[Brigham Young Sermon] Brigham Young spoke on the propriety of assembling ourselves in this capacity and before the Lord in a family capacity, we consider ourselves directly or indirectly in a family. It should be the duty of each one to promote the others happiness, and relieve each other in all cases of sorrow and difficulties. Bind up each others feelings, feed each other if hungry, cloth each other if naked. When the principles of the gospel are carried out, it will embrace all who obey the gospel. At the present time I expect to see all the weaknesses of human nature portrayed, a selfish covetous spirit among the Elders of Israel in collecting a family together. I have trampled it under my feet, and continue to do so until that victory is gained by all the Elders of Israel. I wonder if any of us have thought of that thing. When we were in the temple I had many sealed to me, a portion are here. Is there a man here that I have asked to be sealed to me? I learned that Brother John Taylor had men running through the city to get men sealed to him. John D. Lee electioneered also and it disgusted me, and men were sealed to him who expected to be sealed to me. If men are covetous and want to grasp all, they will slip through his hands. The Church of Jesus Christ in all the days from Adam to this day will find they are precisely one family. The whole kingdom are one family. Neither you nor I can ever get that victory without finding we are all one family. Thousands will die and the grave will purify the bodies. If we should be so as to purify ourselves and not sleep, so as to meet the Son of Man. They must purify themselves in the flesh or they must be sown in weakness and corruption and rise in corruption. The revelations have said some years since that there are some on the earth who will not sleep but remain and enter into the millennium. This earth is to become a sea of glass and be purified, and can man take a part of the planet and go to some other planet? Why have none of you got a kingdom? Bless you. What is the necessity of sealing one to another and families? I might in reply enquire, is there a connection of the priesthood from Adam until now? The elders say no. It is taken from the earth, they have changed the ordinances and disgraced the priesthood. Consequently it is not on the earth but will be. We had the promise to have something if we built the temple in Nauvoo; we have now the privilege of acting for our dead, we have grandparents and ancestors whom we have to act for. It cannot be done in five or ten years, we can get our own ordinances and as many of our ancestors as we can, this will have to be done in the millennium by saviors who will be on Mount Zion. I will tell you when the time comes, it will be the work of the millennium. Saviors will go into the temple and minister from year to year and become pillars in the temple of our God. A resurrected body cannot act for a body here; they will tell us what to do. They will not go through the ordinances but will tell their child who is worthy and who will receive the gospel. The sealing are the keys that were committed that would turn the hearts of the children to the fathers and the fathers to the children. Joseph had the directing of building fonts, Elijah recorded them gladly and they were called Elijah's keys. Those who knew, those keys were committed to Joseph and they are here. Consequently, if we are faithful, build temples and fonts, if our hearts turn to our fathers, don't you see their hearts will be turned to us? You remember that the evangelist said when they killed Zechariah, all the blood of the righteous would be required at the hands of this generation? Their blood shall be required at your hands because they had the privilege. They said '"No, kill him, his blood be on us.'" Now if we are faithful we shall have all that would have been theirs. It is necessary to have a regular chain clear back to Adam, and if we have commenced it and if we are faithful we shall accomplish it. It is the privilege of a man who wishes to be sealed, to be sealed to who he chooses. If one man says, '"I am going to be sealed to such a man,'" no man has a right to interfere; but if he is doing wrong and asks superior council, it is his privilege to receive it. God has given an agency to man and he is to act. For instance, a man says, '"I want to be sealed to you Brigham Young,'" if he is a good man and obeys my council that proves him a good man, I have no right to reject him or thousands. It does not involve a burden on me, it does not. I am not responsible for that man's actions. And if a woman is sealed to me and she wants to be divorced, she has a right to and I am under no obligation. Is not that agency all round? We have the privilege of being sealed or released, saints or devils. I can tell the story to all of you as easily as to one. See that you are humble, make your peace with God, visit the sick and afflicted. I am under obligation to give them counsel. They covenanted to obey my counsel and I covenant to give them good counsel. It does not bring me under any obligation. I do not care how many are sealed to me, nor who. If a man steals and wants to come into my family, I tell him he must stop that, or lying or swearing. Now suppose if they will not stop it, am I responsible? If I was, were is your agency. What did Jesus say, '"Come unto me all ye ends of the earth and be ye saved.'" I am subjected to a little vanity but I will show you how to live, then I am justified. All are under condemnation because Mormonism, a light is come into the world and they choose darkness rather than light. I am obligated to give all good counsel. When I went into the waters of baptism I swore to serve