Brigham Young

“ If we wish to be blessed, let us live our religion. If we promote the kingdom of God, it will bear us off triumphantly. If we falter in our feelings, and say that we cannot abide this tirade of persecution, but must leave this place and people, we shall be left in darkness and sink in iniquity, and shall be left by the kingdom far behind in our sins. The person that forsakes the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ will find himself ruined for time and eternity. How are they looked upon who have received the spirit of the Gospel and forsaken it? ”

“ You are here in the mountains, and this expedition would not have been sent against you, but you frighten us by taking such big strides. 'Mormonism' is but a few years old, and it has circumscribed the globe; it has penetrated into almost every nation under heaven, and bears down, in a remarkable manner, all opposition wherever your people go. It seems to swallow up our religion, political policies, and philosophy; and, if we do not stop you, it would appear that you will finally swallow up the world. ”

“ It has ever been my prayer that if I have influence over the people, it shall be exercised to induce them to forsake their sins and cleave to righteousness. I seek for an increase of that influence, and seek to the proper source. It is my constant prayer that I may have influence over the spirits of the children of men to lead them from the power of Satan to the living God. But we must be tried in our faith and in our patience. ”

“ Have we persons among us who are degraded? Yes. As I have before told you, "Mormonism" can beat the world as to the knowledge of God. The Saints know more of God and godliness than all the world: they also know more of earth and earthly things. Many are living so as to be saved in the celestial kingdom, while all who do not embrace the doctrine of full redemption will come short of attaining that glory. On the contrary, if you want to see the principle of devilism to perfection, hunt among those who have once enjoyed the faith of the holy Gospel and then forsaken their religion. ”

“ There is no other true government in heaven or upon the earth. Do not blame me for believing in a pure and holy government.
Is man prepared to receive that; government? He is not. I can say to these Latter-day Saints, You are not prepared to receive that government. You hear men and women talk about living and abiding a celestial law, when they do not so much as know what it is, and are not prepared to receive it. ”

“ How can you expect to receive blessings that you will not improve upon? Let every man and woman that believes in the redemption of Zion, the gathering of Israel, the calling of Prophets and Apostles in the last days; and the building up of the kingdom of God, no more to be thrown down, come here prepared to receive the mysteries of the kingdom and to learn the further things of eternity, to bring heaven to earth, and in their understandings be exalted to heaven ”

“ The whole man must be tried to know whether he is for God or for the powers of darkness—whether he will cling to that which is a hater of righteousness, or to his Father and Saviour.
There are thousands in this kingdom who are willing to die for their religion, but are not willing to live it. This is a great difficulty. The most ignorant, blind, and superstitious pagan upon the earth will die for what we call their nonsense, though to them it is as true and sacred as our religion and God are to us. ”

“ It appears, by our late news, that among our Christian brethren it is death to adulterers; and so say I, and I ask no odds of such characters. I am able to take care of myself, with the help of God and my good brethren.
Our faith and patience must be tried in everything, and it is not for us to take judgment into our own hands. We must be tried, to prove whether we can endure to be imposed upon and have our religion derided, and not feel as some do when their names are called in question. ”

“ May God bless you, brethren and sisters, that you may have power to guide yourselves, by the aid of the Spirit, into all righteousness, independent of any power of man on earth. I do not want any power over my brethren, only to lead them in the way of truth, and to run parallel with them in the ways of truth and righteousness. ”

“ This is the character of the religion we believe in.
Our ecclesiastical government is the government of heaven, and incorporates all governments in earth and hell. It is the fountain, the mainspring, the source of all light, power, and government that ever did or ever will exist. It circumscribes the governments of this world; and when men and women are filled with the power of God, they can comprehend what the Prophet means when he speaks of the Lord's weighing the earth as in a balance ”

“ To love God and our fellow creatures—to be compassionate, full of mercy, long-suffering, and patient to the froward and to those who are ignorant• There is a glory in our religion that no other religion that has ever been established upon the earth, in the absence of the true Priesthood, ever possessed. ”

“ A few years ago a person in our streets was abusing the name of Deity, and another stepped up and boxed his ears, saying to him that he should not use that name in such a disrespectful manner. But some of these good Elders can hear the name of their Saviour abused with seeming satisfaction.
We are here, and we, shall live and grow, and no power can hinder it. I shall stick to the kingdom, God being my helper, and shall not let go until this earth is revolutionized and all nations bow to the Saviour, and I be his priest and servant. ”

“ I replied, "If the people will let us alone, we will preach the Gospel in peace, civilly, kindly, mildly; and we will teach the people how to obtain that eternal life that is proffered to all. But will they let us alone? No. And you think we take large strides." He rose from his chair, saying, "You take ten or twelve strides at once. While we go creeping along, you are away yonder." "Well, you kicked us there, and we cannot help going. Every time you kick 'Mormonism,' you kick it up stairs: you never kick it down stairs. ”

