Chapter XIII…

Chapter XIII

FIRST PRINCIPLES OF THE GOSPEL

Importance of the Principles of the Gospel--By faithfully attending to the first principles of the Gospel laid down in the New Testament, you are introduced into the knowledge of the works of God in the dispensation of the fulness of time. 1:244.

To understand the first principles of the Gospel--to rightly understand them, a man must have the wisdom that comes from above; he must be enlightened by the Holy Ghost; his mind must be in open vision; he must enjoy the blessings of salvation himself, in order to impart them to others. 6:283.

Need of Ordinances--There is no ordinance that God has delivered by his own voice, through his Son Jesus Christ, or by the mouths of any of his Prophets, Apostles or Evangelists, that is useless. Every ordinance, every commandment and requirement is necessary for the salvation of the human family. 13:215.

With regard to the ordinances of God, we may remark that we yield obedience to them because he requires it; and every iota of his requirements has a rational philosophy with it. We do not get up things on a hypothesis. That philosophy reaches to all eternity, and is the philosophy that the Latter-day Saints believe in. Every particle of truth that every person has received is a gift of God. We receive these truths, and go on from glory to glory, from eternal lives to eternal lives, gaining a knowledge of all things, and becoming Gods, even Sons of God. These are the celestial ones. These are they whom the Lord has {236} chosen through their obedience. They have not spurned the truth, when they have heard it. These are they that have not spurned the Gospel, but have acknowledged Jesus and God, in their true character; that have acknowledged the angels in their true character. These are they that work for the salvation of the human family. 19:50.

Because we believe in the ordinance of baptism, the ordinance of the sacrament is not to be done away. To learn that, if you believe in the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, you are not to deny the laying on of hands for the healing of the sick. It is not for people to take only part of the religion of Christ, and say, "It is all we require;" but take the whole truth wherever you find it. It is good; claim it, take it to yourself, and cleave to it, for it will do you good. Cease to separate truth from truth. 8:260.

However much we may profess attachment to God and his cause we are not entitled to the blessings and privileges of his Kingdom until we become citizens therein. How can we do this? By repenting of our sins, and obeying the requirements of the Gospel of the Son of God which has been delivered to us. Hundreds and thousands of people have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and repented of their sins, and have had the Holy Spirit to witness unto them that God is love, that they loved him and that he loved them, and yet they are not in his Kingdom. They have not complied with the necessary requirements, they have not entered in at the door. 13:57.

Faith--The Gospel that we preach is the power of God unto salvation; and the first principle of that Gospel is, as I have already said, faith in God, and faith in Jesus Christ his Son, our Savior. We must believe that he is the character {237} he is represented to be in the Holy Scriptures. Believe that he told the truth when he said to his disciples, "Go ye forth and preach the Gospel to every creature; he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned." We must believe that this same Jesus was crucified for the sins of the world, that is for the original sin, not the actual individual transgressions of the people; not but that the blood of Christ will cleanse from all sin, all who are disposed to act their part by repentance, and faith in his name. But the original sin was atoned for by the death of Christ, although its effects we still see in the diseases, distempers and every species of wickedness with which the human family is afflicted. 13:143.

Faith is an eternal principle; belief is an admission of the fact. Faith, to us, is the gift of God; belief is inherent in the children of men, and is the foundation for the reception of faith. Belief and unbelief are independent in men, the same as other attributes. Men can acknowledge or reject, turn to the right or to the left, rise up or remain seated, you can say that the Lord and his Gospel are not worthy of notice, or you can bow to them. 8:16.

Belief is inherent in the creature--implanted within him for his use and benefit--to believe or disbelieve. Your own experience may satisfy you that faith is not brought into requisition by the presentation of either facts or falsehoods, to the external senses, or to the inward perceptions of the mind. If we speak of faith in the abstract, it is the power of God by which the worlds are and were made, and is a gift of God to those who believe and obey his commandments. On the other hand, no living, intelligent being, whether serving God or not, acts without belief. He might as well undertake to live without breathing as to live without the {238} principle of belief. But he must believe the truth, obey the truth, and practice the truth, to obtain the power of God called faith. 8:259-260.

When men are in the habit of philosophising upon every point, only relying upon what we call human reason, they are constantly liable to error. But place a man in a situation where he is obliged or compelled, in order to sustain himself, to have faith in the name of Jesus Christ, and it brings him to a point where he will know for himself; and happy are those who pass through trials, if they maintain their integrity and their faith to their calling. 7:158.

When you believe the principles of the Gospel and attain unto faith, which is a gift of God, he adds more faith, adding faith to faith. He bestows faith upon his creatures as a gift; but his creatures inherently possess the privilege of believing the Gospel to be true or false. 8:17.

If the people will only be full of good works, I will insure that they will have faith in time of need. 3:154.

There is no saving faith merely upon the principles of believing or acknowledging a fact. Take a course to let the Spirit of God leave your hearts, and every soul of you would apostatize. 7:55.

It is the easiest thing in the world to believe the truth. It is a great deal easier to believe truth than error. It is easier to defend the truth than to defend error. 19:42.

We are under obligation to trust in our God; and this is the ground-work of all we can do ourselves. 4:356.

The first principle of the Gospel is faith in God--faith in a Supreme Being. This is a point that meets the infidel, and is one upon which I have reflected and talked a great deal, and I have come to this conclusion--that good, solid, sound sense teaches me never to judge a matter until I {239} understand it, and infidels should never pass their opinion with regard to the character of a Supreme Being until they know whether there is one or not. If this principle were an article in the creed of the infidel world, I think they would not be quite so sceptical as they are; I think we should not meet with any person who would deny the existence of a Deity. The infidel looks abroad and sees the works of nature, in all their diversity--the mountain piercing the clouds with its snowy peaks, the mighty river, fertilizing, in its course to the sea, the valleys and plains in every direction, the sun in his glory at mid-day, the moon in her silvery splendor, and the myriad organizations from man to the minutest form of insect life, all giving the most irrefutable evidence of a Designer and Creator of infinite wisdom, skill and power, and yet he says there is no Deity, no Supreme Ruler, but all is the result of blind chance. How preposterous! Now, here is a book called the Bible. It is enclosed in what we call the cover, consisting of boards, paper and leather. Within the covers we see a vast amount of writing--syllables, words and sentences; now if we say there never was a person to compose, write, print or bind this book, but that it is here wholly as the result of chance, we shall only give expression to the faith, if faith it can be called, of those who are termed infidels; in fact this is infidelity. I do not want to say much about it, it is too vain! 13:142.

When you read the revelations, or when you hear the will of the Lord concerning you, for your own sakes never receive that with a doubtful heart. 3:336.

To explain how much confidence we should have in God, were I using a term to suit myself, I should say implicit confidence. I have faith in my God, and that faith corresponds {240} with the works I produce. I have no confidence in faith without works. 4:24.

My faith is, when we have done all we can, then the Lord is under obligation, and will not disappoint the faithful; he will perform the rest. 4:91.

A great many good people, who possess much of the Spirit of the Lord, are naturally given to doubting, having so little self-reliance that they sometimes doubt whether they are Saints in truth or not. These often doubt when they should not. So long as they are walking humbly before God, keeping his commandments, and observing his ordinances, feeling willing to give all for Christ, and do everything that will promote his Kingdom, they need never doubt, for the Spirit will testify to them whether they are of God or not. There are some who are always fearful, trembling, doubting, wavering, and at the same time doing everything they can for the promotion of righteousness. Yet, they are in doubt whether they are doing the best possible good, and they fear and fail here and there, and will doubt their own experience and the witness of the Spirit to them. 12:169.

When a person is placed in circumstances that he cannot possibly obtain one particle of anything to sustain life, it would then be his privilege to exercise faith in God to feed him, who might cause a raven to pick up a piece of dried meat from some quarter where there was plenty, and drop it over the famishing man. When I cannot feed myself through the means God has placed in my power, it is then time enough for him to exercise his providence in an unusual manner to administer to my wants. But while we can help ourselves, it is our duty to do so. If a Saint of God be locked up in prison, by his enemies, to starve to {241} death, it is then time enough for God to interpose, and feed him. 1:108.

Are you full of faith? You can tell whether I am or not by looking at me. You can tell whether the brethren who have been speaking to you are full of faith in the Gospel by the look of their countenances. You can see this if there is not a word spoken; we can tell by our feelings when we look at a congregation whether they have faith or not. I see there is a great amount of faith in the midst of the Latter-day Saints, and I wish there was a little more patience and obedience. 15:37.

If the Latter-day Saints will walk up to their privileges, and exercise faith in the name of Jesus Christ, and live in the enjoyment of the fulness of the Holy Ghost constantly day by day, there is nothing on the face of the earth that they could ask for, that would not be given to them. The Lord is waiting to be very gracious unto this people, and to pour out upon them riches, honor, glory and power, even that they may possess all things according to the promises he has made through his Apostles and Prophets. 11:114.

When faith springs up in the heart, good works will follow, and good works will increase that pure faith within them. 3:155.

The expression, "true believer," needs qualifying, for many believe who do not obey--I will qualify it by saying, a believer in Jesus Christ, who manifests his faith to God, angels, and his brethren, by his obedience. Not but that there are believers who do not obey, but the only true believers are they who prove their belief by their obedience to the requirements of the Gospel. 1:234.

Our Heavenly Father does not always reveal to his children the secret workings of his providences, nor does he {242} show them the end from the beginning; for they have to learn to trust in him who has promised to fight our battles, and crown us with victory, if we are faithful as was faithful Abraham. 11:13.

Repentance--Sin consists in doing wrong when we know and can do better, and it will be punished with a just retribution, in the due time of the Lord. 2:133.

Though we may do the best we know how at this time, can there be no improvement made in our lives? There can. If we do wrong ignorantly, when we learn it is wrong, then it is our duty to refrain from that wrong immediately and for ever, and the sin of ignorance is winked at, and passes into oblivion. 2:130.

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. 10:18.

Now, my brethren, you who have sinned, repent of your sins. I can say to you in regard to Jesus and the atonement (it is so written, and I firmly believe it), that Christ has died for all. He has paid the full debt, whether you receive the gift or not. But if we continue to sin, to lie, steal, bear false witness, we must repent of and forsake that sin to have the full efficacy of the blood of Christ. Without this it will be of no effect; repentance must come, in order that the atonement may prove a benefit to us. Let all who are doing wrong cease doing wrong; live no longer in transgression, no matter of what kind; but live every day of your lives according to the revelations given, and so that your examples may be worthy of imitation. Let us remember {243} that we never get beyond the purview of our religion--never, never! 11:375.

Some of our old traditions teach us that a man guilty of atrocious and murderous acts may savingly repent when on the scaffold; and upon his execution will hear the expression, "Bless God! he has gone to heaven, to be crowned in glory, through the all-redeeming merits of Christ the Lord." This is all nonsense. Such a character never will see heaven. Some will pray, "O that I had passed through the veil on the night of my conversion!" This proves the false ideas and vain notions entertained by the Christian world. 8:61.

When I first came into the Church it was a subject of considerable thought to me why people whom I knew to be as good and moral as they could be, should have to repent. But I could see afterwards that if they had nothing else to repent of they could and ought to repent of their false religions, of their narrow, contracted creeds in which they were bound, of the ordinances of men, and get something better. These narrow, contracted religions have spread infidelity in the world. They should repent of these and take hold of the things of God and receive the truths of heaven. "Well," say the ministers, "we have lived according to the light we have received." We say, are you willing to receive more? If so, here is more for you. So far as your faith in Christ goes, and your morality, we say, Amen. But here is something more. 16:43.

The Savior has warned us to be careful how we judge, forgiving each other seven times seventy in a day, if we repent, and confess our sins one to another. Can we be more merciful and forgiving than our Father in Heaven? We cannot. Therefore let people do the best they can, and {244} they will pave the way for the rising generation to walk up into the light, wisdom, and knowledge of the angels, and of the redeemed from this earth, to say nothing of other earths, and they will be prepared to enjoy in the resurrection all the blessings which are for the faithful, and enjoy them in the flesh. 2:132.

We should never cease reforming and seeking to the Lord our God. 4:269.

All I have ever asked for or contended for is a reformation in the life of this people; that the thief should stop his stealing, the swearer his swearing, the liar his lying, the deceiver his deceiving, and the man who loves the world more than his God and his religion wean his affections from those objects and place them where they of right belong. I do not wish anybody to cherish a wild enthusiasm, so common in the world, which is produced by the excitement of animal passions, and makes people weep and cry out in an insane manner. I wish the people to make themselves acquainted with facts pertaining to God, to heaven, to mankind upon the earth, their errand here, for what they are created, the nature of their organization, who has power over them, who controls them, how much they can control themselves, etc., etc.; and then let us see whether we can be men and conduct ourselves like Saints, or live and act like the wicked. 9:103.

Keep your follies that do not concern others to yourselves, and keep your private wickedness as still as possible; hide it from the eyes of the public gaze as far as you can. I wish to say this upon this particular point in regard to people's confessing. We wish to see people honestly confess as they should and what they should. 8:362. {245}

If I have injured any person, I ought to confess to that person and make right what I did wrong. 8:361.

But if you have stolen your neighbor's cattle, own it, and restore the property, with fourfold if it is requested. If you have taken your neighbor's spade, own it, and return it, with fourfold if he requires it. I believe in coming out and being plain and honest with that which should be made public, and in keeping to yourselves that which should be kept. If you have your weaknesses, keep them hid from your brethren as much as you can. You never hear me ask the people to tell their follies. But when we ask the brethren, as we frequently do, to speak in sacrament meetings, we wish them, if they have injured their neighbors, to confess their wrongs; but do not tell about your nonsensical conduct that nobody knows of but yourselves. Tell to the public that which belongs to the public. If you have sinned against the people, confess to them. If you have sinned against a family or a neighborhood, go to them and confess. If you have sinned against your Ward, confess to your Ward. If you have sinned against one individual, take that person by yourselves and make your confession to him. And if you have sinned against your God, or against yourselves, confess to God, and keep the matter to yourselves, for I do not want to know anything about it. 8:362.

Baptism--We, the Latter-day Saints, believe in being baptized by immersion for the remission of sins, according to the testimony of the disciples of Jesus and the revelations of the Lord given in these last days. Infants are pure, they have neither sorrow of heart, nor sins to repent of and forsake, and consequently are incapable of being baptized for the remission of sin. If we have sinned, we must know good from evil; an infant does not know this, it cannot {246} know it; it has not grown into the idea of contemplation of good and evil; it has not the capacity to listen to the parent or teacher or to the priest when they tell what is right or wrong or what is injurious; and until these things are understood a person cannot be held accountable and consequently cannot be baptized for the remission of sin. 13:237.

The Lord has instituted laws and ordinances, and all have their peculiar design and meaning. And though we may not know the origin of the necessity of being baptized for the remission of sins, it answers that portion of the law we are now under to teach the people in their ignorance that water is designed for purification, and to instruct them to be baptized therein for the remission of their sins. If the people could fully understand this matter, they would perceive that it is perfectly reasonable and has been the law to all worlds. 7:162-163.

What is required of us as soon as we come to the years of accountability? It is required of us, for it is an institution of heaven, the origin of which you and I cannot tell, for the simple reason that it has no beginning, it is from eternity to eternity--it is required of us to go down into the waters of baptism. Here is a fountain or element, typical of the purity of the eternities. Go down into the waters, and there be baptized for the remission of sins, and then have hands laid upon us to confirm us members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Then receive the Spirit of Truth, or the Holy Ghost. Then live according to every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, through those men whom he has appointed here upon the earth, until we are perfect. 19:48.

If you have been righteous from your birth up, and have never committed known sins and transgressions, be {247} baptized to fulfil all righteousness, as Jesus was. If you can say you have no sins to repent of, forsake your false theories, and love and serve God with an undivided heart. 14:281.

Has water, in itself, any virtue to wash away sin? Certainly not; but the Lord said, "If the sinner will repent of his sins, and go down into the waters of baptism, and there be buried in the likeness of being put into the earth and buried, and again be delivered from the water, in the likeness of being born--if in the sincerity of his heart he will do this, his sins shall be washed away." Will the water of itself wash them away? No; but keeping the commandments of God will cleanse away the stain of sin. 2:4.

In the beginning God cursed the earth; but did he curse all things pertaining to it? No, he did not curse the water, but he blessed it. Pure water is cleansing--it serves to purify; and you are aware that the ancient Saints were very tenacious with regard to their purification by water. From the beginning the Lord instituted water for that purpose among others. I do not mean from the beginning of this earth alone; and although we have no immediate concern in inquiring into the organization of other earths that do not come within reach of our investigation, yet I will say that water has been the means of purification in every world that has been organized out of the immensity of matter. 7:162.

All Latter-day Saints enter the new and everlasting covenant when they enter this Church. They covenant to cease sustaining, upholding and cherishing the kingdom of the Devil and the kingdoms of this world. They enter the new and everlasting covenant to sustain the Kingdom of God and no other kingdom. They take a vow of the most {248} solemn kind, before the heavens and earth, and that, too, upon the validity of their own salvation, that they will sustain truth and righteousness instead of wickedness and falsehood, and build up the Kingdom of God, instead of the kingdoms of this world. 12:230.

You have not the power to baptize yourselves, neither have you power to resurrect yourselves; and you could not legally baptize a second person for the remission of sins until some person first baptized you and ordained you to this authority. 6:275.

Gift of the Holy Ghost--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 therein 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. 9:254.

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 {249} 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. 9:254.

The Holy Ghost reveals unto you things past, present, and to come; it makes your minds quick and vivid to understand the handiwork of the Lord. Your joy is made full in beholding the footsteps of our Father going forth among the inhabitants of the earth; this is invisible to the world, but it is made visible to the Saints, and they behold the Lord in his providences, bringing forth the work of the last days. 4:22.

My knowledge is, if you will follow the teachings of Jesus Christ and his Apostles, as recorded in the New Testament, every man and woman will be put in possession of the Holy Ghost; every person will become a Prophet, Seer, and Revelator, and an expounder of truth. They will know things that are, that will be, and that have been. They will understand things in heaven, things on the earth, and things under the earth, things of time, and things of eternity, according to their several callings and capacities. 1:243.

There is a variety of blessings; a different blessing being probably given to one, two, three or four of this congregation. Thus, one will have faith to lay hands upon the sick and rebuke disease, and drive it from the person afflicted. Many may receive this blessing of faith, the gift of healing. Some may receive faith to the discerning of spirits; they can discern the spirit of a person, whether it is good or evil. They have such power that when a person enters this congregation they can tell the spirit of such {250} person; then they have received the gift of discerning of spirits. Some may receive the gift of tongues, that they will get up and speak in tongues, and speak in many other languages beside their mother tongue, the language that they were brought up in, that they were first taught, and be able to proclaim the Gospel of life and salvation that all men could understand it. These are the blessings; but others might receive the gift of prophecy, get up and prophesy what is to befall this nation, what will befall this or that individual, and what will befall the different nations of the earth, etc. 16:164.

The gifts of the Gospel are given to strengthen the faith of the believer. 10:324.

