Brigham Young 1861-1866.

       DUTIES OF THE SAINTS--ORGANIZATION OF ELEMENT--ECONOMY, ETC.
       Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle,
                 Great Salt Lake City, January 20, 1861.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

		It is a great blessing to be able to understand things aright;
and how precious the gift of communication!  How delightful it is to a
person, whose mind is stored with rich ideas, to have power to communicate
them to his fellows--to his family, friends, and acquaintances with whom
he associates.  I really think we do not fully appreciate this blessing
and gift as we should.  If I can communicate to the audience what I wish
to, so that they can understand it perfectly, I shall be very glad--it
will satisfy me.

	Before me is a sea of faces, and, with but few exceptions, all are
professedly Latter-day Saints belonging to the kingdom of God, and are
numbered with the family of heaven.  They are heirs of God, and are
expecting to become joint-heirs with Jesus Christ.  Were I to ask these
Latter-day Saints what they are willing to do to build up the kingdom of
God, bear it off to the nations, gather the house of Israel and the honest
in heart among the Gentiles, and redeem the Zion of our God, what would be
their answer?  "Anything we can do we are willing to do--any thing we are
counselled to do."  Would not every heart respond in this manner?  It
would.  You are frequently told that the Latter-day Saints are as free to
confess with the mouth as any people that ever was upon the earth.  You
are further told that they are willing to sacrifice everything for their
religion, and to travel the earth around without purse or scrip; but will
they do one thing that is essentially necessary?  Yes, a great many will. 
Will they do one necessary duty that is devolving upon them, which is the
starting-point--the gate or way to all other duties; that is, seek unto
the Lord their God with all their hearts?  All are not willing to do this.

	This people must be pure in heart.  The necessity for this rests upon
me day by day, week in and week out, year after year.  This people must be
sanctified, or they will not be prepared to meet their Lord and Master. 
This is first of all.  It is taught us in all the revelations that we have
received in various ways, according to the understanding and gift of
communication in those who have communicated this principle to us.  But
the greatest and most important of all requirements of our Father in
heaven and of his Son Jesus Christ, is, to his brethren or disciples, to
believe in Jesus Christ, confess him, seek to him, cling to him, make
friends with him.  Take a course to open and keep open a communication
with your Elder Brother or file-leader--our Saviour.  Were I to draw a
distinction in all the duties that are required of the children of men,
from first to last, I would place first and foremost the duty of seeking
unto the Lord our God until we open the path of communication from heaven
to earth--from God to our own souls.  Keep every avenue of your hearts
clean and pure before him.  You may inquire whether we would do away with
the ordinances of the house of God.  This leads you to them, and it is the
only thing that can lead the people to a true knowledge of the reality of
facts as they exist.

	We are aware that the Christian world cling to this one item, passing
by every one of the ordinances of the house of the Lord, treating every
commandment with lightness.  They will pick up perhaps one or two of the
ordinances and a few of the commandments; but they are opposed to the
residue, and look upon them as a thing of naught.  Through the kingdom of
God and all the attributes he has dispensed to the children of men are
ours, (he has placed them upon our heads by ordinances,) yet if I should
rise up here and tell you that I would rather have these than all the
ordinances, the statement would need explanation.  First of all, have the
mind of Christ within you, and know that we are governed and controlled by
his Spirit--by the Comforter, the Holy Ghost--by the influence of heaven;
and this leads us to every one of the ordinances of the house of God;
wherefore we by no means do them away.

	Some of you may ask, "Is there a single ordinance to be dispensed
with?  Is there one of the commandments that God has enjoined upon the
people, that he will excuse them from obeying?"  Not one, no matter how
trifling or small in our own estimation.  No matter if we esteem them
non-essential, or least or last of all the commandments of the house of
God, we are under obligation to observe them.  Nothing will lead us to
them, short of the mind of Christ within us to lead us understandingly to
observe them to our own benefit.  This is what I want of the people, so
that we may be prepared, each and all of us, for the things that are
coming upon the earth.

	We might mention a great many circumstances that are transpiring.  We
might refer to the prophecies and their fulfillment in these our own
times; but this does not bear with so much weight upon my mind to tell the
people what the Lord is doing and what his is going to do, as it does to
urge the Latter-day Saints to faithfulness, to strict obedience, to every
requirement of the Gospel of the Son of God, that we may be prepared for
every event as it transpires, no matter whether the prophecies are
fulfilled under our eyes or on the other side of the earth.  No matter
whether we live to see them fulfilled or fall to sleep before they are
fulfilled, we must live prepared for the events that will take place
preparatory to the coming of the Son of man.

	I ask the people what they are willing to do?  "All we want to know
is what we should do."  My mind is continually exercised to urge the
people to faithfulness, that they may have the Spirit of Christ; and being
in possession of this mind, everything comes to us naturally.  We
understand these things we call natural.  There is a natural body, and
there is a spiritual body.  All things are natural, and all are spiritual. 
Every duty of life, no matter what it is, every requirement necessary to
sustain and exalt man, is incorporated in the kingdom of God and in the
ordinances of his house--in the duties God requires of his children.  It
is all in the Church and kingdom of our God.  "What!  our labour?"  Yes. 
I sometimes take the liberty of preaching upon economy to this people. 
Perhaps some are inclined to think that in so doing I transcend my own
duties and obligations.  I do not.  I instruct the husbandman how to till
his farm, because I know and understand the nature of the elements that
produce grain better than he does.  I know how he should prepare the
elements for the seed to produce the increase which he desires in the
things necessary to sustain himself and family.  It is my duty to instruct
my brethren, if I understand any branch of business better than they do. 
If I understand how to make myself comfortable--if I understand better
than others do the organization of the elements God has given us ability
to operate with for our benefit, it is my duty to instruct them.  Here are
the elements.  They are not made in vain, but are made for the benefit,
comfort, convenience, and happiness of God's children.

	There is an infinitude of elements; and if you know more than I do
with regard to bringing them together and organizing them for the comfort
and happiness of man, it is your duty to impart that knowledge to others. 
This may appear to some of the Saints as though it was out of the pale of
our duty, not strictly incorporated in the ministry; and I want to inform
all such that there is not a labour performed under the sun but what we
have to render an account of it to our Father and God. There is not an act
of man, in any case, in any circumstance, but what is by the gift of God. 
Every power, ability, capacity, and gift that man possesses is the gift of
God; and man must render an account to him for the improvement he makes,
no matter what the labour is.  No element that we see, no part of the
earth, no part or portion of the starry heavens, or of the deep above or
below, but what is God's creation.  He organized it.  Do we realize this,
that every element that now is in existence, that we have any knowledge
of, that we can conceive of, is organized by our Father in heaven, and is
his property?  It is his in time and in eternity.  The earth and its
fulness are his, and the heavens are his; the height, the depth, the
length, and the breadth, all are his.  Every capacity that the children of
men possess is the gift of God.

	Many might ask whether God is the author of sin and iniquity.  I have
told you many a time that everything is good, is perfect; everything is
right, is lovely to look upon, to enjoy; for we received it from our
Father and our God.  Properly use it, and there is no gift, no blessing,
no enjoyment, no happiness in the heavens or on the earth, but what
belongs to our Father in heaven; and he is willing to bestow these
blessings upon his children.  But whence comes evil?  It comes when we
make an evil of a good.  Speaking of the elements and the creation of God,
in their nature they are as pure as the heavens.  When we see the vanity
that is around us, the magnanimity of the Deity, and contemplate the
extent of his knowledge, we can enjoy him as supreme in every act, in
every path of life, in every portion of life that belongs to the children
of men, if we can understand things as they are.  Was there ever a spear
of grass, or a single grain upon this earth, or in any other kingdom, but
what was produced by that beneficent Being?  Not one.  Behold the vanity
and extent of his knowledge in the creation of the elements!  Every
element is His.  The gold?  Yes.  "He organized and made it" is a common
term used.  The silver?  Yes.  He made it.  The diamond?  Yes.  And every
other precious stone?  Yes.  The rude rock?  Yes.  The land and all are
his.  The earth that we walk upon, the air we breathe, and the water we
drink are his creation.  He organized them and placed them here for our
good.  Take all the elements that God has created, and do you think we use
them, and not abuse them?

	What do we see?  All the elements that we have any knowledge of are
the handiwork of our Father in heaven, and then you see poor,
pusillanimous man rise up--a worm of the dust, whose breath is in his
nostrils; and if God should say the word and withdraw his supporting hand,
he is no more,--and says, "This is mine."  He has a purse obtained through
the blessings of God, and says, "This is mine."  He has a sack of silver,
and says, "This is mine."  He builds a house, and calls it his house.  He
makes a farm, and says, "This is mine."  This poor, weak man does, who is
not capable of making a spear of grass.  He cannot sustain his own
existence one moment with being dependent on God for the next breath, and
yet he says, "These possessions are mine," and he clings to them with the
tenacity of death.  This you see in mankind; they hold to the earth as
though it was their all.  You see this every day of your lives.

	When I carefully scan the subject, we cannot, neither in this time
nor in the spirit-world, possess the least particle of element or our own
beings, and call them ours, until we pass the ordeals the Gods have
passed, and are crowned with crowns of glory, immortality, and eternal
lives.  And when we pass through the spirit-world and hear the trump of
Gabriel sound, and our bodies rise from the dust and again clothe our
spirits, even then we are not our own.  We have not passed through all the
ordeals until the Father crowns a son and says, "You have passed so far in
the progression of perfection that you can now become independent, and I
will give you power to control and organize and govern and dictate the
elements of eternities.  There is a vast eternity stretched out before
you; now organize as you will."  Not until then shall we possess one
particle that is really our own, and yet we see people clinging to the
earth.

	I am going to reduce my remarks to practical life, and perhaps I
shall introduce ideas that some would naturally take exceptions to.  I, in
the providence of God, am here before you again, and I wish to instruct
this people.  They say they are willing to do anything for salvation, to
buildup the kingdom of God on the earth. They are willing to forego
everything they can, and undergo all that is possible, to save themselves
and the children of men, and bring the day of peace and righteousness upon
the earth.  Then let all learn that the earth is not ours.  Let us learn
that these elements are put into our possession to work with and improve,
and to determine whether we know how to improve upon them.  We wish to see
Zion built up--the earth beautified and prepared for the coming of the Son
of Man.  We are looking forth to the day when Zion will spring into
existence and stand forth like a bride prepared to meet her husband, with
all the beauty and glory that belong to the kingdom of God on the earth. 
We shall then see Zion in its beauty.  We are looking for this. We look
forward to the day when the Lord will prepare for the building of the New
Jerusalem, preparatory to the city of Enoch's going to be joined with it
when it is built upon this earth.  We are anticipating to enjoy that day,
whether we sleep in death previous to that, or not.  We look forward, with
all the anticipation and confidence that children can possess in a parent,
that we shall be there when Jesus comes; and if we are not there, we will
come with him:  in either case we shall be there when he comes.

	To think of all this, and then think of the course the Latter-day
Saints are taking--the life they live!  How do the brethren feel?  Is
there a feeling that "This is mine, and that is mine?"  Yes; it is as
natural for them to say so as to breathe.  They are of the earth, earthy. 
Can we school our own feelings and judgments, our hearts and dispositions,
really to be the children of God, and ask our Father whether this is ours,
or not, which he puts into our possession?  Do we ask him what we shall do
with the abundance he has put into our possession?  I am in possession of
houses and lands--I have legally obtained them by my economy.  The earth
is here, and there is no end to the elements we are using day by day.  We
look to the right and to the left, and see poverty and distress, though
there is less in this community than in any other upon the earth.  We all
see more or less a lack of wisdom and judgment in providing for the wants
of the body; yet there is not that family in this community but what would
feed a brother or sister that was hungry, and do so from day to day, so
long as might be necessary.  With all the lack of wisdom manifested by the
people, and their covetousness, there is no community in the world that
suffers so little as this.

	In distress among a people caused by the want of element?  No.  It is
through want of ability to bring the elements home to our use and benefit. 
There is a great scarcity of gold, and you hear some brethren, throughout
this Territory, complain of taxation.  Really I want to say to all the
brethren here, with the Bishops and representatives from different parts
of this Territory, and to all the people, that your legislators are very
easy--their hand is very light upon you, in the matter of taxation. 
"Well," say some of the brethren, "I thought they were hard, rigid,
extravagant in establishing a territorial tax of five mills on a dollar." 
There must be in the neighbourhood of eighty or ninety thousand persons in
this Territory, and there are probably more than fifteen thousand men who
are subject to taxation.  How much tax money do you get?  Shall I tell you
how much coin was received in taxes last year?  Less than twelve hundred
dollars from some fifteen thousand men.  Do you call this paying a heavy
tax?  Was this all they were taxed?  No; the tax amounted to some twenty
odd thousand dollars, and some complain and feel that they are hardly
dealt with.

	Some complain and say that the tithing is too hard on the people,
while at the same time some of our legislators rise up and say,
"Considering that we pay such a tax in tithing, we think the Church should
make all our public improvements."  The whole amount of coin paid in on
taxes last year was in the neighbourhood of twelve hundred dollars.  In
what was the residue of the taxes paid?  In wheat, chickens, eggs, butter,
city scrip, county and territorial scrip, auditor's warrants, labour, &c.,
&c.  Is this hard on the people?  No.  Is there any lack of gold or silver
here?  These are matters I wish you to understand.  How can you understand
them in the kingdom of God?  You cannot, only through the light of
revelation, just as you see anything else in truth and with the Spirit of
truth, by which means only can you discern truth from error.  I want you
to learn by the Spirit of truth.  There are a good many legislators here,
and I want them to go home with these instructions, and put in practice
some things they already understand.  They are active men, men of wisdom,
men of ability and good judgment, men of strong minds; and yet in some
thing they are more ignorant than children ought to be.  The gold is not
yours, nor the sliver, not the cattle that roam over these hills and
plains; neither are they mine.  They are put in our possession, but they
belong to Him who owns the whole of them.  All we want is the ability to
convert them to our own benefit.  There is no lack.  Has there been a lack
of money here?  Some of the legislators have been opposed to taxation.  I
have a right to talk about these things, though I am not Governor, and do
not sign nor veto bills passed by the Assembly.  I ask again, Is there any
lack of money?  I will propound one other question--"Will five hundred
thousand dollars cover the amount that has been paid by this people to the
merchants during last year?"  I presume not, though if you had the
statistics before you, you would probably find this sum to be not far from
the amount.  Since 1849, we have probably paid to them at the rate of
nearly a million of dollars each year.  Is there any scarcity of money? 
No.  Are you fearful that one man is going to get all the gold in the
world and sift it to the four winds, so that it never can be gathered? 
You need have no such fear, for it cannot be destroyed.  Are you fearful
that all the silver is going to be destroyed, so that we cannot have it? 
Such fears are groundless, for you cannot destroy a particle of it.  What
is the difficulty?  A want of judgment--a want of true knowledge
pertaining to the earth and to the heavens, to the elements and their
organization--a want of the power to master the elements, to handle them
advantageously and make them useful, and devote them to our own comfort
and happiness.

	I frequently take the liberty to teach economy to the people.  This
is natural to me; it agrees with my feelings, experience, and faith.  I do
not know that, during thirty years past, I have worn a coat, hat, or
garment of any kind, or owned a horse, carriage, &c., but what I asked the
Lord whether I deserved it or not--Shall I use this?  Is it mine to use,
or not?  If I had my will satisfied, I would not use a farthing's worth of
anything without its being put to the best use my judgment could dictate,
increasing and multiplying it, and bringing forth those things that make
men comfortable and happy, using my means in the fear of the Lord for the
building up of his kingdom and glory upon the earth.  My experience is
that this people have too great a tenacity for the goods of this world,
and the Enemy thinks he can get the advantage over them in this respect,
and he is improving the time.

	It is different with us now from what it was three years ago.  Then
it was, "What is the news from Bridger?  from Echo kanyon?  from the
Plains?"  We are not destroyed; but are the Latter-day Saints preparing
themselves for the calamities that are coming upon the earth?  or are they
covetous?  There is no trait in the character of man but what the Devil,
the opposer of all good, understands.  Our common foe is an ingenious
workman; he is a master at his business.  Bunyan speaks of a city that was
perfectly given up to idolatry, and needed only one devil to watch the
whole of it; but one Saint, a poor old man walking through the streets,
required a score of devils to watch him.  The city was already in
possession of the Evil One, and it needed no care or watching.  There are
scores of evil spirits here--spirits of the old Gadianton robbers, some of
whom inhabited these mountains, and used to go into the South and afflict
the Nephites.  There are millions of those spirits in the mountains, and
they are ready to make us covetous, if they can; they are ready to lead
astray every man and woman that wishes to be a Latter-day Saint. This may
seem strange to some of you, but you will see them.  As soon as your
spirits are unlocked from these tabernacles, you are in the spirit-world,
and you will there have to contend against evil spirits as we here have to
contend against wicked persons.

	This people lie down in carnal security, and complain of this and of
that.  You know that apostates, who rise up and deny their religion,
complain of being oppressed, and find fault with this, that, and the
other, and call this imperfect, and that imperfect, and the other
imperfect.  How many have complained of taxation?  Go to Nebraska,
Washington, and New Mexico.  Is there a Territory that has as light taxes
as this?  Not one, so far as I know.  A great many complain of the taxes
in this city; but go to Chicago, St. Louis, or New York, or any other city
in the States, and you will find the taxes greater, I think, without
exception, than they are here.  I know that taxation is complained of in
those cities, and that too justly in many instances.  In many places the
people are taxed to that degree that they never can rise out of their
poverty.  In London, a watchmaker said to me, "When I earn ten pounds and
receive it, eight pounds of it has to go for taxes, which leaves me only
two pounds with which to pay my house-rent, buy fuel, and feed and clothe
my family."  They there complain of taxation, and it is right they should. 
What do they do with the revenue?  In too many instances feed a horde of
lazy officers, though I cannot accuse England of this so much as I can
some other countries, so far as I know them.  The taxation more or less
goes in many countries to feed cut-throats, loafers, gamblers, blacklegs,
&c.  Many of the people who have immigrated to this Territory come from
countries where they have been ground down by taxation.  We are more
lightly taxed than are the people in any other country, so far as I know.

	But what I dislike most is, that when the officer requests the taxes,
some will lie from morning until night to escape paying them.  If any man
ought of right to be exempted from paying his taxes, let him refer his
case to the Country Court and have his taxes remitted.  There is a
provision in the law for this. I tell you what I say to tax-gatherers:  I
would sell every improvement, every ox, cow, mule, horse, sheep, hog, &c.,
but what I would have the taxes in the kinds prescribed by law.  You may
call that hard; but what would the cash portion be, compared to the money
that is paid to these merchants?  This is what I do not like.  Go to a
man, and he will declare that he cannot pay his taxes; then go into his
house, and he has taught his family to lie; but begin to sell his cow,
&c., and it will be, "Stop, Sally; go and bring out that old stocking."  I
have proved this.  That is what I do not like.  I can put up with poverty. 
If I have only a little buttermilk and salt to my potatoes, I can be
satisfied; but a liar I cannot be satisfied with.

	Sell every house and every particle of property there is in the
Territory, but what you have the proportion in gold and silver, and you
will find that there is plenty of money; and it may far better go to do
good than to go for nonsense.  Much money is spent for paper shoes.  Have
you any?  Yes; and I presume that more than one score of women in this
congregation have on that kind of shoes.  A large amount of money is paid
for ribbons, ruffles, fringes, gewgaws, and baubles in general.  These are
unnecessary expenses, as they are not incurred particularly for the body's
comfort.  I find no fault with them.  I like to see women prettily
dressed, as well as anybody; but save a portion of the money that is laid
out for useless articles, and pay your taxes.

	What I am saying is for the benefit of the community.  Some of our
legislators would vote down every particle of tax, if they had the power. 
Are they conscientious in this?  Yes.  But are they wise?  No.  They have
no wisdom on this subject; they do not understand national affairs.

	Some complain and say that they are taxed by tithing.  We ask no
tithing of any man.  In this we are as independent as the Lord is.  I say,
Do not pay another dollar in tithing unless you want to.  And to those who
say that tithing should defray all classes of public expenditure, I will
pay every dollar of expenses for territorial, county, and city purposes. 
But do I, as Trustee-in-Trust, receive one-fiftieth, or one-hundredth? 
No.  I do not get the tithing on the tithing that is due, and which it is
my province to dictate.  Are you afraid that I will make a bad use of it? 
I have plenty of money for my private use.  You may wish to know how I get
it. I believe I will tell you how I get some of it.  A great many of these
Elders of Israel, soon after courting these young ladies, and old ladies,
and middle-aged ladies, and having them sealed to them, want to have a
bill of divorce.  I have told them, from the beginning, that sealing men
and women for time and all eternity is one of the ordinances of the house
of God, and that I never wanted a farthing for sealing them, nor for
officiating in any of the ordinances of God's house; but when you ask for
a bill of divorce, I intend that you shall pay for it.  That keeps me in
spending money, besides enabling me to give hundreds of dollars to the
poor, and buy butter, eggs, and little notions for women and children, and
otherwise use it where it does good.

	You may think this is a singular feature in the Gospel, but I cannot
exactly say that it is in the Gospel.  Hear it, O ye Elders of Israel; and
ye sisters, hear it:  There is no ecclesiastical law that you know
anything about, to free a wife from a man to whom she has been sealed, if
he honours his Priesthood.  I do not want you to run after bills of
divorce.  I would rather be without the money you pay for them.  I know
where there is plenty of gold.  The earth is full of it, and the heavens
are full of every good thing; and the heavens and the earth are created
for us:  therefore be prudent and not covetous; do not cling to property
because it is in your possession.  Do I own a house?  No.  I am in
possession of houses.  I left a good many houses that were in my
possession in Nauvoo.  I left a number in like manner in Kirtland.  I did
not leave many houses in Missouri, but I left a number of pieces of land,
and there they remain.  I received nothing for them, neither do I want
anything.  Why?  Because the Lord has blest me with ability to bring forth
the elements and organize them for my own convenience; and if I was
stripped and kicked out now, I would be richer in ten years than I ever
was.  When the gold or silver dollar goes into my pocket, it is not mine: 
the Lord in his providence places it there, and it is for Him to say what
I shall do with it.  Do you practise this course?  If you do, you do not
complain.  If our legislators understood this, they would never complain
for the people.  You ask why I take up this subject.  That you may be
instructed--that a legislator may not be so unwise as to introduce a bill
that taxes be paid in anything that cannot be sold for money.

	The people are not as they used to be in regard to tithing. In the
days of Joseph, when a horse was brought in for tithing, he was pretty
sure to be hipped, or ringboned, or have the pole-evil, or perhaps had
passed the routine of horse-diseases until he had become used up.  The
question would be, "What do you want for him?"  "Thirty dollars in tithing
and thirty in cash."  What was he really worth?  Five dollars, perhaps. 
They would perhaps bring in a cow after the wolves had eaten off three of
her teats, and she had not had a calf for six years past; and if she had a
calf, and you ventured to milk her, she would kick a quid of tobacco out
of your mouth. These are specimens of the kind of tithing we used to get. 
If you give anything for the building up of the kingdom of God, give the
best you have.  What is the best thing you have to devote to the kingdom
of God?  It is the talents God has given you.  How many?  Every one of
them.  What beautiful talents!  What a beautiful gift!  It is more
precious than fine gold that I can stand here and give you my ideas, and
you can rise up and tell  me what you think and feel, and thus exchange
our ideas.  It is one of the precious gifts bestowed upon human beings. 
Let us devote every qualification we are in possession of to the building
up of God's kingdom, and you will accomplish the whole of it.

	A few Sabbaths ago, brother Wells was strenuously talking to you in
regard to temperance.  No man has a right on the earth, and certainly not
in this kingdom, to spend his means and time in drunkenness.  Every moment
of time belongs to the Lord, and the people demand it.  Here are young men
stepping on to the stage of action, of whom you have never heard an evil. 
And every little while one begins to come into note, and it seems as
though he had dropped from unfathomable space.  "Who is he?"  "Such a
brother's son."  "I never heard of him."  What are my calculations?  That
he is a good man--that he is not a rowdy in the streets.  A host are
growing up in this way:  they spring up like lovely plants, trees, or
flowers.  Now, young brothers and sisters, is there anything against your
characters?  Not anything.  If you were in possession of all the wealth in
the world, it is not worth so much to you as your good characters. 
Preserve them.  If you have a happy influence with your brethren and
sisters, preserve it, for it is more choice than fine gold.  How many
times have I told the Elders, "When you go on missions, be careful to
preserve your Godlike dignity and integrity."  I have an experience that
is probably equal to that of any man in this kingdom, and no person can
say, man nor woman, but that in the dark hour my angelic character has
been preserved; and it is more precious to me than all the riches of the
earth.  The name of king or emperor has always sunk into insignificance
when I contrasted it with the character of a man of God--of a person who
holds the destinies of men in his hands, and the issues of life and death,
and can dispense them to the people.  Such a man should preserve himself
like a God, or an angel of God.

	Hear it, men and women, young and old.  Preserve yourselves, and be
ready to do what is required at your hands.  And Elders of Israel, when
you say you are ready and willing to dedicate all to God, never be
covetous and selfish; never shrink back at anything you are called to do;
but by the help of God become sons of God and joint-heirs with Jesus
Christ.  If you revolt in your feelings against the ordinances and
commandments of God, and against the counsel given you by his servants,
and continue to do so, you may become angels to the Devil, and it will be
through your own conduct.  But by the help of God you can be prepared to
dwell in the presence of the Father and the Son, and be crowned with him
with crowns of glory, immortality, and eternal lives.

	I have given you some of my views in regard to tithing, taxation, and
yielding willingly to every requirement for building up the kingdom and
for the salvation of the people.  May God help everyone of us to live up
to our profession, that we may be saved in the kingdom.  Amen.


                 HUMAN INTELLIGENCE AND FREEDOM--NATIONAL
                      ADMINISTRATIVE MOVEMENTS, &c.
         Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery,
                 Great Salt Lake City, February 10, 1861.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	I have no doubt with regard to the good work of the Lord, referred to
by those who have spoken, and it will continue among the nations of the
earth.  The Lord will bring out the results to his own honour and glory;
but are we ready?

	The Lord has bestowed great knowledge and wisdom upon the inhabitants
of the earth--much truth and knowledge in the arts and sciences.  Those
nations that deny their God and Saviour will have those principles of
intelligence taken from them.  Are the Latter-day Saints prepared to
receive them, enjoy them, or will those principles have to go to some
other kingdom?  There is great wisdom in the world; their knowledge in
mechanism and the exact sciences is very great.  This wisdom will be taken
from the wicked.  Who will receive it?  Is there a people upon the earth
prepared to receive this knowledge and this wisdom?  There should be.  Is
it reasonable to suppose that the wisdom God has bestowed upon the nations
of the earth should continue upon it?  Or should it be taken from the
inhabitants of the earth and carried back from whence it came?  May faith
and my desire are that there should be a people upon the earth prepared to
receive this wisdom.  It should not be so forfeited as to be taken from
the earth, for I question whether it would return again.  There should be
a people prepared to improve upon their knowledge and wisdom, for all
knowledge and wisdom come from God.  All true intelligence is the gift of
God.  He is the true fountain of all knowledge and wisdom.

	The query arises in the minds of many with regard to their
capability.  Is there a principle inherent in the man that loves liquor to
let it alone?  Or is he compelled to follow his appetite?  Is there
ability in the man or woman that is inclined to handle that which is not
their own, to resist that temptation and learn to be honest and
honourable?  Is this inherent in the people, or not?  I have my own belief
about it--my own views.  I conceive that man is framed, formed, created,
made, fashioned, after the image of his God, with a germ in him of that
independence that belongs to the Gods; and that independence is to be
acted upon, to prepare every person that is exalted to enjoy the society
of the sanctified, by a strict obedience to the principles of right.  And
each and every individual has the ability, the power, to overcome every
passion within him, subdue every evil, and ride triumphantly over those
passions.

	"But," says the man that is addicted to evil, "If I refrain for a
day, the temptation haunts me; if I refrain for a week, I yet am inclined
to sip at the poisonous cup.  I could hardly endure to see my neighbour
drinking the poison draught without joining with him:  it is almost
impossible for me to resist it."  This is folly in the extreme, for you
deny your own senses.  There is not a man on the earth but what denies his
own judgment when he reasons with himself in this way.  I can take or
refuse, partake or reject, at my own will and pleasure.  That power is
inherent in every man and woman upon the earth, to a greater or less
degree.  In proportion to the intelligence people are endowed with, so do
they possess are the qualification for bettering their condition by
improving their lives and receiving truth for error, light for darkness. 
And if they continue to overcome every temptation and every evil appetite,
they will become masters of them, and will conquer at last, and be counted
worthy to be crowned; otherwise they will miss the glory they anticipate.

	Cannot people refrain from taking that which is not their own? 
Speaking of moral religion alone, they can.  Cannot an individual, who is
in the habit of taking the name of God in vain, resist that temptation. 
He can, if he chooses.  If he cannot easily do so, let him do as a boy who
came to this country with me said that he did.  He was addicted to
swearing, and got a piece of India-rubber to chew when tempted to swear. 
That person, I think, has not been heard to swear for years.  No boy, in
his youth, was more addicted to that habit than he was.  He did not beat
his brains out, but he acts as though he has more brains in his head than
he used to have.  I was brought up as strictly as any child ever ought to
be, with regard to morality; yet, when I went into the world, I was
addicted to swearing, through hearing others.  I gave way to it, but it
was easily overcome when my judgment and will decided to overcome it.

	Now, brethren, are you prepared to receive the wisdom that God has
bestowed upon the nations?  You recollect that this forenoon, we had a few
remarks from brother Simms, in which he stated that the greater portion of
the inhabitants of the earth were inclined to do right.  That is true. 
There is a monitor in every person that would reign there triumphantly, if
permitted so to do, and lead to truth and virtue.

	There is not a man living upon the earth but when he hears the truth, 
is earth but when he hears the truth, is inclined to believe it and reject
error.  What prompts them to receive the evil?  They yield to the
temptation of that Evil One that lies in wait to deceive.  The pride of
the earth is in wickedness--in the abominations and corruptions of
mankind.  They delight themselves in their proneness to wonder from their
God and from the path of rectitude, and pride themselves in their iniquity
of every kind.  It has become the fashion of the nations of the earth to
do evil.

	Where is there a nation that acknowledges the Supreme God to be their
President and their King?  The best form of man-made government upon the
earth is that of a nation now breaking to pieces.  Have they ever
acknowledged God?  No.  They spurned from their presence the man who would
acknowledge that God should reign King of nations as well as King of
Saints.  Have we proof of this before us?  We have.  When Joseph Smith
rose in the majesty of his calling before God, he saw what we are now
hearing of through despatches received from week to week.  The nation is
ruined, and will crumble to pieces.  They will destroy themselves.  Joseph
rose up and said--"I will save them, if they will let me."  He stepped
forth like a man and proffered his services to save the nation that is now
breaking; and he would have saved it, if they had permitted him.  What did
they bestow upon him in return? They made a martyr of him--I would not
like to say a saviour, although he is our benefactor.  He is the man
through whom God has spoken and revealed some of the most glorious
principles that every were revealed to the children of men; yet I would
not like to call him a saviour, though in a certain capacity he was a God
to us, and is to the nations of the earth, and will continue to be.  He
was not the Only-Begotten of the Father, who died for the sins of the
world; but he was the Prophet of the lord, through whom God spoke to the
nations and dictated laws by which they were to be governed to secure to
themselves eternal life.  And when he would have saved the people of the
nation, they crowned him a martyr of Jesus.  They performed an act that
secures to him crowns of glory, immortality, and eternal lives.  They
succeeded in shedding his blood and that of the Patriarch Hyrum.  They
shed the blood of the innocent, and that nation said amen to it.  Were
they aware of it at the seat of Government?  I have no doubt they as well
knew of the plans for destroying the Prophet as did those in Carthage or
in Warsaw, Illinois.  It was planned by some of the leading men of the
nation.  I have said here once before, to the astonishment of many of our
own countrymen, that there was a delegate from each State in the nation
when Joseph was killed.  These delegates held their council.  What were
they afraid of?  You and me?  No.  They were afraid of those eternal
principles God has revealed from the heavens; they trembled and quaked at
the sound of them.  Joseph would have saved the nation from ruin.

	Some have inquired, "Will they patch up the old garment?"  let them
apply their new cloth, if they please.  Mr. Crittenden has reported a
patch to put on the old garment.  Let them put it on, and the rent will be
made worse.  Let them remain as they are, and the garment is worn out.  Is
the form of the Government ruined?  Has its form become evil?  No; but the
administrators of the Government are evil.  As we have said many times, it
is the best form of human government man ever lived under; but it has as
corrupt a set to administer it as God ever permitted to disgrace his
footstool.  There is the evil.  Can they better the condition of our
country?  No; they will make it worse every time they attempt to do so. 
What is the difficulty?  Brother Carrington says there is no noble-minded
master-spirit to lead out--one whom the rest will follow.  They are all
master-spirits!  They are all smart men!  This is the difficulty.  They
used to have men whom they looked up to, though but very seldom.  I can
recollect almost every President of the United States.  There never was a
wise man that was much looked up to or revered until after his death: 
then the people could revere him--a Jefferson, a Monroe, an Adams, &c. The
administration of Andrew Jackson was as good as that of any one that ever
occupied the presidential chair, and he had a great many enemies.  What do
you think of that, you gentlemen who are acquainted with the United, or
rather the once United States--you who have age and experience?  You
remember the struggle at the election of Andrew Jackson, and so do I.  I
repeat that his administration was as good as that of any man that ever
administered the government.  Some of his opponents did not like him very
well for some of his political moves.  I like his moves, only he did not
go far enough in removing the deposits and spoiling the United States
Bank.  But the administration of King James Buchanan, what an
administration! Brother Carrington alluded to William H. Seward of New
York.  He is considered by many as one of the smartest men that ever was
in this Government.  Were it not that he had the advantages of the
learning and wisdom of one of the best men in the Government--had he been
a mechanic or farmer, I doubt whether he would have possessed an extra
amount of knowledge.  "What of his natural abilities?"  I do not consider
him a man of great ability.  He came to Auburn, N. Y., to study the law
with a gentleman I well knew.  That gentleman took him into his office and
house a boy, and made a man of him.  He was one of the most influential
and best men in the country; he was a man of brain and heart, and he took
all the pains possible to make something of the boy.  After Mr. Seward had
been with the Judge a few years, he began to be looked upon as one
possessed of a considerable degree of smartness.  What would he be, if he
was the President?  Judging from his late speech, as received in a
despatch, I would suppose that he hardly knew enough to find his way
across the little city of Washington.  The prospect of his lofty position
appears to have nearly ruined his brain.

	What is the difficulty with King James?  His high position and
exalted opinion of himself so addled and bewildered him, that he said, "I
am the greatest man in the nation!  I am the Chief Magistrate!!

	What shall we do with such men?  Perhaps we may call them honourable
men in the earth, in order not to hurt the feelings of some by speaking
lightly of such talent in our nation.  They are so wonderfully smart! 
That is the difficulty.  Every man in Congress is so smart that he is
looking to the presidential chair.  The boys of West Point and the boys
studying law in the nation have their eyes on the presidential chair.  The
general feeling is--"I am intending to sit there."  They are all looking
to the presidential chair, and have been for years--the boy, the
middle-aged Congressman, and the grey-headed Senator.  The boys says--"I
am the best council I can get.  I am at West Point, and I shall soon
graduate.  Generals Washington, Taylor, and Jackson reached the chair of
state, and I shall soon be there."  Could he be counselled by anybody? 
No.  Every man is his own counsellor, his own general, and his own
governor.  We used to say, when we were boys--"Hurrah!  Every man for
himself, and the Devil for us all!"  and they will find it to be so.

	They are too wise.  They will prove, by their conduct, whether they
are capable of forming and sustaining a government for the Southern States
that have seceded.  There is no more a United States.  Can they amalgamate
and form a government?  No.  Will they have ability to form a government
and continue it?  No, they will not.  Hear it, Jew and Gentile.  Suppose
there is a division between the North and South, and the fifteen slave
States try to form a permanent government, can they do it?  I tell you
they cannot. They are too smart.  South Carolina is taking the lead, and
says she--"We will sit as kings and queens, or revolt from you."  Says
Georgia--"We have as smart men in our State as you have, and we will have
a President for our State."  "But you cannot," says South Carolina.  How
long will it be before some other State, perhaps New York, forms a
separate government?  And if a State has a right to secede, so has a
Territory, and so has a county from a State or Territory, and a town from
a county, and a family from a neighbourhood, and you will have perfect
anarchy. King James is not so prompt now as he was three years ago, when
he sent troops to Utah.  South Carolina comes out and boldly declares her
secession from the compact of States, and takes possession of all the
public property within her borders, except Fort Sumter.  There is no
Latter-day Saint engaged in this act.  One of the most contemptible of
characters we ever had here could swear falsely in Washington, and the
Government could receive his oath, and make it a basis, with other lies,
of sending an army here.  William Drummond went to Washington and swore
that we were treasoners, and to many palpable falsehoods; and King James
could act upon that and send an army here at an expense of, probably,
fifty million dollars.  Says King James--"Those lies are true."  "What! 
receive a lie?"  Yes, go and swear to a lie, and the Government can hear
that and act upon it.  But when South Carolina takes possession of the
public funds, of the custom-house, of the arms, arsenal, dock-yards,
forts, cannon, &c.,--"You must not coerce.  Do not infringe upon them: 
they have the right to do this."  What a reign is the reign of King James! 
It is enough to astound and throw into the shade the wisdom of all nations
upon the earth!

	What will King Abraham do?  I do not know, neither do I care.  It is
no difference what he does or what any of them do.   Why?  God will
accomplish his own purposes, and they may do or not do; they may take the
road that leads to the right, or they may take the road that leads to the
left; and whichever road they do take,they will wish they had taken the
other.  King James pledged himself, at Cincinnati, that on his election to
the presidential chair he would take the Island of Cuba, annex a portion
of Mexica, [sic] and so obliterate the "Mormons," that "Mormonism" should
not be known at the end of his reign.  These three things he pledged
himself to his party to do.  Some gentleman may say that I am mistaken.  I
am not mistaken; I am telling the truth, and you may believe it or not.

	Did he take Cuba?  He did not.  Did he annex Mexico, or any portion
of it?  He did not.  Did he destroy "Mormonism?"  He did not.  What has he
done?  Ruined the nation, at [sic] far as he had influence to do so.  He
began at the wrong end of the race:  the course was marked out for him,
but he ran the wrong way.  He ought to have begun by taking Cuba, then
annexed Mexico, or such portion of it as he wanted; and then he might have
considered a little about "Mormonism."  If he had just reflected for a
moment, he knew Joseph Smith.  If he had reflected upon the career of
Joseph and the career of this people, he would have seen at once that
every time the enemies of this kingdom undertook to trample it under their
feet and obliterate it from the earth, the more they spread it abroad and
brought it into note and character.  But he began at the wrong end, and he
has wished, every step he has taken and everything he has done, that he
had taken some other step and done something else.  One reason of this is,
that his will is such that he will ride over his friends and tread them in
the dust, and not make the first apology to them.  I attribute this to his
ignorance.  This is not wisdom; it is not greatness, nobility, or
magnanimity; but it is sheer ignorance, wilful ignorance, know-nothing
ignorance; and that is the difficulty.

	What will Abraham do?  King James says that if Mr. Lincoln takes the
oath of office, and enters into the administration of the Government with
as great pleasure as he resigns his official duties, he will be a happy
man. If I could advise King James, and have him take my counsel, it would
be to resign tomorrow morning, and let Mr. Breckenridge be crowned king
for three weeks, that another king might come before King Abraham to see
what the administration of that king would be.  I do not know of anything
better that I could advise him.

	"Mormonism" will live, and God will promote it; but shall we be
prepared to be promoted with it?  That is the question with me. It is in
my thoughts by day and by night, Shall I be prepared for the things that
are coming upon the earth?  I will try to be; and if I have an evil
appetite, I will overcome it.  If I have a disposition to do that which is
morally wrong, I will reject that disposition; I will subdue and overcome
it.  Will you?  Then you who drink, lie, steal, or do anything that is
morally wrong, or break the commandments of God in any way, or injure your
fellow-men, cease to do that evil and learn to do well.

	I exhort the brethren not to boast over our enemies' downfall.  Boast
not, brethren.  God has come out of his hiding-place, and has commenced to
vex the nation that has rejected us, and he will vex it with a sore
vexation.  It will not be patched up--it never can come together
again--but it will be sifted with a sieve of vanity, and in a short time
it will be like water spilled on the ground, and like chaff upon the
summer threshing-floor, until those wicked stewards are cut off.  If our
present happy form of government is sustained, which I believe it will be,
it will be done by the people I am now looking upon, in connection with
their brethren and their offspring.  The present Constitution, with a few
alteration of a trifling nature, is just as good as we want; and if it is
sustained on this land of Joseph, it will be done by us and our posterity. 
Our national brethren do not know how to do it.  They are capable of
controlling their own passions, to say nothing of ruling a nation.  What
is the reign of a king who cannot control his passions?  Will not his
subjects sorrow?  Yes, they will feel the weight of his wrath, and their
backs will ache, and their heads will ache, and they will receive the lash
from a heavy hand.

	We are serving a King who can control his passions; and who, as
brother George Simms remarked in the forenoon, can be touched with the
feelings of the infirmities of the weak.  Who can be thus touched,except
those who have suffered in like manner?  None.  And no being knows how to
control or govern on earth, unless he has been a subject on an earth.  No
being is fit to rule,govern, and dictate, until he has been controlled,
governed, and dictated,--has yielded obedience to law, and proved himself
worthy, by magnifying the law that was over him,to be master of that law. 
We are serving a King who wisely controls himself and his subjects.  If we
are permitted to rule, govern, and control, in the first place we must
control, in the first place we must control our passions until they are in
perfect subjection to us.  When we have controlled one and got in
perfectly mastered, we shall be prepared to control two; and if we can
properly rule over two, we can reign over two thousand or over millions as
well as two.  If you can control one, you are then prepared to control
your family; and if you are prepared to control a family, then you are
able to control a city; and if a city, then a nation, upon the same
principle.  That is the way that God hath obtained his power, and that is
the way that we shall obtain power.

	A large share of the ingenuity of the world is taxed to invent
weapons of war.  What a set of fools!  I wonder if they think that they
will never die, unless they kill one another.  Is there any danger of
their living here forever?  Not a bit of it.  Let the people alone, and
they will die of themselves, without killing them.  But much of the skill,
ingenuity, and ability of the Christian nations are now devoted to
manufacturing instruments of death.  May we be saved from the effects of
them!  As I often tell you, if we are faithful, the Lord will fight our
battles much better than we can ourselves.  We should be apt to get
nervous in fighting battles, and sometimes get into corners where we might
almost have to take a little gunpowder to encourage us--to nerve up our
energy--or have to burn some under our noses to become a little used to
it.  When the Lord fights the battles of the Saints, he does it so
effectually that nobody gets nervous but the enemy.  We might become
nervous, and perhaps give way to passion.

	We are never going to destroy the enemies of God by the evil passions
that are in us--never, no never.  When those who profess to be Saints
contend against the enemies of God through passion or selfwill, it is then
man against man, evil against evil, the powers of darkness against the
powers of darkness.  But when men who are sanctified, purified, do
anything, they will do it with a coolness as if conversing at their
firesides with each other; they will do it with the power of the living
God.  If they are ever called to wipe out their enemies, they will do it
without excitement; they have to do it without excitement; they have to do
it by the power of Gods, or not at all.  They are not going to do it with
wicked hands.  Are we prepared to receive the blessings, and let the
fighting alone?  I do not believe much in fighting, and my faith is to
escape such a calamity as to war and fight with either friends or enemies. 
I want to so have power with God, that he will govern and control and
guide and direct the steps of our enemies, until they drive into the
ditch.  How easy it is for the Almighty to direct the steps of our
enemies, until they fall off the precipice and are dashed in pieces,
without the efforts of his servants.

	Let us be faithful, live our religion, govern our passions, and boast
not against our enemies because we live to see the commencement of the
fulfilment of this prophecy in our day.  The prophecies must be fulfilled. 
Boast not, then, over your enemies.  One might say, "Is it not a delight
for us to speak to the Saints; but do not boast to the wicked and ungodly
that the Lord is coming out his hidingplace to vex the nation.  They will
learn that soon enough.  I have heard Joseph say, "You will see the
sorrows and misery that will be upon this land, until you will turn away
and pray that your eyes may not be obliged to look upon it."  Said he,
"There are men in this Council that will live to see the affliction that
will come upon this nation, until their hearts sink within them."  He did
not live here to see it, though he will see it.  Can you endure the sight
of it?  No.  Boast not over the misery of your fellow-men.  god will
fulfil his purposes.

	Be ready at all times and in all places to do your duty, and be the
friends of God.  Cease to mingle with the wicked.  Many of our Elders seem
to believe that Christ and Baal can yet be made friends.  How many times
Elders of Israel try to make me fellowship the Devil, or his imps, or his
servants; also try to make you fellowship your enemies, to amalgamate the
feelings of the Saints and the ungodly!  It cannot be done; it never was
done, and never can be accomplished.  Christ and Baal never can be
friends.  One or the other must reign triumphantly on the earth, and I say
that Jesus Christ shall reign, and I will help him; and Baal shall not
reign here much longer--the Devil shall not have power much longer upon
the land of Joseph.  I will be the friend of God and hi Son Jesus, my
Saviour.  Let the Elders of Israel and all the Saints be the friends of
Jesus and our Father in heaven, and cling to them.  Now, take one side or
the other.  Either be for God, or else walk out and show that you are re
for the Devil and believe that he will come off conqueror, and that you
are going to stick by him.  Here are the two powers on the earth--the evil
and the good, not to speak of the ten thousand paths they make through the
earth, and the various spirits that go to-and-fro.  It is the good and the
evil.  Will you have the good and refuse the evil?  Then be moral
Christians, as we frequently say, and was alluded to this morning.  There
are moral Christians among the heathen, among the Hindoos, and among all
nations.  God has laid a plan to save all such.  His name be praised!

	Can you learn a little, and treasure it up in good and honest hearts? 
Be honest before God and with yourselves, and let that monitor that God
has placed within you take the preeminence; and when persons say they are
inclined more to evil than good, tell them it is a falsehood.  Until they
sin away the day of grace, there is something in all persons that would
delight to rise up and reject the evil and embrace the truth.  There is
not a person on the earth so vile but, when he looks into his own heart,
honours the man of God and the woman of God--the virtuous and holy--and
despises his comrades in iniquity who are like himself.  There is not a
man upon the earth, this side of saving grace, unless he has sinned so far
that the Spirit of the Lord has ceased to strive with him and enlighten
his mind, but delights in the good, in the truth, but delights in the
good, in the truth, and in the virtuous, and despises his own comrades
that are with him day by day.  Look into the world and into the hearts of
the people, and see what they see in their secret reflections, and they
will manifest to you that they delight in and reverence that character
that lives a virtuous and holy life.  "What do you think of your comrades
that drink, curse, swear, carouse, and follow all manner of abominations?" 
"My heart loaths them," will be the reply, though they will not tell this
only a whisper in the ears of their fellow-beings.  But you speak into
their hearts, and there it is; and every time they have the privilege of
thinking and holding converse with themselves, there is the good that
leads to happiness:  the evil and misery you all know.

	Let truth bear sway, and true integrity shed a charm around your
whole being.  Rise up for the right in the strength of your won ability. 
God has bestowed upon you the power to reject the evil and receive that
truth; the good, the light, and the virtuous.  Cleave to God with all your
hearts, that we may be ready for the day that is fast approaching.

	May the Lord bless us!  Amen.

       VARIETIES OF MIND AND CHARACTER--CHASTISEMENT--FREEDOM, &c.
       Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle,
                   Great Salt City, February 17, 1861.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	I wish to address myself particularly to the Elders of Israel, for
their instruction, edification, and learning, that they may be profitable
to themselves and others.  I will appeal to the experience of every
individual, when we do as well as we know how, honour our God, honour our
calling, honour our Priesthood, honour our tabernacles, our being upon the
earth, whether it is not the feeling of every heart to wish all persons to
be just like ourselves--to wish the ideas and acts of our brethren to be
precisely like ours; and yet we should not look upon ourselves as an
infallible standard for others.  It is no more natural for your lungs to
expand and contract in breathing than it is for you to wish others to be
like yourselves.

	I wish the Elders of Israel to understand mankind as they are--to go
to the people and take them as they are.  Let an Elder go into the world
to preach the Gospel of salvation, and he will find some individuals
possessed of a great deal more ability than others.  Stop with a family,
when you are invited to tarry over night, and you find them in great
ignorance; their minds are low and grovelling, as were the minds of their
fathers before them; they have not been taught to cultivate the mental
faculty that is within them, and they are dull and stupid.  Step into
another house, and you will discern that the minds of every member of that
family are cultivated to the best of their ability and circumstances.  You
will find some portions of a community diligently studying the sciences of
the day, others cultivating the arts, &c., each according to their tastes,
means, or circumstances, while others seem to be under no cultivation of
the mind:  yet in all the various classes each wants his neighbour to be
precisely like himself.

	You see some persons who appear at meetings on the Sabbath and on
other public occasions with their hair uncombed and their faces, hands,
and clothing uncleanly.  Have they no combs nor soap?  They have, or can
get them.  How happens it that we behold such conduct?  Probably the
parents of those persons taught them that it was pride that prompted
people to appear clean and decent.  Perhaps their mothers taught them in
their infancy that if they washed their faces, and combed and anointed
their hair, and dressed themselves in comely apparel to appear before
their fellow-men, "Oh, you are full of pride!"  Sisters, were not some of
you taught in your youth that if you wore a silk dress, you did so purely
through pride?  Many of you were.  I knew one sister in this Church who
burned up several dresses when she became a Methodist, because she thought
it not right for her to wear rich and costly clothing; that pride prompted
costly dress, and in it she could not come before the Lord in humility. 
She also thought that if she gave her rich dresses away, others would
commit the same sin that she would commit in wearing them; so she
destroyed them.

	To return to the Elders of Israel.  An Elder visits a Branch, and,
unless he is on his guard, he will begin to complain that the Presiding
Elder of the Branch is not as he is, does not understand as he does, and
does not conceive of the Gospel as he does.  He will find himself saying
to the members of the Branch--"You are in the dark; you need teaching; you
ought to have a smart Elder here--a man of understanding--to teach you." 
"Well, brother, will you stay and teach us?"  Perhaps, through persuasion,
he will stop, and what will he do?  Break that Branch to pieces, and
destroy their faith, if possible.  Why?  "You are not as I am!"  Elders,
look to this, and think of it.  We wish you to reap some benefit from your
experience.

	When I rise here and tell you things that pertain to other nations
and generations, and when others teach you things that pertain to other
people, it does not profit you as much as it does for us to understand
ourselves.  Wherever we go, wherever our lot is cast, whoever we associate
with, let the Elders have the principles of truth within them to prompt
heavenly and holy desires to do good.  Is it wisdom for each Elder to
strive to mould and fashion all others precisely according to himself in
all the views and notions he possesses?  Is this the way?  No, it is not. 
It is wisdom for the Elders of Israel to know how to treat others
according to the ability they possess, and to treat their families
according to the ability they possess.  In visiting neighbourhoods, you
will find persons intelligent upon some points, and upon other points they
may be ignorant.  They may be very well informed upon certain principles
pertaining to divinity, and upon others be ignorant.  Their dispositions
are also different from yours and others you associate with.  What will
you make of them?  Good people--Saints, so far as in your power.

	We are very apt through our traditions, former associations, and
notion of things and ideas, to attribute every act of man and every
manifestation of mankind to an invisible source--the good or the evil. 
God is the author of all good; and yet, if you rightly understood
yourselves, you would not directly attribute every good act you perform to
our Father in heaven, nor to his Son Jesus Christ, nor to the Holy Ghost;
neither would you attribute every evil act of a man or woman to the Devil
or his spirits or influences; for man is organized by his Creator to act
perfectly independently of all influences there are above or beneath. 
Those influences are always attending him, and are ready to dictate and
direct--to lead him into truth or to lead him to destruction.  But is he
always guided by those influences in every act?  He is not.  It is
ordained of God that we should act independently in and of ourselves, and
the good is present when we need it.  If we will ask for it, it is with
us.  If we yield to temptation, the evil is present, and nigh enough to
lead every son and daughter of Adam to destruction, if they give way to
it.  But it is the design of the Almighty that we should act
independently.  Then, when you see a person endowed by the Holy Ghost, you
need not expect him to look and act precisely as you do.  Their religious
sentiments will be alike, for the Holy Ghost does not introduce foolish
traditions and the varied unwise notions that the inhabitants of the earth
have.

	A man will say, "If I believed that such a man or woman was a Saint,
I should despair of all good."  Why? "Because their acts and lives are so
different from mine."  Now, if you will reflect upon the traditions of the
world, with which we are more or less encumbered, you will see manifest
the trait I have referred to.  If I am washed and made clean, if I am
attired in comely garments, or there is anything extra upon me to
beautify, it is considered by some as the height of folly and pride; it is
looked upon as a sin of the deepest dye; and the feeling arises, "If I
could believe such a gentleman or lady to be a Christian, I should despair
of the good that is with me."  Why?  "Because I have been taught that all
this is pride."  I have known people who have lived in this Church, whom I
should suppose had concluded it to be an unpardonable sin for them to go
to meeting with clean faces and hands.  What are the notions of most of
the Christian world in regard to a Prophet?  They would wish to see a man
with his hair to his waist.  Combed?  No.  He must never appear to use
that frivolous, sinful article, a comb.  That would be folly in the
extreme.  It would be sin, therefore, if he appears with his hair long,
bushy, snarled, dirty, and hanging carelessly about his shoulders.  Are
his hands washed?  No.  His finer nails trimmed and clean?  No; they are
like dirty bird's claws.  Is he cheerful?  No; for he must wear a long
face, never suffer a smile to pass over his countenance, but go mourning
all the day long; and it is, "O Lord, have mercy upon the people." 
Present a Prophet to suit the notions of many of the sectarian world, and
you have such a man as this.  Will he have on a decent suit of clothes? 
No; he must have a sheep-skin about his loins, and must wear a girdle as
dirty and filthy as the rags upon our natives.

	Others are trained and traditionated to appear with clean faces and
dressed in decent attire--are taught to appear comely and beautiful.  All
of these classes act according to their faith and traditions, and each one
of them says, "If you are not as I am, you are not right."  This is just
as natural as it is to breathe vital air.  I wish this trait in the Saints
to be done away.  I want the Elders of Israel to learn to take people as
they are.  How many do you see who have no influence over certain spirits
in this Church?  Do you know how to approach a man that is full of
subtlety and self-will--with an idea that every man on earth is wrong but
himself?  Do you know how to operate to gain his affections and goodwill? 
Do you know how to attract that spirit and make it follow you?  If you do
not, you do not fully understand your duty, calling, and Priesthood.  I
wish the people to learn to have influence over themselves, and then learn
to have influence with your fellow-beings, that you may be able to attract
the spirits in the intelligent beings around you, so that these spirits
will follow you to be taught of you, and learn of you [sic] doctrine to
lead them to life everlasting.

	There is a certain trait in the Elders of Israel that I really want
them to get rid of, for they are better off without than with it.  Not
that they are so very much to blame, or that I would condemn them; but,
according to their traditions and nature, they think everybody ought to be
like themselves.  And when they chasten faulty brethren, they often
chasten them, perhaps, beyond bounds.  With some spirits a certain amount
of chastisement is sufficient; and if you go beyond that, you may drive
them to distraction--you may destroy them.  You must learn to know when
you have chastised enough.

	Do you know how to chastise your children?  When they do wrong, catch
them in the act of doing wrong, if possible, and then switch them nicely,
and tell them you have a good mind to whip them; tell them you will
chasten them, if they do not stop such conduct.  Do not let them know that
they were whipped; but when you correct them, do it so that they will
remember it more than twenty-four hours; and tell them that if they do not
mind you, you will have to chasten them and whip them.  Tell the brethren
and sisters, "If you do not behave yourselves, I will chasten you
by-and-by."  Never try to destroy a man.  It is our mission to save the
people, not to destroy them.  The least, the most inferior spirit now upon
the earth, in our capacity, is worth worlds.

	When Oliver Cowdery felt to complain, and wanted a little more
influence in the Church than Joseph, the Lord spoke to him through Joseph,
and said to his servant Oliver, Suppose you should labour all your
lifetime faithfully, and be the means of saving one soul, how great would
be your joy in heaven over that soul that you were the means of saving! 
If to all eternity you could praise God, through being the means of saving
one soul,--I may say the least or most inferior intelligence upon the
earth, pertaining to the human family,--if you could be the means of
saving one such person, how great would be your joy in the heavens!  Then
let us save many, and our joy will be great in proportion to the number of
souls we save.  Let us destroy none.

	I asked some brethren, a few evenings ago, while in council, if they
would not do themselves the kindness from that time forth to live such
lives that, when the books are opened, there is one source of gratitude to
them to know that their debits do not overbalance their credits.  I then
asked them why not live so that when the books are opened there are no
debits against them.  It will be a pleasure to know that we have saved all
the Father gave into our power.  Jesus said that he lost none except the
sons of perdition.  He will lose none of his brethren, except sons of
perdition.  Let us save all the Father puts in our power.  And when you
are called to preside as Bishop, or to preach the Gospel on foreign
missions, are called to travel through our settlements to regulate the
affairs of the Saints, take a course to save every person.  There is no
man or woman within the pale of saving grace but that is worth saving. 
There is no intelligent being, except those who have sinned against the
Holy Ghost, but that is worth, I may say, all the life of an Elder to save
in the kingdom of God.  Then let us take a course to understand men as
they are, and not endeavour to make them precisely as we are, for this you
cannot do.  I am myself; you are yourselves.  Let us learn how to approach
each other, and how to get an influence over that intelligent portion that
is within.

	I am not going to drive a man or a woman to heaven.  A great many
think that they will be able to flog people into heaven, but this can
never be done, for the intelligence in us is as independent as the Gods.
People are not to be driven, and you can put into a gnat's eye all the
souls of the children of men that are driven into heaven by preaching
hell-fire.  So learn wisdom, that when you behold your brethren in the
depths of poverty, but striving to do right, they are as beloved as they
would be if they were dressed in purple and fine linen.  Take that
intelligent course, and learn to instruct people until they increase in
knowledge and understanding, until their traditions pass away, and they
will become of one heart and mind in the principles of godliness.

	If you are ever called upon to chasten a person, never chasten beyond
the balm you have within you to bind up.  I might call some of you to
witness that I chasten you, but there is not a soul that I chasten but
what I feel as though I could take them and put them in my bosom and carry
them with me day by day.  They deserve chastisement, but God forbid that I
should chasten beyond the healing balm I have to save them and make better
men of them.  It is not my daily study to know what a Prophet meant in
relation to things that occurred before the flood, or will occur after the
millennium, how Adam set out his currant bushes, and in what part of the
garden Eve was when she partook of the forbidden fruit; but I want to know
how to lead you with that intelligence to enable you to live to an
everlasting life, that you may be saved in the kingdom of God.  I say
again, Do not chasten beyond the balm you have within you.  If you have
the saving influence within you, it is well.  When you have the chastening
rod in your hands, ask God to give you wisdom to use it, that you may not
use it to the destruction of an individual, but to his salvation.  Can you
save all?  Yes, you can save all that will be saved.  If people are not
saved, it is because they are not disposed to be saved.  They act for
themselves, and act from choice.

	Would I compel a person to be saved in the kingdom of God that chose
to go to hell?  No.  If I had all the power of the Gods in the eternities,
I would not save one soul in the kingdom of God that chose to stay out,
neither will the Gods.  All who wish to be saved and desire good I wish to
be saved, and Jesus will lose none except the sons of perdition.  I may be
instrumental, in the providences of our God, of saving thousands and
millions in the celestial kingdom that otherwise perhaps would not get
there.  We are to be like the good physician; and if we see the
sick--those afflicted with pain and distress in the head, eyes, teeth, or
in any of the limbs or other portion of the body, it is our duty to have
the medicine--the remedy to administer to that pain, to heal, to cure, to
rebuke the disease and save the sick like a good physician, and not kill
them by dosing down the medicine as do some of our doctors.  Administer
the medicine in all mildness, and with good judgment and discretion.  Seek
until you learn the medicine to administer to each patient, and how much
to give to each.  There is just as much difference in the spiritual
organization as you see in the temporal organization.  You can see that
eternal variety in both.  You may go to a man taken with a fever, and if
you treat him as you did a similar case last week, you may consign him to
the grave.  You ought to know better.

	I could preach a sermon on doctoring the body, we have so many that
do not understand it among those who profess to; but it is of no use.  I
would rather have the sisters wait upon me in sickness than many of those
who profess to be physicians.

	Elders of Israel, learn to be spiritual physicians.  Carry the
medicine with you to deal out to every patient as he needs it.  If a
patient has chills and fever in his spirit, you must carry the medicine to
cure it; also for the erysipelas, or the dumb ague, or the rheumatism in
the spirit, you must carry the medicine to heal.  Thus learn, when you
have chastened enough, to cease; and be sure you never chasten beyond the
balm you carry in your portmanteau.

	I will bring our forenoon meeting to a close.  May God bless you! 
Amen.



     SELF-KNOWLEDGE--FUTILITY OF ATTEMPTS TO DESTROY "MORMONISM," &c.
       Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle,
                 Great Salt Lake City, February 17, 1861.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	Brother Joseph W. Young, in his remarks, alluded to the intelligence
to be dispensed to the intelligence to be dispensed to the people
here--that which they do not get elsewhere.  The brethren come here from
the States and from the old countries:  they gather from different parts
of the world, expecting to learn the great mysteries--the secret things of
our God.  What do you learn, brothers and sisters?  If you are good
scholars, you learn to treat your neighbours as they should be treated,
and to have the same affections for a person from Ireland or England as
you do for one from your own native land.  You come here to learn to drive
oxen into a kanyon, and return without sinning.  You come here to learn
that every person you see is a little different from you.

	Brother Kimball most beautifully compared this people to a tree,
remarking that we all receive nourishment from the same fountain.  A tree
shoots forth; it soon begins to have branches; but you cannot find two
limbs precisely alike.  A branch puts forth to bear fruit; the tree
continues its course upwards; another branch starts out; and if it is a
little different from the first branch, should it find fault and complain
of the tree because of that difference in shape and capacity?  You cannot
find two twigs alike.  You may examine any tree of the forest and see
whether you can find any two leaves that are precisely alike.  You cannot. 
Then you may go to a meadow, and see whether you can find two spears of
grass just alike in shape and form.  There are no two precisely alike. 
Examples of that endless variety are now before me.

	The greatest lesson you can learn is to learn yourselves. When we
learn ourselves, we learn our neighbours.  When we know precisely how to
deal with ourselves, we know how to deal with our neighbours.  You have
come here to learn this.  You cannot learn it immediately, neither can all
the philosophy of the age teach it to you:  you have to come here to get a
practical experience and to learn yourselves.  You will then begin to
learn more perfectly the things of God.  No being can thoroughly learn
himself, without understanding more or less of the things of God: neither
can any being learn and understand the things of God, without learning
himself:  he must learn himself, or he never can learn God.  This is a
lesson to us; and you cannot learn that abroad which you can learn here.

	How simple it appears, how trifling at the first thought, to the
noble mind of man that is reaching after eternity and eternal things, to
come here to learn to drive oxen, to learn to build houses, to learn to
mingle his feelings with his neighbour and treat that he must not expect
every person around him to be precisely like himself; for we see that
endless variety renders it impossible.  Let every man learn to properly
treat his fellow-man for this we come together to learn.

	There are a great many other things that it is important to learn,
and one in particular is to learn to live and operate on the principle
brother Kimball spoke of, that "The earth is is [sic] the Lord's and the
fulness thereof."  I am a witness to what brother Kimball said.  When I
asked him to build a house in Nauvoo, he had not five dollars to begin
with.  Do you want to know how poor he was?  I might tell you that he was
as rich as I was, except, perhaps, in his feelings:  in that respect I do
not thing that he was quite so rich as I was there, for I felt like asking
no odds of anybody.  He had not a farthing when he returned to Nauvoo from
England.  Upon our return, we found our families comparatively naked and
barefoot as we had left them.  Who was ready to step forth and help to
administer to the comfort and relief of brother Kimball?  A certain
Apostle managed to take the fleece of the flock that we had raised.  Would
he let brother Kimball have a dress pattern for his wife Vilate?  No. 
Sister Kimball had not a second dress, and yet brother Kimball could not
get a dress pattern from his brother Apostle.  He began to build a house,
and when it was finished he owed no one.  Suppose he had sat down and
counted the cost.

	There are words said to have been spoken by the Saviour--"For which
of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first and counteth
the cost, whether he hath sufficient to finish it?"  No matter whether he
said this or not:  it is only a question asked:  he did not give it as his
counsel or advice.  I have built a great many houses, and never counted
the cost before I built them.  I never wanted to know anything about it. 
What is to be done?  I want some rock.  Go and get it.  I want a mason:  I
hire him, and pay him to lay up the walls.  I hire my carpenters and
painters, and pay them.  I want something to put on the walls.  Get it and
put it on:  if it is a frame building, get the timber and put it up.  In
short, when I want a house, I go to work and put it up, and do not stop
until it is done, and never count the cost.  "The earth is the Lord's,"
with all its fulness.

	When I hear of the brethren and sisters going after gold--the riches
and wealth of the earth--I think that if they had it in the spirit-world
they could not do anything with it there.  There are no merchants there
with their merchandise--no grog-shops there in which to spend money. 
Those who possess wealth must leave it here for the Saints, and the Saints
will become heirs of it; and we wish the people to be ready to receive
these and all blessings the Lord has in store for them.  Be ready.  We
were ready when King James Buchanan sent his friends here to initiate us
into Christianity.  If we had not been ready, your heads and mine might
have been cold ere to-day.  We were ready, and we said, "Stop--stay your
sad career, until you think."

	Did Thomas H. Benton aid in gathering the Saints?  Yes, he was the
mainspring and action of governments in driving us into these mountains. 
He obtained orders from President Polk to summon the militia of Missouri,
and destroy every "Mormon" man, woman, and child, unless they turned out
five hundred men to fight the battles of the United States in Mexico.  He
said that we were aliens to the Government, and to prove it he said--"Mr.
President, make a requisition on that camp for five hundred men, and I
will prove to you that they are traitors to our Government."  We turned
out the men, and many of them are before me to-day; among whom is father
Pettigrew--a man that ought to have been asked into the Cabinet to give
the President counsel; but they asked him to travel on foot across the
Plains to fight our country's battles against Mexico.  We turned out the
men, and Mr. Benton was disappointed.  He went to his grave in disgrace,
and shame covered him.  Was he a man of influence in his last days--in the
latter portion of his career in public life?  When he could not be
President, nor be returned again to the Senate, after much exertion he
succeeded in being elected a member of the House of Representatives, and
at the close of his public career, because the hands of the clock in the
Representatives Hall were turned back, and the hands of his watch did not
agree with it when at twelve o'clock, said he, "Mr. Speaker, I am not a
member of this legislative body."  The Speaker said, "Sergeant-at-Arms,
show that gentleman to the door," and there was scarcely a man in the
House that so much as turned his eyes to look. The ground he walked on was
disgraced by step, and his acquaintances shunned him:  and so it will be
with others.

	Brother Kimball says that King James will have to pay the debt he has
contracted.  He has more on his hands that he will settle for many
generations.  you will see the old man go down to the grave in disgrace. 
He has cast off his political friends, and they will all cast him off as a
thing of naught, and he will become a hiss and a by-word, and has already.

	The London Times speaks of the old man's being incapable of
magnifying the office bestowed upon him.  They complain of him now; but,
when he was minister from our Government to England, did they not in
secret council induce him to pledge himself to destroy the "Mormons," if
they would assist in electing him President?  Did they not connive with
Buchanan to destroy the "Mormons" from the earth?  Did they not send their
armies to the north to head us in our retreat, provided King James
succeeded in routing us from our homes?  I spoke of this to Captain Van
Vleit, when he was here.  I merely ask these questions, that those who are
acquainted with political moves may draw their conclusions upon the
workings of governments.  But the Lord has given his people power to elude
the grasp of our enemies; for he led them in a way they knew not, turned
them hither and thither, diverted the blow aimed at our heads, and brought
disgrace and ruin on those who sought to bring ruin and destruction upon
us.  It will take them a great while to pay the debt they have contracted. 
That Government known as the United States' has become like water spilled
on the ground, and other governments will follow.

	"Kings become nursing fathers," indeed?  Not King James:  no.  Queens
become nursing mothers?"  Will Queen Victoria become a nursing mother to
the Saints?  I have not one word of fault to find with her as an
individual; but the Government holds here; she is fettered.  She is a good
woman, but she will never nurse the Saints.  Will the Queen of Spain? 
Never.  But the kings and queens I am looking upon to-day will belong to
that class; they will be the fathers and mothers to the lost sheep of the
house of Israel.  There are many sheep on the earth that we have not yet
found.  We consider ourselves the flock of God--the kingdom of God; and
when you travel upon the islands of the sea and among the nations who will
learn that there are thousands and millions of the sheep that have not
heard the voice of the Good Shepherd.  They are to be entered into the
fold, and we have it to do.

	Remember that "the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof." 
And I can say to the Bishops and brethren of this city, that, in rating
teams to send to Florence, they have answered our expectations and more. 
We shall send and bring up the poor, and shall build, and continue to
increase in our ability.  Every time we put forth our ability.  Every time
we put forth our ability to do good and build up the kingdom of God,
according to the means the Lord bestows upon us, our means and ability
will be doubled and trebled.  Yes, we shall receive tenfold, and, as
Joseph said, an hundredfold.  Have we witnesses of this?  Yes, plenty of
witnesses. I will mention one little circumstance.  When we were finishing
the Temple in Nauvoo, the last year of our stay there, I rented a portion
of ground in what was called the Church farm, which we afterwards deeded
to sister Emma.  Brother George D. Grant worked for me then, and planted
the corn, sowed the oats, and said this, that, and the other must be
attended to. They called for teams to haul for the Temple, and could not
get them.  Said I, Put my team on the Temple,if there is not a kernel of
grain raised.  I said I would trust in God for the increase, and I had a
good corn as there was on the farm, though it was not touched from the
time we put the seed in to the time of gathering.  I proved the fact.  I
had faith.

	The poor miserable apostates there prophesied, and the Gentiles
prophesied, and all creation of wickedness seemed to agree that that
Temple should not be finished; and I said that it should, and the house of
Israel said that it should, and the angels and God said, "We will help
you."  Many of you remember my setting my foot on the capstone and
addressing the people.  We completed the Temple, used it a short time, and
were done with it.  On the 5th or 6th of February, 1846, we committed the
building into the hands of the Lord, and left it; and when we heard that
it was burned, we were glad of it.

	How many circumstances could I relate to the brethren that God does
hold the purse-strings of the world!  Brother Kimball has slightly alluded
to a circumstance, without mentioning the particulars.  When brother Heber
C. Kimball and I were on the way to England, and were left in a little
place called Pleasant Garden, I know, as I know I live, that we had no
more than thirteen dollars and fifty cents.  This was all we had, that we
knew anything about.  In the course of the journey, we paid out just about
eighty-six dollars, as near as I can recollect, for conveyance, food, and
lodging, always finding just money enough in my trunk to pay each bill;
and when we arrived at Kirtland Corners, we had just the York shilling
left.

	I might stand here and relate to the brethren incidents, until you
would be tired of hearing.  I merely wish to impress upon you the feeling
that God holds your purse-strings.  You may hoard up your gold, keep your
cattle on the ranges for the Indians to steal or the winters to destroy,
and tie up your hearts as tight as you please; the Lord will let the
Indians steal your cattle and thieves your purses--will let calamity come
upon you, or permit you to roll in wealth until you go to your own place.

	It has been told you that we want to bring the brethren here and give
them their endowments, and then let them apostatize if they will, and have
done with them.  Those who are stedfast and faithful, we will teach to
work in the adobie yard, in the quarry, &c.; and learn them to be cleanly
and prudent, and teach them what their organization is, that they may
understand the things of God.

	May God bless you!  Amen.

       ESTABLISHMENT OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD--GATHERING THE POOR, &c.
       Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle,
                   Great Salt Lake City, March 3, 1861.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	There are a number of subjects I wish to say a few words upon, and I
will first make a few remarks pertaining to the kingdom of God on the
earth.

	It is told us that the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof. 
It is also told us that ere long the Lord will possess the earth. 
Christians are exhorted to be faithful, for eventually Jesus will crown
his brethren as kings and priests,--not only the Twelve Apostles that
brother Broderick referred to this morning, but also all that keep his
commands and live faithfully to the requirements of the holy Gospel.  We
are exhorted to be stedfast and immovable, always abounding in good works. 
This is our tradition; it is the doctrine we have heard from our youth. 
Many of you are acquainted with the various doctrines of the Christian
world.  Some believe, "Once in grace, always in grace." Others, "A Saint
to day,a sinner to-morrow, and next day again a Saint," &c., &c.  "The
kingdom of God on earth?  "Has not this kingdom been established long and
long ago?"  "Why does not the Lord Jesus come to take possession of the
earth, as it is his?"  These are questions that arise, especially in the
minds of critics--of those who are inclined to be infidel in regard to
revealed religion; and they inquire of the Christian, "Why does not your
God do thus and so?  Why does he delay?  Why does he permit the enemy to
hold possession of the dominion of the Saviour?"  with many other
inquiries that rest in the minds of the people.  Perhaps some of you have
satisfactorily answered these questions to yourselves, and perhaps you
have heard them satisfactorily answered to your minds and understanding by
the Elders of Israel.

	There is a reason for all this.  I have not time this afternoon, and
do not wish to confine myself, to say all that my mind would be led to say
on the subject.  I can say at once, If Jesus had taken the kingdom in the
days when he was upon the earth, he would have spoiled the whole plan--he
would have ruined the object for which he came into the world.  If he had
established his kingdom directly after the flood and reigned triumphantly
on the earth, the earth could never have answered the ends of its
creation--the inhabitants of the earth could not have been accountable. 
If he had to take possession of the earth at this present time, he would
ruin his own scheme--thwart his own plans.  It may be a mystery--it is
with the many--why the Lord permits this and that, and dictates thus and
so.  This is for want of intelligence in the intelligent beings that are
upon the earth.  If they understood the object of the creation of this
earth and the inhabitants upon it, these matters would be an easy and
pleasing theme to their understandings; they would become natural
principles to them, easy to be understood.  They would comprehend the
design of the Almighty in the formation of these intelligent beings, in
the direction of them, the object of the creation of the earth, and the
final issue in the end, when all that has been designed of this earth and
all consigned to this earth have come upon it, and the work is
completed--the winding-up scene has come, when Jesus shall have finished
his work pertaining to man and his agency,--you will then see that the
kingdom will be taken possession of, and that very quickly.

	Every mortal being must stand up as an intelligent, organized
capacity, and choose or refuse the good, and thus act for himself.  All
must have that opportunity, no matter if all go into the depths of
wickedness.  Whether they sustain the kingdom of God and promote the
Gospel of salvation, or not, the earth must remain in the hands of men,
liable to be acted upon continually by a superior power and authority. 
Man's independence must be held inviolate; it must be reserved to each and
every individual:  all must have the privilege of acting upon it.  Until
the last spirit that has been designed to come here and take a tabernacle
has come upon the earth, the winding-up scene cannot come.  I have not
time to say what I would like to upon this subject, but will leave it to
your own reflection.

	Marvel not that the kingdom of God is not in its fulness.  Marvel not
that you see every man and woman subject to the passions that belong to
fallen nature.  There never was a Prophet on the earth but what was
subject to passions, as we are. Every son and daughter of Adam that has
come into this world has been subject to sin, and prone to wander.  They
must have their times and seasons; and when the day has come in which all
things are to be gathered in one, the Lord will gather those things.  When
the day comes in which Jesus will take possession of the earth, (he will
take possession of it when the time comes that Satan will be ejected from
the inheritance of the children--of the legal heirs,) you will find that
ejectment will be served, and it will be effectual.  It will be effectual
upon every tenant or occupant upon the premises of the Almighty, and they
will be forthwith removed.  But the time is not yet come--the work is not
yet finished.  Be patient--be co-workers with our Saviour and Master until
this work is accomplished, and we shall be blessed in our deeds.

	I wish to make a few remarks to the brethren in this city in regard
to reaching forth their hands and means to assist in gathering the poor
Saints.  At first, some deemed it inexpedient to call upon the people in
this city to assist in sending teams for the Saints; but we have otherwise
concluded.  We expect that we have more power here than they have in any
other place in all the Branches and associations of the Church of Jesus
Christ upon the whole earth.  We here see for the whole of them, we speak
for the whole, and, comparatively speaking, we have more power than is
possessed in any other part of the body.  If we wish to have a great thing
performed, we must take the lead.  And when we feel that we are weak and
feeble, incapable of doing this or that, with poverty staring us in the
face, and the want of means is felt, let every person rise up and consider
his calling and standing, and the design of the Almighty.

	I will present a comparison from our mechanics.  You will find
mechanics here who can go to work and build a beautiful house, but they
must have all the necessary tools and materials.  Another can build a
carriage, but he must have the necessary tools and materials.  You can
find a man who can build a steam-engine, but he must have the tools and
materials.  But you find the mechanics that can go to with an old
three-cornered file, a jack-knife, a spike-gimlet, and an inch augur, and
build a waggon in a workmanlike manner, and you would say that he is a
superior workman.  As the fisherman says, "It is no trick to catch fish,
if you have the tools and know how it is done."  It is no development of
skill for us to preach the Gospel to the nations, if we have our pockets
full of money, and Bible societies and tract societies and missionary
societies gathering it for us to pay our expenses--scraping up for us the
filthy lucre.  I suppose that in such cases we should feel as others do. 
You know how some of those feel who can go from one side of the earth to
the other, and have the privilege of gathering means to go with.  The way
they feel is shown forth very forcibly in an anecdote of a priest, after a
collection had been made.  He gathered up the money, and while putting it
in his pocket gave out the hymn--"This is the God that I adore."

	You see Elders who start from here without purse or scrip, and cross
the Plains with handcarts, and they have ingenuity enough to go from city
to city, from country to country, from nation to nation, and circumscribe
the earth.  In that there is certain skill, talent, and ability, great
zeal, or excellent good luck:  you must attribute it to something.  It
would be no great affair for us to gather the Saints, if we had plenty of
gold.  How many times I have thought I would like a handy place to go to
for gold with which to gather the Saints; but where would be our glory and
reward, to go from here to Europe, and travel East to China and home
again, having been preaching several years, with our pockets full of gold? 
Where, then, is your great ability?  In your pockets--in the god so much
adored.  But take the men that can travel the earth over, preach the
Gospel without purse or scrip, and then go to and lay their plans to
gather the Saints.  That looks like the work of angels.  Does it not look
like the work of beings superior to the common people?  Do you know that
we are called to this work?

	If the Lord had called upon some great man, some rich man, some one
of the prominent Bishops in the Roman Catholic Church or in the Church of
England, or the Pope, to dig the plates out of the earth, and translate
them, and publish the Book of Mormon, and then have furnished them with
plenty of gold and other means to distribute to the disciples--plenty of
wealth, honour, fame, and good name in the midst of the people--would
there have any particular manifestation of a superior being in all this? 
There would not. The Lord chose Joseph Smith, called upon him at fourteen
years of age, gave him visions, and led him along, guided and directed him
in his obscurity until he brought forth the plates and translated them,
and Martin Harris was prevailed upon to sustain the printing of the Book
of Mormon.  All this was done in the depths of poverty, obscurity, and
weakness.  The Book has been translated, printed, and handed to the world;
and every time that a man of letters, rhetoric, or profound worldly
learning, comes into this Church and undertakes to preach the Gospel,
relying upon his worldly wisdom, that man will fail.  No matter where upon
the earth he undertakes to start this kingdom according to the customs,
feelings, fashions, and pride of the world, it will sink as sure as he
undertakes it.

	I recollect one remark that brother Joseph used to make frequently,
when talking to the Elders.  No matter what he set them to do, whether he
wanted them to go to a foreign land on a mission, or to go into business,
he would say, "When you commence, go in at the little end of the horn; for
if you do not, but enter at the big end, you will either have to turn
round and come out at the end you went in at, or go out at the small end
and be squeezed nigh unto death."  Let an Elder hire the best halls in
large cities to begin with, and go to lecturing, and it will take him a
long time to raise a Branch of this Church.  But let him begin among the
poor of the earth--those who live in the cellars, and garrets, and back
streets; "for," says the Almighty, "I am going to take the weak things of
the earth, and with them confound the wisdom of the wise."  You will see
that trait in every step of "Mormonism."  God has chosen the obscure and
weak, to bring them up and exalt them.  Is not that the work of a God, the
performance of this work without money and without price?  The Gospel is
sent to all the inhabitants of the earth--to the high and the low, the
noble and the ignoble, the young and the old.  "Here is the Gospel; you
are welcome to it."  "Don't you ask anything for it?"  Not a farthing.  It
has to go to the world without money and price."  Now, compare this with
carrying the Gospel with your pockets full of money; and in the latter
case where is your glory and honour?

	As an instance, we have men who quarry rock out of the mountains; and
we would say to those men, Can you go and quarry rock without the suitable
instruments?  Says one, "I must have so many picks and wedges, and I must
have so many drills of different sizes, and so many sledges and hammers." 
Another man says, "I am going to make the tools; I have the ability, and I
will make the instruments from the ore in the mountain."  You remember
what Nephi did. When he came to the sea, and prepared to build his barge,
the Lord showed him the ore, and Nephi made the tools with which he formed
his barge.  He did not have to go back to Jerusalem to get tools.  I would
like to see a little more of that skill displayed here than I do at the
present time.  I am using this comparison to show that we, in our poverty,
have this work to do.

	As was observed this morning, in a wholesome, lovely, excellent
discourse, we will have to go to work and get the gold out of the
mountains to lay down, if we ever walk in streets paved with gold.  The
angels that now walk in their golden streets, and they have the tree of
life within their paradise, had to obtain that gold and put it there. 
When we have streets paved with gold, we will have placed it there
ourselves.  When we enjoy a Zion in its beauty and glory, it will be when
we have built it.  If we enjoy the Zion that we now anticipate, it will be
after we redeem and prepare it. If we live in the city of the New
Jerusalem, it will be because we lay the foundation and build it.  If we
do not as individuals complete that work, we shall lay the foundation for
our children and our children's children, as Adam has.  If we are to be
saved in an ark, as Noah and his family were, it will be because we build
it.  If the Gospel is preached to the nations, it is because the Elders of
Israel go in their poverty, without purse or scrip, to preach the Gospel
to the uttermost parts of the earth.

	If the Elders of Israel could see the true track and thread of faith,
they never would say they could not do this or that, but would see at once
that we are the head, the law-giving department.  We are the eyes, the
ears, the mouth; we dictate, and it is for us to lead out in every good
work.  If we build a Temple here, it will be because we need one; and if
we really need one, go to work and build it.  Will we count the cost?  No. 
If I am going to build a temple, I am not going to sit down and count the
cost.  I care not what it will cost.  So long as we are occupied in doing
a good work, it keeps us out of mischief and unrighteousness, and at the
same time enhances the value of our whole property, and beautifies our
cities.

	If we wish to send for the poor, gather up teams.  "But," say you, "I
have not got any."  Then prepare yourselves to go as teamsters, to do
anything and everything.  As I have not time to make many remarks upon
this, let me say to the Elders of Israel, and also the sisters, One-third
or one-fourth of the time that is spent to procure a living would be
sufficient, if your labour were rightly directed.  People think they are
going to get rich by hard work--by working sixteen hours out of the
twenty-four; but it is not so. A great many of our brethren can hardly
spend time to go to meeting.  Six days is more time than we need to
labour.  Sixteen hours out of twenty-four is more time than we need to
labour, or even ten hours, if that labour is rightly directed.  If we
labour, let us labour to advantage, so as to accomplish what we design.

	I wish to say to the brethren and Bishops here, When we concluded
that we would call upon this city for help, we got all we asked for, and
more.  I say, Credit is due to them.  Let me say to you, brethren, I am
satisfied; the Spirit that is within me is satisfied. And one thing in
particular let me say to you, In all your transactions in these public
matters, do not do, unless you want to.  As we say to the Saints, Do not
pay Tithing, unless you want to; do not help to build up this Temple
unless you want to; do not put forth your hands to one day's work, unless
you want to; do not help to build up this Temple unless you want to; do
not put forth your hands to one day's work, unless you want to; do not put
forth your hands to help build the Seventies' Hall, unless you want to. 
If you grudgingly put forth your means to help to gather the Saints, it
will be a curse to you; it will mildew, and every effort you make will
wither in your possession.  If you do not wish to help, let it alone; but
if you really want to help to gather the Saints, turn out with your teams,
as you agree to.  If you wish this Temple built, go to work and do all you
can this season.  Some say, "I do not like to do it, for we never began to
build a Temple without the bells of hell beginning to ring."  I want to
hear them ring again.  All the tribes of hell will be on the move, if we
uncover the walls of this Temple.  But what do you think it will amount
to?  You have all the time seen what it has amounted to.

	I can say, for my comfort and consolation, and for yours too, that we
did build two temples, and commenced another.  We completed a temple in
Kirtland and in Nauvoo; and did not the bells of hell toll all the time we
were building them?  They did, every week and every day.  For our
consolation I will say, We are here and not there.  You cannot ride from
here to Carthage, in Hancock County, Illinois, before breakfast, if you
try; and everyone that now tries to come from Warsaw or Carthage to the
headquarters of "Mormonism" will have to put more crackers in their
pockets than they used to.  What did they accomplish?  They magnified the
work of the Lord in the eyes of the nations.  They are more afraid of our
union than of any other power.  They are afraid of the God that is within
us.  If that union and the power of God is with ten men, they fear that in
them more than they fear a hundred thousand men that are not united.  We
are here, and I am satisfied.

	In regard to the acts of this city in turning out teams, we shall
send them this season to bring the poor across the Plains; and what will
we do another season?  Send a great many more.  Will the way be hedged up
by the wars and distress of nations?  I neither know nor care.  I am
looking for the words of Joseph to be fulfilled.  The time will come when
men and women will be glad to catch what they can, roll up in a small
bundle, and start for the mountains, without team or waggon.  That day
will shortly come.  Hundreds of people in this house are my witnesses, who
heard Joseph say, when asked whether we should ever have to leave Nauvoo,
"The Saints will leave Nauvoo.  I do not say they will be driven, as they
were from Jackson County, Missouri, and from that State; but they will
leave here and go to the mountains.  And the next time the Saints remove,
or are caused to remove, they will be turned out of the frying-pan, not
into the fire, but into the middle of the floor."  If this is not the
middle of the floor, I do not know where you will find it.  When we left
Missouri, we were turned out of the frying-pan into the fire; and the next
time our enemies succeeded in their warring against us, they cast us into
the middle of the floor.  I think this is the middle of the floor.  Can we
look to the back side of it, or to the front side of it?  I can look to
the south and to the north, and it is a great way to the bed or to the
table.  I think we are in the middle of the floor.  We are here, and not
there.  "Do you think there will be war, so that we cannot gather the
Saints?"  I do not know, nor do I care.  They must come.

	I want to say a few words to those of my brethren who are apt to
prophesy evil.  Some of the brethren are all the time foreseeing evil that
the Saints are going to suffer, and saying that we are going to see harder
times than ever before, and that the armies of the Un---hold on--the
armies of the nations will  they gather against us.  Let them gather:  the
Lord will perform this work.  "But don't you think we shall be afflicted
again?"  What if we are?  I am not sorry that the army came here.  "What
are you sorry for?"  I am sorry to see so many foolish persons in our
midst.  If I possessed the influence over this people that it is my right
to possess in the midst of the Latter-day Saints, I would have made our
enemies pay well for what they bought.  But to see the sisters run with
butter, eggs, and chickens, and the brethren with their flour and wheat,
to their enemies who came here to cut their throats, or else make them
renounce their religion, is what pains my heart.  Our enemies are ruined,
the gold is spent, and we are here where we can procure more.  Who has
made the money in what is called the "Utah War?"  Mr. Floyd, Secretary of
War, expected to make a large amount.  When he started his crusade, I
considered that he would make some five millions of dollars.  He has
probably done so, and he will lose the whole of it, and will become a
stink and a by-word among his friends, and will rot; and very many of you
will see it come to pass.  This will also come to pass upon every one of
those that came here to destroy "Mormonism," as very many of you will see. 
The likeliest class that did come here were the gamblers, and they were
most of them broke; and all who engaged in the crusade will be broken. 
When they undertook the job, they did not count the cost.

	It is seldom I think of them; but when I get to talking about them,
the times we have passed through come up, which were good times.  I felt
remarkably well through them all.  "You, Brigham Young, are a Mormon; you
believe in Joseph Smith, and you are not fit to live on the earth."  "You,
John, Peter, and Paul, ought to be killed, because you believe in Jesus
Christ."  How do you think I feel towards them?  One of our sisters lay
sick in bed in Far West; and when the mob came in there, one of them took
a pitchfork and threatened to stab her with it.  She said, "Stick it into
me as quick as you please, for you will not do any great things in killing
an old woman like me--one who is not able to get off from her bed."  When
they hunted us into this desolate wilderness, if you will permit me to use
a vulgar figure, I had to put on scores of old-fashioned Pennsylvania
breechings; I had to keep putting on another, and another, to hold them
within bounds.  The Lord said, "Hold on."  He can fight our battles far
better than we can.  Anger towards them is a poor, miserable feeling; and
I am trying to get rid of it.  But to reflect on what they have done! 
Hundreds and hundreds of fathers, mothers, and children have been wasted
by the wayside, through their hellish persecutions!  I feel that I want to
live until I see the earth emptied of such characters.  Are all thus mean? 
No, only those that feel to persecute and destroy the kingdom of God from
the earth.

	I will tell you another prophecy of Joseph's, of which both Jews and
Gentiles are my witnesses.  Joseph said that the bones of hundreds of the
Missouri and Illinois mobocrats, who drove the Saints from those States,
should bleach on the plains, and their flesh should be meat for wolves. 
Are you witnesses to that, in coming over the Plains?  Yes, hundreds and
hundreds of those characters that started to go to the gold mines, their
flesh was meat for the wolves, and their bones are there bleaching to-day,
so far as they have not been buried, or entirely rotted away.  That is
another prophecy of Joseph's.  I do not say that all who differ with us in
matters of religion are mobocrats.  No:  there are as honest men in other
churches as there are in ours.

	Go into the world among the infidels and the Universalists:  they are
two good classes of men.  Then visit the members of the Church of England,
and the Roman Catholic Church, the Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians,
Quakers, Shakers, &c.; and millions of them are as honest as we are. 
Shall I call them mobocrats?  Who are the evil doers?  Those who have had
the light presented to them, and rejected it.  I do not feel as I have
represented towards all the children of men, only towards those who have
hunted our lives from the beginning--who have hunted the life of every
Saint from the beginning.  But they have not the power, neither will they
have it, to divide this kingdom.  This Church will prosper and increase. 
You understand that, when I talk about those men, I talk about those who
have been active, in what?  In trying to bring destruction upon us.  Have
we injured them?  No, we have not; at least, I have not, and I hope you
have not.  Have they any great reason for their usage to us?  They have
not.  I will leave them in the hands of God; and when the time comes, as I
have told you, for the present occupants and tenants to be disinherited,
the writ of ejectment will be served, and they will be forthwith hoisted
from their position, and Jesus will take possession.  And, as has been
observed this morning, though a terrific thought for all men to be under
the control of one, that man will never live on the earth that will not
control the inhabitants of the earth, until he can do it with justice and
mercy.  Do not be afraid:  the enemies of God and his Christ will be
divided and subdivided all the time, and Jesus will come to reign and
rule.  You say, "We all like the reign of Christ."  The wicked will not
like the Saviour half so well as you like me.  He would tell them to go to
their own place.  I honour no other being in heaven and earth more than
him; and no man can rule triumphantly until he rules in righteousness. 
Wherefore have no fears in the least.  I will leave this subject.

	We want to build this Temple.  Now, brethren, shall we do so?  Yes;
and we will do all that is necessary.  The Bishops talked over the matter,
and thought sending teams from this city would prevent out putting forth
our strength upon the walls of the Temple.  But let me tell you that we
can do far more on the Temple this year, if we touch it at all, than we
could if we did not send our cattle and waggons East.  Perhaps some of us
cannot understand this, but I trust you will so live that you will see the
time when you will understand that God rules in heaven, and does his
pleasure upon the earth; and that the cattle upon a thousand hills are
his; and that he will control all matters to your benefit, if we are
co-workers with him, with a pure heart, and an eye single to the building
up of his kingdom, and do what is wanted to be done; and that the more we
do the more means we shall have.  Let the wicked continue to fight and
quarrel, and the Lord will open the path for us, and we can gather the
poor Saints for a good while yet.  No matter what is done among the
States, the earth is the Lord's, and He will dictate, govern, and control
where he pleases; and by-and-by he will take possession of the whole
farm--of the whole earth.

	It is now time for us to wake up to business.  We have had a pleasant
winter, and have enjoyed ourselves in the dance, in concerts, and parties. 
I want to say to the Bishops, Now wind up these amusements, and let us go
to work.  You have often been told that all the amusement Latter-day
Saints enjoy, or will enjoy, we have to make.  One of the most useful
amusements we could have would be for the Seventies and High Priests to
meet here, instead of in their small halls, and lecture.  Which is the
most delightful, to satisfy the wants of the natural body, or those of the
intelligent part within us?  Which is the most precious?  Both.

	Little boys play with their waggons, tops, marbles, &c.; little girls
with their dolls, cradles, and skipping ropes.  They are in the height of
their enjoyment, while there sits the mother, whose mind comprehends all
the children can enjoy, and then she can see enjoyment far beyond what
they are then capable of enjoying.  Perhaps her vision is open to see
forward into the eternity before her, and that she will be able to
preserve her identity in the future existence.  Do you not see how easy it
is for her to circumscribe all those little children can enjoy?  Her
feeling is, "I am delighted:  it is a great satisfaction to see my
children enjoy themselves."  But how would she like to engage in their
plays?  "It is my joy to see them enjoy themselves."  Do you like to get
together in your parties?  How are you looked upon by beings in the
eternal worlds?  Precisely as a mother looks upon her children when they
are enjoying themselves and passing their time so kindly with each other. 
Says the mother, "I do delight in seeing my children enjoy themselves."  I
also delight in enjoying myself with the brethren and sisters, and giving
to my natural organization the food that the natural body requires.  The
body requires food, and the immortal spirit requires food;  the whole
organization requires something to feast upon, and we get up amusements to
satisfy it.  I say to the Bishops, Now wind up the dancing parties.  What
do you think, brother Woolley?  What do you think, brother Hoagland? 
["Yes."]  I presume all the rest feel the same.

	I think we will stop dancing parties for a time.  Now make your
parties around your ploughs; see that your teams are where you can get
them, and that your fences are in order, and have your teams and waggons
ready to go East.  And when you wish to enjoy yourselves with your
brethren, you are welcome to this room, to lecture in and present any
public business requisite to be done.  We have much public work laid out
to be done this season.  We intend to make some improvements on this
Tabernacle, and do something at the Temple, and build the Seventies' Hall,
besides lecture rooms, assembly rooms, &c., in this city; and if we are
let alone, in thirty years we shall make quite a city of this place.  We
also expect to build a theatre this season, as a place of amusement for
the brethren and sisters.  I am not going to have the devils make fun for
me:  they have fun that will keep them pretty busily occupied.  I will
never go to hell for fun; and if I have any fun, I wish my brethren and
sisters to make it.  God bless you!  Amen.

                            REBUKING EVIL, &c.
       Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle,
                  Great Salt Lake City, March 17, 1861.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	I wish to present to the people a saying of Solomon's--"Open rebuke
is better than secret love.  Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the
kisses of an enemy are deceitful."  I want to say a few words upon the
principle contained in this scripture.  It is a matter that concerns all
people, and is one of the most delicate points in the dispositions of the
human family.  The inhabitants of the earth are sensitive--their feelings
are acute.  Infringe upon their judgment, interrupt their tastes, and you
disturb the equilibrium of the whole system.  To receive a rebuke, to be
chastised, to be interrupted in our course, is not pleasant to our
feelings.  Though we may have ten thousand wrongs that we understand, you
know perfectly well that we do not like to have any one tell us of them. 
It is one of the worst whirlpools, I may say, for the inhabitants of the
earth to get into, and leads directly to destruction--casting down thrones
and kingdoms--the very abhorrence we have to be rebuked.  No matter what
the king does, we as his subjects must say that the king does right and
cannot do wrong.  That you know very well to be the feelings and teachings
of the nations of the earth.  The king cannot do wrong, and of course he
is not to be rebuked.  And when he sends his princes, his ministers, his
messengers, to perform duties for him, they say to the people to whom they
go--"The king can do no wrong; his agents can do no wrong."  Observe, and
you will now see this trait among the nations of the earth.

	Who are willing to acknowledge that they are wrong?  The feeling of
the inhabitants of the earth has been and is--"I will receive no rebuke
from you:  my judgment, my will, my discretion, my wishes, my passions
must reign supreme."  I do not much care what Solomon did in his day--how
many individuals he rebuked; but I wish the inhabitants of the kingdom of
God to learn, when they are rebuked kindly, and kiss the rod, and
reverence the hand that administers it,--to learn that the rebuke of a
friend is for our good.  This principle is not practised in other parts of
the earth, though I will confine this remark to the civilized nations,
more than to the barbarous.  In the world the principle of rebuking is
walked under foot.  No matter what the character of a king is--no matter
what the character of a President is--no matter what are the characters of
rulers, governors, and other officers,--"They can do no wrong," and they
wish to have it so understood.  These are the feelings and these the
teachings and belief, and not only the belief, but the practice.  It is
not so in this kingdom; it must not be so; it cannot be so; it has not
been so; and I presume many a man has gone out of this Church, because he
has been rebuked in his evil course.  All such will have the supreme
satisfaction, as brother George A. Smith remarked, last Sabbath, when they
lift up their eyes of hell, of reflecting  upon their former connection
with this people, and saying, "We are abused."  What a comfort!  What a
satisfaction!

	We wish the Elders of Israel to understand that when evil is
presented, that evil must be rebuked.  Could we attribute all the mistakes
or evils that we see in men to total depravity, and conclude that there is
nothing good within them?  Not by any means.  If we see one of our
brethren out of the way in word or in deed, learn, in the first place,
whether that person designs a wrong, or whether he has a desire to do
good.  Learn whether the spark of the Spirit of God is left within him;
and when there is one particle of the light of God within him, and he
wishes to do right, do not attribute that wrong word or deed to total
depravity.  It is a weakness--it is a fault--it is a want of better
judgment--it is the want of a correct understanding of things.  Attribute
it to his weakness; tell him of it kindly, fatherly, brotherly; take him
by the hand and tell him the evil he must leave.

