Orson Hyde

“ How many of us are there now who feel as though we could chalk out and financier our own course irrespective of what the Prophet says? Perhaps some would be grieved if their faith in the ordinances of the Gospel and in the servants of God were questioned; but, as I said in the start, to come down to the bedrock, leaving fiction out of the question, how many of us are there who are ready to strike hands with the Prophet of God and to hang on to him blow high, or blow low, come coarse or come fine? ”

“ Well, we have got to die once, and it had better be in a good cause than in a bad one. Then let us keep the Word of Wisdom, and keep ourselves unspotted from the world and live to the honor and glory of God, that when we have got through, having really complied with the will of heaven, we may see opening before us fields of everlasting bliss, and crowns and dominions beyond calculation opening in the wide expanse of eternity. ”

“ There are some men who have acquired fortunes and who are rich, and I have reason to believe, though perhaps good men in every other respect, there will be a divorce between them and their silver and gold, or I fear they may not enter the kingdom of God. The rich man may say—"Divorced! is it possible that I must be divorced from that to which I am so devotedly attached—my riches—in order that I may obtain life everlasting?" ”

“ If we cannot overcome a little difficulty or a little trial, how much faith have we got? Not much. I say to my brethren—God bless you; and to the weak, the Lord, through the Prophet, says, "Be strong." Be as weak as you have a mind to, but when there is need of strength put it on. If we have the right spirit, the more strength we need the more we shall have, but keep the fire burning, and may the Lord God of heaven bless you. ”

“ God is not going to keep me out of his kingdom because I have wealth, no matter how much, if I obtain it honestly in his sight, and strive continually to do good with it. The reason why men of God were rich in old times was, that they were willing and desirous that God should rule, govern and control them and their means, while the miserable calculators after the fashion of the world shut God out of the question altogether. ”

“ I suppose they have so much riches they have no time to attend meeting. Maybe they are here, I hope so, my sight is not very keen, and I can not see all over the room; but I do hope and pray that I shall never get so much wealth that I shall have no time to attend meetings, or so much as to keep me busy taking care of it, so that I shall not have time to enrich my heart with the knowledge of the Lord our God by putting myself in the way to obtain it. "Easier for a camel to enter the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." ”

“ I wish to say to my brethren I have had considerable experience in the kingdom of God, and I have had some experience that a man never ought to have, and let me here ask my brethren and sisters if everything could be arranged to suit all, where under the heavens would there be any trial of our integrity? ”

“ Brethren and sisters, live to God, and may God bless you. I want to live until the power of God will be felt and acknowledged in this world, and that day is not far remote. May God bless us for ever, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. ”

“ The man that goes along and does his duty, and, without straining a point, picks up honestly and fairly the blessings and means that God strews in his pathway, can appreciate and do good with his means; and as long as he keeps an open heart and is willing to do good, God will continue to put wealth in his way, and wealth obtained in this way, no matter how much, if it swells as large as the mountains on the east here, can not keep its possessor out of the kingdom, because it is the gift of God, and not the fruits of over-reaching dishonesty. ”

“ The world say the Latter-day Saints are the lowest of all people, and just for argument's sake we will grant it; but then, if we are so, that fact is only a proof of our excellence, for everything that has weight and worth rolls down and finds the centre, the froth only rises to the top. ”

“ The Lord made Abraham rich, Abraham did not do it himself; he did not cheat anybody, but in the providences of God he was elevated and made rich. Why, there are some men who can not sleep nights for laying plans to get rich, but I would advise them, if they want to get riches that will last for ever, just to lay plans to build up the kingdom of God, or in other words take the advice of Jesus—"Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all things else shall be added unto you." I used to think—I can not get married until I get rich, for I can not support a wife ”

“ I have not the least objection to it, but I have an objection to my brethren and sisters adopting their spirit by which their faith withers and becomes like a dried reed. The Lord said to Joseph Smith once—"As I live, saith the Lord, I give not unto you that ye shall live after the manner of the world." Are we seeking to live after the manner of the world by our trading and trafficking? ”

“ I have heard several very able discourses, by good men, showing that unless our exports equal our imports, we are not making headway financially. This is all very good so far as it goes, but reasoning of that kind is not our Savior's, it is the reasoning of this world, and so far as this world is concerned, their reasoning, if correct is just as good as any other reasoning; but if it is not correct, and we are swerved by its force and power from the line marked out for us to walk by, we shall become the losers. ”

“ In further illustration of the subject we have under consideration, I will quote the saying of the Savior, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust can corrupt, and where thieves [thieves] break through and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust can corrupt, nor thieves break through and steal." If heaven be beyond the bounds of time and space, as some of our religious friends believe, it would require a long arm to deposit our treasures there ”

“ That is what I am coming to—unshaken faith in God, which in this case, in our own experience, brought deliverance to the Saints, for they were well supplied with tools, wagons, clothing and all they needed to make them comfortable. Our community was small then, a few trains heavily laden were sufficient to supply it, but now it would take a number of railroad trains. We are growing and increasing, and I fear that we are growing beyond our faith, we are taking thought for to-morrow too much. ”

“ It is certainly better to have two oxen than one, for if one is yoked up at one end the other end of the yoke drags, and when one wheel is off and the other is on, the point of one axle drags in the sand, and it is a complete nothing at all, that is just what it is. ”

“ We cannot very well, unless we are born princes, heirs or millionaires, support the fashion of the present day and prosper, and we had better dispense with it. I like to see everybody cleanly and comfortable, but all this display and paraphernalia that fashion demands of its votaries seems to me like clogging the wheels and creating discomfort rather than comfort. When I was in the old country, I recollect hearing a lady say—"Some people wrap themselves up and put on so much that they are completely clogged. ”

“ Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."
There are many Saints at this time who are laboring to acquire wealth; and the kingdom, in the hearts of a good many, has become a secondary consideration ”

“ We should consider it pretty much of a task or penalty to be compelled to use an article like that for food; but the people of Samaria were sorely distressed with famine, and which way to turn to save themselves they knew not. About this time, the King of Syria, with a large army, came to besiege the city, and there was a mighty host of them, and they brought everything in the shape of food that was necessary for the comfort and happiness of man ”

“ The hands of the Lord are strong and true, they will keep the reward in reserve for the faithful, and none can rob them of it. Let us do the work of to-day, then, and our heavenly Father knoweth that we have need of all these things. ”

“ Then I did not make money very fast, and I thought that if I waited until I got rich before I married I should wait too long, and finally I concluded that I would marry and take hold with my wife and we would work together. ”

“ I do not know, however, that there is anything objectionable about legitimate, honorable trading, and I am not going to speak against it; but in these days it is a pretty rare thing to find an honorable dealer. ”

“ It is freedom they want, and it is a light covering we want, especially in warm weather." I like to see persons neat and clean, and would rather see them thus than adorned in fine feathers, dresses, caps and jewelry. ”

“ There may be, and undoubtedly there are, men who do nothing but honorable business transactions, but most business men are eager to lay up a fortune, and to get rich in a short time. Some of our merchants think they ought to get rich in from five to ten years, and then retire ”