Chapter XXXVI…

Chapter XXXVI

TEMPLES AND SALVATION FOR THE DEAD

Saints Always Commanded to Build Temples--We are going to build temples. This law is given to the children of men. 14:95.

Concerning revelations pertaining to building temples, I will give you the words of our beloved Prophet while he was yet living upon the earth. Many of us that are here today, were with him from the commencement of the Church. He was frequently speaking upon the building of temples in Kirtland, Missouri, and Illinois. When the people refused in Kirtland to build a temple, unless by a special revelation, it grieved his heart that they should be so penurious in their feelings as to require the Lord to command them to build a house to his name. It was not only grievous to him, but to the Holy Spirit also. He frequently said that if it were not for the covetousness of the people, the Lord would not give revelations concerning the building of temples, for we already knew all about them; the revelations giving us the order of the Priesthood make known to us what is wanted in that respect at our hands. 1:277.

We that are here are enjoying a privilege that we have no knowledge of any other people enjoying since the days of Adam, that is, to have a temple completed, wherein all the ordinances of the house of God can be bestowed upon his people. Brethren and sisters, do you understand this? It seems that a great many of the people know nothing about it. It is true that Solomon built a temple for the purpose of giving endowments, but from what we can learn of {603} the history of that time they gave very few if any endowments, and one of the high priests was murdered by wicked and corrupt men, who had already begun to apostatize, because he would not reveal those things appertaining to the Priesthood that were forbidden him to reveal until he came to the proper place. I will not say but what Enoch had temples and officiated therein, but we have no account of it. We know that he raised up a people so pure and holy that they were not permitted to remain with the wicked inhabitants of the earth, but were taken to another place. 18:303.

The earth, the Lord says, abides its creation; it has been baptized with water, and will, in the future, be baptized with fire and the Holy Ghost, to be prepared to go back into the celestial presence of God, with all things that dwell upon it which have, like the earth, abided the law of their creation. Taking this view of the matter, it may be asked why we build temples. We build temples because there is not a house on the face of the whole earth that has been reared to God's name which will in anywise compare with his character, and that he can consistently call his house. There are places on the earth where the Lord can come and dwell, if he pleases. They may be found on the tops of high mountains, or in some cavern or places where sinful man has never marked the soil with his polluted feet.

He requires his servants to build him a house that he can come to and where he can make known his will. 10:252.

We enjoy the privilege of entering into a temple, built to the name of God, and receiving the ordinances of his house, with all the keys and blessings preparatory to entering {604} into the "lives;" we also enjoy the privilege of administering for our fathers and mothers, our grandfathers and grandmothers, for those who have slept without the Gospel. 19:22.

In the spirit world those who have got the victory go on to prepare the way for those who live in the flesh, fulfilling the work of saviors on Mount Zion.

To accomplish this work there will have to be not only one temple but thousands of them, and thousands and tens of thousands of men and women will go into those temples and officiate for people who have lived as far back as the Lord shall reveal. If we are faithful enough to go back and build that great temple which Joseph has written about, and should the Lord acknowledge the labor of his servants, then watch, for you will see somebody whom you have seen before, and many of you will see him whom you have not seen before, but you will know him as soon as you see him. 3:372.

Temples Indispensable for Higher Ordinances--In consequence of our having been driven from our homes, and because of our destitute circumstances, the Lord has permitted us to do what we have done, namely, to use this Endowment House for temple purposes. But since, through the mercies and blessings of God, we are able to build temples, it is the will and commandment of God that we do so. 18:263.

Do we need a temple? We do, to prepare us to enter in through the gate into the city where the Saints are at rest. Ordinances necessary to this have not yet been performed and cannot be in the absence of a suitable place. We wish a temple, not for the public congregation, but for the Priesthood, wherein to arrange and organize fully the {605} Priesthood in its order and degrees, to administer the ordinance of the Priesthood to the Saints for their exaltation. 9:240.

We cannot now administer the further ordinances of God, in the fullest sense of the word, legally unto the people, neither shall we be able to do so until we have a temple built for that purpose. Some may consider that I am notifying our common foe in saying this, but it is true, notwithstanding, and our common foe knows it. We must be situated in local circumstances wherein we can efficiently administer in those ordinances of the house of God that cannot be administered to a people while they are scattered abroad among the nations of the wicked. 12:162.

There are some of the sealing ordinances that cannot be administered in the house that we are now using; we can only administer in it some of the first ordinances of the Priesthood pertaining to the endowment. There are more advanced ordinances that cannot be administered there; we would, therefore, like a temple, but I am willing to wait a few years for it. I want to see the temple built in a manner that it will endure through the Millennium. This is not the only temple we shall build; there will be hundreds of them built and dedicated to the Lord. This temple will be known as the first temple built in the mountains by the Latter-day Saints. And when the Millennium is over, and all the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, down to the last of their posterity, who come within the reach of the clemency of the Gospel, have been redeemed in hundreds of temples through the administration of their children as proxies for them, I want that temple still to stand as a proud monument of the faith, perseverance and industry of the Saints of God in the mountains, in the nineteenth century. 10:254. {606}

We have often told you that we want to build a temple, but not for convening promiscuous congregations. I inform you, long before you see the walls reared and the building completed, that it will be for the purposes of the Priesthood, and not for meetings of the people; we shall not hold public meetings in it. I should like to see the temple built, in which you will see the Priesthood in its order and true organization, each Quorum in its place. 8:202-203.

Endowments Given in Temples--The commandments contained in the New Testament with regard to the ordinances of the house of God are obligatory upon us. 13:314.

Every individual who is prepared for the celestial kingdom must go through the same things. 3:195.

It is absolutely necessary that-the Saints should receive the further ordinances of the house of God before this short existence shall come to a close, that they may be prepared and fully able to pass all the sentinels leading into the celestial kingdom and into the presence of God. 12:163-4.

Then go on and build the temples of the Lord, that you may receive the endowments in store for you, and possess the keys of the eternal Priesthood, that you may receive every word, sign, and token, and be made acquainted with the laws of angels, and of the kingdom of our Father and our God, and know how to pass from one degree to another, and enter fully into the joy of your Lord. 2:315.

Some of us are not dependent on the temple for our endowment blessings, for we have received them under the hands of Joseph the Prophet, and know where to go to bestow the same on others. You may ask me whether the leaders of this Church have received all their endowment blessings. I think that we have got all that you can get in your probation, if you live to be the age of Methuselah; and {607} we can give what we possess to others who are worthy. 10:254.

A great many of you have had your endowments, and you know what a vote with uplifted hands means.

It is a sign which you make in token of your covenant with God and with one another, and it is for you to perform your vows. When you raise your hands to heaven and let them fall and then pass on with your covenants unfulfilled, you will be cursed.

I feel sometimes like lecturing men and women severely who enter into covenants without realizing the nature of the covenants they make, and who use little or no effort to fulfil them.

Some Elders go to the nations and preach the Gospel of life and salvation, and return without thoroughly understanding the nature of the covenant. It is written in the Bible that every man should perform his own vows, even if to his own hurt; in this way you will show to all creation and to God that you are full of integrity. 3:332.

Most of you, my brethren, are Elders, Seventies, or High Priests; perhaps there is not a Priest or Teacher present. The reason of this is that when we give the brethren their endowments, we are obliged to confer upon them the Melchizedek Priesthood; but I expect to see the day, when we shall be so situated that we can say to a company of brethren, You can go and receive the ordinances pertaining to the Aaronic order of Priesthood, and then you can go into the world and preach the Gospel, or do something that will prove whether you will honor that Priesthood before you receive more. Now we pass them through the ordinances of both Priesthoods in one day, but this is not as it should be and would, if we had a temple wherein to administer {608} these ordinances. But this is all right at present; we should not be satisfied in any other way, and consequently we do according to the circumstances we are placed in. 10:309.

The ordinances of the house of God are for the salvation of the human family. We are the only ones on the earth at the present time, that we have any knowledge of, who hold the keys of salvation committed to the children of men from the heavens by the Lord Almighty; and inasmuch as there are those who hold these keys, it is important that they should be acted upon for the salvation of the human family. The building of temples, places in which the ordinances of salvation are administered, is necessary to carry out the plan of redemption, and it is a glorious subject upon which to address the Saints. 13:262.

Giving endowments to a great many proves their overthrow, through revealing things to them which they cannot keep. They are not worthy to receive them. 4:372.

Were it not for what is revealed concerning the sealing ordinances, children born out of the covenant could not be sealed to their parents. 18:249.

The ordinances of the house of God are expressly for the Church of the Firstborn. 8:154.

I would rather see this people cleansed, and give the righteous their endowments after they have waited awhile. Let the poor, and those who are humble before the Lord, have the first chance. 2:144.

Vicarious Work for the Dead in Temples--We are preaching to them the Gospel of Salvation--to the dead--through those who have lived in this dispensation. 3:90.

There is an opportunity for men who are in the spirit to receive the Gospel. Jesus, while his body lay in the grave two nights and one day, went to the world of spirits to {609} show the brethren how they should build up the kingdom, and bring spirits to the knowledge of the truth in the spirit world; he went to set them the pattern there, as he had done on this earth. Hence you perceive that there, spirits have the privilege of embracing the truth.

You may ask if they are baptized there? No. Can they have hands laid upon them for the gift of the Holy Ghost? No. None of the outward ordinances that pertain to the flesh are administered there, but the light, glory, and power of the Holy Ghost are enjoyed just as freely as upon this earth; and there are laws which govern and control the spirit world, and to which they are subject. 2:138.

Now a few words to the brethren and sisters upon the doctrine and ordinances of the house of God. All who have lived on the earth according to the best light they had, and would have received the fulness of the Gospel had it been preached to them, are worthy of a glorious resurrection, and will attain to this by being administered for, in the flesh, by those who have the authority. All others will have a resurrection, and receive a glory, except those who have sinned against the Holy Ghost. It is supposed by this people that we have all the ordinances in our possession for life and salvation, and exaltation, and that we are administering in these ordinances. This is not the case. We are in possession of all the ordinances that can be administered in the flesh; but there are other ordinances and administrations that must be administered beyond this world. I know you would ask what they are. I will mention one. We have not, neither can we receive here, the ordinance and the keys of the resurrection. They will be given to those who have passed off this stage of action and have received their bodies again, as many have already done and {610} many more will. They will be ordained, by those who hold the keys of the resurrection, to go forth and resurrect the Saints, just as we receive the ordinance of baptism, then the keys of authority to baptize others for the remission of their sins. This is one of the ordinances we cannot receive here, and there are many more. We hold the authority to dispose of, alter and change the elements; but we have not received authority to organize native element, to even make a spear of grass grow.

We have no such ordinance here. We organize according to men in the flesh. By combining the elements and planting the seed, we cause vegetables, trees, grains, etc., to come forth. We are organizing a Kingdom here according to the pattern that the Lord has given for people in the flesh, but not for those who have received the resurrection, although it is a similitude. Another item: We have not the power in the flesh to create and bring forth or produce a spirit; but we have the power to produce a temporal body; the germ of this, God has placed within us. And when our spirits receive our bodies, and through our faithfulness we are worthy to be crowned, we will then receive authority to produce both spirit and body. But these keys we cannot receive in the flesh. Herein, brethren, you can perceive that we have not finished, and cannot finish our work, while we live here, no more than Jesus did while he was in the flesh.

We cannot receive, while in the flesh, the keys to form and fashion kingdoms and to organize matter, for they are beyond our capacity and calling, beyond this world. In the resurrection, men who have been faithful and diligent in all things in the flesh; have kept their first and second estate, and are worthy to be crowned Gods, even the Sons of God, {611} will be ordained to organize matter. How much matter do you suppose there is between here and some of the fixed stars which we can see? Enough to frame many, very many millions of such earths as this, yet it is now so diffused, clear and pure, that we look through it and behold the stars. Yet the matter is there. Can you form any conception of this? Can you form any idea of the minuteness of matter? 15:136.

Do you recollect that in about the year 1840-41, Joseph had a revelation concerning the dead? He had been asked the question a good many times: "What is the condition of the dead, those that lived and died without the Gospel?" It was a matter of inquiry with him. He considered this question for himself, and for the brethren and the Church, "What is the condition of the dead? What will be their fate? Is there no way today by which they can receive their blessings as there was in the days of the Apostles, and when the Gospel was preached upon the earth in ancient days?" When Joseph received the revelation that we have in our possession concerning the dead, the subject was opened to him, not in full, but in part, and he kept on receiving. When he had first received the knowledge by the spirit of revelation how the dead could be officiated for, there are brethren and sisters here, I can see quite a number here who were in Nauvoo, and you recollect that when this doctrine was first revealed, and in hurrying in the administration of baptism for the dead, that sisters were baptized for their male friends, were baptized for their fathers, their grandfathers, their mothers and their grandmothers, etc. I just mention this so that you will come to understanding, that as we knew nothing about this matter at first, the old Saints recollect, there was little by little given, and the subject was made plain, but little was given at once. Consequently, in {612} the first place people were baptized for their friends and no record was kept. Joseph afterwards kept a record. Then women were baptized for men and men for women, etc. It would be very strange, you know, to the eyes of the wise and those that understood the things pertaining to eternity, if we were called upon to commence a work that we could not finish. This, therefore, was regulated and all set in order; for it was revealed that if a woman was baptized for a man, she could not be ordained for him, neither could she be made an Apostle or a Patriarch for the man, consequently the sisters are to be baptized for their own sex only.

This doctrine of baptism for the dead is a great doctrine, one of the most glorious doctrines that was revealed to the human family; and there are light, power, glory, honor and immortality in it. 16:165.

There are many of the ordinances of the house of God that must be performed in a temple that is erected expressly for the purpose. There are other ordinances that we can administer without a temple. You know that there are some which you have received--baptism, the laying on of hands for the gifts of the Holy Ghost, such as the speaking in and interpretation of tongues, prophesying, healing, discerning of spirits, etc., and many blessings bestowed upon the people, we have the privilege of receiving without a temple. There are other blessings, that will not be received, and ordinances that will not be performed according to the law that the Lord has revealed, without their being done in a temple prepared for that purpose. We can, at the present time, go into the Endowment House and be baptized for the dead, receive our washings and anointing, etc., for there we have a font that has been erected, dedicated expressly for baptizing people for the remission of sins, for their {613} health and for their dead friends; in this the Saints have the privilege of being baptized for their friends. We also have the privilege of sealing women to men, without a temple. This we can do in the Endowment House; but when we come to other sealing ordinances, ordinances pertaining to the holy Priesthood, to connect the chain of the Priesthood from Father Adam until now, by sealing children to their parents, being sealed for our forefathers, etc., they cannot be done without a temple. When the ordinances are carried out in the temples that will be erected, men will be sealed to their fathers, and those who have slept, clear up to Father Adam. This will have to be done, because of the chain of the Priesthood being broken upon the earth. The Priesthood has left the people, but in the first place the people left the Priesthood. They transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, and broke the everlasting covenant, and the Priesthood left them; but not until they had left the Priesthood. This Priesthood has been restored again, and by its authority we shall be connected with our fathers, by the ordinance of sealing, until we shall form a perfect chain from Father Adam down to the closing up scene. This ordinance will not be performed anywhere but in a temple; neither will children be sealed to their living parents in any other place than a temple. For instance, a man and his wife come into the Church, and they have a family of children. These children have been begotten out of the covenant, because the marriage of their parents is not recognized by the Lord as performed by his authority; they have, therefore, to be sealed to their parents, or else they cannot claim them in eternity; they will be distributed according to the wisdom of the Lord, who does all things right. When we had a temple prepared in Nauvoo, many {614} of the brethren had their children, who were out of the covenant, sealed to them, and endowments were given. Then parents, after receiving their endowments and being sealed for time and eternity, and they have other children; they are begotten and born under the covenant, and they are the rightful heirs to the kingdom, they possess the keys of the kingdom. Children born unto parents, before the latter enter into the fulness of the covenants, have to be sealed to them in-a temple to become legal heirs of the Priesthood. It is true they can receive the ordinances, they can receive their endowments, and be blessed in common with their parents; but still the parents cannot claim them legally and lawfully in eternity unless they are sealed to them. Yet the chain would not be complete without this sealing ordinance being performed.

Now, to illustrate this, I will refer to my own father's family. My father died before the endowments were given. None of his children have been sealed to him. If you recollect, you that were in Nauvoo, we were very much hurried in the little time we spent there after the temple was built. The mob was there ready to destroy us; they were ready to burn our houses, they had been doing it for a long time; but we finished the temple according to the commandment that was given to Joseph, and then took our departure. Our time, therefore, was short, and we had no time to attend to this. My father's children, consequently, have not been sealed to him. Perhaps all of his sons may go into eternity, into the spirit world, before this can be attended to; but this will make no difference; the heirs of the family will attend to this if it is not for a hundred years.

It will have to be done sometime. If, however, we get a temple prepared before the sons of my father shall all {615} have gone into the spirit world, if there are any of them remaining, they will attend to this, and as heirs be permitted to receive the ordinances for our father and mother. This is only one case, and, to illustrate this subject perfectly, I might have to refer to hundreds of examples for each case. 16:186.

We trust in God. I reckon he will fight our battles and we will be baptized for and in behalf of the human family during a thousand years; and we will have hundreds of temples and thousands of men and women officiating therein for those who have fallen asleep, without having had the privilege of hearing and obeying the Gospel, that they may be brought forth and have a glorious resurrection, and enjoy the kingdom which God has prepared for them. The Devil will fight hard to hinder us, and we shall not take an inch of ground except by obedience to the power of, and faith in, the Gospel of the Son of God. The whole world is opposed to this doctrine. But is there any harm in it? If they could only see it as it is in the Lord, they would rejoice in it, and instead of fighting it, they would praise God for having revealed so glorious a doctrine. Suppose that the notion entertained by some is true, that after the death of our bodies our spirits sleep an eternal sleep, and I am baptized for my father, grandfather, and so on, above, beneath, or around about the earth! All will admit that no harm would be done in practicing these ordinances. Then let us alone if our practices will do no harm, why oppose us in their observance? The result might possibly affect beneficially our progenitors, and then you who oppose would be found fighting against God. Better let the Gospel have its course. 13:330.

Let me say to you, if it is true that no man can enter the {616} Kingdom of God unless he is born of the water and of the Spirit, God must provide a plan by which those who have died ignorant of the Gospel may have the privilege of doing so, or he would appear to be a partial being. Has he provided that way? He has. The Christian world have taught, preached, contemplated, meditated, sung about and prayed for the Millennium. What are you going to do during that period, Christians? Do you know what the Millennium is for, and what work will have to be done during that period? Suppose the Christian world were now one in heart, faith, sentiment and works, so that the Lord could commence the Millennium in power and glory, do you know what would be done? Would you sit and sing yourselves away to everlasting bliss? No, I reckon not. I think there is a work to be done then which the whole world seems determined we shall not do. What is it? To build temples. We never yet commenced to lay the foundation of a temple but what all hell was in arms against us. That is the difficulty now. We have commenced the foundation of this temple. What are we going to do in these temples? Anything to be done there? Yes, and we will not wait for the Millennium and the fulness of the glory of God on the earth; we will commence as soon as we have a temple, and work for the salvation of our forefathers; we will get their genealogies as far as we can. By and by, we shall get them perfect. In these temples we will officiate in the ordinances of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for our friends, for no man can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of the water and of the Spirit. We will officiate for those who are in the spirit world, where Jesus went to preach to the spirits, as Peter has written in the third chapter, verses 18, 19, 20, of his first epistle. {617}

We will also have hands laid on us for the reception of the Holy Ghost; and then we will receive the washing and anointings for and in their behalf, preparatory to their becoming heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ. Are you going to do this, Latter-day Saints? Yes. What will the Christian world do with their dead? Let them sleep an eternal sleep, for there are no provisions made for them in the Gospel they believe in and have taught to them. 13:329.

