| Show REMARKS by UT president youna YOUNG tabernacle dels deis 1 1 I 1839 arti rei REPORTED hy by G D WATT 1 11 ys 11 my greatest desire to my father and god is that thit I 1 may so speak that my remarks willbe will be acceptable to him and beneficial to those who hear bear me I 1 do not know that I 1 have the first desire to please myself or any earthly being in the remarks I 1 may make I 1 do not know that I 1 have any other purpose in view but the salvation of the people and I 1 wish the pe people le to have only one ruling desire namely goolo to do the will of their god if my mind is lead this morning in a channel to instruct the saints to encourage them to give giva them new life and vigor to BO so strengthen strength th n them in their faith as to better prepare theato them to pursue the journey of life godbe god be thanked I 1 sometimes think that thit perhaps I 1 have not that fervent desire to preach to un believers that I 1 ought mohave to have but one thin thing I 1 cansay can say bay my garments are clear and pure from the blood of all men I 1 will briefly state why this is for nearly thirty years I 1 have sought to know the truth and to prope properly aly understand the principles of the holy priesthood revealed from heaven through the prophet joseph and I 1 haqq hav ceased not when I 1 have had an bp opportunity port unity at the proper time and in the proper er place to present thosa thoss principles to my f fellow ellow men and if those who have heard heald me had been as faithful and diligent aa as I 1 have been since I 1 embraced the truth in distribute in ing the truth to their neighbors long before ris els this time every family upon the face of the earth would have heard the gospel of the son of df god and the warning voice of his servants and have had the them opportunity of believing or re its rejecting it solely through my preaching and its results results this frees me from all bla bia blame biame me on the score of preaching world blame biame upon that viat point cannot be attached to me by any man upon the face ol 01 of the earth if people of other ather nations I 1 rise up in the judgment and say it youl had been faithful wilful in preaching to lis us we also could have been prepared for tor the day we now see my answer will be there is no such sin resting upon me that sin will fall if anywhere upon those who have heard me and have witnessed that I 1 have told fhern them the truth but have not themselves been faithful in disseminating it to their neighbors you may call this an apology if you please for fon not feeling that anxiety to erb ers that some may suppose I 1 ought tofeek but I 1 trust this matter with my god I 1 feel anxious for those who are disposed to believe Oie the truth I 1 feel after the saints the thi e facts I 1 have related touching g myself will also a apply p to hundreds of t the tha h e elders of israel to men who are now sitting in this stand and in this congregation my desires daily and hourly ate are that those who profess to be saints actually be saints in truth and verity and my eastant prayer grayer is for their welfare I 1 remember the poor and the needy though I 1 can cansay cansay say Bay and the remark may astonish many ct my brethren I 1 never pray for the people to be rich I 1 do not pray for gold and silver bliver I 1 have never done so I 1 have never had so much as a desire for this people to become wealthy in gold and silver in houses and lands in goods and chattles ch atties attles I 1 do not that I 1 evera a petition to a being sup superior elior exior to myself to give me worldly riches liches and worldly honor and fame but I 1 have prayed grayed 0 lord lne ine the power rower the khow knowledge ledge the wisdom and the understanding to secure tp my eif self elf W eternal ernal life we jve have the promise iffe if we seek first the god and its righteousness that all necessary things will be bue added tous to us we not be distrustful Abut seek first to know how havi to please our father and god seek to know how to lo save ourselves from the errors hat that are inthe world from ilar olar darkness kness and unbelief bl e f from the vain and delusive spirits that abroad i go gol fa broad among the she children of me men n to deceive and learn how bow to save bave and preserve our reives relves upon the earth to preach the gospel meld wild up ahe king kingdom dord dora and establish the zio wio of our god goa then there is not the least danger M and end there ther should not be the least doubt but bilt what every thin thing necessary tor for the comfort comfort convenience happiness and oaf salvation og 0 the pale people will be added to them i true ru e we see many of thi people that ar are poon poor we lye i haye bave seen them in in the their bons and sor sore e privations we have flee from city to city from county to count county and f from rot state lo 10 state we ine ha have e seen them traveil arak ed and bare Vare barefooted footed on the way ay to these valleys in inthe the companies that came here bere in 1847 8 and 9 probably not one in tien ten had bad frood shoes or clothes to keep them com comforte comfor forta tae taT food good bie ble e in moderate weather and but few had bread stuff sufficient to dast fast last them over four months thy came here and here