He said, in a weak, thin voice: 

“I have listened, brethren, with a great deal of interest and pleasure to the remarks that have been made by the different speakers.  There is no doubt the world has fallen into evil conditions; and it is very right that you should thus assemble and consider the causes and the remedy.  And, with your kind permission, I will give you my views on the subject.

“Brethren, your calamities are due, in my opinion, to the loss of religion in the world and the lack of virtue among individuals.  What is needed for the reformation of mankind is a new interest in the church—­a revival of faith.  If every man will purify his own heart, all hearts will then be pure; and when the hearts of all are pure, and filled with the divine sentiment of justice and brotherhood, no man will be disposed to treat his neighbor unjustly.  But, while this is true, you must remember that, after all, this world is only a place of temporary trial, to prepare us for another and a better world.  This existence consists of a few troubled and painful years, at best, but there you will enjoy eternal happiness in the company of the angels of God.  We have the assurance of the Holy Scriptures that riches and prosperity here are impediments to happiness hereafter.  The beggar Lazarus is shown to us in the midst of everlasting bliss, while the rich man Dives, who had supported him for years, by the crumbs from his table, and was clothed in purple and fine linen, is burning in an eternal hell.  Remember that it is ’less difficult for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven;’ and so, my friends, you may justly rejoice in your poverty and your afflictions, for ’those whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth;’ and the more wretched your careers may be, here on earth, the more assured you are of the delights of an everlasting heaven.  And do not listen, my brethren, to the men who tell you that you must hate government and law.  ’The powers that be are ordained of God,’ saith the Scripture; and by patient resignation to the evils of this world you will lay up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where the moth and rust cannot consume, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  They tell you that you should improve your condition.  But suppose you possessed all the pleasures which this transitory world could give you, of what avail would it be if your earthly happiness made you lose the eternal joys of heaven?  ’What will it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?’ Nothing, my brethren, nothing.  Be patient, therefore——­”