Heber C. Kimball

“ Public improvements always have a tendency to make a town or a city flourish. To the people of Provo I will say, in the first place build, or rather complete your meeting-house, and then go forward with such other public improvements as will rouse up your spirits, elevate your minds to action and make you energetic in the Work of God, and the blessings of the Almighty will rest upon you and you will increase in the knowledge of the principles of eternal life. ”

“ I say that if we look at the opportunities the Saints have had since the days of Joseph, the long season of peace and freedom from mobs, we are compelled to say that the Latter-day Saints have not advanced more than half as rapidly as they might have done. ”

“ God the Father made Adam the Lord of this creation in the beginning, and if we are the Lords of this creation under Adam, ought we not to take a course to imitate our Father in heaven? Is not all this exhibited to us in our endowments? the earth made glorious and beautiful to look upon, representing everything which the Lord caused to be prepared and placed to adorn the earth. ”

“ We can plant vineyards and eat the fruit thereof; we possess this power within ourselves. I would not give a fig for faith without works, for it is dead, even as the body without the spirit is dead. If you wish salvation, go to work with your might and strength to do what the Lord requires at your hands through his servants whom he has appointed. You need not expect him to come to you, especially as you are not prepared to see him. As members of the body of Christ we are called upon to labor and to do our part towards building up his kingdom, and should all have equal interest in that kingdom. ”

“ We manifest our attachment to the principles of progress and improvement, both of which are intimately connected with the building up of Zion, when we plant orchards and vineyards, and when we make good gardens, good farms, and when we build good houses; in doing all of which we get a liberal reward as we go along. Then let us stretch forth our hands and build up the towns and cities of Zion.
Supposing we had the facilities for water power in Salt Lake City that you have here, it would have been much farther advanced than it is ”

“ We also felt to bless the earth that it might bring forth abundantly everything that is placed therein by the industrious hands of the Saints of God; we blessed the cattle, the fruit trees, the waters, and, in fact, everything that is for the use and benefit of man. ”

“ The Prophet Joseph frequently spoke of these things in the revelations which he gave, but the people generally did not understand them, but to those who did they were cheering, they had a tendency to gladden the heart and enlighten the mind. By faith and works we shall subdue the earth and make it glorious. ”

“ We have the privilege of becoming an independent people, and there is no necessity of living poor.
If the Latter-day Saints in the city of Provo and in all other cities and towns of this Territory would put up good, substantial fences around their gardens and fields, then our sisters could go into the gardens and supply their tables with fruit of every desirable kind and all in the season thereof, and this would be a blessing to all. But as it is now, the trees are planted and eaten down year after year by the cattle, and thus the men's labor is lost and the trees destroyed. ”

“ In Salt Lake City there are a few who have been waked up to diligence, and the result is that they have got a nice variety of apricots, peaches, plums, apples, strawberries, currants, gooseberries, and some have got cherries and pears. Now I want to see you do these things here that you may make yourselves happy and comfortable, and also that you may place yourselves in a situation that our Father and God can send his angels to visit and to bless you. Don't you think that angels would like to see a garden around your houses if they were to come and visit you? Who are angels? ”

“ They have gone into cotton raising there on an extensive scale, and I can truly say that of all the good feelings and influences I ever felt that I never felt better than I did while visiting the Saints in Washington county. It is a country where the Devil cannot get a foot-hold. He delights in robbing, killing and destroying the righteous man and all who will not submit to the influence that comes from the lower regions. Why do we take a course to leave our wives and children comparatively destitute of the comforts of life? ”

“ I have no doubt; you have been baptized into the Church for the remission of sins, had hands laid upon your heads by those having authority, and you doubtless know that "Mormonism" is true, but yet you are not fully converted to the necessity of having the power of God with you always. I know that that power does not dwell with us as it ought. ”

“ I got a good place to rest over night, but as the people here appear to be very diligent, more so than those in Salt Lake City, I had to get up at six this morning to get my breakfast. I feel well in spirit but feeble in body. I feel very anxious in relation to the welfare of this people, not only in Provo but throughout these mountains, yes, I feel interested in every man, woman and child that belongs to this Church. I wish to see them prosper in all that is good and holy. ”

“ They are constantly hearing of riots and troubles of one kind or another. By-and-by it, will be just as bad in Ohio, New York and Massachusetts. To secure ourselves against these troublesome times, we must make the articles of clothing that we need to wear and we must produce the food that we need and require to sustain these our decaying bodies. Then we should remember that the articles we make from the cotton we raise down in our cotton country will last four times as long as those we purchase in the stores of Salt Lake City, especially if the ladies wont try to wash them to pieces. ”

“ During the short time that I may address you, I wish you to be as still as possible; do not let your minds and eyes go out after the vain things of this world, but concentrate them upon the things of God ”

“ I will tell you what I am afraid of, brethren, if you do not wake up to a sense of your true position, the Lord will send a flood and wash you out of those bottoms, and thus make you come on to this bench and build up a respectable city. ”

“ Look at brother Taylor's mill race that crosses the main thoroughfare below here; why, there is more water running down there than runs in President Young's mill race and any other three streams that we have in the neighborhood of Salt Lake City. You might have factories here, spinning and weaving by machinery, and in fact every kind of machinery that you need. We can make many kinds of machinery right here. We are certainly blessed above all other people on the earth, although there are but a few that realize it as they ought to ”

“ This people will never improve in their minds or advance in spiritual intelligence until they improve and advance their temporal interests. Public and individual improvements always advance and help forward the intellectual. Now, property here in Provo is not worth any more to-day than it was ten years ago ”

“ I will also remark that I am sensible that no man can speak to a congregation of people upon any subject, only according to the intelligence that is in the people. There are quite a number of this congregation who knew Joseph Smith the Prophet, and he used to say in Nauvoo that when he came before the people he felt as though he were enclosed in an iron case, his mind was closed by the influences that were thrown around him ”

“ What is now taking place with our enemies? They are suffering far more than we did, right in those very places from which we were expelled by mob force. Brother Henry Lawrence was telling me that quite a number of those counties and places formerly occupied by the Saints, are now left destitute; and in some of the settlements the people are left in a state of comparative nudity. ”

“ We have been taught that our Father and God, from whom we sprang, called and appointed his servants to go and organize an earth, and, among the rest, he said to Adam, "You go along also and help all you can ”

“ I replied that it ought to be worth about a thousand dollars, but of course it is not worth that amount now, because there is no improvement about it or in the neighborhood. Now, I can tell you all candidly that unless you advance in these temporal improvements you never will increase in spiritual knowledge; the one cannot thrive without the other. ”

“ At present we are dependant upon them for our cloth, and we buy large quantities of prints that when brought here are very little better than rags. I can tell you that if you depend upon our enemies you will be sadly mistaken, for they will not long be able to supply themselves. ”

“ We read that when they had crucified him "They parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take." The Savior's under garment was knitted, and Joseph Smith always wore that kind, and therefore I think we have no occasion to be ashamed of homemade garments. Wool is designed especially for winter use. In regard to the cotton goods, I will here say, you can go into the cotton district of our Territory and take your wheat and flour and exchange any quantity with the brethren who reside there. ”