Show DISCOURSE at the general conference of the ike church in the tabernacle salt sall lake city sunday After afternoon W october ath 1895 by PRESIDENT GEOROE GEORGE 0 CANNON tRE PORTED BY ARTHUR WINTER WINt BR in looking over this vast congregation and seeing this collection of intelligent human beings one is filled with a sense of unworthiness and a want of capability to say anything that will be of interest to so many souls unless indeed god v is with him it seems to me that when kf H 1 a man stands before a congregation like this he must feel an almost overpower fang ing sense of his nothingness and it is with this feeling that I 1 arise this after knoon I 1 pray you and I 1 pray god that 1 I 1 may be able to sav the things that Na ought to be said and that are adapted to I 1 the circumstances and conditions of the people many of you have come hun ladreda lad reds ol of miles to attend this conference conie rence it is not a light alight thing for men to stand raup A up to at tempt attempt to satisfy the expectations J and the desires of people who have 0 shown such earnestness and such zeal as W apato 4 to travel so far as many have done to be if rh present here today p god has been with his servants in wy speaking to you today I 1 was particular s 1 ly impressed in listening to president ka woodruff druff able to speak as he did for some fifty two minutes at his advanced gt time of life and I 1 felt that god certainly F 1111 had bad shown to us his ability to sustain sustain s servants his willingness to do so f and his power to give his people the I 1 bread of life ife through those whom he ig chooses the practical character ot of the also ot of president smith I 1 tb bought ought exceedingly well timed because gawe we need instruction in our practical Over everyday duties as much in their place to we do to have spiritual instruct instruction itin aie touched upon points that I 1 think ot of feat eat importance to us points that should hould be dwelt upon in our conferences conference and that should be remembered and away with us to our homes because after all it is the practical living of our religion that witnesses to the lord I 1 and to the heavens and the ear earth th and its 1 inhabitants ants that we are indeed that which aich we profess to be and it is these practical lessons that we receive and that hat we in turn give to others that make an impression upon the human family famili I 1 have through my life endeavored to book forward to the fulfillment of the i AA promises of god concer concerning nini us in the influence benco that we as a people would f have ve upon mankind but ipe this has bas been a subject very familiar i to me in my thau thoughts gats I 1 have been I 1 f might say almost surprised ot of late at the manner in which the promises of god are being fulfilled concern concerning ingus us it is coming incoming aboltin about in ways so real and so clearly in fulfillment of that which has been told to us that though familiar with the prophecies concerning it I 1 have felt greatly surprised at times it is plain to me plainer to me than ever before in my life that god is using this people to accomplish a great work in the earth and he is giving his people an influence among men and in this nation that is having its effect and that will bring forth great fruits in the not distant future I 1 can see as never before bajore how important it is that we as a people shall carry out faithfully humbly and obe the counsels and instructions that we receive from the servants of god we are like a city set upon a hill and the eyes of the nation and the peoples of the earth are directed toward us and that which we say and do is having great weight more weight than we have supposed therefore in coming together as we do at these general conferences it is of the utmost importance that the teachings we receive should be from the lord and be adapted to the circumstances a and n d conditions which surround us and that which we have to do we have received very much valuable instruction since we have haie been together and if we can only retain the spirit ot of it in our hearts and carry it away with us and not forget it it will be ot of invaluable benefit to us god has chosen us out trow the nations to accomplish a great and he is adding to the i influence luence nf ot of the latter day saints it is remarkable how we are commended how the policy that has governed in the founding ot of utah and the building up of the settlements of utah the caring for or the poor etc is being received now with great favo rand how universal is the commendation of the he policy that has been pursued in this territory there was a time when one of the chief charges against us was that the priesthood as it was termed had too much influence with the people and that this influence was wielded in a manner that was distasteful to public sentiment now an extraordinary change has taken place in this respect the manner mander in which this cit city y wa was Jound edthe manner in which our settlements have been arvan arranged ged the manner in which our land has been divided the manner in which we have apportioned the streams of water for the irrigation oi of the land the manner in which ch the poor have been cared for the manner in which they are now instructed and have been instructed instruct td all this receives unstinted commendation and praise from many persons and they say that utah sets an example population is increase ing homes for the millions that are con in the great cities are needed men see that the cities are overcrowded and that vice and crime and everything of a horrible nature is increasing in the midst of these congested populations and they turn aroud and ask what is the remedy what sh shall all we do with the people the public lands are all being absorbed in those regions you have read no doubt of the opening of 0 oklahoma and the manner in which thousands and thousands ot of people crowded in there how they camped on the road while waiting for the signal to go in and take possession of the lands land that wert were ready for occupancy this thi gives an idea of the disposition there is to obtain land and reflecting men look ar und and ask what shall we do with this increasing population where shall we find room for ahern now there is a vast area 0 of f land that has hertto heretofore fore been considered worthless it has been looked upon as unfit for human habitation it is what is called the arid regions ot of which utah may be said to be the center it was thought that this was good enough for mormons cormons Mor mons and some who have found fault with us religiously ii i ay and who have said griat we ive were min misled led have described our land as a cursed land a land ot of salt a land of dryness aryness a land of barrenness a land that should be shunned by men instead of sou sought for as a home aney would use this as an argument to how t that the authority of the priesthood was not here or we would not have been led to such a place anis until kuiee recently has been the very general opinion but we have had visitors come here by the thousands and they have discovered enat utah is an exceedingly ferule fertile region and they have seen the results ot the labor and the application of the latter day saints and their admiration has been excited by the sight hence a change has gradually taken place in public opinion upon these points and now the time has come when there must be something done to relieve the crowded population of the large cities attention is turned to what is called the arid and regions i and steps are being taken to provide ways and means for the settling of these regions and thinking men look around to see the best plan anat can be adopted for the settling of the peo people p le upon these lands this brings before them the condition of utah territory they rhey see what has been done here by the mormon people to begin with and by others