Refer your friends to join The LDS Daily WOOL (Words Of Our Leaders)
(3/23/98)
"If your neighbour suffers his cattle or his children to trespass upon
your property, never retaliate or speak an angry reply, for this will
engender a spirit of anger in him. Consider well before you suffer
your minds to be irritated in the least. Suffer them not to be
agitated until your blood is boiling with rage before you are aware;
but stop and reflect, coolly consider, and quietly reason with the
person or persons who have trespassed upon you, and show them the
nature of their transgression against you. If they continue in the
same course of conduct, reason the stronger with them, without
quarrelling. Thus bring your passions down into subjection to your
will, and cultivate an even unruffled temper, until you can perfectly
control yourselves at all times, in all places, and under all
circumstances. Then our affections and feelings would become congenial
to those of the Angels of God, and we should continue to increase in
that Holy Spirit which would prepare us for the society of holy
beings. This is our school, and a profitable one it is to the Elders
of Israel." — Brigham Young, "Journal of Discourses," Vol.6, p.316
(3/25/98)
"Some say, 'I feel as though I must boil over, and I must talk to
relieve myself.' All hell is boiling over; but does that make it any
better? No. If you let your tongue run, and it scatters the poison
that is in you, it sets the whole being on fire. The Apostle James
says, 'And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity; so is the tongue
among our members that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire
the course of nature, and it is set on fire of hell.' And again, 'But
the tongue can no man tame: it is an unruly evil, full of deadly
poison.' Are you aware of this, sisters and brethren? If you keep
silent, you can master your feelings, can subdue your passions, and
ultimately become masters of them and banish them from you. If you
give way to your unbridled tongues, you increase anger within you, and
the first you know your blood is boiling with wrath. That is what the
Apostle meant when he wrote, 'It setteth on fire the whole course of
nature, and it is set on fire of hell.' It is hell that sets it going.
If you find that you cannot keep your tongue still, get some
India-rubber and chew it with all your might." — Brigham Young,
"Journal of Discourses," Vol.6, p.74 - 75
(6/26/98)
"The Lord is here with us, not in person, but his angels are around
us, and he takes cognizance of every act of the children of men, as
individuals and as nations. He is here ready by his agents, the
angels, and by the power of his Holy Spirit and Priesthood, which he
has restored in these last days, to bring most perfect and absolute
deliverance unto all who put their trust in him, when they are ready
to receive it." — Brigham Young, "Journal of Discourses," 11:14
(1/11/99)
"This Gospel will save the whole human family; the blood of Jesus will
atone for our sins, if we accept the terms he has laid down; but we
must accept those terms or else it will avail nothing in our behalf."
— "Discourses of Brigham Young," p. 7
(2/21/00)
"There is but one witness--one testimony, pertaining to the evidence
of the Gospel of the Son of God, and that is the Spirit that he
diffused among his disciples. Do his will, and we shall know whether
he speaks by the authority of the Father or of himself. Do as he
commands us to do, and we shall know of the doctrine, whether it is of
God or not. It is only by the revelations of the Spirit that we can
know the things of God." — "Journal of Discourses," Vol.9, p. 2, April
6, 1861
(2/22/00)
"You will see plenty of the world--it will be before you all the
time--but if you live so as to possess the Holy Ghost you will be able
to understand more in relation to it in one day than you could in a
dozen days without it, and you will at once see the difference between
the wisdom of men and the wisdom of God, and you can weigh things in
the balance and estimate them at their true worth." — "Journal of
Discourses," Vol.12, p. 34, April 14th, 1867
(2/23/00)
"Let us take a course to be saved today, and, when evening comes,
review the acts of the day, repent of our sins, if we have any to
repent of, and say our prayers; then we can lie down and sleep in
peace until the morning, arise with gratitude to God, commence the
labors of another day, and strive to live the whole day to God and
nobody else." — "Discourses of Brigham Young," p.16
(2/24/00)
"When we speak, let us speak good words; when we think, think good
thoughts; and when we act, perform good acts; until it shall become
the delight of every man and woman to do good instead of evil, and to
teach righteousness by example, and precept rather than
unrighteousness." — "Journal of Discourses," Vol.10, p. 360, November
6, 1864
(2/25/00)
"The providences of God are all a miracle to the human family until
they understand them. There are no miracles, only to those who are
