Below you will find Prince’s research excerpts titled, “Temples, 1862.” You can view other years here.
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TEMPLES, 1862.
1862: n.d.: Young people called to have endowments.
“In 1862 a lot of young people were called to have their Endowments I with the rest and was put in as first Councilor to Aleck Dawson in the Elders Quorum. [He was 18 years old at the time.]” (Robert Bodily autobiography, LC Collection)
5 Jan.: Status of people, and angels, in afterlife.
“God has created man in his own image, upright. Man in his creation is but a very little lower than then angels! In what degree and capacity is he lower than the angels? Angels are those beings who have been on an earth like this, and have passed through the same ordeals that we are now passing through. They have kept their first estate far enough to preserve themselves in the priesthood; they did not so violate the law of the priesthood and condemn themselves to the sin against the Holy Ghost, as to be finally lost. They are not crowned with the celestial ones. They are persons who have lived upon an earth, but did not magnify the priesthood in that high degree that many others have done who have become Gods, even the sons of God. Human beings, that pertain to this world, who do not magnify or are not capable of magnifying their high calling in the priesthood and receive crowns of glory, immortality and eternal lives, will also, when they again receive their bodies, become angels and will receive a glory. They are single, without families or kingdoms to reign over. All the difference between man and angels is, men are passing through the day of trial, that angels have already passed through. They belong to the same family that we do, but they have proven themselves worthy only of an exaltation to the state of angels, whereas we have the privilege of obtaining not only the same exaltation they enjoy, but of going further until we become Gods, even the sons of God.” (Brigham Young, 5 Jan., 1862; DN 11(29):225, 15 Jan., 1862)
5 Jan.: Not all are capable of highest glory.
“Just as long as we live within the purview of the reconciliation of the spirit of God that visits us from time to time, revealing the truth and the righteousness of our God, and yield to that and never cast it from us, whether we live or die, there is a salvation for us. There is a salvation for all the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, no matter where they have lived of when, nor whether Christian, Mussulman, Jew, Barbarian, or Gentile, that do not deny the power of God and sin against the Holy Ghost. You may discover that I am a Universalist. I am; and I am also a Calvanist, for the Almighty decreed all this before the worlds were. As I progress in my remarks you can see plainly that a widely extended field opens to our minds.
Is every man and woman capable of receiving the highest glory of God? No. We are surrounded with circumstances that control us to a certain degree. My father and mother moved into the State of Vermont and it happened that I was born there. I cannot help that. They might have stayed in Massachusetts, close to Boston; if they had, I should have been born there, and I could not have helped that. My father’s name was John Young, and my mother’s maiden name was Nabby How. I cannot help that. My father was a poor, honest, hardworking man, and his mind seemingly stretched from east to west, from north to south, and to the day of his death he wanted to command worlds, but the Lord would never permit him to get rich. He wanted to command all, and that too in righteousness. I cannot help all this; I have no power to control such circumstances. When I was about twenty months old my father moved from Vermont into the State of New York, where I lived with him until I became a man. I cannot help that. There are a thousand circumstances I cannot help or control that are thrown around me without any action of my choice.
I cannot help being here. We might have gone to Vancouver’s Island, and if we had we should probably have been driven away or used up before this time. But here we are in the valleys of the mountains, where the Lord directed me to lead the people. The brethren who are in foreign countries desire to gather to the gathering place of the Saints, and they have for the present to come to Great Salt Lake City; they cannot help that. Why did we not go to San Francisco? Because the Lord told me not, ‘for there are lions in the way and they will devour the lambs, if you take them there.’ What now can we do? Why, instead of being merchants, instead of going to St. Louis to buy goods, we can go down to our Dixie land, the southern part of our Territory, and raise cotton, and manufacture goods for ourselves. These are circumstances we are creating with which to surround our children, and to form the foundation of the future prosperity of this community. They will be more or less governed by the circumstances we create for them. They will make their own bonnets, ribbons, hats, coats, and dresses of every kind. While we are governed and controled by circumstances over which we have no power, still we possess ability and power in our different spheres of action to call into existance circumstances to surround ourselves and our children, which will more or less control them; and if they are planned in righteousness will tend to lead us and our children to heaven. I have power to call upon the brethren to go south and raise cotton and indigo, the olive, and the grape. I have done it. In doing this it throws them under the influence of new surroundings, and new circumstances. They in their turn can, by perseverance, and faithfulness under the dictations of the spirit of truth, bring forth a train of happy circumstances to bless them, to bless their wives, to bless their children, and to bless the kingdom of God. . . .
