Messages from the Missions

Editor's Table

'Joieph Smith, Jr., as a Translator"

We give considerable space in this number of the Era to some articles in reply to a criticism of the Prophet Joseph Smith, published by the Episcopal Bishop of Utah, Rev. F. S. Spalding, in a recent brochure circulated especially among the students of the Latter-day Saints high schools. The criticism deals with the Pearl of Great Price, and especially with the Book of Abraham, but specifically with the engravings and their significance accompanying the Book of Abraham, and which are designated in the Pearl of Great Price as facsimiles from the Book of Abraham. The argument which Bishop Spalding sets forth appears to be an attack not only on the Book of Abraham, but on the Book of Mormon as well — in fact his purpose seems to be to discredit the divinity of Joseph Smith's inspiration as a translator. He wishes to show that since we have only the facsimile plates, which are a small accompaniment to the Book of Abraham, if it can be proved that these are incorrectly translated, we must infer and decide that Joseph Smith, Jr., was not an inspired translator, and conclude that not only the Book of Abraham but also the Book of Mormon and the "whole body of belief must be repudiated." He argues that it can only be decided, whether these facsimiles in the Book of Abraham are correctly translated by submitting the original records to scientific men.So he has submitted them to eight recognized authorities of Egyptology in Europe and the United States. Their apparently hurried and seemingly poorly considered replies are printed in his book, and they agree in this much, though they differ from one another in many other points, that Joseph Smith's translation is not correct. Their testimony, however, to Dr. Spalding is complete, and hence his conclusion that "Joseph Smith, Jr., as a Translator" is incorrect and in consequence "Mormonism" is doomed to failure. In the articles presented in this number of the Era, and in others on hand and to be printed, issue is taken with the Bishop

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in his conclusions. We believe it is clearly shown that his argument, in the first place, is misleading if not fallacious; that the savants consulted may have been prejudiced beforehand, and made no real scientific investigation of the translations of the prophet that they differ from each other materially in their conclusions that upon investigation the translation of the Prophet Joseph agrees with, rather than differs from, the most modern and reliable information that can be obtained ; and that therefore Joseph Smith was inspired in the translation of the facsimiles from the Book of Abraham. This becomes clearer when it is considered that, at the time he made the translation of the Book of Abraham, little was known of Egyptology, and scant study had been made of Egyptian writings. Furthermore, he was young and inexperienced in the lore of the world, and it would have been impossible to accomplish what he did without the inspiration of God. The Latterday Saints maintain that while there was some difference between translation the methods of translation used by the prophet in the of the Book of Abraham and the Book of Mormon that while ;

work, and he applied his own mind as far as he could, in all his (

his mind expanded in intelligence as he grew in age and experi-

was divinely inspired— in his ence,) yet in all his work he and his wonderful personal direction translations, his revelations, in the establishment of the work of God known as the Church of "the marvelous work and a Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, should be founded wonder" predicted by the ancient prophets that upon the earth in the latter days. Men may not believe it. but nevertheless we testify to these he was truths. They did not believe that Jesus was the Christ— repudiated by his own generation, unto whom he was a sign call-

ing to repentance. He said: the judgment with the men -The queen of the south shall rise up in of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of Solomon: and, behold, a greater than of the earth to hear the wisdom Solomon is here."— Luke 11:31.

of the Christ, so also As they did not believe in the divinity the Prophet Joseph, who men repudiate the divine inspiration of But it is the testimony of the Latter- is a true witness of Jesus.

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day Saints that Joseph Smith is an inspired prophet sent of God with the true message of salvation to the sons of men that the ;

work he did was inspired that the Church which he was instru- ;

mental in founding is the Church of God, and that the doctrines which he taught are the restored, plain, and simple principles of the gospel taught by the Lord Jesus Christ for the salvation of all mankind. We invite all men, in all the earth, to investigate, to repent of their sins, and to be baptized by those who have received divine authority, thus submitting their lives to the saving ordinances of the gospel, and the unfailing promise is that they shall receive the Holy Ghost to be their surpassing daily light and joy, and their eternal guide and comfort. Not only do we testify that Joseph Smith was inspired when he gave to the world the Pearl of Great Price, but we declare that it was by the inspiration and power of God that he translated the

Book of Mormon, organized the Church of Christ, and gave mankind the precious revelations contained in the Doctrine and Covenants ; and it is our firm belief that scientific investigation and discovery will confirm our testimony, rather than weaken or repudiate it. Joseph F. Smith.