Suppose you obey the ordinances of the Gospel, and do not speak in tongues today, never mind that. Suppose you do not have the spirit of prophecy, no matter. Suppose you do not receive any particular gift attended by the rushing of a mighty wind, as on the day of Pentecost, there is no particular necessity that you should. On the day of Pentecost there was special need for it, it was a peculiarly trying time. Some special and powerful manifestation of the power of the Almighty was necessary to open the eyes of the people and let them know that Jesus has paid the debt, and that they had actually crucified him who, by his death, had become the Savior of the world. It required this at that time to convince the people. 14:114.

The gift of seeing with the natural eyes is just as much a gift as the gift of tongues. The Lord gave that gift and we can do as we please with regard to seeing; we can use the sight of the eye to the glory of God, or to our own destruction. 3:364.

The gift of communicating one with another is the gift {251} of God, just as much so as the gift of prophecy, of discerning spirits, of tongues, of healing, or any other gift, though sight, taste, and speech, are so generally bestowed that they are not considered in the same miraculous light as are those gifts mentioned in the Gospel.

We can use these gifts and every other gift God has given us, to the praise and glory of God, to serve him, or we can use them to dishonor him and his cause; we can use the gift of speech to blaspheme his name. 3:364.

Healing the Sick--We lay hands on the sick and wish them to be healed, and pray the Lord to heal them, but we cannot always say that he will. 4:284.

I am here to testify to hundreds of instances, of men, women, and children being healed by the power of God, through the laying on of hands, and many I have seen raised from the gates of death, and brought back from the verge of eternity; and some whose spirits had actually left their bodies, returned again. I testify that I have seen the sick healed by the laying on of hands, according to the promise of the Savior. 1:240.

When I lay hands on the sick, I expect the healing power and influence of God to pass through me to the patient, and the disease to give way. I do not say that I heal everybody I lay hands on; but many have been healed under my administration. Jesus said, on one occasion, "Who has touched me?" A woman had crept up behind him in the crowd, and touched the hem of his garment, and he knew it, because virtue had gone from him. Do you see the reason and propriety of laying hands on each other? When we are prepared, when we are holy vessels before the Lord, a stream of power from the Almighty can pass through the tabernacle of the administrator to the system of the patient, {252} and the sick are made whole; the headache, fever or other disease has to give way. My brethren and sisters, there is virtue in us if we will do right; if we live our religion we are the temples of God wherein he will dwell; if we defile ourselves, these temples God will destroy. 14:72.

Instead of calling for a doctor you should administer to them by the laying on of hands and anointing with oil, and give them mild food, and herbs, and medicines that you understand; and if you want the mind and will of God at such a time, get it, it is just as much your privilege as of any other member of the Church and Kingdom of God. It is your privilege and duty to live so that you know when the word of the Lord is spoken to you and when the mind of the Lord is revealed to you. I say it is your duty to live so as to know and understand all these things. 18:71.

Many people are unwilling to do one thing for themselves in case of sickness, but ask God to do it all. 4:25.

I am sent for continually, though I only go occasionally, because it is a privilege of every father, who is an Elder in Israel, to have faith to heal his family, just as much so as it is my privilege to have faith to heal my family; and if he does not do it he is not living up to his privilege. It is just as reasonable for him to ask me to cut his wood and maintain his family, for if he had faith himself he would save me the trouble of leaving other duties to attend to his request. 3:46.

You may go to some people here, and ask what ails them, and they answer, "I don't know, but we feel a dreadful distress in the stomach and in the back; we feel all out of order, and we wish you to lay hands on us." "Have you used any remedies?" No. "We wish the Elders to lay hands upon us, and we have faith that we shall be healed." {253} That is very inconsistent according to my faith. If we are sick, and ask the Lord to heal us, and to do all for us that is necessary to be done, according to my understanding of the Gospel of salvation, I might as well ask the Lord to cause my wheat and corn to grow, without my plowing the ground and casting in the seed. It appears consistent to me to apply every remedy that comes within the range of my knowledge, and to ask my Father in Heaven, in the name of Jesus Christ, to sanctify that application to the healing of my body; to another this may appear inconsistent.

But supposing we were traveling in the mountains, and all we had or could get, in the shape of nourishment, was a little venison, and one or two were taken sick, without anything in the world in the shape of healing medicine within our reach, what should we do? According to my faith, ask the Lord Almighty to send an angel to heal the sick. This is our privilege, when so situated that we cannot get anything to help ourselves. Then the Lord and his servants can do all. But it is my duty to do, when I have it in my power. 4:24. {254}

Chapter XIV

THE SABBATH; MEETINGS; THE SACRAMENT

How to Spend the Sabbath Day--Spend the Sabbath day prudently, in the love and fear of God. 19:65.

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. 10:284.

You take this book (the book of Doctrine and Covenants) and you will read here that the Saints are to meet together on the Sabbath day. It is what we call the first day of the week. No matter whether it is the Jewish Sabbath or not. I do not think there is anybody who can bring facts to prove which is the seventh day, or when Adam was put in the garden, or the day about which the Lord spoke to Moses. This matter is not very well known, so we call the day on which we rest and worship God, the first day of the week. This people called Latter-day Saints, are required by the revelations that the Lord has given, to assemble themselves together on this day. In this commandment we are required to come together and repent of our sins and confess our sins and partake of the bread and of the wine, or water, in commemoration of the death and sufferings of our Lord and Savior. 16:168.

Instead of suffering our labors to occupy the Sabbath--instead of planning our business to infringe upon the first day of the week, we should do as little as possible; if {255} it is necessary to cook food, do so; but even if that could be dispensed with, it would be better. As to keeping the Sabbath according to the Mosaic law, indeed, I do not; for it would be almost beyond my power. Still, under the new covenant, we should remember to preserve holy one day in the week as a day of rest--as a memorial of the rest of the Lord and the rest of the Saints; also for our temporal advantage, for it is instituted for the express purpose of benefiting man. It is written in this book (the Bible), that the Sabbath was made for man. It is a blessing to him. As little labor as possible should be done upon that day; it should be set apart as a day of rest, to assemble together in the place appointed, according to the revelation, confessing our sins, bringing our tithes and offerings, and presenting ourselves before the Lord, there to commemorate the death and sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ. 6:277-8.

Now, remember, my brethren, those who go skating, buggy riding or on excursions on the Sabbath day--and there is a great deal of this practiced--are weak in the faith. Gradually, little by little, little by little, the spirit of their religion leaks out of their hearts and their affections, and by and by they begin to see faults in their brethren, faults in the doctrines of the Church, faults in the organization, and at last they leave the Kingdom of God and go to destruction. I really wish you would remember this, and tell it to your neighbors. 15:83.

The Lord has directed his people to rest one-seventh part of the time, and we take the first day of the week, and call it our Sabbath. This is according to the order of the Christians. We should observe this for our own temporal good and spiritual welfare. When we see a farmer in such a hurry, that he has to attend to his harvest, and to haying, {256} fence-making, or to gathering his cattle on the Sabbath day, as far as I am concerned, I count him weak in the faith. He has lost the spirit of his religion, more or less. Six days are enough for us to work, and if we wish to play, play within the six days; if we wish to go on excursions, take one of those six days, but on the seventh day, come to the place of worship, attend to the Sacrament, confess your faults one to another and to our God, and pay attention to the ordinances of the house of God. 15:81.

I said yesterday to a Bishop who was mending a breach in the canal, and expressed a wish to continue his labor on the following Sabbath, as his wheat was burning up, let it burn, when the time comes that is set apart for worship, go up and worship the Lord. 3:331.

The Lord has planted within us a divinity; and that divine immortal spirit requires to be fed. Will earthly food answer for that purpose? No; it will only keep this body alive as long as the spirit stays with it, which gives us an opportunity of doing good. That divinity within us needs food from the Fountain from which it emanated. It is not of the earth, earthy, but is from heaven. Principles of eternal life, of God and godliness, will alone feed the immortal capacity of man and give true satisfaction. 7:138.

We are under the necessity of assembling here from Sabbath to Sabbath, and in Ward meetings, and besides, have to call our solemn assemblies, to teach, talk, pray, sing, and exhort. What for? To keep us in remembrance of our God and our holy religion. Is this custom necessary? Yes; because we are so liable to forget--so prone to wander, that we need to have the Gospel sounded in our ears as much as once, twice, or thrice a week, or, behold, we will turn again to our idols. 6:195. {257}

If you can make as good a beginning as did an old lady, you will do well. She went to a schoolhouse, and, on her return, called at a neighbor's who inquired where she had been. She replied, "I have been to meeting." "Has there been a meeting?" "Oh, yes, and a glorious one, too." "Dear me, we did not hear of it. Were there many there?" "No, there were not many." "Who was there?" "Why, the Lord was there, and I was there, and had a blessed good meeting." If you cannot get any person to meet with you, be sure and have the Lord meet with you, and you will soon gain confidence in yourselves and have influence with your brethren. 8:65.

Worship on Every Day--Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday must be spent to the glory of God, as much as Sunday, or we shall come short of the object of our pursuit. 13:261.

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, etc., and so continue until nine in the evening. To such persons I cannot consider it really a day of rest. 10:187.

Coming to this Tabernacle to worship and do the will of God for one day in the week, and following our own inclinations and doing our own will at all other times, is a folly; it is useless, and a perfect burlesque on the service of God. We should do the will of God, and spend all our time {258} for the accomplishment of his purposes, whether we are in this Tabernacle or elsewhere. 12:34.

If I had my own mind, I would devote the time for meetings like this within the measure of the six days, and on the seventh rest from all my labors, for the express purpose of renewing the mental and physical powers of man. They require it, as the Lord well knew; hence he established a day of rest. The natural tendency of the physical powers of man is to decay; and to preserve them as long as possible, they need this retirement from labor--this rest--this ease. 8:58.

Preaching and Listening in Meetings--While we have the privilege of speaking to each other, let us speak words of comfort and consolation. When you are influenced by the Spirit of holiness and purity, let your light shine; but if you are tried and tempted and buffeted by Satan, keep your thoughts to yourselves--keep your mouths closed; for speaking produces fruit, either of a good or evil character. 7:268.

As we have met in the capacity of a General Conference, we shall expect to hear instructions from the Elders pertaining to the building up of the Kingdom of God on earth. This is our calling, this is the labor devolving upon us, and it should occupy our attention day by day from morning until evening and from week to week; in fact, we have no other calling or business. 13:260.

Today we are able to meet together to speak to each other, to strengthen and do each other good; and by forsaking our fields for a season, to gather together to worship our God, I can assure you that our crops will be better than they would be if we were to spend all our time in our fields. We may water and plant and toil, but we should never forget {259} that it is God who gives the increase; and by meeting together, our health and spirits will be better, we will look better, and the things of this world will increase around us more, and we will know better how to enjoy them. 11:116.

I will take the liberty of suggesting to my brethren who address the congregation that our sermons should be short, and if they are not filled with life and spirit let them be shorter, for we have not time at this Conference to let all the Elders who speak preach a long sermon, but we have time to say a few words in bearing testimony, to give a few words of counsel to encourage the Saints, to strengthen the weak, to endeavor to confirm those who are wavering, and so forward the Kingdom of God. 12:27.

Brethren and sisters, I will make one request of you. When you speak, speak so that we can hear and understand you, whether it be much or little, good or bad. If you have nothing to say, take my counsel, and keep your seat. If you have anything to say, say it; and when you get through, stop. Let your feelings be governed and controlled by the principles of eternal life, as should the children of God, delighting in truth and righteousness. 7:270.

Many have a foreboding in their hearts; a fearfulness, a tremor comes over them, when they arise to address a congregation. They think that it will not do to tell the people just what they understand, but talk about it and talk about it. In this way they darken counsel: Do not darken counsel by your words. 4:368.

When people assemble to worship they should leave their worldly cares where they belong, then their minds are in a proper condition to worship the Lord, to call upon him in the name of Jesus, and to get his Holy Spirit, that {260} they may hear and understand things as they are in eternity, and know how to comprehend the providences of our God. This is the time for their minds to be open, to behold the invisible things of God, that he reveals by his Spirit. 3:53.

Every person should be silent when we meet here to worship God. Remember and try to keep perfectly quiet, and do not whisper, talk, nor scrape your feet; and do not let your children cry if you can help it. 14:44.

My greatest desire to my Father and God is that I may so speak that my remarks will be acceptable to him and beneficial to those who hear me. 7:131.

I am responsible for the doctrine I teach; but I am not responsible for the obedience of the people to that doctrine. 13:1.

The same weakness is in me, that is common to the most of my brethren who address you from this stand, that is, a degree of timidity, which arises from a sense of the importance of the work in which we are engaged; but my resolution overbalances this. 1:334.

I am extremely anxious so to 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. 9:287.

I have never yet seen the time that I had wisdom, strength, and ability enough to preach a Gospel discourse--to commence it, and finish it, setting before the people the plan of salvation sufficiently full, that thereby they might be saved. But it is only given in portions--a little here, and a little there, by feeble man, 6:283. {261}

When I have endeavored to address a congregation, I have almost always felt a repugnance in my heart to the practice of premeditation, or of pre-constructing a discourse to deliver to the people, but let me ask God my Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, to give me his Spirit, and put into my heart the things he wishes me to speak whether they be for better or worse. These have been my private feelings, as a general thing. 1:264.

I need the attention of the congregation and the faith of those who have faith; I need the wisdom of God and his Spirit to be in my heart to enable me to speak to the edification of the people. Although I have been a public speaker for thirty-seven years, it is seldom that I rise before a congregation without feeling a child-like timidity; if I live to the age of Methuselah I do not know that I shall outgrow it. There are reasons for this which I understand. When I look upon the faces of intelligent beings I look upon the image of the God I serve. There are none but what have a certain portion of divinity within them; and though we are clothed with bodies which are in the image of our God, yet this mortality shrinks before that portion of divinity which we inherit from our Father. This is the cause of my timidity, and of all others who feel this embarrassment when they address their fellow beings. 13:139.

In addressing a congregation, though the speaker be unable to say more than half a dozen sentences, and those awkwardly constructed, if his heart is pure before God, those few broken sentences are of more value than the greatest eloquence without the Spirit of the Lord and of more real worth in the sight of God, angels, and all good men. In praying, though a person's words be few and awkwardly expressed, if the heart is pure before God, that {262} prayer will avail more than the eloquence of a Cicero. What does the Lord, the Father of us all, care about our mode of expression? The simple, honest heart is of more avail with the Lord than all the pomp, pride, splendor, and eloquence produced by men. When he looks upon a heart full of sincerity, integrity, and child-like simplicity, he sees a principle that will endure forever--"That is the spirit of my own kingdom--the spirit I have given to my children." 8:283-4.

I believe, according to my feelings, that if I had all the mastery of language that has ever been obtained by the learned, my spirit would delight more in childlike conversation, and that too, in a simple language, than in the most learned literary style that is used. A plain, clear method of expressing ideas is the most pleasing to me. 4:341.

I believe it is our duty to imitate everything that is good, lovely, dignified and praiseworthy. We ought to imitate the best speakers, and study to convey our ideas to each other in the best and choicest language, especially when we are dispensing the great truths of the Gospel of peace to the people. I generally use the best language I can command. 11:255.

Testimony Meetings--You know that the first Thursday in each month we hold as a fast day. How many here know the origin of this day? Before tithing was paid, the poor were supported by donations. They came to Joseph and wanted help, in Kirtland, and he said there should be a fast day, which was decided upon. It was to be held once a month, as it is now,[A] and all that would have been eaten {263} that day, of flour, or meat, or butter, or fruit, or anything else, was to be carried to the fast meeting and put into the hands of a person selected for the purpose of taking care of it and distributing it among the poor. 12:115.

[Footnote A: At present the first Sunday of the month is designated fast day.]

Do not hesitate to tell your feelings. 4:368.

In our fast-day meetings, the Saints meet to express their feelings and to strengthen each other in their faith in the holy Gospel. 7:267.

We wish the Latter-day Saints to meet at their respective houses, erected for that purpose, on the day appointed for a fast, and take with them of their substance to feed the poor and the hungry among us, and, if it is necessary, to clothe the naked. We expect to see the sisters there; for they are generally first and foremost in deeds of charity and kindness. Let the hearts of the poor be made glad, and let their prayers and thanksgiving ascend unto God, and receive an answer of rich blessings upon our heads. 12:126.

Do you not receive as much of the spirit of intelligence, of the spirit of knowledge, and the consoling influences of the Holy Ghost, to have people rise and testify of the things of God which they do know, of those things which they have experienced themselves? Does not that vividly bring to your minds the goodness of the Lord in revealing to you the truths of the Gospel? Does not that strengthen your faith, give you an increase of confidence and witness to you that you are a child of God? Most assuredly it does. Therefore, when any testify of the things of God, it strengthens their brethren, precisely as it did in days of old when they observed the counsel to, "Speak often one to another," "strengthen the brethren," and so on. 4:367.

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 {264} your duty to go and instill 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. 10:309.

I always feel to urge our youth to attend meetings when strangers preach, that they may be able to understand that which is not of God, and learn the difference between the doctrine taught by us and others. 13:323.

Now, then, if our brethren of the Presbyterians, Methodists or any others visit here and want to preach to you, certainly let them preach, and have your children hear them. They will tell you to keep the Sabbath and to love your father and mother; they will tell you to be true, honest, industrious, to be faithful to your studies, to read the Bible and all good books, to study the sciences, etc., which is all good, and as far as such teaching goes just as good as it can be. I say, parents, do not be afraid of having your children learn everything that is worth learning. And if any of our Christian brethren want to go into our Sabbath schools to teach our children, let them do so. They will not teach them anything immoral in the presence of those who are in charge of the schools. 14:196.

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. 10:300.

When a man opens or closes a meeting with prayer, every man, woman, and child in the congregation who professes to be a Saint should have no desire or words in their hearts and mouths but what are being offered by the man who is mouth for all the congregation. 6:42.

The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper--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 {265} 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. 9:369.

I say to the brethren and sisters, in the name of the Lord, it is our duty and it is required of us, by our Father in Heaven, by the spirit of our religion, by our covenants with God and each other, that we observe the ordinances of the house of God, and especially on the Sabbath day, to attend to the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. Then attend the Ward meetings and the Quorum meetings. 15:82.

In the ordinance we here attend to in the afternoon, we show to the Father that we remember Jesus Christ, our Elder Brother; we testify to him that we are willing to take upon us his name. When we are doing this, I want the minds here as well as the bodies. I want the whole man here when you come to meeting. 8:137.

This is a very solemn ordinance. The Christian world accepts it, in preference to any other, as one of the ordinances of the house of God. With some, this ordinance is the first and the last; and with others this ordinance is not thought to be of sufficient importance to be attended to. I wish to say to the Latter-day Saints, and also to those who do not believe in the fulness of the Gospel, that this ordinance, which we are now attending to this afternoon, is, in reality, no more sacred than any other ordinance of the house of God in the eyes of him who has instituted the same. The validity of one divine law is the same as the validity of another with our Father and God. 11:39-40.

I would exhort my brethren and sisters to receive this ordinance every Sabbath, when they meet together, as is {266} our practice; not following the customs of others, for with some denominations this is administered once a month, with others once in three months, with others never, they not believing in outward ordinances. We are in the habit of partaking of the contents of the cup each Sabbath when we meet together, and I do pray you, my brethren and sisters, to contemplate this ordinance thoroughly, and seek unto the Lord with all your hearts that you may obtain the promised blessings by obedience to it. Teach its observance to your children; impress upon them its necessity. Its observance is as necessary to our salvation as any other of the ordinances and commandments that have been instituted in order that the people may be sanctified, that Jesus may bless them and give unto them his spirit, and guide and direct them that they may secure unto themselves life eternal. Impress the sacredness of this important ordinance upon the minds of your children. 19:91.