they sta stayed 4 and labored and what they brought WT with them had to answer until they raised enough Jo supply their wants we can still see bee many who ard are not so comfortable as a s they be J i i k who amon among thi this s people b p le can discern the and land L band of god in in all tre these c e circumstances ardd arid that it is necessary that afflictions should come upon them to prove whether they will ie be saints or hotl not nob whether they will he be the friends of god pod or turn away from the holy commandments forsake their god and their religion return to the begarly beggarly elements of the world to the vain fas fashions ions lons and foolish spirits that are abroad deceiving the children of men my dix desire is that the saints should understand that they should be wise having eyes that seep see bee ears that hear heary and hearts that understand as god understands us that they may not be ignorant of the provi dences that attend them at present my fervent desire is for the saints doubtless if in the provi dences of god I 1 am again called to preach the gospel to the world I 1 shall have as fervent a desire for them as I 1 have ever had for the saints but I 1 now feel to strengthen and comfort the saints inasmuch as I 1 have the ability and the spirit bearin bearing witness with yours that we should live our religion and be saints indeed and feel that affinity one to another that becomes the saints of the living god I 1 have no desire at this time to address you upon any particular point of doctrine nor to select a text upon which to expound or explain I 1 merely wish to in inquire ol 01 aire whether the latter day saints understand t and the eventful day in which they live whether they appreciate preci ate ite and understand the peculiar provi dences of 0 god that are cast around them whether they partially comprehend the nature of their own being and afie great object of their existence and place upon the earth if the they understand and ri rightly practice upon all this h every soul of them will keep the faith after the existence of the ills his supremacy his hig right to rule his knowledge knowledge ills his power and his great plan of sal sai salvation vOon for the children of men have been proved beyond the power of truthful contradiction and after tens of thousands have bowed to the truths of the gospel been lieen baptised baptized sed for the remission of sins and received the ordinances of the holy priesthood and run well for a season it is lamentable men table to see so many turn away forsake their covenants and lose sight of all holiness and purity of life becoming like a ship upon the great waste of waters without a compass sail ball rudder or any means for guiding their course and being wafted wafred hither and thither with every wind that blows nob not seeming to I 1 have the least idea of directing direction their awni own course this is a matter of deel deep regret I 1 ask intelligent mena men those in whose bosoms the S spirit of revelation continually ther their souls do not mourn to see the neglect the weakness the blindness and stupidity of those who have received the words of eternal life who have received the promises and covenants of or god and have had the rights and ri privileges of rec receiving eivin elvin the revelations of jesus jestis christ to guide and direct them in the path of truth and holiness so that they could make sure to themselves salvation and eternal lives ilves liv es in the celestia celestial 4 kingdom of our father and god Is it not painful are you not astonished dished to see people who have received the holy hols spirit of promise the holy ghost who have received visions who have been endowed with faith and with the knowledge of god who have had power to lay hands u upon on the sick and diseases have departed at thelt their their command and foul spirits at their word turn awa away and forsake their covenants and th their air godat god if there should not be another meeting of the latter day saints until the winding up scene it would be astonish astonishing ing that any man or woman of good sound sense and i judgment judgment should ever forsake their faith I 1 do n not 0 t know that thata a comparison strong enoah enough can possibly be framed to exhibit the folly of such a proceeding were I 1 to sa say to a so bon son the whole earth is in my hands to dispose of as I 1 will I 1 can make you yog the sovereign of the universe the possessor of the gold the silver the mountains the valleys the rivers the lakes the seas and all that floats upon them and that lives upon the face of the whole earth earthy for it is mine to give to you my son if you will serve me one month faithfully I 1 require nothing of you that will give you the least pain all I 1 require is strict obedience to my law my aly son soil faithfully serves me during twenty nine days and on the thirtieth ilay day for the value of 1 a straw or for a mess of cottage yot Dot cottage tage he sells s his hia right and title to all I 1 iad ead ad promised him liim this comparison falls very far short of showing the loss 1093 a saint sustain when be he turns away from his god and his bis religion reli rell gion eion there thee is one virtue attribute or princia principle I 1 e which if cherished and practiced by