A DISCOURSE BY ELDER JOHN TAYLOR, DELIVERED IN THE TABERNACLE,GREAT SALT LAKE CITY, APRIL 19, 1854
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Having been called upon by President Grant to address you this morning,I do so with pleasure. How long I shall speak, I do not know, for I havebeen quite unwell for some time past, and whether my strength will holdout or not, I am unprepared to say; I can tell you better when I have tried.
I have been much interested during the Conference that is past; andalthough I was not able to take an active part in the business that wasgoing on, yet my spirit rejoiced to hear the principles of truth that wereadvanced, and in the things that were developed and fully made manifestby the Spirit of the Most High God.
Associated as we are with the kingdom of God, we may reasonably expect,so long as we do our duty before the Lord, to have continual developmentsof light, truth, and intelligence, that emanate from the great God, forthe guidance, direction, salvation, and exaltation of this people, whetherit relates to time, or to eternity; for everything we have to do with iseternal; and when we speak of time and eternity, they are only relativeterms which we attach to things that are present, and things that are tocome, and things that are past. But in relation to ourselves as individuals,we are eternal beings, although we occupy a certain space of eternity calledtime; in relation to the Gospel we preach, it is eternal; in relation tothe Priesthood, it is eternal; in relation to our covenants and obligations,they are eternal; in relation to our promises, prospects, and hopes, theyare eternal. And while we are acting upon this stage of being, we are merelycommencing a state of things that will exist while countless ages shallroll along; and if we have right views and right feelings, and entertaincorrect principles as eternal beings, all our thoughts, our actions, ourprospects-all our energies and our lives, will be engaged in laying a foundationupon which to build a superstructure that will be permanent, lasting, andenduring as the throne of the great Jehovah; and if anything is short ofthis, it is short of the mark of the high calling whereunto we may or oughtto arrive; and many of the little incidents and occurrences of life thathave to pass through, are transient in comparison to the things that areto come; and yet all these little things are so many links in the greatchain of our existence, of our hopes and prospects.
There are many things that seem to us trials and difficulties, thatperplex, annoy, and harass our spirits; yet these very things, as one justlyobserved, are blessings in disguise, so many helps to us to develop ourweaknesses and infirmities, and lead us to put our trust in God, and relyupon Him to give us a knowledge of ourselves, of our neighbors, and of thework of God; they have a tendency to develop principles of worth to ourminds, and thus they serve as schoolmasters, helps, and instructors, andare to us as many blessings in disguise. In fact all things that we haveto do with in the world, whether they are adversity or prosperity, whetherthey relate to ourselves or to others, if rightly appreciated and understood,may teach us a lesson that will be to our joy, probably not only in time,but in all eternity. We must know ourselves, learn what is in our nature-ourweakness, our strength, our wisdom, our folly, and the like things thatdwell in others, that we may learn to appreciate true and correct principles,and be governed by them whenever they are developed: that we may learn toset a just value upon all sublunary things, that we may not value them abovetheir real value, and that we may neither value ourselves nor others aboveour or their worth; that we may learn to look upon ourselves as eternalbeings, acting in everything with a reference to eternity; that we may byand by secure to ourselves eternal exaltations, thrones, principalities,and powers in the eternal worlds.
These are some of my feelings in relation to every-day affairs and occurrencesin life, and the things with which I am surrounded, and I feel anxious everyday, when I feel right, to make an improvement to-day, in something thatwill benefit me or others in relation to eternity, as well as to time; forwhile we are eternal beings we are also temporal beings, and have to dowith temporal things, as well as with spiritual or eternal things. Takingthis view of the subject, it is of very little importance whether we arerich or whether we are poor, whether we are placed in adverse or in prosperouscircumstances. It may, however, be of more importance than we think of.I think adversity is a blessing in many instances; and in some, prosperity;but nothing is a blessing to us that is not calculated to enlighten ourminds, and lead us to God, and put us in possession of true principles,and prepare us for an exaltation in the eternal world.
