George A. Smith

“ It is true that the principles of the United Order are such that a great portion of our people at the present time are not in a condition to take hold of it with all they have, for many of them have been foolish enough during the success of business for the last four years, instead of paying their debts, to launch into business of various kinds and get deeper into debt. ”

“ I wish the Saints, also, when visiting the Temple, to raise their hearts in prayer to the Most High, that he will bless the efforts that are being made to rear a house to his holy name. We invite all the brethren and sisters to contribute their monthly offerings in money, that these workmen may have a portion of their wages in money, and such necessaries as can not be obtained without it. For a considerable portion of the present season the Temple workmen have had to do almost entirely with home products. Some of them have stuck to it faithfully, others have been compelled to quit. ”

“ When that Temple is finished we can go down there and be baptized for our dead, receive our anointings and ordinances and all the blessings pertaining to the Priesthood, and get our records made to perform that great work which is placed upon us for the salvation of all the generations from the time that the Priesthood was lost, the covenant broken, the laws trampled under foot and the ordinances forsaken, unto the present time, for the salvation of all who have died since then rests upon us as a generation. ”

“ We should remember our prayers at all times in our families, we should also remember to observe the word of wisdom, and be careful to continually pursue such a course as will entitle us to the blessings of the Lord, and that his Spirit may unceasingly abide in our hearts. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we should let our light shine before men, by observing the principles which we profess to have obeyed. ”

“ This shows that a man of like passions to ourselves may obtain faith to perform great and good works, to give, wise instructions, to proclaim the principles of the everlasting Gospel, to bear testimony to the truth, to administer in the work of the Lord and bear of his kingdom. ”

“ Our publications should be in every family of the Saints, and we wish to exercise that kind of influence in the midst of our people that will lead them to make themselves acquainted with the contents of the Bible, Book of Mormon, Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and such other works as are or have been published illustrative of the principles of life and salvation made known in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that they may be more generally understood by those professing to be Latter-day Saints. ”

“ We have mechanics here who can make good coffins, yet a great many coffins are imported from the States into this Territory, for which the money has to be paid. I say that we ought to be ashamed of this, and I here publicly request my friends, whoever may live to place me in the ground, to place me there in a coffin made of our mountain wood by our own mechanics, and I prohibit anybody who may outlive me paying a dollar for a coffin for me that is imported from the States. ”

“ That class of men have to get their hands untied before they can take hold to promote the great project of uniting the whole of the Latter-day Saints in all their business affairs. But this must be done as fast as possible, and the work of making Zion self-sustaining must be regarded as part of the work of the Lord; for it is an obligation devolving upon us to provide within ourselves labor and the necessaries of life. ”

“ We need not be troubled because false reports are sent abroad into the world concerning us; this has been the universal lot of Saints in all ages of the world. The Savior said—"Blessed are ye when men shall persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my name's sake." ”

“ And it is our duty, as we have already been warned, to exercise faith for those in authority, that, while they contend with like passions with ourselves, they may have the Spirit of the Almighty to preserve and guide them, and to sustain their hands, and in all cases be careful never to be found speaking evil of the Lord's anointed. ”

“ The brethren should remember that our sisters hold the ballot in this country, that they have equal influence at the polls with the men, and I certainly think that we should patronize them in their press, for I am satisfied that the prospects of any man being elected to the Legislature of Utah Territory would be very poor if the women were opposed to him, for I presume that the women compose a majority of the legal voters of the Territory, hence, under these circumstances, our natural gallantry and the national characteristic to desire office should prompt us to sustain their publication. ”

“ But we can produce these things within ourselves, and it is our duty to do it, and instead of manifesting a disposition to oppose anything of this kind, we should exert all the influence and energy we possess to bring it about, and to make ourselves self-sustaining. ”

“ But we have kept the work moving, and if the brethren will go and see what we have done they can but be surprised and delighted. It is a glorious work, and one that is to be dedicated to the Most High God. ”

“ The erection of a Temple like this is a great work, it requires a vast amount of means, energy and skill, We have not had as much means to sustain the brethren who have been laboring upon it as we anticipated, in consequence of the change of the times, and the failure of some to come forward and pay their Tithing and thereby supply the demand. ”

“ They have been working all the season, with very little to supply them, and some of them are destitute of clothing, and other necessaries. Some of the workmen there have labored on the Temple from the very beginning, and the walls are now thirty feet high, and the work is going ahead prosperously. We have invited the people in every settlement to contribute of their means to continue the work and we have also invited brethren to go down to St. ”