Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1897-09-25
DISCOURSE
Delivered City Utah Sunday septer
Der 10. 1897,
PRESIDENT GEORGE O. CANNON
tnrponrrp ny ARTHUR wrNrrnl

ma could not be easily substantiated.
Now, 1t is consolation To know
ihnt we are striving to attain to the
very objects and blessings that our
Lord and Savior and His disciples
taught as essential. Men say:
You MormOns are mistaken. These
things are done away with. They be-
long to another age. You are making
a great blunder in contending for the
ialth That was once delivered tn the
saints. When you say you desire rev.
Citations, we tell you that God has
ceased to communicate with man. and
revelation has ceased. When you say
you are contending for the gifts that
We're once enjoyed in the ancient
Church, and that you believe these
we tell You that you are mistaken.
because hundreds and hundreds Of
years have passed and they have not
been witnessed, neither have they been
in possession of men. Therefore they
are done away with, and 1t Is a delu-
sion for you to imagine that these
miraculous gifts are to he obtained in
our day. When you lay hands on the
sick and anolnt them with oil, as the
Apostle James said was done in his
day. you are lndulging in a species Of
mummcry. 1t is heathpnish, obsolete.
The day is past for such things as
these"
Such statements as these are made
to us ana published about us,
and our Elders have to meet them
In preaching the Gospel to the world.
When they preach the doctrines OF
tho New Testament they are met
with this kind of talk. 1t liz n Cunsola-
ton to US, however, to know that II
we are in error, which l know and
you know we are not, we are mt
least tryir~ to walk in the path that
the Savior marked out What harm
is there I'm the Elders of this Church
going out and preaching without
purse and scrip? They do it; they
have done It. 1t has been the prHc-
tice in the Church from the beginning.
'Ah." says one, that Is past; that
pihctice might do in the days of the
Apostles, but it is unsuited to our
time: It Is not consistent with our
methods, and 1t comes in conflict with
our ideas of what preachers Of the
Gospel should be. We believe that
men should receive salaries. We be-
lieve they should make II a profession
to preach the Gospel. II they should
RIO around without purse and scrip
preaching the Gospel. they would he
come n species of vaEabonds or va
grants, or. to use a more common and
disreputahle name tramps, and this
Is inconsistent and unworthy of men
of their calling"
They pronounce therefore against
this practice as disreputable and I'M
suited to the times. Yet Jesus, our
Lord and Master, gave that as n com
mand to His ancient disciples. We
also have been commanded to do the
same. We have been commanded to
travel without purse and scrip, and
we have done it. The Latter-day
Saints who have been gathered to-
sether in these mountains have been
reached by that method of preaching
the Gospel, We have Travelled thou
sands Of mlles-we have, 1t might he
said, enclrcled the globe itself in this
way well, have you not starved to
death; have you not been subjected to
the greatest OF Inconvenience; have
you been able to go and remain and
return dependent upon that method?"
The testimony of hundreds, yea thou
sands Of Latter-day Saint Elders is to
the effect that they have done this.
They have Travelled for years and
have not been subjected to humilia-
tion. and have not failed to accom-
plsh that which they We're sent to do.
myself have had long experience Of
this character in various lands and
among different peoples, and ! cannot
now recall an instance where ! have
been under the necessity of begging of
them to aid me; but the Lord, in
answer to prayer. opened my way. as
He has done the way of the other
Elders. We believe in God; we be-
lieve that He is n God that hears and
answers prayers II is this kind of
training that has been Of great hene-
fit to the Latte day Saints. because
In their hours Of extremity, when
hungry, when destitute when In need
of money. in need of clothing, and in
need of friends, they have gone to the
Lord with mighty faith and prayer
and have plead with Him for the help
that He alone could give, and in
variably they have obtained it. The
results are of the grandcst descrip-
tion. Young men have grown IN
here and gone on missions, and In
this manner have exercised faith and
proved the Lord. that He is God
that hears and answers prayer. and
that lie fulnls His promises to His
children. It has made the Latter-day
Saints capable of performing won
derful works. because of this fnith
that has been developed In them
through the experience to which ]
now refer. The effect on the whole
has been operating for years upon
them. It was this experience that
made possible the settlement OF these
valleys The people who came here
came with full confidence in God.
Everything looked dark and unf0vor-
able. There was nothing to encour-
age, nothing to inspire hope. except
ing the faith they had in their bosoms
that God was watching over them, |
and that He would hear and answer |
their petitlons-as He had done: |
Their faith was not in vain. He did |
hear their prayers. He did look |
down from heaven In mercy upon |
them. He did bless this land. He did |
transform this desert into fruitful !
field. He did bless the people with |
strength, endurance. pa
tience and fortitude to enable them |
TO bear ", under the trials that they |
had to contend with.
This is a new feature in he earth at .
the present time. Yet 1t IL feature
that has always been exhibited when |
God has had n people upon the cnrth,
The Prophets of old had that Faith
Saints OF God in the days Of the
Savior and His Apostles had that
kind of faith, and by that faith mighty
works were accomplished. Paul, IN the
18th chapter Of his epistle TO the He
brews, gives us an account OF what |
mighty things were done through
faith. II would be good for US 10 lcad
it. 1t stimulates our faith; 1t shows
us that others have obtained power
with God through faith, ana that II
Is possible for man. by obcsins The
Of God, to OBTAIN the
gifts and the blessings that disin-
guished the servants and people OF
God in ancient days from all who did
not believe in God.
That ia one feature. We come now
10 others. In ancient days they believed
hat by being baptized by q man hay
ng authority. after having repented of
heir sins, they could have their sins
-emitted. In that day they submitted
20 that ordinance and then they had