In regard to God and the things of God, could the world of mankind seearight, and understand aright; could they know what was for their true interests;or could they have known it for generations, there are none of them butwhat would have feared God with all their hearts, minds, soul, and strength,that is, if they had had power to do so; that would have been their feeling,and more especially so among the Saints. If the Saints could understandthings correctly; if they could see themselves as God sees them; if theycould know and understand and appreciate the principles of eternal truthas they emanate from God, and as they dwell in His bosom; if they couldknow their high calling's glorious hope, and the future destiny that awaitsthem, inasmuch as they are faithful; there is not a Saint of God, thereis not one in these valleys of the mountains, but would prostrate himselfbefore Him; he would dedicate his heart, and his mind, and his soul, andhis strength to God, and his body, and spirits, and property, and everythinghe possesses of earth, and esteem it one of the greatest privileges thatcould be conferred upon mortal man. If there are those who do not see thesethings aright, it is because they see in part, and know in part; it is becausetheir hearts are not devoted to God, as they ought to be; it is becausetheir spirits are not entirely under the influence of the Spirit of theMost High; it is because they have not so lived up to their privileges,as to put themselves in possession of that light and truth that emanatefrom God to His people; it is because the god of this world has blindedtheir minds that they cannot fully understand, that they cannot be madefully acquainted with the great and glorious principles of eternal truth.When we look at ourselves aright, when we understand the principles of trutharight, what is there we would not give for salvation? When the Spirit hasbeamed forth powerfully upon the hearts of the Saints, when the light andintelligence of heaven have manifested themselves, when the Lord has shoneupon the souls of the Saints when assembled together, what have they feltlike? That they are the blessed of the Lord. How oft, when they have mettogether on special occasions to receive certain blessings from the handsof God, has the spirit of revelation rested upon them, and the future beenopened to their view in all its beauty, glory, richness, and excellency;and when their hearts have been warmed up by that spirit, how have theyfelt to rejoice! How have they looked upon the things of this world, andthe prospect that awaited them-upon their privileges as Saints of the MostHigh God, and upon the glory they will inherit if they are faithful to theend! You may have experienced the feeling that such thoughts and prospectswould naturally create in the human heart. Why is it we feel otherwise atany time? It is because we forget to pray, and call upon God, and dedicateourselves to Him, or because we fall into transgression, commit iniquity,and lose the Spirit of God, and forget our calling's glorious hope. Butif we could all the time see, and realize, and understand our true positionbefore God, out minds would be continually on the stretch after the thingsof God, and we should be seeking to know all the day long what we coulddo to promote the happiness and salvation of the world, what we could doto honor our calling-to honor the Priesthood of the Son of God, and whatto do to honor our God, and to improve the remaining time we have upon theearth, and the energies of our bodies, for the accomplishment of His purposes,for the rolling forth of His kingdom, for the advancement of His designs,that when we stand before Him He may say to us-"Well done, thou goodand faithful servant, enter into the joy of thy Lord; thou has been faithfulover a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things."
These would be our feelings, and no doubt this is what we came intothe world for. I know of no other object, no other design, that God hadin view in sending us here. We came forth from our Father in heaven, havingthe privilege of taking bodies in this world. What for? That our bodiesand spirits together might accomplish the will of our heavenly Father, andfind their way back again into His presence; that while we are upon theearth, we might be governed by His wisdom, by the intelligence and revelationsthat flow from Him; that He might be a guide and dictator of our steps whilewe sojourn here; and that we might fill up the measure of our creation inhonor to ourselves, in honor to our progenitors, and in honor to our posterity;and finally, find our way back into the presence of God, having accomplishedthe object for which we came into the world, having filled up the measureof our creation, having obtained honor to ourselves, honor for our posterityand for our progenitors, and become an honor to God our heavenly Father,by walking humbly before Him, fulfilling His laws, and accomplishing thisthe object of our creation.
