Brigham Young

“ We have wrought faithfully together; we have overcome the flesh, hell, and the Devil. I have overcome, they have followed in my footsteps, and here are all thou hast given me; I have lost none, except the son of perdition. ”

“ We have been keeping the commandments of the Lord, and should continue to do so more diligently; for he has commanded us to do so—to strive to overcome the evils and put away the follies and sins which have been sown in our nature by the fall of our first parents, and let every feeling and affection be centred upon him and the things of his kingdom, that when we awake in the morning of the resurrection we may be crowned with honour and glory in our Father's kingdom. When the wicked appear, they will learn that God is a consuming fire, while that which is for him is eternal in its nature. ”

“ We have nothing of our own, and will not have until we have power to sustain our own lives. You have not power to sustain your own lives, and yet you have done much. You can own nothing until you have filled your missions on earth, and gained power with the Almighty, when you will be clothed with glory, power, and dominion. ”

“ We cannot own anything, in the strict sense of the word, until we have power to bring into existence and hold in existence, independent of all other powers. One will say, "I have given a thousand dollars towards building up the kingdom of God," when strictly he did not own a dollar. ”

“ The Saviour has not finished his work, and cannot receive the fulness of his glory until the influence and power of the wicked are overcome and brought into subjection. When the wicked inhabitants of the earth, the beasts of the field, fowls of the air, fish of the sea, all mineral substances, and all else pertaining to this earth, are overcome, then he will take the kingdom, present it to the Father and say, "Here is the work you gave me to do—you made the appointment—I have wrought faithfully, and here are my brethren and sisters who have wrought with me. ”

“ We have power to plough, sow, till, and irrigate; but can we, of ourselves, produce one spear of grass, or one kernel of grain? No. With me, it is folly to say that we own anything; and to speak of giving or sacrificing, as many do, is a misapplication of terms. ”

“ Is there a foot or an inch of this earth that rightly belongs to us? No. God has put it in our possession, and has given us ability to take from the elements to make habitations to shelter ourselves; but are the elements ours? ”

“ I will say a few words before we dismiss, and I wish to say that which will be comforting and consoling to those who delight in the truth—that which will be pleasing to our Father in Heaven, and be sanctioned by his Holy Spirit, by angels, and by the Saints who live upon the earth. ”

“ I would like to know what the children of men have to give—what they have to sacrifice. To my understanding, the term is used improperly. We are but stewards over what our Father puts in our possession. ”

“ The principles of our religion are good. If we will obey them, we shall reign eternally with the Father and the Son. There are kingdoms also prepared somewhere for those who obey not the celestial law. ”

“ The spirits of the human family are pure and holy at the time they enter tabernacles; but the Lord has so ordered that the enemy has great power over our tabernacles, whose organization pertains to the earth. ”

“ You take the money you have in your possession and put it in another place, or to another use; and though you thus use millions of gold and other property, unless you do so with that spirit of charity in which the widow cast in her mite, it will avail you nothing. ”