I heard a man say, the other day, that his politics had nothing to do with his religion. I can think of no obligation resting upon me which is more sacred or nearer a religious duty, than that I see to it, so far as my influence, so far as my voice and my vote may go, that this civil government which we love, which we maintain, be ad- ministered by righteous men. To that extent it is my religion, and I don’t want to be muzzled in saying so. Is that good doctrine, or is it bad doctrine?

“When the wicked reign, the people mourn,” and so men into whose hands these great responsibilities are placed, men who hold life and death at their disposal, men who control the disposition of our property—ought to be righteous men; they ought to be honest and conscientious men. God being my helper, I will never vote for a man, nor advocate a man for a public place, in whom I have not that confidence ; and I say that this is good religion for Latter-day Saints, for Catholics, for Presbyterians, and for Methodists. No sect or creed should ever dominate the state, that fact is of very great importance; but it is nevertheless the religious duty of every sect and creed to see to it that the state which dominates them is righteously and properly administered. This is what the Gospel has taught to me. These are the convictions that have come to my heart, and I speak them for myself.

Please note: Selecting “Read the full address” will load a pdf document of the relevant conference report. Some pdf document viewers will not automatically position to the correct page within the document, so you may need to scroll to the page listed above.