Heber C. Kimball

“ This is all I have to say now about time and eternity.
If we were to take the right course, it would not be long before we should be nearly independent of supplies from abroad. It would not be long ere we should be able to sustain ourselves independently, and then with greater ability bring about the purposes of our God; and this would make all men amenable to him and to his rule. A man will give all he has to save his natural existence for the time being; at the same time he can neglect with perfect impunity the things that pertain to his eternal existence and interests. ”

“ The uncivilized, or savage tribes of men, the American Indians, for instance, have no other calendar than incidents in nature, such as the rising and setting of the sun,—hence they count by so many sleeps; the full and dark of the moon,—hence they count by so many moons. In short, the only idea we have of time is gathered from natural phenomena in eternity. We might introduce here a beautiful comparison of a ship in the middle of the Atlantic. ”

“ It is eternity on the right and on the left, behind and before, and the time being, as it appears to us, is the centre of it. So we pass on from time to eternity every day we live. We are in eternity, in eternity. Civilized nations have divided a portion of eternity into seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, and years for their own convenience, to mark their passage through time. ”

“ May he help you to withdraw yourselves from unrighteousness and cleave to righteousness in time, and then you are eternally in it. May the Lord comfort the righteous, and help them to overcome the little evils. It is the little frivolous disputing and contention in families that creates the greatest difficulties and troubles, and hinders us from merging into the blessings of God, and from that communion with the Holy Ghost we might enjoy. Now, ye Elders of Israel, step forward and do as you have been told in righteousness and truth. If you are not righteous, repent and begin anew. ”

“ It supplies us food and clothing, silver and gold, and precious stones; yea, everything to comfort and bless our mortal existence—everything to adorn, beautify, and embellish. Let us, then, by a diligent and judicious cultivation of Mother Earth, and by a careful husbanding of her products, work our way into permanent independence as a people. ”

“ Let us spend time in doing right, and we shall receive in the Lord's time right for right, grace for grace. If we do not associate with the wicked world any more than is unavoidably necessary for the time being, do you think they will have anything in common with us in eternity, or we with them? ”

“ What a pleasure it would be to us to see every Elder of Israel partaking freely of the Spirit and power of God, being clothed with the power and and realizing the responsibility of his calling, and separating himself from the wickedness of the world, that we might be one in Christ, as he is one with the Father, that the Holy Ghost might take up his abode with us, and abide with us continually, showing us things to come, and bringing things to our remembrance. ”

“ If any of you have been in the practice of drinking spirituous liquors to excess, cease at once the wicked and destructive practice. If such a practice is committed, it has its time, and makes its mark on the broad face of eternity: if you cease the practice, no time is given to it, and it cannot leave its trace on eternity from that instant until you again commit the same wrong. This reasoning will apply to every other wrong committed by the children of men. ”

“ People talk much about time and eternity, and they say they do not care so much for eternity as they do for time. And again, others say they do not care so much about time as they do about eternity. They do not think for a moment what they are talking about. ”

“ Industry and true economy are the elements of the independence of any people. If every man in this kingdom would pursue this wise and profitable course, there would not exist among us much more trouble. ”

“ All those who do should be one with him, the same as the branches are one with the trunk and the roots of a vine. For it is impossible for a branch to continue in the vine and bear fruit, if it is not one with the vine. I think you understand the simple and beautiful comparison used by Jesus Christ where he says, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away, and every branch that beareth fruit, he pruneth it, that it may bring forth more fruit." ”

“ The peace and blessing of God be multiplied upon all the righteous here—upon all the righteous that are in the east, in the west, in the north, and in the south, throughout the extension of the whole earth! ”

“ Let us be more diligent than ever in building and improving, in cultivating the earth, and raising from it wheat, corn, flax, cotton, fruit,—everything necessary for our comfort and the sustenance of life—sheep, and cattle, and horses, and all kinds of useful animals. Cease to cultivate the earth, and it is impossible for us to exist in life. ”

“ Satan tempts men to evil, and they have power to resist the temptation. The more sin is cultivated, the stronger it grows, until it binds down men with strong chains.
Satan whispers in the ears of those who list to obey him, "Lie a little; deceive a little, take the advantage of your neighbour a little, drink whisky a little: it will not harm you;"—leading them along, as it were, with silken cords, until he binds them with his strong chains, and readily leads them down to destruction. ”

“ I honour, love, and reverence the spirit of a good man who honours his calling. I do not care if he has but one eye, one arm, or one leg.
You may take away almost any member from the body, and the head can live, though it may not accomplish the same amount of good as it could if all the members were healthy and in active usefulness. The head is the mainspring of the body, the centre of light and intelligence. Take away the head, and the natural body ceases to live and to be intelligent. If the man who leads us was destroyed, it would very materially affect the body. ”

“ There are some people in our community who feel very much discouraged for fear we shall have to leave the valleys and flee into the mountains. Supposing we have to flee into the mountains, what of it? I care not. I would as readily go into the mountains as stay in the valleys, if it were the will of God. But we never shall be forced into such circumstances, if we do right. I have told you, President Young has told you, and hundreds of others have told you that we never should leave this country until the Lord wanted us to. ”

“ But if every one of this people should turn away but him, he holds the Priesthood and power of God just the same. All those who hold the Priesthood and honour their callings can put it upon others in every part of the earth where they may be in the discharge of their duties. ”

“ No doubt the dispositions of the parents have some influence in laying the foundation of the character of the child, morally and physically; and God, in one of his revelations to Joseph Smith, has said, "But behold, I say unto you, that little children are redeemed from the foundation of the world, through mine Only Begotten; wherefore they cannot sin, for power is not given to Satan to tempt little children until they begin to become accountable before me ”

“ I deem it necessary to adopt every means in my power to ward off death, and remain as long as possible in this state of existence. We cannot live too long, if we live our religion, worship the Lord our God in the way that pleases him, and continue to be his friends. ”

“ And Jesus said, "Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven."
How do people become dishonest? By, in the first place, yielding to temptation, and suffering the spirit which is in them to become contaminated by the power of the evil one. Men become confirmed drunkards by nourishing a depraved appetite for spirituous liquor, and thus they become slaves to a destructive habit. ”

“ It is not always the outward appearance that shows the true man. That man who has a good heart is very apt to manifest outwardly good fruits. There are thousands in this place who are nearly as good as they can be at the present time, though the next minute it is possible for them to be better. ”

“ The United States and all the nations of the earth are about to have as much to do as they can attend to, without troubling us. Not many years will pass away before we will build our temple here, and the sons and daughters of the Almighty will enter into it and receive the endowments and blessings that are in store for the faithful. ”

“ You are nourishing men who would cut our throats the very first opportunity. Why do you do it? Because they sell goods a little cheaper than they can be manufactured here. Let us send for our own goods, and raise in our own country, as much as possible, all the staple articles of our own consumption. ”

“ Money was not made to worship, but to be a convenience. You cannot eat it, but you can buy bread with it, which will keep you from starvation. When I was in London, I used to think I was well off if I could get two penny loaves a day and a little water. ”

“ O horrible example! for men professing to be Saints and friends of God, with murder in their hearts, to thirst for each other's blood! The duty of the Seventies and Elders of this Church is plainly defined. ”

“ On the other hand, set a stone to rolling that is unpolished and rough from the mountain side, and it will do great execution in its course, and leave a visible path behind it, and become smoother as it rolls. ”