We will bring up all the inhabitants of the earth, except those who have sinned against the Holy Ghost, and save them in some kingdom where they will receive more glory and honor than ever the Methodist contemplated. This should be a comfort and a consolation to all the inhabitants of the earth. They will not save themselves, millions have not had a chance, and millions now living, through the strength of their traditions, will not do it; their consciences and feelings are bound up in their systems and creeds, whereas if they felt as independent as they should feel, they would break loose and receive the truths; but they will live and die in bondage, and we calculate to officiate for them. Many a man I know of, who has fallen asleep, we have been baptized for, since the Church was organized--good, honest, honorable men, charitable to all, living good, virtuous lives. We will not let them go down to hell; God will not. The plan of salvation is ample to bring them all up and place them where they may enjoy all they could anticipate. 14:97.

Can we do anything for them? Yes. What are we trying to build a temple for? And we shall not only build a temple here, if we are successful, and are blessed and preserved, but we shall probably commence two or three more, and so on as fast as the work requires, for the express purpose of redeeming our dead. When I get a revelation that {618} some of my progenitors lived and died without the blessings of the Gospel, or even hearing it preached, but were as honest as I am, as upright as I am, or as any man or woman could be upon the earth; as righteous, so far as they knew how, as any Apostle or Prophet that ever lived, I will go and be baptized, confirmed, washed, and anointed, and go through all the ordinances and endowments for them, that their way may be open to the celestial kingdom.

As I have frequently told you, that is the work of the Millennium. It is the work that has to be performed by the seed of Abraham, the chosen seed, the royal seed, the blessed of the Lord, those the Lord made covenants with. They will step forth, and save every son and daughter of Adam who will receive salvation here on the earth; and all the spirits in the spirit world will be preached to, conversed with, and the principles of salvation carried to them, that they may have the privilege of receiving the Gospel; and they will have plenty of children here on the earth to officiate for them in those ordinances of the Gospel that pertain to the flesh. 2:138.

What do you suppose the fathers would say if they could speak from the dead? Would they not say, "We have lain here thousands of years, here in this prison house, waiting for this dispensation to come? Here we are, bound and fettered, in the association of those who are filthy?" What would they whisper in our ears? Why, if they had the power the very thunders of heaven would be in our ears, if we could but realize the importance of the work we are engaged in. All the angels in heaven are looking at this little handful of people, and stimulating them to the salvation of the human family. So also are the devils in hell looking at this people, too, and trying to overthrow us, and {619} the people are still shaking hands with the servants of the Devil, instead of sanctifying themselves and calling upon the Lord and doing the work which he has commanded us and put into our hands to do. When I think upon this subject, I want the tongues of seven thunders to wake up the people. 18:304.

We are trying to save the living and the dead. The living can have their choice, the dead have not. Millions of them died without the Gospel, without the Priesthood, and without the opportunities that we enjoy. We shall go forth in the name of Israel's God and attend to the ordinances for them. And through the Millennium, the thousand years that the people will love and serve God, we will build temples and officiate therein for those who have slept for hundreds and thousands of years--those who would have received the truth if they had had the opportunity; and we will bring them up, and form the chain entire, back to Adam. 14:97.

If we preserve ourselves in the truth and live so that we shall be worthy of the celestial kingdom, by and by we can officiate for those who have died without the Gospel--the honest, honorable, truthful, virtuous and pure. By and by it will be said unto us, Go ye forth and be baptized for them and receive the ordinances for them, and the hearts of the children will be turned to the fathers who have slept in their graves, and they will secure to them eternal life. This must be, lest the Lord come and smite the earth with a curse. The children will go forth and revive this law for those who have slept for thousands of years who died without the Gospel. Jesus will prepare a way to bring them up into his presence. But were it not for the few who will be prepared here on the earth to officiate {620} when the Lord shall come to reign King of nations, what would be the condition of the world? They would sleep and sleep on; but the way is prepared for their redemption. 14:151.

Hundreds of millions of human beings have been born, lived out their short earthly span, and passed away, ignorant alike of themselves and of the plan of salvation provided for them. It gives great consolation, however, to know that this glorious plan devised by Heaven follows them into the next existence, offering for their acceptance eternal life and exaltation to thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers in the presence of their Father and God, through Jesus Christ, his Son. 9:148.

If we obey this law, preserve it inviolate, live according to it, we shall be prepared to enjoy the blessings of a celestial kingdom. Will any others? Yes, thousands and millions of the inhabitants of the earth who would have received and obeyed the law that we preach, if they had had the privilege. When the Lord shall bring again Zion, and the watchmen shall see eye to eye, and Zion shall be established, saviors will come upon Mount Zion and save all the sons and daughters of Adam that are capable of being saved, by administering for them. 8:35.

Our enemies will yet be glad to come to us for safety and salvation; and we will do as Brother Kimball has said--we will save the old veteran fathers; and the time will come when we will be baptized for them, while those who trample upon the rights of their fellow men will be weltering in hell. Yes, we will bring up those old revolutionary sires and save them; for God loves men who are true to each other and are true to him. 5:212.

Who Should Represent the Dead--A man is ordained {621} and receives his washings, anointings, and endowments for the male portion of his and his wife's progenitors, and his wife for the female portion. 3:372.

For instance, a man and his wife come into the Church; he says, "My father and mother were good people; I would like to officiate for them." "Well, have you any other friends in the Church?" "Nobody but myself and my wife." Well, now, the wife is not a blood relation, consequently she is not in reality the proper person, but she can be appointed the heir if there are no other relatives--if there are no sisters, this wife of his can officiate for the mother; but if the man has a sister in the Church, it is the privilege and place of the sister of this man, the daughter of those parents that are dead, to go and officiate--be baptized, to go and be sealed with her brother for her father and mother. If this man and woman have a daughter old enough to officiate for her grandmother, she is a blood relation, and is the heir, and can act; but if there is no daughter, the man's wife can be appointed as the heir. 16:188.

Some brethren here are anxious to know whether they can receive endowments for their sons or for their daughters. No, they cannot until we have a temple; but they can officiate in the ordinances so far as baptism and sealing are concerned. A man can be baptized for a son who died before hearing the Gospel. A woman can be baptized for her daughter, who died without the Gospel. Suppose that the father of a dead son wishes to have a wife sealed to his son; if the young woman desired as a wife is dead and have a mother or other female relative in the Church, such mother is the heir, and she can act in the sealing ordinances in the stead of her daughter. But if the young woman desired as a wife have no relative in the Church, to act in her behalf, {622} then the mother of the young man can be baptized for her, and act as proxy for her in the sealing ordinances. We can attend to these ordinances now before the temple is built here; but no one can receive endowments for another, until a temple is prepared in which to administer them. We administer just so far as the law permits us to do. In reality we should have performed all these ordinances long ago, if we had been obedient; we should have had temples in which we could attend to all these ordinances. Now, the brethren have the privilege of being baptized for their dead friends--when I say the brethren, I mean the brethren and sisters--and these friends can be sealed. 16:187.

We will operate here, in all the ordinances of the house of God which pertain to this side of the veil, and those who pass beyond and secure to themselves a resurrection pertaining to the lives will go on and receive more and more, more and more, and will receive one after another until they are crowned Gods, even the sons of God. This idea is very consoling. We are now baptizing for the dead, and we are sealing for the dead, and if we had a temple prepared we should be giving endowments for the dead--for our fathers, mothers, grandfathers, grandmothers, uncles, aunts, relatives, friends and old associates, the history of whom we are now getting from our friends in the East. The Lord is stirring up the hearts of many there, and there is a perfect mania with some to trace their genealogies and to get up printed records of their ancestors. They do not know what they are doing it for, but the Lord is prompting them; and it will continue and run on from father to father, father to father, until they get the genealogy of their forefathers as far as they possibly can. 15:138.

We want to sacrifice enough to do the will of God in {623} preparing to bring up those who have not had the privilege of hearing the Gospel while in the flesh, for the simple reason that, in the spirit world, they cannot officiate in the ordinances of the house of God. They have passed the ordeals, and are beyond the possibility of personally officiating for the remission of their sins and for their exaltation, consequently they are under the necessity of trusting in their friends, their children and their children's children to officiate for them, that they may be brought up into the celestial kingdom of God. 18:238.

"Saviors on Mount Zion"--We have a work to do just as important in its sphere as the Savior's work was in its sphere. Our fathers cannot be made perfect without us; we cannot be made perfect without them. They have done their work and now sleep. We are now called upon to do ours; which is to be the greatest work man ever performed on the earth. Millions of our fellow creatures who have lived upon the earth and died without a knowledge of the Gospel must be officiated for in order that they may inherit eternal life (that is, all that would have received the Gospel). And we are called upon to enter into this work. 18:213.

We are called, as it has been told you, to redeem the nations of the earth. The fathers cannot be made perfect without us; we cannot be made perfect without the fathers. There must be this chain in the holy Priesthood; it must be welded together from the latest generation that lives on the earth back to Father Adam, to bring back all that can be saved and placed where they can receive salvation and a glory in some kingdom. This Priesthood has to do it; this Priesthood is for this purpose. 13:280.

Can the fathers be saved without us? No. Can we be {624} saved without them? No, and if we do not wake up and cease to long after the things of this earth, we will find that we as individuals will go down to hell, although the Lord will preserve a people unto himself. Now, we are ready to give endowments, do you have any feelings for those who have died without having the Gospel? 18:304.

The ordinance of sealing must be performed here man to man, and woman to man, and children to parents, etc., until the chain of generation is made perfect in the sealing ordinances back to Father Adam; hence, we have been commanded to gather ourselves together, to come out from Babylon, and sanctify ourselves, and build up the Zion of our God, by building cities and temples, redeeming countries from the solitude of nature, until the earth is sanctified and prepared for the residence of God and angels. 12:165.

The doctrines of the Savior reveal and place the believers in possession of principles whereby saviors will come upon Mount Zion to save the House of Esau, which is the Gentile nations, from sin and death,--all except those who have sinned against the Holy Ghost. Men and women will enter into the temples of God, and be, in comparison, pillars there, and officiate year after year for those who have slept thousands of years. 6:344.

When his Kingdom is established upon the earth, and Zion built up, the Lord will send his servants as saviors upon Mount Zion. The servants of God who have lived on the earth in ages past will reveal where different persons have lived who have died without the Gospel, give their names, and say, "Now go forth, ye servants of God, and exercise your rights and privileges; go and perform the ordinances of the house of God for those who have passed their {625} probation without the Gospel, and for all who will receive any kind of salvation; bring them up to inherit the celestial, terrestrial, and telestial kingdoms," and probably many other kingdoms not mentioned in the Scriptures; for every person will receive according to his capacity and according to the deeds done in the body, whether good or bad, much or little. 6:347.

Who will possess the earth and all its fulness? Will it not be those whom the Lord has reserved to this honor? And they will come upon Mount Zion as saviors to labor through the Millennium to save others. 8:191.

Suppose we are ready to go into the temples of God to officiate for our fathers and our grandfathers--for our ancestors back for hundreds of years, who are all looking to see what their children are doing upon the earth. The Lord says, I have sent the keys of Elijah the Prophet--I have imparted that doctrine to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers. Now, all you children, are you looking to the salvation of your fathers? Are you seeking diligently to redeem those that have died without the Gospel, inasmuch as they sought the Lord Almighty to obtain promises for you? For our fathers did obtain promises that their seed should not be forgotten. O ye children of the fathers, look at these things. You are to enter into the temples of the Lord and officiate for your forefathers.

Suppose we are ready to enter into the temple to be baptized and attend to the ordinances for one hundred of our best forefathers, and Thomas should say to John, "John, take this affair and see to it; I want to go to this ferry to make a little money;" or, "Joseph, you know the names of our ancestors better than I do; won't you go and see to {626} their salvation? I have not time myself; I want to build a bridge." "James, are you ready to perform your duties for the dead?" "No; I want to go and keep a grocery." And you know the language that is common to such places; the name of the Lord is blasphemed, and his servants are cursed with bitter oaths.

What do you think of it, gentlemen, Elders in Israel? What would money have to do with you, if you were now upon the threshold of eternity, and eternity open to you? Would you have the apostasy, as you have now? A little money is more to such persons than the salvation of all the sons and daughters of Adam. I wish I had a voice like ten thousand earthquakes, that all the world might hear and know the loving kindness of the Lord. 6:296.

What is going to be done with them? By and by Zion will be built up; temples are going to be reared, and the holy Priesthood is going to take effect and rule, and every law of Christ will be obeyed, and he will govern and reign King of nations as he now does King of Saints. Pretty soon you will see temples reared up, and the sons of Jacob will enter into the temples of the Lord. What will they do there? They will do a great many things. When you see Zion redeemed and built up--when you see the people performing the ordinances of salvation for themselves and for others, (and they will hereafter,) you will see simply this (but I have not time this morning to tell you, only a little part of it): About the time that the temples of the Lord will be built and Zion is established--pretty nigh this time, you will see (those who are faithful enough,) the first you know, there will be strangers in your midst, walking with you, talking with you; they will enter into your houses and eat and drink with you, go to meeting with you, and begin {627} to open your minds, as the Savior did the two disciples who walked out in the country in the days of old.

About the time the temples are ready, the strangers will be along and will converse with you, and will inquire of you, probably, if you understand the resurrection of the dead. You might say you have heard and read a great deal about it, but you do not properly understand it; and they will then open your minds and tell you the principles of the resurrection of the dead and how to save your friends; they will point out Scriptures in the Old and New Testament, in the Book of Mormon, and other revelations of God, saying, "Don't you recollect reading so and so, that saviors should come up on Mount Zion?" etc., and they will expound the Scriptures to you. You have got your temples ready; now go forth and be baptized for those good people. There are your father and your mother--your ancestors for many generations back--the people that have lived upon the face of the earth since the Priesthood was taken away, thousands and millions of them, who have lived according to the best light and knowledge in their possession. They will expound the Scriptures to you, and open your minds, and teach you of the resurrection of the just and the unjust of the doctrine of salvation, they will use the keys of the holy Priesthood, and unlock the door of knowledge, to let you look into the palace of truth. You will exclaim, That is all plain: why did I not understand it before? and you will begin to feel your hearts burn within you, as they walk and talk with you.

You will enter into the temple of the Lord and begin to offer up ordinances before the Lord for your dead. Says this or that man, I want to save such a person--I want to save my father; and he straightway goes forth in the ordinance {628} of baptism, and is confirmed, and washed, and anointed, and ordained to the blessings of the holy Priesthood for his ancestors? Before his work is finished, a great many of the Elders of Israel in Mount Zion will become pillars in the temple of God, to go no more out. They will eat and drink and sleep there; and they will often have occasion to say, "Somebody came to the temple last night; we did not know who he was, but he was no doubt a brother, and told us a great many things we did not before understand. He gave us the names of a great many of our forefathers that are not on record, and he gave me my true lineage and the names of my forefathers for hundreds of years back. He said to me, you and I are connected in one family; there are the names of your ancestors; take them and write them down, and be baptized and confirmed, and save such and such ones, and receive of the blessings of the eternal Priesthood for such and such an individual, as you do for yourselves." This is what we are going to do for the inhabitants of the earth. When I look at it, I do not want to rest a great deal, but be industrious all the day long; for when we come to think upon it, we have no time to lose, for it is a pretty laborious work. 6:294-5.

Then in the spirit world they will say, "Do you not see somebody at work for you? The Lord remembers you and has revealed to his servants on the earth, what to do for you." 3:372.

When the Lord shall usher in the morning of rest, we may enter into our labors to officiate for our dead friends back to Adam. 6:149.

Powers of Evil Opposed to Temple Building--Some say, "I do not like to do it, for we never began to build a temple without the bells of hell beginning to ring." I want to hear {629} them ring again. All the tribes of hell will be on the move, if we uncover the walls of this temple. But what do you think it will amount to? You have all the time seen what it has amounted to. 8:355-6.

[Image: THE SALT LAKE TEMPLE]

I can say, for my comfort and consolation, and for yours too, that we did build two temples, and commenced another. We completed a temple in Kirtland and in Nauvoo; and did not the bells of hell toll all the time we were building them? They did, every week and every day. 8:356.

The Salt Lake Temple--This I do know--there should be a temple built here. I do know it is the duty of this people to commence to build a temple. Now, some will want to know what kind of a building it will be. Wait patiently, brethren, until it is done, and put forth your hands willingly to finish it. I know what it will be. I scarcely ever say much about revelations, or visions, but suffice it to say, five years ago last July I was here, and saw in the spirit the temple not ten feet from where we have laid the chief cornerstone. I have not inquired what kind of a temple we should build. Why? Because it was represented before me. I have never looked upon that ground, but the vision of it was there. I see it as plainly as if it was in reality before me. Wait until it is done. I will say, however, that it will have six towers, to begin with, instead of one. Now do not any of you apostatize because it will have six towers, and Joseph only built one. It is easier for us to build sixteen, than it was for him to build one. The time will come when there will be one in the centre of temples we shall build, and, on the top, groves and fish ponds. But we shall not see them here, at present. 1:132.

I have determined, by the help of the Lord and this people, to build him a house. You may ask, "Will he dwell {630} in it?" He may do just as he pleases; it is not my prerogative to dictate to the Lord. But we will build him a house, that, if he pleases to pay us a visit, he may have a place to dwell in, or if he should send any of his servants, we may have suitable accommodations for them. I have built myself a house, and the most of you have done the same, and now, shall we not build the Lord a house? 1:376.

"Does the Lord require the building of a temple at our hands?" I can say that he requires it just as much as ever he required one to be built elsewhere. If you should ask, "Brother Brigham, have you any knowledge concerning this; have you ever had a revelation from heaven upon it?" I can answer truly, it is before me all the time, not only today, but it was almost five years ago, when we were on this ground, looking for locations, sending our scouting parties through the country, to the right and to the left, to the north and the south, to the east and the west; before we had any returns from any of them, I knew, just as well as I now know, that this was the ground on which to erect a temple--it was before me. 1:277.

We shall attempt to build a temple to the name of our God. This has been attempted several times, but we have never yet had the privilege of completing and enjoying one. Perhaps we may in this place, but if, in the providence of God, we should not, it is all the same. It is for us to do those things which the Lord requires at our hands, and leave the result with him. It is for us to labor with a cheerful good will; and if we build a temple that is worth a million of money, and it requires all our time and means, we should leave it with cheerful hearts, if the Lord in his providence tells us so to do. If the Lord permits our enemies to drive us from it, why, we should abandon it with as much {631} cheerfulness of heart as we ever enjoy a blessing. It is no matter to us what the Lord does, or how he disposes of the labor of his servants. But when he commands, it is for his people to obey. We should be as cheerful in building this temple, if we knew beforehand that we should never enter into it when it was finished, as we would though we knew we were to live here a thousand years to enjoy it. 1:277.

I want this temple that we are now building to the name of our God, to stand for all time to come as a monument of the industry, faithfulness, faith, and integrity of the Latter-day Saints who were driven into the mountains. I want to see the temple finished as soon as it is reasonable and practicable. Whether we go in there to work or not makes no difference; I am perfectly willing to finish it to the last leaf of gold that shall be laid upon it, and to the last lock that should be put on the doors, and then lock every door, and there let it stand until the earth can rest before the Saints commence their labors there. They receive more in the house of the Lord now than is their due. Our brethren and sisters, baptized three, four, or six months ago, go and get their endowments, the sealing blessings for all eternity, the highest that can be conferred upon them, yet how lightly they are treated! Many do not consider, they do not realize these things. They have not the spirit of revelation, they do not live for it, hence they do not see these things in their proper light, and we are not in such a hurry as many think we ought to be. 11:372.

