Opening Remarks

President Geo. Q. Cannon, addressed the assemblage. He began by speaking of the many reasons for the Latter-day Saints being thankful to God. They had been specially blessed, favored and preserved. He next treated upon the remarkable character of the history of the Church, many of its scenes having been intensely dramatic. He then graphically depicted some of the events in point. The self-sacrifice of the Saints, displayed during the whole career of the Church, was made a feature of the interesting discourse. They had adhered with striking fidelity to the mission which God had given them—the establishment of a work which would ultimately redeem mankind from every undesirable and oppressive condition. Comparatively few had stepped aside from the pursuit of this exalted motive. Those who had done so had lost the Spirit of God and renewed their affiliation with the sordid condition and aims which influenced the world. The position of the Saints was unique. God had, to use a homely phrase, taken them into partnership. They called it a covenant. The Almighty was always true to His part of the contract. The whole history of the community had shown this. The speaker dwelt for some time upon the wonderful changes in the condition of the Saints that had occurred recently. Their temples and institutions generally had been in jeopardy. These clouds had been removed. Because of our speaking of what God intended to do in the future by the ultimate establishment of His kingdom, some people had imbibed the idea that they were antagonistic toward the institutions of the world. This was an incorrect view of our position, which was to preserve the rights of all people and protect them in their liberties. The anticipated beneficent results to the world would be brought about by the increase of light and the practice of true morality in its widest sense. The incorrect idea concerning us had been superinduced to some extent by the fact that we had contested in the courts special legislation which had been enacted against us. Our course in this respect would yet be approved by all right-thinking people. The speaker dwelt upon the change of sentiment that had lately taken place in relation to the Saints. The latter were being viewed by many people in their true character. The falsehoods which had been circulated about this community were beginning to lose their effect. The fact that the mission of the Saints was one of peace and good will to all men was gradually being appreciated. The concluding portion of the discourse was devoted to show the benefits accruing from taking counsel from the servants of God and to showing the need of all possessing a repentant and forgiving spirit toward each other, that the Saints might be united and receive the blessing of God when they should enter His Temple and participate in its dedication. The foregoing is not a synopsis of President Cannon’s discourse, but merely embodies a few allusions to some of its leading features. ¶