Wilford Woodruff

“ When we contemplate the gifts and blessings the Gospel of Christ has given to us, we of all men should be the most cheerful, thankful and faithful, and should honor our calling, and acknowledge the hand of our God in the mercies which we enjoy.
All men who have obeyed this Gospel for the love of the truth, and whose minds have been inspired by the Spirit and power of God, have felt to rejoice and take consolation in it, and they have felt a great desire to spread the knowledge of its principles among their fellow men. ”

“ Everything which belongs to it in one age of the world belongs to it in another. In this the Gentile world lie in darkness; they have followed the same example of unbelief as ancient Israel, by rejecting the Gospel and persecuting the Saints, and putting them to death, and shedding the blood of the prophets and apostles and those who held the Gospel of the Kingdom of God in their day; and they have gone into the wilderness of darkness and unbelief, and remained so, until God restored the Gospel in this day. ”

“ The question is often asked by sectarian ministers, "Why could you not live in New York, Liverpool, or London, as well as going to Zion? Because we should be in the midst of sin and wickedness and abomination, and it would be very difficult, while so situated, to keep from being polluted by the evils which reign upon the face of the earth at the present time. And to overcome these evils we have been gathered together, that we may be taught in the principles of truth, virtue and holiness, and be prepared to dwell in the presence of God. ”

“ For the last thirty-eight years, since its establishment, have the Elders of this church been laboring and traveling for the spread of the principles of this Gospel. You may track history from the days of the ancient patriarchs to the days of Joseph Smith, and you cannot find any account of men who have traveled as the Elders of Israel have. Jesus told His disciples to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every living creature, and he that believed and was baptized should be saved, and he that believed not should be damned. ”

“ Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses, Elias and the prophets, Jesus and the Apostles all had their day. Their work is finished. They sleep in peace. This is our day, and we should labor while the day lasts; by-and-by night will come when no man can work. ”

“ We are here to do these things, and to receive teachings and instructions that we may be prepared for the coming of the Son of Man. We are here to be shut up a little while in these chambers of the mountains, while the indignation of the Almighty passes over the nations. ”

“ It guarantees to us "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." And while the inhabitants of many other governments have been tyran [n] ically bound up, and their minds controlled in certain channels, and they have been deprived of the right of liberty of speech and of many other rights valued by freemen, ours has guaranteed unto us all the liberty that can be enjoyed by man. Still, I have many times thought that we, as American Citizens, have not prized the gifts and blessings guaranteed to us by the Constitution of our country. ”