(Judson Isaac Tolman relates experiences from his missionary service)
It was October of 1894 that I received a call from the Church to fill a mission in the Southern States; we had two small children at that time and were expecting our third. I was to leave in April of 1895, so I spent all the winter of 1894-1895 hauling cedar wood from the hills west of home to do the family while I was away. I cut into stove length quite a lot, and then the deacons of the ward would come each week and chop enough to do until the next, and after three years, when I returned home there was still some left.
I was set apart for my mission and ordained a Seventy by Pres. Seymour D. Young, of the First Quorum of the Seventy at Salt Lake City on March 20, 1895. He gave me a wonderful blessing and among other things said unto me, “Brother Tolman, if you will do your duty during this mission there is no miracle ever performed by man on this earth that is too great for you to perform.”
In the company with a number of Elders going on mission, we left Salt Lake City April 1, 1895. We stopped on the way at Kansas City long enough to go out to independence, MO, to see the Temple site; then went on to Chattanooga, Tenn., which was the headquarters of the Southern States Mission, and I was assigned to the West Virginia District, with headquarters at Canowye. There I was assigned to labor with Elder Herbert W. Beers of Kanjoise, Colorado. We labored principally along the Cole River and distributed tracts among the miners. As we then traveled without purse or script, depending on the Lord to provide us the necessities of life, it seemed that sometimes it was hard to keep up our faith and courage; I recall one night of being refused 16 times before finding a place to stay for the night. It was here I had a rather interesting experience; as we were tracting we met a man who, when he found we were Mormon Missionaries, became very angry and said, “You believe in polygamy, do you not?” I answered, “Yes, we do! There was a time when something like 2% of the membership of the Church practiced that law, but it is not practiced anymore since the government passed a law forbidding it, and I cannot see why you should object so much to polygamy since it was practiced by many of the Old Testament prophets in ancient Israel as recorded in the Bible.” He jumped to his feet and said, “You find that in my Bible or you will go out of here quicker than you ever went anywhere before.” He handed me his Bible which was not like any I had ever seen before, a large illustrated one which he threw into my lap and said, “Find it there!” I was quite scared, but I straightened it around upon my knees and let it fall open and I didn’t need to turn a leaf to read the account of Jacob and his wives. The man was very much confused, colored up and said, “If any man had told me that was there I would of called him a liar, but you have read it from my own book, and I beg your pardon.”
Elders Beers and I labored faithfully, distributing tracts and holding meetings where we could, but it was hard to find a place to hold meetings because of the attitude of the people. In midsummer, I was given a new companion by the name of Elder Cluff, who came from Provo, Utah. He was a very fine young man, well educated and very agreeable. We were assigned to go over the Ewe Pine Mountains and distribute tracts to every family we could find in the country. When we were about through, I wrote our district President telling him we were about through tracting and that if we were permitted to stay, revisit, and hold meetings, we could do a great deal of good and bring some into the Church, as quite a number were friendly and seemed willing to investigate. I received a letter right back from his saying “Finish tracting that country and get out, we are not out here to lay around on our friends.”
Late in October, Elder Cluff and I were notified to go south about 75 miles to meet with other missionaries in a conference, and at the close of the conference we were assigned by our Mission President, Brother Kimball, to go to Kentucky as the West Virginia District was assigned to another mission. We went to the designated place, and I was assigned to labor in the East Kentucky District, presided over by Elder Rydalch, and was given as my companion, Elder Langston of Washington County, Utah, a very backward man of slow speech, but very friendly and congenial. We, Elder Langston and I, were laboring together in Elliot County when we were called upon to administer to a young man who had what they called, “black fits”. He had been ill so long and so seriously that he had to be waited upon as would a little child, and he was a married man with a baby. His wife, mother, and father waiting on him and did the best they could for him. They had read some literature, observed that we believe in Divine Healing, and had faith in the Lord and His promises, so we were asked to administer unto him, which we did and then left. When we arrived to where there was timber which afforded us protection from sight, we kneeled down and thanked the Lord for our mission and asked, if it was not contrary unto His will, to heal the man, remove the affliction from him, that it might be a testimony unto these people that we were His Servants. We found later that, so near as we could calculate, this very minute the man jumped out of bed and ran across the way to his father’s place and said, “Father! Mother! I am healed!” and he was. He had some land that was covered with timber and he went out with the help of some of his neighbors, cleared the acreage, planted corn and raised a crop that year, and was never bothered with this affliction any more.
