I am greatly pleased this afternoon at having the opportunity of
meeting with the Latter-day Saints, and of listening to the
testimonies that have been borne by Brother Staines in relation to
this work. I, also, have been absent for some length of time. Upwards
of 34 weeks ago I left this city to go east; I have been back twice
during that period for a few days, and it is a great pleasure and I
may say a delight to me to have the opportunity of being here to
listen to the instructions, to the singing, and to partake of the
Spirit that prevails in this Tabernacle; to me it is the spirit of
home, it is the spirit of peace, and I have more delight and
satisfaction in mingling with the Latter-day Saints than I have under
any other circumstances. They are my people. Their religion is my
religion. Their God is my God. Their future is the future in which I
hope to share. If they be prosperous I hope to be prosperous. If they
have adverse circumstances to contend with I expect to share in them;
and it is this knowledge of which Brother Staines has spoken that
prompts these feelings to which I refer.
If there is any peculiarity about what the world calls Mormonism, or
that which we term the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ as taught by
his Church, that I admire, that I love, that causes me to feel
thankful unto God; it is the peculiarity which reference has been made
by Brother Staines, namely, that William C. Staines, or George Q.
Cannon, or any other man or woman however humble, who is connected
with this Church, has a right, according to the promises of our
heavenly Father, to receive revelation from him when needed. I would
not give much for a religion, the revelations of which were confined
to two, three, four, or perchance twelve men. It would not recommend
itself as the religion of that Being who is the Father of all, who has
created all, and who has placed us all here upon the earth as his
children. This feature to which I refer is one of the most delightful
characteristics of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Brother
Staines has referred to the Prophets Joseph Smith and Brigham Young,
and to others who have stood in prominent places in this Church, who
have re ceived revelations from God; and who imparted these
revelations to the people. Of what value, of what special value, would
these revelations be to those to whom they were imparted through the
medium of these men, unless they had some means of testing their
truthfulness? What a terrible condition we should be in if God, in his
providence, were to confine his knowledge in that way—if we were
required, as some imagine mankind are required, to submit to the
teachings of their fellow men and to accept and practice them because
those men say they are from God! Imagine the condition of the
Latter-day Saints if this were the case! Imagine the condition of the
whole world if one man stood prominent, or three men, or twelve men,
or fifteen men, stood prominent, receiving revelations from divinity
and conveying these revelations to the children of men, with the
requirement that those who received them should submit to them as the
voice of God, and the people themselves be destitute of any means of
testing the truthfulness of these revelations, except so far as they
might appeal to their reason and to the sense of right that is
begotten in them! Now, a great many people who are not acquainted with
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the teachings of
that Church—and I do not know but some who are members of that
Church—imagine that this is the nature of the organization of the
Church of Christ, and that this is the manner in which knowledge is
conveyed to the people, and in which the requirements of the people
are submitted to by the people. Why this Church could not stand, could
not have endured the trials and afflictions and the opposition to
which it has been exposed, one hour if that were the case. It would
fall to pieces, there would be no power, no cohesive power, to hold it
together. The strength, the power, the cause of the perpetuity of this
work, the marvelous character of its operations throughout the nations
of the earth, the wonderful attractiveness of this Gospel, the secret
of its great success in foreign land, preached by illiterate men,
consists in the fact that God the Eternal Father, reveals his mind
unto every honest soul who humbly seeks for it. Not to one man, not to
three men, not to apostles, not to bishops, not to high priests, not
to seventies, not to elders alone, but to every humble soul who in
sincerity, and with a broken heart and contrite spirit, bows himself
or herself in secret before the throne of the great Eternal, and in
humility asks, in the name of Jesus, for a knowledge to be imparted to
him or to her whether it is the truth he or she has heard. This is the
secret of the success of this work. This is the cause of its wonderful
power and the attractiveness it has for the hearts of the children of
men. This is the reason that illiterate men, going forth bearing
