Joseph F. Smith

“ The condemnation of the world, when the Savior commenced his mission among men, was that light had come into the world, but they loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. This principle applies with equal force to us in this dispensation. If we had remained without the Gospel, we would not be under condemnation. But now that light has come into the world; now that truth and the authority of God have been restored, we cannot longer remain without sin, unless we obey this Gospel so revealed, and practice our profession. ”

“ It is only by the practise of these principles that we can avoid the disturbances that occur in families, or among mankind. We must learn and obey correct principle, or we will ever be in turmoil and confusion, and in antagonism one towards another. Where differences exist in families they are traceable directly to some cause. I want to impress upon the minds of my hearers that the cause of such evils it not traceable to the practice of any principle which God has revealed touching these matters, but to the non-observance of them; and this is true in relation to every principle of the Gospel. ”

“ I say, the efforts of our enemies against us have ever had a tendency to cause people who desire to arrive at the truth, to inquire into the real condition of things. The more people interest themselves in this direction, the more truth they will learn, and we court such investigation, for there is certainly nothing connected with us, as a religious community, in consonance with the gospel we preach, that we should be ashamed of, or that should not be known by all men. It makes no difference with the truth how much we are wrongfully accused ”

“ I reply that every man and woman will receive all that they are worthy of, and something thrown in perhaps, on the score of the boundless charity of God. But who can justly expect to obtain more than they merit? ”

“ Therefore if we will seek for the Holy Spirit, the gift of wisdom and understanding from God, we may practice these principles of righteousness, and they will make us righteous even as God is righteous, in the sphere in which we are called to act. We will fulfil the law, and receive the blessing, exaltation and reward which will follow; if we do not, we will fail of the reward. ”

“ Some people have supposed that the doctrine of plural marriage was a sort of superfluity, or non-essential to the salvation or exaltation of mankind. In other words, some of the Saints have said, and believe, that a man with one wife, sealed to him by the authority of the Priesthood for time and eternity, will receive an exaltation as great and glorious, if he is faithful, as he possibly could with more than one. ”

“ Suppose we live and die without knowledge? Then, if we ever obtain salvation we will have to get it in the next world, as the Antediluvians did, who rejected the Gospel as preached unto them by Noah and were destroyed by the flood, sent to the prison-house to be punished for their disobedience and other wickedness, and in the meridian of time received knowledge by the proclamation of the Gospel, as preached unto them by the Savior while his body slept in the tomb, without which they would forever have remained ignorant of God, his government and laws, in a lost condition. ”

“ There is a great deal said about our plural marriage by the outside world, and sometimes it is referred to by the Latter-day Saints at home. I fancy sometimes that not, only is the world without knowledge in relation to this principle, but many of those who profess to be Latter-day Saints are far from possessing a correct understanding of it.
In the first place, it is a principle that savors of life unto life, or of death unto death; therefore it is well for those who have embraced the Gospel to obtain a knowledge in relation to this matter. ”

“ We are not ashamed of our domestic relations, so far, at least, as they exist in accordance with the principles of the Gospel, nor does any right-minded man or woman feel in his or her heart to shrink in any manner from the most rigid exposition of correct views in relation thereto. It is true that in common with mankind generally, we do not like our faults made public, we shrink from that, and it is natural that we should. It is very proper that we should feel a reluctance to have our weaknesses and imperfections exposed to the world, or even to our neighbors. ”

“ In the latter view, the wives are even more benefitted, if possible, than the husband physically. But, indeed, the benefits naturally accruing to both sexes, and particularly to their offspring, in time, say nothing of eternity, are immensely greater in the righteous practice of patriarchal marriage than in monogamy, even admitting the eternity of the monogamic marriage covenant. ”

“ There is no blessing promised except upon conditions, and no blessing can be obtained by mankind except by faithful compliance with the conditions, or law, upon which the same is promised. The marriage of one woman to a man for time and eternity by the sealing power, according to the law of God, is a fulfillment of the celestial law of marriage in part—and is good so far as it goes—and so far as a man abides these conditions of the law, he will receive his reward therefor [e] , and this reward, or blessing, he could not obtain on any other grounds or conditions. ”

“ As before stated no man can obtain the benefits of one law by the observance of another, however faithful he may be in that which he does, nor can he secure to himself the fullness of any blessing without he fulfills the law upon which it is predicated, but he will receive the benefit of the law he obeys. This is just and righteous. If this is not correct doctrine then I am in error, and if I am in error I want to be corrected. ”

“ There is no difficulty, however, in this matter to those who always bear in mind, that evil and corrupt practices are not the results of obedience to the Gospel, but of disobedience, and of the preversion [perversion] of the truth. If we would keep this in our minds we would not cast blame upon the principles themselves when we see or hear of men, who should represent them, do wrong; but we would rather say, the man has departed from his principles and gone into error. It is he that is defective, through not practising what he professes ”

“ It is a pure and holy principle; and, therefore, persons, either male or female, who have not the desire in their hearts to become pure and righteous, have no business to practice it, for it cannot be practiced acceptably before God on any other principle than that of purity and righteousness, therefore no wicked unjust or impure person can enter into the law of celestial or plural marriage without incurring the displeasure of the Almighty and his own condemnation before the Lord, unless he speedily repent of all his impure motives and designs. ”

