Show DI DISCOURSE S C 0 U R 8 FE vy w ELDER JOHN TAYLOR DELIVERED at the adjourned general conference of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints held in the new tabernacle sait satt lake city thursday morning may ath 1874 REPORTED BY br DAVID W EVANS THOSE things which we have been listening ng to are 0 of ve very grea great importance mp to the latter at r day saints situated as we arc nrc enter entertaining tit in the views that we do in possession 0 of the light and intelligence that have be been communicated unto us ue we vuc stand in these respects in an entirely different position from that 0 of I 1 the world with which we are arc surrounded and as has already been stated it Is necessary that we begin to reflect a little upon that which has been revealed to us that we may understand der stand our position and relationship to each other the duties and responsibilities that devolve upon us as fathers as mothers as children as ciders elders of israel and in all the vadious various relationships of life ilfe and that we may comprehend the requIre merits made of us by our heavenly father some home of those things h have he be n presented before us are obvious to every reflecting ting igind there Is nothing u anomalous or peculiar abacut about toem thay are nrc bilings which have been more or less by different sta esmen among the various nations of the earth and according to circumstances they have been adopted more or less by a gr at many people and we the latter day ailts have approached nearer to them than miny many of us seem to have any idea iden of there would not bo be time at present to enter ioto loto an cl detail of the various plans ideas an ali I 1 workings involved in the principles wh wll eh ch have been presen presented tid I 1 lefore leforc us this muni ins hut wit in taking a cursory view of our position we shall und that it is very different from that of auy other people we have already carried out t a great many wany of those things which hive been referred to that is s a great many of us have not all the position that we have mccu led in this nation in the states state of lisso Is sotiri iiri and illinois and in tle the various countries of those states and the history of this people has been a very peculiar ane one it Is true as has been said that it if we would give up our oun religion and act and feel as othera act and feel wo we should he hall hail fellows well met with the w wrid rid and we could have the fello rello p of the devil and all his imps we could have thit this all the time if we would conform our ideas to theirs but what are their ideas who can describe them they thoy are simply a babel of contrarieties contradictions confusion ignorance darkness speculation mystery folly vanity crime iniquity and every kind of evil that man can think or of and if we were wili wiil willing ug to join in with this it would be all right and we should be hall hail fellows well met but wo we do not propose to do that god has spoken from the heavens the light and intelligence which exist in the eternal worlds have been communicated the heavens have been opened and the revelations of god given to Tn man anand and we have participated in them i i party part and the light thus received has enabled us to look at the world as it Is it has opened to our view the visions of eternity it has made us acquainted with our god with the principles of truth and we would not b birter that for all the world has to give vie VIC us we rejoice therefore and thank god fr the light and intelligence that he has communicated to us ns and so far we have measurably been one and we could not have helped ourselves and pre vented tented iti it if we had desired to for the world was determined to make us one or make hypocrites of us like themselves one of the two we had cither elther got to be one or deny the principles that god has implanted in every honest mans soul and we would not do that no 0 o man viii will barter his independence no 0 man will barter his convictions no man who is intelligent and honorable will barter his religion or his politics at the caprice of any other man god has implanted certain principles in man and as long as manhood Is retained they can not be obliterated they are written there as in letters of living fire and there they will remain so long as we retain our manhood and stand standing hig before god what has been tho the result of this so BO far as it has gone why when the people in missouri proposed that we should live amon among them in peace if we would leave our religion did wn WB do it not quite what dd did we do we clung elang to our religion and what did those honest generous gentle xentie intelligent christian people do robbed us of nearl nearly y alleo possessed and with the tho balance we agreed to help one another to get to some place where men could worship god according acco iding ding to the dictates of their thein conscience if such a place could be found in republican america well we left did we unite yes we did and every man that had a team a wagon two three or four horses two three four five or six yoke of cattle or bread money or er clothing distributed among his hla brethren and we helped one another out oat until every man wh wanted to leave had bad left there might have been a few