testimony of these things, have been so successful throughout all the
nations of the earth where they have been, and it is this that draws
them, as we have been told this afternoon by Brother Staines, by
thousands from foreign lands and causes them to come to this land and
to assimilate with those already here; until we have in this Territory
of ours, throughout these valleys running north and south, east and
west, a people unexampled, and, in many respects, unlike every other
people that we know anything about. Why, in this last company, which
came in a few days ago, the members of it spoke some seven
languages. I remember a company of Saints leaving Liverpool while I
was there, the members of which spoke nine different languages. They
were Latter-day Saints gathering up from various lands, some from
Switzerland, from France, from Great Britain, and from the various
nations of Europe, all coming together, singing the songs of Zion in
their own languages, bearing testimony that God had revealed to them
in their own language the truth of this, the everlasting Gospel. With
such a spirit they come to these mountains, they scatter among the
people already here, they become homogeneous. We have here a oneness
of feeling and purpose, a oneness of spirit, and a oneness of
sentiment and of heart, that you may look for in vain elsewhere
throughout the whole earth. I sometimes think we overlook those great
and glorious blessings that God has given to us. We overlook too
frequently the spirit of oneness that has been poured out upon this
people. Men ask for a sign; they say, "Where are the evidences of the
divinity of the work you believe in? You say that you preach the
Gospel of Jesus; you say that you are the people of God." Why, could
there be any greater evidence given of the divine character of this
mission than is witnessed in the effects of this Gospel upon the
people who embrace it? We are led to expect that heaven is a place of
unity, a place of love; that there is no quarreling, no litigation, no
strife in heaven; no man warring against his fellow men, no man
exalting his creed and his ideas as superior to the creed and the
ideas of his neighbor; all dwelling in peace and in love. That is the
idea of heaven that has been taught to us in the Bible? Anything else
would not be heaven; any other kind of place could not be heaven. Is
it not reasonable to suppose, then, that if the spirit of heaven rests
down upon a people, that they will be united, that they will love one
another, will die for one another, if necessary? Why, certainly. If I
were to start out today in search of the Church of Jesus Christ, if I
did not know of its existence upon the earth, I would expect to find a
people united together, a people who loved one another, and who
brought forth the fruits of the Gospel of Jesus as he taught it. I
would expect to find a people who gave an exhibition in their lives of
those heavenly truths taught by Jesus when he was upon the earth. And
until I found such a people I would despair of finding the Church of
Christ. Men might perform miracles before me, and say a great many
wonderful things unto me, but unless I could find a people with the
love of Christ in their bosoms, united together as the heart of one
man, a people who loved one another, I do not think I could, with the
knowledge I have, recognize them as the people of Christ, or as the
people of the Church of Christ. For the evidences that they were that
Church it would not be in profession alone I would seek. It would not
be in their Sunday service alone. It would not be in the sermons that
were preached in their tabernacles, or meetinghouses, or churches
alone. It would not be in any of these things alone that I would seek,
but it would be in the fruits of the Gospel as I found them exhibited
in their daily life, in their conversation, in their associations, one
with another. If I found a quarrelsome people, if I found a people
fighting one with another for their rights, if I found a people taking
up weapons of war against each other, no matter by what name they were called, no matter how high-sounding their professions, I
would say, these cannot be the people of Christ; these are not the
fruits which the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ brings forth. But if
I found a people who were humble, meek, lowly, willing to endure wrong
rather than do wrong; if I found a people persecuted for righteousness
sake; if I found a people of whom all men spoke evil, though their
lives were not evil, though their conduct was humble and pure and they
were disposed to love one another and dwell together in peace, I would
begin to say, here are some of the signs, some of the fruits of the
Gospel of Jesus Christ. I must stop here. I must examine into this
matter. I must look after these people, and see whether they are the
people of whom I am in search. If I were to come into this valley of
Salt Lake and find a people professing to belong to the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, were I trusted to report I would be
inclined to say they cannot be the people they profess to be. Why?