	How many I have seen, when you tell them of a few of their faults,
and say, Why, brother, you are so and so:  do you see how you have missed
it here and there?  Can you perceive that you have wanted better judgment? 
What a wrong you have committed in this or that!"  who will be at once
cast down in their feelings, and will say, "I believe I am good for
nothing; I really think I am not worthy of a name in the kingdom of God." 
You will hear wise men make this expression. Tell them that they have
reported that which is false, not designedly; tell them that they have
said thus and so to their friends, or that they have committed this or
that act that is unwise, foolish, sinful in its nature; and you will see a
wise man, perhaps, rise up and say, "If I am guilty of this, I am not
worthy of a name in the kingdom of God."  That is a most unwise
expression.  Do you expect you are perfect?  No.  Do you expect to see
people that are perfect?  No, not for a great while.  Do you expect that
every trait of your character is perfect?  I do not.  You may expect this,
that if I see a wrong in you, I shall tell you of it.  I shall rebuke that
wrong, and do it with all kind feelings.  What do you say, High
Counsellors, Bishops, High Priests, and all the officers of the kingdom of
God on the earth,--will you rebuke a wrong?  Yes, most of the Elders of
Israel will, and too many will do so in the spirit of malice and personal
enmity.  When this Elder, and that Elder, an another Elder sees a man do
wrong, but his wrong is with his neighbours, a little outside the Elder's
immediate path, (the Elder says, "It does not directly infringe upon me,
though he is doing wrong with his neighbours,") will he rebuke him?  No;
he waits until he infringes upon him, and then the Elder rises up in the
malice of his heart, and rebukes him in the spirit of anger.  That will do
hurt:  it is not the rebuke of a friend; it is the rebuke of one that has
become an enemy.

	When you see a person out of the way, no matter whom the injury is
inflicted up, rebuke the individual who commits the evil.  Will this do
good?  Yes, if you rebuke in the spirit of the Gospel--in the spirit of
meekness.  Rebuke as a father should reprove his children, not as a tyrant
rules his servants or slaves.  Take this course with your brethren, and
you will learn that "Open rebuke is better than secret love," and that the
wounds you make are better than the deceitful kisses of an enemy.  This is
a principle I have thought much upon.  I have talked some about it, and
have tried to comprehend the principle, and I have sought to have the
people comprehend it.  If your neighbour commits an evil upon another of
your neighbours, you are under obligations to see that the person who has
committed the evil be suitably chastised, as much so as though the wrong
had been committed upon you.  Now this is hard to believe; but if you wish
to correct people, and lead them to life and salvation, what difference is
it where the evil is committed, or upon whom?  Is it not the duty of a
minister of God to correct evil and take it from an individual or from the
people, and place them upon saving ground, whenever an opportunity
presents itself?  It is the duty of every individual.

	You need not wait until somebody infringes upon you--until he comes
and intrudes upon your premises.  If you see your neighbour John turn his
horse into the wheat-field of your neighbour William, you pass along. 
That, I may say, is the road that too many of the Elders of Israel travel
in, as well as the great majority of the world.  "Oh, it is not my wheat;
it is William's:  it is no matter of mine."  When you know that John has
turned his horse into William's wheat, or in any way disturbed his
property, or berated his character, or done him an evil, will you wait
until he commits an evil upon you?  If you do, you are as sure to meet
evil with evil as you are to breathe; you will meet wrong in a wrong
spirit.  But if you will meet evil when it does not personally concern you
as an individual, but only as a member of community, you will feel all
that fatherly kindness to John that an earthly parent does for his son,
and will go to him and point out the wrong, and show him the correct path
to walk in, and give him a suitable chastisement.  But if you wait until
he takes one of your poles from your fence--till he turns a horse or an ox
into your wheat--until he picks up a stick of wood from your wood-pile,
and burns it, and you then meet him, you meet him in a spirit of wrath. 
You are indignant at such conduct, and you say that you will not put up
with it.  Is this true?  I do not wish to say much about the matter, but I
wish to have you understand that the principle of correcting the
people--taking their wrongs from them, giving them true principles,
instead of their imbibing wrong principles--errors, and practising them in
their lives, is the way for us to be purified and set right.

	I have seen Elders covenant to sustain each other at all hazards,
under all circumstances, and in all places.  Now, what will this amount
to?  You make the covenant to sustain each other without any reservation
whatever, and the first you know, one of the number has done wrong.  You
meet him, and he says, "You covenanted to sustain me, and that too with an
uplifted hand; you promised, in the name of Israel's God, to sustain me;
and now do it.  I will hold you to your covenant."  Another does wrong,
and you wish to have him rebuked before your Quorum.  Says he, "No; you
have made a solemn vow that you will sustain me:  now do it, or break your
covenant."  It amounts to just this, and you will lead from step to step
in evil.

	I have observed, many and many a time, a feeling among the people
that "I will not receive this rebuke from you."  I have had quite a number
of the brethren tell me--"Brother Brigham, I will not bear this rebuke
from you."  My reply is, What are you going to do about it?  I will
chasten you until I am satisfied.  Ibelieve that I have proved to every
person that my chastisements have not been in anger, malice, or wrath, but
in the spirit of a father; and I believe that all good men I have
chastened are satisfied of this fact. I do not know but that some have
apostatized whom I have chastened, but they are very few.  Once in a while
you will find a person, that must have a severe chastisement, leave the
kingdom of God; but this is very seldom.

	True, there are degrees of feeling and degrees of chastisement, and
you  are led to chastise one man differently to what you do another.  You
may, figuratively speaking, pound one Elder over the head with a club, and
he does not know but what you have handed him a straw dipped in molasses
to suck.  There are others, if you speak a word to them, or take up a
straw and chasten them, whose hearts are broken; they are as tender in
their feelings as an infant, and you will melt like wax before the flame. 
You must not chasten them severely; you must chasten according to the
spirit that is in the person.  Some you may talk to all day long, and they
do not know what you are talking about.  There is a great variety.  Treat
people as they are.

	When you consider that you are not worthy to belong to the kingdom of
God, wait a moment.  Would you like to be a Saint?  "Yes; I would give
anything in the world--yea, my life, to be a true Latter-day Saint." 
What, and then say you are not worthy to have a name in the kingdom of
God?  That is the most unwise expression you have uttered.  We are making
Saints of just such characters.  I expect to be made a Saint myself,
though I have many weaknesses about me.  I am going to get rid of them as
fast I can.  Have I not a desire to do right?  Yes; and the Gospel is
designed to make us better and bring us to understanding.  When you are
rebuked by each other--when brethren meet you and say, "This is wrong in
you," you should receive it kindly,and express your thanks for the
reproof, and acknowledge the wrong frankly, and admit that you may
frequently do wrong when you do not know it, and say, "I wish you to
enlighten my mind, to take me by the hand, and let me go along
hand-in-hand, and strengthen and sustain each other."  What, in your
weaknesses?  Yes.  Do you expect to see a perfect man?  Not while you stay
here.

	To the capacity you are now in, as mortal beings, a certain degree of
perfection belongs.  Many attain to this, and they have as good desires to
be Saints as ever the angel Gabriel had.  Then, will you cast a person off
for his weaknesses?  No.  Rebuke him for his weaknesses, and convince him
of them, and point out the right path, and see whether he will not walk in
it.  This is the way I wish the Elders to treat each other.  Do not be
afraid, nor hesitate, if you can possess the Spirit of Christ, to meet
your brother, or your wife, or child, and reprove a wrong in the spirit of
meekness.  Never be afraid to testify against evil, and you will remove
the wrong and do good.  But when you have the spirit of envy, and feel,
"Such an individual has trampled upon my toes--he has sought to injure my
character by speaking evil of me," you are more or less out of the way.  I
wish all the Elders thought as I do about character; then they would never
trouble, themselves about what others said of it.  But if you rightly gain
influence, preserve that.  And if you have been wrong, and that wrong is
taken from you, it will create influence for you, and give you favour
before God and with the Saints; but if you cling to the evil, it will
deprive you of gaining that influence you desire.

	I do not know but that kings of the earth would give half their
kingdoms, if they could have the affections of their subjects:  they know
they have them not.  No President of the late United States ever had the
affections and sympathies of half his constituents.  Rulers in the nations
would give worlds, if they could have the influence of the people they
preside over that I have in the midst of this people.  They have not got
it.  And the man that is now inaugurated President of a part of the States
of America would give half of his power, if he could have the influence
among his constituents that I have in the midst of the kingdom of God.  He
cannot get it.  Rebuke him, and he will resent it in a moment.  Let one of
his cabinet--I would not care if it was William H. Seward--go to the
President and tell him that he is wrong, and he will at once resent it. 
He would say, "I think I know as well as you."  And perhaps he does know
more than Mr. Seward, upon all points of sound intelligence.  James
Buchanan would resent it; and even as good a man as Washington was would
resent it.  He would believe that his dignity was infringed upon, if he
had been told that he was in fault.

	If you gain a righteous influence, preserve that as you would the
apple of your eye.  As for your good name before the people, if your
brother tells you of your wrongs and shows your your [sic] faults, what
are you going to do about it?  Your best plan will be, if you have done
wrong, to repent and refrain from that wrong, and ask forgiveness of your
brethren and of God, and do wrong no more, and you will regain your
influence.  If you have done wrong, though all creation says you have not,
what does that amount to?  Nothing; for they would all be wrong on that
point.

	Do not throw away a man or a woman, old or young.  If they commit an
evil to-day, and another to-morrow, but wish to be Saints and to be
forgiven, do you forgive them, not only seven times, but seventy times
seven in a day, if their hearts are fully set to do right.  Let us make it
a point to pass over their weaknesses and say, "God bless you in trying to
be better in time to come," and act as wise stewards in the kingdom of
God.

	I have spoken longer than I expected to, and wish brother Kimball to
address you.

	God bless you!  Amen.

        TRUE TESTIMONY--PREPARATION FOR COMING EVENTS--CORRUPTION
                         OF THE GOVERNMENT, ETC.
       Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle,
                   Great Salt Lake City, April 6, 1861.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	We have always had larger congregations on such occasions as this
than we have had buildings to accommodate; and had it not been that I
requested the brethren of the city to tarry at home, so as to give room to
those who should come from a distance, the house would have been crowded
to overflowing, and there would have been a large congregation outside.  I
do not know that, this side of the day of rest that we are looking for, we
shall ever have a building large enough to accommodate our congregations. 
When we have overcome the enemy to righteousness and have a thousand years
to work unmolested, I think that we then can build a room that will
contain as many people as can hear the speaker's voice.  We have the
privilege, it is true, of assembling in the open air, where most of our
Conferences have been held.

	We now enjoy the anniversary of our General Conference.  The Church
is thirty-one years old to-day.  It seems but a short time--but a few
days, since there were only six members in this Church.  It seems but a
short time since I desired most fervently to see some one who was a
foreigner baptized into this Church.  I well remember how anxious I was
that an English preacher belonging to the Independents, and with whom I
was acquainted, should come into the Church, and he could go to his native
land and preach the Gospel there.  What were the feelings of the few,
thirty-one years ago to-day?

	Brother Kimball observed in his remarks, that he could recollect the
history of this Church from its beginning, and understood the persecutions
against this people.  The Book of Mormon was translated near where we then
resided, as we might say, in our own neighbourhood.  It was translated
about as far from where brother Kimball then lived as it is from here to
Little Cottonwood; and where Joseph first discovered the plates was about
as far from where I then lived as it is from here to Provo.  Here we would
have considered the discoverer of those plates and the translator of the
Book of Mormon as one of our neighbours.  We are in the habit here of
travelling more frequently and further than we were there.  From the time
that Joseph had his first revelation, in the neighbourhood where brother
Kimball and I then lived, appears but a few days.  Since then this people
have passed through, experienced, and learned a great deal.

	If there is a person in the midst of the Latter-day Saints--one who
has named the name of Christ as a Latter-day Saint, that can ask for any
more literal testimony than we have, I do not know what he would ask.  He
might wish to see some person that had power to bring fire down from
heaven.  Should such a person appear, the exercise of that power would by
no means prove that he was a messenger of salvation.  Or suppose that I
should see a man capable of raising the dead every hour in a day, could I
merely for that believe he was sent of God?  No.  Some may think it
strange, but should I see a man come along here and cast his cane on the
floor, and it became a serpent and ran out of the door, would I any more
believe that man to be sent of God?  No, I would not.  Were I to see a
person fill the air with living creatures, turn the dust into life, or the
river Jordan into blood, do you suppose I would any more for that consider
that man sent of God?  Not in the least.  There is but one witness--one
testimony, pertaining to the evidence of the Gospel of the Son of God, and
that is the Spirit that he diffused among his disciples.  Do his will, and
we shall know whether he speaks by the authority of the Father or of
himself.  Do as he commands us to do, and we shall know of the doctrine,
whether it is of God or not.  It is only by the revelations of the Spirit
that we can know the things of God.

	Suppose that we should see a man capable of raising the dead and he
should say, "Consequently I ought to be the leader of the Church--the
legitimate heir that God has appointed to perform his work in the last
days," would I for that believe him?  No.  I have never seen the day,
since I arrived at the years of discretion, when it would have made any
difference in my feelings.  Almost one of the first things I read in the
Bible was that Saul in his darkness and unbelief called on the Witch of
Endor for a revelation, and she had power to raise Samuel from the dead. 
What proof was that that she was a Saint of God?  If the people want any
more witness than they have, I do not know what they would call for.  Seek
for the Spirit of Truth, and that will bring all things to your
remembrance that Jesus spake and performed,--all that has been, is, and
that which is to come, so far as may be necessary.  That is the Spirit by
which Joseph spoke.

	I am thankful that we live to see this day, and have the privilege of
assembling ourselves in these valleys.  We are not now mingling in the
turmoils of strife, warring, and contention, that we would have been
obliged to have mingled in, had not the Lord suffered us to have been
driven to these mountains--one of the greatest blessings that could have
been visited upon us.  It has been designed for many generations to hide
up the Saints in the last days until the indignation of the Almighty be
over.  His wrath will be poured out upon the nations of the earth.  We see
the nations steadily driving along to the precipice.  The lord has spoken
from the heavens, and he is about to fulfil the prophecies of his ancient
and modern Prophets.  He will bring the nations into judgment, and deal
with them and make a full end of them.  Do you wish to see it done to-day? 
Are you prepared for the crisis that will eventually come?  No.

	I have frequently thought upon the preparation that is necessary. 
Suppose the word should come, "Return and build up the centre Stake of
Zion," are we ready for it?  No.  I have often alluded to our mechanics. 
We have not a mechanic that would know how to lay the first stone for the
foundation of the wall around the New Jerusalem, to say nothing about the
temples of our God.  Are you prepared for the day of vengeance to come,
when the Lord will consume the wicked by the brightness of his coming? 
No.  Then do not be too anxious for the Lord to hasten his work.  Let our
anxiety be centred upon this one thing, the sanctification of our own
hearts, the purifying of our own affections, the preparing of ourselves
for the approach of the events that are hastening upon us.  This should be
our concern, this should be our study, this should be our daily prayer,
and not to be in a hurry to see the overthrow of the wicked.  Be careful;
for if they were all to be overthrown at once, how many would there be
left that are called Saints?  Not as many as I would have remain.  We are
prepared for the day that is approaching:  let us then prepare ourselves
for the presence of our Master--for the coming of the Son of Man.  The
wicked and the ungodly are preparing for their own utter overthrow, and
the nation in which we live is doing so as fast as the wheels of time can
roll, and ere long sudden destruction will come upon them.  Seek not to
hasten it, but be satisfied to let the Lord have his own time and way, and
be patient.  Seek to have the Spirit of Christ, that we may wait patiently
the time of the Lord, and prepare ourselves for the times that are coming. 
This is our duty.

	We are blessed in these mountains.  This is the best place on the
earth for the Latter-day Saints.  Search the history of all the nations,
and every geographical position on the face of the earth, and you cannot
find another situation so well adapted for the Saints as are these
mountains.  Here is the place in which the Lord designed to hide his
people.  Be thankful for it; be true to your covenants; be faithful, each
and every one.  How frequently we hear from each other, "Be ready to
receive the truth.  If it is contrary to our feelings--let it be ever so
opposite to our own feelings or affections--receive the words of counsel
from those who are appointed to lead us."  How my heart longs to see the
brethren and sisters in a condition that when the words of truth and
virtue--righteous words of counsel--are poured upon them, they will meet
like drops of water meeting each other.  How I long to see the brethren,
when they hear the words of truth poured upon them, ready to receive those
words because they are perfectly congenial to their feelings, and every
soul exclaim, "Those words savour of the Spirit that is in me; they are my
delight, my meat, and my drink; they are the streams of eternal life.  How
congenial they are, instead of their being contrary to my feelings."

	If I or any other man give counsel that meets with opposition, that
intrudes upon the affections, meditations, and feelings of the people, and
is harsh to their ears, bitter to their souls, it is either not the words
of truth, or they have not the fountain of life within them, one of the
two.  If the Lord speaks from the heavens, reveals his will, and it comes
in contact with our feelings and notions of things, or with our judgments,
we are destitute of that fountain of truth which we should possess.  If
our hearts are filled with the Spirit of truth, with the Spirit of the
Lord, no matter what the true words from heaven are, when God speaks, all
his subjects shout "Hallelujah!  praise God!  We are ready to receive
those words, for they are true."

	Much has been said in regard to the Government in which we live.  We
say that it is the best form of human government upon the earth.  The laws
and institutions are good, but how can a republican government stand?  Did
you ever ask yourselves this question?  I wonder whether our great men of
the nation have ever asked themselves this question.  The heads of
different departments--governors, judges, cabinet officers, senators,
representatives, presidents,--I wonder whether they ever ask themselves
the question, "How can a republican government stand?"  There is only one
way for it to stand.  It can endure; but how?  It can endure, as the
government of heaven endures, upon the eternal rock of truth and virtue;
and that is the only basis upon which any government can endure.  Let the
people become corrupt, let them begin to deceive each other, and they will
all deceive themselves, as our Government has.  When we made application
to the General Government for a restoration of our property and rights in
Missouri, if Martin Van Buren had said, "Yes, I will restore your lands to
you, and will defend you in the possession of your rights, if I have
power; and if I have not, my name shall not remain as President of the
United States," he could have reinstated us in our rights.  A few words
from the General Government to the Government of Missouri would have
restored to us our lands and stayed the operations of the mob.  If Van
Buren had said, "Be still, or I will chasten you and keep sacred the oath
of my office," we should not have been mobbed, and the nation would not
have been as it is to-day.

	Our present President, what is his strength?  It is like a rope of
sand, or like a rope made of water.  He is as weak as water.  What can he
do?  Very little.  Has he power to execute the laws?  No.  I am an
American-born citizen--born under the Green Mountains in Vermont, from
whose summits you can look down upon the Atlantic States; and I feel
chagrined and mortified when I reflect upon the condition of my nation. 
Of late, at times, I have almost wished that I had been born in a foreign
nation.  I feel disgraced in having been born under a government that has
so little power, disposition, and influence for truth and right; but I
cannot help it.  What is the cause of their weakness and imbecility?  They
have left the paths of truth and virtue, they have joined themselves to
falsehood, they have made lies their refuge, they have turned aside the
innocent from their rights, and justified the iniquitous doers.  They have
justified thieving and lying and every species of debauchery; they have
fostered those who have purloined money out of the public treasury--those
who have plundered the coffers of the people, and have said, "Let it be
so; you secrete my faults, you assist me to plunder and deceive, and I am
with you to cover up your iniquity."  Shame, shame on the rulers of the
nation!  I feel myself disgraced to hail such men as my countrymen, though
I think I shall live through it.  I will endure it as well as I can; but
the corruption, the iniquity, and the deception of men in high places no
man can tell.

	I have previously related one little circumstance, which occurred not
long ago, illustrative of the mode in which payment of claims against the
Government is sometimes secured.  A certain gentleman had attended many
sessions of Congress, trying to get payment of a claim due to widows and
orphans; but could not.  In a short time, the claim was adjusted.  Brother
George A. Smith, when in Washington, saw a gentleman who had been years in
endeavouring to get a claim allowed and paid; one thousand dollars more to
grease the wheels, and through it went--the claim was paid.  We have long
been trying to get our claims paid for expenditures in quelling Indian
disturbances in 1853.  When the appropriation had reached the last move to
be made, it could not go.  "What is the matter?"  "Somebody is throwing
sand on the axletree, and the wheel is stuck."  "What must be done/" 
"Thirteen hundred dollars must grease it."  It then moved through--the
appropriation was made.  It is so all the time--every day.  These
instances are comparatively of little moment, and I merely allude to them
to show how minutely corruption prevails where justice should exist.

	These corruptions flow very naturally from the indebtedness
contracted to attain power.  In elections, the successful become indebted
to their friends, and they promise them the patronage of the President,
that they shall be sent as a minister to such or such a country, or be
appointed a judge here or there, or a governor yonder.  They cannot obtain
their election without paying largely for it, both in promises and money;
and to recover the means, they must either become thieves or repudiate
their debts.  "Such a one owes me so much for contributing to his
election, and he will not pay me."  It often happens that he cannot,
unless he steals it.

	The whole Government is gone; it is as weak as water.  I heard Joseph
Smith say, nearly thirty years ago, "They shall have mobbing to their
heart's content, if they do not redress the wrongs of the Latter-day
Saints."  Mobs will not decrease, but will increase until the whole
Government becomes a mob, and eventually it will be State against State,
city against city, neighbourhood against neighbourhood, Methodists against
Methodists, and so on.  Probably you remember reading, not a week ago, an
account of a Conference being held in Baltimore, in the course of which
they seceded from their fellow churches in the free States.  It will be
the same with other denominations of professing Christians, and it will be
Christian against Christian, and man against man; and those who will not
take up the sword against their neighbours must flee to Zion.

	Where is Zion?  Let us be prepared to receive the honourable men of
the earth--those who are good.  Are there any good people among them? 
Yes, hundreds and thousands and thousands right in our Government, rotten
as it is; but they are so priest-ridden that they have not mind of their
own--they have not strength and fortitude.  And I ask you, and I can
appeal to your own experience, place any of us back in the midst of our
old neighbours, would it not be hard to break out and say, "We are
Latter-day Saints and followers of Joseph Smith; we believe `Mormonism': 
good bye?"  There are hundreds and thousands in this situation in the
States, who desire to see truth, righteousness, and right prevail; but
they have not strength and power of mind to break loose and say, "We will
be for God and none else."  They follow the customs of their fathers, and
more or less cling to the faith and religion of their fathers.  They are
bound down with priestcraft.  I look forward to the day when their bands
will be broken.  I pray this people to do right.  Purify yourselves,
sanctify yourselves, and prepare to receive those persons into everlasting
habitations. It is time to close our forenoon meeting.  This afternoon,
probably, we will take up the business of the Conference, and continue our
meeting; and when we are through and wish to adjourn, we will do so.  We
all feel like praying for the prosperity of the kingdom.  The whole body
is continally [sic] seeking the welfare of each individual part.  The eye
wishes the foot well, the foot wishes the head well, and will walk to get
food for the head and stomach, and they are united, and we shall become
more and more united.  And I pray that the Lord will pour out his grace on
his sons and daughters, and I pray the Saints to improve upon it until we
are sanctified.  God bless you!  Amen.


                            HOME MANUFACTURES.
       Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle,
                   Great Salt Lake City, April 7, 1861.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	I have no objections to the tenor of the remarks we have just heard
pertaining to our temporal affairs, though they are rather more
appropriate, according to custom, in such a meeting as we had last evening
with the Bishops, High Priests, &c.  I wish to say a few words on the
subject last spoken of by brother Kimball.  I think he will be very
successful in obtaining oil from flax or linseed.  For a beginning, and
for persons that never saw oil made before, which is the case with the
workmen who are making it--they knew nothing about making oil--I think
they have done extraordinary well.  If I remember correctly, in the States
five quarts of oil from a bushel of seed was considered a good yield. 
There I was some little acquainted with making oil, and very much
acquainted with using it.

	Brother Kimball spoke of the oil that is imported to this country.  I
am doubtful whether there has ever been a gallon of pure linseed oil
imported into this Territory; and the person that told brother Kimball
that he could reduce his oil so that the adulteration could not be
detected, is mistaken, for I could detect it by rubbing it between my
fingers.  Before I knew anything of "Mormonism," I knew how to adulterate
oil.  Brother Kimball says that alkali is often mixed with linseed oil. 
In my young days I had to quit the business of painting purely because I
had either to be dishonest or quit; and I quit.  I will venture to say
that, let me have the oil that is made at brother Kimball's mill, and have
pure white lead of our own manufacture, and I will put a coat of paint on
to the outside woodwork of buildings that will last twenty years, better
than the materials we import and now use for painting will last two years. 
When you buy the oil that is imported and make putty with it and what is
commonly called Spanish white,--if you set glass in windows with that
putty, in a year or two the glass will be falling out; but when you use
the pure oil, in two years you could scarcely get the glass out without
the use of a knife or chisel to first cut out the putty.  Let it stand ten
years, and probably you would have to cut the sash to pieces to let the
glass out.  The oil we get from the East is worth but little, only for
present show.  That which we make here will last in this climate.

	Our painters tell us that it is the climate that destroys the paint. 
I do not think there is a painter in this Territory that knows what pure
linseed oil is.  They tell us that the climate destroys the paint.  That
is a mistake; the paint is not good.  Can you tell whether there is alkali
mixed with the linseed oil?  I can.  I can also tell whether there is
Spanish white in the paint.  Plaster of Paris (by some called Paris white)
is also mixed with white lead, and our houses are painted with it.  Other
paints are adulterated.  I pay from thirty to fifty dollars to have a
carriage painted, and in three months it needs painting again.  Let it
stand six months, and you would hardly suppose that it had been painted in
sixteen years.

	We ought to have spoken last night in regard to raising flax in this
Territory, and I will now say to the brethren that we wish them to return
the flax seed they have borrowed at the Tithing Office.  We also wish you
to raise flax and make linen cloth.  We have as good workmen at this
business as there are in the world.  The American brethren do not
generally know how to raise flax for making fine linen, but they can
easily learn.  Instead of sowing five pecks to the acre, sow five or more
bushels, and you will raise flax as soft as silk; from such flax fibres
can be hatcheled as fine as spinster's webs.  Most of the linen we import
is more than half cotton.  The flax is put into machines and cut and torn
to pieces; it then goes through another rotting process, is then mixed
with cotton, carded, spun, and called linen.  I once in a while see a
genuine piece of linen, which will as well last six years as the most we
buy will last six months, if it is not washed to death.  This you know, if
you have been accustomed to using tow cloth.  In clearing out brush,
cutting down trees, logging, and all kinds of rough work, one or two pairs
of genuine tow trousers and a couple of tow frocks will last through a
summer; but put on that heavy so-called linen you buy in the stores, and
do nothing but come into a pulpit, and before you have had it three months
it is cut to picees [sic] and entirely done.  But I will not detain you
longer upon this point.

	Brother Kimball mentioned about some of the brethren's sending to the
States for nails.  Send to the States, go to the stores, buy where you
please, and do you think that you can get better nails than you can get at
our nail factory?  I know what nails are; I have driven a great many. 
There is not a better nail made at Boston or in Germany than there is at
this factory.  I never saw a better nail, nor better nail machinery than
that which we have running.

	We should now make our own iron.  We have already spent about one
hundred and fifty thousand dollars to make iron here, but we have failed,
not for want of ore or for want of skill.  Where is the difficulty?  There
has not been union enough in the men who engaged in that work.  After we
had spent about one hundred thousand dollars, an ingenious man, named
Peter Shirts, would have brought out the iron as good as ever was made,
and that, too, by means of a small furnace of trifling cost; but they ran
him out of the county.  The citizens pronounced him a nuisance,
confiscated his property, and drove him out.  Every man said--"I will have
the name and honour of making the first iron made in this Territory, or I
will destroy the work."  That is the difficulty.  We have the best of iron
ore, and we have coal close by it; and some man will go to work,
by-and-by, who is not worth fifty dollars, and make iron.  Go into
Vermont, and you will there see a farmer, when he has a little leisure,
take his waggon, get the ore, smelt it, hammer it out, and make two or
three hundred pounds of iron in a day.  He takes care of it, and by-and-by
some one comes along and buys it of him.  Travel through that country, and
you will find hundreds of such little iron forges.  Men who do not pretend
even to be blacksmiths get some person to teach them how to use a trip
hammer to draw out the iron after they have put on their blast and run out
some two or three hundred pounds.  On a rainy day a farmer has his ore
ready and makes iron when he cannot work in the field.  We have shown you
that we can make nails.  I cannot do everything.  Who has brought carding
machines and other machinery here?  Who has entered into every kind of
mechanism that has been started in this Territory?  Twelve thousand
dollars we have spent to get the manufacture of pottery under weigh. 
By-and-by some man will come along, not worth fifty dollars, and take the
felspar [sic], which enters so largely into our granite rock, and make the
best of chinaware.

	We want glass.  Some man will come along, by-and-by, and take the
quartz rock, rig up a little furnace, and make glass.

     THE GIFTS OF GOD--HOME MANUFACTURES--WORD OF WISDOM--HAPPINESS.
       Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, 
                   Great Salt Lake City, April 7, 1861.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	I wish to speak upon what pertains to our temporal affairs, which I
would very well have liked to have been brought before the Bishops'
meeting without detaining a congregation like this on such matters.  I
wish to urge upon the people the necessity of providing for themselves,
and not being dependent entirely upon others.

	The Lord has given us ability to do a great many things.  What a
blessing this is!  Do you ever think of it?  A man has ability to take the
raw materials and build a good, comfortable habitation for the
accommodation of himself, his wives, and children.  The wife can spread a
table with wholesome food, and in a manner pleasant to the eye, while the
food is gratifying to the palate.  They have the ability to provide, if
they choose, downy beds upon which to rest their weary bodies.  Do you
ever think of this?  I presume the greater part of the inhabitants of the
earth have lived and died without reflecting much upon whence they derived
this ability, to whom they were indebted for the ingenuity they possess,
or the capability that is organized within them to gather around them the
comforts of life.  Do you, brethren, think of it?

	We have ability to cultivate the earth; we know how to raise stock,
how to make clothing, and are not obliged to go naked like the Indians. 
We are not obliged to lie down in the open air with perhaps a few sage
brush around us, as do many of the natives.  We have ability to make
ourselves comfortable as to the physical wants of this life.  Where did we
get that ability?  Are your hearts lifted to the Donor of those blessings? 
Do you remember from whence your ability came?  Who organised these
tabernacles?  Who put into them these thinking powers?  Who has placed the
spirit in the body, and organised them together, and made us capable of
reflecting?  Where did you get this ability?  A well-read historian and
geographical scholar can contemplate his antipodes, and in his mind see
what they are doing.  He can also behold the various exhibitions of human
skill in different nations, both in their social and political capacity;
for they are in the vision of his mind.  Who gave the ability to reflect
and to behold the earth and the inhabitants thereof?  Is not this a
blessing?  How cheering, how comforting, how consoling, how exalting!  I
would be glad if we could realise the blessings we possess.

	The Lord has placed in our possession the elements pertaining to this
earth.  As I told the people, when we first came into this Valley in 1847,
there is plenty of silk in the elements here, as much so as in any other
part of the earth.  Here is also the fine linen.  Were there any sheep
here when we came first here?  No.  Were there any silk raisers then here? 
No.  Were there any flax raisers here?  No; neither was there a stalk of
flax growing, except what was growing wild.  The elements are here.  Bring
the seeds, the eggs of the silkworm, raise the trees for feeding the
worms, and let us see if we cannot produce silk here.  It is in the
elements.  We have the elements to produce as good wheat as grows.  The
elements here will produce the apple, the peach, the pear, the plum, the
apricot, the cherry, the currant, and every kind of fruit in abundance,
and every variety of plant and vegetable we desire.  Have you the ability
to bring any of these things forth from the native element?  Yes; here are
men who know how to raise fruit, and here are the women who know how to
dry and cook it.  Here are the men who know how to raise sheep, and how to
take their fleeces and deliver them into the hands of their families to be
manufactured.  Here are women who know how to spin, weave, and make the
finest of cloth.  So with the flax, and so with every material calculated
to make us comfortable.  Where did we get this ability?  We got it from
our Father who is in heaven.  Be thankful for these precious gifts.  As
brother Kimball justly said, "Remember, first of all, the Giver;" worship
and adore the Giver.  Some will lose a great deal by neglecting the Giver
and by worshipping the gift.  Such will find that they will meet with
losses.

	I look forward to no distant period when this people, called
Latter-day Saints, will be obliged to sustain themselves.  We must prepare
to gather around us every necessary of life, to make every implement we
may wish to use, and to produce from the earth every grain, vegetable, and
fruit that we need, and not go to any other place to buy.  Produce every
article of clothing that we need, and stop this importation that we are
now encumbered with.  We must produce all we can enjoy.  I expect that I
soon shall do so.

	I will now make a request of the sisters--one which I wish them to
hear, remember, and put in practice.  Carefully save all cast-off linen
and cotton articles of dress, all old shirts, waggon-covers, sheets, and
every article of cotton and linen fabric, instead of letting them go to
waste in your door-yards or in the streets; for we want those rags to
supply the paper mill we are now putting up.  We have as good machinery
for making paper as there is in the United States or in the world.  We
have brought it here at a heavy expense--it has cost us some twenty or
twenty-five thousand dollars.  We are now putting it up, and we want the
sisters to save rags, and we want the brethren to raise hemp, flax, &c. 
We want to make our own paper.  The inquiry is, "Will it pay cost?"  How
much paper do we want to use?  There is annually imported into and used in
this Territory some thirty thousand dollars' worth of paper.  Were we
making our own paper, much more would be used, for we could then fill the
Territory with school-books printed here, and could supply all the paper
required throughout the Territory, thereby saving a great many thousand
dollars now paid for transportation.  We are not able to print a book for
want of paper.  Now we are prepared to go to work and make our own paper. 
As I have remarked, we have most excellent machinery; we also have good
paper-makers; and what hinders our making the best of paper, and all the
paper we want to use?  Then we can print, in book form, the History of
Joseph Smith, and do it in a respectable manner.  Then we can print the
Church History for ourselves and for the world, and every book we need. 
To aid in accomplishing so laudable an object, I want the sisters to
gather the rags and hand them over to the Bishops, and we will pay for
them with paper.  We also want hemp, flax, and every material suitable for
making good paper.

	There are a great many things we wish to talk about; and I do not
wish, if we could well avoid it, to bring such things before the
Conference, especially on the Sabbath.  The sacrament is being
administered, and we would like to talk about the spiritual welfare of the
people; but if we cannot save ourselves temporally, we may despair of
saving ourselves or the people spiritually.  The first thing is to save
our natural lives and devote them to building up the kingdom of God on the
earth.

	Place ourselves back ten centuries, read the prophecies, and behold
by prophetic vision what the Lord was going to do in the latter days. 
"The time is coming when the Saints are to be called, and they will
assemble themselves together."  "Can it be possible?"  "Yes; for the
Prophets have foretold it."  "The time is coming when the Lord will speak
from the heavens and send his angel to administer to men on earth, when
the Priesthood will be restored and bestowed upon the children of men. 
Look forth in vision and behold these events."  They would appear far more
beautiful than they appear to the natural man while acting in them.  I
sometimes think that we are far beneath our privileges in a spiritual
point of view.  The Prophets and other ancient holy men saw our day.  They
did not look at the human family now upon the stage of action in all their
weaknesses; they did not see every little trifling affair, every little
quarrel that more or less embitters life; they did not see our darkness
and contentions, sorrow, pain, anguish, grief, and strife.  No; they
beheld the glory of God resting upon the people, as we now enjoy it.

	Many sects and societies of people have at different times tried to
assemble themselves together, because it was in the prophecies that the
Saints should be assembled in the latter days--that the Lord God would
gather his people.  They have tried to gather their societies, but what
have they effected?  Comparatively nothing.  If the Lord had spoken from
heaven to them and revealed only this one privilege, and no more, that
Christians might assemble themselves together, and live, walk, talk, and
commune with each other uninterruptedly, without being obliged to mingle
with the world, they would have esteemed it one of the greatest blessings
that could have been bestowed upon them.

	I shall repeat my request to these my sisters.  We wish you to save
every article about your house that will make paper, instead of throwing
it away.  Put the rags in a way that they will get to the paper mill,
which is four miles from here.  We have taken the Sugar House and
converted it into a paper mill, and we will try to make paper, if we did
not make sugar.  And I urge it upon the brethren to raise sheep, save the
wool, and put it in the hands of their wives and daughters.  And I enjoin
it upon the sisters, old and young, to make clothing for their husbands,
brothers, children, and themselves, and stop running after imported goods.

	In regard to the quality and utility of calico, by some called
prints, I can speak from actual knowledge.  Take a good seamstress who has
four children, and let her sew from Monday morning until Saturday night,
and she can scarcely make up the calicos as fast as those four children
will wear it out; and let her do her washing to please her, and she will
want help in the house, or the children will have to go dirty and ragged. 
What are these imported rags good for?  They are hardly worth making up. 
There is not half the calico that comes here that is worth making up, if
you give it to the people free of charge, if they could do better.  Now we
can do better.

	Raise flax, brethren.  There is no place in the world where flax and
hemp will grow better than they will here, though they will not do well in
every locality.  Hunt out places and soil most suitable for flax and hemp,
and there let them be grown:  also raise and take care of sheep.  It is
thought by some that this country is unhealthy for sheep, but it is not. 
There is not a climate or soil better adapted to sheep raising than are
these mountains.  Some may think that other countries are better, but they
are not, so far as I am acquainted. But keep hundreds and hundreds of
sheep in a small pen, shut them in there nights, with hardly room to lie
down, and let them remain there until ten or eleven o'clock in the day,
before they are turned out to grass, as has been done here more or less,
and it would kill every sheep in England or Scotland.  Let them have
plenty of room by day and by night, and they will not become diseased. 
Give them well-ventilated pens, proper exercise, and proper food, and you
will not see them diseased.  The disease that is among our sheep is not
natural to the climate; it was brought here, and has been fostered by bad
management.

	When you find the soil that will produce the best and greatest amount
of sugar--that best adapted to raising cane, let the cane be raised there,
and there let the molasses and sugar be made.  Just now we want our
quarter-of-an-acre of cane, our quarter-of-an-acre of flax and hemp, our
proportion of wheat, corn, and everything else; but by-and-by our labours
will be systematized, and we will find the place where we can raise the
best cane, and let that place be devoted to raising it, and make sugar,
and stop importing it.  The English brethren and the brethren from the
Eastern and Northern and Western States and from the Canadas know nothing
about making sugar from the cane; and when they see newly-made cane sugar,
they say it is not good.  I have never seen a purer article of sugar made
than is made here.  Eat the new cane sugar that is made in the Southern
States, and it has a very unpleasant taste.  Take our sugar and cleanse it
as they do, and let it stand until it is ripe for the market, and you will
find as good an article of cane sugar as ever was made.  The Chinese sugar
cane is a better plant to produce sweet than is the cane they raise in the
South and on the West India Islands.  We can make our own sugar.  We send
out a large amount of money to buy sugar, and we want this practice
stopped.  Now, farmers, raise what sugar you want:  you can do it as well
as not.  Go into the business systematically.

	You know that we all profess to believe the "Word of Wisdom."  There
has been a great deal said about it, more in former than in latter years. 
We, as Latter-day Saints, care but little about tobacco; but, as
"Mormons," we use a vast quantity of it.  As Saints, we use but little; as
"Mormons," we use a great deal.  How much do you suppose goes annually
from this Territory, and has for ten or twelve years past, in gold and
silver, to supply the people with tobacco?  I will say $60,000.  Brother
William H. Hooper, our Delegate in Congress, came here in 1849, and during
about eight years he was selling goods his sales for tobacco alone
amounted to over $28,000 a year.  At the same time there were other stores
that sold their share and drew their share of the money expended yearly,
besides what has been brought in by the keg and by the half keg.  The
traders and passing emigration have sold tons of tobacco, besides what is
sold here regularly.  I say that $60,000 annually is the smallest figure I
can estimate the sales at.  Tobacco can be raised here as well as it can
be raised in any other place.  It wants attention and care.  If we use it,
let us raise it here.  I recommend for some man to go to raising tobacco. 
One man, who came here last fall, is going to do so; and if he is
diligent, he will raise quite a quantity.  I want to see some man go to
and make a business of raising tobacco and stop sending money out of the
Territory for that article.

	Some of the brethren are very strenuous upon the "Word of Wisdom,"
and would like to have me preach upon it, and urge it upon the brethren,
and make it a test of fellowship.  I do not think that I shall do so.  I
have never done so.  We annually expend only $60,000 to break the "Word of
Wisdom," and we can save the money and still break it, if we will break
it.  Some would ask brother Brigham whether he keeps the "Word of Wisdom." 
No:  and I can say still further, as I told one of the teachers in Nauvoo,
I come as near doing so as any man in this generation.  It is not using
tobacco that particularly breaks the "Word of Wisdom," nor is that the
only bad practice it corrects; but it is profitable in every path of life. 
If our young persons were manly enough to govern their appetites a little,
they would not contract these bad habits; but they must have some
weaknesses; they must not be perfect and exactly right in everything.  It
is a loathsome practice to use tobacco in any way.  A doctor told an old
lady in New York, when she insisted upon his telling her whether snuff
would injure her brain, "It will not hurt the brain:  there is no fear of
snuff's hurting the brain of anyone, for no person that has brains will
take snuff."  I will say that the most filthy way of using tobacco is to
smoke it.  "What is the neat way?  If you are going to direct any course
for the people to use tobacco, let us know what it is.  Cannot you who
have used it for years point out a neat, modest, judicious way of using
it?" The "Word of Wisdom" says that tobacco is good for sick cattle; and
when you want another chew, down with it as you would a pill.  It may make
you vomit a little, but that is soon over, and it is good for sick cattle. 
That is the neatest way you can use tobacco.

	I will now speak a little in regard to people's making themselves
happy.  We heard something upon that subject to-day and yesterday; and we
frequently hear people preaching about heaven, paradise, and Zion; and if
there is a comfort, a felicity, and good feeling, I want to say a few
words about them; and I shall begin upon the doctrine so much beloved by
Saint and sinner, and that is the plurality of women.  The Saints like a
plurality of wives, and the sinners like a plurality of men and women.  I
will say to the sisters and I have heard but very few women, and not a
great many men, ever talk sensibly upon the plurality of wives.  When they
begin to talk about it, they exhibit almost without an exception, passion
instead of principle.  Were we to appeal to passions of the people, we
should promote the doctrine of a plurality of men and of women.  But when
we address ourselves to the Saints of the Most High God, it is very
different and in a different light.  It is for my sisters to be mothers of
holy men and holy women--to receive and conceive in the name and by the
power of the Holy Ghost--to bring forth their fruits to the praise and
honour of the God of heaven.  But what are the people doing here?  "I want
another wife," and almost universally passion is exhibited instead of
principle.

	If the plurality of wives is to pander to the low passions of men and
women, the sooner it is abolished the better.  "How far would you go in
abolishing it?"  I would say, if the Lord should reveal that it is his
will to go so far as to become a Shaking Quaker, Amen to it, and let the
sexes have no connection.  If so far as for a men to have but one wife,
let it be so.  The word and will of the Lord is what I want--the will and
mind of God.  He has revealed his mind and will.  The time is coming when
the Lord is going to raise up a holy nation.  He will bring up a royal
Priesthood upon the earth, and he has introduced a plurality of wives for
that express purpose, and not to gratify lustful passion in the least.  I
would rather take my valise in my hand to-day, and never see a wife or a
child again, and preach the Gospel until I go into the grave, than to live
as I do, unless God commands it.  I never entered into the order of
plurality of wives to gratify passion.  And were I now asked whether I
desired and wanted another wife, my reply would be, It should be one by
whom the Spirit will bring forth noble children.  I am almost sixty years
old; and if I now live for passion, I pray the Lord Almighty to take my
life from the earth.

	I know the weaknesses of humanity, and I understand the passions of
men and women.  I am sorry for them.  I wish they had grace according to
their day, creating such fortitude in them that they would determine to
suffer unto death rather than violate a holy command of the Almighty, or
transgress the bounds God has set.  "Is that the way you have lived?"  It
is.  It is the example I have set before my family from the day the Lord
opened my mind to see the Gospel.  Ask these sisters (many of them have
known me for years,) what my life has been in private and in public.  It
has been like the angel Gabriel's, if he had visited you; and I can live
so still.  But how are we to be made happy?  There is one course--love the
Giver more than the gift; love Him that has placed passion in me more than
my passions.  Let passion lie at the feet of judgment, and let every
attribute that God has bestowed on me be devoted to the righteous cause he
has commenced upon the earth.  This, and this alone, produces happiness. 
He has brought us forth, and we live and see this day that Prophets,
kings, and millions of great and good men have prayed to see, but died
without the sight.  When they looked at it in vision, it cast a halo,
around which was like the dawning of heaven to their souls, and they
shouted, "Hallelujah!: beholding the spirit and glory of these times that
we now live in.  And we yield to passion?  I say, Shame on the individual
that says passion has anything to do with his life.  It is crucified.  It
lies, as it were, at the foot of the cross.  That is my faith, and it has
been my life.

	How will you be happy?  Love the Giver more than the gift.  Delight
yourselves in your duties, mothers.  Here are the middle-aged and the
young.  I am now almost daily sealing young girls to men of age and
experience.  Love your duties, sisters.  Are you sealed to a good man? 
Yes, to a man of God.  It is for you to bear fruit and bring forth, to the
praise of God, the spirits that are born in yonder heavens and are to take
tabernacles on the earth.  You have the privilege of forming tabernacles
for those spirits, instead of their being brought in to this wicked world,
that God may have a royal Priesthood, a royal people, on the earth.  That
is what plurality of wives is for, and not 
to gratify lustful desires.  Sisters, do you wish to make yourselves
happy?  Then what is your duty?  It is for you to bear children, in the
name of the Lord, that are full of faith and the power of God,--to
receive, conceive, bear, and bring forth in the name of Israel's God, that
you may have the honour of being the mothers of great and good men--of
kings, princes, and potentates that shall yet live on the earth and govern
and control the nations.  Do you look forward to that? or are you
tormenting yourselves by thinking that your husbands do not love you?  I
would not care whether they loved a particle or not; but I would cry out,
like one of old, in the joy of my heart, "I have got a man from the Lord!" 
"Hallelujah!  I am a mother--I have borne an image of God, and that
continually, that he will overshadow the child by the power of the Holy
Ghost before and after its birth--that the Holy Ghost may attend it
continually.  The mother should inquire what her duty is.  It is to teach
her children holiness, prayer to God, and to trust in Him.  Teach them the
holy religion and the commandments that are calculated to sanctify the
people and bring them into the presence of our Father and God.  But no;
too often it is passion.  If my passion is served, I am in heaven.  The
fire will have to burn them up.  We must live by principle; and if we do,
we shall attain to perfection--to being crowned with crowns of glory,
immortality, and eternal lives.  I would rather be purified here than to
live ten thousand years to attain the same point in another existence. 
The man that enters into this order by the prompting of passion, and not
with a view to honour God and carry out his purposes, the curse of God
will rest upon him, and that which he seems to have will be taken from him
and given to those that act according to principle.  Remember it.

	The world cries out against this obnoxious doctrine, that I should
have more wives than one.  And what would they do?  Destroy the virtue of
every woman in this community if they had the power.  What do they care
about virtue?  With comparatively few exceptions, no more than do the
devils in hell.  Most of the officers who have been sent here would have
defiled every bed in this Territory, had they have had the power.  Tell
about this doctrine's being obnoxious to their delicate feelings!  Yes, it
is, in one sense.  It keeps them at bay; it is hell to them; it is burning
them up; and I say they may burn up, and they will.

	Elders of Israel, have you entered into the doctrine that has been
revealed, through passion?  If you have, you will find that that course
will take that which you seem to have, and the Lord will say--"Let this
man, that man, or the other man go, for he has acted on passion, and not
on principle.  Take that which he seems to have, and give it to him that
has been faithful with the five, the two, the three, or the one talent." 
That is the way it will be, by-and-by.

	Sisters, do not ask whether you can make yourselves happy, but
whether you can do you husband's will, if he is a good man.  Teach your
children; for you are their guardians, to act as father and mother to them
until they are out of your care.  The teachings and examples of our
mothers have formed, to a great extent, our characters and directed our
lives.  This is their right, when they act by the power of the Priesthood,
to direct the child until it is of a proper age, and then hand it over to
the husband and father, and into the hands of God, with such faith and
such love of virtue and truth, and with such love of God and its parents,
that that child can never suppose that it is out of the hand and from
under the control of the parent.  Do not call it "mine."  Let your maxim
be, "This is not mine," whether you have one child or a dozen.  "It is not
mine, but the Lord has seen fit to let me bear the souls of the children
of men.  It is from my Father and God, and I will do my duty and hand it
over to him," and have that faith that the child can never wring itself
out of the hands of a good father and mother--can never stray away,--no,
never.  That is the privilege of mothers.  It is you who guide the
affections and feelings of the child.  It is the mothers, after all, that
rule the nations of the earth.  They form, dictate, and direct the minds
of statesmen, and the feelings, course, life, notions, and sentiments of
the great and the small, of kings, rulers, governors, and of the people in
general.

	Now, mothers, act upon principle, and see whether you can do anything
to promote happiness in your families; see whether you can guide the minds
of your children, teach them their letters, &c.  I thought to speak upon
the last-named point, but I will omit it.  You can, at least, teach your
children faith, and pay attention to knitting their stockings, making
their clothing, &c.; see that the chickens are taken care of, that the
milk is cleanly milked from the cow, and that the children are made
comfortable.  And if your husband is here or there, do not fret
yourselves, whether he leaves you or not.  If he is a good man, he can
take care of himself, and will safely return to you again.  The mother
that takes this course will be a happy mother--a happy woman.  But where
you find women jealous of each other, and "I am watching my husband," I
would ask, Where are your children?  They are nearly all the time in the
mud, or in some mischief.  And what are you doing, mother?  You are
"watching that man."  "Who is he?"  "He is my husband."  I used to tell
the sisters in Nauvoo that they did not care where their children were, if
they could only keep in sight of their husbands. A traveller in the
Eastern country overtook an old gentleman walking towards a town, and
asked him, "Who is the great man of that little town?  Who is your leading
man?  Who is the governor and controlling spirit of that little place?" 
The old gentleman replied, "I am the king of that little town."  "Really,"
says the traveller, "are you the leading man?"  "Yes, sir, I am king in
that place, and reign as king."  "How do you make this to appear?  Are you
in affluent circumstances?"  "No, I am poor; but in that little village
there are so many children.  All those children go to my school; I rule
the children, and they rule their parents, and that makes me king."  I
frequently think of this.  Let the children rule the mother, and the
mother the father, and that makes the children kings.  How frequently you
find this.  How is it, my brethren?  When you call your families together
for prayers, where are your children?  Were this question asked me, I
should say, "I do not know."  Mothers, where are your children?  "We do
not know; it is as much as we can do to be here."  Why do you not have
your children together?  It is your duty to look after them; they should
not be running at random in the streets.  Some mothers will put a
ten-dollar frock on a child and let it go straight into the mud, while
they are watching the father and trying to keep him in bounds.  Take care
of your children, clothe them comfortably, and avoid all extravagance.

	I am ashamed, not only in my own family, but others, to see the
gewgaws that are so often put upon children, when an antelope skin or a
piece of blue factory would make much more suitable clothing for them. 
Dress them in strong, durable cloth, and that, too, made by your own
hands.  But no; the finest fabrics must be put upon them to play in. 
Some, if they could get it, would put fifty dollars' worth on a child, and
send him into the street to ride upon rails, climb trees, &c.  And when
prayer-time comes, the husband inquires, "Where are your children?"  "I
don't know."  It is your duty, mothers, to look after them; and when you
have your children in the prayer-room, tell them that their father is
coming to pray with them.  Also, let it be your delight that your children
do not waste bread and other food.  If you have bread to spare, give it to
the poor, and see that your children do not destroy it.  Do not let them
destroy valuable clothing, but put strong, durable cloth upon them, and
save where you can, and give it to gathering the poor.  I do not rule my
family with an iron hand, as many do, but in kindness and with pleasant
words; and if soft words would teach them, they would know as much as any
family on this earth.  See that your children are taught every principle
of goodness and virtue, and do not let them run uncontrolled in the
streets, with expensive food in their hands to waste and expensive
clothing upon their backs to tear and destroy.  If you get a frock worth
three dollars when a two-dollar one will answer, and maybe last longer,
you might have saved a dollar to give for gathering the poor.  Treat your
children like children.

	Some mothers try to make father believe that a child five years old
knows as much as the father.  Another great cause of dissatisfaction is
that so many women are such noble women, and know so much more than their
husbands.  They say, "This man is not capable of leading me."  That is a
positive proof to me that that man does not know his ability and calling. 
I will acknowledge that many women are smarter than their husbands.  But
when people are married, instead of trying to get rid of each other,
reflect that you have made your choice, and strive to honour and keep it. 
Do not manifest that you have acted unwisely, and say that you have made a
bad choice, nor let anybody know that you think you have.  You made your
choice; stick to it, and strive to comfort and assist each other.

	There are other things that I would like to speak about, but I will
now stop speaking.  God bless you!  Amen.

                               PRIESTHOOD.
        Remarks made by President Brigham Young, Mill Creek Ward,
                               May 7, 1861.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	In order to come to a proper understanding--to see eye to eye--it is
necessary that we be instructed, that we may be workmen that need not be
ashamed before God and his holy angels.  I pray for you continually, that
the wisdom of God may rest upon you and upon all his Saints.  I am happy
for the privilege of meeting with you, and can say, according to the best
of my knowledge, that there is a great improvement in the midst of the
Saints:  they are increasing in understanding.  The little apparent
difficulty you seem to have here is no difficulty at all.  In the rise of
this Church, and for years afterwards, if four men had been appointed to
live in the capacity of a neighbourhood, there would have been more real
difficulty in one month than there has been in this Ward since brother
Miller has been its Bishop.  This proves that the people are learning to
let things alone that they do not know to be right, and wait until they
know what right is.  This is a great lesson to learn.  It is also a
precious gift, that some people seem to be possessed of, to have knowledge
enough not to talk until they can say something to advantage and benefit
to themselves, or others, or both.

	The instructions some of you need here I presume would be good for
all.  It is not always an easy matter for persons to understand the true
position they really hold before God and before their brethren.  People do
not seem to understand fully their position and the duties they are called
upon to perform; but when a person comes to understanding, he will not go
amiss.  There are so many traits in the lives of the people possessing the
Priesthood, that, touch it where you will, you cannot touch it amiss; and
if you know and understand it, it is to you a source of great
satisfaction, while those who do not understand are still left in the
dark.

	When brother Miller was at the Seventies' meeting in the city, a week
ago last Saturday, I made some remarks on the items of doctrine before us,
and the clerk wrote down a few of them.  I took, I think, the purport of
these remarks, and published them in the last week's News.  I then and
there stated that a Bishop, and his Bishopric, cannot try any individual
for error in doctrine.  In reflecting upon this, let me ask, how do we
understand doctrine?  By revelation.  What are the privileges of a Bishop? 
Has he the privilege of the administration of angels?  Yes; this belongs
to the lesser Priesthood.  Has he the privilege of using the Urim and
Thummim?  Yes.  The breastplate of Aaron that you read of in the
Scriptures was a Urim and Thummim, fixed in bows similar to the one Joseph
Smith found.  Aaron wore this Urim and Thummim on his breast, and looked
into it like looking on a mirror, and the information he needed was there
obtained.  This earth, when it becomes purified and sanctified, or
celestialized, will become like a sea of glass; and a person, by looking
into it, can know things past, present, and to come; though none but
celestialized beings can enjoy this privilege.  They will look into the
earth, and the things they desire to know will be exhibited to them, the
same as the face is seen by looking into a mirror.

	The office of a Bishop belongs to the lesser Priesthood.  He is the
highest officer in the Aaronic Priesthood, and has the privilege of using
the Urim and Thummim--has the administration of angels, if he has faith,
and lives so that he can receive and enjoy all the blessings Aaron
enjoyed.  At the same time, could Aaron rise up and say, "I have as much
power and authority as you, Moses?"  No; for Moses held the keys and
authority above all the rest upon the earth.  He holds the keys of the
Priesthood of Melchisedek, which is the Priesthood of the Son of God,
which holds the keys of all these Priesthoods, dispensing the blessings
and privileges of both Priesthoods to to [sic] the people, as he did in
the days of the children of Israel when he led them out of Egypt.  This
Priesthood has been on the earth at various times.  Adam had it, Seth had
it, Enoch had it, Noah had it, Abraham and Lot had it, and it was handed
down to the days of the Prophets, long after the days of the ancients. 
But the people would not receive the Prophets, but persecuted them, stoned
them and thrust them out of their cities, and they had to wander in the
wilderness and make dens and caves their homes.  The children of Israel
never received the Melchisedek Priesthood; they went into bondage to enjoy
it in part, but all its privileges and blessings they never would receive
in full, until Jesus came, and then but a few of them would receive it. 
This High Priesthood rules, directs, governs, and controls all the
Priesthoods, because it is the highest of all.

	What ordination should a man receive to possess all the keys and
powers of the Holy Priesthood that were delivered to the sons of Adam?  He
should be ordained an Apostle of Jesus Christ.  That office puts him in
possession of every key, every power, every authority, communication,
benefit, blessing, glory, and kingdom that was ever revealed to man.  That
pertains to the office of an Apostle of Jesus Christ.  In the last week's
News I published a portion of a revelation, showing the authority of the
First Presidency of the Church, composed at first of Joseph Smith, Sidney
Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams.  When this revelation was given, the
two last-named brethren were Joseph Smith's counsellors, and this First
Presidency possessed the power and authority of building up the kingdom of
God upon all the earth, and of setting the Church in order in its
perfection.  You read in the revelation alluded to that when the Twelve
were called and ordained, they possessed the same power and authority as
the three First Presidents; and in reading further you find that there
must needs be appendages and helps growing out of this Priesthood.  The
Seventies possess the same power and authority; they hold the keys of
establishing, building up, regulating, ordaining, and setting in order the
kingdom of God in all its perfections upon the earth.  We have a Quorum of
High Priests, and there are a great many of them.  They are a local
body--they tarry at home; but the Seventies travel and preach; so also do
the High Priests, when they are called upon.  They possess precisely the
same Priesthood that the Seventies and the Twelve and the First Presidency
possess; but are they ordained to officiate in all the authority, powers,
and keys of this Priesthood?  No, they are not.  Still they are High
Priests of God; and if they magnify their Priesthood, they will receive at
some time all the authority and power that it is possible for man to
receive.

	Suppose that Sidney Rigdon and Frederick G. Williams had been taken
away or had apostatized, as one of them did soon after the revelation I
have referred to was given, and there had been only Joseph Smith left of
the First Presidency, would he alone have had authority to set in order
the kingdom of God on the earth?  Yes.  Again:  Suppose that eleven of the
Twelve had been taken away by the power of the Adversary, that one Apostle
has the same power that Joseph had, and could preach, baptize, and set in
order the whole kingdom of God upon the earth, as much so as the Twelve,
were they all together.  Again:  If in the providence of God he should
permit the Enemy to destroy these two first Quorums, and then destroy the
Quorum of Seventy, all but one man, what is his power?  It would be to go
and preach, baptize, confirm, lay on hands, ordain, set in order, build
up, and establish the whole kingdom of God as it is now.  Can we go any
further?  Yes; and I think you will see the reason of it, and how easy it
is to be understood, and see the propriety of it.  I really believe, and
it is my doctrine, that if I speak to the brethren by the power of the
Spirit of my calling, the evidences are commended to those who hear, and
the reasons they see in the spirit of the remarks I make.  Suppose the
Enemy had power to destroy all but one of the High Priests from the face
of the earth, what would that one possess in the power of his Priesthood? 
He would have power and authority to go and preach, baptize, confirm,
ordain, and set in order the kingdom of God in all its perfection on the
earth.  Could he do this without revelation?  No.  Could the Seventies? 
No.  Could the twelve?  No.  And we ask, Could Joseph Smith or the First
Presidency do this without revelation?  No; not one of them could do such
a work without revelation direct from God.  I can go still further. 
Whoever is ordained to the office of an Elder to a certain degree
possesses the keys of the Melchisedek Priesthood; and suppose only one
Elder should be left on the earth, could he go and set in order the
kingdom of God?  Yes, by revelation.

	How came these Apostles, these Seventies, these High Priests, and all
this organization we now enjoy?  It came by revelation.  Father Cahoon,
who lately died in your neighbourhood, was one of the first men ordained
to the office of High Priest in this kingdom.  In the year 1831, the
Prophet Joseph went to Ohio.  He left the State of New York on the last of
April, if my memory serves me, and arrived in Kirtland sometime in May. 
They held a General Conference, which was the first General Conference
ever called or held in Ohio.  Joseph then received a revelation, and
ordained High Priests.  You read in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants how
he received the Priesthood in the first place.  It is there stated how
Joseph received the Aaronic Priesthood.  John the Baptist came to Joseph
Smith and Oliver Cowdery.  When a person passes behind the vail, he can
only officiate in the spirit-world; but when he is resurrected he
officiates as a resurrected being, and not as a mortal being.  You read in
the revelation that Joseph was ordained, as it is written.  When he
received the Melchisedek Priesthood, he had another revelation.  Peter,
James, and John came to him.  You can read the revelation at your leisure. 
When he received this revelation in Kirtland, the Lord revealed to him
that he should begin and ordain High Priests; and he then ordained quite a
number, all whose names I do not now recollect; but Lyman Wight was one;
Fathers Cahoon and Morley, John Murdock, Sidney Rigdon, and others were
also then ordained.  These were the first that were ordained to this
office in the Church.  I relate this to show you how Joseph proceeded step
by step in organizing the Church.  At that time there were no Seventies
nor twelve Apostles.

	Twenty-seven years ago, on the 5th of this month, in the year 1834, a
company started for Kirtland to redeem the land of Zion.  Brother Heber C.
Kimball and my brother Joseph were in that camp.  There had not then been
ordained any Twelve Apostles, nor any Seventies, although there was a
revelation pertaining to the Apostles and Seventies.  There were High
Priests, but no High Priests' Quorum.  I am relating this as a little
matter of history that will no doubt be interesting to those who were not
there.

	After we returned from Missouri, my brother Joseph Young and myself
had been singing after preaching in a meeting; and when the meeting was
dismissed, brother Joseph Smith said, "Come, go down to my house with me." 
We went and sung to him a long time, and talked with him.  He then opened
the subject of the Twelve and Seventies for the first time I ever thought
of it.  He said, "Brethren, I am going to call out Twelve Apostles.  I
think we will get together, by-and-by, and select Twelve Apostles, and
select a Quorum of Seventies from those who have been up to Zion, out of
the camp boys."  In 1835, the last of January or in February, or about
that time, we held our meetings from day to day, and brother Joseph called
out Twelve Apostles at that time.  He had a revelation when we were
singing to him.  Those who were acquainted with him knew when the Spirit
of revelation was upon him, for his countenance wore an expression
peculiar to himself while under that influence.  He preached by the Spirit
of revelation, and taught in his council by it, and those who were
acquainted with him could discover it at once, for at such times there was
a peculiar clearness and transparency in his face.  He followed up that
revelation until he organized the Church, and so along until the baptism
of the dead was revealed.

	I relate these circumstances to show you that a person who is
ordained to the office of an Elder in this kingdom has the same priesthood
that the high Priests, that the Twelve Apostles, that the Seventies, and
that the First Presidency hold; but all are not called to be one of the
Twelve Apostles, nor are all called to be one of the First Presidency, nor
to be one of the First Presidents of all the Seventies, nor to be one of
the Presidents of a Quorum of Seventies, nor to preside over the High
Priests' Quorum; but every man in his order and place, possessing a
portion of the same Priesthood, according to the gifts and callings to
each.  Does not this clear up the subject?  [Voices:  "It does."]  This
will explain it to you so that you can understand it.  When we find where
our callings and positions are in the midst of the people of God, and
every person willing to act in the discharge of his duty, there is enough
for us all to do.  All persons can have all they desire to do to promote
the kingdom of God on the earth;  they can exercise themselves in all that
God has granted to them to prove themselves worthy before God and the
people.

	I will again refer to the office of a Bishop.  If you will look over
the revelations and search the Scriptures, you will find that the office
of Bishop was bestowed upon Aaron, Moses' half-brother, for certain
services he had performed, which Priesthood was to continue with Aaron's
posterity.  We have not the literal descendants of Aaron in the Church to
fill the Bishopric, but the Church is mostly composed of the literal
descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who are entitled to the
Melchizedek Priesthood, that holds the keys of all the Priesthoods ever
delivered to the children of men.  But we want Bishops in the Church. 
Here are brethren settling in different neighbourhoods, and we learn that
the office of a Bishop is to attend to the temporal affairs of the
Church--to see that the poor are taken care of--to see that the brethren
judiciously and wisely conduct themselves in the capacity of a community. 
The President of the Church cannot attend to these temporal affairs in all
the different settlements, and the Twelve Apostles are away preaching, and
the Seventies are away preaching, and the High Priests are scattered here
and there in their local capacity; and we want men who are literal
descendants of Aaron to act in the Aaronic Priesthood, to which pertains
the Bishopric; but we have not got them.  Under these circumstances, we
take a High Priest and ordain him to the office of a Bishop, to which he
is not entitled by lineage; but in his calling he possesses the keys and
power of the holy Priesthood of the Son of God on the earth, and this
qualifies him to officiate in all the lesser offices.  We take this man
and set him apart to be a Bishop.  "What! ordain a High Priest to the
lesser Priesthood?"  No; we call it ordaining a Bishop; and though we say,
"We ordain you to be a Bishop, with our hands upon your head," it really
and virtually means, "We set you apart to officiate as a Bishop in the
midst of the people of God, by virtue of your holy Priesthood, which is
after the order of Melchizedek, which is after the order of the Son of
God.  We set you apart to officiate in this office of the Aaronic
Priesthood, blessing you with all the keys and authority of the same." 
This Bishop can call two men to be his Counsellors, but it would not be so
if we had a literal descendant of Aaron.  When we find such a man, and he
is ordained to act or is set apart to act in his lineal Priesthood, he is
to all intents and purposes a Bishop, and needs no Counsellors.  This
seems to be a great curiosity.  A man who is a Priest, and cannot hold any
higher office, can preside as a Bishop over a community of people where he
is appointed to preside, and dictate the temporal affairs of the people of
God, and that too without a Counsellor from among his brethren; but a High
Priest cannot act in this office without two Counsellors.  Is not this a
novel thing--a strange peculiarity?  It requires three High Priests to
perform the duties, fill the office, and attend to the callings of a
literal descendant of Aaron, who cannot hold a higher Priesthood.  That is
the order, and what Joseph did is according to the revelation he received.

	When we take a High priest and set him apart to officiate in the
office of a Priest as a Priest or as a Bishop, while he is acting in this
calling do we expect him to officiate as a High Priest?  When Bishop
Miller finds that the Seventies in his Ward are teaching doctrine that he
does not believe in, he has nothing to do with the matter while acting in
the capacity of a Bishop.  He would say, "I stand here as your Bishop, and
I have nothing to do with the doctrines you teach.  I cannot control the
higher Priesthood, while in my present calling.  I cannot officiate here
as an Apostle, as a Revelator, as one who has authority to say `Thus saith
the Lord' to the people concerning spiritual things."  The Doctrine and
Covenants teaches us whom they are to be decided by.  Though brother
Miller, as a Bishop, should say nothing on controverted points of
doctrine, yet he can meet with his brethren of the High Priesthood who may
be in his neighbourhood.  Three High Priests for a Quorum; five form a
Quorum; seven form a Quorum; twelve form a Quorum.  Let a Quorum of High
Priests go into an upper room, and there appear before the Lord in the
garments of the holy Priesthood, and offer up before the Father, in the
name of Jesus, the signs of the holy Priesthood, and then ask God to give
a revelation concerning that doctrine, and they have a right to receive
it.  If you cannot get the information in any other way, suppose you were
upon the islands of the sea, far away from the main body of the Church,
you are entitled to the administration of angels who administer in the
terrestrial kingdom; and they have right to receive administrations from
the celestial.  In this capacity you could ask for revelations pertaining
to doctrine.

	In the capacity of a Bishop, has any person a right to direct the
spiritual affairs of the kingdom of God?  No.  In that capacity his right
is restricted to affairs in a temporal and moral point of view.  He has a
right to deal with the transgressor.  I do not care what office a
transgressor bears in the Church and kingdom of God, if he should be one
of the Twelve Apostles, and come into a Bishop's neighbourhood, and
purloin his neighbour's goods, defile his neighbour's bed, or commit any
breach of the moral law, the Bishop has a right to take that man before
himself and his council, and there hold him to answer for the crime he has
been guilty of, and deal with him for his membership in the Church, and
cut him off from the Church to all intents and purposes, to all time and
eternity, if he will not make restitution and sincerely repent.  "What!
one of the Seventies?"  Yes.  "One of the High Priests?"  Yes.  "One of
the Twelve Apostles?"  Yes, anybody that happens to come into his
neighbourhood and transgresses the moral law.  On the other hand, can the
Seventies try a Bishop?  No.  Can the High Priests try him?  No, unless
they call twelve High Priests in the capacity of a High Council; and then
you must have the Presidency of the Melchisedek Priesthood to preside over
the council, and there you can try a Bishop.  How curiously it is all
woven together to make the fabric so strong that no one man or set of men
can rend it asunder!  The Lord has so effectually woven it for the
salvation of the people, that it takes tremendous power to destroy it from
the earth.  All this is designed to guard against evil.  A Bishop can try
a man for a breach of moral conduct, but he cannot sit in judgment on
controverted points of doctrine, for they are to be referred to those who
hold the keys of the higher Priesthood, and their decision is the end of
all strife.

	In trying all matters of doctrine, to make a decision valid, it is
necessary to obtain a unanimous voice, faith, and decision.  In the
capacity of a Quorum, the three First Presidents must be one in their
voice--the Twelve Apostles must be unanimous in their voice, to obtain a
righteous decision upon any matter that may come before them, as you may
read in the Doctrine and Covenants.  The Seventies may decide upon the
same principle.  Whenever you see these Quorums unanimous in their
declaration, you may set it down as true.  Let the Elders get together,
being faithful and true; and when they agree upon any point, you may know
that it is true.

	I will now say a few words upon the callings of men in a
neighbourhood or Ward capacity.  Some of the High Priests may be ordained
to officiate in callings pertaining to the Church in Ward capacities.  Now
I will ask the Bishop of this Ward if he has a right to neglect this Ward
to meet with the High Priests' Quorum in their meetings.  He has no such
right--he has no right to neglect this Ward one minute for the sake of
such meeting.  That is not his right and calling when his services are
required here as Bishop.  There is a poor widow, a sick family, business
is going at random here and there, and he has no right to believe that he
has the privilege of leaving all his Ward to look out for themselves, and
say, "If you do well, it is well:  and if you do ill, I cannot help it, I
am going to my Quorum meeting."  It is his duty to devote his time, from
new Year's morning to New Year's morning again, for the benefit of his
ward.  He is placed to preside over it, and he will dictate all in his
Ward.  If he sees a Seventy or a High Priest squandering his property, or
if he sees any getting drunk, gambling, or loafing about, wasting their
time, he has a perfect right to call them to account.

	We have mass Quorums of Seventies in most of the settlements in the
Territory; and I have frequently thought, if the brethren did not improve
pretty fast, the title would have to be altered a little; but as they have
improved, we do not see any necessity for making the application and
calling them muss Quorums.  Joseph Smith never would permit the Seventies
to get together and believe themselves a separate body from the rest of
the Church.  I never cared much about this, for I was not a particle
afraid that they would get any power that truly does not belong to them;
for, if they did, I was always satisfied that it would be blown to the
four winds.  I want to inform the Seventies living in Bishop Miller's
Ward, (and what I now say applies to all the other Wards and Bishops,) if
he calls on them to act as Teachers, it is their imperative duty to act as
Teachers, seeking to benefit and bless the people by enlarging their
understandings, that they may prove themselves before God and one another. 
There is a world of intelligence to impart, and the Priesthood (in its
various callings, appointments, helps, and governments,) is the means,
through its ministers, of imparting it to the people.  It is not the duty
of a Seventy or High Priest, who is appointed a Teacher or a Bishop, to
neglect the duties of those callings to attend a Seventies' or High
Priests' meeting.  Attend to the wishes of your Bishop, and never ask who
has the most power.  The man who has the most power with God will wield
it, and earth and hell cannot hinder it.  Talk about power, and "I want
you to give me influence!"  There are but few things that offend me more
than to have men come to me and say, "Brother Brigham, give me influence,
for I am a great man in this kingdom."  And what would he do with it?  He
would take himself and all who would follow him to the Devil. Every man
who has true influence has obtained it before God through faithfulness,
and in all such cases there is not the least danger but what he will have
it before the Saints.  It is the man who converses with the heavens, who
delights in doing so, and knows for himself that this is the kingdom of
God, who has true influence.

	As I said last Sabbath, the greatest proof and the least to prove
that this is the kingdom of God, consists in its embracing every truth and
rejecting every error, and that embraces God and heaven and all holy
beings.  Who, then, has the greatest power?  Those who best do the will of
God.  When a Bishop calls upon a man to officiate as an assistant to him,
he does not call upon him as a Seventy or as a High Priest, but as one of
his own family--as a member of his Ward.  You know what the Spirit of the
Lord teaches me, to see that the widows go not hungry, that the orphans
are clothed, and every able-bodied man is judiciously and profitably
employed, and that every man is doing his duty,--to see that the cattle
and waggons are got together when they are wanted; and it is as much the
duty of the Seventies to look after these matters as it is the duty of any
of their brethren.  When the Bishops say, "Go and drive that team, do
this, or do that," "Oh yes," says a Seventy, "with all my heart." 
"Bishop, we thought we would meet once a week as Seventies or High
Priests; can we have your permission?"  "Yes; go to the school-house and
sound life eternal to the people."

	Told by their President to have a muss Quorum meeting here!  No; no
such power is vested in the Seventies anywhere.  No man gets power from
God to raise disturbance in any Branch of the Church.  Such power is
obtained from an evil source.

	Now, High Priests and Apostles, go to with your might and assist your
Bishops in providing for the widows and fatherless.

	If Bishop Miller is not responsible for this Ward, to dictate all
this Ward, who is?  He is the man that is appointed here to preside, and
as a High Priest he has a right to meet with his brethren of that Quorum,
and to baptize, confirm, bless children, administer to the sick, and
perform all other duties pertaining to the office and calling of a High
Priest.  His being a Bishop does not take away any of his Priesthood or
power.

	May God bless you!  Amen.

         GATHERING OF THE SAINTS--HONOURING THE PRIESTHOOD, ETC.
         Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery,
                   Great Salt Lake City, July 28, 1861.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	When I came into this Church, I started right out as a missionary,
and took a text, and began to travel on a circuit.  Truth is my text, the
Gospel of salvation my subject, and the world my circuit.  I presume I
shall not soon go all over it, but I am still preaching and travelling
occasionally.  I expect to be here about every other Sabbath, as I have
been for a few weeks or months past, except when I was in the south.

	While I am here with you, I want to talk to the Saints.  I like to
look at them; I like to instruct them, and to be instructed.  We pray
continually for the redemption of Zion, for the Lord to hasten the time
when we can return and establish the centre Stake of Zion, and build up
the great temple of the Lord upon which his glory will rest as a cloud by
day, and a pillar of fire by night.  We pray that we may be sanctified,
that we may be made pure in heart; and we pray that the Lord will teach us
his will continually, and reveal unto us precisely his mind, so that we
may have the mind of Christ, and know precisely what to do.

	When will Zion be redeemed?  When will the Saviour make his
appearance in the midst of his people?  When will the vail be taken away,
that we may behold the glory of God?  Can any of you answer these
questions?  Yes, readily, when I tell you.  The redemption of Zion is the
first step preparatory to the two last-named events.  Just as soon as the
Latter-day Saints are ready and prepared to return to Independence,
Jackson County, in the State of Missouri, North America, just so soon will
the voice of the Lord be heard, "Arise now, Israel, and make your way to
the centre Stake of Zion."  Do you think there is any danger of our being
ready before the Lord prepares the other end of the route?  Do you believe
that we, as Latter-day Saints, are preparing our own hearts, our own
lives, to return to take possession of the centre Stake of Zion, as fast
as the Lord is preparing to cleanse the land from those ungodly persons
who dwell there?  You can read, reflect, and make your own calculations. 
If we are not very careful, the earth will be cleansed from wickedness
before we are prepared to take possession of it.  We must be pure to be
prepared to build up Zion.  To all appearance, the Lord is preparing that
end of the route faster than we are preparing ourselves to go there.

	His grace is here, his judgments are here, his wisdom and Spirit are
here, and every qualification that Saints can require is here ready to be
poured out upon the people, if they are prepared to receive them.  Are we
prepared to receive those qualifications?  Are we prepared to march back
and take possession of the centre Stake of Zion, build up the great Temple
of the Lord, and gather in the nations of the earth?

	There are hundreds and thousands coming here this season.  We are
gathering the people as fast as we can.  We are gathering them to make
Saints of them and of ourselves.  Probably many of them will apostatize,
though some will not apostatize until you give them their endowments; and
then, if you do not speak out of the right corner of your mouth, they will
apostatize; and if you do not laugh out of the right corner of your mouth,
they will go.  We are gathering a few that will be faithful in the midst
of this people, and prepare themselves to be crowned kings and priests
unto God.  By-and-by you will see the Saints flock together.  Will they
come merely by one or two shiploads?  No; it will require many more ships
than we have heretofore employed to bring home the gathering thousands to
Zion.  Millions of people that now sit in darkness--that are now, to all
appearance, in the region and shadow of death, will come to Zion.

	When Joseph first revealed the land where the Saints should gather, a
woman in Canada asked if we thought that Jackson County would be large
enough to gather all the people that would want to go to Zion.  I will
answer the question really as it is.  Zion will extend, eventually, all
over this earth.  There will be no nook or corner upon the earth but what
will be in Zion.  It will all be Zion.  I remember that the lady was
answered by asking her whether she thought the ark was large enough to
hold those that were to go into it in the days of Noah?  "Yes," was the
reply.  Then of course Zion will be just large enough to receive all that
will be prepared to possess it, as the ark was.

	We are going to gather as many as we can, bless them, give them their
endowments, etc., preach to them the truth, lay the principles of eternal
life before them, inform their minds all we have power to do, and lead
them into the path of truth and righteousness; and those who will not
abide the truth will apostatize.  A few will remain, and a good share of
them will cleave to the promises of the Lord, will be true in every
respect, and will be accounted worthy to enter in at the strait gate. 
Strait is the gate and narrow is the path that leadeth to life, and few
there be that find it.  Millions will come and live in Zion when the laws
of Zion reign predominant over creation; but will all be prepared to be
crowned kings and priests unto God?  No.  You cannot imagine anything that
will not be in Zion, except sin and iniquity, and reviling against God and
against his kingdom.  All classes of people will come to Zion.  Will there
be Methodists there?  Yes; and they will have the privilege to worship a
God without body, parts, and passions, just as they do now, if they choose
to.  Every person and every community will receive according to the extent
of their capacity and ability.  Every person then will be blessed, will be
filled with joy, will be filled with peace, with light, and intelligence
according to the endowments with which they are endowed.  Will all become
kings and priests?  No; not even all that will embrace the fulness of the
Gospel.

	There are only a few shiploads of Saints coming this season.  They
will come thicker and faster, by-and-by, and will begin to inquire after
the wisdom that is in Zion.  The Lord is coming out of his hidingplace,
and is beginning to scourge this nation with a sore scourging, and vex it
with a sore vexation.  He is coming forth, and the sound of the report of
what is coming on the earth and the power of God that is made manifest
will vex the wicked and the ungodly, and will bring great joy and
rejoicing to the Saints.  There are millions of people, both among the
Christian and heathen nations, that are still in darkness, and exclaiming,
"Oh, how glad we would be to have some knowledge of the Gospel of
salvation!"  By-and-by, when the Lord sends forth his servants and his
angels to gather them, they will be brought home to Zion and be taught the
peaceable things of the kingdom; and those that abide a celestial law will
receive a celestial glory, and those that can abide the next law in order
can abide the glory pertaining to it, and so on.  Were I to enumerate
thousands of different degrees of glory and kingdoms, I probably should
over-enumerate the kingdoms God has prepared and will prepare for the
people according to their capacities, endowments, and what they can
receive and arrive to.

	We ought to be careful and not lay down our Priesthood.  The brethren
and sisters ought to hold fast to their covenants, and walk in that way,
in that path, which is pointed out by the Gospel.  Shall we love the
world?  In one sense, we should.  Should we love it with a divine love? 
Not yet.  Should we love the world and the things of the world according
to the nature of the world?  We should.  We are commanded in this Bible
not to love the world and the things of the world; and then you read a
little further in the same book, and you are commanded to love the world
and the things of the world.  How shall we understand these things?  With
the divinity that is within us we should love divine things.  Our spirits
are born of our Parents in heaven, divine, heavenly, angelic.  Shall these
spirits condescend to love an earthly object, to worship it?  If they do,
they become inferior to their calling and station before God.  The body is
framed for the tabernacle or house in which the spirit has to dwell.  This
tabernacle is formed expressly to hold its spirit and shield it.  Should
we love this tabernacle?  Yes, enough to nourish it, cherish it, and treat
it kindly, and foster and nourish and cherish it by the power of the
spirit, and make this body divine.  The spirit must overcome the body in
the flesh, and the flesh become subject to the spirit in all things; then
we will love the world as it ought to be loved,--not with a divine love,
but with a human love, a moral love, loving all things according to their
worth and capacity.

	We love our wives and children--we love that which is calculated to
make us happy and comfortable; but the divine spirit is to overcome the
body and continue so to do, looking forth until the body also becomes
divine; and then, when all has become divine, we may love all with a
divine affection, but not till then.  After the body and spirit are
separated by death, what, pertaining to this earth, shall we receive
first?  The body; that is the first object of a divine affection beyond
the grave.  We first come in possession of the body.  The spirit has
overcome the body, and the body is made subject in every respect to that
divine principle God has planted in the person.  The spirit within is pure
and holy, and goes back pure and holy to God, dwells in the spirit-world
pure and holy, and, by-and-by, will have the privilege of coming and
taking the body again.  Some person holding the keys of the resurrection,
having previously passed through that ordeal, will be delegated to
resurrect our bodies, and our spirits will be there and prepared to enter
into their bodies.  Then, when we are prepared to receive our bodies, they
are the first earthly objects that bear divinity personified in the
capacity of the man.  Only the body dies; the spirit is looking forth, as
you read in the Bible concerning the souls or spirits of those who lay
under the altar, as John saw on the Isle of Patmos, and they were crying
to God to know how long it would be before they would again have their
bodies.  Were we turned out-of-doors, and not permitted to go into a house
for six months or a year, we would look forward to the time when we could
build a house, and reflect, "I wish I had a good house wherein I could be
free from the inclemency of the weather, as I once had."

	When the body comes forth again, it will be divine, Godlike,
according to the capacity and ordinations of the Lord.  Some are
foreordained to one station, and some to another.  We want a house, and
when we get it and our spirits enter into it, then we can begin to look
forth, for what?  For our friends.  We want them resurrected.  Here is
this friend and that friend, until by-and-by all are resurrected.  And the
earth is resurrected?  Yes, and every living thing on the earth that has
abided the law by which it was made.  Then that which you and I respect,
are fond of, and love with an earthly love, will become divine, and we can
then love it with that affection which it is not now worthy of.

	Here is matter we see organized in ourselves.  We look upon each
other, and we are matter organized.  Look upon the brute creation, the
vegetable creation, and both are matter organized.  Who knows how much of
this is going to abide the law of its creation and the law by which it is
made?  Man is the only object you can find upon the face of the earth that
will not abide the law by which he is made.  When he abides this law, he
is prepared for a glorious resurrection.  Are my wives and friends going
to be prepared to receive this resurrection?  Are my children going to be
prepared to receive this resurrection?  They all have the power of choice,
the same as I have; the same power of divinity is in them that is in me
and you.  I cannot love them with that sacred, divine love, until they
become immortal and prove themselves worthy of such a supreme affection. 
I do not suffer myself to love a wife or a child with that divinity that
is within me, until they, with myself, are immortalized and glorified, and
they are given to me as my own in that future state.  I am fond of them; I
will nourish, cherish, and guide them, and do all I can for them, so that
they can prove themselves worthy to receive their bodies in a glorious
resurrected state, and be prepare [sic] to enter into the joy of their
Lord with me:  then they are worthy of my supreme love, and not before.

	When I tell the truth, that is enough, and I care not whether those
who hear it believe it or not, for that is their business.  If you had
lived in the days of Jesus, Peter, John, etc., and had seen men called to
be Apostles of the Lord Jesus; every time they taught the people, every
time they preached, every time they prayed, and every time they
administered in the house of God, if they did not do it by the Spirit of
revelation and by the power of God, they did not magnify their calling. 
There are not many who know this.  If we do not speak to you by the Spirit
of revelation and the power of God, we do not magnify our calling.  I
think that I tell you every time I rise here to speak to you.  I may
blunder in the use of the English language; but suppose I should use
language that would grate on the ears of some of the learned, what of
that?  God can understand it, and so could you, if you had the Spirit of
the Lord.

	I had brother Kimball ask me if his mode of communication pleased me. 
Yes; for I know what he means.  I read his spirit when he preaches; and if
he preaches by the power of God, I can understand it, if he speaks it back
end forward, as well as if he spoke it straightforward and in picked and
choice language.  The Spirit of revelation is the best grammar you ever
studied.  As I was telling you this morning, let the power of God come
upon this congregation and open the vision of your minds, and an angel of
God appear here, and you would be in the light of eternity and in vision
in a moment, without a word being spoken, and volumes would be revealed to
this people.  What do we care about words?  Chiefly to speak and to hear
others speak so as to be understood.  We have our language; but if a man
speaks by the power of God, it is little matter to me what his words are,
or the language he uses.  If I understand the spirit of it, that is the
way I find "Mormonism" to be true.  The brethren who came to preach the
Gospel to me, I could easily out-talk them, though I had never preached;
but their testimony was like fire in my bones; I understood the spirit of
their preaching; I received that spirit; it was light, intelligence,
power, and truth, and it bore witness to my spirit, and that was enough
for me.  I have received it, and I have tried to improve upon it.

	If I do not speak here by the power of God, if it is not revelation
to you every time I speak to you here, I do not magnify my calling.  What
do you think about it?  I neither know nor care.  If I do not magnify my
calling, I shall be removed from the place I occupy.  God does not suffer
you to be deceived.  Here are my brethren and sisters pouring out their
souls to God, and their prayers and faith are like one solid cloud
ascending to the heavens.  They want to be led right; they want the truth;
they want to know how to serve God and prepare for a celestial kingdom. 
Do you think the Lord will allow you to be fooled and led astray?  No.

	Brother Kimball said, to-day, when he was speaking, if you suffer
yourselves to find fault with your Bishop, you condescend to the spirit of
apostacy.  Do any of you do this?  If you do, you do not realize that you
expose yourself to the power of the Enemy.  What should your faith and
position be before God?  Such that, if a Bishop does not do right, the
Lord will remove him out of your Ward.  You are not to find fault.  As
brother Wells has said, speak not lightly of the anointed of the Lord. 
But you say they are out of the way.  Who has made any of my brethren a
judge over their Bishop?  You read in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants,
in a revelation to Joseph Smith, (brother Kimball and myself were
present,) that it takes twelve High Priests to sit in council upon the
head of a Bishop.  Can they judge him?  No; for they must then have the
Presidency of the High Priesthood to sit at their head and preside over
them.  Yet many rise up and condemn their Bishop.  Perhaps that Bishop has
been appointed expressly to try those persons and cause them to
apostatize.  A great many will not apostatize until they arrive here; and
who knows but what the Lord has prompted a Bishop to do so-and-so to cause
somebody to apostatize.  One of the first steps to apostacy is to find
fault with your Bishop; and when that is done, unless repented of, a
second step is soon taken, and by-and-by the person is cut off from the
Church, and that is the end of it.  Will you allow yourselves to find
fault with your Bishop?  No; but come to me, go to the High Council, or to
the President of the Stake, and ascertain whether your Bishop is doing
wrong, before you find fault and suffer yourselves to speak against a
	The responsibility is upon the men, and they will be used up, for
they go to war, and will fall in battle by hundreds and thousands, until
the earth is emptied.  You men, prepare yourselves; for a greater
responsibility will come upon you than you have ever dreamed of.  Millions
will seek to you for salvation.  Are you prepared for this?  No, you are
not.  There are but very few men, old or young, that are capable of taking
proper charge of themselves, to say nothing of a Ward, a community, or a
nation.

	It is said that woman is the weaker vessel, and that an Irishman
whipped his wife because she carried too much sail.  The nations have been
led by the weaker vessel; but by-and-by it will not be so.  It is
impossible to guide ships that carry too much sail, and have too little
ballast in proportion to their hulls.  I should trim off some of the
spankers.  You sisters who have crossed the sea know what I mean.  You
must also cut off part of the jib, and then you can guide the vessel a
little easier.  When you come to the mainsail, reef it, tie it up, and not
have it quite so large.  You can scarcely find a man that knows how to
properly treat himself, directing others.  You will see the time when
thousands will seek salvation at the hands of this people, and say, "Guide
us in the way of life; the earth is emptied of wickedness, and it has come
to an end."  The Lord knows whether or not the Elders of this Church will
be ready to step forward and take upon themselves these great
responsibilities.

	Let these remarks remain with you; take them home with you, and wait
and see what the result will be.  The Lord is building up Zion, and is
emptying the earth of wickedness, gathering his people, bringing again
Zion, redeeming his Israel, sending forth his work, withdrawing his Spirit
from the wicked world, and commencing to build up his kingdom.  Can this
be done without revelation?  No.  You will not make a move, or do
anything--plant corn, build a hall or a temple, make a farm, or go to the
States,--no, not a thing towards building up Zion, without the power of
revelation.

                   ETERNAL PUNISHMENT--"MORMONISM," &c.
       Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle,
                 Great Salt Lake City, January 12, 1862.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	In the early history of this Church, our public speakers, through
their traditions, did not like to have their errors in doctrine corrected. 
It hurt their feelings to be instructed and enlightened for the
furtherance of knowledge and wisdom.  I am happy to say that now the
Elders, almost universally, are willing to be instructed in the truth.  It
is their delight to receive intelligence and knowledge that pertain to the
heavens and the earth--the plan of salvation.

	Many of the Elders say that they are timid and embarrassed when they
attempt to speak before the congregated people, and are unable to express
the rich ideas and glorious principles suggested to their minds.  I
frequently feel anxious to help them, and tell for them what they would
communicate.  When they are at work in their shops or in their fields, or
when going up the kanyons for wood, (if their cattle behave well,) in
their reflections, they preach many excellent sermons; but when they try
to make their secret thoughts audible before a congregation, their
thoughts desert them and they are left a blank.

	Brother Jackman's mind led him to praise and thank the Lord Almighty
for one principle he revealed through Joseph the Prophet, different from
that generally believed and taught among religionists.  They, you
understand, condemn all who differ from their views to hell, there to
remain in a state of the most acute consciousness of the most extreme
suffering throughout endless eternities, without one single ray of hope
that will ever be delivered.  Brother Jackman wished to speak on this
point, but his heart failed him.  The Lord says, through Joseph Smith,
"Again, it is written eternal damnation; wherefore it is more express than
other scriptures, that it might work upon the hearts of the children of
men, altogether for my name's glory; wherefore I will explain unto you
this mystery, for it is mete unto you to know even as mine Apostles.  I
speak unto you that are chosen in this thing, even as one, that you may
enter into my rest; for, behold, the mystery of godliness, how great is
it? for, behold, I am endless, and the punishment which is given from my
hand is endless punishment, for Endless is my name; wherefore--

		Eternal punishment is God's punishment;

		Endless punishment is God's punishment."

	The punishment of God is Godlike.  It endures forever, because there
never will be a time when people ought not to be damned, and there must
always be a hell to send them to.  How long the damned remain in hell, I
know not, nor what degree of suffering they endure.  If we could by any
means compute how much wickedness they are guilty of, it might be possible
to ascertain the amount of suffering they will receive. They will receive
according as their deeds have been while in the body.  God's punishment is
eternal, but that does not prove that a wicked person will remain
eternally in a state of punishment.  All the doctrines of life and
salvation are as plain to the understanding as the geographical lines of a
correctly executed map.  This doctrine, revealed in these latter times, is
worthy the attention of all men.  It gives the positive situation in which
they will stand before the Heavens when they have finished their earthly
career.  Generation after generation is constantly coming and passing
away.  They all possess more or less intelligence, which forms the
foundation within them for the reception of an eternal increase of
intelligence.  The endowments that human beings have received from their
Great Creator are to them inestimable blessings.  How wonderful and how
excellent they are!  What priceless blessings and exquisite enjoyments
they secure to man, if by truth and righteousness they are made honourable
in the sight of God.  By the means of his wonderful and Godlike
endowments, man can drink at the fountain of eternal wisdom and bask in
everlasting felicity.

	But hundreds of millions of human beings have been born, lived out
their short earthly span, and passed away, ignorant alike of themselves
and of the plan of salvation provided for them.  It gives great
consolation, however, to know that this glorious plan devised by Heaven
follows them into the next existence, offering for their acceptance
eternal life and exaltation to thrones, dominions, principalities, and
powers in the presence of their Father and God, through Jesus Christ his
Son.  How glorious--how ample is the Gospel plan in its saving properties
and merciful designs.  This one revelation, containing this principle, is
worth worlds on worlds to mankind.  It is worth forsaking fathers and
mothers, sisters and brothers, wives and children, houses and lands, for
the knowledge it reveals; and this is but one item in the great plan of
human redemption.

	I will notice another idea.  We frequently say "Mormonism," as it is
called, must be true because there are so many evidences in its favour. 
We say we do positively know it is true (using the words of brother
Jackman,) "in fair weather; but when it is foul weather and the storms
beat upon our frail bark, some may conclude it is not true."  I wish you
all to understand "Mormonism" as it is.  We embraced it in different parts
of the world, because we considered it the best religion we could find. 
Can we tell how much better "Mormonism" is than other religions and isms
of the present day?  More or less truth may be found in them all, both in
civilized and barbarous nations.  How has it transpired that theological
truth is thus so widely disseminated?  It is because God was once known on
the earth among his children of mankind, as we know one another.  Adam was
as conversant with his Father who placed him upon this earth as we are
conversant with our earthly parents.  The Father frequently came to visit
his son Adam, and talked and walked with him; and the children of Adam
were more or less acquainted with their Grandfather, and their children
were more or less acquainted with their Great-Grandfather; and the things
that pertain to God and to heaven were as familiar among mankind, in the
first ages of their existence on the earth, as these mountains are to our
mountain boys, as our gardens are to our wives and children, or as the
road to the Western Ocean is to the experienced traveller.  From this
source mankind have received their religious traditions. I will tell you
in a few words what I understand "Mormonism" to be.  Our religion is
called "Mormonism" because the ancient records revealed to Joseph Smith
were entitled the Book of Mormon, according to the instructions given to
him by the Lord; but I will call it the plan of salvation devised in the
heavens for the redemption of mankind from sin, and their restoration to
the presence of God.  It is contained in the new Testament, Book of
Mormon, Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and in all the revelations that
God has hitherto given and will give in the future.

	It embraces every fact there is in the heavens and in the heaven of
heavens--every fact there is upon the surface of the earth, in the bowels
of the earth, and in the starry heavens; in fine, it embraces all truth
there is in all the eternities of the Gods.  How, then, can we deny it? 
We cannot.  Were we arraigned face to face with the terrors of death, and
called upon to deny our religion or die, we might speak a lie and say
"Mormonism" is untrue, and might continue the same testimony all the time
we were in hell; but that would make no difference with the truth.  The
devils and damned spirits in hell cannot deny the truth of "Mormonism" and
speak the truth.  I wish all those who profess to believe it did as much
as the devils in hell do.

	"Mormonism" embraces all truth that is revealed and that is
unrevealed, whether religious, political, scientific, or philosophical.

	No matter how many deny their God and their religion, God is the
same, his holy religion is the same, and all the truth is the same.  There
is no plan, no device, no possible way in which we can get rid of
"Mormonism," only by taking the downward road which leads to hell, until
spiritually and temporally the whole organized being is dissolved and the
particles thereof have returned again to native elements.  We read in the
Scriptures of the second death not having power over certain ones.  The
first death is the separation of the spirit from the body; the second
death is, as I have stated, the dissolution of the organized particles
which compose the spirit, and their return to their native element.  The
wicked spirit will have to endure the wrath of the Almighty, until it has
paid the uttermost farthing where the "worm dieth not and the fire is not
quenched."  Every debt that has been contracted by it must be cancelled.

	I will say a few words in regard to your belief in being led, guided,
and directed by one man.  Brother Jackman has said that our enemies hate
the fact of our being led by one man.  Thousands of times my soul has been
lifted to God the Father, in the name of Jesus, to make that verily true
in every sense of the word, that we may be led by the man Jesus Christ,
through Joseph Smith the Prophet.  You may inquire how we are to know that
we are so led.  I refer you to the exhortation you have heard so
frequently from me.  Do not be deceived, any of you; if you are deceived,
it is because you deceive yourselves.  You may know whether you are led
right or wrong, as well as you know the way home; for every principle God
has revealed carries its own convictions of its truth to the human mind,
and there is no calling of God to man on earth but what brings with it the
evidences of its authenticity.  Let us take a course that leads to the
perpetuity of the natural life which God has given us, and honour it. 
Should we pursue this course faithfully, and never bestow one thought for
the life that is to come, we are just as sure of that immortal life as we
are of the life we now possess.  This, in fact, is the only way in which
we can be prepared to inherit that more glorious life.

	What a pity it would be if we were led by one man to utter
destruction!  Are you afraid of this?  I am more afraid that this people
have so much confidence in their leaders that they will not inquire for
themselves of God whether they are led by Him.  I am fearful they settle
down in a state of blind self-security, trusting their eternal destiny in
the hands of their leaders with a reckless confidence that in itself would
thwart the purposes of God in their salvation, and weaken that influence
they could give to their leaders, did they know for themselves, by the
revelations of Jesus, that they are led in the right way.  Let every man
and woman know, by the whispering of the Spirit of God to themselves,
whether their leaders are walking in the path the Lord dictates, or not. 
This has been my exhortation continually.

	Brother Joseph W. Young remarked this morning that he wished the
people to receive the word of the Lord through his servants, be dictated
by them, and have no will of their own.  I would express it in this wise: 
God has placed within us a will, and we should be satisfied to have it
controlled by the will of the Almighty.  Let the human will be indomitable
for right.  It has been the custom of parents to break the will until it
is weakened, and the noble, Godlike powers of the child are reduced to a
comparative state of imbecility and cowardice.  Let that heaven-born
property of human agents be properly tempered and wisely directed, instead
of pursuing the opposite course, and it will conquer in the cause of
right.  Break not the spirit of any person, but guide it to feel that it
is its greatest delight and highest ambition to be controlled by the
revelations of Jesus Christ; then the will of man becomes Godlike in
overcoming the evil that is sown in the flesh, until God shall reign
within us to will and do his good pleasure.

