A DISCOURSE DELIVERED BY PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG AT THETABERNACLE, GREAT SALT LAKE CITY, FEB. 20, 1853.
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Truly happy is that man, or woman, or that people, who enjoys the privilegesof the Gospel of the Son of God, and who know how to appreciate his blessings.Who is that person, or that people? We are ready to reply, "The Latter-daySaints are the only people on earth, that we have any knowledge of, to whomthe everlasting Gospel has been given in these days; they are the only peoplewho are the heirs to it, with all its blessings and privileges. Not to ourknowledge is there any other people on the face of this globe that enjoythis inestimable blessing." True, all mankind enjoy to a certain degreeits influence, the manifestations of the Author, Proprietor, and Giver ofthe Gospel of life and salvation to fallen man. All the offspring of Adam,from his day to this, have enjoyed, to a greater or less degree, the light,the glory, and the manifestations of the countenance of their Lord. Butthey have not enjoyed in all ages the Gospel, with its ordinances, blessings,and privileges. This is the only people that now enjoys such signal favours.The Priesthood has been upon the earth from time to time, and the kingdomof God has been organized to certain degrees, but we can truly say, thisis the time of times, we live in the day of days, we enjoy the blessingsof the blessed, and have bestowed upon us, in the fulness of times, privilegesthat surpass all privileges hitherto bestowed upon mankind. In this dispensationall things will be gathered together in one, and, strange and marvellousas it may appear to the world, these are the people who are the instrumentsin the hand of God to bring it to pass. This is a truth that no argumentscan successfully bear down. No matter how it is despised, persecuted, orneglected, as a frivolous, trifling, and childish work, it is true, andit will remain; it is the kingdom of heaven upon the earth. Here is theplan of salvation, here are the words of life, here is the light of eternity,here is the intelligence that will instruct kings, and impart judgment torulers. It is embodied here in the midst of this people, and from them therays of heavenly light, wisdom, and intelligence have spread upon the wideearth; and the Spirit of the Lord, that fills immensity, has been pouredout upon its face, giving light to every man and woman that cometh intothis world.
Brethren and sisters, can we realize its greatness? Arouse the reflectingand reasoning faculties with which you are endowed, reason upon your pastexperience in this Church, and then inquire if you are as happy as you anticipatedyou would be, if you have received that which you desired, if you enjoythat which was once in the future to you-and what will be your reasonableconclusions? What would an enlightened judgment tell you? What would thespirit of truth decide? That here are the pure rays of light, here is heavenon earth; and no argument, no intelligence, no influence of earth and hellcombined could disprove it, or produce one good reason to the contrary.You may then ascend to the powers supreme, and consult the intelligencethat fills the bosom of eternity; you may inquire of the Creator, Organizer,and Preserver of the Universe, our Father who is in heaven; you may associatewith the glorious retinue of Saints, angels, martyrs, and the spirits ofjust men made perfect; and they will all, with one voice as it were, testifyto the truth of this work in which we are engaged. On the other hand, nothingshort of the power of the Almighty, nothing short of the Holy Spirit ofJesus Christ, can prove to you that this is the work of God. Men uninspiredof God cannot by their worldly wisdom disprove it, or prevail against it;neither can they by wisdom alone prove it to be true, neither to themselvesor to others. Their not being able to prevail against it does not proveit to be the kingdom of God, for there are many theories and systems onthe earth, incontrovertable by the wisdom of the world, which are neverthelessfalse. Nothing less than the power of the Almighty, enlightening the understandingof men, can demonstrate this glorious truth to the human mind.
