effect of the preaching and practice of this principle in our midst.
I know, however, that there are those who shrink from this, who feel
their hearts rebel against the principle, because of the equality which
it bestows on the sex. They would like to be the honored few--the
aristocrats of society as it were, while their sisters might perish on
every hand around them. They would not, if they could, extend their
hands to save their sisters from a life of degradation. This is wrong
and a thing which God is displeased at. He has revealed this principle
and commanded His servants to take wives. What for? That they may
obey his great command--a command by which Eternity is peopled, a
command by which Abraham's seed shall become as the stars of heaven for
multitude, and as the sand on the sea shore that cannot be counted. He
has given to us this command, and shall we, the sterner sex, submit to
all the difficulties and trials entailed in carrying it out? Shall we
submit to all the afflictions and labor incident to this life to save
our sisters, while many of you who are of the same sex, whose hearts
ought to beat for their salvation as strongly as ours do, will not
help us? I leave you all to answer. There is a day of reckoning coming
when you will be held accountable as well as we. Every woman in this
Church should join heart and hand in this great work, which has for its
result, the redemption of the sexes, both male and female. No woman
should slacken her hand or withhold her influence, but every one should
seek by prayer and faith unto God for the strength and grace necessary
to enable her to do so. "But," says one, "is not this a trial, and does
it not inflict upon us unnecessary trials?" There are afflictions and
trials connected with this principle. It is necessary there should be.
Is there any law that God reveals unattended with a trial of some kind?
Think of the time, you who are adults, and were born in the nations,
when you joined the Church! Think of the trials connected with your
espousal of the gospel. Did it not try you to go forth and be baptized?
Did it not try you, when called upon to gather, to leave your homes
and nearest and dearest friend, as many of you have done? Did it not
try you to do a great many things you have been required to do in the
gospel? Every law of the gospel has a trial connected with it, and
the higher the law the greater the trial; and as we ascend nearer and
nearer to the Lord our God we shall have greater trials to contend
with in purifying ourselves before Him. He has helped us this far. He
has helped us to conquer our selfish feelings, and when our sisters
seek unto Him He helps them to overcome their feelings; He gives them
strength to overcome their selfishness and jealousy. There is not a
woman under the sound of my voice to-day, but can bear witness of this
if she has tried it. You, sisters, whose husbands have taken other
wives, can you not bear testimony that the principle has purified your
hearts, made you less selfish, brought you nearer to God and given you
power you never had before? There are hundreds within the sound of my
voice to day, both men and women, who can testify that this has been
the effect that the practice of this principle has had upon them.
I am speaking now of what are called the spiritual benefits arising
from the righteous practice of this principle. I am sure that through
the practice of this principle, we shall have a purer community, a
community more experienced, less selfish and with a higher knowledge of
human nature than any other on the face of the earth. It has already
had this effect to a great extent, and its effects in these directions
will increase as the practice of the principle becomes more general.
A lady visitor remarked to me not long ago, in speaking upon this
subject: "Were I a man, I should feel differently probably to what
I do; to your sex the institution cannot be so objectionable." This
may be the case to some extent, but the practice of this principle is
by no means without its trials for the males. The difficulties and
perplexities connected with the care of a numerous family, to a man who
has any ambition, are so great that nothing short of the revelations
of God or the command of Jesus Christ, would tempt men to enter this
order; the mere increase of facilities to gratify the lower passions
of our natures would be no inducement to assume such an increase of
grave responsibilities. These desires have been implanted in both
male and female for a wise purpose, but their immoderate and illegal
gratification is a source of evil equal to that system of repression
prevalent in the world, to which thousands must submit or criminate
themselves.
Just think, in the single State of Massachusetts, at the last census,
there were 63,011 females more than males. Brother Pratt, in his
remarks on this subject, truly remarked that the law of Massachusetts
makes these 63,011 females either old maids or prostitutes, for that
law says they shall not marry a man who has a wife. Think of this! And
the same is true to a greater or less degree throughout all the older
States, for the females preponderate in every one.