Because all manner of evil is spoken against them. Is there any crime
in the black catalogue of crime of which they have not been accused?
Is there any evil which people can perpetrate with which they have not
been charged and declared guilty? If I were to be disheartened by
reports, I need only stop in Salt Lake City, or in Utah Territory, to
have that feeling; but if I remembered that those in Christ Jesus are
sure to suffer persecution, and that "If they have called the master
of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his
household?" —I might, if I bore that fact in mind, stop and examine
further. If I looked around me and inquired concerning the Latter-day
Saints, I would probably find that they did not drink liquor, did not
get drunk; I would probably find they did not take the name of the
Lord in vain, did not go to law one with another, but were averse to
it, and were in favor of promoting peace, and that because of this
they offended lawyers, judges and others. If I were to look at the
material aspects of the city, I would find a beautiful city, laid out
and planned with wisdom, laid out by somebody who knew something of
life and what was proper for society. If I made further inquiry I
would learn that a few years ago, before the advent of so-called
civilization in the midst of the Latter-day Saints, that from the
Idaho line in the North to the Arizona line in the South, there were
no liquor saloons, no drunkenness, and profanity was punished; but in
every settlement and in every house, throughout the length and breadth
of the land, prayers ascending morning and night to the God of heaven,
on behalf of themselves and their children, and on behalf of the
honest in heart throughout all the nations of the earth. If I happened
to be there when a company came in, and in mingling with that company
asked what brought them to this land, I would be told in Norwegian, in
Swedish, in Danish, in German, in Italian, in Welsh, in English, in
Polish, in Dutch, in French, that each of these men and women had
obeyed the Gospel as it was taught to them by the Elders who had been
sent to them, and that in answer to prayer they had received a
testimony from the Almighty for themselves that they knew this was the
Gospel of Christ, that they were commanded of God to gather out from
the various nations, and that in response to that commandment they had
come out and were here. These would be the things that would
be told to me. If I were to inquire among them respecting other
matters, I would find that they believed in this book (the Bible) in
its entirety, not a part, not in isolated parts of this book, some
parts of this book, some parts separated from the rest, but in its
entirety, in its doctrinal parts. I would find that they believed that
God was the same today as he was yesterday, that he is a God of
revelation, a God of truth, a God who could hear and answer prayer. I
would find that they believed in the organization of the Church as
it was in ancient days, God having first set in the Church apostles,
prophets, teachers, etc. I would find further that they were
contending, as James commanded the Saints to do in his day, earnestly
for the faith once delivered to the Saints, a faith by which the
mighty works concerning which Paul speaks in the 11th chapter of his
epistle to the Hebrews were accomplished. I would find that they were
contending for this faith that they believed in the signs following
them that believe; that they were contending for them, contending for
that faith; and teaching their children to exercise it to the greatest
possible extent. Now, where else upon the face of the earth could I
find a community teaching and practicing these things! I have been, in
my time, a somewhat extensive traveler. I have mingled with a great
many people, in a good many lands, and I confess to you today, I have
never seen a people who answered this description, except the
Latter-day Saints. I do not say this out of vanity, or by way of
boasting, because this Gospel is intended for every person, not only
for those who are Latter-day Saints today, but for every honest man
and woman throughout the face of the whole earth. This Gospel of the
kingdom has to be preached to all nations, and then will the end come.
