Brigham Young

“ It is good for us to follow the example of those who have attained unto salvation; consequently if I wish to be saved, and be an instrument of pointing out the way to others, let me not only preach the doctrine of salvation, but set the example in my conduct, and plead with them to follow it. If our faith is one, and we are united to gain one grand object, and I, as an individual, can possibly get into the celestial kingdom, you and every other person, by the same rule, can also enter there. ”

“ It is for us to lay a foundation so that everything our children have to do with, will bring them to Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first-born, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better things than the blood of Abel. ”

“ Though we may do the best we know how at this time, can there be no improvement made in our lives? There can. If we do wrong ignorantly, when we learn it is wrong, then it is our duty to refrain from that wrong immediately and for ever, and the sin of ignorance is winked at, and passes into oblivion. ”

“ To be as perfect as we possibly can, according to our knowledge, is to be just as perfect as our Father in heaven is. He cannot be any more perfect than He knows how, any more than we. When we are doing as well as we know how in the sphere and station which we occupy here, we are justified in the justice, righteousness, mercy, and judgment that go before the Lord of heaven and earth. We are as justified as the angels who are before the throne of God. ”

“ There never was any person over saved; all who have been saved, and that ever will be in the future, are only just saved, and then it is not without a struggle to overcome, that calls into exercise every energy of the soul. ”

“ Let us, then, lay a foundation for the rising generation to grow up without being trammeled and hindered in their ownward [onward] course to glory and happiness by the superstitions, tradition, and ignorance that have blinded and hurt us. Let us do the best we can, and if we make a mistake once, seven times, or seventy times seven in a day, and are honest in our confessions, we shall be forgiven freely. As we expect to obtain mercy, so let us have mercy upon each other. And when the evil spirit comes let him find no place in you. ”

“ To gain the spiritual ascendancy over ourselves, and the influences with which we are surrounded, through a rigid course of self-discipline, is our first consideration, it is our first labor, before we can pave the way for our children to grow up without sin unto salvation. ”

“ Let every individual thus school, chasten, prove, view, and review himself, taking himself into custody as a prisoner to be subjected to a severe examination, until his will is perfectly subservient to the will of God in every instance, and you can say, "No matter what it is, let us know the will of the Father in heaven, and that is our will." ”

“ Do the people understand all the obligations they are under to each other and to their God? They do not. Again, do they try to know, as far as it is in their power? They do not. Are there individuals among us who seek with all their hearts to know and understand the will of God? ”

“ That is what our Father in heaven will do for this people, if they will not learn by His blessings and loving kindness.
Do you inquire if I think we are about to be afflicted? If we are not good children, we shall be. We must learn to love righteousness, and hate iniquity, and then we can chasten ourselves, and bring ourselves to the sphere we were designed to fill in our existence, and govern and control ourselves in it, preparatory to power being put into our hands. We should never have but one desire, but one determination ”

“ Many of you have fearful forebodings that all is not right in the organization of this kingdom. You shiver and shake in your feelings, and tremble in your spirit; you cannot put your trust in God, in men, nor in yourself. This arises from the power of evil that is so prevalent upon the face of the whole earth. ”

“ Those who do right, and seek the glory of the Father in heaven, whether their knowledge be little or much, or whether they can do little or much, if they do the very best they know how, they are perfect. ”

“ Though our interest is one as a people, yet remember, salvation is an individual work; it is every person for themselves. I mean more by this than I have time to tell you in full, but I will give you a hint. There are those in this Church who calculate to be saved by the righteousness of others. They will miss their mark. They are those who will arrive just as the gate is shut, so in that case you may be shut out; then you will call upon some one, who, by their own faithfulness, through the mercy of Jesus Christ, have entered in through the celestial gate, to come and open it for you ”

“ The origin of thought was planted in our organization at the beginning of our being. This is not telling you how it came there, or who put it there. Thought originated with our individual being, which is organized to be as independent as any being in eternity. When you go home, and learn that your neighbors have committed some depredation on your property, or in your family, and anger arises in your bosom, then consider, and know that it arises in yourselves. ”

“ If you are injured by a neighbor, the first thought of the unregenerate heart is for God to damn the person who has hurt you. But if a person blesses you, the first thought that arises in you is, God bless that man ”

“ When the white man presents himself, you know him at once by his complexion; the same when you see darkness and blackness advancing, you know it is from beneath, and you can command it to leave your house. ”

“ Yet, in consequence of sin entering into the world, darkness, wretchedness, folly, weakness of every kind, and the power of temptation surround the children of men, as well as the power of God. I say the grey-headed father, and the aged matron will give way to the power of evil, when it comes upon them, as readily, in many instances, as the infant child upon its mother's lap. ”

“ A portion of our old associates believe we are controlled entirely by circumstances; but this people have learned enough to know they have the ability and power to control circumstances, to a certain extent; they will control us more or less, but not entirely. ”

