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Vol. X. March 1889. No. 5.
Riches.
"I TOLD you some time since, the king seated upon his throne wearing a glittering crown, and surrounded with all the glory of his greatness to-day, to-morrow may be numbered with the beggars, and his crown given to another. To-day we possess riches, and to-morrow they may take the wings of the morning and leave us poor indeed. * * * We cannot trust to the certainty of mortal possessions; they are transitory, and a dependence upon them will plunge into hopeless disappointment all those who trust in them.
* * * This generation are seeking eagerly after that which will perish in their hands; they are madly rushing forward, hazarding their eternal all, to secure transitory possessions, which when they think they have obtained them, are not fully satisfactory; they have grasped at the walls of an airy phantom, and sacrificed an enduring substance. How foolish, in the eyes of the truly intelligent, the pursuits of the wicked appear! They set their heart's affections upon that which is not durable, seeking happiness where misery and all its attendant effects are sure to be realized.
* * * It is proven to our satisfaction, that when rich men have come into this Church, the Lord has been determined to take their riches from them and make them poor; that all his Saints may learn to obtain that which they possess by faith.
* * * Brethren and sisters, cast from you the love of the world, and let it have no dominion over you. There are many who delight in the good things of this earth, in gold and silver, in carriages and horses, in houses and splendid furniture, in costly clothing, in orchards and gardens, in vineyards and fields, and extended possessions. These things compared with eternal riches, are nothing, though in their place they are good.
* * * A man has no right with property, which according to the laws of the land, legally belongs to him, if he does not want to use it; he ought to possess no more than he can put to usury, and cause to do good to himself and his fellow man. When will a man accumulate money enough to justify him in salting it down, or, in other words, laying it away in the chest, to lock it up, there to lie, doing no manner of good either to himself or his neighbor? It is impossible for a man ever to do it. No man should keep money or property by him that he cannot put to usury for the advancement of that property in value or amount, and for the good of the community in which he lives; if he does, it becomes a dead weight upon him, it will rust, canker, and gnaw his soul, and finally work his destruction, for his heart is set upon it. Every man who has cattle, money, or wealth of any description, bone and sinew, should put it out to usury. If a man has the arms, body, head, the component parts of a system to constitute him a laboring man, and has nothing in the world to depend upon but his hands, let him put them to usury. Never hide up anything in a napkin, but put it forth to bring an increase. If you have got property of any kind that you do not know what to do with, lay it out in making a farm or building a saw mill or a woolen factory, and go to with your might to put all your property to usury.