Arts and Humanities Commons^™

What Her Missionary Son’S Letter Didn’T Say, Darlene Young

BYU Studies Quarterly

Rain hangs in the air. Even my underwear feels wet.

I listen to the tapping fingertips of the bodies of bugs hitting netting at night. Gray water. Bare floors.

Aguas Vivas, Thea Jo Buell

BYU Studies Quarterly

"So, was there anything you just couldn’t find there?” I asked the newly returned missionary. He had been home from Guatemala for a few months, and I would be leaving for the same country soon.

He looked puzzled at my question and thought for several seconds before answering. “Balloons,” he said.

Lost Sheep, Lost Coins, And Lost Meanings, Jenny Rebecca Rytting

BYU Studies Quarterly

Three of the best known and most loved of Jesus’s parables occur together in the fifteenth chapter of Luke as a response to the Pharisees’ disapproval of Jesus’s association with sinners: the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin (also known as the lost drachma or lost groat), and the lost (or prodigal) son. In the teaching and preaching traditions of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, these parables (especially the first two) have primarily been interpreted as a call for missionary work, particularly reactivation. For example, President David O. McKay suggested that the three parables represent …

A Missionary's Story: The Letters And Journals Of Adolf Haag, Mormon Missionary To Switzerland And Palestine, 1892, Bridget Edwards

BYU Studies Quarterly

Larry W. Draper and Kent P. Jackson, eds., A Missionary’s Story: The Letters and Journals of Adolf Haag, Mormon Missionary to Switzerland and Palestine, 1892 (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University, 2015)

Latter-Day Saint Missionaries Encounter The London Missionary Society In The South Pacific, 1844–1852, Fred E. Woods

BYU Studies Quarterly

In fall 1843, four Latter-day Saints were called as the first missionaries to the South Pacific. One, Knowlton Hanks, died on the voyage. In May 1844, Addison Pratt began proselytizing on the island of Tubuai, 350 miles south of Tahiti. Benjamin Grouard and Noah Rogers went on to Tahiti, but after a few months they were forced to leave by the French colonizers and went to other islands. Rogers returned to the US in 1845, but Pratt and Grouard remained. On these various islands they encountered missionaries of the London Missionary Society, who had already been preaching in the South …

Tiki And Temple: The Mormon Mission In New Zealand, 1854–1958, A. Keith Thompson, Marjorie Newton

BYU Studies Quarterly

Writing Church history is an art form that has developed significantly in the last twenty years. Historical facts recited without reference to the spirit of revelation that guides the work of God in the last days can be spiritually sterile. However, a fearful focus on how certain materials might affect the faith of readers can damage the color and texture of any historiographical account. Often, the personal failings of the players in LDS religious history serve to underscore the Lord's hand in his work--as readers infer that it could not have worked out as it did but for divine influence. …

Two Early Missionaries In Hawaii: Mercy Partridge Whitney And Edward Partridge Jr., Scott H. Partridge

BYU Studies Quarterly

When Edward Partridge (1793–1840) converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1830, it caused a terrible rift in his fam- ily: his sister Emily said that she wanted nothing to do with him as long as he held such ideas, and his parents began to question his sanity. Edward had eleven siblings, including his sister Mercy (1795–1872). Mercy was prominent in the Congregational Church and in 1819 went to Hawaii as a missionary and remained there the rest of her life. Edward was called as the first LDS bishop1 soon after his conversion and was faithful …

The Lds Church In Italy: The 1966 Rededication By Elder Ezra Taft Benson, James A. Toronto, Richard N. Holzapfel

BYU Studies Quarterly

Since the early years of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Italy has attracted the attention of Church leaders as a proselyting field. It is the practice of Church leaders to dedicate a land to the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and this article briefly describes the 1850 dedication of Italy by Apostle Lorenzo Snow, followed by a report of a second dedication in 1966 by another Apostle, Ezra Taft Benson. Elder Benson, as president of the European Mission, was warmly welcomed in Italy because of his prior work as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, when he …

Early Mormon Missionary Activities In Japan, 1901–1924, Reid L. Neilson, R. Lanier Britsch

BYU Studies Quarterly

Reid L. Neilson, PhD, the managing director of the Church History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is well known among LDS Asian and Pacific scholars as a gifted and productive editor and bibliographer. His research and writing on the history of the Church in Japan is informative, enlightening, and enriching. Although the topic of missionary work in Japan has been written about by other authors, Neilson's book adds much to what has already been written.

