John Taylor

“ As Latter-day Saints, we occupy a singular position in the world. Our views and ideas, theories and faith, doctrines and ordinances are in many respects different from those which exist abroad, and from those which many of us have been educated in. We have become Latter-day Saints in obedience to strong convictions, which have been forced upon us by the Spirit of the living God, and through the teaching, testimony, and evidence that have been brought to bear upon our minds by those who visited us and imparted to us the principles of the Gospel. ”

“ There is no question in the hearts of all good Latter-day Saints about the future destiny of the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth; that with them is a settled fact. Neither does it concern them what this man or the other man may do, it makes no particular difference. God has a certain object to accomplish, and he will do it in his own way and in his own time. He holds the nations as dust in the balances; he will manipulate them and their affairs as he pleases, and they cannot help themselves ”

“ And the oneness will not consist in each one of us seeking his own interest, his own emolument, and to extend his own ideas and influence; but in his seeking the interest and welfare of another, the establishment of Zion, that the welfare of all may be cared for and reached, both among the living and the dead in all time and eternity. ”

“ Do not every time they come near you, throw rocks at them; but feed the flock, over which you have the watch care, with the bread of life, with the bread of intelligence and eternal truth; be unto them fathers, full of mercy, kindness and benevolence, and then they will love you, they will draw near you and sustain you, that is, those who are good will, and the others will naturally drop off on the right hand and on the left. ”

“ It is for us all to take a course that we may secure the favor and approbation of the Almighty, that we individually may be led by him, having his spirit always with us. Then if the Presidency be under the guidance of the Almighty, and God direct the Priesthood through them in all its ramifications, carrying out his will in the building up of Zion on the earth, then we shall be one with them and one with God. ”

“ The ways of God, the plans and designs of the Almighty, have never been very congenial to the feelings of human nature, or to the waywardness of the human family. Whenever God has made known his will to man in any age of the world's history, there has always been a spirit of antagonism which has prevailed more or less against it. This same opposition exists to-day, and has done from the first organization of this Church; and I will say it will continue to go on and increase and become more intensified in proportion to the growth and spread of the principles of truth. ”

“ These are some of our duties, Latter-day Saints, and these are some of my feelings on these subjects. Let us then seek to do right, and take a correct and proper course in all things; and, if all things do not work always according to our ideas and notions, never mind, leave these things in the hands of God, he will direct and overrule everything for the welfare of those who do right. "No man can harm you, if you be followers of that which is good." ”

“ I do not think that any of us can regulate, manage or conduct any of these matters, unless God be with us. And I will tell you another thing, God will not be with us unless we are one. Says Jesus, "That they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us." ”

“ We have never professed an adherence to any of those principles that have been promulgated by others. The origin of our faith is that God has spoken, that, in the midst of conflicting opinions which prevailed with regard to him, he has thought proper to settle that question once and for all by the revelation of his will to the human family. ”

“ Let husbands love their wives, and be full of kindness towards them. Let wives study their husbands, and with kindness seek to make a heaven for them, that love and happiness may reign in our habitations. Let parents teach their children both by precept and example, the virtues of Gospel truths, that they may grow up in the love and fear of God, and that you may be the blessed of the Lord, and your offspring with you. ”

“ If we are found to be willing and obedient, and on the Lord's side for right, for truth, and integrity, for virtue and purity and holiness, adhering to the principles of truth and the laws of life, then God will be with us, and he will sustain all those who adhere to these principles; for be it remembered that these are the principles we profess to believe in, and those who are not governed by them he will move out of the way ”

“ It is well that we reflect upon these things, to pray for our brethren in the Priesthood, pray that the spirit and power of their office and calling may rest upon them and that they may be led, and be able to lead others, in the paths of life. ”

“ We sometimes think we have had a great deal to contend with. It is true, we have had a little, but we might have had more. Those who have made themselves acquainted with the sayings of the holy Prophets contained in the word of God, as made known on the continent of Asia, as well as on this continent, and the prophecies which have been given through the medium of Joseph Smith, in relation to this same subject, are very well aware that the Church is comparatively in its infancy, and so also are the persecutions of those who are opposed to it. ”

