_TEMPLES AND SALVATION FOR THE DEAD_
_Saints Always Commanded to Build Temples_--We are going to build
temples. This law is given to the children of men. 14:95.
Concerning revelations pertaining to building temples, I will give
you the words of our beloved Prophet while he was yet living upon
the earth. Many of us that are here today, were with him from the
commencement of the Church. He was frequently speaking upon the
building of temples in Kirtland, Missouri, and Illinois. When the
people refused in Kirtland to build a temple, unless by a special
revelation, it grieved his heart that they should be so penurious in
their feelings as to require the Lord to command them to build a house
to his name. It was not only grievous to him, but to the Holy Spirit
also. He frequently said that if it were not for the covetousness of
the people, the Lord would not give revelations concerning the building
of temples, for we already knew all about them; the revelations giving
us the order of the Priesthood make known to us what is wanted in that
respect at our hands. 1:277.
We that are here are enjoying a privilege that we have no knowledge of
any other people enjoying since the days of Adam, that is, to have a
temple completed, wherein all the ordinances of the house of God can be
bestowed upon his people. Brethren and sisters, do you understand this?
It seems that a great many of the people know nothing about it. It is
true that Solomon built a temple for the purpose of giving endowments,
but from what we can learn of {603} the history of that time they gave
very few if any endowments, and one of the high priests was murdered by
wicked and corrupt men, who had already begun to apostatize, because he
would not reveal those things appertaining to the Priesthood that were
forbidden him to reveal until he came to the proper place. I will not
say but what Enoch had temples and officiated therein, but we have no
account of it. We know that he raised up a people so pure and holy that
they were not permitted to remain with the wicked inhabitants of the
earth, but were taken to another place. 18:303.
The earth, the Lord says, abides its creation; it has been baptized
with water, and will, in the future, be baptized with fire and the Holy
Ghost, to be prepared to go back into the celestial presence of God,
with all things that dwell upon it which have, like the earth, abided
the law of their creation. Taking this view of the matter, it may be
asked why we build temples. We build temples because there is not a
house on the face of the whole earth that has been reared to God's
name which will in anywise compare with his character, and that he can
consistently call his house. There are places on the earth where the
Lord can come and dwell, if he pleases. They may be found on the tops
of high mountains, or in some cavern or places where sinful man has
never marked the soil with his polluted feet.
He requires his servants to build him a house that he can come to and
where he can make known his will. 10:252.
We enjoy the privilege of entering into a temple, built to the name
of God, and receiving the ordinances of his house, with all the keys
and blessings preparatory to entering {604} into the "lives;" we also
enjoy the privilege of administering for our fathers and mothers, our
grandfathers and grandmothers, for those who have slept without the
Gospel. 19:22.
In the spirit world those who have got the victory go on to prepare the
way for those who live in the flesh, fulfilling the work of saviors on
Mount Zion.
To accomplish this work there will have to be not only one temple but
thousands of them, and thousands and tens of thousands of men and women
will go into those temples and officiate for people who have lived as
far back as the Lord shall reveal. If we are faithful enough to go back
and build that great temple which Joseph has written about, and should
the Lord acknowledge the labor of his servants, then watch, for you
will see somebody whom you have seen before, and many of you will see
him whom you have not seen before, but you will know him as soon as you
see him. 3:372.
_Temples Indispensable for Higher Ordinances_--In consequence of
our having been driven from our homes, and because of our destitute
circumstances, the Lord has permitted us to do what we have done,
namely, to use this Endowment House for temple purposes. But since,
through the mercies and blessings of God, we are able to build temples,
it is the will and commandment of God that we do so. 18:263.
Do we need a temple? We do, to prepare us to enter in through the gate
into the city where the Saints are at rest. Ordinances necessary to
this have not yet been performed and cannot be in the absence of a
suitable place. We wish a temple, not for the public congregation, but
for the Priesthood, wherein to arrange and organize fully the {605}
Priesthood in its order and degrees, to administer the ordinance of the
Priesthood to the Saints for their exaltation. 9:240.
We cannot now administer the further ordinances of God, in the fullest
sense of the word, legally unto the people, neither shall we be able to
do so until we have a temple built for that purpose. Some may consider
that I am notifying our common foe in saying this, but it is true,
notwithstanding, and our common foe knows it. We must be situated in
local circumstances wherein we can efficiently administer in those
ordinances of the house of God that cannot be administered to a people
while they are scattered abroad among the nations of the wicked. 12:162.
There are some of the sealing ordinances that cannot be administered
in the house that we are now using; we can only administer in it some
of the first ordinances of the Priesthood pertaining to the endowment.
There are more advanced ordinances that cannot be administered there;
we would, therefore, like a temple, but I am willing to wait a few
years for it. I want to see the temple built in a manner that it will
endure through the Millennium. This is not the only temple we shall
build; there will be hundreds of them built and dedicated to the Lord.
This temple will be known as the first temple built in the mountains
by the Latter-day Saints. And when the Millennium is over, and all
the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, down to the last of their
posterity, who come within the reach of the clemency of the Gospel,
have been redeemed in hundreds of temples through the administration of
their children as proxies for them, I want that temple still to stand
as a proud monument of the faith, perseverance and industry of the
Saints of God in the mountains, in the nineteenth century. 10:254. {606}
We have often told you that we want to build a temple, but not for
convening promiscuous congregations. I inform you, long before you see
the walls reared and the building completed, that it will be for the
purposes of the Priesthood, and not for meetings of the people; we
shall not hold public meetings in it. I should like to see the temple
built, in which you will see the Priesthood in its order and true
organization, each Quorum in its place. 8:202-203.
_Endowments Given in Temples_--The commandments contained in the
New Testament with regard to the ordinances of the house of God are
obligatory upon us. 13:314.
Every individual who is prepared for the celestial kingdom must go
through the same things. 3:195.
It is absolutely necessary that-the Saints should receive the further
ordinances of the house of God before this short existence shall come
to a close, that they may be prepared and fully able to pass all the
sentinels leading into the celestial kingdom and into the presence of
God. 12:163-4.
Then go on and build the temples of the Lord, that you may receive
the endowments in store for you, and possess the keys of the eternal
Priesthood, that you may receive every word, sign, and token, and be
made acquainted with the laws of angels, and of the kingdom of our
Father and our God, and know how to pass from one degree to another,
and enter fully into the joy of your Lord. 2:315.
Some of us are not dependent on the temple for our endowment blessings,
for we have received them under the hands of Joseph the Prophet, and
know where to go to bestow the same on others. You may ask me whether
the leaders of this Church have received all their endowment blessings.
I think that we have got all that you can get in your probation, if you
live to be the age of Methuselah; and {607} we can give what we possess
to others who are worthy. 10:254.
A great many of you have had your endowments, and you know what a vote
with uplifted hands means.
It is a sign which you make in token of your covenant with God and
with one another, and it is for you to perform your vows. When you
raise your hands to heaven and let them fall and then pass on with your
covenants unfulfilled, you will be cursed.
I feel sometimes like lecturing men and women severely who enter into
covenants without realizing the nature of the covenants they make, and
who use little or no effort to fulfil them.
Some Elders go to the nations and preach the Gospel of life and
salvation, and return without thoroughly understanding the nature of
the covenant. It is written in the Bible that every man should perform
his own vows, even if to his own hurt; in this way you will show to all
creation and to God that you are full of integrity. 3:332.
