with the very impress of Deity upon them—the name of God written upon their foreheads. "These are they," says the Apostle, "who come up through much tribulation." The Lord will have a tried people, those who have proven their integrity before high heaven, and none others will be counted worthy to receive and inherit the eternal riches. He that endures faithful to the end, the same will be saved; but the word endure is there, we have to endure all things. He that is faithful over a few things, will be made ruler over many; but the word faithful is there. We can't go indifferently along all the days of our lives, and fly the track the very moment an obstacle is presented before us, or a difficulty looms up in the way; we must overcome that difficulty, and rise alcove that obstacle, and not swerve to the right hand or to the left. So shall we prove our integrity before heaven, and, by enduring to the end, we shall be saved in God's kingdom; and having been faithful over a few things, we shall receive others, and be made rulers over many things. You thus see that salvation to-day is gained upon the same principle as that upon which it was gained in the days of the Savior and his Apostles.

      I feel to thank the Lord for his blessings, and that I can see his handiwork in the midst of the people. I can see the increase of his power and his dominion in the earth, for rest assured it is increasing on every side, and in the hearts of the people, and we wish it to increase more rapidly there for their own sakes, for your sake, for my sake, and it is for our advantage individually. The Lord and one good man, we are told, are a great majority, so it does not matter so much to him how many there are on his side; the principal thing is for those who profess to be his followers and servants to be faithful and true in keeping the covenants they have made with him, and not be everlastingly breaking the same, and thereby forfeiting the rights and blessings they might otherwise enjoy. We can't be blessed, we can not stand, we can not be made rulers over many things, we can not receive inheritances, kingdoms, thrones, principalities, powers, dominions, exaltations in the celestial kingdoms, unless we are faithful in all things, if need be unto death; and if we fail in this we shall most assuredly be clipped of our glory.

      Let us, then, my brethren and sisters, live so that we may at least have a reasonable hope of attaining to these great blessings which are the gift of God. That we may do so and preserve ourselves in integrity before high heaven, and be united together as the heart and voice of one man, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

PRESIDENT B. YOUNG

addressed the congregation for half an hour and at the close gave "A Word to Employers," as follows--

            Let your men come to Conference. I have always said to my men, and I have a great many around me, "Don't you let any business keep you from these meeting." Carpenters, joiners, masons, and every other trade, merchants among the rest, take your turn, and at meeting time in the morning part of you come here, and then in the afternoon change, and try and attend these meetings. And those who are building houses and making roads, or working in the canyons, you can leave y our work and attend Conference, and it is our counsel that you do so.

            Conference was adjourned till 2 o'clock p.m.

            The Choir sang an anthem

"I will praise Thee."

            Benediction by ELDER ORSON HYDE.

_____

[7 Oct, 2 pm]

[DNW 24:580-581, 10/13/75, p 4-5]

SECOND DAY.

_____

Thursday, Oct. 7th, 2 P.M.

            The choir sang--

Praise ye the Lord, 'tis good to raise
Your hearts and voices in his praise.

            Prayer by Elder LORENZO SNOW.

            The choir sang--

With joy we own thy servants, Lord,
 Thy ministers below.

ELDER ROBERT BURTON

said since his return from a foreign mission he had mingled with and spoken to a great many Latter-day Saints, from Idaho in the north to St. George in the south. We, who had the privilege of receiving the great and glorious principles of salvation, should be willing, under all and every circumstance, to make all things else secondary. Until God through his servant Joseph revealed the plan of life, we were, one and all, both priest and people, entirely ignorant of the Gospel. When we first received this message we embraced it cheerfully, and the war commenced, for we were mostly cast out by our friends, who turned their backs upon us. Every other religion could be enjoyed without molestation, but the moment we embraced the great truths of God, our Father in heaven, the war commenced, and, no matter how unimpeachable our characters, our names were cast out as evil. This result was by no means remarkable, for it had been so in all ages when God had inspired servants upon the earth to carry out his great plan. When the Saints of God began to be slack in their duties and to neglect the things of the kingdom, the Lord had a way to wake them up. He was feeling after us by the preached word, through his servants, and calling upon us to prepare for the coming of the Son of Man.

            He spoke of our happy experience when we first embraced the gospel, and how devoted we were to the cause we had espoused. But, from the present condition of things, he sometimes thought we had forgotten the great object we at first started out to obtain. In material progress he was willing to admit we had made striking advancement, but underlying all this, was the moral status, which fell far short of what it ought to be. We should catechize ourselves, and wherein we found ourselves deficient we should reform our lives.

            He then spoke of the time and circumstances connected with the death of the Prophet Joseph, and bore testimony to hearing the voice of the good shepherd, when Prest. young spoke from the stand with the voice of Joseph, who had been previously killed.

            Union was one of the most conspicuous elements that must exist among the Saints, in the last days. How long would it be before we entered into that united order of things that would cement us together as one people. For this purpose we were brought here, and for this purpose had the Lord tempered the elements and caused the barren and waste places to become fruitful. But many of us had become disobedient and selfish and careless, and the servants of God had called upon us to repent and reform, renew our covenants by rebaptism, and continue faithful to the requirements of heaven to the end.

ELDER JOHN HENRY SMITH

was pleased to hear the servants f God trying to wake up the sluggards from their lethargy. There was much to do in this kingdom, and many of our aged brethren were fast passing away, but he felt himself to do all he could to hold up their hands, and though many of our young people were taking a wrong course, taking a downward road, he proposed by the help of God to go onward and endeavor to do honor to the parentage that gave him birth. The men who stood at our head had got the priesthood and were able to build up the Kingdom of God. He knew them to be men of God. He called on all present, and especially the young men and women, to honor their religion. He proposed to go steadily along under the guidance of the servants of God, whether to go on a mission, to work in the field, in the canyon, or anywhere else. If God would help him. He had enjoyed himself much on his short mission. It was no sacrifice for him to preach or do anything else in the Kingdom of God.

ELDER M. H. HARDY.

gave a brief account of a short mission to England. He rejoiced in his labors. On his way home he had visited his native State, New England, traced back the line of his father's house for two hundred years, distributed tracts, &c., while in that neighborhood, and baptized three persons. He returned home, and resumed his duties in the school room. He knew he was engaged in the work of God.

BISHOP HENRY HUGHES

had recently returned from a mission to Wales. He felt thankful to return home again. He appreciated it more than ever. If many others were to go away for a season, he thought it would be less trouble to unite the people than at the present. He knew that this was the Kingdom of God, and he had no other desire in his heart than to spend and be spent in the service of God.

ELDER B. H. WATTS

thought this was the choicest spot on the face of the earth. He had been in the Church for over thirty years, and during that time had always known that the gospel of Jesus Christ was that gospel the angel spoke of as related by John, and was the power of God unto salvation.

PREST. B. YOUNG

made a few remarks.

            Meeting was adjourned till tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock.

            The choir sang an anthem--

O be joyful in the Lord.

            Benediction by Elder BRIGHAM YOUNG.

_____

[8 Oct, 10 am]

[DNW 24:581, 10/13/75, p 5]

THIRD DAY.

_____

Friday, Oct. 8, 10 a.m.

            The choir sang--

An angel from on high,
The long, long silence broke.

            Prayer by ELDER JOHN TAYLOR.

            The choir sang--

Sweet is the work, my God, my King,
To praise thy name, give thanks and sing.

PREST. BRIGHAM YOUNG

said he had prepared a short discourse on the subject of the resurrection, which he had called upon Elder Geo. Q. Cannon to read.

            Elder GEO. Q. CANNON then read the following discourse--

            I wish to present to the Latter-day Saints the doctrine of the resurrection in its true light. To satisfy the philosophy of my own mind in regard to this doctrine, I shall be under the necessity of commencing with the works of God as we find them in the beginning, or rather the beginning of the history we have of the earth. We admit the history that Moses gives of the creation or organization of this earth, as stated in his writings, to be correct. The philosophy of my mind, with all the experience I have gained by observation and knowledge of facts, tells me that there is nothing made, formed or fashioned without a Being to make, form or fashion the same. Then my own reasoning teaches me that myself as a mechanic, with all others upon this earth, and those also who dwell in the heavens, when we commence any work of mechanism, have an object in the same. God had an object in view when He framed this earth and placed vegetation and all creatures upon it, and man was brought here for the high object of an increase of wisdom, knowledge, understanding, glory and honor--each and every person, creature or thing in its own order and time, that all may harmonize together and receive this glory and honor. The particles that compose the earth were brought together for a certain purpose by its great Author. This purpose was, and still is, to bring this earth and all things upon it into a higher state of glory and intelligence. In the beginning there were laws given by which all nature was to be governed or controlled. It is true that man transgresses these laws, and would change them if he had the power to do so. But there are laws which he cannot disturb, and which operate regardless of man's actions. Among these is the law which pertains to the resurrection of the body of man and also to the resurrection of the earth; for this earth has to undergo a great change, or, in other words, has to be resurrected.

            Abel, the martyr, was the first man of whose death we have any account. He brought his offering to the Lord and was accepted. This proves that he was a righteous man, and by his righteousness he so far sanctified the particles of this earth that comprised the component parts of his body that they became entitled to a glorious resurrection, which he undoubtedly obtained when Jesus arose. If Abel had been eaten by dogs or lions, the component parts of his body never could have gone to compose the component parts of any other bodies. Why? Because the laws which govern the elements would not permit this to be done.

            The question may be asked, Do not the particles that compose man's body, when returned to mother earth, go to make or compose other bodies? No, they do not. Some philosophers have asserted that the human body changes every seven or ten years. This is not correct, for it never changes; that is, the substances of which it is composed do not pass off and other particles of matter come and take their place. Neither can the particles which have comprised the bodies of men become parts of the bodies of other men, or of beasts, fowls, fish, insects or vegetables. They are governed by a divine law, and though they may pass from the knowledge of the scientific world, that divine law still holds and governs and controls them. Man's body may be buried in the ocean, it may be eaten by wild beasts, or it may be burned to ashes, and they be scattered to the four winds, yet the particles of which it is composed will not be incorporated into any form of vegetable or animal life, to become a component part of their structure. Are they gross, tangible, and, in their organized capacity, subject to decay and change? Yes, and if buried in the earth, they undergo decomposition and return to mother earth; but it is no matter how minute the particles are, they are watched over and will be preserved until the resurrection, and at the sound of the trumpet of God every particle of our physical structures necessary to make our tabernacles perfect will be assembled, to be rejoined with the spirit, every man in his order. Not one particle will be lost.

            I have a few questions to ask the philosophical world, those especially who are skilled in chemistry: Is this earth, the air and the water, composed of life, or do they, or any portion of them, consist of inanimate matter, or of that that has no life in itself? Another question: If the earth, air and water are composed of life, is there any intelligence in this life? The Philosopher may take his own time to answer these questions, and when he has satisfied himself he may ask himself again: Are those particles of matter life; if so, are they in possession of intelligence according to the grade of their organization? As far as we are concerned, we suggest the idea that there is an eternity of life, an eternity of organization, and an eternity of intelligence from the highest to the lowest grade, every creature in its order, from the Gods to the animalcule. Bear in mind, you who are believers in the resurrection or in the works of God, that man has sought out many inventions and has striven hard to learn the mysteries of God and godliness by his worldly wisdom, yet there are many things which science, with all its tests, cannot find out. Matter may be divided into an infinitude of atoms, until they pass beyond the power of the microscope to discover them, and the most skilful chemist who dwells upon the earth knows not whither they go. My position is, and which I declare to the Latter-day Saints, it is beyond the power of man, without revelation from God, with all his science to know whether these particles that compose our bodies go into other creatures to form the component parts of their bodies, or whether they merely pass into the already organized body to resuscitate it and contribute to its sustenance. I declare to the Latter-day Saints, and to all living upon the earth who have intelligence to understand, that the particles that comprise the component parts of our bodies will never enter into other bodies to form the elements of their bodies; but these very identical particles that now compose our bodies will be resurrected and come together by the power of the trump of God and will be re-united to form the body--excepting the blood, which will not be necessary to our existence in an immortal state--and then be prepared to receive the spirit, preparatory to their exaltation. Query: Would not the particles that compose the body of our Savior, according to their intelligence, oppose the idea of becoming a part of any other body but His? Again: Would not the Saints, who are faithful in magnifying the Priesthood of the Son of God, object to the particles which now compose their bodies, and which they have sanctified through obedience to that Priesthood, entering into and forming parts of other bodies than their own--bodies which their spirits had not possessed and of which they knew nothing in this life.

            Although some may think that the substances of which our bodies are composed are borrowed for our use during this mortal existence, it is not so, neither will they be thrown off at death, never to be restored; and though in the resurrection the bodies of the righteous will be raised immortal and free from all corruption, they will be none the less tangible or perceptible to the touch of those who are permitted to handle them. The question may be asked: Will the bodies of those who do not observe the laws of God, and which are not sanctified by obedience to them, come forth in the resurrection? Undoubtedly they will; but not at the same time nor to the same glory that they do who observe the laws of God.

            The earth, also, abideth the law and filleth the measure of its creation, and though it shall die, it shall be resurrected in glory, a sanctified creation, suitable for the residence of celestial beings. The elements will be burned and purified, and be renewed; but not one atom of earth's organism will be lost; for that which is governed by law shall be preserved by law. And for everything which our God has created He has prescribed laws. There is nothing so minute as to escape His notice, there is no creation so immense as to transcend the bounds of His power; all are alike subject to the operation of His decrees. He called matter from chaos and created the earth, and the heavens are studded with planets, the glorious workmanship of His hands. He has hung those mighty orbs in space, and their courses are fixed. And by the exercise of His power the original elements which have formed the bodies of men will be brought forth in the resurrection--bone to bone, sinew to sinew, flesh to flesh, not one hair shall be lost--and all this in obedience to law, that the substances which have formed the tabernacles of men, or of beasts, or of fowls, or of fish, shall not be intermingled or lost; but shall be all restored to their own places, though they may have been swallowed up in the depths of the sea, or have been scattered to the four winds of heaven.

            To illustrate these facts connected with the resurrection of the body, we will quote from the revelations which the Lord has given to His children:

 

THE TESTIMONY OF EZEKIEL.

            The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones.

            And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.

            And He said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest.

            Again He said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.

            Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live.

            And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

            So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.

            And when I beheld, Lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.

            Then said He unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.

            So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceeding great army.

            Then He said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost; we are cut off for our parts.

            Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.

            And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves.

            And shall put my Spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord.--Ezekiel xxxvii: 1-14.

THE TESTIMONY OF JOB.

            For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.

            And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.

            Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.--Job xix:25-27.

THE TESTIMONY OF DANIEL.

            And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt.--Daniel xii:2.

THE TESTIMONY OF LUKE.

            Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.-Luke xx:37.

            And as they thus spake, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.

            And he said unto them, why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts.

            Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see: for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.

            And when He had thus Spoken, He shewed them His hands and His feet.

            And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, He said unto them, Have ye here any meat.

            And they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them.--Luke xxiv: 36-43.

THE TESTIMONY OF JOHN.

            But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.

            The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe.

            And after eight days again His disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.

            Then saith He to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.--John xx:24-27.

            Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.

            Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice.

            And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.-John v:25, 28, 29.

            Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

            And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.--Revelation xx:6,13.

THE TESTIMONY OF MATTHEW.

            And the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints which slept arose.

            And came out of the graves after His resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.--Matthew xxvii: 52,53.

THE TESTIMONY OF PAUL.

            For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

            Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself.--Philippians iii:21, 21.

            But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you.--Romans viii:11.

            Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death; that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

            For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection.--Romans vi:4,5.

            Fir if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised.

            And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

            But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept.

            For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

            For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come.

            Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain.

            But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased Him, and to every seed his own body.

            All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.

            So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption.

            It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.

            It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. -- 1 Corinthians xv:16-22; 35-39; 42-44.

            For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.

            For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

            For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first. -- 1 Thessalonians iv: 14-16.

THE TESTIMONY OF ABINADI.

            And if Christ had not risen from the dead, or have broken the bands of death, that the grave should have no victory, and that death should have no sting, there could have been no resurrection.

            But there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ.

            He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death.

            Even this mortal shall put on immortality, and this corruption shall put on incorruption, and shall be brought to stand before the bar of God, to be judged of Him according to their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil.--Book of Mosiah, xvi:7-10.

THE TESTIMONY OF JACOB.

            For as death hath passed upon all men, to fulfill the merciful plan of the great Creator, there must needs be a power of resurrection, and the resurrection must needs come unto man by reason of the fall; and the fall came by reason of transgression; and because man became fallen, they were cut off from the presence of the Lord.

            Wherefore it must needs be an infinite atonement; save it should be an infinite atonement, this corruption could not put on incorruption Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man, must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more.

            O the wisdom of God! His mercy and grace! For behold, if the flesh should rise no more, our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more.

            And because of the way of deliverance of our God, the Holy One of Israel, this death of which I have spoken, which is the temporal, shall deliver up its dead; which death is the grave.

            And this death of which I have spoken, which is the spiritual death, shall deliver up its dead; which spiritual death is hell; wherefore, death and hell must deliver up their dead, and hell must deliver up its captive spirits, and the grave must deliver up its captive bodies, and the bodies and the spirits of men will be restored one to the other; and it is by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel.

            O how great the plan of our God! For on the other hand, the paradise of God must deliver up the spirits of the righteous and the grave deliver up the body of the righteous; and the spirit and the body is restored to itself again, and all men become incorruptible, and immortal, and they are living souls, having a perfect knowledge like unto us in the flesh; save it be that our knowledge shall be perfect. -- 2 Nephi, ix:6-8; 11-13.

THE TESTIMONY OF AMULEK.

            For behold, the day cometh that all shall rise from the dead and stand before God, and be judged according to their works.

            Now there is a death which is called a temporal death; and the death of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death, that all shall be raised from this temporal death.

            The spirit and the body shall be re-united again in its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time; and we shall be brought to stand before God, knowing even as we know now, and have a bright recollection of our guilt.

            Now this restoration shall come to all, both old and young; both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost; but all things shall be restored to its perfect frame, as it is now, or in the body.--Book of Alma, xi: 41-44.

THE TESTIMONY OF ALMA.

            But this much I say, that there is a space between death and the resurrection of the body, and a state of the soul in happiness or in misery, until the time which is appointed of God that the dead shall come forth, and be re-united, both soul and body, and be brought to stand before God, and be judged according to their works.

            Yea, this bringeth about the restoration of those things of which have been spoken by he mouths of the prophets.

            The soul shall be restored to the body, and the body to the soul; yea, and every limb and joint shall be restored to its body; yea, even a hair of the head shall not be lost, but all things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame.--Book of Alma, xi:21-23.

THE TESTIMONY OF SAMUEL.

            For behold, He [Jesus] surely must die, that salvation may come; yea, it behooveth Him, and becometh expedient that He dieth, to bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, that thereby men may be brought into the presence of the Lord.

            Yea, behold this death bringeth to pass the resurrection, and redeemeth all mankind from the first death.--Book of Helaman, xiv:15, 16.

THE WORDS OF JESUS.

            And it came to pass that He [Jesus] said unto Nephi, bring forth the record which ye have kept.

            And when Nephi had brought forth the records, and laid them before His, He cast His eyes upon them and said.

            Verily I say unto you, I commanded my servant Samuel, the Lamanite, that he should testify unto this people, that at the day that the Father should glorify His name in me, that there were many saints who should arise from the dead, and should appear unto many, and should minister unto them. And He said unto them, were it not so.

            And His disciples answered Him and said, Yea, Lord, Samuel did prophesy according to Thy words, and they were all fulfilled.

            And Jesus said unto them, How be it that ye have not written this thing, that many saints did arise and appear unto many, and did minister unto them.

            And it came to pass that Nephi remembered that this thing had not been written.

            And it came to pass that Jesus commanded that it should be written; therefore it was written according as He commanded. -- 3 Nephi, xxiii: 7-13.

THE TESTIMONY OF MORONI.

            And because of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ, they are brought back into the presence of the Lord; yea, this is wherein all men are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth to pass the resurrection, which bringeth to pass a redemption from an endless sleep, from which sleep all men shall be awoke by the power of God, when the trump shall sound; and they shall come forth, both small and great, and all shall stand before His bar, being redeemed and loosed from this eternal band of death, which death is a temporal death.--Book of Mormon, ix:13.

WORDS OF JESUS IN BOOK OF DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS.

            Now, verily I say unto you, that through the redemption which is made for you is brought to pass the resurrection from the dead.

            And the spirit and the body is the soul of man.

            And the resurrection from the dead is the redemption of the soul; And the redemption of the soul is through Him who quickeneth all things, in whose bosom it is decreed that the poor and the meek of the earth shall inherit it.

            Therefore it must needs be sanctified from all unrighteousness, that it may be prepared for the celestial glory.

            For after it hath filled the measure of its creation, it shall be crowned with glory, even with the presence of God the Father.

            That bodies who are of the celestial kingdom may possess it forever and ever; for, for this intent was it made and created, and for this intent are they sanctified.

            And again, verily I say unto you, the earth abideth the law of a celestial kingdom, for it filleth the measure of its creation, and transgresseth not the law.

            Wherefore it shall be sanctified; yea, notwithstanding it shall die, it shall be quickened again, and shall abide the power by which it is quickened, and the righteous shall inherit it.

            For notwithstanding they die, they also shall rise again a spiritual body.

            They who are of a celestial spirit shall receive the same body which was a natural body; even ye shall receive your bodies, and your glory shall be that glory by which your bodies are quickened.

            And there shall be silence in heaven for the space of half an hour, and immediately after shall the curtain of heaven be unfolded, as a scroll is unfolded after it is rolled up, and the face of the Lord shall be unveiled.

            And the saints that are upon the earth, who are alive, shall be quickened, and be caught up to meet Him.

            And they who have slept in their graves shall come forth; for their graves shall be opened, and they also shall be caught up to meet Him in the midst of the pillar of heaven.

            They are Christ's, the first fruits: they who shall descend with Him first, and they who are on the earth and in their graves, who are first caught up to meet Him: and all this by the voice of the sounding of the trump of the angel of God.--Doctrine and Covenants. lxxxviii:14-20; 25-28; 95-98.

            For a trump shall sound both long and loud, even as upon Mount Sinai, and all the earth shall quake, and they shall come forth, yea, even the dead which died in me, to receive a crown of righteousness, and to be clothed upon, even as I am, to be with me, that we may be one.

            And the end shall come, and the heaven and the earth shall be consumed and pass away, and there shall be a new heaven and a new earth.

            For all old things shall pass away, and all things shall become new, even the heaven and the earth, and all the fulness thereof, both men and beasts, the fowls of the air, and the fishes of the sea.

            And not one hair, neither mote, shall be lost, for it is the workmanship of mine hand.

            But, behold, verily I say unto you, before the earth shall pass away, Michael, mine archangel, shall sound his trump, and then shall all the dead awake, for their graves shall be opened, and they shall come forth; yea, even all.--Doctrine and Covenants, xxix: 13; 23-26.

            For the day cometh that the Lord shall utter His voice out of heaven; the heavens shall shake and the earth shall tremble, and the trump of God shall sound both long and loud, and shall say to the sleeping nations, Ye saints arise and live; ye sinners stay and sleep until I shall call again.--Doctrine and Covenants, xliii:18.

            But before the arm of the Lord shall fall, an angel shall sound his trump, and the saints that have slept shall come forth to meet me in the cloud.

            Wherefore if ye have slept in peace, blessed are you, for as you now behold me and know that I am, even so shall ye come unto me and your souls shall live, and your redemption shall be perfected, and the saints shall come forth from the four quarters of the earth.--Doctrine and Covenants, xlv:45,46.

            Yea, and blessed are the dead that die in the Lord from henceforth when the Lord shall come, and old things shall pass away, and all things become new, they shall rise from the dead and shall not die after, and shall receive an inheritance before the Lord, in the holy city.

            And he that liveth when the Lord shall come, and has kept the faith, blessed is he; nevertheless it is appointed to him to die at the age of man.

            Wherefore children shall grow up until they become old, old men shall die; but they shall not sleep in the dust, but they shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye.

            Wherefore for this cause preached the apostles unto the world the resurrection of the dead.--Doctrine and Covenants, lxiii:49-52.

EXTRACT FROM A REVELATION TO THE PROPHET JOSEPH.

            And in that day Adam blessed God and was filled, and began to prophesy concerning all the families of the earth, saying, Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God.[--Pearl of Great Price, p.10.]

EXTRACT FROM THE PROPHECY OF ENOCH.

            And righteousness will I send down out of heaven: and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten; His resurrection from the dead; yea, and also the resurrection of all men.[--Pearl of Great Price, p. 21.]

THE TESTIMONY OF JOSEPH SMITH.

            as concerning the resurrection, I will merely say that all men will come forth from the grave as they lie down, whether old or young; there will not be "added one cubit to their stature," neither taken from it; all will be raised by the power of God, having spirit in their bodies and not blood.--March 20, 1842; History of Joseph Smith.

            There are two kinds of beings in heaven, viz: angels, who are resurrected personages, having bodies of flesh and bones.

            for instance, Jesus said, "Handle me and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have.

            2. The spirits of just men made perfect--they who are not resurrected, but inherit the same glory.

            When a messenger comes, saying he has a message from God, offer him your hand, and request him to shake hands with you.

            If he be an angel, he will do so, and you will feel his hand.

            If he be the spirit of a just man made perfect, he will come in his glory; for that is the only way he can appear.

            Ask him to shake hands with you, but he will not move, because it is contrary to the order of heaven for a just man to deceive; but he will still deliver his message.

            If it be the Devil as an angel of light, when you ask him to shake hands, he will offer you his hand, and you will not feel anything; you may therefore detect him.

            These are three grand keys whereby you may know whether any administration is from God.--Thursday, February 9, 1843; History of Joseph Smith. [Doctrine and Covenants, cxxxix.]

            Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection.

            And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.

            There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated.

            And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.

            The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's; the Son also: but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us.

            A man may receive the Holy Ghost, and it may descend upon him and not tarry with him.--Sunday, April 2, 1843; History of Joseph Smith. [Doctrine and Covenants, cxxx: 18-23.]

            To a remark of Elder O. Pratt's, that a man's body changes every seven years, President Joseph Smith replied: There is no fundamental principle belonging to a human system that ever goes into another in this world or in the world to come: I care not what the theories of men are. We have the testimony that God will raise us up, and He has the power to do it. If any one supposes that any part of our bodies, that is, the fundamental parts thereof, ever goes into another body, he is mistaken.--Friday, April 7, 1843; History of Joseph Smith.

            Speaking of the eternal duration of matter, I said--There is no such thing as immaterial matter. All spirit is matter, but it is more fine or pure, and can only be discerned by purer eyes.

            We cannot see it; but when our bodies are purified, we shall see that it is all matter.--Wednesday, May 17, 1843; History of Joseph Smith, [Doctrine and Covenants, cxxxi: 7,8.]

            As the Father hath power in Himself, so hath the Son power in Himself, to lay down His life and take it again, so He has a body of His own. The Son doeth what He hath seen the Father do; then the Father hath some day laid down His life and taken it again; so He has a body of His own, each one will be in His own body; and yet the sectarian world believe the body of the Son is stuffed into the Father's.

            Gods have an ascendancy over the angels, who are ministering servants. In the resurrection, some are raised to be angels; others are raised to become Gods.--Sunday, June 11, 1843; History of Joseph Smith.

ELDER WILFORD WOODRUFF

said this doctrine of the resurrection of the dead was most glorious. It was most comforting to his mind to know that in the resurrection of the dead this body in which he had ministered in the gospel would be raised to be inhabited by his spirit through eternity.

            He gave an account of the fulfilling of the revelation regarding the laying of the corner stone of the temple at Far West, by the Twelve Apostles, of the mission of that quorum to England, the sickness that each one was afflicted with, and the miraculous power of God in healing them. They traveled without purse or scrip, and accomplished a mighty work in that land. He felt delighted to listen to the sons of our veterans yesterday in bearing a faithful testimony to the truth, and who had the fire and spirit of their fathers. The word of the Lord was, arise and let your light shine. But we had all slumbered and slept, and the word of the Lord through the lawgiver to this people was now to repent and trim our lamps, that we might be prepared to meet the Bridegroom. It was time for the thousands of Seventies to arise, and, with the Twelve and other quorums, take some of the responsibilities off the shoulders of President Young, who was far advanced in years. Again the word of the Lord was, Lay up your bread, and if we did not observe it, we should see sorrow the Lord had called us to hold an everlasting priesthood, and we seemed to know it not, and the salvation of the house of Israel was in our hands. The ten tribes would presently come forth from the north countries, and mountains of ice would flow down at their presence. It was high time for the Elders of Israel to wake up, for great things were at our doors. The earth was fast ripening in sin and wickedness, and preparing for that destruction which awaited them according to the prophecies of the servants of God. We did not fear men, but we should fear God and keep his commandments. He exhorted the sisters to govern and control the fashions of Zion, instead of imitating the ridiculous fashions of the daughters of Babylon. All uncomely fashions should be laid aside. He also exhorted them to make their own silk, their own hats, bonnets, etc. Our aim should be high and lofty, in our every day lives. He recommended the young people to unite in marriage, to fulfil the great first law to multiply and replenish the earth. It was our duty to sustain our co-operative institutions. As Elders of Israel we should arise, shake off our sins, and rally round our aged President, who had outlived several of his counsellors, through the mercy and blessings of God.

[Wilford Woodruff]

[DNW 24:756, 12/29/75, p 4; JD 18:122]

DISCOURSE

BY ELDER WILFORD WOODRUFF, DELIVERED AT THE

Forty-sixth [Forty-fifth] Semi-annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter -day Saints,
in the New Tabernacle, on the Morning of Friday, Oct. 8th, 1875.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

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      "Oh Death, where is thy sting? Oh grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and the gift of God is eternal life, through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." This doctrine of the resurrection of the dead is most glorious. It is comforting, at least to my spirit, to think, that, in the morning of the resurrection, my spirit will have the privilege of dwelling in the very same body that it occupied here. As Elders of Israel we have traveled a great many thousand miles in weariness and fatigue, laboring to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to the children of men. I would be very glad to have the same body in the resurrection with which I waded swamps, swam rivers and traveled and labored to build up the kingdom of God here on the earth. I like this, I rejoice in the privilege we enjoy at this Conference, of meeting with so many Latter-day Saints. I feel that we have had a good deal of the Spirit of the Lord with us, and I hope that it may continue until we get through with the Conference.

      President Young referred, yesterday, in his remarks, to the experience of some of us in past days. I have reflected a good deal upon these things as well as on the future. I have long been associated with the kingdom of God, and I wish to refer for a moment to what was said yesterday on that subject. The mission then mentioned was one of much interest to the Twelve, if not to the Church. The whole of that mission to England, from the beginning to the end, placed the apostles in such a position that they had to walk by faith from first to last. The Lord gave a revelation, with date, day, month and year, when they were to go up to lay the corner-stone in Caldwell county, Far West, Missouri. When that revelation was given all was peace and quietude, comparatively, in that land. But when the time came for the Twelve Apostles to fulfill that revelation, the Saints had all been driven out by the exterminating order of Governor Boggs, and it was as much as a man's life was worth, especially one of the Twelve, to be found in that State; and when the day came on which we were commanded by the Lord in that revelation to go up and lay the corner-stone of that Temple, and there take the parting hand with the Saints, to cross the waters to preach the gospel in England, the inhabitants of Missouri had sworn that if all the revelations of "old Joe Smith" were fulfilled, that should not be, because it had a day and date to it.

      President Young asked the Twelve who were with him—"What shall we do with regard to the fulfillment of this revelation?" He wanted to know their feelings. Father Smith, the Patriarch, said the Lord would take the will for the deed; others said the Lord could not expect the Twelve Apostles to go up and sacrifice their lives to fulfill that revelation; but the Spirit of the Lord rested upon the twelve, and they said—"The Lord God has spoken, and we will fulfill that revelation and commandment;" and that was the feeling of President Young and of those who were with him. We went through that State, and we laid that cornerstone. George A. Smith and myself were ordained to the Apostleship on that corner-stone upon that day. We returned in safety, and not a dog to move his tongue, and no man shed our blood.

      As soon as we got home we prepared ourselves to go on our mission to England, and, as President Young has said, the devil undertook to kill us. I have myself been in Tennessee and Kentucky for two or three years, where, in the Fall, there was not well persons enough to take care of the sick during the ague mouths, and yet I never had the ague in my life until called to go upon that mission to England. There was not one solitary soul in the Quorum of the Twelve but what the devil undertook to destroy; and, as was said yesterday, when Brother Taylor and myself, the two first of the Quorum ready for the trip, were on hand to start, I was shaking with the ague, and I had it every other day, and on my well day, when I did not have it, my wife had it. I got up and laid my hands upon her and blessed her, and blessed my child, having only one at the time, and I started across the river, and that man who sits behind me to-day, the President of the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth, paddled me across the Missouri river in a canoe, and that is the way I landed in Nauvoo. I lay down on a side of sole leather by the old postoffice, and I did not know where to go, and I was not able to stand on my feet, and I lay down there. By and by the Prophet came along and said he—"Brother Woodruff, you are going on your mission?" "Yes," I said," but I feel more like a subject for the dissecting room than for a mission." He reproved me for what I said and told me to get up and go. Brother Taylor, the only member of the Quorum of the Twelve who was well, and I traveled together, and on the way he fell to the ground as though he had been knocked on the head with an axe. Old Father Coulton was carrying us, and Brother Taylor fell twice in that way, taken with the bilious fever, and no man in that Quorum could boast that he went on that mission without feeling the hand of the destroyer, for it was laid upon us all. I had the shaking ague, and lay on my back in a wagon, and was rolled over stumps and stones, until it seemed as if my life would be shaken out of me. I left Brother Taylor behind, by his advice, for said he, "We are both sick, and if you stay you can't do anything here;" so old Father Coulton carried me along in his wagon until I got to Buffalo, N. Y. From there I traveled alone to Farmington, Connecticut, my native place, and I stayed there fifteen days at my father's house, coughing and shaking every day. My father never expected that I should leave my bed, and my step-mother did not expect that I should ever get better. A message came from an uncle of mine, who had just died, and his last words were—"I want you to send for Friend Wilford, I want him to come and preach my funeral sermon." My father said—"You can't go and preach that sermon, for you can't sit up in your bed." Said I—"Never mind, get up your horse and wagon;" and he did so and I got into it, and rode over that morning in a chilly wind, and the hour that my ague was coming on I got before a big blazing fire and preached the funeral sermon of my friend, and the ague left me from that day, and I went back and went on my way rejoicing.

      In process of time Brother Taylor came along and he and I crossed the ocean together, and arrived in England, and here I want to make a little statement of my experience in those days concerning circumstances that took place with me. When Brother' Brigham left home he told you that all his family had was one barrel of rotten flour. Two hundred cents would have bought every pound of provision I left with my family when I left home, But we left our wives, for we had the commandment of God upon us, and we were either going to obey it, or die trying. That was the spirit of the Elders of Israel; and I blessed my wife and child and left; them in the hands of God, and to the tender mercies of our noble Bishops, and those who were acquainted with them know how it, was in those days. However, I went on my way, and I want to speak of one little circumstance. I had with me an old cloak which I got in Tennessee when traveling with Brother Smoot over forty years ago. It had once been a dandy cloak, and had on keg buttons, and when new had a good deal of trimming and fancy work about it; but it was then pretty well threadbare and worn out. I wore it in Kirtland and I carried it to England with me; and when I was called by revelation to go to John Benbow's and preach the gospel I wore that cloak. I went there and found over six hundred people, called United Brethren, and among them were eighty-three preachers, and they, as a people, were prepared for the word of the Lord, and I wanted to catch them in the gospel net. Before embracing the doctrine of the United Brethren, Sister Benbow had been what is called a "lady" in England, and she had worn her silks and satins; but after obeying the doctrine of this religious body she cut up and burned and destroyed her silks and satins and wore the plainest calicoes she could get, because she thought that was religion. When I went there to preach she looked at me with this old cloak with the keg buttons on, and the Spirit of the Lord bore testimony to me that religion, so far as she was concerned, had a good deal of tradition about it, and that her faith could be tried by the coat a man wore; and as Paul said, if eating meat offended his brethren, he would never eat any more, so I felt a good deal, and one morning I went out and cut off the buttons from my old cloak, and never had a button on it afterwards. By doing this and some other things, which some perhaps would call foolish, I, through the blessing of God and with the assistance of Brother Young, George A. Smith and Willard Richards, caught the whole flock and baptized every soul except one solitary person into the church and kingdom of God. Many of them are here in this room to-day, and some of them have passed away. I mention this just to show our position. We traveled without purse and scrip, and we preached without money and without price. Why? Because the God of heaven had called upon us to go forth and warn the world.

      Now I want to say again, I have looked around within the last few years and I have thought: Where, Oh where, are the sons of the Prophets, Apostles, and fathers in Zion, preparing in these last days to rise up and bear off this kingdom when we are on the other side of the vail? Sometimes, in thinking on this subject, I have felt that they were very few and far between who had the spirit of their fathers and were prepared to bear off this kingdom. But I thank God that I find it is now something like it was in the days of Elijah. When the Prophet said, referring to the followers of Baal—"They have killed thy Prophets, and pulled down thine altars, and I alone am left," the Lord said—"Oh no, I have seven thousand men in Israel who have not yet bowed the knee to Baal." Well, I begin to feel, since I have heard the testimonies of our young brethren at this Conference, that some of the sons of the servants of God are becoming filled with the fire and spirit of the Prophets. We want a good many of them to rise up and bear off this kingdom.

      Now I want to say a word or two on another subject. I have heard some of our brethren remark—"If the Twelve Apostles have the word of the Lord, we would like to receive, it." I want to say a few words with regard to the word of the Lord. I think that many of this people are mistaken with regard to the word of the Lord. They sometimes wonder why President Young does not give them the word of the Lord. I have been acquainted with President Young more than forty years. It is over forty years since I traveled a thousand miles with him, Joseph Smith, Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Charles C. Rich, and many others perhaps in this congregation, and I never saw a day from that day until the present, but what President Brigham Young, even before the Twelve Apostles were organized, always had the word of the Lord for the people; and instead of thinking there is no word of the Lord, my faith is that there is not an Elder in Israel who has any business to preach, unless he has the word of the Lord to the people. The Twelve Apostles should have the word of the Lord to the people; the High Priesthood should have the word of the Lord to the people; these four thousand Seventies, the messengers of Israel to the nations of the earth, should have the word of the Lord to the people; and every Elder of Israel, when he speaks, should have the word of the Lord, and the whole Church and kingdom of God, men and women, should have, each for himself and herself, the testimony of Jesus Christ, which is the spirit of prophecy. This should be in the possession of every man and woman in the Church, for their own government and guidance, and this has always been the teaching to us of President Brigham Young. And this is backed up by the revelations which the Lord has given in these last days, as you will find if you read the twenty-second section of rice Book of Doctrine and Covenants. That revelation was given over forty years ago, to Elders Orson Hyde, Luke Johnson, Lyman Johnson and William E. McLellin; and on that occasion the Lord said—"Go forth and preach the Gospel to the people. And when you go forth you are called to teach the people and not to be taught. And you must teach as you are moved upon by the Holy Ghost, by the power of God, by the Spirit of the Lord; and when you speak as you are moved upon by the Spirit of the Lord, your words are scripture, they are the word of the Lord, they are the mind of the Lord, they are the will of the Lord and the power of God unto salvation unto every one that hears."

      Yes, we have plenty of testimony with regard to these things, and I will say to my brethren that whatever the word of the Lord may be to them I know what the word of the Lord is to me. The word of the Lord to me is, that it is time for Zion to rise and let her light shine; and the testimony of the Spirit of God to me is that this whole kingdom, this great kingdom of Priests, this forty thousand men in these mountains of Israel, who have borne the Priesthood, have thoroughly fulfilled one part of the parable of the ten virgins. What is that? Why, that while the Bridegroom has tarried we have all slumbered and slept; as a Church and kingdom we have slumbered and slept, and the word of the Lord to me is that we have slept long enough; and we have the privilege now of rising and trimming our lamps and putting oil in our vessels. This is the word of the Lord to me.

      The word of the Lord to me again, is, that it is time for this whole people, these forty thousand Elders of Israel who dwell in these valleys of the mountains, and I believe that it is the word of the Lord to them, that we listen to the voice of the Lord through the lawgiver, and unite ourselves in temporal things, and that we labor to build up the kingdom of God, and cease to labor to build up ourselves alone, against the interests of the kingdom of God. This is the word of the Lord to me, and I think it is to you.

      It is the word of the Lord through the mouth of his servant Brigham, and has been a long time the word of the Lord to me, that as Twelve Apostles, as Seventy Apostles, as High Priests, and as Elders of Israel, it is time that we should rise up and bear the burden that rests upon the shoulders of Brigham Young, who is far advanced in life, and has had the weight and burden of this Church and kingdom upon his shoulders. It is our duty to rise up and bear off this burden, and lift it from our President, and also to cry aloud unto the people to unite themselves together. It is our duty to cease shaking in our shoes for fear the Lord Almighty should give some of his words to govern and control us in our temporal affairs. Who, to use a comparison, expects to have a forty-acre lot alone in the kingdom of God, or in heaven, when we get there? None need expect it, for in that kingdom, in heaven or upon earth, we shall find unity, and the Lord requires at our hands that we unite together, according to the principles of his celestial law.

      This is what I consider to be the word of the Lord to us. It is our duty to unite ourselves together, and to sustain the institutions which have been established in these mountains by the revelations of God unto us.

      There is another word of the Lord unto me, and which has been like fire shut up in my bones for the last three months; that is, to call upon all the inhabitants of these mountains, as far as I have an opportunity, to go to and lay up their grain, that they may have bread. For the last three months I have not felt as if I could answer my own feelings, unless, at every meeting I have attended, I called upon the farmers to lay up their grain. "Oh, yes," say some, "Heber C. Kimball cried, 'Famine, famine' for years, and it has not come yet." Well, bless your soul, there is more room for it to come. "Who am I, saith the Lord, that I promise and do not fulfill?" The day will come when if this people do not lay up their bread they will be sorry for it. The Lord has felt after us in days past and gone by the visitations of crickets and grasshoppers time after time, and had it not been for his mercy we should have had famine upon our heads long before this. It is the duty of the farmers in these mountains not to sell their bread, or to throw it away for a song, but to lay it up, or you will find that the day is not a great way off when you will reed it. That is the voice of the Lord to me, and it is the way I have felt for a good while, and I believe it is the same to my brethren.

      We are living in a very important time, and the Lord has raised up this people to accomplish his purposes; and as some of these revelations convey the idea, they were chosen from before the foundation of the world. The Lord says,—"I have called you by my everlasting Priesthood, and your lives have been hid with Christ in God," and you have not known it. You have been called here and God has put into your hands his cause and kingdom, and the salvation of both Jew and Gentile. This people hold in their hands the salvation of the twelve tribes of Israel. It was not to the oldest son, but to Ephraim, the son of Joseph, that these promises were made. Joseph was the youngest but one of the Twelve Patriarchs, and through his son Ephraim God has raised you up and has put this power into your hands, and you hold the keys for the salvation of Israel. And the ten tribes of Israel in the north country will come in remembrance before God in due time, and they will smite the rocks and the mountains of ice will flow down before them, and the everlasting hills will tremble at their presence. A highway will be cast up through the midst of the great deep for them to come to Zion, and they will bow down in the midst thereof, and receive the Priesthood at the hands of the inhabitants of Zion.

      Then what manner of men ought we to be, we, who have been ordained and called, and had such responsibilities placed upon us by the God of heaven? Our lives have been hid with Christ in God, and we are heirs of the eternal Priesthood, through the lineage of our fathers. Thus saith the Lord through the mouth of the Prophet Joseph Smith, who sealed his testimony with his blood, and his testimony from that hour has been in force upon all the world. Know ye, Latter-day Saints, that the Lord will not disappoint you or this generation with regard to the fulfillment of his promises. No matter whether they have been uttered by his own voice out of the heavens, by the ministration of angels, or by the voice of his servants in the flesh, it is the same; and though the earth pass away not one jot or tittle of his word will fall unfulfilled. There is no prophecy of Scripture of any private interpretation, but holy men of old spoke as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost, and their words will be fulfilled to the very letter, and it certainly is time that we prepare ourselves for that which is to come. Great things await this generation—both Zion and Babylon. All these revelations concerning the fall of Babylon will have their fulfillment. Forty-five years ago, in speaking to the Church, the Lord said—"You are clean, but not all and I am not well pleased with any who are not clean, because all flesh is corrupted before my face, and darkness prevails among all the nations of the earth." This causes silence to reign, and all eternity is pained. The angels of God are waiting to fulfill the great commandment given forty-five years ago, to go forth and reap down the earth because of the wickedness of men. How do you think eternity feels to-day? Why there is more wickedness, a thousand times over, in the United States now, than when that revelation was given. The whole earth is ripe in iniquity; and these inspired men, these Elders of Israel, have been commanded of the Almighty to go forth and warn the world, that their garments may be clear of the blood of all men.

      I tell you that God will not disappoint Zion or Babylon, the heavens or the earth, in regard to the judgments which he has promised in these last days, but every one of them will have its fulfillment upon the heads of the children of men; and when they are fully ripened in iniquity the nations of the earth will be swept away as with the besom of destruction.

      What did the Lord say to that meek and humble man, the brother of Jared, thousands of years ago, with regard to the land of America—a chosen land promised by old Father Jacob to his sons? He said that no nation should ever occupy it, unless the people thereof kept his commandments; and if they failed to do that they should be cut off when they were ripened in iniquity. The Lord has already swept away two mighty nations from this continent, because they have not fulfilled his word, spoken through that humble man. The Lord chooses the weak things of the world, things which are naught to bring to naught things which are, and he will as surely perform his work in this age of the world as he has done in any other. We need not fear man, nor the wrath of man, but fear God, who holds in his hands the destinies of all men.

      Before I close my remarks, I want to say a few words to our sisters and daughters in Zion, for I feel that there are some words of the Lord to them. This is a time that the daughters of Zion should hearken to the words of the Prophet of God, who has been set to lead us. I feel that it is time, forty years after they were organized, that the Female Relief Societies should labor with all their might to carry out the object of their organization by the Prophet Joseph Smith. You may ask, "What was the object of that organization?" I will say that in organizing these societies there were several objects in view, some of which I will refer to before I get through. President Young has been calling upon you, as one branch of the land of Zion, to take hold and help to build it up. He desires that the sisters here in the land of Zion should govern and control the fashions of Zion. Instead of heaping to yourselves and imitating the fashions that have adorned Babylon, you should have independence enough to form your own; and those which are not comely and comfortable should be laid aside. I, myself, do not think it has been pleasing in the sight of God, to see the manner in which the mothers and daughters in Zion, for years past, have been ready to adorn themselves with every fashion that Babylon has contrived and invented. I need not mention all these things, but I will mention two or three. For instance, how is it with regard to the head dress of the ladies? The Lord has given to women generally a fine head of hair, which, we are told in the Scriptures, is the glory of the woman; and she should let the hair given unto her adorn her head without adding any foreign substance, as is now done, in order to imitate and follow after the fashions of the world. Again, just as quick as the daughters of Babylon extend their crinolines until they cannot move in a space less than six or eight feet wide, in a coach, assembly room, or anywhere else, why the daughters of Zion must follow the same uncomely fashion. But a fashion the reverse of this is now adopted, and at the present time the daughters of Babylon wear their elastics so tight that they have not room left for locomotion when walking in the streets; and, of course the daughters of Zion must practice the same. And now, see one of them, dressed in the height of fashion, crossing the street, and a runaway team comes thundering along. What a position she is in! Why the only way she can save her life is to lie down and roll across the street like a saw log.

      All these fashions are uncomely and should be laid aside. The daughters of Zion should do better than to trail silks and satins in the mud when walking in the street. The Female Relief Societies should lay hold of and regulate these things, and introduce fashions that are comely and comfortable; it is their duty to do it. Again, you can do a good deal in regard to maintaining the independence of Zion, by going to and carrying out the counsel of President Young in raising your own silk for dresses, bonnets and trimmings, so that your adorning may be the workmanship of your own hands.

      I felt as though I wanted to say so much with regard to our sisters in Zion. President Young says, and I know it is the truth, that this is the best people on the face of the earth. But however good we may be we should aim continually to improve and become better. We have obeyed a different law and Gospel to what other people have obeyed, and we have a different kingdom in view, and our aim should be correspondingly higher before the Lord our God, and we should govern and control ourselves accordingly, and I pray God my heavenly Father that his Spirit may rest upon us and enable us to do so.

      Another word of the Lord to me is that, it is the duty of these young men here in the land of Zion to take the daughters of Zion to wife, and prepare tabernacles for the spirits of men, which are the children of our Father in heaven. They are waiting for tabernacles, they are ordained to come here, and they ought to be born in the land of Zion instead of Babylon. This is the duty of the young men in Zion; and when the daughters of Zion are asked by the young men to join with them in marriage, instead of asking—"Has this man a fine brick house, a span of fine horses and a fine carriage?" they should ask—"Is he a man of God? Has he the Spirit of God with him? Is he a Latter-day Saint? Does he pray? Has he got the Spirit upon him to qualify him to build up the kingdom?" If he has that, never mind the carriage and brick house, take hold and unite yourselves together according to the law of God. I rejoice to see the population increasing in the land of Zion. Why is it that ninety-nine women out of every hundred over the whole land of Zion, who are of proper age and married, are bringing forth posterity until our children swarm in our streets almost like bees? Because the God of heaven is raising up a royal Priesthood, and a generation to bear off this kingdom in the day when his judgments will come upon the earth.

      Let us do our duty; let us cease setting our hearts upon the fashions and things of this world, and laboring to enrich ourselves at the sacrifice of the kingdom of God. We have a co-operative mercantile institution; and it is the duty of these Latter-day Saints to sustain and uphold it; and so with everything else that is in the kingdom, for these are the stepping stones to us to a fullness of the celestial kingdom of God.

      I thank God that I live in this day and age of the world, when my ears have heard the sound of the fullness of the Gospel of Christ. I thank God that I have seen the face of Prophets, Apostles, and inspired men. I rejoice in this, and I pray God my heavenly Father that I, and my brethren and sisters, may have power to unite and take hold and build up this kingdom. When we do this it will not be in the power of earth or hell to take away our rights and privileges; for I tell you that if this people were united according to the law of God, wherein we should become fully justified before the Lord, sinners in Zion would tremble and fearfulness would surprise the hypocrite; the power of God would rest upon Zion, the angels of God would visit the earth, the judgments of God would be poured upon the wicked, the Zion of God would be redeemed, the Temples of God would be reared, the prison doors would be opened and the prisoners in the spirit world would go free, because we would feel the spirit and power of our mission and calling and should fulfill it.

      I pray that God will bless this people, and that he will bless President Young, who has already outlived four of his counselors. The Lord says—I will take whom I will take, and I will preserve whom I will preserve." All these counselors were younger men than President Young, yet he has outlived them. God has ordained President Young to live, and he has lived so long, and has had the prayers of hundreds and thousands of Saints, which have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth for his preservation; and the Lord has heard and answered these prayers.

      Let us, as Elders of Israel, rise up and bear off this kingdom. Let us forsake our evils and wickedness, and repent of our sins, and renew our covenants and keep the commandments of God; that we may lighten the burdens of our President, that his spirit may be cheered, and that the power of God may attend him in his labors for the advancement of Zion upon the earth.

      This is my prayer in the name of Jesus, Amen.

 

            Meeting was adjourned till 2 p.m.

            The choir sang an anthem--

Comfort ye my people

            Benediction by Elder ELIAS MORRIS.

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[8 Oct, 2 pm]

[DNW 24:584-585, 10/13/75, p 8-9]

THIRD DAY

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Friday, Oct. 8, 2 p.m.

            The choir sang--

All you that love Emmanuel's name,
Whose spirits burn with ardent flame.

            Prayer by Elder LORENZO SNOW.

            The Choir sang

When earth in bondage long had lain,
And darkness o'er the nations reigned.

ELDER BRIGHAM YOUNG

said that the position occupied by a preacher on an occasion like the present was a very peculiar one. The testimonies of the Elders who had already spoken were true. The present condition of the Saints, according to the estimation of our best men, was anything but what it ought to be. He felt thankful to God that he had revealed to us as a people the United order, a gospel principle which came at a very opportune moment. Had the Saints received it as an ark of safety, either in the north or in the south? He was afraid not, yet it was a principle of the gospel as much so as that of baptism. If we could not receive the principle of co-operation, neither were we prepared to receive that of the United Order, for each of them was but as a lesson sent forth for the Latter-day Saints to learn and act upon at the very time they were made known. Those who received the first were fully prepared to receive the second when revealed two years ago.

            He then spoke on the subject of tithing, and said that neither himself nor any one else, either man or woman had ever paid their tithing as it was revealed and understood by him in the Doctrine and Covenants. But however we might fall short of this and many other things, this people were the people of God and he knew it, and God would eventually bring us up to the standard he required us to occupy. There were at least three different ways that the United Order was being tried throughout the Territory. He hoped that ere long a system would be gone into, that all could unite and enter upon in earnest.

            He then spoke of co-operation, which he said was about to be started afresh, with the ground and store all belonging to the company. Too large dividends had been paid heretofore, such as no system of business could sustain. We did not propose to pay hereafter more than a living and reasonable dividend. It was also the intention of paying ready cash for our goods, and by being universally sustained, and judiciously managed, it is bound to succeed. In union, on the principles of the gospel, there was strength. Unless we were one, we were not Christ's. He testified that the words of our leaders were true and faithful, and if we would carry them out they would prove our salvation. We must combine our means and abilities to build up this kingdom, or we should see sorrow.

            He then exhorted the Saints to receive whatever principles were made known by the servants of God, and practically carry them out. This was the only way we could be successfully shielded from our enemies.

PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG

addressed the congregation.

            The Conference was adjourned till to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock.

            The choir sang an anthem--

The earth is the Lord's.

            Benediction by Elder FRANKLIN D. RICHARDS.

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[9 Oct, 10 am]

[DNW 24:585, 10/13/75, p 9]

FOURTH DAY.

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Saturday, 10 a. m., Oct. 9

            The choir sang--

Great God, indulge my humble claim;
Thou art my hope, my joy, my rest.

            Prayer by Elder C. C. RICH.

            The choir sang--

This house we dedicate to thee,
Our God, our fathers' God.

PRESIDENT B. YOUNG

said Elder John Taylor would now offer the dedicatory prayer.

ELDER JOHN TAYLOR

then read the dedicatory prayer

THE NEW TABERNACLE DEDICATORY PRAYER.

[DNW 10/20/1875, p 2]

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Read by Elder John Taylor during conference, Morning Service, Salt Lake City, October 9th, 1875.

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            O God, our Heavenly Father, thou who dwellest in the Heavens, thou who keepest covenant and shewest mercy unto thy servants who walk uprightly before thee, with all their hearts; in the name of Jesus Christ, thine Only Begotten Son, and by virtue of the holy and everlasting Priesthood, with which thou hast endowed us, we present ourselves before thee as humble suppliants at thy footstool. We confess before thee our many sins, short comings, follies, vanities, and imperfections. We realize our unworthiness; but, remembering thy mercy, forbearance, long suffering and kindness to thy people in times past, we humbly approach thy sacred and holy presence and ask thee, in the name of Jesus Christ, thy well beloved son, to forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, that our sins may be remembered no more against us for ever. Pour out thy Holy spirit, we pray thee, upon every sincere soul now before thee.

            We thank thee, O Father, that we are privileged to live in this last dispensation, when thou in thine infinite mercy hast seen fit to restore the everlasting gospel in all its fulness, glory and power, that thou hast permitted those holding the holy Priesthood in the Heavens to communicate unto thy servant Joseph and to others on the earth, and that thou hast shown unto us our relationship to them and to thee, to the world in which we live to the myriads who have gone before us as well as those who shall come after us, exhibiting a fraternal bond of union with all the ancient patriarchs, prophets, apostles and men of God holding the holy Priesthood who have ever lived upon the earth, with God, our Heavenly Father, and Jesus the Mediator, and all the good and holy men who shall live upon the earth even down to the end of time.

            We thank thee, O God, that thou hast brought us out from the midst of the nations and kingdoms of the world, and planted us in this goodly land, and for the tender mercy and watchful care which have been extended unto us, in supplying our multiplied and increasing wants, in furnishing us the good things of this life. We feel that we are entirely dependent upon thy bounty, and that we can do nothing of ourselves, but are indebted to thee for every blessing we enjoy, whether it e temporal or spiritual. We realize that thou hast dealt mercifully with us in all the varied trials and vicissitudes through which thy people have been called to pass; that even as in days of old, thine angels have guarded and upheld us, and the consoling influences of thy Holy Spirit have sustained us; and that while many of our brethren and friends have fallen by violence, disease and death, we are preserved as monuments of thy mercy and permitted to associate in this goodly building under such auspicious circumstances, and to unite our voices in praise and thanksgiving to the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, of Jesus, Joseph and Brigham, even to the great God of the whole earth.

            We thank thee, O God, that we have been permitted to build this goodly Tabernacle, beneath whose spacious dome so many of thy Saints are enabled to congregate, and here, in the place appointed for the gathering of thy Saints on this 4th day of the Semi-Annual Conference of thy Church and kingdom upon the earth, in this the last dispensation of time and in the midst of the assembled thousands composing this vast congregation of the Saints of the Most High God, in the sacred name of thy Son Jesus Christ, we, thy servants, dedicate and consecrate this house unto thee, and unto thy cause, as a place of worship for thy Saints, wherein thy people may assemble from time to time, to obey thy commandment to meet often together, to observe thy holy Sabbath, to partake of thy holy Sacrament of the Lord's Supper and wherein they may associate for the purpose of prayer, praise and thanksgiving, for the transaction of business pertaining to thy Church and kingdom, and for whatsoever purpose thy people shall assemble in thy name. And by virtue of the Holy Priesthood vested in us and in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, we dedicate and set apart this Tabernacle as a Holy Sanctuary for thy Saints unto the most High for ever, and we consecrate the ground upon which it stands, and dedicate it unto the Lord.

            We dedicate unto thee the foundations of this building and the pillars of stone that rest thereon, together with the mortar that binds them together and wherein they are embedded.

            We also dedicate the timbers of the arches which sustain the roof and of the girders and braces thereof which rest thereon, together with all the timber, ties and fastenings, the cornice, the sheeting, the shingles and other covering, the nails, bolts and straps of iron, of copper, and the brass, the zinc, the tin, and the solder wherewith the metal is soldered together, as well as the covering of paint which surmounts the whole to preserve it from the weather, and all material whatsoever that is used in the construction thereof.

            We dedicate also the plaster of this building, even all the lath and the nails and the sand, and the lime, and whatsoever entereth into the construction thereof, also the timers that support the floors and the boards thereof, together with the nails, the braces, and the pins thereof that bind them in their places, and also the seats that rest thereon.

            We dedicate unto thee also the gallery and the columns and timbers by which it is sustained and supported in its place, with the floor and the seats thereof; with all the stairways, balustrades, ties, fastenings and material whatsoever pertaining thereunto, together with the ornamentations thereof.

            We dedicate also unto thee the wall and partitions of this building, together with the doors and the windows and the ventilators, the locks and hinges, the ropes and pulleys, fastenings and all other appliances whatsoever, including the wood and the glass, the steel and the iron, and all the other material of which they are composed.

            We also dedicate the paint and the varnish and all the ornamentation of this building, both within and without.

            We dedicate to thee, O Lord, in an especial manner, the stands set apart for the ministrations of thy most holy Priesthood, and the platforms on which they rest, together with the platforms and galleries connected therewith, with the floors and seats thereof, and those of the musicians and the singers and all appertaining thereunto.

            We dedicate unto thee, the service of the Sacrament and all the vessels thereof of silver and of gold and of whatsoever material they are constructed.

            We also dedicate the platform upon which the organ stands and all the component parts thereof, together with the organ which we have constructed to assist the sweet singers of Israel in making melody to the Lord our God; the woods and the metals, the bone, the ivory and the leather; the keys, the stops, and the treadles; the levers, the valves and the bellows; and all the other appurtenances and appliances, together with the gilding, the painting, the varnish and the polish thereof; and all the other ornamentation whatsoever, and every particle and fibre thereof -- we dedicate and consecrate it unto thee and set it apart as an instrument for praise and thanksgiving to the Lord God of Israel.

            And we now humbly dedicate unto thee the whole of this Tabernacle, both within and without, from the floor to the ceiling, and from the foundations thereof to the summit of the dome; with all the stairways, porches and galleries, platforms, vestibules and avenues thereof and all whatsoever in any manner appertains thereunto, and we dedicate it and set it apart for the purposes of praise, thanksgiving and worship of the Most High God.

            And we dedicate and consecrate that portion of this house where our president and thy servants now are, to be a holy and sacred place wherein thy servants may stand forth to declare thy words and minister unto thy people in the name of thy Son for ever, and we pray thee to grant that every part thereof may be holy and sacred unto the Lord our God; and we pray also that no unclean thing may be permitted to enter this Tabernacle, but that it may be kept and preserved, with all that pertains thereunto, as a sacred and holy sanctuary wherein the pure in heart may rejoice forever.

            May thy holy angels and ministering spirits be in and round about this habitation, that when thy servants are called upon to stand in these sacred places, to minister unto thy people, the visions of eternity may be open to their view, and they may be filled with the spirit and inspiration of the Holy Ghost and the gift and power of God; and let all thy people who hearken to the words of thy servants drink freely at the fountain of the waters of life, that they may become wise unto salvation and thereby overcome the world and be prepared for an everlasting inheritance in the celestial Kingdom of our God.

            And now, our Father, we humbly ask thee to accept the dedication of this Tabernacle, which we now present to thee, as a humble tribute from thy people, and to let thy blessings rest down upon it and abide therein forever.

            And we ask thee to let thy blessing rest down upon those who shall speak here, and those who shall hear their voices, and upon the recorder, reporters, the singers and the musicians, upon those who administer the sacrament and upon the deacons and the doorkeepers and the ushers and all who in any manner minister and labor therein.

            We also crave thy blessings upon the architects of this building and those who have assisted in erecting it, and upon the designer and constructors of the organ; and upon all those who have assisted in any manner in making and finishing this Tabernacle; upon those who have contributed of their substance for its erection, or for the purchase of anything appertaining thereunto, together with all those who have desired so to do, but who had not the means or opportunity -- may they be richly rewarded with an everlasting inheritance in thy kingdom.

            We dedicate unto thee the works used in the stand for the service of our God, as well as the music books used by the choir. Bless also the chorister, the choir and the organist; inspire them with the Spirit of the living God, that under that inspiration they may produce sweet melody on earth, and so live that with the angelic hosts they may in the heavens be more perfected in sweet, seraphic, melodious harmony.

            Bless thy servant Brigham with health and strength of body and mind, renovate his system from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet, let the Spirit and power of God and the light of revelation be with him continually, and may his strength be according to his duties and the burthen he is required to bear, and grant that the rich blessings of heaven and earth may be poured out upon him and his posterity forever.

            Bless brother Daniel in like manner, that he may indeed be a counsellor and a help to thy servant Brigham, and be clothed upon with the gifts and power of God.

            Bless also the assistant counsellors to thy servant Brigham, that they may be men of wisdom, prudence and judgment, guided constantly by the revelations of thy will, that they may be a comfort and a firm support to thy servant Brigham.

            We pray thee to bless the Twelve Apostles; fill them with the spirit of their office and calling, clothe them with the intelligence of heaven, the light of revelation, and the gift and power of God; let thine angels minister unto them and lead them in the paths of life; make them one with thee and thy son Jesus Christ, with joseph, Hyrum, Heber and Ezra, with Willard, Jedediah and George A., and with all thine ancient Priesthood in the heavens; one with thy servant Brigham and all the holy Priesthood and Saints on the earth; one in purity, holiness, virtue, truth, integrity and honor; one with the Seventies and other branches of thy holy Priesthood in sending the light of thy truth to the utmost limits of the habitable earth; one in building Temples to the Most High and administering to the living and for the dead, and, when they shall be organized in the heavens, be one with the ancient quorums of Twelve, with our Father, and with thy son Jesus and the everlasting Priesthood in administering judgment to the world.

            Bless the Patriarch of thy Church, O our Father; let the spirit and power of the patriarchal office rest upon him, that he may stand forth in the majesty of his calling as presiding patriarch to thy people; let the spirit of his father and grandfather and the Spirit and power of God rest upon him, that he may drink deep of the fountains of life and that its living waters may flow in copious streams from him to thy people, that he may be full of counsel and intelligence, pour rich blessings upon the heads of thy Saints on earth, and dwell with his fathers and the pure in heart in heaven. Let, we pray thee, like blessings rest upon all the patriarchs.

            Bless, we pray thee, also the quorums of the Seventies, and their presidents, with the quickening influence of the Holy Ghost and the power of the living God, that this mighty host of thy priesthood may realize the magnitude of their office and rise up in the majesty of their calling and priesthood, clothed upon with the power of God and burring with the fire of the Holy Ghost, as messengers of God, carry light and salvation to a fallen world.

            Let the High Priests' quorum also be blessed of thee, like unto Seth, Enoch, Abraham, Melchisedec and Moses, Ether, Nephi, Moroni, Alma, Pahoran, and other High Priests of God, that they may approach before thee acceptably, learn the laws of life, and govern, preside and counsel, as men of God in former days, clothed with the same priesthood and power.

            Bless the High Council of this and other stakes of Zion; may they be full of the spirit of wisdom, justice and judgment, and, under the inspiration of the Most High, be quick to discern the right, wise to admonish the wrong doer, free from all bias; and with integrity, truth, lowliness, patience, and fidelity, administer impartial justice to all.

            Bless, we pray thee, the Elders and their presidents with the power of their office and calling, that the spirit thereof may rest upon them, that they may be diligent and faithful in the performance of their duties, and be apt to teach, full of integrity and wisdom, and, under the influence of the Holy Ghost, be a blessing to their fellowmen. Bless also the Elders of every quorum who may be absent on foreign missions among the nations of the earth; let the power and spirit of their several callings rest upon them; fill them with the light of revelation and the quickening power and inspiration of the Holy Ghost, that as swift messengers to the nations they may, like the angels of God, administer mercy to the penitent, lead those who discern the truth in the paths of righteousness, and bring the honest in heart to Zion, with songs and everlasting joy; comfort and sustain their families, fill their hearts with joy and consolation, and lead them in the paths of life.

            Bless, we pray thee, the Presiding Bishop, and strengthen him in his declining years, and also his counsellors and assistants, and all the members of the Bishops' quorum, and assist them in the performance of their various duties; fill them with the spirit of Zion; may they indeed feel as fathers over the flock of God; may their bowels yearn over the poor, the needy, the sick and the afflicted, the widow and orphan; quickened by the Spirit, may they be prompt and diligent in gathering the tithes and offerings of thy people and administering the ordinances of thy house, in carrying out the counsels of thy servant Brigham, in building the Temples of the Lord, and in fulfilling all the duties of their holy priesthood and calling.

            Bless also the Priests, Teachers an Deacons with the spirit and life of their several offices, and with the power of God; fill them with humility, wisdom, diligence, prudence and energy, that as wise stewards they may be proved faithful to the sacred trusts reposed in them, and be shining lights in their day and generation.

            Bless the President and his council of this stake of Zion; may they indeed be men of God, filled with the spirit of Zion and of the Presidency, of counsel, justice, and judgment, quick to discern between good and evil, that the people may be made glad in the administration of thy servants.

            Bless, we pray thee, all that are assembled here as well as all the inhabitants of these mountains who fear thee, together with their wives, their children, their houses, fields, gardens, their flocks and herds, their orchards and vineyards; and may the earth yield abundance for the sustenance of thy Saints, and rebuke we pray thee the devourers for our sakes.

            Bless the co-operative institutions and those who have entered into the United Order according to thy word, the Relief Societies, the Retrenchment Societies, the Sunday Schools and all who are seeking in any way to be more united, to live their religion and keep the commandments of God. Let the comforting influence of thy Holy Spirit rest upon the Saints, and the quickening power of the Holy Ghost unite thy people in sympathy, affection, kindness and interest. May thy people, O God, be one -- one with Jesus as he is one with the Father; one with the ancient Patriarchs, Apostles and Prophets; one with the Holy Priesthood, that have lived in the various ages of time; one with Joseph and Brigham, with the Twelve and the holy priesthood now on the earth; one in principle, doctrine, and ordinances; one in spirit and feeling and interest; one in temporal and one in spiritual things, a band of brethren; one in rolling forth the kingdom, united together by eternal, indisputable ties; one in gathering thine elect, in building Temples and administering to the living and for the dead; one in building up the Zion of our God; one with all the redeemed and al the angelic hosts, in introducing the principles and laws of life to all of Adam's race and ushering in the millennial reign.

            Be merciful unto thine ancient covenant people O Lord, that in Thine own due time the spirit of grace and supplication may rest upon them, that they may be gathered from all nations whither thou hast scattered them, that they may possess the inheritance of their fathers, know their Redeemer, and that Jerusalem may become the throne of the Lord.

            Remember, O Lord, in mercy the Lamanites who have wandered from thy ways, and to whose fathers thou promised that thou wouldest renew thy covenants to their seed. We thank thee that thou hast commenced to give unto them dreams and visions and they have begun to feel after thee. We thank thee, O God, for thy mercies to thine ancient covenant people of this land, for thou hast said, "That when thy seed shall begin to know these things, it shall be a sign unto them that they may know that the work of the Father hath already commenced unto the fulfilling of the covenant which he hath made unto the people who are of the house of Israel." We recognize thy hand to these things, and pray for a continuance of thy further mercies towards thy people.

            Bless all men who love righteousness and desire to do good in this nation and in all nations, and lead them in the paths of righteousness, especially those who are the friends of thy saints and kingdom.

            We now dedicate this house, ourselves, wives, children, houses, lands and all we possess unto thee and ask thee to accept of us and of this our prayer, and the dedication of this house to thee in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

_____

 

ELDER ORSON HYDE

referred to the flood of light and comfort in the prayer that had just been read. We as a people were called upon to repent, and it behoved us to submit to the ways of the Lord. When the Holy Ghost melted and subdued the rigid condition of the heart of man, he could then be fashioned into a vessel of honor, fitted for the Master's use.

ELDER ORSON PRATT

said while listening to the dedication prayer his mind had reflected upon the many dedications previously offered in days of old. Such dedications, offered up by the priesthood of the Son of God were always attended by the manifestations of the power and goodness of God, whether seen and felt by the naked eye or not. How often we had experienced quiet sensations of joy and gladness, when convened as at present, which language utterly failed us to describe. In the days of Kirtland, in the Temple, many had the visions of eternity unfolded to them, angels were seen, and prophecies were uttered, that had gradually been fulfilling since that time. It was in that temple the people were blessed beyond anything for many generations past. It was in that temple that Joseph, the prophet of the last days, received keys and endowments that pertained to the great latter-day work. God was with his servant, with his everlasting priesthood, and his blessing was resting upon his people, his bowels of compassion were moved towards his people.

[Orson Pratt]

[DNW 24:799, 1/12/76, p 4; JD 18:131]

REMARKS

BY ELDER ORSON PRATT DELIVERED AT THE

Forty-sixth [Forty-fifth] Semi-annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Saturday Morning, Oct. 9th, 1875.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      It is with peculiar feelings that I arise on this occasion to speak a few words to this vast assembly. While listening to the sacred words of the prayer that has been offered up this forenoon in the dedication of this large building as a place of worship, and the dedication of the ministry who administer therein, my heart has been full of joy and satisfaction, and, while listening to these glorious words, my mind was led to reflect upon dedications of houses and tabernacles of the Most High in former ages of the world, and also upon the peculiar manifestations oftentimes connected with those dedications.

      The Lord our God accepts the dedication, by his servants the Priesthood, of those things which he has ordained and established; and though he may not always manifest that acceptance in a visible manner, so that all the people may see, yet there is a peculiar manifestation that we can feel if we can not see, which whispers to us that God is manifest in his works, ordinances and institutions, and in his own buildings that are built with an eye single to his glory, and in his name. It is an easy matter for the Great Jehovah to manifest himself, if he pleases so to do, upon a mountain or hill, or in the secret closet; or while we slumber upon our pillows by night, the visions of eternity may be opened to our minds, and we may receive great consolation, joy and peace, through the manifestations given us by the gift and power of the Holy Ghost. But then, the Lord has oftentimes laid out a great work for his people to perform, and when that work is performed by the sons of men with all their hearts and might, and with all the strength, ability and power that God has given them, it is then that he shows forth his approbation from the heavens, and fills them with a peculiar feeling of joy and gladness that it is impossible for language to describe. How often have we felt these peculiar feelings and sensations pervading our minds, when we have assembled on occasions something similar to the present one!

      I look back to the first Temple that was built in this generation by command of the Most High, some forty years ago, in the State of Ohio, in Kirtland, according to the pattern which God showed by vision. When that was completed, and the servants of God were called in from the east and west, and north, and south, and entered that sacred edifice, God was there, his angels were there, the Holy Ghost was in the midst of the people, the visions of the Almighty were opened to the minds of the servants of the living God; the vail was taken off from the minds of many; they saw the heavens opened; they beheld the angels of God; they heard the voice of the Lord; and they were filled from the crown of their Leads to the soles of their feet with the power and inspiration of the Holy Ghost, and uttered forth prophecies in the midst of that congregation, which have been fulfilling from that day to the present time.

      It was in that Temple that the visions of the Almighty were opened to our great Prophet, Seer and Revelator, Joseph Smith, wherein the future was portrayed before him, wherein keys were committed to him in relation to this great Latter-day dispensation, and the power of God was made manifest through the holy Priesthood sent down from heaven. In that Temple, set apart by the servants of God, and dedicated by a prayer that was written by inspiration, the people were blessed as they never had been blessed for generations and generations that were passed and gone. Why? Because that work was of God. God had raised up a mighty Prophet; God had brought to light great and glorious revelations; God had sent down the holy Priesthood from the heavens; the Lord our God had established his kingdom on the earth; he, therefore, gave unto his servants power, wisdom and strength that they might administer among the people and do them good.

      Since that time buildings have been reared to the name of the Most High, and the Priesthood have been called together, and the councils of the Priesthood have been blessed, endowments have been made manifest, and ordinances of endowments, keys of endowments, signs and tokens of endowments, and principles that were calculated to give joy and to impart happiness, for the Lord had commanded, that in the midst of Zion, life for ever more should be poured out upon the fallen sons and daughters of his people.

      Now another occasion is afforded us of dedicating a large and commodious Tabernacle, which has been built to the name of the Most High. God is here; God is with his servants, with the quorums of the everlasting Priesthood, and his Spirit is here; and the prayer that has been offered up is accepted by the heavens, and we rejoice and give praise to God who has redeemed us, who sits upon his throne, whose bowels of mercy yearn towards all of his sons and daughters; whose bosom is filled with compassion towards all his people. We praise his name, and though we have not the opportunity of giving expression to the joy and thanksgiving of our hearts, still we feel to say—"Hallelujah to the Lord God Almighty, who sits upon his throne, who reigns for ever and ever, for he will bless his Zion, he will extend forth her borders, he will pour out his Spirit upon his ministry, and he will fulfill and accomplish his work unto the uttermost. Amen.

 

ELDER GEO. Q. CANNON

said our conference thus far had been very interesting to him, and if the many items of instruction imparted were treasured up in our minds, and put in practice, they would prove very beneficial in their results. some duties, however, stood prominent and especially worthy of our attention. One was that of "self-preservation." God had blessed us with a goodly land. He had made it fertile, and blessed us also with many other favors. The United Order was now preached to us, to amalgamate and unite us together more closely than we had ever been before. Individual stewardships had been suggested as the most feasible way to unite the hearts and interests of the people, and was now urged by President Young and the brethren to be the policy for universal adoption throughout the Territory. We must become a self-sustaining people by introducing and encouraging every branch of industry, and by combining our means we would have all that was necessary to carry on every manufacturing industry that we chose to start. This was one great object of the United Order. He then referred to the suicidal policy which we as a people had been pursuing for years, and which if persisted in, would always keep us poor and dependant upon foreign people. We ought not to have one idle man or woman in this country. We did not now supply our own wants.

            He spoke with pleasure of the 37 branches of industry that had been introduced in Brigham City, and unless outside settlements bestirred themselves and entered into similar arrangements, they would be under the necessity of paying tribute to those at Brigham City, by selling them the hides and other raw materials, and receiving them back in pay when in a manufactured condition.

            He then energetically exhorted the congregation to wake up to this all-absorbing subject, that we might become a self-sustaining and prosperous people. France and Germany he mentioned as countries which, by their home industries and skilled labors, had placed their people in a position of wealth and independence -- "An idle man's brains were the Devil's workshop," and if our young men were suitably educated in well directed labor, many would be saved from habits of intemperance and rowdyism.

[George Q. Cannon]

[DNW 24:660, 11/17/75, p 4; JD 18:103]

DISCOURSE

BY ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON, DELIVERED AT THE

Forty-Sixth [Forty-Fifth] Semi-annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, on the Morning of Saturday, Oct. 8th [9th], 1875.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      Our Conference, thus far, has been exceedingly interesting to me, and I have no doubt it has been to every one present. We have heard a great many ideas and counsels, and have received instruction which, if treasured up by us and carried into practical effect in our lives, will have a very beneficial result in the midst of this people. There has never been any lack of instruction among the Latter-day Saints. I think it was President Wells who said the other day that he sometimes thought we had too much preaching and teaching. I have no doubt myself that the ease with which we obtain instruction, the abundance of it, and the readiness with which it is imparted have made very important counsels that would, it carried out, have a very beneficial effect upon the entire people, seem cheap and unimportant. There are some duties, however, that have been dwelt upon with considerable plainness in order that they may be kept permanently before the minds of the people. The leading points among these are those which relate to our self-preservation, because if we do not adopt and carry out in our lives principles that will preserve us, the gathering together of the people in these valleys and all the labors that have been expended in our behalf will not amount to much. God has blessed us with a good land; he has multiplied upon us many favors, that, when we came here, some of us, at least, did not expect to enjoy. He has given the land a fertility that we never dreamed of. I say that we never dreamed of, but I will speak for myself, and say that I never thought that this land could have been made so fruitful as it has been. Others, probably, who had had more experience, might have entertained different feelings. I have heard President Young say a great many times that he saw all that has been done, when we first came here he saw what the result would be. But the land was barren, and the fertility that it now possesses, could scarcely then have been expected. God has given unto us this and many other favors, and as a people we should wisely appropriate them for the extension of the principles of truth and righteousness.

      I was very much pleased yesterday with the remarks which were made in relation to the principles of the United Order. This is a subject which I have thought of considerably, and it is one which I think ought to appeal very strongly to us. The efforts which are being made to unite us and bring us together, to blend our interests and to amalgamate us and make us one are of the utmost importance to us, and I suppose that a great many of the Latter-day Saints who have come to this Conference have had the desire in their hearts that something might be said in relation to the course that they should adopt in order to become more united. I think I made a statement, about a year ago, that many of the people were far more willing than many of their leaders to enter upon a system having that end in view. I still entertain that same opinion. I believe that the bulk of the Latter-day Saints are anxious to understand what they shall do, and are willing to carry out, when directed, any plan that shall he suggested to them. Several plans have been suggested, but there have been feelings of one kind and another and difficulties interposed to prevent the general carrying out of any plan. However, the President has felt of late, and has thus spoken to those who have been immediately around him and to several others, that it would be well for us to carryout the plan that was spoken of yesterday, and that has been referred to a good many times of late, namely, individual stewardships. There is something about this which appeals strongly to most men's minds. They can see how this can be effected; they can see that under such a system what are called individual rights might be better preserved, and property not be absorbed in a way to cause loss or waste, and yet the great principle be carried out that is aimed at, namely, the uniting of the hearts of the people in one.

      We have had meetings here in this city, at which these principles have been laid before a number of the Latter-day Saints, all of whom have seemed to receive the ideas with satisfaction, and have felt that they suited them exactly, and they were willing to do that which was required of them. And I believe that this feeling will be extended throughout all the Territory and throughout all these mountains; for wherever we have gone this summer, laboring among and talking to the people in relation to their economy, and the management of their temporal affairs, we have found a great willingness manifested on the part of the people to do whatever they were counselled to do, and to carry out the principles to the extent of their ability, and I believe that this will be the result.

      We, as a people, must change our policy if we become the people which we aim at, and which we believe God designs that we shall be. There is nothing clearer than this to every thinking mind. We can see very plainly that we must be a self-sustaining people, that we must manufacture in our own midst, to the greatest possible extent, that which we consume, that is necessary for our comfort and convenience. Unless we take this course, it is an impossibility that we can become the people that we design to be, and that God in his revelations has predicted we shall be. No people who are dependent upon others can become a great people. A people who are constantly producing for others to manufacture, never can become a great people. If we produce wool, and hides, and grain, and other things from the earth, and send them away to be manufactured, we shall constantly pay tribute to other people, and the object of the United Order is to stop this. We have skill here, for there is probably no community on this continent, of our numbers, which has as many skilled artizans as are to be found here. Men who are familiar with every branch of industry almost float can be named are in these mountains. But we have not capital; yet by combining our means we can obtain all the capital that is necessary; and then, if there can be a public sentiment developed here which will induce the people to sustain these manufactures, the whole question is solved, and we are placed upon a pinnacle of greatness that we never can attain to unless we pursue this policy.

      You take a pound of wool, and it costs what? You can buy it here in our market for twenty-five or twenty-six cents. You send that pound of wool to the Eastern States, and let the looms of the East manufacture it, the workmen of the East bestow their labor upon it, and that pound of wool comes back to us manfactured into cloth, and contrast the price of that wool before it is manufactured, with its cost when it is manufactured, and you can form some idea of how much we have to pay the skilled men of other communities. A case was given to us yesterday. A hide was sold to a purchaser who sent it from this Territory. It came back to Cache County, where the brand, still legible on the leather, was recognized as one of their own brands. Now the difference between the price obtained for the hide in its raw state, and the cost of it when manufactured into leather, was the amount that we paid to some manufacturer in the East for changing that raw hide into leather suitable to be worn.

      What, then, ought to be our policy? It ought to be to bestow all the skill and labor possible upon everything we produce. Not one pound of wheat ought to go out of this Territory until it has received all the labor possible to be bestowed upon it, or, in other words, until it is made into the finest of flour. This is the true policy for us. To send our wheat away for other men to grind and take a tell off, and then send it back to us manufactured into flour, why it is suicidal! To send our hides away for somebody else to manufacture them into leather, and boots and shoes, when we have tanners, bark, and all the material and skill necessary to do the same lying idly here! why, it is folly in the highest sense, or in the lowest sense, whichever you please to call it, for us to pursue a course of this kind. And so with everything that we have here. We are probably sending away a million pounds of wool this season. We have not machinery enough to manufacture all our wool, but we can manufacture a great deal, but our machinery will not manufacture all we need to supply our present wants, and a million pounds of wool go east to be manufactured, and we have to pay manufacturers for the cloth made from that wool, and we are thus paying tribute to other communities. And so it is with everything that we use that is manufactured abroad. When you buy a jar of pickles, a gallon of molasses, or canned corn, tomatoes, or fruit, or anything of this kind, you are paying your money to sustain communities afar off, while your own people are suffering for want of labor.

      We ought not to have an idle man, woman or child in these valleys. Says one—"But we can not afford to pay the prices that are asked for home-manufactured goods." Let me ask, Can we afford to sit idle? Can we afford to do nothing, and to pay money to, and employ others? I say that we can not; but we are doing it all the time. We are bringing wagons and carriages into this country, when we have abundance of skill here to manufacture them. And the same is true of many other things which we might manufacture and supply our own wants.

      Now what is the object of the United Order? It is to enable us to appropriate the means which God has given us to manufacture those things that are necessary for our own sustenance. Let us take the illustration that is afforded us by Brigham City, brother Lorenzo Snow's place of residence. In that little town, numbering probably three thousand people, they have over thirty branches of manufacture. They have a circulating medium of their own—a little nation, as it were—and the workmen are paid in that medium, and with it they buy what they want of the various articles which they manufacture; and by the combination that has been effected, they are gradually growing to a degree of independence that is unknown almost everywhere else. But the great difficulty there, is, that the masses of the people do not see their own interests, but many of them are as blind there as they are elsewhere, and a few wise men have to take the lead and the responsibility, and to labor and contrive to maintain these branches of manufacture. But what will be the result if this be continued? All the surrounding country, unless the people do the same, will be paying tribute to Brigham City and its manufacturers, and every youth in Brigham City will be learning some branch of skilled handicraft, and the rawhides and everything in its raw state will be brought to Brigham City, and Brigham City will pay in manufactured articles which its artizans have made, and upon which they have a profit; and if that were to go on, Brigham City would, in a little while, own all the surrounding country.

      I mention this as an illustration of what can be done, and what we ought to do. We ought not to produce more wheat than we need for our own use, that is, we should not depend upon exporting wheat, we can not get enough for it, it does not pay us. But we should turn our attention to other articles and to manufactures, There is Bear Lake country, abounding in timber, the men of which live nearly half the year housed up. If they would organize wisely, and combine their capital, skill and labor, they could manufacture everything out of wood that we need in this country, and they have the best of timber there to do it with. But instead of that their time is spent during the winter in feeding their cattle and doing such chores as are needed around their places; and during the remaining five months they are worked exceedingly hard. This is impolitic and unwise, and if persisted in would be called bad management.

      These are the lessons that have been taught us all the day long. It is not a new thing, but is something as old as our residence in these mountains. I have heard such instructions as these from my boyhood, when we first came here. But we have been slow to hear and carry out these practical lessons of wisdom that have been delivered to us by the servants of God, and have been, to some extent, reluctant, fearful and suspicious that, if we did these things, somebody would be a little more benefitted than we. Now it is time for a reformation. I do not wonder at the Lord calling upon his servants to ask the people to go and be baptized, and rebaptized into a different spirit, a spirit to obey the counsel that is given. All of you have proved by your experience the wisdom of this counsel. We know that we have a man leading us who has more wisdom in managing the affairs of a community than any man on the American Continent or anywhere else that we know anything of. He has proved this; it is no boast, it is a fact that is recognized by thousands outside of this Territory. Those who are unprejudiced in other parts of the nation see the results of the policy that has been urged upon the people of this Territory; and if that policy were carried out we would soon become an independent people, we would soon be full of wealth and means, and instead of seeing men walking around with their hands in their pockets, because of not having work, there would not be an idle man in the Territory. For any portion of our people to be idle is wrong, and there is something radically wrong about a system that admits of or has a tendency to keep a portion of the community in idleness. There is no necessity for such a state of things, and we are to blame if it exists here. If every man and woman worked, and every child worked as soon as it is capable, after having received the necessary schooling, you would soon see the difference there would be in this country in our means and appliances. It is skill, and that skill well applied, that contributes to the greatness of a nation. Look at France, to-day. France was burdened by an enormous debt, laid upon her by Germany, and which Germany hoped would cripple her for years. But France, with her wonderful industrial resources, has a stream of wealth flowing into her to-day from all the nations because of her taste and skill. By these means she has paid her debt, and Germany is alarmed at the rapidity with which it has been paid. To what is it due? It is due to French skill, to their workmen of taste and ability, and when people elsewhere want fabrics of the greatest elegance they send to France for them. A lady in fashionable society in Washington, or in leading eastern cities generally, does not consider herself dressed in the leading style, unless her dresses, as well as the materials of which they are made, are manufactured in France. The highest fashion demands that her dress shall be made in Paris. And look at Geneva, it is another of the workshops of the world. You travel through Switzerland, and you will find that in her secluded valleys the people, in their little cabins, manufacture the finest kind of watches and clocks, and other articles that are valuable and rare, which are sold to all the nations round, and the skill of her people has made Switzerland a comparatively rich country.

      We have skill here, and we have materials here that we should utilize, instead of letting them go to waste. I have heard parties say, and it is true, that there is more waste in Utah Territory than in any country they had ever seen in their lives. I have heard men of experience say this, and I believe it. We have got so much that we waste that which God has given unto us, instead of using it for the purpose for which it was designed.

      Now, my brethren and sisters, you who have come to this Conference, do try and put into operation the teachings that you hear. It is no use talking unless we go to work. To say after Conference—"Oh, what a good Conference we have had," "What excellent teachings we had!" and then forget all about them, and do nothing practical connected with them, would be folly in the extreme. When you get a principle try and carry it out, try and make it practical in your lives. Endeavor, in your communities to organize branches of labor. Let the Bishops and the men who have wisdom provide means of employment for every man and every woman in their settlements and wards, and let their brains be exercised, as President Young's has been, for the good of the whole. We should use the power which God has given us in these directions in endeavoring to lift ourselves up from our abject condition, and not think—"I must have five dollars or four dollars for a day's work;" but go to work if you cannot get as much as that. We should all be employed in doing something every day. We should train our boys and girls to work; the best education that we can give them is to give them skill and teach them habits of industry, not forgetting, of course, the principles of our religion, without which they cannot be truly great. You know the old saying—"An idle man's brain is the devil's workshop;" and it is so. If you want a good people, a people who can be easily managed, a temperate people and a sensible people, have an industrious people. But have an idle people and they become intemperate, and I believe that many of our young men, because they have no opportunities to develop their energies, take to drinking, chewing tobacco, and rowdyism, whereas, if labor were provided for them, and their energies were rightly directed, they would be useful members of society and be ornaments to their father's houses and to their friends. Youth is full of energy, and wise rulers will utilize, husband and direct it for the good of the whole, and not let it be expended on foolish objects or in a wasteful manner. This is one of the difficulties with us. We have plenty of energy? our young men are full of it, and our land is full of young men. Their energies should be rightly directed, and they be trained to be useful men in society; and the girls should be trained to be useful women in society.

      That God may bless us in our Conference, and help us to treasure up the counsels that we hear, and to carry them out practically, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

            The choir sang an anthem--

"Jerusalem, my glorious home."

            Benediction by Elder ERASTUS SNOW.

_____

[9 Oct, 2 pm]

[DNW 24:585, 10/13/75, p 9]

FOURTH DAY.

_____

Saturday, Oct. 9, 2 p.m.

            The choir sang--

Hark! the song of jubilee,
Loud as mighty thunders roar.

            Prayer by Bishop E. D. WOOLLEY.

            The choir sang--

Great is the Lord, 'tis good to praise,
His high and holy name.

ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON

submitted the general authorities of the church to the conference, who were unanimously sustained, as follows:

            Brigham Young, Prophet, Seer and Revelator, and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in all the world.

            Daniel H. Wells, counsellor to President Brigham Young.

            Lorenzo Snow, Brigham Young, Jr., Albert Carrington, John W. Young, and George Q. Cannon, Assistant Counsellors to President Brigham Young.

            John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Sen., Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Jr., Joseph F. Smith and Albert Carrington, members of the Quorum of the Twelve.

            John Smith, Patriarch of the Church.

            George B. Wallace, President of this stake of Zion, and William H. Folsom and John T. Caine his counsellors.

            William Eddington, Thomas E. Jeremy, John H. Rumell, Miner G. Attwood, Dimick B. Huntington, Theodore McKean, Hosea Stout, Milando Pratt, J. R. Winder, Geo. J. Taylor, Henry Dinwoody, Millen Attwood, A. M. Cannon, Joseph Horne, Andrew W. Winburg and George Nebeker, members of the High Council.

            Elias Smith, President of the High Priests' Quorum, and Edward Snelgrove and Elias Morris, his counsellors

            Joseph Young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Herriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldridge, Jacob Gates and John Van Cott, members of the first seven President of the Seventies.

            E. W. Davis, President of the Elders' Quorum, and W. W. Taylor and Junis F. Wells his counsellors.

            Edward Hunter, Presiding Bishop; Leonard W. Hardy and Robert T. Burton, his counsellors.

            Samuel G. Ladd, President of the Priest's Quorum; Wm. McLaghlin and James Latham, his counselors.

            Adam Spiers, President of the Teachers' Quorum, Martin Lenzi and Henry I. Doremus, his counsellors.

            James Leach, President of the Deacons' quorum; John H. Pickneil and Thos. C. Jones, his counselors.

            Brigham Young, Trustee in Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

            Albert Carrington, President of the Perpetual Emigration Fund to gather the poor.

            Truman O. Angell, Architect of the Church.

            Orson Pratt, Historian and General Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff, his assistant.

            George Goddard was sustained as Clerk of the Conference.

PRESIDENT JOSEPH YOUNG

made a few remarks on the general principles of the gospel, and particularly recommended the brethren to take care of their breadstuffs. Many would remember the good counsels and instructions received during this conference, ponder over them and put them in practice.

            He also exhorted parents to govern their families in kindness; children did not need harsh treatment. He spoke against the infliction of corporeal punishment. There was no necessity for it. What parent could refuse anything in reason to a child who took pleasure in doing his parents' will? So it was with the almighty towards his children. If we would only keep his commandments, he would withhold no good thing from us. We had got to come down to the bed rock of economy as a people. Every boy and girl in our midst ought to be engaged in some kind of business.

ELDER GEO. Q. CANNON

read the following names of persons called to be missionaries, the appointments being unanimously sustained by the conference:

Junis F Wells, Salt Lake City
Rulon Wells, " "
William W Taylor, " "
Hyrum W Taylor " "
J R Winder, jun., " "
Lorum Pratt, " "
Lorus Pratt, " "
Joseph Standing, " "
John Taylor Rich, " "
Ed Hoagland, " "
Isaac Groo " "
Mark Croxall, " "
Hamilton G Park, " "
Geo Teasdale, " "
Jos F Simmons, " "
Douglas Swan, " "
James Sharp, " "
Charles Burton, " "
Moroni H McAllister, "
John D H McAllister, "
E W East, " "
Feramorz Little, " "
William J Box, " "
Theodore McKean, " "
J C Sandbert, " "
Eric Larson, " "
E F Branting, " "
Em McLachlan, " "
Jesse Fox, " "
Martin Lenzie, " "
John Nasters, " "
James S Brown, " "
George White, " "
Mahoni Pratt, " "
David M Stuart, Ogden
D H Peery, "
Waler Thomson, "
Hans Jorgenson, Huntsville
Oliver G Snow, Brigham City
Lorenzo Snow, jun, "
B. F. Cummings, Jun., "
Eli Pierce, Brigham "
Willis Booth, "
John Jones "
Alvin Nichols, jr., "
Clinton Brownson, North Willow Creek
Samuel McIntyre, Tintic
Daniel Roson, Harrisville
John Thompson, Riverdale
John Dorins, Fort Ephram
John A Anderson, "
Hans Funk, Richmond
Ernest Tietjen, Santaquin
Ben Jonson, Bear River City
Morten Mortensen, Scipio
Seth Tanner, Payson
Niels Boberg, Draperville
Thos, E Murphy, Richville, Morgan co.
Daniel W Jones
A W Ivins
Ammon M Tenny
Willey C Jones
James L Stewart
Heleman Pratt
Robert H Smith
Luther C. Burnham, Cache co.
Israel J Clark "
Cyrus Clark "
David P Rainey, "
W B Hendricks, "
John D. Holladay, Utah Co
Isaac Bullock, " "
John W Deal, " "
J. Morgan, " "
Horace Alexander, " "
Lyman L Woods, Springville
Joseph M Thomas, Spanish Fork
Thomas Harris, Provo
Wm Smoot;, jun, "
David Cluff, "
Isaiah M Coombs, Payson
Wm M Evans, Nephi
Knud Brown "
Homer Call, Willard City
B P Walffenstyn, Price City
J D Alphin, Pine Valley
W P Sargeant, "
James W Boy, Virgen City
Thos A Wheeler, South Cottonwood.
Henry Florence, Porterville
Shadrack Empey, Lehi
Albert D Thurber, Richfield
Sven Nilson, Tooele
Samuel F Lee, Tooele City
David W. Caldwell, Rush Valley
Thomas Callister, Fillmore
Platte Lyman, "
W Paxman, American Fork
Hans Thunueson, Gunnison
Rasmus Neilson, Mantus
Erastus W Snow, St George
Miles P Romney, St George
C N Smith, Rockville
Dixon H Greer, Waldsburg

PRESIDENT B. YOUNG

addressed the congregation.

ELDER GEO. Q. CANNON

announced that a meeting of the priesthood would be held this evening at 7 o'clock in the old Tabernacle.

            The Conference was adjourned till to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock.

            The choir sang an anthem--

How beautiful are thy towers.

            Benediction by Elder ORSON HYDE.

_____

[9 Oct, 7 pm]

[DNW 24:585, 10/13/75, p 9]

Saturday, Oct. 9, 7 p.m.

            A meeting of the Priesthood was held in the Old Tabernacle, President D. H. Wells presiding. The Audience was addressed by Elders Geo. Q. Cannon, John Taylor, W. Woodruff and President D. H. Wells, in an earnest and instructive manner.

_____

[10 Oct, 10 am]

[DNW 24:585, 10/13/75, p 9]

FIFTH DAY.

_____

Sunday, 10 a. m., Oct 10.

            The choir sang--

The time is nigh, that happy ;time,
 That great, expected, blessed day.

            Prayer by Elder ERASTUS SNOW.

            The choir sang--

With all my powers of heart and tongue
I'll praise my Maker in my song.

ELDER LORENZO SNOW

asked how many of us were living up to the light and privileges bestowed upon us in the gospel which the servants of God had delivered unto us. The Saints could bear witness that the gifts of the gospel were enjoyed in their midst when they yielded obedience to the ordinances of the gospel, and still continued in proportion to the faith and obedience of the Saints. No church where these gifts of the Holy Ghost were not enjoyed had any claim to the church of Jesus Christ. The system of salvation which we had received was devised in eternity, and whenever introduced among the children of men was always accompanied with the miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost, having prophets, apostles, evangelists, &c., to lead and guide the people. He then referred to the high destiny of those who magnified both priesthoods. We were born in the image of God and were therefore susceptible of receiving line upon line and precept upon precept, until we were prepared to enjoy a fullness of glory. He hoped the Saints would receive the United Order, and go to and establish industries, holy towns and settlements, that not only a people but the earth also might be prepared for the coming of the Son of Man.

ELDER F. D. RICHARDS

spoke of the immense good that would result to the people if the instructions of this conference were carried out, also of the danger of riches, which generally tended to harden the hearts of those who possessed them, and render them less pliable in the hands of the priesthood. He referred to the great labors of the early apostles of this dispensation, who went forth in poverty and labored in the vineyard, and whose labors were so abundantly blessed of the Lord in their ministry, that thousands now here received the Gospel through them. The few who had been made rich in the midst of this people should certainly be willing to devote their means in that way that would render them benefactors to the community by finding employment for them.

            He then spoke on the subject of the United Order, showing that the principle of union was eternal and had existed in different ages of the world.

            He also dwelt on the principle of obedience, and the terrible consequences of disobedience.

            He also advocated the rigid observance of he Sabbath day.

[Franklin D. Richards]

[DNW 24:772, 1/5/76, p 4]

DISCOURSE

BY ELDER FRANKLIN D. RICHARDS, DELIVERED AT THE

Forty-sixth [Forty-fifth] Semi-annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning, Oct. 11th [10th], 1875

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

WE are blessed at this Conference with a very large amount of teaching and instruction of a most interesting and important character, which, if accepted and adopted as the rule of our conduct, will prove of great benefit to us individually, and of vast benefit to us collectively. but it is with many of these instructions as the Savior once said to some who came to him and inquired about a certain matter. Said he--"If you will receive it this is the Elias which was to come." So it is with these precious instructions -- if we will receive them they will be to us as a people of great assistance in enabling us to wake up from the slumbers which many of us have indulged in, and to engage in a degree of usefulness that will make our lives profitable unto us and others.

      The work of the Lord, ever progressing, ever advancing, brings us, from time to tome, new and peculiar features, of faith and doctrine, and rules of life and conduct, for our consideration. And this is one reason why the gospel presents such a continued growing and increasing attachment and fascination to the Latter-day Saints -- an interest which no other people feel, because they do not have professions of faith which increase, develop, and, in their tendency, bring their adherents and devotees nearer to the knowledge of God, or to the perfection of practice in their faith; and hence our minds are continually fed with something different and varied, yet a constituent part of the great whole, that leads the people forward, increasing from faith to faith and from knowledge to knowledge, and, if living to that knowledge, to an increased ability to carry it out acceptably to God, and profitably to the interests of his kingdom.

      There are some of our brethren who seem to think and feel and take it rather hard, the way that the word of the Lord and the counsel of his servants come forth unto them. I refer to our brethren who have made to themselves wealth and accumulated the means and comforts of life by trading and dealing in the midst of God's people. It seems to be now as it was in days past. The Savior himself understood the most intricate workings of the human heart, and comprehended the most insidious devices of the adversary of souls, and also the ways and means by which he, like a roaring lion, sought whom he could consume and destroy. The Saviour said, in his day -- "How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!" Now why is it so very difficult? We see and hear, in our own day, that it is hard, difficult, for a portion of our brethren to conform themselves to that mode of life that will enable them to secure to themselves blessings in the Kingdom of God. How is it, I ask myself, and why? And when I reflect upon the answer it comes in this wise -- Have not they who find it this difficult to conform to the requirements of heaven through the priesthood accumulated their wealth from God's people? Yes. And have we not heard, during this Conference, from the mouth of President Young, Elder Woodruff and others, of the deep sufferings in which the elders went forth in the beginning and gathered up the people from the four quarters of the earth? And do we not know that this people, which constitute the inhabitants of Utah, have been gathered here by the labors of the Presidency, the Twelve Apostles, and the elders whom they have chosen to assist them? Certainly we do. The building up of the Territory of Utah is the fruit of the labors of the priesthood of the Son of God; and the people that have come here, and who compose the population of this Territory are they who have obeyed the gospel at the risk and frequently at the loss of all temporal blessings which their employers or their rulers could divest them of on their accepting its holy principles. A great many have been brought here by the charity and aid of their abler brethren and sisters, who, like themselves, once were poor and destitute, but who, after, reaching here, gathered around them the comforts of life, and, by their donations, aided in bringing multitudes hither who, but for the assistance thus rendered, must have been in Babylon to-day.

      Now, seeing that some of our brethren have amassed to themselves riches by trading and dealing with this vast multitude of people gathered by the labors of the priesthood, is it any more than right and proper that God and his people should ask of them to use their means so as most effectually to bless His people and bring to pass His purposes? Not as some would have it -- that the means thus acquired should be sown broadcast or thrown away among the people, not at all; but let the owners of this wealth acknowledge the hand of God in enabling them to accumulate it, and now let it make of them benefactors in the midst of the people, by taking to themselves the same spirit that President Young has poured forth during this conference, and, with him, seek to bless the house of Israel. And let the people, from this day on, add to this means their prayers and blessings for you, and let yourselves and your substance be hallowed and consecrated to the service of God and his people, that what you have thus accumulated may exalt you in the midst of the Saints and give them to see that by this you will do them the greater service and administer more abundant good unto them. by so doing you can identify yourselves with God's people, and yourselves and all that He has given can be made useful to the greatest extent in advancing the Redeemer's Kingdom, while the prayers and blessings of a host and the blessings of the priesthood can yet be bestowed upon you, and you can be an exception to that saying -- "How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!"

      But if, on the other hand, this wealth so acquired, is held for the purpose of gratifying a vain pride, and to accumulate a further abundance of this world's goods, that they may be consumed upon the lusts of those who possess them, their interests must be separate from those of God's people and they cannot be saved with them. There are men of wealth among us whom I deeply respect, and I desire, if possible, that they and all they are and have should be saved in the kingdom of God. But I ask you all, as men of understanding and brains, you who have been able to make this money, if you use this means for some foreign, outside purpose, and not for the interests of God's kingdom, or for the advancement of his people, how can you go with them into the inheritance of the Saints of light and be blessed with all the blessings that are to be bestowed upon the poor and meek of the earth? The subject comes naturally to that point, and I ask my brethren who have wealth to consider their position Is not this a day favorable to you? You can use the jeans which you possess, if you will be directed therein, so that they will prove as beneficial to you, your households, your children and your friends and elevate you to the rank of benefactors to your race, as the like wealth does in the hands of President Young. He proposes to employ his means so as to bless Israel. He and all they who walk in the truth propose that they and all they have shall be employed in the way that God shall direct through his servants, to advance the interests of this great, good and best people on the earth, who have gathered from many nations to these valleys of the mountains to find the favor of heaven. This is all I care particularly to say upon this subject at this time.

      We are called upon now, in a most propitious time, to labor in the vineyard in the kingdom of God; and we seem at times to get into a condition of slumber, to become dull and unconcerned, and as if we felt in our hearts -- "Let the Presidency and the Twelve attend to these things, we will go along and attend to our own affairs." The time has come, brethren and sisters, when we ought to put away this spirit and this feeling. The family of God has become very numerous upon the earth, and their circumstances varied; while there are thousands and tens of thousands of the seed of Abraham and Jacob that have not yet heard the truth, who are slumbering in darkness among the nations, and have got to be wakened and roused to it, it is time for every man, every woman, and every child who has come to years of understanding, who contemplate the purposes of God as they are growing upon the earth, to turn their regards and considerations to the welfare of the household of faith. It can not any longer be limited to "me and my wife, my son John and his wife, we four and no more." We have to awaken to those interests that have their general effect among us as a people. The principle of union which is being taught at present among the house of Israel, and which is termed by many the United Order, is a something which to the world looks perfectly strange and anomalous; they do not know that it ever had anything to do with the religion and gospel of Jesus Christ. That is simply because they do not know anything about it, just as it is about all the rest of the principles of the gospel. Authors of history, living contemporaneously with ourselves, have written that it was by the principle of a federated union among the churches after the crucifixion of the Saviour that gave his people the astonishing power which they held for two or three centuries in the earth. One of these authors writes that when the Saviour was crucified, instead of the work being broken up and his adherents scattered, they immediately went to work and united in stronger bonds of union, and, in their organizations, they associated themselves on a principle of communism in all their branches. This author also informs us that they then confederated together and became very powerful, and he gives them credit for being the determining power, that placed an emperor upon the throne of Rome. This is the opinion of the author I refer to, as to the influence and power that existed among the early Christians after the death of the Saviour. all people who are going to exercise influence for the benefit of themselves or the human family at large, must learn how to unite, consolidate and employ the principle of power in order that they may accomplish great and mighty objects and ends.

      You doubtless recollect reading of the ten persecutions of the Christians. It is said regarding the seventh persecution, in the days of the emperor Severus in Rome, that there was a great opposition got up before this persecution was inaugurated towards the Christians. They and the pagans were at terrible opposition, and blood was shed as a consequence of it. At this time, when there appeared to be great difficulty and danger in the empire, there arose a certain learned man by the name of Tertullian, and he delivered a very powerful oration before the magistrates of Rome in defence of Christianity. The emperor, himself was also present on the occasion. And this learned man told the emperor and the magistrates, that the Christians formed a very important part of his constituency, and he could not afford to ignore their presence and power in the land. Said he--"these Christians are united among themselves, and"--using this precise languge--"There is but one thing that Christians have not in common, and that one thing is their wives." This fact was enunciated by him as late as the year A. D. two hundred, when he was defending, before the emperor, the rights of a people who were being persecuted, oppressed and put to death because of their religion. And this modern author says that, as late as the year 305, the Christians by the exercise of this united power of their communism combined and put an emperor on the throne, meaning the Emperor Constantine.

      I merely allude to this to let you know that this was something that the Christians believed in anciently, and that this is a part of what we read in that sacred book, The Acts of the Apostles, where it says they had all things in common, and no man called aught that he had his own. It was a principle of the gospel, a principle of godliness, a principle of power emanating from him who holds in his hands all power, and who will, at his pleasure, exercise it until he brings the kingdoms of this world under the dominion of and subject to the kingdom of our God.

      Well then, inasmuch as these principles existed among the Saints and were known and practised anciently; inasmuch as they are eternal, and were principles of might and strength in the hands of God's people in the early days of the Christian Church, shall we slumber and always limit our narrow ideas to ourselves and our families, and the few that are around us? Or shall we waken up to the interests of the whole, and let those who have long been trodden down and have not had advantages and benefits sufficient to provide for themselves, and to accumulate houses and homes, come to a knowledge and understanding of principles by which they may enjoy what we enjoy and all partake of the blessings of God together?

      There is a principle connected with this and with all the other doctrines of the kingdom of God, which, if we may call it so more than any other, is a cardinal principle of the church and kingdom, and that is the principle of obedience. It is just that which is absolutely necessary to enable us to organize, and, as a people, to go forward and accomplish what God would have us to. We have got to come to an understanding of the importance of obedience; that is, the importance of obeying God and his servants whom he appoints to dispense his will and word to us. There is no ignoring the fact that there has been a very great departure latterly from the extent to which this principle was entertained among the Saints a few years ago, in this Territory, before we so abounded in the vices of the world that have been imported into our midst, before we had so much of the blandishments of civilization brought unto us. There was a time here, when if any one wanted to engage in any important matter he scarcely felt willing to do so without first enquiring of the Lord, through his servant Brigham, whether it would be consistent with the interests of the kingdom; but Latterly it has come to that, that some even think it an obtrusion upon them that the word of the Lord should be tendered them, or that the counsels of the church should be urged upon the minds of the people as something necessary and needful to be obeyed. Why is this degeneracy? Why this recession from that point of obedience and unanimity in beautiful conformity to the will of God? It is because one and another have some will, wish, arrangement and purpose of their own which may not be consistent with the church and kingdom of God, and which they wish to carry out regardless of its interests, and without caring whether it be the will of God, or whether it would be befitting, wise or practicable. And it has come to pass that many have grown cold.

      How was it among God's people in days of old? Let us look for a moment at the terrible consequences which followed a single act of disobedience in the days of Israel, committed by one of her rulers when the kings of Israel considered it their highest and holiest privilege to have a prophet of God at hand to tell them the will of the Lord. When they wanted, for instance, to go forth to battle, they would not go until they had inquired of the man of God whether they would prosper or whether they would not. In fact it was the gift and blessing of God to all Israel, in all their days of prosperity, that there was a man of God there who could declare his will unto them. On one occasion the Prophet Samuel said to King Saul--"Go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not: but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass." By the by, people did not go to war then for every trifling occasion, just to extend their dominion, &c., but they went to war to carry out the counsels of heaven. When any people were sufficiently wicked, and had filled up the cup of their iniquity, then did the lord tell whomsoever he would to go forth and execute his judgments upon them. What was Saul ordered to do with Agag and his people. Was he told to kill a few of the wickedest and to bring home the best? Not at all. He was told to go out against them and to slay men, women and children; he was to make clean work of it. And furthermore, the prophet told the king that he was also to slay the flocks and the herds as well as the people for they were all polluted in the sight of the Lord. The king went his way, and what did he do? Why he killed off the people, and a portion of their flocks and herds, but he brought home some of the choicest of the latter, and also king Agag alive. And when the man of God met him and asked him if he had done as the Lord commanded him he replied, "Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and I have brought King Agag, and I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites." Then said the prophet--"What is this I hear the lowing of cattle and the bleating of sheep?" Saul answered --"They saved these and brought them home for an offering to the Lord." This looked very nice, but what was the result of this departure from the word of the Lord? Why, the prophet hewed Agag, the king of the Amalekites, in pieces before the Lord, and because of this disobedience the kingdom of Israel was rent from Saul, he was dethroned and the kingdom was given to a neighbor of his who was better than he.

      O Israel, you men in high places and Saints of the living God everywhere, take notice that "obedience is better than sacrifice and to hearken than the fat of rams, for rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idols try." This principle of obedience must be cultivated in our hearts until it occupies our whole souls, until we, all we are, and all that we can command shall be subject to God and to the counsels of his servants, that we may be used and employed in advancing the interests of our Redeemer's kingdom. I hold this to be one of the higher laws of the holy priesthood, that we learn to bring ourselves into perfect subjection and obedience to the law and will of God; and not only this, but we must hand this down to our children. The Lord said concerning Abraham-- "I know him, I have found him out, he will do my will and he will command his children after him." I exhort my brethren and sisters to take this doctrine and principle to their hearts, that we seek to know what the mind and will of God is and then, above all things, that we do it, lest our blessings and powers depart from us as Saul's did from him.

      We live in times that are peculiarly interesting indeed, when we consider and reflect upon God's providences and blessings to us. Yet we are forgetful and weak, and in many ways fail to realize our obligations and indebtedness to Him, and our many shortcomings in keeping His commandments. We have, many of us, under the various changing circumstances surrounding us in these valleys -- working in the canyons and at every sort of thing -- done that which we ought not to have done, and which has been displeasing in the sight of God. It is a standing fact that many have come to think that Sunday is a day f very little importance, not even of sufficient consequence to get up to the Tabernacle to meeting; and yet the Lord requires his people to come together o the Sunday and partake of the Sacrament, that they may witness unto him that they always remember the sufferings of his Son, that they are willing to take upon them his name and to keep his commandments, that they may have his Spirit to be with them. some of the people get very careless about these things. They feel tired with their week's toil, and they become so regardless of the things of God that they omit their prayers, and continually neglect the every-day simple duties required of them as the children of God, and without attending to which they cannot retain that Holy spirit so necessary to aid them in the performance of life's duties acceptably to their Creator. But God, in his providence, again grants us a time of repentance and remission of sins; and now is a truly blessed time for many to consider their ways and turn to the Lord. They who have offended their brethren, before going down into the waters of baptism, should obtain each other's forgiveness, kindly fellowship and love, in order that the blessing of God may be upon them: "for if you forgive not those who have trespassed against you, how shall your Father in heaven forgive you your trespasses?" Again, when our Saviour was teaching his disciples how to pray, he told them to say --"Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." And I could not but notice in the Dedication Prayer, yesterday morning, that it was asked of God, in the same wisdom, to forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. It should be the aim of all to obtain the forgiveness and fellowship of each other, that we may renew that confidence, love and blessing which we felt when we came first into the waters of baptism, and which we need to have continually with us so as to have a conscience void of offense towards God and all men, but especially towards the people of God. Let us forgive and love each other; let us bless and be blessed of each other and of God our Father, and let us go on helping to build up his kingdom and his Zion on the earth, and the wicked may take heed as best they can. The great day is coming when they will stand afar off and howl, weep and mourn for the miseries that will be upon them: they will not even have power to come up among the people of God to harass, annoy, distress and perplex them.

