Brigham Young

“ It has just been remarked here, by Brother Musser, that it is hard for a man to study law without forsaking the spirit of the Gospel. This proves that there is a lack of sound knowledge in the individual who permits himself to be thus led away. There are many among the inhabitants of the earth who are weak in comprehension, and of such limited capacity that they can only look upon one thing at a time; and they forsake the contemplation of everything else for the one idea which occupies the mind. ”

“ Do the Latter-day Saints know that they are gathered together to be taught in temporal things, in all their business movements and dealings, and to learn how to live in families and as a community in peace and happiness? We are charged with abusing our families. There is not another community on the earth where families are loved, honored, respected and cherished as they are among the Latter-day Saints,—even if we do have more than one wife. ”

“ When the elders of this Church go into places where the Gospel has never been preached before, the Spirit bears witness to the people of its truth. A number will believe for a time. The seed is sown; some of it falls on stony ground; it springs up rapidly, but has not sufficient root, and it speedily withers. Some falls into the ground, and to all appearance will have a thorough growth; but the cares of the world spring up and choke that seed, and the hearts where it was sown forsake the truth and neglect to hearken to the voice which whispered to them, "This is the truth." ”

“ You latter-day Saints are gathered expressly that husbands may be taught how to live with their wives, and wives with their husbands; parents with their children, and children with their parents; that all may become of one heart and of one mind. The Saints are so in many respects already. They are on the increase, and I expect to see the day that they will be subject in all things to the priesthood of God, and never raise an argument against anything they may be instructed to do by the priesthood. Many are like children who seek to handle the very things that would destroy them ”

“ I will say, there is not a man in this house who has a more indomitable and unyielding temper than myself But there is not a man in the world who cannot overcome his passion, if he will struggle earnestly to do so. ”

“ But there are a few in the world who will hearken to the words of life when they hear them, and will remain faithful. Yet but few, in comparison to the great numbers who have heard the Gospel, have received it in good and honest hearts, and have brought forth fruit meet for repentance; and of those who have embraced it, many have run well for a season who have not continued to abide in the faith. ”

“ How contracted in mind and short-sighted we must be to permit the perishable things of this world to swerve us in the least degree from our fidelity to the truth. It shows that we lack knowledge which we should possess.
If men cannot study and practice law and keep the Spirit of the Lord, they ought to quit it. As I have frequently told the people at our places of recreation, if they cannot go there with the Spirit of the Lord, they had better stay at home. We do not want lawyers, nor merchants, nor business men to be engaged in those pursuits unless they have the Spirit of God with them. ”

“ No, but he desires to see his children doing right and living according to the laws of life; and he has brought forth light into the world for this purpose, that we might be saved and know how to obtain eternal life; know how to govern and control ourselves and deal gently with one another; how to increase the kingdom of God and spread abroad peace throughout the land, that all may be quietness, peace, good order and happiness. ”

“ No, only that the Gospel has been revealed. The Holy Spirit has touched their hearts; they believe the Gospel, and they do not know that they can learn any more.
We do not intend to let you go until we have tried to do something with you. We wish to talk to the people until they learn to understand principle. When the Saints get understanding they will never ask a question when they are told to build up a settlement, make farms, or do anything else that may be requisite in righteousness to build up the kingdom of God. Some of our elders have learned a good deal by experience on many points. ”

“ If the spirit yields to the body, it becomes corrupt; but if the body yields to the spirit it becomes pure and holy, and is fitted to come forth with the just in the morning of the first resurrection, and to dwell with the sanctified; otherwise we cannot be prepared for this glory. We are gathered together to sanctify these bodies, to deal, act transact and do everything we do in the love of God, and in the fear of God, for the building up of his kingdom and to his name's honor and glory. ”

“ But they will allow the spirit of evil to seize hold of them, and they will get full of passion and abuse a neighbor, a child or a wife. The wife will run to the bishop and lay her complaint before him, and he will chasten the husband. It seems to me at times as though there are some men and women who are never happy only when they are miserable, they appear to delight so much in quarreling and contending. But if they will strive to live according to the principles of the Gospel, they will overcome that, with everything else which hinders their progress in the truth. ”

“ If you find passion coming on you, go off to some place where you cannot be heard; let none of your family see you or hear you, while it is upon you, but struggle till it leaves you; and pray for strength to overcome. As I have said many times to the Elders, pray in your families; and if, when the time for prayer comes, you have not the spirit of prayer upon you, and your knees are unwilling to bow, say to them, "Knees, get, down there;" make them bend, and remain there until you obtain the Spirit of the Lord. ”

“ We have been whipped, and beaten, and kicked out of doors; we have been told to go and take care of ourselves; our houses, our lands, and all we had got were wanted by our enemies; and we were driven into the wilderness to starve. ”

“ If any turn away in the least it is because they yield to some delusive spirit or argument, which convinces them that an error is truth. The Saints want teaching with regard to their every-day life and their temporal avocations. People believe the Gospel to be true in Germany, in France, in Scandinavia, in England, and wherever on the face of the earth it is preached to them, and they receive it. ”

“ It is not that we may be taught baptism for the remission of sins; neither is it that we may have the gift of prophecy bestowed upon us; nor the gift of tongues, nor the interpretation of tongues; but we are gathered together that we may become one, as a people, in our politics and in our financial matters, as well as in our faith; that we may know how to systematize everything that we are engaged in, how to deal with one another ”

