Orson Hyde

“ The great design of Providence in raising up our nation, and freeing it from the yoke of a foreign power, and in arming it with energy, strength, and skill, was to make it the honoured agent to suppress religious intolerance and usurpation, and to open effectual doors for the free investigation of every subject that can enlist the interests and attention of men ”

“ The United States should therefore be regarded by the Latter-day Church as the men that fell the timber and clear the land, removing every obstacle in the way of ploughing and the sowing of seed. Remember, that whatever land or country falls under the Government of the United States, there you may go and preach the Gospel, and not be thrust into prison for it as you now are in many countries. The press also—that mighty engine of power, is free and untrammelled wherever the American eagle builds her nest. ”

“ Millions of spirits in the spirit world, who had not yet taken bodies, nor passed the ordeal, in earthly tenements, of a residence on this benighted globe, were waiting with anxious eye for the area of heaven-born intelligencies to be extended or opened to the gaze of mortal eye, that there might be room for them to come down and play their part, in their time and in their season, on the stage of human life. ”

“ No other land can boast of the same. How beautifully does the spirit of the above prophetic sentiment chime in with the great American principle, "that no foreign prince, potentate, or sovereign will be allowed to interfere in the affairs of this Continent!" ”

“ Let it never be forgotten, but let the mind's eye always be directed to it as the eye of the storm-beaten mariner is ever directed towards the polar star or the beacon lights, that, while they ward off danger, they inspire with joy. ”

“ Spain must give up Cuba; England, Canada; and the United States of America must hold, as her dependencies, every country on the Western Continent, with the islands along its borders. Mexico would not allow our agents to preach the Gospel within her borders. The Catholic faith, sustained by political power, to the exclusion of all others, is a cause sufficient for revolutions at home, and for a conquest by a power whose policy it is to let religion stand upon its own merits. ”

“ The great family of nations on this globe, among which ours occupies the most enviable position, stands in the same relation to the Supreme Ruler of all that servants do to their earthly master. There are some designed to perform an honourable part, and shine with more brilliance and splendour, and exert a controlling influence ”

“ Because human legislation had failed to affix a penalty proportionate to the offence: hence the Almighty has taken that matter into his own hands, and will award to them a punishment that will be fully adequate, by making them the eternal servants of the persecuted and martyred ones. ”

“ They will not forget! Still, like the Prophet, who stood by his brethren until death, so will the "Mormons" stand by their country while any foe dares to set his unhallowed foot upon our shores, or upon our borders. ”

“ The "Mormons" feel their wrongs: they know them; and while they live they will not forget them: they cannot if they would. They will remember them also in the spirit world and in the exalted courts of the celestial kingdom When they enter, it will be asked, "Who are these? ”

“ Another important reason why the discovery should be made: The history and record of a fallen people, containing light from the spirit land, and truth from heaven, were buried in the soil of the Western Continent ”