I say, as I said before, if we understood ourselves aright, this wouldbe our main object; but we know in part, and see in part, and comprehendin part; and many of the things of God are hid from our view, both thingsthat are past, things that are present, and things that are to come. Hencethe world in general sit in judgement upon the actions of God that are passingamong them, they make use of the weak judgement that God has given themto scan the designs of God, to unravel the mysteries that are past, andthings that are still hid, forgetting that no man knows the things of Godbut by the Spirit of God; forgetting that the wisdom of this world is foolishnesswith God; forgetting that no man in and of himself is competent to unravelthe designs and know the purposes of Jehovah, whether in relation to thepast, present, or future; and hence, forgetting this, they fall into allkinds of blunders; they blunder over things that are contained in the Scriptures,some of which are a representation of the follies and weaknesses of men,and some of them perhaps may be the wisdom and intelligence of God, thatare as far above their wisdom and intelligence as the heavens are abovethe earth. How often have I heard individuals, for instance, exclaimingagainst the harshness, the cruelty, and tyranny of God in destroying theantediluvians, the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, and other cities and places,and against other judgments and cruelties that befell the people. How littledo such persons understand about it. According to their own systems of philosophy,they would act precisely upon the same principles if they only understoodthe principles He acted upon; whereas in ignorance of them they think itcruel indeed for God to destroy the inhabitants of the old world, the citiesof Sodom and Gomorrah, or other places. Why? Because it was the destructionof so much human life. But do they know the whys and the wherefores of that?No. In the same way they look upon Moses, Joshua, and some other eminentmen of God, who were called forth to execute His judgments, and accomplishHis designs-root out the wicked, destroy the ungodly, and establish theprinciples of righteousness. They would look upon their acts as acts ofcruelty, tyranny, and oppression. Why so? Because they can conceive of noother idea than that which dwells in their own bosoms; there dwells theprinciple of revenge, or ambition, and they know of no other motive thatcould prompt God to do as He has in the destruction of the wicked at sundrytimes. In the same way men judge us in relation to our matrimonial relations;if a man is associated with more females than one in the world, they cannotlook upon it in any other way than lasciviousness and adultery, the veryprinciples that predominate in themselves; they have no other idea. Oursituation, our conduct, and our proceedings, to their feelings and views,are outrageous and abominable; and this they believe in all sincerity. Why?Because they know of no other principle than that, they have not been enlightened,they do not understand the end from the beginning, the whys and the wherefores;if they did, they would know that virtue, purity, and strict integrity dwellin the bosoms of the Saints, and that they are governed by correct, virtuous,and holy principles, and a thousand times more so than ever they dreamedof in their lives. This is so with regard to their views of the transactionsof God with the wicked in former ages.
The whole antediluvian world was enveloped in corruption; they had forsakenGod, the Father and fountain of their existence, and the giver of everygood and perfect gift, yielding submission to the powers of the adversaryin a state of darkness and ignorance, living and propagating their speciesinnumerable in that state of corruption, depraving themselves morally andintellectually, forsaking God, and teaching nothing but principles thatwere corrupt and abominable. Look at the world in that state, and considerGod as their Father, and themselves as eternal beings, and propagating eternalbeings in a state of the deepest depravity; look at things that awaitedthem in the future, the position they stood in, the misery they must endurein the future after they had lived here, the trouble and position they hadgot to be placed in before ever they could get back to the presence of theirFather; think of millions and millions of people living and dying in this,and bringing millions of individuals into the world, that had got to beartheir father's sins, cursed with their curse, and living and dying in theircorruption still more increased, to be damned and go to hell to be redeemedbefore they could be brought back again into the presence of their Creator-takingthis view of the matter, can you say that God was unjust, cruel, and tyrannicalfor destroying such a people as that? No; for there were millions of unbornspirits to come into this world and inhabit these depraved bodies, and becomesubject to the corruptions of a depraved parentage; for there was not arighteous generation, for the whole earth had corrupted themselves. He hadpower to put a stop to the propagation of such corruption, but, had He notdone it, would He have acted righteously to those yet unborn? Would He bedoing justice to His creation upon the earth to let the devil bear ruleand universal sway, and never put forth His hand to stop mankind in theirmad career? Every man of reflection would look upon the destruction of suchdepraved beings as an act of mercy, thus stopping those growing evils bycutting off the life of man from the earth, and stopping the onward courseof that vile seed.