Shortly after this we were asked to hold cottage meetings in the home of Jesse Waddle, whose wife was sick in bed. Her father told me it had been five years since she had been up or walked a step. We held cottage meetings in their home and were invited to spend the night with them, which we did, and in the morning when we were ready to leave and went into the room to bid the lady good-bye, we found her weeping. She asked to be carried out to be baptized. The Holy Ghost said unto me, “She can be healed and made able to walk to the water,” so I told her that if she believed in Jesus Christ, and that we were His servants preaching the restored Gospel, she could be healed so that she could walk to the water. She said, “I know that you are servants of the Lord and that if you will lay your hands upon my head and bless me, I will be healed.” We administered to her and went out into the field to bid her husband good-bye and thank him for his kindness to us, and while we were talking one of the children came running and said, “Pa, Mother is up and walking about that house.” We went on our way and a week later returned to find her perfectly well. She, of course, wanted to be baptized, but her husband was an atheist and wouldn’t allow it. It was a mystery to me, for 40 years, why the Holy Ghost spoke unto me as He did concerning her being able to walk to the water, when not so long ago I received a letter from her niece who was at that time about 7 years old and she told me that Aunt Judy outlived Uncle Jess, and as soon as he was dead, she walked to the water and was baptized.
In midsummer of 1897, I was given another companion by the name of Matthew Spears from Tooele who was an old playmate of my childhood. We labored together some time and then I was given another companion by the name of Newton Woodruff, son of President Woodruff. We labored together for several months. He was a man of about my own age, a man of great faith and a good knowledge of the Gospel principles, and was also very congenial. Our labors together were greatly blessed and we baptized thirty members into the Church from Elliot and Rowyn counties in a very short time. We were asked to hold a cottage meeting at the home of a young couple and found the house filled with people. After the services as we arose to sing, I noticed that the young man who owned the house didn’t arise or didn’t sing. I noticed that one of his legs drew up against the chair while we were singing and I knew that something was wrong with him. We dismissed the meeting and were invited to stay there for the night. The young man kept on getting worse; his legs and arms would draw up and his head was drawn back until it seemed his neck would break; one of his hands was closed tight and I tried to force it open, but could not for it held as if it was made of iron. We finally concluded he was possessed of evil spirits, and that we should endeavor to cast them out. We laid our hands upon his head and commanded the evil spirits to depart from him; immediately the evil spirits departed, and his hands came open; and he told his wife to fix the bed so we could rest. We stepped outside to engage in prayer, and no sooner than the door was shut when the evil spirits pounced upon him worse than before; and his wife called and when we came in, we found him in a pitiful condition. It seemed as though he would be killed. She asked us to cast the spirits from him again which we did and commanded them to leave the house and not return. He was relieved immediately and after we had rested for awhile, we all went to bed and had a good nights sleep and rest, which we so very much needed, for it seemed to take all our strength from us and we thanked the Lord for the Priesthood which gave us power even over unclean spirits.
Some time after the above mentioned experience, while I was yet laboring with Elder Woodruff, we had another experience which seemed as though Satan wanted to get rid of us or scare us into leaving this part of the country. When we would retire for the night and was asleep, all of a sudden we would come awake with the feeling of being strangled, and only after great effort could we free ourselves; this thing happened the same way for several nights, then we went unto the Lord and asked Him to free us and in His name commanded the evil to depart and leave us alone, and we were never bothered again.
