AN ADDRESS DELIVERED BY PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG, IN THETABERNACLE, GREAT SALT LAKE CITY, JULY 11, 1852.
1:37
There are a few minutes more of time allotted to us for worship thismorning, which I will occupy for the consolation of my hearers, and formy own.
I can bear testimony that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true; and theword of the Lord, whether written or spoken, is true.
Permit me to ask a question. Who are the individuals upon the face ofthe earth that can make this statement in truth? Who are the individualsthat can say that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true, and that he lives?Can the Christian world? They cannot. They may say that they believe, andhave all confidence that Jesus lives; they may have all confidence in declaringthat the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true; they may firmly declare that theBible (referring particularly to the New Testament) is true; that thereincontained is the plan of salvation, and is true. This they may declare inall good conscience, and with all soberness. But let me ask, where are theindividuals that can say that they know that Jesus lives? And who are theindividuals that can say that his Gospel is true, and is the plan of salvationto man? I will let Christendom answer this question for themselves; butto me it is certain, that no man lives on the face of the earth-no womanlives, that can say this, except those to whom Christ has revealed himself.
Though others may say in all good conscience they believe he lives-whoknows the doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ to be true? There is one classof people, and one only, that live upon the face of the earth, who do knowit; and that class of men and women are those that keep his commandments,and do his will; none others can say it. None others can declare with boldness,and emphatically, that Jesus lives, and that his Gospel is true. Upon theplain and simple principle of logical and philosophical deduction, we learnthis from his own words, as written by one of his disciples-"They thatdo my will, shall know of my doctrine, and they that love me will keep mycommandments;" and I will add, "they that know and love me,"says Jesus, "will keep my sayings."
This is my testimony. We have had the first principles of the Gospellaid before us this morning, and we have heard the testimony of one of theApostles of the last days to confirm it. I am also a witness to the truthof these sayings contained in the New Testament.
Permit me, my hearers, brethren and strangers, to say to you, there isnot that man that hears the sound of my voice this day, that can say thatJesus lives, whether he professes to be his disciple or not; and can sayat the same time, that Joseph Smith was not a Prophet of the Lord.
There is not that being that ever had the privilege of hearing the wayof life and salvation set before him as it is written in the New Testament,and in the Book of Mormon, and in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, bya Latter-day Saint, that can say that Jesus lives, that his Gospel is true;and at the same time say that Joseph Smith was not a Prophet of God. Thatis strong testimony, but it is true. No man can say that this book (layinghis hand on the Bible) is true, is the word of the Lord, is the way, isthe guide-board in the path, and a charter by which we may learn the willof God; and at the same time say, that the Book of Mormon is untrue; ifhe has had the privilege of reading it, or of hearing it read, and learningits doctrines. There is not that person on the face of the earth who hashad the privilege of learning the Gospel of Jesus Christ from these twobooks, that can say that one is true, and the other is false. No Latter-daySaint, no man or woman, can say the Book of Mormon is true, and at the sametime say that the Bible is untrue. If one be true, both are; and if onebe false, both are false. If Jesus lives, and is the Saviour of the world,Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God, and lives in the bosom of his father Abraham.Though they have killed his body, yet he lives and beholds the face of hisFather in heaven; and his garments are pure as the angels that surroundthe throne of God; and no man on the earth can say that Jesus lives, anddeny at the same time my assertion about the Prophet Joseph. This is mytestimony, and it is strong.
Permit me to say, that I am proud of my religion. It is the only thingI pride myself in, on the earth. I may heap up gold and silver like themountains; I may gather around me property, goods, and chattels, but I couldhave no glory in that, compared with my religion; it is the fountain oflight and intelligence; it swallows up the truth contained in all the philosophyof the world, both heathen and Christian; it circumscribes the wisdom ofman; it circumscribes all the wisdom and power of the world; it reachesto that within the veil. Its bounds, its circumference, its end, its height,and depth, are beyond the comprehension of mortals, for it has none.
