Discourse by Apostle Lorenzo Snow at the General Conference, Salt
Lake City, April 7, 1882, Reported by George F. Gibbs.--Reference
to Moses and ancient Israel.--Distrusting results the effect of
ignorance.--Latter-day Saints have more faith.--No such thing as
standing still.--Move on, trusting in God, the watchword.--Persecutions
of the Latter-day Saints.--Move on and work on.--If we do our
part, God will do His.--How the Lord overruled in our coming to
the mountains.--Plural marriage.--Good resulting from the Edmunds
bill.--The great worth of the Gospel.--Move on, move on.
The speaker read from the ninth to the fifteenth verses, inclusive,
of the fourteenth chapter of Exodus, and then said: A very important
lesson is contained in those verses, applicable not only to this
community as a whole, but to every individual. At the time referred to,
the children of Israel were but little acquainted with the Lord--His
ability to carry out His purposes--not having had the opportunity
for spiritual enlightenment as the Latter-day Saints. They had
witnessed some miracles wrought in their partial deliverance, but
their hearts were not affected, nor their understandings enlightened
by the intelligence of the Holy Spirit as has been the case with the
Latter-day Saints; therefore, when they approached the Red Sea, which
to every human appearance was impassable, and saw the armies of the
Egyptians pressing closely upon their rear, their hearts failed them.
The Latter-day Saints have been placed in circumstances very similar,
where it was necessary to rely on their knowledge of God and their
faith in His promises. It is not strange that the Israelites on that
occasion, considering the little knowledge they possessed, should have
been alarmed and manifested such folly and ignorance as they did in
expressing to Moses their doubts of the propriety of persisting in his
efforts to deliver them from Egyptian tyranny, notwithstanding they had
been treated with such great rigor and barbarity. They had so little
faith in the word of the Lord, through Moses, they were willing to
return and remain slaves rather than continue under the direction of
the Almighty. They wished to know if there were not sufficient graves
in Egypt that it became necessary to be destroyed in the wilderness by
the army of Pharaoh, and chided Moses for the course he had pursued.
I scarcely imagine the Latter-day Saints, in any period of their
history, have displayed such lack of faith and cowardice; however
trying their circumstances may have been, they have never been guilty
of such weakness and foolish conduct. When the mob arose against us in
Missouri, we were but few, and our circumstances so forbidding, it was
impossible to expect deliverance except through the intervention of the
God of Israel. It is true there may have been some Saints at that time
who faltered under the peculiarly trying situation, but they were few.
The Latter-day Saints had received the Gospel, accompanied by the Holy
Spirit; therefore they had confidence, and could exercise the gift of
faith and entertain pleasing hopes in the confident expectation of
their ultimate deliverance. They did not exhibit that weakness and
folly which were manifested by the children of Israel on the occasion
to which I referred. There were a few, however, who wished to escape
the ordeal and return to Babylon.
In reading ecclesiastical history, we discover that Prophets exhibited
more or less weakness and want of faith in times of peril; and I have
thought Moses, perhaps, manifested a little on this occasion. He beheld
the difficulties, and, although he had more faith and knowledge than
the people whom he was leading, yet there seemed to be a fault in the
course he advised on this particular occasion. With the Red Sea in
front, and the hosts of Pharaoh threatening in the rear, the state of
affairs certainly wore a fearful aspect; and while the people were
bewailing their condition, Moses gave instructions, saying, "_Fear
ye not_"--that so far was good, and should apply to the Latter-day
Saints, and indeed always will be applicable in whatever position
we may be placed; but the remainder of the counsel I would think
hardly consistent, and certainly would not be applicable to us in any
situation or under any circumstances, namely, "_Stand still and see the
salvation of the Lord_." It appears that Moses began to cry unto the
Lord for deliverance, and the Lord answered him, saying, "Wherefore
cryest thou unto me? Speak unto the children of Israel that they _go
forward_." It was not proper to stand still. We are required always to
move on--never stand still: while there remains one step forward that
can be taken, that step should be taken.
