Show DELIVERED SUNDAY h 1 A sermon full of eternal truths the following discourse was delivered by president geo Q cannon in the salt lake tabernacle on sunday july I 1 will read a portion of the ath chapter of the boole of moroni wherefore I 1 would speak unto you that are of the church that are the peaceable followers of christ and that have obtained a sufficient hope by whick ye can rest oe the biord from ibis time henceforth until ye ceboll rest with him in heaven and now my brethren I 1 judge these things of you because of your peaceable walk with the children of men for I 1 remember the word of god which saith by their works yo shall know them foria their works be good then they are good also for behold god hath said A man being evil cannot do that which is good for if ha off ereth a gift or unto god shall do it with real intent it pro fieth him nothing for behold it is not counted unto him for righteousness for behold if a man being evil a gift he boeth it grudgingly gru wherefore it is counted unto him the same as if he had retained the gift wherefore be is counted evil before god and likewise is it counted evil unto a man if he shall pray and not with intent of heart yea and it pro fieth him nothing for god receive th none such wherefore a man being evil cannot do that which is good neither will he give a good gift for behold a bitter fountain can nol bring forth good water neither can a forth bitter water wherefore where fere a mau being a ser the devil cannot follow christ and if he follow christ he cannot be a servant of the devil tt wherefore all things which are good cometh of god and that which ia avii cometh of the devil for the devil is an enemy unto god and figh teth against him continually and invite th and entice th to sin and to do that which is evil continually but behold that which is of god invite th and entice th to do good continually everything which invite th to do good and to love god and to serve him is inspired of god wherefore take heed my beloved brethren ye do not judge that which is evil to ba of god or that which is good and of god to be of the devil for behold my brethren it is given unto you to judge that ye may know good from evil and the way to judge is as plain that ye may know with a perfect knowledge as the daylight is from the dark night for behold the spirit of christ is given to every man that they may know good from evil wherefore I 1 show unto you the way to judge for every thing aich to do good and to persuade to believe in christ is sent forth bythe power ard gift jt christ wherefore you may know with a perfect knowledge it is of god but whatsoever thing persua dath anen to do evil and believe not in christ and deny him and serva not fiod then ye may amow with a per knowledge it is 0 the devil for after this manner doth the devil work jor ho no man to do good 0 o not one neither doth bis angels neither do they who subject themselves him and now my brethren seeing that ye know the light by abich ye may judge which light is the light of christ seo that ye do not judge wrongfully for with that same judgment which ye judge ye shall also he judged wherefore I 1 beavech of you brethren that ye should search diligently in the light of christ that ye may know good from evil and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing and condemn it not ye certainly aul wul be a child of christ in attempting to speak to you my brethren anell sisters this afternoon I 1 trust that I 1 shall have the assistance of boar faith and prayers I 1 have been in the habit of speaking of late every sunday but not in this tabernacle and it requires extra exertion in this large house to be heard distinctly by nil present the words that I 1 havo just read are he swords of a prophet of god they are so plain that a little child may them not only the words ts which he attempts to teach there are a great many people who seem to bo at ft loss to know that which is true and is of god in these words the means of distinguishing that which edeth from god and that which is not of god but opposed to him are clear ly abet forth that which is good cometh from god wherever it may be found that which persua deth and men to do good u f i he lord that which thea do evil which mc lineth or invite tL to do that which is opposed to r c is clearly from an evil source having osa testing troth an derror men who serve him not there ned be little if any danger of being led astray the latter day saints of all people upon the face of the earth should be perfectly satisfied that their course is a correct one for they have much to encounter they have many difficulties to contend with serious obstacles to overcome their pathway is environed with difficulty and it requires a perfect knowledge on their part concerning the doctrines that they in and the course which they take in order that they may be free from all apprehension and douba and fea concerning the roselta when the elders visited the lands where the latter day saints dwelt before they embraced the gospel they went to the people stating that they had received a message from god who had called and empowered them and had commanded them to go forth and declare the message with which he had entrusted them to the earth if ther ohad been anything connected message that would entice men to so evil commit sin to violate any of the commandments of god recorded in the scriptures or to do anything that would be in conflict with the clearly benned denned principles of righteousness then the people would have been warranted in rejecting that message but this was not the case and hence condemnation will follow the dejeo tion of the truths of heaven which they declare in the first place they said that if men will believe in the lord jesus christ would repent of their sins in sincerity be baptized for the remission of their sins and have hands laid upon them for the reception of the holy ghost they should receive that gift from god and when they once possessed it it would give unto them those blessings which had accompanied compa nied its bestowal in ancient times every gift that jesus had promised unto his believers when he was upon the earth and after his resurrection the elders declared would rest upon those who embraced the gospel as they taught it therould be no plainer message than this no means more definite foxa testing its divinity for if the elders had not had the authority which they claimed then undoubtedly the blessings which they promised would not have rested down upon those who obeyed their words their proposition was a clear one and it was within the power of everyone who heard it to test it for themselves As has often been said heaven would not lend itself to any deception would not bestow the gifts and blessings of the gospel as they bad been bestowed in ancient days unless men were really authorized of heaven to administer the ordinances unto the children of men the hold that the gospel of the lord jesus christ has taken upon the hearts of those who have embraced it in our day is due to the fact that the message was a true one that the promises made were fulfilled that those who obeyed bad received a testimony according to the promise that had been given if it had not been so these valleys would not now be peopled by latter day saints these settlements ex north and south east and west would not have had an existence this tabernacle would never have been built this temple go near its completion would never have had a foundation itono stono laid but because the message was from heaven and because heaven bestowed ho gifts and blessings as the elders had promised therefore the latter day saints have gathered together here they have come from various lands they have obeyed the voice of god anc have testified that through their obedience they have received the fulfillment of that promise it is this that has created this cohesion this union this identity of interests this oneness in knitting the people together