Permit me to remark, my hearers, as for the intelligence of the day,and the knowledge that they have had in Christendom-how long will it takea man of reflection, of deep thought, and of a sound mind, to circumscribeevery particle of it? It can be weighed and measured, as easy as the golddust. For instance, go to the "Mother Church," from whence allthe religions of Christendom have sprung; go back to the time when she flourishedin her glory; and how long would it take us to circumscribe the religionof the "Mother Church," the "Holy Catholic Church?"Cannot we learn the principles of that church in a very few years? We canstudy her theology until we get all the knowledge and wisdom to be had uponevery point of doctrine contained in her from first to last. Go then tothe Church of England, and from that to the latest and last reformer thatlives upon the earth-and how long would it take to circumscribe every particleof their religion from first to last? Not long.
Why do I make these remarks and assertions? It is because I have an experience.All the religion of the world, I have learned already. The best and greatestdivines that lived in my boyhood, I may say almost in my childhood, childrennot as old as I was at the time, almost babes and sucklings, would drownthem in their own arguments, and confuse them. Question them, and they cannotanswer the simplest question concerning the character of the Deity, heaven,or hell, this or that, or the other; a sucking child would comparativelyconfuse and confound them upon these subjects; and they would wind up allby saying, "Great is the mystery of Godliness, God manifest in theflesh." I would say, great is their foolery; they are profound in theirignorance.
But I am proud to say of my religion, I have studied it faithfully fortwenty-two years, day and night, at home and abroad, upon the rivers, andupon the lakes, when travelling by sea and by land; have studied it in thepulpit; from morning till night; whatsoever might be my pursuit, I havestudied it with as close an application any college student ever did anysubject he wished to commit to memory; and I can say I have only just gotinto the A B C of it; it leads the vision of my mind into eternity.
Suppose the Almighty should unfold the future destiny of the nationsto you, and wrap you in a sea of vision, and show you the eternity of knowledge,with the history of worlds on worlds, and their destiny-you can then havea faint idea of what it is like; and any other man, or any other woman,who ever has received the promise of the Gospel, knows that the Lord Almightyis in the midst of all His creatures that are scattered abroad among thenations of the earth, and does His pleasure among them. His scrutinizingeye will not suffer a hair of your head to fall to the ground unnoticed;His attention is at once so minute and so extensive.
He presides over the worlds on worlds that illuminate this little planet,and millions on millions of worlds that we cannot see; and yet He looksupon the minutest object of His creations; not one of these creatures escapesHis notice; and there is not one of them but His wisdom and power has produced.But that is no matter to me, I speak with regard to you. Is there a manwho believes, or professes to believe in what Jesus says, where he declaresby one of his Apostles, or by more than one pointedly, there is no halfway work in this matter? Now if you can believe it, it is directly to thepoint; says he, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments;"and if you do not love me, you will not keep my commandments-this followsas a matter of course; and that will show to my Father, and to my brethrenthat follow me, that you do love me; and so say I, they that love the LordJesus, will keep his cammandments [commandments].
Why should I not be proud of my religion? if a man be permitted to havepride at all; or if this people be permitted to indulge in it in the leastdegree, why not be proud of their religion? for God loves it, angels adoreit, all the heavenly hosts delight in it; it is in the midst of an eternityof intelligence, and forms a part of it; while, on the other hand, all hellis opposed to it, all wickedness is opposed to it, all men and women whodesire to make sin their refuge, hate it; and all hell, and all its votarieshate it, and the Lord Almighty, with all His subjects, loves it; and Hewill yet rule triumphantly over this earth. What shall we say, will notJesus reign and subdue the world? Is he not the Saviour of the world, andthe only begotten Son of the Father, and will he not accomplish the workhe came to accomplish? Is not the earth the Lord's, the wheat, the fineflour, the gold, the silver, the earth and all its fulness? Can you imagineto yourselves anything that pertains to this earth that does not belongto its Redeemer? He is my master, my elder brother. He is the characterI look to, and the one I try to serve to the best of my ability. ShouldI not be proud of my religion? I think if pride can at all be indulged in,the Latter-day Saints should be proud.
I know there are a great many people who are not acquainted with thehistory of this people; I am personally and most intimately acquainted withthe history of Joseph Smith and this people, for twenty-two years. Thereare a great many people that are not; and they have thought we have beenpersecuted from state to state, and from place to place, because of ourwickedness and lawless acts among the people. I need not say it to my Fatherin heaven, to Jesus Christ His Son, or to the holy angels, or the Prophetsand Apostles, who have lived in former, or in latter days; for they knowit; but I can say to those who do not understand and know our history, thatwe have been persecuted because we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, anddo just as he has told us, and not because of the evil acts of Joseph Smith.
