Show ars BY ac huf HUT n b GEORGE CANNON at monday june ane 27 1881 RM REPORTED BY 0 P F GIBBS it amm aff lords affords me great pleasure to travel as we are now doing it 1 is 19 9 a number of years since I 1 hah had the opportunity port unity of thus traveling in this county visiting the people in the various settlements and witnessing T the changes and improvements which have taken place which in in dacate the growth and cevelo development P ment of the people J it is only a few years ago th that at our enemies in speaking of us said that r we were a miserable aly 1 ly dying out people they described us as very poor miserable look ing creatures all beaning bearing the impress of our lo practices upon our faces and our children as being ja weakly with poor intellect etc and this description of us went the rounds of the press and was bellev ed in by a great many randsome and some bome people were so credulous that they supposed that as soon as they came into a mormon city they could easily tell tiie we f mormon women by the sad depressed expression of the countenances which they wore for afew years this idea prevailed having been voiced by the press generally and lecturer sin speaking about us dwelt upon this peculiarity of late however the tene teno has changed and instead of entertain entertaining the idea that we are about to die out the feeling concerning us is one of fear lest we should spread out and take possession of the surrounding country ft it has haa been the case for many years in fact from the beginning t that our elders have been proclaiming to the world that we are a growing people and predicting that god has a great destiny in store for the latter day saints that the king dom and dominion and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven shall be given to the 1 people of the saints of the most high ete etc et and this and other t predictions of a like import were testified to by the elders of this T church wherever they went but r the people p e generally who heard our nl 1 brethren ren preach such doctrine were 11 4 reluctant to believe it and did not n I 1 believe it in fact of late however 1 there has been a great change peor pie who have all the time looked upon the mormons cormons Mor mons as a lot of fana ties whose race could not be otherwise than a short shorb one already begin I 1 in to fear that there is some truth 14 an fn in these predictions during this last winter I 1 found myself fa in a rather peculiar position a position I 1 had never occupied bej fore of being under the necessity i of endeavoring to calm the fearson fearm feare of the ithe public respecting our growth and increase they had such ideas about it they were apprehensive lest we were not only going to possess utah but bat U going to take 0 possessor pos of arda of arizona mona nona nerada nevada evada and cross in into colorado olo do and I 1 myself was wag under the n necessity ity of calming their fears in r regard d to the growth of the people and of saying to them we were not increasing so nast fast as to give cause for any reason fc able apprehension this shows a change that has taken place in the lindof mind of the public with regard to the latter day saints and this morning while sitting under the cool shade of this bowery looking upon the faces of these children and f 1 l young people I 1 thought that I 1 7 never saw healthier children and tl every countenance la Is cheerful every 1 one bespeaks health and our young women show that they have been born of healthy parents and brought up and trained BO so as to be celop their ais als physical natures I 1 am glad to to see this I 1 am thankful that we live in a healthy country and that we have the word of wisdom given unto us by revelation from god and by observing it we are very likely likely to have an exceedingly healthy race of people who r will also be long lived I 1 think it a matter of great importance to endeavor to train ourselves and our children so as to have health and not only health but long life on the earth ear theo so that wo we may accomplish that which god has given fentous to do for there is an immense amount of lubor labor to be performed in connection with this work with good health we also have plenty these fruitful farms these teeming orchards with flocks and herds of cattle of sheep of horses with the dwellings and everything else to show how comfortably fort ably situated the latter day saints are they have honey ther they have butter and milk and the their rr bins are overflowing so to s aak nak and in many instances actual actually y so with wheat the onest finest that Is grown on the earth and there Is nothing to prevent our becoming physically perfect nut but there are great responsibilities ties resting upon the parents among the latter day saints and not only upon the parents but upon the leading men in our settlements and cities and stakes there is one thing that you who reside here and in fact it may be said about every settlement in these mountains that you should be particularly ic lu barly 1 careful about and that rat rit Is the h ei e education du cation catlon of your children I 1 hope in your general prosperity you will not overlook your educational interests it is of the utmost importance to us and to our children and to the work of god which is 19 en trusted to us that we should give our children every addan advantage tage of education including the training of them in the principles of the gospel for it ia Is of the first importance that all should have laid the foundation in their hearts of faith in god and confidence in the holy priesthood and in the ordinances of the hougee houge of god this is of the first importance more important than anything else more important even eveh than teaching them to read and write train them in the faith of god and in the knowledge led e of god so far as it can be imparted pa r led fed to them until they can find out god for themselves seeking him in earnestness in their closet closets sand and private private places and when we have eid eld laid this foundation in their thein hearts then imp artto them skill in education to read and write perfectly so that every boy and girl in our community can read and write his and her mother tongue perfectly do it so that no one can find fault with it that it may be ready for the press if they should wish to address a communication to the press without having to make a single correction our children have the brightest intellects of any I 1 have ever met god has given them this bles bleb blessing ying qIng all that they require to develop themselves is the opportunity and this thia they should have hate godhan god has given unto us means there Is no necessity for us to keep our children out of school as was the case in early days I 1 think ib it a matter of the greatest importance that parents should impart to lo their children them these facilities place them within their reach so that the talents of our boys boya and girls may be developed for there is an abundant field for its exercise throughout our land and also beyond anu and in the tho countries to which they are being sent bent sen t we are spreading out and we want men who are cultured we want women of culture who can train their chi ehi children in the spirit of true education so that when visitors come to our land or our children go to other lands those who