It is not, therefore, with any feeling of pride because of these being
the doctrines believed in and practiced by the Latter-day Saints that
I allude to them in this manner, but because God, in his infinite
mercy, has revealed the Gospel to the inhabitants of the earth,
because it is taught again by divine authority. How could you account
for it in any other way? Tell me, if there be philosophers or wise men
here. Men say it is delusion, men say it is imposture, men say that
the building up of this system is the result of fraud. Most
extraordinary results of fraud, if this be fraud! Men going out
without purse or scrip, as in ancient days, and preaching the
everlasting Gospel, baptizing people, and the spirit of unity and love
resting down upon them, accompanied by the Spirit of God, which
testifies, as we have heard this afternoon from Brother Staines, as it
had testified to him, that this is the Church of Christ, that this is
the Gospel of Jesus which they have embraced. People may think, people
may talk about the delusion of the Latter-day Saints. Why, to believe
that these results which we see are the product of fraud, or
imposture, would require far more credulity than faith to believe them
to be from God. Where is there a peculiarity of the ancient Church
that is not possessed today by the Latter-day Saints? Can one be
mentioned? Can a doctrine or a principle be mentioned that was
contended for in the ancient Church, that is not contended for and
sought after today by the Latter-day Saints? Were they persecuted?
Then it is quite certain we can claim a blessing, if it so be
that persecution brings blessings. Were their names cast out as evil?
Then we can claim with them the same results, if blessings attend any
such thing. "Oh, but," says one, "they were good people, the Apostles
in ancient days were good people, but you Mormons are a very wicked
people." Why, do you imagine that if they had considered Jesus a very
good man, a very holy being they would have crucified him between two
thieves? No. The populace, when Pilate wanted to have him forgiven
because of the feast of the passover, cried out: "No; release to us
Barabbas, the murderer, the vile person. Let him be released, but
crucify the Christ; let his blood be upon us and our children." They
were willing to risk the consequences, because they believed him to be
a vile impostor. Do you think that Peter and Paul, one of whom was
beheaded, and the other of whom was crucified with his head
downward—do you imagine that in killing them the Romans thought they
were killing good, innocent, pure men? Certainly not. They were hated
just as much as we are hated. Of course they thought they were doing
God service, as many think they are doing God service today in
persecuting the Latter-day Saints. They thought they were doing the
world some good by ridding the earth of such impostors as Peter and
Paul. Their eyes were blinded to their goodness and to their virtues.
Such things were hidden from their sight. They could only say they
were deluders of the people, that they led people astray, and as
impostors were worthy of death. And so it is throughout this
Territory. The virtues of the Latter-day Saints are not perceived. Our
temperance, our frugality, our perseverance, our industry, our union,
and all the qualities that have made this wilderness blossom until it
is the admiration of every visitor, the joy of every traveler—all
these things are obscured, and with many people lost sight of, before
the idea, imagined by very many, that Brother Brigham was a vile
impostor, that all those who have been associated with him are no
better, and that it would be doing God service to destroy them from
the face of the earth that the people who are deluded by them might be
free from the influence which they wield over them. Oh, generation of
blind—I was going to say fools, but shall I use such a phrase? But is
there not evidence sufficient before the eyes of this generation of
what has been done in the past, in the persecution of righteous and
holy men, in the killing of them, in the shedding of their blood, that
men cannot learn that there is such a thing as a man being a good man,
a virtuous man, a pure man, and yet be maligned by the enemies of
purity and virtue, as in the days of Christ? This generation will have
a great deal to answer for in consequence of this thing. As Latter-day
Saints, we have been accused of every crime. It has been told of us
that we were ready to commit murder at any time, in order to serve our
own ends, that we were ready to shed the blood of the innocent, and
that this feeling to destroy life existed among us, when at the same
time, throughout these wild mountains and secluded valleys life has
been more safe, property more secure, than in the streets of the best
managed cities in the Union. There never has been a day since we came
beyond these mountains that travelers could not pass from the North to
the South, and from the East to the West, and through all parts with perfect security. There never was a day, when the
Latter-day Saints lived alone in these valleys, that a woman would be
insulted either by word or by gesture, night or day, whether an old
lady or a young lady, in traveling from one end of our Territory to
the other. Can this be said of us today? Certainly not; but it was
the case a few years ago throughout these valleys, and let me say to
you it will yet be the case.
