Lorenzo Snow

“ All who journey soon or late, Must come within the garden gate, And kneel alone in darkness there, And battle hard, yet not despair.
It is now proposed to enact laws to govern the "Mormons" in Utah, similar to those passed in Idaho to afflict our people, viz: "Whoever claims membership in a church or organization, teaching or practicing the principles of Patriarchal Marriage, shall be deprived the right to vote or hold office." Thus we understand the time is at hand when, whosoever admits he is a Latter-day Saint, must feel the oppressive grasp of persecution. ”

“ If it be a FACT that our religion is divine, established of God, there is no cause for alarm, nor even anxiety or uneasiness. Tens of thousands, through obedience to the sacred Gospel, know it to be true—a FACT, by immediate revelation to themselves. Therefore, these "Fifty millions of people," are not fighting the "Mormons," or their religion, but they are fighting God and His purposes.
Israel, on the banks of the Red Sea, were God's people—a fact perfectly known to Moses ”

“ If we succeed in passing through the approaching fiery ordeals with our fidelity and integrity unimpeached, we may expect at the close of our trials, a great and mighty outpouring of the Spirit and power of God—a great endowment upon all who shall have remained true to their covenants. We must be more eager to cultivate friendly relations with our neighbors, together with love and affection for our wives and children that peace may dwell in our households, and confidence in the midst of the people. ”

“ It is a FACT that God has spoken, and called latter-day Israel from among the nations, and planted them in these valleys; therefore this work is His, and although He may lead us as He did Israel of old, into seemingly desperate situations, requiring serious sacrifices—the despoiling of homes—incarceration in prison, and even jeapordizing [jeopardizing] our very existence; and yet, it will be but for a moment, as it were, and then those trials will terminate as did Job's, in an increase of possessions; and as ancient Israel's, in a kingdom and country—honor, glory and dominion. ”

“ These are fearful mistakes Better suffer a thousand deaths than succumb to the force of persecution by promising to discard a single principle which God has revealed for our glory and exaltation. Our character, as Latter-day Saints, should be preserved inviolate, at whatever cost or sacrifice. Character approved of God is worth securing, even at the expense of a lifetime of constant self-denial. ”

“ If any of these are present, I will say, for the consolation of such, you have to wait but a short time and you will have similar opportunities, to your heart's content. You and I cannot be made perfect except through suffering: Jesus could not. In His prayer and agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, He fore-shadowed the purifying process necessary in the lives of those whose ambition prompts them to secure the glory of a celestial kingdom. None should try to escape by resorting to any compromising measures. ”