The testimonies of the servants of God, which we hear so frequently
from this stand, ought to make an impression upon the minds of those
who hear them—they ought to have weight, for the reason that those who
bear them declare in solemnity, in the presence of God, that they know
that which they testify is true; and when a man, or any number of men,
arise in the presence of their fellow men, and declare in words of
truth and soberness, that certain things are true, that they know
them to be true, that they are willing to bear testimony of them be fore God and the people, and to suffer all things for their
truth, even to death itself, it should make an impression upon the
human mind, and inspire those who hear these testimonies with a
disposition to at least investigate and withhold their condemnation.
Because, unless a man knows something to the contrary, unless he has
had a testimony that these things are false, he is not justified in
condemning them. There is only one way in which they can be fairly
condemned, and that is by proving their falsity, by obtaining
knowledge that is directly in contradiction to that which is borne
testimony to. In this consists the condemnation of the inhabitants of
the earth at the present time, as it has consisted in every age when
God has had a work to do upon the earth. Certain men have gone forward
in the midst of their fellow men, and in solemnity and in truth have
testified that God has spoken, that God has given revelations, that
God is doing a certain work in the earth of which they are the
witnesses. They know this, they say, for themselves and bear testimony
of it, and exhort their fellow men to seek for knowledge in the same
manner in which they have sought for it, with an assurance that if
they do so they will obtain knowledge. Now, notwithstanding men have
done this, the world, without pretending to have any counter
demonstration or testimony, without being able to disprove by the same
sort of evidence, condemn wholesale, without discrimination or
hesitation those testimonies and declare them to be false, and assert
that the men who bear them are either deceived themselves or are
striving to deceive somebody else.
I do not think this is fair. It never was fair. It is not a proper
method of dealing with affairs of this character; because if there is
a God, and one man says he has had communication with Him, and
another, who believes also, or professes to believe in God, denies
that the first has had any such communication, and yet does not
pretend that God told him any such thing, does not pretend to have had
any communication from God—the contradiction of the one is not equal
to the affirmation of the other. It is the height of presumption for a
man who professes to believe in God, to rise up and at his own
instance and of his own will, because he chooses to take that view of
God, and of God's method of dealing with man, and declare that the
testimony of the man who says he has had revelation from God is false.
Why, anyone at a glance can see that it is an improper way to deal
with the subject. If he does not have revelation himself from God, he
should, at least, be modest in contradicting the testimony of others
who declare that they have had revelation from Him. The whole
religious world in Christendom profess to believe in God. They declare
that God lives and are continually preaching to the people a belief in
Him, a belief in Jesus, saying that Jesus is the Son of God, that He
lived upon the earth in the flesh, that He has gone to the Father, and
that they are His ministers, having power to do certain things in His
name, and to teach His doctrines. They say to the people who do not
listen to them: "You will be visited with the most terrible judgments
if you do not believe what we say; you will go to hell, and you will
burn there throughout the countless ages of eternity, if you do not
believe what we tell you." Now, when men go to their fellow men and
make such statements as these, and assume such prerogatives and
powers as these, and say that their fellow men will be condemned by
wholesale to eternal hell for not listening to them, they certainly
ought to have some method of communicating with the Being they
represent, and whose ministers they profess to be, and they ought to
know more than other men—more than common men at least—about the Being
who, they say, sends them as His ministers. But what are the facts?
Here is Brother Woodruff, who for the last half century has been
testifying, as he has this afternoon in your hearing, with all the
energy of his soul—for he has been a very zealous man all his days—he
has been testifying to all people to whom he could get access, that
God has spoken from the heavens and restored the plan of salvation in
its ancient purity, and the Church as it was organized upon the earth
in the days of Jesus, with the plenitude of its gifts and powers and
graces, and that this condition of things now exists upon the earth,
and that he is a living witness of it; that God has really revealed
this to him, so that he has become a witness through revelation from
God, of its truth. He has declared this. Hundreds have made a similar
declaration, and hundreds are still testifying concerning these things
to the inhabitants of the earth. But Christendom through some of its
principal representatives says: "We don't believe a word you say. We
don't believe God has spoken to you. We don't believe God has given
you any authority. We don't believe your doctrine to be from God. We
don't believe that the church you have organized, and that you declare
is the Church of Christ, is the Church of Christ; and so confident are
we of this that we believe that it would be justifiable for you to be
killed as a lot of impostors and dangerous men, and you ought to be
broken up. If it should be necessary to do this, and it cannot be done
any other way, we would be willing to have armies resort to violence
and have bloodshed, rather than such a dreadful heresy and such a
wicked system should be perpetuated on the earth."