In Early Mormon Missionary Activities in Japan, 1901-1924, Neilson has created one of the few LDS books dealing with Mormon …

The Introduction Of Mormonism To Finnish Society, 1840–1900, Kim Östman, Melvin J. Luthy

BYU Studies Quarterly

If one were to ask a returned missionary from Finland, or even a member of the Church in Finland, when missionary work began in that country, a likely response would be that it began in 1946, when Elder Ezra Taft Benson dedicated the land for missionary work. The date is well known, and a small monument commemorating the event has been erected in Larsmo, a small town on Finland's northwestern shore. Although many consider missionaries who served in the years immediately following the dedication to be the first missionaries in Finland, there is a general understanding that some members in …

The Record Of The Twelve, 1835: The Quorum Of The Twelve Apostles' Call And 1835 Mission, Ronal K. Esplin, Sharon E. Nielsen

BYU Studies Quarterly

In 2011, the Joseph Smith Papers Project of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints made public a document created in 1835 by Orson Hyde and William E. McLellin. That document is presented in its entirety here with an introduction and editorial notes. Ronald Esplin and Sharon Nielsen, members of the editorial team of the Joseph Smith Papers, give historical context of the document: in 1835, twelve men were called as the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Joseph Smith instructed the quorum to keep a record of their meetings and actions; the document presented in this article is that …

Thomas Farrar Whitley's Mission Photos Of Tonga, 1935–1938, Colleen Whitley

BYU Studies Quarterly

Thomas Farrar Whitley served an LDS Church mission to Tonga in the late 1930s and documented his experiences there through journaling, correspondence, and photography. The author shares photographs and quotes from Whitley's journal, capturing the Tongan way of life in the 1930s. The article documents the small group of faithful Latter-day Saints and missionaries who established a foothold for the faltering Church in Tonga and created a foundation upon which today's thriving Tongan LDS population could build.

The Patterns Of Missionary Work And Emigration In Early Victorian Buckinghamshire, England, 1849–1878, Ronald E. Bartholomew

BYU Studies Quarterly

Latter-day Saint missionaries from America began proselyting in Buckinhamshire, England, in the 1840s and established the first branches of the Church here in 1849, but they did not experience the same dramatic successes their colleagues encountered in other regions of the British Isles.

The Errand Of Angels. Directed By Christian Vuissa, Dennis R. Cutchins

BYU Studies Quarterly

The Errand of Angels. Directed by Christian Vuissa Excel Entertainment and Mirror Films (2008)

A Witness In England: Martin Harris And The Strangite Mission, Robin Scott Jensen

BYU Studies Quarterly

Throughout his long life, Martin Harris (fig. 1) consistently testified that he knew Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon from golden plates. At first affiliated with Joseph Smith and the main body of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for a time Harris associated with a schism led by James J. Strang. He served a mission in England in 1846 for the Strangites, but he claimed to the end of his life that he had never preached against Mormonism or against the Book of Mormon. Indeed, he was a powerful witness of the Book of Mormon during …

London Missionaries And The Great Exhibition Of 1851, Peter J. Vousden

BYU Studies Quarterly

The history of the world records no event comparable, in its promotion of human industry, with that of the Great Exhibition.” So claimed Henry Cole, the English civil servant who bore much of the responsibility for organizing the “Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations,” to give it its full title, in London in 1851. Cole’s claim should not be dismissed as mere hyperbole, for the Great Exhibition was on a scale hitherto unknown, and social historians invariably point to the exhibition as the preeminent symbol of Britain’s economic dominance during the industrial revolution of the nineteenth …

A Long-Awaited Visit: President Heber J. Grant In Switzerland And Germany, 1937, Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, Marc Alain Bohn

BYU Studies Quarterly

In 1937, just two years before Hitler invaded Poland, President Heber J. Grant made a memorable journey from Salt Lake City to Europe (fig. 1). President Grant had served as president of the European and British Missions from 1903 to 1906 and was now returning to Europe as prophet of the Church. He was the second Church president to visit Europe while serving in that capacity. His predecessor, Joseph F. Smith, visited Europe in 1906 and again in 1910.