I sometimes think that if we were one-twentieth part as bad as we are
accused of being, it would be very unhealthy throughout this country
for a good many who are now unmolested. I know this, that no other
community would have born one-twentieth part the insult and injury
that we have submitted to so quietly. What has caused us to do it? Is
it because we are incapable of feeling, or that we do not understand
our rights, or that we do not want them, that we suffer ourselves to
be imposed upon? No, it has not been because of these things. Our
bosoms have burned, probably, with the fire of indignation, as much as
any people on the face of the earth could under such circumstances.
What has retained us? Simply the knowledge that these men are
ignorant, and I believe that the Latter-day Saints have partaken of
that spirit which Jesus had when he hung upon the cross. It has been
somewhat in that spirit that the Latter-day Saints have acted. It
would have been easy for them to have acted otherwise had they chosen
to do so. It may be said they were restrained by fear. It has not been
through the fear of man, but the fear of God has restrained this
people. It is far better for us to suffer wrong than to do wrong; it
is better to endure evil, ignominy, shame and per secution than to turn
and practice any of these things ourselves.
I am looking for a great change to take place in our circumstances.
The nation of which we form a part looks with more interest upon us as
a people than upon any other part of the United States. There is no
people, no community, within the confines of our Republic concerning
which there is so much interest felt as the Latter-day Saints. Men's
eyes are directed towards us. I believe we are becoming better
understood. The completion of this railroad, which was supposed to be
the death knell to Mormonism, the discovery of these, mines, which we
ourselves rather disliked, those things that many supposed would be
the means of destroying this people, have now been in operation for
years, and with what result? With this result, so far as my
observation extends—a better knowledge concerning this people, and the
circumstances which surround us; a more extended knowledge of our
land, and all the difficulties we have had to contend with. I have
remarked this in Congress myself, that whenever I want to accomplish
anything in connection with our Territory, I always find men who have
been here and who have seen for themselves and formed their opinions
accordingly, ready to do anything in reason that I ask. Intercourse
has had the effect to remove prejudice. There are people in this
country who fear us. The very fact that they do fear us by their
refusing us our rights, not only shows that they do not understand us,
but it is a recognition on their part of our power; and as such we
should accept the denial of these rights to which we are fully
entitled. Governors, judges and other officers are sent here, in the
selection of whom we have no voice whatever. Even if they were
all honest, patriotic, fair and just men, their selection without our
voice is an injustice, but which no people can bear better than we. We
are, however, learning lessons which will be of immense importance to
us in days to come; for as sure as the sun shines, as sure as God
lives, so sure will this people called Latter-day Saints become a
governing people. It is an inevitable consequence in the very nature
of things. We possess all the elements to make a strong, mighty,
governing people. There is therefore a great future in store for us,
and to prepare us for that future it is necessary that we should pass
through the furnace of affliction, that we should feel the hand of
oppression, and that we should feel the effects of injustice, so that
when it shall become our turn, as undoubtedly it will in the very
nature of things, we shall know, by the treatment we have received,
how to temper justice with mercy, to extend to others that which has
been denied unto us, and the value of which we have well known. You
cannot keep down a people like this. I do not say this to flatter you,
because you have many faults. We know them, and I do not think we are
afraid to tell you your faults, and to tell our own faults. But a
people possessing the qualities of the Latter-day Saints must grow and
become powerful. Union is strength. Love will prevail, it is a great
power on the earth, and added to this there are integrity, frugality,
temperance and virtue—for there is virtue in this land—there is
chastity here. In these mountains, amongst this people called
Latter-day Saints, if virtue is not cherished next to human life, it
is because people are not living up to the teachings they have
received. If man is not as virtuous as woman, then it is because man
has not profited by what he has been taught. Do you think that a
daughter should be expected to be more virtuous than a son? Do you
think that the girls of a family should be more chaste than the boys?
