Brigham Young

“ I hear my brethren, Sabbath after Sabbath, testify of what they believe, what joy they have in the Gospel, how firm they are in it, and that they desire never to turn away from it, and then they will pray the Lord to let them be faithful! Who hinders them from being faithful? There is nothing that is good, not a truth in heaven, nor in hell, in the earth nor under the earth, but what is in our religion. What can you get outside of the Kingdom of God? ”

“ Your feelings should be like those of a father to a child; "my son, I am sorry for you, and my heart is moved with pity; you have no knowledge of your true position; you are in possession of a certain greatness and knowledge, but your true greatness, knowledge and power you know nothing of. ”

“ It gives me great pleasure to see the faces of those who delight to serve God assembled together to worship him, and often my feelings have been such that I could have enjoyed a meeting after the Quaker style, without a single word being spoken, or even the ceremony of shaking hands; for I delight to look upon the Saints who keep the commandments of our Father and God. I do not believe that those who stay at home are, in many instances, any worse than those who come to meeting, nor that those who come to meeting are particularly better than those who stay at home ”

“ If I preach a truth for others to observe, I am under obligation to observe that truth myself. I do not believe that it is the privilege of any man to preach and not practice. Still, we see it done by many. They preach more than they practice; but this does not diminish the obligations they are under to practice all they preach and live the religion they profess. ”

“ The Devil will interfere, as far as he has power; but his power is limited, while the Lord possesses unlimited power; and, to use a common phrase, we would like to be on the strongest side; we would like to fight on the side of right, for that will win. We would not, knowingly invest capital in an insolvent firm. Then, let us invest in the firm whose stock consists in the riches of eternity; for all the light there is in heaven and on the earth is incorporated in our religion. ”

“ They will talk of steam-power, the power of the air, of electricity, and other things, and say it is almost beyond the knowledge of an angel. An angel from heaven knows more about the sciences and arts, of which you and I have a little smattering, than all the men on the earth. ”

“ You hear the brethren say, at times, that they never saw the time they were ashamed of their religion. That is true. Who is there on the face of the earth, that knows God or his Son Jesus Christ, that is not proud of it? ”

“ We have reflections with regard to the faith of the people, and the fervency of the Saints in their faith in the Gospel when our meetings are thinly attended, as they are to-day. Some may think the brethren and sisters are backsliding and growing cold, when they do not attend meeting. It may sometimes be just as good and profitable to stay at home as to come to meeting. ”

“ If all the kings of the earth were in one man, and all their grandeur and excellency were comprehended in his person, and he were to reject your testimony, instead of feeling ashamed you should be full of pity for him. ”

“ He is bountiful of His mercies and kind to all his children, bestowing blessings upon them abundantly; but they often abuse his bounties. The Lord has given to all men every power and blessing they possess ”

“ If we could see things as they are, we need never preach this sermon again so long as we live. But we have to talk to the people, and keep talking to them; we have to bear with them, and teach them. We can tell them but little, for we know but little, and they are not prepared to receive more than they get. ”