John Taylor

“ We expect then to have our place here, for "blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth. We are working for these things, and we will go on with the work and let the world wag. Let them get up a commotion once in a while. There is nothing new in that. It is the old trick. If we are faithful God will bless us, and Zion will arise and shine, and the glory of God will rest upon her. But woe to them that fight against Zion, for God will fight against them. ”

“ This principle and spirit of antagonism to the rule of God, and to His government and laws, is as old as the creation of the world. It began in heaven. The third part of the hosts of heaven, we are told, were cast out because of their rebellion against God. We are informed in our late revelations, that Satan desired to take away the free agency of man, just as men are seeking to take away ours; just as men have sought to do in different ages. ”

“ Cain offered up the first fruits of the earth. He was going to be, as I have said, a religious "cuss," a religious hypocrite—as if God was not acquainted with what he was doing!—as if He could not read the contents of his heart!—as if He did not know that Cain had made a compact with Satan! He knew all about it, and understood all about the, principle. Cain went to work and, offered his sacrifice. But the Lord knew of his hypocrisy and deception, and of his plotting and planning against Him; for we are told that Cain loved Satan more than he loved God. ”

“ When men are humble, pure and virtuous, and seek unto the Lord for His guidance, for the light of His Holy Spirit to lead them unto the paths of life, that they may comprehend His law, His word and His will—and then obey it as it is made manifest to them—such persons, those brethren and sisters who follow this plan, are a thousand times more likely to comprehend the things of God, than those who are careless, indifferent, foolish and wayward, and who neglect the blessings and the opportunities which are offered to them. ”

“ Especially does it rest upon the Holy Priesthood, who have the manipulation and management of the affairs of the Church of God upon the earth, to comprehend the position and relationship which they sustain to the kingdom of God, to the people of God, to the Church of God, and the Zion of God, that they may be enabled to act wisely, prudently and intelligently, and to pursue that course, and help others to pursue it, which leads to prosperity, peace and happiness, in this life, and to exaltations, thrones, principalities and powers in the eternal worlds. ”

“ It is the Gospel that puts us in possession of that principle of certainty that no one can comprehend but those who are in possession of it, and therefore in that respect there is a very material difference between them and us. ”

“ They are of their father, the devil, and the works of their father they will do. There are some ministers of the Gospel, even, occupying prominent positions, who advocate the use of the cannon, the musket, and the bayonet, in order to rob, murder and plunder the Latter-day Saints. What for? Because we happen to claim the right of free agency in regard to our religious worship, and think we ought to enjoy it, and when we do we feel we are simply carrying out a constitutional principle, and are not interfering with anybody. Whose religion do we interfere with? ”

“ If we can be true to ourselves, true to our God; if we can maintain our virtue, our uprightness, our integrity; if we can be honest and upright and cultivate the spirit of kindness, harmony, and union among ourselves, God will take care of Israel, for He will fight our battles. ”

“ They make us guilty of crime only on the principle of falsehood, defamation and the violation of truth; for you know, and we all know, that ninety-nine out of every hundred of the charges that are made against us are baseless fabrications. ”

“ And I will tell you another thing, and that is, as fast as you are prepared for it, God will not only deliver you from your enemies, but He will pour riches into your laps, until you will not be able to contain them, although to some, riches would be the greatest curse that could be given them. You, the people of Zion, will be the richest of all people. You will possess not only the riches of this world, but, the riches of the world to come; for when the earth is redeemed we expect to come back and inherit it. We shall then have a new heaven. and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. ”

“ When we compare ourselves with the rest of mankind, we have made very great progress; for through the medium of the Everlasting Priesthood, by the revelation of the will of God to man, and through the ministration of His Holy Spirit, we have drunk of the stream whereof maketh glad the city of our God. ”

“ Therefore, be careful how you treat your children: act the part of fathers and mothers to them, and not the part of unnatural monsters, who, having been enlightened to a degree by the Spirit of the Lord, trample under foot the things of God, and cast your offspring into the arms of the corrupt, of the evil, and of those who are seeking your life, and striving to destroy you. ”

“ And if a knowledge of the things of God can only be obtained through the medium of the Spirit of God, and if that Spirit can only be received through obedience to the plan or order laid down in the Gospel, then those who have not yielded obedience to that Gospel are not competent judges of those principles. Then, again, when we come to ourselves, the same reasoning and the same principles hold good. ”

“ We do not want corruption in our midst; and men or women, professing to be Saints, that cannot preserve their bodies and spirits pure, and that can not adhere to the principles of the truth as God has revealed them, we don't want them among us. ”

“ It always affords me pleasure to meet with the Saints of God. In company with my brethren we have been traveling up and down lately, associating with the Saints in the different conferences, trying to speak of things in which we are all interested, things pertaining to the building up of the kingdom of God, and the establishing of His Zion upon the earth. ”

“ Our Christian civilizers. And who patronize these places? Sometimes some of our own people thus disgrace themselves—who ought to hide their heads in shame to be found mixed up with and taking part in these corrupting and damning influences. ”

“ They have proceeded on the principle of tyranny and coercion, if not on the principle of blood, just as Cain did. Well, shall we feel very angry? I don't, I honor men who act as men, but I cannot honor men whom I know to be hypocrites. Still, we have these things to suffer. Our Elders go out to preach the Gospel ”

“ I have heard some people say, "Don't you think that we are in very great danger now?" We should be if the Lord did not rule. We should always have been in danger if the Lord did not reign. We should always have been in danger if He had not taken care of us. ”

“ You will see that Scripture fulfilled wherein it says, "the wicked shall slay the wicked." And the time is not very far distant when another Scripture will be fulfilled, namely, "that every man that will not take up his sword against his neighbor, must needs flee unto Zion for safety." ”

“ Any man who will deal in that liquid damnation ought to be cut off from the Church. They don't belong here. A saloon is not one of the institutions of Zion. It is one of the institutions of modern Christianity. ”

“ We want no trembling in the knees, nor anything of that kind around us. Let those who hold such ideas go among the other class and advocate their views with them, but not with us. These are my feelings and my views in relation to this matter. ”

“ There is no need of lying; if any of them were persecuted in any way or in any place among our people, I would be the first to step forward in their defence; because I do believe in the free agency of man, though they don't ”

“ This is the position in which we want to place ourselves. It is not what we shall eat or what we shall drink. We are doing first-rate about these things. You don't look as if you suffered much in the flesh here about. ”

“ It is for the President of this Stake, and for the Bishops he has around him, and for all men in authority, to set their faces against wickedness and corruption, and wherever they find any evil, to root it out and not condone it. ”

“ A message has been sent forth to the nations to gather together His elect from the four quarters of the earth. We have been gathered together, therefore, according to the word of the Lord, and notwithstanding the numerous afflictions and trials to which we have been exposed for these many years, we possess many privileges, many enjoyments. In a word, we have been greatly blessed of the Lord. Instead of wandering about in sheep skins and goat skins—we have done very little of that comparatively speaking—it may be said of us that "the lines have fallen unto us in pleasant places ”