A Discourse by President Brigham Young,
Delivered in the Tabernacle,
Great Salt Lake City, March 16, 1856.
A few of the men and women who go into the house of the Lord, and receive their endowments, and in the most sacred manner make covenants before the Almighty, go and violate those covenants. Do I have compassion on them? Yes, I do have mercy on them, for there is something in their, organization which they do not understand; and there are but few in this congregation who do understand it.
You say, "That man ought to die for transgressing the law of God." Let me suppose a case. Suppose you found your brother in bed with your wife, and put a javelin through both of them, you would be justified, and they would atone for their sins, and be received into the kingdom of God. I would at once do so in such a case; and under such circumstances, I have no wife whom I love so well that I would not put a javelin through her heart, and I would do it with clean hands. But you who trifle with your covenants, be careful lest in judging you will be judged.
Every man and women has got to have clean hands and a pure heart, to execute judgment, else they had better let the matter alone.
Again, suppose the parties are not caught in their iniquity, and it passes along unnoticed, shall I have compassion on them? Yes, I will have compassion on them, for transgressions of the nature already named, or for those of any other description. If the Lord so order it that they are not caught in the act of their iniquity, it is pretty good proof that He is willing for them to live; and I say let them live and suffer in the flesh for their sins, for they will have it to do.
There is not a man or woman, who violates the covenants made with their God, that will not be required to pay the debt. The blood of Christ will never wipe that out, your own blood must atone for it; and the judgments of the Almighty will come, sooner or later, and every man and woman will have to atone for breaking their covenants. To what degree? Will they have to go to hell? They are in hell enough now. I do not wish them in a greater hell, when their consciences condemn them all the time. Let compassion reign in our bosoms. Try to comprehend how weak we are, how we are organized, how the spirit and the flesh are continually at war.
I told you here, some time ago, that the devil who tempted Eve, got possession of the earth, and reigns triumphant, has nothing to do with influencing our spirits, only through the flesh; that is a true doctrine. Inasmuch as our spirits are inseparably connected with the flesh, and, inasmuch as the whole tabernacle is filled with the spirit which God gave, if the body is afflicted, the spirit also suffers, for there is a warfare between the flesh and the spirit, and if the flesh overcomes, the spirit is brought into bondage, and if the spirit overcomes, the body is made free, and then we are free indeed, for we are made free by the Son of God. Watch yourselves, and think. As I heard observed, on the evening of the 14th, at the Social Hall, "think, brethren, think," but do not think so far that you cannot think back again. I then wanted to tell a little anecdote, but I will tell it now.
In the eastern country there was a man who used to go crazy, at times, and then come to his senses again. One of his neighbors asked him what made him go crazy; he replied, "I get to thinking, and thinking, until finally I think so far that I am not always able to think back again," Can you think too much for the spirit which is put in the tabernacle? You can, and this is a subject which I wish the brethren instructed upon, and the people to understand. The spirit is the intelligent part of man; and is intimately connected with the tabernacle. Let this intelligent part labor to excess, and it will eventually overcome the tabernacle, the equilibrium will be destroyed, and the whole organization deranged. Many people have deranged themselves by thinking too much.
The thinking part is the immortal or invisible portion, and it is that which performs the mental labor; then the tabernacle, which is formed and organized for that express purpose, brings about or effects the result of that mental labor. Let the body work with the mind, and let them both labor fairly together, and, with but few exceptions, you will have a strong-minded, athletic individual, powerful both physically and mentally.
When you find the thinking faculty perfectly active, in a healthy person, it should put the physical organization into active operation, and the result of the reflection is carried out, and the object is accomplished. In such a person you will see mental and physical health and strength combined, in their perfection. We have the best opportunity afforded any people to cultivate these properties of man.
I do not know that I am trammeled by tradition, or that any of us need to be, hence we are in the best situation to exhibit, through the organization of the tabernacle, the labor and properties of the invisible part. When a person is thinking all the time he is little better than a machine; he perverts the purpose of his organization, and injures both mind and body. Why? Because the mental labor does not find vent through the organism of the tabernacle, and has not that scope-that field of labor which it desires, and which it was wisely designed that it should have. Think according to your labor, labor according to your thinking.
