Northern States Mission Report

My brethren and sisters, I have enjoyed to the utmost the spirited talk delivered by President Rich this morning. I only regret that circumstances have rendered it impracticable for me to attend the previous meetings of this glorious conference. I feel greatly the need of the faith and prayers of my brethren and sisters during the few moments I shall address you upon this important occasion. As is doubtless known to many, it has fallen to my lot to have presided for a brief period over that important branch of the Lord's work known as the Northern States mission. In the providence of the Lord and as dictated through His servants, I have been released from that post of duty, after having enjoyed the privilege for about thirty-two months. During the major part of that time I have enjoyed greatly my labors. It has given me much satisfaction and pleasure to know that I enjoyed the confidence of my brethren to the extent that they were willing to entrust me with that important post; and while I felt greatly my inability in many respects to fulfill the requirements of the position, yet I have tried to perform my labors to the best of my ability, and I trust with some degree of success. I have had the confidence and support of the Elders that were appointed to labor with me in that part of the Lord's vineyard, and I believe that through our united efforts some good has been accomplished. A great deal of literature has been distributed among the people who reside in the six States that go to make up the Northern States mission. During the past two years and a half we have distributed four hundred thousand tracts and over twenty thousand books. We have held over ten thousand meetings, and over four hundred thousand Gospel conversations, and striking a fair average of five members to each family visited, and twenty at each meeting held, we believe we have reached four millions of people in the Northern States mission during that time. Vast as this number is, it is but a small part of the entire population of those States. When we remember that the population of the city of Chicago alone is as great as the combined population of ten of our western States, we can perhaps realize the magnitude of the work that lies ahead of the small body of Elders who are laboring in that field at the present time. The people there, to a large extent, are not naturally religious. Their hearts, in a great measure, are set upon the things of this world. President Rich uttered a truth when he said that the people of the south were different in this respect. Many of the people of the north, particularly in the large cities, do not read the Bible to any great extent, and they relegate religion to the background. They seem to think it is something that pertains to women and children and to those who are not quite sound in their mental faculties. Consequently, we have to reason with them upon the Gospel, and to show them the philosophy of it; and we do not have more people applying for baptism than what our Elders can comfortably take care of. We rejoice, however, to be able to report to our brothers and sisters that the work of the Lord is progressing in the Northern States, and that the baptisms are quite satisfactory. As I learn from Elder German E. Ellsworth, of Lehi, who has been appointed to succeed me in the presidency of that mission, some of the conferences held this fall have been unusually successful, one particularly, which was held in the State of Indiana, in a district which has been worked for some time by the Elders, and which promised to yield fruit. It was decided to hold a conference near the town of Robinson, Greene county, Ind. The conference convened in a grove, away from any populous center. Brother Ellsworth states that he did not see two houses together any one time, but the woods seemed to turn out the people in large numbers, in response to our invitation to attend the conference; and the interest aroused during the first few sessions of the conference was so great that they felt constrained to appoint a time for baptisms. The conference commenced on Saturday, and on the following Wednesday afternoon seven of the leading citizens of the neighborhood, four men and three women, presented themselves as candidates for baptism. This was followed later by two other baptisms, and the total added to the fold during that conference was 15. The brethren continued the meetings for 14 days, and it is stated that there are two or three other districts in that state where it is believed these results can be duplicated. ¶

It might be of interest to the Latter-day Saints to know that the work has been opened up vigorously in Hancock county, State of Illinois -- a county which suggests so many historic recollections, some pleasant and some otherwise, particularly to the older members of the Church. Two Elders, full of faith, hope and courage, and possessed of proper ability and reliance upon the Lord, were sent down to that county some few months ago, without purse or scrip, and they were more than successful in reaching the hearts of the people and making friends. They were able to hold successful meetings in the city of Nauvoo, and in Carthage. Their headquarters, at the present time, are in the town of Carthage, and it is not improbable, if suitable arrangements can be made with the Presidency, that ere long the Gospel will be preached regularly on the Sabbath day in Carthage jail. This is a great reversal of conditions as they existed in the forties, and we feel that the Lord is working with the honest in heart in those States. ¶