	Let all persons be fervent in prayer, until they know the things of
God for themselves and become certain that they are walking in the path
that leads to everlasting life; then will envy, the child of ignorance,
vanish, and there will be no disposition in any man to place himself above
another; for such a feeling meets no countenance in the order of heaven. 
Jesus Christ never wanted to be different from his father:  they were and
are one.  If a people are led by the revelations of Jesus Christ, and they
are cognizant of the fact through their faithfulness, there is no fear but
they will be one in Christ Jesus, and see eye to eye.

	We shall not be entirely free from sin for some time yet; but so long
as it is in a state of perfect subjection, we are so far sanctified to
keep up this warfare against the power of sin until we have obtained a
perfect mastery over the evil that is within our organisms, and are able
to control it constantly until death shall end the struggle:  then shall
we be prepared for a glorious resurrection.  Amen.

                      EVIL DEEDS AND EVIL DOERS, &c.
       Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle,
                 Great Salt Lake City, January 19, 1862.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	I was sorry for an expression made by one of our officials in
relation to the late killing of three thieves.  He considered that they
were dealt with by mob violence.  Our officers of the law are provided
with means to defend themselves against those who would slay them.  The
three persons that were lately killed were notorious thieves, and resisted
the officers in the discharge of their duty.  I thank God that our
officers will not suffer themselves to be shot down by notorious
scoundrels.  [The congregation said "Amen."]  If there are any who
sympathize with thieves, I want to know who they are, and let them be cut
off from the Church.  There has been enough said to such characters, and
they must quit such practices.  I say, If they will not reform, I wish
they would resist the officers, and then there is an end of them and of
their depredations upon the honest citizens of Utah.

	The best people in the world are in this Territory, and yet there is
not another community, according to our numbers, so infested by thieves as
we are.  Their depredations are perpetrated with such impunity and
barefaced effrontery that it is almost impossible for me to keep a decent
handkerchief.  Some women, when they come into my house to work, if they
can steal a few handkerchiefs or pillow-cases, or this or that, and make
up a small bundle, they sack it and go.  If you should leave an axe, a
waggon-wheel, a spade, or anything of that kind in the kanyon, when you go
for it, it has been stolen. I have no fellowship for a man that will bail
out a thief, for he will go to stealing as soon as he is out.  Talk about
a thief's keeping company with a girl!  If there is a woman in this
Territory that would keep company with such an infernal scoundrel, I hope
she will speedily make her exit to some other country.

	Let the people in this Territory be righteous, and we are safe from
all the powers of Satan and from all the evil power of this earth.  But
for thieves, cut-throats, liars, adulterers, and every foul and wicked
person that can be brought out to mingle with this community, I am sick
and tired of it.  It is time to cleanse the inside of the platter; and if
a United States' official says it is mob law, let him say so until he is
tired.  We will teach men not to resist the officers in this Territory
while they are in the discharge of their duty; and let me here say to the
Presiding Bishop, If he knows of any Bishop who sympathizes with those
thieves who have infested our community, report him, and we will remove
him.  And I say to the Bishops, If you find any in your Wards who
sympathize with a person who has been guilty of highway robbery, and has
fallen by the hand of justice, try them for their fellowship.

	I mourn not that a thief is killed, but that any human being would so
far debase himself as to become a mean, low, degraded thief.  No matter if
it is your husband, your father, your brother, your child,--if he should
fall by the hand of justice for stealing and resisting the officers of the
law to persist in wickedness, have no sympathy for the evil-doer.  If any
of my family should be guilty of stealing, I shall request them to leave
my house, never to enter it again.  I would not cover over their iniquity,
but I would expose it and deal with the sympathizer, should they by the
strong arm of justice be levelled to the dust.  I would disown them.  If a
child or relative of mine forsakes the Gospel, the holy Priesthood, his
God, and the kingdom of God, farewell to that child or relative, whether
near or distant.  I own none as relatives, only those who love and serve
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  All that belong to my Father's house I
own.  I love them, I delight in their society, no matter whether they are
poor or rich, learned or unlearned, if they observe the laws of the
kingdom of God and live according to it.

	As brother Cox observed this morning, let us be sure to build up the
kingdom of God, for in doing this we build up ourselves.  In the early
history of this Church, Joseph Smith was accused of being a speculator. 
So far as I am concerned, I never denied being a speculator; for, in one
sense of the word, it is one of the greatest speculations ever entered
into by man.  In building up the kingdom of God, I am decidedly for self,
and so are you.  If you wish to obtain wealth, power, glory, excellency,
and exaltation of every kind, be for God and truth, and he will give to
you more than your hearts can conceive of.  We are not going to be
satisfied with a few paltry picayunes.  We are not going to be satisfied
with a mere pre-emption right on the soil in this Territory.  Should the
Government grant to every head of a family six hundred and forty acres of
land, and to each wife and child their portion, as was done in Oregon
Territory, that would give to me and to my sons and daughters quite a
scope of country, and the whole people would swallow up all the land in
this Territory.  But shall we be satisfied with that?  I am going to have
a larger pre-emption than the Territory of Utah.  In a few years this
Territory will not contain my own posterity. In twenty years from now this
spacious hall will not hold them, and in twenty years more they will more
than fill this Territory.  I cannot put up with this small possession.

	I have always said to the thieves, Wait until I tell you to steal. 
The first thing I mean to take is the State of Missouri, and then I shall
not be satisfied.  Next, I shall want the State of Illinois.  All this
Territory, Missouri, and Illinois are not going to be sufficient territory
for Heber and me, to say nothing of brothers Wells, Taylor, Woodruff, and
all the faithful brethren.  "For thy waste and thy desolate places and the
land of thy destruction shall even now be too narrow, by reason of the
inhabitants; and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away.  And the
children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say
again in thine ears, The place is too strait for me:  give place to me
that I may dwell.  Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch
forth 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, and thy seed
shall inherit the Gentiles and make the desolate cities to be inhabited." 
In fine, I am not going to be satisfied until the Saints possess the whole
earth to the glory of God.  There is no way to glorify our God and Father
but to glorify ourselves; and there is no way to happify and glorify
ourselves, only by keeping his commandments.  Let us be one with the
Father, with the Son, and with one another, being of one heart and of one
mind.

	Do not steal a horse, for it costs more to hide it than it is worth. 
Do not steal Governor Dawson's blankets and beaver robe.  I understand
that the officers have found the stolen blankets and robe.  Those thieves
also stole some eight hundred dollars in money from a hard-working man.  I
hope the officers will also find that.  The officers have been diligent in
arresting the marauders and in recovering the stolen property; but I wish
it distinctly understood that this has been done solely to magnify the law
in the preservation of rights.

	One of our friends tells us that he is afraid we shall have trouble. 
I told him that we were not afraid of it in the least, so long as we serve
God and keep his commandments.  The Lord has already once overruled the
great power and supreme excellency of the military skill of those who were
enemies, and caused them to waste their strength in walking up and down
Ham's Fork, and to eat mule meat to sustain their lives, and placed them
in a constat state of fear and dread.  They saw a few men in the mountains
cutting fence poles, or firewood, and they dared not send out a company to
guard in the money that was sent to pay them.  "Come in," cried the
officer, "for God's sake; for the Mormons are around."

	It is said that one of the members of Congress, confident of the
great military ability of the officers and the bravery of the army they
commanded at Bull's Run, rode out in his buggy, expecting to shout with
the rest in the exultations of victory.  According to report, this member
of Congress was a brave man, tied his horse at a respectable distance, and
repaired to an eminence to see the fight.  When the "Booby Run" commenced,
he made for his buggy, but, to his consternation, found it appropriated. 
Now this member of Congress was not only brave, but fleet on foot; for it
is said that he arrived in the city of Washington an hour and thirty
minutes before his horse and buggy.  He won laurels at what I call the
"Booby Run."

	I cannot be intimidated by saying that there is trouble ahead for us
from the Government of the United States, so long as righteousness shall
prevail among the people of God, even if they should be so unwise as to
again attempt to oppress us.

	Let every man in this Territory be a vigilant officer, and, when a
thief is found in the act of stealing, take him, dead or alive.  There is
one trait in our officers that I delight in, and that is, they will not
stand to be shot down by a set of scoundrels.  Let every man be vigilant
to frown down iniquity wherever it shows itself, and suffer it not to gain
a foothold in our country.

	We are about to constitutionally organize a State Government, and to
again petition for admission into the family of States, to secure to
ourselves the inalienable rights of American citizens.  This we do to
please ourselves and our God.  If we can please our Heavenly Father, our
Elder Brother Jesus Christ, and the holy angels, and the Saints that have
lived and died, and please ourselves in righteousness, we then ask no odds
of all hell and their abettors.  And if armies are again sent here, they
will find the road up Jordan a hard road to travel.  As for us, we will
honour and preserve inviolate the Constitution of our country, as we ever
have.

	I was lately looking over the Constitution we framed for a State
Government six years ago.  It is very near as we want it now.  We wish a
Constitution that is Republican.  In it treason is stated to be one of the
highest crimes in any government, and to consist in levying war on this
State.  Who has done this?  James Buchanan has, and so have those who
associated with him, in sending an army here; and the very great majority
of the priests and people said Amen.  They are as much treasoners as ever
lived on this earth, and the day will come when justice will be meted out
to them.  They made war on the loyal citizens of this Territory; and if
they again make war upon us, I know not what the Lord may do.  We will try
to do what the Lord wants us to do.

	I am for scourging out the ungodly and all who work iniquity among
this people.  If our laws are not stringent enough to do this, we will put
a little bayberry into the composition, or a little oak-root bark, to make
it a little more stringent.  Those who are against the kingdom of God must
suffer.  Those who give way to unhallowed practices would destroy the
kingdom of God from the earth, and I disown all such, whether they are of
my family or not; and I will declare, by-and-by, that I never knew them,
as Jesus will also say.  They do not belong to me; they are not of my
blood and kin.  "But, father, do you not remember that we were born at
such a time and in such a place?"  No matter; you belong to another
kingdom; you cannot come here:  we do not wish your society.

	I can tell all the world that we mean to sustain the Constitution of
the United States and all righteous laws.  We are not by any mens
treasoners, secessionists, or abolitionists.  We are neither negro-drivers
nor negro-worshippers.  We belong to the family of heaven, and we intend
to walk over every unrighteous and unholy principle, and view everybody
and everything as it is before God, and put everything in it place.

	A good housewife, whether she possesses much or little, will have a
place for everything she has in the house, and make her house orderly and
comfortable, and everything when wanted can be found in its place.  So we
will adjust ourselves according to the lawful doings of the nation, and
will not secede from our Government; neither will we be traitors to Jesus
Christ, through ungodly rulers, but will take the privilege to chasten
them and guide them into the path of right, if they will be led therein. 
This we will do fearlessly and perfectly regardless of consequences; for,
if God is for us, it matters little who are against us.

	It seems that the people ought to see that the Lord dictates, guides,
and directs; that if a people are blessed, they are blessed of the Lord;
and that if we exalt him and his kingdom, love him, serve him, and build
up Zion upon the earth, we are sure to be exalted and possess the thing we
desire, if our affections are centred in God and truth.  "Therefore let no
man glory in man, for all things are yours, whether Paul, or Apollo, or
Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to
come; all are yours, and ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's."

	God bless the humble and the righteous, and may he have compassion
upon us because of the weakness that is in our nature.  And considering
the great weakness and ignorance of mortals, let us have mercy upon each
other.  How it would rejoice my heart to see the most froward, young and
old, in this community, forsake their evil doings and seek to do right! 
But if they will not do this, I cannot fellowship them.  My constant
prayer is for the Lord to increase the righteous and righteousness in the
land, and waste away the ungodly, that the power of the government may
pass into the hands of the just.  May God soon grant this sight to our
eyes.  Amen.

        NECESSITY OF PAYING DUE ATTENTION TO TEMPORAL DUTIES, &c.
           Remarks made by President Brigham Young, Tabernacle,
                 Great Salt Lake City, January 26, 1862.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	I do not know that I have ever spoken to the Saints upon any
principle of the Gospel of salvation when I could do more than offer a few
opening remarks, there is so much to learn.  The oldest and most
experienced persons in this Church are satisfied that they have by no
means learned all that is to be learned concerning things that pertain to
this world.  To even thoroughly learn all the different branches of
mechanism is more than one man can do in this mortal life.  The object of
this existence is to learn, which we can only do a little at a time. 
"Whom shall he teach knowledge?  And whom shall he make to understand
doctrine?  Those that are weaned from the milk and drawn from the breasts. 
For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line,
line upon line; here a little and there a little."

	How gladly would we understand every principle pertaining to science
and art, and become thoroughly acquainted with every intricate operation
of nature, and with all the chemical changes that are constantly going on
around us!  How delightful this would be, and what a boundless field of
truth and power is open for us to explore!  We are only just approaching
the shores of the vast ocean of information that pertains to this physical
world, to say nothing of that which pertains to the heavens, to angels and
celestial beings, to the place of their habitation, to the manner of their
life, and their progress to still higher degrees of perfection.

	We hear many glorious truths in the discourses delivered by our
Elders here and in other places, but we return to our homes and to-morrow
we are about as we were yesterday.  It is our privilege to improve each
day of our lives, but can we improve fast enough to even gain all the
knowledge that pertains to this world in the life we now possess?  No; but
we can gain knowledge faster than we now do, by exercising still greater
diligence.

	When we meet in a worshipping capacity, we are apt to feel anxious to
hear something new concerning the Deity or the place of his habitation. 
How delightful it is to hear a man expound the prophecies--to hear the
revelations of God and things which pertain to the celestial kingdom of
God delineated!  How joyful, how pleasing, how glorious this is to both
male and female, old and young, who seem to know all about these matters,
but who at home do not know enough to make a hoe-handle so that you could
tell whether it was designed for an ox-bow, plough-handle, or hoe-handle. 
And the sister that rejoices so much in the glories of the upper world,
when she is at home, very likely, does not know enough to pursue her daily
avocations as she ought. Can she teach her little girls so much as to knit
a stocking tie?  No; but when there is plenty of wool and yarn in the
house, she calls upon her husband to buy garters, suspenders, &c., from
the store, while her children are running in the streets with their heels
and toes naked; she cannot even mend a stocking decently.  Can she cut her
little boy a pair of pantaloons?  No; a tailor must do it.  Can she make
him a cap out of some old cloth that has been worn in a coat, but is good
enough for that purpose, and thereby save a few dollars?  No; she must
plague her husband to spend means at the store, when perhaps he cannot
well spare it.  Can she make little shoes for her infant?  No, pa, buys
all the shoes.  She seems of no manner of earthly use as an helpmeet to
her husband; yet it is her greatest delight to know how the Gods live and
how the heavens and all things are sustained, but at the same time is not
willing to move a finger to sustain herself.

	When Adam found himself in a state of nudity, he hid himself; and
when he heard the footsteps of the Lord in the garden, he quaked and
trembled with fear.  The Lord could do nothing more for him than take some
fig-leaves and probably some grass to stitch them together for an apron to
cover Adam's nakedness.  The Lord could not in a few minutes teach Adam
how to make a broadcloth and a pair of pantaloons, &c.; for he had
forgotten all he formerly knew, and had to gain knowledge by degrees.  Can
we learn in a day how to make broadcloth or satin and clothing or dresses? 
No; for it is as much as some persons can do to learn in one day how to
knit so much as a stocking tie or a pair of suspenders.

	The people are striving with all their might to learn the things of
God; but if I could only get them to understand the work and the worth of
their present life, I should feel well satisfied.  We talk and think a
great deal about the life that is to come, and the life-labour of the
Christian part of the world is to prepare for that.  The time we now
occupy is in eternity; it is a portion of eternity.  Our present life is
just as much a life in eternity as the life of any being can possibly be. 
Could we all live so as to honour the life that we now possess, I should
not have one anxious thought with regard to being fully prepared for the
life which is to come.  I wish to urge upon the people the necessity of
knowing what to do with their present life, which pertains more
particularly to temporalities.  The very object of our existence here is
to handle the temporal elements of this world and subdue the earth,
multiplying those organisms of plants and animals God has designed shall
dwell upon it.  When we have learned to live according to the full value
of the life we now possess, we are prepared for further advancement in the
scale of eternal progression--for a more glorious and exalted sphere.

	One of the speakers this morning exhorted us to take care of that
which we produce.  All the energies of a farmer appear to be drawn out to
raise wheat; but when it is matured, he seems to retire in satisfaction
that he has accomplished what he sought; his energies flag and the crop is
not cared for, but is left to return again to the earth; or, if he gathers
it, he either has not the ability to properly save and husband it, or he
cares not to exert himself to do so.  It is the same in his stock raising;
he values his calves and lambs--labours hard to raise them; but when they
have attained to that stage of existence to do good to himself or the
community, he suffers them to die by starvation in the winter, or to be
destroyed by the Indians or by somebody else who gets his living by
stealing cattle on the ranges.  The wheat wasted this year, for want of
proper care, would feed this whole community for a considerable length of
time.  Farmers do not seem to think that every kernel of grain should be
gathered and saved as far as possible.  The atmosphere that presses upon
the face of our fields imparts nourishment to the soil, and the rains from
the heavens and the waters that come dancing from the mountains and are
led over our fields are laden with plant food, so that we can gather from
this bench-land--from this gravelly soil--thirty bushels of wheat to the
acre, which does not answer the end in the economy of nature for which it
is created, if it is suffered again to return to the ground unappropriated
in the way designed by the Almighty.  If it is distributed in another
shape than that designed, the wheat element may be entirely removed to
another portion of the earth; and after a few years you may not be able to
raise wheat in this country.  If a single constituent part of any plant be
exhausted from the soil, the plant cannot be produced until the wanting
element is restored.

	Our Father in heaven wishes us to preserve that which he gives to us. 
If we are prodigal and wasteful of his blessings, it will be said--"Take
from them that which they seem to have and give it to another people."  We
wish to gain all that is to be gained; we wish to enrich ourselves; but,
as a people, in a great many instances, we take a course to make ourselves
poor.  If we could only learn enough to be self-preserving and
self-sustaining, we should then have learned what the Gods have learned
before us, and what we must eventually learn before we can be exalted. 
Trace the history of the favoured people of God in any age of the world
and on any portion of the earth, and you will find that the Lord has
poured out great abundance upon them, he has blessed them as individuals,
as communities, and as nations.  We have also been greatly blessed, but we
have treated lightly our blessings in neglecting to properly and frugally
use them.

	That individual, neighbourhood, people, or nation that will not
acknowledge the hand of God in all things, but will squander their
blessings, and thus pour contempt upon his kind favours, will become
desolate and be wasted away.  So long as any people live up to the best
light they have, the Almighty will multiply blessings upon them by
blessing the earth and causing it to bring forth in its strength to fill
their storehouses with plenty; but if they become fat, and are lofty, and
kick against the Lord, and trample his blessings under their feet in
reckless wastefulness, he will cause them to inherit barrenness, and he
will give them "cleanness of teeth in all their cities, and want of bread
in all their places."  The Lord needs only to say to his angel, "Pass over
the land and take away the elements of wheat," and that crop ceases to be
produced.  This very thing has transpired in the lands from whence we have
been driven, and their fruit is blasted; in fact, nothing grows there in
the same abundance and perfection that it once did.  Desolation is in the
path of the wicked.  It would have been so with us, if we had remained in
our former homes, and had not lived to honour the life God has given us. 
In consequence of the hatred, malice, and disposition in the hearts of the
wicked to persecute his people, God has so cursed the land and blasted the
elements that they are not fruitful.

	I do not think that I ever beheld anything in my life more painful to
my heart and more distressing to my feelings than I saw manifested in the
spirit and actions of this community in the years 1849, 50, 51, and 52, in
the way they trampled upon the blessings of God so bountifully bestowed
upon them.  Wheat was suffered to go to waste in a shameful manner.  It
was fed to horses, thrown to hogs, and trampled in the mud.  I told them
they would want bread, and they did.  If it had not been for the kind hand
of God in his merciful providences to us, we should have suffered much
more than we did; our sufferings would have been extreme.  The Lord has
poured out his blessings on the atmosphere, on the water, and on the soil
of this country.  No other people but the people of the Saints could have
sustained themselves here.  If we abuse these choice blessings, the Lord
will blast the fertilizing elements with his withering touch, and leave us
desolate.  Let us be thankful for what we have in possession, and use it
exclusively for building up the kingdom of God, the establishment of Zion,
and the triumph of righteousness and truth.  Let every penny, every
dollar, every sum of money, large or small, be devoted to this
all-absorbing interest, as also every moment of time.  These are matters
with which we are all acquainted; they are not mysteries that are far
beyond our comprehension.

	Twenty-five, twenty-eight, and thirty years ago, our influence and
national character were but small indeed.  The image which now presents
itself is still small, we admit; nevertheless it presents a bold front to
the nations, and has become worthy of their notice.  We are trying to be
the image of those who live in heaven; we are trying to pattern after
them, to look like them, to walk and talk like them, to deal like them,
and build up the kingdom of heaven as they have done.  I think that after
awhile we shall attain to the very image and likeness of the children of
God who have lived before us.  This image will increase, and grow, and
spread abroad, and still expand in its proportions, stretching to the
right hand and to the left, struggling for room on all sides, in
proportion as we are faithful and learn to appreciate the blessings we
have already received.

	Do we appreciate the blessings of this our mountain home, far removed
from the war, blood, carnage, and death that are laying low in the dust
thousands of our fellow-creatures in the very streets where we have walked
and in the cities and towns where we have lived?  If we constantly live
under a proper sense of the greatness of our blessings, the stone in the
mountains will soon begin to attain colossal proportions and roll with
crushing weight upon the toes of the "great image."

	We have often heard it said by our Elders that all the heaven we
shall ever have is the one we make for ourselves.  How vast the meaning of
this simple sentence!  This one saying is a text worthy for all the holy
beings in heaven and on earth to preach upon; it embraces a subject vast
as eternity.  We are exhorted to make our own heaven, our own paradise,
our own Zion.  How is this to be done?  By hearkening diligently to the
voice of the Spirit of the Lord that entices to righteousness, applauds
truth, and exults continually in goodness.  This Spirit is the companion
of every faithful person!  Listen to its whisperings, and pursue with
alacrity the path it points out.  In this way we may all grow in grace and
in the knowledge of the truth, and by so doing we shall honour the life we
now possess, while by pursuing an opposite course we disgrace it.  This
life is worth as much to us as any life in the eternities of the Gods.  In
that helpless infant upon its mother's breast we see a man, an Apostle, a
Saint,--yea generations of men with kingdoms, thrones, and dominions. 
Then the life of that little frail mortal is fraught with great and mighty
results, and its value is inestimable.

	If this be true of an infant, what may we expect to grow out of this
infant kingdom?  We may look forward to all that belongs to greatness and
goodness, to might and power, to dominion and glory.  Then how jealously
we ought to guard the rights of this infant power!  How zealous and
constant we should be in maintaining its interests and supporting its laws
and sacred institutions!  No less vigilant should we be in preserving the
lives of our children, for they are of the kingdom of heaven.  No pains
should be spared, no care omitted, in guarding the tender infant through
the perilous hours of childhood to maturer years.  Through the inattention
and ignorance of parents, death makes many victims among our children, and
they are deprived of magnifying their mortal life according to the designs
of the All-wise Creator.  Numbers of our children are carried off by
death, though want of sufficient promptitude in battling the destroyer
when its insidious approaches are first discovered.  We have power in a
great measure to prevent disease; and when it fastens upon the vitals of
our little ones, we have power, faith, and means at hand, if promptly
applied to restore our children to life and health, to boyhood, then to
manhood, and to honour and power in Israel.  Yet we neglect our children,
and let them run out in the cold and wet.  They are sick at night; nothing
is done for them; but they are sent to bed to lie all night with a burning
fever, and so they are suffered to linger on day after day, while the
Destroyer is busily at work consuming their lives.  At length the parents
become alarmed and send for a doctor, who is just as apt to destroy the
life of the child as to restore it again to good health.  We mourn over
the little fragile remains as we lay them in the tomb, and comfort
ourselves by saying, "Thy will be done, O Lord; thou givest and thou
takest away at they pleasure," &c., when by our ignorance and carelessness
we have destroyed the life God gave to us for a kingdom of glory and
power, which can only be obtained through our posterity.  From this one
child, this Isaac, could his life have been preserved, nations would have
sprung into existence, until the multitudes of people through him would
have become as the sands upon the sea shore for number.  But he is gone,
and his spirit has returned back to God, and that is the end of his life
upon the earth; your posterity is cut off, and from whence will you
receive your kingdom and glory?

	It is to our advantage to take good care of the blessings God bestows
upon us; if we pursue the opposite course, we cut off the power and glory
God designs we should inherit.  It is through our own carefulness,
frugality, and judgment which God has given us, that we are enabled to
preserve our grain, our flocks and herds, wives and children, houses and
lands, and increase them around us, continually gaining power and
influence for ourselves as individuals and for the kingdom of God as a
whole.  People lose their property.  Why?  Because they do not take care
of it.  Once in a while we hear of property being destroyed by fire,
though this does not often occur among this people.  What did you do with
the fire when you retired to rest?  All such occurrences happen through
carelessness, want of judgment, or ignorance.  For instance, on a very
dry, windy day, with a foul chimney, a wife wishes to prepare a chicken
for supper, and she must burn off the pin feathers; she gathers up an
armful of shavings, sets fire to them, and the flame that is singeing off
the pin feathers is also firing the chimney; from that it spreads to the
roof, and from the roof to the stackyard.  A thousand dollars' worthy of
property is destroyed by carelessly singeing the pin feathers off a
chicken.  Our wives are not apt to think of this, any more than they do
when they suffer their little children to get cold, and the croup, and
then death.

	This people, in their notions concerning life, are similar to the
whole world.  We have brought our traditions from the world, but we wish
to learn better, and get rid of every false notion and practice.  As I
told you the other day, it is impossible to believe a truth that is not
embraced in "Mormonism," whether it is found in the mental education or
physical pursuits of mortals, in the spiritual refinements of the Gods, or
in culling immortal fruits from trees that grown in the Elysian fields of
Paradise.  "The life that now is" more immediately demands our attention,
and I am fearful that many spend their lives for naught.  There are
persons in this community who, if they could have their own will gratified
and be possessed of plenty of means, would not do another day's work in
their lives, unless they were urged to it.  Such persons are told that
they should devote their lifetime they now have to usefulness; but they
have sufficient, they say, and have no need to be useful in performing any
kind of labour.  This is a mistake.  Though I possessed millions of money
and property, that does not excuse me from performing the labour that it
is my calling to perform, so far as I have strength and ability, any more
than the poorest man in the community is excused.  The more we are blessed
with means, the more we are blessed with responsibility; the more we are
blessed with wisdom and ability, the more we are placed under the
necessity of using that wisdom and ability in the spread of righteousness,
the subjugation of sin and misery, and the amelioration of the condition
of mankind.  The man that has only one talent and the man that has five
talents have responsibility accordingly.  If we have a world of means, we
have a world of responsibility.  If we have an eternity of knowledge, we
shall have an eternity of business to transact and to occupy every
particle of the knowledge bestowed upon us.

	Then, instead of searching after what the Lord is going to do for us,
let us inquire what we can do for ourselves, and the answer will be, We
can make our own hats, bonnets, shoes, and clothing, and we can make our
own heaven here below; and if there is anything that we cannot make now,
we will wear what we have until we can make more.  I have a word of praise
for our sisters.  I have seen the handsomest home-made plaid in this city
that I ever saw in any country.  I would like to see them wear it when
they go to parties, instead of donning silks and satins.  Their home-made
plaid will look better to me than all the silk and satin they can put on. 
But when sister Susan gets a fine dress, then Betsy will not go to the
party unless she has as good a frock as Susan's; and Sarah must have as
good a one as either of the others, or a little better.  Perhaps she wants
a little more gimp, a little extra braid, some insertion, or something to
make a better dress than has either of her sisters; and so we waste for a
thing of naught the blessings we should otherwise improve.

	Be careful of the clothing you have.  Do not let your children's
clothing lie underfoot when you undress them at night, but teach your boys
and girls, when they come into the house, to find a place for their hats,
cloaks, and bonnets, that, when they want them, they can put their hands
upon them in a moment.  When they take off their boots and shoes, let them
be deposited where they can be found in the dark, that, if the children
are obliged to get up at night, perhaps in case of fire, they can find
their clothing, and not be under the necessity of being turned out naked. 
If a person can put his hand on his clothing, he can dress in the dark.  I
coupled the necessity with the convenience.  I hope we shall never be
under the necessity of fleeing from under a burning roof, either in the
night or day.  Let there be "a place for every thing, and every thing in
its place."

	I believe in indulging children, in a reasonable way.  If the little
girls want dolls, shall they have them?  Yes.  But must they be taken to
the dressmaker's to be dressed?  No.  Let the girls learn to cut and sew
the clothing for their dolls, and in a few years they will know how to
make a dress for themselves and others.  Let the little boys have tools,
and let them make their sleds, little waggons, &c.; and when they grow up,
they are acquainted with the use of tools and can build a carriage, a
house, or anything else.  When we see the boys or girls inclined in this
direction, let us encourage them and use every means in our power to
direct their minds in the right direction to the most useful result.

	Novel reading--is it profitable?  I would rather that persons read
novels than read nothing.  There are women in our community, twenty,
thirty, forty, fifty, and sixty years of age, who would rather read a
trifling, lying novel than read history, the Book of Mormon, or any other
useful print.  Such women are not worth their room.  It would do no good
for me to say, Don't read them; read on, and get the spirit of lying in
which they are written, and then lie on until you find yourselves in hell. 
If it would do any good, I would advise you to read books that are worth
reading; read reliable history, and search wisdom out of the best books
you can procure.  How I would be delighted if our young men would do this,
instead of continually studying nonsense.  And in addition to this, let
the boys from ten to twenty years of age get up schools to learn sword
exercise, musket and rifle exercise, and, in short, every art of war. 
Shall we need this knowledge?  No matter; it is good to be acquainted with
this kind of exercise.  Let a few schools be started by those who are
capable of teaching the sciences.  The science of architecture, for
instance, is worthy the attention of every student.  It yields a great
amount of real pleasure to be able to understand the grand architectural
designs of those magnificent structures that are scattered over Europe and
other countries.

	Learn all you can.  Learn how to raise calves, chickens, lambs, and
all kinds of useful fowls and animals; learn how to till the ground to the
best advantage for raising all useful products of the soil; and learn how
to manufacture molasses and sugar from the sugar-cane.  Raise flax,
husbands, and let your wives learn to manufacture fine linen.  In the war
of 1812, cotton raised in price from five to eleven cents per pound; it is
now from thirty-five to sixty-three cents a pound in New York City.  What
are we going to do for our factory cloth?  We have got to make it.  I am
selling cotton cloth to those who work for me for the same price they are
now selling it in St. Louis and New York.  What will be the price
by-and-by, as circumstances are now shaping themselves in the nation?

	If what I have now said about temporal things is faithfully carried
out, it will lead to our independence as a people, and to our comfort and
happiness as individuals.

May God bless you!  Amen.

          CALL FOR TEAMS TO GO TO THE FRONTIERS.--ENCOURAGEMENT
                          OF HOME MANUFACTURES.
           Remarks made by President Brigham Young, Tabernacle,
                 Great Salt Lake City, February 2, 1862.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	I have a few items of business that I wish to lay before you this
morning, and the first is a call upon the brethren for teams to haul the
granite blocks from Little Cottonwood to the Temple Block.  The road
became so muddy that the teams were sent home, but we understand that the
road is now very good.  This county, Davis, Tooele, and the northern part
of Utah counties can forward teams in a day or two, and if the road again
becomes bad, they are not so far from their homes but what they can easily
return.  I wish to have all the teams that can be gathered from this city
and the adjoining neighbourhoods and Wards go to work immediately, so that
our stone-cutters may have constant work.  Some of them are from a
distance, and we do not like to have them out of work through want of
rough blocks.  It requires a large quantity of rocks for the first story
of the Temple, and we would like to complete the walls of that story, and
as much more as possible during the present season.

	I have another call to make upon the people now, which I wish to go
out from this place.  You will recollect that a year ago this coming
spring we sent some two hundred teams to the Frontiers to bring the Saints
to this Territory.  We wish to send three hundred this year, and they are
as few as will answer to accomplish the purpose.  Last season I think
there were rising of sixty teams went from this city.  I shall propose
that we make the dividend as we did last year, and let this city take the
lead; and if we are not over one quarter in number, we ought to be in
faith and good works.  We know that the people in this city and in the
regions round about are wealthy in cattle, and you know very well that it
is against my doctrine and feelings for men to scrape together the wealth
of the world and let it waste and do no good.  We have more stock than we
well take care of.  We want to send some twelve hundred yoke of cattle to
the States for freight and people, and we want to send some cattle to see
and purchase things that are needed for families when crossing the Plains,
for we wish to bring all the poor that can get to the Frontiers in time to
come on this season.

	Now I have a particular request to make of all our capitalists, and
that is, for them to send and procure machinery to aid in supplying all
our reasonable wants in manufactured articles, that we may have everything
within ourselves for houses, for goods, for chattels, for chariots, for
ribbons, and for ruffles, yes, everything that we require to clothe
ourselves with from the stockings on our feet to the articles worn on our
heads.  You who have money and other available means, send and get such
machinery as is really necessary for manufacturing those things that we
require to make us comfortable.  It is our duty to do this, and it is not
your duty neither is it mine to send and get ten thousand dollars worth of
ribbons.

	It may be asked, "Does not brother Brigham buy as many store goods
for his wives and children as any man in the Territory of Utah?"  I buy
more.  Probably I bestow more, according to the number I have to sustain,
than any other man.  "Why do you do so?"  Shall I say, to keep peace out
of the family, or to keep peace in the family?  Which is it?  I will leave
that for you to answer.  Such buying is no part of the duty of any man in
this community; neither is it the duty of any man to be a merchant in this
community, in the manner that many are and have been.  I frequently tell
the people that is no part of my religion or duty to dance, but it is as
much a part of my religious duty to dance as it is to buy ribbons and
other useless articles of clothing.  We are permitted to do such things
because of our ignorance, and the sin that is in the world; because of the
want of the knowledge possessed by heavenly beings; the want of true
knowledge concerning the earth and the inhabitants thereon.  Were it not
for this ignorance and darkness we should not be pardoned as we are now. 
When we become weaned from the love of the world, become humble, penitent,
contrite in spirit, and begin to love the Lord a little, it almost
distracts us--some almost go crazy.

	At no distant period merchandizing in imported goods will cease in
this Territory, and the fabrics we wear will be manufactured by
ourselves--imported fabrics will not be here.  The inquiry may arise,
"What will be done with the money that will accumulate?" for we have paid
merchants here during eleven to twelve years past not less than from six
to ten hundred thousand dollars annually.  If any should be fearful that
they will be cumbered with surplus means, I will promise them to provide a
way in which they may expend their means for the up-building of the
kingdom of God.  I do not feel to find fault, complain, or cast
reflections upon myself, upon my family, or upon my brethren and sisters
for what we have hitherto done and still are doing in the capacity of
merchants, or purchasers, or consumers.  I look forward to the time when
this people will possess what is called the wealth of the earth, that is,
those articles which are accounted very valuable, but many of which are in
reality  of very little worth.  The diamond is considered of the most
value, still its intrinsic value is but trifling; by heat it can be burned
like other coal; I esteem gold as more valuable, for it cannot be consumed
by fire.  We would like to have a little of this metal, for how much
better would it be to drink out of a gold cup than out of an old rusty tin
basin.  We expect to have earthen ware, it is true, when we get men here
that know how to put the material together to make it, but if you
accidentally let a piece of fine expensive earthenware drop, it breaks and
that is the end of it; should a child or a grown person make a misstep and
fall, when carrying a gold or silver cup or vessel, it cannot be broken. 
But this will be hereafter, it is not yet.  When we see the time that the
people will possess the true riches of the earth and the heavens, we can
preserve that which we have, it will not be stolen by thieves.

	Apparently the merchandizing interest in this community is coming to
a close, and I feel like urging upon the people the necessity of preparing
to grow and manufacture that which they consume.  It is my indispensable
duty to urge this important item upon them and to warn them of coming evil
to themselves, unless they attend to it.  We want, in view of this, a
liberal turn out of teams to bring machinery from the East this coming
summer.  It may be asked what we need here.  Why are your wives unable to
card a little wool into rolls to spin and knit you and your children some
stockings?  Because they have no cards.  Suppose there was not a carding
machine in this Territory or a single pair of hand cards, and they were
not to be had, how could we make ourselves comfortable without them?  We
might possibly manage to make cloth in a rude way, but the demand would be
far beyond the supply--it could not possibly keep pace with the wants of
our growing community.  We need a card-making machine here, one that will
draw the wire, perforate the leather, and cut, bend, and insert the teeth. 
We could make one here, but it would cost much more than to import one.  I
want some of the brethren to send and get one or more machines of this
kind, for we do not need many; but when we come to cotton and wollen [sic]
fabrics that we need to wear every day, and without which we can not be so
comfortable as we now are, we need much machinery to manufacture them.  We
now need twenty times more carding machines in this Territory than we
have.  Wool now lies in the mill month after month before it can be
carded, which injures it.  Will our capitalists send and bring in carding
machines and other machinery?  I want to see fifty or one hundred cotton
spinning-jennies, introduced into the country, they will cost about one
hundred dollars each, and with one of them a child twelve or fifteen years
old can in a day gin, card, and spin cotton enough to make twelve yards of
cloth.

	These are matters that pertain to our present life, to us at this
time and in our present circumstances.  I am anxious that the people
should fully understand the vital importance of maintaining their present
lives to make them useful, hence I speak much in this strain.  There is
great credit due the female portion of our community for the things they
try to teach their children; still I would like to see a closer
application in giving their daughters a good sound practical moral
education.  I feel gratified when I look around upon the congregation and
see many of the mothers wearing dresses they have made themselves of wool
grown in this Territory; and I have not seen in any new country a better
article of cloth than our sisters make here; it will bear the inspection
of the most fastidious votaries of pride and fashion; in that class of
goods it cannot be excelled.  Great credit is due to this people for the
progress they have made.  We have not in our society an aristocratic
circle.  Whether a brother wears a coon skin cap of a fine beaver hat is
all the same to us.  If a person is a faithful servant of God we do not
object to his coming to meeting, though he has only but a piece of buffalo
skin to wear on his head.  We partake of the sacrament with him, hail him
in the street as a brother and a friend, ride with him, converse with him,
meet with him in social parties, and greet him as an equal.  I also see
brethren walk into meeting with overcoats on which their wives and
daughters have made, but suppose you had not the means for getting your
wool carded, nor the means for carding it yourselves, could you have
produced the excellent cloth you now wear?  You could not.

	I delight to see the mother learn her daugthers [sic] to be
housekeepers; to be particular, clean, and neat; to sew, spin, and weave;
to make butter and cheese; and I have no objection to their learning to
cultivate flowers, herbs, and useful shrubs in the gardens.  It is good
for their health to rise early in the morning and work in the soil an hour
or two before breakfast; this practice is especially beneficial to those
who have weak lungs.  And while you delight in raising flowers, &c., do
not neglect to learn how to take care of the cream, and how to make of it
good wholesome butter, and of the milk good healthy nutritious cheese,
neither forget your sewing, spinning, and weaving; and I would not have
them neglect to learn music and would encourage them to read history and
the Scriptures, to take up a newspaper, geography, and other publications,
and make themselves acquainted with the manners and customs of distant
kingdoms and nations, with their laws, religion, geographical location on
the face of the world, their climate, natural productions, the extent of
their commerce, and the nature of their political organization; in fine,
let our boys and girls be thoroughly instructed in every useful branch of
physical and mental education.  Let this education begin early.  Teach
little children the principles of order; the little girl to put the broom
in its right place, to arrange the stove furniture in the neatest possible
way, and everything in its own place.  Teach them to lay away their
clothing neatly, and where it can be found; and when they tear their
frocks and aprons teach them how to mend the rent so neatly that the place
cannot be seen at a short distance; and instead of asking your husbands to
buy them ribbons and frills, learn them to make them of the material we
can produce.  Teach the little boys to lay away the garden hoe, the spade,
&c., where they will not be destroyed by rust; and let them have access to
tools that they may learn their use, and develop their mechanical skill
while young; and see that they gather up the tools when they have done
with them, and deposit them in the proper place.  Let both males and
females encourage within them mechanical ingenuity, and seek constantly to
understand the world they are in, and what use to make of their existence.

	It is unnecessary to send to England, to France, to the East Indies,
to China, or to any other country for a little crockery ware, silk,
calico, muslin, &c., for we can make those article here.  We need the
machinery; let us unite and get it.  Last fall brother A. R. Wright
brought in an excellent piece of machinery for manufacturing flax; it now
belongs to brother Pyper.  I would like to see some man manifest interest
enough to take that machinery and put it to work.  Thousands of pounds of
flax could be worked up by it this coming fall and next winter.  Who will
do this?  I know not.

	This people are dilatory in some things.  What are many of them
thinking about?  The kingdom of God, sometimes.  They want to pray and
have faith just sufficient to keep in the path of the angel that is going
round to gather up the righteous, and the rest of the time their minds are
upon a gold mine, or upon going to the States to buy goods, and they see
themselves behind a counter, "Ah," think they, "Won't I look a gentlemanly
looking man when I am dealing out the calico?"  I never could, the poorest
day I ever saw in my life, descend so low as to stand behind a counter. 
Taking that class of men as a whole, I think they are of extremely small
calibre.

	Women and children can deal out pins, and needles, and ribbons; this
is too trifling a business for men.  Their business is to organize the
elements and draw from them the raw material in abundance, and then
manufacture it into those things which are calculated to make comfortable,
beautiful, lovely, healthy, and happy God's people.  Our brethren
calculate on the increase of their stock, and are keen to gather around
them the riches of this life, but they do not make judicious calculations
how to dispose of those riches to the best advantage.  They will fill the
whole country with stock of every kind, but can see no way how it should
be put to proper use.  The merchant calculates that he will make fifty or
a hundred thousand dollars in so many years, but if you ask him what he is
going to do with it he is astonished at the question, for he never thought
of that.  All he thought of was piling up the riches.  Did you ever think
it was your privilege to place those riches out to usury in building up
the kingdom of God?  Do you not belong to the Church of God?  Do you not
pray?  What do you pray for?  One says, "I pray the Lord to keep and
preserve me, to sanctify me and prepare me for his kingdom and glory; I
just want to slip inside the gate, I am not very ambitious."  Do you think
anything about preparing for it here?  "Only in heart, or in spirit."

	My doctrine is, to put every dollar to usury for building up the
kingdom of God, whether it be much or little.  I want the brethren to man
out their teams, and send down three hundred this season, and four or five
hundred when required.  And then I want to see the brethren join together
their teams and money and send for machinery, besides sending teams for
the poor; and thus we will fill the Territory with the necessary articles
of machinery for a self-sustaining people.  It is necessary for us to
sustain ourselves, or we will be left in poverty, nakedness, and distress,
as a consequence of war and the breaking up of the general government.  We
now meet men who seemingly have very little clothing--they wear patch upon
patch.  I would not by this remark have it understood that clothing ought
not to be neatly and somewhat extensively mended, but I have seen men wear
pantaloons so patched that it would puzzle you to place your finer upon a
piece of the original.  They have wives and daughthers [sic], but they do
not spin.  In Exodus we read, "And all the women that were wise-hearted
did spin with their hands."  If, instead of our wives and daughters
passing their hours in idleness, folding their hands, and rocking
themselves in their easy chairs, they would spin a little wool, and a
little cotton from our Dixie, or that grown in their own gardens and
fields, and make some good warm clothing for the men and boys, and some
linsey frocks for the women and girls, they could with propriety be called
wise women in Israel.  If you happen to be in a party where I am and
wearing dresses made with your own hands, I shall take pleasure in dancing
with you in preference to the lady dressed in silks and satins.  We can do
this, but we need to be taught day after day, month after month, and year
after year.

	Human beings are expected by their Creator to be actively employed in
doing good every day of their lives, either in improving their own mental
and physical condition or that of their neighbours.  But there are
thousands whose days, months, and years are nothing more than a blank;
there is not a single trace upon their life's pages that might be
construed as useful to the cause of humanity.  This people have embraced
the philosophy of eternal lives, and in view of this we should cease to be
children and become philosophers, understanding our own existence, its
purpose and ultimate design, then our days will not become a blank through
ignorance, but every day will bring with it its useful and profitable
employment.  God has placed us here, given us the ability we possess, and
supplied the means upon which we can operate to produce social, national,
and eternal happiness.

	Seeing we are so wonderfully endowed with priceless gifts by our
Heavenly Father, will he not require usury at our hands?  He will.  But he
has made us agents to ourselves, which makes us responsible for the way in
which we use the talents he has given us, for the manner we expend the
gold and silver, the wheat and fine flour, the cattle upon a thousand
hills, and the wine and oil, for they all belong to Him; and we too belong
to Him, but he has created man after His own image, and endowed him with a
germ of independence that will crown him a God through his faithfulness. 
He requires us to devote these godlike powers to our own advantage, life,
wealth, beauty, comfort, and exaltation by giving to His cause--the cause
of righteousness--universal triumph over sin.  Then do not hoard up your
gold; if you do, it will canker, but put out every dollar to usury. 
Instead of your souls being bound up in your cattle and other property,
put it all where it should be placed for the benefit of the kingdom of God
on earth and for his glory.

	I have merely touched this subject.  I wish the Elders, and we have
many talented Elders, to verbally follow out this subject in the
afternoon, and then physically follow it out by rightly using your cattle
and waggons, your silver and gold, and your time and talents, then God
will bless us.  Amen.

          ROBBING THE DEAD.--DANCING, NOT A PART OF THE SAINTS'
       RELIGION.--KINDNESS IN GOVERNMENT.--MORE TELEGRAPHIC WIRES.
        Remarks by President Brigham Young made in the Tabernacle,
                 Great Salt Lake City, February 9, 1862.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	I have four sermons that I wish to preach this morning, and I wish
about thirty-five minutes in which to preach them.

	The first subject I shall notice this morning is robbing the dead. 
Many have desired me to express myself in public relative to what has
transpired in our grave yard during four or five years past.  Robbing the
dead is not a new thing.  Robbing dead people of their jewelry and
clothing is customary in the cities of Europe; and it has been and is
customary in many places to steal the body for the purpose of dissection. 
I have, in the course of my life, been under the necessity of watching
graves to keep them from being robbed.

	It appears that a man named John Baptiste has practised robbing the
dead of their clothing in our grave yard during some five years past.  If
you wish to know what I think about it, I answer, I am unable to think so
low as to fully get at such a mean, contemptible, damnable trick.  To hang
a man for such a deed would not begin to satisfy my feelings.  What shall
we do with him?  Shoot him?  No, that would do no good to anybody but
himself.  Would you imprison him during life?  That would do nobody any
good.  What I would do with him came to me quickly, after I heard of the
circumstance; this I will mention, before I make other remarks.  If it was
left to me, I would make him a fugitive and a vagabond upon the earth. 
This would be my sentence, but probably the people will not want this
done.

	Many are anxious to know what effect it will have upon their dead who
have been robbed.  I have three sisters in the grave yard in this city,
and two wives, and several children, besides other connections and near
relatives.  I have not been to open any of their graves to see whether
they were robbed, and do not mean to do so.  I gave them as good a burial
as I could; and in burying our dead, we all have made everything as
agreeable and as comfortable as we could to the eye and taste of the
people in their various capacities, according to the best of our
judgments; we have done our duty in this particular, and I for one am
satisfied.  I will defy any thief there is on the earth or in hell to rob
a Saint of one blessing.  A thief may dig up dead bodies and sell them for
the dissecting knife, or may take their raiment from them, but when the
resurrection takes place, the Saints will come forth with all the glory,
beauty, and excellency of resurrected Saints clothed as they were when
they were laid away.

	Some may inquire whether it is necessary to put fresh linen into the
coffins of those who have been robbed of their clothing.  As to this you
can pursue the course that will give you the most contentment and
satisfaction; but if the dead are laid away as well as they can be, I will
promise you that they will be well clothed in the resurrection, for the
earth and the elements around it are full of these things.  All that is
needed is power to bring forth those things necessary, as Jesus did when
he fed the multitude with a few loaves and fishes, perhaps no more than
would on ordinary occasions feed six men; he organized the elements
around, and fed five thousand.  In the resurrection everything that is
necessary will be brought from the elements to clothe and to beautify the
resurrected Saints, who will receive their reward.  I do not trouble
myself about my dead.  If they are stripped of their clothing, I do not
want to know it.

	Some, I have been informed, can now remember having had singular
dreams, and others have heard rappings on the floor, on the bedstead, on
the door, on the table, &c., and have imagined that they might have
proceeded from the spirits of the dead calling on their friends to give
them clothing, for they were naked.  My dead friends have not been to me
to tell me that they were naked, cold, &c.; and if any such rappings
should come to me, I should tell them to go to their own place.  I have
little faith in those rappings.  If I felt that I ought to pay attention
to such things, I would not, so to speak, let my right hand know what my
left did; and it would require a greater power than John Baptiste to make
me believe either a truth or a lie.

	I thought the remark made by a lad to a group of weeping women was
very appropriate, though I do not blame them for weeping when they saw the
clothing they had put upon their departed darlings; said he, "supposing
the linen was all burnt up and the ashes scattered to the four winds,
could not the angel Gabriel call those particles together as easily as he
could call together the particles of the body?"  The elements are all
here, and they will be called forth in their proper time and place.  Let
the minds of the people be at rest upon this matter.  What has been done
they cannot help.  If any wish to open the graves of their dead and put
clothing in the coffins to satisfy their feelings, all right; I am
satisfied.  I am also satisfied that had we been brought up and
traditionated to burn a wife upon the funeral pile, we should not be
satisfied unless this practice was followed out; we would have the same
grief and sorrow that we now have when we find that our dead have been
robbed of their clothing.  Or if we had been brought up as our natives
are, when a chief died if we did not kill a wife or two, a few horses, or
a few prisoners, &c., as soon as the darkness of night set in we very
likely should fancy ourselves haunted with the spirits of the dead,
dissatisfied at our not giving them proper burial rites, and company to
pass with them through the dark shadows of the grave to the good land
where there are better hunting grounds.  The power and influence of
tradition has a great deal to do with the way we feel about this matter of
our dead being robbed.

	We are here in circumstances to bury our dead according to the order
of the Priestood [sic].  But some of our brethren die upon the ocean; they
cannot be buried in a burying ground, but they are sewed up in canvas and
cast into the sea, and perhaps in two minutes after they are in the bowels
of the shark, yet those persons will come forth in the resurrection, and
receive all the glory of which they are worthy, and be clothed upon with
all the beauty of resurrected Saints, as much so as if they had been laid
away in a gold or silver coffin, and in a place expressly for burying the
dead.  If you think opposite to this your thoughts are in vain.  "And I
saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were
opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life:  and the
dead were judged out of these things which were written in the books,
according to their works.  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."  If the particles of which the
body is composed are distributed to the four quarters of the earth, at the
sound of the trumpet, when the dead are to come forth the dust that
composed their bodies, that portion which is suffered to endure, will come
from the ends of the earth, mote by mote, particle by particle, atom to
atom, bone to bone, sinew to sinew, and flesh will cover them, and the
same body will come forth in the resurrection, as much so as the body of
Jesus came forth from the tomb.

	Do as you please with regard to taking up your friends.  If I should
undertake to do anything of the kind, I should clothe them completely and
then lay them away again.  And if you are afraid of their being robbed
again, put them into your gardens, where you can watch them by day and
night until you are pretty sure that the clothing is rotted, and then lay
them away in the burying ground.  I would let my friends lay and sleep in
peace.  I am aware of the excited state of the feelings of the community;
I have little to say about the cause of it; The meanness of the act is so
far beneath my comprehension that I have not ventured to think much about
it.

	I will now proceed to my next text.  I have lately preached a short
sermon to the Bishops, in a Bishops' meeting, and I now wish to present
the subject of those remarks to this congregation; they were in relation
to the Bishops building dancing-rooms for their school-houses and ward
meetings.  In my heart, soul, affections, feeling, and judgment, I am
opposed to making a cotillion hall a place of worship.  All men have their
agency, and should be permitted to act as freely as consistent, that they
may manifest by their acts whether they are controlled by the pure
principle of righteousness.  Many of you remember that at first we
assembled in a bowery on the south-east corner of this block, where we met
for some time under its shade, and held preaching meetings, sacrament
meetings, political meetings, and every kind of public gathering, because
it was the only place that would then accommodate the people.  Soon after
that we built this Tabernacle.  We probably had not the first stick of
timber on the ground before I was besought to build it for dancing in and
for theatrical purposes.  I said no, to every one that requested me to do
that.  I told them that dancing and theatrical performances were no part
of our religion; we are merely permitted to occupy a portion of the time
in those amusements, being very careful not to grieve the Spirit of the
Lord.  More or less amusement of that kind suits our organization, but
when we come to the things of God, I had rather not have them mixed up
with amusement like a dish of sucotash.

	I like to dance, but do I want to sin?  No; rather than sin I would
wish never to dance or hear a fiddle again while I live.  Let that which I
would sin in be taken from me, and let me be kept from it from this time
henceforth and for ever, no matter what it is.  I like my pastimes and
enjoy myself as you do, in amusements wherein we do not sin.  Brother E.
D. Woolley and myself had some conversation on this subject, and he
thought that he would build a house to accommodate social gatherings but
could not at that time very well do it, so I built the hall which is
called the Social Hall.  In it are combined a dancing-room and a small
stage for theatrical performances.  That is our fun hall, and not a place
in which to administer the sacrament.  We dedicated it to the purpose for
which it was built, and from the day we first met there until now, I would
rather see it laid in ashes in a moment that to see it possessed by the
wicked.  We prayed that the Lord would preserve it to the Saints; and if
it could not thus be preserved, let it be destroyed and not be occupied by
the wicked.  You know what spirit attends that room.  There we have had
governors, judges, doctors, lawyers, merchants, passers-by, &c., who did
not belong to our Church, and what has been the universal declaration of
each and every one?  "I never felt so well before in all my life at any
party as I do here;" and the Saints do not feel as well in any other place
of amusement.  We have a beautiful assembly room in the 13th Ward, but you
cannot feel as well in a party there as you can in the hall that was built
and dedicated to that purpose.  Every thing in its time, and every thing
in its place.

	In the year 1849, I think it was, I was called upon to give a draft
for a school-house, that would be commodious and suitable for each ward. 
I gave that draft, and I do not think that I could now alter it for the
better.  Has there been a school-house built according to the draft? 
There have been a few wings built, and the main body of the building I
drafted was not intended for a dancing-hall.  By referring to the plan I
gave, you can see my idea of a Ward school-house, but it has not been
carried out.  It is now whispered around that we are opposed to dancing in
the 14th Ward School-room.  This is not so.  I have been there several
times, and enjoyed myself well, as also in the 13th Ward house, which is
called the Assembly-Rooms, though I would call it a cotillion hall.  I am
opposed to making the youth of our land believe that dancing and
frolicking are a part of our religion, when in truth they are not any part
of it, though I hear from every quarter that the Gentiles say, "I like
this part of your religion, for I understand that this is one branch of
your religion, and I like this dancing very much."  It is no part of our
religion, and I am opposed to devoting to a cotillion room, a house set
apart for the worship of God.  I am opposed to having cotillions or
theatrical performances in this Tabernacle.  I am opposed to making this a
fun hall, I do not mean for wickedness, I mean for the recuperation of our
spirits and bodies.  I shall not be opposed to the brethren's building a
meeting-house somewhere else, and keeping their cotillions halls for
parties, but I am not willing that they should convert the house that has
been set apart for religious meetings into a dancing hall.

	I will now pass to my third text.  I can say with confidence, that
there is no people on the face of this earth that pay more respect to
females than do this people.  I know of no community where females enjoy
the privileges they do here.  If any one of them is old and withered and
so dried up that you have to put weights on her skirts to keep her from
blowing away, she is so privileged that she is in everybody's dish or
platter--her nose is everywhere present--and still she will go home and
tell her husband that she is slighted.  Here we see the marked effect of
the curse that was in the beginning placed upon woman, their desire is to
their husbands all the time.  It is also written, "and he shall rule over
you."  Now put the two together.  Nobody else must be spoken to, no other
body must be danced with, no other lady must sit at the head of the table
with her husband.

	A few years ago one of my wives, when talking about wives leaving
their husbands said, "I wish my husband's wives would leave him, every
soul of them except myself."  That is the way they all feel, more or less,
at times, both old and young.  The ladies of seventy, seventy-five,
eighty, and eighty-five years of age are greeted here with the same
cheerfulness as are the rest.  All are greeted with kindness, respect, and
gentleness, no matter whether they wear linsey or silks and satin, they
are all alike respected and beloved according to their behaviour; at least
they are so far as I am concerned.

	It may be all well enough if a woman can attain faith to throw off
the curse, but there is one thing she cannot away with, at least not so
far as I am concerned, and that is, "and he shall rule over thee."  I can
do that by causing my women to do as they have a mind to, and at the same
time they do not know what is going on.  When I say rule, I do not mean
with an iron hand, but merely to take the lead--to lead them in the path I
wish them to walk in.  They may be determined not to answer my will, but
they are doing it all the time without knowing it.  Kindness, love, and
affection are the best rod to use upon the refractory.  Solomon is said to
have been the wisest man that ever lived, and he is said to have
recommended another kind of rod.  I have tried both kinds on children.  I
can pick out scores of men in this congregation who have driven their
children from them by using the wooden rod.  Where there is severity there
is no affection or filial feeling in the hearts of either party; the
children would rather be away from father than be with him.

	In some families the children are afraid to see father--they will run
and hide as from a tyrant.  My children are not afraid of my footfall;
except in the case of their having done something wrong they are not
afraid to approach me.  I could break the wills of my little children, and
whip them to this, that, and the other, but this I do not do.  Let the
child have a mild training until it has judgment and sense to guide it.  I
differ with Solomon's recorded saying as to spoiling the child by sparing
the rod.  True it is written in the New Testament that "whom the Lord
loveth he chasteneth."  It is necessary to try the faith of children as
well as of grown people, but there are ways of doing so besides taking a
club and knocking them down with it.  "If you love me keep my
commandments."  "Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and
lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest to your souls.  For my yoke is easy
and my burden is light."  There is nothing consistent in abusing your
wives and children.  There is quite a portion of the Elders of Israel who
do not know how to use one wife well.  I love my wives, respect them, and
honour them, but to make a queen of one and peasants of the rest I have no
such disposition, neither do I expect to do it.

	I will now pass to my fourth text, and the sermon will be quite
brief.  It is well known that we now receive news from the west and east
by the telegraphic wire that is stretched across the Continent.  Last
night we read a manuscript telegram, containing yesterday's news from New
York City and Chicago.  There are a great many in this Territory, who want
that news while it is fresh, but it goes into our printing-office, and
there remains from two to five days before the people can get it.  I want
a company raised to stretch a wire through our settlements in this
Territory, that information may be communicated to all parts with
lightning speed.

	I am now constantly annoyed with "What is the news?  Have you
received it?"  Yes, we have received it.  "When"  Three or four days ago,
but it is not yet set up; when, at the same time, if there is a particle
of manuscript telegram in my office, they never rest until they get it;
and when they have got it they seem to care no more about it.

	I wish some kind of arrangements entered into whereby we can have the
news before us in some reasonable time.  We have been put off with
printers' excuses until I am tired.  We send down to the printing-office,
and inquire if the extra is out.  Answer--"It will be out in a few
minutes."  We wait until morning and send again.  "It will be out in a few
minutes; we are now working at it; when, perhaps, it has never been
touched.  This I do not like.  Thus endeth my fourth and last sermon.

     CLOSING OF AMUSEMENTS.--INDULGING IN SIN BRINGS MENTAL DARKNESS.
           Remarks made by President Brigham Young, Tabernacle,
                 Great Salt Lake City, February 16, 1862.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	I have only a few remarks that I wish to make this morning, and they
will chiefly relate to our practical and immediate duties.

	We amuse and enjoy ourselves a great deal in this Territory, in
dancing and in other amusements.  I am as fond of amusement as any person,
and love to see others enjoy rational amusement in its season.  I have
this to comfort me; in all our assemblies for amusement this winter, I
have not seen or heard anything that has seriously annoyed my feelings. 
The people have been very civil, and have conducted themselves discreetly
and as Saints, as far as I know.

	I have now a request to make of the people, through their Bishops,
that during the coming week we bring our dancing parties to a close and
prepare to attend to matters of greater importance, as the winter is
drawing to a close, and the season for business is approaching.  In a few
weeks from now, we intend to give the people a few evenings entertainment
in our new theatre, which will not be entirely finished; after which, as
the spring opens, we shall attend to preparing material for building our
Temple, to gathering the poor, to farming and gardening, to building and
fencing, &c.

	The exhortation we have heard this morning is good, just, and true. 
We can gather much from it, touching the evidences of the Gospel.  Upon
this point the people, in many instances, do not understand themselves,
they forsake the Gospel, turn away from the holy commandments, and turn to
fables.  It is very remarkable, though true, that some persons who profess
to be intelligent beings are never easy unless they are in pain, nor happy
unless they are miserable.  When they are comfortable, well fed, and
clothed, have good health, and the society of the just, comparatively
speaking they must pinch themselves, or stick pins and needles into
themselves, in order to feel happier when the pain has ceased.  This is
marvellous to me.

	It is disgraceful for a member of this community to turn away from
the truth.  When a person receives the truth, has a knowledge of the
things of God, is instructed with regard to his position relative to the
heavens, he knows a great deal; and it is astonishing to me that there is
power enough among the wicked on earth and among Devils in hell to turn
such a soul away from righteousness.  A few in our community seem to be in
their glory when they are doing wrong, though this portion is
comparatively very small.  We do not see in our community quite so much
drunkenness as heretofore, nor so many gambling shops, but how long this
improved state of things will remain I know not.  For a few weeks we have
also had a respite from marauding thieves.

	Are the people righteous and pure enough in heart not to turn to
fables when they are presented to them? not to commit iniquity when they
are tempted? not to join hands with the ungodly when the ungodly are here
to take them by the hand?  If we have attained to that power, that Satan
and all his forces will fail to turn us away from the holy commandments of
the Lord Jesus, we never again will be afflicted through the power of the
wicked.  When we are tried by afflictions we are apt to forsake the faith
of Christ, and then the wicked are permitted to bear rule over us; then
unrighteousness surrounds us, and the influence of Satan and of hell
prevails in our midst.

	Have we yet to endure affliction as we have at the hands of our
enemies the ungodly Gentiles?  Have we again to see armies here? and again
be driven from our homes?  Have we to be visited with pestilence, famine,
and earthquake?  Is all this necessary?  If our hearts are pure we shall
never see any of those afflictions poured out upon this people, from this
time henceforth; on the contrary, the Lord delights to bless such a people
until there is not room to receive more.  Still in our afflictions we will
not complain, for the Lord has his own way of training his people.  How
joyful my heart would be if the people would receive the Gospel, if they
would understand it as they understand their daily avocations.

	Yet, when I realize that God dwells in the midst of eternal burnings,
that everything must be pure and holy that comes into his presence; that
he has marked out in the Gospel the path for the believer to walk in to
attain to holiness, and that no man or woman can receive the Gospel
without humbling themselves before the Lord, forsaking their sins, and
receiving the Holy Spirit, it is a matter of joy to me that unholy beings
are thereby prohibited from entering into his presence.  No unhallowed or
unclean thing can enter the heavenly abode of the righteous; and it is
beyond the capacity of man to make a safer place than that which God has
prepared for the righteous.  Jesus, in consideration of this, said, "Lay
not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth
corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:  but lay up for
yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt,
and where thieves do not break through and steal."  Let us bind to heaven
all that is near and dear unto us, and if our treasures are there, there
also will our affections be.

	It is thirty years the 15th day of next April (though it has
accidentally been recorded and printed the fourteenth) since I was
baptized into this Church, and in that time I have gained quite an
experience.  I will tell you a little of it, though I will first make a
few remarks touching ourselves as a people.  We are prone to do wrong, or,
as the preacher has recorded:--"Yea, also the heart of the sons of men is
full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after
that they go to the dead."  We are merchants, speculators, traders, and
love the best end of a bargain.  We delight to talk about our neighbours. 
"Oh, how I delight to go over to such a house to see that sister, she is
so sociable, so full of chit-chat, and knows everything that is going on." 
And thus they meet to bereave the characters of their neighbours, and
there is not an evil that can be imagined but what will be told.  After
they have finished their chatting, backbiting, and slandering, they
conclude it all by apologizing:--"Really, sister, I do not know, but I
have said more than I ought, but let us pass it over, you know we are all
brethren and sisters."  Again, says one brother in the Church to another,
"Well, we had a good time last evening, we enjoyed ourselves pretty well. 
It is true we got drunk, and it is not quite right to get drunk.  My head
ached this morning, and I feel a little sorry that we indulged so far." 
Another has indulged too much in making liquor, and in putting the deadly
draught to his neighbour's lips.  Another has indulged too much in
swearing.  Another is troubled because he has indulged in taking the
advantage of his neighbour in a trade, and, to make a cent, has cheated
the simple and good-hearted who trusted in him.  Another has stolen a
little, or done this and that wrong; and all are apt to excuse themselves
under the plea of the weaknesses of human nature.

	Now, I come to my own experience and say--there is not an individual
here but what has power, and God has given it to him, to drink whisky or
let it alone, to swear or not swear, to lie or not lie, deceive or not
deceive, cheat and take advantage of a neighbour or not do so, slander and
backbite a brother or a sister or not.  This power is our own individual
property, and we shall be brought into judgment for the manner in which we
use it, and for all our actions in the flesh.  Thirty year's experience
has taught me that every moment of my life must be holiness to the Lord,
resulting from equity, justice, mercy, and uprightness in all my actions,
which is the only course by which I can preserve the Spirit of the
Almighty to myself.  What is your experience?  It is the same as my own. 
You cannot constantly be sinning a little and repenting, and retain the
Spirit of the Lord as your constant companion.  My experience up to this
time, has been to do as I would that others should do unto me, under like
circumstances; and, if I understand myself, there is not a man or woman on
the face of this earth that I have dealt with contrary to this rule, and
this practice I have continued each day.

	When Monday morning breaks upon the eyes of the people, they must be
as faithful to God and righteousness as they are here when partaking of
the sacrament, or lose the Spirit of the Lord, [sic-punc]  We have no
permission to sin for one moment.  You may ask me if I ever do wrong.  I
answer--yes, like everybody else, owing to the weakness of the flesh; but
if I do wrong knowingly, then I sin.  When this people can live and never
do a wrong knowingly, if they should sin in their ignorance, God will
freely forgive that sin, if they are ready to repent when it is made known
to them and refrain from it in the future.  Let us live in this way and
the kingdom is ours.  It is the kingdom of God with us, or nothing.  It is
in our possession, and God will have a people that will preserve it
inviolate.  There may be some in our midst who do not honour the character
of our religion, yet the Lord will preserve his kingdom.

	There are some who wish to regain the Spirit of the Lord they have
lost, and others desire to go on a Mission to get that Spirit.  My advice
to all such persons is--so live daily that all the light of God's Spirit
given to you will be preserved in you and increase from day to day, until
you become perfect in your sphere as our Father in heaven is perfect. 
This is my experience.  We cannot believe any truth that exists in all the
eternities of the Gods that is not embraced in our holy religion, commonly
called "Mormonism."  It incorporates every truth that has been known, is
known, and will be known, in all the eternities past, and in all the
eternities to come; in short, it is eternal truth upon which the throne of
God is founded and cannot be moved.  May the Lord help us to be faithful.

	Again, in all the duties and labours pertaining to our mortal
existence, let us remember that Paul may plant and Apollos may water, but
it is God alone who gives the increase.  And how long will it be before we
shall learn to take good care of the increase God gives us?  Our labour is
our wealth; it is the best capital that any nation can possess.  We have
an immense capital that will bring us a large interest, if it is expended
judiciously and with that wisdom which cometh from Heaven.  Every man and
woman capable of labour have their stock of capital on hand; dispose of it
wisely; let everything be put to good use in the best possibe [sic] manner
to build up the kingdom of God, and to make ourselves comfortable and
happy on this earth, and the Lord will preserve us and give us all we ask
for.  The kingdom is ours.  Amen.

             BUILDING UP AND ADORNMENT OF ZION BY THE SAINTS.
           Remarks made by President Brigham Young, Tabernacle,
                 Great Salt Lake City, February 23, 1862.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	Those who are capable of contemplating upon and realizing the
relationship of mankind to the Heavens, the object of their existence
here, the common salvation that is provided for all who have lived, now
live, and will live upon the earth, and the power that is given to each
person to preserve his identity to an endless duration, must be aware that
there is a great deal to be said and done by those to whom are committed
the Priesthood of the Son of God and the management of his work upon the
earth in the last days.

	It is written, "Thy watchman shall lift up the voice; with the voice
together shall they sing:  for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord
shall bring again Zion."  Again, "Whereas thou hast been forsaken and
hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal
excellency, a joy of many generations."  Again, "For, behold, I say unto
you that Zion shall flourish, and the glory of the Lord shall be upon her,
and she shall be an ensign unto the people, and there shall come unto her
out of every nation under heaven."  And, again, "Zion shall flourish upon
the hills and rejoice upon the mountains, and shall be assembled together
unto the place which I have appointed," &c.  We talk and read about Zion,
we contemplate upon it, and in our imaginations we reach forth to grasp
something that is transcendant in heavenly beauty, excellency and glory. 
But while contemplating the future greatness of Zion, do we realize that
we are the pioneers of that future greatness and glory?  Do we realize
that if we enjoy a Zion in time or in eternity, we must make it for
ourselves?  That all who have a Zion in the eternities of the gods
organized, framed, consolidated, and perfected it themselves, and
consequently are entitled to enjoy it.

	Were we to send a hundred families of Saints into a valley not yet
inhabited, being acquainted with its climate, soil, and general
capabilities for productiveness, in the vision of our minds we could see
in the future comfortable and commodious houses for the people to dwell
in, buildings for religious worship and education; temples, tabernacles,
and academies; also houses for amusement and State purposes, barns, and
stables, yards, for the accommodation of animals, well-fenced farms,
granaries filled with grain, orchards and gardens, wine, fruit, meat,
silk, woollen, and cotton fabrics, and the people clothed and beautified
with the productions of the works of their own hands, and entirely
sustained by their industry and the blessings of God through their
righteousness.  The Lord brings forth all those temporal blessings
precisely in the same way in which he will build up Zion.  He will build
our houses, tabernacles, and temples, make our farms, raise our wheat,
meat, and fruit, make our spinning-wheels and looms, and weave our cloth,
while we remain in a state of complete inactivity, just as much as he will
bring again Zion without our co-operation.  The Lord has done his share of
the work; he has surrounded us with the elements containing wheat, meat,
flax, wool, silk, fruit, and everything with which to build up, beautify
and glorify the Zion of the last days, and it is our business to mould
these elements to our wants and necessities, according to the knowledge we
now have and the wisdom we can obtain from the Heavens through our
faithfulness.  In this way will the Lord bring again Zion upon the earth,
and in no other.

	If we wish to make linen, we must prepare the soil that is suitable
for raising flax, cast the seed into the ground, cultivate it, gather it,
and prepare it to be spun and wove into linen.  The Lord will not do this
for us.  We must also raise our bread by sowing grain, after the ground is
prepared, then cultivating and watching it until it is ripened, then
passing it through all the different processes until it is made into
bread.  The Lord will not do this for us any more than he will bring again
Zion without our co-operation.  He has placed within our reach everything
necessary for food, raiment, houses, and possessions, and for beauty,
goodness, excellency, exaltation, life, glory, and bliss.  The Lord would
clothe these naked Indians, for they are of the house of Israel, if he
would clothe us.  He will build up Zion upon the same principle that he
raises grain, flax, silk, wool fruit, &c., &c.  There is not one thing
wanting in all the work of God's hands to make a Zion upon the earth when
the people conclude to make it.  We can make a Zion of God on earth at our
pleasure, upon the same principle that we can raise a field of wheat, or
build and inhabit.  There has been no time when the material has not been
here from which to produce corn, wheat, &c.; and by the judicious
management and arrangement of this ever-existing material a Zion of God
can always be built on the earth.

	Man is the offspring of God.  Who can fully realize this?  Our
Heavenly Father orders all things that pertain to this earth and to
multitudes of worlds of which we are ignorant.  We are as much the
children of this great Being as we are the children of our mortal
progenitors.  We are flesh of his flesh, bone of his bone, and the same
fluid that circulates in our bodies, called blood, once circulated in his
veins as it does in ours.  As the seeds of grains, vegetables and fruits
produce their kind, so man is in the image of God.  We hope to be exalted. 
We hope that God our Father will make us noble and good, but he will only
direct and aid us in making ourselves righteous.  He has formed us, and in
his providences brought us forth upon this earth, but he without our
efforts will not make anything of us.  What we shall be, depends upon
ourselves.  We can improve this organization and bring it back to its
original purity and goodness, by faithfulness to the will of Heaven, and
by daily adding to the intelligence we now possess until we are prepared
to stand in the presence of our Creator.

	When we conclude to make a Zion we will make it, and this work
commences in the heart of each person.  When the father of a family wishes
to make a Zion in his own house, he must take the lead in this good work,
which it is impossible for him to do unless he himself possesses the
Spirit of Zion.  Before he can produce the work of sactification [sic] in
his family, he must sanctify himself, and by this means God can help him
to sanctify his family.  There are many families in this community that
have constantly with them the Spirit of Zion.  Visit them when you will,
and you find them dwelling in peace; a heavenly influence constantly
broods over them and over everything they possess.  But are they perfect? 
No.  It would not do for them to be perfect, because we have still to
associate more or less with that which is evil.

	We have all the material we need to build up Zion, and I wish the
Spirit of Zion to extend from heart to heart, and from house to house. 
This good work must commence in each person; there must be instituted a
watchful care over the passions to bring them under control, that an angry
feeling may not arise, that an evil passion may not gain the mastery to
the overthrow of wisdom and good sound judgment, until the power of the
enemy that is sown within us is entirely subdued to the will of Christ,
for the purpose of the enemy of all righteousness is to destroy the human
family, and make them what they were not intended to be.

	I do not wish you to carry away a wrong impression of our true
situation before the heavens relative to perfection.  For you to be
perfect, in one sense of the word, is to be prepared to inherit eternal
glory in the presence of the Father and the Son.  Should any mortal attain
to this state of perfection, he could not longer remain among his fellow
mortals.  I do not want you so very perfect, but I am anxious that we
should commence the growth of Zion in ourselves, and when we do this, we
shall cease to willingly hold fellowship with that which is evil.  But so
long as we willingly hold fellowship with that which tends to death and
destruction, we cannot progress as we should in the work of perfection in
ourselves, nor in building up and beautifying Zion.

	The work of building up Zion is in every sense a practical work; it
is not a mere theory.  A theoretical religion amounts to very little real
good or advantage to any person.  To possess an inheritance in Zion or in
Jerusalem only in theory--only in imagination--would be the same as having
no inheritance at all.  It is necessary to get a deed of it, to make an
inheritance, practical, substantial and profitable.  Then let us not rest
contented with a mere theoretical religion, but let it be practical,
self-purifying, and self-sustaining, keeping the love of God within us,
walking by every precept, by every law, and by every word that is given to
lead us to truth, to God, and to life eternal.

	I have Zion in my view constantly.  We are not going to wait for
angels, or for Enoch and his company to come and build up Zion, but we are
going to build it.  We will raise our wheat, build our houses, fence our
farms, plant our vineyards and orchards, and produce everything that will
make our bodies comfortable and happy, and in this manner we intend to
build up Zion on the earth and purify it and cleanse it from all polutions
[sic].  Let there be an hallowed influence go from us over all things over
which we have any power; over the soil we cultivate, over the houses we
build, and over everything we possess; and if we cease to hold fellowship
with that which is corrupt and establish the Zion of God in our hearts, in
our own houses, in our cities, and throughout our country, we shall
ultimately overcome the earth, for we are the lords of the earth; and,
instead of thorns and thistles, every useful plant that is good for the
food of man and to beautify and adorn will spring from its bosom.

	We have certain laws to observe in order to obtain wheat.  We do not
sow wheat on a bare rock, for we have learned by experience that it will
not grow there.  We do not sow onion and carrot seed in the middle of the
street and expect to reap a bountiful crop, for our experience teaches us
differently.  Instead of doing this, we observe the laws in nature which
govern the productions of the earth, as our fathers before us have done,
and prepare the ground properly, subduing and enriching and cleansing from
it every obnoxious weed.  Then if we wish to raise Toas wheat, we sow the
seed that will produce it, and proceed in like manner with whatever we
desire to produce from the ground, for every seed will produce its kind,
and with care and watchfulness the husbandman will reap an abundant
increase.  Thus it is plainly manifest that we have the laws of nature and
of God by which we can build up Zion.  Let us then take advantage of the
laws and of the blessings which God is willing to pour upon us, and
cultivate and subdue the ground, sow the good seed, fence it in that the
enemy cannot come and sow tares, and bar up the gates and keep the
watchman there to watch day and night.

	Those who are sent to sow the good seed are faithfully waiting for
the ground to be prepared.  Cultivate the seed well, and it will bring
forth its kind, that which pertains to the earth and that which pertains
to the grace of God and the principles of eternity.  Plant and cultivate
in your hearts and bring forth the fruits of Zion.  Let us prepare our
hearts, as we prepare our fields, to receive the good word of God, and
never let anything mar our peace, or step in between us and our God and
our holy religion, remembering that whatsoever a man soweth that also
shall he reap; and as your acts in life are, so you may expect to be
judged.  The elements are here to produce as good a Zion as was ever made
in all the eternities of the Gods.  Here are the elements to produce grain
which is good for the food of man, as also the fruit of the vine, and that
which yieldeth fruit whether in the ground or above the ground. 
Nevertheless, wheat for man, corn for the ox, oats for the horse, and rye
(not for whisky) for fowls and for swine, and for all beasts of the field,
and barley for all useful animals and for mild drinks, as also other
grain.

	It is for us, as children of our heavenly Father, to arise and assume
the right the law of the Holy Priesthood gives us, and organize the
elements for a Zion, and bring it forth, no matter where we are.  I would
not give much for a religion that is not thus practical.  Some Elders have
in a manner to convey the idea that the practical part of our religion is
only manifest here.  We should be sorry if this were the case, and a
little reflection will show them their mistake.  Did you ever have sore
feet and aching limbs, while travelling abroad preaching the Gospel? 
"Yes." was that practical, or was it only spiritual?  After walking
twenty-five miles to fill an appointment, and, before eating a mouthful of
food, preaching an hour or two, for nobody had thought you wanted anything
to eat, and then baptising, and then wading through the mud for miles in
wet clothes before you could get a dry sock, was that practical?  I
thought preaching the Gospel was as nigh manual labour as anything I could
work at.

	We have the material here to build up Zion.  Will we build it up? 
What do you say?  (Voices, "Yes.")  Yes, we will establish it on the
earth, no more to be thrown down or removed for ever.  Amen.

     TRUE CHARACTER OF GOD.--ERRONEOUS IDEAS ENTERTAINED TOWARDS HIM.
       Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle,
                 Great Salt Lake City, February 23, 1862.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	We certainly should be extremely knowing, did we know everything;
but, as we do not, we will be satisfied with what we do know and can still
learn.  This people know much.  Their experience and their knowledge,
coupled with that which has been revealed to them from the Fountain of all
knowledge, are far beyond the capacities of those who have not heard and
received the Gospel.

	I have a few words to say touching our present existence, and in
reference to the remarks made to-day by brother Kimball pertaining to the
body.  Our mortal bodies are all important to us; without them we never
can be glorified in the eternities that will be.  We are in this state of
being for the express purpose of obtaining habitations for our spirits to
dwell in, that they may become personages of tabernacle.  Our former
religious traditions has taught us that our Father in heaven has no
tabernacle, that his centre is everywhere and his circumference nowhere. 
Yet we read that "God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran." 
"Before him went the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at his
feet."  "And the ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow,
and the hair of his head like the pure wool."  "Hast thou an arm like God? 
Or can'st thou thunder with a voice like him?"  "And I will take away mine
hand and thou shalt see my back parts; but my face thou shalt not see." 
"The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open to
their cry."  The idea that the Lord our God is not a personage of
tabernacle is entirely a mistaken notion.  He was once a man.

	Brother Kimball quoted a saying of Joseph the Prophet, that he would
not worship a God who had not a Father; and I do not know that he would if
he had not a mother; the one would be as absurd as the other.  If he had a
Father, he was made in his likeness.  And if he is our Father we are made
after his image and likeness.  He once possessed a body, as we now do; and
our bodies are as much to us, as his body to him.  Every iota of this
organization is necessary to secure for us an exaltation with the Gods. 
Our mortal tabernacles decline.  The spirit is inseparably connected with
the body until death, and it is so designed; but when we get through with
our worship in this Tabernacle or building for worship, we dispense with
it until we wish to meet again.  We are not inseparably connected with it;
it may be consumed by the element of fire and pass away for ever.  But it
is not so with our bodies; if we wilfully loose these, we loose everything
that God has provided for the faithful.

	This is an item I wished to explain, though we do not know
everything. When brother Kimball speaks, I am so well acquainted with his
views and style that I easily understand his meaning; but he does not
always fully explain his views to the understanding of the people.  This
is a point of doctrine that is all and in all to us, consequently it is
essentially necessary that we should understand it as it is, and not carry
away the idea, from what has been said by brother Kimball, that this is a
spiritual kingdom and the body is nothing.  Brother Kimball understands
this doctrine as I do, but he has his method of expressing his ideas and I
have mine; and I am extremely anxious to so convey my ideas to the people
that they will understand them as I do.  Our language is deficient, and I
do not possess in this particular the natural endowment that some men
enjoy.  I am a man of few words, and unlearned in the learning of this
generation.  The reason why brother Kimball has not language as perfectly
and fully as some other men is not in consequence of a lack in his spirit,
for he never has preached when I have heard him, that I did not know what
he was about, if he knew himself.  I know that his ideas are as clear as
the sun that is now shining, and I care not what the words are that he
uses to express them.

	We have foolish Elders, and I have had to contend, time after time,
against their foolish doctrines.  One of our most intelligent Apostles in
one of his discourses left the people entirely in the dark with regard to
Jacob and Esau, and he never understood the difference between
fore-knowledge and fore-ordination.  Fore-knowledge and fore-ordination
are two distinct principles.  And again, I have had to contend against
what is called the "baby resurrection" doctrine, which, as has been taught
and indulged by some, is one of the most absurd doctrines that can be
thought of.  Having had these foolish doctrines to combat, I am not
willing that the idea should possess your minds that the body is neither
here nor there, and that the work of salvation is entirely spiritual.  We
have received these bodies for an exaltation, to be crowned with those who
have been crowned with crowns of glory and eternal life.  Yes, Joseph
Smith said, the Lord whispers to the spirit in the tabernacle the same as
though it were out of it.  That is correct and true.

	What you understand with regard to this doctrine and religion, and
with regard to the things of God generally, you understand in the Spirit. 
Take the spirit from the body, and the body is lifeless; but in the
resurrection the component parts of our bodies will again be called
together, expressly for a glorious resurrection to immortality.  Our
bodies, which are now subject to death, will return to mother earth for a
time, to be refined from that which pertains to the fall of man, which has
particularly affected the body but not the spirit.  When the spirit enters
the body, it is pure and holy from the heavens; and could it reign
predominently [sic] in the tabernacle, ruling, dictating, and directing
its actions without an opposing force, man never would commit a sin; but
the tabernacle has to suffer the effects of the fall, of that sin which
Satan has introduced into the world and hence the spirit does not bear
rule all the time.

	When we receive the Gospel, a warfare commences immediately; Paul
says, "for I delight in the law of God, after the inward man," but I see
another law in my members warring against the law of my mind, and bringing
me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members."  We have to
fight continually, as it were, sword in hand to make the spirit master of
the tabernacle, or the flesh subject to the law of the spirit.  If this
warfare is not diligently prosecuted, then the law of sin prevails, and in
consequence of this some apostatize from the truth when crossing the
plains, learn to swear instead of to pray, become high-minded and high
tempered instead of learning to be patient and humble, and when they
arrive in these vallies they feel so self-sufficient that they consider
themselves the only ones that are really right; they are filled with
darkness, the authority of the Spirit is not listened to, and the law of
sin and death is the ruling power in their tabernacles.  They could once
testify, by the revelations of Jesus Christ to them that Mormonism, or the
Gospel is true; then the Spirit triumphed over the flesh, they walked in
the light of God, and great was their joy, and brilliant their hope of
immortality and eternal life.  The rule of the flesh brings darkness and
death, while, on the other hand, the rule of the Spirit brings light and
life.  When through the Gospel, the Spirit in man has so subdued the flesh
that he can live without wilful transgression, the Spirit of God unites
with his spirit, they become congenial companions, and the mind and will
of the Creator is thus transmitted to the creature.  Did their spirits
have their choice there is not a son or daughter of Adam and Eve on the
earth but what would be obedient to the Gospel of salvation, and redeem
their bodies to exaltation and glory.  But there is a constant warfare
between them, still they must remain together, be saved and exalted
together, or neither of them will be saved and exalted with the salvation
and the exaltation which the Gospel offers.

	Our bodies are all important to us, though they may be old and
withered, emaciated with toil, pain, and sickness, and our limbs bent with
rheumatism, all uniting to hasten dissolution, for death is sown in our
mortal bodies.  The food and drink we partake of are contaminated with the
seeds of death, yet we partake of them to extend our lives until our
allotted work is finished, when our tabernacles, in a state of ripeness,
are sown in the earth to produce immortal fruit.  Yet, if we live our holy
religion and let the Spirit reign, it will not become dull and stupid, but
as the body approaches dissolution the spirit takes a firmer hold on that
enduring substance behind the vail, drawing from the depths of that
eternal Fountain of Light sparkling gems of intelligence which surround
the frail and sinking tabernacle with a halo of immortal wisdom.

	I shall soon be sixty-one years of age, and my spirit is more
vigorous and powerful to-day than it has been in any day I ever saw; it is
more quick to comprehend, more ready to discern, the understanding is more
matured, more correct in judgment, the memory more vivid and enduring and
discretion more circumspect, and when I have attained eighty years I shall
be better than I am to-day, God being my helper.  I am better now than I
was twenty years ago.  Write it down and read it twenty years hence, and
see whether my spirit is not better and brighter than it is to-day.  Need
we in spirit bow down to this poor, miserable, decaying body?  We will
not.  Brother Kimball's side has been broken by a fall from a wagon, but
he will be mended up, and his life will not be shortened on that account;
and we are going to live until we are satisfied.

	The Elders of Israel, though the great majority of them are moral
men, and as clear of spot and blemish as men well can be, live beneath
their privilege; they live continually without enjoying the power of God. 
I want to see men and women breathe the Holy Ghost in every breath of
their lives, living constantly in the light of God's countenance.  Brother
Kimball says you must keep alive, and give nourishment and vitality to the
body, comparing the Church to a tree; that you must help your Prophet and
Revelator and keep that portion of the tree alive.  God keeps that alive,
brethren and sisters.  I thank you for your prayers, your integrity, &c.,
but I feel to-day as I did in Nauvoo, when Sidney Rigdon and others
intended to ride the Church into hell.  I told them that I would take my
hat and the few that would go with me and build up the kingdom of God,
asking no odds of them.  If you support me, you support yourselves; if you
do not choose to do this you will dry up, blow away and be damned.

	A tree or plant of any kind that sends its roots into the ground does
not gain strength and vitality from the ground alone, but the atmosphere
contributes to its support as well as the ground, and it will live longer
out of the ground with air than in the ground without it.  From the
atmosphere and the rays of the sun it gathers elements that we do not see,
which operate upon the sap sent up through the roots under the bark into
the branches and leaves where it is prepared to make wood and fruit, and
give strength and growth to the trunk, roots, and the whole tree.  Then
you may cut off all the limbs and roots of some trees, and the atmosphere
will make more in great profusion.

	I do not expect to preach a lengthy sermon this afternoon, but there
is a great deal to be said and done.  The Lord Almighty leads this Church,
and he will never suffer you to be led astray if you are found doing your
duty.  You may go home and sleep as sweetly as a babe in its mother's
arms, as to any danger of your leaders leading you astray, for if they
should try to do so the Lord would quickly sweep them from the earth. 
Your leaders are trying to live their religion as far as I am capable of
doing so?  Yes, I do.  The power of God is with me continually, and I
never mean to live an hour without it.

	I am satisfied that we do not realize to the fullest extent our moral
and intellectual growth as a people, but let us be straightened up and a
fountain of knowledge is opened, a rich mine of intellectual wealth is
revealed, and in time we shall find that heaven and earth have come
together, for the earth will be celestialized and brought back to the
presence of God, who dwells in eternal burnings in the midst of
perfection.  Then we should be prepared to enjoy the fullness of the
blessings and glory God has in store for us.  If we live in these bodies
as we should we shall be prepared to receive all the glory he has for the
faithful.  Let us continue the warfare, fight the good fight of faith,
sanctify our hearts before the Lord, and day by day perform the labour he
has for us to do, and we shall be accounted worthy to receive our
exaltation.

	May God bless you.  Amen.



               NECESSITY OF TEMPORAL LABOUR, PREPARATORY TO
                            BUILDING A TEMPLE.
           Remarks made by President Brigham Young, Tabernacle,
                   Great Salt Lake City, March 2, 1862.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	All things were created firstly spiritual; then it seems that
secondly, all things were created temporal.  The laws and principles that
tie together spiritual and temporal things are so complicated, are so
interwoven with each other, so inseparably connected, and yet in the minds
of the people they appear so distinct one from the other, that we
evidently need a great deal of experience and reflection to make this
subject clear to our understandings.  I shall only make a few remarks, and
leave the subject I shall now introduce for others to speak upon.

	This building is set apart expressly for the worship of the Lord our
God, and to many it may seem to infringe upon the rights of our religion
to talk about temporal matters here.  In the beginning things were created
first spiritual, then temporal; but now it is first temporal and then
spiritual.  We cannot attend to any one of the ordinances of the Holy
Priesthood without a temporal act.  We must perform a temporal labour--a
manual labour--in order to arrive at the condition which fits us to
receive the full benefit of the spiritual.  At present the few remarks I
shall make will be upon the matter of obtaining rock for our contemplated
temple, which we intend to build upon this block.  The canal that we
started from Big Cottonwood creek to this city was for the purpose of
transporting material for building the Temple.  We have learned some
things in regard to the nature of the soil in which the bed of the canal
is made that we did not know before.  We pretty much completed the canal,
or, in other words, we hewed out the cistern, but, behold, it would not
hold water.  We have not the time now to make that canal carry water, so
we will continue to haul rock with cattle; and when an opportunity
presents, we will finish the canal.  We now contemplate repairing the
State road, so that we can haul heavy blocks of granite.  We were not very
sucessful [sic] the last winter in hauling rock, for the road was so
soaked with water that it was almost impassible; but we will now repair
that road, and continue our hauling.

	We cannot even enter the Temple when it is built, and perform those
ordinances which lead to spiritual blessings, without performing a
temporal labour.  Temporal ordinances must be performed to secure the
spiritual blessings the Great Supreme has in store for his faithful
children.  Every act is first a temporal act.  The Apostle says, faith
comes by hearing.  What should be heard to produce faith?  The preaching
of the Word.  For that we must have a preacher; and he is not an invisible
Spirit, but a temporal, ordinary man like ourselves, and subject to the
same regulations and rules of life.  To preach the Gospel is a temporal
labour, and to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ is the result of a
temporal labour.  To be baptized is a temporal labour, both to the person
administered to and the administrator.  I am a living witness to the truth
of this statement, for I have made my feet sore many a time, and tired
myself out travelling and preaching, that by hearing the Gospel the people
might have faith.  The blessings we so earnestly desire will come to us by
performing the manual labour required, and thus preparing all things
necessary to receive the invisible blessings Jehovah has for his children.

	Do we need a Temple?  We do, to prepare us to enter in through the
gate into the city where the Saints are at rest.  Ordinances necessary to
this have not yet been performed and cannot be in the absence of a
suitable place.  We wish a Temple, not for the public congregation, but
for the Priesthood, wherein to arrange and organize fully the Priesthood
in its order and degrees, to administer the ordinance of the Priesthood to
the Saints for their exaltations.  The first thing to be done is a
temporal labour with the pick and the spade, to prepare a good solid road
upon which to haul the rock; then we call upon the quarrymen to get the
rock out of the mountains and split them into sizes convenient for putting
upon waggons.  Now all this work is not done by faith alone, but nerve,
bone, and muscle are exceedingly essential with faith, also, in this cas},
the strength of the ox.  When the rock is on the ground, it must then be
hewn and prepared for the walls.  While this work is progressing on a
still morning, you may hear a hundred chisels at work, and we want to hear
two or three hundred at work.  Thus we will rear the Temple of the Lord,
and when it is completed we can enter therein and receive the ordinances
of the Holy Priesthood, and our spiritual blessings; but we first have to
perform our manual labour, and we wish the people to fully understand
this.  I will now call upon Bishop Hunter to make some remarks.

                                 --------

	I wish to preach another discourse.

	At a Bishops' meeting, on Thursday evening last, it was concluded to
cut a large ditch on the upper side of the State road, from here to
Gardner's mill, to carry off the water from the surface of the road, which
would then soon be in good order for travel.  This matter I wish to have
laid before the people, to receive an expression from them whether they
will sustain their Bishops in this labour, and this is the reason why we
speak of it this morning.  If the work is properly taken hold of and in
good earnest, with strong hands and willing hearts, it will soon be
accomplished.  The Bishops are willing to have the ground divided among
them, which Bishop Hunter will attend to.

	We want to build this Temple as speedily as possible, through the
blessings and kind providences of the Almighty in whom we will trust,
doing the labour our hands find to do, asking no questions as to what we
are going to receive when the Temple is done, or how long we shall be in
building it, but we will build it as fast as possible.  Some care nothing
about building a Temple, for, say they, as sure as we commence we shall
have to fight the enemy.  If we have an enemy to encounter the quicker we
do so the better, for we are able to do whatever the Lord requires.  Union
is strength, and this terrifies our enemies.  Who can resist the power
possessed by the Latter-day Saints in their union?  And the stronger our
union, the more mighty are the bands of our strength; while disunion is
weakening our enemies, and splitting them asunder; they will be left in
weakness, while we shall grow in strength in our union, and in confidence
in God and each other.  And let us take a course to create confidence in
ourselves as well as in our neighbours, and we will constantly grow
strong.

	We can all help a little in repairing the road I have mentioned, so I
will ask the brethren and the sisters too, will you sustain your Bishops
in making a good road upon which to haul rock for the Temple?  [The vote
was unanimous in favour.]  Let Bishop Hunter and other Bishops, as far
south as Fort Union, proportion to each ward its share of the labour to be
done on the road.

	I thought well of the discourse this morning; I like a great deal of
it.  Were I to speak what is now in my mind, I should say that succotash
is the best dish I ever partook of; you get that, when I talk to you, and
you had it from Bishop Hunter this morning, a little of this, and a little
of that.

	The kingdom of God is before us; we have it to build up, and to
establish the Zion of our God upon this land.  And if I am right in my
views and feelings, the Latter-day Saints cannot labour too fast nor too
dilligently to accomplish the work they are called to do.  Then let us go
to with our might, and labour faithfully to establish that kingdom which
is all and in all to us.  May the Lord help us.  Amen.

            PROPRIETY OF THEATRICAL AMUSEMENTS.--INSTRUCTIONS
                       RELATIVE TO CONDUCTING THEM.
 Remarks by President Brigham Young, at the Dedication of the New Theatre
                 at Great Salt Lake City, March 6, 1862.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	Man is organized and brought forth as the king of the earth, to
understand, to criticise, examine, improve, manufacture, arrange, and
organize the crude matter, and honour and glorify the works of God's
hands.  This is a wide field for the operation of man, that reaches into
eternity; and it is good for mortals to search out the things of this
earth.

	The elements are to be brought into shape and operation for the
benefit, happiness, beauty, excellency, glory, and exaltation of the
children of men that dwell upon the earth; though we cannot produce that
which has not already been produced.  Are we capable, by our most critical
researches, of finding that which has not already been found?  We are not. 
We are capable of improving upon the crude elements, until we understand
the organization of this earth, and the power by which it is sustained,
for what purpose man was created, and the immortality that will crown his
existence.  All this is what others have learned before us.

	Were we capable of scanning the eternities of the Gods, we should
find works and exhibitions of wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and power,
by whom?  By those who were as we are.  It is the privilege of man to
search out the wisdom of God pertaining to the earth and the heavens.

	Professing Christians generally would not consider this a fit
position for those who profess the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ to
occupy.  These Saints of the Most High appear here in the capacity of an
assembly to exercise and amuse the mind of the natural man.  This idea
brings at once to my mind a thousand reflections.  What is nature? 
Everything that pertains to the heavens and the earth.  "My son," says the
Christian father, "you should not attend a theatre, for there the wicked
assemble; nor a ball-room, for there the wicked assemble; you should not
be found playing a ball, for the sinner does that."  Hundreds of like
admonitions are thus given, and so we have been thus traditioned; but it
is our privilege and our duty to scan all the works of man from the days
of Adam until now, and thereby learn what man was made for, what he is
capable of performing, and how far his wisdom can reach into the heavens,
and to know the evil and the good.

	It is written in the Scriptures, "Shall a trumpet be blown in the
city, and the people not be afraid?  Shall there be evil in a city, and
the Lord hath not done it?"  Is there an evil thing upon the earth that he
does not fully understand?  There is not.  The Psalmist very beautifully
illustrates this idea--"Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art
acquainted with all my ways.  For there is not a word in my tongue, but
lo, O Lord, though knowest it altogether.  Whether shall I go from thy
spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?  If I ascend up into
heaven, thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. 
If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost part of the
sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me." 
The Lord understands the evil and the good; why should we not likewise
understand them?  We should.  Why?  To know how to choose the good and
refuse the evil; which we cannot do, unless we understand the evil as well
as the good.  I do not wish to convey the idea that it is necessary to
commit evil in order to obtain this knowledge.

	Upon the stage of a theatre can be represented in character, evil and
its consequences, good and its happy results and rewards; the weakness and
the follies of man, the magnanimity of virtue and the greatness of truth. 
The stage can be made to aid the pulpit in impressing upon the minds of a
community an enlightened sense of a virtuous life, also a proper horror of
the enormity of sin and a just dread of its consequences.  The path of sin
with its thorns and pitfalls, its gins and snares can be revealed, and how
to shun it.

	The Lord knows all things; man should know all things pertaining to
this life, and to obtain this knowledge it is right that he should use
every feasible means; and I do not hesitate to say that the stage can, in
a great degree, be made to subserve this end.  It is written, "Prove all
things, hold fast that which is good."  Refuse evil, choose good, hate
iniquity, love truth.  All this our fathers have done before us; I do not
particularly mean father Adam, or his Father; I do not particularly mean
Abraham, or Moses, the Prophets, or Apostles, but I mean our fathers who
have been exalted for millions of years previous to Adam's time.  They
have all passed through the same ordeals we are now passing through, and
have searched all things, even to the depths of hell.