Messages from the Missions

Elder E. W. Richardson writes from Toluca, Mexico, November 13: "We are almost completely surrounded by rebels, making it difficult for us to visit friends and investigators, but we are able to keep busy and are making many friends, particularly among the wellto-do people. Our only danger in visiting is in being robbed, since we would' be counted among the rich by the revolutionists who appear to be fighting the power of wealth, or the haciendos, who are owners of large tracts of land and are little better than slave drivers. Our lives are in no danger, and we desire to set the minds of our families and friends at rest on that score. The newspaper reporters, some of them, are much inclined to exaggerate the conditions. The work here is prospering as well as if there were no war in the land. We expect to baptize from eight to twelve people at our next conference,making twenty-five in the last six months in this conference where two to six elders have been working."

Elder Wilford C. Brimley, clerk of the Nottingham conference, writes, November 14: "At our conference on November 8, we had

NOTTINGHAM CONFERENCE, SEPTEMBER 8, 1912 Back Row: J. S. Hemming, Rexburg, Idaho; L. M. Brown, Cardston, Canada; R. B. Call, Afton, Wyoming; W. L. Evans, Parowan, Utah; J. J. Whetton, Salt Lake City; W. J. Sessions, Clearfield, Utah; W. Rawlings, Fairview, Idaho. Second Row: E. H. Adams, Clifton, Idaho; J. W. Haslam, Salt Lake City; Chas. Buck, Smithfield, Utah; O. L. Thomas, Bountiful," Utah; W. C. Hunter, Salt Lake Citv; D. M. Davis, Bountiful, Utah; Pres. A. T. Smith, Clearfield, Utah; J. H. Davis, Salt Lake City. Third Row: T. F. Hardy, Salt Lake City; W. C. Brimley (Conference secretary), Salt Lake City; T. S. Wheatley (Conference president), Honeyville, Utah; Rudger Clawson (Mission president), Salt Lake City; T. E. Winegar (incoming president), Woods Cross, Utah; E. Taft Benson (Mission secretary), Trenton, Utah; I. C. Wood, Yvoods Cross, Utah. Front Row: Thos. Martin, Evanston, Wyoming; A. T. Henson, Cardston, Canada; B. L. Gilbert, Whitney, Idaho; O. B. Thurgood, Bountiful, Utah.

three sessions, exceptionally well attended. In the evening-Cobden Hall was filled to overflowing. Many friends and investigators were present. Each elder spoke with conviction under the direction of tin- Holy Spirit. The spiritual condition of the branches of the Church here is very gratifying. The elders are united and nearly alp the Saints attend meeting and pay their tithes, and heartily support the

elders. The Saints preach the gospel by precept as .well as by example, and bring their friends to meeting. Since January 1st we have baptized twenty-four people. Considering the opposition and the this year bitter persecution some of the papers have waged against us and last, we feel that the Lord has greatly blessed us in our efforts

to teach the gospel." Elder W. C. Davidson writes from Dublin, Ireland. November 9:

"We have been very successful this season, both in our hall and out- are condoor meetings. Last May we moved into a beautiful hall and tinually seeing new faces who have mustered the courage to listen

to what the 'Mormons' have as a message for the world. The Saints testimonies of the are sincere in their work, and have extra strong blessed spiritually and temporally and pay gospel. They are being testimonies with spirit, ami their tithes regularly. They bear their been restored, and continually testify to the world that the gospel has Smith a prophet of God. Often they mv.te^fnends that Joseph is the gospel to them." to their homes and ask us elders to explain

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Elder D. William Evans, writing from Launciston, Tasmania, reports that missionary work last year was discontinued in that place, but that since January of 1912 Elders Bingham and Wright have revived the work and made a number of good friends, not many of whom, however, are very much interested in the gospel. The people here seem to take very little interest in any religion, but there is very little prejudice among them. "We have, however, to contend with the Elder Bingham is released and left for his home spirit of indifference. on the September boat."

Elders Wm. B. Welker and Frank L. Winter, writing from Hinton, W. Va., say: "We are pleased to report that we have had very good success during August and September, working in this part of the Lord's vineyard, having baptized seventeen, blessed seven children and held thirty-one well-attended meetings, also disposed of several small books and other literature. The people here seem to be very interested in the message which has been brought to their doors, and extended an invitation to us to call again. At present we are in the small city of Hinton, W. Va., where we expect to locate for the winter months."

Brevik is a small city on the southeastern coast of Norway. Three Elders recently visited Brynild Isaksen, a veteran Elder resid- ing there, whose life is a remarkable story ;hich inspires one in his presence to faith- fulness and good works. He was born at Nellefos, Norway, May 16, 1825, and later removed to Brevik where, in 1852, the first conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of 1 atter-day Saints was organized in Norway.

