Messages from the Missions

MESSAGES FROM THE MISSIONS "Whoso receiveth you receiveth me; and the same will feed you and clothe you, and give you money. And he who feeds you or clothes you, or gives you money, shall in nowise lose his reward." Prospects Good in Norway- President Martin Christopherson of the Norwegian mission, after a visit of the various conferences, reports that the prospects in that mission are exceptionally good at this time. The saints are faithfully living their religion; and the auxiliary organizations are functioning encouragingly. The choirs of Oslo, Bergen and Trondhjem conferences are doing especially good work in making the meetings interesting with their* beautiful music. "Our meetings are well attended, both by saints and friends. ; Nineteen souls have been added to our number since the first part of the year, and we have good prospects for more. The Improvement Era is a welcome visitor all the time." CHOIR OF THE HAUGESUND BRANCH, BERGEN CONFERENCE Ministers Becoming Interested The Albany Spring conference of the Eastern States, held at Binghamton, New York, April 25, was addressed by President B. H. Roberts, and during the conference all the missionaries were heard in testimony. The gospel message is finding lodgment in the hearts of many investigators and several have been recently added to the Church. Four were confirmed members at conference, and one baby blessed. Interest is being aroused among sectarian ministers of Binghamton, and several exceptional opportunities have been afforded our missionaries to bear testimony. At a. prayer meeting of the Plymouth Congregational church, elders and lady missionariess were in attendance and accepted the invitation to participate. Elder Clement Hilton bore testimony of the divinity of Christ and the restoration of the gospel in this dispensation. He explained the value of the Book of Mormon as a

880 IMPROVEMENT ERA witness for1 Christ and his teachings and as coming forth to stem the current of unbelief that is prevalent today. Interest was aroused by those present and a further hearing is being arranged for by the board of directors. Two Baptist ministers visited the room of Elders Hilton and Gardner and the result was a long discussion of "Mormonism." The elders explained the views of our Church, and took lead in the| conversation. Assignments for the Summer work were made for the missionaries, three of whom, Sister Vera Pfost and Elders L. Ammon Hunt and Fay B. Syphus, are attending mission school. — Leo S. Holbrook, conference president. MISSIONARIES ALBANY CONFERENCE Front row: Left to right: Mildred Peterson, Zina Kunz; Leo S. Holbrook, con- ference president; B. H. Roberts, mission president; Alda Fugar; Vera Pfost. Middle row: Rollin E. Gardner; Rollo W. Lyman, released; Richard A. Pearce; James T. Pyper, released; Denton C. Black; Robert H. Redford; Clement Hilton. Back row: Fay B. Syphus; Roy J. Barlow; Don Q. Crowther; L. Ammon Hunt; Walter L. Marlcy, released. San Jose Holds Missionary Conference The regular semi-annual Missionary Conference was held in San Jose Saturday and Sunday, May 8 and 9, beginning with a Priesthood meeting Saturday morning. Mission President Joseph W. McMurrin was in atten- dance, and his counsel and instructions were appreciated by all. Many strong testimonies were borne and interesting experiences related by mission- aries and visitors. The San Jose Relief Society served a sumptuous banquet to some thirty guests on Saturday afternoon. Saturday evening the M. I. A. presented a very entertaining play, entitled "An Old Fashioned Mother." Three general sessions of the conference were held on Sunday. After 29 months of effective and faithful service, Sister Irene Willis has been released. The work is progressing in this conference, with the various branches active.

MESSAGES FROM THE MISSIONS 881 We have placed many Books of Mormon and made many new friends in the past two months — the logical sequence being: Friends, then Investigators, then Members. Elder Stephen L. Chipman of American Fork, Utah, a cap- able leader, president of the Alpine stake of Zion, is now presiding over the San Jose conference. — Dycie J. Law. ■Av. f | ? §y ir Li ^ % ** •% #' «* '*> J^S 1 JI y MISSIONARIES OF SAN JOSE CONFERENCE Bottom row, left to right: Dycie J. Law; Morris J. Martell; Joseph W. McMurrin, president California mission; Stephen L. Chipman, conference president; Irene Willis. Second row: George E. Miller, Paul A. Dahl, Leander S. Harris, Alphonzo M. Davis, Sister Mary E. Shore. Third row: Charles Omen, Loyal Carter, Daniel Corry, J. Alton Nielson, Arthur Shore. New Zealand Mission Holds "Hui Tail" The "Hui Tau," or annual conference, of the New Zealand mission, the first in two years, was held April 2, 3, and 4, 1926, at Nuhaka, Hawkes Bay, 550 miles from mission headquarters, Auckland. Nuhaka is the home of Hirini Whaanga, the venerable old chief who, with his wife, Mere, labored many years in the Salt Lake Temple. While making the two-days' journey to the conference city, we viewed Ngaruhoe, New Zealand's active volcano, and the beautiful bush of Ohakune, and passed by auto over the "devil's elbow," a mountain road 1600 feet above the river, Waikare. Extensive preparations for the "Hui Tau" began in the early Spring (Utah's Fall) by the planting of kumeras, potatoes, melons, etc., and by preserving fruit as it became ripe. Raupo, or rushes, were cut and dried for beds, and during the last week of March three large tents were raised: a dining tent 100 feet by 60 feet, with a seating capacity of 450 diners; and two sleeping tents, each 50 feet in diameter, with accommodations for 600 guests. Beds were prepared in the meeting house by the Relief Society sisters for 57 of the elders. The food provided for the four days consisted of the