ignorant. A miracle is supposed to be a result without a cause, but
there is no such thing. There is a cause for every result we see; and
if we see a result without understanding the cause we call it a
miracle." — "Journal of Discourses," 14:79
(2/26/00)
"Say your prayers always before going to work. Never forget that. A
father—the head of the family—should never miss calling his family
together and dedicating himself and them to the Lord of Hosts, asking
the guidance and direction of his Holy Spirit to lead them through the
day—that very day. Lead us this day, guide us this day, preserve us
this day, save us from sinning against thee or any being in heaven or
on earth this day! If we do this every day, the last day we live we
will be prepared to enjoy a higher glory." — "Journal of Discourses,"
12:261
(8/19/03)
"Every man and woman has got to have clean hands and a pure heart, to
execute judgment, else they had better let the matter alone." —
"Discourses of Brigham Young," Compiled by John A. Widtsoe. Salt Lake
City: Deseret Book, 1978, 3:247
(7/2/04)
"The greatest mystery a man ever learned, is to know how to control
the human mind, and bring every faculty and power of the same in
subjection to Jesus Christ; this is the greatest mystery we have to
learn while in these tabernacles of clay." - Brigham Young, "Journal
of Discourses," 26 vols. [London: Latter-day Saints' Book Depot,
1854-1886], 1:47
(4/1/05)
"There is no spirit but what was pure and holy when it came here from
the celestial world.... He is the Father of our spirits; and if we
could know, understand, and do His will, every soul would be prepared
to return back into His presence. And when they get there, they would
see that they had formerly lived there for ages, that they had
previously been acquainted with every nook and corner, with the
palaces, walks, and gardens; and they would embrace their Father, and
He would embrace them and say, 'My son, my daughter, I have you
again;' and the child would say, 'O my Father, my Father, I am here
again.'" - Brigham Young, "Journal of Discourses," 4:268
(10/5/05)
"It was said here this morning that
no person ever apostatized, without actual transgression. Omission
of duty leads to commission. We want to live so as to have the
Spirit every day, every hour of the day, every minute of the day,
and every Latter-day Saint is entitled to the Spirit of God, to the
power of the Holy Ghost, to lead him in his individual duties." -
Brigham Young, "Discourses of Brigham Young," selected and arranged
by John A. Widtsoe, p.8
2/9/06
"As we prepare materials to build a house or temple, so man
can prepare himself for the reception of eternal wisdom. We go where
the materials for a house are, and prepare them to answer our purpose;
so we may go to where eternal wisdom dwells and there diligently seek
to possess it, for its price is above rubies [see Job
28:18]." - Discourses of Brigham Young, p.261-262
11/25/06
"My independence is sacred to me—it is a portion of that same Deity
that rules in the heavens. There is not a being upon the face of the
earth who is made in the image of God, who stands erect and is
organized as God is, that would be deprived of the free exercise of
his agency so far as he does not infringe upon other's rights, save by
good advice and a good example." - "Discourses of Brigham Young,"
selected and arranged by John A. Widtsoe, p.62
12/2/06
"Our Heavenly Father does not always reveal to his children the secret
workings of his providences, nor does he show them the end from the
beginning; for they have to learn to trust in him who has promised to
fight our battles, and crown us with victory, if we are faithful as
was faithful Abraham. The contest which we have now on hand is chiefly
against sin in ourselves. 'For if we sin wilfully after that we have
received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice
for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery
indignation which shall devour the adversaries.' Then let us contend
against sin in our families, in our neighbors and friends, and strive
to restore to the inhabitants of the earth and to all the creatures
which God has made to dwell upon it, that which was lost by the fall
of man. Our labor will not end until this is accomplished, our work
completed, and the kingdom is the Lord's. 'Know ye not, that they
which run a race, run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run that ye
may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate
in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown but we an
incorruptible.'" - Brigham Young, "Journal of Discourses," 11:14
3/3/07
"This life that you and I possess is for eternity. Contemplate the
idea of beings endowed with all the powers and faculties which we
possess, becoming annihilated, passing out of existence, ceasing to
be, and then try to reconcile it with our feelings and with our
present lives. No intelligent person can do it. Yet it is only by the
Spirit of revelation that we can understand these things [see 1
