,my ,first ,mission ,the ,first ,book of the ,faith-,promoting ,series ,by ,george ,q4 ,cannon ,designed for the ,instruction and ,encouragement of ,young ,latter-day ,saints4 ,second ,edition ,juvenile ,instructor ,office1 ,salt ,lake ,city1 #ahhb ,my ,first ,mission entered1 according to act of ,congress1 in the year #ahgi1 by ,geo4 ,q4 ,cannon1 in the ,office of the ,librarian of ,congress1 at ,washington4 ,electronic edition produced by the ,mormon ,texts ,project4 ,volunteers who helped with this book3 ,meridith ,crowder1 ,ben ,crowder1 ,tod ,robbins1 ,matt ,barron4 ,version #a4j ,preface to the ,first ,edition ,the first chapter of this little work ,i wrote as a sketch for the perusal of the youthful readers of the ,juvenile ,instructor4 ,it was written hastily--as were those which followed it--and without any author's name1 or any intention1 at the time1 of adding any more to it4 ,afterwards1 ,i concluded to write a series of missionary sketches2 but when these were written ,i did not have any intention of publishing them in their present form4 ,they were penned in a plain1 familiar and personal style1 for the purpose of securing the interest of young people4 ,when a youth1 it was my good fortune to live in the family of ,president ,john ,taylor4 ,it was my chief delight in those days1 to listen to him and other ,elders relate their experience as missionaries4 ,such conversations were very fascinating to me4 ,they made a deep impression upon me4 ,the days of which they spoke1 were the days of poverty1 when ,elders traveled without purse and scrip1 among strange people who were ignorant of our principles1 and too many of whom were ready to mob and persecute4 ,they traveled by faith1 and were pioneers for the ,lord in strange lands1 and ,he was their only reliance4 ,their missions were rich in instances of ,his power exhibited in their behalf4 ,what ,i heard strengthened my faith and increased the desire in my heart to be a missionary4 ,no calling was so noble in my eyes as that of a standard-bearer of the gospel4 ,the thought which prompts me to publish ,my ,first ,mission is that perhaps it may have the effect upon some of the youth of ,zion that the recitals of faithful ,elders had upon me4 ,i hope that this will soon be followed by other little volumes of this1 the ,faith-,promoting ,series4 ,i have thought that the missionary spirit did not burn as brightly in some of our young men as it should--that they did not understand the value of human souls in the sight of the ,lord and the precious rewards which ,he bestows upon those who seek1 in the proper way1 to save them4 ,and yet there never was greater need of faithful men as missionaries than there is to-day4 ,the field is white already to harvest1 and there is no limit in the field to the opportunities of those who desire to labor4 ,if this little work shall have the effect to awaken and strengthen the missionary spirit1 if the remembrance of its incidents1 shall comfort the hearts and promote the faith of any when they go upon missions1 the utmost desire will be gratified of ,the ,author ,september #ahgi ,preface to the ,second ,edition ,two-and-a-half years have elapsed since the first edition of ,my ,first ,mission was published4 ,it was the first work of the kind issued1 and the success of the venture1 financially1 was by no means certain at that time4 ,it is not too much to say now1 that our most sanguine expectations in commencing the publication of the ,faith-,promoting ,series have been more than realized4 ,my ,first ,mission soon became popular2 the #f1jjj copies of the first edition are all disposed of1 and there is a demand for more4 ,four other volumes of the same series have also been issued1 and received with equal favor2 indeed1 it seems that each volume issued creates a taste for another4 ,we expect very soon to issue the sixth volume of the series and that will be followed by others as fast as our circumstances will permit4 ,the good that has already been accomplished by these books1 if we may accept the numerous testimonies we are constantly receiving1 cannot be estimated2 and yet we feel that the work in this direction has only just commenced4 ,that it may continue until such works will abound in the midst of the ,saints1 and until the youth will be influenced by them to live lives of purity and perform deeds of righteousness1 is the earnest desire of ,the ,publisher ,march #ahhb ,table of ,contents ,chapter #a ,timidity ,when ,attempting to ,speak in ,public--,determination to ,persevere1 ,relying ,upon ,god--,assuring ,manifestation of the ,presence of the ,spirit of ,god ,chapter #b ,from ,san ,francisco to ,honolulu--,storm and ,sea-sickness ,chapter #c ,honolulu1 ,its ,location and ,harbor--,prayer to the ,almighty--,the ,elders ,separate1 and ,commence ,labor on the ,four ,principal ,islands ,chapter #d ,our ,house on ,maui--,interviews ,with the ,consul and ,governor--,our ,first ,public ,preaching--,we ,determine to ,learn the ,language and ,proclaim the ,gospel to the ,natives ,chapter #e ,kindness of ,na-,lima-,nui--,to ,honolulu--,some of the ,elders ,decide to ,return ,home ,chapter #f ,i ,return to ,maui--,we ,are ,visited by the ,president of the ,mission1 ,who ,determines to ,go to the ,marqueses ,islands--,are ,not ,led to ,go ,with ,him--,poi1 ,its ,preparation and ,peculiarities ,chapter #g ,start on a ,tour ,around the ,island--,arrive at ,wailuku--,in a ,remarkable ,manner ,become ,acquainted ,with ,j4 ,h4 ,napela ,chapter #h ,a ,missionary's ,craft in ,danger--,he ,preaches ,against ,us and ,our ,doctrines1 and ,abuses ,our ,friends--,his ,remarks1 ,however1 ,are ,overruled for ,our ,good--,the ,lord's ,promise ,fulfilled--,i ,go to ,kula ,chapter #i ,another ,attack from a ,missionary--,courage in ,defending the ,truth ,always ,admired--,poverty of the ,people ,chapter #aj ,successful ,meetings--,our ,principles ,receiving ,great ,notice--,elder ,keeler and ,myself ,go to ,keanae and ,have ,remarkable ,success in ,adding ,members to the ,church ,chapter #aa ,arrival of ,new ,elders--,the ,adversary ,busy ,among ,our ,newly ,converted ,friends--,a ,fishing ,scene ,chapter #ab ,interview ,with the ,dignitaries of the ,kingdom--,return to ,napela's ,house at ,wailuku--,hundreds of ,people ,baptized--,elders ,become ,famous ,all ,over the ,group--,a ,remarkable ,peculiarity ,chapter #ac ,missionaries from ,home--,good ,results of ,their ,presence and ,labors--,voyage in the ,canoe of the ,islanders--,tradition of the ,natives--,a ,visit to the ,volcano ,chapter #ad ,a ,hawaiian ,feast--,amusing ,joke ,played ,upon ,white ,men ,chapter #ae ,answers to ,prayer1 and the ,bestowal of the ,gifts upon the ,elders and ,people--,elders ,sent to ,teach ,not to ,be ,taught--,blessings ,will ,rest ,upon ,those ,who ,labor ,among the ,red ,men for ,their ,salvation ,chapter #af ,consolation ,drawn from the ,book of ,mormon--,its ,translation into the ,hawaiian ,language--,great ,joy in the ,labor--,a ,committee to ,raise ,funds to ,purchase a ,press1 ,type1 etc4--,press1 etc41 ,ordered1 and ,then ,sent to ,california--,the ,book of ,mormon ,printed--,the ,first ,translation into the ,language of a ,nation of ,red ,men--,kindred ,languages ,spoken ,through the ,polynesian ,islands--,the ,western ,standard ,chapter #ag ,time of ,departure--,funds ,provided--,sorrow at ,separating--,contrast ,between ,our ,landing and ,our ,departure--,souls for ,our ,hire--,an ,exceedingly ,happy ,mission ,chapter #a ,timidity ,when ,attempting to ,speak in ,public--,determination to ,persevere1 ,relying ,upon ,god--,assuring ,manifestation of the ,presence of the ,spirit of ,god ,the writer will probably never forget his first attempts at speaking in public4 ,while yet a youth he was ordained one of the ,seventy ,elders4 ,the quorum of which he became a member was organized the day he was ordained1 and he was chosen to be its clerk4 ,at the meetings of the quorum it was the custom of those of the ,presidents who were present to make a few remarks1 and then the members were called upon to speak4 ,on such occasions he would get so nervous that he would have to stop writing some time before it came his turn to speak2 and then1 when he did get up1 he scarcely knew what he said1 his fright was so great4 ,he constantly suffered from this feeling of fear whenever he attempted to speak at quorum meetings1 or testimony meetings1 and in fact1 for some time after starting on a preaching mission4 ,there was one resolve that he made in the beginning1 which he always kept1 and which he desires to impress upon every boy and girl in ,zion4 ,he made up his mind that1 whenever called upon1 he would1 with the help of the ,lord1 always ask a blessing1 or pray1 or speak1 and not try to excuse himself4 ,no matter how many have been present1 nor how awkward and frightened he has felt1 he has always done what was requested of him4 ,but how many times he has seen young men and women decline to speak and to pray when called upon6 ,he has both pitied and felt ashamed for them4 ,such persons acquire a habit of balking1 and balky men and women are as bad in their places as balky horses are in theirs4 ,many persons think that because they are bashful1 and are not in the habit of asking a blessing or praying aloud that1 therefore1 they can excuse themselves when called upon to do so4 ,but right-feeling people admire boys and girls1 young men and young women1 who have the courage and good manners to comply with a request of this kind1 even if they should make awkward blunders1 far more than they would if they refused to do so4 ,what is called bashfulness is frequently nothing more than pride4 ,those who are troubled with it are generally anxious to appear to advantage2 they desire the approbation of their fellows2 and the fear that they will say or do something that will not come up to the standard1 oppresses them and makes them nervous4 ,the first time the writer was called upon to speak to a mixed congregation of ,saints and inquirers he was in the company of nine ,elders4 ,there were only two or three of them who had ever spoken in public2 but as he was the youngest of the party1 and felt that he was but a boy1 he thought they would all be called upon before him4 ,to his surprise1 however1 the ,elder who was presiding called first upon him4 ,true to his resolve1 he arose and commenced4 ,for two or three1 or probably five minutes1 he did pretty well4 ,then he got confused1 his ideas were in a jumble1 and he forgot all he ever knew4 ,if the bottom had dropped out of his memory1 it could not have been worse4 ,he sat down1 feeling a little ashamed2 but not discouraged4 ,he was on a mission1 and he was determined not to back down and fail4 ,but it is very mortifying to get up to speak and then break down4 ,after this1 he took a three weeks' voyage to the country to which he was appointed on a mission4 ,after landing1 he attended a public meeting of strangers who had never heard the gospel4 ,it was held in a ,seamen's ,bethel1 the minister having kindly offered it to the ,elders for their meeting4 ,one of the ,elders spoke on the first principles2 the writer followed him and bore testimony and made some other remarks4 ,he was much frightened and embarrassed2 but he spoke at greater length than he did before4 ,after this1 circumstances required him to go out among the people alone4 ,in that country1 where they had no bells to ring1 they called the people together by blowing a conch shell4 ,when skillfully blown1 one of these can be heard at a long distance4 ,as the hour approached for meeting1 it was customary to commence blowing the shell1 and then our young missionary would be seized with trembling4 ,the feeling of dread was terrible4 ,he had been in places of peril where life was in danger2 but he never felt as he did about preaching4 ,he was alone and a stranger1 and among a strange people4 ,but he would not shrink4 ,he knew that the gospel was true1 that he had the authority to preach it1 that the people had to be warned1 and1 therefore1 with all his fear1 he could not hold his tongue4 ,he felt like ,paul did when he said to the ,corinthians3 ,woe is unto me if ,i preach not the gospel4 ,about six weeks after he commenced his ministry alone two messengers arrived from a distant town to invite him to come there and preach4 ,they had heard about the doctrine he taught1 and the people he had baptized1 and they wanted to learn more about the principles4 ,he returned with the messengers4 ,a large meeting house was obtained in which to preach4 ,it was crowded1 for the people had never before had the privilege of hearing a sermon delivered by a ,latter-day ,saint4 ,you can imagine how he felt4 ,here was a people anxious to hear1 and yet how weak he was1 and how full of fear and trembling6 ,when he arose to give out the hymn the sound of his voice in that large building scared him4 ,then he prayed1 and afterwards gave out another hymn4 ,he had called mightily upon ,god for help4 ,when he commenced to speak the ,spirit of the ,lord rested upon him as it never had done before4 ,the people had faith1 and their hearts were prepared to receive the truth4 ,for upwards of an hour he spoke1 and he was so carried away in the ,spirit1 that he was like a man in a trance4 ,joy filled his heart and the hearts of the people4 ,they wept like children1 and that day was the beginning of a good work in that place4 ,i shall not attempt to describe to you the gladness that our young missionary felt4 ,he had been a slave2 but now he was free4 ,god had broken the bands of fear1 and he felt to glorify ,him for ,his goodness4 ,from that day to this he has never suffered from those dreadful feelings which oppressed him4 ,still1 there are but few public speakers1 especially in this ,church1 who do not have a nervous feeling when they first arise to speak2 and it is frequently the case that when they feel the most nervous they are enabled to speak with the greatest power4 ,they feel their own weakness1 and they seek unto ,god for help4 ,many of the readers of this may yet be sent on missions1 and a recollection of this sketch may help them to persevere4 ,never decline to ask a blessing1 to pray or to speak when called upon1 and ,god will help you to overcome all feelings of fear4 ,chapter #b ,from ,san ,francisco to ,honolulu--,storm and ,sea-sickness ,in early days in ,california everything was valued at a high price4 ,there were ten of us1 ,elders1 who wanted to get passage from ,san ,francisco to ,honolulu1 the principal town on the ,sandwich ,islands4 ,after trying for some days we succeeded in obtaining a passage between decks on the good ship ,imaum of ,muscat1 ,captain ,ritches1 commander4 ,we had to find our own bedding2 but the captain agreed to furnish us food1 which we were told was to be the same as they had in the cabin4 ,either this part of the contract was not fulfilled1 or they lived poorly in the cabin2 for our fare was not very inviting4 ,but we thought we were fortunate in not having to pay more than #dj in gold for the passage and these privileges4 ,i have seen places that were more comfortable than our quarters between decks4 ,i have been on the sea many times since1 and ,i believe1 if ,i had my choice1 ,i would take a trip as a cabin passenger on a ,cunard steamship in preference to a voyage on the ,imaum of ,muscat1 with its cabin fare and the privilege of sleeping in my own blankets4 ,the ,imaum was low between decks1 and then it was so dark there1 that for a few minutes after descending1 we could see nothing4 ,we had had some rough experience1 however1 since leaving our homes1 and we were not disposed to find fault with our ship or her accommodations4 ,for one week after embarking we lay in the bay of ,san ,francisco1 head winds preventing our sailing4 ,this was tiresome to us1 and did not suit the captain1 for he had to feed us1 at least a part of the time4 ,probably this week's delay helped him to conclude that cabin fare was too good for us4 ,as soon as the wind became at all favorable1 the pilot thought it best to get ready for sea1 and when the tide turned to go out1 about one o'clock in the afternoon1 we hoisted sail and started4 ,my recollections of passing out of the ,golden ,gate1 as the mouth of ,san ,francisco harbor is called1 are not very pleasant4 ,we had to beat out1 that is1 tack from side to side1 and the swell came in from the ocean in large1 heavy1 rolling waves4 ,on each side we could see a long line of breakers running seaward1 the foam looking in the distance like large banks of snow4 ,we had not passed through the ,gate when we began to be sea-sick4 ,those ocean swells will produce sea-sickness very quickly4 ,there was no place on deck to be sick without being in the way1 so we ran below4 ,i vomited freely and felt relieved1 and then went on deck again4 ,the sun was declining in the west1 and the sky was angry-looking and threatening1 giving every indication of a storm4 ,we were outside the heads1 and before us stretched the great ,pacific2 but there were islands around1 of which the captain knew but little4 ,he did not like the idea of the pilot leaving him in such a position with darkness approaching and every prospect of a storm4 ,if the captain was anxious to have the pilot remain1 the latter was equally desirous of getting away from the ship before nightfall4 ,he had no wish to remain through the storm and to run the risk of being carried out to sea2 so when a pilot boat hove in sight1 he hailed it1 and descended into the little yawl which came from it for him in such haste that he forgot his water-proof coat4 ,it was very natural1 ,i suppose1 for him after piloting the ship out of the harbor1 to be eager to get back before the storm broke upon us2 but ,i believe we all should have felt better if he had remained with us4 ,the captain1 especially1 felt the responsibility of his position4 ,here he was outside of a strange harbor1 on a dangerous coast1 with a strong wind blowing directly on shore1 and darkness upon him and he ignorant of his surroundings6 ,we had no time to indulge in many reflections upon the subject4 ,our time was occupied in another direction1 for we were all suffering severely from the effects of sea-sickness2 and notwithstanding the dangers of our situation1 the sense of the ridiculous1 in my case--only one bucket among us for every purpose--overcame fear1 and ,i could not help laughing4 ,many of our ,elders and foreign settlers have been in a similar position1 and all