It is with much pleasure I meet with the Latter-day Saints this
morning; it was a great pleasure to me yesterday to sit and listen to
the remarks which were made by the brethren who spoke, and to the
testimonies which they bore; and I trust that the same spirit which
rested upon them while addressing us yesterday, will be upon us,
speakers and hearers, today.
I can appreciate the privilege we enjoy in meeting in these quarterly
conferences, perhaps more so because of my lengthened absence from
home, than I could were I constantly in your midst. After a person has
been deprived of food, many of you know how good it is to sit down to
a well-spread table. I do not know that the Latter-day Saints are
exactly in this condition. There are privileges we need and which we
can enjoy, even when away from the body of the Church, which enable
those who are thus separated to rejoice in their religion and its
blessings. It has been a rule of my life, since I was old enough to
comprehend the truth, to so live that the Spirit of the Lord would be
my companion, and thus to have peace, to have joy and to have
satisfaction of mind; and this I can testify I have had. But still
absence from the society of the Latter-day Saints is a great
deprivation; at least it is to me.
With regard to our condition politically, I do not think it would be
inappropriate for me to allude to it casually, although it is Sunday.
There probably never was a time since we have been in these mountains
when we were in a better political position than we are today.
Notwithstanding all the efforts which are being made against us to
destroy our liberties, to embarrass us in our progress and to malign
us, the people who reside in these mountains have gained and are
gaining a credit which in many respects is very gratifying to those
who love the truth. It is a difficult thing to condemn an entire
people, and make the world believe that those who manage a Territory
such as ours, the affairs of which are so well managed, and are in so
healthy and thrifty a condition, are a wicked people. And so far as my
observation has extended, I think we are being better
understood. There is one thing particularly that I have noticed, that
where men and women have visited this Territory, with scarcely any
exception, they speak favorably of what they have seen. I have
endeavored to urge men of national standing, men who hold high
positions in the Government, to visit Utah. And I may say that some of
the warmest friends we have, while they do not sympathize particularly
with our religious views, but are tolerant and desirous that we should
have our rights in common with other people, are those who have
visited this Territory and have seen us in our homes, and have had
opportunities of witnessing the changes that have been effected in this
desert land by our residence and labors.
As to the time when we shall become a state, concerning which
considerable is said by outside parties, as well as by ourselves, it
is difficult at the present time to say anything definite respecting
it. I believe, however, the time will come, and that too before long,
when certain exigencies of a political character will arise that will
make the vote of Utah necessary in deciding national questions, and
under those circumstances it would be important to have Utah as a
state. In fact it is already acknowledged that had Utah been admitted
as a state when Colorado was, that all this difficulty which has
occurred connected with the presidential election would have been
entirely settled; indeed it would not have arisen. This is now
conceded. But this experience comes too late to be of any benefit in
correcting the injustice which we suffered, and to be of any avail in
the presidential contest which is now past; but it may have some
effect in the future. There are many, a great many men of both
political parties who have said to me that they would vote for Utah's
admission whenever the question should be brought up, provided they
had a voice in the matter. However, as far as this is concerned I
think sometimes it is a matter of comparatively small moment. It is
true we have looked to our admission to statehood as likely to greatly
relieve us, and to bring about a better condition of affairs
throughout our Territory. But the conviction has grown upon me in
watching the progress of events, that our being kept in a territorial
condition to the present time has been attended with great advantage
to us as a people. The experience we have gained under this condition
of affairs is an experience that is necessary to us, and without which
we could not so well, in my opinion, fulfill the destiny assigned to
us. I believe there is an overruling Providence in all these affairs;
I believe the Lord is watching over this people, and that he is
controlling and shaping events and circumstances, and managing
everything connected with the affairs of this nation, and our affairs
as part of the nation, with a view to accomplish his great designs and
purposes. And whenever it shall be wisdom in his sight that we should
have our political condition changed and our Territory become a State,
it will be effected. And it will come, too, as easily as other changes
that have been wrought out and that at one time seemed exceedingly
improbable. So that it is not necessary that we should become excited
or impatient or indulge in too much anxiety concerning such things,
but leave them in the hands of Him who has up to the present time
controlled all things for the good of his people and for the bringing
to pass of his own purposes.
I consider our condition today in these mountains the best condition
that we can occupy. When I travel through the States and
converse with gentlemen who are familiar with the affairs of the
nation through its length and breadth, I never arise from such
conversation without feeling impressed more than ever with the
excellence of the circumstances which surround us. It is true we have
a desert land, that it is a land requiring excessive toil to make it
fruitful and habitable for those who live in it. The grass does not
clothe our hills spontaneously; our Territory is not favored with the
rains of heaven to make it green with verdure: our fields would be
barren indeed, if it were not for the labor of irrigation and the
constant efforts of the husbandman. In this respect our country
differs very much from every other place east of us. In traveling
through the broad prairies of Illinois, with the continuous fields of
grain; and through Iowa and Nebraska, so far as Nebraska is settled,
and contrasting the ease with which those lands are cultivated,
compared with the toil required in this mountain region, I could not
help thinking that if we were permitted to live in so goodly a land,
under favorable circumstances, we would soon convert it into an Eden.
