John Taylor

“ Who can see what the Lord designs towards us as individuals and towards us as a people? Or rather and more directly, who can tell what he has destined concerning his Church and kingdom upon the earth—when and how and by what means it shall progress, whether by affliction or prosperity, whether by passing through scenes of trouble and difficulty, or by elevating us and giving us peace and the prospect of a great deal of good according to our ideas of things? ”

“ Just as that little twig is indebted for its life and vigour to the tree. so are you indebted entirely to the Lord for the light and intelligence you have received on every subject. You are indebted to the Spirit of God for your wisdom and intelligence, as much as the little twig is indebted to the tree for its vitality, leaves, buds, and fragrance.
If that is the case so far, how much more will it be so in the future? Who is there that can contemplate the mind of God and unravel the designs of Jehovah? Who can foretell the destiny of the human family? ”

“ Who can point out the path that we as a people shall walk in? Who shall say, in regard to any of the dealings of God with us, that this is right and that is wrong—that such a thing is for our benefit, and another thing is for our injury? ”

“ How prone are we to depart from the right path! How liable are our spirits to rebel against the order and government of God! How many feelings are in us that do not accord with those principles that dwell in the bosom of Jehovah and cannot associate with those intelligences that are associated with him in the eternal world! ”

“ I presume as we obtain more of the Spirit of God—as we receive faith and intelligence that flow from him and the revelations that he imparts and will continue to impart to those who are faithful, we shall begin to understand things in a very different light from what many of us at the present time understand them. Even in temporal things there is a great difference among men in regard to their judgment, capacities, reasoning powers, and their comprehension of justice, equity, the rights of man, the duties that we owe to each other, and the various responsibilities that devolve upon us. ”

“ It is not enough even that we go further than this, and receive our washing and our anointings, but that we daily and hourly and all the time live up to our religion, cultivate the Spirit of God, and have it continually within us "as a well of water springing up unto everlasting life," unfolding, developing, making manifest the purposes and designs of God unto us, that we may be enabled to walk worthy of the high avocation whereunto we are called, as sons and daughters of God to whom he has committed the principles of eternal truth and the oracles of God in these last days. ”

“ We are part and parcel of the Church and kingdom of God which the Lord has planted on the earth in the last days for the accomplishment of his purposes and the establishment of his kingdom, and the bringing to pass all those things which have been spoken of by all the holy Prophets since the world began. We all stand in our proper places.
While we magnify our callings, we honour our God; while we magnify our calling, we possess a portion of the Spirit of God; while we magnify our calling, we altogether comprise the tree ”

“ It is because men have not been under that influence and power, but every man has done that which he has considered to be right, without any respect to the great fundamental principles of government and the laws that ought to regulate and control the human family. This has been one great cause of the calamities that have afflicted the world in a social, in a family, and in a national capacity; for nations, like individuals, have all corrupted themselves, have forsaken God, and have never been under the great governing influence that ought to regulate and control the affairs of the world. ”

“ But if we do not magnify our calling, what then? We become like withered branches. And what is done with them? A good gardener will cut them off, because they disfigure the tree: they are not pleasant, lovely, and beautiful to look upon. But does the most flourishing branch in the tree sustain the tree? It helps to do it; but it is not the tree: it is dependent on the larger branches through which the sap or nourishment flows until it comes to the little twig and fruit on the outside of the tree.
This is a fit similitude of the Church and kingdom of God. ”

“ No trouble for the present is joyous, but grievous; yet it yields the peaceable fruits of righteousness to those who are exercised therewith; while we look not at the things that are seen, but things that are not seen; for the things that are seen are temporal, but the things that are unseen are eternal. ”

“ It is necessary for us to reflect upon these duties and responsibilities, and try, each one of us, so to live, act, move, and obey, and so to fulfil the laws, commandments, and ordinances of God, that in every position we occupy we shall move along like a well-organized piece of machinery, or like a tree whereon every branch, stem, leaf, twig, and blossom will be found to flourish, that we may all magnify our God and flourish before him. ”

“ By-and-by, when we come to gaze on the fitness of things that are now obscure to us, we shall find that God, although he has moved in a mysterious way to accomplish his purposes on the earth and his purposes relative to us as individuals and as families, all things are governed by that wisdom which flows from God, and all things are right and calculated to promote every person's eternal welfare before God. ”

“ What if we should be driven to the mountains? Let us be driven. What if we have to burn our houses? Why, set fire to them with a good grace, and dance a jig round them while they are burning. What do I care about these things? We are in the hands of God, and all is right, Brother Brigham says we are used to it, and we shall not feel it hard. ”

“ It is the Lord who puts us in positions that are the most calculated to promote the best interests of his people. My opinion is, that, far from these things that now surround us being an injury to us and the kingdom of God, they will give it one of the greatest hoists that it has ever had yet; and all is right and all will be right, if we keep the commandments of God. ”

“ What is the reason we do not always comprehend things right? Because, in many instances, we give way to temptation. We let our old prepossessions, feelings, and influences, by which we have been governed heretofore, predominate over the Spirit of God, and we fall into error and darkness ”

“ When men obey the Gospel with pure hearts—when they are baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and have hands laid upon them for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and they receive that Spirit and live in obedience to the dictates of that Spirit, it will bring things past and present to their remembrance, lead them into all truth, and show them things to come. ”

“ It needs that every branch of the tree and every twig should be in its proper place, and should receive that nourishment from the proper source, and that spirit, and that intelligence, and that direction which God has ordained according to all the laws of nature and that is interwoven in all his transactions with the human family,—that there should be a great directing, controlling influence to guide and direct his affairs. ”

“ As in a school it requires a man more competent to be a teacher than those who are taught, so in the Church of God; and hence the various grades and positions of the Priesthood. When a President, Bishop, or those having authority live up to their religion and cleave unto God, it is expected by us at all times that they will comprehend things under their immediate jurisdiction—things that they control, know the wants of the people and the best course for them to pursue, better than the individuals they teach ”

“ Furthermore, why is it that there is so much confusion in the world—that we have imbibed so many incorrect principles while living among them, which we find is so difficult to rid ourselves of at this time? ”

“ There was a people to whom one of the ancient Apostles said, "But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things and need not that any man should teach you, because of the anointing that dwelleth in you, which is truth, and no lie." ”

“ A great work has to be established on the earth.
We read and talk about things and reflect upon what the Lord is going to do. He is going to build up his kingdom, and all kingdoms, powers, and dominions will be brought into subjection to the kingdom of our God ”

“ But God does not see as men; he reasons not as man. Although we may partially comprehend our individual duties, we do not understand how to regulate the Church of God. It needs the regular organization and the Spirit to direct through the proper channels ”

“ If we cannot tell all these things, let us be reminded of another thing—never to find fault with things as they transpire—with things that we cannot improve. Some of us may say, "Well, it is a little hard that we should be placed as we are at the present time; and if we had been in Egypt, it might have been better with us. However, if we were now in Egypt, we could not say we were eating the leeks and onions, for we are now eating them. Our enemies are on the outside. ”

“ It may be a secret in the mind of the great God which is not fully developed unto us. We may comprehend a part of it, and realize in some degree the position we occupy and the dealings of God towards us ”

“ In the first place, it is because of our early associations—of our former habits of thought and reflection. In the second place, it is because we do not cultivate sufficiently the Spirit of the Lord, which, if we did, would show unto us the right way and enable us to appreciate the privileges we enjoy. ”

“ Why is it that he has allowed them to come to a certain distance, and kept them there, placing them like some of you mothers sometimes do, when you hang up a rod, that the children can see it, and that you can point to when they are naughty? ”