Corinthians 2:11]. By the revelations of the Lord Jesus we
understand things as they were, that have been made known unto us;
things that are in the life which we now enjoy, and things as they
will be [see D&C
93:24], not to the fullest extent, but all that the Lord designs
that we should understand, to make it profitable to us, in order to
give us the experience necessary in this life to prepare us to enjoy
eternal life hereafter." - "Teachings Of Presidents Of The Church:
Brigham Young," p.49
5/18/07
"I try to better my life, and I believe that my brethren do. I can see
a visible improvement in those with whom I am most intimately
acquainted. Though we are in the world, yet we should be as perfect as
mortals are required to be. We are not required in our sphere to be as
perfect as Gods and angels are in their spheres, yet man is the king
of kings and lord of lords in embryo. Could I in the flesh become as
perfect as God in the spirit, I could not stay on the earth with my
friends to hold close communion with them and speak with them face to
face as men speak to each other. Earth, home, family and friends have
endearments which tie us here until we have accomplished our work in
this probation and become ripe for that great change which awaits us
all. I would like to stay on this earth in the flesh and fight the
Devils until the last one is subdued; and when the earth and its
fulness are wholly devoted to the Savior of mankind I will be
perfectly satisfied and willing to go into my grave or be changed in a
moment, in the twinkling of an eye, as the Lord will." - Brigham
Young, "Journal of Discourses," 26 vols., 10:224
8/17/07
"There is not a single condition of life that is entirely unnecessary;
there is not one hour's experience but what is beneficial to all those
who make it their study, and aim to improve upon the experience they
gain. What becomes a trial to one person is not noticed by another.
Among these two thousand persons I am now addressing there cannot be
found two that are organized alike, yet we all belong to the one great
human family, have sprung from one source, and are organized to
inherit eternal life. There are no two faces alike, no two persons
tempered alike; we have come from different nations of the world, and
have been raised in different climates, educated and traditioned in
different and, in many instances, in opposite directions, hence we are
tried with each other, and large drafts are made upon our patience,
forbearance, charity, and good will—in short, upon all the higher and
godlike qualities of our nature—for we are required by our holy
religion to be one in our faith, feelings, and sentiments pertaining
to things of time and eternity, and in all our earthly pursuits and
works to keep in view the building up of the kingdom of God in the
last days. Our work is to bring forth Zion, and produce the Kingdom of
God in its perfection and beauty upon the earth." - Brigham Young,
'Journal of Discourses,' 26 vols., 9:29
9/24/07
"If this people will believe the testimony contained in these four
books concerning the kingdom of God upon the earth, and the hand
dealing of the providence of God to his children, and do His will, I
promise them eternal life, for such a belief and such a practice will
lead them to the fountain where they can know for themselves, as
Moses, the Prophets, Jesus, the Apostles and Ancient Saints, Joseph
Smith and others of modern times knew; where like them we can receive
the Spirit of eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, by which we
may know the voice of the Good Shepherd, whenever and wherever we hear
it. And as we know the voice of the Good Shepherd, so shall we learn
to distinguish it from the voice of a stranger-the voice of the evil
one. " - Brigham Young, "Journal of Discourses," 26 vols., 10:30
9/27/07
"With God, and also with those who understand the principles of life
and salvation, the Priesthood, the oracles of truth and the gifts and
callings of God to the children of men, there is no difference in
spiritual and temporal labors—all are one. If I am in the line of my
duty, I am doing the will of God, whether I am preaching; praying,
laboring with my hands for an honorable support; whether I am in the
field, mechanics shop, or following mercantile business, or wherever
duty calls, I am serving God as much in one place as another; and so
it is with all, each in his place, turn and time." - "Teachings Of
Presidents Of The Church: Brigham Young," p.21
1/24/08
"We
have no business here other than to build up and establish the Zion of
God. It must be done according to the will and law of God, after that
pattern and order by which Enoch built up and perfected the former-day
Zion, which was taken away to heaven, hence the saying went abroad
that Zion had fled. By and by it will come back again, and as Enoch
prepared his people to be worthy of translation, so we, through our
faithfulness, must prepare ourselves to meet Zion from above when it
shall return to earth, and to abide the brightness and glory of its
coming."
