Brigham Young

“ It would delight me to be able to preach all the time upon the glories of Zion, that Zion prospers, that we are all in the straight and narrow way, that all feel fully engaged in building up the kingdom of God, and that every man, woman, and child is doing right, but such is not the case. If I could prevail upon the people to so lay instruction to heart, that they would repent of their sins and refrain from them, that they would forsake their hard-heartedness and follies, I should be thankful indeed. ”

“ The revelation that I have been reading may be as mysterious to our children, in a thousand or fifteen hundred years from now, in case the world continues in the same degree of enlightenment that it has for a few ages past, as the revelations contained in the Old and New Testaments are to this generation, and it would be commented upon with the same scrutiny and accuracy; and men would study, year after year, and fret themselves almost to death to find out the mysterious meaning of the revelation given to us their forefathers. ”

“ Allow me to inform you that you are in the midst of it all now, that you are in just as good a kingdom as you will ever attain to, from now to all eternity, unless you make it yourselves by the grace of God, by the will of God, by the eternal Priesthood of God, which is a code of laws perfectly calculated to govern and control eternal matter. If you and I do not by this means make that better kingdom which we anticipate, we shall never enjoy it.
We can only enjoy the kingdom we have labored to make. ”

“ I could not, nor could any other man, give a revelation that would be more plain to the comprehension of the people than the one I have read to you this morning. There is no mystery about it, nothing mysterious or in the dark, but every man may easily know precisely what it means; all the people may understand it to perfection. ”

“ It is a mercy in God that many are as ignorant as they are; for were it not so they would not be borne with as they are. Do not ask for revelations to dictate you in this, that, or the other, unless you are sure that you can obey them. Do not suffer yourselves to falter in your faith, and to say that the door of revelation is closed, for I tell you that there are now too many for your good, unless you hearken more diligently than you have hitherto, unless you apply more closely in your lives what is revealed and live your religion more faithfully. ”

“ Ask some man to command you, and never ask God to do it, until you are prepared to keep His commandments.
You are ready to say in your hearts, "We are always scolded." Who hurts you? You will never be hurt, unless you hurt yourselves. If we live our religion we shall prosper, and if we live in the neglect of our duty, and continue to do so, as many do, there will be tribulation and anguish here, and the chastening hand of the Almighty will be on this people, more so than it has ever been. ”

“ I will again read a portion of the revelation, "For he that is compelled in all things the same is a slothful and not a wise servant, wherefore he receiveth no reward. Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness, for the power is in them wherein they are agents unto themselves, and inasmuch as men do good they shall in no wise lose their reward." ”

“ The spirit of contention divides families as we see some divided. We can hardly associate with some persons, for we have to walk in their midst like walking upon eggs. What is the matter? You do not know the spirit they are led by. Treat them kindly, and, perhaps, by and bye they will come to understanding. What would they do were they of one heart and mind? They would be like little children, would respect their superiors and honor their God and their religion. This they would do, if they understood things as they are. ”

“ We have need to increase in knowledge and understanding, and to apply our hearts more to wisdom.
How necessary it is for us to live our religion so as to know ourselves better, and to know how to live better in accordance with the religion we have embraced. To know how to gather up the sons and daughters of Abraham, and to establish the kingdom of God on the earth, how necessary it is for you and I to live our religion, and not be slothful and negligent in fulfilling our duty. ”

“ Yes, I will go and tell it all to the heads of the Church and get their forgiveness, and pass on in my wickedness." Do you wish your friends to stay here, and all to be Saints indeed? Now some children are wicked and their parents righteous, and again children may be Saints and their parents wicked. There are good people who have wicked brothers and sisters, and they say, "Let us be forgiving, let us hold on to them, if we have compassion, perhaps they will do better and repent of their sins, and yet be Saints." ”

“ Unrighteous dealings and doings appear to exert a wider influence than righteous ones, consequently in this community when you find one evil person in a family, or in a neighborhood, that person will actually make it appear to a stranger that the whole family, or neighborhood is evil. The good and evil are mixed together, the wheat and the tares are growing together, the wise and foolish virgins are traveling on together. ”

“ Let us do all the good we can, extend the hand of benevolence to all, keep the commandments of God and live our religion, and after all there will be five foolish virgins, and if we are not careful, we shall all be on the list of the foolish ones. ”

“ I am almost constrained by the power that is within me to draw the dividing line in the midst of this people, and to cut many from the Church, but I plead for mercy. I have mercy for the people, and I ask God to bear with the wickedness there is in their midst, which can hardly be borne with by the spirit and power of the Holy Ghost. ”

“ Parents and children will have to separate, and husbands and wives, ere long. How long shall they live together? Until the Lord says, gather up the tares and prepare them for the burning. I am not going to undertake to separate the tares from the wheat, the sheep from the goat, but we will try to make you goats produce fleeces of wool instead of hair, and we will keep hammering at you with the word of God, which is quick and powerful, until you become sheep, if possible, that we may not have five foolish virgins in the company. ”

“ You have not, though I have to hang, as it were, on a slender thread of faith to plead with the Almighty to yet spare the wicked in our midst. What hinders them from observing the law of God? Do I or does any other person hinder them? Who hinders you from doing a good work? ”

