Show REMARKS delivered by president george Q cannon at the tabernacle naoM salt lake GW january 12 1890 if there were any evidene evidences needed concerning the common origin ot of the people of new zealand and those of the sandwich islands the similarity in the lAngu language ag would be sufficient to prove that they were identical in their origin one who understands taide the language of the hawaiians Hawaii ans can understand most of that of the new Ze zealanders alanders Zeal andere a great many words being the same in both languages and no doubt the tradition that they have concerning their emigration from the sandwich islands is a correct one and the same thing would apply to all the polynesian group on the Marque sas islands on the society islands on the navigator islands the people all speak kindred indred dialects and one who is acquainted with the language of one group can easily make himself un croup der stood to the inhabitants of another group and he can UDder understand stand them also there being so lauy words in common I 1 have never heard the maori lau language gusKe spoken until this afternoon eidelgeorge Elder Eider George preceded president cannon in addressing the congregation and w who ba rese recently returned from a three years mission to new zealand at the close of his remarks was requested to speak a short tidie tane in the maori aart ton tongue doubt ue which he be did and I 1 have no d doubt that all the missionaries who have been on the sandwich islands who are present will be struck as I 1 was with the great s similarity Imi larity between the maori language an as spoken shoken by elder romney and that of the hawaiians Hawaii ans one of the most remarkable features connected with the preaching of the gospel at the present tinie time and one which Im impresses me very much as I 1 have no doubt it does you is the disinclination of the races race sand and nationalities from which we are descended to listen to the gospel to the son of god it ft seems as though the words of the lord were being fulfilled concerning the withdrawal of his holy spirit from ahe gentile nations and the near approach for the command to be ivan to his servants to the laws aws in the early revelations given to this church through the prophet jose joseph h it was clearly intimated by the lord lord that the time would come when the elders of this church would be required to go to the descendants ants auts of the house of israel W we were commanded togo to go first to the gentiles gentilee in ancient days the command to the servants of god was to go to the jews and after the house of israel rejected the gospel they were commanded to go to the gentiles you remember how paul and barnetas Barne bas testified concerning this and when they were rejected by their own countrymen they alred red that god now required them to go to the gentiles that they had finished their mission to the jews in the last days this was not to be case the lord had said mid the first should be last and the last should be first thatis the house of israel was first to hear the gospel in the days of the savior and the gentile nations the last but in the last days they were to be the first to hear the gospel and after it had bad been proclaimed to them and rejected by them it waa to be preached to the house of israel for nearly sixty years the elders of this church have been laboring among the gertile tit ae nat nation lonso w which c we who are here today ure are a part we are designated gentiles in the record which god has given unto us the book of mormon and it is predicted in that book that the gentiles would receive the gospel that is some of them and that they would be the means in the hands of god of carrying this record the book ot mormon to the descendants of the house of israel who should be in darkness at the ti time me this record should come forth I 1 will read a prediction concerning this found in the book of nepal chapter 2nd and book for behold I 1 say unto you that as many of the gentiles as will repent repeat are the covenant people of the lord anda and as many of the jews as will not repent shall be cast off lor for the lord covenant eth with none save it be with them th thit thi i t ro repent and believe in his son who 1 is 2 the emoly holy one of israel and now I 1 would woul prophecy somewhat more concerning the jews and the gentiles gentile for after the book of chieh I 1 have spoken shall come forth and be written un nn 0 the gentiles and sealed up gain again unto the lord there shall be many which shall believe the words wards which are written and they shall carry them forth unto the remnant of our or seed and then shall the remnant of our seed know concerning us how that we came out of jerusalem and that they are descendants of the jews and the gospel of jesus christ shall be declared among them wherefore they shall be restored unto the knowledge of their fathers and also to the knowledge of jesus christ which was had amon among g their fathers and then shall they rejoice for they shall know that it is a blessing unto them from the hand of god and scales of darkness shall begin to fall from their eyes and many generations shall not pass away among them save have they shall be a white and delightsome people and it shall come to pass that the jews