see them will feel there is a superiority about the Latt erday saints that they did not look for great pains should be taken in this direction parents school trustees and educators should exercise themselves in behalf of education uca tion nothing should be left undone to give every one nd no matter how poor poors an opportunity to obtain it yon you know the difference between a well cultivated field and one that is poorly cultivated you know the difre difference nence rence between carefully selected and bred cattle and cattle that aro are allowed to run at large on the range without attention vou you know the difference between fruit that are well selected and cared for by the cho hand of the skillful gardener and those that are allowed to grow as they please the lessons that may bi b drawn from these plain practical things is applicable in the rearing of those little ones you need not think you parents because you have got through life with little or a meagre education that your children ell cli ildren lidren not to expect more than you possessed in starting life you do not know anything about the future that lies beffie them the boy sand girls of today to day if thuy thi y are prepared tor for it will have opportunities of moving in the higher circles of BO so clety boys will be required to go among the leading men of the nations and how embarrassing it would be for them if they should not nut be qualified for it but they should be beo every day the prospect is widening the field ia is opening up before us and men of this kind are needed all the time we need them for legislators we need them for apostles presidents bishops and counselors we need them for every department of life they i be cultivated so that they will be cap able of discharging these duties aej and filling any tim n the lord has bestowed upon us the temporal blessings which we have hav e for a wise wipe purpose we should use them aright and not bet set our hearts upon these perishable things we should hold them as the gifts of god subject to MR his counsel the man maa that sets his heart upon riches cannot serve the god of israel no man can serve two wa masters jesus said he said it 1800 years ago it is true today to day whenever you see a noan niam mammon Alam moril you may know he cannot serve god as well ther there e cannot be a division in these services halfhearted half hearted service cannot be acceptable to the lord we must serve god with rii all our hearts our iova lova and affections reaching after him and the things of this ibis world must be looked upon by us as secondary considerations they are good enough in their place right enough to be attended to but subordinate always to the love of god that should be the first Iove love greater than every other love A man that loves lovea a wire wife a man that loves a child a man that loves anything upon the earth more than god is not a true latter day saint he may have a lovely wife he may have a lovely child he be may have a rich farm he may have stock elegant residences horses and carfif carriages together with an abundance of wealth to command all the comforts of the earth but I 1 tell you as a F ser servant er of god it he loves these thing things more than ke he loves god he is not 8 a true latter day saint he cannot serve god and mammon together one love must predominate it must be superior to every othen other oth r love and that is the love of our heavenly father the beefing keeping of his commandments mand ments an and attending to the ordin anses ea of salvation which he has i revealed to us while brother woodruff was speaking about what president young ohad told him in winter quarters respecting the prophet josephs aepha Jo sepha teachings with regard to cultivating the spirit of the lord a thing came to my mind that I 1 was taught in the same way in the beginning of my labors on my first mission and the impression it made upon my mind has been a bastin lasting one I 1 have never forgotten it any ang and through taking that lesson to heart I 1 feel that I 1 have been exceedingly prospered in my ilfe life there were ten of us of whom 1 I was the youngest wind bound in the bay of san francisco and we had been thus delayed for nearly a week near the golden gate in in consequence of head winds I 1 dreamed one night that this party of brethren were heaving at the wandlas wind las having a rope attached to it reaching forward to the anchor at the bow of the vessel we were working with all our might endeavoring to raise the anchor but seemingly we made but little progress while thus engaged I 1 thought the prophet joseph came from the after part of the vessel dressed in his temple clothes and tapping me on the shoulder told me to go with him I 1 went and he climbed on to the forecastle which was higher than the main deck and on a level with the bul bui bulwarks bulwa and there heinelt he knelt kneit down also telling me to kneel down with him he prayed according to the order of prayer which is revealed after player he be arose u upon his feet now md said he george take hold of that rope the rope we had bad been pulling on with all our might I 1 took hold of it and with the greatest ease case and without the least effort the anchor was raised now ow said he let this be a lesson to you remember that great things can be through the power of pr prayer prater ur mid and thu exercise of faith in the right h t way I 1 would like to impress this with what J brother woodruff fl has told you upon the minds of the young also upon tho middle aged and the aged of this congregation if they choose to lake it great is the power of prayer when properly offered to theford tile lord nord whatever success I 1 have had upon my missions in battling with the adversaries of this people in being boing able to hold hoid my position when warred upon and it seemed that nothing in the but the power of god could save me or prevent legislation adverse to this people p I 1 ewin whatever t even ever success there may be te about filis this in he past throughout though out my life and I 1 believe it was the thu casso case with my predecessors decess ors it has been due to faith and prayer bend i this hial binl always ways I 1 have endeavored ed to t falth faith in god through has las been heard by the almighty men have met in SG se cret cretin in holy places and have lr besought god in the appointed way according to the holy order arder revealed and deliverance has been wrought out for zion when it seemed that everything was dark before them and without one ray of light at such times when everything has been hedged up the servants of god have met in secret places and have plead with god according to the holy order and the heavens have been moved and difficulties have vanished away and our path has been made plain beare us and we have escaped the lands hands of our enemies I 1 my brethren and sisters my lay young brethren and sisters presen remember this lesson cultivate the spirit of god keep it with you remember m always there is power jn in prayer greater than anything man can do there is no power in monarchs there is no power in armies there is no howerin po power in legislator nor in anybody nor any thing else elbe upon the earth that equals the power of god in prayer that we may always remember it and keep it constantly in our minds throughout our lives in my prayer in the name of jesus amen |