A great variety of topics have been alluded to during our Conference;
and I trust that the people will be able to remember, after their
return to their homes, the various counsels and instructions that they
have received. Our meeting together in a conference of this character
ought to be exceedingly profitable to us. Certainly these are
occasions of great interest; and I am sure if the instructions which
have been given are carried out by the people, they will produce a
marked improvement in their lives.
There are many subjects which suggest themselves to us upon occasions
like the present. We are placed in such circumstances that it requires
constant teachings, constant counseling to enable us to accomplish the
duties devolving upon us.
There is one thing that has impressed itself very much upon my mind,
to which allusion has been made by others since our Conference
commenced, namely, the subject of education.
My position for many years has been such as to deeply impress me with
its value and with the importance of our attending strictly to this
matter in our various settlements.
There are no people with whom I am acquainted upon the face of the
earth who need and who can find use for education to the extent that
the Latter-day Saints can. The sending out of missionaries, the
building up of settlements, the laying the foundation of a government
in a desert land uninhabited by other people; the framing of a polity
that produces the results that we have seen produced already in our
valleys, and the taking part, as we naturally will have to do, in all
matters affecting the weal and the independence of our children and
others, all these considerations appeal most powerfully to us as a
people, as fathers and mothers, and as citizens, to do all in our
power for the advancement of the cause of true education in our midst.
Those who are familiar with the people and with what has been done
must feel gratified at the improvement which has already been made in
various directions. There is a rapidly growing taste for everything
that is elevating. I can remember when a boy, when we came here, of
the feeling of the boys and the young men; to ride bronco horses, wear
big spurs, use the lasso dexterously, break wild horses, and pursuits
of that character, were then deemed the most desirable accomplishments
by many.
A great change has taken place. We now have our Mutual Improve ment associations for the young of both sexes; the meeting of
last evening gave evidence of the great improvement there has been
made in this direction, and the crowded condition of the meeting of
the Sunday School superintendents and teachers held the evening
previous to that, was an indication of the interest that is being
taken in these matters by all classes. This means improvement; this
means a growing taste, an increasing desire to advance. You can see it
in the children. Books are sought for. Children take pleasure in
reading. The great demand today in this Territory is for libraries.
And let me here say, we should be exceedingly careful in the selection
of books that we put in the hands of our children. And there is one
thing that I would have said last night, had time permitted, to those
engaged in these associations, that is, to teach the children not to
accept that which they read in a book as true, because it is printed;
but to teach them to weigh for themselves, to examine for themselves,
and test for themselves the statements which may be made upon any and
every subject that may be brought to their attention through the
medium of books, whether scientific or otherwise. The danger in
indiscriminate reading on the part of young people lies in this: their
impressions are vivid, and if what they read be incorrect; if, in
point of fact, what they read is based on unsound premises and be
entirely wrong, but it is presented in an agreeable taking and
specious manner, they are apt to accept it as being true. Now, as we
have heard this morning, God has revealed certain principles which we
know to be true, certain grand cardinal truths which are as
fingerboards pointing the way of life. We should teach them to our
children of the Sabbath School and of the Mutual Improvement
Associations, and endeavor, by the help of God, to implant them in
their hearts, so that they afterwards in their search for knowledge,
of any kind, may be able to bring what they may read to this standard
and test the same thereby. And if our children are taught thus to
read, the danger of infidelity, the danger arising from superficial
reading, and the imbibing of incorrect ideas, sometimes set forth in a
scientific way will be, to a great extent, obviated; and to my mind
great care should be taken in these things by all teachers, by all
parents, by every one, in fact, who has the care of young people, or
the direction of their studies; and not only this but the same rule
applies to every one whether a child or an adult. Let us endeavor to
cultivate this disposition in our children, to investigate carefully,
to weigh properly the statements which may be presented to them. And
in no place in our territory should there be a child left without
education. A man who suffers his children to grow up in ignorance and
without the benefits of education—that which pertains at least to a
common school education—is guilty of a great wrong. We should take
every pains in our power to instruct our children, to furnish them
every facility for learning. Educators who have had experience in
other places all join in stating, that they never found a class of
pupils more apt, more bright, or who manifested a special aptitude for
knowledge and who acquired it with greater ease than do the children
of the Latter-day Saints. This is the statement of educators
repeatedly made to me, as Chancellor of the University of Deseret; and
I believe it. We have children growing up who are bright—who
only need have ordinary facilities for education to make them cultured
men and women. We had better take the means that others probably would
covet, as mobs have done before, and which is a standing temptation in
the eyes of certain persons, take that means, I say, and spend it in
educating our children with the view of preparing them to enter upon
the great and important duties which will devolve upon them, than to
have it as a standing temptation to induce somebody to make a raid to
get possession of it, or to keep it, and when we can keep it no
longer, to bequeath it to our children to possibly quarrel over, and
cause disturbances and divisions in our families, and at a time too
when our voices are silent and our influence powerless to remedy the
evil. Spend it wisely upon your children in your lifetime, and when
you have educated them, when you have given them something which they
can keep when they lie down at night, without the slightest danger of
burglars stealing it, they are equipped for the struggle of life.