- "Discourses
of Brigham Young," selected and
arranged by John A. Widtsoe, p.443
2/24/08
"Thirty years' experience has
taught me that every moment of my life must be holiness to the Lord,
resulting from equity, justice, mercy, and uprightness in all my
actions, which is the only course by which I can preserve the Spirit of
the Almighty to myself." - "Discourses
of Brigham Young," selected and
arranged by John A. Widtsoe, p.267
3/30/08
"We must watch and pray, and
look well to our walk and conversation, and live near to our God, that
the love of this world may not choke the precious seed of truth, and
feel ready, if necessary, to offer up all things, even life itself, for
the Kingdom of Heaven's sake." - "Discourses
of Brigham Young," selected and
arranged by John A. Widtsoe, p.314
4/4/08
"Will you improve upon the gifts
bestowed upon you? Let me ask you, as a favour, to bless yourselves and
friends by conquering and controlling yourselves—a
principle that you should cultivate; then you may control others. But
unless you control the passions that pertain to fallen nature—make
all your faculties subservient to the principles God has revealed, you
will never arrive at that state of happiness, glory, joy, peace, and
eternal felicity that you are anticipating. Then learn to govern
yourselves." - Brigham Young, "Journal
of Discourses," 26 vols., 8:116
6/1/08
"When there is a great work to
be accomplished, and there are but few hands to perform it, the burden
weighs very heavily on those who are engaged in it. If we have a farm of
six hundred acres to fence, and there is only one man engaged in getting
the poles and lumber from the kanyon, we find it a slow and tardy work;
but if we have a hundred men engaged it is much easier and pleasanter;
if a thousand, still more so. So it is in regard to establishing the
kingdom of God in the hearts of the children of men. It is not a very
hard matter to prevail on a person to put his treasure where his heart
is. Our difficulty is in not understanding the principles of the kingdom
of heaven sufficiently to enter into it with our whole hearts."
Brigham Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, November
14, 1869
9/20/08
"A
life time is too short to tell the extent of the mission of the Saviour
to the human family, but I will venture to use one of his sayings, in
connection with what I have already quoted from the book of Revelations.
When he was arraigned before Pilate to be tried for his life, he said to
Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this
world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to
the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence." Connect this saying
with "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children
of God," and we can understand how the kingdom of Christ is not of this
world, because it is established in peace, unlike all worldly kingdoms
which are established in war. The motto of his kingdom is "Peace on
earth and good will towards men," and hence not after the order of
worldly kingdoms." - "Journal of Discourses," 26 vols., 9:310
1/5/08
"I recollect a dream that my
father had. He dreamed that he was travelling, and that during his
journey he came to a tremendous mountain of snow and saw that his
pathway was hedged up. But some one said, 'Take
one more step.' My father
replied, 'But that will be
the last.' However, he took that
step, and then his guide said, 'Do
you not see that there is room for you to take another?'
When he had taken another, his guide told him to take still another in
advance; and there was a passage all the way through. So it will be with
us. The Lord will not reveal all that we at times wish him to. If a
schoolmaster were to undertake to teach a little child algebra, you
would call him foolish, would you not? Just so with our Father: he
reveals to us as we are prepared to receive, and I hope to continue to
learn. There is no cessation, in time nor in eternity, to the progress
and increase of the righteous. If we will but put away every selfish
feeling, we can come in possession of all the blessings that are in
store for us."
