Moses Thatcher

“ If we would live for the light of God's Holy Spirit we might see not as with eyes through a glass darkly, but with eyes that see clearly having also ears capable of hearing, and hearts full to understand. ”

“ I believe, my brethren and sisters, if we take proper pains in the education of the young, employing the right kind of men and women to be their preceptors, that, instead of the seeds of infidelity being sown in their minds we will have faith, and in that faith we will have the manifestations of power. ”

“ And instead of having to call in physicians to minister to the members of our families when sickness makes its appearance, the power of God will be upon us in such rich abundance as to enable us to rebuke it from our dwellings, and to invoke the blessings of health to attend us and ours, which was the case years ago in the primeval days of the Church. If we have lost any of these blessings it is not through any fault in the Lord, or that there is less power and efficacy in the priesthood we bear, but rather in our own lack of faith in the promises made to the faithful. ”

“ This, my brethren and sisters, is not the result of the work of man; but it is the blessings of our Heavenly Father. And how any human being can look upon the mountains by which we are surrounded, and gaze upon the beautiful fields and smiling nature seen on every hand, and not be able to acknowledge God in all these things is beyond my comprehension. In speaking to the young people particularly I have had sometimes pleasure in referring to the works of man, comparing them with the works of God. ”

“ It is our duty, as young men, as middle aged men and as aged men to bestow great care and attention on the education of the young. It is not particularly the duty of the father, as I understand it, to place in the hands of his son the writings of Payne and other infidel authors unless they follow up the reading of such works with good sound argument, and then place the Bible and the Book of Mormon in their hands to be read and studied, and when necessary correctly explained showing wherein the Lord has wrought out the literal fulfilment of many of the predictions therein recorded. ”

“ In talking with the learned of the world we find that they have but a faint conception of God and Godliness. Were you to tell them that they hate God, or that the carnal mind is at enmity against God, they would not understand you. And yet, when we come to the actual facts, we find that the learned and many professors of Christianity really do hate God. ”

“ Yet modern divines think with horror of a God who would inflict punishment, on the plea that such would be revengeful; and yet, neither they nor any of our professed Christian friends would for a moment find fault with the judge of an inferior earthly court for passing judgment on a criminal, though it might lead even to the loss of the life of a fellow creature. ”

“ And while having them admire and wonder at the grand achievement of man in chaining the lightning, thus making it to serve his purposes; and while it was the work of man that moulded and fashioned the metal into the wire over which intelligence is transmitted by the power of electricity, I would help to lead their minds beyond, so that they may comprehend that the material of which that wire is composed was the creation and work of God, and that the electricity itself is at the bidding and mandate of the great Jehovah. ”

“ I would have them understand, as the arts and sciences are being developed and new discoveries are being brought out by what we call the genius of man, that God understood all these things before they were made known to us. ”

“ There are many things that we as, Elders in Israel, should always be pleased to speak of, and particularly is this the case in reference to the kindness of our Father in heaven towards us as a people. We are permitted to dwell in peace, surrounded with the blessings of life and liberty, having pleasant homes wherein to dwell, and God to be our Father and Friend. ”

“ And while I believe it proper for us to look with pleasure upon the accomplishments of art and science, and upon the skilled workmanship of man, yet I would have our young people always realize that God is the originator ”