I feel as though I would much rather sit still and listen to somebody
else, than to attempt to speak myself.
For a number of weeks past the First Presidency of the Church have
been traveling through the various settlements, and such counsels and
instructions have been given to the people—mingled with kindly
reproofs and warnings as the Spirit has seemed to dictate—and in the
meetings we have held there has been a goodly outpouring of the Spirit
of God; the people have rejoiced in their meetings and in that which
they have heard.
There is a constant necessity for the visits of those whom God has
called to preside over the affairs of His Church, and to hold the
Apos tleship of the Church, in the midst of the various Stakes of Zion.
It is true that God our Eternal Father—in accordance with the promise
which He has made unto those who would receive the Gospel in humility
and with sincerity of heart—has poured out His Holy Spirit upon the
people, and they are led by it in the most of instances, and the gifts
of the Spirit are manifested. At the same time there are other
agencies which God calls into requisition to teach and instruct His
people. He has placed in His Church Apostles, Prophets, Pastors,
Teachers, etc. He has given unto them certain specified duties. He
requires them to discharge those duties in His fear, and holds them
accountable for the condition of the people—that is, to a
very great extent. He has placed certain men whom He has chosen as
watchmen upon the walls of Zion; He has placed them as shepherds of
the flock of Christ; and in their capacity as watchmen and as
shepherds He expects them to exercise that vigilance and care which
are necessary for the protection and preservation of the people. The
Lord has promised unto His servants that He will give them the
necessary qualifications for, and that He will sustain them in the
discharge of the duties that devolve upon them; and through the varied
experience of the past 53 years this has been the case. The Lord has
not left His people without proper care, and He has not left His
servants destitute of his word and of a knowledge of His will, but has
given these to them at the very time when they have been needed. No
evil or difficulty has ever occurred in the Church or outside of the
Church affecting us that we have not been warned of by the servants of
God, and prepared for by their teachings, their counsels and their
warnings. This constitutes the great difference between the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the other churches that are
organized among the children of men, and called by various names. God
has made promises unto this people; He has provided for them; He has
revealed himself unto them, and has extended His power for their
preservation and safety all the day long.
Now, this is a new thing, it may be said in the earth—that is,
comparatively new. Previous to the organization of this Church there
was no claim made by any of the churches of the day to hold direct
communication with Deity. Preachers, and those who lead in these
various sects, base their claims for authority upon that which was
given in former days to the ancient servants of God. They are honest
enough to make no pretense of having received communication from
heaven, or direct revelation from God, calling them to the ministry or
designating them to occupy the places they fill; but, as I have said,
claiming the commission that was given to the ancient Apostles as the
basis for their labor, they proceeded to teach the people such
doctrines as they considered essential to salvation. God's voice was
not heard. The silence that existed between heaven and earth—and which
had existed after the slaying of those who had received authority from
God, and unto whom He gave communications—was still unbroken—there
were no heavenly messengers descending from heaven to earth and making
manifest the mind and will of God unto the inhabitants of the earth,
but it was as though the heavens were as brass over the heads of the
people, and as though—so far as the voice of God was concerned—He took
no interest in the affairs of the children of men. And this was the
conclusion to which the whole religious world had come—that God had
withdrawn Himself from communicating with his children, that He had
revealed his mind and will as it is recorded in the Bible, and that
therefore the canon of Scriptures was full, and there was no longer
any necessity for further light or knowledge from Him. This was
produced as an argument against the Elders of this Church, when they
commenced to teach the doctrine of new revelation, when they went
forth proclaiming unto the inhabitants of the earth that God had
spoken; that the silence between heaven and earth had been broken; that angels had descended from heaven once more and
communicated God's will unto man; that the Holy Ghost had been poured
out according to the ancient promise; that the Church had been
organized according to the ancient pattern, and that the gifts had
been restored as they existed in former times. The argument that was
used against these testimonies was this: that for nearly 1,800 years or
thereabouts, there had been no communication of this character, there
had been no heavenly visitations; prophets had not been known among
men since the days of the Apostles, and, therefore, this being the
case, it was an evidence, they contended, that it was not God's design
that there should be any of those gifts and blessings, and that that
condition of affairs which existed—or which they declared existed—was
the condition that God designed should exist and should continue to
exist until the end of time.
