Show 1 I 1 WEM REMARKS C A R K S by bli er ml N id B deib deti delivered ea offs t y 11 ild bernach tabernacle salt sait we lake city i xay 1871 REPORTED BY DAVID W EVANS IF my friends will have patience with me ine awill I 1 will say a few words to the latter day saints I 1 say I 1 do pray you to prove the words of brother cannon true with regard to being obedient to your president in all things and doing as he tells you I 1 pray you to hearken to this counsel if you do contention and sin will cease and we shall shail not see men going to the canyon or riding out for pleasure on the sabbath day instead of coming here to meeting we shall hear no more of their taking advantage of each other stirring up strife going to law bearing false witness or pilfering a little the one from the other I 1 pray you to take this counsel and cease your wickedness lat ter day saints and do as your president tells yeut you I 1 feel to say this and if you will be patient with me I 1 will say a little more there are strangers here and to them I 1 will say we have traveled the earth over and where we could not go we have sent by elders and by proclamation we have asked the inha dinha inhabitants tants of the earth to become acquainted with our doctrine would they read it no would they go to hear an elder preach ho no as a general thing they would not if we had been let alone while sith ith the christians we would have been there now proclaiming the gospel to say to strangers that we were not persecuted because wo we believed in having many wives for that principle was not known to our persecutors until we came to these mountains although the revelation was received by joseph smith and written a year before his death since this doc doctrine trino trInA has been beers proclaimed we have lived in peace the inquiry among many and especially among our political friends tri trl ends is what are you going to do are you going to observe wa law against plurality of wives or are you going to obey the revelation we we have obeyed the revelation thus far and still live that I 1 can say and perhaps that is enough what do we say about the law makers go to ye legislator legislators 4 and make a law that every man in ia this government shall he hee hpe e one wife you have j as good a right so io do that as to say that we shall not have two let every man have his wife raise his family live virtuously and keep his vows and our difficulty is at an au end wo we say to congressmen and presidents have your wife and we also say to every political and financial man the world over marry the women and take care of them and save us the trouble if you do not we will gather them up just as sure as the world many destroy lite life we save it and as we have said years and years ago we say now to all the day that you will be virtuous and cease your unlawful connections with the sex and every man have b his Is wife and all the inhabitants of this government observe this rule wo we shall have then theli but one wife apiece but we shall save all we can save the men are the lords of the earth and they are more inclined to reject the gospel than thel tho women the women area anea are a great deal more inclined to believe the truth than the men they corn coyn comprehend pre pie liend it more quickly and they are submissive and easy to teach and if we cannot save the merr men let us save the women for god sake and do not find fault with us again a gentleman said to me the other day what are you going to do with the anti polygamy law I 1 replied nothing at all we mind our own business and I 1 hope everybody else will we have not meddled with it and do not expect to but we expect to live I 1 I 1 want to say a word with regard to what are called our former persecutions though 1 I for one will acknowledge that I 1 have never been persecuted As for what people do with my name I 1 do not know nor care they use it for good or for evil just as they please the lord gave a revelation through his hig servant to me that my name should be had for good and and for evil before the nations of the earth and if that is the way they use it all right elther either one or both no matter hands off is all I 1 ask andlee us hava have the privilege of living in peace butwill but will yoube you arken hearken to the truth will you listen to the words of eternal life we have traveled the earth over and have read to the people out of the boox boor of life but as a general thing they have refused to receive it it is true that a few have received it in the past and I 1 hope that many will in the future we shall gather and save all nil we can the riseland rise and cause of ouy out persecutions havo have been just the same as it has ever been in the experience of the saints of god who were the leaders and foremost in the ranks of the Sa saviors per pen 1 the scribes and the pharisees Pharis ees who were ivere foremost in the ranks in persecuting joseph smith even when he had bad the pledge of the governor of the state of illinois that he should be preserved and when not ohe obe scratch or law could be feind who led the blackened crew who said that if the law could not reach him powder and ball should the priests they have always led the van and always wil wll lint is baal against christ now as it always tas yas nas when we were jn in missouri the order was waa was issued must leave the state slate and thi thirty r e i fave five hundred men nien were paraded for M battie battle tte against ga nat about three hundred orthe odthe elders of israel but the