| Show REMARKS made at the tabernacle salt lake city sunday november 22 1896 by PRESIDENT OF GEORGE ORGE Q CANNON BY ARTHUR WINTER minutes yet remaining there are a few that mat may be occupied I 1 have hare Weary log the congregation to doubtless all 11 II have rejoiced to io the abut we have beard this thie heber J brother afternoon from flom great grant I 1 know it makes madea every latter to hear bear the heart warm day balant testimony of the ner servants of god oon can the truth of we the work of god it the fire that has boo been kindled to in shouldered ed and become our hearts bearta hao bas to IQ some ome extent dead the testimony of ef the servants er of god concerning the rekindles that fire work truth troth of this the old feeling 0 and div alvea as us ua that have joy by and aba thanksgiving we when a we may had bad in times faithful than we are have hare been more always retain this thin could now how if we which god bestows bestons be stows we precious gift would shrink brink from doing anything the dread of because wat that is wrong losing it would be present with us for men and thing it is a precious the testimony of 0 women to race receive ive it to la this that con 1 bode Is holy strength of the church ot of the saints te jn jesus christ ot 01 latter day avary mau and woman who has joined oed be and Is in the ute this church OU ought abt to ot standing anding as RD an instances of mot witness of the truth of aist independent which god has ban done you into dl was this entire congregation aach one stand alone c those not of their mounded by he be or she ebe lag IB faith fand ad still a witness solitary though independent of all others of the truth individuals together theme then bring you the At each one a understanding gapol and bov having jog receive J a and they conati idony of its if di divinity tute a body abi which ab in mama borne respects Is ie we ought to entirely incomparable arable be exceedingly thankful to burgod our god for for us in thle this that hat which he has boo done respect ct it hakea no difference how bow the work and deny oppose many may truth has haa come irom from of god the heaven sod and the that t truth will remain of opposition can and no amount it of cauree you may destroy and in that or of the truth the custod lanis wa way exan extinguish gulab it at least for the time bely befog but while they live that truth alu abide and god has baa said ald cun con g abe work in tle last days daye that it shall hall not perish and wat that the people who have it shall not be destroyed it w will III stand sod and fulfill the destiny that b has as been assigned to it until dudl the savior shall come coar it to la gratifying also to hear boar concerning the gifts of the gospel it fills my heart with delight I 1 would to god that all of us lived in bob inch a manner that hat we would have those gifts gift constantly wibb Us because it if we did we would be a very different people to what we are we would not be carried about as ag many of us are with every wind of al and by bj the bounding craft of men where by they lie tin in wait to deceive we are lim in that bat condition today to some extent the apostle paul says aya that the were placed in the ne church expressly to keep the sainte from being ing carried away by every wind of doctrine and by the cunning craftiness of men you watch the men that listen to the apostles apostle to the he authority that god has hag placed la in his hie church and you will find that thai they are not carried about by cunning craftiness of men nor by every wind of doctrine but the people that hat neglect and deride that authority they are carried about in that manner men may say lay it is IB wrong to obey the priesthood I 1 tell you the world will not be saved unless it to la through the exercise of the he authority of the he priesthood of the son of god under hla his own direction we may as a well look that squarely equa rely to in the be face as am not I 1 know it is becoming a somewhat popular doctrine in our midot and some NO feol as ae though it to ie something wrong to stand stana up for the principles that god has bag revealed to this church and by which this church ban baa been led to its present con condition altien we all must bit alt with our hands on our mouths for fear we will may eay something that bat will offend somebody in connection with the principles of the gospel and the organization of the be church of christ it Is in the truth that god has hag restored the be priesthood to the children of men fur definite purposes Is one of those purposes to tyrannize to op oppress opp prees to bind heavy burdens upon the people of god no it to not and the lat ter day saints kaow that it la is not dot god hike has restored the priesthood to save men it ft has bus saved wen uen it has brought blessings it ft has brought liberty it has baa brought elevation it has bag brought the blessings bleiel of heaven and earth unto the be people who have joined this church and who have been led and governed by the priesthood leading men of the nation today acknowledge that the lines which have been laid down for the building up of this commonwealth ef utah are aie lines linea of the most moat patriotic character worthy of 0 imitation by the whole peo pie of t the be united states I 1 have lettera in my possession from leadlie men of this nation acknowledging these facts of courte they do not es ea y anything bout about religion but we know the effect it has baa bad upon us u from a religious standpoint today there is ie no such example on the earth as aa la in afforded by those these latter day saints in these mountains look at that which has bag been dune done have been brought from penury in the old world not to speak of our own country to this land bad placed in the 0 condition ondi tion which now surrounds them a desert debert land a land that was wag uninviting has baa been made maale to literally bloo sorn as the rose roae until it has hae become the admiration of every visitor anti and this has baa been done bythe by the and by Mormon leml thousands ot of people bless the day clay that they ever heard the gospel because of the freedom it has bae brought to them and their children the aim of the leaders has always been that every man should have a home of his big own cultivate hie big owl land and not be taxed out of it we carried out this policy for years yearn and successfully too there was waa no community anywhere auy where in the laca where so BO many persons owned their own homes in proportion to the population as a in utah and no people that were i more lightly taxed and the people prospered they were chrit ty they were taught lemons which if they bad been carried out would have relieved them from the bondage of debt and heavy taxation they are now in but the people are blind to many things at least lead they do not open their eyes to see ee if you latter day saints would take to heart the counsels that you have received this thin afternoon and live so 0 o that hat the spirit of god would rest fest upon you in power you would see eee a great man things that you do not see ee now and you would out not be carried about by every wind of doctrine doo trine and by every story etory so BO matter whit what it la Is I 1 do not feel to reproach you because I 1 believe you are the best beat people on the earth