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Show I A LETTER FROM I ENOCH RUSSON. H No. t! Park Street, m UluclcliciillH, X. Itiriiiiiiliain, M ' Oct. 'J Itli, 1007: H James M. Kirklmiu, B l-klitor Banner, H Lchi. Utah. B Dear Sir: It is indeed a pleas- H tuo for mo to pun a few lines to Hj acquaint you of my doings and Hj feelings. H It has been Homo eight mouths H siiivu I loft my dear mountain H homo anil loved onus, and wended H my way across the pond, into this, M tho laud of my birth, 7,000 miles H H I realize that all of you who are Hj iutorostcd in tho giund plan of .sal- H. vation are anxious as to what wo H boys aio doing out hero in tho H world. H I was sent to labor in what is H known as tho Black District in Old H England, and suro enough, 1 can H lull you, it was rightly christened. H It is composed of coal pits, smoko Hj HUicks, and cliutcli steeples. The H air is continually dark with smoke. H A person can put a white collar on H in tho morning and by night its H ready for tho wash tub. I can tell H you this is a. fine place for laundry H business. Wo had all need to K be thankful for our homo in tho H mountains. I am laboring in a H district where it .seems poverty H reigns supreme. Nearly every day H of my life while Inicling from door H to door, 1 can behold sights that H make my eyes moisten w itli teai-s. H It is a common thing to seo H mothei'S.with young babos working M at tho anvil making chains and H mills from early morn till eight H and nine o'clock at night, in order H to live, and only get from six H pence to a shilling per day, and H hundreds of men arc working for H as low wngivs as two and three Hj shillings per day. And you can B seo hundreds of young ladies work H iug at tho anvils, just a) black as Hf any man I ever seo passing coal at Hj tho Lchi Sugar Factory. When Hj beholding these things I rolled Hj upon our condition. How much Hj better are our circumstances than Hl thesu poor creatures are here in Hj this laud of my birth. Hj I have leou successful in lindirg H about 100 of my uncles, aunts and Hl cousins since my arrival here, and Hj I have borne my testimony to H them, but I can toll you my rola- HJ lives are like tho most of the pco Hj pie hero in this district, they are Hj saved by grace. They think Jesus Hj did it all for them, and all they Hj ticod to do is to believe in the H Lord Jesus Christ, and that's fl enough. B There are a few of my relatives H that aro iuvostigating tho priuci- H pies of the gospel, and I am very ' . l ; l -"?tt Tm". desirlous of pointing out to them tho grand plan of life and salvation. salva-tion. 1 find that the people here aro, as a rule, unlearned, and of those over U0 years of age 50 per cent of them cannot read nor write, thus making it a very hard matter in presenting to them the gospel. The ministers who aro devilling for money, aro our worst enemies, and in order to thwart tho work of tho Lord have scattciol the Jarmau literature among the people, peo-ple, causing us much persecution. Nevertheless wc can seo that their elforls are fruitless, and instead of injuring tho work it has done us good, thus bringing to pass the prophecies ot tho servants of Qod in this dispensation and of tho sign given to tho Prophet Joseph Smith by tho angel, viz, "That tho more this work should be opposed the faster it would spread." I am pleased to report that the work hero in tho IUrmingham conference is piogressing very nicely, anil since January 1st, this year, ninety have boon added to tho church. I can say that I am encouraged in the work. I have mado many friends and have had tho privilege of leading a few into tho water of baptism, and since I have been hero in this district I have witnessed twenty-three baptized. bap-tized. Therefore my labors hole aio a joy to mo, because of tho knowledge 1 have of the gospel. And I have witnessed many wonderful won-derful manifestations of the Spirit of the Lord. Now just a few suggestions to tho boys at homo who feel they shall in some future date bo called to go to somo far off laud in the interest of the Master's work. lie diligent in tho search for knowledge, knowl-edge, and have no feai, fori know now that tho Lord in able to make any of us powerful in tho defense of righteousness, if we will but put our efforts in the right direction. The harvest is great and the laborers labor-ers few. Study tho gospel and be humble, for theie is a mighty work to lo done. Tho day of warning is here, and tho young men oi Israel aro the ones our Father expects ex-pects to do that work. I am afraid I have written too long a letter, if so, please excuse me, 1 haven't told half what I would like to. Hoping that my dear friend who read our valuable homo paper, Tiik IUnnkk, (For I can tell you its a weleomo visitor at my lodge every Monday morning) will be interested in tho few lines 1 send with greeting to all my dear friends and loved onus. Thanking you again and again for Tiik IUxnkii, I am, as over, your Iliother in the Gospel in Old England. Eng-land. BXOOII UUSSON. |