Messages from the Missions

EDITOR'S TABLE. 743 number of strangers who went to the Bluff ward to settle among our people have joined the Church than proportionally it can be said of any nearby settlement. It should also be added and emphasized that those who have settled in that ward, and have continued to hold their properties, notwithstanding the barrenness of the surrounding land, are in possession of the very best homes of any that can be found in that part of the country. These conditions have been brought about by obedience to the teachings of the gospel, and as long as the people continue in this line, they will continue to enjoy the Spirit of God and prosper. Messages from the Missions. |Hj| Wbr~ ■ V: % I Elder L. C. Montgomery, writing from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, April 7, encloses a picture of a group of the elders who recently took part in a six-day debate against a combination of ministers from Illinois, Missouri and Wisconsin. Rev. Glendenning, of Missouri, a noted debater, was spokesman for the ministers, and Elder Ephraim White acted in that capacity for the elders. The debate was held at Baraboo, Wisconsin, March 20 to 26, before from six to seven hundred people each night. Elder Montgomery says: "We went over to debate, thinking it would

744 IMPROVEMENT ERA. be a friendly comparison of the principles of the gospel, but to our surprise the spokesman for the reverends had spared neither time nor means in securing all the old magazine and Tribune hash he could collect. Not wishing to disappoint the great crowd, nor give them something they had heard for forty years in the way of newspaper talk, we preached the gospel in love and the Spirit of God. The reverend made himself ridiculous by ignoring the subject under discussion, and using his time re-hashing polygamy, slandering the prophet of God, and depicting the supposed sad state of the women in Utah. By the third evening he had told his stories three times, and had lost the sympathy of the crowd, who demanded that he preach from the Bible. This, as a last resort, he did, but fell a ready prey to 'the sword of truth.' The people could easily see who had the gospel of Christ, and, as a result, many friends were made for us. District Judge Runge acted as a moderator, and showed his character by his fair decisions. Mr. Al Ringling of Ringling Brothers' Circus, who has his home here, donated liberally to the elders' expenses, as did many other prominent citizens. Our 'Mormon' quartet sang such songs as 'School thy feelings,' 'Nay, speak no ill,' and many other appropriate songs to an appreciative audience." The elders are: top row, W. A. Lohan, John F. Jones, John R Bingham, D. A. Shawcroft and J. Aston. Sitting, I. Sander, Ephraim White, (President of the East Iowa Conference), Jas. McDonald, (President of the Wisconsin Conference), and L. C. Montgomery. At the bottom, J. M. Webster. Elders James E. Whittle and James J. Allen write that on one Sunday evening recently at Hey wood, Manchester Conference, England, they were holding their evening service. Elder S. 0. Bryson had delivered an able address, when President Charles W. Porter began to speak. He was immediately interrupted by several clergymen who burst into the room and exclaimed, "We want a word with you!'' Among the rabble were Revs. Wilson and Tozer, vicars of the Church of England, and several dissenting ministers. The crowd was bent on trouble, and the elders could not therefore continue their meeting in peace. "We called the police, but they were unable to do anything. The crowd took the law into their S. 0. BRYSON, Bountiful, Utah. J. E. WHITTLE, Evanston, Wyo.

EDITORS TABLE. 745 >** own hands. The trouble was brought on by our persistent proselyting, from which many converts have been made, including some of Heywood's best citizens. A good conception of the vicars we find in Rom. 1: 2123. They demanded a promise from us to leave town or suffer the consequences of the infuriated mob. Murder was in their hearts, so we promised to leave within seven days. Upon our declaring ourselves innocent of any misdemeanor, Rev. Tozer said, 'We take the law into our own hands ' He declared that if we did not go we would suffer violence at their hands. Persecution here at present is the worst in forty years, but, like Paul, 'we glory in tribulation.' The intelligent and thinking class are disgusted with such actions. After our meeting we had two applicants for baptism. The Saints are working hard in the cause of truth." JAMES J. ALLEN. CHARLES E. PORTER. Fairview, Wyo. E. H. Cooley, president of the South Australian conference, reports an average of six elders laboring there. From August 1, 1910, to March 11, 1911, 24 meetings were held, 7,228 tracts and 953 books were distributed, and 3,428 families visited. There were 19 baptisms and 11 children blessed. A good spirit prevails in the district, and the elders are unable to accept all t e invitations given them by their many friends. He says, further, "Since January 1, we have been holding Sunday school and sacrament meetings at Port Adelaide with very good success. We have made several successful country trips, and the elders in this part of the Lord's vineyard are very much encouraged with the progress of the work. They have been treated very kindly by the Saints and by their many friends. We find the people of South Australia very hospitable. The elders are: Top