The temple will be for the endowments--for the organization and instruction of the Priesthood. If you want to build a temple on these conditions, you can have the privilege. But I never again want to see one built to go into the hands of the wicked. I have asked my Father to give me {632} power to build a temple on this block, but not until I can forever maintain my rights in it. I would rather see it burnt than to see it go into the hands of devils. I was thankful to see the temple in Nauvoo on fire. Previous to crossing the Mississippi river, we had met in that temple and handed it over to the Lord God of Israel; and when I saw the flames, I said, "Good, Father, if you want it to be burned up." I hoped to see it burned before I left, but I did not. I was glad when I heard of its being destroyed by fire, and of the walls having fallen in, and said, "Hell, you cannot now occupy it." When the temple is built here, I want to maintain it for the use of the Priesthood; if this cannot be, I would rather not see it built, but go into the mountains and administer there in the ordinances of the holy Priesthood, which is our right and privilege. I would rather do this than to build a temple for the wicked to trample under their feet. 8:203.

Address at the Laying of the Cornerstone of the Salt Lake Temple--This morning we have assembled on one of the most solemn, interesting, joyful, and glorious occasions that ever have transpired, or will transpire among the children of men, while the earth continues in its present organization, and is occupied for its present purposes. And I congratulate my brethren and sisters that it is our unspeakable privilege to stand here this day, and minister before the Lord on an occasion which has caused the tongues and pens of Prophets to speak and write for many scores of centuries which are past.

When the Lord Jesus Christ tabernacled in the flesh--when he had left the most exalted regions of his Father's glory, to suffer and shed his blood for sinning, fallen creatures, like ourselves, and the people crowded around him, {633} a certain man said unto him, "Master, I will follow thee withersoever thou goest." Jesus said unto him, "Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man hath nowhere to lay his head." And we find no record that this man followed him any farther.

Why had not the Son of Man where to lay his head? Because his Father had no house upon the earth--none dedicated to him, and preserved for his exclusive use, and the benefit of his obedient children.

The Ark containing the covenant--or the Ark of the Covenant in the days of Moses, containing the sacred records, was moved from place to place in a cart. And so sacred was that Ark, if a man stretched forth his hand to steady it, when the cart jostled, he was smitten, and died. And would to God that all who attempt to do the same in this day, figuratively speaking, might share the same fate. And they will share it sooner or later, if they do not keep their hands, and tongues, too, in their proper places, and stop dictating the order of the Gods of the Eternal Worlds.

When the Ark of the Covenant rested, or when the Children of Israel had an opportunity to rest (for they were mobbed and harrassed somewhat like the Latter-day Saints), the Lord, through Moses, commanded a tabernacle to be built, wherein should rest and be stationed, the Ark of the Covenant. And particular instructions were given by revelation to Moses, how every part of said tabernacle should be constructed, even to the curtains--the number thereof, and of what they should be made; and the covering, and the wood for the boards, and for the bars, and the court, and the pins, and the vessels, and the furniture, and everything pertaining to the tabernacle. Why did Moses need such a particular revelation to build a tabernacle? Because {634} he had never seen one, and did not know how to build it without revelation, without a pattern.

Thus the Ark of the Covenant continued until the days of David, King of Israel, standing or occupying a tabernacle, or tent. But to David, God gave commandment that he should make preparation for a house, wherein he, himself, might dwell, or which he might visit, and in which he might commune with his servants when he pleased.

From the day the Children of Israel were led out of Egypt to the days of Solomon, Jehovah had no resting place upon the earth (and for how long a period before that day, the history is unpublished), but walked in a tent or tabernacle, before the Ark, as it seemed him good, having no place to lay his head.

David was not permitted to build the house which the Lord told him should be built, because he was a "man of blood," that is, he was beset by enemies on every hand, and had to spend his days in war and bloodshed to save Israel (much as the Latter-day Saints have done, only he had the privilege of defending himself and the people from mobocrats and murderers, while we have hitherto been denied that privilege), and, consequently, he had no time to build a house unto the Lord, but, commanded his son Solomon, who succeeded him on the throne, to erect the temple at Jerusalem, which God had required at his hands.

The pattern of this temple, the length and breadth, and height of the inner and outer courts, with all the fixtures thereunto appertaining, were given to Solomon by revelation, through the proper source. And why was this revelation-pattern necessary? Because Solomon had never built a temple, and did not know what was necessary in the {635} arrangement of the different apartments, any better than Moses did what was needed in the tabernacle.

This temple, called Solomon's temple, because Solomon was the master workman, was completed some time previous to the appearance of the Son of Man on the earth, in the form of the babe of Bethlehem, and had been dedicated as the house of the Lord, and accepted as a finished work by the Father, who commanded it to be built, that his Son might have a resting place on the earth, when he should enter on his mission.

Why, then, did Jesus exclaim to the man who volunteered to follow him wheresoever he went, that "the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head?" Jesus knew the pretended saint and follower to be a hypocrite, and that if he told him plainly that he would not fare as well as the birds and foxes, he would leave him at once, and that would save him much trouble.

But how could Jesus' saying, that he had "not where to lay his head," be true? Because the house which the Father had commanded to be built for his reception, although completed, had become polluted, and hence the saying, "My house is the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves," and he made a scourge of cords, and drove the money-changers, and dove-sellers, and faro-gamblers, all out of his house, and overthrew their tables; but that did not purify the house, so that he could not sleep in it, for an holy thing dwelleth not in an unholy temple.

If Jesus could not lay his head in an unholy, polluted temple, how can the Latter-day Saints expect that the Holy Spirit will take and abide its residence with them, in their tabernacles and temples of clay, unless they keep themselves pure, spotless, and undefiled? {636}

It is no wonder that the Son of Man, soon after his resurrection from the tomb, ascended to his Father, for he had no place on earth to lay his head; his house still remaining in the possession of his enemies, so that no one had the privilege of purifying it, if they had the disposition, and otherwise the power, to do it; and the occupants thereof were professors in name, but hypocrites and apostates, from whom no good thing can be expected.

Soon after the ascension of Jesus, through mobocracy, martyrdom, and apostasy, the Church of Christ became extinct from the earth, the Man Child,--the Holy Priesthood, was received up into heaven from whence it came, and we hear no more of it on the earth, until the angels restored it to Joseph Smith, by whose ministry the Church of Jesus Christ was restored, reorganized on earth, twenty-three years ago this day, with the title of Latter-day Saints to distinguish them from the Former-day Saints.

Soon after, the Church, through our beloved Prophet Joseph, was commanded to build a temple to the Most High, in Kirtland, Ohio. Joseph not only received revelation and commandment to build a temple, but he received a pattern also, as did Moses for the tabernacle, and Solomon for his temple; for without a pattern, he could not know what was wanted, having never seen one, and not having experienced its use.

Without revelation, Joseph could not know what was wanted, any more than any other man, and, without commandment, the Church were too few in number, too weak in faith, and too poor in purse, to attempt such a mighty enterprise. But by means of all these stimulants, a mere handful of men, living on air, and a little hominy and milk, and often salt or no salt, when milk could not be had; the great {637} Prophet Joseph, in the stone quarry, quarrying rock with his own hands; and the few then in the Church, following his example of obedience and diligence wherever most needed; with laborers on the walls, holding the sword in one hand to protect themselves from the mob, while they placed the stone and moved the trowel with the other, the Kirtland temple--the second house of the Lord, that we have any published record of on the earth, was so far completed as to be dedicated. And those first Elders who helped to build it, received a portion of their first endowments, or we might say more clearly, some of the first, or introductory, or initiatory ordinances, preparatory to an endowment.

The preparatory ordinances there administered, though accompanied by the ministrations of angels, and the presence of the Lord Jesus, were but a faint similitude of the ordinances of the house of the Lord in their fulness; yet many, through the instigation of the Devil, thought they had received all, and knew as much as God; they have apostatized, and gone to hell. But be assured, brethren, there are but few, very few of the Elders of Israel, now on earth, who know the meaning of the word endowment. To know, they must experience; and to experience, a temple must be built.

Let me give you a definition in brief. Your endowment is, to receive all those ordinances in the house of the Lord, which are necessary for you, after you have departed this life, to enable you to walk back to the presence of the Father, passing the angels who stand as sentinels, being enabled to give them the key words, the signs and tokens, pertaining to the holy Priesthood, and gain your eternal exaltation in spite of earth and hell. {638}

Who has received and understands such an endowment, in this assembly? You need not answer. Your voices would be few and far between, yet the keys to these endowments are among you, and thousands have received them, so that the Devil, with all his aids, need not suppose he can again destroy the holy Priesthood from the earth, by killing a few, for he cannot do it. God has set his hand, for the last time, to redeem his people, the honest in heart, and Lucifer cannot hinder him.

Before these endowments could be given at Kirtland, the Saints had to flee before mobocracy. And, by toil and daily labor, they found places in Missouri, where they laid the cornerstones of temples, in Zion and her stakes, and then had to retreat to Illinois, to save the lives of those who could get away alive from Missouri, where fell the Apostle David W. Patten, with many like associates, and where were imprisoned in loathsome dungeons, Joseph and Hyrum, and many others. But before all this had transpired, the temple at Kirtland had fallen into the hands of wicked men, and by them been polluted, like the temple at Jerusalem, and consequently it was disowned by the Father and the Son.

At Nauvoo, Joseph dedicated another temple, the third on record. He knew what was wanted, for he had previously given most of the prominent individuals then before him their endowment. He needed no revelation then, of a thing he had long experienced, any more than those now do, who have experienced the same things. It is only where experience fails, that revelation is needed.

Before the Nauvoo temple was completed, Joseph was murdered--murdered at sun light, under the protection of the most noble Government that then existed, and that now {639} exists, on our earth. Has his blood been atoned for? No! And why? A martyr's blood to true religion was never atoned for on our earth. No man, or nation of men, without the Priesthood, has power to make atonement for such sins. The souls of all such, since the days of Jesus, are "under the altar," and are crying to God, day and night, for vengeance. And shall they cry in vain? God forbid! He has promised he will hear them in his own due time, and recompense a righteous reward.

But what of the temple in Nauvoo? By the aid of sword in one hand, and trowel and hammer in the other, with fire arms at hand, and a strong band of police, and the blessings of heaven, the Saints, through hunger, and thirst, and weariness, and watchings, and prayings, so far completed the temple, despite the devices of the mob, that many received a small portion of their endowment, but we know of no one who received it in its fulness. And then, to save the lives of all the Saints from cruel murder, we removed westward, and being led by the all-searching eye of the great Jehovah, we arrived at this place.

Of our journey hither, we need say nothing, only, God led us. Of the sufferings of those who were compelled to, and did, leave Nauvoo in the winter of 1846, we need say nothing. Those who experienced it know it, and those who did not, to tell them of it would be like exhibiting a beautiful painting to a blind man.

We will not stop to tell you of the sufferings of widows and orphans on Omaha lands, while their husbands and fathers were traversing the burning plains of the south, to fight the battles of a country which had banished them from civilization, for they secured the land on which we dwell, from our Nation's foe, exposed the gold of California, {640} and turned the world upside down. All these things are before you, you know them, and we need not repeat them.

While these things were transpiring with the Saints in the wilderness, the temple at Nauvoo passed into the hands of the enemy, who polluted it to that extent the Lord not only ceased to occupy it, but he loathed to have it called by his name, and permitted the wrath of its possessors to purify it by fire, as a token of what will speedily fall upon them and their habitations unless they repent.

But what are we here for, this day? To celebrate the birthday of our religion! To lay the foundation of a temple to the Most High God, so that when his Son, our Elder Brother, shall again appear, he may have a place where he can lay his head, and not only spend a night or a day, but find a place of peace, that he may stay till he can say, "I am satisfied."

Brethren, shall the Son of Man be satisfied with our proceedings this day? Shall we have a house on the earth which he can call his own? Shall we have a place where he can lay his head, and rest over night, and tarry as long as he pleases, and be satisfied and pleased with his accommodations?

These are questions for you to answer. If you say yes, you have got to do the work, or it will not be done. We do not want any whiners about this temple. If you cannot commence cheerfully, and go through the labor of the whole building cheerfully, start for California, and the quicker the better. Make you a golden calf, and worship it. If your care for the ordinances of salvation, for yourselves, your living, and dead, is not first and foremost in your hearts, in your actions, and in everything you possess, go! Pay your debts, if you have any, and go in peace, and prove {641} to God and all his Saints that you are what you profess to be, by your acts.

But if you are what you profess to be, do your duty--stay with the Saints, pay your tithing, and be prompt in paying, as you are in feeding your family; and the temple, of which we have now laid the southeast corner stone, will arise in beauty and grandeur, in a manner and time which you have not hitherto known or contemplated.

The Saints of these valleys have grown in riches, and abundance of the comforts of life, in a manner hitherto unparalleled on the page of history, and if they will do by their Heavenly Father as he has done by them, soon will this temple be inclosed. But if you go in for a speculation with passers by, as many have hitherto done, you will not live to see the topstone of this temple laid; and your labors and toils for yourselves and friends, dead and alive, will be worse than though you had no existence.

We dedicate this, the southeast corner stone of this temple, to the Most High God. May it remain in peace till it has done its work, and until he who has inspired our hearts to fulfil the prophecies of his holy Prophets, that the house of the Lord should be reared in the "Tops of the Mountains" shall be satisfied, and say, "It is enough." And may every tongue, pen, and weapon, that may rise against this or any other corner stone of this building, feel the wrath and scourging of an incensed God! May sinners in Zion be afraid, and fearfulness surprise the hypocrite, from this hour. And may all who do not feel to say Amen, go speedily to that long night, of rest from which no sleeper will awake, till roused by the trump of the second resurrection. 2:29-33.

St. George Temple--Now we have a temple which will {642} all be finished in a few days, and of which there is enough completed to commence work therein, which has not been done since the days of Adam, that we have any knowledge of. 18:304.

We have dedicated this spot of ground upon which we expect to erect a temple in which to administer the ordinances of the House of God. Into this house, when it is completed, we expect to enter to enjoy the blessings of the Priesthood, and receive our washings, our anointings, our endowments, and our sealings; and the brethren will be sealed to brethren to connect the links and make perfect the chain from ourselves to Father Adam: This is the object of the temple which we are about to commence building at this place. 19:33.

Never have I seen to so great an extent that willingness to labor for the cause of righteousness, which was witnessed in the temple at St. George last winter. The Spirit of God pervaded the hearts of the brethren and sisters, and how willing they were to labor! This work will continue, and the brethren and sisters will go into the temples of the Lord, to officiate for those who have died without the Gospel from the days of Father Adam to the winding up scene, until every one is officiated for; who can or will receive the Gospel so that all may have the opportunity and privileges of life and salvation.

Don't you think we have a work to perform? Yes, and it will take a thousand years to accomplish it. In the temple last winter the brethren and sisters enjoyed themselves the best that they ever did in their lives. So they said. And our children, just old enough to work, how happy they were! They would exclaim, "I never knew anything about 'Mormonism' before!" If you were in the temple {643} of God working for the living and the dead, your eyes and hearts would not be after the fashions of the world, nor the wealth of the world. Yet the whole of this world's wealth belongs to the Lord, and he can give to whomsoever he pleases. 19:45.

I am aware that you wish to hear something of our labors in the south. I will say that we have had a blessed time, such a time as no other people on the earth have enjoyed for many centuries, that we have any knowledge of. We have been permitted to enjoy privileges for the possession of which we have been striving and laboring for many years. For almost half a century we have been exerting ourselves that we might have the privilege of entering into a temple of God, there to officiate and receive the ordinances of his holy house, both for ourselves and for our friends that have slept without the Gospel. This privilege and blessing we have not enjoyed until within a very few months past. The feeling experienced by those who have participated in the blessings administered in the temple is something which cannot be described to your understanding. Those only who have shared with us in the temple ordinances know for themselves the satisfaction there is in realizing that we are indeed co-workers with our Lord and Savior; that we bear a humble part in the great work of salvation; that we have the privilege of receiving and obeying the truth, and of securing to ourselves that happiness which the Gospel alone affords; and not only of performing these ordinances for ourselves, but of doing the necessary work for our parents and forefathers who have slept without the Gospel, that they may partake also of the waters of life, and be judged according to men in the flesh. This is a privilege, a blessing, which no one can sense unless {644} he is in possession of it. We are happy to know by our faith and feelings through the spirit of revelation within us that our labors have been accepted of the Lord. We have enjoyed ourselves exceedingly in the society of each other; the aged, the middle-aged and the youth have rejoiced and been made glad in this glorious work. 19:1.

"We are now prepared to attend to baptizing and giving endowments, and shall appoint Tuesdays and Wednesdays for baptisms, and Thursdays and Fridays for endowments and sealings, as a standing appointment for the present." 18:305.

I am so thankful we have completed our temple, it is the greatest blessing that could be bestowed upon us. I know of nothing that could equal it. But we are not satisfied with this one, we must hurry the building of another one, and thus another one and so on, and perform the great work therein that is required at our hands. 19:222.

We enjoy privileges that are enjoyed by no one else on the face of the earth. Suppose we were awake to this thing, namely, the salvation of the-human family, this house would be crowded, as we hope it will be, from Monday morning until Saturday night. This house (St. George) was built here in this place purposely, where it is warm and pleasant in the winter time, and comfortable to work, also for the Lamanites, and also those coming from the south, and other places to receive their endowments, and other blessings, 18:304. {645}

Chapter XXXVII

MAN'S SEARCH FOR TRUTH AND SALVATION

Man Desires Salvation--Honest hearts, the world over, desire to know the right way. They have sought for it, and still seek it. There have been people upon the earth all the time who sought diligently with all their hearts to know the ways of the Lord. Those individuals have produced good, inasmuch as they had the ability. And to believe that there has been no virtue, no truth, no good upon the earth for centuries, until the Lord revealed the Priesthood through Joseph the Prophet, I shall say is wrong. There has been more or less virtue and righteousness upon the earth at all times from the days of Adam until now. That we all believe. 6:170.

Until they sin away the day of grace, there is something in all persons that would delight to rise up and reject the evil and embrace the truth. There is not a person on the earth so vile but, when he looks into his own heart, honors the man of God and the woman of God--the virtuous and holy--and despises his comrades in iniquity who are like himself. There is not a man upon the earth, this side of saving grace, unless he has sinned so far that the Spirit of the Lord has ceased to strive with him and enlighten his mind, but delights in the good, in the truth, and in the virtuous. 8:326.

Reflect for a moment upon the sensitive faculty implanted within us. We know when we touch anything with our hands. When we discern an object with our eyes, we know that we see. How do we know? By a principle common to all intelligent beings--by the sensations God has {646} placed within us. Were it not for this, the eye could not see, nor sensation be communicated by touch. Were it not for the intelligent principle God has placed within us, we could neither feel, see, hear, taste, nor smell.

It is recorded that some have eyes to see, and see not; ears to hear, and hear not; hearts have they, but they understand not. You who are spiritually-minded, who have the visions of your minds opened--have studied yourselves, your organizations, the power by which you have been organized, and the influences that act upon you, can understand that the power that has given you physical sensation is the power of the same God that gives you understanding of the truth. The latter power is inward. My inward eyes see, my inward hands handle, my inward taste tastes of the word of God. The Apostle used this language. He spoke of tasting the good word of God and the powers of the world to come. Do you taste? Yes, by the sensations God has planted within you. Thousands and thousands know, by their inward and invisible sensation, things that have been, things that are, and things that are in the future, as well as they know the color of a piece of cloth by means of their outward or physical vision. When this inner light is taken from them, they become darker than they were before, they cannot understand, and turn away from the things of God. 8:41.

