George Q. Cannon

“ Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, David Patten and other martyrs may fall, Brother Joseph Standing among the rest their blood may be shed, and the blood of others yet living may yet be shed to confirm the testimony that has been borne, but though this is the case, there is this to console us who live, to console us in contemplating the future for ourselves and our posterity after us, and it is that there is no power on earth, nor in hell that can destroy the church that God has established, nor obliterate the priesthood from the earth again as it was obliterated in ancient days. ”

“ God has not left the inhabitants of the earth without a witness, God has not left them without some testimony which they can obtain to assure them that the words of God's servants—that is the true servants of God—which they hear are from him. ”

“ Men wonder very frequently at the testimonies that we bear. They express surprise that a people so few in number as we are, should imagine that there is so much importance attending the testimonies that we bear, or the Gospel that we preach. But it is a remarkable fact, abundantly sustained in the history of God's dealings with the children of men, that he does not hold mankind guiltless because there are only a few who are the oracles of truth in their midst and who have the authority to proclaim that truth. ”

“ It is plain from the reading of these passages of Scripture that you have heard, that innocent blood—the blood of the servants of God, of the prophets, of the wise men, of the scribes, all those who have the testimony of Jesus, who are the bearers of the word of God—when shed wickedly, remains as a heavy debt to be atoned for at some period by the inhabitants of the earth. ”

“ When Joseph Smith stood alone, when he had only two or three followers, and he declared unto those by whom he was surrounded that God had spoken to him from the heavens, that God had revealed the everlasting gospel in its ancient purity and power, that God had sent his holy angels to him, and that those angels had laid their hands upon his head, and upon the head of Oliver Cowdery, and ordained them to the everlasting Priesthood, his testimony was as binding upon those who heard it as if millions of men had testified to the same truths. ”

“ But God has given unto us the truth; it is worth more than all else beside. He has revealed himself to us. When we pray to him we know that he hears us. When we ask him for a blessing that we need we have the testimony from on high that he hears our prayers, that he is willing to answer and grant unto us the righteous desires of our hearts. These things compensate for the loss of all other advantages; we have this consolation which our persecutors do not have.
The Prophets who have preceded us have been slain generation after generation; they have passed away. ”

“ There are reasons existing now and that will continue to exist and operate, why the blood of those who have been slain for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus in ancient days, should be avenged upon some generation in the future, from the time that John spake and wrote the revelation he had received. Jesus said when he was upon the earth: "And this is the condemnation; that light is come into the world and men love darkness rather than light." ”

“ We indulged in bright anticipations for his future, not because of his birth, not because his parents were rich, not because of any extraordinary talent which he possessed, not because of any earthly advantages, but because in his youth he humbled himself before God and attained a knowledge concerning the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and burning with zeal, he had a heartfelt desire to proclaim the great truths which God had revealed to him, to a fallen world and tried to save the children of men from the pit into which they were likely to be engulfed. ”

“ The generation in which he lived were held to a stricter accountability than any preceding generation, because he himself, the Son of God, was in their midst, performing mighty works, preaching the Gospel of the kingdom in its purity and in its power, and communicating unto them the mind and will of heaven. Every generation who have the privilege of hearing the pure Gospel of Jesus preached in its fulness are held to a similar accountability. Their position is different to that of the generations who do not have that privilege. ”

“ He endeavored to persuade men to lead purer, holier lives, and proclaimed that the days of God's judgment was near at hand. He went forth to declare these principles, filled with zeal, filled with good desires, exemplary in his life, pure in his conversation, the admiration of all who knew him, the joy of his father's household, an example to all his associates of the same years, and even to those older than himself, a young man of whom we all had great hopes, whose future we thought was bright. ”

“ We live on the threshold of a new era; the work that God has established in our day shall never be given to another people. The priesthood which God has restored, the authority by which men can ad-minister in the ordinances of God—that priesthood shall never be taken from the earth. ”

“ They think they are doing God service; they are actuated by a spirit of which they know nothing. They are to be pitied, they are to be mourned over, and the day will come when, as we comprehend the sufferings of those who did these deeds, our souls will swell with pity and compassion and sorrow for their wretched condition. I pray that the Spirit of the Gospel may rest down upon all of us, and that the peace of heaven may be and abide in all our hearts, which I ask in the name of Jesus. ”

“ A servant of God who has occupied a faithful position, who has been true, who has been upright, who has been blameless, has fallen a victim—a victim to that hate that the adversary of souls seeks to instill into the hearts of all the children of men who will be led and guided by him, and the men who have to mourn today are those who have been guilty of this foul deed. ”

“ If you will read the history of Gods ways of dealing with the children of men throughout all ages, you will find that it is invariably the case that judgments and calamities, the fiery indignation of the Almighty always follow the rejection of his truth, when that truth is proclaimed by his authorized servants, such as are apostles and prophets. If Nineveh had not heard the voice of Jonah, the Ninevites could not have been held to the same accountability as those to whom the word of the Lord had been proclaimed ”

“ When God communicates his mind and will unto his children by the medium of angels, by the medium of prophets, by the medium of holy men whom he has raised up, those who hear that testimony, those unto whom that message is communicated, are held to a strict accountability to obey the same or be held in great condemnation for their rejection of it. ”

“ It was necessary when this Church was started that angels should come to restore that which was taken away, the everlasting priesthood, but there will be no future necessity for this. We are at the threshold of a thousand years of peace, we are engaged in laying the foundation of that work which shall stand forever, not only the the thousand years but as long as time shall last and as long as the earth itself shall endure. ”

“ The land that ought to mourn is the land that has been drenched with his blood. If the Governor, the Judges, the Legis-lature, and the other officials of the State of Georgia feel as they should they will not rest satisfied until there shall be atonement made, and the guilty wretches who took part in this great crime shall have been brought to justice. ”

“ God does not hold people accountable for that which they do not know, or that which they have not had an opportunity of knowing. Where there is no law, there is no transgression. Transgression commences when the law is received and men reject it. ”

“ Not but what I believe the Governor is an upright man, and, so far as I am acquainted with him, would do everything in his power to punish these murderers; but there are other influences at work that are stronger than the influence of the Governor, there are prejudices harder to conquer than anything else that can be met with and there are hundreds, and probably thousands of people who think that in killing the "Mormons" they are doing God's service. ”

“ Why, they being in ignorance of God, they having no revelation from God, they not having heard the voice of angels, they being split up into parties and sects, and divided and quarrelling respecting the points of doctrine which Christ revealed—they being in this position should humble themselves and ask God, in the name of Jesus, and in mighty prayer to reveal unto them whether the testimony of those men who come with this new revelation be true or false. ”

“ Has God communicated his mind and will to you?" and the universal answer from all sects is "No, revelation has ceased, God no longer speaks to man; we depend upon his written word in the Bible for our knowledge of God. ”

“ It would be difficult and it would not be right that we should repress the natural emotions of our hearts, that we should stifle those natural affections; it is right and proper that we should shed sympathetic tears, allow the heart's affection to flow out in this manner and receive relief by the tears that are shed. ”

“ If there was but one prophet on the face of the earth, and he had no followers, but stood alone in the midst of the nations of the earth, his warnings would be followed by terrible results if they were disregarded by those who heard them. ”

“ Shall we hate them for this? No; they are to be pitied. Men who indulge in such feelings carry with them in their own breasts their punishment, and they will experience a still more severe punishment before they get through. ”