Most of you, my brethren, are Elders, Seventies, or High Priests;
perhaps there is not a Priest or Teacher present. The reason of this
is that when we give the brethren their endowments, we are obliged
to confer upon them the Melchizedek Priesthood; but I expect to see
the day, when we shall be so situated that we can say to a company
of brethren, You can go and receive the ordinances pertaining to the
Aaronic order of Priesthood, and then you can go into the world and
preach the Gospel, or do something that will prove whether you will
honor that Priesthood before you receive more. Now we pass them through
the ordinances of both Priesthoods in one day, but this is not as it
should be and would, if we had a temple wherein to administer {608}
these ordinances. But this is all right at present; we should not be
satisfied in any other way, and consequently we do according to the
circumstances we are placed in. 10:309.
The ordinances of the house of God are for the salvation of the human
family. We are the only ones on the earth at the present time, that we
have any knowledge of, who hold the keys of salvation committed to the
children of men from the heavens by the Lord Almighty; and inasmuch as
there are those who hold these keys, it is important that they should
be acted upon for the salvation of the human family. The building of
temples, places in which the ordinances of salvation are administered,
is necessary to carry out the plan of redemption, and it is a glorious
subject upon which to address the Saints. 13:262.
Giving endowments to a great many proves their overthrow, through
revealing things to them which they cannot keep. They are not worthy to
receive them. 4:372.
Were it not for what is revealed concerning the sealing ordinances,
children born out of the covenant could not be sealed to their parents.
18:249.
The ordinances of the house of God are expressly for the Church of the
Firstborn. 8:154.
I would rather see this people cleansed, and give the righteous their
endowments after they have waited awhile. Let the poor, and those who
are humble before the Lord, have the first chance. 2:144.
_Vicarious Work for the Dead in Temples_--We are preaching to them
the Gospel of Salvation--to the dead--through those who have lived in
this dispensation. 3:90.
There is an opportunity for men who are in the spirit to receive the
Gospel. Jesus, while his body lay in the grave two nights and one day,
went to the world of spirits to {609} show the brethren how they should
build up the kingdom, and bring spirits to the knowledge of the truth
in the spirit world; he went to set them the pattern there, as he had
done on this earth. Hence you perceive that there, spirits have the
privilege of embracing the truth.
You may ask if they are baptized there? No. Can they have hands laid
upon them for the gift of the Holy Ghost? No. None of the outward
ordinances that pertain to the flesh are administered there, but the
light, glory, and power of the Holy Ghost are enjoyed just as freely as
upon this earth; and there are laws which govern and control the spirit
world, and to which they are subject. 2:138.
Now a few words to the brethren and sisters upon the doctrine and
ordinances of the house of God. All who have lived on the earth
according to the best light they had, and would have received the
fulness of the Gospel had it been preached to them, are worthy of a
glorious resurrection, and will attain to this by being administered
for, in the flesh, by those who have the authority. All others will
have a resurrection, and receive a glory, except those who have
sinned against the Holy Ghost. It is supposed by this people that we
have all the ordinances in our possession for life and salvation,
and exaltation, and that we are administering in these ordinances.
This is not the case. We are in possession of all the ordinances that
can be administered in the flesh; but there are other ordinances and
administrations that must be administered beyond this world. I know
you would ask what they are. I will mention one. We have not, neither
can we receive here, the ordinance and the keys of the resurrection.
They will be given to those who have passed off this stage of action
and have received their bodies again, as many have already done and
{610} many more will. They will be ordained, by those who hold the keys
of the resurrection, to go forth and resurrect the Saints, just as we
receive the ordinance of baptism, then the keys of authority to baptize
others for the remission of their sins. This is one of the ordinances
we cannot receive here, and there are many more. We hold the authority
to dispose of, alter and change the elements; but we have not received
authority to organize native element, to even make a spear of grass
grow.
We have no such ordinance here. We organize according to men in the
flesh. By combining the elements and planting the seed, we cause
vegetables, trees, grains, etc., to come forth. We are organizing
a Kingdom here according to the pattern that the Lord has given
for people in the flesh, but not for those who have received the
resurrection, although it is a similitude. Another item: We have not
the power in the flesh to create and bring forth or produce a spirit;
but we have the power to produce a temporal body; the germ of this,
God has placed within us. And when our spirits receive our bodies, and
through our faithfulness we are worthy to be crowned, we will then
receive authority to produce both spirit and body. But these keys we
cannot receive in the flesh. Herein, brethren, you can perceive that we
have not finished, and cannot finish our work, while we live here, no
more than Jesus did while he was in the flesh.
We cannot receive, while in the flesh, the keys to form and fashion
kingdoms and to organize matter, for they are beyond our capacity and
calling, beyond this world. In the resurrection, men who have been
faithful and diligent in all things in the flesh; have kept their first
and second estate, and are worthy to be crowned Gods, even the Sons of
God, {611} will be ordained to organize matter. How much matter do you
suppose there is between here and some of the fixed stars which we can
see? Enough to frame many, very many millions of such earths as this,
yet it is now so diffused, clear and pure, that we look through it and
behold the stars. Yet the matter is there. Can you form any conception
of this? Can you form any idea of the minuteness of matter? 15:136.
Do you recollect that in about the year 1840-41, Joseph had a
revelation concerning the dead? He had been asked the question a good
many times: "What is the condition of the dead, those that lived and
died without the Gospel?" It was a matter of inquiry with him. He
considered this question for himself, and for the brethren and the
Church, "What is the condition of the dead? What will be their fate? Is
there no way today by which they can receive their blessings as there
was in the days of the Apostles, and when the Gospel was preached upon
the earth in ancient days?" When Joseph received the revelation that we
have in our possession concerning the dead, the subject was opened to
him, not in full, but in part, and he kept on receiving. When he had
first received the knowledge by the spirit of revelation how the dead
could be officiated for, there are brethren and sisters here, I can see
quite a number here who were in Nauvoo, and you recollect that when
this doctrine was first revealed, and in hurrying in the administration
of baptism for the dead, that sisters were baptized for their male
friends, were baptized for their fathers, their grandfathers, their
mothers and their grandmothers, etc. I just mention this so that
you will come to understanding, that as we knew nothing about this
matter at first, the old Saints recollect, there was little by little
given, and the subject was made plain, but little was given at once.
Consequently, in {612} the first place people were baptized for their
friends and no record was kept. Joseph afterwards kept a record. Then
women were baptized for men and men for women, etc. It would be very
strange, you know, to the eyes of the wise and those that understood
the things pertaining to eternity, if we were called upon to commence a
work that we could not finish. This, therefore, was regulated and all
set in order; for it was revealed that if a woman was baptized for a
man, she could not be ordained for him, neither could she be made an
Apostle or a Patriarch for the man, consequently the sisters are to be
baptized for their own sex only.
This doctrine of baptism for the dead is a great doctrine, one of the
most glorious doctrines that was revealed to the human family; and
there are light, power, glory, honor and immortality in it. 16:165.
There are many of the ordinances of the house of God that must be
performed in a temple that is erected expressly for the purpose. There
are other ordinances that we can administer without a temple. You
know that there are some which you have received--baptism, the laying
on of hands for the gifts of the Holy Ghost, such as the speaking in
and interpretation of tongues, prophesying, healing, discerning of
spirits, etc., and many blessings bestowed upon the people, we have the
privilege of receiving without a temple. There are other blessings,
that will not be received, and ordinances that will not be performed
according to the law that the Lord has revealed, without their being
done in a temple prepared for that purpose. We can, at the present
time, go into the Endowment House and be baptized for the dead, receive
our washings and anointing, etc., for there we have a font that
has been erected, dedicated expressly for baptizing people for the
remission of sins, for their {613} health and for their dead friends;
in this the Saints have the privilege of being baptized for their
friends. We also have the privilege of sealing women to men, without
a temple. This we can do in the Endowment House; but when we come to
other sealing ordinances, ordinances pertaining to the holy Priesthood,
to connect the chain of the Priesthood from Father Adam until now, by
sealing children to their parents, being sealed for our forefathers,
etc., they cannot be done without a temple. When the ordinances are
carried out in the temples that will be erected, men will be sealed
to their fathers, and those who have slept, clear up to Father Adam.
