Wilford Woodruff

“ What power has sustained them? As I have said before, these revelations of God, these great commandments and prophecies that have been given for the last six thousand years. They have been inspired by the Spirit and power of God, they have been commanded to go forth and warn this generation by preaching the Gospel to them. Here is President Brigham Young has traveled, as poor as any man could be, tens of thousand miles, without purse and scrip, to preach the Gospel to the sons of men. ”

“ We occupy a very peculiar position on the earth, a position differing in many respects from any other dispensation of men. Paul says—"Though we or an angel from heaven preach unto you any other Gospel than that which we have preached, let him be accursed." All the teachings of the Patriarchs and Prophets have shown us but one Gospel. There is but one Gospel, there never was but one and there never will be. The Gospel revealed for the salvation of man is the same in every age of the world. ”

“ The angel of God, who restored the everlasting Gospel to earth, said it must be preached to every nation, kindred, tongue and people under the whole heaven, for the hour of God's judgement had come. The hour of God's judgment is at the door of this nation and the Christian world. Brother Erastus Snow here, a week last Sunday, told us about preaching to the dead, and the judgments that awaited the nations. ”

“ I tell you nay, the word of the Lord is going to be fulfilled, and the Lord is not going to give this kingdom to another people. The Lord has raised up a set of men and women, and he will inspire and move upon them to carry out this great work, and we have got it to do. Zion is going to rise and shine, and to put on her beautiful garments; she will be clothed with the glory of God, and for brass she will have gold; for iron silver and for stone iron. All these revelations touching the last days have got to be fulfilled. President Young is moved upon to call upon Zion to do her duty. ”

“ The power of God rests upon him, and he will never hold his peace until Zion is built up and perfected, the house of Israel gathered and the work of God performed under his administration as long as he dwells in the flesh. He is as much under the power of God and the revelations of Jesus Christ as any man that ever breathed the breath of life. ”

“ The Lord, in this day, did not choose one from among the great, mighty, rich or noble, but he choose one prepared from before the foundation of the world, to come forth in the last days, through the loins of ancient Joseph who, in the hands of God, was the savior of the house of Israel and of the Egyptians in his day. ”

“ We have only about a thousand millions of people on the earth, but in the spirit world they have fifty thousand millions; and there is not a single revelation which gives us any reason to believe that any man who enters the spirit world preached the Gospel there to those who lived after him; but they all preach to men who were in the flesh before they were. Jesus himself preached to the antediluvian world, who had been in prison for thousands of years. So with Joseph Smith and the Elders—they will have to preach to the inhabitants of the earth who have died during the last seventeen centuries ”

“ It will do me no good if I apostatize because I think somebody else does not do right. We should lay aside this, there is too much of it in the Zion of God today, and has been a good while, finding fault with this, that and the other, instead of looking at home. Let us all look at home, and each one try to govern his own family and set his own house in order, and do that which is required of us, realizing that each one is held responsible before the Lord for his or her individual actions only. ”

“ We have got this to fulfill in our day and generation. Then think not, ye Elders of Israel, ye sons and daughters of Zion, that we are going to live after the order of Babylon always. We are not. We shall be chastised and afflicted, and shall feel the chastening rod of the Almighty, unless we serve the Lord our God, and build up his kingdom, for he has given us all power; yes, all power is given into our hands to perform this work. ”

“ I am called upon to occupy a little time this morning, and I realize that I and my brethren are all dependent upon the Spirit of God to guide, dictate and direct us in all our public teachings, as well as in all other acts we are called upon to perform in the kingdom of God. ”

“ This is the position which the Prophets, Apostles and Patriarchs have occupied upon the earth in every age and dispensation. They have had to be governed by the Spirit of God; and when men are sent with a message, and they speak as they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost, their words are the words of the Lord, and they will be fulfilled. ”

“ Their revelations and prophecies all point to our day and that great kingdom of God which was spoken of by Daniel, that great Zion of God spoken of by Isaiah and Jeremiah, and that great gathering of the house of Israel spoken of by Ezekiel and Malachi and many of the ancient Patriarchs and Prophets.
When the Lord has attempted to perform a work on the earth there has been one peculiarity with him, and that is, the instruments which he has made use of have occupied a peculiar position in the world. ”

“ When he chose his disciples he did not take the great, learned, rich and noble of that generation, but he chose fishermen, the most illiterate men and, in one sense of the word, we may say, almost the lowest calling among men in that day. ”

“ We have to pay our Tithing the Lord requires it at our hands. The Lord has never said by any revelation that Brigham Young should build a Temple alone, that his counsellors, or that the Apostles or Bishops should do it alone. ”