I will read a portion of a revelation given through the Prophet Joseph
Smith, previous to the organization of the Church, dated April, 1829:
"Oliver Cowdery, verily, verily, I say unto you, that assuredly as the
Lord liveth, who is your God and your Redeemer, even so surely shall
you receive a knowledge of whatsoever things you shall ask in faith,
with an honest heart, believing that you shall receive a knowledge
concerning the engravings of old records, which are ancient, which
contain those parts of my scripture of which has been spoken by the
manifestation of my Spirit. Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind
and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and
which shall dwell in your heart. Now, behold, this is the spirit of
revelation; behold, this is the spirit by which Moses brought the
children of Israel through the Red Sea on dry ground."
The point I wish to call your attention to is contained in the second
and third verses of this revelation. The Latter-day Saints are in many
respects like other people who are not Latter-day Saints. We are apt
to entertain views which are not very correct, and which may be the
result of our traditions and preconceived ideas. This is a peculiarity
that pertains to mankind generally, that whenever they deal with the
things of God, or speak about them, or contemplate them, and
especially when they read the predictions made by the servants of God
concerning future events, or events that may transpire right before
their eyes, they are apt to get, sometimes, erroneous ideas, or, at
least, exaggerated ideas, in relation to them. The prophets have
foretold the events that should take place in connection with this
work. There is one prophecy that comes to my mind, recorded by Isaiah
and Micah, respecting the building of the house of God in the top of
the mountains and the gathering of the people there, and the object
for which they should gather, that they should come up and be taught
of the Lord, etc. Now it might be supposed that when that prediction
would be fulfilled it would be so prominent and remarkable in the
midst of the nations of the earth, that all the inhabitants
thereof who should witness it would say, "This is the fulfillment of
the predictions of Isaiah and Micah." And it might be thought that all
the inhabitants of the earth who witnessed it would be convinced of
the truth of it, and would say, "We have no further opposition to this
work, because we behold the fulfillment of the predictions of those
holy prophets whom we have been taught to regard, and whose writings
we have read as authority from God.
And, doubtless, there are many of the Latter-day Saints who have
thought, in the early days of their experience in this Church, when
they have heard the elders predict concerning the great events that
should take place in connection with this work—they have thought and
felt in their hearts that when the wicked and those who oppose this
work should see the fulfillment of these predictions they would be
constrained to acknowledge that this is the work of God, and would
cease from hostility and opposition, and would say they had been
mistaken. For instance, the elders in the early days of this Church,
predicted concerning calamities and wars and troubles of various kinds
that would come upon the inhabitants of the earth. There was a
revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith, in December, 1832,
concerning the war that should take place between the Southern States
and the Northern States. This was a definite prediction, stating the
exact point where a certain trouble or rebellion or division in the
nation should take place. Most of us who have been brought up in the
Church knew about this revelation from early days. It has been
published so that all the members of the Church, and the world also,
could have it, and it was but reason able to expect that so definite a
prophecy as this, which stated the exact character of the difficulty
that should take place between the south and the north, and that also
stated with such definiteness the exact point where the division
should occur—I say it was but reasonable to expect that when it should
be fulfilled, it would have the effect of convincing unbelievers of
the truth of the mission of Joseph Smith, and that he really was a man
inspired of the Lord to speak the word of God to the people.
In 1860, Brothers Orson Pratt, Erastus Snow, myself, and others, were
going on missions, and we arrived at Omaha in the month of November of
that year. A deputation of the leading citizens of that city came to
our camp and tendered to us the use of the Court House, as they wished
to hear our principles. The invitation was accepted, and Elder Pratt
preached to them. During the service, there was read the revelation to
which I have referred—the revelation concerning the division between
the South and the North. The reason probably, for reading it was that
when we reached Omaha, the news came that trouble was already
brewing, and several States were threatening to secede from the Union.
Its reading made considerable impression upon the people. A good many
had never heard of it before, and quite a number were struck with the
remarkable character of the prophecy. It might have been expected,
naturally speaking and looking at it as men naturally do, that the
reading of such a revelation, at such a time, when the crisis was
approaching, would have had the effect to direct men's attention to
it, and they would be led to investigate its truth and the doctrines
of the Church and the found ation we had for our belief. But
if there were any converted in that audience I am not aware of it.
