Show experiences IN THE FIELD bement may 5 6 1898 elder J W cutler and myself have been assigned at our last conference to labor in pi piatt att county ill this is a new field and we entered it with fear and trembling but dedicating it to the lord we commenced in the southwest corner of the county our first stopping place was la place with about inhabitants the dunker or german baptist church and the christian or churches lead here they are a good people and show hospitality pita lity but the non nan nonreligious religious class are the most charitable of all prom from la place we went to hammond and stopped a couple of days visiting and tr acting we were entertained by a mr hart a methodist episcopal preacher prom from hammond we took our journey north to the county seat Monticello our stays in each place were short to let the people know that we were there and let the excitement cool down and call on them again we were busy visiting the people of monticello calling on almost every house which kept us occupied for three weeks we met much opposition and prejudice all the people of the 2300 population knew who we were also that we were calling on each family to converse with them so some laid wait for us placing our hands on a gate which led up to a little house the door of the house fled open and in a commanding voice a question was asked of us the questioner 8 being a lady are you the mormon preachers ye yes we are was the reply well said our fair friend dont take another other step into this yard I 1 wont have nio mormon monnon disgrace my I 1 lot 11 1 of course we turned and went on A I 1 fair church member at another place i came out to tell us th that at she had no earthly use tor for a mormon aad a ad would not waste a moments time to talk with us yet the good people are donating I 1 to send missionaries to utah to talk to 1 us these people love to handle us ua with a ten foot pole when calling on another family the lady abd appeared at the door informed us that she had no use for a mormon her mother used to live in nauvoo and she knew of the doings of the mormons cormons Mor mons again asking for further information the lady told us that the mormon parents made their children churn chum water to get butter out of it you can imagine that this provoked a smile from us but the lady said taftt thiat her mother had been an eyewitness to these things while laboring in chicago a lady told us that her mother knew joseph that he was very ugly had a disfigured face as an a consequence of having eaten on on one occasion a rattlesnake I 1 but to come back to monticello Monti oello te churches were refused to us yet we att found a few warm friends who are now defending us while we are in another town when calling at a large larg e residence once we were informed by the lady ladr that opened the door that she was not a member of our belief upon her that we were aware of that but that we had come to tell her what we dia know and believed we were asked tester inside we found a lady friend 1 of the family visiting there and 11 a joined in the conversation the seemingly were acquainted with scriptures our conversation at first wito aft rambling being interrupted by 04 eions until we happened to make a remark J that caused asto astonishment nisho leht on til tb part of the ladies Is that in the biba was the question we answered in the affirmative so a bible was handed to us and we read it to them this gave us an to explain the gospava after explaining the gospel and ana coll coil with the ladies the mistress of the house said 1 I like your reason reasoning int and explanation of the scriptures 1 it only the name mormon was not connected with your belief she croak a ased us that from henceforth she boum speak of us kindly to all her friends this we found to be true for we wit met some of their friends and had the goow doom opened to us which otherwise edw have been closed against us after laboring three weeks in mo cello we took our journey south fo TO bement we arrived there ott on 13 bement emen t we arrived th there are on OA saturday evening at 7 took a 41 meal a at a restaurant res and stayed there WO 6 A night bight sunday morning found us visiting the catholic church we were VA a loss as to which wha church to attend at evening so we stopped at et first we came to not knowing 1 1 to what denomination it WOO w 1 1 a house of worship but we soon found out the meeting appeared to be a report meeting of a general C cop ference held in this vicinity by ft presbyterian church some lady le 1 had given a report on mormon ism the report was read off then at ohp tj chure church h greatly exaggerated NI fozer finishing up with an ex exhortation borta 0 for the people to be prepared to meet es mormon missionaries 5 when meeting was over we called on the pastor introducing ourselves tp z him asking him to give us a cop copy bf the report but he told us 14 we aaa send to some other city to get a copy as though they could not copy in aue city we then asked the privilege af answering and explaining points mentioned we in that report we hiett heift we would like to hold a meeting at their church when they were ere not twos it so the referred us to a ME camp the leading elder 0 ot lher chefa church mr camp spoke at the heedt meeting was one of the delegates to the ference fc rence but he be would gite us jao awer that night but informed inform weel at ti call on him luring during the called the following day he reft tc give us the use of the church b ba ing another preacher of the ites read portions of an article on lw monism in the christian standrd Stand wd printed in cincinnati at lost last evening service at which wa tift awe present there to is quite ba sur stir some of the people on account 6 at ow des presence and if some did not fear tam sto law they would drive us out tv oat tafe taw town but there are others wbk iw kind to us 1 J yours in the f tt r W i h CHARLIN CHARLES A HAACK fl |