By USN Columnist Morgan Philpot /

The question has been asked; “what is TKGN and what does it stand for?”.1) TKGN is an abbreviation for “The Kingdom of God or Nothing.” It was coined by Brigham Young as told by John Taylor in a sermon that he gave in the Tabernacle, at Salt Lake City, November 1, 1857. (You can find the full discourse here at p. 18: https://scriptures.byu.edu/jod/pdf/JoD06/JoD06.pdf).

Here are some excerpts.

“It is true we have had a Church government, Church laws, Church discipline, and by the holy Priesthood associated with this Church we have governed the people. Still we have been subject to another government, power, and authority, to Gentile rule, Gentile dominion, Gentile laws, to Gentile usages and customs, to which we have been willingly subject, so far as they were righteous; and it was told us by the Lord, that if we observed the laws of God, we need not break the laws of the land.

“The President of the United States has now taken upon himself the responsibility of sending into this Territory an armed force to trample upon the rights of… freemen…. It becomes a serious question with us what to do under these circumstances.

“We are engaged here in protecting ourselves, our wives, and families—in guarding everything that is sacred and honorable among men from invasion and oppression of some of the most corrupt wretches that ever disgraced the footstool of God.

“We will not submit to such a state of things forever. If you, our enemies, are determined to invade our rights, trample upon our liberties, snatch from us the rich boon we have inherited from our fathers, to make us bow in vile subservience to your will, we will resist you: we will not submit to it. We will say, Stand back and give us our rights. We will act the part of freemen, and we say it shall be,

“THE KINGDOM OF GOD OR NOTHING.”

“What is the cause, then, of the evil planned against us? It is because we are the Church and kingdom of God.

“There have been from the foundation of the world two principles and powers—the principles of darkness and the principles of light, the principles of truth and the principles of error, the Spirit of God and the spirit of the Devil—and there has been a mighty struggle between these two principles and powers.

“And now, having been forced from the United States, after having been driven time and time again from our homes by our murderous enemies—having fulfilled all the requirements that God or man could require of us, and kept every law necessary for us to observe—after all this, and more, I say, shall we suffer those poor, miserable, damned, infernal scoundrels to come here and infringe upon our sacred rights?

[“NO!” resounded throughout the Tabernacle, making the walls of the building tremble.]

“NO! It shall be, “The kingdom of God or nothing” with us… and we will stick to it—we will maintain it; and, in the name of Israel’s God, the kingdom of God shall roll on, and all the powers of earth and hell cannot stop its progress. It is onward, ONWARD, ONWARD, from this time henceforth, to all eternity.“

[Voices of “Amen.”]”

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