Descend from the busy, wealth-seeking middle classes, to the humbler grade of society, and follow them in their various Occupations and pursuits, and each one of them 1s seeking earnestly that which he imagines to be salvation. The poor, ragged, trembling mendicant, who is forced by hunger and cold to drag his feeble body from under some temporary shelter, to seek a bit of bread, or a coin from his {647} more fortunate fellow-mortal, if he can only obtain a few crusts of bread to satisfy the hunger-worm that gnaws his vitals, and a few coppers to pay his lodgings, he has attained to the summit of his expectations, to what he sought for--salvation, and he is comparatively happy, but his happiness vanishes with the shades of night, and his misery comes with the morning light. From the match-maker up to the tradesman, all have an end in view, which they suppose will bring to them salvation. King, courtier, commanders, officers, and common soldiers, the commodore, and sailor before the mast, the fair-skinned Christian, and the dark-skinned savage, all, in their respective grades and spheres of action, have a certain point in view, which, if they can obtain, they suppose will put them in possession of salvation. 1:1.

Humanity Loves Truth and Righteousness--What would satisfy the children of men, if they had it in their possession? Only truth and the true principles and conduct flowing from its observance. True, certain classes of the inhabitants of the earth are pretty well satisfied with themselves, through their researches in the philosophies of the day; and yet they are not fully satisfied. What will satisfy us? If we understood all principles and powers that are, that have been, and that are to come, and had wisdom sufficient to control powers and elements with which we are associated, perhaps we would then be satisfied. If this will not satisfy the human mind, there is nothing that will. 7:2.

The spirit which inhabits these tabernacles naturally loves truth, it naturally loves light and intelligence, it naturally loves virtue, God and godliness; but being so closely united with the flesh their sympathies are blended, {648} and their union being necessary to the possession of a fulness of joy to both, the spirit is indeed subject to be influenced by the sin that is in the mortal body, and to be overcome by it and by the power of the Devil, unless it is constantly enlightened by that spirit which enlighteneth every man that cometh into the world, and by the power of the Holy Ghost which is imparted through the Gospel. In this, and this alone, consists the warfare between Christ and the Devil. 11:237.

The greater portion of the inhabitants of the earth are inclined to do right. That is true. There is a monitor in every person that would reign there triumphantly, if permitted so to do, and lead to truth and virtue. 8:320.

As to the mortals of the world, I have said it a great many times and still say that there are just as good men and women on the earth in other societies and communities as we have here, as far as they understand; and we are after such ones. 12:326.

There are as honest men in other churches as there are in ours. 8:357.

Human Family Alike in Sentiments--In reality, the inhabitants of the earth do not vary so much in their sentiments as they do in the explaining of them to each other. This I have good reason to believe; when feelings and ideas are explained, people vary more in language than in sentiment, yet they differ widely in their sentiments, feelings, customs, habits, and manner of life. 1:74.

When we see and comprehend things in the spirit, we oftimes realize an utter inability to simplify and tell them in our language, to others; though we may receive principles, and convey the same to others, to some extent. It would be a great consolation to me, inasmuch as faith comes {649} by hearing the word of God, if I had language to express my feelings. No man can tell all that he can see in the spirit, when the vision of the spirit is upon him. He can see and understand in the spirit only. He cannot tell it, yet many things may be given, in part, to others. 1:115.

A Variety of Human Gifts--I am sensible that people are not gifted and capacitated alike. There is not that depth of understanding and intensity of thought in some that there is in others, neither is there the same scope of perception. Some are quick to apprehend, while others are slow. 6:93.

We all enjoy the power of sight, but how differently we look at and comprehend things! And we are very much like the people who have lived before us. We are a strange and curious composition--no two alike. Of all the faces before me this afternoon there are no two alike. We might possibly find those whose judgment would be pretty much alike on various subjects, still there are no two whose judgments are precisely the same. Human life is a great stage, and it contains a very great variety of scenes and scenery, of thought and of action. 16:23.

There is quite a diversity in men as to their capacity for learning, and also in regard to retaining what they learn. Some comprehend their lessons quickly, while others are not so gifted. I have also noticed that some children commit their lessons quickly and well; but ask them the meaning and intent of what they have committed, and they cannot answer you; while others pay more attention to the intent and meaning of what they learn. Such is the case with all persons, no matter what their age; and some are capacitated to receive more and faster than others. 8:158.

Let the people bring out their talents, and have the variety within them brought forth and made manifest so {650} that we can behold it, like the variety in the works of nature. See the variety God has created--no two trees alike, no two leaves, no two spears of grass alike. The same variety that we see in all the works of God, that we see in the features, visages and forms, exists in the spirits of men. Now let us develop the variety within us, and show to the world that we have talent and taste, and prove to the heavens that our minds are set on beauty and true excellence, so that we can become worthy to enjoy the society of angels, and raise ourselves above the level of the wicked world and begin to increase in faith, and the power that God has given us, and so show to the world an example worthy of imitation. 11:305.

Man's Powers are Limited--The inhabitants of the earth have the pleasure of performing the labors they list to do, but they have never enjoyed the privilege of controlling the results of their labors, and never will until they are crowned with glory, immortality and eternal lives. We have the privilege of going to the gold mines, or staying at home; of serving God, or not serving him; but the result of our acts is not in our hands, it is in the hands of our Father and God. So it is with individuals, with neighborhoods, with communities, and with the nations of the earth. 10:331.

If the Latter-day Saints and all the world understood the philosophy of their own being, they would bow in humble reverence to him who is the Author of our being and the Author of all wisdom and all knowledge known among the children of men. It is very little comparatively that we do know, and but very little we can really comprehend. It is believed that our scientists and philosophers are very far advanced, and that wonderful progress has been made {651} in the nineteenth century; but notwithstanding all the knowledge and power of philosophy which so distinguish our age, who among our most learned can create as simple a thing as a spear of grass, or the leaf of a tree? No one; this can only be done through the natural process; no one can organize the simplest particle of element independent of the laws of nature. When the philosopher of the age reaches that perfection that one can waft himself to the moon or to the North star, or to any other of the fixed stars, and be there in an instant, in the same manner that Jesus did when he ascended to the Father in heaven and returned to the earth again, then we may begin to think we know a little. When we shall possess the power and knowledge to cause heavenly planets to take their position, giving them their laws and boundaries which they must obey, and which they cannot pass, then we may begin to feel that we possess a little wisdom and power. 18:259.

If I look through my telescope, and my friends inquire how far I can see, I tell them I can see anything in sight, no matter how far from me the object may be; but I cannot see anything out of sight, or that which is beyond the power of the instrument. So it is in the intellectual faculties of mankind; it is easy for them to see that which is before their eyes, but when the object is out of sight, it is a difficult matter for them to see it; and they are at a loss how to form an estimate of it, or what position to put themselves in, so as to see the object they desire to see. 1:351.

There is but a hair's breadth between the vulgar and sublime. There is but a hair's breadth between the depths pot infidelity and the heights of the faith of the Gods. Man is here like a feather trembling between the two, liable continually to be operated upon by the power of the enemy; {652} and it is through that power that the children of men are made to doubt the evidences of their own senses, when, at the same time, if they would reflect for a moment and listen to the intelligence which God has placed within them, they would know, when they saw what is termed a miracle, the power by which it is wrought; they would know when they have seen with their eyes and felt with their hands, or when they have had a heavenly vision. 7:163-164.

Man Must Have Confidence in Himself--We must be ourselves. 3:365.

There are a great many men who know but little about what they can do, and there are a great many women that never consider what they can perform; people do not fully reflect upon their own acts, upon their own ability, and therefore do not understand what they are capable of doing. 4:101.

It is not for any man to think he is a cipher--that what he can do will not tell in this matter, and say, "They will get along well enough without me." 1:53.

When a person is thinking all the time he is little better than a machine, he perverts the purpose of his organization, and injures both mind and body. Why? Because the mental labor does not find vent through the organism of the tabernacle, and has not that scope--that field of labor which it desires, and which it was wisely designed that it should have. Think according to your labor, labor according to your thinking. 3:248.

Man Always Dependent--Shall we ever see the time we shall be perfectly independent of every other being in all the eternities? No; we shall never see that time. Many have fallen on as simple ground as this, and were I to use Western term, I would say, "They were troubled with a big {653} head." Such persons think they have power to do this, that, and the other, but they are left to themselves, and the Lord loves to show them they have no power. 1:338.

We Must Fight Our Battles--But some may say, "I have faith-the Lord will turn them away." What ground have we to hope this? Have I any good reason to say to my Father in Heaven, "Fight my battles," when he has given me the sword to wield, the arm and the brain that I can fight for myself? Can I ask him to fight my battles and sit quietly down waiting for him to do so? I cannot. I can pray the people to hearken to wisdom, to listen to counsel; but to ask God to do for me that which I can do for myself is preposterous to my mind. 12:240-1.

How to Know Oneself--No man can know himself unless he knows God, and he cannot know God unless he knows himself. 16:75.

Our Good Character Must Be Cherished--When a man by his course in life has acquired a character that is spotless, it is a priceless jewel, and nothing should induce him to barter it away. If the wicked try to bring a blemish or cast a stain upon it their efforts will not be successful. They may throw their mud, but it will not stain the garments of the pure and holy. 13:218.

"Are our characters our own?" We may say, "Yes, we form these characters." Suppose that we are fortunate enough to form a good, honest character in the minds and in the faith of those who are acquainted with us, do not those characters belong to our neighbors, although we may be the framers of them? And I would like to ask, have we the right to destroy them? It is a serious question with me. If we have confidence in each other, and our conduct has been such that we have created confidence in the feelings of {654} our neighbors toward us, have we a right to destroy that confidence? Is it not sacrilege? I will simply reply by giving my views with regard to myself. According to the knowledge which I possess it is a great deal easier for an individual to preserve a good character than to frame and make one if it is lost. It is much easier to keep a fort when it is well armed and defended than to give it into the hands of the enemy and then regain it. Consequently, we had better keep our characters, if they are good, than to suffer the enemy to rob us of them. 14:277.

The Need of Leaders--The whole world are sadly in want of what they call a master-spirit. 6:44.

When I say rule, I do not mean with an iron hand, but merely to take the lead--to lead them in the path I wish them to walk in. They may be determined not to answer my will, but they are doing it all the time without knowing it. 9:195.

It is not every man that is capable of filling every station, though there is no man but what is capable of filling his proper station, and that, too, with dignity and honor to himself. When you find a person that is capable of receiving light and wisdom, one that can descend to the capacity of the weakest of the weak, and can comprehend the highest and most noble intelligence that can be obtained by man, can receive it with all ease, and comprehend it, circumscribe it, understand it from first to last, that is the man that can ripen for eternity in a few years; that is the individual who is capable of occupying stations that many cannot occupy. 4:130.

Let the people see to it that they get righteous men to be their leaders, who will labor with their hands and administer to their own necessities, sit in judgment, legislate, and {655} govern in righteousness; and officers that are filled with peace; and see to it that every man that goes forth among the people as a traveling officer is full of the fear of the Lord, and would rather do right at a sacrifice than do wrong for a reward. 7:12.

Duty and Responsibility of Man--"To mind your own business" incorporates the whole duty of man. 10:295.

What is the duty-of a Latter-day Saint? To do all the good he can upon the earth, living in the discharge of every duty obligatory upon him. 10:295.

His labor is to build up, not to destroy; to gather together, not to scatter abroad; to take the ignorant and lead them to wisdom; to pick up the poor and bring them to comfortable circumstances. This is our labor--what we have to do. 10:316.

It is the business of a Latter-day Saint, in passing through the street, if he sees a fence pole down, to put it up; if he sees an animal in the mud to stop and help get it out. 10:296.

The greater our privileges and the greater the blessings bestowed upon us, the more faithfulness and diligence are required in our callings to save the children of men. 7:274.

There are men upon whom God has bestowed gifts and graces, and women who are endowed with strong mental ability, and yet they cannot receive the truth; and then the truth condemns them; it leaves them in darkness. When they cannot receive every truth, let it be ever so important or unimportant to them, their neglect to grasp in their faith the truth God reveals for their benefit weakens them, comparatively, from the crowns of their heads to the soles of their feet, and the enemy may have the advantage over them in an hour when they think not. 8:59. {656}

Strive to be righteous, not for any speculation, but because righteousness is lovely, pure; holy, beautiful, and exalting; it is designed to make the soul happy and full of joy, to the extent of the whole capacity of man, filling him with light, glory, and intelligence. 8:172.

If we do the best we know how, and yet commit many acts that are wrong and contrary to the counsel given to us, there is hope in our case. 2:132. {657}

Chapter XXXVIII

THE TESTIMONY OF THE TRUTH

All Latter-day Saints May Know the Gospel Is True--It is a special privilege and blessing of the holy Gospel to every true believer, to know the truth for himself. 1:234.

It is both the duty and privilege of the Latter-day Saints to know that their religion is true. 8:148.

We are the witnesses of this great work which the Lord has commenced in the latter days. 11:213.

Let every one get a knowledge for himself that this work is true. We do not want you to say that it is true until you know that it is; and if you know it, that knowledge is as good to you as though the Lord came down and told you. 8:142.

There is not a man or a woman on this earth who receives the spirit of the Gospel but what can testify to its truth. 11:213.

We must have the testimony of the Lord Jesus to enable us to discern between truth and error, light and darkness, him who is of God, and him who is not of God, and to know how to place everything where it belongs. That is the only way to be a scientific Christian; there is no other method or process which will actually school a person so that he can become a Saint of God, and prepare him for a celestial glory; he must have within him the testimony of the spirit of the Gospel. 3:155.

If you are satisfied, in your sensitive powers and faculties, that God has revealed the holy Priesthood, established his Kingdom upon the earth, restored the fulness of the Gospel, and set his hand to gather the House of Israel, {658} this will answer your purpose just as well as though you went into heaven to see for yourselves. 8:261.

If I attain to the knowledge of all true principles that have ever existed, and do not govern myself by them, they will damn me deeper in hell than if I had never known anything about them. 1:244.

How a Witness of the Truth Is Won--I do not want men to come to me or my brethren for testimony as to the truth of this work; but let them take the Scriptures of divine truth, and there the path is pointed out to them as plainly as ever a guideboard indicated the right path to the weary traveler. There they are directed to go, not to Brothers Brigham, Heber, or Daniel, to any Apostle or Elder in Israel, but to the Father in the name of Jesus, and ask for the information they need. Can they who take this course in honesty and sincerity receive information? Will the Lord turn away from the honest heart seeking for truth? No, he will not; he will prove to them, by the revelations of his Spirit, the facts in the case. And when the mind is open to the revelations of the Lord it comprehends them quicker and keener than anything that is seen by the natural eye. It is not what we see with our eyes--they may be deceived--but what is revealed by the Lord from heaven that is sure and steadfast, and abides forever. We do not want the people to rely on human testimony, although that cannot be confuted and destroyed; still, there is a more sure word of prophecy that all may gain if they will seek it earnestly before the Lord. 12:96.

You and I must have the testimony of Jesus within us, or it is of but little use for us to pretend to be servants of God. We must have that living witness within us. 4:368.

I will now make a few remarks upon testimony. I have {659} heard a great many Elders in this Church, and people who were professing Christians before this work was revealed, testifying of the things of God. Men rise up here and say they do know that this is the work of God, that Joseph was a Prophet, that the Book of Mormon is true, that the revelations through Joseph Smith are true, and this is the last dispensation and the fulness of times, wherein God has set his hand to gather Israel for the last time, and redeem and build up Zion on this land. How do they know this? Persons know and will continue to know and understand, many things by the manifestations of the Spirit, that through the organization of the tabernacle it is impossible otherwise to convey. Much of the most important information is alone derived through the power and testimony of the Holy Ghost in the speaker, revealing itself to the understanding and spirit of the hearer. This is the only way you can convey a knowledge of the invisible things of God. 8:41.

A man or woman desirous of knowing the truth, upon hearing the Gospel of the Son of God proclaimed in truth and simplicity, should ask the Father, in the name of Jesus, if this is true. If they do not take this course, they try and argue themselves into the belief that they are as honest as any man of woman can be on the face of the earth; but they are not, they are careless as to their own best interests. 12:95.

On the other hand, nothing short of the power of the Almighty, nothing short of the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ, can prove to you that this is the work of God. Men uninspired of God cannot by their worldly wisdom disprove it, or prevail against it; neither can they by wisdom alone prove it to be true, either to themselves or to others. Their {660} not being able to prevail against it does not prove it to be the Kingdom of God, for there are many theories and systems on the earth, incontrovertible by the wisdom of the world, which are nevertheless false. Nothing less than the power of the Almighty, enlightening the understanding of men, can demonstrate this glorious truth to the human mind. 1:310.

How are we to know the voice of the Good Shepherd from the voice of a stranger? Can any person answer this question? I can. It is very easy. To every philosopher upon the earth, I say, your eye can be deceived, so can mine; your ear can be deceived, so can mine; the touch of your hand can be deceived, so can mine; but the Spirit of God filling the creature with revelation and the light of eternity, cannot be mistaken--the revelation which comes from God is never mistaken. When an individual, filled with the Spirit of God, declares the truth of heaven, the sheep hear that, the Spirit of the Lord pierces their inmost souls and sinks deep into their hearts; by the testimony of the Holy Ghost light springs up within them, and they see and understand for themselves. This is the way the Gospel should be preached by every Elder in Israel, and by this power every hearer should hear; and if we would know the voice of the Good Shepherd, we must live so that the Spirit of the Lord can find its way to our hearts. 16:74.

Peter was blessed, because he had eyes to see; and when he saw with his spiritual eyes, he acknowledged it. He was not so proud and high-minded as to turn round and deny. If the conviction of their own minds had free course, and were not trammeled through their erroneous traditions, millions and millions would hail this day with thanksgiving. 7:8. {661}

If there is a person in the midst of the Latter-day Saints--one who has named the name of Christ as a Latter-day Saint, that can ask for any more literal testimony than we have, I do not know what he would ask. He might wish to see some person that had power to bring fire down from heaven. Should such a person appear, the exercise of that power would by no means prove that he was a messenger of salvation. Or suppose that I should see a man capable of raising the dead every hour in a day, could I merely for that believe he was sent of God? No. Some may think it strange, but should I see a man come along here and cast his cane on the floor, and it became a serpent and ran out of the door, would I any more believe that man to be sent of God? No, I would not. Were I to see a person fill the air with living creatures, turn the dust into life, or the river Jordan into blood, do you suppose I would any more for that consider that man sent of God? Not in the least. There is but one witness--one testimony, pertaining to the evidence of the Gospel of the son of God, and that is the Spirit that he diffused among his disciples. Do his will, and we shall know whether he speaks by the authority of the Father or of himself. Do as he commands us to do, and we shall know of the doctrine, whether it is of God or not. It is only by the revelations of the Spirit that we can know the things of God. 9:2.

Many men and women who have obeyed the Gospel, and have not received from the Lord these striking testimonies, will say, "Well, I really do not know that I can tell whether the Gospel is true or not." To all such I say, Then you are no philosopher at all, for upon the rational principles of common philosophy you can tell whether it is true or not. Does it contain the seeds of life? Does it promote the {662} plants and yield the fruits of life, or does it produce the plants and yield the fruits of death? Not that I wish to make a mere historical convert, or a people who believe historically, mathematically, or philosophically; but I know and understand that the Lord never leaves his children without a witness. 14:112.

The older portion of this community embraced the truth through the conviction of it, and prayed unto the Lord for the light of it, and they received the testimony of the Spirit of God; but our children do not know the greatness of their blessings and privileges. They are entitled to the spirit of the Gospel from their mothers' wombs; they have it with them all the time; they are born in it. 11:215.

