[Gutenberg 45049] • My First Mission

"When a youth, it was my good fortune to live in the family of President John taylor. It was my chief delight in those days to listen to him and other Elders relate their experiences as missionaries. Such conversations were very fascinationg to me. they made a deep impression upon me. The days of which they spoke were days of poverty when Elders traveled without purse or scrip among strange people who were ignorant of the principles, and too many of them were ready to mob and persecute. They traveled by faith, and were pioneers for the Lord in strange lands, and He was their only reliance. their missions were rich in instances of His power exhibited in their behalf. hat I heard strengthened my faith and increased the desire in my heart to be a missionary. No calling was so noble in my eyes as that of a standard-bearer of the gospedl. The thought which prompts me to publish My first Mision is that perhaps it may have the effect upon some of the youth of Zion that the recitals of faithful Elders had upon me". President George Q. Cannon.