Designed for the Instruction and Encouragement of Young Latter-day Saints. Second Edition Juvenile Instructor Office, Salt Lake City, 1882 My First Mission entered, according to act of Congress, in the year 1879, by Geo. Q. Cannon, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. Electronic edition produced by the Mormon Texts Project . Volunteers who helped with this book: Meridith Crowder, Ben Crowder, Tod Robbins, Matt Barron. Version 1.0 The first chapter of this little work I wrot

Two-and-a-half years have elapsed since the first edition of My First Mission was published. It was the first work of the kind issued, and the success of the venture, financially, was by no means certain at that time. It is not too much to say now, that our most sanguine expectations in commencing the publication of the Faith-Promoting Series have been more than realized. My First Mission soon became popular; the 6,000 copies of the first edition are all disposed of, and there is a demand for mo

Timidity When Attempting to Speak in Public—Determination to Persevere, Relying Upon God—Assuring Manifestation of the Presence of the Spirit of God From San Francisco to Honolulu—Storm and Sea-sickness Honolulu, Its Location and Harbor—Prayer to the Almighty—The Elders Separate, and Commence Labor on the Four Principal Islands 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 Kindness of

What is called bashfulness is frequently nothing more than pride. Those who are troubled with it are generally anxious to appear to advantage; they desire the approbation of their fellows; and the fear that they will say or do something that will not come up to the standard, oppresses them and makes them nervous. 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 Elders. There were only two or three of them who had eve

It was very natural, I suppose, for him after piloting the ship out of the harbor, to be eager to get back before the storm broke upon us; but I believe we all should have felt better if he had remained with us. The captain, especially, felt the responsibility of his position. Here he was outside of a strange harbor, on a dangerous coast, with a strong wind blowing directly on shore, and darkness upon him and he ignorant of his surroundings! We had no time to indulge in many reflections upon the

The sun was sinking low in the heavens when we got through. Our descent was quickly made, for we felt joyful, and when men are joyful and the Spirit of God rests upon them, they feel lithe and active. We had been in the presence of the Lord, and had felt His power, and why should we not be happy? The president of the mission had chosen as his companion the next oldest man. The most suitable place for them to remain, we all felt, was at Honolulu. But what must the rest do? Scatter among the other

The governor was named James Young. He was a half-white, his father being a friend of Kamehameha the First, and one of the first white men who settled among the Hawaiians. We requested the use of the palace, which was not then occupied by the royal family, to preach in. He promised to write to his brother, the minister of the interior, about it. We called a number of times afterwards to see him; but could get no definite answer. It was very evident to us that he dare not grant us any favors. Rev

Such a profound feeling of thankfulness as I had on our obtaining a shelter in this poor, native woman’s hut I never experienced before. It has been my fortune, since those early days of my life, to travel considerably, and to mingle with our missionaries in many lands. I have seen Elders who were willing to endure everything for the gospel’s sake; their hearts were filled with joy and a burning desire to magnify their Priesthood and to fill their missions. What they ate or drank, where they lod

Our position, just then, was a peculiar one. Here was our president, the man who had been appointed to counsel and guide us, proposing to us to leave the field to which we had been appointed, and to take a journey of several hundred miles to another land to labor. What were we to do? How far did the obedience which we owed to him require us to go? This was an important question. To disobey a man in the rightful exercise of authority, was an act from which we naturally recoiled; and an act, too,

As I walked along towards the picket fence, three men came out of the house, and stepped up towards the gate. When I got opposite to them I saluted them, being greeted by them in return. I had passed but a few feet when the leader of the men inquired of me where I was going. I told them I thought of returning to Lahaina, on account of the weather. He said that as this was Saturday, I had better stop until Monday with him. He inquired of me who and what I was, and upon my informing him, his desir

This was the first occurrence of the kind in my experience in which I was personally prominent, and it had an importance in my eyes which it would scarcely have were it to happen to-day. One of those who listened to and understood this conversation was a brother-in-law of Napela’s, a half-white and a circuit judge, and a leading man on that island. He gave a report of the conversation which was very favorable to me, and altogether I think the missionary’s sermon did good. He intended it for evil

He warned the people not to entertain me, nor to salute me; if they did, they would be partakers in my evil deeds. To this I made a suitable reply and withdrew. From this time I commenced to labor in a more public manner among the people, speaking in their meeting houses as I could get opportunity, and doing all in my power to give them a knowledge of our principles. My speaking before Mr. Green had a good effect; the people saw that I preached the doctrines of the Bible, and that I was not afra

The Bible upheld us in our teachings, and there was a consistency in our doctrines which pleased the honest. The most of the natives of the islands supposed the Bible meant what it said; they had not learned to think that it meant one thing when it said another. But after our arrival the sectarian missionaries tried hard to teach them that the word of God had a hidden meaning, and that it was not like other language—a task, however, which, with a plain, simple people like the natives, they found

Brother Keeler had been there part of the time; but his want of the language troubled him greatly, as he had not acquired it sufficiently at the time to enable him to counteract these lies or to make full explanations concerning them. I learned that many of the Saints were doubting, and they had been praying to the Lord for me to return. This was the cause of my anxiety to get back. The Lord hears the prayers of those who pray to Him in faith, and hundreds of instances like this have occurred wi

This was the commencement of a great work in that region. The preaching of the gospel created a great excitement; the people flew by hundreds to hear the testimony, 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 work, almost deserted by his congregation; they having left his church to hear us preach, and see us baptize. I confess that to see him thus treated pleased me; I did not wish him to receive any bodily in

When I looked at these men perched on the deck of the canoe, it looked like going to sea on a log; and had I not been familiar with the skill of the natives in managing their canoe, and had some confidence in my own powers as a swimmer, with them to aid me in the water, I should scarcely have ventured in such a craft as this was. We prayed to the Lord, before we started, to give us a pleasant and favorable voyage, and the natives said they had never had a more favorable time. We reached Upolu on

Nothing was said to the merchants about the trick that had been played upon them until the feast was ended, and they could not be persuaded that they had eaten dogs, until the bones were shown to them, which they knew to be not those of pigs. They tried hard to be sick at the thought of having eaten dog meat, but had to confess that it was as good meat as they ever ate. An unsuspecting person, if served with dog meat, would never dream that it was anything but sucking pig. One incident, I will r

This created quite an excitement in the neighborhood, for she was well known, and the people were much astonished at her restoration. The attention of numbers were turned to the gospel by this occurrence. Another instance which happened about the same time was that of a woman who was a member of the Presbyterian church. She was afflicted with dropsy, or something very like that disease. She had tried various remedies, but obtained no relief. She had heard about the gifts in the Church, and she c

The labor of preaching, baptizing, confirming, organizing branches, administering to the sick and traveling around visiting branches, and over other islands, pressed upon me and claimed the greater portion of my time. Those were busy seasons for all who would labor, and they were exceedingly delightful. The Lord seemed very near to us upon those islands in those days. The time occupied by me in translation, were the days and hours which were not claimed by other duties. In the beginning my metho