What is the reason men form wrong judgements about such things? It isbecause they do not understand and comprehend correct principles, becausethey do not possess the visions of the Almighty; they understand not theend from the beginning, neither do they comprehend the designs of the GreatJehovah; if they did, they would have very different feelings and ideasin relation to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the old world,with all their abominations and corruptions and in relation to the doingsof Moses and Joshua, and other men of God, who were set apart to keep inorder affairs pertaining to the kingdom of God and establish righteousness,and do the will of heaven. If they had not done these things, they themselveswould have been corrupted, and their children after them, they would havesuffered the evil to overcome the good, and suffered Satan to triumph overGod, and to bear rule, and have dominion, and corrupt the whole of the humanfamily. There are thousands of such things as these that men form wrongideas about, and wrong judgments; whereas, if they only understood the mindof God, and correct principles, they would come to other conclusions, andsay-"God acts with wisdom and prudence, and righteously, in all Hisdealings with the human family."
It is necessary that men should possess the Spirit of God before theycan know the things of God: hence the great difficulty what the servantsof God have had to labor under, in different ages of the world, in the propagationof the truth, is, what would be right in the eyes of God would seem wrongto the understanding of mankind hence His servants have been persecuted,afflicted, tried, driven, hunted, put to death, and endured every kind oftorment and affliction that the ingenuity of wicked men, and the hellishmalice of demons could contrive, and all this for the lack of understandingand of love for the principles of truth. It has been difficult in everyage of the world for the servants of God to accomplish His purposes uponthe earth. It has been difficult for those who have professed to be Saintsof God, in every age, to do His will faithfully without being molested,such has been the influence of the powers of darkness, the weakness of man'sintellect, and the lack of knowledge in the things of God. Because of this,it has been a difficult matter for those who have professed godliness, todiscriminate between right and wrong; they would feel inclined to do right,but as it was with Paul on certain occasions, when he would do good, evilwas present with him. I expect he ought to have overcome it, and I expectwe ought likewise; but such is the case, we cannot look anywhere but wecan see the weakness and infirmity of human nature.
We can, sit down and reason calmly and dispassionately upon this matter,guided by the Spirit of God, and reflect back to the time of Enoch, andread some of the revelations given to that people, and look at the strugglesand trials they had to pass through; then look also at the length of timethat elapsed, after he had gathered His people from the corrupt world, beforethey were prepared to be caught up into the heavens; for Enoch was translated,and the city with him, and the Saints, its inhabitants, those who believedin him as a Prophet of God, and worked righteousness.
Look again at the time that Noah came from the ark, after he and hishousehold were saved from the flood that drowned the world; they were theonly ones that were righteous. When Noah and his family had seen the dreadfulwreck, the awful calamity, the heart-rending scenes of distress and anguish,trouble and death, that overwhelmed the world-with all this staring themin the face, how soon his posterity departed from correct principles, andbowed their necks to the power of the adversary; how soon was the weaknessof human nature made manifest! Consider the trouble, afflictions, war, andbloodshed that have come in consequence of all this, the fostering of evilpassions in the human heart, and giving way to every kind of iniquity, beingled captive by the devil at his will, until nation has been arrayed againstnation, kingdom against kingdom, power against power, and authority againstauthority. Witness the human beings that have been slain, and the humancarcases that have been left to rot upon the battlefields; all this hasbeen in consequence of not adhering to what is righteous, true, and holy.
Again, see the old Israelites. Abraham had been set apart, and selectedby the Almighty, as a man who had proved faithful in all things, after beingtried to the uttermost extremity. God positively said, "I know Abrahamwill fear me and command his children after him." Yet look at his children,and look at their seed in the wilderness, and when the arm of God had beenstretched out in their behalf, see their rebellion, idolatry, and lasciviousness,and you will see fair specimens of poor, fallen, depraved human nature.Such was the case with them, and such has been the case in every age ofthe world. We cannot account for it upon any other principle, than thatthe God of this world has blinded, and does continue to blind, the heartsof the children of men, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of peace shouldshine in upon them, and they should be saved.
