| Show PACIFIC STATES MISSION CHILDS and bests branch near lima montana july 2nd and 1896 ELDER F D RICHARDS elder M F cowley and myself realizing the interest you take and the good will you have for the various missions both at home and abroad I 1 take pleasure of reporting the opening up of a mission in the pacific states or of montana washington oregon and northern idaho now we wish to say that just prior to the martyrdom of our loved prophet who realized that his hour had come he called the twelve apostles together in the upper room of the brick store just a little north of the prop prophets hetos mansion where he endowed the twelve and then and there charged them saying upon you my fellow apostles I 1 place the responsibility of preaching the gospel to all nations and people and I 1 charge you that you see to it there were a few others thus favored with this endowment and only two ot of them now are living who are witnesses ot of those precious and most c choice h oi ce blessings bestowed as a pattern of what followed in the nauvoo temple Temp leand and others since built the two mentioned are president VV il lord ford woodruff and sister bathsheba smith all the rest of those favored ones are dead that received the first endowments at the hands and direction of the prophet who received the order from heaven it became necessary that the twelve the second quorum in the church should be endowed with power from on high before the martyrdom of the prophet consequent cons consequently equen aly the pro prophet aliet realizing and by command of god placed upon this quorum power and authority to carry on the great work entrusted to him by the heavens hence after these endowments joseph said ats ata meeting held on the east end of the nauvoo temple before the walls thereof were completed and edward stevenson is one of the witnesses 1 I now see the time I 1 have long desired to see I 1 am free now to go where I 1 cho europe or elsewhere for the gospel tree is planted and rooted eds never more to be rooted up there are those under the sound of my voice who are prepared to take the work and carry it on let me go where I 1 please elder stevenson w was t then en on only y young youn a single man but he power of his bis words so deeply impressed him that it was en graven as an iron pen and in the rock forever only a short period ot of time elapsed before the prophet found a martys martyrs grave sidney rigdon set up his claims as a guardian with emma smith at his back soon followed by J 1 strang A cutler lyman wight gladden bishop the laws hedrick Bickerton ites and many other lies ites but brigham was the president of the original twelve apostles the quorum who were endowed and charged by the prophet of god who took his coat saying 1 I shake from my shoulders the responsibility of the gos pel message upon you my lellow fellow twelve apostles when sidney rigdon set up his claims in the grove under the great elm tree just east of the temple amid the congregated saints brigham young was the one upon whom was the mantle of the greatest prophet that ever graced the world the voice the very prophet was there the lion roared all hands went up sidney vanished went up with his theories as if in smoke so have or will swill all the fathers while zion shall rise temples be built the dead be cared for the gathering go on a continuation of the prophets work where he left it until he shall again come in the flesh and fulfill all that was placed upon him dear brother richards fully realizing these facts and the responsibility and care resting upon the first presidency and the twelve apostles who looking over the missionary field cast the watchful eye eve over the northern pacific states where no mission arys voice was heard sad and many lost sheep were comparatively without a shepherd your aged servant of god was chosen with a much younger companion elder M F cowley favored of the lord and proudly can we say we felt to heartily respond to toe voice ol of the lord and the irth of june found us in lima montana after attending the conferences ot of bannock stake and bingham stake and andl taking the parting hand and blessings of yourself and our loved ones with whom we parted arted at the glorious conference at y Rin bingham ghani stake once in our field of labor we lacked tao no friends to take us in and provide amply for our wants and on the first evening we called a meeting and fifteen met inet in in the house of elder W william illiam F hopkins on the following evening we held a public meeting in a two story brick district school house the best the town affords about fifty attended the town ot of lima is mostly a railroad town with a population of about we have continued our meetings in in public and private with good success and now much prejudice which at first we had to contend with has given way V we visited the only minister in the place a methodist spending two hours with him and his bis wife the latter has attended two of our public meetings president ricks ot of bannock stake organized a branch of the church at this place last tail fall but the presiding rider elder daniel dark clark had left lima so we reorganized the branch with elder william F hopkins presiding elder and with john burt and austin W child as assistants both of the latter are seventies we opened a baptismal font ont at the ranch of brother childs three miles out and offered the opportunity for baptism andhor and for the renewal of covenants ot of nome who have been aw away ay from the church over sixteen years x the spirit of se lord has attended our labors and many of the lost sheep have been made to rejoice as evinced by eight souls claiming baptism baptis on the aoth of june jun and on the adyth of june the date of the martyrdom ot our loved prophet we baptized fourteen more on the following tuesday aoth we baptized four more twenty six in all and thirteen ot of those baptized are first baptisms there is one peculiar circumstance which I 1 think worthy of note sister godfry and family ot of six children live ten miles north of lima sister godfry had been very sick we learned of her condition and elder austin W child J took us in a carriage to their residence and we spent four hours with the family A young girl of fourteen had been blessed by our elders when a babe the spirit followed her and the result was that she was prepared for baptism sister godfry brought her children up ten miles to one of our meetings and we blessed them and subsequently baptized the mother and four of her children and last wednesday the of july we held a meeting at sister godfryt Godt God frys rys and administered the sacrament to the family there were ten of us and the unbelieving husband bowed the knee with us fsr we hold public meeting next sunday and soon after shall take our departure last evening five more gave in their names for baptism some other elders from bannock stake will visit this branch soon trusting in the lord feeling grateful for his goodness and fully realizing that he moved upon his servants to open up this mission we hum bum bly subscribe ourselves your brethren and fellow laborers in christ jesus EDWARD STEVENSON M F COWLEY |