miserable skee such as we have among us here a few miserable hounds left but what of them why nothing at all they did not think anything of themselves and nobody thought anything of them we commenced again in illinois just on the same principle there we built a temple and performed the ordinances of god in in his house ther there e we attended to our sacraments cra ments entered elered into our covenants and commenced anew to worship god sord lord ecord in ing to the dictates of our own consciences 1 and n I there again we found a lot of christians just tte the same as in missouri who did not like ilka our religion said they gentlemen we do not like your religion but if you will be like ilke likens us you can live among us if you yon do not believe and worship god as we wc do you yon can not stay here well we could not quite come it t en any more did berre and they killed joseph smith and hyrum smith our lio llo ases ages destroyed our property aud let loose mobs epou upon us and deprived us of the rights of american citizens and finally we had to eave leave cave the states and come out among the red men of the desert that we might find that protection among the sav aces ates that christendom denied us how did we get here we helped one another in the temple that wo we had bad erected and dedicated to the most high god we lifted up our hands before ged god and covenanted covenant cd before him that we would help one another to leave that land so long as there was one left in it who desired to le uve ite did we keep this covenant we did why because we felt an interest in the welfare of our brethren we believed in our religion in building up of the kingdom of god and in carrying out his bis purposes and designs the chrls Chris christians tims object to all this of course they do but who cares about them I 1 do not not one straw we have had so sd much of their tender mercies that they take no effect now upon us again we pay our tithing ug some may enquire do not tho the priesthood rob you I 1 do riot not know I 1 do not think we are arc robbed very much or that we are very tery much injured we do not do enough of it to be injured tery very much we are something like what the boy said of his father A man asked a boy are are arc you a mormon yes Is your father a mormon said the boy yes but he dont potter much at it there arg ara a great many of us who do not potter auch much at it but still we make the attempt what have we done since we came here be before fore the railroad gas was as made e sent from heie year after year as many as five hun dred teams to help the poor who were unable to help themselves hence you jou sec bee V aaa a good deal of this unity of action has been carried out among us ns but we have only pottered pattered pott ered a little at it we have not get right into the matter only in part our ladles ladies relief and other societies and organization tlona tiona i have done a good deal of this kind of thing and they are arc looking after afler the interests os of the poor the widow and the fatherless whal what is the business of our bishops why to attend to these thede things do they do it they do and then if the there re is any enterprise or anything required the people are ready to ta take ke hold and do it independent eay ot of these covenants coten coven aits alts wo we have heard spoken of A short time ago iu in st george they commenced to build a temple men were called upon from dlf dif different parts some dorme from this city a great many from sani saul san etc co anty and from the different settlements to go co and assist down in that locality in building the temple did they do it yes was there much grunting about it I 1 hate have not heard that anere was I 1 happened to be in a meeting a short time ago and it was said they wanted blittle means to help to clothe these men and to furnish farnish them certain things and in a very little w u hile there were some ten or twelve hundred dollars subscripted without any grunting there is a fc clini of sympathy in the hearts of latter day saints towards one another and for the building up in and advancement van cement of the kingdom of ZM god but yet some of us are a little startled when we hear about uniting our properties ac I 1 am amused sometimes to see sec the maul maui manifestation fest fe of feeling by some on this subject J act we have been praying a long while that we might go back to jackson county aud and build up the centre stake of zion that we might enter into the united order of god and be one in both temporal and spiritual things in fact in ever thing yet when it comey comes along it startles us wo we are confused and hardly know what to think of it this reminds me of an anecdote which I 1 will relate to you among the passengers ou on a steamer crossing the at ianne was a very zealous minister who was all the time preaching to those ou on board about the glory and happiness of heaven and how bow happy they would all bo be when they got there during the voyage a very heavy storm arose and the tho tessel vessel was drifted from her course and was in great danger of striking on a reef of rocks the captain went to examine his chart and after a while returned with a very sorrowful face ald alq aid ard said ladles ladies and gentlemen in twenty minutes from this time