A DISCOURSE BY PRESIDENT HEBER C. KIMBALL, DELIVERED INTHE TABERNACLE, GREAT SALT LAKE CITY, NOV. 14, 1852
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The hymn which has been sung, I think, is a very appropriate one, andif we can all put it in practice, if we all say we will commence to do itfrom this day, I imagine that we have created a heaven already in our ownminds. If we would forsake everything that is unrighteous, that createssorrow and misery in this world, you will all admit that I and you wouldbe at once in possession of a heaven of happiness.
The discourse we have heard from brother Taylor was a rehearsal of agreat many things we have passed through, that is, many of us. Those whohave passed through these things have appreciated them, and they are actuallyin possession of more knowledge and experience than those who have not passedthrough them. Still, we find, in the course of our experience that manythink they have more experience, and know more and comprehend more, thantheir neighbors. However, I will let time suffice to give them an experiencein the matter-time is necessary to bring it about. I have said it many times,that I had no doubt that every man and every woman would, perhaps, get allthe experience they wanted. And as for this people, I do not say to whatthey can be brought; but sometimes I have thought, or had my doubts, whetheror no the majority of them will take a course to keep peace in our midst,and secure to us continually the comfort and consolation we now enjoy.
The majority of you enjoy greater blessings this day than you ever didin your lives. I have travelled over a great portion of the earth in daysthat are past. I have seen the sorrows of the world. I have seen this people,or many of them, very poor, and penniless. I have dwelt in England, anda part of the time in London, and established the Gospel there, when I havelived upon my two penny loaves per day, with a glass of water. You thathave come from there, know what kind of a thing a penny loaf is; there certainlyis not that substance existing in it that there is in a piece of good solidbread the breadth of my three fingers; it is not all bread, but it is amixture, a combination of other fixings, something like their milk in London,which they make from chalk; so if any of you are destitute of milch cows,I am telling you how you can make milk. I speak of these things becauseI have experienced them. I want to know if there are any people broughtto that, in this community? Do you live as poor and as penniless as youdid there? No, you do not. There are many here that did live there, andthey have now their abundance, and they eat so much here that they are almostdisabled, their minds are not so active, and this is the cause many timesthey are not to be found in this hall-they eat so much, they are under thenecessity of going to bed, not to rest themselves, but to rest the foodthey have taken. This is too much the case. If I take food in the afterpartof the day, it is disagreeable for me to speak in the afternoon; it is hardand laborious. When you go from this place and return to your homes, youeat so much, that when you return here again, those that do, you are asvoid of receiving intelligence and the Spirit of the Lord God as a stone.This I know to be true; that is, with many of that portion that do return.There is nearly one-half of this congregation who disable themselves, andare obliged to go bed to rest their food, on the Sabbath afternoon. I amnot speaking of this thing as though it is practised here any more thanit is in the whole world. You do not train your bodies, and cultivate yourminds, in eating and drinking, in partaking of the fruits of the earth;your lives are wasted away, not in a useful manner, but in a very uselessmanner. You throw away your lives. I could prove it to you very easily ifI had you in a place where I knew who you were. I know I cannot teach here,and come upon little matters, that, nevertheless, are important to be known.Why? Because it would be considered ridiculous. What did brother Brighamsay here one day, when he was speaking upon the works of the human family,and that they would have to give an account of their works? Said he, "Itis ridiculous for me to recount their works, or speak them before any publicassembly." So you would consider, many of you, that the holy orderof God, or what I would say to you, is ridiculous; on the other hand, manyof you would consider it the most consistent. But allow me to say, thatyour salvation and exaltation depend upon what you consider indelicate fora man to speak in a public congregation.
