Joseph Fielding Smith

“ I will also make thy officers peace, and thine exactors righteousness. Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shall call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee; but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. ”

“ The Heavens No Longer Sealed No longer were the heavens as brass. No more would man be forced to stumble and grope in darkness. Salvation was made known and the glad tidings were to sound forth, as with the blast of a mighty trumpet, to the ends of the earth. Satan’s reign was nearing its end, and the message of eternal peace was shortly to be proclaimed to every nation, and kindred, and tongue and people.
The Vision Rejected by the World No wonder Joseph Smith rejoiced, he now possessed greater knowledge than all the professors and divines in all the world! ”

“ He has called you to an holy calling, even to be the priests of the Most High God, messengers to the nations of the earth; and upon your diligence, your perseverance and faithfulness, the soundness of the doctrines which you preach, the moral precepts that you advance and practice, and upon the sound principles that you inculcate, while you hold that Priesthood, hang the destinies of the human family. You are the men that God has called to spread forth his kingdom. ”

“ The Saints were happy and their prospects were bright. They gave thanks to the Lord and in humility desired to serve him. In the months of May and June they were menaced by a danger as bad as the persecution of mobs. Myriads of crickets came down the mountain sides into the valley, like a vast army marshalled for battle, and began to destroy the fields. From one they would pass on to another, and in a few moments leave a field as barren as a desert waste. Something had to be done, or the inhabitants must perish. The community was aroused and every soul entered the unequal conflict. ”

“ But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction—not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being—just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. ”

“ They were, at the time of the injury, citizens of the state of Missouri. Shall they apply to the court of the state of Missouri? Whom shall they sue? The order for their destruction, then extermination, was granted by the executive of the state of Missouri. Is not this a plea of justification for the loss of individuals, done in pursuance of that order? If not, before whom shall the ‘Mormons’ institute a trial? Shall they summon a jury of the individuals who composed the mob? An appeal to them were in vain. They dare not go to Missouri to institute a suit; their lives would be in danger. ”

“ If the President of the United States could refuse to give ear to the appeal of the thousands who had been so wilfully and maliciously wronged; and if Congress could advise that the proper place for redress was back in Missouri, and that, too, at the hands of the very officials who had so wickedly and unconstitutionally expelled, robbed, and murdered the Saints, what was there for Missourians to fear? Was not this evidence that the “Mormons,” everywhere hated, were the common prey of their mortal enemies? ”

“ In this wonderful communication from the heavens, the following eternal principles, among many others, were revealed:
The light of Christ is the light of truth and is the light of the sun, the planets, the stars, and the power by which they were made; it is the light which quickeneth the intelligence of man; it is the life and light of all things, and is the law by which they are governed; it fills the immensity of space; to every kingdom there is given laws which have their bounds and conditions; there is no space in which there is no kingdom, great or small ”

“ President John Taylor has been killed by the cruelty of officials who have, in this territory, misrepresented the government of the United States. There is no room to doubt that if he had been permitted to enjoy the comforts of home, the ministrations of his family, the exercise to which he had been accustomed, but of which he was deprived, he might have lived for many years yet. His blood stains the clothes of men, who with insensate hate have offered rewards for his arrest and have hounded him to the grave. ”

“ Should political parties make war upon the Church, or menace the civil, political, or religious rights of its members as such—against a policy of that kind, by any political party or set of men whatsoever, we assert the inherent right of self-preservation for the Church, and her right to call upon all her children, and upon all who love justice, and desire the perpetuation of religious liberty, to come to her aid, to stand with her until the danger shall have passed. ”

“ In answer to the questions: “When will the wilderness blossom as the rose? When will Zion be built up in her glory, and where will thy temple stand, unto which all nations shall come in the last days?” the Lord gave the following:
“Hearken, O ye elders of my Church, saith the Lord your God, who have assembled yourselves together, according to my commandments, in this land, which is the land of Missouri, which is the land which I have appointed and consecrated for the gathering of the Saints: wherefore this is the land of promise, and the place for the city of Zion. ”

“ He spoke to the Saints at a meeting in the unfinished temple, January 22, 1843, taking for his text, “The Setting up of the Kingdom of God.” In the course of his discourse he said: “I shall not be sacrificed until my time comes; then I shall be offered freely. All flesh is as grass, and a governor is no better than other men; when he dies he is a bag of dust. I thank God for preserving me from my enemies. I have no enemies but for the truth’s sake. ”

“ Let the flocks and the herds greatly increase and multiply upon the mountains and the hills; and let thy great kindness conquer and subdue the unbelief of thy people. Do thou take from them their stony heart, and give them a heart of flesh; and may the sun of thy favor dispel the cold mists of darkness which have beclouded their atmosphere. ”

“ If you never learned manners in Missouri, we’ll teach you that gentlemen are not to be imposed upon by a nigger-driver. You cannot kidnap men here, if you do in Missouri; and if you attempt it here, there’s a committee in this grove that will sit on your case; and, sir, it is the highest tribunal in the United States, as from its decision there is no appeal! ”

“ The Gospel as revealed through Joseph Smith teaches unity. Those who embrace it, whatever their views may have been before, soon learn to think alike; their aims are the same, their desires mutual, and all are brought to a common understanding. Such are the effects of the Gospel upon them that they forget their nationality and are absorbed by their new environment, and truly become a part of the soil on which they dwell. ”

“ We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.
“We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the kingdom of God.
“We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion will be built upon this continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth, and that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory. ”

