It is always an impressive sight to me to see a congregation numbering
so many people as this does, raise their hands before the Lord to
sustain the names of men who are presented to them as holding office
in the Church, and though we do this semi-annually, in our general
conferences for the General Authorities, and quarterly, that is, four
times a year for the local authorities, it should not be in our
feelings nor in our practice the performance of an empty form, but
should be done in a spirit that will be acceptable unto our Father,
and in consonance with the responsibility that devolves upon the men
whom we sustain. For when we thus sustain these men it means more than
the mere lifting of our hands, or at least should do so. It means the
sustaining of these men by our faith and by our prayers, and so far as
works are required, by our works, and when we thus vote and thus act,
there is a power and an influence accompanying such action as we have
performed this afternoon, that are felt by those in whose favor we
vote: they feel strengthened, and God our Eternal Father seals His
blessing, or causes it to descend upon those who are voted for, and
there is a spirit that rests down upon them from that time forward, so
long as they are faithful and are thus sustained, that manifests
itself unto all with whom they are brought in contact. Let this
congregation lift up their hands to sever a man from the Church, and
no matter how high he may be in authority, no matter what Priesthood
he bears, no matter how great and mighty he may have been in the
Church and in the ministry—let this congregation for just cause lift
up their hands against any such man and how quickly the effect is
felt, how quickly that man is stripped of his power and of his
influence, and of that spirit and those gifts which have been
conspicuous in his labors previous to such action, or while he was in
good standing and in fellowship with God and his brethren and
sisters. We have seen numerous illustrations of this in our history.
Name after name might be mentioned of men who have been bright stars
in the firmament, who have been stripped—by their own conduct to begin
with, and afterwards by the action of the Saints of God upon their
case—of that luster, of that brightness, and of that glory that seemed
to attend their ministrations. And while this is the case with those
who have transgressed when the Saints of God act upon their cases, so
it is, on the contrary, with those who are sustained in their
ministry, and in their Priesthood, and in their calling by the united,
uplifted hands of the Saints of God in conference assembled, as we
have done this afternoon. Men may sneer at the Latter-day Saints, and
say this is but an empty form, and that it is all prearranged. Men
may say what they please about this. It is prearranged according to
the spirit and mind of God, so far as that can be ascertained. When
men are chosen for office, the Spirit of God is sought for by those
who have the right to select, and if there be doubt upon certain
points men are not chosen; but when they are chosen and the mind of
the Lord is sought for to know whether it will be agreeable to Him
that they receive this office, or that they should act in those
positions, and when they are thus selected and thus submitted, as I
have said, to the Conference, then if they themselves live so as to
have the Spirit of God with them, they will be clothed with it, and
when they seek to magnify their office God will magnify them before
the people and will show them, and the people that they are indeed His
chosen servants, and that their ministrations are acceptable unto Him,
that He confirms them by the outpouring of His Spirit and the bestowal
of His gifts. It is a remarkable fact in this age of unbelief, in this
age of doubt, in this age of darkness, in this age when men pride
themselves upon there being no revelation, and no knowledge from God—I
say it is a remarkable fact that in this age such as we now live in,
and such as we are familiar with, God, in the history of this people
is accompanying His labors, and the labors to which He assigns His
servants, with the ancient power, with the ancient manifestations, and
with the ancient confirmations by gifts and by mighty signs and works
that He causes His servants to accomplish.