“ The Book of Mormon, of Doctrine and Covenants, the Old and New Testaments all corroborate the fact that when you receive the Spirit that gives you light, intelligence, peace, joy, and comfort, that it is from God. ”

“ What hinders us in living as close to our religion as do the angels? Angels do not hinder us, God certainly does not, and we ought to say to devils, "You shall not." But in the midst of this people there is a set of theives, idolaters, drunkards, whore-mongers, and vile persons. ”

“ I have exhorted them from year to year upon this very point, and have asked, why do you receive the counsel of God with doubtful hearts when you are taught the way of life and salvation, when things are made so plain and easy to you that you cannot misunderstand them? ”

“ Some you see walking uprightly, and again you may see the honest suffering, and but few ready to extend the hand of charity to relieve them, while the dishonest who have followed this people, we will say, for the loaves and fishes, are begging, and their children also, from morning until night and hoarding up more than they can possibly consume. We see these different dispositions, yet we all are known under the appellation of Saints, we are all brethren and sisters in the Church of Christ. ”

“ Who is there that walks up to the line, and knows the will of God without being commanded? A great many do; but it is not all of this people who are doing as I have been counselling you. Still I will venture to say that there are as many wise ones as foolish. But many will have to separate from their own family connexions, if they do not do better. ”

“ It is the aggregate of the acts which I perform through life that makes up the conduct that will be exhibited in the day of judgment, and when the books are opened, there will be the life which I have lived for me to look upon, and there also will be the acts of your lives for you to look upon. ”

“ But when you, sisters, particularly in your family affairs, are tried and tempted, when parents and children have a spirit come upon them that irritates them, that causes them to have bad feelings, disagreeable, unhappy, and miserable sensations, causing them to I say, "We wish it was some way else; we wish our circumstances were different; we are not happy; something or the other is always wrong; we wish to do just right, but we are very unhappy;" ”

“ Chemists who are familiar with analizing matter, inform you that the globe we inhabit is composed of small particles, so small that they cannot be seen with the unaided natural eye, and that one of these small particles may be divided into millions of parts, each part so minute as to be undiscernable by the aid of the finest microscopes. So the walk of man is made up of acts performed from day to day. ”

“ But in looking at the people in mass this may not appear, for you are frequently told that one evil person can corrupt many. It is an old saying, and a true one, that "a wicked king can corrupt a nation," and a wicked father will corrupt a family, and a wicked ruler will corrupt those he rules over. ”

“ Those who have wisdom within themselves, who have in possession the spirit of the Gospel, know what they hear from this stand. They know truth from error, they are satisfied, and never ask the Lord to give them more revelation, but to give them grace to observe and keep what they have received. ”

“ There are a few who will. I can say with safety that I firmly believe that there are five wise virgins and five foolish ones; that there are five who are wise servants and hand-maidens to five who are foolish. ”

“ There is not that man or woman in this congregation, or on the face of the earth, that has the privilege of the holy Gospel, and lives strictly to it, whom all hell can make unhappy. You cannot make the man, woman, or child unhappy, who possesses the Spirit of the living God ”

“ I am wearied with seeing the conduct of some of this people, their theiving, lying, tattling, deceiving, running after the Gentile spirit, after the spirits of this world, receiving delusive spirits, and adhering to all manner of principles that are not of God. ”

“ No, but if you see honest persons, you see those who are ready to take hold and labor with their might, even though they have but one potatoe in a day; they will suffer rather than impoverish the Church. ”

“ You are frequently told that the chastisements which come upon this people are for their good. We may ask, "Is pinching want for our good? Is the destruction of our crops for our good? Is the losing of our property for our good?" ”

“ But if you wish the word of the Lord on your nonsensical, foolish notions and traits, be pleased to keep away from me, for I know too much about such characters for them to pass before me unobserved. Mankind are weak and feeble, poor and needy ”

“ The very first thing would be to instruct the people to take care of their temporal lives, for if a people do not provide to live on the earth they cannot accomplish the work given them to do. The first thing to be written would be for people to prepare to live on the earth, until they could overcome the wickedness that is in the world. ”

“ When Joseph received this revelation, it was as plain to the understanding of the Saints, as are my instructions when telling you what to do.
The Lord said to the people through Joseph, "You must keep the law here, and be careful to repent of your sins." Occasionally a man's name would be mentioned, and he might be pointed out as a pattern for the rest. ”

“ Yes, some will in due time get line enough to send them to hell. Many are pleading for revelations; do you suppose that Saints lack revelations? They have plenty of them, and they are stored in the archives of those who have understanding of the principles of the Priesthood, ready to be brought forth as the people need. ”

“ I want men to act as Bishops who are smart enough to take care of themselves, and at the same time magnify their calling; and if we do not find them to be honest we mean to appoint other persons, and to continue so doing until that Quorum is filled with honest men. I am sorry to say that we have proven a few Bishops dishonest. Perhaps some of the Bishops here, or of those who live in other parts of the Territory, will say, "It comes very hard, brother Brigham, for you to make such a statement as that, and not point out the dishonest person ”

“ They would also suffer here if we were equally fearful of being imposed upon; but many who are unworthy are now aided, by those who are ever ready to assist the destitute, lest some honest poor should suffer ”