B. H. Roberts

“ Would you, to gratify a morbid sentimentality desecrate and tear down one of the most magnificent temples of human liberty, ever erected? Would you wantonly deliver up the sacred principles of liberty, equity and justice, bequeathed by your fathers, to the grim Moloch of party who is crushing, grinding and trampling under foot our God-given rights, and whose sanguinary jaws are extended to gorge and devour the quivering remnants of our feeble, expiring liberty? Have we not had more than enough trouble already with Virginia, North Carolina, Louisana and Utah? Can we ever be satisfied? ”

“ The Visitation of John the Baptist.—On a sudden, as from the midst of eternity, the voice of the Redeemer spake peace to us, while the vail was parted and the angel of God came down clothed with glory, and delivered the anxiously looked for message, and the keys of the gospel of repentance! What joy! What wonder! What amazement! While the world was racked and distracted—while millions were groping as the blind for the wall, and while all men were resting on uncertainty, as a general mass, our eyes beheld, our ears heard. ”

“ Whither shall I go from thy spirit, or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. ”

“ What, has a priest turned flatterer, can a priest speak to an opponent in fair, well-seeming words? You know well to whom you speak-one who will not kneel in the dust before you-one who fears neither you nor your gods, but whose soul abhors you both, and is free from your superstition and the slavish submission it begets, else we should have had thunder from 'God's mouthpiece,' and not the mellifluous tones breathing softly—'Korihor, your speech ill becomes your intelligence;' but go on, speak as is your wont, I despise your flattery as I defy your power. ”

“ Trouble, vexation, perplexity, and contention, mingled with hope, fear, and murmuring, rumbled through the Union and agitated the whole nation, as would an earthquake at the center of the earth, the world heaving the sea beyond its bounds and shaking the everlasting hills; so, in hopes of better times, while jealousy, hypocritical pretensions, and pompous ambition were luxuriating on the ill-gotten spoils of the people, they rose in their majesty like a tornado, and swept through the land, till General Harrison appeared as a star among the storm-clouds for better weather. ”

“ The time when swords shall be beaten into plow-shares, and spears into pruning hooks seems not far distant, even the time when nations shall learn war no more—the vision of the prophets! These are the conditions in the midst of which we live: A time when property is more secure than it ever was before in the world; a time when personal liberty is more secure than ever it was before in the world; a time when the comforts of life among the masses of mankind well nigh equal conditions that only kings could enjoy in ages that are past! ”

“ What shall I say of the cities of Tyre and Sidon, of Nineveh with her hundred gates; of Babylon, "the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees excellence," with her mighty walls, her strong gates and towers, her palatial residences, her magnificent temples, her hanging gardens, the wonder and admiration of all who beheld them! Where are all these? Crumbled into shapeless heaps of ruins that are scarcely sufficient to show where they once stood—nothing left of them but their names. Where, too, are the grand empires of Assyria and Babylon, of Egypt and Persia, of Macedonia and Greece? ”

“ They nobly fought and nobly conquered; and now the cap of liberty is elevated on the tops of your liberty poles throughout the land, and the flag of freedom waves from Wisconsin to Louisiana—from Maine to Missouri. Not only so, but your vessels—foremost in the world—sail over oceans, seas and bays; visiting every nation, and wherever those vessels go your flag flutters in the breeze, a hope is inspired among the down-trodden millions, that they, perchance, if they cannot find liberty in their own land, may find it with you. ”

“ Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above, and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth? Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another? ”

“ Against the immovable barrier of the existence of evil, the waves of philosophy have dashed themselves unceasingly since the birthday of human thought, and have retired broken and powerless, without displacing the minutest fragment of the stubborn rock, without softening one feature of its dark and rugged surface. ”

“ Hear O ye heavens, and give ear O earth, and rejoice ye inhabitants thereof, for the Lord is God, and beside him there is no Savior: Great is his wisdom, marvelous are his ways, and the extent of his doings none can find out; his purposes fail not, neither are there any who can stay his hand; from eternity to eternity he is the same, and his years never fail. For thus said the Lord, I, the Lord, am merciful and gracious unto those who fear me, and delight to honor those who serve me in righteousness and in truth unto the end; great shall be their reward and eternal shall be their glory. ”