882 IMPROVEMENT ERA following: 5 tons of potatoes and kumeras, 11 steers, 40 sheep, 20 pigs, besides many chickens, ducks, geese, shell and other kinds of fish in large quantities, with an abundance of "puha" and cabbage. Meetings were held in the Nuhaka branch recreational hall, a re-inforced concrete building that cost the Church and local people about $25,000, in which more than 600 were comfortably seated. President J. Howard Jen- kins presided and gave the opening conference address, exhorting the people to stand in holy places after the remission of their sins by baptism. This became the theme of the many spirited talks by missionaries and local elders. During the intervals of the nine regular1 conference sessions, special meetings of the Relief Society were held under the direction of Cora S. Jenkins, mission president of Relief Societies, as well as special meetings of elders, conference committee, school board, etc. Fifty-eight bore their testimonies at the evening meeting on April 3. Sunday morning, April 4, a model Sunday school was conducted by Elder William C. Carr, superintendent of mission Sunday schools; and on Sunday evening the conference closed with a Mutual Improvement meeting, conducted by Elder Leslie D. Burbidge, superintendent of mission Mutuals. The 1927 "Hui Tau," by invitation of the Maori king and his people, will be held at Ngaruwahia, Waikato. — J. Howard Jenkins, president New Zealand mission. ELDERS AT HUI TAU, NUHAKA, NEW ZEALAND, 1926 (See opposite page) Sitting, left to right: Peter Kelly; Marion K. Everton, editor Te Karere; John W. Dewey; Lester S. Thomson, president Poverty Bay conference; Julian S. Oviatt; Donna, Barbara and Marion Jenkins; Ralph R. Stevenson, president Bay of Islands conference; J. Lyman, Lloyd; William C. Carr, president Otago conference; Emron M. Birch; S. Paul Stewart. Second row: John Watene; Alvin A. Davis: Wesley Crouch; Ralph M. Skinner; Lindsey K. Thomas; Joseph L. Pierson, mission secretary; J. Howard Jenkins, mission president; Cora S. Jenkins, president mission Relief Societies; Wayne T. Wiser, president Auckland conference, Master John Jenkins; Dwight Z. Ward; C. Derral Bybee; Grant S. Stark; Clifford G. Knight. Third row: Tumanako Reihania; Rupert Wi Hongi; Roland H. Mortensen; William T. Ogden, Jr.; LeRoy B. Jex; Arnel J. Talbot, president Hauraki conference; LcRoy Westover; E. Lester Brown; Leonard M. Wayment; Eldred L. Braithwaite; Irvin W. Eyre, president Wairarapa conference; Clarence L. Rasmussen, president Taranaki conference; Golden J. Webster; Rex Christensen. Fourth row: Tuhaka Mcllroy; Conrad C. Doney; A. Wright Grant; Owen T. Bringhurst, secretary M. A. college; Albert E. Sells, principal M. A. college; Joseph Hale; W. Floyd Ahlstrom: Edward L. Hancock; George R. Henderson; Perry V. Hinkley; H. Lester Peterson, president Wellington conference;* Ezra H. Anderson, president Mahia conference; A. Reed Halverson, president Hawkes Bay conference. Top row: Apiata Meha; Marvin M. Neeley; David H. Greenwood; Thomas W. Hickman, president Manawatu conference; R. Wayne Taylor; Lloydj H. Redford; G. Lyle Palmer, president Wairau conference; Halvor T. Johnson; J. Rulon Hansen; Stanley C. Kimball; Edward D. Hoggan; Leslie D. Burbidge, president Waikato conference. Seventeen Baptisms in Two Months Dale L. Lee, conference president of the Southern Illinois conference, reports progress in that district through the diligent work of the mission- aries. Seventeen baptisms have been performed during the last two months. On May 9 conference was held at Springfield, Illinois, attended by a large number of friends and investigators, besides many saints who came from various portions of the conference. President John H. Taylor delivered three instructive discourses on the doctrines of the Church. Elders bore