Every child in our community should be educated, not in books alone,
but to sustain himself, or herself, so that in case he or she be left
alone, or otherwise, they will be able, from the elements around
them, inasmuch as they possess the use of their own limbs and
faculties, to earn a living and thereby aid somebody else to live. And
it seems to me, that if parents were worth millions, they should never
be content to let their children, boys and girls, grow up to manhood
or to womanhood without teaching them to earn their own living at some
trade or some manual or skilled labor. I say to my brethren, teach
your children the use of their brains, and when they have learned to
use their brains, teach them the cunning and skill that can be taught
to the right hand of man, by which all that is glorious which we see
around us is produced. A good brain and the skill of man's right hand
can produce wonders. The nations who have thus developed themselves
have made their mark in the history of the world; and to this
characteristic in the nations who are so fortunate as to possess it
may be traced the secret of their growth and prosperity. There is no
reason why we should not be equal to the most favored in this respect.
A remark was made last evening to the effect, that some of our young
men had very little desire to take part in the exercises of the
Improvement Associations, because their early education had been
neglected. If there had been time I would have related for the benefit
of such, a few incidents in the career of a gentleman with whom I am
acquainted; he sat by my side at the last session of Congress. He is a
man about 45 years of age; when he was 29 years of age, he had a wife
and one child, and could not read or write; today he is a member of
Congress, and a very creditable representative of his State; he has
served also in the Legislature in his State; and has been speaker in
that body. Now this is a remarkable instance of what a man can do when
he applies himself to learning. There is no man who possesses a sound
mind who need be afraid if he will apply himself, using the faculties
which God has given him, and not sit down with the idea that he cannot
learn. Why a man ought to learn if he should live to be 150 years of
age, learn something every day until he dies; there is no limit to a
man's capacity to learn. And because a young man is 20 or 21
years old, or even older, and has a wife and children to sustain, to
sit down with the idea that he cannot learn or that he is past
learning because his early education has been neglected, is folly;
there is no propriety in either man or woman entertaining such ideas.
This gentleman of whom I was speaking, at the age of 29, could not
read; he was a farmer and was suffering from an attack of bronchitis.
His physician told him that if he did not stop work he would gradually
sink into the grave. He knew that if he remained upon his farm he
could not live without working; so he rented it, and with his wife and
child moved down in the city, determined to spend in study the time he
could not employ in work. His wife helped him. He had a worthy
partner—a most excellent woman I should judge, from what he told me.
He commenced his studies, his health improved, but instead of
returning to the farm he kept on for four years, and secured a good
education in that time; he pinched himself, and both he and his wife
struggled, by working all they could and living economically, to
acquire this education. After thus applying himself for four years he
returned to his farm, completely restored in health. His neighbors
thought that as he had been a good student, he would make a good
supervisor, to which office they elected him without any effort on his
part; and after awhile they elected him a legislator, and returned him
several times, and he served as speaker to that body in the State,
where probably for its population there are as many men of culture and
energy, as can be found anywhere else. And then he was sent to
Congress.
