The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-02-26
THE TABERNACLE.
Two Eloquent Ser
mons Sunday.
The HOUSE Is FILLED
President Woodruff and Apos'
tie Cannon Speak.
THE RESULT OF PERSECUTION
They Refer to the Organization,
Growth and Future OF the
Church.
President Woodruff and Apes
tie Cannon Speak.
THE RESULT OF PERSECUTION
They Refer to the Organization,
Growth and Future OF the
Church.

DAY Afternoon. Long before the nOur
for opening the services, large con-
course of people had assembled in the
building. At a few minutes past 2
o'clock the ground floor and galleries
were well filed, and many, having
failed to secure seats, were obliged to
stand. A pleasing feature, and one
most gratifying to the congregation,
was the appearance of President Will
ford Woodruff and Apostle George Q.
Cannon on the stand. There were also
present Apostles Franklin D. Richards,
John Henry Smith. Reber ]. Grant and
John W. Taylor.
After the meeting was called to order
by President Angus NJ. Cannon, the
choir sang:
Wen sing all hail to Jesus name
Honor and praise we give
To Him who bled on Calvary'E hill,
And died that we might live. II
The opening prayer was offered by
Elder Lorin Farr.
The choir and congregation then
sang:
Mid scenes of confusion and creature COM
plants.
How sweet to my soul is communion with
Saints
To find at the banquet of mercy there's
And feel, in the presence of Jesus, at home.
The Sacrament was administered by
the priesthood of the TWenty-irst
Ward.
Apostle George Q. Cannon,
who arose to address the congregation
said:
In standing up to address you, my
brethren and sisters, this afternoon, L
feel to appeal to you that you will give
me the benefit Of your faith and
prayers. -Four years and,upwerds have
past since 1 mad the privilege of ad-
dressing a congregation in this Taber-
nacle. The thought of speaking to you
to-day has caused me to tremble, I
have fear for myself. l have known
how difficult it is to control emotions
under the circumstances. But l haYe
come here hoping and trusting that !
would have the presence and the assist
ance of the spirit of the Lord to give
me such thoughts and words as to
express to you the mind and will of God.
l shall not attempt to describe the
feeling that have upon this occasion.
l have been an exceedingly happy man
during the past few days. 1 feel to- day
that this is one of the happiest days of
my life. l feel to rejoice exceedingly
in the goodness of our God, injthe bless
ings which He has bestowed upon US as
people, feel full of hope and good
cheer; no respondent feeling, no feel
ing of depression, no feeling of sorrow,
has crossed my heart or my mind; l do
not know how the body of the Saints
feel, not having had the opportunity of
mingling with them of late, as l have
done in former times. l, therefore, am
left to judge of your feeling by the re-
ports which | have heard from my
brethren that had better opportunity
than l, and from the testimony of the
spirit of the Lord to me. But so far as
my own feelings are concerned, L feel that
this is one of the happiest days for Zion
that has been witnessed in the last
fifty-eight years; not because l am
here, not because President Woodruff
is in your midst, but because of the
great work itself, the progress that it
has made, the attitude that it assumes
to-day in the midst of the earth. Now
upon this point perhaps there may be
some who differ with me. l know that
there is general feeling in some quar-
tiers outside of the Latter-day Saints
that "MormCuism," as it is called, is
about to be overthrown. And there
NAV be some inside the church whose
faith has become weakened by recent
events and by the prospect there is be-
fore US, looking at matters from nat
uraI standpoint. But in my reflections,
in my seeking to know, as far
as possible, the mind and will of the
spirit of God, have not been oppressed
by any feeling of dependency or fear.
l have besought the Lord that, if that
were the right feeling to have when we
are in deep and apparently inextrica-
BILE trouble and when disaster was por-
tended, might have thatfeeling within
me, But up to this present moment
have not been able to contain any such
feeling. No thought of this character
has oppressed me. l expect trials, [
expect difficulties, ! expect persecu-
tions. prosecutions which may result in
serious consequences, 30 far as this life
is concerned. To some of US, perhaps,
it NAV cost blood; it may cost the lives
of some of the people of God. These
are consequences which we have been
taught to expect from the beginning.
When l became old enough to compre-
bend the character of this work, the
nature of the opposition that it would
have to meet with in the world, the
murderous character of Satan's efforts
as they were manifested in past ages,
and as l believed they would be in this
age, / made up my mind that If got
through safely, if L secured the crown
and the glory which God has promised
unto those who will be faithful to His
cause and to His son Jesus Christ, if l
got through and received the great
glory at the cost of everything on earth
that l have dear to me, even the life
itself, I ought to be satisfied, and |