Thus far I have referred only to the necessity and benefit of this
principle being practised in a moral point of view. I have said
nothing about the physiological side of the question. This is one of
if not the strongest sources of argument in its favor; but I do not
propose to enter into that branch of the subject to any great extent
on the present occasion. We are all, both men and women, physiologists
enough to know that the procreative powers of man endure much longer
than those of woman. Granting, as some assert, that an equal number
of the sexes exist, what would this lead to? Man must practise that
which is vile and low or submit to a system of repression; because if
he be married to a woman who is physically incapable, he must either
do himself violence or what is far worse, he must have recourse to
the dreadful and damning practice of having illegal connection with
women, or become altogether like the beasts. Do you not see that if
these things were introduced among our society they would be pregnant
with the worst results? The greatest conceivable evils would result
therefrom! How dreadful are the consequences of this system of which I
am now speaking, as witnessed at the present time throughout all the
nations of Christendom! You may see them on every hand. Yet the attempt
is being continually made to bring us to the same standard, and to
compel us to share the same evils.
When the principle of plurality of wives was revealed I was but a
boy. When reflecting on the subject of the sealing power which was
then being taught, the case of Jacob, who had four wives, occurred to
me, and I immediately concluded that the time would come when light
connected with this practice would be revealed to us as a people. I
was therefore prepared for the principle when it was revealed, and I
know it is true on the principle that I know that baptism, the laying
on of hands, the gathering, and everything connected with the gospel
is true. If there were no books in existence, if the revelation itself
were blotted out, and there was nothing written in its favor, extant
among men, still I could bear testimony for myself that I know this
is a principle which, if practised in purity and virtue, as it should
be, will result in the exaltation and benefit of the human family; and
that it will exalt woman until she is redeemed from the effects of
the Fall, and from that curse pronounced upon her in the beginning. I
believe the correct practice of this principle will redeem woman from
the effects of that curse--namely, "Thy desire shall be to thy husband,
and he shall rule over thee." All the evils connected with jealousy
have their origin in this. It is natural for woman to cleave to man; it
was pronounced upon her in the beginning, seemingly as a punishment.
I believe the time will come when, by the practise of the virtuous
principles which God has revealed, woman will be emancipated from that
punishment and that feeling. Will she cease to love man? No, it is not
necessary for her to cease to love.
How is it among the nations of the earth? Why, women, in their yearning
after the other sex and in their desire for maternity, will do anything
to gratify that instinct of their nature, and yield to anything and be
dishonored even rather than not gratify it; and in consequence of that
which has been pronounced upon them, they are not held accountable to
the same extent that men are. Man is strong, he is the head of woman,
and God will hold him responsible for the use of the influence he
exercises over the opposite sex. Hence we were told by Brother Pratt
that there are degrees of glory, and that the faithful man may receive
the power of God--the greatest He has ever bestowed upon man--namely,
the power of procreation. It is a god-like power, but how it is
abused! How men debase themselves and the other sex by its unlawful
and improper exercise! We were told there is a glory to which alone
that power will be accorded in the life to come. Still there will be
millions of women saved in the kingdom of God, while men, through
the abuse of this precious gift, will not be counted worthy of such
a privilege. And this very punishment will, in the end, be woman's
salvation, because she is not held accountable to the same degree that
men are.
This is a subject that we should all do well to reflect upon. There are
many points connected with the question physiologically, that might
be dwelt upon with great advantage. I have heard it said, and seen
it printed, that the children born here under this system are not so
smart as others; that their eyes lack lustre and that they are dull
in intellect; and many strangers, especially ladies, when arriving
here, are anxious to see the children, having read accounts which have
led them to expect that most of the children born here are deficient.
