[Brigham Young Sermon] I believe I know that Old Bridger is death on us, and if he knew that 400,000 Indians were coming against us, and any man were to let us know, he would cut his throat. But Vasquez is a different sort of a man. I believe Bridger is watching every movement of the Mormons, and reporting to Thomas Benton at Washington. That letter is all bubble and froth. It is good for us. Every particle of the wrath of man is handled by the Almighty, and will operate to our advantage in the end. We should be prepared for all emergencies with the Indians or whites. As for the old Indians now alive entering into the new and everlasting covenant, they will not do it, but they will die and be damned. How long does it take to train a white man? We have been training eighteen years. And how much longer an Indian? They will not be converted in many years. Men who want to get knowledge, you can't drive away from us. You can't whip them away. Stay at home and mind your own business, and the Indians will do the same. And if they come and are not friendly with us, put them where they won't harm us. If we stay at home, they will send their children to our schools. I am opposed to James Emmet's method of converting Indians '" he and his company never washed their hands or faces for months. I recommend the herding of horses. We are scattered all over the valley, men, women and children. The Indians would rather have our horses than us. If those Indians believed that Barney Ward had stolen two of their horses, and they could get them back, and two or three more, they would dance for joy. -- Salt Lake City [Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 1847- 1850. William S. Harwell, ed. CollierÂ's Publishing, 1997.:201-202; Journal History of the Church, Selected Collections from the Archives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints DVD 2 (2002)]
[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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