Labors in the Vineyard: Twelfth Book of the Faith-Promoting Series. Designed for the Instruction and Encouragement of Young Latter-Day Saints.Various
Religion
Labors in the Vineyard: Twelfth Book of the Faith-Promoting Series. Designed for the Instruction and Encouragement of Young Latter-Day Saints.
Various
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- Missions
SET SAIL FROM NEW YORK--ARRIVE IN LIVERPOOL--SENT
TO LABOR AS A TRAVELING ELDER--PRAYERS ANSWERED--CALLED
TO PRESIDE OVER A CONFERENCE--BLESSED
ABUNDANTLY WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT--PROCURE A HALL
TO PREACH IN--MOBBED--EFFECTS OF MY PREACHING--TREATED
WITH COURTESY--ORGANIZE A BRANCH OF THE
CHURCH IN THE TOWN WHERE I WAS MOBBED--MAKE
ANOTHER APPOINTMENT TO PREACH IN A DIFFERENT
TOWN--SEND FOR HELP--SPEAKERS INTERRUPTED--AUDIENCE
QUIETED BY ME SINGING A COMIC SONG--PREJUDICE
ALLAYED--A LESSON LEARNED.
Having rejoined my fellow-missionaries in New York, we sailed from
that port August 15th, on the ship _Lady Franklin,_ passage, $10 per
head, we having to board and cook for ourselves. After a fair voyage we
arrived in Liverpool on the 14th of September, 1850. I spent a few days
in that city, and was most kindly treated by Apostle Orson Pratt, then
President of the British Mission.
I was sent from there to London, and Brother Pratt intended me to have
a few weeks to rest, and learn the "ropes" among the branches, and
Saints of that city. But the president of that conference sent me to
Colchester, fifty miles from London. It was a hard place and in order
to have raised any life there in relation to "Mormonism," one would
have required the power to resurrect the dead.
I suffered very much in spirit as well as in body. I finally said to
myself, "you were sent to this land by God's highest authority to
preach the gospel, and it is your duty to do it." The next morning,
after thus commenting to myself, I started for a town twenty miles
distant. The roads were wet and heavy and, with my carpet-bag, the walk
was a hard one.
I came in sight of the place, on the top of a long hill, and noticed a
woman crossing the road with two pails. She filled them with water and
started back, but as she saw me walking towards her, she dropped both
pails and came to me, saying, "I knew you would come: I saw you in a
dream. Come into my house; I have a room all fixed nice and clean for
you."
Here I baptized my first fruits of the gospel, and accomplished a good
work. In a few weeks Bro. Pratt sent me to travel with Bro. Jacob
Gates, who was really like a father to me. When with him, we would
take tracts with us and go from house to house, and shop to shop in
Leicester and, in distributing them, try to get a chance to talk with
the people.
One day we had been working very hard in the rain and mud, but with
little success. As we were on our way home, at dusk, we passed the
shop of an herbalist, and I told Bro. Gates I would like to go into
this one place before going home. I bought something for a penny and,
at the same time, commenced talking "Mormonism" to a stranger. This
man's name is now very familiar to the Latter-day Saints, it being none
other than George Goddard. Previous to my visit, he had never heard of
our religion, but, as he was an honest and brave man, it was not long
before he and his family were baptized and, in a little time, gathered
to Zion.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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