The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-06-28
Elder Jensen's Two Years Tour
of the World.
HE GIVES AN ACCOUNT OF HIS
TRAVELS.
Travelled Sixty-fve Thousand Miles
For the Purpose of Securing His
torica1 Records of the Church in
Foreign Countries.

an interesting review of his travels at
the tabernacle yesterday afternoon
He had Travelled $1,000 miles in two
years and had visited many mission
airy fields He went first from Van
couver to Hawaii There are 5000
I.atter-day Saints in the Hawaiian is
lands and 81 branches of the church
there There are II elders and six
missionary sisters working there; 40
Sunday schools and meeting houses
have been established and there are
many native elders. He found that an
excellent feeling prevailed in Hawaii
and that the spirit of God rested upon
the work there From Hawaii he went
to the Tonga and Fiji islands. There
are no MoImo missionaries in Fiji,
but there are ten in Tonga. He said
they were not meeting with mucn sue
cess owing principally to the fact that
other Christian missionaries had intro
duced a form of religion which was
very popular among the natives the
Pacific islanders living west of Samoa
are not like the remainder of the Poly
nesians. They are darker in color and
seem to have more of the Ethiopian
than the Malay blood. They were orig
inally worshippers of idols and be-
lieved in paying penance and in offer
ing sacrifices. When the Christian
missionaries first visited them they
taught them of Jesus, but told them
they could do nothing towards their
own salvation and that all they had 70
do was to believe in Christ. The con-
sequence of this teaching was that the
only thing the natives had TO do was
to attend the meeting. something
which they were fond of doing, any
how. The people were naturally in
dolent sand got an easy living and
wanted their salvation in just as easy
a manner. They consequently en-
braced the teachings of the Christian
ministers, which gave them religion
so much easier than their own. When
the Mormon missionaries visited them
they could not offer them as easy
mode of salvation, but told them that
besides exercising the simple faith and
belief in Christ they had work TO per-
form The natives were very quick
to observe the difference in the two
forms of religion and the consequence
was that to this day there are only
about 10 converts in Tonga. Elder
Jensen next went to Samoa, where he
found a different state OF affairs when
he was there a year and a half ago
there were 81 elders working in the
Samoan group and they had made 400
converts. The prospects were most
favorable then for an increase of the
work. and the elders there believed
that in time nearly all the inhabitants
of the Samoan islands would embrace
the Mormon faith The next visit was
made at New Zealand, where he found
1000 Latter-day Saints among the Ma
oriS. They were warmhearted peO-
pie, but we're lacking in viii power
and it was hard for them TO say no
to the many temptations offered them
nv n ! 10
was generally recognized by outsiders
in New Zealand that the Mormon mis-
siOnarieS were far more successful
among the Maoris than any other sect.
They taught the natives a practical
religion; taught them that it was not
right to get drunk, or to gamble, or go
to horse races, and they had brought
the natives to a condition where they
were no longer feared by white settlers.
One-tenth of the entire Maori popula-
ton was now connected with the Nor
mon church. Elder Jensen next went
to the Society islands, on the east, |
where the first Mormon mission was
established in the Pacific in 1874 AT
that time Joseph Smith had Brigham
men and send them on a mission TO
the Pacific islands. They had intended
to go to Hawaii but they reached the
Society group first, and finding that
their work was prospecting there. they
determined to remain. Only three or
them reached there, one dying en-
route. They labored there for nine
years and built up the church. but in
1852. owing TO complications between
the English and French. the Mormon
missionaries were driven out Of the So /
ciety islands and no others went Ihere !
for 40 years. Finally in 1892 an effort .
was made TO reopen the mission and
the elders who weat there found a
small number of natives who still main /
tanned organized branches of the I
church. Notwithstanding the lapse of /
40 years, during which time the So +
ciety islanders had received no mes
sage from the church, knew nothing /
about its advancement or what had .
been accomplished in Utah. A year
and a half ago there were 1000 Latter /
day Saints in the Society islands and /
Australia. which was next visited /
missions were first opened il 1851. but
the missionary operations ceased in /
1858. but were renewed later. Eide
Jensen gave an interesting review of
his travels in India. EsS r. aAu TIE /
Holy Land. He had visited many his I
torical spots. In the city of Nazareth /
he found that the Greek and Roman I
Catholics SHARED the religious honors. I
each claiming 10 have its church 10 /
Gated on the spot where the angel of |
the Lord appeared unto Mary and |
told her that she would he the mot'ner !
of the Savior of the world. He related !
a conversation ne had With a Greek |
priest who believed that his own
church was the only one which carried |
out the doctrine of baptism by emer- (
sion. He was greatly surprised to
learn of the Latter-day Saints and 20
know that in this respect the two !
churches were Identical. In Jerusalem /
he found more signs of the fulillment /
of prophecy than in any other place ]
in Palestine. for many thousand Jews !
had returned there recently. He found I
that nearly all the Christian missions /
there were for gain. Everybody want /
ed gifts and offerings and the priests i
people taught their children 20 beg. /
The rivalry among the foreign re-
ligiouS sectS was 50 great and the diff !
ferences of religious opinions so pro-
nOunced that Turkish soldiers had to
be kept there, even in the churches
themselves, TO maintain order. and the ]
consequence was that neither the !
Jews nor the Mohammedans had any
use for the Christian religion. Elder 1
France, England and Scandinavia /
There are 1000 Latter-day Saints in
Denmark, Sweden and Norway He /
visited the Swiss and German missions
and found that in the latter especially !
and also in the Holland the work was /
well. In England there !
We're mountains of prejudice and OPP
position to the Mormon church which /
would have to be removed before the /
hearts of the people could be reached !
and there could be another outpouring /
of the spirit there similar TO that of /