Discourse by Elder George Q. Cannon, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday, June 11, 1871.

The circumstances which surround us at the present time are of a very peculiar character; probably at no period of our history has the work of the Last Days attracted the attention and the curiosity of the people generally to the extent that it does today. There are several reasons for this, but that which, more than anything else at this time, has directed the minds of the world to Utah is the discoveries of mineral in our Territory. This has undoubtedly added greatly to the interest which has ever been felt in this strange land, and in the strange people who inhabit it. The best method of disposing of us and our system has given rise to much controversy and discussion in years past. That we ought to be disposed of in some manner has been a very general opinion and feeling in certain quarters; there has seemed to be a disposition manifested by some persons to do something so as to effectually dispose of the system called “Mormonism.” They have apparently felt that it was in the way and ought to be removed, or that something should be done to retard its growth and progress, and the influence which it is exercising in the world. Did we not know through our own bitter experience in the past that this feeling is entertained by a great many people, it would be difficult for us to imagine that such is the case, for an examination of our principles, and an understanding of their bearing, operation and effects would certainly not lead to conclusions of this character. So far as I myself am concerned, if this matter were submitted to me without my knowledge and past experience in relation to it, I should say that the principles and doctrines believed in and practiced by the Latter-day Saints, and the results which have been wrought out by their operation would not have had the effect of creating animosity or ill will, or any feeling other than kind, brotherly and affectionate.

What is there about this system called “Mormonism” that should evoke the terrible amount of animosity and hatred which have been displayed at various times? The Latter-day Saints believe in Jesus Christ, they believe that he is the Savior of the world; that he died for man’s redemption; that, through his death, we may, by obedience, be brought into the presence of the Father, and made heirs of eternal glory. The Latter-day Saints believe that mankind should repent of and forsake all sins, and be baptized in the name of Jesus for their remission; the Latter-day Saints believe that they should not only be baptized for the remission of their sins, but that baptism should be administered by those only who have authority. Not vague or ill-defined authority, based upon a commission given to others centuries ago; but an authority proceeding from God that will be recognized on earth and in heaven. The Latter-day Saints believe that, having repented of sin and been baptized for the remission of it, they who have complied thus far with the Gospel requirements, should have hands laid upon them for the reception of the Holy Ghost; and that they who thus lay on hands should have authority from God to officiate in this ordinance.

Is there anything about or connected with this faith that should excite opposition, create ill feeling and arouse hatred? Certainly, when we look at this dispassionately, we must admit that there is not.

Is there anything connected with this faith, or the principles to which I have referred, that does not harmonize with the Scriptures? Peter, who preached the first sermon of which we have any account after the resurrection of Jesus, declared precisely the same principles which I have alluded to as being part of our belief. The other Apostles taught the same principles, and enforced them upon the people to the extent of their ability and power. I know that there are difficulties and contentions in the religious world as to the mode and efficacy of baptism; some assert that immersion is not the true mode; but we are willing to stand by the Scriptures and to abide by their decision, feeling assured that, if they be taken literally, those who read them will have a perfect conviction that immersion is the only true mode. But even should there be a difference of opinion on this point, it is not of such a character as to stir men up in deadly hostility towards us.

There may also be a difference of opinion in relation to the laying on of hands. Some may say this is only necessary where men are ordained, and that it is not right or proper for all the members of the Church of Christ to receive the imposition of hands. But as I have said in reference to baptism so I say of this ordinance: it is clearly revealed in the Scriptures and can readily be substantiated from them that the members of the Church of Christ in ancient days had hands laid upon them for the reception of the Holy Ghost, and that it was the ordinance and the only ordinance instituted in God’s economy for the bestowal and the reception of that gift.

Well, is this all the Latter-day Saints believe in? No. I do not expect to be able to tell all we believe in, or to allude to every principle this afternoon; but these are the first principles which we have proclaimed to the world. In addition to these there is another—namely, the gathering together of the people of God. Wherever the Elders of this Church have gone they have said, and testified to the people, that the time in which we live is the gathering dispensation alluded to by the ancient prophets, when God’s people should be gathered from the various nations of the earth to one place, according to the predictions of John the Revelator, David the psalmist, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and all other prophets whose writings we have in this book. They, in simplicity, have called upon the people everywhere to repent, and to gather together; and these, in substance, are the principles which the Elders of this Church have declared unto the people wherever they have traveled; and it is because of these principles and their proclamation that so much persecution has been stirred up.

I know very well the feelings of the world, and perhaps of some who are listening today to this brief enunciation of our principles and the causes of our persecutions. Say they, “If these were the only principles taught by the Latter-day Saints we cannot think they would have been persecuted, there must be something behind this. It cannot be possible that, in this enlightened age, men and women should be persecuted and reviled and their names cast out as evil for believing these doctrines?” A prevalent idea has been that this prejudice against us owes its origin and continuation to our belief in a plurality of wives; but when it is recollected that the mobbings, drivings and expulsion from cities, counties and states which we have endured, and our exodus to these mountains all took place before the revelation of that doctrine was publicly known, it will be seen at once that our belief in it has not been the cause of persecution. I have an idea on this point in relation to this much-talked-of and much-abused doctrine, and it is this: I believe that from the day it was taught to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and embraced in the faith and lives of its members we have risen in power and grown in influence; we have gained favor with and enjoyed the protection of the Heavens such as we never possessed before. All the prosperity, seemingly, that we enjoy today has been bestowed upon us since the proclamation of that principle and its adoption by us into our faith and practice. There has been an almighty power hedging us round about and encircling us from that day until the present time; and though men have plotted and schemed and have devised mischief, and formed machinations and combinations against the Latter-day Saints, their schemes have fallen to the ground; their combinations have proved unavailing, and we have been delivered time and time again since we came to these valleys.

There is good reason why this is so. If this principle be from God, as we solemnly testify it is, surely God would stretch forth his arm to defend and deliver a people who would be so valiant and trustful as to go forth in the face of so-called civilization and popular prejudice in the nineteenth century, and embrace and practice that doctrine, and assume all the consequences which its practice involves! Surely God, who would reveal such a principle to his people and call upon them to obey it, would defend those who had the courage to sacrifice themselves if it were necessary to carry out what they believed to be God’s behest! He would stretch forth his arm, exert his power and fulfill his promises to deliver those who would thus go forth in humility and meekness and carry out a principle that he had revealed unto them!

This is the view which I take of this matter. Instead of our being left to the power of our persecutors to a greater extent since its revelation and practice, we have had greater freedom and security, and have been blessed as we never were before. It was not on account of our belief in this that we have been hated. Joseph and Hyrum Smith were slain in Carthage jail, and hundreds of persons were persecuted to the death previous to the Church having any knowledge of this doctrine. What then was the cause of the persecutions of the people, and why should they have been singled out and made so remarkable above other people, many of whom believe in several of the principles that they believed in. There is not a religious denomination in Christendom which does not believe in Jesus Christ; I do not know of one that does not believe in repenting of sin and also in some form of baptism. They may differ in opinion as to the mode, efficacy and necessity of the ordinance; some may and do call it essential, while others regard it as nonessential, but it is generally believed in; and there are also denominations which believe in the laying on of hands. I do not know of one that believes in the gathering of the people together, still there are people or communities who do gather together, besides the Latter-day Saints. What is it then that makes us so marked? I will explain it in a few words, as I understand it. It is because the Latter-day Saints believe that God has restored from the heavens the everlasting Priesthood—that eternal authority by which man acts upon the earth as the ambassador of God. It is because we have testified that God has restored this once more to earth and we have received it, and that by virtue of it we act as Apostles, members of the seventies, high priests, elders, bishops, priests, teachers and deacons, and in the several offices God has placed in his Church. This is the secret, my brethren and sisters and friends, of the opposition that is and has been waged against the Church of God. We might go forth and preach belief in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance of sin, and baptism for the remission of sins, as Alexander Campbell did; we might say, as some of the sects do, that it is necessary to lay on hands; we might gather the people together, and do any or all of these things, but if we did not have the right to exercise heaven-bestowed authority there would be no particular opposition to us. Of course, the nearer a man draws to God, and the more he lives according to the plan which God has prescribed, the more opposition he meets with. Satan will stir up strife, animosity and hatred against him. On this account Luther, Calvin, John Wesley and other reformers have been persecuted. The nearer they came to the truth, and the more zealous they were in proclaiming it, the more opposition they met with. Men, in reasoning upon this subject, say that every sect, at the commencement of its career, is persecuted because men are not familiar with its doctrines; but, when they become known, opposition and persecution cease. They predict this about the Latter-day Saints; but the truth of the matter is this: if every new sect is persecuted, it is because it fearlessly denounces the sins, follies and vices of the age, and so long as they continue this, so long are they persecuted; but the moment they assimilate to the world, gloss over its follies and go with the stream and float with the popular current, opposition ceases. This has been the case, more or less, with every sect; but when men predict this of the Latter-day Saints they do not understand the nature of the work in which we are engaged; they do not comprehend the nature of the claims that we make; they have no understanding of the authority that we exercise. The distinction, to which I have referred, between us and others is that we claim to have the Holy Priesthood.

“But,” says one, “has not this authority always been on the earth? Why, ministers have gone forth and preached now for centuries, authorized by the divine commission of the Apostles—’Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature, he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned.’ On the strength of this commission they have gone forth for centuries, and why do you Latter-day Saints claim additional authority? Has the authority not existed ever since the days of the Apostles?”

If it has, where are its fruits, where are its powers, and where is the proper exercise thereof exhibited? Shall we go to the Church of Rome and inquire of it? It claims to have uninterrupted Apostolic descent from Peter, down through the ages until we reach our own day. Say the Episcopalians, Lutherans, Calvinists, and all Protestant sects, “No, she is the mother of harlots, she has defiled herself; that church is false, and God has taken from her the authority she once had. If we go back to the middle ages you will find that her popes have been corrupt, and there have been times when there were more than one pope, and if history can be relied on a woman once occupied the papal chair; therefore we Protestants abhor her and call her the mother of harlots; we have come out of her and have renounced her and her wickedness. Neither she nor her priests have any authority.”

But the Catholic, on the other hand, maintains that his church and his alone has the authority, which Protestant Christendom declares she has lost. And here a question arises in my mind, for as the Protestant churches say that the Catholic Church is the mother of harlots, I turn to the mother and ask who and where are her daughters. Is Lutheranism a daughter of hers? Is Calvinism a daughter of hers? Is the Church of England, founded by Henry VIII., a daughter of hers? If they are not, where are her daughters? Where shall we look for them, if not in the midst of the Protestant churches? If I go to the Episcopalians and ask them for their authority, what reply do they give me? “We exercise that which has come down to us from the Catholic Church. We came out of that church because of her impurity, but we brought with us authority to build another church, and ours is the Church of God.”

But, says the Catholic Church, “We have severed you from us;” and I, as a Latter-day Saint, say to the Episcopalians: If the Catholic Church had authority to give you the priesthood, and you derived it by imposition of hands from the Catholic clergy, then it had power to deprive you of that authority; if it had power to bestow authority it had power to withdraw that authority; and the Catholic Church did excommunicate Henry VIII., Latimer, Cranmer, and all who took part in that defection, and branded them as apostates, and, if they had any authority, deprived them of all they possessed. The same is true of the Lutheran and Calvinist churches, and all others who descended from her.

But there is another view to be taken of this matter. Jesus said to his Apostles: “Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature, he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned; and these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name they shall cast out devils,” &c.

Now, my Protestant brethren, if you take one part of this commission, why not take the whole of it? You say that by virtue of this authority which Jesus gave unto his Apostles, you go forth and preach the Gospel; but if you take this part of the commission, why not take the whole, and have the signs following them that believe your teachings, and have devils cast out, the sick healed, &c.

In asking these questions I do not wish to be harsh or to reflect on any sect, but only, in honesty, to place the truth before you from my standpoint. Say the so-called Christians, in answer to the above questions: “We do not believe in these things; this power has been withheld, it was only bestowed in the Apostolic age, and was necessary then for the establishment of the Gospel.”

If that is so, where do you find authority for making the assertion? If you take part of this commission given by Christ to his Apostles, what right have you to reject the remainder? Why not reject the whole? I say that, by a parity of reasoning, if you take a part you ought to take the whole. You cannot consistently take one portion of Scripture and say, “This applies to me, or is mine, and I have a right to act by the authority it confers;” and then to say of the other, “I dismiss it, and want nothing to do with it.” That is mutilating the word of God, and wherever you find men who have authority from God to act in his name, you will find these gifts and blessings attending their administrations, just as in ancient days.

Suppose a descendant of John Adams, the first minister of this government to the Court of St. James, should find an old document that had been given to him by the Continental Congress authorizing him to go and act as its minister. He reads this document in which his ancestor’s name is mentioned and in which he is duly empowered to act as ambassador for the United States, and he says, “Here is a document, I have it, the original that was given to my great ancestor. I do not see why I should not go and act as ambassador. This document was not given to me, it is true, but I want to act in this capacity.” He goes across the water, travels to London, goes to Court, and presents his document and says, “I am empowered to act. I am sent over by the United States as ambassador to the Court of Great Britain.” “Where is your commission?” “Here.” “Why, this is an old document, it was given to John Adams. Is that your name, and are you the man?” “Oh no, I am not the man, but I am a descendant of his.” This would be just as consistent as for a minister of religion in this day to claim authority because he has a record of the commission which Jesus gave to his disciples. If one case is consistent, so is the other; if one is not, then the other is not.

My brethren, sisters and friends, you now, probably, begin to see the reasons why the Latter-day Saints claim that God has restored the authority and the everlasting priesthood; you now, probably, begin to see some reasons why God should send his holy angels from heaven to earth again.

“But,” says one, “I thought there were going to be no more angels, prophecies or revelations. I have been taught that the canon of Scripture was full, and that it was not necessary for God to speak again to man on the earth.”

Oh, this delusive idea! This damnable doctrine which has been preached until Christendom is completely filled with unbelief, so that the man who believes in revelation and that there is a necessity for it is set down as one who is unworthy the society of his fellows! Oh, the dreadful effects which have followed the proclamation of this fallacy for so long a period! What are the effects, resulting from it, that we see today? Christendom rent asunder, divided into sects and parties, the name of Jesus derided and sneered at, and the pure Gospel lost because of the propagation, for centuries, by so-called Christian ministers, of the soul-destroying and damnable heresy that God cannot or will not speak to man again from the heavens; that God will not reveal his will, send his angels, or exercise his power in the affairs of earth as much as he did in ancient days. Look at the effects of this! Travel in all our cities of the Atlantic and Pacific, and what do you see? Men and women professing to be followers of Jesus Christ, and yet all divided and split asunder, and quarrelling and contending—even members of the same church divided asunder. The Methodist Church North, and the Methodist Church South; the Presbyterian Church North, and the Presbyterian Church South; the Baptist Church North, and the Baptist Church South, and thus the religious world is divided and split asunder, and there is no authority to say what is truth or who shall proclaim it; there are none to say in the midst of the people, “Thus saith the Lord,” or “Here is the path, walk ye in it;” and if a man comes forward claiming that he has this authority he is met with the accusations:

“You are deluded, you are an impostor, you preach false doctrine, we will have none of your teaching. Men who believe in prophesy and revelation are liable to be deceived, and we are afraid of you, we do not know but you will deceive us. Jesus said there should be false prophets, we believe you are one of them.”

And thus they fortify and encase themselves in their unbelief and reject the word of God, and if Paul or Peter were to rise from the dead, and go amongst them and proclaim the principles they taught anciently, they would close their churches and chapels, and would say, “We will have none of you, you will deceive us, you are one of the false prophets spoken of,” forgetting that, if there are false prophets, there will, in all probability, also be true ones; and that it would be inconsistent to talk about false prophets if there were no true ones. There never is a counterfeit, bogus or imitation without a true one to copy after! Can you wonder, brethren and sisters, that the world is in the condition that it is, when unbelief has been handed down for generations, until it permeates the minds of all, both priest and people, even the children learn it in the Sunday schools, until every fiber of their minds becomes indoctrinated with the idea? The present condition of the Christian world is not to be wondered at, the wonder is that belief and faith exist to the extent they do. There are a few things more I would like to say in connection with this subject while I am upon it. One is that a perusal of the Scriptures will clear up one point in our minds respecting the principle of revelation and communication between God and man. There is not a servant of God of whom we have any account, from Genesis to Revelation, who did not receive revelation. Can any person point out a man who was one of God’s servants, of whom we have any account in the Scriptures, that did not receive revelation? Not one. It may be said, and is argued, “Why is it, if it be God’s will that man should have revelation from him, that the world has been so long without it?” This is very easily explained. You recollect that Jesus, on one occasion, went into a certain place, and it is said concerning him that he could not do many mighty works there because of the people’s unbelief. Unbelief, therefore, has a tendency to prevent the communication of God’s will to man by closing the channel of communication. And another very good reason is that when men were on the earth who did have these communications they were not allowed to live. Every such man was hunted and persecuted, and his life was sought after until there was not one left who had the power, authority and great gift and blessing to say to the people, “Thus saith the Lord;” and revelation and the spirit of revelation were withdrawn from man, and the whole earth fell into unbelief and darkness, and gross darkness prevailed over the hearts of the people. It is a very excellent reason why revelation should cease when the earth was drenched with the blood of Heaven’s messengers, and that blood was crying for vengeance on those who had slain them.

But there was a time predicted by the Prophets—John saw it, and has said in his revelations, “I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment is come.’” Now the testimony of the Latter-day Saints is that God has sent this angel, and has actually restored the Holy Priesthood—that authority which was held by the Apostles and Jesus in ancient days, and by Joseph Smith, an humble, unlearned, but Godfearing boy, in our day. Joseph sought the Lord diligently and earnestly to know which was the right way; his mind was distracted by the various claims set forth by one sect and another, and he was determined to seek unto the Lord for wisdom, for he had read in the Epistle of James, that if any lacked wisdom and would ask of God, he would give liberally and upbraid not. He did so, and the Lord communicated to him that in his own time he would establish his Church, on the earth. He also told him not to join any of the churches then in existence, for all had departed from the right way. Eventually he was ordained; but in the first place, anxious to be baptized, he sought the Lord to know in what way he should obtain the ordinance of baptism, and the Lord sent an angel—John the Baptist, him who held this authority in ancient days and who baptized Jesus, and he laid his hands on the head of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, and ordained them to this authority. “Well,” says one, “I cannot believe this; if they could have got it from Peter Waldo, from the Catholic Church or the Baptist Church, I might have believed it; but to think that an angel came, shocks me, and it is more than I can believe. It is fanatical, and none but fanatics believe angels come to earth; there is deception in the idea.”

Oh, foolish generation! How could the power of God be restored from heaven, how could the world be united again, how could men be brought into one fold, and how could these dissensions and divisions be healed and removed unless God exerted his power? When the Lord does exercise power it is in his own way. If he chooses to send an angel, he will do so, and will not ask you or me whether we will accept and are suited with it or not. He sent an angel on this occasion to restore to earth the authority to baptize for the remission of sins, and that messenger laid his hands on the heads of Joseph and Oliver and gave them that authority, and they commenced to baptize.

But there was the authority to baptize with the Holy Ghost, or laying on of the hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, yet remaining to be restored. All of you who are familiar with the experience of Philip who baptized the eunuch, and who went to Samaria and preached the Gospel, know that we have no account of him laying on hands for the Holy Ghost. When the Apostles at Jerusalem heard that the Samaritans had been baptized by Philip, they sent two of their number to lay on hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost. These two had authority to baptize, and they also had authority to lay on hands; and when they came to Samaria they laid hands on the baptized believers, and they received the Holy Ghost, and they spake with tongues and prophesied. Philip had the same authority as John had—namely, the authority to baptize; but it appears from the record that he had not authority to lay on hands. This was the position of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery after having been ordained to this priesthood. They had authority to baptize, but there was something still lacking. They were men who would not run before they were sent; they would not claim authority that had not been bestowed upon them. They waited the good pleasure of the Lord and he sent to them Peter, James and John. You recollect that Jesus, on one occasion, asked Peter whom men said he, the Son of Man, was. They said some said one thing and some another. Then said Jesus to them, “But whom say ye that I am?” and Peter said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” That is, he had not received that knowledge from man, but from God; and said Jesus, “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church.” What rock? “Oh,” says the Catholic, “upon Peter, he was a rock, and the Church was built upon him.” “No,” Say the Protestants, “not upon Peter, but upon Jesus.” “Now,” says Jesus, “upon this rock.” What rock? The rock of revelation—the principle upon which he was talking. He had spoken to Peter and told him that flesh and blood had not imparted to him certain knowledge which he possessed, but “my Father which is in heaven; and upon this rock will I build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” They never can prevail against a Church built on the rock of revelation. “Upon this rock will I build my Church, and I will give unto thee, Peter, the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heavens, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Now this Peter, who held this authority when it was withdrawn from the earth, still held it as an angel in the presence of God. What messengers better adapted to the exigencies of the case than Peter, with his two associates, James and John, to come and lay hands upon Joseph Smith and ordain him to the authority to preach the Gospel and to lay on hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost? It is the exercise of this authority, thus bestowed, which has gained the thousands from the various nations of the earth that people these mountain valleys! It is this authority which has enabled the Elders of this Church to traverse remote continents and islands of the sea without purse or scrip, and, in the name of Jesus Christ, proclaim his Gospel in its ancient simplicity, God confirming the word by signs following—the very same work and the very same results that followed the preaching of it in the days of Peter and his fellow Apostles.

How very singular, is it not, that Joseph Smith should have claimed to receive the authority from John the Baptist! How very singular that he should claim authority from the ordination of Peter, James and John—that is, if it were not true! How very singular! And then, to add to the singularity of the whole case and to the remarkable features of it, to think that the Elders of this Church have accomplished a work precisely similar in many respects to that which the ancient Apostles accomplished! Wherever they went and the people received their testimony they were of one heart and mind. And has it not been so in our day? We find in this Territory men representing nearly every country. They have come here by thousands from remote continents and isles of the sea, and they are united, not so much as they should be, or as they will be; but still there is amongst them a remarkable amount of union, peace, love, and goodwill, and an absence of litigation, drunkenness, theft, and the evils and vices that prevail in the world. The people are united, and from every hamlet, and every habitation over all this extended country, from north to south, their united prayers ascend morning, noon and night to God, to bless his servants and to bear off the Holy Priesthood and Apostleship. Yes, in all this land, and throughout the earth wherever the servants of God have gone, these same principles prevail and are observed by those who have received their testimony. The Saints are united; they sustain the authority which God has restored; for be it known there is an authority now on the earth by which men can declare to the people, “Thus saith the Lord,” just as we might suppose a servant of God would do anciently.

Do I believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet because it was told to me in my childhood? Do I believe that Brigham Young is an Apostle and prophet because it has been told to me? Partly, but more from the fact that God has borne testimony to me by the revelations of the Holy Spirit; and I have grown in the belief and knowledge, and I know that Joseph was a prophet; I know that he was ordained of God; I know that he had the authority which he professed to have, and that it is in the Church; and I know, too, that the same signs follow the believers as did anciently, and the Church will grow and increase and spread abroad. It is on this account, my brethren and sisters and friends, that we are so hated, for the adversary knows it, and hence this persecution which seems so causeless.

May God bless us, help us to keep his commandments, to discern the truth, and to cleave to it all our days, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Discourse by Elder George Q. Cannon, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, April 8, 1871.

I will read a portion of Scripture which is found in the 17th chapter of the First Book of Chronicles, commencing at the 3rd verse—

“And it came to pass the same night, that the word of God came to Nathan, saying,

“Go and tell David my servant, Thus saith the Lord, Thou shalt not build me an house to dwell in:

“For I have not dwelt in an house since the day that I brought up Israel until this day; but have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another.

“Wheresoever I have walked with all Israel, spake I a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people, saying, Why have ye not built me an house of cedars?

“Now therefore thus shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, even from following the sheep, that thou shouldest be ruler over my people Israel:

“And I have been with thee whi– thersoever thou hast walked, and have cut off all thine enemies from before thee, and have made thee a name like the name of the great men that are in the earth.

“Also I will ordain a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, and they shall dwell in their place, and shall be moved no more; neither shall the children of wickedness waste them any more, as at the beginning,

“And since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. Moreover I will subdue all thine enemies. Furthermore I tell thee that the Lord will build thee an house.

“And it shall come to pass, when thy days be expired that thou must go to be with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons; and I will stablish his kingdom.

“He shall build me an house, and I will stablish his throne forever.

“I will be his father, and he shall be my son: and I will not take my mercy away from him, as I took it from him that was before thee:

“But I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom forever: and his throne shall be established for evermore.

“According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.”

There is one point, brethren and sisters, in the passages I have just read in your hearing, to which I wish to call your attention—namely, the pleasure that was evinced by the Lord at the disposition which David manifested—a disposition which none of his predecessors, apparently, had exhibited, to build unto the Lord of hosts a house, a temple, a place upon and within which his glory could rest. So pleased appeared the Lord to be with this disposition of David that he promised him that he would establish his dynasty, that his son should reign after him, and that this son should be the instrument in his hands of building a glorious temple unto his name. The reasons are given in other portions of Scripture why the Lord did not accept this offering on the part of David. The Lord, in one place, alludes to his life, saying that he had been a man of war and blood; that he had gone forth and fought his enemies, and because of this the Lord was not disposed to accept his offer, but he promised David that he would raise up a son after him who should be a man of peace—a man free from war and blood, and that during his lifetime his temple should be reared; and, according to the prediction of the Lord God, through Nathan the Prophet, Solomon was raised up and did accomplish the work which his father David had desired to do, and he did rear a temple unto the name of the Lord upon and within which his glory rested and was manifested; and the blessing of God rested upon Solomon so long as he continued to serve with a perfect heart the Lord God of his fathers. Israel was also greatly blessed and prospered in rearing that house; and though Solomon, in his prayer, when dedicating it, said how was it possible that God could take up his residence upon earth, when the heavens, and the heaven of heavens could not contain him, still God did condescend to manifest his glory in that house to such an extent that the priests could not endure it; and the blessings of God rested visibly, in the presence of the people, upon that house, and they knew that he had accepted their labors and the dedication of their means for the erection of a house to his name.

This labor appeals to us in a very peculiar manner. There is no people or community on the face of the earth today, except the Latter-day Saints, who think of rearing unto the Lord of Hosts a temple upon the same principle and for the same objects and ends that the temple was reared in Jerusalem. Already we have completed two temples, and laid the foundation of five. The Saints are all familiar with the history of the building of the temple of Kirtland, whether they were there personally or not; they are also familiar with the blessed results which followed its erection. They know that God did manifest himself to his servants and people in a very peculiar manner, and poured out upon them great and precious blessings; many ordinances which had been lost to man, or of which he scarcely knew anything, and for the administration of which there had been no authority upon the earth for generations, were restored, and men and women received ordinances, promises and blessings which comforted their hearts and encouraged them in the work of God. And not only were these ordinances adminis– tered, but additional authority was bestowed upon the prophet of God who stood at the head of this dispensation. And so also the completion of the temple at Nauvoo brought many blessings; that is, so far as it was completed, for the enemies of God’s kingdom did not permit us to complete it entirely; but so far as it was completed God accepted the labor of the hands of his servants and people, and great and precious blessings were bestowed upon the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for the faithfulness and diligence of its members in rearing that house.

I have often thought of the shortness of the period, after the death of Joseph, which was continued in building that house. He died, as you well know, or was murdered, on the 27th of June, 1844. Before 1845 had passed away the Saints were receiving their endowments in that house. The walls were completed, it was roofed, the spire finished, and the upper story so far completed that the Elders could go in and administer in the ordinances of God’s house—the sealings, washings and anointings, and in the performance of those ceremonies and ordinances which were necessary for our growth, increase and perfection as a people; and when it is recollected that all this was done in a very short period over one year, it bears testimony to the zeal of the Saints and the mighty exertions they made to fulfil the word of God and the requirements He made of us as a people, that we and our dead might not be rejected. But we were not permitted to enjoy that house, we were not permitted to continue receiving blessings there; the enemies of God’s kingdom were upon us, and we were compelled to abandon it and our homes, and it fell a sacrifice to the wickedness of the wicked and it was burned with fire—probably a better fate than to have it stand and be defiled by the wicked.

We have now to commence again the erection of another temple. For many years the foundation of one on this block has been laid, and the Saints have labored upon it to some extent; but it has not been pushed forward with very great rapidity. There have been reasons for this—good and weighty reasons. It is desirable when we build another temple that it should not fall into the hands of the wicked, as those we have already built have done; but that it should stand as an enduring monument of the faith, zeal and perseverance of the Latter-day Saints, in which the ordinances of God’s house and kingdom may be administered through all coming time. There seems to be a spirit now resting upon the servants of God to push this house forward to its completion; and I doubt not that this spirit will be received and cherished by the Saints throughout Utah Territory, and throughout the world. Judging by my own feelings on this subject and by the expressions of those who have alluded to it, I confidently believe that a spirit is resting upon the people to receive the counsel that is given concerning it, and to carry forward the work to a speedy completion.

There are many reasons why we should do it. It is true that God, in his mercy, has permitted us to build another house, which we call the Endowment House, and in which we have received many ordinances and blessings; but there are several which cannot be attended to in the Endowment House; they must be postponed until a temple is completed, in which the Elders and men of God who bear the Holy Priesthood, can go and administer the things of God, and have them accepted by him. This, of itself, is sufficient to stir us up, as a people, to exceeding great diligence in pushing forward this work.

