John Taylor

“ When Noah and his family had seen the dreadful wreck, the awful calamity, the heart-rending scenes of distress and anguish, trouble and death, that overwhelmed the world—with all this staring them in the face, how soon his posterity departed from correct principles, and bowed their necks to the power of the adversary; how soon was the weakness of human nature made manifest! ”

“ The same specimen of fallen human nature; the same weakness, infirmities, and follies that have characterized men who have lived in former ages.
How many of us have fallen on the right hand and on the left; those we have judged to be men of intelligence, some of them have stepped aside in one shape and some in another. Some have given way to their corrupt appetites and passions, and have fallen in an evil hour, have lost the Spirit of God, have destroyed themselves, and have destroyed others; corrupted, weak, fallen, degenerate, and abominable, they have sunk to their own place. ”

“ Wherein are we better than many of those of which we have spoken? God has revealed His truth to us; He has opened the heavens and sent forth His holy angels, has restored the holy Priesthood in as great power as ever it was in any age, and in fact greater; for we are now living in the dispensation of the fulness of times, when God has determined to gather all things in one, whether they be things in heaven or things in the earth; notwithstanding all this, are we much better than the ancient people we have just noticed? ”

“ When we look at ourselves aright, when we understand the principles of truth aright, what is there we would not give for salvation? When the Spirit has beamed forth powerfully upon the hearts of the Saints, when the light and intelligence of heaven have manifested themselves, when the Lord has shone upon the souls of the Saints when assembled together, what have they felt like? ”

“ The whole antediluvian world was enveloped in corruption; they had forsaken God, the Father and fountain of their existence, and the giver of every good and perfect gift, yielding submission to the powers of the adversary in a state of darkness and ignorance, living and propagating their species innumerable in that state of corruption, depraving themselves morally and intellectually, forsaking God, and teaching nothing but principles that were corrupt and abominable. ”

“ And among this people, who have been blessed with the light and revelations of God, who have been gathered from different nations, who have travelled thousands of miles for the privilege of listening to the oracles of eternal truth, of securing to themselves salvation, who have hailed with joy the message of mercy that has been extended to them, whose hearts in former times beat high with prospects of mingling with the Saints of God in Zion, and listening to the words of eternal life, what do we see even among them? ”

“ It is a matter of great importance to know the truth, and obey it, to have the privilege of learning, at the mouths of the servants of God, His will, and then to have the privilege of doing it unmolested, no matter what it is, whether to live or die, or whatever course we may have to pursue. I think it is a great privilege for us to be associated with the kingdom of God. ”

“ Have you forgot that thousands who have possessed the Holy Priesthood here, still exist in the eternal world, and look with interest upon your conduct and proceedings? Have you forgot that God has set His hand again the second time to gather the remnants of His people? ”

“ We must know ourselves, learn what is in our nature—our weakness, our strength, our wisdom, our folly; and the like things that dwell in others, that we may learn to appreciate true and correct principles, and be governed by them whenever they are developed; that we may learn to set a just value upon all sublunary things, that we may not value them above their real value, and that we may neither value ourselves nor others above our or their worth; that we may learn to look upon ourselves as eternal beings, acting in everything with a reference to eternity ”

“ In fact all things that we have to do with in the world, whether they are adversity or prosperity, whether they relate to ourselves or to others, if rightly appreciated and understood, may teach us a lesson that will be to our joy, probably not only in time, but in all eternity. ”

“ How have they looked upon the things of this world, and the prospect that awaited them—upon their privileges as Saints of the Most High God, and upon the glory they will inherit if they are faithful to the end! You may have experienced the feeling that such thoughts and prospects would naturally create in the human heart. Why is it we feel otherwise at any time? It is because we forget to pray, and call upon God, and dedicate ourselves to Him, or because we fall into transgression, commit iniquity, and lose the Spirit of God ”

“ The principle that was laid before us has been published years ago in the revelations of God, and the Saints have anxiously looked forward to the time when it would be fully entered into by them. But there is one thing you may set down for a certainty—if a man has not confidence in one revelation of God, he has not in another; and if a man feels right in one, he will in all the revelations from that source. ”

“ Consider the trouble, afflictions, war, and bloodshed that have come in consequence of all this, the fostering of evil passions in the human heart, and giving way to every kind of iniquity, being led captive by the devil at his will, until nation has been arrayed against nation, kingdom against kingdom, power against power, and authority against authority. Witness the human beings that have been slain, and the human carcases that have been left to rot upon the battlefields ”

“ How oft, when they have met together on special occasions to receive certain blessings from the hands of God, has the spirit of revelation rested upon them, and the future been opened to their view in all its beauty, glory, richness, and excellency; and when their hearts have been warmed up by that spirit, how have they felt to rejoice? ”

“ Associated as we are with the kingdom of God, we may reasonably expect, so long as we do our duty before the Lord, to have continual developments of light, truth, and intelligence, that emanate from the great God, for the guidance, direction, salvation, and exaltation of this people, whether it relates to time, or to eternity; for everything we have to do with is eternal; and when we speak of time and eternity, they are only relative terms which we attach to things that are present ”