“ All the judgments of God are not given unto man. What we do not learn relative to the salvation of our souls which are our bodies and spirits, in this probation we will have to learn in the eternity which lies before us, for we cannot be saved without knowledge. ”

“ A corrupt ungodly hypocrite can do more injury in the midst of a people, in a given length of time, correspondingly, than a host of upright men can do good. Send an Elder to preach the Gospel among the nations, and let him degrade himself, dishonor his priesthood and calling, and he will bring more reproach upon the cause misrepresented by him, than twenty good men could remove. ”

“ It is a principle that pertains to eternal life, in other words, to endless lives, or eternal increase. It is a law of the Gospel pertaining to the celestial kingdom, applicable to all gospel dispensations, when commanded and not otherwise, and neither acceptable to God or binding on man unless given by commandment, not only so given in this dispensation, but particularly adapted to the conditions and necessities thereof, and to the circumstances, responsibilities, and personal, as well as vicarious duties of the people of God in this age of the world. ”

“ A man that is not honest in his heart, who does not desire to be just and impartial, even as God is just and impartial, has no business in plural marriage; and before he enters into the practice of that principle he needs to repent, to learn wisdom to get the Spirit of God, to get understanding in relation to the purpose God has in view in regard to this principle; that he may go into the practise of it understandingly, that his heart and mind may be set upon practising it in righteousness. ”

“ If we do wickedly we will be punished; if we do righteously, we then receive blessings at the hands of God.
May God bless you, and keep us all in the path of righteousness, and enable us to live the religion we have received from Him, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. ”

“ This feeling is a very proper incentive to us to continue in the work of self-improvement, until we shall overcome the weaknesses we have inherited, living nearer to the principles of life and salvation which we have received. But the errors of man affect not in the least the principles of the Gospel of the Son of God. You show me a man who has embraced the Gospel in its entirety, in faith and practice, and I can then point to a man who has overcome the tallies and weaknesses of the flesh ”

“ The principle is correct, great, ennobling and calculated to bring joy, satisfaction and peace, if we would but observe and practice it as we should. But in order to do this we must get wisdom and understanding. These, by many, are acquired only through long experience. We begin as children, we have to learn precept by precept, line after line, here a little and there a little, which is good, provided we profit by that which we learn. Men must be just, so also must women, in relation to these matters. All must be just one towards another ”

“ Still it would seem good if we had a few among us who were really perfect, whose example we could see, whose precept we could learn, and whose footsteps we might follow. We might then be the better able to perfect ourselves. ”

“ Hence there can be no blame attached to the doctrines of our faith, because of the infirmities and shortcomings of mankind; but we should rather attribute such weaknesses to their proper source—the defectiveness of man, or to his failure, at least, to comply with those principles which are calculated to correct every evil, and to establish man in righteousness. ”

“ A man's acts may justly be considered as resulting from his principles. We judge a tree by its fruits. The fruits of the Gospel are good; he that has actually embraced the Gospel will do good, only so far as he may err, or depart therefrom. ”

“ We cannot but be delighted with the testimony that has been given in our hearing, and that we are continually receive-ing from many sources, which go to prove that the world can do nothing against, but for us. ”

“ We are all imperfect, we have to learn by littles as we pass along, profiting oft times by that which we suffer, yet often repeating the same errors. When we find ourselves overcome in a fault, that should be set down as an example for future time, if possible, never allowing ourselves to be caught in the same predicament again. ”

“ If we sustain injury or suffer loss by the misrepresentations and evils maliciously promulgated about us by our enemies, it can only be such injury and less as will be temporary, for when the facts do come out, and people learn the truth, so much the more good will be accomplished in our favor, and so much greater injury to those who are the authors of the falsehoods concerning us. ”

“ We see trouble in families occasionally, not any more so in plural than in single families. There is no reason why there should be any difference between the husband and wife, or husband and wives, in the midst of this people, if all are disposed to obey the principles and doctrines of the Gospel. ”

“ We want nothing hidden or covered up neither can we respect any principle or individual that will not bear the day light and the most careful investigation. Since 1830 the Elders of this church have been faithfully endeavoring to promulgate the gospel which we have received to every nation and people, without distinction as to race or color that would receive them ”

“ Still we will do well to emulate the good that are in our midst, and to observe those great truths we have already received in part, which in their fulness are able to save us unto the uttermost. We shall not be cast off, my brethren and sisters, for those sins which we ignorantly commit, which are the results of misunderstanding in all honesty before the Lord. The difficulty does not lie here; the danger lies in our failing to live up to that which we do know to be right and proper. ”

“ Even their attempts to slander and misrepresent us, and their unrighteous attacks on the principles of our religion have ever tended to excite inquiry and investigation into the facts, which cannot but result beneficially to us as a people. ”

“ God has revealed it as a principle particu-larly suited to the nature of the work we are called to perform, that it might be hastened to its consummation. It is a righteous principle not an unrighteous one. ”

“ For this we will be held responsible before the Lord, for this we will be judged and condemned unless we repent and forsake our follies, and our unwillingness to obey the light and the knowledge which we have received. There are some plain, simple truths which we do know, but which we do not observe. ”