We do this in remembrance of the death of our Savior; it is required of his disciples until he comes again, no matter how long that may be. No matter how many generations come and go, believers in him are required to eat bread and drink wine in remembrance of his death and sufferings until he comes again. Why are they required to do this? To witness unto the Father, to Jesus and to the angels that they are believers in and desire to follow him in the regeneration, keep his commandments, build up his Kingdom, revere his name and serve him with an undivided heart, that they may be worthy to eat and drink with him in his Father's Kingdom. This is why the Latter-day Saints partake of the ordinance of the Lord's Supper.

I know that in the Christian world sermon after sermon is preached on this subject; yet people there differ in their {267} belief concerning these emblems. The Mother Church, of the Christian world, believes that the bread becomes the actual flesh of Jesus, and that the wine becomes his blood; this is preposterous to me. It is bread, and it is wine; but both are blessed to the souls of those who partake thereof. But to be followers of the Lord Jesus more is required than merely to partake of the bread and wine--the emblems of his death and suffering--it is necessary that strict obedience be rendered to his requirements. 13:139-140.

In what consists the benefit we derive from this ordinance? It is in obeying the commands of the Lord. When we obey the commandments of our Heavenly Father, if we have a correct understanding of the ordinances of the house of God, we receive all the promises attached to the obedience rendered to his commandments. 2:3.

It is one of the greatest blessings we could enjoy, to come before the Lord, and before the angels, and before each other, to witness that we remember that the Lord Jesus Christ has died for us. This proves to the Father that we remember our covenants, that we love his Gospel, that we love to keep his commandments, and to honor the name of the Lord Jesus upon the earth. 6:277.

In the days of ancient Israel, while in the land of Palestine, they were not blessed so profusely as we are with the crystal streams from the mountains. They were in the habit of drinking a great deal of wine, and among the few who have continued to inhabit that land, this habit, I believe, has been kept up to the present time. It is a wine country. But the Lord has said to us it mattered not what we partake of when we administer the cup to the people, inasmuch as we do it with an eye single to the glory of God; it is then acceptable to him. Consequently we use water as {268} though it were wine; for we are commanded to drink not of wine for this sacred purpose except it be made by our own hands. 19:92.

In some of our Wards and settlements the administering of the Sacrament has been introduced in the Sunday schools. It is very pleasing and gratifying to the spirit that I possess, for the parents to see that their children attend Sunday school and receive the proper instruction with regard to their faith. After the Sunday school is over, let the parents take the pains to bring their children to meeting. 19:92.

I will now express a wish in relation to all who may rise here to ask a blessing on the bread and water of the Sacrament, or to preach to such large congregations as assemble here. When the Elders rise here to speak, I want them to raise their voices so that the people can hear them, that the audience may be able to say "Amen" to all the good; and if there is evil, refuse it. When any one rises to preach, pray, sing, exhort, or bless the Sacramental emblems, let him do so with voice sufficient for all to hear. 8:183. {269}

Chapter XV

TITHING; THE UNITED ORDER

The Law of Tithing--One thing is required at the hands of this people, and to understand which there is no necessity for receiving a commandment every year, viz.: to pay their tithing. I do not suppose for a moment, that there is a person in this Church, who is unacquainted with the duty of paying tithing, neither is it necessary to have revelation every year upon the subject. There is the Law--pay one-tenth. 1:278.

I like the term, because it is scriptural, and I would rather use it than any other. The Lord instituted tithing; it was practiced in the days of Abraham, and Enoch and Adam and his children did not forget their tithes and offerings. You can read for yourselves with regard to what the Lord requires. I want to say this much to those who profess to be Latter-day Saints--if we neglect our tithes and offerings we will receive the chastening hand of the Lord. We may just as well count on this first as last. If we neglect to pay our tithes and offerings we will neglect other things and this will grow upon us until the spirit of the Gospel is entirely gone from us, and we are in the dark, and know not whither we are going. 15:163.

If the Lord requires one-tenth of my ability to be devoted to building temples, meeting houses, school houses, to schooling our children, gathering the poor from the nations of the earth, bringing home the aged, lame, halt and blind, and building houses for them to live in, that they may be comfortable when they reach Zion, and to sustaining the Priesthood, it is not my prerogative to question the {270} authority of the Almighty in this, nor of his servants who have charge of it. If I am required to pay my tithing it is my duty to pay it. In the days of Joseph, when my circumstances were very, very straitened, I never had $500, $100, one dollar, fifty cents or twenty-five cents, but what, if it were wanted, it went as free as a cup of water from a well--Joseph was welcome to it. Was I tried in this? Yes, for many and many has been the time in my poverty, when if I had a dollar or fifty cents in my possession I have thought, "I can buy a pint or a half pint of molasses for my children to sop their bread in," but it was called for, and it went as free as the water of the river here would be to a thirsty person. And as for my time, from the day that I entered this Church until now, I have paid no attention to any business except that of building up this Kingdom. The question may be asked, "Do you not attend to your private affairs and business?" Yes, when I can, but I do not know that I have ever spent one minute in attending to business belonging to Brigham Young, when the business of the Church and Kingdom of God on the earth required his attention. Yet I would not say that this is any excuse for not strictly paying my tithing. I have paid a great deal of tithing, more perhaps than any other man, or any other ten men who were ever in the Church, and yet my tithing is not paid. But I pay tithing, and when the grain upon my farm is ripened, or the cattle upon it are matured, I say to my men, "Be sure and pay the tithing on whatever we have raised." But in some instances I have found that it was neglected. 16:111.

It is very true that the poor pay their tithing better than the rich do. If the rich would pay their tithing we should have plenty. The poor are faithful and prompt in paying {271} their tithing, but the rich can hardly afford to pay theirs--they have too much. If he has only ten dollars he can pay one; if he has only one dollar he can pay ten cents; it does not hurt him at all. If he has a hundred dollars he can possibly pay ten. If he has a thousand dollars he looks over it a little and says, "I guess I will pay it; it ought to be paid anyhow;" and he manages to pay his ten dollars or his hundred dollars. But suppose a man is wealthy enough to pay ten thousand, he looks that over a good many times and says, "I guess I will wait until I get a little more, and then I will pay a good deal." And they wait and wait, like an old gentleman in the East; he waited and waited and waited to pay his tithing until he went out of the world, and this is the way with a great many. They wait and continue waiting, until, finally, the character comes along who is called Death, and he slips up to them and takes away their breath, then they are gone and cannot pay their tithing, they are too late, and so it goes. 15:163-164.

The Saints abroad are required to pay their tithing. 8:182.

When men are Saints, they will bring their thousands and lay them at the feet of the Bishops, Apostles, and Prophets, saying, "Here is my money; it is now where it should be." 6:175.

When a man wishes to give anything, let him give the best he has got. The Lord has given to me all I possess; I have nothing in reality, not a single dime of it is mine. You may ask, "Do you feel as you say?" Yes, I actually do. The coat I have on my back is not mine, and never was; the Lord put it in my possession honorably, and I wear it; but if he wishes for it, and all there is under it, he {272} is welcome to the whole. I do not own a house, or a single farm of land, a horse, mule, carriage, or wagon, or wife, nor child, but what the Lord gave me, and if he wants them, he can take them at his pleasure, whether he speaks for them, or takes them without speaking. 2:307.

When my Bishop came to value my property, he wanted to know what he should take my tithing in. I told him to take anything I had, for I did not set my heart upon any one thing; my horses, cows, hogs, or any other thing he might take; my heart is set upon the work of my God, upon the public good of his great Kingdom. 1:376.

If we live our religion we will be willing to pay tithing. 10:283.

Here is a character--a man--that God has created, organized, fashioned and made,--every part and particle of my system from the top of my head to the soles of my feet, has been produced by my Father in Heaven; and he requires one-tenth part of my brain, heart, nerve, muscle, sinew, flesh, bone, and of my whole system, for the building of temples, for the ministry, for sustaining missionaries and missionaries' families, for feeding the poor, the aged, the halt and blind, and for gathering them home from the nations and taking care of them after they are gathered. He has said, "My son, devote one-tenth of yourself to the good and wholesome work of taking care of your fellow-beings, preaching the Gospel, bringing people into the Kingdom; lay your plans to take care of those who cannot take care of themselves; direct the labors of those who are able to labor; and one-tenth part is all-sufficient if it is devoted properly, carefully and judiciously for the advancement of my Kingdom on the earth." 16:69.

The Lord Has Given All--It is not for me to rise up {273} and say that I can give to the Lord, for in reality I have nothing to give. I seem to have something. Why? Because the Lord has seen fit to bring me forth, and has blessed my efforts in gathering things which are desirable, and which are termed property. 2:300.

We are not our own, we are bought with a price, we are the Lord's; our time, our talents, our gold and silver, our wheat and fine flour, our wine and our oil, our cattle, and all there is on this earth that we have in our possession is the Lord's, and he requires one-tenth of this for the building up of his Kingdom. Whether we have much or little, one-tenth should be paid in for tithing. 14:88.

What object have I in saying to the Latter-day Saints, do this, that or the other? It is for my own benefit, it is for your benefit; it is for my own wealth and happiness, and for your wealth and happiness that we pay tithing and render obedience to any requirement of Heaven. We can not add anything to the Lord by doing these things. Tell about making sacrifices for the Kingdom of heaven. There is no man who ever made a sacrifice on this earth for the Kingdom of heaven, that I know anything about, except the Savior. He drank the bitter cup to the dregs, and tasted for every man and for every woman, and redeemed the earth and all things upon it. But he was God in the flesh, or he could not have endured it. "But we suffer, we sacrifice, we give something, we have preached so long." What for? "Why, for the Lord." I would not give the ashes of a rye straw for the man who feels that he is making sacrifice for God. We are doing this for our own happiness, welfare and exaltation, and for nobody else's. This is the fact, and what we do, we do for the salvation of the inhabitants {274} of the earth, not for the salvation of the heavens, the angels, or the Gods. 16:114.

I do not expect to see the day when I am perfectly independent, until I am crowned in the celestial kingdom of my Father, and made as independent as my Father in Heaven. I have not yet received my inheritance as my own, and I expect to be dependent until I do, for all that I have is lent to me. 3:245.

We own nothing but the talents God has given to us to improve upon, to show him what we will do with them. 8:293.

People Not Compelled to Pay Tithing--The people are not compelled to pay their tithing, they do as they please about it, it is urged upon them only as a matter of duty between them and their God. 12:36.

We do not ask anybody to pay tithing, unless they are disposed to do so; but if you pretend to pay tithing, pay it like honest men. 8:202.

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. 8:345.

Pay your tithing, just because you like to, not unless you want to. They say we cut people off the Church for not paying tithing; we never have yet, but they ought to be. God does not fellowship them. The law of tithing is an eternal law. The Lord Almighty never had his Kingdom on the earth without the law of tithing being in the midst of his people, and he never will. It is an eternal law that God has instituted for the benefit of the human family, for their salvation and exaltation. This law is in the Priesthood, {275} but we do not want any to observe it unless they are willing to do so. 14:89.

Use of the Tithing--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. 10:270.

The little moiety that is now paid on tithing is used to bring the poor here, to find them houses to live in, bread to eat, and wood to burn. Now, suppose we had a little more of this surplus on hand, could we not help the brethren on their way to preach the Gospel to the nations? Yes, we could. Some of them will leave families that will, probably, be destitute, and if we had means on hand we could donate to help them, and to prevent them from running continually to the Bishops. 12:36.

The Lord requires one-tenth of that which he has given me; it is for me to pay the one-tenth of the increase of my flocks and of all that I have, and all the people should do the same. The question may arise, "What is to be done with the tithing?" It is for the building of temples to God; for the enlarging of the borders of Zion; sending Elders on missions to preach the Gospel and taking care of their families. By and by we shall have some temples to go into, and we will receive our blessings, the blessings of heaven, by obedience to the doctrine of tithing. We shall have temples built throughout these mountains, in the {276} valleys of this Territory and the valleys of the next Territory, and finally, all through these mountain valleys. We expect to build temples in a great many valleys. We go to the Endowment House, and before going, we get a recommendation from our Bishop that we have paid our tithing. 16:168.

In regard to this whining of the world about Brigham's handling the tithing, I can say that he has put in ten dollars where he has taken one out of the treasury, and he has paid more tithing than any other man in the Church. Everybody should pay their tenth. A poor woman ought to pay her tenth chicken, if she has to draw out ten times its value for her support. It is all the Lord's and we are only his stewards. 16:45.

It is my business to control the disbursements of the tithing paid by the Saints, and not the business of every Elder in the Kingdom who thinks the tithing belongs to him. 8:170.

The United Order--The Lord has declared it to be his will that his people enter into covenant, even as Enoch and his people did, which of necessity must be before we shall have the privilege of building the Center Stake of Zion, for the power and glory of God will be there, and none but the pure in heart will be able to live and enjoy it. 18:263.

When the Lord gave the revelation instructing us in our duty as to consecrating what we have, if the people then could have understood things precisely as they are; and had obeyed that revelation, it would have been neither more no less than yielding up that which is not their own, to him to whom it belongs. And so it is now. 2:303.

When they bow down to worship the Lord, they acknowledge that the earth is his, and the cattle upon a {277} thousand hills; and tell the Lord there is no sacrifice they are not willing to make for the sake of the religion of Jesus Christ. The people were crying this continually among the churches when the Book of Mormon came forth, and the Lord spoke through Joseph, revealing the law of consecration, to see whether they were willing to do as they said in their prayers. 2:305.

There is another revelation still prior to this time, stating that it is the duty of all people who go to Zion to consecrate all their property to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This revelation was referred to at the April Conference in 1854. It was one of the first commandments, or revelations given to this people after they had the privilege of organizing themselves as a Church, as a body, as the Kingdom of God on the earth. I observed then, and I now think, that it will be one of the last revelations which the people will receive into their hearts and understanding, of their own free will and choice, and esteem it as a pleasure, a privilege, and a blessing unto them to observe and keep most holy. 2:299.

I have said, and say today, that according to the age of the people we have improved as fast as the church of Enoch. I trust we improve faster, for we have not as much time as they had. In some of the first revelations which were given to this Church, the Order of Enoch was given for a pattern to this people; and Enoch patterned after the heavens. In the commencement of the Church, the Latter-day Saints could not receive it, and they were driven from city to city, as the Lord said they should be, through the mouth of his servant Joseph, until they should be willing to receive this Order. 12:210.

Will the time ever come that we can commence and {278} organize this people as a family? It will. Do we know how? Yes; what was lacking in these revelations from Joseph to enable us to do so was revealed to me. Do you think we will ever be one? When we get home to our Father and God, will we not wish to be in the family? Will it not be our highest ambition and desire to be reckoned as the sons of the living God, as the daughters of the Almighty, with a right to the household, and the faith that belongs to the household, heirs of the Father, his goods, his wealth, his power, his excellency, his knowledge and wisdom? 11:326.

I will say, first, that the Lord Almighty has not the least objection in the world to our entering into the Order of Enoch. I will stand between the people and all harm in this. He has not the least objection to any man, every man, all mankind on the face of the earth turning from evil and loving and serving him with all their hearts. With regard to all those orders that the Lord has revealed, it depends upon the will and doings of the people, and we are at liberty, from this Conference, to go and build up a settlement, or we can join ourselves together in this city, do it legally--according to the laws of the land--and enter into covenant with each other by a firm agreement that we will live as a family, that we will put our property into the hands of a committee of trustees, who shall dictate the affairs of this society. 16:8.

And when this people become one, it will be one in the Lord. They will not look alike. We will not all have grey, blue, or black eyes. Our features will differ one from another, and in our acts, dispositions, and efforts to accumulate, distribute, and dispose of our time, talents, wealth, and whatever the Lord gives to us, in our journey {279} through life, we will differ just as much as in our features. The point that the Lord wishes to bring us to is to obey his counsel and observe his word. Then every one will be dictated so that we can act as a family. 12:57.

But to the text. We want to see a community organized in which every person will be industrious, faithful and prudent. What will you do with the children? We will bring them up until they are of legal age, then say, "Go where you please. We have given you a splendid education, the advantage of all the learning of the day, and if you do not wish to stay with the Saints, go where you please." What will you do with those who apostatize after having entered into covenant and agreement with others, that their property shall be one, and be in the hands of trustees, and shall never be taken out? If any of these parties apostatize, and say we wish to withdraw from this community, what will you do with them? We will say to them, "Go, and welcome," and if we are disposed to give them anything, it is all right. 15:226.

I know how to start such a society, right in this city, and how to make its members rich. I would go to now, and buy out the poorest Ward in this city, and then commence with men and women who have not a dollar in the world. Bring them here from England, or any part of the earth, set them down in this Ward and put them to work, and in five years we would begin to enter other Wards, and we would buy this house and that house, and the next house, and we would add Ward to Ward until we owned the whole city, every dollar's worth of property there is in it. We could do this, and let the rich go to California to get gold, and we would buy their property. Would you like to know how to do this? I can tell you {280} in a very few words--never want a thing you cannot get, live within your means, manufacture that which you wear, and raise that which you eat. Raise every calf and lamb; raise the chickens, and have your eggs, make your butter and cheese, and always have a little to spare. The first year we raise a crop, and we have more than we want. We buy nothing, we sell a little. The next year we raise more; we buy nothing and we sell more. In this way we could pile up the gold and silver and in twenty years a hundred families working like this could buy out their neighbors. I see men who earn four, five, ten or fifteen dollars a day and spend every dime of it. Such men spend their means foolishly, they waste it instead of taking care of it. They do not know what to do with it, and they seem to fear that it will burn their pockets, and they get rid of it. If you get a dollar, sovereign, half-eagle or eagle, and are afraid it will burn your pockets, put it into a safe. It will not burn anything there, and you will not be forced to spend, spend, spend as you do now. 16:11.

I have looked upon the community of Latter-day Saints in vision and beheld them organized as one great family of heaven, each person performing his several duties in his line of industry, working for the good of the whole more than for individual aggrandizement; and in this I have beheld the most beautiful order that the mind of man can contemplate, and the grandest results for the upbuilding of the Kingdom of God and the spread of righteousness upon the earth. Will this people ever come to this order of things? Are they now prepared to live according to that patriarchal order that will be organized among the true and faithful before God receives his own? We all concede the point that when this mortality falls off, and with it its cares, anxieties, {281} love of self, love of wealth, and love of power, and all the conflicting interests which pertain to this flesh, that then, when our spirits have returned to God who gave them, we will be subject to every requirement that he may make of us, that we shall then live together as one great family; our interest will be a general, a common interest. Why can we not so live in this world? 12:153. {282}

Chapter XVI

THE WORD OF WISDOM

Moderation--By temperance and moderation lay the foundation for the development of the mind. 19:68.

Indulgence of appetite is not worthy the notice of men and women, though the body must be sustained, for that is a duty God has placed upon us. 8:141.

