There is a little time remaining, which I am requested to occupy.
The theme of the Gospel is one that can be dwelt on for a great length
of time and yet not be exhausted; for according to the views of the
Latter-day Saints the Gospel embraces all truth, and there is no truth
of any nature or name, whether it be scientific, or moral, or
religious, that is not comprehended within the scope of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ. Therefore, those who embrace the Gospel, as has been
said, start upon the path of progress, the end of which no one can
see; it is not given to human beings to comprehend; it extends
into eternity, and comprehends the wisdom and power and the knowledge
of eternity. It has often been remarked respecting our meetings in
this Tabernacle, by persons who have not been accustomed to our form
of worship and our method of instruction, that we very frequently
dwell upon a great many subjects that other people do not deem
appropriate to the Sabbath. There is a reason for this; it is found in
the fact which I have stated—that the Gospel of Jesus Christ
comprehends all truth; and therefore everything necessary for the
promotion of a man's happiness, for the enlargement of his views and
his mind, and for the development of all his being, physical and
mental, everything of this kind should be treated upon at the time and
the season when it is needed. I do not, myself, value a religion that
confines its teachings to the Sabbath, that does not enter into the
everyday life of those who profess it. Such a religion people may put
on as they do their Sunday apparel, and wear to the meetinghouse; and
when the day passes, doff it as they do their apparel, and assume
their everyday practices. But the religion of Jesus Christ should be
taught and practiced by those who believe it, every day of the week
and in all the pursuits of life. And in this respect I sometimes think
that we, as Latter-day Saints, come short of doing that which is
incumbent upon us. We allow our religion to be too theoretical, and do
not practice it to the extent that is required by the teachings of the
Gospel. It is very well for us to come today and listen to the
discourse we have heard, and rejoice in the spirit of it; but if we do
not take with us the principles which are taught, and apply them in
our lives, our visit today to this Tabernacle would be of very little
profit. It is for this purpose that the Gospel has been revealed, it
is for this purpose that it is taught, it is for this purpose that the
Holy Ghost has been promised and poured out, that those who receive it
may become better men, may become better women, may become more pure,
that the evil that seems to be natural to us in consequence of our
fallen condition, may be overcome and uprooted, and put away from us.
Will those who believe and practice the Gospel be dishonest? Certainly
not. Will they take advantage of their neighbors? Will they tell
falsehoods concerning their neighbors? Will they indulge in slandering
and tattling and backbiting? Will they be envious, or filled with
malice or jealousies? Not if they practice the Gospel; not if the
spirit of the Gospel rests down upon them will they do any of these
things. If they do, they will be checked in their feelings, the Spirit
of God will reprove them, and if they live as they should, when they
bow down at night to ask pardon for the acts of the day that have been
improper in the sight of God, it will bring to their remembrance, and
show to them in plainness where they have come short on these points,
and they will have the spirit of repentance, and will seek to put
such things away far from them. In this way they will progress. Now,
this is not required of us on this day alone—the first day of the
week, the day of worship set apart for us to come together; but it is
required on Monday, and on Tuesday, and so on until Saturday. This
work of self-improvement, under the influence and power of the Gospel
and Spirit of God, should go on every day we live, and it
should be a constant subject of thought with us when we rise in the
morning and lie down at night: Wherein have we come short of obeying
the principles of the Gospel? Have I done any injury to my fellow man?
Have I grieved the Spirit of the Lord? Have I neglected some duty?
Have I said that which I ought not to have said? Have I done that
which I ought not to have done? Have I been just, have I been
merciful, have I been upright? Have I allowed any thought, any feeling
to enter my heart concerning my neighbor, concerning some of my
associates that I should not entertain? If I have, then it is my duty,
if I believe the Gospel and desire to practice its principles, to
repent of that, to confess it.
There was a time when God required of his people the sacrifice of
animals. They brought their animals and they were offered up as
sacrifices, and they obtained the remission of sins by that method.
This was required under the law of Moses; it was required until the
coming of the Son of God, until he made his great sacrifice for man.
But what does God require of us? Is it that we shall bring animals and
offer burnt offerings unto him? No, he does not make that requirement
of us today, but this is the sacrifice required of us: he asks us
that we shall come to him with broken hearts and with contrite
spirits. If we do he will accept of us, our offerings will be like the
offerings of Abel, acceptable in his sight; but if we go to him as
Cain did, our offerings will not be acceptable to him, and he will
reject them. But if you and I and all who profess to be the followers
of the Lord Jesus will bow down before him with humble hearts, each of
us with a broken heart and contrite spirit, what will be the effect?
