John Taylor

“ I have set out for purity, virtue, brotherhood, and for obedience to the laws of God on earth, and for thrones and principalities and dominions in the eternal worlds, and I will not allow such paltry affairs to interfere with my prospects. I am for life, eternal lives and eternal exaltations in the kingdom of God. ”

“ I wish they would adhere strictly to the Constitution, and to the spirit and genius of our institutions, and not depart from them. For while we are desirous of obeying all of the laws of our country, we cannot violate the law of God. ”

“ Tell such men when they approach you, to desist; that you are after justice, equity and mercy among men; and then let everything else go, yielding individual feeling, relations and all else to justice and equity, and God will sustain you. While speaking of justice, I do not believe in seizing a man by the throat and crowding him down; but do justice between man and man when placed in that position. We do not wish to destroy men, nor to use any vindictive or oppressive measures. It is said of the Savior: "The Son of Man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them." ”

“ In former days it was—"love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." What is the fruit of the spirit of evil? Envy, malice, hatred, evil-speaking, lying and slandering one another and towards other people. ”

“ Do we object to a man making money and means? O, no; but I should very much dislike to see him accumulate it from his brethren by taking advantage of their circumstances. That is not right. We should be governed by the principles of law and equity. The Scriptures say, speaking of the Lord, "judgment and justice are the habitation of thy throne." But "who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. He that back biteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor. ”

“ The law expects that one man shall not infringe on the rights of another. That is right; all would agree to that. It expects us to contribute our proper proportion to maintain the existence and responsibilities of the government, both in times of internal trouble and outward aggression. That is proper and we do not wish to have any other feelings than that. They make laws that men should be honest; that is all right. If a man steal, he should be delivered over to the laws of the land. ”

“ If we obey the law of God, and then obey the holy Priesthood over us and respect them, and, instead of falling out with them, pray for them, it would not hurt us, would it? We must learn to do good for evil. ”

“ And I think that we can well afford to observe all of the principles instituted among men by any proper government, we can well afford to observe all the prominent principles thereof, and I do not know of any law that as a people, we violate, excepting one, and that has been made on purpose to make us either break the command of God, or violate the law of the land. ”

“ Principles that were good eighteen hundred years ago are good to-day. And if men, by taking a wrong course, act imprudently and seek to injure us, shall we seek to injure them? No, we will try to do them all the good we can. "But that is not natural." But then we ought to be changed from nature to grace. Jesus stated, "Ye have heard that it hath been said, thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy. ”

“ Let us act in the capacity of benefactors, and if we are descended of Abraham, let us walk in his footsteps and make ourselves worthy of the promises, let us extend our feelings wide as eternity, and seek to bless and benefit, lift up and ennoble all around us; that we may all rejoice together and be exalted by the same principles which have been revealed for the benefit of all men. ”

“ I like the sentiment and feeling of the latter better than that of the former, because it is calculated to cement people together in their interests and feelings, in their desires and sympathies. Let us try to make a heaven on earth. ”

“ Still we are aiming in a great measure to do what is right; and if there are any people upon the earth that are doing this, I believe the Latter-day Saints are that people. And, yet, we do not do it, do we? If I were to ask you individually, the answer would generally be, "No, I do not perform my duties as I should, but I would like to do so, but sometimes I yield to improper influences, and while I know that in doing this, I am not performing my duty, yet I realize in some instances that the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak." ”

“ The best of us are not too good; we all of us might be better, and do better and enjoy life better, having more of the Spirit of the Lord in our own homes and in our own hearts, and do more to promote the welfare of all who come within our reach and influence. ”

“ And while we deal justly, let us deal mercifully. While we act in righteousness, let us do it with judgment. We all need the Spirit of the Lord; and we all need to humble ourselves before him and seek for his guidance. ”

“ To serve the Lord, is one of the great objects of our existence; and I appreciate as a great privilege the opportunity we enjoy of worship [p] ing God on the Sabbath day. And when we do meet to worship God, I like to see us worship him with all our hearts. I think it altogether out of place on such occasions to hear people talk about secular things; these are times, above all others perhaps, when our feelings and affections should be drawn out towards God. If we sing praises to God, let us do it in the proper spirit ”

“ Let us seek to promote one another's welfare, and feel that we are brethren, that we are the representatives of God upon the earth. Our Heavenly Father is desirous to promote the happiness and welfare of the whole of the human family ”

“ But it had to come, and no man could prevent it. When wrong is committed, or an unwise course is taken, it bears with it its own punishment. And as far as we are concerned, so long as we keep the commandments and are true to the trust that God has reposed in us, we need not fear the consequences, for he has said, it is his business to take care of his Saints. It is our duty to cultivate a and cherish the spirit of the Lord. ”

“ That is why the Priesthood is conferred upon us, and if we do not use it in this way, then there is a malfeasance in office; then we violate our obligations before God, and render ourselves unworthy of the high calling that the Lord has conferred upon us. The Priesthood always was given for the blessing of the human family. ”

“ There are a great many things which we admire in others, and there are a great many principles which we admire in the abstract, and there are a great many things which we wish we could do, but which we do not do. ”

“ And having done our best to promote peace, and having fulfilled the law of both God and man, we feel that we shall be justified by the Lord, and by all honorable, highminded, just and patriotic men. We are not the first who have been put to the test—Daniel and the three Hebrew children had to pass through this ordeal, they met the consequences, as we propose doing. ”

“ We have not come my brethren and sisters to preach great discourses, but to talk to you in a friendly way about some of the things in which we are all interested. When I am instructing others I feel instructed myself, and the advice I give others, in a general way, fits me also. ”

“ We want to make as good houses as we can. That is all right provided we come by them honestly. We want to lay a foundation for our children if we can. That's all right. But do not let our hearts and affections be placed upon these things, for there are other things we have to do. ”

“ In whose eyes a vile person is condemned; but he honoreth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not. He that putteth not out his money at usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. ”