I will read a portion of the 84th Section of the Book of Doctrine and
Covenants, commencing at the 14th paragraph:
"Which Abraham received the priesthood from Melchizedek, who received
it through the lineage of his fathers, even till Noah; "And from Noah till Enoch, through the lineage of their
fathers;
"And from Enoch to Abel, who was slain by the conspiracy of his
brother, who received the priesthood by the commandments of God, by
the hand of his father Adam, who was the first man—
"Which priesthood continueth in the church of God in all generations,
and is without beginning of days or end of years.
"And the Lord confirmed a priesthood also upon Aaron and his seed,
throughout all their generations, which priesthood also continueth and
abideth forever with the priesthood which is after the holiest order
of God.
"And this greater priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth the
key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of
God.
"Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is
manifest.
"And without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the
priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the
flesh;
"For without this no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and
live.
"Now this Moses plainly taught to the children of Israel in the
wilderness, and sought diligently to sanctify his people that they
might behold the face of God;
"But they hardened their hearts and could not endure his presence;
therefore, the Lord in his wrath, for his anger was kindled against
them, swore that they should not enter into his rest while in the
wilderness, which rest is the fulness of his glory.
"Therefore, he took Moses out of their midst, and the Holy Priesthood
also;
"And the lesser priesthood continued, which priesthood holdeth the key
of the ministering of angels and the preparatory gospel;
"Which gospel is the gospel of repentance and of baptism, and the
remission of sins, and the law of carnal commandments, which the Lord
in his wrath caused to continue with the house of Aaron among the
children of Israel until John, whom God raised up, being filled with
the Holy Ghost from his mother's womb.
"For he was baptized while he was yet in his childhood, and was
ordained by the angel of God at the time he was eight days old unto
this power, to overthrow the kingdom of the Jews, and to make straight
the way of the Lord before the face of his people, to prepare them for
the coming of the Lord, in whose hand is given all power.
"And again, the offices of elder and bishop are necessary appendages
belonging unto the high priesthood.
"And again, the offices of teacher and deacon are necessary appendages
belonging to the lesser priesthood, which priesthood was confirmed
upon Aaron and his sons.
"Therefore, as I said concerning the sons of Moses—for the sons of
Moses and also the sons of Aaron shall offer an acceptable offering
and sacrifice in the house of the Lord, which house shall be built
unto the Lord in this generation, upon the consecrated spot as I have
appointed—
"And the sons of Moses and of Aaron shall be filled with the glory of
the Lord, upon Mount Zion in the Lord's house, whose sons are ye; and
also many whom I have called and sent forth to build up my church.
"For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of
which I have spoken, and the magni fying their calling, are
sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies.
"They become the sons of Moses and of Aaron and the seed of Abraham,
and the church and kingdom, and the elect of God.
"And also all they who receive this priesthood receive me, saith the
Lord;
"For he that receiveth my servants receiveth me;
"And he that receiveth me receiveth my Father;
"And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father's kingdom;
therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him.
"And this is according to the oath and covenant which belongeth to the
priesthood.
"Therefore, all those who receive the priesthood, receive this oath
and covenant of my Father, which he cannot break, neither can it be
moved.
"But whoso breaketh this covenant after he hath received it, and
altogether turneth therefrom, shall not have forgiveness of sins in
this world nor in the world to come."
These words that I have read in your hearing are found, as I have
said, in the 84th section of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. They
contain truths which are of great importance to us as a people, and
truths which should be impressed upon our minds, and should not be
forgotten by us. For in these words which the Lord has given unto us
He has plainly foreshadowed the design that He has in view respecting
this Church which He has raised up in the last days and this people
unto whom He has given the everlasting Priesthood. In these words we
are told the future of those who receive these two Priesthoods and
magnify the same, and the glory which God designs to bestow upon them.
