took our axes and cleared some land
for . I was strongly impressed
three times to go up and warn Father
. At last I did so, accor-
ding to the commandment of God to
me. The third time I met with him,
his house seemed to be full of , and I was troubled in
spirit at the manifestation. When
I finished my warning, I left him. He
followed me from his house with the
intention of killing me. I have no
doubt about his intention, for it was
shown to me in vision. When he came
to where I was, he fell dead at my feet,
as if he had been struck with a thun-
derbolt from heaven. I was then a
Priest, but God defended me and pre-
served my life. I speak of this because
it is a principle that has been manifest
in the Church of God in this genera-
tion as well as in others. I had the while holding
the office of a Priest. I had visions
and revelations. I traveled thousands
of miles. I baptized men, though I
could not confirm them because I had
not the authority to do it.
I speak of these things to show that
a man should not be ashamed of any
portion of the Priesthood. Our young
men, if they are Deacons, should labor
to fulfil that office. If they do that,
they may then be called to the office of
a Teacher, whose duty it is to teach the
people, visit the saints, and see that
there is no evil or iniquity carried on.
God has no respect to persons in this
Priesthood any further than as they
magnify their callings and do their
duty.
It may be called egotism for a man
to talk about himself; but I have a
right to give my experience as you have
a right to give yours; and I will give a
little of mine to my friends, because
I want our young men as well as our
old men to understand that the Lord
is not trifling with us at all. Brother
has told you that it is the
right of all the Latter-day Saints to
have revelation. That is true. There
is not a man, woman or child who has
received the gospel, but has the right
to receive revelation for himself or her-
self, as well as the Presidency of the
Church.
After traveling quite a time in , , and
other places, I was ordained an Elder,
by , who was then pre-
siding in the southern country. We
labored together there for about a
year. After that, I was ordained to the
second quorum of Seventies, under
the hands of . I had
many blessings pronounced upon my
head by these Elders of Israel—similar
to those that were given to me by
Father , the Patriarch,
and by those who administered to me
in the when I re-
ceived my endowments.
Now with regard to the . What is revelation? It
is the inspiration of the to man. said to
Brother in his day:
"Brother Taylor, you watch the im-
pression of the Spirit of God; you watch
the whisperings of that spirit to you;
you carry them out in your life, and it
will become a principle of revelation in
you, and you will know and understand
this spirit and power." This is the key,
the foundation stone of all revelation.
Joseph Smith was full of revelation.
He could translate anything given to
him of God. He could receive revela-
tion without the .
Many of the principal revelations con-
tained in the Doctrine and Covenants
were received without the use of the
Urim and Thummin. They were given
to him by the inspiration of Almighty
God. In my own experience I have
endeavored to get acquainted with that
spirit and to learns its operations. I
have many times had that spirit mani-
fested to me, and if I had not followed
its whisperings to me, I should have
been in my grave long ago, with many
of my companions. A few incidents I
will name.
After I came to these valleys and
returned to , I was
sent to by President .
He wanted me to take my family there
and gather all the Saints of God in
, in , and in the
surrounding regions, and stay there
until I gathered them all. I was there
about two years. While on the road
there, I drove my carriage one evening
into the yard of Brother .
Brother drove a wagon
by the side of mine. I had my
and children in the carriage. After I
turned out my team and had my
supper, I went to bed in the
carriage. I had not been there but a
few minutes when the Spirit said to
me, "Get up and move that carriage."
I told my wife I had to get up and
move the carriage. She said, "What
for?" I said, "I don't know." That
is all she asked me on such occasions;
when I told her I did not know, that
was enough. I got up and moved my
carriage four or five rods and put the
off fore wheel against the corner of
the house. I then looked around me
and went to bed. The same Spirit said,
"Go and move your animals from that
oak tree." They were two hundred
yards from where my carriage was. I
went and moved my horses and put
them in a little hickory grove. I
again went to bed. In thirty min-
utes a whirlwind came up and broke
that oak tree off within two feet from
the ground. It swept over three or
four fences and fell square in that door-
yard, near Brother Orson Hyde's
wagon, and right where mine had
stood. What would have been the
consequences if I had not listened to
that Spirit? Why, myself and wife and
children doubtless would have
been killed. That was the still, small voice
to me—no earthquake, no thunder, no
lightning; but the still, small voice of
the Spirit of God. It saved my life.
It was the spirit of revelation to me.
When I moved the last company of
Saints from the East (there were about
one hundred of them) we arrived at
one day at sundown. We
did not want to stay there, so I went
to the first steamboat that was going to
leave. I saw the captain and engaged
passage for us on that steamer. I had
only just done so when the Spirit said
to me, and that too very strongly,
"Don't go aboard that steamer, nor
your company." Of course, I went
and spoke to the captain and told him
I had made up my mind to wait. Well,
it started and had only got five miles
down the when it took fire and
three hundred persons were burned
to death or drowned. If I had not obeyed
that Spirit and had gone on that
steamer with the rest of the company,
you can see what the result would
have been.