Good seed was sown, but we did not remain to see what effect it
produced. The revelation being so remarkable, and the events then
transpiring being so corroborative of its truth, one might naturally
think, as there were present on that occasion the leading and thinking
portion of that community, that a great number would have been
impressed with the probability of its truth, and would have
investigated and joined the Church. You doubtless remember it was for
a good while doubtful whether the rebellion should commence at South
Carolina or not. I was in England at the time, and was engaged in
publishing the Millennial Star, and took a great deal of notice of the
American papers, and I well remember that to all human appearances it
seemed for a while as though the trouble would break out at Fort
Pickens, Florida. But the word of God had been spoken concerning that
event, and consequently it had to be fulfilled as predicted, and the
war did commence at South Carolina. It was fulfilled, as you all know,
to the very letter, Fort Sumter being the place where the rebellion
broke out.
Now, I allude to that, in connection with this subject, to show you
that not only is the world mistaken in its views respecting the
fulfillment of the predictions of the prophets, but even Latter-day
Saints have doubtless, in many instances, entertained erroneous views
respecting the fulfillment of revelation and prophecies of the Bible.
I have no doubt there are many here tonight, who have had some
experience in this, and can look back at times in their own lives,
when they have thought: "Surely when these things which the prophets
have foretold are brought to pass, the people will be convinced. My
friends who now ridicule me will then be convinced, and they will be
forced to confess that I did right in embracing the Gospel."
No doubt there are some in this audience tonight who have had these
ideas, and certainly there are good reasons for entertaining them. But
experience has taught us that, while there may be a few who, when they
have seen the predictions fulfilled, have acknowledged that our course
is right, in the majority of cases throughout the earth where the
Gospel has been preached, the fulfillment of the predictions of the
prophets has not had the effect to convince the people of the truth of
the ministry God has given unto us.
Even with this experience in the past, the Latter-day Saints
themselves are not entirely divested of extravagant views respecting
the effects which are likely to follow the fulfillment of predictions
yet in the future. Are we not all inclined to look forward to many
events which have been predicted by the servants of God as being of so
great and wonderful, and I may say so supernatural a character, that
when they shall be fulfilled they will even startle us, who believe
they are coming, and will compel the unbelieving inhabitants of the
earth to accept them as evidences of the truth? In our thoughts this
seems to be the natural tendency. I notice it in myself; I notice it
in others. When we read respecting the great events which are to take
place in connection with this work, as predicted in the Book of
Doctrine and Covenants, are we not inclined to think that, surely,
when these things shall come to pass all the earth, as well as
ourselves, will be constrained to acknowledge this to be the work of
God, and these events to be indeed those which have been predicted by the prophets?
Now I would not, for the world, say one word to lessen in the minds of
my brethren and sisters the importance of these events; I would not
say one word to weaken your proper expectations; but my experience has
taught me that the Lord works in the midst of this people by natural
means, and that the greatest events that have been spoken of by the
holy prophets will come along so naturally as the consequence of
certain causes, that unless our eyes are enlightened by the Spirit of
God, and the spirit of revelation rests us, we will fail to see that
these are the events predicted by the holy prophets.
I refer you again to that prophecy of Isaiah and Micah, respecting the
gathering together of the Israel of God from the various nations to
Zion. As we read of that in the Bible, we might think when that was
fulfilled it would be done with such supernatural manifestations that
the people would be constrained to acknowledge it was the work of God.
Yet we see it every day. Our people are gathering, and men and women
who emigrate bear testimony to the friends they leave behind, in
almost the exact language that the prophets said they would, and yet
it is not thought very extraordinary. Why is this? Because it has come
along so naturally. And so with the great events that will take place
in the future; they will come along in so natural a manner, the Lord
will bring them to pass in such a way that they will not be accepted
by the people, except by those who can comprehend the truth, as the
fulfillment of the predictions of the prophets. It requires the Spirit
of God to enable men and women to understand the things of God; it
requires the Spirit of God to enable the people to comprehend the work
of God and to perceive his movements and providences among the
children of men. The man who is destitute of the Spirit of God cannot
comprehend the work of God. A woman whose mind has not been enlightened
by that Spirit, cannot see or comprehend any of these events that take
place in fulfillment of the prophecies of the holy prophets.