Satisfying the appetite brings to an end the pleasure of eating; and where food is partaken of chiefly to gratify the pleasureable sensation derived from eating, disease is engendered, and true misery springs out of this unwise gratification. Some healthy, strong-constitutioned persons can eat large quantities of food with apparent impunity; but, in so doing, the tax they place upon their systems will ultimately bring disease and death. 8:139.

As I said to the brethren the other day in the Thirteenth Ward schoolhouse, with regard to worldly pleasure, comfort, and enjoyment: you may take as much as you please of the Spirit of the Lord, and it will not make your stomach or head ache. You may drink nine cups of strong spiritual drink, and it will not hurt you; but if you drink nine cups of strong tea, see what it will do for you. Let a person that is very thirsty and warm satiate his appetite with cold water, and when he gets through he will perhaps have laid the foundation for death, and may go to an untimely grave, which is frequently done. Excessive eating, drinking, or exercise all tend to the grave. 11:329.

The blessings of food, sleep, and social enjoyment are ordained of God for his glory and our benefit, and it is for us to learn to use them and not abuse them, that his Kingdom {283} may advance on the earth, and we advance in it. 6:149.

The Word of Wisdom--This Word of Wisdom prohibits the use of hot drinks and tobacco. I have heard it argued that tea and coffee are not mentioned therein; that is very true; but what were the people in the habit of taking as hot drinks when that revelation was given? Tea and coffee. We were not in the habit of drinking water very hot, but tea and coffee--the beverages in common use. And the Lord said hot drinks are not good for the body nor the belly, liquor is not good for the body or the belly, but for the washing of the body, etc. Tobacco is not good, save for sick cattle, and for bruises and sores, its cleansing properties being then very useful. 13:277.

I know that some say the revelations upon these points are not given by way of commandment. Very well, but we are commanded to observe every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. 13:3.

Now I want you should recollect--Bishops, Elders of Israel, High Priests, Seventies, the Twelve Apostles, the First Presidency, and all the House of Israel, hearken ye. O my people! keep the word of the Lord, observe the Word of Wisdom, sustain one another, sustain the household of faith, and let our enemies alone. 12:29.

Now, Elders of Israel, if you have the right to chew tobacco, you have a privilege I have not; if you have a right to drink whisky, you have a right that I have not; if you have a right to transgress the Word of Wisdom, you have a right that I have not. 12:30.

I said to the Saints at our last annual Conference, the Spirit whispers to me to call upon the Latter-day Saints to observe the Word of Wisdom, to let tea, coffee, and tobacco alone, and to abstain from drinking spirituous drinks. {284} This is what the Spirit signifies through me. If the Spirit of God whispers this to his people through their leader, and they will not listen nor obey, what will be the consequences of their disobedience? Darkness and blindness of mind with regard to the things of God will be their lot; they will cease to have the spirit of prayer, and the spirit of the world will increase in them in proportion to their disobedience until they apostatize entirely from God and his ways. 12:118.

In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I command the Elders of Israel--those who have been in the habit of getting drunk--to cease drinking strong drink from this time henceforth. But some may think they need it as soon as they go out of this house. Let me be your physician in this matter. So long as you are able to walk and attend to your business, it is folly to say that you need ardent spirits to keep you alive. The constitution that a person has should be nourished and cherished; and whenever we take anything into the system to force and stimulate it beyond its natural capacity, it shortens life. I am physician enough to know that. When you are tired and think you need a little spirituous liquor, take some bread and butter or bread and milk, and lie down and rest. Do not labor so hard as to deem it requisite to get half drunk in order to keep up your spirits. If you will follow this counsel, you will be full of life and health, and you will increase your intelligence, your joy, and comfort. 7:337.

I now again request the authorities of this Church in their various localities to sever from this society those who will not cease getting drunk. 7:338.

It is my positive counsel and command that drinking liquor be stopped. If I had the influence the world gives me {285} credit for, I would not have a single drunkard, thief, or liar in this society. I do not profess to have that influence, but I can raise my voice against those evils. 1:337.

This Word of Wisdom which has been supposed to have become stale, and not in force, is like all the counsels of God, in force as much today as it ever was. There is life, everlasting life in it--the life which now is and the life which is to come. 12:209.

It is a piece of good counsel which the Lord desires his people to observe, that they may live on the earth until the measure of their creation is full. This is the object the Lord had in view in giving that Word of Wisdom. To those who observe it he will give great wisdom and understanding, increasing their health, giving strength and endurance to the faculties of their bodies and minds until they shall be full of years upon the earth. This will be their blessing if they will observe his word with a good and willing heart and in faithfulness before the Lord. 12:156.

Mankind would not become attached to these unnecessary articles were it not for the poison they contain. The poisonous or narcotic properties in spirits, tobacco and tea are the cause of their being so much liked by those who use them. 13:276.

I say to all the Elders of Israel, if it makes you sick and so sleepy that you cannot keep out of bed unless you have tobacco, go to bed and there lie. How long? Until you can get up and go to your business like rational men, like men who have heads on their shoulders and who are not controlled by their foolish appetites. I have said to my family, and I now say to all the sisters in the Church, if you cannot get up and do your washing without a cup of tea in the morning, go to bed, and there lie. How long? {286} Until the influence of tea is out of the system. Will it take a month? No matter if it does; if it takes three months, six months, or a year, it is better to lie there in bed until the influence of tea, coffee and liquor is out of the system, so that you may go about your business like rational persons, than to give way to these foolish habits. They are destructive to the human system; they filch money from our pockets, and they deprive the poor of the necessaries of life. 13:278.

The sisters may inquire, "What can we do?" Rule your own passions, and exercise faith until you can govern and control your appetites, instead of drinking tea, coffee, and hot drinks. That is one of the smallest duties I can think of. Permit your bodies to have natural forms; also take pains to have the bodies of your daughters grow naturally, and teach them what they are made for, and that they, through faith, must overcome every besetting sin and every unholy passion and appetite. 8:283.

And now that we have commenced to observe the Word of Wisdom, never treat resolution with a cup of tea or coffee, for as sure as you treat resolution once, it will plead hard for a treat again. Keep the Word of Wisdom--help the poor, feed the hungry, and clothe the naked. Never let it be said of the Territory of Utah that a poor person had to go to the second house for a morsel to eat. 12:54-55.

Many of our sisters think they cannot live without tea. I will tell you what we can do--I have frequently said it to my brethren and sisters--if they cannot live without tea, coffee, brandy, whiskey, wine, beer, tobacco, etc., they can die without them. This is beyond controversy. If we had the determination that we should have, we would live without them or die without them. Let the mother {287} impregnate her system with these narcotic influences when she is bringing forth a family on the earth, and what does she do? She lays the foundation of weakness, palpitation of the heart, nervous affections, and many other ills and diseases in the system of her offspring that will afflict them from the cradle to the grave. Is this righteous or unrighteous, good or evil? Let my sisters ask and answer the question for themselves, and the conclusion which each and every one of them may come to is this, "If I do an injury to my child, I sin." 13:276.

Last week I received a note in which was enclosed three dollars from a sister; I cannot tell her name, for she did not give it. She said she had not drunk any tea since Conference, and she had saved about three dollars, which she enclosed for me to do good with. I felt "God bless her," and she will be blessed as sure as she lives. 12:52.

If you observe faithfully the Word of Wisdom, you will have your dollar, your five dollars, your hundred dollars, yea, you will have your hundreds of dollars to spend for that which will be useful and profitable to you. Why should we continue to practice in our lives those pernicious habits that have already sapped the foundation of the human constitution, and shortened the life of man to that degree that a generation passes away in the brief period of from twenty-seven to twenty-nine years? The strength, power, beauty and glory that once adorned that form and constitution of man have vanished away before the blighting influences of inordinate appetite and love of this world. The health and power and beauty that once adorned the noble form of man must again be restored to our race; and God designs that we shall engage in this great work of restoration. Then let us not trifle with our mission, by indulging in the use {288} of injurious substances. These lay the foundation of disease and death in the systems of men, and the same are committed to their children, and another generation of feeble human beings is introduced into the world. Such children have insufficient bone, sinew, muscle, and constitution, and are of little use to themselves, or to their fellow creatures; they are not prepared for life. 12:118.

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.

So we see that almost the very first teachings the first Elders of this Church received were as to what to eat, what to drink, and how to order their natural lives that they might be united temporally as well as spiritually. This is the great purpose which God has in view in sending to the world, by his servants, the Gospel of life and salvation. 12:158.

There is more strength and nutriment in a bowl of water gruel than there is in tea; and there is no unhealthy influence in the water gruel, but there is in tea and coffee. 11:350.

Live Long. Take care of yourselves, and live as long as you can, and do all the good you can. 4:302.

The first principle that pertains to the intelligence God has bestowed upon us is to know how to preserve the present organization with which we are endowed. It is man's first duty to his existence, a knowledge of which would cause him to use all prudent efforts for the preservation {289} of his life on the earth until his work here is completed. 8:281.

Prepare to die, is not the exhortation in this Church and Kingdom; but prepare to live is the word with us, and improve all we can in the life hereafter, wherein we may enjoy a more exalted condition of intelligence, wisdom, light, knowledge, power, glory, and exaltation. Then let us seek to extend the present life to the uttermost, by observing every law of health, and by properly balancing labor, study, rest, and recreation, and thus prepare for a better life. Let us teach these principles to our children, that, in the morning of their days, they may be taught to lay the foundation of health and strength and constitution and power of life in their bodies. 11:132.

This is the duty of the human family, instead of wasting their lives and the lives of their fellow-beings, and the precious time God has given us to improve our minds and bodies by observing the laws of life, so that the longevity of the human family may begin to return. By and by, according to the Scriptures, the days of a man shall be like the days of a tree. But in those days people will not eat and drink as they do now; if they do their days will not be like a tree, unless it be a very short-lived tree. This is our business. 14:89.

We are trying to become natural in our habits, and are striving to fulfil the end and design of our creation. 13:233.

The fathers and mothers have laid the foundation for many of these diseases, from generation to generation, until the people are reduced to their present condition. True, some live to from fifty to ninety years of age, but it is an unusual circumstance to see a man an hundred years old, or a woman ninety. The people have laid the foundation of {290} short life through their diet, their rest, their labor, and their doing this, that, and the other in a wrong manner, with improper motives, and at improper times. 2:269.

You, mothers and daughters in Israel, who are taking this course, how do you expect to live to accomplish the work the Lord has assigned you? You get up in the morning and have your cup of tea, your fried ham, your cold beef and mince pies, and everything you can possibly cram into the stomach, until you surfeit the system and lay the foundation for disease and early death. Says the mother--"Do eat, my little daughter, you are sick; take a piece of pie, toast, or meat, or drink a little tea or coffee; you must take something or other." Mothers in Israel, such a course engenders disease, and you are laying a foundation that will cut off one-half or two-thirds of the lives of your children. 12:37.

Eating for Health--Instead of doing two days' work in one day, wisdom would dictate to our sisters, and to every other person, that if they desire long life and good health, they must, after sufficient exertion, allow the body to rest before it is entirely exhausted. When exhausted, some argue that they need stimulants in the shape of tea, coffee, spirituous liquors, tobacco, or some of those narcotic substances which are often taken to goad on the lagging powers to greater exertions. But instead of these kind of stimulants they should recruit by rest. Work less, wear less, eat less, and we shall be a great deal wiser, healthier, and wealthier people than by taking the course we now do. It is difficult to find anything more healthy to drink than good cold water, such as flows down to us from springs and snows of our mountains. This is the beverage we should drink. It should be our drink at all times. If we {291} constantly drink even malt liquor made from our barley and wheat, our health would be injured more or less thereby. It may be remarked that some men who use spirituous liquors and tobacco are healthy, but I argue that they would be much more healthy if they did not use it, and then they are entitled to the blessings promised to those who observe the advice given in the "Word of Wisdom." Some few persons who have been addicted to the use of hot drinks, etc. have reached the age of eighty, eighty-three, and eighty-four years, but had they not been addicted to such habits of living they might have reached the age of an hundred or an hundred and five years. 12:122.

I do not mean to go without food and go to fasting. This is the other extreme. A sufficient amount of food that will agree with the-stomach is healthy, and should be partaken of. Aged or middle aged, youth or children, never should go without food until their stomachs are faint, demanding something to sustain their systems, and continue to undergo this; for this lays the foundation of weakness, and this weakness will tempt disease. But keep the stomach in a perfectly healthy condition. Now I do not mean fasting, but eating moderately; and if my sisters will go home and commence to adopt this rule, you will find that you begin to get better, your children and neighbors will get better. We do not expect all to be free from sickness. I have had a great deal of sickness in my life. I do not expect to be free from the ills, the weakness, debility and disease that prey upon the human family, but we can amend our ways, and amend our life by being prudent; and I wish the sisters to understand this, and to adopt these instructions. 19:68.

The citizens of this city are tolerably comfortable; a {292} great many of them have an abundance of fruit, and they enjoy it. It is very healthy for them and their children to eat in the season thereof. 11:141.

As we got richer and built warm houses, and have lived more richly, indulging in sweet cake, plum pudding, roast beef and so on, we have had more or less disease among us. 13:132.

Go into their houses and you will find beef, pork, apple pie, custard pie, pumpkin pie, mince pie, and every luxury, and they live so as to shorten their days and the days of their children. You may think that these things are not of much importance; no more they are, unless they are observed, but let the people observe them and they lay the foundation for longevity, and they will begin to live out their days, not only a hundred years, but, by and by, hundreds of years on the earth. Do you think they will stuff themselves then with tea and coffee, and perhaps with a little brandy sling before breakfast and a little before going to bed, and then beef, pork, mutton, sweet meats, and pastry, morning, noon and night? No; you will find they will live as our first parents did, on fruits and on a little simple food, and they will never overload the stomach. 12:37.

Suppose I happen to say, "Come, wife, let us have a good dinner today"; what does she get? Pork and beef boiled, stewed, roasted, and fried potatoes, onions, cabbage, and turnips, custard, eggs, pies of all kinds, cheese and sweet meats. 2:269.

A thorough reformation is needed in regard to our eating and drinking, and on this point I will freely express myself, and shall be glad if the people will hear, believe and obey. If the people were willing to receive the true knowledge from heaven in regard to their diet they would cease {293} eating swine's flesh. I know this as well as Moses knew it, and without putting it in a code of commandments. The beef fed upon our mountain grasses is as healthy food as we need at present. Beef, so fattened, is as good as wild meat, and is quite different in its nature from stall-fed meat. But we can eat fish; and I ask the people of this community, Who hinders you from raising fowls for their eggs? Who hinders you from cultivating fruit of every variety that will flourish in the different parts of this Territory? There has not been a day through the whole winter that I have not had fresh peaches, and plenty of apples and strawberries. Who hinders any person in this community from having these different kinds of food in their families? Fish is as healthy a food as we can eat, if we except vegetables and fruit, and with them will become a very wholesome diet. 12:192.

When we go on a trip to the settlements and stop at the brethren's houses, it is, "Brother Brigham, let us manifest our feelings towards you and your company." I tell them to do so, but give me a piece of Johnny-cake; I would rather have it than their pies and tarts and sweet meats. Let me have something that will sustain nature and leave my stomach and whole system clear to receive the Spirit of the Lord and be free from headache and pains of every kind.

The Americans, as a nation, are killing themselves with their vices and high living. As much as a man ought to eat in half an hour they swallow in three minutes, gulping down their food like the canine quadruped under the table, which, when a chunk of meat is thrown down to it, swallows it before you can say "twice." If you want a reform, carry out the advice I have just given you. Dispense {294} with your multitudinous dishes, and, depend upon it, you will do much towards preserving your families from sickness, disease and death.

If this method were adopted in this community, I will venture to say that it would add ten years to the lives of our children. That is worth a great deal. 13:153-154.

If the days of man are to begin to return, we must cease all extravagant living. When men live to the age of a tree, their food will be fruit. Mothers, to produce offspring full of life and days, must cease drinking liquor, tea, and coffee, that their systems may be free from bad effects. If every woman in this Church will now cease drinking tea, coffee, liquor, and all other powerful stimulants, and live upon vegetables, etc. not many generations will pass away before the days of man will again return. But it will take generations to eradicate entirely the influences of deleterious substances. 8:63.

Living out-of-Doors--People need not be afraid of living out of doors, nor sleeping out of doors. This country is much healthier than the lowlands in the States, or than many places in the Old World. 4:92.

Good pure air is the greatest sustainer of animal life. Other elements of life we can dispense with for a time, but this seems to be essential every moment; hence the necessity of well ventilated dwelling-houses, especially the rooms occupied for sleeping. You can live without water and food longer than you can without air, and water is of more importance than meat and bread. 8:168.

The out-door air is what the people need for health, it is good for them to camp out. Close houses are injurious to the health; if our houses were every one of them levelled to the ground, and we were obliged to live in our wagons {295} and tents, the people would be healthier, from year to year, than they are now. Good houses are comfortable and very convenient, and please our feelings, and are tolerably healthful when properly ventilated. 2:284.

What gives the people colds and makes them sick? You hear many say "I had not had a cold this fall, until I came into our new house." Brethren and sisters that have come into the city from living in the canyons, and those who have arrived from the States this season, have not been troubled with colds until they came into warm houses; that gives them colds, by depriving their lungs of the benefit they are organized to receive from the atmosphere. 4:91.

We should have plenty of pure, fresh air. If children are kept in close bed-rooms, they become puny and weakly. Let them sleep where they can have abundance of pure air, in well ventilated rooms, or out of doors, in the summer time, in a safe place; it will be most beneficial for their health. 12:218.

Exercise and Mental Vigor--Do you know that it is your privilege so to live that your minds may all the time be perfectly within your control? Study to preserve your bodies in life and health, and you will be able to control your minds. 8:135.

My mind becomes tired, and perhaps some of yours do. If so, go and exercise your bodies. 6:148.

In the eastern country there was a man who used to go crazy, at times, and then come to his senses again. One of his neighbors asked him what made him go crazy; he replied, "I get to thinking, and thinking, until finally I think so far that I am not always able to think back again." Can you think too much for the spirit which is put in the tabernacle? {296} You can, and this is a subject which I wish the brethren instructed upon, and the people to understand. The spirit is the intelligent part of man, and is intimately connected with the tabernacle. Let this intelligent part labor to excess, and it will eventually overcome the tabernacle, the equilibrium will be destroyed, and the whole organization deranged. Many people have deranged themselves by thinking too much.

The thinking part is the immortal or invisible portion, and it is that which performs the mental labor; then the tabernacle, which is formed and organized for that express purpose, brings about or effects the result of that mental labor. Let the body work with the mind, and let them both labor fairly together, and, with but few exceptions, you will have a strong-minded, athletic individual, powerful both physically and mentally.

When you find the thinking faculty perfectly active, in a healthy person, it should put the physical organization into active operation, and the result of the reflection is carried out, and the object is accomplished. In such a person you will see mental and physical health and strength combined, in their perfection. 3:247.

As for health, it is far healthier to walk than to ride, and better every way for the people. 4:103.

Many persons are so constituted, that if you put them in a parlor, keep a good fire for them, furnish them tea, cake, sweet meats, etc., and nurse them tenderly, soaking their feet, and putting them to bed, they will die in a short time; but throw them into snow banks, and they will live a great many years. Brother Heywood would have been in his grave long ago, if he had not led an out-door life, and {297} such is the case with others; but he is again here, and we have the privilege of seeing him. 4:295.

