In the first place, I will say that
the Prophet Joseph taught us that
Father Adam was the first man on
the earth to whom God gave the
keys of the Everlasting Priesthood.
He held the keys of the Presidency,
and was the first man who did hold
them. Noah stood next to him.
These keys were given to Noah, he
being the father of all living in his
day, as Adam was in his day. [Doctrine and Covenants 107:40-52]
These two men were the first who
received the Priesthood in the eter-
nal worlds, before the worlds were
formed. They were the first who
received the Everlasting Priesthood
or Presidency on the earth. Father
Adam stands at the head, so far as
this world is concerned. Of course,
Jesus Christ is the Great High
Priest of the salvation of the human
family. But Adam holds those keys
in the world today; he will hold
them to the endless ages of eternity.
And Noah, and every man who has
ever held or will hold the keys of
Presidency of the Kingdom of God,
from that day until the scene is
wound up, will have to stand before
Father Adam and give an account
of the keys of that Priesthood, as
we all will have to give an account
unto the Lord, of the principles that
we have received, when our work is
done in the flesh.

Brother Cannon has given my
mind with regard to Joseph Smith.
I look upon Joseph Smith as the
greatest Prophet that ever breathed
the breath of life, excepting Jesus
Christ. Father Adam, as I have
said, stands at the head; but Joseph
Smith was reserved to lay the foun-
dation of this great Kingdom and
dispensation of salvation to the
whole human family in these last
days, to build up Zion, to establish
God's Kingdom, and to prepare it
for the coming of the Son of Man.
He held those keys. Brother Can-
non has told you the truth. No other
man held those keys while he lived.
After him, as has been said, came
Brother Brigham. I have traveled
with Joseph Smith thousands of
miles. There are some here tonight
who were in Zion's Camp. He was
a boy, in one sense of the word.
He was but a young man when he
was martyred and passed into the
presence of God. His days were
comparatively few. But he was a
great man. He lived a long life for
a few days. He performed an al-
mighty work—as great a work as
any man, save Jesus Christ, that
ever lived on the earth. We knew
him. We knew the Apostles. We
knew Brother Brigham; he was a
glazier and painter, and, in one
sense of the word, an illiterate man.
But God raised him up to do a great
work and to follow in the channel of
Joseph Smith. He magnified his
calling. He led this people to these
mountains, and he built up this
country almost from one end of it
to the other, by his counsel. The
Lord took him to Himself. Brother
Taylor followed, until he was taken
away.

Now, all of these men were what
the world would call weak instru-
ments in the hands of God. I have
been asked the question many times,
"Why did the Lord choose Joseph
Smith to bring forth the Book of
Mormon and to lay the foundation
of this great Kingdom here on the
earth? Why didn't He choose Dr.
Haws, Dr. Porter, Mr. Beecher, or
some great man?" I have never
had but one answer in my life to all
such men, and that is, "The Lord
could not do anything with them,
because of their unbelief, and their
unwillingness to acknowledge His
hand in all things." That is the
reason the Lord has chosen weak
instruments to do His work. And
I will say here, if any of you want
a weaker instrument than Wilford
Woodruff to hold the keys of the
Kingdom of God, you ought to be
ashamed of yourselves. The Lord,
however, is just as able to inspire
me, or Brother Cannon, or any
other man, when the time comes, as
He has inspired other men in past
ages. I know what the will of God
is concerning this people, and if
they will take the counsel we give
them, all will be well with them.

Now, I want to make a few re-
marks concerning myself. I never
like to do this; but I want to give
you a little of my experience in a
few things, and I want to tell you
where my strength lies, and the
greatest evidence that any Elder of
Israel can have, ever did have, or
ever will have on the face of the
earth with regard to the work of God.

