Wilford Woodruff, Fourth President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints: History of His Life and Labors, as Recorded in His Daily JournalsWoodruff, Wilford
Religion
Wilford Woodruff, Fourth President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints: History of His Life and Labors, as Recorded in His Daily Journals
Woodruff, Wilford
Woodruff, Wilford, 1807-1898
"I again repeat--no man can stand at our head except God reveals it
from the heavens. I have spared no pains to learn my lesson of the
Kingdom in this world and in the eternal worlds: and if it were not
so, I could go and live in peace; but for the gospel and your sakes, I
shall stand in my place. We are liable, all the day long, to be killed.
You have never lived by faith.
"Brother Joseph, the Prophet, has laid the foundation for a great work
and we will build upon it. You have never seen the quorums built one
upon another. There is an almighty foundation laid and we can build a
Kingdom such as there never was in the world. We can build a Kingdom
faster than Satan can kill the Saints off.
"What do you want? Do you want a patriarch for the whole Church? To
this we are perfectly willing. If Brother Samuel H. Smith had been
living, it would have been his right and privilege, but he is dead.
He is gone to Joseph and Hyrum. He is out of the reach of bullets and
spears and he can associate himself with his brothers, his friends, and
the Saints.
"Do you want a patriarch? Here is Brother William left. Here is Uncle
John Smith, uncle to the Prophet Joseph. It is their right. The right
of the patriarchal priesthood belongs to Joseph's family.
"Do you want a trustee-in-trust? Has there been a bishop who has stood
in his lot yet? What is his business? To take charge of the temporal
affairs so that the Twelve and the elders may go on their business.
Joseph condescended to do their business for them. Joseph condescended
to offer himself for Presidency of the United States, and it was a
great condescension.
"Do you want a spokesman? Here are Elder Rigdon, Brother Amasa Lyman,
(whom Joseph expected to take as a counselor) and myself. Do you want
the Church properly organized, or do you want a spokesman. Elder Rigdon
claims to be spokesman to the Prophet. Very well--he was. But can he
now act in that office?
"If he wants now to be a spokesman to the Prophet he must go to the
other side of the veil for the Prophet is there, but {220} Elder Rigdon
is here. Why will Elder Rigdon be a fool? Who knows anything of the
priesthood or of the organization of the Kingdom of God? I am plain.
Does the Church want it as God organized it, or do you want to clip the
power of the priesthood, and let those who have the right go and build
up the Kingdom in all the world wherever the people will hear them?
"If there is a spokesman, if he is a king and priest, let him go and
build up a kingdom unto himself. The Twelve are at the head of the
Church. I want to live on the earth and spread truth through all the
world. You Saints of Latter-days want things right. If ten thousand
should rise up and say they have Joseph's shoes, I know they would be
imposters. In the priesthood you have a right to build up a kingdom if
you know how the Church is organized.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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