      We would to God that all men would learn that he has set up his kingdom, that his servants are building it up in the name of Israel's God, and that we expect it to fill the whole earth. Ladies and gentlemen who are unbelieving, where will you be on that occasion? If you will be with it and have its blessing, and the favor of God to be upon you, repent of your sins and of your ignorance and folly inasmuch as you have entertained doctrines that are inconsistent and vain. We realize that our fathers have inherited lies and vanity and things wherein is no profit, but we have escaped from their false traditions, and rejoice in the knowledge of the truth. But how is it with you? What do you believe concerning God? You believe that he is a being without a body, parts or passions; that is, in others words, you believe that God is nothing, for no being can exist without these attributes, either in heaven, earth or hell. Then again, where are you going? Where would you have the Lord reign and his people glorified?

"Beyond the bounds of time and space,
Look forward to that heavenly place;,
The Saints' secure abode."

There is no such place in existence, and not one of you will ever live long enough to find such a place. Then turn from the folly of such things, turn to the living God, who has made you in his own image, and who has given us to understand in his revelations that he possesses the same general attributes with which he has endowed us. I say, come to the living God, and understand y our relationship to him, and take hold and help him to benefit and bless the poor of mankind, and have your blessings and inheritances and be numbered with us.

      Feeling thankful for this opportunity I will now close my remarks, praying that the blessings of this Conference may enrich and strengthen every faithful soul, that the path of duty may be plainer and that they may have more strength and energy to walk in it, and be enabled to discharge every known obligation and responsibility to God with an eye single to his glory, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

ELDER JOSEPH F. SMITH

said the instructions delivered to us during this conference, if carried out, would make a people the greatest, holiest and best that ever lived upon the earth; those given on temporal matters, if carried out, would make us independent of any other people.

[Joseph F. Smith]

[DNW 24:788, 1/12/76, p 4; JD 18:133]

DISCOURSE

BY ELDER JOSEPH F. SMITH, DELIVERED AT THE
Forty-sixth [Forty-fifth] Semi-annual Conference of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning, Oct. 10th, 1875.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      I have been very much interested and instructed during our Conference, and in rising at this time—a few moments only remaining before the close of our forenoon meeting—I feel that I can only bear my testimony to, and express my conviction of, the truths that we have had delivered unto us during our meetings from the first day of our Conference. We have had instructions here upon spiritual and upon temporal matters sufficient, if they were carried out, to make this people the best, purest, noblest, and greatest people that inhabit the world. The instructions that have been given unto us in regard to temporal matters, and in regard to bringing us to a union of faith and works, are calculated in their nature, if adopted and carried out in the practices of the Latter-day Saints, to make them the most independent people that live upon the face of the earth, depending indeed only upon the Lord our God, the giver of every good and perfect gift. I can see, as clearly as it is possible for me to see the light of the sun, that if the instructions that were given here yesterday, and the day before, in relation to uniting ourselves together in temporal affairs, were carried out by the people, we would soon no longer be beholden to the world, and it would be said of us, that we were dependent upon no power upon the earth out the power of God. It is very different, however, with us at present, for now we are very dependent, notwithstanding the vast amount of blessings that the Lord has poured out upon us—blessings of the soil, of the labors of our hands, of the elements that surround us. He has given us an abundance of everything our hearts can desire in righteousness, insomuch, as it was remarked yesterday, that we have become almost recreant to these blessings; we squander and waste them, run over them, trample them under our feet as it were, and regard them as of very little importance, or worthless. The Lord truly has blessed his people; he has poured out his Spirit upon us, opened our way, delivered us item our enemies, blessed and enriched the soil, tempered the elements, and made them favorable to us, turned away cursings, and given us blessings on every hand, and has prospered us in the earth. But we have been careless, and in a measure blind to the presence and value of the blessings that have been poured out upon us so abundantly, and have failed to recognize, as we should at all times, the hand of God therein. We have also come far short of appreciating our brethren the Prophets, who have borne the burden in the heat of the day; who have stood boldly and fearlessly, filled with wisdom and intelligence from above, to give us counsel, and to guide and direct us in the channels of prosperity, peace, and happiness.

      Will we come to a knowledge of the truth? Will we learn to appreciate the blessings that we enjoy, and to realize from whence they come? Will we begin to follow more faithfully the counsels that are given to us by the servants of the Lord, and come together in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, that we may become perfect men in Christ Jesus, even to the fullness of the measure of his stature?

      There is a circumstance recorded in the Scriptures, that has been brought forcibly to my mind while listening to the remarks of the Elders who have spoken to us during Conference. A young man came to Jesus and asked what good thing he should do that he might have eternal life. Jesus said unto him—"Keep the commandments." The young man asked which of them. Then Jesus enumerated to him some of the commandments that he was to keep—he should not murder, nor commit adultery, nor steal, nor bear false witness, but he should honor his father mud mother, and love his neighbor as himself, &c. Said the young man—"All these I have kept from my youth up, what lack I yet?" Jesus said—"If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come and follow me." And we are told that he turned away sorrowful, because he had great possessions. He would rot hearken to, or obey the law of God in this matter. Not that Jesus required of the young man to go and sell all that he possessed and give it away; that is not the principle involved. The great principle involved is that which the Elders of Israel are endeavoring to enforce upon the minds of the Latter-day Saints to-day. When the young man turned away in sorrow, Jesus said to his disciples—"How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!"

      Is this because the rich man is rich? No. May not the rich man, who has the light of God in his heart, who possesses the principle and spirit of truth, and who understands the principle of God's government and law in the world, enter into the kingdom of heaven as easily, and be as acceptable there as the poor man may? Precisely. God is not a respecter of persons. The rich man may enter into the kingdom of heaven as freely as the poor, if he will bring his heart and affections into subjection to the law of God and to the principle of truth; if he will place his affections upon God, his heart upon the truth, and his soul upon the accomplishment of God's purposes, and not fix his affections and his hopes upon the things of the world. Here is the difficulty, and this was the difficulty with the young man. He had great possessions, and he preferred to rely upon his wealth rather than forsake all and follow Christ. If he had possessed the spirit of truth in his heart to have known the will of God, and to have loved the Lord with all his heart and his neighbor as himself, he would have said to the Lord—"Yea, Lord, I will do as you require, I will go and sell all that I have and give it to the poor." If he had had it in his heart to do this, that alone might have been sufficient, and the demand would probably have stopped there, for undoubtedly the Lord did not deem it essential for him to go and give his riches away, or to sell his possessions and give the proceeds away, in order that he might be perfect, for that, in a measure, would have been improvident. Yet, if it had required all this to test him and to prove him, to see whether he loved the Lord with all his heart, mind, and strength, and his neighbor as himself, then he ought to have been willing to do it, and if he had been be would have lacked nothing, and would have received the gift of eternal life, which is the greatest gift of God, and which can be received on no other principle than the one mentioned by Jesus to the young man. If you will read the sixth lecture on faith in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants you will learn that no man can obtain the gift of eternal life unless be is willing to sacrifice all earthly things in order to obtain it. We cannot do this so long as our affections are fixed upon the world.

      It is true that we are in a measure of the earth, earthly; we belong to the world. Our affections and our souls are here; our treasures are here, and where the treasure is there the heart is. But if we will lay up our treasures in heaven; if we will wean our affections from the things of this world, and say to the Lord our God—"Father, not my will but thine be done," then may the will of God be done on earth as it is done in heaven, and the kingdom of God in its power and glory will be established upon the earth. Sin and Satan will be bound and banished from the earth, and not until we attain to this condition of mind and faith will this be done.

      Then let the Saints unite; let them hearken to the voices of the servants of God that are sounded in their ears; let them hearken to their counsels and give heed to the truth; let them seek their own salvation, for, so far as I am concerned, I am so selfish that I am seeking after my salvation, and I know that I can find it only in obedience to the laws of God, in keeping the commandments, in performing works of righteousness, following in the footsteps of our file leader, Jesus, the exemplar and the head of all. He is the way of life, he is the light of the world, he is the door by which we must enter in order that we may have a place with him in the celestial kingdom of God.

      May God grant that we may see and comprehend the whole truth, and be submissive to the requirements of the Gospel and obedient to the Priesthood of God upon the earth in all things, that we may obtain eternal life, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

            The conference was adjourned till 2 o'clock.

            The choir sang an anthem--

O praise the Lord.

            Benediction by Elder BRIGHAM YOUNG.

_____

[10 Oct, 2 pm]

[DNW 24:586, 592, 10/13/75, p 10, 16]

FIFTH DAY.

_____

Sunday, Oct. 10th, 2 p.m.

            The choir sang--

Happy the man who finds the grace,
The blessings of God's chosen race.

            Prayer by Elder W. WOODRUFF.

            The choir sang--

O Lord of Hosts, we now invoke
Thy spirit most divine.

            While the Sacrament was being administered

ELDER JOHN TAYLOR

addressed the congregation. He said the principles we had received emanated from God -- all good Saints firmly believed that. In order to introduce certain principles in which all were interested that dwelt on the face of the earth, angels were sent to Joseph Smith, and after imparting to him much information pertaining to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, he received the Holy Priesthood from the holy angels, obeyed the ordinances of the Gospel, and was inspired to bring forth those principles that the Elders had been sent forth to preach to the nations calling upon the people to repent and obey the Gospel, and receive the Holy Ghost. God had a people spread over the face of the earth, many of whom had been gathered, for when the elders of the church, who had received the Holy Priesthood, were sent forth, the people knew the voice of the true shepherds, and obeyed it. Many of the ancient prophets appeared to and revealed the keys of their priesthood to Joseph Smith, to introduce the dispensation of the fulness of times, that God's people might be gathered in one. all the officers in the church and kingdom of God were entirely unknown by the religious world, until God revealed them through Joseph Smith. God could not build up his kingdom without an organization of willing subjects, yielding themselves to his government. Angels could communicate with such a people, and God could accomplish his purposes. Our marital relations were not confined to time, but were eternal in all their relationships, indissoluble, and would endure forever in this light. We so regarded them, and should never give them up. This was an earthly as well as a heavenly government, for this work never could have been accomplished thus far, unaided by the power and wisdom of God. He strongly denounced the evils in the community, especially those of Sabbath breaking, lying and swearing. This was a burning shame in the midst of the people, and would bring forth its terrible results among the offspring of those who indulged in them.

            He exhorted to cease lying and every other sin, and keep the commandments of God, and Zion would soon arise and shine and the glory of God would rise upon her.

[John Taylor]

[DNW 25:18, 2/9/76, p2; JD 18:136]

DISCOURSE

BY ELDER JOHN TAYLOR DELIVERED AT THE

Forty-sixth [Forty-fifth] Semi-annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, on the Afternoon of sunday, Oct. 10th, 1875.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      It is extremely difficult to speak to a congregation so large as this, and I therefore request that as good order as possible may be maintained, because it is almost impossible for the human voice to encompass so large a congregation as the one assembled here to-day.

      We all of us have an object in assembling together as we have done on this conference occasion. I speak now to Latter-day Saints, as it is to them I purpose to address my remarks this afternoon. We do not always understand the influences by which we are operated upon; but nevertheless there are certain principles at work in this generation which move upon the minds of the human family, and which lead them to reflect and study more or less, according to the circumstances surrounding them and the positions they occupy. We, the Latter-day Saints, stand in a different relationship to the Almighty from any other people that exist on the face of the earth. The principles that we have received emanated not from man, nor from the wisdom, intelligence or philosophy of man; we believe that they proceeded from God. That is our universal belief; it is the faith of every good Latter-day Saint. None of us, previous to the Lord manifesting his will, knew anything about the laws of God. We did not know anything about God; we were not acquainted with anybody who could give us information in relation to him, and we are indebted to revelation from him for all the intelligence that we have that is true in regard to ourselves, the world in which we live, the people who have lived before us, and those who will live after us; also in regard to God the Father, and Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant. We had certain vague, indistinct ideas about these things before, but we had nothing real, tangible or reliable. Nor is it out of any consideration, particularly, to ourselves personally, that these things are made manifest. God has certain purposes to accomplish, pertaining to the world in which we live, in which the interests and happiness of the human family are concerned, to those who live in the world to-day, to those who have lived in other ages and dispensations, back to the time of Adam, and also forward, to the latest generation of time, to the last man who shall be born upon earth. The ancient Patriarchs and Prophets, men of God who basked in the light of revelation, and comprehended the mind of Jehovah, and who held the everlasting Priesthood and enjoyed the Gospel as we enjoy it; all these together with God our heavenly Father and all the angelic hosts, are interested in the work that the Father has commenced in these last days; and hence a revelation was made unto Joseph Smith. Holy angels of God appeared to him and communicated to him the mind and will of Jehovah, as a chosen messenger to introduce the dispensation of the fullness of times, wherein all heaven and all that have ever dwelt on the earth are concerned and interested. He did not reveal himself, particularly, because of Joseph Smith, individually, nor because of any other individual man, nor for the peculiar interest, emolument or aggrandisement of any set of men; but for the purpose of introducing certain principles that it was necessary that the world of mankind should be made acquainted with; in fact, it was for the purpose of introducing what we call the Church and kingdom of God on the earth, in which all who have ever lived or who ever will live upon this globe are interested.

      The Gospel that we talk of, although it may be a personal thing, yet at the same time is as high as the heavens, wide as the universe and deep as hell. It permeates through all time, and extends to all people, both living and dead. We talk sometimes about the Church of God, and why? We talk about the kingdom of God, and why? Because, before there could be a kingdom of God, there must be a Church of God, and hence the first principles of the Gospel were needed to be preached to all nations, as they were formerly when the Lord Jesus Christ and others made their appearance on the earth. And why so? Because of the impossibility of introducing the law of God among a people who would not be subject to and be guided by the spirit of revelation. Hence the world have generally made great mistakes upon these points. They have started various projects to try to unite and cement the people together without God; but they could not do it. Fourierism, Communism—another branch of the same thing—and many other principles of the same kind have been introduced to try and cement the human family together. And then we have had peace societies, based upon the same principles; but all these things have failed, and they will fail, because, however philanthropic, humanitarian, benevolent, or cosmopolitan our ideas, it is impossible to produce a true and correct union without the Spirit of the living God, and that Spirit can only be imparted through the ordinances of the Gospel; and hence Jesus told his disciples to go and preach the Gospel to every creature, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and said he—"Lo, I am with you always, even to the end." It was by this cementing, uniting spirit, that true sympathetic, fraternal relations could be introduced and enjoyed.

      When John was on the Isle of Patmos he had a remarkable vision pertaining to many things, and said he—"I saw a mighty angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth, to every nation and kindred and people and tongue, crying with a loud voice—'Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come; and worship him who made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.'"

      Joseph Smith had this communication made to him, together with the light of the Gospel, and had conferred upon him the keys of the holy Priesthood, with power to administer therein and to ordain others to the same ministry. And he, himself, was baptized as Jesus was baptized, and he baptized others, and they others, and they then laid their hands upon them for the reception of the Holy Ghost, and they received it. And then, by the inspiration of the Almighty, they were directed to gather together, which they have done. And how many of you who are hearing me to-day hardly knew the reason why you gathered together? But you had a feeling, a burning desire in your hearts to mingle with the Saints of God. The Scriptures say—"I will take them one of a city and two of a family and bring them to Zion; and I will give them pastors after my own heart, that shall feed them with knowledge and with understanding."

      In accordance with these Principles the Elders of Israel went forth, as you have heard here during this Conference, not in their own name, nor in their own strength, nor by their own wisdom; but in the name and strength and power of Jehovah, and as his chosen messengers to administer life and salvation to a fallen world. And God went with them, and his holy angels accompanied them; and the Spirit and power of God were with them; and the words that they spake they spake not of themselves but as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost. And God worked with them and the truth came to your hearts and you received it and rejoiced therein. God had a people scattered abroad among the nations of the earth, and his Priesthood were instrumental in his hands in gathering that people together; and in these days as in days of old, Jesus said—"My sheep hear my voice, and know it and follow me, and a stranger will they not follow, because they know not the voice of a stranger."

      Here then, God was desirous of introducing his kingdom upon the earth, and he had in the first place, to organize his Church, to organize the people that he had scattered among the nations and to bring them together, that there might be one fold and one shepherd, and one Lord, one faith and one baptism, and one God, who should be in all and through all, and by which all should be governed. To facilitate this object he organized his holy Priesthood as it existed in the heavens, and he gave a pattern of these things, just as much as he did in the days of Moses, only more so. God said to Moses—"See that thou make all things according to the pattern that I showed thee in the mount." God said to Joseph—"See that thou organize this Church according to the pattern that I have showed thee." And he placed in his Church Presidents, Apostles, Patriarchs, Seventies, High Priests, Bishops, Priests, Teachers, Deacons, Bishops' Councils and High Councils, and other organizations which God had developed and given to his Priesthood; and hence, when the angel came which is mentioned by John on Patmos, he restored the Gospel as it existed with Adam, and with Enoch, and with Seth, and with Methuselah, and with Noah and Melchizedek, and with Abraham, with the Prophets, and with the Apostles and Jesus, whether on the Continent of Asia, on this continent, or anywhere else; and this people who possess this Priesthood and the authority from God to administer therein, when they get behind the vail they will enter again into the office of their calling and will be united with their several Priesthoods there, for the Priesthood on this and on the other side of the vail are parts of the same eternal system; and hence with a people like this in possession of the Priesthood, and enjoying the revelations of heaven, God could communicate and, through them, could reveal his will to the human family, but not to a people who would not listen to his laws and obey his precepts.

      This Priesthood was held by John the revelator, by Peter, by Moroni, one of the Prophets of God on this continent. Nephi, another of the servants of God on this continent, had the Gospel with its keys and powers revealed unto him. We know that these things were so, and we do not profess to argue them, for we all know it. We read that Moses and Elias appeared to Jesus and his disciples on the mount, and Jesus was transfigured before them. Who were Moses and Elias? They were Prophets of the living God who held the Gospel and the Priesthood in former days, and they were sent to administer to Jesus and to Peter, James and John on the mount.

      We also learn that when John was upon the Isle of Patmos, the visions of heaven were unfolded to his view, and a great and mighty angel stood before him and showed to him many great and important things pertaining to the future; and John fell down to worship him. But said he—"Hold! do not worship me." "Why? Who are you?" "I am one of thy fellow-servants the Prophets, who kept the testimony of Jesus and the word of God. Do not worship me, I am one of those who held the Priesthood in time and now I am administering in eternity, and have come forth as a messenger of the Lord to thee."

      It was precisely in this way that Joseph Smith was administered unto, and by the same kind of messengers, who held the same kind of authority; and they came to introduce and usher in the dispensation of the fullness of times, that all things that are in Christ might be gathered together in one, whether they be things in the earth or things in the heavens. This was done that God's people might be gathered in one, that God's word might be gathered in one, that's God's Priesthood might be gathered in one, and that all in Christ on earth might be united by indissoluble ties with the Priesthood that exists in heaven, that they all might operate together for the accomplishment of the purposes of God on the earth. Hence it is said that "we without them can not be made perfect, and that they without us can not be made perfect;" a perfect union between heaven and earth was needed. Under such circumstances what did we do? What could we do? What intelligence were we in possession of, in and of ourselves? Who among us knew the first principles of the doctrine of Christ? Not a man living understood them correctly, and we are indebted to God for our intelligence in relation to these things. Who knew anything about the organization of the Church of God? Nobody. Was there any such thing in existence on the face of the earth? You might have searched for it, but it would have been in vain, it could not have been found. There were the systems, creeds and notions of men, but nobody to say, "Thus saith the Lord." No prophecy, no inspiration, no manifestations of the power of God. Who knew anything about the necessity of Presidents or Apostles? Nobody. Who knew what an Apostle was? Nobody. Who knew what a High Priest or a Seventy was? Nobody. Who knew what an Elder was in the true acceptation of the term? Nobody; neither was there anybody who knew anything about the office of a Bishop, Priest, Teacher or Deacon, or about the functions of a High Council or a Bishop's Council, or any of the ordinances of the Church of God. Who knew anything about the relation of man to man or of man to woman? Nobody. Who knew anything about the relationship that exists between man and God? Nobody. Who knew anything about the eternities that are to come? Nobody. It was God who revealed these things. Joseph Smith did not know them, neither did Brigham Young, the Apostles, nor anybody else until God revealed them, and we are indebted to him for all the light, knowledge and intelligence that we possess in regard to the heavens and the earth, in regard to the God who made us and the mode of worshiping him acceptably.

      Now then, we are here; we have these various organizations. The Twelve, for instance, have various duties and responsibilities devolving upon them under the direction of the First Presidency. Then there are the Seventies, who are to be special messengers to the nations of the earth, to go forth in the name of Israel's God, clothed upon with his power to administer lice and salvation, and to teach the people the principles of truth under the direction of the Twelve, whose duty it is also to administer these principles, and see that this Gospel is sent to all peoples; and hence the necessity that is felt by them and by the First Presidency in relation to carrying these things out.

      And let me say a little farther on a subject that I before referred to, that is, that God could not build up a kingdom on the earth unless he had a Church, and a people who had submitted to his law and were willing to submit to it; and with an organization of such a people, gathered from among the nations of the earth under the direction of a man inspired of God, the mouthpiece of Jehovah to his people; I say that, with such an organization, there is a chance for the Lord God to be revealed, there is an opportunity for the laws of life to be made manifest, there is a chance for God to introduce the principles of heaven upon the earth and for the will of God to be done upon earth as it is done in heaven. God could never establish his kingdom upon the earth unless he had a people who would submit themselves to his laws and government; but with such a people he could communicate, to such a people the heavens could be opened; to such a people the angels of God could administer; and among them the will of God could be done upon earth as it is done in heaven, and among no others, and that is why we are here. Says the Prophet—"I will take them one of a city and two of a family and bring them to Zion." What will you do with them? "I will give them pastors after my own heart, that shall feed them with knowledge and understanding;" that they may be acquainted with each other and with their various duties and responsibilities; that they may be instructed in the laws of the holy priesthood, and be prepared, eventually, to join their quorums in the celestial kingdom of God, and that the people may be instructed in the laws of life. Hence our marriage ceremonies, relationships and covenants are among the principles of the Gospel, and they are eternal; they existed with God in eternity, and will exist throughout all the eternities that are to come. God has shown us, in regard to our marital relations, that our wives are to be sealed to us for time and eternity. By what authority? By the authority of that holy Priesthood that administers on the earth and in heaven, and of which Jesus said that whatever they should bind on earth should be bound in heaven, and whatsoever they should loose on earth should be loosed in heaven; and these relationships that exist among us here are calculated to be consummated there, and men and women who understand their true position expect to enjoy each other's society and association there, as much as they do in their own homes here, just the same. And though they may sleep in the dust, yet, by the power of the resurrection, which you have heard of at this Conference, when the trump shall sound and the dead in Christ shall rise, they will burst the barriers of the tomb and come forth, each and all claiming their proper mates—those with whom they were associated on the earth—through eternity. This is the way we regard our marriage covenants, no matter what other people say about it, this is our business, and we shall do it and keep on doing for ever and ever while God lets us live, because it is the word of God to us, and in spite of all the powers of earth and hell we shall never give way in regard to our marriage principles, for they are eternal; and so with regard to every other principle of the Gospel. This is why we have come together to help to build up the kingdom and government of God upon the earth. An earthly government if you please, and a heavenly government if you please. But no man nor set of men are capable of introducing principles of this kind unless God is with them and stands by them; and the first Elders of this Church never could have done what they did without the power of God being with them and accompanying them, and God's mercy being extended to them. And they could not to-day.

      Men have strange ideas about the Mormons. Why? Because unless they are born of water they cannot see the kingdom of God; that is what Jesus said, and that is why people fail to understand us. But we, who have been baptized and enlightened by the Spirit of God, can see his kingdom. We know it, we comprehend it in part, but only in part. What is the result of all this Priesthood—the First Presidency, the Twelve, the Seventies, the High Priests, Elders, Bishops, Priests, Teachers and Deacons? All of them profess to be under the direction of the Almighty, and if they are not, they are living hypocrites before God and holy angels; for these are the covenants they have entered into, and these are the ordinations they have received.

      We see something strange in connection with us as a people—the world follows us, and too many of us follow after the world. Can the world give you the light that you have received, and the Gospel and the hopes of heaven you have received, and the Priesthood you have received? And will you barter these things for a mess of pottage, and wallow in the filth, corruption, iniquity, and evils which abound in the world? What have we come here for? To worship God and to keep his commandments. And how is it with many of us? We forget, in many instances, our high calling's glorious hope, and we give way to follies, foibles, weakness, and iniquity, and we are governed more or less by covetousness, drunkenness, Sabbath-breaking, and evils of various kinds. I sometimes see Elders of Israel bringing in loads of wood and loads of hay on the Sabbath day. Why, it is a burning shame in the eyes of God, holy angels, and all other intelligent beings. If such men had lived under the law of ancient Israel, they would have been put to death. Do you know that? Go and read it in your Bibles. What do you think about a lying Elder, a swearing High Priest, a Sabbath-breaking Seventy, and a covetous Saint? The souls of such men ought to be inspired with the light of revelation, and they ought to be living witnesses, epistles known and read of all men! Do you think you can live your religion, have the Spirit of God and obtain eternal life, and follow after these things? I tell you nay. It was said of olden time—"Love not the world, nor the things that are in the world; for it any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." That is as true to-day as it was eighteen hundred years ago. It is proper that we, as Elders of Israel, and as heads of families, should reflect upon these things, for in many instances we are setting examples before our children that will tend to plunge them to perdition. Is this What we are gathered here for? I tell you nay, we are gathered here to serve God and keep his commandments, and to build up his Zion upon the earth.

      After praying for years that God would inspire his servant Brigham with the Spirit of revelation, that he might be able to lead forth Israel in the path in which they should go, he tells us to be one, as Jesus told his disciples; he tells us to enter into a united order, that God has revealed it, that we are to be one in spiritual things, and one in temporal things, to be united together in all principles, as the Saints of God have been wherever they have existed. But our Elders can't see it, and many of our Bishop's can't see it, and many High Priests and Seventies can't see it. Why? Because the Bridegroom has tarried, and we have all slumbered and slept, and in many instances we have sinned against God, and our lamps have gone out, that is the matter, and we have lost the light, and intelligence, and revelation, and quickening influence of the living God. If we were living our religion and keeping the commandments of God, we should feel and act differently; we should then know of the doctrine. Jesus said—"If any man does my will he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself."

      What is the matter, you High Priests, you Seventies, you Bishops and others? You are not doing the will of God, and you do not know of the doctrine, that is the matter; and yet we are living in the blaze of Gospel day, surrounded by Prophets, Apostles, Patriarchs, and men of God. Is it not time that we humbled ourselves? Is it not time that we repented of our sins? Is it not time that we forsook our iniquities? Is it not time that we went back to the first principles, and began to consider our ways, and to walk in the light of truth? That is the way that I understand it, and hence the necessity of the Elders of Israel, the President of the Church, of the Twelve, and of all men who are inspired by the light of truth and the light of revelation, to stir up the members of the Church generally to good works. They see Israel wandering away after strange gods, forsaking the fountain of living water, and "hewing out to themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water;" and hence the necessity of Apostles and Prophets for the perfecting of the Saints and the work of the ministry, and the edifying of the body of Christ. How is it among many of our quorums? Perfectly dead, dumb, and lifeless, without the light, and life, and power of the living God among them; and Elders of Israel, clothed upon with the Holy Priesthood, expect when they get through, to associate with the Gods in the eternal worlds. How is it? It is time for us to reflect and to think upon our situation, and to consider our ways and be wise. What do you want to do? Do you want to get up some excitement? No, we want to bring you back to the first principles of the Gospel of Christ. Do you want us to be baptized? Not particularly, unless, as stated by President Young, you repent of your sins and your iniquities and your lying, and your deceiving and your Sabbath-breaking, and your covetousness and your hypocrisy, and repent of your speaking against the anointed of God; not unless you are willing to be governed by the Holy Priesthood in all things pertaining to this world and the next, pertaining to time and eternity. If you can't do this, don't be baptized; it will be better for you not to be.

      Well, are all in this condition? No, no, there are more than "seven thousand who have not yet bowed the knee to Baal;" there are more than seven thousand who are seeking to do right, to live their religion, and to keep the commandments of God. I say, then, repent of your iniquities, do your first works, live your religion, keep the commandments of God; let every man do right and depart from evil. If any man has sinned against his brother, let him make it right honestly, and squarely, and truly, and not hypocritically; and let us do everything with honesty of heart, and seek to God, and humble ourselves before him, and live our religion, and God will pour blessings upon us that we shall not find room to contain. His Zion will rise and shine, and the glory of God will rest upon her, the principles of truth will spread on the right hand and on the left, and the mercy of God will be extended unto his people.

      May God help us to fear him and keep his commandments, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

ELDER GEO. Q. CANNON

read the following names of elders called to go on missions--

Sander Sanderson, Gunnison
Louis Anderson, Fountain Green
Rees Llewellyn, "
James Woodard, "
John N Larson, Moroni
David Evans, jr, Lehi
B F Taylor,
Elmer Taylor, Levan
Wm. Boyes, jr, South Cottonwood
Richard Howe, " "
Charles Foote, Nephi
John S Hawkins, "
James Wrathall, Grantsville
Wm. M Rydalch, "
Charles Stromberg, "
Swantz Neilson, "
Orvil Child, Ogden and Weber
Robert Holroid, " "
Jas. M Brown, " "
Asa Garner, " "
Wm. T Baker, " "
Alburn Allen, " "
Wm. McGregor, " "
George Marsh, Willard
Jno. Hubbard, "
Matthew Dalton, "
Isaac Zundel, Plymouth
Garret Woveston, "
Wm. Davis, Hooper City
Chas. Knudson, Brigham City
Alexander Hunsaker, "
Andrew S Gibbons, Glendale
William H Gibbons, "
Thales H Haskell, Pinto
Ira Hatch, Kanab
Warren M Johnson, Lee's Ferry
John Parry, jr, Cedar City
David Bullock, "
John C Duncan, "
Samuel Leigh, "
Joseph G Young
John Young, jun, Kamas
John B Milner, Provo

PRESIDENT B. YOUNG

addressed the Conference. He then adjourned the Conference until the 6th of April, 1876, at 10 o'clock a.m., in the New Tabernacle.

[Brigham Young]

[DNW 24:619, 10/27/75, p 11]

REMARKS

BY PREST. BRIGHAM YOUNG DELIVERED AT THE

Forty-sixth [Forth-fifth] Semi-annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
in the New Taebrnacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, October 10th, 1875.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS

_____

      A few words to the Conference. We have been here now five days, and I feel as though I had hardly commenced to say to the Saints what I wish to. Still I have said a good many things, but we want teaching just like children, and to be directed in everything; and we could wish and we do pray God, our Father in heaven, in the name of his son Jesus Christ, to give to the Latter-day Saints willing hearts to be taught, and a firm determination to obey; and we do pray to the Latter-day Saints to yield themselves obedient to the Spirit of God. When we do this we shall be one; but as long as we permit selfishness in our hearts we shall be divided, we shall have individual and self interest. But when we are actuated by the Spirit of the Lord our interest is general, it is for the whole people, it is for the kingdom of God upon the earth, it is to sanctify the people, to prepare for redeeming the nations of the earth, to assist, all that is in our power, our Savior, our elder brother, who calls upon us to do our part; he has fulfilled his part, so far as the sacrifice is concerned, and he is still laboring, still toiling, still directing, to prepare the inhabitants of the earth that he may come and receive them, that he may come and reign in their midst, and that all may be redeemed who will receive the gospel, and who would have received it had they had an opportunity while living in the flesh, that all may be judged according to men in the flesh.

      Now we pray you be reconciled to God; and the word of the Lord is, directly, to those who call themselves Latter-day Saints: Son or daughter, give me thy heart. Let us give our hearts and our affections to God our Father. Plead for his Spirit to guide us, and we will be one. A great deal wants to be said to the people with regard to those principles the observance of which would enable them to lead useful lives, lives for the advancement of the kingdom of God, spreading the gospel, and for performing the labor that is committed to us.

      I want to say a few words upon that peculiar subject or doctrine about which so much is said, I mean celestial marriage. I want to tell the whole world that the Saints of God are under the necessity of doing just what they are doing in this capacity, in order to carry out the mind and will of God. Now I will tell you the reasons why, and I want you to carry them to the ends of the earth. When the earth was framed, made, and brought forth and man placed in the Garden of Eden, the earth was placed at his disposal, and man, not woman, is the King, lord and governor of the earth; and if men, since the fall, had done right, had kept the commandments of God, women would have been willing to go with them and be Saints; and at the present time there are thousands and millions of females who will receive the gospel whose husbands, fathers, and brothers will reject it, and it crowds the necessity of taking more wives than one upon the elders of Israel; for if they were not to do so a great many women never could attain to the same exaltation hereafter they would not have the glory of propagating their species and filling worlds and being associated with the Gods. But to prevent them being thus cut off hereafter, the Elders of Israel, who are obedient to the priesthood, are under the necessity of taking those that present themselves and who wish to be sealed to men. Now, O ye inhabitants of the earth, repent of your sins, become sons of God by adoption, by entering the Kingdom of God upon the earth, keep his commandments, glorify his name, sanctify yourselves before the Lord, and every one of you take a wife to save us this care and share with us in this blessing. We are willing any day for this; we do not want to deprive other men of their glory and their rights, but we are under the necessity of taking them, for it is the commandment of the Lord to us. Shall the daughters of Eve be placed in a position that they shall be deprived of the highest degree of exaltation hereafter? No, no, this is contrary to the law of heaven, to the will of God and the plan of salvation and exaltation, consequently this doctrine is introduced among the children of men, and it must be carried out and obeyed, and who shall hinder it, for the Lord Almighty has commanded it, and who says it shall not be so? This doctrine must be fulfilled, and the people must be saved who will be saved. The nations of the earth that have slept without the gospel must have an opportunity of receiving it, and they will be preached to, they have been preached to, and they are being preached to at the present time by just men made perfect, who have gone into the spirit world and are preaching to them, and if they will receive the gospel the living must officiate for them and bring them up, that they may have salvation, be numbered with the sanctified and be received into the presence of the Father and of the Son, every man in his order, and according to that which he is willing to receive and obey, for all is governed by law which must be sustained by law, and that that obeys the law will be justified by the law. I want you to hear, O ye Latter-day Saints, and all ye inhabitants of the earth who believe in Christ, you to whom this doctrine is committed, if ye reject it ye will be damned, saith the Lord your God. And you, daughters of Israel, though your husbands may not do right in many things, and you may see that they do not walk as Saints, never contend against this doctrine, never speak against it, never have a feeling against it; and O ye of little faith, wives and children, if your fathers or husbands do not do right, have faith and ask God to remove them out of the way, and not stay to afflict you. I say, instead of contending and quarrelling and finding fault with them, and throwing every obstacle in their way, seek unto the Lord our God until you have faith that they will be removed out of your way. This is the course for you and me; we must live so that we do those things which are required of us. This is demanded at our hands. We must not neglect the great plan of salvation, but we must seek unto the Lord until we become united enough to make us mighty, strong and powerful, that Zion may present her glory in the eyes of all living, and we be able to build temples, enter therein, officiate for the living and the dead, send the elders to the uttermost parts of the earth, for this gospel must be preached to all people before the end can come, this very gospel that we preach, as it has been told here this afternoon.

      This is the only people on the earth that hold the priesthood of the Son of God and the keys thereof. What manner of men and women ought we to be? Trifle with God? Trifle with his holy commandments? Trifle with his ordinances? Trifle with his laws? No, be obedient to the laws, honor every precept that the Lord has given us by which we should live, and every ordinance; live by the, and sanctify the Lord God in our hearts, that we may become one. And if the question is asked, are we willing to hear and obey and give all that we have for the Kingdom? Yes, and your humble servant is as willing as any man or woman in this Kingdom, no man can be more willing than he is. Come and let us be one, and let us go to work and build up the Kingdom, and establish the Zion of God, no more to be removed. And if we obey the commandments of God we need have no fears of what earth and hell can do. Be kind, do good to all, and be sure to be humble, so that you will have that heart of repentance to forgive, a heart of charity and long-suffering one towards another, and towards those who persecute and hate you, for in many instances they are now as they were in the days when Jesus and Stephen were put to death, and we may say as they said --"Father, forgive them, they know not what they do." Let us have the mind that was in Christ.

      Now we are about to close our Conference, and adjourn until the 6th of next April, at ten o'clock in the morning, in this place. And I feel to say, God bless you, you who have sat patiently to hear the speakers, God bless you. And I bless the brethren who have spoken in the name of the Lord; and I bless the different quorums in the church; and I feel to bless those who have made music for us, and the Saints, and the strangers all the earth over who are willing to live for, receive and appreciate the blessings of the Lord, for a multitude of the inhabitants of the earth are pure and honest in their hearts, and they want the truth. And I pray continually that they way may be opened, that they may have the opportunity of receiving the gospel and being gathered out. And I say, Bless you, my brethren and sisters, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

ELDER GEO. Q. CANNON

announced that the High Priests who desired to be re-baptized, would meet at the Endowment House at 8 o'clock on Thursday next. He then red the rules of the United Order.

            The choir sang an anthem--

Comfort ye my people.

            Benediction by Elder ERASTUS SNOW.

GEO. GODDARD,
Clerk of Conference.

_____

1876

6-9 Apr 1876, 46th Annual General Conference, Tabernacle.
[Deseret News Weekly, 25:168, 4/12/76, p 8; Millennial Star 38:273, 289]

[6 Apr, 10 am]

[DNW 25:168, 4/12/76, p 8]

THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE.

_____

FIRST DAY.

THURSDAY, April 6th.

            The forty-sixth annual conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints convened this morning in the New Tabernacle, April 6th, 1876, at 10 o'clock.

PRESENT ON THE STAND.

            Of the First Presidency -- Prest. B. Young and Daniel H. Wells.

            Of the Twelve Apostles -- John Taylor, Wilford woodruff, Orson Pratt, sen., C. C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Brigham Young jr., Jos. F. Smith.

            Patriarch -- John Smith.

            Of the First Seven Presidents of Seventies -- Joseph Young, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, John Van Cott.

            Of the Presidency of the High Priest's Quorum -- Elias Smith and Elias Morris.

            Of the Presidency of this Stake of Zion -- Geo. B. Wallace and W. H. Folsom.

            Of the Presidency of the Bishoprick -- Edward Hunter, L. W. Hardy, Robert T. Burton

            In addition to the above, there was a general attendance of the authorities throughout the Territory, besides a large congregation of Saints.

            conference was called to order by PREST. B. YOUNG.

            The choir sang --

An angel from on high
The long, long silence broke.

            Prayer by Elder JOHN TAYLOR.

The choir sang --

Great is the Lord, 'tis good to praise
 His high and holy name.

ELDER WILFORD WOODRUFF

Rejoiced in having another opportunity of meeting together in another conference. He particularly desired that every heart should be lifted up in praise and thanksgiving to God. The professing Christian world,m though they said they believed in the Bible, were groping in darkness and were without faith in God. The Latter-day Saints not only believed in Joseph Smith, the prophet of the last days, but also in those promises and prophecies that God had declared through his servants in ancient and modern times.

            He then spoke of the blessings and privileges that all those were entitled to who had embraced the gospel of Jesus Christ, and who kept a celestial law. All those to whom were committed a dispensation of the gospel God held responsible for the carrying out of his purposes, as he revealed unto them from time to time. God held the ancient apostles responsible for the faithful testimony which Jesus their master sent them forth to bear to the nations of the earth, and which they faithfully performed to the day of their death. So also with joseph Smith, to whom the Lord delivered the ancient records of the Nephites, and gave him the priesthood to lay the foundation of a kingdom that never was to be thrown down. God held him accountable for the faithful use of those powers and keys that were committed to him. It was the same with Prest. young, his counsel, the twelve apostles, and all who held the priesthood. God held us all accountable for the same, and it behoved us to be careful how we handled sacred things and to magnify our calling that was placed upon us.

            He urged the prompt and honest observance of the law of tithing, that our temples might be built, and all faithful Saints have the privilege of attending to those ordinances for their dead friends and forefathers that alone could be attended to in the temples of the Most High God. No matter what our circumstances might be, all had the power of keeping the commandments of God. He hoped the Saints who attended this Conference would come with prayerful hearts, that God might inspire his servant Brigham and give him strength to deal out to the people the bread of life. He prayed that God would also inspire his Saints with an increasing desire and determination to do all things required at their hands.

[Wilford Woodruff]

[DNW 25:212, 5/3/76, p 4; JD 18:186]

DISCOURSE

BY ELDER WILFORD WOODRUFF, DELIVERED AT THE

Forty-sixth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, on the Morning of Thursday, April 6th, 1876.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      "Who am I, saith the Lord, that I command and am not obeyed? Who am I, saith the Lord, that I promise and do not fulfill?" We have again the privilege of assembling ourselves together upon another Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and I hope and trust that, what time we may spend in Conference, our hearts may be lifted up unto the Lord, that his Holy Spirit may be given unto us, that we may be dictated and directed in our words, thoughts, acts, and teachings, in such a manner that we may be justified before him.

      We have said, time after time, and year after year, that we live in a very peculiar age, generation and dispensation, and this is true. Time rolls on, carrying with it its events, and fulfilling the revelations of God, unto us especially. We live in a day of darkness; unbelief and infidelity are covering the whole face of the earth, until it seems as though the whole Christian world had lost all hold of faith in God and in his Son Jesus Christ, and in the Bible, the revelation of God to man. And this being the case, if the Lord has any people on the face of the earth, they should be increasing in faith in him. You let a Christian come here, no matter who, whether he be a minister, professor, or believer, of any one who professes to believe in the Bible, and let him ask an Elder in Israel—"Do you really believe, in your soul, sincerely before the Lord, that Mormonism is true?" When the Elder answers him "yes," he is about as much astonished as we were yesterday when these magazines exploded. The fact of it is, as I said before, the world do not believe in God or in revelation, and they marvel very greatly to find any man who has really got independence of mind enough to stand up and say—"I believe that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, and I believe in the revelations that were given through him; I believe in the literal fulfillment of prophecy, as written in the Bible." To hear men say this astonishes the Latter-day Saints to see the amount of darkness and infidelity that are abroad in the earth. Hence, as Latter-day Saints, I think it requires on our part an increase of faithfulness in the practice of our religion, and in the various revelations of God contained in the Bible, Book of Mormon, and the Book of Doctrine and Covenants.

      We see before our eyes, year after year, the sighs of heaven and of earth, and the fulfillment of prophecy, but how much are we as a people increasing in faith in God? Do we increase in that respect in proportion to the increase of infidelity in the world? Perhaps I am not a judge, but it appears to me that we do not comprehend. The work in which we are engaged, and the Bible, Book of Mormon, and the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, are just as true to-day as they were twenty, thirty, or forty years ago, when we shouldered our knapsacks and valises, and traveled on foot from city to city, State to State, and from country to country, to preach the word of God without money and without price, trusting in the living God to sustain and uphold us in our mission. I say that this work is just as true now as then, and so is the saying which I quoted—"Who am I, saith the Lord, that I command and am not obeyed? Who am I, saith the Lord, that I promise and do not fulfill?" I believe that the Lord will fulfill what he says; I believe that he will fulfill his promises unto the Latter-day Saints and unto the world, unto Zion and Babylon; and if he does, there is something at the door, something for us, as Latter-day Saints, to do. I believe the Lord has held every man responsible, from the day of our great progenitor, father Adam, into whose hands the Holy Priesthood and the keys of the kingdom of God have been committed; and I believe that ebery man, every set of men, and every people, will be held responsible, in time and eternity, for the use they have made of the gifts, blessings, and promises which have been given unto them. The amount of it is that if any people undertake to keep a celestial law, it is their privilege to enjoy the spirit and power of that law; it is also the privilege of any man or set of men, who ever received the Gospel, to enjoy the blessings of that Gospel, no matter what age of the world they may have lived in. Every person who has ever repented of his sins, and has been baptized for their remission, after the order of God, and after the similitude of Jesus Christ, who was buried in water in the likeness of his death, and came forth in the likeness of his resurrection, has a right to the Holy Ghost; it is promised, and it belongs to him; it is the right of all persons to enjoy this, and if they receive the Holy Ghost and its gifts, they have inspiration, light, and truth; they have eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to understand, and they should be in a position before the Lord that they can comprehend his work far more perfectly than the world, for they have not obeyed the Gospel of Christ, and they have no right to, or claim upon, the gifts of that Gospel. But all who, in any age of the world, obey the Gospel, have a right to the Comforter, and to inspiration and revelation, they belong to them, and the Lord never had a people on the face of the earth who did not have a right to these gifts, and it was their privilege and duty to enjoy them.

      This is the difference between those who keep celestial law, the law of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and those who do not. But, as I have remarked, all in every age of the world who have received a dispensation of the Gospel, are responsible before the Lord for their acts, and for the manner in which they have used their blessings and privileges. The Prophets and Apostles in every age have been held responsible for the manner in which they made use of the Gospel of Christ when committed unto them; and that is the way it is with us today. One thing is evident to everybody who reflects at all upon the things of the kingdom of God—whenever the Lord chooses a people out of the world, they are hated by the world, and are unpopular in the world. This has been the case in every age. It was so in the days of Jesus Christ. He came to his own father's house—the Jews; he was of the lineage of Abraham, and when he came to his own brethren he was unpopular, he was rejected and opposed. They did not like him nor his course. They were looking for Shiloh to come, but not as a babe born in a stable and cradled in a manger, and traveling on from that to the cross and the grave in poverty and affliction, without military authority, and without power to govern and control, and to deliver and uphold the Jews as a nation. Christ came as the babe of Bethlehem, the lowest almost of the human family, and remained so up to the day of his death. A poorer man never lived, that I know of, in Judea and Jerusalem, than Jesus Christ. Who were his followers? They were not the great, rich, learned, noble, High Priests, or leading men of Judea; many of them were illiterate fishermen, poor men, weak things of the world; they were the class that Jesus chose for his disciples, and into their hands he gave the keys of the kingdom of God; he gave them the Apostleship, the power to bind and to seal both on earth and in heaven. Their deeds and labors reached not only through this world, but they reached into the eternal worlds, and will affect the inhabitants of Judea and Jerusalem from that day, I may say, into eternity. Those disciples of Christ received the Holy Priesthood, the Gospel of Christ, and the keys of the kingdom of God, and Jesus held them responsible to the day of their death for the course they pursued. However much they were despised by the world, they were held responsible for bearing a true and faithful testimony to Jew and Gentile, of Jesus Christ being the true Shepherd and the Savior of the world.

      And so I will say about the Latter-day Saints and the work they are engaged in. Ezekiel says that in the last days the stick of Joseph in the hands of Ephraim should be placed with the stick of Judah, before the eyes of the nations in the hands of the Lord, for a special purpose—to gather the house of Israel in the latter days. These two records were also to be made use of in order to preach the fullness of the everlasting Gospel to both Jew and Gentile; and they will stand in judgment against the generation living on the earth when they come forth; and from the day that Moroni gave that record into the hands of Joseph Smith, the Lord held him responsible for the use which he made of it; and when he gave him the Priesthood under the hands of John the Baptist, and the Apostleship under the hands of Peter, James and John, the Lord Almighty held him responsible unto the day that he sealed his testimony with his blood, for the course that he pursued with these things. And he bore his testimony, left it on record, and sealed it with his blood, and laid down his life, and that testimony is in force today upon all the world, and will remain so unto the end of time. And when I say this of Joseph Smith I say it of every other man. President Young has led this Church for many years, and the Lord has held him responsible, and will hold him so unto the day of his death, for the course pursued by him while conducting the affairs of his Church and kingdom, and also for the use he makes of the holy Priesthood and the keys of the kingdom. So also with his Counselors, the Twelve Apostles, and every one of us; we shall all be held accountable to the day of our death, and we shall have to give an account before the God of heaven when we go into the spirit world and meet him there; for the use of this Priesthood, and the keys of the kingdom, which have been established on the earth for the last time, have been committed into the hands of this people, and God will hold the whole of us responsible for the use we make of the blessings, privileges and powers which we enjoy in connection therewith. The eyes of God and his angels, and of every man who dwells in the celestial world are watching us, and the course we pursue.

      We are gathered together here as a people; we have been in these mountains a good while, and for a good many years we have been organized as a Church and kingdom, in this last age, in this dispensation of the fullness of times; and now the question with me is—Are we living up to our privileges? Are we performing the work required at our hands? Can we, as a people, claim the blessings of the Gospel of Christ, the blessings of the celestial law and of the celestial kingdom of God? Can we claim these things at the hands of our heavenly Father unless we keep his commandments? This is a question that we want to take home to ourselves. If we are not keeping the commands of the Lord can we claim his blessings? We can not; and this is matter for reflection for the Latter-day Saints.

      It may be asked—What are the commandments of the Lord? Many of them are contained in these records, the Bible, Book of Mormon and Book of Doctrine and Covenants; and we have the living oracles with us, and have had from the commencement. The Lord will never leave his kingdom without a lawgiver, leader, president, or some power to direct the affairs of his Church on the earth, for the reason that it is the dispensation of the fullness of times, in which God has set up a kingdom which is to be an everlasting kingdom, and to whose dominion there will be no end; that kingdom will not be given into the hands of any other people, but it will be given to the Saints of the Most High, and they will possess it for ever and ever.

      Now, brethren and sisters, here comes a question in my mind, this morning, which I think we ought to bring home to ourselves, and that is—Are we, as a people, doing our duty in keeping the law and commandments of God, and the covenants which we have made? If we are we are justified, and we have a claim upon the Holy Spirit and upon the blessing and approbation of God. Many things are required at the hands of the Latter-day Saints, and there is not one of us who has a lease of his life. The Elders of this Church are passing away, and almost every Conference we look around and find that somebody has left us; and it will be but a short time before many of us who are here to-day will have closed our labors in the flesh, and we shall have passed to the other side of the vail, and it is important to us all that we should do what is required of us. What we find to do to-day we should not put off till to-morrow.

      The question may arise in some minds—What is required of the Latter-day Saints? I will tell you some things that are required of us. The Lord requires us to pay our Tithing; and another thing is that we go to and build the Temple in this city; whether we do it or not it is required of us, and if we fail, we, in my view, shall be under condemnation. I consider that the building of Temples is one of the important things required by the Lord of the Latter-day Saints in the dispensation of the fullness of times, that we may go into those Temples and not only redeem the living but redeem our dead. We have been a good many years here in the valleys of the mountains, and we have not yet got a Temple finished to the name of the Lord. We have one pretty well forward in St. George, and I am very glad of it; but we want one here. We have got the foundation laid; it has been standing a good many years, and I think that we should go to and finish it, and do what we can to redeem our dead. This is among the things for which I think we shall be held responsible. Very many of us in this Church and kingdom have been gathered, as the Prophet has said, one of a family and two of a city, and many of our progenitors, now in the spirit world, never saw the face of an Apostle, Prophet, or inspired man, and they are shut up in prison. Joseph Smith, Heber Kimball, George A. Smith, and thousands of the Elders of Israel may preach to those spirits, and they may receive the testimonies which the Elders bear; but the Elders will not baptize believers there; there is no baptism in the spirit world any more than there is any marrying and giving in marriage. All these things have to be done this side of the vail, in the flesh. God is no respecter of persons; he will not give privileges to one generation and withhold them from another; and the whole human family, from father Adam down to our day, have got to have the privilege, somewhere, of hearing the Gospel of Christ; and the generations that have passed and gone without bearing that Gospel in its fullness, power and glory, will never be held responsible by God for not obeying it, neither will he bring them under condemnation for rejecting a law they never saw or understood; and if they live up to the light they had they are justified so far, and they have to be preached to in the spirit world. But nobody will baptize them there, and somebody has got to administer for them by proxy here in the flesh, that they may be judged according to men in the flesh and have part in the first resurrection.

      This, in my view, is the work that is required at the hands of the Latter-day Saints, and when we get through I think we will find this to be true. And if there is anything I desire to live for on the earth, or that I have desired, it has been to get a record of the genealogy of my fathers, that I might do something for them before I go hence into the spirit world. Until within a few years past it has seemed as if every avenue has been closed to obtaining such records; but the Lord has moved upon the inhabitants of this nation, and thousands of them are now laboring to trace the genealogical descent of the Puritan fathers, those who landed at Plymouth Rock, and whose descendants built up New England. Their lineages are coming to light, and we are gradually obtaining access to them, and by this means we shall be enabled to do something towards the salvation of our dead.

      These are some of the things upon my mind that I wished to speak to you about. And now let me ask—Have we a right to our endowments and to the ordinances and blessings of the Church and kingdom of God, unless we fulfill the law of God. It seems to me many times, that there is a darkness and a lack of faith even among the Latter-day Saints, and that as we grow older we grow colder, and as we advance towards the winding-up scene it seems as though we have almost lost sight of our calling, of the object of our being gathered together, and the purposes which God requires at our hands. There is a good deal for us to do if we build up Zion; and if we do that and sanctify ourselves before the Lord, it has got to be done through obedience to the commandments of the Lord. The Lord has commanded us, and we have got to obey his commandments if we receive the blessings of obedience. Our numbers are not great, and compared with the whole of the inhabitants of the earth I do not expect that the number of the Latter-day Saints will ever be very great; yet the Lord has promised that the little one shall become a thousand, and the small one a strong nation; and out of the house of Israel and those from among the Gentiles who obey the Gospel, God will raise up a nation, and they will have power and strength in the earth. But when we compare the Saints in this or any other age with the surrounding world, their numbers are few. I do not know why it is that so few of the inhabitants of the earth take any interest, in their eternal welfare. The whole human family, heathen, pagan, Christian and Jew, know that this is not their home, and that all have got to die, they can not escape the law of death; even if translated, as some were anciently, they have to undergo a change equivalent to death. Then why is it there is so little interest throughout the world with regard to a future state and to eternal matters? The few who show they have an interest in these things, and who have gathered together to these valleys of the mountains, have need of faith; we stand in need of prayer, we stand in need of the Holy Ghost, and of the inspiration of the Almighty to dictate and direct us, and unless we possess and enjoy these things we become barren and unfruitful before the Lord.

      Now, whatever the Lord requires at our hands, he does not require anything of us that we can not perform. We can obey his commandments according to the position that we occupy and the means that we have in our possession. There is no man or woman so poor but what he or she can obey the Gospel; they can go forth and be baptized for the remission of their sins, and if they keep the commandments of the Lord he will put into their hands power and means to fulfill that which is required of them.

      I hope, brethren and sisters, that while we are together at this Conference, we shall have prayerful hearts, and that the Spirit of the Lord may be poured out upon us; that President Young may have strength of body, and that the Spirit of God may rest upon him to such an extent that he may be able to give the Latter-day Saints such instruction as he may desire; and that the Apostles and Elders who may be called upon to speak may be made the instruments in the hands of the Lord in conveying his word to the people, and that we may be united together.

      Somebody or other has got to build up Zion; somebody has got to build Temples, and to go into them and attend to the ordinances therein. The Lord has said that he will come and visit the earth, but before he does come the people have got to be pure. The Lord Jesus has declared that he will come and reign on the earth, and if you read the Book of Doctrine and Covenants you will find numerous predictions in regard to his coming, such as—"I come quickly," "I come at an hour ye think not," "My coming is at the door," "I come as a thief in the night," "I come in an hour when you are not looking for me," and "Blessed is he who is looking for the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." I say that throughout the whale of the Scriptures—the Old and New Testament, the Book of Mormon, and the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, the second coming of the Lord is frequently referred to; and has the Lord, promised these things without intending to fulfill them? No, he has not, they will be fulfilled. But before Christ comes, a people have got to be prepared by being sanctified before the Lord. Temples have got to be built; Zion has got to be built up; there must be a place of safety for the people of God while his judgments are abroad in the earth, for the judgments of God will visit the earth, there is no mistake about that, the revelations are full of promises to this effect, and as the Lord has declared it, he will not fail in keeping his word.

      Brethren and sisters, let us search the revelations of God; let us look to ourselves, and understand the spirit by which we are governed and controlled in our labors and callings. We are called to a great calling. The greatest calling with which any people can be called is to have placed in their hands the Gospel of Christ, and the power to build up his kingdom upon the earth. The Lord has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the world, and things that are nought to bring to nought things that are. He has done this in every age of the world, and he has done it in our day and generation; and he will hold us responsible for the use we make of the holy Priesthood, the ordinances of his house and the power that is put into our hands to accomplish the work of God, and to build Temples to his name. If we do not do these things I think that we shall be under condemnation before the Lord, and that we shall suffer for it.

      I pray God, my heavenly Father, that he will pour out his Spirit upon this people, that we may see and comprehend things as they are, that we may comprehend our duties and may be inspired to labor while the day lasts, for by and by the night will come when no man can work. I pray God that we may be prepared for his coming, and that we may have power and a disposition to perform and accomplish all that is required of us, that when we go to the other side of the vail we may he satisfied with our labors here in the flesh.

      This is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

PRESIDENT D. H. WELLS

Felt gratified with another opportunity of meeting in the capacity of a general conference. A great and glorious privilege was granted unto us, of being co-workers with the almighty, and assisting him in sustaining and establishing his kingdom upon the earth. The world at the present time was full of unbelief and wickedness, and the Lord had sent forth his everlasting gospel to reclaim his children from the error of their ways. This was a preparatory work. The judgments of God were beginning to be poured out upon the inhabitants of the earth. It was through the instrumentality of his children that he was going to establish his great and glorious kingdom. Let us take hold then with renewed zeal and energy and build up temples by paying our tithing. Were we willing to use our means and ability for the forwarding of this great temple, the foundation of which was already laid? We could do it if we were only united and willing to lay ourselves out for this great work. There need be no delay in this matter, but by some appropriating their labor and others their means to furnish a support for the families of the laborers, the work could be immediately commenced. Economy and home industries, and the necessity of more being producers instead of consumers, he also spoke upon, which would give us greater power, and the work of the Lord would be accelerated and roll forth with increased rapidity.

            He hoped the Saints would go forth in renewed energy to do those things required at their hands, and become unified in bringing about the purposes of God.

[Daniel H. Wells]

[DNW 25:274, 5/31/76, p 2; JD 18:203]

DISCOURSE

BY PRESIDENT D. H. WELLS, DELIVERED AT THE

Forty-sixth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, on the Morning of Thursday, April 6th, 1876.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS

_____

      I am gratified with another opportunity of meeting in the capacity of a General Conference. We have listened to a very stirring discourse here this morning in regard to the great work in which we are all engaged, or at least the Latter-day Saints should be all engaged in it; for they ought to feel interested in the work they have espoused, as it is designed to bring about the accomplishment of the purposes of the Lord upon the earth. In the day and age in which we live, the Lord has given to his children here below the great privilege of being co-workers with him in establishing his kingdom, and the reign of truth, peace and righteousness upon the earth.

      Is there any necessity for the Lord to commence such a work? If we are to believe our surroundings, and what we see, hear and learn every day, there is great necessity, for there can be little doubt in the minds of any reflecting person that we live in a very wicked, unbelieving, and perverse generation. I do not think this proposition would be denied by any one, it is so manifest to everybody that they cannot deny it. Well, the time has come when it seems as if the cup of their iniquity is about filled, and when the Lord thinks it is enough, and he has seen fit to commence his great latter-day work with a proclamation of the everlasting Gospel among the children of men, with a view of reclaiming them from the path of perdition, and of saving all who will yield obedience to his requirements.

      The earth is now filled with violence and evil as it was in the days before the flood, and the Lord has said that as it was in the days of Noah so shall it be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man. How was it in the days before the flood? Why, the wicked had filled the cup of their iniquity, and they were destroyed, only a few—the righteous—being saved. Well, it it is to be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man as it was in the days of Noah, why the wicked will again be destroyed, and the righteous saved. This is a preparatory work, and if the people reject the Gospel that the Lord has revealed from heaven, they may expect to be over-taken, sooner or later, by his judgments. They are already being poured out upon the earth. We see and hear of them occasionally, but the world is filled with unbelief. Unbelief in God is the crying sin of this generation. They do not believe in the things of God, nor in the principles which he has enunciated, and which he is endeavoring to establish through the instrumentality of those among his children who have rendered obedience to his Gospel, and who live in accordance with the principles thereof upon the earth. We have the privilege of promulgating the work of God, and of establishing his kingdom here among the children of men; and we may have the privilege of building Temples to his high and holy name, wherein we may receive the blessings of time and eternity, and administer the ordinances of salvation for the living and the dead.

      It does not seem necessary, and it should not be, to enter into any argument to prove these things to the Latter-day Saints; they are already patent to them, and in this regard they know and understand their duty. Well then, what is there for us to do? Why, to take hold with renewed energy and zeal; not to falter but to go ahead, with what interest we can command, with all the ability we have been endowed with, and with the means that the Lord has bestowed upon us, in accomplishing his purposes, and in building Temples to his holy name. It is for our own benefit; it is for the benefit of the kingdom, and for the growth and spread thereof.

      How can we do more than we have done? hoe way by paying our Tithing. Can we go to and assist in building this Temple, the foundations of which have been laid so long? I answer that we can. The next question is—Will we do it? That I do not know; each one will answer this question for himself by his acts. If we respond to this call it will require labor, means, and some attention. For one I will say that I am willing to take hold with my might, and do what I can towards it. I can do something, can you? Yes, each and every one can do something, and if the Latter-day Saints will be united in this thing we shall see the construction of this Temple go on rapidly. We are abundantly able to do it—we have plenty of mechanics and laborers, and abundance of the means necessary to sustain them. The details will be furnished, and the requirement will be made. Will it be responded to, that is the question? I think it will; I have faith to believe that the Latter-day Saints will respond with alacrity in putting the work through. I believe that it is in the hearts of the people, and that they will rejoice in it to a greater or less extent. There may be some lukewarm in this work, as in every other; but I am satisfied that the great majority will lay hold with a great deal of energy, and will persevere in it, and will rejoice in doing so. This is my faith, and I am willing to prove it, so far as I am concerned, by my works.

      I do not consider it necessary to dwell upon the importance of these things. A great many of the Latter-day Saints have had many blessings bestowed upon them in the house of God, very great blessings indeed. Shall we slacken our hand because of this? By no means. There still remains a great work to be done; and it is incumbent upon us to do it, as brother Woodruff has said, while we have the opportunity in the flesh. Before we go behind the vail we should lay a foundation to progress upon after we have finished our course here. We, by our works, as well as by our faith, while in this life, should lay a foundation for exaltation in the celestial kingdom of our Father and our God.

      I am rejoiced to hear the subject of building Temples agitated again.

      A great deal might be said about it as to the details, but it will recommend itself to every one. What can a Bishop do in his ward? He can do something, and if he will lay the matter before the members of his ward he will find that he can get very liberal contributions in labor, and in provisions and other means necessary to pay the hands who work steadily on the Temple. There is not a ward in the city, not a ward in the county, nor in all these counties, but what can contribute considerable to this end, and that too right away. It is not going to take so much stone to go on with in proportion, as it has taken for the foundation, for the walls will not be so wide; and although the work is expensive, yet it can be done. We have mechanics who are perfectly competent to do it, and the plan will be given as fast as laborers to do the work are ready.

      This is one thing that we can do, and it is required of us, and the responsibility of accomplishing this task rests upon our shoulders. Of course we have other duties to perform. Every person who lives in this Territory, here in Zion, who professes to be a Latter-day Saint, has responsibilities of various kinds resting upon him. All ought to assist in developing the resources of the soil, to draw from the elements for the support of themselves and families; to build up and make improvements, and not to tear down and destroy. We should all be united in developing, beautifying and improving this country, in which the Lord has planted our feet, that we may become a self-sustaining people, bringing forth from the elements with which the Lord has surrounded us, those things necessary for our sustenance and comfort. We should economise our time, and use it and all we have to our own best advantage, and to the glory and honor of our Father. There is plenty of labor here for all if they will do it, and if they will put themselves to work in those channels that are necessary. There are some kinds of business that are overdone. A good many of our young people, and others to, instead of turning their attention to the cultivation of the earth, or to the manufacture of things that are actually needed for the welfare and comfort of the community, seek to become clerks and to pursue some kind of a calling that is not productive. Such a course increases the consumers, but not the producers, and we have no surplus here of those things necessary to support and sustain people. If men were to go into various branches of manufacture, they would help to create a market for home products, and that would stimulate production, the production of fruits of the soil as well as other things. That would be good economy. We, at present, have no surplus of the products of the soil in these valleys of the mountains; there is no overplus even of wheat or other grain, or of butter and cheese, and other kinds of food. Even of meat we have not any but what can command a market, and at a price sufficiently high to justify the raising of it, and the taking care of, and increasing and multiplying the flocks and herds, and then using them wisely. What for? To sustain the wicked and ungodly? No; but to build up the kingdom of God, and to hold and use for God and his kingdom continually. Not just for a short time, and then pass off in some other direction; but continually, day by day, week after week, and year after year, as long as we live, contribute of what we have for the building up of the kingdom, and the building of Temples to the name of the Lord. And when that is done, there will be something else in the same direction, for it is the work of the Lord, the great work of the last days. Let us act as if we believed it, unitedly, with all our hearts, and with all the means that we possess, and not silt our ways to strangers. I tell you, brethren and sisters, this Feats upon us, and the work may advance with a great deal more rapidity than what it has done, if we will be united in obeying the counsels that we receive from time to time. We must not only listen, but act upon the counsels we receive.

      The Lord, a great while ago, said through his Prophet, that he would give the kingdom in its fullness to his Saints, and that the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ. We believe this, and we believe that we are his Saints; poor as we are, we are the best there is. We have the opportunity to grow and increase in grace and in favor with the Lord, and in faith and in good works, and becoming better than we now are, and of becoming more useful; and as we do so, why, the kingdom will grow faster, and things will prosper more with us. We shall have greater power with the Lord and in the world, and the purposes of heaven will roll on and come to pass faster than they have done. Though in this respect we have no reason to complain, for they have come along about as quick as we have been able to stand it. But the work will continue to increase in greater ratio than it has hitherto done; it is bound to, and cannot help, it, any way in the world. Whether we ourselves, individually, stand firm and steadfast, makes no difference, the work of God will go forward anyhow. But we have the blessed privilege of assisting, and of being co-workers with the Lord, it we are disposed to he so. Then let us look to it, that we do not fail, for upon this depends our own salvation and exaltation in the celestial kingdom. We have now an opportunity for laying a foundation for hereafter hearing the welcome plaudit—"Well done, good and faithful servant, you have been faithful over a few things, now will I make you ruler over many things." Shall we neglect the opportunities that we enjoy to that extent, that we shall come short hereafter? I hope and trust not.

      The work we are engaged in is worthy of all our attention, for it is the work and kingdom of God, that was spoken of by the Prophets long ago; that great kingdom spoken of by the Prophet Daniel, that is to break in pieces and subdue all other kingdoms, and stand forever, is actually being built up in our day, right in the face and eyes of the whole world. Who understands it? Does the outside world? No, and it seems sometimes as if scarcely half the Saints do to the extent they should. I am satisfied that neither I nor anybody else comprehends this work to the fullest extent. A great many can see the kingdom, some do not; some of those who profess to be Saints, judging by the course they take, do not see the kingdom. But it is here all the same, whether you see it or not, and it is actually transpiring; and the course and history of the Latter-day Saints are a testimony to the world from the Lord of the building up of his kingdom, the bringing to pass of his purposes, and the fulfillment of prophecies uttered thousands of years ago. But they cannot see it.

      One of the signs of the times to be given when the kingdom of God should be built up, was the heaving of the sea beyond its bounds. Has anybody heard of any such thing in these days? Everybody that reads the newspapers knows that events of this kind have been common during the past, few years; but this generation pay no more regard to them than they would to the shaking of a straw in the wind, so far as being a sign of the coming of the Son of Man, or of the accomplishment of the work of the Lord in the last days. Talk to people generally, in the world, about such things, and they say—"Oh, they are accounted for upon some natural principle." It is so with all of the signs that the Lord has given, or that he will give, that have been prophesied about—they can all be accounted for upon some natural principle. They are nevertheless coming to pass in the time that the Lord, through his Prophets, has said they would come. Many things prophesied of in ages past and gone are actually transpiring to-day, yet the people generally do not comprehend them. But the majority of the Latter-day Saints do, and they know that the time of the second coming of the Savior is approaching.

      Can we realize that there is a great work to be accomplished, and that the responsibility rests upon our shoulders? I hope and trust we may; I believe we shall, and that we shall put forth renewed energy to perform what is required of us from time to time, and be earnest in accomplishing, as far as it devolves upon us, the purposes of the Almighty, in seeking the kingdom of God and its righteousness, and in developing the country in which God has planted our feet, and which he held in reserve for so many hundreds of years for his Saints, that they might have a place to come to and inherit. We know that he has given it into our hands, and he is pouring his blessings upon us from time to time, and that to use for him and his kingdom, and not, as fast as he hands them to us, to hand them out to build up the devil's kingdom.

      That we may be united in using our abilities, our means, our substance, and all that we have, in rolling forth God's purposes, building up his kingdom, and establishing the principles of righteousness in the hearts of the people, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

            The Conference was adjourned till 2 o'clock p.m.

            The choir sang an anthem --

Jerusalem, my glorious home.

            Benediction by Elder C. C. RICH.

____

[6 Apr, 2 pm]

[DNW 25:168-169, 4/12/76, p 8-9]

2 p.m.

            The choir sang --

Great God, attend while Zion sings
The joy that from thy presence springs.

            Prayer by Bishop LORENZO D. YOUNG.

            The choir sang --

With joy we own thy servants, Lord,
 Thy ministers below.

ELDER JOHN TAYLOR

Addressed the conference. When we met together, as at present, it was absolutely necessary that we place ourselves under the guidance of the Almighty. It was very important that we have his spirit, not only in speaking, but in hearing. Although we of ourselves might be very weak and ignorant, yet by his assistance, we might be enabled to acquit ourselves in the discharge of our duties, honorably before God in the building up of his kingdom on the earth. It was an unspeakable privilege for us, thus assisted, to be co-workers with God in bringing about his purposes. Joseph Smith was an instrument in the hands of God, in performing the labor and bring forth the revelations that came through him. We were indebted to God for a knowledge of the priesthood both the Melchizedek and Aaronic. The world was entirely ignorant of it until it was revealed through Joseph Smith.

            He spoke of the condition of the world when God raised up Joseph Smith, gave him authority to preach, and ordain Elders and send them forth to preach the Gospel without purse and scrip, as did the ancient apostles. God was the same yesterday, to-day and forever. Whenever a dispensation of the Gospel was committed to man, those who received and obeyed those principles which the servants of God were sent forth to promulgate were always entitled to the same blessings and privileges that the Gospel holds forth. The saints now before him could bear witness that they had received the same blessings that the ancient saints enjoyed, hence God was no respecter of persons.

            He spoke of the designs of the Almighty from the beginning of the world. In our day he had opened up the dispensation of the fulness of times. Thus heavenly principles were revealed to the earth and some of them were so plain and simple that a wayfaring man need not err therein. To disseminate these principles God had given h is holy priesthood, which was nothing short of his rule and government upon the earth. We had an organization now as in ancient times, with prophets, apostles, bishops, seventies, elders, pastors, teachers, &c., placed in the church, for the perfecting of the Saints, the work of the ministry, &c. The Almighty gave the pattern for the organization of the various quorums of the priesthood to Joseph Smith, and to God be all the glory.

            He also spoke of the marriage relations, the relations between a man and his wife or wives, which God had made known to us, the building of temples, and what our duties were pertaining to them. before obeying the Gospel, our ideas pertaining to the future state were very vague, as was the Christian would at the present time. The outside world never could see or comprehend the Kingdom of God, for it could only be discerned -- by the Spirit of God, and that Spirit could only be obtained by baptism for the remission of sins and the laying on of hands by those having authority, for the reception of the Holy Ghost.

            After relating a very interesting conversation he had with Baron Rothschild, while on a visit to Salt Lake City, on the subject of religion, he closed by an earnest appeal to the Latter-day Saints to be full of integrity and faithful in observing the commandments of God.

[John Taylor]

[DNW 25:242, 5/17/76, p 2; JD 18:193]

DISCOURSE

BY ELDER JOHN TAYLOR, DELIVERED AT THE

Forty-sixth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, on the Afternoon of Thursday, April 6th, 1876.

_____

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

_____

      When we meet together on occasions like the present, it is absolutely necessary that we place ourselves under the guidance and direction of the Almighty; that is, a thing indeed, which is proper at all times, for in the Lord we live and move—from him we derive our being—and to him we are indebted for every blessing that we enjoy of a temporal and spiritual nature, for everything that pertains either to this world or that which is to come. We are met together on this occasion to attend to the duties and responsibilities that devolve upon us associated with the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth; and it is very important that we have his spirit to direct us in our speaking as well as in our hearing, and in the various purposes, plans and calculations that may be started for the building up of the kingdom of God upon the earth, for we really are, or ought to be, co-laborers with the Almighty for the accomplishment of his purposes on the earth. And although we are very weak, and incompetent to do anything in and of ourselves, yet with the assistance and guidance of the Almighty we shall be enabled, by diligence and faithfulness in discharging the various responsibilities that devolve upon us, to fill up the measure of our day upon the earth with honor before God, before the holy angels and before all good men, and to lend at least a helping hand in building up the kingdom of God, upon the earth, that we so frequently talk about, and to introduce those principles which emanate from the Most High. In this regard, however, we can do nothing of ourselves, neither could any man who ever lived upon the earth do anything in and of himself. There is a great supreme, over-ruling power that shapes, manages, controls and dictates the affairs of the human family. He raises up one and puts down another; he regulates and controls the affairs of the nations at his will, and in regard to the purposes that he has designed, pertaining to the earth whereon we live, of which he has given us some slight idea, he will have to be, after all, the principal co-operator, the leading hand, the power that guides, directs and controls. He has called upon us to be his assistants in the work that he has commenced in these last days, and has called a variety of laborers into his vineyard, whom he has promised to sustain, to guide and to direct, and hence, although it may be an unspeakable privilege for us to be co-laborers with the Almighty, yet it is only through the spirit, power and intelligence that he communicates, that we shall be able to do anything acceptable in the sight of God, and, as I said before, no man living without this assistance is capable of doing anything acceptable in the sight of God. When we look at the works of God in the various ages that have passed, and in the various dispensations that have been ushered into the world, we see this manifestly pointed out. In fact, when we reflect upon the work that we are engaged in, to whom are we indebted? To any of us? I think not. To Joseph Smith? I think not. He was made use of as an instrument in the hands of the Almighty to convey certain principles that God revealed to him; that was all, and when he came, it was not his own words that he spoke, it was the revelation of God's will to him, and it is that which we are in possession of through him, as an instrument. It is so with President Young and his council, and it is so with the Twelve, it is so with all the Bishops, High Councils, High Priests, and all the various authorities of the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth. It is not that there is anything inherent in us, for we know nothing only as God revealed it, we know nothing only as it was communicated. We did not understand the first principles of the doctrine of Christ even; and I have never met with anybody on the face of the earth where I have traveled who did know anything about these things. We are indebted to the Lord, therefore, for any knowledge that we have of the true doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and for all the ramifications thereof. We axe indebted to him for a knowledge of the Priesthood, whether that Priesthood be after the order of Melchizedek, which is after the order of the Son of God; or whether it be the lesser or Aaronic Priesthood. We none of us knew anything about it, and nobody ever did, until God communicated it. And the same thing holds good all the way through. Go back to the history of the world, as reported in the Bible and Book of Mormon, and you will find that every great movement ever made among men that had God to support it, originated not with men, but that God himself was the author of it. Even Jesus himself, when be came, said—"I came not to do my will, but the will of him who sent me;" and—"The words that I speak, I speak not of myself, but the Father that dwells in me. He doeth the works." Therefore, looking at things in this point of view, we, above all people who dwell on the face of the earth, ought to acknowledge the hand of God in all things; and in fact we have a revelation directly on that point, which says—"that with none is the Lord angry but with those who do not acknowledge his hand in all things.

      We are here for a certain purpose; the world was organized for a certain purpose; the world has been destroyed for a certain purpose, and judgments have overtaken it for a certain purpose; the Gospel has been introduced for a certain purpose, in the different ages of time, and among the different peoples to whom it has been revealed and communicated, and we, to-day, are in subjection to the general rule. The Lord has led us along as he once led Israel, and as he led the Nephites from the land of Jerusalem, and the ten tribes, and other peoples, who went to different places. He has led us along, and the first thing he did with us, or to the world whereon we live, or with whom we are associated, was to send his Gospel, having revealed it first to Joseph Smith, and he, being authorized by the Almighty, and having received his appointment through the holy Priesthood that exists in the heavens, and with that appointment, authority to confer it upon others, did confer it upon others, and they in turn upon others, and hence the Gospel was sent to us in the various nations where we resided. And when these men went forth to proclaim this Gospel, they went, as Jesus said, not to do their "will, but the will of the Father who sent them," and to co-operate with the holy Priesthood here upon the earth in introducing correct principles. Hence they went among the nations, and thousands, and tens of thousands, and millions listened to their testimonies; but as it was in former days, so it has been in latter days. Says Jesus—"Strait is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and few there be that find it; while wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there be that go in thereat." this has been the case in all ages and among all peoples, wherever and whenever the Gospel has been preached to them.

      Now then, the Lord has been desirous, in this age, as he has in other ages, to gather to himself a people who would do his will, keep his commandments, listen to his counsel and carry out his behests. To whom could he send? To the wise and learned, to the philosopher and statesman, to the prince and potentate? Verily no. The Lord, in this age as on former occasions, sends by whom he will send; he selects his own messengers, and sends them among the people. And when the Elders of Israel went forth, he said to them in a certain revelation—"Go forth, and mine angels shall go before you, and my Spirit shall accompany you." And they went forth, and God was true to his word, and many of you, at that time in distant nations, listened to the words of life, and when you heard them, you knew and understood them, just as Jesus said—"My sheep hear my voice and know me, and they follow me, but a stranger will they not follow, because they know not the voice of a stranger." You heard the voice of truth accompanied by the Spirit of God, and that caused a chord to vibrate within your own bosoms, and you yielded obedience and came out here, as we find you to-day.

      Now, then, we are gathered together to help, what to do? To look after our own individual interest? No. To accumulate wealth? No. To possess and wallow in the good things of this life? No; but to do the will of God, and devote ourselves, our talents and abilities, our intelligence and influence, in every possible way to carry out the designs of Jehovah, and help to establish peace and righteousness upon the earth. This, as I understand it, is what we are here for, and not to attend to our own individual affairs and let God and his kingdom do as they please. We are all interested in the great latter-day work of God, and we all ought to be co-workers therein. It is proper sometimes that we should reflect a little upon some of these things, and find out what is our true status and position before the Lord, and before one another, before the angels, and before the world that we are mixed up with, and have more or less to do with. We want sometimes to pause and reflect a little upon some of these things. Why was God so careful to preserve the plates upon which this record was found, and from which it was translated? Why was he so desirous that the old Prophets, who lived upon this continent generations ago, should sacredly guard and keep these sacred records? He told us what it was for, and the Prophets told us what it was for, and Jesus, when he was here, told us what it was for—that these things might come forth in the last days for the benefit of his people, and for the benefit of all who should believe in, and obey the word of God among the Gentiles? What for? That we might have a corroborating testimony from a people upon this continent, who had their Prophets, which should agree with the testimony which we had from the continent of Asia; and that, through the instrumentality of that truth which shall be developed, a nucleus might be formed through which God could communicate his will, and accomplish those purposes that he has designed to accomplish from before the foundation of the world. From the commencement of the organization of this world, God designed the accomplishment of the very thing that we are engaged in here to-day. We live in what the Scriptures call the dispensation of the fullness of times, in which the Lord has said that he would gather together all things in one, whether they be things on the earth or things in the heavens; in this dispensation he designed to call together his sheep that were on the face of the earth, just as much as he did in the days of Jesus. How was it then? Said Jesus—"Father, I pray for those whom thou hast given me; thine they were and thou gavest them me. I pray for them that they may be one, as I, Father, am in thee and thou in me, that the world may know that thou hast sent me." He has done the same thing in this day. He has gathered together his sheep, he has organized his holy Priesthood in its fullness, perhaps as perfectly as it ever was organized on the face of the earth. I do not know, fully, the position of things in Enoch's day; there may have been many things transpired on this continent that we have not had revealed unto us, for we have not all their records, only part of them were translated; some of the things contained on the plates were unlawful to be written at that time. But there were times when men had communion with God; there were times when God revealed himself unto his servants the Prophets; there were times when men came with a—"Thus saith the Lord" to the people; there were times when the people would say—"All that the Lord has bid us to observe, that will we observe and do;" there were times when the people said—"The Lord is our king, the Lord is our judge; the Lord is our lawgiver, and he shall rule over us." God is seeking to have a people like that in the present day, and that, through the Priesthood upon the earth, we shall be associated with the Priesthood in the heavens, and they with their God.

      There are no people now, and there never was a people, who could accomplish anything without this, and, as I said before, without the guidance and direction of the Almighty. There are a good many things associated with these matters, and some of them are very plain and simple; in fact, it is said by a certain individual that they are so plain that a "wayfaring man, though a fool, need not err therein;" and it was said in former days—"God hath not chosen the wise and great of the earth, but the weak and foolish things of this world to bring to nought the things that are." Then, he has restored the holy Priesthood, and that, as I understand it, is the rule and government of God, whether on the earth or in the heavens, the principle by which all things are governed in the heavens, and by which, when the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ, all things will be governed here on the earth.

      These, then, as I understand them, are things of very great importance to the Latter-day Saints, for it is to them that I am speaking this afternoon. We have an organization in our Church as they had in former times. We are told that in the days of Jesus on the Asiatic continent, "God placed in his Church, first Apostles, secondarily Prophets, afterwards Pastors, Teachers, Evangelists," etc.; and we are, moreover, told that these were placed in the Church "for the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, until we all come in the unity of the faith, and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the fullness of the measure of the stature of Christ, that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, but that we may grow up into him who is our living head in all things," that we may indeed be like him, one with him as he is one with the Father.

      This is the kind of principles that they had then, and this the kind of organization. What have we? Something very similar. We have Apostles and a First Presidency. What are the members of the First Presidency? Apostles. We have an organization of the Twelve, as they had then. We have also Seventies, in all of which we have even more than they had, though I do not know what they had on this continent, that is not made manifest; we shall know these things by and by, as the purposes of God roll forth, and their revelations are made known to us pertaining to those matters. We have our Bishops, we have our High Councils, we have our Seventies, we have our Elders, Priests, Teachers, and Deacons, all of which, or the pattern for which, have been given by the Almighty, by the revelation of his will to Joseph Smith; and if we have any knowledge that differs from the rest of mankind in relation to these matters, it is through the revelations of God, and we say to God be the glory and not to us. They went forth in former times and preached the Gospel without purse and scrip. We have done the same. I can see around me scores and hundreds of men who have been abroad to the nations of the earth to preach the Gospel without purse and scrip, trusting in the living God, holding the same Priesthood and authority; in possession of the same truths, lit up, encouraged, and sustained by the same Spirit, the same light, and the same intelligence that they had.

      These are some of the distinctive features of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Then we have gathered ourselves together. Well, the Prophets saw it years and years ago, and prophesied about it, but it was left for us to do. The Prophet says—"I will take one of a city and two of a family and I will bring them to Zion." What will you do with them? "I will give them pastors after my own heart, who shall feed them with knowledge and understanding." I will introduce the Priesthood of the Son of God among them; I will give them the light, revelation and power of God to be with them, and I will stand by them and sustain them. He has revealed to us, as he did to others the nature of the relationship that subsists between men and their wives; he has shown us that there are eternal associations and connections, and has shown us how to accomplish these objects, and to secure to ourselves, our wives and our children, inasmuch as they observe the revelations of God and carry out his purposes. These are some of the principles that he has made known unto us, and he has given us commandments relative to these things, and in relation to building Temples to his name and administering therein, so as to be acceptable to him. He has pointed out to us certain principles pertaining to the everlasting covenants with us, with our fathers and with our children, and has shown us how to perform the various duties devolving upon us, according to the counsel of his will, which lie has revealed through the holy Priesthood that he has here upon the earth. These are things with which we are most of us familiar, and therefore I do not propose to quote Scripture about them particularly, but just lay them briefly before your minds, that you may reflect upon them.

      Before we came into this Church and kingdom, we had certain confused ideas about a future state; but what did we know about it? Very little, very little indeed. We hoped we should get to heaven when we died; we hoped that, if we were good, honest, upright and virtuous, God would accept us, which was all very good so far as it went. But what knowledge had we of the future? None at all. What knowledge has the world to-day about these things? None at all. What knowledge have they of us and of our communications with God? None at all. The world never saw the kingdom of God, they never can see it, it is out of their reach, Jesus said in his day—"Except a man is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God," much less inherit it. They cannot help that; we could not help it when we were in their condition; generations past could not help it? What could they do about it? Nothing. What could any of the great reformers, as they are called, do about these things? Simply nothing. Did any of them ever introduce the Gospel as Jesus taught it? Not one among them; with all their virtue, zeal and philanthropy, with all their desires to do good, they could not accomplish these things. Were they all wicked men? By no means. There were many good men among them, and so there are to-day; but these good men cannot see the kingdom of God, unless by the Spirit of God, and we are told definitely that "no man knows the things of God but by the Spirit of God." And how do they get it? We have been taught, by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, by repenting of our sins, by being baptized, by those possessing the authority, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of our sins, and by having hands laid upon us by the same authority for the reception of the Holy Ghost. Then it is that the Spirit takes of the things of God and shows them unto us; then it is that we are brought into communion with our heavenly Father; then it is that we have a hope that enters within the vail, whither Christ our forerunner is gone; then it is that we have an unction from the Holy One, as they had in former times, that will teach us the principles of light, and life, and intelligence, pertaining to our present and future existence; then it is that the darkness with which the world is beclouded is removed, and the light of heaven is permitted to permeate our minds, and impart light and intelligence thereunto; then it is that we are the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be, says the sacred writer; "but when he who is our life shall appear, then shall we appear like unto him in glory;" it is through this principle, and this life, light and intelligence, and that through obedience to the commands of God.

      In looking still forward we find that there are other things ahead of us. One thing is the building of Temples, and that is a very important item, and ought to rest with force upon the minds of all good Saints. I remember, some time ago, having a conversation with Baron Rothschild, a Jew. I was shelving him the Temple here, and said he—"Elder Taylor, what do you mean by this Temple? What is the object of it? Why are you building it?" Said I, "Your fathers had among them Prophets, who revealed to them the mind and will of God; we have among us Prophets who reveal to us the mind and will of God, as they did. One of your Prophets said—"The Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his Temple, but who may abide the day of his coming? For he shall sit as a refiner's fire and a purifier of silver." "Now," said I, "Sir, will you point me out a place on the face of the earth where God has a Temple?" Said he, "I do not know of any." "You remember the words of your Prophet that I have quoted?" Said he—"Yes, I know the Prophet said that, but I do not know of any Temple anywhere. Do you consider that this is that Temple?" "No, sir, it is not." "Well, what is this Temple for?" Said I, "The Lord has told us to build this Temple so that we may administer therein baptisms for our dead (which I explained to him,) and also to perform some of the sacred matrimonial alliances and covenants that we believe in, that are rejected by the world generally, but which are among the purest, most exalting and ennobling principles that God ever revealed to man." "Well, then, this is not our Temple?" "No, but," said I, "You will build a Temple, for the Lord has shown us, among other things, that you Jews have quite a role to perform in the latter days, and that all the things spoken by your old prophets will be fulfilled, that you will be gathered to old Jerusalem, and that you will build a Temple there; and when you build that Temple, and the time has arrived, 'the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his Temple.' Do you believe in the Messiah?" "Yes." "Do you remember reading in your old prophets something like this—'They shall look upon him whom they have pierced, and mourn, and be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. And one shall say, What are these wounds in thine hands and in thy side? And he will say—These with which I was wounded in the house of my friends?'" "Ah! Is that in our Bible?" "Yes, sir, that is in your Bible." I spake to him then about the Nephites having left Jerusalem and told him that the Book of Mormon represents them as descendants of their people, and that Jesus came among them, and that they, because of their iniquity and departure from the word and law of God, were stricken with blackness. Said he—"What, as Cain was?" "Yes, sir, as Cain was." Said I—"These people, the Lamanites, according to this record," a French copy of which I gave him, be being a Frenchman; "this people are beginning to feel after these things, and they are coming by hundreds and by thousands and demanding baptism at our hands, just as you find recorded in that book that they would do, and that is given there as a sign that God's work had commenced among all nations. Said he—"What evidence have you of this?" This conversation took place in the Townsend House, and when the Baron asked me for evidence, said I—"Sir, if you will excuse me a few minutes I will give you some evidence? and I went to Savage's book stand, in the Townsend House, and obtained a photographic copy of David Cannon baptizing Indians, standing in the midst of a great crowd of them. Said I—"Here is the evidence." "Well, what shall we do?" Said I—"You can do nothing unless God directs. You as a people are tied hand and foot, and have been for generations, and you can't move a peg unless God strikes off your fetters. When he says the word the things spoken of by the Prophets will be fulfilled; then the measuring line will go forth again in Jerusalem, then your Messiah will come, and all those things spoken of by the Prophets will be fulfilled."

      I mentioned these matters to Baron Rothschild merely to exhibit some ideas pertaining to the work in which we are engaged; and in speaking of the Temple—"Well, this is not the Temple? "No, not that you are going to build, this is ours, and we expect to build hundreds of them yet, and to administer in them in carrying out the work of God." I speak of this, that you may reflect a little, you Latter-day Saints. Has God organized a First Presidency? Yes. Has he endowed them with the Spirit and power of God? Yes. Has he organized the Twelve? Yes. Have they the spirit of their office? Yes, in part. He has organized Seventies; have they the spirit of their office? In part. He has organized a High Priests' quorum; have they the spirit of their office? In part, and many of these things are only in part. He has organized an Elders' quorum, and a great many Elders have been ordained; have they the spirit of their office? In part. Are they magnifying it? Only in part. Why we have got really and truly a nation of Kings and Priests, ordained, set apart and authorized to carry out the purposes of God here upon the earth, to operate with the Priesthood behind the vail in the accomplishment of these things. What are we doing? A little, but many of us, I am afraid, not very much. A great many are doing the best they know how, and are desirous, with their whole soul and spirit, with their intellect and their substance and everything they have, to dedicate themselves and all they have for God and for his cause and kingdom, and for building up Temples, and for accomplishing everything that God requires at their hands. Then there are some that feel like the boy said about his father. A Gentile came along and spoke to a little boy down street here, and said—"Boy, are you a Mormon?" "I don't know," said the boy. "Is your father a Mormon?" "Oh, yes," said the boy, "but he does not potter much about it." There are a good many who feel a good deal like that—they don't potter much about it. When their minds are lit up by the Spirit of God they feel like dedicating themselves and all they have to God, yet, by and by they begin to weaken and falter, and quiver, and go away.

      Sometime ago a great many of us renewed our covenants and were baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of our sins, and we then covenanted before God, holy angels, and one another, that we would consecrate ourselves and all that we had to God, that we would follow his counsel and the counsel of his holy Priesthood in all things, temporal and spiritual. Now let us talk a little plain on some of these things. Is not that so? Did you not do these things? You did. Well, what does it mean, or what does baptism mean, or what do any of these things mean—the ordinances, the Priesthood, the gathering, Temples, endowments and the light, intelligence and privileges that we have received from the hands of God? What do they mean? Are they a sacred reality that have emanated from God? Are they things in which our present, future and eternal happiness is concerned, or are they a mere phantasm? It seems they are very little more to many, although, perhaps, they appreciate them according to the best of their understanding, light and intelligence; still they say they are desirous of keeping God's commandments. Let me repeat here a passage of Scripture. "It is not every one that saith Lord, Lord, that shall enter into my kingdom, but it is he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." I think that is the Scripture, if I am not very much mistaken; I think you will find it written there, and I think that Scripture is just as true to-day as it was eighteen hundred years ago, just as binding, and we shall find the results of it just as true, and when the secrets of all hearts are revealed, when the judgment is set and the books are opened, these things will be known and understood. How will it be then with Latter-day Saints? Why those who are doing right and are full of integrity, and have kept their covenants, observed the law of God and walked in obedience to his commands will hear Jesus say—"Thou hast been faithful over a few things and I will make thee ruler over many things." And then there are some others mentioned. Who are they, and what are they? "Why, many will come to me and say, 'Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? Have we not cast out devils in thy name, and in thy name done many wonderful works?' When he will say to them—'Depart from me, for I never knew you.'"

      How will that fit on some of us do you think? That belongs a little closer to some of us than we imagine; for I do not think that Gentiles do much at prophesying in the name of God; I do not think they cast out many devils in the name of God, or do any wonderful works in his name. Jesus was speaking to a people that had done these things, the same, perhaps, as some of you have, and yet you have become careless and indifferent, and in many instances have made shipwreck of a good conscience and failed to keep the covenants you have made.

      These are things for as to reflect upon, and it is well for us all to reflect upon the position that we occupy. How is it with as? Are we all engaged in the same work? Not precisely. Paul gave a very beautiful description of the church of God in his day. Said he—"The body is not one member, but many; and the eye cannot say to the ear, I have no need of thee, nor the head to the feet, I have no need of thee." They were all engaged in the same work. It was not a work that rested simply upon the Apostles, or Prophets, or Evangelists, or some of the leading, prominent men of the Church; it was the work of God, in which they were all engaged. The body is not one member, but many, and if one of the members suffer they all suffer with it; if one member rejoice all are honored with it. The body is not all head; it would be a curious kind of a body without arms, stomach, legs, feet, &c.; it would be no body at all, it could not exist or act. You cut off any member of the body, say an arm, and the body is maimed; pluck out an eye and the body is maimed. Pluck out both eyes and you could not see. You may have ever so perfect a body and take away the legs and the feet, and what then? You can do nothing, you can't walk, you have got to be lifted by somebody else and carried about, a helpless, inanimate being, without motion, power and activity. So it is with the body, and if one member suffer all the members suffer with it. The head may be very perfect, but if the arm is withered or any part of the body injured the powers of the body are impaired, and it can not fully answer the ends of its organization. Hence it is that in the organization of the Church of Christ every member should act in its own place—the Presidency in theirs, the Twelve in theirs, the Bishops in theirs, the Seventies in theirs, the High Priests in theirs, and the Elders, Priests, Teachers and Deacons who are living their religion in theirs. A Teacher who keeps the commandments of God and fulfills his duties is more honorable than the Apostle who does not. You hurt any part of the body, for instance, cut your finger, and the entire body feels it immediately. Touch the head and every part of the body senses it. And so it is with every particle of the body—it is a perfect system; and so is the Church of God, and each of the organs, members in particular, thus the organized body walks in the path that God marks out, and seeks to accomplish all things that he designs for us to do. Hence there is a mutual sympathy, affection and regard, and a brotherhood and fellowship among the Saints of God who are living their religion, all through the organization of the Priesthood, from the head to the foot.

      And then we are united with the Priesthood in the eternal worlds, and the Priesthood that we have is of the same nature as that which they have. They administer in time and for all eternity; we are administering now in time, and soon shall be in eternity, all of us. The Twelve who are around me, and the First Presidency, and others will be, by and by, beyond the vail in another state of existence. And what then? Why then we go to give an account of our stewardship, and it will be well for all of us if we can say with Paul—"I have fought the good fight of faith, I have finished my course, and henceforth there is laid up for me a crown, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give to me at that day, and not to me only, but to all who love the appearing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

      May God help us to be faithful, live our religion and keep his commandments, that we may, by and by, obtain an inheritance that is incorruptible, undefiled and, that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for us, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

            Conference was adjourned till tomorrow morning at 10 a.m.

            The choir sang an anthem --

Worship the Lord evermore.

            Benediction by Elder F. D. RICHARDS.

_____

[7 Apr, 10 am]

[DNW 25:169, 4/12/76, p 9]

SECOND DAY.

FRIDAY, April 7, 10 a. m.

            The Choir sang --

Father, how wide thy glory shines,
 How high thy wonders rise!

            Prayer by Elder LORENZO SNOW.

            The Choir sang --

The time is nigh, that happy time,
That great, expected, blessed day.

ELDER LORENZO SNOW

Said forty-six years had passed away since the organization of the Church, and it had withstood all the storms that had been brought to bear against it. A man by the name of Joseph Smith started out with a declaration that God had spoken to him, committed to him certain principles and authority, which he was commanded to make known to the people, with a promise that whoever would receive his testimony and e obedient to the heavenly message, should receive the Holy Ghost, that would reveal to its recipients a knowledge of the truth of that testimony. Many thousands who were assembled here to-day, gathered from the various nations of the earth,c had received that Spirit, that was given them by the laying on of hands, which the servants of God had promised them. The greatest gift that God could possibly give to the sons of men was the gift of salvation, and after we had embarked in the great work, there was no sacrifice too great for us to make, so that we might secure the blessings of eternal life. The ordinances and gifts of the Gospel we appreciated so highly that no earthly consideration would deter us from cleaving to the pearl of great price. If we would only keep the commandments of God, our whole body should be full of light, and we would be able to comprehend all things.

            He exhorted the Saints to become more and more allied to the Spirit of the Lord, and improve day by day in their life and conduct, to be governed not by their own will, but by the counsel of those whom God had placed over us. Let us discharge all our obligations in the fear of God, that we might finally be saved in the kingdom of God.

ELDER C. C. RICH

Said the labor of the Latter-day Saints was to build up the kingdom of God. We had been very much favored in being permitted to come forth in this dispensation to assist in establishing the great work of the last days. God required his people to become one and we were required to adopt every principle that would bring us to a oneness. We had been forty-six years, since the organization of the church, trying to become one. How far had we succeeded in this? Unless we accomplished this, we should surely come short of a fulness of glory in the world to come. God required of us nothing but what would redound to our salvation, and what we could easily accomplish. since we came into these mountains, by our union a great deal had been accomplished, but by becoming more united much more might be done in the future than had been done in the past. Much responsibility rested upon us as elders of Israel. The judgments of God were beginning to be poured out. The time was short to bring about the purposes of God in carrying salvation to the nations of the earth. The labor therefore that rested upon us was very great. Let us become sanctified in our spirits, and in our bodies, and guided and directed in our labors by the counsel of the servants of God.

            He prayed that the blessing of God might rest upon his servants during this conference, that all might be refreshed and edified.

ELDER FRANKLIN D. RICHARDS

Said if all the saints could be present together during Conference, to hear what was spoken, it would be far easier to control and govern the people throughout the Territory.

            He dwelt considerably on the necessity of union, to enable us to accomplish what lay before us to be done. We needed much culture and education, and if we endured in the counsels of the servants of God, our union would increase. The union that was wanted was that which united us in the Spirit of God, and prompted us to keep God's holy will. Divisions, discord and wickedness were becoming very general among the inhabitants of the earth. Let us be united in these valleys, in the building of Temples, by carrying out faithfully the law of tithing, which God gave to Joseph Smith about eight years after the organization of the Church. Let us put away the evils of the world, and cultivate the pure principles of the Gospel, and be willing to labor in our sphere in doing the will of God. Let us practise our secret prayers and all other duties devolving upon us. That we might see the work of God prosper was his earnest prayer and desire.

PRESIDENT B. YOUNG

Made a few remarks on the subject of tithing and consecration.

            The Conference was adjourned till 2 o'clock p.m.

            The choir sang an anthem --

O praise God in his holiness.

            Benediction by Elder BRIGHAM YOUNG, Jun.

_____

[7 Apr, 2 pm]

[DNW 25:169, 4/12/76, p 9]

2 p.m.

            The Choir sang --

All hail, the glorious day
By prophets long foretold.

            Prayer by Elder ORSON PRATT.

            The Choir sang --

We're not ashamed to own our Lord,
And worship him on earth.

ELDER ISAAC BULLOCK,

A returned missionary, said he felt truly happy to bear testimony to the goodness of God to him. He was called on a mission last November to go and labor in the western part of Iowa. He met in that state every kind of apostate; many of them were very anxious for discussion, but he told them he was sent there to preach the gospel. Himself and Elders Joseph E. Taylor and Claudius V. spencer had been laboring together, and their united labors had been crowned with the blessing of God. They had baptized unite a number and organized several branches of the church.

ELDER CLAUDIUS V. SPENCER

A returned missionary, said he felt thankful to be here, and far more honored than to be in the presence of princes and kings. He knew that this was the Kingdom of God, though a great many judged us by our imperfections, but if such would only examine our condition and their own, they could more easily acknowledge us to be the Saints of the Most High. The Elders sent lately to Iowa had a greater measure of apostacy to contend with than perhaps any other Elders ever had to cope with. God had been with them by his Spirit and endowed them with the gift of testimony, and whatever good had been accomplished by their labors God was the author of it, and to him be the glory. He then exhorted the Saints to be faithful, to keep their covenants, and endeavor to do his will.

ELDER JOSEPH F. SMITH

Contrasted the difference, and spoke of the superior condition of good, faithful Saints who had kept their covenants, both temporally and spiritually, to that of those who had apostatized from the faith. Many people in the world believed that the Latter-day Saints were being led by a few cunning, shrewd individuals, who were only guided and influenced by sordid and selfish motives. The majority of the Latter-day Saints were once associated with some religious body, and became fully convinced that they had not got the gospel of Jesus Christ, but a form of godliness without the power, and when they had the privilege of hearing the testimony of the servants of God, the Spirit of God bore witness to their hearts that they were the truths of heaven. The Latter-day Saints were not an ignorant people, as many supposed, and those of them who were living their religion knew that this was the place for saints to be in, where they could be guided and directed by the counsels of the servants of God. We had in view the spread of the principles of the gospel, hence we sent forth our Elders to the nations of the earth. The evil of infanticide, spoken of by Elder Spencer, so rife in many countries, the murder of innocents, could not be laid at the door of the Latter-day Saints. So also the sins of profanity and drunkenness were neither tolerated nor practised by Latter-day Saints in good standing.

            He spoke of the wisdom and safety in the Saints being guided and directed by their leaders, who were inspired of God. He spoke of the necessity of being united in the new and everlasting covenant, to deal justly with each other, to be kind to the poor, to pay our debts, and then keep out of debt, to pay our tithes and offerings He did not believe it was pleasing to God for the Saints to mortgage their homesteads at the risk of being turned out of doors. If every Latter-day Saint would pay an honest tithing there would be an abundance in the storehouse of the Lord, that would be amply sufficient, not only for the building of temples, but all other purposes for which it might be required.

[Joseph F. Smith]

[DNW 25:714, 12/06/76, p 10; JD 18:271]

DISCOURSE

DELIVERED BY ELDER JOSEPH F. SMITH,

At the Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints,
in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Saturday Afternoon, April 7th, 1876.

_____

REPORTED BY GEO. F. GIBBS.

_____

      It is with humility, desiring that the Spirit of the Lord may rest upon you, my hearers, as well as upon myself, that I arise to address you. I am requested to "blow the Gospel trumpet." I do not know that I shall be able to make myself heard by this large congregation, unless all keep quiet and exercise that faith which it is our privilege to do when assembled in a worshiping capacity.

      If we are in the line of our duty, we are engaged in a great and glorious cause. It is very essential to our individual welfare that every man and every woman who has entered into the covenant of the Gospel, through repentance and baptism, should feel that as individuals it is their bounden duty to use their intelligence, and the agency which the Lord has given them, for the promotion of the interests of Zion and the establishment of her cause, in the earth. Those who are not faithful in the discharge of these duties cannot be wholly acceptable to God; for they are more or less in the condition of the Church which was complained of by the angel to the Apostle John, as being neither hot nor cold, but luke-warm, and therefore only fit to be "spewed out," or to be disowned of God. Manifoldly more deserving of this rebuke and chastisement are those who are not only indifferent to the interests of the cause of God and its growth in the earth, but who murmur and find fault and who, instead of putting their shoulders to the wheel, actually try to retard its progress by using what little influence and means they possess to obstruct the onward march of the kingdom.

      It was said by the Son of God, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." This was said to Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, who evidently believed that Jesus was sent of God, but who went to him by night, being ashamed to be seen seeking so humble a person in the day time, having, no doubt, that feeling of worldly pride which animates the bosoms of many of the present generation, he dared not identify himself with the Savior of the world, because his reputation and standing in society would be sacrificed. But he marvelled at the saying of Christ, and upon further inquiry the Savior explained by declaring that, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." And I may say still further, that being born of the water and the Spirit alone, will not enable a man to enter into the kingdom of heaven. There is something still beyond, which is just as necessary as this, the first ordinance of the Gospel, which must be observed and honored by those of this new birth in order that they may obtain the full salvation which is sought after.

      On this particular occasion the Savior was speaking of Baptism, and in order to impress it upon Nicodemus, that it might be understood then, as well as to be in force in all future time, so that people need not be deceived, he spoke thus emphatically on this point of doctrine. It therefore matters not how devout, honest, or sincere we might be in the profession of our faith in God, or in the system of religion we might have adopted, and which we believe to be the everlasting Gospel, without this ordinance of baptism we cannot be saved—but first having repented of our sins with that repentance which needeth not to be repented of, in other words, putting away from us every evil, and shunning even the appearance of sin, then to be baptized by one authorized of God for the remission of those sins, and for the reception of the Holy Ghost, we thus becoming heirs of God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ; true branches, having been grafted into the true vine, bearing fruit of the good seed, bringing forth an hundred fold to the honor and glory of God. I repeat, it matters not how honest we may be or profess to be in our convictions, without this repentance and baptism and reception of the Holy Ghost, which constitute the new birth, we are not of the family of Christ, but are aliens, estranged from God and his laws, and in this fallen condition we shall remain, whether in the body or in the spirit, for time and for eternity, unless we render obedience to the plan devised in the heavens for the redemption and salvation of the human family,

      The Latter-day Saints may say, We were taught this doctrine by the Elders in our native lands, and we believed it and repented of our sins, and were baptized, and we received the gift of the Holy Ghost, which was a testimony to us that we had done the will of the Father, and since then our testimonies have often been confirmed through the manifestations of the power of God, and the renewal of His spirit in our hearts. Why, therefore, say they, is it necessary to refer to these things now? Perhaps a reason may be found for so doing in the fact, that, judging from the actions of many who profess to be Latter-day Saints, it would seem that they had come to the conclusion that they had completed their work, that the requirements of the Gospel were all complied with, and nothing now remained but for them to enter upon the inheritances promised to the faithful. We perhaps forget, in consequence of the things of time, which so tempt our fallen nature, that, having been born anew, which is the putting away of the old man sin, and putting on of the new man Christ Jesus, we have become soldiers of the cross, having enlisted under the banner of Jehovah for time and for eternity, and that we have entered into the most solemn covenants to serve God and to contend earnestly for the establishment of the principles of truth and righteousness on this earth continually while we live. And having been "bought with a price," that is, having been redeemed from the power of sin through the atoning blood of the Savior, as the Apostle says, "We are not our own;" we are his, and we are dependent on him, not only for the light and knowledge which we have received by virtue of the Gospel restored in this dispensation through the Prophet Joseph Smith, but for all temporal blessings, and even for our very earthly being. Therefore, it is not consistent with our high and holy calling to allow ourselves to become careless and indifferent to the interests of the cause we have espoused, lest we fail through our inconsistency, and return "like the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire," and peradventure be found traitors to the sacred cause in which we have enlisted, and forfeit the gift of eternal life to which we have been made heirs. There is a course marked out for us to walk in—it is that strait and narrow path which leads back to the presence of God; the lamp to light our onward march is the Holy Ghost, which we received on or after our new birth. If we falter and turn aside, our lamp will burn dim and finally go out, when lo, the Comforter, the source of revelation, will leave us, and darkness will take its place; then how great will be that darkness! In proportion to the light we possessed will darkness overpower us, and unless a speedy repentance is made the darkness will increase within us, until we lose sight of our calling and forget Him who redeemed us and claimed us for his own. The Apostle Paul, in his First Epistle to the Corinthians, says: "Know ye not that ye are the Temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the Temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the Temple of God is holy, which Temple ye are." His language is applicable to us as Latter-day Saints, and destruction must overtake us, which is as certain as it is that God is a just being, if we render ourselves unworthy of the calling and name we bear by failing to perform the duties devolving upon us.

      In referring to the subject of baptism as essential to salvation, it may be asked by some, What would become of those who heard not the Gospel, and who therefore had not the opportunity of being baptized, claiming as we do that the Gospel was taken from the earth in consequence of its being rejected when proclaimed by Jesus and his Apostles. I would say to such that God has made ample provision for all his children, both the ignorant and the learned; those who have not had the Gospel preached to them in the flesh, will hear it in the spirit, for all must have the plan of salvation presented to them for their acceptance or rejection before they can become amenable to the law. "For," says Paul, "where there is no law there is no transgression." To those who have not heard the Gospel in the flesh, if they have not already heard it preached in the spirit, they most assuredly will, and that, too, by men who have previously preached it on the earth, who have died faithful servants, they will continue their labors in the spirit world, and those who receive the Gospel from them will "live according to God in the spirit," and all who hear it will "be judged according to men in the flesh," "for," says the Apostle Peter, "for this cause was the Gospel preached also to them that are dead." (1 Peter, 4, 6.) When, therefore, the law is revealed to them and they become instructed in it, then will they be held responsible. If they receive it, their kindred or friends who remain upon the earth perhaps, during the Millennium, will act for them, that is, they will be baptized for and in their behalf, for the remission of sins, and be confirmed members of the Church of Jesus Christ, in the same manner as that work is being done now; there being only one faith, one Lord, and one baptism, which law is eternal and unchangeable, and therefore it is applicable to the dead as well as the living in all ages and climes; and further, no living creature who has become subject to sin and the power of death in consequence of mortality, can evade this law and be redeemed, for it is the door to the fold of Christ, which fold cannot be entered, only through the door. So great and important is this labor, and so necessary for the salvation of the human family, both the living and the dead, that, as the Prophet Joseph said, it will occupy the whole period of the Millennium to consummate it.

      In connection with this work is that spoken of concerning Elijah the Prophet, namely, "the turning of the hearts of the children to the fathers, and the hearts of the fathers to the children," which if not done the whole earth will be smitten with a curse.

      The kingdom of God must be erected upon the principles which Christ has revealed, upon the foundation of eternal truth, Jesus himself being the chief corner-stone. These holy and sublime principles must be observed and honored in our lives, in order that we may obtain an exaltation with the sanctified in the kingdom of God.

      The beauty of these principles is they are true, and the satisfaction derived from their adoption is the knowledge which we receive convincing us of this fact. We have not believed a fable, neither are we cherishing a cunningly devised scheme, but we have been inducted into the truth, having Christ for our head, who is our forerunner, our great High Priest and King. It is true, there are few comparatively who acknowledge allegiance to him, and there are many of these who do not apparently comprehend the importance and binding character of their covenants, or allegiance. This is greatly to be reverted, not that the loyal and faithful subject will lose anything in consequence; but because they who refrain from exercising themselves in his cause will sustain the loss, a loss, too, which they cannot now estimate. It is indeed sorrowful that any should be indifferent to this all-important matter. Who is there of those that have been, or now are, associated with this Church, who have not felt the power of the Holy Ghost, and realized in some measure the benefits of that Spirit through the knowledge which it imparts? This question will meet all of us, those who turn away from the truth, and those who are and will remain indifferent to the cause of Zion, as well as the faithful, when we shall appear before the bar of God, to render an account of our deeds done in the flesh.

      The Holy Ghost is a personage who acts in Christ's stead. Just before the risen Redeemer left the earth he commanded his disciples to tarry in the city of Jerusalem until they should be endued with power from on high. They did so, and agreeable to promise the Comforter came whilst they were met together, filling their hearts with unspeakable joy, insomuch that they spake in tongues and prophesied; and the inspiring influence of this holy being accompanied them in all their ministerial duties, enabling them to perform the great mission to which they had been called by the Savior. We axe informed that, on a certain occasion, whilst engaged preaching the Gospel, many who heard them were convinced of the divinity of their mission, and they cried out, saying, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" They were not told to come to the anxious seat to be prayed for, or to believe in Jesus, for they already believed and were convinced; but "Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." The office of the Holy Spirit is to enlighten the minds of the people with regard to the things. of God, to convince them at the time of their conversion of their having done the will of the Father, and to be in them an abiding testimony as a companion through life, acting as the sure and safe guide into all truth and filling them day by day with joy and gladness, with a disposition to do good to all men, to suffer wrong rather than to do wrong, to be kind and merciful, long suffering and charitable. All who possess this inestimable gift, this pearl of great price, have a continual thirst after righteousness. Without the aid of the Holy Spirit no mortal can walk in the straight and narrow way, being unable to discern right from wrong, the genuine from the counterfeit, so nearly alike can they be made to appear. Therefore it behooves the Latter-day Saints to live pure and upright, in order that this Spirit may abide in them; for it is only possessed on the principle of righteousness. I cannot receive it for you, nor you for me; every one must stand for him or her self, whether of high or humble birth, learned or unlearned, and it is the privilege of all alike to be made partakers of it.

      I know that God lives, and that he has revealed himself. I know that the Holy Ghost has been conferred upon the children of men, and that the Gospel has been restored to the inhabitants of the earth in its fullness. I know that the Holy Priesthood, which is the power of God delegated to man, has been restored to the earth. I do know that God has delivered his people and that he will continue to deliver us and lead us on in his own peculiar way from conquering to conquer, from victory to victory, until truth and righteousness gain the ascendency in this His earth, inasmuch as we remain true to him and to one another.

      The question may arise in the minds of some, How do you know these things?

      Perhaps I can, in part at least, answer the question by asking another—How does the child, or youth, immediately know when he performs the first wicked act of his life? Is there not within him a consciousness of right and wrong? This is a portion of divinity which lights every one who is born into the world, which acts as a monitor to the heart and soul, and never fails to impress the mind with an unmistakable sense of right and wrong.

      This same spark of divinity, this monitor which speaks unmistakably to the understanding of the child, disapprovingly of his wrong, will speak, in just as unmistakable language, approvingly of good and righteous deeds. Therefore I know what I declare to be true, because my conscience approves of my obeying the requirements of the Gospel; this inward monitor testifies to my spirit that in rendering this obedience I do right, and gives me the self-same assurance when I am in the discharge of any other duties, whether officiating in the capacity of an Elder or in the performance of those duties which, as an individual, I owe to society.

