_HAPPINESS AND SOCIAL ENJOYMENTS_
_Saints Should be Happy_--Then learn to be happy when you have the
privilege. 5:294.
The whole world are after happiness. It is not found in gold and
silver, but it is in peace and love. 12:314.
What will give a man joy? That which will give him peace. 7:3.
If the heart is cheerful, all is light and glory within; there is no
sorrow. 6:41.
When man is industrious and righteous, then is he happy. 9:244.
The person who enjoys the experience of the knowledge of the Kingdom of
God on the earth, and at the same time has the love of God within him,
is the happiest of any individuals on the earth. 18:236.
What principal object have human beings in view? Happiness. Give
me glory, give me power, give me wealth, give me a good name, give
me influence with my fellowmen, give me all these, and it does not
follow that I am thereby made happy; that depends altogether upon what
principle those acquisitions were gained. 7:3.
The only heaven for you is that which you make yourselves. My heaven is
here--(laying his hand upon his heart). I carry it with me. When do I
expect it in its perfection? When I come up in the resurrection; then I
shall have it, and not till then. 4:57.
You never saw a true Saint in the world that had sorrow, neither can
you find one. If persons are destitute of the fountain of living water,
or the principles of eternal life, {363} then they are sorrowful. If
the words of life dwell within us, and we have the hope of eternal
life and glory, and let that spark within us kindle to a flame, to the
consuming of the least and last remains of selfishness, we never can
walk in darkness and are strangers to doubt and fear. 6:41.
If this is the work of God, let us understand its beauty and glory.
I do not say that all are like myself; but from the day I commenced
preaching the Gospel to this present moment, I never had a feeling in
my heart to occupy much time in preaching hell to the people, or in
telling them much about being damned. There are the kingdoms and worlds
which God has prepared, and which are waiting for the just. There are
more beauty, glory, excellency, knowledge, power, and heavenly things
than I have time to talk about, without spending my time in talking
about the hells prepared for the damned. I have not time to talk much
about them. 8:42.
It does make the Devil mad. That is true, it makes him mad that he
cannot afflict this people so as to make them have a sad countenance.
4:299.
To make ourselves happy is incorporated in the great design of man's
existence. I have learned not to fret myself about that which I cannot
help. If I can do good, I will do it; and if I cannot reach a thing, I
will content myself to be without it. This makes me happy all the day
long. 2:95.
Where is happiness, real happiness? Nowhere but in God. By possessing
the spirit of our holy religion, we are happy in the morning, we are
happy at noon, we are happy in the evening; for the spirit of love
and union is with us, and we rejoice in the spirit because, it is of
God, and we rejoice in God, for he is the giver of every good thing.
Every {364} Latter-day Saint, who has experienced the love of God in
his heart, after having received the remission of his sins, through
baptism, and the laying on of hands, realizes that he is filled with
joy, and happiness, and consolation. He may be in pain, in error, in
poverty, or in prison, if necessity demands, still, he is joyful. This
is our experience, and each and every Latter-day Saint can bear witness
to it. 18:213.
Truly happy is that man or woman, or that people, who enjoys the
privileges of the Gospel of the Son of God, and who know how to
appreciate his blessings. 1:309.
Men and women, for slight causes, make shipwreck of faith, lose the
spirit of the Gospel, losing the object for which they left their homes
and their friends. We are all searching for happiness; we hope for it,
we think we live for it, it is our aim in this life. But do we live so
as to enjoy the happiness we so much desire? There is only one way for
Latter-day Saints to be happy, which is simply to live their religion,
or in other words believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ in every part,
obeying the gospel of liberty with full purpose of heart, which sets
us free indeed. If we will, as a community, obey the law of God, and
comply with the ordinances of salvation, then we may expect to find
the happiness we so much desire, but if we do not pursue this course
we cannot enjoy the unalloyed happiness which is to be found in the
Gospel. To profess to be a Saint, and not enjoy the spirit of it, tries
every fibre of the heart, and is one of the most painful experiences
that man can suffer. 12:168.
_Social Amusements_--There is no true enjoyment in life--nothing
that can be a blessing to an individual or to a {365} community, but
what is ordained of God to bless his people. 6:143.
We want to see every countenance full of cheerfulness, and every eye
bright with the hope of future happiness. 12:314.
