Brigham Young

“ Let a merchant, a farmer, a mechanic, any person in business, live his religion faithfully, and he need never lose one minute's sleep by thinking about his business; he need not worry in the least, but trust in God, go to sleep and rest. I say to this people—pray, and if you cannot do anything else, read a prayer aloud that your family may hear it, until you get a worshipping spirit, and are full of the riches of eternity, then you will be prepared at any time to lay hands on the sick, or to officiate in any of the ordinances of this religion. ”

“ In all your business transactions, words, and communications, if you commit an overt act, repent of that immediately, and call upon God to deliver you from evil and give you the light of His spirit. Never do a thing that your conscience, and the light within you, tell you is wrong. Never do a wrong, but do all the good you possibly can. ”

“ Never do a thing to mar the peaceable influence of the Holy Spirit in you; then whatever you are engaged in—whether in business, in the dance, or in the pulpit—you are ready to officiate at any time in any of the ordinances of the House of God. If I commit an overt act, the Lord knows the integrity of my heart, and, through sincere repentance, He forgives me. Before Joseph's death he had a revelation concerning myself and others, which signified that we had passed the ordeal, and that we should never apostatize from the faith of the holy gospel ”

“ And so it is to-day; wherever the gospel is preached by the Elders of this Church many are pricked in their hearts, and they testify in their own conscience that it is from heaven, and yet they will not receive the gospel, and perish in their sins. They smother the spirit of conviction within them, and go into greater darkness than before. "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God." ”

“ They "Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter; should not a people seek unto their God for the living to the dead?" Unless we are willing to be guided by the revelations of the spirit of the Almighty, by obeying and living up to the principles of His gospel, we are as apt to believe one thing as another, and to be influenced by, and follow the dictations of a bad spirit as a good one. We have the same testimony as the faithful followers of the Lord Jesus had anciently. ”

“ When a man or woman anciently renounced the Jewish religion, or any of the sects of it that then existed among the Jews, forsaking every mode of worship excepting that which Jesus introduced, it was regarded as a sufficient testimony that they were honest—that they were born of God—and all the sincere and honest believers received the testimony of Jesus, which is the spirit of prophecy, and received power to become His sons. ”

“ The spirit itself bearing witness with our spirit that we are the children of God." While the same Holy Spirit, or comforter, becomes the testimony of Jesus to all true believers, "He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment;" for in the days of the Savior many who did not receive the gospel were pricked in their hearts, and they did perish, although convinced of its truth. ”

“ We have great reason to be thankful for the blessings we enjoy as individuals and as a people. There is no other people on the earth, that we have any knowledge of, who are blessed to the same extent as this people called Latter-day Saints. If we are blessed more than others, we should be more thankful than others. The blessings and bounties of the Lord upon us are bestowed according to our faithfulness and obedience to the requirements made of us. We have seen times in our history as a people, that if the hand of God had not been immediately over us, we must have perished. ”

“ When men and women have travelled to a certain point in their labors in this life, God sets a seal upon them that they never can forsake their God or His kingdom; for, rather than they should do this, He will at once take them to Himself. ”

“ There may be some, however, who are so ignorant that repentance is yet left for them. This is the gospel that we preach, the testimony which we send forth to the world, inculcating strict obedience to the requirements of heaven, which is expected from all who embrace this gospel. For example, Joseph, the prophet, said to the Colesville branch, "sell your farms.' So he said to other branches, "gather up and let us go to the Ohio," and they went, and from the Ohio to Missouri. ”