But the testimony of Professor Park, the principal of the University
of Deseret, and of other leading teachers of the young here, is that
they never saw children with a greater aptitude for the acquisition
of knowledge than the children raised in this Territory. There are no
brighter children to be found in the world than those born in this
Territory. Under the system of Patriarchal Marriage, the offspring,
besides being equally as bright and brighter intellectually, are much
more healthy and strong. Need I go into particulars to prove this? To
you who are married there is no necessity of doing so; you know what I
mean. You all know that many women are sent to the grave prematurely
through the evil they have to endure from their husbands during
pregnancy and lactation, and their children often sustain irremediable
injury.
Another good effect of the institution here is that you may travel
throughout our entire Territory, and virtue prevails. Our young live
virtuously until they marry. But how is it under the monogamic system?
Temptations are numerous on every hand and young men fall a prey to
vice. An eminent medical professor in New York recently declared, while
delivering a lecture to his class in one of the colleges there, that if
he wanted a man twenty-five years of age, free from a certain disease,
he would not know where to find him. What a terrible statement to make!
In this community no such thing exists. Our boys grow up in purity,
honoring and respecting virtue; our girls do the same, and the great
mass of them are pure. There may be impurities. We are human, and it
would not be consistent with our knowledge of human nature to say that
we are entirely pure, but we are the most pure of any people within the
confines of the Republic. We have fewer unvirtuous boys and girls in
our midst than any other community within the range of my knowledge.
Both sexes grow up in vigor, health and purity.
These, my brethren and sisters, are some of the results which I wanted
to allude to in connection with this subject. Much more might be said.
There is not a man or woman who has listened to me to-day, but he and
she have thoughts, reasons and arguments to sustain this principle
passing through their minds which I have not touched upon, or, if
touched upon at all, in a very hasty manner.
The question arises, What is going to be done with this institution?
Will it be overcome? The conclusion arrived at long ago is that it is
God and the people for it. God has revealed it, He must sustain it,
we can not; we cannot bear it off, He must. I know that Napoleon said
Providence was on the side of the heaviest artillery, and many men
think that God is on the side of the strongest party. The Midianites
probably thought so when Gideon fell upon them with three hundred men.
Sennacherib and the Assyrians thought so when they came down in their
might to blot out Israel. But God is mighty; God will prevail; God will
sustain that which he has revealed, and He will uphold and strengthen
His servants and bear off His people. We need not be afflicted by a
doubt; a shadow of doubt need not cross our minds as to the result. We
know that God can sustain us: He has borne off His people in triumph
thus far and will continue to do so.
I did intend, when I got up, to say something in relation to the
effects of the priesthood; but as the time is so far gone, I feel that
if I say anything it must be very brief. But in connection with the
subject of plural marriage, the priesthood is intimately interwoven.
It is the priesthood which produces the peace, harmony, good order,
and everything which make us as a people peculiar, and for which our
Territory has become remarkable. It is that principle--the priesthood,
which governs the heavenly hosts. God and Jesus rule through this
power, and through it we are made, so for as we have received it and
rendered obedience to its mandates, like our Heavenly Father and God.
He is our Father and our God. He is the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ; He is the Father of all the inhabitants of the earth, and we
inherit His divinity, if we choose to seek for and cultivate it. We
inherit His attributes; we can, by taking the proper course, inherit
the priesthood by which He exercises control; by which the heavenly
orbs in the immensity of space are governed, and by which the earth
revolves in its seasons. It is the Holy Priesthood that controls all
the creations of the Gods, and though men fight against it, and, if
they could, would blot it out of existence, it will prevail and go
on increasing in power and strength until the sceptre of Jesus is
acknowledged by all, and the earth is redeemed and sanctified.
That this day may be brought about speedily, is my prayer in the name
of Jesus, Amen.
Transcriber's Note:
Some obvious typographical errors have been corrected as seemed reasonable.
Throughout the source text practice is spelled as both "practice" and
"practise." This inconsistency has been preserved in this electronic
edition.