and kingdom. And, as I have said,
this responsibility rests not only upon
Prophets and Apostles, but upon
every man and woman who has en-
tered into covenant with him. I
say that we are too near asleep, we
are not half awake to the position
that we occupy before God, and the
responsibilities we are under to him.
We should be on the watch tower.

Who is going to be prepared for
the coming of the Messiah? These
men who enjoy the Holy Ghost and
live under the inspiration of the Al-
mighty, who abide in Jesus Christ
and bring forth fruit to the honor
and glory of God. No other people
will be. There never was a more
infidel generation of Christians on
the face of the earth than there is
to-day. They do not expect that
God will do anything in a temporal
point of view towards the fulfill-
ment of his promises; they are not
looking forward for the establish-
ment of his kingdom, or for the
building up of his Zion on the earth.
Their eyes are closed to these
things, because they have rejected
the light. When Joseph Smith
brought this Gospel to the world,
there was a great deal more faith in
God, a great deal more faith in his
revelations, and, according to the
light they had, a great deal more
pure and undefiled religion than
there is now. We have carried the
Gospel to all Christian nations who
would permit us, and they have
rejected it, and they are under con-
demnation. Our own nation is un-
der condemnation on this account.
This land, North and South America,
is the land of Zion, it is a choice
land—the land that was given by
promise from old father Jacob to his
grandson and his descendants, the
land on which the Zion of God
should be established in the latter
days. We have been fulfilling the
prophecies concerning it, for the
last forty years. We have come up
here and established the kingdom;
True, it is small to-day, it may be
compared to a mustard seed, but as
the Lord our God lives, the little
one will become a thousand, and
the small one a strong nation, and
the Lord Almighty will hasten it
in his own time, and the world will
learn one thing in this generation,
and that is, that when they fight
against Mount Zion, they fight against
the decrees of the Almighty and the
principles of eternal life. [Isaiah 60:22]

I rejoice before God that I have
lived to hear the principles of eter-
nal life proclaimed to the sons of
men; I rejoice that I have lived to
see this people gathered together, I
rejoice in coming to the land of
Zion with the Saints of God. When
we came here twenty-four years ago,
we were a little handful of men,
pioneers; we came to a parched and
barren desert. Since then we have
built up six hundred miles of cities,
towns, villages, gardens, farms and
orchards; and while doing this we
have had to contend with the opposi-
tion of both priest and people. Have
they prevailed? They have not, and
they will not. Why? Because he
who sits in the heavens, the Lord our
God, has decreed certain things and
they will come to pass; because the
Lord is watching over the interests
of this people. He requires us to
work with him, he is at work for us.
It is our duty to build these temples
here—this in Salt Lake City, another
in St. George, in Logan or wherever
they may be needed for the benefit of
the Saints of God in the latter days.
I think many times that many of
us will get to heaven before we shall
want to go there. If we were to go
there to-day, many would meet
their friends in the spirit-world and
it would be a reproach to them, for

THE SIGNS OF THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN, ETC. 279

and kingdom. And, as I have said, this responsiblity rests not only upon Prophets and Apostles, but upon every man and woman who has entered into covenant with him. I say that we are too near asleep, we are not half awake to the position that we occupy before God, and the responsibilities we are under to him. We should be on the watch tower.

Who is going to be prepared for the coming of the Messiah? These men who enjoy the Holy Ghost and live under the inspiration of the Almighty, who abide in Jesus Christ and bring forth fruit to the honor and glory of God. No other people will be. There never was a more infidel generation of Christians on the face of the earth than there is to-day. They do not expect that God will do anything in a temporal point of view towards the fulfillment of his promises; they are not looking forward for the establishment of his kingdom, or for the building up of his Zion on the earth. Their eyes are closed to these things, because they have rejected the light. When Joseph Smith brought this Gospel to the world, there was a great deal more faith in God, a great deal more faith in his revelations, and, according to the light they had, a great deal more pure and undefiled religion than there is now. We have carried the Gospel to all Christian nations who would permit us, and they have rejected it, and they are under condemnation. Our own nation is under condemnation on this account. This land, North and South America, is the land of Zion, it is a choice land--the land that was given by promise from old father Jacob to his grandson and his descendants, the land on which the Zion of God should be established in the latter days. We have been fulfilling the prophecies concerning it, for the last forty years. We have come up here and established the kingdom; True, it is small to-day, it may be compared to a mustard seed, but as the Lord our God lives, the little one will become a thousand, and the small one a strong nation, and the Lord Almighty will hasten it in his own time, and the world will learn one thing in this generation, and that is, that when they fight against Mount Zion, they fight against the decrees of the Almighty and the principles of eternal life.

I rejoice before God that I have lived to hear the principles of eternal life proclaimed to the sons of men; I rejoice that I have lived to see this people gathered together, I rejoice in coming to the land of Zion with the Saints of God. When we came here twenty-four years ago, we were a little handful of men, pioneers; we came to a parched and barren desert. Since then we have built up six hundred miles of cities, towns, villages, gardens, farms and orchards; and while doing this we have had to contend with the opposition of both priest and people. Have they prevailed? They have not, and they will not. Why? Because he who sits in the heavens, the Lord our God, has decreed certain things and they will come to pass; because the Lord is watching over the interests of this people. He requires us to work with him, he is at work for us. It is our duty to build these temples here--this in Salt Lake City, another in St. George, in Logan or wherever they may be needed for the benefit of the Saints of God in the latter days. I think many times that many of us will get to heaven before we shall want to go there. If we were to go there to-day, many would meet their friends in the spirit-world and it would be a reproach to them, for