- Brigham Young, "Journal of Discourses," 26 vols., 5:331
5/28/09
“We
are in the school and keep learning, and we do not expect to cease
learning while we live on earth; and when we pass through the veil, we
expect still to continue to learn and increase our fund of
information. That may appear a strange idea to some; but it is for the
plain and simple reason that we are not capacitated to receive all
knowledge at once. We must therefore receive a little here and a
little there.” – “Discourses of Brigham
Young,” selected and arranged by John A. Widtsoe, p. 91
10/21/09
“How
frequently the question arises in the minds of the people–‘I wish I
knew where I was going!’ Can you find out? Well, you will go into the
spirit world, where brother Thomas [Williams] now is. He has now
entered upon a higher state of being, that is, his spirit has, than
when in his body. ‘Why cannot I see him? Why cannot I converse with
his spirit? I wish I could see my husband or my father and converse
with him!’ It is not reasonable that you should, it is not right that
you should; perhaps you would miss the very object of your pursuit if
you had this privilege, and there would be the same trial of faith to
exercise you, not so severe a path of affliction for you to walk in,
not so great a battle to fight, nor so great a victory to win, and you
would miss the very object you are in pursuit of. It is right just as
it is, that this veil should be closed down; that we do not see God,
that we do not see angels, that we do not converse with them except
through strict obedience to his requirements, and faith in Jesus
Christ.” – Brigham Young, “Journal of
Discourses,” 26 vols., 17:142
10/23/09
“…
your spirits when they came to take tabernacles were pure and holy,
and prepared to receive knowledge, wisdom, and instruction, and to be
taught while in the flesh; so that every son and daughter of Adam, if
they would apply their minds to wisdom, and magnify their callings and
improve upon every grace and means given them, would have tickets for
the boxes, to use brother Hyde's figure, instead of going into the
pit. There is no spirit but what was pure and holy when it came here
from the celestial world. There is no spirit among the human family
that was begotten in hell; none that were begotten by angels, or by
any inferior being. They were not produced by any being less than our
Father in heaven. He is the Father of our spirits; and if we could
know, understand, and do His will, every soul would be prepared to
return back into His presence. And when they get there, they would see
that they had formerly lived there for ages, that they had previously
been acquainted with every nook and corner, with the palaces, walks,
and gardens; and they would embrace their Father, and He would embrace
them and say, ‘My son, my daughter, I have you again;’ and the child
would say, ‘O my Father, my Father, I am here again.’” – Brigham
Young, “Journal of
Discourses,” 26 vols., 4:269
1/24/10
“The
Psalmist has written, ‘What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and
the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a
little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and
honour.’ This passage is but one of many which refer to the
organization of man as though it were a great mystery—something that
could not be fully comprehended by the greatest minds while dwelling
in earthly tabernacles. It is a matter of vital interest to each of
us, and yet it is often farthest from the thoughts of the greater
portion of mankind. Instead of reflecting upon and searching for
hidden things of the greatest value to them, they rather wish to learn
how to secure their way through this world as easily and as
comfortably as possible. The reflections what they are here for, who
produced them, and where they are from, far too seldom enter their
minds.” – Brigham Young, “Journal of
Discourses,” 26 vols., 7:282
2/26/10
“In
my experience I have learned that the greatest difficulty that exists
in the little bickerings and strifes of man with man, woman with
woman, children with children, parents with children, brothers with
sisters, and sisters with brothers, arises from the want of rightly
understanding each other. – “Teachings Of
Presidents Of The Church: Brigham Young,” p. 171
2/27/10
"To
make ourselves happy is incorporated in the great design of man's
existence. I have learned not to fret myself about that which I cannot
help. If I can do good, I will do it; and if I cannot reach a thing, I
will content myself to be without it. This makes me happy all the day
long.” – “Teachings Of Presidents Of The
Church: Brigham Young,” p. 183
3/29/10
“When our little children handle things that are in their way, the
knives, forks, pins, needles, anything, and scatter, waste, and lose
them, and these little faults are committed every few minutes throughout
the day, shall we forgive the children or whip them? We will always
forgive them until they are taught better, and learn to know good from
evil, right from wrong. Our Father in heaven deals with us his children
upon this principle.” – Brigham Young, “Journal of Discourses,” 26
vols., 9:308
7/11/10
"The dark shade of the valley of death is over the nations of the earth;
the vail of the covering is over them; they are hid from the presence of
the Lord. They do not behold his glory--they do not understand his
providences; the fear of death is over them, and it is a dark shadow.
