I am requested to get up and address you a
short time. I do not know that I will be able to
make this large assembly of people hear me this
morning, but I will do the best I can to accom-
plish it. I feel that it is a very good sign to see
so many people out to meeting, it seems as though
they felt interested in meeting together to receive
instructions; to see as crowded a house as this is
this morning is a proof that there is an increasing
interest resting upon the people to hear the word of
the Lord and receive instructions from the servants
of God, and I do hope, brethren and sisters, that
what instructions you do receive you will prize,
lay it up, and practice it whether it be much or
little.
I realize that the salvation of this people does
not depend upon the great amount of teaching,
instruction or revelation that is given unto them,
but their salvation depends more upon their obey-
ing the commandments of God which are given
unto them, their becoming a doer of the word and
following the counsel of those who are set to
lead them. We certainly have a great amount of
teaching, of instruction, of principle, of revela-
tion and of the word of God which has been
given unto this people; not only that which is re-
corded in the Bible, the Book of Mormon, Book
of Doctrine and Covenants, the Church History,
but we have day by day and night by night in-
structions given unto us, we have a little here and
a little there, a discourse to-day and another to-
night, and we are continually receiving instruc-
tions from the servants of God. We receive in-
structions in our Ward meetings, and almost every
time a few of us meet together we do so for the
purpose of receiving the word of the Lord.
It appears to me then that we are certainly a
favored people, and that we are having a great
deal of important instruction, such as is calcu-
lated to lead us unto salvation. Inasmuch then
as we have been called upon to reform, or to ad-
vance and to grow in the principles of eternal life,
and to become holy in our lives, I hope there is
none of us but that will take hold with our whole
soul and carry out the instruction, and try to
practice it in word and deed. We frequently hear
remarks made about the reformation being over,
and about them having got through with it in this
place or in that place, but the amount of it is
there never will be any end to the reformation, or
in other words, there will never be any end to our
advancement, there will be no end to our improve-
ment nor to our increase, neither in time nor in all
eternity.
If we act up to our privileges as a people we
have no more time to lose or to spend in an un-
profitable manner. We should not act indifferently
with regard to the blessings which the Lord is
offering unto us, and which we have the privilege
of obtaining; we should labor with all our might
to build up the kingdom of God that we may se-
cure unto ourselves every blessing necessary for
our salvation. We live in an important day; it is
a day of mercy and a day of great blessings unto
us as a people and we should appreciate it as
such.
I have reflected a good deal within the last few
months, and especially while sitting and listening
to the teachings of the First Presidency, the
Twelve and the Elders of Israel in their various
spheres and callings in which they are called to
act. In my prayers and reflections I have thought
much of our present position, and I have con-
cluded that if we do not enjoy the Holy Spirit and
if the vision of our mind is not open to compre-
hend the things of God, and the power which is
being made manifest for our benefit and good, that
we are in great danger of suffering loss; we should
see more fully the importance of taking hold with
our might, and then, as br. Kimball says, the Holy
Spirit of God would be diffused through our whole
bodies and through the whole body and church
of Christ.
I feel and see the importance of this work, and
I see the necessity of our walking up to the line
of our duty that we may live and walk daily in
the light of the Lord. I realize that the Presi-
dency of this church stand between this people
and the Lord, for they are the head, and I realize
that God reveals to them his will, and therefore
we should look unto them for light and for infor-
mation. The head may be full of light, of inspir-
ation, revelation and of the mind and will of God,
but if those officers who stand next to them, and
if we ourselves are asleep in relation to our duties,
and are not in a fit state to receive that light, do
you not see that the river is dammed up at the
head? There is no current or medium whereby
the light may flow to the limbs and branches of the body.
I realize that it is the duty, not only of us who
hold the priesthood but of this people generally,
to present ourselves in humility and faith before
the Lord that we may obtain the blessings which
are in readiness for us, and we can obtain all the
light, the knowledge, the faith, the intelligence
and power which is necessary for our salvation by
humility, obedience and submission to the will of
God. We should attend to this in order that our
minds may be prepared and our bodies become fit
subjects for the reception of the Holy Ghost, so
that the Spirit of God may flow freely through the
whole body from the head to the foot. Then when
this is the case we will all see alike, feel alike,
and be alike, and become one as far as the gospel
and kingdom of God is concerned, as the Father
and Son are one, and then this people will begin
to see the position and relationship which we
bear towards each other and towards God, and we
shall feel the importance of attending to our du-
ties and we will willingly step forward and im-
prove our time, make good use of our talents and
obtain the blessings that the Lord has for us to
enjoy; but do you not see that if the people are
asleep and slothful and not living up to their priv-
ileges, and the Spirit of God begins to flow from
the head to the body that it soon becomes ob-
structed and dammed up?