“ If a man was worth a million of dollars, or millions of dollars, in the kingdom of God, and possessed the Spirit of the Lord, knowing and understanding his duty, and was told to get worms and make silk, and manufacture it from the raw material, he would not say a word, nor ask a question, but he would do as he was desired. ”

“ If a man wants a wife let him take one, and not act the scoundrel. I will promise every man on the face of this earth, that ever was or ever will be, that if they will betray the innocent and ruin the virtuous they shall have damnation for their portion. ”

“ I said I would go among those who pay their tithing and their taxes, and among those who do not swear nor blaspheme the name of God, and men who have consciences, who would not steal your wagon, nor take your stock off the range,—these are good traits, and I will here say that thousands and millions who are not in the church are just as good, morally, as we are—I told this friend to go among those men and see what he could purchase goods at. ”

“ We have been obliged to learn how to govern ourselves and the people. If we know how to manufacture what we need, to draw a sustenance from the elements in this forbidding country, it is because we have been obliged to do so. ”

“ When Jesus comes to reign King of nations as he now reigns King of Saints, he will not apostatize although the whole world will be at his command; and when the Ancient of Days shall come and sit upon his throne to bring to judgment the vast family of man, he will not apostatize. ”

“ If any of you can set a better example than is set by myself, do so. Live a better life than I do, if you can. Many men will say they have a violent temper, and try to so excuse themselves for actions of which they are ashamed. ”

“ It seems to me, at times, as though the people should be ashamed that we are under the necessity of charging them not to become surfeited with the things of this world, so as to neglect the duties that are obligatory upon them. ”

“ Brother Kimball sometimes brings up the figure of the potter putting fresh clay into the mill and grinding it to use in his business, to illustrate the influx of the brethren and sisters who are gathered from the nations, and who have to be instructed in those principles which have been taught here for years; but carrying out the figure, I may say that some of the clay here has been ground over and over for thirty years, and it comes out as rough as the first time it passed through the mill. Some men seem as if they could learn so much and no more. ”

“ In one thing they are all willing to be obedient, and that is to go and preach the Gospel to the nations. What elder who is called upon a mission would refuse to go. Yet if he is asked to go and make a farm he seems to feel that it is quite a different matter. ”

“ We will try to bear with you until you do understand; yet we are not so merciful as our Father in heaven. But when we sanctify ourselves to enter into the presence of the Father and of the Son, we will be filled with the same patience that he is filled with. ”

“ They appear to be bounded in their capacity for acquiring knowledge, as Brother Orson Pratt, has in theory, bounded the capacity of God. According to his theory, God can progress no further in knowledge and power; but the God that I serve is progressing eternally, and so are his children: they will increase to all eternity, if they are faithful. But there are some of our brethren who know just so much, and they seem to be able to learn no more. ”

“ But we should commence our labors of love and kindness with the family to which we belong; and then extend them to others. It is written, "If any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." ”

“ There are some merchants who have never made a calculation of what the value of their goods is in first cost, freight, insurance, &c., that they might know at what price they could afford to sell them, so as to have a reasonable living profit; but they have asked themselves. "How much can I get for these goods? how much can the Latter-day Saints bear to be gulled in purchasing them? Do merchants here take cent. per cent. of profit? Yes, 500 per cent., when they can get it. An article which costs them a dollar, they will charge from five to twenty dollars for, as they can obtain it ”

“ The earth is the Lord's, and he is going to give it to his Saints; and if we are anxious to obtain the world before the Lord is willing to let us have it, we will lose that which we seek to gain; but if we are faithful, we shall inherit all things. ”

“ The other day a man wanted to to buy goods of an outsider, because he could do so much better; the bills were examined and it was found that this person was selling fifteen per cent. higher at wholesale than our brethren were selling the same goods at retail. There is something the matter with people who think they can buy cheaper from outsiders merely because they are outsiders. ”

“ I will venture to say that not one of four out of my family had shoes to their feet when we came to this valley. Necessity is said to be the mother of invention; and if we did not know how to make moccasins we learned. And we learned how to govern and control ourselves. ”

“ There are some of our Elders who will argue themselves into false doctrine by giving an undue preference to one scripture and passing over others equally as important. This same lack of comprehensiveness of mind is also very noticeable at times with some men who happen to accumulate property, and it leads them to forsake the Spirit of the Gospel. Does it not prove that there is a contractedness of mind in those who do so, which should not be? The Lord owns the earth ”

“ Brethren will buy cloth without being judges of the quality; and because they can buy an article, apparently the same, a little cheaper in one place than they can in another, they will do so, although the quality is much inferior, and think they have got a bargain. ”

“ These were the first revelations given to the Church; yet there are men to-day who are Bishops and Presidents of settlements, who express their willingness to labor for the welfare of the people and the building up of the kingdom, but feel that no person holding the priesthood has a right to dictate them with regard to their property. They are very willing that Brother Brigham should dictate in spiritual matters, and trust their eternal salvation to the principles he teaches ”

“ But if men try to crowd into our houses to seduce our wives, sisters, and daughters, they should take care. If they want families, let them take an honourable course to obtain them; if they want wives, they should marry them, and give them their names honestly. ”