Orson Hyde

President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (December 27, 1847 – April 10, 1875)

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (February 15, 1835 – November 28, 1878)

General Conference Addresses

• April 1875 General Conference
  • Education Necessary
    • “Brethren and sisters, you do your duty toward your children; pray for them morning and evening; instruct them by means of little short sermons every day, then you may turn them out to go to school if you like, as far as I am concerned, even to our friends of the sectarian world, and if they can exert a stronger influence than you with your prayers and instruction, and the parental tie that binds them to you, it will be something very singular, and I do not believe they can do it.”
• October 1873 General Conference
  • Affairs in Sanpete County
    • “I do not know that the Lord will pay any particular respect as to how we are raised, and how fine and delicate our feelings may be, or how coarse and uncultivated they may be. I believe that if we submit to the law of heaven, that law has power to refine us and to fit us for immortality and eternal life.”
• April 1873 General Conference
  • Testimony
    • “When you see the fowls, in the fall of the year, going to the south, creeping as they go, you say that winter is nigh; so when you see the Saints gathering together, remember that disaster awaits the countries they are leaving. God has declared it, and his arm is sufficiently potent to fulfill his words.”
• October 1869 General Conference
  • The Right to Lead the Church
    • “We must learn, brethren and sisters, to be wise. We must learn to let the world alone.”
    • “We have something more potent than our own arm to defend us—we have the arm of Jehovah pledged for our protection. He will make bare His arm in the eyes of the nations, and they will feel it. It is getting too late in the day. The battle is too far advanced.”
• October 1865 General Conference
  • Instructions Concerning Things Temporal and Spiritual
    • “A man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things that he possesses, nor upon the vast amount he extends his jurisdiction over, but it consists in a little well cared for, and everything in order.”
    • “I would have great mercy upon the wicked, so far as they will repent and obey the Gospel; but if they will not repent and obey the Gospel, if they will love unrighteousness and practice it all the day long, they cannot be acknowledged as the children of God.”
• October 1863 General Conference
  • The Wisdom of God
    • “From the Scriptures it appears that the Lord is disposed to receive any favor shown to His servants as though it had been done to himself.”
    • “Instead of being jealous of the prosperity of those whom the Lord delights to bless and murmur in our hearts against our brethren and against the Lord, let us learn to be contented with that which is assigned to us, and wait patiently until the Lord shall in his mercy and kindness bless us more abundantly.”
• April 1863 General Conference
  • Destruction of Babylon
    • “I can tell you that this nation is going to be furnished with all the business they can attend to, and I expect when they have issued their last dollar in specie they will then issue, their scrip by tens and by hundreds of millions. While this is going on, we shall have all the business that we can attend to, and we shall see more than ever the necessity of faithfulness and fidelity to the kingdom of God.”
• October 1862 General Conference
  • How to Obtain
    • “It is not the price we pay for the kingdom, it is the kingdom of God we are bound to purchase at any price.”
    • “It is our imperative duty to walk in the light, to see that our pathway is clear and plain before us, and let us so live that it may be clear.”
  • Unity and Happiness of the Saints
    • “I feel that in these two particulars we are distinguished from the world, while we are made one by being baptized into one spirit and all embracing the one faith, becoming members of one body, having one common father, even the King of Heaven. And by submitting to be guided by his spirit, and obeying the precepts that are given by him in our daily deportment we are transported into the image of that lovely being of whom it is said, that at his name every knee shall bow and every tongue confess.”
    • “I have no enmity towards anyone, but my general feeling is, Heaven bless the Saints and may Heaven destroy every influence that is arraigned against Zion.”
• April 1862 General Conference
  • Trusting in the Almighty
    • “It is no very high compliment for us to say that we trust in the Lord; still it is good, it shows that we appreciate his policy and goodness; but when we can take a course of life to cause the Almighty to trust in us, and whenever he can find us to be a people in whom he can trust, then all those blessings referred by the President this morning will be poured out upon us.”
• October 1860 General Conference
