than in ages gone by; we can now | see his foot-prints more clearly and can realize more sensibly the Work in which he is moving, bringing to pass his purposes for the redemption of the world, for the overthrow of sin and iniquity and for the establishment of his kingdom, which Prophets, long ages past and gone, have seen would be set up in the last days. We have undertaken to do our part towards establishing his kingdom, which will eventually reign over the whole earth, where all nations, kingdoms, tongues and people will acknowledge Emanuel's sway and the earth be lit up with the glory of God and be prepared for his kingdom and coming. In these valleys of the mountains a nucleus is finally formed of a people who have been gathered out from all the nations of the earth, for the express purpose of sustaining holy and righteous principles which the Almighty has revealed from the heavens and to form a community that shall be self-sustaining. Latter-day Saints associate together in a community to prove to the Lord and to the world that they can sustain themselves; that the doctrines and principles God has revealed to them are self-sustaining in their nature—so much so, that a whole community may be sustained by practicing and living faithfully up to them. Hence it is that the shafts of the enemy are directed against us for the overthrow and destruction of those holy principles. altation in the kingdom of God if we are true to each other and to the principles which have been revealed. We are not guessing at these things, nor groping our way in the dark in relation to them. Should not our course be to turn aside every shaft of the enemy aimed at our brother as well as at ourselves? When we see danger, should we not warn our brother against it and use every exertion to assist each other to walk faithfully in the right way, shielding each other from the power of the enemy and endeavoring to pick up those who are wandering into bye and forbidden paths, pointing out to them the right way and exhorting them to walk in it? We should guide the footsteps of the young and ignorant, and teach them the principles which have a tendency to bring them into the path of life and glory. We should try to overcome all weaknesses and eradicate from our bosoms every unholy desire and remove from our footsteps every evil way. We too often see carelessness and indifference in the midst of this people with regard to these small matters; I call them small, because they are so often passed by and neglected. We ought to instil into our children a nice sense of honor and truthfulness in their words, that when they come to act in real life they may receive and reverence principles of holiness that will lead them ultimately to the possession of eternal life and salvation. People often speak jestingly We know of a verity that the of the holy things which we hold, or Work in which we are engaged is of should hold sacred. I have heard God; we know we have the know- people do it, and always tell them ledge of God our Father and of his they would satisfy my feelings much Son Jesus Christ, whom to know is better if they would not make a jest life everlasting; we know in whom of things I hold sacred. I remember we have put our trust; we know the a man in Nauvoo, who was principles which we have espoused spicuous in this Church, once at a are based upon a solid and sure foun- party saying to the fiddler, “Let me dation; we know they are true, and lay hands on that old fiddle, and then truth is eternal and will lead to ex-perhaps you will not have so much con This great work in regard to train trouble with the strings." I was then | tion, and the fear of the world's a Gentile, as they called them, and scorn, their laugh and ribald jest have he, no doubt, thought that such jest- their influence upon the mind of the ing with holy things would please child. Hence it becomes necessary that me, but I always despised him after- more pains should be taken in inwards for making use of such an ex-structing them and showing them the pression and making light of one of propriety of truthfulness and honest the holy ordinances of God which he uprightness of conduct to strengthen professed to believe in. Jesting on and protect them in the hour of sacred matters grates on my ears. I temptation. do not suppose people mean any harm when they do it, but it has a dele-ing our children should not be terious influence upon our children, neglected, because it is while they are whom we ought to teach to reverence yourg that we can have the greatest sacred things. I would like their and most lasting influence over them. sense of honor to be such that they It is the privilege of the Latter-day will do right because they love to do Saints in these valleys of the mounright, and not refrain from doing tains more especially to attend to this wrong merely because they are afraid sacred duty, because when we mingled somebody will see them do wrong. with the outside world we could not Let the love of right be bred in them, there enjoy the rights, the liberty and that feeling of honest consciousness the freedom we enjoy in these mounof doing right, and not evil, that shall tains. No child is laughed and scoffed preserve them in the hour of tempta- at here because his father and mother tion. Let the love of right be instilled are Mormons. Then let us attend to in their young and tender minds, these matters and govern ourselves that it may grow with their growth by the holy principles that have been and strengthen with their strength, revealed to our