| Show FROM THE missionary FIELDS in the eastern states mission lindsey jefferson co pa july 18 1898 twelve months ago the ath dinst I 1 left my mountain home in obedience to go forth in the world to proc proclaim 1 at m the til L gospel to say that I 1 was not look ing for such a call would be wrong for it had bad been said to me by the lord through his servant the patriarch that it would be required of me in due time on arrival of the message to me my fiort thoughts were was I 1 prepared competent or qualified to go forth IT in the world had I 1 made any pre para tiong of myself that would qualify me to creditably represent the church of jesus christ of latter day saints among men this was my first thought and it was a very important matter tor for er some said me prior to my e would it not be wiser fox foi j bouto ko go 0 later in the season as the weather to is so dangerously hot terri ue ige ta to leave this cool mountain atmosphere mo ram sphere phere and risk ons ones life all of a suen in suffocating regions where cores are prostrated dally daily by the extreme heat others would say it is a near the jubilee of july you h had better wait another month or so and anake take in the jubilee as it will only come once in a lifetime this last was I 1 confess hard to over overcome corDe and a nd thus deny myself of its VJ pleasures ures for I 1 had been looking ahead to two this glorious event but I 1 had been called and the time set for my departure with others and I 1 was no better than others shortly after leaving ogden july fth a nice cool beautiful rain set in ahio made our trip across the rocky mountains and great plains very pleas bt t indeed some 34 years prior to this time I 1 crossed these same endless prairies Bral ries and moun mountains bains afoot when on lya ly a lad of ten summers that is our fide earne came occasionally when on a down grade but all this would not amount to over 50 miles in all meuay an old landmark did I 1 see and teba I 1 knew every stream astrea 1 l crossing making any inquiries many a 40 jetted farm could be seen from the buek window as we sped along western all for the want of sufficient to moisten the earth there is Joi i batter better soil found anywhere than is here aaen what a pity that the water tp to toe be had the question that came to sm was would the lord cause ge to come over nature in fo or this parched country he had done this to the people of the rocky mountains where little or no water once found here at this day Is A water in plenty increase of 0 r tame came according to the demand mhd th water increase and it was to their faith S Xema remained ined over one day at 0 omaha maha afta ul another at chicago both of these ate 41 dav are great and they would today beautiful had they been found W and laid out by the master hand an a those cities have been that are found flie mountains their greatness vo ithen then enhance their beauty but sy are seen today one would be W that mat the greets were laid out after b W diw were erected at random the IF aber till still continued fine which made el very pleasant and agreeable our aka ointment came when entering the tri ewt a chicago for pittsburg we looked for better train ac as the farther east we aade but east Is not in it alongside tf abe w west i est western from tram chicago west are far supe et f at pittsburg in due time s fr aiu 1 much business is going on in and around this olty city shortly atter after our arrival at pittsburg we made inquiries f for or a new england village vm age or post office but no one seemed to know anything about such a village or post office we made inquiries of the burg post city editor this gentleman had bad heard ot of a branch of our church out some fifteen miles or so 00 in the hills and directed us to a street car qa r going out that way 16 cents calmed us out to our destination the little new england village where one of our oar branches Is located Is composed of about twenty five families most of its inhabitants obtain their living by extracting coal from mother earth brother boother george bagnes baa nea and the saints received and treated us very kindly here we met elder joshua selley of salt lake laike city who had been put in charge of at the western part of pennsylvania conference after resting a few days from the effects of the trip I 1 was assigned to labor in company watfa elder walter P rich of parts paris idaho in somerset county eller rich and myself met for the first time in the city of soma somerset set we went to and prepared our field of labor for the mission by offering up a prayer unto the lord that he might aid us in opening up this field and prepare it for future work from the date of our arrival until october following we traveled in this county some 2000 miles or so in our effort to visit the people and deliver the message of salvation cal to them we met much but no persecution the county papers did much to oppose us every old mountebank had something to say day about us such cha usually resort to the press to give vent to the inner man as from the abundance of uhe the heart the mouth speak speake tb eth the editors some off of them are willing tools of borsh auth are generally either ministers or school class leaders brother web is a hard worker in the MI missionary field and as I 1 