Brigham Young

“ Look to it, mothers, that you desire only that which will most promote the health and life of your offspring; and ask the Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, to enable you to resist every depraved appetite; and let fathers be full of the power of God, to lead, guide, direct, and influence mothers, that they may have no desires but those which are prompted by the influence of the Almighty. I make these few remarks upon life, that you may know how we ought to begin to conduct ourselves relative to the rising generation, that the days of the children of men may begin to return to them. ”

“ Suppose we say that the time is coming when you will possess this house, that garden, the other farm, and own such and such possessions, and have no more headache, tooth-ache, inflammation of the eyes, back-ache, rheumatism, pain, sorrow, and death, would you not consider that you were greatly blessed—that you enjoyed a blessing worthy of the eternal world? ”

“ We look forward to a day when we must begin to approximate towards the life that is eternal—the life that will endure. You may ask, "Do we wish to live in the flesh always?" No; only so long as we can endure the sufferings, hardships, toils, labours, pains, and afflictions that are in this world, and make every day benefit ourselves and our posterity, and our acts redound to our own exaltation and to the increase of the kingdom of our Father who placed us here.
Some of our old traditions teach us that a man guilty of atrocious and murderous acts may savingly repent when on the scaffold ”

“ The father should be full of kindness, and endeavour to happify and cheer the mother, that her heart may be comforted and her affections unimpaired in her earthly protector, that her love for God and righteousness may vibrate throughout her whole being, that she may bear and bring forth offspring impressed and endowed with all the qualities necessary to a being designed to reign king of kings and lord of lords.
But few women have a realizing sense of the immortal, invisible, and powerful influence they exert in their sphere. A mother may inquire, "What is to be done?" ”

“ Would it not be consoling to a good man to live long on the earth in the full enjoyment of all his mental and physical faculties, filled with experience and judgment to direct the steps of youth, and to see his children, his grandchildren, and great grandchildren, and still continue from year to year and from generation to generation, until he is six, seven, eight, or nine hundred years old? ”

“ I have not the least desire, nor have I had for years, to mingle with a person who takes the name of God in vain, who in the least betrays his covenants, who wavers or falters in his integrity with his God or with his fellow-man; but I am most perfectly satisfied to associate with those whose hearts are filled with peace, with praise and adoration to our God, and whose lives are full of good works. ”

“ They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them."
The human family has again to return to this state—not you and I as individuals. Mankind have degenerated; they have lost the physical and mental power they once possessed. ”

“ But a true servant of God takes more pleasure in saving the meanest capacity organized in human form upon the face of the earth than a wicked person can in leading hosts astray. Let a Prophet of God, an Apostle, or any servant of the Lord Jesus have the privilege of bringing the very smallest degree of organized intelligence up higher and higher until it is capable of receiving the intelligence of angels, and it will give more consolation and happiness than to lead all the posterity of Adam into a wrong path. ”

“ If we are crowned to become lords of lords and kings of kings, it will be to rule and reign over our own posterity pertaining to this flesh—these tabernacles—this commencement in our finite state of being. When I reign king of kings and lord of lords over my children, it will be when my first, second, third, fourth, and so on, son rises up and counts thousands and millions of his posterity, and is king over them ”

“ Is it not also your experience that, when you meet persons in the streets, in your houses, in your offices, or in your workshops, more or less of an influence attends them which conveys more than words can? By this the Father knows his children, Jesus knows his brethren, and the angels are acquainted with those who delight to associate with them and with those who hate them. This knowledge is obtained through that invisible influence which attends intelligent beings, and betrays the atmosphere in which they delight to live. ”

“ It is seldom that men in our day can count more than three generations of their children; but suppose we could count forty or fifty generations of our offspring, and be all the time guiding them in the path which leads back to our heavenly Father—to our heavenly home, guiding our rising generations by our examples, good judgment, and the superior counsel and experience we have gained in the things of God—of heaven and earth ”

“ You are taught, both by ancient and modern prophecies, that the Lord is going to bring again Zion—is going to build up his kingdom on the earth, and reign King of nations as he does King of Saints. With all this so plainly portrayed in both ancient and modern revelations, we learn, when we look over the history of the children of men, how they have apostatized, have deserted their colours, (the flag God gave them for their standard,) and have hewn to themselves cisterns that can hold no water. ”

“ If you fully knew things as they are, you would understand that the "peculiar institution," as it is called,—that doctrine which is so obnoxious to our beloved Christian brethren—for a man to have more than one wife—is one of the greatest blessings bestowed upon man. If the Elders of Israel, who enjoy this privilege, understood it as it is in the bosom of eternity, they would not trifle with and abuse it, and treat the blessings of the Lord lightly, as is too often the case. ”

“ Brethren and sisters, I have a few words to say to you with regard to our present position as connected with future events, future prospects, future kingdoms, glories, and existence, and the rise, spread, glory, and power of the kingdom of God upon the face of the earth. You know that I am a to-day person in my preaching and exhortations. They are for the time we now live in—not particularly for the millennium, for the resurrection, for the eternities yet to come; for if we can live this day as we ought to live, we shall be prepared for to-morrow, and so on for the next day ”

