Discourse 1895-04-04 [D-16]

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THE DESERET WEEKLY.

President Wilford Woodruff

next addressed the assemblage, the following being the substance of what he said:

It was his duty as a leader of this Church, as a Prophet, Seer and Revelator as he was called, to bear his testimony to what President Cannon had just said; for he had told the truth. He himself realized the delicate position which any of them were placed in when they touched upon political matters; at the same time he was very glad that Brother Cannon had touched upon that subject so far.

There were the Twelve Apostles. One part of their number—he did not know how many—were Democrats, the other Republicans; and it was so with every quorum in this Church and kingdom. He confessed that the spirit which he had seen manifested towards some of the Twelve, and that by other men of high standing in the Church had pained him exceedingly. It might be asked in what way? In the first place, every man had as much right—Prophets, Apostles, Saints and sinners—to his political convictions as he had to his religious opinions. There was no necessity for quarreling one with another, but there had prevailed a spirit, since the political division, among the Latter-day Saints which was greatly to be deplored. As Brother Cannon had said, that spirit would lead them to ruin, to sorrow and affliction, unless a different course was taken. He had seen some good men in the Church come together on these political matters and display a spirit that they had no business to. A good deal had been said about Brother John Henry Smith, and why he was a Republican. He took it up, and gave his views to the public. The question arose and was put straight out, "Is he going to apostatize? because a man cannot be a Latter-day Saint and a Republican!" That was the feeling. Others might think that a man could not be a Latter-day Saint and a Democrat as well. Now, a man could be both, and if we behaved ourselves and did what was right as Latter-day Saints they would not have any trouble. He, however, wanted to say to the congregation before him that all the devils in hell and on earth were united together to destroy this Church and Kingdom. Whether it was one individual or a hundred, they labored to that end, and the Saints had to be careful to watch their position in these things. There was an election held recently in the North—the town of Logan—where the Republicans were victorious. They (the Presidency) were accused of guiding, directing and ordering, as it were, the operation of this; but such was untrue. He himself had sons who were both Republicans and Democrats, but he had never once in his life told either of them how to vote. God knew he had allowed them to do as they liked. He wanted the Apostles to do as they liked, also every other man in Israel; "but for God's sake don't quarrel; don't throw filth and dirt and nonsense at one another, because of any difference on political matters." Let all present give heed to this. Let them go about their business and attend to their political affairs as they pleased; but do not quarrel. If there were any people on the face of this earth that ought to be full of unity, of faith, of the Holy Ghost and the revelations of heaven it was the congregation before him today.

He thanked God from the bottom of his heart that he had lived to see this day—to see such a vast congregation as this in the valleys of these mountains. He had grown up and lived with the Church almost from its organization, and when he remembered how few were now living in the flesh of those whom he knew in Kirtland or even Nauvoo, and who associated with the Prophet Joseph, he marveled that his own life had been preserved so long. When they passed behind the

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vail they would find their records there, in the great library of the Kingdom of Heaven, and he would like to have a good account, as he wanted all of them to have.

After pointing out the important responsibility resting upon the people of God, and remarking that the eyes of the Lord and all the heavenly host were constantly upon them, President Woodruff said that God had greatly blessed them thus far in their mission here below and would yet give them the power to accomplish much more, if they but walked uprightly before Him, lived in unity, and carried out the purposes and principles of the Gospel in their daily life. Whatever duties we were called upon to perform, we should fulfil them cheerfully. Today the Latter-day Saints who dwelt in the valleys of these mountains occupied a very important position in the world. A great change was taking place in public opinion toward them, even in our own nation. They had been so derided and misrepresented in the past that people at one time, it would seem, hardly dared to come into Salt Lake City for fear that they would have their throats cut or be otherwise killed! The object of this people was to labor for the welfare of their fellowmen both here and abroad; and this was what they had been doing all the way through. The Gospel which they preached would save all the sons of men under the heaven who would embrace it and obey all its laws. The Latter-day Saints were not the enemies of anybody. They believed that every man had a right to his religion, to whatever sect he might belong, and this people only claimed in return the same privilege. That was all they ever had asked.

The speaker referred briefly to the building of temples by the Latter-day Saints, and said they had made this once desert land to bring forth things in abundance for the sustenance of man, through the power of God. Thousands had gone before us here and thousands would come after; but the foundation had been laid and we were building upon it.

In conclusion, President Woodruff alluded to the ceremony of placing the cap-stone on the Temple on Wednesday. A great deal had been said as to people going upon the building on that occasion, but he wished to state that not one-tenth of that congregation could go up there. It was desired that all should remain on terra firma except the very few whose duty it would be to ascend the building to perform the necessary work of the day. He would rather not a soul went up than that one man, woman or child should be injured.

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