Texas Mission Report

This is a beautiful sight. At the conclusion of each meeting I have felt that it was good to be here, and have not our hearts burned within us as we have listened to these living oracles of God, as they have spoken and taught us the scripture? ¶

I am happy to bring you greetings, my brethren and sisters, from 5,511 members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who live in the Texas Mission. We have in the Texas Mission eight lady ¶

missionaries, including Sister Rowan. We have fifteen Seventies, fifteen Elders, one High Priest, and one local missionary, making a total of forty full-time missionaries who are spending their entire time in trying to lead men and women to believe in God, their Father, in whose likeness we have been created. ¶

I am happy to say to you that of this number, nine are engaged in teaching school. I believe that one of the outstanding things that is being done today in America, in rural sociology and in country life, is being developed in the colonies in Texas. I was advised yesterday that our school is considered by Government officials in Washington as one of the outstanding schools of its kind in the United States. I am happy to say to you that we have been fortunate in having Elder Boyle in charge of this work during the past six years. He has accomplished a most wonderful mission. I have been told by several of the leading citizens of Gilmer, Texas, who have lived there for many years, thai no other man has done so much good for that country as has Elder Louis F. Boyle. This is gratifying to us, because we feel that the work he has done there is a "light on a hill." ¶

We are trying to teach men and women, boys and girls, how to live, how to enjoy the blessings of Almighty God, and I am happy to say that in the main the Saints who reside in the Texas Mission are happy. We have had an increase in our tithes this year. There was an increase in the tithing last year over the previous year, and many hundreds have paid tithing that had not paid any in the past. You who have been in the South realize that in the main those people believe in God ; that in the main they believe in the Bible. ¶

Just a short time ago I traveled a long distance to attend a funeral. The Sunday School superintendent had met with the misfortune of losing a child by death. This was the third one he had lost. He and his good wife were grief-stricken because of this. His father, a very prominent man in the country, with a host of friends, had secured a quartet from one of the near-by cities to come and sing. Three of these gentlemen had never been in attendance at a Latter-day Saint funeral service nor had they heard the Elders of the Church speak. We had them sit on the rostrum. The quartet sang a beautiful song. The Spirit of the Lord was there in rich abundance. It didn't seem that we were in the presence of death. The Lord blessed the Elders, and they were able to portray the beauties of the Gospel, as it is understood by the Latter-day Saints, and to give those Saints comfort and consolation in that which seemed to have been a calamity in their lives. ¶

After the services two of these fine men who were excellent singers, one a doctor, the other a county commissioner, said they would like to purchase a copy of our song book. We sold each of them a copy of the song book. They invited us to come and visit with them. I sent the missionaries to call on them. On the 18th of last month one of these gentlemen, a doctor, drove a hundred and twenty miles to attend our conference in Houston. At the conclusion of the conference I shook his hand and welcomed him into our community. Our little new chapel, ¶

that we recently dedicated, when Brother Joseph Fielding visited our mission, was filled to its capacity. I took occasion to introduce this gentleman to a doctor who has fellowship in our Church, and I said: "Doctor, this doctor is a member of our Church;" and I said: "I hope this other good doctor will be led, through his serious, careful, prayerful investigation, to some time see the light." He said to me: "Brother Rowan, I already see the light. I was touched with the Spirit of Almighty God as I attended the funeral of that little boy, and I hope that I shall soon be a member of your Church." ¶

Oh, I rejoice in the testimony that I have. I bring you the message, brethren and sisters, that your sons and daughters are well and happy. They are enjoying the Spirit of the Lord. They are filled with the testimony of this work. One of our short-term missionaries recently returned from Houston. He said to me, as we were coming on the train : "I have been there five months and it has been my opportunity to attend a hundred and sixty-nine meetings." This is only an example of what the missionaries are doing. I do not say this in boasting, but because of the climatic condition the Elders can preach freely on the streets. Within the last three months one of the Elders has held sixtythree street meetings, a very fine accomplishment. ¶

Many of the Lord's people who live in that country are hearing and accepting the message of Mormonism. May I ask that you who have friends in Texas and Louisiana favor us with letters giving us their names and addresses. They are a fine people. ¶

We believe in these living Authorities. We are trying to follow their leadership. Our branches, with the exception of one, are all presided over by local people. Our Relief Society prganizations are doing a commendable work, as are the Sunday Schools and the Genealogical Society, all of them officered by men and women who, if it were necessary, would sacrifice their lives on the altar, because of the testimony of Almighty God that has been given to them. ¶

I know, as I know I am alive, my brethren and sisters, that Jesus is the Christ ; that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the true and the living God. And oh, I am so happy in the testimony that has come to me, that these men who have succeeded the Prophet Joseph were indeed prophets, seers and revelators, and that in this day we have one of the greatest and most mighty men that God has ever chosen, a select and wonderful leader. May God bless him. May he bless all of us, and may you live in such a manner that you will be able to continue as you are doing, to make a favorable impression upon the tourists and those who come into your midst. ¶

We appreciate the good work that is being done by the Bureau of Information, and by these marvelous broadcasts that are given every Sunday by the Tabernacle Choir. ¶

May God bless us all. May we have your faith and prayers, above everything else. May we, as missionaries, have a vision of our great responsibility and our possibilities. May God, through your faith and ¶

prayers, and our humility, direct us to his children, the honest in heart, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. ¶