My First Mission

Notice-Elder Keeler and Myself Go to Keanae and Hav

two meetings, one in the forenoon and one in the afternoon, at which I spoke upon the principles of the gospel and their restoration to man upon the earth,

pirit was powerfully poured out upon all present; many were stirred up to repentance, their hearts were touched and the tears coursed down their cheeks. Brother James Keele

week, and on Sunday I baptiz

hat I had never before known, and my heart was filled with praise and gratitude to t

elt impressed by the Spirit to go elsewhere and open ot

the people had been sprinkled-and the doctrine, so strange to them, that God has spoken again to man, and sent His holy

eir spiritual teachers, yet the religion of these missionaries did not generally satisfy them. There was not the power about the God which the missionaries worshiped that they believed th

ible was written. His gifts and blessings were for men now, as much as they were eighteen hundred years ago. Man had lost fa

, and there was a consistency in our

n it said another. But after our arrival the sectarian missionaries tried hard to teach them that the word of God had a hidden meaning,

gion was, in fact, the State religion, though not so declared by law; it was popula

government over whom sectarian priests had such complete control. But we knew God could break dow

mes Keeler arrived, accompanied by a native, by the name of Namakaiona. Brother Keeler, after leaving Kula, had traveled around the island until he reached a place called Keanae, where he stopped. He had read the scriptures to the pe

kind new to me, and very grand. Such a wealth of vegetation I had read of, but never before beheld; and is not seen it any land outside of the tropics. The shrubs and ferns were in grea

ived in the villages on that side of the island needed, they either carried in, on their backs, or brought around in boats. To me the journey was most romantic, and I enjoyed it, the more

tance, had gathered to meet us. Had we been princes they could not have treated us with greater consideration and honor. We

nd counseling the people. During that time there were upwards of one hundred and thirty baptized. The Spiri

he amount of labor that I had performed. My object in returning then, was to organize

o teachers whose names were, Kaleohano and Maio

hat region. We only ordained teachers and deacons as officers, thinking it better to let them gai