people of God in all the word, when
they rise up to testify, and when they
stand forth to teach the Saints, and
to present principles before them
that are calculated to save them if
adhered to, I wish the Saints to
understand that those teachings, or
those precepts have to be received by
us as a people, for they will prove a
savor of life unto life or death unto
death.
I thought of the children of Israel
this morning. Now, says to
them, I have set life and death before
you, choose which you will receive,
and it is just so with us, the way
of life is pointed out and if we
neglect to walk therein, there is
nothing but death stares us in the
face. [Deuteronomy 30:19] Let us stop and reflect a
moment—let us see whether it is best
for us to receive life or death.
Brethren, you have heard plain truths,
and they have been dictated by the
power of the Holy Ghost and
by the testimony of Jesus Christ,
and now is the time for you to
decide whom ye will serve. When
I used to hear the Prophet ,
and when I hear , or
, or , or
the Twelve Apostles, or any other
men, if they speak by the and
power of God, and they tell us thus
saith the Lord, so and so will come
to pass, for instance those who will
feed and clothe these Lamanites and
see to their wants, as our President
has told us, they shall be blessed and
prosper, while those who despise
them shall go down and shall not
stand in the kingdom of God, I
believe that what they say will be
fulfilled. I also believe that which
was said here to-day, viz.: That we
do forget what we are, and we often
forget who we are; we forget, as a
people in these mountains, by what
hand we have been led here, and by
whom we have been governed and
controled since this kingdom has been
organized and the holy Priesthood
committed to man upon the earth.
We become so overcome by the cares
of life that we neglect and forget
our duties, and as the brethren have
remarked with reference to our
brethren and sisters in this place,
they do not realize the responsibility
that rests upon us. Do we realize
the salvation that is to be given to
this people? If we did we would
prize our privileges far more than we
do at the present time. How many of
us who are now in this congregation rea-
lize as we ought the salvation and the
privileges which are granted to us?
Do you appreciate the Priesthood that
is given you, and that the are given to you, and that
the world of mankind are dependent
upon you for salvation? No, not as
you ought. We forget our God and
our prayers, we forget to call upon
God for his Holy Spirit to rest upon
us, that we may live to his honour
and glory. Truly, if the Elders in
this Church and kingdom realized
what is put into their possession, and
that the God of heaven will actually
require an account of our stewardship,
an account of what we have been
doing, and what use we have been
making of the gifts and blessings
which he has bestowed upon us, we
should be more diligent in the per-
formance of all our duties, and we
should often act differently to what
we do, and pursue a different course,
and especially concerning our red
brethren. And I will say to you
brethren who reside in , for
God's sake listen to counsel, and for
the sake of the house of Israel, and
for your own sake listen to the in-
structions of President Young and
carry them into practice. Do not go
away from this stand and let those
things escape your minds, and be
like water spilled upon the ground
which cannot be gathered again, but
receive them as the revelations of
222 JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
the people of God in all the word, when
they rise up to testify, and when they
stand forth to teach the Saints, and
to present principles before them
that are calculated to save them if
adhered to, I wish the Saints to
understand that those teachings, or
those precepts have to be received by
us as a people, for they will prove a
savor of life unto life or death unto
death.
I thought of the children of Israel
this morning. Now, says to
them, I have set life and death before
you, choose which you will receive,
and it is just so with us, the way
of life is pointed out and if we
neglect to walk therein, there is
nothing but death stares us in the
face. Let us stop and reflect a
moment—let us see whether it is best
for us to receive life or death.
Brethren, you have heard plain truths,
and they have been dictated by the
power of the Holy Ghost and
by the testimony of Jesus Christ,
and now is the time for you to
decide whom ye will serve. When
I used to hear the Prophet ,
and when I hear , or
, or , or
the Twelve Apostles, or any other
men, if they speak by the spirit and
power of God, and they tell us thus
saith the Lord, so and so will come
to pass, for instance those who will
feed and clothe these Lamanites and
see to their wants, as our President
has told us, they shall be blessed and
prosper, while those who despise
them shall go down and shall not
stand in the kingdom of God, I
believe that what they say will be
fulfilled. I also believe that which
was said here to-day, viz.:—That we
do forget what we are, and we often
forget who we are; we forget, as a
people in these mountains, by what
hand we have been led here, and by
whom we have been governed and
controled since this kingdom has been
organized and the holy Priesthood
committed to man upon the earth.
We become so overcome by the cares
of life that we neglect and forget
our duties, and as the brethren have
remarked with reference to our
brethren and sisters in this place,
they do not realize the responsibility
that rests upon us. Do we realize
the salvation that is to be given to
this people? If we did we would
prize our privileges far more than we
do at the present time. How many of
us who are now in this congregation realize as we ought the salvation and the
privileges which are granted to us?
Do you appreciate the Priesthood that
is given you, and that the keys of the
kingdom are given to you, and that
the world of mankind are dependent
upon you for salvation? No, not as
you ought. We forget our God and
our prayers, we forget to call upon
God for his Holy Spirit to rest upon
us, that we may live to his honour
and glory. Truly, if the Elders in
this Church and kingdom realized
what is put into their possession, and
that the God of heaven will actually
require an account of our stewardship,
an account of what we have been
doing, and what use we have been
making of the gifts and blessings
which he has bestowed upon us, we
should be more diligent in the performance of all our duties, and we
should often act differently to what
we do, and pursue a different course,
and especially concerning our red
brethren. And I will say to you
brethren who reside in , for
God's sake listen to counsel, and for
the sake of the house of Israel, and
for your own sake listen to the instructions of President Young and
carry them into practice. Do not go
away from this stand and let those
things escape your minds, and be
like water spilled upon the ground
which cannot be gathered again, but
receive them as the revelations of