Now, the world in this way took advantage of its own wrong, and sought
to justify itself by that which had been brought to pass by its own
actions, attributing to God that which was traceable to man, and which
was the result of man's conduct; for the unbroken silence which
reigned between heaven and earth was not because God preferred to have
that condition of affairs exist, but was the result of man's own
actions. God had sent messengers; He had sent His only Begotten Son,
and had given unto Him His Gospel to declare unto the inhabitants of
the earth, and after a short residence among them they slew Him. They
would not have Him or His teachings, and they were determined that He
should have no place among them. Not content with slaying Him, they
continued the warfare against the organization that He established
upon the earth at that time, until they slew every man whom He had
chosen—that is, they either slew them or drove them from their midst.
The result was that the earth was stained with the blood of the Son of
God, and of His chosen Apostles and Prophets. No one could live among
the inhabitants of the earth at that time who professed to have any
revelation from God, or to be a divine messenger; for if he made such
a proclamation, and it was in truth, the whole power of Satan,
manifested through the inhabitants of the earth, was hurled against
him, and he was either slain or compelled to flee.
This being the case, is it any wonder that there should be no voice of
revelation—that God should leave His children to themselves? I will
tell you how I feel about my family. If I had children that were
determined not to listen to my counsel, nor to obey that which I said
to them, but should treat my instructions with contempt, I would say
to them: "You can go your own way. You and I have chosen different
paths. You have chosen one path and I have chosen another. Now, if you
and I go together, you will have to go with me, and not I with you,
and if you don't do that we separate; you take your path and I take
mine." And it seems as though the Almighty had taken that course with
His children. They had slain all His chosen people and had left none
of them upon the earth. They had hunted them, persecuted them and
slain them until there was none left; and the authority which God had
bestowed upon men through His Only Begotten Son had fled—that is, the
men who held it had been exterminated. What then? "Why," said He,
seemingly—that is, we may judge so by the result—" you have
chosen this course, you have slain my chosen Apostles and servants,
and now I will withdraw myself from you, and leave you to yourselves;"
and for 1,800 years, or nearly that—probably 1,600 or 1,700 at least, so
far as that continent was concerned—there had been no man left upon
the earth who held the Priesthood, that we know anything about. If
there are any among the children of men who held it, they are in some
retired place, inaccessible to the wicked. When the set time had come
for God to reestablish His Church and to bring to pass the
fulfillment of that which had been spoken by the mouths of the
Prophets, He came himself.
The first account we have of the visitation of divine beings in this
dispensation, is the account that is given to us by the Prophet Joseph
Smith himself, concerning the visit of the Father and the Son. There
had been men, doubtless many men in the various ages of the world, who
had light and who had a degree of the Spirit of God. I believe myself
that Mahomed, whom the Christians deride and call a false prophet and
stigmatize with a great many epithets—I believe that he was a man
raised up by the Almighty, and inspired to a certain extent by Him to
effect the reforms which he did in his land, and in the nations
surrounding. He attacked idolatry, and restored the great and crowning
idea that there is but one God. He taught that idea to his people, and
reclaimed them from polytheism and from the heathenish practices into
which they had fallen. I believe many men were inspired who lived
after him and before him, who, nevertheless, did not have the Holy
Priesthood, but were led by the Spirit of God to strive for a better
con dition of affairs and to live a purer and higher life than those by
whom they were surrounded were living. But while this was the case it
was the Spirit of God that did it. We have no account—no authenticated
account at least—of angels coming from heaven, or of the Father
manifesting Himself unto the children of men. And we have no account
of the Priesthood being restored; in fact, there is every reason to
believe it never was restored after it was withdrawn. The first that
we knew concerning God was through the testimony of the Prophet
Joseph. Even the personality of God was doubted. The traditions of men
were so false respecting God that the idea of a personal Deity had
faded from the so-called Christian mind. Though Jesus had appeared on
the earth as a personage having a body, parts and passions, and
declared Himself to be the Son of God, and the Apostles declared Him
to be in the express image of His Father—notwithstanding that fact
and that the record bore ample testimony to it, so long had been the
silence that had existed between God and man, that the very conception
of the nature of God—that is, of His characteristics—had entirely
faded from the human mind, and He was deemed to be something other
than He is. The common sectarian idea was that His center was nowhere,
and His circumference was everywhere. There was no man scarcely upon
the earth that had a true conception of God; the densest ignorance
prevailed; and even ministers of religion could not conceive of the
true idea, and there was mystery associated with what is called the
Trinity—that is, with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. But all
this was swept away in one moment by the appearance of the Almighty Himself—by the appearance of God, the Father, and His Son
Jesus Christ, to the boy Joseph, as he kneeled in the forest
beseeching God for knowledge concerning Him, and concerning the Gospel
of salvation. In one moment all the darkness disappeared, and once
more there was a man found on the earth, embodied in the flesh, who
had seen God, who had seen Jesus, and who could describe the
personality of both. Faith was again restored to the earth, the true
faith and the true knowledge concerning our Creator, our Father, the
Being from whence we derive our origin. This revelation dissipated all
misconceptions and all false ideas, and removed the uncertainty that
had existed respecting these matters. The Father came accompanied by
the Son, thus showing that there were two personages of the Godhead,
two presiding personages whom we worship and to whom we look, the one
the Father, and the other the Son. Joseph saw that the Father had a
form; that He had a head; that He had arms; that He had limbs; that He
had feet; that He had a face and a tongue with which to express His
thoughts; for He said unto Joseph: "This is My Beloved Son" —pointing
to the Son—"Hear Him!"
