Mission Work in Germany

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704 IMPROVEMENT ERA.

He had good men in his employ, whom he respected very much, some of them having worked for him ten and twelve years, and it was a matter of principle with him never to exact anything unjust or oppressive from his workmen, but rather to respect them in their positions. The result was that they felt they could not do too much for him in return. As to his own religious feel- ings, he declares that he was fully convinced that there was a Supreme Being, but how to approach him he did not know. On one occasion when he had a severe attack of typhoid fever, he was left very weak and declares that had it not been for the im- plicit faith which he had in the Creator, he could not have lived a circumstance that he always remembered. It was in the year 1839, under these surroundings, and while still residing upon his farm in Chester county, that "Mormon" •

elders, traveling through that region, and learning of the West Nantmeal Seminary, visited him for the first time. (To be continued.)

COLUMBIA'S LITTLE SISTER.

Miss Columbia has a little sister now Who looks as if inclined to be afraid; The curls are dark that hang about her brow, And the Lord has heard a prayer that she has made. There are hollows in her sunburned little cheeks, She is ragged and her little feet are bare, But there's music in her sofT tones when she speaks, And when she smiles her little face is fair. Oh, little Cuba, cease to be afraid, The road o'er which you've come is rough and steep, But a fair way lies before you, little maid,

Where flowers bloom and happy fountains leap. A little hand is on Columbia's arm, A little maid looks anxiously ahead; Let him beware who seeks to do her harm, And God protect the Leader and the Led. S. E. Kiser, in Chicago Record-Herald.

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MISSION WORK IN GERMANY.

BY ELDER JESSE W. SMITH.

[As a sample of what some of our M. I. A. workers are doing and meeting in the mission field, we print the following letter, recently written to the members of the Second Ward Mutual Improvement Asso- ciation, Salt Lake City, from Elberfeld, Germany. Editors.]

Dear Fellow-laborers in the cause of Truth: Allow me the long-desired privilege of sending you greetings from over the sea, together with best wishes for the welfare and success of the Mutual Improvement cause in distant Utah. Almost two seasons of your work have passed since I was with you, and yet I feel the same interest in your work as in those former times when I was a humble member in your midst. We are all engaged in the same glorious work. At home or abroad, our desires, our hopes, our prayers, all tend to the self-same end, —the building up of the Kingdom of God. The events of the past sixteen months have indeed been to me the most profitable experiences of my life, and I am learning to appreciate more and more the importance of the call made upon me and my co-laborers to publish the glad tidings of life and salva- tion to the world, and also to know the blessings which come to the humble servant who yields obedience to this glorious call. I

often wish that many more of my young brethren might be par- ticipants with me in this glorious work, and in the joys derived therefrom. But I solace myself with the thought that many of them are in the Mutual Improvement associations and Sunday schools preparing themselves for just such experiences as are now falling to my lot.

706 IMPROVEMENT ERA.

The prospects for the spreading of the gospel in Germany are brighter than ever before. More liberties are daily being granted us, and the people are becoming more liberal in their judgment of the "Mormons." Large public meetings are being held all through the mission, and good results are reported from every quarter. The total number of Saints in the Empire is nearly two thousand, which would be much larger except for the great number of emi- grants continually going to Utah. Baptisms are on the increase, and friends are many. In Elberfeld, where my lot has been cast for the last five months, we are especially encouraged with the out- look. Many new friends are investigating the gospel, since the large meetings held here this month by the mission presidents. Most of our time is spent in visiting these new friends, and in ex- plaining our principles to them. Our principal enemies are, as usual, the preachers and the press. Both are somewhat worried about the progress of "Mormonism" in the country, and resort to the usual weapons of misrepresentation and falsehood to wage war against the truth. But the people and the police officials are generally on our side, so we need not fear the outcome. Truth is mighty and will prevail. Even while I am writing this, a religious publication of today's issue is brought tohand containing a three page article against the "Mormons." But it will only awaken in- terest in 'our cause, and, as it gives the time and place of our meetings, it can certainly do us no harm. I hear with great interest of the revival meetings and lectures held in the Second ward, and the renewed interest that is being shown in spiritual things. It is a good sign. May it continue to increase. Condition? are not at all favorable for traveling without purse or scrip in Germany, and yet considerable of such work has been done of late. At the time of our general conference in Berlin, last January, many of our elders walked all or part of the way from

their fields of labor to the great metropolis, going without means. Much good was done in this way and many people heard the gospel who otherwise would not have heard. But the experience was not without its hardships. Several of the elders were arrested, and paraded through the streets at the head of a curious crowd that followed the "false prophets" to jail where they were locked up