_SELF CONTROL_
_The Will of Man_--You call it will. It is the divinity God has
placed in his intelligent creatures. 8:209.
Have we a will? Yes. It is an endowment, a trait of the character of
the Gods, with which all intelligence is endowed, in heaven and on
earth,--the power to accept or reject. 9:106.
God has placed within us a will, and we should be satisfied to have
it controlled by the will of the Almighty. Let the human will be
indomitable for right. It has been the custom of parents to break the
will until it is weakened, and the noble, God-like powers of the child
are reduced to a comparative state of imbecility and cowardice. Let
that heaven-born property of human agents be properly tempered and
wisely directed, instead of pursuing the opposite course, and it will
conquer in the cause of right. Break not the spirit of any person, but
guide it to feel that it is its greatest delight and highest ambition
to be controlled by the revelations of Jesus Christ, then the will of
man becomes God-like in overcoming the evil that is sown in the flesh,
until God shall reign within us to will and do of his good pleasure.
9:150.
Take people in every capacity of life, and their wills are first and
foremost. You can gain and lead the affections of the people, but you
cannot scare them, nor whip them, nor burn them to do right against
their wills. The human family will die to gratify their wills. Then
learn to rightly direct those wills, and you can direct the influence
and power of the people. 8:363. {407}
There is no man or woman on the earth in the habit of stealing, but
what can cease the practice right square if they are disposed. And so
with the liar, he can stop lying, and lie no more, and tell the truth.
It only wants the will to do it, and that will brought into exercise to
enable the liar to be truthful, the thief to be honest, and the swearer
to stop his evil speaking. 18:77.
We want the spirit, knowledge, power and principle within us to govern
and control our tempers; there is no danger of having too much if we
will only control them by the Spirit of the Almighty. Every intelligent
being on the earth is tempered for glory, beauty, excellency and
knowledge here, and for immortality and eternal lives in the worlds to
come. But every being who attains to this must be sanctified before
God and be completely under the control of his Spirit. If I am thus
controlled by the Spirit of the Most High, I am a king. I am supreme
so far as the control of self is concerned; and it also enables me to
control my wives and children. And when they thus see that I am under
the government and control of the good Spirit, they will be perfectly
submissive to my dictates. 13:272.
Now I charge you again, and I charge myself not to get angry. Never let
anger arise in your hearts. No, Brigham, never let anger arise in your
heart, never, never! Although you may be called upon to chastise and to
speak to the people sharply, do not let anger arise in you, no, never!
14:156.
_Self Control Necessary_--We are trying to govern ourselves, and
if we continue trying and faint not, we shall assuredly conquer. 11:256.
Let the people study to bring their thinking or reflecting faculties
into subjection. 6:94.
Learn to control yourselves; learn to be in the hands of {408} God as
clay in the hands of the potter; and if he will turn our enemies away,
praised be his name. But if it should become a duty to take the sword,
let us do it manfully and in the strength of Israel's God. 5:229.
I answer, it is the absolute and imperative duty of the Elders of
Israel to try and control themselves and their families and their
brethren, until they can hold control over all things in righteousness.
10:333.
I have frequently said that the greatest endowment God ever gave to man
is good, sound, solid sense to know how to govern ourselves. 9:250.
No man can ever become a ruler in the Kingdom of God, until he can
perfectly rule himself; then is he capable of raising a family of
children who will rise up and call him blessed. 9:334.
No man ever did, or ever will rule judiciously on this earth, with
honor to himself and glory to his God, unless he first learn to rule
and control himself. A man must first learn to rule himself rightly
before his knowledge can be fully brought to bear for the correct
government of a family, a neighborhood, or nation, over which it is his
lot to preside. 3:256.
In this probation, we have evil to contend with, and we must overcome
it in ourselves, or we never shall overcome it anywhere else. 6:99.
You have been taught the standard of right. Now subdue your rebellious
passions, dismiss everything that you know or consider to be wrong, and
embrace that which is better. 6:74.
Let each person be determined, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,
to overcome every besetment--to be the master of himself, that the
Spirit God has put in your tabernacles {409} shall rule; then you can
converse, live, labor, go here or there, do this or that, and converse
and deal with your brethren as you ought. 8:139.
You cannot inherit eternal life, unless your appetites are brought in
subjection to the spirit that lives within you, that spirit which our
Father in Heaven gave. I mean the Father of your spirits, of those
spirits which he has put into these tabernacles. The tabernacle must be
brought in subjection to the spirit perfectly, or your bodies cannot
be raised to inherit eternal life; if they do come forth, they must
dwell in a lower kingdom. Seek diligently, until you bring all into
subjection to the law of Christ. 4:200.