Some months later, I was given another companion whose name was George A. Lyman, son of the Apostle Francis M. Lyman, and we were sent into another county away up at the head of Sandy River, where we labored for several months and made many friends. We were called to come to Vansburg, a city away down the Ohio River, to attend a conference; it was about one hundred miles from where we were, so we started in plenty of time so that we could tract and visit on the way. We made many friends and were able to hold meetings in many places, and arrived at Vansburg at the appointed time. Elder Lyman of the Apostles Quorum was present and we had a wonderful time. From here I was sent to Burbon County, Kentucky with another new companion, whose name was Aaron Thatcher from Logan, Utah. Burbon County is in the blue grass country of Kentucky, where they boasted having the most beautiful women, the best whiskey, and the fastest race horses. It was a country of very large estates and was very hard tracting for a time. Finally we made an appointment in a little town to hold a meeting in their school house, and when meeting time came the building was filled with only men. They were unfriendly and after the meeting, warned us to leave town and not wait for another notice. It seemed they were unwilling to wait and see if we would leave for while we were on our way to a home where we were to stay for the night, out about 2 miles from town, we were suddenly attacked by a group of men. The night was dark and I was carrying a lantern which had been loaned to us by a kindly young man. The rocks began to fly and hit all around us, but none found their marks. While I was carrying the lantern in one hand and my umbrella in the other, and Elder Thatcher was carrying an umbrella in one hand and his grip in the other, we never broke the walk nor put out the lantern. Elder Thatcher had been walking behind, but now came up and shifting his umbrella, took me by the arm. When the mob couldn’t hit us with ricks, they began to shoot, and the bullets whizzed about us without doing us any harm; then they began to curse and swear and to come up within a few rods, cursing us with their might, but they never tried to lay their hands on us; perhaps they thought we were heavily armed. At any rate, the Lord was very good to us. They finally stopped their shooting and cursing, and we supposed that they had gone, but when we were within about a mile from where we were going, whiz, went another rock which just missed my head and struck a tree, had it hit me, I wouldn’t be here not to tell about it. The rocks began to fly thick and fast again, when all at once Elder Thatcher jumped and hollered and I feared lest he was hurt, but he wasn’t for he had been to the post office that day and gotten two copies of the Deseret News which he had stuffed down in his hip pocket, and that was just where the stone landed. While it didn’t hurt, it scared him for the instant and brought forth the yell. We stopped and I told the mob that I thought it pretty tough that men who were travelling without purse or script, trying to save the world by preaching the Gospel of Salvation, should be treated that way. I told them that if it was the sentiment of the county that we should leave, we would go as soon as possible; they answered not a word, but ceased throwing rocks so that we went on our way without being molested further.
The next day we went down town to look around and make up our minds if we would stay and fill the appointment we had for that evening or leave immediately. We concluded to cancel our appointment and leave the following morning. Well, the next day as we were leaving, and walked through town, we came to a fork in the road and was not sure which led to where we wanted to go. There was a blacksmith shop nearby and we went there to inquire. There were two young, robust men working there and when we asked the way, they inquired why we were leaving so soon and I told them that in the first place we didn’t enjoy having to go out two miles into the country to find a place to stay over night and secondly, we didn’t enjoy being rocked and shot at all the way. Whereupon, one of them took an oath and said, “It is time this sort of thing stopped. Young men, you go up to my house, it is warm and comfortable and you may stay as long as you want, then you go up to the banker, the mayor, and the postmaster, talk to them and you will find that they do not approve of such actions.” We went to the house and the fire and warmth looked and felt mighty good for the weather was cold, it being just a week before Christmas. When we were warmed, rested and fed, we went up town and talked to the men as we had been advised. We found them very friendly, they spoke very highly of our meeting and what we had taught saying nothing but what we proved by the scripture. They prevailed on us to stay and hold more meetings, which we did until the day before Christmas when our benefactors, who by the way, had escorted us to and from all our meetings, advised us to leave, as many pretty tough customers usually came into town for Christmas who were quite generous with their liquor and would probably make trouble.