This will have to be done, because of the chain of the Priesthood being
broken upon the earth. The Priesthood has left the people, but in the
first place the people left the Priesthood. They transgressed the
laws, changed the ordinance, and broke the everlasting covenant, and
the Priesthood left them; but not until they had left the Priesthood.
This Priesthood has been restored again, and by its authority we shall
be connected with our fathers, by the ordinance of sealing, until we
shall form a perfect chain from Father Adam down to the closing up
scene. This ordinance will not be performed anywhere but in a temple;
neither will children be sealed to their living parents in any other
place than a temple. For instance, a man and his wife come into the
Church, and they have a family of children. These children have been
begotten out of the covenant, because the marriage of their parents is
not recognized by the Lord as performed by his authority; they have,
therefore, to be sealed to their parents, or else they cannot claim
them in eternity; they will be distributed according to the wisdom of
the Lord, who does all things right. When we had a temple prepared
in Nauvoo, many {614} of the brethren had their children, who were
out of the covenant, sealed to them, and endowments were given. Then
parents, after receiving their endowments and being sealed for time
and eternity, and they have other children; they are begotten and born
under the covenant, and they are the rightful heirs to the kingdom,
they possess the keys of the kingdom. Children born unto parents,
before the latter enter into the fulness of the covenants, have to be
sealed to them in-a temple to become legal heirs of the Priesthood.
It is true they can receive the ordinances, they can receive their
endowments, and be blessed in common with their parents; but still the
parents cannot claim them legally and lawfully in eternity unless they
are sealed to them. Yet the chain would not be complete without this
sealing ordinance being performed.
Now, to illustrate this, I will refer to my own father's family. My
father died before the endowments were given. None of his children
have been sealed to him. If you recollect, you that were in Nauvoo,
we were very much hurried in the little time we spent there after the
temple was built. The mob was there ready to destroy us; they were
ready to burn our houses, they had been doing it for a long time; but
we finished the temple according to the commandment that was given
to Joseph, and then took our departure. Our time, therefore, was
short, and we had no time to attend to this. My father's children,
consequently, have not been sealed to him. Perhaps all of his sons may
go into eternity, into the spirit world, before this can be attended
to; but this will make no difference; the heirs of the family will
attend to this if it is not for a hundred years.
It will have to be done sometime. If, however, we get a temple prepared
before the sons of my father shall all {615} have gone into the spirit
world, if there are any of them remaining, they will attend to this,
and as heirs be permitted to receive the ordinances for our father
and mother. This is only one case, and, to illustrate this subject
perfectly, I might have to refer to hundreds of examples for each case.
16:186.
We trust in God. I reckon he will fight our battles and we will be
baptized for and in behalf of the human family during a thousand years;
and we will have hundreds of temples and thousands of men and women
officiating therein for those who have fallen asleep, without having
had the privilege of hearing and obeying the Gospel, that they may be
brought forth and have a glorious resurrection, and enjoy the kingdom
which God has prepared for them. The Devil will fight hard to hinder
us, and we shall not take an inch of ground except by obedience to the
power of, and faith in, the Gospel of the Son of God. The whole world
is opposed to this doctrine. But is there any harm in it? If they could
only see it as it is in the Lord, they would rejoice in it, and instead
of fighting it, they would praise God for having revealed so glorious
a doctrine. Suppose that the notion entertained by some is true, that
after the death of our bodies our spirits sleep an eternal sleep, and I
am baptized for my father, grandfather, and so on, above, beneath, or
around about the earth! All will admit that no harm would be done in
practicing these ordinances. Then let us alone if our practices will do
no harm, why oppose us in their observance? The result might possibly
affect beneficially our progenitors, and then you who oppose would be
found fighting against God. Better let the Gospel have its course.
13:330.
Let me say to you, if it is true that no man can enter the {616}
Kingdom of God unless he is born of the water and of the Spirit, God
must provide a plan by which those who have died ignorant of the
Gospel may have the privilege of doing so, or he would appear to be a
partial being. Has he provided that way? He has. The Christian world
have taught, preached, contemplated, meditated, sung about and prayed
for the Millennium. What are you going to do during that period,
Christians? Do you know what the Millennium is for, and what work will
have to be done during that period? Suppose the Christian world were
now one in heart, faith, sentiment and works, so that the Lord could
commence the Millennium in power and glory, do you know what would be
done? Would you sit and sing yourselves away to everlasting bliss?
No, I reckon not. I think there is a work to be done then which the
whole world seems determined we shall not do. What is it? To build
temples. We never yet commenced to lay the foundation of a temple but
what all hell was in arms against us. That is the difficulty now. We
have commenced the foundation of this temple. What are we going to do
in these temples? Anything to be done there? Yes, and we will not wait
for the Millennium and the fulness of the glory of God on the earth; we
will commence as soon as we have a temple, and work for the salvation
of our forefathers; we will get their genealogies as far as we can. By
and by, we shall get them perfect. In these temples we will officiate
in the ordinances of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for our friends, for no
man can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of the water and of
the Spirit. We will officiate for those who are in the spirit world,
where Jesus went to preach to the spirits, as Peter has written in the
third chapter, verses 18, 19, 20, of his first epistle. {617}
We will also have hands laid on us for the reception of the Holy Ghost;
and then we will receive the washing and anointings for and in their
behalf, preparatory to their becoming heirs of God and joint-heirs with
Christ. Are you going to do this, Latter-day Saints? Yes. What will the
Christian world do with their dead? Let them sleep an eternal sleep,
for there are no provisions made for them in the Gospel they believe in
and have taught to them. 13:329.
We will bring up all the inhabitants of the earth, except those who
have sinned against the Holy Ghost, and save them in some kingdom
where they will receive more glory and honor than ever the Methodist
contemplated. This should be a comfort and a consolation to all the
inhabitants of the earth. They will not save themselves, millions
have not had a chance, and millions now living, through the strength
of their traditions, will not do it; their consciences and feelings
are bound up in their systems and creeds, whereas if they felt as
independent as they should feel, they would break loose and receive
the truths; but they will live and die in bondage, and we calculate to
officiate for them. Many a man I know of, who has fallen asleep, we
have been baptized for, since the Church was organized--good, honest,
honorable men, charitable to all, living good, virtuous lives. We will
not let them go down to hell; God will not. The plan of salvation is
ample to bring them all up and place them where they may enjoy all they
could anticipate. 14:97.
Can we do anything for them? Yes. What are we trying to build a temple
for? And we shall not only build a temple here, if we are successful,
and are blessed and preserved, but we shall probably commence two or
three more, and so on as fast as the work requires, for the express
purpose of redeeming our dead. When I get a revelation that {618} some
of my progenitors lived and died without the blessings of the Gospel,
or even hearing it preached, but were as honest as I am, as upright as
I am, or as any man or woman could be upon the earth; as righteous, so
far as they knew how, as any Apostle or Prophet that ever lived, I will
go and be baptized, confirmed, washed, and anointed, and go through all
the ordinances and endowments for them, that their way may be open to
the celestial kingdom.
As I have frequently told you, that is the work of the Millennium.
