Worship God in spirit

You are now going on well; your numbers are daily increasing; your influence is extending. Be content for a while to break your bread from house to house. Perhaps, by and by, the patriarch himself will give you a church, where you can worship God in spirit and in truth, and where the law and the prophets, with the glorious Gospel, can be read and expounded every Sabbath day. At any rate, have no fear but that the Lord will build you a sure house. The next day, they sent to know what they were to do for priests. We sent word back to them to pray that ‘ a great company of the priests might become obedient to the faith.’

“ The excitement has been certainly great, but it has appeared to be rather a deep and earnest and sincere inquiry about the truth, and the way of salvation, than anxiety about a personal interest in its blessings. It has existed principally among the more sober and respectable of the people, and has been promoted by means judiciously selected and applied; and, what is truly wonderful, scarcely any opposition has been heard of from any quarter. It is difficult to account for this except from the fact that the bishops are really more enlightened than the people. Should the latter begin to take the lead, and the former to fall in the rear, then it will ‘ be impossible but that offences should come; ’ and, according to human view, there is but one way to prevent it, and that is by endeavoring to enlighten equally the clergy and the laity, and to bring them all forward together.

When I first came into these countries, I laid hold of individuals, and endeavored to pull them out of the fire; but my aim is now to take hold of whole communities, and, as far as possible, to raise them all up to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.’ The Lord grant that not one may be left behind!

Avoid exposing the lives

“We are careful to say nothing which shall inflame the people against the priests, or the priests against the people; and we take as much pains to avoid an open rupture with either as General Washington ever did to avoid exposing the lives of his few hardy but ragged half-accouter soldiers by risking a general battle. Washington rendered himself unpopular by so doing; but he manifestly did right, and posterity has given a verdict in his favor. He might have obtained for himself momentary glory and renown, by rushing into battle and dying like a brave man, but — our country would have been lost! He fought for his country, and not for himself. His plans and his efforts had in view the good of his country, and not his own reputation. And thus we should labor for the salvation of these people, and not for a martyr’s crown.