Brethren, there is not anything I fear, sisters, there is not anythingI fear, in this world, but that we shall prosper, and dwell upon the earth,and continue in the Valleys of the mountains, and never be removed, thatis, if we will be faithful, and do as well as we know how, and follow thedictates of the Holy Spirit of God, and of him and his brethren who presideover us. If we do this, we never shall be overcome. These things have beentalked about many times, and I might split my lungs, and my brethren mightdo the same, unto some people in the world; for the more you talk to them,the more light that is revealed to them, the less they seem to appreciateit. If they do seem to appreciate it, they do not obey it, they do not walkin the path marked out but they will receive instructions from day to day,and enter into the most solemn obligations, before God and angels, thatthey will observe them, but before they get home they forget them. Is notthis true, gentlemen? Is it not true, ladies? I will tell you my feelingsplainly about these matters. I wish to God that this people would do asthey are told, as brother Taylor has said to-day. You know what my beliefis, and I am satisfied it is the belief of every person here. Many are willingto eat and drink, wear clothing, and lie down to sleep, and they think theyare going to be ushered into the Kingdom of God by that portion of men andwomen that are faithful. This is a mistake, gentlemen and ladies. If youdo not cultivate yourselves, and cultivate your spirits in this state ofexistence, it is just as true as there is a God that liveth, you will haveto go into another state of existence, and bring your spirits into subjectionthere. Now you may reflect upon it, you never will obtain your resurrectedbodies, until you bring your spirits into subjection. I am not talking tothis earthly house of mine, neither am I talking to your bodies, but I amspeaking to your spirits. I am not talking as to people who are not in thehouse. Are not your spirits in the house? Are not your bodies your houses,your tabernacles or temples, and places for your spirits? Look at it; reflectupon it. If you keep your spirits trained according to the wisdom and fearof God, you will attain to the salvation of both body and spirit. I ask,then, if it is your spirits that must be brought into subjection? It is;and if you do not do that in these bodies, you will have to go into anotherestate to do it. You have got to train yourselves according to the law ofGod, or you will never obtain your resurrected bodies. Mark it! You do notthink of these things, you only think of to-day. If you can pass along today,it is all right, thinking that brother Brigham, brother Heber, brother Willard,and the Twelve, with brother Joseph at our head, will lead you all intothe celestial world. We cannot do it. Why? Because Justice sits at the door,and will not admit a single soul until he has paid the uttermost farthing.Do you think we can pass you in there clandestinely? If you do, you willfind justice sitting at the door, and she will require justice at your hand,and mercy will claim all that is due to her, but mercy will not rob justice,not one whit, neither will justice rob mercy; they are united together,just as much as the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ever were. As brother Brighamsaid here, if you sin against God, you have got to satisfy Him; and if yousin against Jesus Christ, you have got to make confession to Jesus, andHe and the Father can forgive you; and if you sin against the Holy Ghost,you have got to satisfy the Holy Ghost, for neither the Father nor the Soncan forgive that sin. Is not that good law? That is the law of Deseret,gentlemen. And when you sin against brother Brigham, will the Father forgiveyou? No: you have got to ask forgiveness of brother Brigham. And when yousin against me, you have got to seek forgiveness of me, before you get itfrom the Father. You have got to repent of your sins, and turn unto theLord your God, with full purpose of heart, and cease your murmuring andcomplaining, that you may be forgiven.
I could not get a company here last Conference, I could not get onesolitary vote for a man to preside over a company, of murmurers. You cannotorganize ten murmurers in this whole city; for if you can get them together,they cannot agree, and that is the difficulty.
I will tell you what will be good for us, and it will bestow upon usall the luxuries of this life, of heaven and earth. You are talking aboutheaven and about earth, and about hell, &c.; but let me tell you, youare in hell now, and you have got to qualify yourselves here in hell tobecome subjects for heaven; and even when you have got into heaven, youwill find it right here where you are on this earth. When we escape fromthis earth, we, suppose we are going to heaven? Do you suppose you are goingto the earth that Adam came from? that Eloheim came from? where Jehovahthe Lord came from? No. When you have learned to become obedient to theFather that dwells upon this earth, to the Father and God of this earth,and obedient to the messengers He sends-when you have done all that, rememberyou are not going to leave this earth. You will never leave it until youbecome qualified, and capable, and capacitated to become a father of anearth yourselves. Not one soul of you ever will leave this earth, for ifyou go to hell, it is on this earth; and if you go to heaven, it is on thisearth; and you will not find it anywhere else. Is it not hard to bring thesetruths home to you. I tell you I am at home now and I am in heaven; butthe heaven I have to enjoy is the heaven I make myself. Do you know it?Well, if this be the case, which you will probably all admit, for it willbe the case with me, it will be the same with you, and you cannot help yourselves-Iwant to know if you have any peace at home, in your families, only whatyour wife and children make? You have not. If you make peace and a heavenin you habitations, then you are in heaven, both you and your families.Now suppose we apply this principle to the house of every man in Israel,who is a father of a family, and they all agree they will make heaven athome, and after that they all conclude to come together and make a generalheaven. But the first place to begin to make a heaven, is to make it athome, and then we will club together, and conclude to have it all over.Do you understand my logic? Do you, brother Hyde? (Elder Hyde, "Yes,sir,") These are my feelings.