Before leaving, we inquired the best road to lead us to Jackston and without exception were told that either road led there, but by all means the lower road was the best if we were going to walk, so we started on our way. When almost immediately the Holy Ghost said to me, “Take the upper road,” and so as we came to the forks, I led the way into the upper road and soon my companion said, “Elder Tolman, everybody told us to take the lower road; so why are we taking the upper?” I told him the one sure counselor had told us to go the upper road. After several miles on our way, we came to a small school house by the roadside and I remarked that we might get permission to hold meetings there so the next house we came to as we were delivering a tract, I asked if there were ever meetings held in the school house and he answered, “Yes, many of them,” and told us who the trustees were who had charge of the school house, who the chairman was and where he lived. His house stood up on a hill and as we passed by a house to go where Mr. Brian lived, several men stood close by and booed at us. Elder Thatcher said, “Well, if we get to speak here, there will be another mob.” Mrs. Brian met us at the door and informed us that Mr. Brian was not at home and she didn’t know where he was. She was just closing the door when a man reached out and stopped her and said, “You are Mormon Missionaries, aren’t you?” and when we answered that we were, he introduced himself as John Adams, manager of a large shoe concern of St. Louis. He said that he was visiting relatives down here and then asked Mrs. Brian if she wouldn’t like to get us some dinner. She responded in the affirmative and summoned the negro maid and told her to prepare dinner for two men. While our dinner was being prepared, Mr. Adams treated us so graciously. He had with him some pictures of the Temple and grounds, of the 1st Presidency, and many interesting places, which he showed us. When Mr. Brian came home, he introduced us as Mormon Missionaries, showed him the pictures and told him that the Mormon people had been foully lied about. Mr. Brian and the other members of the board readily gave their consent to our holding meeting in the school house, and when we had posted notices in various places around announcing our meeting for the evening, we were invited to come back to the Brian home to await the time of the meeting. They had a wonderful home with plenty of room and they invited us to stay with them for the night. Next morning, Mr. Adams and Mr. Brian told us to stay with them for the night. Next morning, Mr. Adams and Mr. Brian told us they were going to visit relatives, and would be gone for the day. They would advertise our meetings on the way and for us to make ourselves at home. The cook would care for us, and they would be back and meet us as the school house. When we arrived at the school house, it was filled with men and women, just as I had seen in a dream the night before. I dreamed that we were holding meetings in a school house, there was a little platform across the back, the building was filled with people, and I was speaking from this platform; it seemed that I wasn’t comfortable on the platform so I stood down in front in the aisle while I spoke to the people, I looked around and could see my companion still seated upon the platform and when the meeting was ended, all the people came up and shook hands with us, expressing their appreciation. All was just as I had seen them in my dream, even to the smallest detail. There was the platform from which I began to speak, and as it seemed difficult to speak from there, I came down and stood in the aisle. As I became conscious of things, I looked around and there was my companion just as I had seen him. At the close of the meeting, the people came forward and shaking us by the hands invited us to come and speak in this school house and that one, some gave us money, others invited us to their homes, and from then on to the end of my mission, I never had to ask for a place to hold a meeting. It seemed the word went ahead of us and no sooner than we had finished with meetings at one place, we were invited to another, which shows how the Lord may direct His servants if they will only listen.
I must tell another experience we had as Elder Thatcher and I were laboring together. We had left the county seat, “Paris”, and had no idea where to go next. We hadn’t a cent in our pockets, no friends near that we knew of, there were no Saints in the county, and we surely felt dependent upon the Lord. Homes were not close together and it was almost sundown when we came in sight of a house off the road quite some distance, and the Spirit said to me, “There is where you will stay tonight.” When I told my companion, he asked how I knew and I told him the Holy Ghost whispered unto me. When we arrived at the house, the lady met us and when we told her we were ministers of the Gospel and desired a place to stay for the night, she sent us to her husband who was doing chores. When we asked him, he told us they were not prepared to keep strangers, and that we must go on to some other place. As we talked, we went to the house where his wife joined us and for the third time he told us we could not stay but I kept on talking and explaining our message and that we were not particular as to our accommodations. He just started to refuse for the fourth time when his wife said, “Oh”, and he said, “Oh, alright if you want to fix for them it is alright with me.” When he had gone out again, the lady said, “I just couldn’t see you depart from our home.” We stayed there, had a lovely rest, were fed fine, made friends with them, and taught them the Gospel, leaving God’s blessings with them as we went on our way.
I wish to relate another experience – while laboring with Elias Woodruff, grandson of President Wilford Woodruff – we were appointed to travel and visit various pairs of Elders in the District. One day as we were tracting through the country on our way to visit a pair of elders laboring some thirty miles away, we were passing by a house standing some distance back from the road and the Spirit whispered to me, “Go in there for dinner.” I stopped, looked at my watch and it was just 11 o’clock. The people there are very prompt in having their meals on time so I felt that I must have been mistaken and started on, but I glanced back at my companion who was walking about 50 yards behind me studying the scriptures and as he came opposite the gate, he also stopped and looked at his watch. Whereupon, I turned and went back and asked him why, and he replied, “The Spirit said, ‘Go in there for dinner.’” I told him the same had been said to me, so we went in. When we were within about thirty feet from the porch, a man came out just shaking with rage and said, “Don’t come another step, I don’t want you on my porch.” I began to talk to him, telling him what we were doing and who we were, and he said, “I know who you are, and I don’t want anything to do with you!” I kept talking to him for I knew the Spirit had directed us there, and finally he said, “Well, come on in.” As we went into the living room, the kitchen door was open and I could see that the table was set for dinner. We sat down, the wife and daughter came in and sat down, and we tried to talk to them, but they seemed to freeze up, and we found it very difficult. I turned to Elder Woodruff who was a very good singer and I could sing bass to most all the church songs, and I said to him, “Why not sing a hymn?” He took out his book and sang, “Love at Home”, and then “Oh, My Father”. When we had finished, the bitterness seemed to have vanished. The mother touched her daughter on the arm and they left for the kitchen. In a few moments they came to the door and said, “Come Gentlemen, and have dinner with us.” We had a lovely dinner and then went back into the living room to talk more and in a few minutes the man was asking questions, listening to our answers, and tears were running down his face. He begged our forgiveness for the way he had talked to us and wanted us to stay longer, but we explained our responsibility, the distance we yet had to go, so after explaining the Gospel as best we could in the limited time, we went on our way not before however, they had given us the invitation to come again as soon and whenever possible. Again, we had a wonderful lesson.