You turn to them—to these men who profess to have the fate of their
fellow beings in their hands, whose efforts, as they state, will send
millions to heaven and millions to hell—you ask these men who profess
to have such awful powers as this—"By what authority do you make these
statements? Has God given you any testimony that the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints is not the true Church? Has God told you
anything about it?"
"Oh, no," they will say, "God has not spoken to us. We do not believe
He talks to anybody. We believe he has stopped all communication with
man; that no living man has heard His voice, or knows anything about
His mind and will."
Now, this is their testimony. You cannot get any of them—at least I
have not, and I speak so far as my own personal knowledge goes to
declare that God has revealed to them either by the spirit of prophecy
or by the manifestations of the Holy Ghost, that the doctrines taught
by the "Mormon" people are false, or that the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints is not of God, and yet, notwithstanding this,
they take the course that I now describe. Here on one side is
knowledge—at least it purports to be knowledge. Here are men who say
they have actually received revelations from God; that God has poured
out the Holy Ghost upon men and women; that Jesus has actually
visited the earth in person, and been seen by living men; and that
angels have been seen and conversed with by living men. They state
this in all solemnity and in all truth, and as a test of the sincerity
of their statements, they say to their fellow men: "If you will take a
certain course that God has pointed out, and that we are authorized to
designate; if you will take this certain course, you shall know also
of the truth of our testimony. We do not make these statements
expecting you to receive them simply because we make them; but we say
to you, if you will take this course, if you will accept the
conditions which God has prescribed and comply with them in sincerity
and humility, you shall receive these blessings and this testimony for
yourselves, and you then will be numbered as witnesses with us."
What can be fairer than this? And this is the course that the servants
of God have always taken with mankind, and hence, as I have said, the
condemnation of the inhabitants of the earth, because they will not
receive that testimony. They abuse the Church of Christ without having
reason or foundation for doing so; they abuse it without having any
evidence that is at all tangible or that can be relied upon; they have
nothing more than their personal feelings, personal prejudice, and
their personal tradition—that which they have inherited from their
fathers—upon which to base their opposition.
Now, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been built up
in this manner. Its strength consists in this peculiarity: that those
who have embraced it as a rule—there may be exceptions—have taken the
course which has been taught by the servants of God, and the result is
that legions of witnesses have been raised up. It is not confined to
one; it is not confined to the original few; but this testimony has
extended itself, until it has brought within its fold men and women of
almost every race; for it is not confined, happily, to sex no more
than it is to nationality, but it is extended unto men of every race,
and unto women of every race, and all these rise up as an army of
witnesses, unanimously bearing testimony of the same great truths,
declaring that it is not from their fathers, it is not from tradition,
it is not from their teachers, it is not from any human source that
they have derived their knowledge; but that God Himself, by His
invisible power, by His superhuman power, by the outpouring of the
Holy Ghost upon them, has borne testimony to them, so that they are
thoroughly convinced and have a knowledge as strong as the knowledge
that they themselves live, that this is the work of God, that He has
established it, and that He will roll it forth and cause it to
accomplish all that He has said it would. It is in this peculiarity
that the strength of the people consists. If it was not for this we
should be as weak as a rope of sand; there would be no cohesiveness or
strength about us. But with this there is a power that makes hell
tremble. It makes the Devil mad. It makes every man that is afraid of
the truth angry in his spirit because of that which he sees. If men
were not afraid of truth there would be no fear connected with this
work. What is there about it to create fear? What is there in its
manifestations, in its fruits, and in its operations upon the minds of
the children of men to cause any man who loves truth to have any dread
concerning it? Nothing whatever. It is beneficent in its
operations. It elevates men and women; it makes them better, purer,
more Godlike, more orderly. It bestows blessings—this system
