Messages from the Missions

MESSAGES FROM THE MISSIONS. J. A. Hooper, writing from The Hague, Holland, under date of July 19, says: "The coming of the Era is looked forward to as the coming of a friend. It is a friend of the missionaries, and we appreciate your kindness in sending it." Rudolph Pauli, writing from Tremonton, Utah, August 1, says: "The Era is a splendid magazine. With all my heart I wish you limitless success, and that

EDITOR'S TABLE. 917 you may continue to go on and upward in your noble aim to lead us to a higher sphere where dwells the noble and the beautiful and the grand, of which the Era is the medium of conveyance." In the Swedish mission for June, there were 59 missionaries laboring in the conferences. They held 1,850 gospel conversations, and visited 12,118 strangers' homes, held 201 meetings, baptized 22, ordained 1, and blessed four children. It appears that there are 130 missionaries in the Scandinavian mission, and that thev visited 31,879 strangers' homes and held 4, 868 gospel conversations, 404 meetings, and baptized 32, ordained 9, and blessed 9 children. Elder Lehi Larsen, president of the Mahia-Waipu, New Zealand, conference, writing to the Messenger, says that the gospel work has received a great impetus in this district owing to the work of Sisters Edna Dixon and Mere Whaanga of the Relief Societies. Work-meetings have been organized, and the Relief Societies are doing real, live missionary work, they having appointed native sisters to take up labors among the Saints. The Saints are for the most part living up to the princi- ples of the gospel, and the prospects are bright for the future. from Tokyo, Elder Alma 0. Taylor, president of the Japan mission, writing July 10, says: "The general affairs of this mission are in fair condition. The work here in Tokyo is perhaps the most encouraging possible. We pray that the and that a good num- investigation now going on will result in many conversions, our small ranks. My work on the Book of Mormon transla- ber will be added to my attention, and rapid progress is being made. tion is receiving the most of 'as quick as possible.' So the end is not yet. We will Rapid progress means Brief History of the Church ready be greatly disappointed if we do not get the but making books and papers in Japan haa by the middle of August, at the latest, of years. proved a very arduous task, and a consumer Elder Benjamin Goddard and his wife Emma have given their farewell address New Zealand mission. The Messenger of June 29 says edi- to the Saints in the t0na for Sydney per S. S. Miowera, Mon- "Elder Benjamin Goddard and wife left have visited all the European day, June 25. Since arriving, March 27, they branches in the Mission. While here they attended sev- and many of the native where their words of in- eral district conferences and one general conference, a few weeks duction and encouragement will long be remembered fer i where they will spend about the Hawaiian Islands Australia they will proceed to reach Zion for the October conference. time to am nth 1 avLg Honolulu in her words of .-sympathy e h re Sister Emma Goddard radiated much sunshine, WM much to make their pathway brighter. done Z\ encou agement to the elders have home. bon voyage, and a happy return We wish Brother and Sister Goddard oftJesus Christ of Latter- Independence, Missouri, branch of the Church The ine ihu v the pioneers m Salt anniversary of the arrival of the hi 8 torica! event. The celebrafon was held Mendl, gatored to commemorate

918 IMPROVEMENT ERA. inBudd Park, in the eastern outskirts of Kansas city. On the program was a historical address by Elder B. F. Cummings of the Liahona; a poem, "The Mor- mon Pioneer," by Elder Osbourn Richins; a recitation, "The Pioneers," by Mrs. Marie Bell. There was also a trio and a quartette by the elders ; and a Sunday school class song: "In Our Lovely Deseret." Elder D. H. Fowler gave a mono- logue, and the benediction was pronounced by Elder Earl Whitley. In the after- noon, there was an amusement program, in which all who participated and wit- nessed it were highly entertained. Among the songs, solos, anthems, etc., given by the elders was, "Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean." The Kansas City Times contained a very favorable notice of the celebration. President S. 0. Bennion, of the Central States Mission, whose headquarters are at Independence, Mo., visited Utah during the latter part of July. He returned home with the body of Elder George William Wood, of Bluff, Utah, who died in Harold, Texas, July 21, of typhoid fever, after a short illness. He had only been in the mission field a few days when he took sick. He was 22 years of age, and unmarried. He labored in the Pan-handle district, in Texas. Speaking of Texas, Elder Bennion reported that the Latter-day Saints' col- ony at Kelsey, Texas, which was established by the late Apostle A. 0. Woodruff, and Elder J. G. Duffin, is prospering nicely. This settlement was begun some years ago by Wm. E. Read, who went from the Eastern states to live in Texas. He was converted to the gospel, and, together with Edgar Brothers, purchased a tract of land upon which the Saints are now colonized. They have a Sunday School of about two hundred; Elders W. T. Bodine, J. D. H. Cox, and John F. Sanders preside over the colony. The people of Kelsey are prosperous, being en- gaged in farming and lumbering. Besides the Sunday School, there is a success- ful Young Men's and Young Women's Improvement Association, and also a Re- lief society. On the 14th of July, the Latter-day Saints meetinghouse at Atlanta, Ga., was formally dedicated by Elder George Albert Smith, of the quorum of Twelve Apostles. In the early days of Atlanta it was one of the prominent churches of the city, but had greatly deteriorated. The lot 50 x 105 feet was purchased last May by President Ben E. Rich, and as soon as the property came into the hands of the Church, the elders of the Georgia conference donned their overalls and jumpers, placed their Bibles on the shelves for a brief period and, with carpenter's implements, went to work reconstructing the house of worship. When they had completed their labors, it was found that the Saints and elders of that conference had a comfortable church, 20 x 40 feet, with a parsonage attached containing four comfortable rooms, in addition to a bath room. It will seat about 200 people. The elders did all the labor upon it, cut down the weeds in the lot, and otherwise beautified the place. They did all the work in remodeling the building, except the plumbing. The elders who did the work are — S. W. Golding, presi- dent of the conference; Marcus B. Farr; C. E. Walker; Earl J. Lee; Alma Mur- phy, and A. G. Gunn; also H. C. Carlton and A. L. Meyers worked one week each. The Saints donated liberally of their money, and furnished the elders with food