There is a great difference in the individual capacity of people; some can receive much more than others can; hence we read of different degrees of glory. How many kingdoms of glory there are, I know not; and how many degrees of glory there are in these kingdoms, I know not; but there are multitudes of them. Paul speaks of three; Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon saw three; and muoltitudes more have we seen by the spirit of revelation, according to the capacity of our understandings. Can we so live and direct ourselves as to receive glory, immortality, and eternal lives? We can. Then love not the world, nor the things of the world. Desire not that which is not for us, but desire only that which God has ordained for our benefit and advancement in the science of eternal life; then can we advance with accelerated speed in the things of God.
(Brigham Young, 5 Jan., 1862; DN 11(29):225, 15 Jan., 1862)
27 Jan.: Burial in robes & aprons.
“They then took him [the grave robber] down to prision and all of the Clothing of the dead found in his possession was taken to the Court House and there Exhibited so that any persons who had buried friends since He had been diging graves might se if they Could recognize then grave Clothes.
Mrs Woodruff & myself went down to se if we Could recognize the grave Cloths of Father Woodruff but we Could recognize Nothing as the Aprons were all destroyed and the robes taken to peaces.” (Wilford Woodruff diary, 27 Jan., 1862)
9 Feb.: Peter wore woolen garments to Kirtland Temple.
“What a blessing it is to be able to supply ourselves with so many of the necessaries and comforts of life here in these mountains! Some of you have got an idea that wool will not do; but let me inform you that when Peter came and sat in the Temple in Kirtland, he had on a neat woollen garment, nicely adjusted round the neck. What do sheep wear next to the skin? wool, of course. What do goats wear? hair, for that is their nature. These are facts that are apparent to all who will look.
To return to the subject of the garments of the Holy Priesthood, I will say that the one which Jesus had on when he appeared to the Prophet Joseph was neat and clean, and Peter had on the same kind, and he also had a key in his hand. John also came and administered unto Joseph Smith, and remember that Peter, James and John hold the keys pertaining to their dispensation and pertaining to this, and they came and conferred their Priesthood and authority upon Joseph the Seer, which is for the gathering together of all who seek the way of life.” (Heber C. Kimball, 9 Feb., 1862; JD 9:376)
12 Feb.: Ordained a Queen by the hand of the Redeemer.
“Thou shalt go into the Temple of the Lord, the place called the Holy of Holies and converse with Angels and be ordained a Queen by the Hand of your Redeemer and thy companion a King and priest. No good thing shall be denied thee, and I seal upon you these blessings of powers, dominions, and eternal lives forever and ever. Amen.” (Patriarchal Blessing of Sarah Ann Turnbow, by Charles W. Hyde, 12 Feb., 1862, “Genealogical and Blessing Book–Samuel Turnbow,” p. 15. See Bergera notes)
