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The Christian ministers of today have no more authority in this respect than the heathen teachers. . . . Belief in God and in the Savior lies at the foundation of true religion, and in that respect those who have this belief are nearer to God and to the truth than those who do not have it. But belief in God and in the Lord Jesus Christ does not alone give men the authority to officiate in the ordinances of the Gospel. That authority must come from God. It cannot be self-assumed.

~ George Q. Cannon, "GOSPEL TRUTH", p. 333