But in the providences of the Almighty we were driven out and led to
this land, and the Lord has showed unto us, and is showing to the
inhabitants of the earth, that when a people will do that which He
requires of them, that he is abundantly able to sustain them and make
their labors successful. He has done this in leading us to this
country, and in sustaining us since we came here. Our condition in
many respects is far superior to those who live in those favored
localities to which I have referred. We have a healthy land; we have a
land that the Lord has blessed and made fruitful as the result of our
labors. It is a land in which men cannot, from the very nature of
things, monopolize large bodies of land to the exclusion of their
poorer neighbors. This is an advantage to the people of this country.
The nature of our surroundings compels us to occupy small holdings and
the result is our land is better cultivated, there is a more
widespread ownership of the soil than you will find in any part of
these United States; that is, there are more men holding land and
owning and occupying it, in this country, in proportion to the entire
population, than you can find elsewhere. The result, is a condition of
independence you cannot find elsewhere. At the present time, in the
western States especially, men are greatly concerned about the element
known as Communism, which has taken possession of the minds of a
numerous class of the people. The working classes are becoming very
dissatisfied, and men are trembling for fear of what will come upon
the nation. One of the strongest arguments that was made in favor of
keeping up the United States army up to its present numbers was, that
there would probably be riots in large cities and in populous centers,
which would require the presence of the military acting as police to
quell. And had it not been for this evil the army would have been cut
down. But a good many men were anxious to have it increased, deeming
it necessary for the preservation of life and property. When we
reflect upon this it shows how changed have become the affairs of our
nation, when it is deemed necessary to appeal to military power to
maintain good order in the Republic. There can be no surer sign of the
decay of a republic than when human life and property and liberty
cannot be sustained by the masses of the people, and the military
power, the ranks of which are filled with hired soldiers, has to be appealed to sustain good order in the midst of the people.
Let such a state of things continue and there would soon be an end of
true republicanism.
In this respect we also have our difficulties. The business of
furnishing employment for our poor people, so that our streets shall
not be filled with idle men and boys, has no doubt pressed, and will
continue to press itself upon the minds of the leading men of this
Territory. But in comparison with the magnitude of this question
elsewhere, it seems to sink into insignificance here. It is a matter
of small moment, comparatively speaking, in this Territory; because
the great bulk of the people have employment, and can easily furnish
themselves with employment. However, this is a matter that should
receive attention and from those, too, who care for the people and
have their welfare at heart. No doubt everything will be done that
should be to preserve good government throughout this Territory, and
throughout all these valleys which are inhabited by the Latter-day
Saints. The fact is, the time will come, concerning which there has
been so much said in the past, when it will devolve upon the people of
these mountains to maintain good government, to uphold constitutional
rights; and we are receiving the training necessary to fit and prepare
us for that great and glorious destiny. I have no doubt that the day
will come, and come speedily, when Utah will be looked to, as an
example of good government, and that the condition of affairs in this
Territory will be pointed to as an example for other communities and
other societies to imitate with advantage to themselves and the
country at large. There is every inducement therefore for us, as
Latter-day Saints, to continue to persevere in the direction in which
we are going.
I have no doubt many of you would be surprised if you knew the
interest that is being taken, outside of our Territory, in our
affairs. When the news of the death of President Young reached the
east, there was, I might say, a general expectation that rival
claimants to the power he wielded would arise, that dissensions would
ensue and that the work of disintegration would commence and the
speedy overthrow of the system soon follow. I suppose I have been
spoken to hundreds of times upon this point; and men seem surprised
that this has not been the result. Many have said to me, "Your affairs
seem to go on prosperously, notwithstanding the death of your great
leader." Yes. "Well, we scarcely expected this would be the case; we
have heard so much said through the newspapers concerning the
probability of dissensions in your midst and quarrels over the
leadership, that we were expecting you would have trouble." I have
told them invariably that President Young had all his lifetime
acknowledged that the qualities and powers he possessed he owed to
what the world call "Mormonism;" that he was not the creator of
"Mormonism," but he himself was the product of it, and that this would
continue to increase, no matter how many leaders might die or pass
away. The results which have followed the decease of President Young
have given to thinking men a higher idea of the strength and power of
this system. It assumes a different position in their minds. The idea
now begins to prevail that it is not entirely dependent upon the life
or the ability of any single individual; and I think the death of
President Young has had the effect also to cause men to pause, and to
look upon the work a little differently. He was the target at
which every arrow was aimed, he was the object of every plot and
scheme; every combination for evil had for its object, his destruction
or his embarrassment. His withdrawal from the scene spoiled these
combinations, and brought these plots to naught. To this I attribute
the quiet of the past season. Although I have often been at Washington
for the past 20 years, and have spent a considerable portion of my
time there for a number of years past, I have never seen less of the
disposition on the part of public men to take adverse measures against
the people of Utah Territory than there has been this season. The
feeling has been to let us alone for the present; and although there
were emissaries sent down from here who labored very diligently to
stir up feeling and to secure action against the people of Utah, their
efforts scarcely created a ripple upon the surface of political
affairs, and they attracted no attention outside of the committees, to
whom they addressed themselves. Though it is unpleasant upon some
accounts to have men there who are circulating all manner of falsehood
about the people of Utah to gain their ends, they have their uses.
