AN ADDRESS DELIVERED BY ELDER FRANKLIN D. RICHARDS, AT THEGENERAL CONFERENCE, GREAT SALT LAKE CITY, OCTOBER 6, 1853
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Brethren and Sisters-It seems to have fallen to my lot this afternoonto speak to you. Whether I may speak lengthily, or occupy but a short time,will be as I am led and dictated by the Holy Spirit.
I rejoice in the opportunity, for many reasons. The first and greatestis, it is a blessing for a man who is called of God to teach the people,to exercise himself in his office and calling, and try to magnify it, forhe is thereby made a blessing to the people, and is himself edified, often,yea, I may say generally, quite as much as they are.
I rejoice this afternoon in the privilege of meeting so many of my brethrenwho have just arrived from the old country. I behold faces in the congregationwith whom I have within a few years past been wont to assemble in England,in Scotland, in Wales, and in other places. There we used to rejoice together.The Spirit and power of God rested upon us while we contemplated the thingsof God, that are calculated to prepare us for the life which is to come.
I feel to congratulate you, my brethren, who have newly come in, andwho constitute so goodly a number of my hearers this afternoon, upon yoursafe arrival in these beautiful valleys; for you have now accomplished oneof the greatest undertakings of your lives. Once, had you been told thatyou would forsake father, mother, brethren, sisters, kindred, and friends,and that you would do it under the stigmatized appellation of "Mormon"-tocome so great a distance, to traverse one-third of the circumference ofthe globe, it would have been as incredible to you as to any of us. Whileyou were near the close of this great task, doubtless some felt that hadit been one hundred miles further, they scarcely could have endured to theend of the journey; yet, to some of us, this wonderful, great undertakingis but a small thing; we have done it several times, and expect to do itmany times more. I congratulate you, however, on your having accomplishedthe task, and feel, as your brother in the Lord, to welcome you here inthe midst of God's people, and to pray with sincerity that the spirit ofZion may rest upon you.
You have come to this place with feelings and views as varied as thedegree of faith in, and knowledge you have of, the Gospel, and the measureof spirit in which you walk. There are some who, in their own estimation,are well qualified and fully prepared to judge of the propriety and improprietyof everything that exists here; and such, while they may find some few thingsanswer pretty well, will find many things which, in their opinion, are notright, and really need reformation.
Brethren, you who have just arrived in the Valley, I wish to directmy words to you this afternoon, to sound a word in your ears that may notbe lost upon you, and it is worth your while to hearken to it. You may dwellin this society, and never know what manner of spirit you are of, nor thepower of God that dwells in the Priesthood in your midst; and, on the otherhand, you may come here in a right frame of mind, and hearken to the Spiritof God through the man whom He has appointed to watch over us, and knowthat the words of all God's servants are the words of life to you; and theirfaces will shine with wisdom in your eyes. If you possess this frame ofmind, you will be prepared to drink in intelligence from day to day, fromtheir counsel and examples, that will lead you on in the bright and shiningway that was discoursed upon this morning.
In the first place, I will offer word to all, whether they are mechanicsor common labourers. No matter what calling you may follow in life, youhave need, at this juncture of your existence, to observe and treasure upone thing carefully and faithfully in your minds, namely, if you live aproper life before the Lord, you know that you have the fellowship of HisSpirit, so that you know your prayers are heard and answered, because youreceive the things you ask for. If you live so as to always have the witnessof the good Spirit, you will be saved to-day and every day, and thus itwill constantly be well with you. But if you are heedless of this day, andcalculate on to-morrow, you have no assurance that you will realize yourhopes to-morrow. The only certain stepping stone to the great good you mayhave to-morrow in the midst of this people is, that you be faithful to yourcovenants with God, and secure thereby the fellowship of the Spirit, andwalk in the counsels of it to-day; if you do this, you will have the goodthat is for you to-morrow.
If you have come into this place nearly penniless, and, in many respects,comparatively destitute, and with no one to take you by the hand, or yourfriends are not here, or, if they are, and do not hail you as you thinkthey ought, be of good cheer, and let not your hearts be sad, knowing youare doing right, and have gathered according to the word of the Lord.
If you look about you and see the Saints who have been here some years,and the choice locations taken up by them, and you are still at the footof the hill apparently, do not fret your souls; remember that those brethrenmade the roads to this place, killed the snakes, or gently turned them outof their path, made the bridges, opened the kanyons, made the fences, ploughedthe ground, and worked in the wet and cold, in the midst of hunger and privation,to the best of their ability, more than any portion of this people have.Have they not worked to obtain what they have now got? If you look at itwith a single eye, it is marvellous to see the kingdom of God at this day.After being here only six years; after being driven from Nauvoo, and sufferingthe toils of a wilderness life among savages and wolves, to see it at thepresent time is indeed comforting and cheering; the aspect is promisingbeyond all we could have anticipated, or almost what could have been wished.Does it not make your souls rejoice in the Lord, that He has establishedHis people, and to realize that you are blessed above measure in havinga name and a place in this city or territory? You are better off this afternoonin this place, in rags, and begging your bread, than in England, Scotland,or Wales, earning one hundred pounds per annum. You would there be dwellingamong the cloudy mists of Babylon, where you dare not say your souls wereyour own. You could make but little advancement in your holy religion there;but here you can receive words of life from those whom God has appointedto lead His people into the way of salvation. Be careful now, that the goodSpirit which has accompanied you in the old world, and dwelt with you inthe ship across the sea, and has sustained you and your teams while crossingthe plains-be careful that you retain it, and make it your counsellor here.