When Moses was about to depart, God required of him that he should lay
his hands upon another man to take his place to act as the leader of
the people of Israel. He laid his hands upon Joshua, and a portion of
that spirit and power that had attended the ministrations of Moses in
the midst of Israel was immediately manifested through Joshua, and God
confirmed the selection and impressed upon the people by the signs and
the mighty works which Joshua accomplished that he was indeed God's
chosen servant. He magnified him in the midst of the people; he was
enabled to perform mighty works, and the people, if they had had any
doubts whatever, had those doubts removed by those manifestations of
power. You remember how the Lord showed in the sight of all Israel
that Joshua was His inspired and chosen servant, for under his
direction the children of Israel crossed the river Jordan dry shod. It
was at the time of high water in the river Jordan; but the Jordan was
stayed in its onward course, its waters stopped running, and the whole hosts of Israel, by the direction of this servant of God,
passed over dry shod. In this manner God showed unto His people that
He had indeed chosen this man to be His servant. And so it has been in
the entire history of God's dealings with His people. He has not left
them without a testimony. He has not left them to proclaim His word
unaccompanied by His power. They have not been left to argue for
themselves, to plead for themselves, to protest in the ears of the
people that they were the servants of God, and to constantly contend
for their rights as leaders of the people of God. But in every
instance when He chose a man to be His servant, He accompanied that
choice by the manifestations of His power, by the outpouring of His
spirit, and His gifts, so that every honest soul, every humble man and
woman who sought the Lord, might know for themselves that those men
were His chosen ones. A most striking illustration of this suggests
itself to my mind now. It occurred at the time the children of Israel
desired a king. The Lord was displeased with them for this. Samuel
also felt offended, for they had rejected him and his house. They had
a good reason for desiring a king, at least they thought so. The
surrounding nations had kings who went out and in before them to
battle and were their leaders, and they desired to have a king,
especially when the two sons of Samuel, whom he had chosen as Judges
over Israel, were men who had turned aside after lucre, and took
bribes, and perverted judgment. This Prophet of God, this mighty man
of God, happened to have two sons who were unworthy of their father's
reputation, unworthy of the Priesthood, unworthy of their position as
Judges in Israel. In consequence of this the leaders of Israel
gathered together and said unto Samuel: "Behold, thou art old, and thy
sons walk not in thy way: now make us a king to judge us like all the
nations." Samuel was greatly offended with the thought. But the Lord
said unto him: "Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they
say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected
me, that I should not reign over them." In other words, the Lord had
led them and chosen for them those who should lead them up to that
time, and now He would give them a king. He designated to Samuel the
kind of man he should be, who he should be, and told him he should
visit him. The person designated was Saul, and Samuel anointed him
king of Israel. After he was chosen king, it seems that he went about
his ordinary business, and the next we hear of him he was following
the herd, driving up the cattle, when the news came to him that
Nahash, the Ammonite, would only be pacified towards the men of
Jabesh-Gilead upon one condition, and that was that he might thrust
their right eyes out, in token of their subjection, and as a reproach
upon all Israel. And then, at that time, when danger threatened
Israel, when there was a necessity for a general, for a man to lead
the hosts of Israel, the Spirit and power of Almighty God, and the
anointing that he had received under the hands of the Prophet of God,
descended upon that young man, Saul, and his anger was kindled at the
insult that had been offered to his nation, and he took a yoke of oxen
and hewed them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the coasts of
Israel, by the hands of messengers, saying: Whosoever cometh not forth
after Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen. And
great fear fell upon the people; they gathered out, and he organized
his army, and they fell upon their enemies and cleaned them out.
Now, this is an illustration of the manner in which God operates upon
His servants and upon His people. This young man was following
peaceful pursuits. Though he had been chosen a king, he had not seemed
to assume kingly dignity, he had gone about his business; but when
the crisis arose, when there was a necessity for someone to step
forward and take the leading position, then the spirit of that
position to which he had been anointed, and to which he had been
chosen by the voice of God, by the act of His Prophet, and by the
approbation of the people, rested upon him, and he emerged from his
obscurity and arose in their midst a king, a leader in very deed and
in truth.
And so it was, you remember, in the case of Elisha. When Elijah was
about to be taken to heaven, the spirit of prophecy seemed to rest
upon all the prophets. The sons of the prophets came forth to Elisha,
and said unto him, "Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy
master from thy head today? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your
peace." At a former time he had been plowing in the field, with twelve
yoke of oxen, when Elijah came along, and Elisha dropped his work and
followed the prophet of God. Afterwards, when Elijah's departure drew
near, he said unto Elisha, "Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be
taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee let a double
portion of that spirit be upon me. And he said, Thou hast a hard
thing; nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it
shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so." And sure
enough, he beheld a chariot of fire and horses of fire, and he saw his
master ascend in his sight to heaven, and undoubtedly that gift that
he had asked for, and that Elijah said should be granted unto him if
he beheld his departure, was given to this man of God, it rested upon
him, and when he came to the Jordan, having Elisha's mantle which he
had dropped, he smote the water in the power of God, and cried, "Where
is the Lord God of Elijah?" so that the waters divided, and he passed
over dry-shod. God accompanied that man by His power wherever he went.
