Then allow me to repeat: let me find a community that is willing to conform to this, bringing to mind the covenants made in the beginning when we received the fulness of the Gospel, willing to bring to mind when they dedicated all they possessed—their property, their talents, their mental and physical powers to the building up of the kingdom of God; remembering the time when we did this, the blessings of the Most High were upon us, and His Spirit burned within us. Then let those who preach in that community of Saints realize what the Priesthood was placed upon them for; let them know and fully sense why they were appointed to fill such and such offices, viz.: that they should act in the spirit of our Master, a servant of all—that they learn to consider and esteem, in the same affectionate interest, the welfare of all as they do that of themselves, and be in very deed fathers to the people. Then will they enter into the spirit of the two great commands, upon which, said the Savior, "hang all the law and the prophets," namely, loving the Lord with all our might, mind and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves. This, in my opinion, is the foundation of our future success, temporally and spiritually, in this United Order. Until we come down to the bed-rock of honesty and sincerity in this matter, dealing with temporal as with spiritual things, whole-heartedly, holding all and ourselves sacred to the service of God, we may expect more or less failure.
Let me say to the brethren who are, and who contemplate connecting themselves actively and entirely with this holy order, that the Priesthood was bestowed upon you, as upon the Son of God, for no other purpose than that through sacrifice you might be proven, that, peradventure, at the last day, you might stand approved before God, and before perfect and holy beings, and that in order to merit this divine approval, it may be necessary to forget self and individual aggrandizement and seek the interest of your brethren. If you are ready and willing to do this, and if your every-day life and conduct and the spirit within you testify the fact, you will establish confidence in the hearts of those who know you, and with whom you are more immediately associated in temporal matters.
Confidence is ofttimes referred to by our brethren, especially when speaking on the subject of the United Order. It is spoken of and written on by the religious, the political and the financial world, and the present condition of the whole is such as to force itself upon our serious attention. We may confidently anticipate that, as history shall chronicle the developments of this, our progressive world, we shall witness more and more the necessity of it. For as palpable, and what may be termed legitimate, fraud increases, and the whole world ripens in iniquity generally, confidence will lessen and become more priceless and precious. This is quite obvious to all men in whose hearts dwells a spark of that Spirit by which the Prophets foretold the destiny of the nations. Confidence can be acquired only on the principle of righteousness, whether it be applied to the monarch or the peasant, the religionist or the non-religionist; merit alone commands it.
Then let us live the lives of Latter-day Saints, that we may first beget confidence in ourselves, then we shall begin to have confidence in each other—in God and His promises. A people in this condition of progress would know no failures; everything would prosper that they put their hands to; they would grow in faith and in good works.
I tell you in the name of the Lord God, that the time is coming when there will be no safety only in the principles of union, for therein lies the secret of our temporal and spiritual salvation. We have been enabled to establish settlements, towns and villages, and we have been abundantly blessed with the necessaries and conveniences of life, notwithstanding we have been slow to hearken to and obey the commands of Jehovah.
I would to God that every Bishop and presiding officer would, this day, in this holy Temple, covenant and swear before Him, the Lord our God, that they would turn and serve Him with all their might, mind and strength, and work for the interest of the people as they would for themselves; for my greatest desire is to see Zion established according to the revelations of God—to see her inhabitants industrious and self-sustaining, filled with wisdom and the power of God, that around us may be built a wall of defence, a protection against the mighty powers of Babylon; and while the disobedient of our Father's family are contending, and filling up their cup of iniquity, even to the brim, and thus preparing themselves for the burning, we who are the acknowledged children of the kingdom, being filled with righteousness and knowledge of God, may be like the wise virgins, clothed in our wedding garments, and properly prepared for the coming of our Lord and Savior.—Journal of Discourses.
CHAPTER L.
Elijah Box says his parents embraced the Gospel in England.—Came to Nauvoo.—Elijah born in a turbulent time.—Moves to St. Louis.—To the Bluffs.—To the Valley.—Storm described.—Moves to Brigham City.—Struggle for an education.—How it is obtained.—Called on mission.—A great contrast in Liverpool.—Visits relatives.—In London meets with the Palestine tourists.—How poor Saints manage their Sunday clothing.—An incident.—Closes mission.—In charge of a company of Saints, leaves England.—Reflections.—Reaches home.—Engaged in teaching.—Presides over Improvement Associations.—Counselor to Stake President.
My parents embraced the Gospel in England in 1841, emigrated in 1842, and arrived in Nauvoo in the spring of 1843. My father worked upon the Temple almost from first to last, experiencing very hard times in consequence of the scarcity of the necessaries of life. He was also familiar with all those trying scenes that were enacted during the years immediately preceding and following the martyrdom of the Prophet and Patriarch; and that will live forever in the memories of the persecuted Saints. It was during these times that I was born, January 4th, 1844.