| 576 unwearied diligence to accomplish it; and redoubled diligence will be necessary with all to get the building inclosed [enclosed] before another winter, so that the joiner can be employed during the cold weather; and we would again call upon all the saints abroad to unite in making their deposits in banks known to be good and safe, and forward their certificates to the Trustee in Trust, as speedily as possible, when trusty men are not coming immediately to this place who can bring your offerings. All will want the privileges and blessings of the sanctuary when it is completed and all can have their wishes; but they can obtain them only by faithfulness and diligence in striving to build.
We praise our God for the liberality which has hitherto been manifested. Many have given more than was required of them, many have given their all; but they have done it cheerfully, they have done it voluntarily, and they shall have a great reward; for the blessings of heaven and earth shall be multiplied unto such, even the blessings of that priesthood which hath neither beginning of days nor end of life. While there are those who of their abundance have built unto themselves fine houses, and who ride in carriages and on horseback, and regale themselves with the good things of the land, and at the same time they have left the Lord's house untouched, or, if touched at all, have touched it so lightly as scarce to leave the print of their little finger,-their reward will be according to their deeds, and unless they speedily repent and come up with their abundance to the help of the Lord, they will find in the end that they have no part nor lot in this matter; their gold and silver will become cankered, their garments moth-eaten and they will perish in their own slothfulness and idolatry, leaving none to mourn their absence.
But, brethren, the temple will be built. There are hundreds and thousands who stand ready to sacrifice the last farthing they possess on earth rather than have the building of the Lord's house delayed, and while this spirit prevails no power beneath the heavens can hinder its progress; but we desire you all to help with the ability which God has given you, that you may all share the blessings which will distill from heaven to earth through this consecrated channel.
This is not all. It will be in vain for us to build a place where the Son of Man may lay his head, and leave the cries of the widow and the fatherless unheard by us, ascending up to the orphan's God and widow's friend. It is in vain we cry Lord, Lord, and do not the things our Lord hath commanded; to visit the widow, the fatherless, the sick, the lame, the blind, the destitute, and minister to their necessities; and it is but reasonable that such cases should be found among a people who have but recently escaped the fury of a relentless mob on the one hand and gathered from the half-starved population of the scattered nations on the other.
Neither is this all. It is not sufficient that the poor be fed and clothed, the sick ministered unto, the temple built; No! When all this is accomplished, there must be a year of jubilee; there must be a day of rejoicing; there must be a time of release to Zion's sons, or our offerings, our exertions, our hopes, and our prayers will be in vain, and God will not accept of the doings of his people.
On those days of darkness which overspread our horizon, when the wolf was howling for his prey around the streets of Kirtland, when the burglar was committing his midnight and midday depredations in Jackson County, when the heartless politician was thrusting his envious darts in Clay, and when the savage war whoop of Missouri echoed and reëchoed through Far West, and Zion's noblest sons were chained in dungeons and her daughters driven by a horde of savages, naked and defenseless from their once peaceful homes to seek a shelter in a far distant land,-
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