these valleys every year, people who have
been brought to a knowledge of the truth by
the labors of the Elders that are now before
me. Our brethren have preached the words
of life to millions of people, and many thou-
sands have given heed to their warning voice,
still they are but few compared with the vast
multitudes who have been commanded to of all their sins, be baptized for the of them, and have laid upon
them for the gift of the Holy Ghost. We are
truly blest in the agency which God has given
us to receive or reject whatever is presented
to us, but we should remember that we
shall be held responsible for the use we
make of the teachings of the servants of God.
It does not make any difference how the
Lord makes known his will, whether by the
whisperings of the Holy Spirit, the , or by his own voice; it is
all the same; and he has told us emphatically
that his words shall not pass away, but all
shall be fulfilled which has been spoken of by
the Prophets since the world began. [Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:35]
We have but a little time to labor and to
exert ourselves in this kingdom. Thirty years
have already passed away since the organiza-
tion of this , and we see a numerous
generation rising up before us that have been
born in this Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
Day Saints; it is almost a generation, accord-
ing to the usual reckoning of mankind since
came and conferred the
Aaronic Priesthood upon and
; and the kingdom has kept
growing from that time to the present, perhaps
not as fast as it might have done, if all the El-
ders had been as faithful as our President
has been; but still it is progressing rapidly,
and it is where the Prophet had his eye upon
when he said: "O Zion, that bringest good
tidings, get thee up into the high mountain;
O , that bringest good tidings, lift
up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not
afraid; say unto the cities of behold
your God!" [Joseph Smith-History 1:72] [Isaiah 40:9] How much the Elders have
talked of this and of the little stone cut out
of the mountain without hands, that was to
roll forth until it filled the whole earth. [Daniel 2:44-45##] We
are now fulfilling those predictions; we are
planted here in the mountains in fulfilment of
the promises of the Almighty.
In the early days of this Church, the Lord
told those who were first called to the minis-
try that they were laying the foundation of a
great work, but they knew it not—they did
not then understand the nature of the work to
which they were called; still they felt by the
inspiration of the Almighty, and their minds
were opened to see that they were called to
take part in a great work, called to a high
and holy calling, but still there was a vail
over their eyes so that they could not com-
prehend it in its magnitude and greatness as
we now do. If the Prophet Joseph had arisen
up in 1831, 2, 3, or even 1834, when we went
up to , in the State of —had he then told the people that this
church would be built up and that this peo-
ple would become a great kingdom, and that
the United States would, in less than one gen-
eration, be in the lamentable position that we
now find them, it would have required a
stretch of our faith to have believed him;
our minds were not then open to that extent
that we could fully comprehend the future.
But we can now see that the words of ancient
and modern Prophets are being fulfilled: this
kingdom is rising in these valleys of the
mountains, and it will eventually spread itself
abroad through the length and breadth of
and . We may now
look forward into the great future that lies
before us, and it will require just as much of
a stretch of faith now as it did in the begin-
ning; to look at the kingdom of God upon the
earth, as it is to be built up in this dispensa-
tion, so that the word of the Lord may go
forth from Zion, the servants of God be
clothed with the power of the priesthood to
give counsel and to preside over the nations
of the earth, when the kingdoms of this world
shall become the kingdom of our God and of
his Christ. It is our duty to live in that way
that we can have power to unlock and com-
prehend the mysteries of the kingdom of God,
and we have got this to do in order that we
may see that the Lord is at work among the
nations for his own glory and for the perma-
nent establishment of his own kingdom.
We ought to be enabled to understand that
there is not a single law that has ever been
issued from the great Eloheim but what will
be fulfilled to the letter, and that not one of
those Prophets who have spoken concerning
the kingdom of God in the latter days, and
the overthrow of wickedness and establish-
ment of righteousness, will fail in their pre-
dictions in reference to the dispensation of
the fulness of times. When we look back for
thirty years, we can see the vast change that
has taken place.