Physiological Differences--The study and practice of anatomy and surgery are very good; they are mechanical, and are frequently needed. Do you not think it is necessary to give medicine sometimes? Yes, I can see the faces of this congregation, but I do not see two alike; and if I could look into your nervous systems and behold the operations of disease, from the crowns of your heads to the soles of your feet, I should behold the same difference that I see in your physiognomy--there would be no two precisely alike. Doctors make experiments, and if they find a medicine that will have the desired effect on one person, they set it down that it is good for everybody, but it is not so, for upon the second person that medicine is administered to, seemingly with the same disease, it might produce death. If you do not know this, you have not had the experience that I have. I say that unless a man or woman who administers medicine to assist the human system to overcome disease, understands, and has that intuitive knowledge, by the Spirit, that such an article is good for that individual at that very time, they had better let him alone. Let the sick do without eating, take a little of something to cleanse the stomach, bowels and blood, and wait patiently, and let nature have time to gain the advantage over the disease. 15:225.

Feeding Children--Now, mothers, if you want to do good, do not let your sons and daughters drink either tea or coffee, while under your protection. 11:352.

Some mothers, when bearing children, long for tea and coffee, or for brandy and other strong drinks, and if they give way to that influence the next time they will want {298} more, and the next still more, and thus lay the foundation for drunkenness in their offspring. An appetite is engendered, bred, and born in the child, and it is a miracle if it does not grow up a confirmed drunkard. 2:270.

Infants, children, youth, young men, and young women, thousands and tens of thousands of them, go to an untimely grave through the diseases engendered in their systems by their progenitors. 13:276.

Sisters, will you take notice, and instruct those who are not here today, to adopt this rule--stop your children from eating meat, and especially fat meat; let them have composition to drink, instead of unhealthy water; let them eat a little milk porridge; let them eat sparingly and not oppress the stomach so as to create a fever. No matter whether it is a child or a middle-aged person, whenever the stomach is over-loaded and charged with more than is required it creates a fever; this fever creates sickness, until death relieves the sufferer. 19:68.

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. 10:28.

Children should have milk, bread, water, and potatoes; and everything that would lay the foundation for disease should be strenuously kept from their stomachs, that no appetites may be formed for pernicious substances, which, when formed, cannot be overcome easily, if at all. 2:21.

I will tell you how you can enjoy health. You let your children have a little milk in the morning. Give them a little bread with it--not soft bread; teach your children to eat crust--hard baked bread, that the Americans would call stale, but the English would not. Teach them to eat this, {299} and to eat sparingly. Instead of drinking unhealthy water, boil such water, and let it stand until it is cool. If the children are in the least troubled with summer complaint, and are weak in their bowels, make a weak composition tea, sweeten it with loaf sugar and put a little nice cream in it; and let the children make a practice of drinking composition instead of cold water. Mothers, keep the children from eating meat; and let them eat vegetables that are fully matured, not unripe, and bread that is well baked, not soft. Do not put your loaf into the oven with a fire hot enough to burn it before it is baked through, but with a slow heat, and let it remain until it is perfectly baked; and I would prefer, for my own eating, each and every loaf to be not thicker than my two hands--you tell how thick they are--and I would want the crust as thick as my hand. 19:67.

Be careful of your bodies; be prudent in laying out your energies, for when you are old you will need the strength and power you are now wasting. Preserve your lives. Until you know and practice this, you are not thoroughly good soldiers nor wise stewards. 8:136-137. {300}

Chapter XVII

THE FAMILY

Virtue--Purity preserves, sustains and increases. 16:108.

The principle of pure affection is the gift of God, and it is for us to learn to control it and exercise proper dominion over it. 6:149.

Learn the will of God, keep his commandments and do his will, and you will be a virtuous person. 3:204.

Any man who humbles a daughter of Eve to rob her of her virtue, and cast her off dishonored and defiled, is her destroyer, and is responsible to God for the deed. If the refined Christian society of the nineteenth century will tolerate such a crime, God will not; but he will call the perpetrator to an account. He will be damned; in hell he will lift up his eyes, being in torment, until he has paid the uttermost farthing, and made a full atonement for his sins. 11:268.

The defiler of the innocent is the one who should be branded with infamy and cast out from respectable society, and shunned as a pest, or, as a contagious disease, is shunned. The doors of respectable families should be closed against him, and he should be frowned upon by all high-minded and virtuous persons. Wealth, influence and position should not screen him from their righteous indignation. His sin is one of the blackest in the calendar of crime, and he should be cast down from the high pinnacle of respectability and consideration, to find his place among the worst of felons. 11:267.

I would rather follow her to the grave, and send her {301} home pure, than suffer my daughter to be prostituted. I will not suffer any female member of my family to be polluted through the corruptions of wicked men. 2:322.

Ever since I knew that my mother was a woman I loved the sex, and delighted in their chastity. The man who abuses, or tries to bring dishonor upon the female sex is a fool, and does not know that his mother and his sisters were women. 12:194.

Marriage--Let every man in the land over eighteen years of age take a wife, and then go to work with your hands and cultivate the earth, or labor at some mechanical business, or some honest trade to provide an honest living for yourselves and those who depend upon you for their subsistence; observing temperance, and loving truth and virtue; then would the woman be cared for, be nourished, honored and blest, becoming honorable mothers of a race of men and women farther advanced in physical and mental perfection than their fathers. This would create a revolution in our country, and would produce results that would be of incalculable good. 12:194-195.

Young men, fit you up a little log cabin, if it is not more than ten feet square, and then get you a bird to put in your little cage. You can then work all day with satisfaction to yourself considering that you have a home to go to, and a loving heart to welcome you. You will then have something to encourage you to labor and gather around you the comforts of life, and a place to gather them to. Strive to make your little home attractive. Use lime freely, and let your houses nestle beneath the cool shades of trees, and be made fragrant with perfume of flowers. 12:204.

The Lord says--Let my servants and handmaidens be sealed, and let their children be sealed. 12:164. {302}

We understand that we are to be made kings and priests unto God; now if I be made the king and lawgiver to my family, and if I have many sons, I shall become the father of many fathers, for they will have sons, and their sons will have sons, and so on, from generation to generation, and, in this way, I may become the father of many fathers, or the king of many kings. This will constitute every man a prince, king, lord, or whatever the Father sees fit to confer upon us.

In this way we can become king of kings, and lord of lords, or father of fathers, or prince of princes, and this is the only course, for another man is not going to raise up a kingdom for you. 3:265-266.

But the whole subject of the marriage relation is not in my reach, nor in any other man's reach on this earth. It is without beginning of days or end of years; it is a hard matter to reach. We can tell some things with regard to it; it lays the foundation for worlds, for angels, and for the Gods; for intelligent beings to be crowned with glory, immortality, and eternal lives. In fact, it is the thread which runs from the beginning to the end of the holy Gospel of Salvation--of the Gospel of the Son of God; it is from eternity to eternity. 2:90.

When a man and woman have received their endowments and sealings[A], and then had children born to them afterwards, those children are legal heirs to the Kingdom and to all its blessings and promises, and they are the only ones that are on this earth. There is not a young man in our community who would not be willing to travel from here to England to be married right, if he understood things as they are; there is not a young woman in our community, {303} who loves the Gospel and wishes its blessings, that would be married in any other way; they would live unmarried until they could be married as they should be, if they lived until they were as old as Sarah before she had Isaac born to her. Many of our brethren have married off their children without taking this into consideration, and thinking it a matter of little importance. I wish we all understood this in the light in which heaven understands it. 11:118.

[Footnote A: In the Temple--For Eternity.]

Our children who are born in the Priesthood are legal heirs, and entitled to the revelations of the Lord, and as the Lord lives, his angels have charge over them, though they may be left to themselves occasionally. 12:174.

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 honors his Priesthood. 8:345.

I will give each of the young men in Israel, who have arrived at an age to marry, a mission to go straightway and get married to a good sister, fence a city lot, lay out garden and orchard and make a home. This is the mission that I give to all young men in Israel. And I say to you, sisters, if you do not know how to milk a cow, you can soon learn. If you do not know how to feed the cows, you can learn. If you do not know how to feed the chickens, get them and learn how, and if your husband takes you to live in ever so small and humble a cottage, make it neat and nice and clean, and set out flowers around the doors, and let the husband plant fruit trees and shade trees, and let wives help their husbands that they may be encouraged to take hold of more important business that will create an income sufficient to sustain their wives, and by economy and care become wealthy in a short time, and have your carriage to ride in. What a satisfaction it will be to you to know that {304} what you possess is the result of your industry and economy. 12:200-201.

Do Not Marry Unbelievers--Be careful, O ye mothers in Israel, and do not teach your daughters in future, as many of them have been taught, to marry out of Israel. Woe to you who do it; you will lose your crowns as sure as God lives. 12:97.

What was the cause of the first, or one of the first, curses that came upon Israel? I will tell you. One of the first transgressions of the family called Israel, was their going to other families or other nations to select partners. This was one of the great mistakes made by the children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, for they would go and marry with other families, although the Lord had forbidden them to do so, and had given them a very strict and stringent law on the subject. He commanded them not to marry among the Gentiles, but they did and would do it. Inasmuch as they would not do what he required of them, then he gave them what I call a portion of the law of carnal commandments. This law told them what they might and whom they might not marry. It was referred to by the Savior and his Apostles and it was a grievous yoke to place on the necks of any people; but as the children of this family would run after Babylon, and after the pride and the vanity and evils of the world, and seek to introduce them into Israel, the Lord saw fit to place this burden upon them. 16:111.

How is it with you, sisters? Do you distinguish between a man of God and a man of the world? It is one of the strangest things that happens in my existence, to think that any man or woman can love a being that will not receive the truth of heaven. The love this Gospel produces {305} is far above the love of women; it is the love of God--the love of eternity--of eternal lives. 8:199-200.

Birth Control--There are multitudes of pure and holy spirits waiting to take tabernacles, now what is our duty?--To prepare tabernacles for them; to take a course that will not tend to drive those spirits into the families of the wicked, where they will be trained in wickedness, debauchery, and every species of crime. It is the duty of every righteous man and woman to prepare tabernacles for all the spirits they can. 4:56.

This is the reason why the doctrine of plurality of wives was revealed, that the noble spirits which are waiting for tabernacles might be brought forth. 4:56.

To check the increase of our race has its advocates among the influential and powerful circles of society in our nation and in other nations. The same practice existed forty-five years ago, and various devices were used by married persons to prevent the expenses and responsibilities of a family of children, which they must have incurred had they suffered nature's laws to rule preeminent. That which was practiced then in fear and against reproving conscience, is now boldly trumpeted abroad as one of the best means of ameliorating the miseries and sorrows of humanity. Infanticide is very prevalent in our nation. It is a crime that comes within the purview of the law, and is therefore not so boldly practiced as is the other equally great crime, which no doubt, to a great extent, prevents the necessity of infanticide. The unnatural style of living, the extensive use of narcotics, the attempts to destroy and dry up the fountains of life, are fast destroying the American element of the nation; it is passing away before the increase of the more healthy, robust, honest, and less sinful class of the {306} people which are pouring into the country daily from the Old World. The wife of the servant man is the mother of eight or ten healthy children, while the wife of his master is the mother of one or two poor, sickly children, devoid of vitality and constitution, and, if daughters, unfit, in their turn, to be mothers, and the health and vitality which nature has denied them through the irregularities of their parents are not repaired in the least by their education. 12:120-121.

The Husband--Let the father be the head of the family, the master of his own household; and let him treat them as an angel would treat them; and let the wives and the children say amen to what he says, and be subject to his dictates, instead of their dictating the man, instead of their trying to govern him. 4:55.

Now let me say to the First Presidency, to the Apostles, to all the Bishops in Israel, and to every quorum, and especially to those who are presiding officers, Set that example before your wives and your children, before your neighbors and this people, that you can say: "Follow me, as I follow Christ." When we do this, all is right, and our consciences are clear! 15:229.

I exhort you, masters, fathers, and husbands, to be affectionate and kind to those you preside over. And let them be obedient, let the wife be subject to her husband, and the children to their parents. Mothers, let your minds be sanctified before the Lord, for this is the commencement, the true foundation of a proper education in your children, the beginning point to form a disposition in your offspring, that will bring honor, glory, comfort, and satisfaction to you all your life time. 1:69.

Let the husband and father learn to bend his will to the {307} 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 neighbors also, showing them how to be brave and steadfast, in subduing the rebellious and sinful disposition. Such a course as this will eventually subdue that unhallowed influence which works upon the human heart. 9:256.

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. 10:28.

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, etc., beautifying your habitations and their surroundings, making pavements and planting shade trees. 10:177.

I have been into houses which have not had the least convenience for the women, not so much as a bench to set their water pails on, and they have to set them on the floor, and yet their husbands will sit there year after year, and never make so much improvement as a bench to set the pail on. Yet they have the ability, but they will not exercise it. 18:75.

The father should be full of kindness, and endeavor to {308} happify and cheer the mother, that her heart may be comforted and her affections unimpaired in her earthly protector, that her love for God and righteousness may vibrate throughout her whole being, that she may bear and bring forth offspring impressed and endowed with all the qualities necessary to a being designed to reign king of kings and lord of lords. 8:62.

The Wife--You cannot read in the Bible that women take the lead--that the responsibility is upon the women, for it is not so. 9:143.

One thing is very true and we believe it, and that is that a woman is the glory of the man; but she was not made to be worshiped by him. As the Scriptures say, Man is not without the woman, neither is woman without the man in the Lord. Yet woman was not made to be worshiped anymore than man was. Woman has her influence, and she should use that in training her children in the way they should go; if she fails to do this she assumes fearful responsibilities. 14:106.

I have a word to say to my sisters. When I reflect upon the duties and responsibilities devolving upon our mothers and sisters, and the influence they wield, I look upon them as the mainspring and soul of our being here. It is true that man is first. Father Adam was placed here as king of the earth, to bring it into subjection. But when Mother Eve came she had a splendid influence over him. A great many have thought it was not very good; I think it was excellent.

Now, I say the women have great influence. Look at the nations of the earth. Any nation you like, no matter which, and you enlist the sympathies of the female portion of it and what is there you cannot perform? If the government wants soldiers, they are on hand; if means, it is forthcoming. {309} If you want influence and power, and have the ladies on your side, they will give it you. 14:102.

Now, a few words directly to my sisters here in the Kingdom of God. We want your influence and power in helping to build up that Kingdom and what I wish to say to you is simply this, if you will govern and control yourselves in all things in accordance with good, sound, common sense and the principles of truth and righteousness, there is not the least fear but what father, uncle, grandfather, brothers, and sons will follow in the wake. 14:102.

You ought to love a woman only so far as she adorns the doctrine you profess. 3:360.

The mothers are the moving instruments in the hands of Providence to guide the destinies of nations. Let the mothers of any nation teach their children not to make war, the children would grow up and never enter into it. Let the mothers teach their children, "War, war upon your enemies, yes, war to the hilt!" and they will be filled with this spirit. Consequently, you see at once what I wish to impress upon your mind is, that the mothers are the machinery that give zest to the whole man, and guide the destinies and lives of men upon the earth. 19:72.

It is the right of the mother who labors in the kitchen, with her little prattling children around, to enjoy the Spirit of Christ, and to know her duty with regard to those children; but it is not her duty and privilege to dictate to her husband in his duties and business. If that mother or wife enjoys the gift and power of the Holy Ghost, she will never intrude upon the rights of her husband. It is the right and privilege of the husband to know his duty with regard to his wives and children, his flocks and his herds, his fields and his possessions; though I have seen women who, I {310} thought, actually knew more about the business of life than their husbands themselves did, and were really more capable of directing a farm, the building of a house, and the management of flocks and herds, etc., than the men were; but if men were to live up to their privileges this would not be the case; for it is their right to, claim the light of truth and that intelligence and knowledge necessary to enable them to carry on every branch of their business successfully. 11:135.

Study order and cleanliness in your various occupations. Adorn your city and neighborhood. Make your homes lovely, and adorn your hearts with the grace of God. 8:297.

You may say that it is hard work to please a man; yes, and woman too. But when a man does his duty in providing for a family, there can reasonably be but little complaint on the part of any sensible woman. 4:314.

Many of the sisters grieve because they are not blessed with offspring. You will see the time when you will have millions of children around you. If you are faithful to your covenants, you will be mothers of nations. 8:208.

It is your right, wives, to ask your husbands to set out beautiful shade and fruit trees, and to get you some vines and flowers with which to adorn the outside of your dwellings; and if your husbands have not time, get them yourselves and plant them out. Some, perhaps, will say, "O, I have nothing but a log house, and it is not worth that." Yes; it is worth it. Whitewash and plaster it up, and get vines to run over the door, so that everybody who passes will say, "What a lovely little cottage!" This is your privilege and I wish you to exercise yourselves in your own rights. 14:105. {311}

It is not my general practice to counsel the sisters to disobey their husbands, but my counsel is--obey your husbands; and I am sanguine and most emphatic on that subject. But I never counseled a woman to follow her husband to the Devil. If a man is determined to expose the lives of his friends, let that man go to the Devil and to destruction alone. 1:77.

A few words to the sisters, you mothers who are trifling with the ordinances of the house of God, and the blessings that are proffered to you, I will say that the time will come, if you persist in doing so, when you will mourn, and will be willing to give worlds, if you possessed them, for the privilege of living your lives over again. Some of you are treating with contempt the oracles of the Kingdom of God upon the earth, and in the commission of this sin you trifle with your own salvation, as well as the salvation of your children. Repent, and turn unto God, and teach your children the importance of doing the same, and of the sacredness of the ordinances and the laws of God. 18:263.

The duty of the mother is to watch over her children and give them their early education, for impressions received in infancy are lasting. You know, yourselves, by experience, that the impressions you have received in the dawn of your mortal existence, bear, to this day, with the greatest weight upon your mind. The child reposes implicit confidence in the mother, you behold in him a natural attachment, no matter what her appearance may be, that makes him think his mother is the best and handsomest mother in the world. I speak for myself. Children have all confidence in their mothers; and if mothers would take proper pains, they can instill into the hearts of their children what they please. You will, no doubt, recollect reading, in the {312} Book of Mormon, of two thousand young men, who were brought up to believe that, if they put their whole trust in God, and served him, no power would overcome them. You also recollect reading of them going out to fight, and so bold were they, and so mighty their faith, that it was impossible for their enemies to slay them. This power and faith they obtained through the teachings of their mothers.

These duties and responsibilities devolve upon mothers far more than upon fathers, for you know the latter are often in the field or canyon, and are frequently away from home, sometimes for several days together, attending to labors which compel them to be absent from home. But the mother is at home with the children continually; and if they are taught lessons of usefulness it depends upon her. 14:105.

Mothers, remember that when your husbands are engaged in the service of the Church, and are all the time occupied in the duties of the Priesthood, so that they have not time to instruct their children, the duty devolves upon you. Then bring your children up in the ways of truth, and be to them both a father and mother, until they are old enough to perform duties by the side, and under the immediate eye, of their father. I like to see mothers bring their children to meeting, as soon as they can be brought without injuring them, and when they can tell what they want, and call for water when they are faint. As soon as they are old enough to receive instruction, bring them here to be taught. 2:21.

