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Show LETTER FROM AUSTRALIA Richmond, Victoria, Melbourne, Australia. Aus-tralia. Mr. David S. Williams, Dear Brother: Just a few lines to let you know how ive are getting along, also that the dear old home paper has not yet reached rea-ched us. So we are sending our address ad-dress which I think will be permanent for at least a few months. We are well and enjoying our labors la-bors very much. The city of Melbourne Melbour-ne has about 600,000 inhabitants and there are only six missionaries here so you can readily see that we need not oe idle for want of something to do. The people of this land are not seeking after religion but more foi anjoyment and pleasures of a worldly nature. There has been but very few covets here during the last few years. In trading we meet up with a great many who do not care anything any-thing about religion of any sort and, having become disgusted with their own religion, they feel free to judge our religion as being of the same sort as what they have known before We also meet quite a number who can easily recognize the fact their religion is not the same as that which our great Master and Savior gave unto us as patterns, but still they say, "The religion of my parents is good enough for me." They will freely admit their system is man-made and not of God. We have met a few who say that they have read some of the "Mormon" literature and it is apparently the most reasonable gospel they have ever heard and they don't want to take any more literature to read or they would be sure to want to join this religion, and that is just the thing they must avoid so they refuse our tracts. An church is not not considered by the Australian's promise to come to Elders, as any promise at all for they never fulfill It. I We have about 140 saints in this city who are mostly living up to the gospel, and we have as good tithe-payers tithe-payers here as there are In the church. We have had a big coal strike in this country which has affected thou-ands thou-ands of people, because so many manufacturing man-ufacturing plants depended on the coal for their power. The strike has now been brought to an end but it will be weeks before business can assume as-sume its usual activities. With the war, the coal strike, and the conscription question, the people of Australia have a number of vital questions before them. We have had a great deal of stormy stor-my weather since arriving hero but have been told by many that this Is an extremely exceptional year because of its coldness and storms. Usually at this season of the year the thermometer is registering ninety degrees in the shade and we certainly appreciate the cool weather as we find that we cannot stand this extreme heat as well as we can the cold. . We like the land of Australia very much but there is nothing no-thing quite so good as the dear old U. S. A. The customs and speech are much the same as they are at home, although some of them seem old fashioned fa-shioned and often cause us to smile. Their cities are not nearly so clean as is our own Salt Lake City neither do they have so much electricity to work with. Well, we suppose everybody at home are now enjoying the holiday festivities festivi-ties and we certainly wish you and yours a happy prosperous new year. .. ( |