Show I 1 MiHe Mille xii nial a astr star august 12 the malta aalta mission I 1 MALTA florianna Flori auna 55 strada I 1 Me mercato reato july 1 1854 dear brothers franklin Fr auklin D and ana samuel W richards I 1 write to inform you that thai our brethren eight in number who went from here to tb burky arky have since their arrival found three of the h saints froth from gibraltar and three from england land and ba baptisms have taken to the number of three others bidding fairfox fair for that important ordinance sauce the brethren were in high spirits and they aliey 1 all anticipated t ici a good work they ni numbered P by y the last da 15 or 16 others had been heard of in the first division of the ai my our brethren of I 1 haven written are in the second the branch is called tile the expeditionary force branch 1 1 ind and in their last a desire was para par ticul arly expressed that I 1 would inform you of their proceedings and prospects their mee meetings were regularly held and well attended by bv saints and strangers two of those baptized in turkey belong to the alst or welsh regiment of whom I 1 old you ir 1 had bad hopes of baptizing many we have now six saints iu in that regiment the other regiments m ants in which there are brethren a are re the ad Battali battalion qu of rifles and royal sappers seven or nine others who have been in in the church aie are in turkey tarkey also alio and may yet renew their covenants the president of that branc branches hiis brother ailean from gibraltar with elder ross as couii counselor selo r and 1 priest russel from malta as secretary previous to our bret brethren bren leaving malta they were desirous that I 1 should ordain one of their number an all elder but not feeling led to do an s I 1 assured them that god would provide for them in that respect in his own due time and way the fulfilment fulfillment of which now i s aide aft to them by a letter from oiin one of them tham I 1 learn that bis brother john ballard ba has s aften aeu instrumental antal ail in leading seven kofl of his family to the waters of baptism in england E since obtaining ins his discharge at malta 0 11 it A A I 1 I 1 ain am happy to learn also thai several persons in scotland have obeyed the gospel in a great measure through elder burridge who went weilt fro from here in all this we can discern the purposes of god rolling or on and coming coining about through various farious means r our meetings are still very indifferently attended d and the treatment we receive is worse and worse it has hag become be corne quite a common thing to insult us I 1 1 but I 1 am happy you of the baptism of mr Vass aill who obeyed the ordinance on the may under my hands hana at S pauls bay a few yards from the spot where the palace of publius is supposed to have stood he goes on well speaks freely and boldly of the work and testifies to the of god upon his temporal affairs fai I 1 riad abid the enjoyment of the te of prophecy prop hei I 1 I 1 am inclined to think frequent I 1 repulses ses as we we meet with now that sonie some agency agency is qt at work against us ns the and regiment now snow stationed here herb seem to have set se t their fam faces e like a flint against us and the gospel too the majority r of the d are ard I 1 believe romanists Romanis ts at ana I 1 may say y that they are not only destitute of knowledge on even ali their air own awn principles and ignorant of f Scriptures the tji S but they are destitute in hi amny in any c cases ases of common civility were it no not i that the grel gospe lihas ll 11 a two twofold fold mission to save the ifie believers ers and condemn the tin un belf believers e v era I 1 should T regard many very many of liy my visits il ac as so much tibne thrown away I 1 am devoting I 1 therefore more of my time to the study of the so as to qualify myself A no maj aves es we remain dear bresli brethren ren y 4 i J F BELL G I 1 |