They create discussion. They stir one up, and their presence and
opposition furnish opportunities to talk to committees and members
about Utah affairs, which otherwise the Delegate would not have. Such
discussions made things lively in the committee rooms, but, outside of
the committees there was not a feeling that I could discover
particularly hostile to Utah. This is a remarkable condition of
affairs; and I attribute it in part to the effect that the death of
President Young has had upon the public mind throughout the entire
country.
I do not think there is any less hostility against the truth; I do not
think that Belial has lost any of his hatred to the Lord; but the Lord
in his wisdom has permitted a feeling of this kind to grow up, and is
overruling it for his own purpose.
I have said the eyes of the people are upon us; they are watching us
and great hopes are entertained concerning us by many people who are
not of us. We are looked upon as the pioneers in many reforms. The
ladies, as you are aware, have lately been agitating in Congress their
question—Woman's Rights. Among other ladies who argued their cause
before the general committees of the Senate and the House, was a
sister of the Rev. Henry Ward Bencher—Mrs. Isabella Beecher Hooker, a
lady of character and great ability. It was most gratifying to me to
hear the tribute that these ladies paid to the women of Utah; not that
they sympathized with plural marriage, for they disavowed their
sympathy with it; but they begin to recognize, as they never have
until quite recently, the true position that the men and women of this
Territory occupy upon this question. Indeed, I heard more than one
say, and among them was one very prominent lady, that if there had to
be a choice, she would prefer plural marriage than to have the
condition of affairs which exists in their communities. There seems to
have been a good deal of light thrown upon this subject: and our
sisters here, through their publication, the "Woman's Exponent," as
well as other channels of communication, have greatly aided in this
matter. Their efforts are commendable, and are already beginning to
have their good effects in the States among their sisters; and I am
pleased to be able to bear this testimony. When the question of
legislation for Utah was argued, the committee rooms were thronged to
listen to my argument upon the subject; and on one occasion two ladies
took part in the discussion against the bills urged by our enemies and
in favor of the rights of the women of Utah. A knowledge of the true
condition of affairs in this Territory is gradually growing, and
although it may be but slowly, it is of faster growth than we
generally imagine. This is especially true of that much abused
principle called plural marriage. It is becoming recognized in its
true light, and people are beginning, as I never heard them before in
my experience, to talk about it and reflect upon it, often alluding to
it in a way that shows that a better understanding of the subject is
steadily spreading among the people. And there is a reason for this:
this question has been so much agitated. It is a remarkable fact that
every publication against this doctrine of the Latter-day Saints has
the effect to spread the knowledge of it among the people and it makes
men and women reflect upon it. Our efforts alone would not be attended
with the results that are now witnessed. But every man that has
published articles against it, or lectured or written books or made
any effort against it, has helped to propagate the knowledge of it;
they have been missionaries in its favor. And no true doctrine need
ever fear being assailed and denounced; for it will emerge from the
conflict brighter and better understood than it otherwise would
appear. Every man who has gone down to Washington from here to fight
us has made men in Congress think about us and talk about us, and has
made editors write about us. They have, without designing it, helped
to disseminate a knowledge of our cause. The more the "Mormon"
question, as it is termed, is agitated, the better it is for us; the
more it is fought, the more it is written against and talked about,
the more that Congress is stirred up to take steps against it, the
better the principles of our faith are understood; because there are
some men and some women who reflect upon these things, and who will
contrast that which they hear of us, with that which exists in their
midst. And when they see a man stand up boldly and say, "We believe in
plural marriage; we do not believe in prostitution; we do not suffer
women to become the slaves of men's lusts; but believe they ought to
become honored wives and mothers, and that children ought to be
educated and provided for and called by the name of their father, and
at their father's death his property be equally divided among them
even though their mothers should be plural wives." When they hear
this, they cannot help thinking about such a condition of affairs; and
they say, there is a moral courage which these people evince in this
matter that is admirable. I have had it said to me often times, by
both sexes, that it is better that we should live as we do, than such
practices as exist elsewhere should come in our midst.
