Brigham Young

“ How are we going to obtain implicit confidence in all the words and doings of Joseph? By one principle alone, that is, to live so that the voice of the the Spirit will testify to us all the time that he is the servant of the Most High; so that we can realize as it were the Lord's declaring that "Joseph is my servant, I lead him day by day whithersoever I will, and dictate him to do whatever I will; he is my mouth to the people. ”

“ The difficulty with the whole world in their divisions and subdivisions, is that they have no more confidence in each other than they have in their God, and that is none at all, no, not one particle. This confuses nations and breaks them up; it weakens them and they tumble to pieces. It disturbs cities and countries, and really the seeds of destruction are within those kingdoms where the people have not confidence in each other. ”

“ If we have any lack of confidence in those whom the Lord has appointed to lead the people, how can we have confidence in a being whom we know nothing about? It is nonsense to talk about it. It will weaken a person quicker to lose confidence in those who dictate the affairs of God's kingdom on the earth, than to say "I do not know whether there is a God or not, and I care nothing about Him." A man or woman will not be prepared to be taken by the enemy, and led captive by the devil so quickly for disbelieving in a being they do not know about, as for disbelieving in those whom they do know. ”

“ Let it be the whole aim of the Saints to know how to build up the kingdom of God on the earth. And if you want to know how to spend your time, inquire from hour to hour what you can do to do good. If necessary, take off your hat, and run through the streets for something to do. Go into the garden, plant potatoes, set out fruit trees, sow peas, and put all kinds of useful seeds into the ground. And when the devil tells you to do some wonderful big thing, wait until you become some wonderful big person, and reflect that you are yet only like one of the people, and must take care of yourself. ”

“ It may at first sight appear strange, and is so to an uninspired mind, that any people should have a want of confidence and faith in a righteous man on the earth, a lack which blights their hopes and faith quicker than it does to lack confidence in their God. This is the case, however curious it may appear, though we may hear some men declare that they wish to have such confidence in their leaders as not to enquire whether this or that is right, but to perform what they are bid to do. No man will have that degree of confidence, unless it is founded in truth. ”

“ Hitherto there has been too much of a spirit to find fault, but I expect that this spirit is very near kicked out of doors. And you may still hear some saying, "There are hard times coming by and bye; the mob are coming; the crickets and the grasshoppers will eat us out." They have tried that, and I have no more fears about one army than I have about the other; though the crickets and the grasshoppers are the greatest plague, for we can hit men, but when you hit one cricket or grasshopper, the air is at once alive with them, and if you kill one, two come to bury him. ”

“ Yes, we would reply at once, we believe that our faith to our God and proving ourselves friends to Him and His people, and being kind to the suffering poor, have caused His blessings to be poured out upon us, and we are favoured as we are. If the people continue to be humble before Him, to keep His commandments, to love and serve the Lord, and forsake those little trifling concerns which pertain to the world, and to the spirit of the world, which is the spirit of sorrow, anxiety, and trouble, and get the Spirit of the Lord and live in it, we shall increase in the facilities of life ”

“ We can obtain salvation, and we can administer it. We have the power within our own hands, and this has been my deep mortification, one that I have frequently spoken of, to think that a people, having in their possession all the principles, keys, and powers of eternal life, should neglect so great salvation. ”

“ There is no other people on this earth under such deep obligation to their Creator, as are the Latter-day Saints. The Gospel has brought to us the holy Priesthood, which is again restored to the children of men. ”

“ If you live near to God, and every moment have your minds filled with fervent desires to keep the law of God, you will understand the Spirit that comes to you; you will know how to build up the Lord's kingdom, and increase in every good thing ”

“ The Apostle John, treating upon the love of God that should dwell within us, writes, "For he that loveth not his brother, whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?" It is impossible. ”

“ Continue to improve yourselves, to live so that your faith and knowledge will increase in the things of God, that our minds may be opened to those things that pertain to our peace and eternal salvation, and live no more in the dark, whereby you are constrained to say, "I do not understand the things that are taught, these are great and marvellous things, they are beyond my comprehension ”

“ Because He has no body, parts, or passions, consequently is nothing at all; their idea virtually annihilates the being they profess to believe to be three in one.
What effect has this doctrine, wherever the influence of the Christian world extends? Wherever they preach their own doctrine they destroy every idea of God in the minds of every person they have influence over, consequently they know nothing of Him, and of coarse we cannot expect the people to have confidence in Him. He, knowing the weaknesses of men, is compassionate ”

“ The people are urged from year to year, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, to live very near unto the Lord, to forsake every sin, and cling to the Lord with all our hearts, minds, and souls, so that we may know by the spirit of revelation whenever truth comes to us. ”

“ We have, if men have their eyes open to see for themselves. If this people called Latter-day Saints could see by the visions of the Spirit the hand dealings of the Lord as visible as some see, there would be nothing but rejoicing among us from the oldest to the youngest, from the first to the last, from the one side of this globe to the other.
We will now turn right round, and ask, are there afflictions? Yes. People are taken sick and die, and we have not the power to keep them alive ”

“ These valleys are nothing more than a temporary hiding place for the Saints, and if they will do right here, no power can disturb them. Be kind to all, to our friends, to the household of faith, and even to our enemies. Do all you can to save everybody, and the Lord's hand will be over us for good, and we will be preserved. ”

“ To say nothing of names, creeds, or titles, brother Joseph taught, and it is taught to the people now continually, to have implicit confidence in our leaders to be sure that we live so that Christ is within us a living fountain, that we may have the Holy Ghost within us to actuate, dictate, and direct us every hour and moment of our lives. ”

“ Let us even speak against a fellow-being with whom we are acquainted and do understand, one whom we can see and comprehend, whose life and conduct we are familiar with, and, unless faults are made manifest that we have a privilege of exposing in that individual, it will destroy our. faith and confidence, and weaken us more than it will to speak against a being that we know nothing of. ”

“ Many think that this people have got to make great sacrifices, but what have we to sacrifice? Nothing, for all is the Lord's. But suppose that we had something to sacrifice, they would be willing to do it; they would be willing to do anything for the sake of salvation. ”

“ The persons who enjoy that Spirit are never sorrowful nor cast down. They never endure afflictions and mourn because they suppose that they have sacrificed for the Gospel, but they are always joyful, always cheerful, with a happy smile on their faces, and, as brother Robert said, it does make the devil mad. ”

“ If that did it, I wish I could as easily and cheaply turn aside all prophecies of that kind and nature, for I do not wish this people to suffer, to go hungry and naked, nor to be sick and afflicted, or in pain. I want them to live and increase in every good work. ”

“ As just observed by brother Hooper, they have in their minds and creeds formed ideas of a great many characters that they call God. With the majority of the Christian world there are three Gods in one. With them that one God is three persons, and still but one, which actually amounts to His being no God at all. ”

“ West of us is a body of water that we call the Pacific, and to the east there is another large body of water which we call the Atlantic, and to the north is where they have tried to discover a northwest passage ”