John Taylor

“ We want to be like the Lord, we want to secure His favor and approbation and to live under His smile, and to acknowledge, as ancient Israel did on a certain occasion, "The Lord is our God, our judge, and our king, and He shall reign over us." These are my feelings, and the feelings of all good Latter-day Saints. May God help us to live our religion by keeping His commandments, in the name of Jesus. ”

“ We must be more moral, and more honest with each other and before God; and we must pray more and swear less than we do. Our strength is from God; and if we do not have strength, wisdom, intelligence, and grace from Him we do not have it; and it is living our religion that leads us to Him. It is not altogether in ceremonials; it is not because I go to church or meeting; but it is because my heart is right before God, because I do my duty, because I love the Lord and His people and all men, and my desire is to promote the happiness and well being of the human family. ”

“ I want a principle that will maintain, uphold, and stand by the rights of man, giving to all men everywhere equal rights, and that will preserve inviolate the fundamental principles of the Constitution of our country.
After all, we, as a people, have not much to complain of; we have a great deal of liberty here, and we can do pretty much as we have a mind to if we will only do right. We can think, write, and worship as we please, and we are free from some things that some portions, even of our nation, are perplexed with at the present time. ”

“ When men come among us we should be very sorry indeed if they found us like the world; we are not like them, neither do we wish to be. We did not come here to set up a government to be separate and distinct from other governments, and to seek to possess a certain power and influence over our own members or over other people ”

“ The Republicans, you know, in the States, have been very fond for a long time of talking about a higher law of some kind. We, too, have a higher law, not a negro law particularly, but a law that emanates from God; a law that is calculated to promote the best interests and the happiness of this people, and of the world when they will listen to it. ”

“ To begin with, we are aiming to live our religion more faithfully. We have got the right principles, but I think, sometimes, that we do not live them as well as we might. We have been baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of our sins, and have had hands laid upon us for the reception of the Holy Ghost; but in many instances we have failed to live our religion by giving way to our evil tempers, passions, and appetites, and we want to live our religion better than we have done. ”

“ Many of those who do believe in and sustain it are ashamed of many of their own deeds, and act the hypocrite by trying to cover them up and keep them in the dark, and presenting the bright side only for us to copy after. But we want to take things as a whole, and we will receive no system but that which will bear the scrutiny of the world, and that is just, equitable, and honorable before God, angels, and men. I am not surprised at men, coming from the midst of scenes and practices, forming such incorrect notions in relation to us ”

“ We want, then, to live our religion more closely, and we should feel all the time that God sees us, that His eye is upon us watching our motions and actions, and that it is necessary for us to humble ourselves before Him, that we may obtain His Holy Spirit to guide us aright. We need to study our morals, to see that they are correct in every respect. ”

“ There is a wide difference between God choosing a man and endowing him with the spirit of intelligence, wisdom, and revelation, and sending him forth to preach the truths of heaven to the nations of the earth, and men picking up their weakest members and setting them to do the same thing; because God can inspire men with wisdom and intelligence from above, while men are incapable of so doing. Hence I do not wonder that men, who are accustomed to listen to, and who believe such teachings, should consider that we are a strange people, for our religious notions evidently do not agree with theirs ”

“ To the world this principle is a gross error, for amongst them it is every man for himself; every man follows his own ideas, his own religion, his own morals, and the course in everything that suits his own notions. ”

“ In the latter, everything moves harmoniously, and if in the political affairs of a nation, or of the world, the same wisdom dictated, the same harmony would exist. If the Lord were to copy after the examples of men, system would dash against system, and world against world in mad confusion, and there would be a crash of worlds and a wreck of matter. But God controls His own affairs, and if we can live so as to obtain His guidance, we will risk the results, and this is what we are aiming after. ”

“ Is there any man, woman, or child, stranger or citizen deprived of his or her rights, or who cannot obtain a hearing for grievances real or imaginary? Who is there throughout the length and breadth of the Territory who cannot obtain the full benefit of law, equity, and justice? ”

“ It is no uncommon thing in the Church of England, with which I was associated in my early days, for a man who has three or four sons to educate one to be a doctor, another for a lawyer, another, perhaps, is assigned to the army or navy, as the case may be; and if there is one a little duller than the rest he is generally educated for the ministry and is called a Doctor of Divinity. And it is expected that that dull man, without common sense and without instruction from God, but simply because he is a fool, will point out the way to the kingdom of heaven. ”

“ The latter would more generally express the feelings of any people who are under a corrupt government or religion than "Vox populi, vox dei." We believe in the voice of God first, and in the voice of the people afterwards, and that in political as well as in religious matters all men ought to be guided by the Lord, and that because they have not been so guided, bloodshed, strife, dissension, and confusion have overspread the earth. The wisdom of God is necessary in controlling worldly affairs whether political or otherwise, as it is in controlling the planetary system. ”

“ We believe that the Lord has commenced to establish His kingdom on the earth, and we look to Him for wisdom and intelligence in regard to all matters, whether they be of a political, social, or moral nature; hence, in these respects, we differ very materially from the rest of the world. In the various religious denominations their ministers are set apart by the will and dictum of men; their religions, too, are established by men. ”