Speaking of the administration of
angels. I never asked the Lord in
my life to send me an angel or to
show me any miracle. I wanted
the Gospel of Christ; and the first
sermon I ever heard preached in
this Church I had a testimony for
myself that it was the Gospel of
Christ. I had a testimony to satisfy
myself when I was baptized. I had
been looking, praying, hungering
and thirsting to find some man on
the face of the earth who had the
Priesthood, and who could teach me
the Gospel. When I heard this ser-
mon, I knew the voice; I knew the
shepherd; I knew it was true. And
from that day until this, I have
never seen one moment in my life
that I have ever had doubts with
regard to it. I have never had any
trial in this Church with regard to
my faith. My trials have been of
another nature. I have had the
administration of angels in my day
and time, though I never prayed for
an angel. I have had, in several
instances, the administration of
holy messengers. In 1835, at Broth-
er A. O. Smoot's mother's house
in Kentucky, I received a letter
one day from Joseph Smith and
Oliver Cowdery, requesting me to
stay in Kentucky and Tennessee
and take charge of the Church
there. He wanted David Patten
and Warren Parrish to go to Kirt-
land to receive their endowments.
Joseph said in that letter: "You
shall lose no blessing by pursuing
this course." That letter was a great
joy, a great comfort and consolation
to me. I had traveled with Joseph
Smith to Missouri. I had been
acquainted with him, and I knew
he was a Prophet of God. In the
evening of that day I went into a
little back room, in which was a
small settee. I was alone. I was
overwhe[lm]ed with joy and consola-
tion at the letter I had received and
the encouraging words it contained.
I knelt down and prayed. I arose
from my knees and sat down. The
room was filled with light. A mes-
senger came to me. We had a long
conversation. He laid before me
as if in a panorama, the signs of the
last days, and told me what was
coming to pass. I saw the sun
turned to darkness, the moon to
blood, the stars fall from heaven.
I saw the resurrection day. I saw
armies of men in the first resurrec-
tion, clothed with the robes of the
Holy Priesthood. I saw the second
resurrection. I saw a great many
signs that were presented before me.
by this personage; and among the
rest, there were seven lions, as of
burning brass, set in the heavens.
He says, "That is one of the signs
that will appear in the heavens be-
fore the coming of the Son of Man.
It is a sign of the various dispensa-
tions."

Now, had I been an artist, on the
next day I could have sat down
at my table and drawn, as clearly as
though I had studied them all my
life, everything I saw. I went to
meeting the next day, with Brother
Smoot. I hardly knew where I
was. I did not comprehend a being,
scarcely. I was entirely over-
whelmed with what I had seen the
night before.

In the first place, I will say that the Prophet Joseph taught us that Father Adam was the first man on the earth to whom God gave the keys of the Everlasting Priesthood. He held the keys of the Presidency, and was the first man who did hold them. Noah stood next to him. These keys were given to Noah, he being the father of all living in his day, as Adam was in his day. These two men were the first who received the Priesthood in the eternal worlds, before the worlds were formed. They were the first who received the Everlasting Priesthood or Presidency on the earth. Father Adam stands at the head, so far as this world is concerned. Of course, Jesus Christ is the Great High Priest of the salvation of the human family. But Adam holds those keys in the world today; he will hold them to the endless ages of eternity. And Noah, and every man who has ever held or will hold the keys of Presidency of the Kingdom of God, from that day until the scene is wound up, will have to stand before Father Adam and give an account of the keys of that Priesthood, as we all will have to give an account unto the Lord, of the principles that we have received, when our work is done in the flesh.

Brother Cannon has given my mind with regard to Joseph Smith. I look upon Joseph Smith as the greatest Prophet that ever breathed the breath of life, excepting Jesus Christ. Father Adam, as I have said, stands at the head; but Joseph Smith was reserved to lay the foundation of this great Kingdom and dispensation of salvation to the whole human family in these last days, to build up Zion, to establish God's Kingdom, and to prepare it for the coming of the Son of Man. He held those keys. Brother Cannon has told you the truth. No other man held those keys while he lived. After him, as has been said, came Brother Brigham. I have traveled with Joseph Smith thousands of miles. There are some here tonight who were in Zion's Camp. He was a boy, in one sense of the word. He was but a young man when he was martyred and passed into the presence of God. His days were comparatively few. But he was a great man. He lived a long life for a few days. He performed an almighty work—as great a work as any man, save Jesus Christ, that ever lived on the earth. We knew him. We knew the Apostles. We knew Brother Brigham; he was a glazier and painter, and, in one sense of the word, an illiterate man. But God raised him up to do a great work and to follow in the channel of Joseph Smith. He magnified his calling. He led this people to these mountains, and he built up this country almost from one end of it to the other, by his counsel. The Lord took him to Himself. Brother Taylor followed, until he was taken away.

