A DISCOURSE BY ELDER JEDEDIAH M. GRANT, DELIVERED IN THETABERNACLE, GREAT SALT LAKE CITY, AUG. 7, 1853.
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The weather being warm, and the people generally of the laboring class,I presume are the cause of a rather late attendance at meeting this morning.
There are peculiarities connected with our duties, that make them differfrom the duties of almost every other community. Other communities havegold and silver to aid them, in building, in planting, in gathering, andin all the different avocations of life; but this people have to accomplishall they do accomplish, by the bone and sinew alone, which the Almightyhas given them; and where it is constantly employed, it has an effect uponthe bank more or less; not, however, that the specie is exhausted, or thebills depreciated in value, but it exhibits a feature in our history whichhas been frequently exhibited, and is, as it has, been, peculiar to thissociety.
The world, and the inhabitants thereof, are fluctuating; not only theinhabitants, but the elements that surround the earth are frequently ina fluctuating condition. I have often listened, with a great deal of attentionand interest, to the explanations given of the beauties and of the uniformityof nature, contrasted with the fluctuations and changes of men, of nations,of kingdoms, and of countries.
Man is sometimes represented as if he were the only fluctuating andchangeable being in existence; but when I contrast in my thoughts the revolutionsof nations, with the revolutions and changes that have taken place uponthe face of our globe, I am sometimes led to the conclusion that the elementschange as often as the inhabitants that dwell upon the earth.
We see at one time, the earth shaken, as it were, from centre to circumference;we hear the sound of bellowing earthquakes; we see the smoke of the toweringmountains, and the yawning crater belching forth its boiling lava; indeedevery mountain, valley and dell, the rivers, and the ocean into which theyempty their waters, and all the elements with which we are surrounded, exhibitone constant scene of change, one constant scene of variety, and one constantscene of commotion.
We cannot say, "Man, thou art the only changeable creature, theonly changeable substance we gaze upon." But the ocean, and all thewaters communicating therewith; the earth, with its ten thousand lofty mountains,verdant valleys, and extended plains; exhibit to our view a variety of changesthat have been, and that we may expect will continue to be, from this timeforth.
Consequently, when we see man excited to follow any avocation in life,whether it be for gold, silver, or other precious ores, for which he leaveshis all, acts unwisely and inconsistently, sacrificing his home, his family,and everything dear and near to him, we can exclaim, "This wild careerof man is not the only wildness exhibited in nature."
If you refer back to the earliest ages, and trace the history of theworld, where can you find uniformity in nature's works? If you can finda uniformity at any time in the earth, the sea, the air, or in the elements,pray tell me when it was.
Was it when our first parents were cast out of the Garden of Eden, whenit became desecrated by sin; or when old father Noah rode safely over themighty deep, protected by the arm of Jehovah, while every other living thingsank in the depths of a watery grave? Was it when Abel rose up to offerin sacrifice the first fruits of his flock to the Most High God, and Cainhis brother rose up and murdered, or sacrificed him for doing so? Was thata day of uniformity? Were the elements calm and composed? Did nature exhibita serene and smooth surface?
You pass further down the lapse of time, from the days of our earliestprogenitors, until the earth was deluged in water, and the lofty summitswere submerged in the raging element. After the waters subside, and theinhabitants of the earth begin to increase and go forth upon its face, yousoon discover a change in them and in the earth itself.
If you look for uniformity in man, was it when the descendants of Noahsought to build a great tower, that they might, as they thought, climb upto where their Father in Heaven lived, and thus try to defy His power, shouldHe again bring a flood of water to deluge the earth? Was that the age, whenpeople studied to know the purposes of a righteous God?
Pass on from that day, until you come to the illustrious Abraham, thefather of the faithful, and ask yourselves if his course was very uniform,and if the course of the inhabitants of the earth around him was very uniform,and something to be admired. You see him rushing forth to war. Not onlydid he sally out to the field to fight with the weapons of death in hishands, but we might take a glance at his course in the domestic circle.Was it uniform in Sarah and Hagar to quarrel with each other, and when Hagarhad to be banished with her son Ishmael? Even in the domestic circle ofthe great Patriarch, we discover nature was not uniform. Was it uniformwhen the cry of the banished Hagar ascended to heaven, and brought an angelto give drink to the young urchin who was dying of thirst under one of theshrubs?
