Brigham Young

“ Our belief and doctrine with regard to the human family is that if we know more than you, we will give our knowledge to you, then you will know as much as we; and by the time you have acquired it we will know a little more, and be ahead every time we impart knowledge. Like the teacher in the school, no matter whether he is teaching a, b, c, a-b ab, or in the higher branches, while teaching others, he or she is also increasing. While those who, in the providence of God, are the possessors of knowledge and wisdom, are dispensing them to others, they are increasing their own store. ”

“ The time has come when the Lord is commencing to pour out his Spirit upon the people. According to the words of the Prophet the time is to come when the Spirit of the Lord shall be poured out upon all flesh. ”

“ It is a day of trial—a day wherein the Lord will try the hearts of the children of men; and he is taking a course now with individuals and with nations, to make them exhibit the very centre of their hearts, as governments, as nations, as cities, as heads of families and as individuals, that he may reveal the secrets thereof, that they may be known to each other. Consequently you can see the necessity of every person living so as to have the Spirit of revelation. ”

“ I am looking beyond; my hope is beyond this vale of tears, and beyond the present life. I have another life to live, and it is eternal. The organization and intelligence God has given me are not to perish in nonentity ”

“ When Jesus preached to the people they were destitute of the Spirit of truth, and if they believed his teachings for the moment, as soon as they went away the Spirit left them and they were again in the dark, and they did not become the disciples of Jesus. So it is now. For instance, a great many strangers come here; they see our work, they give us praise, they acknowledge our faithfulness, industry, prudence, economy and so forth. How do they know that we are preaching the Gospel? ”

“ It would not sit well on the mind, for you are seeking after the things of God; you have started out for life and salvation, and with all their ignorance, wickedness and failings, the majority of this people are doing just as well as they know how; and I will defy any man to preach false doctrine without being detected; and we need not go to the Elders of Israel, the children who have been born in these mountains possess enough of the Spirit to detect it. But be careful that you do not lose it! Live so that you will know the moment the Spirit of the Almighty is grieved within you. ”

“ Not only in the world, but out of the world, they who expect to receive any salvation at all must hearken to the requirements of heaven, thus far, to entitle them to the Spirit of the Lord Jesus, that they may live by the revelations thereof, and walk no more in darkness, but in the light of life. ”

“ I watch you. I see, for instance, a company of young people go and mingle, perhaps, with old people, and hear them laughing, joking, and talking nonsense and folly. By and by darkness comes—leanness of the soul ”

“ I recollect once, when on my travels, hearing some divines try to prove that everybody ought to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ because of the miracles he wrought. When they had argued some time I took the liberty of saying, "Gentlemen, who were they who testified of these great miracles that you speak of?" ”

“ Take the poor, do not go down to the poor and the ignorant, lift them up, and give them all we have; and we go ahead and get more, and impart to the inhabitants of the earth until they are filled with wisdom, knowledge and understanding. ”

“ I have to live, and I calculate to take such a course that my life hereafter will be in a higher state of existence than the present." Said he, "Forsake your religion, and become as we are!" I had been round the country enough to know the practice of both priest and people. On Saturday they would get together and run horses, throw up coppers to see who would treat, get pretty drunk, and perhaps get up a good sound quarrel, and then the priest would step in half drunk, and with long face and sanctimonious drawl preach on the evils of intemperance and so on. "Become as you are? ”

“ We thought we would get as far as we could from the face of man; we wanted to get to a strange land, like Abraham, that we might be where we should not be continually wrong with somebody or other, and have them crying, "Oh, you Mormons!" ”

“ If he does as others have done, we may expect to see a batch of misrepresentations from him just as quick as he gets away and the spirit of the enemy takes possession of him. Such men cater to the world and to the ungodly priests that the world is afraid of. ”

“ No longer ago than yesterday a reporter said to me, "While in California, judging by what I heard, I supposed you had no improvements here, you lived in dugouts, you had no schools, and that the people did not look as the people do anywhere else—quite another kind of people—neither industry, judgment nor discretion amongst them ”