He also gives unto us in plainness, the penalty which will rest down
upon those who, after receiving this covenant, break the covenant and
turn away altogether therefrom. Therefore to the Latter-day Saints
this Gospel and this Priesthood come on the one hand, accompanied by
great blessings and promises, and great power and exaltation, and, on
the other hand, they come accompanied by dreadful penalties, by
degradation and condemnation, greater than it would be possible for
any being to reach unless he had had the opportunities which the
Gospel and the Priesthood bring and afford. On the one hand we are
promised in the plainest of all language that those who receive this
Priesthood receive the Lord. For it is said:
"They who receive this priesthood receiveth me, saith the Lord;
"For he that receiveth my servants receiveth me;
"And he that receiveth me receiveth my Father;
"And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father's kingdom;
therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him.
"And this is according to the oath and covenant which belongeth to the
priesthood."
Here is plainly pointed out to us as a people the future glory that
God has in store for all those who receive and magnify the
Priesthood. They are to receive the Father's Kingdom, and if they
receive the Father's Kingdom, they are to receive all that the Father
hath, for all that He hath will be given unto them. Can you conceive
of this? Can any human being conceive of the immeasurable extent of
the glory here promised—the immeasurable extent of exaltation here
offered unto all those who receive the Priesthood of the Son of
God, and who magnify it? It is impossible for mortal man to have the
least conception even when his mind is enlightened by the Spirit of
God—that is, the least conception compared with the immeasurable
extent of the glory that is here promised. We can have some conception
of it, we can have some foretaste of it, when we receive the Spirit of
God, when it rests down upon us in power; but to conceive of the
fullness of this glory is impossible for any being in this mortal
condition of existence. When we understand these words and comprehend
their full import we can understand how it was that Jesus when He was
upon the earth sought to teach the people the greatest privileges
which they had in connection with the Gospel which he bore unto them.
The complaint of the Jews about the Son of God, was, that He being man
made Himself equal with God. They had the same ideas, doubtless, in
those days concerning God and man, that the sectarians of the world
now have. God was a remote being, a being beyond their reach, far
beyond their ken, and far beyond communication with them; therefore,
they were ready to kill the Son of God because He enunciated the great
truth that it was possible for man to attain unto God, and become like
Him. Referring to the words of the Psalmist, where he said: "Ye are
gods; and all of you are children of the most High," he said, "Is it
not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods,
unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;
Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the
world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?" But
they could not understand the doctrine which God has revealed—the
eternal truth that He has communicated to us in the Gospel. But God
designed when He led Israel out of Egypt to make of that people a
royal Priesthood—a kingdom of Kings and Priests. He designed to lead
them forward under the guidance of the everlasting Priesthood, the
Priesthood after the holy order of the Son of God—to lead them forward
until they should behold the face of their God and see Him for
themselves. But they would not. They hardened their hearts. They could
not endure His presence. Moses, despite all the power which God gave
him, and the revelations which He poured out upon him—Moses could not
succeed in leading that people forward. They were a stiffnecked race;
they were a rebellious race; they were an idolatrous race; they were
hard in their hearts; and they would not have God to be their King.
They wanted a lower order of affairs; they wanted lower laws, laws
that were more in accordance with their fallen and carnal natures.
Therefore according to those revelations which God has given unto us,
He took Moses out of their midst, and the Holy Priesthood also, and
the lesser Priesthood continued, the Priesthood of Aaron, a Priesthood
that held the keys of the ministering of angels and the preparatory
gospel, the gospel of repentance and baptism for the remission of
sins. He left that with them, and the law of carnal commandments which
the Lord in His wrath caused to continue with the house of Aaron among
the children of Israel until John. They were under this law during
this long period. God raised up John as a forerunner to prepare the
way for the fullness of the ever lasting Gospel and the
restoration of the Priesthood in its fullness, that Melchizedek
Priesthood which Moses held, and through which he exercised such
mighty power among the children of Israel. And it was God's design—if
the people would have submitted to it, if they would have received the
message that He sent unto them through John and afterwards through His
beloved Son—to have restored the Kingdom even to Israel, and to have
built up the Kingdom in great power and glory upon the earth. But
instead of receiving the Gospel and the Melchizedek Priesthood, they
actually destroyed the Son of God. But before they destroyed Him, they
destroyed the heir of the Priesthood of Aaron, John the Baptist, who
was a direct descendant of Aaron, and by virtue of this descent held
the keys of that Priesthood, and exercised the authority and power
thereof among the Jews. Not content with rejecting the Son of God,
they rejected even John, and the Aaronic Priesthood as well as the
Melchizedek Priesthood was taken from the midst of the Jews, and they
have remained without Priesthood from that day until the present time,
even the Aaronic Priesthood having been withdrawn from their midst—the
authority to officiate in the ordinances pertaining thereunto.
