Joseph F. Smith

“ Every man and woman who professes to be a believer in the Gospel revealed in this last dispensation should live so that their light may shine; their character should be such that no one on earth could take exceptions from it. They should live pure, holy, virtuous lives before God. Their acts should speak louder than it is possible to speak with words, their conduct should evince the truth and sincerity of their professions. But when people come into our midst what difference do they see between the conduct of many calling themselves Latter-day Saints, and that of the world at large? ”

“ There is no time to lay off the armor of Christ; there is not a moment in the lives of the children of men when they can afford to serve the devil; it is always the best to be on our guard, be honest, and honorable in the sight of God and man, which is the path of safety.
Not because honesty is the best policy, but because it is the duty of every individual on the face of the earth to be so; and because, so far as we the Latter-day Saints are concerned, we have voluntarily covenanted with the Lord to keep his commandments and to forsake sin. ”

“ If men and women will run after the follies and fashions of the world—if women will paint and bedizen themselves to attract the gaze of men, they have not the spirit of the Gospel; God is not with them, truth will not abide with them; they will go to hell and be damned unless they repent. You daughters of Israel, born of parents as true to the Gospel as men and women can be on the earth, who are dressing and painting to show yourselves, wasting your time and spending your fathers' means corruptly and wickedly in the sight of God, he will send a curse on you if you do not desist. ”

“ Teach your children so that they may grow up knowing what "Mormonism" is, and then if they do not like it, let them take what they can find. Let us, at least, discharge our duty to them by teaching them what it is. ”

“ We do not want to be palavered and soft-soaped; we do not want anybody to get up here and tell us how good we are, for the Lord looks at us as we are, and he will judge us according to our works. I want to quote to you a passage of Scripture, the words of Jesus. Said he, "Except your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees you can in no wise enter the kingdom of heaven." ”

“ If so, let the responsibility be on their own heads and not on the parents'. Let us do our duty to our children, train them in the way they should go, give them the benefit of our experience, teach them true principles and do all we can for them, and when they reach years of maturity, if they walk in evil ways, we may mourn and bewail their follies, but we shall be guiltless before God so far as they are concerned. ”

“ What difference, then, can they see between these and other folks? for it is this class that they do see, and yet many that are falling into these disreputable habits are men who hold the priesthood,—Elders in Israel and their sons; and perhaps strangers who come here have seen and heard some of them preaching the Gospel abroad, and when they come here they find them spending their time and means in whisky and billiards, and in other foolish and wicked ways:—indeed every way but the right way. What do such habits speak for men who indulge in them? ”

“ The course I am denouncing is not general, but there is far too much of it. If we turn out our children on the Sabbath for a holiday, careless where they are or what they are doing, God will not hold us guiltless. ”

“ When it is used for washing the body according to the revelations God has given, and when absolutely necessary if used with wisdom for sickness, it may do good, but when it is used to the extent that it destroys reason and judgment it is never used with impunity. ”

“ He has commenced his great work,—his strange work and his wonder, and he will roll it forth with rapidity and will consumate his plans in the day in which he has set his hands to gather his people, and that is this day, the evening of time—the closing moments of the last hour of the seventh day as it were. We are living in that eventful time, and the Lord has set his hand to gather his people. ”

“ Then there is no time to swear, no time to cheat our neighbor or to take advantage of him, there is no time to waste and fritter away in foolishly decorating our bodies, or to acquire means to devote to that which will grieve the Spirit of the Lord and disqualify us to receive solid blessings from his hands. ”

“ Can you find a Catholic that will send his children to a Protestant school, or a Protestant who will send his to a Catholic school; they, each, send their children to their own schools, and they take all the pains and use all the means in their power to rear their children in their own faith, being convinced that is the proper course for them to pursue. It is right that they should do so. But some Latter-day Saints are so liberal and unsuspecting that they would just as soon send their children to Mr. ”

“ If they practised what they professed to believe they would teach their sons correct principles, and their religious duties—to attend meeting on the Sabbath and use their time in a profitable and Christian like manner, instead of turning them out to contract habits which will ruin them and make them infidels. ”

“ When He places a man in the balance He weights him righteously, but when we judge a man we are apt to judge unrighteously, because we are not omniscient. But what necessity is there for a healthy person to take intoxicating liquor? ”

“ I did all in my power to make men and women of them who would honor the name of God." If this course be taken by parents very few children will be uncontrolable; or come to the terrible end that awaits them if parents neglect them and show by their course that they had as lief they would go to the devil as not. ”