“ It was in Nauvoo that Joseph Smith's life expanded into that eloquent fullness which gives so much promise of what that man will be in eternity. It was in Nauvoo he contended against a world of opposition; against the power of falsehood and misrepresentation; against priestcraft; against corruption in high places; from here he corresponded with statesman, and rebuked demagogues; from here he went to martyrdom—to seal his testimony with his blood. And after his death, it was from here his people fled to the wilderness in the most remarkable exodus of modern times. ”

“ You see, then, my friends, this message of Mormonism, beginning so harshly, to what music it leads us! to what harmonies! We stand here, with you, panoplied in this faith, in these hopes, in this spirit of charity for the world. Our message is optimistic; we have glad tidings for the world, not a message of dole and damnation, but of assurance, of hope, and encouragement, an uplifting message. Mormonism proclaims the coming of a brighter day for the world—the long-promised millennium with the reign of the Christ—
"The morning breaks, the shadows flee! ”

“ Nor is this all: but in the mysterious changes which take place on our own planet, in the gentle Spring, luxuriant Summer, fruitful Autumn and blighting Winter, with its storms and frosts—the "mysterious round" which brings us our seed time and harvest, and clothes the earth with vegetation and flowers, perpetuating that wonderful power we call life, the strangest fact in all the works of nature—in these mighty changes, so essential and beneficent, man recognizes the wisdom and power of God of whom his fathers bear record. ”

“ One may stand so close to a mountain that he perceives neither the vastness of the pile not the grandeur of its outlines. Not until one recedes from it some distance does the magnificence of its snow-capped peaks, the solemnity of its rugged cliffs, and deep ravines stir the sensibilities of the soul. So with this work established through the labors of Joseph Smith and his associates. They stood too close to it to comprehend its greatness; too absorbed in its parts to contemplate much less fully understand the meaning and harmony of the whole. ”

“ When I think of the glory that attends God's work, the increase of His servants, the growth of Israel born in the everlasting covenant, surrounded by these lofty crags and peaks, inspiring them with love of liberty, I trust that from the ashes of our beloved President—who obtained the title of Champion of Freedom and Liberty, the champion of the people's rights—I trust that from his ashes may spring innumerable champions who will stand in the image of their Maker, as has our departed president, and that they may maintain the right and the rule of truth of God as he has done. ”

“ From the helpless babe may come a Michael Angelo, who from some crude mass of stone from the mountain side shall work out a heaven-born vision that shall hold the attention of men for generations, and make them wonder at the God-like powers of man that has created an all but living and breathing statue. Or a Mozart, a Beethoven, or a Handel, may come from the babe, and call out from the silence those melodies and the richer harmonies that lift the soul out of its present narrow prison house and give it fellowship for a season with the Gods. ”

“ Crape the heavens with weeds of wo, gird the earth with sack-cloth, and let hell mutter one melody in commemoration of fallen splendor! for the glory of America has departed, and God will set a flaming sword to guard the tree of liberty, while such mint-tithing Herods as Van Buren, Boggs, Benton, Calhoun and Clay are thrust out of the realms of virtue as fit subjects for the kingdom of fallen greatness. ”

“ Your prayers are but mockeries; your heaven above you is brass; the earth under your feet is iron. Cease from prayer; become self reliant, and do the best you can by your own inherent strength; develop such human wisdom as you may, and walk in its light, for it is all there is—your cries for help and guidance cannot penetrate the heavens, and there is no God to hear or help you!
But, of course, believing, as I do, that God responded to the heart-cries of the Prophet, to his prayers, I say to all men—Behold the result of Joseph Smith's praying in the achievements of his life's work! ”

“ The real riddle of existence—the problem which confounds all philosophy, aye, and all religion, too, so far as religion is a thing of man's reason, is the fact that evil exists at all; not that it exists for a longer or a shorter duration. Is not God infinitely wise and holy and powerful now? and does not sin exist along with that infinite holiness and wisdom and power? Is God to become more holy, more wise, more powerful hereafter; and must evil be annihilated to make room for his perfections to expand? ”

“ Slander, outright falsehood and misrepresentation will play havoc with his reputation. Everywhere his name will be held up as evil. Derision will laugh at his testimony, Ridicule mock it. On every hand he will be met with the cry of "False prophet! false prophet!" Chains and the dungeon's gloom await him; mobs with murderous hate will assail him again and again; and at the last, while under the protection of the law, and the honor of a great commonwealth pledged for his safety, he will be murdered in cold blood for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus! ”