EDITOR'S TABLE. 919 while they erected with their own hands the little edifice In which the gospel of Christ is now preached to the people. The A tlanta Constitution gave the dedica- tion services favorable notice. President Charles W. Penrose, of the European mission, recently visited Denmark, and while there, dedicated the new meetinghouse at Aalborg, Denmark, ou Sunday morning, July 7, at 10 o'clock. President J. M. Christensen, of the Scandinavian mission, and about sixty elders and three lady missionaries, attended. The program was very interesting, the dedication prayer being offered by Elder Charles W. Penrose of the quorum of Twelve Apostles. Especially attractive was the children's choir, lead by a young brother as organist, and by one of the leading young teachers in that conference as director. On Saturday evening, a priesthood meeting was held, largely attended. The new meetinghouse is a beautiful and substantial red-brick building centrally located, in Valdemargade 2. The building is 63 feet long, 34 feet wide, and 25 feet high, with a tower rising some 20 feet above the roof. The auditorium or hall on the second floor will accom- modate 300 persons, and the building has a baptismal font, with dressing closets, be- sides a parsonage for the accommodation of the elders, kitchen, and other necessary rooms. The basement is built of cement, and is especially arranged for a store- room. A building lot was secured in 1906 for 6000 kroner, and the building itself had costs 32,000, kroner (about $8,600). President Penrose also visited Norway and Sweden, and held meetings in Christiania and Stockholm. Presidents Matson of Sweden and Christensen of Denmark, and a large number of elders and Saints were in attendance at both cities. In a recent issue of the Millennial Star, President Penrose, speaking of his trip to Scandinavia, states that there is considerable indifference among the people in relation to the gospel, and that in all the Scandinavian countries generally the signs for the prosperity of the work are not immediately apparent. The people there, to a large extent, are in a state of religious apathy, having little or no ap- petite for spiritual food. "They are not hostile to the work of the Lord; they are friendly to the elders ; they admit the force of the reasoning and testimony presented, but they do not care about it one way or another. 'Let us eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die,' seems to express their sentiments." President Charles W. Penrose has returned to Liverpool from a long series of journeys to visit Conferences in the European mission. They include trips through Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany. Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. In the Millennial Star, August 8, he gives a lively account of his visit. We quote this paragraph. In Switzerland, Germany, Holland, and Belgium there is a spirit in the "vineyard," with pros- of investigation, and more laborers are wanted pects of a great ingathering of fervent, truth- loving souls. There are hosts of good people in all the countries visited on this trip, and that fact invites the ener- gies and best efforts of our missionaries. The crust of carelessness about religion counsel of the Lord is can be broken through, if faith inspires the work, and the followed: "Search diligently and spare not." Much depends upon the zeal and If approached with an expectation of wisdom in which proselyting is conducted. failure it will be measurably in vain. If the good seed is sown in faith, the harvest is sure to come sooner or later.

: OUR WORK. Y. M. M. I. A. ANNUAL CONVENTIONS, 1907. To Stake and Ward Officers Y. M. M. I. A.: Dear Brethren: —The annual conventions of the Y. M. M. I. A. will be held in August, September, and October, 1907, as follows: Alberta — August 11. Taylor— August 18. Panguitch— August 25. — Kanab, Big Horn September 1. Beaver, Bannock, Emery, Juab, Malad, San Luis, Hyrum, St. George, Pocatello, — September 8. Cassia, Granite, Teton, Ensign, Jordan, Nebo, Weber, North Davis, San Juan, Parowan, Sevier — September 15. Liberty, Star Valley, South Sanpete, Wasatch, Utah, Cache, Oneida, Wayne, Uintah, South Davis— September 22. Fremont, Blackfoot, Bear Lake, Box Elder, North Sanpete, Summit, Millard, Pioneer, Salt Lake, Alpine —September 29. Woodruff, Union, Tooele, Benson, Bingham, Morgan —October 13. Snowflake, St. Joseph, St. Johns, Maricopa, Juarez, will be held in connec- tion with the stake conferences in November. Stake superintendents will please give special and immediate attention to the following items

1. Confer with the stake presidency — secure their co-operation and arrange for the conventions.
2. See that your ward and stake organizations are all complete and your class teachers selected before the convention.
3. See that all officers and class teachers are notified, by letter or by per- sonal visit if necessary to secure their attendance.
4. Secure suitable hall or halls for the convention, where both the Young Men's and Young Ladies' officers may be accommodated, without interfering with the Sunday schools or the ward meetings. Consult with the Young Ladies' officers in regard to this. Confer with the officers of the Young Ladies and arrange for entertaining officers who come from a distance; and, if practicable, provide for oint luncheon between sessions.