Never Given to Another People

The Quote

“Looking at affairs as they naturally appear, it might be considered, and we might speak of it as vanity for any man to say, as Paul did, that this work shall never be given to another people, and that it shall stand forever… We have the strongest assurance that it is possible for a man to have that this work will stand forever, for we have it from God himself.” — George Q. Cannon, JoD 25:271 (August 31, 1884)

Lyrics

[Intro - Sparse acoustic guitar, building strings]

[Verse 1]
August eighteen eighty-four
Tabernacle, Salt Lake floor
Federal marshals hunt the night
Families hiding out of sight

First Presidency takes the stand
George Q. Cannon, raised his hand
Spoke with prophet's certainty
"God has given this to me"

[Pre-Chorus]
Looking at affairs naturally
It would seem like vanity
But we have the promise from above

[Chorus]
This work shall never be given
To another people, never
It shall stand forever
Fill the whole earth together
God will fight our battles
We shall never surrender
This work shall never be given
To another people, never

[Verse 2]
Six years pass, the pressure mounts
Federal law demands accounts
Wilford Woodruff bows his head
Issues what the Manifesto said

The practice stops, the doctrine stays
In fundamentalist enclaves
They keep the 1884 truth
But the mainstream church gives proof

[Bridge - Spoken]
Who are "another people"?
The fundamentalists practice what Cannon preached
But the mainstream church excommunicates them
The mainstream church abandoned the practice
But claims the same authority
So who received what was "never to be given"?

[Verse 3]
Today the FLDS stands
Polygamy in desert lands
They quote the prophets word for word
Exactly what the Tabernacle heard

But they're "apostates," cut off, condemned
While the mainstream church contends
They never changed the core
Just the practice, nothing more

[Final Chorus - Ironic weight]
This work was never given
To another people—or was it?
It shall stand forever
Or until the Feds forbid it
God will fight our battles
Or we'll submit when threatened
This work shall never be given
To another people, never

[Outro]
Never given to another people
(Who keeps the doctrine now?)
Never given to another people
(Who changed? And how?)
Never...

Historical Context

The Setting: August 31, 1884 — General Conference. The federal government was actively prosecuting polygamists.

The Speaker: George Q. Cannon — First Counselor in the First Presidency under John Taylor. He would spend time in prison for unlawful cohabitation.

The Prophecy: Cannon promised, with prophetic certainty, that “this work shall never be given to another people” and would “stand forever.”

The Aftermath

1890: The Manifesto officially ends polygamy practice.

Today:

• The mainstream LDS Church excommunicates polygamists
• Fundamentalist groups (FLDS, etc.) continue polygamy practice
• Both claim to represent the original church

The Paradox

If “this work” was polygamy:

• The mainstream church gave it up (to another people? to no one?)
• Fundamentalists kept it but are declared apostate

If “this work” was the church itself:

• The mainstream church changed fundamental practice
• Fundamentalists claim they didn’t change

Who are “another people”? The ones who kept the doctrine? Or the ones who kept the institution?

The Modern Reversal

“Inasmuch as laws have been enacted by Congress forbidding plural marriages… I hereby declare my intention to submit to those laws, and to use my influence with the members of the Church over which I preside to have them do likewise.” — Wilford Woodruff, Official Declaration 1 (1890)

Six years after Cannon promised “this work shall never be given to another people,” the Manifesto discontinued the practice. The work Cannon swore would “stand forever” was fundamentally changed under federal pressure.

So who are “the other people”?