“Nothing Less Than Miraculous” The First Decade Of Mormonism In Mongolia, Steven C. Harper

BYU Studies Quarterly

The Latter-day Saints' assumption of Christ's great commission—the command to teach and baptize all nations—can hardly be overstated as a motivational force for sending missionaries to far-away places to testify of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. An 1831 revelation authorized and empowered Joseph Smith to send missionaries "unto the ends of the world" and "to lay the foundation of this church, and to bring it forth out of obscurity" (D&C 1:23, 30). What better manifestation could be found of the power of these words than the events of the first decade of Mormonism in Mongolia, perhaps the most obscure …

The Cultural Impact Of Mormon Missionaries On Taiwan, Richard B. Stamps

BYU Studies Quarterly

I grew up in a multi-ethnic neighborhood in the San Francisco Bay Area, so from a very early age I was aware of China and things Chinese. In 1961 at Modesto Junior College, I met two international students from Hong Kong and was fascinated by their culture. When I heard a young man from our stake speak about his mission in Hong Kong, I said to myself, "That's where I would like to go!" When I applied for a mission, I was interviewed by a General Authority, who asked, "Would you be willing to serve overseas and learn a foreign …

The English Editor And The “Mormon Scare” Of 1911, Peter J. Vousden

BYU Studies Quarterly

In 1911 the Latter-day Saints in Great Britain found themselves, to an unprecedented degree, the focus of often intense public and official attention. Extravagant allegations were made against the Church and the missionaries in the national press, and questions were asked on the floor of the House of commons. Winston Churchill, the Home Secretary, conducted an official inquiry into the activities of the Church. Although he concluded that the accusations were of no substance and that no action by the government was required, the matter did not end there; the popular press continued to publish fanciful accounts of Mormon elders …

Brothers Across Enemy Lines: A Mission President And A German Soldier Correspond During World War I, Jeffery L. Anderson

BYU Studies Quarterly

The First World War destroyed millions of lives and billions of dollars' worth of property. In peacetime, each death is a tragedy, while in war the deaths of millions become a statistic. One of the lives lost among the statistics is that of Wilhelm Kessler (fig. 1), a German citizen and Latter-day Saint who cut short his mission to enlist in the German army. His correspondence with his mission president, Hyrum W. Valentine, reflects both his patriotism and his love for the gospel and the Saints. Valentine's letters in return express his love for this young man, a love that …

The Evacuation Of The Czechoslovak And German Missions At The Outbreak Of World War Ii, David F. Boone

BYU Studies Quarterly

The evacuation of Latter-day Saint missionaries from Europe at the outbreak of World War II was truly a unique event in Church history. At the beginning of World War I, a few American missionaries serving in Europe were moved to areas of safety, but until 1939 there had never been a large-scale evacuation of missionaries as a result of their being endangered by impending war (fig. 1). As the threat of war gathered over Europe in the late 1930s, Latter-day Saint Church leaders in Salt Lake City watched anxiously. In August 1939, there were missionaries laboring in Great Britain, Germany, …

“Sweeping Everything Before It”: Early Mormonism In The Pine Barrens Of New Jersey, Stephen J. Fleming

BYU Studies Quarterly

In the summer of 1838, Elder Benjamin Winchester (fig. 1) ventured into Monmouth County, New Jersey, to preach to gospel. Winchester was the first Mormon missionary to make it into the Pine Barrens, an area so named because of its sandy, unproductive land. Soon "the news went abroad, that a Mormon preacher had made his appearance in the land." Winchester wrote, "As to [Mormon] principles, and rules of faith, the people knew nothing, except by reports... [and] the people flocked out, in crowds to hear, yet at this time, more out of curiosity than any thing else." Once Winchester began …

