Just before Christ ascended into heaven

Just before Christ ascended into heaven, he addressed his apostles as follows : "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." (Matt. 28:18-20.) „ ¶

In obedience to that command the apostles of old and others preached the gospel, first, in Palestine, and later, in the surrounding countries. Paul, the apostle of the Gentiles, was the first missionary, as far as history tells us, to testify of the risen Redeemer in Syria, Asia Minor, Greece, Italy, etc. It is not known into how many countries the missionaries of the earlier Christian Church extended their operations, but it is an established fact that they preached in most, if not in all, the countries bordering on the Mediterranean. Some legends, at least, would have Thomas and others preach the gospel in England, as well as in far-off India. It must be remembered that the world was not known to the people in those days as it is now. For instance, America was perhaps not known to the people of the eastern world, nor was the south part of Africa known to the nations, in the northern countries, until centuries later. ¶

The angel designed to restore the gospel anew in our day is heralded by John the Revelator in the following language: "And I [John] saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." (Rev. 14:6.) ¶

While the prediction reads that the angel had the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, it is not to be supposed that he personally would have to proclaim it with his own voice, or by his own exertion to everybody. The natural conclusion is, that men in mortality would be called, as had been the case in all former dispensations, to do the missionary work among their fellow-men. Thus it was that Joseph Smith was chosen as an instrument in the hands of the Lord to usher in a new dispensation, and no sooner had he been favored ¶

with a glorious vision, early in the spring of 1820 (in which he saw the Father and the Son), than he bore testimony of what he had seen and heard. Afterwards he received several visits from the Angel Moroni, in whose appearance the Latter-day Saints see the fulfilment of John's prediction. Several years passed during which other holy messengers restored the Priesthood to the earth through the instrumentality of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, and as soon as the Church was organized missionary labors were commenced in earnest. And while Oliver Cowdery is credited with preaching the first gospel sermon ever delivered by any elder of the Church in our dispensation, it is but fair to the Prophet Joseph Smith that he should be called the first Latter-day Saint missionary, for ever since he had received his first vision, in 1820, he, even in the midst of severe persecutions and sufferings, ceased not bearing his testimony to the effect that he had conversed with angels and had been chosen of the Lord to introduce a new gospel dispensation. ¶

By careful study of the early historical documents of the Church we have been able to ascertain that the Church sent out at least sixteen missionaries in 1830, including Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, already named. In addition to these, David Whitmer, Samuel H. Smith, Joseph Smith, Sr., Don Carlos Smith, Parley P. Pratt, Hyrum Smith, Newel Knight, Richard Ziba Peterson, Peter Whitmer, Jr., Sidney Rigdon, Frederick G. Williams, John Murdock and Orson Pratt, all performed missionary labors, in several of the states in 1830. The record also shows that fifty-eight missionaries were sent out from the headquarters of the Church to preach the restored gospel, in 1831, seventy-two in 1832, forty-one in 1833, one hundred eleven in 1834, and so on. ¶

Until 1837, the preaching by the elders was confined to the United States and Canada, but in 1837, Heber C. Kimball and others opened up the great missionary work which since that time has been carried on continuously in the British Isles. In 1843, the first missionaries were called to preach the restored gospel to a people who did not understand the English language. I have reference to the Society Islands mission, which was opened early in 1844 by Noah Rogers, Addison Pratt and Benjamin F. Grouard, who were called as missionaries to the islands of the Pacific in 1843. Two or three thousand natives of Tubuai, the Tuamotu Islands, and adjacent groups soon became identified with the Church. ¶

During the exodus of the Saints from Nauvoo in 1846 and 1847, missionary labors were somewhat at a standstill, as many of the young brethren who had previously been engaged in the missionary fields were chosen as pioneers, or as soldiers in the Mormon Battalion, but after the Saints had found a more nearly permanent home in the valleys of the Rocky Mountains, missionary labors were carried on with vigor and much success. Then it was that the first missionaries were called to continental Europe, and also to the Hawaiian Islands ; soon branches of the Church were raised up in several European countries, and missions established, most of which are in existence to this day. Altogether the Church has established about forty distinct missions, known by the following titles : United States, Canadian, Palestine, Tahitian, French, Italian, Scandinavian, Swiss, Icelandic, South American, German. Maltese, West Indian, Gibralter, South African, Chinese, New Zealand, Siam, Netherlands, Samoan, Austrian, Finnish, Mexican, Turkish, Belgian, Tongan, Japan, Armenian, etc. ¶

The missionary labors in the United States have been grouped into several distinct missions, each of which includes several states, such as the Eastern States, the Northern States, the Southern States, the Indian Territory, the Central "States, the Western States, the Northwestern States, the California and the Northcentral States. The original Scandinavian mission has also been divided into the Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian missions. Also the British mission has, at times, been segregated into smaller groups which have been known under different titles, such as the English, the Welsh, the Scotch and the Irish. By recognizing these general sub-divisions we find that the Church since its organization, in 1830, has established about forty distinct and separate missions, of which twenty-seven are still in existence. ¶

After a thorough study of Church history, and by gathering information from all possible sources, we are now able to state from actual count that the Church, since its first organization in 1830, and until the close of the year 1926, has sent approximately 35,275 missionaries out from the headquarters of the Church to preach the gospel in many lands and climes. But this number does not by any means represent all the missionaries who have labored for the spread of the gospel. For, while the elders delegated and sent out from the headquarters of the Church usually opened up the several missions throughout the world, thousands of local elders (that is, converts who in the different states and countries were ordained to the ministry) have labored with equal zeal and success ; and particularly in countries where the English language is not universally spoken, these local, or native, elders have had, in many instances, even more success than some of those sent out from headquarters. In earlier days there were perhaps twenty local missionaries to each American elder in the British Isles, the Scandinavian countries, and even in Germany and Switzerland. That rule, however, has been reversed in later years when most of the missionary work has been done by American elders. But taking a retrospective glance at the missionary operations of the Church, during the ninetyseven years of its existence, we are safe in making the assertion that, at least, 70,000 elders and missionary sisters, called and set apart regularly to the ministry, have been engaged in actual missionary labors in the world, by maintaining that the local, or native, elders have equalled in number the missionaries sent out from Church headquarters. ¶

In view of these facts, it may consistently be left to the good judgment of fair-minded persons who are interested in the great Latterday work, commenced by the Prophet Joseph Smith under divine guidance, whether the elders and missionaries of the Church have been true ¶

to their calling to preach the gospel as they have been commanded, to every nation, kindred, tongue and people. And especially when it is considered that this great host of laborers in God's vineyard have preached and labored mostly without purse or scrip, or at least have done their work at their own expense, or at the expense of parents, relatives and friends. ¶

If there are any countries in the world which have not been covered by Latter-day Saint missionaries, it is surely not the fault of the Church, nor is it to be ascribed to any neglect on the part of its missionaries. It is mostly due to the fact that religious liberty does not exist in all nations, and that, in many instances, our elders have been prohibited by stringent laws from ful filing the divine command. In several countries they have even been forbidden to land, and in other countries where they have succeeded in landing, they have been imprisoned and banished. I am convinced that the Church authorities have always been willing, and are still willing, to send elders to every nation under the sun, whose governments and inhabitants would be willing to receive them. God grant that the elders of modern Israel may soon enjoy the privilege of preaching the gospel, without hindrance, in all the world. Amen. ¶