In this example before us, it was not good for Israel to stand still
waiting for the Lord; they had not exhausted their own abilities;
there was still room to move on in the direction God, through Moses,
had appointed, and neither were they, nor are we, justified in ceasing
to press onward in the path of our duty while we possess the ability.
Never stand still, never suspend our efforts, however insurmountable
may seem the obstacle ahead, however fierce and threatening the enemy.
When driven from Jackson County, from Kirtland, from Missouri and
Illinois, by mob violence, the Kingdom was still moving on--the
purposes of God being accomplished, and the work of the Lord undergoing
changes necessary to its growth and progress, and the trials and
afflictions incident thereto were required for proving the Saints and
advancing them in the knowledge of God. I would say, let this motto
be that of every Elder in Israel, and of every person worthy to be
called Saint, _Fear not--never stand still--move on_. Let the farmer go
forward making improvements--plow, sow and reap; let those engaged in
proper and useful enterprises continue their operations, and every man
be faithful and very diligent in observing his covenants and keeping
the commandments of God, and in cultivating a desire to do all the
good possible; and if, in reflecting on the past, we discover we have
not acted strictly in accordance with the dictates of our consciences,
let us make ourselves right before God and man that we may be fully
prepared for every emergency.
Let the building of Temples and houses of worship and education go on;
let the Saints continue to school their children, bringing them up
in the fear of the Lord; and let the Gospel still be carried to the
nations afar, Israel be gathered, and the people be found always moving
on as the purposes of God continue to roll forth.
Do not stand still looking for the salvation of God, but move ahead
while there remains a step to be made in the direction which He has
commanded; then shall we see the salvation of the Almighty. This is
truly the work of God; He is directing its course and progress, and to
promote its interests should ever be uppermost in our minds, that we
may exhibit to the world our faith and confidence, and our devotion to
the divine principles we have embraced. And because of this exhibition
of our faith, confidence and integrity during our past trials and
afflictions, God helped us in a marvelous manner to go through the
fiery ordeals which indeed appeared to the world unbearable, though
to us were not so grevious; the Spirit of God was with us, even the
Holy Ghost, the Comforter. Our experience at those times was like that
of the three Hebrew children when cast into the fiery furnace, the
angel of God appeared and walked with them, side by side, to and fro,
in the midst of fiery flames; and when Daniel was cast into the den
of lions, God sent him a comforter in the person of an holy angel.
Those men, instead of faltering in the path of duty, and waiting for
the Lord to deliver them, moved on, and were irrepressible in their
course. They possessed the knowledge of God through the Holy Ghost,
which also imparted unto them a divine confidence and faith, enabling
them to persevere. They knew that in Him, whom they were worshiping and
obeying, were the issues of life and death; that to die in Him, is to
live--live eternally--go on, though it lead through martyrdom to the
realms of glory and immortality. This principle of faith and fidelity
was exhibited by the Latter-day Saints when forced, at the point of
the bayonet, to sign over their property to the mob in Missouri, and
advised to disperse, scatter, and not venture to gather together, but
live as other people.
We ignored that counsel, fled to Illinois, built the city of Nauvoo,
and secured a charter from the legislature, embracing more favorable
provisions than those of any other city in the State. We did not stand
still, but with divine faith and hope, kept pressing forward, the
Lord doing as He promised, namely, softening the hearts of rulers and
impressing them to favor Zion.
I am not of the mind of some, that good cannot come out (Nazareth)
Washington. We occasionally speak rather harshly of some politicians of
our country, and, no doubt, deservedly; notwithstanding their illiberal
and unjust measures, I believe they can do us good, especially if the
Lord operates upon their minds as He has in the past and will do in the
future, in granting us favors that many little imagine.