Well, I have had a good deal of
experience in these things in my day
I have learned them so thoroughly
that I dare not disobey that Spirit.
After one Conference, when we had set
apart a good many missionaries, I went
home quite weary, and I said to myself,
I will go and have a rest. Before I
got in my house, the Spirit told me to
take my team and go to my farm.
My wife says, "Where are you going?"
"I am going down to the farm."
"What for?" "I don't know," says I.
I went down to the farm. I found that
the river had broken over and had sur-
rounded my house. The water was two
feet deep around my house. My hogs
were drowning, and my stables were
full. By going there I saved my house
and surroundings and stopped up the
break.
These may be considered small things;
still they show the working of the
spirit. I will now tell you one incident
where I did not obey the , and it came pretty near costing
me my life. I was over at
one December, visiting. On Monday
morning the Spirit said to me, "take
your team and go home." I made up
my mind to do it; but some of my
friends felt anxious that I should stop,
as my visit had been rather short, and
I was persuaded to stop. I stayed un-
til Saturday morning; but I felt uneasy.
That warning of the Spirit rested upon
me to that degree that I felt
condemned, and I told my
friends that I was going home.
I ate an early breakfast that
morning, put my horses in my
wagon, took some hay and grain, and
started for home by way of ,
which was some thirty miles from
there. When I got to , the
Bishop wanted me to stay and hold
meeting there on Sunday. "No,"
says I, "I have already stayed too long
by one week." Well, after I got about
three miles from Woodruff, which is
fifteen miles from Wasatch, I met with
one of the most terrific snowstorms I
ever saw in my life. It was not five
minutes after it commenced before I
could not see the road. I could not
guide my horses at all, so I let them
go where they pleased. They had
been twice over the ground be-
fore. I shut down the wagon cover
and went to praying. I asked
the Lord to forgive me for not obeying
His commandments. At eight o'clock
my horses carried me into Wasatch,
the hubs of the wheels being under the
snow. I think they must have got
there by inspiration. I stayed there
until the Monday night. I made up
my mind then that whenever the
Lord told me to do anything I would
do it.
I speak of this because every man
should get the Spirit of God and then
follow its dictates. This is revelation.
It don't make any difference what the
Spirit tells you to do, it will never tell
you to do anything that is wrong. I
want our young friends, especially, to
be interested in the Gospel. I want
them to be interested in the Church
and Kingdom of God. I want them
to listen to their fathers, and to the
Elders of Israel and those that teach
them, that they may be qualified to
carry out these great and glorious prin-
ciples laid down here in the
took our axes and cleared some land
for . I was strongly impressed
three times to go up and warn Father
. At last I did so, according to the commandment of God to
me. The third time I met with him,
his house seemed to be full of evil
spirits, and I was troubled in
spirit at the manifestation. When
I finished my warning, I left him. He
followed me from his house with the
intention of killing me. I have no
doubt about his intention, for it was
shown to me in vision. When he came
to where I was, he fell dead at my feet,
as if he had been struck with a thunderbolt from heaven. I was then a
Priest, but God defended me and preserved my life. I speak of this because
it is a principle that has been manifest
in the Church of God in this generation as well as in others. I had the administration of angels while holding
the office of a Priest. I had visions
and revelations. I traveled thousands
of miles. I baptized men, though I
could not confirm them because I had
not the authority to do it.
I speak of these things to show that
a man should not be ashamed of any
portion of the Priesthood. Our young
men, if they are Deacons, should labor
to fulfil that office. If they do that,
they may then be called to the office of
a Teacher, whose duty it is to teach the
people, visit the Saints, and see that
there is no evil or iniquity carried on.
God has no respect to persons in this
Priesthood any further than as they
magnify their callings and do their
duty.
It may be called egotism for a man
to talk about himself; but I have a
right to give my experience as you have
a right to give yours; and I will give a
little of mine to my friends, because
I want our young men as well as our
old men to understand that the Lord
is not trifling with us at all. Brother
has told you that it is the
right of all the Latter-day Saints to
have revelation. That is true. There
is not a man, woman or child who has
received the gospel, but has the right
to receive revelation for himself or herself, as well as the Presidency of the
Church.
After traveling quite a time in , , and
other places, I was ordained an Elder, by , who was then presiding in the southern country. We
labored together there for about a
year. After that, I was ordained to the
second quorum of Seventies, under
the hands of . I had
many blessings pronounced upon my
head by these Elders of Israel—similar
to those that were given to me by
Father , the
Patriarch, and by those who administered to me in
the when I received my endowments.
Now with regard to the revelation. What is revelation? It
is the inspiration of the Holy
Ghost to man. said to
Brother in his day:
"Brother Taylor, you watch the impression of the Spirit of God; you watch
the whisperings of that spirit to you;
you carry them out in your life, and it
will become a principle of revelation in
you, and you will know and understand
this spirit and power." This is the key,
the foundation stone of all revelation.
Joseph Smith was full of revelation.
He could translate anything given to
him of God. He could receive revelation without the Urim and Thummin.