      Is this the only way? No, I know it by the sight of the eye, by the hearing of the ear, and by the feeling of the heart. I know that "Mormonism" is true, because the fruits of it are pure and good. The fruits of our religion can be seen and heard, and their influence can be felt. For instance, here is a brother who does not take the name of the Lord in vain; he does not steal, nor lie, nor commit adultery, neither would he bear false witness against his neighbor; he honors his parents and seeks to do to others as he would wish to be done by; he bears the full fruit of the Spirit which he has received by virtue of his obedience to the Gospel, which is "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance;" his influence is good, and you know that he has drunk at the pure fountain, that he has gathered his figs from the fig tree, for were it otherwise his actions, the fruits of his life, would be of an opposite nature. Further, this unmistakable assurance, which is derived through yielding obedience to and practising the principles of eternal life, is continually being confirmed, as it were, by "line upon line and precept upon precept," through the revelations of the Holy Spirit, which is a continuous and unfailing source of intelligence, of joy and happiness, drawing him who possesses it nearer unto God, and will eventually cause him to appear like unto his Maker.

      It is the feel who has said in his heart, "There is no God," and it would indeed be a weak and foolish mind that would rest satisfied without out knowing beyond a doubt the Author and Source of his religion when the opportunity of ascertaining the fact is extended to him.

      I know the fruits of my religion are good, they are flavored with the sweets of heaven, and they imperil health and life to the soul, and I know that God, the Creator of heaven and earth, is its author. No man need wonder whether this be really true or not, for all may know for themselves, all may partake of the fruit of the vine and eat and live, all may drink of the eternal spring, and drink and thirst for more. These things I declare to you to be true and faithful. I have been acquainted with them from my youth, and I have felt their influence from my childhood. I have seen the effect of their opposite, and I know whereof I speak. I cannot deny these things, neither can any man who has ever known them, although he may apostatize from them, except he deny himself and his God.

      The man who embraces what is called "Mormonism," but which is really the Gospel of the Son of God, and lives according to its precepts, will never lie nor steal; he will not dishonor his parents nor despise his poorer brethren; he will never, no never, speak against the Lord's anointed, nor be ashamed to own his God, to whom he owes homage and gratitude now and forever; he will never do a dishonorable act, nor fail to acknowledge God in all things, neither will he refuse to render implicit obedience to the revelations of God which are applicable to him. It is true, man may err in judgment, he may be wanting in many things because of his fallen nature, but the system of salvation is perfect. Jesus, the Only Begotten of the Father, in whom there was no blemish, is its author; he is the Standard to all the world, and will be forever. He had power to lay down his life and take it up again, and if we keep inviolate the covenants of the Gospel, remaining faithful and true to the end, we too, in his name and through his redeeming blood, will have power in due time to resurrect these our bodies after they shall have been committed to the earth.

      Let us, then, my brethren and sisters, be valiant for the truth, maintaining our integrity to God and our brethren in all meekness, that we may at last come to the knowledge of God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent, whom to know is life eternal; this is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

            The conference was adjourned till to-morrow at 10 a. m.

            The choir sang an anthem --

Sing to the Lord in joyful strains.

            Benediction by PATRIARCH JOHN SMITH.

_____

[8 Apr, 10 am]

[DNW 25:169, 4/12/76, p 9]

THIRD DAY.

SATURDAY, April 9, 10 a.m.

            The conference was called to order by Elder B. YOUNG, Jun.

            The choir sang --

When earth in bondage long had lain,
And darkness o'er the nations reigned.

            Prayer by Elder GEO. GODDARD.

            The choir sang --

Praise ye the Lord, my heart shall join
In work so pleasant, so divine.

ELDER C. W. PENROSE

Said the church with which we were connected was the Church of God, and though we as a people had many weaknesses God was very merciful to us, and would continue to own and bless us so long as we showed forth a disposition to honor him and keep his commandments. God had taught us how to pray, so that our prayers could be heard. He had blest us with means and with influence, and accused the earth to yield its increase. He would bless us with the riches of eternity, if we would only humble ourselves before him and keep his commandments.

            He rehearsed the goodness of God in his providences while bringing us into this goodly land and since our arrival here, and partaking so freely of the blessing of our Heavenly Father, yet many of our hearts had been more or less alienated from him, by becoming worldly minded and sensual. In our partial blindness, we were apt to complain that the power of God did not accompany the administrations of the Elders in the laying on of hands to that extent that it did formerly, but where that was the cause the fault was with us, and not with God, for he was just as willing to exert his power and manifest his blessings among his Saints as ever, if our faith was only sufficient to secure and appreciate them. The Saints of God were willing to be led and guided by the power of God. The Gospel of Jesus Christ was not given to a few only, but to all who were wiling to receive it, and the Spirit of Christ was poured out not only on the preacher, but the people. We were not tyrannized over as a people by our leaders, as was generally supposed by our enemies, but we were willing to be led and guided by wise and judicious counsel. The people who inhabited this Territory had come out form many countries, and from under a great variety of circumstances, and many of them had met with difficulties and trials and disappointments, but had been enabled to surmount the same by the prevailing conviction that their chief business in coming here was to help establish and build up the kingdom, hence they continued to hold on in their allegiance to Jesus Christ, their living head.

            He referred to the great lapse of time there was when no prophet nor the voice of God was heard among the people, but in the course of time God again spoke, and revealed his authority to man. That authority was here, and his kingdom was being established, and would continue to grow and increase until the kingdoms of this world would become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ.

            He bore a strong and faithful testimony that this was the work of God, in which the people called Latter-day Saints in these mountains were engaged.

ELDER ORSON PRATT

Spoke of the willingness of the Saints to hearken to and carry out the counsel of the servants of God. No person had been compelled or constrained to do what he had no disposition to do, since the organization of the church. All was freedom in this church, and no individual had any right to exercise any other influence over the people but that of moral suasion, for such would be a violation of the most sacred and holy principles of civil and religious liberty. Of course if any members violated the laws of the church, they were liable to be disfellowshipped, as in any other community. He then spoke of the Constitution of our country, which instrument was indited under the spirit of inspiration, and we as a people had never violated or set at naught any of its principles. We held it sacred, and were willing to sustain it at any cost. And although we had been charged with its violation, no instance of proof could be found on record. But we were driven from our homes and our lands which had been honestly paid for to Government, and in the midst of our distress and persecutions, when an appeal was made for redress and protection at the hands of our general government, though they admitted our cause was just, yet they could do nothing for us. Thus they permitted us to become the victims of the most bitter persecution. What was all this for? Because we told them of their wickedness and called upon them to repent. We also told them of the illegality of all their marriages as regards the law of God, for no marriage can be legal in the sight of God, unless it is performed by a man inspired of God, having authority.

            He then stated the object and intent and use of temples. They were not intended for the people to meet in for worship, as this Tabernacle was used for, but for the performance of those ceremonies and ordinances which had reference to time and also to eternity, by men holding divine authority. A great many of our young sisters who understood these things, would rather be married to a man having more wives, by a man of divine appointment, than be married by one not authorized of God to a man having no wife.

            The Conference was adjourned till 2 p. m.

            The choir sang an anthem --

O praise the Lord.

            Benediction by ELDER JOHN TAYLOR.

_____

[8 Apr, 2 pm*]

[DNW 25:169, 172, 4/12/76, p 9, 12]

2 p.m.

            The choir sang --

Praise ye the Lord, 'tis good to raise
Your hears and voices in his praise.

            Prayer by ELDER WILFORD WOODRUFF.

            The choir sang --

How beauteous are their feet,
Who stand on Zion's hill.

            Elder BRIGHAM YOUNG presented the authorities of the Church who were unanimously supported by the conference as follows--

            Brigham Young, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in all the world.

            Daniel H. Wells, counsellor to President Brigham Young.

            Lorenzo Snow, Brigham Young, Jr., Albert Carrington, John W. Young, and George Q. Cannon, Assistant Counsellors to President Brigham Young.

            John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Sen., Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young Jr., Joseph F. Smith and Albert Carrington, members of the Quorum of the Twelve.

            John Smith, Patriarch of the Church.

            Angus M. Cannon, President of this stake of Zion, and David O. Calder and Joseph E. Taylor his counsellors.

            William Eddington, Thomas E. Jeremy, John H. Rumell, Miner G. Attwood, Dimick B. Huntington, Theodore McKean, Hosea Stout, Milando Pratt, J. R. Winder, Geo. J. Taylor, Henry Dinwoodey, Millen Attwood, Joseph Horne, Andrew W. Winberg and George Nebeker, members of the High Council.

            Elias Smith, President of the High Priests' Quorum, and Edward Snelgrove and Elias Morris, his counsellors.

            Joseph Young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Herriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates and John Van Cott, members of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies.

            E. W. Davis, President of the Elders' Quorum, and W. W. Taylor and Junis F. Wells his counsellors.

            Edward Hunger, Presiding Bishop, Leonard W. Hardy and Robert T. Burton, his counsellors.

            James Latham, President of the Priests' Quorum; Geo. Whittaker and William McLachlan, his counsellors.

            Adam Spiers, President of the Teachers' Quorum; Henry I. Doremus and Martin Lenzi, his counsellors.

            James Leach, President of the Deacons' quorum; John H. Picknell and Thos. C. Jones, his counsellors.

            Brigham Young, Trustee in Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

            Albert Carrington, President of the Perpetual Emigration Fund to gather the poor.

            Truman O. Angell, Architect of the Church.

            Orson Pratt, Historian and General Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff, his assistant.

            George Goddard was sustained as Clerk of Conference.

            The following names of missionaries were read by Elder BRIGHAM YOUNG, and unanimously sustained by the conference--

UNITED STATES.

Wm M Palmer, Monroe
Robert Lund, St George
E. G. Woolley, "
Thomas Judd, "
John C. Harper, Payson
Franklin Haymore, Payson
Zebedee Coltrin, Jr, Spanish Fork
William Lowe, Willard
William Ward, "
Shadrach Jones, "
James Montgomery, Weber, Co
Thos Richardson, Cache Valley

FOREIGN MISSIONS

Lewis Howells, Wellsville
Ebenezer G Defrieze, St George
John Miles, St Gorge
Jabez W. Taylor;, 11th Ward
George Goble West, 15th Ward
James McFarland, West Weber
Stephen L Richards, Farmington
John F F Dorius, Ephraim
A Tuligren, Spring City
James Keller, Brigham City
S P Neve, S L City
Ole Hanson, Logan
O N Liljenquist, Hyrum
Soren Jensen, 1st Ward, S L City
R Maeser, S L City
Jos Horne, Gunnison
Theodore Braendli, Richfield
Leopold Worthlin, 11th Ward, S L City
Ward E Pack, Kamas
Simpson M Molen, Hyde Park

ELDER JOHN VAN COTT

Bore testimony to the greatness of the work of God, which had been growing and increasing since its development amidst all the opposition and persecution through which it had passed, which rendered it a most marvelous work and a wonder. The results of the labors of the servants of God in preaching to the nations of the earth were now before us in these valleys of the mountains. Tens of thousands who were gathered here from all parts of the world, who had received this blessed gospel, could bear testimony to its divine origin.

            He spoke of the necessity of living before God, that we could have faith in him, so that his power would accompany our administrations to the sick, and raise them up to health and soundness by the laying on of hands. He spoke of the personal experience of the Saints, and their glorious prospects for the future, by their faithfully observing their covenants and living their religion.

ELDER JOSEPH E. TAYLOR

Said he had been down among a people who entirely ignored God, heaven and all sacred things. His labors had been devoted among those who had once known the truth, and had mingled their voices in bearing testimony to the truth in this Territory, who had turned away from the fold of Christ and were now located on the banks of the Missouri, in the county of Pottawattamie. For many days he and his brethren devoted their time in going from house to house, and in doing so they only met with one family but what had relatives in Utah. They met with a very rank apostate spirit in that region of country. They also met with quite a number who had been deceived and led astray, and were lingering by the way; to all such they exercised much patience and labor, and bore testimony to them of the truth, and some of them rejoiced in their teachings, and renewed their covenants, while others would wait and by being kindly written to by their friends here would come back again to the faith.

            Conference was adjourned till tomorrow morning at 10 a. m.

            The Choir sang an anthem --

Give ear to my word.

            Benediction by Elder ELIAS MORRIS.

_____

[9 Apr, 10 am]

[DNW 25:172, 4/12/76, p 12]

FOURTH DAY.

SUNDAY, April 9th, 10 a.m.

            The choir sang --

The great and glorious gospel light
Has ushered forth unto my sight.

            Prayer by Elder JOHN T. CAINE.

            The choir sang --

What wondrous things we now behold,
By prophets seen in days of old.

ELDER JAMES A. LITTLE

Said he had been twenty-five years in the Church, most of which time he had spent in Southern Utah, and had, like many of his brethren, gained considerable experience in the principles of eternal truth. He was on a mission to the States some few months ago, and had mingled considerably with the different religious sects of the day. He did not feel to condemn them as having no good in their systems. All men were not organized alike, some were enabled to receive more advance truths than others. The more he travelled and mingled with the world the more he was satisfied that while there was much evil in their midst there were thousands of as good and as honest men as could be found anywhere. We must exercise charity towards all men, for those who did not obey the Gospel would certainly obtain from our Heavenly Father a salvation according to he light they had lived up to.

ELDER ANGUS M. CANNON

Bore testimony to the truth of the everlasting Gospel, urged a more faithful and devoted life to the building up of Zion, to the building of Temples, that we might see God's kingdom established in glory. Never let us oppress the hireling in his wages, but act our part nobly as men of God, that we might finally be saved in his kingdom with the elect of God.

ELDER R. T. BURTON

Realized that the great work of God, commenced in these last days was of vast importance to the children of men. When the principles of the gospel were again brought back to the earth, and its gifts and blessings enjoyed, the spirit of persecution was aroused, especially in the religious world. When the testimony of the servants of God first saluted our ears, on prayerfully investigating those testimonies and principles which they taught, did we not find that it was not a cunningly devised fable, but a system of divine truth that would bear the strictest scrutiny, demonstratively proved from the Bible? And from the blessings we had received since we yielded obedience to the ordinances of the gospel we could bear testimony to the truth of the mission of Joseph Smith. The gospel therefore, that we had received, was nothing short of the power of God unto salvation as in days of old, when Christ and his apostles enjoyed the same.

ELDER A. F. MACDONALD

Said for the last three years he had been in St. George, being interested in the erection of the Temple, the basement of which was completed, and other portions of it were rapidly advancing.

            He bore a good testimony of the mechanics sent there from different parts of the Territory, of their faithful labors, and the excellent spirit they enjoyed while laboring there. He spoke highly of the generosity of the people towards its erection, and had no doubt there would be an equal response by the people towards the completion of the Temple in this city.

ELDER JOHN T. CAINE

Said his faith and whole soul were as much engaged in the building up of the Kingdom of God as those who were more conspicuous in public speaking than himself, for he was naturally diffident. He exhorted to a faithful and practical exhibition of our faith in our daily life . He had always accorded to others the same amount of liberty in the exercise of their religious convictions as he claimed for him self.

ELDER WILFORD WOODRUFF

Recited several instances of the power of faith, recorded in the Bible, and said also by that same power Joseph Smith had been enabled to accomplish all that he did in laying the foundation of the great latter-day kingdom. By faith the apostles had been able to travel without purse or scrip tens of thousands of miles to preach the Gospel. By faith President B. Young led this people into the wilderness, where the savage was accustomed to roam. By faith, industry, and the blessing of God this barren, desert land had been turned into a fruitful field. Without the power of God accompanying the efforts of the Elders, this territory would never have been peopled by those we now saw here. Every one who received the Gospel was under obligation to bear testimony to the truth. The prophecies of the Bible could not have been fulfilled, if an angel had not come to the earth, and brought the Gospel to the children of men. Why did God choose that untutored boy, Joseph Smith, to be entrusted with the keys of salvation? Why did he not choose one of the popular preachers of the day? Simply because God could not use them, for they would sell the kingdom for popularity, hence he chose a poor boy, and led him by revelation day by day, until he had completed the work he was raised up to do.

            He then spoke of those who had never heard the fulness of the everlasting gospel, and the necessity for temples to be erected, so that the ordinances of the gospel might be performed for these in the spirit world. He addressed a few encouraging words to the young men, also to the members of the relief societies.

            The choir sang an anthem--

Sing praises to the Lord.

Benediction by Elder F. D. RICHARDS.

_____

[9 Apr, 2 pm]

[DNW 25:172, 4/12/76, p 12]

2 p. m.

            The choir sang --

I saw a mighty angel fly,
To earth he bent his way.

Prayer by Elder GEORGE B. WALLACE.

            The choir sang --

O Lord of hosts, we now invoke,
Thy Spirit, most divine.

            While the sacrament was being administered, the names of the following missionaries were read by Elder Brigham Young, and sustained by unanimous vote --

TO EUROPE.

John Dykman, Sen., Salt Lake City
Thomas Ball, Coalville
John Robinson, Coalville
David W. Davis, Logan
Benjamin H. Tollman, 18th Ward, Salt Lake City
N. M. Peterson, Richfield
Jas. J. Peterson, Richfield
Lorenzo D. Young, Salt Lake City
Thomas Allsop, South Cottonwood;
Erasmus Christensen, Bear River City.

UNITED STATES.

J. T. Lesonbee, Monroe.
Nicholas Smith, Spanish Fork.

ELDER ORSON PRATT

Spoke at length on the introduction of the gospel by a holy angel according to the prediction of the Apostle John, while banished upon the Isle of Patmos.

            He examined from a scriptural standpoint the religious pretensions of the Roman Catholic and Protestant faiths, also referred to the Puritan Fathers, who broke loose form the ecclesiastical tyranny of the mother country, and established themselves upon this American continent, where they could worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences.

            He spoke of the introduction of the gospel by a Holy angel through Joseph Smith, and the organization of the church, and also on the downfall of Babylon, which had reference to that great ecclesiastical power spoken of by the Apostle John. The word of the Lord was to all those who embraced the gospel in the last days, "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and receive not of her plagues."

            The gathering together of the Saints, he also showed to be in accordance with the prophetic writings of scripture. The setting up of the Kingdom of God in the last days he referred to as spoken of by the Prophet Daniel, in interpreting the image which he saw in vision.

            He exhorted the Saints to faithfulness, to be prepared for the glory of Zion and the coming of the Son of Man, with the apostles and patriarchs of old, who will reign as kings and priests on the earth for a thousand years, according to promises made to them.

            The Conference was adjourned till next October 6th, at 10 a,m., at the New Tabernacle.

            The Choir sang an anthem --

"We praise thee, O God."

            Benediction by Elder BRIGHAM YOUNG.

GEORGE GODDARD,
Clerk of Conference.

_____

6-8 Oct 1876, 46th Semi-Annual General Conference, Tabernacle.
[Deseret News Weekly, 25:584, 10/11/76, p 8; Millennial Star 38:705, 721]

[6 Oct, 10 am]

[DNW 25:584, 10/11/76, p 8]

THE SEMI-ANNUAL CONFERENCE.

_____

FIRST DAY

THE Forty-seventh [Forty-sixth] Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, convened this morning in the New Tabernacle, October 6th, 1876, at 10 o'clock.

PRESENT ON THE STAND

            Of the First Presidency. -- Brigham Young, Daniel H. Wells.

            Of the Twelve Apostles. -- John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Orson Pratt, Sen. C. C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, F. D. Richards, Geo. Q. Cannon, Brigham Young Jun., Joseph F. Smith.

            Of the First Seven Presidents of Seventies. -- Jos. Young, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, John Van Cott, Levi Hancock.

            Of the Presidency of the High Priesthood. -- Elias Smith.

            Of the Presidency of this Stake of Zion. -- Angus M. Cannon, David O. Calder, Jos. E. Taylor.

            Of the Presidency of the Bishoprick, -- Edward Hunter, Leonard W. Hardy, Robt. T. Burton.

            Besides the above authorities, there was a general representation of Bishops and other leading men from all parts of the Territory, and a large congregation of Saints.

            Conference was called to order by Prest. B. YOUNG.

            The choir sang --

Great God attend while Zion sings,
The joy that from thy presence springs.

            Prayer by Prest. DANIEL H. WELLS.

            The Choir sang --

The great and glorious gospel light,
Has ushered forth unto my sight.

PRESIDENT DANIEL H. WELLS

read the 133rd Psalm.

      Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity
It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard; that went down to the skirts of is garments;
        As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

            He referred to the times and places where God revealed his mind and will to the children of men, through the channel of the Holy Priesthood. The work in which we are now engaged has been prophesied about by the prophets of old, and is to be found in the Holy Scriptures. He also dwelt on the necessity of union among the saints of God, to successfully bear off the kingdom of God. It was the best government upon the earth, because it was the government of God. It included every grade of priesthood, and reached in its ramifications to every nook and corner wheresoever the Saints resided. If taught the principle of deliverance from the bondage in which men are found laboring under taskmasters, and brought them to a land of liberty and freedom, where they are taught to become a self-sustaining and happy people. This was a preparatory work to gather the people together, train them in correct principles, and prepare them for the second coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It was, therefore, of the utmost importance that we as a people thus gathered should act in unison, standing shoulder to shoulder with our head in all things, in order that we may successfully accomplish the purposes of the Almighty. We could not do this by being lukewarm or half-hearted, but a whole-souled people, putting on newness of life, was needed to face the enemy and check the flood of corruption that deluged the world. No man could lead a people in this great warfare, unless he was called of God as was Aaron, neither could any one go forth to minister in holy things unless authorized of God, which the Christian world were not, for the authority of the holy priesthood had never been given to them. But we testified before all men that God had revealed his holy Gospel to Joseph Smith, through the instrumentality of a holy angel. This was the work of God, and not f men, and all those who had embraced it and come [to] these valleys, if they took hold with honest hearts, no difficulties or trials would ever cause them to apostatize from the truth. God appealed to the reason and judgment of his children, and not, to their enthusiastic feelings. He exhorted the Saints to lead a lawful and moral life, not with a hypocritical, long face, to cheat everyone they could, but to be pure, holy and righteous in every situation of life, and thus become a light to the world, worthy of imitation by all men. This work commended itself to the understanding of all. That we as a people might address ourselves to the great work faithfully, and ultimately be saved in the kingdom of God, was his prayer.

ELDER WILFORD WOODRUFF

said the gospel of Jesus Christ was just as true to-day as it was in the days of Adam, or as it was in the days of Nauvoo. God never had had a people on the earth, but what he always held communication with them through his servants the prophets. The gospel had been restored in this our day, as the fulfilment of prophecy given in the scriptures. The Bible was the record of the dealings of God with the Jews, and those revelations given through John the Revelator on the Isle of Patmos, pertaining to the restoration of the gospel and the plagues, pestilences, and famines that were to deluge the earth in the last days, would every one of them be fulfilled. The Book of Mormon is a record of a portion of the House of Israel that inhabited this continent, and the dealings of God with them through his servants the prophets. The Book of Doctrine and Covenants contained many revelations that God gave to his servant Joseph Smith, many of them having been given before the church was organized. What made Joseph Smith what he was, was the power of God, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

            By the power of God this people was enabled to receive the testimony of his servants. By his power this people had been gathered to this Territory. The once desert plains we now inhabited had become fruitful. By the power of God we were here living in peace, and had been sustained to bring about his purposes. The word of the Lord had gone forth that he would sustain his people who had received the testimony of his servants and keep his commandments. If the Lord had not kept his promise we should long since have been scattered before our enemies. Let us be encouraged and pray for his holy spirit to be with us, that we might keep his commandments, for Zion must be built up. The unbelief of the world would not prevent the fulfilment of prophecy, and unless the people of this continent repented of their sins, believed on Jesus Christ and were baptized for the remission of their sins, they would be visited by the judgments of God, according to the predictions of st. John.

            The conference adjourned until 2 o'clock p.m.

            The choir sang an anthem --

O Praise God in his holiness.

            Benediction by Elder LORENZO SNOW.

_____

[6 Oct, 2 pm]

[DNW 25:584, 10/11/76, p 8]

FRIDAY, October 6th, 1876, 2 o'clock p.m.

            The choir sang --

Come all ye saints who dwell on earth,
 Your cheerful voices raise.

            Prayer by Elder BRIGHAM YOUNG, Junr.

            The choir sang --

Daniel's wisdom may I know,
Stephen's faith and patience show.

ELDER LORENZO SNOW

Read a portion of the 25th chapter of the gospel by Matthew, also a few verses from the 16th chapter of St. Mark, from the 9th verse, and said it was a serious thing for any one to assume the authority of God to speak unto the children of men in his name and administer to them the ordinances of the everlasting gospel. This position or relationship we had assumed before the Lord our God, and honestly testified before all men that this was a fact, God revealed himself to Joseph Smith, and communicated to him the power and authority of this holy priesthood, to make known to the children of men the plan of salvation.

            He adverted to the immediate subject matter of the parable narrated in his text, and applied it to the feelings and circumstances that existed in the experience of many Elders of Israel, showing the importance of individuals who occupied but a very humble position in life temporarily, laying a good and broad foundation for honesty, integrity and faithfulness, that would pave the way for their future advancement. No matter if we had but one talent, let that talent be well used, that we might prepare ourselves for additional talents being added unto us, and not, because we had but one talent, lock it up, and not put it out to usury. If we did so we should certainly have that one talent taken from us, and it would be given to others who occupied and improved their talents. If we could only get the Saints to act in whatever avocations they might be called upon to labor in, and work honestly and faithfully, especially in connection with the United Order, they would then be in a fair way of obtaining the true riches; but we must learn to be honest in our temporal affairs, or we could never attain to the enjoyment of eternal riches. It was a good work, it was a glorious work, in which we as Latter-day Saints were engaged, therefore let us, in our families and the church in which we were members, labor with all our might to build up a Zion to our God, and establish the principle of righteousness, that we might secure to our selves eternal life. Amen.

[Lorenzo Snow]

[DNW 25:834, 1/31/77, p 3; JD 18:298]

DISCOURSE

DELIVERED BY ELDER LORENZO SNOW, ON

Friday Afternoon, April [October] 6th, 1876, at the Semi-annual Conference
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, held in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City.

_____

REPORTED BY GEO. F. GIBBS.

_____

      We, the Latter-day Saints, profess to have received from God the fullness of the everlasting Gospel; we profess to be in possession of the holy Priesthood—the delegated authority of God to man, by virtue of which we administer in its ordinances acceptably to him; and we testify, to the whole world that we know, by divine revelation, even through the manifestations of the Holy Ghost, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and that he revealed himself to Joseph Smith as personally as he did to his Apostles, anciently, after be arose from the tomb, and that, he made known unto him those heavenly truths by which alone mankind can be saved. This, as was remarked by President Wells this morning, is assuming a very important and responsible position, knowing, as we do, that God will hold us accountable for the disposition we make of this sacred trust which he has committed to us. As the Apostles appeared before the world, after they had received their commission from the risen Redeemer, to preach the Gospel of the kingdom to all nations, promising all who believed on their word, the Gift of the Holy Ghost through the laying on of hands, to we appear. As they by virtue of their commission, declared with all assurance, amidst persecution and opposition, the Gospel to be the power of God unto salvation to all those who believed and obeyed, so declare we. As they preached faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, baptism for the remission of sins, and the laying on of hands, by those duly authorized, for the reception of the Holy Ghost, as being essential to salvation, so preach we. As they by the power of the Holy Ghost became witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the faithful bearers of his Gospel message to the whole Gentile world, so, by and through the same Holy Spirit, we have become witnesses of him, and, having been called by the same divine and holy calling, we therefore assume the same position.

      Then, having assumed this position, we assume all the responsibilities of ambassadors of Christ, we become answerable for our individual acts, and for the manner in which we use the talents and ability the Lord has given us. Now the question is, do we sense our position, do we comprehend fully the nature of the work we have undertaken to consummate? I am sometimes led to believe that some of our brethren, Elders in Israel, are too ready and willing to shirk the obligations they are under by reason of their covenants, the faith they once possessed seems to be almost exhausted, and they appear to settle down into the quiet satisfaction of a mere nominal membership in the Church. There are others who think because their names are not very widely known, because they are perhaps only employees, occupying narrow spheres, that it does not matter much what habits they contract, or what kind of examples they set before their brethren. But then, if they held responsible positions, such as the Presidency of the Church, or a counsellorship, or if they belonged to the Quorum of the Twelve, or were they President of the High Council, or of the High Priests or Seventies, then they would consider it important how they conducted them selves. Herein they manifest great weakness or gross ignorance, their lamp is either growing dim or they never sensed the position they assumed in taking upon themselves the responsibilities of the Gospel.

      We are told in the parable of the Savior that the kingdom of heaven is as a householder who delivered his goods to his servants as he was about to travel into a far country. To one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one. The one that received the five talents went and traded, and made other five talents, doubling the portion that had been entrusted to him, and he also that received two talents went and gained other two. But he that received the one talent, went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. He doubtless considered that his responsibility was so small that he could not do much, and consequently he would not exercise a talent so inferior. Does not this apply directly to the condition of some of our Elders? Says one, "I am only a carpenter, or a tailor, or, peradventure, only a hod-carrier, therefore it cannot matter much how I deport myself, whether I do or do not honestly discharge my duties in my humble sphere. But it would be very different if I were acting in some more responsible and prominent position."

      Stop, my brother; do not allow yourself to be deceived by such alluring sentiments. It is true you may only be a hod-carrier, but remember you are an Elder in Israel, you are an ambassador of the Lord Jesus Christ, and if you are in the line of your duty you are in possession of that which the world cannot give nor take away; and you are held accountable to God for the honest use of the talent over which he has made you steward, whether it be large or small.

      Again, you exert a certain degree of influence, and be it ever so small, it affects some person or persons, and for the results of the influence you exert you are held more or less accountable. You, therefore, whether you acknowledge it or not, have assumed an importance before God and man that cannot be overlooked, and from which you cannot be released if you wish to sustain the name you bear.

      And what of the prospects of that individual? I say that if he honors his calling, and is found faithful to the trust reposed in him, his prospects for salvation and exaltation in the kingdom of God are just as good as any other man's. If he comprehends his position and lives accordingly, his prospects are equally good with any man that ever lived since the days of father Adam to the present moment; and it is just as important that he deport himself properly according to the sphere in which he walks, as it is that any other individual should, who may be called to act in a higher position; or, in other words, who may have been made steward over a larger number of talents. If the man of limited influence and small talents be not trustworthy and faithful in that which belongs to another, which may be committed to his charge, how can he expect ever to come in possession of the true riches, or even receive that which he calls his own? For mark well the language of the Savior bearing directly on this—"He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much; and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much."

      Therefore, let it be understood and always remembered by those who may be called to follow the humbler occupations in life, that it is absolutely necessary, for their growth and progress in the kingdom of God, that while acting therein they master the situation, that they establish and form a character and a living name, by which they may be known and distinguished hereafter among the sons of God. I respect the man occupying the humblest position, if he is faithful in the sphere in which he acts, and is truly an honest man; I deem him just as honorable as any person who may act in a higher position. The Lord does not require so much of the man who possesses but one talent, as of him who possesses more than one; but, according to that which he hath, so shall it he required of him. Let all, therefore, be encouraged, and seek to improve the talents they severally possess; and let him who may have the one talent use it and not hide it in the earth; that is, let him who may be endowed with little ability improve himself, and not complain because nature may not have been so propitious to him as to his more fortunate brother. Let us all be satisfied with our lot in life, and should it not be so desirable as we could wish, we should seek with becoming diligence to improve it, ever feeling grateful for our earthly being, and more especially for the Spirit of God we have received through obedience to the Gospel.

      President Young has said from this stand, that the poor are often harder to govern than the rich. There are, doubtless, many brethren present to-day, who preside in our various settlements, that can readily corroborate the statement. This should not be so, for one of the important objects of the Gospel is to benefit the poor temporally as well as spiritually; and, therefore, of all other classes of people, the poor should be the most willing to be directed and governed. The Lord has ever been mindful of his poor; to them, while in their adverse circumstances, he has granted privileges which are withheld from the rich. The fact that the poor had the Gospel preached to them was one of the evidences of Jesus being the Christ, which he himself gave to the disciples of John in answer to the question, "Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?" The poor have always been an especial charge of the servants of God, in all ages; and strikingly has this charge been sustained in this dispensation by President Young and his brethren. The Presidency of this Church have always been mindful of the poor, in donating themselves and using their influence upon others to assist in the gathering of the poor Saints from the various nations to this land; and upon their arrival here have caused homes and food to be provided for them until such times as they could provide for themselves; and they have constantly manifested a disposition to elevate the poor, and to protect them against that arbitrary power which peradventure might be used against them by their richer brethren.

      The Gospel binds together the hearts of all its adherents, it makes no difference, it knows no difference between the rich and the poor; we are all bound as one individual to perform the duties which devolve upon us. "And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?" Now let me ask the question, Who do possess anything, who can really and truly call any of this world's goods his own? I do not presume to, I am merely a steward over a very little, and unto God I am held accountable for its use and disposition. The Latter-day Saints have received the law of the Gospel through the revelations of God, and it is so plainly written that all can understand it. And if we understood and comprehended the position we assumed in subscribing to it when we entered into its covenant through baptism for the remission of sins, we must still be conscious of the fact that that law requires us to seek first the kingdom of God, and that our time, talent and ability must be held subservient to its interest. If this were not so, how could we expect hereafter, when this earth shall have been made the dwelling-place of God and his Son, to inherit eternal lives and to live and reign with him? Who shall say that the rich, or those that possess many talents, have any better hope or prospect to inherit these blessings than the poor, or those who have but one talent? As I understand it, the man who works in the shop, whether as tailor, carpenter, shoemaker, or in any other industrial department, and who lives according to the law of the Gospel, and is honest and faithful in his calling, that man is just as eligible to the receiving of these and all the blessings of the New and Everlasting Covenant as any other man; through his faithfulness he shall possess thrones, principalities and powers, his children becoming as numerous as the stars in the firmament, or the sands on the sea shore. Who, I ask, has any greater prospect than this?

      I remember reading an anecdote when a boy, of a man who, through his wisdom and patriotism, had gained great renown, but who, through envy, was assigned to a position which was considered very degrading. On entering upon its duties, it was said that he made this significant remark: "If the office does not honor me, I will honor the office. Much difficulty would be avoided, and our condition and situation would be much more encouraging, if we all honored the office in which we are called to act. We are told that the Lord himself made clothes for our first parents, or, in other words, on that occasion, acted as tailor, also that Jesus Christ, was a carpenter. Now, the Savior must have been an honorable and honest carpenter, or he never could have merited the position he afterwards occupied. If we could get the brethren and sisters to see the importance of acting honestly and faithfully in their respective callings, much of the annoyances and troubles we now experience would be averted, and the work of God would roll on with re-doubled rapidity, and all his purposes would be more rapidly and speedily accomplished; and besides, as a people, we would be better prepared than we now are for the dispensation of his will. "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God." Again we are told, "It doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him." This spirit should influence us in all our dealings. If we all acted in keeping with its sacred whisperings, there would be little difficulty in the establishment and working of the United Order, for all would then be faithful in the performance of their several duties. But if, whether as tailors or carpenters, clerks or merchants, we prove unfaithful, "who," says the Savior, "shall give you that which is your own?" On the same principle, if we as Elders fail to keep the covenants we have made, namely, to use our time, talent, and ability for the upbuilding of the kingdom of God upon the earth, how can we reasonably expect to come forth in the morning of the first resurrection, identified with the great work of redemption? If we, in our manner, habits, and dealings, imitate the Gentile world, thereby identifying ourselves with the world, do you think, my brethren, that God will bestow upon us the blessings we desire to inherit? I tell you no, he will not! In all our business occupations we must prove ourselves better than any other people, or we forfeit all. We must build ourselves up in the righteousness of heaven, and plant in our hearts the righteousness of God. Said the Lord, through the Prophet Jeremiah, "I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people." This is what the Lord is endeavoring to do, and this he will accomplish in us if we conform to his will.

      Then let us practice honesty and diligence in our various callings, seeking unity, and to cultivate the spirit of brotherhood financially as well as spiritually, that we may be in readiness, upon call, to go forth and build up the Centre Stake of Zion, and prepare a house in which to meet the Lord our Savior and Redeemer.

      May God bless you, my brethren and sisters, and enable you to act always as wise stewards over that with which you have been entrusted.

 

ELDER CHARLES C. RICH

Much appreciated the instructions we had been listening to from the servants of God. God was just as willing to dictate to us as he was to dictate to his Son Jesus Christ. We were as willing to be dictated as Jesus was, and were we as willing to obey the mandates of our heavenly Father as Jesus our elder brother was? Because we were under as much obligation to do the will of God as he was. God required of us the labor for the building up of Zion, and it would not do to faint by the way, and indulge in a feeling that we had done enough, for we were required to endure to the end, and it was expected of us to be honest and true in every position of life wherever we were places. In the gospel we had embraced there was a remedy for all our ills, and for all our trials, that was sure, in its application, to our everyday life, no matter what our faults, failings and disappointments. When men were led by their own whims and imaginations, disappointment and confusion were sure to be the result, but when men were guided by divine revelation there was no possibility of either failure or disappointment. He then urged the Latter-day Saints to carry out every principle of righteousness that had been taught us, and take pleasure in performing all those duties that the Lord required of us to build up his kingdom, whether temporal or spiritual. He regarded it as a great privilege and blessing to be a member of the Church and attend to those labors that pertained to himself and his dead friends. He then bore testimony that he knew Joseph Smith to be a Prophet of God, and that Brigham Young was his lawful successor possessed with all the power and authority to build up the kingdom. He also bore testimony to the judgments of God that would shortly be poured out upon the wicked world.

ELDER F. D. RICHARDS

Said the principles he had listened to had been very sweet and profitable to him. We, the Elders of Israel, did not live for ourselves, but for all mankind. It was so in every age of the world, when the authority of God was upon the earth. If we were to hold still, the very stones under our feet would cry out, yet the world knew it not, for the principle of new revelation was entirely repudiated by them, and such as the thick darkness that had beclouded the minds of the people, and they had strayed so far away from God, that they actually deemed it sacrilege for any one to come unto them with "thus saith the Lord It was only by demonstrating the truth for ourselves, and the testimony of the servants of God, that we obtained a knowledge that these things were true, and that Joseph was a prophet. In the principles of the gospel he was with the Saints in everything that pertained to the building up and furthering the cause of Zion.

ELDER BRIGHAM YOUNG, JUN.,

said it was a pleasure for him to testify to those things that he had received by the spirit of revelation. He was satisfied that we had the oracles of God with us. He knew that the people had been gathered together by the spirit of revelation. Were we among the pure in heart, and among those who were doing their duty? Were we using our talents in building up the kingdom of God? Were we as fathers seeking to become pure in heart and teaching our families to become so also? He was satisfied that the majority of this people were endeavoring to do right, although we had many imperfections and weaknesses. If we would only unite together as we had been instructed, our enemies would never overcome us. Let us not injure one another, either by word or deed, but strive to build each other up, for we were of the house of God, and that we might hereafter carry out these principles of salvation was his prayer.

            Conference was adjourned till tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock.

            The Choir sang an anthem --

How beautiful are thy towers!

            Benediction by Elder ERASTUS SNOW.

_____

[7 Oct, 10 am]

[DNW 25:584-585, 10/11/76, p 8-9]

SECOND DAY.

_____

SATURDAY, Oct. 7, 10 a.m.

            The choir sang --

What wondrous things we now behold,
By prophets seen in days of old.

            Prayer by Elder GEO. Q. CANNON.

            The choir sang --

O God our help in ages past,
 Our hope for years to come.

ELDER JOHN TAYLOR

Said in meeting together as a conference to speak and transact such business as might be brought before us it was absolutely necessary that both speakers and hearers should be under the guidance and dictation of the Spirit of the Living God. For men in any age of the world to understand anything about God, about things past, present and to come, God himself had to reveal that knowledge. Whatever had been known about the gospel of Jesus Christ, or the Aaronic and Melchisedeck priesthood, either in ancient or modern times, had been revealed from Heaven by God himself through his servants, whom he had raised up in different dispensations to minister to the children of men. Every truth and all correct principles had emanated from God, for he was the fountain of truth. No man living or breathing could have organized the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with all its officers and ordinances, unaided by the power and spirit of God. It was necessary that the same wisdom, intelligence and revelation should dictate us in our own domestic affairs, pertaining also to the building up of the church and kingdom of God, and the universal interests of man throughout the earth.

            He then adverted to the gathering of the people together in this dispensation, for the purpose of becoming sanctified before God, by being taught to practise every principle of virtue, honesty and integrity, so as to become fit subjects to receive communications from God. We believed that God revealed his mind and will to Joseph Smith, and taught him how to organize the church. We also believed in President B. Young as a man inspired of God to lead and guide the people in truth and righteousness. There was the principle of the United Order, which God had revealed through his servant Brigham, and which must sooner or later be carried out and lived up to by the people. He knew it was an eternal and righteous principle. Its rules could possibly be all printed on paper, but its laws must be written on our hearts, that we might all become one, and united in everything that pertained to this life and that which was to come.

            He then made a few remarks on the subject of the building of temples, and encouraged the saints to continue their assistance towards their erection, for although the one in St. George was nearly completed, and the one in this city was going up, this was but the beginning of this labor. Hundreds of temples would have to be built, and our efforts must not slacken, but continue in this work that we had just begun.

            He then spoke of the spread of infidelity among the civilized nations of the earth, striving to put entirely away the Bible from the schools, lest the children should be taught something about God, whom they utterly ignored, and had no desire to hear anything about. "Mormonism," as it was called, though spurned at and ridiculed by the learned religious world, would shortly become head and shoulders above every other system now known among men. Its founder, Joseph Smith, though an unlearned youth, knew more about God and spiritual things than all the religious world put together.

            He then concluded with a few kind and faithful admonitions to the Saints.

ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON

then presented the following missionaries for the action of the conference --

TO THE UNITED STATES.

John P Wimmer, Payson
Saml Worsencroft, "
Charles Brewerton, "
Johnathan S Page, Jr. Payson
Wm C Wingman, Jr, "
Samuel Douglas, "
T O Angell, Jr, Salt Lake City
N V Jones, " "
T F H Morton, " "
Daniel C. Thomas
David M Stuart, Ogden
Hey G Boule, Payson
J D H McAllister, Salt Lake City.
John Riggs, Provo
Alfred Newell, "
A J Stewart, Jun "
Howard Coray, Sen, "
Dominicus Snow, "
Nelson P Beebe, "
John Midgley, Salt Lake City
Charles Nibley, Logan
Joseph Cowley, "
Joel Ricks, Jun, "
Mariner W. Merrill, Jun, Richmond
Melvin Hammond, Providence
John A. Woolf, Hyde Park
Wm C McGregor, Parowan
Wm Adams, "
James Millard, Farmington
Timothy B Clark, "
Oliver L Robinson, "
Horton D Haight, "
Alley S Rose, "
Henson Walker, Pleasant Grove
James Armstead, "
Charles W J. Hacker, "
Philo T Farnsworth, Sen, Beaver
James H Skinner, "
Wm Ashworth, "

TO THE SOUTHERN MISSION,

Heleman Pratt, Salt Lake City
Mitolene G. Trejo, Richfield
J Z Stewart, Draperville
Danl W Jones, Farview
Philemon C Merrill, Bennington
Dudley C Merrill, Bennington
Henry C Rogers, Provo
Geo Steele, Provo
John Moon, Farmington
Samuel Bunnell, Spring City
F W Cox, Manti
Joseph McRae, Provo Valley
Isaac Turley, Beaver

FOR EUROPE.

H W Naisbitt, Salt Lake City
Geo E Wallace, " " "
Thos G Webber, " " "
Richard Steele, American Fork
Thomas Barrett, " "
Ola Olsen, Millville
Ingwald C Thorsen, Hyrum
Geo Atkins, Tooele Co.
Alfred Hansen, Logan
H D Peterson West Weber
John Rowberry, Tooele

            All of the above were unanimously sustained with uplifted hands.

            Conference was adjourned until 2 p. m.

            The choir sang an anthem --

Sing to the Lord in joyful strains.

            Benediction by Elder JOSEPH F. SMITH

_____

[7 Oct, 2 pm*]

[DNW 25:585, 10/11/76, p 9]

SATURDAY, Oct 7, 2 p. m.

            The choir sang --

Praise ye the Lord, tis good to raise
Your hearts and voices in his praise.

Prayer by Elder EDWARD SNELGROVE.

            Choir sang --

Sweet is the work, my God my King,
To praise thy name, give thanks and sing.

            Elder GEORGE Q. CANNON presented the following additional names as missionaries --

UNITED STATES.

Jas Wareham, Manti
John N Pike, Salt Lake City
Nils Hendrikson, Richville
H P Kimball, Salt Lake City
Milando Pratt, "
Hy Grow, "
J H Freeman, "
A M Musser, "
Marlo L Cummings, "
James Ferguson, "
G W Wilkins, Spanish Fork
Niel Gardner, "
August Svenson, "
Jas Wiley Thomas, "
Wm Calder, Salt Lake City
Wm Mendenhall, Springville
Wm Bramall, "
Charles D Evans, "
James Straw, "
James E Hall, "
Philip H Boyer, "
Edwin Street, "
Oliver C Hoskins, Portage
H D Persons, Plymouth
Edward Cliff, Mount Pleasant
Wm F Reynolds " "
Philip Hurst, Fairview
Alonzo Winers, Hoytsville
Edward Crittenden, "
Wyman Parker, Morgan City
John Leaman, Richville
Jas R Porter, Porterville
John J Plowman, Smithfield
James Mack, "
Jens C Nielson, "
John Cook, Salt Lake City
John Morgan
Jens Hansen
John Fitzgerald, Draperville
Loretz Smith, "
B B Neff, "
Samuel Malin, Salt Lake City
John Druce, "
Parley P Pratt, "
Geo Crane, Kanosh
E P Marguardson, Fillmore
F A Robeson,
Amos Maycock, North Ogden
Orson H Whitney, Salt Lake City
Lawrence Robeson, Weber City

EUROPE.

Bengt Jensen, Bear River City
John Christiansen, Ephraim
Geo Barber, Smithfield
Wm Stokes, Fillmore

SOUTHERN MISSION.

Herbert Feveryear, Salt Lake City
Isaac J Stewart, Draperville
Louis Garff "
Geo Terry "
Simon Smith, Cache Co

            The above were unanimously sustained by the Conference.

            Elder CANNON then presented the authorities of the Church, who were unanimously supported by the Conference, as follows --

            Brigham Young, Prophet, Seer, and Revelator, and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in all the world.

            John W. Young and Daniel H. Wells, Counsellors to President Brigham Young.

            Lorenzo Snow, Brigham Young, Jr., Albert Carrington, and George Q. Cannon, Assistant Counsellors to President Brigham Young.

            John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Sen., Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young Jr., Joseph F. Smith and Albert Carrington, members of the Quorum of the Twelve.

            John Smith, Patriarch of the Church.

            Angus M. Cannon, President of this stake of Zion, and David O Calder and Joseph E. Taylor his counsellors.

            William Eddington, Thomas E. Jeremy, John H. Rumell, Miner G. Atwood, Dimmick B. Huntington, Theodore McKean, Hosea Stout, Milando Pratt, J. R. Winder, Geo. J. Taylor, Henry Dinwoodey, Millen Attwood, Joseph Horne, Andrew W. Winberg and George Nebeker, members of the High Council.

            Elias Smith, President of the High Priests' Quorum, and Edward Snelgrove and Elias Morris, his counsellors.

            Joseph Young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Herriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldridge, Jacob Gates and John Van Cott, members of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies.

            E. W. Davis, President of the Elders' Quorum, and W. W. Taylor and Junis F. Wells his counsellors.

            Edward Hunter, Presiding Bishop, Leonard W. Hardy and Robert T. Burton, his counsellors.

            James Latham, President of the Priests' Quorum; William McLachlan and Geo. Whittaker, his counsellors.

            Adam Spiers, President of the Teachers' Quorum; Martin Lenzi and Henry I. Doremus, his counsellors.

            James Leach, President of the Deacons' Quorum; John H. Picknell and Thos. C. Jones, his counsellors.

            Brigham Young, Trustee in Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

            Albert Carrington, President of the Perpetual Emigration Fund to gather the poor.

            Truman O. Angell, Architect of the church, and William H. Folsom Assistant.

            Orson Pratt, Historian and General Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff, his assistant.

            George Goddard was sustained as Clerk of conference.

ELDER JOSEPH F. SMITH

Said it was a great and glorious cause in which we were engaged, if we were in the line of our duty. It was very essential that all who had entered into covenant to serve God to occupy their ability, talent and means for the building up and establishment of the kingdom of God. Those who did not feel and take a lively interest in the promotion of the cause of God were in the condition spoken of by the angel, as being lukewarm, being neither cold nor hot. He spoke of Nicodemus who sought an interview with our Saviour at night, and to whom the Saviour said, "Except a man is born of water and of the spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven." When we first received the testimony of the servants of God, and were baptised in water for the remission of our sins, we received the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. We were then born unto God anew, and we put off the old man. We were not ours, but Jesus Christ's, whom we had covenanted to serve, but if we failed to honor God in our lives, and returned to the beggarly elements of the world, how great would be the darkness into which we should fall. Those who died before having the privilege of being baptised in the flesh, God had provided a way by which they could receive the blessings of the gospel in the spirit. This principle was clearly taught us in the scriptures. The kingdom of our God must be erected upon the principles of eternal truth, Jesus himself being the chief corner stone. We were not taught by uninspired men, by men's ingenuity, by a cunningly devised fable, but we were led by Jesus, who was our great file leader, and those whom he inspired, but there were but few who were willing to follow him. He knew that God had revealed himself. He knew that the priesthood of the Son of God had been conferred upon man on the earth, for it had bee revealed to him. He explained the principles by which that knowledge was conferred. How do you know that "Mormonism" was true? said one. Because the fruits of those who lived it were good. He could as easily deny his existence, as deny that "Mormonism" was true. He had been connected with it from his cradle, and knew that the teachings it had taught him were pure and holy, for it was nothing else but the gospel of Jesus Christ.

            Conference was adjourned till to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock.

            The choir sang --

O be joyful in the Lord.

            Benediction by Elder ORSON PRATT.

_____

[8 Oct, 10 am]

[DNW 25:585, 10/11/76, p 9]

THIRD DAY

_____

SUNDAY MORNING, 10 o'clock.

            The choir sang --

Glorious things of thee are spoken,
Zion, city of our God.

            Prayer by Elder ORSON HYDE.

            Choir sang --

I saw a mighty angel fly
To earth he bent his way.

ELDER ORSON PRATT

Expressed his gratitude for the privilege of standing before so large an assembly of Latter-day Saints, for the blessings that had been enjoyed by them in the past, and for the great and inestimable blessings that awaited them in the future. He dwelt on the nature and value of faith, which formed a starting point or foundation. He spoke of some who had attained to a perfect knowledge. Joseph Smith, when a youth of fourteen years of age, had a knowledge of the existence of God the Father, Jesus Christ his Son, and holy angels, for he not only saw them with his eyes, but heard their voice. Others had a similar testimony, and their names were published in every edition of the Book of Mormon, and such a powerful testimony God had given of that book, that he would hold this generation responsible for either the rejection or acceptance of it. He made a striking comparison between the testimony given to sustain the truth of the Book of Mormon, and that which existed to prove the truth of the Jewish Scriptures.

            He spoke of a command that God gave for the building of a Temple in Kirtland, Ohio, over forty years ago When that Temple was completed, on one occasion Jesus Christ made himself manifest to two individuals, to whom he said that God had accepted that Temple, and he also made many great and precious promises. He spoke of many other revelations which were to be found in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. Such a religion, that revealed to the children of men God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ was of such a tangible character that rendered it worthy of universal acceptance, for the scriptures declared that to know God and his Son Jesus Christ was eternal life.

ELDER C. W. PENROSE

Bore a strong testimony to the truth of those principles which had been taught to us during this Conference and the facts declared to us this morning. He could not say that he had seen God or his son Jesus Christ, neither had he held converse with angels, but he had received the testimony of the Holy Ghost, which fully impressed his whole being with a conviction of the truth that God lived, as also his son Jesus Christ, who was crucified upon Mount Calvary.

            He claimed no superiority above his fellows, on account of his having received this testimony, for all people had the same privilege by taking the same course, by turning from their sins, and returning to God and observe his commandments, for the word of God had gone forth, that whoever would do his will, should know of the doctrine that it was of God. Many of the gifts of the Spirit had been made manifest by those who had received the testimony of the servants of God, and yielded obedience to the ordinances of the gospel, such as the sick being healed, the blind made to see,the deaf made to hear, and the lame to walk.

            He exhorted the Saints to continue in the spirit of the gospel, that God might bless them with increased union in all things that pertained to things present and future. The day was not far distant when the power of the wicked would be broken, and the Kingdom of God fully established. He prayed that God would bless his testimony and the testimony of those who had already spoken during this conference.

PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG

Made a few remarks on the necessity of the people who came to Conference being as still and quiet as possible, so that the words of the speakers might be distinctly heard by the assembled thousands, and as he had a particular desire to speak to the Latter-day Saints this afternoon and lay before them some things pertaining to their religion, and his lungs, though strong and good for a great many years, like all other pieces of human machinery, would wear out by constant use, he therefore expressed an earnest desire that the congregation would observe the strictest silence and attention while the Sacrament was being administered and during the time of his effort to address them.

            Conference was adjourned till 2 p. m.

            The following persons were called to go on missions, as stated --

UNITED STATES.

George Gardner, Levan
O C Roberts, Mona
W R May, Nephi
Samuel Cazier, "
Jacob G Bigler, jr. "
Charles Rhoderback, Hoytsville
Micha Harris, Henneferville
Daniel S. Macfarlane, Cedar City
Joel Parrish, Centerville
John Ford, Jr, "
Edwin Standing, Lehi
Henry Holmes, North Ogden
Alonzo Perry, Lynn
Sanford Bingham, Riverdale
Martin Harris, Harrisville
Orson Eggleston, Ogden City
Chas F Middleton, "
John E Bitton, West Weber
Elbridge Tufts, Salt Lake City
John W Sharp, South Cottonwood
Dilworth Brinton, South Cottonwood
Wm Thurgood, Bountiful
Wm Brown, "
Wm Atkinson, "
Joseph Argyle, "
Duncan Gardner, West Jordan
Geo Hackett, Alpine
Richard Camp, Wellsburgh
Jeremiah Roby, Midway
S J Wing, Heber City
James W Preston, American Fork
Wm W Jackson, " "
Chester Loveland, Brigham City
Warren B Smith, American Fork
Charles D Haun, West Jordan
Niels Aagaard, Levan

SOUTHERN MISSION

Thomas Merrill, Bennington
John " "
Adelbert " "
Daniel P Jones, Fairview
Wiley C " "
Wm S Trescott, Salt Lake City
John W Brady, Fairview
Ross R. Rogers

            The above were unanimously sustained by the Conference.

            The choir sang an anthem -- "Inflamatus," from Rossini's "Stabat Mater."

            Benediction by Elder GEO. Q. CANNON

_____

[8 Oct, 2 pm]

[DNW 25:585, 10/11/76, p 9]

SUNDAY AFTERNOON, 2 p. m.

            The Choir sang --

Author of Faith, eternal word,
Whose spirit breathes the active flame.

            Prayer by Elder B. Young, Junr.

            The Choir sang --

How sweet communion is on earth,
With those who've realized the birth.

PRESIDENT B. YOUNG

Addressed the Conference upon man's existence on earth, the practical duties of our religion, tithing, emigration of the poor, temples and the ordinances thereto pertaining, United Order, etc.

[Brigham Young]

[DNW 25:642, 11/8/76, p 2; JD 18:257]

DISCOURSE

DELIVERED BY PREST. BRIGHAM YOUNG,

At the Semi-annual Conference, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon Oct. 8, 1876

_____

REPORTED BY GEO. F. GIBBS

______

      I hope to be able to make myself heard by this large congregation. This moving of feet, whispering to each other, the crying of children and the noise made by those who are walking, are like the murmuring of many waters. When there is perfect quietness, I am satisfied that my voice can be heard all over this house, and no one who is blessed with good ears for hearing need miss a word. I should feel more satisfied if I could prevail on our brethren, when speaking from this stand, to speak directly in trout, so that they could be heard as far as possible. Many of our experienced Elders, in their conversation to the people, turn first to the right and then to the left, and every time they turn either way, a portion of the congregation is unable to distinctly understand that which is spoken; whereas, if they were to speak directly to the front, the voice would divide and go equally to each part of the house, and all would hear. Whether I shall be able to continue my remarks to any length I do not know; I shall try, however, to use judgment in speaking, so as not to injure myself.

      I will give a short text, to both Saint and sinner, and I think if we were to include ourselves among the latter and say we are all sinners, we would come nearer the fact than to class ourselves among the former, although we hope to be Saints, are trying to be Saints, and probably a great many of those who are called Latter-day Saints will yet become Saints indeed.

      First, the philosophy of man upon this earth. This cannot be learned by studying the sciences of mankind, it is only understood by the revelations of God to ourselves. I will give you a part of my own visions upon this matter. Mankind is composed of two distinct elements; the first is a spiritual organization in eternity, the second is a natural organization on this earth, formed out of the material of which this earth is composed. Man is first spiritual, then temporal. As it is written in the revelations of God to man, all things were first created spiritual, and secondly temporal. That is, spirits were begotten, born and educated in the celestial world, and were brought forth by celestial bodies. By tracing this subject a little we might understand how this is brought about. The spirits before inhabiting bodies are as pure and holy as the angels or as the gods, they know no evil. This, their first estate, is the commencement of their experience.

      These spirits I shall leave for the present, and refer to our first par rents, Adam, and Eve, who were found in the Garden of Eden, tempted and overcome by the power of evil, and consequently subject to evil and sin, which was the penalty of their transgression. They were now prepared, as we are, to form bodies or tabernacles for the reception of pure and holy spirits. When the body is prepared, at the proper time, the spirit enters the tabernacle, and all the world of mankind in their reflections and researches must come to this conclusion, for the fact is they can come to no other—that when the mother feels life there is an evidence that the spirit from heaven has entered the tabernacle. So far, this is the philosophy of our being. As has been said, in consequence of sin, the body is subject to sin, and it requires all the efforts and power that man can exert in order to resist temptation that this pure and holy spirit may bring into subjection the body, so that it may be sanctified by the Gospel or the law of Christ. The inquiring mind will ask, Why is this so? Simply that we may know good from evil; all the facts which you and I understand are by contrast, and all glory, all enjoyment, every happiness and every bliss are known by its opposite. This is the decree, this is the way the heavens are, the way they were, and the way they will continue to be, forever, and for ever. Never was there a time when evil was not in existence, but the time will, come when this evil will pass away and be no more, so far as this world is concerned, and nothing will be able to endure only that which is pure and holy, and Christ will destroy death and him that hath the power of death. This applies to this earth, and the ordeals which it passes through with those that are upon it until the winding-up scene.

      But to return to this organization. We find a pure spirit inhabiting the tabernacle of the creature which is always prompting the individual to good, to virtue, to truth and holiness; all of which emanate from that source of purity from which this spirit came. And here the evil that came through transgression that is in this tabernacle, is warring with this pure spirit, it seeks to overcome it, and is striving with all its power to bring this spirit into subjection, into bondage to the law of sin. This is the warfare which Paul refers to when speaking of the "thorn in the flesh," which is no more or less than the spirit contending against the flesh, and the flesh against the spirit. This pure spirit will remain in a condition to receive the operations of the spirit of God, which has gone forth into the world, and which lightens every man that comes into the world, regardless of his condition, birth or education; the spirit of Christ lightens them all, and instructs their pure spirits, which are organizations in the germ and in their growth, to become independent beings, even sons and daughters of the Almighty; and it will continue to thus operate until this body, this sinful tabernacle, has warred against the spirit and overcome. it to such a degree as to entirely subject it to the man of sin. And when the flesh attains this victory over the spirit, then is the time spoken of when man has sinned to that degree that, says the Apostle, "ye shall not pray for them, for they have sinned a sin unto death." Then the spirit of the Lord ceases to strive with them, they no longer receive light, having passed the day of grace. Until then every man and every woman is on saving ground, and they can be redeemed from sin.

      Flow is it that the Latter-day Saints feel and understand alike, are of one heart and one mind, no matter where they may be when they receive the Gospel, whether in the north or the south, the east or the west, even to the uttermost parts of the earth? They receive that which was promised by the Savior when he was about to leave the earth, namely, the Comforter, that holy unction from on high which recognizes one God, one faith and one baptism, whose mind is the will of God the Father, in whom there dwelleth unity of faith and action, and in whom there cannot be division or confusion; when they received thus further light, it matters not whether they have seen each other or not, they at once become brothers and sisters, having been adopted into the family of Christ through the bonds of the everlasting covenant, and nil can then exclaim, in the beautiful language of Ruth, "Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God!" And the fact that we receive this Comforter, the Holy Ghost, is proof that the spirit in warring with the flesh has overcome, and by continuing in this state of victory over our sinful bodies we become the sons and daughters of God, Christ having made us free, and whoever the Son makes free is free indeed. Having fought the good fight we then shall be prepared to lay our bodies down to rest to await the morning of the resurrection when they will come forth and be reunited with the spirits, the faithful, as it is said, receiving crowns, glory, immortality and eternal lives, even a fullness with the Father, when Jesus shall present his work to the Father, saying, "Father, here is the work thou gavest me to do." Then will they become gods, even the sons of God; then will they become eternal fathers, eternal mothers, eternal sons and eternal daughters; being eternal in their organization, they go from glory to glory, from power to power; they will never cease to increase and to multiply world's without end. When they receive their crowns, their dominions, they then will be prepared to frame earth's like unto ours and to people them in the same manner as we have been brought forth by our parents, by our Father and God.

      I have often remarked that if the Latter-day Saints, and all the world understood the philosophy of their own being, they would bow in humble reverence to him who is the Author of our being and the author of all wisdom and all knowledge known among the children of men. It is very little comparatively that we do know, and but very little we can really comprehend. It is believed that our scientists and philosophers are very far advanced, and that wonderful progress has been made in the nineteenth century; but notwithstanding all the knowledge and power of philosophy which so distinguishes our age, who among our most learned can create as simple a thing as a spear of grass or the leaf of a tree? No one; this can only be done through the natural process; no one can organize the simplest particle of element independent of the laws of nature. When the philosopher of the age reaches that perfection that one can waft himself to the moon or to the north star, or to any other of the fixed planets, and be there in an instant, in the same manner that Jesus did when he ascended to the Father in heaven and returned to the earth again, then we may begin to think we know a little. When we shall possess the power and knowledge to cause heavenly planets to take their position, giving them their laws and boundaries which they must obey, and which they cannot pass, then we may begin to feel that we possess a little wisdom and power.

      The great and grand secret of salvation, which we should continually seek to understand through our faithfulness, is the continuation of the lives. Those of the Latter-day Saints who will continue to follow after the revelations and commandments of God to do them who are found to be obedient in all things, continually advancing little by little towards perfection and the knowledge of God, they, when they enter the spirit world and receive their bodies, will be able to advance faster in the things pertaining to the knowledge of the Gods, and will continue onward and upward until they become Gods, even the sons of God. This I say is the great secret of the hereafter, to continue in the lives forever and forever, which is the greatest of all gifts God has ever bestowed upon his children. We all have it within our reach, we can all attain to this perfected and exalted state if we will embrace its principles and practice them in our every-day life. How accommodating, how glorious and divine are the dealings of God with his fallen children! We have been called from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to the living God. By obeying the whispering of this Holy Spirit, which we have received by virtue of obedience to the Gospel, which prompts us to purge from within us all sinful desires, we can say we are no more in the world, but we are in Christ, our living head. The philosophy of our coming out from the world is the putting off the old man sin, and the putting on of the new man Jesses Christ. How is this to be done? After we believed the Gospel we were baptized for the remission of our sins—and by the laying on of hands we received the Holy Spirit of Promise and felt that "we shall be one." I felt that I should no longer have need to keep a day-book and ledger in which to keep my accounts, for we were about to consolidate and become one; that every man and every woman would assist by actually laboring with their hands in planting, building up and beautifying this earth to make it like the Garden of Eden. I should therefore have no farther occasion to keep accounts, I should certainly accumulate and earn more than I needed, and had not a single doubt but what my wants would be supplied. This was my experience, and this is the feeling of every one who receives the Gospel in an honest heart and contrite spirit.

      But how are we now? What is our present condition?

      Are we one temporally? Just about as much as Babylon is. One says, "I am for the mines, I am engaged on my farm or my factory, I am so engaged in my mercantile business that it absorbs all my time, therefore do not trouble me, do not infringe on me." And who are they? Generally they are men who, like myself, came here not only poor, but in debt. I was driven from my homes and possessions, five times stripped of my earthly possessions. When we arrived in this valley, we were in a destitute condition. Others came here as destitute as we were, but are now comparatively wealthy—how do they feel? They wish to do just as they please. Ask them if they believe that the law of God requires us to enter into a general copartnership in all our business relations, living and working together as one family? They will tell you, "No, I don't believe any such thing." Those of this class who are merchants will say, "I want to get rich, I will buy where I please, and will sell at a hundred per cent., five hundred per cent., or a thousand per cent., if I can." You may do so if you will, but your end will be lamentable. You count the men who have broken up their homes and gone in search of gold, and then count those who have carried out my advice, and you will readily acknowledge that the latter class is by far the better off, not only financially, but morally and spiritually. You, my brethren and sisters, who were poor when you came here, but who now, through the blessing of God, ride in your carriages and live in fine houses, enjoying all the comforts of life, as well as good health, and the society of friends, how do you feel? As for myself, I have not the slightest feeling in my heart that I own a single thing. What I am in possession of, the Lord has merely made me a steward over, to see what I will do with it. Now, my brethren and sisters, do you feel the same? If you do you will each enquire what is my duty? One duty is to go to work and build this and other Temples, and the other ones can be built long before we can finish this one. Shall we do so? I say we will. If we had reached that perfect state of unity which we Should have long before this, and still hope that we yet shall, do you suppose we would ask a man to pay Tithing on ten bushels of wheat, or a hundred or a thousand? No, all that would be necessary under such circumstances would be to say, brother so-and-so, from you we want so much, and from another so much. "Yes," they would say, "Take it. I have nothing. It is all the Lord's, let it be used to do him service in the building up of his kingdom." "What would you do, brother Brigham, if you were required to give up all your substance?" Just what I have always been willing to do. I would continue to do my duty and trust in God for the results; that is what I have done all my life. This, doubtless, seems foolishness in the eyes of the world, they cannot understand it, neither have they any means of understanding it, for "the things of God knoweth no man but the Spirit of God." Before I embraced this Gospel I had studied the creeds of the Christian world. When I inquired of them with regard to heavenly things, why we came here, and the nature of the relationship we sustained to God and to heavenly beings, could I get any information? No, not the least idea. I once heard one of the leading Elders in the Episcopal Methodist Church undertake to explain to his congregation one of the simplest of things, namely, "What is the soul of man?" After he had labored for two long hours, having exhausted his language, for knowledge he had none, he straightened back in the pulpit and said, "My brethren and sisters, I must come to the conclusion that the soul of man is an immaterial substance." What a pretty thing to look at! Excuse me. As far as the spirit and feeling of many of these people are concerned with regard to morality, and their endeavors to send the Gospel to the heathen nations, it is excellent. And there are, doubtless, millions of just as honest people among the several religious denominations as are amongst the professedly Latter-day Saints. But they have not the Gospel, they are in darkness with regard to the plan of salvation, and their teachers are blind guides, totally unable to give the people the living word, the way of life. If they live up to the best light and knowledge they have and can get, they are safe, and in a saved condition. What is the sin of the ministry and people of the present Christian denominations? It is that light has come to them and they reject it. The condemnation of the Jewish nation was that light had come into the world, but they chose darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil; so says the Savior. The same Gospel that Jesus taught to those who rejected him, is entrusted to us to preach to the whole world with the same consequences which must reach them at some time, in some condition.

      We have been hunted and driven from place to place, and the wicked have sought our destruction, simply because we offer to them the light, the truth, the everlasting Gospel. Although we have been robbed of our homes and possessions, they have not succeeded in destroying us yet. Will they succeed? I think not. The Lord has said he would gather his people for the last time, which he is doing; he will not suffer that they shall be overcome, and the kingdom wrested from them as heretofore. Neither will he be mocked and derided when he comes this time—not because the wicked would not repeat the same treatment if they were permitted—but because he will come in judgment, taking vengeance on the wicked and on the ungodly, and with the besom of destruction the refuge of lies and all those who love and make lies will be swept from the earth, and few men will be left. If the Latter-day Saints do not desist from running after the things of this world, and begin to reform and do the work the Father has given them to do, they will be found wanting, and they, too, will be swept away and counted as unprofitable servants.

      Latter-day Saints, go and take up a labor with yourselves, urge yourselves to the belief that the Lord is God, that his eyes are upon the works of his bands, that even the sparrow does not go unfed, nor a hair of our heads fall to the ground unnoticed. Labor with yourselves until you have confidence in God and in his revelations to us; become one in temporal things as well as spiritual things as fast as you can. Enter into the compact, the association we call the United Order, that we may commence to do the work we have undertaken to do.

      Now, I will make a proposition, and you may have five years to do the work I am about to assign you. To the people of the Sevier Valley, Millard County, Iron County, Piute County, Beaver County, with Juab, Kane, Washington, and Sanpete Counties, I will say, Go to work and build a Temple in Sanpete. As soon as you are ready to commence, I will, provide the plan. The ground is already selected. We do not ask whether you are able to do this; but ask yourselves if you have faith sufficient to do it, for we know that you are perfectly able to do it if you are willing, and do it inside of three years from next April. Then to the people of Box Elder County, the Malad Valley, Cache Valley, Soda Springs, and Bear Lake Valley, Rich County, and the people on Bear River, I say, unite your labor and commence as soon as you can to build a Temple in Cache Valley. Again, to the people of Weber County, Davis County, Morgan and Summit Counties, Salt Lake County, Tooele and Utah Counties, with the people east and west, I will say, Go to work and finish the Temple in this city forthwith. Can you accomplish the work, you Latter-day Saints of these several counties? Yes, that is a question I can answer readily, you are perfectly able to do it, the question is, Have you the necessary faith? Have you sufficient of the Spirit of God in your hearts to enable you to say, Yes, by the help of God our Father, we will erect these buildings to his name. There will be little money comparatively needed, it is nearly all labor, such as you can perform. If the people had paid their Tithing, and paid the hands employed on the Temple in proportion as I have done, that building would have been finished before now. But I am not obliged to build Temples for the people; this is our common duty, in order that all may have the privilege to officiate for themselves and their dead. How long, Latter-day Saints, before you will believe the Gospel as it is? The Lord has declared it to be his will that his people enter into covenant, even as Enoch and his people did, which of necessity must be before we shall have the privilege of building the Centre Stake of Zion, for the power and glory of God will be there, and none but the pure in heart will be able to live and enjoy it. Go to now, with your might and with your means, and finish this Temple. Why, for what reason? The reasons are very obvious, and you understand them.

      A few words to the sisters—you mothers who are trifling with the ordinances of the house of God, and the blessings that are proffered to you, I will say that the time will come, if you persist in doing so, when you will mourn, and will be willing to give worlds, if you possessed them, for the privilege of living your lives over again. Some of you are treating with contempt the oracles of the kingdom of God upon the earth, and in the commission of this sin you trifle with your own salvation, as well as the salvation of your children. Repent, and turn unto God, and teach your children the importance of doing the same, and of the sacredness of the ordinances and the laws of God. It is the mother's influence that is most effective in moulding the mind of the child for good or for evil. If she treat lightly the things of God, it is more than likely her children will be inclined to do the same, and the Lord will not hold her guiltless when he comes to make up his jewels; he will disown all such when he comes to claim his own, and will say, Go hence, I never knew you.

      The question may be asked, Are you going to discontinue to give endowments here? I think it is very probable that you will have to go where there is a Temple, or go without. In consequence of our having been driven from our homes, and because of our destitute circumstances, the Lord has permitted us to do what we have done, namely, to use this Endowment House for Temple purposes. But since, through the mercies and blessings of God, we are able to build Temples, it is the will and commandment of God that we do so.

      I thank you for your attention. We will adjourn this Conference until the 6th day of April next, to meet at ten o'clock a.m., in the Temple at St. George. We intend to dedicate it then. We shall dedicate some parts this fall, and commence to work in it.

      I feel to bless the people, and say, May Heaven be kind to you. Amen.

 

ELDER GEO. Q. CANNON

Read a portion of the 6th Chapter of the 2nd Book of Samuel, respecting the removal of the Ark o God in the days of King David, and remarked that God had greatly blessed the people of the latter-day Saints, and the Ark of God was about to leave us in this part of the Territory for the present. God greatly blessed the people in ancient times, who built a temple to the name of the Most High, and he felt thankful that the word had gone forth for more temples to be built, for there were many ordinances and blessings that could only be attended to and received in a Temple. He also spoke of the blessings in connection with the Holy Priesthood.

            The following missionaries were presented to and sustained by the Conference --

SOUTHERN MISSION

Lorenzo H. Hatch, Cache Valley
Jeremiah Hatch, sen, "
Alva A Hatch, "
Jeremiah Hatch, jun. "
Lorenzo Hatch, "
Abraham Hatch, son of Jeremiah, "
Archibald G Hedlock, "
Eskine C Hedlock, "
Ammon M Tenney
W T Stewart
W J F McAllister
Thomas Biggs, Salt Lake City
John W Keddington, "
_____ _____ Tenney, Kanab

UNITED STATES

Samuel Bennion, West Jordan
Charles W Rockwood, S L City
Orin S Lee, Peoa
Ebenezer R Young, Wanship
Louis Neeley, Little Cottonwood
John A Groesbeck, S L City

SANDWICH ISLANDS.

Jas Keeler, Richfield
J S Woodbury, St George
Hy P Richards, Salt Lake City
Smith Thurston, Morgan Co
Jacob Gates, jun, St George

PRESIDENT B. YOUNG

Made a few remarks on the subject dwelt upon by Elder Geo. Q. Cannon.

            Conference was then adjourned until the 6th April, 1877, at the Temple in St. George, at 10 o'clock a. m.
                The Choir sang an anthem --

Comfort ye my people.

            Benediction by PATRIARCH JOHN SMITH.

GEO. GODDARD,
Clerk of conference.

_____

1877

4-5 Apr 1877, Special Two-day Meeting, St. George.
[Deseret News Weekly, 26:156, 4/11/77, p 12]

[4 Apr, am]

[DNW 25:156, 4/11/77, p 12]

TWO DAYS' MEETING AT ST. GEORGE.

_____

PER DESERET TELEGRAPH LINE.

_____

FIRST DAY.

_____

ST. GEORGE, April 4, 1877

            The people were called to order in the lower main room of the Temple by President Brigham Young

            Singing by St. George Choir.

            Prayer by President John W. Young.

[President D. H. Wells]

            President D. H. Wells, the first speaker, occupied fifty minutes. He spoke of the evidences of the truth of the gospel of the last days in the union of the Latter-day Saints, and of the fulfilment of the prophecies contained in the Bible as to the building up of the Kingdom of God in this day; exhorted the people to increased efforts at attaining a more perfect union; and showed that all the tendencies of the Gospel, as enjoyed by the Latter-day Saints, were toward saving and lifting up those who yielded obedience to it principles.

[Elder George Q. Cannon]

            Elder George Q. Cannon next occupied the stand. He expressed his thankfulness for he privilege of meeting in a holy temple, dedicated to God, in which to worship his holy name, and compared the gospel, as taught in the Bible, Book of Mormon, and Doctrine and Covenants, showing their complete similarity, with the faith and practice of the Latter-day Saints.

[George Q. Cannon]

[DNW 26:162, 4/18/77, p 2; JD 18:349]

DISCOURSE

DELIVERED BY ELDER GEO. Q. CANNON,

In the Temple at St. George, on Wednesday Morning, April 4th, 1877,
at the first of the Two Days' Meetings held by the St. George Stake of Zion.

_____

REPORTED BY G. F. GIBBS.

_____

      It is with peculiar feelings I arise to speak to you, my brethren and sisters, for the short time remaining, in this holy Temple. If I were to describe my feelings on entering and worshiping in this house, I would occupy more time than remains to be used, and I do not know if I were to attempt to do so I could succeed. Each one present can the better estimate the feelings of his brother from those entertained by himself.

      I was here last fall, and then my emotions upon entering this room were of the most peculiar character. I felt overpowered, and I have felt so each time I have entered the building. It is a holy place, and all those who come here should be holy; they should examine themselves, and finding themselves guilty of wrong, they should make up their minds in the strength and power of God to put it away. I do not think that any person who has any of the love of the truth, the love of righteousness, or the fear of God abiding in his heart, can enter this building without being impressed with the sacredness of the spirit which reigns here, and that seems to pervade even the atmosphere we breathe. My fervent prayer to God is that this building will be kept clean and pure, free from every act and spirit antagonistic to the holy influences that God has promised to bestow upon the pure in heart who enter herein; and that this building will stand as long as it shall be necessary to fulfil the purposes of God.

      The remarks we have heard from President Wells are very true, and are so in keeping with the Scriptures, that every Latter-day Saint who has heard them, must be satisfied of their truth. It is always a cause of joy to me that, in the providences of God our heavenly Father, the sacred records we have, which have come down through so many ages, and which are recognized by Christendom to be the words of God (at least acknowledged by all Christians to be so, whether they believe it or not); I say that in the providence of God these records have come down to us in as pure condition as we find them. Because it is a comfort to a people like we are, whose names are cast out as evil, and who are derided and visited with every kind of contumely, accused of every conceivable crime, to know that the doctrine and ordinances that we believe in have a similarity to, and are in strict accordance with, those of the recognized word of God. We need not go to the Book of Mormon and the Book of Doctrine and Covenants alone, for the proofs of the truth of the work we are engaged in; for in appealing to those books we only appeal to a corroborative testimony showing that God's words and dealings with the children of men are the same in all ages of the world. While he gave his revealed word to the ancients on the Eastern Continent, he also gave to the inhabitants of the Western Continent his word, and they both agree. He has also given to us, his people in the last days, his word. By these three witnesses, or these three divine records, his word is corroborated and maintained. Having received the word of God from these various sources, we can rejoice this day in the great truth that the doctrines we teach, the ordinances we have submitted to, and that have been and are being administered to us, and that our lives when we live as we should, are in strict accordance with these three records, which we know to be the word of God, but particularly in accordance with the Bible, which the Christian world acknowledge to be true. This has always been a great cause of joy to me, and I have been greatly strengthened in knowing that no reference could be made to any part, or to any doctrine or principle of the Bible, which was not believed in and practised by the Latter-day Saints to the extent of their ability, that is, so far as the doctrine or requirement was applicable to them. Of course, where distinct revelations were given to people under peculiar conditions and of a peculiar character, as for instance, Noah or Abraham, or the disciples when they were commanded to flee from Jerusalem, the common sense of all men would suggest that such requirements were not applicable to us. It is not necessary for us to build an ark, or to do any of these things, especially commanded to others; but where general revelations, doctrines, ordinances, or commandments are revealed or communicated to the people of God, we as a people have received all such, and they form part of our faith and belief, and we, to some extent at least, are engaged in carrying them out. In conjunction with these glorious facts, precisely the same consequences or results flow from the teachings of the servants of God in these days as in the days of old. God confirmed the word by signs following. The adversary in the same spirit of hatred that characterized his attacks upon the work of God in all ages, is in these last days as bitter and as determined to cause the same results to follow the preaching of the servants of God, and the administration of the ordinances of life and salvation, as at any previous time in the world's history, thus showing that the old antagonism that existed between God and Belial, the old animosity that actuated the mind of those whom he inflamed to crucify the Son of Man, and to destroy his Apostles, had not died out, but was as determined in this our day to effect the ruin of those who believe in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, who have submitted to its ordinances, as at any previous time in the history of the world.

      If we had believed all that is taught in the Scriptures, and had not received the promised blessings; or if we had believed in all written in the Scriptures, and had received the promised blessings, and had not received the hatred and animosity of the wicked, there might have been cause for doubt as to our having obeyed the Gospel. We might have been assailed with a fear that some thing was lacking in the system, and that, therefore, we could not be the people of God after all. But when, in addition to the doctrine that God has revealed, and the ordinances of life and salvation that he has restored and commanded us to obey, that is, to believe in Jesus Christ, to repent truly and sincerely of all our sins, to be baptized for remission of them, by one holding the authority, and then receive the Holy Ghost through the laying on of hands, and its gifts and blessings and its powers, for our names to be cast out as evil, to have our names heralded through the earth as the most ungodly and wicked and abominable people that live upon the earth, to have men think that in destroying us they would be doing God's service; I say that when these characteristics attend the administration and ordinances of the House of God, we can rejoice even as the ancients did in the knowledge that there is no peculiarity of feature pertaining to the ancient Gospel from the days of Adam to John the Revelator, or from the days of Jared and his brother to Moroni, or from the days of Joseph and Hyrum to this our day, that does not attend the Gospel now. Not only is there no feature, characteristic or peculiarity absent, but there is no sign or evidence lacking of its being the same work of God. Precisely the same signs follow now, and precisely the same external evidences follow the preaching of the Gospel now, as anciently. Having these signs and evidences and blessings, should we not, as a people, rejoice exceedingly? Should not our hearts be full of thanksgiving to Almighty God, that, however humble and obscure and illiterate, however contemptible in the minds of the children of men, our doctrines, lives and characters may be, our names are numbered with the holiest, the best and the greatest that have ever trod the footstool of God, that our names are numbered with Jesus the first-born, the Son of God, and with Enoch, Abraham, the friend of God (distinguished above all the sons of men by that glorious evidence of God's nearness to him, being called his friend), and with all the holy Prophets whose lives are living testimonies to the divinity of their calling? If we would enjoy the society and glory of such personages we must be willing to suffer as they did; and if not so, we can not reasonably expect to be numbered among the happy throng who are to live and reign with Jesus. When we shall have done all they have done, passed through and experienced the same blessings that they have, drunk the same cup, and been baptized with the same baptism, and, when necessary, laid down our lives as they have in testimony of the truth, then we can reign with them.

      It is easy to die in the heat of battle, or when men are selected for some heroic duty, and the eyes of the world are upon them; but this is not the manner in which the servants and people of God have lost their lives. Jesus was crucified between two thieves, the most ignominious death to which any one could be subjected, and those who crucified him believed him to be worthy of such a fate. They disseminated among the people such slanders and misrepresentations of his works and actions that many felt justified in taking the responsibility of shedding his blood upon themselves and their posterity.

      Thus it always has been with the servants and Saints of God. They do not die when their lives are taken by violence in a manner which the world calls heroic or glorious; but as malefactors, the ignominious death administered to those who are slain for the testimony of Jesus, and thus it always has been with God's children, the brightest, the best and noblest, that ever lived. They have had to lay down their lives as Joseph did, slain in the prison where he was confined. The same self-sacrifice, the same godlike self-sacrifice is required at the hands of the servants and Saints of God in this our day, as was required of those in ancient days, when they were east into dens of wild beasts, into the fiery furnace, or when sawn asunder and subjected to every kind of violent death because of their supposed wickedness.

      I thank God this day for the restoration of this truth, I thank God that I was ever counted worthy to live in the day when the revelations of Jesus are restored. I thank God, with all my heart, that I am a member of this Church; I think it the most glorious honor and dignity that could be conferred upon me, and more so in the goodness of God in permitting me to officiate in the holy Priesthood. I thank him too that he has inspired his servants to lead forth his people and bring us here, and that through the kind providences of God and the wise counsels and administrations of his servants, we are blessed with those glorious privileges in being permitted to rear a habitation to the name of the Most High in which we worship this day; this chaste, this grand, this magnificent house of God.

      When I reflect upon what God has done for us, in addition to that which I have alluded to, it gives me deeper gratitude still in knowing that in all the revelations given us concerning ourselves and our future glory, there has been no concealment concerning the destiny of our dead who have passed away without a knowledge of the Gospel. There would have been something lacking in our joy had this revelation not been made, for we could not have contemplated our own happiness in the eternal worlds with any degree of satisfaction, if we had been disturbed by the thought that our ancestors could not partake of the same blessings we had received. But God in his mercy has revealed his purposes to us, so that there are none that understand the Gospel who cannot enter into this house and glorify God in his heart because of the fullness of these blessings; and because we know the Lord possesses all the glorious attributes we have ascribed to him.

      You enquire of the enlightened men of Christendom respecting their dead, and they readily acknowledge it to be a subject they know nothing about. A great many think that the heathen nations who have died in ignorance are consigned to the miseries of a never-ending hell. Who with such feelings and belief can glorify God in their hearts and ascribe to him the glorious attributes of mercy and justice, and recognize him as a just and merciful being?

      But when we received the Gospel, there came with it a distinct message of mercy, a message of glad tidings of great joy, that not only the living should receive the testimony of Jesus, not only should the living rejoice in the glorious principles of life and salvation, but the dead themselves should hear the voice of the servants of God, and the glad tidings of salvation should be proclaimed in their hearing, and through the exercising of their agency in receiving these truths, their prison doors could be unlocked and they come forth and receive, as though in the flesh, the same blessings, exaltation and glory, according to their good wishes and good deeds. Thus has been swept from our minds every cause of doubt respecting our dead, and our hearts warmed towards them with joy unspeakable, and consequently we combine our efforts to erect such a building, such a holy house as this is. Thus we, in our hearts, witness to God the Eternal Father, that we have received indeed of a truth the testimony that he has given to us, that we believe the same to be true, and that we will, with the aid and power which he bestows upon us, devote our entire lives to the interests of his kingdom, bequeathing the same spirit and energy to our children after us, that they too may labor, with all their might, mind and strength End the ability with which God shall endow them, to carry on and extend the great work of redemption and salvation until every son and daughter of Adam shall receive the glad tidings of salvation, and shall be administered for in the holy temples which shall be prepared for that express purpose.

      That God may help us to do this with all our might and strength is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

            President B. Young made a few explanations in regard to the order of the priesthood, congratulated the congregation on their enjoyment of a holy temple in which to worship and attend to saving ordinances for the living and the dead, a privilege enjoyed by no other people that we have any account of since the days of Enoch.

            Benediction by Elder Lorenzo Snow.

            Dismissed until 2 p.m.

_____

[4 Apr, 2 pm]

[DNW 25:156, 4/11/77, p 12]

2 p.m.

            Meeting was called to order by elder John Taylor.

            Singing by St. George and Kanab choirs combined.

            Prayer by Elder Erastus Snow.

[Elder John Taylor]

            Elder John Taylor addressed the meeting. He felt that we were treading on holy ground. This was as it were the commencement of an epoch that reached far back. We came together to reflect on the eternities that were and that were to come and our connection therewith. This was a subject in which we and also all those who had held the same priesthood before us were interested. God had conferred on us the priesthood and taught us to officiate herein, for the living and the dead. The children of Israel had a tabernacle in the wilderness and the Temple in Jerusalem, but we were living in a time that embraced all dispensations that had existed among men. The Temple at Jerusalem was officiated in principally by the Aaronic Priesthood. Enoch had the Melchizedec Priesthood, and we had every reason to believe he built temples in Zion, and that dispensation had to gather the people from the nations of the earth, as we had to do in this dispensation. We had a Zion to build up, and hundreds and thousands of temples. When the Zion of Enoch was prepared to descend, our Zion would be prepared to ascend. The dispensation we occupied was called the dispensation of the fulness of times, when God would gather all things into one. We should reflect upon these things more than we did. All ancient patriarchs, prophets, and men of God, as well as ourselves, were interested in this dispensation in which we lived. The solemnity of eternities should rest upon us, as all who had gone before us were watching to see that the work of God went forward in promulgating the gospel to the living and officiating for the dead until all should acknowledge the rule of God. Adam had a dispensation. Noah stood at the head of a dispensation. Abraham next had a dispensation. He desired to be a father of nations and a king, a prince of peace, and carry out the designs of Jehovah. Melchizedec ordained Abraham to the priesthood, as he had a right to it. The Urim and Thummim was given to him, an the promises mentioned in the bible. Jesus restored the gospel and the Melchizedic priesthood. Moses and Elias ministered to him on the mount and he was transfigured. Many plain and valuable truths had been taken away from the Bible. Gross darkness had been over the earth, and no man was able to say, "Thus saith the Lord." Revelation was necessary to establish the gospel again on the earth. This revelation was given in accordance with God's promise to Abraham. The keys of the Aaronic and the Melchizedic priesthoods were revealed to Joseph Smith by the ministrations of those who had held the keys of the priesthoods in former dispensations and who also gave to him the keys of the former dispensations, and hence the work we were now engaged in. This was a gathering dispensation and all who yielded obedience to the gospel received the spirit of gathering. He prayed that the spirit of life, light, and intelligence might be on the people from henceforth.

[President John W. Young]

            President John W. Young said we did not fully appreciate the day in which we lived, the dispensation of the fulness of times. If this was the Zion of God on the earth, was it not worth our lives on the earth to help build it up and perform every labor and duty required to attain this end? We were the best people on the face of the earth, that we knew of. But we were not as good as we should be. Theory was past, the days of practice had come and we must learn to live our religion. The elders should wake up and shake off drowsy and slothful feelings. This was an important occasion, and let us make it a turning point in our lives, that we might more faithfully perform every duty required of us and establish Zion. The building of this city was a great miracle. The deserts south of us would be settled up. The waters were increasing and bursting forth in the desert, that the thirsty earth might be made fruitful. He exhorted all to cultivate the spirit of God, and do all required of them in going on missions and performing every duty.

[President Brigham Young]

            President Brigham Young addressed the meeting on union and improvement.

            After singing, dismissed until tomorrow at 10 a.m.

            Benediction by patriarch Jon Smith.

            About fifteen hundred people were in attendance.

_____

[5 Apr, 10 am]

[DNW 25:156, 4/11/77, p 12]

SECOND DAY.

____

ST. GEORGE, April 5, 1877.

            `Meeting opened at 10 a.m.

            Singing by the St. George choir.

            Prayer by Elder Orson Pratt.

            Singing by Parowan choir.

[Elder Lorenzo Snow]

            Elder Lorenzo Snow spoke on the subject of union of the Saints in their financial affairs and the necessity of this union to the Latter-day Saints, that they might obtain power before God by carrying out the order revealed to Joseph Smith and presented to the Saints of Missouri. He spoke on the benefits and blessings of having a temple and expressed a hope that this temple would never be polluted by strife and division among those officiating therein. He exhorted the presiding officers in the various wards and settlements to be fathers to the people over whom they presided, to throw away selfishness and avarice in all their business among the people, loving those over whom they presided as they loved themselves or their own families, and thus confidence and union would be established among the people and their leaders.

[Lorenzo Snow]

[DNW 26:290, 6/13/77, p 2; JD 18:371]

DISCOURSE

BY ELDER LORENZO SNOW,

Delivered on Thursday morning, April 5th, 1877, at a Two-days' Meeting
held by the St. George Stake of Zion, in the Temple at St. George.

_____

REPORTED BY G. F. GIBBS.

_____

       are dependent upon the Lord for our instruction; this is in accordance with our faith that we have to look to him for assistance under all circumstances, in all places, in all our affairs of life, and in all matters pertaining to furthering us on in the principles of godliness.

      Assembled together as we are this morning, it is very necessary that we ask the Lord for his spirit, the spirit of inspiration, to rest upon us as speakers and as hearers, that we may be enabled to comprehend things that may be spoken, and that they may be adapted to our individual needs.

      It is impossible to advance in the principles of truth, to increase in heavenly knowledge, except we exercise our reasoning faculties and exert ourselves in a proper manner. We have an instance recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants of a misunderstanding on the part of Oliver Cowdery, touching this principle. The Lord promised him the gift to translate ancient records. Like many of us to-day, he had misconceptions in regard to the exercise of the gift. He thought all that was necessary for him to do, inasmuch as this gift had been promised him of God, was to allow his mind to wait in idleness without effort, until it should operate spontaneously. But when those records were placed before him, there was no knowledge communicated, they still remained sealed, as it were, for no power to translate came upon him.

      Although the gift to translate had been conferred, he could not prosecute the work, simply because he failed to exert himself before God with the view of developing the gift within him; and he became greatly disappointed, and the Lord, in his goodness and mercy, informed him of his mistake, using the following language—

      "Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you when you toed no thought, save it was to ask me; but, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you," etc.

      So in regard to us, respecting the things which we are undertaking. If we expect to improve, to advance in the work immediately before us, and finally to obtain possession of those gifts and glories, coming up to that condition of exaltation we anticipate, we must take thought and reflect, we must exert ourselves, and that too to the utmost of our ability.

      The text given us by President Young yesterday, and to which we, in our prayer this morning, asked God to direct our remarks, was the work with which we are now immediately concerned, pertaining to our present wants and necessities. The question here arises, How shall we regulate our temporal affairs so as to qualify us to perform the duties and obligations devolving upon us to-day, and secure to ourselves the blessings of eternal life?

      To this subject, so far as the Lord will give me his Holy Spirit, through the exercise of your faith, I wish to speak this morning. I desire, however, to confine myself more particularly to the subject relating to our financial union, uniting ourselves together as brethren who have entered into the everlasting covenant of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, expecting to dwell together in the presence of God in the celestial world.

      We have been told, through the revelations of God, and to which our attention has often been called, that unless we became one in temporal as well as spiritual things, it were useless anticipating the fullness of celestial glory, or a state of oneness in the spiritual things of God. But what course we are to take in order to arrive at this most desirable condition seems to remain a difficult, unsolved problem. Doubtless many have asked themselves, what can we do, and how shall we do it?

      Well, let our minds revert for a few minutes to the time when we received the fullness of the everlasting Gospel, in the countries where it first reached us. As soon as we became convinced of the truth and that the Elders who preached the Gospel were the servants of God, we offered ourselves as candidates for baptism for the remission of sins, receiving the Holy Ghost through the laying on of their hands, and then felt determined to do whatever the Lord should require through his servants and continue to follow their counsels in all things, even to the sacrifice of all we possessed, if necessary, whether pertaining to the world's wealth or that which we held in higher and dearer esteem.

      We learned an important and significant fact, that we were his offspring, inheriting, though only in infantile form, the same attributes he himself possessed, and that, through probationary experience, by passing the ordeals of earth, rejecting the evil and accepting the good, these attributes could be developed until eventually we might receive a fullness of the godhead, and dwell in the presence of the Father. We became acquainted with this fact, and were convinced in our hearts that the object which now appeared before us, was well worthy of all that we could bestow upon it. Hence we resolved that we would accomplish the undertaking, though at the sacrifice of our all. We well understood that in order to attain to that position that would entitle us to this exaltation, it would be necessary to submit ourselves wholly to the mind and will of God. We felt in our hearts to consecrate our wives, our children and our property, if we had any, and our time and abilities, to the service of God. Had this law of consecration been presented at that time it no doubt would have been hailed with joy, as it was in exact accordance with the spirit of our covenants.

      According to the order of the celestial world, as revealed to the Latter-day Saints, respecting the property we might possess, we were required to consecrate all to the Lord, and then to be made stewards, as pointed out by revelation in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and were to continue to devote that which might be entrusted to us to the service of God; and so far as we increased the property of our stewardship we were to devote the same to the benefit of the kingdom of God, which would be used for the building of Temples, emigrating and sustaining the poor, and for carrying on the great work of redeeming Israel. This feeling, which we entertained at the beginning, was to continue to burn in our bosoms, and we were to be faithful and honest in our professions.

      I know that many of us when we came to the valleys, conformed to this law of consecration, which is now published in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. We deeded our property, and many were willing, perhaps not all, that, if necessary, every part and portion of it should have been used as the servants of God should have directed. This was the kind of feeling that we then entertained, and just as long as we maintained this condition of mind, of willing obedience, it was all that was required. But I fear that this feeling, which gave us so much joy, which tended to increase our faith and confidence in God and in one another, has not continued to grow correspondingly with our general prosperity, experience and knowledge of the Gospel. My testimony to you is that, so far as this is the case, we stand this day not wholly approved of God, although we have the privilege of worshiping in this Temple, reared to his holy name. But just, so far as this willingness exists in our hearts to appropriate our means that we have accumulated for the upbuilding of the kingdom of God on the earth, and that too without grudging, even as the former-day Saints laid down theirs at the feet of the Apostles, so far are we approved and accepted of God. Who, among the Latter-day Saints within the hearing of my voice this day, could fail to comprehend this?

      In much of our business relations one with another, there does not exist that spirit of union and brotherly interest that should be maintained. We need to take such a course as will enable us to acquire it, and this spirit should prevail throughout all our settlements.

      Who cannot perceive the hand of God in bringing us away from the turmoil and strife of the business world to these mountain vales, where we have the opportunity and the privilege of building up villages and cities upon the principle of unity which has been revealed to us, thus affording that necessary discipline which we could not have obtained among the cities of the Gentiles? This training cannot be acquired in one year, nor in five years, but its acquisition is enhanced in proportion to our willingness to make sacrifices in order to obtain it. By and by the Lord will have prepared the way for some to return to Jackson County, there to build up the Centre Stake of Zion. How easy this work can be accomplished, after we have learned to build up cities and Temples here to his divine acceptance! Our present experience is a very needful one. Without it, we should be totally unfitted for the performance of such a work. We read that the Temple which Solomon built was erected without the sound of a hammer being heard. There had been a previous preparation and an experience gained in some distant locality, and a proper training. The materials were accurately prepared elsewhere, and when brought together were ready for setting, each piece to its proper place. As knowledge and efficiency are obtained gradually, we may expect that the experience that we are getting now in learning how to build up cities in our present condition, conforming as near as possible to the holy order of God, is, in order to prepare us by and by to return to Missouri, whence we were driven, and there build up cities and Temples to the name of the Most High, upon which his glory will descend. A condition of willingness to conform our will to the divine will is what we need. It might not be deemed policy to enter into covenants by deed, in our property matters, though it may be hereafter. But so long as the emotions of our souls prompt us to exclaim, in the language of Joshua, that "I and my household will serve the Lord," so long as this willingness dwells in our hearts, to give ourselves up entirely to the service of God, we are then in the condition to ask the Father to hasten the day when his will shall be done on earth as in heaven; and further, when the proper time comes to require the use of our property in the interests of the great work we are engaged in, the bare mention of it will be sufficient. But, we ask, should not the Bishop who operates in our temporal matters be a very wise and good man? Certainly he should, and a man of honor and integrity, full of the Holy Ghost, loving his neighbor as himself, and loving the Lord our God with all his might, mind and strength. On this, we are told, "hang the law and the Prophets." Blessed is he in whom these two principles are developed, for such a one is without condemnation; he stands the peer of him referred to in the Scriptures by the Savior as one "without guile." The people will soon learn to confide in such a man, as he can establish unmistakable proof before God and before his brethren that he obeys these commandments in which are involved all that the Prophets ever lived for.

      We will suppose, further, that such an individual as I have described, who really had obeyed these commandments, were placed to preside over a city of a thousand people, all of whom too were living in the advanced condition referred to. He must bear in mind his important position, high responsibilities, and who appointed him to this position, he or they in whom God had vested the authority. Why is such a man called to act as president over a people? Is it in order to acquire an influence and then to use that influence directly for his own aggrandizement? No, but on the contrary, he is called to act in such a position on the same principle as the Priesthood was given to the Son of God, that he should make sacrifice. For himself? No, but in the interests of the people over whom he preside. Would he be required to offer himself up on the cross as did the Savior? No, but to become the servant of his brethren, not their matter, and to work in their interest and welfare. Not to exercise the influence thus obtained to benefit himself, his family and relatives and personal friends, but esteeming all as his brethren. having rights in common with himself and, therefore, seeking to bless and benefit all equally according to the talents and worthiness they may possess, and thus by so doing develop in himself that fatherly feeling which always exists in the bosom of the Father.

      At the present time it is too often the case that the men who are called to act in such positions, instead of thus acting according to their holy calling, use their influence, their Priesthood, the sacred powers referred upon them, for their own benefit and that of their children and personal friends. This is highly improper, it is wrong and displeasing in the sight of God; and of this sin we are called upon to repent, by putting it away from us, and beginning to live the lives of Latter-day Saints, according to the sacred covenants we have entered into.

      When you find a man who takes the same interest in those over whom he presides as he does in himself and family, you will naturally begin to have confidence in that individual. But as soon as you find that his feelings, by day and by night, and the course of his conduct are such as to tend directly to benefit himself and his family, you will say, "What interest has he for us. We must look out for ourselves." But where a man works for the interest of the community, he becomes truly a father to that people, working for them with the same feeling, desire and interest as he would for himself. It might be said of him, as it should be said of all men, that he loves his brethren, or in other words, "his neighbor," as himself. Now let the man who acts as the presiding Elder of his ward, manifest by word and action these fatherly feelings towards those he presides over, and how soon we would begin to perceive perfect confidence restored!

      Possibly such a man might not always possess financiering abilities, and possibly the people themselves might not have confidence in his abilities to manage or direct temporal affairs. This is quite supposable, for good sound principled men are not always endowed with great financiering abilities. Yet from the fact of his having established himself in the hearts of the people, and his being known by them for his integrity and honesty, and his disposition to work for the interests of God and the people, willing to make any sacrifice that might be required of him, he possesses their confidence, and when once in possession of so sacred a trust, what then might he do in order to satisfy the minds of the people, which are, more or less, inclined to be progressive? Let such a man call to his aid those of his brethren who are the most capable, letting them share his responsibilities. Because you will find, as a general thing, that talent is diffused through the many and rarely combined in single indivduals; and it only needs opportunity in order to be developed. He might say to one, "Here Brother So and so, you are better adapted to fill this or that position than I am;" or, to another, "You are the man best fitted for this department;" and so on until he gets the talents of all brought out, and instead of diminishing the public confidence in himself, such a course would add to it. Further, he would be doing for his brethren that which the United Order designs to do for all, namely to afford opportunity to develop the gift that Nature has endowed us with. Therefore, I say that all these matters can be got along with, provided we have the sure and safe foundation, which should be based on honesty and integrity to God and the true interests of his kingdom and people. With a people of one heart and mind, possessed of the same feelings and aspirations as we were when we first embraced the Gospel, in connection with our present knowledge and experience in the practical workings of building up the kingdom, how easy it would be to establish our home industries or mercantile institutions and carry them on successfully! Every one would be on hand, like Israel when, in the desert, and journeying to the land of Canaan, they were required to build a movable tabernacle for certain sacred purposes, and the people brought their offerings etc., even more than were sufficient, and Moses had to cry out to the people to stop. So it would be with us, as far as willingness on the part of the people was concerned to take an active part in any general movement that might be projected. Whatever means or property or time might be devoted by the community for the establishing of any certain enterprise, would be done in good faith, for every heart would be inspired with confidence, everyone considering his interest identified with that of the whole.

      But it takes time to get the people into this condition. Here, in this southern country, we understand that the people have been endeavoring to work together in the United Order, meeting with more or less disappointment. Because of reverses or failures in our attempts to successfully operate our temporal affairs, we should not allow such disappointment to detract from the principle itself; but rather let us attribute our misfortunes to human weaknesses, regarding the principle as divine, revealed for our special benefit and blessing, and in every instance of apparent failure let us ever be resolved to "try again." The principles of Plural Marriage were revealed for the benefit and exaltation of the children of men, but how much unhappiness has arisen through failure, on the part of some who have contracted this order of marriage, to conform to the laws that govern it! But does it arise through any defect in the order of the marriage system? O no; but from ignorance and the folly and wickedness of those individuals who enter into it, who abuse, rather than righteously obey, it. So in regard to the principles of the United Order. Its principles too are sacred, and I assure you we will never go back to Jackson County, Missouri, there to build up the new Jerusalem of the latter days, until there is a perfect willingness on our part to conform to its rules and principles. Many years have transpired since we received the revelation of the United Order, and in one sense that long period of time bespeaks negligence on our part in not more fully obeying it. The very principles of that order, in my estimation, were given for our temporal and spiritual salvation. In order to derive the benefit that God designed should flow from them, they must be established and systematized on the principle of righteousness, each person learning to love his neighbor as himself. For us to undertake to deal with them on any other principle would virtually open the way to bitter disappointment.

      Then allow me to repeat, let me find a community that is willing to conform to this, bringing to mind the covenants made in the beginning when we received the fullness of the Gospel, willing to bring to mind when they dedicated all they possessed—their property, their talents, their mental and physical powers, to the building up of his kingdom; remembering the time when we did this, the blessings of God were upon us, and his Spirit burned within us. Then let those who preach in the midst of that community of Saints, realize what the Priesthood was placed upon them for; let them knew and fully sense why they were appointed to fill such and such an office, viz., that they should act in the spirit of our Master, a servant of all, that they learn to consider and esteem ill the same affectionate interest, the welfare of all, as they do that of themselves, and be in very deed fathers to the people. Then will they enter into the spirit of the two great commands upon which, said the Savior, "hang the law and the Prophets," namely, loving the Lord with all our might, mind and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves. This, in my opinion, is the foundation of our future success, temporally and spiritually, in this United Order. Until we come down to the bedrock of honesty and sincerity in this matter, dealing with temporal as with spiritual things, whole-heartedly, holding all and ourselves sacred to the service of God, we may expect more or less failure.

      Let me say to the brethren who are and who contemplate connecting themselves actively and entirely with this holy Order, that the Priesthood was bestowed upon you, as upon the Son of God himself, for no other purpose than that, through sacrifice, you might be proven, that, peradventure, at the last day, you might stand approved before God, and before perfect and holy beings and that, in order to merit this divine approval, it may be necessary to forget self and individual aggrandisement and seek the interest of your brethren. If you are ready and willing to do this, and if your everyday life and conduct, and the spirit within you testify the fact, you will establish confidence in the hearts of those wire know you and with whom you are more immediately associated in temporal matters.

      Confidence is ofttimes referred to by our brethren, especially when speaking on the subject of the United Order. It is spoken of and written an by the religious, the political, and the financial world; and the present condition of the whole is such as to force itself upon our serious attention. We may confidently apprehend that, as history shall chronicle the developments of this our progressive world, we shall witness more and more the necessity of it. For as palpable and, what may be termed, legitimate fraud increases, and the whole world ripens in iniquity generally, confidence will lessen and become more priceless and precious. This is quite obvious to all men in whose hearts dwell a spark of that Spirit by which the Prophets foretold the destiny of the nations. Confidence can be acquired only on the principle of righteousness, whether it be applied to the monarch or the peasant, the religionist or the non-religionist; merit alone commands it.

      Then let us live the lives of Latter-day Saints, that we may first beget confidence in ourselves; then we shall begin to have confidence in each other, in God, and in his promises. A people in this condition of progress would know no failures, everything would prosper that they put their hands to, they would grow in faith and in good works. I tell you, in the name of the Lord God, that the time is coming when there will be no safety only in the principles of union, for therein lies the secret of our temporal and spiritual salvation. We have been enabled to establish settlements, towns, and villages, and we have been abundantly blessed with the necessaries and conveniences of life, notwithstanding we have been slow to hearken to and obey the commands of Jehovah. I would to God that every Bishop and presiding officer would this day, in this holy Temple, covenant and swear before him, the Lord our God, that they would turn and serve him with all their might, mind and strength, and work in the interest of the people as they would for themselves. For my greatest desire is to see Zion established according to the revelations of God, to see her inhabitants industrious and self-sustaining, filled with wisdom and the power of God, that around us may be built a wall of defence, a protection against the mighty powers of Babylon; and while the disobedient of our Father's family are contending, and filling up their cup of iniquity, even to the brim, and thus preparing themselves for the burning, we, who are the acknowledged children of the kingdom, being filled with the righteousness and knowledge of God, may be like the wise virgins, clothed in our wedding garments, and properly prepared for the coming of our Lord and Savior.

 

[Elder Orson Hyde]

            Elder Orson Hyde said he could not find language to express his emotions on entering this holy Temple. He desired to serve the Lord and all he had was on hand for the service of God.

[Orson Hyde]

[DNW 26:546, 10/3/77, p 2; JD 19:57]

DISCOURSE

DELIVERED BY ELDER ORSON HYDE,

In the Temple, St. George, on the 5th of April, 1877.

_____

REPORTED BY GEO. F. GIBBS.

_____

      I have not language, my brethren and sisters, to express the feelings and emotions of my heart on coming into this Temple yesterday morning; I could not describe them if I were to undertake to do so, and consequently I will sum up in short by saying, that the sentiments of my heart were, Thank God for such a place in which to worship and to reverence his high and holy name.

      We have been listening this morning to some very interesting and truthful remarks, and I have felt edified, instructed, and comforted in my feelings. And I think, if we all remember our prayers in the season thereof, in sincerity and truth, that our light would shine before us according to our needs and wants. It is too often the case that this important duty is neglected. I look at the rivers of water, I trace them to their source, and I find that many times the places where they originate are small and ofttimes hidden from the popular gaze. But, notwithstanding, they flow down and the waters increase, until by tributaries the main channel becomes a mighty river. So our prayers in private and family circle are secret and retired from the public, but they keep the fire burning upon the altar of our hearts. And it is not often that persons who faithfully attend to this duty walk in darkness, it is seldom that they apostatize and turn away from the faith, especially when we couple our solemn prayers with a short sermon or lecture of comfort and of peace to our wives and children, sanctifying our prayers by words of consolation, and then we have a little heaven on earth. And I have noticed that those who do this can generally give a reason for the hope that is in them. Where these things are neglected, however small they may appear in the estimation of some, there is a want of the vital principle that feeds the soul, that keeps the leaves and branches green, that imparts beauty and loveliness to all nature.

      I have thought that if we were a little more punctual in the discharge of our obligations one with another and to all men, it would be the means of opening wider the door of light and truth to all pursuing that course. It is too often the case that we sometimes contract duties and make promises to discharge them, when our present condition and future prospects are altogether too slim to justify our doing so. Yet we feel we must go in debt to supply our immediate wants. And when the time comes for payment to be made, it is not at all an unfrequent chapter in our lives, that at that particular time we were not so well prepared to meet the obligation as we were the day we made the contract. This I apprehend is a barrier to our success and our prosperity. And I feel that if there was more punctuality manifested by us in paying our obligations than now exists, we would have more confidence in one another than we already have. I do not recommend any person to take his neighbor in hand and say, "Pay me that which thou owest me." So far as my memory serves me, in such cases as when persons owed me who failed to pay me according to promise, and I believed them honest and upright in their feelings, seeking not to take advantage, I do not recollect ever having crowded such persons, or putting them to the least inconvenience. I think it is good and honorable on the part of the creditor to establish his name and character by showing mercy and easing the burden of those who may be indebted to him. For there should be a disposition on one part to avoid contracting debts, and a disposition on the other to be as lenient as circumstances permit, to move away all the obstruction we can from the path of each other's prosperity. However small these matters may seem, they are important.

      At the time our Prophet and Patriarch were killed, or at least soon afterwards, when the Twelve returned to Nauvoo, their immediate circumstances were not altogether agreeable and pleasant or profitable. But suffice it to say we had a meeting, a Conference, at which President Young was the centre of attraction. On his rising to speak, and as soon as he opened his mouth, I heard the voice of Joseph through him, and it was as familiar to me as the voice of my wife, the voice of my child, or the voice of my father. And not only the voice of Joseph did I distinctly and unmistakably hear, but I saw the very gestures of his person, the very features of his countenance, and if I mistake not, the very size of his person appeared on the stand. And it went through me with the thrill of conviction that Brigham was the man to lead this people. And from that day to the present there has not been a query or a doubt upon my mind with regard to the divinity of his appointment; I know that he was the man selected of God to fill the position he now holds.

      I have found in my experience that there is a good deal in a man's having confidence in himself. A person having little confidence in God and more in himself is not good; the capital stock should be in the Lord our God, and the smaller portion in the creature operating.

      When the Lord created man, I believe he placed in him a portion of himself, that is a portion of every qualification that he himself possessed. And in our sphere we are to act independently; but under and by the power of those principles of natural inspiration. There is a good deal of natural inspiration in man; and when that is touched by the finger of the Almighty, it makes the cup a delicious one, it makes the mind truly enlightened.

      Brethren and sisters, I have all confidence in the Lord our God—I say all confidence, perhaps that calls for a little qualification. At any rate I believe in him, and that he is just, wise and merciful. If I did not believe he was merciful, I could not believe my own eyes while looking upon this vast congregation of his people, assembled in this isolated place, here in the southern portion of our Territory.

      I tell you how I feel in relation to the matters that have been spoken of here to-day. If I had more confidence in myself, and in my own ability, limited though it may be, I could venture farther and do more, and perhaps overcome my natural timidity and become a more efficient agent in the hands of our Father of doing good. This I desire with all my heart. I can say that what little I possess of this world's goods are subject to the orders of my superiors in the Priesthood, myself and all that I command are at their dictation to be used in the service of our God for the advancement of his kingdom. I labored with my hands until I reached my seventieth year, when I had to cease working; and for the last two years I have not been able to do anything, not even to cut a stick of wood or fetch a bucketful of water. But I feel thankful that my health is as good as it is, and that I have lived to see this day, and to behold this elegant structure reared to the honor of our God, and to have the privilege of meeting and joining with so many of my brethren and sisters to worship within its walls.

      Brethren, I rejoice in the service of God, and I want to continue in it; and if our religion had no more consolation than it now affords, it would be ample to inspire us to honor it, and to live it. I look around me and see a great many heads as white and many whiter than my own. I ofttimes wish, Oh, that I were again active and able to work manfully and energetically in the cause of truth! But no; like many others of my age, I am subject to rheumatism and pains in my limbs, which at times disable me; I have commenced to feel the infirmities of increasing age and years; and so many of us now, after these many years of toil, have to struggle with the going down sun of our earthly existence. But we have the consolation of knowing that our mortal body will not always impede our progress, we shall not forever suffer its inconveniences; we are gladdened in the hope of either laying down this mortal tabernacle or undergoing that welcome change which will free us from all afflictions and annoyances. And we hail the day when we shall be free from sorrow and death, to forever rejoice in the joys of everlasting lives. But while we remain let us struggle on, and continue the good fight of faith until we are called home. I calculate, the Lord being my helper, to do the very best I can. How long I may live I know not, neither do I feel much anxiety, feeling as I do that I am in the hands of my Heavenly Father, who will do with me as seemeth him good. But yet if I could be spared in health, I would like to see the adversary bound, to trouble and harass no more the children of our God. I would like to live to see myself entirely redeemed from the tradition of our forefathers, which we have inherited through entailment, and completely baptized in the element of life everlasting. These are my heart's desires. I pray that God may continue to bless us and help us to walk day by day in obedience to the requirements of heaven. Amen.