When David announced his intention to prepare the means for the building of the house that should be erected by his son Solomon, he accumulated everything that could be prepared beforehand, so that when Solomon should come to the throne after his decease, he might be full-handed and have abundance wherewith to commence the labor of building. To accomplish this, David called upon Israel to come forward and exert themselves, and they did so, so we are told, and had exceeding great joy in contributing of their means for the erection of that building. Of course there is no objection to the Latter-day Saints doing the same; still, that requirement is not made of us at the present time. All that we are required to do is to obey the law that God has given unto us, that is, to pay our tithing. It has been said, and I do not doubt the correctness of the statement, in fact, I may say I am fully aware and conscious of it, that if this people would pay one-tenth of their tithing this temple could be pushed forward to completion very speedily. As a people we have been very negligent in paying our tithing; there are doubtless many exceptions, but as a rule we have not complied with that law with the strictness which we should have done. Now, however, there is an opportunity for us to compensate for our shortcomings in the past, and to go to with zeal and energy to rear this house, so that there may be a temple of God in our midst in which ordinances can be administered for the living and for the dead. I fully believe that when that temple is once finished there will be a power and manifestations of the goodness of God unto this people such as they have never before experienced. Every work of this kind that we have accomplished has been attended with increased and wonderful results unto us as a people—an increase of power and of God’s blessings upon us. It was so in Kirtland and at Nauvoo; at both places the Elders had an increase of power, and the Saints, since the completion of, and the administration of ordinances in, those buildings have had a power they never possessed previously.

If any proof of this is needed let us reflect upon the wonderful deliverances that God has wrought out for us since we left Illinois. Up to that period or up to the time that the temple was partly finished and the blessings of God bestowed within its walls, our enemies to a very great extent had triumphed over us. We had been driven from place to place; compelled to flee from one town, county and State to another; but how great the change since then! We started out a poor, friendless people, with nothing but God’s blessing upon us, his power overshadowing us and his guidance to lead us in the wilderness; and from the day that we crossed the Mississippi River until this day—the 8th of April, 1871—we have had continued success and triumphs. God has signally delivered us from the hands of our enemies, and when it has seemed as though we would be overwhelmed, as though no earthly power could succor or deliver us from the hands of those who sought our overthrow, God has done for us as he did for his ancient covenant people, when he caused the waters of the Red Sea to separate, that they might pass through and escape the destruction their enemies threatened. So have we been in as remarkable a manner delivered from, apparently, overwhelming difficulty and danger.

Whence, I ask, my brethren and sisters, has this power come? Whence has it been derived? I attribute it to the blessings and the power and the authority and the keys which God gave unto his Saints, and which he commenced to give in the Temple at Nauvoo. The Elders of Israel there received keys, endowments and authority which they have not failed to exercise in times of extremity and danger; and clouds have been scattered and storms blown over, and peace and guidance, and all the blessings which have been desired have been bestowed upon the people, according to the faith that has been exercised. Others may attribute these things to other causes; but I attribute them to this, and I feel to give God the glory; and I trace these deliverances to the power that the Elders received in that temple and previously. I fully believe also, as I have said, that when this and other temples are completed, there will be an increase of power bestowed upon the people of God, and that they will, thereby, be better fitted to go forth and cope with the powers of darkness and with the evils that exist in the world and to establish the Zion of God never more to be thrown down.

I know that there is a feeling in the breasts of many people that this sort of thing is fanaticism. This is characteristic of the age of unbelief in which we live. God, in the minds of this generation, is removed far from them. He dwells at an illimitable distance from man, and is not supposed to interfere with his affairs. Man, they think, is left to work out deliverance and salvation according to his own wisdom; and there are a great many people, and it may be said, a great many nations, who do not believe that God interferes at all with matters on the earth. They think of and speak about him; but it is mere form and tradition with them; very few believe that he interferes directly with the affairs of men. Of course when such a belief is prevalent, or rather when such unbelief prevails, the idea of building a temple or temples to the Most High God, in which ordinances shall be performed for the living and the dead, strikes the people as something strange and fanatical. But, let me ask, what was the object of building a temple in the days of Solomon? What was the object of rebuilding it after its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar? Why was it that Ezra and the Jews who were with him in Babylonish captivity were strengthened to go forth to rebuild the temple of God at Jerusalem? We read in the Scriptures that God’s blessing rested upon them. Their enemies, it is true, harassed them and did all in their power to check their labors, but nevertheless they were exceedingly blessed, and God accepted their work and bestowed choice and peculiar blessings upon them.

When Jesus came the temple still stood in Jerusalem, but it had become defiled. He was so angered on one occasion on this account that he took a scourge of cords and beat out the money changers and others who had defiled it, and upset their tables, and in this visible manner showed his anger at the defilement of his Father’s house.

We read in the revelations that the time will come when the tabernacle of God will be with men on the earth. How shall we, as men and women, prepare for this? One of the prophets says, “And the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his Temple,” showing that there will be, at some period or other, a temple or temples built on the earth to which God will come.

I have often thought, in reflecting on this subject, how careless mankind are in relation to the future. We are born on the earth, where family relationships that are most desirable are formed. Parents have their children whom they love beyond expression. These children grow up and form associations in life and raise families, and these relationships are the most tender known to the human heart. There is nothing so much calculated to make life desirable as the relation of parents to children and children to parents, husbands to wives and wives to husbands; and many a man when he loses his partner, loses all the hope that he has; his heart sinks within him, and he feels as if life was undesirable; and instances are not rare of men, through grief on this account, having their lives shortened. And so with the other sex; sometimes through the loss of a husband a woman’s heart will break and she goes down to an early grave. And yet, in the midst of the world where all these tender ties and emotions exist there is no preparation for their perpetuation. The people do not believe that they exist beyond the grave. Imagine, if you can, a state of things where all these relationships are utterly destroyed and all mingle in one common herd! This is the kind of heaven that many people believe they are going to. I have heard ministers say, “O, I will not know any relationship between myself and my wife hereafter; she, then, will be no nearer to me than any other woman, nor I to her than any other man; our children will be no nearer to us than any other children, and we will live in this condition throughout the endless ages of eternity.” This is a dreary prospect for any human being who has the affection of a husband, wife, parent, or child—a dreary prospect for that endless eternity to which we are all hastening.

But God, in ancient days, gave certain authority unto one of his Apostles—namely, Peter. He gave to him authority to bind on earth, and it should be bound in heaven; to loose on earth and it should be loosed in heaven. Where is this authority now? Shall we go to the Roman Catholic Church to find it? If it be there it is not exercised. Shall we go to the Episcopal Church to find it? If it be there they fail to proclaim it. Where shall we go to find a man who has authority to bind on earth and it is bound in heaven, as Jesus told Peter? Where shall we find a man whose acts will be thus recognized of God, and whose performances or solemnizations are confirmed by the heavens themselves? You travel throughout all the earth and mingle with the various sects who claim to be the descendants of the Apostles, and you will look in vain for any claims to such authority. But come among the Latter-day Saints, who claim to be the original Church restored to the earth again, who claim to have the authority of the Apostleship—the same Apostleship that was exercised by Peter, James, John and the other Apostles, and you will find the authority to bind and loose on earth and it will be bound or loosed in heaven, claimed and exercised in their midst. It is claimed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that God has restored the keys of the Apostleship; that he has restored the authority by which the ordinances shall be performed on the earth that will bind man to woman, woman to man, children to parents and parents to children, so that these relationships which are so acceptable in the sight of God may not only exist for time, but may be perpetuated throughout the endless ages of eternity.

This is the claim the Latter-day Saints make, and it is the authority they exercise. To claim the Apostleship and authority without claiming and exercising its functions would be altogether contrary to the spirit and power of that office and authority when it was upon the earth in ancient days; therefore we wish to rear temples and administer ordinances, looking, as we do, upon this life as a state of probation in which we may gain experience and prepare ourselves for higher exaltation and a greater degree of felicity in the world to come.

We build temples and we administer and submit to ordinances and perform those things within them which will prepare us to dwell eternally with our God, with Jesus and the Apostles in the heavens. There each man will have his family and kingdom. It is said that God is Lord of lords and King of kings; but how can he be King of kings unless there be kings under him to give him homage and pay respect unto him and acknowledge him as their Lord and their King? When God led forth Abraham and told him that as the stars of the firmament were innumerable so should his seed be, he proclaimed to him the greatness of his kingdom in eternity. He told Abraham that he should be a king over this innumerable host; for if Abraham were not to be king over them, of what use or glory would his posterity be to him? When God pointed Abraham to the sand on the seashore and told him that as it was countless so should his seed be, he told him in accents that could not be mistaken of the future glory of his eternal kingdom. And if all mankind attained to the same promises as Abraham, they also would have an innumerable posterity to reign over. As the prophet says concerning our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, “To the increase of his kingdom there shall be no end.” It shall go on increasing with every cycle of eternity, as long as time endures. There shall be no end to the increase of his kingdom. His glory consisted of this; and the glory of God consists in the number of his posterity; and as generation succeeds generation, until the earth is filled and glorified, other worlds will be rolled into existence, upon which the posterity of God, our heavenly Father, shall increase throughout the endless ages of eternity.

As it was said to Abraham and Jesus, so it will be said to the faithful sons and daughters of God; hence the Latter-day Saints believe in the eternal nature of the marriage relation. When we marry there is a power here to bind on earth and it is bound in heaven. Men and women are married to each other for time and for all eternity; not as it is in the world, “until death shall them part;” but that tie shall be as enduring as eternity itself, and there shall never be a time when it shall be dissolved; and to their increase there shall be no end, for this is the glory of God, and this is the blessing of God upon his faithful children. The godlike power has been given us here on the earth to bear and perpetuate our own species; and shall this power, which brings so much joy, peace and happiness, be confined and limited to this short life? It is folly to talk about such a thing; common sense teaches us better. It teaches that we have been organized, not for time alone; that we have been endowed as we are, in the image of God, not for thirty, forty, fifty, seventy or a hundred years, but as eternal beings, exercising our endowments and functions for all eternity, if we live faithful or take a course that God approves. Therefore there is great sense, beauty and godliness in the idea that God taught Abraham with respect to his posterity becoming as numer– ous as the stars of the firmament.

The Latter-day Saints live for this. We look upon this life as a very short period of time. We have suffered and are likely to suffer as the Saints of God did anciently; and this life is a state of probation—a short period filled with sorrow. Difficulties, thorns, briars, brambles, and obstacles of various kinds beset our pathway; but, as was said yesterday, we look forward to a heavenly city, whose builder and maker is God. We look forward to the time when this earth will be redeemed from corruption and cleansed by fire; when there shall be a new heaven and a new earth, and when the Saints shall possess their native inheritance purified from sin, redeemed from corruption, with the power of Satan curtailed, and when we shall be able to increase and multiply and fill this earth, go to other earths and carry on the work of emigration through the endless ages of eternity.

This is a little of the heaven that the Latter-day Saints look forward to. It is not a heaven where all distinctions are abolished—where parents and children are mingled with the common mass, where wives and husbands are undistinguishable; but where all these ties exist and are preserved and perpetuated, and man goes forward on that heavenly career which God, his Heavenly Father, has assigned to him, and which he designs that all his faithful children shall walk in. These are some of the reasons why we want a temple built. There are innumerable reasons why we should go to with our might and rush forward this work. Let us push it to its completion as speedily as may be required, and God will bless us; he will make our feet fast in these valleys; he will give us increase and make of us a mighty nation. Already he has set his seal upon us; already he has given us the glorious privilege of bearing his name. Let us rear a house upon which his glory shall rest, and that shall be called by his name. This is required at our hands; and that God may help us to accomplish it, and keep us faithful to the end, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Discourse by Elder George Q. Cannon, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, January 8, 1871.

In rising to address you this afternoon, brethren and sisters, I crave an interest in your faith and prayers, that I may be led to speak upon those subjects and to advance those ideas that shall be instructive to you and adapted to your circumstances and condition.

I have acted in the ministry since my boyhood, but whenever I am called upon to speak I do so with great diffidence and fear. I do not know that the feeling can ever be conquered entirely, in fact, I do not know that I wish that it could; for if a man could arise and feel perfectly capable, in and of himself, to speak to the edification of the people, judging by my own experience in the matter, I imagine that he would have but very little aid from the Lord. But if he rise depending upon the Lord, and not upon his own strength, the Lord has promised to render that aid unto his servants that is necessary to enable them to testify to the truth, and to cleanse their garments of the blood of this generation.

There is no lack of topics or subject matter in dwelling upon the work we are engaged in; the range is an extensive one; but it needs the Spirit of God to select, out of the variety of subjects which it presents, those points, doctrines, and counsels that should be touched upon to edify the people in the circumstances which surround them. The older I grow, the more convinced I am that we as a people and as individuals need practical instructions in what may be termed our everyday duties. It is delightful to reflect and speak upon, and to sit and have held up before our minds the course pursued by those who were our predecessors in the Gospel. It is also equally delightful, when inspired by the Spirit of God, to contemplate the future with its great events, which the prophets foresaw, and concerning which they have written so much.

As a generation, we live in a busy, stirring time—a time that is full of important events, one treading upon the heels of another so rapidly that we have scarcely time to contemplate the past—even the past of our own history; and we have but little time to look forward to the future, only as it is necessary to comfort and to cheer us. The work of God is rushing forward with extraordinary speed, and the Lord is operating in a most signal manner to bring to pass his great and marvelous designs and purposes; and to no eyes are these things clearer than to those of the Latter-day Saints, especially those whose minds are enlightened by the Spirit of God, and who seek for the inspiration thereof to guide them in their everyday affairs.

It has been frequently remarked that we as a people are entirely too egotistical; that we imagine that God, in his operations and dealings with the children of men, has selected us and made us the peculiar recipients of his blessings to the exclusion of the rest of the human family. I have heard it very frequently remarked, when conversing with persons respecting our views and doctrines, that we confine our attention entirely too much to ourselves and the little work with which we are identified, forgetting that we are but a small handful of the great human family. I have also heard it remarked that it was entirely too much to expect that a people, so insignificant as we are numerically, should anticipate the great results that we speak about very frequently, and which, from the writings of ancient prophets and of those who have lived contemporaneously with us, we are led to anticipate will be fulfilled in our case. Men say, in speaking of us: “Do you Latter-day Saints, who in Utah and the adjoining Territories number probably one hundred and fifty or two hundred thousand, and it may be a few hundred thousand elsewhere, recollect; or do you ever consider, that the nation of which you form an integral part, numbers forty millions, and that there are hundreds of millions of human beings scattered over the face of the earth who are not of your creed? Do you recollect that you are very contemptible in point of numbers, influence and wealth and everything that constitutes greatness in the earth?” If we were disposed to forget these things there are those around us with whom we are brought into frequent contact, who take great and especial pains to remind us of our insignificance, so that I think there is no real danger of our entirely forgetting it. But though we are few in numbers, we declare that the oracles of God are with us, and that he has chosen the Latter-day Saints to be his peculiar people and has placed upon them his name, or the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and has called us to be ministers of life and salvation, to be the thunders of a new order of things on the earth, and to be the means in his hands, as we firmly believe and testify, of effecting a wonderful revolution in affairs. Yet, while believing this, the Latter-day Saints are not so uncharitable as to imagine that they are the only ones with whom God is dealing, or that they are the only people over and towards whom his providences are being exercised. Such a thought has never entered into the hearts of those who are intelligent and reflecting in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is true that we believe and testify that we have been called to proclaim the everlasting Gospel in its ancient purity and simplicity, with the plenitude of its gifts and graces as enjoyed in ancient days; and that we have been called to lay the foundation of that work which is destined to grow, increase and spread until it fills the whole earth from north to south, from east to west. Yet we do not on this account arrogate to ourselves all the kindness, mercy, care, and goodness which God dispenses to his creatures on the earth; but we firmly believe that in every nation, and among every kindred, tongue and people, and, in fact, in every creed on the face of the wide earth of ours there are those over whom God watches with peculiar care and to whom his blessings are extended; and we believe that his providences are over all the works of his hands, and that none are so remote, friendless and isolated that they are not the objects of his care, mercy and kindness. This is our belief; and when we see the events which are taking place at the present time in Europe, when we hear of revolutions and wars, of nation rising against nation, of the various judgments and calamities as well as the various kindnesses and mercies that are bestowed upon and extended to the inhabitants of the earth, and to the various nationalities into which they are divided, we see in all these things the hand of our kind and beneficent Creator; we see his providences, we behold his going forth, and we acknowledge his goodness; and we also think that we can discern his overruling care and providence for the bringing to pass the great events of which he has spoken, which will eventually result in the emancipation of our race from the thralldom of evil under which it groans.

It is true, as I have already re– marked, that God has called us out of the nations to be his peculiar people; but we are not the only ones who will be so called. The message which came to us and which we received and were made glad thereby, is sent to every kindred, tongue and people on the face of the whole earth. It has gathered us out to be the pioneers in this great work; but the call is not ended nor the period arrived when it shall no longer be proclaimed by our being gathered together. It is still in force, and has to be carried throughout earth’s wide domain, until the reverberation thereof shall be heard in every land, and men of every nationality, tongue and creed shall have heard and had a chance to receive or reject the glad tidings of salvation which have been committed unto us.

The dealings of God with our own nation, the singular events which are transpiring at the present time on the continent of Europe, the revolutions that are taking place in Asia, and the wars and commotions that seem to convulse most of the nations of the earth, have all for their object, as we believe, the preparation of the way by which this great message can be carried more freely, and its principles declared more thoroughly to all the inhabitants of the earth. The Prophets looked down to the days of the future and they saw in vision that God would perform a great and mighty work in the midst of the inhabitants of the earth. They wrote about it, and some of the finest writing in the Bible contains glorious allusions to the last days, when God should stretch forth his arm in mighty power in the midst of his people and accomplish a great and marvelous work—a work that should be a wonder in the eyes of all people. The religious sects of Christendom, for hundreds of years, have looked forward to the accomplishment of these predictions, and the hope of this has cheered them in their operations, labors, expenditures, and in every effort they have made for the redemption of the race and its enlightenment in the principles of Christianity. To accomplish the fulfillment of the predictions contained in the Bible they have used every means in their power; but they have not met with the success which they desired. Still, so firm has been their faith in these predictions, that they have persevered, although the result of their labors, take it as a rule, has not been of a cheering character. Tract societies, Bible societies, missionary societies, and societies of almost every kind and description have been organized with the best of motives, and with vast expenditures of means, for the purpose of fulfilling the predictions of the prophets concerning the inhabitants of the earth. But there has been a power lacking, there has been an influence wanting; there has not been that union, blessing of heaven and that providential combination of circumstances necessary to bring to pass the results desired. Man may toil, labor and expend his means and forces, and may bring to his aid all the wisdom of which he is the possessor to bring about divine results; but unless God give the increase, as the Scriptures say, his labors will be fruitless. This has been signally fulfilled in the results which we see around us at the present time in Christendom, for their efforts have not been crowned with success. Travel through the most Christian nations today, and there is no disguising the fact that they are the most deeply steeped in wretchedness and wickedness. It is true that men live in the midst of these things until they become so accustomed to them as to accept them as a necessary condition of affairs. They may say it has been so from the beginning and will be so to the end, and to attempt to change this and to introduce a state of society without evil is utopian, it never can be effected. They accept the wretchedness, degradation, poverty, prostitution, and all the numerous evils that abound in the nations of which they are members, as something that cannot be removed—as the necessary consequence of our existence here on the earth. But the prophets have predicted that a time shall come when our race shall be emancipated from these evils, and when there shall be nothing to hurt or destroy in all the holy mountain of the Lord; when swords shall be beaten into ploughshares and spears into pruninghooks; when nation shall no longer rise against nation, and war shall be learned no more. The prophets have predicted that the time shall come when the knowledge of God shall cover the earth as the waters cover the mighty deep; and when man need no longer say to his neighbor, “Know ye the Lord,” but when all shall know him, from the least unto the greatest. There is no doubt that, if anything in the Scriptures is true, these predictions are, and that they will be verified to the letter. But man, in his efforts to bring about this time, has labored without the concurrence of heaven, without the divine blessing resting upon his labors. He has run before he was sent; in his zeal he has undertaken measures for which he had no warrant. What, then, shall cure or bring the means of cure to our race? What shall ameliorate the condition of the human family? What scheme shall be adopted to bring to the earth the blessings which we are told it is our privilege to enjoy, at some period or other? Shall man seek to bring this about without divine aid? Shall he undertake to effect these great changes and bring to pass this great deliverance without seeking the aid of the Supreme Being, who created the earth and the inhabitants thereof? Or shall he in humility bow himself in the dust, and await the dispensation of truth from heaven, await the bestowal of the light and knowledge necessary to enable him to accomplish these mighty works; and then, in faith, plant and water and wait upon God to give the increase?

I think that the course that we as a people have taken, is the course which all should take; I think it is the only proper and legitimate course for any individual and people to take. Men may say that we are deluded and that we deceive ourselves; they may say that our system is one of imposture. Whether this be so or not matters but little to the point in question; the course that we have taken, whether our system be divine or not, is the course which all should take. What we have done we have claimed to do under the inspiration and direct guidance of heaven. Every move that we have taken since our Church was organized, on the 6th of April, 1830, we claim has been by inspiration and under the guidance of the Almighty. On the day I have named our Church was organized by revelation. On that day the Church was organized and ministers chosen; Elders were endowed with, or ordained to, the Priesthood. They were sent forth by revelation, and commanded to go to this place and the other place, to this and to that land by revelation from the Lord. A message was given unto them, not from the Bible, or Book of Mormon; not from any written record, not a copy or transcript of some message carried by some previous generation of men; but an original message, direct to them, to be conveyed by them to their fellow creatures; a perfectly original message, so far as this generation was concerned, delivered to them by the Almighty; and they were sent forth to proclaim it to the inhabitants of the earth.

They were commanded by revelation to gather together. A place was designated as a place of gathering. Circumstances favored the procuring of that place; but they were not allowed to remain in it. They were driven forth, and again they were guided by revelation to another place, and again they were driven forth and compelled to abandon their homes; and again another place was designated to which they should go; again they were driven forth, and again they were directed what to do, and they came to this land, guided by revelation, inspired by the Almighty, not knowing where they were going. Thousands started out on the plains without having the least idea where they would stop; they launched forth on the trackless prairies without any location ahead of which they knew anything; and when they reached here they settled by revelation; and since then, in our movements, in our settlements of various localities, in all our labors at home, going to the nations of the earth or returning therefrom; in our migrations, in sending out colonies, and in every variety of labor which we have performed we claim to have been guided by the spirit of revelation; and mark, my brethren and sisters, the wonderful results.

Have we had wealth? Have we had societies organized to aid us? Have we had popularity with or popular support from the nation? No, we have had nothing of the kind. We have stood alone, with none to aid, sustain, or comfort but God. Instead of aid from our fellow creatures we have had persecution; instead of comfort we have had reviling; instead of words of encouragement, we have, as it were, had deep damnation poured out upon our heads. We have had adverse circumstances to contend with, but we have also had that which is better than all the world can bestow—the aid of heaven, divine concurrence; we have had a combination of circumstances to aid us in accomplishing the objects for which we started out. The result is, we are in these valleys today—a people of varied nationality, of varied creeds and modes of education, and a people as utterly diverse in their original traditions and habits as men and women of our color could be. And yet, what do we see? Why, throughout all this range of valleys a people homogeneous, dwelling together in peace, love and union, and enjoying all the blessings promised to the people of God in the last days. I say all the blessings, but not in their fullness. We are but imperfect yet; we are not prepared for these blessings in their fullness; but so far as we are progressed and are prepared, they have been bestowed upon us; and today we present to the eyes of the world one of the most remarkable spectacles that can be seen.

Men may say, “Pooh, pooh, you Latter-day Saints are nothing! You are too contemptible for notice!” But our acts show that there is a power and an influence with us that the inhabitants of the earth elsewhere do not possess. We are looked upon as a social phenomenon in the earth; we are diverse from every other people; and our community is the object of attention and I may say of respect that its numbers do not entitle it to. Men from afar cannot cross the continent without coming to visit the Latter-day Saints. Why is this? It is because there is a feel– ing throughout the earth that there is something remarkable connected with us, that we are not as other people are. What is it that distinguishes us from our fellows? What is it that distinguishes us from the average American, Englishman, Scandinavian, German, Swiss, Italian, or Frenchman, or from the average Asiatic? There is something; they feel it and we feel it; and that distinction is, we believe in revelation, we profess to be guided by revelation. We are peculiar when compared with the rest of the world, because all our movements are under divine guidance. We claim this, and we act upon it; we seek for it, and God bestows it upon us. It is our testimony, at least, that he bestows it upon us, for we see the results. We see what is not witnessed anywhere else on the earth.

As I have already said, tract, Bible and missionary societies have been formed, and the wealth of the nations has been poured into the hands of religious people, and spent lavishly and without stint, for the salvation of the human family; but where on the face of the earth can you find the fruits to be witnessed before me today, and that can be seen throughout the Territory of Utah. Why is this? Because, as I have said, they have labored without the concurrence of heaven; they have run before they were sent. But unto us, scattered, isolated individuals, this message from God came, and there being a spark of divinity within us, we received it and embraced it, and have endeavored to live up to it, and God has blessed us and our labors. But after all, what we have done is very little.

I have told you what has been remarked here, time and time again, probably you have heard it, respecting our insignificance. I feel most sensibly that, so far as numbers are concerned, we are a very insignificant people. But I will tell you a remark, which I believe is credited alike to the late Mr. Stephen Girard and to Commodore Vanderbilt, both great financiers, that the hardest money they ever earned was the first five hundred dollars they saved. Now the hardest thing in building up a people is to gain a foothold. We have gained this; we have gained and organized the first hundred thousand people. We have achieved a position that will render our future progress more rapid than in years past and gone. I fully expect to see the progress of this work in the future much more rapid than it has been in the past. I see the providence of God laboring to bring this about. Not to build up a people distinct from all the rest of the earth; not to build up some little, narrow sect or denomination; but this work and Gospel is to embrace within its fold all Earth’s children, every son and daughter of God on the earth. That is its mission, and it will accomplish it. But it will spread with increased rapidity from this time forth. The foundation and cornerstones have been laid in tears, blood, and in much sorrow, but they are laid firmly, cemented by the sufferings, toils, faith and endurance of this people for the past forty years; and I trust that they are laid so deep that they will never be torn up, shaken or disturbed; and that upon them will a superstructure be reared of such strength, beauty and symmetry that it will be the joy and pride of the whole earth.

The labors of the Elders of this Church have not been confined to this land, but they have extended to England, Scandinavia, some little in France, a very little in Prussia, some in Switzerland; but vast fields yet lie before us that we have not touched, and to which this message must go. The throes of revolution which Europe is now undergoing I look upon as the premonitory signs of that freedom that shall soon dawn on that continent. Then the Elders of this Church will go through Germany, France, Italy and Spain, and through every land in Europe; for the “sick man” will yet open his doors to hear the Elders of Israel, and Russia will unfold her gates and give them free entrance, and they will go forth declaring the glad tidings which God has given unto us to the oppressed of all nations, proclaiming unto them that God has established a government which will be the means of restoring to the earth the blessings for which mankind have sighed, panted and labored for ages in vain.

When the mind, inspired by the Spirit of God, contemplates the future, and sees the immense field which is widening before the Elders of this Church, I, for one, feel that it ought to stir up every one of us to the most energetic and resolute preparation for the great labor that is fast devolving upon us, and that we live to discharge. Our own land will yet be convulsed with revolution, for it contains within itself the seeds of dire misfortunes, which will yet come upon the unhappy Republic. We may deplore, mourn over and regret that such things do exist; but they do nevertheless, and we should be blind indeed did we shut our eyes to the fact, and fail to prepare ourselves for their accomplishment. There is before this people, connected with our own country, a destiny that is so glorious when we contemplate it in the future, that it is enough to dazzle and oppress the mind of man at the immensity of the labor that lies before us.

It may be said that this is all very foolish to think of or to talk about; but it is no more foolish than it would have been, when driven, peeled and scattered, we were coming out of Illinois, to have said we should yet lay the foundation of a great State, such as we now behold in these mountains. I tell you, my brethren and sisters, that God has given to this people qualities which, in the contest of races, must tell. There are qualities connected with the Latter-day Saints, and principles connected with their system that, persecute and crush them out as you may, as long as the men live who bear the authority, and so long as the principles have a believer and practicer in the world, must live, survive, and have influence in the midst of the earth and upon the populations thereof. There is no disguising this fact! Little plotters, such, for instance, as the “ring” in this city, may fix snares and nets, and arrange toils, and think they are going to stop the work of God, ensnare the feet of the servants of God, and do wonderful things! Puny drivellers! They would raise their impious hands and tear down the throne of Jehovah, and attempt to impede the progress of his work; but, like others who have preceded them, they will be covered with shame and confusion and go down to dishonored graves, while the people whom they seek to oppress will continue to rise and increase in strength and power by the practice of those qualities which God has given unto us through revelation, until their influence will be felt, not only in Utah Territory, but from sea to sea, and give them time enough, and it will be felt throughout the length and breadth of the earth, and thus will the sayings of the prophets be fulfilled.

How else could they be fulfilled? Can you imagine any better plan than this that you begin to see unfold before us? Can you think of any other way by which these predictions will be fulfilled? I cannot. It is simple, natural and scriptural, and perfectly Godlike in my sight, and according to my limited ideas.

