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Show Newspaper writer tells of work being done by LDS missionaries i . " ' . ' ; f '. '- " ;; .'..-5. i.jvi- ..',; '.".", '" '- - - ' ' ' . ', .-''-' -j . . ' I " - ' ' ' ' ' ' : " . ;''" ' , ) ' " ' ' - J 1 f. v I , . ; . , (: :; '; . , , ; ; !. " r 11 - ,.; . , V : , : : . ' -'l - - ""'' !'': ' ..J.. X . , , ... ' S ' . , J, " " ' ' - - ' "V; . " V . , . ' '' ' ' 1 '('' " 'I ' v ' - '.'.,';;' ' 1 . "-- '"v""'" ''."v ' J'-1 Editor's note The following account of the work of LDS Missionaries in an area where, until recently, recent-ly, missionaries made little headway, will prove interesting interest-ing to readers of the Springville Spring-ville Herald in as much as one of the missionaries is John Patrick, son of Mr. and Mrs. John C. Patrick and a grandson grand-son of Mr. and Mrs.John H. Patrick of Springville. The story was written by Bob O'Brien, who according to a report from the missionaries, is a non-Mormon. "Three pairs of personable young men with powerful handshakes and a manner which excludes eagerness and conviction are at work in the Richmond area. "The youngest is 19, the oldest old-est nearly 21. "There are 12,000 others like them throughout the world (200 in Virginia and North Carolina), each with a singleness of purpose to con-, con-, tinue the progress which has made their religion the fastest growing one in the world. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has two million members. It achieved ' its first million from 1830 to 1947. Its second million was reached by 1963. "There are 1,000 Mormons in Richmond, about 6,000 in Virginia Vir-ginia and, last year, there were 8,000 converts in Virginia Virgin-ia and North Carolina. "Each day a new church, completely paid for, is dedicated ded-icated somewhere in the world. Mormons don't believe in going go-ing into debt. "The growth can be attribu-teod attribu-teod to a vigorous missionary program carried out by young men such as the six stationed in Richmond. y "Elders John Patrick, Steve Henrie, Jay Blair, Hugh Dwight, Bryan Backman and Arrol Wheeler, who work out of the ward of the church at 5600 Monument Ave., are representative rep-resentative of the more than MISSIONARIES PRESENT LESSON John Patrick, left, Springville missionary, with Steve Henrie, another mission ary, discuss principles of the LDS Church with prospective members contacted in the vicinity of Richmond, Virginia. 50 per cent of the Mormon youth who volunteer each year for assignments in Christian and non-Christian mission fields of all descriptions in all parts of the world. , "From one point of view, they lead a Spartan existence. "They work without pay, living on money they have saved or money their parents provide. This is true of all officials of-ficials of the church inwhich every member is a missionary to some degree. "They do their own washing, cooking and sowing. They live and work together in pairs. "They are not allowed to Joseph Smith in 1830, is accepted ac-cepted as further revelation of Bible and proves its truth. They are used in .conjunction. .conjunc-tion. Polygamy, a part of the early church, now results in excommunication because it is against U. S. law. Mormons do not drink alcohol, al-cohol, coffee or tea and do not use tobacco. Mormons have a lower death rate, lower divorce rate, higher birth rate, more college col-lege graduates and more members mem-bers of "Who's Who," per capita than any other faith." Goldwater believed leading the field now. date or correspond with the opposite sex throughout the two years. "We are here to do a full two year's work, with out distractions," one said. "We are supposed to keep girls at arm's length." "But they don't consider it drudgery. "Every young Mormon Mor-mon looks forward to work in the mission fields," Elder Henrie Hen-rie said. "Mormon training begins early. In fact, the entire emphasis em-phasis is on youth. They are brought up through the church's youth program. Those who are deemed worthy are deacons at 12, teachers at 14, priests at 16 and elders at 19 or 20.. In the field, with only a half -day a week off, they follow fol-low a more or less rigid routine rou-tine which begins at 6 a.m. They study, counsel, work at the church and walk the pavement, pave-ment, meeting people, knocking knock-ing on doors. . "Theodore H. Lansing, a lo- cal businessman, is one convert con-vert who answered his door 11 years ago in Richmond's West End. Today he is the local bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of . Latter-day Saints. He was raised as a Presbyterian. The world-wide building campaign is unique. Local church members select a spot for a church. Architects, and other "work" missionaries are then sent from Salt Lake City to look over the situation, and help design and build the church. It is paid for by donations do-nations and labor of local Mormons. Mor-mons. The program can be successful because every Mormon Mor-mon tithes his earnings. "There is no need for a war of the Latter-day Saints. "On the premise that every person should maintain his self-respect, most church mem bers, rich or poor, work or welfare projects to make it possible to provide for those in need and prepare to combat com-bat any personal or community-wide disaster. There is a place for all who want to work. i Some facts outlined "Some facts about Mormons as outlined by the missionaries mission-aries : . The Latter-day Saints were the first church to adopt the Boy Scout movement. Mormonism is considered a separate religion not a part of Protestantism. The Book of Mormon, translated trans-lated from golden plates by |