“ The natural tendency of the physical powers of man is to decay; and to preserve them as long as possible, they need this retirement from labour—this rest—this ease. I very seldom enjoy this privilege.
Our customs are more or less like the customs of our fathers, and their influence is often stronger upon us than any law. There is not a law of God, nor a law of any nation that exercises so strong an influence upon us as do our traditions at times, to bind us to certain customs, habits, and ceremonies: consequently, to carry out the old traditions, we observe this day of rest as we now do. ”

“ When they cannot receive every truth, let it be ever so important or unimportant to them, their neglect to grasp in their faith the truth God reveals for their benefit weakens them, comparatively, from the crowns of their heads to the soles of their feet, and the enemy may have the advantage over them in an hour when they think not. To please our Father in heaven, and do his will in all things, to walk up faithfully in the discharge of every duty preparatory to being crowned in his kingdom, when a truth is presented to an intelligent person he ought to grasp it and receive it in his faith. ”

“ If I had my own choice, and could have my own dictation with regard to physical and mental labour, I would set apart, for the express benefit of man, at least one-seventh part of the time for rest. There are but very few Sabbaths that I have ever kept in strictly resting from my labours—permitting both body and mind to rest. Perhaps assembling here on the Sabbath is a rest to many, though it is not very much of a rest. To those who have been labouring all the week to the utmost extent of their strength, it may be somewhat of a rest to sit on these hard benches ”

“ For any man who understands the things of God to have power to lead the human family astray at his will and pleasure is calculated to destroy: it is ruin, it is waste, and will finally lead to disorganization. ”

“ It is the business, duty, and power of the eternal Priesthood to commence laying the foundation to bring back the days, years, and intelligence that have been lost through transgression. I intend to pursue this course as long as I possibly can. I have a desire to live on this earth until I am one hundred and thirty-five years old; and I may conclude to ask the privilege to live until I am one hundred and fifty. I intend to live as long as I can ”

“ He does not hate to have us multiply, increase, and replenish the earth; but he hates for us to live in sin and wickedness, after all the privileges bestowed upon us,—to live in the neglect of the great duties which devolve upon us, notwithstanding the state of weakness and darkness in which the human family lives. ”

“ If she secretly prays and lifts her desires to her Father in heaven, beyond her miserable, drinking, swearing husband, the sacred, peaceful, trusting, happifying influence she enjoys, when thus living near to her God, produces its impression upon the earthly tabernacle—upon the course in life of her prospective offspring. ”

“ We may so live our religion every moment, and so watch our own conduct as to not suffer ourselves in the least to do anything that would infringe upon a good conscience that is formed and regulated by the Priesthood of God, and in all our acts to not permit ourselves to do one act that next year or a few years hence will wound the heart and bring shame and confusion over the countenance ”

“ You are constantly taught to live your religion for to-day. Can you not live it for one hour? Begin at a small point: can you not live to the Lord for one minute? Yes. Then can we not multiply that by sixty and make an hour, and live that hour to the Lord? ”

“ No; it would not be a momentary satisfaction to a Saint of God—to a servant of God—to one who sees things as they are, to be the means of betraying and deceiving the whole human family and leading them astray where he pleased. ”

“ In the knowledge of astronomical and other philosophical truths, which our modern great men are searching after and pride themselves in, they are but babes, compared with the ancient fathers. Do the wise men of modern ages understand the laws which govern the worlds that are, that were, and that are to come? They cannot fathom this matter. They have grown weaker when they ought to have grown stronger and wiser. ”

“ When they hear the voice of the Spirit of inspiration—the power of God, through any person, let the feelings and sensibilities of every one who professes to know anything of the things of God, be in a state to know and discern between that which is of God and that which is not. ”

“ There are men upon whom God has bestowed gifts and graces, and women who are endowed with strong mental ability, and yet they cannot receive the truth; and then the truth condemns them: it leaves them in darkness. ”

“ You read in the Bible, "There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days; for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner, being an hundred years old, shall be accursed. ”

“ They have wandered after strange gods, and the world has faltered and failed from generation to generation, not only in their mental faculties and pertaining to the things of God, but also in their physical existence. ”

“ How often has it been taught that if you depend entirely upon the voice, judgment, and sagacity of those appointed to lead you, and neglect to enjoy the Spirit for yourselves, how easily you may be led into error, and finally be cast off to the left hand? Is it desirable to lead you astray? ”

“ In many points pertaining to mechanism, men have in modern times been instructed by revelation to them, and this mechanical knowledge causes them to almost boast against their Creator, and to set themselves up as competitors with the Lord Almighty, notwithstanding they have produced nothing but what has been revealed to them. ”

“ Many professing to be Saints seem to have no knowledge, no light, to see anything beyond a dollar, or a pleasant time, a comfortable house, a fine farm, &c., &c. O fools, and slow of heart to understand the purposes of God and his handiwork among the people. ”

“ When men live to the age of a tree, their food will be fruit. Mothers, to produce offspring full of life and days, must cease drinking liquor, tea, and coffee, that their systems may be free from bad effects. If every woman in this Church will now cease drinking tea, coffee, liquor, and all other powerful stimulants, and live upon vegetables, &c., not many generations will pass away before the days of man will again return. But it will take generations to entirely eradicate the influences of deleterious substances. ”

“ He obtained the promise that he should be the father of lives. In comparison with this, what did Abraham care about machinery, railroads, and other great mechanical productions? We have the privilege of becoming fathers of lives to all eternity, and of existing in the presence of God. ”