  • Testimonies of the Truth
    • “Some persons say that Brigham does not give revelations as did Joseph Smith. But let me tell you, that Brigham’s voice has been the voice of God from the time he was chosen to preside, and even before. Who that has heard him speak, or that has read his testimonies, or that is acquainted with his instructions, does not know that God is with him?”
• October 1859 General Conference
  • Sowing and Reaping
    • “The good which we feel, and with which we are often exercised, may be freely dispensed to others; but the bad feelings which we sometimes possess should not often be suffered to burden others, but should be buried—smothered, until they die out.”
    • “If we never sow gloomy, desponding, or evil principles, we shall not be likely to reap them. If we sow cheerful, lively, and good principles, we shall most likely reap an abundant harvest of the same.”
    • “It is immaterial to us what So-and-so does; it gives no license to us to do wrong; and we may plead that argument before God and angels, but it will avail us nothing.”
• October 1857 General Conference
  • Murmuring Against Divine Authority
    • “They will see how to take one step and where to place one foot; and if they cannot see where to put the second, they must wait till they can see where to put it.”
    • “If a woman rebel in her feelings against a good man, and yield to the temptations of the Devil, she may know that her husband may pity, but cannot love her, because she has ceased to be one with him and to partake of his mind and spirit.”
    • “You wives, partake of the spirit of your husbands, and you will be loved; but you set up a standard and a spirit aside from his, and he never will love you; no, he never will.”
    • “Ye husbands, drink into the Spirit of your God and of your superiors in the Priesthood on earth; and if your wives are good women, they will love you; but if you do not, they will not love you; they won’t have confidence in you.”
• October 1854 General Conference
  • The Marriage Relations
    • “So it is with the light of revelation. When it bursts into the human mind, it not only reveals one principle, but casts a halo of light upon all connected with it. An individual thus favored, walks in the light of Jehovah’s countenance. I have a desire that in this light we may walk; and he whose eye is single, says the Savior, his whole body shall be full of light, and there is no darkness in him, nor occasion of stumbling.”
  • Gathering the Saints
    • “We will hand out our money, for that is almighty in the eyes of this world. God has put this means in our hands, and it is for us to advance it to this good purpose according to our ability, and so we shall become saviors to rescue the oppressed from every land; and when we have gone to the extent of our power, and done all we can, will there be any more efficient operations entered into to effect the purposes of God? There will; He will say—“Now, my servants, you have done all you can, I will stretch out my own arm!” Says one, “I really wish I knew how soon it will be when the angels are sent from heaven to gather up the elect at the winding up scene.” I can tell you how soon it will be.”
    • “If the gate of the citadel of virtue is never opened to our enemy, he may strive in vain. He cannot find access unless the way is voluntarily opened, and he invited and encouraged.”
    • “Let the standard of our integrity and virtue be erect, and let it never lean to the right hand or to the left.”
• April 1854 General Conference
  • Parable of the Sower
    • “It is all working just right. Our enemies, whether white or red, can only go so far; none can get beyond the control of the Almighty. They may take the wings of the morning and fly to the uttermost parts of the earth, and he is there; or if they make their bed in hell, behold he is there. They cannot get from under his jurisdiction, unless they go beyond the bounds of time and space. All things are confined in space, and are under the jurisdiction and control of the Almighty; and if he cannot find them in one place, he will in another.”
• October 1853 General Conference
  • The Man to Lead God’s People
    • “Wherever there is a spirit congenial with the Spirit of God, and a loyalty to the kingdom of the Most High, you will find a hearty welcome, and you are glad to go there.”
• April 1853 General Conference
  • Heirship
    • “When a doctrine with which we have not formerly been acquainted is first preached to us, it is not always that we come into possession of the whole truth pertaining to it at once. This we do not expect.”
    • “It is for us to attend the instructions we receive from those who are called to teach us, and do our duty in the office and calling unto which we are appointed, and Heaven will provide and take care we get those things which we need.”
    • “Our greatest concern ought to be how to discharge the duties that are made obligatory upon us—how to act in our respective callings with an eye single to the glory of God.”