When you were in your native homes in the old countries and in the UnitedStates, before you gathered with the people of God, what were your thoughtsand expectations, when you looked forward to the period of your being embodiedwith the Saints? What were the vision of your mind, and the operations ofthe Spirit upon your understanding? When you were gathered with the Saintsof the Most High, and became associated as a brother, a sister, and a neighbourwith that blessed society, you expected to enjoy the manifestations of theLord Jesus Christ, to walk in the light of his countenance, and by the powerof the Holy Ghost have the oracles of truth revealed to you continually,and that you would be in heaven, and in the Zion of the Lord. These wereyour expectations. You did not expect to hear the name of the God we serveblasphemed from morning until evening; you expected to be delivered fromhearing the blasphemies of your wicked shopmates, from the tyranny of yourungodly employers, and from the persecutions of the bigoted religionists,who were all united to pick you to pieces, and destroy you both temporallyand spiritually, if it were possible; on one side you were sheared, andon the other shaved. You were annoyed with the ungodly conversation andfilthy deeds of your neighbours, your peace was destroyed, and you couldnot enjoy that happiness held out to you in the Gospel; yet you felt theinfluence of the spirit of truth burning in your heart, which kindled inyou a longing desire to mingle with the Saints; you would exclaim, "Oh!that I could enjoy the society of the Saints, and make my escape from thisungodly place. Oh! that I had means to gather up my little family, and journeyto the place of the gathering of the Saints of the Most High." Thiswas your feeling, and this your prayer. You anticipated deliverance fromhell, to find a heaven with the Saints; you expected to exchange confusionfor a Zion of order and beauty, misery for peace and happiness, blasphemyand tumult for quietness and reverence to the name of God, starvation forplenty; in short, you expected to find a place where all evil had ceased,and iniquity and sorrow were brought to an end, and where you would baskundisturbed in the smiles of the countenance of your Lord from day to day.I think I have drawn a faithful picture of what were the thoughts of themajority of this people, before they were gathered to the body of the Church.
Now, brethren and sisters, what hinders you from enjoying all you anticipated?The calm reflections of your own minds, and the conclusions of a well balancedjudgment, enlightened by the Spirit of the Lord, will give you a correctanswer to this question. I can answer it for myself, and perhaps for manyof you. If I do not enjoy all I anticipated, if my happiness is not as completeas I anticipated, if the light of the Holy Spirit is not in my heart tothat degree which I expected it would be, if I have not obtained all I anticipatedwhen I was down in yonder world, mingled with the wicked, the cause is inmyself, in my own heart, in my own disposition, in the weakness of humannature; it is my own will that prevents me from enjoying all I anticipated,and more. It is a mistaken idea to suppose that others can prevent me fromenjoying the light of God in my soul; all hell cannot hinder me from enjoyingZion in my own heart, if my individual will yields obedience to the requirementsand mandates of my heavenly Master. He has set me a pattern to copy, which,if I imitate faithfully, will yield to me all and more of heaven in my ownheart than I can anticipate. This is my answer.
Brother Erastus Snow asked a question-"If my neighbour shall dowrong to me, am I thereby compelled to do wrong to my next neighbour?"I say, no. If a brother shall tread down my grain, that is ripening in thefield, am I thereby compelled to run through and tread down yours? No. Whena person steals my poles from the fence, am I compelled to steal yours?If my neighbour, or my brother in the Church, shall swear, and take thename of God in vain, does it necessarily follow that I must use the samelanguage? If my brother shall do wrong in any way, it does not follow thatI shall be justified in committing one single evil in all the acts of mylife. Let each Latter-day Saint examine himself, and inquire, "Am Ione of those persons who will do right in all things, though others maydo wrong? Am I that person that will serve the Lord with my house, thatwill cease from every evil act, and from every evil word, though my neighbours,or my brethren and sisters, may do the opposite?" Let the spirit withinyou reply to these questions, and in every breast the response is, "Letme be that person, let me do right from this time henceforth and for ever,without committing another evil." Then what have you got? You havegot heaven in your own bosoms, you have got Zion in your hearts, you haveobtained all the glory, all the peace, all the joy, all the comfort, andall the light you anticipated when you were mingling with the wicked world.If you are deceived, who will deceive you? If you are wronged, who wrongsyou? If you are cheated out of your crown at last, who has cheated you?These questions may apply in different ways. They may apply to the businessoperations of the world, as well as to the grace of God in the heart, andthe salvation of the soul. It is to the latter I wish them more particularlyto apply. Who has influence over any one of you, to cause you to miss salvationin the celestial kingdom of God? I will answer these questions for myself.If brother Brigham and I shall take a wrong track, and be shut out of thekingdom of heaven, no person will be to blame but brother Brigham and I.I am the only being in heaven, earth, or hell, that can be blamed.
