Brigham Young

“ The world, with all its wisdom and power, and with all the glory and gilded show of its kings or potentates, sinks into perfect insignificance, compared with the simple, unadorned testimony of the servant of God. ”

“ If this can be done, happiness is here, angels are here, God is here, and we are wrapped in the visions of eternity. But I am not the Lord, and can do nothing more than others of His servants. I can do good myself, and my brethren and sisters can do the same; we can unitedly keep His commandments, and do His will. This is all I desire, to make me happy here, and feel as well as I can in my mortal body. When I see an Elder in Israel who is looked up to, who stands high in the Kingdom of God, doing something to tarnish his own character, and that of others, it grieves my spirit ”

“ God has raised up a Prophet, brought forth the Book of Mormon, influenced the people to lay the foundation of his kingdom, taking two of a nation, and one of a family. When a person is worked upon by the Spirit to believe the truth of the Gospel, the Devil tells him it is a falsehood. And again, "the loss of my good name" exercises a powerful influence against a person's embracing the truth, for if he determines to adhere to "Mormonism," his unbelieving friends take it for granted that he is deluded. Therefore but a few prove themselves worthy of the truth by taking the right path. ”

“ Should the people be determined from this time henceforth, never to do anything but good, and should go forth to build up the Kingdom of God, doing everything in their power to promote the cause of truth, and never do another wrong, it would be but a short time before this people would be a holy people, sanctified unto the Lord. We are already the best people on earth, but we can still improve, we are made for that purpose, our capacities are organized to expand until we can receive into our comprehension celestial knowledge and wisdom, and to continue worlds without end. ”

“ Brother Ames has said that "'Mormonism' will progress." If it does not, God will be dethroned, for when He undertakes to do anything, it will be done, notwithstanding every opposing influence. When the wicked have power to blow out the sun, that it shines no more; when they have power to bring to a conclusion the operations of the elements, suspend the whole system of nature, and make a footstool of the throne of the Almighty, they may then think to check "Mormonism" in its course, and thwart the unalterable purposes of heaven. ”

“ You are the oracle of the Spirit, the repository of the intelligence that comes from another state of existence invisible to the natural eye; of the influence that produces an effect without revealing the cause, and is therefore called a miracle. ”

“ Men may persecute the people who believe its doctrines, report and publish lies to bring tribulation upon their heads, earth and hell may unite in one grand league against it, and exert their malicious powers to the utmost, but it will stand as firm and immovable in the midst of it all as the pillars of eternity. ”

“ When evil is present with us, we must overcome it, or be overcome by it. When the devil is in our hearts, tempting us to do that which is wrong, we must resist him or be led captive by him. When brother Ames, without giving himself time to pause or think, said to the person who presented the Gospel to him—"I do not want to hear one word about 'Mormonism,'" it was the evil in him that caused him so to speak. Man is endowed with power and wisdom sufficient, if he will exercise them, to hush to silence his tongue, and cause his hands to cease their operations. ”

“ Consequently, when the evil is present with me, I have a little fighting to do, I must turn and combat it until it is eradicated from my affections, as well as from my actions, that I may have power to do all the good I wish to perform. Every person is capable of this, all can bridle their tongues, and cease from every evil act from this time henceforth and forever, and do good instead. ”

“ All that is considered valuable, precious, glorious, or magnificent among men, cannot even compare with that lily, which you tread under your feet, for beauty and excellence.
The glory of man is fleeting as the twilight, and like the "baseless fabric" of a dream, it vanishes away. ”

“ If we train ourselves to think what we are about to do, before we do it, and have understanding to know, and power to perform the good, we can thereby avoid the evil that is present with us. When the enemy makes war with me, I am thrown on the defensive, and if I use my weapons skilfully, and with firmness of purpose, my antagonist must yield to me the victory, the Lord being my helper. ”