Other Talks

• Science of Grammar, Lecture in Salt Lake City, January 22, 1855
  • “As this language has been more highly honored in our day, by the Supreme Ruler above, than any other, in that he hath chosen it as the most beautifully grand and impressive medium through which his mandates could be conveyed to mortal beings here on earth, can we be justified if we remain in a state of indifference with regard to its beauty, its richness, and its strength?”
  • “More glorious conquests have been achieved and victories won by the force and power of language than by all the armed legions that ever marched into the battlefield to meet the foe in deadly conflict.”
• Celebration of the Fourth of July, Address in Salt Lake City, July 4, 1854
  • “We are met, fellow citizens, to celebrate one of the most important events that ever embellished the pages of political history—an event of which every American heart is proud to boast, in whatever land or country he perchance may roam—I mean the bold, manly, and daring act of our fathers in the Declaration of the Independence and Sovereignty of these United States—an act worthy to be engraven in letters of living light upon the tablets of our memory, and to be transmitted to our children, with the sacred charge that they teach it to their children, and to their children’s children, till the “stripes and stars” float over every land, and are mirrored on the crest of every passing billow. They had not only the moral courage to sign the Declaration of our nation’s Independence, but hearts of iron and nerves of steel to defend it by force of arms against the fearful odds arrayed against them—the well-disciplined armies and mercenary allies of the foolish and tyrannical George the III, King of Great Britain.”
  • “If I should not tell the truth, but withhold it to please men, or to avoid giving offense to any, I might be regarded, by the powers celestial, as the enemy of God.”
• Common Salvation, Discourse in Salt Lake City, September 24, 1853
  • “It is for us to attend to the things that are present; the things that are past we are to forget, particularly those things that are of an unpleasant character; and the things that are in future are not in our hands, and subject to our control, but they are in the hands of the Almighty, and with Him they are secured. It is the present, then, with which we have to do—with the things that are immediately before us; that is, I believe, the common salvation. I do not pretend to say what the Apostle had his eye particularly fixed upon, but I shall pursue this subject as it appears unto me.”
  • “The Almighty has not organized matter as a mere plaything, of a temporary existence, and then plunge it into the regions of utter annihilation; but everything He has done is like Himself, Eternal, and everything eternally witnesses the goodness of the Supreme Ruler, for all His works shall praise Him.”
  • “Those who have come here since the Valleys have become a little fattened, think it hard if they cannot get what they want, and immediately enjoy a fulness with those who have borne the burden and heat of the day. They think it hard if they have to pass through a close place, and have to struggle a little to obtain the comforts of life. But look back to the early settlements of this place, when nothing but destruction stared its inhabitants in the face, what surety had they from the savage that was in their doors and in their tents?”
• Celebration of American Independence, Speech in Salt Lake City, July 4, 1853
  • “With the view of raising up a Church pursuant to the doctrine contained in these records of a fallen people, a government has to be established on this chosen and promised land, whose provisions should be liberal enough to allow and tolerate every principle, precept, and doctrine of the new Church which then existed only in prophetic vision. The Constitution of the United States forms the basis of that government, extending protection to all, and showing especial favor to none.”
  • “The great design of Providence in raising up our nation, and freeing it from the yoke of a foreign power, and in arming it with energy, strength, and skill, was to make it the honored agent to suppress religious intolerance and usurpation, and to open effectual doors for the free investigation of every subject that can enlist the interests and attention of men, that every principle that will stand the test of a close and scrupulous examination, whether moral, political, or religious, may be drawn out and applied to practical use in that department to which it belongs.”
• Sanctification, Address in Salt Lake City, April 9, 1853
  • “If God our heavenly Father has given us temporal blessings in the due course and order of nature, we ought to hold them sacred, and be as prudent and economical of them as we are of a precious truth revealed from heaven by the agency of an holy angel from the presence of God.”
  • “Now sanctification means, not only the purifying of the heart by prayer, and by acts of obedience to God, but it means also to purify a people, and purge from their midst that which is evil. I will suppose a case, viz., that here is a large flock of sheep out on the prairie, and here are shepherds also to watch over them with care. It is generally the case that shepherds are provided with most excellent dogs, that understand their business—their duty in relation to the flock. It has been said by some, that shepherd dogs should be reared with the sheep, and suck the milk from them, and thus partake of their nature; that the child not only draws its nourishment from the woman, but from the same source conceives a strong attachment, a kindred feeling and sympathy, for the fountain of its life. How this is I cannot say; I have heard the observation, but those who understand and know concerning this matter, can properly appreciate the remark in relation to it.”
  • “Suppose the shepherd should discover a wolf approaching the flock, what would he be likely to do? Why, we should suppose, if the wolf was within proper distance, that he would kill him at once with the weapons of defense which he carries; in short, that he would shoot him down, kill him on the spot. If the wolf was not within shot, we would naturally suppose he would set the dogs on him; and you are aware, I have no doubt, that thence shepherd dogs have very pointed teeth, and they are very active, very sensitive to know when the flock is in danger. It is sometimes the case, perhaps, that the shepherd has not with him the necessary arms to destroy the wolf, but in such a case he would set his faithful dogs on him, and by that means accomplish his destruction.”
  • “Is this true in relation to the shepherd, and the flock, and the dogs? You can all testify to its truth. Now was Jesus Christ the good shepherd? Yes. What the faithful shepherd is to his sheep, so is the Savior to his followers. He has gone and left on earth other shepherds who stand in the place of Jesus Christ to take care of the flock. When that flock is out on the prairie, and the pasture range extending broad and green before them, and completely cleared of wolves, is not that sanctified and cleansed, when there is nothing to hurt or destroy them? I ask if one wolf is permitted to mingle with the flock, and unmolested proceed in a work of destruction, will he not go off and tell the other wolves, and they bring in a thousand others, more wicked and ravenous than themselves? Whereas, if the first one should meet with his just desserts, he could not go back and tell the rest of his hungry tribe to come and feast themselves upon the flock.”
  • “Now don’t say that brother Hyde has taught strong things, for I have only told you what takes place between the shepherd and the flock, when the sheep have to be protected.”
• Prayer, Delivered during the laying of the Cornerstone of the SL Temple, April 6, 1853
  • “Although thou art exalted in temples not made with hands, in the midst of the redeemed and sanctified ones, yet deign thou to meet with us in our humble sphere, and, as we have laid, help thou us to dedicate unto thee, this Corner Stone of Zion’s earthly Temple, that in her courts thy sons and daughters may rejoice to meet their Lord.”
  • “O God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, overrule, we pray thee, every act and movement of the power of the world, to further the interests of the Redeemer’s kingdom, and to prepare the way for his triumphant reign on earth. Bless every honest-hearted ruler in the governments and kingdoms of men, and, though they may be ignorant of thy purposes and designs, yet make them the agents to bring about and accomplish the very intentions formed in thy bosom, and decreed in thine heart.”

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