“ If there is any principle for which we contend with greater tenacity than another, it is this oneness. We are one in a great many things, but we have to become one in all things before we reach the standard indicated by the prayer of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We have to become one in money matters, and in our deal, and in the course in which our labors shall be directed; and if we could only see and comprehend this principle correctly we should be more like what God requires us to be. But it is difficult for us to understand and realize the importance of this principle. ”

“ Whenever the Congress of the United States, for instance, pass a law interfering with my religion, or with my religious rights, I will read a small portion of that instrument called the Constitution of the United States, now almost obsolete, which says "Congress shall pass no law interfering with religion or the free exercise thereof;" ”

“ We want our Mayors and City Councillors and Aldermen, and municipal laws to protect the weak, the virtuous, the pure, and holy, and restrain the wicked, the riotous, the thief, and debauchee, and to maintain order in the community. We have a number of towns and cities extending for some five hundred miles, and it is ne-cessary that we should have a government to regulate and manage affairs in our midst. We are forced into this position, we cannot help ourselves, and hence we become a Territory, and have our Governor, Judges, Marshal, and Secretary of State sent us by the United States ”

“ Among the Methodists, with whom I was afterwards associated because I thought the Church of England was not good enough, they tell us that "God chooses the base things of the world to bring to nought the things that are.' That is true enough, but they come to wrong conclusions from these premises;—that is, they suppose because God can choose a man and endow him with wisdom, that therefore they can pick the biggest fools they have got and set them to work to preach. ”

“ Hence men come among us from time to time, and setting themselves up as standards of perfection, they wish to measure us by their ideas of politics and morality; whereas if they only understood the truth, they would know that we are very independent on these points, and that we care no more about their notions and opinions in regard to us than we care for the motion of a passing bird. ”

“ We do not, to-day, try to imitate any of the governments of the earth; we do not admire their policy; we do not believe that their systems are correct. We believe that they have the seeds of dissolution within themselves, and through the lack of correct princ [i] ples by which to regulate themselves, that they will eventually crumble to pieces. Neither do we believe in their religion, and we should be sorry if any of our people were like them, or even attempted to be like them in a religious point of view. ”

“ We have left the various churches and sects of the day, and infidel associations of all kinds, and have united ourselves with the "Mormons," and have gathered together here simply because we believed they were all wrong, hence a man must be a fool to suppose that we are like them, for we have a faith that is entirely diverse from theirs. Our ideas, socially and morally, are entirely different from theirs, because ours come from God, and they get theirs from the notions that exist among men. ”

“ We do not look upon things as they exist in the world as being correct, and in animadverting upon their acts we could tell a great many things that we believe are essentially wrong, whether relating to their morals, politics, religion, philosophy, or anything else ”

“ Our strength is in the Lord of Hosts, and we believe we shall conquer. In all our operations in life we are trying to obtain wisdom from God to manage and direct all our affairs. We are seeking to establish a oneness, and that oneness under the guidance and direction of the Almighty. ”

“ We have no military government, for instance, and we are free to exercise our judgment and to maintain our rights by jury if we have the manhood to do it, and I consider that after all we are very much blessed out here. ”

“ The smoke comes out of the chimneys, men walk on their feet, the sun rises and sets at proper time, and everything goes on perfectly natural, and I do not know that we have anything to complain of, and for the many blessings that we enjoy I feel thankful to Almighty God. ”

“ One in everything; then we shall grow, and prosper like a green bay tree. Then will riches, honor, and power flow to the Latter-day Saints in far greater abundance than they have ever yet done; then you and your offspring will be the blessed of the Lord. ”

“ They consider that we are dependent on them for their good or bad opinion, that we are dependent upon the United States for peace and tranquility, and that we are dependent upon popular feeling for the existence of our institutions, whether political religious, or social. ”

“ We have left this state of things, and the Lord has introduced a new order amongst us, for we profess to be under His guidance and direction, and consequently our ideas and practices must be very different from those which obtain in the world. We have more wives than one. Why? Because God ordained it. And we maintain our wives and children; but they do not maintain their mistresses and children, yet they will prate to us about their beautiful systems There is a great difference between their system and ours ”

“ Who that is acquainted with the moral state of Christendom at the present time does not shudder when reflecting upon the depravity, corruption, licentiousness, and debauchery that everywhere stalk around? ”

“ In relation to our political affairs, we are gathered together as a community, and being so numerous it is impossible but that we should form a part and parcel of the body politic. We have a city here, for instance, and numerous other cities throughout this Territory. ”

“ If we have wives and children we are not afraid to acknowledge them as such. We do not have the children of one woman riding with us in a carriage, while those of another are sweeping the streets and asking us for a halfpenny ”

“ Brother Cannon stated this morning that we were the most independent people on the earth. That, I presume, is a correct statement, although the majority of the people on the earth think we are the most dependent. ”

“ We have no tremor in relation to the action of this or any other government. They do not know the true sentiments and feelings of the Latter-day Saints; hence they are not capable of judging us. We feel that we are dependent upon God only, for our existence, whether it be socially, politically, or morally. ”

“ It is low, mean, degrading, unhallowed, and it is in opposition to every sacred and holy principle. Some of our boys are fond of getting a cigar into their mouths, they think it makes them look manly; there is nothing at all manly about smoking and strutting ”

“ It is true that the President and Congress quarrel down yonder sometimes; but before the sound reaches us it is so faint that it produces no electric shock; in fact, we scarcely feel it. In the South, too, they are laboring under many difficulties ”