A great and a mighty prophet was he; so great and so mighty, that it
is related of him that after his death a band of Moabites came into
the land. The people of Israel were burying a man. While in this act,
they became frightened at seeing a band of men, and cast the man into
the sepulchre of Elisha; and when the man was let down and touched the
bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood upon his feet. He was a mighty
prophet, and he received those gifts and this power from God, which He
bestows upon all those who receive the everlasting Priesthood, and who
seek to magnify it in the spirit thereof.
Read, too, of the transformation that occurred when Jesus laid His
hands upon His apostles. The lowly, the ignorant, and the unlettered
fishermen were transformed into mighty men, men of power, men of
influence, men who had communication with the heavens, unto whom God
revealed His mind and will, and through whom He performed mighty
works. These men previously were obscure men, men of humble lives,
fishermen, probably one of the lowest occupations that men followed in
those days, as it is in our day. It is a lowly occupation is
that of a fisherman. It is not one that brings great wealth; it does
not bring men into public notice; it gives them no opportunity for
distinction; but these men were men whose lives were hid with God.
These were Princes in disguise, men who had been chosen, like their
Lord and Master, according to my view, before the foundations of the
earth were laid, to be His companions in the flesh, and like Him they
were born in lowly and obscure circumstances. But when He chose them,
when their hearts were touched by the great truths He taught, and they
came forward, in obedience to His authority, to cast their lot with
Him, then the power of God descended upon them; they performed mighty
works, and while they lived upon the earth the Holy Ghost was their
companion, and their fame has come down to us embalmed, it may be
said, through the ages that have transpired, through the ignorance,
and the gloom, and the darkness, and the apostasy that have since
taken place—their names have come down to us from our ancestors, and
the most glorious edifices and structures that the world know anything
of, are dedicated to their memories. God made them mighty in the midst
of the children of men. And so it was with all the prophets. When God
made promises unto them they received them. But they did not receive
these things without exertion on their part, without their seeking
industriously to magnify that Priesthood which had been bestowed upon
them. The spirit and power of God will rest upon a man if he listens
to it. It will impel him to action. If he cherishes it, it will be his
constant companion. It will be with him in times when he will need it,
and when he does need it, if he magnifies his calling, the spirit and
power of the Almighty—that spirit and power and those gifts which
belong to his particular office—will rest upon him, and he will be
made equal to every emergency, to every trial, and will come off
victorious.
How was it with the Prophet Joseph Smith? Whose origin could be more
lowly in a land like ours than his, springing from the humblest ranks
of life, of parents that were not distinguished, or of any family that
was known particularly, bearing a name more common than any other name
in our language. Yet this man, because God had chosen him, manifested
extraordinary power. Those who saw him, those who listened to him,
those who witnessed his acts, know how mighty he was in the midst of
his fellow men, and how mightily God wrought through him. God chose
and ordained him. He gave unto him His everlasting Priesthood. He gave
unto him the full authority to organize His Church. He did
so—organized this Church, the most glorious fabric that ever was
established upon the face of the earth; because it is God's Church: it
is the Church of Jesus Christ, unparalleled by anything else. No other
organization approaches to it in perfection; nothing lacking, every
detail, beautiful, harmonious, symmetrical, leaving nothing to be
desired. Such is the Church and such the organization that the Prophet
Joseph was the means in the hands of God of restoring once more to the
earth. The plan, the pattern, had been lost entirely. The officers
that formerly filled the Church were withdrawn. The Priesthood that
they held was taken back to God, and the men who bore it also were
taken from the earth. There had, therefore, to be a complete
restoration. It could only come from the God of heaven, and Joseph,
inspired of God, was the means through which the restoration was
made—Joseph, a youth, obscure, illiterate in some respects—that is, he
was not what men would call learned, but afterwards, through industry
and perseverance, became learned, and if he had lived, he would
undoubtedly have become one of the most learned of men through the
gifts God gave him. The progress he made when he did live was very
remarkable. By his faith, and inspired of God, he laid the foundation
of this work, and not only did this, but he laid his hands upon other
men and they partook of the same spirit and influence that rested upon
him. They were able to drink at the same fountain which God, through
him, had opened up for them to drink at. They could go to that
fountain, and partake of its holy influence, and their eyes were
opened and their minds were illuminated by the power of God. They were
able also to go forth in the power which He had restored, and thus
once more among men was witnessed the mighty gifts that were
characteristic of bygone ages, when God had a Priesthood on the earth,
when He had prophets and apostles, and mighty men whom He clothed with
a portion of His Spirit and power.