26 Feb.: Sealed up unto Eternal Life.
” . . . I seal upon your head a holy reserection and all the blessings pertaining to the new and everlasting covanent which have been promised to the faithful daughters of Abriham and say you shall come forth and stand upon Mount Zion with Palms of victory in your hands and songs of joy in your heart and recieve an inheritance in the midst of the Saints, your Friends and kindred which you shall be entiteled to through your faithfulness and patience and live forever in the new heavens and new Earth and inherit a land where you will no more be sick or die. I seal you up unto Eternal life according to the holy order and sealing power in the name of the Lord Jessus Christ Amen.” (Patriarchal Blessing of Elizabeth C. Williams, given by John Young, Patriarch, 26 Feb., 1862; LDS Archives, Ms d 4806 Bx 11 fd 4)
2 Mar.: The canal to haul temple rock was a failure.
“At present the few remarks I shall make will be upon the matter of obtaining rock for our contemplated temple, which we intend to build upon this block. The canal that we started from Big Cottonwood creek to this city was for the purpose of transporting material for building the Temple. We have learned some things in regard to the nature of the soil in which the bed of the canal is made that we did not know before. We pretty much completed the canal, or, in other words, we hewed out the cistern, but, behold, it would not hold water. We have not the time now to make that canal carry water, so we will continue to haul rock with cattle; and when an opportunity presents, we will finish the canal. We now contemplate repairing the State road, so that we can haul heavy blocks of granite. We were not very successful the last winter in hauling rock, for the road was so soaked with water that it was almost impassible; but we will now repair that road, and continue our hauling.” (Brigham Young, 2 Mar., 1862; JD 9:239-240)
2 Mar.: We need a temple to fully organize the Priesthood
“We wish a Temple, not for the public congregation, but for the Priesthood, wherein to arrange and organize fully the Priesthood in its order and degrees, to administer the ordinance of the Priesthood to the Saints for their exaltations.” (Brigham Young, 2 Mar., 1862; JD 9:240)
6 Apr.: Concerning sealing of families.
“I will here refer to a principle that has not been named by me for years. With the introduction of the Priesthood upon the earth was also introduced the sealing ordinance, that the chain of the Priesthood from Adam to the latest generation might be united in one unbroken continuance. It is the same power and the same keys that Elijah held, and was to exercise in the last days. ‘Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.’ By this power men will be sealed to men back to Adam, completing and making perfect the chain of the Priesthood from his day to the winding up scene. I have known men that I positively think would fellowship the Devil, if he would agree to be sealed to them. ‘Oh, be sealed to me, brother; I care not what you do, you may lie and steal, or anything else, I can put up with all your meanness, if you will only be sealed to me.’ Now this is not so much weakness as it is selfishness. It is a great and glorious doctrine, but the reason I have not preached it in the midst of this people, is, I could not do it without turning so many of them to the Devil. Some would go to hell for the sake of getting the Devil sealed to them.
I have had visions and revelations instructing me how to organize this people so that they can live like the family of heaven, but I cannot do it while so much selfishness and wickedness reign in the Elders of Israel. Many would make of the greatest blessings a curse to them, as they do now the plurality of wives–the abuse of that principle will send thousands to hell. There are many great and glorious privileges for the people, which they are not prepared to receive. How long it will be before they are prepared to enjoy the blessings God has in store for them, I know not–it has not been revealed to me. I know the Lord wants to pour blessings upon this people, but were he to do so in their present ignorance, they would not know what to do with them. They can receive only a very little and that must be administered to them with great care.
A portion of this community will not improve, will not plant out a fruit tree nor a shade tree, expecting to be driven from their homes. Such neglect of duty is the very way to bring the power of the Devil upon us. Let every man go to with his might and build a good house for his family to live in, and make them comfortable and happy, and gather around them an abundance of the blessings and comforts of life, and do it by the power of God and the Spirit of the Holy One, in all dilligence and faithfulness, and let us preach the Gospel, send the Elders to gather the poor and the meek of the earth, each one doing all the time all he can to accumulate means to accelerate this great and glorious work in the name of Israel’s God, being full of faith, humility, and charity; then we have done our duty, and all we can do to further the kingdom of God.
