I should like the people to keep as quiet as possible, I have a few words to say to them concerning the inheritances of the Saints. I will talk to those who are believers in the Old and New Testaments, as this book which lies before me is called—the Bible, and in the mission of the Savior. I will ask the Latter-day Saints if they believe that the man Christ Jesus, who was crucified at Jerusalem, over eighteen hundred years ago, was the Savior of the world, and that he paid the debt contracted by our first parents, and redeemed the children of men from the fall? Of cour[s]e, they will answer in the affirmative. You believe, then, in the mission of the Savior to the earth? "Of course we do," is the answer. Do we believe that the Savior is heir to this earth. I will answer for all Saints and all believers in the Savior and say we do. Do we believe that this man Christ Jesus has received his inheritance; has he finished the work which he came into the world and was manifested in the flesh to accomplish? I will answer for all Christians and say he has not, as yet, finished his work or received the kingdom. As for the proof of this you can go to the Bible and all the other revelations that we have in our possession, and you will find it there. Are we co-workers with the Savior to redeem the children of men and all things pertaining to the earth? I will answer for the Saints and say that we most assuredly believe we are. All who, while in the flesh, received and were faithful to the Priesthood, labored with the Savior while they remained here, and when they passed into the spirit world their labors did not cease, but they passed into the prison, and, to this day, they are preaching to the spirits there, and laboring for the salvation of the human family and for the earth and all things pertaining to it.
Have these men, who have lived upon the earth and enjoyed the blessings of the holy Priesthood, received their inheritances? I take the liberty of answering for all Saints in the negative. They have not received their inheritances, but they have received promises like Abraham of old when he was shown the land of Canaan, and it was promised to him that it should be his inheritance, and that of his seed after him forever and ever. To this day they have not inherited the land according to the promises that were made to Abraham. So it is with all others. Have any of us, in the latter-days, received inheritances upon the face of this earth that shall be everlasting? No, we are not prepared to receive them, and they are not prepared for us. I am telling you these things that you may know and understand that, when we talk about property, or anything else that we seem to possess, we have not yet received anything for an everlasting inheritance. If we are faithful we shall receive after a long time, that is, it may seem long to us who reckon time by years, months, weeks, days, minutes and seconds. I should like to have the Latter-day Saints understand what their labor is, and to have each one understand his duty, and then understand the reward of obedience to that duty.
We get a great many good gifts here—we enjoy a great deal that the Lord gives us; gifts that we will say are inherent natural gifts. What a beautiful gift the power of the eye is for a man to enjoy! What a beautiful gift the power of hearing is to the people, and all our senses—tasting, smelling, &c., and the passions when they are governed and controlled, how beautiful they are! Shall we inherit them for ever and ever, or shall we take a course that they shall be taken from us?