If you pass on through the line of his descendants, you find the samelack of uniformity. How sublime the quarrel that took place between Josephand his brethren! What remarkable contentions existed among them. Look atthe old Patriarch Jacob in his family circle, and you see him goaded withthorns of grief because of his family broils. Do we find the elements aroundthat family very calm, pacific, uniform, serene, angelic, and God-like?How calm they were when one of his wives, in order to get her rights, hadto purchase her husband with mandrakes?
You discover a scene of vexatious broils in the domestic circle; thoughthey were not at war with surrounding nations, yet the elements were atwar in the very centre of that venerable house.
Such, then, were the scenes in early ages among those righteous, pure,holy, just, and noble Patriarchs, who conversed with God, wrestled withangels, obtained promises, and coped with high heaven.
If you pass on and seek to find uniformity, beauty, and sublimity, willyou find it when the Israelites were bondmen in Egypt, when they were compelledby hard task masters to gather straw and make bricks for a living?
If you should pass on to the time the illustrious meek man of God, Moses,was sent to them, how much uniformity do you discover when he led them tothe Red Sea, and a mighty host from Egypt around them threatening theirdestruction, but the sea opened and let them through dry shod, and the mountainsskipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs? Was this a scene wherewe may look for uniformity? Or, after he led them forth to Sinai, wherethe voice of God, the roaring thunder, and vivid lightning were exhibited.While Moses was upon the mount conversing with the Most High God, Aarontook the gold offered to him by the people, and made a calf for Israel toworship, and they said, "These be thy gods, O Israel, which broughtthee up out of the land of Egypt." Was there any sublimity, glory,and loyalty to God in this? When Moses descended from the mountain, waseverything calm and peaceable, and uniform? No! The Israelites had madea golden calf, and were dancing round the god they had made out of theirear rings and jewelry they had pilfered from the Egyptians-they had stolenby revelation, by divine direction; they were having a grand dance aroundthis molten calf, when Moses in his anger broke the tables. Can you findany uniformity, any beauty, any order reigning in the house of Israel?
Pass on, and look at affairs in the days of Solomon-how uniform thatmighty king was in his course, with his seven hundred wives, and a legionof concubines. How uniform he was in his passions and feelings. He was notcontented with the fair daughters of Israel, but the queen of Sheba, andthe women of nations afar off captivated this wise king-by whom he was ledastray, and desecrated the altars of God, the sanctuaries of Israel, andthe Urim and Thummim, by introducing the idolatrous worship of the strangegods of his wives and concubines.
There was also David, the father of Solomon, and the man after God'sown heart. Though his wives were many, and his family numerous, yet he couldnot cast his eyes out of a window, and see a beautiful woman in a bath,without lusting after her. His heart was so susceptible of love, that heconceived the murder of her husband to possess her, and caused his victimto be stationed in the front of the battle where he would be sure to beslain. This was the kind of sublimity the men of God exhibited anciently.
Look at the difficulties that existed between Israel and the Prophets;look at the murders, devastation, destruction, altars smoking with blood,cities wrapped in flame, and thousands and tens of thousands mantled indeath upon the blood-stained earth by contending armies; and ask yourselvesif that is the time to look for uniformity.
Was it to be found in the days of Alexander the Great, when he conqueredthe world, and spilled rivers of blood to attain his purpose? Was it tobe found among the Romans, or among the Medes and Persians? Shall we lookto any of the ancient nations for uniformity.
But we will pass by these dark ages, and come down to the interestingtime when the Son of God unfolded the glorious theme of the Gospel of peace,of matchless glory, of matchless love; when the babe of Bethlehem was born;when the sun of righteousness appeared with healing in his wings; and whenbeauty, and glory, and sublimity were displayed in their grandeur, fullbloom and glory.
You do not wish us to understand, that that was the time when Herodput forth his hand to put to death the young children under a certain age,in hopes to kill the young child Jesus. Is this the beauty of that age-thesublimity to which you call our attention-when the reigning king put todeath thousands of helpless children, drenching the earth with their innocentblood?
When the babe Jesus returns from Egypt, he exclaims of himself, "Thefoxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of manhath not where to lay his head." Even in that age, look at the commotion,the turmoil, the strife, and the difficulties that existed.