Many of the principal revelations contained in the Doctrine and Covenants
were received without the use of the
Urim and Thummin. They were given
to him by the inspiration of Almighty
God. In my own experience I have
endeavored to get acquainted with that
spirit and to learns its operations. I
have many times had that spirit manifested to me, and if I had not followed
its whisperings to me, I should have
been in my grave long ago, with many
of my companions. A few incidents I
will name.
After I came to these valleys and
returned to , I was
sent to by President .
He wanted me to take my family there
and gather all the Saints of God in
, in , and in the
surrounding regions, and stay there
until I gathered them all. I was there
about two years. While on the road
there, I drove my carriage one evening
into the yard of Brother Williams.
Brother drove a wagon
by the side of mine. I had my
and children in the carriage. After I
turned out my team and had my
supper, I went to bed in the
carriage. I had not been there but a
few minutes when the Spirit said to
me, "Get up and move that carriage."
I told my wife I had to get up and
move the carriage. She said, "What
for?" I said, "I don't know." That
is all she asked me on such occasions;
when I told her I did not know, that
was enough. I got up and moved my
carriage four or five rods and put the
off fore wheel against the corner of
the house. I then looked around me
and went to bed. The same Spirit said,
"Go and move your animals from that
oak tree." They were two hundred
yards from where my carriage was. I
went and moved my horses and put
them in a little hickory grove. I
again went to bed. In thirty minutes a whirlwind came up and broke
that oak tree off within two feet from
the ground. It swept over three or
four fences and fell square in that dooryard, near Brother Orson Hyde's
wagon, and right where mine had
stood. What would have been the
consequences if I had not listened to
that Spirit? Why, myself and wife and
children doubtless would have
been killed. That was the still, small voice
to me—no earthquake, no thunder, no
lightning; but the still, small voice of
the Spirit of God. It saved my life.
It was the spirit of revelation to me.
When I moved the last company of
Saints from the East (there were about
one hundred of them) we arrived at
one day at sundown. We
did not want to stay there, so I went
to the first steamboat that was going to
leave. I saw the captain and engaged
passage for us on that steamer. I had
only just done so when the Spirit said
to me, and that too very strongly,
"Don't go aboard that steamer, nor
your company." Of course, I went
and spoke to the captain and told him
I had made up my mind to wait. Well,
it started and had only got five miles
down the river when it took fire and
three hundred persons were burned
to death or drowned. If I had not obeyed
that Spirit and had gone on that
steamer with the rest of the company,
you can see what the result would
have been.
Well, I have had a good deal of
experience in these things in my day.
I have learned them so thoroughly
that I dare not disobey that Spirit.
After one Conference, when we had set
apart a good many missionaries, I went
home quite weary, and I said to myself,
I will go and have a rest. Before I
got in my house, the Spirit told me to
take my team and go to my farm.
My wife says, "Where are you going?"
"I am going down to the farm."
"What for?" "I don't know," says I.
I went down to the farm. I found that
the river had broken over and had surrounded my house. The water was two
feet deep around my house. My hogs
were drowning, and my stables were
full. By going there I saved my house
and surroundings and stopped up the
break.
These may be considered small things;
still they show the working of the
spirit. I will now tell you one incident
where I did not obey the Spirit of
the Lord, and it came pretty near costing
me my life. I was over at
one December, visiting. On Monday
morning the Spirit said to me, "take your
team and go home." I made up
my mind to do it; but some of my
friends felt anxious that I should stop,
as my visit had been rather short, and
I was persuaded to stop. I stayed until Saturday morning; but I felt uneasy.
That warning of the Spirit rested upon
me to that degree that I felt
condemned, and I told my
friends that I was going home.
I ate an early breakfast that
morning, put my horses in my
wagon, took some hay and grain, and
started for home by way of ,
which was some thirty miles from
there. When I got to , the
Bishop wanted me to stay and hold
meeting there on Sunday. "No,"
says I, "I have already stayed too long
by one week." Well, after I got about
three miles from Woodruff, which is
fifteen miles from Wasatch, I met with
one of the most terrific snowstorms I
ever saw in my life. It was not five
minutes after it commenced before I
could not see the road. I could not
guide my horses at all, so I let them
go where they pleased. They had
been twice over the ground before. I shut down the wagon cover
and went to praying. I asked
the Lord to forgive me for not obeying
His commandments. At eight o'clock
my horses carried me into Wasatch,
the hubs of the wheels being under the
snow. I think they must have got
there by inspiration. I stayed there
until the Monday night. I made up
my mind then that whenever the
Lord told me to do anything I would
do it.
I speak of this because every man
should get the Spirit of God and then
follow its dictates. This is revelation.
It doesn't make any difference what the
Spirit tells you to do, it will never tell
you to do anything that is wrong. I
want our young friends, especially, to
be interested in the Gospel. I want
them to be interested in the Church
and Kingdom of God. I want them
to listen to their fathers, and to the
Elders of Israel and those that teach
them, that they may be qualified to
carry out these great and glorious principles laid down here in the Doctrine