And when Joseph was taken, how was it then? Were the people left
without some man or men to stand up in their midst to declare to them
the counsel of their Almighty Father? No: the Lord did not leave His
people without a shepherd. He had anticipated the dreadful tragedy
which would rob us of His anointed one; rob us, the Church of Christ,
of our Prophet and Patriarch. He had anticipated this, and previous to
this horrid tragedy, He inspired His servant Joseph to call other men,
upon whom He bestowed all the keys, all the authority, all the
blessings, all the knowledge so far as endowments were concerned, so
far as the power to go unto God and ask Him in the name of Jesus, and
obtain His mind and will, was concerned. He bestowed upon these men
the same gifts, and blessings, and graces, he had received; so that
there was a body of men with all the authority, a body of prophets
with all the gifts of seers and revelators—a body of men left instead
of one man—a body of men were endowed with this power when Joseph was
taken, and the earth was not robbed of that Priesthood which God had
sent His angels from heaven to restore once more to the children of
men, and to act on the earth in the plenitude of its power. There was
no more need, therefore, for angelic visitation to restore it. It was
not taken back to God by the slaying of the Prophet and Patriarch, but
remained with mortal man here on the earth. And, then, when the
question arose as to who should lead Israel, notwithstanding Sidney
Rigdon stood up in the congregation of the Saints, and plead for the
leadership of the people, the spirit and power of the Almighty
descended upon the man whom God had chosen to hold the keys. In the
midst of all Israel, in the face of the entire congregation of
believers and unbelievers, God clothed His servant with such power and
in such a manner that every man that had the least portion of the
spirit of God, and every woman, knew by the manifestations of that
spirit, and by the outpouring of the gift of God upon that man, that
he was the chosen one, and that upon him rested the authority,
and the power, and the gifts that had been borne by the Prophet Joseph
during his lifetime. No more plainly was the power of God manifested
in behalf of Elisha, after the taking away of Elijah, than it was
manifested in behalf of President Brigham Young, when the Prophet
Joseph was taken from the earth, and from that day, while he lived on
the earth until he died, the Lord magnified him in the eyes of the
people and blessed those who listened to his counsel.
When he departed there was no contention, there was no strife as to
who should be the leader. The men of God had learned by experience
concerning the Priesthood, and as to who should bear the keys. There
was, therefore, no contention among the leaders nor among the people.
There was no special necessity for any particular manifestation. But I
appeal to you, my brethren and sisters, today, in this conference
assembled—has not God accompanied the President of His Church who
succeeded Brigham Young—has He not accompanied him, has He not
accompanied his acts, his counsels and his leadership of the people by
every sign, by every blessing, by every manifestation of power
necessary to confirm in the hearts of Israel the truth that he is
indeed the man whom God had designated, whom God had chosen, and whom
God desired to lead His people Israel? I have no doubt of it, never
had any. I knew it before anything was heard or anything was said. I
knew it by the revelations of Almighty God to me, that God had chosen
His servant John Taylor, to preside over this Church. I know it
today. I rejoice in this knowledge, and I rejoice that God still
continues to manifest His power through His anointed one, and through
the channel of the Holy Priesthood, having but one man at a time on
the earth unto whom He gives the keys to preside over the Church, and
give revelations to the entire Church, as a church and as a people. He
has chosen him from among the prophets, apostles, seers and
revelators, to bear the keys of the everlasting Priesthood upon the
earth in the flesh, he having the power and authority to act for the
entire people, and to receive the mind and will of God for the entire
people. And thus God up to the present time has confirmed His work by
signs following: every man in his place, enjoying the spirit of God,
and the gifts of his office—the President of the Twelve in his office
and in his calling; blessing the Apostles who act as the council of
the Twelve; blessing the Presidents of Stakes with the spirit and
power and gifts of that calling—blessing their counsels and filling
them with the power necessary to magnify the Priesthood to which they
are called; blessing the Presiding Bishop and his Counselors; blessing
the Bishops and their Counselors; blessing the High Councils; blessing
the Seventies, High Priests, Elders and Lesser Priesthood; every man
in his place and station receiving his portion of the gifts and
blessings and power of God according to his faith and diligence, and
his obedience to the commands of God, and also according to the office
and position that he holds in the Priesthood of the Son of God.