“ My faith reaches far beyond the faith of many touching the final destiny of such persons, understanding that the Lord is more merciful than human beings; and the faith of this kingdom goes far beyond the faith of the Christian world upon this matter. There will not so many people go into that awful place that burns with fire and brimstone, where they sink down, down, down to the bottom of the bottomless pit, as the Christians say,—not near so many as the Christian world would have go there. ”

“ With a few exceptions, they are despised by the good and wise among men, by the noble and ignoble: all despise them, and they are in a most miserable condition.
I wish to have the blessed principles of civilization—of this Christian nineteenth century—spread over Utah. I desire to see the effect they will have on this ignorant people in the Territory of Utah. The world say, "Poor people, how sorry we are for you! It is a pity to have such intelligent men and women go to Utah to join those fanatics. Let us send our Christian brethren there to civilize them." ”

“ The wicked he permits to go far enough to produce a result that will serve his purpose. "For my kingdom must be established upon the earth in the latter days," saith the Father, "and I have given it to my Son Jesus Christ. He has died to redeem it, and he is the lawful heir pertaining to this earth." Jesus will continue to reign with his Father, and is dictated by his Father in all his acts and ruling and governing in the building up and, overthrow of nations, to make the wrath of man praise him, until he brings all into subjection to his will and government. ”

“ A man who has had his mind opened to the operation of the Priesthood of the Son of God—who understands anything of the government of heaven, must understand that finite beings are not capable of receiving and abiding the celestial law in its fulness. ”

“ The Church and kingdom of our God has risen from an individual family to a great people, and we have been looked upon as a nation by our neighbours, independent of all other people on the face of this earth ”

“ If you have not known and understood more than you did when you first embraced the Gospel—if you have not grown in grace and in the knowledge of the truth, it proves that you are not yet worthy to receive further blessings. ”

“ We understand the root and trunk of the tree of wickedness, and we have many of its branches—more than we want. The Lord desires a pure people—a people that he can own and exalt—that he can bring into his presence ”

“ All human governments and policies are weighed by them as gold is weighed in the balance: they are comprehended by them with the same facility and clearness that a farmer or mechanic comprehends his particular pursuit. ”

“ And no being possesses intelligence, in any degree, that he has not received from the God of heaven, or, in other words, from the Fountain of all intelligence, whether he acknowledges his God in it or not. ”

“ When the Elders go forth to teach the people that Jesus is the Christ, and to bear testimony to the truth of the Bible, though precious portions have been taken from it, that the Book of Mormon is true, and that the revelations given through Joseph Smith, the servant of God, are true, and to call upon the inhabitants of the earth everywhere to repent of their sins and be baptized for the remission thereof, and receive the imposition of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, and to confer the holy Priesthood, that believers may magnify their calling until they are gathered, what then? ”

“ After they have came back once and twice, they stay awhile and want to go away again: and after they have been away awhile, they begin to learn that this is the kingdom of God, and some of them want help to come back. ”

“ But the long journeys, the perplexities, perils, and temptations darken the understanding and becloud the minds of many, insomuch that when they are gathered they are not so well prepared to receive the further things of the kingdom as they were before they started. ”

“ Jesus has been upon the earth a great many more times than you are aware of. When Jesus makes his next appearance upon the earth, but few of this Church and kingdom will be prepared to receive him and see him face to face and converse with him ”

“ It is not so much polygamy that they are opposed to, but they hate this people because they strive to be pure, and will not believe in whoredom and adultery, but declare death to the man who is found guilty of those crimes. ”

“ Not that we desire it, but it is so in the providence of our God. They are determined, though they know it not, that they will make the kingdom of God triumphant on the earth; and all the powers of earth and hell cannot prevent it. ”

“ The Lord takes care of the whole of that, and dictates their conduct for his own purpose and glory. He makes the wrath of man to praise him, and that which he cannot bring about to promote his kingdom and his purposes he restrains. ”

“ We do not particularly care whether they go or stay: they are at perfect liberty to please themselves in that matter, because it is their constitutional right to stay here, if they do not infringe upon the rights of others, and observe the laws of the land as strictly as we do. ”

“ And let me tell you that what our Christian friends are now doing for us makes more for the kingdom of heaven than the Elders could in many years preaching."
The Lord Almighty will exalt "Mormonism" and sustain his Priesthood. Will he sustain wickedness? No. If we are wicked, we are wrong. We should abstain from everything that is unholy—that is unrighteous ”

“ That gives me great joy, notwithstanding all the perils and persecution we have suffered through the wickedness of the wicked. Liars, sorcerers, whoremongers, adulterers, and those that love and make a lie will be found on the outside of the walls of the city ”

“ And here, sure enough, they have their gambling-tables of civilization, and grog-shops of civilization, and various other helps and aids pertaining thereto; and they are working hard to spread the principles of modern civilization. ”