Letter to Samuel W. Richards, dated July, 1855, at Swansea. (Vol 17:538-540)
WALES
"Udgorn Seion" Office, Swansea, July, 1855.
President Richards.
Dear Brother--In submitting you, by request, a brief report of the condition and circumstances of the Church of God in Wales, it affords me great pleasure to represent that, although the calumnies of the press and pulpit, and the stubborn prejudices of a severely priest-ridden populace have prevented the augmentation of our numbers as I could wish, yet I have unmistakable evidences, in the unity, diligence, and humility of the Saints, of the increase of the spirit of the Gospel in them.
'Tis due to my worthy Counsellor Elder Daniels, and the presiding Elders (with very few dishonourable exceptions, which have resulted in expulsion), to sa that, through the blessing of Him who owns the work, upon their energetic measures and vigilant watch-care, love and harmony, undisturbed peace and prosperity reign amongst the Priesthood and Saints, to the exclusion of every principle or practice incompatible with their profession, from all the fourteen Conferences over which I have the honourable watchcare; a disposition to honour their religion before the world, by living its precepts, and to disseminate it by tracting and testifying from house to house, never has appeared more prominent than at the present time, nor have I ever been more flattered with the prospects of the Church than I am with its present condition.
A laudable exertion is being made by the Conferences severally, especially during the summer season, to extend their confines, to overspread the country by out-door preaching, and by sending out a promising number of spirited young officers to testify to and warn the people in new and evacuated places, of which we have a few yet remaining. An incrase of confidence in the Holy Priesthood, so characteristic of the pure in heart, and so essential to salvation, is manifested in the promptness of their response to every counsel, and in the renewed interest they evince in seeing it not only preached but practised also. In brief, the manifest improvement I perceive in the condition of the Church in general, is a continual source of indescribable joy to me, forming new themes of praise to Him who alone is able to accomplish it, and presenting additional incentives to ever prayerfully contribute my mite in behalf of all its interests.
In reference to the circumstances of this part of our Great Father's vineyard, although it is as devoid of "gold diggings" as any other barren corner thereof, yet the elaborate dissertations on this, of late, all-absorbing essential that have echoed and re-echoed in the ears of all, the out-pourings of heaven's and earth's blessings upon the liberal-minded, and covering the serf who loves his gold more than the kingdom of our God with a mildew and poverty, all has served to make the poor Saints feel rich and liberal, and to delight in paying all dues to their God. One instance at issue, which occurred yesterday in Conference, proves the point--in response to a call to liquidate the debts of this Conference, upwards of sixty pounds was either cashed down in meeting, or subscribed to be paid in a few weeks by volunteers. A similar feeling is being awakened more generally of late than hitherto, and the consequent rewards for liberality keep pace with their strides.
A more lively interest is evinced in behalf of the P. E. Fund, and this praiseworthy auxiliary to the gathering of the poor Saints homeward will entertain more of the confidence, and hence of the liberality, of the Welsh Saints than hitherto. . . . . I feel that a better day has dawned in this respect.
You will be pleased to learn that I have the pledges of the Presiding Elders generally, that the sums allotted them to pay towards building the Temple of the Lord in Zion will be forthcoming in due time--pledges their sense of honour will not allow to be dishonoured, I trust.
In the book department appertaining to both Offices, quite a reformation has been going on progressively for a few months past, but none too soon; causing every Sub-agent, or the Branch for him, to clear up all dues, except the stock on hand, every quarter; to collect every individual debt, and make collection for the amount, if any in default. I also require every General Agent to furnish me with a Balance Sheet in full, quarterly, a form for which I have published for each agent. This not only apprises me what their stock consists of, and whether auditors do their duty, but also the names of the Branches who become involved or otherwise, and will, I trust, induce all to adhere more closely to your "Instructions" given to this important department, and prevent defalcations. A general awakening is taking place on this subject--days' works, lectures, "soirees," &c., are on foot in order to liquidate old debts, rusty for years past, and almost forgotten.
In reference to the present prospects for the future success of the Gospel among the worldly part of the community, the alarm of priests and editors, as well as the hue-and-cry of the numerous emisaries of our great enemy; the increasing audiences the Elders obtain generally, and the lively interest which the public manifest in all the all-absorsbing topic of "Mormonism," more than intimate that it is neither dead nor dying; rumours of wars, plagues, famines, earthquakes, murders, rapes, starvings, and the haggish train of modern "Christianity," variegated by the beautiful delineations of "Mormon monstrosities," "cruelties," "horribles," "Mormonism exploded," "Mormon polygamy," "Divorced wives' exposures," and a thousand-and-one other sweet-scented nosegays, may divert their attention a while, but, like "Jonah's gourd," they fade and perish, and, when the Spirit of truth, like a breeze from Paradise, blows away their stench, "Mormonism"--the same impregnable and ever-living theme, still haunts them closer than before; every contrast presented subserves to approximate the belligerents, so that hundreds, if not thousands, now stand aghast on the brink, with nothing apparently withholding but shame that they have been so long scared by the baseless but-bears of their clerical hob-goblin-story-tellers. The fact that all these things are in literal fulfilment of ancient and modern prophecies is rapidly gaining publicity among the reflecting
public, and the existing feeling flatters us to expect that a host is coming--at the door.
May the Great God who owns this marvellous work, and with whom alone rests the power to propel it onward, grant us the prosperity to save the souls of our fellow-beings into His kingdom, which our hearts desire, give us wisdom to govern, influence to save, and power to "overcome" Babylon and everything Babylonish, to build up Zion, if needs be, on the ruins of even a world, and to crown Him whose right it is to reign King of kings over all His dominion speedily, is the heart's desire of your humble servant and fellow-labourer in the Gospel,
D. JONES.