also alao came out to do my duty we did much to co allay prejudice as we gained many friends friend swarm warm friends who are investigating the gospel carefully during our travels in this county we have preached in churches that had closed for from three to four years ali ah becane bec aimse the people could not afford to pay the preacher what he be denim demanded ded of them as aa wages in preaching the gospel and aiding the people to dearly clearly understand tand the same JA Is a 6 greater undertaking than ma many people think suppose you yon attempt to teach an individual to proper ly handle and on cm an instrument say a violin gerhos he can play some me on the Ina instrument bument hence the first tung you do with him Is to flond out how bow much he be can perform and the way he be does ft after you ascertain this you will find out that in ninety nine cases out of a hundred you will have to start them entirely anew throughout what makes make it worse I 1 Is that they have bave acquired old habits superstitions that are hard for them to overcome just so to is teaching the true gospel to the world what little has been taught them has bas only led them astray once in a great while we meet here bere and there one that Is on the right track as far as they have gone authority to preach and administering the ordinances of the gospel the people understand little about toward the close of oct 1897 we bade our friends in somerset county goodbye taking our course toward cameron county where our conference was to be held we walked the whole distance preaching and distributing tracts as we went along held several interesting meetings and sold some books the course we took must have made the distance nearly miles at this conference I 1 was assigned to labor in jefferson county in connection with elder A B neff of south mill creek salt lake county this also was a new field and proved to be very hard tor for us to make an opening but by the help of the lord things by this date begin to look encouraging I 1 am sorry to state that my companion elder neff had to return home on account of sickness in his him family this occurred about the last of february this year elder samuel D winter succeeded brother neff as a my companion and we continued together until our last april conference which was held in washington county elder winter and myself took to the road and walked the distance preaching teaching and giving away tracts as we passed along sometimes we would be denied hospitality as much as fifteen times of an evening before obtaining a place to lay our heads but for all this we met some most excellent people there la Is much prejudice louna found in the me iana uin aej thankful to see that it is giving way the truth is driving it out A spirit of violence was in the hearts of the people many of them when we first come here but we have withstood them they insulted us on ever hand we found and made friends notwithstanding all this opposition today many of them are ashamed of what they did A gentleman said to me the other day 1 I am astonished at the peaceable way you coif men have in going around among the people when insults are hurled at you on the right and left t I 1 said to him do you know how the disciples and apostles of old were able to put such treatment why it was because they had the truth and the lord was with them answered ans were my friend just so I 1 said and this la Is the reason and the only reason why we right ahead with our w work ork and go we will continue doing so U until etli the work la Is finished and the gates of hell bell will not prevail against it tor for the lord has spoken it with we have many CO controversies ministers at the first they request us ua to confine ourselves to th tha 4 scriptures this is just what we desire to do but soon we ponente are at work outside with their opinions and ideas some of t then go so far as to ask us if we think they the gospel have authority to preach we refer them to what the apostle about this hob hb br 5 paul has to say 4 they acknowledge that they biere ft not called in this way but th thle the bible gives them authority latteri day ay saint bic elders ers must not f feel ed I 1 a at t AI alt I 1 put out on account of the acts of ft tose ministers tor for this to is the wily way they hare been brought up I 1 believe margy many of them to be sincere in the courser course vier they pursue I 1 do not question the honesty of their faith many of them but the trouble is that this faith which they possess is founded upon false evidence after our spring conference elder marcus taggart and myself were watt back to jefferson and indiana to continue the work elder taggart came lately from lewiston cache county since our return to these parts we have held meetings in nearly every village between the city of duft and indiana and visited hundreds of families in many of these we be seen sitting in the family circle with the family bible on our k knees n eres setting forth the beautiful doctrine therein recorded occasionally being kindly entertained by a and his family we would take up the scriptures here as well as elsewhere and oft would they be astonished at the completeness of our doctrine having heard it perhaps for the first time the lord is blessing us in our labors few have already obeyed