God in His marvelous kindness and mercy has organized His Church in
perfection, and has given to every man that bears a portion of the
Holy Priesthood, if he will magnify the same, the gifts and graces
necessary thereto; to given to every woman and to every child who is
faithful in the Church of God, the spirit that belongs to the
position of each, according to the faith and necessities of each. And
thus it is that heaven is moved on our behalf; thus it is that the
power of God is manifested from time to time; thus it is that the
people are led and guided as they are and as they have been from the
beginning until the present time, and thus it will be until the end,
until the Church shall be as a bride prepared for the coming of the
bridegroom, for the coming of the Lord Jesus, who is our head, and who
will preside over us and over the Church and Kingdom that will be
organized upon the earth.
Oh, my brethren and sisters, God is not working in vain in our midst.
He is not working in hidden places. He is not concealing His hand and
His power. He is ready to bless every man in His Church who will
magnify His office and calling. He is ready to bestow the gifts and
qualifications of that office upon every man according to his
diligence and faithfulness before Him. But the idle man, the slothful
man, the man that shirks his responsibility, the man that avoids
duty, the duty of a Deacon, Teacher, Priest, or Bishop, Elder,
Seventy, High Priest, or an Apostle, or one of the First
Presidency—every man that does this God will take from him His gifts
and His blessings; He will withdraw them and give them to the faithful
one. He will clothe His faithful servants with the power that belongs
to the Priesthood in proportion to the diligence and faithfulness in
seeking to magnify their calling, and to live near unto their God.
Mark this, and let it bear with weight upon your mind, for I tell you
it is so. You may ordain a man to be an apostle, but if he does not
seek to magnify that office and priesthood, the gifts of it will not
be with him as they would be with a man who does seek to magnify his
calling: no matter how great his ability, the power of God will not
accompany him unless he seeks for it, for God will be sought after,
and God will be plead with for His gifts and graces and for revelation
and knowledge; He will be sought after by His children, and then when
He is sought after, He will bestow.
Now, when I speak about one who has a right to give revelations to the
Church, I do not mean by that to say that others shall not receive
revelation; for this is a day of revelation. We know the sentiment of
Moses when Joshua became jealous of two of the Seventy Elders
prophesying. The Seventy were gathered around about the tabernacle to
receive the words of the Lord from Moses, when the Spirit rested upon
them, as also upon two of the men who had remained in the camp. Joshua
was jealous for the honor of his master, and asked Moses to forbid
them prophesying. But, no, Moses replied: "Would God that all the
Lord's people were Prophets, and that the Lord would put His Spirit
upon them." He had no jealousy about prophecy. He desired that every
man in the whole camp of Israel might have the spirit of prophecy, and
he gave utterance to that beautiful, glorious expression which I have
just quoted. So with the Elders of Israel today. Would to God all the
Lord's people were Prophets. Would to God that every man in Israel had
the spirit and power and gift of prophecy resting upon him. Would to
God that every woman had the spirit of prophecy resting upon her, and
every child. Would to God that all the hosts of Israel, those
of the Church of God, had the Holy Ghost and its gifts resting in
power upon them. There is no room for jealousy in regard to the
possession of this gift in the breast of a servant of God. The only
feeling that it ought to produce in the breast of a faithful man is
one of thankfulness, one of thanksgiving to God that others share in
this blessing, that others can partake of this power, that others have
received of this glorious gift from our Father in Heaven. There is no
room for jealousy, therefore, in such cases. Let every man press
forward humbly and obediently in the path of exaltation, in the path
that leads to God. Let every man press forward. He need not be afraid
that any Latter-day Saint will impede his progress. Let every man
speak and act and do as though he were a servant of God, as he is, as
a son of God; let him do this and rejoice in it. At the same time let
him be careful not to be lifted up in pride, not forgetting who he is,
but obedient to constituted authority, that authority which God has
placed in His Church, and, then, if he does not forget these things,
there is nothing to prevent his onward progress. If he be an Elder, if
he should have the gifts and power that an Apostle should have, who
will be jealous? Certainly no servant of God. If he be a Deacon, and
he has gifts from God, through faithfulness, that belong to an office
higher than his own, is there anyone who will not rejoice in it, or
anyone who will retard him or throw obstructions in his way? God
forbid that there should be.