“ Furthermore if Missouri continues her warfare, and to issue her writs against me and this people unlawfully and unjustly, as she has done, and to take away and trample upon our rights, I swear, in the name of Almighty God, and with uplifted hands to Heaven, I will spill my heart's blood in our defense. They shall not take away our rights; and if they don't stop leading me by the nose, I will lead them by the nose, and if they don't let me alone, I will turn up the world—I will make war. When we shake our own bushes, we want to catch our own fruit. ”

“ If a physical, luminous body can send forth from its presence an energy into such immense space depths, as we know our sun does, and conveys its essential qualities of light and heat and vital force to planets at least so distant as our earth is from the sun; may it not be that a spirit of such dignity and power as we have a right from what is revealed of him to believe the Holy Ghost is, cannot he, more abundantly, and even to infinity, give forth spiritual energy that shall unite to himself all those who are born again—those who obey the gospel? ”

“ This is a respectable crime, a crime committed principally by those who go to high-toned churches and fashionable meeting houses in velvets and feathers, in silks and satins, and who with upturned eyes and hypocritical voices, insult the majesty of heaven by drawling out, 'Lord have mercy upon us, miserable sinners!' Yet they are murderers—murderers of the worst kind, the shedders of innocent blood, consumers of their own flesh, whom the vengeance of God awaits! ”

“ If the vail was rent today, and the great God who holds this world in its orbit; and who upholds all worlds and all things by his power, was to make himself visible—I say, if you were to see him today, you would see him like a man in form—like yourselves, in all the person, image, and very form as a man; for Adam was created in the very fashion, image, and likeness of God, and received instructions from, and walked, talked, and conversed with him, as one man talks and communes with another. ”

“ What may we not all accomplish in such a state as our gospel gives hope to believe in, through Jesus Christ our Lord? Think of eternity in which to live, with God for your friend, with good men for your associates, and eternity in which to work out the problems of existence—eternity!—its shining plane stretching out illimitably before you—I say, what may you not hope to achieve? At least development, intellectual, spiritual; at least growth, moral growth—soul growth, until at last, citizenship in the kingdom of God, sonship to God, and brotherhood with all divine Intelligences. ”

“ The world is weary of the endless wrangling of the scholastics. They settle nothing. Their speculations merely shroud all in profounder mystery, and beget more uncertainty. They darken counsel by words without knowledge. Therefore, to heal the schisms in Christendom; to bring order out of the existing chaos; to stay the stream of unbelief within the churches; to convert the Jews; to evangelize the world; to bring to pass that universal reign of truth, of peace, of liberty, of righteousness that all the prophets have predicted—the world needs a new witness for God. ”

“ And when fifteen thousand free citizens of the high-blooded republic of North America are robbed and driven from one State to another without redress or redemption, it is not only time for a candidate for the presidency to pledge himself to execute judgment and justice in righteousness, law or no law; but it is his bounden duty as a man, for the honor of a disgraced country, and for the salvation of a once virtuous people, to call for a union of all honest men, and appease the wrath of God by acts of wisdom, holiness, and virtue! ”

“ You feel the same spirit that inspired them; the same blood that coursed through their veins flows in yours; you feel true patriotism and a strong attachment to the Constitution and institutions bought by the blood of your fathers, and bequeathed to you by them as your richest patrimony. There are others of you that have taken the oath of allegiance to the United States; and some of you not understanding correct principles, may, perhaps, feel qualms of conscience, and think, probably, that if we undertake to resist the powers that are seeking to make aggression upon us, we are doing wrong. ”

“ Such knowledge is too wonderful for men, unless they possess the spirit of Gods. It unravels the little mysteries, which, like a fog, hides the serene atmosphere of heaven, and looks from world to world; from system to system; from universe to universe, and from eternity to eternity, where, in each and all, there is a presidency of Gods, and Gods many, and Lords many; and, from time to time, or from eternity to eternity, Jesus Christ shall bring in another world, regulated and saved as this will be, when he delivers it up to the Father; and God becomes all in all. ”