the saints would prove salvation to thousands upon thousands I 1 allude to charity or love from which proceed eed forgiveness long iong suffer ing kindness and patience but the short shori lin lix edness and weakness in in some are marvelous to make this a little plainer I 1 will ask do any of your neighbors do anything wron wrong 9 they do people come here krom irom die dif different feren t parts of the earth to make this their adopted coun country and the old residents expect them to at t once conform to and adopt their ina lna manners inners customs and anif traditions or they think the new comers are not worthy of their fellowship in other words if every man inan woman and child does not act think and see aee as I 1 do they are arg sin sinner cinneri nerk neri 31 it is very necessary that we have charity that will Y cover a fr multitude of what we may suppose to b be e sins it is written in the scriptures for charity shall cover a multitude of the sins in its wording this Is not literally dor eor correct for charity does not cover covet up hide or justify actual iniquity it covers up lip a multi multitude e of proprieties improprieties and weaknesses that some ares area ar inclined 4 caned to suppose to le be sins in a community and even in i a family of children that have sprung from he the same parents you can find a great difference in the dispositions and temperaments of individuals you observe an endless variety in the dispositions of bf mankind I 1 will give you an example some soine christian nations lately went to war war with each other what fo for fon pride to please a selfish worldly carnal wicked heart and the priests the majority of them being of the same faith on both sides sided the line of battle prayed to the same god for success in slaying the opposing army if they can have jhc thc the e spirit of the lord thus to pray they can ran have it there and then as well weil as any ank anywhere where else they could haveit as well as the english and americans in the revolutionary war when they went to battle they prayed fervently each side praying lord save my countrymen preserve our armies direct every ball that is is discharged from our guns directly to the hearts of our enemies until they are comp completely lately used up god distributes his spirit to all both christian and pagan this thi s to some may appear very strange but it is true for there is not a christian or pagan nation family or individual upon the whole earth to td whom the lord has not more or less at times dispensed his spirit the pagan is as fervent in his desires to his god for a good and holy influence to attend him in the worship of his idols as we are to the god of heaven the father of us all the being baing who has brought all mankind into existence and sustains them by his providence and fatherly care he ile bestows bestons blessings upon all his children and enlightens them more mole or less by hi his s spirit and guides the affairs of all nations states countries arid and peoples his ills kind benevolence and influence bf by the power of his spirit are over them all in in this territory are people gathered from almost all nations where they have been differently educated educate dp differently tra and di differently flit fill brently ruled how ilien then pan we expect the them u to look to 0 o act and to have sentiments faith fath and aid customs precisely alike I 1 do not expect to see any such puch thing but I 1 endeavor to look upon them as an angel would having compassion long iong ong summering suffering and forbearance towards them how many times can I 1 forgive a brother I 1 do not know for I 1 have never been particularly tried upon ahk point but I 1 think I 1 could forgive a brother seventy times seven in one day if I 1 had not learned that he had a design to commit evil ile he might commit overt acts every half minute in a day and if he felt to sincerely repent I 1 could forgive him every body should do so and especially the saints how many of us charge evil upon our conr neighbors or upon members of our families when they have desired according to the best of their ability and striven acco according iding to the best of their knowl knowledge rihl ge and as fervently as they could to do right where then is our charity our bene benevolence benevolent volen e long iong suffering 1 1 and pa patience tierce we should overcome all unfriendly desires to overthrow each other and strive to inculcate those principles that pertain to eternal lifer men are greedy for the vain things of this world in their hearts they are it is true that the things of this world are designed to make us comfortable and they make some p people as happy as they can be here but riches can never make nake the latter day saints happy riches of them themselves selve seive s cannot produce permanent ha happiness P 8 only the spirit that ato aio lues lies comes from above v c can a n do that if weare we are compelled to eat our oun morsel under a rock in the wilderness or in a log cabin we are happy sove so we possess that spirit if a man drinks at the fountain of eternal life he is as happy under the broad canopy of heaven without a home as in a palace this I 1 know by experience I 1 know that the things of this world from beginning to end from tae the possession of |