We may trace this principle through the church
and kingdom of God, and you may carry it into
the family government and you will find it as
br. Kimball has already presented it to us. It is
like the vine with its limbs, its branches and its
twigs. This is a very good figure to teach us the
principle of righteousness.
In order for us to be prepared to do the will of
God and be in a position to build up his kingdom
upon the earth, and to carry out his purposes, we
must not only become united and act as the heart
of one man, but we must obtain the Holy Spirit
of God and the mind and will of God concerning
us, and be governed and controlled by it in all of
our movements and acts in order to be safe and
secure unto ourselves salvation.
If I do not enjoy the Holy Spirit there is some-
thing the matter, and I should labor until that is
removed, for I consider that to be the first turn-
ing key, and we should do this to prove that we
are honest before the Lord, and that we desire to
do right in our minds and in our hearts. Yet
as I have said before unless that Spirit is with us
we do not know whether we are doing right or
wrong.
-[Prest. Kimball: Shut that door and let it re-
main so, for I tell you there is no one can enjoy
the peaceful influence of the Holy Spirit where
there is confusion; and I am sure this congrega-
tion cannot while that door is going clickitty-
clack.]-
As I was remarking, unless we do obtain the
Holy Spirit we are in danger every step we take,
we are not safe neither are we in a saveable con-
dition to build up the kingdom of God or do his
work. I consider that the Lord requires this at
the hand of every man and woman in Israel, every
Latter Day Saint, that we first obtain the Holy
Spirit then bring forth the fruits of it unto salva-
tion, then you will see this people keep their
covenants and obey the commandments of God;
this is the duty of all of us, and we should live
our religion and follow its dictates. When this is
done you will see this people awake and bring
forth works of righteousness, then they will have
faith and they will have power, and rise up and
the power and glory of God will be made mani-
fest through such instruments as the Lord has
chosen in this dispensation upon the earth, into
whose hands He has committed the Holy Priest-
hood.
Ask any people, nations, kingdoms or genera-
tions of men the question and they will tell you
they are seeking for happiness, but how are
they seeking for it? Take the greatest portion
of mankind as an ensample and how are they
seeking for happiness? By serving the devil as
fast as they can, and almost the last Being or
thing that the children of men worship, and the
last Being whose laws they want to keep are the
laws of the God of heaven. They will not wor-
ship God nor honor his name, nor keep his laws,
but blaspheme his name from day to day, and
nearly all the world are seeking for happiness by
committing sins, breaking the law of God and
blaspheming his name and rejecting the only
source whence happiness flows.
If we really understood that we could not ob-
tain happiness by walking in the paths of sin and
breaking the laws of God, we should then see the
folly of it; every man and every woman would
see that to obtain happiness we should go to work
and perform the works of righteousness, and do
the will of our Father in heaven, for we shall re-
ceive at his hand all the happiness, blessing, glory,
salvation, exaltation and eternal lives that we ever
do receive either in time or eternity.
We should understand that we should not de-
ceive ourselves in this matter, for if we deceive
ourselves we shall suffer the loss. We may just
as well search our own hearts, and at once re-
solve that we will do the works of righteousness,
honor our Father in heaven, do our duty to God
and man, take hold and build up the kingdom of
God, and we will then understand that in order
to obtain happiness and satisfy the immortal soul
in a fulness of glory that man must abide a celes-
tial law and be quickened by a portion of the ce-
lestial Spirit of God; and we will also understand
that to commit sin, break the law of God and
blaspheme his name, will bring sorrow and misery
and it will bring death both temporally and spirit-
ually. If we walk in the paths of unrighteousness,
we grieve the Holy Spirit and grieve our brethren
and injure ourselves.
Again, I wish to say a few words upon the
blessings to be obtained by what we do, the labors
we perform, the work we are called upon to do
in paying our tithing, in building temples, and in
doing those things that are required of us. These
are things that are for our own benefit and good,
these, with other subjects have been impressed
upon my mind for some weeks past, and it does
appear to me that the people have not understood
these things in their proper light.
