Discourse 1874-05-03
ELDER WILFORD WOODRUFF
Said he had felt, for a long time, the
need of a change in Zion. He believed
the time had come when we must pre-
pare for greater usefulness in the king-
dom of God. He knew it would take
more to propere [prepare] the people for union in
temporal things, than it had in spiritual
things. There must be a unity of pur-
pose in faith, spirit, labor and every-
thing, before we shall be prepared to
meet the Zion of God which is to come
down from heaven. He believed the
whole world was getting ripe for the
harvest, and a great change must take
place among the Saints, that they might
be able to do the work assigned them.
The question arises, are the blessings
promised in the gospel, of more worth
than the property which we are made
stewards over? Was it going to take
away anything we possess if we conse-
crate it all to God? No. It would add
to it. But we must beware of pride lest
we become like the Nephites of old. We
must stop bringing in from the East and
West things we could produce for our-
selves. This was a suicidal policy. Let
the Lord rule and we obey; and if we
enter into the order of union, there was
no fear that we should be deprived of
anything we need. He had no doubt
Prest. Young had introduced this order
just as soon as the hearts of the people
were prepared for it; and went on to
show how the principles of the gospel
had been revealed, gradually, as fast as
the people were prepared to receive
them. This order would prevail and the
spirit of it would flow like the waves of
the sea, till it reached every settlement.
The spirit of God would bear record of
the truth of it. Babylon was bound to
fall, and if we stay as we are, depending
on Babylon for necessaries, we would
have to go without. In this Order, he
meant to be ready to go and come just
as he was required, and he considered
this the duty of every member of it.
The Relief Society could do a great deal
more than they had done, organizing
themselves for the production of things
they and their families need. If this is
the Zion of God, he would say let us
unite to build it up in the way the Lord
had appointed.