We often hear people excuse themselves for their uncouth manners and
offensive language, by remarking "I am no hypocrite," thus taking to
themselves credit for that which is really no credit to them. When evil
arises within me, let me throw a cloak over it, subdue it, instead
of acting it out upon the false presumption that I am honest and no
hypocrite. Let not thy tongue give utterance to the evil that is in
thine heart, but command thy tongue to be silent until good shall
prevail over the evil, until thy wrath has passed away and the good
Spirit shall move thy tongue to blessings and words of kindness. So
far I believe in being a hypocrite. This is practical with me. When my
feelings are aroused to anger by the ill-doings of others, I hold them
as I would hold a wild horse, and I gain the victory. Some think and
say that it makes them feel better when they are mad, as they call it,
to give vent to their madness in abusive and unbecoming language. This,
however, is a mistake. Instead of its making you feel better, it is
making bad worse. When you think and say it makes you better you give
credit to a falsehood. When the wrath {410} and bitterness of the human
heart are moulded into words and hurled with violence at one another,
without any check or hindrance, the fire has no sooner expended itself
than it is again re-kindled through some trifling course, until the
course of nature is set on fire; "and it is set on fire of hell."
11:255.
Be patient; do not murmur at the dealings of Providence. The Lord
rules in the heavens and works his pleasure upon the earth. Can you
comprehend the meaning of the Prophet Amos in the question: "Shall
there be evil in the city, and the Lord hath not done it?" His
providences are constantly ruling and overruling, to a greater or less
degree, in the affairs of the children of men. 7:237.
The sooner an individual resists temptation to do, say, or think wrong,
while he has light to correct his judgment, the quicker he will gain
strength and power to overcome every temptation to evil. 6:94.
I am trying to civilize myself. Are you trying to do the same? If
we have succeeded in this, then we have control over our words and
over our actions, and also, so far as our influence goes, over our
associates. If we are civilized ourselves, we shall be partially
prepared to receive the things that our Father and God has in store
for all such as prepare themselves to become recipients of his choice
gifts--for enlightenment, for intelligence, for glory, for power, and
for every qualification he wishes to bestow upon his children here upon
the earth, to prepare them to dwell in mansions of eternal light. 8:7.
Until we can subdue our own passions, and bring every human feeling
and aspiration into subjection to the will of God, we are not really
capable of guiding and dictating others to the full possession of
victory in the Kingdom of God. {411} To conquer and subdue, and school
ourselves until we bring everything into subjection to the law of
Christ, is our work. 11:13.
The thousands and tens of thousands of incidents that make up the
sum of human lives, whether for good or evil, depend on a momentary
watchfulness and care. 8:52.
A righteous person will never be discouraged, but will constantly
contend against his evil passions, and against evil in his family and
neighborhood; and the Lord will utterly cleanse his thrashing floor as
with the besom of destruction. 8:151.
Many men will say they have a violent temper, and try to excuse
themselves for actions of which they are ashamed. I will say, there
is not a man in this house who has a more indomitable and unyielding
temper than myself. But there is not a man in the world who cannot
overcome his passion, if he will struggle earnestly to do so. If you
find passion coming on you, go off to some place where you cannot
be heard; let none of your family see you or hear you, while it is
upon you, but struggle till it leaves you; and pray for strength
to overcome. As I have said many times to the Elders, pray in your
families; and if, when the time for prayer comes, you have not the
spirit of prayer upon you, and your knees are unwilling to bow, say to
them "Knees, get down there;" make them bend, and remain there until
you obtain the Spirit of the Lord. If the spirit yields to the body, it
becomes corrupt; but if the body yields to the spirit it becomes pure
and holy. 11:290.
Thirty years' experience has taught me that every moment of my life
must be holiness to the Lord, resulting from equity, justice, mercy,
and uprightness in all my actions, {412} which is the only course by
which I can preserve the Spirit of the Almighty to myself. 9:220.
_Check Your Words_--If you first gain power to check your words,
you will then begin to have power to check your judgment, and at length
actually gain power to check your thoughts and reflections. 6:98.
You should succeed in bringing your tongues into subjection, so as
never to let them speak evil, so that they will perfectly obey your
judgment and the discretion God has given you, and are perfectly
obedient to the will of the holy Gospel. 3:195.
There is an old maxim, and in many cases an excellent one. It is,
"Think twice before you speak, and three times before you act." If we
train ourselves to think what we are about to do, before we do it,
and have understanding to know, and power to perform the good, we can
thereby avoid the evil that is present with us. 1:92.
It is also a precious gift, that some people seem to be possessed of,
to have knowledge enough not to talk until they can say something to
advantage and benefit to themselves, or others, or both. 9:86.