Some of the people have looked upon the law
of tithing as a kind of tax and burthen laid upon
them, but who is it for? Our tithing, our labor,
and all that we do in the kingdom of God, who is
it all for? The tithing is not to exalt the Lord, or
feed or clothe him, he has had his endowments
long ago; it is thousands and millions of years
since he received his blessings, and if he had not
received them we could not give them to him for
he is far in advance of us. I want the brethren
to understand this one thing, that our tithing, our
labor, our works are not for the exaltation of the
Almighty, but they are for us. Not but what
the Lord is pleased to see us obey his command-
ments, because by doing this it will place us in a
position that will fulfil and accomplish the object
of our creation, and bring about the end designed
by our coming to take tabernacles here in the
flesh. Again, when we do wrong the Lord knows
we shall inherit sorrow and misery if we con-
tinue in that wrong. Then I say, brethren, let
us understand this as it is and we shall do well.
In paying our tithing, in obeying every law that
is given to exalt us and to do us good, it is all for
our individual benefit and the benefit of our chil-
dren, and it is not of any particular benefit to the
Lord, only as he is pleased in the faithfulness of
his children and desires to see them walk in the
path which leads to salvation and eternal life.
If we look upon things in this light we shall do
everything cheerfully, and whatever calls are
made upon us we shall gladly respond, and then
the channels will be opened, there will be no ob-
struction in the edification of the body of Christ,
and light and intelligence will flow from the fountain
head unto the people, then when a man speaks
the people will, by their prayers and faith, draw
forth the word of the Lord from him, and they
will have their minds upon the things of God and
not upon everything else as it has been heretofore.
If this people would rise up and do their duty
when men rise before them in this stand to point
out the way of life, the Spirit of the Lord would
reveal the things necessary for the people to un-
derstand, for the faith of the people would draw
them out. All that is required is for the people
to arouse themselves and get the light of God
within them.
Brethren, I do not feel to speak much longer;
I have done what I was required to do—to occu-
py a few moments in opening the meeting this
morning, and there are two of the Presidency here
who will speak to the people and we wish to hear
from them. I will say let us awake to righteous-
ness, and in doing this we will see that there is no
time to go to sleep; this we shall all know when
we come to the end of the race, if not before. We
are now in our alphabet, we are yet engaged in
doing our first works, and there are many lessons
and principles which we have yet to learn before
we get to those who are gone far in the advance
of us and received their reward with the just, and
therefore I say there is no time to be lost. Let us
make the best use of our time, and in doing so I
pray that our minds may be enlightened, that we
may live our religion, that we may grow in grace
and in the knowledge of God from this time
forth, that we may improve the talents we have
received, and that we may be satisfied at the end
of the race, which may God grant for Christ's
sake: Amen.
REMARKS
By Elder Wilford Woodruff, Tabernacle, Sunday, January 25, 1857.
REPORTED BY J. B. LONG.
I am requested to get up and address you a
short time. I do not know that I will be able to
make this large assembly of people hear me this
morning, but I will do the best I can to accomplish it. I feel that it is a very good sign to see
so many people out to meeting, it seems as though
they felt interested in meeting together to receive
instructions; to see as crowded a house as this is
this morning, is a proof that there is an increasing
interest resting upon the people to hear the word of
the Lord and receive instructions from the servants
of God, and I do hope, brethren and sisters, that
what instructions you do receive, you will prize,
lay it up, and practise it, whether it be much
or little.
I realize that the salvation of this people does
not depend upon the great amount of teaching,
instruction, or revelation that is given unto them,
but their salvation depends more upon their obeying the commandments of God which are given
unto them, their becoming a doer of the word, and
following the counsel of those who are set to
lead them. We certainly have a great amount of
teaching, of instruction, of principle, of revelation, and of the word of God, which has been
given unto this people; not only that which is recorded in the Bible, the Book of Mormon, Book
of Doctrine and Covenants, the Church History,
but we have day by day, and night by night, instructions given unto us, we have a little here and
a little there, a discourse to-day and another tonight, and we are continually receiving instructions from the servants of God. We receive instructions in our Ward meetings, and almost every
time a few of us meet together, we do so for the
purpose of receiving the word of the Lord.
It appears to me then that we are certainly
a favoured people, and that we are having a great
deal of important instruction, such as is calculated to lead us unto salvation. Inasmuch then
as we have been called upon to reform, or to advance and to grow in the principles of eternal life,
and to become holy in our lives, I hope there is
none of us but that will take hold with our whole
soul and carry out the instruction, and try to
practise it in word and deed. We frequently hear
remarks made about the reformation being over,
and about their having got through with it in this
place or in that place, but the amount of it is
there never will be any end to the reformation, or
in other words, there will never be any end to our
advancement, there will be no end to our improvement nor to our increase, neither in time nor in all
eternity.
