think that we as Latter-day Saints
ought to understand our posi-
tion before the Lord and every
man that has got the Priesthood, every
man that has entered into covenants
with the Lord should never turn his
thoughts, his affections or his work in
any other channel than the building
up of the kingdom of God. If we do
we will miss it in the end, when we
pass to the other side of the vail.

We have everything to encourage us
in the carrying out of the purposes of
the Lord in our labors. It has been
a very remarkable period that we
have passed through during the cele-
bration of the entrance of the Pioneers
into the valley and of that which has
taken place since we came here. I am
thankful myself to God that I have
lived to see the fulfillment of these
promises of the Prophet of God. They
are great testimonies to me that the
Lord means what He says and says
what He means.

There is another principle I have up-
on my mind that I would like to speak
of. The Prophet Joseph Smith
taught the Twelve Apostles in
my day and time with re-
gard to the principle of revela-
tion. The Prophet said the
Elders of Israel would have
their minds moved upon by
the Spirit of God concerning various
things which they might not always
understand, but if they would follow
out that principle and practice upon it
it would very soon become a principle
of revelation to them. This is a true
principle and by observing it I have
been blessed all my life. Almost every
mission I have ever had in this Church
has been by the inspiration of Al-
mighty God to me. I have been led
to do this, that and the other, and
whenever I have done it I have found
the truth of God made manifest con-
cerning it. I am here today a living
man. Without heeding that principle
I would have been in the spirit world
a great many years ago. We all
should seek and labor for this prin-
ciple of revelation and get the mind
and will of God. It is very easy to do
that, if we do our duty before the Lord.

I desire to refer to myself a little in
carrying out those principles which
have been given me by the Prophet of
God. In the time of the great apos-
tasy at Kirtland, when there were so
many enemies that held the Apostle-
ship and various offices in the Priest-
hood who were at war against the
Prophet of God, I was there up to a
certain time. Right in the midst of
that apostasy the Spirit of God came
to me and told me to choose a partner
and go to Fox Islands. I knew no
more what was on Fox Islands than I
did what was on Kolob, but the Lord
said go to Fox Islands, and I selected
a partner and went. My partner was
Jonathan H. Hale. I went through
Farmington, Connecticut, my father’s
abiding place, and preached there one
night. I baptized my father, my step-
mother, my half-sister, and several of
my relatives, and organized a small
branch of the Church. I then went
on my way to the Islands. When I
got to the Islands I learned what the
Lord had sent me there for. I found
a people that were searching for light
and truth. Without dwelling upon
this, I will say I had the privilege, with
my companion, of baptizing every
man and woman belonging to a Bap-
tist church there. Of course this aroused
a warfare against us. A Methodist
minister came from the South Islands
and made war against us, and I bap-
tized most of the members of
his church in a little while.
I took a large company of
them with me up to Zion after I
received word from the Prophet that
I was called of God by revelation to
fill the place of one of the Twelve.
Now, nobody told me to go to Fox
Islands except the Lord. I asked some
counsel about it and went and fulfilled
what the Lord required at my hands.

It was upon the principle of revela-
tion. It was the same when the
Twelve Apostles went to England.
They went by revelation and com-
mandment of God. Brother John Tay-
lor and myself were the two first of
the quorum to land in England.
Brother Taylor went to Liverpool, and
I went to Staffordshire. I there found
Brother Cordon with whom I stopped
and labored. We preached every
night in the week, and baptized quite
a number, and I thought we were do-
ing an excellent work. I went one
night into the town hall of Hanley
to preach to the people. Before
I got up to speak, the Holy Spirit
came to me and told me, “This is the
last meeting you will hold with this
people for many days.” I did not
know what the Lord wanted of me.
We did our preaching, and we baptized
quite a number after the meeting. The
Saints asked me where I was going.
I told them I didn’t know. I went and
asked the Lord what I should do and
where I should go. “Go to the south,”
was all the answer I got from the
Lord. I got into the stage and rode
eighty miles south, and the first man’s
house I stopped at was John Ben-
bow’s. When I got there I found a
large number of people, who had
broken off from the Wesleyan Method-
ists and other churches and who had
taken the name of United Brethren,
praying the Lord to open some door
whereby they could be enlightened in
the things of God and anxiously wait-
ing for the ancient order of things to
be res[t]ored as you and I have been in
our day. I hadn’t been in his house
fifteen minutes until I understood
why the Lord had sent me. The first
thirty days I brought all that body of
people and many others into the
Church. I baptized them and their
ministers, too. I had in my hands all
their chapels, licensed according to
law. We brought into the Church over
two thousand in eight months, and
formed two or three conferences, and
many of them are now in Utah, some
of them Bishops in the Church.

