Refer your friends to join The LDS Daily WOOL (Words Of Our Leaders)
(8/05/02)
"Mothers, let me beg of you to bestow all the care and training that
you
possibly can upon your daughters. Make them as perfect as you can;
give them
every facility within your power to become women of culture. And,
fathers, do
the same by your boys. If there is a man in your settlement who excels
in any
one thing, let him teach the rest. If there be among you a good
penman, let him
teach others this beautiful art. And if there is a woman that excels
in
anything, let the girls be taught in that one thing until they shall
equal or
surpass her. If there is a man among you who is accustomed to society,
let him
impart lessons to the boys, and let them imitate him. This is one
thing that
devolves upon us, as Latter-day Saints." — George
Q. Cannon, "Journal of Discourses," 22:283
(8/25/03)
"Men may fail us, as they do. I often think of the Scripture which
says,
'Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man, or maketh flesh his arm.'
The best
of men will fail us. They are fallible beings, full of frailties and
short-comings; and they are not to be trusted with our salvation. But
our God
can be trusted to the very uttermost. No matter how serious the trial,
how deep
the distress, how great the affliction, He will never desert us. He
never has,
and He never will. He cannot do it. It is not His character. He is an
unchangeable being; the same yesterday, the same today, and He will be
the same
throughout the eternal ages to come. We have found that God. We have
made Him
our friend, by obeying His Gospel; and He will stand by us. We may
pass through
the fiery furnace; we may pass through deep waters; but we shall not
be consumed
nor overwhelmed. We shall emerge from all these trials and
difficulties the
better and purer for them, if we only trust in our God and keep His
commandments." — George Q. Cannon, 1 March 1891, "Collected
Discourses, 5 vols.", Stuy, Brian H., ed. [Burbank, California, and
Woodland Hills, Utah: B.H.S. Publishing]
(9/14/03)
"We may mark out paths for traveling, but the Lord directs our ways,
and we
cannot walk safely without. We may have our ideas as to how this work
is going
to be built up and established, but the Lord will show us, as has been
quoted...
that 'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are God's ways
higher than
man's ways.' We would never have reached these valleys had not the
Lord guided
us; and we can look back and see how wonderfully His promises have
been
fulfilled in our behalf. Scarcely a step could have been taken of our
own choice
if we had not been upheld by God and had He not sustained us in all
our doings.
So it will be to the end, and we will be obliged to confess that his
wisdom has
done it all." — George Q. Cannon, "Collected Discourses, Volume
2," 6 April 1891
(9/19/03)
"There were two duties imposed upon us in early days; one was to seek
to
gather out the honest, to do all in our power to gather out the people
who loved
and received the Gospel, and to be diligent in our labors doing all in
our power
to find them. We were sent out as fishers, we were sent out as
hunters, we were
sent everywhere carrying this Gospel, seeking out the Israel of God
scattered
among the Gentiles. This was one duty. Then there was another duty, to
warn the
people, to warn all men in the most solemn manner that the hour of
God's
judgment was near at hand, to declare to the inhabitants of the earth
that the
approach of our Lord was near, that the Lord Jesus Christ was about to
descend
from heaven, and that vengeance and anger and judgment were about to
be poured
out upon the nations of the earth." — George Q. Cannon, "Collected
Discourses, Volume 2," 12 January 1890
1/7/06
"The only principle upon which position should be sought and held by
the servants of God is that they might thereby be more useful—that the
field of their usefulness might be enlarged. No man should seek to
hold a position to gratify a vain ambition to excel. And whatever the
position that may be assigned him, he should therewith be content. If
an Elder's happiness be affected by the prominence or obscurity of his
station, it is an evidence that he is dependent upon something beside
the Spirit of God for happiness; if he be appointed to labor in a
humble position by those who have the authority and he strives to fill
that appointment honorably, he will be happy—his happiness will be
perfect; his joy will be full; should his station be ever so exalted,
he could be no more than this...." - George Q. Cannon, "Gospel Truth:
Discourses and Writings of President George Q. Cannon," selected,
arranged, and edited by Jerreld L. Newquist, p.181
7/30/07
"As a people we need to live so as to have the word of God given to
us. To be fed upon anything else but this would be a great
disappointment and would leave us hungry and in a destitute
condition. The life of a Latter-day Saint is such that he has
need to be in close communion with his God; and the religion that we
profess is one which imparts to the human soul at the very time that
it is required the consolation, the strength, and the necessary gifts
and powers to enable that soul to contend with and overcome all the
evils that may lie in his pathway." - George Q. Cannon, "Living Our
Religion," Remarks made in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday
afternoon, May 26, 1889
12/30/08
"There is one sign which
always accompanies the people of God, and when that is absent we cease
to be the people of God—union. Whenever
the Latter-day Saints become divided they cease to be the children of
God. Whenever you see clashing, division, and strife, and Saint
arrayed against Saint, section against section, locality against
locality, you may be sure that those who have that spirit and manifest
that feeling are not of God. I care not what their professions
may be or what their position in the Church may be. I care not
what their experience may be if there be this spirit and feeling among
us, depend upon it that something is very wrong and there is room for
radical change, or the spirit, blessing, and power of God will be
withdrawn from us, and His anger will be kindled against us."
