of all the blessings of the kingdom
of God by obeying the counsel of
those set over us, for I know that
God has established a government
to control, to guide, and to dictate;
and we shall not find so perfect a
government as this in any part of the
earth, for it is the government of
heaven.

I desire that we may have power
and a disposition to live faithful to-
day, to do right, to obey counsel,
that whatever we are told to do we
may unite together and do with all
our hearts. If there is strength any-
where, it is here. If it does not exist
here, it does not exist anywhere.
There is no spirit of friendship in
the world; it has taken the wings of
the morning and flown away from
many of the nations, and the blessings
of the Lord are being withdrawn in
a great measure from the nations of
the earth. The people have no dis-
position to obey that which is right,
or give the servants of God an op-
portunity of preaching the truth for
the salvation of fallen man. Those
who despise those blessings and pri-
vileges will find that the consequences
and reward will follow.

I feel thankful that we are here in
the valleys of the mountains; and I
rejoice that we are at peace, and not
obliged to fortify Great Salt Lake
City, as the people are obliged to do
in Washington; nor is our President
compelled to flee to Canada to save
his life. We are safe and in quietude.
The enemies of this kingdom do not
understand the spirit and power of
the Gospel. It is a spirit and a
power that they cannot cope with,
and it is so with all the sectarian
world. We have the privilege of
lying down and of rising up in peace;
we have the privilege of bowing in
our families in peace, and getting up
and speaking our sentiments, and
none to make us afraid.

These are great blessings that we as
a people enjoy. I bear my testimony
that these things are true and faith-
ful. You know these things as well
as I do, and every man who lives his
religion knows it. The Lord is with
his people, and this kingdom will
spread abroad. And when the Lord
has destroyed the wicked, there will
be room for Zion to spread herself
abroad, and to rebuild the waste places
thereof. Then all things spoken of
in the Book of Doctrine and Cove-
nants will be fulfilled. It is good to
reflect upon these principles, for the
promises will be fulfilled, whether we
believe them or not.

I pray God to guide us, that we
may be prepared to partake of eternal
life and salvation, and share in all
the benefits of the Gospel of Christ,
and of the Holy Priesthood which
has been revealed to us in our day
and generation, which I ask in the
name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

58 JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.

of all the blessings of the kingdom of God by obeying the counsel of those set over us, for I know that God has established a government to control, to guide, and to dictate; and we shall not find so perfect a government as this in any part of the earth, for it is the government of heaven.

I desire that we may have power and a disposition to live faithful today, to do right, to obey counsel, that whatever we are told to do we may unite together and do with all our hearts. If there is strength anywhere, it is here. If it does not exist here, it does not exist anywhere. There is no spirit of friendship in the world; it has taken the wings of the morning and flown away from many of the nations, and the blessings of the Lord are being withdrawn in a great measure from the nations of the earth. The people have no disposition to obey that which is right, or give the servants of God an opportunity of preaching the truth for the salvation of fallen man. Those who despise those blessings and privileges will find that the consequences and reward will follow.

I feel thankful that we are here in the valleys of the mountains; and I rejoice that we are at peace, and not obliged to fortify Great Salt Lake City, as the people are obliged to do in Washington; nor is our President compelled to flee to Canada to save his life. We are safe and in quietude. The enemies of this kingdom do not understand the spirit and power of the Gospel. It is a spirit and a power that they cannot cope with, and it is so with all the sectarian world. We have the privilege of lying down and of rising up in peace; we have the privilege of bowing in our families in peace, and getting up and speaking our sentiments, and none to make us afraid.

These are great blessings that we as a people enjoy. I bear my testimony that these things are true and faithful. You know these things as well as I do, and every man who lives his religion knows it. The Lord is with his people, and this kingdom will spread abroad. And when the Lord has destroyed the wicked, there will be room for Zion to spread herself abroad, and to rebuild the waste places thereof. Then all things spoken of in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants will be fulfilled. It is good to reflect upon these principles, for the promises will be fulfilled, whether we believe them or not.

I pray God to guide us, that we may be prepared to partake of eternal life and salvation, and share in all the benefits of the Gospel of Christ, and of the Holy Priesthood which has been revealed to us in our day and generation, which I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.