	Is there evil in the theatre? in the ball-room? in the place of
worship? in the dwelling? in the world?  Yes, when men are inclined to do
evil in any of those places.  There is evil in persons meeting simply for
a chit-chat, if they will allow themselves to commit evil while thus
engaged.  Can we not sift out every particle of wheat from the vast body
of chaff we find in books on science and religion? that we find in
governmental constitutions and judicial rulings? in learned commentaries
and on law and order? and in the rudiments and advanced branches of
education?  Can we not even make the stage of a theatre the platform upon
which to exhibit truth in all its simple beauty? and sift out from the
theatrical lore of ages the chaff and folly that has encumbered it? and
preserve and profit by that which is truly good and great?  This, however,
is not the work of a day or a year; but, as the chaff is protective to
wheat in a pile, so the true lore of ages is concealed and preserved in
the chaff pile of folly and nonsense, until the Saints of the Most High
cause a separation.

	We shall endeavour to make our theatrical performances a source of
good, and not of evil.  Rather than the latter, and rather than it should
pass into the hands of the ungodly, I ask the Lord to let the whole fabric
return to its native elements.  it is our privilege and our duty to search
all things upon the face of the earth, and learn what there is for man to
enjoy, what God has ordained for the benefit and happiness of mankind, and
then make use of it without sinning against him.

	Our eyes are delighted in seeing, our ears in hearing.  We behold the
faces of our friends, we see the gems of intelligence sparkling through
those outward windows of the soul; and what a blessing it is to see the
countenances of our friends radiant with delight.  Our senses, if properly
educated, are channels of endless felicity to us, but we can devote them
to evil or to good.  Let us devote all to the glory of God and the
building up of his kingdom, for in this there is lasting joy.

	Man is of the earth, earthy; but the Spirit is pure from heaven. 
This mortal existence must be prolonged by the use of food.  Food that is
good for the use of man is abundant in the elements, and God has endowed
us with the ability to combine the elements, through the means of useful
plants and animals, to supply ourselves with all we need.  Should we
refuse to avail ourselves of this means, hunger and nakedness must be our
portion.  Heaven will not perform the labour that it has designed us to
perform.  We must sow, reap, clean, and grind into flour our wheat, and
make it into bread.  Were we not to do this, we should go without bread
until doomsday, and without clothing, if we wait for the Lord to make
clothes for us.  It is for us to search out the elements, learn how to
combine them to make silk, wool, linen, cotton, and every other textile
material that can be made into cloth, for the comfort and convenience of
man.

	When man is industrious and righteous, then is he happy.  Sin blights
all true happiness, and throws a deep gloom over man's whole existence. 
Let us be righteous, and then learn to make ourselves comfortable and
joyful in the possession of creature comforts.  Man is always happy when
he is righteous.  The Lord will not build our houses and temples, after he
has given us the elements and taught us how to build comfortable houses,
magnificent temples, and commodious places of worship.  Everything that is
joyful, beautiful, glorious, comforting, consoling, lovely, pleasing to
the eye, good to the taste, pleasant to the smell, and happifying in every
respect is for the Saints.

	Tight-laced religious professors of the present generation have a
horror at the sound of a fiddle.  There is no music in hell, for all good
music belongs to heaven.  Sweet harmonious sounds give exquisite joy to
human beings capable of appreciating music.  I delight in hearing
harmonious tones made by the human voice, by musical instruments, and by
both combined.  Every sweet musical sound that can be made belongs to the
Saints and is for the Saints.  Every flower, shrub, and tree to beautify,
and to gratify the taste and smell, and every sensation that gives to man
joy and felicity are for the Saints who receive them from the Most High.

	There are many of our aged brethren and sisters, who, through the
traditions of their fathers and the requirements of a false religion, were
never inside a ball-room or a theatre until they became latter-day Saints,
and now they seem more anxious for this kind of amusement than are our
children.  This arises from the fact they have been starved for many years
for that amusement which is designed to buoy up their spirits and make
their bodies vigorous and strong, and tens of thousands have sunk into
untimely graves for want of such exercises to the body and the mind.  They
require mutual nourishment to make them sound and healthy.  Every faculty
and power of both body and mind is a gift from God.  Never say that means
used to create and continue healthy action of body and mind are from hell. 
Such means never originated there.  Hell is a great distance from us, and
we can never arrive there, unless we change our path, for the way we are
now pursuing leads to heaven and happiness.

	When the Saints come into this building, and look on this stage, to
see our brethren and sisters perform to satisfy the sight, to satisfy the
ear, and the desires and mind of the people, I want you to pray for them
that the Lord Almighty may preserve them from ever having one wicked
thought in their bosoms, that our actors may be just as virtuous,
truthful, and humble before God and each other as though they were on a
Mission to preach the Gospel.

	I say to those who perform, if anything is discovered contrary to the
strictest virtue and decorum, the offenders must leave this building.  I
intend this remark to apply also to the musicians.  I wish the dramatic
company to seek dilligently and in all kindness to promote the happiness
of all concerned.

	Unless by my order I do not wish a drop of intoxicating liquor
brought into this house; I want the actors behind the curtain, the
musicians in the orchestra, and the audience to hear and observe this.

	When this house is finished, there will be places in the passages
where cakes, pies, fruits, &c., can be bought; but no intoxicating liquor
will be allowed in these saloons.  No drunken person will be permitted to
enter this house; I will not have it polluted and disgraced by the
presence of the drunken, nor my brethren and sisters, who strive
continually to do right, annoyed by the filthy breath of a poor,
miserable, filthy loafer.

	We intend to preserve the strictest order here; we do expect the
people to come to this house praying, and their whole souls devoted to
God, and to their religion.

	Tragedy is favoured by the outside world; I am not in favour of it. 
I do not wish murder and all its horrors and the villany leading to it
portrayed before our women and children; I want no child to carry home
with it the fear of the fagot, the sword, the pistol, or the dagger, and
suffer in the night from frightful dreams.  I want such plays performed as
will make the spectators feel well; and I wish those who perform to select
a class of plays that will improve the public mind, and exalt the literary
taste of the community.

	If we wish to hold a Conference in this hall, we shall do so, and
shall use it for all purposes that will satisfy our feelings in doing
right, and no evil.

	May God bless you.  Amen.

              CONSTITUTIONAL POWERS OF THE CONGRESS OF THE 
              UNITED STATES.--GROWTH OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
       Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle,
                   Great Salt Lake City, March 9, 1862.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	I am very much gratified with what I have heard from our brethren
today.  I think they have spoken well.  I have been interested and
instructed.

	As I have often told you, I am unable to draw the dividing line
between the spiritual and the temporal.  We set apart one day in the week
for the purpose of meeting together to administer the sacrament of the
Lord's Supper, and to speak upon things which pertain to building up the
kingdom of God on the earth.  This is our business--this labor is upon
us--and I do not know that we have anything else to do, for it comprehends
the whole existence of man.  Thus far we have been successful in this
great work; in it we have been blessed, and in it we delight to be
blessed.

	Every person is seeking after happiness, and all persons pursue a
course that seems to them to lead to the possession of happiness; when
they pursue an opposite course to that they are fully aware of it.  The
most profligate and wicked person is always ready to acknowledge, when
willing to tell the truth, that he knows that he does wrong and is not
happy in doing so; and that, if he ever enjoys happiness, he must cease to
do evil and learn to do well.  We wish to obtain happiness; we wish to
obtain our rights.

	In regard to our political rights, I will ask, have we ever seen a
day, since Joseph found the plates from which was taken the Book of Mormon
until this day, in which the Christian, the moral and the political world,
or any other portion of the inhabitants of the earth, ever gave to Joseph
Smith and his brethren one blessing that they could possibly keep from
them?  They have withheld every favor, every blessing, every accommodation
that was possible for them to hold from the Latter-day Saints.  Yet every
move they have made has actually tended to sustain, build up, strengthen
and increase the very power they were trying to destroy.  They have tried
to destroy the truth, to hinder the increase of the Latter-day Saints, to
lessen their numbers, rob them of their location and homes, and last of
all drive them from what is called civilization.  But the results of all
these acts, instead of accomplishing what they desired, have given the
Latter-day Saints territory and comparative independence.  All the evil
they have sought to bring upon us the Lord, through his inscrutable
providence, has converted into blessings for his people.

	We are infinitely more blessed by the persecutions and injustice we
have suffered, than we could have been if we had remained in our
habitations from which we have been driven--than if we had been suffered
to occupy our farms, gardens, stores, mills, machinery and everything we
had in our former possessions.  Had we not been persecuted, we would now
be in the midst of the wars and bloodshed that are desolating the nation,
instead of where we are, comfortably located in our peaceful dwellings in
these silent, far off mountains and valleys.  Instead of seeing my
brethren comfortably seated around me to-day, many of them would be found
in the front ranks on the battle field.  I realize the blessings of God in
our present safety.  We are greatly blessed, greatly favored and greatly
exalted, while our enemies, who sought to destroy us, are being humbled.

	We want our political rights, and they are here within our reach; we
need not go to California, Oregon, Washington Territory, Nebraska,
Missouri, nor New York to obtain them.  The people are here, and they
possess rights.  We have a right to labor, to accumulate food and
clothing, to gather the various products of the earth, to cut the timber
and saw it into boards, to make adobies and quarry rock and build
habitations, and then we have a right to inhabit them.  We have a right to
drink of the water that flows from the mountains, and we have a right to
get up in the morning when we are sufficiently rested.  We have a right to
go to the kanyons after wood, or to harness our teams and go on a visit to
Davis, Utah, or any other county.  We have also a right to assemble, as we
did a short time ago, in the capacity of a mass meeting, and we have a
right to say that we will have laws, rules and regulations for the public
good, and officers and adjudicators of the laws.  It is our right to frame
our own laws, and to elect our own officers to administer them.

	We were told this morning, that some brethren prayed but did not
believe they would receive an answer.  I do not find fault with them for
this, but I say, pray on until you can make yourselves believe that your
prayers will be fully answered according to that which is best for you to
receive.  Self-argument is the most effectual argument that can be used. 
Let each person argue himself into the belief that God will grant to him
his request in righteousness.  Some people are naturally of a doubtful
mind, and have to contend continually against unbelief.

	The enemies of God and truth do not love us any better this year than
they did last year, nor will their love for us increase in the year that
is to come.  They would dethrone the Almighty, and would have destroyed
Joseph Smith, when he had not three men to stand by him, had they the
power to do so; and they would blot out every vestige of this kingdom if
they could.  The body may be destroyed, but the spirit still lives.

	According to the Constitution of our Government, we have rights in
common with our fellow-countrymen.  We have a right to settle in any
unoccupied and unclaimed part of the public domain owned by our
Government, where the machinery of the Government has not extended, and
there govern and control ourselves according to republican principles; and
the Congress of the United States is not authorized in the least, by the
Constitution that governs it, to make laws for that new settlement, and
appoint adjudicators and administrators of the law for it, any more than
we have a right to make laws and appoint administrators of the law for
California, Ohio, Illinois, or Missouri.  This, however, is done by the
Congress of the United States; but it is an assumption of power not within
the Constitution of the American Republic.  When Congress, or the
President of the United States, appoints a governor for a territory, that
appointment is not according to the Constitution, though it is according
to laws enacted by Congress.  In "Amendments to the Constitution of the
United States," articles nine and ten, it is definitely stated that "The
enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights, shall not be construed
to deny or disparage others retained by the people."  "The powers not
delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it
to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

	We were told this morning that we shall not always be driven.  Were
we driven in 1857 and 1858?  No.  And they might have travelled up and
down Ham's Fork to this day, and we still would have remained here
enjoying our safe retreat.  They had no power, and did not exercise any.

	I say to the enemies of truth that I can tell them the words that are
spoken in their private counsels.  The very thoughts of their hearts are
made known to me.  They lay their plans to accomplish such and such a work
in so long a time, and then plan a movement to destroy the "Mormons." 
That is what they talk about and what is in their hearts, but they will be
disappointed in it all.  Every time they make a movement against this
kingdom they will sink still lower in the scale of national power, while
the kingdom of God will rise more and more in influence and importance in
the eyes of all people.

	If any of you are afraid, think not that you can escape danger by
fleeing to the States east, or west to California, "For it shall come to
pass that he who fleeth from the noise of fear shall fall into the pit;
and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the
snare."  Again, "The fear of man bringeth a snare; but whoso putteth his
trust in the Lord shall be safe."

	The valleys of Utah are the safest places in the world.  There is not
another place upon this globe where a people can with more safety assert
their rights before the heavens and in the face of all men.  Look at those
ranges of rocky peaks with which we are surrounded, for "He that walketh
righteously and speaketh uprightly--he that despiseth the gain of
oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding bribes, that stoppeth his
ears from hearing of blood and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; he
shall dwell on high:  his place of defence shall be the munitions of
rocks:  bread shall be given him:  his waters shall be sure."  "And it
shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house
shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted
above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it."  "The noise of a
multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise
of the kingdoms of nations gathered together; the Lord of hosts mustereth
the host of the battle."  Therefore, O Israel, fear not.  If any are
afraid, search out among the caves of the impregnable rocks safe places to
store up grain and other nutritious substances, and when trouble comes you
can retire and crawl into your hiding places, while the more courageous of
your brethren shall fight your battles, and we will whip your enemies
soundly, God being our helper.

	When I think of the weakness and littleness of men, and the folly of
their trying to thwart the purposes of the Almighty, it makes me feel like
the Prophet Elijah:--"For it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them
and said, Cry aloud, for he is a god:  either he is talking, or he is
pursuing, or he is on a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth and must be
awaked."  I laugh at their folly; God laughs at their folly.  So long as
the Latter-day Saints will live their religion, they shall never be
confounded, worlds without end.  Never be afraid; your hearts are brave,
your arms are strong, and God is our defence.  There are those among us
who are timid, and are apt to flee from under the protecting care of our
heavenly Father, and be caught weak and unprotected by the very enemy they
are trying to escape from.

	We will cling to the Constitution of our country, and to the
Government that reveres that sacred charter of freemen's rights; and, if
necessary, pour out our best blood for the defence of every good and
righteous principle.

	I heard a gentleman say, not long ago, that he was going to stick to
the Union.  When the Southern revolt transpired, it was asked of him,
"Where is the Union now?  There are now two Governments, instead of one." 
His reply was, that he should stick to the Government that protected him
in the possession of freemen's rights.  The spirit and letter of our
Constitution and laws will always give us our rights, and under them we
could have served God in Missouri and Illinois as well as in the courts of
high heaven.  But the administrators of the law trampled it under their
feet, and wilfully and openly desecrated the holy principles held forth in
the Constitution of our country.

	The kingdom of God has sustained me a good while, and I mean to stick
to it.  We shall form a State Government, and you need not fear any
consequences that may arise from such a course.  You may tell your
neighbors that in this step we do not violate any law, nor in the least
transcend the bounds of our rights.  If we do not do this, we are living
beneath those rights set forth in the Declaration of Independence, and the
privileges granted to us in the Constitution of the United States which
our fathers bought so dearly for us.  Let us unfurl the stars and
stripes--the flag of our country; let us sustain the Constitution that our
fathers have bequeathed to us in letters of blood; and those who violate
it will have to meet the crushing and damning penalties that will bury
them in the mire of everlasting disgrace.  If we sustain it, it will be
sustained; otherwise it will not.

	Let us so live that the spirit and power of our religion will be
constantly with us; that the Holy Ghost will be our constant companion,
opening for us an unobstructed intercourse with our heavenly Father and
his Son Jesus Christ, and all is right--there is no danger then.  Our own
evils make for us danger; and if chastisement comes upon us, it is the
result of our own unrighteous acts.  But if we live our religion, honor
our God and his Priesthood, then we shall honor every wholesome government
and law there is upon the earth, and become aliens to all unrighteous,
unjust and unlawful administrators, wherever they may be found.  In the
various nations, kingdoms and governments of the world are to be found
laws, ordinances and statutes as good as can be made for mortal man.

	We have forsaken the kingdom of darkness have come out in open
rebellion to the power of the Devil on this earth, and I for one will
fight him, so help me God, as long as there is breath in my body, and do
all in my power to overthrow his government and rule.  And if he complains
that I am infringing upon his ground, I shall very politely ask him to go
to his own place, where he belongs.  If any among this community want to
sustain the Government of the Devil, in preference to the kingdom of God,
I wish them to go where they belong.  I want to sustain the government of
Heaven, and shall stick fast to it, by the help of God.  If we sustain it,
it will build us up and crown us with victory and eternal life.  

	There is not a man upon the earth who can magnify even an earthly
office, without the power and wisdom of God to aid him.  When Mr. Fillmore
appointed me Governor of Utah, I proclaimed openly that my Priesthood
should govern and control that office.  I am of the same mind today.  We
have not yet received our election returns; but, should I be elected
Governor of the State of Deseret, that office shall be sustained and
controlled by the power of the eternal Priesthood of the Son of God, or I
will walk the office under my feet.  Hear it, both Saint and sinner, and
send it to the uttermost parts of the earth, that whatever office I hold
from any Government on this earth shall honor the Government of heaven, or
I will not hold it.

	There was a notice read to-day for the High Council to meet next
Thursday.  I would like to see the High Council and Bishops and all Judges
filled with the power of the Holy Ghost, that when a person comes before
them they can read and understand that person, and be able to decide a
case quickly and justly.  When men have a just appreciation of right and
wrong, their decision can be made as well the first minute after hearing a
statement of the case, as to waste hours and days to make it.  I would
like the Bishops and other officers to have sufficient power and wisdom
from God to make them fully aware of the true nature of every case that
may come before them.  But there are some of our great men who are so
ignorant that a personal favor will so bias their minds that they will
twist the truth and sustain a person in evil.  This principle is to be
found, more or less, in the old, middle-aged and youth.  Some, with a
trifling consideration, can so prejudice the mind of a High Councillor, a
High Priest, a Bishop, or an Apostle, that he will lean to the individual
instead of the truth.  I despise a  man that would offer me money to buy
me to his favor.  Goodness will always find stout supporters in the good,
and need not to buy favor.  The man who triest to buy the influence of
another to cover up his iniquity, will go to hell.

	The kingdom of God is indebted to no man; though a man should give to
it all he possesses, he has only given that which the Lord put in his
possession, and is not excusable in sin on that account, for in giving his
all to the kingdom of God he has done no more than his duty.  I hate to
see a man bought.  I hate to see High Councillors bought.  It is good to
hold on to an old friend; and, no matter how many new friends I have, I
always hold fast to the old ones and never let them go, unless their
wicked conduct breaks the thread of fellowship between us.  But with all
the friends I have, I hope in God never to see the day, while I live, that
I cannot decide a case as the Almighty would, whether it goes against
friend or foe.  What my friends have done for me, and the deep affection I
bear them, are not taken into account into the consideration of right and
wrong.  Let me judge in righteousness before God, if it cuts off every
friend I have.

	May the Lord bless you.  Amen.



                      POWER GIVEN TO MAN TO CREATE.
           Remarks made by President Brigham Young, Tabernacle,
                  Great Salt Lake City, March 16, 1862.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	It is often remarked that we do not understand things alike, but I am
of the opinion that the inhabitants of the earth understand in the spirit,
or, in other words, in the intelligent portion of their organisms, nearer
alike than they have power to communicate.

	We believe we are entitled to the gift of the Holy Ghost in extent
according to the discretion and wisdom of God and our faithfulness; which
gift brings all things to our remembrance, past, present, and to come,
that are necessary for us to know, and as far as our minds are prepared to
receive the knowledge of God revealed by that all-wise Agent.  The Holy
Ghost is God's minister, and is delegated to visit the sons and daughters
of men.  All intelligent beings pertaining to this earth are instructed
from the same source.

	In the New Testament and Book of Mormon, we learn that when the
Gospel is preached the people are taught to believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, to repent of their sins, be baptized for the remission of sin, and
receive the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands; the Holy Ghost is then
the special gift of the Father, and is his minister.  He also gives
intelligence by angels, as well as by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
and by opening the minds of the Saints to behold in vision things as they
are in eternity.  When true doctrines are advanced, though they may be new
to the hearers, yet the principles contained in them are perfectly natural
and easy to be understood, so much so that the hearers often imagine that
they had always known them.  This arises from the influence of the Spirit
of Truth upon the spirit of intelligence that is within each person.  The
influence that comes from heaven is all the time teaching the children of
men.  "There is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty
giveth them understanding."  Again, "the spirit of man is the candle of
the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly."  Again, "How oft
is the candle of the wicked put out."  We have nothing independent of the
Almighty.  We preach, we hear, and we are instructed.  We try to so live
as to gain more information, more light, more command over ourselves, and
more influence and power to increase the good and discourage the evil,
until we can comprehend the great principles of existence and eternal
progression.

	We should be more happy, if we could more successfully carry into
effect the knowledge we now have.  The Lord said, "let there be light, and
there was light."  The Council in heaven said let there be an earth, and
let there be a firmament above and beneath it, and it was so.  They said
let there be heat and cold, and it wa so.  They said let there be spring
and summer, autumn and winter, and it was so.  We can say let the people
be clothed, and they are clothed; let them be warmed, and they are warmed;
let them be housed, and they are housed.  If we put forth the ability God
has given us, we can bring forth the very things we say shall come.  If we
say let there be wool, or let there be flax, they will come; if we say let
there be iron, steel, brass, or any other metal we need, it will come.  If
we say let there be cotton and woollen yarn and let them be made into
cloth, it will be done.  The Lord said let there be an earth, let there be
light to light it, let there be seas and dry land, air, rocks, trees,
fruits, and shrubs of all kinds, grasses and flowers, and vines that yield
fruit above the ground and in the ground, for the use of man and beast,
and it was so; but all these productions come according to natural
principles.  Man is surrounded by those productive principles, and is
endowed with power to act upon them; and according to the amount of
intelligence he possesses and the labour he expends are the productive
results.

	This people are increasing in the wisdom which cometh from God, and
their power to organize the crude elements around them into the
necessaries of life is in ratio to their increase of intelligence and
application of labour.  In this way we ought to understand these great
principles.  We need not seek for a revelation to know how to make cloth,
when the mode is plainly marked before our eyes.  Sheep produce a textile
material, and how to make it into cloth has been known time out of mind;
we can raise sheep in abundance.  I do not look for power from the heavens
that will produce for us wool, cloth, iron, food, or anything we need,
without being made with hands.  We should understand what is required of
us to sustain ourselves.

	It was observed this morning, that the teachings the people are
constantly receiving are of a temporal character, and I should think that,
if such teachings were carried into practice by them, spiritual blessings
would be attained through temporal means.  It is all of God.  "The earth
is the Lord's and the fulness thereof; the world and they that dwell
therein."  "Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth; and the
heavens are the work of thy hands."  The mountains, valleys, and plains,
all the wealth of precious metals hid in their bosoms, all the teeming
fulness of vegetable productions, and all animal existences in their
endless variety are the Lord's.  All that can be produced from the soil by
the ingenuity and industry of man is the Lord's.  The Lord has given the
earth to the children of men, that by the union of mind and matter,
inspired and directed by the power of the eternal Priesthood, all may be
made subject to the Great Supreme of the universe.  It is our duty
individually as well as our privilege, to learn how to dispose of the
earthly wealth we may possess, to the glory of him who has permitted us to
hold it, for in temporal blessings honestly obtained and wisely placed to
their legitimate use are concealed mines of spiritual and eternal wealth. 
If we magnify and make honourable this temporal existence, by the practice
of every good and righteous principle that comes within our knowledge, we
honour and magnify that spiritual existence, and that heavenly
intelligence, which the Father of all has placed within us.  This is the
way to increase in temporal and spiritual wealth.  If we pursue
dilligently this path, there is not the least danger of any persons being
lost, but they will be prepared to inherit after death a more glorious and
heavenly sphere than they now dwell in.

	I know that the great majority of mankind, who are created for a
noble and glorious purpose, are ignorant of these heavenly principles; and
they cleave to their ignorance, and love darkness rather than light.  They
will not be taught by an authorised minister of heaven, but they hire men
who are as blind and as ignorant as themselves to guide them in the way
they choose to walk in.  From the days of the creation until now, I do not
think there is one man out of a million who has made so much as a scratch
upon the world's history, to show that he was entirely devoted to God and
truth; but the generations of mankind have sprung up and decayed like the
grass of the field.

	When the Spirit of revelation from God inspires a man, his mind is
opened to behold the beauty, order, and glory of the creation of this
earth and its inhabitants, the object of its creation, and the purpose of
its creator in peopling it with his children.  He can then clearly
understand that our existence here is for the sole purpose of exaltation
and restoration to the presence of our Father and God, where we may
progress endlessly in the power of godliness.  After the mind has thus
been illuminated, the ignorance and blindness of the great mass of mankind
are more apparent.  Yet there is no son or daughter of Adam and Eve but
what has incorporated in their organization the priceless gem of endless
life, for the endless duration and endless lives which they are
approaching.

	Are the people glorifying their Father who is in heaven?  Do they
take every step possible to do the will of God on earth, and magnify their
calling?  Is every act of their lives made to increase their intelligence,
to add to their faith, virtue, and to virtue, knowledge, and to knowledge,
temperance, and to temperance, patience, and to patience, godliness, and
to godliness, brotherly-kindness, and to brotherly-kindness, charity, and
to improve upon every gift and grace which God has bestowed on them
through the Gospel?  I fear not.  There is yet to be seen a wilful and
covetous disposition in some few of our brethren and sisters.  "I want a
ribbon," says a sister, "and I will have it whatever the consequence may
be."  "And," says a brother, "I want a horse, and I will have it, if I
steal it, and run the risk of being damned for it."  I am sorry to say
that some few of the Elders of Israel have such feelings and desires.  One
of the brethren this morning was complaining of sins rising in the heart,
and of the self-will of fallen man, and the evil which the Devil had power
to engender in the hearts of our parents, who have entailed it on their
children.  How shall we overcome this inclination to evil?  Let the will
of God predominate over the will of the creature.  Let the husband and
father learn to bend his will to the will of his God, and then instruct
his wives and children in this lesson of self-government by his example as
well as by precept, and his neighbours also, showing them how to be brave
and steadfast, in subduing this rebellious and sinful disposition.  Such a
course as this will eventually subdue that unhallowed influence which
works upon the human heart.

	We are all endowed with the resolution, more or less, to deal with
ourselves as we would deal with a child or with a neighbour.  In case a
child will not be controlled by his parents, but is disobedient and
refractory to a hopeless degree, what would his parents be apt to do?  I
can answer for myself:  I presume I should say to such a child--leave me. 
But I have no such children; and it is hard to say what I might do, were I
tried.  If a child of mine, who has come to years of discretion, should
say to me, "I will do this, and I will not do what you require of me," I
should use the rod of correction sufficiently to teach that child better. 
Why not in the same way, institute a proper and salutary correction over
the rebellious spirit that at times arises in the human breast?  Why not
govern and control the appetite, that it may be subject to the law of
Christ?  But how is it?  Why, "I must have some tobacco, if I am damned
for it."  Or, "I must have a cup of tea, if I am damned for it."  Or, "I
must have this or that, if I should have to go to hell for it."  It is
like saying to our Heavenly Father, "I will not mind you, I will not obey
your commandments, but I will have my own way and follow the bent of my
own inclination; my appetite shall be nursed and pampered, though it be at
the expense of your displeasure."  Instead of pursuing this course, listen
to that Spirit God has given to all, which teaches the right and how to
avoid the wrong, and say to appetite, to disposition, to temper, to the
whole man, you must do as I command you; I am an officer, a general in the
army of Christ and I will be obeyed.

	Every man and woman is called to the same office; let us magnify it,
and exert a mighty influence over this organization, and rise up in the
strength of the great I Am, and by the power of his eternal Priesthood,
command every power, every pulse of our natures to be subject to the law
of God and truth, and not suffer this low, sinful, groveling, dark,
benighted, cursed spirit we have received from the fall to bear rule in
us.  All persons who suffer themselves thus to be ruled, disgrace
themselves and do not honour the being God has given them.  If men are
ruled by the power, principles and righteousness of the Holy Priesthood,
they will find themselves in possession of all the wisdom they need to
meet every emergency of this changing existence, and all they require to
conquer the world, the flesh, and the Devil.

	How very far the inhabitants of the earth live short of their
privileges!  How far they live beneath the blessings the Lord has in store
for them!  Is it not more or less so with us as individuals and as a
community, who profess to be the friends of God?  We live far short of the
blessings the Lord has in store for us.  When the visions of our minds are
opened, we can then more fully realize this truth.  And again, when the
vision is closed up we are found, as a general thing, doing the best we
know how, and we may be considered pretty good men and women.  This is
true, yet there is an eternity of knowledge before us to learn.

	It is as much as I can do with all the power I have with the heavens
and with the Latter-day Saints to say, let there be a carding machine in
this Territory, and it is done; to say, let there be a nail factory in
this Territory, and it is here.  Again, all that has been said, and all
the praying that has been done, and all the faith that has been exercised,
and all the combination and union of effort among the Saints have not
brought to pass one say of the President's in regard to iron; he said, let
there be iron, but there is no iron yet.  Brother Wells has told you the
reason, this morning.  A man says, "I am going to make iron, and I will
have the credit of making the first iron in the Territory.  I will have
the credit of knowing how to flux the ore that is found in these regions,
and bringing out the metal in abundance, or no other man shall."  Now, the
beauty and glory of this kind of proceeding is the blackest of darkness,
and it is comeliness as deformity.

	We have said, let there be a carding machine, and it is here.  Let
there be sheep, and there are sheep; wool, and it is here; and now who
will say let there be flax and then produce it?  Let there be linen cloth,
and then produce it by means of the power and ability we possess?  We know
how to perform this labour, and how to produce this material.  There are
brethren before me who know how to make as good linen cloth as was ever
manufactured in any country.  It is so with other things.  By-and-bye,
somebody will say, let there be silk, and silk will be produced here.  All
we have to do is to grow the mulberry tree, import the eggs of the
silkworm, and apply the skill that is already in our possession, and we
can produce an abundance of sewing silk, silk dress patterns, silk
vesting, and anything we need in the shape of silk drapery.  Silk is in
the elements around us, and not only silk, but all things which pertain to
the earth; and again, all things which pertain to the heavens; all things
which pertain to time, and all things which pertain to eternity, which is
the same with God to-day, yesterday, and for ever.  I am extremely anxious
that this people should understand the value of their existence here, and
the great worth of that immortal spirit which is clothed upon with an
earthly house, preparatory to an eternal exaltation and eternal lives. 
Honour this earthly house, for in it are concealed the rudiments of all
knowledge, the root and foundation of science that we have any knowledge
of.  Mankind are capable of collecting and retaining an immense amount of
knowledge, if they will dilligently apply the ability God has given them;
in fact, they are made to travel on through an endless progression of
improvement.  I have only time to give a few hints on this subject, though
it might prove very interesting to you, were I to classify these great
truths and dwell upon them, item by item through a course of lectures.

	Do you know, mother, the worth of that child in your lap?  There is
not a mother here, I presume, that knows the real value of her offspring. 
We say, "the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away," &c., when our children
die.  The truth is, the Lord has given and we do not know the value of the
gift we have received, and it is taken from us; not because the Lord wants
the child, for there are myriads of spirits in heaven, and more coming all
the the [sic] time.  They do not want the spirit back again--they do not
need it in the spirit world.  It should remain here, and we should know
the worth of it sufficiently to take care of it and preserve it on earth,
until it has fulfilled the measure of its creation--brought forth all the
fruits of its existence, and become ripe to go home to a higher state of
glory to rest for a season, until it is time again to unite the body with
the spirit.

	A thousand glorious principles open up to my mind, that I cannot now
dwell upon; but there is one subject pertaining to our temporal existence
that I wish to present; the news we receive from the east and from the
west is of wars and floods, trouble and sorrow.  Our southern settlements
have suffered by floods; they have lost their farms, gardens, and
orchards.  The water has risen twenty-five feet higher than it has ever
been known to rise before in San Barnardino [sic] and other parts of
California.  I wish to warn this people, that they be not caught
unprepared when spring opens.  Make the best provisions in your power to
ward off destruction by high water into City Creek and other mountain
streams running through our settlements.  Particularly, let the brethren
who are living on the Cottonwood bottoms, take care, or we may hear of
their passing down Jordan.  The earth is now saturated with rain and
melted snow, and if the snow in City Creek goes away with a warm spring
rain, the first we know, some of the people may be washed down into the
river.

	May the Lord bless us.  Amen.

               SALVATION THE RESULT OF INDIVIDUAL EXERTION.
       Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle,
                  Great Salt Lake City, March 23, 1862.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	I am now looking upon the best people on the earth, that we have any
knowledge of.  There is not another community that presents the same
amount of honesty, purity of heart and life, and integrity to God and to
one another; yet much can be said upon our weaknesses, shortsightedness,
and proneness to wander from right and do evil.  I do not know that I
should do right in giving full vent to some of my views and feelings
concerning this people.

	While conversing with some brethren the other day upon the conduct of
this people as viewed by the intelligence of Heaven, I said, that it was a
wonder to me that God had not destroyed us all.  His mercy and
long-suffering are truly marvellous.  Again, when I realize the object of
our creation, the day of our trial we are now passing through, the
weaknesses the Lord has ordained to come upon the children of men, and the
steps to be taken for the exaltation of the human family my heart is
filled with gratitude to God, it exults in his great beneficence.  I
glorify his name that he has spoken from the heavens, and noticed us
mortals.  I am exceedingly rejoiced that we have the privilege of living
in the day when the Lord has spoken to the children of men, and revealed
the Priesthood and placed it upon men, giving them the privilege of
attaining to glory, immortality, and eternal lives.  In the midst of our
great weaknesses and manifold failings, we have abundant cause for
exceeding great joy in the Gospel of our salvation.  Are these great
weaknesses to be found in the birds of the air, in the fishes of the sea,
or in the beasts of the field?  No.  The animal, vegetable, and mineral
kingdoms abide the law of their Creator; the whole earth and all things
pertaining to it, except man, abide the law of their creation.

	I now see before me beings who are in the image of those heavenly
personages who are enthroned in glory and crowned with eternal lives, in
the very image of those beings who organized the earth and its fulness,
and who constitute the Godhead--still here is the evil, and we are the
ones who are accountable; for we are the "lords of creation."  We hold in
subjection the creation; we avail ourselves of the great truths found in
the arts and sciences, we navigate the seas, we survey the land, we convey
intelligence with lightning speed, we harness steam and make it our
servant, we tame the animals and make them do our drudgery and administer
to our wants in many ways, yet man alone is not tamed--he is not subject
to his Great Creator.  Our ignorant animals are faithful to us, and will
do our bidding as long as they have any strength; yet man who is the
offspring of the Gods, will not become subject to the most reasonable and
self-exalting principles. How often have we witnessed a faithful animal
conveying his master home so drunk that he could not see his way or sit
up; yet his faithful animal will plod through mud, shun stumps, trees, and
bad places, and land him safely at home.

	Are we even obedient to our better judgments and to truth that is
self-evident?  Many of us have been taught the doctrine of total
depravity--that man is not naturally inclined to do good.  I am satisfied
that he is more inclined to do right than to do wrong.  There is a greater
power within him to shun evil and perform good, than to do the opposite. 
We have the powers of darkness, or the influences opposite to good, to
contend with, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this
world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."  There are two
classes of influences, one tends to good and the other to evil; one to
truth and life, the other to falsehood and death.  Evil is sown in our
nature, but there is not a person who is not prompted to do good and
forsake evil, though there are but few who, from their own volition, will
subject themselves to be perfectly obedient to the law of Christ, yet
there are dispositions that will be subject to the truth through cruel
mockings and scourgings, bonds and imprisonment.  Truth is for us, right
is for us, life is ours.

	Our enemies accuse the leaders of this Church of having too much
influence over the people.  How much influence have I, or any other man
that ever lived in this kingdom, over an apostate?  It is now as it was in
the days of Joseph.  While people retained the spirit of their religion,
they looked upon him as one of the best men on the earth; but when they
gave way to the spirit of apostacy, then he was the worst of men.  This
has been so in all ages with every Prophet, Apostle, and righteous man and
woman; they have had the warmest friends, and the bitterest enemies.  No
man has friends like those who are righteous; their friendship is even
unto death, and then it reaches throughout all eternity.  The friendship
of the wicked must fade away, sooner or later; while the friendship of the
righteous will last for ever and ever.  When we understand the truth let
us abide by it, and boast not in our own strength, but glory in the
strength of the Almighty.

	The Elders often tell how many they have converted, and how many
churches they have built up in different parts of the world.  When persons
apostatize from the path of right, I think some of them are man-made
converts; as a Methodist preacher remarked to a drunken man lying by the
way side, who hailed him with delight saying, "You are my father in
Christ, you converted me."  "I should think so," said the preacher, "for
it is very clear that you are not one of the Lord's converts."  We cannot
make Latter-day Saints of anybody on this earth but ourselves; we have not
even power to make a Saint of a wife, or a child, a brother, or sister, in
the least degree, unless they will hearken to counsel and obey the
principles of righteousness, which I contend they are naturally inclined
to do, were it not for the awful apostacy there is in the world.  All
persons must possess their intelligence free and independent before God.

	I preach the Gospel to the Latter-day Saints; and if a person comes
into our community and wishes to know further with regard to life and
salvation, I will tell him as freely as ever I breathed the mountain air;
but you cannot find one person that I ever crowed my religion upon either
in or out of the Church.  I have my reasons for taking this course.  I
never preach such sermons as, "Well, Mr. C., or D., have you heard any of
our Elders preach?  Do you know anything about Mormonism?"  "No."  "Why,
our Gospel is the Gospel of life and salvation, it is the only true plan
of salvation for the people; and you must be a `Mormon;' if you are not a
`Mormon,' you must expect to be damned."  If a person wishes to know my
religion, I am willing that he should know the whole of it.  There is
nothing secret or hidden in it; the whole plan of salvation is for the
human family, and is as free as the waters that flow from our mountains
into the valleys.  If you thirst, drink until you are satisfied, for you
are truly welcome.  This is the nature of the Gospel, and the character of
Him who has sent it.  It is free for all.  But I am not disposed to compel
any person to partake of that which they dislike, or have an aversion for.

	This may not be right in every case.  Why it is right with me is,
that, if a person urges upon me that which I am not disposed to receive,
it creates in me an alienation of feeling toward that person.  I am
naturally opposed to being crowded, and am opposed to any person who
undertakes to force me to do this, or not do that.  In my youth I was
supposed to be an infidel, and perhaps in one respect I was, though I
would have freely given all the gold and silver I ever could possess, to
have met with one individual who could show me anything about God, heaven,
or the plan of salvation, so that I could pursue the path that leads to
the kingdom of heaven; but I did not want to be urged, and I am so
inclined to this day.  Yet I cam convinced that it would not do for every
man to pursue this course in every circumstance.  We can guide, direct,
and prune a tender sprout, and it inclines to our direction, if it is
wisely and skillfuly applied.  So, if we surround a child with healthy and
salutary influences, give him suitable instructions, and store his mind
with truthful traditions, may be that will direct his feet in the way of
life.

	There are persons of twenty, forty, and sixty years of age, who never
saw a day in which they knew their own minds.  They seem to be undecided
in all their actions, like a child a few years old, and need some person
to direct them.  I am somewhat different from this class of persons. 
Should I be told that it is time to wash my face and eat my breakfast, I
should be strongly inclined to notify my informant that I knew that as
well as he did.  So some of our Elders who preach in the world, will go
into this or that house, begin to converse with the members of the family,
and tell them they must be baptized or be damned.  This will turn some
persons against them and the truth, simply because they will not be
compelled to do anything; while there are others in the world who would
not embrace the truth, unless they were ordered to do it; probably they
are those who will be compelled to come in.

	There is a class of people that will not move to do themselves good,
only as they are urged and commanded.  There is a wide difference in
people in this respect.  There are instances in this community that if a
wife does not urge her husband to pray in his family, he would never do
so.  And again, there are men in this city and throughout the settlements
as good men as need be, who are driven from this duty by the teazing of a
wife.  "Now, pa, come, do let us have prayers; I have got all the children
here and the Bible, and I do want to have prayers."  He cannot bow to that
kind of compulsion, to save him; and if he should be damned he will not be
made to pray in such a manner, for when he prays he means to do it for his
God, and not because a woman teases him to do it.  If a wife of mine
should undertake to direct me in such a manner, I should give her to
understand that I would tell her and the children when to come to prayers,
when to go to parties, and how to reverence the Holy Priesthood and their
God; I should never pray in creation, if I could not do it independent of
the dictation of a woman.

	I know that the people need more or less teaching and urging all the
time, Sunday after Sunday, to keep them in the path of safety.  How easy
we get out of patience!  We get a little hasty, and do a little wrong,
because we do not train ourselves--do not conquer ourselves, and subject
ourselves to the law of Christ.  Sisters speak evil of sisters, they hear
of it, and straightway return the compliment in a spirit of
vindictiveness.  Elders have contention with Elders; they do not
understand alike, and are not disposed to in their deal.  Elders are
agreed on the way and manner necessary to obtain celestial glory, but they
quarrel about a dollar.  When principles of eternal life are brought
before them--God and the things pertaining to God and godliness--they
apparently care not half so much about them as they do about five cents. 
"We want the dollars."  What are they good for?  Dollars will do good, if
you can keep them until they will do good, using them in the right way. 
Men will scramble over each other to get gold and silver, and when they
have it they waste it; it passes from them, and they know not how, doing
them no good.

	You can go into many houses in this Territory and find, for cooking
utensils, an old skillet in which they cook their meat, heat their
dishwater, wash their dishes, mix up pig feed, &c.; and when they set
their table it is in keeping with the old skillet; you find little to eat,
and that is half burnt and half cooked, unpalatable and unhealthy.  The
wife and children have scarcely a decent dress, and all around, in the
house and out of it, is a picture of misery.  Yet if you ask the owner of
the house whether he has any cattle on the range, "Oh, yes."  How many? 
"I do not know; I had fifty head the other day, but I am not sure how many
oxen and cows I have."  How many calves have you?  "I think I have fifteen
or twenty."  Do you have any butter for breakfast?  "No;" and when they
have any, it is about the size of a walnut and as white as cheese curd. 
They do not know how to make butter and cheese, yarn and cloth, nor do
they try to learn.  The wool is wasting; the flax, if any is grown, is
left to rot; indolence, dirt, and scarcity reign where cleanliness,
beauty, order, and plenty could be produced by the hand of industry,
economy, frugality, and care.  There is a wonderful amount of ignorance
with regard to our temporal life, to say nothing of our spiritual life.

	A misunderstanding of five dollars in a settlement will sometimes set
some of our Elders to quarrelling and contending, and spending the time of
the High Council and Bishop Courts, and making a cost of a hundred
dollars.  You cannot bring up anything that relates to Priesthood, God,
heaven, or heavenly things, that will move them in the direction of a
quarrel, and yet they will contend about a little filthy lucre which they
cannot hold; they pass by the things of God as naught compared with it,
living year after year, learning little but would rake earth and hell to
secure a few cents.  Money is not wealth; neither can you subsist upon it,
in the absence of the common aliments of life.  It is the love of money
that is a mischief--that is the root of all evil.  Love not gold, nor
silver, nor anything of the kind, but gather around you that which will
make you "healthy, wealthy, and wise;" then all will be right, and real
wealth will increase around you, and wisdom from God will illuminate your
course through life.

	We pray for wisdom, but God will as soon put bread and meat in our
cupboards without any endeavour of ours, as he will give us wisdom without
our trying to get it.  If a man wants a farm, let him make it; if he
wishes an orchard he plants it; if he wants a house for his family to live
in, he must gather the materials and build it.  The Lord instructed the
people in primitive times how to smelt the ores and work in the different
metals, how to hew stone, how to build houses and temples.  He will give
us wisdom in these things, but he will not come down to do the manual
labour.

	As we prepare materials to build a house or temple, so man can
prepare himself for the reception of eternal wisdom.  We go where the
materials for a house are, and prepare them to answer our purpose; so we
may go to where eternal wisdom dwells, and there dilligently seek to
possess it, for its price is above rubies.  I have frequently said that
the greatest endowment God ever gave to man is good, sound, solid sense to
know how to govern ourselves, how to choose the good and refuse the evil,
to know how to sever the right from the wrong, the light from the
darkness, and gather to ourselves that wisdom which comes from God, and
reject that which comes from beneath.  Let all be brought into subjection
to the will of God, and then there would be no contention about a trifle,
but every man would contend lawfully for the things of God, and more
earnestly than for silver and gold.

	May the Lord bless the good and fill the earth with the righteous. 
Amen.

      GOVERNMENT OF THE TONGUE.--IMPARTIALITY IN JUDGMENT.--SEALING.
           Remarks made by President Brigham Young, Tabernacle,
                   Great Salt Lake City, April 6, 1862.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	Instead of giving a text to be dwelt upon by those who may address us
during this Conference, as I have done on some occasions, I say to the
Elders, speak upon such subjects as may be in your minds.  Open your
mouths, and have faith that God will fill them with useful and instructive
information, that all who hear may be blessed and built up in the strength
of God.  If we meet as we should, conduct ourselves as we should while we
are assembled, and live as we should when we are separated, our meetings
will certainly advance the kingdom of God on the earth.

	As formerly, I present myself before you this morning in the capacity
Providence has lead me to occupy, acknowledged and sustained by you as the
dictator, counsellor, and adviser of the people of God.  Hundreds and
thousands of the Latter-day Saints exercise faith for me, and pray for me
and my Counsellors, and for the Twelve Apostles and others who are leaders
and dictators in this Church and kingdom, but neglect to pray for
themselves.  They apparently have more faith for me than they have for
themselves.  Apparently, they will be more fervent in spirit while in
prayer before God for the leaders of this people, than they will be for
themselves.  They wish their leaders to be far more holy, to be filled
with more light, more intelligence, more faith, more compassion, more
charity, more love, more humility than they themselves are.  They wish
their leaders to be filled with the patience of Job and the integrity of
the angels, while they themselves neglect to attain to all this fulness. 
They do not sufficiently control themselves; they give way too much to
passion and the idle follies of life.

	I seek as dilligently as you do that the leaders of this people may
be and do precisely as God wishes them to.  I pray as fervently as you do
that the will of God may be done on the earth as it is in heaven, and that
we may be moulded and fashioned in all goodness, after the image of
Christ.  I have the same faith that you have for the leaders of this
people, and I have all the fervency of desire I am capable of, that God
will make the people just as pure as they want their leaders to be.

	This is a great and good people.  I am well acquainted with their
inmost wishes and desires, for what they pray, and what they labour and
toil to accomplish.  Is their labour fully effectual, and their toil
altogether calculated to bring them that which they desire?  No matter
what our exercises may be before the Lord for the advancement of truth and
the power of the kingdom of God upon the earth, if our every day life does
not accord with our profession, our religious exercises are all in vain. 
We may have all faith so as to remove mountains, to pluck up trees by the
roots and plant them in the sea, and be enabled to perform greater wonders
than have ever been performed by man in the name of Jesus Christ with his
Priesthood upon us, yet if we are not pure in our affections, true and
fervent in our love for God, and holy in our spirits, all this will avail
us but little.  Our spirits should reign supreme in our bodies, to bring
the flesh into subjection to the will and law of Christ, until the carnal,
devilish spirit that fills the heart with anger, malice, wrath, strife,
contention, bickering, fault-finding, bearing false-witness, and with
every evil that afflicts men, is entirely subdued.  If this evil power is
not vanquished by the power and love of God, the whole course of nature
will be set on fire with the fire of hell, until the whole body and spirit
are consumed.  This is the way I read the order of God, the will of God,
the law of God and his holy Priesthood, the love of God, and all that
pertains to his kindom [sic] on the earth.

	The Apostle Paul says we are nothing without charity, whatever else
we may possess.  Using my own language I should say, without the pure
principle of the love of God in the heart to subdue, control, over-rule,
and utterly consume every vestige of the consequences of the fall, the
fire that is kindled within the nature of every person by the fall will
consume the whole in an utter and irretrievable destruction.

	We meet to be instructed; and at the termination of our Conference we
should be a little farther advanced toward the holy kingdom of our Father
and God, and be better prepared to build up his kingdom on the earth, than
we were at its commencement.

	In speaking of the tongue the Apostle says, "But the tongue can no
man tame, it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison."  If the tongue
cannot be tamed, it can be bridled.  "If any man among you seem to be
religious, and bridle not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this
man's religion is vain.  If any man offend not in word, the same is a
perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body."  If this unruly
member is not held in subjection it will work our ruin, for "The tongue is
a fire, a world of iniquity, so is the tongue among our members, and it
defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature, and it
is set on fire of hell."  If the tongue is unbridled and uncontrolled, it
sets in motion all the elements of the devilish disposition engendered in
man through the fall.  The Apostle has represented it well, in comparing
its influence to the fire of hell which will eventually consume the whole
man.

	We are met in this Conference, expressly for the purpose of enlarging
our views upon the importance of our Priesthood and duties; that our love
for God, truth and the household of faith may be increased; that our
sensibilities may be sharpened to a keen relish for goodness and a just
sense of right; that our judgments may become more impartial and discreet
in all their conclusions, so that when we go from this Conference whether
as Bishops, Elders, High Priests, High Counsellors, or as members of the
Church and kingdom of God in the last days, we may find ourselves sensibly
improved, our aspirations more elevated, our natures more divested of low
selfishness, and in every way better prepared to judge in Israel, and to
lead the sheep of the fold of Christ in a manner more acceptable to the
Great Shepherd.

	It would be a matter of great satisfaction to me if all the Bishops
were perfectly impartial when sitting in judgment on their brethren, and
completely invulnerable to the influence of bribes and selfish leanings to
the dictates of prejudices formed in favour of this or that person.  I may
not be entirely free from such prejudices, but, if I am required to sit in
judgment upon an individual against whom I have entertained a prejudice,
it has ever been my manner to inform that person of it upon the first
opportunity that presented itself.  Will you do this Bishops, and frankly
acknowledge that you are unqualified to sit in judgment upon any person
against whom you are strongly prejudiced?

	So far as I have power, and with all the understanding God has given
me, I seek to base all my conclusions upon facts when I am judging my
brethren.  When they are penurious, covetous, and for a trifling gain of
some kind will overlook right, frown upon the majesty of truth, disregard
justice and in all their actions manifest a strong preference for the god
and glory of this world, I am prejudiced against their unrighteous
preferences, but not against them as individuals; for if all the good and
the evil, the strength and the weakness of which they are capable will
range within the limits of a few square inches, as individuals they
require my sympathy, while I abominate their sins.

	I am not ignorant of the weaknesses of mankind; and in many instances
when they would do a good act, the Devil, by some means, takes the
advantage of them and leads them to commit an evil; as the Apostle says,
"when I would do good, evil is present with me."  There is a number of
people in this Church, who, when they would correct their lives, and
conclude to perform the greatest good in their power, do that which brings
disgrace upon them--the very thing they did not want to do.  This weakness
we should struggle bravely to overcome.  We hold them in full fellowship
in the Church of Christ because they design in their hearts to do right,
but do not at all times manage to perform it.  All men are not equally
afflicted with these weaknesses.  We have Bishops, Presidents, men of
standing and experience in the kingdom of God, who, according to my
judgment, do very wrong in many instances, but they may be blinded through
selfishness.

	I will here refer to a principle that has not been named by me for
years.  With the introduction of the Priesthood upon the earth was also
introduced the sealing ordinance, that the chain of the Priesthood from
Adam to the latest generation might be united in one unbroken continuance. 
It is the same power and the same keys that Elijah held, and was to
exercise in the last days.  "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 hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the
children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." 
By this power men will be sealed to men back to Adam, completing and
making perfect the chain of the Priesthood from his day to the winding up
scene.  I have known men that I positively think would fellowship the
Devil, if he would agree to be sealed to them.  "Oh, be sealed to me,
brother; I care not what you do, you may lie and steal, or anything else,
I can put up with all your meanness, if you will only be sealed to me." 
Now this is not so much weakness as it is selfishness.  It is a great and
glorious doctrine, but the reason I have not preached it in the midst of
this people, is, I could not do it without turning so many of them to the
Devil.  Some would go to hell for the sake of getting the Devil sealed to
them.

	I have had visions and revelations instructing me how to organize
this people so that they can live like the family of heaven, but I cannot
do it while so much selfishness and wickedness reign in the Elders of
Israel.  Many would make of the greatest blessings a curse to them, as
they do now the plurality of wives--the abuse of that principle will send
thousands to hell.  There are many great and glorious privileges for the
people, which they are not prepared to receive.  How long it will be
before they are prepared to enjoy the blessings God has in store for them,
I know not--it has not been revealed to me.  I know the Lord wants to pour
blessings upon this people, but where [sic] he to do so in their present
ignorance, they would not know what to do with them.  They can receive
only a very little and that must be administered to them with great care.

	A portion of this community will not improve, will not plant out a
fruit tree nor a shade tree, expecting to be driven from their homes. 
Such neglect of duty is the very way to bring the power of the Devil upon
us.  Let every man go to with his might and build a good house for his
family to live in, and make them comfortable and happy, and gather around
them an abundance of the blessings and comforts of life, and do it by the
power of God and the Spirit of the Holy One, in all dilligence and
faithfulness, and let us preach the Gospel, send the Elders to gather the
poor and the meek of the earth, each one doing all the time all he can to
accumulate means to accelerate this great and glorious work in the name of
Israel's God, being full of faith, humility, and charity; then we have
done our duty, and all we can do to further the kingdom of God.

	When we are doing the work of the Lord with all our might, and the
evil within us is subdued by the power of God, and the light of Christ so
shines within us that we can see clearly the things of God and men truly
as they are, and all is judged by a righteous judgment, then we may look
at and talk about the faults of each other without in the least disturbing
our peace.  When we do this, working faithfully for the building up of
God's kingdom, we are ready to acknowledge all things we possess to be the
Lord's, holding them for him in time, not knowing what he will do with
them in the future.  Let us teach our families the principles of
righteousness by our conduct, which will go further than mere words.  Let
our private life be worthy the imitation of the best on earth, for it
preaches a more lasting sermon than the tongue can preach.  If we pursue
this course the Lord will never suffer us to be driven from our homes.  "I
always thought," said one, "that you were driven from Jackson county for
your wickedness?"  Yes, and I always, acknowledge it; it was to bring us
to our senses.

	The Lord wants us to live up to the spirit of the times, and in the
ratio the wicked nations are going down, he wants his people to rise in
intelligence and importance as statesmen, noblemen, and rulers; first
learning to govern and control themselves.

	I will recur again to the sealing power I have already glanced at. 
If men are sealed to me, it is because they want to be; and if they will
be good, and hearken to my counsel and live a righteous life, I will agree
to dictate and counsel them; but when men want to be sealed to me to have
me feed and clothe them, and then act like the Devil, I have no more
feeling and affection for them than I have for the greatest stranger in
the world.  Because a man is sealed to me, do you suppose that he can
escape being judged according to his works?  No.  Were he sealed to the
Saviour, it would make no difference; he would be judged like other men. 
Let us do what we do from a pure and holy principle, desiring only to
promote the kingdom of God and be as nigh right as possible, that when we
judge, we may judge in righteousness.

	One great blessing the Lord wishes to pour upon this people is that
they may return to Jackson county Missouri, and establish the centre-stake
of Zion.  If our enemies do not cease their oppression upon this people,
as sure as the Lord lives it will not be many days before we will occupy
that land and there build up a Temple to the Lord.  If they would keep us
from accomplishing this work very soon, they had better let us alone.  "I
will purge the land," saith the Lord, "cut off the evil doer, and prepare
a way for the return of my people to their inheritance."  We pray for
this, but are we preparing ourselves, to live according to the laws of
Zion?  This I will say, to the praise of the Latter-day Saints, there are
hundreds and thousands of them who have been in the Church, some longer
and some shorter, who, when you inquire about them, are paying attention
to their own business; this proves that they live in peace with their God
and their neighbours, doing as well as they know how.  But when we speak
of the officers of this Church, a great deal is required of them by the
Lord and the people.

	I wish to endure, and live the doctrine I preach to the people; to
live with them, and with them fight the Devil until we kick the last one
off from the earth. If a Bishop does not want drunkenness in his Ward, let
him be a sober man.  If he does not want gambling, he must not be a
gambler.  If he wishes the truth always spoken, he he [sic] should not
lie.  If he wishes the rights of the people respected in the holding of
property, he should not steal.  We wish to see the kingdom of God advance,
that we may be prepared for the blessings the Lord is anxious to give to
us.

	May the Lord bless you.  Amen.

     HOME MANUFACTURES.--CERTAIN DESTRUCTION OF THE ENEMIES OF TRUTH.
       Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle,
                   Great Salt Lake City, April 6, 1862.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	When we first came to these valleys, we urged the brethren to believe
that they could raise grain here, for but few of them believed it; and
raising peaches was supposed by nearly all to be entirely out of the
question.  It is now proved beyond a doubt that we can raise in these
mountains, not only the best of grain, but the finest of fruit.

	If the Elders of Israel had taken the counsel which has been given
them for eight years past, we would have had gold enough on hand to buy
one quarter of the State of Missouri; which we might have owned as well as
not, and lived in it when we pleased.  There is one practice among this
people that I am at war with, and I pray God to give me strength and
ability, with the faith of the righteous, to root it out from our midst,
and that is, they would seemingly rather be damned than not give their
money to their enemies.  Will they raise flax, cotton and fruit?  No; but
they will put fortunes in the pockets of strangers, to import from a
distance what we can produce at home.  If this people had followed the
counsel given to them, there is not a man in Israel would have raised a
bushel of wheat for our enemies who came here to cut our throats, without
making them pay from five to ten dollars a bushel for it.  I do not wish
to scold, but still I do most cordially dislike the conduct of certain men
with whom we are obliged to associate in a Church capacity.  It is
impossible for me to speak pleasantly of their conduct while they, in
their feelings and affections, lean toward the wicked who will take the
name of God in vain and curse the chosen of God.  Even now, many of our
brethren are running after them begging for a little job of hauling, for a
little employment here and there, and apparently would lick the dust of
their feet for five cents. While brother Erastus Snow was speaking upon
our being under the necessity of importing various articles from abroad, I
tried to think what there is that we cannot make here.  There is as good
material in this Territory for making hats as there is in any part of the
world, and we have the mechanics who can put it together.  We have an
excellent button machine, one capable of producing as good buttons as
these I now wear in the bosom of my shirt.  There are tons of bones and
horns bleaching upon the prairie, which can be manufactured into as good
buttons as any man need to wear, if some of our button-makers would take
hold of the machine and work it.  We also have men here who can make
pressed buttons which will do very well.

	I see here, to-day, many who are dressed in homespun, and they look
comfortable and comparatively independent.  Some of the sisters I see,
wear home-made shawls, and to me, they appear far more appropriate than do
the gaudy trappings of foreign make.  I cannot see why we should send to
buy from strangers that which we can manufacture ourselves, if it is not
to satisfy a disposition to please and pamper that power which is opposed
to the kingdom of God on the earth.

	When the Lord cuts off every resource from this people, only that
which is immediately around them, they can then live as well if not better
than they do now, and attain to a state of self sustenance much sooner
than if he should continue to plead with them to rise up in their strength
and do as they ought toward becoming independent before all foreign
temporal facilities are entirely cut off.  Enoch was three hundred and
sixty-five years in getting a people ready to receive the blessings the
Lord had to bestow upon them, but in the latter days his work will be cut
short in righteousness.  Were the Lord to be as indulgent with us as many
want him to be, and continue to bear with the sins of the wicked, I
presume it would take him fully as long to prepare the people in his day,
but he will not wait so long.  The Lord can oblige this people to come to
the standard he wishes them to reach, but I have very little faith that
many will attain to it in the flesh.

	If we could not buy imported hats, we would make them of the material
we have here.  If we could not buy a yard of cotton cloth, we would raise
cotton and make it.  We can make spinning wheels and jennies; but brother
Erastus inquires where are we going to get the spindles, if we do not
import them.  That we have need to import spindles is not correct.  We
have plenty of men here who know how to make iron, and steel, and
spindles.  Brother N. V. Jones has produced specimens of iron from
magnetic ore.  He has not made cast iron from that ore, but the best of
wrought iron can be made from it.  Do our brethren make it?  No.  They
want to go to California after gold, or they wish to freight for this man
or that man who has nothing in common with the interests of the kingdom of
God.  In the same proportion that men operate to encourage the importation
of foreign productions, so far, according to their influence and means,
they operate against the advancement of the kingdom of God on the earth. 
Many may not believe this statement, though to me it has become an
established fact.  Any man of this Church and kingdom who exerts his
influence, strength, and means to promote any community, or to build up
any city, except the people and cities of Zion, is exerting his strength
and means against the kingdom of God.

	Our speaker this afternoon commiserated our friends in the east who
are now destroying each other, but who were once united in taking from us
our homes and possessions, and winked at the shedding of the blood of our
best men, and who have taken the lives of our brethren and sisters, of our
fathers and mothers, of our wives and children.  The tottering gray haired
sire excited no commiseration in their breasts, neither did the aged
grandmother whom they deprived of her children--her last prop and stay,
except her God, and left her to fall into the grave without a relation to
speak an encouraging word in her dying moments.  Our history records
hundreds of such cases in consequence of the persecutions, mobbings, and
drivings to which this people have been exposed.  Infants, the youth, and
the middle-aged have dropped into untimely graves by hundreds.  They have
taken our lives from the earth and swallowed up our substance, and
forsooth we feel very much to pity them in their present condition.  I
will inform sympathisers, that if the fountain of pity and commiseration
keeps pace with the increasing calamities that will come upon our enemies,
where they only have yielded drops, rivers will flow, for the press is
only just beginning to come down upon the ungodly--they can only just
begin to feel its pressure; but there is a weight hanging over them that
is ponderous in its crushing and desolating force.  Would I lift it off
from them, if I had the power?  No, but I would let it crush the guilty,
ungodly wretches--the priest in the pulpit, the judge on the bench, the
governor, and the rulers, and would let the common people go free.

	After a long struggle we expect to be able to redeem Zion, to
establish the centre stake thereof, and from thence spread abroad in the
vastness of our increasing numbers, and in the greatness of our power and
infinitude of our wealth, build hundreds and thousands of cities and
magnificent temples to the name and honour of our God; and we will enter
those temples and officiate for our forefathers and our relatives who have
died without a knowledge of the Gospel, and for those ignorant thousands
who are paid for killing each other in the present war, and we will give
them a salvation--All who have not sinned against the Holy Ghost, or shed
innocent blood or consented thereto.  The priests have rivetted their
fetters and chains around the millions, and they more or less influence
every political man in our Government, to ridicule and fight against God
and every holy principle that comes from heaven.  If these fetters were
broken asunder, and every man and every family permitted to judge for
themselves, hundreds of thousands would embrace the Gospel as soon as they
could have the privilege of hearing it, receive their ordinations and
endowments, and be ready to go forth and hasten the work of building
Temples wherein to officiate for those who had not in their lives the
privilege of going into a Temple to receive their washings and anointings. 
Were it not for priestcraft and political-craft, I am satisfied that
scores of thousands on this continent would now embrace the Gospel.

	I would like to see the footsteps of the Almighty (and they are now
beginning to be visible) in his going forth to cut off the bitter
branches; and by-and-bye the stone cut out of the mountain will begin to
roll, and if it does not soon crush some of the toes of the great image, I
am mistaken.  From present appearances I think the toes will be pretty
well mutilated before the stone reaches them.  I pray for this constantly,
for I would be glad to see the inhabitants of the earth have the privilege
of believing the Gospel for themselves, and not any more be bound by the
blighting influences of priestcraft.  In this country and in the old
countries politicians and wealthy men, who have any influence whatever
over their neighbours, or over a family, or district, exert that influence
to keep the people from embracing the Gospel the Lord has restored again
to the world, by threatening to injure them, to stop their wages, turn
them out of employment, or out of their houses, if they embrace
"Mormonism," and thus the masses are bound down.

	Will we still continue to build up and foster our enemies, and give
them our life's blood?  If we intend to cease doing so, we will cease
trading with them in the way and manner we have done and are doing.  You
may enquire what we are going to do, I will tell you what I have not done;
I have not sent to the States this season for any factory cloth, nor for
any calico, and I shall say to my family you must make your own clothing
or go without.  "What are we going to do for pins and needles?"  Do
without them, or use thorns.  When we cease importing them, necessity may
become the mother of invention in this as well as in many other cases.  I
have often wished there was not such a thing as a pin or a needle when I
have found them sticking in garments, in my shirt, on my pillow, in the
chairs, on the door rugs, strewed over the floors and passages, and in the
streets.  I will venture to say that the quantity of pins and needles that
has been brought into this Territory has not done one-tenth part of the
service they would, if they had been properly taken care of and not
wasted.  People will hardly stoop down to pick up a needle or a pin, but
they will go to the stores and buy them.  Ladies will take a dollar ivory
comb, put it in water, and then comb a child's hair with it; it is never
dry, the ivory softens, and the comb is used up in a very short time, when
a good comb of that description ought to last five years in a common
family.  Mothers have not learned that water will spoil an ivory comb. 
There are some combs made of gutta percha, that comb the hair better than
horn, but they are brittle and require to be used with care; but the first
you know, one is on the floor and the rocker of the rocking-chair has
passed over it and rendered it useless.

	Where do you keep your needles?  On the floor, in the cradle, on the
bed, up stairs and down stairs, in every nook and corner of the house. 
Where are the pins?  All over; you can pick up one wherever you are.  Do
we answer the end of our creation in thus wasting, with a prodigal hand,
the good things which our Heavenly Father has bestowed upon us?  The
people are ignorant and careless touching these matters, and in them do
not answer the end of their creation, and will not without prudently
making the best possible use of that which God gives us.

	We can make everything we want; and that is not all, we can, if we
are disposed to, cease to want that which we cannot make.  The moment we
do this, and are satisfied with our productions, we are an independent
people.

               AUTHORITY OF BISHOPS--BRANCH ORGANIZATIONS.
               ASSISTING THE MAIL AND TELEGRAPH COMPANIES.
       Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle,
                   Great Salt Lake City, April 7, 1862.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	This is the place to give items of instruction to the people.  I am
satisfied that it is my duty to improve this opportunity, and should be
very happy if I could speak with ease; if I could do so I should talk a
great deal more than I do.

	Ask a Bishop by what authority he is acting as a Bishop;  "I suppose
I am a Bishop according to the Priesthood."  By what Priesthood do you act
as a Bishop?  "I really cannot answer that question."  Are you a High
Priest?  "Yes."  Why do you so officiate?  "Because I have been ordained
to so officiate; the First Presidency ordered Bishop Hunter to ordain me a
High Priest, and set me apart to be a Bishop in this district."  After a
person is ordained a High Priest he then has authority to act in all the
duties of the lesser Priesthood, when called upon by the proper authority
so to do.  Some of the Bishops understand their true position and some do
not, for which reason a few remarks in addition to those I made this
forenoon will, perhaps, not be amiss.

	There is no retrograde movement in ordaining a High Priest to the
office of a Bishop, for, properly speaking, he is set apart to act in that
office.  When we ordain a man to officiate in a branch of the Church as a
Bishop, he does so according to the best of his knowledge; and now and
then one believes that he has a right, when ordained as a Bishop, to
officiate and preside over every temporal and spiritual interest in his
district by virtue of his Bishopric; he believes that he ought to go into
a Seventies' Council in his Ward and preside because he is a Bishop:  and
under this impression he dictates, guides and directs all things in his
district; he baptizes, confirms and administers the sacrament as a Bishop,
performing, under this impression, every spiritual and temporal duty. 
Were we to inquire of the Bishops of this Church what duties are assigned
to the Aaronic Priesthood they hold, and what are assigned to the
Melchisedek, those who could answer correctly are in the minority.  I am
satisfied of this, for I have been placed in positions that made it
necessary to propound questions to some of our most intelligent Bishops
relating to misunderstandings and difficulties that have occurred in their
districts touching their authority, when their answers convinced me that
they knew little about it; perhaps from not having an opportunity of
finding out, or, in a word, they have not so loved that the heavens have
been opened to them to teach them so fully and effectually their duties
that they need no man to teach them.  The duties and powers of a Bishop
cease the very moment he steps over the Aaronic Priesthood, which is to
officiate in temporal things; when he passes this he immediately begins to
officiate by the authority and power of the Melchisedek Priesthood, though
he may not know it.

	We have scores of branches of this Church in different parts of this
country, and had we better now place officers, helps and governments in
these branches, or wait till the people come to understanding, and learn
to appreciate and honor such appointments?  It is chiefly because of the
ignorance of the people that we often concentrate in one man these
different offices and callings, but when the people are sufficiently
informed and have advanced further in the knowledge of the truth, it will
not be so, but every branch will have its full quota of officers--a
Patriarch, President, Bishop, High Council, and all officers that are
necessary for the work of the Ministry, and the edifying of the body of
Christ.  Until the people can receive and honor these helps and
governments, and be benefited by them, the different offices will be
concentrated in as few men as possible, for men will contend for power,
and as to which shall be the greatest, until they are better informed.

	If the people fully understand and would observe the relationship
these offices have to each other, there would never be a word of
altercation.  In this city we have no altercation about authorities.  We
but seldom get up a trouble for a High Council case.  When the people come
to sufficient understanding, we shall not put the onerous task upon one
man to act both as President and Bishop, but we will give you a full
organization of helps, governments, &c.; but at present we shall take a
course to confine the offices of the Church in such a manner as to give
the least cause for contention and trouble.  There are men who have a
contentious disposition; they will contend against a Bishop, a Magistrate,
a Judge, or any man holding an office; in short, they wish to destroy
every power in Heaven and on earth that they do not hold themselves.  This
is the spirit of Satan that was made so visibly manifest in Heaven and
which proved his overthrow, and he now afflicts this people with it; he
wants to dictate and rule every principle and power that leads to
exaltation and eternal life, and those whom he influences wish to walk
underfoot every person who stands in authority over them.

	I now wish to say a few words about assisting the mail and telegraph
companies.  It has been asked, "Shall we assist these companies?  Shall
they be supplied with grain and that help which is necessary to facilitate
the expeditious and safe carrying of the mail?"  I say, ye.  Shall the
telegraph company receive favors at our hands?  Yes.  I do not know of two
greater temporal blessings of the kind that can be bestowed upon this
people.  If we happen to lay in bed a little later than usual, by the aid
of the telegraph wires we can read the news of the morning from Washington
and New York; and by-and-by we may be favored with the news of yesterday
from London, Paris, and St. Petersburg, and all the principal cities in
the old world.  We are among the people of this world; our bodies are of
the earth, and our spirits are like the spirits of other people and from
the same source, only we are trying to establish the kingdom of God on
earth, to introduce righteousness, and prepare the people for the reign of
Jesus Christ on the earth.  One man says, "I have agreed to do thus and
so."  Then go and do it.  Fulfill your contracts and sacredly keep your
word.

	What should be the course of this people in these matters?  Let them
act by the counsel of the men who understand such things better than they
do.  When I say supply so much labor, or so much grain, or do so much
hauling, you will be justified, otherwise you will not.  If I might
dictate this matter and get my pay for it, I would fill this whole mail
route with "Mormon" boys who would labor faithfully, conduct honorably,
and see that the mails were carried safely and promptly.  If it were left
to me, I would fill this whole route, as we would have done a few years
ago if the contract had not been unjustly taken from us, with a line of
conveyances, wherein men might sleep by day or by night in perfect safety
as tot their persons and property; and if a pocket book dropped out of a
pocket it would be as safe as though it were under lock and key, so far as
its being stolen is concerned.  How is it now?

	If A, B and C say they will begin to sell whisky, then if it is right
for them to sell whisky in the streets of this city, it is right for me. 
Whisky is useful in making vinegar, and we need it for cutting camphor
gum, for medicine, washings, &c., but is it necessary to keep a whisky
shop?  No.  And if it is right for one man to keep a whisky shop, it is
right for another, until all become whisky peddlers and whisky drinkers,
and all go to the devil together.  It does not require much illumination
of mind to comprehend that unless the selling of spirituous liqours [sic]
is managed by proper persons, it will result in the ruination of many of
the community.  So with the selling and disposing our produce to outside
interests; for those who expend their means and labor in a way that does
not enrich and build up Zion will apostatize and go out of this kingdom,
sooner or later.  When you are appointed to haul grain here or there, you
will feel justified.  Or, if you wish to drive a train, or to go as a
guard on the mail route, or to attend to this or that, and the counsel is
yes, go, and be honest and upright before God and man and deal justly with
everybody, and if you do not so conduct, you will be brought home and
dealt with, then, if you go in this way, you will be justified.  Whatever
is done let it be done by counsel and common consent; then we can be paid
for our labor and our produce; wealth will increase around us, which we
can put to use in gathering home the poor Saints from all nations by
hundreds and by thousands.  In the course the people have taken they will
make themselves poor, while might be rich.  I feel very friendly towards
Mr. Street and many others connected with the telegraph line.  They have
treated this community as gentlemen will.  I have rendered them some
assistance, and am ready to render them more; and they have been very
accommodating to us.  The Overland Mail company brings our letters, books,
magazines, &c., and is as great an accommodation as can well be until we
have a railroad through here, which I hope we shall have ere long, if it
is right.  They should be assisted, and that by the Counsel of the Kingdom
of God in these mountains; and let it be done by common consent, or no
longer say that we are one with the main branch; if you are not thus one,
you will be severed from the vine and will wither and die.

	May the Lord bless the Latter-day Saints, is my prayer all the time. 
Amen.



      DUTIES CONNECTED WITH THE AARONIC AND MELCHISEDEK PRIESTHOOD.
       Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle,
                   Great Salt Lake City, April 7, 1862.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	Without revelation direct from heaven, it is impossible for any
person to fully understand the plan of salvation.  We often hear it said
that the living oracles must be in the Church, in order that the kingdom
of God may be established and prosper on the earth.  I will give another
version of this sentiment.  I say that the living oracles of God, or the
Spirit of revelation must be in each and every individual, to know the
plan of salvation and keep in the path that leads them to the presence of
God.

	How true is the text that brother George A. Smith has quoted.  There
are thousands of our Elders who ought now to be teachers, and to know
enough to commence the kingdom of God on the earth, and establish it, and
continue to lead, guide, and direct it, leading the people directly
through the gate into the celestial kingdom of our Father and God, and yet
they need to be taught like children.

	From what has been remarked it appears that, in some instances, the
President and the Bishop of a Branch infringe upon the rights of each
other, perhaps honestly; and they think that they possess this power and
that authority, and thereby contention arises in the midst of this people,
creating alienation of feeling and apostacy.  What a pity it is that such
circumstances should exist; they create sincere regret in the soul of
every person who desires to see the kingdom of God prosper on the earth.

	The spiritual and the temporal cannot be separated, and, in the
economy of the Framer of the Universe, are not designed to be.  For
example, were we a congregation who had not heard the plan of salvation
and knew nothing of the kingdom of God upon earth, and were listening
patiently to a stranger opening the plan of salvation to us, our hearts
would be touched by the fire in the speaker, they eyes of our
understandings would be opened, and we would begin to comprehend, admire,
and rejoice in the truth.  This is a spiritual work, an internal work, a
work upon the heart and affections.  This is what we call spiritual
impressions.  The speaker has portrayed before our minds the beauties of
the kingdom of God on earth so rationally, and in a manner so congenial to
the feelings of all honest persons, that they are all influenced to
believe the Gospel.  What is the next step?  You next ask the preacher to
baptize you, and here you commence a temporal labour with both body and
spirit.  The preacher has been labouring with his body, exercising his
lungs, and his whole spiritual and temporal system, and this labour
produces a spiritual and temporal benefit on those who believe and
practice his teachings.  It is so extremely nice a point to draw the line
of demarcation between the temporal and spiritual acts of man, that it is
impossible to separate the two.  There is a class of men who do not
believe anything in religion to be temporal; they are baptized in their
hearts, partake of the sacrament in their hearts, preach in their hearts,
and worship the Lord in their hearts, while their bodies are constantly
scrambling after the dimes.  To be baptized, change your wet clothes for
dry ones, go to meeting to worship the Lord, and to bring the body into
subjection to the will of Christ, is all a temporal labour aided by the
Divine Spirit.

	I will say a few words with regard to a Bishop.  Except we find a
literal descendant of Aaron, a man has to be ordained to the High
Priesthood to administer as did Aaron and his sons.  Suppose we then place
the same man also as a President in a Branch, how are we going to divide
his duties and labours?  I said a few words in this subject last year, and
can say more about it.  Can the Bishop baptize the people, according to
his Bishopric?  He can.  When the people he has baptized assemble for
confirmation, can he confirm them?  He cannot, under the power of his
Bishopric; but as he has been ordained to the office of a High Priest,
after the order of Melchisedek, to prepare him to act in the office of a
Bishop in the Priesthood of Aaron, when he has baptized the people under
the authority of his Bishopric, he has a right as a High Priest to confirm
them into the Church by the laying on of hands.  Bishops begin a
contention in their Branch, where they operate in their calling, when they
amalgamate with their Bishop's office the office of the High Priesthood,
when they try to bring the authority of the High Priesthood in the kingdom
of God down to the capacity of the Priesthood that belongs to the office
of an acting Bishop; here they make a grave mistake, and fall into
perplexing errors.

	What are the duties of a President and a Bishop?  We will first
notice a duty that belongs to a President.  For instance, he wishes a
comfortable place prepared for the people to meet in, and he calls on the
Bishop to marshal his forces to gather the material to build a house, and
the house is prepared for the comfort and accommodation of all.  In this
instance you observe the duty and office of a Bishop is attended to.  In
his capacity the Bishop knows nobody only as a member of the kingdom of
God, and in the performance of this duty he calls upon the President and
everyone else to aid in accomplishing the wishes of the President, to go
to the kanyon to get out timber, to quarry rock, make adobies, &c., &c.,
for everybody is entitled to pay Tithing.  When the house is put up
according to the President's direction, then the President calls on the
Bishop to see that it is well seated, lighted and warmed, for the
convenience and comfort of the congregation.  Then in like manner he sees
that the sacrament is prepared and administered, for it is the right, and
privilege, and duty of the President to baptize, and confirm, and
administer the sacrament, and do all things for the spiritual building up
of the kingdom of God; and also it is the right of the Bishop to preach,
baptize, and administer the sacrament.

	On Monday morning the Bishop calls upon the President and everybody
it concerns, to send their Tithing to the General Tithing Office.  The
President, who officiates as presiding officer on Sunday, is as subject to
the Bishop on Monday as anybody else.  My Bishop has just as good a right
to come to my house and demand of me my Tithing, as he has to demand it of
any other person in his ward, also to inquire into the state of my family,
whether I attend to my prayers, whether I have contention with my
neighbours, &c., in his capacity as a Bishop.

	So these callings and Priesthoods are interwoven one with another,
for the convenience and furtherance of the kingdom of God, in the absence
of a literal descendant of Aaron.  A Bishop sometimes officiates as a High
Priest, and sometimes as a Bishop.  In his High Priesthood he can act,
when called upon so to do by the proper authority in every calling in the
Church, except that of an Apostle; there are still keys and powers that
can be conferred upon him; but when a man is ordained to the office of an
Apostle, he is ordained to the fullest extent a man can be on earth.

	May the Lord bless you.  Amen.

           FORMING A STATE CONSTITUTION.--RAISING AGRICULTURAL
                         PRODUCTS.--TRUE RICHES.
     Remarks by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Tabernacle,
                   Great Salt Lake City, April 8, 1862.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	I wish to inform all the inhabitants of the Territory of Utah, Jew
and Gentile, bond and free, male or female, black and white, red,
copper-colored and yellow, that, in organizing a State Government, we
shall not infringe in the least upon the Constitution of our country, upon
any principle contained in the Declaration of Independence, nor upon any
constitutional law that has been enacted by the Congress of the United
States.  Will this step bring upon us the disapprobation of the Government
of the United States?  That is not for me to say; it will be as God may
direct.

	As the kingdom of God rises and advances upon the earth, so will the
power of Satan increase to impede its progress until God shall purge that
power from the earth, and so give the Saints the victory, that they can
bear off his kingdom triumphantly in spite of the powers of Satan and
wicked men.  But so far as the power of Satan extends, just so far will be
seen his operations to overthrow all righteousness.  There is nothing that
would so soon weaken my hope and discourage me as to see this people in
full fellowship with the world, and receive no more persecution from them
because they are one with them.  In such an event, we might bid farewell
to the Holy Priesthood with all its blessings, privileges and aids to
exaltations, principalities and powers in the eternities of the Gods.

	I can say with confidence, if we will live so as to enjoy the
revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ to ourselves day by day, overcoming
every passion, feeling and desire that has been sown in our nature through
the fall, overcoming all that is contrary to the law of Heaven and the
principles of salvation that is purchased by Jesus Christ for us, which is
the plan of God has devised to exalt the human family to immortality and
eternal lives, if we will let that Spirit and power of God reign within
us; we shall never be afflicted more than we can bear, and that is as far
as I can promise.

	We have seen the power and wisdom that have been displayed by our
enemies since we have been in these mountains, which has all amounted to
but little toward accomplishing what they desired.  No more will be
accomplished than has been.

	Brother Orson Pratt's remarks on the powers of the Congress of the
United States are strictly correct.  It is well known that the Congress of
the United States has no power granted in the Constitution to organize a
Territorial Government, and every power that is not named in the
Constitution for Congress to act upon is reserved to the people.  But
Congress assumes powers that does not belong to it, and if it continues to
do so, soon the last vestige of the free, independent, Republican and
Democratic Government we have enjoyed will be merged in a military
despotism, if there is anything left.

	Our Government is at present engaged in an expensive war.  It has
been supposed that the South would soon be subjugated, that they would
yield the point and submit.  They will not, and the war has scarcely
commenced.

	The slave States do not as yet appear to be whipped or conquered. 
Both North and South are in the hands of the Lord, and so are we.

	Let us from this time strive more diligently to overcome our own evil
passions. We may talk about Priesthood, about power and authority, about
blessings and exaltations, about the kingdom of God upon the earth, about
gathering the house of Israel, about redeeming Zion and enjoying its
fulness, about preparing for the coming of the Son of Man and enjoying
celestial glory with him, but all this is vain if we do not sanctify
ourselves before God, and sanctify the Lord our God in our hearts,  We
wish you fully to comprehend this; and when you go from this Conference,
we do not wish to hear of contentions.  And as soon as Elders have wisdom
sufficient to magnify their calling and Priesthood, we will give to every
Branch, no matter how small the Ward, both a Bishop and a President.

	It is our privilege and duty to sanctify our own hearts.  Perhaps I
have as much acknowledgment to make as anybody for sometimes suffering my
feelings to be a little ruffled.  I cannot say that I felt entirely free
from vexations at remarks made, by one of the speakers this morning, upon
the impurity of seeds in our Territory.  Notwithstanding so much has been
said upon that subject, there does not seem to be care enough in the heads
of Israel to provide even for themselves, to say nothing about setting a
proper example to the people.  If it were left to such men, there never
would be a grain of pure sugar cane seed in the country.  Where is your
care for Israel?  You will preach the spiritual things of the kingdom, and
let your bodies and the bodies of the people go into the grave.  Before
you preach to a starving man to arise and be baptized, first carry him
some bread and wine; first unlock his prison house and let him go free. 
Is there a Bishop in this Territory that knows whether there is a particle
of pure cabbage seed in the Territory, or in his Ward?  whether there is a
peck of clean, pure flaxseed, &c.  Bishops, how much flaxseed is going to
be sown in your respective Wards this season?  "Don't know."  How much
wheat, oats and barley?  "Don't know.  I have a little speculation on
hand, and I wish to provide for my own family, for the convenience and
comfort of my own household, for this I esteem to be my first duty."

	There was a Bishop in Far West, who, as Trustee-in-trust, held the
property of the Church; no other man had the means he had to help the poor
Saints.  I tried to get my voice to his ears for days, and could not.  At
last I accosted him and said:--"Bishop, what are you going to do toward
helping the poor Saints out of the State of Missouri, as we agreed?"  He
was irritated in a moment.  I supposed that he thought it was none of my
business, but I knew that it was, and calculated to attend to it.  He did
not speak good naturedly, although naturally a mild-tempered man.  At last
he said, "I am going to take my family and leave the State, and the people
may take care of themselves."  Many of our Bishops feel like that; they
will plant their potatoes, take care of their calves and themselves, and
the people may go to the devil for ought they care.

	I, perhaps, ought not to find fault about such things; but why not my
brethren of the Twelve take an interest in such matters, and not leave
everything of that kind for me and my Counsellors to attend to?

	I ask the Agricultural and Manufacturing Society of this Territory,
if they have one ounce of pure cabbage seed on hand, or know who has. It
is doubtful whether an affirmative answer could be given to this question. 
But if you have a few excellent peaches, or a basket of choice apples to
give them to eat, they will be as proud as a little boy with a new top,
and boast long and loud about what nice things we have in this Territory. 
I cannot complain of the vigilance of the tasting committee, but what do
they do for the benefit of the people?  To eat the people's fruit and
praise them for raising it, calling them "beloved brethren, and won't you
bring us in a little more next fall?" &c., may be well enough, but what
does this Society do?  What do the Twelve and the First Presidency do in
teaching this people to sustain themselves?  We all take care of
ourselves, do we not?  Is that all?  No.  There is not a thing my eye is
not upon, that will enhance the welfare of this people.  Who imported the
first carding-machine to this country, and the only good ones that have
been brought here?  Who imported the nail-machines, the paper-machine,
steam-engines and other valuable machinery?  I use everything I can rake
and scrape together for the interest of this people.  I only need a little
food and a small amount of clothing, and as for the rest the people are
welcome to it.

	I wish the other brethren to look after the welfare of the people, as
well as myself.  I do not wish to again hear any of the leaders of Israel
complain that there is not any pure sugar-cane seed, flaxseed, cotton
seed, &c., in the country, but I wish them to be fully informed as to
where pure seeds of all kinds can be had, and as to what is going on among
the people in every part of each Ward or district; and then I want to
inform the Bishops, and direct their tongues to speak and their hands to
act.  I wish this particularly to apply to those who preside where the
First Presidency do not go.

	The Agricultural Society ought to make arrangements to have and keep
on hand the best varieties of all kinds of garden seeds, the best
varieties of fruits, of grain, and every useful product of the soil, that
all may be able to procure the purest and best seeds, scions, fruit and
shade trees, shrubbery, &c.  Brother T. W. Ellerbeck and a few others have
done considerable in introducing several valuable varieties of fruits and
seeds.

	Brother Lorenzo Snow says, that the Lord will bless my brethren and
sisters.  He says that all the mules in the Territory can not haul away
the gold that is concealed in these mountains.  Riches do not consist of
gold and silver.  It may be said that with them we can buy all the
comforts we need for the body.  That may be so under certain
circumstances; still gold and silver are merely a convenient means of
exchange.  Earthly riches are concealed in the elements God has given to
man, and the essence of wealth is power to organize from these elements
every comfort and convenience of life for our sustenance here, and for
eternal existence hereafter.  The possession of all the gold and silver in
the world would not satisfy the cravings of the immortal soul of man.  The
gift of the Holy Spirit of the Lord alone can produce a good, wholesome,
contented mind.  Instead of looking for gold and silver, look to the
heavens and try to learn wisdom until you can organize the native elements
for your benefit; then, and not until then, will you begin to possess the
true riches.  All the riches, wealth, glory and happiness that we shall
ever possess in heaven will be possessed on and around this earth when it
is brought up into the presence of God in a sanctified and glorified
state; and the sanctified ones who enter through the gate and pass the
sentinel into the New Jerusalem, and into the presence of the Father and
the Son, are the ones who will inherit the new heavens and the new earth
in the presence of God, for here is the eternity, the glory and the power. 
When we possess all things, it will be when we possess power to organize
the native elements that fill the immensity of space, bringing forth and
organizing, bringing forth and organizing, again and again, dealing out
the providence of God, dictating, guiding and directing the kingdoms that
will be made for ever and for ever.  This is eternal riches--it is eternal
life.

	"What did Jesus mean, when he said, Lay up treasures in heaven, &c. 
What mortal ever went there to lay up treasures?  Is there an apartment, a
business house there, a Dr. and Cr. account, &c.?"  Ask the Lord
yourselves, what he meant by that expression, and if you have the Spirit
of Christ, you will find out the truth.  I think that the Savior referred
particularly to laying up in pure and sanctified bodies, holy principles
that belong to the heavens, until we are brought back into the presence of
the Father, and we, with the earth upon which we stand, are cleansed and
sanctified beyond the power of Satan.

	I will now say that we wish to go on with the Temple this year; we
shall also send out teams to bring home the poor, send Missionaries to the
nations, &c., &c.  If the hearts of this people are right, if they are
filled with faith in God; if they act with an eye single to his glory and
the building up of his kingdom on the earth, they will lock up their
teams, secure their seed grain and farming utensils, will look and live
for rain, for water in abundance to irrigate their lands, for sunshine,
for day and night and everything, that will give us a fruitful season this
coming summer.  What will you do with the increase of your fields?  Will
you strew it to strangers?  Some complain at the hand of Jehovah for
giving them wheat.  I have heard it said, "It is a curse to us; it annoys
me to see so much wheat."  There never has been a land, from the days of
Adam until now, that has been blessed more than this land has been blessed
by our Father in heaven; and it will still be blessed more and more, if we
are faithful and humble, and thankful to God for the wheat and the corn,
the oats, the fruit, the vegetables, the cattle and everything he bestows
upon us, and try to use them for building up of his kingdom on the earth.

	There will be no lack of teams for doing our work, if we will go to
with our mights to bring the poor Saints here and to build this Temple. 
There will be teams to bring us the rock from the quarries; and let the
young men come and learn to cut stone.  I wish to hurry the building of
the Temple, for I would like to have it completed before we are called to
more important duties.


	God bless the righteous.  Amen.



        CAUTION AGAINST VAIN LAUGHTER.--VALUE OF THE LIFE OF MAN.
       Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle,
                  Great Salt Lake City, April 27, 1862.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	I have been highly gratified at the few remarks I have heard this
morning from the brethren who are about to leave us to fulfil their
Missions.  They have a great deal of talk in them, and they will soon be
in their fields of labour where they can free their minds.

	Brother George Sims' remarks created considerable empty levity.  I
like to be pleased myself; I like to be filled with joy, but if I cannot
be filled with joy and gladness that is full of meat and marrow, or, in
other words, full of meaning and sense, I would rather retain my gravity.

	There is but one step between life and death, between faithfulness
and apostacy, between the sublime and the ridiculous.  We preach the
Gospel and gather the Saints, but are all Saints when they are gathered? 
No, we gather the goats with the sheep.  We gather people here, and then
the most trifling incidents that may occur in their lives, contrary to
their wishes, will turn them aside, and they will forsake their religion
and their God.  I am sorry for this.

	Never give way to vain laughter.  I have seldom laughed aloud for
twenty or thirty years without regretting it, and I always blush for those
who laugh aloud without meaning.

	I am often full of joy and gladness, and were I to give way to the
promptings of my nature at such times, it would lead to unreasonable
levity which would be a source of mortification and sorrow to me.  I
noticed that the brethren gave way to that laugh which I choose not to
hear.  I hope they will accept of this caution, and watch, govern, control
and subdue their passions.  I am satisfied that those persons who stamp,
clap hands, whistle, and make other noisy and boisterous demonstrations in
the theatres so untimed and uncalled for, have but little sense, and know
not the difference between a happy smile of satisfaction to cheer the
countenance of a friend, or a contemptuous sneer that brings the curses of
man upon man.

	I am rejoiced, my brethren, when I hear the Elders of Israel speak as
they did this morning.  I care little for a man's language, if his spirit
proves to me that he has the love of God within him.  Brother Erastus Snow
remarked that the time would come when the law of God would be written on
the hearts of the people.  A pharisee and a lawyer asked Jesus Christ a
question, tempting him, saying, "Master, which is the great commandment in
the law?  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all they mind.  This is the
first and great commandment.  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt
love thy neigbour as thyself.  On these two commandments hang all the law
and the prophets."  When we can keep these two commandments, do you not
think that the law of God will be written in our hearts?  Yes, and it will
never be erased.  When I have a manifestation, through the brethren that
speak, that the love of God is planted in their souls, that God rules and
reigns in their affections, I care not what language they make use of to
express their ideas, there is joy, peace, and solid satisfaction in
listening to the words of their mouths.

	Brother Erastus Snow has been preaching since he was fifteen years of
age, and has been a faithful Minister to preach the Gospel from that day
to this, and yet he is troubled with the same diffidence that others are
troubled with.  When we look upon the human face we look upon the image of
our Father and God; there is a divinity in each person male and female;
there is the heavenly, there is the divine and with this is amalgamated
the human, the earthly, the weaker portions of our nature, and it is the
human that shrinks in the presence of the divine, and this accounts for
our manfearing spirit, and it is all there is of it.  Many public
lecturers, by faithful application in their studies and constant practice
in public speaking, have overcome to a great degree what is usually called
a manfearing spirit.

	I am now looking upon beings who are expressly created to inhabit the
celestial kingdom of our Father and God.  They are the children of God,
the brethren and sisters of Jesus Christ, of the same family and descent. 
My best efforts are too feeble to portray before you the worth of the life
we now possess.  Probably there is not a single person upon the earth that
properly magnifies his life to the fullest extent, or, as it was designed
he should, to prepare him to dwell with God and holy angels.  Many
passages of Scripture can be produced showing how the ancients complained
of the folly and wickedness of mankind, but they never undervalued life. 
The first life must be magnified as a preparatory step to the enjoyment of
the second.  Those immortal and glorified beings that inherit higher
spheres understood this principle, have magnified their mortal existence
and passed on to immortality to possess exaltations in eternal life.  We
ought not to speak lightly of and undervalue the life we now enjoy, but so
dispose of each passing day that the hours and minutes are spent in doing
good, or at least doing no harm, in making ourselves useful, in improving
our talents and abilities to do more good, cultivating the principle of
kindness to every being pertaining to our earthly sphere, learning their
uses and how to apply them to produce the greatest possible amount of
good; learning to conduct ourselves towards our families and friends in a
way to win the love and confidence of the good, and overcome every
ungovernable passion by a constant practice of cool judgment and
deliberate thoughts.

	I feel continually to say God bless the people.  God bless the
brethren who go on Missions to preach the Gospel, and those who are
already in their fields of labour.  I desire to see righteousness prevail,
this is my whole delight; I have no other business on hand; I wish to have
no other.  I have no other joy or affection for anything only the
perfection of the kingdom of God, and to see righteousness reign
triumphantly.  I delight to see my brethren and sisters live in a way to
promote that life which will never end.  Instead of preparing to die,
prepare to live in the midst of all the exaltations of the Gods.  I do not
mean to leave this world, God being my helper, until sin and iniquity are
banished from it, and the reign of everlasting righteousness is
introduced, and Jesus Christ comes and reigns king of nations as he does
king of Saints, and the earth with all the Saints that dwell upon it are
brought into the presence of Father and Son, there to dwell for ever.

	God bless you.  Amen.

            ENDLESS VARIETY OF ORGANIZATIONS.--BLESSINGS THAT
                           AWAIT THE FAITHFUL.
           Remarks made by President Brigham Young, Tabernacle,
                   Great Salt Lake City, May 25, 1862.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	Our mortal existence is a school of experience.  Could we improve
every hour of our time in the best possible way until we attain a ripe old
age, there will be still much to learn pertaining to this world,
pertaining to our natural lives, to the organization of our bodies and
spirits, to the object and design of our existence, and the will of Heaven
concerning us.

	Some of our speakers, in their public addresses, express themselves
as seeing great reason to be thankful for the improvements we are making
in self-government, and our rapid advancement towards the fountains of
knowledge.  Others have a long experience to relate of constant trials,
tribulations, difficulties, and disappointments which they have now to
pass through, and gloomy forebodings of more in the future; they dwell
upon how we are tried with each other, and become dissatisfied with each
other and with ourselves, &c.  Now, this is all good, and if properly
received is for our mutual edification and advancement, giving us much to
reflect upon, and lessons to learn from the experience of each other.  But
should our lives be extended to a thousand years, still we may live and
learn.  Every vicissitude we pass through is necessary for experience and
example, and for preparation to enjoy that reward which is for the
faithful.  Others consider it a lamentable fact that we have to send
abroad and preach the Gospel, and gather the people, and then they will
apostatize.  We only understand in part why we are required to pass
through those various incidents of life.  There is not a single condition
of life that is entirely unnecessary; there is not one hour's experience
but what is beneficial to all those who make it their study, and aim to
improve upon the experience they gain.  What becomes a trial to one person
is not noticed by another.  Among these two thousand persons I am now
addressing there cannot be found two that are organized alike, yet we all
belong to the one great human family, have sprung from one source, and are
organized to inherit eternal life.  There are no two faces alike, no two
persons tempered alike; we have come from different nations of the world,
and have been raised in different climates, educated and traditioned in
different and, in many instances, in opposite directions, hence we are
tried with each other, and large drafts are made upon our patience,
forbearance, charity, and good will--in short, upon all the higher and
godlike qualities of our nature--for we are required by our holy religion
to be one in our faith, feelings, and sentiments pertaining to things of
time and eternity, and in all our earthly pursuits and works to keep in
view the building up of the kingdom of God in the last days.  Our work is
to bring forth Zion, and produce the Kingdom of God in its perfection and
beauty upon the earth.

	The impulses of our different natures present an almost endless
variety of pursuit, manner, and expression, yet all this under a wise and
judicious direction will accomplish the great end of our existence and
calling as ministers of the Most High.  "Br. Brigham teaches that it is
essentially necessary to improve every moment of our time in some useful
and profitable labour, and by frugality and honest care obtain property by
cultivating the earth, raising useful animals, &c., and thus make
ourselves wealthy and independent, surrounding ourselves with everything
to please the eye, gratify the taste, and gladden the heart."  Now, both
you and I are aware that there are persons in our midst who do not
understand this kind of religion; but we hail them as good brethren.  When
they address us they are full of faith that the time will come when the
earth and its fulness will be given to the Saints of the Most High, yet,
should the Lord hand out a small portion of it now, they cannot endure it.

	We believe the earth is to be renovated, purified, glorified,
celestialized, and prepared for the habitation of the Saints, who will
possess not only the silver and gold now held by the wicked nations of the
world, but every good thing, for "The young lions do lack, and suffer
hunger:  but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing."  This
"any good thing" will embrace horses, chariots, houses and lands, gardens
and orchards, promenades and places for recreation, and everything to
amuse and delight the heart of man.  We are now beginning to get these
things together and devote them to God, but, as I have remarked, some of
this people cannot endure this kind of blessings.  It is written, "The
earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that
dwell therein."  Again, "And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy,
holy, is the Lord of hosts:  his glory is the fulness of the whole earth." 
He will give this fulness to the Saints.  But the actions of some of this
people speak in language like the following:  "If you give me any of this
riches and glory, Lord, I will apostatize; if you fill my lap with gold, I
will cease serving you, and go to the Devil."