“ They have broken their covenants, corrupted themselves, departed from the right way, lost the Spirit of God, and they are anxious to go here and there, and everything is wrong with them, and every place fails to yield them comfort, because a consciousness of their guilt is continually with them; everything is out of place to them, and their understandings are darkened. At one time they were quick to comprehend truth by the light of the Spirit, but now they walk in darkness. ”

“ If I came from my Father in heaven, and am seeking to find my way back to His presence again, and I do not know the way myself, I feel, for one, by the grace of God, to yield to the intelligence He gives, and go forward in the name of the great Eloheim, that I may obtain the object of my creation, and not make a fool of myself, and destroy myself, but be a blessing to myself, to my progenitors, and my posterity, and obtain a seat in the kingdom of God. ”

“ But in relation to ourselves as individuals, we are eternal beings, although we occupy a certain space of eternity called time; in relation to the Gospel we preach, it is eternal; in relation to the Priesthood, it is eternal; in relation to our covenants and obligations, they are eternal; in relation to our promises, prospects, and hopes, they are eternal. And while we are acting upon this stage of being, we are merely commencing a state of things that will exist while countless ages shall roll along ”

“ It has been difficult in every age of the world for the servants of God to accomplish His purposes upon the earth. It has been difficult for those who have professed to be Saints of God, in every age, to do His will faithfully without being molested, such has been the influence of the powers of darkness, the weakness of man's intellect, and the lack of knowledge in the things of God. ”

“ If the Saints could understand things correctly; if they could see themselves as God sees them; if they could know and understand and appreciate the principles of eternal truth as they emanate from God, and as they dwell in His bosom; if they could know their high calling's glorious hope, and the future destiny that awaits them, inasmuch as they are faithful; there is not a Saint of God, there is not one in these valleys of the mountains, but would prostrate himself before Him ”

“ We came forth from our Father in heaven, having the privilege of taking bodies in this world. What for? That our bodies and spirits together might accomplish the will of our heavenly Father, and find their way back again into His presence; that while we are upon the earth, we might be governed by His wisdom, by the intelligence and revelations that flow from Him; that He might be a guide and dictator of our steps while we sojourn here; and that we might fill up the measure of our creation in honor to ourselves, in honor to our progenitors, and in honor to our posterity ”

“ I think adversity is a blessing in many instances; and in some, prosperity; but nothing is a blessing to us that is not calculated to enlighten our minds, and lead us to God, and put us in possession of true principles, and prepare us for an exaltation in the eternal world.
In regard to God and the things of God, could the world of mankind see aright, and understand aright ”

“ And after all our weakness and infirmities, we are the best people there is under the face of the heavens, by a thousand fold. Poor as we are, weak as we are, changeable, afflicted as we are, still we are the best people God has upon the earth. If truth is revealed anywhere, it is here; if God communicates His will to the human family anywhere, it is here. If anybody can enlighten mankind, this people can ”

“ Because they can conceive of no other idea than that which dwells in their own bosoms; there dwells the principle of revenge, or ambition, and they know of no other motive that could prompt God to do as He has in the destruction of the wicked at sundry times. In the same way men judge us in relation to our matrimonial relations; if a man is associated with more females than one in the world, they cannot look upon it in any other way than lasciviousness and adultery, the very principles that predominate in themselves ”

“ Would He be doing justice to His creation upon the earth to let the devil bear rule and universal sway, and never put forth His hand to stop mankind in their mad career? Every man of reflection would look upon the destruction of such depraved beings as an act of mercy, thus stopping those growing evils by cutting, off the life of man from the earth, and stopping the onward course of that vile seed.
What is the reason men form wrong judgments about such things? It is because they do not understand and comprehend correct principles, because they do not possess the visions of the Almighty ”

“ But if we could all the time see, and realize, and understand our true position before God, our minds would be continually on the stretch after the things of God, and we should be seeking to know all the day long what we could do to promote the happiness and salvation of the world ”

“ There are many things that seem to us trials and difficulties, that perplex, annoy, and harass our spirits; yet these very things, as one justly observed, are blessings in disguise, so many helps to us to develop our weaknesses and infirmities, and lead us to put our trust in God, and rely upon Him to give us a knowledge of ourselves, of our neighbors, and of the work of God; they have a tendency to develop principles of worth to our minds, and thus they serve as schoolmasters, helps, and instructors, and are to us as many blessings in disguise. ”

“ But one thing I know, and one thing you know, you are not competent, in and of yourselves, to regulate anything pertaining to your eternal welfare; I do not care how wise and intelligent you may be, there is not one among you independent of God, or of the teachings of His servants. ”

“ It reminds me of some of the missionaries among the churches of the day; they always have a great deal of faith about the spiritual welfare of the people, but they never had faith enough to trust their time and their friends in the hands of God, while they were engaged in His work; but there must be missionary boxes to swallow up the money put into them, and if they go abroad, they must be well supplied with money, but they call upon the people to trust them for their spiritual welfare, while they cannot trust God for a piece of Johnny cake. ”