You take two persons, one who has the Spirit of God, whose mind is
enlightened by that Spirit—the spirit of revelation, the same spirit,
that rested upon the prophets who wrote the revelations and prophecies
we have—you take a man of that kind, and then take another who has
none of that spirit, and put the two together, and the one man's eyes
will be open to see the hand of God in all these events; he will
notice his movements and his providence in everything connected with
his work and they will be testimonies to him to strengthen his faith
and to furnish his mind with continual reasons for giving thanks to
and worshipping God; while the man, who has not the Spirit of God,
will see nothing Godlike in the occurrences: nothing which he will
view as supernatural (as many suppose everything which exhibits God's
power to be), or nothing which he will accept as a fulfillment of
prophecies; his eyes will be closed, his heart will be hardened, and
to all the evidences of the divinity of these things he will be
impenetrable.
To those who have mingled with the world, the reasons for this are very
plain. Men do not believe in these days in the direct interposition of
God in the affairs of men. If they even believe in God, they believe
that he governs the universe by great natural laws. When, there fore, a great and wonderful event occurs, they seek for its
origin and explanation in some natural law. They ignore the fact that
God works through natural laws; but seem to think that if he were to
interpose at all, it would be by manifesting his power through the
suspension of natural laws, by overriding and violating them, and in
such a supernatural manner that mankind would be compelled to
acknowledge it was his act, as they would be utterly unable to account
for it by any laws known to them, or in any other way than as being
through his power. Wars, famines, pestilences, cyclones, earthquakes,
and the great variety of calamities which God has said shall be poured
out upon the wicked nations, are therefore looked upon by men
generally in these days as the results of certain well-defined and
easily explained causes. When any of these calamities visit a city or
a nation they immediately commence to investigate the laws which
govern them, and by the violation of which they assert they are
produced; and when they discover what they allege is the cause, they
triumphantly point to it, and that is sufficient proof that the Lord
has nothing special to do with it; for if it were a visitation from
him, it is supposed it would be so supernatural as to be inexplicable.
And thus men go on, hardening their hearts and denying God's power,
until they will be so completely given over to the evil one, that he
will lead them captive according to his will.
My reason for calling your attention to the word of the Lord I have
read to you is, that I have sometimes thought that our people do not
appreciate as they should do the spirit of revelation, the spirit of
prophecy, the power of God, that has been poured out upon us as a
people. The fact seems to be overlooked that it was in the manner in
which the Lord tells Oliver Cowdery that Moses brought the children of
Israel through the Red Sea on dry ground. The Lord said to Oliver: "I
will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which
shall come upon you, and which shall dwell in your heart. Now, behold,
this is the spirit of revelation; behold, this is the spirit by which
Moses brought the children of Israel through the Red Sea on dry
ground." How many of the Latter-day Saints are there who understand
that this is the way in which Moses led the children of Israel so
miraculously? How many are there who think that if we had a man like
Moses among us, the people would be led differently and with greater
manifestations of power than they are? How many are there who are
dissatisfied with what God is doing at present, and are looking for
some one to appear in the future who shall exhibit convincing and
overwhelming manifestations of power? How many are there at the
present time who are neglecting the precious and inestimable gift of
revelation which God has bestowed upon his people, because it does not
come to them in the way to suit their preconceived notions and
ideas—or who are not suited with the way the Church has been and is
led, because there is not that wonderful degree of power exhibited
which they imagine should be?
