President Cannon having read the whole of the 12th Chapter of the
Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, said: It is a blessed thing for us
who live in this day and age to have records in our midst which have
come down from olden times, and which are recognized, at least by
Christendom, as the Word of God, and as containing principles of life
and of salvation. A people who are destitute of such records are in
many respects to be pitied, for they have not the benefit of the
experience and teachings of those who have preceded them and are
deprived of that knowledge concerning the things of God, which is a
great stay unto those who possess it. It is a great comfort to a
person in the midst of trials and of afflictions, who has a desire to
look unto God or some being who is superior to us, to read the life
and the experience of others who may have been similarly situated in
other ages, and to know from the record that has come down how they
felt and acted, and the deliverances they received through the power
of God. In like manner it is a great blessing and a comfort to those
who are struggling in the midst of the darkness, error, and confusion
which prevail upon the earth, whose souls go out after God, who desire
to know concerning Him, to comprehend the plan of salvation, to have
some understanding concerning the objects of their creation; and while
in this life to have the experience of others who have preceded them,
and also to read that which they knew concerning God.
In this respect the chapter which I have read from this book is of
priceless worth; its value cannot be estimated by anything that is
known among men upon which value is fixed. If we did not have this
book, and it could be given to us with the testimony that we now have
as to its authenticity and its divine origin, I suppose there are
hundreds today in this Tabernacle who, if they could not get it in
any other way, would be willing to give all that they have in the
world to possess a copy of it. The fact that we have it, the fact that
we have always had it, the fact that our forefathers always had it, at
least so far as we know, has made us to a certain extent careless
about it. We do not value it as we might do if our attention had been
newly awakened to its existence. But in the Latter-day Saints it
should always be a precious treasure. Beyond any people now upon the
face of the earth, they should value it, for the reason that from its
pages, from the doctrines set forth by its writers, the
epitome of the plan of salvation which is there given unto us, we
derive the highest consolation, we obtain the greatest strength. It
is, as it were, a constant fountain sending forth streams of living
life to satisfy the souls of all who peruse its pages. Our condition
is bad enough, it may be said, in some respects with this in our
possession and having this to refer to; but we can imagine that it
would be much worse if we did not have it, if we could not appeal to
our fellow creatures who believe in God, who believe in Jesus Christ,
who believe in the Old and New Testaments—if we did not have this to
appeal to, to prove that whatever our peculiarities may be, however
different our views from the views of many who profess Christianity,
we at least share in those views with others who were called the
people of God, the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ in days that are
past, and who among all people throughout Christendom are recognized
as the true exponents of the word of God, and the plan of salvation
which He revealed.
There was a day in our history when it was considered a crime for us
to believe in revelation from God. I do not know that that day is
entirely past. There was a day in our history when it was considered
very improper for us to believe in Prophets or Apostles—that is, to
believe that they ought to be in the Church. There was a time when we
were indicted by a mob in its written proclamation for believing in
miracles. It was considered sufficient cause and justification to
expel us from our homes because we believed that God, through His
power, could heal the sick, and perform miracles like unto those that
were performed in ancient days by His servants. How do you think it
would have been, my brethren and sisters, if we had not had the Bible
to refer to? How would it have been with many of those who passed
through those scenes if they had not had the teachings of the Apostles
and the words of the Savior written as we have them in the Bible to
comfort them, to cheer them, and to show them that it was not a new
departure for men to have those ideas and beliefs? With the Bible in
our hands we could test all men who professed to be followers of Jesus
Christ; for God has plainly said, that He is the same yesterday,