A great many come to me and say, "I wish to do exactly as the Lord shall direct through you, Brother Brigham." If I had the word of the Lord, I would not dare give it to them, unless I knew it was an absolute duty. They never would obey it, because they are taught the word of the Lord here all the time, but do they hearken to it? Those who have wisdom within themselves, who have in possession the spirit of the Gospel, know what they hear from this stand. They know truth from error; they are satisfied, and never ask the Lord to give them more revelation, but to give them grace to observe and keep what they have received. 3:338.

Truth commends itself to every honest person, it matters not how simply it is told, and when it is received it seems as though we had been acquainted with it all our lives. It is the testimony of the majority of the Latter-day Saints that when they first heard the Gospel preached, as contained in the Bible and Doctrine and Covenants, although entirely new to them, it seemed as though they already {663} understood it, and that they must have been "Mormons" from the beginning. 19:42.

I frequently think that the only way for a man to prove any fact in the world is by experience. We go, for instance, into an orchard and someone says there is a sweet apple tree, and he may say the same of other trees, but without tasting, how shall I know they are sweet? Unless I taste of them I cannot know it. I may take the testimony of others who have tasted them, as to whether they are sweet, sour or bitter, but without tasting it cannot prove to my senses that they are so. Now, as I understand it, it is the same with all facts that have come to the knowledge of all beings in heaven, or on earth--all facts are proved and made manifest by their opposite. 13:59.

My testimony is based upon experience, upon my own experience, in connection with that obtained by observing others. To me it has become positively true--no doubt remains upon my mind, whatever, as to the power of the revealed will of heaven to man upon the minds of the people, when the principles of salvation are set before them by, the authorized ministers of heaven. The heavenly truth commends itself to every person's judgment and to their faith; and more especially to the sense of those who wish to be honest with themselves, with their God, and with their neighbor. Yet I must admit that all men are not operated upon alike; the evidence of truth comes more forcibly to the understandings of some than others. This is owing to numerous influences. The Gospel may be preached to an individual, and the truth commend itself to the conscience of that person, creating but a little faith in its truth, to which there may be an addition made. If persons can receive a little, it proves they may receive more. If they can receive {664} the first and second principles with an upright feeling, they may receive still more, and the words of the prophet be fulfilled. 2:1-2.

My testimony is positive. I know that there are such cities as London, Paris, and New York--from my own experience or from that of others; I know that the sun shines, I know that I exist and have a being, and I testify that there is a God, and that Jesus Christ lives, and that he is the Savior of the world. Have you been to heaven and learned to the contrary? I know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, and that he had many revelations. Who can disprove this testimony? Any one may dispute it, but there is no one in the world who can disprove it. I have had many revelations; I have seen and heard for myself, and know these things are true, and nobody on earth can disprove them. The eye, the ear, the hand, all the senses may be deceived, but the Spirit of God cannot be deceived; and when inspired with that Spirit, the whole man is filled with knowledge, he can see with a spiritual eye, and he knows that which is beyond the power of man to controvert. What I know concerning God, concerning the earth, concerning government, I have received from the heavens, not alone through my natural ability, and I give God the glory and the praise. Men talk about what has been accomplished under my direction, and attribute it to my wisdom and ability; but it is all by the power of God, and by intelligence received from him. I say to the whole world, receive the truth, no matter who presents it to you. 16:46.

_Why Some Men Reject the Gospel--_I have often heard men say they were convinced that "Mormonism" was true, and that they would cleave to it; but as for their hearts being converted, it is altogether another thing. 6:321. {665}

Wherever the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been preached, either in these or former days, it has met with a class of men to whom the truth looked lovely and God-like, and the spirit within would prompt them to embrace it; but they find themselves so advantageously connected in the world, and have so many interests at stake if they should embrace it, they conclude that it will not do, and here comes the warfare again. Some few will overcome the reasonings of the flesh, and follow the dictates of the spirit; while the great majority of this class of persons are won over by sordid considerations and cleave to their idols. 11:237.

They-would come now by thousands and thousands, if the Latter-day Saints were only popular. "What, these honorable men?" Yes, they would say, "I want to be baptized. I admire your industry, and your skill in governing. You have a system of governing that is not to be found anywhere else. You know how to govern cities, territories, or the world, and I would like to join you." But take care, if you join this people without the love of God in your soul it will do you no good. If they were to do this, they would bring in their sophistry, and introduce that which would poison the innocent and honest and lead them astray. I look at this, and I am satisfied that it will not do for the Lord to make this people popular. Why? Because all hell would want to be in the Church. The people must be kept where the finger of scorn can be pointed at them. Although it is admitted that we are honest, industrious, truthful, virtuous, self-denying, and, as a community, possess every moral excellence, yet we must be looked upon as ignorant and unworthy, and as the offscouring of society, and be hated by the world. What is the reason of this? Christ and Baal can not become friends. When I {666} see this people grow and spread and prosper, I feel that there is more danger than when they are in poverty. Being driven from city to city or into the mountains is nothing compared to the danger of our becoming rich and being hailed by outsiders as a first-class community. I am afraid of only one thing. What is that? That we will not live our religion, and that we will partially slide a little from the path of rectitude, and go part of the way to meet our friends. 12:272.

Testimony Not Built Upon a Man--Some men declare that they wish to have such confidence in their leaders as not to enquire whether this or that is right, but to perform what they are bid to do. No man will have that degree of confidence, unless it is founded in truth. 4:296.

Joseph Smith a Witness of the Truth--The Devil and his emissaries thought if they could only destroy Joseph Smith, that the system he had laid the foundation to build upon would crumble and fall to rise no more; but it is evident to all, that since the death of Joseph, the system has flourished with greater vigor than before, for where there is a testament in full force, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator, for a testament is of force after men are dead. 10:304.

Whosoever confesseth that Joseph Smith was sent of God to reveal the holy Gospel to the children of men, and lay the foundation for gathering Israel, and building up the Kingdom of God on the earth, that spirit is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that God has sent Joseph Smith, and revealed the everlasting Gospel to and through him, is of Antichrist, no matter whether it is found in a pulpit or on a throne. 8:176.

This whole people were cast out for believing that God {667} spake to Joseph Smith and chose him to be his messenger--his Apostle--to this generation. I testify to you that we were not cast out for teaching and practicing the Patriarchal doctrine, as our enemies now declare, for at that time it had not been published to the world, but it was for believing, preaching and practicing the doctrines of the New Testament; for believing in the events to take place in the latter days, as foretold by the ancient Prophets; and, for believing the declarations of Joseph Smith, that Jesus was indeed the Christ and the Savior of all men, but especially of them that believe, and that he had set his hand the second time to gather his people, to establish his Kingdom, to build up Zion, redeem Jerusalem, empty the earth of wickedness and bring in everlasting righteousness. 9:366.

A Duty to Listen to the Truth--Do not say, "You are Mormons, and we do not want to hear anything about you." Wait until you have searched and researched and have obtained wisdom to understand what we preach, or to prove it to be untrue. If you cannot prove it untrue and are not disposed to receive it, let it alone. If it is the work of God, it will stand. What do you say, outsiders? What do you say, Christian world and heathen world? If we have the truth to present to you, which will do you good here and hereafter, which will save you today and tomorrow and every day, until it saves you in the Kingdom of God and brings you to a perfect state of felicity and happiness in the presence of the Father, will you have it? 12:313-314.

In the Christian world, thousands and millions of them are as close to the truth as any man that ever lived upon the face of the earth, so far as moral, Christian deportment is concerned. I can find a great many of this community who live as moral lives as men and women can. Is there {668} anything else necessary and important? Yes--so to live as to have the light of the Spirit of truth abiding within you day by day, that when you hear the truth, you know it as well as you know the faces of your father's family, and also understand every manifestation produced by erroneous principles. 6:331. {669}

Chapter XXXIX

THE CHURCH AND KINGDOM OF GOD ON EARTH

Israel--Who are Israel? They are those who are of the seed of Abraham, who have received the promise through their forefathers; and all the rest of the children of men, who receive the truth, are also Israel. My heart is always drawn out for them, whenever I go to the throne of grace. 1:107.

Israel is dispersed among all the nations of the earth; the blood of Ephraim is mixed with the blood of all the earth. Abraham's seed is mingled with the rebellious seed through the whole world of mankind. 16:75.

The Elders who have arisen in this Church and Kingdom are actually of Israel. 2:268.

Those islanders and the natives of this country are of the House of Israel--of the seed of Abraham, and to them pertain the promise; and every soul of them, sooner or later, will be saved in the Kingdom of God, or be destroyed root and branch. 6:199.

Again, if a pure Gentile firmly believes the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and yields obedience to it, in such a case I will give you the words of the Prophet Joseph: "The effect of the Holy Ghost upon a Gentile, is to purge out the old blood, and make him actually of the seed of Abraham." 2:269.

We are to build up and establish Zion, gather the House of Israel, and redeem the nations of the earth. This people have this work to do, whether we live to see it or not. This is all in our hands. 8:68.

It is obligatory upon us to see that the House of Israel {670} have the Gospel preached to them; to do all that is in our power to gather them to the land of their fathers, and to gather up the fulness of the Gentiles before the Gospel can go with success to the Jews. 12:113.

We are now gathering the children of Abraham who have come through the loins of Joseph and his sons, more especially through Ephraim, whose children are mixed among all the nations of the earth. The sons of Ephraim are wild and uncultivated, unruly, ungovernable. The spirit in them is turbulent and resolute; they are the Anglo-Saxon race, and they are upon the face of the whole earth, bearing the spirit of rule and dictation, to go forth from conquering to conquer. They search wide creation and scan every nook and corner of this earth to find out what is upon and within it. I see a congregation of them before me today. No hardship will discourage these men; they will penetrate the deepest wilds and overcome almost insurmountable difficulties to develop the treasures of the earth, to further their indomitable spirit for adventure. 10:188.

The Church and the Kingdom--Out of this Church will grow the Kingdom which Daniel saw. This is the very people that Daniel saw would continue to grow and spread and prosper; and if we are not faithful, others will take our places, for this is the Church and people that will possess the Kingdom forever and ever. 8:143.

We shall preach on, we shall struggle on until the kingdoms of this world shall become the Kingdom of our God and his Christ. 11:240.

This is the Kingdom of God on the earth. The people that sit before me, in connection with the many thousands that are upon the earth, are the people of God. If we have become so taught that the Lord sees that we shall be capable {671} of managing, governing, and controlling the Kingdom of God upon the earth in a more perfect manner than it has been heretofore, you may rest assured that this people are bound to victory. Just as fast as we are capable of rightly dispensing the principles of power, of light, of knowledge, of intelligence, of wealth, of heaven, and of earth, just so fast will they be bestowed upon this people. 5:327.

If this Gospel goes to the uttermost parts of the earth and fulfils its destiny as predicted by the Prophets, by Jesus and by the Apostles, it will eventually swallow up all the good there is on the earth; it will take every honest, truthful and virtuous man and woman and every good person and gather them into the fold of this Kingdom, and this society will enlarge, spread abroad and multiply, and will increase in knowledge until the members composing it know enough to lengthen out their days and man's longevity returns, and they begin to live as men did anciently. 11:303.

What will be the final result of the restoration of the Gospel, and the destiny of the Latter-day Saints? If they are faithful to the Priesthood which God has bestowed upon us, the Gospel will revolutionize the whole world of mankind; the earth will be sanctified, and God will glorify it, and the Saints will dwell upon it in the presence of the Father and the Son. 12:113.

An Object of the Church--We are exhorted to make our own heaven, our own paradise, our own Zion. 9:170.

We have an object in view, and that is to gain influence among all the inhabitants of the earth for the purpose of establishing the Kingdom of God in its righteousness, power and glory, and to exalt the name of the Deity, and cause that name by which we live to be revered everywhere that he may be honored, that his works may be honored, {672} that we may be honored ourselves, and deport ourselves worthy of the character of his children. 11:274.

If the Latter-day Saints think, when the Kingdom of God is established on the earth, that all the inhabitants of the earth will join the Church called Latter-day Saints, they are mistaken. I presume there will be as many sects and parties then as now. Still, when the Kingdom of God triumphs, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ, to the glory of the Father. Even the Jews will do it then; but will the Jews and Gentiles be obliged to belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? No; not by any means. Jesus said to his disciples, "In my Father's house are many mansions; were it not so I would have told you; I go to prepare a place for you, that where I am, there ye may be also," etc. There are mansions in sufficient numbers to suit the different classes of mankind, and a variety will always exist to all eternity, requiring a classification and an arrangement into societies and communities in the many mansions which are in the Lord's house, and this will be so for ever and ever. Then do not imagine that if the Kingdom of God is established over the whole earth, all the people will become Latter-day Saints. They will cease their persecutions against the Church of Jesus Christ, and they will be willing to acknowledge that the Lord is God, and that Jesus is the Savior of the world. 11:275.

The Kingdom of God to Develop Gradually--The Kingdom we are talking about, preaching about and trying to build up is the Kingdom of God on the earth, not in the starry heavens, nor in the sun. We are trying to establish the Kingdom of God on the earth to which really and properly everything that pertains to men--their feelings, their {673} faith, their affections, their desires, and every act of their lives--belong, that they may be ruled by it spiritually and temporally. 10:328.

In that helpless infant upon its mother's breast we see a man, an Apostle, a Saint,--yea generations of men with kingdoms, thrones, and dominions. Then the life of that little frail mortal is fraught with great and mighty results, and its value is inestimable.

If this be true of an infant, what may we expect to grow out of this infant Kingdom? We may look forward to all that belongs to greatness and goodness, to might and power, to dominion and glory. Then how jealously we ought to guard the rights of this infant power? How zealous and constant we should be in maintaining its interests and supporting its laws and sacred institutions! 9:170-171.

We are called to establish the Kingdom of God literally, just as much as we are spiritually. If we do not build it up in a temporal point of view, we will not accomplish what we are called to do; we will come short of our duty, and be removed out of the way, and others will be called to succeed us who will perform the labor we are called to do. 10:332.

I do not believe that the City of Enoch made greater advancement, in the same period of time, than this people have done in the twenty-six years of their career, which is saying a great deal for them. 3:374.

The Effect of the Kingdom of God--What is the Kingdom of God going to accomplish on the earth? It will revolutionize not only the United States, but the whole world, and will go forth from the morning to the evening, from the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, so shall be the ushering forth of the Gospel until the whole {674} earth is deluged with it, and the righteous are gathered. 2:190.

No unrighteous person, no person who is filthy in their feelings will ever enter into the Kingdom of God. 3:275.

As this Kingdom of God grows, spreads, increases, and prospers in its course, it will cleanse, thoroughly purge, and purify the world from wickedness. He who supposes his house to be built upon a rock, and well calculated to withstand any test that may be applied to it, finds, when it is tried by the Gospel of the Kingdom, that its foundation proves to be sand, and the whole fabric appears nothing in which a man may securely trust for salvation. 1:190.

When the Kingdom of God is fully set up and established on the face of the earth, and takes the preeminence over all other nations and kingdoms, it will protect the people in the enjoyment of all their rights, no matter what they believe, what they profess, or what they worship. If they wish to worship a god of their own workmanship, instead of the true and living God, all right, if they will mind their own business and let other people alone. 2:310.

If we wish this Church and Kingdom of God upon earth, to be like a fine, healthy, growing tree, we should be careful not to let the dead branches remain too long. 3:274.

Government of the Kingdom of God--Every kingdom will be blotted out of existence, except the one whose ruling spirit is the Holy Ghost, and whose king is the Lord. 2:124.

It may be asked what I mean by the Kingdom of God. The Church of Jesus Christ has been established now for many years, and the Kingdom of God has got to be established, even that Kingdom which will circumscribe all the kingdoms of this world. It will yet give laws to every nation that exists upon the earth. This is the Kingdom that {675} Daniel, the Prophet, saw should be set up in the last days. What Daniel saw should come to pass in the latter times is believed by nearly all the religious societies of Christendom. The only great difference between us and them is in the method of its establishment. 11:275.

When this Kingdom is organized in any age, the Spirit of it dwells in the hearts of the faithful, while its visible department exists among the people, with laws, ordinances, helps, governments, officers, administrators, and every other appendage necessary for its complete operation to the attainment of the end in view. 10:18.

The Lord designs to build up a Kingdom that will be both a spiritual and temporal Kingdom upon the earth. The earth and the kingdoms thereof will be given unto the Saints of the Most High God. Will they be rich then? Do you not think they will possess the gold mines and the treasures of the earth? Yes. But some cry out, "That is not yet." That is right. How long will it be until then? As soon as we are prepared to receive them. 10:332.

If we ever attain faith enough to obtain the Kingdom of God, as we anticipate, we shall obtain all the wealth there is for this Kingdom in time and eternity. We shall not rob other kingdoms, but we shall possess the eternity of matter that lies in the path of the onward progress of this Kingdom, and still eternity and its fulness will continue to stretch out before us. The great powers of eternal wisdom will be exercised to enhance the wealth, beauty, excellency and glory of this Kingdom, previous to its being introduced into the presence of the Father and the Son. This work we have to help perform. 10:301.

I have learned years ago that the Lord stands at the helm that guides Zion's ship. He is its Dictator; and unless {676} we work exactly to the line that is marked out by him, our works will be in vain. This has been my experience from the beginning. In every branch and avenue of our lives we must learn to work to the line of truth. It is for us to know what ought to be done, and then do it. Though there should be no earthly prospect of accomplishing it, we can certainly try; and if we try with all our might, that act will prove at least a resolute and determined mind, adorned with patience and perseverance. And if, with all our resolute endeavors we are still unable to accomplish our purpose, the Lord will be very likely to stretch forth his hand and give the victory. 6:315.

If this people live to the principles they have embraced, they will be capable of counselling the nations; for we build upon a just foundation, and our principles are truth, righteousness, and holiness. Let us stand by those principles until they crush out folly from these valleys, and we become teachers of wisdom to the nations. 7:66.

It Will Continue--All is right. God can carry on his own work. This Kingdom will stand forever. 8:69.

The Lord will never suffer this people to dwindle down, and be hid up in a corner; it cannot be; neither does he want any person to help them but himself. 1:364.

God has commenced to set up his Kingdom on the earth, and all hell and its devils are moving against it. Hell is yawning and sending forth its devils and their imps. What for? To destroy the Kingdom of God from the earth. But they cannot do it. 5:75.

The soldiers of the Lord are in the mountains, in the canyons, upon the plains, on the hills, along the mighty streams, and by the rivulets. Thousands and thousands {677} more are for us than those who are against us, and you need not have any fears. 5:57.

My heart is comforted. I behold the people of God, that they have been hunted, cast out, driven from the face of men. The powers of earth and hell have striven to destroy this Kingdom from the earth. The wicked have succeeded in doing so in former ages; but this Kingdom they cannot destroy, because it is the last dispensation--because it is the fulness of times. It is the dispensation of all dispensations, and will excel in magnificence and glory every dispensation that has ever been committed to the children of men upon the earth. The Lord will bring again Zion, redeem his Israel, plant his standard upon the earth, and establish the laws of his Kingdom, and those laws will prevail. 8:36.

If there are any hearts or spirits in this city, or elsewhere, that are fearfully wondering whether or not we are going to be destroyed, or whether this Church will endure and become the mighty power in the earth, according to the predictions of the servants of God, I will say to all such trembling souls, you need entertain no such fears. You need have only one fear, and that is with regard to yourselves, lest you should leave the light that the Lord has imparted to you and wander into darkness, returning to the beggarly elements of the world, lusting again after the things of the world in their sinful state. 19:3.