Wherein are we better than many of those of which we have spoken? Godhas revealed His truth to us; He has opened the heavens and sent forth Hisholy angels, has restored the holy Priesthood in as great power as everit was in any age, and in fact greater; for we are now living in the dispensationof the fulness of times, when God has determined to gather all things inone, whether they be things in heaven or things in the earth; notwithstandingall this, are we much better than the ancient people we have just noticed?We can read the history of the people of this continent, in the Book ofMormon, of their faithfulness to God, and the principles of truth and righteousness,and the hand of God was stretched out in mighty power to save them fromtheir enemies; and we read again of their destruction and overthrow in consequenceof their departure from God. And among this people, who have been blessedwith the light and revelations of God, who have been gathered from differentnations, who have travelled thousands of miles for the privilege of listeningto the oracles of eternal truth, of securing to themselves salvation, whohave hailed with joy the message of mercy that has been extended to them,whose hearts in former times beat high with prospects of mingling with theSaints of God in Zion, and listening to the words of eternal life, whatdo we see even among them? The same specimen of fallen human nature; thesame weaknesses, infirmities, and follies that have characterized men whohave lived in former ages.
How many of us have fallen on the right hand and on the left; thosewe have judged to be men of intelligence, some of them have stepped asidein one shape and some in another. Some have given way to their corrupt appetitesand passions, and have fallen in an evil hour, have lost the Spirit of God,have destroyed themselves, and have destroyed others; corrupted, weak, fallen,degenerate, and abominable, they have sunk to their own place. How muchof this has there been both among men and women, to the violation of themost sacred covenants they have made before God, angels, and men. They havebroken their covenants, corrupted themselves, departed from the right way,lost the Spirit of God, and they are anxious to go here and there, and everythingis wrong with them, and every place fails to yield them comfort, becausea consciousness of their guilt is continually with them; everything is outof place to them, and their understandings are darkened. At one time theywere quick to comprehend truth by the light of the Spirit, but now by walkin darkness.
This reminds me of a remark made once in Far West by a man; says he,"I know Joseph Smith is a false Prophet, and that the Book of Mormonand Covenants are false." How do you know it. "Why, says he, ifa man commit adultery, he shall apostatize; and I have done it, and havenot apostatized." That is a good sample of the intelligence that ismanifested by many. Do people think they can commit acts of iniquity, transgressthe laws of God, and break their covenants, after being admitted to greatprivileges in the kingdom of God, and retain His Spirit, and a knowledgeof His purposes? I tell you, no; but their very conduct and spirit givethe lie to their profession all the day long, just as much as this Missouriman's did which I have mentioned.
Well, what is it we are engaged in? Is the object of our being, in thislife, attained by thinking of nothing else but horses, to look to nothingelse but our little interests, our little farm or house, a few cattle, andthe like? Is this all we are concerned in, ye Latter-day Saints? And ifsome of these things do not come smooth and square according to your notions;and if you have made your golden or some other darling idol, and a Mosesshould come along and break it to pieces, and stamp it under his feet, andscatter it abroad, and say, "Arise, Israel, and wake from your slumbers;"do you feel very much grieved? Do you feel as though some dreadful calamityhad happened to you? Have you forgot who you are, and what your object is?Have you forgot that you profess to be Saints of the Most High God, clothedupon with the Holy Priesthood? Have you forgot that you are aiming to becomeKings and Priests to the Lord, and Queens and Priestesses to Him? Have youforgot that you are associated with the Saints of God in Zion, where theoracles of truth are revealed, and the truths of God are made manifest,and clearly developed; where you and your posterity after you can learnthe ways of life and salvation; where you are placed in a position thatyou can obtain blessings from the great Eloheim, that will rest upon youand your posterity worlds without end? Have you forgot these things, andbegun to turn again to the beggarly elements of the world, and become blind,like others we have spoken of, turning like the sow that was washed to herwallowing in the mire? We ought to reflect sometimes upon these things,and understand our true position. Have you forgot that you came from God,that He is your Father? Have you forgot that you are aiming to get backto His presence? If you have forgot all this, your conduct and actions noware fraught with eternal consequences to yourselves, to your progenitors,and to your posterity after you. Have you forgot that thousands who havepossessed the Holy Priesthood here, still exist in the eternal world, andlook with interest upon your conduct and proceedings? Have you forgot thatGod has set His hand again the second time to gather the remnants of Hispeople? Have you forgot that He is preparing a people that shall be purein heart; be blessed with light, life, and intelligence; with knowledgeof things past, present, and to come? Have you forgot that you are standingin the midst of brethren who have gone behind the vail, who are watchingyour actions, and are anxious for your welfare, prosperity, and exaltation?Have you forgot that we are living in the last time, wherein a mighty strugglewill have to take place between the powers of darkness that are in the world,and the children of light; that it is necessary for us as individuals togird ourselves with the principles of truth, and be girt about with righteousnesson the right hand and on the left, to enable us to stand in the midst ofdesolation, ruin, and misery, that are overhanging a devoted earth; andthat as eternal beings we ought to have our eyes open to eternal things,and not be dreaming away our existence, forgetful of what we came into theworld to accomplish?