On November 5, 1852, of the same year he was baptized a member of the Church by Larsen and confirmed April 11, 1853, by .

Swend Larsen. He was ordained an elder on January 15, 1857. by H. P. Lund. Dur- irg all these years he has been a true and faithful defender of the cause. Some years ago his wife, who was also a faithful mem- ber of the Church, died, and several of his sons have met death at sea. He has a daughter and a grandson in Boston, where the latter is an officer in the United States navy. Elder Isaksen is still holding the position of shipping clerk at the Brevik docks, though now in his 88th year. He has been a tithe-payer ever since he joined the Church, and though he has never seen the peaceful vales of the Rocky mountains, he has now in his possession the genealogy of 443 dead relatives for whom work has been performed in the

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temples of God. To remember the 60th anniversary of his birth into the Church, the elders of the Christiania conference, on the 5th of November last, sent him small token and a tribute of respect a for his faithfulness in the He remains a living monument Church. matking the introduction of the gospel to Norway, and the unwritten history of its progress since its introduction sixty years ago. His memory will live in the hearts of the Norwegian Latter-day Saints, and he will be remembered for generations by the elders at home and abroad. The elders are Arno W.- Sorensen, Victor D. Nielsen, and Olaf Anderson, who writes the above for the Era.

Elder A. R. Cook, president of the Norwich Conference of the British Mission, writes, October 29: "The work of the Lord is progressing in this district as well as can be expected. In spite of the fact that many of the newspapers and magazines have done all in

their power to prejudice the people against us and our message by telling some of the worst lies that were ever printed, we have baptized fift;en new members during the past six months. In my estimation

this is encouraging when one considers the obstacles that have qr.ile

been placed in our path. The elders are energetic in their work and are doing the best they can to convince the people both by doctrine and by their lives that they are the servants of the Lord." Elders right to left: E. W. Carter, Preston, Idaho; J. A. Wood, Salt Lake City, Utah; J. A. Willardson, Mayfield, L. Nelson, Lorenzo, Idaho; Utah; J. R. Bennion, Pendry, Paris, Idaho; Salt Lake City; E. W. Weaver Paris, Idaho; sitting: F. D. Ashdown, Bountiful; Conference President A. R. Cook, Syracuse; Mission President Rudger Clawson, Clerk T. Johnson, Rigby, Idaho; A. B. Mendenhall, Conference A. Mapleton, Utah.

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Elder P. J. Welch writes from Belfast, Ireland, November 18: "The work of the Lord is prospering in the land where the Shamrock grows. We have a prosperous branch in Dublin. The Saints attend meetings well, and live the requirements of the. gospel to the best of their ability. They seem to prosper and are successful in business and pay their tithes. It is inspiring to hear the testimonies at our fast meetings, where they speak of the goodness of the Lord to them and testify of the truth of the gospel. Perhaps there is no place on earth where the feeling is so bitter between Catholic and Protestant as here. Persecution is often great and hard to turn it is

the people from the religion of their fathers, but encouraging to it is

have some of them come forth and embrace the gospel. Elders left to right: W. A. Noble, Smithfield; P. J. Welch, Paradise; H. L. Sterling, Spanish Fork; W. C. Davidson, Salt Lake City, Utah."

Elder D. Rolla Harris, writing from Pittsburg, Pa., November 29, says:, "The elders and Saints in this group visited the Heinze Pickle factory November 18. Names left to right: Elders H. J. Richards,

C. A. Wilcox, George S. Williams, A. A. Despain; second row: Elders Jerome Glany, D. P. Lindsay, George B. Davis, J. C. Siddoway, D. Rolla Harris, J. A. Ainscough, Harry McCarroll, Earl B. Collings; third row: Elder Frank Bacon, Sister Anna Smith, A. E. Rhinehart,

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G. W. Smith, Elder Hugh Fackerell, Sisters Madeline Poulis, Pearl Critchlow, E. E. Orr."