With regard to and the wicked
nations of the Gentiles, I will say that all
those things that have been spoken concern-
ing them will be fulfulled [fulfilled]. We profess to be
the children of God, the friends of God, and
if the Lord has not got some friends in
these the valleys of the mountains, I would
like to know where his friends are. I have
spoken upon these things, and in reference to
the position we occupy before the heavens
and before this generation, that we may be
stirred up in our minds and be awake to our
duties. If we can be made sensible of that
which is required of us by our leaders, we
shall go to work and do those things that we
know will be for our benefit and good, and for
the advancement of the cause of the kingdom
of God upon the earth. If we are faithful
through this warfare in which we are engaged
we shall be satisfied with the reward and
with the crown that will be bestowed upon us,
and also with the place that we shall occupy
when we pass from this stage of existence.
I will say then, brethren and sistess [sisters], with
regard to those things we have been exhorted
to attend to by President from day to
day and from time to time, let us attend to
them. He has a desire to see the people in such
a position that will secure to them the favor
and approbation of the Almighty. We ought
to strive to understand our high destiny, to
learn the mind and will of our Father in heav-
en, that the heavens may be opened unto us,
that we may be filled with light, with truth,
and be clothed with the power of God. It is
with this desire and design that our President
calls upon us to lay aside every thing that has
a tendency to prevent us enjoying the spirit
of the Lord, and us comprehending those
great and glorious principles that we are
seeking after. We all ought to make an ex-
ertion, when he makes a request upon us, and
strive to lay aside all those things that are
contrary to the principles of our holy religion,
and then we ought to take hold with him and
back him up, and sustain with him all the
authorities of the church, striving at all times to
do whatever the Lord requires at our hands.
If we do this, we shall be blest; and if we do
not, we shall meet with a loss. Let us strive
to be more attentive to our duties and to listen
to the words of the Lord, remembering that if
we have not got the spirit of the Lord with us
that we have not got the power of God with
us.
Let us lay aside all evil practices, all those
habits which will prevent our communing
with God. We have not yet got power to oc-
cupy a throne and to govern according to the
laws of heaven; of this we are all sensible,
then if these little things have a tendency to
hinder our enjoyments and debase us in the
eyes of the Lord, we ought to lay them aside
and manifest a determination to do the will of
our Father in heaven, and to accomplish that
work which is laid upon us to perform. When
we have any exhortation from those who lead
us, we should ever be ready to carry it out,
remembering that the Lord holds President
Young responsible for the way in which he
manages and directs this kingdom; and, if
we obey him, we shall be blest and prospered;
but if he gives us commandments and we do
not listen to them, the Lord will not hold him
responsible for our acts. I think upon these
things when I hear our leader giving us com-
mandments to do thus and so, and I feel that
I shall loose the spirit of the Lord, if I do not
comply. We have got to rise up as a people,
and have the power of God constantly with
us, or we shall not accomplish that which is
required at our hands, for it requires faith,
temperance, purity, holiness and the power of
God to be with this people, in order to fulfill
our mission and perform the work of God.
When our Prophets and leaders command us
to do a thing, let us obey, and then we shall
gain the victory.
I have often heard it remarked that when we
have had preaching against merchandizing,
that the next day the merchants have taken
three dollars to where they had previously
only taken one. I hope this will not be the
case with those who make a practice of drink-
ing whisky and have been counseled by Presi-
dent Young to let it alone.
Brethren and sisters, I do not feel that I
want to occupy much more of your time, but
before I conclude, I will say that when I do
anything that prevents me from enjoying the
spirit of the Lord, as soon as I ascertain that,
I immediately throw it aside, so that the spirit
of God may govern and control me in every act
of my life. We came here to build up the
kingdom of God, and we should feel the re-
sponsibility that is upon us. This is our
home; and who of us appreciates the bless-
ings bestowed upon us? We should appreci-
ate them a great deal more than we do, if we
were set down in or
for a while, we should appreciate our peaca-
ble home; for here we are not troubled with
any of the difficulties which they experience
in the States. We can meet together and
worship God in peace. It is truly a great
blessing to be assembled in these chambers of
the mountains.
