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had been sent to work on "the farm. But he had long ago stopped worrying about it. He accepted that Jens had needed help and that the financial condition of his family had nade the move necessary. His few visits back to Braendekilde had convinced hin that life on the farm with its sprawling, roomy buildings was pre-ferrable to the cramped cottage squeezed between the other buildings lining the village street and housing seven children and his father and mother. He now believed he had been the lucky one. Jens Larsen was a Lutheran minister, but he welcomed the two missionaries with his usual hearty manner and invited them to stay the night. Al; they gathered around the big table for soup and bread, he questioned the young men about their message, and they told a strange, fascinating stoiy about revelation being returned to the earth by the Lord who had instructed a young man in Hew York State to found a new church which taught the principles of God and not the philosophies of men. The Jensens and their nephew, Morten Rasmussen, were intrigued by the message of the young missionaries, who remained in theix house several days. The harvest was nearly in and some leisure time was available to talk, to read the Bible and a new set of scriptures the men had brought with them. The total commitment of the new sect contrasted sharply with the detached theology of the Lutheran State Church. On the 23rd of November, 1851f Morten went into the waters of baptism with Elder Jens Larsen. That the young missionary had the same name as his uncle may have inspired Morten with extra confidence, and soon after, the whole family committed themselves to the new religion and were baptized. As the missionaries began to convert more Danish people to the new gospel, persecutions by neighbors began to be common. On April 18, 1852, the First Presidency of the Church in Salt Lake City issued the Seventh General Spistle which saids 78 |
