Sunday Morning, .
We are glad to see the brethren
return home from their long missions
or short ones. We are glad to greet
them, to hear them talk, to see their
faces, and to hear their testimony that
the Lord has been with them. These
things are a pleasure to us who re-
main here in Zion. There are a
multiplicity of evidences that God is
with this people, and that the Lord
has been with his Elders, wherever
they have been, from the beginning
of this work.
There has been something peculiar
connected with the Elders of this
Church from the beginning. You
may take the rest of the world, poli-
tically, temporally, spiritually, or any
other way; and there never has been
such an example in the eyes of hea-
ven, earth, or hell as has been in the
Elders of this Church, in preaching
this Gospel to the nations of the
earth. The hand of God has been
in the work from the beginning, and
it is in it yet; and the hand of the
Lord has been with them to succour
them all the time. The revelations
given from heaven, through Joseph,
concerning the Elders, have been
fulfilled to the very letter.
There are many things that are
consoling; and one is, to know that
the Lord is with us—that he does
reveal his mind and will in the ordi-
nances of the house of God, and
through the administration of bles-
sings, whether by Patriarchs, or by
the Twelve Apostles, or in the endow-
ments. We find those blessings are
fulfilled to the very letter.
The brethren to-day have spoken
in reference to the blessings that are
given to our brethren when they go
out on their missions to the various
nations of the earth. I remember
the day very well when we blessed those
missionaries that went to India and to
Europe; and I must say that I never
had such a variety of feelings as I had
at that time.
In blessing brother Luddington,
I recollect that I was mouth, and I
well remember that I could see
nothing but seas, waves, and storms.
The seas appeared to be heaped up,
and I knew that he was going to see
storms and be exposed to troubles
and dangers. But there was one
thing that we did bless those brethren
with that I rejoice in, and that is
that they should return home again.
Well, our words have all been ful-
filled to the very letter, and this gives
us consolation. If we go forth, and
have the Priesthood and Apostleship
upon us, the Holy Spirit of God,
though it may not be visible,
does dictate to us; and it is so in
ordaining: it is so in going to battle
against the nations of the earth, who
have given their consent to the shed-
ding of the blood of the Prophets.
Brother Brigham feels calm and
serene as a summer's morning; and
in his desire to save Israel he wishes
to save also the lives of our enemies,
if possible. Why is he so calm and