It is the work that has to be performed by the seed of Abraham, the
chosen seed, the royal seed, the blessed of the Lord, those the Lord
made covenants with. They will step forth, and save every son and
daughter of Adam who will receive salvation here on the earth; and all
the spirits in the spirit world will be preached to, conversed with,
and the principles of salvation carried to them, that they may have
the privilege of receiving the Gospel; and they will have plenty of
children here on the earth to officiate for them in those ordinances of
the Gospel that pertain to the flesh. 2:138.
What do you suppose the fathers would say if they could speak from the
dead? Would they not say, "We have lain here thousands of years, here
in this prison house, waiting for this dispensation to come? Here we
are, bound and fettered, in the association of those who are filthy?"
What would they whisper in our ears? Why, if they had the power the
very thunders of heaven would be in our ears, if we could but realize
the importance of the work we are engaged in. All the angels in heaven
are looking at this little handful of people, and stimulating them
to the salvation of the human family. So also are the devils in hell
looking at this people, too, and trying to overthrow us, and {619} the
people are still shaking hands with the servants of the Devil, instead
of sanctifying themselves and calling upon the Lord and doing the work
which he has commanded us and put into our hands to do. When I think
upon this subject, I want the tongues of seven thunders to wake up the
people. 18:304.
We are trying to save the living and the dead. The living can have
their choice, the dead have not. Millions of them died without the
Gospel, without the Priesthood, and without the opportunities that we
enjoy. We shall go forth in the name of Israel's God and attend to the
ordinances for them. And through the Millennium, the thousand years
that the people will love and serve God, we will build temples and
officiate therein for those who have slept for hundreds and thousands
of years--those who would have received the truth if they had had the
opportunity; and we will bring them up, and form the chain entire, back
to Adam. 14:97.
If we preserve ourselves in the truth and live so that we shall be
worthy of the celestial kingdom, by and by we can officiate for those
who have died without the Gospel--the honest, honorable, truthful,
virtuous and pure. By and by it will be said unto us, Go ye forth and
be baptized for them and receive the ordinances for them, and the
hearts of the children will be turned to the fathers who have slept in
their graves, and they will secure to them eternal life. This must be,
lest the Lord come and smite the earth with a curse. The children will
go forth and revive this law for those who have slept for thousands of
years who died without the Gospel. Jesus will prepare a way to bring
them up into his presence. But were it not for the few who will be
prepared here on the earth to officiate {620} when the Lord shall come
to reign King of nations, what would be the condition of the world?
They would sleep and sleep on; but the way is prepared for their
redemption. 14:151.
Hundreds of millions of human beings have been born, lived out their
short earthly span, and passed away, ignorant alike of themselves and
of the plan of salvation provided for them. It gives great consolation,
however, to know that this glorious plan devised by Heaven follows them
into the next existence, offering for their acceptance eternal life and
exaltation to thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers in the
presence of their Father and God, through Jesus Christ, his Son. 9:148.
If we obey this law, preserve it inviolate, live according to it, we
shall be prepared to enjoy the blessings of a celestial kingdom. Will
any others? Yes, thousands and millions of the inhabitants of the earth
who would have received and obeyed the law that we preach, if they
had had the privilege. When the Lord shall bring again Zion, and the
watchmen shall see eye to eye, and Zion shall be established, saviors
will come upon Mount Zion and save all the sons and daughters of Adam
that are capable of being saved, by administering for them. 8:35.
Our enemies will yet be glad to come to us for safety and salvation;
and we will do as Brother Kimball has said--we will save the old
veteran fathers; and the time will come when we will be baptized for
them, while those who trample upon the rights of their fellow men will
be weltering in hell. Yes, we will bring up those old revolutionary
sires and save them; for God loves men who are true to each other and
are true to him. 5:212.
_Who Should Represent the Dead_--A man is ordained {621} and
receives his washings, anointings, and endowments for the male portion
of his and his wife's progenitors, and his wife for the female portion.
3:372.
For instance, a man and his wife come into the Church; he says, "My
father and mother were good people; I would like to officiate for
them." "Well, have you any other friends in the Church?" "Nobody but
myself and my wife." Well, now, the wife is not a blood relation,
consequently she is not in reality the proper person, but she can be
appointed the heir if there are no other relatives--if there are no
sisters, this wife of his can officiate for the mother; but if the man
has a sister in the Church, it is the privilege and place of the sister
of this man, the daughter of those parents that are dead, to go and
officiate--be baptized, to go and be sealed with her brother for her
father and mother. If this man and woman have a daughter old enough
to officiate for her grandmother, she is a blood relation, and is the
heir, and can act; but if there is no daughter, the man's wife can be
appointed as the heir. 16:188.
Some brethren here are anxious to know whether they can receive
endowments for their sons or for their daughters. No, they cannot
until we have a temple; but they can officiate in the ordinances so
far as baptism and sealing are concerned. A man can be baptized for a
son who died before hearing the Gospel. A woman can be baptized for
her daughter, who died without the Gospel. Suppose that the father
of a dead son wishes to have a wife sealed to his son; if the young
woman desired as a wife is dead and have a mother or other female
relative in the Church, such mother is the heir, and she can act in
the sealing ordinances in the stead of her daughter. But if the young
woman desired as a wife have no relative in the Church, to act in her
behalf, {622} then the mother of the young man can be baptized for her,
and act as proxy for her in the sealing ordinances. We can attend to
these ordinances now before the temple is built here; but no one can
receive endowments for another, until a temple is prepared in which to
administer them. We administer just so far as the law permits us to
do. In reality we should have performed all these ordinances long ago,
if we had been obedient; we should have had temples in which we could
attend to all these ordinances. Now, the brethren have the privilege of
being baptized for their dead friends--when I say the brethren, I mean
the brethren and sisters--and these friends can be sealed. 16:187.
We will operate here, in all the ordinances of the house of God
which pertain to this side of the veil, and those who pass beyond
and secure to themselves a resurrection pertaining to the lives will
go on and receive more and more, more and more, and will receive one
after another until they are crowned Gods, even the sons of God. This
idea is very consoling. We are now baptizing for the dead, and we are
sealing for the dead, and if we had a temple prepared we should be
giving endowments for the dead--for our fathers, mothers, grandfathers,
grandmothers, uncles, aunts, relatives, friends and old associates, the
history of whom we are now getting from our friends in the East. The
Lord is stirring up the hearts of many there, and there is a perfect
mania with some to trace their genealogies and to get up printed
records of their ancestors. They do not know what they are doing it
for, but the Lord is prompting them; and it will continue and run on
from father to father, father to father, until they get the genealogy
of their forefathers as far as they possibly can. 15:138.
We want to sacrifice enough to do the will of God in {623} preparing
to bring up those who have not had the privilege of hearing the Gospel
while in the flesh, for the simple reason that, in the spirit world,
they cannot officiate in the ordinances of the house of God. They
have passed the ordeals, and are beyond the possibility of personally
officiating for the remission of their sins and for their exaltation,
consequently they are under the necessity of trusting in their friends,
their children and their children's children to officiate for them,
that they may be brought up into the celestial kingdom of God. 18:238.
_"Saviors on Mount Zion"_--We have a work to do just as important
in its sphere as the Savior's work was in its sphere. Our fathers
cannot be made perfect without us; we cannot be made perfect without
them. They have done their work and now sleep. We are now called upon
to do ours; which is to be the greatest work man ever performed on the
earth. Millions of our fellow creatures who have lived upon the earth
and died without a knowledge of the Gospel must be officiated for in
order that they may inherit eternal life (that is, all that would have
received the Gospel). And we are called upon to enter into this work.
18:213.