such can imagine our feelings better than ,i can describe them4 ,my levity1 however1 under circumstances so inconvenient and perplexing1 offended one of the ,elders so much that he reprimanded me for it4 ,while we were thus engaged1 the noise on deck was very great4 ,the captain had as first mate a half-caste ,east ,indian1 and the most of his hands were ,malays4 ,his orders to the mate1 and the latter's cries to the hands1 and their chattering to one another1 made a clamor that sounded loud above the noise of the storm4 ,right in the midst of our sickness we heard the startling cry from the mate of breakers ahead1 and that we were close upon them4 ,at any other time this would have excited us2 but we were so sick we did not mind it4 ,shortly after this1 we felt the vessel strike something solid1 and she trembled from stem to stem2 this was directly followed by a grating sound and a thumping at the stern4 ,the first thought was that she had struck a reef2 but as we felt her settle in the trough of the sea1 we knew that if she had struck1 she had passed over it4 ,the shock that we felt was caused by a heavy breaker striking us2 it had broken the wheel ropes1 and the grating noise that we heard was the thumping of the helm4 ,had the breaker gone over us it would have swept the decks clean1 or1 had the wheel ropes broken a short time before1 it is probable the vessel would have been lost4 ,in considering our narrow escape1 afterwards1 we felt to give the glory of our deliverance to ,god4 ,we were ,his servants1 and on ,his business1 and ,he had preserved us4 ,that night was one of great anxiety to the captain1 officers and crew4 ,notwithstanding our sickness1 we also realized that we were in a critical position1 and exerted all the faith we could4 ,the captain had his wife with him1 and so little hope did he have at one time of saving the vessel1 that he told her to prepare for eternity1 for he did not think we would ever see daylight in this world again4 ,at last the morning dawned1 the storm died away1 and we were enabled to take our course4 ,oh1 the blessed daylight6 ,how joyfully it was hailed on board that vessel6 ,it did not relieve us from our sea-sickness1 but it did from our peril4 ,several days elapsed before the captain recovered from his fatigue and hoarseness1 caused by shouting his orders that night4 ,the ,imaum of ,muscat was bound for the ,east ,indies1 but was to touch at the ,sandwich ,islands4 ,we were glad that we had to go no farther1 so it was with positive delight that we learned after being nearly four weeks on board1 that we would soon be at the end of our voyage4 ,the sight of land is most welcome to those who have been weeks at sea1 especially if they have suffered from sea-sickness4 ,to our eyes1 therefore1 the rough1 mountainous isles of the ,hawaiian group were very beautiful4 ,we longed to tread upon them4 ,for myself1 ,i was scarcely intended for a sailor4 ,i am very easily made sick by the motion of a vessel on the water1 and no amount of going to sea prevents this4 ,some years since1 while crossing the ,atlantic1 ,i lay sea-sick in my berth1 and to divert my mind1 ,i tried to recall the number of different times ,i had been in that condition4 ,i counted upwards of fifty distinct occasions that ,i had suffered from this sensation1 and ,i have been sea-sick a number of times since4 ,during the night we passed the island of ,hawaii1 the largest of the group1 and the one on which ,captain ,cook1 the first white man 7so far as known7 who discovered these islands1 was killed4 ,the next morning the island of ,maui was seen in the distance4 ,then ,molokai and ,lanai2 and the morning following1 when we arose1 we were sailing alongside of ,oahu1 the island on which the town of ,honolulu1 the capital of the kingdom1 is situated4 ,chapter #c ,honolulu1 ,its ,location and ,harbor--,prayer to the ,almighty--,the ,elders ,separate1 and ,commence ,labor on the ,four ,principal ,islands ,honolulu is built on an extensive flat1 of great fertility4 ,the town is pretty1 and wears a tropical look2 but1 since the time of which ,i write1 its buildings and surroundings have been greatly improved4 ,groves of cocoa-nut trees1 with their long feathery leaves1 and tall graceful trunks1 were growing here and there in the vicinity of the town1 and trees of other kinds were also abundant in and around it4 ,behind ,honolulu stretches what is called the ,nuuanu valley1 a beautiful country1 which1 even when we first visited it1 was selected as a proper locality for the villas and country residences and gardens of the officers of the government1 the missionaries and merchants4 ,on the right of the harbor of ,honolulu is ,punch ,bowl ,hill1 a large hill where once a volcano burned1 but which is now extinct4 ,the name is very suitable1 for the volcano has left it more in the shape of a punch bowl than anything else4 ,while yet some miles from the mouth of the harbor we met several canoes1 containing natives of the islands1 who were out fishing4 ,these canoes were merely logs hollowed out2 but they were easily managed1 and1 with the aid of sails1 their progress through the water was very rapid4 ,to prevent their turning over1 they had outriggers fastened to their sides4 ,a coral reef1 over which the sea breaks with a tremendous roar1 even in calm weather1 extends nearly around the harbor of ,honolulu4 ,the entrance is very narrow1 and seemed difficult of access1 and as we entered1 guided by a skillful pilot1 a man was kept busy throwing the lead to learn the depth of the water4 ,on the reef were the wrecks of several vessels4 ,the water was beautifully clear1 and it was easy to distinguish the bottom as we sailed along4 ,no sooner was the anchor dropped than the decks were crowded with natives2 some trying to sell bananas1 oranges1 cocoanuts1 melons and other fruits 7this was in the month of ,december71 and others anxious to take us ashore4 ,the monotonous character of their language1 their rapid utterance1 their numerous gestures1 caused us to watch them with interest4 ,we thought them a strange people4 ,i little thought at that time that ,i would ever learn their language1 or become as familiar with their customs as ,i afterwards did2 for1 though we had been sent on missions to the ,islands1 we supposed our time would be occupied in preaching to the whites4 ,our first duty1 after securing lodgings1 was to repair to a convenient mountain1 on the top of which we found a steep knob that rose suddenly and formed a table of thirty or thirty-five feet in width4 ,on the way up we picked up a rock apiece1 with which we formed a rude altar4 ,we then sang a hymn1 and each one1 in his turn1 expressed his desires4 ,the oldest1 who was also the president1 was selected to be mouth in prayer4 ,he embodied our desires in his prayer4 ,they were that the ,lord would make speedy work on those islands1 open an effectual door for the preaching of the gospel1 confound all opposers1 help us to gather out the honest-in-heart1 and spare our lives to return home in safety4 ,having thus dedicated the land and ourselves to the ,lord1 one of the ,elders spoke in tongues and uttered many comforting promises1 and another interpreted4 ,the spirit of the ,lord rested powerfully upon us1 and we were filled with exceeding great joy4 ,i had the satisfaction1 afterwards of witnessing the fulfillment of the promise made on that occasion4 ,the sun was sinking low in the heavens when we got through4 ,our descent was quickly made1 for we felt joyful1 and when men are joyful and the ,spirit of ,god rests upon them1 they feel lithe and active4 ,we had been in the presence of the ,lord1 and had felt ,his power1 and why should we not be happy8 ,the president of the mission had chosen as his companion the next oldest man4 ,the most suitable place for them to remain1 we all felt1 was at ,honolulu4 ,but what must the rest do8 ,scatter among the other islands1 or remain on that island--,oahu--until they learned more of the condition of affairs8 ,it was decided that to go to the various islands would be the wiser plan4 ,there were four islands of importance yet to be occupied1 and there were eight of us remaining4 ,but who were to be partners1 and how should we decide which island each couple should go to8 ,the president did not like to pair us off1 nor to say which of the islands we should go to2 but he consented1 with his partner1 to select four out of the eight to preside1 one on each of the islands4 ,we withdrew while they discussed this matter1 and made their selection4 ,to my great surprise1 when we returned1 ,i found that ,i was chosen as one of the four4 ,never in my life did ,i feel my weakness more sensibly than on that occasion4 ,i was the youngest of the party1 and felt that ,i was the least able of all to perform the duties assigned me4 ,the next thing was to select partners and islands2 and how do you think we did this8 ,you read in the ,bible about casting lots4 ,we cast lots4 ,four pieces of paper were marked3 one1 two1 three and four4 ,the one who drew one had the first choice of partners2 so with the second1 third and fourth numbers4 ,then the islands were marked on slips of paper in the same manner1 and we drew for them4 ,number one fell to my lot4 ,i had the first choice4 ,my mind had not rested on any one as my choice for partner1 and ,i was at a loss for a few moments whom to select4 ,then the spirit of the ,lord plainly told me to choose ,brother ,james ,keeler4 ,i did so4 ,i was both surprised and pleased at the manner in which he received my choice2 for ,i1 being so young1 and he so much my senior1 had thought that he would prefer a partner of more mature years and experience4 ,he afterwards told me that when the four were chosen1 and he found that ,i was one of them1 he had slipped out and prayed to the ,lord that ,i might be led to select him to go with me4 ,his prayer was heard and answered1 and we both were gratified4 ,in casting lots for islands1 ,maui fell to us4 ,when we were sailing past it my feelings were drawn towards that island1 and ,i felt that ,i would like that to be my field of labor4 ,i knew not why this should have been so1 except that the ,lord gave me the feeling1 for ,i knew nothing concerning it that would make it a desirable place in my eyes4 ,my joy was very great that evening1 because of these precious manifestations of ,god's goodness4 ,i felt that he was near at hand to hear and answer prayer1 and to grant the righteous desires of our hearts2 and how could we doubt ,his providence for and care over us in the future8 ,children1 ,i know of no feeling that can fill the human breast with such unspeakable happiness1 joy and confidence as faith in ,god4 ,if ,god be with us who can be against us8 ,as ,i have already mentioned1 there were eight of us ,elders1 besides the two who were to remain at ,honolulu4 ,their names were ,hiram ,clark1 the president1 and his fellow-laborer1 ,thomas ,whittle4 ,the island on which we first landed was to be their field4 ,the four who were chosen to preside on the other islands were3 ,henry ,w4 ,bigler1 whose partner was ,thomas ,morris1 and to whom the island of ,molokai fell by lot2 ,john ,dixon1 whose partner was ,william ,farrer1 and whose field was the island of ,kauai2 ,james ,hawkins1 who chose ,hiram ,blackwell as his companion1 and to whom the island of ,hawaii fell as a field of labor2 and ,george ,q4 ,cannon1 whose fellow-laborer was ,james ,keeler1 and their field the island of ,maui4 ,as the president counseled ,brother ,morris to go to work at ,honolulu1 and ,brother ,bigler was1 therefore1 alone1 and his island lay convenient to ,maui1 he concluded to accompany the two last-named ,elders to ,maui4 ,the thought of parting from his companions in a foreign land produces lonely feelings in the breast of an ,elder1 but particularly if he be young and inexperienced4 ,our consolation on this occasion was that we were taking the plan whereby we might reap more abundant joy4 ,chapter #d ,our ,house on ,maui--,interviews ,with the ,consul and ,governor--,our ,first ,public ,preaching--,we ,determine to ,learn the ,language and ,proclaim the ,gospel to the ,natives ,lahaina is the principal town on ,maui4 ,it has no harbor1 but vessels anchor in what is called the roadstead4 ,looking from the sea at the town1 it is not very imposing4 ,it lies on a level strip of land1 and is stretched along the beach1 and the houses are almost hidden by the foliage4 ,groves of cocoa-nut trees are to be seen1 which give the place a tropical look4 ,we had considerable difficulty in procuring a suitable place to stop4 ,there was a hotel and some boarding houses2 but we could not live at any of them very long1 for our funds were low4 ,we secured a native house of one room1 at a rent of four dollars per week4 ,these native houses are built by putting posts in the ground1 on which a board is laid as a plate for the rafters to rest upon4 ,when the frame of posts and rafters is built1 poles1 about the size of hoop-poles1 are lashed horizontally1 about six inches apart1 on to the posts and rafters4 ,the house is then thatched by fastening a durable grass1 which they have in that country1 on to the poles4 ,when finished1 a house looks1 in shape and size1 like a well built hay stack4 ,such houses are only suited to a warm country where they never have frost4 ,inside the house they have no board floors4 ,the ground is covered with grass1 on which mats are laid4 ,the making of these mats constitutes one of the chief employments of the women1 and a good housewife in that country is known by the quantity and fineness of the mats in her home4 ,such a woman is very particular to have no dirt brought into her house2 for the mats answer the purpose of beds1 tables and chairs4 ,they sit upon them2 when they eat1 their food1 is placed upon them1 and they form their bed1 though in many houses they have the place of sleeping raised above the ordinary floor2 but even then1 they have mats spread out1 upon which to sleep4 ,in consideration of our being white men1 the man of whom we rented the house procured a table and three chairs for us4 ,we employed him to cook our food1 which consisted principally of sweet potatoes and fish1 or meat1 with occasionally a little bread1 bought at a bakery in town4 ,in those days no native thought of using bread as an article of diet4 ,their food ,i shall describe more fully to you in a future chapter4 ,we had an interview with the ,american consul1 ,mr4 ,bunker1 and solicited through him an introduction to the governor of the ,island4 ,he readily complied with our request1 and in our intercourse with ,mr4 ,bunker he treated us very kindly4 ,our mission we felt to be of such importance that we wished to introduce it to the highest authority we could find4 ,i made it a rule on those islands never to go into a place without waiting upon the leading and prominent men1 stating my business1 testifying to the work which ,god had commenced and asking their aid to enable me to lay the proclamation of which ,i was the bearer before the people4 ,in this way ,i had interviews with princes1 nobles1 governors1 officers of the government1 missionaries and the leading men in every locality where ,i visited4 ,this course might not be a wise one in every nation and under all circumstances2 but ,i was led to take it there1 and the effects were good4 ,i had a fearlessness and a strength given me which ,i would not have had if ,i had kept myself in a corner1 and acted as though ,i was ashamed of my mission4 ,i gained influence also with the people1 and they learned to respect me2 for1 however much men may differ in their views about religion and other matters1 they generally respect sincerity and courage4 ,the governor was named ,james ,young4 ,he was a half-white1 his father being a friend of ,kamehameha the ,first1 and one of the first white men who settled among the ,hawaiians4 ,we requested the use of the palace1 which was not then occupied by the royal family1 to preach in4 ,he promised to write to his brother1 the minister of the interior1 about it4 ,we called a number of times afterwards to see him2 but could get no definite answer4 ,it was very evident to us that he dare not grant us any favors4 ,rev4 ,mr4 ,taylor was the chaplain of the ,bethel ,chapel at ,lahaina1 where seamen and most of the white residents went to worship4 ,we introduced ourselves to him1 told him where we were from and our business1 and asked the privilege of holding meeting in his chapel4 ,he held meetings in the morning and evening4 ,he consented1 and gave out notice to the people in the morning that we would hold meeting in the afternoon4 ,elder ,henry ,w4 ,bigler delivered the discourse1 and ,brother ,keeler and ,i bore testimony4 ,we soon became satisfied that if we confined our labors to the whites1 our mission to those islands would be a short one4 ,the white people were not numerous at ,lahaina1 and there were but very few at any other place on the island of ,maui4 ,preaching to them with the hope of convincing them of the truth seemed a hopeless labor4 ,the question arose directly1 ,shall we confine our labors to the white people8 ,it is true that we had not been particularly told to preach to the natives of the islands1 but we were in their midst1 had full authority to declare unto them the message of salvation1 and if we did not declare it unto them1 some other ,elders would have to come and do so1 in order to fulfill the command of ,god to his servants4 ,for my part ,i felt it to be clearly my duty to warn all men1 white and red2 and no sooner did ,i learn the condition of the population than ,i made up my mind to acquire the language1 preach the gospel to the natives and to the whites whenever ,i could obtain an opportunity1 and thus fill my mission4 ,i felt resolved to stay there1 master the language and warn the people of those islands1 if ,i had to do it alone2 for ,i felt that ,i could not do otherwise and be free from condemnation2 the spirit of it was upon me4 ,elders ,bigler and ,keeler felt the same4 ,i mention this1 because it was a point upon which a difference of opinion afterwards arose1 some of the ,elders being of the opinion that our mission was to the whites1 and that when we had warned them1 we were at liberty to return4 ,how do you think such differences of views and opinions can be settled8 ,had the president of the mission exercised the authority to dictate1 he could have decided between these views2 but he would not4 ,he left each