“ The Scriptures say that God will gather together all things, whether they are things in the heavens or things on the earth; he will gather them all into one, and his people will be gathered into one, and his word will be gathered into one, and hence, "The Nephites shall have the words of the Jews, and the Jews shall have the words of the Nephites; and the Nephites and the Jews shall have the words of the Ten Tribes, and the Ten Tribes shall have the words of the Nephites and the Jews." And he will go on and accomplish his purposes in his own way, and no man can stay his hand. ”

“ You that teach your brother not to speak evil of his neighbor, do you refrain from doing it yourself? One of the Apostles says that each one should prefer his neighbor to himself. We surely have not got that far yet, at least I do not think we have. Some, who think themselves pretty good people, would like to get another man's money or property, but they would not like to be operated upon in the same manner, and then they allow themselves to think they have the favor of God in such things This is a grievous mistake, for we are required to love our neighbors as ourselves. ”

“ We have not dictated or found out any thing belonging to the problem we are working, not a man among us; all we have received comes from God. If I understand anything concerning these things, it is that the word of God is law and must be obeyed. If we want to be good, faithful Latter-day Saints, we have got to be willing to submit to the will of God in all things. ”

“ We have not yet built up the kingdom, and consequently the struggle is not over; nay, it has hardly commenced.
Nor are we alone in the dealings of God with the people in this dispensation. The Jews will have to perform quite a role in these last times. They also will have to endure a large amount of trials, persecutions, and difficulties, which have yet to come upon them. They will in due time be gathered together to their own lands like we are gathered here; and nations will go up against them, and then too will certain nations come against us ”

“ I find a great many among the Latter-day Saints who are a good deal like those spoken of by Peter, "they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord." Jude the Apostle, referring to the same thing, says, "Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. ”

“ We begin to think there is some meaning in it, and that it is binding upon us, and those who do not do much keep up a thinking; if we only continue to keep up thinking and praying as well as doing, we will get at it by and by, and get into a better position than we now occupy. ”

“ This is really the thing we have engaged in, and we are indebted to him for his direction and instruction from its first inception to the present time, and we shall be thus indebted, from this time henceforth and forever, for the guidance, instruction, teaching and protection of the Almighty to enable us to consummate the work which he originated and organized.
It matters not to us what the opinions of men may be pertaining to these matters. God has given us a mission to perform, and in the name of Israel's God, and with his assistance, we will try to do it. ”

“ Since then they have adopted every kind of method that man's ingenuity could invent to harass and annoy us and to interfere with our civil, social and religious rights, and with our interests, peace, and prosperity. ”

“ Some of us are too much inclined to look upon these men as enemies, when really they are our friends. Should we feel that we are better than our neighbors? Rather let us try to do them good than injury. Some of us think that our Teachers are of very little importance. ”

“ It is a good deal with some of us in relation to some of these matters as with the man who cried out, "Good Lord and good Devil," for we don't know whose hands we are going to fall into, and would, perhaps, like to make friends with both; we manifest a little of our own way, a little of the way of the Gentiles, and a very little of the way of the Lord. ”

“ We then found ourselves assuming a little more importance in Illinois, and we learned too, that as we increased there in strength and importance, so proportionately increased opposition to us and to the principles we advocated until we had to pledge ourselves to leave a large and beautiful city and an extensive district of country, and then we came here to these valleys of the Rocky Mountains. ”

“ When this law is complied with, then we can say, forgive our trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us. In our present condition, if the Lord were to answer our prayers, many of us would not be forgiven. If we want the entire people to be good Saints, let us be good Saints ourselves. ”

“ Since that time a spirit and feeling of a similar nature have existed more or less among other peoples. If we examine the ideas and acts of Luther, Melancthon, and some pro-minent reformers, we find that a great many sects and parties have since then taken the same liberty with their creeds and formulas, which they took with their mother church ”