We are called, as it has been told you, to redeem the nations of the
earth. The fathers cannot be made perfect without us; we cannot be
made perfect without the fathers. There must be this chain in the holy
Priesthood; it must be welded together from the latest generation that
lives on the earth back to Father Adam, to bring back all that can be
saved and placed where they can receive salvation and a glory in some
kingdom. This Priesthood has to do it; this Priesthood is for this
purpose. 13:280.
Can the fathers be saved without us? No. Can we be {624} saved without
them? No, and if we do not wake up and cease to long after the things
of this earth, we will find that we as individuals will go down to
hell, although the Lord will preserve a people unto himself. Now, we
are ready to give endowments, do you have any feelings for those who
have died without having the Gospel? 18:304.
The ordinance of sealing must be performed here man to man, and woman
to man, and children to parents, etc., until the chain of generation
is made perfect in the sealing ordinances back to Father Adam; hence,
we have been commanded to gather ourselves together, to come out from
Babylon, and sanctify ourselves, and build up the Zion of our God, by
building cities and temples, redeeming countries from the solitude of
nature, until the earth is sanctified and prepared for the residence of
God and angels. 12:165.
The doctrines of the Savior reveal and place the believers in
possession of principles whereby saviors will come upon Mount Zion to
save the House of Esau, which is the Gentile nations, from sin and
death,--all except those who have sinned against the Holy Ghost. Men
and women will enter into the temples of God, and be, in comparison,
pillars there, and officiate year after year for those who have slept
thousands of years. 6:344.
When his Kingdom is established upon the earth, and Zion built up, the
Lord will send his servants as saviors upon Mount Zion. The servants
of God who have lived on the earth in ages past will reveal where
different persons have lived who have died without the Gospel, give
their names, and say, "Now go forth, ye servants of God, and exercise
your rights and privileges; go and perform the ordinances of the house
of God for those who have passed their {625} probation without the
Gospel, and for all who will receive any kind of salvation; bring them
up to inherit the celestial, terrestrial, and telestial kingdoms," and
probably many other kingdoms not mentioned in the Scriptures; for every
person will receive according to his capacity and according to the
deeds done in the body, whether good or bad, much or little. 6:347.
Who will possess the earth and all its fulness? Will it not be those
whom the Lord has reserved to this honor? And they will come upon Mount
Zion as saviors to labor through the Millennium to save others. 8:191.
Suppose we are ready to go into the temples of God to officiate for our
fathers and our grandfathers--for our ancestors back for hundreds of
years, who are all looking to see what their children are doing upon
the earth. The Lord says, I have sent the keys of Elijah the Prophet--I
have imparted that doctrine to turn the hearts of the fathers to the
children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers. Now, all
you children, are you looking to the salvation of your fathers? Are
you seeking diligently to redeem those that have died without the
Gospel, inasmuch as they sought the Lord Almighty to obtain promises
for you? For our fathers did obtain promises that their seed should
not be forgotten. O ye children of the fathers, look at these things.
You are to enter into the temples of the Lord and officiate for your
forefathers.
Suppose we are ready to enter into the temple to be baptized and attend
to the ordinances for one hundred of our best forefathers, and Thomas
should say to John, "John, take this affair and see to it; I want to go
to this ferry to make a little money;" or, "Joseph, you know the names
of our ancestors better than I do; won't you go and see to {626} their
salvation? I have not time myself; I want to build a bridge." "James,
are you ready to perform your duties for the dead?" "No; I want to go
and keep a grocery." And you know the language that is common to such
places; the name of the Lord is blasphemed, and his servants are cursed
with bitter oaths.
What do you think of it, gentlemen, Elders in Israel? What would money
have to do with you, if you were now upon the threshold of eternity,
and eternity open to you? Would you have the apostasy, as you have
now? A little money is more to such persons than the salvation of all
the sons and daughters of Adam. I wish I had a voice like ten thousand
earthquakes, that all the world might hear and know the loving kindness
of the Lord. 6:296.
What is going to be done with them? By and by Zion will be built up;
temples are going to be reared, and the holy Priesthood is going to
take effect and rule, and every law of Christ will be obeyed, and he
will govern and reign King of nations as he now does King of Saints.
Pretty soon you will see temples reared up, and the sons of Jacob will
enter into the temples of the Lord. What will they do there? They
will do a great many things. When you see Zion redeemed and built
up--when you see the people performing the ordinances of salvation
for themselves and for others, (and they will hereafter,) you will
see simply this (but I have not time this morning to tell you, only a
little part of it): About the time that the temples of the Lord will
be built and Zion is established--pretty nigh this time, you will see
(those who are faithful enough,) the first you know, there will be
strangers in your midst, walking with you, talking with you; they will
enter into your houses and eat and drink with you, go to meeting with
you, and begin {627} to open your minds, as the Savior did the two
disciples who walked out in the country in the days of old.
About the time the temples are ready, the strangers will be along and
will converse with you, and will inquire of you, probably, if you
understand the resurrection of the dead. You might say you have heard
and read a great deal about it, but you do not properly understand it;
and they will then open your minds and tell you the principles of the
resurrection of the dead and how to save your friends; they will point
out Scriptures in the Old and New Testament, in the Book of Mormon, and
other revelations of God, saying, "Don't you recollect reading so and
so, that saviors should come up on Mount Zion?" etc., and they will
expound the Scriptures to you. You have got your temples ready; now
go forth and be baptized for those good people. There are your father
and your mother--your ancestors for many generations back--the people
that have lived upon the face of the earth since the Priesthood was
taken away, thousands and millions of them, who have lived according
to the best light and knowledge in their possession. They will expound
the Scriptures to you, and open your minds, and teach you of the
resurrection of the just and the unjust of the doctrine of salvation,
they will use the keys of the holy Priesthood, and unlock the door of
knowledge, to let you look into the palace of truth. You will exclaim,
That is all plain: why did I not understand it before? and you will
begin to feel your hearts burn within you, as they walk and talk with
you.
You will enter into the temple of the Lord and begin to offer up
ordinances before the Lord for your dead. Says this or that man, I want
to save such a person--I want to save my father; and he straightway
goes forth in the ordinance {628} of baptism, and is confirmed, and
washed, and anointed, and ordained to the blessings of the holy
Priesthood for his ancestors? Before his work is finished, a great many
of the Elders of Israel in Mount Zion will become pillars in the temple
of God, to go no more out. They will eat and drink and sleep there; and
they will often have occasion to say, "Somebody came to the temple last
night; we did not know who he was, but he was no doubt a brother, and
told us a great many things we did not before understand. He gave us
the names of a great many of our forefathers that are not on record,
and he gave me my true lineage and the names of my forefathers for
hundreds of years back. He said to me, you and I are connected in one
family; there are the names of your ancestors; take them and write them
down, and be baptized and confirmed, and save such and such ones, and
receive of the blessings of the eternal Priesthood for such and such
an individual, as you do for yourselves." This is what we are going to
do for the inhabitants of the earth. When I look at it, I do not want
to rest a great deal, but be industrious all the day long; for when
we come to think upon it, we have no time to lose, for it is a pretty
laborious work. 6:294-5.
Then in the spirit world they will say, "Do you not see somebody at
work for you? The Lord remembers you and has revealed to his servants
on the earth, what to do for you." 3:372.
When the Lord shall usher in the morning of rest, we may enter into our
labors to officiate for our dead friends back to Adam. 6:149.
_Powers of Evil Opposed to Temple Building_--Some say, "I do not
like to do it, for we never began to build a temple without the bells
of hell beginning to ring." I want to hear {629} them ring again. All
the tribes of hell will be on the move, if we uncover the walls of this
temple. But what do you think it will amount to? You have all the time
seen what it has amounted to. 8:355-6.