one to act for himself4 ,we were in a foreign land1 far distant from the ,apostles and ,first ,presidency1 and1 therefore1 could not appeal to them4 ,our only resource was to obtain revelation from the ,lord for ourselves4 ,this is the privilege of every man arid woman in the ,church4 ,if ,latter-day ,saints will seek for knowledge1 ,god will give it to them to guide them in all the details of life1 subject1 of course1 to the presiding authority and its teachings and counsels4 ,by this means we were able1 on the ,sandwich ,islands1 to know what course to take4 ,white men who go to the ,sandwich ,islands do not always behave themselves as they should4 ,we saw some who acted most disgracefully4 ,they seemed to think that1 because they were among the natives1 they could abandon all decency4 ,the natives are very close observers4 ,they soon saw that we were not like many of the whites whom they had seen1 and they began to take an interest in us4 ,they readily helped us to pronounce and read their language4 ,the want of books was a great drawback at first2 but we sent to ,honolulu for them4 ,my desire to learn to speak was very strong2 it was present with me night and day1 and ,i never permitted an opportunity of talking with the natives to pass without improving it4 ,i also tried to exercise faith before the ,lord to obtain the gift of talking and understanding the language4 ,one evening1 while sitting on the mats conversing with some neighbors who had dropped in1 ,i felt an uncommonly great desire to understand what they said4 ,all at once ,i felt a peculiar sensation in my ears2 ,i jumped to my feet1 with my hands at the sides of my head1 and exclaimed to ,elders ,bigler and ,keeler who sat at the table1 that ,i believed ,i had received the gift of interpretation6 ,and it was so4 ,from that time forward ,i had but little1 if any1 difficulty in understanding what the people said4 ,i might not be able at once to separate every word which they spoke from every other word in the sentence2 but ,i could tell the general meaning of the whole4 ,this was a great aid to me in learning to speak the language1 and ,i felt very thankful for this gift from the ,lord4 ,i mention this that my readers may know how willing ,god is to bestow gifts upon his children4 ,if they should be called to go as missionaries to a foreign nation1 whose language they do not understand1 it is their privilege to exercise faith for the gifts of speaking and interpreting that language1 and also for every other gift which they may need4 ,chapter #e ,kindness of ,na-,lima-,nui--,to ,honolulu--,some of the ,elders ,decide to ,return ,home ,a little more than three weeks had passed when our money was paid out except a very little4 ,much as we disliked the idea1 it seemed necessary for us to separate and seek places to live where we could find them among the natives4 ,we cast lots to learn which direction we should take4 ,elder ,henry ,w4 ,bigler drew south2 ,elder ,james ,keeler1 east2 and ,i1 north4 ,i had explained our position to the man of whom we rented the house4 ,of course my explanations were not perfect1 for three weeks' residence had not made us masters of the language2 but he comprehended the situation exactly4 ,he went to a neighboring house1 where the family lived who had done our washing1 and who had been very friendly and kind1 and told the lady how matters stood with us4 ,she came in2 but we were so busy making our arrangements to start out that we did not converse with her1 and she went away again4 ,brother ,bigler started off in the direction which had fallen to him1 with a piece of paper in his hand1 on which sentences in native1 such as he would be likely to need1 were written1 with their meaning in ,english4 ,brother ,keeler and myself were preparing to go in the directions which had fallen to us1 when ,brother ,keeler suggested that we call upon ,na-lima-nui1 the old lady of whom ,i have spoken4 ,our object was to learn from her1 if we could1 who there was that would be likely to entertain strangers4 ,na-lima-nui means in the language of the ,sandwich ,islands big hands4 ,lima is the noun hand1 nui is the adjective large or big1 and na is the sign of the plural4 ,you see it is a differently constructed language to ours4 ,the sign of the plural precedes the noun1 and the qualifying adjective follows it1 as hands large or big4 ,na-lima-nui did not know where we could find a man who could entertain us2 but she said we were welcome to come and live in her house4 ,we had a long talk with her1 and ,i endeavored to explain our position and what our business was in coming to the ,islands4 ,we had no money1 ,i said1 but anything that we did have1 we should be glad to give her4 ,we felt humble1 and would have been pleased to obtain a corner on the floor to sleep in1 so that we could live1 learn the language and fill our mission4 ,the kindness of this old lady touched me1 and ,i could not refrain from weeping4 ,never before in my life did ,i feel so thankful as ,i did for the shelter she offered4 ,i praised the ,lord therefor2 it was ,he who touched the heart of herself and family4 ,the thought that we would not have to separate added to our joy1 and you can probably imagine with what delight we went to find ,brother ,bigler4 ,he had succeeded in finding a native who was willing to give him food and a lodging place1 if he would milk his cow and do other chores4 ,he was as much rejoiced as we to learn that we could live together4 ,we did not expect to get any more accommodations than a place to stretch ourselves at night in our blankets2 but ,na-lima-nui's daughter1 who was married to a ,spaniard1 lived adjoining2 and she had arranged for her mother to live in her rooms1 and the old lady's room had been prepared for us4 ,they had fixed up the room as well as they could4 ,such a profound feeling of thankfulness as ,i had on our obtaining a shelter in this poor1 native woman's hut ,i never experienced before4 ,it has been my fortune1 since those early days of my life1 to travel considerably1 and to mingle with our missionaries in many lands4 ,i have seen ,elders who were willing to endure everything for the gospel's sake2 their hearts were filled with joy and a burning desire to magnify their ,priesthood and to fill their missions4 ,what they ate or drank1 where they lodged or how they were clothed1 were matters of little or no thought to them1 so long as they had the ,spirit of the ,lord and were in the line of duty4 ,others1 ,i have seen1 who felt every little privation to be a dreadful hardship2 who thought1 if everything did not go smoothly with them1 they had to suffer more than was necessary1 and who were ready to desert their fields of labor and run home at the first opportunity4 ,i scarcely need say that men of this latter class are rarely1 if ever1 successful missionaries4 ,they think too much of their own ease and comfort1 and their thoughts are too much upon themselves1 to labor under any circumstances of difficulty for the salvation of others4 ,when an ,elder has the spirit of his mission1 self-comfort is forgotten4 ,he is perfectly happy in declaring the gospel and laboring for the salvation of others1 and he gives but little thought to the kind of food he eats1 or how he fares in other respects4 ,his bodily wants are swallowed up in his joy in ,christ4 ,these were our feelings at the time of which ,i write4 ,we were willing to live on any food that would sustain our bodies1 however common or even disagreeable it might be2 we were glad to get a shelter1 however humble1 to lie under2 our desire was to fill our mission3 and because we felt thus1 the ,lord made up for any lack of comfort by giving us ,his ,holy ,spirit4 ,i had never been so happy in my life before as ,i was then4 ,when ,i prayed ,i could go unto ,god in faith2 ,he listened to my prayers2 ,he gave me great comfort and joy2 ,he revealed ,himself to me as ,he never had done before1 and told me that if ,i would persevere1 ,i should be blessed1 be the means of bringing many to the knowledge of the truth1 and be spared to return home after having done a good work4 ,many things were revealed to me1 during those days1 when ,he was the only ,friend we had to lean upon1 which were afterwards fulfilled4 ,a friendship was there established between our ,father and myself1 which1 ,i trust1 will never be broken nor diminished1 and which ,i hope has continued to grow stronger from those days to these4 ,it is not my custom to write thus freely about myself2 but ,i am writing for children to read1 upon whom ,i would like my experience to make an impression4 ,i desire that they should make ,god their friend1 and seek unto ,him with faith for that joy1 peace and perfect love which ,he alone can give4 ,shortly after we moved into the house of ,na-lima-nui1 ,i was called by letter to go up to ,honolulu4 ,the partner of the president of the mission had concluded to return home1 and ,i was requested to remove to ,honolulu to act in his place4 ,this was unexpected news to me1 and my parting from my companions was nearly as painful as leaving home had been4 ,besides the ,elder of whose proposed departure ,i had heard1 ,i found there two others--to whom the island of ,kauai had fallen as a field of labor--ready to return home4 ,there were but few whites on that island1 and to them they had preached1 but had received no encouragement4 ,they had written to the president of the mission1 describing the situation of affairs1 and he had counseled them to come to ,honolulu4 ,the idea of leaving the islands1 because there were not enough white men to preach the gospel to1 was so foreign to the minds of my companions on ,maui1 and to myself1 that when ,i heard these ,elders were there with the intention of returning home1 ,i was surprised4 ,i did not conceal my feelings from them2 ,i told them that ,i could not go home under existing circumstances1 without feeling condemned4 ,the ,lord1 in my opinion1 ,i said1 would hold me accountable for not doing my duty to that people1 if ,i were to leave them2 and the people might rise up in judgment against me at some future day1 for not having given them the privilege of hearing the truth4 ,my prayer was that the time might speedily come when all should know the ,lord1 and when ,his knowledge would cover the earth as the waters covered the deep2 and ,i believed in uniting works and faith4 ,it would sound badly for ten ,elders to be sent out to the islands by ,elder ,charles ,c4 ,rich1 one of the ,twelve ,apostles1 to preach and to act as the ,spirit and circumstances might dictate1 and when we found there were not whites that would receive us1 turn around and go home1 and leave a whole nation to welter in ignorance1 because he did not happen to tell us that we were to preach to them in their own tongue4 ,much more in this strain ,i was led to say1 which it is not necessary to repeat here4 ,brother ,whittle had been told by ,elder ,rich that he could return home after filling a short mission4 ,the president of the mission had done all the preaching at the meetings they had held1 and had not even given him an opportunity to bear his testimony4 ,his position had been1 and still was unpleasant2 and he saw no way to remedy it4 ,if he could do any good1 he was willing to stay2 but he thought that1 under his circumstances1 it was useless4 ,brother ,willam ,farrer1 one of the ,elders who had been laboring on ,kauai1 made up his mind that he would not return home1 but stop and devote himself to acquiring the language4 ,his partner1 however1 would not stop4 ,he was bent upon returning4 ,being an intimate acquaintance1 ,i talked freely with him upon the subject4 ,he would go home1 he said1 and gladly take a mission to ,europe1 if he should be appointed2 but to labor there he could not with any pleasure4 ,besides1 he was an old bachelor1 he added1 and he ought to be married1 and so he would return home and take him a wife4 ,he did return home2 but1 poor fellow1 he never obtained a wife4 ,some time after his return1 he1 with some other brethren1 left the city to go to ,parley's ,park for lumber4 ,on their return they were ambushed by ,indians1 and he was killed4 ,i often asked myself1 after hearing of his death1 would it not have been better for him if he had remained8 ,for if he had1 ,i believe he would have still been living4 ,chapter #f ,i ,return to ,maui--,we ,are ,visited by the ,president of the ,mission1 ,who ,determines to ,go to the ,marqueses ,islands--,are ,not ,led to ,go ,with ,him--,poi1 ,its ,preparation and ,peculiarities ,the progress ,i had made in learning the language surprised the ,elders at ,honolulu4 ,i was able to converse tolerably well with the natives1 and understand what they said4 ,when they learned how the ,lord had opened our way and aided us in acquiring the language1 they felt that it might be wisdom for me to continue my labors there1 instead of removing to ,honolulu4 ,this1 after counseling together1 was the decision of the president4 ,i was much gratified at the privilege of returning to ,maui2 for1 to my view1 prospects for accomplishing any great amount of good were not very bright then at ,honolulu4 ,elder ,william ,farrer sailed with me to ,maui1 to be a partner to ,henry ,w4 ,bigler4 ,we had scarcely reached ,lahaina1 when ,elder ,hiram ,blackwell called upon us from the ,island of ,hawaii1 where he had been with ,elder ,james ,hawkins4 ,he was on his way to ,honolulu1 and expected1 if it was not contrary to counsel1 to return home4 ,he was discouraged in trying to learn the language and preach to the natives4 ,he reached ,honolulu in time to return with the other ,elders4 ,at this point ,i may anticipate the order of my narrative by stating that ,elder ,james ,hawkins1 ,brother ,blackwell's partner1 remained on ,hawaii for some time1 striving to acquire the language1 and to proclaim the gospel to the people4 ,he afterwards came up to ,maui and labored there1 and filled a good mission before he returned home4 ,about three weeks after my return from ,honolulu1 we were surprised at receiving a visit from the president of the mission4 ,he had concluded to leave the ,sandwich ,islands and go to the ,marquesas ,islands2 for he thought there was a better field there4 ,these latter islands1 #cj south of where we were then1 are inhabited by a race of people whose language is very similar to that spoken by the natives of the ,sandwich ,islands4 ,they are probably descendants of one common stock4 ,but they are naturally more fierce and savage than the ,sandwich ,islanders4 ,it is said of some of them1 that when they are engaged in war1 they have no objections to eating a piece of a roasted man2 indeed1 they rather relish such a meal at such times1 as they think it makes them brave4 ,our president's principal motive in coming to see us was to have us go with him4 ,if prospects were no better on ,maui than on the island he had been on1 he thought we should accompany him4 ,it was not from any fear that the people of the ,marquesas group would eat us1 that we did not fall in with his proposal2 but because we could not see the propriety of it4 ,our position1 just then1 was a peculiar one4 ,here was our president1 the man who had been appointed to counsel and guide us1 proposing to us to leave the field to which we had been appointed1 and to take a journey of several hundred miles to another land to labor4 ,what were we to do8 ,how far did the obedience which we owed to him require us to go8 ,this was an important question4 ,to disobey a man in the rightful exercise of authority1 was an act from which we naturally recoiled2 and an act1 too1 of which we were not in the least disposed to be guilty4 ,but we felt that it would not be right for us to leave that island then4 ,we had done but little at warning the people1 or accomplishing our mission1 and why leave them then1 any more than on the first day that we landed8 ,we had not been appointed by the authority1 which called him and us1 to go to the ,marquesas ,islands2 we knew of no opening there1 or of any reason why we should go there in preference to any other place on the earth4 ,if we followed our president there1 because he told us to come with him1 and we should find no opening to preach the gospel1 why not follow him to some other country if he should so require us8 ,fortunately we were relieved from the necessity of refusing to comply with his counsel4 ,he felt plainly enough that his proposal did not strike us favorably4 ,he had not been many hours with us until he found this out2 and he told us that probably it would be better for us to remain where we were until we gave the people a fair trial2 and then1 if we could not do anything1 we could follow him1 as he intended to write to us respecting his success4 ,the first we heard from him1 he had drifted down to ,tahiti1 on the ,society ,islands1 where some of our ,elders were then laboring4 ,his mission1 however1 was of no profit to himself4 ,when an ,elder has the spirit of his mission1 he cannot rest contented unless he is proclaiming to the people the message with which he is entrusted4 ,surround him with every comfort his heart can desire1 and if he has that spirit1 he will still be anxious to go forth among the people1 even if he knows he will meet with privations and persecution4 ,this was my feeling before the visit of the president of the mission1 and after he left1 my anxiety increased1 and ,i told the brethren that ,i must push out among the natives2 and commence preaching to them as well as ,i could4 ,i had made very good progress in the language1 and felt able to explain in part the first principles of the gospel4 ,about a week after the president's visit ,i started off1 intending1 if ,i did not get an opening1 to go around the island4 ,but the ,lord had revealed to me that ,i would find a people prepared to receive the truth2 and ,i started as a man would who was going to meet his friends4 ,though ,i had never seen them in the flesh1 ,i knew that when ,i met them they would not be strangers unto me4 ,borrowing ,brother ,bigler's valise1 one which he had carried many a day himself while on a mission in the ,states1 ,i started1 feeling as proud of the privilege of swinging it across my shoulder as any knight ever was at wearing1 for the first time1 his gold spurs4 ,the great desire of my heart from my early boyhood had been to have the ,priesthood and the privilege of preaching the gospel4 ,this desire was now about to be gratified1 and though ,i was timid and very