Show REMARKS by president george eor gio Q cannon cannan made sn the tabernacle salt lake my ift sunday afternoon may 26 1889 REPORTED BY A 0 BENNETT I 1 ww will read the chapter of the aud 2nd book of nephi and now 1 I nephi make an end of my prophesying unto you my beloved brethren and I 1 cannot write but a few things which I 1 know must surely come coale to pass neither can I 1 write but a few of the words of my brother jacob wherefore the things which I 1 have written looth ceth me save it be a few words which I 1 must speak concerning the doctrine of christ wherefore I 1 shall speak unto you plainly acco according rd to the plainness 0 of my prophesying in for for my soul deligh teth in plainness for after this manner doth the lord god work among the children of men for the lord god light unto the understanding for he speake speak eth tb unto men according to their language unto their understanding wherefore I 1 would that ye should remember that I 1 have spoken unto you concerning that prophet which the lord showed unto me that should baptize the lamb of god which should take away the sins of the world and now if the lamb of god he being holy should have need to abe be baptized by water to fulfil fulfill all righteousness ri 0 then how much more need have we being unholy to be baptized yea even by water and now I 1 would ask of you my beloved brethren wherein the lamb lam mg of god did fulfil fulfill all righteousness in being baptized b by water know ye not that he was holy but notwithstanding he being holy he bato the children of men that according to the flesh he hum bleth himself before the father and wit unto into the father that he would be obedient unto him in keeping his commandments inels wherefore therefore after he was baptized with water the holy ghost descended upon him in tho the form of a dove and again it unto the children of men the straightness of the path and the narrowness of the gate by which they should enter he having set the example before them and he said unto the children af men follow thou me wherefore my beloved brethren can we follow jesus save we shall be willing to keep the commandments of the father and the father said repent ye repent ye and be baptized in the name of my beloved son and also the voice of the son came unto me saying he that is baptized in my name to mm him will the father give the holy ghost like unto me wherefore follow me and do the things which ye have seen me do wherefore ahei afore my beloved brethren I 1 know that if ye shall follow the son with full purpose 0 of heart acting no hypocrisy h crisy and no deception before god mr but with real intent repenting of your sms sins witnessing unto the father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of christ by bv baptism yea by following your lord and your savior down into the water according to his word behold then shall ye receive the holy ghost yea then corneth the baptism of fire and of the holy ghost and then oan can ye speak with the ton tongue e of angels and shout praises unto the go holy one of israel but behold my beloved brethren thus came the voice of the son unto me saying after ye have repented of your sins sins and witnessed unto the father that ye are willing to keep my commandments by the baptism of water and have received the baptism of fire and of the holy ghost and can speak peak a ith a new tongue yea even with the tongue of angels and after this should deny me it would have been better for you that ye had not known me and I 1 heard a voice from the father Fat fier saying yea the words of my beloved are true and faithful he that dureth en to the end the same shall be saved and now my beloved brethren I 1 know by this that unless a man shall endure to the und in following the example of the conof son of the living god he cannot be saved wherefore do the things which I 1 have told you I 1 have seen that your lord and your redeemer should do for for abis cause have they been shown unto me that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter for the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the holy ghost and then are ye in this straight and narrow path which leads to eternal life yea ye lave entered in by the gate ye have done according to the commandments of the father and the son and ye have received the holy gihos which witnesses of the father and the son unto the f fulfilling ul filling of the promise which he nath made that if yo ye entered in by the way ye should receive anil and now my beloved brethren after ye have gotten into this straight and narrow path ath I 1 would ask tf if all is done wald behold I 1 say unto ar you ou nay for ye have not come th thus us lar save it were by the word of christ with unshaken faith in him relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save wherefore ye must press forward with a steadfastness in christ having a perfect brightness of ho hope and a love Me of god and of all men wherefore if yo ye shall press forward feasting upon the word of christ and endure to the end behold thus saith the father ye shall have eternal li ii e and now behold my beloved brethren this is ia the way and there is none other way no name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of god and now behold this Is the doctrine of