 

[Elder George Q. Cannon]

            Elder George Q. Cannon spoke a few minutes on the education of our youth in the principles of the gospel in our schools, and recommended the Bible, Book of Mormon, and Doctrine and Covenants as text books.

            Singing by the Parowan choir.

            Dismissed by Elder Wilford Woodruff.

_____

[5 Apr, pm]

[DNW 25:156, 4/11/77, p 12]

SECOND DAY -- AFTERNOON

_____

ST. GEORGE, April 5.

[Elder Orson Pratt]

            Elder Orson Pratt occupied the whole of the afternoon, one hour and forty-five minutes delivering a most thorough and able discourse, in which he traced the work of oneness in temporal and spiritual things from the day of Adam to the present, giving data from the new translation of the Bible by the Prophet Joseph and from modern revelations. Sermons more appropriate to our present condition, delivered with greater power, we never listened to. Order, decorum, and the Spirit of God prevailed throughout the congregation. Elder John D. T. McAllister was this afternoon unanimously elected president of this Stake of Zion, and Thomas J. Jones and Henry Eyring as counsellors. Changes too were made in the presidency and counsellorship of the priests', teachers', and deacons' quorums, electing experienced men to those several positions. Meeting adjourned.

_____

6-8 Apr 1877, 47th Annual General Conference, St. George.
[Deseret News Weekly, 26:156, 4/11/77, p 12; Millennial Star 39:291, 308, 323]

[6 Apr, 10 am]

[DNW 26:156, 4/11/77, p 12]

GENERAL CONFERENCE AT ST. GEORGE.

_____

FIRST DAY - MORNING

_____

ST. GEORGE, April 6.

            Pursuant to adjournment made at the last Semi-annual Conference, the General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints met in the Temple in St. George. There were present in the Melchisedec Priesthood stand, President Brigham Young and his counsellors, Presidents John W. Young and Daniel H. Wells, of the First Presidency; Elders John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, Geo. Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Jr., and Jos. F. Smith, of the quorum of the Twelve; John Smith, patriarch; and local authorities of the stake bearing the Melchizedec priesthood. In the other stand, immediately opposite, which is set apart for the presidents of the several quorums of the lesser or Aaronic priesthood, sat in the top row Presiding Bishop Edward Hunter, and some visiting bishops whom he had invited to be seated there. The other three rows were occupied by the presidents of the several quorums of the lesser priesthood of the Stake of Zion.

            President B. Young gave out the first hymn, which was sung by the Parowan choir.

            The prayer dedicating the Temple and opening the general Conference, was offered by Prest. D. H. Wells.

[Daniel H. Wells]

[DNW 26:226, 5/16/77, p 2; JD 18:368]

PRAYER

Dedicating the Temple of the Lord at St. George, offered by

PREST. DANIEL H. WELLS, IN THE

Temple, St. George, on the Sixth day of April, 1877, at 10 O'clock. a. m.

_____

REPORTED BY G. F. GIBBS

_____

      Almighty and Everlasting God, our heavenly Father, thou who art the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the God of Moses, of David, of Solomon; the God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; the God of Joseph and of Brigham, even the God of Israel; thou who art the Father of our spirits; it is to thee we approach this morning to worship and to offer up our dedicatory prayer in thanksgiving and praise for this offering, even a Temple which thou hast enabled thy people to rear unto thy most holy name.

      We realize, our Father, that we are dependent upon thee, and that although we are shut out from thy presence, inheriting many weaknesses, and made subject to many temptations and sins, we are thy children, and as such we come before thee in the depths of humility, with broken hearts and contrite spirits, praying that thine indulgence, thy tender mercy and compassion may be extended toward us, and that thou wilt forgive everything that thine all-seeing and searching eye hath beheld amiss in us.

      We thank thee, O Lord, that thy people, whom thou hast led to this distant land and whom thou hast preserved by thine own right arm, have been permitted to establish themselves in the homes which thou hast given them, and that, through thy continued blessings, they have been enabled to gather together the materials of which this building is composed, to put together and erect the same, even a Temple, which we dedicate and now consecrate to thee, that it may be holy unto thee, the Lord our God, for sacred and holy purposes, and that "the blessing, even life forevermore," may be commanded here, from heaven, even from thy presence, and may flow through the ordinance which appertain unto thy holy place, unto us thy children. We pray that the blessings pertaining to our eternal salvation and to the establishing of thy kingdom upon this thine earth may be poured out upon thy holy Priesthood and thy people, who shall worship and officiate in this thy holy House.

      We dedicate and consecrate the foundation of this building upon which it stands. Cause, O Lord, that it may not give way nor yield in consequence of any destructive elements that may be in the soil, or may the nature of those elements be changed so as to become strengthening instead of weakening, that the same may always remain firm and sound.

      We dedicate and consecrate the lower and upper walls of the building and the buttresses which support the same, and all the material—the stone, the lime and the sand, which compose the mortar, and all that pertains thereunto, together with the flagging, the timbers, the joists, the floors, and the foundations upon which they rest, that the same may be protected and preserved, that none of the elements, either through storms, fire or earthquakes, may have power to destroy, disturb or injure this thy holy House. We also dedicate and consecrate unto thee all the openings, entrances, doors and windows, and their fastenings, of the basement story. We also present to thee the Baptismal Font, in which is performed the ordinance of baptism for the living and the dead; with the steps, the railing around, and the oxen upon which it rests, the foundations, together with the connections and apparatus for furnishing, conveying, holding and heating the water, with all that pertains to it, dedicating and consecrating all unto time, the Lord, our Father and God, that they may be holy unto thy name. We pray that thy blessing may attend those of thy servants who administer and who may officiate in the ordinances that may be performed therein, in behalf of thy people, and in behalf of those, our progenitors, our relatives and friends, who have gone before us to the spirit world, so far as we may be enabled and permitted to officiate for them.

      We dedicate to thee also the rooms of this building in the first, second and third stories, with the pillars and supports thereof, including the side rooms, with the partition walls, for the purposes for which they may be used by the Priesthood, for prayer, for worship, for councils or meetings, or for administering the holy ordinances of thy House, that they may be holy unto thee, the Lord our God. We also dedicate the roof and the tower, with its dome, its covering and walls, and the walls and the battlements around mid above the roof, with the timbers and frames and supports upon which the roof and tower rest, and are made permanent, and the fastenings and all that appertains thereunto, and the materials of which they are composed. We dedicate also the entrances, the steps and the circular stairs, with the railings and bannisters thereunto attached. Grant, O Lord, that the roof which covers all may shield and protect this building from the storms which may come upon it. We dedicate the pipes which convey the water from the roof, with their fastenings and the materials of which they are composed. We also dedicate the chimneys, flues, conduits, and sewers, and openings for ventilation; also all the doors, windows, and glass, the hinges and nails and screws, the door locks and handles, the window weights and cords and fastenings of every kind; and all the paint, putty, plaster, whitewash and all the ornamental work within and without, everything used in the construction and completion of the entire building, from the foundation unto the top thereof, that all may be holy unto the Lord our God.

      Holy Father, we dedicate unto thee the furniture and utensils used in the holy washings, anointings and ceremonies of this thy holy House; also the curtains and frames for partitions; together with the altars and their cushions, and the tables and the chairs, stools and desks, that all may be sanctified for the use and purposes intended. We dedicate also the tower on the outside, containing the fountain, also the aqueduct and pipes conveying the water thereunto. We dedicate the block of land upon which this Temple is situated, and the fence which encloses it, with its openings and gates, the hinges, hangings and fastenings, and the materials of which they are composed; also the roads and walks leading thereto and through the same.

      We dedicate and consecrate the pulpits, with the cushions thereon and the ornamental fringe around, together with the steps, railing and bannisters, and the seats, with the cushions on them; and the floors and the foundations upon which they stand. May nothing unholy or impure ever enter here, but may the same be holy unto the Lord our God. Especially do we pray that thy power may rest upon thy servants who may occupy these pulpits when they shall minister by virtue of their holy calling, either in preaching, in counseling, or in transacting business pertaining to the welfare of thy Church and kingdom here upon the earth.

      We implore thy blessings upon the various congregations of thy people who may assemble in this House from time to time, both in their incomings and outgoings, and may thy blessing and thy spirit dwell herein and rest upon them, for their comfort and edification, and abide richly in their hearts, that they may learn further of thy ways and walk in thy paths.

      We desire also to commend these thy servants and people to thy kind care and keeping, that they may Be preserved unto thee from the powers of the wicked and ungodly, and from the powers of all evil and opposing influences, from whose grasp thou hast heretofore delivered us in bringing us here to these valleys and the fastnesses of these mountains. We acknowledge thee and the great deliverance thou hast wrought out for us, and we pray thee, O God, in the name of Jesus, to accept of these thy servants and people, and preserve and keep us in thy most holy keeping. Let the ministering angels from thy presence attend us, and let thy grace and power be upon us, that we may walk in the paths of purity and holiness, and be enabled to bring forth thy purposes and establish thy kingdom in all its fullness, administering in all the ordinances pertaining to thy House, and also send forth salvation to all the children of men, scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth, for their redemption from sin and bondage, even from gross darkness.

      We now ask, our Father, that we thy servants and people may be acceptable unto thee, praying thee to grant that thy Holy Spirit may pervade each heart before thee, that our worship may be such as thou delightest to behold, and that the revelations of thy mind and will may continue to be made manifest through thy servant Brigham and all of thy servants upon whom thou hast conferred the authority of the holy Priesthood.

      We feel not to multiply words before thee, for language is inadequate to express the fullness of the feelings and emotions of our souls in being thus privileged to meet before thee in this sacred, this holy place.

      Accept, O God, of this tribute of our hearts, and let thy peace and blessing dwell and abide here in this holy Temple, which we now with uplifted hearts and hands present and consecrate and dedicate entire as a sacred offering unto thee, for thy divine acceptance. May it stand as a monument of purity and holiness as long as the earth shall remain, commemorative of thy great goodness towards us thy people, and thy name shall have the honor, the praise and glory, for we ask all in Jesus' name. And unto thee and our blessed Lord and Savior and to the Holy Spirit be all power, might and dominion, worlds without end. Amen.

 

            The Beaver choir sang, "High on the mountain top, a banner is unfurled."

[Elder George Q. Cannon]

            Elder George Q. Cannon read from the Book of Nephi, pages 492 and 494, also the first verse of the revelation given April 23rd, 1834, page 337, Book of Doctrine and Covenants, new edition. He reviewed the subject of union in temporal affairs, briefly alluding to the social unions which had been attempted in France and in different parts of the United States. The combination or union enjoined upon the Latter-day Saints was of a much more binding nature. It formed part of the law of God delivered to them, and was an essential to full salvation in God's kingdom. God had entrusted to us the mission to establish right forms and the correct practice of every institution which would enable us to live right, physically and spiritually, socially, morally, and politically, here and hereafter. If we, as Latter-day Saints, did our duty, we would cast behind us the unsound and darkening traditions of our forefathers. We had commenced the establishment of a reform in the marriage relation. In obeying the divine command, we had been greatly blessed. We were called to effect a reform in our financial or business relations, and our efforts in this direction would be crowned with blessings, and our power with ourselves, our children, and our neighbors would increase for good in the land. His concluding remark was, "I bear testimony to you, my brethren and sisters, this day, in God's holy Temple, that the almighty requires us to enter into this United Order, and that we cannot progress much farther without this union."

[President Brigham Young]

            President Brigham Young enlarged upon some of the views advanced by Elder Cannon.

[Brigham Young]

[DNW 26:247, 5/23/77, p 7; JD 18:353]

DISCOURSE

BY PREST. BRIGHAM YOUNG,

On Friday Morning, April 6th, 1877, at the Semi-Annual Conference, held in the Temple at St. George

_____

REPORTED BY GEO. F. GIBBS.

_____

      I would like to say a great deal during this Conference to the Latter-day Saints, but I shall be able to talk but little, and therefore when I do speak I wish you to listen, and this I believe all of you will do.

      I think that, as a people, we are nearer alike in the sentiments and feelings of our hearts, than in our words. From the most excellent discourse which we have heard this morning from brother Cannon, I believe that the people might gather the idea that we shall be expected to divide our property equally one with another, and that this will constitute the United Order. I will give you my view, in as few words as possible with regard to this subject, which I will promise you are correct.

      The Lord wishes and requires us to develop the ability within us, and to utilize the ability of these men, women and children called Latter-day Saints.

      The most of the inhabitants of the earth are incapable of dictating and devising for themselves. In many instances there is reason for this, for they are opposed to that degree that for the lack of opportunity they are not able to develop the talents and ability that are within them. This is the condition of the people of most of the nations of the earth. All those who come out from the world, espousing the Gospel of Jesus, place themselves in a condition to be taught of him, but instead of teaching them personally, he has raised up his authorized teachers to do this work, and what floes he expect of us to do? He requires, absolutely requires, of us to take these people who have named his name through baptism, and teach them how to live, and how to become healthy, wealthy and wise. This is our duty.

      Supposing that the property of the whole community were divided to-day equally amongst all, what might we expect? Why a year from to-day we should need another division, for some would waste and squander it away, while others would add, to their portion. The skill of building up and establishing the Zion of our God on the earth is to take the people and teach them how to take care of themselves and that which the Lord has entrusted to their care, and to use all that we command to glorify his holy name. This is the work of regenerating, of elevating mankind to the higher plane of the Gospel; in other words, of simply teaching them their duty.

      With regard to our property, as I have told you many times, the property which we inherit from our Heavenly Father is our time, and the power to choose in the disposition of the same. This is the real capital that is bequeathed unto us by our Heavenly Father; all the rest is what he may be pleased to add unto us. To direct, to counsel and to advise in the disposition of our time, pertains to our calling as God's servants, according to the wisdom which he has given and will continue to give unto us as we seek it

      Now, if we could take this people, in their present condition, and teach them how to sustain and maintain themselves and a little more, we would add to that which we already have; but to take what we have and divide amongst or give to people, without teaching them how to earn and produce, would be no more nor less than to introduce the means of reducing them to a state of poverty.

      I do not wish for one moment to recognize the idea that in order to establish the United Order our property has to be divided equally among the people, to let them do what they please with it. But the idea is to get the people into the same state of unity in all things temporal, that we find ourselves in with regard to things spiritual. Then let those who possess the ability and wisdom direct the labors of those not so endowed, until they too develop the talents within them and in time acquire the same degree of ability.

      What do you say to this doctrine? Is it right or wrong? [The congregation answered, "It is right."]

      We want to get at a correct understanding respecting all these matters which so materially concern us. What would be the first lesson necessry to teach the people, were we to commence to direct their labors to the great end of becoming of one heart and one mind in the Lord, of establishing Zion and being filled with the power of God? It would be to stop expending and lavishing upon our dear selves all needless adornments and to stop purchasing the importations of Babylon. We can ourselves produce every thing necessary for our consumption, our wear, our convenience and comfort, right here at home. We can produce and manufacture the material necessary to beautify our lands, gardens and orchards; to beautify and furnish our houses, and to adorn the beautiful bodies which we inhabit without sending our means to France, to England and other countries for things which can a little better be made at home among ourselves. The material of which these cushions were made, which adorn the pulpits, were pro-dated here. After it was taken from the sheep, it was manufactured at our Provo factory into the cloth you now see; and the material of which the silk trimmings were made, was raised, spun, and made up by some of our sisters in this Territory. We might exhibit to you handkerchiefs, dress patterns, and shawls, all of silk, made by our sisters out of the raw material produced here through the enterprise and industry of a few. These are only simple specimens of what can be done. Suppose I were to say, "Ladies, how do you like them?" Do you not think they would say, "Pretty well?" We can improve on what has been done, and we want you to do so. Plant out the mulberry tree, and raise the silk, and let your dresses, your shawls, your bonnets and your ribbons, and everything you use to clothe and adorn your bodies, be the workmanship of your own hands. Let the brethren take hold and carry out in every department the same prniciple of home manufacture until we shall be able to produce the materials, and make up every article necessary to clothe and adorn the body, from the crown of the head to the soles of the feet. Then we shall become a self-sustaining and growing people, and we shall have to do it. All this is in the elements in which we live, and we need the skill to utilize the elements to our growth and wealth, and this is true financiering.

      We can now see the growth of the Latter-day Saints, and it is marvelous to us to see the multitude of little towns springing up here and there, and we are under the necessity of saying, Give us more room, for the older settlements are thickening up, and the people are spreading out and filling up new valleys continually. You can see the shoots putting forth and taking root; still the old stock is good, is alive and rapidly increasing.

      It has been asked if we intend to settle more valleys. Why certainly we expect to fill the next valley and then the next, and the next, and so on. It has been the cry of late, through the columns of the newspapers, that the "Mormons" are going into Mexico! That is quite right, we calculate to go there. Are we going back to Jackson County? Yes. When? As soon as the way opens up. Are we all going? O no! of course not. The country is not large enough to hold our present numbers. When we do return there, will there be any less remaining in these mountains than we number today? No, there may be a hundred then for every single one that there is now. It is folly in men to suppose that we are going to break up these our hard earned homes to make others in a new country. We intend to hold our own here, and also penetrate the north and the south, the east and the west, there to make others and to raise the ensign of truth. This is the work of God, that marvelous work and a wonder referred to by ancient men of God, who saw it in its incipiency, as a stone cut out of the mountains without hands, but which rolled and gathered strength and magnitude until it filled the whole earth. We will continue to grow, to increase and spread abroad, and the powers of earth and hell combined cannot hinder it. All who are found opposing God and his people will be swept away and their names be forgotten in the earth. As the Prophets Joseph and Hyrum were murdered, and as they massacred our brethren and sisters in Missouri, so they would have served us years and years ago, if they had had the power to do so. But the Lord Almighty has said, Thus far thou shalt go and no farther, and hence we are spared to carry on his work. We are in his hands, the nations of the earth are in his hands; he rules in the midst of the armies of heaven and executes his pleasure on the earth. The hearts of all living are in his hands and he turns them as the rivers of water are turned.

      We have no business here other than to build up and establish the Zion of God. It must be done according to the will and law of God after that pattern and order by which Enoch built up and perfected the former-day Zion, which was taken away to heaven, hence the saying went abroad that Zion had fled. By and by it will come back again, and as Enoch prepared his people to be worthy of translation, so we through our faithfulness must prepare ourselves to meet Zion from above when it shall return to earth, and to abide the brightness and glory of its coming.

      My brethren and sisters, I do really delight in hearing our brethren speak on this holy order of heaven. Unity of purpose and action, in carrying out the will of our Father, has been my theme all the day long; but I have continually plead with the Saints not to waste their substance upon the lust of the eye and the flesh, for that is contrary to the will and commandments of God. I wish to say that whoever have faith enough to inherit the celestial kingdom will find that their inheritances will be upon this earth. This earth is our home; by and by it will be sanctified and glorified, and become a fit dwelling place for the sanctified, and they will dwell upon it for ever and ever. I will further say I labor for the earth, I never mean to be satisfied until the whole earth is yielded to Christ and his people. When brother George Q. tells us we should not labor for the earth and the things of this world, he means we should not labor with sinful motives, and to gratify the lusts of the flesh. But if we possessed the treasure of the Gentile world, could we not send our Elders to the ends of the earth, bearing the precious Gospel to all living? Could we not sustain their families during their absence? Could we not build Temple after Temple and otherwise hasten on the work of redemption? Yes. But keep the people in poverty and how are we to accomplish this great work? I say, let us gather and accumulate the things of the earth in the manner indicated by the Lord, and then devote it to God and the building up of his kingdom. What do you say to this doctrine, is it right or wrong? [The congregation said, "It is right."] What little property I have I wish it to be devoted to the building up of Zion, and I suppose I have as much as any other man in the Church. I am always ready to receive and take care of the blessings that God showers upon me, and am always ready and willing to devote the same to the building up of his kingdom.

      Many of you may have heard what certain journalists have had to say about Brigham Young being opposed to free schools. I am opposed to free education as much as I am opposed to taking away property from one man and giving it to another who knows not how to take care of it. But when you come to the fact, I will venture to say that I school ten children to every one that those do who complain so much of me. I now pay the school tees of a number of children who are either orphans or sons and daughters of poor people. But in aiding and blessing the poor I do not believe in allowing my charities to go through the hands of a set of robbers who pocket nine-tenths themselves, and give one-tenth to the poor. Therein is the difference between us; I am for the real act of doing and not saying. Would I encourage free schools by taxation? No! That is not in keeping with the nature of our work; we should Ice as one family, our hearts and hands united in the bonds of the everlasting covenant; our interests alike, our children receiving equal opportunities in the school-room and the college.

      We have to-day, more children between the ages of 5 and 20 years, who can read and write, than any State or Territory of the Union of a corresponding number of inhabitants. This is not exactly sustained by the statistics published of a few of the States, but from what we know of then we believe it to be the fact.

      On the whole we have as good school-houses as can be found, and it is our right to have better ones, and to excel in everything that is good.

      As to my health I feel many times that I could not live an hour longer, but I mean to live just as long as I can. I know not how soon the messenger will call for me, but I calculate to die in the harness. Amen.

 

            The combined choir sang the anthem, "And it shall come to pass in the last days."

            The meeting was adjourned until 2 p. m.

_____

[6 Apr, 2 pm]

[DNW 26:156, 4/11/77, p 12]

2 p.m.

            The Beaver choir sang, "Let those who would be Saints indeed."

            Prayer was offered by Elder John Taylor/

            The Parowan choir sang, "The Lord will comfort Zion."

[Elder Joseph F. Smith]

            Elder Joseph F. Smith spoke of the privilege of entering into a temple to worship the God of Israel, and adverted in an earnest manner to the necessity of the Saints having their hearts prepared to serve the Almighty. We were called to serve God with all our might, mind and strength. The Saints must expect to receive opposition and persecution just in proportion to their faithfulness in living the religion of heaven. There was a warfare between Christ and Belial, and this would continue till righteousness covered the earth. God would triumph. All the powers of earth and hell combined could not hinder this. He exhorted the people to be strong in the Lord. The purposes of heaven would be wrought out. This work in which we were engaged would never cease till it fully accomplished that whereunto it was sent. As individuals we might turn aside from duty and apostatize, yet this kingdom would never be given to another people, but would stand forever, as was decreed from the beginning. He set forth the low estate of that man who did not seek to walk in the counsels of the almighty. God had prospered and blessed us in these mountains. We had brought our thousands of the poorest of the poor from the nations of the earth. The United Order would be easily established when we were willing to recognize the truth that we did not own what we possessed but that it was the Lord's. We were not prepared for Babylon to fall, for we had not done our duty in preparing ourselves to be self-sustaining. God had given wisdom and inspiration to our leaders to direct our efforts and labors, but we had not been sufficiently diligent in obeying the counsels given u s. He concluded by exhorting to increased diligence in obeying the requirements of our holy religion.

[President John W. Young]

            President John W. Young said we all had much to learn pertaining to this latter-day work. We were the most united people that we knew of on this earth, but we were not united as we should be, for we partook too much of the business ways of the world, too much of that way in which the wicked walked who preyed upon each other and built themselves up at the expense of their fellows. It did seem that we should stop and consider our ways and combine our efforts. We had the inspiration, the power of God, and the living oracle present to direct us. To those who held this power we must more willingly listen and more readily obey. He concluded by saying, "My testimony to you, my brethren and sisters, is that God calls us to change hour manner of business and prepare ourselves to live more agreeably to the will of heaven."

            Prest. B. Young said he desired to preach in terms not long but loud. In all our deal, we should do unto others as we would have others to do by us.

            The Parowan choir sang, "Oh, praise the Lord, all ye nations; praise him, all ye people."

            Meeting adjourned till 10 a.m. tomorrow.

            Benediction by Elder Lorenzo Snow.

_____

[7 Apr, 10 am]

[DNW 26:156-157, 4/11/77, p 12-13]

SECOND DAY -- 10 A.M.

_____

ST. GEORGE, April 7, 1877

            The St. George combined choir sang, "All hail the glorious day, by prophets long foretold."

            Prayer by Elder Thomas J. Jones.

            The Beaver choir sang an anthem, "Oh come, let us sing unto the Lord."

[Elder Charles C. Rich]

            Elder Charles C. Rich spoke on the subject of our present duty as the covenant children of God. One of the imperative labors placed on us was to so combine our temporal interests that we might be self sustaining. We professed to be Saints of the Most High God. If we lived up to this profession we should be always ready to receive the directing word of the Almighty and govern our lives by it. Notwithstanding the experience some of us had had for so many years, we were not as forward in the path of obedience as we ought to be. The way of the world who knew not God was to accumulate great wealth in the hands of a comparatively few, and allow many to languish in extreme poverty. This was not the way nor the will of the Father of all. He required those who would be obedient to his will to have business so organized that none should be poor. We were called to build up the kingdom of God on the earth by practising the principles of righteousness in all things. If we reviewed our experience we should find that most of our difficulties with each other arose from selfishness. When we took a course to show that we did love our neighbor as ourselves, perfect agreement would be very much promoted. If we were questioned, we found the general feeling was that we desired to be subject to the will of Heaven in all things. Now we were called to manifest this desire more completely in our lives. We must take a course to be found wise virgins at the time of the Lord's coming.

[Elder Wilford Woodruff]

            Elder Wilford Woodruff realized his dependence upon the spirit of God to speak to the edification of the people. He spoke of the divine mission which had been laid upon Joseph Smith, to whom had been given the keys of the Aaronic and of the Melchizedec priesthoods, by means of which ordinances were administered according to the law of God for the salvation of the living and of the dead. It was a fact that Brigham Young had been raised up and endowed by Almighty God with power to lead the people in the ways of life eternal and to organize the covenant people of God in all things. It was a fact that God had raised up Elders and helps in government to carry on this great Latter-day work. Let us go to with all our might, to work out our own salvation, and to redeem the generations of the dead. It was our duty to hearken to the counsels of the servants of God, and to act upon the instructions given to us relative to the United Order. We had been protected by the power of the Most High. Had this not been so, the prophets and apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ would be just as completely destroyed from the earth in this generation as they were anciently. The purposes of the almighty would come to pass. Judgments would be poured out upon all nations. We have not been as faithful nor as prompt as we should have been, but where we had heretofore been slack in the performance of duty we should improve. He concluded by very earnestly appealing to the Latter-day Saints to be diligent in attending to the necessary temple ordinances for and in behalf of the dead.

            Elder George Q. Cannon read the following list of missionaries --

      To Europe -- Alexander F. McDonald, Alexander F. McDonald, Jr., David Milne, all of St. George; John Steel, Toquerville; Mahona Steel, Panguitch; Daniel D. McArthur, William H. Branch, Jr., both of St George; Geo. Kirkham, Lehi; Edwin D. Wooley, Jr., Erastus W. McIntire, both of St George; Thos. Lockyer, Jos. E. Cowley, both of Logan; Aaron Mc Donald, St. George; Franklin s. Richards, Ogden; Warren B. Smith;, American Fork; R. Cleghorn, Aurellius Miner, both of Salt Lake City; Edward Partridge, Fillmore.

      To Arizona -- Neils Joseph Rosebury, Richfield; Henry Job Smith, Salt Lake City; Philip De La Mere, Tooele City; A. H. Patterson, Leman Curtis and sons, Wm. Ballard, Murlin Plumb, John Plumb, Parley Sabins, Libeus T. Coons, George Patten, Jr., George Patten, jr., George Killion, Daniel Thomas, William Hall and John Syms, all of Payson and Pondtown.

      To the United States -- John Alger, St. George; _____ Page, of Washington; Joseph Nobles, Springville; John D. L. Pearce, St. George.

            The conference, by uplifted hand, without dissent, voted to sustain the appointment of the foregoing to their respective fields of labor.

[Elder Geo. Q. Cannon]

            Elder Geo. Q. Cannon spoke of the blessings of peace and prosperity which were being enjoyed by the Saints. He spoke of the in crease of poverty and wretchedness in New York, Washington, and other eastern cities, and felt to give thanks to God for his goodness to his people. But when he considered the antagonism between Christ and Belial, he questioned in his mind would peace and immunity from persecution be continued to this people. Our trust was and must be in God. He was our defender. If our lives were ordered in faith we should continue to be preserved.

[President B. Young]

            President B. Young addressed the conference to the effect that the purer the Latter-day Saints were the greater would be the rage of the wicked, but the less would be their power to persecute.

            The Parowan choir sang, "As the heart panteth after the water brooks."

            Conference adjourned till 2 p. m.

            Benediction by Elder Henry Eyring.

_____

[7 Apr, 2 pm*]

[DNW 26:157, 4/11/77, p 13]

2 p.m.

            Singing by the Beaver choir.

            Prayer by Elder Orson Pratt.

            The Parowan choir sang, "God moves in a mysterious way."

            Elder Geo. Q. Cannon read the following list of missionaries --

Walter J. Winsor, Elijah Potter, Frederick Hamblin, Charles Riggs, Lawrence C. Mariger, John T. Eager, David K. Udall, Levi Stewart, Kanab
David Johnson, Alma W. Johnson, Johnson.
W. J. Powell, Hans Golbranson, Joseph City.
George B. Gardner, Virgin City.
Wm. Eager, Hillsdale.
John Averett, John W. Freeman, Bro. Nichols, Washington.
Wyllys D. Fuller, Revilo Fuller, Alfred Randall, George Earl, Harrisburg.
James Dean;, Calvin Kelsey, Frederick Judd, Brigham Hall, Commodore P. Liston, St. George.
Moses Curtis and sons, Payson
Joseph Bull, jr., O. H. Riggs, Salt Lake City.
Mosiah L. Hancock, jr., Alma Angell, Leeds.
Jefferson C. Wright, Virgin City.
Robert S. Berrett, James Montgomery, Eugene Campbell, Edward W. Wade, North Ogden.
Robert Sloan, Wm. Burton, 15th Ward, Royal B. Sagers, Harry Emery, Samuel Peterson, A. Frazier, G. P. Mortensen, Joseph W. Taylor, Salt Lake City.
Peter Graves, Ephraim.
Fred. A. Miller, Lynne.
John Hubbard, M. W. Dalton, Willard City.
Robert Lake, of the Kiowa Nation.
Sam'l L. Adams, W. J. Carter, St. George.
Henry Flamin, Logan.
Jacob Naef, Jacob Muller, Providence.
Jacob Scharror, Payson.
Daniel Jacobs, St. Charles.
Peter Graff, Draperville.
Niels Madsen, jr., Brigham City.
F. F. Hintze, Cottonwood.
A. Frederickson, Logan.
B. P. Wulfenstejn, Price City.
Edward Hemsley, Job Hemsley, Mill Creek.

            Elder Cannon presented the following authorities of the Church who were unanimously sustained by vote of the Conference--

            Brigham Young, Prophet, Seer, and Revelator, and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in all the world.

            John W. Young and Daniel H. Wells, counsellors to President Brigham Young.

            Lorenzo Snow, Brigham Young, Jr., Albert Carrington, and George Q. Cannon, assistant counsellors to President Brigham Young.

            John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Sen., Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Jr., Joseph F. Smith, and Albert Carrington, members of the Quorum of the Twelve.

            John Smith, Patriarch of the Church

            John D. T. McAllister, President of St. George stake. Thomas J. Jones and henry Eyring his Counsellors.

            Marius Ensign, James G. Bleak, John O. Angus, Wm. Empey, Erastus W. McIntyre, Samuel Miles, Richard Bentley, John M. Macfarlane, Erastus W. Snow, Charles Smith, John Lytle, Archibald Sullivan, Joseph Birch, members of the High Council of St. George.

            William Fawsett, President of the High Priests' Quorum of St George stake. William G. Perkins and John Lytle, his Counselors.

            Joseph Young, President of the First Seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Herriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates, and John Van Cott, members of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies.

            Wm. Squires President of the elders' Quorum of St. George stake. Erastus B. Snow and Ephraim Wilson, his Counselors.

            Edward Hunter, Presiding Bishop, Leonard W. Hardy and Robert T. Burton, his Counselors.

            Easton Kelsey President of the Priests' Quorum of St. George stake. Robert D. Covington and William Barnes, his counselors.

            Thomas Cottam, President of the Teachers' Quorum of St. George stake. Josiah G. Hardy and Samuel B. Hardy, his Counsellors.

            Edward W. Starr, President of Deacons' Quorum of the St. George stake. Frederick W. Foremaster and George Baker, his Counsellors.

            Brigham Young, Trustee in Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

            Albert Carrington, President of the Perpetual Emigration Fund to gather the poor.

            Truman O. Angell, Architect of the Church, and William H. Folsom, assistant. Orson Pratt, Historian and General Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff his assistant.

            James G. Bleak was sustained as Clerk of Conference.

[Elder F. D. Richards]

            Elder F. D. Richards said he esteemed it a high privilege to address the people in a holy temple. He referred to leaving the Nauvoo Temple. When he was leaving Nauvoo he remarked to President B. Young, "What a pity it is that we have to leave such a beautiful edifice." The President replied, "Yes, it is beautiful, but we have the satisfaction of taking the substance with us, leaving behind us only the shadow." Elder Richards dwelt on the honor which was conferred on the elders who were called to go on missions, and spoke on the necessity of the people being one in temporal as in spiritual things. If we did not become one in temporal things, how could we be really one in spiritual things? Good results were apparent from the efforts of the brethren to unite in temporal things, as evidenced in Brigham City, Orderville, and other places. He spoke of the calamity that had befallen the world in being without direct revelation from God to guide in the ways of life everlasting. Saints realize to some extent that darkness of mind is a calamity indeed. Under the directing power of the Almighty the Saints had been greatly blessed, the resources of the country had been to some extent developed, producing plenty and means of comfort in life. He earnestly desired that the practice of the principles of the holy United Order might increase in Israel.

[Elder Erastus Snow]

            Elder Erastus Snow said God required us to be one. We had been called out of Babylon that we might become God's own peculiar people. Those who had property and had learned the gospel understood that it was our imperative duty to become one in our temporal concerns. This oneness that we talked of was not to be brought about by taking the substance of the frugal and giving to the spendthrift. As we varied in our capacity and in the size of our families, so was it needed that we should vary in the substance and inheritances imparted to us. We were the Lord's stewards, called upon to be faithful. When we were first baptized, if we but knew the commandments of God, we were baptized into the United Order. Every time we raised our hands to sustain our President, Prophet, Seer, and Revelator, we renewed our covenants to receive the word and will of the Lord as given through him. All the substance of this people, and their lives, their talents, and their labors, should be consecrated to the building up of the Zion of our God. It was the hearts of this people that the Almighty required. When he had these, the substance of the Saints would be subject to him, to be used to build temples, send out missionaries, or whatever heaven might direct. Our co-operative institutions should be so conducted as to benefit the people at large, and not to build up a few capitalists.

            Elder Cannon presented the following names of missionaries, which were unanimously sustained by vote of the Conference --

Elder Joseph F. Smith, to Europe, to take charge of the European Mission, with headquarters at Liverpool.
Alma L. Smith, of Coalville.
Charles Nibley, Logan.
John Hafen, Santa Clara.

            Elder Cannon then presented the names of fourteen Elders whose mission is to study the Spanish language. These received the sustaining vote of the Conference.

            It was moved, seconded, and unanimously carried that the Relief Societies throughout the Church take a mission to raise silk and do all in their power to clothe themselves and their families.

            The St. George combined choir sang an anthem, "Behold, O God, our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed."

            Conference adjourned till 10 a.m. to-morrow.

            Benediction by Elder Thos. J. Jones.

_____

[8 Apr, 10 am]

[DNW 26:157, 4/11/77, p 13]

THIRD DAY.

_____

ST. GEORGE, April 8, 1877. 10 a.m.

            President B. Young gave out the anthem, "But in the last days it shall come to pass," which was sung by the Parowan choir.

            Prayer was offered by Elder John Taylor.

            President John W. Young gave out the anthem, "We will call upon the Lord," which was sung by the Beaver choir.

[Elder Brigham Young Jr.]

            Elder Brigham Young, Jr., spoke of the privilege which we at this conference enjoyed of meeting together in the first Temple which had been erected by the Latter-day Saints in these mountains. This privilege was one which had been looked forward to with earnest and prayerful aspirations by the people of God who had been gathered. This holy habitation erected to the name f the Most High God was a beautiful and forcible illustration of the union which existed among us. The result of his experience for the past thirty years enabled him to testify that the kingdom of God was and had been onward and upward, and that the Almighty owned and blessed his people. In speaking of the United Order he said that its principles were put in practice to a great extent in the first settlement of Salt Lake Valley. Not a settlement had been made in these mountains since that time, but in its commencement it was indebted to the principal of union. It was after we had made our irrigating canals, our joint fences, our roads, and what we called public improvements, that our individualism stood out more prominently. When the persecuted and driven church had left their comfortable homes in Nauvoo and were on their way to these valleys, this same principle of union caused that noble response of five hundred men to go to serve the United States in Mexico, in answer to the call of President Brigham Young. This act was approbated of a power and blessing which had been over the church from that time to this. so with all the combined movements which we had made. These results should encourage the people to adopt the principle of union in all their temporal affairs. The word of God had been delivered to us, that it was his will that we should become one in all things. His word we must receive, or our progress was at an end as Saints of the Most High. What was the United Order? It was godliness. It was the order of heaven, the system which prevailed among the heavenly hosts, as we should find when we got to where God and his Christ dwelt. He said, "I will close my remarks by bearing my testimony that the progress of the members of this church who will not receive and carry out the principles of this United Order is at an end, and that this temple will be a means to test the faithfulness and purity of the Latter-day Saints."

            The Parowan choir, at the request of President B. Young, sang the hymn commencing on page 143, "Oh my Father, thou that dwellest in the high and glorious place."

[Elder John Taylor]

            Elder John Taylor said there was no more important subject than that of the United Order. Though we might, because of our weakness, make mistakes in carrying out the principles of this holy order, it had nevertheless emanated from God, and it was our present and future duty. A partial application of this principle caused us to send teams back and back again to gather out the poorer ones who had not enough left after the persecutions and drivings which took place in Missouri and in Illinois, also to send our sons, our teams, and our means to gather the poor who had embraced the gospel among the nations of the earth. It was the application of this principle that enabled us to build temples, send elders to the nations of the earth, and use our best endeavors to build up the Zion of our God on the earth. Every member of the church should nourish and cherish an increasing love for and practice this heaven-born principle of union. If we were not one we were not the Lord's.

[President B. Young]

            President B. Young addressed the conference upon union. He also announced that the seats of the congregation would be reversed for this afternoon's service, and Bishop Edward Hunter who occupied the west stand, would take charge of the administration of the Sacrament.

            Elder George Q. Cannon presented the following list of missionaries, the Conference approving by unanimous vote--

John Kartchner, Hyrum Judd, Hyrum J. Judd, Arza Judd, Don C. Judd, Joseph Craig, Ira Elmer, Ira Elmer, Jr., Wm. Osborn, Panguitch
Peter Fife, Cedar.
Richard Gibbons, Glendale.
J. E. Metcalf, Fayette.
Thomas J. Clark, Washington.
Wm. Flake, Beaver.
Samuel Claridge, Orderville.
Wm. H. Longhurst, sen., Morgan Longhurst, Wm. H. Longhurst, jr., Charles Longhurst, George A. Wittington, all of Woodruff, Rich County.
F. A. King, St. George.
Wm. C. McClellan, Payson.
George Daily, Payson
Abraham Perkins, Washington.
H. B. Clawson, jr., Walter Beatie, Nelson Empey, James Harris Ferguson, Samuel Hill, Morris B. Young, all of Salt Lake City.
Alma B. Dunford, St. George.
Abraham Kimball, Kanosh.
X. T. Slagowski, St George.
John R. Young, Orderville.
A. J. Stratton, Virgin.
Carl Olsen, Mayfield.
Jens Andersen, Ephraim.
Andrew Peterson, Lehi.
Benj. J. Nielsen, Cedar.
John Petersen, Spring City.
Jacob Rolfsen, Mt. Pleasant.
John Ekker, Salt Lake City.

            After singing and prayer, Conference adjourned till 2 p. m.

_____

[8 Apr, 2 pm]

[DNW 26:157, 4/11/77, p 13]

2 p.m.

            Singing by the Beaver choir, "Glorious things are sung of Zion."

            Prayer by Bishop E. D. Woolley.

            Singing by the Parowan choir "He died, the Great Redeemer died."

[Presiding Bishop Edward Hunter]

            Presiding Bishop Edward Hunter said he had been a long time numbered with the Latter-day Saints. He referred to the good works which had been effected by the union of the people, among others the erection of this beautiful Temple. He dwelt upon the great privilege which was accorded to him and every faithful Saint to be a savior on Mount Zion He spoke of the necessity of us serving God with full purpose of heart. Less service than this would not be accepted by heaven. He rejoiced in the priesthood to which he had been called, and though he had to struggle with his weakness, his most earnest desire was to build up the Zion of God on the earth. The testimony of his experience was that God was with this people. His desire was to devote himself and what he possessed to the work and will of God. He bore testimony that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of the Most High God, and Brigham Young was his successor.

[Bishop Wm. B. Preston]

            Bishop Wm. B. Preston said he felt thankful for the privilege of worshiping in a temple of God. He had been for twenty years trying to learn to hold himself and all that he had ready for the building up of the kingdom of God. He had covenanted many years ago to obey the commandments of God and he was still trying to prepare himself to do his dusty in all things. He bore testimony that the gospel of Jesus was true, and the United Order was from heaven and would never fail, and if we carried out the instructions we received we should be fully saved, temporally and spiritually.

[Bishop Edwin D. Woolley]

            Bishop Edwin D. Woolley said he never felt as forcibly as now the necessity of living in closer communion with God and of rendering more strict obedience to the counsels of the Lord through his servants. He felt to recognize the hand of God in the erection of this holy house in this desert land. He had walked in the Kirtland temple, and had assisted in the erection and use of the Nauvoo temple, but he had never experienced the holy emotion which had pervaded his whole being in treading these holy courts. He bore testimony that God was with his people. He had been nearly forty years struggling with himself, but felt that he would go from this temple with renewed power to overcome and to more effectively devote himself to the rolling on of the purposes of the Almighty. He said that the very existence of this temple in this desolate land would, according to his belief, sanctify the forbidding looking surroundings, and that springs of water would burst forth in this thirsty land.

[President B Young]

            President B Young addressed the conference upon the acceptance of the temple, self sustaining, etc.

            The following were by vote added to the missionary list--

Job. Rowland, Logan.
James R. Liston, J. A. Brunn, both of St. George.
Warren R. Tenney, Mendez Cooper, both of Washington.
Charles F. Gardner, Geo. B. Gardner, Junr., Alpheus Gillespie, all of Virgin City.
Frederick Christensen, Warren Sidney Pace, William Patten, all of Payson.
Calvin Reed, Pond-town.

            President B. Young said, "We will adjourn this conference from this house to the New Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, commencing at 10 o'clock in the morning of October sixth next."

            The St. George choir sang. "How beautiful upon the mountains."

            The congregation arose and sang the hymn commencing on page 268, "The spirit of God like a fire is burning."

            Benediction by President Brigham Young, as follows --

            "God bless you. I pray my Father in heaven to bless my brethren the Apostles, the High Priests, the Seventies, the Elders, Priests, Teachers and Deacons, and especially Brother Edward Hunter, the presiding Bishop, and all the Bishops he presides over. I pray God to bless you, my brethren and sisters, who have come here to give us sweet melody, and I feel to bless every one of the good and honest in heart all over the earth, and pray that they may receive the truth in their hearts and be gathered with Israel. I ask my heavenly Father to grant all that has been asked by my brethren in these meetings, and that he will let his Spirit rest upon this house, that his angels may visit it, and his Spirit rest upon those who shall come into this house to labor for themselves or their dead friends, that they may feel its influence. I feel to bless every one of you, and I do it by virtue of the authority which is in me, and in accordance with this authority I bless you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen."

JAMES G. BLEAK,
Clerk of Conference.

12-13 May 1877, Special Conference, New Tabernacle, G. S. L. City Tabernacle.
[Deseret News Weekly, 25:236, 5/16/77, p 12; Millennial Star 39:387, 403]

[12 May, 10 am]

[DNW 25:236, 5/16/77, p 12]

SPECIAL CONFERENCE

_____

ACCORDING to appointment, a Special Conference of this Stake of Zion
assembled this morning, May 12th, 1877, at ten o'clock, in the New Tabernacle.

PRESENT ON THE STAND.

            Of the First Presidency -- Brigham Young, John W. Young, Daniel H. Wells.

            Of the Twelve Apostles -- John Taylor, Orson Pratt, Sen., C. C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Fr. D. Richards, Geo. Q. Cannon.

            Patriarch -- John Smith

            Of the First Seven Presidents of Seventies -- Joseph Young, Albert P. Rockwood, John Van Cott.

            Of the Presidency of the High Priesthood -- Edward Snelgrove, Elias Morris.

            Of the Presidency of this Stake of Zion -- Angus M. Cannon, David O. Calder, Jos. E. Taylor.

            Of the Presidency of the Bishopric -- Edward Hunter, Leonard W. Hardy.

            There was also a number of residents, bishops and other leading elders from various portions of the Territory.

            The assemblage was called to order by President BRIGHAM YOUNG.

            The choir sang --

My God, the spring of all my joys,
 The life of my delights.

            The opening Prayer was offered by President JOHN W. YOUNG.

Sweet is the work, my God, my King,
To praise thy name, give thanks, and sing.

            was sung by the choir.

[President Brigham Young]

            President BRIGHAM YOUNG addressed the congregation. In the course of his remarks he stated that the Conference was called to answer the desires of the Latter-day Saints; probably quite a number of the brethren would speak, and the discourses would be necessarily brief. He gave some valuable and pointed instructions relative to the course the people should pursue to accomplish the building up of the kingdom of God, defining many of their practical duties.

[Elder George Q. Cannon]

            Elder GEORGE Q. CANNON was the next speaker. The great variety of circumstances in which we were placed and the growth of the work of God required that we should be continually instructed regarding our duties. It was of vital importance that we should seek to be more united. There was a greater desire among the people toward union than ever heretofore manifested. The cause of union would be advanced if all who had any dissatisfaction existing in their feelings towards their brethren, from any cause, would seek to clear such matters away. Those who did not take this course were not living in the spirit of the gospel. He was glad that President Brigham Young would instruct the Twelve, in their travels throughout the church, to have wrongs known to exist rights. There was not the degree of love and charity among us that there should be. There was too much of a spirit of fault finding, which tended to alienate the Saints from each other. If there was a feeling rankling in the heart of a member of the church who thought he was injured by his brother, and he talked to others about the real or supposed wrong he had endured, he had no right to partake of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. It was the duty of that man to go privately to the party he supposed had injured him and endeavor to have the ill feeling abolished. Unless a proper course was taken in such matters the spirit of God would be driven away, confidence would be broken and union prevented. If we took a proper course in this respect it would be a blessing to us. It was the right of the servants of the Lord to admonish and chasten the people when they did wrong, but it was not our privilege to animadvert upon the character of our brethren and sisters. We should never say anything about people in their absence that we should blush to say in their presence. The Lord said if we would come unto him he would show us our weaknesses.

            Elder Cannon exhorted the Saints to faithfulness, and desired that the Lord would pour out his spirit to enable us to see more of our own faults than those of our neighbors.

[President Daniel H. Wells]

            President DANIEL H. WELLS followed. He believed it was the aim and desire of the great majority of the Latter-day Saints to do the will of God. It was that for which we had come to the Valleys of the Mountains, where we could be more united in carrying out the designs of the Almighty in the building p of his kingdom. We could not do this in a scattered capacity. We should divest ourselves of those errors that conflicted with the gospel. We should be united temporally and spiritually. We cling tenaciously to ideas that we had imbibed through tradition and custom, regarding temporalities. There was but little difference of view among us, however, with regard to spiritual doctrine. It was necessary that we should be educated to a point where we would be able to adopt a proper mode of action in the ordinary affairs of life. It was a part of our religion to be economical, careful, to beautify and cultivate the earth, to have good habitations, and see that all were well provided with the good things of life. It was the highest type of charity to direct labor and industry, to enable people to obtain a foothold and sustain themselves. It was far in advance of the system of dealing out a transient pittance to the needy. President B. Young had done more to substantially benefit this fellow creatures in that regard than any other man that he was aware of. We were here ready to receive the direction of the will of our father in heaven, to prepare for the coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We wished to be citizens of his government, and if we attained to that privilege we would have to be united, and lay aside malice, ill-will and everything tending to divide our interests and feelings. If we did not command the confidence of each other, how could we command the confidence of God?

            The speaker adverted to the deplorable state of affairs existing in the world, regarding the temporal interests of the people, and exhorted the Saints to listen to the instructions that the Lord, who desired to place us beyond such conditions, was willing to give us, through his appointed channel.

[Elder John Sharp]

            Elder JOHN SHARP addressed the Conference. We should ask ourselves the question whether we were living in accordance with the principles of the gospel we professed to have adopted. The practice of them brought peace, joy and love, and the confidence of our Father. He expected of his children that they would love one another. The spirit that we enjoyed from pursuing so consistent a course directed us in our labors and buoyed us up under every circumstance. The individual who practised righteousness, and sought to benefit his neighbors and honor God, enjoyed a happiness that was beyond comparison. We had a house to build to the name of God in this city, in which we could receive the blessings and ordinances of the gospel. It required faith and works to erect it. The people were asked to contribute to its construction, and they should respond with alacrity, to the extent of their power.

[President Brigham Young]

            President BRIGHAM YOUNG addressed the Conference. He delivered a lucid and powerful discourse upon some of the evils existing in the world, and in relation to the practical duties of the Latter-day Saints.

            The choir sang an anthem --

Oh Praise the Lord.

            Prayer by Elder LORENZO SNOW.

            Adjourned till two p.m.

_____

[12 May, 2 pm*]

[DNW 26:236, 5/16/77, p 12]

FIRST DAY.

_____

SATURDAY AFTERNOON,

May 12th, 1877.

            Conference re-assembled a two p.m.

            The assemblage was called to order by Elder GEORGE Q. CANNON.

            The choir sang --

With joy we own thy servants, Lord,
 Thy ministers below.

            Prayer was offered by Elder ERASTUS SNOW.

When earth in darkness long had lain,
And darkness o'er the nations reigned,

was sung by the choir.

[Elder John Taylor]

            Elder JOHN TAYLOR addressed the Conference. He made mention of the visits to the southern settlements of himself and other members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on the journey to and from St. George, alluded to the beautiful appearance of the Temple at the latter place, and described the pleasurable feelings experienced by those who entered and officiated in that building. In visiting the people he discovered a strong desire among them to build temples to the Most High God. They were very desirous of uniting together for the accomplishment of that object. A temple had been reared, under the direction of the Prophet Joseph Smith, in Kirtland, Ohio, in which great manifestations of the power of God were given. There were but few people to take part in rearing that temple, and the Lord accepted it. In Nauvoo another temple was reared, and all sorts of difficulties had to be met with in prosecuting that work. At that time all kinds of lying reports were set afloat about the Saints, emanating from corrupt and wicked men, just as they do now. The speaker also adverted to the building of the Temple in this City. The brethren had willingly contributed towards its erection, and the spirit evinced was to go on with it. A site for another temple, at Manti, Sanpete, had been dedicated for that purpose. He found a strong feeling in that neighborhood, among the people, to aid in the erection of that building. Another temple was soon to be commenced at Logan, in Cache Valley, and thus the work of the Lord, in the matter of temple building was progressing.

            Elder Taylor continued for some time, explaining the objects and uses of temples and showing the breadth and comprehensiveness of the gospel. He also stated that the desire to be more united in their temporal interests was becoming more widespread among the Saints, and various institutions were being established for the advancement of that object.

            Elder GEORGE Q. CANNON presented the authorities of the Church, who were sustained, as follows, by unanimous vote of the Conference --

            Brigham Young, Prophet, Seer, and Revelator, and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in all the world.

            John W. Young, and Daniel H. Wells, counsellors to President Brigham Young.

            Lorenzo Snow, Brigham Young, Jr., Albert Carrington, and George Q. Cannon, Assistant Counsellors to President Brigham Young.

            John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Sen., Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Jr., Joseph F. Smith and Albert Carrington, members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

            John Smith, Patriarch of the Church.

            Angus M. Cannon, President of this stake of Zion, and David O. Calder and Joseph E. Taylor his counsellors.

            William Eddington, Thomas E. Jeremy, John H. Rumell, Minor G. Atwood, Dimmick B. Huntington, Theodore McKean, Hosea Stout, J. R. Winder, Geo. J. Tayler, Henry Dinwoodey, Milen Atwood, Joseph Horne, Andrew W. Winberg and George Nebeker, members of the High Council.

            Elias Smith, President of the High Priests' Quorum, and Edward Snelgrove and Elias Morris, his counsellors.

            Joseph Young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Herriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates and John Van Cott, members of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies.

            E. W. Davis, President of the Elders' Quorum, and W. W. Taylor and Junis F. Wells, his counsellors.

            Edward Hunter, Presiding Bishop, Leonard W. Hardy and Robert T. Burton, his counsellors.

            James Latham, President of the Priests' Quorum, William McLachlan and Geo. Whittaker, his counsellors.

            Adam spiers, President of the Teachers' Quorum; Martin Lenzi and Henry I. Doremus, his counsellors.

            James Leach, President of the Deacons' Quorum; John H. Picknell and Thos. C. Jones, his counsellors.

            Brigham Young, Trustee in Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

            Albert Carrington, President of the Perpetual Emigration Fund to gather the poor.

            Truman O. Angell, Architect of the Church, and William H. Folsom Assistant.

            Orson Pratt, Historian and General Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff, his assistant.

            George Goddard was appointed and sustained as Clerk of Conference.

            Elder Canon then presented the names of the following brethren called to go on missions --

            August Wilcken, Salt Lake City, to Mexico; Job Smith and S. H. B. Smith, Salt Lake City, to California.

            The vote to sustain their selection as missionaries was unanimous.

[Elder Charles C. Rich]

            Elder CHARLES C. RICH was the next speaker. He showed in his remarks the marvelous character of the work in which the Latter-day Saints were engaged, and exhorted the people to neglect the performance of no duty, of whatever nature, that could be accomplished by them in this life.

[Elder Lorenzo Snow]

            Elder LORENZO SNOW addressed the Conference. It had been falsely stated that the Latter-day Saints were curtailed in the right to think and act for themselves. They believed that God had restored his priesthood to enable them to attain a position of independence. The object was also to save them from the evils and oppressions existing in the world, and to enable them to attain to a possession of the necessities and comforts of life. There was a goodly degree of union and equality existing among the Saints in some of the settlements, especially in the southern portion of the Territory.

            The speaker dwelt upon the office of the Spirit of God, leading its possessor step by step on the road o a knowledge of the principles of godliness, and power to put them in practice. The Elders of the Church had gone forth willingly into the nations and delivered the message of he gospel, and as the work of the Lord developed and progressed, numbers of faithful men would be found as willing to labor for the consolidation of the temporal interests of the Church as they had been in other directions. Thousands of people had, through the labors of President Young, been able to progress from a state of comparative poverty to one of comfort and competence. It appeared to be according to the whisperings of the Spirit of God that the Saints should be more united temporally, that each man might be independent in that regard.

            The choir sang an anthem --

O! praise God in his holiness.

            Prayer by Bishop DAVID EVANS.

            Adjourned till Sunday at 10 o'clock a. m.

_____

[13 May, 10 am]

[DNW 26: 236, 5/16/77, p 12]

SECOND DAY.

_____

SUNDAY MORNING,

May 13th, 10 a.m.

            President B. Young called the Conference to order.

            The choir sang --

The time is nigh, that happy time,
 That great, expected, blessed day.

            Prayer by Elder ERASTUS SNOW.

            The choir then sang --

Ere long the vail will rend in twain,
The King descend with all his train.

[Elder Orson Pratt]

            Elder ORSON PRATT addressed the Conference and commenced, by reading a portion of modern revelation, given through the Prophet Joseph Smith, in 1832, upon the nature and power of the priesthood. It was his desire for the congregation to be as still as possible, as the only object in speaking or hearing was mutual edification.

            He showed the difference between the two priesthoods -- the Melchisedeck and Aaronic. The latter, in the absence of its connection with the former, was limited in its power and blessings.

            The Melchisedec priesthood held the power and privilege of receiving the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, and enjoying the communion and presence of God the Father and his Son. The lesser, or Aaronic priesthood, was simply an appendage to the Melchisedec, and ministered in the temporal ordinances of the gospel, such as baptism, &c. Since the introduction of these two priesthoods, the Church had passed through many modifications, and the full blessings of the priesthood had not yet been entered into and enjoyed up to the present time.

            Whenever a literal descendant of Aaron could be found he could set with counsellors, but in his absence it required a high priest to be set apart and ordained to act as a bishop to administer in all the ordinances of the lesser priesthood, and to render his authority complete he must have two counsellors, high priests, although in many of our wards and settlements this order had not been strictly carried out. God had now revealed to his servant Brigham that the time had come to send forth the Twelve Apostles throughout the land to set those things in order and introduce the more perfect system of the Aaronic priesthood as is revealed in the Doctrine and Covenants. This more perfect organization, with many other changes that would be brought about, was intended to prepare us as a people for the coming of the Son of God.

            He then spoke of the necessity of union in temporal matters, and the benefits to be derived by the saints in the building of temples. He referred to several revelations in reference to the gathering together of the saints of God, that they might be educated and instructed how to accomplish the counsels and decrees of the Almighty, which we could not possibly bring about in our isolated condition, and that we might also be sanctified before God. When that time came, the wicked would fear and tremble when no man pursued.

[Elder Erastus Snow]

            Elder ERASTUS SNOW spoke of the ancient prophets who foretold the introduction of the priesthood in the latter days, with its attendant blessings; the time when nations would cease to war with each other and a reign of righteousness be ushered in. This period was shown to the apostle John while upon the Isle of Patmos.

            He also spoke of a time when the power of the devil would be broken, and although Satan had claimed dominion over the earth and its treasures, the time would come when Jesus would come to take possession thereof, and Satan be banished from this globe. God had promised Jesus, his first born, the possession of the earth. Satan for the time being, during a period of his brief authority, might give to his servants a temporary power and dominion over their fellows, and to oppress the poor, but soon this rod of power would be broken. They who sowed to the flesh should reap corruption, while those who loved God, who delighted in righteousness and maintained their integrity, would reap the reward of the faithful when Jesus should come. We expected to live to see the time when the refuge of lies would be swept away. To all Latter-day Saints, he said, "Let us live our religion, and we shall soon realize all the blessings that God has promised to the faithful."

[President B. Young]

            President B. YOUNG addressed the assemblage, delivering a powerful discourse, in the course of which he touched upon many points of vital importance to the Latter-day Saints and to the whole of mankind in general.

            The Conference was adjourned till two o'clock p.m.

            The choir sang an anthem --

Come, sing unto the Lord Our God.

            Benediction by President B. YOUNG.

_____

[13 May, 2 pm]

[DNW 26:236-237, 5/16/77, p 12-13]

Afternoon, 2 p.m.

            The choir sang --

Glorious things of thee are spoken,
 Zion City of our God.

            Prayer by Elder JOHN TAYLOR.

            The choir sang --

O Lord of Hosts, we now invoke,
 Thy spirit most divine.

            The sacrament of the Lord's supper was administered.

[Elder F. D. Richards]

            Elder F. D. RICHARDS said to such an immense congregation a speaker had to exert himself to the utmost, to make all hear; he therefore invited quietude on the part of the people. The gospel, when sought for and obtained brought to the possessor unspeakable joy. The things of God needed to be sought for with much diligence to enable the truth seeker to acquire a knowledge of the same. The gospel was of great antiquity, dating back before the foundation of the world. The Scriptures spoke of it as the "new and everlasting gospel," or covenant of life, and when it was brought in any age of the world, it was new in that particular dispensation. The prophet Enoch testified that Adam, our first parent, was baptized by immersion, after which he received the Holy Ghost. In that early period the gospel was preached, and through it Adam was exalted and made partaker of its precious blessings. In Adam-ondi-ahman, Adam gathered together his sons and blessed them as a patriarch to his posterity. The gospel which was preached to Adam and to Enoch, was also preached to Abraham. It was the only plan of salvation by which mankind could ever be taken back into the presence of God the Father. The Catholic religion was a mere boy, in point of age, compared with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There was no church on the face of the earth which holds the same order of apostleship, and its organization, as is revealed in the New Testament, excepting the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

            He spoke of the universal apostacy which was revealed to the ancient apostles, and also of the renewal of the gospel, or everlasting covenant, which was to be made known through the administration of a holy angel. This restoration was foretold by the Apostle John while on the Isle of Patmos. That angel made known the plan of salvation to Joseph, then a mere boy, since which time many thousands had received, through his testimony, the same gospel, and been gathered to these valleys from the various nations of the earth. We, as a people, were called to certain peculiar labors suited to the age and dispensation in which we lived. Baptism for the living and also for the dead had been revealed in this day, through the Prophet Joseph Smith, hence the necessity for us to build temples, that these and other ordinances might be administered, according to the Scriptures. The spirit of this gospel was also one of gathering, for thousands in these valleys knew nothing about gathering to this country when they were baptized for the remission of their sins, in the countries that gave them birth; but no sooner had they received the spirit of the Lord by the laying on of hands, than they began to feel they were in a strange land, and a desire to emigrate to a place where they could live with a people who had embraced the same faith.

            He advocated the principle of union in temporal affairs. We must learn to work together and build up home industries, until we became a self-sustaining community. The revelations told us that a time would come when he that would not take up his sword against his neighbor would be compelled to flee to Zion. He hoped to see the day when the Latter-day Saints would be alive to a sense of their duties, to have a love and interest for each other, and build up Zion according to the intentions and purposes of God.

            Elder GEORGE Q. CANNON read the following names of missionaries, who were unanimously sustained by the Conference --

James Dunster, Daniel G. Brian, David P. Kimball, Solomon Kimball, Chas. Crismon, Senr., Oscar L. Mann, Ebenezer Thayne, Robert Denzie and sons, George W. Sirrine and Sons, to Arizona; David Evans, Jun., to the United States; Rodney Badger, to California.

            Elder Cannon said he was very thankful that the time had come for a more thorough organization of the Church, which was about to be effected by the Apostles through the various stakes of Zion. He alluded to the object of the Latter-day Saints gathering. There must be a great purpose to accomplish in God calling so many together. God intended to correct evils, not only those that existed here, but elsewhere. He enumerated several great sins that this generation was most addicted to, referring especially to the sin of unchastity, which did not exist here, in comparison with what it did elsewhere. There were many other evils which would have to be corrected, and as God educated us in his ways, and when this organization of the priesthood was completed, many of those things would be remedied.

            He spoke earnestly of the necessity of a more united effort among this people to improve their temporal condition, by a more honorable, upright course of life, in lieu of that speculative and self-aggrandising spirit which now prevailed to some extent.

            President B. YOUNG then gave out the following hymn, and invited the congregation to unite with the choir in singing --

The Spirit of God like a fire is burning,
The latter-day glory begins to come forth.

            Benediction by Elder Geo. Q. Cannon.

GEORGE GODDARD,
Clerk of Conference.

_____

4-5 Oct. 1877, Special Two-day Meeting, Tabernacle, G. S. L City.
[Deseret News Weekly 26: 568, 10/10/77, p 8; 26:584, 10/17/77, p 8; Millennial Star 39:723, 738]

[4 Oct, 2 pm]

[DNW 26:568, 10/10/77, p 8]

GENERAL MEETINGS

_____

            The first of a series of General Meetings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, preliminary to the opening of the General Semi-annual Conference, opened on Thursday, October 4th, at two o'clock in the afternoon

            The congregation was called to order by President John Taylor.

            The choir sang --

All hail the glorious day.

            Prayer by Elder W. Woodruff.

            Singing by the choir --

My God, the spring of all my joys.

COUNSELOR D. H. WELLS

Was the first speaker. We were approaching another Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. These meetings were calculated to bring us into a closer communion with each other. The kingdom of God was based upon truth, and was destined never to be again thrown down, and trampled under foot. The speaker related some incidents of his early acquaintance with "Mormonism." The religious world were publishing all manner of ridiculous stories regarding Joseph Smith and the work he was instrumental in establishing. When he united himself with this people, the times were indeed perilous, for the hand of persecution was heavy upon the Saints; yet the people had not experienced so much persecution during the time of his connection with the Church as he had expected and looked forward to.

            We had for years past been engaged in forming settlements and cities, building and beautifying and adorning the same, all of which was clearly defined by the predictions of the ancient prophets.

            The class of persons who had mostly been brought here by the instrumentality of the preaching of the gospel, was the poor, this also was in exact fulfillment of the prophecies.

            It was the intention of the Almighty to break up the thraldom of sin, and establish a reign of peace upon the earth. It was worthy of every effort and labor that we could put forth. We were a peculiar people, and there was no reason why we should not be, for the work we were called upon to perform was a peculiar one.

            There was a union in the church and kingdom of God, in seeking to benefit and bless each other, and the establishment of many institutions, all of which had a tendency to build up and make us a self sustaining community.

            He then spoke of the necessity for the building of Temples, that we might all have an opportunity of attending to those ordinances that pertained to our own salvation, and that of our dead. It was true we had one Temple finished in St. George, but the distance was so great and the cost to go there and return so large as should stimulate us to increase our efforts toward the completion of the one in this city.

            We should seek to adorn our minds with every accomplishment that we may acquit ourselves as children of God, and fulfill his designs and purposes in bringing us upon this stage of existence.

ELDER C. C. RICH

Expressed himself as feeling much blessed in being able to meet with the Saints to listen to the instructions of the servants of the Most High God. No people had such cause for thankfulness and gratitude to God, as the Latter-day Saints. We should seek to understand our duties. Ever since the introduction of the Gospel in this latter dispensation the wicked had sought to destroy not only the servants of God but to check the dissemination of those principles of life and salvation which the Elders had been engaged in promulgating.

            The speaker dwelt upon the inestimable blessings that the Gospel provided for the faithful, and showed that in order to secure those blessings, also must first learn on what conditions they could be obtained, observe those conditions,and God would most assuredly fulfill his promises to us.

            He prayed that God would pour out his Spirit upon the Saints, and unite them together in good works.

            The choir sang the anthem --

O praise the Lord!

            Benediction by Elder Orson Pratt.

_____

[5 Oct, 10 a.m.]

[DNW 26:568-9, 10/10/77, p 8-9]

SECOND DAY.

_____

FRIDAY, Oct. 5th, 10 a.m.

            Meeting was called to order by President John Taylor.

            The choir sang:

We're not ashamed to own our Lord.

            Prayer by Elder Erastus Snow.

            The choir sang:

See how the morning sun.

ELDER ORSON HYDE

Addressed the assemblage. He trusted his remarks might be profitable, and he prayed that the good spirit of the Lord might be present to inspire every word spoken. We had with us to-day, President John Taylor, whose body, many years ago, was marred and shattered, at the time of the massacre of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, but he felt truly thankful to see him in the position he now occupied, in the absence of our late beloved President so recently taken away from us. He then addressed himself to the Bishops and urged upon them the utmost frugality and watchcare over the tithes of the people of God. Nothing should be wasted that was committed to their trust. He felt thankful for the bountiful harvest that God had given u s, and exhorted all present to take care of and husband their breadstuffs. No one needed fear that by had [having] a good supply of grain on hand it would not be wanted, for the time was near by when thousands upon thousands would flock to our Territory, forced here by hunger and destitution, and if our bins were empty, we should be but poorly situated to receive them; "therefore neither waste your grain nor sell it for a mere trifle, but act as wise stewards in all our temporal affairs." Every quorum of the holy priesthood should act and feel as watchmen upon the walls of Zion.

ELDER LORENZO SNOW

was the next speaker. He read a portion of Scripture in the last chapter of John's Gospel, commencing at the 15th verse; also a few verses from the Epistle of Peter. We, as a people were dependent upon the Spirit of the Lord. Whatever wisdom we received came from him. Having received the holy priesthood, there were certain duties imposed upon us to perform. But through the multiplicity of cares and vexations of this life, we did not at all times perceive the spirit of revelation that should abide with us, and we gave way to occasional despondency. Even Jesus was more or less exposed to differences in his feelings, for at times he was left alone to himself. The Holy Ghost left him, and his Father hid his face from him, and he, realizing the tremendous weight and responsibility that were upon him, great drops of blood gushed through the pores of his body, as the result of his intense feeling.

            WE, as Elders of Israel hold the same priesthood as Jesus did, and as Peter held, and the requirements that Jesus made upon Peter being in consequence of that priesthood, so we were called upon to spend and be spent in the preaching of the gospel and other labors of a temporal nature. Everything we were called upon to do was connected with salvation.

            He quoted several instances where God had made certain requisitions of his ancient servants, as illustrations of the powers of the priesthood which they held, and enabled them to accomplish great temporal as well as spiritual achievements. He applied this principle to our Elders who held the same priesthood as Moses and others held, and called upon them to magnify their high and holy calling here in Zion. Preaching the gospel abroad was only a part of their duty, and when the people flocked here as the result of their labors, having received the light of the Holy Ghost, on their arrival it was necessary that wherever they were located, the Bishops and other presiding officers in the Church should feed the flock of Christ and not be lords over God's heritage. Confidence could never be restored among tis people until the Bishops and Elders holding presiding authority acted as fathers, and studied how they could best subserve their temporal and spiritual interests. We should not labor for ourselves, but for the benefit of all over whom we preside. We should love and respect each other and put away our selfishness. We should become united. The principle of union was eternal, and could not die out. Though President Young, who so strongly urged this principle upon us, was gone, we should not think it was no longer binding upon us. We would have to become a united people.

ELDER BRIGHAM YOUNG

addressed the congregation: He felt thankful for the rich instructions that were imparted to us from time to time. We needed them to qualify us to successfully battle with the ups and downs that made up the sum of human life in our experience. The word of God given to us orally by the servants of God, as the spirit of the Lord prompted them, was absolutely necessary to qualify us to walk in that path that would lead us to eternal life, and do those things daily that would be acceptable to our heavenly Father.

            He exhorted the Saints to put away selfishness, and instead of building up separate and individual interests, we should labor to build up the community, and live by every word that proceeded from the mouth of God. If we wished to succeed, this whole people would have to become united. Fractions of union would not suffice; the whole community should be cemented and bound together. Then we should be able to present an unbroken phalanx.

            There never was a time when it was more necessary for the Elders to live their religion than at present. We had a great amount of work to do, and we should put away everything that would retard our progress. Let us be united and carry out the counsels of Joseph and Brigham, and the servants of God that now lead us.

            The choir sang --

"The time is far spent,
there is little remaining."

            Meeting was adjourned until two o'clock p. m.

            Benediction by Counselor D. H. Wells.

_____

[5 Oct, 2 pm]

[DNW 26:569, 10/10/77, p 9]

FRIDAY, Oct. 5th, 2 p.m.

            Meeting was called to order by counsellor D. H. Wells.

            The choir sang:

Sweet is the work my God my King.

            Prayer by 'Elder Franklin D. Richards.

            The choir sang:

With joy we own thy servants, Lord.

ELDER ORSON PRATT

Addressed the meeting: He read a portion of the words of the Savior, during his last visit to the Nephites, as recorded in the Book of Mormon. These words were not only written for the benefit of the ancient Israelites, but also for the benefit of those who should live after. The priesthood was not given to be exercised only in this life but also in that which was to come.

            He gave a short account of his recent mission to England. A telegram reached Liverpool announcing he death of President Young seven hours after he breathed his last.

            Another telegram was received from the Twelve, requesting himself and Elder Joseph F. Smith to arrange their affairs and return home, which call they at once responded to.

            After rehearsing some of the leading labors of our late beloved President, he said this was the second time it became necessary for the Twelve to step forward and assume the responsibilities that legitimately belonged to that Quorum. After the death of Joseph the Prophet, the Twelve officiated in all the affairs of the Church for three years and a half, at the end of which time the First Presidency was organized. He then explained the nature of the apostolic priesthood. When the president of the Church was taken away, his counselors who were left did not have the authority to lead the Church, but could meet with the Twelve and sit in counsel with them.

            The speaker referred to the important duties that rested upon the twelve apostles of the ancient Nephites and also those who were chosen by the Saviour at Jerusalem, who were to sit as Judges of the whole house of Israel. He also spoke of the Apostles who had been ordained in these latter days. some of the first Twelve apostatized and their places were filled by others. Joseph the Prophet made the apostles all equal, and the senior one was to preside at one Conference, the next one to preside at the following one, and so on, until all had an opportunity of presiding.

            He then described the order in which it was intended to have the votes cast at the coming conference -- by quorums, the members of each rising on their feet, instead of raising their hands, and then a vote would be taken by the whole congregation Those presented before the Conference could be objected to if any one felt disposed to do so. God had given the people this right.

[Orson Pratt]

[DNW 26:658, 11/21/77, p 2; JD 19:111]

DISCOURSE

DELIVERED BY ELDER ORSON PRATT, IN

The New Tabernacle, on Friday, October 5th, 1877

_____

REPORTED BY GEO. F. GIBBS

_____

      I will read a few words of our Lord and Savior, at the time of his last personal appearance among the Nephites, or rather, the last account of His appearance in their midst, so far as the Book of Mormon has given the history.

      "Write the things which ye have seen and heard, save it be those which are forbidden. Write the works of this people which shall be even as hath been written, of that which has been; for behold, out of the books which have been written, and which shall be written, shall this people be judged; for by them shall their works be known unto men. And behold all things are written by the Father; therefore, out of the books which shall be written shall the world be judged. And know ye that ye shall be judges of the people, according to the judgment which I shall give unto you, which shall be just; therefore, what manner of men had ye ought to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am."

      These words of our Lord and Savior, to the ancient Israelites of the American Continent, are written, not only for the benefit of the descendants of the Israelites, who inhabit the Continent, but also for the benefit of all people, that all might know something in relation to the authority that God bestowed upon His servants in ancient times. The Priesthood is not a delegated authority from heaven to be merely exercised in this life; it is a divine authority intended to be exercised in the next life, as well as this: its exercise here is only the beginning.

      Before dwelling upon this subject, I wish to say to the Latter-day Saints, that I have been permitted by the counsel of the servants of God, to perform another but very short mission abroad, having left Salt Lake City on the 18th July, and returned again after about two months and nine days' absence, traveling, during this period of time, about thirteen thousand miles, by land and ocean. I feel very glad, and rejoice, that I have had this opportunity of going out once more among mankind abroad. Although my mission was not specially a preaching mission, to declare to the people the things of the kingdom of God, yet I endeavored, so far as opportunity permitted to bear my humble testimony among the people.

      My mission, as is well known, was to go to England, for the purpose of printing the Book of Mormon, and the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, according to the phonotype system of Pitman. I will here state, that Pitman's system of phonetics has been changed and re-changed, in England, so many times, that it has finally and almost entirely dropped out of use in that country. Pitman still continues to publish a periodical in which he gives his present forms of type or characters, and present forms of spelling, but his paper is more particularly advocating the system of short-hand writing, or phonography, which is quite popular in England. By making inquiry, I found that one of the brothers, Benj. Pitman, in consequence of the numerous alterations that were being made, was disgusted, and came to America to see if he could establish a system upon a little different principle. A certain wealthy gentleman in our country became interested in the enterprise, and he, by will, advanced money to publish an extensive dictionary upon the phonetic principle. A little different alphabet was adopted in our country from that which was used in England. After examining these different systems, I concluded that, in some very few respects, they were all in error. These errors consisted mostly in the mode of spelling. Some have adopted one standard, and some another; and having examined the different systems closely and carefully, I finally concluded to accept the American phonetic alphabet, with the exception of two or three characters, and also to spell according to the American phonetic dictionary, with some slight alterations.

      I made arrangements with a house in London to furnish the phonotype, and most of it had arrived in Liverpool, just as I was called home.

      These preliminary preparations for printing were made just as fast as possible before learning the sad news of the death of our beloved President, which we received some seven hours after he breathed his last. A few hours later we received another telegram from the Council of the Twelve Apostles, instructing brother Joseph F. Smith and myself to arrange matters in Great Britain, pertaining to the European mission, and come home immediately. We have complied with the request.

      We feel, with all our hearts, to mourn with the Latter-day Saints, in the loss of so great and good a man, as the President, who has led us, with marked success, for one-third of a century. He was the instrument, in the hands of God, of bringing the people forth, some 1,400 miles from the great Mississippi River, over wild, barren, and trackless plains, and locating us here, in the great American desert. He has been the instrument, in the hands of God, of giving counsel and instruction for the numerous towns, cities and villages, through our mountain region; he has been foremost in the encouragement of home manufactures, and home industries; introducing at his own expense, much machinery into the Territory, so as to make the Latter-day Saints, as far as possible, a self-sustaining people; he has labored diligently during the last years of his life, to bring about a greater degree of union among the Latter-day Saints, in regard to temporal things. And near the close of his useful life, he was wrought upon by the spirit of God, and more especially on his last mission at St. George, to give counsel to the Twelve Apostles, to go into all parts of the Territory and more fully organize the people according to the revelations and commandments and institutions of heaven, as given by revelation, through the Prophet Joseph Smith. Having accomplished so great a work, in leading forth the people of God, in locating them here in these mountains, so far from what is termed civilization, and having redeemed the desert, established academies and school-houses, Tabernacles and Temples, home manufactures and home industries, and finally having organized the Saints into Stakes, appointing Bishops, and having them ordained, in all parts of our Territory, having fulfilled and completed the work, the Lord has taken him home to himself.

      We heard this forenoon, respecting the Prophet Elijah; the Lord had a great work for him to perform; he lived to accomplish it, and he knew then that the time had come for him to depart and leave the children of Israel. He was taken up to heaven. The Prophet Brigham, too, had his work to perform; he lived to do it, and he has passed away in peace, beloved by his people.

      This is the second time in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, when the Twelve have stepped forward as the proper authorities, to bear off this kingdom, and to preside over the Church. Joseph was in our midst but a few years. The Lord called him to lay the foundation of this work; he gave him revelations before the rise of the Church. He ordained him and Oliver Cowdery to the Apostleship, giving them the authority, and power, and office, and Priesthood, to perform the things necessary in the future organisation of the Church, giving line upon line, precept upon precept, from time to time, to instruct the various Councils of the Church in regard to their several duties. He having performed the work, God required at his hands, was taken away; the Lord saw proper to remove him from our midst. The authority then devolved upon the Twelve, and upon the Priesthood of the Twelve. Another First Presidency was appointed about three years and six months after the martyrdom of Joseph. During that time the Lord was with the Twelve, in every duty, and a great work was accomplished, during that period, by them. The greater part of the Temple in Nauvoo was built by the Twelve, after the death of the Prophet. Endowments were given in that Temple, by the Twelve, while presiding over the Church. Sealings and blessings in behalf of the living and the dead, were performed in that Temple. All the ordinances necessary on that occasion were administered, under the Presidency and jurisdiction of the Twelve. And not only this, but the Lord enabled them to lead the people forth, through an unexplored country, to select a location for them. Having done this, they returned in the latter part of the year 1847, to the camps located on the Missouri river.

      I mention these things to show you, that the Twelve were not idle after the death of Joseph, but took the lead, and organized the camps of Israel, and presided over all the authorities in the midst of these camps.

      In those days, some persons, ignorant of the authority of an Apostle, questioned the right of the Twelve to preside, but I would ask, what authority ever existed in the Church that the Twelve do not hold? I would further enquire, had the First Presidency any office that the Twelve had not? If they have, where did they get it? Do you know? Another First Presidency of the Church were organized, three years and a half, after the death of Joseph. If they held any higher authority, then they must have received it by direct communication from the heavens. But it is known that they received it by the voice of the Council of the Twelve, with all the authorities of the kingdom of God to back them up. We have been taught, ever since the Twelve were chosen, that they held all the power of the Melchisedec Priesthood, all the power of the Apostleship that could be conferred upon mortal man, Hence, when Hyrum Smith was taken out of the First Presidency and appointed to another calling, not to another office in the Apostleship, was it not the province of the Twelve to set him apart? It was, because they held that authority, that Priesthood, that Apostleship, that gave him the right to do this. By what revelation you may ask? I answer, by a certain revelation contained in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, where it says, that the Twelve shall ordain in all large Branches of the Church, evangelical ministers. When this was first given, the word "evangelical" was not there. But Joseph was wrought upon by the Spirit to erase the word patriarchs and substitute the words "evangelical ministers." Hence the Twelve have so ordained patriarchs, as Hyrum Smith. But inquires one, should the Twelve ordain Prophets, Seers and Revelators? Yes. Were they not appointed in the Kirtland Temple, in the year 1836, after its dedication by the voice of Joseph, and the First Presidency, and the united voice of the Church to the Prophets, Seers and Revelators to the people? Yes. Then they could ordain such; or in other words they could set apart such to these duties. They could set apart Patriarchs, to such an office as brother Hyrum Smith held, when he was taken out of the First Presidency and placed in the Patriarchal office.

      Then, again, there is another revelation given concerning the Priesthood, which you can read in the Doctrine and Covenants. After having mentioned the various offices and callings, the Lord required it as a duty enjoined upon the Twelve, though the First Presidency was then alive, to organize all the officers in Zion. What! the Twelve, a traveling High Council; the Twelve, who hold the keys of all nations, to the Gentiles first, and then to the Jews, to be at home attending to such work? Yes. The Twelve had duties to perform, both abroad and at home. Having fulfilled important duties abroad, they were not relieved from the duties specified in the commandment, to act at home, and they have been, from that time to this, in the midst of the people of God, at home, at the gathering places.

      In the revelation given on the 19th day of January, 1841, Brigham Young was called by name, and appointed the President of the Twelve, and also, in another revelation, given not far from the same time, he was required to remain at home. Instead of being a traveling Councillor, to be sent abroad among the nations, his services were required at home, which was also the case with several of the Apostles, and especially since the death of Joseph.

      There is another subject, while dwelling on the Priesthood, which I wish to speak of; I refer to the Counsellors that may be left, when the President, the First President of the Church is taken away from our midst. We are informed that the Counsellors that existed in the day of Joseph could not act as Counsellors to Joseph after he was taken away; to be Counsellors to him would be impossible, unless they themselves should go the other side of the veil. Hence when the President was taken away their duties as Counsellors to the Prophet, the First President, ceased. Just the same with a Bishop's Council under the same circumstances. Supposing the Bishop were to die, his two Counsellers could not legitimately step forward claiming to be Bishops themselves; and furthermore their duties as Counsellors to the deceased Bishop would at his death cease. And so it would be if the Bishop, instead of dying, were called to some other location or should be cut off the Church. So it was considered, in the days of the loss of our Prophet and Seer, Joseph Smith. The two Counsellors that then existed had the privilege, if they chose to do so, of being associated with the Council of the Twelve to assist us in the work of bearing off the kingdom; not as members of the Twelve, but acting with and assisting them. The same order has again been carried out; and it is just as I believed it would be, when I was in Liverpool, after learning of the death of President Young. The question came up there, and I took the liberty of instructing the Saints making the inquiries. I told them, that when the First Presidency left, the Twelve would lead forth the Church, until such times as the Spirit of God, and the desires of the people, universally, should be to select and set apart and sustain by their prayers and faith, a First Presidency again. Furthermore, it was published in the papers, particularly in America, and also in England, and there seemed to be a great anxiety on the part of our enemies, to know who was going to lead the Church. They seemed to have far more anxiety than you upon this subject. For the Saints generally have been instructed on this matter, and have, in a measure understood it. We knew that President Brigham Young, and his two Counsellors, received no new office, by being taken from the Quorum of the Twelve, and appointed to other duties. The same as brother Joseph F. Smith has been appointed and set apart not to a new office, but to go to Great Britain and preside over the European Mission. That did not devolve upon brother Richards, nor brother Rich, nor any other member of the Twelve; he alone can perform this duty. It is not a new office, but merely a new duty required of him. So in relation to the First Presidency. They carry no new office, but new duties are required at their hands, when they are chosen by the Priesthood and set apart, not ordained to a new office, but set apart to preside.

      I wish also to speak a few words, in regard to the ancient Priesthood. I find, from the Book of Mormon, concerning the ancient Twelve—the twelve Nephites of this land; that Jesus chose them, and called them by name, and set them apart and ordained them. Prior to this time, before his death, he chose twelve in the land of Jerusalem. These officers, the Twelve on the Eastern, and the Twelve on the Western continent, did not lose their office by death; but as was clearly stated by brother Snow this morning, and as is plainly set forth in the revelation, they retained their office. For instance, we will take the Book of Mormon; and in the vision and prophecy of Nephi, given almost 600 years before Christ, the Lord showed to that Prophet, that there would be Twelve Apostles in some five or six hundred years after his day. And instead of the Lord pointing out what should be the duties of these Apostles, while here in this temporal existence, he pointed out the more important duties that would devolve upon them in the next state. The simple duties of this life were nothing compared to those of the world to come. Hence the angel said to Nephi that these Twelve Apostles should judge the twelve tribes of Israel. What a great work! Then he showed him the twelve Nephite disciples, all descendants of Nephi and his brethren. Said he, these twelve disciples of the Lamb shall be judged by the Twelve Apostles that shall be chosen in the land of Jerusalem. Here then was another and most important duty assigned to that particular Council of Apostles, after this mortal life. First, it is said, they shall judge the whole House of Israel; secondly, they shall judge "the twelve ministers of thy seed." Also from the language of the text I have read, we learn that the Twelve Nephite Apostles had a knowlege of some other, future duties to be performed in the world to come. "Know ye, that you shall be judges of this people. What manner of men ought ye to be. Verily I say unto you, even as I am." In other words, If you are to be judges of all this people, to whom you are administering; if you are to sit in judgment in the great and coming day, and if the words which are written in the books which you keep, and which are also written by the Father, are to be the records out of which the people are to be judged, sure enough, you should be as pure and holy as Jesus himself. We are told too that it should not depend upon their weak judgment, but they should judge according to the judgment which the Lord their God should give unto them. In other words, after they leave this present life, and the time comes for them to sit in council in the midst of the Nephites, that instead of judging according to human wisdom and imperfect knowledge, that God would give them the spirit of judgment, or the spirit of inspiration more abundantly than what they were in possession of in this life; and in order that they may be entitled to judge all people, they were required to be pure and holy.

      Let me say a few words in regard to another revelation that the Lord gave in the year 1830, on this same subject. He says, "The decree has gone forth from the Father that mine Apostles, they who were with me in my ministry in the land of Jerusalem, shall, at the time of my coming, sit upon twelve thrones, clothed in glory, even as I am, to judge the whole House of Israel, they that have loved me and kept my commandments, and none else." Again, we will appeal to the Near Testament, "You that have followed me in the regeneration, when the Son of Man comes in his glory, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, and shall judge the twelve tribes of Israel; and shall eat and drink at my table."

      Here, then, we have a number of evidences and witnesses from the Book of Mormon, from the Doctrine and Covenants, and from the New Testament, concerning the future duties of the servants of God, in the world to come. In relation to the Twelve Jewish Apostles, have they a First Presidency independent of the Twelve, a separate body? They have not. Why were there twelve Apostles chosen instead of nine, or thirteen, or any other number? Why that particular number? Because it so happened in the economy of the Most High, that a certain servant of God had power to prevail with him, and by four wives he had power to beget twelve sons, and the Lord ordained that through them the twelve tribes should spring up in the earth, and he would have regard for them. He intended that they should not only be organized as tribes in this life, but also in the world to come. And in order that all may have judges, twelve were chosen to perform the work, instead of any other number. Had these Twelve Apostles, in ancient days, that had no separate First Presidency, so far as we have any record, power to preside over the Church? They had. If they had no power there was none upon the earth.

      Again, these twelve men among the Nephites, that were to sit in judgment, had a great many successors, probably sixty or seventy in number. Had these successors all equal power on this earth? I think they had, so far as apostleship, or discipleship was concerned, they held equal power with those who preceded them. But in the next world, can these sixty or seventy successors stand in the position of the first chosen? No. So it is in regard to the latter-day Apostles. In this Church we have had ordained to the Council of the Twelve Apostles, twenty-eight persons. Six of the original Twelve Apostles apostatized, and three of their successors apostatized, making nine apostates that once had hands laid upon them, ordaining them to the Apostleship. These apostates are mostly dead. We cannot suppose that they can hold an office in eternity which they have forfeited. We are told to the contrary in the Doctrine and Covenants; the Lord saying, through a revelation given to the Prophet Joseph in Missouri, that his servants John E. Page, Wilford Woodruff and Willard Richards should take the place of those who had apostatized. And Oliver Cowdery, although never one of the Twelve, had his place filled up; and the keys and the glories and the promises conferred upon and made to Oliver Cowdery were taken from him and bestowed upon brother Hyrum Smith. But there are nineteen Apostles that have not apostatized. Out of this number there are seven dead and twelve living. If the Lord, in the world to come, should follow the examples given in regard to the former Twelve, suppose these nineteen should remain faithful and obtain their crowns, yet there would be only twelve, I think, that would be placed in certain positions, the same as the Twelve at Jerusalem, and the ancient Twelve on this American land. This is something, however, not revealed, not made manifest to any of us in the latter days, what the future of the Twelve will be, as it is in regard to the ancient ones who have gone.

      In the year 1829, the Lord told David Whitmer and Oliver Cowdery to search out the Twelve, and pointed out how they should be known, etc. In the same revelation he speaks of their duties, and also informs them how great was the trust and blessing conferred upon them, if they prove faithful in all things; that the blessing upon them was above all. How far this extended I do not know; that is all which is revealed, so far as I know, in all of the revelations of God, in regard to the future of the Twelve Apostles in the last days.

      Now we hope these nineteen Apostles will be faithful. Thomas B. Marsh, the oldest of the original Twelve, chosen in 1838, and who stood at the head, apostatized, and left the Church. David W. Patten was the next in age, and the Lord took him to himself, as we are informed in the revelation given on the 19th of January, 1841. The Lord says: "My servant David W. Patten, who is with me at this time." The Lord accepted of him. He died in the faith—a martyr in Missouri. "I have taken him to myself." Yet, says the Lord, "another may be appointed to the same calling;" and further says that "my servant Lyman Wight is appointed to succeed him." Did that give Lyman Wight power to preside over the Twelve Apostles? No. David W. Patten died in the faith, and so far as we know holds the keys of the Presidency of the Twelve, in the world to come. But there may be changes in that world. The original Twelve, first chosen, were all made equal, by the Prophet Joseph Smith. And be said to them in the basement of the Temple as they were to be sent as a Council on their first mission, that the oldest should preside in the first Conference, in the following Conferences, the next in seniority, and so on, until all had taken their turns in presiding. And you shall be equal, showing respect to the oldest. They were arranged according to their ages, while all their successors were arranged, according to the date of their respective ordinations.

      I have given you some of these items in relation to the Priesthood, in relation to the Twelve at Jerusalem, and the Twelve Nephite disciples, and the Twelve of these latter times; and now let me say in regard to the various authorities and Councils of the Priesthood, there has not been a time since the rise of this Church, when the people have been so completely and fully organized as at the present time. Go where we will, through all these mountain valleys, and wherever we see a family, or wherever we can find a small Branch of the Church, if you make inquiry, you will find it is included in a regular Stake of Zion; it belongs to some Stake, and you will find, too, that they are looked after, if the officers are doing their duties, for they are considered a part and portion of the great family of God. I feel to congratulate the Latter-day Saints, on this occasion, in regard to the perfect organization, as it were, that exists in all our mountain region, and hope that every man will strive to learn his duty, and faithfully and honorably perform the same.

      I wish to state still further in regard to the Priesthood, while upon the subject, that in the Kirtland Temple when the authorities were presented before the people, they were called upon to vote by quorums. Not that it occurred always in that manner. That was the way Joseph ordained in the Temple; each Council voting separately, by standing upon their feet in order that their votes might be better known than they could be by keeping their seats. After one Quorum had voted for the highest authority of the Church, then another Quorum or Council would be called upon to give their vote, and so on, until all had voted for the different authorities, and then it was presented to all the Church, male and female. Why? It is because God ordained, on the 6th day of April, 1830, as you can read in the Doctrine and Covenants, that all things in this Church should be done by common consent. This is the reason for the voting. Although the Lord may give a revelation upon the subject, although he might say, Let my servant Hyrum Smith be Patriarch; or Let my servant Brigham Young be President of the Twelve Apostles; notwithstanding the Lord may give this by revelation, yet he himself was anxious to carry out the principle he had revealed a long time before that; namely, that all this I have named may be brought before the General Conference to be sanctioned and approved, or not to be sanctioned. What! the people have a right to reject those whom the Lord names? Yes, they have this right, he gave it to them. "Let them be approved of or not approved of;" showing that he had respect to the people themselves, that they should vote and give their general voice to either sustain or not to sustain. I do not know why, only in the latter days the kingdom is in a little different circumstances upon the face of the earth, than it has been in during any former dispensation. We are living in a free Republican Government, wherein the people vote, and the Lord established this great American Government and gave the Constitution, and he wished the people to have a voice in the officers named; he wished the people to exercise their agency; you may call it a democratic principle. Notwithstanding He himself may point out the persons, and call them by name, yet you may approve of them or disapprove of them at my General Conference.

      Perhaps I have said enough; there is a great field open when Priesthood is spoken of. May the Lord bless you. Amen.

 

ELDER W. WOODRUFF

Spoke of the greatness of the work in which we, as Elders in Israel, were engaged. Those who were taking a part in carrying forward the kingdom of God, were ordained before the creation of the world to accomplish this work. There never was a time when the Saints were so much united in carrying out the purposes of God as now. We should go to work and build Temples that the work of salvation for our dead might go on. It took just as much to save a dead man as a living one.

            The judgments of God awaited the wicked, all heaven was watching our movements. They were not perfect without us nor we without them. It was the kingdom of God or nothing. If this kingdom did not prosper, neither did we. We all had a right to the gifts of the gospel. Zion would prevail, Zion would arise and put on her beautiful garments. No one need have any fears about this kingdom; every revelation pertaining to its building up would be fulfilled to the very letter. We had everything to encourage us. We should pay our tithing and offerings and attend to every known duty and God would be with us henceforth and for ever.

            Elder GEORGE Q. CANNON announced that the Semi-Annual Conference would convene to-morrow morning, at 10 o'clock.

            The Choir sang the Anthem --

The eyes of all wait upon the, O Lord!

_____

6-7 Oct 1877, 47th Semi-Annual General Conference, G. S. L. City Tabernacle.
[Deseret News Weekly 26: 568, 10/10/77, p 9; 26:584, 10/17/77, p 9; Millennial Star 39:723, 738]

[6 Oct, 10 am]

[DNW 26:569, 10/10/77, p 9]

GENERAL CONFERENCE

_____

            Pursuant to adjournment made at the last General Annual Conference, held in the Temple at St. George, the Forty-Eighth General Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, convened at the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, this, 6th day of October, 1877, at 10 a. m., President John Taylor presiding.

            Present on the stand --

            Of the Twelve Apostles -- President John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Chas. C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Joseph F. Smith and Albert Carrington.

            Counselors to the Twelve -- John W. Young and D. H. Wells.

            Patriarch -- John Smith.

            Of the First Seven Presidents of Seventies -- Joseph Young, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, and John Van Cott.

            Of the Presidency of the Salt Lake Stake of Zion -- Angus M. Cannon, David O. Calder and Joseph E. Taylor.

            Of the Presidency of the High Priests' Quorum of this Stake of Zion -- Elias Smith, Elias Morris and Edward Snelgrove.

            Of the Presidency of the Elders -- Edward Davis.

            Of the Presidency of the Bishopric of the Church -- Edward Hunter. Leonard W. Hardy, R. T. Burton,

            Besides the above there was an unusually large representation of the various stakes of Zion from all parts of the Territory.

            Conference was called to order by President John Taylor.

            The choir sang:

What wondrous things we now behold
By Prophets seen in days of old.

            Prayer by President Joseph Young.

            The choir sang:

O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come.

GEORGE Q. CANNON

said it was the intention to have read before the general Conference statistical reports from every Stake of Zion, but only 11 out of 20 having been forwarded, and some of those but imperfectly made out, he would read what had been sent in.

            After reading the reports Elder Cannon said, with a view to arrive at a more correct understanding of the reports that were required from every Stake of Zion there would be a meeting held in the 14th Ward Assembly Rooms on Sunday evening at 7 o'clock, of the Presidents of Stakes and their counselors and clerks.

ELDER W. WOODRUFF

gave an interesting account of the labors performed in the St. George Temple from the time of its dedication until he left.

            He said he would rejoice exceedingly to see the time when the Temple in this city and Logan would be completed, so that the saints in this section of country might have an opportunity of attending to their baptisms, ordinations for themselves and their dead, without the necessity of traveling so great a distance as they now had to do, to St. George. The work in the Temple there would be resumed on the 29th of this month.

ELDER ERASTUS SNOW

spoke of the lively and beneficial effect that the building of the St. George Temple had upon the people, now that an opportunity was afforded them of looking after the salvation of those that were living, and those who were dead, thus fulfilling the prophecies of the ancients, who testified that in the last days "Saviors should come upon Zion" to redeem the house of Esau.

            In speaking of the great work of God in the last days, he said we were required to be co-workers with Christ Jesus, and the more we understood of the work of salvation, we should find it to be one of proxy, being dependent one upon another. Our lives, therefore, must be one of continuous labor, first to gather the people by the preaching of the gospel, then the building of Temples, and doing the work of the fathers, and the children, that all might be made perfect in one complete chain, reaching back from the beginning of the world and continuing to the end thereof. This was that new and everlasting covenant, that contemplates the welding together of all dispensations and includes temporal as well as spiritual things.

            The warfare for us to fight was to overcome the world, to glorify God and do the work we came here to perform. We must cleanse our hearts from the love of the world. We must meet together to watch and pray, and all our associations must be for the purpose of benefitting and blessing each other. There should be the utmost freedom of speech, but we should not indulge in fault finding.

            In all our solemn assemblies, especially when called upon to express our sanction or otherwise of the authorities who may be presented, every one should act as a servant of God, and vote freely and frankly without hypocrisy, and every one who sanctioned the appointment of the authorities of the Church, should sustain them by their faith, prayers, and good works.

            If any decisions of the various Courts of the Church, should be rendered unrighteously, through ignorance, prejudice, or the weaknesses of humanity, God had established courts of appeal for the purpose of correction.

[Erastus Snow]

[DNW 26:690, 12/5/77, p 2]

DISCOURSE

DELIVERD BY ELDER ERASTUS SNOW, AT

The Semi-Annual Conference, on Saturday, October 6th, 1877.

_____

REPORTED BY GEO. F. GIBBS

_____

I believe the building of the Temple at St. George, and the spirit and influence exerted among the people resulting therefrom, the spirit that attends the people who labor therein and those who officiate for their dead, as well as the living is having a very beneficial effect upon the people generally; but more especially the people of the southern country who enjoy more fully its benefits. There is a greater devotion in their hearts to the work of the ministry and the building up of the Kingdom of God; and their hearts are being weaned from the things of this world. This is manifested by the increase of tithes and offerings, their readiness to engage in missions, to devote their time to Temple labors, and extending their labors in various directions among the Lamanites.

      I believe that the work already commenced upon the Temples in Logan and Manti, together with the one in this city will have a similar effect and influence upon the hearts and feelings of the Latter-day Saints. And the more we do in this direction to accomplish that which is required of us, both on behalf of ourselves and the dead, the nearer the hearts of the people will be drawn unto the Lord, and unto his servants and to each other, connecting together their affections and labors.

      We are called to become the saviors of men. First work for ourselves in accordance with the plan which God has introduced for our own salvation through faith and obedience to the Gospel of the Son of God. Next to be fellow-laborers with him in helping to bring to pass the redemption of our fellow-creatures. Our mission is first to the living; to preach the Gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue and people, to gather Israel, to establish the Zion of God, to organize the Priesthood, to build Temples to the name of the Lord, wherein all ordinances may be revealed and administered for the redemption of the dead, and the exaltation of the living. And thus fulfil what the prophets have said concerning one of the events of the last days, namely, that "Saviors should come up upon Mount Zion to judge the House of Esau; but the kingdom shall be the Lord's." This laconic prophecy of one of the ancient prophets is full of meaning. Do what we may, and all we possibly can, the kingdom is the Lord's and we are his servants and hand-maidens, all laboring for the great cause, the redemption of the human family. Although Jesus is the great "High Priest and Apostle of our profession," the Redeemer and Mediator for man, he has not attempted to do all the work himself, but to commence it, to lay the foundation, to offer his life as the good shepherd that gives his life for the sheep. He called to his assistance first the Twelve Apostles, then the Seventies, instructing them in their several duties, and then sent them out to call others to their assistance, and preach the Gospel to all the world. After he left them he ministered to the Nephites upon the American continent, and did likewise. And from time to time he has commanded his servants to continue his work upon the earth; and has now, for the last time, commenced to prune his vineyard, to gather his elect and confirm the priesthood upon his people and the ordinances thereof, for the salvation of his numerous family, both living and dead, and so requires our aid, our co-operation. If we will save ourselves and attain to the exaltation in store for us, we muse willing to help also our fellows that need our assistance. First, as I have intimated, in traveling through the earth preaching the Gospel to the living, and next helping to gather the Lord's poor and providing for them in Zion; next in building Temples to the Lord and officiating therein in its ordinances. In all this we may be fellow laborers with Christ Jesus, and with the ancient and modern apostles in the great work of salvation. And the more we examine the teachings of the Saviour, and those of the ancient prophets and Apostles, the more we shall be convinced that this work of salvation is a vicarious one. That is to say, while we have works to do for ourselves, there are many other labors which we are called upon to do for others, for we are mutually dependent one upon another; and God has so organized his work in the earth that we shall be dependent.

      God has created this earth, and placed its inhabitants thereon, and involved them in a common design. If we succeed through the merits of the Savior in overcoming evil and driving the devil from off its face, redeeming it from sin, the consequences of the Fall, we shall have the privilege of enjoying it when it is renewed, sanctified and made holy. If we fail in this we loose all. We have no premise of taking and possessing some other world prepared for some other people; or of entering into the labors of any other people. But this our earth is prepared especially for us; first for our temporal habitation, and ultimately for our eternal abode. The fathers, from the beginning of the world until the present time, have been and still are laboring in connection with us. The fathers holding the priesthood were inspired of the Lord, and understood these things; they are laboring in connection with us, and are looking after us, being mutually interested in the work of our hands.

      The Lord has sent the prophet Elijah according to promise, with the power of turning the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers; that the children may begin to look after and to do the necessary works for the fathers; while the fathers, on the other hand, who receive the gospel in the spirit world, are influencing the heavens in our behalf, that we may be strengthened to accomplish this work and prevail over the enemy, and do for them what they are unable to do for themselves.

      It was with the comprehensive view of this great work, and the connection of the fathers with the children, from the beginning of the world down to the end thereof, that the Apostle Paul spoke upon this subject, relating to the fathers who died in the faith, and what they accomplished while living. He sums up their mighty works of faith, closing with this remark: "God having provided some better things for us, that they without us shall not be made perfect." And we are now able to supplement the words of Paul, by saying, God having provided some better things for us the latter-day Saints that they, the fathers, cannot be made perfect without us nor we without them; for the priesthood and the new and everlasting covenant wherewith we are bound together, is like a chain connecting the children to the fathers from the beginning of the world to the end thereof. And if any links have been broken through that sin which is unto death, which finds no forgiveness in this world, or the world to come, such links must be dropped out, and the next one welded in and the chain made complete. And these sealings or adoptions, whether of the living or the dead, must continue from this time forward, and also go back repairing the chain from the beginning; that if there is a link broken anywhere, there may be a new weld, and the chain of the priesthood be completed. And this is the work of that New and everlasting Gospel which is the same covenant that was from the beginning, but is revealed anew unto us. There must not only be a welding of the chain of priesthood, but a welding together of all dispensations, and keys, and powers and authorities that have come from God unto men from the beginning of the world unto the end thereof. And not only must this be done in form, according to the law, but it must be in spirit and in truth. There must be a complete fellowship, a love, a union of spirit and of interest, both temporal and spiritual, on the earth and in heaven. And as the Apostle Paul has said concerning the dispensation of the fulness of times, that in it "He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him." We cannot attain to these blessings and be double minded; we cannot carry the world in one hand and the kingdom of God in the other; we cannot indulge in pride, folly, and the vanities of this life, and secure these blessings that pertain to the holy priesthood. We have got to labor for one or the other: our hearts, our hands, our talents and all our efforts must be hallowed to the Lord our God, with a view of accomplishing this work, or we shall certainly fail in attaining to all these glories that are prepared for us, and our fathers. This is the warfare for us to fight; to overcome the world; in other words, to make the world and all things therein our servants, and not our masters, they should be used for the accomplishment of these grand objects that God has presented before us. The only object and desire of our hearts in handling the things of this life, should be to glorify God in the accomplishment of the work that is laid upon us to perform. "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." Whosoever have set their hearts upon riches of the world, and the honor of men, must cleanse their hearts from these things, or they will fail.

      We meet in Conference to promote union and fellowship. We assemble to fast and pray before the Lord, to unite our hearts and faith together, that we may be one and crowd out the enemy from our midst. Our teachings,our prayers, our fellowship meetings, our associations of every descriptions, of both male and female, should tend to this end, to union, to fellowship, to love, to good will. To accomplish this there must be the utmost frankness of speech; and we should learn to govern well our tongues, making it to speak discreet words, and not to be eternally fault-finding.

      When we meet in our Ward meetings, or in our Stake or General Conferences, we there give an expression signifying before the heavens as well as men on the earth, our willingness to receive, uphold and sustain, by our faith and prayers, those who minister among us, to be counselors, leaders and judges in Israel. And when we do this the Lord has a right, and his servants also, to expect that every one who acts in these solemn assemblies will act honestly with themselves and with their God, in all sincerity and truth, and that their covenants will be made in all solemnity and in the fear of God, and the same lived up to faithfully. And should there be any good reason for withholding any man's fellowship, faith and good will from another, that such a man will be frank, honest and upright with himself and his God; and should such a one be laboring under a mistake, through misrepresentation or false reports, or anything he does not understand, which we are all liable to, I repeat he should take an honorable course that good feeling, fellowship and union might prevail.

      We know that the ungodly cannot appreciate the Saints; we know that they never did appreciate the prophets of God that were raised up and sent to them, having the word of the Lord for them; and we know that those who do not live in the light of Christ, humbling themselves before Him, and walking so as to enjoy the inspiring influences of the holy Ghost, they never can judge correctly of the words and teachings and the going forth of the people of God, nor his servants in their midst; for their eyes are blinded and they judge according to their carnal minds, and not according to the Holy Ghost. While others love lies and delight in sowing them broadcast, and hate the truth and those who teach it, because their deeds are evil, and they are of their father the devil, and his works they will do. We do not expect to be subject in any-wise to such spirits, for the Lord does not require it at the hands of any of his servants or people. But we do expect that the Latter-day Saints shall judge angels, if they are faithful; and the Lord has left it for themselves to choose whether they will sustain and uphold those who are appointed as Bishops, Presidents of Stakes, Apostles who minister in their midst; and whether they have so walked before the people and before the Lord, honoring their callings and sustaining themselves in the faith and fellowship of the Saints, or whether they have not.

      And the Lord has said by the mouth of the prophet Joseph that the great body of the Latter-day Saints, who are preaching the gospel, laboring to build Temples, etc., and who keep the commandments of God, living their holy religion, and whose hearts and habitations are the sanctuaries of the Holy Spirit, that they will weigh and judge all people; and Jesus said to the Nephite Apostles when telling them they should be judges of that people, "You shall judge them according to that judgment which I shall give you, which shall be just." This is a key for every man called to judge or preside; his judgment must be just or it cannot be sanctioned in the heavens. Because of the weaknesses and infirmities of humanity, and our liability to err in judgment, the Lord has very wisely provided for appeals from the Bishops' Court to that of the High Council, and thence to the General Assembly of all the Quorums at the Conferences of the Stake to which such Councils belong ;and if their decision be overruled, it must be by the united voice of all the Quorums. Thus the Lord has provided a way that justice might be meted out in this our time of weakness and mortality; but it is our privilege to live so that the Holy Ghost can abide continually within us, and we discern even as the Lord, and judge only in righteousness.

      May the Lord help us to live so as to be worthy of these blessings and to enjoy them, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON

explained the various parts of the Tabernacle which had been designated for different quorums of the priesthood during the General Assembly, and particularly requested every member of the quorums present to observe the order and sit in their respective places.

            The object of this arrangement was to carry out the plan given by the Prophet Joseph and adopted by President Young, in Nauvoo, in giving every quorum of the priesthood an opportunity of voting by separate quorums.

            Conference was adjourned until 2 o'clock p.m.

            The choir sang the anthem --

"O be joyful in the Lord."

            Benediction by Counselor JOHN W. YOUNG.

_____

[6 Oct, 2 pm*]

[DNW 26:569, 572, 10/10/77, p 9, 12]

SATURDAY AFTERNOON, Oct. 6th

            The choir sang --

The time is nigh, that happy time,
That great expected, blessed day.

            Prayer by President A. O. Smoot.

            The choir sang --

Sweet is the peace the Gospel brings
To seeking minds and true.

ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON

Stated that at the general assembly of Quorums at Kirtland, the manner of voting the affirmative vote was by rising on their feet, and the negative vote by keeping their seats. It was now expected that the Quorums, when they arose on their feet, would also raise their right hands, and the negative votes cast would be by retaining their seats and keeping down their hands, until the affirmative vote was cast, then if there were negatives they would have the privilege of rising to their feet.

            The General Authorities of the Church were voted for by each Quorum of the Priesthood, rising on their feet and raising their right hands in the following order: First -- The Twelve Apostles. Second -- The Patriarchs, Presidents of Stakes and their Counselors, and the High Councils. Third -- High Priests. Fourth -- Seventies. Fifth -- Elders. Sixth -- Bishops and Counselors. Seventh -- Priests, Teachers and Deacons. Eighth -- Presidency of all the Quorums. Ninth -- The entire congregation.

            John Taylor as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, as one of the Twelve Apostles, and of the Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

            As members of the Quorum of the Twelve apostles -- Wilford Woodruff, Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Joseph F. Smith and Albert Carrington.

            Counselors to the Twelve Apostles -- John W. Young, d. H. Wells.

            The Twelve Apostles as the presiding quorum and authority of the Church, and as Prophets, Seers and Revelators.

            President John Taylor made a motion that John W. Young and Daniel H. Wells be sustained as Prophets seers and Revelators, to act with the Twelve as their Counselors, in that capacity. The whole congregation sustained the motion.

            Patriarch of the Church: John Smith.

            As the first seven Presidents of Seventies: Joseph Young, Levi W. Hancock, Henry Herriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates and John Van Cott.

            The Presiding Bishop of the Church -- Edward Hunter, with Leonard W. Hardy and Robert T. Burton as his Counselors:

John Taylor as Trustee-in-Trust of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with the Twelve Apostles, their two councilors and Edward Hunter as his Counselors.

            Albert Carrington as President of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund for the gathering the poor.

            Orson Pratt as Historian and general Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff his assistant. This motion was put to the congregation merely and was unanimous.

            The local authorities of the Salt Lake Stake of Zion were then presented in the following order -- Angus M. Cannon, President of the Stake, with David O. Calder and Joseph E. Taylor as his Counselors.

            High Council Wm. Eddington, Thomas E. Jeremy, John H. Rumell, Miner G. Atwood, Dimmick B. Huntington, Theo. McKean, Hosea Stout, Milando Pratt, J. R. Winder, Geo. J. Taylor, Henry Dinwoodey, Millen Atwood, Joseph Horne, Andrew W. Winberg and George Nebeker.

            Elias Smith, President of the High Priests' Quorum, and Edward Snelgrove and Elias Morris his Counselors.

            Edward Davis, President of the Elders Quorum and W. W. Taylor and Junis F. Wells his counselors.

            The Quorums of the Lesser Priesthood not being fully organized, their presentation to the Conference was deferred.

            Truman O. Angel was sustained as General Architect of the Church, and T. O. Angel, Jun., his assistant.

            George Goddard as Clerk of the General Conference.

            George F. Gibbs as Clerk and Recorder of this Stake of Zion.
                During the whole of the presentation of the authorities before a congregation of from 12,000 to 14,000, excellent order prevailed, and to witness the unanimity and reflective silence during the entire proceedings, prompted by the Spirit of God, was grand and impressive beyond the power of words to describe. The language depicted on every countenance, as the only expression of their inmost soul, seemed to say "It was good for us to be here." It was indeed a feast to all the Saints, and a beautiful foretaste of what there is in the future.

PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR

felt happy to witness the union and good feeling manifested by the Saints in their voting. There was a saying in the world vox populi vox Dei. But there was a custom in ancient times for the Lord to first make known his will to his servants, and present it to the people, when it was first the voice of God, then the voice of the people.

            He spoke of the increased responsibilities that now rested upon the Apostles, and unless God were with them they would not be equal to the task. When men were under the guidance of the Almighty it was a high honor to hold office, and as such they desired to appreciate it. They felt thankful for the confidence and faith made manifest this day. He had said but little since the death of our late President, who had stood prominently before the Church for the last thirty-three years. For this he had varied reasons. One reason was, he felt sad in his heart, in common with the community, at the loss of our respected and venerable President. Another was that a multiplicity of business cares had devolved upon the Twelve, and many questions had to be answered and disposed of upon a variety of subjects. A further reason was that he did not wish to say anything which could influence the Twelve or others, so far as his position was concerned, but desired to leave them perfectly unbiased in their minds. He felt thankful to have Elder Orson Pratt and Joseph F. Smith, who had arrived from England only a few days ago, present at Conference. The Priesthood of the Son of God was not given for personal aggrandizement but for the building up of the kingdom of God, and if we could carry out in our lives what we had made manifest this day by our votes, the kingdom of God would roll forth, and the favor and blessing of God would rest upon us.

[John Taylor]

[DNW 26:706, 12/12/77, p 2; JD 19:119]

DISCOURSE

DELIVERED BY PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR, ON

Saturday Afternoon, October 6th, 1877, at the Semi-Annual Conference.
held in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City.