Why, we will confess our faults to him, because they will be plain in
our sight, we will see ourselves in the light of the Spirit of God,
and the spirit of repentance will rest down upon us. Suppose we bow
down before him because it is the custom to do so, in a formal manner,
worshipping him with our lips while our hearts are far from him,
repeating by rote certain sentences we have learned, and to the use of
which we have become accustomed, will such an offering be acceptable
in the sight of God? Certainly not. He desires that those who worship
him shall worship him in spirit and in truth, and that they shall
confess their sins not only to him, but, where they have wronged each
other, to one another. It is my duty, if I have wronged my brother, to
go to my brother and confess and ask his forgiveness. If I wrong my
sister, it is my duty to do the same. If I do wrong to my God, it is
my duty to bow down before him in humility and confess in contrition
of spirit the wrong I have done and beseech him in the name of Jesus
to forgive my sins. And this is a duty that rests upon us as
Latter-day Saints.
These are some of the practical parts of our religion, and, as I have
said, not to be practiced today alone, today, the first day of the
week, the Sabbath, but to be practiced tomorrow, and to be carried
out in our lives, in our daily intercourse one with another; to be
meek and lowly in heart, seeking the Spirit of Jesus, willing to
suffer wrong rather than do wrong; not to be rude, not to be harsh,
not to be unfeeling, or unkind in our intercourse with our families,
but to carry with us the spirit of meekness and of love, that when we
enter our homes we shall be welcomed with gladness, our
children shall delight in our visitations as they would in the
visitation of an angel if they knew one was coming. How many are there
of the men in this assembly and of this Church who, when they enter
their houses, enter with scowls on their faces, bringing all their
cares with them, intruding upon the serenity of their families, making
their presence disagreeable to all, instead of going in with gladness
and peace and carrying with them the consolation that should attend
their presence always? Their wives are perhaps fretful from overwork,
their nerves affected by the toils of the day, or the heat, causing
them to be in an irritable mood, and when the two come together under
such circumstances they produce friction, bad feeling and offenses
follow. Is it a man's duty, or right, or privilege, to carry his cares
into his family and disturb the peace and serenity existing there by
relating his troubles? Certainly not. When his foot rests upon the
threshold of his door, no matter what his difficulties, or
perplexities may be, he should enter with the spirit of peace in his
heart and with the love of God burning within him. If there is
irritability existing, his presence should be soothing to every member
of his household, and particularly in talking with his children, they
should feel the influence of his presence; and if there should be any
improper feelings existing, they should be calmed as disturbed and
ruffled water is by pouring oil upon it. A Latter-day Saint! Think of
the nature of the name. A Saint of God! Why, he should be next to an
angel; the most perfect of the human family. He should be per fect in
his sphere, as God is perfect in his sphere. He should be free from
fault. If he have a fault he should seek daily and hourly to correct
it, and not rest satisfied as long as he is aware of the existence of
a fault until he conquers it, pleading with the Father in the name of
Jesus for strength to overcome his weakness, for power to put it away,
carrying with him the spirit of love, the spirit of serenity, the
spirit of peace, that when he appears in society, no matter where he
may be, all who come in contact with him may feel his influence and
feel purified and strengthened by his example and by his words and by
his very presence. And this is what God designs we should be as
Latter-day Saints. Tattle about one another; backbite, slander and
speak evil of one another; are such things proper for Latter-day
Saints? No. They should be banished from our society and from our
households. Our children should be taught better. When they speak evil
of anyone they should be checked and told if they cannot say
something good concerning their fellows, to say nothing. Instead of
finding fault there should be charity, which covers a multitude of
sins. Instead of looking at the faults of others, they should be
taught to look at their own faults. And they are numerous enough; we
have plenty of them to keep us occupied closely all our time, with all
the prayer and all the faith we can exercise before God. Our own
faults, our own sins, our own shortcomings are sufficient to occupy
our entire attention, without thinking about those of our neighbors,
or ever speaking about them. Those who bear the priesthood have the
right, and it is their duty to administer reproof and to point out
faults; but it is for the members of the Church to look to
themselves. Let any member of the Church who thinks he has plenty of
time after attending to his own faults to attend to his neighbor's,
examine himself; let him bow down before the Lord and ask for the Holy
Spirit to be poured out upon him, so that he can see himself in his
true light; and if he does not arise satisfied that it will take all
his time to correct his own weaknesses and follies it will be very
strange.