But as a people, we should endeavor, in the midst of all our troubles, difficulties, trials and temptations, to remember that we are God’s people; that he has called us to be his, and we should put our firm faith and trust in him and leave him to work out the results. And, my brethren and sisters, if we are faithful to the truth which he has revealed to us, he will bring to us greater salvation than we ever conceived of, and will work out ways of deliverance of which we have never dreamed; for his word, which cannot be recalled, has gone forth through his ancient servants; and he is pledged to his servants in the days in which we live; and he is pledged to us, to sustain this work and to give it power and influence, and a foothold in the earth. And there never was a people who prayed with greater unanimity for any one thing, than do the Latter-day Saints that God will deliver his people from the hands of their enemies and give them the victory. These prayers will be heard and answered upon our heads, and, as I have said, we will see deliverance and salvation such as we never dreamed of.

I recollect very well the feelings that were manifested here, I think it was last summer but one, by a scientific gentleman, who came into our city, and for the first time was brought into contact with us. He had known up when he was a boy in Illinois; now himself a professor in one of the Illinois colleges, and a man of some note in the scientific world. He had seen or heard something of our persecutions, and while in conversation with me he remarked, “Mr. Cannon, when I looked upon this beautiful valley and saw these pleasant homes, and your people dwelling in contentment and peace, my heart was filled with inexpressible sadness; I could not repress my emotions, my eyes suffused with tears, and I wished from the bottom of my heart that you were somewhere else rather than within the confines of the United States, somewhere where you would not be subject to persecution; for I know the intense bigotry and hatred of feeling that are entertained towards you, and I know that it only awaits a fitting opportunity to reenact the scenes that you have endured in the past.” I appreciated the kindness of feeling which prompted the remarks, but told him that I viewed things differently from him. I was fully aware of the feeling of which he spoke, and knew that it existed in certain quarters; but I was also aware of one thing, which he (being an infidel) probably did not understand, and that was—there was a God in heaven who ruled, overruled and controlled all circumstances for the accomplishment of his own designs. I further remarked, “Suppose we were away from here, outside the confines of the United States, do you think we could live in any spot on the earth without attracting attention? Do you think that a people such as we are could go to any land, or into the greatest desert on the earth, and live there any length of time without attracting the attention of the world as much as we do now? Why, the thing is impossible. When we came to this region it was as much out of the way as any place on the earth could be. But after coming here we demonstrated that the soil of these valleys, by being watered artificially, would produce crops; and the result of our experiment, for experiment it may be called, is that all this interior basin, formerly looked upon as an irreclaimable desert, is a choice land. The world once convinced of this, and population came to us, and the railroad came across the continent, and we find ourselves right in the center of the great transcontinental highway. If we were to go into any other land it would be the same—we should attract population and wealth, and the eyes of mankind would be directed towards us; and were we to leave here we could not find a place where we should be more secluded than we have been here; “but,” said I, “we don’t calculate to leave here; we think we have got to the right spot, and we calculate to remain, and the Lord will deal with those who seek to deal with us.” He felt that there might be some destiny about it, but, being an unbeliever in God, he did not know anything about it, and did not allow himself to have any faith concerning it. Still he saw that we were a remarkable people, and said there might be a great future in store for us, some destiny, of which he and others, who merely looked on, might be very ignorant.

It is a truth, my brethren and sisters, there is a great destiny in store for the Latter-day Saints. Men may fight this work and persecute the people who sustain it; they killed Joseph, and thought they had destroyed the cornerstones, as it were, of the fabric; and like the men mentioned in the parable, having killed the heir, they thought they could possess the vineyard, but they soon found out their mistake; and so it will be with every move that is made against the work of God—those with whom they originate will find they have made a great mistake. They will be disappointed in the results of their labors and operations, for God has spoken and his word will be fulfilled and this work will increase and progress. And the day will come, though, as I have said, we may regret and deplore it, yet the day will come, and I would like the thought to be fastened, if possible, so deeply in every heart that when persecution and annoyance come upon us, you will not forget it—when the Latter-day Saints will be the only well-governed people on this continent, and in their midst will be found the only place where constitutional government will be preserved in its old purity and integrity. I know that this sounds strange, because the idea is that the “Mormons” are the most despotically governed people on the face of the land. But I know that there is not another people today under the light of the sun, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, or from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadas, who are so free in every sense of the word, men and women, as the Latter-day Saints, and who have greater liberty to do that which is right in their own eyes.

I see the clock, and I am reminded that it is time to quit. May God bless you, my brethren and sisters, and let his peace and preserving care be over you, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Discourse by Elder George Q. Cannon, delivered in the Tabernacle, Ogden City, Nov. 13, 1870.

The instructions which we have heard from our brethren, this morning and afternoon, are calculated to benefit every one of us, if we have listened attentively and are disposed to treasure them up in our hearts; but that is the great difficulty with us as individuals and as a people. We hear so much good instruction that it is apt to pall upon us, like persons who have plenty of food; they sometimes eat to satiety and lose their appetite, their food does not relish as it did when they were pinched with hunger and did not have such abundance. I do not know that you ever have that feeling here in Ogden; it is a feeling that no Latter-day Saints should have. In fact, there is this peculiarity about the truth, as it is preached by the servants of God—the more it is listened to the more it is sought after and cultivated, and the more precious and sweet is its influence upon the hearts of those who take this course. But where there is indifference and formality, and people don’t seek, as Brother Heber used to say, to dig down to the roots, it may in such cases become wearisome and fail to have the effect it should have. But when I look at the progress that the brethren and sisters are making I feel gratified. There are times, perhaps, when I feel as others do—that we are not making the progress that we should do; that we are more careless and harder in our hearts and less under the influences of the Holy Spirit and the counsels of the servants of God than we should be. This is my feeling sometimes; but when I look calmly at the Saints, and consider the many difficulties with which they have to contend and the vast amount of tradition that has to be uprooted and overcome, I am gratified at the progress which they make, and feel comforted in the prospects that are before us, and before the Zion of God with which we are connected.

It is these traditions that we have to contend with that are so difficult for us to overcome, that interfere so seriously with the progress of the people in the things of God. They cling more closely to us than many of us imagine, and it is only when the Spirit of God rests upon us and we realize its power to a greater extent that we can understand and comprehend the power of tradition over our minds and conduct. This is the great obstruction to the teachings of the Elders and to the reception of and obedience to counsel; and that prevents the people being united as the heart of one man. It is this which prevents us entering upon the more perfect order that God has revealed, and that gives our enemies more power in our midst than they otherwise would have. It should be the aim of every one of us to seek, as far as possible, to put these things away from us. It is our privilege to have power from God, to have sufficient faith bestowed upon us through His Holy Spirit, to overcome these traditions. The writers in the Book of Mormon, in speaking of the veil of darkness that rested upon the minds of the people, alluded to it as a veil which can be rent asunder by the exercise of faith and by the blessing of God upon His Saints. There is a veil over our minds in consequence of the Fall, and our being shut, as it were, through that, from the presence of God. He can see us, but to us He is invisible, and we can know Him only through His Holy Spirit, as He reveals Himself to us from time to time. In consequence of this the adversary has great power over the hearts of the children of men; and it is only by exercising faith, by seeking earnestly for that Spirit which He bestows, that we are enabled to counteract this darkness and the influence which Satan seeks to exercise over our hearts.

I rejoice in one fact which God has revealed; it comforts my heart when I think of our condition and circumstances and of His kingdom, and that is that we live in the day when, according to the words of the prophets and according to the revelations which God has given to us in this dispensation, the power of Satan is becoming less and less, and the power of God is to increase and to be made more and more manifest, to the exposing of the works of darkness and to the breaking of the yoke which the enemy of all righteousness seeks to fasten upon the minds and understandings of the children of men.

It is a glorious thought for us to reflect upon that we live in a day and at a time in which God has promised to exercise His power in our behalf; when He and Jesus and the holy angels and the spirits of just men made perfect are all engaged with us in hastening the great work of redemption, and in banishing from the earth the power of evil which has so long held it in thralldom. God has given us this promise, and if we will labor with the zeal and industry which should characterize His Saints in carrying out His purposes He will bestow upon us every blessing that we need, and will give us power, as I have said, to overcome our traditions, to see the things of God in their true light, and to behold the truth in all its splendor and beauty.

There is one great truth that we have to learn. Brother Carrington alluded to it in his remarks; and all the Elders allude to it more or less when addressing the Saints, and that is, that the Gospel offers every advantage to those who obey and are faithful to it that God can bestow upon His children. There is no advantage to be gained outside of this Church or outside this Gospel; there is no blessing that we can seek for or desire, or that would be proper for us to receive under our present circumstances that we cannot obtain inside the Gospel, or inside the truth; or that we can obtain outside the Gospel, or by departing from the servants of God. You may let your minds run, if you please, over all there is pertaining to the earth and man, or that will contribute to the happiness of man on the earth, and you cannot conceive of any blessing or advantage that is not within your reach legitimately, if you pursue the path God has marked out and by abiding the counsels He makes known from time to time.

A great many do not comprehend this; and this is one of the traditions that we have to contend with, and it arises from the lack of faith in our hearts, and the unbelief that we have received from our forefathers. And we have to contend with it when counsel is given to us in relation to our temporal circumstances and other matters. It is frequently the case that we cannot see any particular advantage in that counsel; it does not strike us favorably. We imagine that some other course would be better for us to pursue, and that by adopting some other line of policy or conduct greater advantages would accrue unto us. But we have to learn, if we have not already learned it, that obedience to counsel is the policy for us to pursue; and that when we indulge in thoughts of an opposite character we suffer ourselves to be led astray by the power of the adversary. Hence it has become almost proverbial among the Saints that the path of counsel is the path of safety. Those who have had years of experience in the Church have arrived at the conclusion that the path marked out for us to walk in by those who have authority to counsel and dictate is invariably the path of safety to those who adopt it. But our traditions interfere with this.

You look back over the policy that has been taught us for the past few years. I refer more particularly to this because, having been at home in the midst of the Saints, I have been more familiar with the counsels given. I can cast my eyes back for that time, and see, and doubtless you can when you reflect upon it, that there have been many items of counsel given that the Saints have been reluctant to obey or adopt, and which, if they had been carried out in the spirit in which they were given, would have resulted in great advantage to us as a people, and doubtless as individuals. I will refer to one item, that has been talked about a great deal—namely, sustaining our enemies. Now it seems that a moment’s reflection on this point would satisfy every individual that the policy foreshadowed in this counsel was the best that could be adopted by a people surrounded with such circumstances as those surrounding us. But how difficult it has been to induce the people to carry that counsel out; why it has been so difficult that in some instances men have actually run the risk of losing their standing in the Church of Jesus Christ rather than forego the gratification of traditions and desires, which, seemingly, have taken entire possession of them—namely, to do as they please in relation to these matters.

Now, as I have said, a moment’s reflection ought to satisfy everybody that this is the true course for us to pursue; that if we intend to build up the Zion of God and to become a great people, it is essential that we should concentrate our means in one channel; that we should sustain those who are friendly to and whose whole interest is centered in the cause of Zion; and that, instead of spending our means in fostering a power in our midst that is opposed to the work of God, we should be willing, rather than do this, to forego what may seem to be an advantage to us, and even deprive ourselves of comforts and submit to privation if necessary to carry out this policy. If our minds were not blinded by tradition we should see at once that it would be an advantage to us as a people to put our means in one direction, and not allow it to go outside the kingdom of God any more than it is absolutely necessary; and that we should never use the influence which God has given us, or the means which He has bestowed upon us to foster or maintain any man or anything that is opposed to His cause. Why, the security that we have here in these mountains depends upon our taking this course to a very great extent.

We are engaged, as has been remarked, in a warfare. The enemy that we have to oppose is one that does not relent in the least degree; he does not yield or show the least sign of mercy or even to give us fair play; but continually shows a disposition to crowd us to the wall and take every advantage, and to overwhelm us in every possible manner. God has brought us to this land; He has given it unto us and has made it a blest land for our sakes. He has sustained us in a wonderful manner for a great many years, and has given unto us the means whereby we could surround ourselves with those things necessary for our convenience and comfort. For long years the effort has been incessant on the part of God’s servants to induce us to become a self-sustaining people. Now that the railway is completed we can see God’s Spirit and His wisdom in this, impelling His servants to dwell upon this theme. Year after year, conference after conference, and meeting after meeting were the Saints instructed and continually urged to establish home manufactures, and to develop the resources which they had in their own midst, so that they might become self-sustaining. There was a providence in this. As I now view it, I can see its force more clearly than ever, although I always saw the force and necessity of the counsel; but now that events have worked out the results that we see around us, I can see the propriety in God inspiring His servants to give this counsel so many years ago. He could see in His divine wisdom that a day was coming when we should be, so to speak, overwhelmed, or when attempts would be made to overthrow us, and when there would be a greater necessity, apparently, than at that day, that we should be able to sustain ourselves, and to keep our means within ourselves, and not be under the necessity of fostering those from abroad who might come amongst us to acquire fortunes from our means and labors. For years has counsel on these subjects been reiterated in our ears, and scarcely a meeting has been held by the First Presidency, the Twelve Apostles, or any of the Elders of Israel in which this subject has not been prominently dwelt upon, the Elders feeling in their spirit and in their entire being that it was essentially important that the Latter-day Saints should carry out this policy strictly. We can now begin to see, if this counsel had not been given, and the Saints had continued to spend their money with anybody and everybody, no matter if it were the greatest enemy of the kingdom of God, what would have been our position today. Our enemies would have been in our midst, numbering hundreds where they now only number tens; and the efforts to disintegrate the kingdom of God might have been attended with a degree of success, whereas they have been entirely abortive.

You may trace the counsels that have been given to us from the beginning, one step following another in natural order and succession; one principle leading to another, and one important truth engendering, as it were, another important truth, revealing it and bringing it more forcibly home to our minds, until finally cooperation and its necessity have been brought to our attention and enforced upon us. Here tradition has come up again and has had its effect; and it has required days, weeks, and it may be said years of preaching to bring this principle home to the minds of the Latter-day Saints, so that they could see and understand its beauty and propriety, and the advantages which would result from its adoption in our midst. If we had not these traditions to contend with, cooperation would be sustained with hardly a dissentient. We should grasp the idea at once, and see beauty in it. We would say, “That is a principle I can recognize; I see its force and its advantages, and I am ready to adopt it and carry it out.” But no, there are these traditions; there is this unbelief, this reluctance on the part of the people to part with their old systems and to adopt the principles of the Gospel and the revelations of Jesus Christ, as they are given unto us. There is that terrible tradition, that has such strong hold of all our minds, that the Priesthood of God and the religion of Jesus Christ have nothing to do particularly with temporal matters. It is a tradition almost as old as Christianity. It has come down to us for generations and centuries, and is fully interwoven in the hearts, minds and feelings of the children of men, and it is an exceedingly difficult thing to get them to comprehend that temporal things and spiritual things are alike in the sight of God; that there is no line of demarcation between the two; that the religion of Jesus Christ applies to one as much as another, and comprehends within its scope, temporal equally with spiritual matters.

This has made it difficult to enforce upon us the necessity of practically carrying out the principle of cooperation. “O,” say men, “that is a temporal matter, pertaining merely to the buying and selling of goods; it is not particularly connected with life and salvation or with eternal glory in the kingdom of God.” But there they mistake. I look upon that principle, though it may be subordinate in some respects, as divine, as coming through revelation, and as necessary in its place as any other principle that can be mentioned which is connected with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They are all alike to me—all alike necessary and divine. Divine wisdom has prompted their practice, and has inspired the servant of God who presides and whom God has chosen to be His mouthpiece in our midst, to reveal them, one as much as another, unto us as a people.

When we have practiced this principle long enough, and are sufficiently advanced in it, there are other principles, now ahead, which we shall be prepared to enter upon and practice. But we must get rid of this tradition that envelopes us and which lies in our pathway, and which is so serious an obstacle to our progress. As fast as we overcome our traditions there will be other principles revealed to us, and thus it will go on, law after law and principle after principle being revealed until we shall be prepared to enter into the glory of our God, and to dwell in the presence of God and the Lamb.

It is essentially necessary then, in view of these things, that we should exercise faith. Our minds should be drawn out and our faith exercised. It may be but little in the beginning. As the Prophet Alma said, when addressing the people on one occasion, and referring to the word of the Lord, it was like seed planted in the heart; its influence and effect at first were not very powerful; but if it were planted in the heart, by and by it began to germinate and grow and the possessor of it said, “Why it is a good seed, I feel it growing!” And if it were nourished, and cherished it would continue to grow until, to use a figure, it would become a great tree, and fill the whole man with light, knowledge and wisdom, and with the gifts and qualifications necessary to make him perfect before the Lord. Our faith may be small in the beginning, but if we cultivate it, it will grow; if we do not it will die out, noxious weeds will spring up and choke it. But if we exercise it as we should, the veil of darkness that separates us from God, and which prevents us comprehending the things of His kingdom, will grow thinner and thinner, until we see with great distinctness and clearness the purposes of God our heavenly Father, and comprehend them as He designs we should, and carry them out in our lives.

This should be our aim as a people and as individuals, every day living so near to God that we shall have more of His Spirit and power, and more of the gifts and endowments of the holy Gospel of the Son of God. If we take and continue in this course we shall feel and understand that we are progressing in the knowledge of God and in the comprehension of truth. And let me tell you, my brethren and sisters, if we thus live, when counsel is given, no matter what it may be, or what principle it may refer to, it will be plain and simple, and as clear unto our minds as the light we now see; and our understandings will be enlightened by it and we shall see beauty in it. If it be to stop trading with our enemies, we will adopt it. We shall feel, “That principle is true, it recommends itself to my understanding; the Spirit of God bears witness to my spirit that it is true, and I will adopt it.” And then, after awhile, when cooperation is taught unto us we will receive that also in a like spirit and faith; and if our minds are possessed of the Spirit of God we will say, “There is light in this principle; I see its advantages, I will sustain it by carrying it out myself, and I will try and exercise influence with my friends and induce them to do the same, that it may become universally practiced in the midst of the Saints.” It will be thus, if we live our religion, not only with every principle that God has revealed, but that He may hereafter reveal. We shall know for ourselves concerning them; they will be plain and simple and in harmony with our feelings. There will be no disturbance of mind, no difficulty in carrying them out. This will go on under the leadership of him whom God has chosen to be our guide, and we shall progress step by step, week by week, gaining power, knowledge, influence, territory and wealth, until we shall emancipate this land and redeem it from the thralldom of sin and from the power of Satan; and the kingdom of Satan will recede before the light, faith and power of the Saints of the kingdom of God.

This is the work in which we are engaged. It is not a work to occupy our attention for one day, and then have it diverted from it for a week; but it is the work of our entire lifetime, all that we have to do. It is a mission that God has given to us here on earth. We can’t be engaged in anything more noble than this work, for it is the work of God—a work in which He, Himself, is engaged—a work that occupies the attention and labors of Jesus, and every holy apostle, prophet, and Saint that has ever lived on the earth. These things are not gained without exertion; they require industry, zeal and attention on our part; and when we thus bestow attention on the work in which we are occupied, why God is with us, angels around about us, the heavens are open to us, the Spirit of God is poured out upon us, and our lives are a pleasant flowing stream, full of peace, joy and heaven. We feel that we have heaven indeed, here below; and wherever we go we carry this holy influence with us and diffuse it around us; and thus the power of Satan is weakened on the earth, and the power of God is increased.

There are some of the brethren and sisters, doubtless, who cannot see these things in this light. You will hear them very frequently say, “I cannot see this counsel, I can’t comprehend it, it don’t strike me;” but there is no fault in the counsel. They would, by their words, reflect on the counsel; they would convey the idea to those who listen to them, that there is something at fault; they are right, but the counsel is wrong. Now, it may be given as a rule, I believe, to the Latter-day Saints, that in every such case, whether it be man or woman, he or she has got to repent and seek unto the Lord for faith and for the light of His Holy Spirit to be given unto them.

How was it with us when we first heard the truth? Oh! How sweet and delightful the sound of the Elder’s voice when he proclaimed that God had spoken from the heavens; that angels had come to the earth again, and that the holy Priesthood was bestowed upon men! How sweet, when he said that the Church was organized with its ancient power and purity and pristine fullness; that the Holy Ghost, with its wealth of gifts, and blessings, had been bestowed upon men! How was it with those who were prepared for these tidings when they heard them proclaimed? Their hearts burned within them and they were filled with joy when the testimony of the truth came to them; and when other principles were taught unto them, O, the joy that filled them in listening to them, and they knew by the testimony of Jesus and by the Spirit and power of God that rested upon them that these things were true! They could get up in their meetings and testify “I know this is true.” When they heard the gathering preached they had the testimony that it was true; and some had it before it was preached. They knew it was from God and that God established His Zion, and their hearts burned at the thought that they would soon be with the Saints of God in Zion. They yearned for the land of Zion and for the society of the people of God. This was their testimony, and they had it in the States, Europe, Africa, Asia, islands of the sea, and in every land where the Gospel has been preached and the people have been prepared to receive it.

This has been the testimony, and if this spirit has continued to rest upon them every principle that has been taught has been plain and delightful to them. Is not this our experience, brethren and sisters? We can all bear testimony to it. Then whence come this darkness and these doubts respecting counsel? Whence comes this query about cooperation? Whence comes this distrust about other counsel in relation to temporal matters? Why, it is very easy to understand whence it comes and what its origin is. It can be traced to neglect of duty, to the hardening of the heart, to the indulgence of a spirit of unbelief, to the neglect of prayer, to becoming selfish and sordid, and to the commission of sin. There are causes for all this, for let me tell you, and testify to you today, that the Latter-day Saint who lives near to God, and has the Spirit of God constantly resting upon him or her, never has any doubts about any principle that God has revealed. When the gathering was taught they were prepared for it; when the payment of tithing was taught they were prepared for it; when consecration was taught they were prepared for it; when the move South was taught they were prepared for it; when the move back was taught they were prepared for it; when celestial marriage was taught they were prepared for it; when the word came, “Cease to trade with our enemies,” they were prepared for it; and when cooperation was taught they were prepared for it. There was no doubt in their minds, because the same Spirit that taught them that this was the truth in the beginning, and that God had spoken from the heavens, taught them also that all these things were true. But when you have doubts respecting counsel given by the servants of God, then be assured, my brethren and sisters, there is room for repentance; we are not living as near to God as we should do; we have not the Spirit of God as we once had it, and we should seek unto God with full purpose of heart, that the light of His Spirit may be bestowed upon us again. Then, when the servant of God stands up and teaches us concerning the things of the kingdom, his words will find a lodging place in our hearts; his counsels will be clear and sweet unto us, and there will be no dubiety, no distress, neither any disposition to repel these counsels or to feel offended at them. And if the word come to us to go on a foreign mission, to go to “Dixie,” to Bear Lake, or any other place to perform this or that labor, we shall be ready to obey, for the Spirit will reveal to us beforehand what we have to do and prepare us for its performance.

These are the privileges of the Latter-day Saints. I talk not of something that is theory, or away off, or that happened years ago; I talk not of that which is out of our reach, but I speak of that which is within our reach, within the reach of all: it is practical. We can obtain and possess and enjoy it; and if we do not, we do not live up to our privileges as Latter-day Saints. O! I feel sometimes, I wish I had the tongue of an angel to proclaim to the children of men the glad tidings of salvation that God has revealed to us in the day in which we live. This blessed time! This time of times, when God in His mercy has restored His Church to the earth, and has given us prophets and Apostles and the Holy Ghost and its gifts; and in His great mercy has brought us to this land, where we can dwell in peace, where we can go out and in before the Lord without any to molest or make us afraid.

My brethren and sisters, what blessed privileges we do enjoy when compared with the Saints in former days; and even when compared with our own circumstances in the early history of the Church, what blessed privileges God has given us in this glorious land! We have rulers of our own choice—men whom God has chosen; we have the voice of God in our midst, so that we need not walk in darkness and doubt. There is no uncertainty in all the land of Zion concerning the purposes of God. It need not be said of us as it was of Israel, “There is no Urim and Thummim; there is no dream or vision, and no prophet in the land.” We have the prophet of God; we have the visions of the Almighty; we have the Spirit of God descending upon us like sweet dew; we have the gifts of the Spirit of God; we have the Gospel in the fulness and plenitude of its power. We have all this, and we have the promises of God concerning us and our posterity; and, as I have said, we have this glorious land of freedom and liberty, where we can build up the kingdom of God in power and great glory; where we can be a free people, if we so choose. If this is not the case, it is because we are wicked, because we disobey counsel; because we harden our hearts and have placed ourselves in a position to be scourged. It is not God’s will that we should be, or that our enemies should have power over us. It is His good will and pleasure to give unto us the kingdom and dominion, and to strengthen and uphold us.

Let us then be faithful! Let us live day by day, from morning until night, in the moments of business and when perplexed with its cares, with our thoughts on the kingdom, and our prayers ascending to the God of our fathers, yea, unto our Father, for His blessings upon us; and that He may fill us with His spirit and prepare us for the things that await us, and help us to be faithful even unto the end.

That we may all be thus faithful and overcome, and be counted worthy to sit down with our fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and with all the holy ones in the presence of God and the Lamb, and be crowned with glory, immortality and endless lives, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Discourse by Elder George Q. Cannon, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, December 5, 1869.

I desire to read, this afternoon, a portion of two revelations, which were given to the Prophet, Joseph Smith, in February, 1831. The first is paragraph 4 of section XIII:

“Again I say unto you, that it shall not be given to anyone to go forth to preach my gospel, or to build up my church, except he be ordained by some one who has authority, and it is known to the church that he has authority, and has been regularly ordained by the heads of the church.”

Also paragraphs 1 and 2 of section XIV:

“O hearken, ye elders of my church, and give an ear to the words which I shall speak unto you. For behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye have received a commandment for a law unto my church, through him whom I have appointed unto you, to receive commandments and revelations from my hand. And this ye shall know assuredly that there is none other appointed unto you to receive commandments and revelations until he be taken, if he abide in me.

“But verily, verily, I say unto you, that none else shall be appointed unto this gift except it be through him; for if it be taken from him he shall not have power except to appoint another in his stead. And this shall be a law unto you, that ye receive not the teachings of any that shall come before you as revelations or commandments; And this I give unto you that yon may not be deceived, that you may know they are not of me. For verily I say unto you, that he that is ordained of me shall come in at the gate and be ordained as I have told you before, to teach those revelations which you have received and shall receive through him whom I have appointed.”

It is a good thing for us, as a people, to let our minds dwell upon the principles which God our Heavenly Father has given unto us by revelation in this, as well as in preceding ages. The Lord, in His goodness and mercy unto His children, has not left them in ignorance concerning the plan of salvation, nor the manner in which He intends His Church to be built up. He has revealed unto us many principles for our guidance, and they are essentially necessary to enable us to grow and increase in the things of His kingdom; for in these days, as well as in preceding days, as the apostle has said, there are many spirits gone forth into the world and there are many influences brought to bear upon the minds of the children of men. There are many creeds, doctrines, and views propagated industriously by those who entertain them, and unless we cling to the truth and pursue the path which our Heavenly Father desires His children to walk in, with all our claims, and the promises which have been made unto us, we are as liable to go astray as any other people. If we treat these things as matters of no importance, and are careless and negligent in relation to that which we believe, and to those whom we follow, we are sure to err.

There are some principles which have become firmly rooted in the minds of the Latter-day Saints. It is a difficult thing to cause them to doubt in relation to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance of sin, baptism for the remission of sins and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. These principles seem to be clearly understood, and in them the people are apparently fully indoctrinated; and though men may deny the faith, in one sense, and turn away from the path of righteousness, and dissolve their connection with the Church, yet they will cling, in most instances, to what we term the first principles of the Gospel of Christ; and it is a very rare thing to see those who have been members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints turning away and joining what we call sectarian churches. If they leave this Church, it is an exceedingly difficult thing for them to connect themselves with other denominations, because the Scriptures are so familiar to them, the principles contained therein are so plain to their understanding that, unless there is some speculation, some mercenary or other end to be gained by their alliance with people of other creeds, they are very apt to stand aloof; that is, where they have a thorough understanding of the principles of the Gospel.

But there are other principles more advanced with which the people are not so familiar, and of this the adversary seeks to take advantage; and when men deny the faith, they are apt to deny these principles; and when they get into the dark, there is probably no point upon which they differ more frequently than that which relates to the authority that is exercised in presiding. This is a point that the adversary always aims at. I suppose it was so in ancient days. We read of false prophets then, and also of men turning away; and there is no doubt but what the rock upon which they split was the question of the right and authority of those presiding over them.

It seems as though the adversary, in the day in which we live, seeks, by every means in his power, to undermine the influence and the authority of the man whom God has called to preside over His people. If you will observe, you may perceive in what direction the shafts of the adversary are aimed. In the days of Joseph, he was the man against whom all the enemies of truth hurled their malicious shots; his life was sought, his character assailed, and his influence was decried. He was the target at which every arrow of calumny and hatred was aimed, and the man to whom all eyes were directed. He was held up before men as an object worthy only of their hatred and derision, to be scoffed at, despised and killed.

