John Taylor

“ How many of our Bishops are there who do not comprehend really and truly that they hold their priesthood from God? that they administer in the cities of Zion, or ought to, by virtue of that priesthood; and therefore ought to be fathers over the people over whom they preside, having self and its interest in abeyance, laboring as good shepherds in the interests of their flocks, and thus operating in it according to their ability; but a great many do not comprehend the position of things in relation to these matters. If a man is appointed a Bishop, is it that he may aggrandize himself? ”

“ And some people would wish—Oh, how they do wish, they could get around that principle, if they could! But you Latter-day Saints, you cannot get around it you cannot dig around it; it will rise before you every step you take, for God is determined to carry out his purposes, and to build up his Zion; and those who will not walk into line he will move out of the way and no place will be found for them in Israel. Hear it, you Latter-day Saints for I say to you in the name of Israel's God that it; is a revelation from the Most High, and you cannot get around it. ”

“ God expects Zion to become the praise and glory of the whole earth; so that kings, hearing of her fame, will come and gaze upon her glory. God is not niggardly in his feelings towards us. He would as soon we all lived in palaces as not; but he wants us to observe his laws and fear him, and standing as messengers to go forth to the nations; clothed upon with the power of the priesthood which has been conferred upon us: seeking "first the kingdom of God and his righteousness;" ”

“ And then, by having faith in God, we might stand as far above the nations in regard to the arts and sciences, politics, and every species of intelligence, as we now do in regard to religious matters. This is what we are aiming at; and if there is anything good and praiseworthy in morals, religion, science, or anything calculated to exalt and ennoble man, we are after it. But with all our getting, we want to get understanding, and that understanding which flows from God. ”

“ We should be prepared more understandingly to build temples, and to operate in them; we should be prepared to stand as saviors upon Mount Zion, and to operate with God and the holy angels, and with apostles and prophets who have lived before, and with the holy priesthood in the eternal worlds, as well as in this world, for the accomplishment of the purposes of God for the redemption and salvation of the living and the dead ”

“ One of the prophets, in speaking of this time, when people should be very much better than we are to-day, says: "And they shall be all taught of God." But some of us would like a little infidelity with it, a little of this world's politics, a little of the theories of men, and a little false tradition with it; and it is difficult for us, with all our traditions and erroneous training which we have inherited from our forefathers, and which we have been brought up in from our early childhood, to divest ourselves from them, and listen to the pure word of God, and be governed by the laws of life. ”

“ But they thought then, and we think now, that when that which is in part is done away, and that which is perfect is come—and which the Lord is trying to introduce as fast as he can—then shall we see as we are seen, and then we shall know as we are known; then we shall comprehend as God comprehends in relation to all of these subjects which we have been reflecting upon and praying about. But we only comprehend in part at the present time. We are something like our little children—when they, begin to walk a little, they make awkward stumbles, often times falling down and scratching themselves. ”

“ We talk sometimes about the thing we call the kingdom of God. Now, if it is the kingdom of God, it is not the kingdom of man; it is not our kingdom only so far as we are subject to its laws, which are the laws of God. We have made attempts lately, under the direction of our venerable and respected President Young, who has left us and gone behind the vail, to organize the church of God, and this organization has spread, more or less, through the Territory. But it is a good deal with us as it was with the boy in Salt Lake City. ”

“ There are lots of able-bodied men who, if they could only have a little more faith in God, and could realize the calamities that are coming upon the earth, and the responsibilities of that priesthood that God has conferred upon them, they would be ready to break all barriers and say, Here I am, send me; I wish to benefit the human family. If Jesus came to seek and save those who are lost, let me be possessed of the same spirit. And if the Twelve, the High Priests and the Seventies, who are now aged, have done these things, let me also do it ”

“ And when you are administering in any of these offices, God will hold you to an account, and the priesthood on the earth will hold you to an account; and you are now writing a history in indelible characters that never can be erased. If for every word and secret act all men shall be brought to judgment, how much more will the public acts of public men be brought into account before God and before the holy priesthood. ”

“ They are ready to do what God requires of them at any time. Now, we have had a great many honorable men among our Seventies, our High Priests and Elders, who have gone forth with alacrity, as have the Twelve, filled with the spirit and power of their calling, feeling to rejoice all the day long, and sing, hallelujah, the Lord is our God; they have been the means of gathering the House of Israel, as they are to-day in these mountains. Shall they have credit among Israel? Yes, and so will they have credit before God and the holy angels. ”

“ If we, as a community, could comprehend our position in regard to this grand, leading, and very important feature of our faith, we should be prepared to receive greater blessings at the hand of the Almighty, and be prepared also to magnify that great and holy priesthood which he has placed upon us. ”