“ Man is by nature a religious animal, and where natural conditions prevail instead of artificial ones, true to his nature, man inclines toward a religious state of mind. There is something in the awful stillness of the wood that says to man—"God is in this solitude!" The murmur of the brook splashing over its pebbly bed, and the mournful sighing of the winds through the tree tops, whisper to his spirit the fundamental truth of all religion—"God lives!" The stars looking down through the trees or mirrored in stream or lake bear witness to the same great truth ”

“ Can no station in life be protected from the shimmer of thy glamour? must our talented and honorable Vice-President be subjected to thy jaundiced touch? But to be serious, did water tunnel through our mountains, construct dams, canals and ditches, lay out our cities and towns, import and plant choice fruit-trees, shrubs and flowers, cultivate the land and cover it with the cattle on a thousand hills, erect churches, school-houses and factories, and transform a howling wilderness into a fruitful field and a garden? ”

“ But, sir, when the nation has sunk deeper and deeper into the mud at every turn of the great wheels of the Union, while you have acted as one of the principal drivers, it becomes the bounden duty of the whole community, as one man, to whisper you on every point of government, to uncover every act of your life, and inquire what mighty acts you have done to benefit the nation, how much you have tithed the mint to gratify your lust, and why the fragments of your raiment hang upon the thorns by the path as signals to beware. ”

“ He has been the champion of human rights, the champion of liberty, truth and freedom. He has lived a noble, useful life, full of honor and credit to himself and family, a satisfaction to the people and a glory to God. I take pleasure in bearing this testimony to the faithfulness and devotion of President Taylor, to his integrity to God and the love of his people. I knew him to be a man determined to do right, to see justice administered, truth upheld, and honor sustained among this people. He has lived to see this people pass through many changes. ”

“ Many persons think a prophet must be a great deal better than anybody else. Suppose I would condescend—yes, I will call it condescend—to be a great deal better than any of you, I would be raised up to the highest heavens, and who should I have to accompany me? I love that man better who swears a stream as long as my arm, yet deals justice to his neighbors and mercifully deals his substance to the poor, than the long, smooth-faced hypocrite. ”

“ Our separations here tend to make us more appreciative of each other's society. A few more separations and trials, a few more tears, a few more afflictions, and the victory will be ours! We'll gain the kingdom, possess the crown, inherit eternal glory, associate with the Gods, soar amidst the intelligences of heaven; and with the noble, the great, the intellectual, the virtuous, the amiable, the holy, possess the reward held in reserve for the righteous, and live and love forever. ”

“ THE PROPHET ON THE LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE AND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES.
It is one of the first principles of my life and one that I have cultivated from my childhood, having been taught it by my father, to allow every one the liberty of conscience. I am the greatest advocate of the Constitution of the United States there is on the earth. In my feelings I am always ready to die in the protection of the weak and oppressed in their just rights. The only fault I find with the Constitution is, it is not broad enough to cover the whole ground. ”

“ I speak in behalf of one hundred and fifty thousand citizens of Utah. I speak in behalf of forty millions of free American citizens in the United States. I conjure you out of respect for the memory of the dead, as the rightful guardians of the liberties of a vast nation, that stands proudly prominent among the nations of the earth, and in behalf of unborn millions, to pause. I conjure you, in behalf of our honor and integrity, in behalf of republican principles, and the cause of freedom throughout the world. I plead with you in behalf of our common humanity, and the rights of man, to reflect. ”

“ I would walk in the tracks of the illustrious patriots who carried the ark of the government upon their shoulders with an eye single to the glory of the people and when that people petitioned to abolish slavery in the slave States, I would use all honorable means to have their prayers granted, and give liberty to the captive by paying the Southern gentlemen a reasonable equivalent for his property; that the whole nation might be free indeed! ”

“ I know the Almighty will bless all good men; He will bless you; and the time has come when there will be such a flocking to the standard of liberty as never has been or shall be hereafter. What an era has commenced! Our enemies have prophesied that we would establish our religion by the sword. Is it true? No. But if Missouri will not stay her cruel hand in her unhallowed persecutions against us, I restrain you not any longer. I say in the name of Jesus Christ, by the authority of the Holy Priesthood, I this day turn the key that opens the heavens to restrain you no longer from this time forth. ”