I do not name this because I want
to take any honor to myself, but when
the Spirit of God tells a man to do
anything he ought to do it, and then
the blessings of God will be with him.
It has been so with me in my labors.
I have endeavored to do what the
Lord has told me. I want our Elders,
our young men that are going on mis-
sions, to learn this principle while they
are young. Learn to get the spirit of
revelation. You know what is right
and what is wrong, and the Spirit of
God will educate our young men in
these principles and they will become
mighty men in the hands of God if
they will but carry this out. This is a
principle that I feel we ought to
teach and practice. We should study
constantly to know what the mind
and will of God is concerning us, and
when we do that there will be no di-
vision among us, but we shall all be
of one heart and one mind.

Brethren and sisters, I do not feel
that I ought to talk any longer to you
this afternoon, but I thank God that I
have this privilege of meeting with you
once more in the flesh. There are many
things I do not understand, and one is
why I am here at my present age. I
do not understand why I have been
preserved as long as I have been when
so many Apostles and Prophets have
been called home. I want to bear my
testimony upon another subject. I am
the only man living in the flesh that
received endowments under the hands
of the Prophet Joseph Smith. I am
the only man in the flesh that was
with the Twelve Apostles when he
turned over the kingdom of God to
them and laid upon them the com-
mandment to bear off this kingdom.
He stood for some three hours in a
room delivering to us his last lec-
ture. The room was filled as with
consuming fire. His face was as clear
as amber; his words were like vivid
lightning to us. They penetrated every
part of our bodies from the crown of
our head to the soles of our feet. He
said, “Brethren, the Lord Almighty
has sealed upon my head every Priest-
hood, every key, every power, every
principle that belongs to the last dis-
pensation of the fulness of times, and
to the building up of the kingdom of
God. I have sealed upon your heads all
those principles, Priesthood, apostle-
ship, and keys of the kingdom of God,
and now you have got to round up
your shoulders and bear off this king-
dom or you will be damned.” I do
not forget those words—I never shall
while I live. That was the last speech
he ever made in the flesh. Soon after-
ward he was martyred and called
home to glory.

I have always felt to bear my testi-
mony to the Church and to the world
concerning the truths of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ. My prayer to God is
that we may pursue a course wherein
we may be justified at the end of our
work. Our brethren that laid the
foundation of this Church and king-
dom are upon the other side of the
vail. I have no doubt myself but they
are watching with interest everything
that takes place with us here, though
to what extent is not revealed to us.
I desire, therefore, that we may all
live in that way and manner that we
may be justified and saved in the king-
dom of our God.

The Lord has set His hand to build
Zion. He is not going to fail. It mat-
ters not who opposes it, or what views
and feelings of unbelief the children of
men may have with regard to the pur-
poses of the Lord, these purposes will
all come to pass. Zion will arise and
flourish. The glory of God will rest
upon her, and she will accomplish all
that Isaiah and the other Prophets
have spoken concerning her.

God bless you all, in the name of
Jesus Christ, Amen.

think that we as Latter-day Saints ought to understand our position before the Lord and every man that has got the Priesthood, every man that has entered into covenants with the Lord should never turn his thoughts, his affections or his work in any other channel than the building up of the kingdom of God. If we do we will miss it in the end, when we pass to the other side of the vail.

We have everything to encourage us in the carrying out of the purposes of the Lord in our labors. It has been a very remarkable period that we have passed through during the celebration of the entrance of the Pioneers into the valley and of that which has taken place since we came here. I am thankful myself to God that I have lived to see the fulfillment of these promises of the Prophet of God. They are great testimonies to me that the Lord means what He says and says what He means.

There is another principle I have upon my mind that I would like to speak of. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught the Twelve Apostles in my day and time with regard to the principle of revelation. The Prophet said the Elders of Israel would have their minds moved upon by the Spirit of God concerning various things which they might not always understand, but if they would follow out that principle and practice upon it it would very soon become a principle of revelation to them. This is a true principle and by observing it I have been blessed all my life. Almost every mission I have ever had in this Church has been by the inspiration of Almighty God to me. I have been led to do this, that and the other, and whenever I have done it I have found the truth of God made manifest concerning it. I am here today a living man. Without heeding that principle I would have been in the spirit world a great many years ago. We all should seek and labor for this principle of revelation and get the mind and will of God. It is very easy to do that, if we do our duty before the Lord.

