Show FROM THE missionary FIELDS A protest against persecution vilas grant parish la august ath 1898 after reading of the treatment of the latter day saint elders at mechanics iburg miss on july it Is gratifying to note in contrast the treatment accorded the elders of the louisiana wf mission lasion on the same day at this place the summerfield tabernacle at this point had been selected as the place for holding confere conference nee tor for this state and ou oft friday july 29 the elders began arriving here by twos by fours and by sixes until thirty six were present to participate in the services arrangements had been completed beforehand for the entertainment of the elders and our citizens rich and poor alike opened wide their doors and proffered the hospitality of their homes As many would have received as warm a Vel welcome belcome come elder R S hunt had charge of the matter of entertainment and as ho he assigned his brethren on fri atey evening co their respective stopping blaces his countenance plainly reflected the jue happiness of his heart elder H I 1 acx la beloved by the people of this neigh po services oft vices were held saturday sunday monday an at night on tuesday the mon ion of elder cornwall on sunday ft orning ning was one of the most pleasing writer ever had the pleasure of tog the sermon of the evening by after jr nelson of chattanooga tenn ws an able and masterly effort but f up delivery arvery was greatly interrupted by ma violent rainstorm which marred the hect t it might ther otherwise wise have produced this was the only interruption during afee fa faour days sitting of the conference people attended the meetings 1 X know that elder joseph tomlinson city will experience a happy thrill thrall to know that his legion of friends bunds here extended such a warm vitality pita I 1 lity to the mormon preachers 1 ape er tomlinson labored in this part of vineyard part of last cearo all the i lens re are greatly liked by our people ae rally tahe e writer is no church member and 7 iK lher wai was but he believes in the chrls chris as taught by jesus and cannot baw apt perse persecution ution and hypocrisy as any chrt or parcel parce of that christianity and prays that t he may never close the door 26 to 0 oae ne who see seeks ks shelter in his name respectfully JOHN B LYMAN u florida conference 11 T new zion bradford co fla T aug 9 1898 at t nim new zion in the proverbial land awers yi Awers were wen gathered together a ie band of workers in the cause truth the call that brought this ft t of la israels aels army fog together etheri came I 1 the president notifying them annual conference would at the and dates above mentioned be although we missed the smile welcome greeting of our former d ent dent elder ellas elias S kimball our ts gladdene gl addend at the presence our mr new president elder ben B A oon conference ference was opened at 10 a m Y sr call to order from elder john Z deown n and singing how swift the aB noBis s opening prayer by elder ia 1 U I black followed by singing tS staw come ye saints elder brown iv a short address of welcome to all lent 11 we were then instructed by brethren of the travelers ders W H Thays J X A and H P randall elder ben president of the southern states mission addressed the conference he proved from holy writ the striking similarity between the gospel of christ and the gospel that the elders of israel are proclaiming A letter was read from elder L W lund who recently labored in the florida conference ce after singing and prayer a sumptuous feast was par taken of on the grounds in the afternoon we listened to the remarks of the following elders ross B cutler james H allen alien jabez faux jr john Z brown and ben E rich on sunday morning the following elders bore testimony to the truthful ul ness of the gospel and on the principles of the same brigham haslam ia L A stevenson G W skidmore W H jensen J D coombs A jeffer befler ies and ben E rich sunday afternoon atter noon meeting was enjoyed by hearing from elders L W robbins E L black ben E rich and john Z brown benediction by elder ellas elias A gee brought the general conference to a close subject to a call from the president the conference was a decided success in every way there were over persons present which shows that the work of the lord is making progress to a marked degree in this section of the country mothers in zion may rest assured that their sons are well cared tor for here judging from the way in which the elders were so kindly treated at conference by the good hearted generous people of new zion and vicinity A change has been made in conference affairs resulting in the establishment of a conference headquarters for the president which at present is located at new zion in addition to the general conference PrIe priesthood meetings were held on friday afternoon sunday morning and monday morning elder rich was compelled to leave us sunday night business calling him to chattanooga elders E L black and H C blood have been released after filling honorable missions 1911 elders ders david IEL elton and T B steele have been transferred to other conferences very respectfully JOHN Z BROWN president of the conference GEO W SKIDMORE DAVID H ELTON clerks the gospel in kent england tunbridge wells kent july 20 1898 leaving the good people