Now, in connection with this subject, a man a few days ago—it suggests
itself to my mind and I will speak upon it—brought a communication
addressed to President Tay lor and his Counselors, and we read it. It
purported to be a message from God—a message from God to us, that is
to the First Presidency, and through us to the Church. We read the
message, but could see nothing in it particularly; there was
considerable said, but there was nothing tangible, or that gave us
light upon any point that we did not understand before. The man said
he had been in the Church three years, but he had not received the
Priesthood. He had had some spiritual manifestation, in which he heard
a voice say, "thou art a Priest after the order of Melchizedek."
I wish to speak upon this point, that is, in connection with this
subject that I have been speaking upon. God has organized His Church.
He has placed in that Church its officers. As I have said, He has
given to one man, and to one man only, at a time, the keys to preside
over and to communicate the mind and will of God to that Church. While
that man is in that position, seeking to magnify it, he will not speak
to other men and give them revelations for His Church. I wish you all
to understand what I have endeavored to impress upon you—that it is
the privilege of every one to receive revelation. It is the privilege
of every mother to receive revelation from God for guidance in the
training of her children; to be in communication with the Father
through the Holy Spirit. It is the privilege of children to have the
same Spirit, and to have knowledge from God through that Spirit. What
for? To teach the parents? No. If their parents are in the path of
duty, it is not so; but it is, as I have said, the privilege of every
man, woman and child in the Church to have revelation, to have
knowledge, to be instructed of the Lord. But that does not give
them the right to give revelations to the Church. God did not design
it. God never has warranted or sustained any such action. Therefore,
he that cometh in by any other way than by the door, you know what is
said of him; he that climbeth over the wall, he that receiveth
authority from some source outside of that which God recognizes, we as
a people are not bound to receive anything that may be communicated to
him. Out of that which is communicated in that way, there may be
nineteen truths out of twenty statements; but there will be error,
there will be falsehood, there will be something that will mislead,
because there is not the authority from God to lead and to act. God
has His own method of doing things. He chooses whom He will; He takes
away, and removes from the path those that He wishes. It is all
according to His good will and pleasure. He gives unto us authority,
and, as I have said, He confirms it by signs following; and this
Church from the day of its organization, up to the present time has
never been one hour, yea I may say, one moment without revelation,
without having a man in our midst who can tell us as a people the mind
and will of God, who can point out to us that which we should do, who
can teach us the doctrines of Christ, who can point out to us that
which is false and incorrect, and who can, upon all matters that come
within the range of our experience, and that are necessary for us to
attend to give us the necessary counsel and instruction. This has been
the case always. Therefore, a man may receive mighty signs—I heard the
Prophet Joseph, when I was a boy, say that the time would come when
false prophets would work mighty miracles in the eyes of the people of
the earth, and they would seek to establish their authority by the
performance of mighty miracles, and we have heard of such things in
our day since his death—but this does not sustain a man in claiming to
be leader of a people, and to give revelations from God. But there is
a spirit that God gives; there is an influence that accompanies His
word when it is proclaimed by His servants that seals itself upon the
hearts of the honest, upon the hearts of the meek and lowly, and those
who are living in close communion with God themselves seals upon their
hearts the truth of that which He says: I have no fears of any of you,
my brethren and sisters, if you will only live near to God. I said the
leaders of this Church do not come bolstering up their own claims. It
is not necessary. You are the witnesses. You are the witnesses whether
John Taylor is President of the Church; whether his Counselors are the
men they should be; whether the Twelve have the authority they claim;
whether the Presidents of Stakes have the authority they claim—you
have this testimony, you are our witnesses, and all the Israel of God,
wherever they live, are witnesses of the truth of these things. You
can testify because you have received—if you should live as you should
do—a testimony independent of that which we can give to you, or any
argument that we may urge—you have received it, if you have received
it properly, from our Eternal Father. You received it in answer to
prayer, direct to yourselves—not through any intermediate source, not
through any man, but through the Eternal Spirit of our Father
descending upon you and bearing witness to you—a testimony that
these things are true. You, therefore, are living witnesses of the
truth of these things, and know for yourselves whether they are true
or not.