“ If we do the best we know how, and yet commit many acts that are wrong, and contrary to the counsel given to us, there is hope in our case.
The Savior has warned us to be careful how we judge, forgiving each other seven times seventy in a day, if we repent, and confess our sins one to another. Can we be more merciful and forgiving than our Father in heaven? ”

“ The origin of thought and reflection is in ourselves. We think, because we are, and are made susceptible of external influences, and to feel our relationship to external objects. Thus thoughts of revenge, and thoughts of blessing will arise in the same mind, as it is influenced by external circumstances. ”

“ If the brethren who profess to be Saints, and do wrong, would reveal the root of the matter, and tell the whole truth, it would be, "I have a desire to do a great deal of good, but the devil is always at my elbow, and I always like to keep the old gentleman so that I can put my hand upon him, for I want to use him sometimes." That is the reason why men and women are overcome with evil. ”

“ Of course we shall be so clean in the heavenly Zion, we shall not need anybody to wash for us. When I say we will set such characters to work in the garden, to clean our stables, to curry our horses, or work in the cellar kitchen, it is to be understood spiritually. ”

“ Therefore let people do the best they can, and they will pave the way for the rising generation to walk up into the light, wisdom, and knowledge of the angels, and of the redeemed from this earth, to say nothing of other earths, and they will be prepared to enjoy in the resurrection all the blessings which are for the faithful, and enjoy them in the flesh. ”

“ It may appear strange to some of you, and it certainly does to the world, to say it is possible for a man or woman to become perfect on this earth. It is written "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Again, "If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body." ”

“ If I were to ask you individually, if you wished to be sanctified throughout, and become as pure and holy as you possibly could live, every person would say yes; yet if the Lord Almighty should give a revelation instructing you to be given wholly up to Him, and to His cause, you would shrink, saying, "I am afraid he will take away some of my darlings." That is the difficulty with the majority of this people. ”

“ On the other hand, if every man will do the best he can, and as far as he knows how, it will be well with him, and he will be blessed until there is not room to contain, the blessings which will be poured upon him. Sin consists in doing wrong when we know and can do better, and it will be punished with a just retribution, in the due time of the Lord. ”

“ I recollect telling the Latter-day Saints that no man could judge the nature of a spirit without first testing it; until then, he is not capable to judge of it. Brethren, love righteousness, and hate iniquity. ”

“ Why can they not understand, that they are organized and formed for the express purpose of becoming independent in and of themselves, that they may begin to guard against any evil principle, or the suggestions of evil? ”

“ If he has done the best he could in the late Indian difficulties in the district where he lives, and acted according to the judgment and light of the spirit of revelation in him, he is as justified as an angel of God. ”

“ If men and women understood perfectly their position before God, angels, and men, the place they occupy, and the sphere they act in, they would know they are as independent in their organization as the angels, or as the Gods. ”

“ If the mercies and blessings of our kind and indulgent heavenly Parent will not produce the desired effects upon His people, He will certainly chasten them, and make them know, by what they suffer, how to govern and sanctify themselves before Him. ”

“ I speak what I know, and say, shame on those who are subject to such weakness, when they have had time and opportunity to learn better. Brother Morley says, "Such spirits will be damned." Bless your souls, they are damned already. ”

“ That which they think they possess, they only seem to have. It is put in their hands for a few days, to see if they have wisdom sufficient to use it to the glory arid honor of God, that they may have more blessings added to them. When they have proved themselves unworthy, that which they seemed to have will be taken away, and given to another who is more worthy, that he may have more abundantly. ”

“ We ought to pursue the same course with our children when we wish them to obey our commands. It is reasonable and right, after you have held out every kind of inducement possible, to bring them to their senses, and to obedience, if they still continue refractory, to try the rod, and chasten them until they become obedient. ”

“ If you suffer the opposite of this to take possession of your tabernacles, it will hurt you, and all that is associated with you, and blast, and strike with mildew, until your tabernacle, which was created to continue throughout an endless duration, will be decomposed, and go back to its native elements, to be ground over again like the refractory clay that has spoiled in the hand of the potter, it must be worked over again until it shall become passive, and yield to the potter's wish.
One power is to add, to build up, and increase ”

“ The reason they act as they do, in a manner so diametrically opposed to the angels and Gods in the eternities that are, is because they have been in a miserable condition since they have been upon the earth.
When men and women give way to these wicked spirits, it is a proof they have not learned their organization, and what they were made for. ”

“ But dismiss any spirit that would prompt you to injure any creature that the Lord has made, give it no place, encourage it not, and it will not stay where you are. You can let the black man, or the white man into your house, as you please ”

“ On the other hand, suppose some person has blessed you when you return home, brought you a bag of flour, for instance, in a time of great scarcity, and some butter, milk, and vegetables, thoughts would at once spring up to bless the giver. ”