I know how natural it is for the Saints who come from abroad to be verydiligent in inspecting God's people, to see if they are as righteous asthey ought to be; but they forget they have a duty to perform to themselves.As one of old said, "the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor theear with hearing," but they forget to look at themselves; the spiritof murmuring and complaining takes possession of them, and you may see themwandering about in sorrow, affliction, and grief; and what is worse thanall, they have brought it on themselves, because they have not retainedthe fellowship of the Holy Spirit through faithfulness of conduct, and awaythey go to California. I felt to speak these things to you, that you mightbe admonished at the present time to faithfulness, and that you might rejoicein the assembly of God's people, that you had been brought over the mountainsto this place in safety. I feel to magnify the name of the Lord to see somany of you, and pray that those who are still journeying on the plainsmay be safely brought in.
In coming here, you cannot, as individuals, know all things that arebefore you. You are now dwelling in a society that differs from any youever dwelt in. The circumstances of life are all different, and the businessarrangements different, to those you have been used to in the old country.It is necessary that you look about you for a season, find out whom youare among, and know the condition and nature of the elements and state ofthe society, that you may drop into business through the fellowship of yourbrethren and sisters, and take hold with them in the different branchesof business that are carried on here for the comforts of life. You Elders,who have been in that country, preaching and building up Branches of theChurch there; you that have taken up your cross, and gone from your homes,and warned the inhabitants of the earth where you have laboured, the Lordwent with you, when you went in the name of Jesus; His Spirit was upon you,and you were the means of building up Churches, and of doing much good invarious ways; that same Spirit will be with you when you go to labour inthe kanyons, or do anything else, if you will nourish it, and not cast itfrom you. Peradventure in the kanyons you may need its premonitions mostwhen your life or limb may be in jeopardy. This, my brethren, is the rockupon which many Saints split-they leave the way of truth, they step asidefrom the rugged path of duty which they have been wont to walk in, and,feeling a degree of ease and safety, as they suppose, on arriving here,they forget their prayers, and that they have need to continue to increasetheir fellowship with the Holy Spirit; they leave off their duties, and,ere they are aware of it, they are left to themselves.
It is said that the females are the ones by whom the nations are ruled.It is certain that the females have necessarily great influence upon thewhole community, and especially upon the rising generation. Allow me a wordwith the sisters. In your associations and visiting with those about you,when you find a sister or brother that can speak evil of dignities withimpunity, and can find fault with what is being done by the Church, andcannot do any good themselves, (for such folks cannot do anything themselvesbut bark and snarl like the dog in the manger,) when you get into the societyof such people, you will take notes, if you do as I do, and seek the companyof those who will speak well of the brethren and sisters, and then you mayexpect they will speak well of you. When you associate with those who speakwell of the truth, their counsels will edify you, and their words will beseasoned with grace to your edification and instruction, and the cloudsof adversity that rest down upon you will vanish away.
You will find Saints living about you, that have the good Spirit, andcan give you the word of comfort, and take you by the hand and pour theoil of consolation into your heart, and do you good in the name of the Lord.If you seek that kind of society, you will tend upwards towards the realmsof light, in duty and intelligence. By taking this course, you will be cultivatingthe same good Spirit in your own hearts, that you see in the hearts, examples,and general conduct of your brethren and sisters around you, and which ismost conspicuous in those who are called to lead and direct in the Priesthood.On the other hand, if you come in here, with the intention to be right downsharp, careful to watch and to criticise your brethren very closely, youwill find all the evil you look for, and see imperfections which the cloakof charity and good will would have covered, had you possessed it yourself.You never were among a people where men talked as they meant, and meantwhat they said, so near as in this place. If you feel to take advantageof your brother or your sister, you may, but it will not be good for yoursoul; it will be money badly earned. But if you come here with a frank andhonest heart, and prepared to speak and act without hypocrisy, and justas you feel, you will find yourselves among a community of brethren andsisters that are ready to aid, comfort, and bless you. If you look withyour eyes, as I did with mine when I came home from England, you will findyour brethren and sisters to be such kind of beings, whose good works youwill wish to emulate.
Take the wisest course to grow in grace, and in the knowledge of thetruth; and the only way is by attending diligently to your prayers, andwalking in the light of God's Spirit. You will find that condescension inthe hearts of your brethren, that love and charity abounding in their bosoms,that if you are in adversity and need, they will extend a helping hand,and comfort you, and do you good, and will not charge you one hundred percentinterest either. I have to say that if you have come to these valleys determined,as for you and yours, to serve the Lord, you will find it the easiest thingin the world to fellowship with those whose hearts run together like twodrops of water, and you will be blessed, as also will those with whom youassociate. You have arrived at a juncture of your life where two ways branchout; if you wish to travel downward, the great depot of that route is California;if upward, the great depot on that road is this city, these men that surroundme in this stand. You do not know what you may be called upon to do. I donot know what I may be called upon to do before this Conference comes toa close, in addition to what is already laid upon me here at home. It isnecessary to be always ready; and if you live as you ought, you will alwaysbe ready, and nothing will come wrong to you; and if you always live thatway, you may always be as happy as you wish to be.