If we act up to our privileges as a people, we
have no more time to lose or to spend in an unprofitable manner. We should not act indifferently
with regard to the blessings which the Lord is
offering unto us, and which we have the privilege
of obtaining; we should labour with all our might
to build up the kingdom of God, that we may secure unto ourselves every blessing necessary for
our salvation. We live in an important day; it is
a day of mercy and a day of great blessings unto
us as a people, and we should appreciate it as
such.
I have reflected a good deal within the last few
months, and especially while sitting and listening
to the teachings of the First Presidency, the
Twelve, and the Elders of Israel in their various
spheres and callings in which they are called to
act. In my prayers and reflections I have thought
much of our present position, and I have concluded that if we do not enjoy the Holy Spirit, and
if the vision of our mind is not open to comprehend the things of God, and the power which is
being made manifest for our benefit and good, that
we are in great danger of suffering loss; we should
see more fully theimportance of taking hold with
our might, and then, as br. Kimball says, the Holy
Spirit of God would be diffused through our whole
bodies and through the whole body and Church
of Christ.
I feel and see the importance of this work, and
I see the necessity of our walking up to the line
of our duty, that we may live and walk daily in
the light of the Lord. I realize that the Presidency of this church stand between this people
and the Lord, for they are the head, and I realize
that God reveals to them His will, and therefore
we should look unto them for light and for information. The head may be full of light, of inspiration, revelation and of the mind and will of God,
but if those officers who stand next to them, and
if we ourselves are asleep in relation to our duties,
and are not in a fit state to receive that light, do
you not see that the river is dammed up at the
head? There is no current or medium whereby
the light may flow to the limbs and branches of the body.
I realize that it is the duty, not only of us who
hold the Priesthood but of this people generally,
to present ourselves in humility and faith before
the Lord, that we may obtain the blessings which
are in readiness for us, and we can obtain all the
light, the knowledge, the faith, the intelligence
and power which is necessary for our salvation by
humility, obedience and submission to the will of
God. We should attend to this in order that our
minds may be prepared and our bodies become fit
subjects for the reception of the Holy Ghost, so
that the Spirit of God may flow freely through the
whole body from the head to the foot. Then when
this is the case we will all see alike, feel alike,
and be alike, and become one as far as the Gospel
and kingdom of God is concerned, as the Father
and Son are one, and then this people will begin
to see the position and relationship which we
bear towards each other and towards God, and we
shall feel the importance of attending to our duties and we will willingly step forward and improve our time, make good use of our talents and
obtain the blessings that the Lord has for us to
enjoy; but do you not see that if the people are
asleep and slothful and not living up to their privileges, and the Spirit of God begins to flow from
the head to the body that it soon becomes obstructed and dammed up?
We may trace this principle through the Church
and kingdom of God, and you may carry it into
the family government, and you will find it as
br. Kimball has already presented it to us. It is
like the vine with its limbs, its branches and
its twigs. This is a very good figure to teach us the
principle of righteousness.
In order for us to be prepared to do the will of
God and be in a position to build up his kingdom
upon the earth, and to carry out his purposes, we
must not only become united and act as the heart
of one man, but we must obtain the Holy Spirit
of God and the mind and will of God concerning
us, and be governed and controlled by it in all of
our movements and acts in order to be safe and
to secure unto ourselves salvation.
If I do not enjoy the Holy Spirit, there is something the matter, and I should labour until that is
removed, for I consider that to be the first turning key, and we should do this to prove that we
are honest before the Lord, and that we desire to
do right in our minds and in our hearts. Yet
as I have said before unless that Spirit is with us
we do not know whether we are doing right
or wrong.
[Prest. Kimball: Shut that door and let it remain so, for I tell you there is no one can enjoy
the peaceful influence of the Holy Spirit where
there is confusion; and I am sure this congregation cannot while that door is going clickittyclack.]
As I was remarking, unless we do obtain the
Holy Spirit we are in danger every step we take,
we are not safe neither are we in a condition to build up the kingdom of God or do His
work. I consider that the Lord requires this at
the hand of every man and woman in Israel, every
Latter Day Saint, that we first obtain the Holy
Spirit then bring forth the fruits of it unto salvation, then you will see this people keep their
covenants and obey the commandments of God;
this is the duty of all of us, and we should live
our religion and follow its dictates. When this is
done, you will see this people awake and bring
forth works of righteousness, then they will have
faith and they will have power, and rise up and
the power and glory of God will be made manifest through such instruments as the Lord has
chosen in this dispensation upon the earth, into
whose hands He has committed the Holy Priesthood.