Robert H. Sorensen writes from Copenhagen, November 15: "The fall conference in Copenhagen was well attended and a good spirit prevailed. Reports showed that during the past six months dating — back from November 15 seventeen elders distributed 70,445 tracts, 3,563 books and booklets, visited 26,461 strangers' homes; held 2,162 gospel conversations and 554 meetings. There were 29 baptisms and four children blessed and 26 were ordained to the Priesthood. The

membership in this conference at present is 799. The tithing has doubled during the past six months. Prospects for success and greater results are promising, and we feel that the Lord is with us in our work. Elders left to right, standing: Simon Christensen, Jr., Richfield; C. Earl Ander, Hyrum; I. Arel Jensen, N. L. Hansen, •

Brigham City; Peter C. Lundgreen, Monroe; Lars Jensen, Mapleton; Alvin R. Christopherson, Salt Lake City, Utah; James Anderson, Oakley, Idaho; Peter W. Kjar, Salt Lake City; Alfred E. Peterson, Sale Lake City; sitting: August Knebelau, Salt Lake City; J. Henry Christensen, Centerfield; John S. Hansen, "Star" writer, Miller ward, Salt Lake City; Martin Christopherson, Mission president; Henry A. Bjorkman, Conference president, Newton; Robert H. Sorensen, Mission secretary, Salt Lake City, and Aaron P. Christiansen, Mayfield, Utah."

President Franklin J. Hewlett, of the South African Mission, writes, Nov. 8: have just returned from a nine weeks' trip through "I the South African mission, traveling 3,070 miles, visiting the Saints and friends, both in a gathered and scattered condition. I am thankful to

say that I have had the pleasure of meeting practically all of them. Many had not seen elders for over a year. We had glorious times at our meetings. The elders are in splendid health and spirits, and doing their best to push along the work in truth and righteousness."

386 IMPROVEMENT ERA

Elder Henry W. Hansen, writes from Amsterdam, Holland, Nov. 29: "During the past year many have been brought to a knowledge of the truth in this district through the efforts of the missionaries and Saints. The Saints do quite as much good inpreaching the gospel as do the missionariesthemselves. They have a better opportunity to converse with their friends. We encourage them to do their best in this respect. We are not bothered with much opposition in the Netherlands. The Hutch people are a peace-loving people, and are willing to give each person an equal oportunity to defend his religion. Now and fhen some lowclass moving picture theaters present such films as 'A Victim of the 'Mormons,' 'The Pearl of Utah, or the '

Flower of the 'Mormons.' These'

only tend to stir up curiosity and bring many to an investigation of the gospel. Instead of hindering the work, therefore, they boost it along. We have five branches in this conference. The elders are united, and feel that not only this year, but next, will be prosperous and fruitful. We have many earnest investigators. Elders, left to right: Henry W. Hansen, R. W. Eardley, mission president; William E. McCullough, all from the Third ward, Salt Lake City."

Elder T. Ray Bell, of Richmond, Utah, and Douglas T. Murdock, of Heber City, Utah, write from Lincolnshire, England, Nov. 22: "The fact that our branch here at Gainsborough has withstood the 'roll of persecution' waged against us in England, and prac- tically all over the European n^^k. -J ^fe^fe. m ss '" " ^ ves ' '" u" evidence that Sftlm -l the work of the Lord is pro- ^L jflj town, which is gressing in this

|^ gj W^l one °f the leading iron foundry /**5^ towns of old England. We have a fully organized branch, and each separate organization is doing active work. Our members are faithful and energetic, and with their help the elders have been gaining the good will of many who have heretofore opposed us."

Elder Jesse H. Nielsen, president of the conference at Trondhjem,

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Norway, writes, November 20: "We are striving to bring souls unto Christ. The opposition here has been very bitter, especially in the cities. The priests have so blinded the people that the name 'Mormon' is very offensive to them, but we are finding some who are friendly

toward us. The Lord is good to us and with his help we are going to succeed. The elders, first row, left to right: H. K. Anderson, Jesse

f 3 9 JL *5 Rl

^*5» -. . Ai .^MIB?-

H. Nielsen, conference president; Martin Christopherson, mission president; Fred C. Michelsen, retiring Conference president; Arlaugh Michelsen, Hilliard Michelsen. Second row: John E. Christensen, Charles C. Sorensen, Leroy L. Larsen, L. Walter Johnson, Eric A Cramer."

Elder Alfred C. Larsen, secretary of the Christiania Conference, Norway, writes, November 2: "One feature of our semi-annual conference, held here October 12th to 14th, which will no doubt be of interest to some of our Era readers, was the unveiling of a beautiful oil painting in our large the subject being "Christ at the Sea of hall, Galilee, Choosing Some His Apostles." of During the summer months the elders spent much time and means in the country preaching the gospel in the districts where perhaps 'Mormon' elders hitherto had never before placed their feet. Thousands of tracts and books were distributed to many homes. Both the poor farmers and rich land owners had their doors lightened by the presence of the humble servants of the Lord who in firmness, humbleness and sincerity explained the principles of the gospel and bore testimony to its truth. Twenty-nine persons have been baptized here during the past six months. We have many friends and investigators, and the prospects for the future are good. The harvest is great but the laborers are few. We owe to the world talented young men of ability and special