The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-11-15
Sermon Yesterday Afternoon by
President Geo. Q. Cannon.
THE UNITY OF THE SAINTS
LOVE AND UNION CHARACTER
TSTICS OF GODS PEOPLE.
These characteristics Are Dreaded
By the World, Says President
Cannon-The Selection of Apostles
Woodruff and Cowley Referred
To.

President George @. Cannon preach
ed the sermon at the tabernacle yester-
day afternoon His text was from the
admonition of Christ, in which the
Saints are told to love one another.
Love for one another said President
Cannon was one of the most important
things that Christ attempted to i'm
press upon his disciples. When Saints
love one another, they are united, and
love and union are two characteristics
of the people of God. They are the two
signs by which the true followers of
Christ may be recognized, and when
these are absent, it is apparent that
the people are not doing the will of
God.
Love is an essential part of the latter
day work When elders preach the
gospel to the world, a new love is born
in the breast of those who believe, and
they feel a love for the work of God
and the servants of God that is strong
er than the love of family. 1t is Gods
will that the Saints should dwell to-
gether in unity and love.
1t is stranger, therefore, that it was
the unity of the Saints that was most
condemned by the people of the world.
This was the cry in Ohio and Missouri.
This was put forth as the reason for
| the persecution of the Saints, and
was the underlying charge among the
| accusations made against the people
of God
Since the late division on party lines
in this state, there has been practically
no objection of this kind. But when
ever they see a disposition to unite.
they raise an outcry, for the union
among the Saints is dreaded. The
reason is that the Saints are different
from the rest of the world in that
particular, and therefore the world is
opposed to them. If the people would
live in harmony with the world, the
world would embrace them. But that
is not the disposition of the Latter-day
| Saints. The fault men find with this
unity is the greatest compliment that
could be paid. Union and love are
desirable and it would be better if they
prevailed to an even greater extent
among the Saints. This people are
delegated to bring about a new order
of things, and their mission is to warn
| the world of the judgments that are to
come and of the approaching advent
of the Son of Man.
The world must be told that God will
cleanse it. There must be prepara-
ton for the 1000 years of peace. Be
| fore that great day there will be wars
and rumors of wars, and tribulations
will fall upon the earth. The Saints
have been delegated to go into all the
world with this warning, and they are
enabled at the same time to make the
promise that those who believe will re-
ceive testimony from the Holy Ghost
of the truth of the work in which
Latter-day Saints are engaged. God s
design is that the people shall become
the progenitors of a new generation
and a new world, as Noah and the few
4 vi ht x1-6o inc h
were in the olden days.
Elders offer no inducements for con-
verts to come to Utah and join with the
people. In fact. they have been in
structed to discourage people from do
ing So for it is better for them to re-
main in their native lands and be faith
full to the work than to come here and
be disposed to apostatize on account of
the trials they are likely to encounter
In reality when the people of the world
get the spirit of the work they have
a natural, intense desire to come to
where the body of the church is. The
history of the world furnishes no other
example of such a gathering. The
Saints generally love one another and
are practically one. When the marvel
of their unity and the great gathering
to the new Zion is considered it is less
difficult to imagine them as the pro-
genitors of new race.
The Saints who are performing Their
duties have the spirit of God with
them. Recently when two new apostles
were chosen, many of the Saints had il
revealed to them who the choice OF
God would be for those positions. The
newspapers had been making prog
nostications regarding the matter, anc
had mentioned in that connection
many of the leading men of the church
1t is gratifying to know that the
Saints, who are gifted with the spirit
Of prophecy, did not fall into a like
error. The newspapers failed in every
instance to mention either of the two
men named as apostles at the last con.
ference. This shows that the spirit o.
prophecy exists among the Latter day
Saints. They should cultivate not only
that gift but all the other gifts anC
graces- of the gospel.
-SNEE>~D-
Call For Our