We cannot help being Saints; we cannot prevent the rolling forth of the work of God; in and of ourselves we have no power to control our own minds and passions; but the grace of God is sufficient to give us perfect victory. The power of the Lord our God helps us, and the Devil and his emissaries help us--the one on the one hand, the other on {678} the other hand. We have power to receive the truth or reject it, and we have power to reject the evil or receive it. 8:226.

When the wicked have power to blow out the sun, that it shines no more; when they have power to bring to a conclusion the operations of the elements, suspend the whole system of nature, and make a footstool of the throne of the Almighty, they may then think to check "Mormonism" in its course, and thwart the unalterable purposes of heaven. Men may persecute the people who believe its doctrines, report and publish lies to bring tribulation upon their heads, earth and hell may unite in one grand league against it, and exert their malicious powers to the utmost, but it will stand as firm and immovable in the midst of it all as the pillars of eternity. Men may persecute the Prophet, and those who believe and uphold him, they may drive the Saints and kill them, but this does not affect the truths of "Mormonism" one iota, for they will stand when the elements melt with fervent heat, the heavens are wrapt up like a scroll, and the solid earth is dissolved. "Mormonism" stands upon the eternal basis of omnipotence. Jehovah is the "Mormonism" of this people, their Priesthood and their power; and all who adhere to it will, in the appointed day, come up into the presence of the King Eternal, and receive a crown of life. 1:88.

The Business of Latter-day Saints--Our work is to bring forth Zion, and produce the Kingdom of God in its perfection and beauty upon the earth. 9:293.

We have no business here other than to build up and establish the Zion of God. It must be done according to the will and law of God, after that pattern and order by which Enoch built up and perfected the former-day Zion, which {679} was taken away to heaven, hence the saying went abroad that Zion had fled. By and by it will come back again, and as Enoch prepared his people to be worthy of translation, so we, through our faithfulness, must prepare ourselves to meet Zion from above when it shall return to earth, and to abide the brightness and glory of its coming. 18:356.

I have Zion in my view constantly. We are not going to wait for angels, or for Enoch and his company to come and build up Zion, but we are going to build it. We will raise our wheat, build our houses, fence our farms, plant our vineyards and orchards, and produce everything that will make our bodies comfortable and happy, and in this manner we intend to build up Zion on the earth and purify it and cleanse it from all pollutions. Let there be an hallowed influence go from us over all things over which we have any power; over the soil we cultivate, over the houses we build, and over everything we possess; and if we cease to hold fellowship with that which is corrupt and establish the Zion of God in our hearts, in our own houses, in our cities, and throughout our country, we shall ultimately overcome the earth, for we are the lords of the earth; and, instead of thorns and thistles, every useful plant that is good for the food of man and to beautify and adorn will spring from its bosom. 9:284.

Individual Labor Required in the Kingdom of God--We have all kinds of fish in the Gospel net. 3:120.

The Lord will have a tried people. 16:28.

To be a Saint in the full sense of the word, is to be something very nearly perfect. If, however, we are striving to the utmost of the ability God has given us to prove that we are willing to serve him and perform our duties, we are justified. We have the Kingdom of God to build up, Zion {680} to redeem; we have to sanctify ourselves so that we may be prepared to be caught up with the Church of the Firstborn, and if we improve every day and hour, then if we die we shall be found justified. But if we continue to live, we must become Saints in very deed, or come short of the fulness of the glory of God that is to be revealed. 16:41.

Many Latter-day Saints think when they have obeyed the Gospel, made a sacrifice in forsaking their homes, perhaps their parents, husbands, wives, children, farms, native lands, or other things held dear, that the work is done; but it is only just commenced. The work of purifying ourselves and preparing to build up the Zion of God on this continent has only just begun with us when we have got as far as that. 13:313.

A great many think that the Kingdom of God is going to bless them and exalt them, without any efforts on their part. This is not so. Every man and woman is expected to aid the work with all the ability God has given them. Each person belonging to the human family has a portion of labor to perform in removing the curse from the earth and from every living thing upon it. When this work is performed, then will they possess all things. 10:301.

We have no correct individual interest separate from this Kingdom; if we have true interest at all, it is in the Kingdom of God. 3:154.

The Kingdom of God or Nothing--When the Kingdom of God is established, if each member of that Kingdom singly and individually will do his or her duty it will take care of itself, for it is a living, self-moving, self-sustaining, independent and heaven-ordained establishment. 11:249.

The Kingdom of God is all that is real worth. All else is not worth possessing, either here or hereafter. Without {681} it, all else would be like a dry tree prepared for the burning--it is all consumed and the ashes are driven to the four winds. 8:185.

To me it is the Kingdom of God or nothing upon the earth. Without it I would not give a farthing for the wealth, glory, prestige and power of all the world combined; for like the dew upon the grass, it passeth away and is forgotten, and like the flower of the grass it withereth, and is not. Death levels the most powerful monarch with the poorest starving mendicant; and both must stand before the judgment seat of Christ to answer for the deeds done in the body. 11:126.

With us, it is the Kingdom of God, or nothing; and we will maintain it, or die in trying--though we shall not die in trying. It is comforting to many to be assured that we shall not die in trying; but we shall live in trying. We will maintain the Kingdom of God, living; and if we do not maintain it, we shall be found dying not only a temporal, but also an eternal death. Then take a course to live. 5:342.

If you give anything for the building up of the Kingdom of God, give the best you have. What is the best thing you have to devote to the Kingdom of God? It is the talents God has given you. How many? Every one of them. What beautiful talents! What a beautiful gift! It is more precious than fine gold that I can stand here and give you my ideas, and you can rise up and tell me what you think and feel, and thus exchange our ideas. It is one of the precious gifts bestowed upon human beings. Let us devote every qualification we are in possession of to the building up of God's Kingdom, and you will accomplish the whole of it. 8:346. {682}

Chapter XL

SOME EFFECTS OF THE GOSPEL

The Nature of the Gospel--We have Zion in our view in her perfection. 4:270.

All knowledge and wisdom and every good that the heart of man can desire is within the circuit and circle of the faith we have embraced. 13:150.

The design of the Gospel is to reveal the secrets of the hearts of the children of men. 3:47-48.

Is there war in our religion? No; neither war nor bloodshed. Yet our enemies cry out "bloodshed," and "Oh, what dreadful men these Mormons are, and those Danites! how they slay and kill!" Such is all nonsense and folly in the extreme. The wicked slay the wicked, and they will lay it on the Saints. 12:30.

We offer life and salvation to the whole human family in the Gospel of the Son of God, and if they are not disposed to receive it they will suffer the consequence. It is for the Latter-day Saints to live their religion. 12:315.

Do you know that here is the standard, the nucleus, the fountain, the head for all the exercises of the Kingdom of God upon the face of the whole earth? Now, let the Saints in this congregation droop in their faith, and that spirit will spread before tomorrow morning throughout the vast domain of this creation. Every Elder that goes abroad is a witness of this fact. This spirit spreads through a telegraphic influence or force that is independent of wires. Let this people at the gathering-place wake out of their slumbers, gird on their armour, and go forth like men of {683} war against wickedness, and every Branch throughout the Church feels the influence in a very short time--it is speedily imparted to all creation. The wires, as it were, are set, the lightnings flash over them, and all feel the influence, when we are doing our duty here. It all depends upon us here. 8:184.

The Gospel of life and salvation is the best institution that we, as mortal beings, can invest in. Go into the financial circles of the world, and you will find men gather and project their plans for business, for railroads, for ship companies, for merchandizing, and various other pursuits. You will see those engaged in these companies associate together, confer with each other, lay their plans before each other, investigate them, scan every branch, and every part and particle of their business. We are engaged in a higher-toned branch of business than any merchants or railroad men, or any institution of an earthly nature, and it is pleasing to see the Latter-day Saints meet together to talk over this matter, and to learn the course they should pursue to gain the object of their pursuit. If an inquiry arises in any of your minds with regard to this, I will answer it by saying that we are in pursuit of all there is before us--life, light, wealth, intelligence, all that can be possessed on the earth by mortal man, and then in a higher state, where there will be a more perfect development of the smattering knowledge than we received here, and all that can be enjoyed by intelligent beings in the celestial kingdoms of our God. 15:34.

The Latter-day Saints are a very peculiar people, and they are led in a peculiar way. We are brought into circumstances so as to be a stumbling block to the nations, through the failings and weaknesses of the Latter-day {684} Saints. Jesus was a stumbling block to the nation of the Jews, and to the generation in which he lived, and to all that knew him, and how singular it is that Jesus Christ, at this late day, and at such a distance from the theater of his operations, should have attained such celebrity and fame; even his disciples are not only canonized, but almost deified, and looked upon as though they were Gods come down to dwell with men. Every circumstance connected with the Savior's life is looked upon as being divine. Christendom now acknowledge that Jesus was the Son of God; they look upon him as God manifested in the flesh according to the New Testament; yet the generation in which he lived did not see these tokens of divinity which this generation recognize. To them he was a "root out of dry ground"--"a stumbling block," "a rock of offense." So with the Latter-day Saints. They are a stumbling block to this generation. The world see all their weaknesses and faults, and see no divinity in the work in which they are engaged. Yet this is not to be wondered at, inasmuch as the world could not see it in Jesus when he dwelt in mortality. We are looked upon as a low, degraded, ignorant set of fanatics. This is the opinion of the great majority of the learned and refined world. Others say that our people are the dupes of a few. We do not claim to be very wise, but we do know that that portion of mankind called Christians in our day, who profess to be followers of the meek and lowly Jesus, are grossly ignorant of his character, and of the means and way of salvation which he offers to the world. The Latter-day Saints, as a people, may not be so far advanced in the knowledge of many of the sciences, as their neighbors; but they are learning how to take care of themselves, which is one of the greatest arts known to man. When the most learned {685} and scientific among men scrutinize their own lives and experience, they are under the necessity of acknowledging that they are faulty, weak, ignorant; they are "strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world." 12:206-207.

There are professing Christians in our midst, who are so strict in their religious notions that they would rise in the morning at five o'clock and walk miles, if necessary, rather than miss their religious services; and they are those who are so zealous that they would measure the soil from here into old Jerusalem with their bodies if they could, to pay penance, as they call it. God does not require any such sacrifices as this; neither does he require any of these sacrifices which involve the shedding of blood or the loss of life. Such things do not belong to God's religion, they come through sin and transgression. Perhaps they who show such manifestations of their faith strengthen it and do themselves some good. All that is required of us is to sacrifice our feelings and to overcome the adversary by subduing the lust within us for anything but the Kingdom of God on the earth, the glory of God, and the salvation of our friends and families and of the human family from first to last; that our whole souls may be devoted to the building up of the Kingdom of God on the earth, and for the salvation of those who sleep, who died without the Gospel. 18:238.

Our religion is called "Mormonism" because the ancient records revealed to Joseph Smith were entitled, the Book of Mormon, according to the instructions given to him by the Lord; but I will call it the Plan of Salvation devised in the heavens for the redemption of mankind from sin, and their restoration to the presence of God. {686}

It embraces every fact there is in the heavens and in the heaven of heavens--every fact there is upon the surface of the earth, in the bowels of the earth, and in the starry heavens; in fine, it embraces all truth there is in all the eternities of the Gods. 9:149.

Some of the Effects of the Gospel--The religion that we have embraced teaches us to prepare to live. 5:257.

But "Mormonism" has opened up light. Removing the curtain from the broad sunshine, it has lighted up the souls of hundreds of thousands, and they have been made to rejoice in the light of truth. 8:129.

With all the rest of the good that you can commit to memory, be sure to recollect that the Gospel of salvation is expressly designed to make Saints of sinners, to overcome evil with good, to make holy, good men of wicked, bad men, and to make better men of good. Wherein we are wicked; wherein we have evil passions, the Gospel will aid us in overcoming evil. It gives us the influence, the power, the knowledge, the wisdom, and the understanding to overcome our weaknesses and to purify ourselves before the Lord our God. 8:160.

When people receive the Gospel, their minds are opened; they see Zion in its glory; but they do not see the troubles on the plains, or the troubles with false brethren. 8:71.

What are the fruits of this Gospel when it is received into the hearts of an individual? It will make a bad man good, and a good man better; it increases their light, knowledge, and intelligence, and enables them to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth, as the Savior did, until they understand men and things, the world and its doctrines, whether Christian, heathen or pagan, and will ultimately {687} lead them to knowledge of things in heaven, on the earth or under the earth. 13:144.

Our religion teaches us truth, virtue, holiness, faith in God and in his Son Jesus Christ. It reveals mysteries, it brings to mind things past and present--unfolding clearly things to come. It is the foundation of mechanism; it is the spirit that gives intelligence to every living being upon the earth. All true philosophy originates from that Fountain from which we draw wisdom, knowledge, truth, and power. What does it teach us? To love God and our fellow creatures--to be compassionate, full of mercy, long-suffering, and patient to the froward and to those who are ignorant. There is a glory in our religion that no other religion that has ever been established upon the earth, in the absence of the true Priesthood, ever possessed. It is the fountain of all intelligence; it is to bring heaven to earth and exalt earth to heaven, to prepare all intelligence that God has placed in the hearts of the children of men--to mingle with the intelligence which dwells in eternity, and to elevate the mind above the trifling and frivolous objects of time, which tend downward to destruction. It frees the mind of man from darkness and ignorance, gives him that intelligence that flows from heaven, and qualifies him to comprehend all things. This is the character of the religion we believe in. 7:140-141.

Our belief will bring peace to all men and good will to all the inhabitants of the earth. It will induce all who sincerely follow its dictates to cultivate righteousness and peace; to live peaceably in their families; to praise the Lord morning and evening; to pray with their families, and will so fill them with the spirit of peace that they will never condemn or chasten any one unless it is well deserved. {688} They will rise in the morning with their spirits as smooth and serene as the sun that is rising and giving life and heat to the world; just as calm and as smooth as the breezes on a summer evening. No anger, no wrath, no malice, contention or strife. If a wrong arises, the party wronged will go to his neighbor and quietly investigate whether wrong was designed; and if the seeming transgressor is living according to the spirit of his religion, it will be found that he had designed no wrong, and that he will make ample amends, forgiveness will be accorded, and the trouble will end. This is the spirit and teaching of the Gospel.

How will perfection be obtained? By all persons in the Kingdom of God living so as to be revelators from the heavens for themselves and for all they preside over, that everything they have to perform in this life--every worldly care and duty, and all their walk and conversation before each other and before the Lord, may be marked out by the spirit of revelation. Is this the way to perfection? It is. This is the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; this is the Gospel of life and salvation. 13:215.

We ought to understand that when our lives have been filled with all manner of wickedness, to turn and repent of our sins, to be baptized for the remission of them, and have our names written upon the Church records, does not prepare us for the presence of our Father and Elder Brother. What will? A continuation of faithfulness to the doctrines of Christ; nothing short of this will do it. 3:193-194.

It is very fortunate for those who receive this Gospel and the spirit of it in their hearts, for it awakes within them a desire to know and understand the things of God more than they ever did before in their lives, and they begin to inquire, read and search, and when they go to the {689} Father in the name of Jesus he will not leave them without a witness. 14:135.

When people receive this Gospel, what do they sacrifice? Why, death for life. This is what they give: darkness for light, error for truth, doubt and unbelief for knowledge and the certainty of the things of God. 16:1061.

The Saints in all ages have been protected, sustained and upheld by an Almighty Power in their sufferings, and the power of the religion of Jesus Christ has ever sustained them. The Jews anciently said, Let his blood be upon us and upon our children, and God took them at their word. 10:287.

You may as well undertake to terrify the Almighty on his throne, as to terrify a Latter-day Saint of the true stripe--one who has the true blood in him. 2:313.

The sound of the Gospel of life and salvation, to gather the House of Israel and redeem the children of men, is a terror to all nations. 8:13.

No blessing that is sealed upon us will do us any good, unless we live for it. 11:117.

Personal Joy in the Gospel--With me "Mormonism" is, "Out with the truth." 3:255.

The great object of my life is to establish the Kingdom of God upon the earth. 11:275.

It may be asked whether I have any idols? Yes, I have most darling idols--my God and my religion, and they are all the idols I wish to have. 9:106.

I feel happy. "Mormonism" has made me all I am, and the grace, the power, and the wisdom of God will make me all that I ever will be, either in time or eternity. 8:162.

You hear many talk about having made sacrifices; if I had that word in my vocabulary I would blot it out. I have {690} never yet made what I call sacrifices; in my experience I know nothing about making them. 3:223.

Again, I say, if "Mormonism" is not all I anticipated it to be, it is nothing. If it is not in me, and I in it, if it is not all and in all to me, I am deceived in myself. It is everything in heaven and on earth to those who possess it truly. 2:128.

Our religion has been a continual feast to me. With me it is Glory! Hallelujah! Praise God! instead of sorrow and grief. Give me the knowledge, power, and blessings that I have the capacity of receiving, and I do not care how the Devil originated, nor anything about him; I want the wisdom, knowledge, and power of God. Give me the religion that lifts me higher in the scale of intelligence--that gives me the power to endure--that when I attain the state of peace and rest prepared for the righteous, I may enjoy to all eternity the society of the sanctified. 8:119.

The last time I spoke to you here I told you that I found my religion just as sweet to me in my private capacity, in my secret meditations upon my bed, and in my closet, in my office, or with my family, as it is when I am in this stand. I love it as well--esteem it as highly; it is as precious to my understanding, and it invigorates, buoys up, strengthens, and fills every power of my capacity with unspeakable joy, just as much at home as it does here. I hope this is the case with you all. If you live your religion, it is as dear to you when you are out of this Tabernacle as when you are here. 8:38.

I am happy; I am full of joy, comfort, and peace; all within me is light, for I desire nothing but to do the will of my Father in heaven. I delight not in unrighteousness, but in righteousness and truth. I seek to promote the good and {691} happiness of myself and those with whom I am associated. 6:40.

My business is to save the people, not to oppress, plunder, and destroy them. It is also the duty of all the Elders to labor to save the people. 7:229.

I am so thankful that tongue cannot express what I feel, that I have the privilege of associating with the Saints, and of being a member in the Kingdom of God, and that I have friends in the Church of the Living God. 10:314.

I can say that I do not consider that I have ever suffered anything for this Kingdom--nothing in the least. I have never sacrificed anything, without it be the evil propensities that are sown in our nature, springing from the seed that was sown at the fall. 8:67.

The Lord has blessed me; he has always blessed me; from the time I commenced to build up Zion, I have been extremely blessed. I could relate circumstances of so extraordinary a character in regard to the providences of God to me, that my brethren and sisters would say in their hearts, "I can hardly give credence to this." But my heart has been set in me to do the will of God, to build up his Kingdom on the earth, to establish Zion and its laws, and to save the people; and I can say, truly and honestly, that the thought never came into my mind, in all my labors, what my reward will be, or whether my crown would be large or small, or any crown at all, a small possession, a large possession, or no possession. I have never had any thoughts or reflections upon this, or cared the first thing about it. All that I have had in my mind has been that it was my duty to do the will of God, and to labor to establish his Kingdom on the earth. I do not love, serve or fear the Lord for the sake of getting rid of being damned, nor for the sake of {692} getting some great gift or blessing in eternity, but purely because the principles which God has revealed for the salvation of the inhabitants of the earth are pure, holy and exalting in their nature. In them there is honor and eternal increase, they lead on from light to light, strength to strength, glory to glory, knowledge to knowledge, and power to power. 16:70.

"Mormonism" has done everything for me that ever has been done for me on the earth; it has made me happy; it has made me wealthy and comfortable; it has filled me with good feelings, with joy and rejoicing. Whereas, before I possessed the spirit of the Gospel I was troubled with that which I hear others complain of, that is, with, at times, feeling cast down, gloomy, and despondent; with everything wearing to me, at times, a dreary aspect.