Were I a woman possessed of great powers of mind, filled with wisdom, and, upon the whole, a magnanimous woman, and had been privileged with my choice, and had married a man, and found myself deceived, he not answering {313} my expectations, and I being sorry that I had made such a choice, let me show my wisdom by not complaining about it. A woman's wisdom and judgment has failed her once in the choice of a husband, and it may again, if she is not very careful. By seeking to cast off her husband--by withdrawing her confidence and good will from him, she casts a dark shade upon his path, when, by pursuing a proper course of love, obedience, and encouragement, he might attain to that perfection she had anticipated in him. 7:280.

Is it not a blessing to you, mothers, to raise up Prophets and Apostles--men filled with the glory of God, to go forth and extend the work of our God? 8:92.

I can say to the sisters, if you have superior talents, arise and let your light shine. Prove to your neighbors and the community that you are capable of teaching those sisters whom you deem to be ignorant or neglectful. 7:162.

Children--I wish to say to the children, obey your parents, be good, never suffer yourselves to do that which will mortify you through life, and that will cause you to look back with regret. While you are pure and spotless preserve yourselves in the integrity of your souls. Although you are young you know good from evil, and live so that you can look back on your lives and thank the Lord that he has preserved you, or has enabled you to preserve yourselves, so that you have no misconduct to regret or mourn over. Take this course and you will secure to yourselves an honorable name on earth among the good and the pure; you will maintain your integrity before heaven, and prove yourselves worthy of a high state of glory when you get through with this world. 14:200.

You may say to yourselves, "If I can do as well as my {314} parents, I think I shall do well, and be as good as I want to be, and I should not strive to excel them." But if you do your duty you will far excel them in everything that is good--in holiness, in physical and intellectual strength, for this is your privilege, and it becomes your duty. 2:18.

Our young folks who have arrived at years of maturity should think and act for themselves. They are citizens of the earth; they have a share here, and have a part to bear--a character to form and frame and present to the world, or they will sink into oblivion and forgetfulness. 13:263.

The spirits which are reserved have to be born into the world, and the Lord will prepare some way for them to have tabernacles. 3:264.

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. 9:196.

Those whom I once knew as little boys are growing out of my recollection; these young men know nothing but "Mormonism." They are in some instances called wild and ungovernable; but these wild boys, properly guided and directed, will make the greatest men who have ever lived upon this earth; and I want them to throw aside their diffidence and come up and shake hands with me, and say, "How do you do, Brother Brigham?" for I feel warmly towards them. 11:118.

Family Life--If every person, who professes to be a Latter-day Saint, was actually a Saint, our home would be a paradise, there would be nothing heard, nothing felt, nothing realized, but praise to the name of our God, doing our duty, and keeping his commandments. 3:254. {315}

To gain the spiritual ascendancy over ourselves, and the influences with which we are surrounded, through a rigid course of self-discipline, is our first consideration, it is our first labor, before we can pave the way for our children to grow up without sin unto salvation. 2:131.

In my experience I have learned that the greatest difficulty that exists in the little bickerings and strifes of man with man, woman with woman, children with children, parents with children, brothers with sisters, and sisters with brothers, arises from the want of rightly understanding each other. 4:368.

In our daily pursuits in life, of whatever nature and kind, Latter-day Saints, and especially those who hold important positions in the Kingdom of God, should maintain a uniform and even temper, both when at home and when abroad. They should not suffer reverses and unpleasant circumstances to sour their natures and render them fretful and unsocial at home, speaking words full of bitterness and biting acrimony to their wives and children, creating gloom and sorrow in their habitations, making themselves feared rather than loved by their families. Anger should never be permitted to rise in our bosoms, and words suggested by angry feelings should never be permitted to pass our lips. "A soft answer turneth away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger." "Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous;" but "the discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression." 11:136.

Fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters are no more to me than are any other persons, unless they embrace this work. Here are my fathers, my mothers, my sisters, and my brethren in the Kingdom, and I have none outside of it, neither in any part of the earth, nor in all the eternity of {316} the Gods. In this Kingdom are my acquaintances, relatives, and friends,--my soul, my affections, my all. 8:199.

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 Savior, 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. 9:155.

If children have sinned against their parents, or husbands against their wives, or wives against their husbands, let them confess their faults one to another and forgive each other, and there let the confession stop; and then let them ask pardon from their God. Confess your sins to whoever you have sinned against, and let it stop there. If you have committed a sin against the community, confess to them. If you have sinned in your family, confess there. Confess your sins, iniquities, and follies, where that confession belongs, and learn to classify your actions. 4:78.

Let us live so that the spirit of our religion will live within us, then we have peace, joy, happiness and contentment, which makes such pleasant fathers, pleasant mothers, pleasant children, pleasant households, neighbors, communities and cities. That is worth living for, and I do think that the Latter-day Saints ought to strive for this. 15:135.

I will illustrate the method of establishing confidence in each other by taking, for example, the child of four or five years of age. The mother allows that child to own a small chest in which to keep his little trinkets, such as little bosom pins, ribbons, doll clothes, etc. This is considered {317} by all the family the child's chest. Now let none go into that chest and take anything from it, without the consent of the child. This is a very small matter, some may think; but begin at as small a point as this to create confidence, and let it grow up from little to much. Wives, let your husband's stores alone, if they have not committed them to your charge. Husbands, commit that to your wives that belongs to them, and never search their boxes without their consent. I can boast of this. I have lived in the marriage relation nearly thirty years, and I never was the man to open my wife's chest, without her consent, except once, and that was to get out a likeness that I wanted on the instant, and she was not at home to get it for me. That was the first time I ever opened a trunk in my life, that belonged to my wife, or to my child. The child's little chest, with its contents, is as sacred to him, as mine is to me. If this principle were strictly carried out by every man, woman, and child among the Saints, it would make them a blessed people indeed. 1:315.

I wish the daughters of Israel to far exceed their mothers in wisdom. And I wish these young men and boys to far exceed their fathers. I wish my sons to far exceed me in goodness and virtue. 2:17.

I say to our young men, be faithful, for you do not know what is before you, and abstain from bad company and bad habits. Let me say to the boys sixteen years old and even younger, make up your minds to mark out the path of rectitude for yourselves, and when evil is presented, let it pass by unnoticed by you, and preserve yourselves in truth, in righteousness, virtue and holiness before the Lord. You were born in the Kingdom of God; it is to be built up; the earth has to be renovated, and the people sanctified, {318} after they are gathered from the nations, and it requires considerable skill and ability to do this; let our young men prepare themselves to aid and do their part in this great work. I want you to remember this teaching with regard to our youth. 11.118.

Importance of Early Training--We see the infant in its mother's arms. What is this infant here for? What is the design in the creation of this little infant child? It lies here in its mothers' arms; it would not resist, in the least, if it were dropped into a caldron of boiling oil; if it were thrown into fire it would not know it until it felt the flames; it might be laid down here, and the wolf might come and lick its face, and it would not know but that its mother was soothing it. You see this foundation, the starting point, the germ of intelligence embodied in this infant, calculated to grow and expand into manhood, then to the capacity of an angel, and so onward to eternal exaltation. But here is the foundation. Sent to school, the child learns to read, and continues to improve as long as it lives. Is this the end of the knowledge of man? No. It is only the beginning. It is the first stage of all the intelligence that the philosopher in his reflections, taking the starry world before him, and looking into the immensity of the creations of God, can imagine. Here is the first place where we learn, this is the foot of the hill. 19:46.

When children are old enough to labor in the field, then the father will take them in charge. If children are not taught by their mothers, in the days of their youth, to revere and follow the counsels of their fathers, it will be hard indeed for the father ever to control them. 1:68.

Parents, have you ever noticed that your children have exercised faith for you when you have been sick? The little {319} daughter, seeing you sick, will lift her heart with a pure, angelic-like prayer to heaven; and disease is rebuked when that kind of faith is exercised. God bless the children! I pray that they may live and be reared up in righteousness, that God may have a people that will spread and establish one universal reign of peace, and possess the powers of the world to come. 8:117.

Influence of the Mother--Let mothers commence to teach their children while in their laps, there do you teach them to love the Lord, and keep his commandments. Teach them to keep your commandments, and you will teach them to keep the commandments of your husbands. It is not the prerogative of a child to dictate to his mother, or his father; and it is not the prerogative of the father to rise up and dictate to his God whom he serves. 1:68.

If you, mothers, will live your religion, then in the love and fear of God teach your children constantly and thoroughly in the way of life and salvation, training them up in the way they should go, when they are old they will not depart from it. I promise you this, it is as true as the shining sun, it is an eternal truth. In this duty we fail; we do not bring up our children in the way they should go, or there would be no turning away, wandering here and there from the society of the Saints. We let our children do too much as they have a mind to; if they want this or that their wishes must be gratified. 19:92.

If a mother wishes to control her child, in the first place let her learn to control herself, then she may be successful in bringing the child into perfect subjection to her will. 14:277.

The first thing that is taught by the mother to the child {320} should be true; we should never allow ourselves to teach our children one thing and practice another. 13:244.

I have often thought and said, "How necessary it is for mothers, who are the first teachers of their children and who make the first impressions on their young minds, to be strict." How careful they should be never to impress a false idea on the mind of a child! They should never teach them anything unless they know it is correct in every respect. They should never say a word, especially in the hearing of a child that is improper. How natural it is for women to talk baby talk to their children; and it seems just as natural for the men to do so. It is just as natural for me as to draw my breath to talk nonsense to a child on my lap, and yet I have been trying to break myself of it ever since I began to have a family. 14:105.

Teach Children the Gospel--If we do not take the pains to train our children, to teach and instruct them concerning these revealed truths, the condemnation will be upon us, as parents, or at least in a measure. 19:92.

Teach your children from their youth, never to set their hearts immoderately upon an object of this world. 3:357.

Bring up your children in the love and fear of the Lord; study their dispositions and their temperaments, and deal with them accordingly, never allowing yourself to correct them in the heat of passion; teach them to love you rather than to fear you, and let it be your constant care that the children that God has so kindly given you are taught in their early youth the importance of the oracles of God, and the beauty of the principles of our holy religion, that when they grow to the years of man and womanhood they may always cherish a tender regard for them and never forsake the truth. I do not wish you to lay the stress and importance {321} upon outward ceremonies that many do. Parents, teach your children by precept and example, the importance of addressing the Throne of grace; teach them how to live, how to draw from the elements the necessaries of life, and teach them the laws of life that they may know how to preserve themselves in health and be able to minister to others. And when instructing them in the principles of the Gospel, teach them that they are true, truth sent down from heaven for our salvation, and that the Gospel incorporates every truth whether in heaven, in earth, or in hell; and teach them, too, that we hold the keys of eternal life, and that they must obey and observe the ordinances and laws pertaining to this holy Priesthood, which God has revealed and restored for the exaltation of the children of men. 19:221.

If the law of Christ becomes the tradition of this people, the children will be brought up according to the law of the celestial kingdom, else they are not brought up in the way they should go. 3:327.

Latter-day Saints, have your children come to meeting. Sisters, let your little girls go to Sunday school or come to meeting! Brethren, let your children go to Sunday school, or to meeting, and advise your neighbors to do the same. 14:118.

In the morning, it is true, there are many in the Sunday school, and that we recommend; but in the afterpart of the day, where are these school children? Are they playing in the streets, or are they visiting? In going to Sunday school they have done their duty so far; but they ought to be here. In their youth they ought to learn the principles and doctrines of their faith, the arguments for truth, and the advantages of truth. 15:83.

Teach your children honesty and uprightness, and teach {322} them also never to injure others. As I say to my Sisters sometimes, "Look here, my dear sister, if your child quarrels with your neighbor's child, do not chasten your neighbor's child. Go and make peace, be a peace-maker. Teach your child never to do a wrong; and if your neighbor's child has injured you or yours, or taken anything from you, never mind. You stop until you find out. Perhaps the child has meant no wrong. You should learn the facts in the case, and go with a meek, humble, quiet spirit, and peace will result." 13:252.

Parents Should Teach by Example: If parents will continually set before their children examples worthy of their imitation and the approval of our Father in Heaven, they will turn the current, and the tide of feelings of their children, and they, eventually, will desire righteousness more than evil. 14:195.

Let the father and mother, who are members of this Church and Kingdom, take a righteous course, and strive with all their might never to do a wrong, but to do good all their lives; if they have one child or one hundred children, if they conduct themselves towards them as they should, binding them to the Lord by their faith and prayers, I care not where those children go, they are bound up to their parents by an everlasting tie, and no power of earth or hell can separate them from their parents in eternity; they will return again to the fountain from whence they sprang. 11:215.

We should never permit ourselves to do anything that we are not willing to see our children do. We should set them an example that we wish them to imitate. Do we realize this? How often we see parents demand obedience, good behavior, kind words, pleasant looks, a sweet voice {323} and a bright eye from a child or children when they themselves are full of bitterness and scolding! How inconsistent and unreasonable this is! 14:192.

Parents should never drive their children, but lead them along, giving them knowledge as their minds are prepared to receive it. Chastening may be necessary betimes, but parents should govern their children by faith rather than by the rod, leading them kindly by good example into all truth and holiness. 12:174.

Our children will have the love of the truth, if we but live our religion. Parents should take that course that their children can say, "I never knew my father to deceive or take advantage of a neighbor; I never knew my father to take to himself that which did not belong to him, never, never! No, but he said, 'Son, or daughter, be honest, true, virtuous, kind, industrious, prudent and full of good works.'" Such teachings from parents to their children will abide with them forever, unless they sin against the Holy Ghost, and some few, perhaps, will do this. 14:195.

Guides for Child Training--We can guide, direct, and prune a tender sprout, and it inclines to our direction, if it is wisely and skilfully 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. 9:248.

A child loves the smiles of its mother, but hates her frowns. I tell the mothers not to allow the children to indulge in evils, but at the same time to treat them with mildness. If a child is required to step in a certain direction, and it does not seem willing to do so, gently put it in the desired way, and say, There, my little dear, you must step when I speak to you. Children need directing and {324} teaching what is right in a kind, affectionate manner. 8:74.

You cannot break down the indomitable will of the human family. I have known children to be so abused and whipped as to render them almost or entirely worthless, and still the indomitable will remained. 6:332.

Now understand it--when parents whip their children for reading novels, and never let them go to the theater, or to any place of recreation and amusement, but bind them to the moral law, until duty becomes loathsome to them; when they are freed by age from the rigorous training of their parents, they are more fit for companions to devils, than to be the children of such religious parents. 2:94.

It never hurts my feelings to see young exuberant life and animation manifest themselves. Do not be discouraged about the follies of the young. 7:336.

You see, hear and witness a good deal of contention among children--some of you do, if not all--and I will give you a few words with regard to your future lives, that you may have children that are not contentious, not quarrelsome. Always be good-natured yourselves, is the first step. Never allow yourselves to become out of temper and get fretful. Why, mother says, "this is a very mischievous little boy or little girl." What do you see? That amount of vitality in those little children that they cannot be still. If they cannot do anything else they will tip over the chairs, cut up and pull away at anything to raise a row. They are so full of life that they cannot contain themselves; and they are something like ourselves--boys. They have so much vitality in them that their bones fairly ache with strength. They have such an amount of vitality--life, strength and activity, that they must dispose of them; and the young ones will contend with each other. Do not be out of temper {325} yourselves. Always sympathize with them and soothe them. Be mild and pleasant. 19:69.

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 wagons, etc., and when they grow up, they are acquainted with the use of tools and can build a carriage, a house, or anything else. 9:173.

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. 9:172-3.

What did you promise your little girl if she would do so and so? Did you promise her a present for well doing? "Yes." Have you recollected it? "No, it has gone from my mind," says the mother. If she does ill have you promised her a chastisement? "Yes." Did you keep your word? You have not, and the child forms the conclusion in its own mind directly that the mother tells that which is not true--she says she will do this or that, and she does not do it. It {326} is an easy lesson for mothers to learn to pass their time with their children and never give them a false impression. Think before you speak; promise your children nothing. If you wish to make them presents, do so; if you promise a chastisement, keep your word, but be cautious! 13:244.

Mothers, will you be missionaries? We will appoint you a mission to teach your children their duty, and instead of ruffles and fine dresses to adorn the body, teach them that which will adorn their minds. Let what you have to clothe them with be neat and clean and nice. Teach them cleanness and purity of body and the principles of salvation, and they will delight to come to these meetings. 14:220.

I delight to see the mother teach her daughters 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, etc., 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 {327} 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, teach them to make them of the material we can produce. Teach the little boys to lay away the garden hoe, the spade, etc., 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. 9:188-189.

I would like to see the time when our sisters will take more pains to beautify their children. When your children arise in the morning, instead of sending them out of doors to wash in cold, hard water, with a little soft soap, and wiping them as though you would tear the skin off them, creating roughness and darkness of skin, take a piece of soft flannel, and wipe the faces of your children smooth and nice, dry them with a soft cloth; and instead of giving them pork for their breakfast, give them good wholesome bread and sweet milk, baked potatoes and also buttermilk if they like it, and a little fruit, and I would have no objections {328} to their eating a little rice. Rice is an excellent food for children, and I wish some of the brethren would cultivate it in these valleys. Upland rice will flourish in this country. Train up your children to be beautiful and fair, instead of neglecting them until they are sunburned and become like the natives of our mountains. 12:201.

Need of Parent Training--You should go to work to study and see what you can do for the recovery of your children. If a child is taken sick with fever, give it something to stay that fever or relieve that stomach and bowels, so that mortification may not set in. Treat the child with prudence and care, with faith and patience, and be careful in not overcharging it with medicine. If you take too much medicine into the system, it is worse than too much food. But you will always find that an ounce of preventive is worth a pound of cure. Study and learn something for yourselves. It is the privilege of a mother to have faith and to administer to her child; this she can do herself, as well as sending for the Elders to have the benefit of their faith. 13:155. {329}

Chapter XVIII

SOME WOMANLY DUTIES

The Housewife--I am addressing myself to the ladies of the Kingdom of God, to those who know how to keep their houses, furniture and beds pure and clean, who can cook food for their husbands, and children in a way that it will be clean, tasteful and wholesome. The woman that can do this I call a lady. In this view I differ from the world generally; for the lady of the world is not supposed to know anything about what is going on in the kitchen; her highest ambition is to be sure and be in the fashion, at no matter what cost to her husband or father; she considers that she may as well be out of the world as out of the fashion. 11:138.

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. 9:157.

If I had nothing but a piece of an old newspaper folded for a holder I would have it where I could put my hand on it in a moment, in the dark if I wanted it. And so with the dishcloth, the broom, the chairs, tables, sofas, and everything about the house, so that if you had to get up in the night you could lay your hand on whatever you wanted instantly. Have a place for everything and everything in its place. 14:89.

When I go into a house, I can soon know whether the woman is an economical housekeeper or not; and if I stay a few days, I can tell whether a husband can get rich or not. If she is determined on her own course, and will waste and {330} spoil the food entrusted to her, that man will always be poor. 4:313.

It is an old saying that a woman can throw out of the window with a spoon as fast as a man can throw into the door with a shovel; but a good house-keeper will be saving and economical and teach her children to be good housekeepers, and how to take care of everything that is put in their charge. 12:195.

