| Show by ny prest voting nowery bowery juno 14 1557 1657 i REPORTED DY GEO D WATT I 1 cannot express my feelings I 1 can imagine wt lut ca annot not give vent to my imaginations when I 1 realize the situation of the saints in the valleys of these mountains I 1 expect if I 1 should give rive way 0 to o my feelings mingled with the weakness pertaining to mankind hat that you would call me more foolish than a methodist or even inore more foolish than a rieba down shouting I 1 th think thinh mi that I 1 know how hov to ze the blessings 11 I 1 enjoy and L ilso I liso aiso iso also really think that there are a preat many here who know how to prize prie theirs my soul soui 11 is full fuli of gratitude we are far from our oppressors far from those who seek to destroy us solely on account of our and are secured in the midst of these sterile inhospitable mountains and valley valleys si they are so to every ierson person person upon natural natura principles but the saints he here when I 1 go abroad when I 1 visit a neighbor when I 1 meet a man mah or a woman in tho the street when whon I 1 assemble ass raible with the he community in which I 1 live I 1 am in the midst of saints or at least oe of those who profess to be saints and if they are not dot saints I 1 think hev bey hey bev are trying to become so with all their might I 1 know how to prize these blessings and if I 1 wa a right good old fashioned bouling shouting methodist ileth odist I 1 should get up here and begin in to talk and it would not be long before 1 e I 1 should ouid be shouting oglory praise the lord 2 androu would he hear arthe the response all over the meeting lamell amen 1 glory and aud in a short time we ive should get into a real I 1 am full all he the time and arp are many herer hero who know how bow to enjoy the he society of the saini saint I 1 am not obliged to mingle my voice with th tilt tild P wicked and the ungodly I 1 am not obliged lo 10 associate with hem ham them br rich knows what it is to be with the he wicked for tor be has been living in the nethermost corner comer of sin and iniquity for a long time lime and lie he knows how bow to appreciate the society of the lb e saints here how to mingle with them with willi a healt beat t of gratitude I 1 wish to say a few words to the he saints upon what hat we call our boly holy religion if you anil antl I 1 are in the he line of our out duty when we talk when we sing 0 when then we preach when we pray u when hen we rise rise up and when we he down when we go out out and when when we come in in all the he varied cenes scenes and duties of this busy life every eveny every everk iota that we perform is embraced in our loly religion the tile one is is inseparably connected tit fit the other through the whole march of life from the day that hat a person knows knovs the truth until they have completed heir work on the tie earth preparatory lo 10 entering into a higher state stale of bliss the religion that we have embraced is designed to correct people to give lve ive them a iroe trae system artie rue laws it ue ordinances atrue true customs and to correct them in every arery point in in all the tire social duties and enjoyments enjoy ments of life it teaches leaches us its every principle that hat hav is necessary to prep pren prepare ave aye people veople here on the earth to become a perfect the tile pure iii in heart a perfect heaven on earth when the law is revealed to us and arid the ordinances committed to our charge if we exercise ourselves bursel es herein therein according to the he best knowledge and wisdom that we have and continue to 0 o to do god will add to us until we shall know how to establish zion in perfection arid and have tile the kingdom of god in the fullness thereof in our midst and arid within us and ad enjoy adjo the tile society of holy beings all the real bui bul business ess we have on hand is to promote our religion when the brethren rise tip up here liere to exhort you as br hyde lias has to attend to a little temporal busness business that is a portion of our religion I 1 oid olg old fold you I 1 think last sabbath while speaking on that subject to seek now to sustain this community to seek to 0 o sustain ourselves As hr br Hy dehas remarked the first thing now to attend to Is to prepare for a day of or want ard sorrow I 1 oid old told you you will recollect that we have havethe the kingdom of god with its lis we sought that girst first there may be here and there in this con grega tion a person who has not done this but almost every man and woman before ine me has sought the kin kingdom kindom dom of god wi wilh with ath all their bealts hearts some solema So mema may have done so in missouri in illnois IIi Ili nois bois in other parts of the tiie united states in ireland scotland Scotia nd wales wiles germany france england and arid in many mani other foreign lards they have sought the kingdom of god with all heir their hearts and have found it and enjoy the principles and spirit and power cf it it is is that which gives me the privilege of looking at you in these distant valleys we have got the he kingdom we sought it with all our hearts though many of us have beer been robbed of our substance sub tance not less than five times linies yest yes we have been robbed bat that many times