Two by Two

TWO BY TWO A True Incident from Life By Lucy Wright Snow The quiet of the midnight hour had settled upon a little cot- tage in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a quarter of a century ago. Dead silence reigned. A mother knelt beside the bed of her little one whose life was slowly ebbing away. Two other little ones lay asleep in the chamber, while the mother sobbed out the sorrow of her soul. She alone watched, and then, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, she prayed: "Oh, Father, bless my little one, and if it be thy will, restore her to me, and, dear Lord, teach me the way to walk in thy paths and to serve thee, and I will walk, and I will serve forever more." God listened and smiled: the prayer of faith had healed the sick; the little one was restored to her happy mother and the testi- mony that God lives to bless and comfort his children, to hear and answer their prayers, burned deeply in that mother's heart. She had made a covenant with the Lord, "Give me back my child, and I will serve thee forevermore; teach me the way and I will serve." The child was healed; the way to serve was not yet learned. True to her covenant, the thankful mother gathered her strength and doubled her efforts with a new determination to learn the way to serve the Lord and to walk in his paths, but still hungered and thirsted for the bread of life. Day after day she sought; day after day she failed to find new light. Each day her soul became more troubled than the day before. To all the cries of, "Lo, here is God," she found not what she sought. One night, as she retired to her bed feeling that all was dark- ness around her, thinking of her search unrewarded, blinded by con- fusion, bowed with despair, she prayed, "Oh God! why hast thou forsaken me? Why are thy paths obscured from the vision of those who earnestly seek them?" Suddenly light came to her, and a mes- sage, saying: "When you see them traveling from door to door, two by two, without hire, delivering the- Messiah's gospel, repent ye, be- lieve and be baptized in my name, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and be led into the truth, for 'He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned;' know that they are the servants of the Lord, and his sheep will know his voice." Comforted, the good woman continued her search for Truth, unrewarded for a long time. One day, as she was ready to go to her work, a young man came to her door announcing himself as a missionary representing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day

344 IMPROVEMENT ERA Saints. She invited him in and immediately became very much in- terested in the message he had to deliver. Soon she discovered that he was a "Mormon," whereupon she jumped to her feet and ex- claimed: "Oh, do you belong to that degraded sect? I will not listen to anything more you have to say. I must leave you now." As she reached the door, the light and the message which had come to her in answer to her prayer was brought to her recollection. Returning she said to the elder, "Excuse me, sir, I did not mean to be rude, I will hear your message, but I do not believe you have the truth for that is preached by elders traveling two by two, without purse or scrip, preaching without hire. The missionary, Elder V , explained that his companion was unable to leave his room that morn- ing, but that her description of how she expected to hear the gospel preached, tallied with their methods in every detail. For three hours the missionary explained the truths of the restored gospel; she listened with overwhelming interest. The elder then departed with a promise to return later with his companion, Elder F . Many times they returned to teach the way to this worthy wo- man and in due time she and her children were all baptized into the Church. Oh, what a happy, thankful soul was this mother. She had found the way, and she began to walk in it, and to serve. But how rough the way was to her tender feet; how uneducated she still felt in the service! Persecution was heaped upon her; sorrow clouds gathered thick and fast. Despised by her friends, rejected by her own, the poor servant was pronounced by the civic authorities of the city insane! Consigned to an asylum, robbed of her children she lay in the hospital sorely ill, apparently dying. In Grand Rapids religious intolerance ran high. On personal freedom the clamp was on tight. Prejudice and human judgment was about to separate a mother from her children, while she lay in a state of collapse, unable to search or to serve. In her weakened con- dition she prayed unceasingly. The Saints of her acquaintance prayed; they fasted, petitioning the Great Physician to restore her to life and little ones. God listened and smiled; the prayer of faith had won again! The district court was in session; the stern judge, about to pro- nounce this mother mentally incompetent, and to assign her children to the permanent care of her so called friends, was confronted by a woman, beautiful, well dressed, with commanding presence, who arose requesting to be heard. Something in her voice demanded at- tention. She was allowed to speak: "Your honor," the woman pleaded, her words penetrating the hearts of every soul present; "in the hospital yonder a worthy human life hangs on a thread — the thread of your decision. A fond mother is about to be robbed of the two things which to her are the dearest on earth — her children and her right to worship her God according to the dictates of her own

TWO BY TWO 345 conscience. Now, in heaven's name, decide right, lest ye be judged!" The friend in the shadow, the woman of influence had won. The judge commanded: "Release this woman's children, and return them to her at once." The prayer of faith had been heard again; our sister was healed — she walked again with surer tread — she served with greater grace. The children grew, they thrived, they married happily, they blessed their mother. This faithful sufferer fought her last battle in Detroit, in March, 1924. There she passed to the great beyond, surrounded by her children and kind friends to whom she bore a valiant testimony of the Truth as long as she had breath. She had learned the way. While her heart beat she walked and she served. Royal Oak, Mich. The New Year The old year goes out on a snow-covered bier, The new one comes in amid shouts of good cheer. The one has the record of things we have done, The other points forward to those yet to come. We see in the past all the progress we've made, The part in the drama of life we have played. We've had victories: good things achieved That brought greater joy than all else we've received; And failures: those things not done right, When folly and weakness have clouded our sight. But from the experience choice lessons we've learned, If our hearts with repentance within us have burned. We've looked through the mist with clear vision, at lengt. If we've risen above these temptations with strength. We are eager to rush to the new course that deals With adventure, allurement of unexplored fields. Are there in that future great storm-clouds ahead, Which could we foresee now would bring fear and dread? At sight of the tempest the strongest might quail, And in the encounter we also may fail. Whatever may come we shall know but success If we battle unselfishly, doing our best, There can be no failure — we truly succeed When we follow Christ's teachings in thought and in deed. Though defenders of righteousness carry a cross, Their clear conscience says, triumph, — not loss, If this be our guide we advance without fear, And success shall be ours through the coming New Year. Ogden, Utah OLIVE B. JENSON