Now, it was meant that this knowledge should be restored first of all.
It seems so, at least, from the fact that God Himself came; it seems
that this knowledge had to be restored as the basis for all true faith
to be built upon. There can be no faith that is not built upon a true
conception of God our Father. Therefore, before even angels came, He
came Himself, accompanied by His Son, and revealed Himself once more
to man upon the earth.
As I have said, the set time had come, the instrument had been
born—the instrument that had been selected doubtless as much as the
Son of God had been selected to accomplish His mission—that is, He had
also been selected from before the foundation of the world, to come
and to be the instrument in the hands of God to again lay the
foundation of His Church upon the earth—that instrument had been born
and the set time had come for the establishment of the work of the
Lord. Joseph Smith had the necessary gifts and qualifications by which
he was enabled to seek unto God with such irresistible faith that God
heard his prayer and granted unto him the desire of his heart by
revealing Himself unto him and giving unto him the instructions which
He did. This was followed by other ministrations—the ministrations of
angels. In the sectarian world you can scarcely see a picture of an
angel without having a pair of wings attached, and every angel looks
like a woman. Such ideas have come down through ages. And who knew
differently? Who could tell anything about it? As with the being of
God Himself, so there were false conceptions concerning the character
of angels, and there was no man who could correct them, because all
were alike in ignorance, and all were alike a prey to the traditions
that had been handed down. But when Joseph received the ministration
of an angel—or angels, for he was visited by more than one—he saw that
they were men, and that they had not feathered after death, that they
did not have wings, but that they were glorified men, or men who had
received glory from God; they were personages like they were on the
earth. Thus a true conception began to dawn upon the minds of
at least a few individuals, who believed Joseph's testimony concerning
these beings. When I see our sisters and our brethren buying pictures
of the sort to which I have alluded—pictures in which are angels
having wings—a sort of hermaphrodite beings, or worse—I wonder that
they would hang such things on their walls, and then allow this false
conception to be perpetuated in the minds of little children
concerning the character of these heavenly beings. I think it is just
as wrong to represent an idea falsely by a picture, as it is to teach
it falsely by words, because an impression is made on the mind by
either means. Pictures of that kind should not be patronized by our
people. Our children should not be allowed to come to conclusions upon
such false representations.
Is it to be wondered at, my brethren and sisters, that after so many
ages of darkness and unbelief, so many ages of ignorance concerning
God, concerning his true character, concerning heavenly beings, that
the whole world should have gone astray concerning the Gospel of
Christ and the gifts of that Gospel and the nature of heaven and the
future state of existence? Is it to be wondered at that the whole
world should have gone astray concerning all these things, when they
were so much astray concerning God Himself, concerning angels, and
concerning other heavenly things? Is it any wonder that we have
difficulty in preaching the Gospel, and in reaching the hearts of the
people, when we consider that they are the inheritors of those false
traditions that have come down intensified and strengthened by the
ages of transmission, coming through one age to another, until they
have reached the present time? It is not to be wondered at that the
Latter-day Saints themselves have so little faith concerning these
things, when we recollect the pit from whence they have been dug, and
the rock whence they have been hewn. Well might the Savior ask, if He
should find faith on earth, when He should come again? In looking down
through the ages that would succeed His own, He saw the terrible
condition of ignorance that would prevail upon the earth. Why, this
so-called Christian world is as far from God, as any heathens that
ever lived upon the face of the earth. Yea, they are worse than the
heathen, because they think that they are in the full light of the
Gospel, and that heavenly rays are shining upon them, when in reality
they are sitting in the deepest darkness and are surrounded by clouds
of ignorance that are impenetrable to them. How can men know anything
about God, when He never speaks to them? How can men find out whether
there is any revelation from heaven, when no revelation comes from
that source? How can men find out about the future, if no one comes to
tell them what the future is? It would be impossible for them to do
it. It requires knowledge from God, concerning Himself; it requires
knowledge concerning angels, it requires knowledge concerning
eternity, to give men proper conceptions about these things. Hence it
was that Joseph Smith, having had these visions opened to his mind,
moved like a being from another sphere, among the children of men. God
had opened his mind and revealed to him heavenly things. He saw them
in their true light; he knew about them; and when he talked to men he
was in their midst like a being from another world. That which he
told them appeared, in some instances, to be false, to be
nonsense. They could not comprehend it, because they had none of the
Spirit of God about them, none of the knowledge of God, and they
refused to accept him as an exponent of divine truth. So it is with
the Elders who go out at the present day, to talk to the inhabitants
of the earth. They are looked upon in the same light; though there is
this to be said: that which has been taught by the Elders has had
effect in the earth, and much misconception has gradually disappeared.
