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Show AN ANS'\i ER T PR AYER One of t he most valuable l es sons to be learned £rom persecution o:t· dan-. ge:r i s the power a 1d efficacy of prayer. Hunger, sickness , and the actions of mo violence have one much to bring men to their knees and teach them how to :pray. Humility a.nd reliance upon divine aid lead to unconquerable faith and c onstitute a source of power in men to be found in no other way. Usually, this is the first leo.so"' the young Mormon learns . Because of primitive conditions and the pove:rty which l'"esulted from the late Civil 'V'lar, Mormon elders traveling through the Southern States in the two decade s following the Civil \1\'"ar encountered many t rying experiences. They felt the ravage c of. th Klu Klux Klan and often suffered s evere persec ,tion at the hands of rough , unedu.cated, and n"lisguided men. Many elders were sub.- jected to whippings ; som.e were otherwise n1istreated; and others murdered in cold blood. Yet out of these persecutions a nd privations were developed some of the truly great and outstanding rr.dssionariea and leaders of the Church. And - ,!'• from t he hone st in heart 'Nere found, among tho;;;e Southern people,. many of the bravest, tnost h o spitabl e , and choicest spirits brought into the Church. lt was during the pre sidency o£ E lder John Morgan that most of the per-sec utio s in the Southern States Mission occurred. He was thoroughly ac-quainted with the people of the South. As a young Union officer he had, over a period ol three years ., £ought in many of the battles which occurred in Ten .. nes see .,. Alabama, and Georgia and assisted in subjugating the Confederate Army. Yet during that time e ad lived with and become well- acquainted with many of the Southern p~ople and had lea rned to love them. |