- George Q. Cannon, July 14, 1889, "Collected Discourses," Brian
H. Stuy, ed., Volume 1
5/17/09
“But
moral courage is a quality of a different character. It requires moral
courage to be a Latter-day Saint. It requires moral courage to do the
right thing and say the right word when it is unpopular to do so. No
man can be a truly great man who does not possess this quality. A man
possessed of moral courage never shrinks from telling the truth. Such
a man is never a liar or a deceiver or a hypocrite; he is never untrue
to his principles. To use one of the phrases now common in our day,
such a man has the courage of his convictions. A man or woman
possessed of true moral courage always excites admiration and compels
respect. Moral cowards especially respect such persons, for the reason
that it is natural for mankind to admire the good in others that is
lacking in their own characters. (Nov. 15, 1882, JI 17:344)” -
George Q. Cannon, “Gospel Truth: Discourses and Writings of
President George Q. Cannon,” selected, arranged, and edited by
Jerreld L. Newquist, p. 450
11/5/09
“To enjoy the sweet, mankind must know something about the bitter.
They must have the opportunity of exercising their faculties and
testing their powers. Unless they were exposed to temptation they
never could know themselves, their own powers, their own weaknesses
nor the power of God. If Satan had no power to tempt mankind, they
would be in a state where they could neither know good nor evil; they
could not know happiness nor misery. All their powers would lie
dormant, for there would be nothing to arouse them. They would be
destitute of that experience which prepares men to become like God,
their Eternal Father.” -
George Q. Cannon, “Gospel Truth: Discourses and Writings of
President George Q. Cannon,” selected, arranged, and edited by
Jerreld L. Newquist, p. 109
5/4/10
"Your children
may err, and do things that are sinful and are
painful and sorrowful to you. But cling to them. Pray for
them.
Exercise faith in their behalf. Treat them with kindness; not,
however, condoning their sins and their transgressions. But be
full of
charity, full of long-suffering, full of patience, and full of mercy to
your children. Don't drive them away by your severity, or by being
too
strict. But be kind and merciful to them, correcting their faults
when
they need correcting, at the same time showing them that your
corrections are not prompted by anything but love for them and for
their happiness." - George Q. Cannon,
General Conference, 6 April 1891
7/4/10
"There is a means by
which we can measure our progress to meet
[the Second Coming]. If the breach is daily widening between ourselves
and the world, as it is between the community of the Saints and the
world, then we may be assured that our progress is certain, however
slow. On the opposite hand, if our feelings and affections, our
appetites and desires, are in unison with the world around us and
freely fraternize with them, if our faith and our actions are cold and
barren of good fruit, we should do well to examine ourselves. (Oct. 5,
1861, MS 23:645-46)." - George Q.
Cannon, "Gospel Truth: Discourses and Writings of President George Q.
Cannon," selected, arranged, and edited by Jerreld L. Newquist, p. 51
7/6/10
"This should be our aim
as a people and as individuals, every day
living so near to God that we shall have more of His Spirit and power,
and more of the gifts and endowments of the holy Gospel of the Son of
God. If we take and continue in this course we shall feel and
understand that we are progressing in the knowledge of God and in the
comprehension of truth. And let me tell you, my brethren and sisters,
if we thus live, when counsel is given, no matter what it may be, or
what principle it may refer to, it will be plain and simple, and as
clear unto our minds as the light we now see; and our understandings
will be enlightened by it and we shall see beauty in it." - George
Q. Cannon, "Journal of Discourses," 26 vols., 13:374
1/2/12
It requires the utmost
care upon the part of the people who have received the Spirit of the
Lord by the laying on of hands to distinguish between the voice of that
Spirit and the voice of their own hearts or other spirits which may take
possession of them. Experience and watchfulness will enable the Saint to
recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit. - George
Q. Cannon, "Gospel Truth: Discourses and Writings of President George
Q. Cannon," selected, arranged, and edited by Jerreld L. Newquist,
p.144
Refer your friends to join The LDS Daily WOOL (Words Of Our Leaders)
