Brigham Young

“ In building the great and notable cities of the world, it required the genius of the architect, and the skill and labor of the artizan, in all their variety. In building up the cities of Zion, and an earthly kingdom unto God, it will require all the wisdom and skill and cunning workmanship that are displayed in the arts and sciences now known to man, and revelation from heaven for still further advancement in the knowledge of every handicraft and means of adornment, to beautify the cities and temples that will be built by the people of God in these last days. ”

“ I would not have the Saints count the cost in the way the wicked, avaricious world do; for true Saints always have a fund of faith, to join with their labor and means, which should be taken into account, and no true Saint will be contented to be curtailed, within the limited boundaries which dollars and cents give. "Without faith it is impossible to please God." ”

“ I defy any man on earth to point out the path a Prophet of God should walk in, or point out his duty, and just how far he must go, in dictating temporal or spiritual things. Temporal and spiritual things are inseperably connected, and ever will be. ”

“ As to the character of the Savior, I have nothing to say, only that he is the Savior of the world, and was the best man that ever lived on this earth, and my firm conviction is, that Joseph Smith was as good a man, as any Prophet or Apostle that ever lived upon this earth, the Savior excepted. ”

“ The rod of a parent's mouth, when used in correction of a beloved child, is more potent in its effects, than the rod which is used on the fool's back. When children are reared under the rod, which is for the fool's back, it not unfrequently occurs, that they become so stupified and lost to every high-toned feeling and sentiment, that though you bray them in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not their foolishness depart from them. Kind looks, kind actions, kind words, and a lovely, holy deportment towards them, will bind our children to us with bands that cannot easily be broken ”

“ I care not who plants and who waters, who trades here, or goes to that city, to trade and do business, who buys goods in the States, or sells them in these valleys, it is the Lord who gives to every man, that which he possesses on the earth; it is the free gift of God, whether we be Saints or sinners. "I returned, and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill ”

“ The laboring man, the ingenious, industrious and prudent man, the man who lays himself out to advance the human family in every saving principle for happiness, for beauty and excellency, for wisdom, power, greatness and glory is the true benefactor of his race; he is the gentleman, the honorable, high-minded citizen of the world, and is worthy the society and admiration of the great and wise among all nations, though he may be destitute of wealth and title ”

“ It seldom happens, however, that the very excellent practice of counting the cost—excellent when employed at the proper time and on proper occasions—is called into requisition when human pride has to be pampered and satisfied, and thousands, in consequence of not foreseeing the result of present unwise expenditures, have found themselves in a state of insolvency, and while in this state they are robbed of their peace, and have bitterness and gall in the stead thereof. ”

“ I say to the people of this neighborhood, and every other neighborhood in the Territory, that we cannot keep the grass on our ranges; it is eaten off; and the roots are died out, and weeds spring up in stead; let us bring out the waters of our large streams, and fence in our meadows and ranges, and produce abundance of rich and nutritious grasses, by watering the land, and judiciously grazing it, and keep our cattle within our own fields; and in this way people will gain wealth faster, than by having their cattle running wild, in the valleys and on the hills ”

“ We, of all people upon the earth, should know, as a community, the best how to regulate our morals, feelings and passions. We should know how to train up our children in the ways of the Lord, that they may be a credit to us, as parents, and as citizens of the Kingdom of God. ”

“ We expect to see the time when we shall not be at all inferior to any of the nations of the earth, in the production of works of art and in scientific skill and knowledge; even now there is incorporated within the pale of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, mechanical ingenuity that is equal to any to be found among the civilized nations of the world ”

“ Some of the leading men in Kirtland were much opposed to Joseph the Prophet, meddling with temporal affairs, they did not believe that he was capable of dictating to the people upon temporal matters, thinking that his duty embraced spiritual things alone, and that the people should be left to attend to their temporal affairs, without any interference whatever from Prophets or Apostles. Men in authority there would contend with Joseph on this point, not openly, but in their little Councils. ”

“ Fathers who send their little boys and girls on the plains and ranges, to herd their cattle and sheep, and drag them out of bed very early in the morning, to go out in the cold and wet, perhaps without shoes and but scantily clad otherwise, are cruel to their offspring, and when their children arrive at years of maturity, they will leave the roof under which they have received such oppression, and free themselves from the control of parents, who have acted towards them, more like task-masters than natural protectors. ”

“ Let parents treat their children as they themselves would wish to be treated, and set an example before them that is worthy of you as Saints of God. Parents are responsible before the Lord, for the way in which they educate and train their children, for "Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord; and the fruit of the womb is his reward. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them ”

“ As quick as you are old enough, learn to think for yourselves, and to look life's stern realities fairly in the face, and learn to know yourselves, and your power and opportunities for doing good. When I was sixteen years of age, my father said to me, "You can now have your time; go and provide for yourself;" ”

“ When we speak, let us speak good words; when we think, think good thoughts; and when we act, perform good acts; until it shall become the delight of every man and woman to do good instead of evil, and to teach righteousness by example, and precept rather than unrighteousness. ”

“ It is a shame to a man, who is made after the image of God, not to have control over his tongue, in the moments of passion or rage; let him first overcome and govern his passion, and then trust himself to speak, whether he be in the presence of his family or alone. ”

“ The world may be said to have advanced in this so far as the arts and sciences are concerned; but, with these, they have mingled wicked ideas and practices, of which the heathen and barbarian would be ashamed, and of which they are entirely ignorant. We now live in the midst of the latter; they do not believe in making any improvements, that will better their condition in the least. ”

“ And then shall they rejoice; for they shall know that it is a blessing unto them from the hands of God; and their scales of darkness shall begin to fall from their eyes, and many generations shall not pass away among them, save they shall be a white and delightsome people. ”

“ I have hundreds of head of cattle, which I have raised in my barn yard, and cannot use this means to benefit myself, because it is out of my reach; then we have between twelve and fifteen hundred head of horses, worth over a hundred thousand dollars, and yet that property is in such a condition, that we could not realize one thousand dollars of available means from that whole band, and we are continually losing animals. ”

“ Brother Taylor has given us a very correct history and statement, with regard to the line of demarcation between the savage and the civilized. Civilization is simply the spirit of improvement, in learning and civil manners. ”

“ It is in this unnatural school that our thieves have their origin, and where they receive their first lessons in dishonesty and wild recklessness. Mark the path in which a number of our boys have travelled, from the time they were eight or ten years of age, to sixteen, eighteen and twenty. ”

“ You can open a ditch large enough to supply your present wants, and afterwards you can enlarge it to carry sufficient water, to give water privileges to new land, on the route of the canal, that will more than pay for it three times over. ”

“ But, counting the cost may possibly be done in such a way, that a man would not allow himself to perform the least duty of a public character, without first stopping to enquire whether it will pay, or how much it will cost him ”

“ The Lord has taken from this race any disposition for improvement even to this day; the best of them consider it a disgrace to work. Whatever drudgery is performed is done by their squaws, or by slaves captured from neighboring, tribes or bands. ”

“ When young men pursue this course, they beget for themselves unbounded confidence in their friends and acquaintances; they can be trusted when money or property is commit [t] ed to their care, because they are honest, economical, and prudent, and will do right; where-ever or whenever you meet them, you will find them bearing the deportment of gentlemen, towards every person with whom they come in contact, whether old or young. ”