christ and the only and true doctrine of the father and of the son and of the holy ghost which is one god without end amen I 1 had hoped this afternoon to have had the privilege lige of listening to president dent woodruff but I 1 regret to say that he has daught caught a severe cold and has almost entirely lost his voice and is therefore unable to speak to us I 1 now rise to address you with a good deal of fear and trembling when I 1 look at the faces of this large congregation I 1 naturally shrink from attempting to speak but thero there are duties which devolve upon u n us from which we cannot shrink in speaking to you on this occasion I 1 trust I 1 shall have the faith and prayers of my brethren and sisters for as brother goddard in his opening prayer said there is no one but god that knows the hearts of the child childred reh of men and he alone can give to every soul that food which is necessary for his spiritual growth and advancement in in the things of the kingdom of god it is 18 lie he alone who knows our wants and has the power power to bestow upon us ua that which we need therefore as is our practice we have come together trusting that the I 1 lord will give to us that portion of his holy spirit t that counsel and instruction and if necessary that reproof or warning which we may require As AB a people we need to live so as to have the word of god given to us to be fed upon any anything think else but this would be a great disappointment and would leave us hungry and in a destitute condition the life of a latter day saint is such that jae he has need to be in close communion with his god and the religion that we profess is one which imparts to the human soul at the z ve very ry time that it is required the COD consolation the strength and the necessary gifts and powers to enable that soul to contend with and overcome all the evils that may lie in his pathway we have tested this religion of ours it gives me great satisfaction and pleasure to know that our religion is not alone a holiday religion a fair weather religion on it has been tested under circumstances that have been peculiarly trying and the confidence which the lat ter day saints sainte have in it today has been een gained r by long years of experience peri ermence ence in Us its powers in its gifts IH A its strength in its resources and capabilities to sustain them in the midst of the deepest trials and the most desperate straits in which human beings can be placed this is the secret of the cohesiveness of the people and their devotion to the truth if there had been any failure in the past in its powers powei s to sustain in the midst mid of deep afflictions the discovery would have been made faith would likewise like wase have failed and confidence would have been shaken but this has not been the case and as I 1 have said this is a great cause of happiness and satisfaction to me as I 1 know it must be to you when we reflect upon the circumstances through which we have cave been called to pass as a people during the past fifty nine years yeara since the church was organ organized ld how varied the scene show wonderful the vicissitudes how extraordinary the trials with which the people have had to contando con tandl persecuted from the very outset hated and driven property destroyed houses burned burnea hard earned possessions posses sious wrested from them dr driven ven out b by violence and even death meted out to some compelled to go into the wilderness through lands of willell which nothing was known and to find a 8 resting place in the distant valleys of the rocky mountains with a 8 scarcity of food scant clothing 1 la with few of the conveniences convenience sa and scarcely any of the comforts of life lif under all these circumstances the tb latter day saints have had the opportunity port anity unity of testing their religion has it ever been found wanting I 1 see before me this afternoon inell and women who have been WO COD necked with this church almost almont from the very beginning one who years ago was a prisoner with the prophet of god in the state of missouri others who were driven out from that state and from the state of illinois and who crossed these dreary plains without having any distinct idea as to where they were going what kind of aland they would reach or what sort of difficulties they would have to encounter of others who followed afterwards some dragged handcarts hand carts some walked with weariness and sore affliction to reach this valley under all these circumstances I 1 can ask with perfect confidence those who have had this experience has your religion ever failed you in the hour of your deepest distress have you ever found it to be deficient in those vod blessings les sings and in those powers which god has promised shall accompany ris his gospel and rest upon those who obey icv W the universal testimony if opportunity r port were given for hearing ft t would be under no circumstances and at no time did our religion sackbut lack laok but god gave us strength and grace according to the day and poured out his holy spirit in the hour our when strength was most needed we can therefore now meet together rejoicing in the blessant bles blessings sinT that god has bestowed upon us no f matter how dark the clouds may maybe be