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Show A MISSIONARY IN TENNESSEE. An Interesting Letter rrom Elder Nephi M. Savage. Dresden, Weakly Co., Tenn.. ) Feb. 5, 1897. f Editor Union After a long delay caused hv my unsettled condition and a lack of writing material I again resume the story of my travels in Tennessee. Leaving the residence of Mr. Hunter, we went 01 u the saw mill at Lickton, Tenn. The heavy thunderstorm was the means of keeping keep-ing the people at home, but stdl a small crowd had assembled to hear what the Mormons had to say. Elder Christenson called the meeting meet-ing to order; a hymn was sung, and one of us offered prayer, after which we sang another hymn. Elder Christenson then spoke a short ti.ive on faith and repentance, and I followed on baptism and the Holy Ghost. It was 'he custom then to speak on all the first and sonie of the., more advanced princi-ples princi-ples of the Gospel in one meeting, but now we hold a long series of meetings on the fi r-1 principles of the Gospel, some ti-m s from six to a dozen sermons on faith alone. This may seem strange to some, but what this people, and many of our own, lack is faith. This principle I once quickened in the bosom of a , person, he is ready to begin work I in earnest, as in the cases of Saul of j Tarsus and Alma the Younger. Faith was the moving cause of action ac-tion in the ancients, as we learn from the nth chapter of Hebrews, and the manifest reason of so much inaction on the part of the present generation in spiritual things is because be-cause of their unbelief. The sermon referred to above was the first time I had addressed a congregation con-gregation of the world, but have had the privilege of addressing a good many since. After closing our remarks we sang a hymn, the benediction bene-diction was said and our meeting was over. We then started out in search of a place to remain over night. We followed up a small branch, which was considerably swollen on account of the shower, 'until we came to the home of a Mr. Cantrell. His wife was at the corral milking her cows when we passed. She spoke to us very pleasantly and j bid us welcome to her home, saying she was delighted to have us call on her. We had taken dinner at this place one day last week, and so we entered their hospitable dwelling thankful to God for a resting place out of the storm. We were in this neighborhood when the cyclone did such damage to St. Louis, two or three days before, having taken shelter under a shed which belonged to an old darkey who lived a lew miles from Air. O'lntrell's place. The P&t.tainj Lu.-hcd and the thun- 1 iimmmamtm der rolled, while the wind blew tne rain into mist which floated through ! the air in places where the force of the wind was broken. After supper and a pleasant conversation con-versation with the family we retired to our be.l up-stairs. In the night we were awakened bv the crash of thunder bolts, as they sent their missies of death to the darkened earth and the patter of rain drummed drum-med a tune on the unceilcd roof above our heads. I again slept and dreamed that some one told me to abide in this house until the storm was over. But I passed it off as a dream, and so after breakfast we started toward the Brick Church turnpike, intending to canvas the houses along it into Nashville. It began to rain again almost as soon as we left, and, as my feet were sopping wet I tried to dry them at a cabin when we stopped while Elder Christenson read a tract to the lady of the house, she being unable to read and apparently quite interested in our teachings. Well, Elder Christenson read the tract, and I meantime succeeded in scalding my shoes, not. a very difficult operation when they were badly water-soaked. , ... Continuing on our way through mud ' " S-Z.-Zr: and rain, the former being shoe-top s . deep, we had canvassed some distance dis-tance along the pike,vhen I through carelessness slipped off from a water gate into the water, oer my knees. We were both in a rather unpresent- ' able condition, so we concluded not to canvass the rest of the distance into town, but made tracks to the electric car line, where Elder Christenson Chris-tenson found use for his 15 cents in paying our fare to No. 1005 N. Market Street. Arriving at headquarters, head-quarters, I found two letters from my wife which I eagerly read, being the first news from home since leaving leav-ing Utah, which was nearly a month, it now being the 1st of June. My wife reported all well at home. I next had a bath and put on dry ' clothes, and, as my shoes were so near