today and forever; that He does not change; that He is as near unto
His people in these days as He ever was; that he is as willing to hear
their cries, to answer their petitions, to grant unto them the desires
of their hearts, in our age as He ever was in any preceding age. Now,
this is a doctrine plainly taught in the Bible, and it, has been the
cause of immense satisfaction to those who have espoused its doctrine,
it would have been a very trying thing for us in the days of gloom
through which we have passed had we not been assured in a very
reliable way that God would hear and answer our prayers, for there
have been many times when if it had not been for this assurance and
this knowledge, the Latter-day Saints would have sunk beneath the
weight of their afflictions, it is doubtful if they could have endured
them; but by having this knowledge, by having received a testimony
concerning the willingness of our Father in heaven to answer prayer,
and to deal with us as He dealt with His ancient children, we have
been comforted, we have been sustained, we have been filled with hope
and have been cheered in our onward progress, and this
knowledge today is more precious than any knowledge there is upon the
face of the earth; for in the darkness, in the unbelief, in the denial
of God, which is so common at the present time, the man who knows that
God lives, that God hears and answers prayer, the woman who knows this
occupies a very superior position and has great cause for thanksgiving
and praise that such knowledge has been placed in his or her
possession. Now Paul, who wrote this epistle from which I have read,
understood this perfectly. His life, in many respects, resembles the
lives of those who preceded him in the same career. In many of its
features it resembles the lives of the prophets who lived before the
days of the Savior; and the lives of the servants of God in this day
in which we live have a strong resemblance to that of Paul and his
fellow Apostles. Brother Woodruff has published a little work, called,
"Leaves from my Journal," and in reading that book I have been very
forcibly reminded of the lives of the ancient Apostles, it resembles
them so much. You have doubtless thought, all of you, about the
character of the men whom Jesus chose to be His Apostles. They were
men who were stumblingblocks to their generation, for they did not
belong to the popular classes. They were not learned men, they were
not rich men—that is in the worldly sense of the word—they were not
dignified men; and Jesus Himself, the Lord of life and of glory, was a
constant stumblingblock to His generation. His origin was
humble—although he came of a kingly line: his surroundings were mean
and low; his reputed father a carpenter, and doubtless he himself
worked at the business, and the men whom he chose were fishermen, men
of low degree, men of lowly origin; not scholars, not men of fine
presence so far as worldly advantages were concerned. But he filled
them with the power of God; he gave them the revelations of heaven; he
taught them the plan of salvation; he sent them forth endowed with
power from on high; and they effected a great revolution in the earth.
They laid the foundation of a system that has accomplished marvelous
results, and through their work the name of Christ has been spread
throughout all the earth.
Have you not been frequently struck, my brethren and sisters, with the
peculiar manner in which God called his people and his servants. It is
not many wise, it is not many learned, it is not many noble who have
been called as his servants. He called his Prophets wherever he could
find them, and they were suited to his purpose. He called his apostles
and his disciples in the same manner. It seemed to be a necessity that
the faith of the generations of men should be tried, that their
confidence in God should be tested, to see whether they would be
willing to receive his truth from any source however humble. It would
not be any trial of a man's faith if some man possessing supreme
power, who wielded wonderful influence, were to declare that what he
said was the word of God unto the people—a man of popular honors, a
man who could control all the people, who could make the system which
he advocated popular and desirable among mankind, what trial would
there be of a people's faith to embrace truth under such
circumstances? But that has not been the course which God has taken
with his people. He could have sent his Son Jesus Christ among men at
a time and under circumstances that would have made his
influence irresistible on the earth and among the people. He could
have given him such power that men would have been compelled to have
received him, but that was not the way in which the Lord did his work.