limes of all we possessed posses sd on earth because we sought the kingdom of god and its principles we have been driven from flom our hermes heroes time and time lime again we have many times limes suffered the he loss of all 7 temporal posses possessions siona I 1 say we though there are brethren and arid sisters sisters here wll wit who have not been in tile flit he church over a year and some two wo three veat vent yeal but you are numbered with the saints Saint sand and the saints have suffered red the loss of all things lungs time timot and aud time again what for for the kingdom of heavens beavens sake nd its righteousness g it is our privilege to be as wise in in our generation as the of this world and not only so but it is our duty to be as wise wise in in our gener generation alon kion as the children of this world we have the true light and arid knowledge and we ought to know as much as the philosophical world or as any other people on the he earth we ought at least to know as much about politics ics acs as do the tile political world or as do any other otner people I 1 expect that we do and if it we only apply our minds in the proper time and channel we jenow as much about the christian world as do any other people and we ought to know as much about the whole world as do to any other oilier crople in lit fact we ought to know more upon all those matters than any other people for wa we are privileged with far sp superior perlor advantages through faith and obedience to the gospel I 1 there is is one principle which we will ledge ledgett to be infallible and I 1 feel like illustrating it lt by bv a few circumstances to this people we are under obligation to trust in our god and ihla ibis is he be groundwork ground of all we can do ourselves you know bat that we cannot actually make one bar white or black by exercising the power that we have we cannot canno as it is written written add to our stature one cubit that proves that in arld and of ourselves alone we can do nothing we have been trusting rusting in god you know all the time in older to accomplish what we have we have trusted in the lord or we never would have received this gospel we have had confidence in him and in his revealed will to the children of mer men tf if we should lose this confidence our faith and our hope we are then eft left without any my strength consequently we know better than to leave our god in performing everything we can for our temporal salvation do you not naturally understand that it is through a more or less implicit confidence in our oui god it is not by pur work arks alone but we are co Worl rs with the god of heaven with our father we are li hel bel elpers helpers pers we expect to be saved and we have lave the work to perform to save ourselves that is necessary to give us experience to kno rno know what to do MU with our salvation salva salia tion tron when we have obtained it we do not intend to forsake our god nor to say that we have done this or that for we have not done it alone and do not expect to we mus must learn and I 1 may say that very many have bave learned in a great degree decree that it is b by implicit confidence in in ou our r god that we perform all that we do here pertaining r to his kingdom on the earth we have heard much said sad during six months past to this congregation with regard re ard to our acts wi with regard to our conduct one towards the other bolher there has lias been much said in regard to the spirit of reform that spirit manifested itself in the case of our immigration last season we did prove to god angels and good men and good women otso also aiso to wicked men and women and to tx I 1 he the devils in in hell that we had confidence in our god goi ana end in our religion perhaps mail earl many Y of the congregation 11 are ignorant with regard to the true situation of I 1 his this community in alem a temporal point of yiew view at the time assistance was sent to our late immigration and for the year past you may rray take inn that are keen observers close cl ose calculators and they hey can prove to themselves and to lo you this one fact that last september and I 1 do not enow know but in august this community had eaten tip the small amount of produce that grew tile the previous year I 1 so that there was not one bushel burbel of grain to start upon or that had been kept over avei when the I 1 a vest came andlee and ana the grain and vegetables were all gathered the declaration of close observers was that you could not find enough provisions raised throughout the territory to sustain this community nine nine months it nas was yas not in the country it lid did iid ild not grow here it was lot not in the fields of wheat when the grain was thrashed the potatoes and the buckwheat were not gathered the peas and the beans did not grow and the amount re necessary to sustain life was not or on hand to sustain this community nine months if a close calculation iliad had been made I 1 couple this with the faith and acts of the lire people in assisting the immigration last fall we said to the he brethren br ethien ethlen get the wheat ground take the file flour and ind go and bring in the immigration and I 1 bear my testimony in the name of the he lord god of israel that if this ibis community had not dot have done