lieeel elfeel to reproach myself as much as I 1 do any of you but this Is our condition now thi the lord has done wonders to in our land and we do not appreciate that which he has bus done as aa much as others who come and look at u us we have been ma lignel to such an extent that many I 1 eople supposed we were the most monstrous people on the face of the earth but when they come and see bee us and are told what has hai been done dome and they have the opportunity of examining these theme things many are filled with admiration slid and they wonder why it 1 to our people are not more appreciative than they appear to be we allow ourselves oura elvei to be carried away by everything that arises aliseo in ansome some respects we its are the most moat gullible and ami easily deluded of any people yet there Is a of discernment resting upon open the people and when they hear bear the voice of 01 the true shepherd they know it IL I 1 am proud and thankful that I 1 sal am a latter day saints saint and that I 1 have a place and a name among you and with you in this land I 1 have witnessed its if growth from too the beginning I 1 have seen she he changes that have taken place I 1 have been how much gud god has hai done tor for up u and I 1 cannot be too thankful I 1 try and impress impre these head things too upon those who are around me and who have not seen them I 1 think we ought to be the most thankful of any people upon the face of the earth tor for the hand of god has boa boon been visible all the day long in that hat which has haa taken place when I 1 think of we the plots and the devices that have been framed to destroy us no I 1 marvel at our preservation for too ten years yeara while I 1 was in I 1 had a constant fight to prevent the enactment of legislation that bat would have swept away every liberty that we enjoyed and it required 10 d the power of god to preserve pree erve till ibis a people scores of measures were lamed here and sent down to COB gres greif almost any one of which if enacted would have deprived ua an of every civil right it is only very reco recently otly since mince an attempt was waa made to disfranchise us and reduce us ua to the level of the chinaman and the be indian inaldo and then what would we have been you look at those races and see ee the he treatment meDs they receive and you can form on an idea of bow it Is would have been with us up we should have hare been plundered and robbed of everything and we should have been defenseless who would have oared cared about us when stripped of political POT powei 01 what to 18 it that makes the emigrant to this country though be may be ignorant and in poverty a power in the laau I 1 it t Is because be has a vote and politicians court him but a most moat insidious well matured and persistent attempt was made to deprive every man of us ot of the franchise of the birthright we have inherited from an ancestry ot of free men god delivered us from that and who is to be thanked for it n who devised deviled these measures and would have put them to in force are they the ones to whom granulations are due doe I 1 believe many of out oar people think wine some of those people ought to be thanked for it at least they seem to act that way the men who raised their voices laid their plans and used their ivi influence luence against such measures are forgotten or thought lightly of now be praised we are free today we have our rights and no man is to be thanked for it it has been gods power that has baa done it when I 1 think of these theme things and see how bow the servants of god have striven from the beginning with all the strength of mind and body that goo gave them to preserve the be rights of the people and then I 1 hear bear men talk tale as though it was unpatriotic sinful and subversive of the rights of men to listen to these theme servants of the lord who have established by their labors the right to be beard I 1 say when I 1 we see this I 1 thinks thick as one of old eld has said that ingratitude is in worse than the sin of witchcraft let us appreciate that which god has done for us no luter latter day saint ought to ask this people to honor men but bud honor the authority that he has placed to te govern and to guide and that has shown itself equal to every emergency every crisis and every trial rial god has shown that he is able to choose the le leaders alere for his that when he has chosen them he to ie sible able to sustain them in their leadership there has never been a moment when they have been unable to te do that w bleb was waa necessary la in counseling the people in a path of safety safely and that too without mixing the authority of church sod and state or of in any ADY man manner no trenching drenching tren ching upon or crossing the dividing line which separates vie toe ecclesiastical from the civi autuori authority ty respecting testimony I 1 desire to say eay a few words I 1 was asked the day why a man should shoals testify that he had been strengthened in his knowledge if be know knew that a thing was oi of god should he be not always know it and how could that knowledge b added tt to now as brother grant has told us this after afternoon nOOD it is 10 possible poe sible for a man to have knowledge concerning a thing arid ard then hen to lose it or to have it fade away in a certain measure we have abundant instances of this thie in the history of the church oliver cowdery was administered to by angello angelic messengers as joseph wag wa he never denied that but always testified fieo of it yet oliver Co cowdery lost hie big standing in the church and went into the dark he afterwards however came back and joined the church again and after joining the church he said putting his bis hands bands to his bis head on this head john the baptist lal at his bis bands on this head bead he be con conferred ferrec the looser lesser Priest priesthood bood 22 he never wavered in that testimony but be had bed lost the testimony and light of the gospel and we can loee lose it we can have it strengthened too and added t tj dy the testimony of the tbt spirit from time to time that which we see eee confirms confirm us more and more in ID the truth if for any cause the bright antan of that testimony has baa become dam 1100 it rekindles it and mikes i brighter in like manner it if we commit gitein sin the brightness of that testimony is ia lessened within us until it j fades facie away the only way for us as to preserve pree erve the testimony of the truth is if to live so ro that thai the spirit of god gad will wil always be within us ua we should have a living tes not the testimony we received when we joined tbt church or when we were healed oi 01 when we saw someone else elee healed but the testimony of today so GO that wt wi cao can testify today that this Is ia the work of god that in ia the testimony we should seek geek to preserve every day 0 our lives I 1 desire to bear my testimony that thai this is the work of ui GUI and that it lb led by god under the direction of th lord jesus jesue our cur king and lawgiver I 1 testify that this Is ia his cb church dreb anti ana that he has hag given the authority to mao man to act for him film as his ambassadors to entreat the people to come unto god god bless no u and help us ue all to preserve this testimony to is my prayer drayer in the name of jesus amen |