does—upon all who espouse it, and all who come within the range of its
influence. And this has been its characteristic ever since its
organization until today. You know it, each of you who have espoused
it. You know its effects upon you. You know it has made you better
men. You know it has made you men of purer lives, of loftier desires,
of more Godlike aspirations. You all know this. Every man, every
woman, and every child connected with this work is a witness of the
truth of this. If it has this effect upon you, will it not have the
same effect upon every human being who comes within the range of its
influence and who bows in submission to its requirements? Certainly it
will. There is no human being, however low, that it will not elevate,
if he will obey it. It is the power and lever, so to speak, by which
humanity will be elevated to the presence of God our Eternal Father,
for the very reason that the exaltation which God has attained to, has
been through obedience to these selfsame laws that are now taught to
us. That which obeyeth law is preserved and sanctified by law. The
people who obey law will be exalted by law; they will be preserved by
it, they will be sanctified by it; and that is the effect of the
teaching of the Gospel upon the Latter-day Saints.
While Brother Woodruff was talking, I thought what an immense labor it
is to endeavor to accomplish that which the Prophets have told us will
be brought to pass in the last days. I look at this people so
comparatively few in numbers, and at the immense work that is to be
accom plished, and it seems an herculean, an impossible labor to the
natural vision. It seems as if no human beings could accomplish it.
But God has spoken concerning this work. His word has gone forth, and
it cannot fail. This work will be accomplished, and it will be
accomplished by the operation of truth. As Brother Woodruff has said,
there is a power connected with truth, that when brought to bear upon
human beings, has the effect that he has described, and has the
effect that the Prophets have predicted concerning the last days.
There will be a power exercised in our behalf, increasing as we are
prepared to receive it; for this people with all their weaknesses, and
they are many, are nevertheless drawing nearer and nearer to God every
day, and faith is increasing in their midst. A generation of boys and
girls are growing up who will have greater faith than their
predecessors, their parents, have had, and the work will continue to
grow and spread. And there is this to be taken into consideration, God
having predicted the ushering in of the last dispensation, knowing the
odds that would have to be contended with in establishing it: God
knowing this has reserved in the heavens to come forth at this time
the noblest of His spirits, the men and women most capable of carrying
out this work, and achieving the grand results the Prophets have
predicted should be accomplished in the day and generation,
preparatory to the coming of the Son of Man. God knowing this, in His
wisdom and foreknowledge has prepared the way beforehand, and there
will be men and women brought forth who will carry off this work in
the way He designs. Step by step, the adversary of God, that is the
adversary of all truth, will have to recede. The struggle is
between Satan and God. The struggle is for the supremacy of this
earth, and you may depend upon it, it will not be given up without a
mighty wrestle. The adversary has wielded this power now for nearly
2,000 years—1,400 years and upwards on this continent. For this period
he has held undisturbed sway, it may be said—that is, if not entirely
true it is nearly true in saying it has been undisturbed. There have
occasionally some persons arisen who have endeavored to stem the tide
of wickedness that the devil has caused to flow over the earth; but
there has been no Priesthood on the earth, no organized church, no
organized power, through whom God could operate, and you may depend
upon it, now that there is one, there will be a mighty struggle. It
will cost the best efforts of which we are capable, to lay the
foundation so successfully that it shall not be overturned, to prepare
the way for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Every kind of
opposition will be brought against this work. There is nothing that
you can conceive of that will be kept back, and it will come upon us
as fast as we are able to bear it. It is only the power of God that
restrains our enemies from overwhelming us. If it were not that God
has said this shall not be, and has told us that He will establish
this work never more to be thrown down, we would not be able to stand.
But victory will perch upon our banners, and will do so until the end.
But it will not be without a mighty warfare, the hostility against
this work will be continuous. No man need calculate on anything else.