One day Elder Woodruff and I were traveling through a very sparsely settled district, just woods all the way almost, when very late in the evening with no place in sight, Elder Woodruff said, “Elder Tolman, it looks as though we are going to sleep with Uncle Sam tonight,” and I replied, “I suppose so,” when almost immediately, there came a picture before my eyes and I said, “No Elder Woodruff, we are going to have a place to stay. It is a little log house in a clearing on the right side of the road.” We went on for half an hour and then, there it was just as I had seen and described it. We went up to the door and a Baptist Preacher came in answer to our knock. The house had been deserted, but the preacher had come up there to get out some timber. He had an extra bed and plenty of provisions and was glad to have us come in to stay with him. We sat up most of the night preaching the Gospel to him, then went to bed and had a very good night’s sleep. The next morning the preacher said unto us, “It is just possible I had been barking up the wrong tree.” We went on our way thanking the Lord that we had had the privilege of spending the night with a Baptist Preacher.
The time had passed when ordinarily I should have been released to return home, for it was the custom of the Church at the time to keep the missionaries for two years, but it had been nearly three since I had left my family. For a while after the two year mark was passed, I was quite discouraged for I knew how very much my wife expected and needed me at home, but I became reconciled and enjoyed the rest of my mission. The reason for my anxiety was that I knew the responsibility which my wife had with three children to care for. She had to milk the cows as well as to climb the hay stack, cut and throw down the hay for feed, besides all the other cares of a home with three children, without the conveniences which we have today. As before stated, we had two boys when I left for my mission and my wife was expecting again. There were no telephones, so the only way of contact was by messenger, which left a person in that condition pretty much alone. One day, Aunt Sarah Bates, who had brought the two boys into the world and who lived one and a half miles away, felt impressed to go down to see Emerett, as my wife was always called. She spent the day and when night came, she concluded to stay as a thunder storm had come up and she didn’t want to leave my wife alone. Before, morning, our first daughter was born and everything was fine. The Bishop and Ward members, as also my wife’s family did the best they could under the conditions of the time, but even so, she had a pretty hard time keeping sufficient food and clothing on hand. One morning when she got up from bed and went to the kitchen, there on the table was a half of a large pig, already cut up and put away, and she never knew who brought it or from whom it came, but she surely did thank the Lord for it. (As I, Clifford, am editing this history, my mind goes back and I remember some of that which happened while father was away. Although I was so young that I don’t remember him before he left, I remember how attentive Mother’s sisters were to us. It seems I can hear them now, as it was then, when during the evening we would hear as though it were heavenly voices singing to us, they all had such wonderful singing voices, and some played the guitar, others the mandolin, and harmonized so beautifully. One of the choruses has stayed with me and it goes something like this: “Then awake, lady, awake, to thy window appear, Thy friends are awaiting below to sing thee a song thy sad heart to cheer, And soon we must bid thee adieu.”) My release came to me while at Catlettsburg, Kentucky, and I took the train for home. At Kansas City, I had a stop-over for the night and in the morning when I went into the depot, there was Elder Charles Haight who came into the Field the same time I did and was now also released, so that we went on home together. My dear wife, my father and mother, met me in Salt Lake City. It was just before the April General Conference 1898, so we stayed with relatives in Bountiful and attended Conference before coming on home. It seemed good to be home after three years.
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