This will equally apply to every Latter-day Saint. Salvation is an individualoperation. I am the only person that can possibly save myself. When salvationis sent to me, I can reject or receive it. In receiving it, I yield implicitobedience and submission to its great Author throughout my life, and tothose whom He shall appoint to instruct me; in rejecting it, I follow thedictates of my own will in preference to the will of my Creator. There arethose among this people who are influenced, controlled, and biased in theirthoughts, actions, and feelings by some other individual or family, on whomthey place their dependence for spiritual and temporal instruction, andfor salvation in the end. These persons do not depend upon themselves forsalvation, but upon another of their poor, weak, fellow mortals. "Ido not depend upon any inherent goodness of my own," say they, "tointroduce me into the kingdom of glory, but I depend upon you, brother Joseph,upon you, brother Brigham, upon you, brother Heber, or upon you, brotherJames; I believe your judgment is superior to mine, and consequently I letyou judge for me; your spirit is better than mine, therefore you can dogood for me; I will submit myself wholly to you, and place in you all myconfidence for life and salvation; where you go I will go, and where youtarry there I will stay; expecting that you will introduce me through thegates into the heavenly Jerusalem."
I wish to notice this. We read in the Bible, that there is one gloryof the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars. Inthe Book of Doctrine and Covenants, these glories are called telestial,terrestrial, and celestial, which is the highest. These are worlds, differentdepartments, or mansions, in our Father's house. Now those men, or thosewomen, who know no more about the power of God, and the influences of theHoly Spirit, than to be led entirely by another person, suspending theirown understanding, and pinning their faith upon another's sleeve, will neverbe capable of entering into the celestial glory, to be crowned as they anticipate;they will never be capable of becoming Gods. They cannot rule themselves,to say nothing of ruling others, but they must be dictated to in every trifle,like a child. They cannot control themselves in the least, but James, Peter,or somebody else must control them, They never can become Gods, nor be crownedas rulers with glory, immortality, and eternal lives. They never can holdsceptres of glory, majesty, and power in the celestial kingdom. Who will?Those who are valiant and inspired with the true independence of heaven,who will go forth boldly in the service of their God, leaving others todo as they please, determined to do right, though all mankind besides shouldtake the opposite course. Will this apply to any of you? Your own heartscan answer. Do you know what is right and just, as well as I do? In somethings you do, and in some things you may not know as well; but I will explainwhat I mean, in the following words-I will do all the good I can, and allI know how to do, and I will shun every evil that I know to be an evil.You can all do that much. I will apply my heart to wisdom, and ask the Lordto impart it to me; and if I know but little, I will improve upon it, thatto-morrow I may have more, and thus grow from day to day, in the knowledgeof the truth, as Jesus Christ grew in stature and knowledge from a babeto manhood; and if I am not now capable of judging for myself, perhaps Ishall be in another year. We are organized to progress in the scale of intelligence,and the least Saint by adhering strictly to the order of God, may attainto a full and complete salvation through the grace of God, by his own faithfulness.
I know how it was in Jackson County. There are families in this citythat went to that county twenty-one or twenty-two years ago last fall, ifI mistake not. I know what their feelings were. All their desire was toget into the town of Independence, Jackson County, where they expected tofind all sin and iniquity dried up, heaven begun on earth, and an end toall their mortal griefs. That was the motive that prompted them to go there.Poor souls, how little they knew about salvation and its mode. I might havegone there too, but I wanted to thunder and roar out the Gospel to the nations.It burned in my bones like fire pent up, so I turned my back upon JacksonCounty to preach the Gospel of life to the people. Such were the feelingsof those who went up to Jackson County, but I did not want to go there,nothing would satisfy me but to cry abroad in the world, what the Lord wasdoing in the latter-days. After a while this under current began to worktwo ways, and they had more trouble in Independence than we had in YorkState; it came foaming, and bellowing, and pressing upon them until theyhad to fly.
