The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-04-10
WORK OF MISSIONARIES
OF THE MORMON CHURCH
How the Gospel of the Latter-Day
Saints Is Spread in Other
Lands.
EACH YOUTH IS TRAINED
With the View that Some Day He
Will Be Sent on a Prose
lyting Mission.
Special Correspondence of the Journal.

Special Correspondence of the Journal
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah. April o.
Spreading the gospel according TO the
Mormon system is getting back to first
principles. 1t is reviving. the methods of
the apostles of old. 1t is returning to the
eldest traditions of the Christian Church.
Every Mormon boy is brought up with the
idea of some day going abroad on a mis-
sion For this purpose he is carefully
trained in the doctrines of his own religion
and of most other religions. He is taught
the art of controversy-to talk intelligently
and argue forcefully in defense of his faith.
And he knows that at any time he may
be called and set apart for missionary
work; that he may be dispatched to Lon
don, the Netherlands. or Australia.
or the isles of the Pacific; and that he must
go without financial aid from his church.
His instructions are TO proceed to GER
tain part of the globe and there do what
is in him to spread the gospel revealed in
the latter days through Joseph Smith. AS
to the means of travel, of getting to his
destination, of living in strange land while
preaching the Word-all this is his own
concern. The Norman Church has nothing
whatever TO do with IL. The missionary,
often quite young and totally inexperienced
in travel and the ways of the world, must
find money enough to get whittier he is
dispatched. and he must find some means
of living while away from home without
asking the church for support.
All this manifests a faith that is sublime.
1.-THE Lord will provide for those who do
His work, for those who preach His word"
This is the reliance of these Mormon folk.
They have abiding faith that somehow
| they will be taken care of; that God
watches over them and their work; that
| trials and hardships are designed for their
own good.
| And so the Mormon youth starts forth
on his pilgrimage to some far-off corner
OF the earth's surface, with light or
| empty purse, but with full confidence that
| he will get rhere,' and that he will not
| starve
And he does 'get there" and he does not
starve, nowadays, although time when
Mormon missionary might expect any
| thing in the way of suffering and depriva-
ton. 1t is different now, with many thou
| sands of Mormon converts scattered
throughout the world and always willing
/ TO assist missionary of the faith.
THE CALLED" MUST GO.
1
factor in setting apart" the brethren for
| Mormon mission work. The merchant has
been forced to leave his business, the farm
er his fields. the mechanic his bench, with
scant time to prepare for his journey. This
feature of the work Is not quite so apparent
now as it was in the days of Brigham
Young, for a variety of reasons, yet the
spirit is the same. He who is called
| in the faith
While Christian ministers in the East are
| preaching sermons against Mormonism and
what they consider the evils of the sys-
| tenn, the Mormon Church goes steadily for
| ward In its work of taking the gospel to
all mankind Between l,4eO and 1900 Nor
mon missionaries are constantly in the
| field, making continued gains for the faith
| founded by Joseph Smith. The latter was
the originator of the present missionary
happy faculty of receiving a revelation
occasionally. in which this or that brother
gospel to other lands. Smith would merely
inform the brother of the honor bestowed
| upon him and the brother would start out.
Brigham Young was one of the first to re-
| ceive this sort of message and he went to
| England, where his labors behalf of the
new religion were decidedly effective.
| When Brigham became the dominant
| power in the church he was not slow to
| follow the example set by his predecessor,
Joseph Smith. The Mormon Moses" as
he has been STYLED by some writer's exacted
| labor, as he did in every other department
! of the Mormon peoples life. During the
| height of his power he utilized the mis-
sionary system to further the material ends
| of the church and add to his own aggran-
| dzement much TO the discomfort of not a
| few of the saints. If a man became
! standing in the church. he was called on
a mission to the other end of the world,
and he must. perforce; obey. Many whose
were in this way disposed of for a con-
siderable time.
Selections for this work were made at the
| persons to be ''set apart was given until
the name was publicly announced.
! SUFFERED HARDSHIPS.
Before the building of the Central Pacific
Railroad the missionaries suffered much
| greater hardships than they do in our own
day. Grim mountains, painless deserts, had
| to be crossed to get to the East or to the
| Pacific coast. On one occasion several of
| the young men "set apart for foreign
service reached the Missouri river dragging
handcarts in which they had trundled their
food and other supplies More fortunate
were those who could travel with OK teams
or on horseback.
Joseph +. Smith. president of the
| Mormon Church, was sent on his first mis-
sion when he was fifteen years old. AS a
nephew of the prophet. he was, it is said,
somewhat feared by Brigham Young as a
possible rival in the position of prophet,
seer and revelator." At any rate, Brigham
decreed that this lad of fifteen should go on
a mission He told to depart for the
Sandwich islands and there spread the gos-
pei among the heather. And he was to go
without purse or scrip.
There was something of the determina-
ton of his father and uncle. the martyrs
in young Joseph, and without hesitation he
undertook to make the journey. He was
Obliged TO cross the Nevada desert and
the Sierra Nevada mountains in order to
reach San Francisco. There were no
steamers in those days plying between
Hawaii and the Pacific coast, and the boy
| missionary had money with which to
paw his fare if there had been steamers
So he went into the redwoods and there
| worked as a maker of shingles for several
| months until he had sufficient funds TO
pay for a passage on a sailing ship that
| was due TO touch at the then little known
| islands of the Hawaii group.
| Young Smith made his headquarters on
the island of MOai. He arrived there with
| a large stock of faith and knowledge of
the doctrine and covenants" and absolute
lv devoid of material treasure But he SET
| TO work with will and soon had quite a