bashful1 ,i felt that ,god would carry me safely through4 ,the brethren accompanied me about four miles on my way4 ,we were far from all our friends1 and were strangers in a strange land2 our parting1 therefore1 as might be expected1 was painful4 ,they remained to continue their study of the language4 ,it was plain to me that the angel of the ,lord was with me2 for at whatever place ,i stopped1 ,i was received most kindly1 and the best the people had was at my service4 ,the principal food of the natives of the ,sandwich ,islands is called poi4 ,this is made out of a root which they call kalo4 ,kalo patches are so made that they can be flooded with water2 and the ground is never allowed to be uncovered4 ,in planting this root they do not use seed4 ,when a native gathers the kalo1 he carries it to his home1 where he cuts off the tops4 ,these are carefully saved1 tied up in a bundle1 and carried back to the patch4 ,these tops he sticks in the mud at the proper distances apart1 and at the end of about eleven months he has another crop of kalo4 ,this is the process of gathering and planting4 ,the kalo bears some resemblance in its leaves and taste to the wild ,indian turnips1 but its root is much larger2 not quite the shape of a tame turnip1 but as large as a moderate sized one4 ,there is a variety called the dry land kalo4 ,it is not so extensively cultivated as the other kind1 and is not considered so good eating4 ,near every house there is a circular hole4 ,when kalo is to be cooked1 a fire is built in this1 and a quantity of small volcanic rocks are piled on top of it4 ,as the fire burns out these sink to the bottom1 and they are spread over the bottom and around the sides of the pit4 ,the kalo roots are then laid in1 mats are spread over them1 then soil1 until they are completely covered1 excepting a small hole at the top1 into which water is poured4 ,that hole is then stopped1 and the cooking commences4 ,but how do they cook8 you may ask4 ,when the water is poured in1 the rocks1 being hot1 speedily convert it into steam1 and1 as it cannot escape1 it cooks the roots4 ,i have seen large hogs cooked in this way1 and meat is sweeter cooked in this fashion than by any other method ,i know anything about4 ,the native men on the ,islands do all the cooking4 ,when the kalo has been in long enough to cook1 it is uncovered2 the skin is washed off1 and it is pounded with a stone pestle1 on a large flat slab of wood1 until it is like a mass of dough4 ,then it is put into a calabash1 or gourd1 and by the next day fermentation has commenced2 or1 as we would say if it were bread1 it has raised4 ,water is then added to it1 and it is mixed until it is a little thinner than we usually make mush4 ,there is a little sour taste about it the first day4 ,but it is never eaten at that time by the natives1 unless they have no other food4 ,they like it best when it is quite sour4 ,this is what they call poi1 and there is no other food that they think can equal it4 ,their usual method of eating is worthy of notice4 ,a large calabash of poi is placed on the mats2 around this the family seat themselves4 ,in families where they make any pretensions to cleanliness1 a small calabash of water is passed around1 and each one rinses his or her fingers before commencing to eat4 ,to keep off the flies1 a boy or a girl stands waving a kahili1 which is made by fastening feathers to a long1 slender stick4 ,in eating1 they dip their first two fingers into the calabash1 load them with the poi1 and pass them into their mouths4 ,the sucking of the fingers1 the gusto with which they eat1 and the incessant conversation mingled with laughter which they keep up1 would lead a bystander to conclude that they enjoy their food4 ,and they do4 ,if the poi be good1 and they have plenty of fish or meat to eat with it1 they have great pleasure in eating4 ,they think white men who eat together without conversing very unsocial beings4 ,they have an idea that it contributes to health1 and to the enjoyment of the food to have pleasant and lively conversation while eating4 ,before leaving ,lahaina1 ,i had tasted a teaspoonful of poi2 but the smell of it and the calabash in which it was contained was so much like that of a book-binder's old1 sour1 paste-pot that when ,i put it to my mouth ,i gagged at it1 and would have vomited had ,i swallowed it4 ,but in traveling among the people ,i soon learned that if ,i did not eat poi ,i would put them to great inconvenience2 for they would have to cook separate food for me every meal4 ,this would make me burdensome to them1 and might interfere with my success4 ,i1 therefore1 determined to learn to live on their food1 and1 that ,i might do so1 ,i asked the ,lord to make it sweet to me4 ,my prayer was heard and answered2 the next time ,i tasted it1 ,i ate a bowlful1 and ,i positively liked it4 ,it was my food1 whenever ,i could get it from that time as long as ,i remained on the islands4 ,it may sound strange1 yet it is true1 that ,i have sat down to a table on which bread was placed1 and though ,i had not tasted the latter for months1 ,i took the poi in preference to the bread2 it was sweeter to me than any food ,i had ever eaten4 ,chapter #g ,start on a ,tour ,around the ,island--,arrive at ,wailuku--,in a ,remarkable ,manner ,become ,acquainted ,with ,j4 ,h4 ,napela ,it was during a very wet season that ,i told the people ,i was going around the island4 ,they thought it a great undertaking1 and tried to persuade me not to go4 ,i evidently had their sympathies2 ,i was boyish-looking1 and they called me a keiki1 which in their language literally means a child4 ,many times as ,i traveled along they would take my valise from me and carry it2 and when ,i came to a stream of water1 they would pack me across it4 ,i passed through a number of villages1 over a very rough1 hilly country1 and late one night reached the town of ,wailuku4 ,up to this time1 though ,i had been treated very kindly1 ,i had not met with the persons whom ,i had been led to expect1 by the manifestations of the ,spirit1 would receive my testimony4 ,the main part of the town of ,wailuku was on the other side of a stream1 in attempting to cross which ,i got wet4 ,there were some missionaries living here1 and as ,i passed through the town1 ,i hoped that ,i should get an opportunity of being introduced to them2 for ,i had made it a rule1 thus far1 not to pass a missionary without bearing testimony to him respecting my mission4 ,but ,i was dusty and toil-worn1 and felt some diffidence about introducing myself4 ,by this time ,i had partly come to the conclusion that1 as the weather was so unfavorable ,i would return to ,lahaina2 and in passing through ,wailuku ,i took a road which ,i thought led in that direction4 ,i had scarcely got out of the town when ,i felt impressed to return1 the ,spirit telling me that if ,i would do so ,i should get an opportunity of being introduced to the missionary who resided there4 ,as ,i passed the churchyard two half-white women emerged from a house near by1 and when they saw me they called to some men who were in the house ,e ka haole6 which means1 ,oh1 the white man6 ,this they repeated two or three times1 calling at the same time one of the men by name4 ,as ,i walked along towards the picket fence1 three men came out of the house1 and stepped up towards the gate4 ,when ,i got opposite to them ,i saluted them1 being greeted by them in return4 ,i had passed but a few feet when the leader of the men inquired of me where ,i was going4 ,i told them ,i thought of returning to ,lahaina1 on account of the weather4 ,he said that as this was ,saturday1 ,i had better stop until ,monday with him4 ,he inquired of me who and what ,i was1 and upon my informing him1 his desire to have me stay was increased4 ,i went into the house with him1 and1 after some little conversation1 and an invitation to eat food1 which he offered4 ,he proposed that we should go up and see the missionary4 ,this was what ,i wanted1 and ,i embraced his proposal gladly4 ,the missionary's name was ,conde2 he was a native of ,connecticut1 and had been sent out by the ,american ,board of ,foreign ,missions4 ,we had a very pleasant conversation1 during which he made many inquiries respecting ,utah1 my object in coming to the islands1 and our belief4 ,he said he could not believe anything in modern revelation2 but expressed a wish to read some of our works4 ,i lent him the ,voice of ,warning1 though ,i had little hope of it having any effect on him1 as he had condemned the doctrines before he had heard or read them4 ,the moment ,i entered into the house of this native and saw him and his two friends1 ,i felt convinced that ,i had met the men for whom ,i had been looking4 ,the man who owned the house was a judge1 and a leading man in that section4 ,his name was ,jonatana ,h4 ,napela4 ,it was he who visited ,salt ,lake ,city in #ahff1 in company with ,elder ,george ,nebeker4 ,his companions' names were ,uaua and ,kaleohano4 ,they were all three afterwards baptized and ordained to be ,elders1 ,napela has since died in the faith1 and the others are still members of the ,church4 ,they were graduates of the high school in the country1 fine speakers and reasoners1 and were men of standing and influence in the community4 ,napela was every anxious to know my belief1 and wherein our doctrines differed from those taught by the missionaries in their midst4 ,i explained to him1 as well as ,i could1 our principles1 with which he seemed very well satisfied4 ,but next day after the service in their church1 ,mr4 ,conde called ,napela and a number of the leading men together1 and endeavored to poison their minds against our doctrines1 by telling all kinds of lies about the ,prophet ,joseph and the people of ,utah4 ,i learned this at supper by the inquiries which ,napela and a number of his friends who were present1 made of me4 ,their questions were of such a nature as to prove to me that somebody had been telling them lies4 ,i afterwards learned that it was the missionary's work4 ,the ,spirit rested powerfully upon me and ,i told them ,i had the truth1 and besought them1 as they valued their souls1 not to reject it until they could understand it for themselves2 that ,i should soon be able to explain it fully unto them2 that the principles were contained in the ,bible1 and were eternal truth4 ,they were melted to tears1 and promised me that they would not decide that our principles were false until they had a full opportunity of judging for themselves2 which promise1 ,i am happy to say1 most of them kept1 and ,i had the pleasure of baptizing them into the ,church4 ,i am particular in mentioning this circumstance to show the boys who may read this work that1 when they go on missions1 and they are in the line of their duty1 it is their privilege to have revelations from the ,lord to guide them in all their steps4 ,i was led to expect1 before ,i left ,lahaina1 that ,i would find those who would receive me4 ,up to the time ,i reached ,wailuku1 ,i had not found them1 and then when ,i thought it best to go back by another road1 and through other villages1 to ,lahaina1 ,i was told if ,i would return into ,wailuku that ,i should obtain my desire in getting an interview with the missionary4 ,the half-white women who saw me were ,napela's wife and her sister4 ,there was something very remarkable in their crying out as they did to him and his companions in the house when they saw me4 ,they met whites very frequently1 and it was nothing strange for them to pass as ,i did4 ,this was often alluded to in conversations which we had afterwards1 and they wondered why they should have done so4 ,i know that it was the ,lord's doings2 for if they had not called out1 ,i should have passed unnoticed and missed them4 ,to my sight1 the ,lord's hand was plainly visible in it all1 and ,i thanked ,him for ,his mercy and goodness4 ,chapter #h ,a ,missionary's ,craft in ,danger--,he ,preaches ,against ,us and ,our ,doctrines1 and ,abuses ,our ,friends--,his ,remarks1 ,however1 ,are ,overruled for ,our ,good--,the ,lord's ,promise ,fulfilled--,i ,go to ,kula ,on the ,monday morning ,i returned to ,lahaina1 and received a warm welcome from the brethren4 ,they were much interested in the recital of the incidents of my trip4 ,from that time1 however1 ,i stayed but little there4 ,much as ,i liked the society of the ,elders1 ,i could not be content there1 for ,i felt that ,i ought to be among the natives1 trying to teach them the principles of the gospel1 and there seemed to be a better opening for this work in other places than at ,lahaina4 ,there being none of the ,elders on the ,island of ,oahu1 it was decided that ,elders ,bigler and ,farrer should go there instead of to the island of ,molokai4 ,when they sailed for that island1 which they did in a few weeks1 ,brother ,james ,keeler was left alone with no one to converse with in ,english1 unless he occasionally met a white man4 ,this gave him a better opportunity of acquiring the language than he had when we were all there4 ,after some weeks he also was led to leave there and to travel around the island until he found a people who were willing to receive him and the principles which he taught4 ,when the ,presbyterian missionary at ,wailuku saw that ,i had come back there he was displeased4 ,he used all his influence against me among his congregation1 and one ,sunday he came out in public and delivered a most abusive discourse against the ,prophet ,joseph and our principles1 in which he gave an entirely false statement of the cause of his death1 and also warned the people against me4 ,i happened to be present when this sermon was delivered4 ,while listening to it a variety of emotions agitated me4 ,my first impulse was to jump upon one of the seats as soon as he had got through1 and tell the people he had told them a pack of falsehoods4 ,but this ,i thought would produce confusion1 and result in no good4 ,when the services were over1 ,i walked around to the pulpit where he stood4 ,he knew how short a time we had been on the islands1 and1 ,i believed1 had no idea that ,i could understand what he had said2 when he saw me1 therefore1 his face turned pale1 and to me he looked like a man who had been caught in a mean1 low act4 ,i told him ,i wanted to give him correct information respecting the things he had told the people that morning1 that he might remove the effect of the lies which he had repeated to them2 for1 ,i said1 they were base lies1 and ,i was a living witness that they were4 ,he said he did not believe they were lies1 and he should not tell the people anything different to what he had said2 he thought he had but done his duty1 and if the people had been warned against ,mahomet in his day1 he would not have got so many disciples4 ,i bore him a solemn testimony respecting the prophet ,joseph1 and the truth of the work1 and said that ,i would stand as a witness against him at the judgment seat of ,god1 for having told that people lies and for refusing to tell them the truth when it had been shown to him4 ,much more was said1 for our conversation lasted about half an hour1 and while we conversed many of the congregation1 some of whom understood ,english1 crowded around4 ,this was the first occurrence of the kind in my experience in which ,i was personally prominent1 and it had an importance in my eyes which it would scarcely have were it to happen to-day4 ,one of those who listened to and understood this conversation was a brother-in-law of ,napela's1 a half-white and a circuit judge1 and a leading man on that island4 ,he gave a report of the conversation which was very favorable to me1 and altogether ,i think the missionary's sermon did good4 ,he intended it for evil2 but the ,lord overruled it1 as ,he does all the plots and acts of the wicked1 for the advancement of ,his purposes4 ,the ,lord gave me favor in the sight of the natives1 and ,i had their sympathy1 though they dare not avow it1 for fear of the consequences4 ,another reason of the sermon not having so good an effect was the preacher's allusions to ,napela4 ,he had called him by name1 as the man at whose house ,i stopped1 and denounced him4 ,this1 of course1 was distasteful to ,napela's relatives and friends1 many of whom were present4 ,thus this man1 who fought in this manner against the work of ,god1 did not prosper as he expected1 neither then nor afterwards4 ,the ,lord has said in one of the revelations to ,his servants3 ,verily1 thus saith the ,lord unto you1 there is no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper2 and if any man shall lift his voice against you1 he shall be confounded in mine own due time4 ,i have found every word of this to be true4 ,napela was not frightened by what the missionary had said4 ,he was threatened with removal from his judgeship and with being cut off from their church2 but he manifested no disposition to have me leave his house4 ,the pressure1 however1 finally became so strong through the continued efforts of the preacher1 that ,i thought it would be wiser for me to withdraw from ,wailuku for awhile4 ,i felt for ,napela1 for he had a heavy opposition to contend with1 and ,i thought that if ,i went elsewhere1 the persecution would not be so severe4 ,there was a place called ,kula1 7which means a country near the base of a mountain7 where there were a few scattered villages1 about eighteen miles from ,wailuku1 to which ,i was led to go4 ,it was rather an out-of-the-way place1 though just before ,i went there1 a brisk trade in ,irish potatoes1 which grew spontaneously in that region1 had been carried on2 the people hauling them in carts1 from there to a small port not far distant4 ,these potatoes were carried in schooners to ,california to supply the gold diggers4 ,but they were of a poor quality1 and when the farmers of ,california began to raise them the trade ceased4 ,the business had begun to fall off when ,i went there4 ,i stopped at the house of a man by the name of ,pake1 who had charge of ,napela's affairs in ,kula1 and to whom he had given me a letter of introduction when he found that ,i had determined to go there4 ,he received me very kindly1 also a man by the name of ,maiola1 whom ,i had met in ,wailuku4 ,he was a deacon in the ,presbyterian church4 ,chapter #i ,another ,attack from a ,missionary--,courage in ,defending the ,truth ,always ,admired--,poverty of the ,people ,kula1 the district where ,i had gone to live1 was visited about once in three months by the ,presbyterian missionary who had it