Brigham Young

“ I wish that all the Latter-day Saints were as good, according to the knowledge they possess, as thousands and millions of the sectarian world are; and I will not skip even the heathen world, for many of them are as good and honest, according to the light they possess, as men and women know how to be. ”

“ My remarks will be to parents as well as to children. I will commence by saying that if each and every one of us who are parents will reflect upon the responsibilities devolving upon us we shall come to the conclusion that we should never permit ourselves to do anything that we are not willing to see our children do. We should set them an example that we wish them to imitate. Do we realize this? How often we see parents demand obedience, good behavior, kind words, pleasant looks, a sweet voice and a bright eye from a child or children when they themselves are full of bitterness and scolding! ”

“ But if parents will continually set before their children examples worthy of their imitation and the approval of our Father in heaven, they will turn the current, and the tide of feelings of their children, and they, eventually, will desire righteousness more than evil. This disposition will not be acquired in one day, week or year; but let parents spend their lives in teaching good, in good words and good looks and in the continual exercise of their faith in God, and their children will finally feel that they would rather be Christians than sinners. ”

“ I will take another turn in my remarks, and will say if we were known by the world as we are, truly and honestly, I will not except the Christians nor their priests; if we were known by them as we know them, there is not a priest but would pray for the Latter-day Saints. The infidel world would also pray for us, and so would the political and moral world. But they do not know what the Lord is doing through us; they are ignorant, and in their ignorance they lift themselves up against God and his Anointed, for they have no eyes to see, ears to hear, nor hearts to understand. ”

“ You will probably have what is called a Christian Church here; they will not admit that we are Christians, but they cannot think us further from the plan of salvation as revealed from heaven than we know them to be, so we are even on that ground, as far as it goes. ”

“ When men go from this church they become infidels. They can say they believe in this, that or the other; they may turn to Spiritualism, bogusism, Emmaism or anything else; no matter what, but they must be infidels or else acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ.
The doctrine that we preach is the doctrine of the Bible, it is the doctrine the Lord has revealed for the salvation of the children of God, and when men, who have once obeyed it, deny it, they deny it with their eyes wide open, and knowing that they deny the truth and set at naught the counsels of the Almighty. ”

“ I have been teaching parents some things with regard to their children; now I wish to say to the children, obey your parents, be good, never suffer yourselves to do that which will mortify you through life, and that will cause you to look back with regret. While you are pure and spotless preserve yourselves in the integrity of your souls. Although you are young you know good from evil, and live so that you can look back on your lives and thank the Lord that he has preserved you, or has enabled you to preserve yourselves, so that you have no misconduct to regret or mourn over. ”

“ But, as I was saying, you may have professing Christians come here to take up their residences in your midst; and I want to say to parents and children, that, so far as the Christian nations are concerned, I will take America, for instance, and on the score of morals—honesty, integrity, truthfulness and virtue, you will find people by hundreds of thousands just as good as any Latter-day Saints, as far as they know. They are the ones we are after. ”

“ But with the exception of the infidel portion of it, the sectarian world has hewn out to itself broken cisterns that will hold no water; the priests have got their creeds, systems, and organizations, they live on the people, and they are afraid that, if truth be proclaimed, their craft will fall. Go to the infidel portion of the world and we are all right; for if they refuse to receive our doctrines they will talk and reason like men of intelligence. ”

“ I, although young in years and lacking experience, had thought a great many times that I would like to hear some man who could tell me something, when he opened the Bible, about the Son of God, the will of God, what the ancients did and received, saw and heard and knew pertaining to God and heaven. ”

“ But if we will do as well as we know how, we will be able to teach our children sufficient doctrine, truth and principle, that they will actually grow up into Christ, our living head.
Now let us say a few words with regard to human nature and its proneness to wander into evil. You go, for instance, to the river and commence to throw sticks and shavings into the water, and they will go down stream; and a great effort or a very powerful wind will be required to make a small boat, vessel, bark, or even a board that the children play with, go up stream. ”

“ I am saying this to parents, to those who have been in the midst of Christendom and have seen its workings; to women who have sat up night after night, for hundreds of nights, to watch their houses and keep the mob, led by priests, from slaughtering their husbands and families and destroying their property. Perhaps I ought to keep silent rather than say these things, but that would not be justice. Facts are facts and we cannot help it. ”

“ When they submit themselves to the Lord, and ask the Father in the name of Jesus to give them revelation by the Holy Ghost. No man can call Jesus the Christ except it be revealed from heaven to him.
I will say to my young friends, my little brothers and sisters, go and learn everything you can. I say to parents, do not be afraid one particle! These children will learn something that we as parents know and understand already, and it is very grievous for us to realize that it is the truth. ”