The circumstances which led us to these mountain vales are well known,
and need not be related. After having submitted to the necessary
chastisement, through failing to give heed to the counsels of the
Priesthood, the Lord moved upon our national government to accord
us favors and privileges. They granted what is called the "Organic
Act," a bill of rights as good, perhaps, as could have been expected.
Furthermore, what was rather surprising, they appointed our Prophet,
Brigham Young, Governor of our new Territory. Who would have thought
it? Had any man dared to predict such an extraordinary change of
tactics at the time we were driven by a merciless mob, legalized by the
executive of Missouri, he would have been pronounced, to say the least,
an enthusiast. And besides, they selected one of our Elders, and made
him United States Judge, and another prominent Elder, Secretary of the
Territory. Now, who did this? Our dear "Uncle Sam."
Well, now, I do not propose to speak much against "Our Uncle," for
as we see, occasionally, he has taken a notion to act the part of a
pretty fair uncle. We perceive, in all this, the hand of God working
out these changes; and for one, I am willing to admit that good can be
brought out of (Nazareth) Washington. We certainly can afford to suffer
a little when we discern, now and then, some kindness and humanity
exercised in our behalf by the authorities of the nation.
In former generations, the Lord sometimes inspired heathen kings to
favor His people, and He is the same God now as then, and He will
do in the future as in the past, inspire our rulers to favor Zion,
notwithstanding the means now employed to deprive us of our political
and religious rights.
We talk about the Edmunds bill; what that law will accomplish, I do
not pretend to say, neither do I imagine that its framers and abettors
know exactly how far it will affect the Latter-day Saints. One thing,
however, I have noticed, that congressmen differ widely in their ideas
with regard to certain of its provisions, and that being the case,
perhaps it would be policy to wait and watch. But there is one singular
feature in it relating to plural marriage. In regard to that doctrine,
allow me first to say I have a knowledge of it as a principle, revealed
from God, belonging to the religion we have espoused. I was personally
acquainted with Joseph Smith, the Prophet, during twelve or fourteen
years, by whom I was first taught this doctrine, and knew him to be a
man of truth and honor. But then, I am not dependent on his word for
my knowledge of plural marriage; the Lord gave me a divine testimony
confirming His teachings, which no man can give nor take away.
And now, as there is more or less good to be found everywhere,
the Edmunds law, also, is not without its advantages; therefore,
let us accept the good and be grateful. There is a provision in
that extraordinary statute which legalizes the issue of our plural
marriages up to the first day of January, 1883. Now, who could have
expected so much good to come out of Nazareth? "Uncle Sam," after
all, is occasionally a pretty fair uncle. [Laughter.] And, mark you,
the framers of that law have been so considerate and generous as to
provide, distinctly, that the children thus legalized, must be the
offspring of marriages performed exactly according to the rites and
ceremonies of the sect known as the Latter-day Saints. In the language
of the little boy, I say "good enough." [Laughter.] Now, if any of our
Gentile friends, in the past, have been indiscreet or should hereafter
take mistresses (their usual custom), their offspring, of course, are
not so favored. [Laughter.] We ought to be thankful for this kind
legislation, and, no doubt, we are.
Really, I never anticipated the law makers of our nation would legalize
our plural marriages performed in the last thirty years or more. If
the Lord is able to work in this manner, through men who framed that
odd and singular statute, our open and avowed enemies, what may He
not do in our favor if we continue faithful in keeping our covenants.
The Lord, very possibly, will permit a heavy pressure to bear upon
us, such as will require great sacrifice at the hands of this people.
The question should be, Will we be prepared? This is the work of the
Almighty, and the blessings we look for, which have been promised, will
be given after we have passed through the ordeal and proved ourselves.
I have no special word for the Saints that there is, or is not,
approaching them a fiery ordeal which they must endure; the question
with me is, Am I prepared to receive and put to proper use every
blessing and ability the Lord bestows, and thus be ready to make such
sacrifice as He may require? I will close my remarks by exhorting one
and all--_move on, move on, and never stand still_.