Why, just think of the results that are to be wrought out. Just think
of what depends upon our labors and upon this con test? We have been
gathering the people from Babylon through the power of God to build up
a Zion here. But see the results that attend our labors in this city
and in this Territory. It seems as though all hell is endeavoring to
defeat our object, and to defeat the cause of God in gathering the
people out from the nations of the earth. The adversary has said:
"You shall not have a pure people; you shall not build up Zion; I will
bring all my forces to bear against this; I will destroy the work of
God; I will not allow the Priesthood of God to remain on the earth; I
will kill them off, or I will do everything in my power to cripple
them."
Thus he brings every kind of influence to bear against this people. We
would have a pure people here; we would have a Zion such as the Bible
describes, if we were allowed; we would have a city in which angels
might walk in the streets all day, if we could have our way; but Satan
says: "You shall not. I will bring every power and influence to bear
against you. I will besmear you in every way I can, and will make you
so hateful in the eyes of all people, that they will come up against
and destroy you. You shall not build up Zion, if I can prevent it."
And you see the result. Every power that is conceivable is brought to
bear against us. We are maligned. We are represented as everything
that is vile. Men think that in killing us they will be doing God
service; not because of our wickedness, but because they believe we
are wicked, because the adversary has had such power through falsehood
and misrepresentation, that men believe that they will be doing God
service in exterminating us from the face of the earth. And what is it that restrains the efforts of our enemies? It is the
power of God only. We should be overwhelmed if it were not for this
invisible agency—invisible to us. There are legions of angels around
us. Their power is exerted in our behalf, and the results we can see
in the deliverances which are wrought out so miraculously for our
good. It is a cause of amazement how we are delivered from time to
time, so few in numbers, and so hated as we are. Our friends are
filled with astonishment. Every few days, every few weeks, or every
few months, they think that something is going to occur, that will
cause our destruction—I mean friends who have not the faith and the
knowledge that we have. But this work of our God will go forth,
despite all the opposition that will be brought against it. It will
win, because it is true. As we have been told by Brother Woodruff, the
eternal principles of truth are on the earth now in an organized form,
and you cannot kill them unless you kill the people themselves. There
is no way to stop this work, except by the extirpation of the
"Mormons," or Latter-day Saints, root and branch! No other method can
destroy them but that, and God will not permit it. His Priesthood is
on the earth, and it will remain on the earth. You may kill off a few,
still the Priesthood will remain, and it will exercise power in the
earth. It will unite the people, and the power of God will attend its
administration in the midst of the people. The honest will receive the
Holy Ghost, they will have a knowledge of this work for themselves,
and they will be ready to endure all the consequences that may attend
the espousal of the truth, just as their predecessors have done in
times that are past and in our own age. God will bless us if we seek
to do His will. Remember, my brethren and sisters, that that which
obeys law is preserved and sanctified by law. If you want to escape
evils, obey the law that God has revealed. Keep His commandments.
There is safety in this. It is a great work we are engaged in. The
desire I have for every man and woman of this Church is, that they may
be true, and that their children may live to be true to God in days to
come; for we are laying the foundation of a work that shall stand
undisturbed for one thousand years. Then, in the purposes of God,
Satan will be loosed again for a little season, but it will only be
for a little while. We are engaged in laying the foundations of that
work. It is the most glorious work that could be committed to man.
Angels delight in it, and we have the precious privilege of taking
part in it. We have difficulties to contend with, but let them come.
We will meet them, and what is better still, we will overcome them
through God's help, and our children will enjoy the blessings of
liberty. I trust and pray that of this people who have fought so
valiantly, and whose desires for the success of God's Kingdom are so
pure, there will be found men and women of their descent, who so long
as time shall last, shall stand up possessed of the Holy Priesthood in
the presence of God, to magnify it. This is my desire for myself, it
is my desire for my family, it is my desire for my brethren and
sisters throughout the Kingdom of God; and that God may grant that we
may be exalted in His presence when our work is done, is my prayer in
the name of Jesus. Amen.
- George Q. Cannon