Let us try to prove ourselves worthy of our
high calling as Saints of God. I pray that
the Lord will give us power to lay aside every
thing that is wrong; to magnify our callings
and build up the Kingdom of God. I feel to
ask this blessing in the name of Jesus Christ:
Amen.
these valleys every year, people who have
been brought to a knowledge of the truth by
the labors of the Elders that are now before
me. Our brethren have preached the words
of life to millions of people, and many thousands have given heed to their warning voice
still they are but few compared with the vast
multitudes who have been commanded to repent of all their sins, be baptized for the remission of them, and have hands laid upon
them for the gift of the Holy Ghost. We are
truly blest in the agency which God has given
us to receive or reject whatever is presented
to us, but we should remember that we
shall be held responsible for the use we
make of the teachings of the servants of God.
It does not make any difference how the
Lord makes known his will, whether by the
whisperings of the Holy Spirit, the administration of angels, or by his own voice; it is
all the same; and he has told us emphatically
that his words shall not pass away, but all
shall be fulfilled which has been spoken of by
the Prophets since the world began.
We have but a little time to labour and to
exert ourselves in this kingdom. Thirty years
have already passed away since the organization of this Church, and we see a numerous
generation rising up before us that have been
born in this Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
Day Saints; it is almost a generation, according to the usual reckoning of mankind since
came and conferred the
Aaronic Priesthood upon and
; and the kingdom has kept
growing from that time to the present, perhaps
not as fast as it might have done, if all the Elders had been as faithful as our President
has been; but still it is progressing rapidly,
and it is where the Prophet had his eye upon
when he said: "O Zion, that bringest good
tidings, get thee up into the high mountain;
O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift
up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not
afraid; say unto the cities of Behold
your God!" How much the Elders have
talked of this and of the little stone cut out
of the mountain without hands, that was to
roll forth until it filled the whole earth. We
are now fulfilling those predictions; we are
planted here in the mountains in fulfilment of
the promise of the Almighty.
In the early days of this Church the Lord
told those who were first called to the ministry that they were laying the foundation of a
great work, but they knew it not--they did
not then understand the nature of the work to
which they were called; still they felt by the
inspiration of the Almighty, and their minds
were opened to see that they were called to
take part in a great work, called to a high
and holy calling, but still there was a vail
over their eyes so that they could not comprehend it in its magnitude and greatness as
we now do. If the Prophet Joseph had arisen
up in 1831, 2, 3, or even 1834, when we went
up to , in the State of —had he then told the people that this
church would be built up and that this people would become a great kingdom, and that
the United States would, in less than one generation, be in the lamentable position that we
now find them, it would have required a
stretch of our faith to have believed him;
our minds were not then open to that extent
that we could fully comprehend the future.
But we can now see that the words of the ancient
and modern Prophets are being fulfilled: this
kingdom is rising in these valleys of the
mountains, and it will eventually spread itself
abroad through the length and breadth of
North and South America. We may now
look forward into the great future that lies
before us, and it will require just as much of
a stretch of faith now as it did in the beginning; to look at the kingdom of God upon the
earth, as it is to be built up in this dispensation, so that the word of the Lord may go
forth from Zion, the servants of God be
clothed with the power of the priesthood to
give counsel and to preside over the nations
of the earth, when the kingdoms of this world
shall become the kingdom of our God and of
his Christ. It is our duty to live in that way
that we can have power to unlock and comprehend the mysteries of the kingdom of God,
and we have got this to do in order that we
may see that the Lord is at work among the
nations for his own glory and for the permanent establishment of his own kingdom.
We ought to be enabled to understand that
there is not a single law that has ever been
issued from the great Eloheim but what will
be fulfilled to the letter, and that not one of
those Prophets who have spoken concerning
the kingdom of God in the latter days, and
the overthrow of wickedness and establishment of righteousness, will fail in their predictions in reference to the dispensation of
the fulness of times. When we look back for
thirty years, we can see the vast change that
has taken place.
