Brigham Young

“ I wish some good man, that is worth his millions, would give me half what my property is worth, I would be thankful, and give every dollar of it to preaching the Gospel, gathering the poor Saints, building the Temple and Tabernacle or anything else to do good and build up the kingdom of God, and I would commence afresh to make more property. ”

“ To all who love truth, mercy and justice, I will say, that when God rules on the earth he will rule in righteousness, dealing out mercy to all such persons, and they will be perfectly satisfied with the reign of Christ. But they who have sinned so great a sin that they cannot be forgiven will dread the day when Jesus Christ shall reign. Multitudes now read about that time, and it will come and the kingdom of God will go forth to the east, to the west, to the south and to the north, and none will be found who dare lift up their voices against the rule and reign of the Son of God. ”

“ Our weaknesses are known to ourselves, and in many instances to each other, but we have the privilege of learning and of increasing in faith and in the knowledge of God and godliness. We have the privilege of learning more and more of the earth which we inhabit, of the object of its creation, of the people that dwell upon it and of all things pertaining to ourselves. ”

“ I am very fond of hearing my brethren speak to the congregations of the Saints; it affords a pleasing variety of the talent and ability that exists in the Elders of Israel. The object of our meeting together is to learn and to increase in the knowledge of the truth. Truth cleaves to truth and light to light? No man possessing the spirit of his religion can arise to speak to the Saints without imparting something that is beneficial. We are blessed with a great privilege in meeting here to worship the Lord our God and to speak comforting words to each other. ”

“ If mankind could know the object God has in their creation, and what they might obtain by doing right and by applying to the source and fountain of wisdom for information, how quickly they would turn away from every ungodly action and custom. ”

“ But let me say to all the inhabitants of the earth, "Fear not, borrow no trouble; but to those who are afraid of truth and justice, fear on." There is no question but what many fear justice and truth and the attributes of God more than they dread and fear anything else. ”

“ We have said to the teamsters who have gone east, We will give you credit on labor Tithing; and we have to board them, too, have we? I expect we shall have to find wagons for them by-and-bye, and then oxen and everything else. You can see how men can think and contrive how to use up this and that—to use up all the butter, all the eggs, all the meat, all the cheese and all the money—"and when we cannot sell wheat at any price, then you poor slaves who work on the public works may take it and build up the kingdom with it." ”

“ We have the priceless privilege of applying our hearts to wisdom, and of learning the things of God while the wisdom of the wise men of the world perishes and the understanding of their prudent is hid.
I can say, for the satisfaction of my brethren who have spoken to-day, that I do not know that I have heard them say anything but truth; they have advanced good doctrine, good ideas, even to having our clothing last us for years ”

“ It is God who gives the increase; he throws into our path the blessings we enjoy. Every man and woman ought to know that they can do all that he wishes them to perform; but there is an abundance of Tithing, and more than we need, if it could be had in a shape that we could use it to advantage. It now costs us nearly as much as it is worth to take care of the Tithing, because the people throw on to a few the responsibility of caring for the Tithing property. ”

“ I want to stay with you; and I expect to be just perfect enough to lead you on—to still know a little more than you know; you may increase as fast as you can, and I will keep just a little ahead of you; if you do not believe it, try it, and you will learn whether the Lord is not capable of still leading you through as weak an instrument as your humble servant. ”

“ The Lord has revealed a great many precious principles to this people, and knowledge which cannot be obtained by the study of the learned of the world, "who are ever learning and never come to the knowledge of the truth." ”

“ We were exhorted by brother Watt to be prudent, saving, frugal and economical; to learn to gather the good things of life around us in abundance, to extend our possessions on the right and on the left and hold them all for God. ”

“ If we are permitted to gather around us gold and silver and all the treasures that the Gentiles seek, instead of hoarding them up in iron chests or burying them in the ground for use in a future day, let us use them to send the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth, to gather the poor Saints from every land, and to gather from the rocks and caves and dens of the earth the house of Israel. It is the duty of every person to thus put their money and other means to usury. ”

“ Instead of seeking unto the Lord for wisdom, they seek unto vain philosophy and the deceit and traditions of men, which are after the rudiments of the world and not after Christ. They are led by their own imaginations and by the dictates of their selfish will, which will lead them in the end to miss the object of their pursuit. ”

“ The coat I am now wearing I have had six or eight years, and I would like to have it last me six or eight years longer, and use any money I might have for buying another coat to deliver some honest, poor, starving soul who is deprived of liberty and the common comforts of life. ”

“ We should all learn to use the blessings God has bestowed upon us with the greatest possible economy, doing good with the means he puts into our hands, and he will enlarge our means and our capacity to do more good. We do not possess a great deal at the most. ”

“ One of the greatest blessings that can be bestowed upon the children of men is to have true knowledge concerning themselves, concerning the human family and the designs of Heaven concerning them. It is also a great blessing to have wisdom to use this knowledge in a way to produce the greatest good to ourselves and all men. ”

“ Those whose minds are opened to see and understand the purposes of the Most High are made happy in a timely deliverance from approaching evil. "A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished." ”

“ If my hat, coat, boots, shoes, &c., would last half a century or a whole one, and I had the means every year to buy myself a fresh supply, I would thank God to put it into my heart to send that means to gather the poor. ”

“ I would like to take the price of this coat and send it abroad to gather the poor and place them in like circumstances we are now enjoy-ing, that they might have the privilege of going to the same fountain that we do for food, raiment and intelligence. The old adage has it, "The back will trust, but the belly will not." Hundreds of our brethren and sisters in foreign lands are now in a dying condition through want of food. ”

“ We have a great labor before us. The building of this Temple is not a drop to a bucket-full when compared with the labor we have to do. Let this people say that they will not build the Temple by Tithing, and then let the Lord say to a few of us, "My servants, will you build that Temple?" ”

“ When the brethren come to work out their labor Tithing, they do not expect us to board them and find them tools to work with. I accidentally learned one thing when I was south, and might have known it before if I had only thought of it. ”

“ We are all liable to err; are subject, more or less, to the errors incident to the human family. We would be pleased to get along without these errors, and many may think that a man in my standing ought to be perfect ”