With nothing like a Missionary Training Center in the 19th century, Latter-day Saint missionaries went out into the world with few practical instructions on reaching the people. They were to be a voice of warning, they were to baptize, they were to declare repentance unto this people … but what did that mean in terms of day-to-day activities?
By the end of the 19th century some general traditional norms had been established – in the Southern States Mission, for instance, the elders were commonly urged by their leaders to travel without purse or scrip: Elders should not carry money with them, but should rely on the people among whom they traveled to furnish them with meals, beds, laundry services, new clothing, even the stamps for their letters. That wasn’t an absolute requirement – elders who had the faith to so travel were praised in the mission literature, but there are indications that many elders still carried a little cash with them, or used the cash received from sales of their tracts and books – which they had themselves purchased – to sustain them while they worked.
In 1895, Elias S. Kimball succeeded J. Golden Kimball as president of the Southern States Mission. As he met the elders in conferences held around the mission, he introduced some new procedures that the elders mention frequently in their letters home. Elders were urged ever more strongly to travel without money. They were to strictly obey the Word of Wisdom. And when they entered new communities, they were to preach – preach – preach. First choice for places to preach were church buildings borrowed from other churches. If those were denied to them, they should try to preach in schoolhouses. Moving down the scale of desirability were courthouses, public halls, private homes, and, if all else failed, on street corners.
None of that was new. What was new was formal instruction on what all elders should do when they entered any new community: As frightening as it might be for new elders – as tempted as they might be to move quietly among the people and avoid attention from officials who might cause them difficulties – President Kimball advised his elders to go boldly to the most prominent men in town. That included the mayor or city council or sheriff to ask for formal permission to canvass the town. Permission might be denied, but they should try. Elders should also approach school trustees for permission to use the school buildings, ministers of churches seeking to borrow their buildings, and newspaper editors, introducing themselves and making their mission known. And they were to subscribe for local newspapers, even if it was only for the few weeks they expected to be in the neighborhood.
Look at the sorts of newspaper paragraphs that were common in Louisiana, as one example, when elders did not follow the advice to approach editors directly. (All examples in this post come from Louisiana, 1897.)
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Now it’s certainly possible that in some cases the elders referred to in those clips did follow instructions and visit the newspaper office, subscribing for the local paper. There are no hints that they did so, however.
Look at the difference in news coverage where the clips do suggest that the elders visited the newspaper offices: Cardboard stereotypes are replaced with a sense that the elders were real men, individual men. Their names are given, as, often, are their hometowns. News of their conferences, friendly notice of their movements, appear. There is a warmth, or at least a tolerance, for the elders that is absent from the first clips posted.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Maybe all that good will was real, or maybe there was a little self-interest there – certainly the editors realized that the elders were deliberately trying to win friends:
.
.
Still, cynicism aside, sometimes the elders were so successful in making friends of editors that besides what was becoming common as a friendly notice, they also succeeded in having statements of Mormon belief published in the same papers. (These three clips are all from the same newspaper.).
.
. 
.
Apologies for the overlong post, but I can’t close without including this letter from two missionaries narrating their movements in Baton Rouge in the summer of 1897. One elder is conference president Joseph A. Cornwall; the other is an as-yet-unidentified elder (there were a handful of Elders Wood in the Southern States Mission that year, and I haven’t yet found anything to specify Elder Cornwall’s traveling companion). [Edit: 10 a.m.: Coincidentally, I just read another letter from this same time and place, and find that President Cornwall’s traveling companion was John Wood of Morgan County, Utah.] Also, the Baton Rouge papers are not available to me for searching so the articles mentioned are not part of this post.
Elders Wood and Cornwall:
At your [Elias S. Kimball’s] request we feel to write you of our success while in the city of Baton Rouge.
I suppose it is well known to the Elders of this state the difficulties that we had to meet. We were forbidden by the mayor to canvass the city or distribute our literature until we should pay the license of $5.00. This of course we could not do nor did we think that the servants of he Lord should be required to pay for distributing our pamphlets or preaching the Gospel of Christ.
We now concluded to read over carefully the instructions given in regard to work in cities; having done this we proceeded to carry them out to the very letter. We called upon the editors, first the Truth, a daily paper, then the Advocate.
To show the splendid effects of strictly obeying counsel, we feel to relate the following circumstance: We had been given fifty cents by a friend of ours the day before, so we had money with us. After we had finished our conversation with the editor of the Advocate, we subscribed for his paper for two weeks, thinking possibly that this would be the length of our stay in the city. He informed us that it would be 30 cents for the two weeks. Leaving the office, we went out as Paul of old for a secret place in which to lay this matter and what we had done before the Lord. We did so, and when our prayers were over, the Spirit prompted us, that we had made a mistake in not paying for the paper with the money we already had, and thus avoid the chances of running the Lord into debt. We at once heeded the promptings and retraced our steps to the office and paid for the Advocate.