When we are doing the work of the Lord with all our might, and the evil within us is subdued by the power of God, and the light of Christ so shines within us that we can see clearly the things of God and men truly as they are, and all is judged by a righteous judgment, then we may look at and talk about the faults of each other without in the least disturbing our peace. When we do this, working faithfully for the building up of God’s kingdom, we are ready to acknowledge all things we possess to be the Lord’s, holding them for him in time, not knowing what he will do with them in the future. Let us teach our families the principles of righteousness by our conduct, which will go further than mere words. Let our private life be worthy the imitation of the best on earth, for it preaches a more lasting sermon than the tongue can preach. If we pursue this course the Lord will never suffer uis to be driven from our homes. ‘I always thought,’ said one, ‘that you were driven from Jackson county for your wickedness?’ Yes, and I always, acknowledge it; it was to bring us to our senses.
The Lord wants us to live up to the spirit of the times, and in the ratio the wicked nations are going down, he wants his people to rise in intelligence and importance as statesment, noblemen, and rulers; first learning to govern and control themselves.
I will recur again to the sealing power I have already glanced at. If men are sealed to me, it is because they want to be; and if they will be good, and hearken to my counsel and live a righteous life, I will agree to dictate and counsel them; but when men want to be sealed to me to have me feed and clothe them, and then act like the Devil, I have no more feeling and affection for them than I have for the greatest stranger in the world. Because a man is sealed to me, do you suppose that he can escape being judged according to his works? No. Were he sealed to the Saviour, it would make no difference; he would be judged like other men. Let us do what we do from a pure and holy principle, desiring only to promote the kingdom of God and be as nigh right as possible, that when we judge, we may judge in righteousness.” (Brigham Young, 6 Apr., 1862; JD 9:269-270)
“He [Brigham] next made a few remarks upon the sealing ordinance of the kingdom of God, showing that when we are free from mobs we shall find that man will be sealed to man clear back for ages, to form a chain and family connection with father Adam, but at the present it would not be salutary to develop the fulness of this glorious principle, for in times past when men got but a faint glimmering of this doctrine, it really seemed as if they would run to hell for the purpose of getting the devil sealed to them. He did know, by the spirit of revelation, that the Lord wanted to pour out blessings upon this people which, at present, they would not know what to do with, if they had them.” (Minutes of 32nd Annual Conference, 6 Apr., 1862; DN 11(42):332, 16 Apr., 1862)
7 Apr.: Keys of resurrection to come through Temples?
“I do not know but we are now building up a Temple in which may be revealed the keys of the resurrection of the dead. We are building up a Temple to the name of the Most High, and ther is plenty of business for every individual who lists to do his part. Do not let us pander to the Devil, nor strew our ways to strangers, but let us take that course that will be best calculated to establish the principles of righteousness upon the earth, to establish the reign of the kingdom of God.” (Daniel H. Wells, 7 Apr., 1862; JD 9:302)
8 Apr.: More important duties than building the temple.
“I wish to hurry the building of the Temple, for I would like to have it completed before we are called to more important duties.” (Brigham Young, 8 Apr., 1862; JD 10:36)
4 May: Endowment an imitation of the Father and Son.
“Baptism is an imitation–the candidate is buried in water in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, in likeness of the death of Christ, and then he is raised up out of the water in likeness of his resurrection. The Holy Ghost descended on the Savior in the form of a dove after he was baptized; in imitation of this, we receive the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. Even in the endowments, there is not a solitary thing but what is an imitation of the Son or the Father in some way or other; and all this is done to keep us in remembrance of him.” (Heber C. Kimball, 4 May, 1862; JD 10:44)
7 Jun.: The endowment Peter, James and John received.
“Jesus took Peter, James and John into a high mountain, and there gave them their endowment, and placed upon them authority to lead the Church of God in all the world, to ordain men to the Priesthood, to set in order the Church and send forth the Elders of Israel to preach to a perishing world. For the same purpose has the Lord called us up into these high mountains, that we may become endowed with power from on high in the Church and kingdom of God, and become kings and priests unto God, which we never can be lawfully until we are ordained and sealed to that power, for the kingdom of God is a kingdom of kings and priests, and will rise in mighty power in the last days.” (Heber C. Kimball, 7 Jun., 1862; JD 9:327)
