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Report of Marius Ensigns Mission Santa Clara Nov 12th 1869 President George A Smith Historian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Dear Brother With a greatful heart to God our Heavenly Father for his many good blessings I shall now endeavor to give a brief report of my labors for the three years and seven months which time has been occupyed in going to England laboring there & returning home. I started on the 27 of March 1866 & arrived in Salt Lake City April the 14th having some severe storms while on the way & after being blessed & instructed by the servants of the Lord & selling to President Young a load of cotton to comp- lete the necessary means for traveling I took passage in Capt S Whites Church train bound for the Missouri River to bring home the emigrating Saints, in this Co. I acted as Chaplain also drove a four mule team belonging to Prest Young proveing that he was also first in this as in all other good works. We arrived in Omaha June 14th, Bro Hoix died on big Sandy May 14th otherwise the Co were all prosperous & greatly blessed, Twelve of us proceeded to NY & took passage on the Steamer Helvetia again all went well till we arrived in Liverpool July 5th when one Squares who had professed to be a missionary 2 full of zeal turned aside into the wilderness of people without reporting himself ready for his labors, being kindly received by the Brethren at 42 (?) lington we were soon assigned our field of labor by Apostle O Pratt Prest B Young Jr being abscent on the continent. I was appointed under the direction of A N Hill District Prest here I labored one year walking from ten to twenty miles each day finding it to be for my health to travel in the country I held small meetings in the evenings with the saints, however about one week of each month I was employed in making up Books crediting accounts corresponding with the Saints which were a little slow. During each day march I made it my special business to converse with every company of men, as well a the lone travelor, whenever I could gain access & bear testimony to the truth of the Gospel. I baptised only 16 new members during the year & a number were rebaptised. Prest Hill returned home & my appointment was renewed & the Dorsetshire Conf was annexed. Elder E A Nobles was sent to labor with me he came April 8th & labored till August 7th in June we commensed our outdore meetings & finding we could get large congregations , while but very few would come in our chapels we were much pleased with our success, on the 2nd of August Elder J R Clawson arrived having been appointed to 3 labor with me & E A Noble was appointed to preside in the Cheltenhan Conf & on the last of Aug Elder E A Simmonds arrived also to labor with us he was a native Elder who had been three years in the mission. Brother Clawson & myself took great pleasure in holding our outdore meetings which we did almost every night during the good weather of the summer season our meetings varied much in size, say from 20 to 600, & although we testified to many thousand our baptisms were but few say about 60 in the year & some of them by the branch Prest. The winter season was not quite so interesting as we had to content ourselves in holding small meetings with the Saints thinking it quite a treat to get 12 outsiders to hear at once, We continued to travel about three weeks every month from branch to branch & from house to house giving the saints such instructions as we thought for their best good spending the fourth week making up a/c & visiting the saints in Southhampton. We again commensed our outdores campaign early in March 1868, we found we were most successful without the native Brethren going entirely among strangers & reading to them the Scriptures & showeing what the gospel was in the days of the Saviour & when the Lord had blessed them with hearing ears & understanding hearts Then was the only time they would stand & hear us testify that the same gospel was agained revealed from the heavens by an holy Angel to the martyred 4 Prophet Joseph Smith & I feel satisfyed that thousands have been constrained to believe but very few have obeyed, After continueing to preach in the parks market ground & other public places till the first of May we became pretty well known & the Priests began to have serious objections to our appearance after comeing to oppose us & pronounsing many woes & curses upon us but when told that we agreed with them to let all the anger of Job to which they had alluded fall upon the men who taught the false doctrine they seemed quite willing to retire among the people, On other occasions after having good meetings too or three nights successively we were warned by the Police to deliver no more publick lectures in their town in other places we asked liberty but were told we must neither preach in the town or subberbs on one occasion the shopkeper furnished the roughfs with eggs which they poured into the company which was large & so verry thick that not one sprinkle came upon us & being busy talking at the time we knew nothing of it till after when some of the Saints saw the well known party repair a fountain & mash the eggs from their own clothes, A pig was brought forward at one time & by abuseing him was made to mingle his squeals with their shouts much to their gratification. Again when preaching in front of the town hall in Basingstoke Hampshire, the town counsil postponed for 5 a time their meeting & comeing to hear us which the cittizens observed who seeing all the Mobs of the place thought the same worthy of ther attention, the crowd listened attentively for a time untill opposition began by a young lawyer who was seconded by others of the council & now as on all occasions the Lord began to raise up friends, first a gentleman of six feet too & well propor tioned repeatedly awed them from their purpose by the bold stand which he took to maintain fairplay & when numbers were to great for him they were nexed supprised by too little girls which I had baptised about one month before (their ages were 11 & 12) making their way through the crod & takeing me by the hands said come Bro Ensign & go home with us which seemed to astonish them, just time enough for me to quickly comply & next they were again stairs for a moment by six Middon women who knew nothing of the affair & frightened by the number & their threats came