“ We need not go into detail, but we should carry out this principle from year to year in our whole lives, and do as we wish our children to do. I say this with regard to our morals and our faith in our religion.
Now let me call the attention of parents to another subject worthy of their notice—that is, the use of proper language. Take us as a people and we are not overstocked with language; there are very few highly educated men in the Church to which we belong. We have a few learned men and a few good scholars among the women, but they are scarce. ”

“ Take this course and you will secure to yourselves an honorable name on earth among the good and the pure; you will maintain your integrity before heaven, and prove yourselves worthy of a high state of glory when you get through with this world. ”

“ We are taught in these books that, through the Fall, we have partaken so much of the nature of the enemy—he has so much influence in the flesh of every person, that we have to enter into a warfare, and we have to summon all our force and to use every effort to propel our bark up stream, or to put down iniquity in our own hearts and inclinations. ”

“ They can tell all they know about God, godliness, heaven, earth, and the exaltation of man to the Godhead in five minutes, for they do not know anything. Our children can see this, and I want them to see it. If there is any man among them that does know anything about the plan of the Almighty for the redemption and exaltation of man, I hope and pray that I may have the privilege of seeing him. ”

“ In coming to Utah to teach the "Mormons" the way of life, the Christians are but carrying coals to Newcastle. What is the use of going to "Mormon" settlements to teach the people temperance and sobriety, or to teach them the Bible? No more use than in going to Newcastle to sell coal. There is no other people in the world that believe in and practice the Bible as strictly as the Latter-day Saints. None but the Latter-day Saints properly believe in the Lord Jesus Christ ”

“ As for those who are old amongst us, their traditions and prepossessed notions, imbibed in childhood, cling to them like a garment, or like something glued to them; and they govern them to a great extent, and it is almost an impossibility for old people to get rid of their traditions ”

“ Now, parents, and I wish you to remember this, should never permit themselves to speak improperly before a child, or to use language that would not be commendable in an orator. If you have not such language at your command, then use the best you have. It is true that to use that which we are in possession of to advantage is a peculiar gift. We see some who can use language, apparently, to their entire satisfaction, and yet they have no great store of language at their command ”

“ Because I have not that light and intelligence in my possession and that command over myself to give to a child a suitable impression under every circumstance and in every place, when I address him or require anything of him. ”

“ This has been my experience in the Christian world, and I want our children to go and hear all there is to hear, for the whole sum of it will be wound up as I once heard one of the finest speakers America has ever produced say, when speaking on the soul of man. ”

“ They will tell you to keep the Sabbath and to love your father and mother; they will tell you to be true, honest, industrious, to be faithful to your studies, to read the Bible and all good books, to study the sciences, &c., which is all good, and as far as such teaching goes just as good as it can be. If they want to come and teach your children in the Sunday school, I say let them do so, most certainly. We have scores of thousands of their books distributed among the Sunday schools throughout our Territory. ”

“ When we come to the sciences of the day the knowledge of the sectarian world is very extensive; the same is true of their morality; but when we come to read out of the Book of Life the words of the Almighty to the people, and compare them with the knowledge of the sectarian world, I am reminded of the words of Geo. ”

“ For instance, if we were to address a man who had been disobedient and needed chastisement we would use very different language from that which would be used if addressing a child or a lady. If you wish to impress on the minds of individuals or an audience anything that you desire them to remember, you will have to use language accordingly. ”

“ And the children and grandchildren of those who apostatized years and years ago, will come up to Zion by hundreds and thousands, impelled by what their parents taught them in childhood.
This is another comparison. We are not quite all going to apostatize; a great many have died in the faith, and a great many have apostatized, but their posterity will come to Zion and believe the truth. Our children will have the love of the truth, if we but live our religion. Parents should take that course that their children can say, "I never knew my father to deceive or take advantage of a neighbor ”

“ They are not inclined to pray; there seems to be a kind of a dread or terror about it, and they say, "We do not know how to ask the Father for blessings, and we do not think we could pray, but give us a cigar and we can puff as well as anybody." This is only a comparison, but it furnishes a correct illustration of the facility with which evil habits are acquired, and how quick children as well as parents are to go astray, how quick their feet are to run into by and forbidden paths. ”

“ And now they follow us up and want us to learn of them, when, so far as the characters of God and Jesus are concerned and the errand of Jesus into the world, our youth know better than the whole sectarian world. ”

“ Their catechisms are good; but if you come to the things of God I will be bound that we have children who, if they dare open their mouths and converse, would place them in water they could not fathom. ”

“ After laboring long on the subject, he straightened himself up—he was a fine looking man—and said he, "My brethren and sisters, I must come to the conclusion that the soul of man is an immaterial substance. ”

“ They will not teach them anything immoral in the presence of those who are in charge of the schools; they wait until they get behind the door in the dark before they commit immoral acts, and very few of them will, even then. ”

“ We have brethren here who have traveled a good deal, and who have been in the Church a good many years. If they could only think of them they could count over people by the hundred and the thousand who have left this Church ”