Now, I have heard that there are men among us who are professing to
cure witchcraft and other evils of that kind. I believe they call
themselves astrologers. More injurious ideas and practices than these
cannot be introduced among a people to lead them to destruction, and I
wish to warn you before sitting down, in regard to this. Do not seek
for those who have peepstones, for soothsayers, and for those who
profess to be able to counteract the influence of witchcraft. They who
say so, seek to play upon your fears, they seek to take advantage of
superstitious fears, and seek to use them for their own advantage and
bring those who will listen to them in bondage to an influence and
spirit that is as foreign to the spirit of God as hell is foreign to
heaven. Any man who professes to have this authority, to have this
power, and to use power outside of that which the Priesthood
authorizes, is a man that should not be listened to; his claims are
false, and his methods are from beneath and not from God. And I say to
all of you, witchcraft you may defy if you live as you should do—defy
it, not in a spirit of defiance, not in a spirit to bring evil
influences upon you, but in the power and strength of our Father and
God. No evil influence of that kind, if you live as you should do, can
have power over you; you are entrenched in the power of God, in the
spirit and gifts of God; you are entrenched round about so that none
of these wicked influences can have power over you. I wonder if Job
thought there was somebody bewitching him when his property was stolen
and destroyed, when his servants were killed, when his son's house
fell and killed his children, when his boils came upon him. I wonder
if he thought that he was bewitched. Why, I hear of some people, if
anything happens to them, even if any of their chickens die, who are
ready to say: "I am bewitched; there is somebody bewitching me." Such
expressions and ideas are prompted by the worst folly that ever
possessed the mind of a Latter-day Saint. Do not such persons know
that not a hair of their heads can fall to the ground unnoticed? Has
not the Savior said so, our Lord and Master? And if so, do you not
think He will care for us? Do not your angels stand continually before
the face of our Father in heaven? And yet shall people unto whom God
has made such glorious promises, and upon whom He has poured out such
glorious blessings—shall they bow to these wicked influences, these
spirits that are not of God, that are full of vileness and darkness
and evil, and do that which they say, and seek to wizards and to
soothsayers, and to diviners and to men and women who, by hidden works
of darkness, profess to obtain knowledge—will the Latter-day Saints do
this to take their vile remedies, and if their children are sick, seek
unto them? The men and women who do this—I do not want to prophesy
evil about them—are in great danger of losing the spirit and power of
God, and having it withdrawn from them, and if they do not repent it
will most assuredly be withdrawn from them. All who take these methods
and encourage these practices I say that the anger of Almighty God
will descend upon them unless they repent, and they will find that their hidden works of darkness will not avail them when the Lord
feels after them, and when His condemnation rests upon them; they will
find this out to their everlasting sorrow. Men who are guilty of these
practices, and who seek to lead away the unwary, and to prey upon the
ignorant and unsophisticated, and to take advantage of their fears,
and instil superstition into the mind, cannot escape condemnation.
These methods are not of God, and beware of them, all of you, and tell
all your friends that it is sinful in the sight of God to yield to
such influences. Pray, rather, to the Father, in the name of Jesus, to
let His angels be around about you, to let His power encircle you, to
let His Spirit be in your hearts and in your habitations, and rest
down upon your little ones, and be of strong faith, and say, like Job,
"Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him." Yes, that righteous man,
though God should slay him, yet he would not fail to trust Him to the
uttermost.
Let these truths rest upon your minds and be not forgotten, and let us
seek as a people to have the gifts and power and blessings of our
Father and God resting upon us continually. I pray God for this
blessing to be with you always, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
- George Q. Cannon