Joseph Smith's Speech, Continued
By the time I say these words to you I will know what Peter knows, and I will probably be more perplexed than ever. But I will say this to you, and it is from God. Because a man is different, because he has a different way, do not hate him. Judge him by what he does. If he is a good neighbor, if he is a good friend, if he is good hearted judge him accordingly, and treat him accordingly. Tell him of your Way, by all means, but in no way try to force Your Way upon him. For this is not The Way Of God. And if you do this you will be right with God. Some of Them may joyously come to be with you, and accept God and be happy with Him. Others will not be able to take Your Way, but as long as They are good neighbors, be good neighbors to Them. And you will be right, always, with God.
For the greatest Teaching that The Lord gave you is that you love one another. If you do that, you will do well. And loving one another does not mean merely loving those that are like yourself, that believe as you believe. But loving one another means loving everybody. I would not be standing here if there were not those that loved others so much that they would set aside everything that was important to them, give up thier lives' Work and plunge into a battle with all their heart and all their effort, and all their resources to save a Kingdom that wasn't even theirs. When there is love such as this, surely God will recognize it and honor it. And if any threaten that love, may God have mercy on their Souls!
There is so much I would like to say to you, but right now my heart is so filled with joy, is so filled with happiness for what you have given me, for what you have done for me, because you stood fast, because you said "Jesus is Lord! And what man wants does not matter. It is what God wants that must prevail." You have exhalted me to this High Place, and I now stand with The Chosen Of God. My heart is joyous beyond your understanding. My Soul is fulfilled beyond your capability to understand. In this hour The Lord has given me all that He has. And I have given Him all that I have. We have been one and complete, and I now share the Knowledge that He shares. I now fully understand what He has given us. And I call upon each and every one of you to follow after me as you have followed after me thusfar. Even in life you do well. When you come before The Gates Of Heaven and ask to enter in, you have far fewer renouncements to make than many others have. You are not perfect...none that live are perfect, but you do very well. I will not tell you what is amiss with you now. I will not in this joyous Hour, rebuke you in any way. If you wish to know your faults The Voice Of God knows them. He can tell you those things you have to correct to be more right with God, those small habits of man that you have fallen into. Always remember that The Counsel Of God is good, and it would beseech you all to listen to it.
I think perhaps I have said enough, and it is time to end my words. You wish to march by me from the beginning of Our Way to the present day, showing your joy for what has come about. And that will be good! I will enjoy seeing your happy faces. But before you do, I want to honor those who stood with us in this great battle and made this moment possible. I wanted to sing a song that would honor all, but I did not know which one so I went to our dear John whose music has held Heaven together and called all those about us to join with us in this Great Struggle. And I asked him "Which of the many songs that you have sung would be the best? Which of the words you wrote would best thank Those who stood beside us and gave their all?" And our dear John smiled and shook his head and picked up a song and handed it to me. I looked at it and smiled. It was not a song our beloved John had written, but a song The Voice Of God had written, even before he was The Voice Of God. And I understood immediately what John was saying to me. I ask you now, one and all, to sing "Come And Love The Little Children," at the conclusion of which Those who wish to honor me will pass by and show Their joy, and then I will come down and stand among you, so that others may express what all this means to Them. Come, and let us sing!"