Mormons In The Press: Reactions To The 1901 Opening Of The Japan Mission, Shinji Takagi

BYU Studies Quarterly

During the first month when a Mormon Apostle and three missionaries arrived to begin proselytizing work in Japan, the local and national press published at least 160 articles on Mormonism, many of the articles appearing on the front page. The media attention was unprecedented for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in that country. Here the author explores the reaction from the Japanese press toward Mormons, the social and historical context that led to such interest, and some of the media controversies that arose. The author concludes that one of the biggest reasons Mormons received such attention when …

Alma O. Taylor's Fact-Finding Mission To China, Reid L. Neilson

BYU Studies Quarterly

In 1909, after serving as a mission president in Japan for eight years, native Utah Mormon Alma O. Taylor visited China as directed by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to determine if Mormon missionaries should be sent there. Taylor did not speak Chinese, so he drew his conclusions by speaking to native English speakers living in China, often Protestant missionaries. Excerpts of Taylor's original report are published here, revealing some of the prejudices and perspectives Westerners had regarding China in the early 1900s. The author also supplies historical information about Mormon missionary work in Japan …

Tomizo And Tokujiro: The First Japanese Mormons, Shinji Takagi

BYU Studies Quarterly

In August 1901, Heber J. Grant and his companions arrived in Japan to open the first permanent mission in Asia and begin their difficult proselyting labors among the Japanese. It took them almost seven long months to claim the first fruit of their labors. On March 8, 1902, on the shore of Omori in Tokyo Bay, Hajime Nakazawa, a professed Shinto priest, was baptized, confirmed, and ordained an elder. This event was symbolic indeed. For one thing, Nakazawa was presumably affiliated with a religious sect whose roots went back to the ancient indigenous religion of Japan. For another, more interestingly, …

Fire On Ice: The Conversion And Life Of Guðmundur Guðmundsson, Fred E. Woods

BYU Studies Quarterly

In A.D. 1000, the Icelandic Parliament held their annual two-week summer session in Parliament's Field, a remote area of southwest Iceland where they had convened each year since A.D. 930. In this lush plain, where lava cliffs bear witness of fire meeting ice, Christianity was adopted as the official religion of the entire Icelandic nation. The year 2000 marks the millennial anniversary of this event. It is also a year of reflection for Latter-day Saints, as the first LDS chapel in Iceland will be dedicated in the summer of 2000.

What E'Er Thou Art, Act Well Thy Part: The Missionary Diaries Of David O. Mckay Stan Larson And Patricia Larson, Mary Jane Woodger

BYU Studies Quarterly

Stan Larson and Patricia Larson. What E'er Thou Art, Act Well Thy Part: The Missionary Diaries of David O. McKay. Salt Lake City: Blue Ribbon Books, 1999. xlviii; 268 pp. Illustrations, introduction, essays, notes, glossary, index, bibliography. $24.95.

Hoping To Establish A Presence: Parley P. Pratt's 1851 Mission To Chile, A. Delbert Palmer, Mark L. Grover

BYU Studies Quarterly

The sacrament meeting in Santiago, Chile, was similar to most meetings held in July 1998 in LDS chapels throughout the world with one notable exception—not only the chapel was filled, but also the cultural hall, and people were standing around the edges of the seats. The ward obviously needed to be divided; however, five wards, equal in size, were already meeting in that same building. The Church simply could not build chapels fast enough to house its rapidly growing membership in Chile, one of the fastest growing LDS populations in the world. In fact, in 1999 one in every thirty-two …

Moses Thatcher And Mormon Beginnings In Mexico, Kenneth W. Godfrey

BYU Studies Quarterly

Moses Thatcher, Apostle and first president of the Mexican Mission, carried on an informative correspondence with his family during his mission and, after his release, continued to write to his successors, offering encouragement and advice.