Show reisla REISIA REMARKS by M IDENT BRIGHAM at he general conference G 8 L city oct oth 3 i J A reported BY lly 0 1 WATT I 1 wish now to deliver a few short dis courses to the latter day saints and it does not matter which of them I 1 deliver r nir fir first at because they are all of equal interest arnd arid importance to the saints and will be spread upon the pages qa of the DESERET NEWS for them to tol mol read at their leisure in that order that may suit them the first item that presents itself to me isto call eail upon the sisters they form dingan ing an important element of the kingdom domhof of godin god in thelast the last days to listen to the will of god concerning them that they go to now and manufacture from straw t grass rass or tor an any other fitting material ala that t grows in these hese valleys their bonnets and hats and cease to sell the barley the oats the wheat etc to buy imported ones or when the wheat and the oats and the barley are all so sold id get your husbands to run into debt for that which you can as well make yourselves as i not notz I 1 am satisfied that we can make from material grown in these valleys bonnets and hats as beautiful to look upon as anything that has ever been imported to this territory I 1 am addressing myself to the ladies of the kingdom of god to those who know how to keep their houses furniture and beds pure and clean who can cook food for their husbands and children in a way that it will be clean tasteful and wholesome the wordan woman that can do this I 1 call a lady in this view I 1 differ from the world generally for the lady of the world is not supposed to know anything about what is going on in the kitchen her highest ambition is to be sure and and be in the fashion at no matter what cost to her husband or father she considers that she may as well bo be out of 1 the world as out of the fashion thene tT there here has been a great deal said upon the subject of home shome manufacturing and the article of straw is the readiest readiest to come at of any other material of which clothing is made now my sisters will you sou ou hearken to those who spend all their time to do you good who traverse the world over to gather ather the saints to preach the gospel make believers and gather ather them to together ether that they may become saints will you hearken to this counsel and obey it rye bye should be sown in the spring and iut cut sut in the proper season and cured as it should be to make gaoa good straw for hats and bonnets t and our boys and girls should braid it and have it made u up and save the immense amount of rea rex ready means which we have to pay out for that article alone will the sisters belonging to the tho kingdom of god do this I 1 might wail for a vote ote of those who are aro present and no doubt you would enter into a covenant to perform this dut duty ya and nd many very likely would not glye give the matter another thou thought ht I 1 will not ask you to vote but I 1 will ask you to athis do this a as s a duty and to commence inight away lt in anthis this city by wards and form yourselves into societies for the accomplishment of this purpose and see that the little boys anc ana and girls instead of their running wild in 14 the th e streets throwing the dust and dirt into their hair and garments from morning until night are brought into the house their skins and clothes washed clean their hair combed neatly and they set to braiding straw this will teach them to become industrious and save them from contracting habits of indolence and slothfulness ful fui ness and be the means of introducing an important branch of industry into our country how much better this would dit lit than to let our children waste their time in unnecessary play they need time to study time for recreation and time to be en engaged aged in some useful employment itis atis it is the duty of parents to see that the time of their children is properly appropriated to pursuits of usefulness profit and advantage to themselves to their parents or guardians and to the kingdom of god at large that they may grow up to become enni efti efficient clent elent and worthy citizens of that kingdom kindom bishops will you see that enough rye is sown to supply the wants of the people ae of your wards and see that the crep crop is D harvested when it should be to make good straw for braiding if you will do this and the people will not avail themselves of making their own hats and bonnets there is no complaint c can cin in be attached to you I 1 have raised crops of rye from year to year and invited the people to use the straw for making bonnets and hats but no the merchants had imported bonnets and our ladies preferred going to the stores and buying them when will this people be saints indeed not until they observe every counsel that is given to them theiu of this kind doing with their might the things that are required of theny them IC 1 know it is the will of the lord that this people should manufacture what they wear and consume and in addition to its ite being the will of the lord the liability of our being cut off from supplies through being so far distant from the great manufacturing districts teaches us that it ia Is wisdom and true economy that we should adopt thih thia course couise the money which this