My brethren and sisters, I want to endorse the words spoken by Brother Rich in regard to meddling and interfering with business that properly belongs to the mission on the part of our brethren and sisters at home. No doubt this is done thoughtlessly in the great majority of cases; but we found in the Northern States that it was almost impossible to carry out the counsel which President F. M. Lyman gave to us as he was passing through there some time ago, that we should break up the notion in the minds of the Elders that a mission was simply for two years, by reason of the criticism and interference of those at home. We have endeavored to carry out that idea, and have released some brethren even before the two year period, because they were advanced in years and had family cares. On the other hand, we have tried to keep some younger men who were in a position to do us a great deal of good; and I want to say that an Elder who has served two years, if he can be retained in the field for another six months, can accomplish about as much good during those six months, if he will keep up steam, as he could during the previous two years. So we have tried to keep some of them two years and a half; but in a great majority of cases, either their parents, or the President of the Stake, or others interested, have sent for them to come home, sometimes we fear without good excuse. We believe that when an Elder is sent out into the field he is under the direction of the mission president, who certainly should be entitled to the spirit of his office and calling. If he does not enjoy the inspiration of the Lord to direct him in his labors, he is not a suitable person to be retained in that position, and I do not believe the Lord will long retain him there. I merely mention this fact because I sometimes think parents do not view the matter in a correct light. It seems to me that every father and mother ought to feel that it is an honor conferred upon their son if he be retained beyond the usual period. It should be an evidence to them that he is appreciated and that he is of value to the work. ¶

Through material assistance received from the Presidency of the Church, there has recently been acquired a magnificent church and parsonage in the city of Chicago, which will serve not only as a meeting place for the Saints of that city, but also as headquarters for the Northern States mission. It is almost centrally located and accessible from all parts of the city. The auditorium of the building will seat at least five hundred people, and is provided with splendid seats of walnut, and a fine pipe organ. The lower part of the building is divided into a chapel room, capable of seating some three hundred people. There is also several Sunday School rooms, a parson's study, a dining room and a kitchen. We feel that this is a very valuable acquisition to the mission, and will serve to further the work greatly in that important metropolis. While our meeting place in the past has been quite comfortable, it has not altogether created a favorable impression upon our friends, and I rejoice to learn that the attendance has already been greatly augmented through their being privileged to meet under more favorable conditions. ¶

I am sure that President Ellsworth and the Elders laboring in Chicago will be glad to welcome the brethren and sisters from Utah who visit that city for business or other purposes. Some of them make it a point to call on the Elders as they pass through. Others, however, come and go without showing themselves. There are many who are in the habit of going there with carloads of cattle and sheep, many of whom are actively interested in the Lord's work, but they do not always bless the Saints with their presence, and I am sure the Elders would be glad to extend an invitation to them to come and listen to them, and thereby advance the interest of the Lord's work. Sometimes we have had the privilege of preaching to visiting brethren on street corners, but we could not get them into the hall. I remember last summer I was preaching on the streets, and there was a group of men came along, and I was quite surprised to see some of them remove their hats when the opening prayer was offered, but I learned at the close of the meeting that it was a group of our brethren who had come down with cattle, and who were on their way to the theater, and they were attracted by the singing. Some of them afterwards remarked that it was the first time in their lives that they had ever heard the principles of the Gospel preached in such plainness. I would like our visitors not only to come to the street meetings, but to the indoor services as well. ¶

It has been claimed by some misguided women, particularly one in addressing a convention at Denver a few days ago, that many of the young Latter-day Saints were becoming ashamed of the religion of their fathers. I do know that the young men who are preaching the Gospel in the Northern States, are young men of courage and conviction, they are fearless and hesitate not to go out upon the crowded thoroughfares, though it may be necessary at times to go along and sing their own songs, hold their own services, and they look fearlessly into the faces of hundreds of people and declare unto them the pure principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What is there in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the religion of our fathers, to be ashamed of? Surely we need not be ashamed that God has been so kind as to bear testimony to our souls that He indeed does live, that Jesus Christ lives, and that He has again spoken from the heavens, and recommitted the keys of authority and power, by which men were authorized to organize His Church upon the earth, in all its fullness, in the day and time in which we live. There is nothing in this to be ashamed of. There is nothing in the history of our people to be ashamed of. There is nothing to be ashamed of in the material progress we have made, by which this despised religion has taken the people from a state of dependence, if not poverty, in the nations of the earth, and placed them in a position of independence, and made them land owners and householders. I want to testify to you that none of the young men out in the Northern States mission are getting ashamed of their religion, and I have failed to find any at home. If there are any such, I fear that the Lord is as much ashamed of them as they are of Him and His work. ¶

I bear my testimony to the divinity of this work. I do know it is God's eternal truth restored to the earth. I do know that He raised up His servant, the Prophet Joseph Smith, and gave him authority to organize His Church upon the earth. He fulfilled all that was required of him, he laid the foundations of this work, and he laid them deep, and he laid them well. After him came others who were specially qualified for the peculiar work and the peculiar conditions that they were required to meet in their time. And I do testify that we have a Prophet of the Lord standing at the head of this work at the present time. I pray that the blessings of the Lord may be with us, that His spirit may fill our hearts, and that our first consideration and desire may always be to labor for the advancement of His work upon the earth. I ask it in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