The Holy Ghost is only given to men through their obedience to the Gospel of Christ; and

This gift and principle of faith is neces- sary for the Saints in every age of the world to enable them to build up the kingdom of God and perform the work required of them. All that the ancients did was by faith.

All the labors that we have performed from that day until the present have been by faith, and we, as Latter-day Saints, should seek to cherish and grow in this principle, that we may have faith in every revelation and promise and in every word of the Lord, that has been given in the Bible, Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants, for they will surely come to pass as the Lord God lives

When the members of Zion's Camp were called, many of us had never beheld each other's faces; we were strangers to each other and many had never seen the prophet. We had been scattered abroad, like corn sifted in a seive, throughout the nation. We were young men, and were called upon in that early day to go up and redeem Zion, and what we had to do we had to do by faith. We assembled together from the various States at Kirtland and went up to redeem Zion, in fulfilment of the commandment of God unto us. God accepted our works as He did the works of Abraham.

We had the privilege of beholding the face of the prophet, and we had the privilege of travelling a thousand miles with him, and seeing the workings of the spirit of God with him, and the rev- elations of Jesus Christ unto him and the fulfilment of those revelations.

As the time drew nigh for the accomplishment of this work, the question arose, "What is to be done?" Here is a revelation commanding the Twelve to be in Far West on the 26th day of April, to lay the Corner stone of the Temple there; it had to be fulfilled. The Missourians had sworn by all the Gods of eternity that if every other revelation was given through Jo- seph Smith were fulfilled, that should not be, for the day and date being given they declared that it should fail. The general feeling in the Church, so far as I know, was that, under the circumstances it was impossible to accomplish the work; and the Lord would accept the will for the deed. This was the feeling of Father Smith, the father of the Prophet. Joseph was not with us, he was in chains in Missouri, for his re- ligion. When President Young asked the question of the Twelve, "Brethren, what will you do about this?" The reply was: "The Lord has spoken and it is for us to obey." We felt that the Lord God had given en the commandment and we had faith to go forward and accomplish it, feeling that it was His business whether we lived or died in its accomplishment.

We went to England, and we baptized, in the year 1840, something like seven thousand peo- ple, and established churches in almost all the principal cities of the kingdom.

As I have often remarked, the Gods, the Angels, the whole heavens, all the good men, all the spirits of the just that dwell in the eternal world are watching with vast in- terest the labors of this people.

But behold and lo, the na- tions of the earth awoke and found that Zion had fled! The Lord took it to Himself; took it away from the earth. The people were righteous; they had become sanctified and the Lord took them away out of the power of the wicked.

This arch enemy of God and man, called the devil, the "Son of the Morning," who dwells here on the earth, is a personage of great power; he has great influence and knowledge. He understands that if this kingdom, which He rebelled against in Heaven, prevails on the earth, there will be no dominion here for him. He has great influence over the children of men; he la- bors continually to destroy them. He la- bored to destroy them in Heaven; he la- bored to destroy the works of God in Heaven, and he had to be cast out. He is here, mighty among the children of men. There is a vast number of fallen spirits, cast out with him, here on the earth. They do not die and disappear; they have not bodies only as they enter the tabernacles of men. They have not organized bodies, and are not to be seen with the sight of the eye. But there are many evil spirits amongst us, and they labor to overthrow the Church and kingdom of God.

Joseph Smith was what he professed to be, a prophet of God, a seer and revelator. He laid the foundation of this church and kingdom, and lived long enough to deliver the keys of the kingdom to the elders of Israel, unto the Twelve Apostles. He spent the last winter of his life, some three or four months, with the quorum of the Twelve teaching them. It was not merely a few hours ministering to them the ordinances of the Gospel; but he spent day after day, week after week and month after month, teaching them and a few others the things of the kingdom of God. Said he, during that period, "I now rejoice. I have lived until I have seen this burden, which has rested on my shoulders, rolled on to the shoulders of other men; now the keys of the kingdom are planted on the earth to be taken away no more for ever."

It startles men when they hear the Elders of Israel tell about the kingdoms of this world becoming the kingdom of our God and His Christ. They say it is trea- son for men to teach that the kingdom Dan- iel saw is going to be set up, and bear rule over the whole earth. Is it treason for God Almighty to govern the earth? Who made it? God, did He not? Who made you? God, if you have any eternal Father. Well whose right is it to rule and reign over you and the earth? It does not belong to the devil, nor to men. It has never been given to men yet; it has never been given to the nations. It belongs solely to God and He is coming to rule and reign over it. When will that be? It may not be perfected un- til Christ comes in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory to reward every man according to the deeds done in the body. That kingdom, the germ of which is planted here, will continue to grow and will never be overthrown.

This is the work we have to perform. It is a good work, a great work, a glorious work, and one in which the Latter-day Saints should rejoice, for it confers upon them the privilege of being instruments in the hands of God of helping to build up His kingdom on the earth. This should give us joy, and the promises made to us in con- nection with this work ought to sustain us and give us hope, joy, and consolation.

I have been happy since I formed the acquaintance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: I was never satisfied until I found the Lat- ter-day Saints. In my boyhood I could read in the Bible and New Testament of a people who had power with God, who had the gifts and graces, who could command the elements and they obeyed them; who had power to heal the sick, and had the gifts of the Holy Ghost imparted unto them by God himself. That was the kind of religion I always desired to live to see. I desired to live to see a prophet and an Apostle, or some man who was inspired of God who could teach me the way to be saved. I have lived to see that day. I rejoice in it for I know it is true. I know this work is true. I know it is the kingdom of God, as you do, and as all men do who have received the testimony of the Holy Spirit and have been faithful for themselves.

As to President Young his labors have been with us. It has been remarked some -times, by certain individuals, that President Young has said in public that he was not a prophet nor the son of a prophet. I have traveled with him since 1833 or the spring of 1834; I have travelled a good many thou- sand miles with him and have heard him preach a great many thousand ser- mons; but I have never heard him make that remark in my [l]ife. He is a prophet, I am a prophet, you are, and anybody is a prophet who has the testi- mony of Jesus Christ, for that is the spirit of prophecy. The Elders of Israel are pro- phets. A prophet is not so great as an apostle. Christ has set in his Church, first, apostles; they hold the keys of the kingdom of God. Any man who has travelled with President Young knows he is a prophet of God. He has foretold a great many things that have come to pass. All the Saints who are well acquainted with him know that he is governed and controlled by the power of God and the revelations of Jesus Christ.

When any man speaks as he is moved upon by the Holy Ghost, that is the word of God to the people; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, not one jot or tittle of the word of God will fall unfulfilled. I care not whether it be by His own voice out of the heavens; by the ministration of angels; by the voice of a prophet, or by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost through His servants, it is the word of God to the people; it is truth and it will have its effect and fulfillment.

I wish eternal life. I want salvation. This is the object of my life; for this I em- braced "Mormonism." This is the princi- ple that has sustained me from the time I entered this church and kingdom.

What joy, consolation and satisfaction it will be to the apostles, elders and Saints of God, of this day, who remain true and faith- ful to the end! having become members of the church of the Firstborn, and been val- iant in the testimony of Jesus, when they meet Father Adam, Enoch, Jacob, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jesus and the apostles, how great their joy will be! They labored in their day for the work of God, and their toils are over; we are having our day and our labor. By and by we shall meet and mingle in the eternal world.