	The revelation that Br. James Cummings read is true.  The people, at
the time that revelation was given, were slow to remember the Lord in the
day of their prosperity, and were covetous.  I was not there, but was
acquainted with many who were.  I knew them before they went there, and I
know they were covetous and filled with greediness.  I know, if the Lord
had blessed them with the good things of this earth, which he had prepared
for the Saints at that day, not any of them would have stood.  It would
have been as Joseph said to me in Kirtland, "Brother Brigham, if I was to
reveal to this people what the Lord has revealed to me, there is not a man
or a woman would stay with me."  In the day of prosperity now the people
are slow to follow the Lord.  If he were now to bless this people with
gold and silver, houses and lands, with everything to make them wealthy
and comfortable here in Deseret or Utah, a great many would turn away from
him to worship their idols.

	"But," says one, "this will not do for us; if we are the children of
God we must be poor, we must see sorrow and affliction, and pass through
much tribulation."  I have no fear but that every child of God will
receive all the suffering he can bear while passing to his exaltation. 
Those who have suffered from sore eyes, I am satisfied, are contented not
to suffer another moment with that dreadful malady, should they live on
the earth a thousand years.  The sisters who have been afflicted with sick
headache never want to suffer from it another moment.  Do you wish to have
any more toothache?  No, you think that you have suffered enough from that
ache, and never wish to have it again while you live.  So we may say of
fevers, pains, aches, and diseases of every kind to which the human body
is subject.  I might inquire of the Nauvoo Saints whether they ever want
to endure another chill and fever while they live.  I am satisfied there
is not one of them that would wish to pass through another day of their
Nauvoo experience in sickness.  Again, I ask the brethren who have come
from the different nations of the earth, who have there suffered hunger,
nakedness, cold, and oppression, are you satisfied with what you have
suffered, without passing through the same in this land?  I think you are. 
I have seen the time that I had not food to satisfy the craving of my
nature, and I have suffered enough in this line of suffering.  I know what
it is to be hungry, and need not suffer hunger again to give me that kind
of experience.  I know what it is to be in poverty, and to be destitute of
the raiment necessary to keep any body warm.  Many of you have also had
this kind of experience, and we do not wish to pass through it again. 
Many of us know what it is to be in the midst of false brethren, which is
the most hateful thing of all.  Are you satisfied with what you have
suffered from tattlers and busy bodies?  Yes.  Do you wish any person to
bear false witness against you, to take away your liberty, and turn you
out from your houses and possessions, and thirst for your life?  Do you
wish to see the Prophets and servants of God imprisoned, bound in chains,
and sacrificed in blood?  When you are brought face to face with
suffering, you see nothing in it that is desirable, then why cultivate a
morbid desire for suffering?  You will find all you can bear, though you
surround yourselves with all the comforts and conveniences of life, and
enjoy them as gifts from the Lord, acknowledging his hand, offering unto
him constantly the incense of a grateful heart.  Leave this kingdom, and I
will promise you more suffering than the tongue of man can utter, until
you are consumed soul and body--until you are wasted away--the body in the
death pronounced upon it, and the spirit in the awful sufferings and
torments attending the second death.  Then stick firmly to the kingdom,
and be satisfied with the pains, aches, and afflictions you have already
suffered.

	The time has come for us to begin to glorify our Father in Heaven
with the earth and its fulness, and let the gold and the silver, and the
fruits of the earth, and all precious things produced by the industry of
man praise God, and let all men acknowledge his name, honour his
character, bow to his divinity, glory in his supremacy, and admire the
wonders of his providence over the earth and its fulness.  The time has
come for us to put forth our best efforts to bring forth the Zion of God
and gather all things in one, even in Christ Jesus.
	There is a great variety of talent among this people, but as a people
they know but little as to the uses of the world in which they live, and
the design of God in its creation.  There is not one in a million of
mankind that is filled with that intelligence that an intelligent being
should be filled with, but they pass from this stage of action, are no
more, and are apparently forgotten.  This is decidedly the case with the
world outside, and very much so with many of this people who have been
gathered out from the world.  Here they have to think and do a little for
themselves, which gives them a course of useful experience.  This is not
so much so with the outside world, for the great masses of the people
neither think nor act for themselves, but are acted upon, and act
accordingly ; and think as they are thought for; it is, as with the Priest
so with the people.  I see too much of this gross ignorance among this
chosen people of God.

	I will now portray a little of the feelings and conduct of the
labouring classes.  When a man can only earn a dollar a-day, and has no
way of increasing his finances only by his labour, he is obliged to be
frugal, if he is honest, and he manages to keep a wife and a few children
comparatively comfortable.  By-and-bye the times improve and wages rise so
that he can earn ten dollars per week instead of six.  "Now, wife, we will
allow a little more for the bread, and more for the meat, and more for the
tea, the coffee, sugar, fruit, spices, &c.  We must buy our daughter a
pair of fine shoes, and our little boy must have a whistle, and the baby a
doll, and you shall have a new bonnet by-and-bye, and I must have a pair
of fine boots, and a new coat and other things in keeping, for you know,
wife, I am now getting ten dollars per week, and by-and-bye I may yet
double or treble that amount."  In this way they manage to live out all
their means.  This is a peculiarity in the majority of the old country
people, and you can see the same thing here.  You say you would rather
hear something else than this.  I would rather hear this.  I am as far
ahead in the Gospel and power of God as any of you, I know as much about
it as any man in the Church, yet I need to know more.  I think it is
necessary, however, that you should learn to live to-day, and to-morrow,
this year, and next year, and learn to honour your lives continually.  We
must prepare for that which is coming, and be ready to receive that which
the Lord has in store for us.

	I know how you live.  Do we see poverty here?  We do.  How many are
there who declare that they cannot pay their emigration expenses, and
cannot give anything to bring their friends?  You could, if you had a
disposition to try.  Use just enough of your earnings to make your bodies
and your families happy and comfortable, and save the residue.  I probably
support more than any ten men in the Territory or in this State.  I feed
and clothe multitudes of men, women and children--and I like the man that
gets me in debt to him.  I consider that such a man has calculation and
management, and is preparing himself to be useful, and to have something
in his hands to use and to devote to noble purposes.  But I pay men nine,
ten, twelve, and twenty-five dollars per week, and when the year comes to
a close they are owing me hundreds of dollars, when, if they had managed
properly, there would have been a large credit in their favour.  There is
a class of men here who do not know but what they will apostatize
by-and-bye, and they do not wish anybody in debt to them, nor do they wish
to owe anybody.  You had better be about square, the whole of you that
wish to apostatize and go off, for you cannot leave the country with your
debts unpaid.  The better way is to keep in the faith, and pay your debts. 
When some men are doing well they will become anxious for a change, and
they want to raise stock, or possess a farm in Weber or Cache Valley; they
go and stay year after year until they are reduced to poverty in
consequence of their inexperience in that class of industry, and
by-and-bye they come back deploring their lack of sense in knot knowing
when they were well off.  I have such persons here to deal with, and I
have to keep along with my brethren at this slow rate of progression,
until we know how to gather the heavens and the earth.

	If there was impatience in heaven they would be impatient with the
slothfulness of the Latter-day Saints.  The heavens are waiting to be
gracious, and are ready to shed forth all the blessings heaven and earth
can bestow on the Saints, as soon as we can receive them and make use of
them to the glory of God.  If we do not first learn the little things, we
cannot learn the greater things.  "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.  If therefore ye have not been faithful in the
unrighteous mammon who will commit to your trust the true riches?  And if
you have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give
you that which is your own?"

	Every moment of human life should be devoted to doing good somewhere
and in some way.  We are all dependent upon a Being greater than
ourselves, and we owe, our talent, time, and every pulse of our nature to
the Supreme of the Universe.  We have nothing of our own, and ought to
devote ourselves to usefulness; we ought to learn to be economical, which,
coupled with industry, will make us wealthy.  And while we are handling
the things of this world, let us not neglect to become rich in faith, in
humility, and to learn the ways of God, and be constantly and actively
devoted to his service and the building up of his kingdom upon the earth,
or the riches of this world will do us no good.

	I heard it said to a young lad, "I will give you a dollar and a half
a-day and board you."  After a little reflection the young lad said, "If
you will pay me three dollars a-day, I think I will work for you a spell." 
The principle of the thing flashed before me, like a flash of light, that
such a course would be ruinous to this people.  I could see, under such
circumstances, that the lad could not live here two years before he would
not know how to secure himself a pair of pantaloons; he might receive
great wages, and yet be in the depths of poverty; he might be paid more
than he earned, and still be needy.  "I am getting three dollars a-day,"
says a brother.  What next?  He must have as fine a pair of boots as any
man wears in this community, and he will have them.  When I was a boy a
young man in our neighbourhood went into a hat shop to buy a five dollar
beaver.  He said to Mr. Merill.  "Have you any five dollar hats?"  "No,
but I have some very nice three dollar hats."  The young gent did not want
such a hat; he would not wear such a hat, but said, "I want a five dollar
hat?"  "Can you make me a a [sic] five dollar hat?"  "Yes."  "When shall I
call for it?"  "In two weeks." Merill took a three dollar hat that fitted
the young man, marked it, and put it by.  In too [sic] weeks the young man
called for his hat, when the hatter reached down the same hat the young
man had tried on before, saying, "that is a five dollar hat."  "Ah, that
is the hat I want; what is the price?"  "Five dollars."  He paid five
dollars for a three dollar hat, and was perfectly satisfied.  That is the
case with hundreds of my brethren; they do not know the difference between
a three dollar and a five dollar hat.  I do not wish to tantalise any
one's feelings, though I know that I often use extreme cases in
comparison.

	We have had to feed, clothe, and find house room, fire-wood, &c., for
quite a number of people in this community.  The first place we set apart
and devoted to the poor, was a house built by Enoch Reese, in the 13th
Ward; we bought that place, and the Bishop prepared it for the poor to
live in.  We appointed Dr. Doremus to take care of that house.  Could we
get any one to occupy it?  No, but "if you will build us a house close by
the Temple block we will live there, otherwise we will live with our
neighbours where we can, and be at liberty to go where we please; we will
not have your charity unless we dictate."  Is this not about so, Bishops? 
(Voices, "Yes.")  Unless a Bishop will suffer himself to be dictated by
those who need his aid, they will not have his charity.  This, I know, is
the extreme in such cases.

	What causes poverty among this people?  It is the want of discretion,
calculation, sound judgment.  I am paying men more or less by the day, and
where do you see those who get the least wages?  Seated back in the
barber's chair three or four times a week.  Next at a store to get a box
of blacking to put upon fifteen dollar boots, if they can get them.  They
must have four or five dollar handkerchiefs, as fine things for their
wives and children, and as much in quantity as any other man has.  At the
end of the year there are two or three hundred dollars on the debit side
of their accounts.  This is not good policy in them.  Suppose that they
want to go on a mission to California after gold, or to apostatize and go
away, they have debits upon them that will perplex them.  Other poor men
want a yoke of cattle, and must have the best yoke that can be had; they
want the best waggon that can be bought; and there goes two hundred
dollars more.  Then they must hire a man to drive the team, and the hired
man goes to the kanyon with the model team and waggon, and returns home
with one of the wheels on the geering, and a pole under the axletree. 
"Well, where is the wood?"  "Oh, it is yet in the kanyon."  "Where is the
new axe I bought?"  "I forgot it, it is up in the kanyon, I expect."  It
costs him ten dollars to get the waggon repaired, he pays his teamster a
dollar and fifty cents a day, has lost a new axe, and has no wood.

	With us the Bible is the first book, the Book of Mormon comes next,
then the revelations in the book of Doctrine and Covenants, then the
teachings of the living oracles, yet you will find, in the end, that the
living oracles of God have to take all things of heaven and earth, above
and beneath, and bring them together and devote them to God, and sanctify
and purify them and prepare them to enter into the kingdom of heaven. 
Gold and silver, houses and lands, and everything possessed by the Saints
will be purified and cleansed by the power of God, and prepared to enter
into the new Jerusalem when the earth is sanctified.  We have to learn to
handle all things which pertains to the heavens and earth in a way to
glorify God, and devote all to the building up of his kingdom, or we
cannot magnify our Holy Priesthood and calling.

	Some go away because they are poor, some because there is no
revelation, some because they have too much revelation, and others because
they have gathered gold and silver and enriched themselves by filching
from the Saints.  I say to all such, go, but first pay your debts, and
then steal nothing.

	May God bless the righteous.  Amen.

           DESIGN OF THE LORD IN GATHERING TOGETHER HIS PEOPLE.
                 WISDOM AND ECONOMY IN DOMESTIC AFFAIRS.
       Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle,
                   Great Salt Lake City, June 8, 1862.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	The miracles wrought in the days of Moses for the deliverance of the
children of Israel from Egyptian bondage, as they are recorded in the Old
Testament, appear to be wonderful displays of the power of God.  I need
not here rehearse the history of the children of Israel, with which the
majority of this congregation are well acquainted, but I wish to say that
if all instances where the power of God has been displayed through the
Elders of this Church were written, we should find that as great and
wonderful miracles have been wrought among this people as have been
wrought among any people in any age of the world, and yet this Church is
only in its infancy.  The children of Israel, it is written, were brought
out of Egypt with an high hand and an outstretched arm, to inherit a land
flowing with milk and honey; we have assembled in those distant valleys
for the trial of our faith.  They were delivered out of a dreadful
bondage, leaving none behind; we have willingly sold and otherwise left
our possessions, at the same time leaving friends, parents, companions,
&c., behind.  The distance to their land of promise was but a few miles
from the country of their bondage, while a great many of this people have
traversed over one-half of the globe to reach the valleys of Utah.

	Brother Goddard spoke this morning in relation to the words of the
Lord pertaining to the saving of paper rags.  His remarks were amusing,
and had he coupled some of the ancient revelations and sayings, recorded
as the Lord's, with his remarks concerning paper rags, those remarks would
have been still more amusing; such for instance, as "If a bird's nest
chance to be before thee in the way in any tree, or on the ground, whether
they be young ones or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young or upon the
eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young; but thou shalt in any
wise let the dam go, and take the young to thee; that it may be well with
thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days."  Again, "Thou shalt not
plough with an ox and an ass together."  Again, "Thou shall make thee
fringes upon the four quarters of thy vesture, wherewith thou coverest
thyself," &c., &c.  Seeing many such instances as these in the Bible, we
cannot marvel at a man's talking about paper in rags in a religious
meeting, and saying that it is the word of the Lord or at least the word
of wisdom that we should save our rags.

	Let us realize one fact in addition to the great miracles that have
ever been exhibited among God's people.  From the beginning of the world
to this time, when the Lord has gathered together a people to be a chosen
people to him, he has always begun to educate them by instructing them in
the little things pertaining to life, which he never does when his people
remain mixed with the wicked.  Before the Lord, through Moses, called upon
the children of Israel to leave Egypt, he had no such instructions for
them as we have quoted; he had nothing to say to them about governing
themselves, nor about driving out their enemies before them, nor taking a
course to sustain themselves:  in fact, they were far below this people in
the scale of independence and civilized life.  In righteousness this
people far excel the ancient Israelites; indeed, I would not wish to
compare the righteousness of the children of Israel with the righteousness
of the Latter-day Saints, for multitudes of the Latter-day Saints will
enter into the rest of the Lord, but only two persons out of the hosts of
Israel were permitted to do so.

	While the meek of the earth remain scattered among the wicked, the
Elders of this Church can go forth with the Old and New Testament in their
hands, and show what the Lord is going to do in the latter days, the great
miracles he will perform, the gathering of his people, the saving of his
Saints, the building up of Zion, the redeeming of the house of Israel, the
establishing of the New Jerusalem, the bringing back of the ten tribes,
and the consuming of their enemies before them, overthrowing kingdoms,
&c., &c., and this is proclaimed to both Saint and sinner. But when the
people of God are gathered out to one place, they are then taught the
so-called little things that pertain to every day life, which they cannot
be taught while they are in a scattered condition.  Many come here under a
mistaken impression; they think they are gathered to this place to be told
how people live in heaven, to receive a minute description of the
inhabitants of heaven, to be told how they associate together, whether
they live in cities, of what the houses are built, what kind of
architecture prevails there, how the cities are laid out, and how the
heaven of heavens is built, who dwells there, where the inhabitants came
from, their stature and complexion, whether God is a personage of
tabernacle or not, what means for locomotion he uses when he visits his
friends, what he eats for breakfast, how often he changes his clothes,
what style of clothing he wears, of what kind of material it is made,
whether they have winter and summer in heaven, seed time and harvest, &c.,
&c.  But no, my brethren, this is not what you have come here for; the
Lord has called the people together expressly to teach them the things
which pertain to this world and to this life, that they may know how to
honor the life he has given them here.

	The inhabitants of the earth are ignorant with regard to the design
of their being; they are as ignorant in this respect as the wild animals
that roam over the plains.  They may be very religious, but the religion
that is popular in the world now is entirely another thing from the ways
of the Lord.  Many of their traditions are good, and many of the people
possess much good moral religion; I may say, so far as morality goes, that
they are just as good as people can be, but they are not taught how to
govern and control themselves, they are not taught the worth of their
present life.  The whole drift, labor, and exertions of the priests of the
day among the people are to prepare them to die.  I never had such a
mission given to me, nor received such a calling from the heavens; I have
been called to preach life, and not death.  It is my business to teach
mankind how to live, how to honor their present existence, how to treat
their bodies so as to live to a good old age on the earth, and have power
to do good and not evil all their days, and be ready to enter into the
rest prepared for the Saints.

	Almost any Elder in this Church can preach the Gospel, if he is
humble before God; he can tell all that the wicked would need to hear from
the Old and New Testament.  Many of the Elders are scholars, and when they
preach we expect to hear almost a Bible and a half preached before they
get through; they can carry you through the historical portions, repeat
the sayings of the old prophets, dilate largely upon the doctrinal
portions of the New Testament, guage [sic] the morality of the present age
by repeating verbatim the moral lessons of the Savior, are at home among
the beasts of the Apocalypse and the prophetical heads and horns of
Daniel, are thoroughly posted in the time, times, and half-a-time, know
the contents of the vials, when they will be poured out, can deliniate
[sic] to a nicety the different parts of Daniel's metal image--in a word,
they are paragons in Bible lore, but if you ask them whether they know how
to raise potatoes to feed their wives and children, their answer is "No." 
Do you know how to raise grain for your bread?  "No."  Do you know how to
raise pigs for your meat?  "No."  Do you know how to raise chickens? 
"No."  Do you love to eat them?  "Yes."  Do you know how to raise calves? 
"No."  You may give them a cow and calf, and two years will not pass
before they have neither cow nor calf.  Do you know how to improve your
fruit?  "No."  And thus they live without trying to produce for themselves
these necessaries and comforts of life.  Finally, what do you know?  "Why,
we know that we must prepare to die."  There are people who have been in
this city twelve years, and have not planted in their gardens a single
fruit tree.  The Lord wishes us to know how to provide for ourselves all
things necessary for our comfort in bread, fruit, and clothing.  

	Sisters, do you know how to make woollen cloth, linen cloth, or
cotton cloth?  Probably a few of you do.  Almost any female can knit a
stocking, for this seems to be their employment when they sit down to
rest.  Children are taught to knit, but the majority never progress any
further than this in the art of manufacturing.  In addition to this,
needlework is generally understood by the female portion of the community,
but as a general thing what do they know about making cloth?  Very little. 
They need to be taught; yet they know as much about these matters as the
children of Israel did.  They also need to be taught, when their husbands
bring into the house a hundred weight of flour, not to throw it out of the
door; and when they make bread of it to make it light, palatable, and
healthy, instead of making cakes as indigestible as a whet-stone, that
when your husbands come from work and your children from school they may
have bread to eat that will sit easy of their stomachs.  Many husbands are
made sick and many children are sent to an untimely grave through eating
badly prepared food, the result of ignorance or carelessness.

	This is the place to become acquainted with this knowledge.  It is
for the husband to learn how to gather around his family the comforts of
life, how to control his passions and temper, and how to command the
respect, not only of his family but of all his brethren, sisters and
friends.  It is the calling of the wife and mother to know what to do with
everything that is brought into the house, laboring to make her home
desirable to her husband and children, making herself an Eve in the midst
of a little paradise of her own creating, securing her husband's love and
confidence, and tying her offspring to herself, with a love that is
stronger than death, for an everlasting inheritance.  There is a saying
that a wife so disposed can throw out of the window with a tea-spoon more
than her husband can throw into the door with a shovel.  I am sorry to say
that this is too much the case.  A good housewife disposes of her cooking
utensils, dusters, towels, floorcloths, barrels, buckets, &c., in a neat,
cleanly, and labor saving manner.  A good mechanic has a place for every
tool, and when he has done using a tool it is returned to its place as by
magic, without any apparent effort.  I have watched our mechanics here,
and, take them first and last, their ways, if not strewed to strangers,
are strewed to nonsense.  A good farmer takes care of his implements of
husbandry.  Instead of leaving them scattered all over the farm, they are
carefully gathered together, properly cleaned and greased to defend them
from rust, and put in a safe place until they are wanted.

	There are very few of our farmers that know how to prepare the ground
and plant the seed in a way to secure a ready germination and quick
growth.  I told my farmers this spring how to prepare the ground for
sugar-cane, and to plant the seed three-fourths of an inch deep.  I waited
ten days for the plants to show themselves, when I found the seed was put
away six inches below the surface, and I thought well laid away from the
frost of the winter of 1862-3.  It is now beginning to show itself, five
weeks since it was planted.

	I would that people knew more than they do about these important
matters, but we are where we can be taught.  Will they people be taught? 
Will they cheerfully receive instruction and profit by it?  I hire the
best gardeners I can find, and they are ignorant of their business; they
scarcely know one apple from another or one fruit tree from another.  If I
spend five hundred dollars to have a strawberry-bed made, I may perhaps
get a quart or two of the fruit; I may safely say that I shall not receive
enough fruit to half cover the outlay.  I can instruct any man how to
improve seedling fruit, and have it as good as the imported kinds.  The
best fruit that ever grew will deteriorate under bad management and
neglect.  I advise farmers and gardeners to understand their business and
make it profitable; also to mechanics would I give the same advice.  And I
would advise the sisters not only to save their paper rags, but to learn
how to properly and profitably dispose of new cloth when they get it.

	Cleanliness and neatness of person are desirable and good to see, but
this may be carried to an extreme that is both tiresome and expensive;
there is a class that is more nice than wise.  Nothing less than linen
pocket-handkerchiefs by the dozen will answer for some of our ladies. 
"Husband, don't get me less than three dozen handkerchiefs, for I must
have from three to half-a-dozen a-day, it is so nice to be clean."  When
they have used a handkerchief twice or three times, it is thrown into the
wash-tub to be rubbed to pieces and wasted away.  In this way you get no
good of your money; the article is not worn out in service, but it is
washed out.  Then, when you hang and pin your clothes on the clothesline,
they are left to be whipped to pieces in high wind, and are more used up
in one operation of this kind than if they had been worn three months.  It
is useless for husbands to suggest to them the expediency of taking the
clothes in, for they will let them remain notwithstanding, and be worn
out.  Go into the kitchens of these very nice, neat wives who can nurse a
pocket-handkerchief to a charm and apply it to their nasal protuberances
with such refined grace, and you hear Sally asking Sue for the dishcloth. 
"Where is the dishcloth?"  It is found stuffed into a mouse-hole, or Jim
has just come in from the kanyon and is washing his feet with it.  Then
there is an outcry for the knife they cut meat with.  "Where is the
butcher knife?"  Billy has had it out of doors, and has left it in a
neighboring ditch.  They may have bread and meat, a bread knife and a meat
knife, but neither of these articles has a recognized home in the house,
and you are just as likely to find them in one place as another.  "Where
is the bag of flour?"  "I don't know; I think I saw it under the stairs
this morning when I was rummaging about."  It is at last found stuck in a
dirty corner, with dirty clothes thrown over it, and perforated with
mouse-holes.  The bread pan is lost; the rolling-pin and board is found it
has been converted into a checker-board, and then used in the
chicken-coop; and when the broom is wanted little Jack is astride of it in
the street, deliberately walking through a mud hole.  Instead of their
houses being houses where order and economy reign, confusion, disorder,
and waste prevail.

	Some of our professed good housekeepers, in my opinion, come far
short of really deserving that character, at least I should think so, were
I permitted to see them cook breakfast.  There are potatoes to boil, bread
to bake, meat to cook, and fruit to stew.  Perhaps the first thing that is
done is to put the tea to steeping, then fry the meat, then prepare the
potatoes for boiling, and about the time the potatoes are done the bread
must be mixed; while the bread is baking the tea is spoiling, the meat and
potatoes are getting cold and unfit to eat; when the bread is ready, as
likely as not the fruit is forgotten, and a great effort has to be made to
prepare the fruit; much bustle, confusion, labor, and time have been
expended to get the food ready, and when it is served up the tea is not
worth drinking, the potatoes are tough, watery, and cold, the meat is dry,
hard, and unpalatable, the biscuits are baked too much on the outside and
not enough in the inside, while the fruit is only half cooked; and taking
it altogether, it would be better for the stomach to reject such a meal of
victuals, if there existed a prospect of dining upon a more wholesome and
better prepared meal at noon.

	We have been gathered together in these valleys to be taught.  We
must first learn to control ourselves before we can think to control our
fellow creatures.  The Lord has given extensive lines of operation to both
Saint and sinner,but when he gathers his family he expects them to first
master these so-called little things; he wishes us to learn to live with
each other, and to surround ourselves with all the common necessaries and
comforts of prepared to receive the greater blessings, for if we had them
now we should not know what to do with them.  It is our business to live,
to learn how to preserve our lives, and labor to make the earth into a
Garden of Eden; unless we do this, we are unworthy to possess eternal
life.  "And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant, because thou hast
been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities."  He
that is not faithful in the things of this world, who will commit unto him
the things which pertain to eternity?

	All things belong to the Lord, and we belong to the Lord, and if we
are faithful until we have passed the ordeal and proved ourselves worthy
before the heaves to receive our crowns, then we shall receive a deed of
that which the Lord gives to us.  Until then, that which we hold we hold
only as stewards for the Lord.  It is our privilege to grow and increase
continually, to receive knowledge upon knowledge, and prepare to enter
upon the higher duties of eternal life.  We thus proceed from one step to
another until we merge into immortality.  We do not become another kind of
beings in passing through the resurrection, but we are more refined
through the application of the laws of the Gospel to our lives and passing
through the grave.  The grave will take away every deformity from the
mortal organisms of the faithful, and they will be perfect as our Father
in heaven is perfect.

	We have now space to prove ourselves worthy to receive the glory that
God has in store for the faithful, but we have to learn the little things
first.  We are brought here expressly, in the first place, to raise
potatoes, grain, fruit, wool, flax, and every other necessary and mortal
comfort we can produce in this climate.  Some of our Elders will preach
until they preach the people blind, and will die in their ignorance and go
to hell, unless they learn what their lives are worth and how to preserve
them.  I am speaking to the Saints.  If we do not learn what God has
brought us here, and the nature of the missions he has given us, we may
preach the Bible until we are blind and old as Methusela, and die and be
damned at last.  It is our duty to learn how to govern ourselves, and how
to conduct ourselves pleasingly in the sight of heaven towards our
friends, families, and neighbors, building up cities and towns, opening
farms, planting vineyards and orchards, and improving our country, until
finally, we shall be ready to rule.

	May God bless the faithful, and overthrow the wicked and ungodly, and
establish his kingdom no more to be thrown down is my daily prayer.  Amen.



       THE LOVE OF TRUTH AND RIGHTEOUSNESS IMPLANTED IN THE NATURAL
                MAN--KINDNESS AND FIRMNESS IN GOVERNMENTS.
           Remarks made by President Brigham Young, Tabernacle,
                   Great Salt Lake City, June 15, 1862.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	I love to speak to the Saints, when I am blessed with ability to
speak in a manner to please myself.  I have proved that when I can become
fully satisfied with my own actions, and am well pleased with myself, then
I please and satisfy my neighbours.  People ought always to be pleased
with themselves when they do the best they can.

	It is fully proved in all the revelations that God has ever given to
mankind that they naturally love and admire righteousness, justice and
truth more than they do evil.  It is, however, universally received by
professors of religion as a Scriptural doctrine that man is naturally
opposed to God.  This is not so.  Paul says, in his Epistle to the
Corinthians, "But the natural man receiveth not the things of God," but I
say it is the unnatural "man that receiveth not the things of God."  Paul,
in another place, says, "if our Gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are
lost:  in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which
believe not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, who is the
image of God, should shine unto them."  That which was, is, and will
continue to endure is more natural than that which will pass away and be
no more.  The natural man is of God.  We are the natural parents, and
spiritually we are the natural children of the Father of light and natural
heirs to his kingdom; and when we do an evil, we do it in opposition to
the promptings of the Spirit of Truth that is within us.  Man, the noblest
work of God, was in his creation designed for an endless duration, for
which the love of all good was incorporated in his nature.  It was never
designed that he should naturally do and love evil.

	When our first parents fell from their paradisaical [sic] state, they
were brought in contact with influences and powers of evil that are
unnatural and stand in opposition to an endless life.  So far as mankind
yield to these influences, they are so far removed from a natural to an
unnatural state--from life to death.  Adam and Eve did not sin because it
was in their nature to love sin, but, as Paul says in his Epistle to
Timothy, "Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the
transgression.  Notwithstanding, she shall be saved in child bearing, if
they continue in faith, and charity, and holiness, with sobriety."  The
enemy of all righteousness deceived the woman, and Adam went with her that
man might be, and that she might be saved in child-bearing.

	I hold that it is easier to do right than wrong, and that it gives
more real satisfaction, more sterling happiness, and more self-respect to
any person to do a good deed than to do an evil deed.  "Man is born unto
trouble as the sparks fly upward," and that in consequence of sin's being
in the world.

	Brother G. D. Watt has exhorted us to let truth be the standard to
all our sayings and actions.  While he was so fervent for the truth I
thought of the harlot Rahab who, by faith, perished not with them that
believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.  It appears that
this ancient harlot told the king of Jericho that the two spies went out
of the city when it was dark, about the time of the shutting of the gate,
while at the same time she had hid them on the roof of her house under
some stalks of flax.  This is an instance where a slight departure from
the truth produced more real good than a strict observance of the facts in
the case would have done, for by screening the two spies from the custody
of the King of Jericho the harlot saved herself and her father's house. 
We call simple facts, truth; but the truth must be held in righteousness. 
"Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall
know them? for the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in
them, but the transgressors shall fall therein."  It is more natural for a
person to tell the truth than to lie.  All the works of God are founded in
truth, and that truth must be held in righteousness.

	You remember that a few weeks ago the Elders of Israel were advised
to practice what they preach, and not do a thousand things they are glad
the people do not know.  There are many acts of some of the best of
mankind that they are thankful are not known in the streets and in their
families.  I would not be willing to say that this is the case with all
men, or that it is so in the midst of this people, because the best of
this people do as well as they know how, and live lives they need not be
ashamed of before God and the hosts of heaven and hell.  A great many
wrongs are committed more from mistake and ignorance than design; and in
judging of wrongs done it is more just to judge according to design than
according to the exterior appearance or the sight of the eye.

	It is much easier to live the life of a Saint than to live the life
of a sinner.  There is more real good obtained and more real profit gained
in being honest and in telling the truth as it is, than in taking the
opposite course.  If you are selling an animal and it is a little faulty,
deceive not the purchaser to get from him more than the animal is worth,
but reveal its faults and ailings, and deal upon upright principles.  I
will explain this by relating a circumstance.  When I was quite young, a
man by the name of Hezekiah Wales, a great horse-jockey, traded upon this
principle.  He had a horse that seemed to be the embodiment of every wrong
way.  A traveller rode up on a worn-out animal and must have that very
horse, and would exchange in the trade the one he was riding.  Mr. Wales
wanted five dollars and the worn-out horse for his animal.  The traveller
thought this was rather too much, and asked Mr. Wales what his horse was
good for:  "Will he work in harness?"  "No."  "Is he a good riding horse?" 
"No."  "Can he do anything at all?"  "Yes; if he has a mind to?"  "Is he
worth anything?"  "No, not a cent."  The traveller could not be beat off,
and made the exhange [sic].  This circumstance also illustrates a leading
trait in the character of man, he will not be turned aside from his
purpose, if it is within his power to accomplish it.  Should he undertake
to travel to the south, east, west, or north, a recital of all the dangers
that lie in his path will not turn him from his purpose, he will follow
the bent of his own inclination, should he lose his life in so doing. 
This is human.

	I will take the liberty of differing with many of my brethren with
regard to how we should conduct ourselves towards our wives.  I am a great
lover of good women.  I understand their nature, the design of their
being, and their worth.  I have been acquainted with hundreds of men,
before I came into this Church, who bellieved [sic] that, if they did not
dictate every five dollars or fifty cents that they had in their pockets,
their wives were ruling over them.  On this point I shall differ with all
who differ with me.  If I have five dollars and I can spare it, and my
wife wants it, I tell her she is welcome to it.  What do you want to get
with it, wife?  "Oh, something that pleases me."  I do not believe in
making my authority as a husband or a father known by brute force; but by
a superior intelligence--by showing them that I cam capable of teaching
them.  If I have a wife that wants to be humoured with five dollars, yes,
take it; I would humour her.  If I commit wrong towards my family, it is
because I let them use what they should not, or that which I might bestow
upon the poor.  I may humour them too much.  I will humour a child with
everything I consistently can.  Does not God, in his providences, bear and
forbear with us in our weaknesses and sins?  How many times shall I
forgive a brother, and bear with weaknesses in him that are common to all
men?  So long as he does not intend to commit wilful sin.

	When our little children handle things that are in their way, the
knives, forks, pins, needles, anything, and scatter, waste, and lose them,
and these little faults are committed every few minutes throughout the
day, shall we forgive the children or whip them?  We will always forgive
them until they are taught better, and learn to know good from evil, right
from wrong.  Our Father in heaven deals with us his children upon this
principle.  Do I believe in humouring too far?  No.  My Priesthood and
calling as a minister of salvation must be honoured; and if the Lord has
placed me to be the head of a family, let me be so in all humility and
patience, not as a tyrannical ruler, but as a faithful companion, an
indulgent and affectionate father, a thoughtful and unassuming superior;
let me be honoured in my station through faithful diligence, and be fully
capable, by the aid of God's Spirit, of filling my office in a way to
effect the salvation of all who are committed to my charge.

	When I first married I was told that my wife would rule over me,
because I was too indulgent; I do not think that she did.  Wife, when you
spin you may set the wheel where you please; and when I come in to sleep
if you have moved the bed from the northeast corner of the room to the
southeast corner it is all right, if you are pleased.  This course is much
more manly than to quarrel with her because she has moved the bed without
your permission, or has put the shovel and the tongs on the left instead
of on the right hand side of the fire place, at the same time giving her
to understand that you are the master of the house.  But wife, I have made
you a good water bench, and a sink, and under the sink have made a place
for the swill pail, and I would like to have you to keep the pails in
their respective places.  If you will put the swill pail where the water
pail should be, I must go somewhere else to drink water, and not run the
risk of drinking out of the swill pail in the night.  I can show you wife,
where to put everything in your house.  If she wants so many tucks in her
dress, yes, put in as many as you want, for you have to spin and weave the
cloth; make the dress as you please, that is your business; and if I have
five dollars that is not otherwise appropriated you are welcome to it. 
But if I have five dollars in my pocket that I owe and have promised to
pay to-morrow morning, it must be paid.

	If a woman can rule a man and he not know it, praise to that woman. 
They are few who know well the office of a woman from that of a man. 
Imbecility is marked upon the people of the present age.  All who have
their eyes open to see and their minds enlightened to understand things as
they are, will subscribe readily to this declaration.  When the servants
of God in any age have consented to follow a woman for a leader, either in
a public or a family capacity, they have sunk beneath the standard their
organization has fitted them for; when a people of God submit to that,
their Priesthood is taken from them, and they become as any other people.

	I shall humor the wife as far as I can consistently; and if you have
any crying to do, wife, you can do that along with the children, for I
have none of that kind of business to do.  Let our wives be the weaker
vessels, and the men be men, and show the women by their superior ability
that God gives husbands wisdom and ability to lead their wives into his
presence.  I want the brethren and sisters to kindly manage their affairs
in-doors and out, taking good care of that which belongs to them, and
being contented in their lots and stations.

	God bless the righteous, and I do not care how soon the wicked are
overthrown.  Amen.

       CONTRAST BETWEEN THE RELIGION OF JESUS CHRIST AS ENJOYED BY
              THE SAINTS AND THAT OF PROFESSED CHRISTIANITY.
        Remarks by President Brigham Young, Bowery, July 6, 1862.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	The religion of Jesus Christ gives light for darkness.  The Gospel we
have received is sent "to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty
to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to
proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our
God, to comfort all that mourn, to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion,
to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the
garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called
trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be
glorified."  The life of a Christian is said to be full of pain,
tribulation, sorrow, and excruciating torments; of fightings without and
fears within, of anxieties, despair, gloominess, and mourning.  His path
is supposed to be spread with gins, pitfalls, and uncertainties, but this
is a mistake, for "the path of the just is as the shining light, that
shineth more and more unto the perfect day," while the wicked is snared by
the transgression of his lips, but the just shall come out of trouble."

	The faith I have embraced has given me light for darkness, ease for
pain, joy and gladness for sorrow and mourning, certainty for uncertainty,
hope for despair.  We talk about having grace to endure, and pray, "O
Lord, give me grace to endure the pains I receive in this thorny path that
leads to heaven, the scoffs and sneers of this unfriendly world, that I
may bear the name of Jesus honourably while I live."  It is right to pray
for grace, but let me shape this prayer a little differently, and ask God
my heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, to open the eyes of my
understanding, and teach me the truth as it is, then shall I see that I am
walking in the light and not in darkness.  "Then spake Jesus again unto
them, saying, I am the light of the world:  he that followeth me shall not
walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.  The true people of
God are far removed from that pain which the sinner and the ungodly
constantly endure.  They are removed from it as a people politically, and
as families, and as individuals.  Compare, for instance, the colonial
history of the United States with the history of the settling of the wild
and desolate regions of Utah by the Latter-day Saints, and you will learn
that the sufferings of the first settlers here from Indian outrages and
other causes, will scarcely supply enough for a comparison.  And whole
companies of emigrants to California and Oregon have been massacred, their
flesh given to wild animals, and their bones left to bleach upon the
plains.  Almost fifteen years ago one hundred and forty-six souls started
from Winter Quarters (now Florence) to settle in this Valley.  We arrived
here in safety, stayed thirty days, returned the same season, and not a
single person was lost by the way.  If any of our company was taken sick,
there were a hundred prayers ascending to God for the recovery of that
sick person.  How is it with gold-hunters?  Do they pray for their sick,
and administer to them by the laying on of hands?  No, they do not believe
in any such thing, but the sick suffer and die.  When any among us were
taken sick we laid hands upon them and they were healed.  I was told, on
one occasion, by one of the camp, that Br. Taft had the mountain fever and
could not live till morning; we dipped him seven times in the river, and
the next day he was comparatively well.

	Oh! what a great sorrow it is to be a Saint.  How mournful the
thought, when we contemplate the contrast between the Saint and the
sinner?  We have ease for pain, comfortable health for sickness, joy for
mourning and light for darkness.  "This is all very good," says one, "but
your religion is so unpopular in the world."  There is not another
religion so popular as this in the courts of heaven.  Without the garb of
a Saint you cannot be admitted to the presence of the Father, and to
Jesus, the Mediator between God and man.  No religion is popular there but
the religion of the Bible.  Episcopalianism, Methodism, Quakerism,
Catholicism, Presbyterianism, and all their collateral branches are
unpopular in the celestial kingdom of God, while the religion of Adam,
Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the patriarchs and prophets, Jesus and
his Apostles, is the only acknowledged and popular system of religion with
the sanctified ones in the presence of the Father and the Son.  "But,"
says a Presbyterian, "Abraham was a polygamist."  He was.  "And you say
that his religion is popular in heaven."  It is the only religion
acknowledged there.  I have not time now to dwell upon all the points of
Abraham's faith, but he did believe in a plurality of wives, and was a
practical polygamist.  And Paul says, "and if ye be Christ's then are ye
Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."  Did Abraham believe
in Presbyterianism?  Not much.  Did he believe in Quakerism?  Not much. 
Each of the different sects of religion has some truth, and so far as they
have the truth so far did Abraham believe.  But is the religion of any one
of the sects, as a whole, the religion of heaven?  It is not.  We all
desire to join the popular party.  Light, truth, and intelligence are the
side that is popular with the heavens, and the side that will rule,
govern, and control the nations.  If we join that society we then all
become popular with the popular party.  Some people will render themselves
ridiculously conspicuous on purpose to become popular.  Their desire for
popularity or notoriety is so great that they will not hesitate to do a
mean act to gain it.  The great majority want to be on the strongest,
wealthiest, and most popular side, and to be connected with that family
which is possessed of immense wealth, influence, and power.  Many of my
brethren of the Elders of Israel rise up here to speak to the people, and
they cannot give utterance to their ideas.  What is the matter?  They are
fearful of making a slight mistake in their language, which they think
would make them unpopular.  I wish they were as I am in this respect, and
did not care what people may think or say, but pour out what the Holy
Ghost shall give them to say, regardless of consequences.  We all want to
be on the side that will produce the most safety, the most joy, and the
most sterling happiness.  I can say, without fear of successful
contradiction that the man or woman who believes that the religion of
Jesus leads into a thorny path, does not understand nor enjoy the true
religion of heaven.

	We can say to all the world that the persecution which the Latter-day
Saints have received, and the misery they may have suffered in consequence
thereof, will not begin to compare with the misery and real suffering they
are now receiving in the United States in consequence of war.  In Missouri
our bleeding feet stained the prairies, but now they are sheeding [sic]
each others blood to curdle and bake in the sun, or to be licked up by
dogs and wild animals, while their flesh is given to vultures and wolves. 
We were invited to sign away our property to pay the expenses of our
persecutors, and we were permitted, as a body, to take away as much of our
moveable property as we could; but now the Secessionists are robbed and
pillaged without mercy, their houses are burned over their heads, their
barns are destroyed, their food and clothing are taken, and the women and
children are left without anything to eat, drink, or wear, while their
husbands, fathers, and brothers are either killed or taken prisoners.  In
the same manner the Secession party fall upon the Federals or Union-men,
and whip them, rob them, and hang them up at their own doors and in the
presence of their families.  Then comes a third party who are called
May-walkers or Jayhawkers, but more properly they are bucanneers or
land-pirates, and they rob everybody that is left after the Union and
Secession parties have done their worst.  Have we ever suffered like that? 
I think not.  When they come across a small settlement of secessionists
they plunder and destroy it, and when they come across a hamlet of
Unionists they serve it in the same manner.  Did the Latter-day Saints
ever see such times?  They never did.  They never suffered anything in
comparison to what the people in many of the States are now suffering.

	It is right the brethren and sisters should have grace to sustain
them in doing right, and it is right they should pray for it, but I would
rather they possessed good sound common sense to begin with, and know what
to do with the grace of God when they received it.

	I never try any other way to please people only by pleasing myself
and my God.  If I can please God I can please myself; then I care very
little whether anybody else is pleased or not, because if they are pleased
with God and godliness they will be pleased with me.  When Elders preach
or lecture among the Saints or to the world, if they do so to satisfy
themselves they have done well.  When you have pleased yourselves it is
very probable that you have pleased human beings like yourselves.

	When journeying the Saints organize as perfectly as they can for safe
and comfortable travelling.  We appoint one man to this duty, another to
that, and every man attends to his duty.  If a waggon is broken the
captain at once arranges to have it put into travelling order.  If there
is a sick person in the camp, he either goes himself or details somebody
to administer to the sick by anointing with oil, laying on of hands, and
prayer.  Perhaps a sister is fainting by the way; she is worn out; the
journey is too much for her.  The captain procures for her such
nourishment as can be found in camp, to give her strength and ability to
endure the further fatigues of the journey; doing everything he can to
restore the sick to sound health, and giving them all possible comfort and
aid.  Is there the same care and fellow feeling manifested in the trains
of emigrants who are passing over the country in search of gold?  Each
person is seeking to better his condition, and they have no interest that
extends further than self.  It is with them as with the man that prayed,
"O Lord, bless me, my wife, my son John and his wife, we four, no more. 
Amen."  They are for themselves, and not for the kingdom of God.  They
know that the world is going to destruction.  They see the whole world in
confusion--one party seeking to destroy another in the vain hope of
building themselves up.  The present Government of the United States is
self-destroying, as they are now proving.

	If there is one class of persons on earth who need comfort more than
another, it is both the poor and rich who will not serve God.  Those who
serve him are comforted all the day long; they walk in the light of his
salvation, dwell under the smiles of his countenance, and the works of
their hands are abundantly prospered.  Still some apostatize from all this
light--from this great salvation--to get gold.  The reason of this is not
because they have to suffer so much for their religion, but because they
have not enough good common sense.  What is the grace of God?  Who can
define it?  You say it is the favour of God.  If you had good common
sense, you never would be out of his favour.  He is the Father of our
spirits--the Great Ruler of the Universe.  If we had enough common sense
to understand things as they are, we certainly would choose to serve him,
and be on the strongest side.

	Do we intend to make our final abode in hell, or in heaven?  If we
mean to be in heaven we must become faithful Latter-day Saints; if in
hell, we may be anything we please, no matter what.  I profess to be a
Latter-day Saint.  I believe that the Old and New Testaments were given by
the inspiration of God, and since much adulterated by uninspired
translators, which makes it necessary for one to have the Spirit of
revelation from God to read and understand them.  I believe the doctrine
that the Lord taught to Adam in the garden, and that Adam taught to his
children, that Enoch taught to his city three hundred and sixty-five
years, preparing a people to go into the presence of God the Father.  I
believe the doctrine taught by Noah, who was instructed of God to build an
ark to save himself and family from destruction in the great flood.  I
believe the doctrine Abraham taught, that Isaac, Jacob and the Patriarchs
taught.  I believe all the doctrine Moses taught to be the word of the
Lord.  I believe in the law of carnal commandments as he did; it was for
them, and not for us.  It was a yoke placed upon their necks because of
their disobedience to the higher law of the Gospel.  Jesus Christ removed
that yoke, and told them to follow the law of the Gospel.  Some Christians
throw away all the Old Testament except some portions of the Prophets; but
Moses had the Gospel; Jethro had the Gospel, and the house of Jacob were
urged to receive it, but they would not; so the Lord told Moses to give
them a law of carnal commandments that would be grievous for them to bear.

	The people generally would not have the revelations which the Lord
delivered to Joseph Smith, unless he would give them a law of carnal
commandments like that which he gave to the children of Israel, and how
long was it before they were in conversation with the spirit world, being
led to destruction by strong delusion which God sent them, because they
would not receive the truth?  "And when they say unto you, Seek unto them
that have familar [sic] spirits, and and [sic] unto wizards that peep, and
that mutter; should not a people seek unto their God?"  They would not
receive revelations from God, but, as they were told, God suffered them to
have revelations that they would believe, that they might believe lies and
be damned.  Moses tried to give the children of Israel the law of the
Gospel, but they would not receive it.  The Gospel was revealed in those
days, as much as in the days of Christ and his Apostles.  They had the
Melchisedec Priesthood, and were entitled to all the promises and
blessings then as in the days of the Apostles.

	When Jesus came to preach the will of his Father, he came to his own,
but they would not receive him.  He said to them, "I speak that which I
have seen with my Father; and ye do that which ye have seen with your
Father.  They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father.  Jesus
saith unto them, if ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of
Abraham.  But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth,
which I have heard of God; this did not Abraham."  The Jews wanted to make
laws to guide God and his children.  They believed many of the doctrines
that Abraham believed and taught.  They practised polygamy, as did
Abraham, the Patriarchs, Moses, David, and the Prophets down to the days
of the Apostles.

	Monogamy, or restrictions by law to one wife, is no part of the
economy of Heaven among men.  Such a system was commenced by the founders
of the Roman empire.  That empire was founded on the banks of the Tiber by
wandering brigands.  When these robbers founded the city of Rome, it was
evident to them that their success in attaining a balance of power with
their neighbours, depended upon introducing females into their body
politic, so they stole them from the Sabines, who were near neighbours. 
The scarcity of women gave existence to laws restricting one wife to one
man.  Rome became the mistress of the world, and introduced this order of
monogamy wherever her sway was acknowledged.  Thus this monogamic order of
marriage, so esteemed by modern Christians as a holy sacrament and divine
institution, is nothing but a system established by a set of robbers.

	The Congress of the United States have lately passed a law to punish
polygamy in the Territories of the United States and in other places over
which they have exclusive jurisdiction.  In doing this, they have
undertaken to dictate the Almighty in his revelations to his people, and
those who handle edged tools, unless they are skillful, are apt to cut
their fingers; and those who hand out insult to the Great I Am, in the
end, are apt to get more than they have spoken for.

	Why do we believe in and practise polygamy?  Because the Lord
introduced it to his servants in a revelation given to Joseph Smith, and
the Lord's servants have always practiced it.  "And is that religion
popular in heaven?"  It is the only popular religion there, for this is
the religion of Abraham, and, unless we do the works of Abraham, we are
not Abraham's seed and heirs according to promise.  We believe in Jesus
Christ the Mediator of the new covenant, who has introduced the Gospel for
the benefit of the human family, to happify, exalt and glorify them in the
presence of the Father, not to make them miserable, not to torture them,
nor cause them to walk in the gloomy path of grief all their days.  We
rejoice in this Gospel, it is all glory, hallelujah, peace and comfort. 
We believe in following the admonitions and instructions of the ancient
Prophets and Apostles, and of all good men in this our day.

	I do not make these remarks to cast reflections upon any being, but
we should strive to know the mind and will of God and to be filled with
his Spirit.  I wish the Saints to be filled with the Spirit of
understanding; and I never want to again hear a Saint say, "Oh, how we
suffer for the religion of Jesus!  We suffer more than the wicked, while
at the same time, we are better clad, better fed and better looking, and
our hearts are filled with joy, while the hearts of the wicked are filled
with sorrow and mourning.  All the cheerfulness, gladness, comfort,
exuberance of spirit, joy, bliss peace and brightness of expression that
can be bestowed upon individuals are possessed and enjoyed by the
sanctified in heaven, and if we are prepared by the principles of eternal
life, the same halo will shine through our countenance and make our faces
bright with glory.

	Whatever leads to vanity, lightness, and worldly-mindedness is not
the joy of heavenly beings, but the nonsense of the wicked world.  There
are men in this kingdom who cannot discriminate between that which is of
God and that which is not of him, and who are at a loss to know how far to
go and not sin.  The very moment you have a doubt upon your mind that what
you did is not exactly right, then stop and pursue that course which you
know is right, and in which you can enjoy the clear, warm, cheering,
peaceful influence which cometh from God as an earnest that you are doing
right, then shall you be blessed in all your works here below, and fill up
your days in usefulness.  I heard a man say, the other day, who is in the
evening of his days, that if he had never done much good, he had never
done any evil that he knew of.  God will receive all such in the heavens,
when they put off this mortality.

	I fell to bless and not curse.  Had I the power I would rather avert
an evil that I saw coming upon any individual or people, and see them lead
into the path of blessings, though it should cause my words to fail.

	May God bless you.  Amen.



                           THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
         Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery,
                   Great Salt Lake City, July 13, 1862.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	I will use, for the foundation of my remarks, words found in Rev.
11th chap., 15th verse--"And the seventh angel sounded, and there were
great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the
kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and
ever."

	How near to this text I shall preach, I know not; there is enough in
it to answer my purpose, and it is one upon which a great deal can be
said.

	The plan of salvation cannot be told in one discourse, nor in one
day, one month, or one year, for it is from everlasting to everlasting,
like the Priesthood of the Son of God, without beginning of days or end of
life.  The Gospel we declare unto you leads to eternal life, and this
kingdom is the kingdom of God which he has promised, by the mouths of his
Prophets, that he would set up in the last days--a kingdom that must
triumph over all the ills that afflict the family of man, and usher in
everlasting righteousness.

	Man has wandered far from his Maker--far from the path of rectitude
his Heavenly Father has marked out for his feet--and is walking in a way
strewn with dangers; he has left the true light, and is walking in
darkness; rejected the wisdom and intelligence that is from Heaven, and
has become benighted in ignorance and unbelief, neither knowing God, nor
the object of his own existence upon the earth.  This darkness and
ignorance must be dispelled by the preaching of the Gospel, and as many as
will believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and walk in all the ordinances of
God blameless, will be numbered with his Saints and be gathered into his
kingdom, to be further taught the principles of eternal life.

	The kingdom of God in the latter days must triumph upon all the
earth, subdue every species of sin, and destroy every source of sorrow to
which down-trodden humanity has been subject.  The work of making the
kingdoms of the world the kingdom of God and his Christ has commenced, and
all the inhabitants of the earth, without exception, will yet acknowledge
Jesus to be the Christ, to the glory of God the Father.  All mankind are
individually interested in this Latter-day Work, for all have a future,
whether glorious or inglorious.

	Man is created for a glorious purpose--for a life that is eternal.  A
great deal is comprehended in the two words "eternal life;" they entirely
exclude death.  We have no death to preach, for we should never practice
the principles of death, but pursue the path that leads to the
continuation of the lives.  The world will be revolutionized by the
preach- [sic] of the Gospel and the power of the Priesthood, and this work
we are called to do.  In its progress every foolish and unprofitable
custom, every unholy passion, every foolish notion in politics and
religion, every unjust and oppressive law, and whatever else that is
oppressive to man, and that would impede his onward progress to the
perfection of the Holy Ones in eternity, will be removed until everlasting
righteousness prevails over the whole earth.  Such was the design of the
preaching of the Gospel in the days of the Apostles.

	It is written in the book of the Acts of the Apostles, "And when they
found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of
the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down, are come
hither also," [sic-punc]  Using the same figure, the Elders of the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are called to right up the world.  To
turn it over is a gigantic work, but it will be done, for both the
righteous on earth, and the sanctified in heaven are working at it, and
all power both in heaven and on earth is given to the Saviour by his
Father.  It is our business to fully comprehend the sayings and doings of
the Saviour in his mission on the earth, which is life to all who believe
and endure to the end in the pursuit of life eternal.

	A life time is too short to tell the extent of the mission of the
Saviour to the human family, but I will venture to use one of his sayings,
in connection with what I have already quoted from the book of
Revelations.  When he was arraigned before Pilate to be tried for his
life, he said to Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this world:  if my kingdom
were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be
delivered to the Jews:  but now is my kingdom not from hence."  Connect
this saying with "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called
the children of God," and we can understand how the kingdom of Christ is
not of this world, because it is established in peace, unlike all worldly
kingdoms which are established in war.  The motto of his kingdom is "Peace
on earth and good will towards men," and hence not after the order of
worldly kingdoms.

	It was remarked this morning that the Book of Mormon in no case
contradicts the Bible.  It has many words like those in the Bible, and as
a whole is a strong witness to the Bible.  Revelations, when they have
passed from God to man, and from man into his written and printed
language, cannot be said to be entirely perfect, though they may be as
perfect as possible under the circumstances; they are perfect enough to
answer the purposes of Heaven at this time.

	The saying, "My kingdom is not of this world," and the saying, "The
kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of God and his Christ,"
at the first glance would appear palpable contradictions; but when they
are read with their proper connections and by a person whose mind is
enlightened by the power of the Holy Ghost, instead of contradiction
between them there is seen to exist a perfect harmony.  Joseph Smith, the
Prophet of the last days, had a happy faculty of reducing the things of
heaven to the capacity of persons of common understanding, often in a
single sentence throwing a flood of light into the gloom of ages.  He had
power to draw the spirits of the people who listened to him to his
standard, where they communed with heavenly objects and heavenly
principles, connecting the heavenly and the earthly together--in one
blending flood of heavenly intelligence.  When the mind is thus lit up
with the Spirit of revelation, it is clearly discerned that the heavens
and the earth are in close proximity--that time and eternity are one.  We
can then understand that the things of God are things which pertain to his
children, and that the expression, form and sympathies of his earthly
children pertain to their Great Father and Creator.

	It has been thought by some that the kingdom Jesus established on the
earth, when he was here in the flesh, was not the kingdom Daniel saw. 
Pardon me, if I differ from this view and say that it was the very kingdom
that Daniel saw, but it was not then the time to establish it in its
fullness, it was not then the time for the kingdom of God to subdue all
other kingdoms as it would in the latter days.

	Jesus came to establish his spiritual kingdom, or to introduce a code
of morals that would exalt the spirits of the people to godliness and to
God, that they might thereby secure to themselves a glorious resurrection
and a title to reign on the earth when the kingdoms of this world should
become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ.  He also came to introduce
himself as the Saviour of the world, to shed his blood upon the altar of
atonement, and open up the way of life to all believers.  When Jesus came
to his own they received him not, but said, "This is the heir, let us kill
him and seize on his inheritance;" and they caught him and cast him out of
the vineyard, and slew him.  Had the Jews received him as the heir, and
treated him as such, he would have established his kingdom among them at
that time, both spiritually and temporally; and they would have gathered
the lost tribes that wandered from Jerusalem, would have overcome their
enemies, possessed Palestine in peace, and spread to the uttermost parts
of the earth and possessed the kingdom under the whole heavens.

	Again, at the time the children of Israel left Egypt if they had then
received the Gospel Moses had for them, the kingdom would then have been
given to them, and it never would have been broken up, and the house of
Israel never would have been smitten and scattered to become bondsmen
among the nations.  If the children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, previous
to the Egyptian bondage, had been faithful, they would have received the
keys and power of the kingdom, and would never have gone into Egypt to
suffer four hundred years in bondage, but they by their wickedness
rejected the kingdom.

	When God speaks to the people, he does it in a manner to suit their
circumstances and capacities.  He spoke to the children of Jacob through
Moses, as a blind, stiff-necked people, and when Jesus and his Apostles
came they talked with the Jews as a benighted, wicked, selfish people. 
They would not receive the Gospel, though presented to them by the Son of
God in all its righteousness, beauty and glory.  Should the Lord Almighty
send an angel to re-write the Bible, it would in many places be very
different from what it now is.  And I will even venture to say that if the
Book of Mormon were now to be re-written, in many instances it would
materially differ from the present translation.  According as people are
willing to receive the things of God, so the heavens send forth their
blessings.  If the people are stiff-necked, the Lord can tell them but
little.

	The kingdom that Jesus came to establish is the kingdom Daniel saw,
but that stiff-necked, rebellious generation would not receive the Gospel,
and he did not fully establish his kingdom at that time.  Could the Lord
consistently have given them power over their enemies to whom they were
subject while in this state of rebellion to God and his laws, they would
have become more wicked than the Romans or other heathen nations of the
land.  Had he given them power over the Egyptians in the days of Moses,
they would have become more wicked than the Egyptians, and would have used
this saving power to bring upon them a more sure and terrible destruction.

	The Lord called upon Moses, and he stood amid the thunders and
lightnings of Mount Sinai.  Moses was a good and great man, but he had
lived with and so often been aggravated by a wicked, murmuring and
rebellious people that he could not look upon God in his glory, but he
could hear his voice and converse with his Heavenly Father in the pillar
of cloud and fire.  He was, on one occasion, in company with seventy
Elders of Israel, permitted to see the back parts of the Almighty.  He
received the law of carnal commandments for Israel from the mouth of God. 
I believe with all my heart that if the children had been ready to receive
the Gospel in all its fulness, the yoke of carnal commandments would never
have been placed upon their necks.  Moses was a High Priest after the
order of Melchisedec, and yet he partook of the sins of the children of
Israel to such a degree that he could not see the face of God.

	The very kingdom that Jesus said was not of this world would in his
day have been permanently established in this world, if the people could
have received it, but they would not have the man Christ Jesus to rule
over them; they turned away from the holy commandments, and preferred
fables.  When Jesus stated that his kingdom was not of this world, he did
not mean to convey the idea that it had no right to be on this earth, but
that his kingdom was a righteous, holy kingdom, and not like the wicked
kingdoms of the world; and the wickedness of the world was such that he
could not then establish his kingdom upon this earth.

	When Moses went into the mountain to converse with the God of Israel,
the cry was heard in the camp, "where is this Moses?"  And they made a
moulten calf of the jewellery they had borrowed from the Egyptians, and
said, "These by thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land
of Egypt.  And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it, and Aaron
made a proclamation, and said, to-morrow is a feast of the Lord.  And they
rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought
peace offerings, and the people sat down to eat and to drink and rose up
to play."  There was as much sense in this proceeding as there is in
people's worshipping their property and money at the present day.

	The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, and he wishes to
establish his kingdom upon it.  I do not think any person will start a
single argument to prove that the Lord does not own this earth and all
that is upon it.  All Christians acknowledge that the earth is the Lord's
and the fulness thereof, and that Jesus is the Christ and heir of all
things.

	One excellent idea that was advanced this morning, I will venture to
carry out a little further.  The time was when the test of a Christian was
his confession of Christ.  In the first Epistle of John it is written,
"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are
of God:  because many false prophets are gone out into the world.  Hereby
know ye the Spirit of God; every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ
is come in the flesh, is of God, and every spirit that confesseth not that
Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is not of God.  And this is that spirit
of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come, and even now
already is in the world."  This is no test to this generation, for all men
of the Christian world confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. 
This generation, however, is not left without a test.  I have taught for
thirty years, and still teach, that he that believeth in his heart and
confesseth with his mouth that Jesus is the Christ and that Joseph Smith
is his Prophet to this generation, is of God; and he that confesseth not
that Jesus has come in the flesh and sent Joseph Smith with the fulness of
the Gospel to this generation, is not of God, but is antichrist.  All who
confess that Joseph Smith is sent of God in the latter days, to lay the
foundation of his everlasting kingdom no more to be thrown down, and will
continue to keep his commandments, are born of God.  All those who believe
in their hearts and confess with their mouths that Joseph Smith is a true
Prophet, at the same time trying with their might to live the holy
principles Joseph the Prophet has revealed, are in possession of the Holy
Spirit of God and are entitled to a fullness.  When such men go into the
world to preach the Gospel though they know not a letter in a book, they
will do more real good to erring man than the great and wise can possibly
do, though aided by all their learning and worldly influence in the
absence of the gift of the Holy Ghost.  When the spirit of the preacher is
embued with the Spirit and power of God, his words enter the
understandings of the honest, who discern the truth and at once embrace it
to their eternal advantage.

	Every person who seeks to know right, to understand every principle
of truth pertaining to the earth and the heavens, and by obedience to the
laws of the Gospel to obtain the Spirit of truth from the great Fountain
of truth, when he hears a truth, whether moral, religious, scientific, or
mechanical, whether it pertains to God, to man, to the heavens, or to the
earth, that truth is congenial to his feelings, and it seems to him that
he had known it all his life.  Notwithstanding the dreadful effects of the
fall of man, almost all men delight in truth and righteousness.  If men
are not righteous themselves, as a general thing they honour and revere a
righteous person more than they do the wicked and froward.  A few in these
latter days have ventured to stem the current of iniquity; defying the
finger of scorn they have raised their hands to Heaven saying, "we are for
God."  They repeat a glorious text, "The kingdom of God or nothing."  It
is with them, "Heaven or nothing."  The Lord must reign and rule.

	We did not produce ourselves.  We did not make the earth, nor stretch
out the starry heavens.  We have not sought out the wisdom of him who
formed the foundations of the great deep, nor explored the vastness of his
skill in the formation of the finny tribes.  "Who removeth the mountains
and they knew not; who overturneth them in his anger; who shaketh the
earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble; who commandeth
the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars; who alone spreadeth
out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea; who maketh
Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades and the chambers of the south; who doeth
great things past finding out, yea, and wonders without number."

	Philosophy has tried to search out God, but it stands aghast amid the
great and wondrous works of the great Supreme.  It acknowledges a great
Designer and Framer of the universe, but how to approach him, it findeth
not.  This great Being is the God of the Latter-day Saints; to whom we
accede the right of reigning over the workmanship of his own hands.  It is
his right to control the gold and the silver, the wheat and the fine
flour, yea, all the elements that have been enumerated by the searching
eye of philosophy and science, and those that are past finding out by
mortals in their present state.  Has an unholy principle, a wicked
influence that leads to death, the right to control the ability and power
to do good which God has placed in man?  No.  God alone has the right to
control the intelligence that is in the human family, for he is the giver
of it.

	Religious people talk a great deal about doing wondrous great things
for the Lord--about doing this, that and the other for the glory of God. 
Every good that man performs is, firstly, for his own benefit and eternal
welfare, if he continues in well doing, and secondly, for the common good
of others, so far as his example and the influence of good done effects
others.  We may, for comparison's sake, imagine a great king who has many
kingdoms to dispose of and many sons to give them to, but one of his sons
will not have his kingly father to rule over him, neither will he accept
of any of his favours.  Now, if any body suffers loss in this case, it is
the proud, rebellious son; the father can give the kingdom, that he
otherwise would have given to his wayward son, to a more worthy subject. 
He is all powerful, and bestows ability to whom he will to become powerful
like himself.  "If I were hungry, I would not tell thee:  for the world is
mine, and the fulness thereof.  Will I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the
blood of goats?  Offer unto God thanksgiving, and pay thy vows unto the
Most High." The generations of men from the beginning have refused to pay
homage to their God, and to render unto him that which belongs to him.  If
men serve God, it is to their advantage; but they suppose that they
sacrifice a great deal for God and do him a great service, and are
enriching him and impoverishing themselves.  Render unto God that which is
God's.  I care not whether it be gold, silver or copper.  When men extract
the precious metals from the earth, they breathe the air, drink the water
and eat the food that belongs to God.

	I could give the reasons why the servants of God, from the beginning,
have not been able to establish his kingdom on the earth, but I have not
time to do so to-day.  In these latter days, the kingdoms of this world
will become "the kingdoms of our God and his Christ," and those who have
gold and silver and wealth of other descriptions, and refuse to devote it
to the Lord, are blind and naked and destitute of that wisdom which comes
from above.  The breath that is in their nostrils is not really their own. 
All people live upon the bounty of the Almighty, yet they say that the
precious metals are theirs, and they will devote this wealth to their own
service, revel in luxury, and do as they please.  Those who possess the
wealth of this world, possess it by the permission of the Almighty, and
then they go heedlessly on in the way to destruction.  How long?  Until
their race is run.

	All must have the privilege of proving to God and angels what they
will do with the talent and ability God has given them, whether they will
waste their blessings in pandering to unholy appetites or use them in the
way God has designed they should.  This is one great reason why men are
permitted to do as they do.  It is an orthodox doctrine that God has
decreed whatsoever comes to pass.  He has decreed many things to come to
pass, but not all things.  He has not decreed that one man shall blaspheme
his name, and that another shall often be found on his knees praying to
him; this is left to the free volition of the creature.  All the
inhabitants of the earth have had the privilege of proving themselves
before God in their life time whether they delighted in that which was
right or that which was wrong, and according to that, those who have been
without law will be judged without law.  What better, in the sight of
Heaven, are those who place their affections upon earthly wealth, than the
children of Israel who worshipped a calf?

	Those who wish to join us in this great work, must do as we have
done, to obtain that which we have obtained.  It is not our business to
question the validity of any of the laws and ordinances of God.  It is no
matter to us how simple the ordinance he requires us to submit to, in
order to attain a certain end.  He has said, "he that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved."  If he has instituted baptism in water for the
remission of sins, it is not our business to question his right, to do
this, by quarrelling with the mode of this ordinance.  If he had told us
to dig a hole in the ground and bury ourselves for a certain length of
time, it is his right to do so, and our advantage to obey.  Whenever the
Gospel has been preached in any age of the world, the ordinance of baptism
has been in force.  It had the same validity in the days of Adam, Enoch,
and Noah as in the days of Jesus Christ and his Apostles, or as it has
now.

	An angel of the Lord visited Adam, when Adam was offering up
sacrifice.  The angel asked him why he was offering up sacrifice.  Adam
replied, I know not, but this I do know, the Lord has commanded me,
therefore I offer up sacrifice.  It may be said that Adam was very
ignorant.  It was designed by the Lord that his previous knowledge should
pass from him.

	"Jesus answered and said unto him (Nicodemus,) Verily, verily, I say
unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 
Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old?  Can he
enter the womb and be born?  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto
thee, except a man be born of water, and of the Spirit, he cannot enter
into the kingdom of God."  A man must be born again before he can see the
kingdom of God; and must be born of water and of the Spirit, before he can
enter therein.

	It may be asked whether any person can be saved, except those who are
baptised.  Yes, all the inhabitants of the earth will be saved, except
those that sin against the Holy Ghost.  Will they come into the presence
of the Father and the Son?  Not unless they are baptized for the remission
of sins, and live faithfully in the observance of the words of life, all
the rest of their days.  "In my Father's house are many mansions."  "Enter
ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that
leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat; because
straight is the gate and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and
few there be that find it."  A question was asked Joseph Smith if all
would be damned, except the Latter-day Saints.  He answered "yes and most
of the Latter-day Saints, unless they repent and do better than they have
done."

	The glory of those who are not permitted to enter into the presence
of the Father and the Son will be greater than mortals can imagine, in
glory, excellency, exquisite pleasure, and intense bliss.  It has not
entered into the heart of man to conceive of the greatness of their glory. 
But the glory of those who enter into the presence of God exceeds all
these in glory, as the light of the sun exceeds the light of the moon and
stars.  All these different glories are ordained to fit the capacities and
conditions of men.

	Let me say a word in praise of the congregation before me.  Here I
see people who have gathered from almost every nation of the earth, and
they have brought with them their national customs, traditions, education,
fashions and language; yet this mixed people dwell together in peace:  all
nationality gradually subsides, and we see a universal blending into one,
possessing the same feeling and spirit of our holy religion, all being
determined to promote the kingdom of God on the earth, looking forward to
the day of rest.  What other community less needs the services of lawyers,
magistrates and judges than this community?  This is a joy to me.

	The Lord designs to set up his kingdom in our day, and the
commandments he requires us to obey and the duties he makes obligatory for
us are easy.  We can perform all he requires of us, without hurting us in
the least.

	Some contend that there is no virtue in the water, but there is
virtue in him who has made the commandment, and he has power to pardon
sins.  Were I to command you to wash your bodies and you refused to do so,
your filthiness would cleave to you, and you alone would suffer the
inconvenience.

	We break the bread, which represents the Lord's body, as he has
commanded, in remembrance of him, and that he will come to earth again
when the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God and
his Christ.  We pour out water or wine in remembrance of his blood which
was shed, and in token of the time when he will drink of the fruit of the
vine anew with us in his Father's kingdom, when he comes again and the
kingdoms of this world becomes [sic] the kingdoms of our God and his
Christ.  The kingdoms of this world must be prepared for his coming by the
proclamation of the Gospel, or be wiped out of existence.

	The whole would have lost confidence in themselves and in their God. 
How can it be restored?  By beginning to serve God, and then trying to
induce every man and woman to join heart and hand in this moral
reformation.  By associating with those with whom you can trust your
wealth, honour, good name, virtue and integrity, and inviting all to join
you who are full of integrity and honour, and who will treat you as the
angels of God would if they were here.  We must restore the integrity and
confidence which have been lost to the world.  The kings upon their
thrones have to pay for their positions, for they cannot trust themselves
in the hands of their attendants, without bribery.  Only the semblance of
honour, integrity and confidence are to be found in the world, and even
that brings a high price; however, this general remark has its honourable
exceptions.  We must find men and women that we can trust with everything
that is sacred to us, or the kingdom of God can never be established upon
the earth.  The Lord will not acknowledge a people who will falsify their
word and are unvirtuous; he will not long trust a man of that kind with
any of the affairs of his kingdom.  He will not trust an unvirtuous people
with his Holy Priesthood.  He will not trust a people with property--with
earthly wealth--who will covet the same and use it to pander to their
lusts, and otherwise devote it to the power of the enemy of God and man.

	The business of the Latter-day Saints is to bring forth the kingdom
of God in the last days, morally, religiously, and politically.  Will they
do it?  I rather think they will, with the help of God.  No matter what
the enemies of God and his cause do with our name, or with our means; no
matter how often they hurl us from our habitations and drive us from city
to city, and from county to county, let every one of us be found standing
upon the pedestal of truth and virtue, defiling not our persons by sin in
any way.  Let us esteem all that we are permitted to possess as given to
us of the Lord; whether it be gold, silver, goods, houses, lands, or wives
and children, they are all the Lord's.  These blessings are only lent to
us.  When we have passed this earthly ordeal and have proven to the
heavens that we are worthy to be crowned with crowns of glory, immortality
and eternal lives, then the Lord will say these are yours, but until then
we own nothing.

	Will all believe as we believe?  I know not.  I would be pleased if
all men would believe the truth and practice righteousness.  If they have
truth in their possession, I wish them to be as generous with it as I am. 
I freely impart to my fellow-beings all the truth I know of, and all the
rules of godliness I am in possession of.  My religion teaches me to
embrace all truth in the heavens, on the earth, under the earth, and in
the bottomless pit, if there is any there.  My creed embraces all truth. 
If you have truth that I have not, let me know it, and it will come to
were [sic] it belongs; and if I have truth which you have not you are
welcome to it.  There is no need of debate and contention in regard to
truth and error, for debate tends to create a spirit of bitterness.

	There is no need for war and bloodshed, for the earth is large enough
for all.  The elements of which this earth is composed are all around it. 
Philosophers say the atmosphere is forty miles deep.  Be this as it may,
there are no bounds to the elements that compose worlds like this.  This
earthly ball, this little opake substance thrown off into space, is only a
speck in the great universe; and when it is celestialized it will go back
into the presence of God, where it was first framed.  All belongs to God,
and those who keep his celestial law will return to him.

	Many inquiries are made as to what will become of that portion of the
world of mankind who have died without law.  When we return to build up
the waste places of Zion, then will the Scripture be fulfilled--"Him that
overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go
no more out:  and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name
of the city of my God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of
heaven from my God:  and I will write upon him my new name."  The servants
of God will officiate for the dead in the temples of God which will be
built.  The Gospel is now preached to the spirits in prison, and when the
time comes for the servants of God to officiate for them, the names of
those who have received the Gospel in the spirit will be revealed by the
angels of God and the spirits of just men made perfect; also the places of
their birth, the age in which they lived, and everything regarding them
that is necessary to be recorded on earth, and they will then be saved so
as to find admittance into the presence of God, with their relatives who
have officiated for them.  The wicked will be cleansed and purified as by
fire; some of them will be saved as by fire.  Some will be given over to
the buffetting of Satan, that their spirits may be saved in the day of the
Lord Jesus.  Others will receive their bodies, but cannot be saved in the
kingdoms and mansions that are in the presence of God.  All the children
of men will receive a glory in the mansions of God according to their
capacities, and rewards according to their acts in the flesh.

	Brethren and friends, do you naturally despise such a doctrine as
this, or does it find a response of welcome in your bosoms?  My soul says,
Hallelujah, every moment I think of the ample provisions God has made for
his sons and daughters.  They will not welter in hell to an endless
eternity, but they will rise higher and higher, and continue to increase
in intelligence and love of truth as they advance.  There will be an
eternal progress in the knowledge of God.

	May God bless the people.  Amen.

                 A KNOWLEDGE OF GOD OBTAINED ONLY THROUGH
                  OBEDIENCE TO THE PRINCIPLES OF TRUTH.
         Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery,
                  Great Salt Lake City, August 3, 1862.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	The way of life and salvation is mapped out so plainly in the Old and
New Testaments that any man may read and understand, yet people do not
understand.  The most approved geography and map fail to give a
description and delineation of any people or country so perfectly as to
exclude all possibility of more being known by personally visiting and
examining the country or people described.  A mere geographical
description has a claim only upon our belief, but to gain a perfect
knowledge of the country or people described it is necessary to visit that
country and people; having obtained this knowledge, you in turn become a
witness to others of what you have seen, heard, handled, or felt.  So it
is with the Gospel.

	We may read the history of the life of Christ, admire his moral and
religious teachings, be impressed with awe by the description of the
character and works of the Father and God of the universe, be made
acquainted with the means he has devised to prepare mankind to enter his
presence, but it is necessary that we should follow Christ, put into
actual practice the lessons of Christ, and obey the ordinances of Christ,
to know for ourselves the saving effects they produce in mankind.  A mere
theory amounts to but little, while practice and obedience have to do with
stern realities.  In this way the ancients obtained a knowledge of the
true God.  "And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an
understanding, that we may know him that is true; and we are in him that
is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ.  This is the true God, and eternal
life."

	Although the character of God is plainly described in the Scriptures,
yet mankind do not understand it, but have imagined to themselves a God
without form or location.  It is written in the Scriptures, "God is a
Spirit:  and they that worship him, must worship him in spirit and in
truth."  Again, "But the natural man (or as we now use the language, the
fallen or sinful man) receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God:  for
they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are
spiritually discerned.  But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet
he himself is judged of no man."  In no other way can the things of God be
understood.  Men who are destitute of the influence of the Holy Ghost, or
the Spirit of God, cannot understand the things of God; they may read
them, but to them they are shrouded in darkness.

	We try to tell the people how to be saved; and if we have not the
fulness of the Gospel, it is not upon the face of the earth.  If we have
not the Priesthood of Heaven, it is not possessed by any people upon
earth.  The Priesthood of the Son of God to the children of men is a
perfect system of government--a heavenly institution among men--designed
to bring them back into the presence of God to partake of the fulness of
his glory.  The power of all truth dwells in the bosom of our Father and
God, which he dispenses to his children as he will, by the means of his
eternal Priesthood.  He is enthroned in the light, glory and power of
truth.  He has abided the truth, and is thereby exalted, and his power,
light and glory are eternal.  The Gospel and the Priesthood are the means
he employs to save and exalt his obedient children to the possession with
him of the same glory and power, to be crowned with crowns of glory,
immortality and eternal lives.

	"We alone have the words of life," is a great saying; who can bear
it?  "If you Latter-day Saints are the only people who have the words of
life, why are you so despised, hated?  Why have you been under the
necessity of leaving your homes and possessions?"  For no other reason
than the following:--"God ministered unto him (this first Elder) by an
holy angel, whose countenance was as lightning, and whose garments were
pure and white above all other whiteness; and gave unto him commandments
which inspired him; and gave him power from on high, by the means which
were before prepared, to translate the Book of Mormon, which contains a
record of a fallen people, and the fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
to the Gentiles and to the Jews also, which was given by inspiration, and
is confirmed to others by the ministering of angels, and is declared unto
the world by them, proving to the world that the Holy Scriptures are true,
and that God does inspire men and call them to his holy work in this age
and generation, as well as in generations of old, thereby showing that he
is the same God yesterday, to-day, and for ever.  Amen."  This is all the
reason that I know of.

	"Have the Mormons been persecuted for their evil deeds?"  If they
have, shame on their persecutors, for if any Latter-day Saint breaks the
law of his country he is amenable to that law, and it provides a suitable
penalty.  The Latter-day Saints live and always have lived in a land of
law, and if they have transgressed the law, shame on a community, like the
people that live under the Government of the United States, to persecute
them instead of prosecuting them.  An instance cannot be found upon the
records of any court in the United States where the leaders of this people
have been legally convicted of a breach of law and order.

	Joseph Smith was arraigned before Judge Austin A. King, on a charge
of treason.  The Judge inquired of Mr. Smith, "Do you believe and teach
the doctrine that in the course of time the Saints will possess the
earth?"  Joseph replied that he did.  "Do you believe that the Lord will
raise up a kingdom that will fill the whole earth and rule over all other
kingdoms, as the Prophet Daniel has said?"  "Yes, sir, I believe that
Jesus Christ will reign king of nations as he does king of Saints." 
"Write that down, clerk; we want to fasten upon him the charge of treason,
for if he believes this, he must believe that the State of Missouri will
crumble and fall to rise no more."  Lawyer Doniphan said to the Judge,
"damn it, Jude [sic], you had better make the Bible treason and have done
with it."

	I was not in Missouri at the first of our people's going there, but I
have searched diligently to find whether any of the Latter-day Saints have
ever been convicted in any of the courts of Missouri for transgressing the
law, and, so far as I could learn, such an instance cannot be found on the
court records of that State, "Then why are you persecuted?"  Because the
Lord has committed unto us the words of eternal life to deliver to the
world, which, if they will obey, will bring them back into the presence of
the Father and the Son.

	The world will not receive the Gospel, unless they can have it on
their own terms, and will persecute the few that do receive it.  We preach
the truth as it is in Christ Jesus, and this gives offence to the wicked;
they become angry with God, with Jesus Christ, and with his Saints; God
and Christ they cannot reach, but the Saints they can persecute as long
and as much as they are permitted.

	"But were you not persecuted for teaching that odious doctrine called
polygamy?"  No.  We were planted in these valleys before it was publicly
made known to the people.  Only a few of Jeseph [sic] Smith's intimate
friends knew it previous to its being published to the world, which was
several years after his death.  We have not been driven from our homes
since it was published.

	"Do you not aggravate your enemies by your close communion habits?" 
I speak for myself; I acknowledge that I do not fellowship much of their
conduct, nor do I expect to, unless it is better than some of it has been;
and I will say further, it is hard for me to fellowship the conduct of
some who profess to be Latter-day Saints.

	Polygamy in Utah and polygamy among the Christian nations of the
world at the present day are very different.  Polygamy in Utah is an
honourable transaction for we marry our wives, and openly acknowledge them
and their children.  It is a very different matter elsewhere; women are
seduced and secretly kept as mistresses as long as they please their
unprincipled seducers, when they are cast off to meet, if it were
possible, a worse fate; their children are not acknowledged, but are
thrown upon the world unprotected, and left exposed to be carried away by
the dark and turpid stream of crime, to end their wretched lives in
prison, upon the gallows, or in some other violent manner. Did the Devil
believe that Joseph Smith was an impostor?  He knew that Joseph Smith was
a true Prophet.  Did the first priest who persecuted Joseph Smith, when
Joseph was about nineteen years of age, believe that Joseph was an
impostor?  No.  The Devil and his emissaries are not afraid of an
impostor; for the world is full of imposition.  Men who lecture against
God, Jesus Christ, and the Bible, are not persecuted, but figure in what
is called the best society.  This proves one saying of the Saviour, that
the world loves its own; and those that the Lord has chosen out of the
world, they hate and persecute.  Infidelity, under some popular name,
makes its way to the altars of Christian sanctuaries, and its supporters
receive the honour of this world.  But when Joseph Smith came before the
world bearing testimony that Jesus lived, that he had seen him, declaring
that he was his witness, and that Jesus was the Saviour of the world, that
he had spoken from the heavens and had revealed in these days the fulness
of the Gospel for the salvation of men, that the Old and New Testament
were true and contained the plan of human redemption, he was cast out, and
the cry--"False Prophet, fale [sic] Prophet, away with him," was almost
universal.

	Who can justly say aught against Joseph Smith?  I was as well
acquainted with him, as any man.  I do not believe that his father and
mother knew him any better than I did.  I do not think that a man lives on
the earth that knew him any better than I did; and I am bold to say that,
Jesus Christ excepted, no better man ever lived or does live upon this
earth.  I am his witness.  He was persecuted for the same reason that any
other righteous person has been or is persecuted at the present day.

	The world have the Gospel preached to them, but they do not receive
it, and they wish to drive the Priesthood and its supporters from the
earth.  Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake:  for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  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."  Had Jesus Christ been an impostor and of the world, the world would
have loved its own.  Had Joseph Smith been an impostor and of the world,
the world would not have hated him, but would have loved its own.  Had
Joseph Smith made political capital of his religion and calling, and
raised up a political party, he doubtless would have become celebrated and
renowned in the world as a great man and as a great leader.

	The world fears a concentration of feeling and union of action.  We
say that we live in a Republican Government, and we hold that we have the
best national constitution in the world; but a wicked people will corrupt
themselves and do wickedly under any government, and, in so doing, will
sooner or later be destroyed.  The most excellent human or divine laws are
of no use to earthly or heavenly beings, unless they are faithfully
observed.  Law is for the protection of the law-abider; and the penalty of
the law is for the law-breaker.  God cannot acknowledge a divided
government as his, wherein some are of Paul, some of Apollos, &c.

	The Church of Jesus Christ could not exist, and be divided up into
parties.  Where such disunion exists in any government, it ultimately
becomes the means of the utter overthrow of that government or people,
unless a timely remedy is applied.  Party spirit once made its appearance
in heaven, but was promptly checked. "And there was war in heaven: 
Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought
and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more
in heaven.  And the dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the
Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world; he was cast out into
the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."  They were cast out;
and if our Government had cast out the Seceders, the war would soon have
been ended.  This placed the Spirit of Evil on the earth.  Those evil
spirits are not permitted to receive tabernacles of their own, and that is
their condemnation and punishment.  They have been known to take
possession of the bodies of men and women, and rather than to be without a
body, they have entered the bodies of brutes.  All such spirits and all
embodied spirits who violate wholesome laws and abuse the rights and
privileges guaranteed unto them will be hurled down to hell.

	The people in the States have violated the Constitution in closing
their ears against the cries of the oppressed, and in consenting to
shedding innocent blood, and now war, death and gloom are spread like a
pall over the land, which state of things will sooner or later spread all
over the world.  The world is at war against the truth, and against those
who propagate it.  Are they opposed to canting hypocrites in the garb of
parsons?  No.  Will they ridicule a black-attired blackguard and pelt him
with mud and rotten eggs, even though he should lecture against God,
Christ, and the Holy Scriptures?  No, but they will fight against the
truth which has been revealed from heaven, "and this is the condemnation
that light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than
light, because their deeds were evil."  The wicked hate the light because
it maketh manifest their evil deeds, and they love to dwell in darkness,
thinking to cover their sins from the public gaze and from the eye of God;
but in the due time of the Almighty their deeds will be exposed upon the
house tops.  This is the reason why the religious and political factions
of this land united their energies to slay the Prophet Joseph Smith, and
to banish the religion of Jesus, because they saw that it would instruct,
inform, and unite the people.

	It may be said that the Roman Catholics are as much united as the
Latter-day Saints, but is it in righteousness?  No.  I have not read that
the Roman Catholics of late years have taken patiently the spoiling of
their goods and suffered the loss of all things for their religion. 
Though this may not be positive proof of the truth of any religion, for it
is well known that fanatics will suffer horrible torture for a false and
foolish religion, more than is required of the Lord for true Christians to
suffer for their religion, except in cases when his providences may
require for certain wise purposes.  Votaries of false systems of religion
will at times court persecution, with a view to establish their religion
and give it notoriety.  The most effectual way to establish the religion
of Heaven is to live it, rather than to die for it:  I think I am safe in
saying that there are many of the Latter-day Saints who are more willing
to die for their religion than to faithfully live it.  There is no other
proof can be adduced to God, angels, and men, that a people faithfully
live their religion, than that they repent truly of their sins, obey the
law of baptism for the remission of sins, and then continue to do the
works of righteousness day by day.

	Some few who profess to be Latter-day Saints have been unruly and
froward, not respecting the rights and property of others.  The army that
was quartered in our vicinity introduced more corruption and iniquity than
had been made manifest for years.  Whether to be thankful or sorrowful
this, sometimes I am at a loss to know.  The wicked that were among us
have been made manifest, and many of them have left; this is a result we
have no cause to mourn over.  There are still a few who are impatient of
control, will go their own way, will steal, lie, swear, get drunk, &c. 
Their works make them manifest, and we know them.  We also know upon whom
we can depend in a time of trouble; a good sailor is always found at his
post, both in calm and storm.  The good soldier is ready to resist the
enemy, and not to shake hands with him and be tamely taken prisoner.  The
time of storm, and trouble is the time to prove ourselves to God and to
one another.

	We desire to be a great deal better than we are as individuals and as
a people, and if we are faithful, we shall be.  Praise to the faithful
Latter-day Saints, who are striving to serve God with all their hearts. 
Let all Latter-day Saints learn that the weaknesses of their brethren are
not sins.  When men or women undesignedly commit a wrong, do not attribute
that to them as a sin.  Let us learn to be compassionate one with another;
let mercy and kindness soften every angry and fretful temper, that we may
become long suffering and beneficent in all our communications one with
another.  No man can ever become a ruler in the kingdom of God, until he
can perfectly rule himself; then is he capable of raising a family of
children who will rise up and call him blessed.  On the other hand, if the
Elders of Israel do not pay attention to this and improve themselves in
every possible way, their families will see their weaknesses and follies,
can have no confidence in them as leaders, and will scatter away from them
and join themselves to more substantial, wise, and reliable fathers and
leaders.

	Shall we as a people ever become popular in the world?  Yes, when
righteousness reigns triumphantly on the earth.  In the end, when the
judgment is set and the Judge of all the earth makes his appearance, he
will place upon his right hand Abraham and Abraham's seed, and all those
who have obeyed the Gospel of his Son, and they will inherit the earth and
its fulness, while the sinner and the ungodly will be cast into prison to
pay the uttermost farthing.

	May the Lord help us to live so that we may be accounted worthy of
all the glory our Heavenly Father has in store for us.  Amen.


     APOSTLESHIP OF JOSEPH SMITH.--DESTRUCTION AWAITING THE NATIONS.
         Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery,
                  Great Salt Lake City, August 31, 1862.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	We have just been listening to the testimony of one of the Apostles
of the Lord Jesus Christ, also an Apostle of him whom the Lord has called
in our day to establish his kingdom no more to be overcome by wickedness
on the earth.  To say that we are Apostles of Joseph Smith is rather a
dark saying to many.  Jesus Christ being sent of the Father to perform a
certain work, became an Apostle.  It is written in the book called
Hebrews, "Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling,
consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; who
was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful and all
his house."  The Saviour called upon a number of men to assist him in the
work his Father had sent him to do, and sent them into the world to
proclaim his mission and Gospel, instructing them to baptize all
believers.  In this way they became the Apostles of Jesus Christ, and at
the day of his coming they will stand at his right hand in a pillar of
fire, being clothed with robes of righteousness, with crowns upon their
heads, in glory to judge the whole house of Israel.

	Joseph Smith was the first Apostle of this Church, and was commanded
of Jesus Christ to call and ordain other Apostles and send them into all
the world with a message to all people, and with authority to baptize all
who should believe the fulness of the Gospel and sincerely repent of all
their sins.  These other Apostles are Apostles of Jesus Christ, and of
Joseph Smith the chief Apostle of this last dispensation.

	Joseph Smith has laid the foundation of the kingdom of God in the
last days; others will rear the super structure.  Its laws and ordinances,
its blessings and privileges have been laid before all people who would
hear; the testimony of God's servants has sounded like the voice of a
trumpet from nation to nation, and from people to people, warning the
honest and meek of the earth to flee from Babylon to the chambers in the
mountains for safety until the indignation shall be past.  If all the
inhabitants of the earth had been as diligent in searching out the truth
and as willing to receive it as hundreds in this congregation have been,
the world would have been converted long ago.  But few people, compared
with the masses, have ever received and lived the Gospel of Jesus Christ,
in any age of the world in which it has been preached.

	Enoch possessed intelligence and wisdom from God that few men ever
enjoyed, walking and talking with God for many years; yet, according to
the history written by Moses, he was a great length of time in
establishing his kingdom among men.  The few that followed him enjoyed the
fulness of the Gospel, and the rest of the world rejected it.  Enoch and
his party were taken from the earth, and the world continued to ripen in
iniquity until they were overthrown by the great flood in the days of
Noah; and, "as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of
the coming of the Son of Man."

	So sure as the Lord called upon Joseph Smith, jun., to bring forth
his Gospel and establish his kingdom, just so sure will he hold this
generation accountable for their acts in relation thereto.  If any people
reject the Gospel, God will destroy that people or nation.  The majority
of the people of the world declare that Joseph Smith was not called of
God.  If they know that, then are they safe in rejecting his testimony.  I
know that he was called of God, and this I know by the revelations of
Jesus Christ to me, and by the testimony of the Holy Ghost.  Had I not so
learned this truth, I should never have been what is called a "Mormon,"
neither should I have been here to-day.  The world is as uncertain of the
calling of Joseph Smith, as their religious ministers are that they are
called of God; they hope they are so called; they hope they have
experienced a change of heart; they hope they are renewed in spirit; they
hope their sins are forgiven; they hope the Lord is gracious to them, &c.,
&c.  If I did not know that my sins were forgiven, my hope would do me but
little good.

	For argument's sake I will say, if we should be mistaken as to the
legality of Joseph Smith's calling, we still bear the same relationship
towards the heavens as any other portion of mankind, and have the same
chance of salvation, standing on equal grounds with them.  Joseph told us
that Jesus was the Christ, the Mediator between God and man, and the
Saviour of the world.  He told us that there was no other name in the
heavens nor under the heavens, neither could there be, by which mankind
could be saved in the presence of the Father, but by and through the name
and ministry of Jesus Christ, and the atonement he made on Mount Calvary. 
Joseph also told us that the Saviour requires strict obedience to all the
commandments, ordinances and laws pertaining to his kingdom, and that if
we would do this we should be made partakers of all the blessings promised
in his Gospel.

	We have already been made partakers of the blessings of the Gospel
which he promised to his disciples.  One in particular I will name, and
that is peace, Jesus says, "these things I have spoken unto you, that in
me ye might have peace.  In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of
good cheer:  I have overcome the world."  There are hundreds now before me
who can testify that in the world they have had tribulation, but in the
Gospel, as we believe it, they have found peace.  Again, "Blessed are ye
when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their
company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil for the
Son of Man's sake.  Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy:  for behold
your reward is great in heaven, for in the like manner did their fathers
unto the Prophets.  Have the world separated the Latter-day Saints from
their company?  They have.  For what?  For disobeying the laws of the
land?  No.  They cast them out for believing in Jesus Christ and in Joseph
Smith as his Prophet.  This whole people were cast out for believing that
God spake to Joseph Smith and chose him to be his messenger--his
Apostle--to this generation.  I testify to you that we were not cast out
for teaching and practising the Patriarchal doctrine, as our enemies now
declare, for at that time it [had] not been published to the world, but it
was for believing, preaching and practising the doctrines of the new
Testament; for believing in the events to take place in the latter days,
as foretold by the ancient Prophets; and, for believing the declarations
of Joseph Smith, that Jesus was indeed the Christ and the Saviour of all
men, but especially of them that believe, and that he had set to his hand
the second time to gather his people, to establish his kingdom, to build
up Zion, redeem Jerusalem, empty the earth of wickedness and bring in
everlasting righteousness.

	Joseph Smith testified that he had received revelations from God,
that holy angels had administered to him, that he had seen the heavens
opened, had seen Jesus Christ and knew that he lived, and that all the
people must acknowlede [sic] him to be the Christ, the Saviour of the
world, and to obtain salvation through him must obey his ordinances, keep
inviolate their covenants with him and with each other, and try with all
their might to restore the covenants broken by the fathers, that the
celestial gates leading to the presence of God may be opened to all
believers.  And this is our testimony, last of all, that God has spoken
from the heavens, commanding us to preach repentance to this generation,
giving us authority to baptize for the remission of sins, and to bestow
the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands.  The remission of
sins, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and the favour of God cannot be obtained
in any other way.  These are God's unchangeable conditions for mankind to
observe, when they are called upon to enter into an everlasting covenant
with him to serve him and none else.  For preaching this Gospel Joseph
Smith was cast out and murdered; and for the same cause this people have
been persecuted and afflicted, and finally cast out beyond the confines of
so-called civilization.

	What do we now see abroad?  Confusion in all the ramifications of
society.  In the days of the great tower of Babel God confounded their
language, and spread confusion and dismay among them, and ultimately
scattered them to the four winds of heaven.  The confusion will be no less
great in these days, and the destruction of human life will be so great
that but few men will be left.  With the people in Christendom it is "oh,
here," and "lo, there"--"Christ is here, and Christ is there."  Some say
"observe one ordinance and no more;' others say "observe two ordinances
and no more;" some say "observe none at all;" and so on.  There is no true
faith, for all is uncertainty--every man pursuing his own way.  They have
no light of revelation to guide them, and that which would have saved this
nation from its present awful chastisement they have cast out from them,
therefore "Behold the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste,
and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. 
The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled; for the Lord hath
spoken this word."

	When Joseph Smith came to the people with the message of the Gospel
in its fullness, they said "let us kill him, or he will change our
customs, overthrow our religions, make proselytes in foreign lands and
flood our country with them, expose our political corruptions, and may
take away our place in the nation; come, let us kill him."  They did kill
him, that debt is upon them, and they have it to pay.  The Lord pity them;
I do.  I pity them because they are so short-sighted, so wicked, and so
determined to fight God and his laws.  They killed Joseph Smith, and cast
out this people for believing in him.  Are they still upon our track? 
They are.

	In a correspondence between Mr. Greeley, of new York, and the
President, Mr. Lincoln declared it was his intention to do everything in
his power that he thought would save the Union.  This was very just and
correct in him, but has his course invariably tended to save the Union? 
Time will show.  There is no man can see, unless he sees by the gift and
power of revelation, that every move that has been made by the Government
has been made to fulfil the sayings of Joseph Smith the Prophet, and all
earth and hell cannot help it.  The wedge to divide the Union was entered
in South Carolina, and all the power of the Government could not prevent
it.  The Lord spoke to Joseph Smith, on the 25th day of December, 1832, as
follows:--"Verily thus saith the Lord, concerning the wars that will
shortly come to pass, beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina, which
will eventually terminate in the death and misery of many souls.  The days
will come that war will be poured out upon all nations, beginning at that
place; for, behold, the Southern States shall be divided against the
Northern States, and the Southern States will call on other nations, even
the nation of Great Britain, as it is called, and they shall also call
upon other nations, in order to defend themselves against other nations;
and thus war shall be poured out upon all nations," &c.  The wickedness of
the wicked is onward and downward, while the righteousness of the
righteous is onward and upward.  Light and darkness, or in other words,
right and wrong are with us, and men choose darkness rather than light,
wrong rather than right.  This is their condemnation.  They despise the
truth and those who will declare it.

	On one occasion, in the wars of the kings of Israel and Judah with
the King of Syria, the kings of Israel and Judah sent for all the Prophets
they could find to prophecy good concerning their going down to the
battle; and a lying spirit was sent to speak through the Prophets to lure
Ahab, King of Israel, to the battle-field.  Jehosaphat, King of Judah,
inquired whether there was not yet another Prophet of the Lord that they
might inquire of.  "And the King of Israel said unto Jehosaphat there is
yet one man Micaiah, the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the Lord;
but I hate him for he does not prophecy good concerning me, but evil." 
Micaiah was brought before the king and said, "I saw all Israel scattered
upon the hills as sheep that have not a shepherd."  Ahab order Micaiah to
be put in prison and fed on the bread of affliction, until he should
return in peace.  An archer drew a bow at a venture and slew Ahab, who
went to the field of battle in disguise, and the words of the prophet were
fulfilled.  It is so in this day; the man who will speak the word of the
Lord fearlessly is hated, while false prophets and false teachers, who
pander to human vanity and to human greatness for gain, are fostered by
wicked rulers and exalted to the chief seats in the synagogues.

	We are determined to build up the kingdom of God on the earth; to
bring forth Zion, to promote the cause of righteousness on the earth, and
to walk under foot sin and wickedness.  There is an opposing party who are
determined that the kingdom of God shall not be built up, and who do all
in their power to destroy it and its supporters.  This has been the case
from the beginning, and wickedness has triumphed, because the measure of
the earth was not complete, and those mighty spirits calculated to bring
to pass the winding up scene had not yet been born in the flesh.  The time
has now come when this work will be consummated.  Satan's rule and Satan's
kingdom will be destroyed, and everlasting righteousness and peace will be
brought in upon the face of the whole earth.

