EARLY EXPERIENCE OF A LATTER-DAY SAINT.

HEAR THE GOSPEL BY CHANCE—COMPUNCTION AT SPEAKING LIGHTLY OF THE PROPHET—JOIN THE CHURCH—A NEW SUIT OF CLOTHES—OPPOSED BY RELATIVES—MY OLD FRIEND, THE BIBLE—A DREAM—REQUIRED TO RENOUNCE "MORMONISM" OR LEAVE THE HOUSE—MY RELATIVES REFUSE TO SPEAK TO ME—THEY PAWN MY CLOTHES—I RECOVER THEM—VIOLENCE USED—MY CLOTHES TORN—MY MOTHER'S DEATH—MY BROTHERS QUARREL AND CALL UPON ME TO SETTLE THEIR DIFFICULTIES—MY BROTHER SICK—HEALED IN ANSWER TO MY PRAYER.

The substance of the following little sketch was told to the writer by the subject of it, who is an Elder in the Church, and lives in Salt Lake City. His name is Robert P—k. We give it in words as near his own as we can remember.

I was born and reared in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. I passed my boyhood without thinking much on religious matters, till I was about eighteen years of age. At this period of my life I was walking along what is called the Green, a kind of public park, when my attention was attracted by some men discussing publicly the principles of religion. One of them was a Baptist, and I could see that he had the best of the argument, baptism by immersion being a Bible doctrine. This was on Sunday evening.

After listening to the discussion for some time, I was attracted to a place where another man was preaching. This one proved to be an Elder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I was so struck with the principles he advanced, that I drank down greedily every word he spoke, and on hearing him tell where the meeting-house of the Latter-day Saints was situated, I went there. I was, however, too bashful to go inside, but I walked back and forth around the building, listening and catching whatever words I could.

I was out later than usual that night, and when I got home I was questioned as to the cause of my absence, by my mother (my father had been dead many years) and brothers. I said I had been to hear the "Mormons."

"Who are the Mormons?"

"Why, the followers of Joe Smith," said I. But I had no sooner said this than a sharp pang shot through me, and I felt condemned for speaking thus irreverently of the prophet. I did it because I thought it would excuse me in the eyes of my relatives. I knew I had done wrong, for, young as I was, I felt deeply impressed with the idea that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. As it was, I was severely reprimanded for staying out so late.

Shortly after this I went to meeting and heard Elder John Taylor speak on the setting up of the kingdom of God in the latter days, which did a great deal towards convincing me that the Lord had revealed the gospel in this age. After attending meeting for some time, I was finally baptized into the Church, and was filled with joy because I knew that I was indeed a member of the true Church of Christ.

Knowing that if my mother and four brothers discovered that I had joined the Church I would have no peace at home, I kept the matter secret from them. I was but an apprentice and only earning the small sum of three shillings a week (equal to seventy-five cents) and was, therefore, somewhat dependent on my relatives.

I was about to get my wages raised a shilling a week, and my eldest brother, Hugh, proposed that he should get me a suit of clothes, and I pay this shilling a week until the suit was paid for, so that I might go to church with the rest of the family.

I was glad to exchange, on Sundays, my old, patched, shabby working suit for some respectable clothing, and it was agreed to.

On the following Sunday morning I went to meeting as usual, and was complimented by the President of the Branch on my improved personal appearance. When I got home in the evening the first question asked of me was,

"Where have you been?"

"I have been to meeting."

"What meeting?"

"I have been to hear the Latter-day Saints."

At this there was a perfect storm about my ears. I went and got the old family Bible, and laid down the "law and the testimony."

In answer to all they would say, I quoted and read from the Bible. I explained the principles of the gospel of Jesus, and the strongest argument any of them used was in each picking up his hat and walking out.

On the following day (Monday) I felt somewhat timid about going home in the evening, for I had dreamed on the Sunday night that my brothers were plotting to turn me out of the house.

However, home I went, and just as I approached the door I heard their voices in conversation, and they were saying they would ask me which I would choose, to leave "Mormonism" or the house; and John, who was always more rabid and unkind than the rest, said he would not even let me eat my supper until I had decided what I should do.

I walked boldly in, sat down, and commenced eating supper. They sat silent for a short time, when finally Hugh put the question to me as to whether I would renounce "Mormonism," for if I did not I would have to leave the house.

I again brought down my old friend, the family Bible, and said: "Hugh, if you will prove to me from that sacred book that I am wrong in adhering to 'Mormonism,' or rather the gospel of Christ, I will renounce it; and if I show you that you are wrong in adhering to Church of Scotland, then you should leave that."

