Brigham Young

“ When the Twelve come here full of wisdom and full of the power of God, I want you to receive their counsel in your hearts, for they will not teach you anything that will injure you; they will never counsel you to transgress the law of God, to live in the dirt and in the ashes; neither will they counsel you to live in these old bed-bug caves, but they will counsel you to be industrious, to be cleanly in your persons and in your habitations; they will counsel you to set out fruit trees, to gather around you the comforts and blessings of life. ”

“ No man was to be found who could teach repentence and baptism for the remission of sins, with authority to administer in the ordinances, until God commissioned Joseph Smith, and sent him forth with this commandment to the people. Previous to that time, I searched everything pertaining to the churches; I searched high and low to find whether there was any such thing as pure religion upon the earth; I searched for a man that could tell me something of God, of heaven, of angels and of eternal life. ”

“ I know that in the world we have tribulation, sorrow and mourning, but in Christ we have joy; and when we have the Spirit of Christ we feel to pray without ceasing, and in everything to give thanks to God our heavenly Father. ”

“ I do not know any other way for the Latter-day Saints than for every breath to be virtually a prayer for God to guide and direct his people, and that he will never suffer us to possess anything that will be an injury to us. I am satisfied that this should be the feeling of every Latter-day Saint in the world. If you are making a bargain, if you are talking in the house, visiting in the social party, going forth in the dance, every breath should virtually be a prayer that God will preserve us from sin and from the effects of sin. ”

“ Brother George A. Smith has said, very truly, that we are not told in the revelations that we shall not wear good and handsome clothes; no, we are not; we are authorized to make them as beautiful as we please, and also to make the earth as beautiful as the Garden of Eden, to gather around us every variety of the comforts of life, to endeavor to produce joy, peace, life and health, and to strive to make everything around us, if possible, as glorious as the paradise of our first parents.
Brother Kimball has remarked that a prayer once, twice, or even thrice a day does not satisfy him. ”

“ When the brethren are travelling and preaching they have the spirit of obedience and while we are here preaching to you the Spirit of the Lord broods over the congregation, your countenances are lit up with heavenly intelligence, your hearts are one, and you are ready to observe every word of counsel that is given to you, and each and every one feels to say "It is my delight to do the will of God." ”

“ Their minds become so dark that they cannot see the true riches. If any of you feel that there is no life in your meetings, as I occasionally hear some of the brethren say, then it becomes your duty to go and instil life into that meeting, and do your part to produce an increase of the Spirit and power of God in the meetings in your locality. If there is a fast meeting, or prayer meeting, why not somebody in that district go filled with the spirit and power of God, and assist to encourage, instruct, comfort and edify the Saints? ”

“ A great many of the Saints know that I have preached long and loud for over thirty-two years, and that I have labored incessantly to spread the truth, and have urged mankind to receive the principles of eternal life which we have embraced, and to obey them in their lives. ”

“ It is wisdom in us to live our religion then, when we retire to our beds and when we arise in the morning, the Spirit of the Lord will be present with us week by week and year by year, and we shall enjoy the light of that Spirit continually. Let us live so as to enjoy life, and prepare for the things that await us in this generation. ”

“ Now then what have we to do? We have to labor to remove the curse from the earth, from the vegetation, from every creeping thing, and from ourselves, by the help of God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. ”

“ If we will be faithful to our covenants, we may be sure that the Lord will give us seed time and harvest; and we will not suffer famine, unless we forsake the Priesthood of the Lord our God.
Remarks are frequently made in regard to the sufferings of the Saints; we do not suffer so much as do the world. They are constantly in torment. ”

“ We are exhorted to gather around us the comforts of life, to build good houses, make good gardens, and strive to attain to every comfort there is on the earth, but at present we are poor, and destitute of many of the comforts of life. ”

“ We say we are willing to take counsel, and so we are, in a great measure, and with this knowledge I do not feel to forsake the Latter-day Saints, but I feel like pleading with them to live for God and His kingdom. Let us all continue steadfast and remember that we must obey the counsel of our Father and God. ”

“ Brethren and sisters, we enjoy music, singing, good society, the ordinances of the House of God, and everything that the earth produces; and all the blessings that God has given we can enjoy, and not sin. ”

“ We have to remove the curse; but remember, we shall never be able to save ourselves without help, but with that help which the Almighty has promised we can accomplish all things. We cannot receive the things of God, except through the order that he has ordained. ”

“ The people called Latter-day Saints are, generally speaking, obedient; and if they continue to strive to live their religion they will become of one heart and one mind. We have the kingdom of God here spiritually, and by and bye we will be prepared to receive it temporally ”

“ This meeting was given out for the Twelve, and I expect that they will take charge of it and conduct it. Brother Kimball and myself have come here; and expect to go to other places with the Twelve, to speak the things that are in our hearts. First of all it is the kingdom of God in our hearts; it is the kingdom of God or nothing. The Almighty has commenced His work of sending forth His angels from the heavens, and revealing his will. He gave us Joseph and others, and bestowed the Holy Priesthood upon his servants. We are sharers in the gifts and graces that God has bestowed upon His people. ”

“ Some apostatize at the Missouri river, and although they may be ever, so angry, they will come here to get prepared to leave us; and others will live here a score of years, and then apostatize, and it does appear as if some men were determined to prove that they are fools. ”

“ When we are recommended to do that which will lead to good, that cannot very well be construed into oppression. We want to prepare the streets for easy travelling, so that you will not break your wagons when you go home at night ”