We were in the midst of poverty and struggling to make the land habitable, but we could not neglect the obligation we were under to spread the Gospel abroad; for the Lord had given forth the command that it should be preached in all the world. It is one of the evidences of the divinity of this work that in the midst of all their drivings and persecutions the Latter-day Saints have faithfully sought to carry out this command of the Lord. At the general conference of the Church held in October, 1849—only two years after the pioneers entered [the Salt Lake] valley—a number of Elders were called to open up missions in different parts of the earth. Four of the Twelve Apostles were appointed to take the lead. Apostle Erastus Snow was called to go to Scandinavia, Apostle John Taylor to France, myself to Italy, and Apostle Franklin D. Richards to England, where a mission had already been established. Under the adverse circumstances in which we were then situated, with our families almost destitute, this was a great undertaking for us; but the Lord had called, and we felt to respond, no matter what sacrifice it involved.7 We dedicate our lives which we hold as not dear to us, in order that the world may understand that there is a God in the eternal worlds; in order that they may understand that God has something to do at the present time with the affairs of the children of men. The world is passing into feelings and opinions of infidelity. Even among the Christian portions of the human family, thousands and tens of thousands, though they are not willing to confess it because of being unpopular, do not believe that God has anything to do with the children of men. We have to stand forth and make sacrifices in order that that belief and knowledge may come to the children of men.8 When we call our young missionaries to go to the nations of the earth,
Posted on: Fri, 13 Sep 2013 05:55:13 +0000
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