A DISCOURSE DELIVERED BY PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG, AT GREATSALT LAKE CITY, DECEMBER 5, 1853
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Myself and my brethren frequently rise to address the congregation inthis place, not knowing precisely what may prove the most beneficial andinstructing. The same weakness is in me, that is common to the most of mybrethren who address you from this stand, that is, a degree of timidity,which arises from a sense of the importance of the work in which we areengaged; but my resolution overbalances this.
Can anything be taught that will edify this congregation like the principlesof the Gospel? It may be said the life and existence of man, with the variedavocations of his life, from birth to death, are an interesting subject,as much so as the Gospel. But this is connected with the Gospel of salvation,as well as everything else that is associated with his being. The wholemortal existence of man is neither more nor less than a preparatory stategiven to finite beings, a space wherein they may improve themselves fora higher state of being. The labour of man in this existence seems to bealmost wholly directed to procure a mortal subsistence; this is more particularlythe case with those who have not learned the order of heaven, and that itis necessary to direct our energies, during our time here, in a channelto secure salvation in the kingdom of God.
Mankind, in general, do not stop to reflect, they are pressing headlongto grasp the whole world if possible; each individual is for himself, andhe is ignorant of the design the Almighty had in his creation and existencein this life. To obtain a knowledge of this design is a duty obligatoryupon all the sons and daughters of Adam.
The Latter-day Saints realise that there is no period of man's existencenot incorporated with the plan of salvation, and directly pointing to afuture existence. Consequently, when we stand here to speak to the people,let every man speak what is in his heart. If one of our Elders is capableof giving us a lecture upon any of the sciences, let it be delivered inthe spirit of meekness-in the spirit of the holy Gospel. If, on the Sabbathday, when we are assembled here to worship the Lord, one of the Elders shouldbe prompted to give a lecture on any branch of education with which he isacquainted, is it outside the pale of our religion? I think not. If anyof the Elders are disposed to give a lecture to parents and children onletters, on the rudiments of the English language, it is in my religion,it is a part of my faith. Or if an Elder shall give us a lecture upon astronomy,chemistry, or geology, our religion embraces it all. It matters not whatthe subject be, if it tends to improve the mind, exalt the feelings, andenlarge the capacity. The truth that is in all the arts and sciences formsa part of our religion. Faith is no more a part of it than any other trueprinciple of philosophy. Were I to give you a lecture to-day upon farming,would I be speaking upon a matter that transcends the bounds of our religion?Agriculture is a part of it as well as any other truth. Were I to lectureon business principles of any kind, our religion embraces it; and what itdoes not circumscribe, it would be well for us to dispense with at onceand for ever.
This language may come in contact with the prejudices of many people,and I will add, of all people, unless they have been schooled in "Mormonism."It comes in contact with the traditions, prejudices, and feelings of formeryears, when the alpha and omega of our religion consisted in singing, preaching,exhorting, and shouting "Glory, hallelujah, praise the Lord!"And when Monday morning came, we would go to our farms, to our merchandize,to our mechanism, and to what we called our dull business of life, whichwe considered did not belong to our religion. These are the traditions ofthe world, but it is not so with us; we have learned the Gospel better.
I am aware how easy it is for the mind of man to become entangled withthe deceitfulness of riches, for I am somewhat experienced in the spiritof the world. How easy it is for the love of the world to take possessionof the hearts of the human family! How easy it is for their minds to becomedarkened by the god of this world, and become like the eyes of the fool,which are in the ends of the earth, seeking for gold and silver, and forthe riches, grandeur, popularity, and titles of this world. If the religionwe possess does not control and reign predominant over every other principleand feeling, we have not been schooled in it so as to learn our lessonscorrectly-we are not masters of this heavenly science. If the Latter-daySaints have not been schooled enough to realise that all things which pertainto this world-riches; honours, worldly grandeur, and worldly titles, arenot wholly subservient to their religion, they are not fully skilled intheir profession. Are you aware of this? Do the Latter-day Saints individuallyrealise the circumstances in which they are placed, the position they occupyin human society, in the midst of the Church of Jesus Christ? How many arethere here to-day who realise as they ought their standing with God andman, and who understand precisely their position in life, their relationshipwith angels, and the destinies of Providence? Here are many who have beenin the Church for years-are they masters, or are they yet only scholars?Are they fathers, or yet only babes? Have they need to be taught what arethe rudiments of the doctrine of Christ, or are they capable of teachingthem to the human family, pointing out the way of life and salvation? Manyare capable. If we have learned our lessons well, while we teach the wayof life and salvation to others, we shall exemplify it in our own lives.How many of my hearers possess the mastery over themselves, can keep theangry spirit of wrath under the empire of reason, and cannot be prejudicedagainst their brethren? Select the men or women who are capable of judginga righteous judgment, who can weigh exactly the life and conduct of theirneighbours in the balance of justice, mercy, and truth? Are there any? Ihope there are many.