Now let us go to work, every one of us, and pull together, and put meansinto the hands of the Trustee-in-trust, pay up our tithing, and then ifwe have a surplus which we do not want to put out to usury now, put it inthe hands of the Trustee-in-trust. Go to work, not only next spring, butnow make preparations, and let us build a temple. What say you? I do notwant you to say yes, unless you calculate to do it, but, as brother Josephused to say, "Yankee doodle do it." Now go to work, and do thething right up, and when next fall comes to pass, let us see the walls ofthe temple erected, and the roof on it. What say you? It is just as yousay. No one man has the capacity and power to do it himself, but if yousay it, and you will do it, there will be a temple next fall, with a roofupon it. Do you believe it? You do. You nod your heads; come, nod them alittle lower still; none of your half winks here, but whole winks or nothing.We can do it just as easily as I have built a little house on the cornerthere. How do you feel, brethren? Do you feel, do it? Don't you say yes,or give me a half wink, without meaning it; but, as the girls say, giveme a whole heart or nothing. I do not want you should have my heart, andI do not want you should have the hearts of my brethren, because if youhave their hearts, they will do nothing for God or His cause. You know Italk just as I have a mind to, when I get up to talk here. Do you considerit sensible, that we go to work, and rear a temple to the name of the Lord,and have the roof on it next fall? Say? None of your half winks to me again;is it not reasonable to say, it cannot be done unless you do it?
It is necessary to unite and cultivate the hearts of this people together,more than any thing else. The subject of building a temple alone will notdo it, or your means; but to bring this to a focus, your hearts must bewhere your treasure is. If you place your treasure in the temple, your heartsmust be there, they are wherever you place your treasure. The Scripturesays so, and so say I. I am a servant of God, a man of truth, and PresidentYoung is my brother, my leader, and governor, and shall be forever and ever,and you cannot unhorse me if you try, and we will unhorse the whole of youif you do not do right. Shall we go to work, and build a temple, and a wallaround it? Now, gentlemen, if we do it at all, we have got to commence thework, and continue to progress in it until we have completed it. You mustput your means and labor in it. How many hands do we see here on the publicworks weekly? Why there is scarcely a man to be seen, except regularly employedhands. Do not talk to me about doing a thing, when you do not do it. Asbrother Hyde said, it is punctuality that will save you. The Lord said,through Joseph, in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, that a covenant breakernever could be saved. You never can be saved, only in truth and faithfulnessto God, and those whom He has appointed and selected to govern the affairsof His Church on the earth. Now, you say, "Brother Kimball, you talkrather barefaced, the Gentiles will hear you." That is what they dread.Bless your souls, we want they should hear it more and more and more, untilthe kingdom of our God brings under subjection every kingdom in the world.Can we do it gentlemen and ladies, upon any other principle than by beingone? Tell me if any of you have got an argument to prove to the contrary?I know you have not got it; if you have, I am ready for it to-day.
I am perhaps trespassing upon your time and patience; well, I do notcare whether I am or not, you seem to sit very easy notwithstanding. Itis not very cold; though your faces appear rather blooming; your eyes arebright and your spirits look cheerful. I do not think you are cold; younever saw a man or a woman have the blues yet, but they looked black, andtheir flesh looked blue, like the green fly. I, have got the start of you,for I have on a great coat. I have not spoken in public for some time, andI did not know if ever I should again, my lungs are so injured by speakingin private meetings.
What do you say now, casting away the blues and everything of this kind,what do you say about going to, ye Bishops, with your several wards, afterthis day-tomorrow morning, with light hearts, and cheerful spirits, andglad countenances, to prepare for the erection of a temple to the name ofthe Almighty. We want to get stone on the ground, and other preparationsare necessary to be made, to lay the foundation for this work. What do yousay? I will have no half winks, neither will I call a vote without you goit as the heart of one man. What do you say, brethren and sisters? Willyou say, "Yankee doodle do it?" If you do, say aye. (All said,"Aye.")
There, Bishops, I will deliver up the meeting into your hands.