I wish to ask those persons who were driven from Jackson County, ifthey suffered as much in the actual driving as they would have done in theanticipation of it a year before it took place? You will all reply that,if you had known it a year beforehand, you would not have endured the thought.I wish to apply this both ways. You that have not passed through the trials,and persecutions, and drivings, with this people, from the beginning, buthave only read of them, or heard some of them related, may think how awfulthey were to endure, and wonder that the Saints survived them at all. Thethought of it makes your hearts sink within you, your brains reel, and yourbodies tremble, and you are ready to exclaim, "I could not have enduredit." I have been in the heat of it, and I never felt better in allmy life; I never felt the peace and power of the Almighty more copiouslypoured upon me than in the keenest part of our trials. They appeared nothingto me. I hear people talk about their troubles, their sore privations, andthe great sacrifices they have made for the Gospel's sake. It never wasa sacrifice to me. Anything I can do or suffer in the cause of the Gospel,is only like dropping a pin into the sea; the blessings, gifts, powers,honour, joy, truth, salvation, glory, immortality, and eternal lives, asfar outswell anything I can do in return for such precious gifts, as thegreat ocean exceeds in expansion, bulk, and weight, the pin that I dropinto it. Had I had millions of wealth, and had I devoted it all to the buildingup of this people, and said, "Take it, and build temples, cities, andfortifications with it," and left myself pennyless, would it have beena sacrifice? No, not to my feelings. Suppose I should be called to preachthe Gospel until my head is white, and my limbs become weak with age, untilI go down into my grave, and never see my family and friends again in theflesh, would it be a sacrifice? No, but one of the greatest blessings thatcould be conferred upon mortal man, to have the privilege of calling thousands,and perhaps millions, from darkness to light, from the power of Satan andunrighteousness to the principles of truth and righteousness in the livingGod.
I was as ready to pass through the scenes of mobbing and driving inJackson County, as I was to pass through the troubles in Kirtland, Ohio;in Davis and Caldwell Counties, Missouri; in Illinois; and up to this place.And what of it? I have not known or seen a single sacrifice that this peoplehave made. There has not been one such providence of the Almighty to thispeople, that was not calculated to sanctify the pure in heart, and enrichthem with blessings instead of curses-enrich them not only with earthlyblessings, but with crowns of glory, immortality, and eternal lives in thepresence of God. Where, then, is the sacrifice this people have ever made?There is no such thing-they have only exchanged a worse condition for abetter one, every time they have been moved-they have exchanged ignorancefor knowledge, and inexperience for its opposite.
I want you to look at the Saints before they first gathered to be mobbed;they expected all sin to be at an end at the place of gathering. These weremy own feelings, though I did not gather with them at that time. I had togo out and preach, lest my bones should consume within me. But I will tellyou what I did do, I commenced to contract my business operations and dealings,and laid away my ledger, and note books, saying, "I shall never wantyou any more." I believe that those who wanted to be Saints indeed,should do everything to promote righteous principles and peace among men,and be perfectly of one heart and of one mind. I laid aside my old accountbooks, because I expected we should be one family, each seeking to do hisneighbour good, and all be engaged to do all the good possible. To carryout this principle faithfully, would crown the people of God with good tooverflowing. It is easy for us to think how things should be, but the difficultyis, things are not always as we would like to have them. Though if the Saintsat that time could have rightly judged of appearances, could have understoodthe aspect around them, it was clear that sorrow and trouble were impending.It was right they did not see the dark cloud that was ready to burst withviolence upon their heads.
In the short speech of not more than five minutes, which I deliveredin the old Bowery, when that judge publicly insulted this people, therewere men and women in the congregation who suffered more in the anticipationof what might be the result of it in future, than the generality of thispeople have suffered in being actually mobbed. They could see, in imagination,all hell let loose upon us, themselves strung up, their ears cut off, theirbowels torn out, and this whole people cut to pieces. After they had hadtime to think, they found themselves still alive and unhurt, to their greatastonishment. They suffered as much as though they had been sent to thebottom of the bottomless pit. They suffered all this, because I told thatcorrupt man, that he ought to be kicked out of the territory for his insolenceand barefaced presumption. I know this people have suffered more by thecontemplation of trouble, than they have when actually passing through it.