community has expend edin eLrin hats and bonnets for men women and children in the last year would bring scores and hundreds of the poor saints from the old countries to these valleys of utah Is it wise in us and pleasing to tahe hd lord for us to place the means lie he has blessed us with where it does not belong while our sons and our daughters instead of idling away their time or being employed in that which does not profit them or usi us might be engaged in preserving such means among arto us to be applied in the further progress C of the work of god k my aly next discourse will be upon merchandising chan dising we are herein here in these valleys of the mountains organized as a people le and we know how we came to Ee neotere otere be here and we know the designs of god and the designs of our enemies concerning us we know the distinction which is dhawn drawn between between this peole and the world these things we un er stand now we propose to the bishops presiding elders and leading members of the church lurch who are here assembled to represent the kingdom of god upon the earth and to all those who are not here who act in these capacities in the various places where there are saints gathered together to do their own merchandising and cease to give the wealth which the lord has given us to those who would destroy tile the kingdom of god and scatter us to the four winds if they had the power cease to buy from them the gewgaws and frivolous things they bring here to sell to us for our money money and means means that we should have to bring the poor here to build our temples our towers ornament our public grounds and buildings and to beautify our cities for eor F or as Is merchandising has been generally I 1 conducted I 1 isted here instead of h avin i gour means to perform these public works it has been borne bome away by our ene enemies pales by by the million I 1 wish the brethren in all our settlements to buy the goods they must have and freight them with their own te teams and then let every one of the L latter atter day saints male and female decree in their hearts that they will buy of nobody else elso but their own faithful brethren who will do good with the money morey they will thus obtain I 1 know it is the will of god that we should sustain ourselves for if we do not we must perish so faras favas receiving aid frem irem from any quarter except god and ourselves if we have not capital ourselves there are plenty of honorable men whom our brethren can enter into partnership with who would furnish sh and assist them whenever they should receive an intimation to that effect I 1 know knowlt A is our duty to save ourselves the enemy of all righteousness will do nothing to help heip us in n that work neither will his chi ehi children held heid drew we have to preserve ourselves for our enemies are determined to destroy us I 1 know it is the duty of this people to build up themselves for our enemies will not build us up but they will do their uttermost to tear us down this Thi will swill not apply to all but there are enough to bark and yelp and growl and snarl till the peaceable good deanin meaning N man dare not open his mouth we have thousands of warmhearted warm hearted friends who dare not say anything in favor of this people we have friends in congress who wish us to become a state in the union but they dare not tell of it no let them only say in their own districts that they would vote for utah to become a state and that would be their political grave and they know it if nobody will speak for us let us s speak eak for ourselves if no person else wili wiil will do anything for us let us do dof something for ourselves this is right itis it is politically right religiously right nationally right socially and morally right night and it is right in every sense seila e of the trie word for us to sustain ourselves e let us save that money which we spend for bonnets and hats and the trimmings that are upon them you may ask me if I 1 think my family will start out with a good example in this direction I 1 hope bope they will if we will be dill diligent ent in this kind of econ economy 0 m y and make ma ai e all we can within ourselves ourse 1 ve s and sent send out as little of our ready means as possible it will place at our control means which we do not now command to gather ther thousands of the poor saints what I 1 am now about to say is on the subject of the use of tobacco let us raise our own tobacco or quit using it in the years 49 50 51 52 12 and 53 and so long as I 1 kept myself posted respecting the amount expended pearlt yearly by tilis tills people at the stores for articles artic es of merchandise we spent upwards of one hundred thousand dollars a year for tobacco alone we now spend considerably more than we did then let us save this ready means in our country by abstaining from the use of this narcotic or raise it ourselves by so doing we will have that amount of means meana to circulate in ehan chan channels eis els of usefulness and profit which will add to our strength to our permanency and to our influence and importance as a great pe people le but when we place hundreds 0 of I 1 t thousands u of dollars in the hands of those who are not of us whose homes are not with us who spend nothing to build up our country