and making them to a great extent of one heart and one mind now if there had been anything connected with this message that would have invited or enticed men to do evil and to have stayed from righteousness those who hoard it would have had evidence that it of god that men teach such doctrines but who is there that has heard the gospel of the son of god preached now for these nearly sixty years has that ever heard any sentiment any doctrine that has enticed men to do evi taught by a servant of god on the contrary the world can know for itself and in this respect the world is left without excuse at no time nor under any circumstances has error sin and wickedness been taught by those who have held authority in this church to teach the people joseph smith was killed by wicked men in s most cruel heartless and dishonorable manner but from the time that he first stood before the people and declared decla unto them the message which god had given unto him up to the last hour of his life no one ever beard proceeding from his mouth any doctrine any principle any counsel or suggestion that was not of god and that did not invite men to do right and forsake sin so it has been from that day until the present it has been a constant characteristic of the teaching of the servants of god they have entreated the people they have labored earnestly and unceasingly cea singly with them to do right to serve god to keep his cobmand to forsake sia they have denounced noun ced in unmistakable terms everything that paa and froug and the people have been taught invariably that it is far better for them to suffer persecution for keeping the commandments of god than to do anything that would grieve the spirit of god or cause it toafa from them been the constant teachings of this church and if we have been persecuted it has not been for sin if any of our have had their blood shed it is not because they have violated the commandments mand ments of god it has not been because they were greater sinners then their fellows if any of them have been sent to prison ia has not been because they have done ahat which god has commanded should not be done it has not been because of unrighteousness on their par or flagrant wickedness but it has been because they have strived according to the light ani knowledge which they possessed to do that which god required at their hands in no instance has it been proved that the latter day sainta have gone in defiance of the word of god contained in the old and new testaments our doctrines are before the world for them to investigate for them if they be wrong to disprove if wo have baen persecuted then it has not been fajr sin there has been no new thing in the earth for it would la a now thing if the wicked should be persecuted by the righteous such a thing has never occurred from the beginning of time who ever heard of righteous men banding themselves together to persecute and punish the wicked invariably it has been the case that the righteous have been persecuted by the wicked that laws have been trampled upon that good order has been overthrown in order to reach and to punish righteous people the latter day saints have been driven from their homes in the states their property destroyed and they themselves have been driven out some of them have been murdered and others have fallen through persecution by the wayside but it has not been because they were more wicked than other people the laws were not trampled upon the constitution was not violated in order to punish wickedness that could not be punished by any other means it has been because we have received and taught as we believed the everlasting gospel the gostol of the son of god my brethren and sisters you ought to understand these things but the question arises it presents itself before ane this afternoon have yon and are you living today to day BO as to have this living testimony in your hearts concerning the work of god or have you indulged in or yielded to influences that are not of god I 1 suppose there is not one estter day saint within this building today to day who has not been born in the church who has journeyed from other not come hers because he or she has been impelled by faith in the gospel as heard and espoused by them those who were born hero have of course been brought up in the faith of their parents butt those who have come from afar have been prompted in their movements by tho testimony diat they received it ia a serious question for every one of us Is that testimony burning within us is it a living testimony in our hearts today to day as auch as it was when we first reached here I 1 hear of murmuring this is a time of trial for the latter day saints we have BOW for upwards of four years been undergoing persecution soma have called it prosecution but it has assumed a form of persecution in many instances one class has been greatly tried their faith has been greatly tested women and children especially they have bad to undergo many afflictions they have had to bear many sorrows true a good many of the people have not felt the burden of tins persecution or prosecution choose which term yon please beyond the natural sympathy they bad for their brethren and sisters in affliction doubtless many hearts have been tilled with sym batby and the people have sorrowed sor rowed with a deep sorrow because of the sufferings of others the question has frequently bean propounded to me what is going to be the result of chist there is only one portion of the community feeling the burden of this affliction are they the only ones who will have trials and sorrows are they the only ones whose faith is going to be tested are wo who have endeavored to keep what we believe has been ane command of god to go through more than the rest questions of this character have been put to mo timo and time again bat we know that the latter day saints are all to bu tested if they attain to the bame glory they will have to bear afflictions which will try them to the fullest extent there will bo no distinction in thia respect if we are so fortunate as to enter into the glory which god has prepared for his faithful children we will all have to be tried as gold that has been purified through the furnace seven times until all the dross of our natures until all that is wrong and earthly and that is not of god will be cleansed from us our spirits have come from god they will return to god but our bodies are of the earth and therefore tha nave to be purified and brought into subjection to law until when we receive thorn in the morning of the first resurrection our spirits reunite re unite with our bodies wo can enter into the presence pre senca of our god and dwell there eternally but if we have not been subject to the law if we have violated the corn mands of god if we have not walked before him so as to be purified and sanctified through obedience then we shall not partake of that glorious resurrection that has been promised unto tbt faithful therefore I 1 say all the latter day saints will have to be tested I 1 think of it especially in these days when water is so scarce when there is scarcely enough to keep our trees alive much less to save our croos I 1 think that this is testing both those been tested by past acts by proa cation that have been instituted iud those who have not the whole land from north to south is suffering for want ot water and I 1 ask myself should this continue for another sea soa or two how would the latter day saints feel would they bear it pa and without murmuring or would there go up from all our settlements a murmur that would be heard all over the land faultfinding fault finding quarreling a contending for this element eo to life to the preservation of the crops to the preserving of the improvements which have been made at such immense toil and expense I 1 hear of litigation threatened in connection with parleys canyon in connection with the waters of xetah lake between the canals and the city |