[Apostle Wilford Woodruff Journal] 13th Sunday I met the Twelve & saints at the meeting ground. Meeting opened by prayer by O Pratt who arose. We have often been taught to listen to council given from the head. I do not consider it necessary to treat to day upon the first principles of the gospel as those things are understood by you as well as by me. I have thought of treating upon scientific Principles. There is no truth but what comes from God. It requires A portion of the spirit of God to know what portion of truth to lay before the people. Some Classes adore the book of Nature & deny a God. Others Profess to adore God and are afraid to contemplat Natural things. But evry truth should be acknowledged as from God. A variety is interesting & not always remain in one Channel. One of the most interesting feasts I ever enjoyed was in contemplating the worlds and laws by which they are governed.
Men should be learned in order to convince the learned. For instance A man rises up & says I will not believe a thing that I cannot comprehend by one of my 5 senses. But the learned man knows that many truths come by reflection thinking & not by seeing feeling hearing eating & drinking.
And Again an Elder may tell a congregation that matter is an eternal principle and exhisted before God made this world. They would not believe it because it comes in contact with there tradition for they have been taught to believe from there youth up that God made the Heavens and earth and all the planetary system in six days out of nothing. But let that Elder become acquainted with facts that can be demonstrated and He Can present arguments to that people that will convince them. The more learned the better.
As A proof that worlds exhisted before this was formed or at least more than 7,000 years let him present the demonstrated fact that through the aid of Strong glasses that planets can be seen so far distant that it would take 24,000 years for the light of them to reach this planet according to asstrinomical Calculations. They then must be 24,000 years old & just as likely to have exhisted millions of years before.
Again as A proof that matter is eternal And that this earth was formed out of unorganized matter let a man take a good telescope at 4 oclock in a clear morning & look at the sword in the belt of orion And He can see unorganized matter enough to make A Million of Million of Million of worlds each as large as the sun.
A man of wisdom & Judgment can demonstrate truth for himself independant of all Authors And when He finds a thing is true believe it though all the world disbelieve it besides & when He finds a thing fals disbelieve it & renounce it though it be sustained by all Christondon & phylosipher and Asstronimers of the age.
We should esstablish schools for our Children to teach them principle & truth. Learning is a good thing A blessing from God & will prove so to us if we make a right use of [it]. But a bad use would prove a curse. But because some have made A bad use of learning or even of the Holy Ghost & power of God as Lucipher in the rebellion of Heaven does that argue that we should not get learning or seak for the Holy Ghost? Certainly not.
There are many hours that both parents & Children squander away that might be spent in learning. But if our Children grow up in ignoranc they with there posterity would degenerat untill they would be as ignorant as the savages that surround us. The Lord will not do a miracle to give us learning when we can get it ourselves. Some have an idea that is no matter about getting knowledge here thinking that by & by that they will enter heaven & that God will fill there minds with all the knowledge of the eternal worlds. But they will be mistaken in this for they will have to learn it little by little as here.
Elder Kimball arose & said it was necessary for this People to be subject to Council like Clay in the hands of the Potter. As to learning there is difference in men in this thing. I spent one winter in learning grammer and all I did learn about it was the difference between singular & plural Number. What knowledge I ever did get God helped me to. I desire to have that which is.
Our spirits ought not to stoop to any mean thing & our bodies ought not to bow down to any wrong thing & ought not to be defiled but to be used for noble purposes. And as our bodies & spirits are used for good and good purposes they have no time to do evil but ascendency is gained over evil & that spirit that has the power brings forth the fruit of its own work whether it be good or evil.
He said while on this Journey many said they would do so & so if the Presidency Commanded them. So Brigham had to command them before He could get it done. But we should do good without being Commanded to do it.
The Marshall arose & said there were some acts passed by the City Council which He would mention. That there be no shooting of fire arms after sun down And no timber Cut within 20 miles of here without the direction of the Council. Also that dogs be taken care of & to shoot no more dogs without the order of the Marshall &c.