Well, here we are, and who are we? We are Saints of the Most High God,are we not? And after all our weakness and infirmities, we are the bestpeople there is under the face of the heavens, by a thousand fold. Pooras we are, weak as we are, changeable, afflicted as we are, still we arethe best people God has upon the earth. If truth is revealed anywhere, itis here; if God communicates His will to the human family anywhere, it ishere. If anybody can enlighten mankind, this people can; and if the nationsof the earth, with their kings, potentates, and powers, are ever exaltedin the kingdom of God, ever receive the light, truth, and intelligence ofheaven, it will be through the means of this people. We are His servants;we are enlisted for life in the kingdom of God, to do His bidding, and towalk in obedience to His laws, to sustain His kingdom, to roll forth Hispurposes, and do whatsoever He shall think fit to require of us.
We have had some things presented to us during the Conference, aboutwhich I am ignorant of the feelings of this people, neither do I care whatare their feelings; it is a matter of no moment to me, neither is it tomy brethren, nor to any who do the will of God. But one thing I know, andone thing you know, you are not competent, in and of yourselves, to regulateanything pertaining to your eternal welfare; I do not care how wise andintelligent you may be, there is not one among you independent of God, orof the teachings of His servants. That I know, and that you know.
We have noticed some things this morning, wherein the world are at fault,because of their lack of experience. Take, for instance, one half of theworld, I mean China, and the great majority in Europe. Notice their positionat the present time, and can any of you point out a remedy that will restoreamity and peace among them? Is there a master mind, or spirit-a man possessedof sufficient intelligence, to walk forth among the nations of Europe, andsay to the hydra headed monster, "War, lie still and be thou quiet?"Is there a man who can go into China and do the same thing, and straightenout the snarled condition of the world?
Let us come nearer home; can any of you regulate the affairs of thisnation and put them right? I do not believe you can; and if you cannot dosuch small things, that are associated with time, things that we can see,know, and understand, how are you going to put in order the things of God?How are you going to order ends that are to come? to know what will be thebest course to pursue, when the nations shall be convulsed, thrones castdown, and empires destroyed; when nation shall rush madly upon nation, andhuman blood shall flow as rivers of water? What would we do in such circumstances?Some people have thought we were in a dreadful condition, when the Indiandifficulties were among us in these mountains; and our distant neighborshave been surprised how we have existed; but what would you think if youwere in some of the European nations at the present time? Suppose you wereone of the kings of those nations, or one of the counsellors, and some ofthe largest nations should undertake to command you to supply a number ofmen to help fight their battles, and you would say, "We wish to remainneutral;" the reply would be, "But we will make you fight, andif you do not do it we will exterminate you, to begin with." Supposeyou were in a position like that. I think we are no worse off in these mountains,than the world are. We may be in some circumstances, but in many other respectswe are much better off than they. I think our young men, for instance, wouldthink it very hard if they were obliged to spend from three to five yearsin soldiering in times of peace, which they have to do in many of the nationsof Europe, or bring a substitute to go in their place. I think sometimeswe might be a great deal worse off than we are; and I think it is necessarymen should be tried in order that they may be proved, and that they mayknow themselves; and that some should be destroyed, as they have been onthis continent, or on the other; it is all in the wise providence of God;life and death are of little moment to Him. It is a matter of great importanceto know the truth, and obey it, to have the privilege of learning, at themouths of the servants of God, His will, and then to have the privilegeof doing it unmolested, no matter what it is, whether to live or die, orwhatever course we may have to pursue. I think it is a great privilege forus to be associated with the kingdom of God. I esteem it so myself, andI feel to bless God my heavenly Father, all the day long, that He has countedme worthy to obtain the Priesthood, and to be associated with His servants,who are the most honorable, pure, and philanthropic men upon the earth;and I feel to bless and praise my heavenly Father all the day long; my heartis full of praise, and I rejoice exceedingly that I have been counted worthyto be associated with His people and kingdom.
