Show FOREIGN correspondence letter from elder go G P dykes HAMBURGH commercial HOTEL october 1851 DEAR BROTH zit RICHARDS desiring to keep keel you informed of the history of the times with me I 1 write yu yon ag again a in in my last written you from sch schleswig leswig on the ath of may mav I 1 stated I 1 had just began there when I 1 received a letter from brother snow directing me to come imme immediately irately to copenhagen and accompany him to the london conference in june last which I 1 did bt but it my stay in england I 1 was very short as I 1 felt deeply pressed in spirit to ao return to the field of my labors in denmark accordingly I 1 left london for Lowe intending intend inq to sail from thence to haerting hjerting Hj erting bat the steamer after being delayed a few days over the a appointed pt n ted time came in at last in a crippled state and had to go to london docks before she could return so I 1 was under the necessity of re returning tu riling to london again to te get a passage from thence 1 1 sailed on ith the of june joae tor for hamburgh where I 1 landed on the monaB and proceeded roce eded imm immediately edi a t e IT on in my y jin joaS Tiey I 1 an boyert overland and an and ty by traveling da day and nd night I 1 I 1 was a enabled ti t P reach the city of 1 aalborg my former field of labor but indeed too late to save the little flock from a very heavy blow for a spirit of persecution bat ha 1 arisen and the mob had assembled nd brokew broken the windows of the saints baina meeting meetra halise and demoli sheil all the furniture within and from thence proceeding proceed feg from house to house they broke the windows of nearly all the dwelling houses of the saints in the city while the civil authorities looked on with seeming indifference in a few days after these things occurred I 1 entered the city and had not heard beard a wa word of them till I 1 stood by the side of the house where I 1 had so often met with the saints and where I 1 hul had preached the word to sinners but I 1 leave lease you to judge of my feelings feeling when instead of meeting the of beloved saints I 1 saw the windows and furniture of the house broken to pieces and no saints to wi welcome elcome me there for they were not now privileged to appear in the streets without being grossly insulted and sometimes shamefully beaten while I 1 was thus dee deeply y pondering over these things an officer approached and requested me to come immediately to the mayors office orfice which I 1 did and he peremptorily told me I 1 had better leave the city forthwith as he would not promise romise me protection 11 from the mob for one hour and nd as thre there was a a teamer steamer then at the wharf to sail that afternoon for copenhagen I 1 went on board but the mob hearing bearing that I 1 was in the acty b began an to gather and some went to the mayora office to find me but he told them he had me in in w orison son others went to the snip ship but bat the capt captain am tol aftem I 1 had left and gone up into the file city and aia thus were they ranging about tor for me till the appointed hour for sailing when I 1 think there were more than a thousand people assembled on the beach I 1 was down in the cabin till we were fairly out of reach when I 1 came up on deck to a see the sight anti and being thus delivered I 1 gave goit god the glo glory haz I 1 and proceeded on our way we touched at hals where we took on brother jenson the presiding elder he having been obliged to flee from home to save gave his life and the next day the 1st ast of july we landed in copenhagen to the great joy of the saints as a well as ourselves but now came the most arduous part of our atit duty ar to guide the old ship zion in such a storm and sailing in in strange waters required more than the wisdom of mortals we therefore gave ourselves to touch much fasting ta atina and prayer to obtain the spirit to guide our councils under these dark and gloomy suffice it to say that our prayers were heard and our desires granted and I 1 must ever remember re with pleasure the zeal and diligence il of brother forssgren forssgren on an this occasion as indeed on all otherl others and the strict obedience an and d prompt attention with which brother hanson traveled from place to place to carry out the measures adopted in our councils and thus thug by our united effort the spirit of the mob was turned from the saints and division arose among themselves so that on one occasion the soldiers had to be called out to still the tumult and now let me say to the glory of god our heavenly father that I 1 here saw what I 1 never saw before that in so great a persecution every soul was saved alive both temporally and spiritually so that not one denied the faith in this difficulty the enemy not being satisfied with this effort to ov overthrow