_____

REPORTED BY GEO. F. GIBBS

_____

      I am very happy to find so great an unanimity of feeling in the voting, as has been manifested at this Conference. There is a very common axiom in the world, "Vox populi, vox dei," or, "The voice of the people is the voice of God." Although the voice of the people is very important, we do not believe in that action separate and alone. It was usual among ancient Israel for the Lord to speak, presenting his laws, ordinances, and commandments to the people, then they were presented to the people, and then all the people said Amen. Then it was the voice of God and the voice of the people; or, in other words, the voice of the people assenting to the voice of God.

      In relation to the duties devolving upon the Twelve, in consequence of the changes that have recently taken place, I can say, in behalf of myself and my brethren, that their full weight and responsibility are felt by us. Unless we had the sanction of the people we would be unwilling to assume them, and, were it not that these things are plainly laid down in the law of God, we would not have accepted the situation that we find ourselves placed in to-day. We feel now that unless God is with us we can accomplish nothing that can in anywise be for the welfare of Zion, or the building up of his kingdom on the earth. Those are my feelings, and those are the feelings of my brethren. It is not with us as viewed by the world generally, that there is something so very honorable in office, for we have learned that in order that any office in the government of the Church and kingdom might be made honorable, the office itself must be honored, and that, too, by faithfully complying with the laws of God governing it. Then it is a high honor conferred upon man from the Lord, and the Twelve so appreciate it. Whilst they thank you for the confidence which you have manifested in them, at the same time they feel to rely upon God, and to ask that you will remember them before the throne of our heavenly Father in your prayers and daily supplications, that we may be guided by that wisdom and intelligence that flows from above, for without the aid, guidance, and direction of the Almighty, we can do nothing acceptably to him.

      I have said very little, very little indeed, since the death of our esteemed President, Brigham Young. I have had various reasons for that. One is, my heart has felt sorrowful and pained, for we have lost a man who stood prominent in Israel for the last thirty-three years, yes, for upwards of forty or forty-five years. He is taken away, and all Israel felt to mourn the event. This is one reason why I have been so silent. Another is, a great many questions have had to be decided, arrangements made and investigations had, in regard to the proper course to pursue pertaining to these very important matters. Still another reason is, I did not wish to put myself forward, nor have I, as the Twelve here can bear me witness. [The Twelve unanimously gave their assent.] I have not had any more hand in these affairs than any of the members of my Quorum; but I am happy to say that in all matters upon which we have deliberated, we have been of one heart and one mind. When brothers Pratt and Smith returned from England, as you will have learned from their published letter, their sentiments were precisely the same as ours, and also the Counselors of President Young, whom we esteem and honor in their place, are also united with us. We are glad to have them with us, as our friends and associates, and Counselors to the Twelve. I pray that the blessing of God may rest upon them, and lead them in the paths of life, and that they with the Twelve may unite together as a grand phalanx, not in our own individual interests, but in the interests of the Church and kingdom of God, and the building up of his Zion on the earth; for the Priesthood is not instituted for the purpose of personal aggrandizement or personal honor, but it is for the accomplishment of certain purposes of which the Lord is the Author and Designer, and in which the dead, the living, and the unborn are interested. We ought, brethren, all of us, to feel and act as though we were the servants of the living God, feeling in our hearts an honest desire to do his will and establish his purposes on the earth. If we can be united in our faith, our acts and labors, as we have been in our voting, as manifested at this Conference, the heavens will smile upon us, the angels of God will manifest themselves to us, the power of God will be in our midst, and Zion will arise and shine, and the glory of God rest upon her.

      [By request, Elder Geo. Q. Cannon read from the Doctrine and Covenants the following extract from a communication entitled, A Prayer and Prophecies, written by Joseph, the Seer, while in Liberty Jail, Clay County, Missouri, March 20, 1839, commencing at the 34th paragraph:

      "Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen?

      "Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men, that they do not learn this one lesson—

      "That the rights of the Priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness.

      "That that may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control, or dominion, or compulsion, upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves, the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the Priesthood, or the authority of that man. Behold! ere he is aware, he is left unto himself, to kick against the pricks, to persecute the Saints, and to fight against God," etc. See page 87, new edition.]

      I wanted to have this excellent instruction read over in your hearing, for it was true and profitable at the time it was written, and it is so today. If we possess the Spirit that flows from God, and that dwells in his bosom, we shall possess the spirit of kindness and love and affection, that will eventually bind us in the bonds of eternal union. It becomes us, as servants and handmaidens of God, to seek after these things, that we may be full of light and life, and the power and intelligence of God, and feel that we are indeed children of the Most High, that he is our Father, and that, with the ancient Prophets and Apostles, and the Gods of the eternal worlds, we will unite in accomplishing the work God designed from the commencement of the world. No man or set of men need think that the work will stop, for God has decreed that it shall go onward, and no power this side of hell can stop its progress. The Lord is with us, the great Jehovah is our shield and our buckler; the Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our King, the Lord is our Ruler, and he shall rule over us.

      May God help us to be faithful in the observance of his laws, that we may secure to ourselves eternal lives in his kingdom, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

            ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON read an extract from pages 386 and 387 of the book of doctrine and Covenants, new edition.

            President John Taylor said the words just read were true when they were written and they were true to-day. No man need think this work would stop. It would go on and increase until the purposes of Jehovah were accomplished, and no power on earth or in hell could stay its progress.

            Conference was adjourned until 10 o'clock Sunday morning.

            The choir sang the anthem:

Awake, put on thy strength O Zion.

            Benediction by ELDER ORSON HYDE.

_____

[7 Oct, 10 am]

[DNW 26:572, 10/10/77, p 12]

SECOND DAY

_____

SUNDAY MORNING, Oct. 7.

            Conference was called to order by President JOHN TAYLOR.

            The choir sang:

Come, all ye Saints who dwell on earth,
 Your cheerful voices raise.

            Prayer by Elder Joseph F. Smith.

            The choir sang:

Glorious things of thee are spoken
Zion city of our God.

ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON

spoke upon the necessity of the President of the Emigrating Fund having some additional aid. The Twelve had concluded to present the following names as his assistants, who were also sustained by the General Conference: Franklin D. Richards, F. M. Lyman, Horace S. Eldredge, Joseph F. Smith, John W. Young, Angus M. Cannon, Moses Thatcher, Wm. Jennings, John R. Wider, Henry Dinwoodey, Robert T. Burton, Abraham O. Smoot and H. B. Clawson. The Presidents of Stakes were also requested to act as agents for the P. E. Fund.

            Elder Cannon said it was not often we are called upon to mourn the loss of those who held the keys of the holy priesthood upon the earth. The experience of the Prophet Joseph was of that character, that led the people to almost think he was invulnerable to the shafts of death that had been so frequently hurled at him; hence when his demise did occur, it fell with such a shock and so unexpectedly upon the Saints that they were not prepared for the results growing out of such a contingency. The minds of many were much exercised and many speculations were indulged in as to who should occupy the position made vacant by the death of Joseph the Prophet. Some had fixed their minds upon one and some on another until the time had arrived when the Twelve had all returned home from their various fields of labor. It then soon became apparent where the authority legitimately belonged -- in the Twelve Apostles. At a large public meeting God made it manifest to all the Saints then present that He had placed the mantle of Joseph upon his servant Brigham.

            Some months before the decease of President Young he seemed to be anxious and restless until he had thoroughly organized the Church, and the speaker was satisfied that the remarkable work he had accomplished in that direction added greatly to the satisfaction hat he, President Young, now felt.

            Not only had the duties of the Twelve been defined, but also those of every grade of the priesthood. If we were diligent in the performance of the labors devolving upon us, the Lord would be with us as he had been with him during his whole life. The word, under his direction, had gone forth with such power that it had become apparent to those even who were not Saints that there was an efficacy about "Mormonism" that existed in no other system.

            The speaker said he had listened with much pleasure to the discourse of Elder Orson Pratt, upon the priesthood. Every man who was ordained to the Apostleship had the power and authority to guide, counsel and direct the people of God, but the right to receive revelations, to govern the whole church was confined to the one who holds the keys as the head. The rest of the Apostles must sustain and uphold that man. There never was but one man at any one time that held that position, and he who was sustained yesterday by unanimous vote, John Taylor by name, was that man, he being now the leading Apostle. He must be looked to by the entire people for the word of the Lord. If every Apostle was slain but one, that one had the right and authority to organize the church, and ordain other apostles and a First Presidency to build up the kingdom of God. It was good for the Latter-day Saints to be well instructed in the order and nature of the priesthood, that they might know and understand where the authority rested.

            Some had been much exercised about a First Presidency being organized. He wished the Saints distinctly to understand that whenever God commanded a First Presidency to be appointed, it would not be revealed through any one but his servant who was now God's mouthpiece.

[George Q. Cannon]

[DNW 27:146, 4/10/78, p 2; JD 19:230]

DISCOURSE

DELIVERED BY ELDER GEO. Q. CANNON,

In the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, on Sunday morning, Oct. 8 [7], 1877.

_____

REPORTED BY GEORGE F. GIBBS.

_____

      Our Conference is a most important one, one that doubtless will be long remembered by those who have participated in its deliberation, and actions. It is not often that we, as a people, have been called upon to pass through such circumstances as those which have surrounded us for the past four or five weeks. Twice in our history, during the past forty-seven and a half years, have we been called to mourn the loss of him who has led the cause of the Holy Priesthood upon the earth. At both times the blow has fallen, it may be said, unexpectedly upon us; it was particularly so at the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith, for he had passed through so many difficulties, and had so many narrow escapes, and so many deliverances from perils of the most menacing character, that the Latter-day Saints had been led to regard him as almost invulnerable, and that his life would be spared to a good old age, if not to the winding up scene. His martyrdom, then, fell as a very unexpected blow upon the people. It was a dreadful shock, for which a great bulk of the Latter-day Saints were unprepared. It is true that many were warned, especially those who were abroad among the nations preaching; they had dreams and manifestations of the Spirit concerning the terrible calamity. But those at home were scarcely prepared. Evidences came so quickly, one after another, that there was scarcely an idea among the people that his arrest, or his delivering himself up as he did, would terminate in such a catastrophe. The Church itself was so unprepared, by any previous experience, for the steps that were necessary to carry on the work that the Lord had established, and of which he had been the instrument.

      I well remember the feelings that were experienced upon that occasion; how men's minds wondered, and the surmises that were indulged in; the guesses, the anticipations, some thinking one man would he chosen, and others that some one else would be. Many of the people were at an entire loss to know who would take charge of the Church affairs. And while they were not satisfied with Sidney Rigdon, nor his preaching, nor his propositions; a great many were un-decided in their minds as to who would be the leader, or who would have the right to stand at the head. When the Twelve returned and their voices were beard in the midst of the people; when President Young stood before the congregation and spake to the people, doubt and uncertainty and every kindred feeling vanished, and every one who had a sufficient portion of the Spirit of the Lord recognized in him the man whom the Lord had chosen to lead and guide his people, instead of the martyred Prophet.

      For the first time in the history of the Church, the Twelve Apostles stepped forward and took the charge of affairs, by the authority of the Apostleship, and the authority which they had received from the Prophet Joseph. And for a little rising of three years they led and guided the Church, until the Lord inspired his servant Brigham, to organize a First Presidency of the Church. This experience has been most valuable to us under our present circumstances. Men have looked back to the past; they have remembered what was done at the period to which I refer, and doubt uncertainty and hesitation have not existed to any extent; in fact, have not existed at all in the minds of those of long experience in the Church. The Twelve Apostles have the authority to lead and guide, to manage and direct the affairs of the Church, being the Quorum standing next to the First Presidency. Naturally it falls to them to step forward once more and assume the direction and control, to dictate and counsel and to regulate, so far as may be necessary, everything connected with the organization of the people, and the proclamation of the Gospel among the nations of the earth.

      Although the blow has been a heavy one, and has fallen unexpectedly upon us, it seemed to me, during the past summer, in watching President Young, in listening to him, in associating with him, that he had obtained a new lease of life. He had not been able to speak for years in public assemblies with the ease to himself that he had done since the last winter. It seemed that he had overcome his weakness, a weakness of the stomach from which he suffered when he spoke to large congregations, and his bodily health appeared to be am perfect as it could be for a man of his age; this being the case, it was a very unexpected thing for him to pass off so suddenly. But in looking back at the circumstances that surrounded him and that surrounded the Church, and the labors that were so essential for him to perform, we can now understand why it was that he was so greatly strengthened, that he had such vigor not only in speaking, but in performing the labors of traveling and visiting the various settlements, that, he enjoyed. I do not believe myself that President Young could have felt as happy, as I know he does feel, had he left the Church in the condition it was in when he commenced his labors last spring. I am convinced that it has added greatly to his satisfaction; it has been a fitting consummation to the labors of his long life that he should be spared to organize the Church throughout these valleys in the manner in which it no v is organized. It was remarked by brother Pratt, in his discourse, that at no time since the first organization of the Church have the Latter-day Saints been so well organized; everything set in order so completely as we now see them. This is his experience and his testimony; and you know he has been familiar with the Church from nearly the first of its organization to the present time. And I believe this would he the testimony of every man of years belonging to the Church. And I am thankful this day that President Young was spared to accomplish this work, that the Lord gave him the bodily vigor and the mental capacity sufficient to enable him to close up the labors of his earthly career in so fitting a manner.

      He has marked out the path for the Twelve to pursue. And I was a number of times impressed during the summer that the spirit he possessed in relation to these matters impelled him to hurry them up, and have everything attended to quickly; almost a feeling of restlessness was manifested by him (which was so contrary to his usual calmness of manner), to have the work of organization completed. I have been reminded a number of times of the same spirit that rested upon the Prophet Joseph; he seemingly could not rest, he was constantly stirring up and urging the Twelve to step forward and assume the responsibility that lay upon them, and to impart to the people the knowledge that the Lord had given to him, and to bestow upon the servants of God the keys and the authority of the holy Priesthood in its fulness. And President Young manifested the same spirit. He lived to receive Elder Taylor and the brethren of the Twelve who accompanied him after their return from organizing the last of the Stakes of Zion, and to confer with them. In a few hours afterwards he took his exit.

      At no time probably in the history of the Church have the Saints been so calm and so serene, manifesting so little concern in relation to the way matters should go, and the affairs of the Church be conducted, as they have on this occasion. It has seemed as though the Lord has prepared the people for these things. He has poured out upon us the spirit of union that has not been enjoyed, probably, to so great an extent at any time in our history. There are great labors assigned to all of us in every department of the Priesthood. If we take up the work and carry it forward in the spirit with which it has been committed to us by him, now that he has gone from our midst, the Lord will continue to be with us, and to bless us as he did him. For He was with him all his life; He was with him in counseling the people; He was with him in prophecying to the people, and in teaching them and directing them in their temporal as well as their spiritual labors. And the Lord crowned his life with success, and his labors with blessing; and they who sustained him and obeyed his counsel have been prospered in every instance; and when they received the counsel in a proper spirit, and carried it out as it was given to them, they and the Church prospered under his presidency and administration; and it has gone forth in power and majesty, and in such a way as to bring conviction to the hearts of thousands of people that there is a power connected with this system called "Mormonism," not comprehensible to any who do not view it, by the Spirit of God. I feel that we, as a people, should take hold of this work; that we, as Apostles, that we, as Seventies, and as High Priests, as Elders, as Priests, Teachers and Deacons, should take hold of this work in earnestness and in zeal, and carry it forward as our Prophet and file leader did during his lifetime; that we should take it up where he laid it down, and carry it on until the end is reached, and the full consummation of all things is accomplished; seeking to have the spirit that animated him, and to follow him as he followed Joseph, as he honored Joseph, as he revered Joseph, as he upheld Joseph, as he maintained Joseph, touching doctrine and counsel, so that it appears to me if we are animated by the Spirit of God we will honor him and follow in his footsteps, as he followed Joseph, and as Joseph followed Christ. When we do this, and take hold of this work with the earnestsess and zeal which should characterize our actions, the Spirit and power of God will rest upon us, and he will hear us off as he has borne them off who preceded us; he will not desert us, nor leave us in any position where we will be destitute of help.

      I listened with a great deal of pleasure to that portion of brother Pratt's discourse which I heard, in relation to the Apostleship and the authority of the Apostleship, and the right of the Priesthood to rule and to govern. There have been a great many ideas afloat in the minds of men concerning this work, and I suppose I have been interrogated I might say thousands of times—at any rate I have been interrogated upon this point more than any other namely. Who will succeed President Young in case he dies? The Latter-day Saints who have had experience in this matter have not had occasion to ask this question; but many inexperienced Saints had it in their hearts, wondering what shape affairs would take in case anything were to happen to the President of the Church.

      Every man who is ordained to the fullness of Apostleship, has the power and the authority to lead and guide the people of God whenever he is called upon to it, and the responsibility rests upon him. But there is a difference, as was explained by brother Pratt, that arises in some instances from seniority in age, in other instances from seniority in ordination. And while it is the right of all the Twelve Apostles to receive revelation, and for each one to be a Prophet, to he a Seer, to be a Revelator, and to hold the keys in the fullness, it is only the right of one man at a time to exercise that power in relation to the whole people, and to give revelation and counsel, and direct the affairs of the Church—of course, always acting in conjunction with his fellow-servants. And while we say that the Twelve Apostles have the right to govern, that the Twelve have the authority, that the Twelve Apostles are the men who preside—when we say this, we do not mean that every one of the Twelve is going to give revelation to this great people, that every one of the Twelve has the right to counsel and dictate and regulate the affairs of the Church as emergencies may arise, independent of the rest. The Church is not governed like Zion's Co-operative Institution, by a Board of Directors; this is not God's design. It is governed by men who hold the keys of the Apostleship, who have the right and authority. Any one of them, should an emergency arise, can act as President of the Church, with all the powers, with all the authority, with all the keys, and with every endowment necessary to obtain revelation from God, and to lead and guide this people in the path that leads to the celestial glory; but there is only one man at a time who can hold the keys, who can dictate, who can guide, who can give revelation to the Church. The rest must acquiesce in his action, the rest must be governed by his counsels, the rest must receive his doctrines. It was so with Joseph. Others held the Apostleship—Oliver received the Apostleship at the same time that Joseph did, but Joseph held the keys, although Oliver held precisely the same authority. There was only one who could exercise it in its fullness and power among the people. So also at Joseph's death, there was only one man who could exercise that authority and hold these keys, and that man was President Brigham Young, the President of the Quorum of the Twelve whom God had singled out, who by extraordinary providence had been brought to the front, although many were ahead of him according to ordination at one time and another.

      Now that he has gone, one man only can hold this power and authority to which I refer, and that man is he whom you sustained yesterday, as President of the Quorum of the Twelve, as one of the Twelve Apostles and of the Presidency, John Taylor by name. When revelation comes to this people, it is he who has the right to give it. When counsel comes to this people, as a people, it is he who has the right to impart it; and while the Twelve are associated with him, one in power, one in authority, they must respect him as their President, they must look to him as the man through whom the voice of God will come to them, and to this entire people. By extraordinary providence he has been brought to the front. Men have wondered at it, why it was so. It is easy of explanation. There was a time when three living Apostles, three Apostles who now live, whose names were placed above his in the Quorum of the Twelve. But, when this matter was reflected upon, President Young was moved upon to place him ahead of one, and afterwards ahead of two others, until by the unanimous voice of the Apostles he was acknowledged the Senior Apostle, holding the oldest ordination without interruption of any man among the Apostles. Not that he sought it; not that he endeavored to obtain it; not that he begged for his place, for it is due to him to say to this congregation today, that no man has been more modest in urging his claim or setting forth his right than he. But President Young was led by the Spirit of God, as we do verily believe, to place him in his right position; and two years ago last June, in Sanpete, he declared in a public congregation that John Taylor stood next to him; and that when he was absent it was his right to preside over the Council. We little thought then, at that time, that there would be a necessity so soon arise when he would be required to exercise that power, that authority and right. Most of the people could very readily imagine that President Young would have outlived President Taylor, but the Lord has ordered otherwise.

      In relation to ordination, a great many people have imagined that it was necessary to ordain a men to succeed another, that it would impart a particular efficacy or endow him with some additional power. Ordination is always good and acceptable; blessings and setting apart are always desirable to those who have to go forth to prepare them for God's service; but it is not necessary that an Apostle should be ordained to stand at the head of the people. When the exigency arises, he has already got the fulness of authority, and the power of it. I was told of a dream that a person had shortly after the death of the Prophet. A person dreamed that a certain man had been set apart by the President, and the keys had been given him; and that President Young came and said that he had given to this person the keys. Now, that of itself, to a person understanding the principle, would carry its own contradiction with it. The man dreamed of was already an Apostle, holding and exercising the keys of the Apostleship; and therefore it would not be necessary for President Young to confer again upon him the keys. If every man of the Twelve but one were slain, the one remaining would have the right to organize a First Presidency of the Church, to choose Twelve Apostles, and to organize the Church in its fulness and power, and to preside over it. And his acts would be accepted of the Lord, and binding upon the people. This is the authority of the Apostleship. If every Apostle anciently had been slain but John the Revelator, as they all were, and there had been faith and men enough left, he would have had the right to ordain other Apostles, and set in order the entire Church, and carry forward the work as the Lord should dictate it. So in our day. As I have stated, it is not necessary for a man who has received this power and these keys to he ordained and set apart to act; he can act in any position. President Young, when he chose brother George A. Smith to be his First Counselor, in the place of Heber C. Kimball, did not lay his hands upon his head to confer upon him any additional power or authority for the position, because brother George A. held the Apostle. ship in its fulness, and by virtue of that Priesthood he could act in that or in any other position in the Church. He chose other assistant Counselors; he did not set them apart, there was no necessity for it, as they already held the Apostleship. And if he had, he could only have blessed them; he could not bestow upon them any more than they already had, because they had all that he himself had, that is when he chose them from the same Quorum. He did choose several of his assistant Counselors from the Quorum of the Twelve; he did not put his hands upon them to set them apart, nor to give them the authority and power to act as his Counselors; they already held it.

      It is well for the Latter-day Saints to understand the principles of the Holy Priesthood, and the power thereof, that it may be known by you where the authority rests, who has the right to leech and guido and counsel in the affairs of the kingdom of God. The Lord has revealed it in plainness, so that a wayfaring man, though a fool need not err therein. Was it necessary that Elder Tailor should be set apart to preside over this people? was it necessary that the Twelve Apostles should be set apart to preside over this people? No it was not, for they already possessed the power, authority and ordination. Was it necessary for the Prophet Joseph Smith to sat apart Brigham or Heber or Willard, or any of the rest of the Twelve Apostles? No, for the same reason, they had received the fulness of the Holy Priesthood, the full endowment and the keys, and the authority, and the fulness of the Apostleship; therefore it was not necessary. It might have been done; there would have been no wrong in doing it; there would be no impropriety in blessing a man; there would be no impropriory in a man like Joseph or Brigham, favored of God with the power to move the heavens to bring down blessings upon the children of men; I say, there would be no impropriety in such men laying their hands upon any man and blessing him; the Lord would bless him, if he were thus blessed. But I am now speaking of the authority and power of the Holy Priesthood. The blessing of such men or by such men, would not bestow upon him any additional authority or any more keys, presuming that he already had received the fulness of the Apostleship. Some may feel that the Lord should raise up a man by special manifestations of power to preside over his Church—they having an expectation of that kind. Whenever the Lord does it will be because of there being a necessity for it, and whenever there is a necessity for it, it will not be made plain through one of the Twelve aside from the President, it will not be made plain through a Seventy, it will not be made plain through a High Priest, through an Elder, through a Patriarch; it will come as all revelations from the Lord come, to be binding upon this people, through the voice of him whom the Lord chooses to be his voice, sanctioned by the Twelve Apostles. Hear it, O Israel! and remember it. Have I the right to say who shall preside over this people? No. Although an Apostle, holding the keys with my brethren and being side by side with them, having equal authority with them. Why? Because I am not chosen by the Lord to be his mouthpiece to the Latter-day Saints; what I mean by this, to give them revelation. It is my right to instruct and teach, to labor and to counsel; but it is not my right to organize a First Presidency for this Church, neither is it the right of any other man, excepting him whom the Lord has chosen the President of the Twelve, with that Quorum standing as the First Presidency. A day or two ago, a man came here and notified the President of the Twelve that he was to be the successor to Brigham. The most charitable construction you can put upon such speeches is that the man is crazy. Whenever the voice of the Lord comes upon such a subject, it will come with the power and demonstration of the Holy Ghost and with much assurance, and every Latter-day Saint on the earth will receive it, because the Spirit of God will bear testimony to our spirits that it is from Him, so that we cannot be deceived. It is our privilege to so live that we know the voice of the true shepherd, and can not be deceived by those who profess to have revelation and have authority, when they have it not. And every man and woman in this Church should so live that when they hear the true voice, they will know it as they would know the voice of their nearest friend, and not be deceived or led astray. Well but, says one, Why cannot you organize a First Presidency now, if the Twelve have this authority? Do you want to know the reason, brethren and sisters, why we do not take such a step? I suspect you would like to know why a man and his two Counselors are not singled out, called and set apart by the voice of the people st this Conference, as the First Presidency of the Church? The reason is simply this: the Lord has not revealed it to us; he has not commanded us to do this, and until he does require this at our hands, we shall not do it. For the present, it seems to be the mind and will of God, as manifested to us, that the Twelve should preside over the Church. And until he does reveal unto his servants that it is right and proper that a First Presidency should be organized again, we shall wait, we shall do nothing of that kind. When the voice of God comes, when it shall be the counsel of our Heavenly Father that a First Presidency shall be again organized, the Quorum of the Twelve will be organized in its fullness as before. Therefore you can wait, as well as we, for the voice of the Lord; and when it does come, whenever it will be, you will see the Church take action in this matter; but until then, Latter-day Saints, you will be governed by the authority that already exists· If three men have the right to govern, certainly twelve men, all possessing the same keys, have that right and that authority. Then let us wait the good pleasure of the Lord, and cease surmises, and cease indulging in vain and foolish ideas upon these subjects.

      I pray God to bless you, and pour out his Spirit upon us all, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

ELDER FRANKLIN D. RICHARDS

Endorsed the views expressed by Elder George Q. Cannon, and was thankful to have so important and interesting a subject as that of the priesthood made so plain and easy to our understanding. Yesterday, the unanimity in voting for the various authorities of the Church, by the assembled thousands, who had come from all parts of the earth, was a sign of union that could not be presented by any other people in any part of the world, and ought surely to convince the unbeliever that God was in this work.

            What had been done during the last forty years was a mighty work, and it was necessary to continue our exertions in every branch of labor. The sisters could also do much to forward the great work, and indeed they had accomplished a great deal, and no doubt would continue to do what they could. He exhorted the brethren to go forth with renewed energy to establish Zion. He referred them to the 29th and 30th chapters of Deuteronomy, and to notice the great blessings that God promised the children of Israel through the observances of his law, and the calamities that were to follow them if disobedient. And it was now a portion of the labor of the Elders of Israel to gather up the scattered tribes who had been driven amongst all the nations of the world. Although much had been done in preaching the gospel, thus far, a very small moiety of the inhabitants of the earth had heard the testimony of the servants of God; therefore much remained to be done.

            It was the intention of the Twelve to call to their aid and assistance in collecting the indebtedness due the P. E. Fund, the Presidents of Stakes and Bishops of the various wards.

            He felt particularly anxious on this subject for he knew there were thousands of poor and anxious saints living in the old countries whose prayers and expectations were constantly kept up for their relief from Babylon and poverty. He urged the necessity of being whole souled, not only in paying tithing, but donations to build Temples, and emigrating the poor.

            The following names of missionaries called to go on missions were presented by Elder Geo. Q. Cannon, the vote to sustain them being unanimous.

Anton Anderson, of Santaquin, to Minnesota.
Nils R. Lindall, of Union Fort, to Minnesota.
Jos. S. Jones, Payson.
Norman Salmon, Payson.
Francis M. Elmer, Payson.
Jesse W. Crosby of St. George, Lower California.
David Cameron of Panguitch, Lower California.
Lewis Booth of Honeyville, Southern States.
Russell Rogers of Fillmore, Southern States.
Joseph Frietz, Richfield, to Arizona.
Henson Walker, jun., Pleasant Grove, to Arizona.
Ephraim Hanks, Midway, to Arizona
Ex-Bishop Farnsworth, Joseph City, to Arizona.
Thomas R. Jones, Lehi, to the Welsh in Pennsylvania.
David Bowen, Spanish Fork, to the Welsh in Pennsylvania.
John McNiels, sen. and family, Bountiful, to Arizona.
Andrew Watson, of Provo, to Scotland.
George Meldrum, of Provo, to Scotland.
Jos. H. Dean and wife, of Salt Lake City, to Sandwich Islands.
W. D. Kartchner, of Panguitch, to Arizona.
John Kartchner, of Orderville, to Arizona.
Bock Kartchner, of Panguitch, to Arizona.
D. C. Clayton, of Panguitch, to Arizona.
Alma Palmner, of Panguitch, to Arizona.
N. Miller, of Panguitch, to Arizona.
Peter Nielsen, of Morgan County, to Arizona.
Peregrine Sessions, of Bountiful, to Maine.
Judson Tollman, of Bountiful, to Maine.
Artemus Putnam, of Woodruff, to Maine.
William Atkinson, of Bountiful, to Maine.
William Petersen, of Salt Lake City, to Denmark.
William Christensen, of Fairview, to Denmark.
James Christianson, of Spring City, to Denmark.
Rasmus Nielsen, of Logan, to Denmark.
P. C. Christianson, of Salt Lake City, to Denmark.
John Qvist, of Cottonwood, to Sweden.
A. O. F. Forsell, of Salt Lake City, to Sweden.
John F. Olsen, Salt Lake City, to Sweden.
John Eckman, of Salt Lake City, to Sweden.
Joseph Bull, of Salt Lake City, to Great Britain
John Larson, of Gunnison, to Sweden.
Jonas Linberg, of Tooele, to Sweden.
Andrew Hendricksen, of Levan has the permission of this conference to go to Scandinavia, preach the gospel to his friends and to settle up his business in that country.

            Adjourned till 2 p.m.

            The choir sang the anthem:

How beautiful upon the mountains.

            Benediction by Elder Charles C. Rich.

_____

[7 Oct, 2 pm]

[DNW 26:572, 10/10/77, p 12]

AFTERNOON

2 p.m.

            The choir sang:

Ere long the vail will rend in twain,
The King descend with all his train.

            Prayer by Elder Albert Carrington.

            The choir sang:

Prayer is the soul's sincere desire,
 Uttered or unexpressed.

            Elder George Q. Cannon presented the following names of missionaries who were sustained by unanimous vote of the assemblage.

Christopher Merkley, of Salt Lake City, to Canada.
John H. Freeman, of Salt Lake City to Wisconsin.
Robert Ellwood, of West Jordan, to Wisconsin.
Jas. E. Malin, of Salt Lake City, to Wisconsin.
Luther M. Palmer, of Chicken Creek, to Michigan.
Joseph Wall, of Glenwood, to Michigan.
Isaac Losey, of Spanish Fork, to Michigan.
Ammon W. Tenney, of Kanab, Liewellin Harris of Panguitch, and A. W. Ivins, of St. George, to preach in New Mexico.
James Christensen, of Spring City, to Denmark.

            Home Missionaries for the Salt Lake stake of Zion:

George Reynolds, A. H. Raleigh, William A McMaster, George G. Bywater, Junis F. Wells, Joseph Horne, Millen Atwood, Edward Schoenfeld, Richard W. Young, John R. Winder, Sen., A. W. Winberg, Thomas E. Taylor, James P. Freeze, Charles H. Wilcken, Milando Pratt, Hamilton G. Park, John T. Caine, Septimus W. Sears, Miner G. Atwood, Robert Patrick, Thos. E. Jeremy, John H. Rumell, James W. Cummings, Elias Morris, John Clark, John G. Midgley, Benjamin F. Cummings, Jr., William J. Smith, Edward Hanham, Wm. Eddington, William C. Staines, William W. Taylor, Samuel H. B. Smith, Amos M. Musser, Brigham S. Young, I. M. Mortensen.

ELDER JOHN TAYLOR

presented the names of the following brethren he had selected to audit the accounts of the Trustee in Trust, they being sustained by unanimous vote: Wilford Woodruff, Erastus Snow and Joseph F. Smith.

            He remarked that the Twelve Apostles had served this people for from forty to forty-five years without any compensation. and while others were making means in various capacities, the Twelve had traveled and labored without purse and scrip. Their duties were now increasing upon them; they were required to give their whole time in the service of the Church, and were consequently unable to attend to their own private business. He desired the Conference to authorize him, as Trustee in Trust, to give them, including the two Counselors, a reasonable amount for their support. The vote on this proposition was unanimous.

            He spoke of the late President Brigham Young, who had been in the church almost from its commencement, and held the presidency of it for 33 years, and his departure had cast a gloom over the whole church. His opposition to vice and his efforts to sustain virtue and every good principle, were known throughout the world. He had gone and, while it could be aid here, a President was dead, in the eternal worlds it was heralded a "President born." Unless the guiding hand of the Almighty should be with us, in the future as it had been in the past, he should want to have nothing to do with the work, but God would be with us. The Gospel contemplated the entire union of the Saints, both in temporal and spiritual matters. He was proud of the union that was exhibited yesterday in the voting. One matter voted upon was that the Twelve be sustained as Prophets, Seers and Revelators. The same thing was introduced by Joseph Smith in the Temple at Kirtland. it was also the duty of the High Priests and Elders of Israel to seek after and obtain a knowledge of God, whom to know was life everlasting.

            Every man who held the priesthood of the Son of God should endeavor to magnify his high and holy calling. There were in this Territory twenty different Stakes, organized with Presidents and Counselors, Bishops and counselors, and lesser priesthood and High Councils. all this had been done to correspond with the order that existed in the heavens, that the ordinances of the gospel might be administered to so as to bring down the blessings that God had provided for those who attended to these things. The Presidents of Stakes should be men full of the Holy Ghost, and so should all those be who were called to labor in connection with them. Had it not been that Moses appeared to Joseph Smith in the Temple at Kirtland and delivered to him the keys of the gathering, the audience now before him would not be there to-day. So with baptism for the dead and other ordinances. Messengers had come and delivered the keys of authority and instruction to Joseph Smith.

            The prophet Elijah had visited Joseph and the hearts of the children were turned to their fathers, and the hearts of the fathers to the children. Already there had been more baptisms and other ordinances administered for the dead than the living, in the Temple at St. George. Why was it that the Saints were so anxious to put forth their means for the building of temples? It was because the Spirit of the Lord prompted them. The Lord was our law giver; the Lord was our friend, and he would aid us. It was written that Saviors should come up on Mount Zion. What was a Savior? It was one who had learned how to administer salvation, and was willing to make whatever sacrifice was necessary to accomplish it. Thousands of our Elders had traveled tens of thousands of miles, without purse or scrip. No other people that lived had done what the Latter-day Saints had done to benefit and bless the world.

            There were over 500 men at work in pushing forward the three temples that were now being erected. It was not the intention to crowd or oppress any one in those labors. Everything should be done on a free principle. The poor should be fed, and if any were naked they should be clothed. We should never permit any oppression to be exercised, but should be charitable and merciful, that God might smile upon us.

            He much regretted that there should be any persons in the Territory unwilling to pay back the means that had been paid out of the P. E. Fund for their benefit. He spoke of the New Tabernacle in course of erection on the Temple block in this city, and trusted there would be a liberal response to the calls for means to carry on the work.

            He commended the sisters for the aid their labors had rendered the Bishops in benefitting and blessing the poor and encouraging home industries.

            He alluded encouragingly also to the several Mutual Improvement Societies.

[John Taylor]

[DNW 26:706, 12/12/77, p 2; JD 19:122]

DISCOURSE

DELIVERED BY PREST. JOHN TAYLOR, AT

The Semi-Annual Conference, Sunday Afternoon, October 7th, 1877.

_____

REPORTED BY GEO. F. GIBBS.

_____

      There are one or two items I wish to present before you in relation to the Trusteeship. I have been appointed to that office, and I feel that I need some assistance in regard to the duties devolving upon me in that capacity. I am desirous to have the matter laid before this Conference. One thing I refer to is the auditing of the accounts of the Trustee-in-Trust. I therefore beg to present three names, as an auditing committee, for the sanction of this Conference—namely, Wilford Woodruff, Erastus Snow, and Joseph F. Smith. [On motion, they were unanimously sustained.]

      There is another subject that I wish to present, one which pertains more particularly to my brethren of the Twelve. I suppose that most of you know that they have traveled and labored for a very long period, some of them for forty years and upwards, without purse or scrip, while almost everybody else has been paid for his services. It does seem proper to me that they should be placed, at least, on an equal footing with other people, particularly as their labors necessarily increase. In consequence of our present organizations, necessitating their frequent visits to our quarterly Conferences, in addition to other duties accumulating upon them, rendering it impossible for them to pay any attention to their own private affairs. My proposition, and I know it will meet with the hearty response of the brethren generally, is that they have a reasonable recompense for their services, and that the Trustee-in-Trust be authorized to arrange this matter. I would wish these same remarks to apply also to the Counselors of the Twelve. [The motion was put and unanimously sustained.]

      As has been remarked, the condition we occupy to-day is a very important one. There has been a change of Presidency, and necessarily a change of administration. In the providence of God our heavenly Father, he has seen fit to take from us our beloved President Brigham Young, who has so long labored in our midst. It is one of those occasions that cause reflection and thought, casting a degree of gloom among this whole people. We have felt sorry to lose his counsel, to be deprived of that wisdom and intelligence that have characterized him in all of his administrations. For they have been of such a nature as not only to interest the Latter-day Saints, but his name has become famous throughout the world. Brigham Young needs no factitious aid to perpetuate his memory; his labors have been exhibited during the last forty-five years in his preaching, in his writing, in his counsels, in the wisdom and intelligence he has displayed, in our exodus from Nauvoo; in the building of cities throughout the length and breadth of this Territory, in his opposition to vice and his protection of virtue, purity and right. These things are well known and understood by the Latter-day Saints, and also by thousands and millions of others. But, as with his predecessor, Joseph Smith, who had to leave, while we are called upon to mourn a President dead, angels announce a President born in the eternal worlds; he has only gone to move in another state of existence. But then in speaking of these things we would not eulogise only the man, for Brigham Young, although so great a man could have done nothing towards developing the purposes of God unless aided and sustained by him. Joseph Smith could have done nothing, neither, as I have already said, can the Twelve Apostles accomplish anything unless they receive the same divine support. The work we are engaged in emanated from God, and what did Joseph Smith know about it until God revealed it? Nothing. What did President Young, or the Twelve, or anybody else, know about it before the heavenly messengers, even God himself, came to break the long, long silence of ages, revealing through his Son, Jesus Christ, and the holy angels, the everlasting Gospel? Nothing at all. We were all alike ignorant until heaven revealed it. Then in the administration of these things the heavens are interested. These my brethren before me, this Priesthood that assembled yesterday in their various quorums, all of them have assisted in this work, all have more or less been preaching and laboring in the interest of Zion, in the building up of this the kingdom of God upon the earth. So that it is not by any means an individual affair, as many totally ignorant of it suppose and say it is; it is not in the wisdom of this man or the intelligence of the other, but it is the wisdom and guidance of God, and by his sustaining hand, that this whole people are led forward, and that this kingdom has an existence upon the earth. For my part, I would say to-day as Moses did on a certain occasion, when God said he would not go up with the children of Israel because they were rebellious people, "If thy presence go not with us, carry us not up hence;" or, in other words, I want nothing to do with so great an undertaking as the leading forth of this people without the Lord's assistance. I would say to-day, if God be not with us, if we are not sustained by the almighty power of Jehovah, if his guiding and protecting hand be not over us, I want nothing to do with it. But he is with us, and we know it. The feeling that was manifested here yesterday, is most creditable to Israel, it is approved of by the Gods in the eternal worlds; and if we carry out in our practice and daily lives that union which we manifested in our voting, the Lord God will continue to pour upon us his blessing until we shall be united in all things, temporal and spiritual, which unity we have got to come to. When this is achieved, Zion will arise and shine, and then the glory of our God will rest upon her, then his power will be made manifest in our midst.

      You heard this morning a good deal said, and that very correctly too, in relation to Priesthood and the organization thereof, and the position we occupy in relation to these matters. You voted yesterday that the Twelve should be Prophets, Seers, and Revelators. This may seem strange to some who do not comprehend these principles, but not to those who do. The same vote was proposed by Joseph Smith and voted for in the Temple in Kirtland, so long ago as that; consequently there is nothing new in this. And, as you heard this morning, this is embraced in the Apostleship, which has been given by the Almighty, and which embraces all the keys, powers and authorities ever conferred upon man. I do not wish to enter into the details of this matter; you will find them in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, very clearly portrayed, and I refer you there for the evidences on these points.

      You heard too that although the Priesthood held certain powers and privileges, the manifestations and powers thereof were only conferred according to the exigencies of the case and the necessities and requirements thereof. God has conferred upon us these blessings, but here are certain manifestations and powers that must come directly from him, and it is the duty of the Twelve to hunt up, search after, pray for and obtain them; and it is also the duty of these Presidents of Stakes, Bishops, High Priests, Seventies, and all men holding prominent positions, to seek after and comprehend God, whom to know is life everlasting. We need, all of us, to humble ourselves before the Almighty, for we are before him, and all creation is, and hell and destruction are also without a covering before him. As mortal and immortal beings, as men holding the holy Priesthood that the Lord has conferred upon us for the establishment of his kingdom, the building up of his Zion, the redemption of the living and the dead, it is of the utmost importance that we stand forth, every one of us, and magnify our several callings; for with all our weakness, with all our infirmities, God has given unto us great treasures, which we hold in these earthen vessels.

      As has been referred to, the President was operated upon to organize the Church throughout the Territory more completely; the Twelve were called upon to visit every part of the Territory and organize it, which they have done. There are now twenty different Stakes fully organized with their Presidents and Counselors, with their High Councils, with Bishops and their Counselors, who operate as common judges in Israel, and with High Priests, Seventies, Elders, and the lesser Priesthood, that they may administer in all things in their several Stakes under the direction of the Twelve. As was remarked this morning, the Church never since the day of its organization was so perfectly organized as it is to-day. What has this been done for? Is it to place some men in positions of honor or emolument? No, but it, is to organize the Church and Kingdom of God according to the pattern that exists in the heavens, that we may be prepared to comply in all things with the ordinances of God, for, as we are told "In the ordinances, 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."

      It is expected that these Presidents of Stakes be full of the Holy Ghost and the power of God, that they feel and realize that they are the servants of Jehovah, engaged in his work, and that be will require at their hands an account of their stewardships. It is necessary also that the High Councils and the Bishops act in the same way, together with the High Priests, Seventies, Elders, and all those of the Aaronic Priesthood, and that all operate together in the fear of God, for his eye is over you, and he expects you to work righteousness and purge the Church from iniquity, and teach the people correct principles and lead them in the paths of life. This is what God requires at your hands.

      Hence, while we are looking at these things and are engaged in these organizations, there are other things necessarily connected therewith. There has been a feeling working gradually upon the minds of the Saints that many could not comprehend, nor tell where it came from, and that is to build Temples. President Young, the Twelve and the people generally have felt drawn out in their feelings with an almost unaccountable desire for the accomplishment of this object; and why? Can you tell me the reason? It is very difficult sometimes to explain some of these matters to the human mind. You heard this morning about Moses appearing in the Temple at Kirtland, committing to Joseph Smith the Keys of the Gathering Dispensation, over which Moses presided anciently, and over which he presides to-day. Unless those keys had been restored and you had partaken of that influence and spirit, would you have been here to-day? No, you would not. When the Gospel went forth among the people, after the appearing of Moses in the Temple, and the committing of the Keys of the Gathering, when you Latter-day Saints received the Gospel of baptism for remission of sins and the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, you also received the spirit of the gathering. You Elders before me to-day might have preached until your tongues had cleaved to the roof of your mouth, but if the Spirit of God had not accompanied your administration in this regard, you could have accomplished nothing of any worth. At the time this messenger came, there appeared another, even Elijah, whose mission was to turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest (says the Lord) I come and smite the earth with a curse. He committed these keys. But before they were committed, what was done in the Temple? Did we baptize for the dead there? No, we did not. Why? Because the keys were not given. When they were given and afterwards when the Temple was built in Nauvoo, then that spirit accompanied it, and we began to feel after our fathers behind the vail, and they likewise began to feel after their children. Brother Woodruff, who has been ministering in the St. George Temple, could relate to you if he had the time, many things of great importance, associated with these matters. Suffice it to say that the purposes of God pertaining to the human family, which he had in his mind before this world rolled into existence, or the morning stars sang together for joy, all have to be accomplished in the salvation of the living and in the redemption of the dead. These things you are acquainted with: it is not necessary for me to talk much upon these subjects. But I merely wish to refer to the spirit and influence and power that have operated upon the Saints, and which are operating upon them throughout the length and breadth of this Territory. That comes from the Priesthood which existed before; it comes because the keys of that Priesthood have again been restored to man. What is the result? Why, a desire to build Temples. What for? That we may administer therein in those ordinances in which they and we are so greatly interested. You heard through brother Woodruff how many more administrations there had been for the dead than for the living. This is because Elijah has been here and has delivered the keys that turn the hearts of the children to the fathers, and we are beginning to feel after them. Hence we are building a Temple here, one in Sanpete, another in Cache Valley, and we have one already built in St. George, all of which I think will be quite creditable buildings, which the Lord and holy angels will accept. Do we devote our labor and our means? Yes, we do; and it is this spirit which rests upon us that is prompting us to do it, and it will not let us rest until these things are done. Why? Because the keys of the Priesthood have brought us in connection with the Priesthood in the heavens, of which we are a part, belonging to the Church of the First Born, whose names are written in heaven. They are interested in their children, whose children are our fathers. We have been called together for the purpose, among other things, of operating with them in this work; for they without us are not made perfect, as the Scripture tells us. Therefore it is necessary that we should be here, building Temples and ministering therein, that their seed and posterity may be hunted up and looked after. We without them cannot be made perfect, for we need the help and assistance and the power of God to sustain and guide and direct us in our labors and administrations.

      This is the thing Prest. Young has been engaged in with all his might, mind and strength; this is the thing my brethren of the Twelve have been engaged in, and what we are engaged in to-day. This is the thing that all Israel ought to be engaged in, for we are living only for a short time here, and by and by we shall pass away, as our President has done; but it will only be to associate with another Priesthood, or the same, if you please, in the eternal worlds, for the one is combined and united with the other. The Priesthood that has lived before, and that which lives now, are eternal, and administer in time and in eternity; and the principles which God has revealed to us draw aside the curtains of the eternal worlds, giving us a glimpse within the vail, where Christ, our Forerunner, has gone. We are gathered together, "one of a city and two of a family," as the Prophet said they should be. And he says, 'I' will bring you to Zion." What will he do with them when he has brought them there? "I will give them pastors after my own heart, which shall feed them with knowledge and understanding." Again, "Saviors shall come up on Mount Zion, to judge the Mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Lord's." Some talk about empires and kingdoms being built up by man. This is the Lord's kingdom and not man's. The Lord is our God, he is our king and our lawgiver, and he shall rule over us; and we will seek for and obtain his help and power.

      Saviors shall come up on Mount Zion, say the Scriptures. What is a Savior? One who saves another, is it not? How could any man save people if he knew not how, and how could he know except the Lord teach him? The world often finds fault with us. There are no greater benefactors to the world in existence than the Latter-day Saints are. There are no persons who have done more for the benefit of mankind, according to their number, than this people have. President Young, who is dead, and a number of others who have passed away, as well as the Twelve and thousands of others who still tarry, have traveled the length and breadth of the earth, without purse or scrip, to preach the glad tidings of salvation which heaven revealed to them. Do you find anybody else that has done it, or that is doing it, outside of this Church? No, such a thing is unheard of. We have gone forth, as the Scriptures say, bearing precious seed, and have returned again rejoicing, bringing our sheaves with us. Is this anything to hurt anybody? Does it interfere in the least with the rights of any? No. Are there any in this city, who are not of us, that can show that their religious rights, privileges, or principles have been interfered with or infringed upon by the Latter-day Saints, or by the authorities of this Church? No, not one. If I knew of any that were in any way being interfered with, I would be the first to protect them. These are our feelings towards the world, and to those who say all manner of evil against us.

      We have expended millions upon millons in gathering the poor to this land, by what is known as the Perpetual Emigration Fund. We may ask why did this people in these valleys expend such large sums? Was it because they were sending for relatives and friends? No, but because they were of the family of Christ, the sons and daughters of God, and desired to come to Zion. We have sent as much as five hundred teams at a time to help out the poor. You have done it, and many of you have either sent your sons or gone yourselves, and you have carried provisions for them as well as bringing them here. I do not think there is very much harm in that. And what then? When these same men who had received the message of truth in far off lands, and who had been gathered here, had been further instructed, we have sent them back again to the nations from whence they came, to proclaim to their kindred and friends, to their tongue and nation, what God had done for them. After fulfilling their missions they return again. What to do? To slumber and sleep away their time? No, but to continue their work in reclaiming the waste places, and to build Temples in the interest of humanity, as the friends of God and of the world.

      There are, to-day, engaged working on our Temple, one hundred and fifty men. What for? That a place may be found that will be acceptable to God, and in which we may administer, in the name of the Lord, for our dead as well as for our living. We do not want to do this grudgingly, but with willing hearts, desiring to operate, with the Priesthood behind the vail, in building up and establishing the kingdom of God upon this earth. These men, after preaching and returning again, can then go into these Temples and minister in them as representatives of the nations from whence they came, and in the interest of these nations we are operating. Will God be pleased with this work? Yes, if we continue faithful in well doing. There are not less, I presume, than 500 men at work on the Temples now being erected in this Territory, and probably more than that. This seems foolish to the outside world; but we know in whom we have believed, and we know the work in which we are engaged—and who is injured by it? None.

      Some of our brethren feel sometimes that these things draw heavily upon them. Of course they do; and God expects to try us, to see what we are made of, and see whether the right ring of metal is in us or not, and whether we are prepared to stand up to the rack and walk forth in the name of Israel's God. Is it the desire to oppress anybody? No, never, nothing of that kind. In speaking on this, I would say to the Presidents of Stakes, and to the Bishops, see that there is no oppression of any kind, or anything approaching arbitrary measures, or anybody interfered with; let everything be done righteously, properly, and voluntarily. Instead of opressing the poor, feed them. Instead of taking from the naked, clothe them. Be merciful to the widow and the fatherless and the orphan, and all who may be in distress; dry up their tears, and pour balm into their wounds, and be full of compassion, and kindness, and the love of God, and let it bubble and flow from you like a river of life. These are the feelings that ought to exist among the Saints; nothing like oppression or wrong of any kind should find place in our hearts.

      Let me pass from this to another thing which was touched upon this morning, which is, but which I really wish was not, true. Many of these my brethren have sent out their teams, and have subscribed their means to send for the poor, bringing them to these valleys. According to the provisions of the Perpetual Emigration Fund, the people who are thus assisted are expected to repay the means advanced to them when they have earned it, so that others may be helped with the same money, and thus that the fund in its operations, as was desired, may be perpetual. I am told that there is upwards of a million dollars of indebtedness to this fund to-day. This is a sad reflection upon the gratitude of men thus assisted. I am afraid the heavens will not smile upon such proceedings, and that God will not sanction it. It is time we waked up and attended to these obligations and duties, and felt that there was somebody else in the world besides our own selves; and if we have been assisted that we will be at least honest enough to meet that amount, and others who need its assistance may find it through the proper channel.

      We are engaged in this place in building a Tabernacle, in which we can meet during the Winter season. We do not call upon you outside brethren to assist us in this undertaking, because it is local and belongs to this Stake. This is a matter that was designed by President Young before his death; and we have been desirous, as brother Cannon said this morning, to carry out the views of our venerated President, as far as we can. We have commenced to build this house, we want to put it up without delay. In this, as in every other matter, we do not wish anybody to contribute his means or labor towards it, unless he feels free to do it; for there are plenty that will do it willingly, and it will be built; and we shall have a nice, comfortable place to worship in through the Winter, and it will serve the Priesthood for all necessary purposes, as well as the public. The building will be 116 x 64 feet inside, with gallery all around. It will be a little larger than was at first contemplated; and we have also departed a little from the original intention respecting the kind of building material. Instead of adobe, we have concluded to use rock. I now invite the people of this Stake and the masons especially to come forward and exert their energies, and let us do the work. It will be done by voluntary donations and by utilizing labor tithing. Some people may say, Why do it by voluntary donations? Why not use the tithing for all such purposes? Is not that sufficient? Yes, if all of you strictly paid it. but then you do not all do this, and consequently we have to resort to other means. But, as I have before said, in this and everything else, we do not wish to press the people, nor place any in unpleasant positions; but as we sometimes sing, it's "all free grace and all free will."

      I wish to make a few remarks in relation to what we term the United Order. We are united to-day with God, and with the holy Priesthood that existed before us, with Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant, and with the ancient Prophets and Apostles and men of God, in building up the Zion of God upon the earth. They, in their different spheres and callings, are operating with us, and we with them, and the whole thing is a grand Co-operative Society; and everything we do here should be with the view of uniting our earthly interests, that we may be one in things temporal and one in things spiritual, one on the earth and one with those in the heavens, helping with our united efforts to roll on the Kingdom of God according to his purposes, and not according to our erratic notions. In speaking of these things I would address a few words to our sisters of the Relief and of the Mutual Improvement Societies. You are performing a good work in Zion. I am pleased with the paper you publish, and have been very much interested in the reports you have made, in witnessing the energy and zeal you display in endeavoring to introduce home-manufactured goods and articles of different kinds, in looking after the poor and necessitous, and in trying to elevate the community generally. To our Young Men's Mutual Improvement Societies I say, God bless you, and all who are operating in the interest of Zion, forever.

      Now let me say to parents, let us see that our youth are properly cared for and taught, and that honesty, truthfulness, virtue and good morals are inculcated, that. they may grow in the faith of the Gospel and in the fear of God, to be useful in their day, to carry on the great work in which we are engaged. We already perceive a great improvement among our young men in their administrations; they are stepping forth, manifesting an excellent spirit, and many of them promise to become mighty men in Israel, who will roll forth the work when we get through. I will say to the Presidents of Stakes, encourage and foster these institutions; and to all the people I would say, love God and fear him and keep his commandments. Be honest with yourselves, honest before God. Be virtuous, be truthful and full of integrity, and fear the Lord your God in your hearts, and his blessing will be with you, and his Spirit will attend you, and your generations after you, worlds without end. Amen.

 

ELDER WILFORD WOODRUFF

addressed the Conference: Every member of the Church should be full of revelation for the guidance of his own affairs. Every Elder in Israel who presided in any public position, should have revelation so that all his acts might be in accordance with the mind and will of God. God would fit and qualify any man holding the priesthood to honor his particular calling, if he lived as he should. We should build these Temples, for there were thousands behind the vail waiting to be delivered from their prison house, and the Latter-day Saints were the only people that could aid them. He called upon the Presidents of Stakes and Bishops to look well after the labors of the sisters, for they had done a good work, and needed encouragement. He wished the authorities to urge on all the sisters to unite themselves with these Relief Societies. Those who contemplated going to St. George for their blessings in the Temple should not forget to take with them their offerings, for there were many engaged in that Temple day by day without any remuneration whatever. He urged the planting out of mulberry trees, the fostering of Young Men's Mutual Improvement Societies, and the sustaining of home publications.

PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR

Adjourned the Conference until the 6th of April, 1878, the place to be designated hereafter.

            The Choir sang --

Mozart's Gloria.

            Closing benediction by Elder Orson Pratt.

            Thus ended one of the most interesting and encouraging conferences ever held in the Tabernacle. There was an unusually large attendance from all parts of the Territory.

            The singing of the admirably trained choir, under the leadership of Professor George Careless, and the excellent performances on the organ, by Brother J. J. Daynes, added much to the interest and pleasure of the occasion.

GEORGE GODDARD,
Clerk of General Conference.

            The foregoing is only a brief synopsis of the proceedings. further particulars will be given and the discourses published in full.

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1878

6-8 Apr 1878, 48th Annual General Conference, SLC Tabernacle.
[Deseret News Weekly, 27:148, 4/10/78, p 4; Millennial Star 40:278, 294, 308, 324]

[6 Apr, 10 am]

[DNW 27:148, 4/10/78, p 4]

FORTY-EIGHTH

ANNUAL CONFERENCE

_____

            In accordance with an adjournment made at the last semi-annual Conference, held in this Tabernacle, the Forth-eighth general Annual conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints convened at the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, this 6th day of April, 1878, at 10 a.m. President John Taylor presiding.

            Present on the stand:

            Of the Twelve Apostles -- John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Canon, Brigham Young, Joseph F. Smith.

            Counselors to the Twelve -- John W. Young and D. H. Wells.

            Patriarch -- John Smith.

            Of the first Seven Presidents of Seventies -- Joseph Young, Albert P. Rockwood, John Van Cott and Horace S. Eldredge.

            Of the Presidency of the Salt Lake Stake of Zion -- Angus M. Cannon, David O. Calder and Joseph E. Taylor.

            Of the Presidency of the High Priests' Quorum of this Stake of Zion -- Elias Morris and Edward Snelgrove.

            Of the Presidency of the Bishopric of the Church -- Edward Hunter and L. W. Hardy.

            The weather being unusually fine, there was a large representation from every Stake of Zion throughout the Territory.

            Conference was called to order by President John Taylor.

            The choir sang,

Earth with her ten thousand flowers,
Air with all its beams and showers.

            Prayer by Elder Orson Pratt.

            The choir sang,

Softly beams the sacred dawning
Of the great Millennial morn.

[Elder Wilford Woodruff]

            Elder WILFORD WOODRUFF said, the fact that we have a Zion, a church, a kingdom, and a gospel, should fill our hearts with thankfulness and gratitude that we are connected with such blessings, privileges and responsibilities in connection therewith. Reflecting back for nearly half a century, he was sensibly reminded of the few that now remain of the number who took an active and prominent part in laying the foundation of this great latter-day work. This church and kingdom was first organized through the ministration of holy angels from heaven, and had been governed since that time by revelation from God. The stick of Ephraim, which is the Book of Mormon, and the stick of Judah, which is the Bible, are standing testimonies to this generation of the truth of the work of God in these last days. The prophecies in each of these books either have been, or will be, literally fulfilled to the very letter, notwithstanding the prevalence of the unbelief that so universally exists among this generation.

            He then urged on the Latter-day Saints as a community to attend faithfully to the building of temples, that the ordinances of the gospel may be performed for those who are dead. God requires this at the hands of this people, and He will abundantly sustain and bless them in their efforts. Spoke of the inestimable blessings that God vouchsafed to the thousands and tens of thousands of Latter-day Saints when they first embraced the gospel in their own native lands, hence they are a people who have faith in God and will accomplish the great work entrusted to their care. And if we can only obtain eternal life we shall secure the greatest gift that God can bestow on his children. He closed by blessing the whole congregation, and giving a short sketch of his recent visit to St. George and his labor in the Temple.

[Wilford Woodruff]

[DNW 27:226, 5/15/78, p 2; JD 19:295]

DISCOURSE

BY ELDER WILFORD WOODRUFF,

Delivered at the Annual Conference, Saturday a.m., April 6, 1878.

_____

REPORTED BY GEO. F. GIBBS.

_____

      The very fact that we have a people, that we have a Zion, that we have a kingdom, that we have a Church and a Priesthood which is connected with the heavens, and which has power to move the heavens, and that we know that the heavens are communicating with us, directing the performance of this great latter-day work in which the Latter-day Saints are engaged, this very fact alone should fill our hearts with humility before the Lord our God, and it should continually remind us in our reflections and feelings of the responsibility we are under both to Him and to one another, and also of our dependence upon him for all the blessings we enjoy of a spiritual as well as a temporal nature.

      The prayer offered up by brother Pratt filled my mind with reflections of the past. Almost half a century has expired since the Prophet of God organized this Church upon the earth; but he and most of the men who labored prominently with him, in laying the foundation of this Church, are not with us to-day, their voices are hushed in death, they have finished their earthly work, having labored a series of years, and are now the other side of the vail. There are but two of the first Quorum of the Twelve with us in the flesh, and only two of the second Quorum. And this speaks in loud and forcible language, at least it does to me, that what we have to do in the interest of the great cause of salvation, we should perform it faithfully and diligently, making the very best use of the few remaining days we have yet to labor in the flesh.

      While I refer to the absence of our brethren whose works remain and whose memories are cherished, I am fully conscious this morning that we who are left are not laboring alone, nor particularly for our own benefit, in a temporal point of view; but I realize that we are called and ordained of God to labor with him and the heavenly hosts, in the accomplishment of his purposes, the bringing forth and establishing of his Zion and Kingdom in the earth, and all that has been designed to be consummated in this the dispensation of the fullness of times. I also sense that when I and my brethren who still remain shall pass away, we shall go as others have done—we shall not take this world or any part of it with us. When Joseph Smith died, Nauvoo remained, he did not take it with him; when President Brigham Young died, Salt Lake City still remained, and when we join them we shall leave behind us the things of time, even as Jesus did himself who was the founder of the earth. This truth itself should incite the Latter-day Saints to reflection, it should indelibly impress upon our memories, the fact that we are working for something far greater, in real worth, than dollars and cents, houses and lands, and this world's goods. We have been gathered here in our present condition by the commandment and by the inspiration of the Lord, to continue the work that others commenced, and like them we must improve the time in doing what is required of us, working faithfully for God and his Kingdom while the day lasts.

      I know, you know, and all Israel knows who have received the fullness of the everlasting Gospel in this last dispensation of God to man, that this is the work of God and not of man; we understand this perfectly. This Church and Kingdom has been organized by the administration of angels from God. The organization of this Church has been governed and controlled by revelation and upon no other principle, and what has already been accomplished since our existence, as a church, reveals the handiwork of God, for no man could have done what has been done unless God were with him. I rejoice to have the privilege of meeting with so many of my brethren and sisters, and that I have the privilege of bearing testimony to the divinity of this latter-day work, and of the principles of salvation revealed from God to man. The scene I behold this morning, and that which I behold in traveling through the extent of this Territory, speaks to me in very loud language that it is in fulfilment of the designs of God, and the revelations of Jesus Christ, which are recorded not only in the Bible, or on the stick of Judah, but also in the Book of Mormon, or stick of Joseph in the hands of Ephraim, as well as in the New Testament, and those revelations of modern date as those of ancient time, have been sealed with the blood of him who brought them forth, and this testimony therefore is in three to all the world. The Lord is not trifling with this generation, neither is he trifling with the Saints or with the world of mankind. During the last 48 years the Gospel has been preached to this generation, and this work will continue preaching to the Gentiles, until the Lord directs otherwise. The harvest is ripe, and he, the Lord, said, through the Prophet Joseph, he that would thrust in the sickle and reap was called of God. And some have continued to labor faithfully almost from the organization of this Church to the present time—almost half a century. I think it a great blessing and privilege to stand in the midst of the people of God in this age of the world to preach the Gospel of Jesus, and to labor to build up Zion, in obedience to his commandments, and to carry out his purposes in the day and age in which I live. We, as a whole people, should certainly exercise our faith in God and in the revelations, more especially those that immediately refer to our present condition; no matter where they are found, in any of the records of divine truth. The Lord has said unto us, through Joseph Smith, that it matters not whether he speaks unto the children of men by his own voice or by the ministrations of angels, or whether by the voice of his servants, that it is all the same, it is his word, his mind and his will to those to whomsoever it comes; and that although the heavens and the earth pass away, not one jot or tittle of his word shall remain unfulfilled.

      I am a believer in this revelation and also in the records which are left for us to pursue, the inspired words of ancient as well as modern Prophets; and I also believe that they will have their fulfilment in the due time of the Lord, and that no power on earth can prevent it. and I do not believe there has been a revelation given from God to man, from the days of father Adam to this hour, but what has had its fulfilment, or will have, as fast as time will admit; and we are every day of our lives making history, and we are also fulfiling the prophecies of Isaiah and many other ancient men of God, who were permitted in vision to see our day.

      I know we live in a day of infidelity; I know that darkness covers the earth and gross darkness the minds of the people; I know that the Lord is angry with the wicked, and withholding his Spirit from the inhabitants of the earth; I know that light has come into the world, and that men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. But as a servant of the living God I will say that, notwithstanding all the unbelief of this wicked generation—the Christian, the Jewish and the pagan world, together with the combined efforts of the devil and wicked men, the fulfilment of the purposes of God in their times and seasons cannot be frustrated. These volumes of revelation are written on the pages of divine truth as in letters of fire, and they will have their fulfilment whether men believe or disbelieve, for they are the words of God.

      It is a great work, an almighty work; it is a work different from that of any dispensation which God has given to man. When I look upon these Latter-day Saints I cannot help contemplating our calling and the labor required at our hands, and, when I am reminded of the account that we have all got to give before the judgment seat of God for the use we make of our own time and talents, and the gifts of God and the holy Priesthood, and the work of our God which has been committed to us, I feel to ask, What manner of men ought we to be. Our souls should be open to the building up of this Kingdom of God, and we should continue with increased diligence to rear towards heaven these Temples of our God, the foundation of which we have laid and commenced to build upon, so that all Israel who dwell here may enter into them and attend to the ordinances of the house of God. And I again say to the Latter-day Saints, this work the God of Israel requires at your hands. This requirement is not confined to the Twelve, the President of Stakes and the Bishops, but it is binding upon every man who has entered into covenant with the Lord our God, and I trust that one and all will willingly share this responsibility, and not for a moment permit this work to drag or appear laborious to perform.

      I thank the Lord my God that my ears have been saluted with the sound of the Gospel, and that I have had the privilege of reading the revelations of God to us, and I know that, as an individual, I am held responsible for my duty to Him. We have a harvest to reap both sides of the vail. We have already done considerable work on this side, by way of preaching the Gospel to the nations of the earth, as commanded to do by God. Well do I remember the early experience of the first Elders of the Church, how we traveled afoot for sands of miles, without purse or scrip, with valise in hand, and many times having to beg our bread, from door to door, in order to impart to the people a knowledge of the Gospel. Our garments are clear from the blood of this generation, and the testimony of these Elders will yet rise in judgment against this generation to condemn them. Notwithstanding the unbelief of the Christian world, and notwithstanding the warfare that may be waged against God and his Christ, Zion will be redeemed and his kingdom will be established never more to be thrown down. He holds the nations in his own hands, and he also has his Saints in his holy keeping, and he will continue to guide and direct and sustain his people, until they consummate all unto which they have been ordained.

      Look at these valleys! When we came here in 1847, they were barren and desolate, without the least sign or mark of civilization. Today our Territory is filled with villages, towns and orchards, and the land is brought under a good state of cultivation, inhabited by a civilized race. Who are they? Sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty; they are a people that have been, as corn sifted in a sieve, among the Gentile nations, and called out by the proclamation of the everlasting Gospel. The Lord chose a boy from the humble walks of life, and endowed him with intelligence and power to commence this great work, and also to send forth others throughout this and to other nations bearing the message of life, and this people opened their hearts to receive it, and were baptized in water for remission of sins, and received the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost. They have been born of the Spirit, and they have seen the kingdom of God, and they have received ordination in order to enter into it. And when they enter into it, they have the spirit of it, and this makes the difference between the Latter-day Saints and the former-day Saints. No man can see the kingdom of God unless he is born of the Spirit; and this is wherein these Latter-day Saints have faith in God, and observe the signs of the times, and trust in him by this principle. Their prayers have ascended in the ears of the Lord of Sabbaoth, asking for things which they stood in need of; and he has answered our prayers and he has continued to sustain us until the present time. I ask, my brethren and sisters, will the Lord withhold now his hand, will he now close the heavens, withdrawing the power by which we have been upheld? No, be will not; his hand will continue over us if we be true to him and the laws he has given unto us. He has decreed before the foundation of this world, before the fall of man, that in the dispensation of the fulness of times, he would gather unto himself all things, both things which are in heaven and things on the earth. He is doing it, although the world generally does not know it.

      Now, brethren and sisters, I do not wish myself to occupy all your time this morning, but I want to say to you that our position, our calling, our religion embrace the noble work of God, both temporal and spiritual, which rests upon us. We have to go forth with our hands and build up Zion. Zion will be built up; Zion will be redeemed, and she will arise and shine and put on bet beautiful garments; she will break from off her neck her yoke, and she will be clothed with the glory of our God. Zion has been sold for naught; she will be redeemed without money; she will arise in her beauty and glory, as the Prophets of God have seen her; she will extend her borders and strengthen her stakes, and the God of heaven will comfort her, inasmuch as we will unite together to carry out his purposes.

      I see nothing to tempt me or you to turn aside from the work given us to do. The Prophets have predicted that every weapon that is formed against Zion shall be broken, and this is in accordance with the revelations of God to us. He will continue this work and direct its onward course, but he expects us to continue to reclaim the waste places, and to continue to build Temples and also to impart of our substance. And I wish all Israel to understand that when we impart of our substance to build Temples that we do not do it to benefit the Lord at all, he had his endowments a long time before we were born, and also passed through his probation. We are his children, he wishes to exalt us back to his presence, and he knows very well we are obliged to walk in the same path and receive the same ordinances in order to inherit the same glory that surrounds him. And when we erect Temples in which to perform ordinances for the living and the dead, we do it to benefit our own blessed selves. I want salvation, I wish to inherit eternal life, I wish to get back to the presence of God from whence I came, when I have finished my probation in the flesh. And I believe that I desire nothing in this respect but what you also wish. Then I know that it requires my diligence and my constant labor and study, the little time I have to spend in the flesh, to do all I can to build up Zion and to establish the Church and the kingdom of God upon the earth. If we can only obtain eternal lives we shall attain to the greatest of God's gifts to man. Our Savior, our Heavenly Father, the angel Gabriel, Peter, James and John, Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, are not coming back to build our Temples for us, they are not coming to settle new country and open up new roads, plant out our trees, build up and beautify this land, this is our part of the work, and we have got it to do, working while we live, and when we go away we shall move on exactly as others have done, leaving our houses, our gardens, our flocks and herds, and all our earthly interests behind us. And when we go to the spirit world and our eyes are opened on eternal lives, we shall all marvel at the way in which our lives have been spent. There is a veil over all the earth, it is ordained of God that it should be so, and the fact of it being so will prove all of his children whether we will abide in his covenant even unto death or not. And those who are not willing to abide in their covenant unto the end for the building up of the kingdom of God, are not worthy of a place with God and with the Savior and those who bare sealed their testimony with their blood.

      I pray the Lord to bless you and all those who may attend this Conference, and also the brethren who may address you; and trust that our prayers may continually ascend into the ears of the Lord on behalf of Zion and her speedy redemption.

      I will say before closing, that I have just returned from St. George, where I have been laboring in the Temple. The work of God continues there; as a general thing we have as much labor as the Temple is capable of sustaining. The spirit of the work does not lag. And I can safely add that just as quick as the people get the Temple done at this place, the way will be opened before them, they will feel the responsibility of attending to the work so essentially necessary to be done on behalf of those who have lived and passed away without having had the privilege of receiving the blessings of the Gospel; and as their time and attention will be occupied in this direction will they perceive the importance as well as the magnitude of the work. There are many to-day who stand in need of this assistance, and as I have often said, so say I again to this body of Latter-day Saints, that this labor devolves upon us, and God requires it at our hands. The Prophet Joseph may turn the keys in the spirit world, and he and those engaged with him may preach to the spirits in prison, but they can not baptize them nor confirm them, nor administer offices of the endowment. Some person or persons dwelling in the flesh must attend to this part of the work for them; for it takes just as much to save a dead man who never received the Gospel as a living man. And all those who have passed away without the Gospel have the right to expect somebody in the flesh to perform this work for them, Amen.

 

[Elder Lorenzo Snow]

            Elder LORENZO SNOW next addressed the conference. We are dependent for information upon the Holy Ghost. We may be a little neglectful in availing ourselves of the privileges within our reach when we thus meet together. The gospel opens up to our minds a great and glorious future of exaltations to those who are faithful and abide the conditions, and perform the works necessary under the spirit of revelation, which can only be acquired by a life of purity and devotion to the things of God. A knowledge of God and his Son Jesus Christ is salvation. And the labor imposed upon us by the gospel is of a two fold nature -- temporal and spiritual. Such is the character of this dispensation, and the blending of the two together embraces every duty that constitutes the life of a Latter-day Saint. These labors should be characterized by union, according to the revelations of heaven, so that our efforts may be in accordance with the mind and will of God.

            No greater joy can be had by the Latter-day Saints, than by acting upon the principles of the United Order, as revealed in the Doctrine and Covenants, and under the guidance of the servants of God who have been appointed under our recent organization, who if they are humble and filled with the Holy Ghost will labor for the good of the people. If the Latter-day Saints ever become a greater and more mighty people than the rest of the nations of the earth, it will not be on account of superior numbers, but on account of our superior principles, and purity of life made manifest day by day. No men occupying a prominence among the Saints can enjoy the confidence and esteem of those over whom they preside, unless their self-sacrificing and unselfish spirit is made manifest for the good of the people. Many are now needed in the various settlements of the Saints, to lead out in the interests of the people, to open up and establish home industries, build school houses, meeting houses, &c. There is a stream of constant enjoyment in laboring for the interest of others, and accomplishing the great work that God has placed upon us.

[Elder B. Young]

            Elder B. YOUNG bore testimony to the truth. He was satisfied that God was blessing this people notwithstanding our weaknesses. He regretted that infidelity was existing among some of our youth, and wished that a greater bond of union was in our midst. He deprecated the principle of aggrandizement, to the injury of the people. After a few brief and energetic remarks of a practical application, he prayed that God would bless the Saints during this Conference.

            The choir sang the anthem --

Resound his Praise.

            Conference adjourned till two o'clock.

            Benediction by Counselor D. H. WELLS.

_____

[6 Apr, 2 pm]

[DNW 27:148, 4/10/78, p 4]

April 6th, 2 p. m.

            The choir sang,

Come all ye saints who dwell on earth
Your cheerful voices raise.

            Prayer by Elder George Q. Cannon.

            The choir sang,

Hark, listen to the trumpeters,
They sound to volunteers.

[Elder Franklin D. Richards]

            Elder FRANKLIN D. RICHARDS said he shared in joy and gratitude with all true hearted saints for the common blessings that surrounded us to-day. We are not afflicted with the sound of war in our midst or on our borders, neither are we afflicted with a scantiness of daily brad, as in some parts of the earth; none of our people have died from want of the common necessaries of life.

            He then traced the benefits that thousands in the Territory had realized through our Perpetual Emigration Fund, and those who have been most faithful in paying up their indebtedness to the fund, and the most prompt in paying their tithing, have been among the most blest and prospered of the whole community. In regard to the laws of the land, there are no people on the face of the earth who can and do more sacredly observe the laws of our country than the Latter-day Saints; and no person could point out a single infraction until the Congress of the united States passed a law, making penal the observance of a commandment which God had given to His people; hence we were driven to decide whom we should obey, God or man, and we most unequivocally preferred to obey God rather than man, and leave the issue in His hands. Notwithstanding the observance of this law it has cost some of the best blood on the earth. We are still determined to make God our friend, and trust Him in the fiture as we have in the past.

            He then spoke of the trouble, and calamities that hang over this nation unless they repent of their sins and political chicanery, and seek after the favor and blessing of God by doing right and sustaining correct principles and practices.

            Spoke of the goodly proportion of our population that consisted of children, being one-third at least of our entire people. How important, therefore, it is that they should be taught in their early days to fear God and keep His commandments, that they may be able to resist the evil influences which they will have sooner or later to contend with. Union was next dwelt upon, as one of the vital principles of our holy religion, and which should be thoroughly inculcated in the minds of the young.

            He was pleased to find from yesterday's meeting that a brighter feeling was made manifest towards our co-operative Institution. While many large concerns had been broken up through the pressure of the times, this institution had retained its existence, and announced yesterday a dividend of 2½ per cent. He trusted that every one's confidence towards that institution would increase, and the whole people sustain the same, that it may continue to be a power and blessing in our midst.

[Elder Erastus Snow]

            Elder ERASTUS SNOW next addressed the congregation. Of all people that dwell on the face of the earth, none are under greater obligations to God than the Latter-day Saints. We have representatives here from nearly every nation under heaven, and we see the various races in this Territory mingling together with their various phases and characteristics. It is not a new gospel or new Christianity that God has revealed, but a fuller development of what existed before. The Christian people of Europe and America have so widely strayed from the simple principles of Christianity as taught in the primitive age, that as a consequence, infidelity stalks through the land. They have lost the keys of power, and it became necessary that God should again reveal those keys in these the latter days. The idea of od having neither body, parts nor passions, was without either reason or Scripture to sustain it. godliness is not mystery, except to the ignorant; all is simple and easy to comprehend to the mind that is enlightened by the spirit of God. all things are governed by law and are comparatively simple when understood. The crude ores in the mountains, after being manipulated by the science of chemistry, are converted into useful articles of daily life. Our spirits are the express image of our tabernacles, and, united together, the Scriptures inform us, are the ex-duties of our religion, thus we may become a kingdom of priests, and entitled to all the blessings and glories that belong to the Holy Priesthood. Our course is onward; let us take courage, and do right, and when the reign of righteousness sets in, whatever glory and happiness we may expect we shall enjoy, if we only continue to faithfully keep the commandments of God.

            The choir sang an anthem,

Sing unto God.

            Conference was adjourned until 10 o'clock Sunday morning.

            Benediction by Elder C. C. RICH.

_____

[7 Apr, 10 am]

[DNW 27:148, 4/10/78, p 4]

SECOND DAY.

_____

Sunday, April 7th, 10 a.m.

            Conference was called to order by President John Taylor.

            The choir sang:

The rising sun has chased the night,
And brought again the cheerful light.

            Prayer by Elder BRIGHAM YOUNG.

            The choir sang:

To Him who made the world,
The sun, the moon, the stars.

[Elder Orson Pratt]

            Elder ORSON PRATT read an extract from the Book of Mormon on the subject of "pruning the vineyard for the last time." The servant spoken of in that parable was the great prophet and seer of these last days, Joseph Smith. The words of the parable were the words of an ancient prophet who lived on this continent. Forty-eight years ago, yesterday, the church of Christ was organized with six members, and since that period God has revealed from time to time, a more perfect organization, as the number of its members increased and the necessities of their condition required. Apostles, High Priests, Seventies, Bishops, &c., were ordained to regulate the temporal and spiritual affairs of the church, that no division of feeling or sentiment should exist, but that union should characterize the whole body politic.

            He then defined the duties of the different orders of priesthood, and the responsibilities that attach to their particular position.

            This more perfect organization as it now exists, is to fill the purposes and designs of the Almighty, and to bring the Church into one compact body, where union in every sense of the word may abound in the midst of the Saints of the Most High. The union among the people of God in these mountains, as contemplated by our present organization, infringes on no law, and could not consistently be found fault with by any of the inhabitants of this continent. There is no subject, whether of a spiritual, political, or any other nature, in which union of interest and purpose will not prove a great blessing among the people. That is what we are aiming after. He wished the whole world to understand our true position, for we are striving to become one in politics as well as in religion, having the good of the whole people in view, and using no other means but what is strictly constitutional.

[Orson Pratt]

[DNW 27:306, 6/19/78, p 2; JD 19:330]

DISCOURSE

BY ELDER ORSON PRATT,

At the Annual Conference, Sunday Morning, April, 7th, 1878.

_____

REPORTED BY GEO. F. GIBBS.

_____

      I will call the attention of this large I assembly to the latter part of a very important and extensive parable, recorded in the Book of Mormon.

      The speaker read from the Book of Mormon, commencing st the 128th page.

      I have read these words of the ancient, prophet, to whom it seemed good unto the Lord to reveal his purposes and designs in regard to the in. habitants of this earth, by means of the trees of the vineyard, calling the house of Israel, the literal descendants of Israel, the natural trees of his vineyard; and the other nations, whom we term Gentiles, as the wild branches of the wild olive tree.

      I have read only a small portion of the latter part of this extensive parable, that part which more particularly relates to the great work which we, as Latter-day Saints, are now performing in the earth.

      Forty-eight years ago, yesterday, after this Book had been printed making known this great parable to the people, the Church arose, consisting of only six individuals. From that time until the present, as the Church has grown and extended its borders, the Lord through his servants, has been organizing his Priesthood. We speak of the Church being organized on the 6th day of April, 1830, and of it consisting then of only six members. No one could expect that with that very small number there could be a very perfect organization. But so far as there were individuals introduced into the Church, on the day of its organization, the Lord gave a revelation concerning their duty. And after the Church had extented forth its borders, and a few hundred individuals were gathered unto it, in the year that it was organized, a still further organization took place; and it was but a few years until the Church stood forth in a more perfect organization then it had on the day of its foundation. Twelve men were called to be Apostles according to a certain prediction given some ten months before the organization of the Church. About this same period of time the first seventy elders were the sea, which perfected the organization still more. And also in those early days the High Prieshood, after the order of Melchisedec, was made manifest more fully and men were ordained to that order of priesthood. In those early days also the Lesser Priesthood, or the priesthood after the order of Aaron was made manifest more perfectly in the eyes of the people, bishops were called and their duties defined, requiring them to manage, in conjunction with the higher authorities, the temporal concerns of the Church. This organization continued to increase and grow, and become more and more perfect, untill finally, temples were built to the name of the Lord, when the duties of these various councils of priesthood were, in a greater degree, made manifest before the people. The teachings were many that were imparted in those days, and a union began to exist among the Saints of God, such as had not been known among the inhabitants of the earth for many long generations.

      After the completion of the Temple at Kirtland, and this more perfect organization had been established, the Saints of God began to increase and multiply to that extent that the Lord saw proper to place them in a country and land by themselves, where they could have a chance to enlarge their borders, to lengthen the cords of their habitation, to break forth on the left and on the right, and where there might be a majority in the land, and where they might have the privilege of serving the Lord their God, according to the dictates of their conscience.

      Thus you see our Heavenly Father has been at work among this people, and with this people, for almost one half of a century, bringing together, gathering the branches of the wild olive tree from the distant nations of the earth and grafting them in and making them, as it were, one body, on this great western hemisphere.

      You may ask, what great purpose the Lord has in thus organizing his people, year after year. The answer is, to accomplish a very important object, namely to make them like unto one body, that there may be a most perfect union from the highest officer in the Church down to the lowest member; that there may be no disunion, no division of feeling or sentiment in regard to doctrine or ordinances or in any of the principles pertaining to the Gospel of the Son of God; and that there may be no division in our political ideas and sentiments, but that a perfect oneness may exist in the heart of every male and female, from the gray headed old man down to the little child, that one feeling and one spirit may pervade the whole body, that they may be equal and bring forth the natural fruit again. That is the object; that is the reason why you behold the organization such as now exists throughout all these mountain regions. When has the Church, from its commencement exhibited what we now behold in all parts of our land—stakes of Zion having jurisdiction over every branch in the Church in these mountains, and over every family and every individual. And every one of these stakes has its presiding officer with his two councelors; and is also composed of numbers of wards over which bishops, with their counselors are appointed to preside.

      What is the duty of the presiding officers of these stakes? To see that all things under their watchcare are conducted according to the order of God, to look to the spiritual concerns first, that pertain to their stake, and to see that the high priests, the seventies, the elders, the priests, the teachers, and the deacons are all doing their respective duties, according to the requirements of the Most High; and then they act as the presiding authority and power over the bishops that may be in the several wards of their stakes, seeing also that they are in the performance of their duty, in relation to temporal matters. And then all the other authorities under these presiding officers of stakes are to see that those, under their immediate watch-care, are performing their duties, according to the laws of heaven which have been revealed for our guidance.

      When all things are in proper working order, and when every bishop is living his religion, and has the spirit of his bishopric resting upon him, and he fully understands the nature of his duties, everything in regard to temporal affairs will move like clockwork, and there will be no running down, as it were, of the clock, no deranging of the machinery, but every part will fulfil that which is required of it in relation to its particular calling, and all these various quorums of prieshood will strive to stir up the people to a oneness in regard to spiritual things; thus we keep spiritual and temporal things running parallel to each other, connected more or less together. So that the whole church becomes like unto one body, they become equal. "And the root, and the top thereof is equal." Indicating, when these thing are caried out strictly, that the branches will not have power to overrun and grow beyond the strength of the root; neither would the roots have power to outgrow the branches. The husbandmen trimmed up the trees of the vineyard, and they pruned them; or in other words, the servants of the Lord teach the people, and instruct them, so that they may become one in all things. What! become one in our views in regard to politics? Why not? One may say, If you undertake to carry out such views of union in regard to political affairs, you will all vote the same ticket; there will be no division nor disunion throughout all the Church organization, and would not such a state of things be antagonistic to the genius of our American government? Wherein, I would ask, would it be contrary? Is there any principle connected with our government that would forbid us, as a people, becoming so united? Does the constitution of our country in any one particular prohibit American citizens from uniting and casting a solid vote in favor of any eligible candidate who may be regularly nominated, say for the position of President of the United States? I know of no such restriction; there is none.

      Supposing, then, that all the states of this union at the next general election, should, without one dissenting voice, conclude in their own minds to vote for one and the same individual, making him our president, what part or portion of the Constitution of our country would be violated by such a united effort? None whatever; because it is the privilege of the people to unite or divide as they may choose, there being no compulsion one way or the other.

      Which is calculated to produce the greatest good, union throughout all the states, concentrated not only upon the president, but upon the governors, and all of our political officers, or disunion and party strife. Everybody would certainly agree with me in saying that union in such matters would be the best calculated to promote the interest and common good of our government and people; that to be without a single dissenting voice in our election affairs from Maine to Texas, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, all concentrating themselves upon the officers they want, and then vote for them unanimously would be carrying out the form of the American government in its perfection. But our fathers, who framed that Great instrument of nationality—that instrument by which all classes of people are protected in their rights—provided for disunion, if the people should feel disposed to introduce it. Showing that they were permitted to dissent and vote for as many candidates as they may choose to nominate.

      But in the Church of the living God, according to the oneness required by the Lord of heaven, we should act unitedly in all things. Some may have an idea that if we are only united about some of the spiritual things of the kingdom that is all the union needed among us. I do not know of any one principle, or subject, connected with the building up and advancement of the kingdom of God upon the earth, upon which we have a right to be disunited. The law of God is of such a nature, when complied with strictly, as to unite us not only in the first principles of the Gospel—faith, repentance and baptism, and confirmation, and upon doctrine and spiritual things generally, but also in regard to the cultivation of the earth, the raising of flocks and herds, manufacturing, and all kinds of mechanical business, and also with regard to our political affairs and everything with which we have to do here in this temporal probation. There are some great political parties very much united, and how diligently they strive to make themselves still more united. The Republican and Democratic parties vie with each other in their efforts to elicit the sympathy of a majority of the people, in order to become the dominant party. Hence the great number of political agents, that go forth throughout the country stump speeching, as well as other means that are resorted to for this purpose. Is there anything in the Constitution of our country prohibiting them item striving to bring about disunion? No, not in the least. Neither is there anything written that would forbid the Methodists, the Baptists, the Presbyterians, or any other religious society throughout the confines of this great republic, from striving with all their might to vote with one heart and one mind, both in regard to their political and their church affairs.

      That is what we are striving to do. We are laboring in faith and with much assurance, that the day will dawn upon Israel, when this people will attain to a perfect oneness, so much so that not a dissenting voice, will be heard or raised, in regard to things religious or secular, from one end of the Territory to the other.

      This union exists in the eternal worlds. If you should dwell there for the period of ten millions of ages, you would see no dissension among those who dwell in yonder celestial worlds. If the affairs of a celestial world were divided into different departments, calling one political and another religious, and so on, you would find the whole body, both religious and political, vote for the same ticket, if I may he allowed the expression; they would be agreed, of one heart and one mind. This oneness among the people of God must be attained in this world, in order that His purposes may be brought about, respecting man and the earth on which he lives.

      How much reason have we to rejoice that our fathers, a little over a century ago, began to consider the importance of being free and untramelled in regard to their religious ideas and opinions; and that by having their feelings so deeply impressed upon their minds, they were enabled to get out that great instrument of liberty which guarantees to this great nation to-day civil, political and religious rights.

      Our enemies would try to frighten us, by representing before the Congress of the United States there is a union among those Latter-day Saints, and that all vote one way. Supposing we admit this to be true, ought not Congress to rejoice exceedingly to think that there is one portion of the people under the flag of this great and glorious republic, that have strength of mind sufficient to be united on politics. I presume the Republican party of our government, that has some hundreds of thousands united with them, rejoice exeedingly to think that they have as much union among them as they have; and it is their constant labor and study to use and devise every means in their power to maintain and, if possible, increase this union. And so we intend to use every lawful (not unlawful) means in our power to keep the people united upon one platform, religiously and politically, and also in every other position in which we may be placed.

      Remember the parable I have read in your hearing, which was printed in the Book of Mormon, before we had on existence as a Church. The servants labored in the vineyard with their mights. What for? To prune up the trees, to graft them into their proper place, that they may bring forth that fruit which was most precious to the Lord from the beginning and the fruit become like unto one body. And the roots and the top thereof were equal. And the blessings of the Most High began to be made manifest upon the fruits of the vineyard, and they began to grow and extend themselves, their branches spreading upon the face of the whole earth. What will be the final result of all this? I will answer in the words of Daniel the prophet: "I beheld until the kingdom, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven was given unto the Saints of the Most High." And what became of the other kingdoms, empires, republics and governments, generally instituted by men? I will again answer you in the words of the same prophet: "They became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors, and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them." Amen.

 

[Elder George Q. Cannon]

            Elder GEORGE Q. CANNON said until a few days ago he had no idea of being present on this interesting occasion, but having important business to attend to here he was thankful that one week from last Friday he was enabled to make arrangements, so as to secure leave of absence, and to spend a few days with his brethren in these valleys. We were living in a very important epoch; there was an immense amount of labor to be performed. Responsibilities were thickening around us. And every moment of our time seemed to demand action at our hands. Though small in numbers, we had made a deep impression on the religious, political and scientific world, and he attributed that fact to the power of God that accompanied the career of this people. Each individual wields an influence for good or evil. It is universally conceded that this Territory stands preeminent for its good government, its sobriety, its morals, and freedom from heavy indebtedness. With these and many other advantages that exist in this Territory, with a population of over fifteen thousand more than the congressional requirement for a State, yet we cannot enjoy the privilege of being admitted into the Union of States. Why? He knew of no other reason that from the fact that we are polygamous in our faith, though its practice was not extensive.

            Here is a vast community who in numbers and every other qualification are entitled to a State government, yet are denied that privilege, because a mere moiety of the people practice polygamy. It seemed that the nation is determined to give this principle a world wide importance. The time will come, however, when the rights of this people will be not only respected but enjoyed, the dawn of political and religious liberty is already to be seen on the distant horizon; the many wrongs that have been inflicted upon this people, both before and since we came into this Territory, have had a tendency to educate us in the practice of forbearance and toleration, and prepare us more fully to appreciate the true principles of liberty, and the rights of political freedom when it comes, which it most assuredly will, and to extend its benefits to others. He had been rained to regard the constitution as a heaven-born instrument which it was the destiny of the Latter-day Saints to defend when it should be in danger of destruction. He then gave some excellent council to the bishops, to be interested in finding employment for every one in their respective wards, also to encourage our young men to marry at a suitable age, and to look after the proper education of our youth. He continued, in a powerful appeal, to urge the importance of having our children thoroughly educated in every domestic and useful employment that will eminently qualify them for any position that they may be called to fill in after life.

[George Q. Cannon]

[DNW 27:466, 8/28/78, p 2; JD 20:1]

DISCOURSE

BY ELDER GEO. Q. CANNON,

At the Annual Conference, Sunday morning, April 7, 1878.

_____

REPORTED BY GEO. F. GIBBS

_____

      It is somewhat unexpected to myself that I have the opportunity, this morning, of appearing in your midst. Important business demanded my return to this city for a short time; but in consequence of certain responsibilities devolving upon me at Washington, it seemed imprudent for me to leave and come here. A week ago last Friday morning I scarcely thought it possible that I could get away; but during the day I was favored in making such arrangements that I felt I could leave with safety, for a few days at least. And I immediately started for this city by way of Philadelphia.

      I am glad to have the opportunity of meeting with so many of my brethren and sisters, of beholding your faces, of listening to the instructions which have been given, and in sharing in the spirit that has been and will be poured out upon us. It is a great relief to one who has been absent for any length of time, mingling with the world, to have the opportunity of associating with you, my brethren and sisters; at least I esteem it as such. I never turn my face homewards without experiencing joy and gladness at the thought of once more being reunited with you.

      I never in my life have had a deeper interest in the welfare, in the prosperity and in the advancement of the cause with which we are identified, than at the present time. This feeling has rested with great weight upon my mind; I feel we are living in a most important era of time. I feel that the mission assigned unto us is one that we, at the present time, scarcely begin to comprehend. The most important results that are to flow from it have scarcely begun to dawn upon our minds. At least personally this is my feeling. When I contemplate the immensity of the field of labor that lies before us, the evils and wrongs that have to be corrected, as I believe, through the agency of this people, as also the reforms that have to be effected and to be carried out successfully, it seems to me that as the days roll around, I begrudge the passing hours; I feel as though the days are entirely too short, and that I should like to live for a millennium to help those with whom I am associated to bring to pass the great, the important, the soul-saving as well as body-redeeming plans that are to be carried out in order to bring to pass the designs of Providence in relation to man and the earth.

      Already the Latter-day Saints can see that the leaven that has been planted by the Gospel has been doing a gradual work in effecting important changes. It may be thought of a people confined to these mountains, numbering no more than we do, that our influence must be necessarily very limited, and that we can accomplish but very little. But the ideas that have been propagated by the Latter-day Saints, though they have not converted as many to our faith as they should have done, have had a most wonderful influence upon the religious, the philosophic and the scientific world. Ideas that men now believe in and receive readily, Joseph Smith was persecuted and denounced for proclaiming. And while there are millions who do not believe that he was a Prophet of God, or that the principles he taught were revealed from God, there is no mistaking the fact that his teachings, that the truths he advanced, and the ideas which he disseminated, have had a wonderful effect upon the human mind throughout Christendom. If those of you who have had experience in the world, who have arrived at middle age, will let your minds revert to the time when you first heard these principles, and will compare the condition of human thought at that time with the condition of human thought today, I doubt not you will agree with me in saying that, although men and women have not become Latter-day Saints, nor have the mass of mankind received the religious truths in their entirety, as they were taught by Joseph, and as they have been taught by those who succeeded him, yet there has been a very visible and a marked advancement by men and women all over the world wherever the Elders of this Church have traveled. So that it is not in the baptism of people, it is not in the gathering of the people together alone that we are accomplishing great results; but it is in teaching the world the principles that God has revealed to us, and gradually indoctrinating the mind of mankind, to some extent at least, uplifting them from the prejudices and the darkness and the ignorance in which they have been enshrouded to a higher plane, to breathe a purer and a freer spirit of inquiry in religious and scientific thought. Much, however, remains to be done, and it devolves upon us, as a people, to discharge our duty, each one of us, as though the entire responsibility devolved upon us. And herein, probably, there is as much fault to be found with us as upon any other point—a non-recognition by the Latter-day Saints of the fact that God holds us, each one of us, individually responsible; for there is assigned unto every man and every woman an individual labor which he and she must perform. For myself, I know that the influence of one man rightly exercised is potent for good; or, if improperly exercised, for evil, upon his fellow man. Each man's life, each man's conversation, each man's deportment and walk before his fellow man, wields an influence that he most probably does not begin to comprehend, or understand. And if we all understood this, and acted accordingly, living up to the light and knowledge we possess, just think of the influence that we, as a united body, could wield among the inhabitants of our land, and in fact among the inhabitants of the whole earth.

      I look upon our position, politically, as one that is most important, far more important than that of any other community with which I am acquainted. To-day it is conceded upon all sides, and the fact is not disputed by intelligent persons, that the Latter-day Saints, or, to speak more properly, the people of Utah Territory, occupy a position superior to that of any other Territory within the confines of the Union. This is conceded. And for temperance, for frugality, for economy, for good government and for submission to the law (if I may except that relating to plural marriage, which is in violation of the constitution, and which was passed as a blow at our religion), for the honest administration of financial and governmental affairs, for the preservation of good order and the maintenance of peace, and for the promotion of education; on all of these points, it is conceded if we are not superior, at least we are the equals, of any other people of our Republic. While the eastern states are burdened with debt and groaning under local taxation, with failures of no mean magnitude occurring continually, and men not knowing what to do to redeem themselves from their financial difficulties, Utah Territory occupies, it may truly be said, the unique position of being out of debt: no Territorial debt to speak of, no county debts. Notwithstanding the innumerable temptations that have existed, and that our officers might have succumbed to, we are, I am happy to say, free from debt, and also the most lightly taxed community now within the confines of the government. When I mentioned these facts to President Hayes, he remarked: "Your position is certainly an enviable and unique one." This is conceded upon all hands. In our own neighboring territories, take, for instance, Wyoming, the people of which are justly proud of their position, because they have comparatively little debt; yet their taxes are 2 1/2 higher than ours; and so with all our neighboring territories. Our percentage of illiteracy is lower than that of any of the territories, and also than many of the states; not but that the illiteracy of Utah ought to be lower still, for there is room for great improvement in matters of education. We have 1200 miles of telegraph line owned in this Territory; we have upwards of 300 miles of local railroad, not counting the Union and Central Pacific railroads. This is the condition of this Territory. If we take the statement of the last Federal census respecting our population, and apply the ratio of increase during the previous decade—that is the increase from 1860 to 1870—to the last eight years, it will be aeon that Utah has a population of at least 150,000. But our ratio of increase has been greater during the last eight years than the previous ten. The States are divided into Congressional districts, at the present time, with a population numbering about 135,000; that is to say, a district having a population of that number is entitled to a member of Congress. In this Territory our population is in excess of that number. No Territory has ever applied for admission into the Union with so many advantages as ours. In 1789 the Federal Constitution was adopted, and we became a consolidated Republic. This was 89 years ago. We have lived in this country upwards of one-third of that time. It might be thought, then, that with such a lengthened experience and advantages, with such capacity for self-government, with such a developed and lightly taxed Territory, with such good order and freedom from debt, that Utah would be welcomed into the union of states. Why are we not? Because we are "Mormons." That embodies the whole reason. If we were split up into factions, if we were fighting, party against party, it drinking saloons and houses of ill-fame were through all our settlements, and if we were heavily in debt, not having even the requisite population, and were not "Mormons," we would be admitted into the union of states. What is the reason assigned for it? "We do not want to countenance polygamy. If we admit Utah, we sanction, to a certain extent, polygamy." This is the reason assigned. Suppose, for instance, that one man of every ten among these "Mormons" is a polygamist, are there any more than that? If there are I do not know it. I have never taken the census, but in the range of my personal acquaintance, as I have scanned them I think that there are not one-tenth of the men in this Territory who have attained their majority who are polygamists. And we will say there are 150,000 people in the Territory, how many of then: are men? If we apply the same rule of ascertaining this that we do to other communities —and it will not apply to ours because our children are in excess; but as it is, we will apply the same rule and divide 150,000 by five; how many does it leave? Thirty thousand. We will say there are thirty thousand men in Utah Territory who have attained their majority, and one-tenth of this number are polygamists, What do we have left? Three thousand men. And for three thousand men the Congress of the United States say that the bulk of the people shall not have their political rights. Does it not seem as though by the action of Congress in this respect, that they are uplifting a doctrine comparatively obscure, when you take into consideration the forty millions of people that live under the flag of the United States—and giving it national importance? This is one of the most extraordinary instances of fatuity that I ever recollect reading of in any history; yet such a thing is done, and this is the only reason that can be truthfully and correctly assigned for the refusal, on the part of the nation, of admitting Utah as a State. In spite of all we can say and do, there seems to be a determination to give this doctrine of plural marriage a national and a world-wide importance, like everything else connected with this people. It has been advertised and talked of as though it might be the practice of twenty millions of people, instead of that of three or four thousand men.

      Now, I say that we have to teach the world a lesson in this direction. A people patiently pursuing their course, without murmuring, without rebelling, without rising in riotings, when receiving a denial of their legitimate and constitutional rights. Such a spectacle as this is worthy of admiration, especially when it is understood that not an officer within the confines of our Territory can hold an office of Federal appointment, if it be known that he is a "Mormon," or scarcely if it be known that he is even favorable to the "Mormons." As soon as the office of Postmaster becomes worth holding, the Mormon Postmaster, who may have held it when it did not pay him for his labor, is turned out and somebody else is put in. The Marshal, the Secretary, the Governor, and Judges and all of the Federal officials were appointed during the last administration from those who were known to have no sympathy with the "Mormons." It was as much as our present Governor could recently do to retain his position, because he was accused of favoring the "Mormons," because it was believed that he favored a people he was sent to govern. This is most extraordinary when you think of it; but the most surprising thing connected with it is, that the people thus imposed upon should bear it with the forbearance and equanimity that the Latter-day Saints manifest, under these circumstances.

      You remember our last Governor. He started out thinking he had been sent here to govern this Territory and the people of the Territory as his fellow-citizens. He was disposed not to know the difference between a Mormon and a non-Mormon; he was disposed to travel through the Territory and mingle with the people, attend their public gatherings, and talk to them, as he would were he in any other place. This he did, and it was brought against him as a crime, as a reason why he should not continue to hold office. And an important official no less a person then the Assistant Secretary of the Interior, was sent to find out whether these flyings were really true. And this officer of the government, a gentlemen, who is acknowledged to be efficient, and who had served three terms in Congress with credit to himself and his constituency; and who is looked upon as a man of national reputation, and who, in his private life, is considered most exemplary, for no other reason than that he was mingling with the "Mormon" people, treating them as his fellow-citizens, was removed from office.

      I allude to these things not to find fault particularly, set to embitter your feelings because of treatment you have received, this is not my motive; but to call to your attention the fact that among other things we have to teach this nation and show to the whole world is, that although largely in the majority in this Territory, we have learned the great and most important lesson that a citizen can and should learn, namely, that of obedience. I am glad that this is the case. I am glad to know that the Latter-day Saints are setting an example to their fellow-citizens all through the union in this respect. Will this continue? Shall we continue to live as we are living to-day—denied rights to which we are entitled? We shall, doubtless, for a time, until, in the Providence of the Almighty, we shall be enabled to assume the position that rightfully belongs to us, and receive those rights to which we are fully entitled. The time will come, and it is not far distant—although we may occasionally get tired waiting, and may ask ourselves, how long will it be delayed—but let me say to you that the signs of the times portend for us a much greater degree of liberty than we possess to-day, or even than we have dared to anticipate. And as I have said cites—for I have never failed to declare it—that the Latter-day Saints or "Mormons" as we are called, expect it to be their destiny to uphold constitutional liberty on this continent, and to preserve our government and the forms thereof from overthrow [p.6] and destruction. I have been taught from my boyhood that this was to be the destiny of the Latter-day Saints, and this people have been trained in the same belief, and we tram our children to look forward to it, and to cherish the love of civil and religious liberty in their hearts, toleration for all men of every creed, of every nation, of every language and of every color, that all the sons and daughters of Adam, without exception, who dwell upon this broad land, may enjoy the inestimable blessing of liberty, and that it will be our favored and honored destiny, in the course of human events, unlikely as it may appear to-day to be the ease, to preserve constitutional liberty in this land, which God has said shall be a land of liberty to all those who are righteous who dwell thereon. I have said, and I firmly believe, that the day will most assuredly come when the people of these mountains will become a great factor in the settlement of differences, in the preservation of human rights in the future, in the great contests which seem ready to burst upon us at any moment. You contemplate the condition of the East to-day! The elements of destruction are widespread in society, and instead of being smothered and allayed, they are more or less fostered and harbored, and are fast maturing; and when certain contingencies arise, they are likely to hurst forth, and that, too, to the death and misery of many souls. Think of the feeling that existed thirteen months ago, when it was not known who would be the President of the United States, or whether we would have another President or not. That was a time when the memories of the late war were forced upon the attention of earnest and thoughtful men. They remembered the blood and sacrifices and dreadful horrors of that struggle, and they shrank from the bare thought of their repetition. Had it not been that the great civil war had been so recent, and the recollection of its horrors was so vivid, especially among the Southern people, undoubtedly there would have been a conflict of arms before the President could have been seated in the presidential chair. But men shrank from the dreadful arbitrament of war and they preferred to submit even to what they believed to be wrong, agreeing to a compromise as being better than war.

      Our position, as a people, in many respects, is one for which we can be exceedingly thankful. We can congratulate ourselves that we are in these mountains, a land of liberty, a land of freedom. No man, that is a man, can breathe this air and be a slave. When he looks upon those towering mountains, lifting their grand and lofty peaks to heaven, and he breathes the pure air of freedom, and his lungs expand with it, he feels as though he never could bow to slavery, nor his children after him. There is a race springing up in these mountains whose influence and power, sooner or later, must be felt in shaping the future of this nation. There need be no fear about this. Let us pursue the course marked out for us, submitting, if necessary, to wrong, but never failing to protest and contend, nevertheless against it; let our continued protest go forth, that we understand our rights, and that we are disposed to maintain them, as far as we can without violence. Let us continue to pursue our course patiently and unitedly, presenting an unbroken front to the enemy, having no traitors within, no factions, no strifes or bickerings, burying our little piques and feelings, having the one great and grand object to accomplish, namely, the establishment of truth and righteousness upon the earth, that eventually a place and people may be found worthy of Him who will come, and whose right it is to reign. And in pursuing faithfully and diligently the course which God has marked out, you may depend upon it that the daystar will arise, and the dawn of that glorious day will be witnessed by all that share and engage in this labor. But how many labors devolve upon us, and how they accumulate and crowd upon us. The labor of lifting up the people and uniting them, furnishing suitable work for the unemployed and for our sons and daughters, that there may be no idleness in our land, that there may no need of any Union societies to be organized, arraying labor against capital. How necessary it is that we should listen to the words of wisdom and instruction which have been given, counseling us to so organize ourselves and arrange our temporal affairs, that there may not be a single individual throughout our land, who desires to work, go unemployed, but that all may have this blessed privilege, for when men labor they keep out of mischief. You remember the old proverb—"An idle man's brain is the devil's workshop." We want to banish idleness, how shall we do it? By organizing, and every President of Stake and every Bishop making it the study and object of his life to furnish employment to every man under his immediate presidency who may desire it. And thus we will preserve ourselves, and our sons will find employment at home, instead of scattering abroad, going hither and thither: and our daughters, too, will then find husbands who will be in a position to maintain them honorably and properly, and thus marriage be promoted in the land. Our boys, when they arrive at years of maturity and can take earn of a wife, should get married, and there should not be a lot of young men growing up in our midst who ought to be, but are not married. While I do not make the remark to apply to individual cases, I am firmly of the opinion that a large number of unmarried men, over the age of twenty-four years, is a dangerous element in any community, and an element upon which society should look with a jealous eye. For every man knowing himself, knows how his fellow-man is constituted; and if men do not marry, they are too apt to do something worse. Then, brethren, encourage our young men to marry, and see that they are furnished employment, so that they can marry.

      And than there is the education of our children. O, that we could bestow upon them, in every sense of the word, a proper education, so that they might become the peers of any people. Our children are noted for their brightness of intellect. Teachers say, who come from the east and the west, they never saw children receive knowledge with more ease than the children of these mountains do. We should take all the pains in our power to educate our children, furnishing them the best facilities, that our daughters and sons may be educated and accomplished. And at the same time teach them to labor. I tell my daughters that I want them to learn to wash, and sew, and cook, and become the best of housewives; and that I do not care then how much else they may know about music and other accomplishments, that they may be fitted to mingle with and feel at home in the best society. Girls as well as boys ought to be so trained as to confer dignity upon labor; and the idea, prevalent among some people, that because girls are accomplished they are spoiled and unfitted for labor, or to do housework, ought to be frowned down.

      Let us think of these things after we separate and go to our homes; and let us endeavor to carry in our breasts the spirit of this Conference, and diffuse the same among the people not present. And let us so live that the desire may continually well up in our hearts, not how can we aggrandize ourselves, but how can we enrich this community, how can we benefit and bless this people, how can we elevate them and make these multitudes of children growing up in our midst more useful, so that they can be ornaments to society?

      I pray the Lord to bless us and preserve us in the truth, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

            The choir sang an anthem.

The Lord will comfort Zion.

            Benediction by President Joseph Young.

_____

[7 Apr, 2 pm]

[DNW 27:148-149, 4/10/78, p 4-5]

SUNDAY AFTERNOON,

2 p. m.

            The choir sang,

Though deepning trials throng your way,
Press on, press on, ye saints of God.

            Prayer by Elder FRANKLIN D. RICHARDS.

            The choir sang,

Again we meet around the board
Of Jesus, our redeeming Lord.

            The sacrament of the Lord's supper was administered.

[President John Taylor]

            President JOHN TAYLOR addressed the Conference. He was gratified to witness the union that existed among the people in regard to the great principles of eternal truth, for therein consisted our strength, and it is in God that we live, and move and have our being. If w ever attain to eternal life, it will be though the loving kindness of our Heavenly Father, and the merits and sacrifices of his son Jesus Christ our Savior. The God whom we worship is the Father of all the spirits of men that dwell upon the face of the earth, and he controls the destinies of the whole human family. The Lord has in these last days, and for the interests of humanity, revealed His mind and will, and pointed out the way by which we may secure eternal happiness in the celestial kingdom of our God. He has restored again the everlasting Gospel, with all its gifts, power and glory. He has selected his servants, and sent them forth as messengers to the nations of the earth. He has brought us here in accordance with certain eternal principles, which existed in the heavens before the world was. The work we are engaged in is not the work of man, it did not originate with man, but has been prophesied about by all the holy prophets since the creation of the world. It is the dispensation of the fulness of times. Any knowledge that we have received about God has emanated from God, through the ministration of holy angels, and by Himself and His son Jesus Christ, for the purpose of benefitting and blessing the human family. It was not to Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, or the Twelve Apostles that we are indebted for the mind and will of God, except as his ministers. God instructed His servants to go to the world to teach mankind the way of salvation, and not to be taught by them, for they had gone astray from God and His ways. We have been gathered together in these valleys that there might be a people who would listen to the word and will of God and become Saviors upon Mount Zion. If we rightly understood and appreciated our position before God, we should see things very differently to what we now do. We are not here to seek after our own interests and emoluments, but to learn of the laws of life, and teach the people the way of salvation. God is one, those who dwell in h is presence are one, and we as a people ought to be one -- one in faith, one in practice, one with God, one with the holy angels, one in time and one in all eternity. To secure that oneness, baptism was introduced, that we might all partake of one baptism and enjoy the selfsame spirit, that the Saints might be brought into union with the Almighty, and their united prayers ascend into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. The nations of the earth have their representatives and messengers, with power and authority to act in their behalf; but Joseph Smith was God's chosen minister authorized to establish on earth the Church and Kingdom of God. He also selected others by revelation, press image of God. The mystery with some is how a personae of tabernacle can control the heavenly bodies and hold the planets as it were in balance, and how and by what power he can be everywhere present. This seems to have been the main cause of such erroneous views as are entertained by the Christian world in relation to God, whom they recognize as being only a spirit. The speaker showed the Scripture doctrine of the Deity, which is made still plainer by the revelations of God in the present dispensation. He then spoke of the importance of the Latter-day Saints attending to the practical such as Apostles, High Priests, Bishops, and all other necessary authorities to regulate the affairs of the Church. The present organization through the various Stakes of Zion is a pattern of what exists in heaven, and was revealed by the Lord to his servants. Our ordinances for the dead are only a part of the same great plan of salvation which we have embraced. It was of the utmost importance, therefore, that we who hold the holy priesthood, should be honorable representatives of God upon the earth. The time will come when every obstacle will be removed, and the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ; union must be our watch word, whatever tends to divide and produce division comes from an evil source, but whatever tends to unite and bind together and elevate comes from God. Our feelings towards the world should be those of kindness, benevolence and good will; this people will grow and increase, and the time will come when calamity and strife and bloodshed will be amongst the nations of the earth, and also upon this nation; this we cannot help, but the sayings of the prophets must be fulfilled. The duty of the Apostleship was to build up and guard and protect the interests of Zion, not to build up themselves with filthy lucre and seek after self aggrandizement. He then defined the duties of High Priests. This quorum was a kind of normal school to prepare them for presiding positions in the various Stakes of Zion. Many more Stakes have yet to be organized, and he hoped the brethren would qualify themselves to fill responsibilities they would soon be required to assume. He next spoke of the field of labor now opening up in the vineyard of the Lord for the Seventies. He called upon the Presidents of Seventies to teach the members of their respective quorums their duties. He next addressed himself to the Elders and Presidents of Stakes, giving each their special instructions, to look well after the poor, and find employment for the people. He made a stirring appeal to the whole people in behalf of the perpetual Emigration Fund. No man is justified in building up himself to the neglect of his honest indebtedness to that Fund. The building of Temples was an important labor. Reports of the progress of the three Temples now being constructed would probably be given before the Conference was closed.

            The payment of tithing was next referred to. He felt to give credit to the Saints for responding so nobly to the building of Temples and other laudable undertakings. If all paid their tithing there would be sufficient means for all these works. While these requirements continued to exist, he trusted that none would be oppressed, but encouraged to continue to do the best they can. The subject of education was also touched upon and advocated. The Mutual Improvement Societies of both sexes gave him much satisfaction. He commended the Relief Societies also, the first of which was organized by the Prophet Joseph Smith, he himself being present on that occasion. "May God bless you sisters, for your labors of love and benevolence are great, and you are doing a noble work." He concluded by invoking the blessing of God upon the whole congregation.

[John Taylor]

[DNW 27:274-275, 6/5/78, p 2-3; JD 19:300]

DISCOURSE

BY PREST. JOHN TAYLOR

Delivered at the Conference, Salt Lake City, Sunday afternoon, April 8th [7th] 1878.

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REPORTED BY GEO. F. GIBBS.

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      I shall feel very much obliged, while I attempt to address you; if you will keep as quiet as possible; because it is quite a labor to speak to so large a congregation, and unless quiet and order is preserved, it is impossible for all the people to hear.

