Heber C. Kimball

“ Now, you need not sit here as judges, and judge brother Brigham. Good heaven! how does any one without any priesthood look when judging him and his brethren? He is capable of judging all things pertaining to this kingdom; for he has the keys of light and revelation, and God is with him. I cannot comprehend him, only in proportion to the measure of the Spirit bestowed upon me. Can brother Wells comprehend me? No, he cannot, nor never can, only as he has the same measure of the Spirit; and no man can comprehend his file-leader, except he has the same measure of the Spirit. ”

“ How could the members of my body exist, if the blood did not pass to the extremities? Then it has to turn and go back to the vitals. Now say that I am a branch, how am I to partake of brother Brigham's spirit and know his mind, unless I also partake of the fatness of the true vine, and permit its sap, or essence, or spirit, to flow through me without obstruction?—that my mind and will may become amalgamated and run together with the mind and will of brother Brigham, that our spirits may freely and fully unite through the same genial influences of the Spirit of truth. ”

“ It is so with you, ye Elders of Israel, when you forfeit your covenants.
Brethren and sisters, as the Lord liveth, and as we live and exist in these mountains, let me tell you the world is ripe, and there are no saving principles within them, with a very few exceptions; and they will gather out, and the rest of mankind are ready for destruction, for they will have no salt to save them. I know the day is right at hand when men will forfeit their Priesthood and turn against us and against the covenants they have made, and they will be destroyed as Judas was. ”

“ Faith is dead without works, just as much as my body is dead without my spirit. When my spirit leaves my body, my body is dead; but put them together, and they make a soul—a spirit in a tabernacle. What is the use of our professing to be Saints, unless we live our religion? By our faithfulness and by our good works we shall obtain knowledge.
How can you find out whether brother Brigham is called of God, except you have a revelation from God? And then some are not fully satisfied, but will doubt the revelation that God has given them. ”

“ Now you say I believe in the principle of election. I do; I believe every thing that is right. Everybody is elected that will be elected, and then honour their calling and priesthood, and obtain the blessings and promises; and if they be faithful to the end of their days, they will be saved—every one of them. That is as far as I believe in election; and there are some elected to be damned. Why? Because they have taken a course to be damned, and they go to that fountain where they belong, and from whence they have drawn the evil principles that have changed them into vessels of wrath. ”

“ Take a course to save men, not to kill them, not to destroy them. Take a course to save women, not to destroy them, I mean all the Elders in the house of Israel, Bishops, High Priests, Prophets, Apostles, Teachers, Evangelists, and every member in the Church of God, take a course to save; and if a man has done wrong, tell him to do right for the future, and do a good work, and, peradventure, God will remit his sins and not require any more than a lamb, a pigeon, a calf, or something of that kind, as an atonement. ”

“ Let us do all the good we can. Show all the kindness we can to the world, to both Saint and sinner, to all upon the face of the earth, and I know we shall receive our reward for every good and for every evil work we do, but I do not want to be rewarded for anything but that which is good. May God grant me life, that it may be spent for the good of this people, and for the comfort and consolation of brother Brigham. God forbid I should ever grieve his feelings, and the Spirit of God, from this time forth, that when I die I may depart in peace, to mingle with those who have gone before me. ”

“ I can tell you it is time for us to be humble, prayerful, to live our religion,—not only those men who hold office—not merely those who are selected to lead prayer-circles and to pray according to the holy order, but it is for all; and we should ask our Father to bless these mountains and valleys—to bless our crops, our herds, and flocks; for every soul of you knows that by them our natural lives exist. Then, supposing your wheat is preserved, and mine is cut off, and that there are three-fourths of this people without bread, gentlemen, you have got to divide with us until we are all out. ”

“ Brethren, I want you to understand, if you will treasure up principles of truth as you would treasure up gold and silver and precious stones—if you will treasure up truth, every truth that you treasure up, that truth is life, and that life is light. Do you not see that if you treasure up the principles of truth in you, and you have your treasury full of them, then, of course, your treasury is saviour of all? Why? Because life is light, and light is life. Do you not see, if you have got the true principles dwelling in you, if you treasure up truth, you are bound to have life ”

“ Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them; for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. ”

“ Let us all go to work and cultivate the earth, beautify and adorn it with trees and shrubs and plants that never die. Let us preserve and sustain, and make ourselves independent both for clothing and for food, and also for herds and flocks; and we will be free, and our enemies will not trouble us much more. I am a witness to what the nation has done to the people of the Saints for thirty years past. They have killed some of the best men that ever lived, and the whole nation sanctioned it, thinking they had got rid of the worst men that ever were upon the earth. ”

