As soon as Moses was called upon to go and deliver Israel, the revelations the Lord gave to him were of a temporal nature, pertaining to the temporal life of the children of Israel--instructing Moses how to deliver them from bondage and lead them from the servile state in which they then were. He taught them in the same manner while they were traveling through the wilderness; and so it continued down to the days of the judges, and then to Saul, whom the Lord permitted them to make a king, and then through the teachings of the Prophets. 6:170. Whatever the Latter-day Saints have gained has been obtained by sheer wrestling and unconquerable resolution. 13:93. As an instance, we have men who quarry rock out of the mountains; and we would say to those men, can you go and quarry rock without the suitable instruments? Says one, "I must have so many picks and wedges, and I must have so many drills of different sizes, and so many sledges and hammers." Another man says, "I am going to make the tools; I have the ability, and I will make the instruments from the ore in the mountain." You remember what Nephi did. When he came to the sea, and prepared to build his barge, the Lord showed him the ore, and Nephi made the tools with which he formed his barge. He did not have to go back to Jerusalem to get tools. I would like to see a {453} little more of that skill displayed here than I do at the present time. I am using this comparison to show that we, in our poverty, have this work to do. 8:354. _The Elements of Wealth are Around Us_--I say to my brethren and sisters, come let us learn how to gather around us from the elements an abundance of every comfort of life, and convert them to our wants and happiness. Let us not remain ignorant, with the ignorant, but let us show the ignorant how to be wise. 10:6. The Lord has done his share of the work; he has surrounded us with the elements containing wheat, meat, flax, wool, silk, fruit, and everything with which to build up, beautify and glorify the Zion of the last days, and it is our business to mould these elements to our wants and necessities, according to the knowledge we now have and the wisdom we can obtain from the heavens through our faithfulness. In this way will the Lord bring again Zion upon the earth, and in no other. 9:283. While we have a rich soil in this valley, and seed to put in the ground, we need not ask God to feed us, nor follow us round with a loaf of bread begging of us to eat it. He will not do it, neither would I, were I the Lord. We can feed ourselves here; and if we are ever placed in circumstances where we cannot, it will then be time enough for the Lord to work a miracle to sustain us. 1:108.