	Joseph Smith knew what was coming upon the nation of the United
States, and said, "If they will let me, I will save the nation."  They
would not let him, but treated him as a traitor.  They arrested him in
Missouri for treason, when he had not said a word with regard to political
affairs, but preached the Gospel to his brethren.  They put him in
Carthage Jail in Illinois, under the same false allegation, and slew him
without a trial before his peers.  At this day, if they had the power,
they would show us that their malignity is no less than it was in the days
of Joseph Smith, but they have not the power to injure the kingdom of God
and the Lord's anointed.  They do not make a move on the national
checker-board without my knowing their designs.  They may send men here,
with their mouths sealed as to their instructions, to dictate and guide
affairs in Utah as they would have them, but all their deep laid plots
will vanish into thin air and their fondly anticipated purposes will fail.

	Our course is onward to build up Zion, and the nation that has slain
the Prophet of God and cast out his people will have to pay the debt. 
They will be broken in pieces like a potter's vessel; yea worse, they will
be ground to powder.  "And whoever shall fall on this stone shall be
broken:  but on whomsoever it shall fall, it shall grind him to powder." 
If there is a people within the pales of this nation that is worthy of the
constitution, good laws and institutions of the American Government, it is
this people called Latter-day Saints.  it is the best earthly Government
that ever was framed by man, and the true and righteous are alone worthy
of it.  It cannot long be administered by wicked hands.  "When the wicked
rule, the people mourn."

	My heart is filled with pain for the inhabitants of the earth.  We
desire with all our hearts to do them good.  There are scores of Elders
beneath the sound of my voice who have preached enough to convert the
world.  I have myself travelled many thousands of miles, carrying my
valise and sustaining myself, to preach the Gospel to this generation and
to bear testimony to the truth as I do to-day.  I take liberties here, in
referring to the world and its vanities, that I wish my brethren not to
take.  It is our duty to pray for them and place before them the holy
principles of the Gospel by precept, and in the acts of our lives, rather
than to hold prominently forward their manifold corruptions.  They are in
the hands of God, and so are we.  Great and mighty empires are raised to
the summit of human greatness by him, to bring to pass his inscrutable
purposes, and at his pleasure they are swept from existence and lost in
the oblivion of antiquity.  All these mighty changes are pointing to and
preparing the way for the introduction of his kingdom in the latter times,
that will stand for ever and grow in greatness and power until a holy,
lasting, religious and political peace shall make the hearts of the poor
among men exult with joy in the Holy One of Israel, and that his kingdom
is everywhere triumphant.

	The Lord is willing that we should be the pioneers of this work, and
it is now our duty to prove ourselves worthy of his confidence, by
educating ourselves until our traditions are precisely according to the
Gospel and will of God.  The revelations of God to Joseph Smith instruct
the Latter-day Saints to live their religion day by day, and to meet on
the first day of the week to break bread, confess their faults one to
another and pray with and for each other.  I would like this tradition
fastened not only upon the people generally, but particularly upon the
Bishops and other leaders of this Church.

	We should seek substantial information, and trust little to that kind
of so-called learning that is based entirely upon theory.  We should pluck
fruit from the tree of knowledge, and taste, then shall our eyes be open
to see, our ears to hear and our hearts to understand.  I would recommend
the same course to those who have not embraced and tasted the sweets of
"Mormonism."  We should get wisdom by reading and by study.  We should
introduce the best books into our schools for the education and
improvement of our children.  Let our school teachers seek constantly to
fasten upon the young mind useful information, and banish from their
schools every study that only tends to perplex the student and waste his
valuable time.  I know of no branch in the rudiments of English education
that is more difficult to conquer than its orthography; indeed, very few
men have ever become perfect in it, and I know of no branch of learning
that needs more reforming.

	After introducing into our schools every useful branch of education,
let our teachers ask the Father, in the name of Jesus, to bestow upon them
and upon their scholars the Spirit of wisdom and intelligence from heaven;
ask for skill to control and ability to teach on the part of the teacher,
and willingness to be controlled and aptability to be taught on the part
of the scholars.  Let parents aid the teacher in his labours, by seeing
that their children attend school punctually, with a proper supply of
books, slates, pencils, &c.; and permit not a good, diligent, faithful
school-teacher to suffer for the common necessaries of life, while he is
labouring to educate and bless their children.

	Every good and perfect gift cometh from God.  Every discovery in
science and art, that is really true and useful to mankind, has been given
by direct revelation from God, though but few acknowledge it.  It has been
given with a view to prepare the way for the ultimate triumph of truth,
and the redemption of the earth from the power of sin and Satan.  We
should take advantage of all these great discoveries, the accumulated
wisdom of ages, and give to our children the benefit of every branch of
useful knowledge, to prepare them to step forward and efficiently do their
part in the great work.

	Endless variety is stamped upon the works of God's hands.  There are
no two productions of nature, whether animal, vegetable or mineral, that
are exactly alike, and all are crowned with a degree of polish and
perfection that cannot be obtained by ignorant man in his most exquisite
mechanical productions.  Man's machinery makes things alike; God's
machinery gives to things which appear alike a pleasing difference. 
Fields and mountains, trees and flowers, and all that fly, swim or move
upon the ground are lessons for study in the great school our heavenly
Father has instituted for the benefit of his children.  Let us explore
this great field of information that is open before us in good books and
in the great laboratory of nature, and let every man become his own
lawyer, every family have its own doctor, and every person be his own
accountant, &c.  Let even the female portion of our community be taught
how to do business, in the absence of their guardians.  It is an erroneous
idea that a very learned man should not work with his hands, and is better
than other people because he is learned.  Education is the handmaid to
honest labour.  I should be pleased to have our young females study the
fine arts, music, painting, &c., for which there is fine talent here, but
I would not have them suppose that education in the fine arts alone
constitutes them ladies, or will fit them for the active duties of life. 
It is more necessary that they should know themselves and the duties that
will be required of them when they are wives and mothers; to educate them
thus, is a duty that is particularly binding upon mothers.

	Let there be a mutual desire in every man to disseminate knowledge,
that all may know.  I have always followed out the rule of dispensing what
I know to others, and been blessed in so doing.  After all our endeavours
to obtain wisdom from the best books, &c., there still remains an open
fountain for all; "If any man lack wisdom let him ask of God."  Let every
Latter-day Saint constantly practice himself in the performance of every
good word and work, to acknowledge God to be God, to be strict in keeping
his laws and learning to love mercy, eschew evil and delight in constantly
doing that which is pleasing to God.  This is the only sure way to obtain
influence with God and all good men.  I want the fellowship and confidence
of those who are justified before the heavens, and to have this I must
walk in the path Christ has marked out, and let all the rest go their own
way.  Let all who are for God and his laws, walk with me and gain
influence with those heavenly powers, and there is no danger but what they
will gain influence with all good persons who labour for the same
influence, which will bear us off conquerers over all our enemies,
spiritual and temporal.  May the Lord bless you.  Amen.

       ETERNAL EXISTENCE OF MAN.--FOREKNOWLEDGE AND PREDESTINATION.
         Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery,
                Great Salt Lake City, September 28, 1862.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	We have had a very interesting journey to the southern settlements. 
In twenty-five days we have travelled nearly eight hundred miles, held
thirty meetings, and spoken to thousands and thousands of Saints.  I am
somewhat fatigued, and would like to be excused from speaking long to-day.

	My heart is full of blessings for the people; I feel to bear them
continually in my prayers before my Father in heaven.

	I trust we shall be benefited by the discourse we have just heard
from Elder Amasa M. Lyman.  We should seek to understand and know the
principles he has advanced, striving continually to know the things of God
for ourselves.  All the works of mankind amount to but little, unless they
are performed in the name of the Lord and under the direction of his
Spirit.  Let every man seek to learn the things of God by the revelations
of Jesus Christ to himself.  The Gospel we have been hearing this morning
I am seeking continually to understand.  I reduce the Gospel to the
present time, circumstances and condition of the people, and I can say
truly, that the longer I live, and the more experience I gain, the more I
see the weakness of humanity.  We are but children, and are far from being
capable of beholding the great things of eternity.

	As far as we can compare eternal things with earthly things that lie
within the scope of our understanding, so far we can understand them.  We
can think of the greatest earthly wealth, grandeur, magnificence and power
that it is possible for mortals to attain, and somewhat understand how
great a blessing it would be to be entitled to the possession of all this
throughout eternity; but, to be told that there never was a time when
there did not exist an earth like this, peopled  with men and women as
this is, is a declaration that reaches far beyond the limits of our
comprehension.  No man can comprehend that there did not exist an enemy to
God, that there never was a beginning to the order of creation in which we
find ourselves situated.  Who can comprehend the duration of time?  To
return to our friends after an absence of some time and greet them with a
glad heart, to mingle our mutual joy, happiness and congratulations, is
one of the sweetest phases of human bliss, and were we told that there
never would be a time when this heaven of happiness cannot be enjoyed, we
could partially understand it; we only understand it so far as we are
capable of appreciating the co-mingling of kindred joys at the re-union of
parted friends.  The present is that portion of time that more
particularly concerns us, and the greatest and most important labour we
have to perform is to cultivate ourselves.  That man may know his fellow
creatures, it is necessary that he should first know himself.  When he
thoroughly knows himself, he measurably knows God, whom to know is eternal
life.

	We have been hearing that Jesus Christ is our elder Brother.  Yes, he
is one of us, flesh of our flesh, bone of our bone, and became a partaker
with us of all that is earthly.  He also inherited a greater portion of
the divine nature than we can possess in this life.  He was the Son of our
heavenly Father, as we are the sons of our earthly fathers.  God is the
Father of our spirits, which are clothed upon by fleshly bodies, begotten
for us by our earthly fathers.  Jesus is our elder Brother spirit clothed
upon with an earthly body begotten by the Father of our spirits.

	Our heavenly Father delights in his good children, he delights
continually to bless them, yea, "He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and
on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."  All are
equally his children.  We are all the children of our common Father, who
has placed us on the earth to prove ourselves, to govern, control, educate
and sanctify ourselves, body and spirit, unto him, according to his will
and pleasure.  When all that class of spirits designed to take bodies upon
this earth have done so, then will cometh winding-up scene of this
particular department of the works of God on this earth.  It is his will
that we should prepare ourselves to build up his kingdom, gather the house
of Israel, redeem and build up Zion and Jerusalem, revolutionize the
world, and bring back that which has been lost through the fall.

	The inhabitants of the earth are ignorant of the way to secure their
present and future happiness, but, if we are faithful, we shall see the
time when we can speak to the understandings of the people.  It is now
very difficult to do that.  Their minds are closed against every
conviction that would lead to their present and eternal welfare.  They
take the downward road.  This is very lamentable.  Let all who call
themselves Latter-day Saints walk in the path that points to eternal life. 
I mourn and lament when any of my brethren come to me and confess that
they have been guilty of this or that crime, especially when I learn that
they have been in the Church for years.  We are yet subject to sin, and
more or less give way to it; and in so doing we more or less disgrace the
Priesthood and the high vocation to which we are called.  Latter-day
Saints should live their religion, as they would that their neighbors
should live it.  If I delight to see my brother walk in the path of
obedience, let me pursue the same path, saying come, brethren and sisters,
walk as I walk, and follow Christ as I follow him.  Were this the case,
but few could be found who would raise their voices against  the kingdom
of God upon the earth.

	To say that sin is necessary is an unusual saying.  Sin is in the
world, but it is not necessary that we should sin, because sin is in the
world; but, to the contrary, it is necessary that we should resist sin,
and for this purpose is sin necessary.  Sin exists in all the eternities. 
Sin is co-eternal with righteousness, for it must needs be that there is
an opposition in all things.

	I exhort the Latter-day Saints to live their religion and learn to
take care of themselves.  The elements with which we are surrounded are as
eternal as we are, and are loaded with supplies of every kind for the
comfort and happiness of the human race.  It is designed by the Great
Architect of the universe that our bodily wants shall be supplied from the
elements, and by judicious and well-directed labour and a reasonable
amount of industry, the wealth of food, clothing and shelter can be
obtained by all.

	It has been supposed that wealth gives power.  In a depraved state of
society, in a certain sense it does, if opening a wide field for
unrighteous monopolies, by which the poor are robbed and oppressed and the
wealthy are more enriched, is power.  In a depraved state of society money
can buy positions and titles, can cover up a multitude of incapabilities,
can open wide the gates of fashionable society to the lowest and most
depraved of human beings; it divides society into castes without any
reference to goodness, virtue or truth.  It is made to pander to the most
brutal passions of the human soul; it is made to subvert every wholesome
law of God and man, and to trample down every sacred bond that should tie
society together in a national, municipal, domestic and ever other
relationship.  Wealth thus used is used out of its legitimate channel.  If
a man wishes to stamp an honorable fame upon the tablets of eternity, he
can do so only by living a holy and virtuous life.  While stations,
emoluments, sceptres, thrones, or any honor this world can give, do not in
the sight of God raise the possessor above the standing of the poor,
humble, hungry supplicant for bread at his gate.  God is cognizant of the
acts of all men, and dictates the results thereof to his glory, to the
salvation of his people, and to the interests of his kingdom on the face
of all the earth. "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing?  and one of
them shall not fall on the ground without your Father's notice; but the
very hairs on your head are numbered."

	There cannot be a more truthful saying than that this people do not
yet fully know how to take care of themselves, and hence they expose
themselves to many unnecessary sufferings and inconveniences.  After we
have smoothed the path through this life all in our power, by accumulating
around us all the common creature comforts, and done all in our power to
make those who depend upon us happy and comfortable, still, there is
enough of trial to sufficiently prove to God and the faithful ones,
whether we will be true to him and to our holy religion, or false to him
and to our best interests.  Let God be first in our thoughts when we awake
in the morning, and let our actions through each day reflect honor on
ourselves, credit on the cause of God, and secure to us the confidence and
good-will of all good and holy beings.  While we should be diligent and
industrious, filling every moment of our time to some advantage and profit
to ourselves and others, we should not suffer a covetous and grasping
spirit to take possession of us.  It is lamentable to see the ignorance
manifested by many of this people in that respect, for no man who
possesses the wealth of wisdom would worship the wealth of mammon.  Let
the people build good houses, plant good vineyards and orchards, make good
roads, build beautiful cities in which may be found magnificent edifices
for the convenience of the public, handsome streets skirted with shade
trees, fountains of water, crystal streams, and every tree, shrub and
flower that will flourish in this climate, to make our mountain home a
paradise and our hearts wells of gratitude to the God of Joseph, enjoying
it all with thankful hearts, saying constantly, "not mine but thy will be
done, O Father."

	The earth must be redeemed, and it and all that have dwelt upon it be
brought back into the presence of God, for all have suffered more or less
by the sin that has entered into the world.  This is indeed a great work,
and our God has given us the privilege of taking part in it; then let us
prepare ourselves for this stupendous undertaking by seeking above all
things to understand the things of God, by seeking studiously to
understand ourselves, remembering that no man can know himself without so
far knowing God.  There is no mystery in the Gospel of salvation for those
who are heirs of salvation, and they can readily comprehend the truth in
many places of the Bible where the language does not do justice to the
principles designed to be set forth.

	Brother Amasa M. Lyman, this morning, quoted the following passage,
"For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the
image of his Son, that he might be the first-born among many brethren. 
Moreover, whom he did predestinate, he also called, and whom he called
them he also justified:  and whom he justified them he also glorified." 
The Apostle understood full well the principles here advanced, but it
would have filled volumes to have written them out in full as they were
revealed from God by the power and gift of the Holy Spirit.  God foreknows
all, and has predestinated all who believe the truth to the possession of
eternal life, and this in short is all there is of it.  He foreknew
Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and placed him upon the throne of Egypt for the
express purpose of showing forth his power to Israel, and to the wicked
nations of the Gentiles.  The Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart in the same
way that he hardeneth the hearts of his enemies at the present day, after
they have rejected the testimony of his servants and oppressed his elect.

	The Lord has led this people out of bondage with a high hand and an
outstretched arm.  No man acquainted with the history of this people is
ignorant of the almighty power of God that has been manifested in the
organization, growth and present condition of the Church, though they may
be unable naturally to account for it.  And the more we grow and prosper,
the more our enemies are angry with us.  They are angry with us because we
told them, thirty years ago, that calamity would come upon this nation. 
Their anger still increases, while they are drinking of the bitter cup;
and at the same time the Saints are increasing in numbers, in faith, in
hope, in wealth and in power.  I have talked with men who professed to be
gentlemen and dispensers of life and salvation to the people, who,
Pharaoh-like, declared that they would rather be damned than believe that
Joseph Smith was a true Prophet of God.  I promised them they should have
their choice.  Who is to blame for this?  Moses was not to blame because
Pharaoh's heart became more and more hard.  He was not to blame because an
overwhelming destruction came upon that devoted army.  Neither is God,
Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith, myself, or the Apostles and Prophets of this
last dispensation to blame for the unbelief of this nation, and for the
dark and lowering tempest that now threatens to overthrow them with a
terrible destruction.  Still, as Pharaoh's heart became harder and harder,
so will it be with the persecutors of God's people and purposes in the
latter times, until they are utterly destroyed.

	Not only did God foreknow the wicked and predestinate them, but he
also foreknew the righteous and predestinated them; he knew that they
would be conformed to the image of his Son and live according to the words
of Christ, while he knew that the wicked would not fulfil the terms
requisite to be conformed to the image of his Son, but would do the works
of the Devil whom they would list to serve.  It is written that God knows
all things and has all power.  He has the rule and command of this earth,
and is the Father of all the human beings that have lived, do live and
will live upon it.  If any of his children become heirs to all things,
they in turn can say, by-and-bye, that they know all things, and they will
be called Supreme, Almighty, King of kings, and Lord of lords.  All this
and more that cannot enter into our hearts to conceive is promised to the
faithful and are but so many stages in that ceaseless progression of
eternal lives.  This will not detract anything from the glory and might of
our heavenly Father, for he will still remain our Father, and we shall
still be subject to him, and as we progress, in glory and power it the
more enhances the glory and power of our heavenly Father.  This principle
holds good in either state, whether moral or immortal; "For unto us a
child is born, unto us a son is given:  and the government shall be upon
his shoulder:  and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the
Mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.  Of the increase
of his government and peace there shall be no end; upon the throne of
David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with
judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever."  There will be
no end to the increase of the faithful.  What a pleasing thought!  We
shall enjoy each other's society in purity, in holiness and in the power
of God, and no time will ever come when we may not enjoy this.  Such great
happiness is beyond the comprehension of mortals.

	There never was a time when man did not exist, and there never will
be a time when he will cease to exist.  Eternity is without confines, and
all things animate and inanimate have their existence in it.  The
Priesthood of God, that was given to the ancients and is given to men in
the latter-days, is co-equal in duration with eternity--is without
beginning of days or end of life. It is unchangeable in its system of
government and its Gospel of salvation.  It gives to Gods and angels their
supremacy and power, and offers wealth, influence, posterity, exaltations,
power, glory, kingdoms and thrones, ceaseless in their duration, to all
who will accept them on the terms upon which they are offered.

	It is very pleasing to dwell upon the glory to be revealed in the
future, but while our thoughts are thus occupied we should not fail to
give our attention to our present wants and necessities.  Do we know how
to procure the means for our present subsistence?  Have we learned how to
handle the things of this life in the name of Israel's God to his glory,
for the building up of his kingdom, for the bringing forth of his Zion,
for the redemption of the earth, for the establishment of everlasting
righteousness, and for the endless happiness of those who will thus be
made happy?  I am satisfied that there are hundreds of people in this
community who would starve to death, if they were not continually told how
to obtain the means of subsistence.  Do they know how to cultivate the
earth and draw from its bosom beauty and embellishment?  No; they would do
no more towards this than the Indians do, unless some person not only
tells them how, but also shows them by his own works.  How many of the
ladies present have made the ribbons they wear?  How many of them have
made the bonnets and hats they wear?  The time is at hand when you must
make them or do without them.

	I love to see the human form and the human face adorned, but let our
adorning be the workmanship of our hands, from the elements with which we
are constantly surrounded.  I love beauty whether adorned or unadorned.  I
love chaste and refined manners, especially when they are founded upon
virtue.  The etiquette that is of the world is not after God and
godliness.  It bears upon it a false gloss; it has not for its purpose the
happiness of mankind.  The etiquette which is after God is to make my
brother of my sister as happy as I am, if they will accept of it.  It is
to teach men how to rise from a state of degradation to an honourable
standing in the society of the just.

	In the days of the Apostles it was written, "And all that believed
were together and had all things common; and sold their possessions and
goods, and parted them to all men as every man had need.  And they
continued daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from
house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
&c."  This was all right in the Apostles, to show a certain principle that
was hereafter to be acted upon.  It does not require more than common
enlightenment to discover that such an order of things, if persisted in,
would result in poverty, hunger, nakedness and destitution.  I say to my
brethren and sisters, come let us learn how to gather around us from the
elements an abundance of every comfort of life, and convert them to our
wants and happiness, filling our storehouses with wheat, wine, and oil,
filling our wardrobes with woollen cloth and fine linen, with silks and
satins of the finest quality and patterns from the looms of Deseret, going
onward and upward until the whole earth is filled with the glory of God. 
Let us not remain ignorant with the ignorant, but let us show the ignorant
how to be wise.

	I am constantly trying to teach the people how to extract from the
elements the means for their present comfort and independence, and how to
first become perfectly obedient to the Gospel of Christ, and then children
will be obedient to their parents, and in the Church and kingdom of God
every person will learn to act in his order and station, and wisdom will
take up her abode with us.  Let fathers be willing to be taught by the
Holy Priesthood, then let them in all mildness, by example and precept,
teach their families; and let wives be one with their husbands in this
labor of salvation, that the rising generation may be a better class of
people than is the present.

	I have promised the people South, that if they will cultivate the
ground and ask the blessings of God upon it, the desert shall blossom as a
rose, pools of living water shall spring up on the parched ground, and the
wilderness shall become glad.  The Lord has planted the feet of the Saints
in the most forbidding portion of the earth, apparently, that he may see
what they will do with it.  I may confidently say that no other people on
the earth could live here and make themselves comfortable.  If we settle
on these deseret and parched plains, upon the sides of these rugged and
sterile mountains, and cultivate the earth, praying the blessing of God
upon our labors, he will make this country as fruitful as any other
portion of the earth.  May the Lord bless the people.  Amen.


               NEVER ENDING CHARACTER OF A SAINTS' MISSION.
                   ORGANIZATION OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
      Discourse by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Bowery,
                   Great Salt Lake City, Oct. 6, 1862.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	We have opened our Conference to present before the congregation such
principles and doctrines and to transact such business as may be necessary
for the instruction and edification of the Saints and the advancement of
the cause of truth.

	It has been remarked by some of the Missionaries who have lately
returned, that though they had arrived at home, they did not consider
their missions at an end.  When persons become subjects of the kingdom of
God they enter upon a mission that will never end.  They may turn away
from the holy commandments, and forsake the kingdom, but so long as they
remain faithful so long will their missions as advocates for God and his
righteousness be continued. There may be intervals of rest, of relaxation
from the more arduous duties of their missions, but in such times they are
not by any means to consider their missions ended.  Christ will not cease
his labors pertaining to this earth until it is redeemed and sanctified
ready to be presented spotless to the Father.

	Luke records the words of Christ as follows:--"But rather seek ye the
kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you."  Matthew
records the saying still fuller:--"But seek ye first the kingdom of God,
and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." 
Jesus Christ did not exhort his followers to seek something they could not
find, something that was not within their reach.  He did not exhort them
to ascend up to heaven to bring the kingdom down, nor to descend into the
deep to bring it up, but he came to establish that kingdom, and it was
nigh unto them.  I would say to the Latter-day Saints, seek to know that
the kingdom of God has been organized in our own time.  When this kingdom
is organized in any age, the Spirit of its dwells in the hearts of the
faithful, while its visible department exists among the people, with laws,
ordinances, helps, governments, officers, administrators, and every other
appendage necessary for its complete operation to the attainment of the
end in view.  Seek to know that the kingdom of God is organized upon the
earth, and be sure to know that you have an interest in that kingdom, and
enjoy the Spirit of it day by day, for this is, or ought to be, nearer to
our hearts than all earthly considerations.  This privilege is within the
reach of all, when the Gospel is proclaimed to them.  When men truly and
heartily repent, and make manifest to the heavens that their repentance is
genuine by obedience to the requirements made known to them through the
laws of the Gospel, then are they entitled to the administration of
salvation, and no power can withhold the good Spirit from them.  Cornelius
is an instance of this.  The Holy Ghost fell on him and his household,
through their faith and earnest repentance, before they were baptized.

	That we may understand things as they are, and thereby learn to
sanctify ourselves before the Lord our God, it is essentially necessary
that we practically live our religion.  Every true believer of this Gospel
is anxious to gather to the home of the Saints. I think I am safe in
saying, that if there was a highway cast up from England to the shores of
the continent of America, there are men who would be willing to measure
the ground with their bodies to reach this place.  Even this does not tell
their anxiety to be here;  it must be seen in the spirit, to know it as it
really is.  We are agreed in gathering the Saints, as well as in the
initiatory ordinances of the Gospel of peace.

	It may be said that the tug of trials has commenced when the Saints
begin to cross the plains to this place.  This temporal duty puts all
their spiritual attainments to the test.  There are but few persons who
thoroughly understand how to organize and lead a company across the
plains, and in this alone arises many inconveniences and trials to the
immigrants.  How many hearts are prepared to meet the difficulties,
privations, trials and labors to be encountered on the plains, without
murmuring and complaining?  I should think but few.  To believe the Gospel
and embrace it, to believe all that is written in the Bible, Book of
Mormon and Book of Doctrine and Covenants, is but a small matter compared
with giving up comfortable homes, friends and relatives, being tossed upon
the boisterous ocean, confined in narrow limits, and being jostled in
railway cars, exposed to the insults and ridicule of rude and wicked
persons that always assemble on the public highways, and suffering the
hardships and privations incident to travelling over the plains.

	I wish the people not to lose sight of one thing:  that every day's
labor, every moment's toil, every prayer and exertion which they make
points to the building up of the kingdom of God upon the earth.  Let us
seek daily to know that the kingdom of God is established among us,
according to the pattern in the heavens.  Under this knowledge our actions
will constantly point in the right direction, and every move we make will
enhance the interests of the general cause.  When this kingdom is
established in its two-fold capacity--spiritually and temporally--then it
is given unto us to know how to secure everything else that is necessary
to enjoy on the earth.  But it is our duty first to seek to know that the
kingdom of God is established and organized upon the earth, that we have
an interest in it, that that interest above all others is the nearest and
dearest to our hearts, as our present and eternal welfare is embraced in
it, and that we possess the Spirit of this kingdom and enjoy it day by
day.

	Remarks have been made relating to the Saints travelling in
independent companies.  When an independent company undertakes to travel
across the plains, they are generally too independent for their own safety
and good.  There never was and never will be a people in heaven nor on
earth, in time nor in eternity, that can be considered truly and entirely
independent of counsel and direction.  Our independent companies entertain
the same mistaken views of independence as people generally do of the
independence of a Republican Government.  Man in his ignorance is
impatient of control, and when he finds himself from under its influence
he supposes that he is then independent, or, in other words, that he is a
free man.  Independence so viewed and so employed, either individually or
collectively, religiously or politically, must open a wide arena of action
for all the evil, selfish and malignant qualities of depraved men,
introducing distraction into every ramification of society, destroying
confidence, checking the onward progress of industry and universal
prosperity, and bringing in famine, pestilence and destruction everywhere. 
An independent company of immigrants can appoint their own captain to
guide them across the plains, and they can also dispute every act of his
for their good.  They can find fault with him for camping too soon or too
late; for camping in this, that or the other place; and if he offers them
good advice, reject it because they are independent and free, as they
suppose.  Individual self-government lies at the root of all true and
effective government, whether in heaven or on earth.  Those who govern
should be wiser and better than the governed, that the lesser may be
blessed of the greater.  Were this so, then the people would willingly
repose their dearest interests to the trusts of their rulers or leaders,
and with a feeling of pleasure bow to and carry out to the letter their
instructions and conclusions on all matters that pertained to the general
good.  This will apply to great kingdoms and mighty nations, to small
companies of immigrants crossing the plains, or to the home circle.  A
Republican Government in the hands of wicked people must terminate in woe
to that people, but in the hands of the righteous it is everlasting, while
its power reaches to heaven.

	I had the pleasure of leading the first company of Saints to these
valleys, assisted by a few of my brethren.  In this business we have had a
good experience.

	I will here take the liberty of relating a little of my first career
in "Mormonism."  In 1834, brother Joseph Smith the Prophet, started with a
company from the State of Ohio, picking up others as he passed through
various States on his route until he arrived in Missouri.  We had
grumblers in that camp.  We had to be troubled with uneasy, unruly and
discontented spirits.  This was the first time we had ever travelled in
the capacity of a large company, and it was my first experience in that
mode of travelling.  Brother Joseph led, counselled and guided the
company, and contented against those unruly, evil disposed persons.  When
we arrived in Missouri, the Lord spoke to his servant Joseph and said, "I
have accepted your offering," and we had the privilege to return again. 
On my return many friends asked me what profit there was in calling men
from their labor to go up to Missouri and then return, without apparently
accomplishing anything.  "Who has it benefited?" asked they. "If the Lord
did command it to be done, what object had he in view in doing so?"  I was
then comparatively ignorant, to what I am now, in regard to the spirits
and actions of mankind.  But I then learned that those persons who asked
me such questions were weak in the faith and, like a faulty column in an
edifice, could not bear up under the burden designed to rest upon them. 
This has since proved to be the case.  I wish this fact to sink into your
hearts, that when men or women have doubts, they also have fear; and when
they have fear, they are in danger of what?  Of themselves.  Want of
confidence is the parent of moral imbecility and intellectual weakness. 
Hear it, ye Saints, that man or woman that is crowned with crowns of
glory, immortality and eternal lives will never be heard to grumble or
complain.  I told those brethren that I was well paid--paid with heavy
interest--yea that my measure was filled to overflowing with the knowledge
that I had received by travelling with the Prophet.  When companies are
led across the plains by inexperienced persons, especially independent
companies, they are very apt to break into pieces, to divide up into
fragments, become weakened, and thus expose themselves to the influences
of death and destruction.

	I sometimes think that I would be willing to give anything, to do
almost anything in reason, to see one fully organized Branch of this
kingdom--one fully organized Ward.  "But," says one, "I had supposed that
the kingdom of God was organized long ago."  So it it [sic] is, in one
sense; and again, in another sense it is not.  Wheresoever this Gospel has
been preached and people have received it, the spiritual kingdom is set up
and organized, but is Zion organized?  No.  Is there even in this
Territory a fully organized Ward?  Not one.  It may be asked, "Why do you
not fully organize the Church?"  Because the people are incapable of being
organized.  I could organize a large Ward who would be subject to a full
organization, by selecting families from the different Wards, but at
present such a Branch of the Church is not in existence.

	I am satisfied that the mechanical ability of the people of this
Territory will rank with that of any other people, but there is not one in
five hundred that knows how to husband his ability and economize his labor
when he first comes to this new country.  They are for a time like a
feather in the wind, until some circumstances occurs to settle them in
some position where they can begin to do something to provide for
themselves.  It is not easy to find a Bishop that knows how to settle, in
a proper way, the smallest difficulty that may occur in his Ward.  There
are but few men that can guide themselves, and gather around them the
comforts and wealth of this life.  In the settlements I passed through
during my late visit south, I saw comparatively little wisdom manifested
in the style and extent of their improvements.  Men who have been in this
Church ten, fifteen, and twenty years, and in this country from the first
settlement of it, possessing flocks of sheep and herds of cattle and
horses running upon the plains, what kind of houses have they?  Log hovels
and mud huts.  What have they in their houses?  Two tin plates, a broken
knife, and a fork with one prong.  If a person calls for lodgings, "O yes,
you can stay and welcome.  Come wife, bake some potatoes and squash, and
roast some meat, bake some biscuit, and stew a little of that fruit I
bought at the store," and all this the poor woman has to do in one little
bake kettle.  A good natured man enough, an easy going sort of person, and
his hair looks as though it had not been cut or combed for years.  After
supper you retire to bed, and before morning you are made fully satisfied
that you are a man of feeling.  Is such enterprise worthy of Saints?  Is
this the way to build up cities and make the earth like the garden of
Eden?  Do such people know that the kingdom of God is set up on the earth? 
"O yes, I have it in me."  You have the spiritual kingdom within you, but
there is literal kingdom to build up.

	There are scores of Elders in this Church who can preach, baptize and
lay on hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, that do not know how to
produce a livelihood for themselves, a wife, and one child.  It requires
but little experience to do this, and much less do they know how to build
a good house, how to lay out and build up a city, how to lay the
foundations of Zion, &c., &c.  Can they lead a company of Saints across
the plains?  They can try, and very likely the company will break to
pieces, unless the power of God is among them.  This gives us a striking
proof of the necessity of the people's having faith and power with the
heavens, that if their Bishop does not know what he ought, their faith
will keep him in the right path and the Spirit of the Lord will open to
the vision of his mind the things that he should do.  That is the duty of
the people.

	We have a kingdom to organize, and I say, Seek to know that you have
the kingdom within you and that you are in it.  Seek to establish the
kingdom of God upon the earth, for that will give you wisdom to add to
yourselves everything necessary.  The Lord will not himself plough our
grounds, sow our grain, and reap it when it is ripe.  The man that
understands the kingdom of God will seek to understand the elements in
which he lives, and to know something of his own organization, the design
of it, and the designs of Heaven in it.  Is the kingdom of God in its
perfection on the earth?  It is not.  True, we believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ, we believe in his ordinances.  We believe that the Lord called
Joseph Smith and ordained him an Apostle and Prophet to this generation,
giving him the keys and power of the Holy Priesthood.  We believe in the
gathering of the house of Israel in the latter days, in the redemption of
Zion, in the building up and establishment of Jerusalem, and in the
gathering of the Jews from their long dispersion; in short, we believe all
that the ancient Prophets have spoken,but where is the people that is
willing to buildup the visible kingdom of God and that is capable of
dictating this great work.  

	The Lord will make the people willing in the day of his power.  This
cannot refer to making the people willing to acknowledge Jesus to be the
Christ; it must refer to something else.  Shall we wait until we are
whipped from among the wicked before we are willing to gather out from
among them and flee to Zion?  This has been the case with some, and what
are such persons good for when they get to Zion?  I do not, however, wish
to disturb anybody's feelings; I am glad to see them come to a place of
safety when they are obliged to; but I would rather have seen them come in
the beginning, when they could have helped to kill the snakes, build the
bridges, make the roads, and manifest their faith that we could raise
fruit, grain and every staple necessary of life in this country, help to
open the kanyons, build the mills, bring out the lumber and build towns
and cities.  But we are glad to see them as they are, and we will do the
best we can with them.  There  are more coming.

	Which will be best eventually, to go to with our might to build up
the Zion of God on the earth, or wait until we are whipped to it?  I can
only broach the subject of building up the kingdom of God as it must be
built up in the latter days; I will leave it for others to talk upon
during the Conference, or not, as they please.  I know what I have to
do,and that is to teach this people to appreciate their own present lives. 
There is no life more precious than the present life which we enjoy; there
is no life that is worth any more to us than this life is.  It may be said
that an eternal life is worth more.  We are in eternity, and all that we
have to do is to take the road that leads into the eternal lives.  Eternal
life is an inherent quality of the creature, and nothing but sin can put a
termination to it.  The elements in their nature are as eternal as are the
Gods.  Let us learn, under the guidance and direction of Heaven, how to
use these eternal elements for the building up, establishment and sending
forth of the kingdom of God, gathering up the poor in heart to begin with,
and the further things we will learn as we progress.

	Some of you may ask why the Lord did not perfectly organize at least
one Branch of the Church?  When a great blessing is bestowed up a people,
and that blessing is not strictly honored and lived to, in proportion to
the greatness of that blessing, over and above what has been previously
enjoyed, it will be a curse to them.  I recollect that Joseph once said to
me, when he was taking upon the principle of the Lord's raising up seed to
himself upon the earth--a royal Priesthood, a holy nation that can offer
sacrifices acceptable to God--"Brother Brigham, it will damn many of the
Elders of Israel."  There are but few men in this kingdom that are now
worthy of that blessing, yet all who are in full fellowship must enjoy it.

	We will wait patiently until we can get the people to know how to
secure to themselves the comforts of life, good houses, for instance, and
know how to raise fruit as well as bread.  The best fruit I ever saw in
any country I saw exhibited in our recent fair.  It has been told the
people, from the first of our coming into this country, there existed in
these elements as good material for fruit as can be found anywhere.  Then
let us go forth in faith and plant seed in the ground, and cultivate
mother earth and pray over the earth and over our crops and over all we
possess, and the curse will be removed, and God will restore geniality to
the atmosphere and fertility to the soil.

	I wish to teach the Elders of this Church how to lead a company
across the plains, as well as how to preach the Gospel; to learn them how
to be a Bishop, a father to the people, as well as how to kneel down and
pray, or to rise up and preach.  I wish to learn them how to reconcile the
people one to another, how to build cities, how to beautify and redeem the
earth, how to lead and guide this people to life eternal, how to preside
over their families, and how to conduct themselves in the common
avocations of life.  I have all this and more constantly before me.

	Brethren is your Mission ended?  No, it is as much upon you here as
when you are out in the distant parts of the earth preaching the Gospel. 
Jesus Christ made water into wine by calling together from the elements
the properties of wine.  He fed thousands of people with five loaves and
two small fishes by calling the elements together to compose bread and
fish; and he says, "Greater works than these shall ye do, because I go to
the Father."  It is our privilege and our duty to continue to learn, until
we shall have wisdom enough to command the elements as he did, and until
the earth is brought back to its paradisiacal state.  But we must first
redeem ourselves from every root of bitterness that may be in our nature,
striving daily to overcome the evil that is in the world and in ourselves,
sanctifying our hearts and affections until there shall be nothing abiding
in us contrary to the Holy Ghost in its perfect and full fruition of
enjoyment to the creature.

	I think it likely that after a while I may be able to so humble
myself and become like a little child, as to be taught more fully by the
Heavens.  Perhaps, when I am eighty years of age, I may be able to talk
with some Being of a higher sphere than this.  Moses saw the glory of God
at that age, and held converse with better beings than he had formerly
conversed with.  I hope and trust that by the time I am that age I shall
also be counted worthy to enjoy the same privilege.

	I pray you not to forget what I have said to you this morning, but
lay it up in your hearts, and pray that it may bring forth fruit for the
more perfect establishment of the kingdom of God upon the earth.  Amen.

                        FUTURE STATE OF EXISTENCE.
         Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery,
                   Great Salt Lake City, Oct. 6, 1862.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	I will offer a few remarks in relation to the difference between this
and the next state of existence.  The next state of existence is a
spiritual one.  The spirit which is now clothed with mortal flesh will be
set free from that encumbrance, and the spirits of Saints will be free
from the power of sin and Satan.

	This state is a trial, wherein the spirit clothed upon with flesh
labors to sanctify, redeem and save the flesh, that in the resurrection
the spirit and the body may be made eternally one, through the power of
the atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

	The next state of existence is the paradisiacal state of the spirit,
a state of waiting until the body shall pass through the purification and
refinement given to it by passing through death and the grave; then cometh
the resurrection which bringeth to pass the reunion of the body and the
spirit.  "O, how great the plan of our God.  For on the other hand, the
paradise of God must deliver up the spirit of the righteous, and the grave
deliver up the body of the righteous; and the spirit and the body are
restored to each other again, and all men become incorruptible and
immortal, and they are living souls," &c.

	From the state of embryo to the time of birth, and from infancy to
ripe old age, unseen dangers lurk in our path to mar our bodies or to
render our senses inefficient; hence we see the lame, the maimed, the
blind, the deaf, dumb, weak, sickly and so on.

	I think it has been taught by some that as we lay our bodies down,
they will so rise again in the resurrection with all the impediments and
imperfections that they had here; and that if a wife does not love her
husband in this state she cannot love him in the next. This is not so. 
Those who attain to the blessing of the first or celestial resurrection
will be pure and holy, and perfect in body.  Every man and woman that
reaches to this unspeakable attainment will be as beautiful as the angels
that surround the throne of God.  If you can, by faithfulness in this
life, obtain the right to come up in the morning of the resurrection, you
need entertain no fears that the wife will be dissatisfied with her
husband, or the husband with the wife; for those of the first resurrection
will be free from sin and from the consequences and power of sin.  This
body "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."  "And,
as we have borne the image of the earthly, we shall also bear the image of
the heavenly."

	God has done his part towards putting us in possession of celestial
glory and happiness, by providing the means whereby we may attain to it;
and if ever we possess it, we must do so by conforming to the means
provided.  God has given the children of men dominion over the earth and
over all things that pertain to it, and has commanded them to subdue it,
and to sanctify themselves before him, and also to sanctify and beautify
the earth by their industry, and by their wisdom and skill which cometh
from God.  Learn, for instance, how to yoke together a pair of oxen, how
to manage and drive them across the plains, how to get timber from the
kanyons, how to make brick, and how to hew stone and bring them into shape
and position to please the eye and create comfort and happiness for the
Saints.  These are some of the mysteries of the kingdom.  To receive the
Gospel and believe and enjoy it in the spirit, is the simplest part of the
work the Latter-day Saints have to learn and perform.

	God has made man lord of all things here below, and it is the labor
of man to bring all things unto subjection to God, by first subjecting
himself to the will of God, and then subjecting all things over which he
has control, in their time and order.  The will of God is eternal life to
his people and to all they control.

	May God bless you.  Amen.

 THE PERSECUTIONS OF THE SAINTS.--THEIR LOYALTY TO THE CONSTITUTION.--THE
     MORMON BATTALION.--THE LAWS OF GOD RELATIVE TO THE AFRICAN RACE.
       Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle,
                   Great Salt Lake City, March 8, 1863.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	I do not wish to confine myself to any particular subject this
afternoon.

	The rise of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its
history up to this day are vividly portrayed in my memory.  I referred to
that subject this morning, and to the persecution we, as a people, have
received, and the persecuting the Prophet Joseph Smith unto death.  I have
also in my mind the condition of the Christian world, as well as the
revealed religion of the Savior; also the Jewish as the forerunner of the
Christian religion.

	This morning I referred to the intelligence we have, and the position
of the world.  The people want to know a great deal--they want to know
all, but it cannot all be learned in one day nor in a short period of
time.  We expect to learn to all eternity.

	This people are an object of derision and astonishment to our
Christian neighbors, and to the whole world an object of reflection and
serious thought.  Almost every man occupying a public position in the
political, religious or heathen world wishes to possess great influence
and to extend his power.  There is only one way to obtain power and
influence in the kingdom of God, and only one way to obtain foreknowledge,
and that is to so live that that influence will come from our Creator,
enlightening the mind and revealing things that are past, present and
future pertaining to the earth and its inhabitants, and to the dealings of
God with the children of men; in short, there is no source of true
information outside of the Spirit of revelation; it maketh the
dispositions of communities and of individuals.  By possessing this
Spirit, mankind can obtain power that is durable, beneficial, and that
will result in a higher state of knowledge, of honor and of glory.  This
can be obtained only by strictly marking the path of truth, and walking
faithfully therein.

	We are objectionable to our neighbors.  We have a warfare.  As the
Apostle says, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities and against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of
this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."  This warfare
commences within us.

	The spirits that live in these tabernacles were as pure as the
heavens, when they entered them.  They came to tabernacles that are
contaminated pertaining to the flesh, by the fall of man.  The Psalmist
says, "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive
me."  This Scripture has established in the minds of some the doctrine of
total depravity--that it is impossible for them to have one good thought,
that they are altogether sinful, that there is no good, no soundness, and
no spiritual health in them.  This is not correct, yet we have a warfare
within us.  We have to contend against evil passions, or the seeds of
iniquity that are sown in the flesh through the fall.  The pure spirits
that occupy these tabernacles are operated upon, and it is the right of
Him that sent them into these tabernacles to hold the pre-eminence, and to
always give the Spirit of truth to influence the spirits of men, that it
may triumph and reign predominently in our tabernacles the God and Lord of
every motion.  We not only have this warfare continually, day by day,
within ourselves, but we also have an outside influence or pressure to
resist.  Both the religious and the political world have influences to
contend against that very much resemble each other; they are more or less
exercised, governed and controlled by surrounding influences.  We
Latter-day Saints have an influence of this kind to contend against.

	The inquiry has often been made of us in the course of our history,
why we do not contradict such and such statements, "Why do you not confute
this or that?"  "Why do you not enlighten the people in regard to certain
statements which are urged against you, and disabuse the public mind?" 
Our position at the present day is far superior to what it was sixteen,
twenty and thirty years ago.  Sixteen years ago we were on the
inhospitable prairies, and in an Indian country.  Five hundred of our
able-bodied men had been taken from us by the call of the Government, and
went to fight the battles of their country.  There are women and children
sitting here to-day, whose husbands, sons and fathers went on that
campaign to prove to our Government that we were loyal, who became widows
and orphans in consequence of that requisition.  Those noble men left
their wives and children and their aged fathers and mothers houseless and
without protection upon the wild prairies and surrounded by savages,
exposed to all the rigors and changes of the weather, to heat and cold, to
rains and storms without protectors, until many sank under it and left
their lifeless remains to be laid beneath the prairie sod.  When this call
was made upon us, to put to the test our loyalty, we had travelled from
Nauvoo and were resting in the western part of Pottowattamie county, Iowa. 
Had we boots and shoes to our feet?  No.  A few had, but the majority of
the people had not.  Had our wives clothing to last them five years?  No. 
Had our children clothing to last them that length of time?  No.  The
great majority of the people had not clothing nor shoes to make them
comfortable a single day.  We were obliged to leave our property behind
us, with the lame and blind and feeble who were pounced upon while we were
absent to find them a safe abiding place.

	This is the outside pressure.  It forced us from Ohio to Missouri,
from Missouri to Illinois, and from Illinois into the wilderness.  We were
accused of disloyalty, alienation, and apostacy from the Constitution of
our country.  We were accused of being secessionists.  I am, so help me
God, and ever expect to be a secessionist from their wickedness,
unrighteousness, dishonesty and unhallowed principles in a religious point
of view; but am I or this people secessionists with regard to the glorious
Constitution of our country?  No.  Were we secessionists when we so
promptly responded to the call of the General Government, when we were
houseless and friendless on the wild prairies of Pottawattamie?  I think
not.  We there told the brethren to enlist, and they obeyed without a
murmur.

	With regard to our going into the wilderness, and our there being
called upon to turn out five hundred able-boded men to go to Mexico, we
had then seen every religious and political right tramples under foot by
mobocrats; there were none left to defend our rights; we were driven from
every right which freemen ought to possess.  In forming that battalion of
five hundred men, brother Kimball and myself rode day and night, until we
had raised the full number of men the Government called for.  Captain
Allen said to me, using his own words, "I have fallen in love with your
people.  I love them as I never loved a people before."  He was a friend
to the uttermost.  When he had marched that Mormon battalion as far as
Fort Leavenworth, he was thrown upon a sick bed where I then believed, and
do now, he was nursed, taken care of, and doctored to the silent tomb, and
the battalion went on with God for their Friend.

	That battalion took up their line of march from Fort Leavenworth by
way of Santa Fe, and over a desert and dreary route, and planted
themselves in the lower part of California, to the joy of all the officers
and men that were loyal.  At the time of their arrival, General Kearney
was in a straitened position, and Colonel P. St. George Cooke promptly
marched the battalion to his relief, and said to him, "We have the boys
here now that can put all things right."  The boys in that battalion
performed their duty faithfully.  I never think of that little company of
men without the next thoughts being, "God bless them for ever and for
ever."  All this we did to prove to the Government that we were loyal. 
Previous to this, when we left Nauvoo, we knew that they were going to
call upon us, and we were prepared for it in our faith and in our
feelings.  I knew then as well as I do now that the Government would call
for a battalion of men out of that part of Israel, to test our loyalty to
the Government.  Thomas H. Benton, if I have been rightly informed,
obtained the requisition to call for that battalion, and, in case of
non-compliance with that requisition, to call on the militia of Missouri
and Iowa, and other States, if necessary, and to call volunteers from
Illinois, from which State we had been driven, to destroy the camp of
Israel.  This same Mr. Benton said to the President of the United States,
in the presence of some other persons, "Sir, they are a pestilential race,
and ought to become extinct."

	I will again urge upon this people to so live that they will have the
knowledge they desire, as we have knowledge not of all, but only of that
which is necessary.  Have we not shown to the world that we love the
Constitution of our country and its institutions better than do those who
have been and are now distracting the nation?  You cannot find a
community, placed under the circumstances that we were, that would have
done as we did on the occasion of furnishing the Mormon Battalion, after
our leading men had been slain and we had been compelled to leave our
farms, gardens, homes and firesides, while, at the same time, the general
Government was called upon in vain to put a stop to such a series of
abuses against an innocent people.

	The people said, "Give us redress for our wrongs?"

	Government:  "Did you say anything?  Hard of hearing; can't hear a
single word you say."

	"Mr. President, Mr. Senator, Messrs. everybody else, can you hear the
cries of the widow and fatherless?"

	Government:  "Did you speak?"  Can't hear you gentlemen; mark what I
say, I can't hear you."

	After all this, to prove our loyalty to the Constitution and not to
their infernal meanness, we went to fight the battles of a free country to
give it power and influence, and to extend our happy institutions in other
parts of this widely extended republic.  In this way we have proved our
loyalty.  We have done everything that has been required of us.  Can there
anything reasonable and constitutional be asked that we would not perform? 
No.  But if the Government of the United States should now ask for a
battalion of men to fight in the present battle-fields of the nation,
while there is a camp of soldiers from abroad located within the corporate
limits of this city, I would not ask one man to go; I would see them in
hell first.  What was the result a year ago, when our then Governor, and I
thank God for such a Governor as we had a year ago, called for men to go
and guard the mail route?  Were they promptly on hand?  Yes, and when
President Lincoln wrote to me requesting me to fit out one hundred men to
guard the mail route, we at once enlisted the one hundred men for ninety
days.  On Monday evening I received the instruction, and on Wednesday
afternoon that hundred men were mustered into service and encamped ready
for moving.  But all this does not prove any loyalty to political tyrants.

	We guarded the mail route; but they do not know what we know with
regard to guarding this route, and they will find that out by and by.  We
do not need any soldiers here from any other States or Territories to
perform that service, neither does the Government, as they would know if
they were wise.  I will, comparatively speaking, take one plug of tobacco,
a shirt and three cents' worth of paint, and save more life and hinder
more Indian depredations than they can by expending millions of dollars
vested in an army to fight and kill the Indians.  Feed and clothe them a
little and you will save life; fight them, and you pave the way for the
destruction of the innocent.  This will be found out after a while, but
now it is not known except by comparatively a few. We complain of the
barbarity of the red men for killing innocent men, women, and children,
especially for killing women and children.  They are to blame for this. 
But remember that they are savages, and that it is an usage among them to
kill the innocent for acts of the guilty.

	I will ask every person who is acquainted with the history of the
colonization of the Continent of North and South America, if they ever
knew any colony of whites to get along any better with their savage
neighbors than the inhabitants of Utah have done.  Talk about making
treaties with the Indians!  Has there been any one treaty with the Indians
fulfilled in good faith by the Government?  If there is one, I wish you
would let me know.  But we call them savages, while at the same time the
whites too often do as badly as they have done, and worse, when difference
of intelligence and training are taken into account.  This has been so in
almost every case of difficulty with the red skins.  When soldiers have
pounced upon these poor, ignorant, low, degraded, miserable creatures,
mention a time, if you can, when they have spared their women and
children.  They have indiscriminately massacred the helpless, the blind,
the old, the infant, and the mother.

	I am a human being, and I have the care of human beings.  I wish to
save life, and have no desire to destroy life.  If I had my wish, I should
entirely stop the shedding of human blood.  The people abroad do not
generally understand this, but they will.  Like Paul, they do that they
would not do, and leave undone that they would do because of the sin that
reigns in their members.  The nations of the world may apply this same
text to their own case.  They want to do something, but what to do rightly
they do not find.

	We have not only the man of sin to contend with, but also the outside
pressure.  Now then, what should we say concerning this people?  I will
answer.  There has never been a time or circumstance since this Territory
was organized, but what the civil law has reigned triumphantly in the
hearts and acts of this people.  The outside pressure now is that this
people, called the Latter-day Saints, are secessionists in their feelings,
and alien to the Constitution and institutions of our country.  This is
entirely false.  There is not another people upon the face of the earth
that could have borne what we have, and still remain as loyal to our
brethren as we have been and are.  They might be displeased with some of
the acts of the administrators of the law, but not with the Constitutional
laws and institutions of the Government.

	This people are filled with patience and long suffering, clinging to
the institutions bequeathed to us by our fathers as closely and as
tenaciously as ever babe clung to the Maternal breast, and we would that
the Government had always been so wisely administered as to bind the best
feelings of the people together, and to create and still continue to
create a union instead of alienation.  The affections of the masses of
American citizens,--both of the people in the North and in the South, are
alienated from each other, and they are divided.  We would it could be
otherwise, but this is the result of the acts of leading politicians of
our nation.  When the people's affections are interwoven with a Republican
government administered in all its purity, if the administrators act not
in virtue and truth it is but natural that the people become disaffected
with mal-administration, and divide and sub-divide into parties, until the
body politic is shivered to pieces. There is no other platform that any
government can stand upon and endure, but the platform of truth and
virtue.

	What can we do?  We can serve God, and our own business; keep our
power dry, and be prepared for every emergency to which we may be exposed,
and sustain the civil law to which we are subject.  We have an adjudicator
of the law in this Judicial District who has been here some eight or ten
years.  Has he found any difficulty or trouble in the performance of his
official acts in this district, which we may say is the brain, the lungs,
the vitals of the whole Territory?  Has he met with any difficulty in
administering the civil law here?  He has not, except in the case where
tyrants have sought to interrupt the even course and administration of it. 
Those who aim to soar to power and fame by taking such a course, pluck out
the pinions of their own wings, and rob themselves of the glory and power
which they so earnestly seek.

	We have our own difficulties to encounter as a people, arising from
influences that cannot be fully comprehended by those who are not of us
and are not living with us.  As for offering refutations to charges made
against us, it would be impossible to keep pace with the thousands of
freshly invented falsehoods that the powers spiritual and the powers
temporal would produce to feed the credulity of the ignorant masses. 
Bunyan says that it requires a legion of devils to watch one Christian; it
would require a legion of refutations to keep pace with one infernal liar,
therefore we say, "lie on, falsify every thing you want to falsify, and
say what you please; there is a God in Israel, and if you have not yet
learned it, you will learn it."

	Some of my friends and brethren have lately thought that there is an
influence being got up against us.  I would not give the ashes of a rye
straw for any influence that our officials here, who are operating against
this people, have in Washington.  If their true characters were only known
there, their influence would be devoid of weight in the mind of any right
thinking man.  I am in no way concerned about what they can do against us. 
I wish one course to be pursued by this people, and all the rest will be
right.  If they will walk faithfully in the path of their duty, in
uprightness before God, clinging to right, and so conducting themselves
that no being in the Heavens, on the earth, under the earth, or in hell,
can say in truth that they are guilty of any unjust of wicked action
committed knowingly, all will be right.  God rules in the Heavens, and he
does his pleasure among the inhabitants of the earth, he causes victory to
perch here, and defeat and disgrace there, as he will, and contending
armies know not the cause of their victory or their defeat.  It is God who
rules.

	We are in the midst of these mountains, and we have good and salutary
laws to govern us.  We have our Constitutional laws and our Territorial
laws; we are subject to these laws, and always expect to be, for we love
to be.  If there is any man among us who has violated any constitutional
law, try the law upon him, and let us see whether there is any virtue in
it, before we try the strong arm of despotism and tyranny.  I stand for
Constitutional law, and if any transgress, let them be tried by it, and,
if guilty, suffer its penalty.

	In 1857 it is estimated that eleven thousand troops were ordered
here; some seven thousand stared for this place, with several thousand
hangers on.  They came into this Territory when a company of emigrants
were traveling on the south route to California.  Nearly all of that
company were destroyed by the Indians.  That unfortunate affair has been
laid to the charge of the whites.  A certain judge that was then in this
Territory wanted the whole army to accompany him to Iron county to try the
whites for the murder of that company of emigrants. I told Governor
Cumming that if he would take an unprejudiced judge into the district
where that horrid affair occurred, I would pledge myself that every man in
the regions round about should be forthcoming when called for, to be
condemned or acquitted as an impartial, unprejudiced judge and jury should
decide; and I pledged him that the court should be protected from any
violence or hindrance in the prosecution of the laws; and if any were
guilty of the blood of those who suffered in the Mountain Meadow massacre,
let them suffer the penalty of the law; but to this day they have not
touched the matter, for fear the Mormons would be acquitted from the
charge of having any hand in it, and our enemies would thus be deprived of
a favorite topic to talk about, when urging hostility against us.  "The
Mountain Meadow massacre!  Only think of the Mountain Meadow massacre!!" 
is their cry from one end of the land to the other.

	"Come, let us make war on the Mormons, for they burnt government
property."  And what was the government doing there with their property? 
They were coming to destroy the Mormons, in violation of every right
principle of law and justice.  A little of their property was destroyed,
and they were left to gnaw, not a file, but dead cattle's bones.  I was
informed that one man brought five blood hounds to hunt the Mormons in the
mountains, and that the poor devil had to kill them and eat them before
spring to save himself from starving to death, and that he was fool enough
to acknowledge it afterwards in this city.  This is the kind of outside
pressure we have to meet with.  Who wanted the army of 1857 here?  Who
sent for them?  Liars, thieves, murderers, gamblers, whoremasters, and
speculators in the rights and blood of the Mormon people cried to
government, and government opened its ears, long and broad, saying, "I
hear you, my children, lie on, my faithful sons Brocchus, Drummond and
Co.," and so they did lie on until the parent sent an army to use up the
Mormons.  Now I say, for the consolation of all my brethren and sisters,
they cannot do it; and that is worse to them than all the rest; they
cannot do it.

	The rank, rabid abolitionists, whom I call black-hearted Republicans,
have set the whole national fabric on fire.  Do you know this, Democrats? 
They have kindled the fire that is raging now from the north to the south,
and from the south to the north.  I am no abolitionist, neither am I a
pro-slavery man; I hate some of their principles and especially some of
their conduct, as I do the gates of hell. The Southerners make the
negroes, and the Northerners worship them; this is all the difference
between slaveholders and abolitionists.  I would like the President of the
United States and all the world to hear this.

	Shall I tell you the law of God in regard to the African race?  If
the white man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the seed
of Cain, the penalty, under the law of God, is death on the spot.  This
will always be so.  The nations of the earth have transgressed every law
that God has given, they have changed the ordinances and broken every
covenant made with the fathers, and they are like a hungry man that
dreameth that he eateth, and he awaketh and behold he is empty.

	The following saying of the prophet is fulfilled:  "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; for he shall gather them as the
sheaves into the floor.  Arise and thrash O daughter of Zion, &c."  God
rules in the armies of Heaven and does his pleasure upon the earth, and no
man can help it.  Who can stay the hand of 
Jehovah, or turn aside the providences of the Almighty?  I say to all men
and all women, submit to God, to his ordinances and to His rule; serve
Him, and cease your quarrelling, and stay the shedding of each other's
blood.

	If the Government of the United States, in Congress assembled, had
the right to pass an anti-polygamy bill, they had also the right to pass a
law that slaves should not be abused as they have been; they had also a
right to make a law that negroes should be used like human beings, and not
worse than dumb brutes.  For their abuse of that race, the whites will be
cursed, unless they repent.

	I am neither an abolitionist nor a pro-slavery man.  If I could have
been influenced by private injury to choose one side in preference to the
other, I should certainly be against the pro-slavery side of the question,
for it was pro-slavery men that pointed the bayonet at me and my brethren
in Missouri, and said, "Damn you we will kill you."  I have not much love
for them, only in the Gospel.  I would cause them to repent, if I could,
and make them good men and a good community.  I have no fellowship for
their avarice, blindness, and ungodly actions.  To be great, is to be good
before the Heavens and before all good men.  I will not fellowship the
wicked in their sins, so help me God.

	Joseph Smith, in forty-seven prosecutions was never proven guilty of
one violation of the laws of his country.  They accused him of treason,
because he would not fellowship their wickedness.  Suppose the land should
be cleansed from its filthiness and the law of God should predominate, if
a man or woman should be found who had corrupted themselves and thereby
become diseased, that man or woman would be placed by themselves, as the
lepers were anciently, never more to commune with the human family. 
Purify your flesh and blood, your spirits, your habitations and your
country, and then you will be pure before God.  This change has got to be
before this earth will be taken back into a celestial atmosphere.

	Find fault with me because I have wives!  They would corrupt every
wife I have, if they had the power; and then they cry to the government,
"You had better do something with the Mormons; they are deceitful and
disloyal!!"  I am disloyal to their sins and filthiness.  Cleanse your
hearts and the whole person, and make yourselves as pure as the angels,
and then I will fellowship you.

	I say to every man and woman in this community, suffer not your
affections to wander after that which is unholy; do not lust after gold,
nor the things of this world.  Sanctify yourselves before your God and
before one another, until you are pure outside and in and all around you,
and see that you faithfully perform every duty.

	Now, as we are accused of secession, my counsel to this congregation
is to secede, what from?  From the Constitution of the United States?  No. 
From the institutions of our country?  No.  Well then, what from?  From
sin and the practice thereof.  That is my counsel to this congregation and
to the whole world.

	May God bless everybody that wishes well to his kingdom on the earth. 
Amen.

         INSTRUCTION TO THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS, IN THE SETTLEMENTS
                      SOUTH OF GREAT SALT LAKE CITY,
         Given by President Brigham Young,in April and May, 1863.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	On the 20th of April, 1863, the President and company left Great Salt
Lake City and arrived at American Fork, when the following instructions
commenced:--

	We shall never see the time when we shall not need to be taught, nor
when there will not be an object to be gained.  I never expect to see the
time that there will not be a superior power and a superior knowledge,
and, consequently, incitements to further progress and further
improvement.

	To look for salvation fifty years hence and do nothing for salvation
at the present time is preposterous.  God has placed the means of
salvation within our reach, and the volition of the creature is at his own
disposal.  When his sons and daughters avail themselves of the means he
has supplied for their salvation, doing good for themselves, it is
gratifying to him.

	We may rejoice greatly in the possession of the spirit of truth and
in the power of God, which elevates the soul to the contemplation of
heavenly things, but it does not teach men how to raise corn.  The Lord
could impart this information in a special revelation, the same as he
instructed Adam and Eve how to cover their nakedness.  He showed them how
to make aprons of leaves and then coats of skins, and instructed Adam in
extracting the metals from their ores, the same as one man instructs
another.  People often wish they had the power of God upon them.  This is
a good wish, and the power of God is a power that would aid men to
accomplish much more than they now do, if they possessed along with it a
liberal supply of sound information and good sense.  The power of God and
true knowledge are component parts of godliness, and all the providences
of God dealt out to us are for the furtherance of his kingdom upon the
earth.  We should be willing to acknowledge his hand in all things and be
his faithful sons and daughters, always ready and willing to do what he
bids us.

	"Mormonism" is as dear as ever to me.  In all the prophecies
delivered by Joseph Smith, I do not think there has been one failure; and
all that has been foretold by ancient Prophets concerning the last days
has been fulfilled so far; not one jot or tittle has failed or will fail. 
The Lord is kind to this people, and if we could understand things as they
really are and be as willing to help ourselves as the Lord is to help us,
we should advance much more rapidly in the knowledge of God than we do. 
Every providence and dispensation of God to his earthly children tends
directly to life and salvation, while the influences and powers exerted by
the enemy upon mankind and every suggestion of our corrupt natures tends
to death.  If there exists within us one feeling, one desire that is not
devoted to the Gospel of the Son of God and to the building up of his
kingdom on the earth, that feeling or desire so far tends to death.

	Knowledge increases among this people; they know more of the things
of the kingdom of God to-day than they did in the days of Joseph Smith. 
There was confidence due from his brethren to Joseph which he did not
receive.  In his death they learned a profitable lesson, and afterwards
felt that if he could only be restored to them how obedient they would be
to his counsels.  The influence and confidence that were denied to him
have since, to a great degree, been centered where they see it belongs. 
Still the old leaven more or less reigns within us; our traditions lead us
to reflect upon death as we formerly did, and to suppose that this life is
only designed to prepare us to meet the last moments of the dissolution of
the body.  This life is now the only life to us; and if we do not
appreciate it properly it is impossible to prepare for a higher and more
exalted life.  We live to-day to prepare for life to-morrow; and if we are
prepared to live, death is divested of its terrors, for we die only to
live in another condition.  In fact, if we only appreciate this life, we
will never die.  Our bodies may sleep in the grave for a short time--the
earthly particles of this tabernacle will return to their mother
earth--but that ever-living power within us will never sleep, and we shall
receive our bodies again.

	The purpose of our life should be to build up the Zion of our God, to
gather the house of Israel, bring in the fulness of the Gentiles, restore
and bless the earth with our ability and make it as the Garden of Eden,
store up treasures of knowledge and wisdom in our own understandings,
purify our own hearts and prepare a people to meet the Lord when he comes. 


	The world is wrong and we have to right it under the direction of
Heaven.  For this purpose are we located upon the land of Zion, and the
land of Zion is North and South America--the land where our heavenly
Father made his appearance and planted the Garden of Eden.  This land is
choice above all other lands upon the face of the earth.  We occupy these
mountains as a safe retreat from the power of our enemies.  When we first
came here we did not know that we could raise grain of any kind.  Probably
some parts of South America are as good for raising wheat as this is; and
in no part of North America can they raise better wheat than is raised
here.  God has blessed the soil for our sakes, and we live and prosper
contrary to the expectations of our persecutors.  Those who are aliens
from the commonwealth of Israel may try to live here, but without our aid
they cannot raise a subsistence.

	The country where Joseph Smith, jun., found the plates was then as
good a country for grain and fruit as could be found upon the whole land,
but when the Latter-day Saints were obliged to leave that region the
ground began to cease yielding the accustomed amount, and the yield of
wheat decreased probably one half.  The Lord blesses the land, the air and
the water where the Saints are permitted to live.

	The blessings of the Lord are great upon this people.  They are
increasing in flocks and herds and are gathering around them property in
abundance on the right hand and on the left; let them be careful that they
do not place their affections upon the things of this world and forget the
Lord their God.  The earthly means which we have been enabled to gather
around us is not ours, it is the Lord's, and he has placed it in our hands
for the building up of his kingdom and to extend our ability and resources
for reaching after the poor in other lands.

	We are here personages of tabernacle, designed to be prepared to
dwell with the Gods; but we are far from that knowledge we might have
possessed had our fore-fathers enjoyed the Priesthood we have and had we
been brought up in it from our youth.  Seeing that we possess the holy
Priesthood, we should introduce a code of traditions among our children
which they will not need to unlearn, as we have had to do.  We have
received the spirit of life, light and intelligence that comes from God
out of heaven, and thus we have become his Saints; and we have gathered to
these mountains to learn how to live and what the Lord designs to do with
us.  We came to these mountains because we had no other place to go to. 
We had to leave our homes and possessions on the fertile lands of Illinois
to make our dwelling places in these desert wilds, on barren, sterile
plains, amid lofty, rugged mountains.  None dare come here to live until
we came here, and we now find it to be one of the best countries in the
world for us.

	The world of mankind have taken a course to alienate the feelings of
each other; they have destroyed the little fellowship and confidence that
were formerly placed in man towards his fellow-man.  I now allude, in
particular, to the Christian world.  They have taken a course to break up
and rend to pieces every trait of friendship.  With few exceptions, none
dare trust his neighbor, and we have to restore that confidence which has
been lost; we have to restore wholesome government and administer
wholesome laws to bind the feelings of the people together.  The Lord has
instituted laws sufficient for the government of his people and has given
us rulers and judges that are of ourselves, and it is our business to
accomplish this work of reformation, beginning with ourselves.

	I try to better my life, and I believe that my brethren do.  I can
see a visible improvement in those with whom I am most intimately
acquainted.  Though we are in the world, yet we should be as perfect as
mortals are required to be.  We are not required in our sphere to be as
perfect as Gods and angels are in their spheres, yet man is the king of
kings and lord of lords in embryo.  Could I in the flesh become as perfect
as God in the spirit, I could not stay on the earth with my friends to
hold close communion with them and speak with them face to face as men
speak to each other.  Earth, home, family and friends have endearments
which tie us here until we have accomplished our work in this probation
and become ripe for that great change which awaits us all.  I would like
to stay on this earth in the flesh and fight the Devils until the last one
is subdued; and when the earth and its fulness are wholly devoted to the
Savior of mankind I will be perfectly satisfied and willing to go into my
grave or be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, as the Lord
will.

	As weak and frail as we are, the Latter-day Saints are my delight;
their society is sweet to me; I crave no other; they are the only people I
wish to see and associate with.  Unless in the line of my duty, I do not
wish ever to associate with any people who do not believe in the Gospel of
the Son of God.  I have no desire to again behold the face of an
unbeliever; especially of those who have had the privilege of receiving
the Gospel and have rejected it.  I hope I shall live to see this people
serve the Lord with an undivided heart and affection all their days,
devoting every day to God and his Work.  They have assembled from
different parts of the earth to these valleys expressly to serve God and
live their religion.  The nations of the earth, without exception, have
wandered far from the fountain of knowledge and the intelligence the Lord
gives to his covenant people. It seems as though it might take the age of
an earth like this to bring back the children of God to where they may
know their Father and understand that they are his offspring.

	In consideration of these things, is it not strange that we should
lust after the gay, foolish, vain things of this world?  that we should be
proud, haughty, arrogant, selfish, covetous and contentious?  Should not
every person professing to be a Saint so live that the Spirit of God will
dwell within them like a burning fire?  and when chastisement is
necessary, let it always be administered in the spirit of meekness,
whether to a wife, a child, a brother or a sister, &c.  God wishes every
one of his sons and daughters to purify their hearts to be prepared to
dwell with him.  We should never permit ourselves, in the beginning of a
new day, to converse with a wife, a child, or a neighbor, unless the
Spirit of God is with us, retaining it for our companion through the
labors and business of the day until we retire to rest at night.  Jesus
says, "But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you,
do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use
you and persecute you," &c.  Because we are commanded to love our enemies,
shall we forsake the society of the Saints and leaven for California and
other places to mingle with them, and swear, curse, gamble and do all
manner of iniquity with them?  No; this is not  the way to love your
enemies. I would not exhort you to hate your enemies, but I do wish that
you would let them alone severely.  If we do anything we will pray for
them, instead of giving them for naught out time, our energies, our gold
and silver, our grain and the good things the Lord has given us for our
individual and mutual benefit.  Pray for them; but let them alone, unless
they are willing to hear the truth.

	I wish this people to pay particular attention to the education of
their children.  If we can do no more, we should give them the facilities
of a common education, that when our sons are sent into the world as
ministers of salvation and as representatives of the kingdom of God in the
mountains, they can mingle with the best society and intelligibly and
sensibly present the principles of truth to mankind, for all truth is the
offspring of heaven and is incorporated in the religion which we have
embraced.  We are progressing in this branch of mental improvement.  Some
of our brethren have been indomitable in their perseverance to divert the
minds of our youth from an excess of frivolous and light amusements to the
more useful and profitable habits of study and learning.  I might here
mention Elder David O. Calder, who has successfully been teaching, in
Great Salt Lake City, the "Tonic Sol Fa" method of singing.  He teaches
three distinct classes, altogether numbering five hundred scholars, twice
a week.  Every accomplishment, every polished grace, every useful
attainment in mathematics, music, and in all science and art belong to the
Saints, and they should avail themselves as expeditiously as possible of
the wealth of knowledge the sciences offer to every diligent and
persevering scholar.

	I am very much opposed to the practice of sending our boys out on the
range to herd stock.  In doing this they pass the greater portion of their
time from under the influence of their parents and teachers, and are kept
in ignorance of the rudiments of learning and of the principles of moral
rectitude, and are exposed to the pestilential influences of evil, and to
the temptations of those who are older and more experienced in the
nefarious practice of stealing and running off horses and cattle.  They
learn to gamble, to steal, to blaspheme the name of God, to lie, to chew
and smoke tobacco, and drink whisky, while they are in the bush herding
our stock.  Some of the sons of our citizens have come to a premature
grave because they would steal, and, if the truth were known, this fatal
practice can, in almost every case, be traced to have found its origin in
them when they were herd-boys.  They then learned to skilfully throw the
lasso, they became helps to older thieves for a trifling bribe, until
finally they by degrees became lost to all self-respect, refused to labor
for an honest livelihood, having imbibed the idea that they could live
easier by stealing, became a pest to society, and prematurely met a
felon's fate.  We are the guardians of our children; their training and
education are committed to our care, and if we do not ourselves pursue a
course which will save them from the influence of evil, when we are
weighed in the balance we shall be found wanting, and the sin will be laid
at our doors.

	Let good schools be established throughout all the settlements of the
Saints in Utah.  Let good teachers, who are Latter-day Saints in principle
and at heart, be employed to educate our children.  A good school teacher
is one of the most essential members in society; he relieves parents, in
part, of a great responsibility and labor; we should, therefore, make the
business of school teaching a permanent institution, and the remuneration
should be in among and in kind equal to the receipts of our best
mechanics; it should also be promptly and willing paid, and school see to
it that teachers are properly qualified and do earn their pay.  Could I
have my wish, I would introduce into our system of education every real
improvement, for all the great discoveries and appliances in the arts and
sciences are expressly designed by the Lord for the benefit of Zion in the
last days, and would be for the benefit of all mankind if they would cease
to be wicked, and learn to acknowledge the hand of God in all things.

	The Saints of God should be self-sustaining.  While they are laboring
to gain the mastery over themselves, to subdue every passion and feeling
of their nature to the law of Christ; while they are striving to possess
the Holy Ghost to guide them every moment of their lives, they should not
lose sight of their temporal deliverance from the thraldom which has been
thrown around them by the traditions of their fathers and the false
education they have received in the nations where they were born and
reared.  In Utah territory they are well located for variety of climate
suitable to the production of materials necessary to gratify every
reasonable want.  So far as we have learned the resources of the country,
we are satisfied that we need not depend upon our neighbors abroad for any
single necessity of life, for in the elements around us exists every
ingredient of food and raiment; we can be fed with the daintiest luxuries,
and can be clothed almost equal to the lilies of the field.  Cotton and
fruits of tropical climes can be grown to perfection and in abundance in
the southern portions of Utah, while cereal crops, flax, wool, silk, and a
great variety of fruit can be produced in perfection in the northern.  Our
object is not to find and possess great stores of the precious metals. 
Iron and coal would be far more valuable to us than mines of silver and
gold.

	The increase clothing in the ratio of the growth of our community and
its wants makes it very necessary that we import and make machinery to
work up the raw material in great quantities.  In the meantime let our
wives and daughters employ themselves industriously at their wheels at
home, that our wants may be partially supplied until more machinery shall
be made and set up in different districts of our territory.  Anciently
garments were made of linen and of wool, and the Israelites were forbidden
to mix wool and linen together; and we read in the book of Genesis that
Pharaoh arrayed Joseph in "vestures of silk."  It is of more modern date
that cotton has become so extensively used throughout the world as an
article of clothing and adorning the body.  This southern country is well
adapted to the production of cotton; we should raise it and manufacture it
in sufficient quantities to meet the wants of our increasing population.

	This community has not yet concluded to entirely dispense with the
use of tobacco, and great quantities have been imported into our
territory.  The silver and gold which we have paid out for this article
alone, since we first came into Utah, would have built several extensive
cotton and woollen factories, and filled them with machinery.  I know of
no better climate and soil than are here for the successful culture of
tobacco.  Instead of buying it in a foreign market and importing it over a
thousand miles, why not raise it in our own country or do without it? 
True principles of domestic and political economy would suggest the
production at home of every article of home consumption, for herein lies
the basis of wealth and independence for any people.

	Importing sugar has been a great drain upon our floating currency.  I
am satisfied that it is altogether unnecessary to purchase sugar in a
foreign market.  The sorghum is a profitable crop, in Great Salt Lake and
the adjoining counties, for the manufacture of molasses; in this section
it can be profitably raised for the manufacture of sugar.  I have tasted
samples of sugar produced from the sorghum raised in the south of Utah,
and a better quality of raw sugar I never saw.  Let some enterprizing
persons prosecute this branch of home-production, and thus effectually
stop another outlet for our money.  Sugar ranks high among the staples of
life, and should be produced in great abundance.

	Tea is in great demand in Utah, and anything under the name sells
readily at an extravagant price.  This article opens a wide drain for the
escape of much of our circulating medium.  The tea of commerce is
extensively adulterated, not only by the Chinese, but also by numerous
others through whose hands it passes before it reaches the consumer.  Tea
can be produced in this territory in sufficient quantities for home
consumption, and if we raise it ourselves we know that we have the pure
article.  If we do not raise it, I would suggest that we do without it.

	Dye-stuffs have opened another drain through which considerable of
our money has passed off.  Wherever Indian corn will flourish madder can
be produced in great quantities, yet we have been paying out our money to
strangers for this article.  Indigo can be successfully and profitably
raised in this region.  An article in the Deseret News on the culture of
indigo, and manufacturing it for coloring, would be interesting,
especially to the people of our southern settlements.

	Whatsoever administers to the sustenance, comfort and health of
mankind forms the basis of the commerce of the world.  Gold and silver in
coin are only valuable as mediums in trade to facilitate exchange.  They
can be made useful to us and add to our comfort when made into cups,
plates, &c., in our household economy.

	Let groves of olive trees be planted, and vineyards of the most
approved varieties of grapes, that there may be wine and oil in the land;
and let sweet potatoes be raise in abundance, and all trees and roots that
bear fruit in the ground and above the ground that can be used as food for
man and beast, that plenty may flow in the land like a river, and
contentment be enthroned in every household, while industry, frugality,
and peace prevail everywhere.

	I will offer a few more reflections upon cotton.  The first cotton
that was raised in this country cost the company that made the experiment
$3.65 a pound.  The year following it cost them $1.82 a pound.  We became
satisfied that cotton could be raised here in sufficient quantities to
supply our wants and to pay the cultivator.  Thousands of the Saints have
since then settled in this region, and are engaged in developing its
resources.  Much has been said with regard to raising and saving cotton. 
There is no use in raising wheat to let it be destroyed, nor in raising
cotton to let it be wasted.  When we visited the southern settlements last
year the question was asked, "what can we do with our cotton when we have
raised it?  We have no cards to card it, no machinery to spin and weave it
into cloth," and the belief seemed to be gaining ground that there was no
use or profit in raising it.  We told the brethren that if they would save
their cotton it would in a short time become useful to them.  How much
they saved or how much they permitted to be wasted I know not.  I
supposed, by the appearance of the cotton crop in the different
settlements, that a great many tons would be ready for market this spring,
and be transported to our northern settlements.  While conversing upon the
subject with a few of the brethren in Great Salt Lake City, brother Wm. S.
Godbe said he would buy cotton of the brethren in the south if they would
sell.  He had some goods passing through this section en route for Great
Salt Lake City, and he exchanged a portion of them for cotton.  You
remember that last summer and fall there was no want of cotton in the
eastern country.  In the month of January or February according to our
despatches, raw cotton was sold in New York as high as $1.05 a pound.  We
thought that was a high price for cotton.  On the first of March raw
cotton was sold in the same city for $00.93 a pound.  At this price we
thought it would be a safe investment to buy your cotton and send it to
the States, and expected you would have some fifty or a hundred tons to
throw into the market.  Brother Godbe could only get some fifteen thousand
pounds.  Since that time the price of cotton in the east is reduced to
$00.45 a pound, and that is a pretty good price.

	Can we make anything by raising cotton and transporting it to the
States to be sold at forty-five cents a pound?  I think we can.  Let some
of the brethren try the experiment by raising thirty-five hundred pounds
of cotton this season, putting it into a light wagon, hitching on three
yoke of cattle, and hauling it to the States, and having it there worked
up on shares.  If they would manufacture it on halves that would
give--making a rough estimate--seventeen hundred and fifty pounds of yarn,
which is worth a dollar and twenty-five cents a pound in St. Louis:  this
would give a handsome profit to the producer. I should think the factories
in the east would willingly work up cotton from Utah in this way, as
cotton is scarce with them:  and they might find it to their advantage to
work it up for a less share than one-half.  If you have it made into
cloth, I would not be surprised if the manufacturer should give you three
and take one; but suppose we say that you get one-half in cloth, that
would give you some fifty-one hundred yards, which, as it is now selling
in Great Salt Lake City, would be equal to about the same number of
bushels of oats.  By importing one load of cotton to the east a man can
make cloth enough to clothe his family many years.

	This system of exporting cotton may do very well, until we have
multiplied machinery sufficient to work up our cotton at home. The little
machinery we have working at Parowan is now making an improved quality of
yarn; and they are improving the machinery so fast that I am encouraged,
and I believe that we shall be successful in making good cloth.  Brother
Hanks, who is now superintending that little factory, left some yarn with
me, and my family have begun to color and weave it.  The yarn is better
than we can get from the east, taking one bunch with another.

	Brother Horace S. Eldredge expects this season to import machinery
for a small cotton factory, and to bring with him a man of experience to
set it up.  This will create a market in this territory for our cotton.

	I wish the brethren of the cotton country to import machinery and
make their cotton into cloth, and we will put machinery in Great Salt Lake
City, buy our cotton from you, and haul it to the city.  In the meantime,
let every appliance for home spinning and weaving be improved upon; let
hand cards be used, and spinning-wheels, and let each family make the
cloth they wear, for if they do not, they will have to go without it.  Is
it not apparent to all since the commencement of the war, that we must
become self-sustaining?  This we have told the people for years.

	Let us apply our hearts to our God and our religion, that we may soon
be prepared to be more fully organized as the children of God our Father;
that we may be qualified to go back to Jackson County, instead of calling
for five hundred teams to go to the Missouri River for the poor.  Were we
to call for teams to go back to Jackson County, five thousand would be on
hand.  This, however, cannot be until the people are better organized in a
temporal point of view, that all their temporal actions may point to the
building up of the kingdom of God, when no man will say that ought he
possesses is his own, but hold it only for the interest and good of the
whole community of the Saints.

	With regard to the country southeast of us, let no man move there
until he gets word from me.  The First Presidency will give you the word
to move when it is time.  We want the brethren to enlarge their borders
here, and extend their settlements up the rivers Rio Virgin and Santa
Clara; and by-and-by they will reach the Severe, from which point we have
a good route through Sanpete to Great Salt Lake City.

	Let me now say to my brethren, the Elders of Israel, it is always
proper to kindly and affectionately ask the people to perform what you
wish performed, instead of ordering them to do it.  This principle is
always good for parents and teachers to observe. Build good commodious
dwelling-houses, plant good gardens, and surround yourselves with every
comfort, and learn to beautify the earth, and prepare for the coming of
the Son of Man.  May God bless you:  Amen.



      HOW AND BY WHOM ZION IS TO BE BUILT.--SANCTIFICATION.--GENERAL
                          DUTIES OF THE SAINTS.
           Remarks by President Young, made in the Tabernacle,
                   Great Salt Lake City, May 24, 1863.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	I am thankful for the privilege of meeting with you here this
morning, and I pray that we may all be able to properly appreciate the
blessings we enjoy in the many opportunities we have of worshiping the
Lord our God in peace and quietude.

	Two weeks ago this day, we met with the people in the city of St.
George, situated in what is called "Mormon Dixie."  Our congregations
there were nearly as large as the congregations that commonly meet in this
Tabernacle.  We met a great many familiar faces, and for a moment we could
have almost imagined ourselves in Great Salt Lake City.

	Our southern journey has been one of great satisfaction to me, more
so, I think, than any journey I have formerly taken to visit the Saints in
this Territory.

	Until this year brother Kimball has not been further south with me
than Harmony.  He could not refrain from speaking in fervent terms of the
good spirit that was manifested through the thousands of cheerful
countenances that were uplifted in the settlements to greet us as we
passed along.  This, and numerous other indications and manifestations in
their cordial greetings, bespeak a great improvement in the moral and
physical condition of the people.  We cannot be deceived in coming to this
conclusion, for whoever enjoys the light of truth and has so lived as to
increase the Spirit of truth within himself can testify to the workings of
that Spirit upon the hearts, the understanding and works of the Saints
generally.  I speak for myself; I am sensible of the increase of the
knowledge and Spirit of God within myself.  This being the case with
myself, I can easily realize the increase of the same Spirit in my
brethren.  This is a matter of great joy and rejoicing to me and my
brethren.  I do not think that brother Kimball attended one meeting where
he did not express his thankfulness because of the improvement visible
among the Latter-day Saints.

	It would take some time to give you a detailed account of our
journey.  The Deseret News correspondent has, through the paper, given you
a pretty fair account of our travels, and what of interest has not already
been laid before the public will appear in due time.  I do not deem it
necessary to make lengthy statements touching our journey south.  Suffice
it to say that in the short space of thirty days we travelled some eight
hundred and fifty miles and held thirty-nine meetings.  I spoke in all the
meetings except one, speaking comforting and encouraging words to the
people.  I believe that brother Kimball spoke in nearly all the meetings
we held during our journey.

	It would be a source of great joy to me if I could speak of all the
Latter-day Saints in the same terms of commendation that I can of a few. 
As people increase in the knowledge of God and godliness their joy will
increase, though some seem to think that knowledge does not produce joy,
peace and glory.  So far as my experience has taught me, the knowledge of
God possessed by persons of good understanding gives great satisfaction
and joy, not only under ordinary circumstances but far more in the midst
of deepest affliction.  Where the spirit of happy submission to the
providences of God is not to be found, I conclude at once that there is a
lack of the knowledge of God, pertaining to his purposes and designs
regarding his people individually and collectively.  As a people advance
in the knowledge of God, joy will increase with them, and, whether in
bonds or free, they can behold the goodness, the mercy and the
long-suffering of God to the workmanship of his hands.  If we could
understand ourselves, our own organization, the great plan of the heavens,
and the attributes with which we are endowed, exercising them to
accomplish the purpose for which they were placed within us, we could be
constantly happy in every circumstance and under every providence of God
in which we may be placed.  Let our minds once be opened to behold only in
part the handiworks of God, the stupendous machinery of the heavens and
the earth, the power by which all things are sustained, the harmony that
pervades all the works of God's hands, distributing his favors to all
impartially, causing his sun to shine on the just and unjust, then can we
be happy, indeed, in every changing scene and shifting circumstance of
life.  We are made to enjoy all that God enjoys, to inherit all he
inherits, to possess all the power that he possesses, all the excellency
with which he is endowed--all things are to be brought into subjection to
him by his faithful children, that they may enjoy all things with him;
these considerations bring peace to the heart that is opened to
understanding.

	Our teachings to the brethren and sisters south have been such as
would meet their circumstances and wants, as our teachings are to the
people here.  You can readily understand, without any particular
explanation, that the teachings of the Heavens to men on earth have, I may
say, a certain amount of sameness, varying as the providences of God vary. 
He instructs people according to their circumstances, locations, wants and
the dispensations in which they live.  We have not preached faith,
repentance, baptism for the remission of sins and the laying on of hands
for the reception of the Holy Ghost with the gifts and powers of the
Gospel, &c.; but we have taught them how to build up a literal kingdom of
God here upon earth.  The first principles of the Gospel have been taught
this people in the countries from whence they have been gathered, the
ordinances of the Gospel have been administered to them, and in this they
have experienced great joy, but they were, at the same time, taught to
gather to Zion where they might be instructed how to live one with another
without sinning, how to overcome every evil propensity in their nature,
how to rise in the morning, how to take care of and sustain their bodies
through the day, how to go to rest at night, how to feel one towards
another and towards their God; not to bring heaven down, not to unvail the
beauties and glories of the upper world, not to unvail the face of Him who
sits upon the throne, whose face we could not behold in our present state
and live, but to make heaven here by teaching the husband how to live and
deal with his wife or wives, with his sons and with his daughters; by
teaching the wife how to live with and treat her husband and her children,
and the husband, wife and children how to live with their neighbors, that
all anger and malice and all sin may be overcome by the people and never
again gain mastery over them.  These are the mysteries that belong to the
kingdom of God upon the earth; as to the mysteries pertaining to the
Father and the Son, to angels, and to the powers of the heavens and the
fulness of the glory of Zion, we shall learn in good time.

	Tradition has taught us that the great purpose of religion is to
prepare people to die; that when they have passed through a change of
heart, become converted, then they are ready for glory at any moment and
to dwell with the Father and the Son in the heavens to all eternity.  This
is a mistake; for they have to improve, become substantially changed from
bad to good, from sin to holiness, here or somewhere else, before they are
prepared for the society they anticipate enjoying.  They would not be
nearly so well prepared for the society of the sanctified in heaven as a
person brought up in the lowest classes of society would be prepared to
properly present and conduct himself among the highest and most polished
grades of mankind.  Those who are counted worthy to dwell with the Father
and the Son have previously received an education fitting them for that
society; they have been made fully acquainted with every pass-word, token
and sign which have enabled them to pass by the porters through the doors
into the celestial kingdom.  We have been traditioned to think that to
rise up and speak in a meeting is to bear the cross of Christ.  How often
we have been exhorted to take up our cross by telling our experience
before our brethren?  This is but a small part of the experience and labor
of the faithful Saint.  I will prove you and try you, saith the Lord, by
placing you in the most abject circumstances you can be placed in; I will
surround you with your enemies, expose you to their derisive laugh, to the
finger of scorn and to the hatred of the wicked, then will I see whether
you will acknowledge me and bear your cross manfully.  All this and more
has to be taught the people in Zion.  They must learn there how to
sanctify themselves and become steadfast in the faith of our Lord Jesus
Christ.

	We have taught the brethren, during our southern trip, what pertains
to their every-day life, just as we teach you. We want all the Latter-day
Saints to understand how to build up Zion.  The City of Zion, in beauty
and magnificence, will outstrip anything that is now known upon the earth. 
The curse will be taken from the earth and sin and corruption will be
swept from its face.  Who will do this great work?  Is the Lord coming
here to convert the people, and then drown the whole of them as the
Catholic priest served the Jew?  No.  Is he going to convince the people
that he will redeem the centre stake of Zion, beautify it and then place
them there without any exertion on their part?  No.  He will not come here
to build a Temple, a Tabernacle, a Bowery, or to set out fruit trees, make
aprons of fig leaves or coats of skins, or work in brass and iron, for we
already know how to do these things.  He will not come here to teach us
how to raise and manufacture cotton, how to make hand cards, how to card,
how to make spinning machines, looms, &c., &c.  We have to build up Zion,
if we do our duty.

	In the first place, we have to become sanctified; and I may here say
that our views of sanctification differ very much from the views held by
some of the popular sects of the day, for they think that sanctification
consists in shutting the door and securely bolting it against fulfilling
the first commandment that God gave to our first parents.  I will put my
own definition to the term sanctification, and say it consists in
overcoming every sin and bringing all into subjection to the law of
Christ.  God has placed in us a pure spirit; when this reigns predominant,
without let or hindrance, and triumphs over the flesh and rules and
governs and controls as the Lord controls the heavens and the earth, this
I call the blessing of sanctification.  Will sin be perfectly destroyed? 
No, it will not, for it is not so designed in the economy of Heaven.

	All the Lord has called us to do is to renovate our own hearts, then
our families, extending the principles to neighborhoods, to the earth we
occupy, and so continue until we drive the power of Satan from the earth
and Satan to his own place.  That is the work Jesus is engaged in, and we
will be co-workers with him.  Do not suppose that we shall ever in the
flesh be free from temptations to sin.  Some suppose that they can in the
flesh be sanctified body and spirit and become so pure that they will
never again feel the effects of the power of the adversary of truth.  Were
it possible for a person to attain to this degree of perfection in the
flesh, he could not die neither remain in a world where sin predominates. 
Sin has entered into the world, and death by sin.  I think we shall more
or less feel the effects of sin so long as we live, and finally have to
pass the ordeals of death.  Do not understand that in the flesh we shall
ever overcome the power of sin to such a degree that we shall never taste
death.  I do not look for any such thing, though what we call death, or
laying down this body, is only the door to a higher state of life for the
faithful.  If we live our religion it will enable us to so overcome sin
that it will not reign in our mortal bodies but will become subject to us,
and the world and its fulness will become our servant instead of our
master.  Those who list to obey sin are the servants of sin.  We should
never list to obey that which corrupts, for in so doing we become servants
to corruption.  We should so live as to make the world and all its natural
blessings subservient to our reasonable wants and holy desires.

	The Latter-day Saints are improving, and I am rejoiced; my heart is
filled with joy on this account.  Do they improve in building?  Not as
much as they should.  Do they improve by manufacturing the things they
need to wear?  Not as much as they should.  Do they improve in educating
their children?  Not as much as they should.  But they improve in their
faith and in their love one to another; they improve in the light of the
holy Gospel.  The people are generally improving in these respects, and we
are glad of it.

	Great Salt Lake City is the first established city in the mountains,
and we look for more improvement in the spirit of the people here than in
any other settlement.  The Lord expects this place to advance faster than
any other place among all the settlements of the Latter-day Saints.  Do we
know how to rise in the morning?  Do we leave our couches in the morning
with anger in our hearts?  Do we feel disconsolate, afflicted and
oppressed by the Adversary?  We can get rid of all this by going down upon
our knees and praying until we overcome that feeling of discontent and
misery and become kind to our companions and offspring, to the inmates of
our habitation, to our flocks and herds, to our neighbors and to every
creature God has made.  We may say that our work drives us and that we
have not time to pray, hardly time to eat our breakfasts.  Then let the
breakfasts go, and pray; get down upon our knees and pray until we are
filled with the Spirit of peace.  I may say, my wife is hurrying me and I
feel out of sorts; perhaps I have not had very pleasant dreams, have
thought somebody was abusing me or got angry with somebody in my sleep,
and I rise in the morning tired and feeling unpleasant with myself and
everybody around me:  while the Elder who has dreamed of preaching the
Gospel to the nations, of building up Zion and laboring for the Gospel all
night in his mind and feelings, being filled with the Holy Ghost, rejoices
in his sleep; his slumbers are sweet to him and he rises in the morning
filled with the good Spirit, and with him it is, "God bless you wife, God
bless you my children."  He feels to bless his house and his gardens, his
orchards, his flocks and his herds, and everything looks pleasant to him
and he rejoices exceedingly in the works of God's hands.  He cherishes no
malice, no anger; the spirit of the enemy has no place in him.  How happy
is such a person when compared with the man who is constantly laboring to
amass gold and property, making this his only end and aim.  How the Devil
will play with a man who so worships gain.

	Let me say to the brethren and sisters, when you are chastened by any
of your leaders, never consider that the enemy does it, but receive it
always as a kindness from the hand of a friend and not as from an enemy. 
If your Presidents were your enemies they would let you alone in your
faults.  If you are beloved of the Lord you will be chastened; receive it
with joy.

	We are in one of the strongholds of Zion; let us, therefore, so live
that our days and nights will be pleasant unto us, and never spend an hour
without the light of truth beaming upon our understandings.  I ask my
friends who are with me daily, I ask my family, "When do you see my out of
sorts?"  You say, "We do not expect to see you angry, brother Brigham; we
do not expect to see you anything but just right."  If you expect to see
me just right, why do you not try with a little more determination to
become just right yourselves?  How is it, my brethren and sisters?  If I
am expected of our Heavenly Father to live just right, is not the same
expected of you?  If I am are you not also in duty bound to so live as to
enjoy the Spirit of truth, light and intelligence?  Are you not under the
same obligation to purify your hearts as I am?  If any of the First
Presidency or the Twelve should speak an angry word, you consider it to be
very much out of character, but are you any more privileged to speak angry
words or to indulge in scolding at and quarreling with one another?  The
First Presidency have no such privilege, and if they have no such
privilege why should you have?  Let each of us begin at home and train
ourselves, gaining the victory over every passion, if we have to pray
one-half of each day until the Spirit of truth reigns within our hearts.

	Some think that they should not, if they feel evil in their hearts,
at the same time appear to feel good--that they should not dissemble in
the least.  The Devil can quote Scripture in abundance against hypocrisy. 
If I did not show anger towards a brother when I felt it, I should be
considered a hypocrite.  The Devil says, do not dissemble, do not carry
two faces, do not show a pleasant countenance when you at the same time
feel angry in your heart.  I say, suffer not anger to rise in your
countenance, to speak through your eyes, nor through your organs of
speech, and in this way keep it down until you are free from it, as you
would any other evil.  To say that inward evil must outwardly be made
manifest in order to escape the opprobrium of hypocrisy is a trick of the
Devil to cheat men out of the blessings that are in store for them.  By
the word hypocrisy I do not here mean a counterfeiting of religion or
goodliness to gain sordid ends, but to appear good and practise goodness
contrary to the promptings of the evil one or the unregenerated impulses
of the human heart.  If the Devil says you cannot pray when you are angry,
tell him it is none of his business, and pray until that species of
insanity is dispelled and serenity is restored to the mind.

	We are inhabitants of a world of sin and sorrow; pain and anguish,
every ill that can be heaped upon intelligent beings in a probation we are
heirs to.  I suppose that God never organized an earth and peopled it that
was ever reduced to a lower state of darkness, sin and ignorance than
this.  I suppose this is one of the lowest kingdoms that ever the Lord
Almighty created, and on that account is capable of becoming exalted to be
one of the highest kingdoms that has ever had an exaltation in all the
eternities.  In proportion as it has been reduced so it will be exalted,
with that portion of its inhabitants who in their humiliation have cleaved
to righteousness and acknowledged God in all things.  In proportion as it
has been reduced so it will be exalted, with that portion of its
inhabitants who in their humiliation have cleaved to righteousness and
acknowledged God in all things.  In proportion to our fall through sin, so
shall we be exalted in the presence of our Father and God, through Jesus
Christ and by living the righteousness of his Gospel.  All this the people
will understand in due time through their faithfulness, and learn to
rejoice even in the midst of afflictions.  

	We have taught the brethren south to raise flax and cotton and to put
up machinery for manufacturing cloth.  We have also taught them to live so
as to ever be at peace and on the best of terms with each other.  Two
cases of difficulty, I think, were the only ones we were called upon to
examine.  As to High Council and Bishops' Courts, we have almost forgotten
that any such courts exist.  Why is this?  Because we are continually
importuning the brethren to faithfully live their religion and not let a
few dimes and dollars or a little mistake infringe upon the fellowship of
one with another.  Perhaps a neighbor's cow is in his garden, and he is
angry with his neighbor, when, at the same time, that neighbor is as
innocent as an angel.  Nine hundred and ninety-nine cases of difficulty
out of a thousand arise from circumstances not worthy of notice. There are
but few persons who really design to injure each other.  I do not believe
there is one man or woman in a thousand, in this community, who designs to
do wrong, though there are hundreds that do wrong, and some who do a great
many wrongs, but they do not design to do wrong.  They can truly say, with
the Apostle Paul, "When I would do good evil is present with me."  Paul
had been a very wicked man; he had done all he could to destroy the Church
of God, and, consequently, was given over to the buffetings of Satan, so
that when he would do good the Devil had such power over him that he had
to keep up a continual warfare.  Let us endeavor to do the good and leave
the undone the evil.