We are made to enjoy all that God enjoys, to inherit all he inherits,
to possess all the power that he possesses, all the excellency with
which he is endowed--all things are to be brought into subjection to
him by his faithful children, that they may enjoy all things with
him; these considerations bring peace to the heart that is opened to
understanding. 10:171.
A gathering and social spirit seems to be the order of heaven--of
the spirit that is in the Gospel we have embraced. Though it may be
esteemed as a fault--as an unwarrantable act to separate ourselves
from those who do not believe as we believe, yet such is the nature
of a portion of our religion pertaining to the performance of outward
duties. If the Latter-day Saints can associate together, free from the
contaminating influences that are in the world, it is a blessing and a
great privilege. What would induce a child to grow up in the wickedness
of the wicked world, if it never saw or heard any of it? 7:267.
Is there anything immoral in recreation? If I see my sons and daughters
enjoying themselves, chatting, visiting, riding, going to a party or
a dance, is there anything immoral in that? I watch very closely, and
if I hear a word, see a look, or a sneer at divine things or anything
derogatory to a good moral character, I feel it in a moment, and I say,
"If you follow that it will not lead to good, it is evil; it will not
lead to the fountain of life and intelligence; follow, only, the path
that leads to life everlasting." {366}
It is the privilege of the Saints to enjoy every good thing, for the
earth and its fulness belong to the Lord, and he has promised all
to his faithful Saints; but it must be enjoyed without spirit of
covetousness and selfishness--without the spirit of lust, and in the
spirit of the Gospel; then the sun will shine sweetly upon us; each day
will be filled with delight, and all things will be filled with beauty,
giving joy, pleasure, and rest to the Saints. 8:82.
We are to learn how to enjoy the things of life--how to pass our mortal
existence here. There is no enjoyment, no comfort, no pleasure, nothing
that the human heart can imagine, with all the spirit of revelation
we can get, that tends to beautify, happify, make comfortable and
peaceful, and exalt the feelings of mortals, but what the Lord has in
store for his people. He never objected to their taking comfort. He
never revealed any doctrine, that I have any knowledge of, but what in
its nature is calculated to fill with peace and glory, and lift every
sentiment and impulse of the heart above every low, sad, deathly, false
and grovelling feeling. The Lord wishes us to live that we may enjoy
the fulness of the glory that pertains to the upper world, and bid
farewell to all that gloomy, dark, deathly feeling that is spread over
the inhabitants of the earth. 8:128-129.
Our organism makes us capable of exquisite enjoyment. Do I not love my
wife, my son, my daughter, my brother, my sister, my father, and my
mother? And do I not love to associate with my friends? I do, and love
to reflect and talk on eternal principles. 7:138.
We say to the Bishops and to everybody, exercise yourselves, provide
innocent amusement for the youth, attract the minds of the children,
and get the upper hand of them {367} and be on the lead. I see mothers
right among us whose course is very imprudent with their children.
You ought always to take the lead of your children in their minds
and affections. Instead of being behind with the whip, always be in
advance, then you can say, "Come along," and you will have no use for
the rod. They will delight to follow you, and will like your words and
ways, because you are always comforting them and giving them pleasure
and enjoyment. If they get a little naughty, stop them when they have
gone far enough. We say to the brethren, humor your wives and children
as far as you can, but when they transgress, and transcend certain
bounds we want them to stop. If you are in the lead they will stop,
they cannot run over you; but if you are behind they will run away from
you. Husbands, always be in advance of your wives, and then if they
undertake to do something that is very displeasing to you they will run
right against you, and then stop and sit down because they can't go any
further. Do you know how to do this? "No," says one, "I don't know that
I do." Well, then, learn by searching after truth, according to the
revelations given in this book. Search after truth in all good books,
and learn the wisdom of the world and the wisdom of God, and put them
together and you will be able to benefit yourselves. 12:313.
