George Q. Cannon

“ The songs of Zion ascended from the camps of Israel and peace brooded over the people. Barefooted, and in many instances hungry, they travelled on with their faces westward, their faith failing not; for, as I have said, the angels of God were round about them and His spirit was upon them; and at no period of their history was the power of God more exhibited than during that trying time when God led His servant to this then wild and forbidding region.
Since we have been here, He has blessed us as a people. ”

“ Jesus says his yoke is easy and his burden light.
We talk of power, and object to the undue exercise of authority. But think of the power given in ancient days, and which has been restored in these days, that man exercises when he goes forth into the water and baptizes a person! Do you ever think of the greatness of the power thus exercised? And further, when the candidate for baptism emerges from the water and has hands laid upon him for the reception of the Holy Ghost, do you think of the power that God has entrusted unto men on earth when they exercise that holy ordinance? ”

“ Paul said, "Do ye not know that the Saints shall judge the world?" On one occasion Jesus said, "Ye who have followed me in the regeneration, when the Son of Man shall sit on the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." ”

“ Joseph had lifted up his voice in solemn warning to the inhabitants of the earth, and declared that God had spoken in these latter days. But his blood and that of other holy men and Saints was shed by wicked men, and their blood, mingled with that of the martyred Saints of past ages, cries unto the Lord for vengeance. The very earth itself groans under the weight of wickedness and corruption that abound on its surface, and the Lord has declared that it shall be delivered. ”

“ My brethren and sisters, my prayers are that God will bless us as a people and sanctify us to walk in all humility and meekness before Him, honoring His laws; for when we honor His laws we honor the laws of righteousness and the laws of the land in equity and truth. We will honor men in their place; we will honor the Government and everything that is just and honorable and true. That God may sustain us and help us to sustain the Priesthood, and to follow its requirements, that eventually we may be saved in His kingdom, is my prayer in the name of Jesus, Amen. ”

“ If the Saints had wanted evidence in relation to who was the right man and who had the authority, the very fact that the world hated, reviled and persecuted Brigham should have been sufficient evidence that he was taking the path which Joseph had trod, and that his course was pleasing in the sight of Heaven, and consequently hateful in the sight of hell. ”

“ The keys of the Priesthood have been fully honored, not by man alone, but they have been honored by God; and the exercise of that authority which God bestowed on Joseph Smith by the ministration of holy angels, has been a blessing to many thousands in this land. We have had peace, we have had good government, and the songs and prayers of the Saints have ascended up from their habitations unto the Most High God, and Heaven has been moved in our behalf, to bless and preserve us and give us victory and deliverance in every time of trouble ”

“ It seems as though the adversary, in the day in which we live, seeks, by every means in his power, to undermine the influence and the authority of the man whom God has called to preside over His people. If you will observe, you may perceive in what direction the shafts of the adversary are aimed. In the days of Joseph, he was the man against whom all the enemies of truth hurled their malicious shots ”

“ See the blessings that have followed the administrations of these men in our midst. Who would exchange the peace, the joy, and the knowledge we have concerning the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ for the meagre and vague ideas of God and His kingdom that prevailed before the people became acquainted with it? God has given unto us those precious blessings. He has gathered us together from the nations of the earth; He has multiplied upon us abundantly, joys more precious than gold or silver, namely, the riches of eternity ”

“ Let me assure you, brethren and sisters, if there is anything in our hearts that interferes with our complete love of God and our reverence for Him and His work, we shall have to banish it, or sooner or later we shall lose our standing in the Church of God; for He wants a people who will render implicit obedience to His laws and the requirements of His Gospel, and who will love Him better than any earthly thing, and place a higher value on the gifts of the Spirit than on worldly possessions or even life itself. ”

“ Instead of being hated and calumniated, and men seeking their lives and persecuting them, they were hailed with seeming pleasure and satisfaction. Men bade them "God speed" and urged them forward to claim the rights they called their own. But against Brigham Young, our President, the old feeling of animosity, that had been entertained against Joseph, existed with as great bitterness and intensity in the minds of the enemies of the Kingdom of God as it had existed during the lifetime of Joseph against him. ”

“ Yet a man can be a democrat and a lover of freedom and liberty and enjoy them to the fullest, and honor the Priesthood. There is a difference between priestcraft and Priesthood. Priestcraft builds up itself, it is not authorized of God. Priestcraft oppresses the people; but the Priesthood of God emancipates men and women and makes them free. ”

“ But before the great day of vengeance shall come, when wickedness shall be utterly swept from off the face of the earth, it is necessary that the Elders should proclaim the Gospel to every nation, kindred and tongue on the face of the earth, that the honest in heart may be gathered out and that a people may be found who shall be prepared to meet the Lord at His coming. ”