How many of the Latter-day Saints, who have been in the Church fromfifteen to twenty years, have learned the Gospel sufficiently to be mastersof their passions? How many have learned the nature of things, as well asof men, the use of gold and silver, and the elements that are around us,so as to enjoy the life of the world, and understand the nature of it wellenough to devote all the treasures of the east, did they possess them, tothe building up of the kingdom of God, and to have no will but the willof the Lord? Who is proof against the influence of a good name, and wordlyrenown? How many have learned the lesson so perfectly as to defy the depthsof poverty, distress, and misery to move them, or in the least shatter theirintegrity? The congregation can answer these questions at their leisure,each one for himself. I can assure you we have to learn such lessons, ifwe have not learned them already.
The mysterious and invisible hand (so called) of Providence is manifestedin all the works of God. Who of this congregation can realise for one moment,that the Lord would notice so trifling an affair as the hairs you have combedfrom your heads this morning? Yet it is so, not one hair has fallen to theground without the notice of our Father in heaven. To convince the ancientApostles of His care over them, Jesus selected the most trifling things,in their estimation, to illustrate to their minds that the least thing escapednot His notice. Said he-"Fear not them which kill the body, but arenot able to kill the soul; but rather fear him which is able to destroyboth soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? Andone of them shall not fall on the ground without the knowledge of your Father.But the very hairs of your head are numbered."
Can we realize how this Providence governs and controls the nationsof the earth, and marks out the destinies of individual man? If we havenot learned these lessons they are before us, and we have them yet to learn.If we have not yet learned that poverty, sickness, pain, want, disappointment,losses, crosses, or even death, should not move us one hair's breadth fromthe service of God, or separate us from the principles of eternal life,it is a lesson we have to learn. If we have not learned how to handle thethings of this world in the light of salvation, we have it yet to learn.Though we have mountains of gold and silver, and stores of precious thingsheaped up, and could control the elements, and command the cattle on a thousandhills, if we have not learned that every iota of it should be devoted tothe building up of the kingdom of God on earth, it is a lesson yet to learn.
Our religion embraces every truth pertaining to mortal life-there isnothing outside the pale of it. It is no matter what persons do, if theykeep within the bounds of truth and righteousness, of the Gospel of theSon of God. Can they step beyond these bounds? They can. I will tell youhow easily. When Saints start to cross the plains to this place, no matterwhere they start from, they are full of faith and religion, they are fullof prayer and humility, and O how they desire to get to Zion! They crossthe Atlantic, travel on the waters of the Mississippi and Missouri, andcommence their journey over the plains, but before they have travelled overhalf the distance, they enter into temptation, some of them so far as tosay, "When I get to the Valley I shall go on to California." Somewill step out of the way far enough to curse and swear at their cattle,and others will cruelly treat them, in a rage of madness. Those who do thesethings know they are beyond the bounds of what they gave been taught isright, even by the traditions of the fathers. We have been taught from ourchildhood, that passion, anger, strife, and malice are wrong. Our formertraditions, in a great many instances, have been as true, and as much inaccordance with the Gospel, as they could be given. We have been traditionatednot to swear, and the spirit within us forbids it. If we maltreat our animals,or each other, the spirit within us, our traditions, and the Bible, allagree in declaring it is wrong. When the Saints arrive in Salt Lake Valley,how easy it is for them to wander from the right way! I could point outscores of cases, had I time. On the other hand, I can point out men whohave been with us for years in the depths of poverty, and some from thebeginning, and they never saw the time they could feed their families withsufficient food, nor clothe them, and yet they are full of faith and humility.Should this people partake of the blessings of the Lord as freely as Heis willing to bestow them, it would destroy them. They do not realize theyare to be tried in all things. They would say, "I acknowledge I amblessed, but I have blessed myself;" and forget it is the Lord whohas blessed them, and given them their gold and silver, their houses andlands, their horses and carriages, and all things they possess.