As they have magnified future trouble almost infinitely beyond its realdimensions, so they have imagined to themselves a greater heaven than theycan find in Zion, at its present stage of progression. You do not enjoythe Zion you anticipated. That mankind make mistakes in these two ways mustbe apparent to those who have felt the workings of hope and fear in theirnature. People suffer more in the anticipation of death, than in death itself.There is more suffering in what I call borrowed trouble, than in the troubleitself. On the other hand, you have anticipated more Zion, more happiness,and more glory in the flesh than you will ever realise in this mortality.Those who are apt to go to one extreme, are almost sure to go to the other,which always causes disappointment, either agreeably, or disagreeably. Thesetwo extremes have caused the Saints much trouble, and some, for want ofpatience, and a little reasonable thought, have laid the blame of theirdisappointments in the wrong quarter, and have apostatised from the Church,never thinking the blame was in themselves. Upon these weaknesses of humannature the devil works sometimes very succesfully. But brethren, we cannotescape from ourselves; and while we remain in this tabernacle, our onwardcourse will be obstructed, more or less, by the weakness to which the mortalflesh is subject. By and bye our bodies will go to their mother earth, andreceive a resurrection, and become glorious; then we shall enjoy all, andmore than the heart of man can conceive, unless it is inspired by the HolyGhost. This will be the inheritance of the faithful.
There is much room for improvement in all. If we commence from thisday, and do all the good we can, and never do another evil, we shall cometo that which I want the brethren to preach about, and endeavour to establish.I wish it preached by the Bishops, by the Deacons, and by every officerin the Church; I wish fathers to teach it to their children; and I desirethe subject to be taken up by all bodies of the Saints throughout the world,viz., establish confidence in each other. Take this for a text if you like,and preach upon it, both verbally and practically, until confidence in eachother reigns universally among the Saints, and then will be accomplishedwhat I wish to see. If we wish to establish a confidence such as the Godsenjoy, let us cease from every evil act, and from the contemplation of everyevil design; never infringe upon another's right, but let each one sustainhis brother in the enjoyment of his privileges and rights, holding themas sacred as our own salvation. If confidence has been lost, this is thesurest and only successful way to restore it. Hear it, ye preachers, yeApostles, and Prophets; ye Elders, High Priests, and Seventies; ye Priests,Teachers, Deacons, and Bishops; every man and woman in the Church of Godthroughout the world; commence to preach this discourse at home, beginningwith your own heart; then teach your wives and your children; then let itspread its warming and cheering influence, like the genial sun beam, fromfamily to family, until the whole Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saintsis united as the heart of one man.
I will illustrate the method of establishing confidence in each otherby taking, for example, the child of four or five years of age. The motherallows that child to own a small chest in which to keep his little trinkets,such as little bosom pins, ribbons, doll clothes, &c. This is consideredby all the family the child's chest. Now let none go into that chest andtake anything from it, without the consent of the child. This is a verysmall matter, some may think; but begin at as small a point as this to createconfidence, and let it grow up from little to much. Wives, let your husband'sstores alone, if they have not committed them to your charge. Husbands,commit that to your wives that belongs to them, and never search their boxeswithout their consent. I can boast of this. I have lived in the marriagerelation nearly thirty years, and I never was the man to open my wife'schest, without her consent, except once and that was to get out a likenessthat I wanted on the instant and she was not at home to get it for me. Thatwas the first time I ever opened a trunk in my life, that belonged to mywife, or to my child. The child's little chest, with its contents, is assacred to him, as mine is to me. If this principle were strictly carriedout by every man, woman, and child among the Saints, it would make thema blessed people indeed. We should seek to preserve our neighbour's horseor ox from starving in the cold of winter, and if we see any of his propertyin jeopardy, we should be as careful of it as if it were our own; our objectshould be to save every thing we can both of our neighbour's and our own.
Let every man pay his just debts. The editor of the News has publisheda piece in the paper about owing no man anything; read it, reflect uponand practise it. I can owe every body everything; that is one side of thematter, and to pay everybody is the other. I mean to owe every man a debtof gratitude.
I have perhaps spoken too long. I have given you all a text to preachupon, and to act upon in your lives; do it faithfully, and it will do yougood.
May the Lord God of Israel bless you, and save you in His kingdom, ismy prayer. Amen.