| Show ONE YEAR IN THE FIELD the follo following winic letter from elder A owen woodruff written from near door dresden Dr eeden saxony on the ath of febra addressed to his bin father mother and sister will be read with interest au ab giving the work and experiences of a missionary during the first year of his bis labors to in the in a foreign land the writer begins with a reference to letters received one of which contained a list jilt of the tibbe payers of the family fa milyan an examination of which gave him much pleasure and be continues loueR I 1 am converted to their principle being thankful to president Preal dent smith for the best beat cormon on tithing paying I 1 ever heard lo in the old bowery at granite its his earnest remarks made such an impression on me that 1 I shall never forget them stiem I 1 may live many you yen re ra my dear parents this letter will beach you about the time of your birthday and probably on account of what I 1 have dune done 1 I ia a part during the last year would be of inLet interest ini erest est to you so I 1 will try to give you an account of my work since entering the swiss and german mission on feb 1894 almost one year ago you asked me ones once what I 1 was doing ap I 1 will on en deavor in part pan to show you what whal 1 have been doing I 1 have received letters jetton have written lett letters sros about ton ten per cent of which were written in ila german I 1 have read too now new feita ment through from beginning to end and three times sail and have bave learned by heart over 50 passages containing more man baa 76 75 verses versea this does not in elude reading soine some of the books through several times and a general study ludy of this book I 1 have also read the five books of moses daniel etc and learned many passages off by heart beart have read the book of mormon irom frum beginning ginning oe co to end uie the voice oi 01 warning twice and partly ahe third time the be pearl of great price twice the first book I 1 read in german german the doctrine and covenants once parley P prattle prates works english the filhe gospel by roberts roberta not history of dr martin luther do not fin finished lebed y my german grammar parti part I 1 with writing exorcist exercises the stern stem twice a month the the english BENI BEMI NEWS in the latter I 1 have only read the headings sermons and apteral points of interest as my desire has been to coo con 11 floe u a myself f to german reading as much as possible these are some things which have occupied cou plad my time during the past year outside of this a missionary missi ooary must know his bin reaby reference pretty well ald aej J be prepared gafar as far as fossit ble to find any valuable passage of which he be needs to substantiate ble words and his doe doctrine trino I 1 nave have aiso abo spent pent abod many hours hour in hir ahe library here in dresden studying up the condition of jerusalem at the time of lobl lebda in flight into the wilderness and the history of the As syrians syriane and greeks greek and have bare been able to find some very good points in substantiation of the book of 0 mormon my eyes have bare hindered me from reading ing ale aa much as I 1 should like to have done and I 1 find I 1 can do but little reading by lamplight lamp light even with glasses lanaea lae aea my health has bag been excellent and I 1 feel to thank god with all my heart that the year has pawed passed so BO pleasantly and profitably I 1 cannot give you a detailed account of how bow many tracts I 1 have given out families famil ibS viel teJ tei etc but will say that mat has ban been my chief occupation I 1 am thankful for the ble blessings beings I 1 have enjoyed in acquiring the language to such an extent that if necessary I 1 am now able to stand before a germau german ast assembly embly over an b hour our but I 1 have great fears oars that I 1 could not entertain an english one lor five minutes mio utes imay I 1 may however wever no be able to learn leara to preach the goethel in english whon when the time comes so 80 much for time and labor pa will soon BOOD see bee libath birthday and I 1 pray I 1 may be permitted to enjoy your ninetieth witti with you how hopwoo won dereul are the ble avinge of god in sparing your life to your family and poo peo akl pit 1 1 HOW grateful I 1 am to my maker that he has baa blessed me with such noble and blessed parents would that I 1 could live such a lidd jiffas as you have lived and when this life is ie anundi ended meet our judge with the report that you will bear to hla his throne probably unnoticed by a great many of the happy dwellers in the valley of 01 utah the be world join la in a heated race to destruction sin bin and crime have increased to an alarming extent in the past fw few years the reports show bow that ours bere in dresden broaden baere are m pre ire illegitimate children burn every month than ban by honorable birth and beings in 10 bodd emmage boast of how many girls they abey have ruined it to a tact fact that these conditions are to be found existing throughout the he world so 0 o it if has haa lallen fallen so 0 o far below the preceding one in virtue and all that la Is godly what can we expect if the generation that will be born ol 01 these parents who are of illegitimate birth and born in the depths depth of crime Is not the present condition of humanity something terrible when I 1 wan scan the world and see aee how few the number who ever wish to do right and think how great to is the temptation of a depraved generation and realize how great the responsibility of those who bear the he holy priesthood my soul la in raised in humble bumble prayer to bod that lie he may not permit me to live tj bring shame and disgrace to his priesthood and people when we realize how bow many men who have been great and good in the eyes of god have fallen from their mark and went the way ot of the world it makes make aone ancla blood chill in I 1 a his bia veins as he be beholds the abe path of life laid out before him lest lent a viper from some hidden plant should wound him with its deadly poison it is my greatest wish that I 1 may keep myself hum bum ole die and ever devote my energies to the building up of boula kingdom on earth dear parents I 1 wish you a joyous birt baay and chiy arv you way may both see many move moie it would be a great pleasure for me to spend a birthday with you and I 1 trust the lord will grant us ui that gracious grao looB blessing with all my heart I 1 wish you the choicest blessings of heaven and earth that you may drink at life alfea a silvery loun tain maln until you ere are satisfied with life and every desire of our heart lg in fulfilled may god who governs all ail the lives of men grant that you may be spared many years to obine come to go us your and all who love you so BO dearly god bless ble Bayou you and fill your baarts with joy on this your birthday aud and graut grant you life and all that you may wish affectionately your son eon A OWEN WOODRUFF the birthday of elder eider to which he be makes fri fr quent allusion lueion al Is ie the lat day of march president Pre wilford woodruff woo Wooi J ruff attaining then the ripe age ot 88 and sister emma woodruff her bar year their absent son concluded tiia big letter with a tender and anu affectionate little poem to his hie mother |