It struck me that it was an in stance of perseverance and energy worth
remembering for the benefit of its example, and I relate it so that if
there are any young men or young women within the hearing of my voice
who may be similarly situated, they need not be discouraged because
they have not had the advantages of education in their youth. There
ought to be no discouragement under such circumstances. I hope,
however, that we shall do everything in our power to furnish
facilities for our children. Do not spare means in this direction, my
brethren and sisters. You do not know what future there is before your
children. They are like diamonds. True, they may need polish, in order
to bring out their brilliancy and best qualities; and education of the
right kind will impart this luster. There are some as bright
intellects in obscure families in this Territory as can be found
elsewhere. God has so distributed his gifts that he has not given them
to any one family. I thank him for that. He is not going to build up a
dynasty in his kingdom. He does not confine his gifts and blessings to
any special class of men. He has distributed them like he has the
air, so that all have them and all share in them. A man and his wife
may be an obscure couple, yet their children may make the brightest
men and women. None of you know what your children are capable of
until you give them proper opportunities. You should not think that
because you have got through life without much education, that
therefore your children ought to go through in the same manner. Give
your children opportunities, and do not work them to death and thereby
stunt their minds; but give the boys a chance and give the girls a
chance, bearing in mind that they will have more extended opportunities than you have had for the use of education, and you
ought to train them accordingly. At the same time do not, sisters,
bring up your children in idleness, and encourage them in the thought
that their hands, because they are educated and have a few
accomplishments, are not designed for labor; and so with the boys,
because they get an education that they cannot hold a plow or handle a
shovel, or an axe or other tools. This is a wrong idea. We must not,
in educating our children, degrade labor, but rather ennoble and
dignify it, and make it worthy the ambition of everybody to work, to
toil, to look upon labor as a blessing from God.
I would like to see knowledge spread through our land, in all our
settlements; and while we give the boys and girls every facility we
can, at the same time we should develop, within them the love of the
truth; that is very important, in fact, it is indispensable with us. I
am exceedingly anxious upon this point. I have felt, I may say,
concerned about it for years. I have done what I could in my limited
way to help our children. I resolved years ago that I would do all in
my power for them, and I have been struggling to do so ever since. I
have not been able to do what I would like to do, but I still hope,
and I know others have felt as I do, and that with our combined
exertions and efforts we will be able to uphold the cause of true
education throughout all our land, and raise the standard so high
that, in a few years, we shall have the best educated children to be
found within the confines of the republic. There is no reason why this
should not be, and yet not depend upon taxes altogether. I, myself, am
not unconditionally in favor of taxation schools under all
circum stances. I have views about that which I have not time to
express now. Let us advance education by individual effort. I hope we
shall never have heavy taxes in this Territory. They should be kept
down to the very lowest amount consistent with the preservation of
good government and the making of the necessary improvements. Have
light taxation and stimulate individual effort in this direction; and
not bring a child into the world and instill into its mind that because
he is born somebody owes him an education. I think it degrades
children to give them such ideas. Teach them it is their duty to work
for themselves. And when a man has children he should provide for and
educate them, and not think that because he may have a rich neighbor
that he should help give them an education. Such an idea is doing more
at the present time to pauperise the children of our country in their
feelings than almost anything else. They get the idea that they ought
to be educated at the expense of the State; and when they are educated
they then are to be sustained at the expense of the State. The
consequence is the country is filled with men seeking for office;
every new President is almost killed by the clamor and pressure of men
applying for office. I think it a very bad condition of affairs. I am
thankful for one thing. I have been your delegate now for upwards of
eight years, and I have scarcely had an application from any of my
constituents for help to get office. This relieves me from much that
Representatives generally find very unpleasant. Our people are
self-sustaining and taught how to work and look upon manual, honest
labor as dignified and honorable, and such pursuits as require this as being as noble as any other.
I pray God to bless you and fill you with His Holy Spirit, in the name
of Jesus. Amen.
- George Q. Cannon