Brigham Young

“ If you Elders of Israel can get the art of preaching the Holy Ghost into the hearts of the people, you will have an obedient people. This is the only art required. Teach the people truth, teach them correct principle; show them what is for their greatest good and don't you think they will follow in that path? They will, just as far as it is consistent with their weaknesses and the power of darkness that is over the inhabitants of the earth—with us as with others. ”

“ If you do not understand the things of this life, how can you understand the things pertaining to the life to come? Just as the apostle says with regard to loving one another—"If you say you love God and hate your brother you deny your own words, for how can you hate him whom you have seen and love Him whom you have not seen?" ”

“ We know very well that the name "Mormon" is rudely applied to the Latter-day Saints, and we know very well what the world thinks of us; but what matters it to us? Nothing. Suppose that we had the power to take the poor and the ignorant, the low and the degraded who are trodden under foot by the great and the powerful among earth's inhabitants, and bring them together and purify them and fill them with knowledge and understanding and make a nation of them worthy of admiration, what would you say to this? ”

“ March on, ye Latter-day Saints, until you are prepared to receive life everlasting in the presence of the Father and the Son. What matters it what the world say? That makes no difference to us, not in the least. ”

“ If we had all the revelation given since the days of Adam and were without the spirit of revelation to be and abide in the midst of the people, it would be impossible for us to be saved in the celestial Kingdom of God. The world look upon us [as] a set of fanatics for believing this; but that does not matter at all to us. We have our course before us; the path for us to tread in is marked out. ”

“ The rich and noble, as a general thing, have turned a deaf ear to the voice of the Elders of Israel. Now, the gospel that we have embraced comprises every glory, honor, excellency and truth there is in the heavens, on the earth or beneath the earth. ”

“ In some countries the law would not permit them; but the Lord will yet revolutionize those nations until the door will be opened and the gospel will be preached to all. Have the people believed? A few of them. But we gather the poorest of the people, the unlearned, and a few of the learned; but generally, we gather those who are poor, who wish to be redeemed; who feel the oppression the high and the proud have made them endure; they have felt a wish to be delivered, and consequently their ears were open to receive the truth. ”

“ All we are prepared to receive the Lord gives us; all that the nations of the earth are prepared to receive He imparts unto them.
The inhabitants of the earth do not acknowledge the Lord as they should. There are very few but who believe in a Supreme Being; but do they honor God? No, they take His name in vain. Do they believe Him to be what He is? No, they so far mystify the character of Deity that it is impossible for the people to understand it. ”

“ I should receive the knowledge from Him; it is not independent and of myself. I am dependent upon Him for every breath I draw and for every blessing I receive. If you, ye nations or wise men of the earth, are not dependent upon Him, we would like to see you act independently. Let a man who thinks he has power independent of God—if there be such a man—take a grain of wheat, rye, barley, or a kernel of corn from the element God has ordained and organized for its development, and see if he can make it grow. All acknowledge that it can not be done. ”

“ You find a gentleman and you will find a man who possesses a heart full of charity, faith and love, full of good works, whose hand is always open to do good to every creature. You find a lady, and she is one who is ready to impart wisdom, knowledge, truth, and every virtuous and holy principle to her sisters and her fellow beings. ”

“ But we shall continue to do it until God tells us to stop, or until we pass into sin and iniquity, which will never be. ”

“ We can receive all this in our education here; but to acquire a knowledge of these principles, time and study are required. Let a child go to school, and he commences with a, b, c, and goes on to a-b ab, and then to words of two or three syllables until he is prepared for a higher course of studies. No child can learn algebra or common arithmetic at first, but he has to go on day by day, just as you and I have to do. We have learned many things concerning the Kingdom of God upon the earth, and we can learn still more. ”

“ It makes no difference whether you do or not, it is true. It is said that women rule among all nations; and if the women, not only in this congregation, Territory and government, but the world, would rise up in the spirit and might of the holy gospel and make good men of those who are bad, and show them that they will be under the necessity of marrying a wife or else not have a woman at all, they would soon come to the mark. Yes, this odious doctrine will work out the moral reformation and salvation of this generation. People generally do not see it; my sisters do not see it ”

“ A father—the head of the family—should never miss calling his family together and dedicating himself and them to the Lord of Hosts, asking the guidance and direction of His holy spirit to lead them through the day—that very day. ”

“ If we respect ourselves we will shape our lives accordingly. If we do so, we shall become pure and holy. Is there anything wrong in this? No; neither is there the least wrong in the world in acknowledging the hand of God in all things. ”

“ Well, these are lessons we try to teach the people all the time. We teach men who have been in the factory all their lives how to prepare the ground, to plant potatoes, corn, squash, cucumbers, onions, and cabbage, that they may have something to eat when the dreary storms of winter overtake them. And thus we teach the people how to live. ”

“ A good many young men go into the army, or go here or there. What is done with the daughters of Eve? In many countries they stick them in the factories, into the fields, the coal mines, and into the streets—as I have seen hundreds of them—gathering manure, &c., working all day and getting a penny at night to buy a loaf of bread with. They stick some of them down into the iron works, under the ground to pack the ore, or into the building to lug off the iron. But the young men are sent to the wars. ”

“ I will endeavor to speak to the people so that they can hear me. We very frequently hear complaints about the people being unable to hear. That is very annoying to me; there is no satisfaction in talking to people if they cannot hear. I talk a great deal in public and in private. I have labored for many years in preaching the gospel of the Son of God ”

“ And to obtain that perfection which we desire more will be required of us than merely a spiritual exercise of the mind; our outward works pertaining to our natural life, and in fact our whole souls must be devoted to God, and the upbuilding of His Kingdom. ”

“ According to the reading of this book—the Old and New Testament as well as the Book of Mormon and the Book of Doctrine and Covenants—which we regard as the foundation of our work, the Lord has chosen the poor of this world,—rich in faith—and the time will come when He will give the earth to His poor for an everlasting inheritance. I speak this for the comfort of my brethren and sisters who have been poor. They have come here, and what do we see? The youth, the middle-aged and the old improving in letters, in mechanism and in the arts and sciences. ”

“ We take children, and teach the little girl to spin, weave, and knit her stockings; and the boys to drive team, plow, to go to the field to hoe and prepare the ground, and to sow the seed so that they may have food to eat. ”

“ We bring them here to improve them, and if the Lord will bless us sufficiently, and the people will bless themselves, we will have a nation that understands all things pertaining to the earth that it is possible for man to grasp. Will this people be praiseworthy? ”

“ When England and the rest of the nations learn war no more, instead of passing a law in this or any other na-tion against a man having more than one wife, they will pass a law to make men do as they should in honoring the daughters of Eve and making wives of and providing for them. ”