13 Jul.: Names of those accepting to be given by angels.
“The servants of God will officiate for the dead in the temples of God which will be built. The Gospel is now preached to the spirits in prison, and when the time comes for the servants of God to officiate for them, the names of those who have received the Gospel in the spirit will be revealed by the angels of God and the spirits of just men made perfect; also the places of their birth, the age in which they lived, and everything regarding them that is necessary to be recorded on earth, and they will then be saved so as to find admittance into the presence of God, with their relatives who have officiated for them. The wicked will be cleansed and purified as by fire; some of them will be saved as by fire. Some will be given over to the buffetting of Satan, that their spirits may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Others will receive their bodies, but cannot be saved in the kingdoms and mansions that are in the presence of God. All the children of men will receive a glory in the mansions of God according to their capacities, and rewards according to their acts in the flesh.” (Brigham Young, 13 Jul., 1862; JD 9:317)
6 Aug.: All non-Mormons will be damned.
“‘Do you believe that all will be damned, except the Latter Day Saints?’
Yes; and we believe, further, that many of the Latter Day Saints will be damned, unless they repent of their sins and work righteousness.
‘What do you understand by damnation?’
Being shut out from the presence of the Father and the Son.
‘But will all, except the Saints, be sent to that lake of fire and brimstone where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched, there to dwell for ever and ever?’
No, for every one will receive a glory, except the ‘sons of perdition.’ We believe that the doctrine that sinners eternally dwell in hellfire is an invention of the priests, to oppress and terrify the ignorant.” (“Catechetical Illustrations of the Faith and Teachings of the Saints,” DN 12(6):48, 6 Aug., 1862)
23 Aug.: No temple to be completed before Jackson County.
“Last Evening while walking with President Young & Father Morley on the Temple block, President Young said I expet this Temple will stand through the Millennium & the Brethren will go in and give the Endowments to the people and this is the reason why I am having the foundation of the Temple taken up. A H Raleigh was the boss of the Job and I told him I should hold him responsible for the work, but if He had lived in the days of Nero and built the meanest House for him to serve the devil in he would have done it much better than He has the foundation of this Temple. He is so self willed that he will not be taught any thing.
If we do not Hurry with this I am afraid we shall not get it up untill we have to go back to Jackson County which I Expet will be in 7 years. I do not want to quite finish this Temple for there will not be any Temple finished untill the One is finished in Jackson County Missouri pointed out by Joseph Smith. Keep this a secret to yourselves lest some may be discouraged. Some things we should keep to ourselves.” (Wilford Woodruff diary, 23 Aug., 1862)
1 Sep.: Discourse on Temples.
“President [Brigham] Young preached a very instructive and edifying discourse on improvement, personal good conduct and sanctification. He made some remarks about the temple and the gratifications of those who would be permitted to enter therein.” (Account of meeting in Pleasant Grove, Leonard E. Harrington Journal, 1 Sep., 1862; UHQ 8(1):32-33, Jan., 1940)
8 Oct.: Hosannah shout in General Conference.
“[Heber C. Kimball] then said that President Young and his brethren felt like shouting Hosannah after the order taught by the Prophet Joseph in Kirtland, and invited the congregation to join with him that he might teach them the correct order. The vast concourse of Saints rose to their feet in mass and shouted Hosannah, Hosannah, Hosannah, to God and the Lamb, to God and the Lamb, to God and the Lamb, Amen, Amen and Amen. This increased the heavenly feeling that already existed in the conference, and caused every heart to rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.” (Minutes of the Semi-Annual General Conference, 8 Oct., 1862; DN 12(16):125, 15 Oct., 1862)