Now, this Priesthood which God has restored in these last days through
Peter, James and John, is the Priesthood that continueth in the Church
of God in all generations. The Church of God cannot be without it; for
without it the power of Godliness is not made manifest to men in the
flesh. A people can progress to a certain extent with the Aaronic
Priesthood, but there is a limit to their progress. There are bounds
beyond which they cannot pass. They cannot attain to the fullness of
the glory of God the Eternal Father, without the presence of the
Melchizedek Priesthood; for as I have read in your hearing, "This
greater priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the
mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God;
Therefore in the ordinances thereof," [that is, in the ordinances of
the higher or Melchizedek Priesthood] "the power of godliness is
manifest." This cannot be manifest without that higher Priesthood,
without the power which accompanies it. "And without the ordinances
thereof," the revelation continues, "and the authority of the
priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the
flesh; For without this no man can see the face of God, even the
Father, and live."
Without this Priesthood, without its ordinances, without its powers,
without its gifts, "no man can see the face of God, even the Father,
and live." Therefore it is essential that, if a people should be
exalted unto the presence of God, they should have this Melchizedek or
greater Priesthood, and the ordinances thereof, by the means of which
they are to be prepared, or they shall be prepared to enter into the
presence of God the Father, and endure His presence.
Now, Moses taught this plainly to the children of Israel in the
wilderness. He endeavored to impress upon them the importance of so
living as to retain this Melchizedek Priesthood in their midst—to so
live as to conform to the law, or laws, and requirements of this
Melchizedek Priesthood. Says the revelations, He "sought diligently to
sanctify his people that they might see the face of God." He
wanted them to behold the face of God. You remember the expression he
gave utterance to, when the Spirit of God rested upon the seventy
Elders, and they prophesied. There were two of them that were not with
the rest. They were in the camp and not in the tabernacle, yet they
prophesied also. And Joshua, jealous for the honor of Moses, jealous
because Moses was a Prophet of God, and doubtless afraid that these
men were transcending their authority, asked Moses to forbid them. And
Moses gave utterance to that memorable, that glorious expression:
"Enviest thou for my sake? Would to God that all the Lord's people
were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them."
There was no jealousy in the mind of this man of God concerning his
brethren having the spirit of prophecy, it excited no feeling in his
heart to reprove them, or to check them, or to say to them that they
were usurping some authority which belonged to him; no, there was no
such feeling in his heart; for had he not sought to lead the people
forward to enjoy that privilege? Had he not sought diligently to
sanctify the people that they might behold the face of God?
"Therefore," said he, "would to God that all the Lord's people
were prophets." Would to God that not only the seventy Elders had the spirit
of prophecy resting down upon them, but that every man in the whole
hosts of Israel had that spirit in its fullness and in its power
resting down upon him. "How easy it would be for me," Moses could have
said, "to lead this people if all were prophets! How easy it would be
for me to guide these hosts, and to lead them into the presence of
God, if the spirit of prophecy rested down upon them throughout all
the camp of Israel."
But they hardened their hearts and could not endure the presence of
the Lord. "Go thou, Moses, and speak to God," said the children of
Israel, "and then tell us what God has to say: be thou mouthpiece, be
thou God to us; we will be content with this, the face of God is too
terrible for us. We desire not to enter into His presence. We shall be
content to have thee give to us the word of God." These were, in
effect, their words, and their actions corresponded to these words. As
Paul says, "Which voice (the voice of God) they that heard intreated
that the word should not be spoken to them any more: (For they could
not endure that which was commanded." Moses stood between them and
God. They could not endure the presence of God. They hardened their
hearts against it. Therefore the Lord in His wrath—for his anger was
kindled against them, because of their hardness of heart, because of
their rebellion—swore that they should not enter into His rest, that
they should not attain unto the fullness of the glory that He had in
store for them—that is, He swore that they should not enter into this
rest while in the wilderness; which rest is the fullness of His glory.
