"I know who are Joseph's friends and who are his enemies; I know where the keys of the Kingdom are, where they will eternally be. You cannot call a man to be a prophet. You cannot take Elder Rigdon and place him above the Twelve; if so, he must be ordained by them.
"I tell you there is an over-anxiety to hurry matters here. You cannot take any man and put him at the head. You would scatter the Saints to the four winds. You would sever the priesthood. So long as we remain as we are, the Heavenly Head is in constant co-operation with us; and if you go out of that course, God will have nothing to do with you.
"Again, some perhaps think that our beloved Brother Rigdon would not be honored, would not be looked to as a friend; but if he does right and remains faithful, he will not act against our counsel nor we against his, but act together and be as one.
"I again repeat—no man can stand at our head except God reveals it from the heavens. I have spared no pains to learn my lesson of the Kingdom in this world and in the eternal worlds: and if it were not so, I could go and live in peace; but for the gospel and your sakes, I shall stand in my place. We are liable, all the day long, to be killed. You have never lived by faith.
"Brother Joseph, the Prophet, has laid the foundation for a great work and we will build upon it. You have never seen the quorums built one upon another. There is an almighty foundation laid and we can build a Kingdom such as there never was in the world. We can build a Kingdom faster than Satan can kill the Saints off.
"What do you want? Do you want a patriarch for the whole Church? To this we are perfectly willing. If Brother Samuel H. Smith had been living, it would have been his right and privilege, but he is dead. He is gone to Joseph and Hyrum. He is out of the reach of bullets and spears and he can associate himself with his brothers, his friends, and the Saints.
"Do you want a patriarch? Here is Brother William left. Here is Uncle John Smith, uncle to the Prophet Joseph. It is their right. The right of the patriarchal priesthood belongs to Joseph's family.
"Do you want a trustee-in-trust? Has there been a bishop who has stood in his lot yet? What is his business? To take charge of the temporal affairs so that the Twelve and the elders may go on their business. Joseph condescended to do their business for them. Joseph condescended to offer himself for Presidency of the United States, and it was a great condescension.
"Do you want a spokesman? Here are Elder Rigdon, Brother Amasa Lyman, (whom Joseph expected to take as a counselor) and myself. Do you want the Church properly organized, or do you want a spokesman. Elder Rigdon claims to be spokesman to the Prophet. Very well—he was. But can he now act in that office?
"If he wants now to be a spokesman to the Prophet he must go to the other side of the veil for the Prophet is there, but Elder Rigdon is here. Why will Elder Rigdon be a fool? Who knows anything of the priesthood or of the organization of the Kingdom of God? I am plain. Does the Church want it as God organized it, or do you want to clip the power of the priesthood, and let those who have the right go and build up the Kingdom in all the world wherever the people will hear them?