Apostates have asserted that there was not the power in the leaders of
the Church which there should be. They said so during the life of the
Prophet Joseph, asserting that he was a fallen prophet. After his
death they made the same statements respecting President Young, his
counselors, and the Twelve Apostles. And, if I am not mistaken, there are some members of the Church who have appeared to think
that there has been some power lacking, and have manifested a feeling
of restlessness, anticipating the rising of someone who should have
greater authority than at present exists. While I would not wish to
detract from the reasonable expectations of my brethren and sisters
upon this or any other point, my view is that the apostleship, now
held in this Church, embodies all the authority bestowed by the Lord
upon man in the flesh. Yet I believe that the power of God will be
increased among us, that we will have manifestations of his power such
as we never have before witnessed. For the day of God's power in the
redemption of Zion will come. But I do not expect that to come upon us
all of a sudden. I expect that it will be the natural result of the
natural growth of the people in the things of God. I expect that we
will go on step by step from one degree of knowledge, and of power,
and of faith to another, until we shall be prepared to receive all the
Lord has in store for us and be prepared to enter into that glory
promised to the faithful Saints. The Lord has given unto his people
and to his church every gift and every qualification and every key
which is necessary to lead this people into the celestial kingdom of
our father and our God. There is nothing wanting. When the Lord
restored the Apostleship to the earth he restored all the power that
was possible for a human being to hold in the flesh. When he restored
the keys of the holy priesthood unto his servant Joseph, when he gave
unto him the sealing powers, when he gave unto him the endowments and
the keys of the holy priesthood associated therewith, when the Prophet
Joseph received the keys from Elijah, and from all the prophets that
had existed upon the earth from the beginning down—each one, as he
says himself in one of his epistles—each one in his dispensation
coming forward and bestowing upon him the authority pertaining
thereto, there was embodied in him all the priesthood they held, and
he bestowed upon his fellow Apostles all the priesthood he exercised
and all the power and authority bestowed upon mortal man to exercise
here upon the earth, so far as the present is concerned; that is, all
the keys of the priesthood and everything that is necessary in this
preparatory state, and to make man a fit subject for the celestial
kingdom of God. By the command of the Lord he conferred that authority
upon his fellow servants to bind upon earth and it should be bound in
heaven, to seal the children to the father and the mother, and to seal
the wife to the husband, and to weld all the links necessary in order
to complete the salvation of all the children of men from the days of
Adam down to our day, and also to prepare men and women for the future
that lies before us, the millennium to which we are all hastening. Who
can conceive of any power that was lacking? Who had power to promise
unto man that they should be kings and priests unto God? And in
addition to that, who had the power to seal upon them the actual
kingly and priestly dignity and confirm upon them the fulness of it,
and also to give them promises respecting the Godhead that should be
fulfilled upon them, and if faithful, to come forth in the morning of
the first resurrection? Now, there was nothing lacking, and there was
no power, there was no gift, there was no authority, there were no
keys lacking, and these keys have been handed down through him. Others may have claimed to have had them. We have had Strang,
John E. Page, William Smith, Gladden Bishop, and a host of others;
each has claimed to have received that authority, either through
Joseph Smith or from some other source. Some have claimed that Joseph
was a fallen prophet; and some have set up one claim and some another.
But the fact remains that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, as it is organized in these mountains, has had the
apostleship; that the men who have stood at our head, President Young
and the Twelve Apostles, whose President at the death of the Prophet
Joseph he was, actually received under the hands of the Prophet
Joseph, every key, and power, and authority that he himself possessed,
and that they actually did take hold and complete the temple he
started, and endowed their fellow servants therein with the same
authority and the same priestly and kingly dignity that they had
received from under his hands. And from that time to the present this
work has gone forth with might and power, and the power of God has
attended the labors of his servants who have been sent forth by these
apostles, chosen by revelation to take charge of this work; everything
they have done, God has blessed. They have gathered the people
together, they have led the people, they have been delivered by the
mighty power of God when it seemed that they would be overwhelmed by
opposing influences. They have gathered the people together from the
nations of the earth in fulfillment of the predictions of the holy
prophets. Not only that, but they have laid the foundations of temples
here; one temple, at least, has been completed, while three others are
in process of erection, which we hope will soon be completed, into
which buildings the Saints of God can enter and receive their
endowments, receive their washings and anointings and sealings and
ordinances, and have the keys of the holy priesthood bestowed upon
them, which they can exercise in the right way for the building up of
the work of God. And this is the work of God, although men may say
there has been no supernatural manifestation of power, such as some
suppose ought to attend his work. This work has gone forth with a
rapidity and impetus that has been irresistible, and there is no power
able to stand against it. It has gone forward to the fulfillment of all
that has been spoken thus far concerning it, that is as far as we have
gone. And the people have received the Holy Ghost, they have been
filled with it, they have been filled with the spirit of revelation.