Did anybody hear then of others who are now prominent? Yes. President Young’s name was talked about, but not as at present; but Joseph’s name occupied every tongue. His deeds, or rather his misdeeds, as his enemies were pleased to call them, occupied every one’s attention. His actions were scrutinized and misrepresented, and everything pertaining to him was made the subject of comment and reproach. It was the case from the hour that he received the plates of the Book of Mormon, until the day of his death. All those who were members of the Church during his lifetime can bear testimony to this. Other elders were comparatively lost sight of; they were merely looked upon as satellites. He was the great object of suspicion. His name was the watchword of the foes of the Kingdom of God; and mobs banded themselves together in unholy compacts, in order that they might bring to pass his overthrow and shed his blood, imagining that, if they could only kill him, this work, which men call “Mormonism,” would crumble to pieces, because there would not be cohesiveness enough in the system to hold it together after the mastermind had disappeared. But no sooner did he pass away than all this hatred, all the derision, animosity, calumny and slander, which had been directed to Joseph, was transferred to Brigham Young, and he was made the object of vituperation, and the target at which every wicked man should shoot. His deeds and character were paraded abroad, and everything pertaining to him was canvassed and held up, in many instances, to public scorn and ridicule. Such has continued to be the case from the days of the Prophet Joseph up to the present time.

There were others during Joseph’s day, who professed to have the authority which he possessed, or, as they said, which he had once possessed. At one time, in the early days of the Church, there was a number of elders among whom were some of the Twelve Apostles and one or two of the First Presidency, who banded themselves together and declared that Joseph was a fallen prophet, that he had taught correct doctrines, that he had been the instrument in the hands of God, of revealing the truth and of bringing forth the Book of Mormon, restoring the holy Priesthood and of organizing the Church; but that he had fallen. The doctrines which he had first taught were correct, they said, and the position which he first assumed was acceptable in the sight of God; but through some cause, he had strayed from the path and had become a fallen prophet. Said they, “We now have the right and the authority which he once had. We have the right to organize the Saints, to build up the Church and carry out the work of which Joseph was the founder, but which, through transgression, he has forfeited the right to lead.”

There was one peculiarity, however, connected with these pretenders, which distinguished their course from that pursued by Joseph. Instead of being the subject of all the evil remarks, all the calumny, all the hatred, slander, bloodthirstiness and denunciations applied to the Prophet Joseph, singular to state, when you take into consideration the pretensions of those men, the wicked hailed them as brethren, consorted with them, became very brotherly, very fraternal, and looked upon them as very good, clever fellows. But the hatred towards Joseph did not diminish, in fact their conduct only tended to increase it and to make his life and his every deed more odious in their estimation, and in the estimation of those to whom they published his deeds. This was also a peculiarity which attended all who aimed to lead the Church without having the authority so to do.

At Joseph’s death a crop of these pretenders sprang up. There was Sidney Rigdon, who contended that he had the right to lead the people. The Church was fourteen years of age, he said, and it had the right to choose a guardian, to lead the people, and conduct its affairs as its President, and he would be that guardian. James J. Strang also aimed at the same object. He had angels, he said, to visit him; I do not know but he told the names of the angels; but, if my memory serves me right, he affirmed that Joseph appeared to him, blessed him and bestowed upon him the keys and the authority. He also showed a letter bearing the postmark of Nauvoo, which he pretended had been written by Joseph, giving him (Strang) the authority to preside over the Church, in the event of anything happening to him. Others stood up in a similar manner: John E. Page, Lyman Wight, William Smith, and afterwards, Charles Thompson.

All these men arose, claiming that it was their right and privilege, by ordination or by special appointment, to take charge of the Church. But the Church then, as on many occasions previously and since that time, was able, through the light which its members possessed, to discriminate between the voice of the true and false shepherd. Still this peculiarity—being hailed as brethren by the wicked, characterized them in Nauvoo, as their predecessors in New York, Kirtland and Missouri. Instead of being hated and calumniated, and men seeking their lives and persecuting them, they were hailed with seeming pleasure and satisfaction. Men bade them “God speed” and urged them forward to claim the rights they called their own. But against Brigham Young, our President, the old feeling of animosity, that had been entertained against Joseph, existed with as great bitterness and intensity in the minds of the enemies of the Kingdom of God as it had existed during the lifetime of Joseph against him.

President Young, according to the statements of the wicked, reenacted all the evil deeds, as they were termed, that had been attributed to Joseph, and for which they killed him. Brigham became the inheritor of all that animosity and hatred that had been manifested towards Joseph during his lifetime; and when Joseph slept in a bloody grave, the enemies of the Church turned their attention to Brigham Young, his legal successor.

If the Saints had wanted evidence in relation to who was the right man and who had the authority, the very fact that the world hated, reviled and persecuted Brigham should have been sufficient evidence that he was taking the path which Joseph had trod, and that his course was pleasing in the sight of Heaven, and consequently hateful in the sight of hell.

There are rules, my brethren, which were given in the early days of the Church, respecting the Presidency of the Church. In the revelation which I have just read in your hearing, the Lord plainly sets forth to the Church what course He would have it take in relation to the keys that had been bestowed by Peter, James and John upon Joseph; and that we may not be deceived He gives this rule:

“But verily, verily, I say unto you, that none else shall be appointed unto this gift except it be through him, for if it be taken from him, he shall not have power except to appoint another in his stead; and this shall be a law unto you, that ye receive not the teachings of any that shall come before you as revelations or commandments; and this I give unto you that you may not be deceived, that you may know they are not of me. For verily I say unto you, that he that is ordained of me shall come in at the gate and be ordained as I have told you before, to teach those revelations which you have received, and shall receive through him whom I have appointed.”

The Lord here made express provisions as to who should hold the keys of the kingdom, and how those keys should be held, and the manner in which the authority should be exercised. Men have pretended that angels have visited them, and that, in consequence they must have authority. This was the pretence made by James J. Strang. But he did not understand that the oracles had been given through Joseph, according to the revelation given in March, 1833, to the Church. Others had also had the keys given unto them to enable them to exercise the power and authority which Joseph held. Now we may come to this conclusion; that God, having once bestowed the keys of the holy Priesthood on man here on the earth for the upbuilding of His Church, will never take them from the man or men who hold them and authorize others to bestow them. If you will read the history of the Church from the beginning, you will find that Joseph was visited by various angelic beings, but not one of them professed to give him the keys until John the Baptist came to him. Moroni, who held the keys of the record of the stick of Ephraim, visited Joseph; he had doubtless, also, visits from Nephi and it may be from Alma and others, but though they came and had authority, holding the authority of the Priesthood, we have no account of their ordaining him, neither did Joseph ever profess, because of the ministration of these angels, to have authority to administer in any of the ordinances of the Kingdom of God. He never baptized anybody, nor attempted to lay on hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost; and, in fact, he never attempted, that we have any account of, to exercise any of the functions of the holy Priesthood. He was a prophet, it is true, but a man may be a prophet and yet not have authority to administer in the Priesthood. The prophetic gift, to some extent, is distinct from the Priesthood. Joseph had received the prophetic gift and he exercised it and he acted as such prior to his ordination. But when the time came for him to be baptized, then a man who held the keys of that Priesthood came to him and laid his hands upon Joseph’s head, and upon Oliver Cowdery, and set them apart, and gave them authority to officiate in the Aaronic Priesthood, which Priesthood held the keys of baptism and so forth.

John had the right to baptize when he was upon the earth; he held the keys of that Priesthood. He baptized Jesus by virtue of the Priesthood which he held; and those keys had not been taken from him. At the time when Joseph Smith was ordained, there was no man on the face of the earth that held the keys of the Priesthood and the authority to ordain him. If there had been a man in the Greek, Roman, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Episcopal or any other church extant upon the face of the earth, who had the keys of the Priesthood, Joseph Smith would not have been ordained by an angel, because the keys would have been here and been bestowed by the man who held them. But you might have searched from pole to pole and traversed the wide expanse of the earth from continent to continent, and visited all the nations of the earth and enquired of them if there was a man in their midst who had the keys of the holy Priesthood and who claimed the authority which was exercised in olden times by Peter, James and John, and the rest of the servants of God; but you would have heard no response in the affirmative. None would have stood up and said, “I have this authority.” Throughout Christendom, throughout the entire Mahomedan and Pagan world, you could not have found a man who professed to have this authority. No; it had been driven from the midst of mankind by the violence of wicked men, who shed the blood of those who held those keys and that authority; and it had gone back to God who gave it, and dwelt there; for the men who held it dwelt in the presence of the Almighty.

Hence, when Joseph Smith desired baptism, though angels had visited him and had ministered unto him, though he had heard the voice of God and Jesus Christ, though he had been called to be a prophet, he had not the right and the authority to go forth and administer the ordinances of baptism, neither had any living soul, to do it legitimately. It was necessary that he should be ordained; it was necessary that those keys should be restored; and hence how proper it was that John, who held the keys and had been beheaded by a wicked king, should come and restore them? Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery testified that John came and laid his hands upon their heads and bestowed upon them the power and authority to administer in the holy ordinances of the Gospel.

When they were baptized, and had received the authority to administer in that ordinance they did not attempt to lay on hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost; that was a separate and distinct power from the Aaronic Priesthood. John says, in the 3rd chapter of Matthew, 11th verse, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.”

John did not profess to have the authority to lay on hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost. We read in no part of the Scriptures of his exercising any such authority. He had the authority to baptize, the power which pertained unto his Priesthood, being a descendant of Aaron, and baptism was one of the ordinances which pertained to the Aaronic Priesthood; but he had not the right to lay on hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost. It was necessary that that authority should be conferred; but who held that power in ancient days? Why, Peter, James and John, who had been ordained by Jesus to the Melchizedek Priesthood, or the Priesthood after the order of Melchizedek, and having exercised that authority while on the earth in the flesh, they came bearing the keys of that Melchizedek Priesthood, and laid their hands upon Joseph Smith and ordained him to the power which he subsequently held, as the President or head of this great and last dispensation of the fullness of times. By virtue of those keys he was empowered to lay hands on those who were baptized in the name of Jesus, by legal authority, and to confirm upon their heads—upon the heads of the honest in heart—the blessings of the Gospel, and by virtue of these keys they had the right to build up the Church of God in all its ancient purity and glory, and to preach the Gospel in its fullness, with its gifts and blessings, and to send men abroad as ministers of life and salvation to the nations of the world, the same as Peter and those associated with him. Said Jesus, “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven.” Peter therefore held those keys. What wonderful consistency on the part of the Lord, that He should descend from Heaven and confer those keys on men here on the earth!

There are men who say that Joseph was an unlearned impostor; but how strange it is that, if an impostor, he should take the exact course, established in the economy of Heaven for the salvation of mankind; and that he should claim the authority, through the administration—first of John the Baptist, and then of Peter, James and John, the apostles.

The keys of this Priesthood were bestowed never more to be taken from the earth; hence, in the revelation I have read, provision was made by the Lord that Joseph, in case he should fall, should ordain another in his stead, and he should have authority only to lay hands on and set apart someone to act in his place, in case he should prove unworthy. Thus, even from the beginning, the Lord seems to have held constantly before him the possibility of his falling away. He was a young man, and like every man, he was apt to get lifted up in the pride of his heart; therefore, God reminded him that he only held the keys as long as he should be faithful to the truth. But in a subsequent revelation, the Lord informed him that he should hold the keys in this life and in the life to come, and they should never be taken from him.

By virtue of the ordination he received, Joseph had the right and the authority to confer this Priesthood upon others. He called twelve Apostles, and they were ordained under his authority by the direction of the Lord, and those twelve were endowed with the keys. Previous to his death, the Prophet Joseph manifested great anxiety to see the temple completed, as most of you who were with the Church during his day, well know. “Hurry up the work, brethren,” he used to say, “let us finish the temple; the Lord has a great endowment in store for you, and I am anxious that the brethren should have their endowments and receive the fullness of the Priesthood.” He urged the Saints forward continually, preaching unto them the importance of completing that building, so that therein the ordinances of life and salvation might be administered to the whole people, but especially to the quorums of the holy Priesthood; “then,” said he, “the Kingdom will be established, and I do not care what shall become of me.”

These were his expressions oft repeated in the congregations of the Saints, telling the brethren and sisters of the Church, and the world that he rolled the Kingdom on to the Twelve, and they would have to round up their shoulders and bear it off, as he was going to rest for awhile, and many other expressions of a like nature, the full meaning of which the Saints did not realize at the time.

Prior to the completion of the Temple, he took the Twelve and certain other men, who were chosen, and bestowed upon them a holy anointing, similar to that which was received on the day of Pentecost by the Twelve, who had been told to tarry at Jerusalem. This endowment was bestowed upon the chosen few whom Joseph anointed and ordained, giving unto them the keys of the holy Priesthood, the power and authority which he himself held, to build up the Kingdom of God in all the earth and accomplish the great purposes of our Heavenly Father; and it was by virtue of this authority, on the death of Joseph, that President Young, as President of the quorum of the Twelve, presided over the Church.

The enemies of the work of God had done their worst in murdering the Prophet in cold blood, and they supposed that in killing him and taking him away their actions would prove a death knell to what they called “Mormonism;” but they little knew or understood that God had left the same power on the earth which Joseph wielded with such potent effect. The reins had been transferred to others, who were prepared to wield that power, and to step forward and take the responsibility upon them of carrying forward the work of God. Hence, there was no diminution of hatred, slander and persecution on the part of mobs and those who wished to shed the blood of the Saints.

After the death of Joseph, while the Twelve were in the East, there was seemingly a slight relaxation of bitterness towards the Saints, on the part of the enemies of truth; but it was only for a few days. When the Twelve returned, and it was found that the same power which Joseph had held still existed, persecutions on the part of mobs recommenced with renewed vigor and bitterness, and they swore out several charges against the brethren of the Twelve. So warm did this persecution become, that the houses of President Young and his brethren had to be guarded, and each had to take care of himself, as his blood, and particularly President Young’s, was sought with just as great eagerness and bloodthirstiness as Joseph’s had previously been. This ought to have been an evidence as to who held the authority.

When the Saints were driven from Nauvoo and were told that it was the will of God that we should forsake the land of our inheritance and take our journey across the Mississippi and through the then Territory of Iowa into the far distant West, every Latter-day Saint in the land, who had the Spirit of God, knew the voice of the true shepherd, and those who were in the East made preparations, some to go round by sea and some to go by land, and join the camp of Israel on its westward march. The land to which we were hastening was new and unknown to us. The masses of the people did not know whether it would be in the wilds of the desert, on the tops of the mountains or in some place that would be delightful for man’s habitation. These were subjects that did not concern the people who were thus called to forsake their homes. The Saints sold what they could, which, however, was very little indeed, for their enemies took possession of their property, and they started westward, following the man whom God had chosen, and whom they recognized as God’s anointed.

There were those who went back to Pittsburgh with Sidney Rigdon, and to Voree, Wisconsin, with Strang; and also those who tarried in Nauvoo with Wm. Smith and John E. Page. There were others who followed Thompson and other pretenders; but the main body of the Saints were not to be deceived by these pretended shepherds. They knew the voice of him whom God had chosen, and followed him, confident that they would be led aright and brought to a place of safety; and though they were in deep poverty, and it seemed as though the prince of the power of the air had exerted all his malignity to make their travel difficult, the land being deluged with water; yet they did not faint by the wayside, for God was with them, His angels were round about them, and His Spirit was poured out upon them, and they had a testimony which gave them the conviction that they were in the right path; and when history records that wonderful deliverance and march, it will be a matter of the utmost surprise and wonder to posterity that it was ever accomplished, and that the people of the world, in seeing it, were not smitten with a conviction of the truth of the work, and of the divine authority of the Priesthood which led the people in a pathway of safety, through the wilderness, at that time. The songs of Zion ascended from the camps of Israel and peace brooded over the people. Barefooted, and in many instances hungry, they traveled on with their faces westward, their faith failing not; for, as I have said, the angels of God were round about them and His spirit was upon them; and at no period of their history was the power of God more exhibited than during that trying time when God led His servant to this then wild and forbidding region.

Since we have been here, He has blessed us as a people. He has spread us abroad, and caused us to extend North and South, and His peace and blessing have attended the labors and the administration of the elders in our midst. The keys of the Priesthood have been fully honored, not by man alone, but they have been honored by God; and the exercise of that authority which God bestowed on Joseph Smith by the ministration of holy angels, has been a blessing to many thousands in this land. We have had peace, we have had good government, and the songs and prayers of the Saints have ascended up from their habitations unto the Most High God, and Heaven has been moved in our behalf, to bless and preserve us and give us victory and deliverance in every time of trouble; and when we have been threatened with any difficulty or calamity, God has always overruled and controlled it, for our good and for the salvation of His people. Is it any wonder, then, that Latter-day Saints should have confidence in the man whom God has chosen? Many men wonder and say, “You Latter-day Saints are bowed down in tyranny and are groaning under despotism. Why are you not free to exercise your liberty? Why don’t you do as you please? Why do you always do as your prophet and leader tells you?” Because we have proved during twenty-five long years, that God has blessed him in everything he has told us to do, and we have been blessed of God in carrying out his counsels. When we have prayed to the Almighty to give us wisdom and humility to obey the counsels of His servant, He has given unto us His Holy Spirit and witnessed unto our hearts that this course was pleasing and acceptable in His sight. Rebel against him and his authority! As well might we rebel against Jehovah Himself, or against Jesus! Not that President Young is to be worshipped, not that Joseph Smith was to be worshipped, not that Peter or Moses was to be worshipped. There is a difference between obedience and idolatry, or worship. There is a difference between submission to the will of God—at least, I can perceive a difference—and obeying God’s counsels through a man, and idolizing the man himself, and we have perceived this difference.

God chooses men as guardians and shepherds over His people. We are all of one great family; we are all the children of God, and are all alike before Him. “Yes,” says one, “we are all alike, and therefore there is no distinction between us.” But let me suppose a case. Suppose a man who has a large family of sons and daughters, were to be called on a mission to go abroad to preach the Gospel of Christ, and had to be absent for years; the members of the family during his absence would be left to themselves. But suppose he had a choice son whom he loved, and who had been implicitly obedient to him all the days of his life, and whose course had taught him to respect his judgment, his honesty, his truthfulness and the integrity and justice of his character, and that in the most trying circumstances he had never failed to honor himself, God, his family, and to honor his father. Now, as he is going away to a far distant land, he takes this son aside and says to him, “I will place you in charge of my family, and leave you to watch over their interests in my absence, that while I am gone they may have someone to look up to who can act the part of a father to them.” And then turning to the family he says, “My sons and daughters, I have chosen this son, your elder brother, to act in my place while I am absent. I wish you to obey him and respect and honor him as you would your father, and to submit yourselves to his dictation in all things.” The family consent. They say, “We will do as you desire, father. We will honor your judgment and choice by honoring and obeying our brother whom you have chosen to watch over us during your absence.”

It might be argued that those children, by complying with the wish of their father in this matter, would sacrifice their agency. Do they not exercise that volition just as much by obeying that son as they would by each one taking his or her own course, and saying, “I will judge for myself, as to the correctness of what you say and will differ from you whenever I please.” Let me ask you as parents and as children, brethren and sisters, do you not think you could exercise your agency just as much by obeying the son as by disobeying him? I cannot conceive how it can be otherwise. I cannot see why I, for instance, should not exercise my agency just as much by obeying him as by disobeying him. This is precisely my position today.

Brigham Young, our President, has been chosen by God as His representative here on the earth, among His sons and daughters. He has been selected for this special calling. The Father is not present in person; Jesus is not present in person; but God is here through the Holy Ghost and the holy Priesthood, through the power which He has bestowed, and in the same position precisely as the son in the figure which I have used does the President of the Church act for us, his brethren and sisters. We are all alike before God; He loves us all alike; we are all the creatures of His care; but there must be rule, there must be government; there must be order, or this would not be the kingdom of God. The Lord chose President Young to rule and dictate in the affairs of His Church when His servant Joseph was taken from the earth.

Look at the singular combination of circumstances which caused Brigham Young to be President of the Twelve. Reflect on the remarkable combination of events which made him the leader of Israel, showing plainly, in my mind, that long before he was born, yes, probably before the earth was organized, Joseph Smith and Brigham Young were chosen, the same as Jeremiah was. The Lord said to Jeremiah: “Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” This is my opinion about the leaders of Israel in the latter days. I believe they were chosen to act in this capacity; and God, knowing their integrity, and afterwards proving them to the uttermost in the flesh, has greatly blessed them. See the blessings that have followed the administrations of these men in our midst. Who would exchange the peace, the joy, and the knowledge we have concerning the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ for the meager and vague ideas of God and His kingdom that prevailed before the people became acquainted with it? God has given unto us those precious blessings. He has gathered us together from the nations of the earth; He has multiplied upon us abundantly, joys more precious than gold or silver, namely, the riches of eternity; He has given unto us wisdom and knowledge and peace; He has proved to us most effectively that there are riches more precious and far more estimable in the sight of God and good and virtuous men than the perishable things of this world. He has built up a kingdom in which these things will be held at their true value, for He will cleanse from the midst of His people those who idolize riches.

Let me assure you, brethren and sisters, if there is anything in our hearts that interferes with our complete love of God and our reverence for Him and His work, we shall have to banish it, or sooner or later we shall lose our standing in the Church of God; for He wants a people who will render implicit obedience to His laws and the requirements of His Gospel, and who will love Him better than any earthly thing, and place a higher value on the gifts of the Spirit than on worldly possessions or even life itself.

The Lord has proved to us, in the midst of the many trials and difficulties with which we have had to contend during our brief existence as a Church, when surrounded by mobs, when our lives were in danger and the lives of our leaders were threatened, when the persecutors of the Saints were howling like a pack of ravening wolves for the blood of this people, that there is something far more precious and estimable than mere eating and drinking and the pleasures and enjoyments of life; although these things are very good and necessary in their place. He has given us His Gospel and this Gospel is being carried to all the nations of the earth, and a kingdom is being established.

Jesus said that this Gospel should be preached as a witness to all nations, and then should the end come. What Gospel? Why, the same Gospel Jesus had and to which he referred; the same Gospel that his apostles had: a Gospel of power, a Gospel of blessings, whose Priesthood had power and authority from God. It is the same Gospel that is now being taught, and which has to be preached as a witness to all nations, and then shall the end come. God is sending forth His messengers to accomplish this object. Our Elders have gone to the Eastern States by hundreds to lift up their warning voices to the people concerning the things which God is doing and is about to do in the midst of the inhabitants of the earth. For this purpose they go to Europe, to the West, to the Islands of the Pacific, to Asia and Africa, and they will yet traverse every country on the face of the whole earth. The millions of Asia will yet hear the glad tidings of salvation from the Elders of Israel. The yoke of bondage is being broken and the nations are being freed from the grasp of despotism and tyranny. Japan now opens her ports; China begins to extend her invitation to western civilization, and the time is near at hand when the sound of this Gospel, proclaimed by the Elders of Israel, will reecho from one end of the earth to the other, for it must be preached as a witness unto all nations.

We may engage in this work with all our hearts in view of the glorious reward that is promised unto the faithful; or we may fight against it and use our every power to consummate its overthrow; it makes no difference. The word of the Lord Almighty has gone forth to the people of this generation, and it will not remain unfulfilled. It matters not, therefore, who band together and plot in secret, who unite and say we will spoil the plan and destroy the influence of the work of God. The Lord will expose their secret plots and schemes, and He will stand by His servant whom He has chosen, so long as He lives, as He did by His servant Joseph. He told him that he would save him though he should be slain.

The Lord permitted the enemies of the Kingdom of God to take away the life of His servant Joseph, as He did of His servants in ancient days. The blood of the testator was shed, and now the testament is in full force. Joseph had lifted up his voice in solemn warning to the inhabitants of the earth, and declared that God had spoken in these latter days. But his blood and that of other holy men and Saints was shed by wicked men, and their blood, mingled with that of the martyred Saints of past ages, cries unto the Lord for vengeance. The very earth itself groans under the weight of wickedness and corruption that abound on its surface, and the Lord has declared that it shall be delivered. But before the great day of vengeance shall come, when wickedness shall be utterly swept from off the face of the earth, it is necessary that the Elders should proclaim the Gospel to every nation, kindred and tongue on the face of the earth, that the honest in heart may be gathered out and that a people may be found who shall be prepared to meet the Lord at His coming.

For this preparation we should give our whole time and labor to the purifying of our hearts and households. We should labor to purify our cities and settlements, labor to promulgate the principles of righteousness and to establish truth on the earth and seek to bring to pass the Zion of God in its fulness and perfection.

These are the labors which devolve upon us. Think not, my brethren and sisters, because God has chosen earthly vessels to hold this power and authority, that therefore you can treat lightly the holy Priesthood. I have noticed from my boyhood, and it has been a constant lesson to me, that those who speak against the authorities and lift their hands against the holy Priesthood of this Church invariably deny the faith. I have never seen it otherwise. You may trace the history of this people from the beginning and you will find that every man who has indulged in this spirit has always come out and denied the faith. Such men, when Joseph lived, said that he had fallen. Since his death they excuse their conduct by saying that Brigham has gone astray.

But when the Lord spoke to Joseph about falling, he said he would have authority to appoint another in his stead, and that no one would have the right to act except he was ordained by authority, or came in through the gate. You may know by the revelation I have read that no man can get the authority elsewhere. It must come through the holy Priesthood. Men may say they have heard the voice of Jesus, or heard this, that or the other; but you will find that the power of God will attend the keys, and His blessing will follow the administration of His servants who hold the authority.

Paul said, “Do ye not know that the Saints shall judge the world?” On one occasion Jesus said, “Ye who have followed me in the regeneration, when the Son of Man shall sit on the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

In a revelation given through Joseph Smith, the Lord says:

“And again, verily, verily, I say unto you, and it hath gone forth in a firm decree, by the will of the Father, that mine apostles, the twelve, which were with me in my ministry at Jerusalem, shall stand at my right hand at the day of my coming in a pillar of fire, being clothed with robes of righteousness, with crowns upon their heads, in glory even as I am, to judge the whole house of Israel.”

This is the authority which Jesus said they should wield. The same authority has been renewed in these days. Says one, “I do not like this sort of thing; it is priestly rule and dominion, and I object to it. I am too much of a democrat in my feelings to submit to it.” Yet a man can be a democrat and a lover of freedom and liberty and enjoy them to the fullest, and honor the Priesthood. There is a difference between priestcraft and Priesthood. Priestcraft builds up itself, it is not authorized of God. Priestcraft oppresses the people; but the Priesthood of God emancipates men and women and makes them free. Jesus says his yoke is easy and his burden light.

We talk of power, and object to the undue exercise of authority. But think of the power given in ancient days, and which has been restored in these days, that man exercises when he goes forth into the water and bap– tizes a person! Do you ever think of the greatness of the power thus exercised? And further, when the candidate for baptism emerges from the water and has hands laid upon him for the reception of the Holy Ghost, do you think of the power that God has entrusted unto men on earth when they exercise that holy ordinance? Do you think of the power exercised in remitting the sins of men and women through baptism, the ordinance which God has set in His Church for the remission of sins, and conferring upon them the Holy Ghost? If God sends such mighty power, shall we question the bestowal of a higher power when God shall choose to give it? Shall we murmur and contend against it? God forbid, and forbid that we should ever turn aside and fight against Him or His cause in any manner.

My brethren and sisters, my prayers are that God will bless us as a people and sanctify us to walk in all humility and meekness before Him, honoring His laws; for when we honor His laws we honor the laws of righteousness and the laws of the land in equity and truth. We will honor men in their place; we will honor the Government and everything that is just and honorable and true. That God may sustain us and help us to sustain the Priesthood, and to follow its requirements, that eventually we may be saved in His kingdom, is my prayer in the name of Jesus, Amen.

Discourse by Elder George Q. Cannon, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, October 9, 1869.

I will repeat a few verses in the tenth chapter of Mark, commencing at the twenty-eighth verse.

“Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.

“And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s,

“But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.”

In rising to address you this morning, my brethren and sisters, I rely upon your faith and prayers and the blessing of God. We have heard, during Conference, a great many precious instructions, and in none have I been more interested than in those which have been given to the Saints concerning that much mooted doctrine called Patriarchal or Celestial Marriage. I am interested in this doctrine, because I see salvation, temporal and spiritual, embodied therein. I know, pretty well, what the popular feelings concerning this doctrine are; I am familiar with the opinions of the world, having traveled and mingled with the people sufficiently to be conversant with their ideas in relation to this subject. I am also familiar with the feelings of the Latter-day Saints upon this point. I know the sacrifice of feeling which it has caused for them to adopt this principle in their faith and lives. It has required the revelation of God, our heavenly Father, to enable His people to receive this principle and carry it out. I wish, here, to make one remark in connection with this subject—that while there is abundant proof to be found in the Scriptures and elsewhere in support of this doctrine, still it is not because it was practiced four thousand years ago by the servants and people of God, or because it has been practiced by any people or nation in any period of the world’s history, that the Latter-day Saints have adopted it and made it part of their practice, but it is because God, our heavenly Father, has revealed it unto us. If there were no record of its practice to be found, and if the Bible, Book of Mormon and Book of Doctrine and Covenants were totally silent in respect to this doctrine, it would nevertheless be binding upon us as a people, God Himself having given a revelation for us to practice it at the present time. This should be understood by us as a people. It is gratifying to know, however, that we are not the first of God’s people unto whom this principle has been revealed; it is gratifying to know that we are only following in the footsteps of those who have preceded us in the work of God, and that we, today, are only carrying out the principle which God’s people observed, in obedience to revelation from Him, thousands of years ago. It is gratifying to know that we are suffering persecution, that we are threatened with fines and imprisonment for the practice of precisely the same principle which Abraham, the “Friend of God,” practiced in his life and taught to his children after him.