Certainly not. One of the greatest crimes, the greatest, with the
exception of the shedding of innocent blood—and it is a doctrine that
is taught by the Latter-day Saints, and should be taught by every man
in his household—that can be committed, is the seduction or
defilement of the weaker sex. There can be no greater crime committed,
except the shedding of innocent blood, and people thus taught, what
will they be? Why, if they observe such teachings, they will be
strong, vigorous and mighty. Can you repress such a people? Will the
sending of a few men to prison for breaking the law of 1862 destroy
this work? Will the entering of a suit against the executors of the
estate of the late President Young, or the Trustee-in-trust of this
Church destroy this work? Why, the men who say so have failed to read
history. They do not understand anything connected with human progress
and with human powers, if they flatter themselves with such opinions
as these. All these things intensify the people, they add to our
strength.
As to plural marriage, in dealing with that great question, as it is
called, if I had been anxious to extinguish or repress it, I would
never have allowed it to have received the attention it has done.
There has been a complete misconception as to the best method of
dealing with this question. Why, this ancient practice, practiced by a
few people in these mountains, has been lifted into national
importance. Mormonism has become famous, because of the
practicing, by a portion of the people, of this doctrine, until the
whole earth resounds with the talk of "the Polygamy of the Mormons,"
as though the Mormons were half the people of the United States. In
fact, if they numbered twenty-five millions instead of two hundred
thousand, they could not have received more attention. This is a grand
mistake in statesmanship on the part of those who want to put down
Mormon doctrines. If men understood statesmanship they would let the
question pass, but instead of that they are determined to give us
world wide notoriety, to uplift us before the world, and by their
foolish acts make people suffer as martyrs for that principle. Most
unwise. It reminds me of an incident mentioned in Macauley's history
of England. He drew a contrast between the policy of James the Second
and his successor, William. You all know that James was looked upon as
an old impostor, and that ultimately he was expelled from the throne.
There was a Bishop in James' day who seemed very anxious to attain
some object, and he annoyed the king so much that the king got it into
his head that the Bishop wanted to be a martyr, and, said James, "I am
determined he shall be one." Macauley contrasts this policy with that
of William under similar circumstances. William was a wise ruler, and
there was a man who did something similar to him in his day, and acted
offensively, as the Bishop did to James, his father-in-law. He, too,
seemed anxious to be a martyr, and, said William, "I am equally
determined he shall not be gratified." In this we see the difference
between the statesmanship of the two kings; and a true statesman,
dealing with the question of polygamy, would let it alone severely. If
he wanted it exterminated he would not take George Reynolds and send
him to prison and make him a hero, instead of a felon. Such a
proceeding only had the tendency to make people cling to their faith
and be willing to suffer for it. If plural marriage be divine, as the
Latter-day Saints say it is, no power on earth can suppress it, unless
you crush and destroy the entire people. But supposing it is not
divine, as many people say it is not, supposing that it is not of God,
do you not think the forty millions can afford to let it alone? If
their position be true do you not think they are safe to do more among
the 200,000 people who believe, and a portion of them practice it, by
moral force than by persecution and violence? I think so. Now we will
see which is the best policy. I do not believe in being defiant. Men
that marry more wives than one should be able to bear the penalty of
it if there be any attached thereto, or they should not take them. A
man that enters this Church ought to be able to die for its principles
if necessary, and certainly should be able to go to prison for them
without crying about the matter. If you are sentenced to prison for
marrying more wives than one, round up your shoulders and bear it like
men and no murmuring about it; prepare yourselves to take the
consequences. We know that for the Gospel in ancient days many laid
down their lives with joy, that the great Captain of our salvation was
crucified, and that nearly all the prophets perished by violence. If
we expect, then, to be one with them, and inherit the same glory that
they do we should be prepared to endure the consequence of adhesion
to, and our advocacy of the truth; and so we should in regard
to every doctrine we have embraced. We have embraced certain
doctrines. They are unpopular. Still if we are men we will be prepared
to endure all the consequences, whatever they may be, and make no fuss
about them. But I am trespassing on your time. May the Lord bless you,
fill you with the Holy Ghost, and keep you a holy people, and enable
you to overcome all evil, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
- George Q. Cannon