AN ADDRESS DELIVERED BY PRESIDENT B. YOUNG IN THE TABERNACLE,GREAT SALT LAKE CITY, JUNE 19, 1853.
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I do not feel like making a military or a political speech on the presentoccasion; but I wish to say a few words in reference to some of the itemsthat have occupied the tongue and the lips of so many of this community.
The expression, "Old Zechariah Taylor is dead and in hell, and Iam glad of it," which the returning officers, in their Report, allegedwas said by me, I do not know that I ever thought of, until I heard Brocchushimself mention it on the stand in the Old Bowery. When he made the statementthere, I simply bore testimony to the truth of it. But until then, I donot know that it ever came into my mind whether Taylor was in hell or not,any more than it did that any other wicked man was there. I suppose he iswhere all the ignorant wicked are gone, and where they will continue togo. The Bible declares that the Lord Almighty turns the wicked into hell,with all the nations that forget God. But I did not suppose that ZechariahTaylor could be classed with those that forget God, for he never knew anythingabout Him. I am confident that such a thing was never mentioned by me.
When wicked men die-Zechariah Taylor, or any other wicked man, they goto hell. This has been explained to a congregation in this hall by ElderHyde, and also in the Frontier Guardian. If as good a man as Jesus Christwent to hell, we may well expect that a wicked and ungodly man will go thereto atone for his sins. Enough upon that matter: suffice it to say, thatall, when they die, go somewhere; and if the people want to know particularlywhere they are going when they die, let them read the Bible and learn. Asfor this people, as for the disturbances and Reports of the returned judges,as for the say so of one nation, and all the nations upon the earth, I amentirely unconcerned; but I hope one thing concerning this people and kingdomof God which are established upon the earth, that they will turn neitherto the right nor to the left, but maintain continually a steady and unslackenedpace to build up the cause of truth. Let small men or large men, officersof state or citizens, kings or beggars, say or do what they please, it isall the same to the Almighty. The king upon his throne, the president inhis chair, the judges upon the bench, and the beggar in the street, areall overruled in their actions by the Almighty God of heaven and earth.Who can successfully fight against Him? All persons who are acquainted withthis kingdom, who knew Joseph Smith from his boyhood, from the time theLord revealed to him where the plates containing the matter in the Bookof Mormon were deposited, from the time the first revelation was given tohim, and as far back as he was known, in anywise whatever, as a person professingto have received a visitation from heaven-all must know that as much priestcraftas was then within the circle of the knowledge of Joseph Smith, jun., hehad to bear on his back, and to lift from time to time. On the other hand,as his name spread abroad, and the principles of the Gospel began to bemore extensively taught, in the same proportion he had more to bear. TheLord began to raise him up, and endow him with wisdom and power that astonishedboth his friends and his foes. Did Joseph rise? He did. Did his influencegrow and spread far and wide? It did. Under what circumstances? Why, withall the influence and power that could possibly be arrayed against him,by priests and people, by doctors and lawyers, judges and juries, backedup by the whole mass of the wicked world. All this he had to raise up, andcarry with him.
If anything oppose the progress of this great work, if any person, whethergreat or small, should stand in the way of it, do you suppose it will stop?Do you think the great car will stay in its onward progress, because someinfernal scoundrel stands on the track? No; but the wheels will roll overhim, and crush him, until, like the pig brother Bernhisel spoke of, he will"die all over."
I admit it is hard for our Elders, for our brethren that are abroad,when anything of a transverse nature occurs in the midst of this people,especially in our present organization. It is hard for our Elders to meetwith interruptions in their course, to meet with, and have to combat, theprejudices of the people. But who causes prejudice against this people?Do they cause it themselves? No. It is the wicked. They court it, and nourishand cherish it; they suck it in like the infant child the mother's milk,they love it, they languish for it; it is their food, it is their life.Why do they love it? Because it is falsehood.
Do the righteous of this people cause persecution to come upon themselves?No. Do the principles of the Gospel create prejudice and persecution againstthem? No. But it is the disposition of the wicked to oppose the principlesof truth and righteousness, which cause it.