Ask any people, nations, kingdoms or generations of men the question and they will tell you
they are seeking for happiness, but how are
they seeking for it? Take the greatest portion
of mankind as an ensample and how are they
seeking for happiness? By serving the devil as
fast as they can, and almost the last Being or
thing that the children of men worship, and the
last Being whose laws they want to keep are the
laws of the God of heaven. They will not worship God nor honour his name, nor keep his laws,
but blaspheme his name from day to day, and
nearly all the world are seeking for happiness by
committing sins, breaking the law of God and
blaspheming his name and rejecting the only
source whence happiness flows.
If we really understood that we could not obtain happiness by walking in the paths of sin and
breaking the laws of God, we should then see the
folly of it, every man and every woman would
see that to obtain happiness we should go to work
and perform the works of righteousness, and do
the will of our Father in heaven, for we shall receive at his hand all the happiness, blessing, glory,
salvation, exaltation and eternal lives that we ever
do receive either in time or eternity.
We should understand that we should not deceive ourselves in this matter, for if we deceive
ourselves we shall suffer the loss. We may just
as well search our own hearts, and at once resolve that we will do the works of righteousness,
honor our Father in heaven, do our duty to God
and man, take hold and build up the kingdom of
God, and we will then understand that in order
to obtain happiness and satisfy the immortal soul
in a fulness of glory that man must abide a celestial law and be quickened by a portion of the celestial Spirit of God; and we will also understand
that to commit sin, break the law of God and
blaspheme his name, will bring sorrow and misery
and it will bring death both temporally and spiritually. If we walk in the paths of unrighteousness,
we grieve the Holy Spirit and grieve our brethren
and injure ourselves.
192 - 193Again, I wish to say a few words upon the
blessings to be obtained by what we do, the labors
we perform, the work we are called upon to do
in paying our tithing, in building temples, and in
doing those things that are required of us. These
are things that are for our own benefit and good,
these, with other subjects have been impressed
upon my mind for some weeks past, and it does
appear to me that the people have not understood
these things in their proper light.
Some of the people have looked upon the law
of tithing as a kind of tax and burthen laid upon
them, but who is it for? Our tithing, our labor,
and all that we do in the kingdom of God, who is
it all for? The tithing is not to exalt the Lord, or
feed or clothe him, he has had his endowments
long ago; it is thousands and millions of years
since he received his blessings, and if he had not
received them, we could not give them to him, for
he is far in advance of us. I want the brethren
to understand this one thing, that our tithing, our
labour, our works are not for the exaltation of the
Almighty, but they are for us. Not but what
the Lord is pleased to see us obey his commandments, because by doing this it will place us in a
position that will fulfil and accomplish the object
of our creation, and bring about the end designed
by our coming to take tabernacles here in the
flesh. Again, when we do wrong the Lord knows
we shall inherit sorrow and misery if we continue in that wrong. Then I say, brethren, let
us understand this as it is and we shall do well.
In paying our tithing, in obeying every law that
is given to exalt us and to do us good, it is all for
our individual benefit and the benefit of our children, and it is not of any particular benefit to the
Lord, only as he is pleased in the faithfulness of
his children and desires to see them walk in the
path which leads to salvation and eternal life.
If we look upon things in this light we shall do
every thing cheerfully, and whatever calls are
made upon us we shall gladly respond, and then
the channels will be opened, there will be no obstruction in the edification of the body of Christ,
and light and intelligence will flowfrom the fountain
head unto the people, then when a man speaks
the people will, by their prayers and faith, draw
forth the word of the Lord from him, and they
will have their minds upon the things of God and
not upon everything else as it has been heretofore.
If this people would rise up and do their duty
when men rise before them in this stand to point
out the way of life, the Spirit of the Lord would
reveal the things necessary for the people to understand, for the faith of the people would draw
them out. All that is required is for the people
to arouse themselves and get the light of God
within them.
Brethren, I do not feel to speak much longer;
I have done what I was required to do -- to occupy a few moments in opening the meeting this
morning, and there are two of the Presidency here
who will speak to the people and we wish to hear
from them. I will say let us awake to righteousness, and in doing this we will see that there is no
time to go to sleep; this we shall all know when
we come to the end of the race, if not before. We
are now in our alphabet, we are yet engaged in
doing our first works, and there are many lessons
and principles which we have yet to learn before
we get to those who are gone far in the advance
of us and received their reward with the just, and
therefore I say there is no time to be lost. Let us
make the best use of our time, and in doing so I
pray that our minds may be enlightened, that we
may live our religion, that we may grow in grace
and in the knowledge of God from this time
forth, that we may improve the talents we have
received, and that we may be satisfied at the end
of the race, which may God grant for Christ's
sake: Amen.
