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Source: Church History Vol. 3 Chapter 39 Page: 771

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771 investigation, and on the 3d day of October, 1847, I was buried with Christ in baptism for the remission of my sins. I received the witness of the Holy Spirit that my offering was accepted of God, and my cup of joy was full. I had given myself unreservedly unto the Lord.

About three months from that time I was called into the ministry, ordained an elder, and sent out into the world without purse or scrip, to preach the gospel of Christ. Among the rest I preached it to my mother, and baptized and confirmed her, and soon afterwards my brother George. After traveling something over a year, I married Miss Alice Stokes, the eldest daughter of Joseph and Alice Stokes, of West Bromwich, England. She was a member of the church, and had been since prior to the death of the Martyr, and a devoted handmaid of the Lord, as all her after life proved. With the full understanding that my lifework must be in the ministry (for to that end I had consecrated myself, come weal or woe, prosperity or adversity) she gladly united her destiny with mine, to be a help meet in the labor of faith and love. And truly has she proved a help meet, enduring poverty and the contempt of the world without a murmur, always encouraging me in the great battle of truth.

To cement our union, came two sweet babes; the first in the year 1850, and the last in the year 1852, which pledges of our love always proved a source of joy. My traveling deprived her and them of my society, but never were hearts more firmly blended in one than ours; and when the curse, polygamy, came, it was not allowed to disturb our union, nor was any intruder permitted to step in between us. It is true we were at a loss to know of its real origin, and were puzzled by the fact that it had been practiced by some of the patriarchs and kings whose memories we had learned to revere; but we determined to wait the arbitrament of time, and seek guidance from on high.

My labors in England, were in the counties of Stafford, Warwick, Worcester, Shropshire, Montgomery, Flint, and Lincoln, with occasional visits to Liverpool and London; and in 1854, being counseled by the then church authorities,

(page 771)

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