There are men even now, for instance, who are ready to believe a
doctrine which, when it was first preached, they rejected—the doctrine
that there is a space between death and the resurrection in which a
man can repent of his sins. Now, when that doctrine was first taught,
some 42 years ago, it was looked upon by many as an absurd doctrine.
They said it was contrary to the divine will. If man, they contended,
did not receive the Gospel or the truth here in this life, he lost his
opportunity, and would be damned throughout all the endless ages of
eternity. That was the popular idea, and many believed it. Many
believed that this would be the case with pagans, and with these
Indians that we know something about, and with other heathen peoples,
who had never heard the name of the Son of God—the only name under
heaven by which man can be saved; many believed those people were to
be consigned to hell by millions, never to be delivered therefrom, and
yet they called God just, the God they worshiped.
Joseph Smith taught a different doctrine even before the Church was
organized. He taught the doctrine, in a revelation given to Martin
Harris—it had to be given with great care, because it was entirely
different to what was generally believed—that "eternal punishment is
God's punishment;" but it does not follow that those who come under
God's punishment are to be punished throughout the endless ages of
eternity. He taught that grand truth in the year 1829. Then it was
followed up by the Vision, which explained in the most wonderful
manner the goodness of our God, and showed Him to be the being that He
is described to be by all the holy Prophets—a being just and merciful,
a being who labored to save His children, and had their salvation at
heart continually.
But Joseph taught in later years, this doctrine: that there was a
space between death and the resurrection, and during that space the
children of men who had not had an opportunity of hearing the Gospel
in this life, could hear it proclaimed by men who had authority in the
spirit world; and he explained that the Savior himself, during the
time that His body was in the tomb, "went and preached to the spirits
in prison. Which sometime were disobedient, when once the
long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah."
It was a doctrine that was new to the sectarian world; new to
everyone; no one had ever thought of such a doctrine. But now I see by
allusions in the newspapers occasionally, that popular ministers are
taking hold of this idea and ventilating it and speaking about it. How
wonderful! Is it not? It shows that when knowledge is upon the earth,
there are some at least who profit by it, though they may not accept
it as coming from God. In this way the preaching of this Gospel has
had its effect upon the inhabitants of the earth. I have seen of
late, and doubtless you have, many arguments in favor of God
being a personal being, of there being a personal God—that is, a God
with a form like a man, or that man, rather, had a form like God. The
world has profited by the ideas which the Prophet Joseph received from
heaven. Until these truths were revealed all was vagueness, doubt,
uncertainty. Satan reigned over the earth. He swayed, it might be
said, almost an undisturbed scepter. There was no one, scarcely, upon
the face of the earth to dispute his reign. A few that did so, even
though they did not have the Priesthood, were speedily crushed. For
instance, the Huguenots, and others, who, in mountains and recesses
and distant places, sought for a purer worship, were speedily
extirpated. Satan was determined to reign with undisputed sway. During
this reign he had slain the Son of God, and every man who testified of
Him. He was determined to control this earth, and that has been his
determination all the time. When the Prophet Joseph received those
revelations from God, he leveled at him all his artillery; he made him
the target for all his attacks; he hounded him from morning to night;
he concocted every plot that could be conceived of, to destroy him
from the face of the earth. Joseph's great anxiety all the time was to
bestow the keys and authority of the Holy Priesthood, so that at his
death they would not be taken from the earth. His aim from the
beginning was to this end. He urged the Saints forward to build the
Temple in Kirtland, so that he might bestow upon some that knowledge
and authority which God had given to him. And then afterwards in
Nauvoo, the burden of his thoughts and talk was to urge the Saints to
push forward the Temple there, so that he could bestow upon them the
keys and authority which God had restored from heaven. He feared lest
he should die until these were bestowed upon men. But God preserved
his life until every key, every authority, every power and every gift
that he had received from the eternal worlds, through the ministration