“ And then if you could go to work and manufacture your own leather and cloth, and make your own boots and shoes and harness, and your own wearing apparel, men's and women's wear, as they are doing in Brigham City, a great deal of remunerative employment could be furnished your own people, and it would be the means of putting trades in the hands of many of your boys; and by and by you could became a self-sustaining people. The people of the world comprehend this principle that we are striving to accomplish among ourselves. ”

“ It would be a poor thing indeed, if, after God has gathered us from among the nations of the earth to place His name upon us, and to establish and build up His kingdom upon the earth, we should be under the necessity of calling in the devil to help us to do the Lord's work. ”

“ You all know what watchful care a fond mother bestows upon her little child; how anxious she is about its safety and welfare. But our children frequently think they are much smarter than their parents. They would think nothing at all of taking hold of a razor and cutting their fingers with it, or running over rough and dangerous ground. We are, in many respects, a good deal like them. We see in part and comprehend in part ”

“ And when we become one in all things, our condition will be a spectacle for God, angels and men to gaze upon with delight: and the world then will know that God is with us, and that we are his Israel, and that he is our guide, our shield, our deliverer.
There are some things that Brother Lorenzo Snow is doing that are very creditable; but it is not the United Order. He is working with the people something after the same principle that our sisters teach the little ones how to walk ”

“ It is because the heavens have been opened, because angels have appeared, because the revelations of God's will have been made known to man, it is because God and the holy angels, with the eternal priesthood, have thought proper to manifest in these last days the fullness of the everlasting Gospel, which Gospel has been proclaimed to us in the different nations from whence we came. ”

“ But all these things shall be added, for no man that forsakes father and mother, houses and lands, wives and children for God and his kingdom, but what shall receive in this world a hundred fold, and in the world to come life everlasting. ”

“ If we could really place ourselves in this position, and feel that we live in God, that we move in God, and that from him we derive our being, and that he holds the issues of life, and every blessing we enjoy whether of a temporal or spiritual nature, either referring to this world or the world to come, proceeds from God. ”

“ It is one of those incongruities which the reasonably intelligent and reflective mind will necessarily disown. We are gathered here, not in the interests of any political party or any essential organization, other than that which God dictated and ordained. Why are we here to-day? ”

“ This being the case, we ought to foster education and intelligence of every kind; cultivate literary tastes, and men of literary and scientific talent should improve that talent and all should magnify the gifts which God has given unto them. ”

“ And in our Bishop's Courts, when cases are brought before them, they ought to be as free from partiality in their judgments as the Gods in the Eternal worlds are, and feel to administer justice and righteousness, and seek for the Spirit of God to actuate and govern them in all of their decisions. ”

“ And it is for us, Latter-day Saints, to understand the position we occupy, Among the honorable men I have referred to, there are some things that make it extremely difficult for men sometimes to perform the kind of missions that they did formerly, owing to age, infirmities, and circumstances. ”

“ He would teach them the Gospel, and inculcate its principles, which are so far advanced of infidelity, that it would have to hide its hoary head in shame before the light, glory, and intelligence that comes from God, and that exist in all his works, and that fools do not comprehend. ”

“ And when they are away, it is not proper that they should feel worried and concerned about their families at home; and therefore we will call upon our brethren here who preside, to see that the families of the missionaries are looked after, that they may not suffer. I hear men sometimes pray God to bless and provide for the families of those on missions, and in their prayers they are ever mindful of the poor. ”

“ I suppose these things could go on and increase, and everything in regard to your commercial relations could be operated with one common consent, under the proper authority and administration of the priesthood, and you all labor unitedly, with singleness of heart before God. And what would be the result? You could not be preyed upon by outsiders; you would have no middle-men living off you, and what speculations might be entered into would be in the interest of the community. ”

“ And God will hold all such men in honorable remembrance in time and through all eternity. But, a great many are getting like myself, they are getting old; and we cannot expect them always to be going. ”

“ And that object is, as I understand it, to afford our own children greater facilities to become learned, and that they also have the privilege to learn trades, and agriculture, and horticulture, and become progressive, intellectual and informed in regard to all these things, and that they may comprehend the earth on which we stand, the materials of which it is composed, and the elements with which we are surrounded. ”

“ It is now workmen against employer—labor versus capital, and vice versa, instead of union, harmony, fellowship, and sympathy, which ought always to exist between man and man. And we have felt a little of the effects of the monetary crisis here. ”

“ It is a good deal so with many of us. We have our individual affairs and our own operations, which occupy our attention, and we have little time to attend to the things of God. We have an organization of our priesthood ”