      I have been very much interested and edified in listening to the remarks made by the brethren since we have assembled together in this Conference. And I have been very much pleased in witnessing the union and general feeling of interest manifested among the people to attend these meetings. It is evidence to me that the people feel interested in these great and eternal principles developed through our holy religion, and that they have a desire to yield obedience to the law of God and to keep his commandments. And in that alone is our safety, our happiness, our posterity, and our exaltation, as a people; for we derive every blessing we enjoy, whether of a temporal or of a spiritual nature from our heavenly Father; and without him we can do or perform no good work, for in him "we live and move and have our being," and from him, and through him we receive all blessings pertaining to this life, and we shall hereafter, if we possess eternal lives, inherit them and obtain them through the goodness, mercy and long-suffering of God our Eternal Father, through the merits and redemption of Jesus Christ our Savior.

      It is not in man to direct, to manage and control affairs of the Kingdom of God. No man ever did possess that power, nor will he, unaided by the power of the Almighty. All nations and all peoples are more or less under his direction and control, although many of them do not know it. He raises up one nation, and puts down another, he debases the proud and exalts the humble at his pleasure, and he pursues that course among all the peoples and nations of the earth, as seemeth best unto him; and all nations and all peoples are his offspring and he is the God and Father of the spirits of all flesh, and feels an interest in the welfare of all the human family. He has been in the ages that are past, and he is in the present age doing all that he can to promote the happiness and well-being of the human family. This does not always appear to men of superficial minds, the dealings of God with man are not always comprehended. But he nevertheless does control the destinies of all peoples; and if in really instances it does not seem for their present benefit, yet as mankind are eternal beings, having to do with eternity as well as time, when the secrets of all hearts shall be developed and the actions of gods shall be made known and fully comprehended in the future destinies of the races of men, it will be found that the Judge of all the earth has done right.

      The Lord has in these last days, for his own special purpose, and also in the interest of humanity, revealed himself from the heavens, made manifest his will to man, sent his holy angels to communicate and reveal unto us his children certain principles as they exist in the bosom of God, and he has pointed out the way whereby we may secure our happiness and an eternal exaltation in the celestial Kingdom of God. He has been pleased to restore again the everlasting Gospel in all its fullness, with all its riches, and blessings, and power, and glory. He has organized his Church and Kingdom upon the earth; he has chosen men as he did in former times to be the bearers of his message of life and salvation to the nations of the earth. He has, through these instruments, instructed us, and gathered us together, as we are found here today, from the different nations where the Gospel reached us. He has brought us here according to certain eternal principles which he had in his mind before the world was, and according to certain councils that existed in the heavens among the gods, who have been operating upon and with the human family from the commencement to the present, and will until the winding up scene.

      The work that we are engaged in is not the work of man, it did not originate with man, it was not found out by him. It is the work that has been prophesied of by all the holy prophets that have lived on this continent, on the continent of Asia, and in the various portions of the earth. As the Apostle Paul describes it, it is "the dispensation of the fulness of times spoken of by all the holy prophets since the world was." And anything that we may have received—any light, any intelligence, any knowledge of the things of God, have emanated and proceeded from him. He saw and comprehended the fitting time for this work to commence; he prepared the way by once more opening the heavens, by revealing himself and his Son Jesus, and by afterwards sending holy angels to communicate his will and his purposes and designs to the human family. It therefore did not originate with us, nor with any sect or party or people, for nobody, not even Joseph Smith, or Brigham Young, or any of the Twelve Apostles knew anything about the great principles that were stored up in the mind of God. It was the mind and will and revelations of God, made known to the human family, in the first place to Joseph Smith, and through him to others. And when the Elders of this Church went forth to the nations of the earth, as bearers of the gospel message, if they had gone upon their own responsibility they could have accomplished nothing. But having been chosen and set apart of the Lord, they went forth as his messengers, without purse or scrip, trusting in Him. And he opened up their way and prepared their path, as he said beforehand that he would. "Behold," said he, "I send you forth to the nations of the earth, and my Spirit shall go with you, and my angels shall prepare the way for you." I send you forth not to be taught, but to teach, not to be instructed by the world of mankind or the intelligence of the world, but by the wisdom and intelligence and power and spirit which I shall give you, and it is through and by this influence that we have been gathered together. And why are we gathered? These Elders could not have gathered you unless God had been with them; they could not have influenced you to come here unless the Spirit and power of their mission had been with them. But the Lord said in former years through his prophets, "I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion. And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding." And through the operation and influence of the Spirit of the living God, manifested through the priesthood, God's ministers on the earth, you have been brought together as you are to-day. But why should we be titus gathered together? That there may be a body of people found to whom God can communicate his will, that there might be a people who should be prepared to listen to the word and will and voice of God: that there might be a people gathered together from the different nations who, under the influence of that spirit, should become saviors upon Mount Zion; that they might, under the inspiration of the Almighty, and through the power of the Holy Priesthood which they should receive, go forth to those nations and proclaim to the people the principles of life, that they might indeed become the saviors of men. And if we could fully comprehend our position, we should see things very differently from what we now do. If we could comprehend our relationship to God, to each other, to his church upon the earth, and also the greatness and magnitude of the work in which we are engaged, and the responsibilities that devolve upon us as Elders in Israel, as Saints of the Most High God, we should see things in a very different light from what we now do. We are not here, as they say in the Church of England, to "follow the devices and desires of our own hearts;" we are not here to pursue our own individual interests and emoluments, we are not here merely to attend to our own secular affairs, but to learn the laws of life, and then teach the people the way of salvation. There was an old saying among ancient Israel: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, and thou shalt worship the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy mind, with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and him only shalt thou worship." And Jesus, in after time, added a little more to this: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." God is one, and they who dwell with him are one. Those who will inherit the celestial kingdom will be one when they get there; and we, as a people, ought to be one—one in faith, one in principle, one in practice, one in our interests, one in our associations, with each other and in our families, one with God, one with the holy angels, one in time, and one in eternity.

      To bring about a union of this kind, the principle of baptism has been introduced that we all might be baptized into one baptism, by the laying on of hands, and through the various orders of his Priesthood, we all partake of the same spirit; and being brought into union and communion with God, that we all might, feel after God, that the tens of thousands, and hundreds of thousands might be brought into connection with the Almighty, whose prayers could ascend into the ears of the Lord of Sabbaoth. And for the accomplishment of this purpose, he selected Joseph Smith to be the first Apostle in his Church: he was called "not by the will of man," nor by the power of man, nor by the intelligence of man, but by God who revealed himself unto this young man, as also the Savior, committing unto him a mission to perform to the inhabitants of this earth. He was endowed with power and authority which was given him for that purpose, that he might be the legitimate representative of God upon the earth. He also taught him how to organize his Church, and put him in communication with many of the ancient Prophets who have long since passed away, who also communicated with him, and revealed unto him further the plan and design of the Almighty in relation to this earth, and the salvation of all who would listen to the principles of truth.

      The nations of the earth have their representatives, their ministers, their plenipotentiaries, empowered and sent forth by the recognized authority of the several nations. He was the representative of God, his credentials came from God, and his mission extended not to one nation only, but to all nations; and he was authorized to establish and organize what was termed the Church and Kingdom of God upon the earth. And every step that he took, every principle that he inculcated, and every doctrine that he taught, came from God by the revelations of God to him, and through him to the people. He selected others by revelation—Apostles, High Priests, Seventies, Bishops, Elders, Priests, Teachers and Deacons, also High Councils, and Bishops' Councils, and Patriarchs, and all the various authorities and organizations of this Church. Joseph Smith neither knew how to select men, whom to select, nor what their offices should be until it was communicated by the Lord. And yet we find that these principles revealed to him, agree with those that existed in former ages whenever God had a Church or people on the earth. And hence the ushering in of the Gospel simply means the revelation of the will of God to man; it simply means the placing of mankind in communication with the Lord that he may not he governed by his own follies or notions or theories, but by the will and word of God. And the examples that you heard referred to here, of our Stakes, with their Presidencies, together with the Bishops and their Council, etc., is a part of the system of heaven, as it exists in the eternal worlds; and the Priesthood that we hold is the everlasting Priesthood, and it administers in time, and it will administer in eternity; and a knowledge of the works that we are now engaged in, in regard to the building of Temples and administering therein, all came from God, and are a part of the eternal system. Who knew about them until God revealed it? Nobody. Who knows how to administer acceptably in these Temple without revelation? Nobody but those to whom it has been communicated, it came from God. And our preaching to the living, and our administering for the dead are all of them parts and parcels of the same concern, The fact is, we are in a state of probation; we have enlisted under the banner of the Almighty; we have dedicated ourselves to him for time and for eternity, and he expects it at our hands that we be true to the trust conferred upon us, that we be faithful to our obligations and fulfil them, that we honor our God, that we magnify our callings and Priesthood, and that we stand forth among the people and before the nations, as the representatives of God upon the earth. We have a similar view to that of the Apostle Paul, who said when addressing himself to the Corinthians: 'Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." We have enlisted in a work, have engaged in a warfare that will last while time shall be, and if we live our religion, and keep his commandments, the principles that we are in possession of will bear us off triumphant over death, hell and the grave, and land us among the just, among the celestial host that dwell with our Father in heaven. We really have no time to attend to those trivial affairs, that some people seem to think ought to occupy so much of our time. I wish now, while we are together to talk upon some general principles associated with the Priesthood which has been conferred upon us.

      It was said of ancient Israel, if they had kept the commandments, that he would have made out of them a kingdom of Priests. We are literally a kingdom of Priests to-day. Our business is not to follow our own will, our own desires and plans, but to seek to know and to do the will of God, to carry out these principles which he has revealed, and in this is our happiness and exaltation in time, and will be throughout the eternities that are to come.

      We ought to be operating with God, and with the holy angels; we ought to be feeling after them, we ought to be operating with the ancient Priesthood that have lived before—the Patriarchs, the Prophets, the Apostles, and all those men of God who have lived and died in the faith who act with God our heavenly Father, and with Jesus the Mediator of the new Covenant. We ought to be operating with them in establishing righteousness throughout the earth, not nominally, but really; we ought to be laboring in conjunction with them in saving the living, not to make it a hardship and a trouble and a toil; something that we can hardly endure to go through; but on the contrary, feeling it an honor to be associated with the interests of God and bearers of the message of life and salvation, and also seeking for wisdom, and intelligence, and power, and revelation from God to carry out his will and designs, and to accomplish his purposes upon the earth.

      Will his purposes be accomplished? They will. Will the Gospel grow, spread and increase? I tell you, in the name of Israel's God, it will. Will the time come when every fictitious thing will be removed, when light and truth shall prevail, and when the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ? I tell you it will, and God will hasten it in his time. And this priesthood and this people are to be the instruments, in the hands of God, in connection with the priesthood who have gone before, who are now operating in their sphere, as we are in our's. The Lord hath so ordained, says the Apostle, "that they, (referring to the dead) without us should not be made perfect;" neither can we without them be made perfect. There needs to be a welding and uniting together, that in all of our doings as God's servants and representatives, we may be influenced and directed from above, being united with the Gods in heaven we may become one in all things upon the earth, and afterwards one in the heavens. And says the Lord, "If ye are not one, ye are not mine." Everything that tends to divide the people, as you heard this morning, proceeds from beneath, and those that are engaged in it are the emisaries of the devil; for as he is the father of lies, so he is the father of division, strife and discord. But union, peace, love, harmony, fellowship, brotherhood and everything honorable, noble and exalting, proceeds from God; these are the principles that we ought to seek after and to disseminate as far as we can everywhere and among all peoples. And then when we have done that work, turn our attention to the building of temples and minister in them for the dead, that we may operate with the fathers in the interest of heir posterity, helping them to perform that for their posterity which they were not able to do.

      And in regard to the world, what ought our feelings to be towards them? A feeling of generosity, a feeling of kindness, a feeling of sympathy, with our hearts full of charity, long-suffering and benevolence, as God our Father has, for he makes his sun to rise on the evil as well as the good; he sends his rain on the unjust as well as the just. And while we abjure the evils, the corruptions, the fraud and iniquity, the lasciviousness and the lyings and abominations that exist in the world, whenever we see an honorable principle, a desire to do right, whenever we see an opening to promote the happiness of any of these people, or to reclaim the wanderer, it is out duty to do it, as saviors on Mount Zion.

      Will they have trouble? Yes. Will there he tribulation? Yes. Will nation be strayed against nation? Yes. Will thrones be east down and empires destroyed? Yes. Will there be war, and carnage, and bloodshed? Yes. But these things are with the people and with God. It is not for us; we have a mission to perform, and that is to preach the Gospel and introduce correct principles, to unfold the laws of God as men are prepared to receive them, to build up his Zion upon the earth, and to prepare a people for the time when the bursting heavens will reveal the Son of God, "and when every creature on the earth and under the earth will be heard to say, blessing and glory, and honor, and power, and might, and majesty, and dominion be ascribed to him that sits upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever."

      Will this people grow and increase? Yes. And the time will come—it is not now, we are not prepared for it—when calamity and trouble and bloodshed, confusion and strife will spread among all the nations of the earth. The time will come, and is not far distant, when those who will not take up the sword to fight against their neighbors, will have to flee to Zion for safety. That was true some time ago, and it is nearer its fulfilment by a great many years than at the time it was first uttered.

      What are we here for? To build up or aggrandize ourselves? No, but to build up the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth, and to spread the light of truth among the nations. That is our duty, and also to pray for the revelations of God, that the Spirit and power of God may rest upon us, that we may comprehend correct principles and understand the laws of life, to guide and guard and protect the ship Zion from among the rocks and shoals and troubles that will sooner or later overcome this nation, and other nations, and prepare ourselves for the events that are to come. We ought to be men of honor, of honesty, of integrity, having our eyes single to the glory of God. That is the duty of these Apostles, and not to act with a view for their own aggrandizement, and for the obtainment of filthy lucre, or anything else pertaining to this world. We brought nothing into this world, we can take nothing out. It is for us to operate for God and in the interests of his Church and kingdom.

      And what of these other brethren, the High Priests? They have a mission to perform, and that is to make themselves acquainted with the laws, doctrines, ordinances and government of the Church of God upon the earth, that they may be prepared, when called upon, to fulfil the duties and responsibilities devolving upon them. I will here read part of a revelation which indicates the nature of these duties. "And again I give unto you, Don C. Smith, to be a President over a Quorum of High Priests, which ordinance is instituted for the purpose of qualifying those who shall be appointed standing Presidents over the different stakes scattered abroad." Hear it, O ye High Priests! This is the prominent duty devolving upon you. The position you occupy is a sort of a normal school, if you please, to prepare those who are in it and are taught in it, that when they shall be called to hold official places in the various stakes of Zion, they may be prepared to magnify them. How was it when we were engaged organizing these stakes, were these brethren prepared? No, many of them were not by any means. One was engaged on his farm, another was tied up in his merchandising, another had bought five yoke of oxen and had to prove them, and another had married a wife and he could not come. And we, therefore, had to go outside of the High Priests, whose legitimate business it was to occupy these positions, and call other men and ordain them High Priests, and set them apart to preside in these stakes, as Presidents and Bishops and Councilors, having to take them from among the Seventies' and Elder's Quorums, because the High Priests were not prepared to magnify their legitimate calling; whereas, if they had been doing their duty, living their religion, and meeting together in prayer, and examining the doctrine of Christ, instead of being engaged almost exclusively in many of these other matters, they would have been prepared to step forward and magnify their calling. There are many other stakes to be organized. Prepare yourselves, you High Priests, for the duties and responsibilities that may devolve upon you, that the Church of God may be strengthened in all its parts, and every man in his place, all prepared to magnify their calling.

      Then, again, there are seventies; I think there are some seventy-six quorums of seventies. Does their duty consist merely in making their own plans and calculations, such as to go of a farm and live there all their life time, attending to their own individual affairs, or pursue any other avocation without considering the obligations they are under by virtue of their Priesthood, and calling? I tell you nay. We have something else to do. I read in the revelation touching this matter, when the seventies were ordained, "they were to ordain more seventies until there should be seven times seventy, if the labor in the vineyard required it." They were to do this if the labor in the vineyard required it." In whose vineyard? Their orchards and farms? I do not read it so. Does this refer to their merchandizing? It does not so read. In looking after their own affairs or emoluments? That is not what I read; but for the labor of the vineyard. Whose vineyard, then? The vineyard of the Lord. But it seems that a great many of the Seventies have no more idea of going into the vineyard of the Lord, than if they held no such Priesthood or calling; they do not seem to comprehend their duties, nor their responsibilities. Hear it, O ye Seventies! you are called and set apart by the Priesthood, to act under the direction of the Twelve, to go forth as His messengers to the nations of the earth. Do you believe it? This is your calling. Prepare yourselves for it. I do not want Elders coming to me, as some have been doing, after having been called upon missions saying, I pray thee have me excused. And I call upon the first President of the Seventies to instruct the various Presidents of Seventies, and they in turn the members of their several quorums, in regard to their duties; and to live themselves so that the spirit of the living God may rest down upon them, that they may indeed be qualified to teach their brethren what their duties are, that they may prepare themselves to magnify them. Instead, therefore, of every one seeking his own individual gain from his own quarter, let every man feel that he is a servant of the living God, a messenger to the nations of the earth, and that when the Lord calls upon him, through the proper authority, to do a certain work, he must obey, and that readily and willingly! These are the duties and responsibilities that devolve upon you, my brethren of the Seventies.

      And it is the duty of the Elders also to magnify their callings; to feel after God and to seek instruction from Him, and to magnify their calling and Priesthood at home or abroad, being governed by the Holy Priesthood, in regard to their duties, that they may be acceptable to the Lord, and magnify their callings with all diligence and fidelity, and then it is the duty of the Presidents of Stakes to look after the interest and welfare of their own people under their Presidency, not in a formal manner, but as interested in their welfare, having a lively desire to benefit and build them up, both spiritually and temporally, and perfect them in righteousness, purging out when necessary the ungodly, lifting up and exalting the poor, and blessing end benefiting everybody according to the principles of righteousness and truth, guarding their virtue and their honor, and see that men are honorable, that they regard their word of more value than their bond, that all people may rely on them; men who, in the language of the Prophet, will swerve to their own hurt and change not, and who will do that which is right and equitable before God. It is their duty, and the duty of the Bishops and also that of the High Priests and Seventies and Elders operating with them to look after the poor and see that they are provided for. Do not let us have anybody crying for bread, or suffering for the want of employment. Let us furnish employment for all, divide up our farms and plan and devise liberally that all who need work, and want to be employed, may find labor. And I now call upon the Presidents of Stakes throughout Zion to give this matter their serious and earnest attention. We have land in abundance, water in abundance, and means in abundance; let us utilise them for the common weal. Talk about financiering! Financier for the poor, for the working man, who requires labor and is willing to do it, and act in the interest of the community, for the welfare of Zion, and in the building up of the kingdom of God upon the earth. This is your calling; it is not to build up yourselves, but to build up the Church and kingdom of God; and see that there is no cause for complaining in all your villages and cities and neighborhoods. Let us take hold together for the accomplishment of this object, and pray God to give us wisdom to carry it out, and be will pour upon us blessings that there will not be room enough to contain.

      Again, we have what is called a Perpetual Emigration Fund. I wish to draw the attention, not only of the Presidents of Stakes but of the Bishops of the various wards, and of the whole people, to the responsibilities that devolve upon as in relation to this matter. We seem to be dwindling down in some of these matters, and I am sorry to say that there is a great lack of that integrity and interest that we would like to see manifested among our brethren. There are those here who have assisted with their means to the amount of upwards of a million dollars, which is unpaid by those who received the benefit of it. It was the calculation that this means should be used to bring those of our brethren to this land, who needed and were worthy of this assistance, and when you who were thus assisted were in distant lands praying and wishing to be gathered to Zion, this help came to you and you were brought here; and instead of paying this your honest debt, you go to work and build up yourselves, without meeting your obligations, what is the result? Those of your brethren who still remain, who are just as worthy as you to be gathered to Zion, are left to cry for assistance. I am daily in receipt of letters from different parts of the earth, asking to be thus assisted pleading: "we want to gather with the Saints, can't you help us?" Yes, we can if you who owe the Fund will pay your honest debts, we can then meet all these requirements. And I call upon the Presidents of Stakes and upon the Bishops to look after these things, and see that these obligations are met, that the poor from abroad may not cry in vain; but that we may help them, and then they return the amount advanced to them to assist others, and thus keep the work rolling in the same direction. And if this duty is not performed, how can we expect the blessing of God to rest upon us?

      We are engaged quite extensively in the erection of Temples. We are building one here, and also one in Cache Valley, and another in Sanpete, and if we had time, and it was considered advisable, we could read the report read setting forth the receipts and disbursements of these places; and I presume we shall, before the Conference adjourns. Suffice it to say, with all our backwardness in some other things, there are a great many of the Latter-day Saints who are doing all they can in every laudable enterprise. I presume at the present time there is not less than 500 men engaged in rearing the walls of these Temples. And men are taking hold of it with energy, doing all they can in many instances, but not in all by a great deal.

      Then in regard to our Tithing operations, Bishop Hunter informs me that many of the people are very negligent in regard to this matter. Now, I would say in behalf of the people, that perhaps there may be a partial excuse for some of these things. We have had a very stringent time for a number of years past, a financial crisis has prevailed in the eastern States for some years now, and almost every paper reports the failure of mercantile and business institutions—of the failure of one firm after another; and we have been subject, more or less, to these depressions. The fact also must be considered that great exertions have Been made in the building of the St. George Temple, and also the three Temples now under way, which have already exhausted considerable means furnished chiefly by the people residing in those Temple districts. I must give the people credit for their zeal and energy in this direction, which we must all acknowledge is very commendable and praiseworthy. And, perhaps, in the performance of this labor many have done the best they could, and possibly circumstances have so overruled that they find themselves hardly able to meet their Tithing, for as a rule it is those who take delight in observing the law of Tithing that subscribe to these other calls. We do not wish to crowd or press upon the people; but rather let us take things easily and deliberately, seeking always to break off the yoke of him that is bound, letting the oppressor go free. And let our sympathies be extended towards the widow and the orphan; and while we are building Temple, paying our Tithes and offerings, and doing the best we can before God and man, we will let that go for the present, and when we get into more favorable circumstances we will do better. At any rate, we will keep doing with a long pull and a strong pull, and a pull altogether, as one in the interests of all Israel. But we must not forget our duties to the Lord.

      I would say in this connection that there are three of the Twelve appointed to superintend the erection of these edifices in these outside districts, and then there are those residing here attending to home affairs. And we are seeking to act in concert and do the very best we can. Some people have an idea that these Temples ought to be built from the proceeds of the Tithing; I do not object to it in the least, providing you will only pay your Tithing. But we cannot build Temples with something that exists only in name. You deal honestly with the Lord, handing over in due season that which belongs to his storehouse, and then we will show you whether we can not build Temples, as well as do everything else that may be required with it. In the mean time, we have got to do the best we can in these matters; and as we are personally interested in these things, as well as our brethren, the departed deed who have gone before us, and who depend upon this being done, we feel a strong desire to carry out these projects; and this feeling, I am happy to say, exists throughout all Israel.

      We want also to be alive in the cause of education. We are commanded of the Lord to obtain knowledge, both by study and by faith, seeking it out of the best books. And it becomes us to teach our children, and afford them instruction in every branch of education calculated to promote their welfare, leaving those false acquirements which tend to infidelity, and to lead away the mind and affection from the things of God. We want to compile the intelligence and literacy of this people in book-form, as well as in teaching and preaching; adopting all the good and useful books we can obtain; and what we need and cannot obtain make them. And instead of doing as many of the world do, take the works of God, to try to prove that there in no God; we want to prove by God's works that he does exist, that he lives and rules and holds us, as it were, in the hollow of his hand. For it is very unfair for man to take the works of God to try to prove that there is no God. But then it is only the fool that has Said in his heart, there is no God. I would like to talk upon this subject if time would permit.

      I am pleased to see the exertions made by the young men's and young women's mutual improvement associations, to benefit and bless the rising generation of our people. And I am also pleased to witness the degree of intelligence and studiousness manifested by our young people; it is creditable and praiseworthy. We want to lead them on and encourage them in the study of correct principles, so that when the responsibility of hearing off the Church and Kingdom of God shall pass from us to them, they may be prepared for it, and carry on the work to a glorious and triumphant consummation. And that we may stand in regard to education and literacy, the sciences, the arts and intelligence of every kind, as high above the nations of the earth, as we do to-day in regard to religious matters.

      And before closing I would refer briefly to the ladies' relief society. We are told that, "the man is not without the woman, nor the woman without the man in the Lord." She is spoken of as a helpmeet to her husband. I remember the organization of the first Relief Society in Nauvoo, by the Prophet Joseph Smith; to-day we find them spreading all ever the land, and the benefits of their labors are widely realized. Our sisters are doing a noble and commendable work in writing and publishing, in visiting the sick and needy, and ministering to their wants, and showing kindness and benevolence towards the suffering and distressed, and also advocating principles that are honorable and praiseworthy before God and man, calculated to elevate and bless their sex. And I say to the sisters, God bless you in your labors of love, and in your enterprise, continue to press forward in your good work, and the Lord will bless you and your posterity after you; for you are mothers in Israel who are raising up kings and priests unto the Most High God. See that your children are taught aright, and that they grow up in virtue and purity before the Lord. Teach them good principles, never mind so much about the fashions; but let economy, industry, charity, kindness and virtue be early impressed upon their minds, and try to love your sons and daughters, and to lead them in the paths of life.

      I should like to speak of our Sunday Schools and other institutions, but time will not permit. I have talked long enough. God bless you, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

            The choir sang an anthem

Arise for thy light's come,

            Conference was adjourned until to-morrow (Monday) at 10 a.m.

            Benediction by Elder George Q. Cannon.

_____

[8 Apr, 10 am]

[DNW 27:149, 4/10/78, p 5]

THIRD DAY.

_____

MONDAY MORNING, April 8th.

            Conference was called to order by President John Taylor.

            The choir sang,

We're not ashamed to own our Lord,
 And worship him on earth.

[Elder Joseph F. Smith]

            Elder JOSEPH F. SMITH said it was manifest to him that God was with us as a people, notwithstanding our many shortcomings. He felt that in the things of God he was but a child, and if the Lord would exercise forbearance towards him, while he continues to try and learn more and do better in the future than in the past, he had no doubt that the same forbearance would be exercised towards the whole people of God. We have got to learn more about the will of God, and then do it, and not indulge in the thought that we can serve God acceptably, and yet carry out our own whims and desires. But few have fully learned the mind and will of God as it is made known to us through Jesus Christ, to the extent to have our own will entirely subjugated to the will of the Father. When such a lesson is learned it will be easy to get along with what we call temporal things.

            We are engaged in the salvation of the dead as well as the living. It is our duty also to prepare employment for our people. It is important that whatever means God may see fit to place in the hands of any of the Saints should be wisely disbursed in the building up of the kingdom of God, not to make them proud and lifted up in their feelings and spirit, so as to create class distinctions. The poor who are aged and infirm should not be neglected, neither should those who draw their support form the church be kept in idleness, but should manifest a disposition to do whatever they can towards their maintenance, that the idler may not eat the bread of the industrious. These things should be looked well into, and employment found for the old and the young according to their capacity.

            The gospel of Jesus Christ has as much to do with temporal as with spiritual things; it tends to make good parents, dutiful children; it teaches honesty and every other good principle, and tends also to more eminently qualify those who have embraced it, to become better mechanics and increase their ability in every condition of life. It teaches us the principle of stewardship, and to regard everything that God has placed in our possession as belonging in reality to him, and that we are only to act as his stewards, and to use them for his honor and glory.

            A general exhibit of the tithing received during the year 1877, with the various local disbursements connected therewith was then read to the conference by Elder David McKenzie. Also an exhibit of the cash received and disbursed by the Trustee in Trust for the six months ending April 6, 1878.

            Elder GEORGE Q. CANNON then made a few explanatory remarks on the disparity that appeared between some of the Stake reports, and then inquired if the annual exhibit of tithing as well as the one-half yearly cash reports were acceptable to the Conference.

            Bishop Sharp then moved that both reports be accepted, which was seconded and sustained by a unanimous vote of the Conference.

            The choir sang the anthem:

O Lord, most merciful.

            Conference adjourned till 2 p.m.

            Benediction by Elder W. Woodruff.

_____

[8 Apr, 2 pm*]

[DNW 27:149, 4/10/78, p 5]

AFTERNOON, 2 p.m.

            The choir sang,

 Hark the song of jubilee,
Loud as mighty thunders roar.

            Prayer by Elder D. H. WELLS.

            Choir sang,

Come we that love the Lord,
And let our joys be known.

            The following missionaries were then presented to the Conference and unanimously sustained:

For England.

Geo Openshaw, Salt Lake City
Henry Walsh, " "
M B Wheelwright, Ogden
Wm Bramhall, Springville
John Maycock, "
Joseph Hyde, Cache
Sas L Bunting, Kanab
Isaac Smith, Brigham City
Louis Bunce, Pettyville
John L Blythe, Salt Lake City, (Scotland)
J B Elder, Salt Lake City
J O Young, " "
John G Jones, Provo
J R Twelves, "
Thos Child, "
G R Emery, Salt Lake City, (Wales)
W G Sanders, Ogden
O H Berg, Provo

Swiss and German Mission.

Gottleib Enz, Richfield
Fredk G Froerer, Eden
Andrew Helpler, Sevier Co
Fred'k Formaster, St George

Malad Indian Farm.

John S Jones, Box Elder Co
Moroni Ward, "
Alexander Hunsaker, Box Elder County.

United States.

Jesse O Ballenger of Arizona
John G Midgley, Salt Lake City, Iowa and Nebraska
B F Cummings, Jun, Salt Lake City, New England
B F Cummings, Sen, Salt Lake City, Southern States
Cyrus H Wheelock, Weber Co, Wisconsin
Wm Stevenson, Echo, Nova Scotia
Anthony W Bissey, Manti, Maine

To Ashley's Fork.

Jos H Black, of Parley's Park
Alma J Johnston, "
David Johnston, "
John R Poole, Ogden

To Arizona.

Wm Nelson, Jun, Provo
Richard M Bleak, St George
Wm J Hunt, "
Alma Hunt, "
Ole Jensen, Oak Creek
Stephen Wilson, Harrisville

To Australia.

Fred J May, Salt Lake City
Thos A Shreeve, Salt Lake City

            To labor among their fellow countrymen in Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Illinois and other States:

Anders Hakkansen, Vernon
Peter Jensen, S Cottonwood
Gustav Thommason, Logan
Christopher Winge, Hyrum
Anders Peterson, Salt Lake
Neils Rasmussen, "
Neils Peter Larsen Velby, Pleasant Grove
Andrew Eglund, Spanish Fork
Mads Yorgenson, Provo
H C Helsel, Pleasant Grove
John Larsen, Logan
Neils Neilson, American Fork
Paul A Poulsen, West Jordan

            Names of missionaries called since last Conference who are now in their fields of labor:

N C Flygare, Ogden, Scandinavia
Hyrum H Clark, Farmington, Tennessee
Ed Stevenson, Salt Lake City, Tennessee
J J M Butler, Ogden, United States
John Morgan, S L City, Southern States
Andrew L Johnson, S L City, Southern States
David Williams, S L City, Southern States
H W Barnett, Payson, Southern States
M F Cowley, S L City, Southern States
Thomas Weeks,
Ara W Sabin, Tooele City, Southern States.
Joseph Standing, Box Elder, Southern States.
J Z Stewart, Draperville, Colorado.
Erastus B Snow, St George, New Mexico.
Meliton G Trejo, Richfield, Arizona.
James Allen, Kentucky.
Delonnay Deitrich (priest), Ohio.
John G Thayn, Salt Lake, U S, Canada and England.

            Elder DAVID MCKENZIE then read full statistical reports from the various Stakes of the Territory, also from Logan and Manti Temples. Logan Temple had expensed in materials, labor and cash, $55,000; and the Manti Temple, in labor, donations, teams and material, $62,000. Then followed an exhibit of the business of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund.

            Elder GEO. Q. CANNON announced that Z. C. M. I. had declared a dividend of 2½ per cent. to the stockholders, which could be drawn immediately in merchandize, or in cash, on the first of May. He strongly urged the necessity of sustaining this and all other home institutions.

            President JOHN TAYLOR said it was the duty of the Saints engaged in mercantile business to sustain this, and all other home industries. All the Saints should encourage each other in our efforts to become a self-sustaining community.

            The general authorities of the church were then presented before the Conference, and unanimously sustained, as follows:

            John Taylor as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, as one of the Twelve Apostles, and o f the Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

            As members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles -- Wilford Woodruff, Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q Cannon, Brigham Young, Joseph F Smith and Albert Carrington.

            Counselors to the Twelve Apostles -- John W Young, D H Wells.

            The Twelve Apostles as the presiding quorum and authority of the Church, and with their Counselors as Prophets, Seers and Revelators.

            Patriarch of the Church -- John Smith.

            As the first seven Presidents of Seventies: Joseph Young, Levi W. Hancock, Henry Herriman, Albert P Rockwood, Horace S Eldredge, Jacob Gates and John Van Cott.

            the Presiding Bishop of the Church -- Edward Hunter, with Leonard W Hardy and Robert T Burton as his Counselors;.

            John Taylor as Trustee-in-Trust of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with the Twelve Apostles, their two counselors and Edward Hunter as his counselors.

            Albert Carrington as President of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund for the gathering of the poor, and the following as his assistants: F D Richards, F M Lyman, H S Eldredge, Joseph F Smith, John W Young, Angus M Cannon, Moses Thatcher, William Jennings, John r Winder, Henry Dinwoodey, Robt T Burton, A O Smoot and H B Clawson.

            Orson Pratt as historian and general Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff his assistant.

            Truman O. Angel as General Architect of the Church, and T. O. Angel, Jun., and W. H. Folsom, his assistants.

            As Auditing Committee -- W. Woodruff, E. Snow, J. F. Smith.

            George Goddard as Clerk of the General Conference..

            President John Taylor stated that the auditing committee had been engaged in looking after the interests of the Church, and with a view of facilitating their labors and bringing them to a speedy and successful termination. He nominated Franklin D. Richards to assist them, who was unanimously sustained.

            A very interesting report was then read from the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Society. Number of Associations 146, number of members 6,829.

            A Territorial Sabbath School report was read, which gave the number of schools, 263; total number of teachers 3,929; total number of pupils 30,037; Bible and Testament classes 963; number of books in library 15,143.

            The above shows an increase for the last two years of 101 schools, 535 teachers, 9,576 scholars, 1,102 library books, 242 Bible and Testament classes.

            The choir sang the anthem,

Gloria.

            Conference was adjourned until October 6th, in this Tabernacle.

            Benediction by Elder Erastus Snow.

            Thus ended a very largely attended and interesting Conference, the weather was fine, and though many came from the extreme limits of the Territory, yet all felt abundantly satisfied and well paid for their visit.

GEO. GODDARD,
Clerk of Conference.

_____

6-8 Oct 1878, 48th Semi-Annual General Conference, SLC Tabernacle.
[Deseret News Weekly, 27:572, 10/16/78, p 2; Millennial Star 40:657, 689]

[6 Oct, 10 am]

[DNW 27:572, 10/9/78, p 12]

SEMI-ANNUAL CONFERENCE

_____

            The Forty-Eighth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints convened in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, October 6th, 1878, at 10 a.m., as per previous adjournment.

            President John Taylor presiding.

            Present on the stand:

Of the Twelve Apostles:

John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Joseph F. Smith, Albert Carrington.

Counselor to the Twelve:

            Daniel H. Wells.

Patriarch:

            John Smith

Of the first Seven Presidents of Seventies:

            Joseph Young, Levi W. Hancock, John Van Cott and Horace S. Eldredge.

Of the Presidency of the Salt Lake Stake of Zion:

            Angus M. Cannon, David O. Calder and Joseph E. Taylor.

Of the Presidency of the High Priests' Quorum of this Stake of Zion:

            Elias Morris and Edward Snelgrove.

Of the Presidency of the Bishopric of the Church:

Edward Hunter, Leonard W. Hardy and Robert T. Burton

            The weather was beautiful and the tabernacle was crowded at the opening services, every Stake of Zion throughout the Territory being largely represented by presidents, Bishops and others.

            Conference was called to order by President JOHN TAYLOR.

            The choir sang:

I saw a mighty angel fly,
To earth he bent his way.

            Prayer by ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON.

            The choir sang:

Author of truth, Eternal Word,
Whose spirit breathes the active flame.

ELDER ORSON HYDE

Rejoiced in meeting with the saints on this beautiful morning. The people in the country where he was wont to labor had a sufficiency of the products of the earth to make them comfortable and happy. We had been for many years under the lash of the outside world, and he did not look for any relaxation of their influence until Satan was bound and the saints obtained the victory. He referred to and quoted one of the Revelations of St. John, wherein he saw a beautiful woman clothed with glory, with the moon under her feet, upon whose head was a crown of Twelve Stars, and whose ambition was far superior to anything of a terrestrial character. While those stars continued to occupy that position, the saints would have nothing to fear. In relation to the witnesses of the Book of Mormon, he said most of them had finished their mission and gone behind the vail. Their testimony was good in its time and season, but as the work proceeded, other testimonies became necessary. The servants of God had gone forth and testified before the nations of the earth to the truth of the Book of Mormon, and since then the waster has been sent forth to destroy and many were his victims, falling a prey to pestilence, famine and other calamities. He made a few remarks about the manuscript of the Book of Mormon, now in the hands of David Whitmer. He did not regard it as of any vital importance to the interests of the kingdom, but simply as an interesting relic of early history. The principle of love and union among the saints was of far more consequence to us at the present time.

            He then spoke of the responsibility that rests upon those who hold the priesthood, and who should be willing to use their influence to reprove, in kindness, wherever sinful practices came within their purview, and wisdom dictated it. He spoke with feelings of gratitude of the rich and bountiful harvest that God had blessed us with this season, and said if the brethren would be prompt in the payment of their honest tithing, the hands of the servants of God would be strengthened and the blessings of God would distil upon the people like the gentle dew. He then alluded to the calamities and troubles that will soon deluge the earth and reach kings and rulers and "the high ones who are high," according to the predictions of the prophets, when the only door of deliverance for those who wish to escape will be in Zion.

ELDER C. C. RICH

Said the great object of our being gathered together was to secure our salvation and this can only be obtained by yielding to and carrying out correct principles; we must not dictate the Almighty, but learn by simple and childlike submission, the grand principle of obedience, which will inevitably bring upon us the blessings of God which he has promised to bestow upon his faithful children. We have no spare time to waste, but should devote our time and means to the building up of the kingdom of God, and if we carried out the counsels of the servants of God, our labors would be devoted in the right direction. God had given us power to do the work that he requires of us, and it was as well for us occasionally to ask ourselves the question whether our labors are acceptable to the Lord or not. One duty required of us was to be baptized for our friends who have died without the privilege of attending to that duty themselves, and this must be done in a temple, several of which we were now building. We must also act upon a principle of union and not clash in our daily labor, but always be willing to act in concert with the counsel of the servants of God. He closed his very practical remarks by bearing his testimony to the truth of the work of God, in which he had been actively engaged for a period of over 46 years.

PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR

gave a few very timely hints to the ushers, to keep good order in the galleries and throughout the vast congregation, instructing them not to permit unnecessary walking about.

            The choir sang the anthem,

Awake, Awake, put on thy strength.

            Conference adjourned till two o'clock.

            Benediction by Elder D. H. Wells.

_____

[6 Oct, 2 pm]

[DNW 27:572, 10/9/78, p 12]

AFTERNOON.

Oct. 6, 2 p. m.

            The choir sang,

Though deep'ning trials throng your way,
Press on, press on, ye Saints of God.

            Prayer by Elder Wilford Woodruff.

            The choir sang,

We here approach thy table Lord,
At thy command through chosen men.

ELDER GEO. Q. CANNON

Read a portion of section lvili of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. He said that any one who was called to stand before such a vast congregation would naturally feel his own nothingness, and the necessity of reliance upon the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, so that the people might be fed with the brad of life. We had travelled as elders to the various nations of the earth, published the first principles of the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and gathered the people together. With these things and labors, the elders of the Church had become familiar, also with laying the foundation of settlements, and organizing a system of government, and, by having so many labors to perform in the temporal affairs of the people, obtained an experience that perhaps no other body of men was ever called to. Notwithstanding all these various labors, we were now standing but on the threshold of our duties and responsibilities. we now need statesmen and those who are capable of directing the people, and the affairs of their daily life, so as to make our temporal influence as powerfully felt as our spiritual influence. He then spoke of the dangers that now beset and threaten our small republic, and said our only safeguard was the principle of union. Though we might be numerically weak, we should be actually strong, if we could but become united in all our interests. In the early existence of this church, though so few in number, the influence of mobocracy began to appear and persecution set in for its destruction. Nothing but the union that was among this people preserved us upon the earth, and God permitted us to grow and increase, until He gave us a command to gather out of Babylon, to leave our homes in the east and come to the valleys of the mountains. There was not only spiritual salvation connected with these movements, but temporal salvation also, and we could not accomplish our spiritual salvation without temporal acts and labors. One design of the Almighty in gathering together a great people in these valleys, was to establish a government and dominion over which he should preside, hence the necessity of our being so thoroughly organized, that a power and influence would be developed which we had never attained to. He referred with pleasure to the change that was taking place in the minds of the Elders in regard to the necessity of a more strict and complete system of union. But though the principle of co-operation or of the United Order might be understood by the leading authorities of the Church, it would not be easy to get the masses of the people to adopt it until they could be led to comprehend it. He was happy to say that notwithstanding the many mistakes that had occurred in our past efforts, the subject of union in our temporal affairs had been so thoroughly canvassed among the people that they were now both ready and willing to fall in with any practical measures that might be recommended to them by the leaders of the Church. He suggested that a committee, or board of trade, composed of the best practical business men of the Territory be appointed to superintend and aid the various branches of home industry that may be introduced, so that the benefits arising from home products may be used to enhance the interests of the whole community, rather than the aggrandizement of a few. The servants of God were endeavoring to unite a people that are diverse in their habits and acts. It required great wisdom to accomplish it, nothing short of the wisdom of God could bring it about. A perfect system of organization was what the Twelve Apostles were after, and their labors would never cease until that which God had designed to bring about would be accomplished, not only in relation to us as a handful of people, but the whole family of our Eternal Father. He had called us to this high and holy calling. And while we owed our time and means in this direction, yet we must not on any consideration, be careless and indifferent to the obligations we were under to our on families, every member of which we were in duty bound to support, cherish and instruct. If we were only willing to receive and embrace these principles of union that are now burning in the breasts of the Apostles, God would abundantly bless the Saints in everything that pertains to their present and future happiness. He concluded a very powerful discourse by showing the vanities and evil of living for self, and the glory and honor of laboring for the benefit of others and the salvation of mankind.

[George Q. Cannon]

[DNW 27:642, 11/13/78, p 2; JD 20:77]

DISCOURSE

BY ELDER GEO. Q. CANNON,

Delivered at the Semi-Annual Conference, on Sunday afternoon, April [October] 6, 1878.

_____

REPORTED BY GEO. F. GIBBS.

_____

      The speaker read from the Doctrine and Covenants (new edition), commencing at the 24th paragraph, and ending at the 33rd paragraph, of section 58.

      This is a great people, and if anything would be likely to appall a man and make him feel his own nothingness, it is to stand up before such an audience as is here assembled, to attempt to speak to them and to instruct them. We have, however, something besides our own strength to rely on; if it were not so, I should not be here. The promise of the Lord is that when we assemble together as we have this day, and as we are now assembled, he will give unto us that portion of his word and his counsel as shall be sailed to our circumstances, so that every soul shall eat of the bread of life and go away satisfied, and rejoice in the privilege he may have had of coming together as we now are.

      This work in which we are engaged embraces more and more. The older I grow the more I become acquainted with its magnitude, with the responsibilities that are connected with it, and especially the responsibilities which rest down upon those who are the chosen leaders of the people.

      We know, as was testified to this morning, that this is the work of God, that God has laid its foundation, that God has chosen the men who are associated with it and who are in authority connected with the work, to fill the situations which they occupy. We know also that he has restored the authority that was once enjoyed by man, by which men are enabled to act in the midst of the people in Christ's stead. And knowing these things we are encouraged as a people and as individuals to press forward and to help establish that cause which he has revealed to the earth. But there are many things connected with this work, with its advancement, with the binding of the people together, with the carrying out of the great designs which God has revealed for the salvation of the children of men; which press upon our attention and cause us to exercise every faculty of our minds in thinking, in pondering upon and in giving shape to measures that shall result in the greatest good to this great people.

      The principles of the Gospel we are all familiar with, as a people; we have studied the lesson from the beginning and have become Familiar with it in almost all its details. We have traveled, we have preached, we have borne testimony to this work; we have helped to gather the people together, organizing them, before doing so, into branches, into conferences, into missions, and then have organized them into companies to travel by sea, to travel by land, to bring them to the gathering places which have been appointed. With these labors the Elders of this church have obtained great familiarity; they have become experts in preaching spiritual salvation, in preaching the first principles of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ; in telling the people how they shall be saved from their sins, and what they shall do to obtain the promises of God connected with obedience to this Gospel. And we have, in coming to these mountains, obtained considerable knowledge concerning other matters. Probably to-day a man would not be open to the charge of egotism, of being vain concerning the people, were he to say that, to take the Latter-day Saints, the men of this church, and in no other body of men of the same numbers will you find men of such experience in preaching, in traveling, as missionaries, as Elders, in organizing the people, in handling companies of large bodies of men and women and laying the foundation of settlements, in building cities, in developing countries, and in organizing systems of government in those countries. I do not know that I am open to the charge of being vain concerning the Latter-day Saints when I make this statement—that in all the earth, among all the inhabitants of the earth, you cannot find so large a body of principal men familiar with spiritual things, familiar with temporal things, familiar with the handling of large bodies of people and organizing them and dictating their labors and planning for their temporal salvation, and for their good government, as you will find in the midst of these mountains and numbered in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

      And yet, after making this statement, we stand, as it were, at the very threshold of our work, just at the door of it; we have scarcely accomplished anything compared to what remains to be done connected with the work devolving upon us. We have made a beginning, it is true, we have solved some problems; but there is an immense amount of work to be done by us as a people, and especially by those who act in our midst in the capacity of leaders. The highest qualities of statesmanship are needed and called for; the highest qualities that men and women possess that make them capable of planning for nations devising schemes and plans that will not only save a town or a small community of people, but that will extend to nations the means of saving them from national peril and from evils that menace the existence of every power that now exists upon the face or the earth.

      You look abroad to-day among the inhabitants of the earth and see their condition, see the evils with which they are afflicted and which threaten the downfall and the overthrow of nations and we need not to go beyond our own land to gain experience in this matter, and to ascertain the danger which besets this republic, the most glorious nation, and the most glorious form of government that exists upon the habitable globe. How many times it is said that this republic cannot stand, that evils are working and undermining the fabric of government, and which threatens its speedy overthrow. You can scarcely talk with a thinking man upon these subjects, a man who takes in, to the extent of his vision, all the evils which threaten our nation, without having him acknowledge that the future, in many respects, looks exceedingly dark, and that it is somewhat doubtful whether the republic can be preserved as it is at the present.

      With all these facts, then, before us, it is well for us to-day, assembled as we are in this general Conference, to take into some consideration our own condition, the circumstances which surround us, and examine them in the light of intelligence and wisdom, as He has given it to us, and whether we should not take steps to preserve our existence, and not only preserve, but perpetuate it, and to increase our power, and to cause that work with which we are identified to continue to progress and to fulfil its high and glorious destiny.

      There is one principle which I think in mentioning everyone will see the power of, and that is union. It is a trite saying, often repeated, that union is strength. Certainly we have proved the truth of this saying through the long or short period, as it may be, of our existence as a people. There is no people to-day with whom I am acquainted who has proved so satisfactorily as we have throughout our past experience, the value of union. It is that which makes us, numerically a weak people, a strong people; it is that which makes us one hundred and fifty or one hundred and sixty thousand, or perhaps two hundred thousand people throughout these mountains north and south, a power in the land; and a power certainly which there is more said about than any other power, probably, in existence. Divide us up, segregate us into denominations, into factions, and what would we amount to? Nothing; our strength would be dissipated, we would be enfeebled, and nothing particularly would be said about us more than is said about thousands and millions of others from whom we are separated. It was the union of the Latter-day Saints which in the beginning created opposition against us, brought it to the surface, and made it moving when there were but fifty or less members of the church. The very fact that a new principle of union, had been brought to light, through which these fifty men and women were united as the heart of one, was sufficient to arouse opposition and create to a certain extent, fear. Sectarian influence was brought to bear against us. "Our creed is in danger, our sect is in danger, our place is in danger, if this people with this union should gain a foothold among us." Alarm was felt in the ranks of the various sects, and they felt that, although a power insignificant and weak, as it were, it should be fought and its existence extirpated, if possible from off the earth. Hence the opposition it met with in the beginning A few weeks old, like a little trembling, puny infant not able to walk, not, able to speak or make itself felt. Yet the very existence of the, infant aroused fear, as great fear as that which animated Herod of old when he issued an edict for all the first-born male children of Israel to be slain. It created terror in the land; and all because a certain babe of Bethlehem had been born, and he hoped, in issuing this cruel edict, to destroy this man-child and with him the power which he fevered. So it was in the beginning of this work, when it was weak and feeble it created in the minds of those who watched its birth and its after-growth a feeling of fear, and they were determined to destroy it from off the earth, if they could.

      When the church moved to Kirtland and the people began to gather together to go to that place to settle, you will see by reading the history, the fear that was produced. And you read the history of the settlement of the people in Jackson County and you will see the same manifestations, only more violent, until such a spirit was engendered that the mob succeeded in driving the people from the county. You can trace it through all the history of this people to the present time. It has been the union of the Latter-day Saints that, as I have before said, aroused opposition, crystallized it and made it as effective as it has been against us. Had we been a divided people, had we been quarrelling among ourselves, had there been factions among us and jealousies among our leading men, you would not have seen this opposition neither would you have seen the credit that has been given to us, nor the power that this people have wielded in the earth to the present time. You would not have seen this spectacle—this inspiriting spectacle of 12,000 people assembled under one roof to worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences and the revelations of God, and partaking of the Lord's Supper, as we are to-day. You would not have seen these valleys peopled from Idaho in the north to Mexico in the south with settlements of people of one faith, of one belief, worshiping God in the same manner and calling upon him unitedly to bestow upon them the santo blessings, and laboring for the same objects. The value, therefore, of union we, as a people, have demonstrated as no other people now living have. And I leave you to your own reflections to imagine what we would be without if. Everyone can think for himself, or herself, upon this subject, and can draw his or her own conclusions. But as we are united and have been spiritually, it is not the design of God, as is clearly manifest in his revelations, plainly spoken through his word, and deeply impressed by his Holy Spirit upon every heart belonging to this church, that this alone is not the object of our organization as a people. It was not for spiritual salvation alone that the word of the Lord came to us to gather out of Babylon; it was not for spiritual salvation alone that the Elders of this Church traversed sea and land for so long a period, gathering the people together at such an expense of time and means; it was not for spiritual salvation alone that we have suffered the attacks and the violence of mobs, that we left our homes in the east—the pleasant places that many left, and crossed these dreary wastes, and planted ourselves in these mountains. There was something more than this embodied in the idea; there was something more than this embodied in the effort. There was temporal salvation also connected with the spiritual salvation that had been extended to us. I use the term "temporal salvation," because it is better understood probably than any other term I could use. My training has led me to blend the two, it being difficult for me to draw the line of demarcation between the temporal and spiritual; but in many minds there is a destinction. I use the phrase, therefore, that those who are familiar with it will understand my meaning. Temporal salvation is as necessary, according to the faith of the Latter-day Saints, in its time and season, as spiritual salvation. Of course spiritual salvation occupies the first, and ought to be foremost within every heart; but we cannot accomplish our spirtual salvation and the destiny of our Father and Creator without also connecting with it temporal salvation, temporal acts, the performance of temporal labor. Hence, as I have said, it should occupy some portion of our thoughts, it should be considered by us; and as I have remarked, we have not come out of our present location for purely spiritual performances, but to lay the foundation of a system that should stand forever, that should be connected with man's existence here upon the earth, both his spiritual and his temporal existence; a work that should affect everything connected with man and his relationship to his fellow-man.

      A great many of the Latter-day Saints have failed, as I have sometimes thought, to grasp this idea, to grasp the idea that the Lord was founding a great nationality—if I may use such a limited phrase as that; it limits the idea to call it a nationality. The Lord is gathering out from every nation, kindred, tongue and people a community, out of which he intends to form for himself a kingdom, not an earthly kingdom, but a kingdom over which he will preside in the heavens; a kingdom that should be based upon purely republican principles upon the earth; and therefore not a kingdom in the strict sense of the word, so far as its earthly location is concerned; but a republic. And for this purpose, as the Latter-day Saints have believed from the beginning, the Lord raised up the founders of our nation and inspired them—George Washington and others—to do the work that they accomplished, in laying the foundation of a form of government upon this land under which that kingdom that he should establish should grow and flourish and extend itself without interfering in the least degree with the genius of the government. And this is the work in which we are engaged; this is the labor that should occupy our attention, and as I have said, we should take warning by that which we see around us on every hand—the decay, the desintegration of the various governments and powers, and organize ourselves so that we can preserve ourselves, and grow and increase and add to the power we already possess. I believe our people are beginning to take higher views of the organization with which they are connected, and consequently higher views of their own individual responsibility and the labor that devotes upon each one as an individual. We see more of this spirit manifested. The Elders have ever evinced a willingness to go forth at the call of the proper authorities to preach the Gospel and perform labors of this character for the public good; but it has been a difficult lesson for us to learn that it was equally binding upon us, as servants of God, that we should labor in temporal matters with the same devotion trod the spirit of self-abnegation that we did in laboring to preach the Gospel. There seemed to be a higher calling in the mind of man associated with spiritual matters; it seemed to be more dignified; it has seemed to be more worthy of men's gratuitous labor, than to labor with their bands or brain for the temporal advancement of the work and for the temporal salvation of the people. I believe that you will all have noticed that there is a change taking place it, many minds in regard to this, and many men are beginning to take a different view—in fact they have done for years; probably some never had any other view, but a great many who have had different views, who have imagined that it was their duty to look at these temporal matters, are beginning to take different; views, to take a higher conception of their responsibility in this direction. It is right and proper that we should do so. There is no good reason why a man should imagine that he has fulfilled the acquirements more acceptably, more approvedly in preaching this Gospel, than in laboring, after the people have been gathered home, for their salvation in temporal things.

      There is a subject that has occupied a great amount of thought, and has been dwelt upon very frequently in our public assemblies for the past few years; I refer to that of the United Order. There have been some attempts, in fact I may say many attempts at organization with a view to its more complete carrying out. There is another principle connected with this that has been in force also upon our attention for many years past, namely, the system of cooperation in temporal matters. We have felt to a very great extent the importance of this; I believe the spirit, of it has rested upon the Latter-day Saints. When you look back a few years, by way of contrasting our condition then with our condition to-day, you will perceive, doubtless, there has been a great change effected among us in regard to this matter. There has been considerable thought among the people concerning it; a great many have reasoned upon it for themselves, and have become thoroughly convinced of the importance of the principle. In this a good work has been done, because it is an exceedingly difficult thing to leaven the whole mass of people, like this people who inhabit these valleys, to leaven them with correct ideas and have them understand them. If the First Presidency of the Church comprehend a principle, and the Twelve comprehend it, but the people fail to comprehend it, you can readily understand how difficult it would be to make that principle practical and operative. The leading men, then, have carried the whole people upon their shoulders, so to speak; if under those circumstances anything has to be done it is to be done upon their faith and influence alone. But when you can get the thinking men and women throughout our community to understand and realize the importance of the principle, the victory is won, the work then is comparatively easy of accomplishment. And this has been a subject of congratulation to me in my feelings, that notwithstanding the many errors, notwithstanding the many failures, notwithstanding the lack of success in many directions, the principle of co-operation, the principle of uniting ourselves together in the United Order has been reflected upon, has been cogitated and discussed in all the circles of this people and at their firesides, until it may be said an understanding of it permeates the entire mass of the people, as a people; and there is scarcely an argument needed in talking about it now to convince those who are the most stubborn and reluctant in giving adherence to the principle. When you hear any opponent to the principle express himself now-a-days, it is in this way: "It is an excellent principle, if we could only carry it out properly." The principle is conceded, its correctness is assented to; it only remains now for us to carry it out properly, in order for us to gain the confidence and the support of those who are doubtful upon that point. And I think this a great work accomplished. It seems to me that the Latter-day Saints to-day are in this position: Tell us what to do and how to do it. You leading men, tell us how we ran operate, how we can unite together. Devise the plan, suggest how it can be carried out successfully, and we are on hand to carry it out." I do not know from your expressions, whether I state your feelings correctly or not on this point; but I state that which I believe, that which I am impressed with in connection with my brethren and sisters, wherever I meet them, and whenever this subject or topic comes up for discussion or mention. There is one thing, brethren and sisters, that must strike us all as being right and proper; and that is to throw our efforts in one channel, to make our influence felt as an entire body and not as I have remarked, to divide ourselves and scatter our influence so that it will be unfelt.

      I have endeavored to describe to you the influence we wield because of our union in spiritual matters. The same remark will apply exactly to our union in temporal matters. Let this people be united in temporal matters; let it be known that we work together for one another's good, that we labor, as a people to benefit the whole and not the individual, and that our influence is in this direction; and I tell you that the same influence, the same power, that wield now as a spiritual organization will be felt in our temporal affairs. in our financial affairs, in all the affairs in fact which attract our attention.

      One great object we should aim to reach, that we should aim to accomplish, is to make ourselves independent in regard to manufactures. We have had, the last week, considerable conversation with leading men from various parts of this Territory concerning this principle of co-operation. Notwithstanding some differences of opinion upon some points, upon this one point that I have endeavored to set before you in my last few sentences, there has been an unanimity of feeling and opinion, that is of the imperative necessity of our being united in our business matters, in our financial matters and work to sustain each other and build each other up. I am persuaded that a great amount of good will result from these interviews and from the measures that will be adopted. I have felt that it will be a most excellent thing for us to have a permanent organization of our best business men, and the most practical men, from all parts of our Territory, acting in the capacity of a board of trade, whose duty shall be to look after our manufacturing, mercantile and other interests; and should there at any time be anything wrong in our systems of doing business, tending in the least to prevent perfect union, that the necessary measures might be devised to remedy these things and bring about a concert of action upon all hands. Now you have herod it stated frequently that those who are engaged in home manufactures do not receive the patronage that they should do, that our home manufactories were not treated properly, that these engaged in them did not receive the sympathy of business men, and that the masses of the people were not disposed to patronize then, I think there is at the present time but little cause for statements of thin kind; in fact I have not heard of them of late. But if we had such an organization as this—and I understand that Pres. Taylor is thinking seriously of having it a permanent organization—then if there were anything of this character that needed correction, if there was a struggling institution that needed help, by making a requisition to this Board of Trade, it perhaps could receive the support it needed, and be placed upon a firm footing in our midst, and perhaps be able to sustain itself and live.

      Already the stockholders of Z. C. M. I. as it is called—Zions Co-operative Mercantile Institution, met, and a report was made by the President and Secretary of that Institution, which I think was most gratifying to all present upon that occasion. I have been familiar with the institution since its inception. I think I can truly say that at no period since its organization was it ever in so good condition, having so few liabilities to meet as it has to-day. It is in a sounder, healthier and more prosperous condition than it has ever been. I allude to this because it is called the Parent Institution. In Box Elder County where Brother Snow presides, he took the profits of their mercantile business to start the branches of manufacture that are now in successful running order. Our institution has done much in a similar direction. It has carried many a struggling enterprise; it has been the beast of burden for almost every institution and every establishment and railroad almost in the country. It has accomplished an immense amount of good, far more than the mere paying of dividends, although it has done this to a surprising extent. Those who invested their means seem to have become the most discouraged. Therefore, in alluding to it in this manner, it is in justice to it, and in justice to those especially who have all the time, over and again, kept; their shoulders to the Institution, sustaining it and bearing it up to the best of their ability. You all know, who have attended conferences in past times, how much Prest. Young was interested in this matter; not so much in the sale of merchandise as in the principle of co-operation. And he and others have stepped forward repeatedly, and have sustained it in the midst of the people, when otherwise it would have gone down. I allude to this because it comes in the line of my remarks, in the thread of my argument, so to speak. To be successful we ought, instead of dividing asunder and drawing one from another, to cling closer together; it is of the utmost importance that all our financial matters should be conducted in away to contribute to the influence of the whole people; it is of the utmost importance that we should take steps to develop in our midst something of a home character. Steps have already been taken, as some of you know, in the establishment of a tannery, and in connection with it a shoe manufactory I was exceedingly gratified to learn from the report that nearly $100,000 of home manufactured goods, besides a large list of small articles, the value of which was not estimated, had been sold during the last half year by the Co-operative Institution. I am informed that this was the purchase price, the price at which they were sold would of course amount to still more. This speaks well for home manufactures, sold by one institution.

      It is an easy thing to tear down; any man no matter what his knowledge, no matter what his experience can pull down; a feel could set fire to a building; a few fools could set fire to a city and consume the works of man that had cost hundred of years of labor. It requires no wisdom for a man to criticise the acts of another man. It is even said that a feel can ask questions that could not be answered by the wisest men. Unwise people can criticise plans and schemes the creation of wise and experienced heads; that is a comparatively easy matter for parsons to do. But it requires great wisdom to organize; it requires great wisdom to create measures that will bind a people of diversified interests together; of varieties of views, dissimilar habits and to some extent of training, and to bring them together, and bind them together, and make one people of them, requires the highest qualities of wisdom, and it is this we are endeavoring to do. Can it be found fault with? Undoubtedly there are many things in our organizations that are defective; but it is our duty, if there be faults, to correct them. If there be wise men among us let them come forward; let us see their wisdom, and not retain it to benefit one, but let it be used to benefit the whole. There was not any more obligation upon Prest. Young, when he was alive, or upon the Prophet Joseph when he lived, than there is upon us individually; that is looking at it in one light. You and I all expect to share if faithful, the same glory that they will attain to. Every man and every woman in this audience comprising this body of Latter-day Saints, expect, if found faithful, to share with those who have gone before—the righteous and holy, and become heirs of God, and joint heir with Jesus Christ; that is, attain to the very highest glory. If this be our aspiration, our hope and anticipation, we should work for that, we should labor for it. In the words of the revelation I have read in your hearing, "He is a slothful servant that waits to be commanded." A man may do, and he should do many things of his own free will in the exercise of his agency. And if there be wisdom in the breast of any man that has not been brought to light, let it come forth to the light that we may have the benefit of it in causing to be effected a more perfect organization of this people. For I tell you we have a perfect organization in view, and nothing short of it will satisfy us. The Twelve have all had it at heart, and they are bound by the covenants of the Holy Priesthood and by the responsibility which rests upon them, and upon him, who is the President of the Twelve and of the Church. I say we are bound by these covenants and these sighs of responsibility, and to labor to-day, and labor to-morrow, and labor continuously until eternity shall dawn upon us for the more perfect organization of this people in their temporal affairs. And as for division, we want it not; disunion, we want it not. We do not want to see the Elders of Israel fall asunder, dividing this people and leading them away from the union that should characterize us. We say that any man that does it is not of God; the man that does it is not inspired by the Spirit of God, and has not the love and prosperity of this work at heart.

      We are struggling now, the elements are chaotic. In some respects we are endeavoring to gather together. Dealing in merchandise is a small matter, and yet it lies to a certain extent at the foundation of our business; therefore we talk about it; but merchandizing is a small matter compared with the work of organizing the people to get them to manufacture and to furnish labor, that there may be no idle among us, that every boy and every girl, and every man and every woman in this community shall find employment; and that measures may be devied to use their labor and talent and ingenuity for the welfare and prosperity of this people for the elevation of the whole; not for the elevation of a few individuals, but for the uplifting of the entire community, and the whole human race out of ignorance, out of vice and from vicious habits, and everything degrading, lift us up, until we shall stand as man and woman could in the divine presence, filled with that divinity which we inherit from our Heavenly Father; and govern and control the elements with which this earth is so abundantly endowed, for our happiness, for the happiness of our posterity, for the happiness of the entire human family as far as they reach—from the north to the south, from east to west, until we shall comprehend the whole family of God our Heavenly Father, gradually diffusing the blessings we enjoy in these valleys through out the entire earth, until the whole earth shall be benefitted and blessed by our organization and by our existence upon it.

      These are some of the responsibilities that devolve upon us as a people. Shall I live for myself? God forbid that I should live to spend my time and exercise the talent I may possess for my personal benefit, or for the benefit of my family alone. Why? It is unworthy of any man or any woman to live for self alone; to pile up our benefits and comforts for our own luxury and aggrandisement. God forbid that we whom God has chosen, we whom he has called and inspired by his Holy Spirit, and blessed with the everlasting Gospel, and upon whom he has placed his Holy Priesthood, and called us to be saviors of men, I say God forbid that we should do this, that we should settle down and think entirely of self and build up self, and let our sphere of usefulness be limited to our own family, extend not an inch beyond our own household and our own family circle. God did not choose us for any such purpose, he did not reveal himself to us for any such object; but he has chosen us to be his missionaries in the earth, to be the pioneers in laying the foundation of that great work that shall stand forever, that shall swallow up all the works and powers of man, all the organizations of man, shall swallow all up and comprehend them all within itself. He has called us to this high and holy calling; and it should be your aim and it ought to be my aim to labor for the general good. To starve ourselves? No. Neglect ourselves? No. Let our families go uncared for? No. This is not necessary, that is the other extreme. I have no right to have a family and neglect them; but on the other hand I am under obligation to look after them, to treat them properly and give them every advantage in my power. When I became a father I took upon myself that responsibility, and it is a serious one, that is, I should educate my children and train them up in a proper manner, and see that they do not go hungry or naked. But I have another duty, a duty that reaches out beyond the family circle, a duty I owe to my fellow creatures. It is my duty to use my surplus strength and surplus means for their good, to endeavor to make them better for my existence; because I have been born that the earth will be better for it, that men and women will be better because I have lived. And it should be that the world will be better, because this Church has been organized, that the world will be bet for for our existence as an organization. And it should be the aim of every man in this Church, of every Bishop and every President of Stake and every Counselor and officer of whatever name or calling; it should be his aim to labor for the salvation of the people. And the Apostles above all, it devolves upon us, it is the covenant, as I have said, of the the priesthood we have received; and it rests upon us, and it requires us to labor to combine and unite the interests of this people. And we beseech you, in Christ's stead, brethren and sisters, be ye united, put away bickerings, put away strifes, put away all those causes of division whether they are real or imaginary, and be united as a people, and I tell you in the name of Jesus, as one of his Apostles if you do this, the heavens will be open to you and the blessings of God will descend upon you, in your basket and in your store, in your fields and in your flocks, and herds, in your wives and children, in your husbands, in your fathers and mothers, in your brothers and sisters and all your organizations; the blessings of God will descend, like the dew distilled from heaven, and rest upon you, and all that bless you will imbibe and cherish the same spirit. Now, these things are pressing upon us. We have everything against us, the whole world it may be said, are ready to pass judgment upon us; but yet there are many who oppose the work of God who do so because they have not understood it, and such people, many of them will yet be gathered in and numbered among us. This work is riot for this little handful of people, it is for the whole earth and all the inhabitants thereof and the day will come when the lessons taught by the Latter-day Saints will be approved by those who are not; Latter-day Saints. When the good government maintained in the midst, of the people of God will be copied after, and we will be looked to as exemplary.

      I pray God to bless you, to pour out his Spirit upon this Conference and upon all who shall speak and all who shall hear and all who are kept, away from the Conference that the same spirit may run through every heart; for I tell you, my brethren and sisters, it is in vain we labor, unless God is with us, in vain we assemble unless his Spirit is poured upon the people to make them to comprehend and to soften their hearts. It is a need greatly to be desired that God's Spirit will descend upon the Latter-day Saints. Oh, that it might, be poured out in power and break and rend asunder the darkness that, beclouds our minds, that we may see the things of God as they really are, and sense fully the responsibilities we are under as individuals before him. And I believe that it will be poured out more and more, and the blessings that we have yearned for and which we have prayed for and that we have so much desired in our hearts, and for which we have built Temples, these blessings will descend upon us, and the angels will be nearer to us, and the heavens will be more open to our cries and to our supplications to bestow upon us the blessings there of. We approach nearer to heaven correspondingly as we live the Gospel revealed to us. It is a precious Gospel, it is a Gospel in which there is contained every requisite to make men and women happy, and to produce a heaven upon earth; and if we will obey it and carry it out there will be more blessings conferred upon us. And that this may be the case, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

            The choir sang an anthem.

The mercies of the Lord.

            Conference was adjourned till tomorrow morning at 10 a.m.

Benediction by Elder Orson Pratt.

_____

[7 Oct, 10 am]

[DNW 27:572, 10/9/78, p 12]

SECOND DAY.

_____

MONDAY MORNING,

Oct. 7, 10 a. m.

            Conference was called to order by President John Taylor.

            The choir sang:

See how the morning sun
Pursues his shining way.

            Prayer by Elder Albert Carrington.

            The choir sang:

Mortals awake with angels join,
And chant the solemn lay.

ELDER ORSON PRATT

read a portion of a revelation given to Joseph Smith, the prophet, on the 6th day of April] 1836, being the same day the Church of Christ was organized in this dispensation. This revelation contains a message of salvation that was to be carried to all the inhabitants of the earth, and the inevitable consequences that would follow their acceptance or rejection of the same were that whoever believes and receives the testimony of the servants of God in these days will be saved, and whoever rejects their testimony will be damned.

            He then spoke of the testimony of the witnesses to the truth of the Book of Mormon. Twelve men bore witness to what their eyes saw and what their ears heard. The angel of God appeared to three of them, and not only presented the plates before them, permitting them to handle them, but told them that God had enabled his servant Joseph Smith to translate from these plates the Book of Mormon, and commanded them to bear this testimony before the world. Out of the twelve witnesses, eleven had gone the way of all flesh, and only one was now living, whose name was David Whitmer. He then rehearsed a very interesting conversation that he and Elder Joseph F. Smith had recently held with David Whitmer, who bore the same testimony which is contained in the Book of Mormon, and which the speaker had heard him bear 48 years ago. The Book of Mormon had been translated into ten different languages, and the testimony of those twelve witnesses will stand in the day of judgment against all those nations where this work is introduced and they reject it. The message of life and salvation which those witnesses testified to is the same that our Elders have carried and proclaimed for the last forty years among many nations of the earth.

            He closed his remarks by blessing the congregation in all their temporal and spiritual labors.

ELDER JOSEPH F. SMITH

Briefly referred to the recent mission of himself and Elder Orson Pratt to the States. He related some of the terrible effects of the recent cyclone which had just before their visit, passed over the country; some of the fearful consequences of it were seen in the town of Richmond, Missouri, and in the very place where Parley P. Pratt, many years ago, was a prisoner for the Gospel's sake. The place of his confinement was utterly swept away. They also visited Independence, Missouri, and examined the very spot which God designated to his servant Joseph Smith, many years ago, for a temple. The ground which was purchased for this purpose, was entirely barren without a green leaf that he could gather as a souvenir of the visit. They also had an interview with Wm. E. McLellin, one of the first council of the Twelve Apostles, who apostatized from the Church a great many years ago, and who believed in the mission of Joseph up to the time of his own apostacy.

            He then said the chief object of their mission east, was to obtain, if possible, some dates and facts that pertained to the early history of the Church, which, for the want of more correct records in that early day were lacking, supposing that some things might be gleaned from the old settlers still living in that neighborhood, but they found no one who could give them any information, or who knew as much as ourselves on these matters.

            They called upon his cousin, Joseph Smith and had some conversation with him about what is called the inspired translation of the Bible, by the Prophet Joseph Smith. The speaker was well satisfied that the book so published is only a partial translation by the Prophet, and merely contains the translation of King James, with some changes in the first chapter of Genesis and the 24th chapter of Matthew, which had been published by this Church, in the Pearl of Great Price, many years ago. They also had the privilege of visiting the Temple in Kirtland, and the hill Cumorah, besides preaching the gospel where opportunity offered. The entire account of their visit and experience while east, had been written and placed in the possession of President John Taylor. He then gave a faithful warning to the Saints to continue in their faith, to build up Zion in every possible way, and said that God in his own time would bring forth those other records which are now in the care of the angel. They would come forth to this people, and to no other, and not to them until they were fully prepared to receive them. He closed by bearing a faithful testimony not only to the truth of the work of God, but to the priesthood now held by the present leaders of the Church.

PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR

Spoke of the obligations that rest upon the various quorums of the priesthood from the head to the feet. And the necessity there was for all who are placed as shepherds over the flock -- to be pure and holy in their minds, and set such examples of righteousness, virtue and uprightness, as would be commendatory to all those over whom they preside; to put down iniquity, and always be ready to carry out the designs and purposes of the almighty, both of a temporal and a spiritual nature.

            After making some further practical remarks, he blest the congregation.

            The choir sang an anthem,

"Thine Lord is the greatness."

            Conference was adjourned till two o'clock.

            Benediction by Elder Lorenzo Snow.

_____

[7 Oct, 2 pm]

[DNW 27:578, 10/16/78, p2]

SEMI-ANNUAL CONFERENCE

_____

MONDAY AFTERNOON

2 p. m.

            The choir sang:

Sweet is the peace the gospel brings,
 To seeking minds and true.

            Prayer by Elder Lorenzo Snow.

            The choir sang:

Glorious things of thee are spoken,
 Zion, city of our God.

ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON

Read the following report of the Trustee in Trust:

            At the last October Conference (1877,) held in this place, an "auditing committee was appointed for the purpose of examining, adjusting and verifying all accounts of a public nature, associated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

            During the administration of my predecessors in office, -- our late venerable and respected Presidents Brigham Young and George A. Smith, and especially through the many years of the former's laborious and efficient administration, I was aware that complications in property matters must necessarily exist, arising from Indian wars, inimical legislation, and the many onslaughts that had been made upon him by government officials and our federal courts, as well as many vindictive and bitter assaults from unprincipled private individuals.

            I was aware also, that owing to some of these malignant prosecutions and persecutions, some of which were aimed at our public property, that he had taken measures in the interest of the church to transfer certain public properties to his own name, to preserve them from the rapacity and spoliation of unprincipled men who sought to rob and despoil us of our property. These things are well known, as he has frequently mentioned them in public.

            When you elected me Trustee-in-Trust, knowing the delicate nature of the position, I desired some assistance to relieve me, in part, from the onerous duties devolving upon me, and, therefore, nominated an auditing committee, composed of Wilford Woodruff, Erastus Snow and Joseph F. Smith, which nomination received the unanimous vote of the Conference. At the last April Conference, Franklin D. Richards was added to the committee. This was considered proper in consequence of the multiplied labors of their investigation, and the necessity of the frequent absence of some of them upon other duties. With the same view, I proposed that the Twelve Apostles and Counselors and the Presiding Bishop, Edward Hunter, should be counselors to the Trustee-in-Trust. That everything might be thoroughly understood and perfect union exist, and also that the bishopric as represented by its president might be cognizant of all our acts in temporal affairs.

            The Auditing Committee immediately entered upon their labors, and pursued with untiring energies the arduous duties which had been assigned them; conferring frequently with me and with the Council of the Twelve, as well as with the executors of the estate of the late President Young, and also obtaining explanations and aid in their researches from the clerks now in the offices of the Trustee-in-Trust, as well as from those who had heretofore occupied those positions. They had not prosecuted their investigations very far before they discovered the facts in relation to the transfer of property before referred to, and in connection therewith a large amount of personal liabilities incurred by the late President Young in preserving public interests from attempted spoliation.

            A question arose in the minds of the Committee, as to how far they should go back in their investigations. They at first thought that it would be proper only to go as far back as the commencement of the administration of President George A. Smith, but as there was at that time only a partial settlement, and as many of the accounts associated with some of these property matters ran far behind that time, it was adjudged proper, in the interests of the late Presidents Brigham Young and George A. Smith, as well as that of the church, to go back to the commencement of accounts in these valleys; and thus, by a full, fair and impartial investigation, preserve undimmed the honor of President Young and his interests, and to do right, deal justly by him, to accord to his heirs what was their due, as ell as to protect the interests of the Church, that the memory of the dead might be preserved sacred, the interests of the living protected, and the church also be placed on a proper footing.

            The course of procedure has been for the auditing committee in making their examinations, to submit them to me as Trustee-in-Trust, they were then submitted to the executors, together with the necessary explanations and vouchers, and wherein there were any differences of judgement, they were submitted to the council of the Twelve, whose action has been unanimous; and according to the requirements of the law, they were afterwards submitted, as I am informed, to the action of the Judge Probate.

            In those settlements, the feeling of the Auditing Committee, as well as my own, has been to meet, as far as practicable, the views and requirements of the executors; whilst they, in their turn, were always ready to yield to what was considered reasonable from us, a spirit of unanimity and forbearance prevailing, and from a feeling of affection and regard which we all felt for our venerated and revered president, if there was a doubt on any point, we have felt to give it in favor of the President and to deal with him dead as generously as we would were he still living in our midst; and we are persuaded that Saints of the living God, who have so often in this place and throughout the Territory, witnessed his untiring energy, his unwavering fidelity, his burning zeal, and his indomitable perseverance in their welfare, in the defence of truth, in the building up of Zion, and the establishment of truth on the earth, would say amen, and feel, with us, to treat him and his, kindly, generously and magnanimously.

            It is but proper here to state, that in all our investigations, neither the Auditing Committee nor myself have interfered in any wise with the public official acts of either the late Presidents Brigham Young or George A. Smith, as Trustees in Trust, nor with any of their settlements or disbursements, our inquiries have been directed to living issues, to unsettle and unadjusted accounts, not only as between President Young's estate and the Church, but also that of many other individuals.

            It is true that in a few instances we have been called upon to examine accounts wherein it was alleged errors, or omissions had been made, which, by some, might be considered irrelevant, having been before adjusted; yet it was thought by us that reasonable men can always afford to be just, to answer any proper inquiries and rectify any mistakes, we have therefore yielded to their solicitations; and I take great pleasure in stating that with very slight exceptions, the accounts of the President have been found strictly correct, and vouchers produced authenticating his position and settlements demonstrating the accuracy of his accounts, supervised and adjusted of course by his able clerical aid.

            It is very gratifying to state, that long before his demise, our esteemed President made a will, in which ample provisions were made for the adjustment and settlement of all his accounts, whether of a private or public nature, and the executors were fully empowered to adjust said accounts and make such settlements, as also to make conveyances of all properties held by him in trust, either of a public or private nature; thus evincing that nice sense of honor which is so pleasing to see exhibited by men to whom is committed those sacred trusts.

            It is proper here to state, that the executors, to whom was committed the onerous duties of adjusting and settling those accounts, after using the nicest scrutiny and most rigid criticism aided by competent experts, have always expressed a readiness to adjust all matters in question fairly and honorably, and none more so than the one named after his deceased father, Brigham Young.

            I also take pleasure in saying that your auditing committee, to whom was committed the unpleasant, yet onerous duty of examining and adjusting such a variety of accounts, extending through so many years, after a laborious careful and exhaustive enquiry, assisted by the most competent clerical aid, have been enabled to bring their labors to a satisfactory conclusion; satisfactory to themselves, to the executors and to the Trustee in Trust, and I think, could President Young have been present, he would have said it was satisfactory to him. I hope it will also meet your approval.

            In this settlement we have mutually exchanged receipts; the Trustee-in-Trust and the Council of the Twelve have given a receipt in full of all demands to the executors of the estate of the late President Brigham Young, and have in return received from the executors not only the transfer of all properties and claims according to the Church, but an acknowledgement of the correctness of those claims. Thus has President Young not only made provisions in his will for the adjustment of these matters, but provided the means of settlement, which the executors have faithfully carried out. Thus has he not only vindicated his own honor, but in this his last act, thrown back in the teeth of his enemies and calumniators the falsity of their allegations.

            In this connection, in justice to our Counselor, John W. Young, it may be proper to state, that all accounts against him have been fully settled and paid to the satisfaction of the Trustee-in-Trust, and he now holds a receipt in full of all demands against him, signed by the Trustee-in-Trust.

            I am also informed by the executors, that our settlements have been generally satisfactory to the heirs, and that all, with the exception of three or four, not yet settled with, have signed an acquittance to all property claims as against the Church.

            The particulars of the settlement can all be found on record in the proper place, as to what property we have, where situated or how secured, can be learned by the proper officers and authorities of the Church, whenever occasion requires; it may be appropriate, however, to say, that we have used our best judgment, aided by he most competent legal advice, in the adjustment of said property, and the protection of the general proprietary rights of the Church and of all persons and interests involved therein. All of which is respectfully submitted.

JOHN TAYLOR,

Trustee-in-Trust of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

            We agree in the above:

            Wilford Woodruff, Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Sen., Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Franklin D. Richards, Geo. Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Jos. F. Smith, Albert Carrington, Daniel H. Wells, Edw. Hunter Presiding Bishop,

Counselors to the Trustee-in-Trust

            The report was adopted by a unanimous vote.

ELDER LORENZO SNOW

Said the Latter-day Saints understand very well that we are dependant on the Spirit of the Lord for any information we may possess, pertaining to the things of his kingdom. We find ourselves here in an infantile state, and have to receive an education until we reach the dignity of the Godhead. We are the offspring of our Heavenly Father, and it is his design to bring us to a fulness of knowledge. The Apostle Paul taught the doctrine that the Saints should have the same mind as was in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, that it was not robbery to be made equal with God. The Saints in those days had to pass though much trouble and persecution, and it was necessary to direct their minds towards the glorious future, when they would come in possession of so great and precious a treasure, when our minds are lit up by the Spirit of God, to see by the eye of faith, the things that are in store for the faithful, we feel perfectly willing to do anything that we may be called upon to attend to.

            He then read from the Doctrine & Covenants in regard to the Saints being clothed with garments of their own make, and with a view of impressing this subject upon the minds of the Saints, he recommended every man and woman when going to a store to make inquiry for home made articles, instead of those of foreign manufacture. The success or failure of every home enterprise that was started in our midst depended upon the action of the body of the people. This line of policy was only the beginning of the United Order, and after so much had been said and talked about it, let us now put it into practice and God would bless us and our labors would be successful.

            A list of names of missionaries was read by Elder GEORGE Q. CANNON and unanimously sustained by the Conference as published in the NEWS of last evening.

            The following report was then read in relation to the Logan Temple, and adopted unanimously by the Conference:

            Donations from June 2, 1877 to September 1: 1877:

By Cache Valley Stake of Zion               $56,284.67
By Bear Lake               20,274.41
 " Box Elder  13,352.11
New Zealand Conference          36.96
St. George Stake          50.00
Salt Lake Stake           22.61

____________

$90,020.76

            The following exhibit was then read of the Perpetual Emigration Fund Company for the past six months ending October 5th, 1878, which was unanimously adopted by the Conference

The entire amount of receipts in cash and other sundries   $20,361.63
Deduct the cash on hand April 6, 1878   1,079.28

Leaving the total amount of receipts      $19,282.35

DISBURSEMENTS.

Paid to DESERET NEWS          $12.30

Paid for draft No 2,222 on the Liverpool office for sea fares of the Beveridge family 58.50

Paid to Trustee-in Trust, for which we have received credit on the Church books,
 as per T-in T. orders 211, $71, 381, $104, 661, $200, for cash        375.00

Also in labor, livestock, etc, etc.               16,588.53

Cash loaned to the Trustee-in-Trust        500.00

Cash balance on hand, nearly all of which is due to the Liverpool and New York offices for persons ordered out
by the P. E. Fund Co. this season and will be forwarded as soon as we receive returns from the last company      2,826.80

Total disbursements, including cash on hand        $20,361.63

            Elder ALBERT CARRINGTON made some very practical remarks, especially in relation to the indebtedness to the P. E. Fund Co.

            President JOHN TAYLOR said the Conference was not yet concluded, as there was some important business to be presented, and he hoped the Saints would be patient until it was brought to a close, and by a continuance of their faith and prayers, seek to bring down the blessings of God upon them. If they would do this they should be abundantly rewarded.

            Conference was adjourned until 10 o'clock to-morrow.

            The choir sang an anthem,

The eyes of all.

            Benediction by Elder Wilford Woodruff.

_____

[8 Oct, 10 am*]

[DNW 27:578-579, 10/16/78, p 2-3]

THIRD DAY.

TUESDAY, October 8, 10 a.m.

            Conference was called to order by President JOHN TAYLOR.

            The choir sang,

My soul is full of peace and love,
I soon shall see Christ from above.

            Prayer by Elder W.H. FOLSOM.

            The choir sang,

To Him who made the world,
The sun, the moon and stars.

            Elder GEO. Q. CANNON then presented the following Authorities of the Church, all of whom were unanimously sustained by the Conference:

            John Taylor as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, as one of the Twelve Apostles, and of the Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

            As members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles -- Wilford Woodruff, Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Joseph F. Smith and Albert Carrington.

            Counselors to the Twelve Apostles -- John W. Young, D. H. Wells.

            The Twelve Apostles as the presiding quorum and authority of the Church, and, with their Counselors, as Prophets, Seers and Revelators.

            Patriarch of the church -- John Smith.

            As the First Seven Presidents of the Seventies -- Joseph Young, Levi W. Hancock, Henry Herriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates and John Van Cott.

            The Presiding Bishop of the Church -- Edward Hunter, with Leonard W. Hardy and Robert T. Burton as his Counselors

            John Taylor as Trustee-in-Trust of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with the Twelve Apostles, their two counselors and Edward Hunger, as his counselors.

            Albert Carrington as President of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund for the Gathering of the Poor, and the following as his assistants: F. D. Richards, F. M. Lyman, H. S. Eldredge, Joseph F. Smith, John W. Young, Angus M. Cannon, Moses Thatcher, William Jennings, John R. Winder, Henry Dinwoodey, Robt. T. Burton, A. O. Smoot and H. B. Clawson.

            Orson Pratt as Historian and General Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff as his assistant.

            Truman O. Angel as General Architect of the Church, and T. O. Angel, Junr., and W. H. Folsom as his assistants

            As Auditing Committee -- W. Woodruff, e. Snow, F. D. Richards, J. F. Smith.

            George Goddard as Clerk of the General Conference.

            The following report from Morris & Evans was read in relation to funds collected by them for the benefit of the Welsh Saints, and adopted by a unanimous vote:

Cash received,     $4,319.83.
Sundries,                130.72.

 Total,    $4,450.55.

_____

Disbursements.

Cash sent to Liverpool Office,                 $3,184.00.
Cash sent to W. C. Staines,        484.00.
Cash sent to Pennsylvania,       198.00.
Cash to incidental expenses      5l.75.
Balance on hand to be sent to New York to meet the October company,       540.80.
        $4,450.55.

            The following report in relation to the Manti Temple was also read and accepted.

            The monthly cash donations and sundry articles received from the following Stakes aggregate as follows:

Sanpete Stake              $49,445.29.
Juab "             4,581.47.
Sevier "          8,849.62.
Millard "        6,443.89.
Beaver "        4,732.49.
Parowan "     5,482.75.
Panguitch "   2,515.75.
Kanab "         1,649.42.
St. George "   6,267.43.
Other places, 146.00.
        $90,114.11.

            Of the above amount the sum of $3,502.94 was donated in cash.

ELDER BRIGHAM YOUNG

            Gave an interesting recital of his recent experience in visiting the various settlements of the saints, and rejoiced exceedingly at the gradual but certain growth of the principle of union, noticeable in the midst of the people. He also paid a just tribute to the efforts exerted in our Sabbath school institutions, and the good that had been effected by them. He much regretted the practice of many parents in sending their daughters to this city to live out for the sake of wages, and made many seasonable remarks on the subject. He spoke of the necessity the saints were under to become united, by observing and carrying out the counsel of the servants of God, that we might thereby be prepared for the providences of the Almighty. The growth of this people, and the ultimate possession of the whole land of North and South America, was just as inevitable and certain, as the shining of the sun.

Elder F. D. RICHARDS

Enlarged very interestingly upon the subject of union, showing its vital importance to us as a people, through all the ramifications of our varied existence. He deprecated the practice of the Saints in sending their children to receive an education at the hands of our open enemies, who repudiate openly some of the precious principles of the Gospel, and upon this subject he gave a faithful warning to those parents who were thus trifling with the best interests of their children, and unless such parents repented, the displeasure of the Lord would rest upon them. He could clearly foresee that the liberty of those in our midst who were seeking to led astray our children by offering the inducement of a free education, would eventually prove a source of regret and sorrow, unless the Lord in his providence overruled and changed the current of events.

ELDER W. WOODRUFF

Said we, as a people, were fulfilling our destiny, and carrying out those principles and prophecies that the ancient prophets foresaw. We had, therefore, a great responsibility resting upon us to erect temples, wherein we might redeem the living and the dead.

            He gave some good instructions to the Presidents of Stakes, Bishops and other officials, and urged upon them the necessity of each one of them using all his influence to sustain every co-operative institution, as a preparatory step towards the establishment of the United Order, which would have to be entered into by us as a people. We would have to be united in all our temporal labors to promote the principle of union for the benefit of the whole people. We were here to build up Zion, to establish righteousness, and prepare ourselves and our children for the coming of the Son of Man in the clouds of heaven. The gospel which we had received was everlasting in its nature, there was no change, it was always the same in every dispensation. Faith, repentance and baptism were eternal principles. He said that we should remember that everything which leads to good is of God, and whatever leads to evil is from the evil one.

            He closed his instructive remarks by praying for the blessing of God upon the Saints, that they might be enabled to carry out the counsel that had been given them.

PRESIDENT JOSEPH YOUNG

Said that though far advanced in years, and feeble in body, he could still feel that the theory of truth had been advanced by all the previous speakers as it had been revealed by the inspiration of the almighty; but the practical p art was left for the Saints individually to carry out. He then descried the fearful condition of those who had once known the truth, and tasted the good word of God, and had apostatized from the faith, but yet bore the image of God. There were many spirits in our midst, all bearing the image of our Heavenly Father, and many of them knowing not, but being entirely ignorant of the great and glorious purpose of God. We should treat them kindly, for we knew what God designed in his providences concerning them. He then invited the bishops and other authorities to unite with the seventies in the selection of men to take missions, who would be honorable representatives of the kingdom of God. He also urged the establishment of labor institutions that none need walk our streets seeking labor and finding none. He also pleaded the cause of the poor.

            The conference was adjourned till 2 o'clock p.m.

            The choir sang the anthem:

The Lord will comfort Zion.

            Benediction by Elder D. H. WELLS.

_____

[8 Oct, 2 pm]

[DNW 27:579, 590, 10/16/78, p 3, 13]

AFTERNOON.

Oct. 8, 2 p.m.

            The choir sang,

Softly beams the sacred dawning
Of the great millennial morn.

            Prayer by Elder J. D. T. McAllister.

            The choir sang,

Hark listen to the trumpeters
They sound for volunteers.

            Elder Geo. Q. Cannon read the following interesting reports:

PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR'S REPORT.

            At our last April Conference (1878) we read an account furnished by the different Stakes, giving a full exhibit of the financial condition of all the different Stakes of Zion. I had quite a desire to have a statement of these accounts read at this Conference, but found upon reflection, that it would be altogether impracticable. The bishops in their several wards do not make a settlement with their wards oftener than once a year, namely, at the end of each year. It is true that there are some places and parties who make settlements oftener than this; but as those settlements are not general, it would only complicate matters to give a partial view, and would not meet the object designed. I have therefore thought it best to defer this matter until the next April Conference, when the general reports from the several Stakes will be in, which will thus enable us to make a satisfactory exhibit. I would respectfully request that the Bishops and Presidents of the various Stakes will furnish to me not later than the first of next March, and each succeeding year, a full financial report of the several Stakes, including schedules of tithing, and also that Bishop Hunter's agents will furnish him a similar statement, so that his clerk and mine may have time to adjust all accounts between the Trustee and Bishop, that a satisfactory financial report may be presented.

            In the absence of a financial report, I am very happy to be able to state, that during the last year no person has presented at the Trustee-in-Trust's office any draft, bill or acceptance that has not been met on the day, as promptly as at any business house or banking institution, and I see no reason why we shall not be able to do so in the future.

            Reports from Arizona and other missions in the south are quite encouraging, although the settlements on the Little Colorado river have met with severe losses in their crops, arising from a very heavy flood.

            Brother Erastus Snow, John W. Young, L. John Nuttall, and a company of prominent elders are now on a visit to those far off settlements, with a view to instruct, comfort, organize and regulate the affairs of the Church. The settlements generally there are operating in the United Order, having started out with that intention and under those instructions.

            Our missionary operations in the southern States are being prosecuted with earnestness and zeal; baptisms have been gratifyingly frequent, and quite a call is being made for missionary help.

            In the northern and northwestern States also the labors of our brethren have not been without fruit, and it is with much pleasure and gratification that we notice an increase of the missionary spirit in the hearts of our brethren of the Seventies, the Elders and others upon whose shoulders lies the responsibilities of preaching the gospel to all the world; which awakening, we trust and anticipate, will grow and develop, until every man called to minister for God shall realize the weight and responsibility of his office and calling.

            Since our last conference it has been deemed desirable by the Council of the Apostles to release Elder Joseph F. Smith from the presidency of the Church in Europe, so that he may be the better enabled to give his entire energies to the numerous and responsible duties devolving upon him at home. We have appointed Elder Wm. Budge, of the Bear Lake Stake of Zion, to succeed him in that important position. From the reports of Elders Smith and Budge we learn that the Elders in Europe have, during the past season, labored with much assiduity, faithfulness and zeal. In northern Europe the Church was never so large as it is to-day, notwithstanding the great number of Saints who are constantly gathering to the body of the Church therefrom. In Sweden the progress made by the work of the Lord is especially gratifying. Within the last few months the Book of Mormon has been translated, by Elder A. W. Carlson, into the language of that nation, and a periodical, representing the faith and doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ, is now being published there regularly. These aids to the great work of the last days in that land will, we trust, cause it to advance with greater speed and to the accomplishment of still more abundant good. In Great Britain, though the baptisms are not as frequent as in former years, the labors of the brethren are not without encouraging success, especially when we consider the almost universal indifference that is at the present time manifested by the people of that country in all religious matters and themes. in Germany the way is gradually opening for the preaching of the gospel, and we yet look for a glorious and abundant harvest of souls from amongst that people, to add to the strength of Messiah's growing kingdom. In Switzerland also, the Elders are patiently and untiringly warning the people of the day of God's controversy with the nations; and the same may be truthfully said of the laborers in the Lord's vineyard in Australia, the Sandwich Islands, and wherever else they may be found ministering

            It is gratifying to learn that the Temples in Logan and Manti, as well as Salt Lake City, are progressing favorably, and that the Sunday and district Schools, as well as the Brigham Young Academy, of Provo, and our University, are in a healthy and prosperous condition.

            The Relief Societies are progressing with a laudable zeal, and our Young Men's and Young Women's Mutual Improvement Societies are performing a good labor in the culture, advancement, education and general improvement of our youth.

            We are striving to adjust matters relative to our co-operative institutions, and to place them on a basis more in consonance with the revelations given to us on that subject. Zion's Co-operative Mercantile Institution has been established as a stepping stone to the introduction of the United Order, and it is proper that in all of our moves of a temporal nature, we should have this great object in view. That Institution is emphatically called Zion's Co-operative Mercantile Institution, and ought to operate, as its name indicates, in the interests of Zion; and all the various Stakes, being what are termed "Stakes of Zion," ought to do their business through that institution, and sustain it in all of their mercantile operations; on the other hand, that institution should act in behalf of, and in the interests of all the people in the several Stakes, and while it is being sustained and helped by all, ought to shield, protect and help all, that a mutual reciprocity of feeling and action may exist as between the people and that institution.

            Already a committee haws been organized for the purpose of introducing measures to promote the interests of that institution as well as the general interests of the people throughout the Territory. it is contemplated to have a permanent committee, but not having time during this conference to consummate this work we shall be under the necessity of leaving it in the hands of the Twelve, the Presidents of Stakes and the presiding Bishopric to organize such committee, and perhaps county committees also, and for which we desire to have your vote and sanction. There are certain reports presented by sub-committees who have been investigating several matters associated with the mercantile and other interests of this community which we will now present;

_____

REPORT OF SUB COMMITTEE ON DRY GOODS, NOTIONS, BOOTS AND SHOES.

SALT LAKE CITY,

October 3, 1878.

To the Chairman and Members of the Investigating Committee.

            Gentlemen. -- Your sub-committees on dry goods, notions, boots and shoes, having given the subjects referred to us due consideration, beg leave to submit the annexed as our report:

            1st. We consider the best means to unite the people in support of co-operation is for co-operation to deal so fairly that it will be to the advantage of the people to support it.

            2d. We believe the Z. C. M. I. is purchasing generally to the best possible advantage under the circumstances.

            3d. We are satisfied that goods can be furnished by Z. C. M. I. to the branch stores and retail dealers on such terms as it will be to their interest to purchase of Z. C. M. I.

            4th. We would suggest that our manufacturers of woolen goods consider the propriety of classifying the products of their several factories, as we believe goods can be produced cheaper when a specialty is made of some particular line than in the attempt to manufacture all classes in the same factory. And that they and all manufacturers of home productions bring their business to a cash basis, that their goods may be handled to the best advantage. And that the Parent co-op. and all other merchants instruct their managers and salesmen to urge the sale of all classes of home products upon the attention of the people.

            5th. We are pleased to learn that Z. C. M. I. has purchased, during the last twelve months, over $125,000 worth of home-made articles, and that they are disposed to encourage the sale of all home products as far as practicable.

H. S. ELDREDGE,
F. M. LYMAN,
S. R. PARKINSON,
S. H. HIGGINBOTHAN,
J. P. FREEZE,
R. S. WATSON

_____

REPORT OF THE SUB-COMMITTEE ON GROCERIES, HARDWARE, ETC.

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH,

October 5th, 1878.

H. S. Eldredge, Esq, Chairman of the Investigating committee, City.

            Dear Brother. -- Your sub-committee on hardware, groceries, etc., have given these special departments of merchandise careful investigation, and in accordance with the instructions from the general council, beg to report as follows:

            We are of the opinion that to secure for co-operation, the united support of the people, it is essential that the several co-operative enterprises in the Territory have their confidence, which can be obtained by fair, just and honorable dealing, and offering advantages to patrons, in prices and qualities of goods.

            As regards the importation of merchandise, we believe that it has been done by Zions co-operative Mercantile Institution, to the best possible advantage under existing circumstances. To-day, however, the institution is in a position to purchase its goods in the markets of the east and west at closer figures than heretofore; and we are satisfied that local co-operative stores, and retail dealers, can be furnished with these goods at figures and upon terms that will be to their advantage.

            All classes of home products should be persistently brought to the notice of the people, and to this end we would recommend that managers and salesmen of Co-operative institutions urge upon the people the purchase of a home produced article in preference to an imported one.

            Z. C. M. I. has done much to foster home products, and is desirous to continue to do the same.

            During the past year, we learn, that no less than $125,000 worth of home made articles were purchased by the parent institution, and sold to its customers.

Respectfully,

WM JENNINGS, Chairman,
FERAMORZ LITTLE,
D. H. PEERY,
JOHN CLARK,
THOMAS G. WEBBER,
HENRY EYRING.

_____

REPORT SUB COMMITTEE ON PRODUCE.

SALT LAKE CITY, U. T.,

October 4th, 1878.

Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Committee of Inquiry.

            your committee on produce beg respectfully to submit as their report:

            1st. That the produce trade of our Territory is an important one approximating in value to one million of dollars per annum, and should, in the opinion of your committee, be handled and marketed as far as possible by Zion's Co-operative Mercantile Institution, in the best interest of the producer.

            2d. it is the opinion of your committee that this branch of trade heretofore, has been too extensively managed by middle men, having no common interest in the prosperity of the people. These parties have frequently secured the saleable produce of our Territory at rates which too often seem to have had no relation whatever to the prices secured by them, from actual consumers. This, in the opinion of your committee, is all wrong, in that it is a positive injury to our farmers who, as a class, are not supposed to be fully familiar with the "tricks of trade" often practised upon them by these middle men; nor can they reasonably be expected, individually to become familiar with prices ruling at commercial centers. It therefore becomes the duty;, and it should be the pleasure of Z. C. M. I. in receiving the patronage of our home producers to look well to the interest of the latter in this regard; securing for them the lowest rates for transportation where produce is shipped out of the Territory, and the highest ruling prices for the same at points of destination.

            3rd. When Z. C. M. I. exchanges goods for produce, they should, in the opinion of your committee, make a reasonable profit on the former, and not seek to make gains on the latter. A uniform policy of this kind strictly adhered to would without doubt, speedily render the business of these middle men in this line very undesirable.

            4th. We believe that, in all these matters, Zion's Co-operative Mercantile Institution, should, as heretofore, take the lead, fully demonstrating that her interests are fully identified with the interests of the people of our Territory, and that her efforts are for and not against them, and in this connection she should avoid as far as possible, the importation and sale of foreign produce, giving always our home produced articles the preference.

            5th. In order to secure the best results as to the quality of, and prices for the produce of our Territory, we would respectfully suggest and earnestly recommend the organization and permanent establishment of a local board of trade in each Stake throughout the Territory to do business in harmony and with the aid of Z. C. M. I.

            6th. The best possible means with which to unite our people on co-operation in reference to the produce trade of the Territory, is, in the opinion of your committee, to adopt and practice these suggestions, and for Zion's co-operative Mercantile Institution in all her commercial relations, to protect her customers and particularly our home producers as she, under like circumstances would like to be protected.

Very respectfully, etc.,

M. THATCHER,
R. S. WATSON,
WM. W. BURTON,
GEORGE TEASDALE.

_____

REPORT OF THE SUB-COMMITTEE ON WOOL, HIDES, PELTS, ETC.

SALT LAKE CITY,

October 2d, 1878.

To the Committee appointed to consider the Manufacturing and Mercantile Interests of this Territory.

            Brethren -- Your sub-committee on wool, hides, and pelts, etc., met pursuant to adjournment, at the Council House, and after mature deliberation, we beg leave to report that,

            In our opinion, in order to accomplish the desired object and obtain a unity of action among the people, the presidency of the several Stakes should be called upon to make a strong and determined effort to unite the people in this matter, and,

            We would respectfully suggest that full instructions be issued, by the proper authorities, to said presidents, setting forth the object to be accomplished, and asking them to use their best efforts to protect the home-manufacturing and export interests of the Territory,

            And your committee would further suggest that their attention be especially called to the wool and hide products of the Territory, as they are the foundation of our largest home-manufactures, we think these articles should be handled within ourselves. We are well aware that there is a large surplus of wool and hides over and above what is required for our home use, and if these products are handled within ourselves, the kind and quality best adapted can be selected for home consumption, and the surplus sold to our own agents or shipped by them on commission as may best suit the producer.

            Your committee firmly believe that it is for the best interest of the people to adopt this course, and in doing this, our home industries will be fostered, patronized and sustained, fully carrying out the old adage of, "The greatest good to the greatest number."

A. O. SMOOT
FERAMORZ LITTLE,
H. B. CLAWSON,
ANSON CALL,
WM. R. SMITH,

_____

REPORT SUB-COMMITTEE ON WAGONS AND MACHINERY.

SALT LAKE CITY,

October 7, 1878.

To the Committee on Co-operation, Home Manufactures and Industries.

            Brethren -- The committee on wagons and machinery met pursuant to appointment, and beg leave to report, that:

            We have examined into the feasibility of furnishing wagons and agricultural machinery at a small per centage above cost, and we are satisfied it can be done, and that the people will be greatly benefited thereby.

            In order to thoroughly carry out this desirable object, a determined and persistent line of action should be adopted throughout the Territory, having in view the full and unqualified support of this measure by the masses of the people.

            Your committee would suggest that a line of, say three different makes of farm and freight wagons, also a line of spring wagons and buggies, varying in quality and price to suit the trade, be selected to meet our present wants.

            In regard to mowers, reapers, threshers and other agricultural machinery and implements, we are satisfied that out of the large variety in the market, one or more of the several kinds can be selected and obtained on such terms as will be entirely satisfactory.

            There is a great variety of articles in this line that must necessarily be kept for the accommodation of the people, which should be sold on such terms that it will be to the interest of our people to patronize home institutions instead of foreign firms or agencies. thereby sustaining the principles that prompt this important move.

ANGUS M. CANNON,
WM. R. SMITH,
BARNARD WHITE,
H. B. CLAWSON.

            He said it had been the intention to present, at this Conference, the names of those who should constitute a board of trade, but not having an opportunity, on account of a press of other business to definitely select that board, it was deemed wisdom to obtain the sanction of this conference in the following motion, which was unanimously sustained by uplifted hands: That the committees on Zion's Co-operative Institution, with the Twelve Apostles and council, Presidents of Stakes and their Counselors, the Presiding Bishop and his Counselors, and the Directors and Secretary of Z. C. M. I., are requested to meet at the Council House, to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, to talk over and adjust matters relative to our temporal interests.

PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR

reviewed the various subjects that the previous speakers had dwelt upon. He said that the principle of revelation, upon which the work of God was founded, was not recognized by any people on the face of the earth, except the Latter-day Saints. No knowledge of God and spiritual things could be obtained, except it was revealed from the heavens, and the world was in ignorance of these things, for they had repudiated the source from which all wisdom came, not only of spiritual but also of temporal things. He severely commented on some things that appeared as advertisements in the columns of our own newspapers, which were derogatory to the universal interests of the community.

            The actions of men ought not to prevent us from recognizing and acting upon correct principles, and if mistake and blunders had been made in trying to establish the United Order, that should not prevent us from carrying out the revelation of God, to be united together in our temporal and spiritual affairs; for unless "we were one," we were not the Lord's. We had been baptized into the United Order, and in the name of Israel's God we would be united, and if any one should attempt to stand in the way God would find him out. all who felt to endorse and carry out the principles of union, as dictated by the Presidency and the Twelve would say amen. A hearty and universal response was given.

            He then explained the duties of the presidency of the Bishopric. All the various quorums and authorities of the Church, were under the direction and dictation of the Presidency and the Twelve Apostles, and any attempting to repudiate or act independently of these authorities would not be sanctioned of God.

            While it was the duty of the Bishops to act in temporal things, the presidency of the High Priesthood acted in concert with them; hence Bishop Edward Hunter had been connected with them in their councils, and he was pleased to have him there. It was not the intention of the presiding council to interfere with the legitimate calling of those acting in the lesser priesthood, but it was expected that every man would do his duty in whatever sphere he operated in.

            He then made some valuable explanations in relation to the situation and future intentions of the Z. C. M. I., and the necessity of establishing a Board of Trade, that every interest of the entire community might be fairly and honorably represented.

            After some further remarks, he blessed the congregation.

            ELDER GEO. Q. CANNON then presented the following names of missionaries, who were unanimously sustained:

For the Hawaiian Islands.

Franklin W. Young, of Oak Creek.
Benjamin Cluff, Jr., of Provo.

Ashley's Fork, Wasatch County, Utah.

Jeremiah Hatch, Sen., Heber City.
Alvah Hatch, Heber City.
H. E. Hadlock and family, Franklin, Idaho.

Wisconsin.

Ferdinand F. Hintze, Salt Lake City.

Michigan.

O. S. Lee, of Peoa, Summit County

            Elder Nathan T. Porter's name was withdrawn from a mission east, on account of other important duties required of him at home.

            Conference was adjourned by President John Taylor, until the 6th of April, 1879, at 10 o'clock a..m

            The choir sang:

Te Deum.

            Benediction by Elder D. H. Wells

GEORGE GODDARD,
Clerk of Conference.

_____

1879

6-8 Apr 1879, 49th Annual General Conference, SLC Tabernacle.
[Deseret News Weekly, 28:156, 4/9/79, p 12; 28:172, 4/16/79p, p 12; Millennial Star 41:273, 289]

[6 Apr 10 am]

[DNW 28:156, 4/9/79, p 12]

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

_____

            The Forty-Ninth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints convened in the large Tabernacle on Sunday, April 5th, 1879 at 10 o'clock a.m., as per previous adjournment.

            Present on the stand: Of the Apostles, President John Taylor presiding. Chas. C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Joseph F. Smith, and Albert Carrington. Counselor to the Twelve Apostles, D. H. Wells, presiding Patriarch John Smith; First Presidents of the Seventies, Joseph Young, A. P. Rockwood, H. S. Eldredge, and John Van Cott. Of the Bishopric, Presiding Bishop Edward Hunter, Leonard W. Hardy and R. T. Burton, Counselors.

            Conference was called to order by President Taylor.

            Choir sang hymn on page 197,

My soul is full of peace and love,
I soon shall see Christ from above.

            Prayer by Elder Erastus Snow.

            The choir sang hymn on page 377:

Sweet is the peace the Gospel brings
To seeking minds and true.

PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR

Said we have net together at this conference to transact such business as may be brought before us, that our heart may be drawn out towards God our Heavenly father, and that things temporal and spiritual may be reflected upon as the Lord may see fit to impart unto us. He trusted that both speakers and hearers would be filled with the Holy Ghost that all might be edified and blessed together. He hoped the utmost quiet would preveil during the exercises, and that if children were restless, mothers would better quiet them or take them out. He then blest the vast congregation, and called on

ELDER ERASTUS SNOW,

who delivered an interesting discourse on the rise and progress of the work of God in these last days. Since the sacred record, the Book of Mormon was revealed, which contains the fulness of the Everlasting Gospel, (in September, 1827,) fifty-two years have passed away. He then referred to the 6th of April, 1830, the day on which the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints took place, explaining that six members were necessary for its incorporation under the laws of the State, and traced the gradual growth of the Church since that time, pertaining to the order and classification of the two grand priesthoods, the Aaronic and Melchisedeck, as the Lord revealed it to his servant, the Prophet Joseph Smith, giving him line upon line, and precept upon precept, until all the different orders and grades of the priesthood were organized as they now exist.

            He then reviewed the various callings and authorities that attach to the several quorums of the Church, and the duties of the Saints towards these different authorities and towards God and each other.

[Erastus Snow]

[DNW 28:242, 5/21/79, p 2; JD 20:180]

DISCOURSE

DELIVERED BY ELDER ERASTUS SNOW,

At the Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, Sunday morning, April 6th, 1879.

_____

REPORTED BY GEO. F. GIBBS.

_____

      In the 24th chapter of Matthew our Savior uses a figure in speaking to his disciples, illustrating the signs of the times in which we live.

      "Now learn a parable of the fig tree; when his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh; so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors, verily I say unto you this generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled."

      The rendering of this 24th chapter of Matthew is somewhat imperfect in King James' translation; the events connected with the destruction of Jerusalem and the dispersion of the Jews seem to be intermingled with the events that were to precede and accompany the second advent .of the Savior. In the new translation of this chapter by the Prophet Joseph Smith, which may be found in the Pearl of Great Price, the difference is made very plain, and the figure of the fig tree and the second coming of the Son of Man and the generation referred to therein is made applicable, not to the period of the destruction of Jerusalem, but to the time of the second coming of the Son of Man. And the new translation reads, in speaking of the putting forth of the fig-tree and the signs that should precede the coming of the Son of Man, "Verily, I say unto you, this generation, in which these things shall be shewn forth, shall not pass away, till all I have told shall be fulfilled." From the reading of the new and correct rendering, it will be seen that, instead of the things spoken of being fulfilled in the generation in which the prophecy was made—which is the inference—the application is transferred at once from the generation in which the Savior was speaking to the generation who should witness the signs of the times therein set forth.

      It is now more than 51 years since the plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated were committed by the angel Moroni, to the hands of Joseph Smith, who was raised up to be a prophet, seer and revelator to the nineteenth century, and to lay the foundation of this church and kingdom upon the earth. And since that sacred record, which contains the fulness of the everlasting Gospel, was first revealed to him in the Hill Cumorah, nearly 56 years have passed away; it is 49 years since the organization of the Church was effected in conformity with the laws of God, and in accordance with the laws of New York; that is to say, the rule established by the laws of New York governing the organization of religious bodies and to comply with the statutes and to give it tangible form. The 6th day of April was selected by revelation as the day on which this church should be organized. The question is asked by some, were there only six believers who had received the testimony of the Prophet and been baptized for the remission of their sins on that day? I answer, there were many more. Why, then, was the number six made to figure in the organization? I answer in this respect: the same as under the statutes of Utah co-operative associations must have at least six to unite in the formation of any such association before it can incorporate. But any number not less than six might unite and organize themselves into a religious association to enjoy the rights and privileges of the law as such religious bodies. This number was selected, however, from among the believers on this occasion to conform to the requisitions of the statutes. This is, therefore, the anniversary of the day on which the organization took place, or commenced rather to develop itself. And from that time, as the body of the Church increased, the Priesthood in its various branches has developed itself into the organization as we now behold it in the earth. There were no twelve Apostles at that date; the material from which to draw them had not been gathered. There were no seventy Elders; the material from which to make them was not yet on hand. There were no High Councils, no Bishops' courts, nor quorums of High Priests, Elders, Priests, Teachers or Deacons. There was no classification of the organization of the priesthood as there is to-day. Neither is there any organization of the Stakes of Zion, for there was no material of which to make them. It was indeed but the shooting out of the earth, as it were, of the plant, like the mustard seed, which is a small plant at first, having but a single stalk; and as it rises and receives strength and sends down its roots and spreads forth its branches, from one branch another grows out and shoots forth. And so from day to day, and from month to month, and from year to year did the Lord reveal through the Prophet Joseph Smith, line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, revealing to the people the order of the priesthood and the order of Zion and her government, her institutions and the classification of the priesthood under the two great heads—the Melchisedek and the Aaronic or Levitical priesthood, with their various subdivisions and quorums. It was not till the year 1835, in the month of February, that the quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the quorums of the Seventies were organized in this Church. These were drawn principally from those tried men who composed Zion's camp. There was a revelation given in this same year showing how a High Council should be organized in Kirtland, and shortly after another was organized in Missouri; and it also defined the laws governing the High Council and Stake organizations. At first, when the Church was organized on the 6th day of April, the general duties of the Elders, Priests, Teachers and Deacons were defined in that revelation, given in that day, known as the articles and covenants of the Church. Elder seemed to be a generic name embracing all the branches of the Melchisedek priesthood, from the Elder proper to the Apostle, namely the Elders, High Priests, (after the order of Melchisedek), including High Counselors, Seventies, Apostles and First Presidency. This also corresponds with the language of the Apostle Peter, in his exhortation contained in his first general epistle: "The Elders who are among you I exhort, who am also an Elder." Still he was an Apostle and was ranked as the chief Apostle in his day, holding the keys and presidency to bind on the earth and loose in heaven; but he ranked himself among the Elders, for this term seemed to be a general appellation for all classes of the Melchisedek priesthood. In a similar manner also the term "priest" was used among the Jews under the operation of the law of Moses, and subsequently in the Christian church for those who officiated in the lesser or Levitical priesthood; and this term included the presiding priest or Bishop who was called under the Jewish dispensation the Chief or High Priest. But there were lesser organizations or subdivisions under the term of Priest, Levite, Nethenims, etc.