The discourses of brother Orson Pratt and of President George A. Smith have left but very little to be said in relation to the Scriptural arguments in favor of this doctrine. I know that the general opinion among men is that the Old Testament, to some extent, sustains it; but that the New Testament—Jesus and the Apostles, were silent concerning it. It was clearly proved in our hearing yesterday, and the afternoon of the day previous, that the New Testament, though not so explicit in reference to the doctrine, is still decidedly in favor of it and sustains it. Jesus very plainly told the Jews, when boasting of being the seed of Abraham, that if they were, they would do the works of Abraham. He and the Apostles, in various places, clearly set forth that Abraham was the great exemplar of faith for them to follow, and that they must follow him, if they ever expected to participate in the glory and exaltation enjoyed by Abraham and his faithful seed. Throughout the New Testament Abraham is held up to the converts to the doctrines which Jesus taught, as an example worthy of imitation, and in no place is there a word of condemnation uttered concerning him. The Apostle Paul, in speaking of him says:

“Know ye, therefore, that they which are of the faith, the same are the children of Abraham…So then they which be of the faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.”

He also says that the Gentiles, through adoption, became Abraham’s seed; that the blessing of Abraham, says he, might come upon the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, showing plainly that Jesus and all the Apostles who alluded to the subject, held the deeds of Abraham to be, in every respect, worthy of imitation.

Who was this Abraham? I have heard the saying frequently advanced, that in early life, being an idolater, it was an idolatrous, heathenish principle which he adopted in taking to himself a second wife, while Sarah still lived. Those who make this assertion in reference to the great patriarch, seem to be ignorant of the fact that he was well advanced in life and had served God faithfully many years, prior to making any addition to his family. He did not have a plurality of wives until years after the Lord had revealed Himself to him, commanding him to leave Ur, of the Chaldees, and go forth to a land which He would give to him and his posterity for an everlasting possession. He went forth and lived in that land many long years before the promise of God was fulfilled unto him—namely, that in his seed should all the nations of the earth be blessed; and Abraham was still without any heir, except Eliezer, of Damascus, the steward of his house. At length, after living thus for ten years, God commanded him to take to himself another wife, who was given to him by his wife Sarah. When the offspring of this marriage was born, Abraham was eighty-six years old.

We read of no word of condemnation from the Lord for this act—something which we might naturally expect if, as this unbelieving and licentious generation affirm, the act of taking more wives than one be such a vile crime, and so abominable in the sight of God; for if it be evil in the sight of the Lord today, it was then, for the Scriptures inform us that He changes not, He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and is without variableness or the shadow of turning. But instead of condemnation, God revealed Himself continually to His friend Abraham, teaching His will unto him, revealing all things concerning the future it was necessary for him to understand, and promising him that, though he had been blessed with a son, Ishmael, yet in Isaac, a child of promise, not yet born, should his seed be called. Abraham was to have yet another son. Sarah, in her old age, because of her faithfulness, because of her willingness to comply with the requirements and revelations of God, was to have a son given unto her. Such an event was so unheard of among women at her time of life that, though the Lord promised it, she could not help laughing at the idea. But God fulfilled His promise, and in due time Isaac was born, and was greatly blessed of the Lord.

Determined to try His faithful servant Abraham to the uttermost, the Lord, some years after the birth of this son, in whom He had promised that Abraham’s seed should be called, required him to offer up this boy as a burnt offering to Him; and Abraham, nothing doubting, but full of faith and integrity, and of devotion to his God, proved himself worthy of the honored title that had been conferred upon him, namely, “the Friend of God,” by taking his son Isaac, in whom most of his hopes for the future centered, up the mountain, and there, having built the altar, he bound the victim, and with knife uplifted, was about to strike the fatal blow, when the angel of the Lord cried out of heaven com– manding him not to slay his son. The Lord was satisfied, having tried him to the uttermost, and found him willing even to shed the blood of his well-beloved son.

The Lord was so pleased with the faithfulness of Abraham, that He gave unto him the greatest promise He could give to any human being on the face of the earth. What do you think was the nature of that promise? Did He promise to Abraham a crown of eternal glory? Did He promise to him that he should be in the presence of the Lamb, that he should tune his harp and sing praises to God and the Lamb throughout the endless ages of eternity? Let me quote it to you, and it would be well if all the inhabitants of the earth would reflect upon it. Said the Lord:

“In blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies.”

This was the promise which God gave to Abraham, in that hour of his triumph, in that hour when there was joy in heaven over the faithfulness of one of God’s noblest and most devoted sons. Think of the greatness of this blessing! Can you count the stars of heaven, or even the grains of a handful of sand? No, it is beyond the power of earth’s most gifted sons to do either, and yet God promised to Abraham that his seed should be as innumerable as the stars of heaven or as the sand on the seashore.

How similar was this promise of God to Abraham to that made by Jesus as a reward for faithfulness to those who followed him! Said Jesus, he that forsakes brothers or sisters, houses or lands, father or mother, wives or children, shall receive a hundredfold in this life with persecution, and eternal life in the world to come.

A very similar blessing to that which God, long before, had made to Abraham, and couched in very similar terms.

It is pertinent for us to inquire, on the present occasion, how the promises made by Jesus and his Father, in ages of the world separated by a long interval the one from the other, could be realized under the system which prevails throughout Christendom at the present day? In the monogamic system, under which the possession of more than one living wife is regarded as such a crime, and as being so fearfully immoral, how could the promise of the Savior to his faithful followers, that they should have a hundredfold of wives and children, in this present life, ever be realized? There is a way which God has provided in a revelation given to this Church, in which He says:

“Strait is the gate and narrow the way that leadeth unto the exaltation and continuation of the lives, and few there be that find it, because ye receive me not in the world, neither do ye know me.”

God revealed that strait and narrow way to Abraham, and taught him how he could enter therein. He taught him the principle of plurality of wives; Abraham practiced it and bequeathed it to his children as a principle which they were to practice. Under such a system it was a comparatively easy matter for men to have a hundredfold of wives, children, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and everything else in proportion; and in no other way could the promises of Jesus be realized by his followers, than in the way God has provided, and which He has revealed to His Church and people in these latter days.

I have felt led to dwell upon these few passages from the sayings of Jesus to show you that there are abundance of Scriptural proofs in favor of this principle and the position this Church has assumed, in addition to those previously referred to.

It is a blessed thing to know that, in this as every other doctrine and principle taught by us as a Church, we are sustained by the revelations God gave to His people anciently. One of the strongest supports the Elders of this Church have had, in their labors among the nations, was the knowledge that the Bible and New Testament sustained every principle they advanced to the people. When they preached faith, repentance, baptism for the remission of sins, the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, the gathering of the people from the nations, the rebuilding of Jerusalem, the second coming of Christ, and every other principle ever touched upon by them, it was gratifying to know that they were sustained by the Scriptures, and that they could turn to chapter and verse among the sayings of Jesus and his Apostles, or among those of the ancient prophets, in confirmation of every doctrine they ever attempted to bring to the attention of those to whom they ministered. There is nothing with which the Latter-day Saints can, with more confidence, refer to the Scriptures for confirmation and support, than the doctrine of plural marriage, which at the present time, among one of the most wicked, adulterous and corrupt generations the world has ever seen, is so much hated, and for which mankind generally are so anxious to cast out and persecute the Latter-day Saints.

If we look abroad and peruse the records of everyday life throughout the whole of Christendom, we find that crimes of every hue, and of the most appalling and revolting character are constantly committed, exciting neither surprise nor comment. Murder, robbery, adultery, seduction and every species of villainy known in the voluminous catalogue of crime in modern times, are regarded as mere matters of ordinary occurrence, and yet there is hue and cry raised, almost as wide as Christendom, for the persecution, by fine, imprisonment, proscription, outlawry or extermination of the people of Utah because, knowing that God, the Eternal Father, has spoken in these days and revealed His mind and will to them, they dare to carry out His behests. For years they have meekly submitted to this persecution and contumely, but they appeal now, as ever, to all rational, reflecting men, and invite comparison between the state of society here and in any portion of this or any other country, knowing that the verdict will be unanimous and overwhelming in their favor. In every civilized country on the face of the earth the seducer plies his arts to envelop his victim within his meshes, in order to accomplish her ruin most completely; and it is well known that men holding positions of trust and responsibility, looked upon as honorable and highly respectable members of society, violate their marriage vows by carrying on their secret amours and supporting mistresses, yet against the people of Utah, where such things are totally unknown, there is an eternal and rabid outcry because they practice the heaven-revealed system of a plurality of wives. It is a most astonishing thing, and no greater evidence could be given that Satan reigns in the hearts of the children of men, and that he is determined, if possible, to destroy the work of God from the face of the earth.

The Bible, the only work accepted by the nations of Christendom, as a divine revelation, sustains this doctrine, from beginning to end. The only revelation on record that can be quoted against it, came through the Prophet Joseph Smith, and is contained in the Book of Mormon; and strange to say, here in Salt Lake City, a day or two since, one of the leading men of the nation, in his eager desire and determination to cast discredit on this doctrine, unable to do so by reference to the Bible, which he, no doubt, in common with all Christians, acknowledges as divine, was compelled to have recourse to the Book of Mormon, a work which on any other point he would most unquestionably have scouted and ridiculed as an emanation from the brain of an impostor. What consistency! A strange revolution this, that men should have recourse to our own works, whose authenticity they most emphatically deny, to prove us in the wrong. Yet, this attempt, whenever made, cannot be sustained, for brother Pratt clearly showed to you, in his remarks the other day, that instead of the Book of Mormon being opposed to this principle, it contains an express provision for the revelation of the principle to us as a people at some future time—namely, that when the Lord should desire to raise up unto Himself a righteous seed, He would command His people to that effect, plainly setting forth that a time would come when He would command His people to do so.

It is necessary that this principle should be practiced under the auspices and control of the Priesthood. God has placed that Priesthood in the Church to govern and control all the affairs thereof, and this is a principle which, if not practiced in the greatest holiness and purity, might lead men into great sin, therefore the Priesthood is the more necessary to guide and control men in the practice of this principle. There might be circumstances and situations in which it would not be wisdom in the mind of God for His people to practice this principle, but so long as a people are guided by the Priesthood and revelations of God, there is no danger of evil arising therefrom. If we, as a people, had attempted to practice this principle without revelation, it is likely that we should have been led into grievous sins, and the condemnation of God would have rested upon us; but the Church waited until the proper time came, and then the people practiced it according to the mind and will of God, making a sacrifice of their own feelings in so doing. But the history of the world goes to prove that the practice of this principle, even by nations ignorant of the Gospel, has resulted in greater good to them than the practice of monogamy or the one-wife system in the so-called Christian nations. Today, Christendom holds itself and its institutions aloft as a pattern for all men to follow. If you travel throughout the United States and through the nations of Europe in which Christianity prevails, and talk with the people about their institutions, they will boast of them as being the most permanent, indestructible and progressive of any institutions existing upon the earth; yet it is a fact well known to historians, that the Christian nations of Europe are the youngest nations on the globe. Where are the nations that have existed from time immemorial? They are not to be found in Christian monogamic Europe, but in Asia, among the polygamic races—China, Japan, Hindostan and the various races of that vast continent. Those nations, from the most remote times, practiced plural marriage handed down to them by their forefathers. Although they are looked upon by the nations of Europe as semi-civilized, you will not find among them woman prostituted, debased and degraded as she is through Christendom. She may be treated coldly and degraded, but among them, except where the Christian element prevails to a large extent, she is not debased and polluted, as she is among the so-called Christian nations. It is a fact worthy of note that the shortest-lived nations of which we have record have been monogamic. Rome, with her arts, sciences and warlike instincts, was once the mistress of the world; but her glory faded. She was a monogamic nation, and the numerous evils attending that system early laid the foundation for that ruin which eventually overtook her. The strongest sayings of Jesus recorded in the New Testament were leveled against the dreadful corruptions practiced in Rome and wherever the Romans held sway. The leaven of their institutions had worked its way into the Jewish nation, Jewry or Palestine being then a Roman province, and governed by Roman officers, who brought with them their wicked institutions, and Jesus denounced the practices which prevailed there.

A few years before the birth of the Savior, Julius Caesar was First Consul at Rome; he aimed at and obtained imperial power. He had four wives during his life, and committed numerous adulteries. His first wife he married early; but, becoming ambitious, the alliance did not suit him, and, as the Roman law did not permit him to retain her and to marry another, he put her away. He then married the daughter of a consul, thinking to advance his interests thereby. She died, and a third was married. The third was divorced, and he married a fourth, with whom he was living at the time he was murdered. His grandnephew, the Emperor Augustus Caesar, reigned at the time of the birth of Christ. He is alluded to in history as one of the greatest of the Caesars; he also had four wives. He divorced one after another, except the last, who outlived him. These men were not singular in this practice; it was common in Rome; the Romans did not believe in plurality of wives, but in divorcing them; in taking wives for convenience and putting them away when they got tired of them. In our country divorces are increasing, yet Roman like, men expect purity and chastity from their wives they do not practice themselves. You recollect, doubtless, the famous answer of Caesar when his wife was accused of an intrigue with an infamous man. Someone asked Caesar why he had put away his wife. Said he, “The wife of Caesar must not only be incorrupt, but unsuspected.” He could not bear to have the virtue of his wife even suspected, yet his own life was infamous in the extreme. He was a seducer, adulterer, and is reported to have practiced even a worse crime, yet he expected his wife to possess a virtue which, in his highest and holiest moments, was utterly beyond his conception in his own life.

This leaven was spreading itself over every country where the Roman Empire had jurisdiction. It had reached Palestine in the days of the Savior, hence by understanding the practices prevalent in those times amongst that people, you will be better able to appreciate the strong language used by Jesus against putting away, or divorcing wives. Rome continued to practice corruption until she fell beneath the weight of it, and was overwhelmed, not by another monogamic race, but by the vigorous polygamic hordes from the north, who swept away Roman imperialism, establishing in the place thereof institutions of their own. But they speedily fell into the same habit of having one wife and multitudes of courtesans, and soon, like Rome, fell beneath their own corruptions.

When courtesans were taught every accomplishment and honored with the society of the leading men of the nation, and wives were deprived of these privileges, is it any wonder that Rome should fall? Or that the more pure, or barbarous nations, as they were called, overwhelmed and destroyed her?

I have had it quoted to me many times that no great nations ever practiced plural marriage. They who make such an assertion are utterly ignorant of history. What nations have left the deepest impress on the history of our race? Those which have practiced plurality of marriage. They have prevented the dreadful crime of prostitution by allowing men to have more wives than one. I know we are dazzled by the glory of Christendom; we are dazzled with the glory of our own age. Like every generation that has preceded it, the present generation thinks it is the wisest and best, and nearer to God than any which has preceded it. This is natural; it is a weakness of human nature. This is the case with nations as well as generations. China, today, calls all western nations “outside barbarians.” Japan, Hindostan and all other polygamic nations do the same, and in very many respects they have as much right to say that of the monogamic nations, as the latter have to say it of them.

I heard a traveler remark a few days ago, while in conversation with him, “I have traveled through Asia Minor and Turkey, and I have blushed many times while contrasting the practices and institutions of those people with those of my own country,” the United States. He was a gentleman with whom I had a discussion some years ago on the principle of plural marriage. He has traveled a good deal since then, and he remarked to me, “Travel enlarges a man’s head and his heart. I have learned a great many things since we had a discussion together, and I have modified my views and opinions very materially with regard to the excellence of the institutions, habits and morals which prevail in Christendom.” This gentleman told me that among those nations, which we call semi-civilized, there are no drinking saloons, no brothels, nor drunkenness, and an entire absence of many other evils which exist in our own nation. I think this testimony, coming from a man who, previously, had such strong prejudices, was very valuable. He is not the only one who has borne this testimony, but all reliable travelers, who have lived in Oriental nations, vouch for the absence of those monstrous evils which flourish in and fatten and fester upon the vitals of all civilized or Christian nations.

In speaking of Utah and this peculiar practice amongst its people, it is frequently said, “Look at the Turks and other Oriental nations and see how women are degraded and debased among them, and deprived of many privileges which they enjoy among us!” But if it be true that woman does not occupy her true position among those nations, is this not more attributable to their rejection of the Gospel than to their practice of having a plurality of wives? Whatever her condition may be there, however, I do not therefore accept, as a necessary conclusion, that she must be degraded among us. We have received the Gospel of the Lord Jesus, the principles of which elevate all who honor them, and will impart to our sisters every blessing necessary to make them noble and good in the presence of God and man.

Look at the efforts which are being made to elevate the sex among the Latter-day Saints! See the privileges that are given to them, and listen to the teachings imparted to them day by day, week by week, and year by year, to encourage them to press forward in the march of improvement! The elevation of the sex must follow as a result of these instructions. The practice in the world is to select a few of the sex and to elevate them. There is no country in the world, probably, where women are idolized to the extent they are in the United States. But is the entire sex in the United States thus honored and respected? No, it is not. Any person who will travel, and observe while he is traveling, will find that thousands of women are degraded and treated as something very vile, and are terribly debased in consequence of the practices of men towards them. But the Gospel of Jesus and the revelations which God has given unto us concerning Patriarchal Marriage have a tendency to elevate the entire sex, and give all the privilege of being honored matrons and respected wives. There are no refuse among us—no class to be cast out, scorned and condemned; but every woman who chooses can be an honored wife and move in society in the enjoyment of every right which woman should enjoy to make her the equal of man as far as she can be his equal.

This is the result of the revelations of the Gospel unto us, and the effect of the preaching and practice of this principle in our midst. I know, however, that there are those who shrink from this, who feel their hearts rebel against the principle, because of the equality which it bestows on the sex. They would like to be the honored few—the aristocrats of society, as it were, while their sisters might perish on every hand around them. They would not, if they could, extend their hands to save their sisters from a life of degradation. This is wrong and a thing which God is displeased at. He has revealed this principle and commanded His servants to take wives. What for? That they may obey His great command—a command by which Eternity is peopled, a command by which Abraham’s seed shall become as the stars of heaven for multitude, and as the sand on the seashore, that cannot be counted. He has given to us this command, and shall we, the sterner sex, submit to all the difficulties and trials entailed in carrying it out? Shall we submit to all the afflictions and labor incident to this life to save our sisters, while many of you who are of the same sex, whose hearts ought to beat for their salvation as strongly as ours do, will not help us? I leave you all to answer. There is a day of reckoning coming when you will be held accountable as well as we. Every woman in this Church should join heart and hand in this great work, which has for its result the redemption of the sexes, both male and female. No woman should slacken her hand or withhold her influence, but every one should seek by prayer and faith unto God for the strength and grace necessary to enable her to do so. “But,” says one, “is not this a trial, and does it not inflict upon us unnecessary trials?” There are afflictions and trials connected with this principle. It is necessary there should be. Is there any law that God reveals unattended with a trial of some kind? Think of the time, you who are adults, and were born in the nations, when you joined the Church! Think of the trials connected with your espousal of the Gospel. Did it not try you to go forth and be baptized? Did it not try you, when called upon to gather, to leave your homes and nearest and dearest friends, as many of you have done? Did it not try you to do a great many things you have been required to do in the Gospel? Every law of the Gospel has a trial connected with it, and the higher the law the greater the trial; and as we ascend nearer and nearer to the Lord our God we shall have greater trials to contend with in purifying ourselves before Him. He has helped us thus far. He has helped us to conquer our selfish feelings, and when our sisters seek unto Him He helps them to overcome their feelings; He gives them strength to overcome their selfishness and jealousy. There is not a woman under the sound of my voice today, but can bear witness of this, if she has tried it. You, sisters, whose husbands have taken other wives, can you not bear testimony that the principle has purified your hearts, made you less selfish, brought you nearer to God and given you power you never had before? There are hundreds within the sound of my voice today, both men and women, who can testify that this has been the effect that the practice of this principle has had upon them.

I am speaking now of what are called the spiritual benefits arising from the righteous practice of this principle. I am sure that, through the practice of this principle, we shall have a purer community, a community more experienced, less selfish and with a higher knowledge of human nature than any other on the face of the earth. It has already had this effect to a great extent, and its effects in these directions will increase as the practice of the principle becomes more general.

A lady visitor remarked to me not long ago in speaking upon this subject, “Were I man, I would feel differently probably to what I do; to your sex the institution cannot be so objectionable.” This may be the case to some extent, but the practice of this principle is by no means without its trials for the males. The difficulties and perplexities connected with the care of a numerous family, to a man who has any ambition, are so great that nothing short of the revelations of God or the command of Jesus Christ would tempt men to enter this order; the mere increase of facilities to gratify the lower passions of our natures would be no inducement to assume such an increase of grave responsibilities. These desires have been implanted in both male and female for a wise purpose, but their immoderate and illegal gratification is a source of evil equal to that system of repression prevalent in the world, to which thousands must submit or criminate themselves. Just think, in the single State of Massachusetts, at the last census, there were 63,011 females more than males. Brother Pratt, in his remarks on this subject, truly remarked that the law of Massachusetts makes these 63,011 females either old maids or prostitutes, for that law says they shall not marry a man who has a wife. Think of this! And the same is true to a greater or less degree throughout all the older States, for the females preponderate in every one.

Thus far I have referred only to the necessity and benefit of this principle being practiced in a moral point of view. I have said nothing about the physiological side of the question. This is one, if not the strongest, source of argument in its favor; but I do not propose to enter into that branch of the subject to any great extent on the present occasion. We are all, both men and women, physiologists enough to know that the procreative powers of man endure much longer than those of woman. Granting, as some assert, that an equal number of the sexes exist, what would this lead to? Man must practice that which is vile and low or submit to a system of repression; because if he be married to a woman who is physically incapable, he must either do himself violence or what is far worse, he must have recourse to the dreadful and damning practice of having illegal connection with women, or become altogether like the beasts. Do you not see that if these things were introduced among our society they would be pregnant with the worst results? The greatest conceivable evils would result therefrom! How dreadful are the consequences of this system of which I am now speaking, as witnessed at the present time throughout all the nations of Christendom! You may see them on every hand. Yet the attempt is being continually made to bring us to the same standard, and to compel us to share the same evils.

When the principle of plurality of wives was revealed I was but a boy. While reflecting on the subject of the sealing power which was then being taught, the case of Jacob, who had four wives, occurred to me, and I immediately concluded that the time would come when light connected with this practice would be revealed to us as a people. I was therefore prepared for the principle when it was revealed, and I know it is true on the principle that I know that baptism, the laying on of hands, the gathering, and everything connected with the Gospel is true. If there were no books in existence, if the revelation itself were blotted out, and there was nothing written in its favor, extant among men, still I could bear testimony for myself that I know this is a principle which, if practiced in purity and virtue, as it should be, will result in the exaltation and benefit of the human family; and that it will exalt woman until she is redeemed from the effects of the Fall, and from that curse pronounced upon her in the beginning. I believe the correct practice of this principle will redeem woman from the effects of that curse—namely, “Thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” All the evils connected with jealousy have their origin in this. It is natural for woman to cleave to man; it was pronounced upon her in the beginning, seemingly as a punishment. I believe the time will come when, by the practice of the virtuous principles which God has revealed, woman will be emancipated from that punishment and that feeling. Will she cease to love man? No, it is not necessary for her to cease to love.

How is it among the nations of the earth? Why, women, in their yearning after the other sex and in their desire for maternity, will do anything to gratify that instinct of their nature and yield to anything and be dishonored even rather than not gratify it; and in consequence of that which has been pronounced upon them, they are not held accountable to the same extent as men are. Man is strong, he is the head of woman, and God will hold him responsible for the use of the influence he exercises over the opposite sex. Hence we were told by brother Pratt that there are degrees of glory, and that the faithful man may receive the power of God—the greatest He has ever bestowed upon man—namely, the power of procreation. It is a godlike power, but how it is abused! How men debase themselves and the other sex by its unlawful and improper exercise! We were told there is a glory to which alone that power will be accorded in the life to come. Still there will be millions of women saved in the kingdom of God, while men, through the abuse of this precious gift, will not be counted worthy of such a privilege. And this very punishment will, in the end, be woman’s salvation, because she is not held accountable to the same degree that men are.

This is a subject that we would all do well to reflect upon. There are many points connected with the question, physiologically, that might be dwelt upon with great advantage. I have heard it said, and seen it printed, that the children born here under this system are not so smart as others; that their eyes lack luster and that they are dull in intellect; and many strangers, especially ladies, when arriving here, are anxious to see the children, having read accounts which have led them to expect that most of the children born here are deficient. But the testimony of Professor Park, the principal of the University of Deseret, and of other leading teachers of the young here, is that they never saw children with greater aptitude for the acquisition of knowledge than the children raised in this Territory. There are no brighter children to be found in the world than those born in this Territory. Under the system of Patriarchal Marriage, the offspring, besides being equally as bright and brighter intellectually, are much more healthy and strong. Need I go into particulars to prove this? To you who are married there is no necessity of doing so; you know what I mean. You all know that many women are sent to the grave prematurely through the evils they have to endure from their husbands during pregnancy and lactation, and that their children often sustain irremediable injury.

Another good effect of the institution here is that you may travel throughout our entire Territory, and virtue prevails. Our young live virtuously until they marry. But how is it under the monogamic system? Temptations are numerous on every hand and young men fall a prey to vice. An eminent medical professor in New York, recently declared, while delivering a lecture to his class in one of the colleges there, that if he wanted a man twenty-five years of age, free from a certain disease, he would not know where to find him. What a terrible statement to make! In this community no such thing exists. Our boys grow up in purity, honoring and respecting virtue; our girls do the same and the great mass of them are pure. There may be impurities. We are human, and it would not be consistent with our knowledge of human nature to say that we are entirely pure, but we are the most pure of any people within the confines of the Republic. We have fewer unvirtuous boys and girls in our midst than any other community within the range of my knowledge. Both sexes grow up in vigor, health and purity.

These, my brethren and sisters, are some of the results which I wanted to allude to in connection with this subject. Much more might be said. There is not a man or woman who has listened to me today, but he and she have thoughts, reasons and arguments to sustain this principle passing through their minds which I have not touched upon, or if touched upon at all, in a very hasty manner.

The question arises, What is going to be done with this institution? Will it be overcome? The conclusion arrived at long ago is that it is God and the people for it. God has revealed it, He must sustain it, we cannot; we cannot bear it off, He must. I know that Napoleon said Providence was on the side of the heaviest artillery, and many men think that God is on the side of the strongest party. The Midianites probably thought so when Gideon fell upon them with three hundred men. Sennacherib and the Assyrians thought so when they came down in their might to blot out Israel. But God is mighty; God will prevail; God will sustain that which He has revealed, and He will uphold and strengthen His servants and bear off His people. We need not be afflicted by a doubt; a shadow of doubt need not cross our minds as to the result. We know that God can sustain us; He has borne off His people in triumph thus far and will continue to do so.

I did intend, when I got up, to say something in relation to the effects of the Priesthood; but as the time is so far gone, I feel that if I say anything it must, be very brief. But in connection with the subject of plural marriage, the Priesthood is intimately interwoven. It is the Priesthood which produces the peace, harmony, good order, and everything which make us as a people peculiar, and for which our Territory has become remarkable. It is that principle—the Priesthood, which governs the heavenly hosts. God and Jesus rule through this power, and through it we are made, so far as we have received it and rendered obedience to its mandates, like our heavenly Father and God. He is our Father and our God; He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; He is the Father of all the inhabitants of the earth, and we inherit His divinity, if we choose to seek for and cultivate it. We inherit His attributes; we can, by taking the proper course, inherit the Priesthood by which He exercises control; by which the heavenly orbs in the immensity of space are governed, and by which the earth revolves in its seasons. It is the holy Priesthood that controls all the creations of the Gods, and though men fight against it, and, if they could, would blot it out of existence, it will prevail and go on increasing in power and strength until the scepter of Jesus is acknowledged by all, and the earth is redeemed and sanctified.

That this may be brought about speedily, is my prayer in the name of Jesus, Amen.

Discourse by Elder George Q. Cannon, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, August 15, 1869.

“I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,

“With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

“Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

“There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;

“One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

“One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

“But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

“Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

“(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

“He that descended is the same also that ascended far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)

“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

“For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

“Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

“That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.”

These words are found in the 4th chapter of the Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians.

Probably at no time in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has there been more interest felt in relation to the doctrines in which we believe and the nature of the organization with which we are connected and the bonds by which we are united together than at the present time. The completion of the railroad has brought us immediately in contact with the outside world, and it has also brought us prominently before the nations—not only our own nation, but other nations; and many people who have heretofore felt little or no interest in regard to the people called Latter-day Saints are now, through travel, being brought in contact with them, and are disposed to investigate and to inquire concerning their faith and the nature of their organization.

It is very agreeable to us to have our principles investigated, for the first Elders of the Church have endeavored for nearly forty years to disseminate a knowledge of them among all people unto whom they could get access. They have traveled throughout the length and breadth of the nation, having visited every State and nearly every township in the Union. They have also traveled in Canada, and have proclaimed the Gospel in Europe and Asia, and some have even gone to Africa and to the islands of the sea. What we have done we have endeavored to do openly, and have striven to make plain the principles we have advocated. The greatest difficulty we have had to contend with has been the indisposition of the people to listen. The idea that has seemed to possess the minds of many was that they understood our principles perfectly well, and that it was unnecessary to say another word about them.