“ Truth has sprung from the earth, and righteousness has looked down from heaven, and they have met and have kissed each other—they are one. It should be just so with those who possess the holy Priesthood of the Son of God; it never will lead one man to contend against another, and the angels of God never will cause any person to contend about any of the follies of this world, for all the glory of this world is perfectly worthless without God. The life of man is but a few days, and these few days well spent will be spent to secure a place in the haven of eternal rest. ”

“ I am interested with everything that is good; and in fact, I am interested with a great many things which are not so very good, for there is nothing that I see on earth or in the heavens but what interests me, and gives me an experience. When I see a man take the wrong road—the road which leads to death, it is an experience to me, and it opens my eyes to shun that path. And we are taught that if a man will not learn by precept, or by example, he has, to learn by what he suffers. ”

“ I have seen the day when I loved gold, and silver, and fine carriages, and fine horses, and the good things of this world; but I have lost those feelings, and may God ever continue to separate them from me, as far as the east is from the west; and let my affections be upon Him, and His kingdom, until I breathe my last breath. I know if I never go to. the United States again, or to Great Britain, my skirts are clear from the blood of this generation. I have received nothing but ill wages for my labor from them; and if ever a man did his duty, I have done it to this generation. ”

“ Some say the earth exists without spirit; I do not believe any such thing; it has a spirit as much as any body has a spirit. How can anything live, except it has a living spirit? How can the earth produce vegetation, fruits, trees, and every kind of production, if there is no life in it? It could not, any more than a woman could produce children when she is dead: she must be alive to produce life, to manifest it, and show it to the world. It is so with "Mormonism." We must manifest our faith by our works. ”

“ Bless the seeds that are placed therein by thy servants and handmaidens. And inasmuch as they are disposed to do thy work, and erect a Temple to thy name, which is their fixed purpose and determination; let the heavens be gentle over them. May the earth be sanctified for their good, and the seeds they throw into it yield to them an hundred fold in return. We pray thee to bless such men and women—may the blessings of the Almighty richly attend them, and multiply them in their families, in their herds and flocks, in strength and in health, in salvation, and in eternal lives. ”

“ I have been in the world, through the United States and Great Britain, and I have plowed and worked, and God knows that I did abhor their wickedness.
Who is bearing off the kingdom of our God? Those who stand right up breast to breast to those who are leading this people in the paths of truth. As brother Hyde has said, those men will have power, glory, immortality, and eternal life; and they will increase upon them as fast as we can lead this people along. ”

“ Let us cultivate well what we do cultivate—make gardens and adorn them, and build good houses and adorn them. What a blessing it is for this people to have the privilege of beautifying the earth and making it like it was in the beginning in the garden of Eden! It is not necessary to build such tremendous great houses, but houses that we can complete and plaster over head, and on the sides and all over, and make them beautiful. ”

“ Is it not better for us with one accord to determine to be Saints indeed—to live our religion every moment by serving our God and keeping his commandments? How can a man keep the commandments of God and suffer himself to be dishonest, to be deceitful, to steal, and take the advantage of his neighbour in every possible way, and lie to him to gain a dollar? A man cannot both be a Saint and be dishonest. ”

“ I will tell you the day of our separation has come, and we are a free and an independent people, isolated a thousand miles from the Christian nation; and thanks be to our God for ever. And we are the people of God, and this is the dwelling of King Emanuel, in—these mountains, and he will gather all nations unto us—those that will be gathered; and those who will not, he will compel them.
The day has come when the people have got to bow the knee to God and pay tribute to him, every man and woman on this earth. ”

“ Is it my duty to think more of Jesus the Son of the living God, than of his Father who gave him as a sacrifice for the sins of the world? Which is the greatest—the Giver of that gift, or the gift? Where people would think more of the gift than the Giver, I have known hundreds of times of those gifts being taken from them because they did not appreciate the Giver. Remember the Father, in the name of Jesus, and then appreciate those men God has given you to be your servants, and your enemies cannot move you.
Everyone that is not for God is bound for destruction ”

“ And it is for you and me, when we rise from the water, to lead a new life—to go forth walking in the newness of life. It is a birth—a baptism for the remission of sins—a preparatory work to the receiving of the gift of the Holy Ghost, that it may bring all things to our remembrance that are past, and show us things to come; yea, that those things that we have forgotten may be brought to our remembrance. Now, I know that, when the Holy Ghost is upon me, all things look natural to me, and as if I had been familiar with them before. ”

“ Thy tongue shall be loosed to such a degree that has not entered into thy heart as yet, and the children of men shall believe thy words, and flock to the water, even as they did to my servant John; for thou shalt be great in winning souls to me, for this is thy gift and calling. And there shall be no gift withheld from thee, if thou art faithful; therefore, be faithful, and I will give thee favor in the eyes of the people. Be humble and kind, and thou shalt obtain kindness; be merciful, and thou shalt obtain mercy ”

“ Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works. Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed, God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness ”

“ I do not want you to be like the sow that has been taken and washed clean, and then as soon as the door is open she goes into the dirtiest mud-hole there is in the neighbourhood. But as you have been washed in the waters of baptism and entered into the fold, I want you to remain clean and pure, and to labour for the welfare of Zion and the upbuilding of the kingdom of our God. If you act like the sow, then your last end will be worse than your first. ”

“ Jesus says, "Except ye are one, ye are not mine." And yet the Christian world take a course to justify themselves in division, in strife, in animosity, in quarreling, in envy, in jealousy, in war and bloodshed. And yet they say they are one: I say THEY LIE. A man that says it, lies to me, and he lies to God. I say this to all the world, and to those who are passing through the city as emigrants; if you profess to be disciples of Christ, and have hatred to us in your hearts, I say you lie ”

“ There is no man that can rule over this people but Brigham Young.
[The congregation shouted, "Amen."]
And as long as we uphold him as the man holding the keys of this kingdom, he shall rule as Governor of this people. What a foolish thing it would be for us to drop brother Brigham and say that a wicked man should have that position! Oh! the hell and the sorrow that this people would see! But we never will have any other man so long as he liveth; and then it shall be his successor in office—the man whom God Almighty appoints, and no other man. ”

“ Behold they do not desire that the Lord their God who hath created them, should rule and reign over them, notwithstanding His great goodness and His mercy towards them; they do set at naught His counsels, and they will not that He should be their guide. O how great is the nothingness of the children of men; yea, even they are less than the dust of the earth. For behold, the dust of the earth moveth hither and thither, to the dividing asunder, at the command of our great and everlasting God; yea, behold at His voice doth the hills and the mountains tremble and quake ”

“ What has the world to do with you? Nothing, only as you associate with it and partake of its spirit. Upon the same principle has a man any power over a woman, any further than she will give him power to pollute herself and him too? Can the Gentiles turn me to unrighteousness any further than I permit them? I am an instrument in the hands of God, and it is not for me to dictate the power that works through me, but it is for Him to control me according to His good, pleasure. ”

“ It is not so much matter about my trying to obtain confidence in myself, or in you. We are to be connected like a vine, and then when we receive any good thing we will become impregnated with God, with Jesus Christ, with the Holy Ghost, and with angels, and it is the only way in which we can become one.
I feel as brother Joseph Young feels. God bless him, and may he live a hundred years, if he wants to. I pray that God may renew him in body and blood, and bless him with every good thing that he desires; also brother Brigham, and brother Daniel, and brother Heber, and every other good man. ”

“ No, there would be no sorrow, there would be no blues in my family. I am never blue when I do brother Brigham's will; but when I do not do it, I begin to grow blue; and when brother Brigham does not do the will of God, he begins to feel blue. It always makes my family feel blue when they will not do as I wish them; and I suppose it affects almost every family so in this town.
Do you suppose I am afraid of the world? No. I have nothing to do with the world, with the devil, with any of his servants, nor with his commandments. ”

“ I rejoice that I live in this day and age of the world; I rejoice that I have passed through what I have for the Gospel's sake; but will it compare with what men passed through in the days of Jesus, who was hung upon a cross for his religion? He expired upon Calvary for his religion; they killed him as a false prophet, and even those of his own household did not believe in him; they also slew his Apostles, and those who believed in them. Don't you suppose it was as degrading to them to believe in Jesus Christ, as for us to believe that Joseph Smith was a Prophet? ”

“ Jesus said to his disciples, "Ye are the salt of the earth; and if the salt loses its saving principle, it is then good for nothing but to be cast out." Instead of reading it just as it is, almost all of you read it just as it is not. Jesus meant to say," If you have lost the saving principles, you Twelve Apostles, and you that believe in my servants the Twelve, you shall be like unto the salt that has lost its saving principles: it is henceforth good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men." Judas lost that saving principle, and they took him and killed him. ”

“ Remember that I am always with you, even to the end; therefore, be of good cheer, my son, and my Spirit shall be in your heart, to teach you the peaceable things of the kingdom. Trouble not thyself about thy family, for they are in my hands; I will feed them and clothe them and make unto them friends. They never shall want for food nor raiment, houses nor lands, fathers nor mothers, brothers nor sisters; and peace shall rest upon them forever, if thou wilt be faithful and go forth and preach my gospel to the nations of the earth ”

“ How can I take a course to save the children of men any further than I am saved myself? If I have saved myself to-day, I can save you to-day; and if I continue on and save myself to-morrow, I can save you to-morrow, and so on from day to day, until finally we are saved in the celestial kingdom of God. ”