      There is one feature through all the organizations of the Church of Christ and all the administrations of the people of God, and that is: "No man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God as was Aaron." This declaration of the Apostle Paul is borne out by history both ancient and modern. And the same writer' says in another place, speaking of those who are called to preach the Gospel and of the faith that is begotten in the hearts of the people through hearing the word of God: "Faith cometh by hearing, bearing by the word of God." But in the new translation that passage reads: "Faith comes by hearing the word of God." Another Scripture reads: "How shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? and how shall they preach except they be sent?" The idea I wish to convey is this: That all the various offices assigned to the servants of God in his Church and Kingdom are assigned to them and not in and of themselves and of their own choice, not at their own instance, but at the instance of the Holy Spirit manifesting itself through those who are appointed over them in the Lord, as Aaron was called to the priesthood, receiving his appointment by the manifestation of the will of God through Moses, his brother. There is another principle in connection with this, laid down in the revelations of God, namely: that all things shall be done by common consent. And therefore, where there is a regularly organized branch of the church, ordinations to the priesthood shall not be made without a vote of approval of said church. Now this must be understood in the spirit in which it was given, to apply not particularly and specially to every individual who may be admitted into a quorum of priests, teachers or deacons, so much as those who may be called to preside over the people in the capacity of a Presiding Elder; a bishop or a bishop's counselor, and also priests, teachers and deacons, whose labors and duties may be required in that particular branch of the Church, they must be sustained by the votes and prayers and confidence of the people as well as by the appointment of those who are over them in the Lord. And for the same reason those who officiate in the more extended spheres, such as presidents of Stakes, high councilors and all Stake authorities, are put before the people in their several Stakes in conference assembled, for their approval, their confidence and support; otherwise their appointment has not the same force and effect upon the people. In like manner those who may be selected by the working of the Holy Spirit through the proper authorites, to preside over quorums, are nominated for this calling and are submitted to the members for their sanction and confidence. And then come the general authorities, who preside over and minister in the affairs of the Church in all the earth. These general quorums are not local, are not limited to any particular Stake or quorum. Their business is to see that the Gospel is preached to the whole world; to impart counsel by the spirit of revelation according to the spirit of their apostleship and calling, as special witnesses and messengers to the world of mankind. These are the First Presidency, and the Twelve Apostles and the Seventies, whose calling and duty is to labor under the direction of the Twelve and bear the gospel to all nations and to regulate the affairs of the Church in all the world. These general authorities are therefore brought before the general conference assembled, for their approval and for them to uphold and sustain by their faith and prayers; and in like manner are they presented at the several Stake conferences so as to reach the masses of the people, to insure the confidence and prayers of the whole people, for whom they minister, and whose eyes are upon them, who are criticising their teachings, their walk and conversation before God and man. For God proposes to deal with His Church as a whole, and as a whole to hold them responsible to work the works of righteousness and to defend the faith of the everlasting gospel committed to them, and to purify and sanctify the whole Church and see that evil is put away from our midst, whether it be in the family circle or private walks of life, or in its high officials and those who minister in public capacites; in like manner he requires of them to see that all our organizations and municipalities are in a wholesome condition, and are administered with integrity and uprightness before God and the people. And as mouthpieces of the Almighty and as watchmen upon the walls of Zion, God requires of us his servants, the Apostles, the Elders, the Presidents of Stakes, and the Bishops everywhere, not only to minister in their several callings in a church capacity, but also to instruct officers of every kind intrusted with the municipal affairs of life, that they may be found faithful in magnifying the law and discharging the trust reposed in them in secular affairs as well as ecclesiastical; for civil organizations and powers of civil government are also appointed and ordained of heaven for the welfare of mankind, for the protection of all flesh. And those children of men who may not accept the doctrines of Christ and the priesthood, its administrations, counsels and decisions in the secular affairs of life; yet if they are disposed to obey good, wholesome rules of society in their civil capacity, as such are entitled to protection. And it is more especially for the benefit of this class of mankind that civil governments are established among men and recognized in heaven. It was with this view that Paul, in his epistle to the ancient Saints, told them that they should respect and honor the civil law, and governors in their places, and judges and officers in their condition of life, whose duty it is to preserve order and maintain peace and protect the rights and privileges of all alike, religious or irreligious, believer or unbeliever, saint or sinner; for religion with all its accompaniments and everything pertaining to it is a matter of conscience between man and his Maker, and for the exercise of which he is held alone responsible to his God and unto his co-religionists, who place themselves under its guidance and control. But the civil power extends its protection to all alike. One of the great evils that has afflicted mankind has been the bigotry of religious priests, and the blind superstition of religious zealots, who seem to have lost sight of this principle, the government of our Heavenly Father over his children, that in his efforts to exalt his children he has never resorted to force or attempted in any wise to coerce the human mind. The light of truth, like the glorious light of the sun, shines unobstructed, free to all; and all are at liberty to draw a veil over their faces if they choose, or shut themselves up in a dungeon and lock out the rays of the sun, or they may walk out in the sunlight, open their windows and let it into their dwellings; so is the free light of heaven imparted to all the sons of men. The Lord has reserved to himself, however, the right to call unto judgment all his children for ;he manner in which they make use of the opportunities and privileges afforded them. "This is the condemnation," says the Savior, "that light is come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil." So many people walk in darkness at noonday, when the light of heaven shines in its glory and effulgence they are surrounded in darkness. When the light comes to the righteous they will hail it gladly, and though it may be at first in the distance, they will mark it as they would the dawn of the morning star, or a light shining in a dark place, and they will give diligent heed to it as it approaches, until they enter into its effulgence and glory. Such is the experience of the Latter-day Saints; such is experience of those who love the light rather than darkness and who are waiting for the salvation of Israel; they received the testimony of Jesus when it was first sounded in their cars. Hundreds and thousands in different parts of the world have witnessed the dawn of this light, have heard the sound thereof in the distance, have gone in search of it, have captured the first ray that penetrated their minds and followed it until it has led them finally to the possession of eternal life. These are they whose deeds are good. Though they may have erred in many things because of false doctrine and the traditions of men and the fog that beclouded their minds and the minds of their fathers, yet since the truth made its way to their hearts they embraced it gladly, and they have loved and followed it still. While, on the other hand, those who love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil, are fighting against the light and will shun it when it approaches, like the theif at the approach of the officer of the law, and conceals himself in darkness. So with those who love evil, who have abandoned themselves to wickedness, who have given themselves up to hypocrisy and to the lust of the flesh, and who sell themselves to the enemy of all righteousness to work wickedness for gain; darkness reigns in their hearts, and they become the children of disobedience, hating the light because their deeds are evil. Truth needs no constraint; it exercises its power and dominion over the children of men by virtue of its excellence, its beauties, its attractions, its loveliness, the good fruits that flow from its observance, the peace and happiness that attend it; the fruit of truth and righteousness is delicious above all other fruit. The strength and power of Jehovah are with the good and virtuous of all His children; His power and His love are made manifest through the truth; order and peace are the fruits of the laws and regulations that He prescribes, and which recommend themselves to the intelligent or thoughtful children of men, and the results thereof are only peace, union, fellowship and love. Even the penalties that are attached to the laws of heaven prescribed in the Gospel of the Son of God, are not instruments of vengeance, of wrath and indignation, with a view to the utter destruction of the children of men. But rather the instruments of restraint upon the evil deeds of the wicked and ungodly, to deter them from encroachment upon the righteous, in their evil course of self-destruction. Even the damnation of hell, threatened in the Scriptures upon those who continue in their unbelief and disobedience, is but the natural fruit of their unbelief, and neglect of the blessings that were held out and designed to be bestowed upon them. The same may be said of the indolent and the slothful of the children of men in a temporal point of view. When the Lord says to his people, here is a beautiful earth I have formed for you, and there are the elements within your reach—the grasses, the streams of water which flow pure as the breezes of heaven, free to all; here are the animals, I place them under your control; and here are the trees bearing fruit, and the grain and vegetetables containing seed in themselves; go forth now and occupy the land, cultivate, improve, embellish, ornament and gratify your eye, your taste, and satisfy your wants, eat, drink, and be merry, plow the ground, cast in the seed, and I will send you the rains to water the earth, and make it fruitful to reward your toil; and this covenant I make with you, that so long as you see my bow in the heavens, seed time and harvest shall never fail you. "But," says the sloth, "I will not do it, I wish to go and lay me down under the shade of the trees in the hope that some kind soul will bring me a little water to quench my thirst, and then bring me some fruit, and put it into my mouth, and then wag my jaws, or I lay me down and die." Our Father says: "Then die like a fool; the penalty is your own, and the eternal mandlate of heaven shall not be revoked to indulge your idleness." And the same may be said of all those who disbelieve in Christ, and who reject the words of life when they are proclaimed in their ears without money and without price, and the ordinances of heaven made free to all. Those who disbelieve, they perish, and what is the condemnation they bring upon themselves? The condemnation of the sloth. He perishes in his idleness; they in their ignorance and their utter disregard of the means of grace, losing all the precious things that others enjoy who put forth their hands and partake of the tree of life. And when they die and go hence, they will wake up in the spirit world, finding themselves as dark as they were in the natural world. He who is filthy, then will be filthy still, and he who refused to be enlightened, will be found to be in darkness still, yea, in outer darkness, because he despised the light and fought against it, because his deeds were evil; he finds association with kindred spirits who like himself refused to obey, refused to put forth their bands and partake, and rejected the proffered gifts of heaven. Their punishmont is that of ceaseless remorse, fully conscious of blessings cast off and rejected, which blessings others are permitted to enjoy, but which they are not, because of their sins and transgressions, and their own neglect of the means of grace. Their torment is the torment of the damned, and it is like the smoke that ascends up forever and ever; among them is found weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, to use the language of the Scripture. But for what? For blessings lost, for opportunities gone, for privileges ignored, for the means of grace, for glory and exaltation once within their reach, which they, in their pride, would not receive, for being deprived of the presence of God and the Lamb, and the holy angels and the sanctified ones, and of the keys of immortality and eternal life and everlasting increase vouchsafed to the obedient, while they are doomed to perpetual darkness, which they have chosen in lieu of the blessings of the faithful, and in which condition they will live to prey upon each other and to work out the same evil passions which they delighted to indulge in while in the flesh; the devil, who deluded them, will rejoice over their down-fall, and will reign over them until, peradventure, the time shall come when the long-suffering and mercy of an indulgent Father shall cause him to send messengers from the terrestrial or celestial world, as the case may be, to see if there are any among them who, by their sad experience, have learned to appreciate the light, and are yearning for a better condition. And if they do, the offer of salvation niay again be made to them, and they, through the means that our Savior has wrought out for them, and through the ordinances of the House of God, and the servants and handmaidens of God who may be called priests and priestesses, to administer for and in their behalf.

      Such is the beauty and extent of the plan of salvation which God has revealed to his children on the earth. And truly it is as Paul has said of it—good news, glad tidings of great joy revealed to all people; joy to the righteous, and will be a joy to all people who appreciate it, henceforth and forever. And that we as a people may be worthy of it, walking in the light, and that our pathway may grow brighter and brighter until the perfect day, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

ELDER CHAS. C. RICH

Said we have come together to learn correct principles pertaining to life and exaltation; we want to know, not guess, what the mind and will of the Lord is concerning us, and the more we learn in principle, and carry out in practice, the greater will be our happiness here and hereafter. This is a great privilege to meet together in Conference, and be instructed in the way of life and salvation. When we leave this world, we cannot take with us anything pertaining to this earth, but we can take everything that we have learned in relation to the things of God. We live in a dispensation of gathering; we also live in a time when the salvation of the dead is a portion of the responsibilities resting upon the servants of God. But we must put away from us everything of an evil character, or our negligence and sin will mar our peace and rob us of our happiness and salvation. He then spoke of the testimony which the Saints of God obtained in every nation wherever they received and obeyed the first principles of the gospel, and that testimony was the cause of he Saints leaving their native country and gathering together in these valleys of the mountains. The promises that God has made to his children are all based on certain conditions, and so long as we observe these on our parts, he will certainly fulfil his promises to us.

            Conference was adjourned till 2 o'clock.

            The choir sang an anthem --

Praise the Lord.

            Benediction by Elder Daniel H. Wells.

_____

[6 Apr, 2 pm]

[DNW 28:156, 4/9/79, p 12]

SUNDAY AFTERNOON.

2 o'clock p.m.

            The Large Tabernacle was densely crowded, and many hundreds were unable o gain admittance.

            The choir sang hymn on page 124 --

With all my powers of heart and tongue
I'll praise my Maker in my song.

            Prayer by Elder Brigham Young.

            The choir sang hymn on page 399 --

Again we meet around the board
of Jesus, our redeeming Lord.

            While the sacrament of the Lord's Supper was being administered,

ELDER GEO. Q. CANNON

Addressed the congregation. Spoke of the peaceful and reflective spirit that pervades the minds while listening to the remarks of the servants of God, and looking upon such a vast assembly of worshipers. This people have bright and glorious prospects before them. Their influence is being more widely felt in the world at large than at any previous time. We have not labored in vain, we have not preached in vain, we have not lived lives of sobriety, of industry, of temperance and perseverance in vain.

            The zeal and earnestness of any person or community cannot move for the good of any great cause without being exposed to the charge of fanaticism. It was truly refreshing to contemplate the heroic deeds and sacrifices of either an individual or a community, who, for the good of others, has been willing to undergo the scoffings and drivings, and endurance of hardships that thousands of these Latter-day Saints have experienced. The future of such was bright and glorious and their mission was of the most important character. He then spoke of the importance of educating the youth of zion, not only in the sciences of the world, but also in theology. Is there an evil in the world or a false principle existing, or oppression or misgovernment, the duty of correcting these things devolves upon the Latter-day Saints. The first thing, however, is for us to correct evils in our own midst, and the work of educating a community in these matters is necessarily a slow process, but the work has got to be accomplished.

            He then traced the baneful consequences of false traditions in relation to Monogamy, and made reasonable comparisons with a law that permits plural marriage, taking up the subject not as a "Mormon" or a Congressman, but as a member of the great family of mankind. He denounced the corruptions of the ancient Greeks and Romans and their abominable and lustful practices, and alluded to the fearful spread of prostitution that has resulted from the laws that has emanated from those people. He believed that God would in his own wisdom bring about a correction of these fearful evils that exist between the sexes. It devolves upon us to defend constitutional principles, against the corruptions and fraud that so unblushingly exists in high places and through all the ramifications of political parties.

            He then touched on the improper uses that wealth is often prostituted to. He strongly advocated the constitutional right of all people being protected in their religious creed, for, so long as their acts do not infringe upon the happiness and peace of others, they ought to have the fullest freedom and protection afforded them, and he was determined to lift up his voice, and as far as his influence extended, he would contend for this constitutional right, and would also instruct and educate his children to defend that principle of universal right.

            After expatiating upon the broad and liberal principles of civil and religious liberty, contained in the constitution of our country, he called upon the Latter-day Saints to throw aside all narrow minded notions and traditions, and, accord to all people from whatever country they may come or whatever faith they may have, the same protection and liberty that they claim for themselves.

[George Q. Cannon]

[DNW 28:306, 6/18/79, p 2; JD 20:195]

DISCOURSE

DELIVERED BY ELDER GEO. Q. CANNON,

At the General Conference, on Sunday Afternoon, April 6th, 1879.

_____

REPORTED BY GEO. F. GIBBS.

_____

      In some respects I would prefer to sit and listen to my brethren speak, and to partake in quietude of the spirit of this Conference, than I would to speak myself. But there is a duty devolving upon me I presume, the same as upon my brethren and I desire to the best of my ability to discharge that duty. The sight of so many people, the singing, the speaking of our brethren this morning and the spirit that I felt when I entered this building to-day almost overpowered me. There is an influence, there is a power, there is a spirit connected with the assembling together of a large body of people, such as we witness to-day, that must affect those who are sensitive to impressions, and especially when one has been absent among strangers, to feel that he is home among his friends, among a people who are his brethren and sisters, whose faith is his faith, and who are laboring and struggling to accomplish the same objects that he himself has in his heart. I rejoice exceedingly, my brethren and sisters, this day in your midst, and I am thankful for the delightful circumstances by which you are surrounded. I am thankful that the prospects before you are so promising, so full of hope and so delightful to contemplate. It is true we have had sickness, we have had many deaths, this has been a cause of regret. But death is unavoidable, and with it all we are in much better circumstances and more favorably situated than the generality of the children of men. The Latter-day Saints are rapidly becoming a great and important people. The influence that attends us is being more widely felt; our power for good is increasing, our strength, our union and the other qualities that we possess, and which we have manifested through our career, are being more recognized every day. It has always been a favorite idea of mine, that no single human being who chooses to exert an influence for good among his fellow men, ever spoke or ever acted in vain—without making his influence, his example, his words, have an effect upon those with whom he has been brought in contact. If this be true concerning an individual, how much more truth is there in it when applied to an assemblage of individuals, and to a community, to hundreds of communities, to a great people stretching through these mountains and filling these vallies? We have not lived in vain. We have not sought to exhibit lives of temperance, of industry, of frugality, of self-denial, lives of righteousness with the fear of God before our eyes, nor have we lived these lives during the last 49 years, without the effect being felt, not only upon those by whom we are surrounded, but by the world at large. There is something connected with the example of such a people that elevates men and women from the slime, from the mire, and from the abject, ruin into which, in too many instances, they are plunged, to contemplate humanity in its better aspects, humanity in its noble appearances, with its Godlike attributes, with its powers for good, its capability of accomplishing great results. There is something in the very fact of a people believing in God in these days of atheism and utter infidelity that brings men to serious contemplation. They say very frequently that it is fanaticism, but there is something about fanaticism that is healthly, refreshing, invigorating in its example, for no man ever accomplished anything on this earth, without exposing himself by his actions, his earnestness and enthusiasm and zeal, to the charge of fanaticism. I am willing we should be called fanatics. I have a right to be a fanatic if I wish to be, as long as my fanaticism does not interfere with the rights of my fellow man. That is a barrier beyond which my fanaticism should not be allowed to go.

      It is refreshing to see a people who not only believe in God, but who are willing to show their belief by suffering for his cause—to leave their friends, to leave their homes, to suffer exile, persecution, privations, hardships, and even death for the sake of God, for the sake of religion, for the sake of principle. What would life be if it were not for such people and for such characters? Why, their peculiar lives illume the sombre darkness of ages; they are bright spots in history. When we look back and recall the men who have suffered and died for principle, even if they died wrongfully, we find something about their heroic lives that is glorious to contemplate. And when a whole people can be found, such as are in these mountains, who are capable of making the sacrifices which they have made, there is something, as I have said, in their example and in their lives that influences men, that impresses them, and that causes them, whatever their feelings may he respecting the belief of these people, to feel a profound and heartfelt respect for them; for no man or woman properly constituted ever failed to respect devotion to principle, moral courage and the qualities that are exhibited in the lives of the Saints; I therefore say, we have not lived in vain; we have not preached in vain; we have not suffered in vain; we have not protested in vain. The fruits of these labors of ours which apparently have been so long in coming, will be reaped in the great harvest yet to be reaped upon the earth.

      I feel to speak these words of encouragement to my brethren and sisters, many of whom feel probably that their obscure lives and struggles, their contest with poverty, their humble and eventful histories are sometimes of so little value that they are comparatively worthless in the earth. I say to the humble struggler, to the man or woman who may be content with poverty, whose life may be uneventful in his own estimation, who may be hidden from the popular sight and may not figure on the world's stage, I say to every such person, as a Latter-day Saint, You have a great and important mission to perform, and if you perform the duties devolving upon you properly, your influence will be felt; and in the days to come, in that great day of God Almighty, your worth will be fully recognized, and you will shine as a jewel in the kingdom of our Redeemer.

      There is one thing that every parent can do. He can endeavor to make his sons and daughters better qualified, better equipped for the great struggle of life and better able to perform their part in this glorious work that God has established, than himself; that is one thing the parents of the rising generation of these mountains can do. I have never felt as I do to-day, and as I have recently, of the great importance of our training and educating our children to the greatest and best advantage, that nothing shall be left undone on our part to prepare them for the great work which they have to perform. This is a labor that we can accomplish. It does not depend so much upon the knowledge of books; a great many people imagine that only books are necessary for education; but the man is best educated, in my opinion, who has thought the most, and that correctly. So far as theology is concerned, we have been able, by the blessing of God, the light of the Holy Ghost, and the power of truth, to go forth unlearned, illiterate, and unprepared, so far as worldly education is concerned, and by virtue of the knowledge that comes down from above, the elders of this Church have gone forth and met the world of Christendom. I do not speak in vanity, nor in the spirit of boasting when I say they have never been vanquished. The learned, the educated, the professed theologians when they have met the elders of this Church with the Bible in their hands, have been compelled to retreat before the power of truth proclaimed by uneducated but inspired men. Is our mission accomplished by having done this? I feel that we as a people are only on the threshold of the great work that lies before us. We have an immense field of labor stretched out before us. When you look ahead and try to see its limits, the field of usefulness, which stretches out before this people called Latter-day Saints, is beyond the reach of human vision; it is illimitable, stretching out in the far distant future. Is there a wrong upon the earth to be righted? If so, it is our bounden duty to attempt its correction. Is there a false principle extant? It is our bounden duty to seek its eradication. Is there tyranny in the world, tyranny of the body, tyranny of the mind, physical or mental tyranny? It devolves upon us as Latter-day Saints to overthrow it. Are there social problems to be solved? Who shall solve them? Who can do so? Remove the Latter-day Saints from the field, and who can solve these problems which are pressing themselves upon the attention of all thinking people? The whole earth is full of violence, wrong, oppression, misgovernment, and a thousand other evils which I cannot now enumerate. It devolves upon us, as fast as we can reach these things, to correct them, to remove them. In the first place we have got to correct and remove them from our own midst. It is a slow labor to train a people, brought as we are from every nation, educated in every creed, speaking almost every language and heirs of every tradition. There is, false or true, wedded to us old customs and the evils of ages, which have been transmitted from generation to generation until they have formed a strong part of our very being. It is a slow work, I say, educating a people such as we are. We have been at it now 49 years, and we can scarcely perceive, that is, in comparison with that which lies before us, the growth and the development which have been made. But we have grown, our minds have been enlarged, we have become emancipated from many old follies, and freedom of thought has taken place in our midst; but the great labor that devolves upon us is to educate ourselves, and then we can soon educate the rest of mankind, for as I have said, our example is felt; the influence of it goes forth and bears its fruit among other people. But it is a most difficult thing to get these Latter-day Saints to understand the principles that are as plain as the noonday sun —that they should receive readily, and why? Because, as I have said, they are heirs of the traditions of centuries that have come down through the dark ages. It is a wonderful thing to do what we have have done respecting woman. Look at what monogamy has done. Look at its effects; trace its influence from the death of the Apostles, or soon afterwards, down to this the nineteenth century, and what do we behold? Why, in every generation a large percentage of our sisters has been consigned either to that nameless condition of which it is a shame to speak, or have died without ever knowing the joys of maternity. When I think of it, when I read the history of the boasted civilization of the Greeks and the Romans, and think of the boasted civilization of our day, inherited from these nations, and witness its effects, I wonder how man, standing up in the face of heaven, dare look at woman and talk about being her protector. Read the history of the sex and of the frightful evils which have been brought upon our sisters through man's accursed traditions and evils. If it were to be told to another people differently situated to us, with different traditions to us, they could not believe that intelligent man would entertain for one moment, or that women themselves, in view of what their sex has suffered, would cherish and cling to the wretched traditions that have prevailed in Christendom and to a certain extent yet prevail in our midst.

      I know I am touching now upon what many people consider a tender spot. Say they, "The decision of the Supreme Court has arranged all this." Yes, but it will not stay arranged. Let me tell you, that wrong may prevail and right may apparently be crushed; but right must at last prevail and claim its own in spite of laws, of decisions, of mandates, and everything that man can utter. I am talking now not respecting law; I am not talking respecting tradition; I am not talking about "Mormon" plural marriage or patriarchal marriage; I am talking about men and women, brethren and sisters as such. Come let us reason together; let us talk together, not as religionists, not as "Mormons," not as monogamists, not as polygamists, not as citizens of Christendom, but as men and women, the children of God, as brethren and sisters of the one family. Let us talk together face to face, in plainness, in simplicity, without allowing tradition to have weight with us, to blind our understandings. It is in this spirit that I wish to talk upon this subject.

      Here is a family, a family composed of men and women, and we will say this tabernacle contains this entire family of God upon the earth, for the sake of illustrating the point. Here are men and women in equal numbers and equal proportions, one sex not outnumbering the other—a man for a woman and a woman for a man, no surplus of women, no surplus of men. If they were to marry, each would have a partner, each man would have a wife and each woman would have a husband; each would be perfect, for the man is not perfect without the woman, nor the woman without the man. We turn in and make a law, such as prevailed at one time in Rome that every man shall marry a wife. Such a law was made at Rome at one time; it was aimed at celibacy. It was aimed at a certain class as the law of 1862 was aimed at us. One was enacted to prevent marriage, the other to compel marriage, that no class of men should grow up in the community without wives, and that no woman should be allowed to forsake man and become a nun. We have such a law, say in this tabernacle. That answers very well. Every woman is provided with a husband, and every man with a wife. But after a while somebody comes along and says, "I do not like this law, it is oppressive; I know, for instance, where it works very badly; I know men who do not want to have wives." They prefer a single life, and they succeed after a while in repealing tire law, as they did in Rome. The law is repealed and men are at liberty to marry or not as they please. On the top of this another law is enacted, in effect that every man shall have but one wife, and shall not be permitted to take two or more wives. The women, of course, have to do just as the men say, they cannot compel the men to marry them, but must wait until they are invited to marry. This law suits a great many individuals. Many men say, "I prefer not to have a wife and especially if you will only make a law confining the men to marry but one wife each. I like that very well, because I will not then be under the necessity of keeping a wife. If I want a partner, an associate, I can have one without being at the trouble or expense of keeping her as such. Because if you confine marriage to one man and one woman there will necessarily be a share of the women who cannot be married; that is, if the sexes are equal in numbers. Then I can do as I please. I know the confiding nature of woman; I know how she loves, how she clings to the object of her love. This will be my opportunity." But what shall be said respecting the women. The men so far as they are concerned, have the right to marry or not as they please. But here is a large percentage of the women who by this law are to a certain extent deprived from marrying, even supposing the sexes to be equal. A civil commotion arises. Men go to war they go to sea, they engage in commercial pursuits, they leave their homes, they engage in hazardous occupations. The result is that though in the beginning the men and women were equal in numbers, by the effects of war, and of engaging in hazardous pursuits which women do not follow, the men die and are killed, and the women survive and outnumber the males. The operation of a law then, such as I have described, increases the hardship, increases the percentage of those who are not married and who have no opportunity of marrying. Here comes along a man after witnessing the evils that have grown up among his brothers and sisters, and says, "I have a plan to suggest which I believe will cure the evils that exist among us. I see that a dreadful vice called prostitution has crept into our midst, and arising from it are dreadful diseases, diseases that I cannot describe, so appalling are they that the very thought of them makes the heart recoil with horror; they have appeared in our family circle and they are destroying our young men and women. And now then, the plan that I have to propose to our family is this, that every man shall marry until all the women are married, until every woman that wants a husband shall have one, so that the men who will not marry shall not have a class of unmarried women, to prey upon, to commit violence with, or to prostitute. "Now," says he, "if you let all these men and women marry, there will be some women who will not want to marry, but that proportion will be very small; and by this means you will arrest this dreadful evil that is growing in our midst."

      Now let me put this to you; let us reason upon this, face to face, as I have said. Which will be the better plan? According to my judgment, speaking as one of this family, not as a member of Congress, not as a "Mormon" but as one of the family I have described. The latter law is far superior to the other. I would say, as a father, if I had a family of that kind, by all means let my daughters marry, let every woman have a husband that wants one. Then if every man marries a wife, they will only have a wife apiece; but if there should be any of the boys that do not want wives, the girls would not necessarily go without husbands.

      I consider our false tradition upon this subject one of the greatest evils at the present time that exists upon the earth. It has come down to us from the Greeks and Romans, than whom a more abominable lot of people never lived upon the earth. To read their books is enough to make a man with the least feeling of modesty blush and be ashamed of his race. Yet they are introduced into our literature. Whoever reads Horace, Sallust, and numbers of those authors, well knows how full of corruption they are, Not only crimes, but crimes against nature were justified by some of the best and most noted of Greek philosophers, and were practised by Sophocles, Socrates, and others; and yet this is the philosophy that has come down to us. They had a class of women in their midst who were regularly compensated and sustained as courtesans; they were maintained in order that the purity of the domestic circle might be unpolluted. And this has come down to us in Christendom, in Europe and America to the present time. The fairest of Earth's daughters fall yearly sacrifices to the abominable lusts of men. How is the domestic circle preserved in monogamous countries to-day? It is only preserved at the expense of this class to which I have referred, by these priestesses of humanity, blasted for the sins of the people, living short lives and carrying with them the effects of man's abominable lust.

      Now I do not want to talk to-day about law; I do not want to talk to-day about its effects in relation to this subject—the subject of "Mormon" patriarchal marriage; I do not want to talk about the law of 1862, nor the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States affecting it; but I want to deal with the facts that stare us in the face. Shall we correct these evils? "O," says one, "they always existed." Out upon such doctrine; we do not believe it. I cannot believe that the Great Creator, he who formed the universe, who placed the sun in the centre of our solar system and caused those planets to revolve around it; that that being who created these things, and produced order out of chaos who said, "Let there be light and there was light;" who called forth out of chaos the elements from which our earth is formed and created it as a glorious habitation for man; that He possessing, as we knew he does, infinite wisdom, has placed men and women, his sons and daughters, upon the earth in the midst of evils such as I have briefly alluded to, and provided no remedy therefore. I could no more believe it than I could believe this light to be darkness. But I do believe that in the bosom of the Father there is wisdom to create all, to carry out all, and to make this earth a heaven, where peace, love, joy and happiness shall prevail, and where there shall be no sin, no sorrow, no heartrending or pain, where man and woman will dwell together in perfect peace, love and harmony, and children grow up in purity with every heavenly surrounding.

      I have said, probably, enough on this subject. I merely wish to point out and to show that certain evils exist and that they need correction. How shall they be corrected? Who shall point out the remedy? I believe God has done it, and he will continue to do it; he will bring to pass in his own way and in his own due time all the corrections necessary to change all this. This subject of itself, affecting as it does the happiness welfare and prosperity of the human family, is one of almost overshadowing importance. But there are other evils under which mankind groan. There are evils in regard to wealth and the management of property, the organization of capital and the organization of labor, the relations, that labor shall bear to capital, and capital to labor. There are questions of this kind that press themselves upon the attention of statesmen, and upon the attention of every man of thought and reflection, and he sees there is room for the exercise of the most profound wisdom, and the greatest talent in order that these things may be corrected. It devolves upon us, Latter-day Saints, to help to accomplish this work. It devolves upon us, and will devolve upon us more particularly in the near future, to maintain upon this continent and through this broad land pure republican institutions, constitutional liberty in its broadest sense. For the day is not far distant when the power such as is growing up in the mountains will be needed. Conflict of parties, an increase of party feeling, an increased disposition to take possession of power by any means, no matter what it might be, are becoming general in the United States. This is so self-evident that no man, unless completely wedded to the idea that this nation will exist in perpetuity, can fail to see for himself that there is a crisis approaching in the affairs of our nation. Already the feeling prevails that in order to accomplish certain things fraud is justifiable. Money is used to an extent in the accomplishing of certain results in government affairs, and in politics that you, as a people who live in these mountains, have scarcely any conception of. And this is increasing. What the end will be is not difficult to foretell. Republicanism ceases to be republicanism whenever fraud enters into the decision of questions and the will of the people cannot be properly ascertained.

      So far as religious liberty is concerned we have fought that battle thus far with tolerable success; but we have yet to contend still more for greater liberty, not for ourselves alone, but for every human being; that dwells upon this land, from the east to the west and from the north to the south. The principle must be maintained, the principle, that actuated the founders of our government, when they laid the foundation stone thereof, that in matters of religious concernment no man has a right to step between his fellow-man and his God. I may worship idols; I may burn incense to idols; I may worship the sun and pay adoration to him, the great luminary of day; I may do other things which may seem equally improper, but have l not the right to do these things under our constitution? Was it not the intention of the framers of our forth of government that every man should have this right? Certainly it was; and it can be clearly proved that this was their intention, that this was the spirit that actuated and prompted them.

      In Salt Lake City, if the "Mormons" had supreme control—I say "Mormons," I ought to say Latter-day Saints—if they had Supreme control from our northern boundary in Idaho, to the southern boundary, Arizona, and from our eastern boundary, Colorado, to our western boundary, Nevada; if we had supreme control and undisputed possession of this land, without the right of dominion over us being questioned, we would have no authority under the constitution under which we live to say to any human being within these confines how he should worship, what he should or should not do in order to please the Creator. If the Chinaman should come here and build a Joss house and burn incense to Joss, if he prostrate himself in adoration before the images that he thinks represents his deity, we have no right in the world to interfere with him. If an Ingersoll should come here and say that he did not believe in any God at all, and he could carry his feelings into practice, we would have no right to interfere with him. Under the circumstances I have described, he would have a perfect right to believe in God or not. We would have no right to interfere with a man who, believing his priest has power to remit his sins, would enter the confessional chamber for the purpose of having them forgiven; or with the Episcopalian who may choose to sprinkle his infant, or the Jew because he believed in circumcising his infant child, or with the Baptist because he believed in baptism by immersion. But supposing that a man should come along that believes it his right and in accordance with his religious convictions to marry more than one wife, and he takes care of his wives and provides for them properly according to his religion, believing that in the eternity to come he will dwell with them. Some of us may think that his ideas of heaven are very materialistic; we may think him a very foolish man for having such a belief, and especially for going to the expense of keeping three or four wives; these may be the popular ideas about him, but if he carries out his belief from a religious standpoint, he has a perfect right to do it in the face of God and even under the constitution of our land. The Parsee and fire-worshiper and men of kindred belief may yet come to this land of liberty; and I tell you if the spirit of the Constitution be maintained, as the Latter-day Saints will yet maintain it, they will have a perfect right to worship their God according to the dictates of their own consciences without any to molest or make afraid. The only time that these men can be interfered with will be when their religious acts interfere with the rights and liberties of their fellowmen. Hear it, ye Latter-day Saints! When John Chinaman comes in your midst, teach your children to respect him. When any other man of any other creed, race or color takes his abode among you, teach your children to respect his form of worship. And if they go to the church of the Catholics or that of the Presbyterians or of any other sect, teach them to behave themselves and treat everybody with civility and kindness, and that it is none of their business how these sects worship, teach that they violate good order and good law when they in any way make light of religious exercises. I would whip a boy for it quicker than for anything else. That is the freedom I believe in; that is the freedom I mean to teach to my children and to all men so far as my voice and influence extend; that is the freedom I mean to contend for and, as I have said hundreds of times to leading men of this nation, I will, if necessary, take my sons and make them swear that they will stand by and maintain this liberty as long as they live and contend for it and teach their children after them to contend for it also. I believe in the fullest liberty upon these points. We have been accused of exclusiveness. Our hearts have many times warmed towards "Gentiles," as they are called. We have extended the arms of kindness thousand and thousands of times to them, as our history has proved. We have been full of that disposition. But how have our advances been met? Let those in this tabernacle and those who are familiar with such matters read the newspapers. I have had people visit me at my house where every attention and courtesy would be shown them, and they would leave and perhaps through reading newspaper articles consisting of abominable lies, would go away and betray those who had received and treated them kindly and hospitably and so often has this been the case that I have almost sworn I will never do it again. It is not because we have unkind feelings. The time will come when we will have power; at present we are in the minority, and it pays for scribblers to write about us and hold us up to ridicule. But suppose the Latter-day Saints had control; suppose their ideas were fulfilled, that is, that we, as it is destined we shall be, were the people who uphold Constitutional government upon this continent, who restored the government to its primitive condition when all the political parties shall have fallen into chaos; would we feel at liberty to say that none but the Latter-day Saints should be elected to offices of trust and responsibility? No. Joseph Smith set the pattern; he taught the brethren who were with him better ideas; you well-informed Latter-day Saints know that there are two powers which God has restored in these the last days. One is the Church of God, the other the Kingdom of God. A man may belong to the Kingdom of God and yet not be a member of the Church of God. In the Kingdom of God, using it in a political sense, there may be heathens and Pagans and Mahommedans and Latter-day Saints and Presbyterians and Episcopalians and Catholics and men of every creed. Will they legislate for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints alone? Will the laws that they enact protect us alone and not protect others? No. Why? Because God is the Father of the Latter-day Saints as well as of every truman being; God is the father of all, is the father of the Chinaman, the Hindoo, the African, the European, the American; is the Father of all the races of men and of every creed and nationality. When he establishes his kingdom it will protect all in their equal rights; I as a Latter-day Saint, will not have power to trample on my fellow-man who may not be orthodox in my opinion, because I am a Latter-day Saint; nor will my fellow-man to whom I am heterodox, have the power to trample upon me. Does not that look right? That is the kind of kingdom we have to contend for; that is the kind of kingdom we have to establish, and it is already provided for in the Constitution given unto us by God, and through the glorious labors of the fathers who laid the foundation of this government, who were inspired and raised by our Almighty Father for this express purpose. There is no liberty that a human being can desire, neither is there a right that can be exercised properly, that we do not have under the Constitution of our land. It needs no amendment about it; it is broad enough, if interpreted in its true spirit, to cover the individual, the continent, and the entire globe and furnish freedom for all.

      Now, Latter-day Saints, if you have had narrow views I will tell you to put them aside. I do not mean by this you must take everybody into your houses. There is the difference. I have seen President Young scores of times acting upon the spirit to which I have alluded. He has invited strangers to our social parties and houses and extended courtesies to them because it was wisdom to do so. But a great many of the Latter-day Saints are so ignorant upon these points that they do not know when to stop. There are some so ignorant that they would in the spirit of kindness let a man come into their homes and become so familiar that he would try to lead astray some member of their family. Can you not see that these are acts of folly, that we are not required, because of the liberality we should cherish and cultivate, to throw down every barrier and allow vice to stalk through our cities and enter into our family circles to pollute the purity that should prevail there. Can you not see, Latter-day Saints, however young, however uninformed you may be, can you not see that to allow this liberty would be wrong? Therefore we ought to discriminate. Nowhere in good society has a man the entree without proper introduction. If a stranger were to come to me bearing lines of introduction from a friend of mine, I would, if necessary, go with him to the bank and endorse a note for him, because I would be perfectly secure in doing so. But supposing a stranger were to come to me for the same favor, without an introduction, I would not be under the slightest obligation to do as he wished, though I might do so as an act of charity, but of course under such circumstances I should not be expected to do more than this. And if I were to go among strangers I would not think of attempting to push myself among the people without proper introduction. I have gosse in their midst many times, but have never been a sharer of their kindness and confidence only as such confidence was established by acquaintance. So in our midst; a man can come properly recommended, he is at home. He can have time enough to establish his name and to show to the people what kind of man he is. Then he will be received as he should be, having that respect shown to him that is due.

      I have talked a great deal more than I intended. I hope what I have said may be blessed to your profit. If I have said any unwise thing, forget it. If I have said any improper thing, I hope it will pass from your minds, and that which is good, cling to you. Cleave to virtue, to purity, to everything that is good, that will elevate you and make you a better people. Above all let me say to you, let us get rid of old traditions as fast as we can, and learn from the Lord, and be taught by his holy spirit. That God may grant this is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

            The choir sung the anthem,

"Inflamatus."

            Conference was adjourned till tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock.

            Benediction by President Joseph Young.

_____

[7 Apr, 10 am]

[DNW 28:156, 4/9/79, p 12]

SECOND DAY.

_____

MONDAY, April 7th, 1879, 10 o'clock a.m.

            The choir sang on page 5:

The morning breaks, the shadows flee,
Lo! Zion's standard is unfurled.

            Prayer by Elder Lorenzo Snow.

            The choir sang:

Mortals awake, with angels join,
 And chant the solemn lay.

            Elder GEORGE Q. CANNON then read the statistical report of the Church, but as it was not perfect, some of he returns not being made in full, it is thought best not to publish.

            The following report of donations received for the Manti Temple, from several of the adjoining Stakes, was then read, to March 31, 1879:

Total in 50 cent monthly cash donations,     $ 4,889.74

Do. in Sunday donations,  117,406.29

            $122,296.03

Amounts donated by Trustee-in-Trust,           $15,427.76

Total amount,      $137,723.79

            The report of the free-will offerings to the Logan Temple from Cache Valley and surrounding Stakes, from May 28th, 1877, to March 1st, 1879:

In cash, stock, produce, lumber, etc:,              $119,984.51
In stock and produce per Trustee-in-Trust,    2,036.50
 Total     $122,021.01

FRANKLIN D. RICHARDS

Spoke of the many blessings that we had been the happy recipients of from our Heavenly Father. He felt pleased to note that a very praiseworthy improvement had been made in the Tithes and Temple offerings of the Saints during the past year. Also in the co-operative movement throughout the Territory, in establishing home industries, etc. He also made some remarks on the tendency in some, to turn away from the worship of the true and living God, into skepticism and idolatry. He then spoke of the efforts being made to draw away our children, by every species of inducements, and warned the Saints against allowing their increased wealth to lead them away from God and his ways, and giving way to an idolatrous devotion to their cattle, their farms, etc., and other worldly property, but when God blesses us with the good things of this world, we should not forget the obligations that such blessings impose upon us, but be willing to use them for the establishment of His purposes on the earth, and be always zealous of good works. He prayed that the blessings of peace and fellowship might abound with the Saints.

ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON

then called over the following names as missionaries:

Great Britain.

Orson Pratt, senr., Salt Lake City.
Brigham S. Young "
Joseph R. Matthews, "
Geo. H. Taylor, "
John F. Miller, "
Hugh Watson "
Peter Reid, "
Edward E. Brain, "
Archibald M. Buchanan "
John South, "
Thomas P. Jack "
Francis Cope "
John Rider, Kanab
Isaac J. Wardle, South Jordan.
George Crane, Kanosh.
Hyrum Bennion, Taylorsville.
Wm. C. Haigh,
Henry Rampton, Bountiful.
Edwin M. Curtis, Logan.
Oscar G. Hunter, American Fork.
Erastus B. Snow, St. George.
Moroni Snow, "
John M. Moody, Junr., "
Wm. Barnes, "
Edward Cliff, Sanpete Co.
Jonathan Midgeley, "
John Boyden, Coalville.
W. B. Parkinson, Morgan.
Chas. Monk, Spanish Fork.
Wm. Wilkes, St. Charles.
Chas. Westover, Jun., Leeds.
Evan Wride, Provo.
Joseph Goddard, Logan.
Wm. Robertson, Spanish Fork.
Andrew Ferguson, "
Lyman Martineau, Logan
Robert Dansie, Fort Herriman.
C. H. French, Salt Lake City
Wm. McFadden, Salina.
William Driver, Ogden.
Henry Margetts, Paris.

Scandinavia.

Nils Wilhelmsen, St. Charles.
C. C. Asmussen, Salt Lake City.
Andrew Jenson, Pleasant Grove.

Swiss and German Mission.

Serge L. Baliff, Logan.
Andrew Heppler, Glendale.
Ferdinand Oberhaensli, Payson.

Canada.

Andrew Coray, Cedar.
W. H. Seegmiller, Richfield.

Manitoba and Iceland.

Jacob B. Johnson, Spanish Fork.
John Evindson, " "

United States -- Southern States.

Orange Warner, Fillmore.
John H. Hougard, Manti.
Martin Garn, Sugar House.
Henry C. Longmor, Moroni.
C. H. Bliss, Salt Lake City.
Hyrum S. Young "
Leonard G. Hardy, "
Rudger Clawson, "
Elnathan Eldredge, Sugar house, to Indiana.
R. T. Barrett, North Ogden, to Pennsylvania.
Matthew Ivory, Beaver, to Pennsylvania.
C. H. Lund, Mount Pleasant, to Minnesota.
W. S. Seeley, Mount Pleasant, to Minnesota.

            The choir sang the anthem,

Thine O Lord, is the greatness.

            Conference was adjourned until 2 o'clock p.m.

            Benediction by Elder C. C. Rich.

_____

[7 Apr, 2 pm*]

[DNW 28:172, 4/16/79, p 12]

GENERAL CONFERENCE

_____

SECOND DAY.

_____

Afternoon, 2 o'clock p.m.

            The choir sang on page 13:

What wondrous things we now behold,
By prophets seen in days of old.

            Prayer by Elder Joseph E. Taylor.

            The choir sang on page 67:

Praise ye the Lord, 'tis good to raise
Your hearts and voices in his praise.

PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR

Made a few remarks on the vacancy in the Apostleship occasioned by the late respected member, Orson Hyde, and aid that the Quorum of the Twelve in consultation upon this subject, having agreed among themselves, had decided to nominate before this Conference the name of Moses Thatcher, of Logan, to fill that vacancy.

            A vote was then called for, when the nomination was sustained by unanimous vote.

            The authorities of the Church were then presented before the Conference by Elder George Q. Cannon, all of who were unanimously sustained, as follows:

            John Taylor, as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, as one of the Twelve Apostles, and of the Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

            As members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles -- Wilford Woodruff, Orson Pratt, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Joseph F. Smith, Albert Carrington and Moses Thatcher.

            Counselors to the Twelve Apostles -- Jno. W. Young, J. H. Wells.

            The Twelve Apostles as the presiding quorum and authority of the Church, and, with their counselors, as Prophets, Seers and Revelators.

            Patriarch of the Church -- John Smith.

            As the first Seven Presidents of the Seventies -- Joseph Young, Levi W. Hancock, Henry Herriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates and John Van Cott.

            The Presiding Bishop of the Church -- Edward Hunter, with Leonard W. Hardy and Robert T. Burton as his Counselors.

            John Taylor as Trustee-in-Trust of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with the Twelve Apostles, their two Counselors and Edward Hunter, as his counselors.

            Albert Carrington as President of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund for the Gathering of the poor, and the following as his assisstants: F. D. Richards. F. M. Lyman, H. S. Eldredge, Joseph F. Smith, John W. Young, Angus M. Cannon, Moses Thatcher, William Jennings, John R. Winder, Henry Dinwoodey, Robert T. Burton, A. O. Smoot and H. B. Clawson.

            Orson Pratt as Historian and General Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff as his assistant.

            Truman O. Angel as General Architect of the Church, and T. O. Angel, Junr., and W. H. Folsom as his assistants.

            As Auditing committee -- W. Woodruff, E. Snow, F. D. Richards, J. F. Smith.

            George Goddard as Clerk of the General Conference.

ELDER LORENZO SNOW

Said it was the privilege of the Latter-day Saints who met together on occasions like the present to receive instructions from the Almighty that will be useful to them in all the walks of life. He then quoted two passages of scriptures wherein God requires his people to be perfect as he himself is perfect, and with a view of receiving those great blessings which the lord has promised to his children, it was absolutely necessary for His Saints to comply with the requirements that He has made upon them. He spoke of Abraham leaving his native country at the command of the Almighty, which entitled him to the blessing dependent on his obedience, and which he would not have received if he had not complied with the law. All Latter-day Saints who keep the commandments of God may be perfect in their sphere of action according to their ability. Although we have weaknesses and imperfections, we should not e distressed or discouraged in trying to carry out and observe the requirements of heaven. In whatever principles we rigidly carry out, we are perfect so far as that is concerned, as, for instance, the observance of the Word of Wisdom, the law of tithing, etc. He instanced the case of Peter, who, for quite a while was led perfect before the Lord, but when overtaken by a trial, was tempted to deny his Lord and Master. This sin of Peter's however, tended to humble him before the Savior, and he strove in the future to maintain a clear conscience before God, by doing right and keeping the commandments of God. who, although beset with weaknesses, still endeavored to overcome them, by availing themselves of all the aid and succor that God their Heavenly Father had placed within their reach.

            He therefore called upon the Latter-day Saints to take courage, notwithstanding their many shortcomings, to still continue and strive to do better in the future, by seeking first to know the mind and will of the Lord, then to do the same, and live so as to enjoy his Holy Spirit, that they may be blest with an abudance of peace.

[Lorenzo Snow]

[DNW 28:274, 6/4/79, p 2; JD 20:187]

DISCOURSE

DELIVERED BY ELDER LORENZO SNOW,

At the General Conference, on Monday Morning, April 7th, 1879.

_____

REPORTED BY GEO. F. GIBBS.

_____

      "And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me and be thou perfect."

      In connection with this I will quote part of the words of the Savior in his sermon on the Mount, as contained in the last verse of the 5th chapter of Matthew.

      "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."

      In occupying a short time this morning, I desire an interest in your faith and prayers.

      We learn that the Lord appeared to Abraham and made him very great promises, and that before he was prepared to receive them a certain requirement was made of him, that he should become perfect before the Lord. And the same requirement was made by the Savior of his disciples, that they should be come perfect, even as he and his Father in heaven were perfect. This I conceive to be a subject that concerns the Latter-day Saints; and I wish to offer a few remarks by way of suggestion, for the reflection of those whom it concerns.

      The Lord proposes to confer the highest blessings upon the Latter-day Saints; but, like Abraham, we must prepare ourselves for them, and to do this the same law that was given to him of the Lord has been given to us for our observance. We also are required to arrive at a state of perfection before the Lord; and the Lord in this case, the same as in every other, has not made a requirement that cannot be complied with, but on the other hand, He has placed for the use of the Latter-day Saints the means by which they can conform to His holy order. When the Lord made this requirement of Abraham, He gave him the means by which he could become qualified to obey that law and come up fully to the requirement. He had the privilege of the Holy Spirit, as we are told the Gospel was preached to Abraham, and through that Gospel he could obtain that divine aid which would enable him to understand the things of God, and without it no man could arrive at a state of perfection before the Lord. So in reference to the Latter-day Saints, they could not possibly come up to such a moral and spiritual standard except through supernatural aid and assistance. Neither do we expect that the Latter-day Saints, at once will or can conform to this law under all circumstances. It requires time; it requires much patience and discipline of the mind and heart in order to obey this commandment. And although we may fail at first in our attempts, yet this should not discourage the Latter-day Saints from endeavoring to exercise a determination to comply with the great requirement. Abraham, although he might have had faith to walk before the Lord according to this divine law, yet there were times when his faith was sorely tried, but still he was not discouraged because he exercised a determination to comply with the will of God. We may think that we cannot live up to the perfect law, that the work of perfecting ourselves is too difficult. This may be true in part, but the fact still remains that it is a command of the Almighty to us and we cannot ignore it. When we experience trying moments, then is the time for us to avail ourselves of that great privilege of calling upon the Lord for strength and understanding, intelligence and grace by which we can overcome the weakness of the flesh against which we have to make a continual warfare.

      Abraham was called to leave his kindred and country. Had he not complied with this requirement, he would not have been approved of the Lord. But he did comply; and while he was leaving his home, he no doubt was living in obedience, to this divine law of perfection. Had he failed in this, he certainly could not have obeyed the requirements of the Almighty. And while he was leaving his father's house, while he was subjecting himself to this trial, he was doing that which his own conscience and the Spirit of God justified him in doing, and nobody could have done better, providing he was doing no wrong when he was performing this labor.

      When the Latter-day Saints received the Gospel in the nations afar, and when the voice of the Almighty to them was, to leave the lands of their fathers, to leave their kindred as Abraham did, so far as they complied with this requirement, so far they were walking in obedience to this law; and they were as perfect as men could be under the circumstances, and in the sphere in which they were acting, not that they were perfect in knowledge or power, etc.; but in their feelings, in their integrity, motives and determination. And while they were crossing the great deep, providing they did not murmur nor complain, but obeyed the counsels which were given them, and in every way comported themselves in a becoming manner, they were as perfect as God required them to be.

      The Lord designs to bring us up into the celestial kingdom. He has made known, through direct revelation, that we are His offspring, begotten in the eternal worlds, that we have come to this earth for the special purpose of preparing ourselves to receive a fullness of our Father's glory when we shall return into his presence. Therefore, we must seek the ability to keep this law, to sanctify our motives, desires, feelings and affections, that they may be pure and holy, and our will in all things be subservient to the will of God, and have no will of our own except to do the will of our Father. Such a man in his sphere is perfect, and commands the blessing of God in all that he does and wherever he goes. But we are subject to folly, to the weakness of the flesh, and we are more or less ignorant, thereby liable to err. Yes, but that is no reason why we should not feel desirous to comply with this command of God, especially seeing that he has placed within our reach the means of accomplishing this work. This I understand is the meaning of the word perfection, as expressed by our Savior and by the Lord to Abraham. A person may be perfect in regard to some things and not others. A person who obeys the word of wisdom faithfully, is perfect as far as that law is concerned. When we repented of our sins and were baptized for the remission of them, we were perfect as far as that matter was concerned. Now we are told by the Apostle John, that "we are the sons of God, but it does not appear what we shall be: but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." "And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he, Christ is pure." The Latter-day Saints expect to arrive at his state of perfection; we expect to become as our Father and God, fit and worthy children to dwell in his presence; we expect that when the Son of God shall appear, we shall receive our bodies renewed and glorified, and that "these vile bodies will be changed and become like unto his glorious body." These are our expectations. Now let all present put this question to themselves. Are our expectations well founded? In other words, are we seeking to purify ourselves? How can a Latter-day Saint feel justified in himself unless he is seeking to purify himself even as God is pure—unless he is seeking to keep his conscience void of offence before God and man every day of his life. We doubtless, many of us, walk from day to day and from week to week, and from month to month, before God, feeling under no condemnation, comporting ourselves properly, and seeking earnestly and in all meekness for the Spirit of God to dictate our daily course; and yet there may be a certain time or times in our life, when we are greatly tried and perhaps overcome; even if this be so, that is no reason why we should not try again, and that, too, with redoubled energy and determination to accomplish our object, There was the Apostle Peter, for instance, a man valiant for the truth, and a man who walked before God in a manner that met with his divine approval; he told the Savior on a certain occasion that though all men forsook him he would not. But the Savior, fore-seeing what would happen, told him that on that same night, before the cock crowed, be would deny him thrice, and he did so. He proved himself unequal for the trial; but afterwards he gained power, and his mind was disciplined to that extent that such trials could not possibly affect him. And if we could read in detail the life of Abraham, or the lives of other great and holy men, we would doubtless find that their efforts to be righteous were not always crowned with success. Hence we should not be discouraged if we should be overcome in a weak moment; but, on the contrary, straightway repent of the error or the wrong we may have committed, and as far as possible repair it, and then seek to God for renewed strength to go on and do better.

      Abraham could walk perfectly before God day after day when he was leaving his father's house, and he showed evidences of a superior and well desciplined mind in the course he suggested when his herdsmen quarrelled with the herdsmen of his nephew, Lot. There came a time in Abraham's life, however, which must have been very trying; in fact anything more severe can scarcely be conceived of; that was when the Lord called upon him to offer as a sacrifice his beloved and only son, even him through whom he expected the fulfillment of the great promise made him by the Lord; but through manifesting a proper disposition he was enabled to surmount the trial, and prove his faith and integrity to God. It can hardly be supposed that Abraham inherited such a state of mind from his idolatrous parents; built is consistent to believe that under the blessing of God he was enabled to acquire it, after going through a similar warfare with the flesh as we are, and doubtless being overcome at times and then overcoming until he was enabled to stand so severe a test. "Let this same mind be in you," says the Apostle Paul, "which was also in Christ Jesus: who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God." Now every man that has this object before him will purify himself as God is pure, and try to walk perfectly before him. We have our little follies and our weaknesses; we should try to overcome them as fast as possible, and we should inculcate this feeling in the hearts of our children, that the fear of God may grow up with them from their very youth, and that they may learn to comport themselves properly before him under all circumstances. If the husband can live with his wife one day without quarreling or without treating anyone unkindly or without grieving the Spirit of God in any way, that is well so far; he is so far perfect. Then let him try to be the same the next day. But supposing he should fail in this his next day's attempt? That is no reason why he should not succeed in doing so the third day. If the Apostle Peter had become discouraged at his manifest failure to maintain the position that he had taken to stand by the Savior under all circumstances, he would have lost all; whereas, by repenting and persevering he lost nothing but gained all, leaving us too to profit by his experience. The Latter-day Saints should cultivate this ambition constantly which was so clearly set forth by the apostles in former days. We should try to walk each day so that our conscience would be void of offence before everybody. And God has placed in the Church certain means by which we can be assisted, namely, apostles, and prophets, and evangelists, etc., "for the perfecting of the Saints," etc. And he has also conferred upon us his Holy Spirit, which is an unerring guide, standing, as an angel of God, at our side, telling us what to do, and affording us strength and succor when adverse circumstances arise in our way. We must not allow ourselves to be discouraged whenever we discover our weakness. We can scarcely find an instance in all the glorious examples set us by the prophets, ancient or modern wherein they permitted the Evil One to discourage them; but on the other hand they constantly sought to overcome, to win the prize, and thus prepare themselves for a fulness of glory. The Prophet Elijah succeeded. He so walked before God that he was worthy to be translated. And Enoch was found worthy to walk with God some 300 years, and was at last, with his people, taken up to heaven.

      We are told that in the latter-days "there shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days; for the child shall die an hundred years old." And in another scripture we are told that the age of the infant shall be as the age of a tree, and that it shall not die until it shall be old, and then it shall not slumber in the dust but be changed in the twinkling of an eye. But in those days people must live perfectly before the Lord, for we are told in the same passage, that "the sinner," instead of being favored, "being an hundred years old, shall be accursed." When we once get it into our minds that we really have the power within ourselves through the gospel we have received, to conquer our passions, our appetites and in all things submit our will to the will of our Heavenly Father, and, instead of being the means of generating unpleasant feeling in our family circle, and those with whom we are associated, but assisting greatly to create a little heaven upon earth, then the battle may be said to be half won. One of the chief difficulties that many suffer from is, that we are too apt to forget the great object of life, the motive of our Heavenly Father in sending us here to put on mortality, as well as the holy calling with which we have been called; and hence, instead of rising above the little transitory things of time, we too often allow ourselves to come down to the level of the world without availing ourselves of the divine help which God has instituted, which alone can enable us to overcome them. We are no better than the rest of the world if we do not cultivate the feeling to be perfect, even as our Father in heaven is perfect.

      This was the exhortation of the Savior to the former-day Saints, who were a people of like passions and who were subject to the same temptations as ourselves, and he knew whether the people could conform to it or not; the Lord never has, nor will he require things of his children which it is impossible for them to perform. The Elders of Israel who expect to go forth to preach the gospel of salvation in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among a people who are full of evil and corruption, should cultivate this spirit especially. And not only they, but everybody, every young man and woman belonging to this Church who is worthy to be called a Saint should cultivate this desire to live up to this requirement that their consciences may be clear before God. It is a beautiful thing, either in young or old, to have this object in view; it is especially delightful to see our young people take a course that the light and intelligence of God call beam in their countenances, that they may have a correct understanding of life, and be able to live above the follies and vanities of the world and the errors and wickedness of man.

      May God bless you, brethren and sisters, and pour out His Holy Spirit upon you, that you may be blessed in all your acts, in your incomings and your outgoings and in the performance of every duty, and be blessed in calling upon the Almighty, that His Spirit may be in you as a well of water springing up to everlasting life, to guide you in His fear through all the scenes of life, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

ELDER ALBERT CARRINGTON

Made a few remarks on the subject of the Emigration of the poor from the old country, and the amount of indebtedness due the fund from those who have been assisted by it during a number of years past. Neither he nor President Taylor had the least desire of oppressing any one now indebted to the fund, but if only a reasonable proportion of their indebtedness was paid, every Latter-day Saint of the Lord's poor could be emigrated this season.

            He did not mention this subject in a scolding spirit, or with a view to having any undue influence exercised to induce liuidation, but realizing the extreme poverty in which many of the Lord's poor are now struggling, in the old country, he made this appeal in their behalf, and he hoped that as fast as the debters were able to pay, that they would do it at the very earliest opportunity, and to give every one as easy a way of settling their indebtedness as possible, it was arranged that it might be paid in labor, in stock or in produce, and in instalments to suit each one's circumstances.

            He much regretted that some who had apostatized from the faith, had repudiated their honest indebtedness to that fund, for an honest debt would always hang over an individual until it was ligquidated, but to all such he would say that he would make no legal effort to compel payment, but leave it upon their heads as an unpaid obligation. And notwithstanding their boast of freedom and advanced "liberal" principles, they display very bad taste in repudiating that which rescued them from the depths of wretchedness in the old country, where had they remained there till they were as old as Methuselah, would never have had a house of their own, but by the aid of the P. E. Fund, they had been assisted to a land where they had secured a competence.

            Elder GEO. Q. CANNON then presented the following additional names for missions:

Sandwich Islands.

Harvey H. Cluff, Provo.
Wm. D. Alexander, "
James Knell, Pinto,
Harry World, Salt Lake City.

England.

John Alexander, Fillmore.

Piedmont.

Jacob Revoir, West Jordan.

            The choir sang an anthem:

Sing unto the Lord.

            Conference dismissed until tomorrow at 10 o'clock.

            Benediction by Elder Joseph F. Smith.

_____

[8 Apr, 10 am]

[DNW 28:172, 4/16/79, p 12]

THIRD DAY.

_____

MORNING, 10 o'clock.

            The choir sang hymn on page 235:

From Greenland's icy mountains,
From India's coral strand.

            Prayer by President Joseph Young.

            The choir sang hymn on page 106:

With joy we own thy servants Lord,
Thy ministers below.

            Elder GEORGE Q. CANNON then presented the following additional names as missionaries:

United States -- Northern.

Peter hendrickson, Big Cottonwood.
Wm. H. Newman, Big Cottonwood.
L. A. Howard "
C. R. Romer, Farmington.

Southern States.

Thomas Lloyd, Wellsville.
Chas. W. Hulse, Millville.
Ole Sonne, Mendon.
Frank Benson, Logan.
Seth Lanckton, Jr., Smithfield.
Wm. Turner, Salt Lake City.
Isaac Riddle, Jr., Beaver.
Andrew Homer, of Mill Creek, to Norway.
Carl Anderson, of Coalville, to the Sandwich Islands.

            An exhibit was then read of the financial business of the Perpetual Emigrating Company; also a financial report of the Tithing in cash, produce, etc., in all the Stakes of Zion.

            The above reports were unanimously accepted by vote of the conference, but are too lengthy in detail for publication, the showing however was of a very satisfactory character.

ELDER BRIGHAM YOUNG

Said in the reading of these reports there was considerable monotony, yet such was the general interest taken by the Latter-day Saints in the welfare of each respective Stake, he found that the quarterly, semi-annual and annual conferences now being held under recent organizations, where the financial and statistical reports were read, they had a tendency of drawing and uniting the people together.

            He then spoke on the great variety of human experiences in science, mechanism, law and statesmanship and the necessity as well as privilege of the less experienced to learn from and be guided by those more advanced and better instructed, and argued that the same need existed in spiritual things. The leaders of the Latter-day Saints had proven themselves skillful in the things of the Kingdom of God, and those less skilled and less experienced, ought to look to them for guidance and instruction. In this there was no lack of freedom any more than in the deference paid by men in all branches of learning to those who were masters of knowledge. He illustrated this in a forcible manner, and closed by asking the lessings of God upon the Saints, that they might learn wisdom and obedience.

[Brigham Young Jr.]

[DNW 28:258, 5/28/79, p 2; JD 20:171]

DISCOURSE

DELIVERED BY ELDER BRIGHAM YOUNG,

At the General Conference, on Tuesday Morning, April 8th, 1879.

_____

REPORTED BY GEO. F. GIBBS.

_____

      The privilege that we enjoy of meeting together again in Conference I believe is highly appreciated by the Latter-day Saints. The dry details of our reports are somewhat tedious I am aware; but no doubt many are interested in the reports of their several Stakes, for there is a feeling in the hearts of this people that causes interest to be felt for all the stakes of Zion, and I believe that the present organization together with the reports that are made quarterly, semi-annually and annually are drawing the people together in their interests. We are better acquainted with each other than ever before within my recollection. Our general assemblies bring us together, and pleasant re-unions are made, and the good Spirit of God being disseminated among us makes us feel more like the children of one common parent than when we are widely dispersed and seldom behold each other's faces.

      Many reflections have passed through my mind during this Conference. I have listened with interest to the remarks which have been made, and to the reports which have been read. Zion is growing, financially and in numbers. It is wonderful! I was astonished, as well acquainted as I have been with this people for the number of years that they have inhabited these valleys, to know that one-third of the entire population of this Territory—as far as the Latter-day Saints are concerned—are children under eight years of age. But such is the fact. These reports do not take in the entire population of this Territory. There is quite a number of children over eight years of age who have not been baptized and consequently they are not represented in these reports. I presume that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of cases in the midst of the Latter-day Saints where we have neglected to administer the ordinance of baptism to our children, who, according to the revelations of God, ought to be numbered among the members of this Church. The instructions which we have received are plain and pointed; perhaps I may not be a competent judge for all mankind, or for my brethren, yet to me they are full of the inspiration of the Lord and are calculated to lead and guide his children in the path of everlasting life. And it does seem impossible to me for any man, or any set of men, to refute the testimonies that have been borne to this Conference.

      It is proper and consistent that we look for counsel to those who are advanced in the knowledge of the Gospel. We should do the same in regard to law or politics. If I were to go to Washington among the politicians of the country and set myself up as a politician, pretending to understand all the ins and outs of political life as, say, one of the representatives of our nation, I would find myself greatly deficient, and I would gladly seek same experienced man on whom I could rely to instruct me in regard to these thing. It is true, 1 might read the Congressional Record, in which the speeches of our statesmen are published; I might go to hear them delivered, and exert myself otherwise to inform myself; yet though through diligence and perseverance I might acquire very considerable knowledge of this kind of business, yet I would lack a most important part, namely: the experience, and I would willingly and gladly avail myself of the teaching of an experienced man. If I were to start in the business of law, it would be reasonable to suppose, of course, that I, like the seventy men or more who follow that business in this city, would have a smattering of legal knowledge; but like them too, if a more experienced man were to come along, and especially if he were a genius in his profession, I would gladly learn of him and it would afford me pleasure to listen to him. This is the case in all things. Suppose a member of my family is sick;, I am at once prompted with a desire to consult some experienced nurse who is more competent than myself in administering such things as one in that condition ought to receive. Perhaps a finger of one of my children may need amputating. I might take an ax and cut it off in my way, but I could not do it like our Dr. Anderson for instance, a man who is a skilled surgeon. I would naturally yield my way to theirs in regard to these things. And so it is through all the branches of business transacted in this life—the influence, opinion or knowledge of somebody else controls or affects that of ours.

      To-day we maybe acquainted with a man who is really excellent in his profession, but another man comes along who can surpass him, and the former is glad to learn of the latter. And so we may follow it through until we come to the subject of religion. But the moment that subject is touched men rise up, no matter how ignorant they may be with regard to the principles which are calculated to exalt mankind, and say, "I must think for myself; no man must be trammeled in those matters; every man must have the privilege of worshiping God according to the dictates of his conscience." So say I, but I do know, and we have indubitable evidence of the fact that the men who stand at the head of this people are skilled in the things pertaining to the building up of the kingdom of God in the last days. This fact is proven to the satisfaction of the Latter-day Saints, to those at least, who have followed them the last 15 to 30 years. We know that they understand more about these things than we do. When questions arise, whether in politics, finance, morals or law, requiring the judgment of sound and experienced men, or when circumstances arise in our individual lives which are perplexing and of such a nature as to exhaust our ability, we naturally seek the counsel of these our brethren; and our experience has proven them to be masters of the situation; that they are skilled in their profession and abundantly able to direct us. Why should I not fellow the leaders whom God has placed over me? Why should not this privilege be granted me? Is it more inconsistent in me showing my principle and desire for right in following these men than in acquiring the art of mechanics, in being taught by a morn experienced mechanic? or in politics or law or surgery, by men who are farther advanced in those professions than myself? Certainly not. And besides this the Spirit of God which I have received which is an unmistakeable guide, bears witness to me that it is right for me to be taught of them and that their teachings are the teachings of heaven to the children of men, and that they are calculated, if lived up to, to lead men back into the presence of God the Father. Yet I, in connection with this whole people, am accused of yielding my own will and free agency to an overbearing priesthood, thus becoming their dupes and slaves. This is in short, the judgment generally passed on the Latter-day Saints by the American nation. And while they say this of us, their better sense would tell them that they do the same in law, in morals, in mechanism, in politics, etc, directly, and in religious matters they do the same indirectly. Well, for one,—and in saying this I speak the sentiments of this whole people—I intend to follow the men appointed and ordained of God to lead and direct his Saints, as they follow Christ. "Know ye not," says the apostle, that to whom ye yield yourselves to obey, his servants ye are whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness."

      May the blessings of God rest upon this people and the peace of heaven be with them in all of their locations and settlements, and give unto us strength to continue faithful in the cause of truth, that we may do our part towards the building up of his kingdom, and at last be saved with the faithful, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

ELDER JOSEPH F. SMITH

Said he had been greatly edified in listening to what had been said during the two days' Conference that had passed. Spoke of the willingness of the Latter-day Saints in sustaining the measures presented before them by the authorities of the church.

            Not much had been said during this Conference about our temporal affairs, but many interesting items had been called over from our financial reports. The work in which we are engaged is both temporal and spiritual, and these are so intimately blended together that he never knew where to draw the dividing line; but from experience and observation, he knew that the temporal duties and obligations which the kingdom of God imposes upon us, always sit light and easy, when the spiritual duties and privileges were duly and properly attended to and enjoyed, and the spirit of God was in the heart.

            He exhorted the Saints to seek after and enjoy the spirit of the Lord, which would abundantly qualify them for the performance of every duty, for God does not require of any of his children anything that they cannot perform.

            We should be willing to make any sacrifice for the sake of the souls of the children of men, and be ready at any time when called upon to attend to any temoral duty as well as to go and preach the gospel to the nations afar off. He testified to the watchful and jealous care that is exercised by the present leader of the Church (President John Taylor) with his brethren the Twelve, in everything that affects the general or individual interests of the Saints.

            He made a few remarks on the subject of the P. E. Fund indebtedness. Many Elders were now being sent out on missions to preach the gospel, and in some instances where large families are left but partially provided for, their wants should be supplied y those who remain at home, and not be allowed to suffer. He also referred to the building of temples, to the honest payment of our tithes and offerings, the proper attention to the poor and infirm, the sustaining of home industries, for Zion will never become independent until our wants can be supplied by the labor of our own hands. He also adverted to the raising of silk, which this country and climate are so abundantly adapted for, and the employment of children very profitably used in its manufacture.

            He prayed that God would bless the Saints in all their efforts to build up Zion.

[Joseph F. Smith]

[DNW 28:706, 12/10/79, p 2; JD 20:341]

DISCOURSE

DELIVERED BY ELDER JOSEPH F. SMITH,

At the General conference held in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Tuesday morning, april 8th, 1879.

_____

REPORTED BY GEO. F. GIBBS.

_____

      There is a little time remaining, and as I have been requested I desire to make such remarks as may occur to my mind. I have been pleased and edified during the Conference which is now drawing to a close. It has been very gratifying to see the large number of people that has gathered together during the two days that have passed. It is evident that the Latter-day Saints are interested in the welfare of Zion, and are prompted to attend to She duties which devolve upon them, to take that part which belongs to them; in adopting and sustaining the measures proposed for effectually carrying out the purposes of the Almighty in relation to the great Latter-day work in which we are engaged, and in seconding and sustaining those who are appointed to take the oversight of all the affairs of the Church, by the voice of the people and by the voice of the Lord. In doing this we are but doing our duty, still it is ever pleasant to see the people willing to do their duty, and especially so, to see so many cheerfully respond to their duty as have done so during this Conference. It is certainly encouraging to those who stand at our head to see the people rally around them, manifesting such faith, good feeling and love for the work of God and for those whom the Lord has inspired with his good Spirit to lead us. It is an evidence, at least, that in a great measure, our desires and our hearts are united.

      There are a great many things which are necessary for us to consider and so far as possible thoroughly understand. Not much has been said during this Conference in relation to our temporal affairs, except so far as the reports which have been read have shown the financial and statistical condition of the Latter-day Saints. We belong to a temporal as well as a spiritual kingdom, and it is very necessary that we should take a lively interest in whatever tends to build up the kingdom of God, temporal as well as spiritual, and spiritual as well as temporal.

      I have never yet found any one who can draw the dividing line between our spiritual and temporal interests, neither do I expect to. I believe that it is quite as necessary that we should attend to the temporal, as it is to attend to the spiritual duties which devolve upon us, and vice versa. It will not do to devote all our time to the spiritual part, nor all to the temporal alone. We must not run to extremes. but we should carry on the work of the Lord committed to us, in all its parts, or bearings. We should have sufficient of the good Spirit to make the temporal labors light and easy to bear. I find that when we have to carry on the temporal labors without the Spirit, or the life, light, vigor and power of faith, we are apt to feel that it is burdensome and hard, or difficult to bear; but when we enjoy the companionship of the Holy Spirit, we can and do joyfully perform all the temporal duties and labors which may be righteously required of us. The Lord will not require of his people anything which they are unable to perform. He will not impose burdens upon his people that, they cannot bear; but if we have not the love of the truth and the light of the good Spirit to guide us, the most simple duties and the easiest tasks may seem burdens, too grievous to be borne. I have known Elders, who, all their lives, have been "minute men;" they have never stopped a moment to question the calls that have been made upon them, neither have they stopped to consider their own temporal interests, they have gone and come at the request of their brethren in the service of the people and the Lord. They have had their cares and personal responsibilities, which have not always been of the lightest character, and which have taxed their energies to the utmost, or at least equal to many of those brethren who have enjoyed their leisure at home, spending largely their time and ability in the interests of themselves and families. They have had perhaps as many in family to look after, to feed, clothe, and otherwise care for; yet these things have not been considered, or allowed to stand in the way, when duty called them to go forth in the interest of the Church. They were on hand, like the ready watchman, scarcely stopping to think of themselves or theirs. This they have done with all their hearts, and their labors have never been regarded as burdensome; but on the contrary, they afforded them joy, pleasure and constant satisfaction. They have not grown weary, they do not think that they have done enough, as some have thought who have performed a short mission—that it is now time they were beginning to do something for themselves; they are still ready and willing to go or come, or do whatever may be required of them, regarding, at all times, their duties in the priesthood of greater moment than any personal considerations. The Lord has blessed them in their labors; he has made their burdens comparatively easy to bear; they have not felt the lead, but they have gone on rejoicing, never failing to accomplish the work assigned them, to the best of their ability, trusting in the Lord, at the same time doing all in their power, for the maintenance of themselves and families.

      This is but a sample of what all the people ought to be. We should all be willing to labor for the welfare and salvation of the people—to sacrifice our own desires and feelings for the good of the whole, being perfectly willing to do the bidding of the Almighty, with no will of our own but to serve the purposes of the Lord. Is this not consistent with the pattern set us by the Savior? Jesus said, "Father, not my will, but thy will be done." This was the doctrine he inculcated among his followers, and commanded them to obey; that their will should be swallowed up in the will and pleasure of the Almighty, that they should feel in their hearts that they are willing to serve God even to the sacrifice of everything, though it should be life itself, "counting all things but dross in comparison to the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ." When we possess the spirit of the Gospel and faith in God, as we should, we will have no burdens that will be difficult to bear; on the contrary, we will find our "yokes easy and our burdens light," and it will be a pleasure to do our duty, whatever that may be. If we should be called to preach the Gospel, we will find it a pleasure to preach the Gospel, we will find it a pleasure to respond, for we will feel that we are enlisted in the service of God, for the salvation of souls, including our own. What is there to compare with this labor? Can we compare houses and lands, gold or silver, or the wealth of the earth, to the salvation of the souls of men? What will a man not give for his own life? And what will it profit a man though he gain the whole world, if he at last lose his own soul? These are questions propounded by the Savior who, is "the author and finisher of our faith." That which is of the earth is earthy; it belongs here, we cannot carry it away when we leave this state of existence, we cannot possess it beyond the vail, unless we live so while here that eventually we shall be numbered with the Saints of the Most High God—for it is said that unto them shall the earth be given, but not until they are prepared to "possess it for ever and ever." And then they must receive it from Him who has the right to give. If we do right, therefore, in this probation, when "the earth and the fulness thereof shall be given to the Saints of the Most High," we will be numbered among those who will inherit it. But that time has not yet come. The earth and its fulness are not ours—if they were we might remain here in peaceful possession; but they are God's, and we are his, what we have being committed to us, as stewards, for a little season; therefore, our worldly riches and possessions are but dross compared with our eternal salvation. We are laboring for the salvation of souls, and we should feel that this is the greatest duty devolving upon us. Therefore, we should feel willing to sacrifice everything, if need be, for the love of God, the salvation of men, and the triumph of the kingdom of God upon the earth, in which we expect to receive out reward, our exaltation and our crown of life. These are not mere suppositions, the chimera of men's brains, or the cunning of man's devices; but things which have been revealed to us from God, he having spoken and declared these truths unto man in our day."

      I can testify to you, my brethren and sisters, that so far as the Spirit of God manifests to me, all is well in Zion to-day. The work of God is progressing. The interests of the kingdom are carefully and jealously guarded by those upon whom rests this responsibility. Zion's welfare is the constant theme, meditation and prayer. They desire that no interest of Zion shall be allowed to fail, or flag, for the want of proper care and timely attention. The finances of the Church are guarded carefully by the Trustee in Trust for the Church. This I can testily to, having been more or less intimately associated with him for the last six months. I know he has carefully looked after the financial interest of the Church, as well as the temporal and spiritual welfare of the people, that the Church might be protected in its rights as well as individuals and that individuals might also be protected in their rights as well as the Church, that justice might be dealt out to all.

      There have been some circumstances developed and brought to the notice of the Trustee in Trust and the Auditing Committee, which have been of a very trying character, both to their feelings and to the feelings of the other members of the council of Apostles, and no doubt also very trying to the feelings of some of the brethren who have supposed they had claims upon the Trustee in Trust, which investigation has proved they did not have. And in other instances, where it has been shown that the Trustee in Trust has claims upon individuals who supposed they were not indebted to the Church. But in all of these matters even-handed justice has been sought to be dealt out to the individual and to the Church; but while the Church can afford to be liberal in its alms to the worthy and needy poor, and to pay all just demands, or claims upon it, it cannot afford to sanction or allow claims that are not just. And further, it is but just and fair that individuals should be as prompt, so far as it is in their power, to meet their obligations to the Church as it is expected that the Church will be in meeting its obligations to individuals.

      We do not expect that the rights of the Church will be disregarded in any particular. We do not expect that any person will indulge, or even admit the feeling that the Church is an institution only to be preyed upon; but we expect that the people do and will understand that we cannot afford to deal in any other manner than upon the principles of the strictest justice, righteousness and equity between man and man, and between the Church and individual members of the Church, or the individual members and the Church.

      We have had a very excellent discourse from the President of the P. E. Fund Company, in regard to the duties of those who are indebted to the company. He has shown the vast amount that is now owing to that company by individuals who have been assisted to immigrate to this goodly land by its means; and the ingratitude, want of charity and dishonor which attaches to individuals who have been so generously assisted out of poverty and oppression, and placed in circumstances to become free and independent, and then neglect or fail to do their duty in these matters.

      In some instances individuals who have been assisted to Zion by the P. E. Fund, have gathered around them of this world's goods until they have become rich, and still their indebtedness to the "Fund" remains unsettled.

      It is more than probable that these same individuals would always have remained in poverty had they not been gathered to Zion by the P. E. Fund: thus, we see, they are doubly indebted to the "fund," first for their deliverance from Babylon, from poverty and bondage; and secondly for the wealth and liberty which they now possess.

      And again they are manifoldly more guilty of ingratitude to God and man, because they have withheld from the fund its just dues—which they were able to pay, and deprived others more worthy than themselves from receiving assistance in the manner they had been assisted.

      Every man that owes the fired a dollar should realise that it is a just debt, that there are others in the same condition that they were in when picked up by the P. E. Fund company and brought to this blessed land, that they are praying and pleading for deliverance also, and that perhaps they are quite as worthy—if not more so—than many who have been helped and now owe the "fund" to an amount which, if all was paid up, would be more than sufficient to immigrate to this country all the Saints now in Europe.

      Men but do their duty when they pay their just debts and to do so in this case they discharge a triple duty—to the Fund, themselves and to the ungathered, worthy poor. What honorable person can refuse or neglect to do such a duty?

      We are sending large numbers of Elders from time to time, to preach the Gospel abroad. It is the duty of the Latter-day Saints to assist those Elders on their missions when they need assistance, or when they are unable to fit themselves out. Their families too should be cared for by the Church, during the absence of the husband and father, so far as they are needy or unable to provide for themselves. Every man is in duty bound to do all he reasonably can to roll on the work of God, to maintain himself and family and assist to build up Zion.

      Some times a good man is needed to fill a certain mission, he is well adapted to the position he is called to fill, or the duty he is required to perform; but he is poor, he may perhaps have a large family to maintain, which would require his whole time if devoted wholly to that end, yet his ability, faith, integrity and other qualifications peculiarly fit him for the duty required, and he is the most available man to be found. Now what is to be done? Are we to excuse him because his family is large and require his services, or because of his poverty. Certainly not.

      If the interest of Zion requires his services, in that direction lies his legitimate path of duty. Then it becomes the duty of the Saints to provide for his family and see that they do not lack the necessaries of life; and it would not hurt us to see that they enjoyed some of the comforts.

      If there is no excuse for the poor, certainly there can be none for the wealthy, nevertheless the rich are often so engrossed in their business so bound up in worldly affairs, that they are but poorly qualified for missionary service; the greater the reason why they should freely impart of their abundance in aid of those who are better fitted for the ministry when such are called into the missionary field. It is true the tithings of the people are for these and other purposes, and no doubt when all the rich and poor with one accord honestly obey the law of tithing there will be plenty in the store house of the Lord, to build temples and houses of worship, to feed and clothe the hungry and naked to provide for the aged, infirm and poor, to gather the Saints, to send the Elders to the nations of the earth and maintain their families while they are gone, and also to purchase the land of Zion and redeem the center Stake and obtain possession of our inheritances, or do any other thing which may be needed, although in the beginning God gave a more perfect law than that of tithing by which to accomplish all these things, but the Saints were not able to abide the higher law—and it was temporarily suspended, therefore until we know how, and will do better than we now do, our tithings and our offerings are necessary to carry on the work of God.

      These duties should not be considered a hardship by the Saints. The law of tithing is a commandment with promise of reward for obedience. No man ever observed this law but he was blessed in so doing, for God is both able and willing to fulfill all his promises when the conditions are complied with on our part. Those duties which God requires may seem a burden to the disobedient and unfaithful, but to the willing and obedient they are sources of blessing, pleasure and delight and are no burden at all. Our burdens become lighter in proportion to our increasing faithfulness. Our enjoyment of the gifts and blessings of the Holy Spirit will increase as we become more diligent and so will our knowledge extend and our title to exaltation and eternal life become more and more sure.

      The sending of Elders from year to year, and thousands of dollars annually to gather the poor is not all we have to do. We have home industries to look after. We must provide employment for our people, that when they are gathered home they may not he idle for want of remunerative labor. We should establish branches of industry from which we could at least provide for our own necessities and as soon as possible be able to export our home productions, and thus give employment to every faithful Latter-day Saint who is gathered to Zion, that individuals may not only become self sustaining but contribute their proportion to the general good.

      Our manufactories should be fostered, patronised and protected, and their staple wares sought after and preferred by the people, even though they were more costly at first. It needs no argument to prove to the sagacious and for seeing that this policy will pay the best in the end.

      While we continue to be purchasers and importers only, we will remain dependent to, and at the mercy of manufacturers and exporters from abroad; but when we can produce what we riced by our own industry and skill, from the elements which so abundantly surround us, we cease to import, to be dependent upon babylon, or the world, we approach independence, and begin to assume the position in the earth which God has designed we should, to lead and not be led, to teach and not be taught, to be the "head and not the tail."

      Every Latter-day Saint should be proud to ,a ear home made clothes, from head to foot, and when we begin to study our best interests, and the interest of Zion we will do so though it costs us more now than to wear the stuffed, starched, glossed and glittering shoddy of the world, or even the best the world affords. Money spent in home manufactures, is money saved to the community, it is money laid up for future use and benefit at home, while money sent abroad builds up New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Lowell, and the world generally all of whom are opposed to the people and the work of God and will only return evil to us for the patronage we bestow upon them.

      We should be prepared, not only to manufacture our own wearing apparel, but also to make all our mechanical and agricultural implements, our house-hold furniture, our building materials, our wagons, carriages and equipment, with all that is necessary for the righteous and legitimate use of man, that when Babylon shall fall we may be prepared for it, and not be found among those who shall wail and lament because "no man buyeth her merchandise any more."

      I see some of the sisters wearing fine hats trimmed with silk ribbon, also silk shawls, dresses, neckties, etc., which are of their own production and make. This is as it should be—"the beauty of the work of their own hands."

      Perhaps no country in the world abounds more profusely than ours, with the real elements of wealth, and none better adapted to the raising of silk, which enters so largely into, and is so eagerly sought for female apparel, and there are thousands if men, women and children in Utah, who could as well as not devote a portion of their time to its culture, say a month or six weeks in the proper season of the year, both to their pleasure and profit, if they would, and the result would be the production in vast quantities of the much coveted article of silk, and an increase of profitable labor.

      Sister Zina Young, Father Graves and a few others are interesting themselves in this industry and are trying to awaken an interest therein in the minds of the industrial classes, that silk may eventually become a staple product of Utah. So far, I fear, they have found it rather uphill work. The people seem to be eager for immediate profit, for present gain, which in too many cases is exceedingly detrimental to the individual as well as to the public good. It is difficult to get people to look forward, or labor for the future; we are all so terribly wrapped up and engrossed in the present and in self. But the culture of silk is gradually being extended, I am told, and by and by it will, unquestionably, become one of our flourishing industries. A little child is capable of attending to a large part of the labor involved in the production of raw silk, and children a little farther advanced can prepare it for the loom.

      May the Lord bless the people. May the Spirit of the Lord abide in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints, and lead them continually, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

            Conference was adjourned until 2 p.m.

            The choir sang an anthem,

Resound His praise.

            Benediction by Elder D. H. WELLS>

_____

[8 Apr, 2 pm]

[DNW 28:172, 4/16/79, p 12]

AFTERNOON, 2 p.m.

            The choir sang a hymn on page 172:

All you that love Immanuel's name,
Whose spirits burn with ardent flame.

            Prayer by Elder Erastus Snow.

            The choir sang hymn on page 7:

Glorious things of thee are spoken,
Zion city of our God

            Elder GEORGE Q. CANNON then read the report of the Trustee-in-Trust, including the receipts and disbursements of the Tithing.

            It was moved and carried unanimously that the report be accepted.

            The following names were then presented and unalimously sustained as missionaries for Europe:

Henry Greensides, Salt Lake City.
George Smith Grat, Salt Lake City

ELDER MOSES THATCHER

Expressed his feelings of gratitude to God for His manifold mercies manifested towards us who live in these peaceful valleys of the mountains. He rejoiced in the many improvements so visible everywhere as the work of man, but he felt in addressing the youth of our community to remind them that although the works of man appeared so wonderful, they must look beyond and see and acknowledge that all wisdom comes from God, who was the organizer of the materials out of which men formed their works of art, and held in His hand all the powers discoveed and developed by the principles of science. He made a few timely remarks of warning against the spirit of skepticism and infidelity. He then bore a strong testimony that Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and Prest. John Taylor were inspired servants of God to lead the people and guide them in ways of righteousness, and he had learned by his short experience that the only true source of happiness consisted in the keeping of God's commandments.

[Moses Thatcher]

[DNW 28:290, 6/11/79, p 2; JD 20:192]

DISCOURSE

DELIVERED BY ELDER MOSES THATCHER,

At the General Conference, on Tuesday Afternoon, April 8th, 1879.

_____

REPORTED BY GEO. F. GIBBS.

_____

      In trying to address so large an audience, I earnestly desire an interest in the prayers of my brethren and sisters, that the few remarks I may offer may be dictated by the Spirit of God. There are many things that we as, Elders in Israel, should always be pleased to speak of, and particularly is this the case in reference to the kindness of our Father in heaven towards us as a people. We are permitted to dwell in peace, surrounded with the blessings of life and liberty, having pleasant homes wherein to dwell, and God to be our Father and Friend. When I look around upon the homes of the Latter-day Saints and see how the elements have been changed and made so propitious, enabling us to produce food and clothing, the necessities and many of the luxuries of life, my heart is exceedingly grateful, for I must confess there is no land with which I am familiar where the blessings of God are so abundantly bestowed as in our own. It appears to me that every bud is not only willing, but does blossom, and where seed by man is sown broadcast in the ground it comes forth, bearing twenty, thirty, or fifty fold. This, my brethren and sisters, is not the result of the work of man; but it is the blessings of our Heavenly Father. And how any human being can look upon the mountains by which we are surrounded, and gaze upon the beautiful fields and smiling nature seen on every hand, and not be able to acknowledge God in all these things is beyond my comprehension. In speaking to the young people particularly I have had sometimes pleasure in referring to the works of man, comparing them with the works of God. And while I believe it proper for us to look with pleasure upon the accomplishments of art and science, and upon the skilled workmanship of man, yet I would have our young people always realize that God is the originator; I would have them understand, as the arts and sciences are being developed and new discoveries are being brought out by what we call the genius of man, that God understood all these things before they were made known to us. And while having them admire and wonder at the grand achievement of man in chaining the lightning, thus making it to serve his purposes; and while it was the work of man that moulded and fashioned the metal into the wire over which intelligence is transmitted by the power of electricity, I would help to lead their minds beyond, so that they may comprehend that the material of which that wire is composed was the creation and work of God, and that the electricity itself is at the bidding and mandate of the great Jehovah.

      I believe, my brethren and sisters, if we take proper pains in the education of the young, employing the right kind of men and women to be their preceptors, that, instead of the seeds of infidelity being sown in their minds we will have faith, and in that faith we will have the manifestations of power.

      In talking with the learned of the world we find that they have but a faint conception of God and Godliness. Were you to tell them that they hate God, or that the carnal mind is at enmity against God, they would not understand you. And yet, when we come to the actual facts, we find that the learned and many professors of Christianity really do hate God. I do not mean to say they hate the God they themselves picture in their own minds; but that they hate and fight against him whose attributes and character are portrayed within the lids of the Bible. Tim Supreme Ruler of the universe, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, is not only the tender and loving Being that the pious Christian of the 19th century pictures him to be,—he is not only willing to love and cherish and save the human family, but he is also a Being of justice and judgment, having always power enough to inflict punishment upon the breakers of his laws. Yet modern divines think with horror of a God who would inflict punishment, on the plea that such would be revengeful; and yet, neither they nor any of our professed Christian friends would lot a moment find fault with the judge of an inferior earthly court for passing judgment on a criminal, though it might lead even to the loss of the life of a fellow creature.

      Having but a very short time to occupy this afternoon my remarks must necessarily be brief. But before closing I feel to bear my testimony that here in Utah is a people who are trying to serve the Lord. And I testify too, that Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of the living God, chosen of Him to open up the last dispensation to man—the dispensation of the fulness of times; and that his successor, Brigham Young, was an apostle of the Lord Jesus, and a prophet, seer and revelator. And I feel to bear my testimony that this same power and revelation rests upon his servant, Brother John Taylor. If we would live for the light of God's Holy Spirit we might see not as with eyes through a glass darkly, but with eyes that see clearly having also ears capable of hearing, and hearts full to understand.

      It is our duty, as young men, as middle aged men and as aged men to bestow great care and attention on the education of the young. It is not particularly the duty of the father, as I understand it, to place in the hands of his son the writings of Payne and other infidel authors unless they follow up the reading of such works with good sound argument, and then place the Bible and the Book of Mormon in their hands to be read and studied, and when necessary correctly explained showing wherein the Lord has wrought out the literal fulfilment of many of the predictions therein recorded. If they would do this with prayerful hearts. and with the wisdom God may give them, there will be little or nothing to fear from the readings of infidel works. I take the broad ground that in infidelity is ignorance. You meet the infidel and you will find him as a general thing, ignorant in regard to that which is laid down in the Bible, which he claims to disbelieve. It has been so from the beginning. It is a truth that has been uttered on many occasions by the servants of God, that it is easier and more natural for mankind to believe a hundred falsehoods than to accept a single truth. It must be apparent to all, that it is more in harmony with our fallen nature to do wrong than to do right. Let six boys be taken, for instance, and be carefully taught in the principles of morality, virtue and truth; and another six in the follies and wickedness of the world and see which of the two sets will make the most rapid progress, those in the right, or those in the wrong? All will readily agree with me that immorality is more easily acquired than the virtues, and hence we may conclude that we are in a fallen world, and that we have the battle against sin to fight.

      May the blessings of God rest down upon the Latter-day Saints. And by way of conclusion I will say, if we want to dream dreams or see visions, it is our privilege to do so, but we must first purify our hearts and seek to love the Lord our God with all our might, mind and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves; and to do unto others as we would have other do unto us. And permit me to say that in all my experience in life I have found as yet but one thing that can afford true happiness and true enjoyment, and that is a consciousness of keeping the commandments of God. And if we, Latter-day Saints, will live near unto him, he will be near unto us. And instead of having to call in physicians to minister to the members of our families when sickness makes its appearance, the power of God will be upon us in such rich abundance as to enable us to rebuke it from our dwellings, and to invoke the blessings of health to attend us and ours, Which was the case years ago in the primeval days of the Church. If we have lost any of these blessings it is not through any fault in the Lord, or that there is less power and efficacy in the priesthood we bear, but rather in our own lack of faith in the promises made to the faithful. Amen.

 

ELDER GEO. Q. CANNON

Said he felt impressed to make a few remarks about some circumstances in connection with our beloved leader, President John Taylor. It was well known by the Latter-day Saints how his life had been spent in years past, in laboring to build up Zion, and the humble habitation he had occupied since he was called to preside over the affairs of the Church. He felt that the house he had himself built under the direction of our beloved and lamented Prest. Brigham Young was such a one that he could not consistently occupy while Presidents Taylor, Woodruff, Pratt and others, who had so long labored in the vineyard, were living in such humble habitations, and on several occasions he expressed to President Young a desire to vacate it, but was told by him not to do so. After his death he felt relieved of any obligation in regard to this matter. And since that time he had privately spoken to President Taylor about leaving his present abode and occupying some place more in keeping with his position as President of the Church. The subject was once spoken of in the council of the Apostles. The delicacy of Brother Taylor's feelings was such that the matter had been put off until the present, and he felt that it should no longer be postponed. The President of the Church had necessarily to receive many visitors, and as President Taylor had no private resources at command to differently situate himself, he submitted the following motion, which was most cheerfully and unanimously responded to by all present:

            "That one of the buildings owned by the Church shall be selected as a place of residence for the President of the Church, and shall be properly furnished under the direction of a committee whom the Apostles shall appoint; and further that a steward be selected to take charge of this residence, who shall furnish the table and other household requirements, and that the costs and expenses of so doing shall be met by appropriations from the funds of the Church."

 

PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR

Said if his own prvate feelings were consulted he would much prefer living in comparative privacy and seclusion, for he did not crave the glitter and pomp of this world, and when this subject was submitted to him, he could not yield to its nomination at this conference or any other consideration, but the fact of his being a servant of the people, through Jesus Christ his master. But for the kind and good feelings made manifest by such a unanimous vote, he returned his heartful thanks to the thousands present. He then reviewed the history of the Church since the time of its organization, which was 49 years this conference. All the various branches of Priesthood revealed in their order came from the heavens through Jesus Christ to Joseph Smith the Prophet. Hence it is called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

            God was the originator of it, and the priesthood which we hold came from him, and he expects us to magnify it and honor it y doing whatever is required at our hands. We are as much dependent upon God to-day for his guidance and his spirit as we ever were in our lives. Let us therefore live humble and faithful before God, that we may enjoy his spirit continually. If the thousands of Latter-day Saints will only live their religion and do their duty, the kingdom of God will roll on with tenfold rapidity. Nothing can hinder the fulfilling of those prophecies which have been uttered by both ancient and modern prophets. Seek to God for wisdom and faith that all your Apostles, Presidents of Stakes, and others holding authority, may govern in righteousness. The Latter-day Saints, he was pleased to say, were doing all they could to build up Zion; they feel that everything they have is for the service of God, and are willing to act as saviors upon Mount Zion. He also spoke favorably of the increasing labors of the sisters, who are doing all they can in their peculiar labor of love among the poor, etc.

            A great many thousand dollars had been donated by the Saints during the past year towards the building of temples, and a spirit of emulation seemed to stimulate the brethren as to who could do the most, and notwithstanding so much had been done towards building Temples, &c., the tithing receipts had increased about $50,000 and he felt pleased to mention this for it is right and proper to give honor to whom it is due. Those who had been called to take foreign missions had been selected as men of good moral standing and able to honorably represent the interests of Zion, and he wished them to go forth in the spirit and power of their holy priesthood, and be willing to stay in their fields of labor until they are honorably released.

            He then eulogized the labor of the sisters in connection with the Relief Societies and of the Young Men's and Young Ladies Mutual Improement Associations. The subject of education was also referred to, and he strongly urged that all teachers engaged in the tuition of our youth should be men of faith in the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who would exercise a proper influence over the rising generation. The Sabbath School interest, co-operation, &c. were also treated upon with approval.

[John Taylor]

[DNW 28:226, 5/14/79, p 2; JD 20:174]

DISCOURSE

BY PREST. JOHN TAYLOR,

Delivered at the General Conference, Tuesday afternoon, April 8th, 1879.

_____

REPORTED BY GEO. F. GIBBS.

_____

      I will state that I feel very much obliged to my brethren for the generous feeling manifested to myself. Permit me, however, to say, with regard to some of these ideas presented to the Conference by Brother George Q. and which he has said, he has frequently presented to me and others of the Twelve, that while I duly appreciate the feelings and views of my brethren, and am not ignorant of the proprieties of life, individually I would not wish to change my position. Personally I care nothing about the outside show, the glitter and appearance of men; but I do care about the great eternal principles associated with the Church and Kingdom of God upon the earth. And as has been stated, it was some time before I could make up my mind to accept a proposition of this kind. And I accept it now simply in the capacity of your servant for Christ's sake for the benefit of the Kingdom of God and that all things may be conducted in a proper manner.

      Now we will let this pass, and talk about something else.

      I have been very much interested in the remarks that have been made at this Conference. It is now forty-nine years since the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized. There were then, as you heard stated and as we very well know, six members organized. There were however, more than six persons in the Church, as was remarked by Brother Snow, the organization being effected for the purpose of legal recognition, still there were only a very few, and as the spirit of revelation rested down upon God's servant Joseph in these early days, who like Adam, Moses, Abraham, Jesus, Jared, Nephi, Moroni and others, had the heavens unfolded to his view, and although the Church was so few in number the principles and purposes of God were developed fully to the vision of his mind, and he gazed upon the things that are to transpire in the latter-days associated with the dispensation that he was called upon by the Almighty to introduce. He learned by communication from the heavens, from time to time, of the great events that should transpire in the latter days. He understood things that were past, and comprehended the various dispensations and the designs of those dispensations. He not only had the principles developed, but he was conversant with the parties who officiated as the leading men of those dispensations, and from a number of them he received authority and keys and priesthood and power for the carrying out of the great purposes of the Lord in the last days, who were sent and commissioned specially by the Almighty to confer upon him those keys and this authority, and hence he introduced what was spoken of by all the prophets since the world was; the dispensation in which we live, which differs from all other dispensations in that it is the dispensation of the fulness of times, embracing all other dispensations, all other powers, all other keys and all other privileges and immunities that ever existed upon the face of the earth. At that time he was a feeble youth, inexperienced, without a knowledge of the learning of the day. But God put him in possession of that kind of intelligence, and what may be termed a scientific knowledge of all things pertaining to this earth, and the heavens, if you please, which was altogether ahead of all the intelligence that existed in the world. He commenced as opportunity presented by following the education he had received from the Almighty, by teaching the principles of life and salvation, the principles of the everlasting Gospel, by conferring upon others that priesthood which had been conferred upon him, and by organizing a state of things that was after the pattern of the heavens, that was calculated to live and grow and increase, that had the principle of life and vitality within itself, and that was calculated to draw together the honest in heart and assimilate them in their ideas and views and feelings and faith, and empower them to operate with him and with the Lord and with the holy priesthood that had existed in former ages. And thus he commenced to organize the Church with all its various offices under the direct inspiration, guidance and revelation of the Lord. The First Presidency was pointed out, the Twelve were also pointed out and designated, and these quorums were ordained. The high priesthood was organized however before these other quorums took shape. Then there were the quorums of Seventies, then the quorums of Elders, then the Bishops, then the quorums of Priests, Teachers and Deacons, together with the High Councils and all that we know about these things. He taught us all that we know about them; God taught him. Hence in the various organizations of the several quorums of priesthood whether it relates to the Melchizedek, Aaronic or Levitical priesthood, all of these, together with the duties devolving upon each, were given by the Lord. And hence the church that we are associated with is called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Hence Jesus Christ is the medium through whom we are to approach the Father, calling upon him in the name of Jesus; for there is no name given under heaven, nor known among men, whereby we can be saved but the name of Jesus Christ, And although they do not do it now, yet the time is approaching when to him "every knee will bow and every tongue confess that he is the Christ, to the glory of God the Father." And hence the religion we profess is one that has been given us from the heavens. We cannot dispense with it; we cannot dispense with any part of it. It is not of man, but from the Lord God, our Heavenly Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ, making use of his servant Joseph and those whom he should call by revelation as the instruments to carry out the purposes of God upon the earth. The priesthood we have received we received not of man nor by man, but by revelation. And Latter-day President Young, a little before his death, organized all the various branches of the Church into Stakes, with the officers thereof, carrying out the design of God and his revelations to Joseph Smith; and placed them upon the foundation that was first laid by Joseph Smith under the immediate revelations of the Lord. And God expects it at our hands that we magnify our calling, and that we cleave unto him as his servants upon whom he has conferred this priesthood. He expects it at our hands that we shall magnify it, and not operate according to our peculiar notions, but according to the will and law and guidance and revelations of God in all things and under all circumstances; for we are here as Jesus was here—not to do our own will, but the will of our Heavenly Father who has sent us, and who has called us to this high calling, and has made us to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

      In accordance with the order of God, the Twelve, the Seventies, the High Priests and Elders have been abroad among the nations of the earth, delivering the testimony which God gave to them, and the Spirit and power of God has operated with us in our ministrations; and the results of these operations and these labors, and the faith and the self-abnegation and self-denial and the desire to do the will of God, and the testimonies that have been borne, are manifested in the Saints gathered to-day as we are in the valleys of the mountains. These things have been brought about by the interposition of the Almighty; we are, as such dependent upon him to-day, and as we ever were in all the days of our lives, for guidance, for support, for revelation, for the Spirit of God to guide us that we may not make any false steps; but as a people we must magnify the Lord our God in our hearts and honor him and observe his laws and keep his commandments. There has quite a change taken place since this Gospel was introduced, as the thousands of people who inhabit these valleys sufficiently attest. And if we continue to progress in faith, in union, in intelligence, in virtue, in purity, in knowledge, and especially in the knowledge of God and in the observance of his ordinances, the work of the Lord will continue to roll with tenfold rapidity. We are just commencing our labors, and are just getting ready to perform the work that God has laid upon our shoulders, and are just commencing to perform the work that God intends us to accomplish; everything that has been prophesied by all the ancient prophets, as contained in the Bible and the Book of Mormon, and those things predicted by Joseph Smith, and every other prophet of God, will as surely be fulfilled as we are here to-day, without any faultering, or flagging, or hesitation.

      We go on and attend to many things. Our organizations are very good; but we need, I think sometimes, the breath of life from God breathing into them all through, that, the Spirit and power of the Most High may be in our midst, and that the power and blessings of God that come through the ordinances may be in our midst, and that the power and blessings of God, that come through the ordinances may be imparted to us; and such will be the case if we are faithful in the performance of the duties devolving upon us. It is not with us a question of what we shall eat, or what we shall drink, or what kind of houses we shall live in; it is not a matter of so much importance as it is to be doing the will of God to have our hearts engaged in his service, to feel that we are building up the Zion of the Lord of Hosts, to feel that we are recognized of the heavens, to feel that we are associated with the priesthood behind the vail who have lived and operated in time and are now operating in eternity; for they without us cannot be made perfect, neither can we without them be made perfect. We need their assistance from the heavens, and we ought to seek it all the time.

      Let me speak of this not only to the Twelve, but to the presidents of Stakes and their counselors, and to all men holding authority, to seek to God, seek for wisdom, seek for faith, and learn to approach God, that we may draw down blessings from heaven and partake of that faith which was once delivered to the Saints. We are trying to do some things and are doing them pretty well. Do I wish to find fault? No. Or to censure anybody? No. But I wish everybody would so live and act that they would not censure themselves, that their minds would not condemn them; for if your own hearts condemn you, God is greater than your hearts.

      We are doing pretty well. We are building our Temples, and there is a laudable spirit manifested in relation to these things generally. Do all do it? No. Have all this spirit? No. I wish they had; but then we would be expecting too much perhaps. But there is a growing interest in these things, which I am glad to give the Saints credit for. And in speaking of our Temples, I suppose there are no less than 500 men engaged to-day in building Temples in this Territory. Some people would consider this quite a tax upon them, and, I may say, we have some who call themselves Latter-day Saints who have a little of this feeling, not much, but a little of it. But men who feel right, they feel that they and all they have belong to the Lord; they feel that they are on hand to perform the work of God, to build up his kingdom, to operate with him and with the holy priesthood, and to prepare Temples to administer for the living and for the dead; that we may indeed be not poor and helpless dolts; but feel that we are saviors upon Mount Zion, and that the kingdom is the Lord's.

      There is a good feeling manifested among the brethren and also among the sisters, who are quite as zealous in most interests as the brethren are. Notwithstanding the immense labors we are performing in our building, for we are doing a good deal, we are not unmindful of other matters. There is constant labor going on in the Temple at St. George, with very little intermission, and a corps of persons steadily engaged administering in the ordinances of the Lord's House there; while in these other places, as you have heard read over, according to the financial accounts pertaining to the Temple being built in Manti and Logan—there has been expended in a short time on these two Temples nearly two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The brethren have taken hold of it with a will, and there seems to be a feeling among many of them to see who shall do the most, instead of who can do the least. And notwithstanding this there is about fifty thousand, I think, in round numbers, more tithing paid this last year than there was before these things commenced. I speak this for the credit of the Latter-day Saints. Honor, as the Scriptures say, to whom honor is due. And I am pleased to see a spirit of that kind grow and increase among the brethren.

      There has been a good deal of care bestowed on the sending forth of missionaries whom we have sent forth among the different nations abroad and to this nation. There is a duty devolving upon the Twelve and the Seventies especially, to see that this work is performed; and we have been alive to this matter, and have aimed to call men that would not be embarrassed or perplexed in their minds, but such as would go forth as the servants of the Living God, who would not, when they got about two hundred miles from home, commence to think when it would be time for them to return; and the fruits are fast beginning to be borne in the European, the Scandinavian and other missions, and also in the United States. And we wish it to be understood among the Elders and Seventies that we do not want men to go on missions who look upon it as a painful duty for them to fulfill; we would rather such men stay at home. But he that hath a desire to preach the Gospel to the world, whose life is upright, pure and virtuous, and who is capable of presenting the principles of the Gospel to the world; he is the kind of man we are desirous to send. We do not want anybody to go simply because it might be thought that a mission would do him good, or that it might save him from some evil he might be likely to fall into. We do not want men to go abroad representing the Captain of our salvation to reform themselves; let the work of reformation be done at home. We want men to preach the Gospel who are honorable and upright men, and full of the Holy Ghost; and when such men go they go with our faith, carrying with them our esteem and love and affection; and if they need anything, we will give it to them. If their families need anything, we will have them looked after, we will feed them and clothe them and take care of them, and consider that they are our brethren and not that they are poor, miserable paupers, or that their wives and families are a trouble to us; we want to do away with all such feelings. Let us cultivate the spirit of magnanimity and kindness, and as the Lord blesses us, let us bless others; and that is all the things of the earth are worth. Do good to all men, especially to the household of faith. And by and by, as was the case formerly, those who go forth weeping, bearing precious seed, will return rejoicing, bringing their sheaves with them.

      Furthermore, we have an auxiliary among our sisters here. Brother Geo. Q. Cannon represented how they were imposed on in many lands and how they had been. Why should they be? Are they not our mothers? Are they not our wives? Are they not our sisters? Are they not our children? Should we not protect them? Do we profess to be in the image of God, holding the holy priesthood of God, and then would we treat the fair daughters of Zion with contempt, or permit them to be injured or imposed upon in any way? God forbid. They are flesh of our flesh, bone of our bone; they are our helpmeets, and our associations and our relations with them ought to be pleasant and agreeable and with all long suffering and fidelity. And then the sisters should turn round and help to bless one another, and act as our teachers are doing in other respects—teaching their sisters, looking after the poor and assisting the bishops in the performance of their labors. And the Relief Societies which have been organized have been of very great benefit to the Saints of God. And I say, God bless the sisters, and inspire them with more of that heavenly spirit, that they may assist their husbands and their brethren and their children—their sons and their daughters—to promote correct principles, to stem the tide of iniquity, and to promulgate virtue, truth and purity among the Saints of God. And I would say, it is the duty of the bishops and presidents of Stakes to assist them all they can, which I believe they generally do, to carry out everything that is good and praiseworthy.

      There is another class of people among us doing a great deal of good; that is our Mutual Improvement Associations; both Young Men's and Young Women's. How much more pleasant it is to see our youth grow up in the fear of God, trying to instruct one another in the principles of life and salvation, than to see them ignore the laws of God. How pleasing to us! How pleasing to God and the holy angels! Let us encourage these things, and instruct our sons and daughters, that they may grow up in intelligence, virtue, purity and holiness before the Lord.

      And then we want to study also the principles of education, and to get the very best teachers we can to teach our children; see that they are men and women who fear God and keep his commandments. We do not want men or women to teach the children of the Latter-day Saints who are not Latter-day Saints themselves. Hear it, you Elders of Israel and you school-trustees! We want none of these things. Let others who fear not God take their course; but it is for is to train our children up in the fear of God. God will hold us responsible for this trust. Hear it, you Elders of Israel and you fathers and you mothers! Talking about education, as I said before, Joseph Smith knew more in regard to the education than all the philosophers and scientists of the earth; and he knew it by the revelations of God. We want to get together to train our children up in the fear of God, to teach them correct principles ourselves, and place them in possession of such things as will lead them in the paths of life.

      I find it is time for me to quit. I feel to thank you for your attendance at this Conference, and for the kind of spirit that has been manifested here. And to thank the members of our choir who have made for us sweet music; and I would say that our choir is a credit to our Territory and to our people. And furthermore they are meeting together for the purpose of cultivating the art of music, and that we may be organized and be more perfect in relation to these things.

      I would like to have said something about our Sunday Schools. I do not believe we are behind any people on the face of the earth in relation to these matters. I am informed by the general Superintendent that we have 29,000 children attending Sunday Schools; and I would not be afraid to say that that, is more than attend the Sunday Schools in all the Territories put together, outside of Utah. (A voice from the stand—"And in half the States.") Some one remarks, and in half of the States. I do not know how that is. But they do say our children are Utah's surest and best crop. Let us try to train them up in the fear of God, that we may have his blessing to be with us.

      I would like to have said something, too, about our co-operative associations. I am pleased to inform you that the Co-operative Institution of this city is doing remarkably well; it is on a solid foundation and everything is moving along pleasantly and agreeably. We have organized for some time a Trade's Union, through which all the people of Utah can be represented. And while the Co-op calls upon us to sustain them, which is right and proper, we want the Co-op to sustain us. There are two sides to this question, hence we have an organization called a Board of Trade in a number of the Stakes, and expect to perfect them in all the Stakes, that the whole people may be represented at our general board. Then we expect to spread and grow in manufactures of all kinds, that we may become a self-sustaining people, a people who shall be independent, under God, of all other powers.

      I will not detain you. God bless Israel, and all that bless Israel, and let our enemies be confounded. And God grant unto us power to serve him and observe his laws that we may have a claim upon his blessings, and at last obtain eternal life in his kingdom, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

            After blessing the congregation, the Conference was adjourned until the 6th of October.

            The choir sang an anthem

How beautiful upon the mountains.

            Benediction by Elder Geo. Q. Cannon.

GEORGE GODDARD,
Clerk of Conference.

_____

6-8 Oct 1879, 49th Semi-Annual General Conference, SLC Tabernacle.
[Deseret News Weekly, 28:580, 10/15/79, p4; Millennial Star 41:689, 704]

[6 Oct, 10 am]

[DNW 28:580, 10/15/79, p 4]

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

_____

FIRST DAY.

_____

            The Forty-Ninth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints met in the Large Tabernacle, on Monday, October 6th, 1879, at 10 o'clock a.m., as per adjournment.