Were sublimity, uniformity, and beauty seen at the time when the Kingof righteousness, the anointed of God, was carried up unto an exceedinghigh mountain by Lucifer, who showed him the kingdoms of the world, andthe glory of them, saying, "All these things will I give thee, if thouwilt fall down and worship me." Was that uniformity?
Suppose a Prophet should arise now, and proclaim to the world he isa Prophet of God, and Lucifer should take him by the coat collar, or bythe hair of the head, and escort him to the top of a high pinnacle, andhold him there, would they believe he was a Prophet? The uniformity of thatage is thus exhibited, however, by the writers of the New Testament.
Again we find it exhibited when a legion of devils was cast out of aman, and entered into a herd of swine, causing them to run down a steepplace into the sea, where they were drowned. These are some of the characteristicfeatures of the age in which Christ and his apostles lived.
If you pass on to the time when Jesus Christ the Son of God was putto death, when they mocked him, spit upon him, placed a crown of thornsupon his head, and smote him upon the cheek, saying, "Prophesy."Is that the time for us to look for uniformity? If you wait until they arraignhim before an earthly tribunal, condemn, and put him to death, and placehim in the tomb, do you there look for beauty and uniformity? What do yousee? A host of soldiers guarding the mouth of the tomb to keep his disciplesfrom stealing his dead body; they did not only think they would steal hisdead body, but that they would lie about it afterwards, and say he had risenfrom the dead, and palm an imposition upon that age of the world. Theseare some of the sublimities of the Christian religion in the days of itsFounder; and the confidence the multitude had in the advocates of that religion.
But if you still wait until he who was once the babe in Bethlehem, burststhe barriers of the tomb, and approaches and speaks to his disciples, andcommissions them to preach his Gospel, beginning at Jerusalem, what do yousee? Watch the movements of the disciples. The Son of God told them to waitthe appointed time at Jerusalem. And when the Holy Ghost came upon them,and they began to speak by the inspiration and power thereof, the multitudecried out, "These men are full of new wine." This was the uniformtestimony of the multitude. But if you will notice the assembly preachedto on that occasion, there were some fed who gave a contrary testimony.But what were a few thousands, compared to the vast number then assembled?In some small hamlet a few thousands of people might be a decided majority,and perhaps take in all to baptize so many. But a few thousands in comparisonwith the great multitude that dwelt in Jerusalem, was only like one grainof sand in comparison to a handful. The grand majority of the mass governs;the uniform testimony of the million was, that they were drunk, and of courseyou are to believe according to the greatest amount of testimony, are younot? Then if you arraign those disciples before the grand tribunals of thenations, the great majority of the multitude would say they were drunk;but if only a few thousands say they were not, which are you to believe?Where then is the uniformity in this testimony? Look at the discrepancy,and the array of testimony against the disciples. It is certainly overwhelmingin its nature.
But if you look still further, and seek to find uniformity in that ageof the world, follow the disciples when they left Jerusalem to go forthwith the proclamation of the Gospel, and we find wherever they went, theywere considered insane, mad, and possessed of devils. It was said of Jesustheir master, he was leagued with Beelzebub, the prince of the devils. And,said the Saviour, "If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub,how much more shall they call them of his household?" Wherever theywent, then, they were called Nazarites, and Christians was an odious namein that age. They were hooted at by the Jews, pointed at by the Gentiles,and scoffed at by the world; if you seek for testimony in that age of theworld, was it for or against them?
Pass on still further in their history, and look at their course andconduct, if you will believe the writers that lived in that age. What doesold Celsus say, who was physician in the first century, whose medical worksare esteemed very highly at the present time. His works on theology wereburned with fire by the Catholics, they were so shocked at what they calledtheir impiety. Celsus was a heathen philosopher; and what does he say uponthe subject of Christ and his Apostles, and their belief? He says, "Thegrand reason why the Gentiles and philosophers of his school persecutedJesus Christ, was, because he had so many wives; there were Elizabeth, andMary, and a host of others that followed him." After Jesus went fromthe stage of action, the Apostles followed the example of their master.For instance, John the beloved disciple, writes in his second Epistle, "Untothe elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth." Again,he says, "Having many things to write unto you (or communicate), Iwould not write with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speakface to face, that our joy may be full." Again-"The children ofthy elect sister greet thee." This ancient philosopher says they wereboth John's wives. Paul says, "Mine answer to them that do examineme is this:-.
Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles,and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas." He, according to Celsus,had a numerous train of wives.
