If the Lord requires one-tenth of my ability to be devoted to building temples, meeting houses, school houses, to schooling our children, gathering the poor from the nations of the earth, bringing home the aged, lame, halt and blind, and building houses for them to live in, that they may be comfortable when they reach Zion, and to sustaining the Priesthood, it is not my prerogative to question the {270} authority of the Almighty in this, nor of his servants who have charge of it. If I am required to pay my tithing it is my duty to pay it. In the days of Joseph, when my circumstances were very, very straitened, I never had $500, $100, one dollar, fifty cents or twenty-five cents, but what, if it were wanted, it went as free as a cup of water from a well--Joseph was welcome to it. Was I tried in this? Yes, for many and many has been the time in my poverty, when if I had a dollar or fifty cents in my possession I have thought, "I can buy a pint or a half pint of molasses for my children to sop their bread in," but it was called for, and it went as free as the water of the river here would be to a thirsty person. And as for my time, from the day that I entered this Church until now, I have paid no attention to any business except that of building up this Kingdom. The question may be asked, "Do you not attend to your private affairs and business?" Yes, when I can, but I do not know that I have ever spent one minute in attending to business belonging to Brigham Young, when the business of the Church and Kingdom of God on the earth required his attention. Yet I would not say that this is any excuse for not strictly paying my tithing. I have paid a great deal of tithing, more perhaps than any other man, or any other ten men who were ever in the Church, and yet my tithing is not paid. But I pay tithing, and when the grain upon my farm is ripened, or the cattle upon it are matured, I say to my men, "Be sure and pay the tithing on whatever we have raised." But in some instances I have found that it was neglected. 16:111.