Show ST L axioms mo iwo septem september er 7 1881 prest frest wilford woodruff moo Woo drug dzur sait salt lake city utah your kind and find welcome letter cama came duly to hand and read with pleasure at that time I 1 was traveling with elder john W taylor in southwest georgi georgii i we labored I 1 in n the region about four mouths months and were blessed bles sed in our labors owing to excessive heat in the summer we were counseled by prest morgan to tn come farther north our labors having been chiefly in new districts perhaps we have not witnessed so many baptisms as have been performed in other parts of the mission though some prejudice has been removed and the lord has raised up friends to us on every hand on one occasion in middle georgia we were invited home after meeting by col chas zaachary Zac chary a member of the georgia legislature himself and family treated us very kindly and manifested considerable interest estan in what we said explaining the faith of the latter day saints you have dou doubtless baless learn t through the papers that tre the the tic legislature in georgia has been trying i to pass a bill with the purpose of restricting or prohibiting the elders from preaching in that state though perhaps leaps for a cloak the bill says to prohibit anyon efrom inducing the citizens of that stat state to practise polygamy this of course is entirely foreign to the facts of the case as elders do not preach the principle referred to in georgia nor induce people to practise practice it in georgia the bill had already passed the senate before we left georgia but how it will terminate I 1 cannot say eay whatever they do we are assured will not retard but tend to advance the work of the lord in the earth this being the promise the lord has made they can do nothing against the truth but for the truth the spirit of persecution has been manifest in some bome parts of the south during the summer season especially in georgia and alabama it is a remarkable fact that most of the persecution erse cution waged against the elders ers and saints in the southern states takes place in the summer and fall after harvesting is done with and the people to some extent are at greater leisure this is the time of the year alo also al aio o when religious revivals are held throughout the country and while many maybo maybe may be sincere in their professions fes fese lons it is lamentable to see eee the condition of the world religiously in some places where the eiders eldors have preached the gospel for years past and some havo have received it it seem seems sM AS though had withdrawn his spirit from those who are left and left them tor to ripen in iniquity for destruction to come tip upon n them this mission seems to abeln be in a prosperous condition and frequent baptisms are performed by the ederson their respective fields of labor we saw paw pa prest morgan day beloro yesterday he is well and is kept very busy traveling and 1001 loot ingup the tho interests of ti a work in all parts parta of the mission he is doing a good work and is loved and ind respected by elders saints and by au all who know him and love jove the truth in this land at our late conference in georgia I 1 was appointed to labor with elder george C parkinson from franklin idaho while bro taylor was to labor with elder wm win J packer of brigham city after visiting a few branches of the saints in north georgia we were assigned by prest preat morgan to the city of st louis as our field of labor we have only been here a few days and have hardly started yet in our labors we purpose holding meeting next sunday on broadway in a hall that hag has been used by the saints for some time past this is guite quite a change to us troba the rural districts of the southern states there is a small branch of the church in this city presided over by brother andrew burman sotera carera cerera f the saints have a emigrated in grated haie have from here to utah dur during rig the year it is surprising to note the vast number of people in st louis who were once numbered with the lat ter day saints and though they have stumbled by the way there are arc some ionic who are not ashamed to be known among afi the a people as what the world call mormons cormons Mor mons and show by their expression that they have little or no faith in any other religious bodies we are reminded in in looking at these nf of the saying a y ing of peter as recorded in g the ath chapter c apter of st john when the savior asked the apostles if they would also leave him and go away and peter replied lod to whom shall we go thou hast the words of eternal life lile and this is the condition of many today to dayhaw day having left the church they are without the words of eternal life or having no hope are without god in the world what may be accomplished complis hed in this place will be learned as we proceed with our labors we hope to do good and to this end we humbly ask an interest in your prayers the summer here and in the south has been excessively hot and dry on account of severe drouth the crops have suffered very much cotton corn wheat and other articles only yielding about one half of the usual am and the hearts of many are fearful of the results that may follow the drouth I 1 believe belleve beli bell eve uve s lias bas been general in nearly nil all parts of the south last night there was a heavy fire in st louis burning down a mill