of tunbridge wells in the hands of brother david W horsley I 1 journeyed into the country to visit our scattered saints tract the villages on the way and lift up my voice wherever opportunity offered so on one of our soul inspiring mornings I 1 left the saints of the wells with their blessing the first brat I 1 visited on nay my journey were the jarvis brook and crowborough Crow borough saints one of these Is a living witness that signs follow be lievers the lord had blessed him with restored eyesight although before his baptism he could scarcely see to read the brother believes that god speaks to him through his holy word one day clay he was impressed that he ought to do sol something for the lord he opened the bible to find out what the almighty expected of him and the first he be found was this will a man rob god yet ye have robbed me but ye say wherein have we robbed thee in tithes and offerings bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse that their may mav be meat in mine house I 1 prove me now herewith said the lord of hosts if I 1 will not open you fhe windows of heaven I 1 pour you out a blessing that their shall not be room enough to receive it mal 3 thus he was taught the law of tithing in tr acting the people of crowbar ough I 1 was invited into a gent lemans country residence I 1 had left tracts tract there before when he saw me coming up the path he invited me in himself saying he wanted to have a talk with me this genteman gentl man believes in revelation he has the bible at his finger ends the question of authority and the more advanced doctrines of the church were the subject of conversation for about three hours my anekt journey was to Uck ackfield uckfield field sessex bessex to arrange for the ba baptism prism of a young convert in the evening the bible mission society were going to hold a meeting As there is only one small place where they allow open air services in I 1 concluded it would be advisable to mingle with them and take the first opportunity to speak to the people on the true plan of life and salvation I 1 governed myself accordingly helping them sing and asking blessing on all that desired to lift up fallen humanity man ity by grace ye are saved not by works was their theme when an opportunity offered I 1 told them I 1 would like to say a few words for the master and the cause of righteousness I 1 was permitted to do so and spoke about faith tence and baptism I 1 closed without a responsive amen from my friends As I 1 was giving out tracts to the people one of them stepped to the front and told the people I 1 was a stranger to tah them lem i they had bad no connection with me and warned them if I 1 did not preach from tho bible not to receive me I 1 thanked them and asked them to comp compare abr doctrines and articles of faith with the bible on returning to jarvis brook the next sunday evening not finding enough people to talk to in oue one place I 1 could see a gathering 0 or religious people at the cross roads when I 1 got there I 1 found the same man presiding that was my once dear friend at my meeting at Uch field I 1 helped them sing to show them I 1 any ill III feelings I 1 recognized many of them present by my leaving tracts at their houane and talking to them on the gospel oneff on vt the speakers told the people to beware there was a man going around the ahe country teaching the people by wf 01 good works we axe are saved me he could IOU prove from the bible it was false by faith alth we are saved not by our works we can do nothing of ourselves I 1 remain your brother in the BRICE W in the georgia conference alpharetta ga aug io 10 KW 11 I 1 left my home in Clevel cleveland aAd march IS 18 1897 to fill 1111 a mission IV a the Sout southern bern states I 1 arrived in chattanooga tenn march 21 where WB 0 received instructions and were assigned pi to labor in rowan co ky with SOW geo A lyman afterwards I 1 wak wag VM dt to lewis county ky to labor w wah thomas H blackburn I 1 labored there until aug lot ahu I 1 was sent to geog mn effin county ky to labor with elder A A kimball we labord there until sept when we went to our conference after conference I 1 was assigned to labor with john arow smith in county we labored there till damps december ath when we were called to burg to conference where we many good instructions after conference ws was over I 1 VM eat amt back to county with elder john A winegar as a companion eft unlabored until january when I 1 w called to labor in the sunday school with elder al A P kambau in the own cow of two months we organized a sunday school and helped to build a meeting house we then received a call to go and help to open a conference in the state of georgia on the day of march we left our friends and started for galveston with a walk before us of miles the weather was very disagreeable and made it hard to travel but we had friends raised up to us in the time of need so that we lacked for nothing our place of destination was alpharetta milton county ga which we reached on the day of april we at once took up our labors we preached in the court house three nights canvassed the town leaving our tracks with the people our success was very good in making friend si although we had some opposition after we had finished the town we made our way into the country