I then talked upon the scriptures and the principles of the gospel, and they could bring forward no reasonable objections to what I advanced.

Hugh rose to his feet and said: "If father had been alive he would have kicked you out of the house."

I answered: "Father is now rejoicing because of my having embraced the gospel of Jesus."

At this rejoinder the anger of my brothers increased; and Hugh used his old argument of picking up his hat and walking out.

I was induced to make this remark in relation to my father, because on the previous Sunday I had heard the doctrine of baptism and salvation for the dead preached by Elder John Lyon. While listening to him I was so filled with joy and gratitude at the prospect of doing something towards the salvation of my father, who had died without a knowledge of the gospel, that the tears chased each other down my face like rain. It was the first time I had heard the principles by which the grand chain which shall link the great human family together will be formed.

Seeing that threats and abuse availed nothing, making no impression upon me, my mother and brothers took another course: they would not speak to me.

Although I lived in the same house and ate at the same table with them, they uttered not a word to me, and would not answer me when I spoke to them.

Even my mother's heart seemed entirely hardened towards me, and it often cut me keenly when she would meet me on the street and pass without speaking.

Notwithstanding all this I rejoiced in the gospel exceedingly, feeling that the cause of God was more dear to me than my nearest relatives.

On the next Sunday I went to the drawer where my best suit was usually kept, and discovered that it was gone. They had not even left me a clean shirt. Nothing daunted, however, I buttoned up my shabby, old, every-day coat, and marched off to meeting, feeling that I could worship God just as fervently and acceptably in an old suit as in a new one.

Instead of handing over my wages to my mother as I usually did, I kept them every week, and announced at home my intention of doing so until my clothes were returned to me, thinking this would induce them to give them up.

However, I happened to come home one day at an unusual time, and in turning over some articles to get something I wanted, I came upon a ticket which at once explained where my clothes had gone. They had been pawned.

That this term may be understood, it may be well to say that they were deposited in a place where money is loaned on goods, and when the money is returned, with an additional sum as interest, the goods are delivered back to the owner.

I took this ticket, and with my wages which I had saved, and a little money which I had borrowed, I went to the pawnbroker's and got my clothes, and left them, for safe keeping, at the house of a brother in the Church.

I dressed up on the following Sunday and presented myself at home at dinner time, when my brothers manifested no small astonishment and a little shame on seeing that I had discovered their trick.

I had forgotten to say that on several occasions after I had dressed for meeting, my brothers would attempt to stop me from going, by main force, and several times in their efforts to keep me in, had torn the breast out of my shirt, but I invariably succeeded in getting out, and when my shirt was torn I would button up my coat and go to meeting.

Matters went on in this way for over two years, during which time I had been frequently told to leave the house and never enter it again. I paid no attention to this. On being told to go on one occasion, however, I said the next time I was ordered off I would go.

Not long afterwards my mother told me to leave the house forever, and I announced my intention of doing so on the Sunday following.

When Saturday came I proceeded to tie up my clothes in a bundle. No sooner did they see me doing this than they seized my clothing, and tore up my shirts and several other articles.

On former occasions when I had been thus abused, it was my custom to resist, but this time this disposition had departed; my heart was full; I pitied them for their blindness, and I felt like weeping tears of sorrow.

I made my way out of the house as best I could, with my wardrobe reduced to a single pair of pants, besides the clothes I wore at the time. As I was leaving I told them that the course they had taken towards me would bring them no good. My mind was filled with grief and I slept none that night.

Six weeks after this my mother burst a blood vessel, from the effect of which she never recovered, being ill from that time till her death, which occurred a year afterwards. This broke up the family.

Hugh married, and my three other brothers, John, George and William went to live with him. Some time afterwards John came to me and told me they had quarrelled, and he wished me to go and settle matters between the brothers, which I did, and the result was that John lived apart from the others.

William, who was the most peaceable and amiable of my brothers, was taken very ill, and one evening I was impressed to go and see him. I found all the members of the family gathered around him, as he was not expected to live through the night.

After everybody had left the room but myself, he said to me, "Robert, do you believe I shall die to-night?"

I said: "No, I do not."

"I ask you because the others are hypocrites, for when I ask whether they think I will die, they say, 'No, you will live,' and then I hear them in the adjoining room arranging how they will dress me when I am dead."

He fell asleep, and I laid hands upon him and administered to him in the name of Jesus Christ, and when he awoke he was much better, and he lived for four months after this.

This is a little of my first experience as a Latter-day Saint. Nearly every true disciple of Jesus has passed through circumstances that are instructive, although trying at the time they occur, and sometimes the relating of such things has a good effect, however simple the narrative may be.