in charge4 ,the ,sunday after my arrival there was his day to make his quarterly visit1 and ,i went down to the village where he was to hold his meeting4 ,his name was ,green1 and he and ,i had met a few weeks previously1 and had a conversation in which he grew very angry and said he would curse me4 ,there was a large attendance of natives at this meeting1 and he took for his text the #hth verse of the first chapter of ,paul's epistle to the ,galatians3 ,but though we1 or an angel from heaven1 preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you1 let him be accursed4 ,his whole sermon1 as well as his prayer previously1 was directed against us1 warning the natives about us2 but the sermon was the poorest and most childish attempt to show what the gospel of ,christ was1 that ,i ever listened to4 ,after he had finished1 ,i arose and told the people it was best to examine the gospel well1 and see what its nature and requirements were1 and also for each to learn whether it was in his possession or not4 ,i then commenced to show them what the gospel was4 ,up to this time ,mr4 ,green had sat amazed1 as it appeared1 at my audacity4 ,such a thing as a person arising in a meeting and questioning what he had said1 or attempting to teach anything different1 was new in his experience1 and he seemed so astonished that he could not speak4 ,but when he saw that ,i had the attention of the people and they were listening to what ,i said1 he aroused himself1 opened a catechism which he called ,aio ka la1 or ,food of the day1 and commenced asking the people questions4 ,he was determined to interrupt me1 and to divert the minds of the people from what ,i said4 ,some of his deacons helped him2 they answered his questions in a loud voice1 and confusion began to prevail4 ,i saw that no further good could be done then1 so ,i told the congregation that ,i intended to hold meetings1 and would have opportunities of more fully explaining to them the principles of the gospel1 and ,i stopped4 ,he warned the people not to entertain me1 nor to salute me2 if they did1 they would be partakers in my evil deeds4 ,to this ,i made a suitable reply and withdrew4 ,from this time ,i commenced to labor in a more public manner among the people1 speaking in their meeting houses as ,i could get opportunity1 and doing all in my power to give them a knowledge of our principles4 ,my speaking before ,mr4 ,green had a good effect2 the people saw that ,i preached the doctrines of the ,bible1 and that ,i was not afraid to meet the preachers2 the moral effect of this boldness upon a simple people like them1 ,i found to be excellent4 ,and here let me say that courage in advocating and defending the truth1 when tempered with wisdom1 is a quality men always admire4 ,the fear of man1 and the fear of telling that portion of the truth which he is sent to declare1 are feelings that no ,elder should ever indulge in4 ,the man who suffers this fear to prevail with him is never successful4 ,the fear of ,god and the fear of doing wrong1 is the only fear that a ,latter-day ,saint should ever feel4 ,my training during the first two years of our settlement of ,salt ,lake ,valley1 when we were pinched for food1 was of excellent service to me during the days of which ,i write4 ,i should have thought the meagre diet we had in the valley1 rich living if ,i had had it then4 ,the people were very poor1 and ,i did not wish to be a burden to them in the least4 ,i avoided eating anything1 therefore1 that ,i thought they relished or that they had only occasionally4 ,i have told you that potatoes grew spontaneously there2 but the country was too warm for them2 this1 together with the lack of cultivation1 made them very poor4 ,the potato when good was not a vegetable ,i liked very much4 ,but there ,i could get nothing else1 excepting whortleberries1 which grew wild1 and which ,i frequently picked and ate1 until one day they made me sick1 after which ,i could not eat them any more4 ,i might have eaten the potatoes better if ,i could have had salt to eat with them2 but this article they were out of just then4 ,the only thing eatable besides the potatoes was molasses4 ,i have never liked to eat potatoes and molasses together since then4 ,i well recollect how ,i enjoyed a meal of poi on one occasion during this time4 ,the kalo out of which it was made1 had been cooked and pounded at some distance from there 7kalo did not grow at that time at the part of the ,kula where ,i was71 and packed in the leaves of a shrub called ki2 when thus packed it was called pai kalo4 ,it had been warm when packed1 which1 with the heat of the weather had made it sour and maggoty4 ,but the people had cooked it over again1 and made it into poi4 ,my potato and molasses diet had removed all my fastidiousness about what ,i ate1 and ,i thought this poi the sweetest food ,i had ever tasted4 ,some people eat maggoty cheese because they like it2 ,i ate this poi because it was the best and most palatable food ,i had tasted for weeks4 ,but what ,i lacked in food the ,lord made up to me in the goodly degree of ,his ,spirit which ,he bestowed upon me4 ,what ,i had to eat was a matter of indifference to me4 ,i was happy1 and ,i rejoiced as ,i never had before4 ,dreams1 visions and revelations were given to me1 and the communion of the ,spirit was most sweet and delicious4 ,i learned a lesson then1 which ,i trust will never be forgotten3 that there is a happiness which the servants and ,saints of ,god can have that is not of earth1 and that is not in the least dependent for its existence upon the possession of food1 raiment or any earthly thing4 ,chapter #aj ,successful ,meetings--,our ,principles ,receiving ,great ,notice--,elder ,keeler and ,myself ,go to ,keanae and ,have ,remarkable ,success in ,adding ,members to the ,church ,a new native house having been completed by ,mr4 ,napela's men1 it was offered to me as a meeting house4 ,on ,sunday the neighbors collected together1 and we had two meetings1 one in the forenoon and one in the afternoon1 at which ,i spoke upon the principles of the gospel and their restoration to man upon the earth1 with the authority to teach them4 ,my testimony and words were favorably received by the people1 and they were desirous that ,i should continue to hold meetings4 ,it was a busy time1 and ,i was only able to hold one meeting during the week4 ,but on the next ,sunday ,i had a most excellent time4 ,five were baptized and confirmed1 and the spirit was powerfully poured out upon all present2 many were stirred up to repentance1 their hearts were touched and the tears coursed down their cheeks4 ,brother ,james ,keeler1 who had been stopping in ,lahaina1 was with me that day1 he having reached there the previous day4 ,our joy was very great1 and ,i thought it one of the best days in my life4 ,we held meetings during the week1 and on ,sunday ,i baptized and confirmed six persons4 ,it was in much weakness that ,i labored in the ministry2 but ,i began to taste a joy that ,i had never before known1 and my heart was filled with praise and gratitude to the ,lord for deeming me worthy to receive the ,priesthood1 and to go forth on a mission4 ,nineteen persons had joined the ,church at ,kula1 and ,i felt impressed by the ,spirit to go elsewhere and open other places in which to minister the word to the people4 ,the news of what was being done at ,kula--the new religion as it was called--the new method of baptism--for up to that time the people had been sprinkled--and the doctrine1 so strange to them1 that ,god has spoken again to man1 and sent ,his holy angels to minister unto him1 was noised about1 and there began to be a great curiosity felt by many of the people to hear4 ,although the natives of the ,sandwich ,islands had been taught to read1 and the ,bible had been placed in their hands1 and they had been trained to look upon the sectarian missionaries as their spiritual teachers1 yet the religion of these missionaries did not generally satisfy them4 ,there was not the power about the ,god which the missionaries worshiped that they believed there was about the gods of their fathers4 ,the missionaries taught them that ,god no longer revealed ,himself to men1 that prophecy1 miracles and the gifts mentioned in the ,bible1 had ceased4 ,but we taught the very opposite of all this4 ,we told them ,god had not changed4 ,he was the same to-day that ,he was when the ,bible was written4 ,his gifts and blessings were for men now1 as much as they were eighteen hundred years ago4 ,man had lost faith1 and he did not obey ,god's laws1 therefore1 he had lost favor with the heavens1 and the gifts and blessings were withheld4 ,the ,bible upheld us in our teachings1 and there was a consistency in our doctrines which pleased the honest4 ,the most of the natives of the islands supposed the ,bible meant what it said2 they had not learned to think that it meant one thing when it said another4 ,but after our arrival the sectarian missionaries tried hard to teach them that the word of ,god had a hidden meaning1 and that it was not like other language--a task1 however1 which1 with a plain1 simple people like the natives1 they found very difficult4 ,the missionaries had great influence with the chiefs and the government4 ,their religion was1 in fact1 the ,state religion1 though not so declared by law2 it was popular to be a member of their church1 while it was unpopular not to be connected with it4 ,it looked like a formidable and hopeless task to attempt to preach the gospel to a people and in a government over whom sectarian priests had such complete control4 ,but we knew ,god could break down every barrier1 and remove every obstacle4 ,we put our trust in ,him1 and we were not disappointed4 ,i was led1 as ,i have said1 to prepare to go to some other place to labor1 so as to extend the knowledge of the gospel4 ,i had arranged to start on a certain day1 but was detained4 ,my detention was providential1 for that day ,brother ,james ,keeler arrived1 accompanied by a native1 by the name of ,namakaiona4 ,brother ,keeler1 after leaving ,kula1 had traveled around the island until he reached a place called ,keanae1 where he stopped4 ,he had read the scriptures to the people of that place1 and quite an interest had been awakened among them1 many were anxious to hear preaching1 and to be baptized4 ,he wished me to come over there2 they had furnished him with a horse to come over after me and bring me4 ,the road over which we traveled part of the distance to reach ,keanae1 passed through a most romantic country4 ,the vegetation was of the most luxuriant description1 the trees being of a kind new to me1 and very grand4 ,such a wealth of vegetation ,i had read of1 but never before beheld2 and is not seen it any land outside of the tropics4 ,the shrubs and ferns were in great variety1 and grew in almost endless profusion4 ,many of the trees were masses of living green from the root upward1 being covered with a multitude of vines and creepers of various kinds4 ,the road was impassable for carriages or wagons2 in fact1 horsemen had to dismount and lead their horses in many places up and down the hills1 they were so steep4 ,whatever the people who lived in the villages on that side of the island needed1 they either carried in1 on their backs1 or brought around in boats4 ,to me the journey was most romantic1 and ,i enjoyed it1 the more so as ,i now understood the language1 and was able to obtain many interesting items from the natives with whom we traveled and met1 concerning the country1 and their history and traditions4 ,our arrival at ,keanae created great excitement4 ,the people had been watching for us1 and seeing us approach from a long distance1 had gathered to meet us4 ,had we been princes they could not have treated us with greater consideration and honor4 ,we obtained the ,calvinistic meeting-house the afternoon of our arrival1 and there was a large attendance to hear the preaching4 ,this was on ,wednesday1 and from that time until ,monday we were constantly speaking1 baptizing1 confirming and counseling the people4 ,during that time there were upwards of one hundred and thirty baptized4 ,the ,spirit of the ,lord was powerfully poured out1 and all rejoiced2 ,i never enjoyed myself so well before in my life4 ,when ,i started back to ,kula1 which ,i did on ,tuesday morning1 ,i felt very tired1 with the amount of labor that ,i had performed4 ,my object in returning then1 was to organize the ,saints who had been baptized into a branch1 so that ,i could return again to ,keanae4 ,in organizing the branch at ,kula1 ,i ordained two teachers whose names were1 ,kaleohano and ,maiola1 and three deacons1 ,pake1 ,kahiki1 and ,mahoe4 ,after two weeks' absence1 ,i returned to ,keanae1 and we organized four branches of the ,church in that region4 ,we only ordained teachers and deacons as officers1 thinking it better to let them gain experience in the duties of these callings1 before ordaining them to the ,melchisedek ,priesthood4 ,chapter #aa ,arrival of ,new ,elders--,the ,adversary ,busy ,among ,our ,newly ,converted ,friends--,a ,fishing ,scene ,while at ,keanae1 we were gladdened with the news of the arrival of missionaries from ,utah2 and1 after the conference1 ,brother ,keeler and ,i repaired to ,lahaina to meet them4 ,they were ,elders ,philip ,b4 ,lewis1 ,francis ,a4 ,hammond and ,john ,s4 ,woodbury2 the two former had their wives with them2 the latter1 for want of means1 had left his wife in ,california1 and she came down shortly afterwards4 ,brother ,lewis had been appointed by ,elder ,parley ,p4 ,pratt to preside over the islands4 ,i had become so accustomed to talking in the ,sandwich ,island language that it was hard for me to speak in my mother tongue4 ,i well remember how difficult it was for me to pray in ,english1 when called upon to do so1 in the family circle1 the evening after ,i got to ,lahaina4 ,i had been so anxious to learn the language that ,i would not read any book in ,english excepting the ,book of ,mormon and the ,doctrine and ,covenants1 and had even trained myself to think in that language4 ,i did this so that ,i might be thoroughly familiar with it1 for ,i was anxious to preach the gospel in exceeding plainness unto the people4 ,of course1 it required an effort on my part to thus train myself2 but ,i was paid for it all1 in the fluency with which ,i used the language4 ,i was able to speak and write it with greater ease and correctness than my mother tongue4 ,the adversary was not idle at ,keanae4 ,we had been very successful in baptizing the people4 ,the ,spirit had been poured out1 and much good has been accomplished2 but1 no sooner had we gone to ,lahaina1 to meet the newly arrived ,elders1 than the enemy began his operations4 ,after spending a few days in ,lahaina1 ,i returned to ,kula and remained a short time there4 ,i felt impressed to go from there to ,keanae4 ,some of the native brethren wished me to stop till the end of the week1 and they would accompany me2 but ,i could not stop1 ,i felt that ,i was needed for some cause at ,keanae4 ,my impressions were correct4 ,the people of ,keanae were in great trouble4 ,they had been assailed by enemies from every side1 and those who were weak in the faith were in perplexity4 ,some had turned away1 not being able to withstand the pressure4 ,the ,presbyterian missionary of that district had been there1 and had done all in his power to blacken our characters1 to deride our doctrines and to persuade the people to forsake the ,church4 ,two ,frenchmen1 ,catholic priests1 had also been there1 and they had done all in their power to frighten the people from the truth4 ,another ,presbyterian missionary had sent one of his native preachers there for the same purpose4 ,it seemed as if the devil had set all his agencies into operation to destroy the work of ,god1 and they told all the lies that could be brought to bear against us4 ,the ,french priest had said that we ought to be driven out of the place and off the island1 and had circulated many false reports about us4 ,the ,presbyterian missionary had visited the houses of the people1 and had brought all his influence to bear upon them4 ,brother ,keeler had been there part of the time2 but his want of the language troubled him greatly1 as he had not acquired it sufficiently at the time to enable him to counteract these lies or to make full explanations concerning them4 ,i learned that many of the ,saints were doubting1 and they had been praying to the ,lord for me to return4 ,this was the cause of my anxiety to get back4 ,the ,lord hears the prayers of those who pray to ,him in faith1 and hundreds of instances like this have occurred within my knowledge4 ,it is frequently the case that when ,elders have been successful in baptizing the people1 the devil exerts himself with increased power and cunning among them to destroy them4 ,there are but few who have joined the ,church who have escaped temptations of this character2 and no man knows the power of the devil as those do who have embraced the truth4 ,it seems that those who are ignorant of the gospel and the power of ,god1 never experience the opposite power like those do who have been blessed of the ,lord4 ,still they should not yield to the temptations of ,satan1 nor be entrapped by his snares4 ,the people who had been baptized at ,keanae had known but little about the two influences of which we speak2 but no sooner had they joined the ,church1 than they were assailed and tempted in a way that they never had been previously4 ,as a consequence of this1 some fell away from the truth2 but others became stronger in the faith1 so long as ,i remained on the island4 ,we had many excellent times at ,keanae4 ,while ,i was there1 at the time of which ,i write1 ,i went with the natives1 men and women1 to a creek about two miles distant1 where fish were very plentiful4 ,the fishers gathered a quantity of plants1 a shrub which is called by them auhuhu1 and made two piles of them in the bed of the creek4 ,the men and women surrounded these piles1 each of them having a stick about five or six feet long4 ,at a given signal from one of the party1 they commenced thrashing the brush4 ,they were very dextrous in the use of this flail1 turning the piles over and over and pounding them well1 and never hitting each other4 ,the pounding of the bush had the effect to stain the water all around1 and to kill the fish1 which soon floated on the surface in great numbers4 ,fish so caught are excellent eating4 ,this shrub1 though it kills