Show IN ALABAMA LA PINK alabama may 1896 A great many of the young elders who are called to labor as missionaries in the southern states are of the opinion that the most southern conferences of this great mission are in a measure inferior or at any rate less attractive than those of the north this will be found to be otherwise when one takes the trouble to investigate no one could have been more pre prejudiced adio against the extreme south than I 1 I 1 was when assigned to labor in in south alabama july 1895 all sorts ol of ideas came into my mind which I 1 now attribute to no other cause than prejudice since taking up my labors in alabama I 1 have learned many valuable lessons among those I 1 most highly appreciate is the one that explains to me that the ideas I 1 had ot of the far south were the result ot of a distorted imagination this one lesson more than pays me for the eleven months I 1 have labored here as an elder could all the young men of zion but learn this valuable lesson before leaving utah they would not be under the necessity of learning it after their arrival the presentation of these facts may be of use to elder who are hereafter called to labor in our con ference while there are states which have some advantages over asil us yet we have a corresponding and no less advantage over them no conference in the mission has had a more healthy lot ot of elders this will be admitted when we learn that in the past year there has been but one elder return home on account of poor health isaac iaac A porter of esca gnad iante utah the twenty six fearless and mostly beardless young men in our domain are all robust and strong not one showing the slightest trace of ill health are all euth enthused used and are laboring with all their might mind and strength to forge the chains for the of truth my labors have been a source of pleasure never before ex penen perien ced or even thought of on february elder ezra E and I 1 were appointed to labor in covington and escambia counties which had been canvassed and closed owing to some business we had with elder joseph S geddes our president we did not arrive in in our field of la labor or until april ath in the southwestern part oi of covington county we found five mem bers of the church brother and sister young brother and sister baggett and brother swinney we found these saints feeling well and rejoicing in the gospel they had embr embraced iced at the hands of elders J S larson and C H gibson we wd remained in the neighborhood ten days and held twelve well attended meetings considering the thickly settled condition of te country we also baat iced five souls into the fold of christ and blessed fourteen children we then took a trip to brewton a nice little city of about three thousand inhabitants on the louisville and nashville railroad here we got our mail some of which had lain in the office for a month we have some friends in brewton among them is the editor of the standard Guage the leading paper of the county upon our return to brother henry fosters we held several interesting meetings blessed four children and sold and gave away a large number of books and tracts we then went bade back into covington cou county rity for the purpose of organizing a sunday school which hii we did with brother D G swinney as superintendent and brother john young as assistant and a membership mor mons and non mormons cormons of thirty two we were just beginning to get down to good work when we received a letter from elder joseph J geddes stating that president kimball would meet us in conference capacity on saturday and sunday may 23 ath this broke into our plans for we had bad invitations from parties living in adjacent settlements mens and had arranged tor for a series of meetings in in six different localities during the five weeks we were in this small section ol of country with radius of about six miles we held thirty five meetings ing baptized seven blessed eighteen children loir ot of which were of non mormon parents and disposed of a great deal ot literature both books and tracts bidding goodbye good bye to saints and many friends we started out for brewton arriving here we were welcomed py by brother henry P jackson and remained with him until next day brother jackson is a man of forty six years born and raised in denmark where he was educated and served as a professor ot of theology in an university in copenhagen for eight years he emigrated to america in 1883 and was baptized into the church by james C jenson and I 1 last august lea leaving g brother jackson we took train for greenville sixty five miles north and by walking twenty two miles arrived at uncle isham Bodi fords where we met a number who had bad gathered in from various parts of the state to hold conference brother bodiford has been for about seven years a good friend to the elders and his horne home has been a home for them ever since tins this section of country was first opened up by elders flaw and orr about seven yearn year ago at io 10 a in saturday may aldy our conference convened president joseph S geddes pirt presiding siding elders saints and friends joined in sinking singing hail to the brightness of zions glad morning ec etc prayer by elder alimus millet singing the spirit of god like a fir fire is burning etc elder 1 I F wakefield was the first speaker lie he spoke for some time upon the subject of faith also giving many evidences of the ex istance of a supreme being both from nature and tradition elder A T allen alien was the next speaker choosing the subject of church organization brothers A B dorman and S W starling bore testimony to the divinity of the work established by the lord through the late prophet joseph smith elder J C jensen next spoke at some length upon faith and repentance hymn 0 my mv father etc benediction by elder C H alley afternoon session singing prayer by elder elias kimball singing elder elias kimball then addressed the congregation gre gation for some time when it began raining and meeting adjourned after the rain ceased a number of songs and recitations were rendered benediction by elder D H thomas at 4 p in all the elders met in priest hood meeting and reported their labors J and expressed their feelings elings le as regards the work they had been called to at 8 a in sunday we met again and heard the reports of the elders who did na nt nat t report the night before at iio 10 a in the conference convened again although the elements threatened us we were not disturbed and a good spirit prevailed singing prayer by elder james C jensen singing elder D H thomas was the firs speaker on the apostasy from the prim etive church elder joseph S geddes followed giving a lengthy general discourse hymn benediction by elder C H alley at the afternoon session a bynm was sung and prayer by elder joseph J porter then followed a sacred quartette beautiful land president kimball addressed the conference subject serving the true and living god elder hardy then spoke upon the divinity of the book of mormon an anthem was suni sung and benediction was offered up elder ira call owing to the busy season we had a smaller congregation than at our confer ence in july last however much good was done and one more soul added to the fold A good spirit prevailed throughout monday at 8 a in we met again in council meeting and president kimball spoke with mighty power until 6 p in only stopping a lew few minutes for dinner ainner although a long ways from air parts ot of the state to this gathering we were paid ten fold for our trouble the only sad feature of the conference conle rence was elders ricks terry barney and pace did not receive notice in time to be present then came the parting and we all went forth with a new determination to work harder if possible than we had during the past year Foi following lowing is a list of the elders and their postoffice post office addresses joseph S geddes and J A la pine crenshaw co D H thomas and J H pace brewton escambia co J F wakefield and samuel R brown bradleyton Brad leyton crenshaw co george A reid and joseph johnson canden wilcox co W E jenkins and charles A varley kingston antanga co aaron hardy and george E jarvis jar vis bradleyton Brad leyton crenshaw co ira call and I 1 L pratt monroeville Monro eville monroe co J C jensen and david christensen jackson clarke co joseph S porter and wayne H redd greenville butler co heber ricks and E L terry butler choctaw co john C poulson and lewis E barney orrville dallas co charles alley and james P jensen linden marengo co D H THOMAS |