of angels, from the days of Adam down to the days of Moroni, was again
restored to the earth and sealed upon the heads of men, and then it
proved more difficult for Satan to accomplish his purpose. He slew
Joseph; but it was too late to prevent him communicating that
authority which he had received; and the Church organization was
preserved on the earth. Joseph lived long enough, as did our Elder
Brother Jesus, to accomplish the work God sent him to do. He laid the
foundation of the Church. He laid it so deep that it will never be
overthrown. He bestowed upon man the everlasting Priesthood, with all
its authority, from the Apostleship down to the authority of a Deacon,
with every key, every endowment and every ordinance necessary to
accomplish the work of God upon the earth. Then Satan raged, and he
has raged ever since. You wonder many times, doubtless, at the hatred
exhibited to this Church and people. If you could see the eternal
worlds; if the vision of your mind could be opened to the scene; if
you could have the veil withdrawn, you would not wonder at it when you
understood the real character of the stake that is being fought for.
It is the supremacy of this earth that is being contended for. Satan
is determined that God shall not have this earth, and that He shall
not reign here; he is determined in this, and if he could he would
shed the blood of every man and woman on the face of the
earth, rather than it should go into the hands of God. All those who
are connected with him would, if they could, slay every man that
stands in their pathway. The more faithful a man is in the cause of
God, the more the hatred of the wicked is manifested against him,
illustrating the truth of that statement made by the Apostle Paul,
that "all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer
persecution" —not may suffer it, but they shall suffer it. Hence a
people who seek to establish the cause of righteousness, to build
temples, to restore the authority of God, will be hated to the death,
and thus the prophecy will be fulfilled concerning them. We were told
in the beginning of this work that we should be hated by a township,
then by a County, then by a State; but after a while it would not be
the opposition of a State, of a County, or of a township against this
work, but that it should be the united power of the nation itself,
against this work. We live and behold a fulfillment of that
prediction; we are living witnesses of it; and this nation is
fulfilling just as fast as it can do, the predictions of the Prophet
Joseph Smith. They are making him a Prophet by their conduct, and
fulfilling everything that he has spoken concerning this work. And it
will not be confined to this nation. After a while it will gain such a
foothold in the earth, and excite such fear, that the nations of the
earth will band themselves against it. You need not expect any other
result. This warfare will not cease. "But," says one, "when this
present excitement passes over, will we not have a time of peace?" God
forbid that there should be peace on such terms as our enemies would
have us make; for peace means surrendering the Kingdom of God;
surrendering and giving up by the servants of God, that which they
have undertaken to do, namely, to restore the reign of righteousness
and truth upon the earth, the reign of God and of heaven. Such peace
as our enemies have in view, means the surrender of this upon our
part. When we are ready to surrender these things, then there will be
peace, but it will be the peace of death, it will be the peace of
hell, it will be the triumph of Satan, and the destruction of
everything that is pure and holy, and godlike, upon the face of the
earth. Men say, "Let us compromise." This means, the giving up of this
principle and that principle for the sake of the world's favor. And
when we commence giving up, where shall we stop? I want peace on no
such terms as these. We have engaged in this warfare to build up the
Kingdom of God upon the earth, let the consequences be what they may.
They can only kill this body of ours; but let us fear Him who is able
to destroy both soul and body in hell. God has said that He will bear
this Kingdom off triumphantly, and that it shall not be given into the
hands of another people, and as sure as He has spoken, His word will
be fulfilled. It may seem sometimes as though there was no ray of
light, as though all was darkness, and as though our destruction was
inevitable; but there is a God in heaven who, under these
circumstances knows our condition, and remembers the promises that He
has made concerning Zion. His arm will be stretched out to save, and
He will deliver us from the greatest perils that may environ us. This
is true—true as God lives, and we shall realize it in the future just
as we have in the past.
(CONCLUDED IN NEXT VOLUME)
- George Q. Cannon