Brigham Young

“ Observe the men who have come into this Church rich in property, and where can you find one who has said, "I brought fifty, forty, or twenty thousand dollars into this Church," but what they have either come begging to the Church at last, or apostatized? If you cling to the world, and say it is hard for you to do this or that, recollect that the love of the Father is not in you. Let me love the world as He loves it, to make it beautiful, and glorify the name of my Father in heaven. ”

“ It is our duty to improve upon every blessing the Lord gives to us. ”

“ They could not tell light from darkness, because they have no knowledge of darkness and consequently are destitute of a realizing sense of light. If they should not taste the bitter, how could they realize the sweet? They could not. They would be like a machine, and could not approximate to the standard of the present enjoyment of the brute, and probably not even to that of the vegetable kingdom. To know the bitter they must taste it; they must be made acquainted with the evil there is in existence, or they cannot realize the good. ”

“ If we could perceive and fully understand that all the ability and knowledge we have, every good we possess, every bright idea, every pure affection, and every good vision of mind from our infancy to the present time, are all the free gift of the Lord, and that we of ourselves have nothing original, we should be much better prepared and far more ready to act faithfully and wisely under all circumstances. Every good thing is in His hands, is subject to His power, belongs to Him, and is only handed over to us, for the time being, to see what use we will make of it. ”

“ When we talk about the beginning of eternity, it is rather simple conversation, and goes far beyond the capacity of man. All beings will go into a future state, and what do you suppose those think who are there now? Do you suppose that Joseph the Prophet thinks he has sacrificed anything on this earth? No. But the Lord led him in a way that he might understand glory, exaltation, and power—that he might comprehend the blessings the Lord gave to him. ”

“ Some of the people feel thus, and it is in consequence of the wickedness that is on the earth. The Lord has not called for one farthing's worth which is not His own. The people could not own it, and if they did, have they power to preserve it? No. Can they preserve their buildings from the raging elements of fire? No. Have they power over their grain to keep it from mould, to preserve it from blight, and from the ravages from insects? No. Have they power to preserve their animals in life? No. Can they do these things independent of the power of the Lord Almighty? ”

“ For instance, let a man or woman who has received much of the power of God, visions and revelations, turn away from the holy commandments of the Lord; and it seems that their senses are taken from them, their understanding and judgment in righteousness are taken away, they go into darkness, and become like a blind person who gropes by the wall. ”

“ The ability which we have to bring them together we have received of the Lord, by His free gift, and He has made us capable of performing many things for His glory, for His wisdom, and for the exaltation of those creatures He has brought forth and made. Has He not endowed mankind with intelligence? He has created them but a little lower than the angels. They have received wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, and are organized to receive power, glory, and honor. ”

“ Hence they see the mountains and do not know how they are made, the grass, but do not know upon what principle it grows; the cattle come and go, but they do not know their first origin. Mankind spread abroad upon the earth, but do not know how they came here, and are not familiar with the workings of the power that sustains them. This the people ought to find out in the first place, and then they will know that the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof, and that there is an eternity of matter yet to be organized. ”

“ It is our duty to improve upon every blessing the Lord gives to us. If He gives us land, improve it; if He gives us the privilege of building houses, improve it; if He gives us wives and children, try and teach them the ways of the Lord, and exalt them above the dark, degraded, and sunken state of mankind, &c.; if He gives us the privilege of gathering together, let us sanctify ourselves. In His providence He has called the Latter-day Saints from the world, has gathered them from other nations, and given them a place upon the earth. ”

“ If we will improve, be faithful and diligent in all the blessings bestowed upon us, we then have the principle of increase, and this is the great blessing given to man, and was the promise which Abraham received at the hands of the Lord. Abraham was fearful he would not increase and multiply his posterity on the earth, though he might increase in power, wisdom, and knowledge himself ”

“ Some were disposed to do right with their surplus property, and once in a while you would find a man who had a cow which he considered surplus, but generally she was of the class that would kick a person's hat off, or eyes out, or the wolves had eaten off her teats. You would once in a while find a man who had a horse that he considered surplus, but at the same time he had the ringbone, was broken-winded, spavined in both legs, had the pole evil at one end of the neck and a fistula at the other, and both knees sprung. ”

“ We are here on the earth, we live, and find ourselves endowed with wonderful powers, and it seems as though we, as individuals, were perfectly independent of every creature or being throughout the immensity of space. ”

“ They are far from the true principles of salvation and godliness; and the world has sunk so far in wickedness, wretchedness, misunderstanding, and every kind of ignorance, and every species of wickedness which can be devised and introduced by the devil and the people combined, that even some of the Saints are almost persuaded to think that the Lord has called upon them to consecrate, to give up something which they consider their own, but in reality is not, to somebody that never did own it. ”

“ Yes, one of the greatest the people can enjoy, to be free from the wickedness of the wicked, from the calamities and clamor of the world. By this blessing we can show to our Father in Heaven that we are faithful stewards; and more, it is a blessing to have the privilege of handing back to Him that which He has put in our possession, and not say it is ours, until He shall say it from the heavens. ”