Ladies, if you are the means of plunging this whole people into debt so as to distress them, will there be anything required of you? I think there will, for you will be judged according to your works. Are not the men as extravagant as the women? Yes, certainly they are, and just as foolish. I could point out instances by the score and by the hundred of men who are just as unwise, shortsighted, and foolish as the women can be; but a condemnation of the male portion of the community will not justify the female portion of it. 14:105.

Now, sisters, if you will consider these things you will readily see that time is all the capital stock there is on the earth; and you should consider your time golden, it is actually wealth, and, if properly used, it brings that which will add to your comfort, convenience, and satisfaction. Let us consider this, and no longer sit with hands folded, wasting time, for it is the duty of every man and of every woman to do all that is possible to promote the Kingdom of God on the earth. 18:77.

If there are women who want to do good, let them do their own work, and save their sixpences and dollars for the building of temples, tabernacles, meeting-houses, school-houses, educating the youth, preaching the Gospel, and gathering the poor. 11:351. {331}

What I say of housewives will fully apply to farmers and mechanics. I labored many years as a mechanic, and in the darkest night I could put my hand upon any tool I used. You may call this boasting, but it is not. It is merely mentioning the order in which I kept my shop. 8:296.

Count the steps that a woman takes when she is doing her work, let them be measured, and it will be found that in many instances she had taken steps enough to have traveled from fifteen to twenty miles a day; I will warrant this to be the case. 4:101.

Woman's Fashions--Beauty must be sought in the expression of the countenance, combined with neatness and cleanliness and graceful manners. 18:75.

Anything is ridiculous, more or less, that is not comely. 14:17.

Let the beauty of your adorning be the work of your hands. 19:75.

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. 10:6.

In the works of God, you see an eternal variety, consequently we do not ask the people to become Quakers, and all the men wear wide-brimmed hats, and the ladies wear drab or cream-colored silk bonnets projecting in the front, perhaps six or seven inches, rounded on the corners, with a cape behind. 14:17.

The daughters of Israel should understand what fashions they should have, without borrowing from the impure and unrighteous. 12:220. {332}

Create your own fashions, and make your clothing to please yourselves, independent of outside influences; and make your hats and bonnets to shade you. I wish you, sisters, to listen to these counsels, and place yourselves in a condition to administer to the poor. Get your husbands to provide you with a little of this and a little of that of which you can make something by adding your own labor. I do not mean that you shall apply to them for five dollars and ten dollars to spend for that which is of no profit, but manufacture something that will be useful as well as beautiful and comely. 12:202.

Not flaunting, flirting and gossiping, as a great many are, and thinking continually of their dresses, and of this that and the other that will minister to and gratify their vanity. Such women seldom think of their prayers. 15:162.

I am ashamed to see the tight clothes--to see the shape of the ladies. 19:75.

Ask your mothers, then, to make your clothes suitable and becoming; and keep your hair smooth and nice. The hair is given to the female for adornment; and therefore let the ladies, young and old, adorn their heads with their hair. Mothers should study and children should study to preserve the skin of the children from being ruined by dirt, and the heat of a scorching sun, and to keep themselves clean and pure. 19:65.

If I were a lady and had a piece of cloth to make me a dress, I would cut it so as to cover my person handsomely and neatly; and whether it was cut according to the fashion or not, custom would soon make it beautiful. 15:38.

It adds no beauty to a lady, in my opinion, to adorn her with fine feathers. When I look at a woman, I look at her face, which is composed of her forehead, cheeks, nose, {333} mouth and chin, and I like to see it clean, her hair combed neat and nice, and her eyes bright and sparkling; and if they are so, what do I care what she has on her head, or how or of what material her dress is made? Not the least in the world. 18:74.

The Lord instructs us in a revelation, to let our clothing be plain: "Let all thy garments be plain, and their beauty the beauty of the work of thine own hands." He never said to us, "Do not make a silk or satin ribbon, or fine broadcloth," but he has said to us, "Make the articles of clothing that you wear;" if we do not, we shall find by and by that we shall not be able to get them. 10:311.

Let the sisters take care of themselves, and make themselves beautiful, and if any of you are so superstitious and ignorant as to say that this is pride, I can say that you are not informed as to the pride which is sinful before the Lord, you are also ignorant as to the excellency of the heavens, and of the beauty which dwells in the society of the Gods. Were you to see an angel, you would see a beautiful and lovely creature. Make yourselves like angels in goodness and beauty. Let the mothers in Israel make their sons and daughters healthy and beautiful, by cleanliness and a proper diet. Whether you have much or little clothing for your children, it can be kept clean and healthy, and be made to fit their persons neatly. Make your children lovely and fair that you may delight in them. Cease to send out your children to herd sheep with their skins exposed to the hot sun, until their hands and faces appear as though they lived in an ash heap. I call upon my sisters to lead out in these things. 12:201.

It is a disgrace to a community to drag their cloth in the dirt. How many women are there here today who {334} walked to this Tabernacle without throwing dirt every step they took, not only on themselves but upon those who walked near them? I shun them; when I see them coming. I try to make my way in some other direction in order to avoid their dust. I can get enough of it without receiving it from them. If there is a nuisance in the path, they are sure to wipe up a portion of it with their dress, and then trail it on to their carpet or into the bedrooms and distribute it through the house.

On the other hand I will say, ladies, if we ask you to make your dresses a little shorter, do not be extravagant and cut them so short that we can see the tops of your stockings. Bring them down to the top of your shoes, and have them so that you can walk and clear the dust, and do not expose your persons. Have your dresses neat and comely, and conduct yourselves, in the strictest sense of the word, in chastity. 12:299.

If my mother and her grandmother got one silk dress, and they lived to a hundred years old, it was all that they wanted. I think my grandmother's silk dress came down to her children. She put her silk dress on when I went to see her. It was, I think, her wedding dress, and she had been married some seventy years. 19:74.

That which is convenient should be beautiful. 15:38.

As for fashion, it does not trouble me, my fashion is convenience and comfort. 14:21.

Some Duties of the Relief Societies--These societies are for the improvement of our manners, our dress, our habits, and our methods of living. 19:68.

The sisters in our Female Relief Societies have done great good. Can you tell the amount of good that the mothers and daughters in Israel are capable of doing? No, {335} it is impossible. And the good they do will follow them to all eternity. 13:34.

As I have often told my sisters in the Female Relief Societies, we have sisters here who, if they had the privilege of studying, would make just as good mathematicians or accountants as any man; and we think they ought to have the privilege to study these branches of knowledge that they may develop the powers with which they are endowed. We believe that women are useful, not only to sweep houses, wash dishes, make beds, and raise babies, but that they should stand behind the counter, study law or physic, or become good bookkeepers and be able to do the business in any counting house, and all this to enlarge their sphere of usefulness for the benefit of society at large.

In following these things they but answer the design of their creation. 13:61.

Now, ladies, go to and organize yourselves into industrial societies, and get your husbands to produce you some straw, and commence bonnet and hat making. If every Ward would commence and continue this and other industrial pursuits, it would not be long before the females of the Wards of our Territory would have stores in their Wards, and means sufficient to send and get the articles which they need, that cannot yet be manufactured here and which they may want to distribute. 12:195.

When the sisters, for instance, meet together at a quilting or for a visit, if every one speaks, believes and loves the truth, and there is nothing in them that is deceptive, how easy it is to converse and pass the time! We all delight in the truth; and if a wrong, or that which is false, is manifested it must be corrected or banished, and truth be adopted in the place thereof. It is the easiest life to lead {336} on the face of the earth. How do I know it? By experience; I never tried the opposite much. 14:76.

I will here say to the Latter-day Saints, if you will feed the poor with a willing heart and ready hand, neither you, nor your children, will ever be found begging bread. In these things the people are right; they are right in establishing Female Relief Societies, that the hearts of the widow and the orphan may be made glad by the blessings which are so abundantly and so freely poured out upon them. 12:171.

Sisters, do you see any children around your neighborhood poorly clad and without shoes? If you do, I say to you, Female Relief Societies, pick up these children and relieve their necessities, and send them to school. And if you see any young, middle-aged or old ladies in need find them something to do that will enable them to sustain themselves; but don't relieve the idle, for relieving those who are able but unwilling to work is ruinous to any community. The time we spend here is our life, our substance, our capital, our fortune, and that time should be used profitably. Take these old ladies, there are a great many of them around rather poor, and give them something to do; that is their delight. You will hardly find an old lady in the community who has not been brought up to work; and they would rather knit stockings or do some other useful labor than eat the bread of charity. Relieve the wants of every individual in need in your neighborhoods. This is in the capacity and in the power of the Female Relief Societies when it is not in the power of the Bishops. 14:107.

I wish to call the attention of our sisters to our Relief Societies. We are happy to say that many of them have done a great deal. We wish them to continue and progress. {337} In our Relief Societies we wish to introduce many improvements. We wish our sisters of experience to teach the young girls not to be so anxious for the gratification of their imaginary wants, but to confine themselves more to their real necessities. Fancy has no bounds, and I often think it is without form and comeliness. We are too apt to give way to the imagination of our hearts, but if we will be guided by wisdom, our judgment will be corrected, and we will find that we can improve very much. We can improve the language we use. 12:298.

The ladies can learn to keep books as well as the men; we have some few, already, who are just as good accountants as any of our brethren. Why not teach more of them to keep books and sell goods, and let them do this business, and let the men go to raising sheep, wheat, or cattle, or go and do something or other to beautify the earth and help to make it like the Garden of Eden, instead of spending their time in a lazy, loafing manner? 12:374-5.

I have a short sermon for my sisters. I wish you, under the direction of your Bishops and wise men, to establish your Relief Societies, and organize yourselves under the direction of the brethren, and establish yourselves for doing business, gathering up your little amounts of means that would otherwise go to waste, and put them to usury, and make more of them, and thus keep gathering in. Let this be commenced forthwith. 12:201. {338}

Chapter XIX

OBEDIENCE

Counsel--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 savor 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." 9:3.

If we hearken to counsel, we shall be the best people in the world; we shall be as a bright light set upon a hill, that cannot be hid, or like a candle upon a candlestick. 12:173.

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 should shout, "Hallelujah! praise God! We are ready to receive those words, for they are true." 9:3-4. {339}

Every man in the Kingdom of God would give the same counsel upon each subject, if he would wait until he had the mind of Christ upon it. Then all would have one word and mind, and all men would see eye to eye. 5:100.

If you would always pause and say, I have no counsel for you, I have no answer for you on this subject, because I have no manifestation of the Spirit, and be willing to let everybody in the world know that you are ignorant when you are, you would become wise a great deal quicker than to give counsel on your own judgment, without the Spirit of revelation. 5:100.

The Latter-day Saints who hearken to the words of the Lord, given to them touching their political, social, and financial concerns, I say, and say it boldly, that they will have wisdom which is altogether superior to the wisdom of the children of darkness, or the children of this world. I know this by the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ, and by the results of my own actions. They who have hearkened to the counsels given to them in temporal matters, have invariably bettered their condition temporally and spiritually. 12:118.

Obedience--When the Lord commands the people, let them obey. 2:123.

Every son and daughter of God is expected to obey with a willing heart every word which the Lord has spoken, and which he will in the future speak to us. It is expected that we hearken to the revelations of his will, and adhere to them, cleave to them with all our might; for this is salvation, and any thing short of this clips the salvation and the glory of the Saints. 2:2.

Obedience is one of the plainest, most every-day and home principles that you ever thought or know anything {340} about. In the first place, learn that you have a father, and then learn strict obedience to that parent. Is not that a plain, domestic, home principle? 6:173.

I cannot save you. I can tell you how to save yourselves, but you must do the will of God. 10:317.

How shall we know what to do? By being obedient to every requirement of the Gospel. 8:148.

A mere theory amounts to but little, while practice and obedience have to do with stern realities. 9:330.

Every good and wholesome law we should obey strictly, and do it with a good and honest-heart. 11:134.

Blessed are they who obey when the Lord gives a direct commandment, but more blessed are they who obey without a direct commandment. 12:128.

Do you think that people will obey the truth because it is true, unless they love it? No, they will not. Truth is obeyed when it is loved. Strict obedience to the truth will alone enable people to dwell in the presence of the Almighty. 7:55.

The Lord has sent forth his laws, commandments, and ordinances to the children of men, and requires them to be strictly obeyed, and we do not wish to transgress those laws, but to keep them. We do not wish to change his ordinances, but to observe them; we do not wish to break the everlasting covenant, but to keep that with our fathers, with Jesus, with our Father in Heaven, with holy angels, and to live according to them. 16:31.

If a man is called to go and labor for the poor, if his Bishop calls upon him to go into the canyon after a load of wood for the poor, and he goes there, with his heart uplifted to God, and with his eye single to the building up of the Kingdom, and gets the load of wood and lays it at the {341} door of the Bishop for the poor, for the widow or for those who cannot help themselves, he is just as much in the line of his duty in so doing as though he were on his knees praying. 11:293.

This people have got to become of one heart and one mind. They have to know the will of God and do it, for to know the will of God is one thing, and to bring our wills, our dispositions, into subjection to that which we do understand to be the will of God is another. 3:54-5.

We believe in obeying the laws of the land, we should also obey the laws of God. 16:45.

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. 8:339.

With regard to the obedience of heavenly beings, to which reference has been made to-day; they live pure and holy, and they have attained unto this power through suffering. Many of them have drunk of the bitter cup even to the dregs. They have learned that righteousness will prevail, that truth is the foundation of their very existence. 11:15.

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 live it faithfully. There is no other proof can be adduced to God, angels, and men, that a people faithfully live their {342} 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. 9:333.

There are a great many texts which might be used, very comprehensive and full of meaning, but I know of none, either in the Old or New Testament, more so than that saying, said to have been made by the Savior, and I have no doubt it was, "If ye love me, keep my commandments."

How long? For a day? Keep the commandments of the Lord for a week? Observe and do his will for a month or a year? There is no promise to any individual, that I have any knowledge of, that he shall receive the reward of the just, unless he is faithful to the end. If we fully understand and faithfully carry out in our lives the saying of Jesus, "If ye love me, keep my commandments," we shall be prepared to go back and dwell in the presence of the Father and the Son.

What are his commandments? Did he ever teach the people anything that is wrong? If we read the requirements made by Jesus, by the Father, or by any messenger sent from the heavens to the children of men, we shall find nothing that will injure any human being or that will destroy the soul of one of the sons or daughters of Adam and Eve. Many think that the sayings and doings of some of the prophets and servants of God, in ancient and modern times, said and done in obedience to the commands of the Lord Almighty, tend to evil; but it is not so. All God's requirements tend to do good to his children. Any notion to the contrary is the result of ignorance. The human family are enveloped in ignorance, so far as the origin and object of their existence here is concerned. Their ignorance, superstition, darkness and blindness are very {343} apparent to all who are in the least enlightened by the Spirit of truth. They seek to hide themselves in ignorance and blindness rather than learn who they are and the object of their being here. What do the human family know of God or Jesus, or of the words which I have quoted "If ye love me, keep my commandments?" "Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life," says Jesus, "and they are they which testify of me." They testify of the Savior, of his doctrines and requirements, and of the ordinances of his house; the plan of salvation is there portrayed, and any person who follows its dictation may redeem himself from the thraldom of sin, and know, by the Spirit, that Jesus is the Christ. All who will take this course will know by revelation that God is our Father; they will understand the relationship they hold to him and to their fellow-beings. The world may in vain ask the question, "Who are we?" But the Gospel tells us that we are the sons and daughters of that God whom we serve. Some say, "We are the children of Adam and Eve." So we are, and they are the children of our Heavenly Father. We are all the children of Adam and Eve, and they are the offspring of him who dwells in the heavens, the highest Intelligence that dwells anywhere that we have any knowledge of. Here we find ourselves, and when infants, the most helpless, and needing the most care and attention of any creatures that come into being on the face of the earth. Here we find in ourselves the germ and the foundation, the embryo of exaltation, glory, immortality and eternal lives. As we grow up we receive strength, knowledge and wisdom, some more and some less; but only by keeping the commands of the Lord Jesus can we have the privilege of {344} knowing the things pertaining to eternity and our relationship to the heavens. 13:310.

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. 9:332.

People will never be taken and sacrificed for their ignorance, when they have had no opportunity to know and understand the truth. Such a proceeding would be contrary to the economy of heaven. But after we receive and understand things as they are, if we then disobey, we may look for the chastening hand of the Almighty. 3:246.

Walk up, O ye Latter-day Saints, and wake up! Come to the Lord, forsake your covetousness, your back-slidings, forsake the spirit of the world, and return to the Lord with full purpose of heart until you get the Spirit of Christ within you, that you, like others, can cry, "Abba Father, the Lord, he is God, and I am his servant." 15:6.

We have nothing to sacrifice. All we have to do is to love and serve our God, and do everything we can to bring knowledge to ourselves and to the people. 6:196.

When the Gospel is preached to the honest in heart they receive it by faith, but when they obey it labor is required. To practice the Gospel requires time, faith, the heart's affections and a great deal of labor. Here many stop. They hear and believe, but before they go on to practice they begin to think that they were mistaken, and unbelief enters into their hearts. 16:40.

When we get to understand all knowledge, all wisdom, that it is necessary for us to understand in the flesh, we will be like clay in the hands of the potter, willing to be moulded and fashioned according to the will of him who {345} has called us to this great and glorious work, of purifying ourselves and our fellow-beings, and of preparing the nations of the earth for the glory that awaits them through obedience. 19:93.

I believe that it is a hell intolerable for a people, a family or a single person, to strive to grasp truth with one hand, and error with the other, to profess to walk in obedience to the commandments of God, and, at the same time, mingle heart and hand with the wicked. 3:254.

Effect of Obedience--Great peace have they who love the law of the Lord and abide in his commandments. 8:121.

If you wish to receive and enjoy the favor of our Heavenly Father, do his will. 8:33.

When will this people become Saints indeed? Not until they observe every counsel that is given to them of this kind, doing with their might the things that are required of them. 11:139.

All who receive eternal life and salvation will receive it on no other conditions than believing in the Son of God and obeying the principles that he has laid down. Can we devise any other means and plan of salvation? We cannot. 13:213.

The Saints who live their religion will be exalted, for they never will deny any revelation which the Lord has given or may give, though, when there is a doctrine coming to them which they cannot comprehend fully, they may be found saying, "The Lord sendeth this unto me, and I pray that he will save and preserve me from denying anything which proceedeth from him, and give me patience to wait until I can understand it for myself."

Such persons will never deny, but will allow those subjects which they do not understand, to remain until the {346} visions of their minds become open. This is the course which I have invariably pursued, and if anything came that I could not understand, I would pray until I could comprehend it.

Do not reject anything because it is new or strange, and do not sneer nor jeer at what comes from the Lord, for if we do, we endanger our salvation. It is given to us, as agents, to choose or refuse, as brother S. W. Richards has set before you, but we are agents within limits; if it were not so there would be no law. 3:266.

By obeying the ordinances of God, mankind glorify God, but if they do not obey him, they do not detract one particle from his glory and power. The commandments of God are given to us expressly for our benefit, and if we live in obedience to them we shall live so as to understand the mind and will of God for ourselves, and concerning ourselves as individuals. 12:126.

