Show missionary MESSAGES pleasant and Unpleasant Experiences erien ces in alabama EDITOR HE HERALD nold the tho conference of alabama in which my ray missionary labors of two months have been confined comprises all that part of the stately state lying ing south of the tennessee Tennes seo river there are THIRTEEN TRAVELING ELDERS in the conference with seven organized branches in iq different localities numbering in all some V sixty or seventy saints many members e having emigrated not long since since to southern colorado tho the place more particularly designated now as tho the chosen gathering spot pot for our brethren of the sunny suddy clime in company with elder A ca zier president of the conference I 1 have TRAVELED AND LABORED in the counties of blount cullman and jefferson but principally in st clair county all in central alabama our experience has been been attended with considerable opposition and in a few instanced instances with persecution such as your readers have been apprised of from the carolinas mississippi and tennessee need th they be e surprised to I 1 learn C arn that arf professed eased ministers of the gospel pretending to ex exi pound and preach the inviolate principles of the holy se scriptures rip tures are themselves the leaders of lawless mobs but were the real character of these min ministers aisters shown or that of their very pulpit dissertations called religion which in many cases from their utter ratter perversion of all consistency are entirely subversive of law and order tho the foundation of all society your casual reader might think th the etory estory a still more incredible one IN THE LATE CIVIL wail WAR it was a prevalent belief among ministers in the south that the lord had nothing to do with the people beyond the mason and dixon line aa As humorous or re di culous as this idea appears to you it was aa nevertheless t the e i means eftis ot of off ov as they term it or severing the orthodox denominations of tho the south irom from their brethren in the very same denominations in the north by their fruit ye I 1 know them and this slab off oft tl ce of a eq ree a score of yeara years ago has bag brought forth fruit of its own I 1 kind abundantly so that now we count of the tile i PROMINENT CREEDS of dixie land omo sonio nine baptist I 1 faiths and actually eleven different and diat distinct inet denominations all wrangling and hild contending with on ony y another for the greater support and popularity among men nien expounding and quoting the tho numerous commentaries doctrines of men met pander pandering tig to the whims of the populace laco in in the very initiated initiatory tD ry principles of tile their i r creed and only i ily using the holy scriptures Scrip turea when h en they can eo so construe it to bend to their purposes reposes fur for other scripture E U must be to mean nican simply nothing some soine of the orthodox creeds teach that FAITH ALONE MERE li Is the summum bonum of religion aid ald the all sufficient means dorsal for salvation yAti others that predestination regarding not works le least a I 1 any n man blan should boast in himself himsel y is the incontrovertible all in iii a all 11 while ile some souie preach once in in grace always i in in grace through w which frace I 1 ich means though a man may perpetrate any wickedness or even a crime it is as nothing for having been regen regenerated cra as they call it he cannot but be saved how truly it is ia as I 1 have lately read somewhere oh oll consistency thy name narno is not modern christianity I 1 I 1 have been taught that religion is the yr very foundation of law and how is I 1 modern no christianity actually tending jo a shield any immorality lity in iya or crime llo however wever XING THE pf af men against even the simplest moral trutha lia no wonder men well cas aly become prejudiced against the tho purity of this gospel of the kingdom dom which our savior hud laid down and which in the days of its I 1 marvelous marv clous in its live five power and original beamut beauty r tin ind t 1 purity should be preached in in all the world as a tin unto to all na and then flika shall the end come matt 21 2 1 14 its restoration is here ol 01 hown town to to w a latter day work a sign or warning strange and anti remarkable of tile coming judg inputs and of the end of tho the world i fin in ito it pres present eilt and as a warning against evildoers evil doers and the delusive doctrines of men inen see aso isaiah 24 66 56 perhaps an incident or two wo oade of detailed catri 9 by maliot bo lea entirely devoid of inter interest ca t they arc are to th us as d a school of aa na considerable exo excellence