Orson Pratt

“ Let me tell you, if any one man's duties (if he lived to be an old man) were clearly written, and foretold before he was born, it would take a larger volume than the Bible to contain them all; and when we consider the thousands and millions of human beings that are on the earth now, and the millions that have dropped into their graves in ages past, it is absurd to suppose that one such volume could point out all their duties, even if they all could have been foretold by the spirit of prophecy. ”

“ To bring about this object, and do away with poverty, and make all the people rich, the Lord has introduced laws, and rulers, and governors, to teach us our duty while poverty reigns in the world. If you think it hard to pay back a just and honest debt to the Perpetual Emigrating Fund, what will you think when the pure laws of God are introduced, and you are required by His law to pay over every farthing you have in the world! ”

“ We are told a great deal about the poor in former dispensations; how to deal with them, and the laws that were given to regulate mankind in dealing their alms to them. Will this always be the case? No, but the time will come when there will be no poor. The object of this last dispensation is to make the people one as the Father and the Son are one, or as the Book of Doctrine and Covenants says, to make them "equal in earthly things, that they may be made equal in heavenly things." ”

“ This is reason why the Lord has appointed a living Priesthood on the earth; why He has sent down the Holy Ghost from heaven, why it enters the heart of man, and inspires him with knowledge and information concerning his own duties, and the duties of others also, that he may impart to them, week after week, and from one meeting to another, in public and in private, before large assemblies and in the family circle, every principle and duty that is necessary to be known ”

“ We are apt to forget the things we ought to do, though they are told to us in plainness. We think in our hearts—"Well, we will go and do as we have been told; it looks beautiful and very consistent; it seems to be the very law by which we should be governed; and when we go from this Conference, we will make all the necessary arrangements to fulfil and comply with this law, and hearken to the counsels and instructions that have been given;" ”

“ When the Lord sees fit to pour out wisdom and knowledges, and mysteries, and understanding from the heavens, may we, by practical works, faith, and diligence in doing our duties one towards another, and towards our God, be able to receive them, and have them do us good. ”

“ And thus the good word that is sown in your hearts by the Holy Spirit begins to be caught away, one principle after another, until finally selfishness has full control over your movements, and it is the last thing you think of to do unto others as you would have others do unto you under the same circumstances. ”

“ Are we doing unto others that we would have others do to us under the same circumstances? If you want to know just precisely your duties towards your fellow-man, always ask yourselves this question—"If I were placed in that man's or in that woman's condition, how should I desire that they should do unto me?" ”

“ For instance, the world read in the revelations we have received, that there are more Gods than one. This is something that does not immediately concern us; but yet opposers get up and contend against us, and prejudice the minds of congregations against the people of God, because they profess to believe, not only in a plurality of wives, but also in a plurality of Gods; it is necessary to show them the reasons for our belief—the whys and the wherefores; and this I endeavored to do in some of my last publications ”

“ I believe both of these principles with all my heart. I believe there is one only wise God, and I believe there is an immense number of Gods: The people know we believe these doctrines, and they publish against us on this ground ”

“ I may have erred in some principles; I do not profess to be wise, or to have more understanding than many others. I am not called with the same calling as those who preside over all the Church. I may not have as great a degree of the spirit of revelation ”

“ But if you turn your back upon these principles, and will not seek to do unto others as you would have them do to you; if you will not listen to the instructions of our Prophet, and to the instructions of others who have spoken on this stand, you will wither away like a dried reed, and you will bear no authority, and that you have will be taken from you, and you will be left poor and miserable, and become the offscouring of the earth, under the curse of the Almighty for your disobedience. ”

“ Are we not organized according to the laws of man? Are not many converted just as the revelation predicted? And are we not in a position, by being organized here in Utah territory according to the laws of man, to break the bands of the enemy, that they may not destroy us as a people? If mobs undertake to afflict us here, they will find it very difficult, because we are organized according to the laws of man. If they use any exertion or any influence to bring about the destruction of this people, we are organized according to the laws of man, and can fight them with their own weapons. ”

“ In the first place, the stone taken out of the mountain is much smaller than the mountain, but finally it increases to that magnitude that it begins to be a great mountain, not merely to fill one small territory, but as Daniel said, "it became a great mountain and filled the whole earth." ”

“ So far as I have ever preached abroad in the world, and published, one thing is certain, I have not published anything but what I verily believed to be true, however much I may have been mistaken, and I have generally endeavored to show the people, from the written word of God, as well as reason, wherein it was true. ”

“ But when we are first born into His kingdom we cannot run alone; we are not able to prance, and trot, and caper about; He has therefore ordained certain helps, and governments, and laws to govern us while we are in the creeping state, and trying to advance into a more perfect order of things. ”

“ It should be laid before the minds of the people and instilled into their hearts week after week; they should be taught and instructed in such a way and manner that these mysteries, when we get the true light upon them, may do us good. ”

“ We have already been informed, and taught from this stand, by those who are filled with the Holy Ghost, by those who are filled with the inspiration of the Almighty, setting forth the necessity and importance of being awake in regard to the condition of the Saints that are scattered abroad. ”

“ Very well, then, the Saints are to be gathered, and they are to come not only by thousands, but tens of thousands, scores of thousands, and hundreds of thousands are to be assembled from among the nations. ”

“ Through the servants of the living God. This is what the Lord told us before one Saint was gathered. In a revelation, given in the presence of six Elders, in Sept, 1830, the Lord says, "Ye are called to bring to pass the gathering of mine elect, for mine elect hear my voice and harden not their hearts, wherefore the decree hath gone forth from the Father, that they shall be gathered in unto one place upon the face of this land." ”

“ And I have no doubt he included every other duty between man and man, so far as it could be done in that short period of time, for thirty-six hours would not begin to be time enough for a man to tell the people all their duties. Many people think that all the duties of man are recorded in the Bible ”