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884 IMPROVEMENT ERA fervent testimonies to the truth of the restored gospel, and went to their country work with renewed zeal. 1 1 f J t t 1 ' m; I" f % t tf 7 rf Til 7 » # •h '»! ' iji JflF t| V'.'. ,'v ,' ... .;■--■■ ta^ ... MISSIONARIES OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS CONFERENCE Top row, left to right: J. S. Hopkins, R. E. Yorgarson, T. R. Larson, A. N. Johnson, H. Y. Yergerson, W. R. Mellor, Glen Reese. Sitting: Willis- A. Fawns; Oren C. Fuller, mission secretary; John H. Taylor, president Northern States mission; Dale L. Lee, president Southern Illinois conference; R. V. Reeder. San Francisco Conference Convenes The San Francisco semi-annual conference convened in Oakland, May 14, 15 and 16, with 1285 persons in attendance at the Sunday sessions. Among the distinguished visitors were Mission President Joseph W. Mc- Murrin, wife and daughter, Lucile, President Stephen L. Chipman of the San Jose conference, and President Earl Crowthers of the Nevada conference. Miss Lucile McMurrin gave two impressive scriptural readings from the Bible during the sessions on Sunday. All branch presidents gave encouraging reports of local conditions in the branches of the conference. We have in this conference three thousand saints, in seven fully! organized branches, and three independent Sunday schools, together with twenty missionaries. The work of the Lord is growing in this section of California, and every con- ference finds the saints on a firmer foundation than before. We wish to express our appreciation for the Improvement Era. — David A. Hacmore, con- ference president. Southern Sweden Holds Conference Axel R. Johnson, Helsingborg, Sweden, writes: "We have just finished our Spring conference in Malmo, Sweden. The work is going forward with better and better impetus every day. Many who have heard the gospel before, and have forgotten it for other things in life, are now awakening to the fact that they are here for a higher purpose than to eat, sleep and be merry.

MESSAGES FROM THE MISSIONS 885 Many of them are investigating the gospel again in real earnest. Also many who have never heard the gospel before are very enthusiastic over the message as taught by the Latter-day Saints. We feel encouraged over the outlook, and are sure of good results in our work. The photograph shows Mission President John H. Anderson and the missionaries laboring in the Malmo conference. Sitting, left to right: John Malmstrom, Murray; Mission President John H. Ander- son, Logan. Standing: John Stromberg, Eureka; Milford H. Jensen, Smithfield, Utah; Axel R. Johnson, Burley, Idaho; Axel M. Fors, Kavlinge, Sweden, conference president. Book of Mormon a Convert-Getter Orin C. Fuller, secretary of the Northern States mission, reports that the missionaries of the Ohio district, meeting in conference on March 6 and 7 at Columbus, Ohio, reported that they had been very successful in selling Books of Mormon to the people. "The Book of Mormon," he continues, "is our great convert-getter: so we all feel that we are enjoying success in our labors." Elder Joseph Fielding Smith in the Northcentral States Mission Elder Raymond L. Allen, conference president, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, reports that Elder Joseph Fielding Smith recently toured the North- central States mission, and that they had a visit from him and President J. G. Allred on the 19th of March. Elder Smith was the first of the Twelve to visit Regina since the South Saskatchewan conference was opened. The admonitions of the brethren were a spiritual feast, indeed, to the many who heard them. Wc have eight elders working here, and have meO with great success. Last Summer two elders put out an average of fifty Books of Mormon every month. The people's hearts here are open for the truth, and the harvest is sure to be a large one.

886 IMPROVEMENT ERA ELDERS OF SOUTH SASKATCHEWAN CONFERENCE Front low, left to right: Ben W. Harding, Malad, Idaho; J. G. Allred, mission president; Elmer M. Ririe, Magrath, Alberta; Joseph Fielding Smith, Council of the Twelve; R. T. Reynolds, Mt. Pleasant, Utah; James Bronsen, Jr., Burley, Idaho; Raymond L. Allen, conference president, Richmond, Utah. Back row: Carl J. Sorenson, Murray, Utah; Albert Isfield, Edenwold, Saskatchewan; V. Knetchel, Moose Jaw, Canada; G. G. Whyte, Regina, Canada; Joseph F. Finch, Eureka, Utah; Geo. Alleman, Jr., Bern, Idaho. ELDERS OF SOUTH CAROLINA CONFERENCE, SOUTHERN STATES MISSION Standing, left to right: Owen W. West, Lorenzo Ward, Jesse Farr, Morris T. Bunnell, Leland C. Murri, C. C. Toone, Alan E. Brockbank, H. G. Tempest, Vearl Lines, John M. Rider, Evan J. Larson, Jesse A. Clement, Reuben Birch, Robert Winn, Loyal H. Cole and D.. R. LeBaron. Sitting, left to right: Lorenzo Day, Osborne Low, Ezra F. Walker, Sister Geo. F. Richards, George F. Richards, of the Council of the Twelve; President Charles A. Callis, Conference President T. Joseph Steed, A. W. Ossmen, and John A. Hunt. Front row, left to right: Willard J. Anderson, William J. Beaus, Ralph A. Sheffield, Burton R. Scott and A. J. Plumb.