When the officers returned from this territory to the States, did wesend them away? We did not. But I will tell you what I did, and what I willdo again-I did chastise the mean ruffian, the poor miserable creature, whocame here by the name of Brocchus, when he arose before this people to preachto them, and tell them of meanness which he supposed they were guilty of,and traduce their character. But they bore the insult like Saints of God.It is true, as it is said in the Report of these officers, if I had crookedmy little finger, he would have been used up, but I did not bend it. IfI had, the sisters alone felt indignant enough to have chopped him in pieces.I did not, however, do it, but suffered him to fill up the measure of hisshame and iniquity until his cup is running over. He was not hurt in theleast.
With regard to the four different Reports of those judges, which werein existence at the same time, brother Bernhisel seems to wonder how theycame. I know how they came. Some friends of those judges, thinking theycould better the matter for them, were the authors of those extra Reports.But those friends found that the Reports did not answer their expectations,and those officers themselves would not acknowledge who wrote them. In thisinstance, they over-shot their mark, and foiled, in a signal manner, theirown purposes.
There is one circumstance the doctor did not relate, which is worthyof notice. Secretary Harris stated that he did sign Doctor Bernhisel's certificate,but that he was intimidated by Governor Young, and dare not but do it. Howcould this be, when no person knew about this signing, but the doctor andHarris? Thus every man that operates against the truth, will forestall himself,and be confounded by his own arguments and operations in every movementand act that he shall perform; it will all work to his own injury and disgrace.Every man that comes to impose upon this people, no matter by whom theyare sent, or who they are that are sent, lay the axe at the root of thetree to kill themselves. I will do as I said I would, last Conference. Apostates,or men who never made any profession of religion, had better be carefulhow they come here, lest I should bend my little finger.
If the congregation wish to know if we are well situated for territorialofficers at the present time, I will say, for their information, I believewe are. I will speak for this people, and say, we cannot be situated betterin that respect than we are at the present time, so far as we know. Oneof our judges, Judge Shaver, has been here through the winter, and as faras he is known, he is a straightforward, judicious, upright man, and a goodadjudicator in the law. This I believe, and so do others who are acquaintedwith his acts. He cannot be beaten among Jews or Gentiles. He and JudgeReid, who has lately arrived, I believe will do the best they can, and allis right. They have not come here with the impression that we are goingto send them as our delegates to Washington, as others did, so they arenot disappointed. As far as I know, we are just as well situated in thisrespect as we need ask to be.
I have no fears whatever of Franklin Pierce excusing me from office,and saying that another man shall be the Governor of this territory. Atthe beginning of our settlements here, when we sent Almon W. Babbit to Washingtonwith our Constitution for a State Government, and to ask leave to adoptit, he requested that I should not sign my name to it as Governor; "for,"said he, "if you do, it will thwart all your plans." I said, "Myname will go as it is in that document, and stay there from this time henceforthand for ever. Now," I continued, "if you do not believe it, youmay go to Washington, and give those papers to Doctor Bernhisel, and operateagainst him, and against our getting a State Government, and you cannothinder it, I will be Governor still, after you have done every thing youpossibly can to prevent it."
We have got a Territorial Government, and I am and will be Governor,and no power can hinder it, until the Lord Almighty says, "Brigham,you need not be Governor any longer;" and then I am willing to yieldto another Governor. I have told you the truth about that. I entertain noconcern about it, or about the changing of any of our other officers; weare well enough off in this respect at present.
It came into my mind when brother Bernhisel was speaking, and the samething strikes me now, that is, inasmuch as he has done first-rate, as ourdelegate in Washington, to move that we send him again next season, thoughit is the Sabbath Day. I understand these things, and say as other peoplesay, "We are Mormons." We do things that are necessary, to bedone, when the time comes for us to do them. If we wish to make politicalspeeches, and it is necessary, for the best interest of the cause and kingdomof God, to make them on the Sabbath, we do it. Now, suffer not your prejudicesto hurt you, do not suffer this to try you, nor be tempted in consequenceof it, nor think we are wandering out of the way, for it is all embracedin our religion, from first to last.
Brother Kimball has seconded the motion, that Doctor Bernhisel be sentback to Washington, as our delegate. All who are in favour of it, raiseyour right hands. (More than two thousand hands were at once seen abovethe heads of the congregation.)
This has turned into a caucus meeting. It is all right. I would callfor an opposite vote if I thought any person would vote. I will try it,however. (Not a single hand was raised in opposition.)