the fish1 is not injurious to man4 ,it was one of the liveliest sights that ,i had ever seen1 and was very picturesque4 ,the women were adorned with garlands of green leaves1 and had flowers entwined in their hair and around their bodies4 ,many of the men were stripped to the waist and also had garlands entwined around them4 ,the swimming and diving of some of the women1 surprised me2 they appeared to be almost amphibious4 ,chapter #ab ,interview ,with the ,dignitaries of the ,kingdom--,return to ,napela's ,house at ,wailuku--,hundreds of ,people ,baptized--,elders ,become ,famous ,all ,over the ,group--,a ,remarkable ,peculiarity ,not satisfied with bringing religious influences to bear against us1 the missionaries 7of whom mention was made in the last chapter7 stirred up the owners of the land and the officer having it in charge to stop the meetings and to threaten the people with punishment if they persisted in holding them4 ,this officer assembled the people1 and called them out individually1 and tried to make them promise that they would not attend any of our meetings again4 ,to accomplish his design1 he used both persuasion and threats2 he said that if they met again1 he would have them bound and either carried to the capital of that island--,lahaina--or to the seat of government--,honolulu4 ,in consequence of these interruptions and persecutions1 of which ,elder ,keeler brought me word1 at ,kula1 where ,i then was1 it was deemed best for me to go to ,honolulu1 and1 if possible1 see the king1 or some officers of the government4 ,elder ,philip ,b4 ,lewis1 who was then living at ,honolulu1 and was president of the mission1 and ,i saw several of the king's ministers4 ,the ,american ,commissioner espoused our cause very warmly1 and demanded of the government all the rights for us which were extended to any preachers4 ,we did not see the king1 his health being very poor2 but afterwards1 at ,lahaina1 ,i had an interview with the two princes1 who have since been kings1 and from them received assurances of protection4 ,the visit1 altogether1 was satisfactory and resulted in good4 ,i have found that nothing is ever lost by ,elders standing up for their rights4 ,people respect others who are spirited in claiming the privileges which belong to them2 and no ,elder should ever forget that he is the ambassador of the ,king of heaven1 and that he should maintain his calling4 ,if he be firm and respectful1 he will be respected4 ,we succeeded in building a fine meeting-house at ,keanae1 and in all that region faithfully preached to the people4 ,i told you in a previous chapter about the manner in which ,i had been treated by the missionary at ,wailuku1 the place where ,napela lived4 ,his persecution had been so strong that ,i thought it wise to withdraw from that place for awhile2 but the time had now come for me to return2 ,i felt impressed to do so2 and1 in company with ,elder ,francis ,a4 ,hammond1 ,i reached there one evening4 ,we did not know where to go to obtain quarters for the night2 for the missionary who lived there had used every means in his power to frighten the people against entertaining us4 ,even ,napela1 who had previously afforded me a home1 was under heavy condemnation for his kindness towards me4 ,i felt delicate about going to his house again1 thinking1 probably1 he might be reluctant to entertain us in view of the opposition which would be sure to follow4 ,when we got to the edge of the town in the hills1 one of us went and prayed for the ,lord to open our way and raise us up friends1 while the other watched to prevent interruption4 ,we felt led to go to ,napela's house1 thinking that if he received us kindly we would stop with him1 but if he appeared cold and distant1 we would go elsewhere4 ,we found him in conversation with four or five intelligent natives2 most of whom had been classmates of his in the high-school4 ,one of them1 ,kamakau1 which translated means the fish-hook1 was a preacher1 a very well-educated man1 and said to be the best native orator in their church4 ,they were questioning ,napela about our principles1 arguing with him upon them1 he defending them to the best of his ability4 ,our arrival seemed most opportune2 he was glad to see us1 gave us a warm welcome1 and soon transferred the conversation to us4 ,at this time1 ,brother ,hammond's knowledge of the language was very limited1 so ,i found myself the principal spokesman4 ,we sat up until the roosters crowed in the morning1 conversing upon our principles and reasoning from the ,bible4 ,for some time they were disposed to combat our views1 but finally were silenced and sat and listened to what ,i said1 occasionally asking questions4 ,this was the commencement of a great work in that region4 ,the preaching of the gospel created a great excitement2 the people flew by hundreds to hear the testimony1 and ,i had the satisfaction of seeing the missionary who had treated me so badly and who had so bitterly opposed and lied about the work1 almost deserted by his congregation2 they having left his church to hear us preach1 and see us baptize4 ,i confess that to see him thus treated pleased me2 ,i did not wish him to receive any bodily injury1 but ,i had hoped and prayed the day would come when he would see his followers desert his church1 embrace the truth and leave him to himself4 ,we baptized a large number of people at ,wailuku and the adjacent towns1 erected a large meeting-house at that place and smaller ones at the other villages1 and organized large and flourishing branches of the ,church4 ,when ,elder ,hammond and his wife came to the island they had one child4 ,several children were born to them on the mission before they returned4 ,after we had been successful in organizing branches at ,wailuku1 ,waiehu and other places around there1 ,elder ,hammond brought his family from ,lahaina1 where they had been living1 to ,waiehu4 ,there they lived for some time4 ,afterwards1 through his labors1 a branch was raised up in ,lahaina1 and they moved there4 ,all the ,elders who labored in that field have reason to remember their kindness to them4 ,under their roof we always found a warm welcome1 and it was home--a home which men who were constantly speaking the native language1 living in the native houses and having to conform1 to some extent at least1 to their modes of eating1 could appreciate4 ,sister ,hammond's unvarying kindness1 her patience and cheerfulness in the midst of privation1 and her unsparing labors in our behalf1 to sew and do other work for us1 which1 among such a people we had need to have done1 as well as his constant efforts for our comfort1 will never be forgotten by those who enjoyed their hospitality4 ,the contrast between my position then and what it had been when formerly at ,wailuku1 was to me a constant cause of gratitude to the ,lord4 ,he had revealed unto me that it was my duty to remain on the islands1 acquire the language and bear testimony of ,his great work to the people4 ,he had given me many promises connected therewith4 ,and now ,i began to feel how true ,his words had been4 ,many and many a time1 when ,i sat in the meetings and heard the people speak in the demonstration of the ,spirit of the ,lord1 filled with its power and its holy influence1 bearing testimony to the truth of the gospel1 to its restoration and to the gifts which had been bestowed1 my joy was so great that ,i could scarcely contain myself4 ,i felt that1 however devotedly ,i might labor1 ,i could not show the gratitude to the ,lord which ,i felt1 at being permitted to receive the ,priesthood and to exercise it for the salvation of the children of men4 ,surely1 never were men happier than we who labored in the ministry among that people in those days2 we had a fullness of joy1 and it seemed as if there were no room for more4 ,the people1 too1 with all their faults and weaknesses1 were greatly blessed4 ,the power of ,god rested mightily upon them1 and many a time their faces would glisten and appear almost white under the influence of the ,spirit4 ,they knew that ,jesus was the ,son of ,god and the ,savior of the world1 and that ,joseph ,smith and ,brigham ,young were ,prophets and servants of ,god4 ,this knowledge had come to them through obedience to the commandments4 ,the report of what was being done went through all the islands4 ,the natives frequently went from one island to another4 ,they are a talkative1 gossipy people1 and exceedingly fond of telling news1 which never loses anything after its first recital4 ,i afterwards traveled all over the group1 and ,i found myself well known by name to all the people4 ,this was frequently embarrassing to me1 because ,i felt that ,i could not meet the expectations which had been created respecting my skill in the language1 etc41 etc4 ,the king and his nobles all heard of us1 and of what we were doing1 and though we were often misrepresented1 we could not blame the ,hawaiians for much of this4 ,if left to themselves1 they had but little of the spirit of slander and persecution so common to the white race4 ,they were naturally kind and hospitable4 ,had there been no priestcraft among them1 misleading them and poisoning their minds against the truth1 and tempting them with worldly advantages and popularity1 the entire nation1 ,i am convinced1 could have been readily brought to receive and believe in the principles of the gospel4 ,but everything was done to have them shun us1 to inspire them with suspicion1 to make us unpopular4 ,these influences with those vicious and destructive practices which are fast hurrying the nation to extinction1 were against us4 ,but for all this1 we had wonderful success among them4 ,like our ,indian race1 the ,sandwich ,islander is being destroyed and blotted from the face of the earth1 by too much of what is called in ,babylon1 civilization4 ,there is one remarkable feature of the ,hawaiian character which ,i will here note4 ,among all the races of white men of which ,i have yet heard where the gospel is preached1 the practice of sin1 and especially with the other sex1 is attended with the loss of the ,spirit2 and unless there is deep and heartfelt repentance1 such sinners are apt to become enemies of the truth1 and are frequently bitter in their opposition to the work of ,god and ,his servants4 ,not so with the ,hawaiians1 so far as my observation extended4 ,it is true that by indulging in sin they would lose the ,spirit2 that could be plainly seen2 but ,i never saw that bitter apostate feeling among them which is so common among white men who apostatize4 ,they were not given over to the spirit of unbelief as other races are4 ,this difference struck me1 and ,i account for it in two ways2 first1 because of their ignorance the ,lord does not hold them to so strict an accountability as ,he does us2 and second1 they are of the seed of ,israel1 and to them peculiar promises have been made4 ,i believe the same characteristics will be found among the ,lamanites2 but that can be better told by those who have experience in laboring among them4 ,chapter #ac ,missionaries from ,home--,good ,results of ,their ,presence and ,labors--,voyage in the ,canoe of the ,islanders--,tradition of the ,natives--,a ,visit to the ,volcano ,at the ,fall ,conference1 #aheb1 held at ,salt ,lake ,city1 nine ,elders were appointed on missions to the islands4 ,they reached ,honolulu in the month of ,february1 #ahec4 ,their names were1 ,benjamin ,f4 ,johnson1 ,william ,mc,bride1 ,nathan ,tanner1 ,reddin ,a4 ,allred1 ,redick ,n4 ,allred1 ,thomas ,karren1 ,ephraim ,green1 ,james ,lawson and ,egerton ,snider4 ,these ,elders were a great help to the mission4 ,nearly all of them were men of experience4 ,their presence brought additional life and energy1 the effect of which soon became visible everywhere4 ,the most of them took hold of the work with zeal4 ,they brought with them the copy of the revelation on celestial marriage1 which was first published at the conference at which they were called to go to the islands4 ,they also brought the spirit of the conference with them1 and we all felt the benefit of it4 ,after their arrival1 the work received a great impulse on the ,island of ,oahu1 and especially in ,honolulu4 ,that town was made alive with excitement1 and large numbers were baptized4 ,a branch of the white members was organized1 over which ,elder ,b4 ,f4 ,johnson was appointed to preside4 ,elders ,tanner and ,karren were chosen as counselors to ,elder ,philip ,b4 ,lewis1 the president of the mission4 ,upon the ,islands of ,hawaii and ,kauai1 also1 the work made great strides1 and hundreds were added to the ,church4 ,i omitted to mention that ,elder ,william ,perkins1 who had been appointed on a mission to the islands1 reached there1 accompanied by his wife and ,sister ,john ,s4 ,woodbury1 about the last of ,november1 #ahea4 ,they remained for some time1 laboring to the best of their ability4 ,brother ,perkins was released to return home because of his wife's failing health4 ,for the purpose of visiting the ,saints and people on the ,island of ,hawaii 7the ,owyhee of ,captain ,cook71 ,i had occasion to sail to that island in ,april1 #ahed4 ,in those days1 money was very scarce with the ,elders1 and we had not the means to transport us from island to island on the regular vessels which sailed in those seas4 ,i1 therefore1 in company with several of the brethren1 traveled1 preaching by the way1 through the hilly and rough country that lay between ,lahaina and ,kawaipapa on eastern ,maui1 a point considered the best to embark at to cross the channel to ,hawaii4 ,our company consisted of ,elder ,r4 ,n4 ,allred1 who was at that time president on the ,island of ,maui2 ,elder ,j4 ,h4 ,napela1 and four native ,elders belonging to ,maui1 who had been appointed to labor in the ministry on the ,island of ,hawaii4 ,their names were ,kaelepulu1 ,kapono1 ,hoopiiaina and ,peleleu4 ,the channel which we had to cross was at times very rough and dangerous1 and many lives had been lost in it2 but we had faith to believe that the ,lord would preserve us in crossing1 although our vessel was one that very few white men would care to venture out to sea in4 ,it was a canoe hollowed out of a tree4 ,both ends of the canoe had boards fitted in as a sort of a deck1 which was covered with mats4 ,these mats were lashed to the canoe and made the top of the deck as round as a log and perfectly water-tight4 ,you would think this deck a curious place to go to sea on1 yet the native islanders were perched on both ends of the canoe on this deck with their paddles to row the canoe when the wind did not blow4 ,in the center of the canoe a certain space was left for us to sit in1 and sides were formed by lashing mats to some poles that were raised above the edge of the canoe4 ,in this place the natives had fixed plenty of mats1 so that we could sit or recline1 as suited us1 very comfortably4 ,lashed across the canoe1 were two poles1 each a little distance from the end of the canoe4 ,these poles extended six or eight feet into the water1 and fastened to their ends was a board1 which ran parallel with the canoe4 ,this we call an outrigger2 it was for the purpose of keeping the canoe balanced when the sail was hoisted4 ,on these poles1 when the wind commenced to blow the islanders sat1 easing up and bearing down1 according to the strength of the wind1 so as to keep the canoe from capsizing4 ,the greater part of the time some portion of their bodies was in the water4 ,but the sea has no terrors for the ,sandwich ,islanders4 ,they can swim in the water for hours without being at all fatigued4 ,when ,i looked at these men perched on the deck of the canoe1 it looked like going to sea on a log2 and had ,i not been familiar with the skill of the natives in managing their canoe1 and had some confidence in my own powers as a swimmer1 with them to aid me in the water1 ,i should scarcely have ventured in such a craft as this was4 ,we prayed to the ,lord1 before we started1 to give us a pleasant and favorable voyage1 and the natives said they had never had a more favorable time4 ,we reached ,upolu on the island of ,hawaii between three and four o'clock1 having started from ,maui about eight o'clock in the morning4 ,while upon this subject ,i may say that we returned to ,upolu after our visit had ended1 and again crossed the channel1 back to ,maui1 but this time we did not have a single canoe4 ,one of the native ,saints and his son had procured two new canoes and had lashed them together as was the fashion in former days1 for their chiefs1 by fastening pieces of timber across both canoes1 the latter being from four to six feet apart4 ,this was called in their language kaulua4 ,our place to sit or recline was arranged between the canoes1 by laying down boards and covering them with mats1 making quite a comfortable floor for us to sit upon1 and in the centre of this the mast was raised and fastened4 ,as in the case of the single canoe1 boards were fastened at the ends1 with mats lying over them to keep out the water1 making a deck to the canoe1 while a small place was left in the centre of both canoes for some of the natives to sit1 and1 if necessary1 bail out water4 ,we left the four native ,elders on the island1 and brought away one with us1 who was released from his mission to return to ,maui4 ,his name was ,kailihune4 ,our return passage was rough a good part of the distance1 as we had a good stiff breeze about two-thirds of the way across4 ,then the wind died out2 but we prayed to the ,lord for more wind1 and our prayers were answered4 ,we were between six and seven hours in making the passage4 ,we traveled around the island1 and visited the famous volcano1 the largest in the world4 ,its name is ,kilauea4 ,our party had swelled1 including whites and natives1 to about twenty in number4 ,in addition to ,brother ,allred1 there were of our party ,elder ,thomas ,karren1 who lived at ,lehi1 ,utah ,co41 but who is now deceased2 ,elder ,james ,keeler1 who has lately returned from another mission to the islands1 and who now resides on the ,sevier2 and ,elder ,egerton ,snider1 who has since died4 ,brother ,james ,lawson1 of this city1 was also with our party1 but having seen the volcano1 he did not ascend with us4 ,we had to go on foot1 as we had no money to hire animals4 ,the ,sandwich ,islanders entertained a singular idea about the manner in which their islands came into being4 ,their belief was that the islands were brought forth1 and that ,papa1 a woman whom they worshiped as a