Our work, our every-day labor, our whole lives are within the scope of
our religion. This is what we believe and what we try to practice. Yet
the Lord permits a great many things that he never commands. I have
frequently heard my old brethren in the Christian world make remarks
about the impropriety of indulging in pastimes and amusements. The
Lord never commanded me to dance, yet I have danced: you all know it,
for my life is before the world. {368} Yet while the Lord has never
commanded me to do it, he has permitted it. I do not know that he
ever commanded the boys to go and play at ball, yet he permits it. I
am not aware that he ever commanded us to build a theater, but he has
permitted it, and I can give the reason why. Recreation and diversion
are as necessary to our well-being as the more serious pursuits of
life. There is not a man in the world but what, if kept at any one
branch of business or study, will become like a machine. Our pursuits
should be so diversified as to develop every trait of character and
diversity of talent. If you would develop every power and faculty
possessed by your children, they must have the privilege of engaging
in and enjoying a diversity of amusements and studies; to attain great
excellence, however, they cannot all be kept to any one individual
branch of study. I recollect once while in England, in the district of
country called the "Potteries," seeing a man pass along the street,
his head, perhaps, within sixteen or eighteen inches of the ground. I
inquired what occupation he had followed for a living, and learned that
he had never done anything in his life but turned a tea cup, and he
was then seventy-four years of age. How do we know but what, if he had
had the privilege, he would have made a statesman or a fine physician,
an excellent mechanic or a good judge? We cannot tell. This shows the
necessity of the mind being kept active and having the opportunity of
indulging in every exercise it can enjoy in order to attain to a full
development of its powers. 13:61.
Little boys play with their wagons, tops, marbles, etc.; little girls
with their dolls, cradles, and skipping ropes. They are in the height
of their enjoyment, while there sits the mother whose mind comprehends
all the children can {369} enjoy, and then she can see enjoyment far
beyond what they are then capable of enjoying. Perhaps her vision is
open to see forward into the eternity before her, and that she will be
able to preserve her identity in her future existence. Do you not see
how easy it is for her to circumscribe all those little children can
enjoy? Her feeling is, "I am delighted: it is a great satisfaction to
see my children enjoy themselves." But how would she like to engage in
their plays? "It is my joy to see them enjoy themselves." Do you like
to get together in your parties? How are you looked upon by beings
in the eternal worlds? Precisely as a mother looks upon her children
when they are enjoying themselves and passing their time so kindly
with each other. Says the mother, "I do delight in seeing my children
enjoy themselves." I also delight in enjoying myself with the brethren
and sisters, and giving to my natural organization the food that the
natural body requires. The body requires food, and the immortal spirit
requires food; the whole organization requires something to feast upon,
and we get up amusements to satisfy it. 8:358-9.
I repeat that it is not your lawful privilege to yield to anything
in the shape of amusement, until you have performed every duty, and
obtained the power of God to enable you to withstand and resist all
foul spirits that might attack you, and lead you astray; until you have
command over them, and by your faith, obtained, through prayer and
supplication, the blessings of the Holy Spirit, and it rests upon, and
abides continually with you. 1:113.
In all your social communications, or whatever your associations
are, let all the dark, discontented, murmuring, unhappy, miserable
feelings--all the evil fruit of the mind, {370} fall from the tree in
silence and unnoticed; and so let it perish, without taking it up to
present to your neighbors. But when you have joy and happiness, light
and intelligence, truth and virtue, offer that fruit abundantly to your
neighbors, and it will do them good, and so strengthen the hands of
your fellow-beings, even though you may be looked upon as an outcast,
vile people, not worthy of the society of what are commonly deemed the
intelligent portion of the world. 7:269.
I have frequently told the people at our places of recreation, if they
cannot go there with the Spirit of the Lord, they had better stay at
home. 11:283.
On every such occasion, it is right, reasonable, and necessary, that
every heart be directed to the Lord. When we have had sufficient
recreation for our good, let that suffice. It is all right; then let
our minds labor instead of our bodies; and in all our exercises of body
and mind, it is good to remember the Lord. 1:30.
I am most perfectly satisfied to associate with those whose hearts are
filled with peace, with praise and adoration to our God, and whose
lives are full of good works. Their voices to me are like sweet music.
I have not the least desire to mingle with or look upon the faces of
those who hate God and his cause. 8:57.
We are now enjoying our pastimes. We often meet together and worship
the Lord by singing, praying, and preaching, fasting, and communing
with each other in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. Now we are
met in the capacity of a social community--for what? That our minds
may rest, and our bodies receive that recreation which is proper and
necessary to keep up an equilibrium, to promote healthy action to the
whole system. {371}
Let our minds sing for joy, and let life diffuse itself into every
avenue of the body; for the object of our meeting is for its exercise,
for its good.