Then, are we honest one with another? Do I do to my neighbor in my
dealing with him as I wish him to do to me? If I do not, then I do not
carry out the principles of my religion. If I take advantage of his
ignorance, of his inexperience or of his circumstances—it may be he is
in a strait place, and he is compelled to do something that he would
not do if his necessities did not press him, do I perform my duty to
him as a Latter-day Saint! If I take advantage of him, then I do not
treat him as I would like to be treated if our positions were
reversed. Does the spirit of greed enter into my heart, and I think
"Now, here is an opportunity for me to make something, or getting the
advantage;" if it does, then I am not a Latter-day Saint in that
respect; I do not carry out the principles of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ, I fail in being that which I profess to be, and I have cause
to repent truly and sincerely, and ask forgiveness of the Lord and my
brother.
This work of self-improvement, under the power and influence of the
Gospel of Jesus Christ, is a work given to each of us. It should be
the great work of our lives; it should be the chief thought of our
hearts. There is nothing greater. Brother Stayner remarked that if he
could be the means of saving only one soul, how great his joy would
be. Yes, that is true. And if that soul should be himself alone, his
joy will be great. But if he should be the means of saving another
soul, his joy would be still greater. But the greatest work we can do
is to so live that we ourselves shall be saved, that our own acts
shall be correct, and our will and desires and passions be brought
into subjection to the will of God. There is no work that I know of so
great and important to me as this. A man may perform a mission; he may
do innumerable good works; his name may be heralded throughout the
Church and to the nations of the earth, and the people may accept it
as that of a great and mighty man; but if that man does not conquer
himself and live in strict accordance with the principles of the
Gospel, his position will only increase his condemnation. Far better
is the condition of the humble, the obscure man, the man unknown out
of the limited circle of his immediate associates, who is without
fame, but who does live his religion, who practices the principles of
the Gospel as they are taught by the Lord. Far better is the condition
of that man than the other, if he does that and the other man neglects
to do it. This Gospel of our's is a practical Gospel. It is not like
our Sunday apparel, to be put on today and put off tomorrow; it
ought to be carried with us in all the transactions of life, applied
to everything we think, we say and do, and always be remembered by us.
And then what sort of people will we be? We will be people whom the
Lord will delight to bless; and who will have his Spirit and power
resting down upon us. And no matter how much we may be
maligned and spoken evil about, we shall have the consolation of
knowing from the Lord that we are right, that we have done that which
he requires, and that we have his blessing and his approval. This is
worth more than everything else that can be brought about. With the
experience I have had in my life I would rather have the grace of God,
the sweetness and happiness, the blessing and comfort of his Spirit
and be in poverty as great as that of the wild Indian of our mountains
than to dwell in palaces and revel in luxury and ease without that
grace and Spirit. I have tested this to my entire satisfaction, tested
it under circumstances when I have proved that a man can be as happy
as an angel—that is, as happy in his sphere, in doing the will of God
in the midst of poverty and difficulties. It is not these external
circumstances that are the sources of happiness. Of course it is right
and proper we should take care of the bodies God has given unto us,
just as much as our spirits, that they should be kept clean, that our
clothing should be comfortable and our habitation suitable. God has
given unto us wisdom and power to do this, and he has placed the
elements around us, and he would condemn us if we did not use them for
our comfort and blessing. But they are not the only things needful.
You may pile up money until you fill this Tabernacle and its
possession would not make a man happy. You may give men carriages and
horses, houses and lands and everything of this character, but unless
there is the spirit of happiness within them they would not be happy.
The man who lives near to God who has the Spirit of God, be he ever so
humble, is a happy man; and without it, there is no true happiness.
It should be our constant study to live so that the Holy Spirit will
always dwell with us, that when we arise in the morning our minds and
our hearts may be as clear as the sky when there is no cloud in it,
that we feel at peace with God and man. It should be the aim of every
one professing to be a Latter-day Saint not to leave his chamber in
the morning until he comes out feeling that spirit of peace, with his
brow unruffled with care, with a consciousness of having communed with
God and that he knows his standing with him. When he leaves his
chamber having that spirit, he will diffuse joy and gladness
throughout his entire household. Should anything occur to disturb the
serenity of a Latter-day Saint he ought to step aside and ask God in
the name of Jesus to remove it and to pour out the spirit of peace and
consolation upon him to fill his heart. At night too, the same Spirit
of peace should be sought for. The thoughts, the words and the actions
of the day should be reviewed, and forgiveness of wrong should be
sought for, then a man can retire in peace; and then if God in his
providence should call him home during the night he would feel at
peace with Him and with all men. In this manner we should live, and if
we do not live in this way we fail to be what we profess to be.
That God may help us so to live, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus.
Amen.
- George Q. Cannon