and considerable lumber president morgan has just returned from omaha and wishes to be remembered to you and addeo andeo so does bros parkinson and barman 11 I 1 remain your brother in the gospel covenant M F COWLEY cowler my address is st louis kb no 1114 1111 cass coss avenue care of A burman the southern states mission E tenn sept 1881 adilor deseret we news reports from the various conferences of the mission have in part been received during the past week weeks and indications are fairly favorable the report BO so far avows the baptism cism of souls couls during the r past mt six months when we consider that this has been accomplished in almost entirely new fields of labor but recently opened up wo we cannot but feel that the lord has abundantly blessed us last spring it was thought prudent to leave the neighborhoods wh where ere considerable time had been expended and endeavor to carry the gospel into localities where the el ders had never gone before bome pome time had to be devoted to overcoming prejudice and Jn informing forming R the minds of the people as to vh what at the latter day saints really believed and taught so that we may consider these fields as likely to produce an abundant harvest of the honest in heart yet some 60 souls have emigrated during the six feix months and indications are quite favorable for con considerable emigration this fall the rhe young brethren who have been called to this mission have almost without an exception labored earnestly to spread the gnp principles caples of eternal life and bring the people t to 0 a knowledge of the truth wo we nind find fl nd in many I 1 localities 0 ca lit es t lie the honest in heart who receive the message gladly and again we find opposition generally the elders receive more invitations to preach than th they ay can easily nill fill of course much of this is curiosity and not a genuine I 1 wen gen u ine lne desire to gain know edge adge 6 but it usually results in doing good as its the way is thus opened up to reach those who desire to learn the way of life and salvation a scattered few become interested a home for the missionaries is secured a place to preach provided and soon there are those who desire to obey the requirements of the gospel all this does not transpire without much opposition the clergy bring to bear their influence the local press takes a hand and ever even every eveny y effort is made to inflame the ml minds ads of the people sometimes successfully to the extent that threaten ings and violence are resorted to by the misled and mistaken believers of the churches of today to day yet we find many good true and god fearing people who stand firm in the face of the angry waves of popular prejudice and of whom it can be said as was said of old by paul of priscilla and a ad aquilla they have for our lives ilves laid lalif down their own necks and of these there are not a few the state of georgia seems to be the mot moat violent in its opposition one of its state senators having gone so far as to introduce a bill interfering with the right of free speech in their wild efforts to stay the progress of truth I 1 am not yet informed as to what became of the bill but the chief executive of the state has been ad dressed upon the subject and we shall boon soon learn whether the empire a ire lre state stafe of the south has hag so 2 f far artle arple departed from the fundamental principles of a free government as to take such a step but we need scarcely be surprised at any move made at the present time the people are fast drifting into that condition which was foretold by the prophet joseph smith when he said mob rule and anarchy would yet prevail in the midst of this once favored people and day by day we see the pa fulfillment uffe ll 11 of the prediction in the state of alabama where a short time ago considerable excitement prevailed matters have quieted down and the only result now apparent ia is the more thorough advertisement of the gospel the months of august and september are throughout the south the understood time for religious revivals and during this period we usually meet the most viole violent nt opposition that season has about passed away and we look forward to quite a peaceful time which can be utilized by the eldera in teaching and prea preaching ehing ebing to the people A company of saints are expected to leave on the ath of november some for utah but the majority mao rity go to colorado colordo the elders and saints throughout the mission feel well and are quite united in their efforts to enlighten the minds of the people and if nothing unforeseen occurs we look forward to the accomplishment ment of a good work in the gouth south the coming year the thaw agitation of the question by b press and add pulpit must necessarily fl result in iia good in tiie the long run to 0 the cause pause of truth A good work could be done by OF our friends at home by supplying usi us with copies copits of the DESERET NEWS or semiweekly sem semi weekly and tracts to distribute 0 gratuitously among the people as we find them valuable auxiliaries to the ordinary labor of traveling and pr preaching ea eh ink ing we would take great pleasure in in seeing such donations placed where whale they would do much good trusting that we have the faith and prayers of the saints in our labor abo very truly youn your brother in in th tha tho bonds odthe of the covenant of peace JOHN MORGAN |