The grand reason of the burst of public sentiment in anathemas uponChrist and his disciples, causing his crucifixion, was evidently based uponpolygamy, according to the testimony of the philosophers who rose in thatage. A belief in the doctrine of a plurality of wives caused the persecutionof Jesus and his followers. We might almost think they were "Mormons."
But if you pass on in their history to seek for uniformity and beauty,you will find some grand flare-ups among them. Look, for instance, at Pauland Peter, disputing and quarrelling with each other; and Paul and Barnabascontending, and parting asunder with angry feelings. "When Peter cameto Antioch," says Paul, "I withstood him to the face, becausehe was to be blamed," &c. Paul does not gain much credit with theMormons for taking this course. We know he had no right to rebuke Peter;but some man said he was like Almon Babbit, he wanted to boast of rebukingPeter. He thought it was a feather in his cap because he coped with Peterand rebuked him. Had that affair come before a "Mormon" tribunal,they would have decided in favour of Peter, and against Paul. We believewhen Paul rebuked Peter, he had in him a spirit of rebellion, and was decidedlywrong in rebelling against the man who held the keys of the kingdom of Godon the earth.
But I will proceed, and I wish you to understand that I am only justgiving you a rap here and there; you know spiritual rappings are quite commonin this day.
If you will pass along in the days of the Apostles, after a while yousee them thrust into cauldrons of oil, crucified with their heads downwards,and persecuted in various ways until they became extinct. After a while,you have the beauty, the sublimity of Catholicism. Look at the old motherseated upon a scarlet-coloured beast, boxing the ears of her daughters;and the Church of England in turn boxing the ears of the old mother, assistedby her other numerous offspring, and then mark the bitter contentions andbloody feuds among the children! O, have they not had a sublime time-a beautifuldish of suckertash. What a uniform course they have taken!
But are the inhabitants of the earth the only portion of nature thatis not uniform? No.
Look at the bellowing earthquake, uprooting the mountains and precipitatingthem from their beds, and rending the rocks with violence, leaving the tremblingearth in a state of horrible devastation; and then for men to teach me aboutthe uniformity of nature's course, and that man is the only being in naturethat is uniform, is folly. Talk not to me about the uniformity of nature;where is it to be found upon this earth, among men, in the mountains, amongthe valleys, in the ocean, or among the streams that water the land.
Before you censure my views upon this subject, look at mother earth,at the ocean, at the rocks, at the planets that bespangle the blue vaultof heaven; in short, at nature in all her works, which you will find stampedwith the insignia of continual change. But pass on.
You look and you see the Church, as it were, driven from the earth;you see it left without a Prophet, without a Seer, without Apostles, andwithout the voice of inspiration. You hear the professed ministers of Christteaching the benighted multitude, that the day when angels administer tomen has ceased; that the sacred Urim and Thummim is lost; that the holyPriesthood is no longer needed, and the sacred place where they offeredsacrifices for Israel is gone, all are gone.
In this way, century after century passed away; nation rose againstnation, and kingdom against kingdom; nations and kingdoms rose, and in theirturn fell in succession, to give place to others, while nature, in her convulsivethroes, shook the earth from centre to circumference. Pass on still, anddo you look for uniformity?
But says one, "You Mormons tell us, that in the age in which welive there is a work commenced on the earth that will entirely eclipse everyother dispensation, and usher in a day of righteousness, overcome Luciferthe arch deceiver; a day wherein he is to be bound, and thrust into thepit, and lose his power; when the earth will be redeemed, and appear inher primeval bloom and beauty, and man shall cease to war against his fellowman; when the convulsions of the earth shall cease-the earthquake ceaseto bellow, the thunder cease to roar, and the lightning cease to becomedestructive, and to mar the face of nature, spreading terror and dismayamong animated beings; when the earth and all nature shall become calm andtranquil, and the glory of God shall be among men."
"Why bless me, with the exception of a few points," say statesmen,"your society has decidedly changed from what it was in the days ofMr. Smith. Because of the peculiar traits of his character, it could nothave possibly existed under his government; we are glad to see the decidedimprovement that has been made since his death, and under the administrationof Mr. Young." This is their language. They suppose that the "Mormons"have turned a somerset, have apostatized, and altered their character andcreed as a people. I always take great pleasure in telling such honorablemen, such wise men, that that which they call "Mormonism" changethnot. It is the same now as in the days of Joseph.
