President Wilford Woodruff said: I feel disposed to occupy a few
moments in bearing testimony to the principles presented unto us by
Elder Penrose. He has referred to the freedom of the soul, to the freedom
of the mind of the Latter-day Saints toward other people. I traveled with
Joseph Smith thousands of miles; have been associated with him and
with the Apostles of our Church almost since its organization. I have
heard Joseph Smith say in public and in private that if he were the
emperor of the world, and had control of every human being on the face
of the earth, he would give every man, woman and child the fullest liberty
to enjoy their religion, and sustain them in it, let that religion be what it
might. Those are my sentiments. We have no contention with any man
on earth because of his religion. Joseph Smith's argument upon this sub-
ject was this: There is no emperor, no monarch, no king, no president
breathing the breath of life on earth who has created his subjects. They
are the creatures of God; He created them; they are His children.
Therefore, neither emperor, president, king nor ruler has the right to
deprive any of his subjects of the right of worshiping God according to
their consciences, for they are held responsible and accountable to their
Creator for their religion, and not to man.
If I had the control of fifty tabernacles, and any preachers of the
Gospel, from any sect under heaven, who had not tabernacles or temples
of their own to go into to give their views, I would be perfectly willing
they should occupy them. If there is a sect or a man on the face of the
earth who has got a truth I do not possess, I want it. Why? Because I
am going into the spirit world, the same as you are. The men whom I
was acquainted with in early days in this Church have almost all passed
away, and I shall follow them very soon myself. This whole congregation,
with all the Christian world, have to pass, in a few years, to the other side
of the veil. Then deception will not answer nor be of any benefit to me.
Any false testimony I may give, or anything I may do subversive of the
will of God towards His creature, man, I shall be held accountable for
before the bar of Almighty God, and so will every other man. Therefore,
while we accord to every man the right to enjoy his own religion, to be-
lieve what he pleases and worship as he sees fit, we claim, as Latter-day
Saints, the same privilege. This is a fundamental doctrine of our faith.
What Brother Penrose has said here to-day is true.