He never did it in that manner. He never consulted men's views and
their ideas respecting his work. He chose his instruments and he sent
them as he desired under the circumstances which he deemed best
adapted to accomplish his purposes. Therefore His Son Jesus was
born—though as I have said deriving his descent from the kingly house
of David—under circumstances that did not carry with them great
influence. There was nothing about his birth or his surroundings to
convince the inhabitants of the earth that he was the Son of God. They
were left entirely to know this by the Spirit of God; they were left
to derive this knowledge by seeking for it unto him who could bestow
it upon them, and were not to be actuated by that which is called the
popular voice; and in this way man's agency is tested to the very
utmost. To illustrate the idea that I have on my mind, suppose that
Jesus had been born under circumstances that mankind would have had to
accept him as the Son of God; suppose his disciples had been under
such circumstances and surrounded by such influences that mankind
would have naturally followed them and accepted their doctrines
without hesitation, because it would have been to their worldly
interest to do so, would man's agency have been tested as it was in
the days of the Savior? No, his agency would not have been tested. He
had presented before him truth and error. Truth was not popular. The
espousal of truth was not of worldly advantage to men at that time. If
he therefore espoused it, it would be because of his love for it, and
for the blessings which would flow from it, and not because there
would be any profit of a worldly character attending its espousal.
There is a reason therefore for God sending many of his messengers as
he has done. It was rarely that they were men who by their position
could control the people and cause them to follow them naturally aside
from the truth. We know how it was with many of the Prophets. They
were unpopular. The truths that they declared did not add to their
popularity, and it was a test of men and women's love for the truth
when these men came among them, for when they espoused the truth they
did it because of the love of the truth. God has evidently determined
that when men and women embrace the truth, they shall embrace it for
the love of it; that they shall not be converted by man's influence;
that they shall not follow in the train of men because of some
advantage that will accrue to them. Evidently, then, it is the will of
God concerning us, that if we embrace the truth we must embrace it
because we love it, not because of the instrument who brings it to us.
We must be willing to receive it through whatever channel he may
choose. If it be John the Baptist, if it be any of the disciples of
the Savior, if it be Joseph Smith, if it be Brigham Young, if it be
John Taylor, or any other man, no matter who the man may be, God
chooses his own instruments, and he sends his truth to the earth in a
way that be sees fit.
The most of those who are of adult years in this audience this day
know how it was before they heard the sound of the Gospel as, preached by the Elders of this Church. They know very well that
nowhere within the range of their acquaintance was there a man among
all the churches, who declared that he had authority from God to
administer the ordinances of life and salvation by direct revelation
from him. The most of you know that the common expression was that the
canon of scripture was full; that there were no more miracles; that
angels would come no more to the earth; that God would no more bestow
the old blessings that were enjoyed in ancient days, and that he would
no more speak unto men. This was the teaching, and every one was led
to expect that all things would continue as they were, and when men
and women were dissatisfied about this, and they went to their
ministers and asked them about it, they invariably replied that the
blessings pertaining to the days of Jesus and his Apostles were not
for this generation. I was but a child when my parents joined the
Church, but I learned to read very early. Among the first questions I
remember asking my father was in relation to the Apostles and to the
gifts. I asked him if there were no Apostles now. He told me there
were not. I asked him if there were no men who performed the works
that they did. He told me that there were none, and I have time and
time again gone to bed and cried because I could not live in the days
of Apostles, because I could not see Jesus and knew the things which
he taught, and which his Apostles taught. This was my experience in my
childhood. I yearned with all my soul to live in a day when these
things were possible, when God would speak from the heavens, when God
would bestow his power upon men, and when those who were faithful
could receive the gifts and blessings of the Gospel as they did in
ancient days, and I repined in my heart because I did not have the
privilege of living in a day like that. And as I have said, though but
a child when the Gospel came to my father's house, I rejoiced in it,
and I have rejoiced in it from that day to the present.
God has restored the old Gospel, God has rebuilt the old Church. God
has restored the old authority, and with the Gospel have come the old
gifts and manifestations of the spirit, and with the Church, and with
the authority and with the Gospel and with the gifts have come the old
persecution, the old hatred, the old animosity, the same determination
to destroy the work of God that has always been manifested when it had
an existence upon the earth. And how inconsistent it would be to
entertain any other views concerning the Gospel than that which we do.
How inconsistent it would be to believe that the inhabitants of the
earth would be entirely cut off from any further revelation from God.