as they were requested pertaining to the immigration we this day would not have had a bushel of wheat in the market markit in this territory but this community took their fearns loaded up provisions and clothing and went to the immigrants ants on the he plain plains and add some somi of them went almost naked and barefooted I 1 know of men roen who were in the city on business when the call was made imade and they started off to assist those who were in the snow and ond were gone aone one two months without shoes shops to heir their feet or comfor comfortable lwe tWe clothing fo to keep them warm for they had not riot brought those articles from home with them on account of expecting to return they did riot not go back to get a new now pair of shoes and clothing sufficient to keep them ellern fram fi bezing among the snows of these mountains and then stay at home but they promptly obeyed the fhe be call saying maying ayin ayi n if I 1 can borrow flour I 1 will take it to tile the brethren brt hren bren and will pay it back when I 1 come in did the tiie people prove blint they had implicit confidence in their god they did they left their la families milies without wood and ad their heir grain lie in ing in the he field their wheat not thrashed their thein potatoes not riot dug no forace forage gathered for heir hein cattle cattie aldno and no preparations for fr sowing tire hie fall wheat and trusted in the lord to provide for them or to have an opportunity to sow in the winter or the next spring or never what was the result of that highly praiseworthy worthy conduct hundreds of lives were saved and we have plenty some go against the peoples selling sellin wheat to anybody but those who build up tb the 1 kingdom of gd 9 pd have haie I 1 ever objected to it I 1 say let the saints have if you have atit but what did we see here a year ago last winter A merchant bought up tip a large amount of wheat at from a dollar to a dollar and a half bait a bushel and flour at from froin four to five dollars a hundred what was the llie result ile he could not take it to the states slates nor to california and I 1 bought it at a much less price than he paid for it in cash and goods and paid him in cattle I 1 am now dow buying wheat for seventy five cens cenis a bushel that the merchants merc merr hantL kantt here have bo bought ug lit in at from sla to a bushel I 1 jf if this community had hot bot ot heark beark hearkened ened to the wants of their brethren and sisters who came in last fall this would not have been but we would now have been in want who believes this I 1 reasonably know it and it would almost be impossible for me to view the matter in any different light I 1 was careful to look for the he welfare and salvation of this people I 1 have always looked for their salvation both spiritually and temporally I 1 looked well to it last y year ear and the year before hat that A year agathis ag othis spring was about as hard bard a time as has been in this territory there was not flour nor wheat for sal I 1 had not riot much and I 1 was feeding a great many many I 1 told you then what Mn untended tended to odo do I 1 can tell eil ell you yen now what I 1 did when the pir pin pinching ching time came on my knowledge with wilh regard to the dealings of god with his people taught me to labor in accordance with my faith falth and hh promises and I 1 said I 1 1 will part with that which I 1 have to sustain life until the last four ounces is gone for if I 1 undertake to jo keep enough to sustain my family and workmen and deprive the destitute I 1 shall come to want with the comm community unit y 1 and we shall not riot sustain ourselves if I 1 will n not ot turn away any that are in need I 1 can induce the next brother to do the same samp and this community will not kuter suffer for ford the staff of life still I 1 suppose that some iid ild lid did suffer and what was the he reason if derx very person parson had had bad felt in their hearts to hand band out just aa as iorg as 33 they had anything to deal deai out U and nd not have been pinched up in their thein feelings and ana bound up in their hearts arid and in their affections is ir the love of the things ihirg gs of this world and one man on this side eide ald aig and ane ati aji another ollier on the other side had hadnot not have llave said in jr his heart true I 1 can spare nie five fie bun dred pounds of flour but now is ii my time to get j fifty fiffy dollars a adfor it and now is my time timo to make my spoil there need no not one have suf there was just enough such men in the community to affect the faith of the Suin saints and ani and aud to td cause a few to sauer r 4 V if there had been as many to act as they should as a there were to act ag as they should not riot our bins would have been as full of flour as they are this year all hat that saved us this his year wag was renewing lour bur covenants keeping the commandments of god and arid walking humbly before him that is is what causes the wheat to be here whether you yon beldere it or not 1 r it is the liberal heart the liberal ve feelings e linzi cl of men and women of those who are fid of or f a itri in god that they will noi not summer suffer because he will provide for his people in tile llie last days lie ile has done so bilt but |