So that, as has often been said, everything done against us is
overruled for the good and spread of the work of God.
The subject of plural marriage is always an interesting subject, and
it is made still more so by the constant attacks made upon it, and the
misrepresentations made concerning it. Whenever people meet with a
Latter-day Saint, it is almost sure to be the first topic broached.
The opinion which some entertain who take their views from the
slanderous reports published about us, is that we are a licentious
people, who take wives to gratify lust. Such persons, if
reasonably honest, are soon made to reflect and to modify their views
by asking them a few questions. A prominent gentleman with whom I
recently conversed, entertained that opinion. I said to him, after
conversing a little while: Sir, you believe the people of Utah are bad
and licentious, and that they degrade women by their system of plural
marriage. Let me ask you, if their purposes were only sensual, have
they any occasion in this day to marry women? Could they not
accomplish sensual ends much easier, cheaper, and without creating any
especial remark by not marrying women and not caring for and educating
and legitimatizing their children? There are practices which prevail
in society, and which are not unpopular if a certain degree of secrecy
be observed which a licentious people could avail themselves of,
without the trouble, care, expense and responsibility of marriage.
What is the crime of which the people of Utah are accused? It is that
of marrying women! It is not that of seducing or debauching them. All
the pains and penalties inserted in bills before Congress for the
punishment of the "Mormon" people are affixed to the marriage of
women. This is made a crime, and because of it, it is proposed to
punish men. Not one word of condemnation, nor penalty of any
character, is proposed for the seducer, or the vile betrayer of female
innocence; he is to walk up to the polls and vote unchallenged; but
the man who marries women, and maintains them honorably and
virtuously, sustaining family and parental relations in all purity and
sacredness, is to be disfranchised and visited with other pains and
penalties! You will perceive, therefore that the "Mormon" people are
either not a licentious people or they are the most foolish in the
world. No one ever charges them with a lack of shrewdness or prudence.
Such a charge would be utterly at variance with all their known
characteristics. If they were not a conscientious people, with strong
moral and religious convictions, they would not risk becoming martyrs,
as they do, for the sake of marrying women, when, if they followed the
usual practice of the age, they could get them without marrying.
He frankly acknowledged that what I had said had given him a new view
of the case, and he admitted that if the gratification of sensual
desires were our object, we could reach that without marriage and
without exciting any particular odium. The fact is, illicit connections
are winked at and overlooked by very many people in the world while
they are kept from public knowledge; they only excite scandal and
unfavorable comment when the parties to them are so unfortunate as to
become known.
A reply of Bro. Hooper and myself, which we are credited as having
made to inquirers who were curious to know respecting our domestic
relations, is often quoted and created some amusement in Washington
City. Both of us have doubtless made remarks similar to that quoted;
the reply, however, is not original with us, but with Bro. Horace S.
Eldredge. Upon one occasion, while purchasing machinery in the East,
he called upon a firm in Providence, Rhode Island, to whom he brought
a letter of introduction. One of the members of the firm, after
carrying him in his carriage to see the various objects of interest in
the city, brought him back to his place of business and introduced him
to his partner. This gentleman had a number of inquiries to make
respecting Utah and its people, and soon learned that Bro. Eldredge was a "Mormon." After stating that he understood that the
"Mormons" believed in marrying more than one wife, to which bro.
Eldredge replied in the affirmative, he asked if he himself had more
than one, to which he again responded affirmatively. He then asked how
many he had. To this bro. Eldredge replied: "I have such a plenty of
my own that I have no occasion to trouble my neighbors'; and that is
more than a great many in the land of steady habits can say." This was
a home shot. His partner laughed heartily. Knowing the other's
character, he could appreciate its applicability to him. After getting
his reply, the gentleman had no more questions to ask, and soon made
an excuse to go out. Many who have heard of this reply, think the idea
embodied in it a capital one, for it is not uncommon in many places
for other men's wives to receive attentions which should be only
tendered to them by their husbands.
I desire greatly to see this people prosper and increase in everything
which will make them the favored people of God. I want to see us be
come a strong people, strong in our virtues; looking after our
children, and bringing them up in the fear of God, and teaching them
good morals and good precepts; whilst we endeavor to put down those
evil practices that are creeping in, such as smoking and chewing
tobacco, using the name of the Lord in vain, and also profane and
improper language, and to see that our boys and girls are educated in
everything that will make them great and noble. It is the great desire
of my life to see this people become all that the Lord desires us to
be. But when I saw how few there were in this Tabernacle yesterday,
few compared to the attendance this morning, I felt the reproofs that
were made by brothers Pratt and Woodruff were well-timed, and ought to
be taken to heart by all of us, and the disposition be encouraged to
be more attentive to our duties.
That the Lord may bless you, and bless all who belong to His Israel,
is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
- George Q. Cannon