The weather being warm, and the people generally of the laboring class, I presume are the cause of a rather late attendance at meeting this morning.
There are peculiarities connected with our duties, that make them differ from the duties of almost every other community. Other communities have gold and silver to aid them, in building, in planting, in gathering, and in all the different avocations of life: but this people have to accomplish all they do accomplish, by the bone and sinew alone, which the Almighty has given them; and where it is constantly employed, it has an effect upon the bank more or less; not, however, that the specie is exhausted, or the bills depreciated in value, but it exhibits a feature in our history which has been frequently exhibited, and is, as it has been, peculiar to this society.
The world, and the inhabitants thereof, are fluctuating; not only the inhabitants, but the elements that surround the earth are frequently in a fluctuating condition. I have often listened, with a great deal of attention and interest, to the explanations given of the beauties and of the uniformity of nature, contrasted with the fluctuations and changes of men, of nations, of kingdoms, and of countries.
Man is sometimes represented as if he were the only fluctuating and changeable being in existence; but when I contrast in my thoughts the revolutions of nations, with the revolutions and changes that have taken place upon the face of our globe, I am sometimes led to the conclusion that the elements change as often as the inhabitants that dwell upon the earth.
We see at one time, the earth shaken, as it were, from centre to circumference; we hear the sound of bellowing earthquakes; we see the smoke of the towering mountains, and the yawning crater belching forth its boiling lava; indeed every mountain, valley and dell, the rivers, and the ocean into which they empty their waters, and all the elements with which we are surrounded, exhibit one constant scene of change, one constant scene of variety, and one constant scene of commotion.
We cannot say, "Man, thou art the only changeable creature, the only changeable substance we gaze upon." But the ocean, and all the waters communicating therewith; the earth, with its ten thousand lofty mountains, verdant valleys, and extended plains; exhibit to our view a variety of changes that have been, and that we may expect will continue to be, from this time forth.
Consequently, when we see man excited to follow any avocation in life, whether it be for gold, silver, or other precious ores, for which he leaves his all, acts unwisely and inconsistently, sacrificing his home, his family, and everything dear and near to him, we can exclaim, "This wild career of man is not the only wildness exhibited in nature."
If you refer back to the earliest ages, and trace the history of the world, where can you find uniformity in nature's works? If you can find a uniformity at any time in the earth, the sea, the air, or in the elements, pray tell me when it was.
Was it when our first parents were cast out of the Garden of Eden, when it became desecrated by sin; or when old father Noah rode safely over the mighty deep, protected by the arm of Jehovah, while every other living thing sank in the depths of a watery grave? Was it when Abel rose up to offer in sacrifice the first fruits of his flock to the Most High God, and Cain his brother rose up and murdered, or sacrificed him for doing so? Was that a day of uniformity? Were the elements calm and composed? Did nature exhibit a serene and smooth surface?
You pass further down the lapse of time, from the days of our earliest progenitors, until the earth was deluged in water, and the lofty summits were submerged in the raging element. After the waters subside, and the inhabitants of the earth begin to increase and go forth upon its face, you soon discover a change in them and in the earth itself.
If you look for uniformity in man, was it when the descendants of Noah sought to build a great tower, that they might, as they thought, climb up to where their Father in Heaven lived, and thus try to defy His power, should He again bring a flood of water to deluge the earth? Was that the age, when people studied to know the purposes of a righteous God?