Probably there is no people in the world concerning whom so much has been said, and there is probably no people on the face of the earth who are so little understood and concerning whom there are so many misrepresentations in circulation. The prevalent idea concerning us in a great many circles is that we have thrown aside the Bible and have substituted in its stead a book of our own, the Book of Mormon, and other works, of modern origin, or works which they consider of modern origin. It is only a few weeks since that a gentleman from the Eastern States was invited to preach in the New Tabernacle. He did so, and preached a very eloquent discourse. He was followed by President Young, and after the latter had finished and the meeting was dismissed this clergyman said he had not the least idea that we had so large a Christian element in our faith until he heard that discourse from President Young. He had supposed that we had set aside the Bible and had taken the Book of Mormon and the doctrines and revelations contained in that and in the book of Doctrine and Covenants as our rule of faith.

He was not singular in that idea; it is the general belief in many circles, and among people who, on other subjects, are well informed. They have an idea that we are a very peculiar people, and that our peculiarities have their origin in those books. Of course among people who have read the Book of Mormon and the Book of Doctrine and Covenants these ideas do not prevail, because such persons are aware that those books corroborate the Bible, and are witness of the truth of the great principles contained in the Old and New Testaments, and teach precisely the same.

The peculiarities, if such they may be called, which distinguish us from other people, have their origin in our implicit faith in the Scriptures. There is no principle nor doctrine of our faith that we are not willing to have tested by the revelations and teachings contained in King James’ translation of the Bible; and our Elders have gone forth taking that as their textbook, preaching from it the principles which those now called Latter-day Saints have embraced, and which caused them to gather together from the nations of the earth, to the State of Ohio, then to Missouri, then to Illinois, and then to these valleys.

This statement may sound strangely to the ears of many. I have heard people express considerable surprise upon hearing it. I recollect in my early experience as an Elder meeting and having considerable conversation upon our principles with a clergyman. I left with him the work called “The Voice of Warning;” and when I called upon him again after a lapse of a few days, he expressed his surprise at there being any diversity between the Latter-day Saints and the orthodox sects, “for,” said he, “I see that you base your faith upon and draw your arguments from the New Testament.” I admitted that it was strange, but remarked to him that it was because we received the New Testament literally, and believed that the teachings contained in that book were intended to be understood as they were written, and that when God made a declaration, or his authorized servants preached the Gospel, or made certain plain and positive promises, the design was that the children of men should rely upon those promises and believe the principles of that Gospel with the most unwavering faith and expect their fulfillment to the very letter, if they would only comply with the conditions connected therewith.

This is the great difficulty today; this is the cause of the diversity of beliefs in the Christian world. Instead of taking the word of the Lord as it is, they wish to place their own construction on that word so as to suit their own peculiar ideas and views; and having thus interpreted it, they frame their belief in accordance with that interpretation. But it is very plain, from words contained in the New Testament, that the Lord expected his children to believe the Gospel and to carry it out in their practice, as it was delivered anciently. For instance: Paul, on one occasion, when writing to the Galatians, said—

“Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.”

And, as if to make this so positive that it could not be misunderstood, he repeated the language. Here an anathema is pronounced upon the head of any individual who should attempt to preach any other Gospel than that which the Apostle Paul and the other Apostles had declared; even if an angel from heaven were to declare anything opposed to or differing from it he was to be accursed.

It is highly important that mankind should understand what was the nature of that Gospel, and whether the creeds to which they have rendered obedience in these days agree with the principles preached by the Apostles; if they do not, they who preach them are exposed to the anathema pronounced by Paul, or his words are not to be relied upon. It is a very easy matter to find out what the Apostles did preach; there need be no difficulty about this if people will receive the teachings contained in the New Testament, for there we have a record of their labors and an epitome of the doctrines they taught and administered to the people.

If we refer to the first discourse that was preached after the ascension of Jesus into heaven we shall find what the Apostles taught on that occasion, when inspired by the Holy Ghost, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The people were excited over the strange event that had taken place in their midst; for men of various nations had gathered together to the Holy City and the Apostles stood up in the power and demonstration of the Holy Ghost and declared to the people there assembled the startling intelligence that Jesus, whom they had so recently crucified as an impostor, was indeed the Lord of life and glory and was the veritable Son of God, the Messiah, of which the prophets had spoken, and for whose coming they had so long and anxiously looked. This was unexpected intelligence to them; but the arguments of the Apostles on this matter were so convincing and the power of God so apparent—each man hearing the Gospel in his own tongue, that they were pricked to the heart and were convinced that Jesus was the Son of God and the Savior of the world, and they cried out, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” It is very reasonable to suppose that when the Apostles answered this question, made under such extraordinary circumstances, they would declare the doctrines and requirements which would be binding on all the inhabitants of the earth under similar circumstances. To imagine anything else would be to suppose that which would be contrary to reason and common sense. To think that they would tell something that was not necessary and essential to salvation on such an important occasion, when so many were pricked to their hearts, is to suppose something that is not consistent with the character of the Apostles and the nature of their mission to the children of men. Peter said unto them, “Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” Thus, he set before them in simplicity and in the greatest plainness, the requirements with which they must comply in order to receive that which they desired.

It was not necessary for him to say unto them, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, for they did already believe, having been convinced through the testimony of the Apostles. Peter, therefore, said unto them, “Repent”— that being the next principle they had to obey—“repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins, and ye shall receive the Holy Ghost.” He did not say unto them, “Here is an ‘anxious bench,’” or, “Come and throw yourselves at the foot of the cross, and seek with prayer before the Lord until he remits your sins.” He did not tell them to do any such thing, but he told them to repent of their sins, that is, to forsake them, and to be baptized for the remission of them, promising them that they should receive the Holy Ghost, “For,” said he, “the promise is unto you and to your children and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.”

How many did the Lord call? Why he has called all. He commanded the Apostles to go and preach the Gospel to every creature, therefore every human being on the face of the earth was called by the Lord; and the promise was unto the multitude there assembled and to all afar off; hence, it is quite clear that all the inhabitants of the earth had a claim on this promise on complying with the conditions prescribed—namely, faith in Jesus Christ, repentance of their sins, being baptized for their remission, and having hands laid upon them for the reception of the Holy Ghost.

This was the Gospel which Peter preached unto the people on the Day of Pentecost, and several thousands of them went forth and were baptized on that occasion. We find, by examining the “Acts of the Apostles,” that this was the nature of their teaching on every occasion when preaching to the people, and we also find that when the people did comply with these requirements the Holy Ghost did rest upon them.

A great many have had the idea that the Holy Ghost was only bestowed upon those who were called to act as officers in the churches; but an investigation of the labors of the Apostles will prove that this was not the case, and will establish the fact that every individual, whether male or female, who was baptized by the servants of God for the remission of sins, received the laying on of hands, and also the Holy Ghost. You recollect, doubtless, the record contained in the 8th chapter of Acts, which contains an account of Philip preaching the Gospel in Samaria and baptizing some believers. Philip, it seems, had only the authority that John the Baptist had, holding the same Priesthood as he did. It is written of John that he said, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance; but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear; he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.” John never presumed to lay on hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost: he had not the authority. He was a priest after the order of Aaron; he held the Aaronic Priesthood, to which Priesthood belongs not the authority to lay on hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost. To do this it requires a priest after the Order of Melchizedek, which Jesus and his Apostles held. Philip, after leaving Samaria, baptized the Eunuch, but we do not read that he laid his hands upon him, evidently proving that he held only the Priesthood of Aaron. When the Apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, through Philip, they sent unto them Peter and John, two of the Apostles, who, when they came unto them, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost, and they laid their hands upon them, and they received the Holy Ghost. It did not rest upon them previous to this ordinance being attended to; for the Testament says the Holy Ghost had not as yet fallen upon any of them, although they had been baptized. This shows that, not only is it necessary for men to believe in Jesus Christ, repent of their sins, and be baptized for the remission of them, but that they must receive the laying on of hands of those who have authority, or they could neither claim nor enjoy the Holy Ghost; but when they did have hands laid upon them, wonderful to relate in this age of unbelief, the Holy Ghost rested down upon them and they were filled therewith, and they were bound and united together, and they knew the things of God and enjoyed the gifts of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

On one occasion Paul met with a number of disciples at Ephesus and he inquired of them if they had received the Holy Ghost since they believed. They told him they had not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. He then inquired unto what then were they baptized. They replied they were baptized unto John’s baptism. Paul baptized them anew, and laid hands upon them, and, we are told, they received the Holy Ghost and spake with tongues and prophesied. Paul had authority; he held the Melchizedek Priesthood, in which was included the authority to lay on hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost.

This is the manner in which the Apostles preached the Gospel; there is no record of their doing it in any other way. We do not read of their teaching the people the plan of salvation in any other way.

A great many, to prove that baptism and laying on of hands are not necessary, have cited the case of Cornelius, who, though he was not baptized, received the Holy Ghost. The case of Cornelius is the only case of the kind on record, and there were strong reasons why it should be as it was with him. The Gospel and its ordinances were administered only to the Jews; Cornelius was a Gentile, and between the two races strong prejudices existed, the Jews looking upon the Gentiles as far inferior to them. Cornelius and his household were the first Gentiles to whom the Gospel was preached, they received it, and the Lord, to show to the Apostles that the Gentiles were entitled to the ordinances of salvation as well as the Jews, if they were willing to comply with the requirements of the Gospel, conferred the Holy Ghost upon Cornelius and his family. When Peter saw this family he said, “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons, but in every nation he that feareth him and worketh righteousness is accepted with him.” And when afterwards, he heard them speak with tongues and magnify God, he said, “Can any man forbid water that these should not be baptized which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.” Peter did not say, Cornelius, you have received the Holy Ghost as well as we have, and there is no necessity for you to obey any further ordinances, which, under the circumstances, if he had considered baptism or the laying on of hands nonessential, he would have been very likely to do; but instead of that he commanded them to be baptized. Peter took this, as the Lord intended it, as an evidence that the Gentiles as well as the House of Israel were entitled to the Gospel. And he had them baptized, and without doubt laid his hands upon them to confirm upon them the gift they had received. Had Cornelius, at that hour, stood upon his dignity and said, “There is no necessity for me to be baptized for the remission of my sins, God having given me the Holy Ghost without obeying that ordinance, and having already received the Holy Ghost, I have no need to have hands laid upon me,” there is not a doubt in my mind but what that precious and inestimable gift would have been withdrawn from him, and he would not have enjoyed it after. It could only be continued to him on condition of his obeying the ordinances which God had placed in his Church and which he required all the inhabitants of the earth to submit to without hesitation; and without doubt, Cornelius wisely went forward and obeyed those ordinances.

This was the manner in which the Apostles preached the Gospel to the inhabitants of the earth in those days. They did not say to the people, “You must seek the Holy Ghost and probably the Lord will give it to you if you will only exercise faith enough;” but they told the people plainly and positively, without the least hesitation, that if they would comply with certain requirements they should receive the Holy Ghost. The only condition was their sincerity and faithfulness in obeying the requirements.

What were the fruits of this preaching? Wherever the Apostles went and the people received their testimony the Spirit of God rested upon them and their hearts were united, and they enjoyed the gifts of prophecy, healing, tongues, interpretation of tongues, discerning of spirits, wisdom, knowledge and all the varied gifts of the Gospel necessary for their growth and development in the things of God. This was not the case at Jerusalem alone, but in far off Ephesus and in the various cities of Asia Minor where Paul preached; and throughout the length and breadth of the earth wherever the Apostles traveled these peculiar gifts and manifestations were enjoyed.

Paul, who had been separated from the rest of the Apostles for a number of years, found when he came to Jerusalem and was united with them, that he had precisely the same knowledge concerning the Gospel of Christ that they had; the Holy Ghost had taught it to him the same as it had to Peter, James, John, Andrew and the rest of the Apostles. And had they been permitted to continue their labors the inhabitants of the earth, if they had received the Gospel, would have been united together as one in the things of God.

Does anybody wonder that there is division now in Christendom? Does anybody wonder that, instead of there being “One Lord, one faith and one baptism,” as recorded in the words I have read in your hearing, there are, it may be said, many lords, many faiths and many baptisms? Does anybody wonder at this? I cannot when I see how men have strayed from the path that Jesus marked out; when I hear men say that baptism is nonessential. What a wide difference between such persons and the Lord Jesus Christ! You will remember that when John came baptizing in the wilderness Jesus applied to him for baptism, and, in answer to the remonstrance of John, who seemed to think that he had more need to be baptized by the Savior than for the Savior to be baptized by him, Jesus said, “Suffer it to be so now; for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.” The wonder is that there is a remnant of faith in Jesus left in the world when we see how widely men have diverged from the paths in which the Apostles walked, and from the doctrines which they taught.

We must always bear in mind that which Paul said—“Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” We must bear this in mind when we investigate the nature of the Apostles’ teachings and the ordinances and doctrines which they administered and taught. If they who profess to be preachers of the Gospel diverge in the least from the doctrines and principles taught by the Apostles they place themselves in a position to receive the condemnation which Paul invoked.

I have endeavored in these remarks to bring your minds to the faith the Saints once enjoyed, and to the teachings which the Apostles, in their day, laid before the people, and called upon them in all earnestness to obey. I have done this in order that you may be prepared for that which we teach, for we teach precisely the same principles that they did. Men wonder and say, “How is it that you Latter-day Saints can live together as you do? How is it that you are so united?” The secret lies in the fact that we have the same principles to teach to the people that were taught by the ancient Apostles, and the same results follow in our case as in theirs.

It has been frequently remarked to the Elders, when abroad, “What necessity was there for an angel to come from heaven to earth to bring, as you say he did, the everlasting Gospel when we have the Bible and Christian organizations and Christian churches all through the land?” This is a very important question, and one to which I will try and give a satisfactory answer. There would have been no necessity of any such thing if the churches, at the time Joseph Smith sought for knowledge, had taught the same principles the Apostles declared, and if believers in these days had enjoyed the same gifts and blessings that they did in theirs. But if there was such a church at that time history has failed to record the fact. There was no man on the face of the earth, of whom we have heard, who declared to the people that if they would believe in Jesus and repent of their sins and be baptized for the remission of them, they should receive the Holy Ghost. On the contrary, the bestowal of the Holy Ghost, as anciently, with its gifts and powers, was denied by the whole Christian world. They declared that these gifts were not for this generation, but were bestowed upon the primitive church for the whole and sole purpose of establishing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and that when that was accomplished there was no longer any need for them. That was the belief in Christendom then, and that is the belief there now; you may hear it expressed on every hand when conversing on these subjects. They will declare that there is no necessity for these gifts in this age, as if the Holy Ghost could be enjoyed by man and these gifts not manifested! Such a thing is impossible! There would have been no necessity for the restoration of the Gospel to the earth by an angel if the keys and priesthood by which the ancient Apostles officiated had not been taken from the earth. It is true that the Catholic Church claims direct succession from the Apostles; other churches claim the same; and all, claiming any authority whatever, endeavor to trace it back to them. They all base their claims to authority on the fact that the Apostles received it. The Catholic Church, especially, claim uninterrupted descent from Peter and the last of the Apostles. But, while so doing, they ignore the fact that as long as there was a man on the earth who laid claim to authority direct from God the inhabitants warred against him, until they had succeeded in killing him, as they had all others. This fact, though as familiar as any fact to the student of history, is lost sight of by the Catholic Church. So long as the Apostles lived, and so long as any man lived who had been associated with them in their labors, there was an incessant persecution carried on against them. And it is recorded that every one of them, except John, died a violent death. They tried to kill John; they immersed him in a cauldron of boiling oil and sent him to the Isle of Patmos to work in the lead mines, and persecuted him in various ways; but, owing to the promise of God, they could not kill him. Peter was crucified at Rome with his head downwards, not considering himself worthy to be crucified as his Lord had been. Paul was beheaded in Rome; the other Apostles were killed in various ways, every one of them suffering an ignominious death because of their belief in Jesus; because they believed God was a God of revelation, and because they laid claim to authority from Jesus to administer the ordinances of his church. This was the course pursued by the inhabitants of the earth until the Apostles and every man having authority had been killed, and the gifts and blessings had entirely disappeared from the earth. After this men took to themselves doctrines to accommodate themselves, the rites and many of the doctrines of Paganism and portions of existing institutions were incorporated into the Christian Church, until almost every vestige of the pure doctrines had disappeared, and nothing was left but mere forms.

Is it any wonder that the Latter-day Saints claim that it was necessary for an angel to fly through the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach to the nations of the earth? If authority to administer in the ordinances of the Gospel had existed among men there would have been no such necessity; but that authority had been taken back to God who gave it, and it had to be restored by him or it could not be exercised on the earth again.

Where were Apostles to be found? Why they were unpopular; every man that had held the Apostleship had been killed, yet in the words which I have read in your hearing it is said—

“He gave to some Apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers.”

And yet men tell us today that Apostles are not necessary! Is it surprising that the results which we see have followed such unbelief in Apostles? It was very dangerous to be called Apostles! It sounded better to be called Bishops or some other title; it suited the popular ear better and did not excite the persecution which the name of Apostle did. Yet in the words of Paul we are told that Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers were placed in the Church, for the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the ministry, the edifying of the body of Christ. If there is any man on the earth who can prove from the Scriptures that Apostles are not necessary in the Church of Christ, then he can prove that the words of Paul and the rest of the Apostles are not trustworthy, for Paul tells us that they were placed in the Church for the work of the ministry, the perfecting of the Saints, and they were to continue there.

“Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.”

Is there room for wonder that men are carried about by every wind of doctrine, and that they are deceived by the cunning craft of men, when they no longer believe in Apostles and prophets, and have taken in their stead self-constituted ministers, men who never received authority to administer in the things of God? Can any be surprised that Christendom is split up as it is today, and that men are so confused in relation to the doctrines of Christ? Or that infidelity rears its head so defiantly in the midst of Christendom? No, it cannot be wondered at, when men have so widely departed from and so flagrantly disobeyed the plain teachings of Scripture as we find them recorded in the New Testament. The condition of Christendom alone is, of itself, sufficient to prove to every reasoning mind that if there is a God in heaven, as we know there is; that if there is such a principle as divine revelation, which we declare to be true; if there are such beings surrounding the throne of God as angels, of which we bear testimony, there never was a greater necessity for angels to be sent to earth, or for revelation to be given to man, than in the day in which we live. Some may say that we have the Bible and its divine teachings to peruse at our leisure; but it has frequently been remarked by those who scoff at it that it is like a fiddle, every kind of a tune can be played upon it. It requires something more than the Bible to guide man to eternal life. It requires divine inspiration, it requires the Holy Ghost, it requires the Priesthood, as it existed in ancient days, to be restored; and I thank God with all my heart, this morning, that I do know it has been restored. I thank God from the bottom of my heart that I have this knowledge.

Before me, in this Territory, I see the fruits of this restoration—precisely the same fruits that followed the Priesthood anciently. I see, here, people gathered from various nations, of various creeds, speaking various languages, and having been reared and educated in a very dissimilar manner, from limited monarchies, from despotic monarchies and from republics; and yet they dwell together in unity, worship God alike, live lives of good order, truth and holiness, and love one another, which is an evidence, as the Apostle says, that they have passed from death unto life. This unity is one of the greatest evidences that can be given that we are the disciples of Christ, for he has said

“If ye are not one, ye are not mine.”

And it is also one of the strongest evidences that can be given that Jesus is the Christ, for, on one occasion, when praying to the Father that his disciples might be one, he said—

“Neither pray I for these alone; but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”

As a people the unity of the Latter-day Saints is proverbial, and furnishes a powerful testimony that we have walked with Christ, and have received the blessings following the bestowal of the Holy Ghost.

These are some of the doctrines that the Latter-day Saints believe in; time would fail to tell all. We believe that God is the same yesterday, today and forever; that he is a God of revelation, and that the reason he has not revealed himself for centuries is because the people so cruelly persecuted his anointed ones when he sent them into their midst. Their blood has cried for vengeance on the inhabitants of the earth, and he has closed the heavens, as it were, for centuries, our forefathers having been left only with such light as they could obtain without the Priesthood. But has he not bestowed his Holy Spirit upon men? Yes, millions of people have received the Holy Spirit to a certain extent, although not in its fulness. Luther had it, when he was inspired to war against the iniquities that existed in the Romish Church. He was raised up especially to prepare the way for the manifestation of the work of God in the last days. Calvin and Melancthon had a portion of the Holy Spirit, and so had all the Reformers who followed them; and though they had not the authority to build up the Church of God in its ancient purity, they still had a work to do and they have come in their days and generations and have labored zealously, indefatigably and fearlessly, regardless of death, inspired of God to do the work which they performed in the various lands in which they labored—Germany, France, England, Scotland, and various parts of Europe, and also in our own land—America. John Wesley, also, was raised up and inspired of God to do a work, and he did it.

Not only have these religious reformers been inspired to do a work in preparing for the advent of the kingdom of God upon the earth; but others have been raised for the same purpose. Columbus was inspired to penetrate the ocean and discover this Western continent, for the set time for its discovery had come; and the consequences which God desired to follow its discovery have taken place—a free government has been established on it. The men who established that Government were inspired of God—George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and all the fathers of the Republic were inspired to do the work which they did. We believe it was a preparatory work for the establishment of the kingdom of God. This Church and kingdom could not have been established on the earth if their work had not been performed, or a work of a similar character. The kingdom of God could not have been established in Asia amid the despotisms there; nor in Africa, amid the darkness there; it could not have been built up in Europe amid the monarchies which crowd every inch of its surface. It had to be built up on this land, hence this land had to be discovered. It was not discovered too soon; if it had been it would have been overran by the nations of the earth, and no place would have been found, even here, for the kingdom of God. It was discovered at the right time and by the right man, inspired of God not to waver or shrink; but, undaunted by the difficulties with which he was surrounded, and contending with a mutinous crew, he persevered, and continued his journey westward until he discovered this land, the existence of which God had inspired him to demonstrate.

It was necessary that George Washington should be raised up, that the battles of the Republic should be fought, that the Colonies should be emancipated from the fetters of the mother country, and declared free and independent States. Why? Because God had in view the restoration of the everlasting Gospel to the earth again, and in addition to this the set time had come for him to build up his kingdom and to accomplish the fulfillment of his long deferred purposes.

Jesus said unto Jerusalem, “How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” But the prophets tell us that in the last days the people of God shall be gathered together from the different parts of the earth and be united together in one people. It was necessary, therefore, that a land should be prepared and a form of government be established within its borders without conflicting with it. Therefore, religious liberty and toleration have been proclaimed throughout the length and breadth of this land. Men fought, bled and died in vindication of these principles, and they were incorporated into the Constitution, and we, today, are reaping the blessed results of their labors. Shall they not have glory in the sight of God for those labors? Yes, glory and honor and blessings and immortality will rest upon men who have been instruments in the hands of God in bringing to pass his great and marvelous purposes. We have the greatest charity for them; we know that God will save and bless them. We know, further, that their sins were sins of ignorance. Where there is no law, it is said, there is no transgression. They had not the fulness of the Gospel declared unto them; but the generation in which we live hear the law and the testimony, and they will be held accountable for this knowledge. God will hold you, my brethren, sisters and friends, strictly accountable for that which you hear. You live in a day and age when the purposes of God are transpiring before your eyes, and when you see the mighty going forth of his great work. Men, generally, however, will not look at it, and yet they are ready to declare that if they knew the work of God was progressing they would be willing to help it forward. They are the same as the Jews were with the Lord Jesus Christ. When he was with them he was despised and put to death; now men think they honor him, but if he lived upon the earth today do you think he would be honored? He would be treated today as he was then. God sent his only Son, the Prince of life and glory; he came to the earth in humble mien, in the garb of poverty, speaking ungrammatically, yet he was heaven’s Prince, the Lord of all things. He was born in a stable and cradled in a manger. But God’s noble sons are not always born to thrones; some of the noblest men who have lived on earth have not been found in the courts of kings. Where shall we look for them? Frequently among the humble and lowly. I thank God it is so. I have found among the humble and lowly, men with minds which were like rich jewels; men who loved the truth, and who have been willing to die for principle. I have also found many of the rich and noble who have

“Crooked the pregnant hinges of the knee, That thrift might follow fawning.”

And who have been willing to do anything to curry favor, who worshipped popularity, and were ready to bow at its shrine in humble, abject reverence. While among the poor, the meek, and the lowly, I have known men, and we all doubtless have, who would die rather than step aside from principle. Among such God has placed his nobles in this generation, in order to be pioneers in this work and lay its foundations. They could sacrifice, and endure poverty for the sake of truth, and they have done so, and have risked all, braving the world fearlessly, establishing principle after principle, and declaring truth, in all its simplicity and purity, to the nations of the earth. Thus far God has vindicated their course and upheld them and has borne them off triumphantly, and he will continue to do so until the victory is achieved and the desired consummation of his purposes is reached.

This work will stand and spread abroad, because it is the work of God. After awhile it will gather within its fold men who, at the present time, consider it beneath their notice. It will accomplish the destiny that has been assigned to it. It will gather every honest man and woman on the face of the earth; all who will acknowledge truth will receive and rejoice in this work. I thank God that it is restored to the earth. It is more precious than the good will of men to know God. To have the spirit of truth, and the union and fellowship which exist among the Latter-day Saints, is worth more than the riches of California, more than all the mines of the earth, or all the jewels in the crown of every monarch on the earth, or their entire treasures, because they will fade away, but these will endure forever. And the man who obeys the Gospel of Jesus need not feel that he is bound or enslaved, or deprived of the exercise of any of the faculties, as many suppose. He is emancipated from thralldom; he can rejoice in the light of truth, and go forward and embrace every principle of truth. Not religious truth alone; it is a wrong idea that people who are religious must confine themselves to what are termed religious truths only. The Gospel of Jesus Christ embraces within its scope every truth known to man; every truth pertaining to astronomy, geology and every other science belongs to and is incorporated in that Gospel.

I have spoken thus far and have not said a single word about that much-mooted doctrine—plurality of wives. I expect there are gentlemen and ladies here who would rather hear that spoken of than all that could be said besides; who would rather hear an Elder tell how many wives and children he has got than all that could be said about Jesus, his Apostles, the Holy Ghost or its gifts. There is a prurient curiosity on the part of a great many people in relation to this subject, and were it not transcending the bounds of politeness, about the first question they would ask after being introduced to an Elder would be, “How many wives and children have you got?” That is about the extent of their desires. Here is a great phenomenon before their eyes in this Territory, of intense interest and of immense importance, yet their souls cannot rise high enough to comprehend the first feature of it, and no higher than to ask about the number of a man’s wives! When I hear such inquiries I pity the person who makes them. I think if a person cannot allow his or her mind to rise any higher than that, he or she is in a most deplorable condition.

I am satisfied that there is an immense amount of misunderstanding among the people of the world with respect to the Latter-day Saints and their belief in this peculiar doctrine. It is generally believed that we have embraced it for sensual purposes, and that we are a sensual people. We see these ideas frequently advanced in newspapers, and it is stated by them that we gather the people from the nations because of this doctrine. What a silly idea! Why, any man with a grain of common sense might know better if he would give a little reflection to the matter! How much easier it would be, if we were licentious, to practice licentiousness according to the popular method! Why go to the trouble and expense and incur the odium of sustaining wives and children merely to gratify licentiousness, when we could do it to the fullest extent, on the popular plan, without incurring odium or assuming responsibility and care? Read the records of New York, Washington, Chicago, and the records of all the cities east and west on our continent, and then go to the old world, and you may find that men can gratify their lustful desire without incurring odium. They can even destroy females by the thousands in the gratification of their sensual appetites, but because the Latter-day Saints choose to marry them, to make women and their children respected and honorable, all hell is moved against them. The devil does not like it. I will tell you a rule, brethren, sisters and friends, that I have observed through my intercourse with men, in my travels, and that is, that they who have opposed this principle most bitterly when they understood it, have been the most corrupt men, the very men who have practiced adultery and whoredom in secret; while openly, to hear them speak of our system of patriarchal marriage, one might think them immaculate; but I never found pure-minded men or women, honest and true to their God, and to their partners if they had them, but what, when they heard it explained as the Saints in this Terri– tory understand, preach and practice it, let them believe what they might on other points, they would acknowledge that there was something godlike in that doctrine, if we carried it out as we believed it. That has been my experience.

We are solving the problem that is before the world today, over which they are pretending to rack their brains. I mean the “Social Problem.” We close the door on one side, and say that whoredoms, seductions and adulteries must not be committed amongst us, and we say to those who are determined to carry on such things we will kill you; at the same time we open the door in the other direction and make plural marriage honorable. What is the result? Why, a healthy, pure and virtuous community, a community which, in these respects, has no equal on the earth.

I say these few words by way of explanation; they are very inadequate to convey the ideas that we entertain, and that I would like to convey to my hearers, in relation to celestial marriage. That God may bless and sustain you in the practice of truth, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Discourse by Elder George Q. Cannon, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, April 6, 1869.

I look upon this Conference as one of the most important, in many respects, that we have ever had the privilege of participating in, for, to my view, there are more interesting and important events connected with the work of God at the present time than have ever been developed before in our history. We are undergoing a great change, a great revolution is in progress in our midst—a revolution foreshadowed by the predictions of both the ancient and modern prophets, but which we, as yet, have scarcely been prepared for.

Nearly 37 years ago the Prophet Joseph, or rather the Lord, through him, gave revelations upon the Order of Enoch. Those revelations were taught to the people in plainness so far as they went. They were simple and easily understood; but they embodied within themselves what might have been termed new principles, and indicated a new course of action and a new organization of society. I say new, because they were new so far as this generation is concerned. The principles taught by those revelations were as old as eternity; and the Order sought to be introduced by their means was called the “Order of Enoch,” in consequence of its having been revealed to and practiced by Enoch; and through its practice he and his people were prepared for translation and, as we read in the Scriptures, were taken from the earth.