If any are in the habit of taking the name of God in vain, cease doing
so today, tomorrow and throughout the coming week, and so continue,
and you will soon gain strength to overcome the habit entirely; you
will gain power over your words. Some are in the habit of talking about
their neighbors, of vending stories they know nothing about, only that
Aunt Sally said that Cousin Fanny told Aunt Betsy that old Aunt Ruth
said something or other, or somebody had had a dream; and by the time
the story or dream reaches you, it has assumed the semblance of a fact,
and you are very foolishly spending your time in {413} talking about
things that amount to nothing, or that you have no concern with. A
report is started that such a one has done wrong, and, by the time it
has gone its round, has become anointed with the salve of the backbiter
and talebearer--become endowed with their spirit. One and another
falls in with it and says, "That is true--your cause is just, you are
exactly right, and the other is surely wrong," when they know nothing
about the matter, thereby engendering entirely groundless ill feelings
against each other. Before we condemn, we should wait until the heavens
clearly indicate a fault in a father, brother, sister, wife, husband,
or neighbor. And if heaven declares a fault, wait until the Holy Ghost
manifests to you that such is a fault. Let the Father reveal to you
that the person you are thinking or talking about is actually wrong.
Traduce no person. When you know what right is, and are capable of
correcting a person that is wrong, then it is time enough for you to
judge. 6:97-98.
_Cease Your Anger_--No man or people possessing wisdom will give
vent to wrath, for that is calculated to weaken, to destroy, to blot
out of existence. 7:10.
Cease your anger, and sullenness of temper, and serve the Lord with
cheerfulness, and singleness of heart. You need not expect salvation,
except you can administer the same salvation to others, both in precept
and example. If you expect compassion from me, administer the same to
me. If you wish kind words and kind treatment from me, give me the same
blessing you desire yourself; and that is the way you will be saved.
1:245.
Do not get so angry that you cannot pray; do not allow yourselves to
become so angry that you cannot feed an enemy--even your worst enemy,
if an opportunity should {414} present itself. There is a wicked anger,
and there is a righteous anger. The Lord does not suffer wicked anger
to be in his heart; but there is anger in his bosom, and he will hold a
controversy with the nations, and will sift them, and no power can stay
his hand. 5:228.
If you give way to your angry feelings, it sets on fire the whole
course of nature, and is set on fire of hell; and you are then apt to
set those on fire who are contending with you. When you feel as though
you would burst, tell the old boiler to burst, and just laugh at the
temptation to speak evil. If you will continue to do that, you will
soon be so masters of yourselves as to be able, if not to tame, to
control your tongues--able to speak when you ought, and to be silent
when you ought. 6:75.
_Learn to Know Ourselves_--The greatest lesson you can learn is
to know yourselves. When we know ourselves, we know our neighbors.
When we know precisely how to deal with ourselves, we know how to deal
with our neighbors. You have come here to learn this. You cannot learn
it immediately, neither can all the philosophy of the age teach it to
you; you have to come here to get a practical experience and to know
yourselves. You will then begin to learn more perfectly the things
of God. No being can thoroughly know himself, without understanding
more or less of the things of God; neither can any being learn and
understand the things of God, without knowing himself: he must know
himself, or he never can know God. 8:334.
But people cannot judge themselves as they can others, nor look upon
their own conduct as they do upon the conduct of others. We must learn
to look at ourselves, to judge ourselves, and know how to deal with
ourselves and {415} that will enable us to bring ourselves into perfect
subjection to the law of Christ. 6:73.
There is a trait in the character of man which is frequently made
manifest in the Saints. It is simply this--to see faults in others
when we do not examine our own. When you see people, professing to be
Latter-day Saints, examining the faults of others, you may know that
they are not walking in the path of obedience as strictly as they
should. 11:292.
_Let Us Mind Our Own Business_--I will repeat part of the "Mormon
Creed," viz: "Let every man mind his own business." If this is
observed, every man will have business sufficient on hand, so as not
to afford time to trouble himself with the business of other people.
2:92-93.
If we will faithfully mind our own concerns, live our religion, do
good to all men, preach the Gospel to the nations of the earth, gather
up the honest in heart, build up and establish Zion in the earth, and
send the Gospel to the House of Israel, and live and serve God in all
things, all will be well with us, we have no cause for fear in the
least. 19:5.
The question may be asked: "Are we never to know the doings of others?
Are we never to look to see how others are walking and progressing in
this Gospel? Must we forever and forever confine our minds to thinking
of ourselves, and our eyes to looking at ourselves?" I can merely say
that if persons only understand the path of duty and walk therein,
attending strictly to whatever is required of them, they will have
plenty to do to examine themselves and to purify their own hearts; and
if they look at their neighbors and examine their conduct, they will
look for good and not for evil. 11:292. {416}
My position in the presence of God, before the angels and upon the face
of the earth, is that it is easier and more delightful to serve God
than to serve ourselves and the Devil. 13:1. {417}