[Image: THE SALT LAKE TEMPLE]
I can say, for my comfort and consolation, and for yours too, that we
did build two temples, and commenced another. We completed a temple in
Kirtland and in Nauvoo; and did not the bells of hell toll all the time
we were building them? They did, every week and every day. 8:356.
_The Salt Lake Temple_--This I do know--there should be a temple
built here. I do know it is the duty of this people to commence to
build a temple. Now, some will want to know what kind of a building
it will be. Wait patiently, brethren, until it is done, and put forth
your hands willingly to finish it. I know what it will be. I scarcely
ever say much about revelations, or visions, but suffice it to say,
five years ago last July I was here, and saw in the spirit the temple
not ten feet from where we have laid the chief cornerstone. I have not
inquired what kind of a temple we should build. Why? Because it was
represented before me. I have never looked upon that ground, but the
vision of it was there. I see it as plainly as if it was in reality
before me. Wait until it is done. I will say, however, that it will
have six towers, to begin with, instead of one. Now do not any of you
apostatize because it will have six towers, and Joseph only built one.
It is easier for us to build sixteen, than it was for him to build one.
The time will come when there will be one in the centre of temples we
shall build, and, on the top, groves and fish ponds. But we shall not
see them here, at present. 1:132.
I have determined, by the help of the Lord and this people, to build
him a house. You may ask, "Will he dwell {630} in it?" He may do just
as he pleases; it is not my prerogative to dictate to the Lord. But we
will build him a house, that, if he pleases to pay us a visit, he may
have a place to dwell in, or if he should send any of his servants, we
may have suitable accommodations for them. I have built myself a house,
and the most of you have done the same, and now, shall we not build the
Lord a house? 1:376.
"Does the Lord require the building of a temple at our hands?" I can
say that he requires it just as much as ever he required one to be
built elsewhere. If you should ask, "Brother Brigham, have you any
knowledge concerning this; have you ever had a revelation from heaven
upon it?" I can answer truly, it is before me all the time, not only
today, but it was almost five years ago, when we were on this ground,
looking for locations, sending our scouting parties through the
country, to the right and to the left, to the north and the south, to
the east and the west; before we had any returns from any of them, I
knew, just as well as I now know, that this was the ground on which to
erect a temple--it was before me. 1:277.
We shall attempt to build a temple to the name of our God. This has
been attempted several times, but we have never yet had the privilege
of completing and enjoying one. Perhaps we may in this place, but if,
in the providence of God, we should not, it is all the same. It is
for us to do those things which the Lord requires at our hands, and
leave the result with him. It is for us to labor with a cheerful good
will; and if we build a temple that is worth a million of money, and
it requires all our time and means, we should leave it with cheerful
hearts, if the Lord in his providence tells us so to do. If the Lord
permits our enemies to drive us from it, why, we should abandon it with
as much {631} cheerfulness of heart as we ever enjoy a blessing. It is
no matter to us what the Lord does, or how he disposes of the labor of
his servants. But when he commands, it is for his people to obey. We
should be as cheerful in building this temple, if we knew beforehand
that we should never enter into it when it was finished, as we would
though we knew we were to live here a thousand years to enjoy it. 1:277.
I want this temple that we are now building to the name of our God, to
stand for all time to come as a monument of the industry, faithfulness,
faith, and integrity of the Latter-day Saints who were driven into
the mountains. I want to see the temple finished as soon as it is
reasonable and practicable. Whether we go in there to work or not
makes no difference; I am perfectly willing to finish it to the last
leaf of gold that shall be laid upon it, and to the last lock that
should be put on the doors, and then lock every door, and there let it
stand until the earth can rest before the Saints commence their labors
there. They receive more in the house of the Lord now than is their
due. Our brethren and sisters, baptized three, four, or six months ago,
go and get their endowments, the sealing blessings for all eternity,
the highest that can be conferred upon them, yet how lightly they are
treated! Many do not consider, they do not realize these things. They
have not the spirit of revelation, they do not live for it, hence they
do not see these things in their proper light, and we are not in such a
hurry as many think we ought to be. 11:372.
The temple will be for the endowments--for the organization and
instruction of the Priesthood. If you want to build a temple on these
conditions, you can have the privilege. But I never again want to see
one built to go into the hands of the wicked. I have asked my Father
to give me {632} power to build a temple on this block, but not until
I can forever maintain my rights in it. I would rather see it burnt
than to see it go into the hands of devils. I was thankful to see the
temple in Nauvoo on fire. Previous to crossing the Mississippi river,
we had met in that temple and handed it over to the Lord God of Israel;
and when I saw the flames, I said, "Good, Father, if you want it to be
burned up." I hoped to see it burned before I left, but I did not. I
was glad when I heard of its being destroyed by fire, and of the walls
having fallen in, and said, "Hell, you cannot now occupy it." When
the temple is built here, I want to maintain it for the use of the
Priesthood; if this cannot be, I would rather not see it built, but go
into the mountains and administer there in the ordinances of the holy
Priesthood, which is our right and privilege. I would rather do this
than to build a temple for the wicked to trample under their feet.
8:203.
_Address at the Laying of the Cornerstone of the Salt Lake
Temple_--This morning we have assembled on one of the most solemn,
interesting, joyful, and glorious occasions that ever have transpired,
or will transpire among the children of men, while the earth continues
in its present organization, and is occupied for its present purposes.
And I congratulate my brethren and sisters that it is our unspeakable
privilege to stand here this day, and minister before the Lord on an
occasion which has caused the tongues and pens of Prophets to speak and
write for many scores of centuries which are past.
When the Lord Jesus Christ tabernacled in the flesh--when he had left
the most exalted regions of his Father's glory, to suffer and shed his
blood for sinning, fallen creatures, like ourselves, and the people
crowded around him, {633} a certain man said unto him, "Master, I will
follow thee withersoever thou goest." Jesus said unto him, "Foxes have
holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man hath
nowhere to lay his head." And we find no record that this man followed
him any farther.
Why had not the Son of Man where to lay his head? Because his Father
had no house upon the earth--none dedicated to him, and preserved for
his exclusive use, and the benefit of his obedient children.
The Ark containing the covenant--or the Ark of the Covenant in the days
of Moses, containing the sacred records, was moved from place to place
in a cart. And so sacred was that Ark, if a man stretched forth his
hand to steady it, when the cart jostled, he was smitten, and died.
And would to God that all who attempt to do the same in this day,
figuratively speaking, might share the same fate. And they will share
it sooner or later, if they do not keep their hands, and tongues, too,
in their proper places, and stop dictating the order of the Gods of the
Eternal Worlds.
When the Ark of the Covenant rested, or when the Children of Israel had
an opportunity to rest (for they were mobbed and harrassed somewhat
like the Latter-day Saints), the Lord, through Moses, commanded a
tabernacle to be built, wherein should rest and be stationed, the Ark
of the Covenant. And particular instructions were given by revelation
to Moses, how every part of said tabernacle should be constructed,
even to the curtains--the number thereof, and of what they should be
made; and the covering, and the wood for the boards, and for the bars,
and the court, and the pins, and the vessels, and the furniture, and
everything pertaining to the tabernacle. Why did Moses need such a
particular revelation to build a tabernacle? Because {634} he had never
seen one, and did not know how to build it without revelation, without
a pattern.