If the Latter-day Saints have not learned to handle the good thingsof this world, acknowledging the hand of God in putting them into theirpossession, they have this lesson yet to learn. When those who can bearpoverty are blessed with prosperity, they are apt to rise up in their ownstrength and wisdom, and forget the God who has blessed them, and make shipwreckof faith. Again, there are those who have been prospered in their life,when they are brought to poverty and want, turn away from the truth, likethe young man in Nauvoo who sat down to breakfast from a Johnny cake alone;says he, "I do not ask a blessing upon this; if God does not give betterfood than this, I shall never ask him to bless it." I said, "Youwill make shipwreck of faith." The spirit he manifested was an apostatespirit; he had forgotten there was a providence in the very circumstancehe spurned, and he went to destruction. Mysterious as it may appear to thechildren of men, God is in and round about all things.
To do right, can be reduced to perfect simplicity in a few words, viz.,from this time henceforth, let no person work, or transact any kind of businesswhatever, that he cannot do in the name of the Lord, and let him sink whollyinto His will, whether it oppose his prejudices, or not, or is decidedlyobjectionable to his feelings. The Lord will ultimately lead such personsinto the fulness of His joy by a way that may sometimes appear dark to them.But there are thousands who will say, "Lord, we believe in your name,in your name we have been baptized, and we have prophesied, and have castout devils in your name; do you not remember we laid hands on a person inyonder city, or in that house, and cast a devil out of him?" Such persons,that have healed the sick, or cast out a devil, sooner or later, take strengthto themselves, if they are not careful, and believe they have power of themselvesto do what they please. Boast not of these matters. You hear many say, "Iam a Latter-day Saint, and I never will apostatize;" "I am a Latter-daySaint, and shall be to the day of my death." I never make such declarations,and never shall. I think I have learned that of myself I have no power,but my system is organized to increase in wisdom, knowledge, and power,getting a little here and a little there. But when I am left to myself,I have no power, and my wisdom is foolishness; then I cling close to theLord, and I have power in His name. I think I have learned the Gospel soas to know, that in and of myself I am nothing. In the organization of mysystem, however, is a foundation laid, if I rightly improve upon it, thatwill secure to me the independence of the Gods in eternity. This is obtainedby strictly adhering to the principles of the Gospel in this life, whichwill lead us on from faith to faith, and from grace to grace. This is theway, I think, I have learned the Lord.
Shall we ever see the time we shall be perfectly independent of everyother being in all the eternities? No; we shall never see that time. Manyhave fallen on as simple ground as this, and were I to use a Western term,I would say, "they were troubled with a big head." Such personsthink they have power to do this, that and the other, but they are leftto themselves, and the Lord loves to show them they have no power.
We hear some saying-"I will get out of this community as soon asI can." Why? "Because I bought a wagon of one of my brethren,and he wants me to pay for it." Or, "I rode a brother's horseto death, and he thinks I should make it good." "It is a damnablecommunity, and I will not stay in it." I do not hear these things myself,but I can hear of them. I know it is so. What ails such people? They havetaken strength to themselves, and forgotten the Lord their God. They donot call upon His name, and trust in Him to direct them in all their ways.They forget they are doing as they used to do, viz., serve the Lord on theseventh day, and take six to themselves. They will traffic, trade, labourand heap up riches six days, and go to meeting on Sunday to serve the Lordone day. About such a religion I am ignorant, only I know it is good fornothing. My religion must be with me from one Monday morning to the next,the year round, or it will not answer me. You can see how easy it is forLatter-day Saints to step out of the path of duty.