But have the trees, the streams, the rocks, or any part of creation worn a gloomy aspect to me for one half minute since I came in possession of the spirit of this Gospel? No, though before that time I might view the most beautiful gardens, buildings, cities, plantations, or anything else in nature, yet to me they all wore at times a shade of death.

They appeared at times as though a vail was brooding over them, which cast a dark shade upon all things, like the shade of the valley of death, and I felt lonesome and bad. But since I have embraced the Gospel not for one half minute, to the best of my recollection, has anything worn to me a gloomy aspect; under all circumstances I have felt pleasant and cheerful.

When surrounded by mobs, with death and destruction threatening on every hand, I am not aware but that I felt just as joyful, just as well in my spirit, as I do now. Prospects might appear dull and very dark, but I have never {693} seen a time in this Gospel but what I knew that the result would be beneficial to the cause of truth and the lovers of righteousness, and I have always felt to joyfully acknowledge the hand of the Lord in all things. 3:320.

I present myself before this congregation as a teacher of the way of life and salvation. 10:318.

Permit me to say, that I am proud of my religion. It is the only thing I pride myself in, on the earth. I may heap up gold and silver like the mountains; I may gather around me property, goods and chattels, but I could have no glory in that, compared with my religion; it is the fountain of light and intelligence; it swallows up the truth contained in all the philosophy of the world, both heathen and Christian; it circumscribes the wisdom of man; all the wisdom and power of the world; it reaches to that within the veil. Its bounds, its circumference, its end, its height, and depth, are beyond the comprehension of mortals, for it has none. 1:39.

I have an impulse within me to preach the Gospel of salvation. 4:43.

God, angels, and good men being my helpers, I will never cease to contend, inch by inch, until we gain the ground and possess the Kingdom. That is my feeling and faith, and we will accomplish it. I will prophesy, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that we will possess the Kingdom of God upon the whole earth, and possess the earth. 8:166.

I know enough to let the Kingdom alone, and do my duty. It carries me, I do not carry the Kingdom. I sail in the old ship Zion, and it bears me safely above the raging elements; I have my sphere of action and duties to perform {694} on board of that ship; to faithfully perform them should be my constant and unceasing endeavor. 11:252.

For nearly thirty years I have sought to know the truth, and to properly understand the principles of the holy Priesthood revealed from heaven through the Prophet Joseph; and I have ceased not, when I have had an opportunity, at the proper time and in the proper place, to present those principles to my fellow-men. 7:131.

I love to fight the devils, but I love to overcome them. 3:224.

We have forsaken the kingdom of darkness, have come out in open rebellion to the power of the Devil on this earth, and I for one will fight him, so help me God, as long as there is breath in my body, and do all in my power to overthrow his government and rule. And if he complains that I am infringing upon his ground, I shall very politely ask him to go to his own place, where he belongs. If any among this community want to sustain the government of the Devil, in preference to the Kingdom of God, I wish them to go where they belong. I want to sustain the government of heaven, and shall stick fast to it, by the help of God. If we sustain it, it will build us up and crown us with victory and eternal life. 10:41.

But I am proud to say of my religion, I have studied it faithfully for twenty-two years, day and night, at home and abroad, upon the rivers, and upon the lakes, when travelling by sea and by land; have studied it in the pulpit; from morning till night; whatsoever might be my pursuit, I have studied it with as close an application as any college student ever did any subject he wished to commit to memory; and I can say I have only just got into the A B C of it; it leads the vision of my mind into eternity. 1:39. {695}

Blessings Conditioned Upon Good Works--Every blessing the Lord proffers to his people is on conditions. These conditions are: "Obey my law, keep my commandments, walk in my ordinances, observe my statutes, love mercy, preserve the law that I have given to you inviolate, keep yourselves pure in the law, and then you are entitled to these blessings, and not until then." 16:162.

Good actions always result in blessings. The history of the people of God in all ages testifies that whenever they have listened to the counsel of heaven they have always been blessed. All this people are satisfied that they will be more blessed to hearken to good counsel than not to do so. 12:122.

Brethren and sisters, if we wish the blessings of heaven upon us, let us be faithful to our covenants and callings, faithful in paying tithing, in keeping the Word of Wisdom and in building temples. 16:69.

If the brethren will take hold and perform the labors devolving upon them, they shall be blessed in them. They will increase in health and in wealth. The Lord will bless the people in proportion as they bless themselves. 16:68.

I wish the people could realize that they walk, live, and abide in the presence of the Almighty. The faithful shall have eyes to see as they are seen, and you shall behold that you are in the midst of eternity and in the presence of holy beings, and be enabled ere long to enjoy their society and presence. You are greatly blessed. 8:200.

Do just as well as you know how in all things, never permitting yourself to commit an act unless the Spirit of God within you justifies you in doing it. And if you live every day of your lives according to the best light and understanding you possess, glorifying God, our Heavenly {696} Father, just as far as your knowledge extends, I will promise you eternal life in the Kingdom of God. 19:220.

The man, or the woman, that mainly looks after the fruit, after the luxuries of life, good food, fine apparel and at the same time professes to be a Latter-day Saint, if he does not get that spirit out of his heart, it will obtain a perfect victory over him; whereas he is required to obtain a victory over his lusts and over his unwise feelings. 4:52.

Increasing Blessings--Instead of the righteous being bound tighter and tighter, they will continue to have more and more liberty, as we are more and more faithful, and obtain more power with the heavens and more of the power of God upon us. Let us seek diligently unto the Lord, until we obtain the faith of Jesus in its fulness, for those who possess this are free indeed. 10:288.

If the Lord had a people on the earth that he had perfect confidence in, there is not a blessing in the eternities of our God, that they could bear in the flesh, that he would not pour out upon them. Tongue cannot tell the blessings the Lord has for a people who have proved themselves before him. 4:79.

The greatest blessing that can be bestowed on the children of men is power to civilize themselves after the order of the civilization of the heavens--to prepare themselves to dwell with heavenly beings who are capable of enduring the presence of the Gods. 8:7.

"Mormonism" keeps men and women young and handsome; and when they are full of the Spirit of God, there are none of them but what will have a glow upon their countenances; and that is what makes you and me young; for the Spirit of God is with us and within us. 5:210.

Personal Blessings Upon the People--Brethren and {697} sisters, may God bless you! I bless you all the time, Hallelujah! Praise the name of Israel's God; for my soul exults in his name. 6:100.

I will say to you, my brethren and sisters, I bless you. I bless you according to the Priesthood that I hold and the keys thereof. I bless you in the name of Jesus Christ. 16:170.

God bless you! Peace be with you, and love be multiplied upon the people. I pray for the good all over the earth. My desire is to see the Kingdom of God prosper. 15:134.

May God bless you! Peace be upon you! Be fervent in spirit, humble, teachable, and prayerful, taking care of yourselves, endeavoring to save yourselves, and all you have any influence over, which is my continual prayer for you, in the name of Jesus. Amen. 1:111.

Brethren and sisters, inasmuch as I have the right and privilege, through the Priesthood, I bless you in the name of the Lord, and say, be you blessed. These are my feelings to the Latter-day Saints, and would be to all the human family, if they would receive my blessings, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. 2:10.

May the Lord God Almighty bless the Saints, and every one who will permit his blessings to come upon them. I am under the same obligations to bless sinners as I am to bless Saints, if they will receive my blessings. I pray for the blessings of heaven upon the work of his hands, for we are all his children--the sons and daughters of our Parent who dwells in the heavens. 8:261.

God bless every good man. God bless the works of nature, God bless his own work, overthrow the wicked and ungodly and them that would destroy their fellow beings, that war and contentions may cease on the earth. O Lord, {698} remove these from office and place good men at the head of the nations, that they may learn war no more, but go to, like rational and civilized beings, sustain peace on the earth and do good to each other. 12:289.

God bless you, and I pray that you may be blessed; but I pray you to bless yourselves. Brethren and sisters, let us bless ourselves, by doing the will of God, then we are right. 16:71.

I have experienced much in my life, and I will not ask you to do any better by one another, nor by me, than I do by you, and I will bless you all the time. I feel to bless you continually; my life is here, my interest, my glory, my pride, my comfort, my all are here, and all I expect to have, to all eternity is wrapped up in the midst of this Church.

If I do not get it in this channel; I shall not have it at all. How do you suppose I feel? I feel as a father should feel towards his children. I have felt so for many years, even when I durst not say so; I have felt as a mother feels towards her tender offspring, and durst not express my feelings; but I have tried to carry out their expression in my life. May God bless, you. Amen. 4:333.

I do not hate any man on earth or in hell. The worst wish I have for the wicked is that they may be obliged to live according to good and wholesome laws. 8:43.

There is not a man or woman on this earth that I hate; but I do most cordially hate their wicked acts. I am at war with false principles--with wickedness, sin, and abomination; and I expect to continue my warfare until I overcome. 7:6.

I feel happy; I feel at peace with all the inhabitants of the earth; I love my friends, and as for my enemies, I pray for them daily; and if they do not believe I would do them {699} good, let them call at my house, when they are hungry, and I will feed them; yea, I will do good to those who despitefully use and persecute me. I pray for them, and bless my friends all the time. 11:111.

If I had power, I certainly would bless the people with everything their hearts could wish if they would not sin. I would do, as I heard the mothers of some of my children say that went with me to St. George this winter, that I indulged them in every thing they wanted. Why? Because they never manifested a desire for anything wrong. And if it were in my power I would bless all the inhabitants of the earth, with everything in which they could glorify God, and purify their own hearts. 18:362.

God bless you, my children, my little ones. I love you, I am a great lover of children and innocence and purity, and I am a hater of iniquity. I think very frequently, in looking upon the actions of men that I do not have compassion enough; but when I see the wolf among the lambs I am after them, to see that they do not destroy the lambs. I would have given worlds if I could have known the truth in my childhood, as I now hear it. I had a great desire to know it, and the priests were after me from the time I was eight years of age. I was infidel to their creeds, but not to the Bible, not to God, not to holiness, but to the creeds of the children of men I was infidel, and am to this day. I say, God bless you, my children. 19:65. {700}

Chapter XLI

JOSEPH SMITH

A Prophet of God--I honor and revere the name of Joseph Smith. I delight to hear it; I love it. I love his doctrine. 13:216.

What I have received from the Lord, I have received by Joseph Smith; he was the instrument made use of. If I drop him, I must drop these principles; they have not been revealed, declared, or explained by any other man since the days of the Apostles. If I lay down the Book of Mormon, I shall have to deny that Joseph is a Prophet; and if I lay down the doctrine and cease to preach the gathering of Israel and the building up of Zion, I must lay down the Bible; and, consequently, I might as well go home as undertake to preach without these three items. 6:279-280.

I feel like shouting Hallelujah, all the time, when I think that I ever knew Joseph Smith, the Prophet whom the Lord raised up and ordained, and to whom he gave keys and power to build up the Kingdom of God on earth and sustain it. These keys are committed to this people, and we have power to continue the work that Joseph commenced, until everything is prepared for the coming of the Son of Man. This is the business of the Latter-day Saints, and it is all the business we have on hand. 3:51.

Not that Joseph was the Savior, but he was a Prophet. As he said once; when some one asked him, "Are you the Savior?" "No, but I can tell you what I am--I am his brother." So we can say. 14:202.

Joseph Smith has laid the foundation of the Kingdom of {701} God in the last days; others will rear the superstructure. 9:364.

I never saw any one, until I met Joseph Smith, who could tell me anything about the character, personality and dwelling-place of God, or anything satisfactory about angels, or the relationship of man to his Maker. Yet I was as diligent as any man need to be to try and find out these things. 16:46.

What is the nature and beauty of Joseph's mission? You know that I am one of his Apostles. When I first heard him preach, he brought heaven and earth together; and all the priests of the day could not tell me anything correct about heaven, hell, God, angels, or devils; they were as blind as Egyptian darkness. When I saw Joseph Smith, he took heaven, figuratively speaking, and brought it down to earth; and he took the earth, brought it up, and opened up, in plainness and simplicity, the things of God; and that is the beauty of his mission. I had a testimony, long before that, that he was a Prophet of the Lord, and that was consoling. Did not Joseph do the same to your understandings? Would he not take the Scriptures and make them so plain and simple that everybody could understand? Every person says, "Yes, it is admirable; it unites the heavens and the earth together," and as for time, it is nothing, only to teach us how to live in eternity. 5:332.

When you hear a man pour out eternal things, how well you feel, to what a nearness you seem to be brought with God. What a delight it was to hear Brother Joseph talk upon the great principles of eternity; he would bring them down to the capacity of a child, and he would unite heaven with earth, this is the beauty of our religion. 4:54.

There is not that being that ever had the privilege of {702} hearing the way of life and salvation set before him as it is written in the New Testament, and in the Book of Mormon, and in the book of Doctrine and Covenants, by a Latter-day Saint, that can say that Jesus lives, that his Gospel is true, and at the same time say that Joseph Smith was not a Prophet of God. That is strong testimony, but it is true. No man can say that this book (laying his hand on the Bible) is true, is the word of the Lord, is the way, is the guide-board in the path, and a charter by which we may learn the will of God; and at the same time say, that the Book of Mormon is untrue; if he has had the privilege of reading it, or of hearing it read, and learning its doctrines. There is not that person on the face of the earth who has had the privilege of learning the Gospel of Jesus Christ from these two books, that can say that one is true, and the other is false. No Latter-day Saint, no man or woman, can say the Book of Mormon is true, and at the same time say that the Bible is untrue. If one be true, both are; and if one be false, both are false. If Jesus lives, and is the Savior of the world, Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God, and lives in the bosom of his father Abraham. Though they have killed his body, yet he lives and beholds the face of his Father in Heaven; and his garments are pure as the angels that surround the throne of God; and no man on the earth can say that Jesus lives, and deny, at the same time, my assertion about the Prophet Joseph. This is my testimony, and it is strong. 1:38.

Who can justly say aught against Joseph Smith? I was as well acquainted with him, as any man. I do not believe that his father and mother knew him any better than I did. I do not think that a man lives on the earth that knew him any better than I did; and I am bold to say that, Jesus {703} Christ excepted, no better man ever lived or does live upon this earth. I am his witness. He was persecuted for the same reason that any other righteous person has been or is persecuted at the present day. 9:332.

I never have professed to be Brother Joseph, but Brother Brigham, trying to do good to this people. I am no better, nor any more important than another man who is trying to do good. If I am, I don't know it. If I improve upon what the Lord has given me, and continue to improve, I shall become like those who have gone before me; I shall be exalted in the celestial kingdom, and be filled to overflowing with all the power I can wield; and all the keys of knowledge I can manage will be committed unto me. What do we want more? I shall be just like every other man--have all that I can, in my capacity, comprehend and manage. 6:275-276.

Called and Directed by God--He called upon his servant Joseph Smith, Jr., when he was but a boy, to lay the foundation of his Kingdom for the last time. Why did he call upon Joseph Smith to do it? Because he was disposed to do it. Was Joseph Smith the only person on earth who could have done this work? No doubt there were many others who, under the direction of the Lord, could have done that work; but the Lord selected the one that pleased him, and that is sufficient. 11:253.

In all ages of the world that we have any knowledge of, when there was a people on the earth whom God acknowledged as his people, he has invariably dictated them in Spiritual and in temporal things. This question was agitated year after year in the days of Joseph. The first two Bishops in the Church--Edward Partridge was the first--I was well acquainted with him, and Newel K. Whitney was {704} the second--questioned the propriety of Joseph having anything to do with temporal things. Joseph would argue the case with them a little, and tell them how things were, and bring up scripture to show them that it could not be otherwise--that it was impossible for the Lord to dictate to people unless he dictated them in temporal affairs. The very first act after believing is a temporal act. After I hear the Gospel preached and believe it, I go down into the waters of baptism, which is a temporal act; it is an act that pertains to my will and my body; I will that my body shall go down into the water and be immersed for the remission of my sins; consequently, I have to go to the Elder who taught me the Gospel, the spiritual portion of the Kingdom, and apply to him to administer this temporal ordinance, and he has to do it; having taught the doctrine he officiates in the act and you will find it through life, every circumstance, in every case, the man that dictates the spiritual Kingdom of God, must dictate the temporal affairs, it cannot be otherwise. I say this to you, because the idea in the minds of a few of the people is, "Brigham ought not to meddle with temporal affairs." They said so to Joseph, and they said so much about it, that I went into the temple at Kirtland, and challenged the men who were querying on this, to prove or bring up one instance where God did not manifest his will concerning temporal things whenever he made known his will to the children of men for establishing his Kingdom on the earth. They always came to the floor; they had to do it, there was nothing else for them; it prostrated every person. There were William E. McLellin, John F. Boynton, and Lyman Johnson who belonged to the Twelve, Frederick G. Williams, second counselor to Joseph, and two-thirds of the High Council, all talking {705} about this, and I went into the temple and just challenged them to show wherein the Lord ever conferred upon any man in the world the power to dictate in spiritual affairs, that he did not in temporal affairs? They could not do it. I told them they could not draw the line between the spiritual and the temporal. All things were created first spiritual, and then temporal. Everything in the spirit world was presented as we see it now, and this temporal earth was presented there. We were in the spirit world, and we came here into this time, which is in eternity, nothing in the world only a change of time and season is allotted to a change of being that makes it time to us. It is in eternity, and we are just as much in eternity now, as we shall be millions of years hence. But it is time measured to finite beings, and it is changeable, and we call it temporal, while the fact is it is all spiritual in the first place, then temporal, then spiritual, and made immortal, consequently you cannot divide them. I say this for those to reflect upon who think that there is a difference between temporal and spiritual things. I do not say, for I do not know that there are any such here. 18:243.

Development of the Prophet--From the day that Joseph obtained the plates, and previous to that time, the Lord dictated him. He directed him day by day and hour by hour. 8:66.

Joseph continued to receive revelation upon revelation, ordinance upon ordinance, truth upon truth, until he obtained all that was necessary for the salvation of the human family. All the inhabitants of the earth are called of God; they are called to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins. 16:42.

We have passed from one thing to another, and I may {706} say from one degree of knowledge to another. When Joseph first received the knowledge of the plates that were in the hill Cumorah, he did not then receive the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood, he merely received the knowledge that the plates were there, and that the Lord would bring them forth, and that they contained the history of the aborigines of this country. He received the knowledge that they were once in possession of the Gospel, and from that time he went on, step by step, until he obtained the plates, and the Urim and Thummim and had power to translate them. This did not make him an Apostle, it did not give to him the keys of the Kingdom, nor make him an Elder in Israel. He was a Prophet, and had the spirit of prophecy, and had received all this before the Lord ordained him. And when the Lord, by revelation, told him to go to Pennsylvania, he did so, and finished the translation of the Book of Mormon; and when the Lord, in another revelation, told him to come back, into New York State, and to go to old Father Whitmer's, who lived in a place opposite Waterloo, and there stop, he did so, and had meetings, and gathered up a few who believed in his testimony. He received the Aaronic Priesthood, and then he received the keys of the Melchizedek Priesthood, and organized the Church. He first received the power to baptize, and still did not know that he was to receive any more until the Lord told him there was more for him. Then he received the keys of the Melchizedek Priesthood, and had power to confirm after he had baptized, which he had not before. He would have stood precisely as John the Baptist stood, had not the Lord sent his other messengers, Peter, James and John, to ordain Joseph to the Melchizedek Priesthood. Then, after some of the brethren had been out preaching, he had a revelation that they should go up to {707} the State of Ohio. I knew of them, though I was not acquainted with them before they went up there. They were seen by some of my family, my father saw and conversed with them. Then the way opened for a large gathering in the State of Ohio. Parley P. Pratt, Oliver Cowdery, Ziba Peterson, David Whitmer, John Whitmer, and a few others, went up there and preached the Gospel, and they came among the members of the society called Campbellites, formerly members of the Close Communion Baptists, their leader's name being Alexander Campbell. This man preached the doctrine that baptism was for the remission of sins, and that split the church; but when the brethren came to these societies and taught them, not only baptism for the remission of sins, but the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, they believed it, and were baptized for the remission of their sins, and received the laying on of hands for the Holy Ghost, and then received other ordinances.