Some think too much, and should labor more, others labor too much, and should think more, and thus maintain an equilibrium between the mental and physical members of the individual; then you will enjoy health and vigor, will be active, and ready to discern truly, and judge quickly. Is it not your privilege to have discernment to circumscribe all things, no matter what subject comes before you, and to at once know the truth concerning any matter? When you see a person of this character, you see one with a healthy and vigorous mind, throughout the whole operations of organization. True, this is not the privilege of every one; some have to do much thinking, and but little manual labor, while others do much manual labor with little, if any thinking. The latter class are as dull and stupid as the brutes, and when their labor is done, they lie down and sleep, like the brutes. They do not think enough, they should bring their minds into active operation, as well as their bodies. Men who do much thinking, philosophers for instance, should apply their bodies to more manual labor, in order to make their bodies more healthy and their minds more vigorous and active.
Let me take twenty years to come, in which to build cities, temples, tabernacles, halls, dwellings, &c., with my mental organization, and not put forth my hands, or use any manual labor, to perform any of this work, do you not perceive that my body would not have labored during all this period, and that my mind would have labored to excess, even to the overcoming of the tabernacle. Again, let me build house after house, hall after hall, temple after temple, &c., my mind would have something to rest upon, and my body being weary with labor, I could lie down, and both would rest together. When I wish to build a temple it costs me much thought, and when I see a temple finished on this block, as I have seen it in the vision of my mind, do you not perceive that the whole of the labor of the mind, on that matter, is at rest? This is my philosophy on thinking; and if I were obliged to think for ten years, and not erect a building, or help build up a city, or in any way put my thoughts into execution, it would materially injure my mental faculty, through want of results for it to rest upon. But let me engage in active operations, even though I do not personally perform one day's manual labor, let me see the result of my thinking budding into existence, and my mind has something to rest upon. If I cannot carry out that which is in my mind-that which I wish to accomplish in all the improvements, in building up Zion in the latter days, as soon as I am deprived of the necessary physical labor I withdraw my mind from that object; I will not suffer my mind to rest upon it. For instance, we are going to suspend labor upon the Temple for a year, until we can prepare ourselves more fully for that work. We have abandoned the idea of using adobies In the walls of that building, and intend to use granite. Now, suppose I should begin to think, and think, and still think about it, are you not aware that it would be a worse than useless waste of time and mental labor? My body would become wearied and languid. I do not expect to think about it for one year; good bye to it, for the present. I must carry out the labor of my mind, or I injure it. Can you go to sleep in one minute, after you have said your prayers and gone to bed? Can you cease reflection, bid good bye to thought, and say to the body, compose yourself and let us go to sleep? How many now in this house can do that? Whether it is natural, or supernatural, mental or mechanical, it matters not, but I have trained myself to go to sleep when I get ready, and when I am in good health, as a general thing, in about one minute I can be fast asleep.
Until you can govern and control the mind and the body, and bring all into subjection to the law of Christ, you have a work to perform touching yourselves. I delight to talk upon the subject of our organization, but I must do so a little at a time, or I might weary your bodies and distract your thoughts. Short sermons fitly spoken, are better than long ones ill spoken.****My Thoughts****
Still believe that Blood Atonement was never preached or practiced by the Latter-Day Saints?
Ah, but it goes further than I ever supposed, for I never realized that the "limited reach" school of thought began with Brother Brigham. He teaches the value of 'not thinking too much' to his faithful followers, and here we are today, taught to do the same things.
Here's the question again: Do you claim that Brigham Young was the chosen successor to Joseph Smith and was the rightful prophet of the 'restored church'? If you have any doubts about it, re-read the passage from his sermon, imagine yourself there listening and 'feel' your answer from your gut if you can't reason it out in your head. On to part 3 tomorrow...
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