which are scattered also shall begin to believe in christ and the they y shall begin to gather in upon tipon the ra face 00 of the land anti and as many aashall aa believe in christ and shall become a delightsome people and it shall come to pass that the lord god shall oom commence his work among all nations kindi kind ieda ads tongues and people the bring about about the restoration of his people upon the earth and with h righteousness shall the I 1 lord rd ju adge lo 10 the poor and reprove with equity for or the meek of the e earth rth and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth and with the breath of his ups lips shall ile be slay the wicked for the time speedily cometh that the lord god shall cause a great division among the people and the wicked will he eta destroy and he will 8 spare are his people yea if it so be that he e must destroy the wicked by fire this prediction plainly foreshaw aws that which is now taking place and which has been taking place for some years As many of the gentiles as will repent the prophet says aare are the covenant people of the lord by virtue of this promise which god has nade made we are his covenant people though bough of gentile descent and numbered among the gentile nations by arid add through our obedience to the gospel goepel of the sou son of 0 god we become econie incorporated po rated ao so to speak among among his covenant deop people e an and are numbered with them we say frequently that we are descendants of the house of israel this is undoubtedly gedly true it ii is clear to any close ob observer seiVer that this people are hebraic in ift their character and in their characteristics we have the peculiarities of the hebraic character our ancestors were of the house hoube of israel but they mingled with the gentiles Geu tileS rand and became lost that is they became lost so far as being recognized as of the house of israel and the wood blood of our forefathers was mingled with the blood of the gentile nations we have been gathered out from those nations by the preaching of the gospel of the son of god the lord has made precious promises unto us that every blessing and every gift and every power necessary for salvation aud and fur for exaltation to tile his kingdom shall bergiven be given unto us in common with those who are more particularly known as twy covenant people of the 1 lord r aft now this prediction that I 1 inife read was published in the winterhof winter winte of 1829 30 before the church w haq organized gani zed I 1 take great deli delight glit th dwelling upon these things and in bringing forth proofs of the divinity of the i mission u of the prophet joseph smith for the evidences of the divinity of his mission are so aban dant that we have only to reflect upon them and that which he ham haa done and said have only to be examined by those who are dispassionate and willing to accept evidence in order to remove all doubt as to the divinity of his mission in this record the translation ot which god galeto his joseph it is is clearly stated that the gentiles Gentl Gen lep or a portion of them that n would receive the gospel of the son of god there were a few at that time who had been baptized joseph and oliver were baptized in may kay 1829 and a few others were baptized baptized shortly afterwards but w with iab these exceptions not a gentile had received the message of life and salvation yet in this record recoil it is 18 plainly stated that the gentiles would receive it and that after they had received it the record says there shall be many which shall believe the words which are written and they shall carry them forth unto the remnant of our seed that is to the remnants reni nants of the house houie of israel that occupy this land bow completely 7 yet et how wonderful wonderfully lj this prediction has has been fulfilled F t myself upwards of thirty years ago translated this book into the language of the sandwich islanders since that time it has been tian translated slated into the language of the mooris laoris of bew new zealand it is now among their them as it has been circulated among the sandwich islanders amont As aa elder ider romney has said their tradition clearly pointe points to their origin that their fathers came from this land and peopled the islands of the pacific 04 ocean ean their traditions their customs everything in fact connected with them indicates and leaves no room to doubt that the polynesian nations are descendants of the house of israel many of the laws of moses were observed among them when they them were found by the whites laws which have come down through numberless generations from the days of wit th it prophet and no one who I 1 is not completely prejudiced and darkened through unbelief can doubt the common origin of the polynesian nat nations ioner with the inhabitants of this laud land the indians of north america and there is this peculiarity about them every one of them is a natural latter day saint I 1 never yet knew a native with whom I 1 could COD converse verse for any length of time but what awauld admit that the doctrines we believed in and taught were of god and andin in every instance nearly where access could be obtained to them they were ready for baptism however there are other influences at work among amon bentile