and preached to the people there for some time we then got news of our conference which was wan to be held july ath and at union campbell county ga on our way down we stopped at the city of atlanta visited most of the prominent places of the city spending a week there prom from there we went to conference ce there we met our new president eider ben E rich and forty four elders eiders all in good health and spirits we remained almost four days receiving instructions from our presidents when aben con conference terence was over 1 I was wail assigned md to milton county with elder J E everton as a companion we left ow our friends there and made our way beok to our fields of labor with determination mi nation to work harder we are still to in milton and have many friends and investigators I 1 have enjoyed good haq health 1 h since I 1 left home and have al wars GWM had friends raised up whenever I 1 have needed them if any of our readers have bave friends in this part we would be pleased to call upon them your brethren in christ J 14 HOOPER J E EVERTON alpharetta milton county ga work in oshkosh wis aug 12 1898 more than a year and a half ago our missionaries entered this city for the purpose of presenting the gospel of our lord aud and savior to the people any 11 1 they met with opposition but by stent and untiring labor many friends have been made and some have haft been moved on by the spirit of truth to accept the gospel message we work is conducted on an the house to house plan so that the rich as well as the poor saint and sinner have the privilege of hearing the glad tidings of great joy many times we are turned tumid from the doors but people who treat us thus are generally those who tave have had bad their minds poisoned by slanderous and untruthful reports from our enemies and who are so blinded by prejudice that it seems impossible ible for them to understand that any good can accompany the name mormon we are pleased to state however that among the more intelli I 1 geidt class prejudice Is being rapidly removed oved we occasionally meet persons persona who have been to utah and seen ow people as they are and they do much towards enlightening their associates soc socrates socia ittes tes and removing the hatred that unfortunately so many of our christian friends hold toward us while we are generally treated kindly the great majority of those we meet seem to be somewhat indifferent regarding religion especially anything different to what they are familiar although we are often listened listene 14 to with apparent interest it 14 difficult tp to get people to see their true position before god consequently in many cases the warning and counsel we give is thought but little of and one is reminded that like the ancient landi crans many are neither cold nor hot god has promised however that after the testimonies of the Elder shave been sounded bounded he will send pestilence etc which no doubt will cause many to awaken from their slumber As we have no convenient room here in which to hold meeting we have done most of our preaching on the streets and have been respected by the people and protected by the peace officers last saturday night while speaking we were approached by an officer who informed us that hereafter we would not be allowed to hold any more street services we were also notified to appear before the chief of police for further particulars monday morning we appeared and were told by him that we made too much noise by singing etc and some of the citizens had been complaining we could not understand how our speaking or singing wound disturb anyone in the business i center of a city of more than SO inhabitants where street cars and wagons were constantly passing well sald said he the gospel should be preached in charcho churchs not on the street and as we had been on the street most of two summers he thought it time tor for us to decide whether or not we would get a congregation if so we should rent a hall if not there was no need of us u remaining in the city thus tor for th the present our open air meetings are stopped the city has been in an uproar for the past three months on account of i the wood workers in the manufacturing establishments striking for higher wages several riots have taken place resulting in mill owners officers leers off of the law and workmen who have filled the places placed of some of the strikers being rotten egged stoned and otherwise unmercifully treated by the wives of the strikers who are principally bo hemmans hem ians affairs being so unsettled an outbreak Is liable to occur at any minute and the entire police force as well am aa many special policemen are kept busy preventing crowds gatherl gathering ing and in protecting life and property of citizens we hope after the strike is settled things will be more favorable toward us MS while our work Is principally in the city we occasionally take a trip into the country districts to visit among the farmers as there we are treated loyally as a rule sometimes however we find it difficult to get a hearing not long since we entered a small villa geto preach and after being refused the school house and a number of halls we notified the people that we would hold an open air meeting in the evening As there had never been any mormons cormons in that place |