President Young arose & said I wish to say a few words upon Principle. I desire the brethren and Sisters to be taught in all things necessary. There is one thing I want you to realize And that is that God Angels & Saints Heaven and all of Gods Creation are governed by law. And I want the Camp of Israel to understand that we must be. And if Heaven was not Controlled by law what for a place would it be? I would not wish to be there. For were we rushed into Heaven without law evry man would be in danger of loosing his rights & having them trampeld upon. But all Celestial beings are governed by law & perfect order. Yea the Celestial law is a perfect order of things A perfect system of light, law, intelligence exhaltation & glory where evry persons rights are sustained to the fulest extent.
But we do not arive at this knowledge at once but as an Apostle said we have precept upon precept line upon line, here a little and there a little, untill we arive at a fulness of knowledge & glory even that fulness that reigns in the Heavens. We must begin to be governd by law here before we are prepared to recieve those blessings. The whole law has not been given & you cannot abide the whole law as yet. If it had all been given, we should have been smashed up & destroyed. A people must become acquainted thoroughly with law before they can abide it.
But the time has come when we must have law and order in our midst. There has been some feelings of late in the camp because some unruly boys have been floged by the Marshall for there wickedness. But if this Camp is not willing to let law & order reign here & put a stop to such wickedness I wish you to let me know it & I will go away from you. For those that wish to sustain crime & corruption let them return & strike hands with the mob & carry out there principles & be dammed. But if you want to do right say so. This people have been driven here for there desires to do righteousness. And this wickedness shall be put a stop to that has been manifest in the camp by certain young people of late. Yes it will be stoped if God come out & smites it by Judgment.
The Marshall did not whip them hard enough. If He had they would not have spit out there revenge but it would have been whiped out of them. If I am drove to the necessity of whipping a person in such A case they will not spit out revenge afterwards for I will whip it out of them.
Shall we any longer sustain in our midst men that will carry out the principles of John C Bennet and other corrupt scoundrils? No I will sware by the Eternal God of Heaven such Conduct shall be stoped & shall not be permitted in this camp. For if they continue it I will tell the Marshall what the law is & they shall be taken Care of in a manner that they will not whine. And I will whip any man that will sustain it. For those that will sustain it shall be whiped. And I prophecy in the name of God such a man whether old or young shall be bowed down with sorrow & morning even more than this people have.
Then stop before you further go & not sport upon the brink of s
orrow & morning. This people have the Law of Liberty & the gospel & the more the light & liberty & greater the privileges the stricter the Law. We are going into the wilderness & shall we suffer such things? No. I swear by the Eternal God such things shall not be while Brigham lives.
Br Kimball gave a good shot when He said no man [would] run into his waggon & swore he would shot the Marshall if he come after him except he was guilty of crime. No man is afraid except he is guilty. No man need be afraid that does right. I defy the world to say I have taken any roans right. But after we have been driven into the wilderness we are still followed by men who sware they will steal what they have in our midst. I sware they shall not have it in our midst.
Some young Elders that never preached a sermon in their lives are afraid that I shall have more blessings than they, or more wives or sumthing or other. But let them go & preach the world over as I have done in poverty and distress with Blood in my Shoes & spent years & years at it & left my wife & Children who have also suffered much. Let them do as we have done & they will not be jealous of me about blessings. If the Lord should give me a thousand women is it any mans business? No. Let such go and spend as much time as I have And there will be many clinging on to there skirts to be saved.
The majority of the men of the gentile world will be damned and the women wish to be saved by going with good men. And a woman that has the spirit of God will go with a good man who has been faithful & spent much of his time in saveing mankind and has the priesthood. Such men if they continue faithful will be saved in eternal Glory & those that are with him. I am determined that my affections shall be with God. I will not allow them to be placed on things that perish. When plagues & diseases get hold of our bodies we become loathsome & beauty fades away but our affections should be placed upon things that are Noble exhalted lasting & glorious. I love an exhalted mind for it is eternal & cannot fade. I want all my affections to be subject to God and glory & eternal life. May God bless you. Amen.
[Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
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