Brigham Young

“ See that you bring yourselves in subjection to the law of Christ, and then teach your children in the spirit of love and affection the way of life, so that they will not stray away from you, becoming heady and high-minded, wandering after the foolish fashions of the world, the pleasures of the world; but let them make their delight in that which is virtuous and true, for this is more pleasurable than all the vanities of the world. Real wisdom is real pleasure; real wisdom, prudence, and understanding, is real comfort. ”

“ Here is mystery, here are the hidden mysteries that God has reserved for the latter times, and they are coming forth; the work we have upon us is an immense one, it is great, powerful and divine; it is an almighty work. ”

“ But the beauty and excellency of the wisdom that God has revealed to us is to fill everybody with wisdom, bringing them up to the highest standard of knowledge and wisdom, purifying us and preparing us to enter into the highest state of glory, knowledge and power, that we may become fit associates of the Gods and be prepared to dwell with them. This I say is the beauty and glory of the great knowledge that God has revealed unto the Latter-day Saints. ”

“ And these honorable men, these good men who with their families have received the blessings from the hands of this people; those to whom we have given our substance, our flour and breadstuffs, our money and whatever we had, were there any of them who opened their mouths in justification of the innocent, the pure and good, and denounced the falsehoods and the slanders of those that raised the cry against us? ”

“ I have a few words to say to the Latter-day Saints concerning these young men we have called to preside over the people of this Stake of Zion. They are young—they have not the experience that older men have; but if they do not possess more wisdom than a good many of our old experienced men, I am sorry. There are a good many that do not profit by the experience they have got, they do not know how to do so. ”

“ Why don't you see, why don't you open your eyes and behold the great work resting upon you and that you have entered into? You are blind, you are stupid, you are in the dark, in the mist and fog, wandering to and fro like the boat upon the water without sail, rudder or oar ”

“ You will hear many say of such a person, what a nice man he is, and what a great financier he is! My feeling of such a man is he is a great cheat, a deceiver, a liar! He imposes on the people, he takes that which does not belong to him, and is a living monument of falsehood. Such a man is not a financier! The financier is he that brings the lumber from the Canyons and shapes it for the use of his fellow man, employing mechanics and laborers to produce from the elements and the crude material everything necessary for the sustenance and comfort of man ”

“ There is a good deal of money spent; I know of one man who spent many thousands of dollars trying to organize the Elders in such a manner that they could hold the control of the market. But no. Wild as the deer upon the mountains, running by day and by night, oft-times under the shades of night, to get away from this and other towns, lugging off the blessings that God had poured into their laps. We have counseled the people to save their grain. ”

“ Our motive is to make every man and woman to know just as much as we do; this is the plan of the Gospel, and this is what I would like to do. I would like all the Latter-day Saints to come up to this standard, and know as much as I do, and then just as much more as they can learn, and if they can get ahead of me, all right. ”

“ Its observance is as necessary to our salvation as any other of the ordinances and commandments that have been instituted in order that the people may be sanctified, that Jesus may bless them and give unto them his spirit, and guide and direct them that they may secure unto themselves life eternal. Impress the sacredness of this important ordinance upon the minds of your children. Many of you who are aged, have witnessed the strength and power of tradition, whether it be correct or false. ”

“ He came here to redeem fallen man, he being the heir of the family that receive bodies on this earth, that they, through obedience to his requirements and commandments and the ordinances of his house; may be sanctified and prepared to return unto the presence of the Father and there sit down with Jesus, where he will administer to them again in fulfillment of his saying to them, "I will not drink, henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until the day when I drink it anew, with you, in my Father's kingdom." ”

“ We do not want this sin to rest upon us; we want the people, each and every one to understand their duty and then discharge that duty fearlessly, without favor or hope of earthly reward, having in view the doing of the Father's will alone and the receiving of the heavenly reward. ”

“ If you mothers will live your religion, then in the love and fear of God teach your children constantly and thoroughly in the way of life and salvation, training them up in the way they should go, when they are old they will not depart from it. ”

“ The power of tradition upon the minds of the inhabitants of the earth is most potent, I might say it is almost almighty. We know the way of life, we have the keys of life in our possession; and if we do not take the pains to train our children, to teach and instruct them concerning these revealed truths, the condemnation will be upon us, as parents, or at least in a great measure. ”

“ And it is a truth that they whom the Lord makes weak are weak indeed; and those whom the Lord makes strong are strong indeed. Strength was given to the North in the last struggle, and the South suffered extremely. But the time will come when the North will be weaker than the South was, and they will have no power to muster their forces against the tide of folly that will come upon them, that they bring upon themselves, and they themselves must receive the results.
But say the Latter-day Saints, "How are we living?" ”

“ There are many things wherein the people will need instructing, they will receive these instructions from time to time, adding instruction to instruction with regard to the faith, ordinances and commandments of the house of God; our faith in the religion we possess or hope to possess, and in the faith we should possess in the name of our Savior and through him in the Father. ”

“ The inhabitants of Utah, called Latter-day Saints, took everything that the Lord caused the earth to bring forth that they could pack in their wagons, and carried it away to those who would not even speak a good word for them. ”

“ And when the press delight in publishing such falsehoods about the Latter-day Saints as they have done, and the people delight to read them, you will see real trouble crop out in and among themselves. Is there power enough in the Federal Government to put down mobocracy. ”

“ But the great majority of men who have amassed great wealth have done it at the expense of their fellows, on the principle that the doctors, the lawyers and the merchants acquire theirs. Such men are impositions on the community, and they ought to be taken and put to some honorable labor such as raising potatoes, raising grain, cattle and sheep, and performing other useful and necessary labors for the good of mankind. ”

“ Yes, we are generous enough to feed them, and clothe them, and give them money. And then, when the enemy would raise persecution against the Latter-day Saints, they can sit and laugh at it. All the merchants among us we have made rich. ”

“ An idea seems to have gone abroad among the parents, and consequently descends to the children, that when the little ones have been to Sunday school, the remainder of the day is for them to enjoy themselves the best way they can. ”

“ Here for instance is a business man, a merchant, comes to our neighborhood, with a stock of goods; he sells them at from two to ten hundred per cent. above what they cost. As a matter of course he soon becomes wealthy, and after a time he will be called a millionaire, when perhaps he was not worth a dollar when he commenced to trade. ”

“ By appointing brother Oliver to this position, I think he will be under his father's care, and where he can get the wisdom his father possesses. And I will say to the credit of the people here, they have done well. And brother Lorenzo Snow, who has had charge of you, has set the best example for the literal building up of the kingdom of God of any of our presiding Elders. There is one man in the South who I think will come up to this standard, and continue on. ”

“ We are in the habit of partaking of the contents of the cup each Sabbath when we meet together, and I do pray you my brethren and sisters to contemplate this ordinance thoroughly, and seek unto the Lord with all your hearts that you may obtain the promised blessings by obedience to it. Teach its observance to your children; impress upon them its necessity. ”

“ Whilst on the other hand these Latter-day Saints are giving everything that the Lord bestows upon them just as fast as they receive it; not resting satisfied until they hand everything over to the laps and hands of our enemies. A great many will say, "But we are not your enemies. ”

“ In this duty we fail; we do not bring up our children in the way they should go, or there would be no turning away, wandering here and there from the society of the Saints. We let our children do too much as they have a mind to ”

“ He told us that there were a great many people in these mountains, and a great many had been here, who had become acquainted with this people, whom they acknowledged to be an industrious and honest people ”