the Lord and obey righteousness. My friendship is just as great to a man who is sealed to Heber C. Kimball or John Taylor, if he is a righteous man, for we shall find we are all of one family. Now to the brethren, I will apply it to two fathers, is a man responsible for the acts of his wife? Yes, to a certain extent, but he cannot take away her agency. A woman many have seven devils after all. Man is not under obligation to make a woman a righteous woman, he is under obligation to teach righteous principles and act upon them. But he cannot sanctify his wife, if he was, where would be her agency? The Lord has given to every man and woman their agency and he does not take that from them, but he requires a man to act a righteous life; and if a woman is a devil after all, that man is not to be responsible for her acts; but let a man teach her wickedness and sin and they do it, that sin is upon the man and all is right. But if a woman does all he tells her to do, throws herself entirely into his arms to do as he tells her, then he is responsible for all her acts. It is my duty to preserve the feelings of my wife, or my wives. To keep peace in my family, or my families. To keep peace in my bosom. And when I enter into my house, or my houses, my spouse overrules all. I am naturally very fretful, very quick, very spirited, very apt never to yield a point is my natural disposition; but the gospel has made me limber. I have then thousand things to harass me on the right and left, but I calculate to walk over them. Do you feel bad, or irritated, I say that's none of your business. I keep my trials, my troubles and my own feelings to myself. I just go away, I just go alone, I fight myself and let no one know. When you are in your houses, keep your tempers, give good counsel, teach your wives to keep their tempers. I don't care how high a man or woman's temper is, if they control them. If you had no temper, you would not be worthy of anything. You are only tempted by the devil. You cannot control your tempers, every one of you, if you please. It's my duty to teach humility and do everything to promote their happiness. I do not allow myself even to joke or jest to hurt their feelings. Let me bind up their broken feelings and instead of adding to their misery consider myself able to back up all your troubles. If a woman has a load to carry, I say '"Hand it over here and I'll hide it in my snuff box or j
acket pockets, and likely enough not to find it again for years'". But if men are apt to be peevish, I cannot teach women to be subject to their husbands; but in our present weakness, how many are there who are able to pack away all their troubles and waft them away. Then it is the duty of the wife to be perfectly subject to their husbands. There is a great cache of confidence and women pass their own judgment and say it is wrong when they are not judges, but I get along with it the best I can. A few words to mothers. Mothers are the ruling principle, the governing, controlling power of children in passion, in taste, discernment and control and dictate the future feelings of their child. They bear the tabernacles for the souls of men. They ought to be righteous. For they have to teach them until they are able to go into the fields to labor with their fathers, or go and preach to the nations. The mothers are held responsible, am I to stay my duty in the priesthood? No. '"The children run away through the streets but I will not be responsible for what they do. I don't know where they are.'" '"Their mother had no concern about them, but was concerned about me. The women in general are afraid, '"my husband is after another wife.'" It is your duty not to watch your husbands but watch your children. '"I am not accountable for what they do until they come from under the mothers wing.'" I refer to my own dear self and not to other mothers. I don't know of a woman who does know what is her duty as a mother. Men who have hell in their families blow the blast themselves. If a wife can have influence over her husband, she will lead him to hell. The influence of my women over me is no more that the buzzing of a fly's wing in winter. I don't ask for any favors of them. If a man if not a free man he is good for nothing. I will cuff you, if you have such feelings. I like to see a man walk right up to the work and say, '"I am for the kingdom of God on the earth. I am for the Almighty and His kingdom.'" If you are, come along. If you won't, go to hell. I want a man to be for God and ride triumphant over all wickedness and unrighteousness. If you are not for the Almighty, you are not for me. Mormons, you have obligations upon you until you say to your children, '"I have no longer anything to do with you, you must now go under your Father.'" When the time comes I will tell you further duties. Amen. -- Winter Quarters, Nebraska [Thomas Bullock Minutes, LJA; Thomas Bullock—LDS Church Reporter, 1844-56.C, Archives, Church History Library, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah.; GCM, Archives, Church History Library, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah..; Leonard J. Arrington Papers, Special Collections, Merrill-Cazier Library, Utah State University, Logan.. (A reference reading LJA 12-55-5, 10, means LJA Series 12, Box 55, Folder 5, page 10.) 9-12-6, 18-22]
[The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young, Ed. Richard S. Van Wagoner, Smith-Pettit Foundation, Salt Lake City (2009), http://bit.ly/BY-discourses]
[source: The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young, Ed. Richard S. Van Wagoner, Smith-Pettit Foundation, Salt Lake City (2009), http://bit.ly/BY-discourses]
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