I desire to refer to myself a little in carrying out those principles which have been given me by the Prophet of God. In the time of the great apostasy at Kirtland, when there were so many enemies that held the Apostleship and various offices in the Priesthood who were at war against the Prophet of God, I was there up to a certain time. Right in the midst of that apostasy the Spirit of God came to me and told me to choose a partner and go to Fox Islands. I knew no more what was on Fox Islands than I did what was on Kolob, but the Lord said go to Fox Islands, and I selected a partner and went. My partner was Jonathan H. Hale. I went through Farmington, Connecticut, my father’s abiding place, and preached there one night. I baptized my father, my stepmother, my half-sister, and several of my relatives, and organized a small branch of the Church. I then went on my way to the Islands. When I got to the Islands I learned what the Lord had sent me there for. I found a people that were searching for light and truth. Without dwelling upon this, I will say I had the privilege, with my companion, of baptizing every man and woman belonging to a Baptist church there. Of course this aroused a warfare against us. A Methodist minister came from the South Islands and made war against us, and I baptized most of the members of his church in a little while. I took a large company of them with me up to Zion after I received word from the Prophet that I was called of God by revelation to fill the place of one of the Twelve. Now, nobody told me to go to Fox Islands except the Lord. I asked some counsel about it and went and fulfilled what the Lord required at my hands.

It was upon the principle of revelation. It was the same when the Twelve Apostles went to England. They went by revelation and commandment of God. Brother John Taylor and myself were the two first of the quorum to land in England. Brother Taylor went to Liverpool, and I went to Staffordshire. I there found Brother Cordon with whom I stopped and labored. We preached every night in the week, and baptized quite a number, and I thought we were doing an excellent work. I went one night into the town hall of Hanley to preach to the people. Before I got up to speak, the Holy Spirit came to me and told me, “This is the last meeting you will hold with this people for many days.” I did not know what the Lord wanted of me. We did our preaching, and we baptized quite a number after the meeting. The Saints asked me where I was going. I told them I didn’t know. I went and asked the Lord what I should do and where I should go. “Go to the south,” was all the answer I got from the Lord. I got into the stage and rode eighty miles south, and the first man’s house I stopped at was John Benbow’s. When I got there I found a large number of people, who had broken off from the Wesleyan Methodists and other churches and who had taken the name of United Brethren, praying the Lord to open some door whereby they could be enlightened in the things of God and anxiously waiting for the ancient order of things to be restored as you and I have been in our day. I hadn’t been in his house fifteen minutes until I understood why the Lord had sent me. The first thirty days I brought all that body of people and many others into the Church. I baptized them and their ministers, too. I had in my hands all their chapels, licensed according to law. We brought into the Church over two thousand in eight months, and formed two or three conferences, and many of them are now in Utah, some of them Bishops in the Church.

I do not name this because I want to take any honor to myself, but when the Spirit of God tells a man to do anything he ought to do it, and then the blessings of God will be with him. It has been so with me in my labors. I have endeavored to do what the Lord has told me. I want our Elders, our young men that are going on missions, to learn this principle while they are young. Learn to get the spirit of revelation. You know what is right and what is wrong, and the Spirit of God will educate our young men in these principles and they will become mighty men in the hands of God if they will but carry this out. This is a principle that I feel we ought to teach and practice. We should study constantly to know what the mind and will of God is concerning us, and when we do that there will be no division among us, but we shall all be of one heart and one mind.

Brethren and sisters, I do not feel that I ought to talk any longer to you this afternoon, but I thank God that I have this privilege of meeting with you once more in the flesh. There are many things I do not understand, and one is why I am here at my present age. I do not understand why I have been preserved as long as I have been when so many Apostles and Prophets have been called home. I want to bear my testimony upon another subject. I am the only man living in the flesh that received endowments under the hands of the Prophet Joseph Smith. I am the only man in the flesh that was with the Twelve Apostles when he turned over the kingdom of God to them and laid upon them the commandment to bear off this kingdom. He stood for some three hours in a room delivering to us his last lecture. The room was filled as with consuming fire. His face was as clear as amber; his words were like vivid lightning to us. They penetrated every part of our bodies from the crown of our head to the soles of our feet. He said, “Brethren, the Lord Almighty has sealed upon my head every Priesthood, every key, every power, every principle that belongs to the last dispensation of the fulness of times, and to the building up of the kingdom of God. I have sealed upon your heads all those principles, Priesthood, apostleship, and keys of the kingdom of God, and now you have got to round up your shoulders and bear off this kingdom or you will be damned.” I do not forget those words—I never shall while I live. That was the last speech he ever made in the flesh. Soon afterward he was martyred and called home to glory.

I have always felt to bear my testimony to the Church and to the world concerning the truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. My prayer to God is that we may pursue a course wherein we may be justified at the end of our work. Our brethren that laid the foundation of this Church and kingdom are upon the other side of the vail. I have no doubt myself but they are watching with interest everything that takes place with us here, though to what extent is not revealed to us. I desire, therefore, that we may all live in that way and manner that we may be justified and saved in the kingdom of our God.

The Lord has set His hand to build Zion. He is not going to fail. It matters not who opposes it, or what views and feelings of unbelief the children of men may have with regard to the purposes of the Lord, these purposes will all come to pass. Zion will arise and flourish. The glory of God will rest upon her, and she will accomplish all that Isaiah and the other Prophets have spoken concerning her.

God bless you all, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.