We now proceeded to the office of the Truth and subscribed for that paper for two weeks. This paper was to be 20 cents. We had no sooner paid our money and got the receipt, than the editor of the Truth stepped up and asked us who we were and where we were from. We informed him, and told him we had just subscribed for his paper; whereupon he refunded to us the money we had paid for his paper and the 30 cents we had paid for the Advocate, saying as he did so, “Now you are back where you started from.”
We had given heed to the promptings of the Spirit of the Lord and had been liberally rewarded. This was a great testimony to us; nor was this the only testimony we had while in the city. Thus far we had obeyed counsel and had clearly seen the results. The papers published very pleasing articles about us, which gave us a very favorable position in the city.
Our next labor was to gain favor in the eyes of the city officers, who at this time were very much opposed to us. We had already been three or four times to them, but the result was very unfavorable; so we determined to lay the matter before the Lord, with fasting and prayer. Yes, several times we fasted for thirty-six hours, besides the regular Sunday fasts, and laid the matter in earnest prayer before the Lord. After each fast we went to see the city officers, till we had gone seven times, and we lingered for over twenty days before the city. In the meantime we were not idle, but walked quietly about the city holding gospel conversations and making friends wherever an opportunity afforded itself. The seventh time we went, changed men stood before us and we were received with as much kindness as anyone could expect. Our feeling cannot be described when we made the seventh application and the mayor kindly told us to go to and quietly canvass the city, and everything would be all right. Was this a testimony? We say yes, and that the Lord had worked upon their hearts and had “given the increase.”
A long story must now be made a short one. The Lord had delivered the city into our hands and we were to do our part. Our faith was greatly tested while we were canvassing this capital city. From windows, doors and carriages we were pointed out. “There go the Mormons,” could be heard from all sides. We quietly went about our business, however, canvassed the city, made friends of the officers, and though we were denied all public buildings, the churches, and the privilege of speaking on the streets, still we held fifteen meetings, and sounded the Gospel in the ears of some of the sleepy people of Baton Rouge.
We gained a testimony that we can proclaim to the world as well as to our brethren that God lives and that he will listen to and answer the prayers of those elders who are living up to their duties.
We left the city a few days after being there over forty days and making many good friends. We were never without a comfortable bed to rest upon, plenty of food and money for our stamps and paper. When Elder Wood was sick with the chills a doctor was sent to him and the medicine that was used was paid for by friends whom we made.
Closing, we feel to say, hope on, dear brethren, for all is well if we will but do our duty.
WOOD and CORNWALL
What interesting insights into missionary life, ca. 1897.
Thank you for sharing this. It really shows what I think you set out to show — the blessings received when we follow the counsel of our leaders.
Thanks, Gary — I’d been looking at all sorts of mentions of Mormon elders in the newspapers, and something clicked when I started reading missionary letters referring to President Kimball’s new policies.
There’s no doubt some of the Elders recognized that, Bruce. There aren’t too many times when you can see the effects of following counsel quite so starkly.
This was a fascinating way to start my morning. Such a contrast! I had to smile at the editor who remarked that the missionaries “seem to know a good newspaper, even if they are a little odd in their faith.”
Thanks Ardis. I was completely unaware of this dynamic, even if it does make entire sense (that happens often to me).
The transition of missionary work from primarily public preaching to primarily small-group discussions is reflected in today’s sacrament talks.
I suppose very few of the Elders began their preaching with “When Pres. Kimball asked me to come to this city and preach repentance, I wanted to decline, but I came anyway. Webster’s dictionary defines repentance as…”
The church was still small and struggling when my husband grew up in Baton Rouge in the 60’s and 70’s. They drove half an hour to get to church, and they had to drive to New Orleans for stake conference. The nearest temple was in Mesa Arizona until the completion of the Washington, DC temple, which was slightly closer.
My husband went back to Baton Rouge for the first time in many years a couple of summers ago. There is now a temple in his old neighborhood. Some very old roots are blossoming.
Thank you for the long post! This is gold. The lesson about following counsel is very valuable, but even without the lesson, those newspaper clippings are fascinating. Thank you!
What an amazing piece of historical detective work and connecting the dots! This is fascinating.
I appreciate the enthusiastic (funny, thoughtful) response to this post. Sometimes the pieces just click into place and you realize that what you thought was unrelated actually fits together into one story.
If you enjoy seeing the images of the clippings, then you understand why I am sometimes giddy with pleasure when I sift through original records. Transcriptions are handy and searchable, but can’t quite capture the magic of the real thing.
At least one of the articles appears to be from Mississippi rather than Louisiana. It Refers to counties rather than parishes and Jackson as the capitol.
Yeah — but it was reprinted in a Louisiana paper (the Semi-Weekly Times-Democrat, New Orleans), so I included it as something selected by a Louisiana editor and given to Louisiana readers. Good eye, Eric.
There is a night and day difference in those clippings. From suggesting they should be tarred and feathered to stating that the “Mormans” shouldn’t be persecuted “especially after polygamy ceased to be one of the rules of the church.” Religious tolerance indeed.
I quite like the last clipping – it seems the Elders used the articles of faith heavily, and the discussion of what their relation to other churches reminds me of President Hinckley’s teachings.