goddess1 was the mother of them4 ,the first-born1 they think1 was ,hawaii1 the nearest island to this continent1 and the last born ,kauai and ,niihau4 ,this ,papa had a sister1 they say1 whose name was ,pele4 ,they worshiped her as a goddess1 and even when we were there many still believed in her4 ,they say she first lived at ,kauai and from there removed from one island to another until she took up her residence at ,hawaii4 ,they believed that her place of residence was the pit of the active volcano1 and that there1 all the spirits of good chiefs and men went to dwell4 ,the bad ones went1 they believed1 to a place of darkness in the centre of the earth1 over which a god called ,milu reigned4 ,in former days the people threw the bones of some of their dead relatives into the volcano4 ,they had the idea that if ,pele was pleased with the sacrifice1 she would consume the bones1 and the spirit of the dead person would be permitted to return and be a familiar spirit to them1 and be as one of the family4 ,if the sacrifice was not acceptable1 the bones were thrown out of the volcano4 ,the pit of the volcano is probably three miles across4 ,there have been times when the whole bottom of the pit was one mass of lurid1 seething fire4 ,this must have been an awfully grand sight1 but when we visited it1 we found an immense field of lava which extended all around the pit1 and which resembled1 in many respects1 the sea in its wave-like appearance4 ,it might also have been compared to a field of shore-ice1 from which the water had receded1 leaving it shattered and cracked2 in fact1 it looked like a frozen sea1 except that it was black as coal4 ,in cooling it had cracked1 leaving large seams1 from which steam and heat issued4 ,we found the pit in which the fire was raging to be about fifty or sixty feet deep2 it was nearly round1 and about one hundred yards across4 ,the sides were perpendicular2 the strongest heat seemed to be around the sides4 ,on one side there were two large holes very close together1 which looked more like the mouths of two very large furnaces than anything else ,i ever saw4 ,here the melted lava was in constant motion1 surging and heaving like the waves of the sea4 ,the sound which it made was somewhat similar to the paddles of a steam vessel in the ocean1 only it was far greater4 ,we heard this sound before we reached the mouth of the volcano1 and it resembled1 to our ears1 the booming of heavy artillery at a distance4 ,the lava kept flowing in the direction of these two holes of which ,i spoke1 and rocks thrown down upon the surface of the lava would melt when near these holes like sealing wax held in a candle4 ,it was surprising to see with what ease the fire would melt this stony mass of lava1 which in some parts of the pit would cool on the surface1 and convert it again into a fluid4 ,sometimes showers of hot lava would be thrown up in the air1 and descend on the edges of the pit where we stood4 ,when this occurred the bystanders would have to scamper off as fast as they could1 or be severely burned4 ,the sight of this pit surpassed in sublimity and grandeur anything ,i had ever witnessed or imagined4 ,it far exceeded what ,i had read in written descriptions1 or even what ,i expected to see4 ,language fails to convey to the mind a correct idea of its appearance4 ,we were told that a party of natives had just been there1 throwing the bones of one of their relatives into the volcano with hogs1 fowls1 etc41 sacrifices with which to gain the favor of ,madame ,pele1 the goddess4 ,for some years there had not been any eruptions from this crater which we visited2 but others had broken out in the same neighborhood1 the fire and smoke of which had been seen for a long distance1 and ashes from which1 it is said1 had fallen on the decks of vessels hundreds of miles at sea4 ,from these eruptions the lava had run down to the sea1 sweeping everything before it1 and heating the sea for several miles in such a manner as to kill large quantities of fish4 ,the island of ,hawaii is very frequently shaken by earthquakes1 the effects of the hidden fires4 ,chapter #ad ,a ,hawaiian ,feast--,amusing ,joke ,played ,upon ,white ,men ,returning from the volcano towards ,upolu1 we had a meeting house to dedicate at a place called ,pololu1 and the ,saints there had prepared a feast on the occasion4 ,an account of a ,hawaiian feast may be interesting to my readers and ,i will describe this one4 ,the vegetable portion of the feast consisted of poi4 ,this ,i have before described to you4 ,it is not kept in dishes of earthenware but in calabashes1 some of which are very large and will hold several gallons of the food4 ,on this occasion the people sat on the ground on mats4 ,for tablecloths there were large green leaves of the plant called ki4 ,on these were placed packages of beef1 pork1 fowl1 dog1 and goat1 done up in the leaves in which they had been cooked4 ,fish also was served up in this manner4 ,as soon as the blessing was asked1 every one dipped his or her forefingers into the poi1 and lifting as much as the fingers would hold1 they passed them into their mouths1 throwing their heads back as they did so1 to get a good mouthful4 ,the hogs1 chickens and little dogs were speedily dissected1 the fingers being the only knives1 forks and spoons used among them4 ,the scene was one of true enjoyment4 ,the ,sandwich ,islander is never so happy1 so musical1 so full of pleasant talk1 as when seated at a good meal2 and the quantity one eats on such occasions would astonish an ,american who had never seen them4 ,usually they are particular about having their hands clean1 and eating with due respect to each other's rights4 ,one waits for the other to put his fingers in the poi and their ideas of decorum and manners1 such as they are1 are as strict as ours4 ,we ,elders who ate with them were also seated on mats and ate the same kind of food that they did1 only in place of using our fingers we either used spoons or small paddles which we whittled out of wood1 to convey the food to our mouths1 thinking it would be better to set them an example in this respect4 ,i scarcely think1 though1 that any of our party would prefer dog meat to beef1 goat or chicken1 though ,i must say that if it were not for prejudice1 ,i think the dog meat as wholesome and as clean as the pork2 for the dogs which they eat in that country are a peculiar breed1 the flesh of which is very sweet and tender4 ,they are very particular in feeding them2 they keep them cleaner and do not give them such disagreeable food as they do to their hogs4 ,but there is something repugnant to people raised as we have been1 in the idea of eating dog meat4 ,a story was told me by ,brother ,napela of a trick which he and some other natives played off on some white men at a feast which they partook of at a place called ,waikapu on the island of ,maui4 ,the white men were merchants from ,lahaina1 and had been invited over to this feast4 ,they had meats and fish of every kind nearly1 and among the rest had a number of roasted pigs and roasted dogs4 ,one of the natives suggested1 as a good trick to play on the white men1 that they sever the heads of the pigs1 and put them with the dogs1 and take the dogs' heads and put them with the pigs4 ,they did so4 ,of course the merchants did not want to eat dog meat1 and would not touch any of the meat where the dogs' heads were1 but ate heartily of what they supposed were pigs4 ,the natives tried to persuade them to eat the other meat4 ,oh no1 they said1 these delicious pigs are good enough for us1 and they would not touch the other4 ,i may say here that the native method of cooking meat is superior to ours4 ,they contrive to preserve all the juices of the meat in it while it is being cooked4 ,nothing was said to the merchants about the trick that had been played upon them until the feast was ended1 and they could not be persuaded that they had eaten dogs1 until the bones were shown to them1 which they knew to be not those of pigs4 ,they tried hard to be sick at the thought of having eaten dog meat1 but had to confess that it was as good meat as they ever ate4 ,an unsuspecting person1 if served with dog meat1 would never dream that it was anything but sucking pig4 ,chapter #ae ,answers to ,prayer1 and the ,bestowal of the ,gifts upon the ,elders and ,people--,elders ,sent to ,teach ,not to ,be ,taught--,blessings ,will ,rest ,upon ,those ,who ,labor ,among the ,red ,men for ,their ,salvation ,one incident1 ,i will relate1 which occurred a few months after we went to ,wailuku1 to show how the ,lord hears and answers prayer4 ,we were very much in need of some means to buy stuff for garments1 etc4 ,the natives were very poor1 and we felt delicate about asking them for anything2 but we knew that the ,lord would hear and answer our prayers2 so we prayed to ,him4 ,brother ,hammond had brought his wife and child over from ,lahaina1 and they were living1 as ,i have told you1 in the village close to ,wailuku4 ,he and ,i had to make a visit to a town about twelve or fifteen miles distant1 and before starting1 we had prayed to the ,lord to open the way so that we might obtain what we wanted4 ,we had traveled from the house about three miles1 when in passing some houses which were on the beach1 we met a man by the name of ,freeman1 an ,american1 who accosted us and inquired if we had authority to marry4 ,upon our informing him that we had1 he asked us if we could spare the time to stop at his house and marry him4 ,we told him as it was on our way we would stop4 ,i performed the ceremony1 and at his request addressed the people who had assembled at the house4 ,he gave us a five dollar gold piece4 ,we had married many before that1 but this was the first money which had ever been given to us4 ,his five-dollars supplied our necessities1 for in those days we were content with very little4 ,i have always looked upon this as a direct answer to our prayers1 for when we met the man he was evidently on his way to ,wailuku1 with his intended wife1 to be married by the missionary there4 ,the missionary missed the fee1 but as he knew nothing respecting it1 he was no poorer4 ,i do not suppose he needed it as badly as we did4 ,it is always more pleasant for an ,elder1 when he is in need of anything1 on a mission1 to apply to the ,lord for it than to ask the people2 at least1 ,i have always found it so4 ,the ,lord blessed the natives who joined the ,church in many ways1 and they rejoiced exceedingly in the gifts of the ,spirit4 ,one day a young man made application to be baptized who had been so sick that he was not expected to live4 ,his elder brother was in the ,church1 and the evening previous to his baptism the ,elders had been called to administer to him4 ,he was so much restored by morning that he was able to arise and afterwards attend the meeting1 and was baptized4 ,the same day ,brother ,napela and some of the other native ,saints had visited a woman who believed in the gospel1 who wished to be baptized2 she had been unable to walk upright for five years1 but she was anxious for them to administer to her1 that she might be restored4 ,they laid their hands upon her and commanded her in the name of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 to arise and walk4 ,she immediately stood up and walked1 and went and was baptized4 ,this created quite an excitement in the neighborhood1 for she was well known1 and the people were much astonished at her restoration4 ,the attention of numbers were turned to the gospel by this occurrence4 ,another instance which happened about the same time was that of a woman who was a member of the ,presbyterian church4 ,she was afflicted with dropsy1 or something very like that disease4 ,she had tried various remedies1 but obtained no relief4 ,she had heard about the gifts in the ,church1 and she called upon ,brothers ,napela and ,uaua to administer to her1 saying she was willing to covenant and forsake her sins4 ,they administered to her and she was healed2 all the swelling left her and she was baptized4 ,on ,sunday she attended meeting1 and afterwards made some remarks derogatory to the work1 indulging in a spirit of apostasy2 her disease returned immediately1 and she was as bad as ever4 ,another instance was that of a woman1 one of whose limbs was withered1 and who was afflicted with palsy4 ,she was baptized1 and was speedily restored to health4 ,a niece of hers was afterwards afflicted similarly2 she requested us to administer to her1 and when we did so1 she was restored to health4 ,the same day that this latter person had hands laid upon her1 we had a meeting at a place called ,waiehu4 ,after the meeting was over1 three persons requested to be administered to1 one of whom was a blind man4 ,he had been blind for upwards of thirty years1 but his sight was restored to him4 ,he began to amend from the time hands were laid upon him1 and the next morning1 he was able to see4 ,he was afterwards able to go about without any guide2 and ,i have frequently seen him come into meeting1 winding his way among the people1 without any aid1 to a seat which he was accustomed to occupy near the speaker4 ,his restoration caused a great stir in the neighborhood1 for his blindness was well known4 ,he had a son1 a mature man1 who could barely recollect when his father was able to see and go about without aid4 ,i will relate another instance of which ,i was not an eye witness2 but which ,i have every reason to believe occurred as ,i will relate it4 ,i have mentioned an ,elder whose name was ,uaua4 ,he was a man of considerable faith4 ,his wife had been stricken down in his absence and had been1 to all appearance1 dead for some three hours before he had arrived at his house4 ,in that country when a person dies1 the friends and relatives of the family assemble together and manifest their grief by wailing4 ,they were indulging in these lamentations and outcries when he returned1 every one supposing that she was dead4 ,he was1 of course1 very much shocked2 but the first thing he did was to anoint her and lay hands upon her2 and1 to the astonishment of all who had assembled1 she instantly recovered4 ,i might multiply instances of this kind without number2 but ,i write these1 to show you that the same works and power of ,god1 which were manifested anciently through the faith of the servants and ,saints of ,god have been shown forth in our day and under the administration of the people of ,god1 who now live4 ,the natives of the ,sandwich ,islands had great faith to lay hands on the sick1 and also to have hands laid upon them when they were sick4 ,it was not contrary to their traditions for them to believe in this ordinance1 for their old native priests1 before the missionaries came1 had considerable power which they exercised1 and in which the people had confidence4 ,many ,elders desire1 when they are called as missionaries1 to go to enlightened and cultivated nations4 ,they think their experience among such people would be profitable to them1 and that they would became polished and learn many things which they could not obtain among a people1 for instance1 like the ,sandwich ,islanders or the ,lamanites4 ,such ,elders forget that the ,lord sends ,his ,elders out to teach and not to be taught4 ,missionaries should not have the idea of self-comfort and self-indulgence in their minds2 but the salvation of souls4 ,the man who goes out expecting the people to whom he is sent1 to teach1 enlighten and benefit him commits a great blunder4 ,he does not understand the nature of his ,priesthood and calling4 ,i shall probably never forget the feelings expressed to me by ,john ,hyde1 ,jr41 on this point4 ,he had been called1 at a ,conference 7,april1 #ahef7 at ,salt ,lake ,city1 to go on a mission to the ,sandwich ,islands4 ,he came to ,san ,francisco on his way4 ,i was then publishing the ,western ,standard and presiding over the ,california mission4 ,it was with a feeling akin to disgust that he spoke to me about his mission4 ,if he had only been called to go to ,france1 to ,england1 or to any of the so-called enlightened nations1 he said he would have gone willingly2 but to go to a degraded1 heathenish people was entirely beneath him4 ,a man with his talent and acquirements would be thrown away upon them4 ,he apostatized while on the voyage to ,honolulu2 or1 to state it more properly1 he made up his mind while on the sea to dissolve his connection with the ,church4 ,he was an apostate in his heart and feelings before he left ,san ,francisco4 ,but can any one1 who understands this work1 wonder that a man who felt thus should lose the ,spirit and apostatize8 ,it would be a wonder if he did not4 ,the experience of the ,elders who have been on missions to the ,sandwich ,islands is encouraging to all who are called to go on missions to the ,lamanites4 ,they may have privations to endure1 but they will be swallowed up in the joy of the ,lord4 ,i am sure the ,lord makes up for any lack of temporal comforts by an additional outpouring of ,his ,spirit4 ,the soul of a ,sandwich ,islander or a ,lamanite is as precious in the sight of the ,lord as the soul of a white man1 whether born in ,america or ,europe4 ,jesus died for one as much as the other1 and to the men of red skins the ,lord's promises are very great and precious4 ,those who administer ordinances of salvation to them will have fully as great joy over them in the day of the ,lord ,jesus as if they had been more enlightened4 ,blessed shall be the faithful men who have labored1 who now labor1 and who many hereafter labor among the ,lamanites for their salvation4 ,in such labor the ,elders will enjoy the power of the ,priesthood1 the gifts of the ,spirit1 and pure1 heavenly happiness to their hearts' content1 and that is all they could enjoy among the races which they may think more favored4 ,i say this because my own experience has proved it to be true1 and because of the great blessings and promises which are made to those who shall labor for the salvation of the seed of ,israel and the covenant people of the ,lord4 ,in what position could the sons of ,king ,mosiah have learned as much concerning the power of ,god as they did during their missions among the ,lamanites8 ,among what people could they have saved more souls8 ,and will they not have joy with them in the kingdom of the ,father4 ,thousands of ,elders will yet have to labor among the red men for their salvation4 ,they should not look upon this as a hardship1 but as a great and inestimable privilege--a work