This party was gotten up by the members of the Legislature, to rest
their minds, to convene in a social capacity, and enjoy the society
of each other, with their families, and to give renewed activity and
energy, which will invigorate and strengthen them in the discharge of
the arduous duties devolving upon them. 1:29.
Our present situation, and the enjoyments of this evening, will become
subjects of pleasant and agreeable reflection, when we shall be
separated from this community, and go to the right and to the left;
then these moments of festive joy will be remembered with pleasing
emotions, and cherished in fond memory in after years. 1:30.
Is there any harm in Sunday school parties? No! It is one of the most
harmless kinds of enjoyment when conducted aright. If they wish to
dance, let them dance; let them talk and play; but not do any wrong.
They must not get angry with each other; and if any do wrong instruct
them to do right. If our children are thus taught, they will be
patterns of piety and their conduct will be worthy of imitation. 12:239.
One of the most useful amusements we could have would be for the
Seventies and High Priests to meet here, instead of in their small
halls, and lecture. Which is the most delightful, to satisfy the wants
of the natural body, or those of the intelligent part within us? Which
is the most precious? Both. 8:358.
My first remarks will be concerning such exercises as we have seen
here this morning. The Latter-day Saints have many pastimes, and they
enjoy themselves in social {372} society with one another. Yet I
think, in my reflections, that we should have an increase--and we are
having partially an increase of recreation for our youth. We have very
few holidays. When the 4th of July comes, we have our amusements and
exercises. When the 24th of July comes, we hail it as the anniversary
of a day of deliverance. On reflection, I have come to the conclusion
that it would be better if we would pay more attention to these public
exercises, and direct the minds of our children by observing them,
taking a course to have them avoid getting into the habit of drinking
and every kind of rowdyism, and other things that are unbecoming; and
in all of our amusements have objects of improvement that are worthy
of pursuit. We should have more of the children attend Sunday school,
and the teachers should continually place objects before them that
will lead them to study to improve in their manners, in their words,
in their looks and in their behavior; and that will guide their minds
aright. You will find we can place before them objects that will do
them much good in their thoughts and reflections, that will improve
their young and tender minds, and have an influence upon their future
lives for good; and we can thus bring them up in the nurture and
admonition of the Lord by taking a course to lead their minds. 12:238-9.
I am satisfied that those persons who stamp, clap hands, whistle,
and make other noisy and boisterous demonstrations in the theaters,
so untimed and uncalled for, have but little sense, and know not
the difference between a happy smile of satisfaction to cheer the
countenance of a friend, or a contemptuous sneer that brings the curses
of man upon man. 9:290.
Never give way to vain laughter. I have seldom {373} laughed aloud for
twenty or thirty years without regretting it, and I always blush for
those who laugh aloud without meaning. 9:290.
_Dancing_--Those that have kept their covenants and served their
God, if they wish to exercise themselves in any way, to rest their
minds and tire their bodies, go and enjoy yourselves in the dance, and
let God be in all your thoughts in this as in all other things, and he
will bless you. 6:149.
There are many of our aged brethren and sisters, who, through the
traditions of their fathers and the requirements of a false religion,
were never inside a ball-room or a theater until they became Latter-day
Saints, and now they seem more anxious for this kind of amusement
than are our children. This arises from the fact they have been
starved for many years for that amusement which is designed to buoy up
their spirits and make their bodies vigorous and strong, and tens of
thousands have sunk into untimely graves for want of such exercises to
the body and the mind. They require mutual nourishment to make them
sound and healthy. Every faculty and power of both body and mind is a
gift from God. Never say that means used to create and continue healthy
action of body and mind are from hell. 9:244.