I will now say, not only to our delegate to Congress, but to the Elderswho leave the body of the Church, that he thought that all the cats andkittens were let out of the bag when brother Pratt went back last fall,and published the Revelation concerning the plurality of wives: it was thoughtthere was no other cat to let out. But allow me to tell you, Elders of Israel,and delegates to Congress, you may expect an eternity of cats, that havenot yet escaped from the bag. Bless your souls, there is no end to them,for if there is not one thing, there will always be another.
Do you suppose that this people will never see the day that they willrest in perfect security, in hopes of becoming like another people, nation,state, kingdom, or society? They never will. Christ and Satan never canbe friends. Light and darkness will always remain opposites. The kingdomof God and the kingdom of Satan will always remain two kingdoms; and solong as they are, you will find from time to time that the citizens of Satan'skingdom will be telling you of cats that are ready to leap out of the bag,of something that is wonderful and alarming in its nature, as much so asthe circumstance which brother Bernhisel touched at, which created a greatexcitement in Washington-that we had revolted from the parent Government,and hoisted the flag of our independence. I know how that report originated.The letter containing this startling intelligence, and purporting to havebeen received at California from this place, was written in Washington.After the originators had failed in their object, they supposed that nothingmore would be said about it, but the whole of the United States believedthe report to be true, and thought that all the citizens in Utah were rebels.
Do you understand the reason why such feelings exist against this people?Go to the United States, into Europe, or wherever you can come across menwho have been in the midst of this people, and one will tell you that weare a poor, ignorant, deluded people; the next will tell you that we arethe most industrious and intelligent people on the earth, and are destinedto rise to eminence as a nation, and spread, and continue to spread, untilwe revolutionize the whole earth. If you pass on to the third man, and inquirewhat he thinks of the "Mormons," he will say they are fools, dupedand led astray by Joe Smith, who was a knave, a false Prophet, and a moneydigger. Why is all this? It is because there is a spirit in man. And whenthe Gospel of Jesus Christ is preached on the earth, and the kingdom ofGod is established, there is also a spirit in these things, and an Almightyspirit too. When these two spirits come in contact one with the other, thespirit of the Gospel reflects light upon the spirit which God has placedin man, and wakes him up to a consciousness of his true state, which makeshim afraid he will be condemned, for he perceives at once that "Mormonism"is true. "Our craft is in danger," is the first thought that strikesthe wicked and dishonest of mankind, when the light of truth shines uponthem. Say they, "If these people called Latter-day Saints are correctin their views, the whole world must be wrong, and what will become of ourtime-honoured institutions, and of our influence, which we have swayed successfullyover the minds of the people for ages. This Mormonism must be put down."So priestcraft presents a bold and extended front against the truth, andwith this we have to contend, this is our deadliest foe.
Why should there be any more excitement when a public officer is chastisedin Utah for publicly insulting a loyal people, than there would be if asimilar occurrence transpired in Oregon, Minnesota, or any other territory?It is because we are Latter-day Saints. And let me tell you the Devil hasput the whole world on the watch against us. It is impossible for us tomake the least move without exciting, if not all the world, at least a considerableportion of it. They are excited at what we do, and, strange to relate, theyare no less excited at what we do not do.
You will find that there will be cats and kittens leaping out of thebag continually. "What can come next, I wonder!" I do not know;but this I know, the Lord Almighty will not suffer the Saints, neither theworld, to slumber upon their oars. The time is past for them to fold theirhands, and say, "Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little foldingof the hands." This people will never see that day, for the Lord willkeep them on the alert all the time; they will continually have somethingto contend with to keep them from dropping to sleep, and it is no matterto me as to what means He may use to do it.
Inasmuch as we send brother Bernhisel back to Washington, I say to him,Fear not their faces, nor their power, for we are perfectly prepared totake all the nations of the earth on our back; they are there already, andwe will round up our shoulders, and bear up the ponderous weight, carrythe Gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth, gather Israel, redeem Zion,and continue our operations until we bind Satan, and the kingdoms of thisworld become the, kingdom of our Lord and His Christ; and no power can hinderit.