That was over me, and I made the best of it. But 'Mormonism' has opened
up light. Removing the curtain from the broad sunshine, it has lighted
up the souls of hundreds of thousands, and they have been made to
rejoice in the light of truth. Continue to be faithful to your calling.
It is your privilege and duty to so live as to be able to understand the
things of God." - Brigham Young, "Journal of Discourses," 26 vols.,
8:130
1/7/12
I say to this people, Do
as you are told; and if you live by every righteous principle that you
can learn and forsake every evil principle and act through your whole
lives as becometh Saints of the Most High, all will be well. Can men
live so that they can have the serene, blessed, calm, soft, soothing
Spirit of the Lord always to abide with them? Yes, they can. And if they
are tempted, they can resist temptation. Can women? They can. If they
have temptation they can resist it, and it will flee from them, and they
will gain a victory. - Brigham Young,
"Journal of Discourses," 26 vols., 5:169
5/12/14
Much can be said
upon what our duty is, but we can comprise the whole in saying, live
so that the spirit of revelation will be in every man and woman, and
it will lead them to truth and holiness. Then there would be no
bickering, no contention, no lawsuits against each other, and there
would be less business in the High Councils than there is now. Those
who live for truth and holiness have a right to enjoy the
revelations of Jesus Christ. We know the oracles of God which He has
placed in the midst of this people, and we know that we should
observe the counsel which is given to us. - Brigham
Young, "Journal of Discourses, 26 vols.," 10:305
6/10/14
The
adversary presents his principles and arguments in the most approved
style, and in the most winning tone, attended with the most graceful
attitudes; and he is very careful to ingratiate himself into the
favor of the powerful and influential of mankind, uniting himself
with popular parties, floating into offices of trust and emolument
by pandering to popular feeling, though it should seriously wrong
and oppress the innocent. - Brigham
Young, "Discourses of Brigham Young," selected and arranged by
John A. Widtsoe, p.69
6/4/15
Now, if I understand my religion aright, if I understand the
Scriptures and the operations of the Spirit of God, we have got, as
a people, to come to this—let us know the will of God, and we will
do it, no matter where it strikes, what interest it may come in
contact with, or whose views it may overturn. That is my idea of
"Mormonism," as I have learned it. I consider that God is at the
helm. - Brigham Young, "Journal
of Discourses," 26 vols., 18:283
7/2/15
But some may say, "I have faith
the Lord will turn them away." What ground have we to hope this?
Have I any good reason to say to my Father in Heaven, "Fight my
battles," when he has given me the sword to wield, the arm and the
brain that I can fight for myself? Can I ask him to fight my battles
and sit quietly down waiting for him to do so? I cannot. I can pray
the people to hearken to wisdom, to listen to counsel; but to ask
God to do for me that which I can do for myself is preposterous to
my mind. - "Discourses of Brigham
Young," selected and arranged by John A. Widtsoe, p. 426
12/10/15
I seek as diligently as you do
that the leaders of this people may be and do precisely as God
wishes them to. I pray as fervently as you do that the will of God
may be done on the earth as it is in heaven, and that we may be
moulded and fashioned in all goodness, after the image of Christ. I
have the same faith that you have for the leaders of this people,
and I have all the fervency of desire I am capable of, that God will
make the people just as pure as they want their leaders to be. - Brigham
Young, "Journal of Discourses," 26 vols., 9:267
10/26/16
The General Constitution of our country is good, and a
wholesome government could be framed upon it, for it was dictated by
the invisible operations of the Almighty; he moved upon Columbus to
launch forth
upon the trackless deep to discover the American Continent; he moved
upon the signers of the Declaration of Independence; and he moved upon
Washington to
fight and conquer, in the same way as he moved upon ancient and modern
Prophets, each being inspired to accomplish the particular work he was
called
to perform in the times, seasons, and dispensations of the Almighty. –
Brigham Young, “Journal of
Discourses,” 26
vols., 7:14
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