in which angels delight to engage4 ,chapter #af ,consolation ,drawn from the ,book of ,mormon--,its ,translation into the ,hawaiian ,language--,great ,joy in the ,labor--,a ,committee to ,raise ,funds to ,purchase a ,press1 ,type1 etc4--,press1 etc41 ,ordered1 and ,then ,sent to ,california--,the ,book of ,mormon ,printed--,the ,first ,translation into the ,language of a ,nation of ,red ,men--,kindred ,languages ,spoken ,through the ,polynesian ,islands--,the ,western ,standard ,some of my readers may be placed in circumstances similar to those which surrounded me a part of the time on the ,sandwich ,islands2 and it may be profitable to tell them how ,i kept from losing courage and becoming home-sick4 ,my love for home is naturally very strong4 ,for the first year after ,i left home ,i could scarcely think about it without my feelings getting the better of me4 ,but here ,i was in a distant land1 among a people whose language and habits were strange to me4 ,their very food was foreign to me1 and unlike anything ,i had ever before seen or tasted4 ,i was much of the time separated from my companions1 the ,elders4 ,until ,i mastered the language and commenced preaching and baptizing the people1 ,i was indeed a stranger among them4 ,before ,i commenced holding regular meetings1 ,i had plenty of time for meditation1 and to review all the events of my short life1 and to think of the beloved home from which ,i was so far separated4 ,it was then that ,i found the value of the ,book of ,mormon4 ,it was a book which ,i always loved4 ,but ,i learned there to appreciate it as ,i had never done before4 ,if ,i felt inclined to be lonely1 to be low spirited1 or home-sick4 ,i had only to turn to its sacred pages to receive consolation1 new strength and a rich outpouring of the ,spirit4 ,scarcely a page that did not contain encouragement for such as ,i was4 ,the salvation of man was the great theme upon which its writers dwelt1 and for this they were willing to undergo every privation and make every sacrifice4 ,what were my petty difficulties compared with those afflictions which they had to endure8 ,if ,i expected to share the glory for which they contended1 ,i could see that ,i must labor in the same ,spirit4 ,if the sons of ,king ,mosiah could relinquish their high estate1 and go forth among the degraded ,lamanites to labor as they did1 should not ,i labor with patience and devoted zeal for the salvation of these poor red men1 heirs of the same promise8 ,let me1 recommend this book1 therefore1 to young and old1 if they need comfort and encouragement4 ,especially can ,i recommend it to those who are away from home on missions4 ,no man can read it1 partake of its spirit and obey its teachings1 without being filled with a deep love for the souls of men and a burning zeal to do all in his power to save them4 ,every ,latter-day ,saint should read it1 as well as the other records which the ,lord has given to us4 ,the conversations which ,i had with the natives concerning the ,book of ,mormon and the origin of the red men1 made them anxious to see it4 ,after branches had been built up at ,wailuku1 at ,waiehu and other places around1 by ,elder ,f4 ,a4 ,hammond and myself1 ,i was led to commence the translation of the ,book of ,mormon into the language of the ,islands--the ,hawaiian language1 as it is called4 ,my place of residence was at ,brother ,j4 ,h4 ,napela's1 ,wailuku4 ,he was an educated1 intelligent ,hawaiian1 who thoroughly understood his own language1 and could give me the exact meaning of words4 ,the meaning attached to many words depended upon the context4 ,it was important1 therefore1 in translating1 to know that the words used conveyed the correct idea4 ,unless the language used carried to the ,hawaiian mind the same meaning precisely which the words in our translation gave to us1 it would not be correct4 ,probably but few in the nation were as well qualified as ,brother ,napela1 to help me in this respect4 ,he was a descendant of the old chiefs of the ,island of ,maui1 in whose families the language was preserved and spoken in the greatest purity1 and he had advantages which no other equally well educated man1 at that time1 possessed4 ,he had studied the principles of the gospel very thoroughly1 he had a comprehensive mind to grasp the truth1 and he had been greatly favored by the ,spirit4 ,as ,i progressed with the translation1 his comprehension of the work increased4 ,he got the spirit of the book1 and was able to seize the points presented to him very quickly4 ,in the last days of the month of ,january1 #ahea1 ,i commenced the work of translation4 ,my fellow-laborers1 the ,elders1 encouraged me1 and from the ,first ,presidency at home--,presidents ,young1 ,kimball and ,richards--came words of cheer1 approving of what ,i was doing1 and counseling me to persevere4 ,the labor of preaching1 baptizing1 confirming1 organizing branches1 administering to the sick and traveling around visiting branches1 and over other islands1 pressed upon me and claimed the greater portion of my time4 ,those were busy seasons for all who would labor1 and they were exceedingly delightful4 ,the ,lord seemed very near to us upon those islands in those days4 ,the time occupied by me in translation1 were the days and hours which were not claimed by other duties4 ,in the beginning my method was to translate a few pages1 and then1 when opportunity offered1 explain to ,brother ,napela the ideas1 whether historical or doctrinal1 in great fullness4 ,by this means he would1 get a pretty thorough comprehension of the part ,i was translating4 ,i would then read the translation to him1 going carefully over every word and sentence1 and learning from him the impression the language used conveyed to his mind4 ,in this way ,i was able to correct any obscure expression which might be used1 and secure the ,hawaiian idiom4 ,the ,spirit of translation rested upon me1 it even became a very easy labor for me4 ,i obtained great facility of expression in the language1 and before ,i got through with the book1 ,i had a range of words at my command1 superior to the great bulk of the people4 ,this was a very natural result4 ,doctrines1 principles and ideas were in the ,book of ,mormon which were outside the ordinary thoughts of the people4 ,the translation of these1 called forth the full powers of the language1 and really required--that which ,i felt ,i had while engaged in this work--the assistance of the ,spirit of inspiration4 ,at some times in revising the translation1 ,i had other intelligent men present with ,brother ,napela4 ,in this way ,i went through the whole book1 carefully reading and explaining every word and sentence to him and to them2 and if there was an obscure expression1 not leaving it till it was made plain4 ,when it had been thus revised ,i copied it into a book4 ,the copying1 however1 into the book1 for the want of time1 was never quite finished4 ,but1 excepting that it was written in very fine writing1 because of the scarcity of paper1 it really did not need copying4 ,the translation was finished on ,july the #bbnd1 #ahec--;about two years and a half from the time ,i commenced it4 ,but it was not until the #bgth of the succeeding ,september that we completed the revision4 ,my labors in the ministry have always been to me exceedingly joyful2 but no part of them ever furnished me such pleasure as did my work at translating that precious record4 ,after ,i commenced it1 ,i had1 in preaching1 an increased flow of the ,spirit1 in testimony ,i had greater power1 and in the administration of all the ordinances of the gospel ,i felt that ,i had greater faith4 ,i felt very happy4 ,in truth1 my happiness was beyond description4 ,thankfulness constantly filled my heart1 because of my being permitted to do this work4 ,in ,december1 #ahec1 ,i visited ,kauai1 the extreme westerly island1 which is inhabited1 of the group4 ,i had a double purpose in visiting this island--to visit the ,saints and bear testimony to all the people concerning the work1 and to again revise the translation of the ,book of ,mormon4 ,there was a native ,elder laboring in the ministry with ,elder ,william ,farrer at that time on the island1 by the name of ,kauwahi1 a man of acute intellect and talent and good education1 and who was called the most eloquent and best reasoner in the ,hawaiian nation4 ,i was desirous to have him and ,brother ,farrer go through the translation with me1 to see that no word had been omitted1 and to correct any inaccuracies which might have escaped my previous reading4 ,we commenced this revision at the town of ,waimea1 the farthest inhabited point west on the ,sandwich ,islands1 on the #bdth of ,december1 #ahec1 and finished it on the last day of ,january1 #ahed4 ,while attending to this we did not neglect our other duties among the ,saints and people4 ,during this revision1 ,i read the book through twice1 with the exception of a few pages3 once to ,brother ,farrer1 who looked at the ,english version1 to see there were no words or sentences omitted2 afterwards to ,brother ,kauwahi1 who also looked at the ,english book1 he being a little acquainted with ,english1 to correct any inaccuracies in the translation or the idiom4 ,where there was an expression that was not very plain1 or that was out of the ordinary line of the ,hawaiian thought--and there were many such--,i took pains to explain it fully to ,brother ,kauwahi1 as ,i had done before to ,brother ,napela1 so as to be sure that ,i had used the most simple and clear language to convey the idea4 ,in my journal ,i find that ,i say it was more free from mistakes than ,i could expect it to be under the circumstances in which ,i was placed at the time of translating--there were calls to preach1 frequent interruptions to go and administer to the sick1 and often conversations which distracted my attention2 but in the midst of which ,i had to translate and copy4 ,at a conference of the ,elders1 held at ,wailuku1 ,october #fth1 #ahec1 the question was discussed1 whether it would be better to employ some printing firm to print the ,book of ,mormon1 or to purchase a press and printing materials for the mission1 with which to print that and other works necessary for the instruction of the ,saints4 ,it was decided that the better course would be to buy a press1 etc4 ,a committee of three--,elders ,philip ,b4 ,lewis1 ,benjamin ,f4 ,johnson and myself--was selected to take such measures as might be necessary to raise the funds4 ,at that conference ,i was released from the charge of the ,island of ,maui1 and appointed to travel all through the islands1 to collect means for the publication of the ,book of ,mormon4 ,and here it may be proper to say that those who subscribed for one copy or more of the work1 were afterwards furnished therewith when it was published4 ,brother ,edward ,dennis1 a white man who had been baptized at ,honolulu1 loaned the committee1 on their note1 one thousand dollars towards the purchase of the press1 type1 paper1 etc4 ,these funds we sent to ,brother ,john ,m4 ,horner1 ,california1 for him to use for the purchase of what we wanted4 ,the ,press1 type and paper were purchased in ,new ,york1 were shipped around ,cape ,horn to ,honolulu1 and1 as ,i had returned home to ,salt ,lake ,valley1 they were sent to ,elder ,parley ,p4 ,pratt1 by his request1 at ,san ,francisco1 ,california4 ,he thought at that time of publishing a paper there1 and wrote to the ,first ,presidency for me to be appointed a mission to assist him4 ,i had barely reached home after an absence of five years4 ,i remained there about five months and a half4 ,at the ,april ,conference1 #ahee1 ,i was called to go on a mission to ,california1 to publish the ,book of ,mormon in the ,hawaiian language1 and to assist ,elder ,pratt in the publication of a paper4 ,elders ,joseph ,bull and ,matthew ,f4 ,wilkie were selected to go with me4 ,when we reached ,san ,francisco1 ,elder ,pratt had started for home4 ,i succeeded in reaching him at ,brother ,john ,c4 ,naile's ranch1 where he was completing his preparations for the journey4 ,he set me apart to preside1 in his place1 over northern ,california and ,oregon1 and we separated1 he to go home1 and ,i to return to ,san ,francisco4 ,our first business was to secure a suitable office1 set up the press1 and go to work4 ,brothers ,bull and ,wilkie knew nothing about the ,hawaiian language2 but the copy1 to begin with1 was good1 and they soon became so familiar with the words that they could set it in type nearly as well as they could ,english1 and made but very few mistakes4 ,president ,young counseled me to take my wife with me upon this mission4 ,my method of reading the proof was to get her to read the ,english book while ,i looked at the proofs of the translation4 ,by this means ,i was able to detect any omission of words or sentences4 ,after going through the proofs in this way1 ,i read them again1 to see if any errors in spelling1 etc41 had escaped me4 ,this was my only way of reading by copy2 for ,i had no one with me who could read the ,hawaiian4 ,when we had the edition struck off and bound1 they were sent to the ,elders upon the islands4 ,thus was the ,book of ,mormon first translated and published in the language of a race of red men--a part of the race for whom its promises are most abundant4 ,the ,elders who have since labored upon those islands1 know the good the book has accomplished4 ,its circulation can never fail to benefit all who will read it4 ,the language of the ,sandwich ,islanders is a dialect of the ,polynesian language1 spoken by the ,islanders with red skins all through the ,pacific4 ,should the day ever come1 as ,i trust it will1 when the natives of other groups shall be visited and brought to the knowledge of the gospel1 it will take but little trouble to adapt the ,hawaiian translation to their language4 ,but whether or not1 the book has been published to the ,hawaiian nation4 ,the ,lord plainly manifested that it was ,his will that this work should be done1 and for its accomplishment1 ,he opened the way most marvelously4 ,the publication of the book was not a part of my first mission2 but as the sketch of the translation would not be complete without the addition of these few particulars respecting its publication1 ,i insert them4 ,in addition1 ,i may also say that1 after the publication of the ,book of ,mormon1 the press and type were used for the publication of the ,western ,standard1 a paper which many of my adult readers may remember4 ,chapter #ag ,time of ,departure--,funds ,provided--,sorrow at ,separating--,contrast ,between ,our ,landing and ,our ,departure--,souls for ,our ,hire--,an ,exceedingly ,happy ,mission ,the time had arrived for the five ,elders1 who had remained out of the first ten who were sent to the islands--to return home4 ,it had been a matter of some thought how we would be able to obtain means to return4 ,the islanders had but little money4 ,a dollar with them was a very large sum2 a ten cent piece was a much larger sum with them generally1 and more difficult to procure1 than a dollar was to ,americans4 ,but when they learned we were soon to be released1 they manifested a very kind and liberal spirit4 ,still1 with all they had done1 when our passages were engaged1 we did not have near enough money to pay for them4 ,but we had faith that the necessary means would come from some quarter4 ,and it did4 ,through the kindness of ,elders ,lewis1 ,johnson and ,hammond and some white brethren whom we had baptized1 we had enough1 and some money to take with us1 to help us when we reached ,san ,francisco4 ,the ,lord knew our wants and he supplied them4 ,and thus ,he always does with ,his servants and those who put their trust in him4 ,elder ,james ,keeler1 one of the five1 failed to reach ,honolulu in time to sail on the vessel on which we had engaged our passages4 ,this was a great disappointment to us4 ,elders ,henry ,w4 ,bigler1 ,james ,hawkins1 ,william ,farrer and myself bade farewell to the ,elders and ,saints at ,honolulu on ,saturday1 ,july #bith1 #ahed1 and sailed for ,san ,francisco1 homeward bound4 ,the wharf at ,honolulu was crowded with native ,saints and others1 to see us embark4 ,we had quite an ovation4 ,there also were the ,elders from home and ,sister ,hammond--,sister ,lewis was not able to be out--to bid us farewell4 ,when the signal was made for all to go on board1 we had considerable difficulty in making our way to the vessel1 through the throng of people who crowded around to shake hands4 ,my feelings were indescribable4 ,my dear white friends ,i had been associated with on terms of the closest intimacy for several years4 ,ties of blood could not1 it seemed to me1 have caused us to be more attached to each other than we were4 ,we had endured privation and toil together2 we had counseled and prayed together2 we had had seasons of joy and happiness together1 such as those only know who have been engaged in similar labors4 ,my feelings were so acute at the thought of parting with these beloved companions and ,saints1 that1 long as the years had been during which ,i had been absent from home1 and much as ,i had yearned for that home and its loved associations1 ,i could not control my emotions4 ,how great the contrast between our landing and our departure6 ,we had landed there friendless and unknown--so far as man was concerned4 ,now there were thousands who loved us1 who rejoiced in the truth of the gospel and in the testimony of ,jesus4 ,on that wharf that day was an illustration of the wonderful power of the gospel in creating love in the hearts of the children of men4 ,we had gone forth weeping and bearing precious seed4 ,the ,lord had given us souls for our hire4 ,many who were baptized there have gone hence1 who ,i firmly believe will be numbered among the redeemed and sanctified4 ,others1 doubtless1 will prove faithful1 and receive an inheritance in the kingdom of our ,father4 ,more than twenty-five years have elapsed since my departure from the ,sandwich ,islands4 ,during that period my life has been a happy one4 ,i have filled many missions1 have seen great varieties of life1 and have had exceedingly agreeable and delightful associations2 but1 after making allowance for growth and increased capacity to enjoy1 ,i can truthfully say that1 destitute as we were of many things which people brought up as we are think necessary to comfort1 at no time or under no circumstances have ,i enjoyed more sweet1 pure and soul-filling joy than ,i did on ,,my ,,first ,,mission4