they did not happen to kill ua us all they took joseph or rather they thoy senu sent for him and hyrum and they went down to their camp and general clark called the brethren together and said ne be give up your arns and every weapon you have and the brethren gave them up I 1 stood there and b howard toward eard the general declare gentlemen you are the best and most peaceable community there is in this state but said he be as for your prophets bishops high councils ac meshall we shall shail not permit you to have the them Z any longer forsake your religion and aban abandon oa your Prop prophet beti betl we have him and you will never see him again forsake this banding toge together and being one and live with us and become as we are you tou you are the very mechanics and farmers we want you have hava shown us how to build mills set out orchards raise wheat rear Tear com corn fordable for table habitations school the children build meeting house bouses sandin gandin shor have done more to make the count thre eyears than we have in fifteen YOU yon are good citizens but you yon must not clan to together ether you must disperse among the people if you do not remember the militia will be upon you we bid them goodbye good bye and left our property we would not forsake our prophets then and weare we are of tha the same mind yet here we are though we did not come here because we chose choose to get out of the way of the christians we wanted to stay with our former brethren to induce them if possible to receive the truth but they would not hear it the world of mankind ia is sunk in ignorance and darkness but the lord almighty haa baa revealed his will from heaven and we shall declare it to the people and give them a chance to receive or reject it the lord laora invites all to come and partake of the benefits of his gospel which we are told in the scriptures is the power of god unto salvation and our experience ce has proved that is so whether taken in ar amoral noral norai social political or financial point of view we have gathered the poorest class of men to be bei found on the continent of america and T was one of them and we have gathered the same class from E europe drope for very few indeed of those who have obeyed the gospel have ever been the possessors of any wealth we have taken the poor and the ignorant from the dens and caves ot the earth and brought them here and we have labored day and night week after week and year after year to make ourselves comfortable and to obtain all the knowledge know lege there is in in the world and the tho knowledge that comes from frova god and we shall continue to dp so we shall take the weak and the feeble and bring them up to the standard that god requires the gospel of life and salvation doe does not reduce those who obey it to beggary but it takes te the poor and the ignorant makes them wise and happy and surrounds them with the comforts of life and everything desirable and teaches them to serve god with all their hearts this gentlemen is our doctrine faith and practice and we wish strangers to understand der stand that we did not come here out of choice but because we were obliged to go somewhere and this was the lest test place we could coula find it was waa impossible for arly any per son to live here unless he ho labored hard and battled and fought against the elements but etwas it was a first rate place plade to raise ralso latter lafter day saints and ana we shall be blessed in living here and shall hall yet baake make it like tha tho garden of eden and the lord almighty will hedge abou about his tHis saints a and ana hid fid will defend and preserve them if they will do his will the only fear I 1 have is that we will not do right if we do we will be like a ec citi city set on a hill our light will not be hid I 1 trust that the time timo will soon come in all things our conduct will be such that all the tho world might pattern after us with advantage I 1 can say pay that at the present time we are far from that it is sometimes said by strangers we suppose you yon lat ter day saints consider yourselves perfect dont you I 1 answer not by any means we are as imperfect as a people ought to be and a little more so I 1 wish that what brother george georbe Q said of you was true that you yon were all ali 0 obedient bedient to your president if you all ail will be you will cease sinning tattling lying back biting and strife and all will be industry indu ous prudent faithful faithful and fall of wisdom and and ana good works and the power of god will be upon us more and more and we will be able to do more good to the inhabitants of the earth we have no quarrel with anybody we exchange ideas but we will not contend As I 1 used to say to the ministers when traveling and preaching 1 I will not dispute isyou if you yon want the truth I 1 will give it you and if you have a truth that I 1 have not I 1 want all you have but contention is not my calling it ia is no part of the gospel 0 of brist christ that is peace life and salvation the lord lora has given that to me and ana you and you yon are welcome to it I 1 wanted to say these few words to you I 1 thank you for your patience god bless you amen musical an excellent opportunity is now presented to those desirous of learning vocal and instrumental music tuition classes under the of the deseret philharmonic Philar monie monic society are as will be seen from an advertisement under the head of special notices in operation the terms are moderate enough to be within the reach of all |