“ No revelation that was ever given is more easy of comprehension than that on the law of consecration, which the Christians had acknowledged all their days, and we are all Christians by birth, and all believed that we owned nothing, but that all belonged to the Giver of all good. We believe in God the Father, and in His Son Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, and we believe that he was actually going to possess the earth, and reign with his people on the earth ”

“ There is no being in eternity about whom we have ever read or heard, but what has suffered in like manner as we have, for it was by suffering they had to gain their exaltation, as you and I will have to do. ”

“ It is time the privilege of consecrating their property was given to the people, it is the will of the Lord they should enjoy this blessing and privilege, those who choose to hand over their property; to whom? To Him who has given them everything they possess: He owns all they possess, and they have no property, more or less, only that which actually belongs to the Lord, and He deals it out and bestows it where it seemeth Him good. ”

“ When the Saints find out the truth as it is, they will learn that they have nothing to consecrate in reality, that they have nothing to give to the Lord, because they hold nothing but what already belongs to Him. We seem to possess much, and if we are faithful and endure to the end will be crowned, and then the Lord will say, "It is enough, you have proved yourselves faithful." Comparatively speaking, He will talk with them as a father does with his children. To one son he says, "Go and improve that farm, though I do not deed it to you;" to another he says, "Take that farm;" ”

“ The Lord makes them well by His power, through the ordinances of His house, but will they consecrate? No. They say, "It is mine, and I will have it myself." There is the treasure, and the heart is with it, and what will be the end thereof? That which they seem to have will be given to those who are faithful, and they will receive nothing at all. They will not get an inheritance upon the earth, and cannot be crowned as kings and rulers in the kingdom of God ”

“ The time will come when the people will look back on their first experience, and they will realise that that which they now consider hardship was their greatest blessing. They are called to leave their homes, their parents, their families, and their native country. They are called away by the providence of God to what they now consider to be sorrow; but it is not so, it is only an experience put into the possession of the Saints, that they may know the blessings of eternity. ”

“ It is a laughable idea, but is nevertheless true, men would tell me they were young and beginning the world, and would say, "We have no children, but our prospects are good, and we think we shall have a family of children, and if we do, we want to give them eighty acres of land each; we have no surplus property." "How many cattle have you?" ”

“ I do not own a house, or a single foot of land, a horse, mule, carriage, or wagon, nor wife, nor child, but what the Lord gave me, and if He wants them, He can take them at His pleasure, whether He speaks for them, or takes them without speaking. ”

“ It is a curious idea, but one in favor of which there is much testimony, that when people take the downward road, one that is calculated to destroy them, they will actually in every sense of the word be destroyed. Will they be what is termed annihilated? No, there is no such thing as annihilation, for you cannot destroy the elements of which things are made. ”

“ It is hardly worth while for me to say anything about the disposition of the people; still, when a person can realize that men do not know themselves, we, consider it proper to tell them who they are, what they are, and how they feel. ”

“ The earth is still His, and its fulness, and that includes each one of us, and also includes all that we seem to possess. It includes all the elements, in whatever shape, form, or condition, and wherever they are situated, whether in the native state, or in a state of organization for the comfort and benefit of man. ”

“ I found the people said they were willing to do about as they were counselled, but, upon asking them about their surplus property, most of the men who owned land and cattle would say, "I have got so many hundred acres of land, and I have got so many boys, and I want each one of them to have eighty acres, therefore this is not surplus property." ”

“ He has to learn the distinction by those principles of knowledge which the Lord places in the hearts of the human family to enable them to contrast the one with the other, and to know everything by its opposite. ”

“ Suppose you had a diamond of the finest water, as large as my fist, and worth millions of pounds sterling, and you gave it to one who did not know its value, he would put it in the mud, as quick as he would a potatoe; and a very ignorant person would know no difference between a piece of gold and a piece of bright copper. ”

“ Some of our brethren would actually take a horse worth no more than forty dollars, pay fifty and give credit on tithing for thirty.
I mention these things to illustrate the feelings of many of the people, for they do not understand the spirit they are of. When a man wishes to give anything, let him give the best he has got. ”

“ Were not this the case, the intelligence, the power of the mind, the spirit that is placed in the body, and all that pertain to life in this stage of action, or prior to our coming into the world, are not made honorable; and if they are not honored by the creature, by the principle that is placed in him, that organization is liable to decompose. ”

“ They will acknowledge at once that there never was a house which was not built, and understand the principles of human art, but do not fully understand the operations of nature, though they proceed upon simple and natural principles. ”

“ The law of consecration was revealed previous to the brethren's going to Jackson County, or about the time they went; after they left Jackson County and went to Caldwell, inasmuch as the people did not understand why they should be called upon to consecrate; for if a man possessed more than he needed, the Lord was welcome to it anyhow, but if a man did not possess more than he really thought he needed, they concluded there should be no such law as the law of consecration, or the law of tithing ”

“ If they are industrious, prudent, and filled with understanding to know from where these favors emanate, of course they will attribute all the power and goodness to the honor and glory of the Being who bestowed them.
As I have already observed, the people are ignorant; they do not know themselves, do not understand their own organization, or from whence they are ”