gone by this time that my foot was protruding from one of them, I cast them aside and borrowed a pair from Elder Christenson until I could get me another pair on the morrow. Through not paying heed to the warning in my dream, I lost an almost al-most new pair of shoes and got a wetting, but all is not dark in the picture of life, as I got news from home and my wetting did not seem to hurt me. r- The State of Tennessee was just beginning the Centenial exercises in honor of the one hundredth anniversary anni-versary of the admission of the State into the union, and the program for the day was to wind up with a grand display of fireworks at Centenial . .. Park. So, after supper, a number of us elders took a car to the Exposition Expo-sition grounds, where I witnessed the grandest display of fireworks I ever beheld. It was beautiful beyond be-yond description. Continued on recoud juge. i A 3Iis lonary In Tennessee. Continued from first p-ge. Next day Pres. Young and several! of us elders witnessed a sham battle between the State militia a.id veterans veter-ans of the late. Confederate armv. It is enough for me to say that the sham satisfied me, and I don't hanker after the reality; may the Lord deliver me and mine from it. Next day. June 3rd, Elder Chris-tenson Chris-tenson and I again, grips in hand, started out distributing tracts in the suburbs northeast of Nashville. After visiting seme twenty-seven families, and having been refused entertainment twelve times, night still found us supperless andl without a shelter strangers in a Ftrange land. At one house where I asked for shelter, the lady (?) replied that tern had been made manifest in largo dividends, and most excellent returns on the investments made It is possible that the interest of some began to flag upon the unavoidable un-avoidable epoch of hard times making its appearance, when dividends divi-dends became less, and in some-instances some-instances there were practically no-returns no-returns at all.. This certainly was. not conducive to intense admiration admira-tion of the co-operative system,, but the dissatisfied ones forgot to-stop to-stop and think that they in their carelessness had helped, to bring-about bring-about the bad state of affairs by in some instances transferring their patronage to rival places of business busi-ness through some fancied slight-or slight-or private pique . at the manage-ment, manage-ment, instead of tnkiug the precaution precau-tion to make their real,, or fancied her husband was holding services at his church near by, but they could not entertain us for the night. I asked if they would receive a tract, and she answered with a scornful laugh: "Oh! no! Ha! ha! we don't want any of your tracts!" And thus we went on, but the Saviour says, Matt. 25: I was a stranger and ye took me not in;, hungry, and ye gave me no meat inasmuch inas-much as ye have done it.unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have'done it unto me."- Finally the keeper of a toll-gate allowed us to occupy a small coop by the road- grievances Known to tiie proper authorities and demanding the-rights the-rights thejs as tsooMiolders were entitled to, and continuing to support sup-port the institution where their means were invested: had' this, course been adopted' thomulti plicity of business places which-now which-now abound in near2y all the settlements of the Mormon people-would people-would have had a limit, and the gand success whioh was promised' by Brigham Young,, would' have been fully realized! The fact that many co-operative stores are going to the vmlhis ample am-ple evidence that they are not re ceiying the support of tlie p oplo that mutual protection would suggest, sug-gest, and at the same timo.if. disaster dis-aster should follow the business, efforts of a superintendent, lie alone must be the scapegoat1 for censure. The same necessity ne-cessity for self-presecvat ion exists, i now as it did thirty or forty year ago; and there is nosafer or more eure plan to adopt to obtain the successful result so much desired: as a community on co-operation of effort. Beaver Cbtiniy Nous.. side, where the receiver of tolls sat through the day to take up his fees from the vehicles passing to and from the city. Elder Christensen spread a newspaper on the floor, and with his grip for a pillow lay down like Jacob of old to dreams of the night, only the patriarch had no paper to keep his Prince Albert from the dust and had the canopy of Heaven for a covering instead of a cabin roof. I lay down on a bench, ,and thus we spent the night. (To be Continued |