“ As the visions of evil passed before him the angel said: “All this is shown, the good and the evil, the holy and impure, the glory of God and the power of darkness, that you may know hereafter the two powers and never be influenced or overcome by that wicked one. Behold, whatever entices and leads to good and to do good, is of God, and whatever does not is of that wicked one. It is he who fills the hearts of men with evil, to walk in darkness and blaspheme God ”

“ On the 5th day of April, Samuel Bogart, the mobber, with John Whitmer and a few other apostates, came to the room occupied by the committee on removal and read this revelation to Theodore Turley. With much laughter and assurance that it could not be fulfilled, they called on him to renounce Joseph Smith, which now he must do as a rational man. The apostates said: “The twelve are now scattered all over creation; let them come here if they dare; if they do, they will be murdered. As that revelation cannot be fulfilled, you will now give up your faith.” ”

“ Thou shalt forswear thyself, or go to prison.”
“When Free Masons, Odd Fellows and others are compelled to make their secrets public, it will be time enough to practice on Mormons; try the others first.”
“We venerate the Constitution, we honor the law, we respect the Executive, Congress and the Judiciary; we bow to the righteous mandates of the law, but we despise bigots, we execrate tyranny, and protest against intolerance from any source.” ”

“ All the enemies upon the face of the earth may roar and exert all their power to bring about my death, but they can accomplish nothing, unless some who are among us and enjoy our society, have been with us in our councils, participated in our confidence, taken us by the hand, called us brother, saluted us with a kiss, join with our enemies, turn our virtues into faults, and, by falsehood and deceit, stir up their wrath and indignation against us, and bring their united vengeance upon our heads. ”

“ The Saints had been murdered and robbed while the nation looked on without interference. And now there was coming to their distant home, a body of troops organized and equipped by the President of the United States. They were coming without warning and without valid excuse. Was it not natural under all the circumstances for this people to feel that once again they were to be butchered, robbed and driven—where, no one could tell! Naturally they were aroused. Their backs were against the wall. They must make a stand, and if to fight was the intention of the troops, then fight it should be. ”

“ And as to religion, I would not wish to point out any particular way for you; but first I would wish you to search the scriptures and consult sound reason and see if they (which I take to be two witnesses that stand by the God of the whole earth) are not sufficient to evince to you that religion is a necessary theme. . . .
“For the public.—Bless God that you live in a land of liberty and bear yourselves dutifully and conscionably towards the authority under which you live. See God’s providence in the appointment of the Federal Constitution and hold union and order precious jewels.” ”

“ Every influence was brought to bear upon the members of the Church to get them to renounce the Prophet. Many good men were dragged into the net; others barely escaped, and only through their deep humility and great repentance, were they spared the awful fate which carried so many to destruction. It was during this time at disaffection that Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Wilford Woodruff, and others, including John Taylor and Willard Richards, who had but recently joined the Church, stood nobly in defense of the Prophet Joseph, in the face of a murderous spirit of opposition. ”

“ Now, if our marital relations are not religious, what is? This ordinance of marriage was a direct revelation to us through Joseph Smith, the Prophet. You may not know it, but I know that this is a revelation from God and a command to his people, and therefore it is my religion. I do not believe that the Supreme Court of the United States has any right to interfere with my religious views, and in doing it they are violating their most sacred obligations. . . .
“We acknowledge our children; we acknowledge our wives; we have no mistresses. ”

“ America a Land of Freedom Nevertheless the seeds of toleration had been sown, but they were of slow growth. Toleration was a matter of education and therefore came by degrees and could not burst forth in full fruition at once. Not until there had been much shedding of blood in Europe, and more particularly in America during the war for independence, were the people fully awakened to this truth. It required a planting in new soil in a choice land above all other lands. ”

“ In February he received a revelation embodying the following principle: There are two kinds of beings in heaven; angels, who are resurrected personages, having bodies of flesh and bones; and spirits of just men made perfect who are not yet resurrected, but inherit the same glory. In April, 1843, he gave instructions at Ramus, as follows: “When the Savior shall appear, we shall see him as he is. We shall see that he is a man like ourselves and that same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there, only it will be coupled with eternal glory, which glory we do not now enjoy.” ”

“ Love to God, and good will to man. All good and wholesome laws, virtue and truth above all things, and aristarchy, live forever! But woe to tyrants, mobs, aristocracy, anarchy, and toryism, and all those who invent or seek out unrighteous and vexatious law suits, under the pretext and color of law, or office, either religious or political. ”

“ They stand for the mutual improvement of the youth of Zion. Their souls are thrilled with the grand vision of the future, and their hearts with the testimony of the glorious destiny of God’s “marvelous work and a wonder” of the latter days. The aim of their organization is, first, to impress them and all the youth of Israel with a testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as restored through Joseph the Prophet, and to this end they seek all useful knowledge by which they may be helpful in its establishment. ”

“ I have heard the Prophet say that he would yet tread down his enemies, and walk over their dead bodies; and if he was not let alone, he would be a second Mohammed to this generation, and that he would make it one gore of blood from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean; that like Mohammed, whose motto in treating for peace was, ‘the Alcoran or the Sword;’ so should it be eventually with us, ‘Joseph Smith or the Sword.’ These last statements were made during the last summer. The number of armed men at Adam-ondi-Ahman was between three and four hundred. ”

“ It is thought by some that our enemies would be satisfied by my destruction, but I tell you as soon as they have shed my blood, they will thirst for the blood of every man in whose heart dwells a single spark of the spirit of the fulness of the Gospel. ”