But, says one—this is what is said when they object to these
things—how is it that we have lived for so many generations without
this knowledge? There is a reason for this. God does not deprive the
earth, nor the inhabitants of the earth of His knowledge without
cause. When the Prophets disappeared from Israel before the coming of
the Savior, there were reasons for their disappearance. When there was
witchcraft, as we are told, in the days of Saul, and there was a time
of famine in the land for the word of God, there were reasons for
this. When communication ceased between heaven and earth in those and
subsequent days, there were good reasons why that should be
so. Communication never ceased when the people were faithful. When
they honored God, when they kept the commandments of God, when they
listened to the voice and admonitions of His Prophets, communication
never ceased under these circumstances. But when the people turned
unto idols, when they followed Baal, when they hardened their hearts
against God, when they persecuted and slew His Prophets, then in his
anger he withdrew from them, his face was hidden, his voice was no
longer heard, there were no longer visions, there were no longer
prophecies in the land—an unbroken stillness reigned between the
heavens and the earth until the people again repented, sometimes under
the inspiration of a Prophet, sometimes under some good king raised up
and turning to the Lord. Then again Prophets appeared, predictions
were heard, the voice of revelation, or in other words, the voice of
God through his servants, was heard in the land. And so it was after
the days of the Savior. When he was killed his Apostles still lived,
and they proclaimed the truth, and they would have continued to do so,
to have perpetuated the line of the Apostles, to have ordained
Apostles after Apostles, for, as Paul has said, God has placed first
in the Church, Apostles. The Church of Christ is not perfect without
Apostles. Apostles were as necessary as Teachers; they were as
necessary as Evangelists; they were as necessary as Pastors. But the
wicked would not allow Apostles to live, for Apostles were men who had
revelation, Apostles were inspired of God; they became, as it were,
the oracles of Jehovah to the inhabitants of the earth. But they were
slain, one after another. The Church was persecuted, the men of God
were destroyed, and of course when this came to pass, darkness
prevailed. There were no means of receiving revelation. How could God
send men unto people who would kill them? He destroyed the Jewish
nation for killing his Son, and he broke in pieces other nations for
killing His Apostles. And thus there arose a system having the form of
godliness, but denying the power thereof; a system that was popular, a
system of religion that monarchs caused to be taught in their
dominions and to their subjects, and a great change occurred
throughout what is called Christendom. The followers of this religion,
instead of being persecuted and hunted, instead of having to hide in
caves and dens to escape the wrath of the governing powers, those that
were left of them emerged from their hiding places and were elevated
to places of power and honor, and the followers of him who was called
the meek and lowly Jesus, became, in some instances, the rulers of the
land. Thus persecution ceased, and with the stoppage of persecution
there was also a cessation of revelation. There was no voice from
heaven, no angels descended, no men had visions—that is, I am speaking
now in general terms. The Church was not organized upon its original
plan; it departed from it; and from that time until a little over half
a century ago, this continued to be the case. Have there been
reformers? Yes; good men, men who served God to the best of their
ability, Wycliffe, Luther, Calvin, Wesley, and many others, arose in
their generations, and strove to the best of their ability to turn the
tide and to have men seek after God. But they had not the autho rity of the Holy Priesthood; they had not the authority to
rebuild the Church according to the original pattern, and though they
were blessed of God, though they enjoyed his favor, though his spirit
was with them to a very great extent, they did not have the authority
to initiate men and women into the Church, and through their
administration to bestow upon them the gifts that were enjoyed in
ancient days. This was the cause of such a long period of darkness, of
gloom and ignorance that prevailed concerning God.