            Present on the stand of the Apostles: President John Taylor, Orson Pratt, C. C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Joseph F. Smith, A. Carrington and Moses Thatcher.

            Counselor to the Twelve Apostles D. H. Wells.

            Presiding Patriarch, John Smith.

            First Presidents of the Seventies: Joseph Young, H. S. Eldredge, A. P. Rockwood and John Van Cott,

            Of the Bishopric: Presiding Bishop, Edward Hunter; Counselors, Leonard W. Hardy and R. T. burton

            Conference was cal[led] to order by President John Taylor.

            Choir sang hymn on 235 page,

"From Greenland's icy mountains,
From India's coral strand."

            Prayer by Elder Orson Pratt.

            The choir sang hymn on page 9.

"The time is nigh, that happy time,
That great expected blessed day."

[Elder Orson Pratt]

            ELDER ORSON PRATT rejoiced in the privilege of again meeting in a General Conference in peace. Made reference to the rapid progress of this people during the period of nearly fifty years, since the organization of the Church. He then contrasted the discouraging results of the preaching of the Prophet Noah, while delivering the message that God sent him to deliver to the people of his day, with the success that has attended the labors of the Elders of Israel in our own times. Although most of our converts are among the poorer classes, from the United States and the nations of Europe, notwithstanding the indigence of the people, especially on arrival in these western wilds, the building up of settlements and cities, of school houses and meeting houses, the conversion of the waste lands into fruitful fields and orchards, turning this vast Territory from a desert into a fruitful field has been the result of the labors of the Latter-day Saints, and not of the outside population that have come for speculative purposes.

            We came here as a religious people and established a civil government and an ecclesiastical government, under which there were no grog shops, gambling halls or houses of ill fame. We could have our doors unlocked and our windows unbolted at night; we could leave our washed clothes on the lines without any fear of them being stolen. But how is it to-day, since the introduction of Gentile civilization in our midst? Every species of evil has been fostered, making both life and property insecure, and in many instances the Federal officials have shielded the evil doors, and let them loose in our midst. There were many honorable exceptions to these characters referred to, and these remarks had no reference to them.

            He then adverted to the injustice of the effort now being made by the high officials of this nation to bear down upon the Latter-day Saints on account of the religious views practiced by the people, especially plural marriage; although sanctioned by the Bible Congress has seen fit to pass a law making it a crime, the violation of which subjects the individual to fine and imprisonment. He himself was a firm believer in the great and glorious principles of civil and religious liberty, comprehended in the Constitution of our country, and therefore he could not as an individual, endorse the action of congress as having anything to do with a man's religious belief or practice so far as it did not interfere with the liberty and rights of others.

            The object in meeting in Conference was to impress the great truths of our religion upon our minds, to appoint missionaries to go to the various nations of the earth, to preach the fulness of he everlasting Gospel, which also embraces the doctrine of plural marriage, and he did not think the advanced nations of modern times had become so lost to the principles of civil, to say nothing of religious liberty as to adopt measures to prevent this work and the gathering of the Saints, no matter who might recommend such a course.

[Orson Pratt]

[DNW 28:658, 11/19/79, p 2; JD 20:321]

DISCOURSE

DELIVERED BY ELDER ORSON PRATT,

At the General Conference held in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Oct. 6th, 1879.

_____

REPORTED BY GEO. F. GIBBS.

_____

      By the blessing of our Heavenly Father, we are permitted once more, under circumstances of peace, to assemble ourselves here in this large tabernacle, in the capacity of a semiannual Conference, in the 50th year of the history of this Church. A few months more, and this Church will have seen the history of fifty years. Great and wonderful has been the progress of the Church during this period of time; far beyond anything that we could have calculated upon, looking at the subject naturally, as natural men. But contemplating the subject spiritually, we might have expected to see what we now behold—a great people assembled from many nations, occupying the central portion of this great north wing of the western hemisphere. We, as a people have made during the first half century, or nearly so, of our existence, great and rapid progress, far beyond that of some of the former dispensations which have been introduced into our world. It is a matter of astonishment with me, that so many people have received the divine message which God has communicated to the human family in our day, when we consider that the generation, or people, who should live just prior to the coming of the Son of Man in his gloW were described as a people such as did exist in the days of Noah. It will be remembered that the message of that good man did not receive much attention, in this day; but a very few, in fact, believed in his message. I have often times thought how discouraging it must have been to that good old prophet, to prophesy to that generation—to foretell concerning the great judgment that was to happen to them, to point out the only means of safety for those who desired to escape, laboring diligently for so many years, and then to find only seven individuals besides himself righteous enough to receive the message. How discouraging! If this message had been treated with the same indifference, we can readily imagine how discouraging it would have been to Joseph Smith, as a prophet and revelator, to labor for perhaps a hundred years and only make seven converts. As regards numbers, then, those who have obeyed the Gospel message in our day, have become very numerous, compared with those that received the message in the days of the flood. Not merely one family of persons, but hundreds of thousands have been gathered into this latter-day Church. The divinity of a message does not, however, depend upon the numbers who receive it. Numbers has nothing to do with the subject. The ; Lord our God has sent forth his servants in this great dispensation; he sent them first directly to our own nation; they, as a people, have rejected it. Individuals, however, in all the States, have seen proper to receive the divine warning, and have mostly gathered to these mountains, and are located among these ever-lasting hills. Who were they that first redeemed this desert? Were they a mixed people, those belonging to the Latter-day Saints and those unconnected with them? No; it was the united efforts of a poor and afflicted people, who had already been driven from their houses five times while they dwelt in the States. They came here almost bare-handed, so far as property was concerned. They came to an undesirable country; they came to a location that was marked upon our maps as "the Great American Desert;" a country that had scarcely been penetrated by white men. We began anew in this country, and it was by the labor of our hands, being strengthened by the Almighty, that we opened up these rugged canons, and penetrated into these mountains, and obtained timber to build our houses and to fence our fields; it was by the united labors of the Latter-day Saints, that we constructed water-ditches and canals for the purpose of irrigating the land, instead of depending upon the rains of heaven, and thus commenced a new system of farming, at least as far as our experience was concerned. It was by the labor of the Latter-day Saints alone, and not by the labor and capital of Gentiles. These beautiful ornamental shadetrees were placed out in front of our houses, to beautify and adorn the streets, by the labor of the hands of the Latter-day Saints, and not by the aid of Gentiles. It was the Saints who established these beautiful orchards that are seen, not only in this great city, which well might be termed a city of orchards, but in almost all other large towns and cities throughout this great desert. It was by the labor of our own hands that schoolhouses were erected in all the countries and settlements of our Territory; all this too, at an early stage of our settlements here, the education of our youth, being among the most prominent and important steps calculated to benefit the people. It was by the labors of our own hands that academies and buildings for high schools were established in various portions of the Territory, as well as our common schoolhouses. It was by the labor of our own hands that chapels and meeting-houses were located in all our settlements throughout this mountain region. It was by the labor of our own hands that the desert was made to blossom as the rose.

      By and by, after we had fulfilled and about accomplished this work, having formed numerous settlements and built numerous dwelling-houses, and planted out numerous ornamental trees and established extensive gardens, and began to raise grain, fruits and vegetables in great abundance; after we had done all these things, fairly opening up the Territory, that outside population began to pour in. Who was it, then, that opened up the country so that our Gentile friends might come into it, and of causing prosperity to prevail in our midst? It was the Latter-day Saints. Who was it that made feasible the grading of the Union Pacific Railroad through these rugged mountains—the most difficult work on the whole of its construction? It was the strong arms of the Latter-day Saints, our mountain boys; they continued the road some hundreds of miles; tunnels had to be cut through huge mountains, and rough and precipitous places were made smooth, and the way prepared that our Gentile neighbors might come among us, and all this that they might have the privilege of entering on record that they were the great ones that established these facilities, and that made the desert to blossom as the rose.

      What, let me ask, have our Gentile neighbors that have come among us done? They have done some good things; they have introduced some very bad things. I speak now according to my own individual feelings upon this subject. Before they came we had no grog-shops in the various towns, and villages, and cities in our Territory, to convert a temperate people into confirmed drunkards. We had no such institutions; but as soon as they came this product of what they call civilization was introduced into our midst, wherever they could obtain a foothold. So much for this kind of civilization that has been introduced into the midst of this people. What, else? Years and years passed by, before the Gentile population began in any degree to come into our Territory, during which safety attended our habitations. We could leave our doors open at night, in summer time, to be benefitted by the mountain breezes; now we have to lock our doors, and bolt down the windows. Why? Because that thing called civilization has come into our midst, which renders it unsafe for our habitations to be thus left open. What else? Formerly we could wash our clothes, as we do weekly, and hang them out upon the lines, letting them remain there if necessary for one or two days and nights, without the least danger of their being taken away. Dare we do these things now? Can we expect safety now? No. Why? Because Gentile civilization has come into our midst, that which we forsook, when we left the lands from which we emigrated. It has come to us; and these are the disagreeable things which the Latter-day Saints have to encounter.

      But it has been said, and even published that it was not the Latter-day Saints that introduced the blessings that are enjoyed to-day by the inhabitants of this Territory; that it was some other people. I am trying to portray these things precisely as they are.

      What else? Our streets are filled, not only with drunkards, by introducing these liquor saloons in nearly all parts of our Territory, but we see fightings blasphemy, threatening life, etc. in all the places in the Territory, wherever this outside "civilization" has appeared. There may be some few exceptions among the Gentile elements. We do not wish to pronounce all the outsiders who have taken up their abode among us being of this character, but we speak of these things in general terms. There are good men and women who were not among the early settlers of this country, that have come here since the way was opened, and since prosperity prevailed over this desert; we do not speak against them, but against that class that have introduced these evils into our midst. We might speak of other things, such as houses of ill fame—something that was not known in our country and something that the youth and the rising generation grew up to manhood without knowing anything about, only as they happened to read of them occasionally in some of the Eastern papers. Do they now exist? Yes. Who brought them here, and who sustains them after they have come? Undertake to put these things down by law, and every exertion is made to retain these sink-holes of corruption in the land. Writs of habeas corpus are issued in order to free those bad characters, and turn them loose upon the community. This is another feature of what they term "civilization." We might go on and name Sabbath-breaking, lying, misrepresenting, quarreling, stealing, and so forth but we have not time to dwell on all these subjects.

      We came here as a religious people, We had a civil government, and a religious government; we had civil authority and ecclesiastical authority, before the Gentiles came here in ally great numbers. Both of these principles of government were in existence in this Territory in the early rise thereof. The religious, in this Territory, seemed to be very much united, with a very few exceptions. We all believed in the same doctrines. But says one, "Is not this in opposition to the principles of our government, for all the people to be united?" I do not know of anything in any of the principles ordained by the revolutionary fathers that requires division in a representative form of government. They make provisions, in case there should be division; but never founded the government with an express determination that there should be division, either in their religion or in their politics; it is not a necessary con-comitant to the form of our government. Our government and the principles thereof could be sustained without any violation whatever, if the forty millions of people were all of one faith. If they were all democrats, or any other political faith, still the government would not be violated. But they made provisions, in case there should be divisions. Thank God, that in this Territory we have supported a Republican form of government, without being under the necessity of impressing upon the people that they should be divided. We do not impress any such thing upon their minds. It is no part of the Republican government to be divided. You can all vote the same way at the polls; you you can all believe the same religion and yet be good citizens of the United States. What? can they all be Presbyterians and at the same time be good American citizens Yes. Can they all be Methodists, and yet be good American citizens? Yes. Can they all belong to one political party, without any to oppose them, and yet be good American citizens? Yes. Why? Because there is nothing in the Constitution of our government that requires the population to believe different doctrines, according to their religious notions and ideas—nothing that requires them to be politically divided, in their feelings. But they are divided. The people of all nations are divided; and good wholesome laws, for the most part, have been established by Congress, and by the various States of our Union, making provisions for this divided state of society, giving, to every person the privilege of believing as he or site may see proper to do in regard to their religious ideas, and to carry out their sentiments by practising their religion also, as well as believing; and that the majority should not, because they happen to he the majority, oppress the minority. Arguments have been made by statesmen, judges, and others professing great intelligence something like this: that the Latter-day Saints are a people of only about 150,000; while the United States are a people, numbering forty or forty-five millions. Therefore, say they, the great majority—the forty or forty-five millions of people—should, or they have a perfect right to oppress you, Latter-day Saints, because you are the minority in your religious views. Now, I do not believe this anti-republican idea, though it was published in this city last week, from a person in high authority—a Federal officer of our Territory. Supposing for instance, there were only ten religious men, living in the United States that believed a certain doctrine, according to Bible precepts, and all the rest believed something else, differing from that; have this great majority a right to oppress these ten men? They have no such right. The Constitution of our country has provided for that minority, to believe as they choose to, so long as they injure no one by their belief, and so long as they injure no person by practising that belief. Supposing that the Presbyterians should insist, in their Church capacity, that sprinkling with water was to be the only mode of baptism, that should be observed by the members of their denomination; have they a right to do this? Yes. But supposing that forty millions of people, who were not Presbyterians, should denounce that system as criminal, on the ground that it was not in accordance with the doctrines of the Bible, and consequently it would be a criminal practice to blaspheme the name of Trinity by sprinkling a few drops of water and call that baptism; and supposing they should succeed in getting Congress to pass a law against sprinkling, because it was criminal according to their ideas; and supposing that the persons who introduced that mode of baptism should be brought up by that law to be judged by it, and should be found criminals, according to that law of Congress; and supposing that the Supreme Court of the United States were to confirm the action of the lower court, on this matter; ought such persons to be condemned as criminals? No. You would say that they have a right to sprinkle; I would say the same, however much I might differ from the Presbyterian practice, in my own mind; however much I might look upon that act as abominable in the sight of heaven; however much I might consider it to be criminal before God, yet I would say they had a constitutional right to sprinkle; so in regard to all other divisions so far as religious sentiments are concerned. Wherein those divisions of political or religious sentiments do not harm the neighbor, do not harm society, do not harm families, or the nation at large; a law, passed by men, has nothing to do with it, what courts might decide to the contrary notwithstanding.

      These are my views as an individual. I do not pretend to set these things forth as your views or the views of the people generally, but my own individual views on this subject.

      Now in regard to plurality of wives, why is that a crime? Only because Congress passed a law making it criminal. Does the Bible make it criminal? No. Does the Book of Mormon make it criminal? No. Does the Doctrine and Covenants make it criminal? No. Why is it criminal? Is there a law of our nature that makes it criminal? No. There are some things that are criminal in and of themselves, and we cannot think of them only as such, and as we by our own consciences know them to be criminal. And for instance, stealing property that belongs to our neighbors. That we look upon as being criminal. We would not wish our neighbor to steal our property. Again violence done to another person to rob him of his property, that is something which is criminal in itself. Taking life like the heathen, who offer up their human sacrifices, the heathen widow that is burned upon the pile, is criminal. Why? Because it is something that our nature at once denounces to be criminal, and it is also denounced as such by the laws of heaven, by the laws of God; but not so in regard to many other things. For instance, one day out of seven is set apart as a day of rest; and under the law of God, in ancient times, it was considered criminal to gather a bundle of sticks on that day, for the purpose of making a fire; and the person who was found doing so was condemned to death. Now if there had been no law concerning that matter, all Israel would have made no distinction between the sacredness of days. All would have been alike to them. Why? Because there was nothing in their own minds or consciences that would perceive such an act to be criminal. But when the revealed law of God came, making it criminal, it then became so. So in regard to many of these religious principles, observed among the heathen. They are criminal, and any person acquainted with the law of God is compelled to pronounce them as such. But then, shall we condemn anything that the conscience does not denounce to be criminal, that the law of God does not denounce as criminal; shall we get our Congress to make a law declaring it criminal, so that those that break that law shall become criminals? I cannot see it. I am so obtuse in my understanding and my mind is so blunted, that I really cannot see any sense in a law of that kind, whether passed by Congress or a congressional power of all nations combined; it makes no difference, so far as my mind is, concerned.

      I have read the speeches of members of Congress, in which they have made the contrast of Bible polygamy with some of the heathen worship which is denounced by the Bible. Why not contrast everything else pertaining to religion in the same way? Why not pass a law, prohibiting that religious people called Jews, from practising the Mosaic law of circumcision, inflicting fine and imprisonment if they persist in following the Bible custom? Simply, because they they are not hated as the "Mormons" are. We must have a law expressly framed for these Mormons; we must pass a law that will catch them. But in order to make the people think we are not unjust we will make it general throughout all the Territories."

      I believe in the great principles laid down in the American Constitution; I believe in religious freedom, religious belief, religious practice. I believe in every principle guaranteed in that document. Well, supposing then that they should send me, as an individual, to prison because of my belief or religious practice; would that alter my belief? No. Would, say, five years in the penitentiary change my belief? No. If they were to inflict the full penalty of the law upon me in every respect, how much would they succeed in converting me that my belief and practice were a crime in the sight of God? Not one iota, forty-five millions of people to the contrary notwithstanding. Why? Because although I am in the minority, I am protected by the Constitution just as much as though I were in the majority; I am an American citizen and I have the rights of an American just as much as though I belonged to the majority. Well, then, what do you say, shall I renounce my religion, because of this law? No. Shall I advise the Latter-day Saints, (an independent people to do as they please so far as their religious views are concerned) to renounce any part of their doctrines because Congress has denounced it? No. I can do no such thing If they wish to renounce them or forsake them, they are at liberty so to do, and be accountable to God, and be disfellowshipped from the Church, because of their disbelief. "O," says one, "you would disfellowship your members and thus bear upon them?" Certainly we would. Have we not the right to do so? What denomination is there, in these United States, but has the right to disfellowship their members for any thing they please, if they go according to their own creed and documents? I do not know of any denomination that does not enjoy this right. I claim no more for myself, nor for my brethren, in regard to these matters, than they claim for themselves, nor any more than the Constitution guarantees to all.

      We have the right, therefore, to say, that if a man denounces any part or portion of his religion that we will disfellowship him; or that if a woman shall do the same, that we deal with her in like manner. And we have the right to disfellowship members of our Church, for any transgression of the laws God. And this has nothing to do with the great principles of right and wrong established by our American government. But I will leave this subject.

      We have assembled here in our semi-annual conference, what for? To take into consideration any subject that may be for the advantage add wellbeing of the whole. That is one object. To give advice and counsel to the people of God, that may be under the sound of our voices. To get the united sanction and voice, with uplifted hands to the Most High God, in sending forth missionaries to the various nations of the earth What for? To convert them to the everlasting gospel.

      We have been told by a circular letter, which has been issued officially, and sent to various nations, that he-cause the people believe in the doctrines of the Latter-Saints in Germany, in Scandinavia, in Great Britain, etc., that the United States are very anxious to get all these governments to band together against what? To prevent the religious people who believe in these doctrines from emigrating from their own lands, to the land of America. Will these governments respond? Will they aid the great government of the United States, to persecute religious people by trying to prevent them from emigrating from one country to another? I do not know but what they may; it is very doubtful, in my mind, whether they will go back to the old dark ages of persecution, and be united as Herod and Pilate were, in preventing religious people from emigrating to other nations. It would be difficult, under the color of consistency, to hinder it. How are they going to know whether emigrants are Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists or Latter-day Saints, when they embark at European ports to come to this great continent of America? or how are they going to know what religion they belong to? Are they going to have their ambassadors, their consuls, and great men, appointed on purpose, paying them large salaries, and instructing them to be at every port, and also to make every man swear, when he embarks on board of a vessel, that he is not a Latter-day Saint?

      Now, I do not believe they are going that far; and if they do not, how easy a matter it would be for emigrants, to say nothing about their religious sentiments, while sailing across the great ocean. Or could we not keep our peace so long? Would it be difficult for the Latter-day Saints to shut up the fire of truth in their hearts, so that no one would know them to be Latter-day Saints for ten long days? I expect that would be the difficult part of the undertaking. We feel to rejoice so in the Gospel, in the great plan of salvation, that we can hardly hold our peace for ten days; though if it were really necessary, I think some of us could manage to do so.

      Well, supposing we landed safely, and held our peace, and should take the railroad cars for Chicago, say, whose business is it? And supposing we concluded then to take the cars for Omaha, whose business is it? And at Omaha, supposing we should get it into our heads to come further West, and should then purchase a ticket for Ogden, have we not the right to do so? Is our government going to employ runners and spies to find out every man's religious views, who passes over the various railroads? I am inclined to think not; I do not believe they have reached that stage yet.

      But now concerning the justice of these matters. Supposing that we do preach what the world calls "Mormonism" from the time we embark, until the time of our landing, because we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, because we believe in repenting of our sins, and because we believe in baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and because we believe in the plural order of marriage, as taught in the Bible, have they the right to shut down the gate against us? When I say a right, I mean a Constitutional right. Is not this country open to all nations? Is it not called by every people, "the asylum of the oppressed of all nations?" They have not yet passed a law forbidding the Chinaman from emigrating to this country. Have the Latter-day Saints sunk down so far beneath heathenism, that we must have the gate shut flown upon us, and heathens by tens of thousands come swarming to our land? I do not, I cannot believe that the good sense of the American people can tolerate such persecution. Amen.

 

[Elder Lorenzo Snow]

            ELDER LORENZO SNOW dwelt largely on the principle of revelation, as it existed in the days of Christ and his Apostles, and as restored in our day -- no individual is under obligation to receive the testimony of another unless he received a revelation from God, that that testimony is true -- hence the Savior promised that any one who would do the will of his Father, should know of the doctrine that it was true. So with the Elders of Israel -- this same promise is made to the people in every nation whithersoever they are sent, that if the people will only receive and obey the principles of the gospel, God will make manifest to them by revelation, that this work is of God and not of man. Hence this principle of revelation forms the basis of our faith, and if the Saints who have received this knowledge in distant countries and emigrated here will only continue to live their religion, by being faithful in all the relations of life, God will pour out upon them abundantly of the spirit of revelation, and bless them in their families and all they undertake to do.

[Lorenzo Snow]

[DNW 28:690, 12/03/79, p 2; JD 20:329]

DISCOURSE

DELIVERED BY ELDER LORENZO SNOW,

At the General Conference held in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Oct. 6th, 1879.

_____

REPORTED BY JOHN IRVINE.

_____

      I have been very much interested in the remarks of Brother Orson Pratt.

      I wish during the short time that I occupy the stand to make a few observations in reference to the foundation upon which we have established our faith and belief in the principles of the everlasting Gospel which we have espoused, and to see what means the elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints employ in establishing these principles in the hearts of the people in the various nations where they are proclaiming the fulness of the Gospel. It is well perhaps in view of the surrounding circumstances, and in consideration of the difficulties that arise in our midst—and which may possibly try our faith—to examine occasionally more closely into the foundation upon which we ground our hopes—our hopes in regard to our property and in regard to our ability to accomplish the commandments of God and withstand the temptations that will be presented to try our faith, and overcome the difficulties that may come in our way in the path of our progress. In preaching the Gospel in the days of the apostles there were certain things that followed their labors, that inspired individuals that received the doctrine from their hands that filled them with great confidence in regard to those principles as is shown on a certain occasion where one of the Apostles uses language like this: "Our Gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance." The people who had received the Gospel were reminded of the peculiar blessings and powers that attended it in its administration. When the disciples were ordained by the Savior and sent forth to proclaim the Gospel to the world, they were told that certain blessings and assurances should follow its administration. On another occasion it was said by the Savior, when people were anxious to know in regard to the divinity of his mission, he told them that if they would do the will of God they should know of the doctrine. And again, on a certain time when his disciples came together, he asked them what the people said in relation to him, the character that they gave him, and the feeling he had produced among them in regard to the divinity of his character. He was informed that the people had various ideas and views in relation to it. Some thought that he was one of the prophets that had risen, that he was Elias or Jeremiah, or John the Baptist that had been beheaded. In the midst of this confusion of ideas, however, there was one individual that had obtained correct information on the subject, and from a quarter that every person that receives the fulness of the Gospel is privileged to obtain a perfect knowledge of its divinity. Turning to the disciples he said, "But whom say ye that I am," and Simon Peter answered and said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Now, he had obtained a revelation in regard to the character of the Son of God. He had not obtained it through the observance of the miracles that Jesus had performed. He had not obtained it from any other quarter or source save from God the Eternal Father. Jesus told him that "flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto time, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say unto thee that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." That is, upon the rock of revelation, for the nature of the Gospel is such, that when it is proclaimed and honestly obeyed, individuals receive a testimony in regard to the divinity of the doctrine. This was confirmed on the day of Pentecost. Peter in preaching to the people said, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For this promise is unto you and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. This gift of the Holy Ghost is a different principle from anything that we see manifested in the sectarian world. It is a principle of intelligence, and revelation. It is a principle that reveals things past, present and to come, and these gifts of the Holy Ghost were to be received through obedience to the requirements of the Gospel as proclaimed by the Elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in these days. It was upon this rock that their faith should be grounded; from this quarter they should receive a knowledge of the doctrine they had espoused, and we are told by the Savior "that the gates of hell should not prevail against them." Thus the Church was organized upon the principle of revelation. In it were placed "first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues." Thus God placed in his kingdom and in his Church those things that were according to the mind and will of heaven, according to the laws of the celestial world. In another place we are told that God gave gifts unto, men. "And he gave some apostles and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers." Now for what purpose were they given? We are told that they were given "for the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." How long were these gifts to continue? We are told they were to continue "till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." These were the principles taught by the apostles, and when they went forth among strangers they could say, "We have authority to administer in the ordinances of the Gospel; but you cannot know these things except you receive this knowledge from the eternal world: We profess to have this authority, but you are not acquainted with us, you do not know our character. We require you to repent of your sins and to be baptized for a remission of the same, and then you shall have a knowledge of the truth." These are the declarations of our Elders in these days; it is by this means that the people are gathered here from the various nations of the earth. Here we have a people from England, Denmark, Sweden, France and from almost all the nations of the earth. Why are we gathered into these mountain valleys? Why have we left our homes in distant lands? Because we realize the truth of the gospel as proclaimed by the Elders. We have received the gift of the Holy Ghost, which has revealed to us this knowledge; and it is because of this knowledge that we are here to-day. Where in all the world can you find a class of ministers that dare take the position our elders do? Where is the man or the set of men that can be found that dare to present themselves before the world and say that they have been authorized of God to administer certain ordinances to the people through which they may receive revelation from God? Any one announcing a doctrine of this kind would soon be found out if he were an impostor—he would place himself in a very dangerous position, and would soon be discovered if he held no such authority. Our elders, however, dare take this position. We have taken this position for nearly fifty years. God has sent his holy angels from heaven and restored the authority to man to administer the ordinances of the Gospel, and through these the gift of the Holy Ghost now confers upon man a knowledge in regard to the divinity of this work. Now, we talk about people succumbing because of their inferiority in numbers or because they are partly in the minority. That may be all very well providing it is simply man's work. We can very well see that in such case 150,000 could not expect to prosper or succeed in opposition, or in holding principles that are in conflict to those of 45,000,000 of people. Noah could not expect to succeed against a whole generation while his doctrine was accepted only by seven individuals, providing it had been only man's work. Neither could Moses when he proclaimed his message expect to have succeeded against the Egyptian government and its influence had he not been inspired and had authority from God. It is not that one man or set of men should proclaim principles as divine and demand their acceptance unless he have authority beyond that of man. If, therefore, the elders of Israel have been authorized, if they have received authority from the Almighty to proclaim these principles, then it will be very easy to understand who will succumb in the end. If it is the work of God we may expect very well what will be result. There was a law in the days of king Nebuchadnezzar that all nations should bow to the golden image which he set up; it was made obligatory upon every individual that he should not offer prayer to the God of heaven. Well, what were the results? It is very easy to see; it is very easy to see what will be the results at all times when God has a work to accomplish in the midst of a people. When men of integrity, men of honesty, receive a knowledge of any principle, divine principle, when they receive a manifestation of the Almighty concerning the truth of any work or any doctrine, it is a very difficult matter to destroy or force that knowledge from them. You cannot do it by imprisonment, you cannot by any method of torture. So in regard to the people called Latter-day Saints. Inasmuch as they have received these doctrines in various nations where the Gospel has been proclaimed, and inasmuch as they have received a divine manifestation of the truth of these principles, we do not expect when they come here to these mountain valleys that they are to be frightened out of these things, because a man's religion is more dear to him than life. Has anybody received a revelation to the contrary? Has anybody received a revelation that Joseph Smith was not endowed with power from on high, or that the Elders of Israel have not been authorized to preach this Gospel? No; but we can bring thousands of individuals that have received revelation that these things are true; thousands upon thousands. Well, then, the foundation upon which the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is built is the rock of revelation—upon the rock that Jesus said He would build His church, and the gates of hell should not prevail against it. We have not received this knowledge through flesh and blood, we have not received this testimony from man, we have not received it through the reading of the Bible, New Testament or Book of Mormon, but we have received it through the operations of the Holy Ghost, that teaches of the things of God, things past, present and to come, and that takes of the things of God, making them clearly manifest unto us, You cannot take this knowledge from us by imprisonment or any kind of persecution. We will stand by it unto death.

      And now all the Latter-day Saints have to do, all that is required of us to make us perfectly safe under all circumstances of trouble or persecution, is to do the will of God, to be honest, faithful and to keep ourselves devoted to the principles that we have received; do right one by another; trespass upon no man's rights; live by every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God and his Holy Spirit will aid and assist us under all circumstances, and we will come out of the midst of it all abundantly blessed in our houses, in our families, in our flocks, in our fields—and in every way God will bless us. He will give us knowledge upon knowledge, intelligence upon intelligence, wisdom upon wisdom.

      May God add his blessing upon this people. May we be faithful to ourselves, faithful to all the principles we have received, seeking one another's interests with all our heart, and God will pour out his Spirit upon us, and we will come off victorious in the end, which I ask in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

 

            The choir sang an anthem

"Open thou, thine eyes."

            Conference adjourned till 2 p. m. Benediction by Counselor D. H. Wells.

_____

[6 Oct, 2 pm]

[DNW 28:580, 10/15/79, p 4]

2 p. m.

            The choir sang Hymn on page 146:

Great God attend while Zion sings,
The joy that from thy presence springs.

            Prayer by Counselor D. H. WELLS

            The choir sang hymn on page 67:

Praise ye the Lord "tis good to raise
Your hearts and voices in his praise.

[Elder Franklin D. Richards]

            Elder FRANKLIN D. RICHARDS said in contemplating the work of God as it exists in the earth to-day he was led to reflect on the political influence it was exerting in this and other nations. The first principle that gave it prominence was that of new revelation especially among the religionists of the United States, who raised the hue and cry of blasphemy. Some time after this the doctrine of polygamy came forth which aroused the indignation of our political champions, and who placed it side by side with slavery, calling them twin relics of barbarism. The abolishment of these two relics formed one of the chief planks of the republican platform. The attempt to abolish slavery has been made, though not accomplished, as a political movement and the destruction of polygamy yet remains undone. The republicans pledged themselves to put it down, if raised to power. The voice of the nation to-day is, "eradicate polygamy from the country," although that principle constitutes one of the essential truths of our faith. He appealed to the Saints as to whether they are prepared to sacrifice or relinquish that portion of their religion, or willing to bear the consequences of a strict enforcement of the law of 1862, even should the effect be attended with fines, imprisonment or even death. For such would certainly be the result if God did not interpose and prevent it. Our appeal must be to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, who has given the law of plural marriage to this people, which works no evil to our neighbors, but is good in its tendency wherever carried out in righteousness. He hoped, therefore, that we as a people would humble ourselves before God, put away from us our evils and submit our cause to him, who in his own due time will defend us against the designs of the enemies of his kingdom.

[Franklin D. Richards]

[DNW 28:610, 10/29/79, p 2; JD 20:309]

DISCOURSE

DELIVERED BY ELDER F. D. RICHARDS,

At the General Conference held in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Oct. 6th, 1879.

_____

REPORTED BY JOHN IRVINE.

_____

      In contemplating the condition of the work of the Lord as it is on the earth to-day, and as we have had to contemplate it from the light of history in its existence in former periods of time, we find a very striking analogy exists.

      I scarcely need tell my congregation this afternoon that we as a people bear a significant relation to the people of the United States in a political point of view, and without undertaking to review the various periods of the earth's history, and the relationship which the work of God at different times has sustained to its inhabitants, it may perhaps be enough to refer to one circumstance in the days of our Savior. When John the Baptist had gone forth among the people of Palestine, telling them that the kingdom of heaven was at hand and calling upon all who entertained faith in his mission to come and be baptized—it appears that he created quite a sensation among the people, insomuch that all they of Jerusalem and Judea and the regions round about went forth and were baptized by him in great multitudes, as recorded in Mark, i, 8. This had a political effect upon the rulers of that day, and when John was followed by Jesus and his wonderful works, they began to say—"If we let him thus alone all men will believe on him, and the Romans will come and take away our place and nation." It was very directly a matter of political significance and importance.

      I recollect that some fifty years ago, in the days of my youth, and in the land of the Puritans, I used to hear and to see aged matrons as well as reverend ministers wringing their hands and lifting up their eyes with holy horror, because there was a great evil in the land called slavery. They could scarcely eat or drink in peace, or worship God with the spirit and understanding, by reason of a terrible sense of condemnation resting on their consciences—because their brethren in the Southern States believed in slavery. This came to be worked up by the preachers in the pulpits, by the politicians in their stump speeches, by the parents of households, and fulminated by the press, until in nearly every class of society there was a continual stir and sensation about slavery in the Southern States. This terrible evil had become one of such vast importance that it must some day bring a national scourge, and in their great anxiety and horror over this, and their determination to put it away, they stirred up the fire until the North were at enmity and hostility against the South, and the South were at enmity and hostility against the North. We well recollect what were the consequences of the recent terrible conflict that devastated and demoralized so much of our beloved country. While this fanaticism was raging in the North, and silent preparations for defence were going on in the South, none seemed to consider the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives, or the taxation necessary to pay a few hundred millions of war debt, and still less the demoralizing influences thereby fastened upon the country.

      About the same time, or very soon after, when the Elders began to preach the Gospel in that region, I recollect that there arose quite a sensation about this people that professed to have new revelation. It to seemed strike these same conscientious, religious people with consternation that anybody should dare to say that God would now reveal himself to the human family; that it was the most impious blasphemy to preach that the priesthood had been restored, or to assert that the Holy Ghost was given in the latter days, or that the gifts of the Spirit were made to abound among the children of men. No indeed; it was not to be tolerated any more than the doctrine of slavery. There were here and there a few, though but very few in proportion to the general population, that did receive this very alarming doctrine among those professing religious belief in the mission of our blessed Redeemer. It will be borne in mind that at the time I now speak of, the doctrine of plurality of wives had not been heard of as a doctrine of the Church in the last dispensation; but it was the gifts of the Spirit, it was the doctrine of present revelation, it was the terrible repulsive idea that there could be a man raised up in our day who should be a prophet that should bring again the word of the Lord and speak his mind and will to the people, that created a fresh outburst of pious indignation in the minds of those who were so devout, and who claimed to occupy the "cradle of liberty."

      It was but a short time after this—stepping along rather rapidly in the history of events—till the doctrine of plurality of wives was revealed to the Saints, away in the West, on the banks of the Mississippi, though not publicly proclaimed until 1852, in Utah. But the sound of this sacred scriptural doctrine, when it came to be made known, seemed the very acme of all that was corrupt, abominable and ungodly, and they who professed to believe in the doctrine of polygamy were not deemed fit to live on the earth. Consequently, if I were to take a text to preach from. I would take "Where are we now?"

      About the year 1854, or 1856, the terrilbe odium of these two principal doctrines, and polygamy especially, had attached such a political hold on the minds of the religious community, that they were prepared to place these as two planks in the party platform, which was to be adopted as a ground upon which a President was to be elected. The celebrated Senator Douglas, after we had come out from the midst of the people and come into the wilderness, a thousand miles from any settlement of civilization, announced to the country that if he were made a candidate for the presidency of the United States, his opinion was that "the loathesome ulcer must be cut out from the side of the body politic." That was his political faith in regard to this one of the twins. President Buchanan was elected with a clear understanding that the abolition of polygamy was one of the jobs he was undertaking. He tried his hand at this first, but on finding that it took two years for his army to reach the field of their operations, and then in their decimated condition were dependent upon polygamists for subsistence, the prestige of the campaign dwindled clown to what was commonly known as the "contractor's war on the Treasury."

      When, in 1860, the Republican party came into power, it assumed the obligation which President Buchanan had failed to discharge in regard to the "twin relics;" and, to avoid repeating the mistake which he had made, turned its attention to the other twin. This soon furnished occasion for a recall of the remaining troops in Utah to the other field of conflict.

      I feel more interest in narrating these facts, because our rising generation, as well as many Saints who have immigrated to our midst from abroad, are not familiar with the circumstances, which have brought us to our present position. A little patience and I will notice some of the circumstances attendant upon what has been done, and perhaps we may judge therefore what has to be done, if it ever gets done at all.

      Formerly, the Representatives and Senators from New England went to Washington laden with petitions to Congress to abolish slavery, in the District of Columbia, even more strongly than priest and people have recently been asking Congress to abolish polygamy. Ex-President John Q. Adams presented lengthy petitions containing thousands of names on many yards of paper, and because known as the Member who manufactured public opinion by the yard. These applications were repeated year after year. Be it remembered that the District of Columbia is not a State, but is governed by direct legislation of Congress. And what was the result of the strenuous and powerful efforts of the most brilliant and profound statesmen of the North, contested, of course, by the best statesmen from the South? The result was that slavery was not abolished in answer to the petitions of the Northern people, but it continued a political question, and became a powerful factor in the politics of the country. If an anti-slavery State was admitted into the Union from the North, a pro-slavery State was admitted from the South. Compromises were made between parties for the admission of certain States, until some of the Southern States declared for secession, and on the question of their right to do so the war commenced, and not on the direct question of the abolition of slavery.

      From the firing of the first gun the demon of war seemed to inspire the contending parties with the most bitter enmity and rancorous hate towards each other, while multitudes met their near kinsmen in mortal combat. Year after year the war raged, till the Southern armies were recruited by their slaves; the Treasury of the nation was rapidly depleting; fierce engagements and wasting disease had done their work and recruits were enlisted for three years, or till the end of the war, and President Lincoln, by proclamation, abolished the slavery of several millions of negroes, not as a political measure, but as a measure justified by the exigencies of war. I state these facts without any argument as to whether slavery should be justified, or condemned. Their great ancestor said they should be servants of servants among their brethren, making their servitude the fulfilment of prophecy, whether according to the will of God or not.

      But where are we to-day? We find slavery disposed of, but what of polygamy? This question is assuming proportions which seem to overshadow us so completely that even John Chinaman gets no special consideration in Utah.

      About the time of the "Bull Run Stampede," in 1862, when officers, raw recruits, and congressmen fled from the battle field and took shelter in the Capital, Congress passed a law making plurality of wives, bigamy, or polygamy if you please, a penal office. Now it should be distinctly understood that this offence is not sinful because Congress has made it penal. There is no ungodliness in it, because God has revealed it, he has commanded it. Congress of the United States says that it must not be permited. Well, then, "Where are we to-day?" What have we to expect? This law has been passed—although we had hoped that Congress and the nation had sufficient virtue enlightenment, liberty, and the spirit of the constitution of the fathers left among them, that they could see that this was not a sin or an evil—yet we find they have closed their eyes against this, and have determined that it is sin, while corruptions of every kind are permitted to be carried on in the country, such as prostitution, foeticide, infanticide, etc., that because we have embraced the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, we must be demolished or give up our religious faith. The highest court of the nation has declared polygamy unconstitutional, yet in its nature it is the only potent remedy by which to eradicate the so-called social evil, with all its con-comitants, from the land. Yet they cannot see it, and they declare that all who engage in polygamy shall suffer from two to five years imprisonment and not exceeding $500, fine.

      Now I want to place it clearly before you, my hearers, that this is no longer the business of a party, it is to-day the voice of a nation. Mr. Secretary Evarts in his circular letter sent to ministers in foreign countries, says in the last clause that "this government has determined to prosecute polygamy to the extent of the law and to eradicate the institution from the country." These are his words. That is authority so far as authority from the United States government goes. We find the same thing reiterated in the charge to the grand jury in this city, a short time ago, that the voice of forty to fifty millions of people must have its rule and that one hundred thousand must be sacrificed or as many of them as insist on the doctrine of polygamy. That is about where we are to-day. Now I ask my brethren and sisters—are you prepared for whatever comes on this question? Did you when you entered into the waters of baptism make up a reckoning what the Gospel of Jesus Christ was worth? Have we considered that it was worth fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, houses and lands, wives and children, and our own lives also? If we did not we figured up wrong, for he that is not willing to forsake all things and make them secondary to a whole-souled belief in and faithful obedience to the Gospel, is not worthy of it. I ask my brethren and sisters who have come from the antipodes of the earth to this place for the Gospel's sake, if you came prepared and having made such a reckoning? Jesus says in one of his parables, "Which of you, intending to build a tower sitteth not down first and counteth the cost whether he have sufficient to finish it, lest, haply after he hath laid the foundation and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him saying, this man began to build, and was not able to finish." Now that is about the way with us. There is no use our laying the flattering unction to our souls that government is not going to do this. We have got an example of what they have done to the Southern States, and have no doubt they are just as ready and willing to do that much to abolish polygamy among us if God will let them. They have come to that point. They have pronounced against polygamy and are ready to invite, hire and bribe men's wives to aid in the conviction of their husbands, I have no doubt of it; you need not have. They are here telling us plainly that this is their business, and we need only to took around us and see where we are to-day.

      Now, as regards this matter, nobody need tremble at all. I do not think that any who have received the Holy Spirit, and learned of the revelations of Jesus Christ, and know of their influence, need fear, or that anybody's heart who is faithful before God, need be any heavier than it is in the habit of being, or that their faces need be any longer than they are used to be. Not at all; we must look upon this as only a part of the "all things" we agree to endure for the Gospel's sake and our salvation. Now, they may go to law, and fix up, as we see already, packed juries, just such as they want, so that no Latter-day Saint who is a believer in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, whether he believe in polygamy or not, can have any place among them, or any say as to who are innocent or who are guilty. We have evidence that they will do all this and having done this much, it would be very easy for them next winter to fix up such laws concerning juries and testimony As will enable them to carry out what they have undertaken. We give them credit for all this, and we have evidence they will do it, from the fact that the Constitution has been no limit to their former enactment. Indeed, it has virtually been cast overboard, and liberty taken to enact any such laws as might be desirable to carry favorite measures, and it will he just as consistent for them to do anything they please in regard to polygamy; and thus one thing after another, until they shall have attained the object which they have determined to accomplish.

      The true issue of this question is not exactly between us individually and the courts, or the government. The issue is between the two governments. If they who make us offenders are at a loss to know which is the higher law, they will have plenty of time to find out. It is a violation of both the letter and the spirit of the Constitution, and of good and true government of this nation, that there should be any law made that should restrict our belief or practice of any religious doctrine, which does not infringe upon the rights of others. The Constitution expressly says that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." Neither is there anything in the Constitution that tells Presidents, Congressmen, Judges or juries, what shall be religion, or what shall not be religion.

      In the days of Jesus, their Senate and House of Representatives, their supreme and lesser courts were comprehended in the Sanhedrim, or Chief Council, which was an institution of the Jewish government to determine all matters, secular or religious. In our day, although there is no law except the law of God that determines what we may accept as religion, and what we shall not, there is a principle which I call your attention to, that will enable us to understand our position in relation to each other and to our fellowmen. I may perhaps illustrate this best by stating a circumstance which took place a few years ago, while I was in Europe. A gentleman from one of the European States had emigrated to this country and had become an American citizen. He returned to his native country to attend to some business. While there that government undertook to enforce from him some act of subordination, as though he were still a subject of that government. What was the result? The government of the United States, when appealed to, informed the authorities of that land that his rights as an American citizen must be respected. We see, then, that when a difficulty arose that abridged this man's liberties, the responsibility was upon the parent government of asserting and maintaining the rights of this man's citizenship. The authorities of Europe as well as America lauded the wisdom of Daniel Webster in this case, and the man was delivered.

      Now, in our case, the government; has determined that polygamy shall be abolished, but the government of heaven had previously determined. that polygamy should be established, and that sin and wickedness shall be rooted up; that men and women shall have the right to obey that higher law in their marital relations.

      This is our position, this is where we are to-day. We have accepted this doctrine, this principle of faith from the Lord Jesus Christ, and we, or some of us, have lived it more than thirty years in this Territory. And in the matter of our appeal, inasmuch as the government is determined to eradicate this item of our faith, and us with it, of course, and inasmuch as we can get no redress therefrom, our appeal must be to the government of heaven, to which we have vowed allegiance. Jehovah will hold a contention with this nation, and will show them which is the higher and eternal law, and which is the lesser and more recent law. While they are carrying on this high-handed proceeding, regardless of life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness, the God of heaven and earth will notify the earthly government that the rights and liberties of His citizens must be respected and maintained.

      The whole procedure is inconsistent, and utterly at variance with the fundamental principles of law. The great legal apostle, Blackstone, has plainly stated, and every lawyer knows, that human laws and governments are professedly derived from, and founded upon the revealed law of God, which he gave to Moses on Mount Sinai, and every man of them who rejects the revelations of Jesus Christ, must know that he is condemning himself in the thing he professes to allow. The eternal law of celestial marriage and plurality of wives stands out with singular prominence in all the law and prophets, and is evidenced in the personal humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ. Plurality, as believed and practised by the Latter-day Saints, is no crime in and of itself; it presumes no deception or fraud; it infringes upon no other rights, but vests additional rights in him who accepts the heavenly doctrine, whose Author has said, "It shall be visited with blessings and not cursings, and with my power, saith the Lord." It cannot therefore be malum in se, but is only malum prohibition, by the Act of Congress.

      With this view of the subject before us, what have we to do? What is our privilege and our duty in the premises? It is that we draw near to God, the Author of our faith, in humility and in obedience to all his requirements, remembering our covenants sacredly before Him, that our cause may reach His ears, and when He sees our trouble He will in His own good time step forth and deliver us. We have erred and sinned more or less, some of our children may have departed from the way of the Lord. If we have violated the Sabbath, taken the name of the Lord in vain, or violated any of our covenants, it is time for us to turn to the Lord and do so no more. If we do this, He in his own due time will say, "Hitherto shall thou come but no further, and here let thy proud waves be stayed." While, then, we see all the blandishments of civilization among us, while we see all the troubles that human governments can make, in our view we have only to trust in God as Daniel did. Notwithstanding the edict of the King, he worshiped the True and Living God. So must we. And peradventure all these things must happen to us. There are a great many among us who say, "Lord, Lord," and do not pretend to do the things which God requires of us. We have to keep the commandments of God, we have to sense it, and to learn the lesson in all sobriety. Have we any time to waste with these outside characters? Have we any time to dally around grog-shops and play in billiard saloons? No, my brethren and sisters, we have not. It is our duty to be alive to our work, day by day, knowing that the eyes of God are upon us. It is He that will do all things marvelously well for us; it is He that will fight our battles for us. Then the only way for us to gain deliverance is to remain devoted to his service, that we may help to build up His kingdom, and be found worthy of that assistance which He has promised to render us in the time of need.

      There are two sides to this question. Peradventure it may be necessary that our enemies should carry out the works of their father, the devil, that they may show sooner or more fully to the heavens when the purpose and measure of their wickedness is full. As to the ultimate establishment of truth on the earth, there is no question. The prophets have all prophesied of it, the angels have looked forward to it with glorious anticipation, and we have the testimony of the Holy Ghost that this work shall be accomplished. The thing for us to do is to live true and faithful to our religion, irrespective of what may be going on around us.

      That the Lord may inspire us by his Spirit to be faithful to our duty, to draw near to him, leave the wickedness of the world alone, and sanctify ourselves before him, is my earnest prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

[Elder Brigham Young]

            ELDER BRIGHAM YOUNG spoke upon the same subject. The Prophet Joseph Smith brought forth by the revelations of God the most glorious principles that were ever enunciated on the face of the earth. He spoke of the futile efforts of any government or people attempting to eliminate from the hearts of the Saints that principle of faith which God has implanted by his Holy Spirit. He referred to the saying of ancient prophets that no nation should exist for any great length of time on this continent unless they observed and carried out the principles of righteousness. We as a people have nothing to fear only our own weaknesses and sins. Let us therefore put away from us everything that is displeasing to God our heavenly Father, and prepare ourselves for the second coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who will soon appear.

[President John Taylor]

            President JOHN TAYLOR said he had been pleased with the remarks of the brethren. The spirit that inspired them reminded him of the early experience of the Saints in years gone by. The Saints have observed every law which the United States has made except one, and that was one that was made expressly to make us offenders against God. The Elders of this Church have been sent out to preach the gospel, and plural marriage is a part of it. That principle was revealed to him from God, and he felt to bear this testimony not only to this nation but all the nations of the earth, that he knew the Almighty had revealed it. Many others had had it revealed to them, and no power on earth can destroy or take away that testimony. We need not be at all surprised at what the nation is now doing and intends to do, but no one can do anything against the truth but for it. All the nations are in the hands of God, and so are we. All who feel to acknowledge God as our King and our law giver, say amen. [The assembled multitude responded in a loud amen]. The hand of God will be upon this nation if they oppress this people. We can afford to honor God and keep His commandments. Let us be for God and his cause, and the building up of his kingdom.

[John Taylor]

[DNW 28:642, 11/12/79, p 2; JD 20:316]

DISCOURSE

DELIVERED BY PREST. JOHN TAYLOR,

At the General Conference held in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Oct. 6th, 1879

_____

REPORTED BY JOHN IRVINE.

_____

      I have been interested in listening to the remarks of the brethren this afternoon, and I am thankful to find that good old-fashoned Mormonism, or Latter-day Saintism is not altogether dead yet—that there is a little of it living in the bosoms of the Saints, in our speakers, and in those who hear. The Methodists, you know, used to have a prayer to the effect that "His Spirit might pass from heart to heart as oil passes from vessel to vessel," and I have thought that that kind of a spirit has been exhibited more or less here to-day, whether we have any Methodists among us or not.

      We have come here, as has been stated, to worship Almighty God in accordance with his commands. Most of this congregation were good citizens before they came here. Some are from the various parts of Europe. and from other parts of the earth, and a great many from different parts of the United States. They were good citizens and observed the laws of the land to which they belonged. They have observed every law of the United States, except one that was made on purpose to make them disobey God, and therefore, so far as political affairs are concerned, and the duties pertaining to citizens of the United States, they have been maintained in their integrity up to the present time. I remember being asked in a court here some three or four years ago—I do not remember the time precisely, but the court seemed to be very fond of interfering with religious matters, it was not always so; but I suppose civilization has extended—I was asked, "Do you believe in obeying the laws of the United States?" '"Yes I do, in all except one"—in fact I had not broken that. "What law is that?" "The law in relation to polygamy." "Well, why do you except that one?" "Because," I replied "it is at variance with the genius and spirit of our institution; because it is at variance with the Constitution of the United States; and because it is in violation of the law of God to me." The United States Supreme Court, however, since that time has made it a law of the land, that is, it has sanctioned it; it was not sanctioned at that time, that question was not then decided. We are here to-day, gathered together according to the word and law of God and the commandments of God to us. "Gather my Saints together unto me," says one of the old prophets, "those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice." "I will take you," says another, "one of a city and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion, and I will glee you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding." Now, the servants of God in these last days have been sent out as they were in former days to gather the people, and the Lord has given us this law—the law of polygamy—among other things, and I know it before God and can bear testimony of it, if nobody else knows it. I know that it came from God, and that God is its author. But there are hundreds and thousands of others who have a knowledge of the same thing; but I speak of it in this wise to testify before God, angels and men, before this nation and all other nations that it came from God. That is the reason that I speak of it, that I may bear my testimony to you and to the nations of the earth. Now, then, about the result of it; that is with God and with the people. It is for us to do the will of God; it is for the Lord to bring about the results in his own way. But one thing I can assure all men, in the name of Israel's God, that neither this nation, nor any other nation, can do anything against the truth, but for the truth. Do their very best, help themselves as they may, they cannot help themselves in regard to these matters, for the Lord will say unto them, as he did unto the waves of the mighty ocean, "Hitherto shalt thou come but no further: and here shall thy proud aves be stayed." Now, that is how the thing is. The prophet in another place says, "Surely the wrath of man shall praise time; the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain." He will manage the other. He will put a hook in the jaws of men and of nations, and lead them just as he pleases. They are all in his hands, as we are in his hands.

      Need we be surprised that people should feel inimical to the Gospel of Jesus Christ? No. Need we be surprised that men, as the scriptures say, "should wax worse and Worse, deceiving and being deceived?" No. We have preached it—I have preached it upwards of forty years in this nation and in other nations. Need we be surprised that they should trample under foot the Constitution of the United States? No; Joseph Smith told us that they would do it. Many around me here knew long ago that they would do this thing and further knew that the last people that should be found to rally around that sacred instrument and save it from the grasp of unrighteous men would be the Elders of Israel! When, therefore, we see these things progressing need we be astonished? I do not think we need be. Some of our people you know, who are a little shaky and get know? Why a little astride of the fence, and say "good Lord and good devil," not knowing into whose hands they will fall; when they see some of these things transpiring they are filled with amazement; but men who understand themselves, and who are in possession of the gift of the Holy Ghost and the Spirit of the living God, are looking for such things and they are not at all surprised. Were we surprised when the last terrible war took place here in the United States? No; good Latter-day Saints were not, for they had been told about it. Joseph Smith had told them where it would start, that it should be a terrible time of bloodshed and that it should start in South Carolina. But I tell you today the end is not yet. You will see worse things than that, for God will lay his hand upon this nation, and they will feel it more terribly than ever they have done before; there will be more bloodshed, more ruin, more devastation than ever they have seen before. Write it down! You will see it come to pass; it is only just starting in. And would you feel to rejoice? No; I would feel sorry. I knew very well myself when this last war was commencing, and could have wept and did weep, over this nation; but there is yet to come a sound of war, trouble and distress, in which brother will be arrayed against brother, father against son, son against father, a scene of desolation and destruction that will permeate our land until it will be a vexation to hear the report thereof. Would you help to bring it about? No, I would not; I would stop it if I could. I would pour in the oil and the wine and balm and try to lead people in the right path that will be governed by it, but they won't. Our Elders would do the same, and we are sending them forth doing all that we can, selecting the very best men we can put our hands upon—men of faith, men of honor, men of integrity—to go forth to preach the Gospel to this nation and to other nations. And how do they receive them? Not long ago they killed one and mobbed others. Well, we cannot help that. They are in the dark; they do not realize the position they occupy; they know not what spirit they are of. But it is our duty to have our bowells full of compassion extended to them, to send forth the massage of life. But when our Elders go among these people they have to take their lives in their hands and trust in the living God. Nevertheless, we need not be afraid, we need not be troubled about any of these matters. "Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Yea, I say unto you fear Him; and we feel to-day, while we would submit to every ordinance of man that is just, equitable and right, observe every law and interfere with no man's rights, we are not ignorant of the fact that it is unjust for legislatures and courts to make and enforce laws to entrap and destroy us; that a magnanimous and just government would protect all its citizens; but we feel, at the same time, that the Lord is our God, the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our Law-giver, the Lord is our King, and he shall rule over us; and all that feel like saying that say Amen. (The vast congregation responded "Amen.")

      It is an historic fact, written in letters as of living fire, that neither nations, peoples, emperors, kings, or presidents, nor the combined powers of the earth, are able to regulate the conscience or change the faith of man. Noah maintained his faith alone, as against that of a world. Abraham could not be swerved by the most unnatural and forbidding circumstances. Moses, at the behest of God, alone withstood the power of Egypt's king and nation. Daniel unflinchingly bowed his knee to Israel's God, in the face of a prohibitory regal decree, passed by the intrigues of the combined powers of the kingdom of Babylon, who were his enemies. Job, when tried, maintained his integrity, even as against God, and said, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him;" and he further said, "I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he will stand at the latter day upon the earth; and though worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God." The three Hebrew children could not be made to bow to the image set up by the King of Babylon; but rather than deny their faith chose the penalty of the fiery furnace, in which they walked accompanied by the Son of God. Jesus came to do the will of his Father, and though in doing it he sweat great drops of blood, and begged of his Father to let the cup pass if possible, yet "not my will," he said, "but thine be done;" and when groaning in mortal agony he cried, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me." And though he could have commanded twelve legions of angels, who would have obeyed him, yet in obedience to the mandate of his Father, he quietly said "It is finished," and gave up the ghost.

      And this nation may yet learn that under no fictitious pleas, as used by the Babylonish nation against Daniel and others, can they pervert or overthrow the faith and religion of the Latter-day Saints; and that no legislative enactment, nor judicial rulings, can pluck from the mind of man his undying faith, or legislate away the scrupulous exactions of an inexorable conscience. The rack, the gibbet, the faggot, and death in all its horrid forms has never accomplished this, nor never will. And in free America, the land of boasted toleration, it will be as impotent under the guise of liberty as it has been in other ages under the name of despotism. And Congress to covet their shameless infraction of the Constitution of the United States, which guarantees religious liberty to all—in order to avoid the odium of religious persceution which naturally attaches itself to them, may pervert an institution of God by misnaming polygamy and calling it bigamy and not religion, and through the Supreme Court of the United States may confirm their acts, yet there are more than one hundred thousand persons who know better than they do, who will declare that polygamy is a part of their religion and a command and revelation from God.

      These are our feelings and we will try to aknowledge the Lord in all things. And then, on the other hand, we do not wish to treat anybody disrespectfully. Have we any quarrel with this nation? No; they are seeking to quarrel with us; don't let us give them the opportunity. They are like the boy strutting along the street with a chip on his shoulder, asking us to knock it off. But we won't knock it off; but let them strut. It is true they try all they can to annoy and provoke us—that is, a few mean men do, although that is not generally the feeling of the nation, but is confined in great measure to religious fanatics and corrupt politicians, some of them holding positions under government, are trying to stir up strife. What for; Well, they want to get a certain "ticket" elected. A great amount of this "fuss and feathers" that we have to-day is simply a political ruse in the interest of party politics. What for? Why, the brethren have told you. Mormonism is very unpopular, and if they can only do something that will be in opposition to Mormonism it will satisfy the howling priests throughout the land, and a great many of their flocks. As was remarked by one of the brethren, when Jesus was crucified, Pilate and Herod could be made friends. When Mormonism is to be opposed, all men, or at least a great many men, can unite in opposing it. And they want, to go before the people and tell them that they have rooted out slavery, and now they are after Mormonism, and wont you religious fanatics join in? No. excuse me, I mean, you pure and holy religious people, who are so humble and possess so much of the spirit that dwelt in the lowly Jesus, wont you help us to do this thing—wont you vote for us because we are doing this thing? Why, bless your souls, they would not hesitate to sweep us off the face of the earth to get elected. That is their feeling. They care nothing about human rights, liberty, or life, if they can bring about the results desired. They would despoil, destroy and overthrow this people to accomplish their own end. Well, the other party, it is true, would not be very well suited about it, but they would not care to see it politically. However, it is for us to do the best we can. We have got to put our trust in the living God. We might ask—Will they derive any benefit from any course taken against the Latter-day Saints? No! a thousand times no!! I tell you that the hand of God will be upon them for it, and every people, be it this nation, or any other nation, that shall lift up their hands against Zion shall be wastes away; and those that want to try it let them try it, and it is them and their God for it. But it is for us to fear God, to keep his commandments; we can afford to do right whether other people can or not. Respect all men in their rights, in their position, and in their privileges, politically and socially, and protect them in the same; but be not partakers of their evil deeds, of their crimes, nor their iniquities, that you have heard spoken about here to-day. We do not want them to force upon us their drinking saloons, their drunkenness, their gambling, their debauchery and lasciviousness. We do not want these adjuncts of civilization. We do not want them to force upon us that institution of monogamy called the social evil. We will be after them; we will form ourselves into police and hunt them them out and drag them from their dens of infamy and expose them to the world. We wont have their meanness, with their foeticides and infanticides, forced upon us. And you, sisters, don't allow yourselves to become contaminates by rustling against their polluted skirts. Keep from them! Let them wallow in their infamy, and let us protect the right, and be for God and his Christ, for honor, for truth, for virtue, purity and chastity, and for the building up of the kingdom of God. Amen.

 

            The choir sang an anthem,

Hearken unto me.

            Conference was adjourned till to-morrow, (Tuesday) at 10 o'clock a.m.

            Benediction by Elder George Q. Cannon.

_____

[7 Oct, 10 am]

[DNW 28:580, 10/15/79, p 4]

SECOND DAY.

_____

Tuesday, Oct. 7, 1879. 10 a. m.

            The choir sang hymn on page 147:

O God our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come.

            Prayer by President JOSEPH YOUNG.

            The choir sang hymn on page 377:

Sweet is the peace the gospel brings,
to seeking minds and true.

[President Joseph Young]

            President JOSEPH YOUNG addressed the Conference. He was very much interested in the remarks that were made in the tabernacle yesterday. He felt disposed to look on the most favorable side of the weaknesses of his fellowmen, for therein he could see his own. He was a firm believer in a supreme Being, who in the Scriptures is called God; he also believed in his son Jesus Christ. We are, as mortals, poor indeed, only as we are filled with the power and Spirit of God. The Latter-day Saints he hoped had learned lessons of humility before God and lost to a degree, those of self-esteem and importance, especially when the eyes of their understanding are opened to see the glory and majesty of God and his son Jesus Christ. He was no politician, no legislator, but he professed to have some knowledge of human nature.

            He then delineated some of the leading characteristics of man's condition, and the numerous interpretations that are put upon men's actions by their fellow beings. Spoke of the danger of riches and its hardening tendency on the human heart; recommended the houses of the poor to be visited and their needy wants supplied. Referred to the hurry and bustle of the speculative times in which we live, which are so absorbing that many can scarcely find time to attend to their prayers and other religious duties. Men who have never had the Holy Ghost cannot sin against God to any great extent, and their chastisement and sufferings will be comparatively light. Speaking of persecution he said it was no wonder that the Latter-day Saints suffered it, for that had been the patrimony of the saints in all ages of the world. He prayed that God would bless them and keep them in the right path.

            ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON presented the following names of missionaries. Those who have already gone to Europe and the United States are indicated by *.

GREAT BRITAIN.

*Chas. R. Savage, Salt Lake City
*George M. Ottinger, "
Wallace Willey, Bountiful
Thomas Duce, Hyde Park
Hyrum Evans, Salt Lake City
Enoch Lewis, Bountiful
*Thomas Davis, Wales, Sanpete
James Birmingham, Bountiful
Robert F. Gould, Washington
Joseph C. Bentley, St. George
Samuel L. Adams "
Zera P. Terry, Hebron
Abraham H. Cannon, Farmers' Wd.
Howard Coray, Mona
William Coray, "

UNITED STATES.

*Solomon Clinton Stevens, Ogden
*Wm. W. Fife, Ogden
*George H. Carver, Plain City
*Hyrum Belnap, Hooper
*Henry Bartholomew, Slaterville
*Noah L. Shirtliff, Harrisville
*Teancum W. Heward, Draper
*Gordon S. Bills, South Jordan
*Samuel Butterfield, Fort Herriman
*Francis McDonald, Big Cottonwood
*Levi P. Helm, Mill Creek
*Moroni Pickett, Tooele
*James H. Moyle, Salt Lake City
*John Wm. Gibson, North Ogden
*David H. Peery, Ogden
*Newell W. Taylor, Harrisville
*Squire Gaeen Crowley, Lynn Richard Hill, Ogden
*George H. Butler, Marriottsville
Lorenzo Hunsaker, Honeyville
*Benjamin Harker, Taylorsville
Franklin Spencer, Richfield
John R. Murdock, Beaver
Richard A. Ballantyne, Ogden
John H. Williams, Coalville
Crandel Dunn, Beaver Dam
Aaron Thatcher, Logan
Israel D. Olphin, Panguitch
George Nebeker, Salt Lake City
Gronway Parry, "
John Ellison, Kaysville
John C. Witbeck, Levan

SCANDINAVIA.

*Niels B. Adler, Spring city
*Niels Thompson, Ephraim
*Mons Nielsen, Ephraim
*Christian Jensen, Moroni
*Christian Olsen, Fairview
*Niels C. Larsen, Manti
*Errick O. Byland, Santaquin
*Lawrence C. Mariger, Kanab
*Carl John Oberg, Provo
*Christian L. Hansen, Gunnison
*C. Anthon Christensen, Fountain Green
*Ludwig Suhrke, Soda Springs
O. N. Stohl, Brigham City
Jacob Hansen, Bear River City
Harmon F. F. Thorup, City, First Ward
John T. Thorup, City, First Ward
Peter Nielsen, Washington
Peter Nielsen, Smithfield
Fred Lundberg, Logan
Hans Funk, Lewiston
Israel Sorensen, Mendon
Anton L Skankie, Logan
Peter A. Nielsen, Draper

            President Taylor announced that this was only part of the missionary list, other names would be called before the close of the Conference.

[Elder Joseph F. Smith]

            ELDER JOSEPH F. SMITH said he had enjoyed the spirit and instructions of this Conference. The prospects before the Latter-day Saints are very encouraging. The Kingdom of God is onward and upward, and the Latter-day Saints are in a better position in regard to numbers, wealth, education, public buildings, influence and faith than ever before. We are receiving considerable notoriety from officials abroad and officials at home. No amount of persecution will be permitted to come upon us, only so far as will be good and beneficial to us as a people, and be subservient to the great purposes of the Almighty in the last days. This state of things proved to him that God was with this people and we have nothing to fear. If persecution comes let it be for the gospel's sake, and not for any evils of our own, then we can truthfully look up to and expect that God will stand by and sustain us. Unless we had become the covenant people of God we could not be chastised and persecuted any more than other people. If God should permit our enemies to deprive us of our privileges and oppress us socially and politically, it will be to humble us and bring us nearer to him. He did not believe that the saints would be under the lash of chastisements any great length of time, but after they have been brought to a more acceptable condition before God, he expected they would enjoy more freedom and power than they ever have before. The kingdom of God is onward and up ward, and we as a people have great reason to rejoice and be exceedingly glad. We are entirely in the hands of God. We expect to worship God and live our religion open and above board, and manifest to God and angels, that we are willing and determined to aid in bringing about the great purposes of the almighty. He esteemed the laws of God as infinitely higher and more binding on the conscience than the laws of men. He then adverted to the grand and glorious principles of civil and religious liberty contained in the constitution of our country, and showed that none can infringe upon those principles without exposing themselves to the just indignation of the Almighty. He dwelt upon the folly of trying to harmonize Christ and Belial, the Saints and the wicked, which are natural opposites and cannot be made one. Whatever we undertake to do, let it be in righteousness before God, and He will sustain us over every foe.

            The choir sang an anthem:

Thine O, Lord.

            Conference was adjourned till 2 o'clock p.m.

            Benediction by Elder Lorenzo Snow.

_____

[7 Oct, 2 pm]

[DNW 28:580-581, 10/15/79, p 4-5]

SECOND DAY.

_____

2 p. m.

            The choir sang hymn on page 302:

When earth in bondage long had lain,
And darkness o'er the nations reigned.

            Prayer by Elder George Q. Cannon.

            The choir sang hymn on page 213:

What wondrous things we now behold,
By prophets seen in days of old.

            Elder GEO Q. CANNON then presented an exhibit of the Perpetual Emigrating fund.

[President John Taylor]

            President JOHN TAYLOR said there was no financial statement of the Church to read at this Conference as the returns from the various Stakes are only obtainable once a year. He said that whatever course the nations of the earth may deem proper to take towards us as a people, we as Latter-day Saints have nothing to do with it; we are here to build up the Kingdom of God. A great many are thus engaged to the best of their ability,and we leave those who oppose it in the hands of the Lord. Antagonism to the work of God is no new thing, it has existed from the beginning. We are gathered here, that God may plant within us the principles of eternal truth; that we may operate with God the Father, his son Jesus Christ and all the holy prophets since the world began; for this purpose we are gathered together, and for this purpose we build temples to the name of the Lord. Unless God had revealed these things to us, we should be as ignorant of them as the people of the whole world. The hearts of the fathers are being turned to the children, and the children to the fathers, and God being our helper, and the Devil not hindering us, we will go on with our work to its consummation. And that we may labor in the common interests of humanity we say to our outside friends, hinder us not. We owe a duty to the world, and are commanded to put our light in a candlestick, and not attempt to hide it, by putting it under a bushel. We therefore ask as a privilege that we may be permitted to live our religion according to the dictates of our conscience. And while our enemies are seeking to do us all the injury they can, we will do them all the good we can.

            Those who have been called upon this Conference to go on missions, he hoped were men full of the Holy ghost, for these were the only ones he was willing should go forth on such an important and responsible labor. While it is our duty to sent the gospel to the nations of the earth, it is also our duty to preserve the order of the priesthood at home, and for this purpose he called upon the Presidents of Stakes, Bishops and others to root out iniquity. He then denounced the prevalence of drunkenness in our midst, the running of saloons by men holding the priesthood, the fostering and encouraging of lewd houses, and other evils indulged in by those who have a name in our midst as members of the Church, and called upon the Bishops and others holding the priesthood, to take the steps pointed out in the laws of the Church unto all such, or their blood will be required at their hands, no matter what the name or position of the individual. I say unto you purge the Church of all such evil doers. We must cleanse the inside of the platter before we talk about touching the outside. He then made a few remarks about the suit recently inaugurated by some of the heirs of President Young, and after stating the mode of settlement brought about by the payment of seventy five thousand dollars, which appeared to him the best way of settling such an unpleasant affair, he called on the Conference for an expression of their feelings on the subject, and the settlement was endorsed by a unanimous vote. Other remarks he wished to make, but reserved them for a meeting of the priesthood, and all others who desired to attend, this evening at 7 o'clock.

[John Taylor]

[DNW 30:114, 3/23/81, p 2; JD 21:373, 22:1]

DISCOURSE

BY PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR,

At the General Conference, Salt Lake City, Tuesday Afternoon, Oct. 7th, 1879.

_____

REPORTED BY GEO. F. GIBBS.

_____

      [Owing to press of important business the publication of this discourse has been delayed. Its contents will be found as valuable today as when it was delivered.—Ed D.E.N.]

      I will state to the Conference that we have no financial account to present, because we do not get our returns from the various Stakes until the close of each year; in consequence of this we find it impracticable to present a satisfactory account to the General Conference oftener than once a year.

      The Lord has given us a certain work to accomplish; and the feelings or ideas of men in the world in relation to this work have but little to do with us. We are gathered here for the express purpose of building up the Church and Kingdom of God upon the earth. We are endeavoring to do this—that is, a great many of the people are, to the very best of their ability; and we consider ourselves responsible to God for the action we take and for the course we pursue in relation to the fulfilment of His purposes. We think that in building Temples, sending the Gospel to the nations of the earth and prosecuting our other labors that we are carrying out the word and will, and the commands of God. Yet it not unfrequently happens, that when we are doing our very best to promote correct principles among ourselves, as well as to spread them abroad, even to all nations, that we meet with determined and unrelenting opposition. This we cannot help. We do not seek it, but we do not fear it.

      There has existed a principle of antagonism ever since the dawn of creation, namely, the powers of God have been opposed by the powers of the Evil One. Satan and wicked men have operated to subvert the plans and designs of Jehovah. And if we have a little of such opposition to contend with in our day, there is nothing new in it. The martyr Stephen when arraigned before "the Council" to answer to a charge of blasphemy, said, "Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which showed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers." We have always expected that there would be a spirit of antagonism to the Church and Kingdom of God, and our Elders have been telling us, more or less, during the last fifty years, that this feeling still existed and, indeed, every now and then, we have occasion to believe them; or, to use an old saying, "The devil is not dead yet;" and he uses his influence now, as in former days, to oppose the principles that God has revealed.

      We are gathered here from many nations in order that God may plant among us the principles and laws of eternal lives; that we may operate in the Priesthood with the holy men who hold it in former ages, and with God the Father, and with Jesus the Mediator, and with the holy angels in the interests of mankind, not only in things pertaining to ourselves individually, but in those that concern the whole world; not only to the people that now live, but also to those who have lived; for the plans of God reach back into eternity and forward into eternity, and we are being taught and instructed through the holy Melchisedek Priesthood, which holds now, as in past ages, the keys of the mysteries of the revelations of God. It is our privilege to operate through this order, with men who have held the same keys and possessed the same powers and have had the same communication with God, and who have, looked forward to the time, with joyful anticipation, that we now live in, namely, to the dispensation of the fulness of times. For this purpose we are gathered together, for this purpose we are building Temples according to the order and revelations of God—for until He revealed these things to us we knew nothing about them. And the world of mankind to day know nothing about Temples and their uses. If we were to build Temples for them according to the order of God, they would not know how to administer in them; neither could we know had the Lord not revealed to us how to do it, which he did through the Prophet Joseph. We are acting upon this revealed knowledge to-day, seeking to carry out the will, the designs and the purposes of God, in the interest of common humanity, not for a few people only, not for the people of the United States only, nor for those of two or three nations, but for the people of the whole world. And the hearts of the people are being drawn after these principles; or, in other words, the hearts of the children are being turned towards the fathers, as well as the hearts of the fathers towards the children.

      The spirit that is being manifested in the various Stakes of Zion is very creditable in this respect to the Latter-day Saints. And we purpose, God being our helper, and the devil not hindering us to go on with our work, to build our Temples and to administer in them and to act as the friends of God upon the earth. And if we are not His friends, He has none, for there is no people anywhere, except the Latter-day Saints, who will listen to His laws—and as they say sometimes, "it's a tight squeeze" for us to do it. The question is, Shall we falter in our calculations; I think not; but I think we will say, as the ancient servant of God said to a man who was seeking to hinder the progress of the building of a Temple to the Lord of Hosts: "I am doing a great work; hinder me not." We are doing a great work, and we would say to our outside friends and to people generally who are not conversant with our affairs, will you be so kind as to let us alone and hinder us not; so that we may go on with our labor of love in the common interests of humanity and in our efforts to promote the welfare of the world at large.

      This is one thing we have to do, and we will try to do it, the Lord being our helper.

      Then another thing we are called upon to do is to preach the Gospel to every creature throughout the world. "Why, the people will oppose you?" That they always did. But Jesus said, and I will say by way of repeating His words—for they are as true to-day as they ware in His day—"Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." Therefore we need not be troubled about it. When we first started out in this work we never looked for anything else, and we have not looked in vain either; we have found an abundance of it, and we have commenced to regard it as a natural thing. But we must not forget that we owe a duty to the world. The Lord has given to us the light of eternity; and we are commanded not to conceal our light under a bushel, but on the contrary we should let it shine forth as a city set upon a hill that cannot be hid. We need not try to get into an out-of-the-way corner from the gaze of the public eye, for we cannot. We thought we had wandered a long way from civilization when we came here; but, according to the remarks of the speakers this morning, a certain degree of it has followed us, and we are not quite out of it yet. But there are some things we can do. We will let them pursue their course, and we will ask them, if they will be so good and so kind as to let us worship God according to the dictates of our consciences. This is not a very great boon to ask of anybody. Still we do ask that we may be permitted, in this land of liberty, in this land which we call the home of the brave and the land of the free; the asylum of the oppressed of all nations, we ask that we may have the simple privilege of worshiping God according to the dictates of our own consciences. Then, while they are trying to injure us, we will try to do them good. We will teach them good principles at home, and we will send the Gospel abroad. And the kind of men we want as bearers of this Gospel message are men who have faith in God; men who have faith in their religion; men who honor their Priesthood; men in whom the people who know them have faith and in whom God has confidence, and not some poor unfortunate beings who are wanted to leave a place because they cannot live in it; but we want men full of the Holy Ghost and the power of God that they may go forth weeping bearing precious seed and sowing the seeds of eternal life, and then returning with gladness, bringing their sheaves with them. These are the kind of men we want. We do not want the names of men of the former class presented to us to go on missions; if they are and we find it out, we shall not send them; for such men cannot go with our fellowship and good feeling. Men who bear the words of life among the nations, ought to be men of honor, integrity, virtue and purity; and this being the command of God to us, we shall try and carry it out.

      Some imagine that we have almost got through with our work; when the truth of the matter is, we have hardly commenced yet. Here is Brother Joseph Young, who represents the Seventies,—Brother Joseph, how many Seventies are there enrolled? [Brother Young replied that there were 5,320]. I am told that there are 5,320 Seventies; we expect to call upon a great many of these men to go abroad and proclaim the fulness of the Gospel. We received a small order lately—you know, we talk business sometimes—for forty missionaries to go and labor in one place; they did not send the money to pay their fares; but then, we have the missionaries, and we will trust in God for our pay and we shall get it if we are found doing His will and carrying out His purposes.

      Again, another duty we have to do is to preserve the order of God among ourselves. And here is a great responsibility resting upon the Presidents of Stakes and their Counselors, and upon the Bishops and their Counselors, and upon all men holding authority in the Church and Kingdom of God, and upon the Twelve specially, to see that the order of God is carried out, and that iniquity does not exist among the Saints of the Most High God.

      We talk sometimes about the outside world, and we sometimes indulge in casting reflections upon them—and there is plenty of room for it, no doubt; but then, what of ourselves? What do we do? Do not our own members keep some of the very saloons we talk about? and do not we engage in this business because we are afraid somebody else will? Why, that is the argument of the thief. He says, "If I do not steal, somebody else will," But, besides, say these brethren, "We want to get a living." But before I would live in that way, I would die and make an end of it; I would not be mixed up with such concerns nor have any hand in them, but pursue another and more honorable course to get a living than in seeking to put the cup to the mouth of the drunkard and in leading our youth and others who may be inclined that way, in the path that leads to death. What else do we do? Why some of us Elders, and some of us High Priests and Seventies, frequent these places and get drunk and disgrace ourselves and our families, and the people with whom we are associated. And what else do we do? We are commanded to remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy; and yet we find that our trains leave this city every Sabbath, until the weather gets too cold to bathe, carrying many of our people, who indulge in all kinds of amusements and thus violate tike Sabbath, which we are commanded to keep holy, which many respectable Gentiles would never think of doing. And yet you are Latter-day Saints, are you? You are a good people, and you will talk about the gift of the Holy Ghost and the Spirit of God being in you, while you ate violating some of the plainest everyday principles of the Gospel of Christ.

      And what then? Why, we have been told about the Gentiles introducing into our midst what is termed the social evil; and we find some of our youth, and older ones too, contaminating themselves with it, thereby breaking their covenants and forsaking their God, and disgracing themselves before God, angels and all good men. Such men are a disgrace to any community, much less to a community professing, as we do, to be Saints. Are such persons Saints? No, they are not. Can we fellowship them? No, we cannot. God requires it of us before we talk of cleansing the outside of the platter, to see that the inside is clean, to place ourselves right upon the record. Do we do it? Well, sometimes—I was going to say, "hardly ever." Sometimes we do it, but in a great many instances we do not do it. What is the matter Good men have mean sons, and the sons must not be handled. Why so? God, you will remember, had a host of sons in heaven who did not do right, and they were cast out, even a third part of His entire family. That is the way I read it. Again, there are some sons who are good men, who have disreputable fathers, who have departed from correct principles, but out of respect to the lathers in the one instance and the sons in the other, we allow evil way to go unchecked. Well, you Presidents and you Bishops and you Priests and Teachers may do that if you please, but their blood will be upon your heads, not upon mine. And we call upon you to honor your calling and Priesthood and purge from your midst corruption of every kind. And we call upon the Presidents of Stakes and their Counselors, upon the Bishops and their Counselors, and upon the Priests Teachers and Deacons, to magnify their offices, and not to be partakers of other men's sins. For as sure as I live and as God lives, if you do God will require it at your hands. And therefore, I call upon Presidents and men in authority, where men do not magnify their calling to remove them from their positions of responsibily and replace them by men who will; and let us have correct principles and the order of God carried out in Zion.

      Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, Teachers and Evangelists were placed in the Church of old for what? "For the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." It is so to-day. My brethren who have spoken have told you plainly of many evils that exist in our midst; but we can scarcely perceive them, many of us. Sometimes it is very difficult to discern between a Saint and a sinner, between one who professes to fear God and one who does not. It is for us to straighten out these matters; and you men in authority will be held responsible, and the Twelve will be held responsible, and I hold you responsible, and God will hold you responsible for your acts. The great difficulty with us is that we are too fond of catering to the world, and too much of the world has crept into our hearts? the spirit of covetousness and greed, and —what shall I say?—dishonesty has spread itself like a plague throughout the length and breadth of the whole world in every direction, and we have drunk more or less into that spirit. Like a plague it has pervaded all grades of society; and instead of being governed by those high, noble, and honorable principles that dwell in the bosom of God, we are after the filthy lucre which is spoken of as being the root of all evil; and instead of setting our affections upon God, we set our affections upon the world, its follies and vanities. Come ye out from the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord; and honor your Priesthood and calling, and show and prove to the world, to angels and to God that you are on the side of truth and right, of honesty, purity and integrity, and that you are for God and His Kingdom, let other people do as they will.

      We sometimes talk of the affairs that are taking place around us. There is now a little commotion that interested parties are getting up about the "Mormons" for the purpose of forwarding their political operations. Bless your soul, we knew about that long, long ago, and also knew what it would be for. It is about the same with these parties as it was with the editor I have read of; the printer asked for "copy," it was handed him, but it was not enough, he wanted more. The editor told him that he had not time to prepare any more then, but to pitch into the "Mormons." That was a kind of standing matter they kept on hand. The move that is being made now is simply a political scheme, out of which to make political capital. It was started by interested demagogues for that purpose, in order that they might have the honor of putting down "Mormonism," and sailing into power on the current of incensed public opinion. Now they can have all the honor they can get on that score; and I guess it will be the same as Stephen A. Douglas and others have attained to by pursuing that course, and I think no more.

      We are here to serve God and keep His commandments; and if we will purge ourselves from our iniquities, live our religion and keep the commandments of God, there is no power on this side of hell nor on the other, that can harm us, for God will be on our side to protect us in the position we occupy.

      There is one thing I wish to speak to you about that you are well acquainted with. We had a little commotion gotten up about some of our money matters associated with the heirs of the late President Young, and it has been talked about generally. We thought we had made a Settlement with them at one time, which we did, and the executors of the estate took their releases which exonerated them from all blame, and they avowed themselves satisfied with the settlements made. But then, some men's word and some men's signatures do not amount to much. What next? Why, some of our very pure and high-minded lawyers are not above entering into such things because of a little monetary inducements. It would not be proper to say they were anything but pure, high-minded and honorable men, for it is understood that all lawyers are, is it not? Well, we knew we had treated them Very liberally before; and so did you. We knew we had given them all we ought to give them, and more too. But we felt to be generous to the heirs of President Young; and we did what we could to promote their welfare. Still these things came out. No matter. Bonds and writings and signatures and releases amount to nothing with some people So they started in, and we have had legal fight about it. Some of the Apostles have had to be confined in the penitentiary; and it was a pretty narrow squeeze with me. [Laughter.] But then I have been in such places before, and was shot at while there and hit, and therefore it would have been nothing new, and I was not much concerned about it. When they wanted to get hold of some of your means and property which I held in trust, and which they had no right to, I told them No, they could not have it. "Well," said they, "you will have to go to jail." "Well," said I, "jail it is then. Some folks go off to rusticate at Soda Springs and other places; I think I will go and rusticate in the penitentiary." But they would not have me. [Laughter.] They took Brother Cannon, Brother Brigham and Brother Carrington; I suppose they considered them worthier men, and that I had better stay out. There are all kinds of curious things started up; and among other things that have grown out of this contest is what is termed a cross suit; and because of this movement some people think we are going to law. I will tell you how much. We were merely attempting to put the complaining heirs in the same position as they had put us; thinking that by doing so they might be led to reflect that there were other people in the world besides themselves, and that other people might be placed in jeopardy besides some of our brethren. "But," say you, "was it not contrary to a law of the Church to go to law with your brethren?" We did not exactly do it; we merely started in. I will tell you what we would have done if this settlement had not been made. We would have called upon all those who were good and honorable of President Young's family—and I am happy to say that with very few exceptions they are of that class and are desirous to carry out and fulfil their obligations, and stand by the covenants they have entered into—we were going to call upon them to turn over to our side, and then we were going to cut the others off the Church, and then go to law with them and sue for their property as they had for ours. That is all. I thought I would explain this because it is not generally understood by the people. It is really one of those things called a legal fiction, which had to arise to meet certain technicalities of the law, in order that the proper releases might be given, releases that would stand, and also a decree from the court to settle these difficulties.

      This compromise was talked of, but it could not be reached very readily, for some of them wanted a little more money, and the lawyers wanted a little, and of course such honorable gentlemen should have it. Well, the compromise was at last effected. We thought it better to furnish them a little means than to have these unpleasant things going on month after month, and perhaps year after year; and we could see that we would have to be very smart indeed to prevent some of these men of honor from running away with the balance of it. That being done, we have done all we could to try to promote peace in our midst. We have taken the best of counsel, and have acted in this matter according to the very best of our judgment.

      And now about the money involved. It is a large amount? Yes, some seventy-five thousand dollars paid by the Trustee-in-Trust in behalf of the Church, beside a further amount paid by the administrators, That would be just a dollar apiece from 75,000 people. It is quite a little sum; but then, did you ever know of people giving a bone to a dog? And after you had done so, you did not think you had lost much, did you? We thought it better to take that course than to be mixed up any longer with such miserable doings; and we agreed to do it. And I would like to know whether you approve of this act or not. You who do, please signify it by holding up your right hands. [A forest of hands was raised; and a unanimous vote declared.]

      Well, some have asked what we were going to do with these complaining heirs. I think we will have to deal with them according to the laws of the Church. Are you going to bring their case before the Conference? No, I think not; there are the proper officers in the Church to attend to such things, and we say to them, go, and do your duty. We are very sorry that they should have placed themselves in that position; and we are very sorry that a great many other people should, and we are very sorry that a great many of these evils referred to should exist in Israel. But they do; and what shall we do about it? Go to work and cleanse the inside of the platter, and then we can go before our God in good faith, and stand approved of him, and rejoice in the fulness of the blessings of the gospel of peace.

      There are some other things I would like to touch upon, but as the time has already expired, and as there will be a Priesthood meeting to-night in this tabernacle, to which the young and the old of both sexes, are invited, I will defer speaking further until then.

 

            Elder GEO. Q. CANNON read statistical reports from the various Stakes of Zion.

            The choir sang an anthem,

O Lord, most merciful

            Conference adjourned until tomorrow, (Wednesday) morning at 10 o'clock.

            Benediction by Elder C. C. Rich.

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[7 Oct, 7 pm]

[DNW 28:581, 10/15/79, p 5]

Tuesday, 7 o'clock p. m.

            A general meeting of the priesthood in connection with the Young Men's and Young Ladies' Improvement Associations, &c., was held in the large Tabernacle.

            President John Taylor presiding.

            After singing, prayer by Elder Brigham Young, singing.

[President John Taylor]

            President JOHN TAYLOR said he had been waited upon by Brother Junis F. Wells, the general superintendent of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Society, who asked permission to hold their meeting in this house to-night, and it was deemed wisdom to associate with it a general meeting of the priesthood, and the members of the Relief Societies and all others who feel interested in the general welfare of Zion. He wished therefore for Brother Wells to make such remarks as he might be led, and if any of ladies of the Relief Societies would like to make any remarks, they would have the privilege as far as the time would permit. He spoke very encouragingly of the labors of those who are in any connected with the moral and religious teaching of the children. He also pointed out some of the leading traits of character that should be exhibited by the Elders of Israel.

[Elder Junis F. Wells]

            Elder JUNIS F. WELLS said arrangements had been made to hold the semi-annual meeting of the Young Men's and Young ladies Mutual Improvement Association, for the purpose of presenting the organization of the various Stakes, but, at the suggestion of President Taylor, all the details of the meeting will be postponed for a future meeting. He then spoke of the encouraging success that has attended their labors in preparing the young men for usefulness. He felt grateful for the good results that had accrued to many who had been called and sent forth on missionary fields of labor. He also rejoiced in the opportunity of setting forth some of the leading characteristics of the Association before President Taylor and the Apostles, that their labors might receive their inspection, and, if approved, sanction and blessing; and he would be glad and thankful to receive such counsels and instruction that they might wish to impart.

[Elder Moses Thatcher]

            Elder MOSES THATCHER said the youth of Zion in their various organizations, are receiving a knowledge of the things of God, which are above all price. He then spoke of his early experience when first called by Elder Geo. Q. Cannon, to take a mission in California. When only 15 years of age. While on that mission he received a knowledge from God of the divinity of this work, and that testimony has never left him. He named this circumstance to encourage the young now before him to seek after that great blessing He also alluded to the benefits that have resulted to our youth from their connection with the Sabbath Schools. He referred with much pleasure to the benefits derived from the various Improvement Societies, and prayed that God would abundantly bless Brother Junis Wells in his efforts.

            He spoke with much emphasis on the evils of intemperance and the necessity of keeping temptation from our youth, by the enforcement of city ordinances, quoting Cache Stake as an example. On co-operation he said we cannot be thoroughly united spiritually unless we are united temporally. But our union in temporal things will never be established among us on such business principles as are practised by the world. "Do unto others as we would they should do unto us," must be our motto. Co-operation was first started among us for the benefit of the many, and not the aggrandizement of the few. He also spoke of the advantages resulting from the establishment of Boards of Trade. As an illustration, the article of eggs yielded to Cache Valley Stake in one year ten thousand dollars more to the people than before the Board of Trade was established. He also related the immense advantages that accrued to that Stake recently by the building over 200 miles of railway, under the united arrangements of the Board of Trade.

[Elder George Q. Cannon]

            Elder GEORGE Q. CANNON spoke on the subject of co-operation and the United Order, said he had enjoyed much of the spirit of God while speaking and advocating the principles there of. A lack of confidence is the great barrier to the establishment of the system of things revealed to us from the Lord. God has established the law of tithing and those who honor that law know that they are blest. It is our duty to pay out tithes and offerings and respond to other calls according to our ability.

            He then bore testimony that God was with this people, and spoke of the deep schemes that had been laid to entrap our feet, and engulf us in trouble, but God has been so merciful to us even in the midst of our many weaknesses as to deliver us from these snares and thus made his heart to rejoice and be filled with gratitude.

[President A. M. Cannon]

            President A. M. CANNON made a few remarks, showing the advantages of the Board of Trade.

[Sister Zina Young]

            Sister ZINA YOUNG said the daughters of Zion were united in sustaining the hands of the priesthood. She bore testimony to the truth of the celestial order of marriage; the time would soon be when no sister would be living to whom the Prophet Joseph taught that principle, but she desired to bear her testimony to all the world that Joseph Smith taught that grand and holy principle to her, and which had for its object the protection and exaltation of woman. She touched on the benefits of silk culture. She rejoiced in the moral courage of the priesthood in manfully sustaining the virtue and protection of the sisters, and assured the brethren that the daughters of Zion would unite with them in the good work.

            The congregation then arose to their feet and sang:

The Spirit of God like a fire is burning.

            Benediction by Elder F. D. Richards.

_____

[8 Oct, 10 am*]

[DNW 28:581, 10/15/79, p 5]

THIRD DAY.

____

            Wednesday, Oct 8th, 1879, 10 o'clock a.m.

            The choir sang hymn on page 106,

With joy we own thy servants, Lord,
Thy ministers below.

            Prayer by Elder A. M. Cannon.

            The choir sang hymn on page 197:

My soul is full of peace and love
I soon shall see Christ from above.

[Elder Angus M. Cannon]

            Elder ANGUS M. CANNON said his heart was made to rejoice in reviewing the kind providences of our heavenly father since the Saints entered these valleys, by causing the rains to descend and the land to yield its increase. He was pleased to observe the improvement in stock, machinery, and other productions as displayed in our fair. He regretted that so many of our young men were inclined to mimic and mix up with the practices of the Gentiles, and show a disposition to associate with those who have no sympathy with the faith of the gospel, such as in base ball, philharmonic and other societies. We shall shortly be called upon to sustain the authorities of the Church, and he hoped the Latter-day Saints would well consider what they were doing with their hands were uplifted for that purpose. He closed is remarks by a few pointed exhortations.

[Elder Erastus Snow]

            Elder ERASTUS SNOW spoke of the spiritual nature of our religion, which can only be discerned by those who enjoyed the Spirit of God. For to be carnally minded is death, but to the spiritually minded is life and peace. He quoted and enlarged upon the parable of the virgins, five being wise, and five foolish. He then gave some good instructions to those who are placed in responsible positions as shepherds over the people, as Apostles, Bishops, Presidents of Stakes and of Quorums, if they did not preside in righteousness and feed the people with the bread of life, they would have their portion with hypocrites and unbelievers. Spoke of the effort of those who are trying to induce the Saints to break their covenants, by placing barriers and threatenings in their way. God has a controversy with the nations, beginning with that to whom the fullness of the Gospel was sent. He rejoiced in the testimonies of his brethren who have previously spoken. Dark clouds may gather around us from time to time, that is the time when the Saints should cleave to the Lord with full purpose of heart. And the sunshine of our prosperity will soon appear again. Let us keep fast hold of the rod of iron.

            In speaking of the effort being made to check our emigration from foreign countries, he rejoiced however that we are not entirely confined to that kind of emigration, for through the great law which God has revealed to us, a far greater increase in number is filling our ranks from above, by carrying out the command given to our first parents -- to multiply and replenish the earth. He then gave instructions to Presidents of Stakes, especially in utilizing the abilities of both brethren and sisters wherever they are best adapted and qualified to labor. Encourage honest labor among our young men, instead of loafing and wasting precious time. He mentioned many waste places adjacent to various stakes of Zion where it would be well to gather up our young men and new comers sprinkled with a few experienced brethren, to go out and make homes for themselves. He called on Presidents of Stakes to look out for all such opportunities for the benefit of those under their charge, and not wait for the apostles to lead out in these enterprises, also to set good examples to the people, and discourage every species of rowdyism and evil.

[Erastus Snow]

[DNW 28:738, 12/24/79, p 2; JD 20:372]

DISCOURSE

DELIVERED BY ELDER ERASTUS SNOW

At the General Conference held in the Tabernacle, Wednesday morning, October 8th, 1879

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REPORTED BY GEO. F. GIBBS.

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      The prophet Isaiah, in speaking of the latter-day Zion, made this singular remark:

      "Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion.
        "But they know not the thoughts of the Lord, neither understand they his counsel," etc,

      Again, it has been said concerning the disobedient who reject and set at nought the counsels of the Almighty, through his servants who are sent unto them:

      "I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh."

      The wicked comprehend not the things of God; they cannot know them, for they are spiritually discerned. "The things of God," says the Apostle Paul, "knoweth no man only by the Spirit of God;" or, in other words, carnal man knows not the things of God, neither can he understand them. The unbelieving world cannot see as the Saints see; they walk in darkness, but the Saints are the children of light, even as many as keep sacred their covenants with God. The wicked love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. This was true of the first century of the Christian era, when the Savior uttered it; it is true today. As the light shone in darkness and the darkness comprehended it not, so might the same be said today. We are called to be the children of light. Blessed are they who continue in the light, for the day of the Lord will not overtake them as a thief in the night; but woe unto them that depart from, or reject that light that shines in the midst of the darkness, for the day cometh and that speedily, when they will be overtaken as by a whirlwind. The command of the Lord to the Saints is to watch, for we know not the day nor the hour when the Son of man shall come. The precise time of his coming has not been revealed; the prophets were ignorant of it; it could not be declared to the apostles of the Lamb, and, indeed, the Savior said that not the angels, nor even he himself, knew the day or the hour of this important event. And on taking his final leave of the Twelve, on the Mount of Olives, the question was put to him—"Lord, wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" They, it seems, were wont to regard the Savior as that Being that was to establish himself upon the throne of David, and bring to pass all that they had been so anxiously expecting; but he told them it was not for them to know the times and the seasons which the Father had put in his power. These things have been spoken that the Saints should watch and not fall asleep. The same idea is also set forth in the parable of the ten virgins, who were represented as having gone forth so meet the bridegroom, five of whom were wise and five foolish. The wise virgins took oil in their vessels, and were prepared to meet the bridegroom and to go with him into the marriage feast' the foolish virgins took no oil, they were unprepared, and were consequently shut out This parable is expressly applicable to the time of the second coming of the Savior, showing us that however reluctant we may feel to admit it, we are plainly given to understand that a great portion of those who are counted virgins, of the Lord's people, who believe in his coming and who go forth to meet him, will slumber and sleep, and be locked out when he shall come. And it behooves all Saints to ask themselves the question which the disciples asked the Savior when he told them the startling truth that one of them should betray him—"Lord, is it I?" And all those who are very anxious upon this point will be likely to be on the watch-tower, and not slumbering in that fatal hour.

      And again, in the 24th of Matthew, he speaks of that wicked servant who shall begin to say, "My Lord delayeth his coming. And shall begin to smite his fellow-servants and eat and drink with the drunken. The Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." He expects this of his servants whom he has appointed over his house, to give his children meat in due season. It becomes the apostles, and presidents, and bishops, and all who are called as watchmen upon the walls of Zion to read the 24th and 25th of Matthew, giving due attention thereto, and to beware, least they be found among those unfaithful servants who have been appointed to minister in his house and give meat in due season, but who smite their fellow-servants, and who eat and drink with the drunkard, and otherwise neglect their high and holy calling, for responsibility, position and station will not be any protection or safeguard in that day. But, on the contrary the greater the responsibility neglected, the greater their fall, chagrin and disappointment, and woe when they find their allotted portion among the hypocrites and unbelievers.

      And the enemies of Zion who want to penetrate our sacred and holy places, and who say in their hearts, Let her temples be defiled; let adventurers, profligates and libertines mingle in their family circles, and break them asunder, and defile the daughters of Zion and break up the holy institution of sacred and holy matrimony, by which they are bound together in the new and everlasting covenant for time and eternity; yes, they say, let this covenant be broken, let all who believe and will not deny the laws and commands of God, be excluded from the jury-box, from the ballot box and from official station. And here comes another wail from a member of the Cabinet, in the form of a decision to the effect that all plural wives, who will not break their covenants with their God and their husband, shall be excluded from the right of homestead and pre-emption; and I doubt not but what everything will be done that Satan can put into their hearts to do to block the wheel, to hedge up the way, in order to test the faith of the righteous and their integrity to each other and the principles of truth. But it must be remembered that God permits it, that they may fill up the cup of their iniquity, that the righteous may be proven and tested, even to the chore. For God will have a tried people, and those only who will abide in his covenant, even to the death if necessary, will be found worthy of that glory and exaltation in his kingdom which we seek after. It it a day of warning, not of many words; it is also a day of sacrifice. God has a controversy with the nations, but first with those unto whom the fullness of the Gospel has been sent. He will work in his own wondrous way his purposes to perform. It becomes us to be very humble, that we may be worthy to be his instruments in accomplishing his designs.

      I rejoice in the testimony of the Spirit manifested by the previous speakers during this Conference. My earnest desire is that the Spirit may spread abroad among all people and take deep root in their hearts, not only throughout the Stakes of Zion, but throughout the earth. Dark clouds may gather around us from time to time; then is the time not to fear, but to watch and pray and patiently await the Lord of Hosts to dispel them and cause the sun to shine again upon us; remembering the vision of Nephi, in which he saw the rod of iron which led to the tree of life, along the trubulent stream of muddy water, and through mists and clouds which at intervals beset his pathway; and that those who clung to it were led safely through and reached the tree and partook of the fruit thereof, while those who ceased their hold to the rod of iron wandered off and were lost.

      I have felt the greatest concern for the rising generation among us; they are far more numerous than our foreign immigrants. Secretary Evarts and the Cabinet need have far less fear concerning our foreign immigrants than of those that are constantly coming from the spirit world. The enemies of Zion fear this doctrine of the Saints, that "Children are an heritage of the Lord, * * * and happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them." This doctrine permits the Latter-day Saints to fulfil the first great command given to Father Adam and Mother Eve, instead of adopting that abominable and soul-destroying doctrine of devils, infanticide and foeticide, which is practised to no little extent in the Christian world, which is in open violation to the laws of nature and the law of God to our first parents, to "multiply and replenish the earth." And the practice of this same doctrine is fast depopulating some of our older States; besides, it tends to encourage prostitution; and, strange as it may appear, a future day will yet reveal that among the foremost and prominent votaries of this doctrine of devils are those who fight against Zion and her institution of marriage, under the hypocritical cant as such men as Schuyler Colfax, in his utterance from the balcony of the Townsend House in this city, and Attorney-General Dovens, in his argument in the Reynolds case, in effect, that the plural marriage of the Mormons cannot be tolerated, because the burning of widows upon the funeral pile of their husbands was wrong. There is about as much relevancy and consistency in the argument as there would be to say that the practices of the multitudes of families of this Christian land, who are destroying their own offspring and taking villainous compounds to induce barrenness and unfruitfulness, must be tolerated and encouraged, because the practices of the Latter-day Saints are filling these mountains with a thrifty population. It is shown by the statistics that our children under the age of eight years are already nearly as numerous as the lay members of the Church. I feel that too much attention cannot be bestowed upon the rising generation. Our young people's Improvement Associations, our Sabbath Schools and quorum meetings are all so many aids in the training and education of the young in all that is elevating and praiseworthy. And may God bless them in their earnest efforts to improve the spirits of their fellowmen.

      There is one thing I wish to call the attention of our presiding officers to, more especially, that of the Presidents of Stakes and their counsellors and the Bishops as their aids and assistants, and that is to give more diligent heed to the temporal condition of the families of the Saints over whom they preside, seeing to it that they are suitably and profitably employed. It is an old adage that an idle brain is the devil's workshop; and we all know that the lack of useful and proper employment is the source of numerous evils. It should be our study to introduce new branches of business, devise means of employment, that none may be idle. This is an important duty required of the leading men in Israel; and so earnest should they be in its performance that they make it a matter of faith and prayer, using their utmost endeavors to seek it it out by thoughtful study, and by consulting each other, and by inviting the aid of inventive minds. It is important that our school-teachers should not merely be automatons or parrots in the schoolroom by way of impressing a lesson upon the minds of the children, but strive, in an eminent degree, to direct their minds in a moral and religions sense, inculcating, by precept and example, due respect for virtue, and everything that is pure and noble; having also, as much as practicable a watchcare over them out of school as in school, laboring to enforce punctuality and an honest report, thereby helping their parents to look after them, so that they may not squander away their time foolishly, as many do in our towns and cities, lounging around stores and other places, acquiring habits that are calculated to lead away and defile the minds of the youth. The school-teacher who is alive to the true spirit of his calling becomes a valuable auxiliary in improving the minds and conduct of our children, and his or her influence, when properly excited, might be of incalculable good.

      There has been in times past, and still is, a great tendency among our youth to seek easy berths; and sometimes the acme of their ambition seems to be realized upon a high stool in a counting room, or behind a counter; they desire to shun the hardships through which their parents passed. That is a vain delusion, and it is simply foolishness on the part of parent or child who indulges in it. It is unwise for parents to entertain this spirit, to be anxious to shield their children front the trials of life through which they themselves have passed; no really sensible man or woman would do it. There is no sensible man or woman in the land that would exchange their experience for all the wealth of the world. If any would do it, they have failed to learn their lesson and profit from their experience. Adversity is good for all; prosperity few can fear.

       The Presidents of Stakes, with their Counselors, and the Bishops as their assistants, should, when they know of any unoccupied land within their borders that ought to be improved and possessed by the Latter-day Saints get together and select young and middle-aged men who are not already provided with good, suitable homes or means of sustenance, organize them with good and efficient leaders, and send them out to occupy those new valleys, teaching them to do as their fathers have done—teach them to take out the mountain streams, build gristmills, saw-mills and factories, raise breadstuff, sheep and cattle, and prepare to live, instead of craving easy berths, and be all the days of their lives dependent upon the will of an employer for a livelihood.

      There are many places in our Territory east of us, on both sides of Green river, also in Sanpete, Piute and Kane counties, and in the adjoining States and Territories, that ought to be occupied; for the Latter-day Saints cannot be confined to Utah. Everything indicates the fulfilment of the declaration of the ancient prophet, who said:

      "Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords and strengthen thy stakes;
        "For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left," etc.

      In the very nature of things this must be the ease: for we are an aggressive people, not to trample on the rights of our fellow-man, but to fulfil the purposes of the Almighty, and possess and make fruitful the waste places. And as the wicked are wasted away through disease, war and bloodshed, murder, infanticide, foeticide and the judgments of an offended God, he requires his people to go forth as he shall prepare the way, and possess the land and hold it for God and his kingdom, whose it is, and who will come in due time to reign over it.

      Fear not to take to yourselves wives and to multiply and replenish the earth, and occupy the unoccupied regions, and leave it not to your enemies while you are clustering around these mercantile houses and saloons and places of ease and idleness; but break out and face the realities of life. And let no father or mother in their old age indulge childish fancies, and encourage these whinings of their children; but be as courageous as the old hen, who, after scratching for her brood until they are able to scratch for themselves, sends them forth to get their own living.

      We do not wish to be compelled to call men to this work of settling up the country; the Twelve and the General Conference have other things to occupy their time and attention, while this work more directly belongs to the Presidents of Stakes. The Twelve, however, are ready to counsel with these brethren and render them all the aid we can. But we don't want the Presidents of Stakes to think that they can do nothing, leaving the Twelve to attend to all such things; that is part of their calling, as fathers in Israel. We wish the country bordering on that occupied by the Lamanites settled by men who know how to behave themselves, and who will befriend that people, and not shoot them down as we would the wild beasts, without cause or provocation, nor give them occasion to be our enemies, to lay in wait to rob and kill; but to cultivate their love and good will which is a common duty of all Saints to all people, but especially to the House of Israel; and set good examples and manifest in all their dealings honesty and integrity, thereby sowing good seed in their hearts, that shall in the due time of the Lord bring forth precious fruit.

      We want many earnest, upright young men also to learn the languages of the natives of the American Continent, and also the Spanish language, which is extensively used in Central and South America as well as Mexico, and which is the national language of those countries and of the educated natives who exercise dominion over the ignorant Indians and the mixed races of the Continent. We expect to call many to labor among these people, as the Lord may dictate, and we want them to be prepared to respond when there is a whisper in their ears to that effect.

      May God bless you, and help us all to be truly what we are called to be, Saints of the last days, to stand before the Son of Man when he shall appear, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

            Elder GEORGE Q. CANNON presented the Authorities of the Church before the Conference, all of whom were unanimously sustained by uplifted hands.

            John Taylor, as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, as one of the Twelve Apostles, and of the Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

            As members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: Wilford Woodruff, Orson Pratt, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Joseph F. Smith, Albert Carrington and Moses Thatcher.

            Counselors to the Twelve Apostles -- John W. Young, D. H. Wells.

            The Twelve Apostles as the presiding quorum and authority of the Church, and, with their counselors, as Prophets, Seers and Revelators.

            Patriarch of the Church -- John Smith.

            As the First Seven Presidents of the Seventies, Joseph Young, Levi W. Hancock, Henry Herriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates and John Van Cott.

            The Presiding Bishop of the Church -- Edward hunter, with Leonard W. Hardy and Robert T. Burton as his Counselors.

            Elder Cannon put the following:

            "It is motioned that John Taylor be and he is hereby appointed Trustee-in-Trust for the body of religious worshipers known and recognized as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to hold the legal title to its property and contract for it, and that he execute bonds."

            Carried unanimously.

            "It is motioned that we accept and approve a bond in the sum of one hundred dollars from the Trustee-in-Trust, with the Apostles as his sureties, and that said bond be made payable to the Presiding Bishop of the Church, for the use and benefit of said Church, said bond to be executed before and attested by the General Church Recorder."

            Carried unanimously. Contrary votes were called for; time being given for objections and none being offered, the motions were announced as carried without dissent.

            Elder CANNON explained that there had a question arisen as to whether or not the church was a corporation. This question, he said, had not been judicially decided, but whether it should be decided or not it would make no difference to us. We are a religious body and as such have a right, whether incorporated or not under the law, to elect a Trustee-in-Trust to hold our property, and it was in order that we should exercise this power which we hold as a Church, as a religious body of worshipers. The motion as put in its present form so that there should be no question hereafter as to the legality and right of our Trustee to act independent whether we are a corporation or not.

            The following were also sustained unanimously:

            The Twelve Apostles, their two counselors and Bishop Edward Hunter as Counselors to the Trustee-in-Trust.

            Albert Carrington as President of the Perpetual Emigrating fund for the Gathering of the Poor, and the following as his assistants: F. D. Richards, F. M. Lyman, H. S. Eldredge, Joseph F. Smith, John W. Young, Angus M. Cannon, Moses Thatcher, William Jennings, John R. Winder, Henry Dinwoodey, Robert T. Burton, A. O. Smoot and H. B. Clawson.

            Orson Pratt as Historian and General Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff as his assistant.

            Truman O. Angel as General Architect of the Church, and T. O. Angel, Junr., and Wh. H. Folsom as his assistants.

            As Auditing Committee -- W. Woodruff, E. Snow, F. D. Richards, J. F. Smith.

            George Goddard as Clerk of the General Conference.

            The following names of missionaries were also presented and sustained:

FOR EUROPE.

Wm. W. Jackson, American Fork
Henry A. Dixon, Provo
Joseph Wm. Vickers, Nephi
Alonzo G. Barber, Smithfield
John L. Jones, cedar

UNITED STATES.

Thomas Farr, Ogden
Wm. R. Jones, Spanish Fork

AUSTRALIA OR NEW ZEALAND.

John P. Sorensen, City
Niels J. Grundland, City

FOR PLACES TO BE DESIGNATED.

Moses Thatcher, Logan
M. J. Trejo, San Pedro
J. Z. Stewart, Draper

[Counselor L. W. Hardy]

            Counselor L. W. HARDY spoke on the subject of tithing, said Bishop Hunter and counselors were unable to visit all over this extensive territory personally, hence agents were appointed to assist the Presiding Bishop in looking after and taking care of the tithing God instituted the law of tithing in the beginning, Abraham paid tithing of his substance, and when God raised up his Prophet Joseph Smith he introduced the law of tithes and offerings and those who strictly observe them the Lord will abundantly bless. He regretted that in some Stakes, according to the statistics read yesterday, so small an amount had been paid in as fast offerings to feed the poor. He then made a fatherly appeal to the Bishops, to be kind and respectful towards the poor, and strongly urged upon he Saints to pay their honest tithes and offerings, and secure to themselves the great and inestimable blessings that God has promised.

            Elder GEORGE Q. CANNON then read the following names of missionaries, whose fields of labor would be hereafter designated:

Ammon M. Tenney, of New Mexico.
Wm. A. Tenney, "
Ernest Tielzen, "
Luther C. Burnham, "
Peter J. Christoffersen, Arizona.
August Wilchin, "
Andrew S. Gibbons, "
Wm. Gibbon, "
Jacob Hamblin, "
Llewellyn Harris, "
Ebenezer Thayne, "
Joseph Cluff, "
Joseph Edwin Cluff, "
____ Lewis, of Round Valley, Arizona.
John H. Perkins, Arizona.
Brigham Y. Perkins, "
Clark Owens, Jr., "
Jefferson Hundley, "
Henry Walter Despain, Arizona.
Edmund Richardson, "
Thos. Walters Brockbank, "
Daniel McAllister, of St. George.
Nephi Johnson, Jr., Kanab.
Joel H. Johnson, Johnson.
Lorenzo Slack, Toquerville.
John Hilton, Virgen.
Napoleon Roundy, Kanarra.
Mormon Shumway, Johnson.
Wm. W. Eager, Hillsdale.
Joseph Hyrum Watkins, Ogden.
Wm. Francis James, "
A. F Burnham, Richmond.

            The following notices were then given out:

            All the missionaries now in this city will meet in the Council House to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock a. m.

            A Seventies' meeting will be held in the 14th Ward Assembly Rooms at 7 o'clock this evening.

[President Taylor]

            PRESIDENT TAYLOR, in conclusion said; I think we are now pretty much through with the business of this conference. I am very pleased to have witnessed the feeling and spirit that has been manifested in our midst, and I would again call upon the Presidents of Stakes, the Bishops, the High Councils, the Priests, Teachers and Deacons, to carry out the instructions that have been given here in their several Stakes; and to see that the order of the Kingdom of God is sustained and maintained; that we individually and collectively seek for a closer union with the Lord; that we see that the principles of honesty, truth, integrity and virtue are maintained in the several Stakes; that we operate in a way that we may always have the smile and approbation of God; see that in your several Stakes you maintain pure principles and put down anything that is contrary to virtue, contrary to righteousness, contrary to integrity, and see that the laws of God are maintained, that the Church is purged from iniquity, that we may be prepared to present ourselves before the Lord with confidence that he may sustain us in all our acts; that we may approach near to the Lord instead of getting further off; and that we may follow the counsel given in regard to co-operation, and more especially in regard to manufacturing. We want to ;encourage home manufacture, in all its various branches, that we may be self-sustaining. And let us try to live our religion and keep the commandments of God, and the blessings of God will rest upon us, but if we neglect these things they will not. I want to repeat again what I said yesterday in relation to this matter, that no president, no Bishop, no Priest, no Teacher, no Deacon can be justified in allowing the laws of God to be trampled upon with impunity within his jurisdiction. If they do -- if they wink at iniquity of any kind, God will require it at their hands and if they have a mind to bear the iniquity of other men, all right, but I will not, and the Twelve will not. It is for us to do the will of God and keep His commandments, and if we do, the spirit and blessing and power of God will be with us from this time forth, but if we do not, we may expect his hand to be over us for evil. Let us then look for men that occupy offices to be men of honor, of truth and of integrity. We do not care for the covetous and fraudulent and dishonest, let them pursue their own course, but let us look for truth, integrity and honor, that we may be the children of our Heavenly Father, who is pure and holy and cannot look upon sin of any kind with "the least degree of allowance." God bless you. I feel to thank the brethren for the good order that has been manifested, and I feel to appreciate the labors of my brethren the Twelve, and I also feel to thank the choir for their attention, and all who feel an interest in the welfare of Zion. May God bless you and lead you in the paths of life. Amen.

            Conference was adjourned till April 6th, 1880.

            The choir sang an anthem:

I will extol thee.

            Benediction by Elder Orson Pratt.

GEORGE GODDARD,
Clerk of Conference.

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