Dec 20th 1846 Sunday According to previous
appointment I met with our ward for
an organization according to the arangm[en]t
of the camp and to teach instruct and
rebuke as the case may require we met
at Br Ensigns at half past 10 oclock I
opened the meeting by singing and prayer
And addressed the people I confessed my
own sins And in some respects the sings of
the 14th ward in which I dwell for they
were varily guilty before God of many
wrongs I warned them to repent before
the Lord or a scourge would come upon
them. I was followed by Elder G. A.
Smith And O Pratt. Br Smith spoke
of there treatment towards me in not build-
ing me a house as I had been sick said
when there would be another temple built
they would be pulling the buttons off my coat
to get into the temple to recieve thereir blessings &c
And taught much good doctrin, asked
if they had yet got there inheritances sealed
to them on the earth and in heaven if not
they had yet still sumthing to do O pratt
Addressed us also with much interest spoke
of the trials we were called to pass through
and that the hand of God was in
it and it would all work together
for good if we made a right use of it
we were informed there was to be a
meeting at the stand so we dismissed
our meeting & repaired to the stand
whare we found a large congregation
of saints and President Young was
addressing them
The following are some of the important words
that flowed from Presidents Youngs lips as He
addressed the people and called upon them
loudly to repent He said you must stop your
swearing, you must stop your cheating, you must
stop your lying, you must stop your stealing
you must stop your Horedoms you must
stop your backbiteings, speaking evil of the
Twelve speaking evil of me, you must stop
these things & put away your wickedness
or you will be damned, you will be destroyed
you will be visited by pestilence and plague
and by the sword, and you will fall to the
ground And I warn you and fore warn
you of these things if you do not repent
yes councellors, High Priest and Elders
Here in the camp of Israel will say I will
de damned if I will pay my tithing or if
I will do this or that, if God was like man
He would Hurl you down to Hell & let
you lie and welter there a thousand
years and his mercy ownly keeps you out
there are many Here that are corrupt and
rotton at the core and I have no more
fellowship for them than I have for John C Bennett if I fellowship these
things it will drag me down to Hell with
you and I will not do it brother Joseph
being a vary merciful man bore with
these things untill it took his life but
I will not do it men get led away by
degrees untill the devil gets possession of
there tabernacle and they are led captive
at the will of the devil And now I say
that those who are calculating to continue
in wickedness and serve the devil had better
go no further with this camp they had better
go to Missouri and spend the rest of ther
time with the gentiles for I can swear
to them if they go with us & continue
there wickedness there Heads shall
be served from theie tabernacles and the
devils that are in them shall go and
have no tabernacles to dwell in the
truth of the matter is there are many
places we pass through that have been the
slaughter ground of the ancient Nephites
and Lamanites and the spirits of Devils are
hovering around it and if you are not on
your guard they will enter you and lead
you captive at their will for if you are
not governed by the spirit of God you will
be by the spirit of the devil, and if you
are governed by the spirit of God while
in such places and they cannot enter
any of you they will try to enter your
cattle, your beast, for they want to enter
some tabernacle as they did the swine in
ancient days. I had rather go to the
mountains with the Twelve alone and
not to have another soul with us than
to have those who will not be subject
to the Priesthood but practice wickedness
and serve the devil for if we continue
with this company and they do not
repent the righteous will fall with the
wicked. There are people now in this camp
who are stealing hay and wood and I know
who they are will I fellowship them no
I will not and because we know who is
guilty of wickedness they think we are
fellowshiping them and doing the same
ourselves but it is not so and Joseph suffered
much from the same cause because He
knew of the rascality and wickedness
His enemies and many of the saints thought
He was guilty of it himself the truth of
the matter is those who are leading the
House of Israel while in the path of there
duty know the wickedness that is among
the people it cannot be hid from them
for they are in vision all the time.
I will now look a little upon the other
side of the question I will say However
that if we are a mind to be subject to
the will of the deveil, Death, Hell and the
grave we may be & bow down to it all
the day long or we may have perfect
power and triumph over it. who am I
surrounded by, by men who arhave entered
into covenant with God, have recieved
endowments in the temple and are called
to be saviors upon mount Zion, to save who
our Fathers and Israel clear back to Father Adam who are still lying in there graves
and waiting for the redemption of there
bodies through your instrumentality, then
will you curs, swear, lie, steal, commit Adultery
and take the name of God in vain putty
saviors you would be, O shame. God and
Angels would blush at such conduct. then
repent and do the work appointed yoo
many men are overtaken in a fault desire
to repent and turn to God shall we cast
such away Nay but bear with them
as God bears with us we cannot be sanctifyed
all at once, but have to be tried and placed
in all kinds of shapes and proven to the
utmost to see whether we will serve the Lord
unto the end so that we may be safe when
we come into the Celestial Kingdom of God
and not do as Lucipher did the first time
an oppertunity is offered rebel against
God and the Council of Heaven and be hurled
down to Hell in a manner that you could not
be redeemed at all and you must not sin
murmur and complain while in the midst
of your trials because you have been mobed and
tried even to the utmost it is no excuse for
you to commit a wicked deed take the name of
God in vain, or to do any evil, now all of
you quit it repent and turn to God and you
shall be blessed notwithstanding I have
thus reproved you I consider you the best
people as a body there is on the earth and
if there was any better I would go to
them and take you with them that
desired to go. In speaking of the redemption
of our dead I would say there are millions that
died from the days of Adam to Christ that are
waiting for there bodies to be reaised but
few arose in comparison to the Number at the resurrrection of Christ and they were
some that had the priesthood or fulness of
it sealed upon them After making many
other usful remarks He closed by blessing
the people believing they would repent
The remarks of president Young made a
deep impression upon the congregation
and I trust there will spediyly be a refermation
in the camp of Israel
I also met in council in the evening
with the Twelve High council and
Bishop And Herd the report of the
Bishops of each ward and other busines
attended to. The following is a true report
of the camp of Israel in this city called winterquarters on this 20th Day of Dec
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The following are some of the important words
that flowed from President Youngs lips as he
addressed the people and called upon them
loudly to repent he said you must stop your
swearing, you must stop your cheating, you must
stop your lying, you must stop your stealing
you must stop your horedoms you must
stop your back biteings, speaking evil of the
Twelve speaking evil of me, you must stop
these things & put away your wickedness
or you will be damned, you will be destroyed
you will be visited by pestilence and plague
and by the sword, and you will fall to the
ground and I warn you and fore warn
you of these things if you do not repent
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Autobiography Volume 2 circa 1865
on the .
The following is a true report:
Total number of souls 3483
Sick persons 334
Well men 502
Sick men 117
Absent men 138
Policemen 19
Woman whose husbands were in the Mormon Bataltallion of the United States army 53
Widows 75
Waggons in Camp 814
Horses 145
Mules 29
Yokes of oxen 388 1/2
Cows 463
cords of wood drawn 83 3/4
Events
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