Should we not all feel alike in this? We all profess to be full of lovefor, and manifest a great amount of confidence in, the Holy Priesthood.It reminds me of some of the missionaries among the churches of the day;they always have a great deal of faith about the spiritual welfare of thepeople, but they never had faith enough to trust their time and their friendsin the hands of God, while they were engaged in His work; but there mustbe missionary boxes to swallow up the money put into them, and if they goabroad, they must be well supplied with money, but they call upon the peopleto trust them for their spiritual welfare, while they cannot trust God fora piece of Johnny cake. I think we are very like them sometimes; we havea good supply of faith, we can speak and sing in tongues, and some of ushave the gift of prophecy, and are full of religion and zeal. We pray ferventlyfor the President, and for the Twelve, and for the rolling forth of God'skingdom, and we seem all alive in it in this way, but what about our temporalinterests? "O, I do not know so much about them, I think we are thebest judges in these matters, but in spiritual matters I do not meddle asa judge, they are in the hands of the Lord's servants, and I can attendto my temporal affairs myself."
"Yes, we have a great deal of faith, we can speak in tongues, andcast out devils in thy name." But take care he does not say at last,"I do not know you." "Why Lord? Did we not cast out devils,and were we not full of thy religion, and did we not pray unto thee often?"Yet He will say, "I never knew you,"
I will tell you how I feel about the principle of consecration, thathas been presented by the President before the Conference; but there isone thing that will perhaps make a difference with me, I have not much toconsecrate or sacrifice, consequently I cannot boast much in these matters.No matter about that, let it come; for I feel I am enlisted for the war,and it is going to last for time, and throughout all eternity; and if Iam a servant of God, I am under the direction of those servants of God,whom He has appointed to guide and counsel me by revelation from Him; itis their right to dictate and control me amid all the affairs of those associatedwith the kingdom of God; and I feel moreover that everything, whether spiritualor temporal, relating to time or to eternity, is associated with the kingdomof God. Feeling in that way, it makes very little difference to me whichway things go; it is not a matter of great moment whether they take thatside, this side, of the other side; whether the path is rough or smooth;it will only last a certain time, and I can only last a certain time; butthe chief thing with me is, how to hold on to my faith and maintain my integrity,and honor my calling, and see to it that I am found faithful at the end,not only of this life, but in worlds without end; and continue to grow inall intelligence, knowledge, faith, perseverance, power, and exaltation;that is a matter of some importance to me, but the other is scarcely wortha thought.
The principle that was laid before us has been published years ago inthe revelations of God, and the Saints have anxiously looked forward tothe time when it would be fully entered into by them. But there is one thingyou may set down for a certainty-if a man has not confidence in one revelationof God, he has not in another; and if a man feels right in one, he willin all the revelations from that source. I would hate, after struggling,and trying to master the evil around me, and to conquer the evil dispositionthat besets me, to let some little thing upset me, and root me up, and causeme to lose my high calling's glorious hope, and make a shipwreck of my faith,and send me down to perdition; and I know you would hate it also. We havegot to follow the oracles of heaven in all things; there is no other waybut to follow him God has appointed to lead us and guide is into eternalsalvation. He is either delegated from heaven to do this, or he is not;if he is, we will follow his counsel; if he is not, then we may kick upour heels, and every man help himself the best way he can. If I came frommy Father in heaven, and am seeking to find my way back to His presenceagain, and I do not know the way myself, I feel, for one, by the grace ofGod, to yield to the intelligence He gives, and go forward in the name ofthe great Eloheim, that I may obtain the object of my creation, and notmake a fool of myself, and destroy myself, but be a blessing to myself,to my progenitors, and my posterity, and obtain a seat in the kingdom ofGod.
These ought to be our feelings. I know the majority of this people feelright, and I pray God to increase this good feeling in every bosom, thatour hearts may expand, and that the blessings of the great God may restupon us, and that we may all ultimately be saved in His kingdom. AMEN.