746 IMPROVEMENT ERA. row, left to right, George F. Wilson, Salt Lake City, Chester L. Haskell Payson, Walter E. Eliason, Salt Lake City. Front row, George F. Taylor, Plain City, E. H. Cooley, (Conference President), Newton, and P. D. West, Morgan. Elders of the Southern states mission write that the work of the Lord in the Ohio Conference is gaining ground. In Toledo, Columbia, Xenia and Cincinnati there are flourishing branches of the Church. In the country districts also the gospel is making substantial progress. A number of people will shortly be added to the Church by baptism. The -/ %#• '*M^ names of the elders are: Back row, S. H. Williams, Malad, Idaho; E. J. Welch, Morgan, Thomas A. Jones, Bluff, C. W. Farnsworth, Salt Lake City; T. H. Shelley, St. Joseph, Arizona. Front row, John A. Tanner, Perry, Idaho; President H. C. Peterson, Hooper, Mission President C. A. Callis, Coalville; A.F. Smith, Cleveland, Idaho; W. H. Keyes, Echo, Utah; J. E. Hamblin, Alpine, Arizona; A. Ray Despain, Sandy, Utah. Elder Joseph W. Clark, of Middlesbrough, England, writes recently that considering the tirades that are being carried on against the elders by the clergy of the country, things are moving on very well. "It seems," he says, "that a little opposition is necessary to put the elders on the alert."

EDITOR'S TABLE. 747 Elder Arthur P. Jackman of Heber, and David A Syracuse, Utah, write, under date of April 18, from New Hampshire, that they enjoy their work very much. Last week they held three cottage meetings and a street meeting, besides delivering several tracts and books. They have made many friends and met many kind people, and declare that the work of the Lord is progressing in New Hampshire. A great many false stories are being printed from time to time about the "Mormons," but these only help the missionaries to get before the people with the true side of the great Latter-day work. Thurgood of DAVID A. THURGOOD. ARTHUR P. JACKMAN. Elders E. A. Heninger and C. Austin write from Amsterdam, Holland, April 20, stating that there are from eighteen to twenty elders laboring in the different branches of the Church in that conference, where the Saints number from three to four hundred. The elders are energetic and united, working hand in hand together for the advancement of the cause. They have been blessed with considerable success, and the prospects for the future are bright, especially in the city of Den Helder, where the field was opened less than a y e a r ago. Elders Parker and Grant have there in the neighborhood of fifty families of earnest investigators, many of whom they are in hopes will soon join the Church, so that the elders look for one of the most bounteous harvests there in the history of the Netherlands-Belgium mission. The portrait is of eight elders laboring in the city of Amsterdam, dressed in

748 IMPROVEMENT ERA. genuine Volendam-Marken attire. Top row: R. De La Mare, C. Austin, C. Jones. Middle row: A. T. McKell, Conference President E. A. Heninger, G. Mendrink. Bottom row: James Grant, C. Low. THE MORMON CHOIR OF NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND. A talented organization doing good work in allaying prejudice. The center figures are Mission President Rudger Clawson, Arthur T. Henson and Conference President Theo. S. Wheatley. L. C. Montgomery, writing from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, April 7, encloses the picture of the elders herewith, who are all from Heber City, Utah, who chanced to meet at Chicago recently. Four of these are of Irish descent, which is a note for the recent magazine editors to notice,since they state that only one Irishman ever joined the Church. The names of the elders are: top row, L. C. Montgomery, James McDonald of the Wisconsin Conference; bottom row: Storm McDonald, John P. McGuire and T. Henry Moulton, of Illinois. Lester Jenkins Cannon, born July 4,1888, son of Abraham H. and Sarah Ann Jenkins Cannon, died in the Netherlands mission, Tuesday, May, 16, 1911, at Lille, France. He was set apart as a missionary on July 7,1909, and died after an operation for appendicitis. MILWAUKEE HEBERITES.