John Taylor

“ Zion shall yet become the praise and the glory of the whole earth, and, as I have said, kings and princes shall come to gaze upon her glory, and we shall be able to teach their senators wisdom, and their philosophers intelligence; for we shall be all taught of God. God has called upon us to do this work, and He expects us to do it. We must preach the Gospel, and we will preach it; and if we have to meet with opposition and with death staring us in the face, all right. We are for God and His kingdom, and for the principles of truth and righteousness. ”

“ Men do not know how to approach God, and none are willing to listen to His teachings but the Latter-day Saints, and it is sometimes hard work for them to do it. Men teach their own theories, ideas and opinions, and hence confusion and disorder prevail in the world. Hence, in order that God may have a people who will carry out His designs and accomplish His purposes, He has introduced the Gospel, and under its influence people have been gathered together to this land, as we see them here today, and as they are to be seen throughout the length and breadth of this Territory. ”

“ Why, men that held the Priesthood of the Son of God had, among other things, been instructed to teach this principle, that it was a gathering dispensation, the keys of which had been conferred upon Joseph Smith, he in turn had conferred the power upon others, and the Elders went forth and preached this Gospel with the power associated therewith. That is the great secret why people gather here. We have come here in order that we may fulfill the will of God, and the word of God, and the law of God. ”

“ God is interested in the whole of the human family. He cannot take them all into the celestial kingdom, for they are not all prepared to go there, and you cannot prepare them and He cannot, because they have to be governed by certain laws and certain principles and certain feelings, and if they are not governed by these and will not be governed by a celestial law, they are not prepared for a celestial glory. There are some that may be governed by a terrestrial law, and may be prepared for a terrestrial glory, but not for a celestial glory. ”

“ It is a dispensation that embraces all other times.
What, then, have we to do? To preach the Gospel to the nations of the earth? What else? To gather the people together, all those who have made a covenant with God by sacrifice. They were to come from the east and from the west, and from the north and from the south. They were to be gathered one of a city and two of a family, and brought to Zion that they might be taught and instructed in the principles of eternal life. ”

“ Paul tells us, that by faith Moses endured, as seeing him who is invisible; by faith women received their dead raised to life again; by faith men wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute afflicted, tormented, (of whom the world was not worthy) ; they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. Now, why was it that men that were aiming at an exaltation among the Gods should be so persecuted and cast out by men? ”

“ The God who is the Father of our spirits is He that organized our bodies. The God that made the heavens is He that made the earth, and we are dependent upon Him for every blessing that we enjoy. We had very little to do with our coming here, and now that we find ourselves here, we are incapable of sustaining ourselves. ”

“ This principle of opposition was manifested in the heavens. Satan was a personage there who had peculiar ideas, very singular ideas. He wanted to do the same as many men want to do to-day—to take away the free agency of man. Some men would like to take away our free agency and tell us how we must worship and what we must worship. Because Satan wanted to deprive man of his free agency, he was cast out of heaven and he came to the earth to teach that principle, and it has prevailed more or less in every age and under every government. ”

“ We have been gathered together from among the nations of the earth in order that God might have a people who would obey His law; who had been baptized into one baptism; who had all been partakers of the same spirit, and who had, as I said before, learned to approach the Lord in the proper way; for there is a medium opened out whereby men can approach God and learn His mind and will. ”

“ And He has gathered us together, for the purpose of instructing us and preparing us to do a work that He designs to accomplish in the interests of the living and of the dead, in the interests of the whole human family, that exist, or that ever have existed upon the face of the earth. He has gathered us here under the influence and auspices of the Gospel, that we might, under His tuition and guidance, and under the influence of the Holy Priesthood that exists in the heavens and on the earth, bring to pass all things that have been spoken by the holy Prophets since the world was. ”

“ There is a certain class of people who will obtain a seat in that kingdom, and there are millions and millions who will not. Jesus in speaking on this subject said: "Wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there are that find it." Now, then, in reference to celestial glory, it is necessary that men should be tried here upon the earth, for men upon other earths have been tried as we are being tried. ”

“ We must be sustained of God. There is not one among you here to-day could leave this place unless God gave you power. We hardly realize these things. In God we live; in Him we move and from Him we have our being. ”

“ God will feel after you, and He will take hold of you and wrench your very heart strings, and if you cannot stand it you will not be fit for an inheritance in the Celestial Kingdom of God." Some people have wondered why so many of the Twelve fell away. God tries people according to the position they occupy. Joseph Smith never had many months of peace after he received the truth, and finally he was murdered in Carthage jail. ”

“ It is rather a singular thing to see a host of people gathering here from all the nations of the earth. You cannot prevent people from gathering here. They are brought under the influence of the Gospel and they cannot help themselves. ”

“ God save the mark for that liberality that will not allow men to worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences, that will enact laws to prevent men marrying wives, while men having many mistresses are sustained. ”

“ The men who comply with the laws of God are prohibited from voting, while the licentious, the adulterer, the whoremonger, the brothel keeper, the pimp, the procuress and the prostitute have this privilege, and are protected by law and sustained by lawgivers ”

“ And if you read the Book of Mormon you will find the same principles—one party in favor of right, the other in favor of wrong; the one in favor of obedience to the laws of God, and the other in opposition to the laws of God. The Scriptures say that it must needs be that there be an opposition in all things ”

“ You certainly have a fair opportunity for development; having a large area of land, which I am told is productive, and with the proper application of the water, and a concentration of effort I can see no reason why this can not be made a very flourishing, beautiful and populous place. ”

“ We have come out of confusion. There is confusion in the world everywhere; confusion amongst religionists, politicians, infidels; and there is no one anywhere, outside of this Church to say, "thus saith the Lord." ”

“ Already, in some places, where they have been troubled with saleratus they have the richest and most productive soils. Those lands where not too much saturated with the mineral are in many instances the most fertile that we have in the Territory. ”

“ Such principles as these are from beneath and not from God, no matter under what government they exist. We do not want to proscribe any man in his religious faith. It is none of our business. God did not interfere with Cain. ”

“ I have now had an opportunity of visiting Deseret and looking at the river, and am pleased to find you have such an abundant supply of water. An immense population could be sustained with the amount you have. ”