The Lord inspired the Prophet Joseph Smith to once more communicate these principles unto the children of men; but, as I have remarked, the people were not prepared to carry them out. They, to some extent, could see and understand their beauty and consistency, but in the practical part they were deficient. As a people the Latter-day Saints are like their fellows in many respects. We are very progressive in theory, but our theories are far ahead of our practice. The teachings of the elders are of that character that years of practice on the part of the people is required before they come up to them in their everyday life. It is so with mankind generally. They can comprehend the theory and realize the importance of practically observing certain prin– ciples long before they are sufficiently advanced to carry them out in everyday life. But we may say, without boasting, that as a people we excel the world in carrying out in our lives the principles that we teach.

Those principles to which I have been referring were received and admired by the people, but it required faith, knowledge and experience to enable them to carry them out. For years they have remained in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants to be read by the curious or by those who had a desire to search after the principles of life and salvation; but, not being a part of our practice in our lives, they have been practically a dead letter.

I speak, now, generally; of course, there have been exceptions in regard to this, as there have been with regard to the “Word of Wisdom.” There have been men and women who have endeavored to carry out the latter strictly and truthfully so far as their knowledge extended. And so with the principles contained in the revelations touching the “Order of Enoch”—there have, doubtless, been men in the Church who have lived in accordance with them so far as it was practicable under the circumstances; but the entire people have not carried them out. But though thirty-six or thirty-seven years have elapsed since these principles were first revealed, they have never been lost sight of by the President and those associated with him. It has been their aim from the day they were given until today, the 6th of April, 1869, to bring the Latter-day Saints to such a, condition of union, faith and knowledge that they would receive these principles and carry them out in their lives.

The labors of the elders to accomplish this have been incessant; they have ever felt to impress them upon the minds of the Saints, but more particularly within the last four or five years. It is essentially necessary that we should receive them now, for upon the reception and proper carrying out of this Order hinges the prosperity, development and triumph of the kingdom of God on the earth; and unless we as a people arrive at such a standard of faith and perfection as to practically carry them out, we are assured, on the best of authority, that we cannot be permitted to go back and build up the Center Stake and fully accomplish the redemption of Zion. The consequences involved in not being able to accomplish that are familiar to the minds of those who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ, especially if they are old members. One of the greatest calamities that could be thought of by us as a congregation, or a Church, today, would be to learn from the Lord through His servants that we should not be permitted to go back to build up the Center Stake of Zion. The edict pronounced by the prophet Moses when he told Israel that not one who had arrived at the age of twenty-one years should ever enter the “Promised Land,” had not a greater effect upon Israel than the prohibition I have just referred to would have upon the Latter-day Saints. We can realize then, the importance of adopting and carrying out the principles that will prepare us for that great work.

It is not to be expected that we shall attain to perfection in the carrying out of such principles at once. That is not the way we have progressed in the past; our progress has been gradual. It has been from principle to principle, from knowledge to knowledge, one step after another until we have reached the point for which we have aimed. And so it will be with the principles pertaining to the “Order of Enoch”—we shall take step after step, progressing from one point to another until we have reached the point that God, our Heavenly Father, has designed us to attain to.

When we look abroad among the nations of the earth we see a great many evils in existence—evils that have existed for many centuries; in fact, they have existed from the earliest ages of which we have any account until the present time, in every nation and among all people. Our own nation is a case in point. When the foundations of the Government were laid, and liberty proclaimed throughout the length and breadth of the land, it was anticipated that this nation would grow to a pitch of glory and attain to a greatness and power that no other nation on the face of the earth had ever attained. Everything was favorable to this: a free Government had been established; a continent of almost illimitable extent spread itself before the people, and all that was necessary to develop its boundless resources was population, and industry on the part of that population. But little over ninety years have elapsed since the foundations of our Government were laid, and in that time we have grown to be a great people; but that which has been enacted in other nations has been reenacted here. The evils that have flourished so long in what is called the Old World have been transplanted to this land. If Western men travel through the Eastern States they are struck with the great distinction of classes that exist there. There is an aristocracy of wealth fast growing up there; and at the same time there is another class in degradation and poverty, utterly unable to obtain the blessings and comforts of life. This is owing to various causes, the chief of which is the incorrect organization of society. It is so in Europe and in Asia, and, in fact, wherever wealth abounds.

Many men have risen from time to time, who have seen and deplored these evils, and they have sought with all the wisdom and knowledge they possessed to correct them. Doubtless many of the Latter-day Saints recollect an instance of this kind at Nauvoo. After the Saints evacuated that place, a community of Socialists, called Icarians, whose leader was Mr. Cabet, came to Nauvoo and settled there. There were the houses, gardens, farms and orchards of the Latter-day Saints; the country was a healthy one when compared with what it was when first settled by the Saints. Many philanthropic men in France were interested in this experiment, and were anxious to have it succeed. They forwarded their means with considerable liberality to sustain the settlement; but, despite their efforts and exertions, it fell to pieces. Yet the object they had in view was a good one, and the means they used were effective, so far as they went. But there was a lack of cohesive power in the system; there was a lack of union, and a lack of wisdom in the management of the affair. They sought to ameliorate the condition of mankind and to diffuse the blessings of life equally among the people, so that hunger, poverty and wretchedness and the dreadful consequences which follow in their train might be removed from the midst of mankind and a better order of things established. But with all the advantages of which I have spoken, their attempt was a signal failure: the society was broken up and today has no existence.

This is a case in point with which many of you are familiar. Similar experiments, having the same ends in view, have been tried at other places at various times, but like results have attended them.

It has been seen by thinking men that there is something radically wrong in the organization of society in this respect, but they have not known how to remedy the evils. It is so in the religious world. Religionists have to mourn and deplore the divisions that exist among the so-called followers of Christ; and reformers have risen one after another endeavoring to bring about greater union and to develop a greater amount of love, but with what success let the history of the various sects of Christendom answer. They are split up into innumerable parties, and the effort of every reformer has only resulted in the increase of religious sects. He has been unable, and his inability has been confessed by himself, to unite the Christian world and bring about that oneness which characterized the followers of Christ in the early days of Christianity. It required the Lord our God to stretch forth His arm to bring this to pass. It required the revelation of the Gospel in its purity from the heavens; it required the restoration of the holy Priesthood to the earth in the plentitude of its power to bring it about; and as soon as the Priesthood was restored, as soon as the Gospel was given again in purity to man, and the Church of Christ was again organized, then the object for which these reformers labored in vain began to be accomplished—oneness began to prevail, union began to manifest itself, love was diffused, the Holy Ghost was bestowed, its gifts were enjoyed, and men and women from various nations and from the midst of various churches were gathered together in one as we are here today. It required the wisdom, power and Spirit of the Almighty to restore this condition of things for which many men had so long labored in vain.

And so it is in relation to the social organization of society. It requires the wisdom of Almighty God to correct the evils under which mankind groan. Men may labor and devise schemes, expend means and do all that is possible for human beings, not directed by the Spirit and power of God, to do, and after they have done it all they are compelled to confess that they are weak and fallible, and incapable of accomplishing that which they have aimed at. But with God to aid them, with His wisdom to guide and His Spirit to direct, and His blessings to smile upon them they can accomplish all that is necessary to redeem and save the human family, both in a physical and spiritual point of view. God has chosen His people, the Latter-day Saints, to solve these knotty problems that have troubled the brains and affected the children of men for so many centuries.

The Lord has said that, “if ye are not equal in earthly things, ye cannot be in obtaining heavenly things.” He has revealed a plan by which this equality can be brought about. Yet, He does not design to make us of equal height; He does not design that we should all have the same colored hair or eyes, or that we should dress exactly alike. This is not the meaning of the word “equality,” as it is used in the revelation; but it means to have an equal claim on the blessings of our Heavenly Father—on the properties of the Lord’s treasury, and the influences and gifts of His Holy Spirit. This is the equality meant in the revelations, and until we attain to this equality we cannot be equal in spiritual things, and the blessings of God cannot be bestowed upon us until we attain to this as they otherwise would. As a people we are expecting the day to come when Jesus will descend in the clouds of Heaven; but before this day comes we must be prepared to receive him. The organization of society that exists in the heavens must exist on the earth; the same condition of society, so far as it is applicable to mortal beings, must exist here. And for this purpose God has revealed this Order; for this purpose He is bringing us into our present condition.

A great many of the Latter-day Saints scarcely understand the persistency with which the Presidency of the Church has labored to bring about the oneness of the people in temporal things; and this cooperative movement is an important step in this direction and is designed to prepare them for the ushering in of this Order to which I have been alluding. It has already produced greater union, and it will produce still greater union than anything that has been witnessed among us; and if we carry it out in the spirit in which it has been taught to us it will produce immense results. The Lord will bless us; He will increase our means and pour into the laps of this people everything necessary for their greatness in the earth. For be it known unto you and to all people than God designs to make of the Latter-day Saints the head; He intends to place in their hands and keeping the wealth of the world. But before blessings of this description can be poured upon us we must be prepared to receive and use them aright. Suppose these things were to be poured upon us in our present condition, what would be the result? Everyone can answer this question for himself. Each one knows his or her own heart, and the feelings by which it is animated. We know that if the whole people were to be made rich it would be an exceedingly difficult matter to control them; even with the little means we have today it is one of the most difficult things to control the people in regard to the disposition and correct use of that means.

In a revelation given on this subject in the year 1834, the Lord says—

“I, the Lord, stretched out the heavens, and built the earth, my very handiwork; and all things therein are mine. And it is my purpose to provide for my saints, for all things are mine. But it must needs be done in mine own way; and behold this is the way that I, the Lord, have decreed to provide for my saints, that the poor shall be exalted, in that the rich are made low. For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare; yea, I prepared all things, and have given unto the children of men to be agents unto themselves. Therefore, if any man shall take of the abundance which I have made, and impart not his portion, according to the law of my gospel, unto the poor and the needy, he shall, with the wicked, lift up his eyes in hell, being in torment.”

In another revelation on the same subject given in 1832, the Lord says—

“For Zion must increase in beauty, and holiness; her borders must be enlarged; her stakes must be strengthened; yea, verily I say unto you, Zion must arise and put on her beautiful garments. Therefore, I give unto you this commandment, that ye bind yourselves by this covenant, and it shall be done according to the laws of the Lord. Behold, here is wisdom also in me for your good. And you are to be equal, or in other words, you are to have equal claims on the properties, for the benefit of managing the concerns of your stewardships, every man according to his wants and his needs, inasmuch as his wants are just—And all this for the benefit of the church of the living God, that every man may improve upon his talent, that every man may gain other talents, yea, even an hundred fold, to be cast into the Lord’s storehouse, to become the common property of the whole church—Every man seeking the interest of his neighbor, and doing all things with an eye single to the glory of God.

“This order I have appointed to be an everlasting order unto you, and unto your successors, inasmuch as you sin not. And the soul that sins against this covenant, and hardeneth his heart against it, shall be dealt with according to the laws of my church, and shall be delivered over to the buffetings of Satan until the day of redemption.”

While I am reading I will read another extract, that you may get the idea more fully in your mind. After speaking of the treasury that shall be appointed, in which shall be preserved the sacred things in the treasury for sacred and holy purposes, which shall be called the treasury of the Lord, the Lord continues—

“And again, there shall be another treasury prepared, and a treasurer appointed to keep the treasury, and a seal shall be placed upon it; And all moneys that you receive in your stewardships, by improving upon the properties which I have appointed unto you, in houses, or in lands, or in cattle, or in all things save it be the holy and sacred writings, which I have reserved unto myself for holy and sacred purposes, shall be cast into the treasury as fast as you receive the moneys, by hundreds, or by fifties, or by twenties, or by tens, or by fives. Or in other words, if any man among you obtain five dollars let him cast them into the treasury; or if he obtain ten, or twenty, or fifty or an hundred, let him do likewise; And let not any among you say that it is his own; for it shall not be called his, nor any part of it. And there shall not any part of it be used, or taken out of the treasury, only by the voice and common consent of the order. And this shall be the voice and common consent of the order—that any man among you say unto the treasurer: I have need of this to help me in my stewardship—If it be five dollars, or if it be ten dollars, or twenty, or fifty, or an hundred, the treasurer shall give unto him the sum which he requires, to help him in his stewardship—Until he be found a transgressor, and it is manifest before the council of the order plainly that he is an unfaithful and an unwise steward. But so long as he is in full fellowship, and is faithful and wise in his stewardship, this shall be his token unto the treasurer that the treasurer shall not withhold.”

From these extracts which I have read in your hearing you can form an idea of the Order which God, our Heavenly Father, intends to establish among us as soon as we are willing to enter upon it. It is not the design of God that we should fall a prey to the evils that have existed and that have worked out such misery and ruin among other people. It is God’s design to save and redeem us from the evils that others have endured. It has been frequently remarked to me by men out of our faith, when conversing upon our principles and the success which has attended their proclamation: “Mr. Cannon, as long as the Latter-day Saints are poor you will do very well; as long as you are persecuted you will stand; but you will be like other people when wealth increases in your midst—when you grow up into classes and some are wealthy and some are poor, and your Church becomes popular, you will be very likely to fall into the same evils and errors that have characterized other churches.” If God did not preside over this Church, such expectations and predictions would doubtless be fulfilled. But God presides; it is His Church, and He has provided remedies for every one of these evils, by which the Church can be preserved, and by which wealth can be increased in the midst of the Latter-day Saints and yet not work out the injurious results that we see elsewhere where it abounds. God has provided a way to prevent this, and that way is to be found in the revelations that were given unto us upwards of thirty-six years ago, and we can read and understand them.

“Well,” says one, “if such an Order as this you speak of be established, will not the careless and indolent enjoy a share in the blessings of those who are industrious? And will it not weaken the hands of the energetic?” Not in the least. The man who is energetic and faithful will receive the reward of his faithfulness. If he has a large surplus of means he has more to put into the Treasury to help to forward that kingdom he loves, and he is credited with it. In the day of the Lord Jesus we are told He will say to him, “Thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many,” and such individuals will receive a reward in proportion to their faithfulness. But if they hide up their talent in a napkin and bury it in the ground, that which was given to them will be taken from them. They who use their talents righteously and faithfully will have them increased, but the unfaithful will be deprived of that which he seems to have.

This Order will not have the effect that some anticipate, but it will be a blessing to all who are engaged in it. There will not be any temptation to seek for wealth for the sake of aggrandizing one’s self or to place one’s heart upon riches, as there is now. This temptation will be removed. I shall be able to love my neighbor. Why? Because if I make off him in a trade I know that whatever I make goes into the treasury and becomes the property of the whole Church, therefore what inducement would there be to soil my soul and bring a blot on my character by taking advantage of my neighbor when it is not going to specially benefit me?

I look upon this principle as one of the greatest principles to save people from avaricious and sordid feelings that God has ever revealed. It will have a tendency to check dishonesty and remove want. It will have a tendency to stop stealing and to cure the evils under which mankind have groaned from the beginning until now. In the Gospel of Jesus Christ there is a remedy for every evil that exists among men. Here is the “social problem,” that troubles the minds of all nations today. The cities of Christendom are crowded with prostitutes; their young men are destroyed in the dawn of their days by the terrible crime of prostitution. How shall these fearful evils be cured? Has there been sufficient wisdom found among men to do it? No; they have confessed their utter inability to cope with it. It is overwhelming them and sweeping them off like a flood throughout the length and breadth of the land, until physicians say that half the diseases that prevail among mankind in Christendom are directly traceable to this devouring evil. What is to correct it? I answer, the Lord, through His people—the Latter-day Saints—is revealing the remedy. You travel throughout the Territory of Utah, from Bear Lake in the north to St. George in the south, and what do you see? You see a people free from secret diseases, you see a people free from the dreadful curse of prostitution. Our young men and maidens grow up in all the vigor of health and there is nothing to sap that vigor and lead them to a premature grave. Then what is to correct these evils in the world? The plan which God has revealed. It will bring about a pure condition of things. If it were universally adopted the “social evil” would be removed, and prostitution would soon cease to exist on the face of the earth.

Will this plan—this glorious Order which God has revealed—correct the other evils with which the world is afflicted? Yes, when that Order is universally established there will no longer be any temptation to steal, defraud one’s neighbor or to commit any wrongs of this kind, for it is said, and truly, that the love of money is the root of all evil. The Order of which I speak will correct these evils because there will be a treasury in the midst of the people, from which those who are worthy can get that which they need to sustain them in their stewardship, and into which all who have a surplus will pour their wealth until it will become the common property of the church; and the church under this organization which God has revealed will become a great and mighty power in the midst of the earth.

We have great power now, though not numerically strong; we are not a very great people so far as numbers are concerned, but we are strong because we are united. The more wealth we have the greater is our power, because the President of this Church can control this people, therefore the people have power, and when our wealth shall be controlled by the President of this Church, we shall have greater power in the earth than we have today. But will that power be used for hurtful purposes? No; it will be used for beneficial ends, for the amelioration of the condition of the human family, for the practical inauguration of these great and glorious principles which God has revealed; and it is to bring you to this condition that the elders are laboring as they are; it is to bring you to this oneness that they labor as they do continually—that they travel and preach to and exhort the Saints all the day long to listen to the counsels of God.

Although it has been deferred a good while it will yet be accomplished and fulfilled and the people brought to a condition that is desired.

Much more might be said on this subject; but I am intruding on your time. May God bless you, my brethren and sisters, and prepare us, as a people, to receive the revelations of His will, which are true and perfect and intended to elevate and exalt us, and to bring us back into His presence, there to be crowned with glory and immortality: which I pray may be the case with us all in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Discourse by Elder George Q. Cannon, delivered in the Old Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Jan. 31st, 1869.

To those who are not familiar with the operations of the Gospel of Christ the spectacle which is to be witnessed in this Territory of a people congregating together from so many nations and united in their faith and worship is something that is very strange and must, of necessity, create considerable inquiry and remark. It is wonderful, and is without a parallel on the earth at present; and yet when viewed in the light of the Gospel which Jesus taught there ought to be nothing particularly wonderful about it, for that which we see in these valleys is what we might expect to see, from the teachings of Jesus and His apostles. Jesus taught His disciples the plan of salvation. He gave unto them the power and authority to go forth and proclaim that plan to every creature, commanding them to baptize, and promised them that they who bowed in obedience to their teachings should receive the Holy Ghost. One of the peculiarities of the Holy Ghost, as we read of its effects in the scriptures, was to unite the hearts of those who received it and to make them one.

We find no account in the history that is gives unto us of the labors of the apostles, of there being any division of sentiment among them or among their disciples. Although Paul had not been brought into contact with Peter and the rest of the Twelve for some years, he informs us that when he went to Jerusalem to meet with them, he found that he taught the same principles and was as conversant with the doctrines of Jesus as they were; and so much was he impressed with the importance of him and his brethren and those who received the principles they taught, believing in one form of doctrine and one plan of salvation, that he left on record, to one of the Churches which he raised up, this sentiment—“though we or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you; let him be accursed.” He endeavored to impress upon those with whom he had communication, and over whom he had influence, that the form of doctrine which he had delivered to them, and which, he says, he received by the Holy Ghost, was the only form of doctrine that could be preached to the inhabitants of the earth without the curse of Almighty God resting upon them who preached and propagated it. Hence, it is but reasonable to suppose that had the doctrine which Paul taught, which he received from Jesus, and the doctrine which was taught by Peter, James, John and Andrew, and the rest of the apostles, been preached and adhered to, by the whole of the inhabitants of the earth, we should see, today, through all the nations of the earth, that which is witnessed in Utah—one form of worship and one faith, and all the people, everywhere worshipping in the same temples and tabernacles, and being governed by the same principles.

It cannot be expected by any person who has any faith or confidence in the plan of salvation, or in the scriptures which contain an account of that plan, that the Holy Ghost would reveal unto man two different kinds of faith; that it would lead them to believe in different forms of doctrine, or that it would teach one class of men that one portion of the Gospel was necessary, and another portion unnecessary; or cause any portion of the people to believe that a certain item of the Gospel was essential to salvation, and cause another portion of the people to believe that the same item of the Gospel was nonessential. Such a view is irreconcilable with the teachings of Jesus and his apostles and of all that is left on record concerning the gifts and power of the Holy Ghost and its office among the children of men. On the contrary, all that is recorded leads us to suppose that if the Holy Ghost were to be bestowed upon an inhabitant of Europe, upon another person in Asia, another in Africa, and upon a fourth, in America, and again upon another on the islands of the sea, that these individuals were they to come together and converse upon the plan of salvation would entertain precisely similar views respecting that plan. To think otherwise would be to make God, our Heavenly Father, the author of strife and division.

If we will remember the prayer of Jesus, the last which He offered up, of which we have any account, before His arrest and betrayal, we shall find that He prayed that His apostles might be one, even as He and the Father were one. And said He, “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one, as Thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that Thou has sent me.” This prayer, it is presumable, was recorded in Heaven; and it is also presumable that it was the design of God that it should be answered upon the heads of those in whose behalf it was offered. This oneness did characterize the Church in those days; and, as I have already said, there is nothing left on record to prove to us that there was anything but oneness, harmony and union in the midst of the Church during the lives of the apostles. The prayer of Jesus was heard and answered, the Spirit of God was poured out upon the apostles, and not only upon them but upon those who believed in their words; and the world in looking on their union had an evidence that they could not controvert, that Jesus had been sent by the Father, and that he was indeed the very Christ. It may be supposed, therefore, that, this being the condition of things during the lives of the apostles, had the inhabitants of the earth continued to practice the principles which they taught, the same results would have followed, not only in the first century of the Christian era, but through every succeeding century down to our day. For it is recorded in the Scriptures, and none who believe in them can doubt the truth of the saying, that God is the same yesterday, today and forever.

He, Himself, says, “For I am the Lord, I change not, therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” This is the character of our Father and our God. At all times and under all circumstances in every age and generation, when men have bowed before Him and have sought Him in the way He has appointed, He has heard their prayers and granted to them the desires of their hearts, and has blessed them according to the faith they have exercised in Him.

Everything that we have on record from those who have had any acquaintance with His attributes or who have had familiar intercourse with Him confirms this view of His character. When men sought after Him in faith in the days of Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses and the prophets, and then again in the days of Jesus and His apostles, the same results followed the exercise of their faith. All may not have had direct and personal intercourse with Him, but all received the blessings they sought, and the guidance of His unerring wisdom has been granted unto them. This is proved from the first record made by Moses, down to the last made by John the Revelator on the Isle of Patmos. We have no account of a generation, or of an individual, even, who served God and kept His commandments, that did not receive peculiar manifestations and blessings from Him. No one was left in doubt or darkness; no one had to be guided by tradition or by the teachings of others alone; but everyone, in every age and generation, received peculiar manifestations and blessings down to the time that John closed his record.

Seeing that this is the character of our Father in heaven and of the Gospel of His Son Jesus Christ, how is it that, today, there is opposition, strife and uncertainty among those who call themselves the disciples of Jesus, if He is, as the Scriptures say, “the same yesterday, today and for– ever?” This is an inquiry that every man, who professes any faith whatever, in Christ, should make, even if he does not endorse the idea that has been taught and testified to by the Latter-day Saints, viz., that God is a God of revelation, and that He has revealed Himself again in the latter days as He did in former days. For my part, with the view I now have respecting God, with the light that has been thrown upon my mind by the teachings of the Elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I could not be satisfied unless I had something more than the world say it is possible for men to obtain at the present time. I could not be satisfied with the records that we have in our midst containing the testimony of men who lived hundreds of years ago. I could not be satisfied to base my faith, and my hopes of salvation and future glory upon a testimony of what they realized any more than I could be satisfied when hungry by reading an account of a good meal partaken of by somebody else. I should want something more than this. I should want to know for myself that God is what others have said He is. I should want to know that He lives today, as He did 1,800 or 2,000 years ago, or as He did in the morning of creation. And if it were possible for men, by the exercise of faith, to obtain a knowledge for themselves, I would contend for that knowledge until I obtained it. But the Lord be praised, we are not in this condition. We know that God is the same that He was yesterday or in the days of Jesus. We know He is the same God that He was in the days of Noah, Moses, Abraham, and other prophets who lived previous to the coming of Jesus Christ. We know this because we have obeyed the form of doctrine taught anciently, which has been revealed again in our days, and we have received the same testimony that the people of God enjoyed anciently. We have repented of our sins, have been baptized for the remission of them by those having authority; have had hands laid upon us for the reception of the Holy Ghost, according to the practice of the apostles of Jesus in ancient times, and we have received the promised spirit and its gifts, which bear witness unto us that we are born of God, that He is pleased with our offering and has accepted us.

It is no wonder that we are united; it is no wonder that men from various nations who have come to the Territory of Utah are united. They have been alike in their obedience, and are alike in their faith and testimony. It is no wonder that for five hundred miles—from the extreme north to south of this Territory—settlements have been formed, whose inhabitants dwell together in unity and peace, worshiping God in the same manner, submitting to the same requirements and obeying the same ordinances. These are the results of obedience to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. These are the results which followed obedience to that Gospel anciently; and these results would have continued to the present day had that Gospel and the authority to preach it been preserved from the apostles downward.

There is no better evidence that new revelation is needed than is to be found today throughout so-called Christendom. Visit the cities of Christendom outside of this Territory, and what do you see? Confusion and division; the churches and meetinghouses of various denominations with their spires pointing heavenward, and people passing and repassing to fill these places of worship, all professing to worship the same God and to believe in Jesus Christ and the Bible, upon which they profess their faith is founded; and yet when you converse with them as to their form of doctrine, one will tell you that to believe in Jesus Christ and to repent from sin is all that is necessary to secure salvation; another will say that in addition to this you must be baptized, and that if you are baptized, having faith in Jesus Christ and repenting of your sins, you are sure of salvation if you continue. One will tell you that sprinkling constitutes baptism, and that a few drops of water sprinkled on your forehead is all that is necessary; another will contend that this alone is not sufficient, but that you must have water poured out upon you. Another says neither of these methods is right, but that you must be immersed in water; while still another will tell you it makes no difference whether you are sprinkled, immersed or have the water poured upon you, and that whether you obey any of these ordinances or not you are sure of salvation if you only come to the foot of the cross and cast your burden of sin there.

These are the kinds of faiths that exist in Christendom at the present time, and they are all, professedly, based upon the Scriptures, forgetting that portion of Paul’s epistle which I quoted to you—“though we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you let him be accursed;” also forgetting that Paul says, “there is one Lord, one faith and one baptism.” Not two, half a dozen or a hundred faiths, nor two, three or four forms of baptism; but Paul actually says, “one Lord, one faith and one baptism.” I say there is no better evidence to be found of the necessity of new revelation from heaven than the condition of the world at the present time in these respects.

It is gratifying to reflect that this condition of things is likely soon to be ended, and that the same gifts, blessings and powers, as formerly existed, with the same results, so far as union, harmony and love are concerned, are restored, and are now in existence among the inhabitants of the earth. It ought to be a cause of thanksgiving, not only to the Latter-day Saints, but to every man who loves his fellow men, to witness that which is now being produced in the midst of the earth, the results of which we see in this Territory. I do not believe that a man who has any love for his fellow men can contemplate this condition of things without having his heart filled with joyous feelings. It is a source of wonder and gratitude to contemplate the fact that, a few years ago, a few apparently insignificant and illiterate men went forth bearing testimony that God had again spoken from the heavens, and had revealed the everlasting Gospel in its ancient purity and power, and that through this testimony thousands, from the various nations of the earth and the islands of the sea, have been gathered to these valleys, and are able to bear the same testimony. When I contemplate these facts my mind is swallowed up with admiration, and my heart is filled with gratitude and praise to our heavenly Father for the great work which He has founded and carried on successfully in the midst of the most determined opposition, and I feel that we, of all people now living, should thank and praise our Father and God that our lot has been cast upon the earth when these great events are in progress.

I know that the cry of “delusion” and “false prophets” is raised on every hand, and that the people, generally say, and have been saying for years, that “the Latter-day Saints are deceived, and that their organization will speedily come to an end.” Yet, despite these sayings, the work of God still goes on and is making rapid strides towards the fulfillment of that high destiny which its Author has predicted concerning it. When you compare this work with the work that was done by Christ and His apostles you will find a great analogy between the two. If we are everywhere spoken against and our names cast out as evil, they were served the same way; if we are hated, so were they; if we are despised and condemned, they were not considered worthy the society of their contemporaries, many of whom thought they were doing God service by killing them. If we were the first whose names have been cast out as evil, or if this generation were the first that had hated the truth, our case would be pitiable indeed; but in every age, from the days of Noah down to the age of the apostles, this has been invariably the case. Every man to whom the heavens have been opened and who has received revelations from God has been hated by his fellows; his life has been sought, and he has had no peace on the earth. No matter how numerous such persons have been they have been hunted and driven. So true is this that Stephen the martyr, when being stoned to death, taunted the Jews with their unbelief and the acts of their ancestors. Said he, “which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which showed before of the coming of the Just One.”

Most of the prophets that ever lived on the earth, of whom we have any account, have suffered martyrdom. And not only has this been the case with the prophets, but also with Jesus himself, that Being who came to the earth clothed with the power and authority of the Godhead—although His glory was hid from men. He who spake as never man spake, and labored as never man labored in the midst of the children of men, performing mighty miracles and doing wonderful works, but what kind of treatment did He receive? He was hated, spit upon, cast out from among men, and finally killed; and His disciples and apostles after Him shared the same fate.