Thus the Ark of the Covenant continued until the days of David, King of
Israel, standing or occupying a tabernacle, or tent. But to David, God
gave commandment that he should make preparation for a house, wherein
he, himself, might dwell, or which he might visit, and in which he
might commune with his servants when he pleased.
From the day the Children of Israel were led out of Egypt to the days
of Solomon, Jehovah had no resting place upon the earth (and for how
long a period before that day, the history is unpublished), but walked
in a tent or tabernacle, before the Ark, as it seemed him good, having
no place to lay his head.
David was not permitted to build the house which the Lord told him
should be built, because he was a "man of blood," that is, he was
beset by enemies on every hand, and had to spend his days in war and
bloodshed to save Israel (much as the Latter-day Saints have done, only
he had the privilege of defending himself and the people from mobocrats
and murderers, while we have hitherto been denied that privilege),
and, consequently, he had no time to build a house unto the Lord, but,
commanded his son Solomon, who succeeded him on the throne, to erect
the temple at Jerusalem, which God had required at his hands.
The pattern of this temple, the length and breadth, and height of the
inner and outer courts, with all the fixtures thereunto appertaining,
were given to Solomon by revelation, through the proper source. And why
was this revelation-pattern necessary? Because Solomon had never built
a temple, and did not know what was necessary in the {635} arrangement
of the different apartments, any better than Moses did what was needed
in the tabernacle.
This temple, called Solomon's temple, because Solomon was the master
workman, was completed some time previous to the appearance of the Son
of Man on the earth, in the form of the babe of Bethlehem, and had been
dedicated as the house of the Lord, and accepted as a finished work by
the Father, who commanded it to be built, that his Son might have a
resting place on the earth, when he should enter on his mission.
Why, then, did Jesus exclaim to the man who volunteered to follow him
wheresoever he went, that "the Son of Man hath not where to lay his
head?" Jesus knew the pretended saint and follower to be a hypocrite,
and that if he told him plainly that he would not fare as well as the
birds and foxes, he would leave him at once, and that would save him
much trouble.
But how could Jesus' saying, that he had "not where to lay his head,"
be true? Because the house which the Father had commanded to be built
for his reception, although completed, had become polluted, and hence
the saying, "My house is the house of prayer; but ye have made it
a den of thieves," and he made a scourge of cords, and drove the
money-changers, and dove-sellers, and faro-gamblers, all out of his
house, and overthrew their tables; but that did not purify the house,
so that he could not sleep in it, for an holy thing dwelleth not in an
unholy temple.
If Jesus could not lay his head in an unholy, polluted temple, how can
the Latter-day Saints expect that the Holy Spirit will take and abide
its residence with them, in their tabernacles and temples of clay,
unless they keep themselves pure, spotless, and undefiled? {636}
It is no wonder that the Son of Man, soon after his resurrection from
the tomb, ascended to his Father, for he had no place on earth to lay
his head; his house still remaining in the possession of his enemies,
so that no one had the privilege of purifying it, if they had the
disposition, and otherwise the power, to do it; and the occupants
thereof were professors in name, but hypocrites and apostates, from
whom no good thing can be expected.
Soon after the ascension of Jesus, through mobocracy, martyrdom, and
apostasy, the Church of Christ became extinct from the earth, the Man
Child,--the Holy Priesthood, was received up into heaven from whence it
came, and we hear no more of it on the earth, until the angels restored
it to Joseph Smith, by whose ministry the Church of Jesus Christ was
restored, reorganized on earth, twenty-three years ago this day, with
the title of Latter-day Saints to distinguish them from the Former-day
Saints.
Soon after, the Church, through our beloved Prophet Joseph, was
commanded to build a temple to the Most High, in Kirtland, Ohio. Joseph
not only received revelation and commandment to build a temple, but he
received a pattern also, as did Moses for the tabernacle, and Solomon
for his temple; for without a pattern, he could not know what was
wanted, having never seen one, and not having experienced its use.
Without revelation, Joseph could not know what was wanted, any more
than any other man, and, without commandment, the Church were too few
in number, too weak in faith, and too poor in purse, to attempt such a
mighty enterprise. But by means of all these stimulants, a mere handful
of men, living on air, and a little hominy and milk, and often salt or
no salt, when milk could not be had; the great {637} Prophet Joseph,
in the stone quarry, quarrying rock with his own hands; and the few
then in the Church, following his example of obedience and diligence
wherever most needed; with laborers on the walls, holding the sword
in one hand to protect themselves from the mob, while they placed the
stone and moved the trowel with the other, the Kirtland temple--the
second house of the Lord, that we have any published record of on the
earth, was so far completed as to be dedicated. And those first Elders
who helped to build it, received a portion of their first endowments,
or we might say more clearly, some of the first, or introductory, or
initiatory ordinances, preparatory to an endowment.
The preparatory ordinances there administered, though accompanied by
the ministrations of angels, and the presence of the Lord Jesus, were
but a faint similitude of the ordinances of the house of the Lord in
their fulness; yet many, through the instigation of the Devil, thought
they had received all, and knew as much as God; they have apostatized,
and gone to hell. But be assured, brethren, there are but few, very few
of the Elders of Israel, now on earth, who know the meaning of the word
endowment. To know, they must experience; and to experience, a temple
must be built.
Let me give you a definition in brief. Your endowment is, to receive
all those ordinances in the house of the Lord, which are necessary for
you, after you have departed this life, to enable you to walk back to
the presence of the Father, passing the angels who stand as sentinels,
being enabled to give them the key words, the signs and tokens,
pertaining to the holy Priesthood, and gain your eternal exaltation in
spite of earth and hell. {638}
Who has received and understands such an endowment, in this assembly?
You need not answer. Your voices would be few and far between, yet the
keys to these endowments are among you, and thousands have received
them, so that the Devil, with all his aids, need not suppose he can
again destroy the holy Priesthood from the earth, by killing a few, for
he cannot do it. God has set his hand, for the last time, to redeem his
people, the honest in heart, and Lucifer cannot hinder him.
Before these endowments could be given at Kirtland, the Saints had to
flee before mobocracy. And, by toil and daily labor, they found places
in Missouri, where they laid the cornerstones of temples, in Zion and
her stakes, and then had to retreat to Illinois, to save the lives of
those who could get away alive from Missouri, where fell the Apostle
David W. Patten, with many like associates, and where were imprisoned
in loathsome dungeons, Joseph and Hyrum, and many others. But before
all this had transpired, the temple at Kirtland had fallen into the
hands of wicked men, and by them been polluted, like the temple at
Jerusalem, and consequently it was disowned by the Father and the Son.
At Nauvoo, Joseph dedicated another temple, the third on record. He
knew what was wanted, for he had previously given most of the prominent
individuals then before him their endowment. He needed no revelation
then, of a thing he had long experienced, any more than those now do,
who have experienced the same things. It is only where experience
fails, that revelation is needed.
Before the Nauvoo temple was completed, Joseph was murdered--murdered
at sun light, under the protection of the most noble Government that
then existed, and that now {639} exists, on our earth. Has his blood
been atoned for? No! And why? A martyr's blood to true religion was
never atoned for on our earth. No man, or nation of men, without the
Priesthood, has power to make atonement for such sins. The souls of all
such, since the days of Jesus, are "under the altar," and are crying
to God, day and night, for vengeance. And shall they cry in vain? God
forbid! He has promised he will hear them in his own due time, and
recompense a righteous reward.
But what of the temple in Nauvoo? By the aid of sword in one hand, and
trowel and hammer in the other, with fire arms at hand, and a strong
band of police, and the blessings of heaven, the Saints, through
hunger, and thirst, and weariness, and watchings, and prayings, so
far completed the temple, despite the devices of the mob, that many
received a small portion of their endowment, but we know of no one who
received it in its fulness. And then, to save the lives of all the
Saints from cruel murder, we removed westward, and being led by the
all-searching eye of the great Jehovah, we arrived at this place.