I want it distinctly understood, that fiddling and dancing are no part
of our worship. The question may be asked, What are they for, then? I
answer, that my body may keep pace with my mind. My mind labors like
a man logging, all the time; and this is the reason why I am fond of
these pastimes--they give me a privilege to throw everything off,
and shake myself, that my body may exercise, and my mind rest. What
for? To get strength, and be renewed and quickened, and enlivened,
and animated, so {374} that my mind may not wear out. Experience
tells us that the most of the inhabitants of the earth wear out their
bodies without wearing their minds at all, through the sufferings
they endure from hard labor, with distress, poverty, and want. While
on the other hand, a great portion of mankind wear out their bodies
without laboring, only in anxiety. But when men are brought to labor
entirely in the field of intelligence, there are few minds to be
found possessing strength enough to bear all things; the mind becomes
overcharged, and when this is the case, it begins to wear upon the
body, which will sink for want of the proper exercises. This is the
reason why I believe in and practice what I do. 1:30.
There is no music in hell, for all good music belongs to heaven.
Sweet harmonious sounds give exquisite joy to human beings capable of
appreciating music. I delight in hearing harmonious tones made by the
human voice, by musical instruments, and by both combined. Every sweet
musical sound that can be made belongs to the Saints and is for the
Saints. Every flower, shrub and tree to beautify, and to gratify the
taste and smell, and every sensation that gives to man joy and felicity
are for the Saints who receive them from the Most High. 9:244.
It you happen to be in a party where I am and wearing dresses made with
your own hands, I shall take pleasure in dancing with you in preference
to the lady dressed in silks and satins. 9:190.
I am opposed to making a cotillion hall a place of worship. 9:194.
I am opposed to having cotillions or theatrical performances in this
Tabernacle. I am opposed to making this a fun hall, I do not mean
for wickedness, I mean for the {375} recuperation of our spirits and
bodies. I am not willing that they should convert the house that has
been set apart for religious meetings into a dancing hall. 9:195.
[IMAGE: THE OLD TABERNACLE, SALT LAKE CITY]
[IMAGE: THE PRESENT TABERNACLE, SALT LAKE CITY]
Those who cannot serve God with a pure heart in the dance should not
dance. 6:148.
If you want to dance, run a foot race, pitch quoits, or play at ball,
do it, and exercise your bodies, and let your minds rest. 6:149.
If you wish to dance, dance; and you are just as much prepared for a
prayer meeting after dancing as ever you were, if you are Saints. If
you desire to ask God for anything, you are as well prepared to do so
in the dance as in any other place, if you are Saints. Are your eyes
open to know that everything in the earth, in hell, or in heaven, is
ordained for the use of intelligent beings? 6:148.
_The Theater_--Is there evil in the theater; in the ball room; in
the place of worship; in the dwelling; in the world? Yes, when men are
inclined to do evil in any of these places. There is evil in persons
meeting simply for a chit chat, if they will allow themselves to commit
evil while thus engaged. 9:243.
I built that theater to attract the young of our community and to
provide amusement for the boys and girls, rather than have them running
all over creation for recreation. Long before that was built I said to
the Bishops, "Get up your parties and pleasure grounds to amuse the
people." 12:312-313.
Upon the stage of a theater can be represented in character, evil and
its consequences, good and its happy results and rewards; the weakness
and the follies of man, the magnanimity of virtue and the greatness of
truth. The stage can be made to aid the pulpit in impressing upon the
minds {376} of a community an enlightened sense of a virtuous life,
also a proper horror of the enormity of sin and a just dread of its
consequences. The path of sin with its thorns and pitfalls, its gins
and snares can be revealed, and how to shun it. 9:243.
Tragedy is favored by the outside world; I am not in favor of it. I
do not wish murder and all its horrors and the villainy leading to it
portrayed before our women and children; I do not want the child to
carry home with it the fear of the fagot, the sword, the pistol, or
the dagger, and suffer in the night from frightful dreams. I want such
plays performed as will make the spectators feel well; and I wish those
who perform to select a class of plays that will improve the public
mind, and exalt the literary taste of the community. 9:245.
_Excursions_--If the people should conclude to take short
excursions with their families, except the smallest children, it would
be much to their comfort, and would cheer them up. 2:283.
I would be very pleased to learn that your Bishop, Brother Miller,
was preparing a place for parties; with a little pond to float boats
on, and other means of enjoyment, where the people could assemble to
have their exercises. Get the young minds to follow after you in these
things, and they will follow after you in every precept that is good.
And I would like to hear of other Bishops taking steps to prepare
suitable places for the same purpose. 12:239. {377}