ellenee as they ar ara a varied in their nature nin n in i an 4 on april lOti rJ el elder let and enjoy our first missionary exper experience ienco as strangers in a strange I 1 locality lit wo we were walking through ah rout blount co e en route for cullman Cull ruan to select a suitable locality for holding our state conference june and and were pleased and thankful to receive the kind hospitality of a mr 31 receiving at once rest from a fatiguing journey shelter from the rain and a comfortable dinner at 6 p m As a matter of course our conversation was soon turned upon UTAH AND TOE THE MORMONS so that I 1 did not observe the disappearance pe arance of one of the family of our host until an audience of some sixteen or twenty had assembled to hear us preach the audience was attentive and eager listeners an and d after meeting we nye distributed many tracts among them and on the morrow continued our journey towards cullman conceding the evidence beauty and truth of the literal doctrines of the holy writ as we do you ma may y give an allowance if some of th the e young mis missionaries sion aries at first realize some considerable sid erable disappointment at least a it sur surprise pie that these teachings should receive receive so cool a reception in the world though they may bo be incontestably te proven by the evidence of reason and argument your humble servant ivas was more fully surprised however when returning one month subsequently we found a harvest odthe of the BITTEREST opposition AND PREJUDICE while we were absent the adversary had sown tares among the good eced seed an historical pamphlet had been stirred from a dusty ahelf shelf and around it traveled with greater rapidity than our testimony and twenty tracts ka a lie I 1 need not ex truth cannot travel so fast I 1 elain ad read of the assembled multitude on the day of pentecost believing the word which was preached them and crying what shall we do of course 1 1 had read many similar occurrences in the written experiences of our early missionaries but I 1 was here to learn another lesson in the same chapter viz many are called but few are chosen and this is the more general rule that it is ii one of a family and two of a city who are the honest significant termed term and again that a corrupt mind having wilfully wilful wilfully lr darkened that light which lighted i every man inan that cometh into the world the possession of which would enable them to pe recife perccy perc ci the truth there are those who cannot comprehend the purity of THU THE MAX PI ian or SALVATION but turning in opposition against it become fit subjects and tools for the war warfare litre of the adversary of all righteousness we received a hearty wel welcome coine at the little branch ot of gullman cullman county where the follow following ing week week we baptized a mr mansfield and held two meetings pa at the residence of brother A K harris harria on ryan creek ou on sunday ev evening elling i we strolled across the stream half a mile wile distant to answer tho the pressing invitation of brother miles while i at a late into hour we were coritta contemplating the pleasure an ami d delight the peace of mind and aud soft enin quil lity we feel in the balmy air of a semitropical semi seini tropical spring among the green hills and rich wooda woods bang I 1 bang I 1 and some eight or a dozen more shots shott suddenly rang out in tho the stilly night accompanied with a boisterous and anti hideous yell like an indian war whoop MOB COMPRISED a number ab of catholics and baptists who had attended our meeting in the afternoon some eight or ten had bad gathered and stoned the houses each of brother harris and his son battering lu ju the roof and an old door and slid then firing in a volley of balls some of the bullets an art ifill in the logs but nu ut tine ne was injured the tile appointed meeting was yas held however hone vcr on tho ensuing sabbath and twice again in tho the night the oo cowardly mob nob assembled iut ut on OU each occasion occasion several of olour our friends non cormons mormons voluntarily lly stood out all night on oil guard and so i THE sa frowd DISBANDED each time iline without accomplishing their purpose of driving us from the tile country in st clair county wo anro now laboring enjoying ex excellent cellem h 1 l I 1 I 1 h and anti spirits and though we may meet tome some opposition and witness is about us many unhappy unhappy features jet yet these aro only ca calculated c dilated to makua ioa kous better appreciate our peace ful fl holca ui in the valleys of utah I 1 remain your brother iu lu the thi gospel gopel I 1 W 11 VILLI alp al june ath i A |