understandings, live learning to love the truth for its our holy religion faithfully and bring beauty and the things of God because forth the blessings of peace, the blessthey are worthy of being loved. ings of the Almighty which are ready Often people are deterred from doing to drop from the heavens upon us as right because of what the world will fast as we are able to receive and use say and for fear of the pointing of the them profitably to ourselves and to the finger of scorn. That is not what Work in which we are engaged. The we should care about; we should care child needs first to ripen in judgment to please God and do the things that and good understanding before the are right before him, and then let the father can commit any great trust to world wag as it will. This ought to his charge. be our motto, and we ought constantly to seek to instil this feeling into the bosoms of our children, that they may act upon the principles of right because they love them and prefer them because they are good before the Lord, and eschewing evil because it is hateful to them. The child is naturally inclined to this way. It is their associations with the wickedness that is in the world that teaches them hypocrisy and evil of every descrip So it is in the dealings of our Heavenly Father with his people; he knows better than we do when to bestow great blessings upon us and what is for our best good. We should improve upon the blessings he has already given us to the fullest extent of the light and information we can get, and not trouble ourselves as to what is in the future, because that is just beyond our reach. If we travel. in the path I have been trying to mark out, we shall attain everything we can 66 ask for in due time. By improving upon what we have, by keeping ourselves unspotted from this untoward generation, by walking in faith and obedience before our God, we can attain to more than we have now any knowledge of. 'Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive the things that are in store for the faithful," when they shall attain to that stature in Christ that will entitle them to receive them. I do not, however, wish to throw the mind of the community upon something great in the future to the neglect of present blessings and present duties. Let us count over the blessings we this day enjoy; let us look into the past and mark the constant flow of blessings with which the history of this people has been attended from the beginning. Neither do I wish us to stop here and say that we have all we need; but while we are desiring blessings that are still future to us, let us not neglect the things which are now within our reach day by day, but live constantly our holy religion, being faithful and diligent in all things that are for us today, cleaving closely to the Lord, knowing that we are in his hands and that we are his children, having all confidence in him and in his constituted authorities on the earth, then will our knowledge and intelligence increase and our blessings will continue in a steady flow. This is all the business we have on hand to attend to, to serve our God and make ourselves comfortable and happy, securing from the elements everything we need for our sustenance and support, building houses, making roads, opening farms, planting orchards and vineyards, bringing from the mountains timber and lumber and all things else we need. All this labor is necessary to sustain us, and that the Lord may have a people who are zealous of good works and 'who will do his bidding, and through whom his kingdom may be established upon the earth and become a self-sustaining community, being governed and controlled in every particular by the revelations of the Most High, and by the principles which he has revealed, We are now the best governed people in the world, and for the best of all reasons-we have the best Government and the best Governor; our Heavenly Father is at the helm, from whom emanates all wisdom, truth and righteousness. No matter what the difficulties are which we are called upon to overcome, still we have everything to encourage us; we can go to the great fountain of all good; nothing can compare with this. Should we not feel encouraged and rejoice, and give praise and thanksgiving to God, who is so good a Father to us, who has watched over us to this day, to say nothing of the glorious future which is opening up before us continually. This people have a future which the world little dreams of. They will see the time when those who seek to destroy them from under heaven will come bowing and scraping to them obsequiously and sycophantic enough, no doubt. That, however, does not affect us one way or the other; it is for us to do right and please our God with full purpose of heart, that his will may be done on the earth as it is done in heaven. The Lord will not slacken his hand nor look backward, but will progress onward with his people who will abide faithful and true to him. Righteousness must predominate in the midst of this people, and iniquity will have no part or lot with them, but if any among them wish to work iniquity and do not delight in holy principles, this is not the place for them; they had better go where there are influences more congenial, where they will not CAL pleases, but he is held responsible for that power and the exercise of it. May God bless us and help us to do right, to keep his laws and commandments and statutes holy, and be obedient to him in all things, is my prayer in the name of Jesus: Amen. BUILDING THE TEMPLE AND A NEW TABERNACLE.