Of our journey hither, we need say nothing, only, God led us. Of the
sufferings of those who were compelled to, and did, leave Nauvoo in the
winter of 1846, we need say nothing. Those who experienced it know it,
and those who did not, to tell them of it would be like exhibiting a
beautiful painting to a blind man.
We will not stop to tell you of the sufferings of widows and orphans
on Omaha lands, while their husbands and fathers were traversing the
burning plains of the south, to fight the battles of a country which
had banished them from civilization, for they secured the land on which
we dwell, from our Nation's foe, exposed the gold of California, {640}
and turned the world upside down. All these things are before you, you
know them, and we need not repeat them.
While these things were transpiring with the Saints in the wilderness,
the temple at Nauvoo passed into the hands of the enemy, who polluted
it to that extent the Lord not only ceased to occupy it, but he
loathed to have it called by his name, and permitted the wrath of its
possessors to purify it by fire, as a token of what will speedily fall
upon them and their habitations unless they repent.
But what are we here for, this day? To celebrate the birthday of our
religion! To lay the foundation of a temple to the Most High God, so
that when his Son, our Elder Brother, shall again appear, he may have a
place where he can lay his head, and not only spend a night or a day,
but find a place of peace, that he may stay till he can say, "I am
satisfied."
Brethren, shall the Son of Man be satisfied with our proceedings this
day? Shall we have a house on the earth which he can call his own?
Shall we have a place where he can lay his head, and rest over night,
and tarry as long as he pleases, and be satisfied and pleased with his
accommodations?
These are questions for you to answer. If you say yes, you have got to
do the work, or it will not be done. We do not want any whiners about
this temple. If you cannot commence cheerfully, and go through the
labor of the whole building cheerfully, start for California, and the
quicker the better. Make you a golden calf, and worship it. If your
care for the ordinances of salvation, for yourselves, your living, and
dead, is not first and foremost in your hearts, in your actions, and in
everything you possess, go! Pay your debts, if you have any, and go in
peace, and prove {641} to God and all his Saints that you are what you
profess to be, by your acts.
But if you are what you profess to be, do your duty--stay with the
Saints, pay your tithing, and be prompt in paying, as you are in
feeding your family; and the temple, of which we have now laid the
southeast corner stone, will arise in beauty and grandeur, in a manner
and time which you have not hitherto known or contemplated.
The Saints of these valleys have grown in riches, and abundance of the
comforts of life, in a manner hitherto unparalleled on the page of
history, and if they will do by their Heavenly Father as he has done
by them, soon will this temple be inclosed. But if you go in for a
speculation with passers by, as many have hitherto done, you will not
live to see the topstone of this temple laid; and your labors and toils
for yourselves and friends, dead and alive, will be worse than though
you had no existence.
We dedicate this, the southeast corner stone of this temple, to the
Most High God. May it remain in peace till it has done its work, and
until he who has inspired our hearts to fulfil the prophecies of his
holy Prophets, that the house of the Lord should be reared in the "Tops
of the Mountains" shall be satisfied, and say, "It is enough." And
may every tongue, pen, and weapon, that may rise against this or any
other corner stone of this building, feel the wrath and scourging of an
incensed God! May sinners in Zion be afraid, and fearfulness surprise
the hypocrite, from this hour. And may all who do not feel to say Amen,
go speedily to that long night, of rest from which no sleeper will
awake, till roused by the trump of the second resurrection. 2:29-33.
_St. George Temple_--Now we have a temple which will {642} all
be finished in a few days, and of which there is enough completed to
commence work therein, which has not been done since the days of Adam,
that we have any knowledge of. 18:304.
We have dedicated this spot of ground upon which we expect to erect
a temple in which to administer the ordinances of the House of God.
Into this house, when it is completed, we expect to enter to enjoy the
blessings of the Priesthood, and receive our washings, our anointings,
our endowments, and our sealings; and the brethren will be sealed to
brethren to connect the links and make perfect the chain from ourselves
to Father Adam: This is the object of the temple which we are about to
commence building at this place. 19:33.
Never have I seen to so great an extent that willingness to labor
for the cause of righteousness, which was witnessed in the temple at
St. George last winter. The Spirit of God pervaded the hearts of the
brethren and sisters, and how willing they were to labor! This work
will continue, and the brethren and sisters will go into the temples of
the Lord, to officiate for those who have died without the Gospel from
the days of Father Adam to the winding up scene, until every one is
officiated for; who can or will receive the Gospel so that all may have
the opportunity and privileges of life and salvation.
Don't you think we have a work to perform? Yes, and it will take a
thousand years to accomplish it. In the temple last winter the brethren
and sisters enjoyed themselves the best that they ever did in their
lives. So they said. And our children, just old enough to work, how
happy they were! They would exclaim, "I never knew anything about
'Mormonism' before!" If you were in the temple {643} of God working for
the living and the dead, your eyes and hearts would not be after the
fashions of the world, nor the wealth of the world. Yet the whole of
this world's wealth belongs to the Lord, and he can give to whomsoever
he pleases. 19:45.
I am aware that you wish to hear something of our labors in the south.
I will say that we have had a blessed time, such a time as no other
people on the earth have enjoyed for many centuries, that we have
any knowledge of. We have been permitted to enjoy privileges for the
possession of which we have been striving and laboring for many years.
For almost half a century we have been exerting ourselves that we might
have the privilege of entering into a temple of God, there to officiate
and receive the ordinances of his holy house, both for ourselves and
for our friends that have slept without the Gospel. This privilege and
blessing we have not enjoyed until within a very few months past. The
feeling experienced by those who have participated in the blessings
administered in the temple is something which cannot be described to
your understanding. Those only who have shared with us in the temple
ordinances know for themselves the satisfaction there is in realizing
that we are indeed co-workers with our Lord and Savior; that we bear a
humble part in the great work of salvation; that we have the privilege
of receiving and obeying the truth, and of securing to ourselves that
happiness which the Gospel alone affords; and not only of performing
these ordinances for ourselves, but of doing the necessary work for
our parents and forefathers who have slept without the Gospel, that
they may partake also of the waters of life, and be judged according
to men in the flesh. This is a privilege, a blessing, which no one can
sense unless {644} he is in possession of it. We are happy to know by
our faith and feelings through the spirit of revelation within us that
our labors have been accepted of the Lord. We have enjoyed ourselves
exceedingly in the society of each other; the aged, the middle-aged and
the youth have rejoiced and been made glad in this glorious work. 19:1.
"We are now prepared to attend to baptizing and giving endowments, and
shall appoint Tuesdays and Wednesdays for baptisms, and Thursdays and
Fridays for endowments and sealings, as a standing appointment for the
present." 18:305.
I am so thankful we have completed our temple, it is the greatest
blessing that could be bestowed upon us. I know of nothing that could
equal it. But we are not satisfied with this one, we must hurry the
building of another one, and thus another one and so on, and perform
the great work therein that is required at our hands. 19:222.
We enjoy privileges that are enjoyed by no one else on the face of the
earth. Suppose we were awake to this thing, namely, the salvation of
the-human family, this house would be crowded, as we hope it will be,
from Monday morning until Saturday night. This house (St. George) was
built here in this place purposely, where it is warm and pleasant in
the winter time, and comfortable to work, also for the Lamanites, and
also those coming from the south, and other places to receive their
endowments, and other blessings, 18:304. {645}