Brigham Young

“ The religion of Jesus Christ gives light for darkness. The Gospel we have received is sent "to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all that mourn, to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness ”

“ Each of the different sects of religion has some truth, and so far as they have the truth so far did Abraham believe. But is the religion of any one of the sects, as a whole, the religion of heaven? It is not. We all desire to join the popular party. Light, truth, and intelligence are the side that is popular with the heavens, and the side that will rule, govern, and control the nations. If we join that society we then all become popular with the popular party. Some people will render themselves ridiculously conspicuous on purpose to become popular. ”

“ I do not make these remarks to cast reflections upon any being, but we should strive to know the mind and will of God and to be filled with his Spirit. I wish the Saints to be filled with the Spirit of understanding; and I never want to again hear a, Saint say, "Oh, how we suffer for the religion of Jesus! We suffer more than the wicked, while at the same time, we are better clad, better fed and better looking, and our hearts are filled with joy, while the hearts of the wicked are filled with sorrow and mourning. ”

“ All the cheerfulness, gladness, comfort, exuberance of spirit, joy, bliss peace and brightness of expression that can be bestowed upon individuals are possessed and enjoyed by the sanctified in heaven, and if we are prepared by the principles of eternal life, the same halo will shine through our countenance and make our faces bright with glory. ”

“ Do we intend to make our final abode in hell, or in heaven? If we, mean to be in heaven we must become faithful Latter-day Saints; if in hell, we may be anything we please, no matter what I profess to be a Latter-day Saint. I believe that the Old and New Testaments were given by the inspiration of God, and since much adulterated by uninspired translators, which makes it necessary for one to have the Spirit of revelation from God to read and understand them. ”

“ We all want to be on the side that will produce the most safety, the most joy, and the most sterling happiness. I can say, without fear of successful contradiction that the man or woman who believes that the religion of Jesus leads into a thorny path, does not understand nor enjoy the true religion of heaven. ”

“ The people generally would not have the revelations which the Lord delivered to Joseph Smith, unless he would give them a law of carnal commandments like that which he gave to the children of Israel, and how long was it before they were in conversation with the spirit world, being led to destruction by strong delusion which God sent them, because they would not receive the truth? "And when they say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter; should not a people seek unto their God?" ”

“ It is right to pray for grace, but let me shape this prayer a little differently, and ask God my heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, to open the eyes of my understanding, and teach me the truth as it is, then shall I see that I am walking in the light and not in darkness. "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. The true people of God are far removed from that pain which the sinner and the ungodly constantly endure. ”

“ They are for themselves, and not for the kingdom of God. They know that the world is going to destruction. They see the whole world in confusion—one party seeking to destroy another in the vain hope of building themselves up. The present Government of the United States is self-destroying as they are now proving.
If there is one class of persons on earth who need comfort more than another, it is both the poor and rich who will not serve God. Those who serve him are comforted all the day long ”

“ Whatever leads to vanity, lightness, and worldly-mindedness is not the joy of heavenly beings, but the nonsense of the wicked world. There are men in this kingdom who cannot discriminate between that which is of God and that which is not of him, and who are at a loss to know how far to go and not sin. ”

“ The Congress of the United States have lately passed a law to punish polygamy in the Territories of the United States and in other places over which they have exclusive jurisdiction. In doing this, they have undertaken to dictate the Almighty in his revelations to his people, and those who handle edged tools, unless they are skillful, are apt to cut their fingers; and those who hand out insult to the Great I Am, in the end, are apt to get more than they have spoken for. ”

“ In Missouri our bleeding feet stained the prairies, but now they are shedding each others blood to curdle and bake in the sun, or to be licked up by dogs and wild animals, while their flesh is given to vultures and wolves. ”

“ I feel to bless and not curse. Had I the power I would rather avert an evil that I saw coming upon any individual or people, and see them lead into the path of blessings, though it should cause my words to fail. ”

“ The captain procures for her such nourishment as can be found in camp, to give her strength and ability to endure the further fatigues of the journey; doing everything he can to restore the sick to sound health, and giving them all possible comfort and aid. Is there the same care and fellow feeling manifested in the trains of emigrants who are passing over the country in search of gold? Each person is seeking to better his condition, and they have no interest that extends further than self. ”

“ I heard a man say, the other day, who is in the evening of his days, that if he had never done much good, he had never done any evil that he knew of God will receive all such in the heavens, when they put off this mortality. ”

“ The very moment you have a doubt upon your mind that what you do is not exactly right, then stop and pursue that course which you know is right, and in which you can enjoy the clear, warm, cheering, peaceful influence which cometh from God as an earnest that you are doing right, then shall you be blessed in all your works here below, and fill up your days in use fulness. ”

“ I never try any other way to please people only by pleasing myself and my God. If I can please God I can please myself; then I care very little whether anybody else is pleased or not, because if they are pleased with God and godliness they will be pleased with me. ”

“ When Elders preach or lecture among the Saints or to the world, if they do so to satisfy themselves they have done well. When you have pleased yourselves it is very probable that you have pleased human beings like yourselves. ”

“ We can say to all the world that the persecution which the Latter-day Saints have received, and the misery they may have suffered in consequence thereof, will not begin to compare with the misery and real suffering they are now receiving in the United States in consequence of war. ”

“ Their desire for popularity or notoriety is so great that they will not hesitate to do a mean act to gain it. The great majority want to be on the strongest, wealthiest, and most popular side, and to be connected with that family which is possessed of immense wealth, influence, and power. ”

“ They are removed from it as a people politically, and as families, and as individuals. Compare, for instance, the colonial history of the United States with the history of the settling of the wild and desolate regions of Utah by the Latter-day Saints, and you will learn that the sufferings of the first settlers here from Indian outrages and other causes, will scarcely supply enough for a comparison. ”

“ We appoint one man to this duty, another to that, and every man attends to his duty. If a waggon is broken the captain at once arranges to have it put into travelling order. If there is a sick person in the camp, he either goes himself or details somebody to administer to the sick by anointing with oil, laying on of hands, and prayer. ”

“ When these robbers founded the city of Rome, it was evident to them that their success in attaining a balance of power with their neighbours, depended upon introducing females into their body politic, so they stole them from the Sabines, who were near neighbours. The scarcity of women gave existence to laws restricting one wife to one man. ”

“ Do they pray for their sick, and administer to them by the laying on of hands? No, they do not believe in any such thing, but the sick suffer and die. When any among us were taken sick we laid hands upon them and they were healed. ”

“ Then comes a third party who are called May-walkers or Jayhawkers, but more properly they are bucanneers or land-pirates, and they rob everybody that is left after the Union and Secession parties have done their worst. ”

“ Many of my brethren of the Elders of Israel rise up here to speak to the people, and they cannot give utterance to their ideas. What is the matter? They are fearful of making a slight mistake in their language, which they think would make the, unpopular. ”