Those who step out of the way do not know themselves, they are unacquaintedwith the nature of the human family, and with the principles of the kingdomwe are engaged in building up. When the Latter-day Saints make up theirminds to endure, for the kingdom of God's sake, whatsoever shall come, whetherpoverty or riches, whether sickness or to be driven by mobs, they will sayit is all right, and honor the hand of the Lord in and in all things, andserve Him to the end of their lives, according to the best of their ability,God being their helper. If you have not made up your minds for this, thequicker you do so the better.
Persons who cannot control themselves, and hold in subjection theirfeelings and lustful desires, and appetites, know no better than to rundistracted after the perishable things of this world. They say they "aregoing to California;" and I thank the Lord they are. Why? Because Iwould rather be in this community with one hundred families of poor, honest-heartedSaints, than one hundred millions who mix up, with devils, and go to California.And how long will they be there before they are begging of some Gentilemerchant to bring them back again? But I say, "let them lie there inhell, until they are well burnt out, like an old pipe." I would notmove my finger to help them back now, for they would only corrupt the community.After a while, when they are purified, then we will bring them to Zion,if they wish to come and serve the Lord; but if they wish to serve themselves,let them serve themselves, and if the devil, let them serve him. My prayerfor you, this morning, is, that you may be servants of the Most High God;but if any of you find men or women who will not serve the Lord, do notlay a straw in their way to hinder them from serving the devil, but givethem a dollar, or help them to a wagon, to speed their way out of this community.It would be better to do so than to keep them here, when they have no dispositionto love and serve the Lord. We are better without them.
Judge not, that ye be not judged. Let no man judge his fellow being,unless he knows he has the mind of Christ within him. We ought to reflectseriously upon this point; how often it is said-"Such a person hasdone wrong, and he cannot be a Saint, or he would not do so." How doyou know? We hear some swear and lie; they trample upon the rights of theirneighbor, break the Sabbath by staying away from meeting, riding about thecity; hunting horses and cattle, working in the kanyons. Do not judge suchpersons, for you do not know the design of the Lord concerning them; therefore,do not say they are not Saints. What shall we do with them? Bear with them.The brethren and sisters from the old countries frequently place great confidencein the American Elders who have been their pastors, but some trifling thingoccurs that does not appear right to them, and they say in a moment, "ThatElder is not a Latter-day Saint." Judge no man. A person who wouldsay another is not a Latter-day Saint, for some trifling affair in humanlife, proves that he does not possess the Spirit of God. Think of this,brethren and sisters; write it down that you may refresh your memories withit; carry it with you, and look at it often. If I judge my brethren andsisters, unless I judge them by the revelations of Jesus Christ, I havenot the spirit of Christ; if I had, I should judge no man. This is truedoctrine. Now let the new-comers especially remember not to judge theirbrethren and sisters. A great many sit in judgment upon me, and upon thispeople, and I have a right to judge as well as they. Were I to pass my judgmentupon those who judge me and this people, I would do it in the language ofJoseph, in the Dialogue we have in print. In it a question is put to Josephas follows-"Joseph, are you Jesus Christ?"-"No; but I amhis brother."
Will all the people be damned who are not Latter-day Saints? Yes, anda great many of them, except they repent speedily. I will say further, thatmany of the Latter-day Saints, except they learn their lessons better, willbe judged in the same way. That is my candid opinion. There are familieswith us here with whom I have been acquainted from the beginning, who haveideas of the things of this world that appear strange to me. They have astrange conception of the good things of the earth. Upon this item especially,I wish the Saints of God to concentrate their minds, and learn this importantlesson right, that they enter not into temptation. We will suppose, forinstance, a small Branch of the Church raised up in a district where theyare generally well off as to earthly substance. They sell their property,and gather with the Saints. Say there are ten families in the Branch, andallow them to be worth ten thousand dollars each. Nine of the ten lose theirproperty by lawyers, by their brothers, by their fathers, or by some personwho robs them on the way, and they have only enough left to get here. Oneof the ten is fortunate enough to save his property, and has it in gold.He, however, lends one man a hundred dollars, buys a team for another, andpays the passage of this or that poor family, until he expends all his money,and he also arrives here naked. Now, take these ten families and put themtogether; from the lips of the nine, whose property has gone into the handsof the wicked, you will not hear one murmur or complaint, where you willhear a hundred from him who has disposed of his money to help the poor Saintsto gather to Zion. I am now telling you what I know to be true, for I havewatched this item of human life from the beginning.