Now, all of these men were what the world would call weak instruments in the hands of God. I have been asked the question many times, "Why did the Lord choose Joseph Smith to bring forth the Book of Mormon and to lay the foundation of this great Kingdom here on the earth? Why didn't He choose Dr. Haws, Dr. Porter, Mr. Beecher, or some great man?" I have never had but one answer in my life to all such men, and that is, "The Lord could not do anything with them, because of their unbelief, and their unwillingness to acknowledge His hand in all things." That is the reason the Lord has chosen weak instruments to do His work. And I will say here, if any of you want a weaker instrument than Wilford Woodruff to hold the keys of the Kingdom of God, you ought to be ashamed of yourselves. The Lord, however, is just as able to inspire me, or Brother Cannon, or any other man, when the time comes, as He has inspired other men in past ages. I know what the will of God is concerning this people, and if they will take the counsel we give them, all will be well with them.

Now, I want to make a few remarks concerning myself. I never like to do this; but I want to give you a little of my experience in a few things, and I want to tell you where my strength lies, and the greatest evidence that any Elder of Israel can have, ever did have, or ever will have on the face of the earth with regard to the work of God.

Speaking of the administration of angels. I never asked the Lord in my life to send me an angel or to show me any miracle. I wanted the Gospel of Christ; and the first sermon I ever heard preached in this Church I had a testimony for myself that it was the Gospel of Christ. I had a testimony to satisfy myself when I was baptized. I had been looking, praying, hungering and thirsting to find some man on the face of the earth who had the Priesthood, and who could teach me the Gospel. When I heard this sermon, I knew the voice; I knew the shepherd; I knew it was true. And from that day until this, I have never seen one moment in my life that I have ever had doubts with regard to it. I have never had any trial in this Church with regard to my faith. My trials have been of another nature. I have had the administration of angels in my day and time, though I never prayed for an angel. I have had, in several instances, the administration of holy messengers. In 1835, at Brother A. O. Smoot's mother's house in Kentucky, I received a letter one day from Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, requesting me to stay in Kentucky and Tennessee and take charge of the Church there. He wanted David Patten and Warren Parrish to go to Kirtland to receive their endowments. Joseph said in that letter: "You shall lose no blessing by pursuing this course." That letter was a great joy, a great comfort and consolation to me. I had traveled with Joseph Smith to Missouri. I had been acquainted with him, and I knew he was a Prophet of God. In the evening of that day I went into a little back room, in which was a small settee. I was alone. I was overwhelmed with joy and consolation at the letter I had received and the encouraging words it contained. I knelt down and prayed. I arose from my knees and sat down. The room was filled with light. A messenger came to me. We had a long conversation. He laid before me as if in a panorama, the signs of the last days, and told me what was coming to pass. I saw the sun turned to darkness, the moon to blood, the stars fall from heaven. I saw the resurrection day. I saw armies of men in the first resurrection, clothed with the robes of the Holy Priesthood. I saw the second resurrection. I saw a great many signs that were presented before me. by this personage; and among the rest, there were seven lions, as of burning brass, set in the heavens. He says, "That is one of the signs that will appear in the heavens before the coming of the Son of Man. It is a sign of the various dispensations."

Now, had I been an artist, on the next day I could have sat down at my table and drawn, as clearly as though I had studied them all my life, everything I saw. I went to meeting the next day, with Brother Smoot. I hardly knew where I was. I did not comprehend a being, scarcely. I was entirely overwhelmed with what I had seen the night before.