The same spirit of revelation that Moses had, concerning which God
speaks through the Prophet Joseph Smith, has rested upon men that have
held the keys of this kingdom, whether it was during President Young's
life or at the present time—that same spirit of revelation rests upon
him who holds the presidency as senior apostle in the midst of the
people of God. The apostles of this Church have all the authority,
they have all the keys, and it is within the purview of their office
and calling to have all the spirit of revelation necessary to lead
this people into the presence of the Lamb in the celestial kingdom of
our God.
I have desired to say this much, because I have felt at times there
was a feeling among some people that there was not that manifestation
of power, neither was there that authority wielded by the men who
preside over this Church and king dom that should be.
But it is the truth, that the same spirit of revelation that rested
upon Moses, and which enabled him to lead the children of Israel
through the Red Sea, rests upon the servants of God in the midst of
this people, and you will find it so to your entire satisfaction if
you will listen to their counsels and be guided by them. Does God
reveal himself to his servants now? I know he does. The same spirit
that rested upon Joseph—the same spirit that rested upon Moses, I
know it is in the midst of the Latter-day Saints—precisely the same
spirit. But then we are a nation of Gentiles. We who have come here,
what are we? We are called from the Gentile nations. The promises are
not made to us that are made to people who are the unmixed descendants
of Israel. In many respects, when they come into the covenant and are
baptized, and the power of God rests upon them, you will see a
different work than you see at the present time. It is just as much as
we, with our Gentile traditions—an inheritance we have received from
our fathers, which have come down through generations—it is as much as
many of us can do, with all the power we can exercise, to remain in
the Church.
I was speaking with Brother Simpson Molen this evening, who, as you
know has lately returned from a mission to the Sandwich Islands. It
is now 29 years since the Gospel was introduced to the people of that
country. I labored there for four or five years, and was the first to
preach the Gospel to them in their language in this generation. During
my experience among that people, a red skinned race, I never knew a
man, because of transgression or anything else, after he received the
truth—I never knew one of them to turn around and fight this cause in
the manner that we witness men doing among our race. How is it with
the Gentiles, the race of which we are a part? When a man gets a
testimony from God and falls into transgression he is almost
immediately seized with the spirit of murder. He wants to shed the
blood of innocence. He wants to kill the servants of God, is full of
bitterness and hatred, and seeks to find vent for his wicked passions.
We have seen this spirit manifested in our history among our own race.
But here is a people who receive strong testimonies concerning the
Gospel, and from all that I can learn there has not been an instance
of a man's turning around and bitterly fighting this work. There seems
to be a natural receptiveness about them to receive the truth. The
Indians will be the same in my opinion. You will find the same
peculiarity, you will find them ready to receive the truth, and they
will cleave to the truth. It is difficult for the Gentiles to receive
the truth. It will be easier for them, because unto them are the
promises. I look for a very different condition of things when these
races come into the church and are brought into the covenant, I expect
then to see the work accomplished by a power that we do not witness
just now. But it is not because something is lacking in the
organization or in the authority of the priesthood. We have, as I have
said, all that is necessary, and we have this spirit of which I have
spoken and which is alluded to in this revelation—the same spirit of
revelation which reveals to us that which we should do and the course
we should take in order to please the Lord and in order to build up
his kingdom, and this Church will al ways be led by that
authority from this time henceforth until Christ himself shall come to
preside over us and be our king.
My brethren and sisters, if you want more revelation, here is the
principle upon which to obtain it. Are you entitled to it? Yes, every
one of you—the same spirit of revelation that Moses had, the same
spirit that all the prophets and apostles had, it is your privilege,
it is my privilege, it is the privilege of every man and woman who
possesses the Gospel to receive the spirit of God, the Holy Ghost, to
have that same spirit resting upon him and upon her, and the more we
seek after it and cherish it the more we will have.
My time is exhausted. I pray God to bless us and fill us continually
with the light of that spirit, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
- George Q. Cannon