"And do you Mormons in the Valley believe and advocate the samedoctrines that Joseph Smith did?"
Yes, sir, precisely, not one practical point of the religion has changed;but we as a people may be fluctuating, but our religion changeth not. Yousee some of our men want to go to California for gold-they want to do this,and to do that; but the people generally are right at home.
But you must look in the last days for a kingdom that in its commencementwill be the least of all, and is compared to the mustard seed. If then itis the smallest of all kingdoms, we need not look for a large church likethe church of Rome, or the English church, but like a mustard seed; lookfor that, and it will grow and become the largest of all herbs, so thatthe birds of the air will shelter in it.
Says one, "I like it very well, if you did not gather together,and suffer Brigham Young to lead you like one man."
In that consists the beauty of our religion; and he can wield us asa people, like God does the armies of heaven. He can wield us to preach,to pray, or to fight. We have everything spiritual, temporal, and natural,as it should be. We believe it is just as much our religion to talk aboutwheat, plowing, sowing, and gathering in at harvest time, it is just asmuch our religion as anything connected with it.
"Pertaining to the Mormons away off in the Valley, they never willbe much anyhow," says one. They used to tell Joseph Smith he couldnever accomplish anything, for he had neither money nor friends. They tellus we cannot accomplish much, "for everybody says you are crazy followersof Joe Smith, and believers in the Book of Mormon; therefore what can youdo?" We will do just as Jesus Christ said the mustard seed would do.If you will read and learn what it did, you will then know something aboutthe future history of "Mormonism." You will ascertain just whatwe will do.
"But do you really believe your Church is the kingdom Daniel spokeof-the stone that should be hewn out of the mountain without hands?"I suppose he might have said with hands just as well, for it is no matterwhether it was hewn out with or without; suffice it to say, the result ofit is what we see; no matter how it came out of the mountain. What doesthe historian represent by that stone? Something that would begin to roll,and smite the great image on its feet, and roll forth until it fills thewhole earth. If you want to know what "Mormonism" is, it is thatwhich will roll forth until it fills the whole earth.
Do we expect to find uniformity at this time? No sir; but we look formobs, and the very scum of hell to boil over. Do we look for a privilegeto fold our hands and sing lullaby baby, etc.? No; we expect the rage ofall hell to be aimed at us to overthrow us; we expect mobs, and troubleswith the Indians. The earth will be rent with earthquakes, and a thousandthunders will utter their voices, and make the ears of mortals tingle, andtheir hearts to fail within them; and the voice of God will be heard, thatwill pierce the wicked to the very core.
Do the Latter Day Saints expect to settle in peace? MARK you, your peacehas not come yet, for Lucifer is not yet bound; and while the earth is fearfullyconvulsed because of the wickedness on its face, the nations will gatherthemselves and make an effort to wrest the kingdom from the Saints, anddestroy them root and branch.
We are not coping with a few people here and there, but with the world,with all the enemies of God, with all hell, and with the devil and his host.That is "Mormonism."
You need not wonder that we raise stout boys in the mountains, for wewant children of the right blood; we do not want a scrubby breed here. Menof "Mormon" blood are not afraid to die. The men that tremble,and whose hearts, go pit-a-pat because they have got to die, are not wortha picayune. A man that refuses to walk up in the track, no matter what comes,and steadily press forward, though there should be a lion in the way, isnot of "Mormon" grit. That was the grit Joseph Smith had; andwhen he spoke, he spoke by the power of an endless Priesthood, which wasupon him; and that is the power by which Brigham speaks. When he stood upin the majesty of his Priesthood, and rebuked the judges here, I know someof our milk-and-water-folks thought all the fat was in the fire. "BrotherBrigham has gone rather too far; he might have spoken a little milder thanhe did; I think it would have been much better," &c. This was thelanguage of some hearts; and I feel to say, damn all such poor pussyism.When a man of God speaks, let him speak what he pleases, and let all Israelsay, Amen.
We expect to see and hear tell of earthquakes, and other mighty convulsionsin the earth, as it has been in former times; and if the devil exerted hispower in ancient days to destroy the work of God, so he will in the latterdays.
My exhortation to the Latter-day Saints is to keep the commandments,until truth shall prevail, the devil is bound, and righteousness prevails;then watch for the Lord's coming, for you know not the day nor the hourthe Son of Man cometh. Amen.