John Morgan

“ Would it not be a libel upon justice, if a judge, presiding over one of our ordinary courts, should award to every criminal brought before him, the same punishment? "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?" Certainly the law of poor, weak, mortal man is not superior to that of the Judge of all. ”

“ No wonder that the impatient ardor of youth, who cannot brook delay, or always take the necessary time to distinguish truth from falsehood, aspiring to reach the top of science by a rapid flight, hurries them on in a too unguarded manner, when left to themselves, and thus precipitates them into the grossest errors. In medicine, as in other sciences, if they do not set out on sound principles, they pass on from error to error and multiply mistakes, unable to divest themselves of their first prejudices, which, being confirmed by habit, become a second nature. ”

“ This pacified them, and they turned their thoughts from mischief to fishing and hunting: our party, for so I must now speak, keeping a good look out every night, relieving each other at intervals, to prevent surprise. At length the vessel was made out by me whilst anxiously gazing across the bay, and I lost no time in giving the pleasing intelligence to both parties;—as for the natives, they made great rejoicings, jumping round and round me in the wildest manner, tapping me on the shoulders to show their delight at my not having deceived them ”

“ Strange as it may seem, with all the enlightenment of this the Nineteenth Century, with our glorious constitution, and our declaration of the rights of man, and the boasted civilization of to-day, officials of the government of the United States will back men up in this damnable work. It may be that an Elder abroad devoting his time and ability to the conversion of souls would feel this more keenly than those who are in the midst of it every day. ”

“ Where is the encouragement for a man to banish himself from all the endearing tyes of friends and relations, to spend the prime of life, and often the bulk of his fortune, to administer more skillful aid to the calamities of his distressed fellow mortals, if he is to be considered as entitled only to the same gratuity with those who employ all their time at home, in getting money, instead of spending it for the public good? or is he to be allowed no more, than if, in acquiring this knowledge, he had been supported at a public expence?—let unbiassed reason and justice determine. ”

“ Said these wise men of the Pharisees and Sadducees, "Why, these doctrines clash with our particular, or peculiar ideas, and if we admit them for one moment, the fabric we have built up here will tumble to the ground; we cannot stand it." It is true they could not contend with Jesus and his apostles in argument; and I have always said that any man, any set of men, any government, I care not who they are, or what they are, who resort to brutal force to convince their opponents that they are wrong—I say that those who do so are almost certain to be in error. ”

“ Do you not congratulate yourselves in having been connected with men whose object and labor has been to turn men and women from the truth, from bearing the fruits of morality and righteousness, and failing in that to join hand in hand, heart and soul, with those whose mission is to introduce into our midst the seeds of ruin and decay, to deprive and demoralize your fellow-men. ”

“ We understand that repentance does not consist in mourning over sins committed, and then repeating the same sin or one equally heinous, but that Ezekiel meant for the people to cease from doing wrong, to quit their evil practices, and walk in the paths of rectitude, virtue and true holiness. "For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of; but the sorrow of the world worketh death." ”

“ That is to teach them how to philosophize justly in medicine.
The greatest genius left to itself is like the earth, when destitute of the fun, incapable of bringing its productions to a perfect maturity. A course of regular instruction is to the mind like the rays of light darting through the obscurity of Chaos. It dispells the clouds that envelope the understanding, and enables the diligent student to penetrate into the secret recesses of nature ”

“ The world looks back—the Christian world looks back with shame upon this record of their ancestors, and yet in turn they do the very same thing to-day, to be followed in a generation or two by people whose faces will mantle with the blush of shame, that in this free land of America, under a government established for the freedom of the human family, where the religious exile, the exile for thought and ideas, from the nations of the earth could come to for protection ”

“ I have scarcely found an exception among the scores of young men who have been called from the different avocations of life to go forth and proclaim the Gospel, but what they were worthy bearers of glad tidings.
There is an idea entertained by the pious world, whose sympathy for fallen humanity is so great as to be exercised towards us, that the old and gray-headed of the "Mormon" people, "you can do nothing with, they having becoming fossilized in their religious ideas and petrified in their faith; but the young may be induced to depart from the faith of their fathers." ”

“ And I also find, as a general thing, that the human family recognize that that spirit has intelligence, and I moreover find that the great mass of the Christian world believe that that spirit has not only intelligence, but that it can suffer pain, and can enjoy pleasure. As, for instance, we hear people speak in regard to those of their household who have passed away from their midst. They have buried the body of flesh and bone, and it may moulder away in the grave, yet they feel to say, "The spirit has gone behind the vail, and when we go there we expect to meet." ”

“ You will be in a condition to practise the healing arts with skill and reputation, and to transmit your knowledge, and the benefits thereof, to a succession of others. What is a most pleasing reflection, those who have been distressed by irksome diseases, and relieved by your skill, will own themselves indebted to you for the life you have prolonged;—You will be ever remembered as the ornament and boast of your profession, and be justly stiled guardians of the health of mankind. ”

“ Destitute of culture, the imagination of youth shoots wild and unprofitable; but, directed by art and improved by science, a natural genius is like a rich soil, the fruitful source of many benefits to a country.
Whilst the studies of youth are prosecuted under the encouragement and patronage of men distinguished by their literature and worth, they have the highest motives that can animate the pursuits of a generous mind. They consider themselves as under the notice of the public, to which every ingenious person labours to approve himself. ”

“ A knowledge of the duties which we owe to society, resulting from the relation in which we stand to one another, is an object of the next importance. After this, whatever relates to the welfare of the body deserves our most immediate concern.—Life, when burdened with disease, is but a complication of woes. Health is that choice seasoning which gives a relish to all our enjoyments. As the end of medical science is to restore and preserve health, the welfare of every individual, of whatever age or sex, is concerned in the improvement of it amongst them. ”

“ Knowing these facts, the life of every good and true man, as was Paul, would be rendered miserable at the thought that so many millions of the human family must irretrievably perish, and be subject to torture throughout all the eternities to come; but understanding the great principle of the mission of our Savior to the prison world, they can rejoice in the fact that the plan of salvation is a complete one. They have hope that, not only in this life, but in the life to come, the gospel will be preached and men be taught its precepts. ”