Allow me here to say to the Saints, that I have accumulated a greatamount of wealth in my time; and I call upon all who are acquainted withme, to bear witness, if they can, that I have ever distressed a man forwhat he owes me, or crowded any person in the least. Have I ever turnedthe widow and the orphan empty away, or the poor man hungry from my door,or purse, if I had a dime in it? Have I ever taken a brother by the throatand said-"Pay me that thou owest me?" No. But I have stacks ofnotes against them, amounting to over thirty thousand dollars. I boast notof this, but present the picture as an example for you to follow.
When poor, miserable curses, who would cut our throats, get means froma member of this Church, it hurts my feelings. How much better would itbe to hand it over to the proper person, saying-"Take this, feed thepoor Saints, and do good with it?" Who can realize that the Lord canput a great amount of property in his hands in a short time, or take itfrom him again? I can realize this to a considerable degree. I may havethousands of wealth locked up today, and hold checks for immense sums onthe best banking institutions in the world, but have I any surety that Ishall be worth a cent to-morrow morning? Not the least. The Lord Almightycan send fire and destruction when He pleases, destroying towns and swallowingup cities in the bellowing earthquake. He can set up kingdoms, and makecommunities wealthy, and bring them to poverty, at His pleasure. When Hepleases, He can give them wealth, comfort, and ease, and, on the other hand,torment them with poverty, distress, and sore afflictions. Who can realizethis? All the world ought, and especially the Saints.
I wish to impress another thing upon your minds. An Elder, who is willingto preach the Gospel, borrows a hundred or a thousand dollars from you,and you never breathe the first complaint against him, until you came hometo this valley, but after you have been here for a few days, you followme round and fill my ears with complaints against this brother, and askme what he has done with your money? I say, "I do not know." Thusyou are distressed and in misery, all the day long, to get it back again.If an Elder has borrowed from you, and you find he is going to apostatize,then you may tighten the screws upon him; but if he is willing to preachthe Gospel, without purse or scrip, it is none of your business what hedoes with the money he has borrowed from you. The doctrine of brother Josephis, that not one dollar you possess is your own; and if the Lord wants itto use, let it go, and it is none of your business what He does with it.Should it be laid out to pamper the lazy? No; but you can see those whohave been out on missions, working in the kanyons, and traversing the countryright and left, trying to get a living by the work of their hands.
But you say, "What has he done with my money?" He has, perhaps,helped that poor family to gather with it, or they would not have been here.If you murmur against that Elder, it will prove your damnation. The moneywas not yours, but the Lord Almighty put it into our hands to see what youwould do with it. The gold, the silver, the wheat, the fine flour, the buffalo,the deer, and the cattle on a thousand hills, are all His, and He turnsthem whithersoever He will; and He turns the nations whithersoever He will,casting down one nation and setting up another, according to His own pleasure.All there is of any worth or value in the world is incorporated in our gloriousreligion, and designed to exalt the minds of the children of men to a permanent,celestial, and eternal station.
No man need judge me. You know nothing about it, whether I am sent ornot; furthermore, it is none of your business, only to listen with openears to what is taught you, and serve God with an undivided heart.
Perhaps I have detained you long enough. In my remarks I have not transcendedthe bounds of my religion. If I had told you about the Latter-day Saints'new spelling book, my religion embraces it, and all the good we see fromone year's end to another.
Will you try to be Saints in very deed? I do not pray the Lord thatyou may, but my prayer is offered to you, and I pray you, in Christ's stead,be ye reconciled to God, and serve Him with an undivided heart, to the endof your lives. And I pray my Heavenly Father to enable you so to do. Andmay God bless you. Amen.