but come here merely to make fortunes to spend elsewhere we give them so much of our strength and we are proportionately weakened this is poor economy I 1 and is displeasing to the lord because it retards regards the devel of his purposes I 1 will not call upon you to enter into a covenant to do this for some might break their covenants and that would be a sin but I 1 want what you do in this matter to be prompted by a desire fo to bring to pass some permanent profit and good bood to yourselves and to the cause which we represent I 1 want you to do it as I 1 have done it myself I 1 have never made a covenant since I 1 entered this church only to do good and serve the lord our god and in every possible way aid in developing his purposes the lord gave me strength to lay aside tobacco and it is very veri very rarely indeed that I 1 taste tea or coffee yet I 1 have no objection to aged persons when they are fatigued and feel infirm taking a little stimulus that will do them good it is wrong to use narcotics for the nervous system is destroyed or injured thereby but we should maintain a healthy action of all the powers of the body which should be devoted to the service of our father and god in building up his kingdom on the earth now brethren bishops presiding elders influential influent lai lar men men or of property and and money will you go to now and gather jather up the means in your settlements m ants and set some good reliable men to merchandising in every settlement men who if they make anything will devote it io to the building up of the kingdom of bf god upon the earth I 1 care not how much a man makes if he only devotes it to proper uses or how rich he may be if hemanes he makes a right application of his riches it is the bad use that men make of their wealth which god objects to go to my brethren and pre prepare ar ath yourselves forthwith to import the goods you must have and never admit of astore being started in your neighborhood again that you cannot control it maybe may be asked how hove you can prevent it by never spending a dollar with any who will not aid in developing the country and in build hig nig it up K a it is the duty of this people to do their own pa merchandising anu ana ifa ha had d the power 1 I would prevail upon them to take care of themselves to provide for themselves and use their means in a way to benefit and bless biess themselves instead of pouring into the laps of those who will squander and make an ill lii use of it who will use it to sustain the power of the enemy in his operations against the kingdom of god this is right and who can say aught against it nobody but a faultfinder fault finder or an accuser As it has always been and will be yet for sometime when the sons of god goa assemble together satan will be on hand haud as an accuser of the brethren to find faul aith Mith those who are trying bryin to do good what I 1 have said on tl this s matter will answer my purpose A I 1 there is another item itera which 1 I will now notice and until wo we leam learn such things I 1 will promise romise vou you on that we shall never inherit the celestial kingdom we are gathered together for the purpose ose of learning what to do with this presen present life ilfe 1 and v with th the present blessings bestowed upon us if we do not learn these lessons how hov can we expect to be trusted with the ile riches of eternity for he that is faithful over a few things shall be made ruler over many things the item I 1 wish to refer to is the great loss which the people of this territory summer suffer yearly in stock I 1 have talked about it heretofore many times and tried to pr prevail e v a 1 1 upon n the to save their st stock 0 e k when en wa we are blessed with an increase of cattle and avd we disregard this blessing which the lord bestows bestons upon us we thereby incur his I 1 displeasure and lay ourselves liable to ta punishment what earthly father would bestow blessings upon a son with satisfaction and pleasure while that son would continue to squander therland them thera and gamble them away for nothing after a time that futher father would withhold his favors and bestow them upon the more worthy child the lord is more merciful than we are but there may be a termination mi nation to his gifts if we do not receive them with gratitude and take good care of them when we have them thein in our possession let the people take care carp of their cattle and horses and the man who does not do it will lay himself liable to censure in the eyes of justice listen to this advice for he here re is is economy we have to gather the people to send our elders forth into all the world to preach the gospel to every creature and ahen the people beope are gathered there is probably not one fathered family amily to fifty out of those who wilo are brought here that knows anything about cultivating the earth raising cattle or doing anything to sustain themselves we ve have to learn them this after they come here we have imbor tuned and plead with and instructed the people on these topics all the day long rising early and continuing late until now and many a great many have profited by our labors the citizens of this city are tolerably comfortable a great many of them have an i abundance of fruit and they enjoy enjoy it it is very |