who have come in and the they y say this is is the example here is a practical illustration ot of the manner in ale who have very little means can ma make their living from the soil in the arid regions everything that president young did in the beg beginning in ning and every thing bin that has been done since is now loo looked aed upon with the greatest favor I 1 have listened to most eloquent addresses giving to president young oung the greatest praise for that which he accomplished in utah territory my brethren and sisters this is the condition today the world is turning their attention to us they are looking to see what we are doing and they give us credit for being a far richer people than we are A most extraordinary thing happened that is I 1 thought it extraordinary at this late irrigation congress A A committee on resolutions was appointed and all the resolutions introduced in the congress were referred to this committee they embodied such of these resolutions as they approved of in an addres sand when the address was brought in and reported I 1 thought it was the most important part of the proceedings ce because upon the character ot of this adress would be likely to depend the legislation ot of the united states congress and I 1 prepared myself by going on to the floor having before that a seat on the platform to discuss this address in the address there was a comparison between the landless people of massa chus and the ninety per cent of the people eople of utah who owned their own E homes omes which was unfavorable to massa chu and exceedingly favorable to utah I 1 had bad a conversation with a delegate ate from new mexico and suggested to fini him that that did not please us and be called attention to it I 1 afterwards got the floor myself and I 1 addressed the congress on the subject and do you yo u know that it was with difficulty that we w e could get that changed they so determined to give utah the praise which they said utah deserved and to give massachusetts the discredit which they said massachusetts deserved they said it was only telling the truth and why not let it stand and it was only by using influence of this kind saying to them that we irom from utah preferred to have that stricken out because we did not want to excite any feeling in massachusetts chu against utah that we succeeded in getting the line stricken out about massachusetts to me this was a wonderful thing I 1 said to myself who would have thought a few years ago that it would be necessary for delegates from utah to plead against getting too good a character as contrasted with other portions of the union especially with the state of massachusetts I 1 mention this to show you how public opinion has changed at that congress whenever allusion was made to utah it was in the most respectful manner I 1 call attention to this because we are being forced into public notice the eyes of the world are being drawn to us and in the providence of of our god this will continue to be the case more and more there is not an irrigation association ass ocia that would not like to have men from utah come and visit it and tell the people peoli e how to settle the land how to irrigate loriga t e the land how to live on a small piece ot of land ana and keep out of debt and how to live in union and harmony and now how to build farm settlements close together where the people can meet to ether h er for religious social and aduca let t oval onal purposes ur poses and not be scattered over a elarge large surface of ground distant from each other these measures that god has inspired his servants to 0 take in this country and which we know the lord inspired president young to take as the leader of the people and which some probably have thought were just the contrivance of man are today approved of men the world of course think it is mans wisdom and shrewdness that has accomplished this but we know that president young was inspired of god after the lapse of time the vindication di of these measures and the counsel given by the servants of the lord is comin coming we have had to wait some time for it but it itis is coming atlant at last a vindication that is most gratifying to all of us who have lived to behold it and to hear it expressed so it will be I 1 tell you in every everything thin X connected with this people men alen are looking at our method of preaching the gospel and thinking about it by looking at the reports I 1 see that we have today between and goo missionaries in the world think of it A small community like the latter day saints having between and goo young men traveling among the various nations ot of the earth and through the united states 9 learning things and becoming familia with the ways of the world gaining an experience that no other people upon the face of the earth are gaining think of the effect ot of this number coming home every two years and going among the people and then again more going or perhaps 1000 going to fill their places and they coming back in their turn after traveling two years and gaining experience you reflect and consider in your own minds the effect that this must have on our people why there is no people on the earth that are having such a schooling in this respect these young men go out and they go out without purse and scrip and they trust in the lord and they have faith developed such as cannot be developed in any other way they become familiar with human nature they are brought in contact with nearly all kinds of people and they gain an experience that is is oetter detter than any experience that can be gained in any other manner why in olden times it was common in great britain for men of wealth to send their sons to take what was called the grand tour they would travel through europe in company with tutors and it was considered essential to the education ot of what they called a gentleman that be should make the grand tour now everyone every one of our young men take the grand tour but they take it in a way to learn far more than they would if they had money or if they were under the guardianship ot of somebody as they are brought in contact themselves with the people and they come back develd developed ped and with an experience that is beyond price think of the effect that this will have on the community there is scarcely a ward in our whole Terri territory tort and it may be said outside of our territory that does not send some missionaries yearly they go and they come back and the effect that they have up upon an the people upon public opinion in in influencing fluen cing andin and in helping matters is wonderfully great insensibly perhaps to the people with whom they associate they have an influence they are broadened in their minds they are enlarge enlarged d in their capacities they have increased increase d in in their experience and they become men of understanding because their faculties have been aroused and developed when men are told of this they are surprised at it why they say the effect will be wonderful on your community and it is so let me say to you that god having established this work and having conducted it by revelation thus far it will in spite of everything obtain influence in the earth and people will be drawn to it in admiration of it they may fight it for awhile and try to crush it and to crush the people but the principles of truth which we have espoused and that which god has taught us and is teaching us they are bound to rise and to have influence and they are bound to have their effect upon con consult ent people you can see it now it if you choise choose but you will see it still mores more that the influence of this people will spread and we will be preaching the gospel of salvation without baptizing the people they will look upon us and and they will imitate us and follow our example and the world will be better because we are in it and this nation will be oene Dene fitted by our example where I 1 go I 1 |