we shall all be in heaven god forb forbid idl idi said the minister many of us arc a good deal like this minister for years we have been talking about a new order of 01 thins things about union and happiness and about going bacr back to jackson countr counts but the moment it is presented to us wo we say god forbid but then on sober second thought another feeling seema seems to inspire us and wherever we go a spirit seems no rest upon the people which leads them almost unanimously to embark in these things and when we reflect saying nothing about our religion an extended system of co opera tion seems to agree with every principle of good common sense Is there anything extraordinary or new now in the doctrine that it is well for a community to be self gelf sus ta ining why the whigs you know of this country have contended on en that principle from froin the time of the organization of the government and they have sanctioned it and plead in its behalf before congress in p political 0 11 t ical cau cusses and before the peo pie up 1 t to e the prec pres present ent cut time there is nothing in r new in the doctrine of a people heln dein being 11 self sustaining the fir t napoleon vapoleon Ya introduced into france wll wil is known as the continental system which encouraged the production prodoc tion of all ne nemery cery articles at home and it is the res reb results of this system which today to day gives stability to france and has enabled her after the severe trials irlies of the late war to pay off her indebted indebtedness nass and stand independent amona among the nations now for instance we require a great many things in connect connection iol lol with human hurna n existence we need boots and shoes stockings stocking pants vests coats hats handkerchiefs shirts we need cloth of manious various kinds and dresses shawls bonnets ac and in every reflecting reflect inc inz ini mind the question naturally arises Is it better for us to make these things ourselves at home or to have somebody abroad make them thern for us Is it t etter for each man to labor separately as we do now or to be organized so as to make the most of our labor we have a large number of hides here in this territory what do we do with them genc generally rally raily send them to the states we raise a large amount of wool wooi here herc what abat do we do with it we export a great dealoe deai deal of it to the states we have got a large amount of excellent timber here what do we do for our furniture we send to the states for a great dealo deai of fit it where dowe do we get our palls and our and all our cooper ware from we send to the stat states es for it where do we get our brooms from from the states slates and so on all the way through the catalogue and aud millions on millions of dollars are P nt out of the territory every year for the purchase of article articles most of which we could manufacture and raise at home this is certainly very poor poon oon economy for we have lave thousands M and thousands of men who are desirous to get some kind of employment and they cannot get it why because other people arc making our shoes lats clothing bonnets silks artificial flowers and many other things that we need this may do very well for awhile in an artificial state of society but the moment any reverse comes that kind of thing is upset and all our calculations are destroyed I 1 believe in organizing the tanners and havin having the hides tanned at home when the hides arc are tanned lanned I 1 believe in organizing the shoemakers and manufacturing our own shoes and boots I 1 believe in in keeping our wool at home homed and in having it manufactured in our own factories ana we have got as good factories here as anywhere they r f hould should work up all the wool in the country and if there Is not enough raised to keep them running import more then I 1 believe I 1 in n organizing men to take care of our stock our cattle and sheep and increasing the clip of wool that thit we may hate haye enough to meet the demands of the whole community then when our cloth is made I 1 believe in organizing tailors tai tal lors lons companies to manufacture that cloth into clothing pants coats vests and everything of the kind that hat we need decd then for our furniture I 1 believe belleve in going into the mountains and cutting slitting down doin the timber framing it into proper shape and then manufacturing the various articles of furniture that we need if we require lann ther kind of tim ber berio berlo import aport that but make the furniture here when we talk about operation cooperation co wr have entered but very 11 tle tie nt it and it has been almost exclusively confined to the purchase of goods there Is not much in that I 1 wish we would learn leam how to produce them dinst instead ad of purchasing them I 1 wish wr we could concentrate our energies and organize all hands old middle aged and young male and female anid an d put them under proper directions with proper materials to manufacture everything wo we need to wear and use we have forgotten even how to make borgum molasses and our oun memories are arc getting short on other points we can hardly make a hat or coat or a pa pair pain ir of boots and shoes boutwe but we have to send bend to the states and import these paper ones |