“ Those who are governed by this influence lose sight of all things pertaining to mortality, they are wholly influenced by the power of eternity, and lose sight of time. All the honor, wisdom, strength, and whatsoever is considered desirable among men, yea, all that pertains to this organization, which is in any way independent of that which came from the Father of our spirits, is obliterated to them, and they hear and understand by the same power and spirit that clothe the Deity, and the holy beings in His presence. ”

“ We have embraced the Gospel, and are professedly Latter-day Saints, but evil will introduce itself in the midst of my brethren, then I have frequently to chastise them. There are two thousand persons in this assembly, and if only half a dozen of them have done wrong, I could not chastise them without appearing to chastise the whole congregation, which in reality is not so. By chastising the guilty, however, it is impossible to spot the conscience of good men and women, whose hearts are clean and pure as a piece of white paper. ”

“ Furthermore, if men can understand and receive it, mankind are organized to receive intelligence until they become perfect in the sphere they are appointed to fill, which is far ahead of us at present. When we use the term perfection, it applies to man in his present condition, as well as to heavenly beings. We are now, or may be, as perfect in our sphere as God and Angels are in theirs, but the greatest intelligence in existence can continually ascend to greater heights of perfection. ”

“ When that which inhabits this body, that which came from the regions of glory, is enlightened by the influence, power, and Spirit of the Father of light, it swallows up the organization which pertains to this world. ”

“ This evil is with us, it is that influence which tempts to sin, and which has been permitted to come into the world for the express purpose of giving us an opportunity of proving ourselves before God, before Jesus Christ our elder brother, before the holy angels, and before all good men, that we are determined to overcome the evil, and cleave to the good, for the Lord has given us the ability to do so. ”

“ It has been, and is now, believed by numerous individuals, that the brute creation, by increase in knowledge and wisdom, t change their physical or bodily organization, through numerous states of existence, so that the minutest insect, in the lapse of time, can take to itself the human form, and vice versa. This is one of the most inconsistent ideas that could be possibly entertained in the mind of man; it is called the transmigration of souls. It is enough for me to know that mankind are made to improve themselves. ”

“ Sermonizing, dividing, and subdividing subjects, and building up a fine superstructure, a fanciful and aerial building, calculated to fascinate the mind, coupled with the choicest eloquence of the world, will produce no good to them. ”

“ His feet may be swift to shed blood, but he has power to pause, and combat and conquer the enemy; for good is present with him also, and he is influenced in a greater or less degree, by the Spirit of the Lord. You experience these two opposites of good and evil in yourselves every day you live, you are tried, tempted, and overtaken in sin, by saying and doing that which is wrong. ”

“ In reality there can be no miracle, only to the ignorant. There are spiritual agents, invisible to the natural eye, not only in us, but in the elements, in the heavens above, and in the earth beneath, who are continually producing effects, the cause of which we cannot comprehend.
Does the experience of this people teach them what that is, which causes men and women to speak that which is wrong? ”

“ All I desire to live for is to see the inhabitants of the earth acknowledge God, bow down to Him, and confess His supremacy, and His righteous covenant. To Him let every knee bow, and every tongue confess, and let all creation say Amen to His • wise providences. Let every person declare his allegiance to God, and then live to it, swing—"As for me and my house we will serve the Lord. ”

“ They do not appear to be great warriors, or as if they were likely to win the battle. But what is their true character? They have faith today, they are filled with faith, their words are few, but they are full of integrity. ”

“ We are created for the express purpose of increase. There are none, correctly organized, but can increase from birth to old age. What is there that is not ordained after an eternal law of existence? It is the Deity within us that causes increase. ”

“ Anything besides that influence, will fail to convince any person of the truth of the Gospel of salvation. This is the reason why I love to hear men testify to the various operations of the Holy Spirit upon them—it is at once interesting and instructive. ”

“ He is in every person upon the face of the earth. The elements that every individual is made of and lives in, possess the Godhead. This you cannot now understand, but you will hereafter• The Deity within us is the great principle that causes us to increase, and to grow in grace and truth. ”

“ I could place my hand upon many in this congregation, who will win the race, though they are not very swift, to outward appearance, and they make not great pretensions; they are found continually attending to their own business. ”