Interesting Tidbits: Part 1

A selection of quotes from volume 2 We're through volume 2, only 24 more to go! During the course of Volume 2 there were many interesting tidbits that didn't fit within the concept of a full post. Rather than overlooking them, the next few days I'll throw them all together in a mish-mash of quotes so we don't miss out on the little things. What is the Temple endowment? "Your endowment is, to receive all those ordinances in the House of the Lord, which are necessary for you, after you have departed this life, to enable you to walk back to the presence of the Father, passing the angels who stand as sentinels, being enabled to give them the key words, the signs and tokens, pertaining to the Holy Priesthood, and gain your eternal exaltation in spite of earth and hell," (Brigham Young, 2:1). No whining: "We do not want any whiners about this Temple. If you cannot commence cheerfully, and go through the labor of the whole building cheerfully, start for California, and the quicker the better. Make you a golden calf, and worship it. If your care for the ordinances of salvation, for yourselves, your living, and dead, is not first and foremost in your hearts, in your actions, and in everything you possess, go!" (Brigham Young, ibid.). The way for a Mormon to live: "…never allow yourselves to do a thing you would be ashamed to do in the presence of the Lord Almighty, or that you would be ashamed of were He to stand in your path, and call you to an account. That is the way to live, and it is the only way for a "Mormon" Elder to live, or for a "Mormon" mother, or daughter, or sister, in order to obtain what they wish to obtain," (Brigham Young, 2:16). You are responsible for your happiness: “If we would be happy, if we would be great, have the knowledge and wisdom of God, and be prospered, it remains with us to pursue that course, to perform those duties, and to live that life, which shall conspire to produce those blessings," (Daniel H. Wells, 2:25). Welcome to eternity: "The Gospel is true, there is a God, there are angels, there area heaven and a hell, and we are all in eternity, and out of it we can never get, it is boundless, without beginning or end, and we have never been out of it. Time is a certain portion of eternity allotted to the existence of these mortal bodies, which are to be dissolved…preparatory to entering into a more exalted state of being. It is a portion of eternity allotted to this world, and can only be known by the changes we see in the composition and decomposition of the elements of which it is composed," (Brigham Young, 2:29). Let the Millennium take care of itself; work today: "It is not for men to rise in this stand and tell what will be in the Millennium, and what will be after the Millennium. That which pertains to every day life and action, is what pertains to us; that the Saints here may know how to order their course before each other, and before the Lord; that they may be justified, and have the Spirit of the Lord with them continually. This is our Gospel, it is our salvation. You need to be instructed with regard to these items of every day duty one towards another; and when you know how to be a Saint to-day, you are in a fair way to know how to be a Saint to-morrow. And if you can continue to be a Saint today, you can through the week, and through the year, and you can fill up your whole life in performing the duty and labor of a Saint," (Brigham Young, 2:49). Milk before meat- An eternal principle: "Where shall you go to find out 'Mormonism' from the foundation to the top-stone, from the root to the uttermost branch in the tree? Begin at the beginning. If men wish to accomplish any work, they must begin at the beginning of that work, not in the middle of it, or at the end. I must begin at the beginning, and if I know that the first stone is laid upon a permanent foundation, I can then with safety add another to that already laid; but if I cannot lay the first stone upon ground that is solid-if I cannot lay it upon a rock, I may despair of ever rearing a fabric or superstructure that will resist the rain and winds that may be hurled against it by the power of nature. We must begin at the beginning, and not content ourselves by grasping at that which may be beautiful in illustration and enlist our attention, and begin to build upon it as a foundation. In such a case we may have branches, but we do not bear the root," (Orson Hyde, 2:75). Never expect to get through all the meat: "And inasmuch as the Lord Almighty has designed us to know all that is in the earth, both the good and the evil, and to learn not only what is in heaven, but what is in hell, you need not expect ever to get through learning. Though I mean to learn all that is in heaven, earth, and hell. Do I need to commit iniquity to do it? No. If I were to go into the bowels of hell to find out what is there, that does not make it necessary that I should commit one evil, or blaspheme in any way the name of my Maker," (Brigham Young 2:90). Visions cannot be fully expressed: “When the vision of the mind is opened, you can see a great portion of it, but you see it comparatively as a speaker sees the faces of a congregation. To look at, and talk to, each individual separately, and thinking to become fully acquainted with them, only to spend five minutes with each would consume too much time, it could not easily be done. So it is with the visions of eternity; we can see and understand, but it is difficult to tell. May God bless you. Amen," (Brigham Young, 2:88).