So He took Moses from their midst, and took with him the Melchizedek
Priesthood; and thus terminated, so far as Israel was concerned, the
reign of the Melchizedek Priesthood among them. Occasionally Prophets
were raised up who did hold the Melchizedek Priesthood, ordained by
God for special purposes; but the people were under the dominion of
the rule of the Aaronic Priesthood from that time forward until the
days of John.
Now, my brethren and sisters, it is of the utmost importance
that we who live in this generation should comprehend that which God
is doing for and designs for us. He has precisely the same future in
store for us that He intended for our fathers in the wilderness. God
designs to have us led in that path which will bring us into His
presence. He designs that this whole people called Latter-day Saints
shall have the laws of his celestial kingdom revealed unto them line
upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little,
until they are brought into His presence, until every man and woman
and child who belongs to this Church shall be able to endure the
presence of God and live, until by means of this Priesthood, this
higher Priesthood, every man will be prepared to receive the fullness
of the celestial glory, and this by obedience to law, not by hardness
of heart, not by rebellion, not by rejecting the counsel of God
through His servants, not by taking our own way; for notwithstanding
all that is said by those who oppose us, and by the entire Gentile
world in regard to the Priesthood of the Son of God in their
opposition to it, these Latter-day Saints must obey the Priesthood of
the Son of God, and be led by it in all things, or they never will
enter into the presence of God our Eternal Father, never, worlds
without end. God has placed this Priesthood in the Church for the
express purpose of leading His people forward, just as Moses
endeavored to lead the children of Israel forward by giving unto them
His law, by revealing unto them His will, by instructing them in the
things of righteousness, and leading them forward until they should
attain unto the fullness of His glory.
Let us take these things to heart. Let us ponder upon them as a
people. Let us purify ourselves with all our might, mind and strength.
Let every man in his place and station seek to magnify that Priesthood
that he may through magnifying it, attain unto those glorious
blessings and privileges which God has promised.
God designs that this people called Latter-day Saints shall be a
kingdom of priests and kings. He intends that the Melchizedek
Priesthood shall be held by this people. He intends to preserve it on
the earth, and those who attain unto this Priesthood, and magnify it
to the renewing of their bodies, and to the receiving of the promises
of God, will receive the blessings which God has promised—that is, they
will receive all that God has to bestow, they will be joint heirs with
Jesus and inherit with Jesus the glory of the Father, and there is
nothing that the Father has that He will not give unto us, for all
will be ours, everything we can conceive of—glory, immortality and
endless lives—if we are faithful to the maintaining of our integrity
and the keeping of our covenants, and the doing of the will of God in
the flesh.
How important it is, then, brethren and sisters, that we should all be
faithful during this probation; that we should walk humbly before our
God; that we should obey every law and submit to every ordinance and
apply everything that is taught to us to ourselves, and embody every
principle in our lives as fast as it is taught to us, beginning with
faith in the name of the Lord Jesus, and progressing from that
principle forward by repentance, by baptism, by the laying on of
hands, and by obeying the other laws and ordinances as fast as they
are revealed, until we shall be prepared through obedience to law,
and through the redemption which obedience always brings, to
go back into the presence of God and the Lamb. We have entered upon an
upward career. Let us press forward in that direction, adding faith to
faith, adding knowledge to knowledge, adding gift to gift, adding
power to power, until we shall behold the face of our Father and our
God; and that will be granted unto us. It will be granted unto us to
behold the face of Jesus; it will be granted unto us to have angels
minister to us, and there is no blessing we shall not attain unto if
we continue faithful to the Gospel, and to the covenants of the Holy
Priesthood which we have received.
That God may help us to be faithful and lead us forward until we are
brought back into His presence, is my prayer in the name of Jesus.
Amen.
The foregoing was delivered in Paris, Bear Lake County, Idaho, Sunday
afternoon, August 10, 1884.
- George Q. Cannon