I do not know but the people feel tired. I have been tired a great many times, but I always stick to it till I get over it; and I don't know of any other way for you to do.
We have had the Gospel of salvation preached to us to-day. You Elders take the words of Paul where he says—" For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. (Romans, chap. 1, verse 16.)
We know the Gospel is true, and so did Lucifer know it; but did that save him? No, it did not; but it was the power of God unto damnation. The Gospel that we have heard to-day will be the power of God unto salvation to every man and woman that has heard it and will practise it and live up to it: then I will warrant every one of you to be saved in the kingdom of God, and a part in the first resurrection, with power to enjoy it. What we have heard to-day I know to be true by the Holy Ghost and the revelations of Jesus; and I know it by every sense that is within me, from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet; and so do you, if you have the Spirit of God.
Now, when I take a text, I take the whole of it and apply it to the whole. It is as President Young was saying this forenoon, the Lord is a holy and just being; but where is man? Going forth in the name of the Lord, preaching the Gospel and promising those who obey it the gift of the Holy Ghost? Where is the man that has authority for laying hands upon the sick and manifesting the gifts and graces of the Gospel? There are none except the Latter-day Saints. The moment a man complies with these requirements he becomes a sheep in the sheepfold, and all who do not comply will be damned. Will the condemnation of those who violate the law, after having covenanted to keep it, be greater than that of those who have not received the Gospel? The moment a young man leaves the Church, he is then a traitor to the law of laws. You know the law of nations is that when a man becomes a traitor to the law of the land, all he has is confiscated, and he is punished accordingly; and so it is in the Church and kingdom of God.
Brethren, my advice to you who have lived here for years—to those who have come here with handcarts and waggons, is, Go to work and prepare yourselves for the winter. Go and lay up your grain, that you may not be poor and destitute next spring, and have to beg your bread. This is very necessary for us to do. Some will say, I wish you would not talk about wheat any more; for if we have more bread than we want, we have to sell it and buy clothing. I wish to say to all such, Go and get some sheep and make some clothes for yourselves, and be independent of those that come here to sell goods. Some of the merchants have been here from nine to ten years and although we have made them rich, yet when all hell was boiling over against us, they would not say a word in our favour; and you need not go down Whisky Street more than twenty rods to find them. I will see them in heaven, or in that other place, which they say has no bottom in it, before I will patronize such men any more.
Now, if hell has no bottom in it, those who were sent there would crawl out at the other side. If the inhabitants of the earth could be persuaded of the absurdity of the sectarian notions, they would not care much about the hell they believe in. You know, if sectarianism be true, the wicked will have to go down and down, and never stop! I would not suppose they would ever stop falling in a pit, if the bottom was out.
I do not wish to dwell upon these absurdities, but I desire you to go to work and save your grain against a day of famine. I am told that flour is now selling at $3 per hundred, and wheat at 75 cents per bushel; but then some say they cannot get the money to buy it with. You can, if you will work for it, and work cheap enough; but if you want and demand from $2,50 to $4,00 per day, you won't get it.
My advice is, Take care of yourselves; and when you sustain yourselves, you sustain President Young and Brother Wells; and when we sustain ourselves, we sustain each other. We should be like unto a tree whose limbs are all united; for we shall never gain the victory until we become one—of one heart and one mind. While you are trying to gain the victory, the Devil will try to get your blessings from you. The blessings are yours, but look out that the Devil don't get them away from you.