EXTRACTS af a letter row elders lyman and andrich rich to prest young and counsel doled dated SAN bernardino sept 1 1853 BELOVED the sickness that has be been on prevailing here to some extent is subsiding the summer has been unusually warm here the threshing of our wheat is progressing our news from the sandwich islands is good the health of 0 the missionaries is improving and the cause of truth moving steadily onward since the receipt of your letter of june we have had a small accession to our numbers by the arrival of a small party from australia as the first fruits of the mission they were accompanied to san francisco by br C W Wa wandell ridell who is still in that city we have had bad some curious manifestations under the head of spiritual communications by working table tipping and writing but the people are generally satisfied that god is not in the whirlwind nor in the storm but in the spirit that whispers peace to the contrite heart and opens the fountain of knowledge to the soul that truth may spring up in them as a fountain of salvation and flow out from them in streams for the healing of the nations EXTRACTS of a letter from elder eider augustus farn fam ham dated SYDNEY new south wales august 1853 5 PREST BlUGH AIM YOUNG we held our conference july ad although the number of saints in sydney is small we had a good conference the lord favored us with his spirit the business commonly to bo be done it at conferences was attended to with promptness everything was attended to with the spirit of the lord and nothing to disturb our deac after aft er the business was through the time was occupied by the different elders who were present I 1 had bad at that time besides myself elders elders J W fleming Flem log william hyde john mccarty john jones addressing the congregation which was quite respectable at the time this mission arrived at this port this conference numbered forty eight as near as I 1 could ascertain july ad the total number is one hundred and two since that time there his has been quite quile a num I 1 her baptized at the different branches from the last date from br hyde quite a number were ready and waiting and quite a number in this city are ready at our last aites from the brethren breter en the prospects were good wo we have a branch at the williams river one at melbourne it is expected I 1 that two more have been organized since that time one at clarence river and one at adelaide the field of ars fleming and eldredge presents a favorable aspect so much so that he stated to me he did not wish to leave it at present I 1 have irom some a very extensive field and rc requires quires a great deal of labor to warn the people I 1 shall have out a small mail paper half the size of the star called the zions watchman the papers have been continued printing against us and we had no reply to them as the editors would not insert any thing for us by this means I 1 will be able to reply to them if there is any thing worth our notice if not pass it by and seek for the wheat as the lord may open the way before us from the present prospects it will have quite a circulation I 1 am intending to have quite a number of elders eldera added to our oar list soon we hev aeve ordained five and several more will be at the october conference I 1 can find work for several more on this colony colah lw I 1 also wish to go and open up the gospel at new zealand and hobart town I 1 have received some little information from that island new zealand I 1 am informed the chiefs of the tribes say the missionaries do not preach to to them the right gospel that they are keeping back the part they need and they do not feel to receive their teaching from what I 1 can learn earn the field is ready to harvest and as soon as possible we shall send some laborers there to weed the crop and try to gather the wheat the catholics have made two attempts to mob the wesleyan preachers last was the worst it was quite severe