tto no matter how forbidding the outlook may be to us naturally speaking we know that in trusting our god we have not trust ed d him in vain and we feel confident that he will continue to astow tow strength and grace peace wd joy oy and give unto us every ahing good thing that may be necessary to comfort our hearts and sustain us in performing the labors that he may assign to us or that may be retired alred of us in passing through the me difficulties which environ our path I 1 well remember how the saints sung bung praises to god and how joyful they were in their journey across toe the plains when they were first driven out ani first came to this valley I 1 do not believe there was a happier people upon the face of the earth than the latter day saints during u ng the e winter of 1847 and 1848 during ng the summer of 1848 and the succeeding ding winter although at one tittle ae it seemed as though starvation as well nigh inevitable the crickets descended upon the crops d ate them off until it appeared 48 it if there would not be enough stain mila left standing to sustain the lives of those the who had tilled the earth rth and were depending upon the yield of the fields for their future sustenance it seemed as though ough god was determined ta t test the faith of his people at that time although I 1 was only a youth then and had aone of the cares of a family resting U rt ron 11 me I 1 well remember how I 1 fe reh myself but according to my observation I 1 did not see among our older people any who had lost heart or felt that disaster awaited them they were happy even under the circumstances in which they found themselves bemsel ves they rejoiced exceedingly in the liberty which they had here in the freedom from oppression in the deliverance that god had wrought out there was no necessity to watch the leading men in order to prevent them being kidnapped there was no occasion to dread the approach of those who pretended to have writs against men of prominence doors were left unlocked there were no thieves everyone slept in perfect security and such a thing as ake be loss of any article although some of them were to people thus situated exceedingly exee valuable at that time was not heard of in this valley yet provisions were scarce men women and infant children had haa to resort to various device devi cesin siu order to obtain food to sustain themselves in the bottoms thistle roots were dug when the spring opened thistle tops were gathered were also dug for food and many families never tasted bread for days and weeks together the people living upon such roots as could be dug and yet happiness reigned peace ace prevailed and the people people rejoiced voiced to an extent I 1 think far greater reater than they do in their present comfortable position I 1 allude to this as an incident to ill illustrate what I 1 have been saying that under all circumstances god has fulfilled his promises promises in relation to the latter day ay saints and if you are not a happy people if yu you do not rejoice every day of your lives if you do not bow your knees filled with profound thanksgiving unto god our eternal father for the blessings that he has bestowed upon you then you are recreant to the principles which you profess and you show your unworthiness before the lord in view of the great kindness blessings and mercies which he has extended to you we have seen by the history of other peoples who have preceded us that in days of prosperity when the blessings of the he earth were multiplied upon them hem they stood in greater danger than they did in times of poverty I 1 believe that this Is the case generally when we have an abundance of everything that is necessary for our comfort and convenience we do not feel our dependence upon our god as we do under other circumstances when times are pleasant when there is no persecution when there here are no arrests made and no disposition to send the people to prison irison or to commit other acts of infamy or outrage upon them then here as not the same feeling of anxiety ety and the same desire to seek unto god and to beseech him for his power awer to be extended to us that there would be or is when we are in peril eril when in peril we feel that we ve must cleave unto god that we must seek unto him earnestly to receive his aid and deliverance no doubt these circumstances through which we have been called to pass during the last four years and a half or thereat thereabouts fouts have had a wise purpose in the wisdom of god our H heavenly eaverly father ather in training this people in giving them experience peri ence in teaching them to feel after and to obtain from god the 1 strength and the faith which they should possess so that they can pass through and endure trials and afflict afflictions lons without murmuring we paid a visit last sunday and during last week to sanpete valley and held a good many meetings with the latter day saints there thele we have held meetings other places and found that in some of them there is need for the people to be visited and preached to in some instances we found a condition which was not pleasant to bontem plate many things are practiced that are not creditable to latter day saints many sins sing are indulged in and we have felt to call upon the people to |