	Some desire to do good all the time, still it seems that almost every
act they perform results in evil; look upon such persons as they are,
through eyes of mercy, and not measure them with your measure.  If you are
endowed with wisdom and understanding, if you escape the evil and do the
good, thank God that you have knowledge, and do not condemn your brethren
and sisters who are weaker than you are for falling into evil when they
know no better.  This is the teaching of the Spirit of the Lord all the
day long.

	When the books are opened, out of which the human family are to be
judged, how disappointed are the professedly sanctified, long-faced
hypocrites and smooth-toned pharisees will be, when the publicans and
harlots enter into the kingdom of heaven before them; people that appeared
to be full of evil; but the Lord says they never designed to do wrong; the
Devil had power over them, and they suffered in their mortal state a
thousand times more than you poor, miserable, canting, cheating,
snivelling, hypocritical pharisees; you were dressed in purple and fine
linen, and bound burdens upon your weaker brethren that you would not so
much as help to lift with your little fingers.  Did you ever go without
food, suffer with tooth-ache, sore eyes, rheumatism, or the chills and
fever?  You have fared sumptuously all your days and you condemned to an
everlasting hell these poor harlots and publicans who never designed an
evil.  Are you not guilty of committing an evil with that poor harlot? 
Yes, and you will be damned while she will be saved.

	Let us look at our neighbors as they are, and not as we want them to
be; let us learn enough to know what we are ourselves and what our
brethren and sisters are, and learn the true designs of their hearts, and
then judge them as God judges them and not according to outward
appearance; then every contention will cease, every heart will beat high
to build up Zion, and the follies and weaknesses of our neighbors we shall
not think of.

	We all know that we need material for clothing; then let us look out
of it and not neglect the matter until we are found in a state of nudity,
without the power to clothe ourselves.  These are the mysteries of the
kingdom of God upon the earth, to know how to purify and sanctify our
affections, the earth upon which we stand, the air we breathe, the water
we drink, the houses in which we dwell and the cities which we build, that
when strangers come into our country they may feel a hallowed influence
and acknowledge a power to which they are strangers, "For all is dedicated
to the Lord and consecrated to him, and the Spirit and power of God reigns
there and the power of the enemy can find no place."  When the people of
the Saints have attained to this happy state, then will they say, "Give us
more room to dwell," and they will never be driven from such ground.  All
hell may then give up the chase, for they never can drive the Saints from
a spot that is hallowed by the faith of the Saints, through the medium of
Jesus Christ by the power of the Father, for that place is dedicated and
sanctified to him.

	We are in possession of the valleys in the mountains, and the Lord
has led us here.  We have tried to be admitted into the family of States,
but we are scarcely permitted to be a Territory.  We are here, and they
can do nothing against us. They are not capable of afflicting this people,
if we live our religion.  Let every man and woman sanctify themselves and
their possessions, dedicating all unto the Lord, then will we be driven? 
No, neither will our possessions be given to the kingdom of the Devil;
they belong to God, and he will hold them for himself, and they will
remain uncontaminated and we with them, until we go back to build up the
centre stake of Zion.

	This season we called for five hundred teams to send for the poor;
some of those teams came some four hundred miles and then started on the
journey over the plains to bring in the poor.  Suppose we should call for
five thousand teams to go and build up the centre stake of Zion and
establish it that it shall never be thrown down, would they be
forthcoming?  They would, and when that time comes we shall leave a great
many more in the mountains than are now here, and we shall see Zion
rolling forth on the right and on the left, like the waves of the sea,
which no earthly power can stem.

	I will here mention the incident of two of our Elders, while on their
way to the Sandwich Islands, being blown up and killed on a steamboat.  It
is all right.  If you wish to know how I feel about them, I will say that
the Lord took them while they were in the humor of trying to do good.  I
would not have give a red cent for all the good they would have done in
the vineyard.  It made me think of an anecdote I have already alluded to,
concerning the Jew whom the Roman Catholic priest pushed under the ice
while he professed belief in the Christian religion.  God dictates all
these matters, and will work out his designs in his own way.  He will deal
with the Latter-day Saints for their good and with our enemies for our
good; and when a nation kills his Prophets he will deal with them
accordingly:  he will chasten them, as he is doing at this time.

	I am for the kingdom of God.  I like a good government, and then I
like to have it wisely and justly administered. The government of heaven,
if wickedly administered, would become one of the worst governments upon
the face of the earth.  No matter how good a government is, unless it is
administered by righteous men, an evil government will be made of it.  The
Lord has his eye upon all the kingdoms and nations of men, with their
kings, governors and rulers, and he will sink the wicked to misery and
woe, and we cannot help it.

	Let us be just, merciful, faithful and true, and let us live our
religion, and we shall be taught all things pertaining to the building up
of Zion.  Let us train our minds until we delight in that which is good,
lovely and holy, seeking continually after that intelligence which will
enable us effectually to build up Zion, which consists in building houses,
tabernacles, temples, streets and every convenience necessary to embellish
and beautify, seeking to do the will of the Lord all the days of our
lives, improving our minds in all scientific and mechanical knowledge,
seeking diligently to understand the great design and plan of all created
things, that we may know what to do with our lives and how to improve upon
the facilities placed within our reach.

	This is as good an earth as need be, if we will make it so.  The Lord
has redeemed it, and it is his wish that his Saints should beautify and
sanctify it and bring it back to the presence of the Father and Son yet
more pure, more holy and more excellent than it was in its original state,
with ourselves upon it.

	It pleased me very much, when I returned home, to see a good many
little boys learning to cut rock, thus doing good to their parents,
themselves and the kingdom of God.  Send on some more boys and put them in
the joiner shops, or learn them to make shoes, harness and everything that
will be useful and profitable.  Every Elder should have at least one
trade, and if possible more than one, and still continue to learn and
improve in a knowledge of the world and all things pertaining to it,
learning how to better the condition of everything that exists--in
particular of ourselves and those around us.  Let the husband make an
improvement upon his kitchen and pantry and upon his bedrooms for the
benefit of his family, and improve his gardens, walks, &c., beautifying
your habitations and their surroundings, making pavements and planting
shade trees.

	Cease lying, cease taking the name of God in vain, cease being
dishonest with your employers, with one another and with your God, and the
Lord will love and bless us.  Let us learn our duties one toward another,
the husband to the wife, the parents to their children and the children to
their parents, and let us all learn and practice our duties to God and his
kingdom.  God bless you:  Amen.

             KNOWLEDGE, CORRECTLY APPLIED, THE TRUE SOURCE OF
                WEALTH AND POWER.--UNITY OF JESUS AND HIS
             FATHER.--MIRACLES.--SLAVERY.--TRUE CHARITY, ETC.
         Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery,
                   Great Salt Lake City, May 31, 1863.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	We have met to commemorate the first day of the week, and we hope
that every heart will be concentrated upon the business before us.  We do
not hold that the first day of the week is the only day upon which to
worship God, for we ought also to worship him on the second, third,
fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh.  It was the custom of Christ's disciples
to meet together on the first day of the week to break bread in
remembrance of his death and resurrection; we follow the same custom.  The
Lord knows the wants of his mortal children, and has appointed unto them
one-seventh part of the time for rest, though we cannot say, in every
sense of the word, that this is a day of rest to the Latter-day Saints or
to the professing Christians, some of whom are in the habit of rising at
sunrise to hold prayer-meetings; they then eat breakfast and hurry away to
the morning service until noon; in the afternoon they again have meetings,
and class meetings, prayer meetings, confessing meetings, &c., and so
continue until nine in the evening.  To such persons I cannot consider it
really a day of rest.  According to the revelations given to us, it is a
day upon which we are commanded to meet to break bread, to confess our
faults to God and to one another, being determined to lay aside every evil
and prepare ourselves for the duties of the coming week; so we meet
together to worship the Lord and to speak of his goodness, to wait before
him, to be instructed and have our minds guided and directed in the ways
of life and to remember the Lord's death until he comes again.  I am happy
that we have the privilege this morning of meeting in this capacity, under
the quiet shade of this comfortable Bowery.

	Our hearts have been made to feel the divine influence that comes
from heaven to prepare us to build up the Zion of our God upon the earth
in the latter days.  That we may enjoy our meeting this morning, let us
strive to concentrate our thoughts upon the object of our assembling, for
there is a proneness in the mind to wander, and it often requires
considerable effort to stay it upon any one purpose.  The cares and wants
of this life occupy our minds deeply, but when we come to understanding we
shall learn that our Father in heaven takes cognizance of all these
matters.  "And why take ye thought for raiment?  Consider the lilies of
the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin." 
"Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is and
to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye
of little faith?"  "He giveth to the beast his food and to the young
ravens which cry."  If we are faithful we shall learn in due time that all
things are sustained and endured by his all-wise providences.  We are too
apt to trust entirely to our own ability for procuring the desirable
necessaries of life.  We are too apt to suppose that we alone guide,
govern and control our doings and their results.  We are too apt to aspire
to the power to control the whole world and to make all bend to our wishes
and dictation.

	Man is the lord of the earth, but with his knowledge and power he is
not able to tell how a blade of grass grows.  All men must come to this
very rational conclusion, that "Paul may plant, and Apollos may water, but
it is God who gives the increase."  It was not our choice that we came
into the midst of this desert region, but through the providence of Him
who governs and controls all things we are planted in the midst of these
deserts.  There are reasons for this, and causes produce their effects; in
short, we are here for the express purpose of preparing for the coming of
the Son of Man, to bear off his kingdom to the nations and gather up the
house of Israel, according to the words of the ancient prophets and the
revelations given to us in our day.

	We are now gathering the children of Abraham who have come through
the loins of Joseph and his sons, more especially through Ephraim, whose
children are mixed among all the nations of the earth.  The sons of
Ephraim are wild and uncultivated, unruly, ungovernable.  The spirit in
them is turbulent and resolute; they are the Anglo-Saxon race, and they
are upon the face of the whole earth, bearing the spirit of rule and
dictation, to go forth from conquering to conquer.  They search wide
creation and scan every nook and corner of this earth to find out what is
upon and within it.  I see a congregation of them before me to-day.  No
hardship will discourage these men; they will penetrate the deepest wilds
and overcome almost insurmountable difficulties to develop the treasures
of the earth, to further their indomitable spirit for adventure.

	We are not in this region by choice, and there is no hardship that
this people would not face and overcome.  If there is a corner of the
earth that can possibly be inhabited by mortals, the Latter-day Saints
would venture there if they conceived it to be their duty, and overcome
every obstacle and soon make the desert waste blossom as a rose.  Such an
undertaking is as easy to them, comparatively speaking, as it is to go
from one town to another.  It is marvelous to the world that the poor,
ignorant, deluded "Mormons," as they call them, can make so much real
improvement.  Is there another people on the earth, with the same
facilities, that can do what the Latter-day Saints can?  There is not.  Is
there another people on this earth that are as united as they are?  There
is not.  Is there another people on this earth that can be controlled as
easily as they can?  There is not.  There is a good reason for all this. 
There is a certain portion of divinity within mankind.  This prompts man
to seek in every possible way after that which will sustain him.

	It is true mankind have wandered and have fallen from that which they
might have attained through the redemption made by Jesus Christ; but there
is one point in connection with this statement on which I differ from the
orthodox divines of the day.  They say that man is naturally prone to
evil.  In some respects this is true, where by the force of example and
wrong tradition has become ingrained, but if man had always been permitted
to follow the instincts of his nature, had he always followed the great
and holy principles of his organism, they would have led him into the path
of life everlasting, which the whole human family are constantly trying to
find.  

	Every person is, to a greater or less degree, seeking to sustain
himself, to obtain influence, power, wealth, wisdom and knowledge, all to
further his individual aims.  It is somewhat remarkable that wealth is
considered the root and foundation of all earthly influence and power,
when the truth is that gold is not power.  A man may possess all the gold,
silver, and precious stones in the world, which are called wealth, and yet
starve to death.  Wealth does not give true greatness.  It will purchase
medical aid in case of sickness; it will purchase food, clothing and
shelter; but true wealth consists in the skill to produce those
conveniences and comforts from the elements.  All the power and dignity
that wealth can bestow is a mere shadow, the substance is found in the
bone and sinew of the toiling millions.  Well directed labor is the true
power that supplies our wants.  It gives regal grandeur to potentates,
education and supplies to religious and political ministers, and supplies
the wants of the thousands of millions of earth's sons and daughters.
There are conditions and panics in society that all the power of earthly
wealth cannot avert.

	How happy, how secure that nation or people would be who knew how to
sustain themselves for ever and for ever.  Had the rulers of our nation
known how to sustain the Union to an everlasting continuance, this
knowledge would have been beyond all price.  Had they possessed wisdom to
have maintained the nation in its true character, in all its liberal
institutions built upon the Constitution and Declaration of Rights, the
Government would have continued inviolate in truth and purity and power,
and would have continued to increase in power, importance and extent. 
True knowledge would have enabled them easily to accomplish all this. 
True knowledge is true power, and power adds to power--influence to
influence.  If this had continued in our nation, it would not merely have
annexed Texas to our flag, but would have added the whole continent of
North and South America.  What would that nation have given for the
knowledge to accomplish all this?  What would the present rulers give for
knowledge and power to so control the minds of that portion of the people
who are still in the Union as to continue themselves in office--to dictate
the condition, future life and prosperity of this great and magnanimous
people?

	When the pioneers came into these valleys we knew nearly all the
families which composed the settlements in Upper and Lower California.  Is
there a man that has ever been elected to represent that people in
Congress that has not bought his election with money?  Men are willing to
spend all they have to attain the accomplishment of their purposes in a
political point of view.  All this power can be obtained by political
aspirants without money, if they possessed true knowledge.  I could be
sent as a delegate to Congress without giving one farthing for the office,
because I have true knowledge.  Teach the people true knowledge, and they
will govern themselves.

	Men marvel that I possess the influence I do over this people, no
matter where on the earth they are located.  If we had fifty thousand
members of the Church in China, though they never saw me, they would obey
my counsel, because I send true knowledge to them and teach them the
principles that tend to their own good and happiness.  Their eyes are open
to see this, and they willingly obey my counsel.  Men think the power and
influence I possess are obtained by necromancy or some other evil power. 
The power of the Devil is great upon the earth, but it is fast playing
out, and the inhabitants of the earth must have true knowledge.

	It has been told me from my youth up that opposition is the life of
business, especially in the political arena.  It is opposition that has
ruined our nation, and has been, is and will the ruin of all nations.  In
our nation slavery is the great bone of contention.  Do we oppose the
principle of servitude?  I oppose it not in my judgment.  If I have a
man-servant or a maid-servant, they are flesh of my flesh and bone of my
bone--they are the children of God as much as I am.  In the providences of
God their ability is such that they cannot rise above the position of a
servant, and they are willing to serve me and have me dictate their labor. 
Then let them do service to me, and it is my duty to treat them kindly and
reward them accordingly.  All the nations of the earth are composed of one
flesh and blood, and God will bring into judgment the nation that abuses
the liberties it possesses.  If he has given me power to rule this people,
or to own a hundred slaves, he requires at my hands how I use this
influence and power over his creatures, and he will punish me if I abuse
it.  If I were the dictator of the nation in which I live, I should be
held responsible to Him for that power and influence.  He would expect me
to rule in righteousness.

	This people is an astonishment to all the world.  We pick up the
beggar in the street in England--and we have baptized hundreds of them--we
bring him here and put him in a situation to earn his living.  They never
owned anything before, but after they come here they soon begin to own a
pig, a cow, a few chickens, and by-and-bye a team; then open farms and
soon become men of wealth.  It is our business to elevate the beggar and
not keep him in ignorance.

	If you wish to gain power in the minds of any people, give them the
same opportunity that you possess to become independent and
self-sustaining, and endow them with all the wisdom and knowledge that
they are capable of receiving, and let them increase with you and unitedly
grow and become strong.  Through their oneness, the Latter-day Saints have
become a terror to the enemies of truth.  We do not buy the people with
money, but we have striven in every way that is lawful and right to get a
little money to bring the poor and destitute of other nations here and put
them in a position to take care of themselves.  I am sorry to say that
some few have requited this kindness by joining hands with our foes
against us and have become our most deadly enemies.  They, however, have
no power to injure us, for God rules in the heavens; and if we pursue our
course and the even tenor of our lives, the Lord will spread truth in the
world and all nations will possess it and be influenced by it; then they
will know how to govern and control themselves, but now they do not.  With
all the power I possess, I cannot prevent a man from cursing and swearing
if he is disposed to do so; the Lord himself has not influence enough to
do it, what then is to be done with him?  Guide his mind and affections
into a better channel until he sees the folly of his course and
understands the benefit of a more righteous way and a more manly life,
then will he pursue the path to truth, peace and the fellowship of the
Saints of God on earth and in the heavens; then will he increase in love,
joy, wisdom, knowledge and power.  Are not these things so?  Judge ye, my
friends.

	I am accused of a thousand evils, but I have never feared but one
thing with regard to myself--and that is, that I should be left to do an
evil that people may truly blame me; while they cannot speak  evil of me
and tell the truth, it never harms me.  I care nothing what false
statements are made about me when I faithfully follow the counsels of
Heaven; they are no more to me than the croaking of the crane that flies
over my head.  If a High Priest, and Elder, or any other man that comes
within the purview of my influence does wrong, I would as soon tell him of
it as not and show him how to do right; if he is offended at me for so
doing; it proves that he is destitute of knowledge.  If the angel of
darkness reproves you for your evil deeds, thank him for it, but tell him
to keep at a respectable distance and that you will try not to need any
more of his kind offices.

	The nation that is angry at the reproof and rebuke of the righteous
proves that it is on the high way to ruin.  We do not coerce nor drive
people.  I am very much of the opinion that it would be useless for
anybody to undertake to drive me to heaven or to hell.  My independence is
sacred to me--it is a portion of that same Deity that rules in the
heavens.  There is not a being upon the face of the earth who is made in
the image of God, who stands erect and is organized as God is, that should
be deprived of the free exercise of his agency so far as he does not
infringe upon others' rights, save by good advice and a good example.

	It is written in the Scriptures, "If ye had known me, ye would have
known my Father also, and from henceforth ye know him and have seen him. 
Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father and it sufficeth us. 
Jesus saith unto him, have I been so long a time with you and yet hast
thou not known me, Philip?  He that hath seen me hath seen the Father, and
how sayest thou then show us the Father?"  The Father is a perfect man in
every part, a person of tabernacle endowed with all the features and
attributes of a perfect being.

	"The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof."  How vain it is
for us to think that we are going to grasp all things independently of
God.  Monarchs on their thrones have taken unto themselves power to hold
and control the destinies of the people over whom they reign, when
suddenly death in some way has seized them and their thrones have been
left vacant for other aspirants to power and rule.  When misuse of power
has reached a certain stage, the divinity that is within the people
asserts its right and they free themselves from the power of despotism. 
The nation that lifts itself up against God and rules in unrighteousness
he will call to an account in his own way.

	Elevation, exaltation and glory are the objects of the Father in
peopling this earth with his progeny.  Do not be afraid that I say too
much when I call his earthly children his progeny.  It is supposed by many
modern Christians that the Old Testament has become obsolete; they regard
it more as a book of history relating more particularly to past ages than
to us; but we will quote from it in support of God's being our Father and
our being his progeny.  Moses gives us to understand that Adam was created
precisely after the image and likeness of his God.  And in the New
Testament Jesus Christ says, "And call no man your father upon the earth,
for one is your Father which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters,
for one is your Master, even Christ."  Again, Paul says, "Furthermore, we
have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them
reverence; shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of
spirits, and live?"  He is the Father of every spirit that has ever taken
an earthly tabernacle.  Again, Paul, in writing to the Hebrews, says, "Who
being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person,"
&c.; and  "I and my Father are one," says Jesus; what, one body?  No, it
never entered the Savior's mind that such a rendering of this saying would
ever enter into the minds of persons holding the least claim to good
sense.  They are no more one person than I and one of my sons are one
person.  If my son receives my teaching, will walk in the path I mark out
for him to walk in, if his faith is the same as mine, his purpose is the
same, and he does the work of his father as Jesus did the work of his
Father, then is my son one with me in the Scriptural sense.  "Then said
Jesus unto them, when ye have lifted up the Son of Man then shall ye know
that I am, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught
me, I speak these things."  Jesus was the express image of his Father, and
he was so much like the rest of the people in his day that he passed and
repassed among them as another man, without creating any special remark. 
"Hath not the Scripture said that Christ cometh of the seed of David and
out of the town of Bethlehem where David was?"

	Christ and his Father are one in their faith, in their views, in
their ministry, in their purpose and in their operations to accomplish
their God-like designs.  Jesus came from the heavens to the earth to
subdue all things and bring all into subjection to the will of the Father,
"That they all  may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou
hast sent me.  And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them that
they may be one, even as we are one.  I in them and thou in me that they
may be made perfect in one."  No one can suppose that Jesus wished to be
understood that he and his Father and his disciples were all one person.

	We believe in one God, one Mediator and one Holy Ghost.  We cannot
believe for a moment that God is destitute of body, parts, passions or
attributes.  Attributes can be made manifest only through an organized
personage.  All attributes are couched in and are the results of organized
existence.  True knowledge will teach the people who they are and the
design of their creation.  We are the sons and daughters of celestial
beings, and the germ of the Deity dwells within us.  When our spirits took
possession of these tabernacles, they were as pure as the angels of God,
wherefore total depravity cannot be a true doctrine.  "You must be a
free-thinker, Mr. Young."  Yes, and also a free-doer.  I am not afraid to
rebuke any person when necessary, nor to tell the truth anywhere when it
is proper and I am called upon to do so. I am limited in knowledge and in
the ability to convey the knowledge that is within me and often resort to
gestures to convey what my language fails to impart; neither am I mighty
in writing--I can convey more by language than I can by writing.

	Do you wish to possess enlarged influence in a political point of
view?  Gather around you the poor and honest of mankind and bestow your
charity on them, not by giving them in the way that charity is almost
universally understood, but supply them labor that will pay an interest on
the outlay of means and, at the same time, afford food, raiment and
shelter to the laborer; in this way the man of means becomes a benefactor
to his race.  Let him instruct those who know not how to cultivate the
soil, who know not how to plant gardens and orchards and vineyards, in all
these useful and profitable employments.  Let him teach them the use of
animals and how to profit by their labors and products.  After he has
taught them how to raise the wool and the flax, let him teach them how to
make clothing of various kinds.  Now they have their bread, meat,
clothing, vegetables, fruit and dwellings which they have produced by
their labor under the direction of the rich, good man whose capital and
wisdom have elevated those poor persons from a state of destitution and
want to a state of comfort and comparative independence.  Now, I ask, has
he not gained great influence over that people?  and as they increase will
not his influence become more extensive?  Then let him teach them the
truth, and not divide them up into Whigs, Tories, Democrats, &c.

	Who is the most suitable judge between man and man?  The man who is
the most capable of judging between right and wrong; let him sit upon the
judgment seat, and do not ask him whether he is a Democrat, a Whig, a
Tory, or a Republican, Is he a just man, and will he render an impartial
judgment?  If so, I care not to what political party he belongs; I am
content that he should adjudicate between me and my neighbor.

	We teach the whole human family the way of life and salvation.  The
Latter-day Saints have the advantage of the same power that revealed to
Peter of old that Jesus was the Christ; "Flesh and blood hath not revealed
this unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven."

	The Latter-day Saints and every other person who is entitled to
salvation,a and all except those who have sinned against the Holy Ghost,
may know that Jesus is the Christ in the same way that Peter knew it. 
Miracles do not give this knowledge to mankind, though they may serve as
collateral evidence to strengthen the believer.  The miracles of Jesus
were known to the Jews, yet they suffered him to be put to death as a
deceiver of mankind and one possessed of a devil.

	If miracles prove a person to be divinely sent, then we are safe in
declaring the Witch of Endor, who raised up Samuel, and the magicians of
Egypt to be divinely sent.  I will have it printed and sent to the world
that no miracle is any proof of a man's being sent of God to perform a
mission in his name.  Though Jesus Christ wrought miracles before the eyes
of the Jews, they clamored the eyes of the Jews, they clamored for his
blood and said "Crucify him, crucify him, and let his blood be upon us and
our children."  This has certainly come upon them.  Jesus Christ told what
would befall the nation of the Jews, and it has been literally fulfilled. 
Were I to bring a proof in favor of our religion I would quote the
sayings, relating to this nation, of that man whom God has sent in the
latter-days with eternal life to them.  There is more solid proof in favor
of a Prophets being divinely sent when his words are fulfilled than all
the miracles he can work.

	The nineteenth century is not destitute of miracles; we have
spirit-rapping, spirit-writing; spirit-muttering, table-moving and the
curing of diseases of long standing by the same influence and power.  "And
when they shall say unto you, seek unto them that have familiar spirits,
and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter, should not a people seek unto
their God?  for the living to the dead?"

	If all men understood the great work of the last days brought forth
by the Prophet Joseph and its ultimate results, they would invest all
their capital stock in this great speculation.  We are for self, for
power, for knowledge, for thrones, for dominions, for eternal life.  We
are for the kingdoms that God has promised to the righteous; and they have
received great and precious promises.  Paul says, "For all things are
yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or
death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours," &c.  Again,
"And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or
father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my name's sake,
shall receive an hundred fold and shall inherit everlasting life."  He has
chosen the poor of the world, rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom of
heaven, and he will give them all things.  We are serving a good master,
and he will give us all he has promised.  Will you all enlist and serve
this great Captain of our salvation to the end of the war?  Then shall you
obtain all the influence and power you can wish for.  In the government of
God there is all the security offered to its subjects they can desire; in
it their individual rights and property are perfectly safe.  Were I worth
millions of money I should wish to invest it under a government that
offered to me the greatest protection and security.  God rules in the
heavens and on the earth; he sendeth seed time and harvest; winter and
summer; he controls the good and the evil, and stays the evil and the
plague when it has answered his pleasure; when the contending armies of
our nation have served his purpose, he will say peace be still and the
civil strife will cease.

	My brethren and sisters are anxious for my safety, and will warn me
of danger.  I know better than they do when there is danger, and when it
lies harmless like a lifeless tiger at the feet of the hunter.  There have
been times when I could travel abroad with impunity, and within
twenty-four hours afterwards the assassin would be on my path.  There are
times when I could go to California and they would hail me as one friend
hails another, and the spirit of the times would soon be reversed.  Joseph
Smith knew this, and when he went to Carthage he said, "I go to death; I
go like a lamb to the slaughter; I go to my fate."  Those who understand
the spirit that rules in the atmosphere and in the hearts of the children
of men are aware that they do not feel to-day as yesterday, to-morrow as
to-day.  Many men have greeted me and my brethren with all the cordiality
with which one man can greet another, and in a short time their feelings
have changed to the most deadly hatred.  Confidence has left the human
family; there is but little substantial principle or virtue left in which
confidence can be placed.  We have to restore confidence to the world by
being just and true to ourselves, to one another and to our God from this
time henceforth and for ever.

	I suppose that more than half a million of the brave sons of our
country now sleep in the dust in consequence of what I consider an
unnecessary war, and the end is not yet. They have left their wives and
daughters unprotected in a land rent asunder with a fratricidal war, and
what are to become of them?  You remember the scripture which reads, "That
the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair, and they
took them wives of all which they chose."  He may say in the latter time,
Now, my sons, take unto yourselves wives of the daughters of men and raise
up a posterity unto me, and teach them the way of life and salvation and
the arts of peace, that they may war no more for ever.  And they will
gather up the old cannon and weapons of war that are now making such
devastation, and convert them into implements of husbandry and useful
machinery.  By and bye it will be said to the servants of God, "Go down
and see if there is anything worth saving," for it is written, "Thy men
shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war.  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."  

	Let us faithfully live our religion and learn what our present lives
are worth.

	May God bless everybody that can be blessed is my prayer all the
time:  Amen.

HOME MANUFACTURES.--THE NECESSITY OF GREATER ATTENTION TO THEM.--TITHING.
      Discourse by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Bowery,
                   Great Salt Lake City, June 7, 1863.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	I have a few things to say to the Latter-day Saints with regard to
ourselves. From the first of our coming into these valleys we have
instructed the people concerning the facts that are now visible and
manifest in the nation to which we are attached.  It was then understood
by us and was as plainly before our minds as are the facts that are now in
their progress.

	We also have a warfare to engage in, and, as the Apostle says, "The
weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the
pulling down of strongholds; casting down imaginations and every high
thing that exalteth itself against  the knowledge of God, and bringing
into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; and having in a
readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled."

	The warfare that I wish particularly to speak of to-day is that which
wars against all opposition to economy and to the obtaining of the
knowledge of God and that wisdom which comes from him pertaining to
self-preservation.  My warfare is, and has been for years, to get the
people to understand that if they do not take care of themselves they will
not be taken care of; that if we do not lay the foundation to feed and
clothe and shelter ourselves we shall perish with hunger and with cold; we
might also suffer in the summer season from the direct rays of the sun
upon our naked and unprotected bodies.  We have striven for years to
convince the Latter-day Saints that rags and ruffles will cease being
brought to us from a foreign market, though a struggle is still made to
bring them here.  We have warred against the principle of promoting and
making wealthy those who wish us no good, and we have found it hard to
convince our brethren and sisters that the saying of the Savior is really
as true when applied to us as it was when applied to his followers in his
day, "He that is not with me, is against me; and he that gathereth not
with me, scattereth abroad." Thousands of this people this day will not
believe that saying.  We have this to war against, and the warfare should
be engaged in by every Latter-day Saint.  The same responsibility, the
same influence, the same power and the same objects to be attained should
rest upon every person who is a member of the Church, as much as upon me
and my brethren who are contending with me constantly for the permanent
good of Israel.  We have contended long to convince this people that they
must become self-sustaining.

	I can, notwithstanding this, endorse all that brother George A. Smith
said this morning concerning the great improvement of this people and the
good feeling they manifested to us on our southern trip.  The people who
have settled in that country are certainly contented.  Many of them said
to me, "We love to live in Great Salt Lake City, love to go to meeting
there, but we should very much dislike now to be counseled to return there
again to make our permanent abode.  We like the country and climate here,
we like our calling and situation, and we are happy and contented."  I am
ready to endorse all the goodness and good-feeling that were manifested,
and I can truly say that love, union, faith, fervency of spirit and
faithfulness to our religion are greatly on the increase among the
Latter-day Saints, or I am much mistaken; still the warfare is not ended
in regard to our being self-sustaining.

	We have evidence now before us which sufficiently proves that the
ruffles and the rags will not continue to come here for a great length of
time, and we shall have to do without them or make them ourselves. 
Sixteen years ago, when we were camped upon this temple block, I told the
people that there existed, in the elements around us in these mountain
regions, wheat, corn, rye, oats, barley, flax, hemp, silk and every
element for producing the necessary articles used by man for food, raiment
and shelter.  We breathe it in the atmosphere, drink it in the water, dig
it when we dig in the earth, and walk over it when we walk.  Here are the
elements for every cereal, vegetable and fruit, and for every textile
material that grows in the same latitude and altitude in any part of the
world.  No country in the world will yield more and a greater variety of
the products of life than will portions of this mountain country.  We have
proven all this to be true.  There is not a better wheat country than
this, and we can raise as good rye and corn as can be produced in any part
of the earth; we can also raise as good vegetables as I ever saw, and in
as great a variety as need be asked for.  We have raised hemp, flax,
cotton and silk, all of the best quality.  We can make ropes and sacking,
and cotton, silk and woollen goods in abundance; we have the elements and
skill to combine them.

	There is no better sheep country than this.  Some farmers suppose
that their failure to raise wool is owing to ill luck; this is a mistake. 
I have expended more, in the early settlement of this country, to produce
wool than any one man.  I have bought sheep by hundreds, but I never saw
the time that I could go out and herd them myself, consequently had to
depend upon others.  The treatment that sheep receive from most of those
having them in care is by no means conducive to their thrift.  The lambs
are too often left for the wolves and dogs to herd or to the care of an
inexperienced boy or girl.  Large numbers of sheep are often huddled into
little, filthy pens and kept sixteen hours out of the twenty-four in their
own filth and stench.  For this you will be called to judgment, and if
there is no one else to charge you with the wrongs I will.  There is not a
better country in the world to produce wool than this mountain country, if
the sheep are properly taken care of.

	Now, then, I ask, how many of my brethren and sisters will enlist
with me in this warfare, not to contend with and against carnal weapons,
but against the foolish traditions, pride and vain imaginations of the
people called Latter-day Saints?  Will my wives and children enlist with
me in this work?  I have striven with all my might to set a good example
before this people; I have striven with all the power I possessed to
introduce every good into their midst.  I do not know of an evil practice
that I am not willing to part with this hour to do good to this people. 
If there is a wrong in my practice, religiously, morally, politically or
financially, I wish some of you would led [sic] me know it.  If I strive
to do right and to take a course to save myself and this people, should
not the people do the same?  Myself and my brethren who are with me heart
and hand are always ready and willing to do everything in our power to
promote the kingdom of God upon the earth and to save the people who
profess to be Saints, and all the inhabitants of the earth that can be
saved, then why should not all the Saints do and feel the same?  Are we
not all under obligation to be Saints, to build up the kingdom of God, to
bring forth righteousness and deliverance to the honest-in-heart, to
gather up the lost sheep of the house of Israel, to send the Gospel to the
uttermost parts of the earth, giving all a privilege to hear and believe
it and to build up the Zion of our God upon the earth?  Is not this
obligatory upon every member of this Church and kingdom, upon one as well
as upon another in their calling and capacity?  You all answer in the
affirmative.  Then why not begin from this day to sustain ourselves and
cease feeding and clothing those who wish us no good and giving them our
money for that which is comparatively worthless?

	Is brother Heber C. Kimball willing to enlist with me in this work? 
I can say yes for him.  Are his wives and children willing to enlist with
him and then with me?  Is brother Daniel H. Wells willing to enlist with
us?  I can answer favorably for him and for a great many others.  Why not
every man and woman go to with their mights and try to do something
towards sustaining themselves?

	The feelings of many are, "How are we going to get gold to buy what
we want--to procure what we consider the necessaries of life?"

	You have read that piece of excellent advice called the "Word of
Wisdom."  I shall not say you must obey it; you can read it over again and
refresh your memories, and I give the privilege to the Elders of Israel to
cease using tobacco, and if they will not cease using it, then raise it;
and then also, to cease using spirituous liquors to excess.  At the time
Mr. Holladay kept store opposite the south gate of this block, he annually
received not less than $29,000 for the article, tobacco.  His books will
now show this.  Into Livingston's store I presume this people annually
paid for the article, tobacco, not less than $35,000, and that, too, when
we were but few; what must our bills be at the present time?  I think I am
safe in saying that we have paid, for tobacco alone, at least $100,000 a
year during the last thirteen years.  Now, especially you Elders and
leading men of Israel, will you do yourselves a favor by letting it alone
from this time?  Brother George A. Smith says that the two penny
institution of Jackson and Stewart, in Provo, took over $15,000 a year for
tobacco alone.  If you will let this article alone you will benefit both
yourselves and the community.  A man who indulges in any habit that is
pernicious to the general good in its example and influence, is not only
an enemy to himself but to the community so far as the influence of that
habit goes.  A man who would not sacrifice a pernicious habit for the good
it would do the community is, to say the least of it, lukewarm in his
desires and wishes for public and general improvement.  Tobacco is not
good for man; spirituous liquor is not good for a beverage, but in many
cases it is good for washing the body.

	Dare I venture to invite the sisters to favor themselves by letting
alone the article called tea?  Some of that which is imported to this
country from California, and for which you pay from three to four dollars
a pound, is not much better than hay.  I merely wish to say that you now
have the privilege and invitation tendered to you to cease drinking the
filthy stuff.  Again, I kindly tender you the privilege of making your own
bonnets from straw or grass.  There are no handsomer bonnets nor trimmings
for them than are and can be made from straw.  I have raised rye year
after year for the express purpose of having the straw manufactured into
hats and bonnets, and have invited my sisters to gather and use it and
welcome.  Some thirty years ago, at a State fair held in the State of
Ohio, a young lady took the premium on Leghorn bonnets, and her sample of
Leghorn was made of the common red-top grass of which we grow an abundance
in this valley.  You can have the privilege of gathering the red-top grass
and preparing it to make Leghorn bonnets and hats for yourselves and your
children.  I will invite my brethren to procure and plant the multicaulus
or mulberry tree; let your wives and daughters feed silk-worms with the
leaves, and thus produce silk for ribbons, for dresses, for bonnets, for
scarfs, shawls, neckties, gentlemen's vests, &c.  We have skilful artizans
among us who can dye and weave the silk into every possible design for
beauty and utility.  Let us be active in procuring machinery that will
manufacture our cotton and flax into fine yarns for thread of every
quality; then our sisters can knit and manufacture in different ways their
frills, ruffles and laces to suit their tastes.

	I am perfectly able to send to the east and buy what I and my family
need, but there is a mighty influence in a good example, and what would my
precept be worth without my example, besides the conscious gratification
of having performed my duty to my God, to myself, to my family and to this
people?

	I have engaged in this warfare and I have tried to teach my family,
my neighbors and their families the necessity of our leading out in these
matters, and thus set the example for the whole Church to follow.  This
hat was made of straw which grew on my farm near this city.  It has been
my handsome hat for twelve years, and does it not look well yet?  It is
all home-made excepting the ribbon.  Trimmings made of straw are the
neatest and richest for straw bonnets and straw hats.  

	Shall we make our light clothing of the cotton which we can raise
here in abundance?  They will raise more cotton in our southern
settlements than we can possibly use before another crop comes off.  Shall
we buy their cotton from them and manu facture it into clothing, or pay
the stores seventy-five cents a yard for cotton cloth?  We have power to
perform this useful labor, or to neglect it and tease husbands and fathers
to buy at the stores the articles which we think we need.

	Who will enter with me and my brethren into this warfare with their
whole souls?  I call it warfare, because it has been so with me for years;
it has continually been a heavy weight upon my shoulders.  I have for
years been pleading with the people to take a course to sustain
themselves.  Some few are trying to do so but it would be a great relief
to me if I could in truth say that we, as a people, are trying to do so. 
I could sound the feelings of the whole community upon this subject by
organizing clubs and societies for this, that and the other, all pointing
to and having in view the great self-sustaining principle, but such clubs,
societies or firms are apt to clash more or less and run into sectional
differences and sectional feelings.  This I do not want.  When we say we
will do a good thing, I want the whole community to be of one heart and of
one mind in that matter.  If we say we will sustain ourselves and be
independent of foreign productions and a foreign market let the whole
community at once become a unit on this point by forthwith beginning to
supply themselves with the necessaries of life produced in their mountain
home.

	Some will argue that they could not wear in warm weather a garment
made of the cotton yarn spun in our little factory in Parowan; I do not
think the argument a good one.  It has been strenuously argued by our
ladies that hoops are a cool and comfortable fashion, but I cannot
understand how they derive the benefit that is claimed for crinoline when
the accustomed quantity of clothing is still worn.  This argument is
something like the one often used in favor of drinking spirituous liquors,
"We drink liquor in summer to cool us and in winter to warm us."  "We put
on crinoline and the accustomed number of garments in summer to keep us
comfortably cool and in winter to keep us comfortably warm."  I argue that
a dress made of Utah yarn, worn over a reasonable quantity of
underclothing, would be more light, comfortable and healthy than the style
of dress now used by our ladies.

	What do you say?  Shall we make ourselves clothing from Utah cotton,
from Utah flax, from Utah silk, from Utah wool, and wear cloth from Utah
looms, or go without?  And you, my sisters, my wives and my daughters,
come here to meeting clothed and adorned with the workmanship of your own
hands and rejoice therein; and do the same if you have occasion to go to a
party, and tell your neighbors what you have done.

	The wicked and selfish portion of mankind are constantly engaged in
pandering to their own selfish and avaricious desires, regarding not the
wants and sufferings of their fellow-beings.  Were the biographies of all
the really great and good of mankind known to us, we should know that they
lived to do good to their fellow-beings, to benefit and bless their
families, neighbors, friends and the human family at large; such men have
proved themselves worthy of their existence.  Let us all seek diligently
to know what we can do to benefit our fellow-beings.  We must try with all
our power to overcome every injurious tradition and custom we have learned
from our fathers and teachers.

	We must learn to think for ourselves, and know for ourselves, and
provide for ourselves.  We can here produce any amount of the raw
material, and we are importing machinery, and shall continue to do until
we shall be victorious over the traditions and customs which oppose
themselves to our becoming self-sustaining and independent.  I never mean
to give up the conflict; I never mean to yield one point until I see this
accomplished; while every obstacle surmounted, every object gained, every
purpose accomplished and every aim in view is to build up the kingdom of
God upon the earth, save and redeem the house of Jacob, and save all the
inhabitants of the earth that can be saved.

	I shall not worry while I am struggling to gain this great conquest,
but I intend to live and feel well about it.  The man who fights with
coolness and calculation in moral and domestic reform will win every time. 
Let us apply our minds to know what our life is worth and what we can do
to sustain it and the lives of those who are connected with us, instead of
continually whining for something to satisfy "great, big self," instead of
wanting this and that, instead of being miserable because we do not do
this or because we do not do that, instead of being unhappy because this
is so or because that is not so, all of which we cannot help with all of
our complaining.  Let us see what we can do to do good to our children, to
our neighbors, to our husbands, to our wives, to our brethren and sisters,
and then to the inhabitants of the whole earth.  Let us make ourselves
capable of doing at least a little good, and this will occupy our minds
upon something that is inde d [sic] profitable to others, and will
somewhat divert our attention from worshiping ourselves and blaming
everybody that does not do the same.

	I will now address the Bishops, and the people through their Bishops
and Teachers.  Why are we not as willing to pattern after good as after
evil?  Since we again commenced labor on the Temple we have been much
troubled and perplexed with regard to getting Tithing labor.  I
immediately put on the work two good mule teams with a good man to manage
each, then I put on two good common laborers to work on this block; I
feed, clothe and pay the men, sustain the teams and keep the wagons in
repair.  I shall receive credit for this on labor Tithing.  Besides this,
I have kept two and sometimes three teams with drivers traveling to and
from the country settlements to gather and bring in butter, cheese, eggs,
&c., for the hands who work on the public works.  For this team work I ask
nothing but labor Tithing. I have given other men the privilege of doing
the same.  Have they done it?  No, not one, with the exception of brother
Daniel H. Wells' having one yoke of oxen and a wagon on the public works.

	Since I have been in these valleys, when I have received fifty cents,
fifty dollars, or ten thousand dollars, I have invariably put it into the
general fund; not every dollar, because I have my family to support.  Who
has followed that practice?  Very few, if any.  They may not have had the
means nor the advantages for getting them that I have had.  Do those who
have the means do this?  They do not.  From the beginning I have striven
with my might to get men to bring machinery into the country, to get them
to raise sheep and wool, have the wool made into cloth and then wear it. 
Who has followed my example in this?  Instead of bringing in machinery and
in every way within my power encouraging home production, suppose I had
brought large quantities of goods from abroad, encouraged gold mining,
trading, trafficking, speculating, erecting whisky palaces and gambling
saloons, I should have been hailed as a great Prophet, a wise leader and a
great financier by those who love to swim in such waters, and hundreds
would have been with me heart and hand.

	When there was no whisky to be had here, and we needed it for
rational purposes, I built a house to make it in.  When the distillery was
almost completed and in good working order, an army was heard of in our
vicinity and I shut up the works; I did not make a gallon of whisky at my
works, because it came here in great quantities, more than was needed.  I
could have made thousands of dollars from my still, which has ever since
been as dead property.  Have others followed my example in this?  They
have not, but there was a whisky shop established here and another there. 
Some have even told me that they would starve if they did not make whisky. 
I said to them, make it then, and be damned, for they will be damned
anyhow.  Am not I able to make whisky?  Yes; there stands the still and
the still-house to this day, which I have never used and from which I
might make thousands of dollars.  Have I made whisky and sold it in what
some call whisky street?  No.  Had I done so how many would have hailed
me, "You are a good man, brother Brigham, and you are the right man to
lead Israel; thank God for such a man:  he keeps a whiskey shop, drinks
liquor, trades with our enemies and hugs them to his heart as long as
there is any money in their pockets, and takes them to his house and
introduces them to his wives and daughters; what a blessed man brother
Brigham is."

	I will now confine a few of my remarks directly to the people who
live within easy reach of this Temple Block.  They say they pay labor
Tithing.  If the farmer, merchant, and mechanic are asked to pay a little
labor Tithing, "O yes, and we mean to be credited for it in full."  "When
will you pay it?"  "When it is too cold, wet and stormy to go a fishing
and hunting.  While we can work in the field, go after wood, or go to
shoot ducks with pleasure, we will not pay you one day of labor Tithing." 
They come in the winter to pay it when labor is not wanted.  Who pays
labor Tithing?  "Everybody."  Who pays their grain Tithing, their stock
Tithing and their money Tithing.  "Everybody."

	We feed and clothe some two thousand persons on these public works. 
Let me ask the Bishops of this city, and there are twenty Wards, how much
money have you paid into the Public Treasury these five years past?  Then
ask the Bishops of the different Wards throughout the Territory the same
question, and I think,if they answer the question fairly, it will be found
that they have not paid one dollar to where we have had to pay out five
hundred in cash or its equivalent. Our public hands have hats, coats,
vests, shirts, garments, pantaloons, shoes, &c.; who buys these articles
of clothing?  They have to be bought and the money paid for them.  The
wives and children of our work-hands are well and comfortably clothed; who
buys and pays for this clothing?  Brother Wells could tell you a story
about this, if he had a mind to do so.  I say to the public hands,
henceforth, if we have not the articles on hand that you want we shall not
go to the store and buy them, neither will I permit brother Wells to do
so; if he does he must pay the debt, for I will not.

	I will now say to the Latter-day Saints, though this belongs to a
General Conference, Will you do me the kindness to cease paying Tithing
from this time forth, unless you pay it in a different manner than
heretofore?  They pile up wheat in Cache county, in Utah county, in
Sanpete and in every other county distant from this city, in bins and
houses were much of it becomes musty and good for nothing.  Will they draw
it to us here, where it can be put to use?  Not much of it. They will let
it spoil,unless they can have the privilege of using it themselves, and in
many instances they have had the use of it.  If wheat in the distant
counties could be sold for a dollar-and-a-half a bushel in cash, we should
get a comparatively small quantity of wheat in this Tithing-office.  If
they would give us fifty cents for every bushel of grain they pretend to
pay in on Tithing in some kind of property that we can make use of, we
would be much obliged to them.  We cannot even get this; too many manage
through their Bishops to pay their Tithing in a way to do us but little
good.

	If the people will cease paying Tithing, and let us understand it, we
can build up the Temple ourselves, for I can put forty more teams to work
on the public works, if I say the word.  President Kimball and Wells can
do the same.

	I am going to give the people the privilege to build the Temple by
donations; as to saying that it is being built by Tithing, it is not so.

	Some hundred thousand dollars a year are paid out by the community
for tobacco, and the cash Tithing paid on this money expenditure probably
does not amount to a thousand cents.  How can the people be justified
while committing such errors only upon the score of ignorance?  We are
trying to instruct you in the knowledge of the truth, that you may learn
better.  I do not condemn the Latter-day Saints for all this.

	It is almost useless to ask any man possessing means to pay a little
labor Tithing; if any is paid in the season when it is wanted, the poorest
portions of the community pay it.  The Second Ward is one of the poorest
Wards in the city, and I have observed, when I have been at the Bishop's
meeting, that that Ward has responded to the calls of the Bishop better
than any other Ward in the city.

	I will now give the privilege to Bishop Hunter to put a good mule
team to work on this Temple Block, and there sustain it and let it work
until we say it is enough.  I give brother Kimball the same privilege. 
And there are Bishops Raleigh, Cunningham, J. C. Little and Leonard W.
Hardy, to whom I give the same privilege, and they need not ask one
farthing, only to be credited on labor Tithing.  Then there are Bishops
Sheets, Pugmire and Edwin D. Woolley and John M. Woolley, and all the rest
of the Bishops, with the members of the Wards who are able, I will give
them the same privilege, that we may have what teamwork we want.  I wish
you all to bring your free donations to this work, and not seek to put
your property in a shape that it cannot do the good we wish, and then say
you own no Tithing.

	If the people have a mind to pay Tithing, pay it as it ought to be
paid.  I would rather have fifty cents a bushel in good available
property, than to have all the grain that is paid in where it is not
available, for it would do more good.  The argument generally used is, "I
pay my Tithing, and that is all that is required of me." But have you no
care, no responsibility beyond this?  Do you not feel that the interest of
this kingdom is your interest?  And should you not feel anxious that the
kingdom of God should be built up, become mighty, able to protect itself
and independent of all other kingdoms?  Should you be entirely indifferent
as to how the financial affairs of God's kingdom on earth are managed?  If
this kingdom suffers, will you not suffer with it?  If it prospers,
becomes wealthy and powerful, will you not prosper and become wealthy and
powerful with it?

	I am willing to give you an account of my stewardship.  Let every man
have a care for the public property which is devoted for the public good. 
If a man knowingly puts a hundred bushels of good Tithing wheat into a bin
of smutty, unsound wheat, but thinks that it is none of his business, he
does an evil and his offering is not acceptable to the Lord; it is his
duty to see that his good Tithing wheat, or anything else, is deposited
where it will be taken care of and properly appropriated.  We will either
stop the paying of Tithing, or have it paid in a way that will do us good.

	If we want a job done, we will tell you about it; then we want you to
do it in the proper time and place, but we do not want labor Tithing paid
in the winter.  The Lord requires obedience of his people, which is better
than sacrifice.

	There is a warfare in which we are all engaged, and there is a
victory which we have to win to become self-sustaining and independent,
preparing ourselves for the days that are fast approaching.

	May the Lord bless you:  Amen.

   ADVICE TO CALIFORNIA EMIGRANTS.--THE PRINCIPLES OF THE GOSPEL, ETC.
      Remarks by President Brigham Young, made on the Public Square,
                   Great Salt Lake City, July 8, 1863.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	In compliance with your polite invitation, I am here for the purpose
of speaking to you a short time.

	I can readily understand that you wish to see the notorious Brigham
Young; well, you can now look at him, and in so doing you will not see a
very marvellous sight, though my name is had for good and for evil the
world over.

	Some of you may have passed through this city before, though I
presume the majority of you are strangers here, and, like other people,
you want to see all there is to be seen and know all there is to be known.

	In regard to the position of the people called Latter-day Saints in
Utah, we occupy the half-way house between the settlements on the Missouri
River and the Pacific Ocean.  Here the travelling public can renew their
supplies, and prepare to meet the toils and hardships of the remainder of
their journey.

	The short time you stay in this city, or vicinity, you will have to
judge for yourselves as to the character of the people here.  We can
represent all classes--the good, bad and indifferent; but if you wish to
truly know the people who are now living in these mountains, you will have
to tarry long enough among them to gain the desired information.  If you
wish to know why we are here, it is simply because we had nowhere else to
go; we were obliged to go somewhere, and, as a wise Providence designed,
we lodged here.  If any of you wish to be more fully informed upon this
point, you can, at your leisure, search the history of this people, for it
is before the world.

	We had anticipated, when we came into these distant valleys, that we
should be entirely secluded from the world--that we should trouble no
person and that no person would trouble us.  The "Mormon" Battalion had
been disbanded in California, and some of that body first discovered gold
there; the news of that discovery quickly reached the eastern States, and
thousands were soon upon our track.  Instead of being secluded, we find
ourselves in the great national highway.  We must be known, and we could
not be in a better situation to be known than where we are.

	I think I am not mistaken in the conclusion that you wanted to see
the notorious Brigham Young more than to hear his politics or his
religion, though I can give you a short political speech, if it would be
gratifying to you.

	The spirit of our politics is peace.  If we could have our choice, it
would be to continually walk in the path of peace; and had we the power,
we would direct the feet of all men to walk in the same path.  We wish to
live in peace with our God, with our neighbors and with all men.  I am not
aware that we have ever been guilty of inaugurating any difficulty
whatever.

	We claim the privilege of freedom of speech--of giving our views on
national affairs and on religion--and this privilege we claim wherever we
are in our free country.  Is there any particular sin in this?  Is there
anything in this that is contrary to the constitution of our country, or
to the institutions of freedom established by our revolutionary fathers? 
Freedom of speech is a right which we hold most dear, considering, at the
same time, that every person availing himself of this right is accountable
to his fellows for the manner in which he uses it.

	Touching the present trouble that exists in our nation, I can say
that we consider it very lamentable and disastrous.  Mankind do not
understand themselves nor the design of their Creator in giving them an
existence in the world.  It was never designed by him that his children,
who claim to be intelligent beings, should slay each other; such conduct
is anti-Christian and repugnant to every lofty aspiration and Godlike
principle in the better portion of man's nature.  War is instigated by
wickedness--it is the consequence of a nation's sin.  We have, however,
but little to say upon the war which is now piercing the heart of the
nation with many sorrows, for we are far from its scenes of blood and
deadly strife.  We receive contradictory statements over the wires, and
are left to form our own conclusions.

	As to religion, we believe in the Old and New Testament, and consider
it unnecessary to hire learned divines to interpret the Scriptures; we
receive them as they are, "Knowing that no prophecy of Scripture is of any
private interpretation."  We are aware that many mistakes have been
introduced into the Scriptures through the ignorance, carelessness, or
design of translators, yet they are good enough for us and well answer the
purpose designed of God in their compilation, viz., to lead all men, who
will be guided by them, to the fountain of light from whence all holy
Scripture emanate.

	Should you ask why we differ from other Christians, as they are
called, it is simply because they are not Christians as the New Testament
defines Christianity.  How shall we believe the Scriptures, if we do not
believe them as we find them?  We consider that we are more safe to follow
the plain letter of the Word of God, than to venture so great a risk as to
depend upon a private interpretation given by man who claims no
inspiration from God and who altogether discards the idea that he gives
immediate revelation now as anciently.

	We believe in God the Father and in Jesus Christ our elder brother. 
We believe that God is a person of tabernacle, possessing in an infinitely
higher degree all the perfections and qualifications of his mortal
children.  We believe that he made Adam after his own image and likeness,
as Moses testifies; and in this belief we differ from the professedly
Christian world, who declare that "His center is everywhere, but his
circumference is nowhere."  Their God has no body nor parts; our God
possesses a body and parts, and was heard by Adam and Eve "Walking in the
garden in the cool of the day."  They say that their God has no passions;
our God loves his good children and is "Angry with the wicked every day,"
"And him that loveth violence his soul hateth;" and he reveals his will as
familiarly to his servants in all ages as I reveal my thoughts to you this
evening.

	We believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of the world, and
try to keep his sayings.  He said, "If you love me, keep my commandments." 
One commandment to his disciples was to preach his Gospel in all the
world, and baptize believers for the remission of sins, and then lay hands
upon them for the reception of the Holy Ghost, that they might possess the
gifts and graces promised in the Gospel to all believers.

	We worship a God who can hear us when we call upon him, and who can
answer our reasonable petitions, and who gives guidance and direction to
the affairs of his kingdom which he has established on the earth in our
own day.  We believer in making his statutes our delight, in observing his
ordinances and keeping all his commandments.  You may inquire whether all
professed Latter-day Saints do these things.  My answer is, They should do
them.  Are they all truly Saints who profess to be Saints?  They should
be.  Are all this people, in the Scriptural sense, Christians?  They
should be.  Do they all serve God with an undivided heart?  They should. 
Many of them do, seeking daily to do his will.  You do not find many of
this class of Saints wandering idly over your camp ground, wanting and
desiring this, that and the other from the passing stranger.  Those who
visit you in this way wish to see how you look, as you want to see how the
"Mormons" look.  The great mass of this people tarry at home, they are in
their houses, their gardens, their fields and shops, paying attention to
their own business, and not running after strangers for gain; and in
attending to their own business many get rich.  While some of our
community wish to see how their former Christian brethren look, they, at
the same time, wish to trade with you, and a stranger might suppose that
they are first-class Latter-day Saints.  Do not be deceived, for all
first-class Latter-day Saints, both men and women, may be found minding
their own business at their homes or where their business requires their
presence.  To know them and how they live is the only means by which you
can form a true conception of the "Mormon" people.

	We are trying to improve ourselves in every particular, for God has
given us mental and physical powers to be improved, and these are most
precious gifts; more precious are they to us than fine gold.  God is our
Father, and he wishes his children to become like him by improving upon
the means he has supplied for this purpose.

	I do not know that you have hitherto met with any difficulty from the
Indians on your journey.  You have heard of Indian hostilities against the
whites on the western route, but you will have no trouble with them if you
will do right.  I have always told the travelling public that it is much
cheaper to feed the Indians than to fight them.  Give them a little bread
and meat, a little sugar, a little tobacco, or a little of anything you
have which will conciliate their feelings and make them your friends.  It
is better to do this than to make them your enemies.  By pursuing this
policy you may escape all trouble from that quarter, while you are
journeying on the Pacific slope.

	I am satisfied that among the red men of the mountains and the forest
you can find as many good, honest persons as among the Anglo-Saxon race. 
The Indian faithfully follows the traditions and customs of his race.  He
has been taught to steal and to shed the blood of his enemies, and the
most expert in these inhuman practices is considered a great chief or a
great brave.  The Anglo-Saxon race has been taught not to steal, not to
lie, not to shed the blood of mankind.  If the Indian steals or sheds the
blood of those he considers his enemies, he is doing what he considers to
be right, and is not so much to blame as the white man who commits such
crimes, for the white man knows them to be wrong and contrary to the laws
of God and man.  We have men among us, whose fathers and mothers belong to
the Church of Latter-day Saints, that will steal our horses and run them
off to sell in California, and then steal horses there and sell them to us
in Utah.

	Travel in kindness and peace with one another, and cultivate a
friendship on this journey that will be lasting after you have reached
your destination.  You are now essential to each other for mutual safety;
let not this be lost sight of, and approach each other as becomes
intelligent beings who are brothers.  Judge not each other rashly, for you
will find that ninety-nine wrongs out of a hundred committed by men are
done more in ignorance than from a design to do wrong.

	My friends, you have seen me--Brigham Young--the leader of the people
called "Mormons."  You see a mere mortal like yourselves, but the Lord
Almighty is with me and his people.  He has led us by the right hand of
his power, and he gives me wisdom to lay before his people good, wholesome
doctrines, and to set good examples before them.  By pursuing this policy
we expect to restore the confidence which has been lost among men and the
integrity that belongs to the heart of man.

	Try to do right and God will bless you.  I heartily bid you God speed
on your journey.  Farewell.



             DOMESTIC ECONOMY.--THE KINGDOM OF GOD.--BUILDING
                        THE TEMPLE.--TITHING, ETC.
         Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery,
                   Great Salt Lake City, June 14, 1863.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	I am very fond of hearing my brethren speak to the congregations of
the Saints; it affords a pleasing variety of the talent and ability that
exists in the Elders of Israel.  The object of our meeting together is to
learn and to increase in the knowledge of the truth.  Truth cleaves to
truth and light to light? No man possessing the spirit of his religion can
arise to speak to the Saints without imparting something that is
beneficial.  We are blessed with a great privilege in meeting here to
worship the Lord our God and to speak comforting words to each other.

	It would be very gratifying to me if I had the ability to so speak to
the Saints as to divest them of every error they possess and give them
eternal truth without in the least ruffling their feelings.  Our
weaknesses are known to ourselves, and in many instances to each other,
but we have the privilege of learning and of increasing in faith and in
the knowledge of God and godliness.  We have the privilege of learning
more and more of the earth which we inhabit, of the object of its
creation, of the people that dwell upon it and of all things pertaining to
ourselves.

	The Lord has revealed a great many precious principles to this
people, and knowledge which cannot be obtained by the study of the learned
of the world, "who are ever learning and never come to the knowledge of
the truth."  One of the greatest blessings that can be bestowed upon the
children of men is to have true knowledge concerning themselves,
concerning the human family and the designs of Heaven concerning them.  It
is also a great blessing to have wisdom to use this knowledge in a way to
produce the greatest good to ourselves and all men.  All the power of
earthly wealth cannot give this knowledge and this wisdom.

	If mankind could know the object God has in their creation, and what
they might obtain by doing right and by applying to the source and
fountain of wisdom for information, how quickly they would turn away from
every ungodly action and custom.  But as the Prophet says, "Ephraim is
joined to his idols; let him alone."  "Therefore they shall be as the
morning cloud, and as the early dew that passeth away, as the chaff that
is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the
chimney."  Instead of seeking unto the Lord for wisdom, they seek unto
vain philosophy and the deceit and traditions of men, which are after the
rudiments of the world and not after Christ.  They are led by their own
imaginations and by the dictates of their selfish will, which will lead
them in the end to miss the object of their pursuit.  Were you to inquire
of the leading men of the world--of kings, rulers, philosophers and wise
men--the end or result of their pursuits, they cannot tell you.  This I
believe; and I think it is quite evident, according to what I have
witnessed.

	What object was there, we might ask, for inaugurating the present war
that is spreading dismay through our once happy land?  Is it to kill off
the African race?  No; but ostensibly to give freedom to millions that are
bound, and in doing this they did not know that they would lay the
foundation for their own destruction as well as that of the object of
their pursuit.  Those whose minds are opened to see and understand the
purposes of the Most High are made happy in a timely deliverance from
approaching evil.  "A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself;
but the simple pass on, and are punished."  We have the priceless
privilege of applying our hearts to wisdom, and of learning the things of
God while the wisdom of the wise men of the world perishes and the
understanding of their prudent is hid.

	I can say, for the satisfaction of my brethren who have spoken
to-day, that I do not know that I have heard them say anything but truth;
they have advanced good doctrine, good ideas, even to having our clothing
last us for years; I should be quite willing to have mine last for a great
length of time.  The coat I am now wearing I have had six or eight years,
and I would like to have it last me six or eight years longer, and use any
money I might have for buying another coat to deliver some honest, poor,
starving soul who is deprived of liberty and the common comforts of life. 
I would like to take the price of this coat and send it abroad to gather
the poor and place them in like circumstances we are now enjoying, that
they might have the privilege of going to the same fountain that we do for
food, raiment and intelligence.  The old adage has it, "The back will
trust, but the belly will not."  Hundreds of our brethren and sisters in
foreign lands are now in a dying condition through want of food.  If my
hat, coat, boots, shoes, &c., would last half a century or a whole one,
and I had the means every year to buy myself a fresh supply, I would thank
God to put it into my heart to send that means to gather the poor.

	The doctrine is correct, the advice is good for this people to be
prudent with what they have around them and not to waste their substance. 
When brother G. D. Watt was speaking this morning I could not entirely
free this people from the imputation of shamefully and disgracefully
wasting a portion of the substance which God has so kindly and so
abundantly given to them.  We were exhorted by brother Watt to be prudent,
saving, frugal and economical; to learn to gather the good things of life
around us in abundance, to extend our possessions on the right and on the
left and hold them all for God.  If we are permitted to gather around us
gold and silver and all the treasures that the Gentiles seek, instead of
hoarding them up in iron chests or burying them in the ground for use in a
future day, let us use them to send the Gospel to the uttermost parts of
the earth, to gather the poor Saints from every land, and to gather from
the rocks and caves and dens of the earth the house of Israel.  It is the
duty of every person to thus put their money and other means to usury.  We
should all learn to use the blessings God has bestowed upon us with the
greatest possible economy, doing good with the means he puts into our
hands, and he will enlarge our means and our capacity to do more good.  We
do not possess a great deal at the most.  I am blessed with plenty of food
and raiment, with good houses for my family to live in, &c.  I wish some
good man, that is worth his millions, would give me half what my property
is worth, I would be thankful, and give every dollar of it to preaching
the Gospel, gathering the poor Saints, building the Temple and Tabernacle
or anything else to do good and build up the kingdom of God, and I would
commence afresh to make more property.

	There are a great many things with regard to the providences of God
which this people do not yet understand.  The Jews did not understand that
God, in his kind providence, was building up his Church among them in the
days of the Apostles.  The same ignorance blinded the world in the days of
Noah, and so it is the days of the coming of the Son of Man.

	My brethren who spoke this morning will excuse me for referring to
their remarks.  Brother Little exhorted the brethren, this morning, to
take from their little piles, as he called them, and add to brother
Brigham's big pile.  Brigham's individual pile is already large enough,
though, in reality, we should have only one mess chest, one place of
deposit, one store-house, one "pile," and that is the kingdom of God upon
the earth; it is the only store-house there is for Saints, it is the only
"pile," the only safe place of deposit, the only place to invest our
capital.  This is rational to me; and all who contend for an individual
interest, a personal "pile," independent of the kingdom of God, will be
destroyed.  I, apparently, own horses, carriages, houses, lands, flocks,
herds, &c.  The Lord has intrusted to me all this property, in his
providence; I have not run after it or sought it, it is the Lord's; if,
under this consideration, you agree to add to Brigham's "pile," I am
willing you should do so.

	I would not have an individual interest for all the gold and silver
upon the earth or in it.  What I possess, whether wives and children,
goods and chattels, will not be mine, in the strict sense of the word,
until I have passed all the ordeals that God has ordained that his
children shall pass; until I have overcome every sin and every obstacle to
my being crowned in the celestial kingdom of our Father and God.  If I am
unfaithful with that which God has put in my possession, it will be taken
from me and be given to another.  I have no individual "pile," no
individual store-house.  I do not think a man or woman can be found who
can truly testify that they ever knew Brigham, for an individual interest,
to neglect one moment any public duty that devolved upon him in the
kingdom of God.  That is my only business; it is all the business I have
on hand.  I take the Lord at his word, "Seek first the kingdom of God and
his righteousness, and all other things shall be added unto you."  I do
not know but that he will take away every particle of property I seem to
have and let me become a beggar; and if that is his wish, I would as soon
beg my bread from door to door, if it is the mind of God and will add
glory and honor to his kingdom, as to possess my thousands and live in
luxury.  "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness;" if the
Lord adds "all other things," all right; and if he does not, it is all
right.

	Scores of my brethren cleave to the gold and silver and wealth of
this world; if their minds were right before the Heavens, as they should
be, the Lord would pour into their laps an abundance of gold and silver
until they were satisfied, but to give it to them now would damn them.  He
withholds it from them, and I am thankful that he does.  I pray him to
withhold from me and this people everything that will do us an injury.  As
fast as we prepare ourselves for the blessings the Lord has in store for
us, so fast will the Lord pour them upon us.

	Thirty years ago, when I first began to tell the people about the
Gospel of life and salvation, I told them just as I do now, that the
kingdom of God will extend, increase, grow and spread abroad on the right
and on the left until, by-and-bye, the inhabitants of the world will know
that the Lord is God, and that he has set to his hand again to gather
Israel and establish for ever the kingdom that is spoken of in the
prophecy of Daniel, which is now set up, and it will go forth until it
rules all things upon the face of the earth.  When I first bore this
testimony it was to those who heard it like an empty sound; only a few
obeyed, but now the mere sound, the mere report of this Work heard from
afar, penetrates their ears and sinks into their hearts, bringing fear and
dread to the wicked.  But let me say to all the inhabitants of the earth,
"Fear not, borrow not trouble; but to those who are afraid of truth and
justice, fear on."  There is no question but what many fear justice and
truth and the attributes of God more than they dread and fear anything
else.

	To all who love truth, mercy and justice, I will say, that when God
rules on the earth he will rule in righteousness, dealing out mercy to all
such persons, and they will be perfectly satisfied with the reign of
Christ.  But they who have sinned so great a sin that they cannot be
forgiven will dread the day when Jesus Christ shall reign.  Multitudes now
read about that time, and it will come and the kingdom of God will go
forth to the east, to the west, to the south and to the north, and none
will be found who dare lift up their voices against the rule and reign of
the Son of God.  "To him every knee will bow and every tongue confess,"
and we cannot help it.  I look forth to that day with a great deal of real
pleasure and satisfaction, when the righteous will reign upon all the face
of the earth.

	We are all liable to err; are subject, more or less, to the errors
incident to the human family.  We would be pleased to get along without
these errors, and many may think that a man in my standing ought to be
perfect; no such thing.  If you would only think of it for a moment you
would not have me perfect, for if I were perfect the Lord would take me to
Paradise quicker than you would be willing to have me go there.  I want to
stay with you; and I expect to be just perfect enough to lead you on--to
still know a little more than you know; you may increase as fast as you
can, and I will keep just a little ahead of you; if you do not believe it,
try it, and you will learn whether the Lord is not capable of still
leading you through as weak an instrument as your humble servant.

	We have a great labor before us.  The building of this Temple is not
a drop to a bucket-full when compared with the labor we have to do.  Let
this people say that they will not build the Temple by Tithing, and then
let the Lord say to a few of us, "My servants, will you build that
Temple?"  Our reply would be, "Yes."  I could build it alone, if required,
as well as I could build any other building, and the Lord would throw
every means into my hands that I needed for the work.  It is God who gives
the increase; he throws into our path the blessings we enjoy.  Every man
and woman ought to know that they can do all that he wishes them to
perform; but there is an abundance of Tithing, and more than we need, if
it could be had in a shape that we could use it to advantage.  It now
costs us nearly as much as it is worth to take care of the Tithing,
because the people throw on to a few the responsibility of caring for the
Tithing property.  Is it not public property?  and should not a mutual
interest be felt for its preservation and proper disbursement?

	When the brethren come to work out their labor Tithing, they do not
expect us to board them and find them tools to work with.  I accidentally
learned one thing when I was south, and might have known it before if I
had only thought of it.  I went into a little bit of a Tithing-room where
there was a few hundred pounds of bacon; I said, "You have some meat
here."  "Yes," was the reply, "but the most of it is gone, for we have
sent a great deal with the teams which have gone for the poor, and we
expect the rest of it to be wanted for our teamsters who are hauling rock
for the Temple."  Try the experiment with one who comes here to pay labor
Tithing, get up a boarding-house and board him, a clothing store and
clothe him, and the labor that is done will not cover half the expense of
feeding and clothing them.  What did we expect you to do when we said, in
the circular, take a little of this and a little of that?  We expected the
people to bear this expense and not take it out of the Tithing-office for
meat and clothing to fit out what teams I have sent, and never thought of
it.  When we first called for teams to go to Florence, we called for
thirty; twenty-seven went, and I furnished more than half of them and did
not ask the Church to find me meat, but others have, and they can have all
of this, that and the other they want out of the Tithing-office; and if a
Bishop gets ten dollars in money or other good pay he is sure to manage to
send a load of wood or brush to some person in his Ward, charge the Church
with ten dollars, and put the money in his pocket.  Can we build a Temple
on such terms?

	Where are the bacon and eggs that should come to feed the workmen?  I
had my teams ready to go out for such articles, but they are away towards
the States with the teamsters; the meat, the lard, the eggs, the butter,
the cheese and everything is gone to the States.  We have said to the
teamsters who have gone east, We will give you credit on labor Tithing;
and we have to board them, too, have we?  I expect we shall have to find
wagons for them by-and-bye, and then oxen and everything else.  You can
see how men can think and contrive how to use up this and that--to use up
all the butter, all the eggs, all the meat, all the cheese and all the
money--"and when we cannot sell wheat at any price, then you poor slaves
who work on the public works may take it and build up the kingdom with
it."  This is a little harder than I spoke last Sunday, and you may judge
of it as you please.  "Do you know all this to be true, brother Brigham?" 
I do.

	I do not wish any of my remarks applied where they do not belong.  If
there is a presiding officer in this kingdom who is not equally with
myself under obligation to see the kingdom of God built up, I would like
to see him.  Some may be careless, unconcerned, drink whisky and loiter
away their time, or try to accumulate for themselves, but I will promise
such that they will sink to rise no more; they will dwindle away to
nothing, and their names will be forgotten among men.

	We had better build up the kingdom of God, and consider ourselves
under obligations to do it, and see that we actually magnify our high and
holy calling before the heavens.  We have the privilege of preparing
ourselves to inherit the celestial kingdom.  Is there another people on
the earth that has the same reason for rejoicing that we have?  Those who
have power to overcome temptation, to subdue their own passions and
inclinations to evil, have more reason to be thankful than those who have
not thus overcome.  Let us have compassion upon each other, and let the
strong tenderly nurse the weak into strength, and let those who can see
guide the blind until they can see the way for themselves.

	I exhort the Bishops and the people to do better.  Do not charge to
my account hundreds and thousands of dollars when it is where I cannot
handle it and do good with it.  I could have made this whole people rich
long ago if I had possessed their confidence, as I should, but if I had
made them rich, through the blessings of the Lord, I expect it would have
destroyed them.  I do not, however, ask your confidence any further than
you can be made subject to the law of Christ and not love the world and
the things of the world.  I do not wish an influence that would be to my
injury and to the injury of this people, but I really fancy to myself that
if this people called Latter-day Saints were devoted perfectly to the
building up of the kingdom of God, I should have a great deal more
influence with them than I now possess, and I should be able to control
their purses as well as their souls.

	Many, when they come here, are in the depths of poverty, but when
they find that they can stand alone and become a little independent, how
quickly they forsake their God and their religion for that which is of no
profit.  Let us desire and pray for these things which will do us good,
trusting in the Lord, seeking to know and do his will, and we shall come
off conquerors and be crowned with crowns of glory, immortality and
eternal lives in the celestial kingdom of our Father and God.  I hope this
will be the case with most of us, and should like it to be the case with
all.  I would delight in seeing the inhabitants of Zion prepared to enjoy
all the glory there is for the faithful.

	May the Lord help us: Amen.

     NECESSITY FOR WATCHFULNESS.--THE PROPER COURSE TO PURSUE TOWARDS
STRANGERS.--SELLING FLOUR AND GRAIN.--THE WAR AND ITS EFFECTS UPON
SLAVERY.
      Discourse by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Bowery,
                     Salt Lake City, October 6, 1863.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	I do not expect you will hear much from me during this Conference. 
If I had faith, or you had faith for me, sufficient to heal me up and make
me strong, so that I could speak as I would like to speak, and as often
and whenever the Spirit of God would delight to speak through me, I should
still talk a great deal to the people.

	I have always been satisfied, and am still, that they need a great
deal of teaching, for everything is to learn, and everything is to be
obtained.  We can receive only a little at a time, and it is only the
faithful that can receive anything pertaining to the revealed will of God,
and they can only receive it "line upon line and precept upon precept,
here a little and there a little," and blessed is the man or woman that
treasures up the words of life.  Much has yet to be taught the Latter-day
Saints to perfect them and prepare them for the coming of the Son of Man.

	We have heard a good deal to-day, and we shall hear a good deal more
to-morrow and next day, or so long as our Conference shall last; how long
it will continue is not now for me to say.

	In the remarks that have been made to-day, a great many things have
been suggested to my mind.  One thing I will take time to mention, and
that is in regard to the stranger that passes through our country in
search for gold, or in search for safety, as the case may be.  I wish the
Latter-day Saints, who live in these mountains, to understand that we are
here through necessity, and that hundreds and thousands of Latter-day
Saints are coming here now, and hundreds and thousands who are not
Latter-day Saints are also passing through from the east to the regions
north and west of us, or to other regions where they may hope to make
their homes, and all through necessity; they are fleeing from trouble and
sorrow.  I wish you to realize this.  Multitudes of good and honorable men
become enrolled in the contending armies of the present American war, some
to gratify a martial pride, and others through a conscientious love of
their country; indeed, various are the motives and inducements that impel
men to expose themselves upon the field of battle; but a portion of those
who are peaceably disposed, and wish not to witness the shedding of the
blood of their countrymen, make good their escape from the vicinity of
trouble.  It is chiefly this class of men who are now passing through this
Territory to other parts, and I think they are probably as good a class of
men as has ever passed through this country; they are persons who wish to
live in peace, and to be far removed from contending factions.  As far as
I am concerned I have no fault to find with them. But I will say to the
Latter-day Saints, when they come to you with well-filled sacks of gold
dust to buy your produce, do not be afraid to ask six dollars a hundred
for your flour, or more if it is worth it.  The love of mankind is an
exalted sentiment, and patriotism for home and country is worthy of a
place in the bosoms of the greatest and best of mankind, but I cannot see
that we do homage to these holy principles by selling our produce to the
passing stranger for less than its actual cost to us; and he is as well
satisfied to pay a reasonable and fair price for what he buys from us, as
to receive it at half its value.  Every intelligent farmer must be aware
that flour cost him all of six dollars a hundred.  If I oppress you when I
teach you to take care of yourselves, then shall I continue to oppress
you.  Have I ever taught you, by example or precept, to oppress the
hireling in his wages?  Never.  Can you justly accuse me of depriving the
poor, or the stranger that is cast among us, of the means of obtaining the
necessary comforts of life?  You can not.  But I may be justly accused of
making men, as far as possible, earn their living; of teaching them to
supply their own wants, and to accumulate and gather around them wealth
and independence by a persevering industry and a constant frugality and
care of the temporal blessings God bestows upon them.

	Some would tell you that you are deprived of the free exercise of
your rights by "Mormon" interference, while, every day you live, you live
in the enjoyment of the rights and privileges of freemen, and staunch
upholders of the priceless boon bequeathed to us by our fathers in the
Constitution of our suffering country.  They would tell you that it is the
right of every man and woman to suffer themselves to be prostituted and
defiled by the filth and scum that floats among the surging masses of
mankind, that are at present lashed into rage and madness by the demon of
war.  This is not, in strictness, a right which belongs to any human
being, but on the contrary, it is the right of every person and of every
community to resist pollution and to contend for the privilege of living a
virtuous, holy, upright and godly life, so as to be justified before the
heavens and before all the good that dwell upon the earth.  They consider
that they are curtailed in the free exercise of their rights, because they
cannot enter into our houses and pollute our wives and daughters, and
because they cannot change our domestic and social system to the lowest
standard of this depraved age.  It is their right to attend to their own
business, and we feel quite capable of attending to ours.

	I mean to watch them with a sleepless eye.  Understand it, ye Elders
of Israel.  Whether you do as you are told or not, I shall tell every man
to take care that he is ready for every emergency--to sleep with one eye
open, and, if he has a mind to, with his boots on and one leg out of bed. 
I shall not be found off my watch; and if they commence intruding, woe
unto them, for they will then know who are the old settlers.

	Treat the passing strangers with kindness and respect; treat all
kindly and respectfully who respect you and your rights as American
citizens.  "Peace on earth and good will towards men," is the design and
spirit of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; but when men are harnessed up by
hundreds of thousands, and driven to the slaughter, it bespeaks a
departure from God and from the popular institutions of freedom; and if
Angels can weep, they weep over this human ignorance, blindness, depravity
and cruelty. What is the cause of all this waste of life and treasure?  To
tell it in a plain, truthful way, one portion of the country wish to raise
their negroes or black slaves, and the other portion wish to free them,
and, apparently, to almost worship them.  Well, raise and worship them,
who cares?  I should never fight one moment about it, for the cause of
human improvement is not in the least advanced by the dreadful war which
now convulses our unhappy country.

	Ham will continue to be the servant of servants, as the Lord has
decreed, until the curse is removed.  Will the present struggle free the
slave?  No; but they are now wasting away the black race by thousands. 
Many of the blacks are treated worse than we treat our dumb brutes; and
men will be called to judgment for the way they have treated the negro,
and they will receive the condemnation of a guilty conscience, by the just
Judge whose attributes are justice and truth.

	Treat the slaves kindly and let them live, for Ham must be the
servant of servants until the curse is removed.  Can you destroy the
decrees of the Almighty?  You cannot.  Yet our Christian brethren think
that they are going to overthrow the sentence of the Almighty upon the
seed of Ham.  They cannot do that, though they may kill them by thousands
and tens of thousands.

	According to accounts, in all probability not less than one million
men, from twenty to forty years of age, have gone to the silent grave in
this useless war, in a little over two years, and all to gratify the
caprice of a few,--I do not think I have a suitable name for them, shall
we call them abolitionists, slaveholders, religious bigots, or political
aspirants?  Call them what you will, they are wasting away each other, and
it seems as though they will not be satisfied until they have brought
universal destruction and desolation upon the whole country.  It appears
as though they would destroy every person; perhaps they will, but I think
they will not.

	God rules.  Do you know it?  It is the kingdom of God or nothing for
the Latter-day Saints.

	Do you know that it is the eleventh hour of the reign of Satan on the
earth?  Jesus is coming to reign, and all you who fear and tremble because
of your enemies, cease to fear them, and learn to fear to offend God, fear
to transgress his laws, fear to do any evil to your brother, or to any
being upon the earth, and do not fear Satan and his power, nor those who
have only power to slay the body, for God will preserve his people.

	We are constantly gathering new clay into the mill.  How many of the
new comers I have heard say, "Oh that I had been with you when you had
your trials."  We have promised them all the trials that are necessary, if
they would be patient.

	Are you going to be patient and trust in God, and receive every trial
with thanksgiving, acknowledging the hand of the Lord in it?  You will
have all the trial you can bear.  The least thing tries some people. 
Brother Heber and myself going to the island in Great Salt Lake, a week
ago last Friday, created numerous surmisings and misgivings with some.  I
have thought that it might, perhaps, be well to notify you regularly,
through the Deseret News, of my out-goings and in-comings; and I may as
well now notify you that it is my intention to visit Sanpete, and,
perhaps, our southern settlements this fall.  If I should do so, I hope
that my brethren and sisters will feel satisfied, for I shall go, come,
stay and act as I feel dictated by the Spirit of God.  God being my
helper, asking no odds of any person.--Amen.

 TITHING.--BUILDING TEMPLES.--GOLD, ITS PRODUCTION AND USES.--GOVERNMENTAL
           POLICY TOWARDS UTAH.--PROVIDING BREAD FOR THE POOR.
         Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery,
                  Great Salt Lake City, October 6, 1863.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	I have in my mind a few texts which I wish to introduce and speak
from, to, or upon.

	I have only to say in relation to what brother John Taylor, in his
remarks, has referred to, that I wish the honest-in-heart to continue to
be honest--to say their prayers, and especially to keep the law of God;
and I would like you to observe the law of Tithing, if you wish to do so,
and if you do not, proclaim that you do not which to observe it, that we
may shape our course accordingly, for no person is compelled to pay
Tithing, but it is entirely a voluntary act of our own.  If we pay it
freely it is well; if we are not willing to pay it freely and feel a
pleasure in doing so, let us say so and be consistent with ourselves.

	We talk a great deal about our religion.  It is not now my intention
to deliver a discourse on this subject, enumerating facts and producing
evidences in my possession which are unanswerable, but I will merely give
a text, or make a declaration, that our religion is simply the truth.  It
is all said in this one expression--it embraces all truth, wherever found,
in all the works of God and man that are visible or invisible to mortal
eye.  It is the only system of religion known in heaven or on earth that
can exalt a man to the Godhead, and this it will do to all those who
embrace its laws and faithfully observe its precepts.  This thought gives
joy and delight to the reflecting mind, for, as has been observed, man
possesses the germ of all the attributes and power that are possessed by
God his heavenly Father.

	I wish you to understand that sin is not an attribute in the nature
of man, but it is an inversion of the attributes God has placed in him. 
Righteousness tends to an eternal duration of organized intelligence,
while sin bringeth to pass their dissolution.  Were it our purpose, at
this time, we might produce extensive, instructive and interesting
arguments of a Scriptural and philosophical character, in support of these
views.  I will merely say that God possesses in perfection all the
attributes of his physical and mental nature, while as yet we only possess
them in our weakness and imperfection, tainted by sin and all the
consequences of the fall.  God has perfect control over sin and over
death; we are subject to both, which have passed upon all things that
pertain to this earth.  God has control over all these things; he is
exalted and lives in obedience to the laws of truth.  He controls the acts
of all men, setting up a nation here and overthrowing a nation there, at
his pleasure, to subserve his great purposes.

	We see man suddenly raised to power and influence, clothed in all the
paraphernalia of royalty, endowed with prestige and equipage, and as
quickly stripped of all his pomp and show, and laid prostrate in the dust
of death.

	This is God's work, and the result of a power that is not possessed
by us mortals though we are seeking for it.  When we talk of building a
temple, let us not forget that we can add nothing to Him.  "But Solomon
built Him an house.  Howbeit, the Most High dwelleth not in temples made
with hands; as saith the Prophet, heaven is my throne, and earth is my
footstool; what house will ye build me?  saith the Lord, or what is the
place of my rest?  Hath not my hand made all these?"  "If I were hungry I
would not tell thee, for the world is mine and the fulness thereof."  He
does not ask us for bread and fruit, for he has better fruit than we can
raise, and His bread is of a much finer quality than ours; He does not
want our bread and meat and clothing, but he has organized all these
substances for an exaltation.

	The earth, the Lord says, abides its creation; it has been baptized
with water, and will, in the future, be baptized with fire and the Holy
Ghost, to be prepared to go back into the celestial presence of God, with
all things that dwell upon it which have, like the earth, abided the law
of their creation.  Taking this view of the matter, it may be asked why we
build temples.  We build temples because there is not a house on the face
of the whole earth that has been reared to God's name, which will in
anywise compare with his character, and that he can consistently call his
house.  There are places on the earth where the Lord can come and dwell,
if he pleases.  They may be found on the tops of high mountains, or in
some cavern or places where sinful man has never marked the soil with his
polluted feet.

	He requires his servants to build Him a house that He can come to,
and where He can make known His will.  This opens to my mind a field that
I shall not undertake to survey to-day.  I will just say, when I see men
at work on that Temple who nurse cursings in their hearts, I wish they
would walk out of the Temple-block, and never again enter within its
walls, until their hearts are sanctified to God and his Work.  This will
also apply to men who are dishonest.  But we have to put up and bear
patiently with many things that we cannot help under present
circumstances, and in our present imperfect state.  We would like to build
a substantial house, suitably arranged and embellished--a permanent
house--that shall be renowned for its beauty and excellency, to present to
the Lord our God, and then lock and bar it up, unless he shall say, "Enter
ye into this my house, and there officiate in the ordinances of my Holy
Priesthood, as I shall direct."  We have already built two Temples:  one
in Kirtland, Ohio, and one in Nauvoo, Illinois.  We commenced the
foundation of one in Far West, Missouri.  You know the history of the one
we built in Nauvoo.  It was burnt, all the materials that would burn, and
the walls have since been almost entirely demolished and used for building
private dwellings, &c.  I would rather it should thus be destroyed than
remain in the hands of the wicked.  If the Saints cannot so live as to
inherit a Temple when it is built, I would rather never see a Temple
built.  God commanded us to build the Nauvoo Temple, and we built it, and
performed our duty pretty well.  There are Elders here to-day who labored
on that house with not a shoe to their feet, or pantaloons that would
cover their limbs, or a shirt to cover their arms.

	We performed the work, and performed it within the time which the
Lord gave us to do it in.  Apostates said that we never could perform that
work; but, through the blessing of God, it was complete and accepted of
him.  Apostates never build Temples unto God, but the Saints are called to
do this work.

	Do we want to build this Temple, or do we not?  It shall be as we
please.  I am just as ready to dismiss every workman that is now laboring
on the Public Works, as you are.  I know the people would say, Build the
Temple.  Should I ask all the workmen whether they are willing to labor on
that work, their reply would be, "Yes, the Lord wants our labor, and we
are willing that he should have it, although we could get better pay for
our labor elsewhere--pay that we cannot get on the Public Works."  

	Do you require me as Trustee-in-Trust, to pay you better pay than is
paid into my hands by the people to sustain the Public Works?  Are you
just in your requirements, or are you unjust?  Look at it in whatever
light you please, no person can justly require more of me than I receive. 
Whether it is right to do so, judge ye.

	Has the Lord required of us to pay Tithing?  He has--namely,
one-tenth of our increase.  Now, if we withhold our Tithing, and the
Temple, nevertheless, is completed and ready for the ordinances of the
Holy Priesthood to be performed therein, can those who have withheld their
Tithing enter that Temple to pass through the ordinances of salvation for
their dead, and be just before God?  If they can, I must confess that I do
not understand the nature of God's requirements, nor his justice, nor his
truth, nor his mercy.

	That Temple is to be built; but God forbid that it should ever be
built for the hypocrite, the ungodly, the apostate, or any other miserably
corrupted creature that bears the image of our Creator, to enter into it
to pollute it; I would rather never see it built than this should
transpire.  We intend to build and finish it.

	If the Lord permits gold-mines to be opened here, he will overrule it
for the good of his Saints and the building-up of his kingdom.  We have a
great many friends who are out of this Church--who have not embraced the
Gospel.  We have a great many political friends, moral friends and
financial friends; there are thousands of men who are our friends for
advantage's sake, for the sake of peace, for the enjoyment of life, for
silver and gold, goods and chattels, houses and lands, and other
possessions on the earth, for they love to live on the earth and enjoy its
blessings. There are thousands who see that this people inculcate and live
by wholesome moral principles--principles that will sustain their natural
lives, to say nothing about principles that take hold of God and eternity. 
There are multitudes who desire to live out their days without coming to
their end by violence--without being murdered or kidnapped by marauding
mobs; they think that the earth is a pretty good place, and they would
like to live upon it in peace as long as they can, with their friends and
connections.  We have a great many friends, and if the Lord suffers gold
to be discovered here, I shall be satisfied that it is for the purpose of
embellishing and adorning this Temple which we contemplate building, and
we may use some of it as a circulating medium.

	The Lord will not dwell in our hearts unless they are pure and holy,
neither will he enter into a Temple that we may build to his name, unless
it is sanctified and prepared for his presence.  If we could overlay the
aisles of the Temple with pure gold, for the Lord to walk upon, it would
please me, and not suffer them ever to be corrupted by mortal feet.  Gold
is one of the purest of elements, and will not be so much changed as some
others, though every element that we are acquainted with will pass through
a change.  Gold is pure and precious metal, and the wicked love it through
selfishness or an unholy lust, while God and his true people love to pave
the streets of Zion with it, to overlay altars and pulpits of Temples with
it, and to make utensils of it for the use of the Priests of the Lord in
offering sacrifice to him, and also for household purposes.

	There are some of the sealing ordinances that cannot be administered
in the house that we are now using; we can only administer in it some of
the first ordinances of the Priesthood pertaining to the endowment.  There
are more advanced ordinances that cannot be administered there; we would,
therefore, like a Temple, but I am willing to wait a few years for it.  I
want to see the Temple built in a manner that it will endure through the
Millennium.  This is not the only Temple we shall build; There will be
hundreds of them built and dedicated to the Lord.  This Temple will be
known as the first Temple built in the mountains by the Latter-day Saints. 
And when the Millennium is over, and all the sons and daughters of Adam
and Eve, down to the last of their posterity, who come within the reach of
the clemency of the Gospel, have been redeemed in hundreds of Temples
through the administration of their children as proxies for them, I want
that Temple still to stand as a proud monument of the faith, perseverance
and industry of the Saints of God in the mountains, in the nineteenth
century.

	I told you thirteen years ago, that every time we took up our tools
to progress with that Temple, we should see opposition.  Our enemies do
not love to see it progress, because we are building it for God, and they
do not love him.  If it is necessary I am willing to drop work on the
Temple; but if you require at our hands that the Temple be built, you
should be as willing to pay your Tithing as you are to have us build the
Temple.  Some of us are not dependent on the Temple for our endowment
blessings, for we have received them under the hands of Joseph the
Prophet, and know where to go to bestow the same on others.  You may ask
me whether the leaders of this Church have received all their endowment 
blessings.  I think that we have got all that you can get in your
probation, if you live to be the age of Methuselah; and we can give what
we possess to others who are worthy.  We want to build that temple as it
should be built, that when we present it to the Lord we may not have to
cover our faces in shame.

	I now wish to present a few questions to the congregation, for I
think there is no harm in asking questions to elicit information.  Do the
Government officials in Utah, civil and military, give aid and comfort to
and foster persons whose design is to interrupt and disturb the peace of
this people?  and are they protected and encouraged in this ruinous design
by the strong arm of military power, to do what they will, if they will
only annoy and try to break up the "Mormon" community?  Does the general
Government, or does it not, sustain this wicked plan?  Is there in
existence a corruption-fund, out of which Government jobbers live and pay
their travelling expenses while they are engaged in trying to get men and
women to apostatize from the truth, to swell their ranks for damnation? 
Is this so, or is it not so?  Those who understand the political
trickeries and the political windings of the nation, can see at once that
these are political questions.  Who feeds and clothes and defrays the
expenses of hundreds of men who are engaged patroling the mountains and
kanyons all around us in search of gold?  Who finds supplies for those who
are sent here to protect the two great interests--the mail and telegraph
lines across the continent--while they are employed ranging over these
mountains in search of gold?  And who has paid for the multitude of picks,
shovels, spades and other mining tools that they have brought with them? 
Were they really sent here to protect the mail and telegraph lines, or to
discover, if possible, rich diggings in our immediate vicinity, with a
view to flood the country with just such a population as they desire, to
destroy, if possible, the identity of the "Mormon" community, and every
truth and virtue that remains?  Who is it that calls us apostates from our
Government, deserters, traitors, rebels, secessionists?  And who have
expressed themselves as being unwilling that the "Mormons" should have in
their possession a little powder and lead?  I am merely presenting a few
plain questions to the Latter-day Saints, which they or anybody else may
answer, or not, just as they please.  Who have said that "Mormons" should
not be permitted to hold in their possession fire-arms and ammunition? 
Did a Government officer say this, one who was sent here to watch over and
protect the interest of the community, without meddling or interfering
with the domestic affairs of the people?  I can tell you what they have in
their hearts, and I know what passes in their secret councils.  Blood and
murder are in their hearts, and they wish to extend the work of
destruction over the whole face of the land, until there cannot be found a
single spot where the Angel of peace can repose.

	The waste of life in the ruinous war now raging is truly lamentable. 
Joseph the Prophet said that the report of it would sicken the heart; and
what is all this for?  It is a visitation from heaven, because they have
killed the Prophet of God, Joseph Smith, jun, Has not the nation consented
to his death, and to the utter destruction of the Latter-day Saints, if it
could be accomplished?  But they found that they could not accomplish
that.

	Before we left Nauvoo, members of Congress made a treaty with the
latter-day Saints, and we agreed to leave the United States entirely.  We
did so, and came to these mountains, which were then Mexican territory. 
When we were ready to start on our pilgrimage west, a certain gentleman,
who signed himself "Backwoods-man," wished to know on what conditions we
would overcome and settle California.  He gave us to understand that he
had his authority from headquarters, to treat with us on this matter.  I
thought that President Polk was our friend at that time; we have thought
so since, and we think so now.  We agreed to survey and settle
California--we drawing the odd numbers, and the Government the even
numbers; but I think the President was precipitated into the Mexican war,
and our prospective calculations fell through, otherwise we should have
gone into California and settled it.  Many of you were not aware of this.

	Joseph said that if they succeeded in taking his life, which they
did, war and confusion would come upon the nation, and they would destroy
each other, and there would be mob upon mob from one end of the country to
the other.  Have they got through?  No, they have only just commenced the
work of wasting life and property.  They will burn up every steamboat,
every village, every town, every house of their enemies that comes within
their reach; they will waste and destroy food and clothing that should
feed and comfort women and children, and leaven them destitute and
beggars, without homes and without protectors, to perish upon the face of
all the land, and all to satiate their unhallowed and hellish appetite for
blood; and this awful tornado of suffering, destruction, woe and
lamentation, they would hurl upon us, if they could, but they cannot, and
I say, in the name of Israel's God, they never shall do it.  We will have
peace if we have to fight for it.  They have not power to destroy Israel,
neither will they have.  The time will come when he who will not take up
his sword against his neighbor must flee to Zion.

	We have been preached to a great deal during this Conference, and how
do we appear before God, as Latter-day saints, when there are among us
confusion, covetousness, bickering, slothfulness, unthankfulness?  May God
help us to search our own hearts, to find out whether we are obedient or
disobedient, and whether we love the things of God better than any earthly
consideration.  Will we, from this time henceforth, listen to and pay
attention to the whisperings of the good Spirit, and devote every hour of
our time to the welfare of the kingdom of God upon the earth, and let the
enemies of this kingdom do what they please?  for God will overrule all
things for the special benefit of his people.  May the Lord help us to be
Saints.

	I will now make a requirement at the hands of the Bishops, both those
who are here, and those who are not here and which every individual must
see is necessary and just; and that is, for them to see that there is
sufficient breadstuff in their respective Wards to last the members of
their Wards until another harvest; and if you have not sufficient on hand,
we shall require you to secure it and hold it in such a way that the poor
can obtain it by paying for it. There are persons who would part with
every mouthful of breadstuff they have for that which does not profit
them, and bring starvation upon the community.  I wish the Bishops to have
an eye to this, and to devise employment, that the new comers and
strangers that may be among us may have a chance to earn their bread.  Let
sufficient wheat be held in reserve by those who have it, or are able to
buy it, for this purpose, that none may suffer.

	Again I request of the Bishops to be certain that the members of
their Wards have their supply of breadstuffs in reserve to last them until
another harvest, and we will trust in God for the coming year.  Be not so
unwise as to sell the bread that you and your children need.  Preserve
enough to sustain your own lives, and we are willing you should sell all
the rest of it as you please; and remember that you cannot buy any from
me, unless you pay a fair price for it.  Last week a man wanted to buy
some flour of me and I partly consented to let him have some at six
dollars a hundred in gold dust; he thought he could buy it cheaper, and
went away.  I was very willing not to sell it him, for when women and
children are suffering for bread, I do not want it said that I sold flour. 
I shall feel much better, and I even say in truth, that I have not sold
flour when a prospect of scarcity could be seen in the future.  I am
willing to pay flour to my workmen, and am willing to hire more workmen,
and I will sell them flour for six dollars a hundred; but I am not willing
to sell it to go out of the country, and to strangers, if it is needed to
sustain those who make their homes with us.

	I will conclude my remarks and pray God to bless his people
everywhere.  Amen.

 OUR RELATIONSHIP AND DUTY TO GOD AND HIS KINGDOM.--THE TRUE SOURCE OF THE
       PROSPERITY AND WEALTH OF INDIVIDUALS AND NATIONS, AND HOW TO
                   OBTAIN THEM.--COUNSEL TO THE SAINTS.
         Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery,
                  Great Salt Lake City, October 6, 1863.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	We have duties which will occupy all of our time while we live upon
the earth, if they are properly performed, and they consist in duties
which we owe to ourselves, to our fellow beings, and to our God.  We
acknowledge that we owe duties to God, and we feel that we are under
certain obligations to him; indeed we owe our very existence to him, for
we are his offspring, and without him we can do nothing; we cannot even
make "one hair white or black" without our Father.  We cannot, independent
of God, make a single blade of grass to grow, nor produce one kernel of
wheat or any other grain; in short we cannot perform anything to profit
ourselves or our fellow creatures, without the Spirit of our Father and
God, and without his smile and blessing.  "When He giveth quietness, who
then can make trouble?  And when he hideth his face, who then can behold
him?  Whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only."  We
possess no ability only that which is given us of God.  He has endowed us
with glorious faculties, with Godlike attributes like those which are
incorporated in his own nature, and he has placed us upon this earth to
honor them, and to sanctify ourselves and the earth preparatory to
enjoying it in its celestial state.  We are not, in anything, independent
of God.  We inherit what we possess from Him, and he inherits his
faculties, attributes and powers from his Father.  Yet it is so ordained,
in the fathomless wisdom of God, that we should be agents to ourselves to
choose the good or the evil, and thereby save and exalt our existence, or
lose it.  