for all the opposition and persecutions we ha have hae e had at the first but as I 1 have said this is giving way a truth will prevail while at somerset county elder rich and myself visited rockwood a small village some ten miles south of somerset city in this village stands an old habitation occupied for many years by different families but now vacant where our beloved prophet joseph once preached to the people mople in those parts we desired to visit this old landmark as we were informed by reliable friends here that such did take place haw many years since we could not ascertain as those who were at his preaching have now passed beyond the old structure is in a pretty fair condition now the foundation is of stone while the upper part is of logs hard wood and must be about feet in dimensions how old or when built we could not find out but it certainly is over 80 year sas we found parties in rockwood of that age who were born not far off from there and who well remember seeing the old building when they were yet young we were interested in this matter as we a all 11 love to hear of the early e efforts affo arts ef f our people especially of him who was the instrument in the hands of the lord in bringing about his mighty purposes in the tae last dayd daya how thankful we all ought to be that we have thus been favored of the lord to carry on the great work already established and never more to be taken from the earth but is to continue forever I 1 have every reason to believe that the eastern states mission is in most excellent working condition every dehas El Elder has but one object in view that Is to deliver the message the gospel to the people many of the elders are young in years yet are they strong in the faith and willing to work putting their trust in the lord your brother JOHN H DAVIS Virg virginia ints conference goochland Gooch land va july 22 1898 I 1 left my home as some perhaps will xe remember member on the day of july 1897 to fill a mission to the southern states how distinctly do I 1 remember the gloom which pervaded my whole being upon extending the farewell hand to my dear friends and relatives to be gone the lord only knows how long to labor among a strange people in a strange land attempting to teach them the doepel of the lord jesus christ 0 icban which gave me some degree of hope bope and in a measure dispelled the glo gloom omand and downcast feeling occasioned toy by the natural surroundings and conditions was the thought and belief that I 1 would be rewarded rewa ded for all the sacrifices I 1 might be called upon to make for the sake of the gospel of christ the spirit whispered go 90 you have teen been called by the voice of inspiration upon one I 1 remember my father fa telling me to improve myself ae a I 1 may inay be called to fill a mission I 1 often wish I 1 had taken his advice in this regard and prepared myself before it was too late upon arriving in salt lake I 1 immediately set to work viewing the sights eights of that fair city especially was the jubilee interesting to me but a few klays days had elapsed from the time I 1 left salt lake city and dear utah till I 1 found myself seated in the rosemore Roa emore hotel chattanooga tenn receiving my place of assignment or in other words I 1 was being informed as to which would be my future field of labor which thank the lord was the state of virginia one of the grandest fields in the world during my entire stop thus far I 1 am happy to say my health has been excellent and that my labors have been of the most pleasant character friends have been raised up on every hand I 1 have attempted to the best of my ability to spread the gospel seeds among the good citizens of this land and my efforts have not been in vain my first experience in the field was had in assisting elder ellsha brown of draper utah in visiting among the sabbath school organizations in different parts of the state which was much enjoyed chiefly because of its affording us the opportunity of coming in contact with the saints of the lord and associating with them for it is an a n established fact that surrounding surround ng the latter day saints is a divine and more hollowing influence than that possessed by the world no matter how great the love and friendship held out to us by the world compared with that love extended by those who have been born of the water and of the water and of the spirit my heart rejoices when I 1 can contemplate the firmness and stability of the mormons cormons Mor mons scattered throughout the world when I 1 behold the opposition that is heaped upon them I 1 am led to believe them a god fearing people who would do credit to any one of our mormon settlements in the valleys of the mountains since being released from laboring in the interests of the sabbath school I 1 have been engaged in canvassing and holding meetings in several counties of the state the attempt is made by the elders to hold long series of meetings in every vicinity entered that all might b thoroughly warned leaving them without an excuse when they shall stand before the bar of god to give an account of the deeds done in the body oft times churches and court houses are opened to us but when we meet with defeat we do the next best we resort to private houses which are more often opened unto us I 1 |