forward with female weap- -ons threatening to scald any who Should attempt to pass through the alley The result was I remained safe & unharmed in the brothers house while he was compelled to remain outside for one hours & a half After many similar transactions we come to the conclusion that we had preached about as much in several of the large towns of Hampshire & Dorsetshire as was well pleasing in the sight of the Lord, In June Bro. Simmonds was released to 6 to emigrate & soon after in the Same month Bro Clawson & myself were released from our field of labor he was appointed to preside over the Redding Conference & I the Liverpool in which the Preston Conf & the branches of the Church in Ireland were included It is but just to state that the conference was in good working order when we left it, too new branches were organised dureing the time we labored there & a large increase of Tithe payers Swell- ing the amount sent to Liverpool, & no debts of any kind accumulated Bro Clawson & I parted with all the good feelings of natural brothers & I on the 25 of June took the cars for Liverpool & under the directions of Prest F.D. Richards I began my labors & on the 8th of August was joined by Winslow Farr late from Zion a man of six feet & weighing 220 lbs. & as we went fourth while the large stature of my much esteemed friend seemed to be a terror to our enimes, his humility & strong faith seemed to bring down the blessings of the Lord uppon us so much so that while testyfying before hundreds dayley (when the weather would permit) we were unmolested except by an occasion, priest who would attact us only by the force of argument which by the blessing of God we neaver feared, we had good hearings in Preston Six or eight hundred listened attentively & on one occasion when -alone was challenged by a minister as soon as done who came forward saying he knew all about this Mormonism he was here when Brigham Young & Hide first intro- <-dused it> 7 & those men had to fleae out of this town & many other Sayings calculated to excite a mob, but when coolly asked for his question her said he wants to see the place in the new testament where the Saviour said a nman could have too wives but when told it would first be necessary for him to show where & when He ever repr- -oved the ancient worthys for the practice he quickly thought of his appointment & strove to get out of the crod much against the wishes of the people. Thirteen miles from Preston in the village of Over Darwin we found six members & by the blessings of the Lord we raised up a branch of 38 when I left & the gifts of the gospel were often made manifest, but the grea- test benefits were drived from an observ- ance of the Word of Wisdom in this Conf as well as in Southampton I saw fever soars dryed up according to promicecs made them much to the joy of the suffering We visited Ireland & in Belfast we found the Saints glad to see us & kind in administ- ering to our wants we held meetings in their houses Striveing to comfor them & as well as in the open air before the world but in Dublin we were told that if we gathered a crowd in the streets six months imprisionment would be our fortion here we also found good people Some who had joined the Church 30 years before in Liverpool & still retai- ned the spirit of the Gospel we also found a few saints on the Isle of Man but they were mostly old & feeble, Sea sickness I 8 almost entirely escaped only learning what it was when crossing the Channel while my Partner often suffered severely, my health was good So much so that I never was hindred at any time from the discharge of my duties although on coming to the damp climate & smoke from the furnices I often felt feeble compaired with the health I enjoyed in our moun- -tain home, my labors have been a pleasure to me, my greatest disappointment was oweing to the outsiders not comeing in & filling the ren- talls we were able to hire this deficeency I endeavored to make up in private & publick, teaching in the open air as before stated. The moneys due the Liverpool office I never failed to send the last farthing at the expiration of each month, dureing the first year I divided the money paid to Elders according to Prest A.E Hills directions the remaining too years equal with my laborers, our expenses we endeavored to gard with that strict economy which we felt to be pleasing in the sight Him who desires to gather the honest from every land & clime. In all my travels the Saints have administered to my wants according to the prom- ises made me by the Servants of God at the time of my departure. The monthly money, I received amount to £ 3£9=3=9d The counsils of those presideing to Prest B Young, O Pratt, F D Richards & A Carrington were calculated to bless & Save both Elders & Saints & being released to return home I set saild on the 20th fo August on board the Steam Ship Minissota commanded by Capt Price with nine other returning Missionaries & 443 Saints being appointed by Prest 9 Carrington to take charge of this company I felt to seek for aid to Him who had thus far protected me. We organised the company into Six Wards appointing captains over each, also a serjant of the gard & after instructing them as well as the Saints in the dis- -charge of their duties & asking the blessing of the Lord upon us we returned to rest all well excepting the usual sea sickness which began to appear, Our voyage was a prosperous one of eleven days the only death was that of a child born on the way which lived only 36 hours. Theweather was good & we held meetings on Sunday & the only difficulty we had was that of protecting our young Sisters from the insults & deceit of the officers who seemed bent on mischief. Capt. Prise only excepted We were met by Brother Wm Stains on ship board & by his perseveriance & toil we were next day on the Cars accompanied by Bro Dusenberry who assisted us as far as Omahah at this place we were joined by Elder D M Steward with a small company from the States & on the 17th of Sept we arrived in Ogden much to the joy & satisfaction of all one child too years old died by the way which was taken sick at Queenstown. I spent 5 days in assisting the Bishops to settle the people & in the Tabernacle I was previledged to express my feelings before the Saints & from Prest Young I received a good team for one I left with him Trusting the Lord & His Servants will accept of my labors I am your (?) Marius Ensign