We have a glorious array of predecessors; and it is a source of consolation and encouragement that we do not stand alone in this respect, and that in former times, men have been hated and despised as we are hated and despised, today, and for no other cause than for preaching the truth in its purity and standing up in defense of holy and pure principles revealed from heaven. In fact the persecutions and hatred the Latter-day Saints have been called to pass through, instead of being an evidence against, are an evidence in favor of the truth of the work they are engaged in. Jesus says, “woe unto you when all men speak well of you.” He warned His disciples of danger when their names here honored and when all men spoke well of them.

I have said that the Lord has blessed His servants in sending them forth to preach the Gospel. The same results have followed their preaching as followed the preaching of the Apostles of Jesus anciently. Those who obeyed their teachings were united, so are the Latter-day Saints. I have seen them, and so have you, coming from the four quarters of the earth, mingling together, not knowing each other’s language, nor familiar with each other—baptized by men whom they had never before seen—men who had never gathered to Zion nor associated with the heads of the Church; but who, like Paul, had received it away from the Center Stake or place where the authorities resided; and yet they could all testify in their own languages, to one another, that they had received the Gospel of Jesus, and the testimony of the Holy Spirit in consequence of their obedience to the form of doctrine taught unto them; and they are able to dwell together here in this Territory in peace, love and union, although, as I have said, brought up in different countries and trained in different creeds. What more could the Gospel have done when preached by the apostles? What more did it do when preached by Peter on the day of Pentecost? The results which Jesus prayed for have been fully realized in the day in which we live, and in the midst of the people to which we belong.

It may be asked why should not these results be realized by this people? I have told you that God is the same yesterday, today and forever; I have told you that the Spirit of God produces the same results and the same testimony all the world over. And why should it not? Is there anything strange about that? It would be strange if it did not do so. If there be anything strange, wonderful or worthy of remark it is that among those professing to be the followers of Christ and claiming to be His ministers, there is not that love, union and knowledge in these days which were possessed by those who believed in Him anciently. It is strange that men professing to be followers of Jesus today do not enjoy the same manifestations and blessings as they did who believed in Him anciently.

There is one thing worthy of note in this connection, and that is, that when Joseph Smith first proclaimed to the people that God had spoken from the heavens and sent His holy angels to minister to him, and bestowed upon him the knowledge and authority necessary to build up the Church, he met with opposition and ridicule on every hand. Scarcely a man whom he met would acknowledge that such a thing was possible or at all consistent with God’s mode of dealing with the children of men in these days. It is true that he was successful in convincing a few that he had the testimony of Jesus. They obeyed God’s doctrine taught to them and received the testimony; but for years after he started out to make this proclamation he had this kind of opposition to contend with. But he said the time would come when there would be strong delusion and lying spirits permitted to come forth among the people. He declared that God had restored the priesthood to the earth, and the ordinances of the Gospel, and had established His Church in its purity; and that those who did not believe the testimony of the servants of God and obey it, would be given over to hardness of heart and become subject to evil influences that were known nothing of previous to the establishing of the Church and the restoration of the priesthood.

Years elapsed before this prediction was fulfilled, but it was eventually verified. I recollect very well the first time I got any intimation of it. I was on the Sandwich Islands on a mission; I had stepped into the house of a man who afterwards became a member of the Church. I happened to pick up a book, upon examining which, I found a good many things that struck me as being very strange. I thought, at first that it must be a work written by the Latter-day Saints; but I soon found that it was not. The argument of the writer was in favor of communication with the spirit world, through the ministering of angels, being as possible in these days as at former times. He used precisely similar arguments to those used by the Elders of this Church; and quoted largely from the Bible to prove that it had been quite common for men in ancient days to have such communications and to possess the gift of prophecy and the spirit of revelation, and he argued in favor of these modes of communication in these days. I was very much surprised at seeing such principles advocated by this book; but immediately, the recollection of Joseph’s predictions flashed across my mind. I was but young at the time he made the remark, but I recollected it. I have had opportunities of watching the growth and development of this movement from that day to the present time. I have come in contact with many who profess to believe in spiritual communication; and in traveling through the United States at the present time you will find a great many individuals who entertain this belief. What has produced this change? Why, it is the very thing which Paul said would come. The people in his day would not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved, “therefore” said he, “for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believe not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” They would not believe the testimony of the servants of God, therefore they were given up to hardness of heart and spiritual blindness. When these things overtake them they are ready to fall in with any spirit or influence that will manifest itself amongst them in an extraordinary manner.

For years after the truth was revealed men would continue to ask for a sign. “If you are the men you profess to be,” they would say, “give us some miracle—cause the blind to see, the dumb to speak, the deaf to hear, or the lame to walk, that we may know you are sent of God.” How many thousands of times have the Elders been urged to give some exhibition of power that men might know they were sent of God. Thousands and thousands of times have professed ministers of the Gospel made this request of them. They would not believe the words of Jesus that “these signs shall follow them that believe;” but they wanted the Elders to give signs to prove that Jesus told the truth. You know what Jesus says respecting those who wanted signs—“It is a wicked and adulterous generation that seek a sign, but no sign shall be given them.”

The Elders of this Church have proved the truth of the words of Jesus, that it is a wicked and adulterous generation that seek for a sign. You will generally find that they are wicked men who ask for this kind of evidence. A wicked man is not satisfied with the truth or with the testimony of the servants of God, nor with the calm, heavenly influence of the spirit of God which rests down upon those who receive the truth in honesty. No, such a man wants a sign; he wants to hear somebody speak in tongues, or to see the eyes of the blind opened, or the deaf made to hear, the dumb to speak, the lame to walk, or the dead raised to life. Something of this kind he must have; the testimony of the truth, though borne with angel’s power, has no effect on such a heart. He wants something to convince his outward senses. Thousands of such have rejected the Gospel of life and salvation as they did in the days of Jesus. They then rejected the testimony of the servants of God, and they hardened their hearts against it. But as soon as something came along that gratified them in the way they wanted—something that could tip a table or give some other singular manifestation of power, such as feeling invisible hands laid upon them, or hearing music played by invisible performers, or something of this character, they were convinced immediately that it was possible for spiritual beings to communicate with mortals, and now the Spiritualists number their converts by millions; they probably number more than any other denomination, if they can be called a denomination. They boast of their success.

In this manner the nations of the earth are being subjected to strong delusions; and you will find that as the kingdom of God increases, and as the work spreads abroad and the priesthood gains power and influence in the earth, these systems will gain power and influence, and that strong delusion will increase and spread among the inhabitants of the earth. They did not make their appearance until this Church was organized and the testimony of its truth had been borne; but as soon as the genuine priesthood was restored the bogus or counterfeit made its appearance; and as this work increases in strength and potency in the earth, so will these delusions of which I speak, until those who reject the truth will be bound up in a strong delusion and delivered over to hardness of heart. It is written that “the spirit of God will not always strive with man,” and when the truth is offered to men and they reject it, that spirit will be withdrawn and another influence and spirit will take possession of them, and they will be led captive by the Adversary.

But this is not the case with the work of God; the testimony of those who have embraced the Gospel of Jesus Christ is different in this respect. It is as it was of old—“line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little.” God has revealed to His people according to their strength to receive. He has given to them knowledge just as wise parents give it to their children. He has not bestowed upon them something that would destroy them; but He has given to them light upon light and knowledge upon knowledge in order to lead them along and train them in the path of righteousness which will ultimately lead them back into His presence. What joy, peace, love and union have been bestowed upon those who have embraced the Gospel of Jesus Christ! What light has been shed upon their minds in relation to the Scriptures! No sooner have they gone forth into the waters of baptism for the remission of their sins and had hands laid upon them for the Holy Ghost than it has seemed as though a heavenly peace has taken possession of them. Who, that can recollect anything about the time they entered the Church and their subsequent experience, cannot say that they felt unspeakable gratitude to God for the blessings they received? It has been “like the dew from heaven descending.” It has descended upon the people and filled them with peace, and has knit their hearts together in love, and they have rejoiced in the power which God has manifested in their behalf. But they have not had these wonderful manifestations of which we read among the Spiritualists; there has been no necessity for them.

There is something remarkable in the growth and development of Spiritualism. When Joseph declared that angels had come from heaven and had manifested themselves to him in bodily presence, and had laid their hands upon him, his testimony was rejected, the people declaring him to be an impostor, a false prophet, and not worthy to live; and they were not satisfied until they had killed him. But how changed has all become since then! What advancement the world has made in beliefs of this kind! You may tell almost anything about spiritual manifestations, and the people are ready to believe it—that is, if it is outside of the priesthood and does not come from the Latter-day Saints; their statements are received with as much incredulity and scorn as ever.

Well, the difference between the two systems is apparent. The Latter-day Saints are united, just as Jesus Christ prayed that His followers might be. It is true that we are not yet one as the Father and the Son are one; but we are approximating thereto. The principle of oneness is in our midst and is continually growing. But how is it with those who are the base imitators of the servants of God? Why a thousand vagaries are indulged in by them. There is no form of belief in which they unite; there is no union amongst them. They are divided and separated into thousands of fragments, all having their own peculiar ideas and views. Is the work of God rolled forth by them? Are the inhabitants of the earth benefited by them? Is the earth made better, more beautiful or lovely by their labors, or by the revelations they receive? No, there are no fruits of this kind to be witnessed among them; but all is division, confusion and chaos. There is nothing to cement them together or make them one. But the work God has established is rolling forth with giant strides and accomplishing great results. It is bringing thousands of the poor and ignorant from the nations of the earth and emancipating them from the poverty, thralldom and bondage under which they and their fathers before them have groaned for generations; and it is revealing to them the Gospel of peace, the plan of salvation and planting them in a land of freedom, and bestowing upon them every blessing which the heart of man desires. In addition to this it is producing mental results of a wonderful and elevating character. It bestows upon those who obey its precepts heavenly knowledge, makes them wise in all things, causing them to become an infinitely better people than they were before. Who cannot see, if he will open his eyes to the evidence that God has caused to accomplish His work, which is God’s work and which is the Adversary’s?

In speaking in this strain I am speaking of what I know. I am not telling you what John, Peter or Paul said 1,800 years ago, and what Moses left on record. I stand here as a witness, corroborating what they have written. I know for myself that God has spoken from the heavens and restored the everlasting Gospel in its purity to the earth; that He has ordained His servants and given them the power and authority which were held and enjoyed in ancient days. I know that He has restored to the earth the ordinances of the Gospel and the Holy Ghost with its gifts and blessings. These things I have received and have enjoyed them myself, hence I know they are true. I know God is the same yesterday, today and for ever, and bestows His blessings upon all who will humble themselves before Him, and seek unto Him in the name of Jesus.

May God help us all to live so as to secure and preserve this testimony is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Discourse by Elder George Q. Cannon, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt City, Oct, 7th, 1868.

There have been some exceedingly important questions presented before us for our consideration at this Con– ference. I look upon them as of momentous importance, because upon their correct solution depends, to a very great extent, the perpetuity of our homes, and of the institution which God has given us. God has entrusted to this people His Gospel. He has placed in His church the oracles of the holy priesthood. He has given unto us the labor of upbuilding His Zion on the earth, and it is for us, if we expect to receive the reward that He has promised, to fulfill that trust faithfully, let the consequences be what they may.

Already the establishment of this work has cost the best blood of this generation. Already a prophet, a patriarch, apostles and numerous Saints have laid down their lives to establish the work with which we are connected. It is for us to decide during this Conference whether that blood has been shed in vain; whether the sufferings, trials, difficulties and hardships, our exodus from the lands which we formerly occupied and inhabited, our pilgrimage to this country, our sufferings since we came here, the labors we have expended in rearing this city and in extending civilization throughout this Territory—I say it is for us to decide today and during this Conference whether or not all this has been in vain; and whether we will build up His kingdom according to His divine commandment, or divide our strength and energy, and the talents with which He has endowed us in building up a system or systems that are opposed to this work. It is for us to decide whether we will submit to the jurisdiction of the holy priesthood, or whether we will renounce that jurisdiction and our allegiance to God. These are the questions which present themselves before us today. They are important questions, and should be decided carefully and understandingly.

I look upon the position which we occupy today as, in some respects, a critical one. Not that I anticipate any danger, or have any fears that we are going to be overthrown, if the people will only be true to themselves and their God. I know, as I know that I live and am speaking to you today, that this is the work of God. I know that He has promised that it shall stand forever, and that it shall break in pieces everything that is opposed to it. But I also know that in order for it to accomplish this great work, and for us to share in all its benefit and blessings, we individually must be faithful to it, for the blessings which are promised to us are made conditionally. If we prove recreant to the trust that God has given to us, others will be raised in our places to take the great work in their hands, and carry it forward to its full consummation.

I look upon the present time, as I have said, as a critical one. I feel that if we do not listen to the counsels that are given to us, God has a scourge in store for the Latter-day Saints. I feel in every fiber of my body, in every nerve of my system that this is a turning point with the Latter-day Saints, and that there is required of us today, a decision upon this subject. We have now, for a long period, done as we pleased. We have gone here or there, and done to a certain extent to suit ourselves, regardless of God, the counsels of His servants or the interests of His kingdom, and regardless of everything save our own general interests. The consequence is that there is growing up in our midst a power that menaces us with utter destruction and overthrow. We are told—openly and without disguise, that when the railroad is completed there will be such a flood of so-called “civilization” brought in here that every vestige of us, our church and institutions shall be completely obliterated. When we are told thus plainly and undisguisedly, would it not be folly, nay insanity, for us to sit still, fold our arms supinely and await the crash without making a single effort to ward it off? A people who would be thus besotted would be unworthy the blessings which God has bestowed upon us.

I know there is a feeling of great confidence in the minds of our brethren and sisters. They have, as President Young has often said, a great amount of faith; they have so great trust in God as to go and sell their grain, expecting that God will feed them whether the grain is in the bin or not. Some such confidence as this seems to pervade their minds respecting that which is in the future, and they manifest to a certain extent, carelessness and indifference in regard to carrying out the counsels that are given them, thinking that God, who has so signally preserved them in times past, will still continue to protect them. It is an excellent thing for us to have faith, but we should not have faith alone. Our faith should be associated with works, and the latter should correspond with the former. When our faith and works are united we can call upon God for help to enable us to accomplish that which he requires at our hands.

When I reflect, my brethren and sisters, on past scenes, as I have been doing while listening to the remarks of the brethren during this Conference; when I reflect on the condition we were in when driven from Nauvoo, and on our journey from the Mississippi to this valley—the sufferings of the women and children, and of the aged among us; when I reflect upon the hundreds we buried in Winter Quarters, and the privations the people endured while there; on the hardships the people were com– pelled to endure after their arrival here, and remember that all this was caused by the red hand of persecution, by mobocracy and the violence of wicked men, who envied us the possession of our Heaven-given rights; when I reflect upon all this, and also upon our circumstances now, I feel thankful for what God has done for us, and my prayer, oft repeated, has been “O God, never let this people again become a prey to mobocrats, never let us fall again into the hands of our enemies, but if we do wrong, do Thou chasten us and save us from the hands of those who have persecuted us.” This has been my feeling. But when I look at our circumstances now, I feel as though the people had forgotten that which they have passed through, and were not averse to having a repetition of those scenes.

For years after we came into these valleys we felt as though we never wanted to see the face of an enemy again, and if we could only have bread and water and peace we could be content. We felt, as Bro. Pratt expressed himself yesterday, that if we had only wolf and deer skins to clothe ourselves with we would be satisfied, if we could only have peace. It was peace we came here to enjoy. It was for peace that we fled from our former homes and made the long and wearisome journey to these valleys.

But, how is it today? What are the circumstances which surround us now? Why, here in the head city of Zion, in the center city, where the foundations of the temple are laid and where the House of the Lord has been reared in which endowments and sacred ordinances are given, what do we find? We find a power growing up in our midst that threatens us, in the most plain and undisguised manner, with utter de– struction. Is this so? It is, and has been so for years; and this power has been fostered by us as a people. It has grown, flourished and fattened upon us and the means we have produced. Is it not necessary, then, that something should be done? To my mind it is clear that some effort, such as has been proposed, should be made to concentrate the Saints and to set before them the principles of salvation in such a manner that they will understand the course they ought to take.

While the brethren were talking yesterday, and while we were South, I often had brought to my mind a circumstance that occurred in Nauvoo. It was on the 10th of June, 1844, I had occasion to go to the City Council of Nauvoo, with some proof sheets to the editor of the “Nauvoo Neighbor”—Elder John Taylor. I was a boy at the time, the printer’s “devil,” as it is technically called. While there, the subject under discussion, was the declaring of the “Nauvoo Expositor” a nuisance. Doubtless many of you recollect that paper, one number of which was issued by the Laws and other apostates. You who do not recollect the paper may recollect reading about it. There was some excitement at the time in the Council. They had passed an ordinance declaring it a nuisance, and empowering the city marshal, John P. Green, to abate it. Joseph and Hyrum were in conversation at one of the windows of the room. Hyrum remarked to Joseph: “Before I will consent to have that paper continued to defame our wives, sisters and daughters, as it has done, I will lay my body on the walls of the building.” The sentiment as he uttered it, ran through me. I felt as he did. Yet we, for years, have had in our city a paper which publishes, if possible, more abominable lies about us and our people than were published by the “Nauvoo Expositor,” for the abatement of which Hyrum Smith said he was willing to die. We have not noticed it; we have suffered it to go on undisturbed. But the time has come for us to take this matter into consideration. Brother Pratt said yesterday, that our papers scarcely ever alluded to it. We have never alluded to it; we have deemed it unworthy of allusion, it is so utterly contemptible; but I now lay it before you. What we are doing on the present occasion is to fully bring it home to our minds, that we may see and understand the nature of the power that is growing in our midst, which we foster and sustain.

I glanced over a few of these papers that are now being published here, and there are two from which I will read you a few extracts so that you may see the spirit which animates our opponents.

In an editorial of the 11th of August we find the following, written in regard to an extract taken from one of our papers:

“The hankering for seclusion and exclusion, and the foul spirit of the assassinator to secure them, stick out in every word of the above extract. It is as full of the fell spirit that has always actuated the crew, whose spokesman this Editor is in this instance, as the sting of the adder is of venom. But it is the vain and weak boast of a throttled bully. The day has gone by when hired bands of cutthroats, ‘destroying angels,’ can ply their heinous avocation, and drive from the Territory, or murder all whom Brigham Young and his crew do not want in it. This fellow, who at the bidding of his master, Brigham, to whom he servilely and profanely bows as his god, insults the citizens of the United States by telling them that no one but those who bow as servilely as himself to Brigham, shall have leave to stay in this Territory, ignores the fact that the Salt Lake basin is a rich oasis in which nature has lavishly congregated all that is needed at the Halfway Point on the great National highway, the Pacific Railroad, and that it all belongs to the citizens of the United States, and not to Brigham and his crew. We speak advisedly when we say Brigham and his crew, for by reference to the doings of the Latter-day Saints’ Legislature it will be seen that they have attempted to give Brigham and his set very great quantities of the richest part of this valley, including mill privileges, &c.

“Hitherto this Territory has only been of interest to the people of the United States because of the infamous establishment sought to be set up in it in the sacred name of religion, and the motor of the warfare against the gross outrage has been alone the moral sense of the country, but now for the reason just named, a commercial interest is added, and the two together will as surely as truth is truth, and right is right, crush out the vile thing and rid the country of the foul blot, peaceably if possible, but with a besom of destruction if that is inevitable.” [Mark these words! How much they sound like the language of the manifesto of the mob in Jackson County, Missouri!]

“This Editor, in his shallow boasting, forgets, or purposely keeps out of sight, the truth that this Mormonism, which is sacrilegiously called a religion, is a heathenish heterodoxy, and that therefore the orthodox churches of the land, whose members number millions, will throw themselves against the spurious monster of Utah with all their force. This force only awaits the opportunity that the railroad will give it. In that day it will do you no good to buy a piti– ful Congressman, and he must be a pitiful one indeed who would sell himself to Brigham.”

In another article which appeared on the 8th of September, we find the following:

“There are numbers of foreigners in this Territory, who have never abjured their allegiance to the foreign ruler from whose dominions they emigrated; and who have year after year voted for local officers and a delegate to Congress. There are others who, deceived by the representations of the Probate Judges, either willfully or ignorantly made, that they had power to naturalize, have taken out their papers from the Probate Courts, in many instances paying a larger fee therefore than the clerk of the District Court would be entitled to charge. These foreigners all occupy and hold more or less land in this Territory, and expect to avail themselves of the pre-emption law to the exclusion of actual citizens who are ready and desirous of occupying the land which the laws of the United States gives them a right to do. Many of these foreigners, either holding no papers at all or those spurious ones issued by Probate Courts, have since the passage of the act of 1862, prohibiting polygamy in the Territories of the United States, openly and persistently violated its provisions; and have been loud in the expressions of disloyalty towards the government of the United States.”

If we were living in the days of Nauvoo, and I had heard these extracts read, I should have thought they were from the “Warsaw Signal.” But these execrable sentiments were not published in Warsaw, they were not published at the Sweetwater, at Austin, or Virginia in Montana, but they were published at Salt Lake City, in the Center Stake of Zion, as at present organized. They are circulated through our streets, and placed in the hands of our children. They are disseminated throughout the Territory, so far as they can be; they are sent to the east and to the west, to the north and to the south, and everywhere as far as the influence of our enemies extends. In these infamous sheets the public are informed that the Latter-day Saints are assassins and everything that is vile, low and degraded. And no attempts are spared to excite against us in the minds of the officers of the parent government feelings of hatred, and to make them believe that a crusade ought to be inaugurated against us. When a paper of this kind is published in our midst and goes forth to the world unchallenged, it is a difficult thing for men and women outside of this Territory to realize that everything in its pages concerning us is false. If there were any greater evidence needed of our patience and forbearance and of our lawabiding tendencies than we have already given, they are to be found in the fact that the editor of this paper is not hung. (Hear, hear.) In any other community he would have been strung up to a telegraph pole; but here, in Utah Territory, in Salt Lake City, under the nose and in the eyes of the people and their leaders, this man who proclaims these infamous falsehoods travels our streets unnoticed and unchallenged. Let it be known throughout the world what we have submitted to in this respect, and there is not a man from Texas to Maine, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, who would not say we are the most patient and forbearing people on the Continent, or we would not submit to it. In any other Territory that office would be “gutted” within five days.

I allude to this matter because this paper is sustained in our midst, and those whom we sustain, sustain it; our money pays for its subscriptions. Our money pays its editor, buys its ink, paper and type, and pays its compositors and pressmen.

I will refer to another instance of the growth of this antagonistic power in our midst. A short time ago a circular, got up secretly by certain reverend gentlemen dwelling in this City, and probably printed and mailed by night, was sent broadcast throughout the East, in which every vile epithet that so called religious men could consistently use, was applied to us as a people. In this circular, those so-called Christian divines appealed as they said, from a strange land and from the midst of a strange people, to their brethren in the East, invoking them, if they wished to save this land from barbarism and to civilization, to raise $15,000 to buy a lot, on which a rectory might be established and a school built. And the purpose for which that school was designed was to inoculate the children of the Latter-day Saints with their damnable and pernicious doctrines. Who sustains this institution and who sustains and has sustained this paper? You can answer these questions. Will we patiently submit to these things? Shall we bow ourselves as willing slaves to the yoke they would fasten upon us? (Cries of “No, No.“) Well, then, if you will not bow to it, stop your trading with men of this class and sustain your friends; sustain those who want to build up the kingdom of God, who are one with us. If this fight must come and we have to cut off all from the church who will not reform in this respect, I would rather have it done now than wait until, environed by enemies, we are thrust out of our possessions at the point of the bayonet and compelled to flee to the mountains for safety. (Congregation said “Amen.“)

As an individual, I have no fellowship with those who sustain the enemies of the kingdom of God. I never did have. From my childhood my heart has been in this kingdom; every pulsation of it has been for Zion.

For years we have submitted to this treatment at the hands of outsiders in our midst. The present paper has been, if anything, better than its predecessor, for that had no editor’s name to it. Fostered on the hill here, its contributors were men who wore the uniform of our respected “Uncle.” Its printers were men who were paid as soldiers. There was no name published at the head of its columns, and it was more base even than the present publication, because no one was responsible for its contents. I have not made any quotations from that. It, too, was sustained and contributed to by merchants in this City who seek the support of this people. I am informed, however, that the one at present published here is now issued without an editor’s name to it.

It may be said, and is said by a great many, that this outside element has brought us trade. We have heard it stated time and time again that until the advent of Colonel Johnson and his army we were destitute of a circulating medium, but that since that period we have increased in wealth, money is more plentiful, and we have grown and spread abroad. And they take the glory to themselves and say it is their presence here that has produced this change. If this be so, the withdrawal of our support will make no difference to them. They cannot complain if we withdraw our support from them, because, if their statements be true, we are likely to be the greatest sufferers from this withdrawal. But let them test the truth of this themselves practically as we intend to do.

It is very plain to be seen, from the extracts which I have read to you, what the intention is, we have seen it carried out before at other places where we have dwelt. As soon as we began to increase in wealth, to build comfortable houses, and to open farms, the cupidity of our enemies was excited against us. When we came here we were poor and poverty stricken. We possessed nothing to excite anybody’s cupidity. It was hoped that we would perish in the wilderness; but when it was found that we had money, there was a class, who, like vultures scenting the carrion from afar, came here, and to hear them talk one would have thought that the “Mormons” had thousands of friends. Why, they always sympathized with and pitied us! They always felt kindly towards us and thought, we were a very much abused people! Unfortunately, we never heard that they were thus sympathetic or had any feelings of kindness towards us—we had never seen their publications appealing in our behalf, or heard their voices imploring the authorities or the parent government to shield us from the attacks of our enemies. We had never heard anything of this kind, and should never have known anything about it had they not come and communicated this pleasing intelligence. But unfortunately the knowledge came too late for us to avail ourselves of it.

Allusion was made here, yesterday, to the fact that not one of those who have fattened at our expense ever lifted up his tongue or voice, or used his pen in defense of us in times of difficulty or danger; and should there be danger today, and we be menaced from without in the most unjustifi– able manner, you would find that these fair-weather friends would soon take their flight and leave us to our fate, just as their predecessors did when the army came here from the east, as I met a whole company of them going to California by the southern route. It may be said “these are exceptions.” I do not doubt but there are men among our merchants who are very fine men. I would as soon deal with them in the eastern States as with anybody else; but it is because they are in Salt Lake City that I am opposed to them. “Ah, that is exclusive,” it may be said. I confess it is exclusive. I do not want a power to be brought into our midst as the wooden horse was into Troy. I do not want a power in our midst inimical to us, and that, as President Young has said, poisons everything around it. If such a power flourishes here, I wish it to flourish without our aid, and subsist without our contributing to its subsistence. If it can sustain itself after we have withdrawn our support, well and good. If there is government patronage and travel enough to sustain a class of this kind in our midst, all right, I have no objections. But the point at issue is for us to withdraw our support from this power, leave it to itself and sustain ourselves, and trade with those who are one with us in building up the kingdom of God. If outsiders want a paper, Sunday Schools and preachers, all right, if they sustain them themselves. Then they are in the hands of God. But while we sustain them or contribute of our strength to do so, we have no claim on the providence and deliverance of God our Heavenly Father. We cannot ask Him to deliver us from a power that we ourselves have fostered, and which we are sustaining. As I have said, if they were in the East we would have no objections to do it. Some cannot see any difference between sustaining them here or elsewhere. Why, when they are there they have no interest in exciting a crusade against us. If they have no contracts to get, it is no object for them to have thousands of soldiers here. But while they are here it is an object for them to try and create a feeling against us in the East. It is an object with them while here to try and have men of their choice elected for city and Territorial officers, and to get the whole machinery of the Territorial government into their own hands. Why? Because they are here, and consequently their interests are here; but if they were in New York, Chicago, London or San Francisco they would have no interest in any of these things. They would look at our money and be as glad to take it as anybody else’s money.

I expect some of our friends will say this is a confession of weakness on our part, and that we are alarmed for the perpetuity of the power of the Priesthood. Let it be granted; I am willing they should put this construction upon it. I care not what construction they put on our words or our addresses during this Conference. The fact is we want to warn the people, and to stir them up to the necessity of taking the course we are urging upon them. That is our duty, and it makes no difference what others may think about it. Time will prove whether the Priesthood will be perpetuated or not, or whether the majority of this people will give heed to those who are not of us or not; and whether they will apostatize because they can get goods cheaper from an outsider than they can somewhere else; even if such is the case, which, however, is not true. Time is the great rectifier of all these things. We may labor for a time under mis– construction; but we can afford to wait. We shall outlive all erroneous ideas.

There are a great many points connected with this question which might be dwelt upon. It is an important matter, and one that should claim our earnest attention and calm consideration. The question is, Will we sustain the Kingdom of God or will we not? Will we sustain the priesthood of God or will we not? This power of which I have been speaking, or more properly, this antagonistic class in our midst, flatter themselves with the idea that when it comes to the test this people will desert their leaders and cleave to something else. This is an illusory hope. The Latter-day Saints know too well the source of their blessings. We have obtained a knowledge from God respecting this work; we know that it is of more value to us than all the earth besides. As I have said, we have forsaken former homes for it. The great majority of the first settlers came without shoes to their feet, and passed the first two or three winters in moccasins, and ate but a very scanty allowance of food. What was this for? Because we had obtained a knowledge of the blessings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is no less dear to us now that twenty-one or twenty-two years have elapsed. God has proven to us that He is still willing to bless and sustain us and to give us the victory over all our enemies. He has endowed His servant with superhuman wisdom to guide this people. We have seen this and we rejoice in it. Amen.