Now, if a man had gone with this Bible in his hands throughout
Christendom at the time the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints was organized, and inquired of the various churches respecting
their organization and the gifts and blessings that Paul has described
in the chapter I have read as necessary to the Church of Christ, he
would have found no church corresponding to his description. He
compares it to a man's body. He impressed upon those to whom this
epistle was addressed, the necessity of being a member of the body;
that the head could not say to the feet, "I have no need of thee;"
that an Apostle could not say to the humblest member of the Church
that there was no need of that member or that officer. Neither, on the
other hand, could that officer say, because he was the feet, that
there was no need of the head. All the officers, all the gifts, all
the blessings that were enjoyed in ancient days are as necessary to
the perfection of the body of Christ now as they ever were. The Saints
were all partakers of the same spirit, and when men had that spirit,
as Paul had it in his day, they had these gifts. Not every man the
same gift, by any means; but God gave his gifts through his spirit
according to the wants of the people, according to the necessities of
the Church, and thus they were in every respect a perfect body. You
take out Apostles and you leave the body imperfect, and you take out
Prophets and the body is no longer perfect. You take out miracles, and
helps, prophecies, tongues, interpretations of tongues, and all these
gifts, or any of them, and you leave the body of Christ, or the Church
of Christ imperfect. Are all Apostles? No. Are all Prophets? No; but
every one ought to have the spirit of prophecy. There is necessity for
Apostles, Prophets, Teachers, and all the gifts in the Church, and
whenever the Church of Christ is organized on the earth it possesses
those blessings. Now, referring to this chapter which I have read, if
a man had gone out sixty years ago among the Christian sects and
denominations in search of the Church of Christ, according to the
ancient pattern, would he have found it? Was there such a church on
the earth? No there was not. The Lord sent his angels to Joseph Smith
and ordained him to the old authority, for as there was no man
remaining on the earth then that had that authority, it was necessary
that they should come, otherwise the authority could not have been
bestowed. It had gone back to heaven, therefore the heavens had to be
opened, angels had to descend, even the same men that held it when
they were in the flesh on the earth. They had to lay their hands upon
a man and ordain him as they would have done in the flesh, as they did
in fact while in the flesh upon him who took the place of Judas
Iscariot when he betrayed the Lord and lost his apostleship. They
laid their hands upon Matthias, and he became an Apostle. The council would not have been complete without this. Matthias occupied
that place by ordination under the hands of his brethren the Apostles,
and in like manner when Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were ordained
Apostles, they received the Apostleship by the laying on of the hands
of the men who had held that authority in the flesh, and hence you can
see the propriety of angels coming.
Now, it is a remarkable fact that Joseph Smith had gifts before he was
ordained. He was a Seer, for he translated before he was ordained; he
was a Prophet, for he predicted a great many things before he was
ordained and before the Church was organized; he was a revelator, for
God gave unto him revelations before the Church was organized. He
therefore, was a Prophet, Seer and Revelator before he was ordained in
the flesh. Did you ever think of it? Brother Joseph Smith was a
Prophet, Seer and Revelator before he ever received any Priesthood in
the flesh. But did he on that account presume to administer the
ordinances of life and salvation? Did he presume to lead men into the
waters of baptism and baptize them? No, he did not. Why? Because he
had not received that authority. He could act in those other
capacities, he could possess those other gifts, they were born with
him. He was ordained a Prophet, doubtless, before he came here; but
that ordination did not give him the right to immerse men and women in
the waters of baptism, neither did it give him the power to lay on
hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. He had to await the authority
from on high. And who came? The man that held the authority in ancient
days, the man who baptized the Son of God—John the Baptist, who was
beheaded by the order of Herod. It was necessary that some one holding
that authority should come from heaven, there being no one on the
earth, and all the churches then in existence denied such authority,
to a very great extent, at least. At any rate, whether they denied it
or not, they did not possess it. And when he came, he laid his hands
upon Joseph Smith and his companion, Oliver Cowdery, and gave them the
authority, and then, having received the authority, they were
baptized for a remission of their sins. But there still remained
another authority which they did not have. Joseph was not a
presumptuous man. Why, there are thousands of men in this generation
who would say, "if I am a Prophet, Seer and Revelator, I have
authority to do everything else." But he did not do that, he did not
take that view, he waited, as I have said, until the due time of the
Lord, and when the Lord sent his messenger to ordain him, then he
acted, But he did not think, after having seen an angel, after having
been ordained by an angel to the Aaronic Priesthood, after having
received authority to baptize—he did not presume to lay on hands upon
anyone for the reception of the Holy Ghost. As in the other cases he
waited, and in the good time of the Lord, he sent his Apostles, the
three leading Apostles—Peter, James and John, the First Presidency of
the Church, in the days of Jesus after his death; he sent those who
held the keys, he commanded them from heaven to go and administer unto
those two men, to lay hands upon them. And when they were ordained
Apostles, they proceeded then to lay hands upon each other, the one
ordained the other, having received authority from God to do this. In virtue of this Apostleship they proceeded to organize the
Church under the command of God.
