H. W. Naisbitt

“ Morality is the outgrowth of religion. It is the fruitage of the tree of life in regard to men's ideas of God, of the past, and of the future. Without the cultivation and spirit of true religion, the moral faculties are very likely to be perverted, warped and misdirected. If the idea of brotherhood finds no place in the education of our youth, they will be disposed to take advantage of their brethren, take advantage in trade, speculation, etc., and society would thus become so individualized, that men would become a race of Ishmaelites, "every man's hand against his brother." ”

“ Suppose that spirit of gathering is resisted, and a man says "Well, I have got a good situation here, a nice little home, I enjoy the society in which I mingle"—and he continues in that course, how on earth or heaven or any where else, can that man get the special and particular salvation which belongs to gathering? It cannot be done; it is not in the nature of things. If he would enjoy that salvation he must absorb the principle of gathering until it grows and blossoms into life. ”

“ To those who have been allured by its power; to those who understand its force; to those who realize that it is the parent of all action almost in life; how it leads men to sacrifice, to labor, to effort, no argument is needed to show that it is the greatest power of the human heart. For it men will endure any amount of sacrifice; for it women will endure and submit to almost any indignity. ”

“ And when we see a man whom we recognize as faithful in all the conditions of life, as "a man whom we can tie to"—to use a common expression, a man who is on hand all the time, who is living his religion, we feel involuntarily to lift our hats to such a one, and this intuitive reverence which we pay to human character, is testimony of God within the vail of flesh, and also an evidence of the spirit of revelation and inspiration. ”

“ Now, in reading these prophecies concerning the future angelic visitations that are to take place in the history of mankind, I have no doubt that those who have pondered over these prophecies have thought that in these visitations they would find the key which should unlock the past, the present and the future, and be of great value in the salvation of the human family—salvation from ignorance, from sin, and from death. ”

“ I stand here to-day, as you are all aware, to speak of those things which pertain to the faith that we have received, of that order which we call the Gospel of the Son of God, that order which the world entitles "Mormonism," a system which contains within itself many elements which are strange to mankind, but which are very powerful in their character and calculated in their progress and growth to arrest the attention of the human family. ”

“ It may safely be assumed that marriage with them was an eternal principle; that it was not meant for time only, but for eternity; that it was a relationship that was perpetuated, and that this not only included the man and wife, but of necessity the entire family organization. For our God is not the God of the dead but of the living, "and what he hath joined together no man shall put asunder." To the older people here, who are familiar with the facts made manifest in the human organization, it may be said that there are certain elements of attraction which lead the one sex towards the other. ”

“ After you have finished your discourse some one may come up to you and say, "my friend, I believe the doctrine which you teach, I acknowledge the existence of the Deity, I believe in the message of his son, I understand the necessity of obedience to the first principles—including baptism." But mark when a man has been baptized if he becomes careless and indifferent and says "Well, I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to this extent." ”

“ Hence the irresistible conclusion is, that every member of the primitive church was baptized, "buried with him by baptism unto death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." This was one of the doctrines of the ancient church, and the next doctrine that followed it in the programme and system of the Gospel was the giving of the Holy Ghost. Now the scriptures tell us that "the manifestation of the spirit is given to every man to profit withal." ”

“ Here is the place where there should be intelligence. Here is the place where there should be wisdom. Here is the place to expect revelation, and that not in any vague, misty, half understood sense,—not lost or covered up by a multitude of words, but divested of everything that will deprive us of knowledge as to the essential principles which belong really to revelation. ”

“ And when they have gone to these different nations they have gone in the spirit of brotherhood, they have looked upon the human family as their brethren and their sisters. They have gone in the capacity of saviors, and they have carried with them those principles which are the foundation of that civilization which the Almighty intends to establish on the face of the earth. They have not gone to preach that which would narrow the views of mankind ”

“ There is a great deal implied in a congregation like the present one; there is much more implied in the aggregation of congregations forming a community, from communities to nations, from nations to mankind at large. The most narrow as well as most dense communities are made up of the family organization. There is found circle within circle, or as the Prophet had it, "wheel within wheel;" and the homes of a community should be the outgrowth, not of theories alone, but of the faith, knowledge, and understanding of those relationships which exist there. ”

“ If you find a man who essays to be a merchant, who desires the accumulation of wealth, you will find a man who points his energies in that direction. He is a man who not only looks at things in general but at things in detail; he not only looks at his business as a whole but he looks at it in its parts; and if he were to abstain or refrain from a consideration of the details which insure success the probability is that he would find himself in the courts of liquidation. ”

“ They are ready to testify that they know that God lives, that Jesus was the Savior of mankind, that the Gospel in all its pristine purity and beauty has been restored, and that in our own day all the blessings and privileges necessary for a complete salvation are offered to mankind. This may seem a reflection upon the intelligence of ages that are past and gone. But it is not so. I presume that there are thousands and millions who have passed away, that did the best they could, they lived up to the light they had, they sought to please God in their daily walk and conversation ”

“ Simply that there is a man living his religion. He is filled with the Spirit and power of God It is a lamp to his feet and a light to his path. It actuates him in all the circumstances of life; as a father, as a member of the Church to which he belongs and as a citizen. It is this which gives lustre to the eye and elasticity to the step, even when the body is bent with weight of years, and the stranger who has come direct from the eternal worlds can see that there is a man who has been with Jesus and has learned of him. ”

“ Whatever power there may be in the courts to enforce the claim of a wife against a husband, or the husband against the wife as a matter of protection, in the main, marriage is of God, is of divine origin. Marriage requires the sanction of the authority of the Holy Priesthood in order to give it force, in order to make it valid in this life and the life to come, and marriage—polygamic or monogamic, according to the necessities of the case and the condition of those who enter therein—is in harmony with all the laws of life ”

“ I said awhile ago that there had been a good deal of talking and a good deal of writing in regard to a bugbear called the union of Church and State. But it is folly to talk or write against a thing which God has incorporated into the very fabric of man's being; and it would be a good deal better now for the nation in which we live if the ranks of political parties were less divided, were more imbued with a sense of honor, virtue, purity, and the spirit of brotherhood. ”