With regard to Babylon and the wicked
nations of the Gentiles, I will say that all
those things that have been spoken concerning them will be fulfilled. We profess to be
the children of God, the friends of God, and
if the Lord has not got some friends in
these the valleys of the mountains, I would
like to know where his friends are. I have
spoken upon these things, and in reference to
the position we occupy before the heavens
and before this generation, that we may be
stirred up in our minds and be awake to our
duties. If we can be made sensible of that
which is required of us by our leaders, we
shall go to work and do those things that we
know will be for our benefit and good, and for
the advancement of the cause of the kingdom
of God upon the earth. If we are faithful
through this warfare in which we are engaged
we shall be satisfied with the reward and
with the crown that will be bestowed upon us,
and also with the place that we shall occupy
when we pass from this stage of existence.
I will say then, brethren and sisters, with
regard to those things we have been exhorted
to attend to by President from day to
day and from time to time, let us attend to
them. He has a desire to see the people in such
a position that will secure to them the favor
and approbation of the Almighty. We ought
to strive to understand our high destiny, to
learn the mind and will of our Father in heaven, that the heavens may be opened unto us,
that we may be filled with light, with truth,
and be clothed with the power of God. It is
with this desire and design that our President
calls upon us to lay aside every thing that has
a tendency to prevent us enjoying the spirit
of the Lord, and us comprehending those
great and glorious principles that we are
seeking after. We all ought to make an exertion, when he makes a request upon us, and
strive to lay aside all those things that are
contrary to the principles of our holy religion,
and then we ought to take hold with him and
back him up, and sustain with him all the
authorities of the church, striving at all times to
do whatever the Lord requires at our hands.
If we do this, we shall be blest; and if we do
not, we shall meet with a loss. Let us strive
to be more attentive to our duties and to listen
to the words of the Lord, remembering that if
we have not got the spirit of the Lord with us,
that we have not got the power of God with
us.
Let us lay aside all evil practices, all those
habits which will prevent our communing
with God. We have not yet got power to occupy a throne and to govern according to the
laws of heaven; of this we are all sensible,
then if these little things have a tendency to
hinder our enjoyments and debase us in the
eyes of the Lord, we ought to lay them aside
and manifest a determination to do the will of
our Father in heaven, and to accomplish that
work which is laid upon us to perform. When
we have any exhortation from those who lead
us, we should ever be ready to carry it out,
remembering that the Lord holds President
Young responsible for the way in which he
manages and directs this kingdom; and, if
we obey him, we shall be blest and prospered;
but if he gives us commandments and we do
not listen to them, the Lord will not hold him
responsible for our acts. I think upon these
things when I hear our leader giving us commandments to do thus and so, and I feel that
I shall loose the Spirit of the Lord, if I do not
comply. We have got to rise up, as a people,
and have the power of God constantly with
us, or we shall not accomplish that which is
required at our hands, for it requires faith,
temperance, purity, holiness and the power of
God to be with this people, in order to fulfil
our mission and perform the work of God.
When our Prophets and leaders command us
to do a thing, let us obey, and then we shall
gain the victory.
I have often heard it remarked that when we
have had preaching against merchandizing,
that the next day the merchants have taken
three dollars to where they had previously
only taken one. I hope this will not be the
case with those who make a practice of drinking whisky, and have been counseled by President Young to let it alone.
Brethren and sisters, I do not feel that I
want to occupy much more of your time, but
before I conclude, I will say that when I do
anything that prevents me from enjoying the
spirit of the Lord, as soon as I ascertain that,
I immediately throw it aside, so that the spirit
of God may govern and control me in every act
of my life. We came here to build up the
kingdom of God, and we should feel the responsibility that is upon us. This is our
home; and who of us appreciates the blessings bestowed upon us? We should appreciate them a great deal more than we do, if we
were set down in or
for a while, we should appreciate our peacable home; for here we are not troubled with
any of the difficulties which they experience
in the States. We can meet together and
worship God in peace. It is truly a great
blessing to be assembled in these chambers of
the mountains.
Let us try to prove ourselves worthy of our
high calling as Saints of God. I pray that
the Lord will give us power to lay aside every
thing that is wrong; to magnify our callings
and build up the Kingdom of God. I feel to
ask this blessing in the name of Jesus Christ:
Amen.
