- I am happy in the enjoyment of this opportunity of meeting with this council on this occasion. I am satisfied that the spirit of the Lord is here, and I am satisfied with all the brethren present, and I need not say that you have my utmost confidence and that I intend to uphold you to the uttermost, for I am well aware that you have to sustain my character against the vile calumnies and reproaches of this ungodly generation, and that you delight in so doing.
- Darkness prevails at this time, as it was at the time Jesus Christ was about to be crucified. The powers of darkness strove to obscure the glorious sun of righteousness that began to dawn upon the world, and was soon to burst in great blessings upon the heads of the faithful. And let me tell you brethren that great blessings await us at this time and will soon be poured out upon us if we are faithful in all things, for we are even entitled to greater blessings than they were, because they had the person of Christ with them to instruct them in the great plan of salvation. His personal presence we have not, therefore we need great faith on account of our peculiar circumstances. And I am determined to do all that I can to uphold you, although I may do many things inadvertently that are not right in the sight of God. You want to know many things that are before you, that you may know how to prepare yourselves for the great things that God is about to bring to pass. But there is one great deficiency or obstruction in the way that deprives us of the greater blessings, and in order to make the foundation of this church complete and permanent, we must remove this obstruction, which is to attend to certain duties that we have not as yet attended to. I supposed I had established this church on a permanent foundation when I went to the Missouri, and indeed I did so, for if I had been taken away, it would have been enough. But I yet live, and therefore God requires more at my hands.
- The item to which I wish the more particularly to call your attention tonight is the ordinance of washing of feet. This we have not done as yet, but it is necessary now as much as it was in the days of the Savior, and we must have a place prepared that we may attend to this ordinance aside from the world. We have not desired much from the hand of the Lord with that faith and obedience that we ought, yet we have enjoyed great blessings, and we are not so sensible of this as we should be. When or where has God suffered one of the witnesses or first elders of this church to fall? Never nor nowhere, amidst all the calamities and judgments that have befallen the inhabitants of the earth. His almighty arm has sustained us; men and devils have raged and spent the malice in vain. We must have all things prepared and call our solemn assembly as the Lord has commanded us, that we may be able to accomplish his great work, and it must be done in God’s own way. The house of the Lord must be prepared, and the solemn assembly called and organized in it according to the order of the House of God, and in it we must attend to the ordinance of washing of feet. It was never intended for any but official members. It is calculated to unite our hearts, that we may be one in feeling and sentiment, and that our faith may be strong, so that Satan cannot overthrow us nor have any power over us.
- The endowment you are so anxious about you cannot comprehend now, nor could Gabriel explain it to the understanding of your dark minds. But strive to be prepared in your hearts, be faithful in all things, that when we meet in the solemn assembly — that is, such as God shall name out of all the official members will meet, and we must be clean every whit — let us be faithful and silent brethren; and if God gives you a manifestation, keep it to yourselves. Be watchful and prayerful, and you shall have a prelude of those joys that God will pour out on that day. Do not watch for iniquity in each other. If you do, you will not get an endowment, for God will not bestow it on such. But if we are faithful and live by every word that proceeds forth from the mouth of God, I will venture to prophesy that we shall get a blessing that will be worth remembering if we should live as long as John the Revelator. Our blessings will be such as we have not realized before, nor in this generation. The order of the House of God has and ever will be the same, even after Christ comes, and after the termination of the thousand years it will be the same, and we shall finally roll into the Celestial Kingdom of God and enjoy it for ever.
- You need an endowment, brethren, in order that you may be prepared and able to overcome all things. And those that reject your testimony will be damned. The sick will be healed, the lame made to walk, the deaf to hear, and the blind to see, through your instrumentality. But let me tell you that you will not have power after the endowment to heal those who have not faith, nor to benefit them, for you might as well expect to benefit a devil in hell as such an one who is possessed of his spirit and are willing to keep it, for they are habitations for devils and only fit for his society. But when you are endowed and prepared to preach the gospel to all nations, kindred, and tongues in their own languages, you must faithfully warn all, and bind up the testimony, and seal up the law. And the destroying angel will follow close at your heels, and execute his tremendous mission upon the children of disobedience, and destroy the workers of iniquity, while the saints will be gathered out from among them and stand in holy places, ready to meet the Bridegroom when he comes.
- I feel disposed to speak a few words more to you my brethren concerning the endowment. All who are prepared and are sufficiently pure to abide the presence of the Savior will see him in the solemn assembly.
SECTION 117
Remarks of Joseph Smith, Jr. to nine members of the Council of Twelve given in Kirtland, Ohio, 12 November 1835.