Joseph Smith was not killed because he was deserving of it, nor becausehe was a wicked man; but because he was a virtuous man. I know that to beso, as well as I know that the sun now shines. Every man and woman who doesthe will of the Father, and will keep the commandments of Jesus Christ,may also know, as well as myself-it is their privilege. I know for myselfthat Joseph Smith was the subject of forty-eight law-suits, and the mostof them I witnessed with my own eyes; but not one action could ever be madeto bear against him. No law or constitutional right did he ever violate.He was innocent and virtuous; he kept the law of his country, and livedabove it; out of forty-eight law suits, (and I was with him in the mostof them), not one charge could be substantiated against him. He was pure,just, and holy, as to the keeping of the law. Now this I state for the satisfactionof those who do not know our history; but the Lord and the angels know allabout it.
Let me ask another question; do the people know what we were driven fromMissouri for? An old friend of mine, called upon me the day before yesterday.He said he had been watching my course, had looked and inquired after me,and had endeavored to find out my history, for we were friends. I askedhim if he knew anything about the Latter-day Saints, or not? I found hehad been looking after me, and had learned I had become a follower of JosephSmith. I said, Do you know anything about our history? By his reply, I foundhe knew nothing at all of it, in comparison.
A great many are in the like situation. Now let me relate one item ofit, not for those who are wise, and pretend to be filled with knowledge,and at the same time know nothing, but I relate it for the information ofthose who know nothing about it. To my certain knowledge, men and womenleft the counties of Davies and Caldwell, in the upper part of the stateof Missouri, set fire to their own buildings, drove off their cattle killedand slayed, (I know, and could name the people), and then swore the "Mormons"had done it. Now this circumstance came under my certain knowledge. SaysI, can it be possible that men can become so corrupt, and so sunken in wickedness?I say this for the information of those who do not understand and know thispeople from the beginning. From the first day I knew brother Joseph to theday of his death, a better man never lived upon the face of this earth.
From the days of my youth, and I will say from the day that I came uponthe stage of action to act for myself, there never was a boy, a man, eitherold or middle aged, that ever tried to live a life more pure and refinedthan your humble servant. As I told my friend, says I, Brother Brown, Ihave tried to make myself a better man from the day of our first acquaintanceto this. I have not infringed upon any law, or trod upon the rights of myneighbors; but I have tried to walk in the paths of righteousness, and livean humble life, that I might gain eternal happiness. I make bold to speakthus, though in the eastern world it is quite unpopular to speak in one'sown praise; but since I have become a western man, I can make stump speeches.Why am I driven from my possessions? Why am I persecuted, and forced toleave thousands and thousands of dollars' worth of property in Ohio, Missouri,and Illinois? Though I have never looked back upon it, it is as ashes undermy feet. I am in the hands of God, He gave it, and He took it away; andblessed be the name of the Lord.
I am in His hands; all men are in His hands; and He has turned the enemyin his way, and held him by His power. It is not I, it is not Joseph, itis not this people, nor the wisdom they possess, that has delivered themfrom their enemies; but it is the Lord. He is our captain, our pilot, andour master, and in Him do we glory, and will glory. Let the world say whatthey please, we will glory in our holy religion, and God will we serve.And furthermore let me remark, I am not afraid nor ashamed to expose andoppose the iniquity of men, though they may stand in high places; neitherwas Joseph Smith. Let death come, no matter for that; who cares for it?
I am aware, as well as brother Kimball, if my body fall into the dust,I am laying it down to abide the penalty of the law broken in the fall ofman; for dust I am, and unto dust I must return. It is all right to me;I have seen a great many times that I would like to have this body lie down,but as long as the spirit and body hold together, my tongue shall be swiftagainst evil, the Lord Almighty being my helper. Though it may be in "Mormon"Elders, among the people in or out of the Church, if they come in my path,where I can chastise them, the Lord Almighty being my helper, my tongueshall be swift against evil; and if evil come, let it come. If for thismy body shall fall, let it fall; when they have destroyed the body, thenthey have no more that they can do; that is the end of their power, andof the power of the devil on this earth; but Jesus Christ has power to destroyboth soul and body in hell. I thank you for your attenattention [attention].May the Lord bless you. Amen.