the truth raised opposition in another way by sending ng i in n priests pries ts a nd and other professors of reli religion i to make disturbance in in the midst of the congregations while our elders were holding forth by as asking qu questions es on points of doctrine aa however this 9 d did id not dot last long for on one occasion when tare there were many atle people assembled I 1 was speaking en an the first princia principles es of the ar gospel and atonement for original sia sin by the sufferings of our savior the spin it was upon me and I 1 spoke in power not sparing the Ln Lu thenan therian doctrine of infant baptism 1 and when I 1 closed I 1 gave the privilege tor for remark if any one had any thing to sa say tor or against what had been said as I 1 felt myself afir fully 1 y able to answer every question pertain pertaining ing to t the doctrine of the saints and to prove it by scripture ac but every tongue was of those who came forward and I 1 ie ed the truth of what they had heard ftc Q y and desire desir ed J to be uni united ted with u us a b by baptism vt ark continued to spread on the right gt and leff I 1 so that on brother snows return from england in iii andt lie ite called a conference in in which iii the church duly orMi zed ind and the elders and priests appointed to their fields of labor I 1 left for schleswig Sch leswig on the ad of september P after spending two months and two days in Doh mark daring which time there were added to the th church about sixty souls thirty of whom in ra Copen copenhagen hagn and the tai e others to in d different iffe rent parta of the kingdom by 47 the native elders preaching toe the 0 in denmark numbers not abere I 1 think over three hundred members I 1 the definite number I 1 do not no rightly recollect I 1 as I 1 have not the record i 3 with me in schleswig Sch leswig I 1 found a great military excitement prevailing 1 ing as the austrians Aust nans rians had bad stationed a very heavy assay at holstein and even extending to the very frontier leaving only a narrow bridge 0 of f about thirty yards between their outposts and the sept sentinels inels of the danish army the towns and cities here being placed under iii martial artial law I 1 found it impossible to call a meeting of the peo people jle indeed the citizens themselves were not allowed to be out at night after a certain hour without a pu passport sport signed by the bornma commanding n d ing general but riot not being 1 di discouraged by a sight of the military I 1 determined to do what ahat A hat little I 1 could as my feelings were very warm towards the german people eople yet et another difficulty arose the city was so closely guarded and all hay hav ng ng 11 to be indoors in doors at the appointed time that it was next to impossible to lo find an opportunity to baptize those that should believe however 1 I succeeded and on the eve evening evelino nino of the lath september 1851 and in the came waters where ile first christians were baptized when the people were converted from paganism 1 I were the first saints baptized in germany into the new and everlasting covenant and although there were but two baptized yet it is laying the foun daVon of a good work as there are arc many more there who are arc believing ing our om doctrine hinding I 1 it difficult to proceed in schleswig Sch leswig at present and ana as the danish government was in daily expectation pec tation of the austrian troops being removed I 1 thought I 1 would leave for a short time and go to england to see brother taylor with reference to his intended mission to hamburg gg which I 1 did and found him deeply engaged with his capacious soul for the good of england france and germany arid and while thus laboring for the spiritual salvation of nations hi he was not forgetting to bless the saints temporally in zion according to his directions I 1 have now come to this city to labor for a season under his wise counsels for the good of this people hoping as I 1 do that the day of my my deliverance is is soon at hand when I 1 shall be enabled to return to the bosom of my family to remove them from the borders of baby babylon the council bluffs to the vallies of the mountains where they can rest in peace from the tumults of the world and may it be according to the will of god in the name of jesus amen thus you have a sketch of the history of this to me interesting summer and the kind dealing t 3 and protecting teching hand band of god that has been extended to me his weak and unworthy servant and while kind heaven shall give me common intellect must I 1 remember it with the deepest gratitude to him and now I 1 close by desiring the blessings of the everlasting god to rest upon all those who wish well to you yon and the cause of zion generally your humble and it obedient bedient servant G PARKER DYKES |