“ But when the Lord spoke to Joseph about falling, He said he would have authority to appoint another in his stead, and that no one would have the right to act except he was ordained by authority, or came in through the gate. You may know by the revelation I have read that no man can get the authority elsewhere. It must come through the holy Priesthood. Men may say they have heard the voice of Jesus, or heard this, that or the other; but you will find that the power of God will attend the keys, and His blessing will follow the administration of His servants who hold the authority. ”

“ We are all alike before God; He loves us all alike; we are all the creatures of His care; but there must be rule, there must be government; there must be order, or this would not be the kingdom of God. The Lord chose President Young to rule and dictate in the affairs of His Church when His servant Joseph was taken from the earth.
Look at the singular combination of circumstances which caused Brigham Young to be President of the Twelve. ”

“ Said Jesus, "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven." Peter therefore held those keys. What wonderful consistency on the part of the Lord, that He should descend from Heaven and confer those keys on men here on the earth!
There are men who say that Joseph was an unlearned impostor ”

“ These principles seem to be clearly understood, and in them the people are apparently fully indoctrinated; and though men may deny the faith, in one sense, and turn away from the path of righteousness, and dissolve their connection with the Church, yet they will cling, in most instances, to what we term the first principles of the Gospel of Christ; and it is a very rare thing to see those who have been members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints turning away and joining what we call sectarian churches. ”

“ But there are other principles more advanced with which the people are not so familiar, and of this the adversary seeks to take advantage; and when men deny the faith, they are apt to deny these principles; and when they get into the dark, there is probably no point upon which they differ more frequently than that which relates to the authority that is exercised in presiding. This is a point that the adversary always aims at. ”

“ The Lord has proved to us, in the midst of the many trials and difficulties with which we have had to contend during our brief existence as a Church, when surrounded by mobs, when our lives were in danger and the lives of our leaders were threatened when the persecutors of the Saints were howling like a pack of ravening wolves for the blood of this people, that there is something far more precious and estimable than mere eating and drinking and the pleasures and enjoyments of life ”

“ For verily I say unto you, that he that is ordained of me shall come in at the gate and be ordained as I have told you before, to teach those revelations which you have received, and shall receive through him whom I have appointed."
It is a good thing for us, as a people, to let our minds dwell upon the principles which God our Heavenly Father has given unto us by revelation in this, as well as in preceding ages. ”

“ He has proved to us most effectively that there are riches more precious and far more estimable in the sight of God and good and virtuous men than the perishable things of this world. He has built up a kingdom in which these things will be held at their true value, for He will cleanse from the midst of His people those who idolize riches. ”

“ There are some principles which have become firmly rooted in the minds of the Latter-day Saints. It is a difficult thing to cause them to doubt in relation to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance of sin, baptism for the remission of sins and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. ”

“ When we have prayed to the Almighty to give us wisdom and humility to obey the counsels of His servant, He has given unto us His Holy Spirit and witnessed unto our hearts that this course was pleasing and acceptable in His sight. ”

“ The Lord, in His goodness and mercy unto His children, has not left them in ignorance concerning the plan of salvation, nor the manner in which He intends His Church to be built up. He has revealed unto us many principles for our guidance, and they are essentially necessary to enable us to grow and increase in the things of His kingdom; for in these days, as well as in preceding days, as the apostle has said, there are many spirits gone forth into the world and there are many influences brought to bear upon the minds of the children of men. ”

“ God chooses men as guardians and shepherds over His people• We are all of one great family; we are all the children of God, and are all alike before Him. "Yes," says one, "we are all alike, and therefore there is no distinction between us." But let me suppose a case. Suppose a man who has a large family of sons and daughters, were to be called on a mission to go abroad to preach the Gospel of Christ, and had to be absent for years ”

“ There are many creeds, doctrines, and views propagated industriously by those who entertain them, and unless we cling to the truth and pursue the path which our Heavenly Father desires His children to walk in, with all our claims, and the promises which have been made unto us, we are as liable to go astray as any other people. ”

“ Instead of being the subject of all the evil remarks, all the calumny, all the hatred, slander, bloodthirstiness and denunciations applied to the Prophet Joseph, singular to state, when you take into consideration the pretensions of those men, the wicked hailed them as brethren, consorted with them, became very brotherly, very fraternal, and looked upon them as very good, clever fellows. ”

“ If they leave this Church, it is an exceedingly difficult thing for them to connect themselves with other denominations, because the Scriptures are so familiar to them, the principles contained therein are so plain to their understanding that, unless there is some speculation, some mercenary or other end to be gained by their alliance with people of other creeds, they are very apt to stand aloof; that is, where they have a thorough understanding of the principles of the Gospel. ”

“ We may engage in this work with all our hearts in view of the glorious reward that is promised unto the faithful; or we may fight against it and use our every power to consummate its overthrow; it makes no difference. The word of the Lord Almighty has gone forth to the people of this generation, and it will not remain unfulfilled. ”

“ Do they not exercise that volition just as much by obeying that son as they would by each one taking his or her own course, and saying, "I will judge for myself, as to the correctness of what you say and will differ from you whenever I please." ”