	It appears to be very hard for us to learn the attributes and powers
which are incorporated in our own existence, and the principles and powers
which are in universal nature around us; we seem slow of heart to believe,
and are sluggish in our understandings.  The religion of God embraces
every fact that exists in all the wide arena of nature, while the
religions of men consist of theory devoid of fact, or of any true
principle of guidance; hence the professing Christian world are like a
ship upon a boisterous ocean without rudder, compass, or pilot, and are
tossed hither and thither by every wind of doctrine.  Those who have
embraced the doctrine of salvation have the witness within themselves of
its truth.  "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into
the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love
him.  But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit:  for the Spirit
searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God."  But we often find
persons among us who have borne testimony of the truth of their religion
by the gift and power of the Holy Ghost, who again fall backwards into
darkness by beginning to express doubts whether their religion be true or
false; they begin to exchange the substance for the shadow--the reality
for a phantom.  "Are ye so foolish?  having begun in the Spirit, are ye
now made perfect by the flesh?"

	We understand but a very few of the simplest and most self-evident
truths and principles which govern and sustain us in existence as human
beings, and all the rest which we have to learn is as great a mystery to
us as the most intricate and delicate piece of mechanism is to the infant
child.  We need constant instruction, and our great heavenly Teacher
requires of us to be diligent pupils in His school, that we may in time
reach His glorified presence.  If we will not lay to heart the rules of
education which our Teacher gives us to study, and continue to advance
from one branch of learning to another, we never can be scholars of the
first class and become endowed with the science, power, excellency,
brightness and glory of the heavenly hosts; and unless we are educated as
they are, we cannot associate with them.

	Brethren and sisters, are we preparing for the highest seat of
knowledge and literature known to men on earth, and then to go on in
advance of them by the means of that Spirit bestowed upon us in the
ordinances of our holy religion, which reveals all things, and thus become
ourselves teachers and expounders of the mysteries of the kingdom of God
on earth and in heaven?  Would not this be much better than to remain
fixed with a very limited amount of knowledge, and, like a door upon its
hinges, move to and fro from one year to another without any visible
advancement or improvement, lusting after the grovelling things of this
life which perish with the handling?  Let each one of us bring these
matters home to ourselves.

	It was said this morning that if we will do our duty God will make us
rich.  How?  By opening gold mines? No.  If he makes us rich, he will make
us rich in the same way that he became rich, by faithful labor, ceaseless
perseverance and constant exertion and industry.  He labored faithfully
for all he possesses, and he is willing that we should inherit all things
with him, if we will pursue the same course to obtain them that he
pursued.

	Our lexicographers define riches to be opulence, the possession of
landed estates, of gold and silver, etc., and the man that possesses the
most of this kind of wealth is rich in comparison with his neighbor.  The
riches of a kingdom or nation does not consist so much in the fulness of
its treasury as in the fertility of its soil and the industry of its
people.  The common definition may be termed the riches of this world, but
are they the true riches?  I say they are not, and you will probably agree
with me in this.  I need not advance reasons to show you the worthlessness
of such kinds of riches in the absence of the common necessaries and
comforts of life--of those substances which satisfy the cravings of nature
and prolong our existence here.  Unless earthly riches are held for God
and used to advance righteousness, they are held only by a slender tenure.

	Brother John Taylor in his remarks referred to Nebuchadnezzar.  It is
said of him, "And the king spake, and said, is not this great Babylon,
that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power,
and for the honor of my majesty?  While the word was in the king's mouth,
there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O King Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it
is spoken; the kingdom is departed from thee."  "The same hour was the
thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar; and he was driven from men, and did
eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his
hairs were grown like eagle's feathers, and his nails like bird's claws." 
And there the great king of Babylon remained until he learned that, "all
the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing, and He doeth
according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of
the earth, and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, what doest thou?" 
This great king became satisfied that he could not possess power, wealth,
majesty and earthly glory only as the King of kings gave it to him.

	When God bestows upon us power to command the elements--to speak, and
the soil is formed and filled with fertility--to speak, and the rain
descends upon it to moisten and germinate the seed that we have planted
and to nourish it until it ripens its golden fruit, then shall we possess
true riches, and not until then.  When we possess this power by the
irrevocable decree of heaven, we possess wealth that cannot take the wings
of the morning and leaven us poor indeed.  Can we live to learn some of
these things?

	We have in our mortal state the trial of our faith, and we are
gathered together from the nations expressly to learn the character of our
religion and its worth.  We have come here to learn God and ourselves. 
Man is made in the image of God, but what do we know of him or of
ourselves, when we suffer ourselves to love and worship the god of this
world--riches?  Suppose all the people in these mountains in possession of
all the riches they want, would it not becloud their minds and unfit them
for usefulness in the great work of restitution in the last days?  I heard
a man say not long since, while preaching, that if he knew where he could
get a hat-full of gold, he thought he would try a hat-full, and did not
expect it would hurt him in the least.  Let him get one hat-full and he
would want another, and another, and another, until he would become so
attached to it, and it would occupy so large a portion of his affections
that he would prefer it to all he has ever learned of the kingdom of God. 
I would keep it from him and from any other man, and I do not want it
myself, though I think I know where I could go and get a hat-full, and
have known this ever since I have been in these valleys.

	I want neither gold nor silver, but I want to build the Temple and
finish the new Tabernacle, send the Gospel to the nations, and gather home
the poor.  "Do we not need gold for this?"  Yes.  "Then would it not
benefit us to dig some out of the ground for this purpose?"  The world is
full of gold, and we would do better to get some of that in a lawful way,
which is already made into coin, for it is easier handled than the gold
dust, and better cleansed from particles of sand and other foreign
substances.  If we possessed true knowledge and power with God, we should
know how to get gold in great abundance.  The world is full of it, and
they do not need but a little of it.  We want riches but we do not want
them in the shape of gold.  Many of us know exactly what we do want, and a
great many do not know.  I want to build that Temple; I want to supply the
wants of the poor, and I try my best according to what judgment and
influence I possess, to put every poor person in a way to make their own
living.  

	We all wish to possess true riches; how shall we possess them?  God
has given to us our present existence, and endowed us with vast variety of
tastes, sensations and passions for pleasure and for pain, according to
the manner in which we use and apply them; he also gives us houses and
lands, gold and silver, and an abundance of the comforts and necessaries
of life.  Are we seeking to honor God with all these precious gifts, or
are we trying to establish interests separate and apart from God and His
Kingdom, and thus waste the ability and substance the Lord has given us
with riotous living and wanton prodigality?  But few rich men have come
into this Church who have not sought diligently to put their means into
the hands of the devil.  There are persons with us now who might have
given their scores of thousands of pounds to this Church to spread the
Gospel, build the Temple, and gather the poor Saints, but no, they have
sought and do and will seek diligently to place their means into the hands
of the wicked, or situate it so that they may get it.  I wish you to
understand, however, that a man giving his means to build up the kingdom
of God is no proof to me that he is true in heart.  I have long since
learned, that a person may give a gift with an impure design.

	The Lord gives us possessions, and he requires of us one-tenth of the
increase which we make by the putting to good use the means he has placed
in our hands.  I am sorry to see a disposition manifested in some to go to
distant parts to trade and build up themselves and make money, while the
ability which God has given them is not concentrated in building up His
kingdom, in gathering the house of Israel, in redeeming and build up Zion,
in renovating the earth to make it like the garden of Eden, in overcoming
sin in themselves, and in spreading righteousness throughout the land.  We
find what we have always found and shall continue to find, until the Lord
Almighty separates the sheep from the goats, and when that will be I do
not know.

	As far as I am concerned I would like to see the people possess great
wealth in this present state--what is now called riches--gold and silver,
houses and lands, etc.  I would like to see men, women and children live
only to do good.  Shall we now seek to make ourselves wealthy in gold and
silver and the possessions which the wicked love and worship, or shall we,
with all of our might, mind and strength, seek diligently first to build
up the Kingdom of God?  Let us decide on this, and do one thing or the
other.

	I have talked much, on previous occasions, on the law of Tithing.  I
do not wish to say much about it now, and I would rather not say anything,
but I will give you a few facts.  It is true that we are continually
gathering in new materials--men and women with no experience; these are
mixed with those who have been with us for years, and many of them have,
apparently, little or no capacity for improvement or advancement; they
seem incapable of understanding things as they are; they are as they were,
and I fear will remain so.  They are first-rate Methodists, and you know
they are always the biggest when they are first born. In all their after
experience they refer to the time of the religious birth as the happiest
moment they ever saw, and are constantly afterwards, as long as they live,
praying for and seeking with groans and tears their first love.  Instead
of this, if they were truly born of God, their path would shine brighter
and brighter unto the perfect day.  We do not expect our newly arrived
brethren and sisters to understand the ways of God and of his faithful
people in Zion, equally with those who have been here for years, until
they have had a sufficient opportunity to practically learn what there is
to be learned religiously, morally, politically and every other way.

	I think it was yesterday I saw a man from Weber who said a merchant
came into that region and wanted to buy up all the grain at his own price. 
When he found he could not buy it at his own price, he became disgusted,
and said the people were a set of damned Brighamites.  I took particular
pains to give him to understand that it was one of the greatest wishes of
my heart that the people throughout the Territory would be Brighamites
enough to know how to keep a little bread to feed themselves and their
children.

	We have been in these valleys fifteen years.  Some thirteen years ago
we built a Tithing Store and the adjoining buildings; from that day until
this, with few exceptions, the grain bins in that Tithing Office have been
full of wheat, and we could feed the poor; when the immigration came in,
in the fall of the year, we could supply them with bread, and we had
something to supply the families of the Elders that are abroad preaching,
until now.  I have more than once told the people publicly that if they
ever saw the time when wheat would bring money in this Territory, the
Tithing Office would be found empty; but you never heard me say that God
was going to shut up the heavens and bring a famine upon us, though it has
been reported that I said so.  There will be famine, and one that will
pinch us harder than we have ever been pinched yet, if we do not do right
and try to avert it.  The Tithing Office is empty, and my office is
thronged with hungry people asking for bread, and we have it not to give
them.  Where is it?  It has been grown; God has given it to us; it is in
the hands of the professed people of God throughout this Territory, but it
brings money, and there seems to exist an unwillingness to pay the Lord
his due.

	Hear it, O ye people of God, the Lord's house is empty and the Lord's
poor are pining for bread; and when their cries come up before Him he will
come out of his hiding-place with a just rebuke and a sharp chastisement,
to be poured out upon the heads of the slothful and unfaithful of his
people.  If you bring in your Tithes and your offerings to the Storehouse
of the Lord, he will preserve you from being overrun and afflicted by your
enemies; but if you refuse to do this, prepare for a gloomy and a dark
day. We want something to feed the women and the children whose husbands
and fathers are in the silent grave.  If we hold in fellowship persons who
will not render up that which belongs to the poor, we must receive the
chastenings of the Almighty with them; they must either be cast out as
salt that has lost its savor, or they must render up to God that which
belongs to him, and aid in sustaining the Priesthood of God upon the
earth.  In a "Revelation" given at Far West, Missouri, July 8, 1838, in
answer to the question, O Lord, show unto thy servants how much thou
requirest of the properties of thy people for a Tithing?

	"Verily, thus saith the Lord, I require all their surplus property to
be put into the hands of the Bishop of my Church of Zion, for the building
of mine house, and for the laying the foundation of Zion and for the
Priesthood and for the debts of the Presidency of my Church; and this
shall be the beginning of the Tithing of my people, and after that, those
who have thus been Tithed, shall pay one-tenth of all their interest
annually, and this shall be a standing law unto them for ever, for my holy
Priesthood, saith the Lord."

	Again, "Therefore, if any man shall take of the abundance which I
have made, and impart not his portion, according to the law of my Gospel,
unto the poor and the needy, he shall with the wicked, lift up his eyes in
hell, being in torment."

	It may be supposed by some that the Tithing is used to sustain and
feed the First Presidency and the Twelve; this is a false impression.  I
can say, without boasting, that there is not another man in this kingdom
has done more in dollars and cents to build it up than I have, and yet I
have not done a farthing's worth of myself, for the means I have handled
God has given me; it is not mine, and if it ever is mine it will be when I
have overcome and gained my exaltation and received it from Him who
rightfully owns all things.  If we have men in the First Presidency who
are not capable of supporting themselves and their families, we shall help
them to do so out of the Tithing Office.  If any of the Twelve are not
capable of supporting themselves, we shall help them; and it is our duty
to do so, and it is the duty of the people to have it on hand to be
applied in this and in every other way suggested in the law of God for the
building up of Zion in the last days.

	Men laboring as missionaries, as teachers and preachers of the
Gospel, in gathering the poor Saints, or in any other way to benefit the
general good of the Saints upon the face of the earth and to do good to
mankind, must be sustained, and we wish the Saints everywhere to impart of
their substance, that the Priesthood may be sustained in fulfilling the
law of the Lord, which reads as follows:--"The word of the Lord, in
addition to the law which has been given, making known the duty of the
Bishop which has been ordained unto the church in this part of the
vineyard; to take an account of the Elders as before has been commanded;
and to administer to their wants, who shall pay for that which they
receive, inasmuch as they have wherewith to pay; that this also may be
consecrated to the good of the Church, to the poor and needy; and he who
hath not wherewith to pay, an account shall be taken and handed over to
the Bishop of Zion, who shall pay the debt out of that which the Lord
shall put into his hands; and the labors of the faithful who labor in
spiritual things, in administering the Gospel and things of the kingdom
unto the Church, and unto the world, shall answer the debt unto the Bishop
of Zion," etc.

	I am anxious for the people to understand these things, and act
faithfully in their callings.  We cannot excuse ourselves from our duty,
which is to build up the kingdom of God, for all of our time, all of our
ability and all of our means belong to Him.  It is not the privilege of
any person to spend his time in a way that does no good to himself nor to
his neighbors.  Let mechanics and every man who has capital create
business and give employment and means into the hands of laborers; build
good and commodious houses, magnificent Temples, spacious Tabernacles,
lofty Halls, and every other kind of structure that will give character
and grandeur to our cities and create respect for our people.  Let us make
mechanics of our boys, and educate them in every useful branch of science
and in the history and laws of kingdoms and nations, that they may be
fitted to fill any station in life, from a ploughman to a philosopher.  Is
the general mind of this people bent upon supplying themselves with what
they need in life, and thus become self-sustaining, or are they satisfied
to be supplied from a distant market, and contented to spend their
strength and their means in buying ribbons and gewgaws which satisfy for
the moment, but in the end bring poverty and pinching want?

	It is a fearful deception which all the world labors under, and many
of this people too, who profess to be not of the world, that gold is
wealth.  On the bare report that gold was discovered over in these West
Mountains, men left their thrashing machines, and their horses at large to
eat up and trample down and destroy the precious bounties of the earth. 
They at once sacrificed all at the glittering shrine of this popular idol,
declaring they were now going to be rich, and would raise wheat no more. 
Should this feeling become universal on the discovery of gold mines in our
immediate vicinity, nakedness, starvation, utter destitution and
annihilation would be the inevitable lot of this people.  Instead of its
bringing to us wealth and independence, it would weld upon our necks
chains of slavery, groveling dependence and utter overthrow.

	Can you not see that gold and silver rank among the things that we
are the least in want of?  We want an abundance of wheat and fine flour,
of wine and oil, and of every choice fruit that will grow in our climate;
we want silk, wool, cotton, flax an other textile substances of which
cloth can be made; we want vegetables of various kinds to suit our
constitutions and tastes, and the products of flocks and herds; we want
the coal and the iron that are concealed in these ancient mountains, the
lumber from our saw mills, and the rock from our quarries; these are some
of the great staples to which kingdoms owe their existence, continuance,
wealth, magnificence, splendor, glory and power, in which gold and silver
serve as mere tinsel to give the finishing touch to all this greatness. 
The colossal wealth of the world is founded upon and sustained by the
common staples of life.  We are the founders of one of the mightiest
kingdoms that ever existed upon this earth, and what we do now should be
done with reference to the future, and to those who shall follow after us.

	In China the father lays up clay to be worked into pottery-ware by
his grandchildren.  Who of us are planting out choice trees that will
serve for wagon and carriage timber and furniture for our children's
children?

	If we had all the gold in these mountains run into ingots and piled
up in one huge heap, what good would it do us now?  None, and we cannot
form any calculation as to the amount of harm it would do us.

	It behoves us, brethren and sisters, to live near to God and honor
our profession, rather than to become insane after gold and paper money;
and to obtain faith to stop the ravages of the epidemic that is carrying
our children off by scores.  You may, perhaps, think I ought to rebuke it. 
If I can keep it out of my own house altogether, or partially so, I shall
thank God and give Him the glory.  Behold the heavy hand of the Lord is
upon us in this thing; let us repent, that the plague maybe stayed in its
desolating progress.

	We sustain the Priesthood in one very important way, inasmuch as we
feed the widows and the fatherless--for by aiding this or that poor widow
to raise her sons to manhood, they may, very likely, go out into the
ministry and bring home their tens of thousands of Zion.

	Let us reflect and ascertain, if we can, in what channel our thoughts
are directed, and what effect our doings produces for the advancement of
the latter-day work.  Last April Conference I gave some of the brethren a
privilege to furnish teams to work on this Temple; how this privilege has
been appropriated by them they know best; this I will say, however, we
have advanced the work pretty well with the help we have had, which has
been rather meagre.

	The people have acted magnanimously in the way they have sent for the
poor this season, and the Lord is not ignorant of their generous
endeavors, which will meet with a rich reward, where they have been made
willingly and with a good heart.  But where money, teams, labor or any
other kind of means is supplied grudgingly, it will meet with no reward.

	Our hearts should constantly be engaged in the work of God, and our
greatest treasures should be our interest in His kingdom.  After you have
obtained a sufficiency of bread, etc., to sustain your own lives, then may
you with propriety let the rest go to your neighbors; I care not what
their pretensions are, let them have it, and let them pay a fair price for
it.

	The Lord has blessed the people with bread, and many of them, instead
of giving back to him a portion of it be dealt out to the laboring poor
and others who depend upon it for their subsistence, are selling it to
make themselves rich as they suppose.  "Woe unto you rich men, that will
not give of your substance to the poor, for your riches will canker your
souls; and this shall be your lamentation in the day of visitation, and of
judgment, and of indignation--the harvest is past, the summer is ended,
and my soul is not saved.  Woe unto you poor men whose hearts are not
broken, whose spirits are not contrite, and whose bellies are not
satisfied, and whose hands are not stayed from laying hold upon other
men's goods, whose eyes are full of greediness, who will not labor with
your own hands.  But blessed are the poor who are pure in heart, whose
hearts are broken, and whose spirits are contrite, for they shall see the
kingdom of God coming in power and great glory unto their deliverance; for
the fatness of the earth shall be theirs."

	There live but few men who care for our Father and his kingdom on
earth or in heaven, in preference to earthly riches--For example, I heard
that a man did say, not long since, while he was examining a small piece
of rock richly filled with gold, after a conversation relating to the
present war, "If I had one rod square of such rock as this, the North and
South might all go to hell for aught I would care."  This single case
illustrates the feeling that is almost universal.  I care for the North
and the South and if I had sufficient power with the Lord, I would save
every innocent man, woman and child from being slaughtered in this
unnatural and almost universal destruction of life and property.  I pray
that the Lord Almighty will so order it that all those who thirst for the
blood of their fellow-men may be found in the front ranks that they maybe
cut off speedily and the war come to an end, that the innocent may escape. 
I care for the North and South more than I do for gold, and I would do a
great deal, if I had the power, to ameliorate the condition of suffering
thousands.  I care enough for them to pray that righteous men may hold the
reins of government, and that wicked, tyrannical despotism may be wiped
away from the land; that the Lord would raise up men to rule who have
hearts in them, who care for the comfort and happiness of mankind, and let
there be a reign of righteousness.  I pray for the Latter-day Saints, for
the prosperity of the Holy Priesthood in the land, and I pray that the
minds of the people may be opened to see and understand things as they
are; that we may be able to discern truth and righteousness from the vain
and delusive troubles of this world.

	Now, if flour should rise to twenty dollars a hundred, which it is
very likely to do before next harvest, do not run crazy with speculation,
but first quietly see that you have enough to feed your wives and children
until you can raise more.  Do not sell it for money, but take care of it
for those who depend upon you for bread.  Should any of us retire to rest
with an empty stomach, with no prospect of bread on the morrow, and a cord
of United States' notes piled up in our room our sleep would not be very
sweet to us; we would be willing to give every one of those notes for one
barrel of flour, for a few potatoes, a little meat, or a cow to give us a
little milk morning and evening and that we might have a little butter on
the table; then under such circumstances of plenty, we can retire to bed
in peace, and our sleep will be sweet to us, and we can hail the morning
light with a joyful heart and buoyant spirits, ready to prosecute the
duties of the new day with a willing and ready heart.

	If we will follow the advice we have heard this afternoon, we have
heard enough to last us sometime.

	I will conclude my remarks by inquiring of the people whether they
want to build a Temple, to feed the poor, to send for the poor Saints that
are among the nations, and to send the Gospel into all the world.  If we
do we shall do right, we shall love and serve the Lord with all our
hearts; and let us not forget that all we hold of this world's goods is
the Lord's, and should be used to promote the cause of righteousness and
those principles which will exalt the people to thrones, kingdoms,
principalities and powers in the world to come, with power to control and
govern the elements and every wicked influence.

	Which do we choose, the vain and transitory things of this life, or
eternal life?  Let us maintain confidence in one another, and seek with
all our might to increase it.  Confidence is one of the most precious
jewels man or woman can possess.  Should a person have unbounded
confidence in me, gold and silver and precious jewels are not to be
compared with it; and have I a right to do anything in thought, word, or
deed to destroy that confidence, or shake it in the least?  The heavens,
the Gods, and all the heavenly hosts require me to live so as to preserve
the confidence my brethren have reposed in me.  Let us endeavor to restore
the confidence that has been lost.

	I am willing that we should be forgiving.  I do not know that I have
one single feeling against any man or woman upon earth; I do not love
wickedness, and I mean to hate it in myself and in everybody else, and
wherever I see it, from this time and henceforth and for ever.  When we
see the time that we can willingly strike hands and have full fellowship
with those who despise the Kingdom of God, know ye then that the
Priesthood of the Son of God is out of your possession.  Let us be careful
how we make friends with and fellowship unrighteousness, lest the curse of
God descends heavily upon us.  I do not say that I see anything of kind,
and I do not want to; and I hope there is no such disposition in any
person professing to be a Saint, for as sure as the Lord lives they will
be brought into circumstances that will show them in their true colors,
and reveal the goats that are among the sheep.

	Our Heavenly Father will preserve his own, and build up his kingdom,
and it will go forth from this time until the earth shall be covered with
the knowledge of the Lord.

	That we may be found faithful and worthy to enjoy the fulness of the
glory of his celestial kingdom is my prayer.  Amen.


 PAYING TITHING.--FASTING AND PRAYER.--KEEPING THE SABBATH HOLY.--SELLING
                    GRAIN.--THE JUDGMENTS OF GOD, ETC.
       Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle,
                 Great Salt Lake City, November 6, 1863.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	I am a Josephite, or, in other words, I am a full believer in the
mission and calling of Joseph Smith, Junr., as a Prophet of God to this
world in this generation, and I wish the people everywhere to distinctly
understand this fact.

	In the early existence of this Church, the people frequently
questioned Joseph the Prophet, relative to the law of Tithing, wishing to
know the meaning of it as it was taught in the Bible and the revelations. 
Joseph enquired of the Lord and, in answer, received the revelation which
you can find on the 324th page of the Book of Doctrine Covenants, European
edition.  The Lord has thus revealed his will upon that subject, and it
ought to satisfy his people in all time to come.

	I have always told the people to do just as they pleased about paying
Tithing, and to do as they please about calling upon the name of the Lord
in prayer, and to do just as they please about being baptized, or about
believing in the Lord Jesus Christ; there is no compulsion whatever in
these matters.  The Lord does not compel any person to embrace the Gospel,
and I do not think He will compel them to live it after they have embraced
it; but all who do not keep their covenants and the commandments of the
Lord our Father are then fit to be cut off from the Church.

	We are in the habit of holding in full fellowship men that pay no
Tithing, also persons who take the name of God in vain; we permit liars,
thieves, etc., to retain a standing the Church.  Does not this hurt the
body of Christ?  It does, and the whole body is more or less sick and
faint through our extreme kindness which some call charity; it pleads for
those unrighteous persons, and we spare them.  Should we do this to the
extent we do?  I think we have lived long enough and have passed through
enough experience to teach us to know and do the will of Heaven, and to
disfellowship those who refuse to do it.

	We have said to the brethren, pay your Tithing, and with those who
refuse to do this it will be made a matter of fellowship.  Now, brethren
and sisters, the next time you write to your friends, in England,
Scotland, Wales, France, or any other country, do not write that we have
directed the Presidents in foreign lands to cut off members who do not pay
their Tithing, when this becomes necessary we will attend to it.  It is
right for us here to pay our Tithing.  Not paying Tithing has once been
made a matter of fellowship in the British Islands, and some have been cut
off from the Church there for not paying their Tithing; that was not by
our directions.

	In regard to Tithing, I am now speaking to the Latter-day Saints in
this land, who have health to labor, who can surround themselves with an
abundance of the comforts and blessings of life, who can build houses and
open up farms at their pleasure.  Shall we pay Tithing or shall we not? 
We have said pay your Tithing.  And we have said to the Bishops that if
any man refuses to pay his Tithing, try him for fellowship; and if he
still refuses, cut him off from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, and so we say now.  We have not required this of the people, but
the Lord has required it, and that is enough for us and for all the
Latter-day Saints upon the earth.  If we live our religion we will be
willing to pay Tithing.

	We feel sometimes as though the people did not live as near to the
Lord as they should, and we have a right to feel so.  And then again we
say that this is a good people, that they are a very excellent people,
that they are the best people that we have any knowledge of, but they are
so far from being what they have got to be that we see there is a great
improvement to be made by us.  We talk about heaven, about the Lord, about
angels, about celestial glory, and about enjoying the celestial kingdom of
our God, while at the same time we do not believe for one moment that we
could live in heaven one day or one hour, and live in disobedience to the
laws and commandments of heaven.

	We have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, we have had faith enough
to go and be baptized for the remission of sins, and to receive the laying
on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, and to gather ourselves
together, and still we try to shirk an ordinance of the House of God, and
to make ourselves believe that it is not necessary to strictly obey all
the injunctions laid upon us as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ.  It is
written;--"Wherefore I give unto them a commandment saying thus:  Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy might, mind
and strength; and in the name of Jesus Christ thou shalt serve Him.  Thou
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.  Thou shalt not steal; neither commit
adultery, nor kill, nor do anything like unto it.  Thou shalt thank the
Lord thy God in all things.  Thou shalt offer a sacrifice unto the Lord
thy God in righteousness, even that of a broken heart and a contrite
spirit.  And, that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the
world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up sacraments upon
my holy day; for verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your
labors, and to pay thy devotions unto the Most High; nevertheless thy vows
shall be offered up in righteousness on all days, and at all times; but
remember on this the Lord's day, thou shalt offer thine oblations and thy
sacraments unto the Most High, confessing thy sins unto thy brethren, and
before the Lord.  And on this day thou shalt do none other thing, only let
thy food be prepared with singleness of heart, that thy fasting may be
perfect; or, in other words, that thy joy may be full.  Verily, this is
fasting and prayer; or, in other words, rejoicing and prayer."  [Book of
Doc. and Cov'nts., page 149, par's 2 and 3.]

	Here we are commanded to assemble together on the first day of the
week, as the ancient desciples [sic] did and to offer up our sacraments
before the Lord, confessing our faults one to another.  How many of the
inhabitants of this city do you suppose are in the kanyons to-day, or off
hunting ducks, or geese, or rabbits, or cattle, instead of observing this
the word of the Lord?  Are they doing as they should do?  They are not. 
Persons professing to be Saints should assemble themselves together on the
Lord's day, except those who may be necessarily detained at home to keep
the house, take care of the children, or to perform some work of necessity
and mercy; the rest should assemble in the place appointed for worship and
the offering up of our sacraments.

	Could we now see the kanyons of these mountains all over the
Territory, we should see teams by the score returning with wood.  They
went out yesterday to come home to-day.  Is this keeping the Sabbath holy? 
It is written--"And the inhabitants of Zion shall also observe the Sabbath
day to keep it holy."  There is not one requirement of the Lord that is
non-essential; every requirement that He has made of us is essential to
our perfection and sanctification, to prepare us to enjoy celestial glory.

	You may ask me if I always keep the Sabbath holy.  When I am out
travelling and happen to be where there is not a convenient place to
observe the Sabbath, I sometimes travel on that day, and content myself
with making a Sabbath of the second, third, fourth, fifth or sixth day of
the week.  But generally, when I am travelling, it is all the time Sabbath
to me, for it is a constant succession of meetings.  But do I send my
teams to the kanyons on the Sabbath day?  No, that is if I have the
control over that which should be under my control.  I keep the Sabbath,
and I wish to keep all the laws of God, and there are a great many of this
people that do so; but many of them go astray in failing to observe these
things--in not paying their Tithing faithfully, in not keeping the Sabbath
day holy, in not saying their prayers constantly, in not feeding the poor
and clothing the naked, and in not administering to the Priesthood.  As a
people we do as well as we can do, but some do not do as well as they
might do.

	Thrifty and intelligent gardeners are very particular in trimming off
dead limbs from their fruit trees and covering the wounds to preserve the
trees in health and soundness.  When we hold unrighteous, ungodly persons
in fellowship, it injures the whole body of Christ; but we do it because
we have compassion for them.  Brethren and sisters I exhort you to keep
your covenants, to serve the Lord with all your hearts, and to endeavor to
observe every requirement the Lord makes of you.  You know that this is
your duty.

	His Church and kingdom is complete, it has a living head "from which
all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit
together, increaseth with the increase of God."  "For by one Spirit are we
all baptized into one body whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be
bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one spirit."  "Now are
ye the body of Christ, and members in particular."  The head possesses all
the qualifications necessary to fill its functions in the body; it has
eyes to see, ears to hear, a palate to taste, organs of speech to speak,
etc., etc.  Every qualification that is natural to the body of a man has
its counterpart incorporated in the body of Christ upon the earth.

	On reading carefully the Old and New Testaments we can discover that
the majority of the revelations given to mankind anciently were in regard
to their daily duties; we follow in the same path.  The revelations
contained in the Bible and the Book of Mormon are ensamples to us, and the
Book of Doctrine and Covenants contains direct revelation to this Church;
they are a guide to us, and we do not wish to do them away; we do not wish
them to become obsolete and to set them aside.  We wish to continue in the
revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ day by day, and to have His Spirit
with us continually.  If we can do this, we shall no more walk in
darkness, but we shall walk in the light of life.

	We have, through the mercy of our heavenly Father, been gathered
together, and we now have the privilege of purifying ourselves and
preparing for the coming of the Son of Man.  Shall we do this?  Or shall
we be found wanting when he makes his appearance?

	In regard to the Law of Tithing, the Lord has given the revelation I
have already referred to, and made it a law unto us, and let all who have
gathered here and refuse to obey it, be disfellowshipped; and if a man
will persist in breaking the Sabbath day, let him be severed from the
Church; and the man that will persist in swearing, cut him off from the
Church, with the thief, the liar, the adulterer, and every other person
who will not live according to the law of Christ, that we may not have the
tree encumbered with rotten limbs, to spread decay and rottenness through
the whole tree.

	We have had good talk from the brethren this afternoon; I have heard
nothing but what is strictly correct.  I can say of this people that, as a
people, they are a very good people, but we do fellowship a few in our
midst that we should not fellowship.

	Brother Samuel W. Richards had a good deal to say, this afternoon,
about grain.  We have talked about it for a long time, and we have tried
to get the people to build store houses to save it.  When grain could not
be sold for money the Tithing Office was full of it; but now we have none
to hand out to the poor who depend upon us for bread, only as we send out
and gather in a little, though, probably the brethren will soon be at
leisure to haul in their Tithing.  We have but little to deal out to the
families of our brethren who are preaching, and to our workmen.  Our
granaries are empty, and scarcely grain enough in the Territory to bread
our own population until another harvest, yet some will sell their grain
to go out of the country.  What a lamentable fact.  Suppose the Lord
should suffer a drought to come over the land next year and blast our
corn, wheat, rye, barley, oats, potatoes, etc., with mildew, what would be
the situation of this people?  Yet a few are selling grain all the time.

	I will mention a circumstance that occurred lately, to illustrate the
character of some whom we fellowship.  One of our new comers wanted to buy
some wheat and went down to the public square where our friends from the
East were preparing to prosecute their journey to California.  This new
comer bought a load of wheat at four or five bits a bushel; he bought at
that price all he wanted.  After the bargain was closed, the man who sold
the wheat found out that the purchaser was a "Mormon," and said to him,
"had I known you was one of the brethren I would have made you paid a
higher price for that wheat."  What a depraved disposition!  he would have
sold it to the passing stranger for fifty cents a bushel, and very likely
would have made his brother "Mormon" pay a dollar and a half.  How can men
love God when they hate their brethren.

	A certain sister went to one of the stores with butter to sell, "What
do you ask a pound for your butter?"  "My Bishop says I must ask so much. 
I would sell it for less, but I must mind my Bishop.  I would sell it for
thirty cents, but my Bishop says I must have thirty-five for it."  That
woman would see the whole house of Israel massacred--their blood
spilled--and smile at it.  I attribute all this to ignorance and pass it
along without notice, as much as possible, and I hope our Father in heaven
does.  He is merciful and we should be.

	If the people were all truly Latter-day Saints, we should see a state
of society different from what we now see.  A man who professes to be a
good Latter-day Saint has a son who is a thief; says the father, "I think
he will be a good boy yet, and preach the Gospel to the nations and do
much good."  "Whose horse is this, my boy?"  "O, no matter about that dad;
here is a friend of mine, wants to stay all night."  They are lodged and
fed, and away they go next morning after some more stolen horses. 
"Brother, did you not know that that was a stolen horse?"  "O, I suppose
it was."  "Then why did you keep such a man about you?"  "Why, I could not
turn my son and his friends out of doors."  There are pretty good men and
good families who are harborers of thieves and do it all the time, in some
of their connections.

	I remember that a lot of colts were once driven into my yard, and
they were stolen property.  How came this about?  Why somebody heard aunt
Sarah say that cousin Bill told aunt Peggy that he had heard Sister Nancy
say that her cousin Betty had worked in the President's kitchen, and so
the connection was formed, and of course all her friends and connections
must make themselves at home in the President's houses, his barns,
stables, yards and provisions for man and animals.  I suspicioned them,
and had them turned out forthwith.

	If we are not sanctified, if we do not sanctify the Lord in our
hearts and purify ourselves in our lives and in all our dealings before
God and man, we shall fail of attaining to an inheritance in the celestial
kingdom, and shall be found in some other kingdom.  When the holy
Priesthood is upon the earth, and the fulness of the kingdom of God has
come to the people, it requires a strict obedience to every point of law
and doctrine and to every ordinance which the Lord reveals:  in short, it
requires a strict observance of every requirement of Heaven, to fully
prepare a people for the possession and enjoyment of the celestial
kingdom.

	Where the Priesthood is not, the people are expected to live
according to the best knowledge they have; but even then they cannot with
impunity commit many heinous faults.  The Lord more readily overlooks them
in consequence of their unenlightened condition, and there is a kingdom
prepared for them, while the celestial kingdom will be inhabited only by
those who are specially prepared to inherit it.  It will be inherited by
those who live faithfully the religion of Jesus Christ, and are worthy of
being ranked upon among the pure-in-heart.

	To-morrow morning I expect to start on a short tour South, and I say
to my brethren and sisters keep your armor bright, and be on the
watch-tower all the time, for the enemy feels as much opposition to-day,
and I may safely say more than he ever did towards the kingdom of God that
is now established upon the earth; and just in proportion to its strength
and increase, so will the power of Satan be exerted to overcome it. 
Christ and Baal are not yet friends.  An Elder of Israel who can drink
with the drunkard and swear with the swearer, is not a friend of Christ
and his kingdom.


	The wicked still wish to destroy every vestage of truth and
righteousness on the earth; and they will still go on fighting against God
and right, and who can help it?  And they will continue to go on in this
course, until the wicked are destroyed and the earth is cleansed from the
rule of sin and Satan.

	Read the Book of Mormon and learn what it says in regard to the
ancient Nephites.  The whole nation of the Nephites were slain, because
they departed from the Lord their God and did wickedly.  In the last great
and tremendous battle between the Nephites and the Lamanites, over two
millions of the Nephites were slain and the residue were hunted and slain
until not a single person, except Moroni was left of a high and mighty
nation.  Mormon, says after this great battle, "And my soul was rent with
anguish, because of the slain of my people and I cried, O, ye fair ones,
how could ye have departed from the ways of the Lord!  O, ye fair ones,
how could you have rejected that Jesus, who stood with open arms to
receive you!  Behold if ye had not done this, ye would not have fallen! 
But behold, ye are fallen, and I mourn your loss.  O, ye fair sons and
daughters, ye fathers and mothers, ye husbands and wives, ye fair ones,
how is it that ye could have fallen!  But behold ye are gone and my
sorrows cannot bring your return."  "O, that ye had repented, before this
great destruction had come upon you. But behold, ye are gone, and the
Father, yea the Eternal Father of heaven, knoweth your state; and he doeth
with you according to his justice and mercy."  Blood answered to blood
until the land was cleansed, and few men were left.  And so will it be
with this nation who have slain the Prophets and have sought continually
to destroy the people of God.

	If we live our religion we may escape; and if we are required to give
our lives for our religion, we are still in the hands of God.  But we
cannot find in any history that the people of God have ever suffered more
keenly than have the wicked.  Certain ones have "had trial of cruel
mockings, and scourgings; yea, moreover, bonds and imprisonment:  They
were stoned, they were sawn assunder, were tempted, were slain with the
sword:  they wandered about in sheep skins, and goat skins:  being
destitute, afflicted, tormented," etc.  But look at the hundreds of
thousands of wicked men who have met destruction through such unutterable
anguish and suffering as the faithful followers of the Lord Jesus have
never felt.  When Shadrach, Meshach Abednego [sic] were cast in the fiery
furnace, the fire had no power upon their bodies, nor was a hair of their
head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor had the smell of fire
passed upon them.

	The Saints in all ages have been protected, sustained and upheld by
an Almighty Power, in their sufferings and the power of the religion of
Jesus Christ has ever sustained them.  The Jews anciently said let His
blood be upon us and upon our children, and God took them at their word.

	This nation, by their works said "let the blood of Joseph the Prophet
and of his brethren be upon us and our children," and it will be so.  If
they had known Joseph Smith in his true character, and acknowledged him,
he would have lead this nation long before now, and this dreadful war
would not have prevailed throughout the land; but now it will be death
upon death, and blood upon blood until the land is cleansed.  I pray God
to save the innocent, the righteous, and the honest poor, and to let those
who desire to shed the blood of each other fall first in this deadly
strife.

	We have become heirs to all things, through the Gospel which we have
obeyed, but if we neglect that Gospel and our duties to God and to one
another and become servants to sin, we may expect to suffer the penalty of
sin, which is death and damnation, and to be deprived of the right of
ruling over a single person, and possess no territory, not even six feet
by three.  Those who violate their claims to the blessings of the Gospel
never will have the privilege of ruling over their families; they will not
have a dollar of money.  They may get all the gold there is in the
mountains now, but when they die and go to their own place they will not
find gold, nor bread to eat, nor water to drink, nor the sweet strains of
music to cheer their hearts; but they will be made servants to drudge out
their weary existence as long as the Lord shall please to let them.  This
is a little of what the wicked will suffer in their place in the next
existence.

	Instead of the righteous being bound tighter and tighter, they will
continue to have more and more liberty, as we are more and more faithful,
and obtain more power with the heavens and more of the power of God upon
us.  Let us seek diligently unto the Lord, until we obtain the faith of
Jesus in its fullness, for those who possess this are free ndeed [sic].

	When it is necessary that we should possess gold in great abundance,
the Lord will show it to us in vision, and we shall not have to prospect
and dig to find it, as the wicked have to do.  The liberty of the Saints
is to possess power with God to open gold mines, when we want gold; to
plant and reap in abundance; to heal the sick of our families, and to heal
our animals that serve us; to elude every snare of the enemy; to save our
boys from danger when they are in the kanyons, or when they are following
any other pursuit where there is danger of their loosing their lives, or
of being hurt in any way.  This the wicked call tyranny and despotism.  We
call upon the people to so live that their sick may be healed by the
virtue and power of their holy religion, and this is called oppression. 
The "Mormons" all listen to the advice of one man, and this is called
despotism.  We teach our females to be virtuous and industrious, and this
is called bondage.  A young woman went to a neighboring camp, staid there
three or four days, and came home and died; this is the liberty some would
give to us, "such protection as vultures give to lambs."

	It is the privilege of this people to have faith to command the
elements, that we may have plentiful crops from year to year; and to enjoy
the wealth of health, joy and peace instead of sorrow, turmoil, war and
bloodshed.  Here are the two extremes; may the Lord help us to choose the
good and refuse the evil.  Amen.

 THE INTENDED TRIP NORTH.--THE CAUSES OF THE SCARCITY OF BREADSTUFF.--THE
           SUFFERINGS OF THE UNGODLY IN THE UNITED STATES.--THE
                  POPULARITY OF THE GOSPEL UNDESIRABLE.
       Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle,
                   Great Salt Lake City, May 15, 1864.
                         Reported by E. L. Sloan.

	I will say to you, and wish you to inform your neighbors, that on the
morrow I expect to start with some of my brethren on a short trip north. 
I do this lest some might suppose that we are going to leave you.  If we
would live according to our acknowledgments in the holy Gospel, according
to the faith we have embraced, and according to the teachings we receive
from time to time, we never would be in the dark with regard to any
matters we should understand.

	Much is taught the Saints by the Elders of Israel concerning their
religion, the way we should live, how we should deal with each other, how
we should live before God, what our feelings should be and the spirit we
should possess.  If we live according to our covenants we will always
enjoy the light of truth, and if we live faithful enough we shall enjoy
the blessing of the Holy Ghost to be our constant companion.  In such case
no person would turn either to the right hand or the left, in consequence
of the motives, the sayings, or the doings of this one or that one; but
they would march straightforward in the path that leads to eternal life;
and if others stepped out of the way, they would walk straight along. 
Without the power of the Holy Ghost a person is liable to go to the right
or the left from the straight path of duty; they are liable to do things
they are sorry for; they are liable to make mistakes; and when they try to
do their best, behold they do that which they dislike.

	I mention my intended trip because I do not want to hear, when I
return, that brother Brigham, or brother Heber, or somebody else, "has
slipped away"--that "there is something the matter"--"something that is
not right"--somebody saying "there is an evil of some kind, and we want to
know it;" "why don't you come right out with it?"  "If you do not come
back so and so, we will leave."

	It was said here to-day, that very few have embraced the truth,
considering the great number of the inhabitants of the earth.  It can
hardly be discovered where those few are.  It is astonishing to relate
facts as they are.  The Elders go forth and preach the Gospel to the
nations; they baptize the people,--hunt them up from place to place, yet
if you take the name of those who have been baptized, have the one-fourth
ever been gathered?  No.  Is not this strange?  Do they keep the faith,
and stay in the midst of the wicked?  No, they do not.  The kingdom of God
is living and full of spirit; it is on the move; it is not like what we
call sectarianism, religion to-day, and the world to-morrow; next Sabbath
a little more religion, and then the world again; "and as we were so we
are, and as we are so we shall be, evermore, amen."  It is not so with our
religion.  Ours is a religion of improvement; it is not contracted and
confined, but is calculated to expand the minds of the children of men and
lead them up into that state of intelligence that will be an honor to our
being.

	Look at the people who are here--the few that have gathered--and then
look back at the Branches you came from.  How many have gathered?  Where
are the rest of those who composed those Branches?  It is true that
occasionally one will remain and keep the faith for many years, but
circumstances are such in the world that they eventually fall away from
it, if they remain there.

	It was truly said here to-day that the spirit we have embraced is
one, and that we will flow together as surely as drops of water flow
together.  One drop will unite with another drop, others will unite with
them until, drop added to drop, they form a pond, a sea, or a mighty
ocean.  So with those who receive the Gospel.  There never was a person
who embraced the Gospel but desired to gather with the Saints, yet not
one-fourth ever have gathered; and we expect that a good many of those who
have gathered will go the downward road that leads to destruction.  It
seems hardly possible to believe that people, after receiving the truth
and the love of it, will turn away from it, but they do.

	Now, brethren and sisters, proclaim that brothers Heber and Brigham
and some others will be gone for a few days; though I do not promise to
preach to you when I come back; I do not intend to preach while I am away,
but I expect to attend meeting when I return, so that you can see that I
am with you in readiness to meet the requirements of my calling.  This
should satisfy you about my being absent for a few days.

	I expect to be absent, some time from now, for quite a while.  I do
not say I will be absent, but I expect to be.  I expect to take the back
track from here.  When we came back from the south I told the brethren
this.  When we shall go is not for me to say. If the people neglect their
duty, turn away from the holy commandments which God has given us, seek
their own individual wealth, and neglect the interests of the Kingdom of
God, we may expect to be here quite a time--perhaps a period that will be
far longer than we anticipate.  Perhaps some do not understand these
remarks.  You are like me, and I am like you.  I cannot see that which is
out of sight; you cannot see that which is out of sight.  If you bring
objects within the range of vision--within the power of sight--you can see
them.  These sayings may be somewhat mysterious to some.

	Some may ask why we did not tarry at the centre stake of Zion, when
the Lord planted our feet there?  We had eyes, but we did not see; we had
ears, but we did not hear; we had hearts that were devoid of what the Lord
required of his people; consequently we could not abide what the Lord
revealed to us.  We had to go from there to gain an experience.  Can you
understand this?  I think there are some here who can.  If we could have
received the words of life and lived according to them, when we were first
gathered to the centre stake of Zion, we never would have been removed
from that place.  But we did not abide the law the Lord gave to us.  We
are here to gain an experience, and we cannot increase in that any faster
than our capacities will admit.  Our capacities are limited, though
sometimes we could receive more than we do, but we will not.  Preach the
riches of eternal life to a congregation, and when the eyes and affections
of that congregation are like the fool's eyes, to the ends of the earth,
it is like throwing pearls before swine.  If I can actually reach your
understandings, you will know just what I know, and see just what I see in
regard to what I may say.

	Take the history of this Church from the commencement, and we have
proven that we cannot receive all the Lord has for us.  We have proven to
the heavens and to one another that we are not yet capacitated to receive
all the Lord has for us, and that we have not yet a disposition to receive
all He has for us.  Can you understand that there is a time you can
receive, a time when there is no place in the heart to receive?  The heart
of man will be closed up, the will will be set against this and that, that
we have opportunity to receive. There is an abundance the Lord has for the
people, if they would receive it.

	I will now lead your minds directly to our own situation here,
leaving the first organization of the people, their gathering, etc., and
come to our being now here.  Some have been here six months, some one
year, some two, some five, some six, some ten, and some seventeen years
this summer.  Now I will take the liberty of bringing up some
circumstances and sayings to connect with the ideas I wish to present in
regard to our wills, dispositions, opportunities, etc.

	It was said here to-day, by brother William Carmichael, that he had
proved a great many of the sayings and prophesies of Joseph to be true,
and also the prophecies of Heber and others.  Now you, my brethren and
sisters, who have been in the habit of coming here for the last ten,
twelve, or fifteen years, have not been told all the time, at least as
often as once a month, that the time would come when you would see the
necessity of taking counsel and laying up grain?  It has been said that
brother Brigham has prophesied that there would be a famine here.  I would
like to have any one show me the man or woman who heard brother Brigham
make that statement.  I have not made that statement, but I have said you
will see the time that we will need grain--that we will need bread.  We
have seen that time.  Brother Heber said the same thing.  But you never
heard me saying the Lord would withdraw his blessings from this land while
we live here, unless we forfeit our rights to the Priesthood; then we
might expect that the earth would not bring forth.

	We have had a cricket war, a grasshopper war, and a dry season, and
now we have a time of need.  Many of the inhabitants of this very city, I
presume, have not breadstuffs enough to last them two days; and I would
not be surprised if there are not seven-eights of the inhabitants who have
not breadstuffs sufficient to last them two weeks.  Has the Lord stayed
the heavens?  No.  Has He withdrawn His hand?  No, He is full of mercy and
compassion; He has provided for the Saints.  No matter what scarcity there
is at present, he gave them bread.  If they go without bread, they cannot
say the Lord has withheld His hand, for He has been abundantly rich in
bestowing the good things of the earth upon this people.  Then why are we
destitute of the staff of life?  Comparing the people with their
substance, we might say we have sold ourselves for nought.  We have
peddled off the grain which God has given us so freely, until we have made
ourselves destitute.  Has this been told us before?  Yes, year after year.

	How will it be?  Listen, all who are in this house, is this the last
season we are going to have a scarcity?  I will say I hope it is, but I
cannot say that it is, if the people are not wise.  Some sow their wheat,
and after the Lord has given one hundredfold of an increase, they sell
that at one-fourth of its value, and leave themselves wanting.  The last
time I spoke upon this subject I tried to stir up the minds of the people
regarding it; I want them to reflect upon it.

	At our Semi-Annual Conference last fall the Bishops were instructed
to go to each house and see what breadstuffs were on hand.  Why?  "Because
the time is coming when they will want breadstuffs."  It comes to my ears
every day that this one and that one is in want "Such a one has had no
bread for three days."

	What was told you last harvest?  "Sister, you had better get a chest,
or a little box, for there is plenty of wheat to be had--it is not worth a
dollar a bushel--and you had better fill your box with it."  "Oh, there is
plenty of it; there is no necessity for my emptying the paper rags out of
my box, or my clothes out of the large chest where I have them packed
away; my husband can go and get what he wants at the Tithing Store."  They
would not get the wheat and the flour that was then easy to be obtained,
and now they are destitute.  Why could they not believe what they were
told?  They ought to have believed, for it is true; and in all these
matters the truth has been timely told to the people.  And here let me say
to you that instead of our having plenty here, with nobody to come to buy
our substance--to purchase our surplus grain--the demand for what we can
raise here will increase year by year.

	Are we going to live our religion--to be the servants and handmaids
of the Almighty?  Are we going to continue in the faith, and try to grow
in grace and in the knowledge of the truth?  If we are, the prophesies
will be fulfilled on us.  We shall have the privilege of seeing the blest,
and will be blest.

	I look at things as a man looking philosophically; I look at things
before us in the future as a politician, as a statesman, as a thinking
person.  What is going to be the condition of this people and their
surrounding neighbors?  Do we not see the storm gathering?  It will come
from the north-east and the south-east, from the east and from the west,
and from the north-west.  The clouds are gathering; the distant thunders
can be heard; the grumblings and mutterings in the distance are audible,
and tell of destruction, want and famine.  But mark it well, if we live
according to the Holy Priesthood bestowed upon us, while God bears rule in
the midst of these mountains, I promise you, in the name of Israel's God,
that he will give us seed-time and harvest.  We must forfeit our right to
the Priesthood, before the blessings of the Heavens cease to come upon us. 
Let us live our religion, and hearken to the counsel given to us.

	And here let me say to you, buy what flour you need, and do not let
it be hauled away.  Have you a horse, or an ox, or a wagon, or anything
else, if it takes the coat off your back, or the shoes off your feet, and
you have to wear moccasins, sell them and go to the merchants who have it
to sell and buy the flour before it is hauled away.  Why did you not buy
it when it was cheap?  There is a saying that wit dearly bought is
remembered.  Now buy your wit, buy your wisdom, buy your counsel and
judgment, buy them dearly, so that you will remember.  You were last fall
counselled to supply yourselves with breadstuffs, when flour could have
been bought for whistling a tune, and the seller would have whistled one
half of it to induce you to buy.  Why have the children of this world been
wiser in this day than the children of light?  Have not there been Saints
enough before us for us to learn by their experience, and revelations
enough given for the Saints now not to be in the back ground?  It is
mortifying that the children of this world should know more about these
things than the children of light.  We know more about the kingdom of God. 
Take these young men, sixteen or eighteen years old, or these old men, or
some who have just come into the Church, and let them go into the world,
and, with regard to the kingdom of God, they can teach kings and queens,
statesmen and philosophers, for they are ignorant of these things, but in
things pertaining to this life the lack of knowledge manifested by us as a
people is disgraceful.  Your knowledge should be as much more than that of
the children of the world, with regard to the things of the world, as it
is with regard to the things of the kingdom of God.

	Take your money or your property, brethren and sisters, and buy
flour; or shall I hear to-morrow morning, "I am out of bread?"  Why not go
down street and sell your bonnets, and your shawls, sisters, and not wait? 
"Why, some good brother will feed us."  But that good brother has not got
the flour.  "I am not going to buy any; I will trust in the Lord; He will
send the ravens to feed me."  Perhaps the faith of some people is such
that they think the Lord will send down an angel with a loaf of bread
under one arm and a leg of bacon under the other--that an angel will be
sent from some other world with bread ready buttered for them to eat, or
that it will be as was said of the pigs in Ohio when it was first settled;
it was said the soil was so rich that if you hung up one pound of the
earth two pounds of fat would run out of it; and that pigs were running
through the woods ready roasted, with knives and forks in their backs.  My
faith is not like that.

	A brother told me, when speaking of the rotation of the planets, that
he could never believe that the earth did rotate.  Said I, do you believe
that the sun which shone to-day shone yesterday?  "Yes."  He had not faith
to believe that the earth turns round, but he believed that the sun moved
round the earth.  Now, said I, take your measuring instruments.  If the
earth rotates upon its axis each given point upon it moves 24,000 miles in
twenty-four hours, while if the sun goes round the earth it must travel
over a circle, in the same time, of which 95,000,000 is about the
semi-diameter.  He had not faith to believe that the earth could turn on
its axis in twenty-four hours, but I showed him that he had to have
millions and millions more faith than I had, when he believed the sun went
round the earth.

	My faith does not lead me to think the Lord will provide us with
roast pigs, bread already buttered, &c.  He will give us the ability to
raise the grain, to obtain the fruits of the earth, to make habitations,
to procure a few boards to make a box, and when harvest comes, giving us
the grain, it is for us to preserve it--to save the wheat until we have
one, two, five, or seven years' provisions on hand, until there is enough
of the staff of life saved by the people to bread themselves and those who
will come here seeking for safety.

	Will you do this?  "Aye, maybe I will," says one, and maybe I wont,"
says another; "the kingdom that cannot support me I don't think of much
account; the Lord has said it is His business to provide for His Saints,
and I guess He will do it."  I have no doubt but He will do it."  I have
no doubt but He will provide for His Saints, but if you do not take this
counsel and be industrious and prudent, you will not long continue to be
one of His Saints; then continue to do right that ye may be His Saints;
sow, plant, buy half a bushel of wheat here, and a bushel there, and store
it up till you get your five or seven years' provisions on hand.

	The war now raging in our nation is in the providence of God, and was
told us years and years ago by the Prophet Joseph; and what we are now
coming to was foreseen by him, and no power can hinder.  Can the
inhabitants of our once beautiful, delightful and happy country avert the
horrors and evils that are now upon them?  Only by turning from their
wickedness, and calling upon the Lord.  If they will turn unto the Lord
and seek after Him, they will avert this terrible calamity, otherwise it
cannot be averted.  There is no power on the earth, nor under it, but the
power of God, that can avert the evils that are now upon and are coming
upon the nation.

	What is the prospect?  What does the statesman declare to us?  What
does he point us to?  Peace and prosperity?  brotherly-kindness and love? 
union and happiness?  No! no!  calamity upon calamity; misery upon misery.

	Do you see any necessity, Latter-day Saints, for providing for the
thousands coming here?  Suppose some of your brothers, uncles, children,
grand-children, or your old neighbors, fleeing here from the bloodshed and
misery in the world, were to come to you.  "Well, I am glad to see you,
come to my house; come uncle, come grandson, come aunt, I must take you
home."  But what have you to give them?  Not a morsel!  "The country was
full of food; I could have obtained it for sewing, for knitting, for
almost every kind of work; I could have procured it a year ago, but it
grated on my feelings to have it offered me for my work.  I am sorry to
say I have nothing in the house, but I think I can borrow it," when you
ought to have your bins full, to feed your friends when they come here.

	It is not our open enemies who will come here.  I told the people
last year that the flood and tide of emigration were conservative people,
who wished in peace to raise the necessaries of life, to trade,
etc.--peaceful citizens.  What do they come here for?  To live in peace. 
Were they those who robbed us in Missouri and Illinois?  No.

	The time is coming when your friends are going to write to you about
coming here, for this is the only place where there will be peace.  There
will be war, famine, pestilence, and misery through the nations of the
earth, and there will be no safety in any place but Zion, as has been
foretold by the Prophets of the Lord, both anciently and in our day.

	This is the place of peace and safety.  We would see how it would be
if the wicked had power here, but they have not the power.  And they never
will have, if we live as the Lord requires us to.  (Amen, by the
congregation.)

	Buy flour, you who can; and you, sisters, and children too, when
harvest comes, glean the wheat fields.  I would as soon see my wives and
children gleaning wheat, as anybody's.  And then, when the people come
here by thousands, you will be able to feed them.  What will be your
feelings, when the women and children begin to cry in your ears, with not
a man to protect them?  You can believe it or not, but the time is coming
when a good man will be more precious than fine gold.

	It is distressing to see the condition our nation is in, but I cannot
help it.  Who can?  The people en masse, by turning to God, and ceasing to
do wickedly, ceasing to persecute the honest and the truth-lover.  If they
had done that thirty years ago, it would have been better for them to-day. 
When we appealed to the government of our nation for justice, the answer
was:--"Your cause is just, but we have no power."  Did not Joseph Smith
tell them in Washington and Philadelphia, that the time would come when
their State rights would be trampled upon?

	Joseph said, many and many a time, to us,--"Never be anxious for the
Lord to pour out his judgments upon the nation; many of you will see the
distress and evils poured out upon this nation till you will weep like
children."  Many of us have felt to do so already, and it seems to be
coming upon us more and more; it seems as though the fangs of destruction
were piercing the very vitals of the nation.

	We inquire of our friends who come here, the emigration, how it is
back where they came from.  They say you can ride all day in some places
but recently inhabited, and not see any inhabitants, any plowing, any
sowing, any planting; you may ride through large districts of country, and
see one vast desolation.  A gentleman said here, the other day, that one
hundred families were burned alive in their own houses, in the county of
Jackson, Missouri; whether this is true is not for me to say, but the
thought of it is painful.  Have you, Latter-day Saints, ever experienced
anything like that?  No!  You were driven out of your houses, I forget the
number, but you were not burned in them.  I have said it to the Saints,
and would proclaim it to the latest of Adam's generation, that the wicked
suffer more than the righteous.

	Why do people apostatize?  You know we are on the "Old Ship Zion." 
We are in the midst of the ocean.  A storm comes on, and, as sailors say,
she labors very hard.  "I am not going to stay here," says one; "I don't
believe this is the `Ship Zion.'"  "But we are in the midst of the ocean." 
"I don't care, I am not going to stay here."  Off goes the coat, and he
jumps overboard.  Will he not be drowned?  Yes.  So with those who leave
this Church.  It is the "Old Ship Zion," let us stay in it.  Is there any
wisdom in all doing as we are all told?  Yes.

	While brother Woodruff was talking about the notable text given by
brother Hardy to a gentleman in England, when speaking of the Mormon
creed, I thought I could incorporate a very large discourse in the
application of that creed.  "To mind your own business" incorporates the
whole duty of man.  What is the duty of a Latter-day Saint?  To do all the
good he can upon the earth, living in the discharge of every duty
obligatory upon him.  If you see anybody angry, tell them never to be
angry again.  If you see anybody chewing tobacco, ask them to stop it, and
spend the money for something to eat.  Will you stop drinking whiskey? 
Let me plead with you to do so. And if the sisters would not think it
oppressive, I would ask them to not drink quite so much strong tea.  And I
make an application of these remarks in my own person, it is my business
to point out these things and to ask you to refrain from them. It is the
business of a Latter-day Saint, in passing through the street, if he sees
a fence pole down, to put it up; if he sees an animal in the mud, to stop
and help get it out. I make such acts my business.  When I am travelling,
I stop my whole train and say,--"boys, let us drive those cattle out of
that grain, and put up the fence."  If I can do any good in administering
among the people, in trying to have them comprehend what is right and do
it, that is my business, and it is also your business.

	Let us preach righteousness, and practice it.  I do not wish to
preach what I do not practice.  If I wish to preach to others wholesome
doctrine, let me practice it myself--show that example to others I wish
them to imitate.  If we do this, we will be preserved in the truth.  We
wish to increase; we do not wish to become aliens in the kingdom of God.

	When people's eyes are opened, and they see and understand how
heinous it is to turn away from the truth, were they to reflect, and ask,
"shall I ever leave the faith?  ever turn away from the kingdom of God?" 
it would make them shudder; there would be chill over them from their
heads to their feet; they would feel to say, "No, God forbid!"

	It was said here this morning that no person ever apostatized,
without actual transgression.  Omission of duty leads to commission.  We
want to live so as to have the Spirit every day, every hour of the day,
every minute of the day; and every Latter-day Saint is entitled to the
Spirit of God, to the power of the Holy Ghost, to lead him in his
individual duties.  Is nobody else entitled to it?  No.  But this wants
explanation.

	Here, perhaps, is a good Presbyterian brother, a good Baptist
brother, or, perhaps, a good Catholic one.  Are they entitled to that
degree of the Spirit of God that we are?  No, but they are entitled to
light.  And there is one saying I heard here to-day, that I will repeat;
whenever any one lifts his voice or hand to persecute this people, there
is a chill passes through him, unless he is lost to truth and the Spirit
of God has entirely left him.  He feels it day and night; he feels the
Spirit working with him.  And the spirit of the Lord will strive, and
strive, and strive with the people, till they have sinned away the day of
grace.  Until then, all are entitled to the light of Christ, for he is the
light that lighteth every man who cometh into the world.  But they are not
entitled to receive the Holy Ghost.  Why not, as well as Cornelius?  That
bestowal of the Holy Ghost was to convince the superstitious Jews that the
Lord designed to send the Gospel to the Gentiles.  Peter said, well, now,
brethren, can you forbid water to baptize these, seeing the Lord has been
so merciful to them as to give them the Holy Ghost?  And he baptized them;
and that was the opening of the door of the Gospel to the Gentiles.

	I pray to the Lord for you; I pray for you to get wisdom--worldly
wisdom; not to love the things of the world, but to take care of what you
raise.  Try to raise a little silk here; you know we are raising cotton.
Try to raise some flax, and take care of it.  Try and make a little sugar
here next fall; I understand that article is now fifty cents a pound in
New York.  As war is wasting the productive strength of the nation, do you
not think it becomes us to raise, [sic-punc] sugar, corn, wheat, sheep,
&c., for the consumption of the old, the blind, the lame, and the helpless
who will be left, that we may be able to feed and clothe them when they
come here?  We will feed and care for them, for there are thousands of
them who are good people, who have lived according to the best light and
truth they knew.  And by and bye the prejudices that exist against us will
be wiped away, so that the honest can embrace the truth.

	I do not want "Mormonism" to become popular; I would not, if I could,
make it as popular as the Roman Catholic Church is in Italy, or as the
Church of England is in England, because the wicked and ungodly would
crowd into it in their sins.  There are enough of such characters in it
now.  There are quite a number here who will apostatize.  It needs this
and that to occur to make some leave.  If "Mormonism" were to become
popular, it would be much as it was in the days of the early Christians,
when no one could get a good position unless he was baptized for the
remission of sins; he could not get an office, without he was baptized
into the church.

	Suppose this Church were so popular that a man could not be elected
President of the United States, unless he was a Latter-day Saint, we would
be overrun by the wicked.  I would rather pass through all the misery and
sorrow, the troubles and trials of the Saints, than to have the religion
of Christ become popular with the world.  It would in such case go as the
ancient Church went.  I care not what the world thinks, nor what it says,
so they leave us unmolested in the exercise of our inherent rights.  Take
a straightforward course, and meet the jeers and frowns of the wicked.

	Unpopular.  "Oh dear, how they are despised and hated, those
`Mormons!'"  Did not Jesus say that His disciples should be hated and
despised?  Said he, "They hate me, and they will hate you also."  Has it
ever been otherwise?  He said, emphatically, "In the world ye shall have
persecution, but in me ye shall have peace."

	What is proved by people's leaving us, before the heavens, before the
angels, and all the Prophets and holy men who ever lived upon the earth? 
You will see every man and woman, when they once consent to leave here, I
don't care what name they are known by, whether Morrisites, Gladden
Bishopites, Josephites, or any other ite, they make friends with the
wicked--with those who blaspheme the holy name we have been commemorating
here this afternoon, and they are full of malice and evil.  Whenever any
person wants to leave here, the thread is broken that bound him to the
truth, and he seeks the society of the wicked; and it proves to everybody
who has the light of truth within them, that this is the kingdom of God,
and that those who leave are of Anti-Christ.

	Be steadfast, always abiding in the truth.  Never encourage malice or
hatred in your hearts; that does not belong to a Saint.  I can say in
truth, that with all the abuse I have ever met, driven from my home,
robbed of my substance, I do not know that a spirit of malice has ever
rested in my heart.  I have asked the Lord to mete out justice to those
who have oppressed us, and the Lord will take his own time and way for
doing this.  It is in His hands, and not in mine, and I am glad of it, for
I could not deal with the wicked as they should be dealt with.

	My name is had for good and evil upon the whole earth, as promised to
me.  Thirty years ago brother Joseph, in a lecture to the Twelve, said to
me, "your name shall be known for good and evil throughout the world," and
it is so.  The good love me, weak and humble as I am, and the wicked hate
me; but there is no individual on the earth but what I would lead to
salvation, if he would let me; I would take him by the hand, like a child,
and lead him like a father in the way that would bring him to salvation.

	Would we not rather live as we are living, than to become one with
the spirit of the world?  Yes.  Do not be anxious to have this people
become rich, and possess the affection of the world.  I have been fearful
lest we come to fellowship the world.  Whatever you have, it is the
Lord's.  You own nothing, I own nothing.  I seem to have a great abundance
around me, but I own nothing.  The Lord has place what I have in my hands,
to see what I will do with it, and I am perfectly willing for Him to
dispose of it otherwise whenever he pleases.  I have neither wife nor
child, no wives and children; they are only committed to me, to see how I
will treat them.  If I am faithful, the time will come when they will be
given to me.

	The Lord has placed it in our power to obtain the greatest gift He
can bestow--the gift of eternal life; He has bestowed upon us gifts to be
developed and used throughout all eternity--the gifts of seeing, of
hearing, of speech, &c.,--and we are endowed with every gift and
qualification, though in weakness, that are the angels; and the germ of
the attributes that are developed in Him who controls is in us to develop. 
We can see each other, hear each other, converse with each other, and, if
we keep the faith, all things will be ours, The Saints do not own anything
now.  The world do not own anything.  They are hunting for gold--it is the
Lord's.  If my safe had millions of gold in it, it would be the Lord's, to
be used as he dictates.  The time will come when those who are now
dissatisfied will not be satisfied with anything, but the Saints who live
their religion are and will be satisfied with everything.  They know the
Lord controls, and that He will control and save the righteous.

	May the Lord help us to be righteous and to live our religion, that
we may live forever.  Amen.

  THE EARTH THE HOME OF MAN.--THE WORK TO BE ACCOMPLISHED BY MAN TOWARDS
       REDEEMING THE WORLD.--THE RESTORATION OF THE GOSPEL, AND THE
               ACKNOWLEDGMENT BY GOD OF HIS SERVANTS, ETC.
       Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle,
                   Great Salt Lake City, June 4, 1864.
                         Reported by G. D. Watt.

	"And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye
poor; for yours is the kingdom of heaven."  Again, "Hearken, my beloved
brethren, hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and
heirs of the kingdom which He hath promised to them that love Him?" 
Again, "Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven."  A few words upon the subject in these texts will answer my
purpose and feelings.  Jesus had no other meaning than simply, blessed are
they who have the light of revelation to understand the providences of
God, and to know Him and themselves.

	The rich that he and other writers have referred to, and that we
often refer to, are those who trust in the riches of this world, and
forget their God.  I do not know how rich the children of Israel were when
they forsook the Lord, but I suppose it was with them as it is with
mankind at the present day, there were rich and poor; and they did forget
their God who brought them from the land of Egypt and out of the house of
bondage with a strong and mighty and outstretched arm; they forgot Him so
far that they transgressed all the laws He had delivered unto them; they
considered those laws but of trifling importance, and esteemed their own
laws and their own ways to be far better than the laws the Lord had
instituted, and they broke the covenant they had made with the Lord their
God; they deemed his laws non-essential to salvation, and instituted laws
and ordinances of their own, which the Lord did not recognize, and forsook
his instructions and His ordinances; they became wicked, and would not
seek after God; God was not in all their thoughts.  Whether they were rich
or poor as to the things of this world made but little difference with
regard to their faithfulness, and their life and practice in the
ordinances of the house of God, and the knowledge of His providences.

	I have not learned that the possession of goods and chattels,
tenements, houses, lands, gold, silver, wheat, or fine flour, wine or oil,
makes any difference with the faithful servant of God.  The Lord loves
those who trust in Him, who feel their dependence upon Him, and feel and
understand their own weakness and inability, who are thankful for their
organization, and have full confidence in the providences of the Lord,
trusting in His mercy and goodness to bring them off conquerors, whether
they be rich or poor.  The Lord loves all those who love Him and keep his
commandments. We say to the brethren, at this time, seek not after gold,
nor after silver, nor after any of the precious metals that are hid up in
the earth, for as yet they would do you no good if you possessed them. 
But suppose we had a few thousand millions of gold and silver, would it
follow that we should be destroyed, because we possessed this wealth?  Not
in the least; if we are destroyed through the possession of wealth, it
will be because we destroy ourselves.  If we possessed hundreds of
millions of coin, and devoted that means to building up the kingdom of God
and doing good to His creatures, with an eye single to His glory, we would
be as much blessed and as much entitled to salvation as the poor beggar
that begs from door to door; the faithful rich man is as much entitled to
the revelations of Jesus Christ as is the faithful poor man.

	Whether we are poor or rich, if we neglect our prayers and our
sacrament meetings, we neglect the spirit of the Lord, and a spirit of
darkness comes over us.  If we lust for gold, for the riches of the world,
and spare no pains to obtain and retain them, and feel "these are mine,"
then the spirit of anti-Christ comes upon us.  This is the danger the
Latter-day Saints are in, consequently it is better for us to live in the
absence of what is called the riches of this world, than to possess them
and with them inherit the spirit of anti-Christ and be lost.

	We had better labor to produce and treasure up the golden wheat, the
fine flour, the pure wine, the oil of the olive, and every product for
food and clothing that is adapted to our climate.

	I anticipate the day when we can have the privilege of using, at our
sacraments pure wine, produced within our borders.  I do not know that it
would injure us to drink wine of our own make, although we would be better
without it than to drink it to excess.  And it would be better for us to
do without gold and silver, than to ruin ourselves with them.  If we had
plenty of gold and silver we could neither eat nor wear them, as we do
food and clothing.  We could not with any comfort wear shoes or slippers
made of the precious metals, and hats, bonnets, caps, &c., made of them
would be equally uncomfortable and unprofitable.  The whole world seems to
be intoxicated in the lust of their hearts after gold, sliver, and
precious stones--they seem to be frantic to obtain them.  To me this is as
vain and nonsensical as the changing fashions in swelling and diminishing
the proportions of their clothing.  When death overtakes the votaries of
the god of this world they will be willing to give all they possess of
earthly wealth for knowledge and power to rebuke death and be restored to
life.  "And Satan answered the Lord, and said, skin for skin, yea, all
that a man hath will he give for his life."  Then, shall we obtain riches
for the sake of being rich?  No.

	The human family are formed after the image of our Father and God. 
After the earth was organized the Lord placed His children upon it, gave
them possession of it, and told them that it was their home--the place of
their habitation from henceforth; He told them to till the ground and
subdue it; He gave it to them for their inheritance, and to do their will
upon it.  Then Satan steps in and overcomes them through the weakness
there was in the children of the Father when they were sent to the earth,
and sin was brought in, and thus we are subjected to sin.  The earth is
pure in and of itself, having kept the law of its creation; and mankind
have actually brought on themselves all the sin, all the distress, all the
anguish, pain, sickness, and death that are upon the earth.

	Since man has brought this upon himself, who but man can effect a
restoration from sin to purity?  From death to life?  If I injure my
neighbor in any way, I am the only person that can make restitution and
obtain the forgiveness of my injured friend, neighbor, or brother.  When a
child revolts from under a good parents' control, it is the place of that
child to return to his father, like the prodigal of old, and reinstate
himself in the friendship and good feelings of his injured parent.

	Mankind have forfeited the right they once possessed to the
friendship of their Heavenly Father, and through sin have exposed
themselves to misery and wretchedness.  Who is to bring back to the
sin-stained millions of earth that which they have lost through
disobedience?  Who is to plant smiling peace and plenty where war and
desolation reign?  Who is to remove the curse and its consequences from
earth--the homestead of mankind?  Who shall say to the raging and
contending elements, "peace, be still?"  and extract the poison from the
reptile's tooth, and the savage and destructive nature from beast and
creeping thing?

	Who placed the dark stain of sin upon this fair creation?  Man.  Who
but man shall remove the foul blot, and restore all things to their
primeval purity and innocence?  But can he do this independent of heavenly
aid?  He can not.  To aid him in this work heavenly grace is here;
heavenly wisdom, power, and help are here, and God's laws and ordinances
are here; the angels and spirits of just men made perfect are here; Jesus
Christ our Great High Priest, with Prophets, Apostles, and Saints, ancient
and modern, are here to help man in the great work of sanctifying himself
and the earth for final glorification in its paradisiacal state.  All this
will be accomplished through the law of the Holy Priesthood.

	If we bring back all things through the help of our Heavenly Father,
then shall we possess all things--the earth and its fulness, and all
things pertaining to time and eternity, even all things that man was made
lord over.  Then blessed are the poor, or, in other words, blessed are
they who know for themselves that every blessing which they receive,
whether spiritual or temporal, is the gift of God.  Blessed are they who
are poor in spirit, or blessed are they who feel their own weakness, and
know their own inability and the power of God, and enjoy the Holy Ghost. 
Blessed are they who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, and who know that he
is their Savior, and that in him they can find mercy, and grace to help in
time of need.  These are the blessed ones, no matter if they possess all
the riches of this world; what has that to do with the humble and faithful
heart?  Such a person is not affected in faith, as a follower of the Lord
Jesus, by riches or by poverty.

	If we ever attain to faith enough to obtain the kingdom of God, as we
anticipate, we shall obtain all the wealth there is for this kingdom in
time and eternity.  We shall not rob other kingdoms, but we shall possess
the eternity of matter that lies in the path of the onward progress of
this kingdom, and still eternity and its fulness will continue to stretch
out before us.  The great powers of eternal wisdom will be exercised to
enhance the wealth, beauty, excellency and glory of this kingdom, previous
to its being introduced into the presence of the Father and the Son.  This
work we have to help perform.

	A great many think that the kingdom of God is going to bless them and
exalt them, without any efforts on their part.  This is not so.  Every man
and woman is expected to aid the work with all the ability God has given
them.  Each person belonging to the human family has a portion of labor to
perform in removing the curse from the earth and from every living thing
upon it.  When this work is performed, then will they possess all things.

	President Kimball remarked that he had been told that some did not
believe all that he said, or all that I say.  I care not one groat whether
they believe all that I say or not, or whether they love me or not; I have
no concern about that.  If I can see the people serving God with all their
hearts, building up His kingdom on the earth, and bringing forth
righteousness, I do not care whether they ever think of brother Brigham,
or of brother Heber C. Kimball, or whether they believe what we say or
not; if they believe what the Almighty says, that will content me; then
will they realize what the power of faith will do for a people.

	Will the Latter-day Saints observe the law of the Lord?  If they
will, it is all I ask of them.  You can read the law of the Lord for
yourselves in the Old and New Testaments, in the Book of Mormon, and in
the Book of Revelations given for this Church through Joseph the Prophet. 
If this people will believe the testimony contained in these four books
concerning the kingdom of God upon the earth, and the hand dealing of the
providence of God to his children, and do His will, I promise them eternal
life, for such a belief and such a practice will lead them to the fountain
where they can know for themselves, as Moses, the Prophets, Jesus, the
Apostles and Ancient Saints, Joseph Smith and others of modern times knew;
where like them we can receive the Spirit of eternal life through our Lord
Jesus Christ, by which we may know the voice of the Good Shepherd,
whenever and wherever we hear it.  And as we know the voice of the Good
Shepherd, so shall we learn to distinguish it from the voice of a
stranger--the voice of the evil one.  We can then clearly understand the
things that are of God, and the things that are not of Him, and be able to
see and judge all things as they are, for, "He that is spiritual judgeth
all things, yet he himself is judged of no man."  "But the anointing which
ye have received of him abideth in you, and you need not that any man
teach you; but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is
truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in
him."  This will lead us to the glory and the excellency of the knowledge
of God, which will be given unto us by the manifestations of His Spirit,
and by the living oracles of the Lord, which are always in the midst of
His people.

	Brother Kimball said there are more than ten commandments.  Yes,
there are commandments sufficient to direct every person upon the earth,
and in every place and at every time, wherever they may be, all through
life, and that would incorporate the whole life of man.  Shall we neglect
the law of the Lord, which is perfect, converting the soul, and turn away
from the testimony of the Lord, which is sure, making wise the simple? 
"The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandments
of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.  The fear of the Lord is
clean, enduring for ever; the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous
altogether.  More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine
gold, sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb."

	Mankind have departed from the commandments of the Lord, and the fear
of the Lord is not before their eyes.  We have been trying, for many
years, to show them the difference between the laws of the Lord and the
laws of men; between the ordinances of the churches of men, and the
ordinances of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Let me
inform all the Latter-day Saints and all the inhabitants of the earth,
that the Lord will not be trifled with.  We have often been told that,
when the Lord set up his kingdom on this earth, and sent forth his
servants to administer in it, He would defend that kingdom himself, and
exert the powers of heaven to bear it off.

	You remember reading in the parable of the wicked husbandmen, to whom
the Lord let out his vineyard, that when He sent servants to receive
fruits of his vineyard, they stoned them and cast them out.  But last of
all He sent unto them His Son, saying, "They will reverence my Son;" but
they said among themselves, "This is the heir; come let us kill him, and
let us seize on his inheritance."  They slew Him.  "When the Lord
therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will He do unto these husbandmen? 
They say unto Him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will
let out His vineyard unto other husbandmen, which will render Him the
fruits in their seasons."  Were not the Jews destroyed--scattered and
broken up as a nation?  They were, because they made war against God, and
against His servants whom He had called an sent to them with a message of
salvation.  Had a pretender arisen and professed to prophecy in the name
of the Lord, when the Lord did not speak through him, and they had slain
him as they did Jesus and His Apostles, would the Lord have noticed it?  I
think not.

	The Puritans supposed they were sent of God, and hated the Quakers
and persecuted them even unto death.  Did the Lord notice that conduct in
any signal manner?  No.  But suppose the Quakers had been the Saints of
the Lord, and that He had said to William Penn and others, "You are my
authorized agents to build up my kingdom on the earth," would the Lord
have held the Puritans guiltless for the persecution of his chosen people? 
He would not, but would in a signal manner have called their persecutors
to an account.  But the Puritans were not sent of the Lord, neither were
the Quakers.

	The Lord had not spoken to the inhabitants of this earth for a long
time, until He spoke to Joseph Smith, committed to him the plates on which
the Book of Mormon was engraved, and gave him a Urim and Thummim to
translate a portion of them, and told him to print the Book of Mormon,
which he did, and sent it to the world, according to the word of the Lord. 
The Lord said to him, "revive my statutes and bring forth my law which has
been set aside by those who professed to be my Saints, and establish the
ordinances that were once in my house, and tell the people they must
observe them.  Now go and see if anybody will believe your testimony."  He
went and preached to his father's house, and to his neighbors, and it was
four or five years before he got the six members that composed the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when it was first organized on the
6th of April, 1830.  This was a slow business, but at last he organized
the Church, for the Lord had revealed to him the Aaronic priesthood upon
which the Church was first organized; after that he received the
Melchisedic priesthood, when the Church was more fully organized, and a
few more believed, and then a few more and a few more.  Now and then a
person would believe and feel inclined to go and tell his friends what the
Lord had revealed to him.  The Lord sent them out and promised to take
care of them, and thus the knowledge of this work has extended throughout
the world, from so small a beginning.

	I have often thought of the foolishness of the devil, notwithstanding
all his cunning; yet he is much of a gentleman, when compared with many
that serve him.  He did not manifest much wisdom in seeking to accomplish
the death of the Savior.  In that he undertook to destroy the kingdom
Jesus had come to establish; but through the mode he took to destroy it,
he only succeeded in establishing it.  So in the case of Joseph Smith, The
devil and his emissaries thought, if they could only destroy Joseph Smith,
that the system he had laid the foundation to build upon would crumble and
fall to rise no more; but it is evident to all, that since the death of
Joseph, the system has flourished with greater vigor than before, for
where there is a testament in full force, there must also of necessity be
the death of the testator, for a testament is of force after men are dead.

	At last a man did come who has actually sent of God.  Will He defend
the doctrine which He has sent into the world by that prophet? Is he not
defending it now?  He is.  The sayings of Joseph Smith are being literally
fulfilled, and also the sayings of the Prophets and Apostles who lived
previous to this generation.  Joseph Smith told the nations of the earth
what would be their doom, unless they stopped rebelling against the
kingdom of God, and forsook their own systems, or, in other words, the
cisterns they had hewn out for themselves, which hold no water, and began
to trust in the Lord.  We see that the kingdom of God is established, will
the Lord defend it?

	Suppose the nation of the United States should send delegates into
Mexico, to negotiate and transact business with that government, and the
authorities there should look upon them as impostors, and scourge them and
cast them out, what course would the government of the United States take? 
They would declare war against Mexico, to vindicate the honor of the
nation.  Do you not think the Lord will chasten the nation which has
killed his prophets, set at naught his message, and scourged and cast out
his servants?  Is He now chastening them?  He is, and will continue to
chasten them until He is satisfied, and they cease to rebel against him
and against his government on the earth.

	Shall we treat His laws as a thing of naught?  We had better observe
all the laws, precepts, commandments and ordinances of the house of the
Lord.  We had better so live that no fault can be found with us.  This is
my advice to the Latter-day Saints.

	Much can be said upon what our duty is, but we can comprise the whole
in saying, live so that the spirit of revelation will be in every man and
woman, and it will lead them to truth and holiness.  Then there would be
no bickering, no contention, no lawsuits against each other, and there
would be less business in the High Councils than there is now.  Those who
live for truth and holiness have a right to enjoy the revelations of Jesus
Christ.  We know the oracles of God which He has placed in the midst of
this people, and we know that we should  observe the counsel which is
given to us.

	It has been observed that we have made covenants to do thus and so,
and that we ought not to speak against the Lord and his anointed.  Do we
observe this?  We do, in a great measure, I say, with all their foibles
and weaknesses, there is no people on the earth like this people.  Is
there a king or any ruler on the earth that could, by his mental power,
gather a people from almost every nation under heaven, and bind them
together by one spirit and one religion--to be of one heart and of one
mind--in as great a degree as are this people?  This is proof sufficient
that we are the people of God--the chosen ones.  And who are the Saints? 
All those who believe in Jesus Christ and keep His commandments.  And who
may be Saints?  All the inhabitants of the earth, for Jesus said, "come
unto me, all ye ends of the earth, and be ye saved."

	Those who have embraced the religion of the Lord Jesus Christ as it
is portrayed in the New Testament and Book of Mormon, who believe in the
mission of Joseph the Prophet, and have received the spirit of this
latter-day work, feel like saying "good bye to former associations, and I
do not wish to keep any back accounts or notes against my brethren in the
same Church, for we are all Saints."  But they soon learn that there are
still weaknesses and foibles among those who are called Saints.  Men and
women are tried, and get out of patience and speak evil one against
another; but as a general thing they are sorry for their sins.

	What earthly power can gather a people as this people have been
gathered, and hold them together as this people have been held together? 
It was not Joseph, it is not Brigham, nor Heber, nor any of the rest of
the Twelve, nor any of the Seventies and High Priests that does this, but
it is the Lord God Almighty that holds this people together, and no other
power.

	Once in a while a man will go to hunt for gold and silver, and run
off here and there.  Of all such I can say that, if you will canvas their
private characters and lives, you will invariably find that they neglected
their prayers, neglected to go to meeting, to pay their Tithing, etc.,
until they forsook the commandments of the Lord, until God was not in all
their thoughts night or day, and they went away from us.  When they
forsake the spirit of this people they then want to leave the community. 
This proves that they are not of us, and that they have lost the spirit
which holds this people together, which is the spirit of the Gospel.  The
Lord so manages that there are always influences in our vicinity to draw
away such persons, and I am glad of it.  I have a man employed to carry to
my hogs the scraps that fall from my table; he is as necessary in his
place as anybody else, and so are those who carry off the scum and filth
from our society, and I do not wish to restrict them in the performance of
their duties, not in the least.  While these swill carriers are removing
the slops from the kitchen, shall we allow them to come into the parlor
and gather the food from the table to put into the swill tub?  When the
Lord has done with the trash, then he will suffer it to be carried off by
the Devil or his servants, but they cannot enter the dining room; we will
turn out the offal of the table, when it is ready, and then the Devil and
his servants are welcome to it.  This is all in the providence of God.  So
long as a man observes the law of God, he never need fear that he will be
culpable.

	Those who follow modern Christianity say that we have revived the
customs of ancient heathenism--the practices of dark ages.  Our Christian
friends are mistaken, for those were enlightened ages.  Abraham lived in
one of the most enlightened ages of the world, and so did Noah, and Enoch
the seventh from Adam.  We are following the customs of Enoch and the holy
fathers, and for this we are looked upon as not being fit for society.  We
are not adapted to the society of the wicked, and do not wish to mingle
with them.

	A gentleman said to me "I would like to establish a billiard table
and a drinking saloon in your city; you must have such places here by and
bye, anyhow."  May be we will, and may be we will not; we shall see
whether God Almighty will reign among this people, or whether the Devil
will.  I shall keep such Christian institutions out of this city as long
as I can.

	Some want to destroy "the twin relics--slavery and polygamy"--and
establish monogamy, with a brothel on every corner of each block in this
city.  This reminds me of what I was told the President of the United
States said to a gentleman who is a preacher and a member of Congress.  He
took our President to task for not destroying both "the twins" together,
that is, polygamy as well as slavery.  After he had laid the whole matter
before the President in an elaborate manner, showing him the necessity of
destroying this people who believed in polygamy, the President said "It
makes me think of a little circumstance that happened with me in my
younger days.  I was ploughing a piece of newly cleared land, by and bye I
came to a big log; I could not plow over it, for it was too high, and it
was so heavy I could not move it out of the way, and so wet I could not
burn it; I stood and looked at it and studied it, and finally concluded to
plow around it."  It looks as if they were trying to plow around
Mormonism.  They and the Lord for it.

	I wish the Latter-day Saints understood, as fully as I do, the things
of God; then we should soon see the kingdom in its glory and power; and
every influence and power; and every influence and power that is opposed
to it would stand aside and give way before its onward march; and the Lord
would send His angels here to bless you, and would soon come to reign
among his people.  Amen.

 TURNING OUT THE WATER OF THE WEBER.--THE SUFFERINGS OF THE SAINTS.--THE
    DESIRES OF THE SERVANTS OF GOD TO BLESS THE PEOPLE.--THE BLESSINGS
                 OF THE LORD TO ISRAEL.--ENDOWMENTS, ETC.
  Instructions by President Brigham Young, during his visit to Davis and
              Weber counties, June 10, 11, 12, and 13, 1864.
                         Reported by J. V. Long.

                              AT KAYSVILLE.

	Before dismissing our meeting I want to return you our thanks for
your kindness to us.  When on a visit to the northern settlements, this is
our stopping place.  There is great credit due the people here--this ward
is improving in many respects.

	In behalf of the people that live here, and of more that would like
to come here, had you more water, I will state that I am fully satisfied
that a portion of Weber river can be brought above this place, and
thousands of acres of good land rendered susceptible of cultivation.

	Davis county is the best county I know of for fruits and grain. 
Perhaps some who live in Salt Lake county may think differently, but in my
opinion this is one of the best counties in the Territory for raising
grain, and I would like to see the brethren bringing out the waters of
Weber river.  It will require a good deal of labor, but it does not
require money.  And if you do not get the water around the sand ridge the
first year, you need not be discouraged, but continue to labor as you may
be able, until the ditch is made wide enough and long enough, and
sufficiently tight by a deposit of sediment or by puddling, to convey all
the water that may be required, I think it can be brought around the sand
ridge without a great deal of extra labor or expense.

	You have the finest climate there is anywhere in these mountains,
therefore be encouraged, and take the advice so often given, to prepare
for the day of want.  If we will be faithful to our covenants, we may be
sure that the Lord will give us seed time and harvest; and we will not
suffer famine, unless we forsake the Priesthood of the Lord our God.

	Remarks are frequently made in regard to the sufferings of the
Saints; we do not suffer so much as do the world.  They are constantly in
torment.  It is very unwise to turn away from the Lord, to get rid of
sorrow, for such persons cannot so fully enjoy the blessings of life; they
will have many bickerings, which do not bring happiness or peace.  We want
to enjoy the fruits of life, and we are organized capable of enjoying
them.  Let us be faithful to our God, to our religion and to each other;
and let us see to our prayers, walking humbly before the Lord, then we
shall have joy.  The spirit of the world is mourning, it is darkness; it
has no hope, no intelligence to compare with the intelligence which the
Lord bestows upon His people.  It is wisdom in us to live our religion
then, when we retire to our beds and when we arise in the morning, the
Spirit of the Lord will be present with us week by week and year by year,
and we shall enjoy the light of that Spirit continually.  Let us live so
as to enjoy life, and prepare for the things that await us in this
generation.

	My brethren of the Presidency and the Twelve are with me in my
desires to benefit and bless the people gathered into these valleys in the
mountains.  We want to lead the people to obtain and enjoy all the
blessings that earth can afford, and to serve the Lord with all their
hearts.  If we will stick to the old ship Zion, it is sure to land us in
the promised haven of rest, and to crown us with crowns of glory,
immortality and eternal life.  If we are faithful to our religion, we have
nothing to discourage us.

	God bless you, my brethren and sisters, and receive our thanks for
your kindness to us.

                               OGDEN CITY.
                       Tabernacle, a.m. of June 11.

	I think we are happy this morning in the privilege of meeting with
you brethren and sisters; I am, for one. As we have now began visiting
settlements, this being the first of a number of appointments of the
Twelve to visit with the Saints and speak to them, to cheer and comfort
them, I trust that our coming together, seeing, hearing and associating
one with the other will be profitable to us all.

	This meeting was given out for the Twelve, and I expect that they
will take charge of it and conduct it.  Brother Kimball and myself have
come here; and expect to go to other places with the Twelve, to speak the
things that are in our hearts.  First of all it is the kingdom of God in
our hearts; it is the kingdom of God or nothing.  The Almighty has
commenced His work of sending forth His angels from the heavens, and
revealing his will.  He gave us Joseph and others, and bestowed the Holy
Priesthood upon his servants.  We are sharers in the gifts and graces that
God has bestowed upon His people, This is a day of days, and a time of
times; this is the fulness of times, in which all things that are in
Christ are to be gathered in one.  This is a momentous period, and we feel
an earnestness to lead the minds of those who profess to believe in Jesus,
in Joseph, and in the Latter-day Work, to comprehend the great duties of
life by the Spirit of the Lord, that they may be one in heart, one in
sentiment, and thereby be made one in action, that we may behold the glory
of God, which is my desire, and the desire of my brethren.

	At the Priesthood meeting in the evening, after hearing the reports
from the several districts of Weber county, the President said:--

	I can say that I am glad that I am here, for this meeting gives me a
little understanding of the organization of this county.  I am satisfied
with this method of doing business; as far as the Bishopric is concerned
it relieves us from a great deal of business at the General Tithing
Office.  We have adopted the same plan in other places, in Cache Valley,
for instance, and shall probably do so in some others.  In this county the
brethren who preside over the various districts report to brother West,
and he transacts business for this county with the General Tithing Office.

	I think the report given in this evening, relating to the present
situation of the people here is a very good one, and that the people as a
general thing are doing very well.  I should feel still more gratified, if
we were further advanced.  I feel that the people should keep up with the
spirit of the times, so that the Lord will not pass by them.  I desire
that we may be faithful, and be prepared for the things that are coming
upon the earth; I desire that we be prepared for the blessings which the
Lord has to bestow upon us.  He is blessing His people, and we shall all
soon see Zion redeemed, and Israel gathered from among all nations.  I
would like the Latter-day Saints to be ready; and to make themselves
ready, they must live their religion, that they may enjoy the spirit of
the Holy One of Israel.

	Our experience teaches us that some don't take this course, they will
follow some person or something apart from the true and living God.  Their
minds become so dark that they cannot see the true riches.

	If any of you feel that there is no life in your meetings, as I
occasionally hear some of the brethren say, then it becomes your duty to
go and instil life into that meeting, and do your part to produce an
increase of the Spirit and power of God in the meetings in your locality. 
If there is a fast meeting, or prayer meeting, why not somebody in that
district go filled with the spirit and power of God, and assist to
encourage, instruct, comfort and edify the Saints?  I have been an Elder
in this Church for years, and I have been accustomed to teach every man
and woman the duties enjoined upon them by the law of Christ; and when
there was not a good spirit in a meeting, I have endeavored to instil one,
and did not ask for any permission to do so.  I want the Elders to be
filled with the spirit of teaching, and I want each and every one of us to
so live as to obtain our share of it, and to have the influence of the
Spirit of the Lord to dictate to us.  If these my brethren will live and
act according to the Priesthood that is upon them, the Lord will be
satisfied, and so will his servants. 

	Most of you, my brethren, are Elders, Seventies, or High Priests: 
perhaps there is not a Priest or Teacher present.  The reason of this is
that when we give the brethren their endowments, we are obliged to confer
upon them the Melchisedec Priesthood; but I expect to see the day when we
shall be so situated that we can say to a company of brethren you can go
and receive the ordinances pertaining to the Aaronic order of Priesthood,
and then you can go into the world and preach the Gospel, or do something
that will prove whether you will  honor that Priesthood before you receive
more.  Now we pass them through the ordinances of both Priesthoods in one
day, but this is not as it should be and would if we had a Temple wherein
to administer these ordinances.  But this is all right at present; we
should not be satisfied in any other way, and consequently we do according
to the circumstances we are placed in.  The brethren receive their
endowments, and you know there are some person who will not apostatize
till they arrive at a certain point.  Some apostatize at the Missouri
river, and although they may be ever so angry, they will come here to get
prepared to leave us; and others will live here a score of years, and then
apostatize, and it does appear as if some were determined to prove that
they are fools. 

	We have had trouble with men who refused to pay their Tithing, but
the time has now come when a man that will not pay his Tithing is not fit
to be in the Church.  The time has come when those who profess to be
Saints must live according to the laws of the Holy Priesthood, or they
cannot enjoy its benefits.

	May the Lord bless you all, and help you to be faithful is my prayer. 
Amen.

	On Sunday afternoon the President instructed the congregation as
follows:-- I cannot talk as loud now as I have been accustomed to speak
without it hurting me.  A great many of the Saints know that I have
preached long and loud for over thirty-two years, and that I have labored
incessantly to spread the truth, and have urged mankind to receive the
principles of eternal life which we have embraced, and to obey them in
their lives.  In the early part of my ministry my preaching was loud;
quite a portion of my labors have seemed to require me to speak with a
loud voice.  I have had large congregations before me most of the time
since I began to preach, and I have labored in this way until my lungs and
stomach will not endure it.  I could preach myself sick, but the question
is had I better do it.  I think I would rather tarry in the midst of the
Saints, to minister and teach them, and strive to tarry here just  as long
as I can, in preference to lying down to rest from my labors. I am
self-determined (I suppose many would call it self-willed, and perhaps
this is correct,) but I will say my disposition is to tarry here; dark as
this world is and wicked as the inhabitants of the earth are, my
disposition is never to cease fighting until the Devil is bound, and there
is a complete end of wickedness on this earth; until the Saints can
worship God without interruption, and therefore I would rather stay in the
flesh.

	We have had good instructions during this meeting, from all who have
addressed us.  Brother Kimball was full of life and blessings for the
Saints; and this afternoon brother Taylor has given you an excellent
discourse, full of wisdom and intelligence, and I hope that all will
profit by what has been said to them.  Brother Kimball and myself are
travelling with the Twelve; we are holding two days' meetings in the
different counties, north and south, and we expect to be absent from Great
Salt Lake City every other Sunday for the next eight or ten weeks.

	I can tell you the spirit of the Twelve, which will be a consolation
to you, and also to the Twelve.  If I could see every one of the Elders
with their wives and children as obedient to every requirement made of
them--the children to the parents, the wives to the husbands, and the
husbands to the Priesthood--as the Twelve are--my soul would be happy.  I
will say further; those of the Twelve that travel the most and serve God,
are the most obedient.  Some of the Elders get up and tell you that you
must be obedient to the counsel that is given you, which is all right, but
I wish the people could know my feelings in regard to this.  I have never
asked but one thing of the Latter-day Saints, and that is for them to
serve the Lord our God with an undivided heart.  One says, "I knew brother
Joseph, but I do not know much about brother Brigham."  I do not care for
this; the question with me is this, do you know Jesus and the Holy Spirit? 
I do not care if you never hear any more about brother Brigham, so far as
my personal feelings are concerned, if you will only live under the
influence of that Spirit which comes from God.  When the brethren are
travelling and preaching they have the spirit of obedience; and while we
are here preaching to you the Spirit of the Lord broods over the
congregation, your countenances are lit up with heavenly intelligence,
your hearts are one, and you are ready to observe every word of counsel
that is given to you, and each and every one feels to say "It is my
delight to do the will of God."

	When we were children in this Church--had just received the spirit of
the holy Gospel--how did we feel?  We felt and we were as submissive as
little children, ready to do the will and bidding of the Elders, just as
fast as we learned it.  We were as obedient to those who were set to
counsel us as the child is to its mother; we had not disposition to rebel,
but our feeling was, "let me know the will of God, and I will do it."  Was
money in the way?  No.  The Latter-day Saints have pretty well proven that
money and property do not stand in their way, neither parents, houses, or
lands, husbands, wives, or children; and I presume that I could find a
number of sisters h