At this time [1841] came a revelation that we could be baptized for our dead friends, but at first it was not revealed that a record should be kept of those who were baptized; but when he received an additional revelation to that effect, then a record was kept. Hundreds and thousands, I suppose, were baptized before any record was kept at all, and they were baptized over, and a record kept of the baptisms and the names of the administrator, those who acted for the dead, and of the dead, and of the witnesses. You can read in the book of Doctrine and Covenants, the letter that Joseph wrote, when he was away from home, in regard to having witnesses at these baptisms. I relate this to show you that the Lord did not reveal everything at once. But I need not dwell on this any longer, 18:239-40. {708}

What Joseph Taught--All that Joseph Smith did was to preach the truth--the Gospel as the Lord revealed it to him--and tell the people how to be saved, and the honest-in-heart ran together and gathered around him and loved him as they did their own lives. He could do no more than to preach true principles, and that will gather the Saints in the last days, even the honest-in-heart. All who believe and obey the Gospel of Jesus Christ are his witnesses to the truth of these statements. 10:326.

The excellency of the glory of the character of Brother Joseph Smith was that he could reduce heavenly things to the understanding of the finite. When he preached to the people--revealed the things of God, the will of God, the plan of salvation, the purposes of Jehovah, the relation in which we stand to him and all the heavenly beings, he reduced his teachings to the capacity of every man, woman, and child, making them as plain as a well-defined pathway. This should have convinced every person that ever heard of him of his divine authority and power, for no other man was able to teach as he could, and no person can reveal the things of God, but by the revelations of Jesus Christ. 8:206.

No man was to be found who could teach repentance and baptism for the remission of sins, with authority to administer in the ordinances, until God commissioned Joseph Smith, and sent him forth with his commandment to the people. Previous to that time, I searched everything pertaining to the churches; I searched high and low to find whether there was any such thing as pure religion upon the earth; I searched for a man that could tell me something of God, of heaven, of angels and of eternal life. I believed in God the Father, and in Jesus Christ, but I could not believe that the Church of Christ was upon the earth. The question {709} was frequently asked, "Is the Methodist Church, the Quakers, or the Mother Church right?" No, I would reply, there is not a Bible church upon the earth. I might have continued to study the Bible and all the books that have been written, and without revelation from God I would have been like the sounding brass or tinkling cymbal, having no knowledge of God, of true religion, of the redemption of the living or of the dead; I would have lived and died in ignorance; and this was the condition of all the inhabitants of the earth. 10:311.

There was nothing of a temporal or spiritual nature suggested by Joseph Smith in his day, for the action of the Latter-day Saints that would not have been beneficial for them, if they had, with one heart and mind, performed all he desired them to do. 11:18.

Results of the Prophet's Labors--Joseph Smith, though he spent only fourteen years in presiding over this people, organizing the Church, proclaiming the Gospel and receiving revelations, yet had hundreds and thousands of men and women who were ready to go to the death with him. 14:149.

Now, as bad as myself and my brethren are, and as far as we are from the mark, and from the privileges we should enjoy, if Joseph Smith, Jr., the Prophet, could have seen the people in his day as willing to obey his voice, as they are today to obey the voice of their President, he would have been a happy man. He lived, labored, toiled, and worked; his courage was like the courage of an angel, and his will was like the will of the Almighty, and he labored till they killed him. 11:322.

Persecutions of the Prophet--Are there not scores of men and women here who are familiar with the death of our Prophet? Why did people hate him? Because of his {710} influence. Did he gain or exercise an unrighteous influence? By no means. He possessed a righteous influence over the spirits, feelings, passions, and dispositions of all who delighted in truth and goodness, so far as he associated, and could guide them at his pleasure.

Am I hated for the same cause? I am. I am hated for teaching people the way of life and salvation--for teaching them principles that pertain to eternity, by which the Gods were and are, and by which they gain influence and power. Obtain that influence, and you will be hated, despised, and hunted like the roe upon the mountains. The way to obtain that influence is pointed out--by whom? By him through whom the worlds were created, and who has redeemed this earth and all things upon it. 7:3.

Our situation is peculiar at the present time. Has it not been peculiar ever since Joseph found the plates? The circumstances that surrounded him when he found the plates were singular and strange. He passed a short life of sorrow and trouble, surrounded by enemies who sought day and night to destroy him. If a thousand hounds were on this Temple Block, let loose on one rabbit, it would not be a bad illustration of the situation at times of the Prophet Joseph. He was hunted unremittingly. We have the privilege of believing the same Gospel that Joseph taught, and with him of being numbered with those whose names are cast out as evil. 10:315.

June 27, 1844, a little over fourteen years after the organization of this Church, Joseph Smith was slain. In his day there were but very few years of rest for the Saints. They occupied Nauvoo longer than any other one place; they lived there about seven years. We left Nauvoo in 1846, and from that time until now this Church has not been {711} compelled to abandon their property and homes. We came here in the best and quickest way in our power, and have been building, fencing, planting, sowing, and making ourselves comfortable. It is now more than ten years since we first located here, unmolested and undisturbed. 7:42.

I lived close by where these plates were found. I knew that Joseph found them, from outward circumstances that transpired at the time. I shall not take time to relate but a little of the delicate, kind, benevolent, Christian-like, I will say anti-Godlike feelings of the priests and of the people who professed Christianity at the time that Joseph organized this Church. The very first thing that was circulated was this--"Did you hear that Joe Smith and his followers got together last night, blew out the light, stripped themselves stark naked, and there they had the holy roll?" A great many of you do not understand this term. It came from the Shaking Quakers. I shall not attempt to relate here the conduct attributed to them, but from that sprung the peculiar phrase I have mentioned in your hearing this afternoon. In a very short time we were all thieves in the estimation of our so-called Christian neighbors. Said the priest to a beloved sister, "Sister, did you hear of such a man, he was a member of our church a few days since, but he has joined old Joe Smith?" Says the sister, "No, can it be possible?" "Well, they say so," says the priest, and he himself had fabricated the entire story. This sister would tell it to another, and it would go all through the neighborhood that such a man, who only a few days before had been considered by them as good a brother as they had in their church, had become a chicken thief. But you cannot mention any crime that this people called Latter-day Saints have not been accused of committing by their so-called {712} Christian neighbors; and these stories would generally commence by the priests whispering to some sister, "Did you hear of such and such a thing?" That was enough, all that was wanted, it became a solemn fact by the time it passed the third mouth. 16:67.

Had Joseph Smith been an impostor and of the world, the world would not have hated him, but would have loved its own. Had Joseph Smith made political capital of his religion and calling, and raised up a political party, he doubtless would have become celebrated and renowned in the world as a great man and as a great leader. 9:332.

Harrassed by Lawsuits--He was poor, harrassed, distressed, afflicted, and tormented with lawsuits, persecution upon persecution, and it cost thousands and hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep him alive, which a few had to sustain. Is this affliction upon them now? It is not. The scene is reversed. And as the people once thought, that many by one man could be made poor, they now believe, by one man many will be made rich. At the present day I do not know where the opportunity is to prove the people. 1:75.

Joseph Smith was arraigned before Judge Austin A. King, on a charge of treason. The Judge inquired of Mr. Smith, "Do you believe and teach the doctrine that in the course of time the Saints will possess the earth?" Joseph replied that he did. "Do you believe that the Lord will raise up a kingdom that will fill the whole earth and rule over all other kingdoms, as the Prophet Daniel has said?" "Yes, sir, I believe that Jesus Christ will reign King of nations as he does King of Saints?" "Write that down, clerk; we want to fasten upon him the charge of treason, for if he believes this, he must believe that the State of Missouri {713} will crumble and fall to rise no more." Lawyer Doniphan said to the Judge, "Judge, you had better make the Bible treason and have done with it." 9:331.

Joseph, our Prophet, was hunted and driven, arrested and persecuted, and although no law was ever made in these United States that would bear against him, for he never broke a law, yet to my certain knowledge he was defendant in forty-six lawsuits, and every time Mr. Priest was at the head of and led the band or mob who hunted and persecuted him. And when Joseph and Hyrum were slain in Carthage jail, the mob, painted like Indians, was led by a preacher. 14:199.

Joseph Smith, in forty-six prosecutions, was never proved guilty of one violation of the laws of his country. They accused him of treason, because he would not fellowship their wickedness. 10:111.

Of Good Character--We can find no person who presents a better character to the world, when the facts are known, than Joseph Smith, Jr., the Prophet, and his brother, Hyrum Smith, who was murdered with him. 14:203.

The history of Joseph and Mary is given to us by their best friends, and precisely as we will give the history of the Prophet Joseph. We know him to have been a good man, we know that he performed his mission, we know that he was an honorable man and dealt justly, we know his true character. 3:366.

But let his enemies give his character, and they will make him out one of the basest men that ever lived. Let the enemies of Joseph and Mary give their characters to us, and you would be strongly tempted to believe as the Jews believe. 3:366.

Why the Prophet Was Killed--If it be the will of the {714} Lord for the people to live, they will live. If it had been the will of the Lord that Joseph and Hyrum should have lived, they would have lived. It was necessary for Joseph to seal his testimony with his blood. Had he been destined to live he would have lived. The Lord suffered his death to bring justice on the nation. The debt is contracted and they have it to pay. 13:95.

Many of the Prophets have sealed their testimony with their blood, that their testament might go forth with force and not return void. As in ancient days, so in modern days. When Joseph Smith sealed his testimony with his blood, his testament from that moment was in force to all the world; and woe to those who fight against it. 19:5.

Joseph Smith knew this, and when he went to Carthage he said, "I go to death; I go like a lamb to the slaughter; I go to my fate." 10:194.

If Brother Joseph Smith had taken a company and come to this country, as he intended to do, he could have been living here now, in spite of earth and hell. 5:342.

Forty-five years ago they were determined to kill the Prophet Joseph. I have lain upon the floor scores of nights ready to receive the mob who sought his life. This persecution commenced with a little neighborhood, then a town, then a county, then a state, and then the people of the United States; and by and by other nations will be just as bitter towards us and the doctrines we preach, as many of the people of our own nation now are. They will struggle and strive, and plan and devise, saying, "Let us take this course, and that course;" and they will struggle until they will come to a stop as though they were against a mountain of solid rock. They will do all they can to break us up, and even destroy us; this has been the case now for the last {715} forty-five years. Joseph Smith had forty-six lawsuits, and I was with him through the most of them, and never was the first thing proved against him; he was never guilty of the first violation of the law or of good order. And when Governor Ford asked him to go to prison, as the mob were so enraged that he could not insure his life, that he might be safe until he returned from Nauvoo, he said: "I will pledge you the faith of the State of Illinois for your safety." But as soon as he was gone, the mob murdered both Joseph and his brother Hyrum, in the jail. That was to be so. I heard Joseph say many a time, "I shall not live until I am forty years of age." The spring before he was killed--his death occurred the 27th of June, 1844--he hurried off the first Elders of the Church. All right, I thought then, and I think so now. It is all in the hands of God. They killed Joseph, and what for? For the Gospel's sake. It was for no evil, for I was well acquainted with him. He testified to the truth, he sealed his testimony with his blood. Whether we believe in blood atonement or not, the Lord so ordered it, that Joseph, as well as others of the Prophets, sealed their testimony with their blood. 18:361.

Joseph's Work in the Spirit World--Jesus had a work to do on the earth. He performed his mission, and then was slain for his testimony. So it has been with every man who has been foreordained to perform certain important missions. Joseph truly said, "No power can take away my life, until my work is done." All the powers of earth and hell could not take his life, until he had completed the work the Father gave him to do; until that was done, he had to live. When he died he had a mission in the spirit world, as much so as Jesus had. 4:285.

Is Joseph glorified? No, he is preaching to the spirits {716} in prison. He will get his resurrection the first of any one in this Kingdom, for he was the first that God made choice of to bring forth the work of the last days.

His office is not taken from him, he has only gone to labor in another department of the operations of the Almighty. He is still an Apostle, still a Prophet, and is doing the work of an Apostle and Prophet; he has gone one step beyond us and gained a victory that you and I have not gained, still he has not yet gone into the celestial kingdom, or, if he has, it has been by a direct command of the Almighty, and that, too, to return again so soon as the purpose has been accomplished. 3:371.

Nature of the Prophet and His Family--What of Joseph Smith's family? What of his boys? I have prayed from the beginning for Sister Emma and for the whole family. There is not a man in this Church that has entertained better feelings towards them. Joseph said to me, "God will take care of my children when I am taken." They are in the hands of God, and when they make their appearance before this people, full of his power, there are none but what will say, "Amen! we are ready to receive you." 8:69.

The Twelve, the Successors of the Prophet--At the death of Joseph, when the Twelve returned to Nauvoo, to use a comparison, the horses were all harnessed and the people were in the big carriage, and where were they going? They did not know. Who would gather up the lines and guide the team? No man would step forward, until I did. There was not one of the Twelve with me when I went to meet Sidney Rigdon on the meeting-ground. I went alone, and was ready alone to face and drive the dogs from the flock. 8:317.

Now, it is no more my duty to live so as to know the {717} mind and will of the Lord than it is the duty of my brethren, the rest of the Twelve. I say the rest of the Twelve, because I am the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on the earth, and the only one that the Lord has ever acknowledged. It is true that Thomas B. Marsh was once President, but the Lord never acknowledged any man by revelation as President of that Quorum but myself. At the death of Joseph I stepped out from that position in the advance, according to the organization of the Church, for the sake of preserving the flock of God, but not according to my wishes, nor the desire of my heart, but it was my duty. When I heard of the Prophet's death I said, "What will become of the people? What will the Saints do now that the Prophet has gone?" It was my whole desire to preserve the sheep of the flock of God, and it is so today. Brother Kimball also stepped into the first Presidency, and we called others and ordained them to take our place for the time being, that the Church might be fully organized, and we expect to ordain more when we feel like it. 18:70.

Some Sayings of the Prophet--Joseph used to say, "When you get the Latter-day Saints to agree on any point, you may know it is the voice of God." 12:301.

Will the Constitution be destroyed? No; it will be held inviolate by this people; and, as Joseph Smith said, "The time will come when the destiny of the nation will hang upon a single thread. At this critical juncture, this people will step forth and save it from the threatened destruction." It will be so. 7:15.

Hundreds of people in this house are my witnesses, who heard Joseph say, when asked whether we should ever dare to leave Nauvoo, "The Saints will leave Nauvoo. I do not say they will be driven, as they were from Jackson County, {718} Missouri, and from that State; but they will leave here and go to the mountains. And the next time the Saints remove, or are caused to remove, they will be turned out of the frying-pan, not into the fire, but into the middle of the floor." If this is not the middle of the floor, I do not know where you will find it. 8:356.

I recollect many times when Brother Joseph, reflecting upon how many would come into the Kingdom of God and go out again, would say, "Brethren, I have not apostatized yet, and don't feel like doing so." Many of you, no doubt, can call to mind his words. Joseph had to pray all the time, exercise faith, live his religion, and magnify his calling, to obtain the manifestations of the Lord, and to keep him steadfast in the faith. 2:257.

Who delivered Joseph Smith from the hands of his enemies to the day of his death? It was God; though he was brought to the brink of death time and time again, and, to all human appearance, could not be delivered, and there was no probability of his being saved. When he was in jail in Missouri, and no person expected that he would ever escape from their hands, I had the faith of Abraham, and told the brethren, "As the Lord God liveth, he shall come out of their hands." Though he had prophesied that he would not live to be forty years of age, yet we all cherished hopes that that would be a false prophecy, and we should keep him forever with us; we thought our faith would outreach it, but we were mistaken--he at last fell a martyr to his religion. I said, "It is all right; now the testimony is in full force; he has sealed it with his blood, and that makes it valid." 1:364.

The question was asked a great many times of Joseph Smith, by gentlemen who came to see him and his people, {719} "How is it that you can control your people so easily? It appears that they do nothing but what you say; how is it that you can govern them so easily?" Said he, "I do not govern them at all. The Lord has revealed certain principles from the heavens by which we are to live in these latter days. The time is drawing near when the Lord is going to gather out his people from the wicked, and he is going to cut short his work in righteousness, and the principles which he has revealed I have taught to the people and they are trying to live according to them, and they control themselves."

Gentlemen, this is the great secret now in controlling this people. It is thought that I control them, but it is not so. It is as much as I can do to control myself and to keep myself straight and teach the people the principles by which they should live. 13:176.

I recollect one remark that Brother Joseph used to make frequently, when talking to the Elders. No matter what he set them to do, whether he wanted them to go to a foreign land on a mission, or to go into business, he would say, "When you commence, go in at the little end of the horn; for if you do not, but enter at the big end, you will either have to turn round and come out at the end you went in at, or go out at the small end, and be squeezed nigh unto death."

Let an Elder hire the best halls in large cities to begin with, and go to lecturing, and it will take him a long time to raise a Branch of this Church. But let him begin among the poor of the earth--those who live in the cellars, and garrets, and back streets; "for," says the Almighty, "I am going to take the weak things of the earth, and with them confound the wisdom of the wise." You will see that trait {720} in every step of "Mormonism." God has chosen the obscure and weak, to bring them up and exalt them. Is not that the work of a God, the performance of this work without money and without price? The Gospel is sent to all the inhabitants of the earth--to the high and the low, the noble and the ignoble, the young and the old. "Here is the Gospel; you are welcome to it." "Don't you ask anything for it? Not a farthing. It has to go to the world, without money and price." Now, compare this with carrying the Gospel with your pockets full of money; and in the latter case, where is your glory and honor? 8:354.

I recollect, in Far West, Joseph, talking upon these matters, said, "The people cannot bear the revelations that the Lord has for them. There were a great many revelations if the people could bear them." I think it was the eighth day of July, 1831, Joseph had a revelation that the people should consecrate their surplus property for the building of a temple there in Far West, for the support of the Priesthood, for the paying of the debts of the Presidency, etc., which I could give an account of, for I was present when it came. Joseph was doing business in Kirtland, and it seemed as though all creation was upon him, to hamper him in every way, and they drove him from his business, and it left him so that some of his debts had to be settled afterwards; and I am thankful to say that they were settled up; still further, we have sent East to New York, to Ohio, and to every place where I had any idea that Joseph had ever done business, and inquired if there was a man left to whom Joseph Smith, jr., the Prophet, owed a dollar, or a sixpence. If there was we would pay it. But I have not been able to find one. I have advertised this through every {721} neighborhood and place where he formerly lived, consequently I have a right to conclude that all his debts were settled. 18:242.

Brother Kimball quoted a saying of Joseph the Prophet, that he would not worship a God who had not a Father; and I do not know that he would if he had not a mother; the one would be as absurd as the other. If he had a Father, he was made in his likeness. And if he is our Father we are made after his image and likeness. He once possessed a body, as we now do; and our bodies are as much to us, as his body to him. Every iota of this organization is necessary to secure for us an exaltation with the Gods. 9:286.

My name is had for good and evil upon the whole earth, as promised to me. Thirty years ago Brother Joseph, in a lecture to the Twelve said to me, "Your name shall be known for good and evil throughout the world," and it is so. The good love me, weak and humble as I am, and the wicked hate me; but there is no individual on the earth but what I would lead to salvation, if he would let me; I would take him by the hand, like a child, and lead him like a father in the way that would bring him to salvation. 10:297. {722}