them as there are among the gentile races but they are a people ready to believe the gospel anti and render obedience to it and there is this peculiarity about them that is not about our race when they become convinced of the truth if they commit sin in and have to be excommunicated from the church I 1 never know knew them to become an enemy to the work and to be bitter in their feelings against it with our race it is different when gentiles turn away from the truth when they commit sin after receiving the truth and the light it seems as though the adversary has great power over them and they become bitter enemies to the work of god and to the servants of god I 1 nave have no doubt this is the case with the maoris laoris of new zealand as well 03 the Hawaii hawaiians ans of the sandwich islands although I 1 have not inquired aired as to it but I 1 believe this of t those ose people and it certainly is the case with the people of our own land go where you will anion among the indian tribes as elders of th this a church and have access to them and converse with them in their own tongue speaking their language perfectly as every elder ought to do who carries the gospel to any foreign nation for he shou should ant d seek by the power of god to obtain the gift of tongues to enable him to speak clearly and to the understanding of the people he is sent to labor amongst and aad if he be does this among the indian tribes the same results will follow his labors among that people as among the polynesian races and the sandwich islanders and it is a remarkable peculiarity that wherever the elders of this church go carrying the gospel among the descendants ts of the house of israel they had and friends they flud find those who are ready to do every thing for them they can to receive them just as the seel seed of israel scattered among the nations has done when the elders first arst went to great britain there was a certain claw class of the english people who were ready to open their doors to entertain them and do all they could fur for them to prosecute their ministerial labors all such were natural latter day saints it seemed to them when they heard beard the gospel first us as though it was something they had almost known but which had faded from their memory it was as natural for them to believe the gospel as it was for them to believe anything they knew absolutely this was the case throughout great britain and ireland and it has been the case throughout the scandinavian nations it has been the case among the germanic races that have heard the preaching of the gospel by our elders it has been the case in every land and ad among every people wherever the elders of this ft hurch church have gone carrying this message of life and salvation this gospel of the son bon of god they have been recognized as gentiles but their readiness to receive the gospel when it saluted their ears new ness of the fact that they are of israel this as I 1 have said has been pe culi arly among the polynesian raws races it has been the ease case and is the case came today throughout all the indian tribes a natural affinity existing between them and us and hence the great jealousy that has arisen in the minus of many people concerning our designs among the indians we have been been accused of entering into secret compacts with them and of having base designs against the government and people of the united states because of the friendliness of the indians to us whilo while the fact is we have been all the day long laboring with the indians to live at peace one with another and bury the hatchet and not only do it with regard to their own nation to have peace between the tribes but to dwell at peace with the white kanand not to shed blood teaching them that this is a great sin and that they should cease that practice and live friendly with all men but as I 1 have said the very fact that we have been able to succeed in doing such things with the indian tribes has been seized upon by our enemies and construed into evidence that there was some secret understanding between them and us some improper compact and that we are only busine usine them to acco certain ends antagonistic to the people of the united states or the people outside of our own community all this can be accounted for by reading the record which god has given unto us in this record in many places besides what I 1 have read to youit is clearly set forth that these results would follow the trans of this record into our language langua gb and it undoubtedly is the case wherever the elders of this church go bearint bearing this message and they find those 0 of the house of israel they find a people prepared to receive the gospel their hearts are open to receive the testimony of the servants of god they open oen their houses and bid them welcome to their abodes they feed and clothe those elders who tra without purse or scrip anti and by this the lord said in the early revelations you can know my disciples they are his disciples who did this rio his chosen people his elect who are to be gathered from the four quarters of the earth as we are told in the scriptures and such people our elders have found wherever they have gone but it seems at the present time as though the work among the lentil gentiles was rapidly drawing |