Orson Pratt

“ How many in Ogden have given surplus property to-day? Go throughout all this town and ask them if they have surplus property. "Oh, no, I have not quite enough to carry on my business according to my own mind. I have a manufacturing establishment here, I wish I had a few thousand dollars more than I have to put in it. I want twenty thousand dollars more. I have no surplus property." Some man starts another business, and he has no surplus property. And you may go through all the towns and villages and not find a man who has surplus property. ”

“ Unless it is accompanied by the Spirit of the living God in the heart, what are we benefitted? We are able to bear testimony to what our eyes have seen, but where are we benefitted, unless the Holy Ghost is shed forth in our hearts? ”

“ Then I should judge, that the men to determine what is surplus property, and what is not, are those men whom God has ordained to this power, namely, the Bishops, who have a knowledge of these things by the power of the Holy Ghost, and by virtue of their calling. The President of this Church will be prepared to say whether a man has surplus property or not, and let him specify, and the man be satisfied. This is the law of Tithing, inferior to the full law of consecration, and also inferior to the law of Enoch. ”

“ Does every man receive an exact equality, or amount of this property? No. Why not? Because some men have more ability for managing a stewardship than other men. Some men perhaps all their lifetime have been accustomed to carrying on great establishments and know how to conduct great establishments. Is it to be supposed that such a man would be limited to the same amount of stewardship as the man who has fifty acres of land? ”

“ Faith is required on the part of the people to obtain all blessings of a spiritual nature. And in order to have faith it is important that we should do the will of God, otherwise our faith will be very weak indeed. He that doeth his master's will, and has within him the desire to work righteousness, can approach the Lord in faith; but if we do not keep his commandments, and have not this desire, and do not do his will, our faith becomes exceedingly small indeed. ”

“ In my name they shall cast out devils, speak in other tongues; and the eyes of the blind shall be opened. The Elders have found this to be true. As far as the people have had faith, they have seen this power, in some measure, displayed. ”

“ Because they were not all the time beholding the power of God made manifest, they fell away. Now this should be a lesson to the Latter-day Saints, that when we do see some small miracles wrought, we should strive to strengthen ourselves up in the spirit of our religion, with light and knowledge and information—to gain all that we possibly can, that we may be spiritually strengthened; a miracle is external to the senses, and has only an exciting effect upon the mind. ”

“ There must be a preparation here; and it would not surprise me, if the Spirit of the Lord should come upon the Presidency of this people, and we should be told to enter into the higher law pertaining to our property. The Lord wishes to put it out of the power of every man to be lifted up above his brother or his sister, so far as wealth or property is concerned, by making his people equal, keeping them equal; not by a division of property, but upon the principle of stewardships. That keeps them equal. There is no chance of their becoming unequal. It is out of their power to be unequal. ”

“ It seems to be the last law, in regard to property, that God has given to save this people. We ought to ask ourselves, "Am I fulfilling this law? Am I preparing myself for the day when God shall require me to enter into the higher law?" I will say that the day will come, and is not far distant, when this higher law will be carried into effect, not only in theory but in practice. ”

“ When this is done together with many other things, the children of Israel will no longer feel themselves under the necessity of referring to the day when the Lord wrought wonders as they came up out of the land of Egypt. You know it has been a saying with the Jews some thousands of years, that the God of Israel lives. "We do not worship the kind of god which you heathens worship. We worship that God that divided the waters, that came down on Mount Sinai." They always refer back to miracles four thousand years old, that their God is a God of miracles. ”

“ Then, in addition to these three books, all the revelations that, God has delivered to us by the mouths of his servants from time to time, some of which have been published, others have not been published, but are still considered by this people as sacred as the things that are published. I say when we take into consideration this flood of light and intelligence that has burst forth upon the world, in the period of about forty years, we may say that we have been blest so far as light and information are concerned, far beyond any other people with whom we are acquainted. ”

“ Sometimes people, through their transgressions, through their disobedience, through their rebellion to the principles that God has revealed, may have lost their faith to that degree that they will not go before their Father, will not pretend to ask him for a favor, thinking that their transgressions are too great, and that the Lord will not favor them. In this condition it is doubtful indeed if the Lord takes into consideration their peculiar wants, and the especial blessings which they would be glad to receive. ”

“ There must be a little leisure granted that the mind may be taught, instructed and educated; but it seems that their whole education for two or three generations, or for a long time after they were brought into bondage, was given to them by their task-masters—how to form bricks or adobies, or whatever it might be—hard labor. If they had a little leisure, instead of using it in treasuring up the knowledge of God, they needed it to recuperate their physical systems, that they might rest from their labors, and go again and drudge on the morrow. ”