-LABOR TITHING.-CALL FOR FAITHFUL LABORERS. Remarks by President DANIEL H. WELLS, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, April 6, 1863. REPORTED BY G. D. WATT. Right here we want to build a Tabernacle, to accommodate the Saints at our General Conferences and religious worship, that will comfortably seat some ten thousand people; and over there we want to build a Temple. These two items I wish to call your attention to to-day. We have organized the different districts throughout the Territory so that fifty teams can be at work for the Temple, hauling granite rock from Big and Little Cottonwoods. There has been some hauling done, but I wish to suggest a little amendment on our present operations and plans touching this part of the work. We shall want the same number of teams this season. We have never had as many as was designed in the first place, which was fifty, at any one time. If we could have even twentyfive or thirty teams constantly at work, they would keep the stonecutters employed. There was a difficulty last season about feed for the animals engaged on this work, but we are prepared to feed hay this year, but grain must be furnished by the Wards. I wish to say a word in regard to the teamsters. Send men to drive the teams and not boys; men who will have some interest in the work they are sent to do; men who will not sell the grain sent to feed the teams to buy whisky with; men who will not take their teams to haul wood with instead of rock for the Temple. Let the teamsters be fitted out with at least one spare shirt, that they may not be placed under the necessity of wearing one shirt five or six weeks, and then leave the work to go home if they are not supplied with more; this same remark will apply to shoes also. Either send men that do not use tobacco, or send them with a supply, that they may not come to me and tell me they will have to leave the work if they are not supplied with tobacco. Some of the Bishops sent word if I would find the | there be an organization of the people men from the Wards tobacco they would pay for it, which they have not done, and you may expect that in the future we shall not find them in this article. We expect these things to be found them and men sent who will take care of their teams and wagons. It is a heavy tax upon us to repair unavoidable breakages; this we expect to do. We have a pretty good road to the rock, and if men will be careful in the management of their teams they need not break wagons as much as they have. On the heel of the teams going down to the States for the poor, we want the teams ready for the hauling of rock. I will make a suggestion here, that the city be divided into ten working Wards, each Ward to pay its tithing labor punctually every tenth day, that we may have all the common labor we need on labor tithing and not be placed under the necessity of hiring labor with available means. This tithing labor can be done by the people in this city; but, you say, the hauling of rock and sending teams to the States takes up all the tithing labor we owe. If this be so, you may call the hauling of the rock and teams going to the States a free-will offering if you please. I care not how you fix it. I know there is a great portion of the community who care not much which way it applies. Those who have teams are the ones who supply both the hauling of rock for the Temple and going to the States. A great mass of the people do not do any labor of this kind. Let the Bishops in each Ward look to it and find out who in their Wards do not pay labor tithing in sending teams to the States. We want the common labor on the block, this season, to excavate, to attend masons and do a variety of work that is necessary to be accomplished for the building of our contemplated Tabernacle. Let in order to bring a portion of that labor on this block. The labor tithing of mechanics cannot be settled by sending a person to work at a dollar and a-half a day if the Bishop understands his business. All our tradesmen make more than a dollar and a-half a day; they should pay what their tenth day's labor is worth. The shoemakers can furnish boots and shoes, which can be used to a good advantage. If there is an objection raised to paying the material on labor tithing, it can be credited on their property tithing. We would not wish our tradesmen to leave their shops to work out their labor tithing in common labor with the shovel, the pick, &c., for they would not earn as much as a common laborer would who daily follows this kind of labor. We want them to pay their tithing in the kind of labor they are constantly employed at, and the products of this we can place to an excellent use. Common labor is more plentiful than mechanical labor. I have been particular in noticing this matter. Great abuses are springing up among us for want of proper attention to the business of tithing labor upon the public works. Sometimes men are found fault with because they spoil the work; they do not, for instance, cut the stone to line and do not improve in their work as much as they should. If anything is said to those persons they feel gouty and as though they did not care whether they continued to work or not on the public works; "For," say they, 66 my work is as good as the pay." Perhaps you do not know what kind of pay you get. What does the Tithing-office pay to the hands on the public works? pays money, it pays clothing, it pays good flour and plenty of it, all that the hands need; it pays vegetables of every kind that is raised in these It |