How shall we know that we obey him? There is but one method by which we can know it, and that is by the inspiration of the Spirit of the Lord witnessing unto our spirit that we are his, that we love him, and that he loves us. It is by the spirit of revelation we know this. We have no witness to ourselves internally, without the spirit of revelation. We have no witness outwardly, only by obedience to the ordinances. 12:99.

Law is made for the lawless. Let the Saints live their religion, and there is not a law that can justly infringe upon them. 8:140.

There is no law against doing good. There is no law against love. There is no law against serving God. There is no law against charity and benevolence. There is no law {347} against the principles of eternal life. Live them, and no righteous law of man can reach you. 8:140.

When the law of God is written on the hearts of a people, every person will know his place. 8:296.

When men and women talk about giving everything for the salvation which they anticipate and live for, behold, they have nothing to give; nor have they anything to do, only to do their duty. And what is that? To improve upon that which is committed to their possession--to prove themselves worthy to their Father and God, that ere long they may be worthy to receive crowns of glory, immortality and eternal life. Then we shall be beyond the power of Satan. 6:196.

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 defense. 10:40.

Those who live their religion will enjoy the Spirit, and that enjoyment will increase; and if we will be faithful, the Lord will make our feet as firm in these valleys as are the everlasting riches in these mountains, and no power can remove us. He will give us a sure place in these mountains until we go forth and redeem Zion. Do right, be faithful, and make no calculations about removing before the time comes. 8:285.

Obedience and Free Agency--Here is a brother who says, "Why, yes, you may have some of my property or even take it all; but I want to be a man for myself; I do not want to be dictated; I want to preserve my own freedom; I do not want to be a slave." What an idea! It is from the enemy, and because a person has not the Spirit of the Lord to see how things are. There is not a man of {348} us but what is willing to acknowledge at once that God demands strict obedience to his requirements. But in rendering that strict obedience, are we made slaves? No, it is the only way on the face of the earth for you and me to become free, and we shall become slaves of our own passions, and of the wicked one, and servants to the Devil, if we take any other course, and we shall be eventually cast into hell with the devils. Now to say that I do not enjoy the volition of my own will just as much when I pray as I would to swear, is a false principle, it is false ground to take. You take the man who swears, and he has no more freedom, and acts no more on his own will than the man who prays; the man who yields strict obedience to the requirements of Heaven, acts upon the volition of his own will and exercises his freedom just as much as when he was a slave to passion; and I think it is much better and more honorable for us, whether children or adults, youthful, middle-aged or old, it is better to live by and better to die by, to have our hearts pure, and to yield strict obedience to the principles of life which the Lord has revealed, than be a slave to sin and wickedness. All that the Lord requires of us is strict obedience to the laws of life. All the sacrifice that the Lord asks of his people is strict obedience to our own covenants that we have made with our God, and that is to serve him with an undivided heart. 18:246.

One of the simplest things in the world is to control a people. Is there any particular art in making this people obedient? There is just one. If you, Elders of Israel, can get the art of preaching the Holy Ghost into the hearts of the people, you will have an obedient people. This is the only art required. Teach the people truth, teach them correct principles; show them what is for their greatest good {349} and don't you think they will follow in that path? They will, just as far as it is consistent with their weaknesses and the power of darkness that is over the inhabitants of the earth--with us as with others. 12:257.

A person before he can understand the law and government of God must see and understand the propriety of it and see its beauties. So it is with the whole system of salvation. Not that I would say we are machines, for we have our agency; but God has placed us here, and he exacts strict obedience to his laws before we can derive the benefit and blessings their observance will yield. You may take a beautiful machine of any kind you please, and when the machinist has finished his work and set it in perfect order, how could it be expected to operate satisfactorily if a hook here or a journal yonder were to say, I am not going to stay here, or, I am going to jump out of place and am going somewhere else; and then another piece of the machinery would jump out of its place into another part of the machine. What would be the state of such a machine? Confusion and disorganization would soon result and the machinist might very properly say, what a pity that I bestowed so much labor on such unruly members of my machine. 13:241.

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. 9:331.

We as a people, will be chastened until we can wholly submit ourselves to the Lord and be Saints indeed. 5:354.

Effects of Disobedience--When light comes, if the people reject that light, it will condemn them, and will add to their sorrow and affliction. 6:288.

If we live our religion we shall prosper, and if we live {350} in the neglect of our duty, and continue to do so, there will be tribulation and anguish here, and the chastening hand of the Almighty will be on this people. 3:340.

I feel in my heart to bless you; it is full of blessings and not cursing. It is something that does not occupy my feelings to curse any individual, but I will modify this by saying those who ought not to be cursed. Who ought to be? Those who know their Master's will, and do it not; they are worthy of many stripes; it is not those who do not know, and do not do, but those who know it, and do not do it--they are the ones to be chastised. 1:248.

As soon as you are overcome by the spirit of the world, you forget every good deed and kindness that has been extended to you, and you only remember the transpiring and infliction of what you deemed to be evil that would have resulted in good, had you done right. 3:358.

It is the misapplied intelligence God has given us that makes all the mischief on the earth. That intelligence he designed to carry out the purposes of his will, and endowed it with capabilities to grow, spread abroad, accumulate, and endeavor to enjoy greater happiness, glory, and honor, and continue to expand wider and wider, until eternity is comprehended by it; if not applied to this purpose, but to the grovelling things of earth, it will be taken away, and given to one who has made better use of this gift of God. 2:124-5.

If we will only practice what we profess, I tell you we are at the defiance of hell. 2:186.

For a man to undertake to live a Saint and walk in darkness is one of the hardest tasks that he can undertake. You cannot imagine a position that will sink a person more deeply in perplexity and trouble than to try to be a Saint without living as a Saint should--without enjoying the {351} spirit of his religion. It is our privilege to live so as to enjoy the spirit of our religion. That is designed to restore us to the presence of the Gods. Gods exist, and we had better strive to be prepared to be one with them. 7:238.

Anything that is impure must, sooner or later, perish; no matter whether it is in the faith and practice of an individual, town, nation, or government. That kingdom, principality, power or person that is not controlled by principles that are pure and holy must eventually pass away and perish. 14:75.

I know it is hard to receive chastisement, for no chastisement is joyous, but grievous at the time it is given; but if a person will receive chastisement and pray for the Holy Spirit to rest upon him, that he may have the Spirit of truth in his heart, and cleave to that which is pleasing to the Lord, the Lord will give him grace to bear the chastisement, and he will submit to and receive it, knowing that it is for his good. 3:47.

Men must quit swearing and taking the name of God in vain; they must refrain from lying, stealing, cheating, and doing that which they know they ought not to do, or they must be severed from this Church and Kingdom. 4:307.

The Latter-day Saints, in all their travels, have not been as rebellious as the Children of Israel were. 11:279. {352}

Chapter XX

GRATITUDE, HUMILITY, DEVOTION, LIBERALITY, HONESTY

Gratitude--I do not know of any, excepting the unpardonable sin, that is greater than the sin of ingratitude. 14:277.

We rejoice because the Lord is ours, because we are sown in weakness for the express purpose of attaining to greater power and perfection. In everything the Saints may rejoice--in persecution, because it is necessary to purge them, and prepare the wicked for their doom; in sickness and in pain, though they are hard to bear, because we are thereby made acquainted with pain, with sorrow, and with every affliction that mortals can endure, for by contrast all things are demonstrated to our senses. We have reason to rejoice exceedingly that faith is in the world, that the Lord reigns, and does his pleasure among the inhabitants of the earth. Do you ask if I rejoice because the Devil has the advantage over the inhabitants of the earth, and has afflicted mankind? I most assuredly answer in the affirmative; I rejoice in this as much as in anything else. I rejoice because I am afflicted. I rejoice because lam poor. I rejoice because I am cast down. Why? Because I shall be lifted up again. I rejoice that I am poor because I shall be made rich; that I am afflicted, because I shall be comforted, and prepared to enjoy the felicity of perfect happiness, for it is impossible to properly appreciate happiness except by enduring the opposite. 1:359.

Humility--I delight extremely in plain simplicity. 4:341. {353}

The humble will live, their spirits will be buoyant, and they will live to a great age. 8:181.

We have to humble ourselves and become like little children in our feelings--to become humble and childlike in spirit, in order to receive the first illuminations of the spirit of the Gospel, then we have the privilege of growing, of increasing in knowledge, in wisdom, and in understanding. 3:192.

The hearts of the meek and humble are full of joy and comfort continually. 4:22.

When a person sees things as they are, flattery and reproach are all the same to him, he sees no difference. If he finds that he is pleasing God and his brethren, he is exceedingly rejoiced, and feels an increase of humility and resignation. When a man is proud and arrogant, flattery fills him with vanity and injures him; but it is not so when he is increasing in the faith of God. 12:50.

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 nations that have rejected us, and he will vex them with a sore vexation. 8:324.

Devotion to the Gospel--To the Latter-day Saints I say, live your religion, sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, and we shall be prospered. 13:318.

A man, or a woman, desiring to know the will of God, and having an opportunity to know it, will apply their hearts to this wisdom until it becomes easy and familiar to them, and they will love to do good instead of evil. 3:363.

To enjoy the protection of the Almighty, we have got {354} to live our religion--to live so that we have the mind of Christ within us. 4:358.

All I ask of you is to apply your hearts to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and be Saints. I will not ask anything else on this earth of you, only to live so as to know the mind and will of God when you receive it, and then abide in it. If you will do that, you will be prepared to do a great many things, and you will find that there is much good to be done. 3:375.

When you know how to be a Saint today, you are in a fair way to know how to be a Saint tomorrow. And if you can continue to be a Saint today, you can through the week, and through the year, and you can fill up your whole life in performing the duty and labor of a Saint. 2:53.

If I am organized and capacitated to receive this glory and this exaltation, I must be the friend of him who has brought me forth and instituted this exaltation for me; I must not be his enemy at any time. 4:198.

I have sought to teach you how to get rich, but I never taught you to neglect your duty; I never instructed you nor taught you to forsake the Lord; and today I would rather not own one farthing, and take my valise in my hand, as I did at the rise of the Church, and travel among the nations of the earth, and beg my bread from door to door, than to neglect my duty and lose the Spirit of Almighty God. If I have wealth and cannot use it to the glory of God and the building up of his Kingdom, I ask the Lord to take it from me. 13:280.

There is not a wicked man on the face of the earth but what reveres a pure servant of God. They may not acknowledge it with their organs of speech, but in their hearts, sentiments and feelings they revere such a character. {355} When they see a pure and holy man or woman, say they, "I wish I was as good as you are." Then let us take a pride in acknowledging our religion and living it, by being virtuous, true and good in everything, and then take pride in educating your minds until you can conquer and control yourselves in everything. Educate your children in all the knowledge the world can give them. God has given it to the world, it is all his. Every true principle, every true science, every art, and all the knowledge that men possess, or that they ever did or ever will possess, is from God. We should take pains and pride to instill this knowledge into the minds of our neighbors, and our brethren, and rear our children so that the learning and education of the world may be theirs, and that virtue, truth and holiness may crown their lives that they may be saved in the Kingdom of God. 12:326.

I say to this community, Be humble, be faithful to your God, true to his Church, benevolent to the strangers that may pass through our Territory, and kind to all people, serving the Lord with all your might, trusting in him; but never fear the frowns of an enemy, nor be moved by the flatteries of friends or of enemies from the path of right. Serve your God; believe in him, and never be ashamed of him, and sustain your character before him.

I say to the aged, to the middle-aged, and to the young--All be true to your God, true to your brethren, and kind to all, serving God with all your heart. And may he bless you for Jesus' sake. Amen. 1:146.

While speaking the other day to the people, I observed that "the race was not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong," neither riches to men of wisdom. I happened to cast my eyes upon Ira Ames, who was sitting in the congregation. {356} I knew he had been in the Church a considerable length of time, I have been personally acquainted with him for twenty years. My eye also caught many more of the first Saints at the same time. These men know that "Mormonism" is true, they have moved steadily forward, and have not sought to become noted characters as many have; but, unseen as it were, they have maintained their footing steadily in the right path. I could place my hand upon many in this congregation, who will win the race, though they are not very swift, to outward appearance, and they make no great pretensions; they are found continually attending to their own business. They do not appear to be great warriors, or as if they were likely to win the battle. But what is their true character? They have faith today, they are filled with faith, their words are few, but they are full of integrity. You will find them tomorrow as they were yesterday, or are today. Visit them when you will, or under what circumstances, and you find them unalterably the same; and finally when you have spent your life with them, you will find that their lives throughout have been well spent, full of faith, hope, charity, and good works, as far as they have had the ability. These are the ones who will win the race, conquer in the battle, and obtain the peace and righteousness of eternity. 1:89.

You may examine from the beginning to this day, and continue to watch in the future, and where you find a man who wishes to steady the ark of God, without being called to do so, you will find a dark spot in him. The man full of light and intelligence discerns that God steadies his own ark, dictates his own affairs, guides his people, controls his kingdom, governs nations, and holds the hearts of all living in his hands, and turns them hither and thither at his {357} pleasure, not infringing upon their agency. There is not the least danger of disagreeing with persons enjoying the Holy Spirit. 8:66.

To be great is to be good before the Heavens and before all good men. 10:111.

Give Freely--Let us not love the things of this world above the things of God, but strip for the race and harness for the battle of the Gospel plan of salvation. 10:328.

How contracted in mind and short-sighted we must be to permit the perishable things of this world to swerve us in the least degree from our fidelity to the truth. It shows that we lack knowledge which we should possess. 11:283.

Suppose that you are required to do ten pieces of work, but of the ten only one is necessary for the promotion of the Kingdom of God; which had you better do--perform the ten pieces of labor, to be sure of doing the right piece, or neglect the whole ten because you do not know which the right one is? Had you not better do the whole ten pieces, that you may be sure of performing that which the Lord really requires at your hands? 8:12-13.

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. 10:268.

Man may think, and some of them do, that we have a right to work for ourselves; but I say we have no time to do that in the narrow, selfish sense generally entertained when speaking about working for self. We have no time allotted to us here on the earth to work for ourselves in that sense; and yet when laboring in the most disinterested and fervent manner for the cause and Kingdom of God, it is all for ourselves. Though our time be entirely occupied {358} in laboring for the advancement of the Kingdom of God on the earth we are in reality laboring most effectually for self, for all our interest and welfare, both in time and eternity, are circumscribed and bound up in that Kingdom. 14:101.

Be Honest--Woe to those who profess to be Saints and are not honest. Only be honest with yourselves, and you will be honest to the brethren. 2:53.

Men must be honest, they must live faithfully before their God, and honor their calling and being on the earth. You ask if that is possible? Yes; the doctrine which we have embraced takes away the stony hearts. 3:118-119.

We need to learn, practice, study, know and understand how angels live with each other. When this community comes to the point to be perfectly honest and upright, you will never find a poor person; none will lack, all will have sufficient. Every man, woman, and child will have all they need just as soon as they all become honest. When the majority of the community are dishonest, it maketh the honest portion poor, for the dishonest serve and enrich themselves at their expense. 6:76.

It is much better to be honest; to live here uprightly, and forsake and shun evil, than it is to be dishonest. It is the easiest path in the world to be honest,--to be upright before God; and when people learn this, they will practice it. 5:295.

Honest hearts produce honest actions--holy desires produce corresponding outward works.

Fulfil your contracts and sacredly keep your word. 10:97.

I have no fellowship for a man that will make a promise and not fulfil it. 13:301. {359}

Simple truth, simplicity, honesty, uprightness, justice, mercy, love, kindness, do good to all and evil to none, how easy it is to live by such principles! A thousand times easier than to practice deception! 14:76.

Honesty in Labor--I have tried to suppress dishonesty in individuals, and have tried thereby to make them honest. If I hire a carpenter and pay him three dollars a day, and he is three days in making a six-panel door that a good workman can make in one, or even a door and a half, I do not want to pay him three dollars a day for that labor. 6:73.

We want the Saints to increase in goodness, until our mechanics, for instance, are so honest and reliable that this Railroad Company will say, "Give us a 'Mormon' Elder for an engineer, then none need have the least fear to ride, for if he knows there is danger he will take every measure necessary to preserve the lives of those entrusted to his care." I want to see our Elders so full of integrity that they will be preferred by this Company for their engine builders, watchmen, engineers, clerks, and business managers. If we live our religion and are worthy the name of Latter-day Saints, we are just the men that all such business can be entrusted to with perfect safety; if it can not it will prove that we do not live our religion. 12:300.

If you see honest persons, you see those who are ready to take hold and labor with their might, even though they have but one potato in a day; they will suffer rather than impoverish the Church. 3:340.

One liar is like a bad king. A corrupt and wicked king can corrupt a whole nation. One liar can deceive thousands. 16:30.

A very simple person can tell the truth, but it takes a {360} very smart person to tell a lie and make it appear like the truth. 11:304.

Consistency and Sincerity--O, consistency, thou art one of the fairest jewels in the life of a Saint. 11:136.

If we teach righteousness, let us also practice righteousness in every sense of the word; if we teach morality, let us be moral; let us see to it that we preserve ourselves within the bounds of all the good which we teach to others. I am sure this course will be good to live by and good to die by, and when we get through the journey of life, here, what a consolation it will be to us to know that we have done as we have wished others to do by us in all respects. 11:130.

There is not one man in this city, nor in the Territory, who hates the truth and the Latter-day Saints, whose influence I dread, no, not even the hundredth part, as I do a smooth, slick hypocrite who professes to be a Latter-day Saint. The former cannot sow the seeds of infidelity and unbelief in the hearts of the people; but the latter can. 18:359.

A person who is a thief, a liar, and a murderer in his heart, but professes to be a Saint, is more odious in the sight of God, angels and good men, than a person who comes out and openly declares that he is our enemy. I know how to take such a man, but a devil with a Saint's cloak on is one of the meanest characters you can imagine. I say, blessings on the head of a wicked Gentile who is my avowed enemy, far sooner than upon an enemy cloaked with a Saint's profession. 3:120.

But I hope and trust in the Lord my God that I shall never be left to praise this people, to speak well of them, for the purpose of cheering and comforting them by the art {361} of flattery; to lead them on by smooth speeches day after day, week after week, month after month, and year after year, and let them roll sin as a sweet morsel under their tongues, and be guilty of transgressing the law of God. I hope I shall never be left to flatter this people, or any people, on the earth, in their iniquity, but far rather chasten them for their wickedness and praise them for their goodness. 4:22.

The religion that we have embraced must last a man from Monday morning until Monday morning, and from Saturday night until Saturday night, and from one new year until another; it must be in all our thoughts and words, in all our ways and dealings. We come here to tell the people how to be saved; we know how, consequently we can tell others. Suppose our calling tomorrow is to conduct a railroad, to go into some philosophical business, or no matter what, our minds, our faith or religion, our God and his Spirit are with us; and if we should happen to be found in a room dedicated for purposes of amusement and an accident should occur, and an Elder engaged in the dance is called upon to go and lay hands on the sick, if he is not prepared to exercise his calling and his faith in God as much there as at any other time and in any other place, he never should be found there, for none have a legal right to the amusements which the Lord has ordained for his children except those who acknowledge his hand in all things and keep his commandments. 14:117. {362}