And witness, my brethren and sisters, the marvelous results which have
followed the restoration of this angelic and divine power, witness the
marvelous results wherever this Gospel has gone. It has gone forth
accompanied by the convincing power of God. The humble of the earth
have been baptized and they have received a testimony from God that
their sins have been forgiven. What wonderful power this is! The power
to remit sins by the administration of an holy and divine ordinance.
Yet this has been the case. Humble men have been chosen and ordained
of God, and have gone forth carrying this power with them. They have
taken those who believed into the waters of baptism, immersed them,
and God has witnessed unto those souls that their sins have been
remitted. A wonderful power! And then they have laid their hands upon
them and the Holy Ghost has descended as in ancient days, and the
gifts, blessings and graces of the Gospel have accompanied the
administration of that holy ordinance, and the hearts of the people
have been bound together. Oh, how wonderful it is when we look at
it!—men and women of every nation, kindred, tongue and people to be
bound together as the heart of one man, under the influence of the
power of God, through this humble agency. Such men start out feeling
their dependence on God. They have no learning to boast of; they have
no advantages to any great extent, yet they have not the disadvantages
that some people have to contend with. I think it is a positive
disadvantage to be as many ministers are. A man is terribly encumbered
who goes through the mill to be prepared to teach the Gospel. But when
a man goes forth putting his trust in God, he feels that in and of
himself he is nothing; that if he brings a soul to the knowledge of
the truth, he knows that it must be by the power of God. He goes forth
trembling and weeping, yet he bears precious seed. He knows he has the
message of life and salvation, that God has chosen him to deliver that
message, and he goes among the people, bearing his testimony in
humility, calling upon God to bear witness of the truth of what he has
said, calling upon the people to repent and to forsake their sins and
turn to God. It is not his eloquence, it is not his popularity, it is
not his wealth, it is nothing of this kind that convinces the people,
but it is the Spirit of God which rests upon them. They are filled
with joy and peace. They read the Bible as they never read it before.
The scales drop from their eyes. They see the beauties of the Gospel,
and they wonder how it was they did not see them before. And all this
through the restoration of the Holy Priesthood. The Prophet Joseph
Smith, inspired of God, laid the foundation of a Church that has not
the like of it on the earth. Men wonder at it. They say, "What an
organization you have; how wonderful it is." It is wonderful because
it is Divine, it came from God. Man's wisdom did not devise it—man's
wisdom has not maintained it. Whatever there is about it, God must
have the glory.
In conclusion, my brethren and sisters, I say to you, cleave to the
truth, revere this book (the Bible) and the other books that we have
received. These precious records contain the word of God. We can look
back to olden times and see how our brethren and sisters did, and what God did for them, and how similarly he is blessing us now.
These records are a source of comfort in the midst of affliction and
trial; they are a source of blessing and joy to every soul who will
peruse them and treasure up the truths therein contained.
May the Lord help us to be true to that which he has com mitted to us,
that after we have fought the good fight, after we have done all we
can do for the salvation of our fellow creatures and the spread of
truth, we may be received into the mansions of the blessed, there to
dwell eternally with our God, and with those who have gone before, is
my prayer, in the name of Jesus, Amen.
- George Q. Cannon