“ It is true we have not the full history of all the various dispensations, and all the manifestations of the mercy and goodness and power of God among those different peoples and nations in ages past. We could not say of a certainty how much information God may have imparted in those dispensations. We read in some revelations what God has given about the organization of ancient Zion. In the seventh generation from the creation—from the days of Adam—we read about the preaching of Enoch. ”

“ If a man loses all that he has by fire, and all his stock should die, the fact is, he is just as rich as all the others, because he is a steward. He owns nothing, neither do they. "But," inquires one, "shall we never become bona fide possessors?" ”

“ God has said to us, in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, that when the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled, then cometh the day of my power. "Thy people will be willing," says one of the ancient Prophets, "in the day of thy power." The Elders of this Church have gone forth among many nations. They rejoice in the power that is made manifest, in some measure. God has said that they should go and preach the Gospel to all nations of the earth ”

“ The Lord told them that he was about to descend on Mount Sinai, and he charged the people that they should not break over certain bounds lest they should perish, for if any person or beast should touch the Mount, they should be stoned to death. The people, being ignorant and not fully acquainted with the strictness of the commandments of the Most High, a curiosity was excited, and some of the congregation, when Moses went up to Mount Sinai, wanted to draw near, and the Lord sent Moses down to charge the people again a second time. ”

“ When children become rebellious, and do not perform the will of their parents, it is with a very small degree of confidence that they come before their parents and seek for any kind of favor or blessing. ”

“ But coming again to the 20th chapter of Ezekiel, we find that after the Lord has brought them into the wilderness, we are informed that "he will bring them into the bonds of the covenant, not the law of carnal commandments, but into the bonds of the new and everlasting Covenant" that will be renewed for them. That will be something binding. "I will bring them into the covenant, and purge out the rebellious that shall be among you. They shall not enter into the land of promise, he will not let them get in. ”

“ Without the assistance of the Spirit of the Lord it is impossible for any person, in a religious capacity, to edify and instruct his fellow-beings. But, if we have the Spirit of the Lord, however imperfect our abilities may be, we are sure to edify and enlighten the people, and the person also who speaks will be edified ”

“ Now for the other portion of the law of Tithing. Say a man comes here with fifty thousand dollars and it is judged by proper authority that forty thousand is surplus. He goes to work with the remaining ten thousand and gets him a farm and home, and enters into some other business, and makes not only a sufficiency for support, but finds at the year's end that he has made a thousand dollars: he has to pay one-tenth of that, that is a hundred dollars. ”

“ But, inquires one, does not this man of great capability have more of the luxuries of life? No. Because he has to give an account of his steward. ship to the Bishop, and if this man of high capability has made at the end of the year a hundred thousand dollars, he is required to hand in an account to the Bishop, at the end of the year, and if there have been made a hundred thousand dollars, clear gain, does the man own it? No. It is brought to the Lord's store house. The poor man that has gained fifty dollars extra from his farm hands in his fifty dollars and an account of his stewardship. ”

“ In the first place he performs some small miracles, such as unstopping the ears of the deaf, and causing the lame to walk, the dumb to speak, some fevers to be rebuked, some plagues to be stayed, and devils and unclean spirits to be cast out. ”

“ But if that rebellious son has so far strayed from the parent that he has no confidence to approach him, and does not offer up any petition to the parent, it is very doubtful about the parent's taking into consideration his wants, in some respects, and bestowing the favors which he really desires. ”

“ They were permitted to enjoy, in a special manner, the power of the Almighty in their midst. This shows that in some of the dealings of God, he manifests his power, if he does not manifest his revelations.
There is a great deal of danger when the people see a great deal of power existing in their midst. For the want of experience and information, for the want of more knowledge, there is a liability to sin against all of this power that may be made manifest in their midst ”

“ Now instead of bearing all this, the Lord inspired Moses to say to the people, let those who are on the Lord's side come forth; put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor. ”

“ If he has laid out his stewardship for self-aggrandizement or unwise purposes, another man is placed in his stead. And the poor man who has gained his fifty dollars, if he has purchased any thing that is unwise and unnecessary, and he has limited himself to that fifty dollars as clear gain, he will be moved out of his stewardship ”

“ This seems to be wisdom, that we may have knowledge proportionate to the power that is made manifest, that when he does show forth his power, we may turn not our hearts away from him. In the beginning of this work it seemed to be necessary that certain persons should be raised up to bear witness to the Book of Mormon—of its divinity, that the work might be commenced. ”

“ While we have been every man for himself, and accumulating all that he could grasp, and almost neglecting the lesser law of Tithing, could it be expected that the Lord would say to a people thus situated, and without experience in these things, go back to Jackson County? ”

“ They know that their conduct has been such as to prevent them from receiving favors which they especially desire. Sometimes, perhaps, the father will grant the petition of a rebellious son, when he has sufficient confidence to offer up a petition to his parent. ”