I care not what may come, I will do the work the Lord has appointed untome. You do the same, and fear not, for the Lord manages the helm of theship of Zion; and on any other ship I do not wish to be. As I once saidto Sydney Rigdon, our boat is an old snag boat, and has never been out ofsnag harbor, but it will root up the snags, run them down, split them up,and scatter them to the four winds. Our ship is the old ship of Zion. Nothingthat runs foul of it can resist the shock and fire.
The hue and cry in the world about this people is-"What an awfulset of people these Mormons are! Why, they are a dreadful people!"What makes them so? "They are Mormons." And that is all the peoplecan say about the matter.
Do you know what it is that scares the world? As I have already said,it is the Spirit of the Lord that is placed in man, and the reflection oflight from it upon his spirit wakes up the sensibilities in him, and createsconviction. That Spirit, with the Gospel of Christ, interrupts the wholeworld in their common career, in every capacity of life. That Spirit doesnot chime in and harmonize with any earthly kingdom or government, eitherin their political or religious institutions; but it seems to put a checkupon every thing, to throw into disorder the best laid plans of the wiseand far-seeing among men; in short, it turns the whole current of earthlycalculations back upon the world, and deluges it in the dark waters of confusion.
As this Kingdom of God grows, spreads, increases, and prospers in itscourse, 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 towithstand any test that may be applied to it, finds, when it is tried bythe Gospel of the kingdom, that its foundation proves to be sand, and thewhole fabric appears nothing in which a man may securely trust for salvation.One of the weakest of our Elders, I mean one of our boys, who is conversantwith the Bible, is well qualified to instruct the learned priest, confoundin Bible doctrine the greatest theologians upon the earth, and throw intoconfusion, and interrupt, and fill with contradictions and inconsistencies,their choicest theories.
Imagine to yourselves a learned doctor of divinity, securely surroundedwith the bulwarks of his religious lore, pampered with the applause of thousandswho hang on his skirts for religious instructions; he is satisfied thathe knows and understands the Bible from the beginning to the end of it,and is capable of withstanding all creation upon Bible doctrine, and isas well skilled in theological researches as a man can be-imagine this greatman sailing triumphantly over the sea of time, and the little unassumingbark, the boy, darts along, and strikes this proud hulk, this great, tremendousvessel, and pierces it through below the water mark; it begins to sink,and turns to make battle, but the little craft hits on the keel and capsizesit, sinking it in shame and bitter disappointment. Such will be the fateof all who will oppose the truth.
The report of the Gospel of Jesus Christ terrifies the people, it goesforth with such gigantic strides. When this Church first commenced, I usedto say to the people, "If you do not like my preaching, when I do thebest I can, I cannot help it, but if you will let us alone, and suffer uspeaceably to enjoy our religion, we shall enjoy ourselves better together,as friends, neighbors, and citizens. If you will come to my house, I willgive you your dinner and your supper, I will treat you hospitably, as onefriend ought to treat another; and when I come into your neighborhood, dothe same to me, for, in pursuing this course, we shall feel much betterthan if we suffered a difference of opinion to make us enemies. I will tellyou what we will do-we will preach the Gospel, and revolutionize the wholeearth, that is, if you will let us alone, but if you persecute us, we willdo it quicker." This places the wicked in the same circumstances asthe drunken man, who would fall down if he tried to stand, and fall if hetried to walk. So, if they will let us alone, we will evangelize the wholeearth; and if they do not, we will do it the quicker.
How often, to all human appearance, has this kingdom been blotted outfrom the earth, but the Lord has put His hand over the people, and it haspassed through, and come out two, three, and four times larger than before.Our enemies have kicked us and cuffed us, and driven us from pillar to post,and we have multiplied and increased the more, until we have become whatwe are this day, in possession of a territory with an appropriate government.Let them still continue to persecute us, and who cares? If they will letus alone, we will preach the Gospel to all nations, and gather Israel. Ifthey continue to abuse us, we will overrun them entirely, until all shallbe brought in subjection to the will of heaven.
Do not be afraid, whether you are at Washington or anywhere else, forwe will progress. I say to brother Bernhisel and everybody else, Put yourshoulders to the wheel, and do not go from this place with your hearts inyour mouths, you that go to the nations, and be so faint that you have needto carry a bottle of camphor with you, but go like men of great hearts,and say, in the midst of your enemies-I stand here in the name of Him whosent me, and who has called me to defend the truth, which I am determinedto do, whether I live or die.
God bless you all, brethren, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.