By February 3, 2013
A few weeks ago Julie M. Smith discussed 1 Corinthians 14:35 in ?Should Women Pray in Public?? at Times and Seasons. Amelia Carling, the first full-time, female missionary in the Southwestern States Mission, referred to this verse in her diary entry for 1901 Dec 03 [1]:
By January 27, 2013
Male missionary in the Southwestern States Mission in the early 1900s proselyted ?without purse or scrip? (WOPOS). [1] If they could not persuade someone to board them for the night, they ?slept with Uncle Sam? [2]; if they could not persuade someone to give them food, they went hungry. WOPOS was taught as both doctrine and policy.
By January 20, 2013
Some missionaries in the Southwestern States Mission noted the passing of birthdays and the anniversary of their leaving home. [1] If there is any pattern in this small sample, it is that missionaries in their forties were somewhat more likely than their younger colleagues to note birthdays.
By January 13, 2013
Male, travelling missionaries in the Southwestern States Mission trimmed or removed facial hair as part of weekly grooming and hygiene routines. Moustaches were relatively common but Van Dykes and full beards much less so. In the diaries I detect no ?freighting? of facial hair with cultural or religious significance beyond middle-class respectability.
By January 6, 2013
Before Christmas I wrote a few posts about the death of missionaries or their close relations and how those deaths were handled institutionally. In this post I will discuss how the missionaries reacted to the death of the President of the Church, Lorenzo Snow, on 1901 Oct 10.
By December 30, 2012
New Year?s Eve and Day did not prompt much celebration among missionaries in the Southwestern States Mission. The end of the calendar year did, however, inspire a degree of introspection, some resolutions, and many reports for office missionaries to write.
By December 23, 2012
Christmas was a big deal to missionaries in the Southwestern States Mission. Every missionary in this study wrote about Christmas (or Xmas [1]) at least once, which distinguishes it from other holidays. [2] Christmas stands out in the diaries for the degree that it involved missionaries, local Mormons, local non-Mormons, and missionaries? friends and family back home. Like other celebrations in the diaries, Christmas experiences exhibited a rural / urban divide.
By December 16, 2012
I have rescheduled the previously-announced post on death in favor of something more light-hearted and seasonal. Below is Sister Amelia Carling?s 1901 Dec 05, Thursday, diary entry. Carling, with companion Sarah Giles, was a missionary in north-eastern Kansas. They were staying with a church member, Sister Hedges (first name not given). Elder Judd was another missionary.
By December 9, 2012
In previous posts I wrote about the deaths of missionaries; in this present I will treat the deaths of missionaries? family members. As before, I will focus on how the missionaries narrated the deaths in light of their Mormonism and on how the deaths influenced mission administration. Next week I will conclude this mini-series on death with a discussion of missionary reactions to the deaths of prominent church members.
By December 2, 2012
Last week I wrote about the death of Elder George O Stanger, who died in Missouri in May 1903. Today I discuss the deaths of Elders Richard E Johnson of Monroe, Utah, and Thomas J Adair of Loma, New Mexico, who died in August 1903 and August 1906, respectively. [1]
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