| 25 That in the year 1863 a sum of money, to wit, $2,000, was paid to me, as agent of the church in charge of the Herald Office, to be by me, expended in behalf of the publishing department; but to be credited on the Bishop's books of account as tithing:
That in 1869 an additional sum of $3,000 was paid to me, as agent, as above stated, to be by me expended for publishing purposes and missionary purposes, to be credited on tithing, as before stated:
That the sums of money were by me so expended, as the books of account in the Herald Office will, I trust, show.
That upon my requesting the Bishop to credit said amounts, and to charge the same as expended as specified, the Bishop declined so to do.
I, therefore, do respectfully ask your honorable body to pass an order authorizing the Bishop to enter the said sums to the credit of the persons paying them as tithing and to charge the same to the Herald Office as expended by the agent of the church, in accordance with the order of the persons so paying them.
And your petitioner will ever pray, as in duty bound.
JOSEPH SMITH.
-The Saints' Herald, vol. 20, p. 642.
The following letter was read from Switzerland:
Affolten, a Ct., ZURICH, Switzerland, August 9, 1873.
There is great difference between the ministerial labors in America and those in Europe. America is flooded with tracts, and branches are very near all over the land, where the missionaries get help; but here it is not so, and that makes the labor difficult. Who pays the traveling fare? Who keeps us over night? Who sustains us in the necessaries of life? Hard questions to answer. Nevertheless I have, through the mercy of God, led six into the waters of baptism since I arrived in this land; but they are very poor in temporal things. Times here are very hard for poor people; their earnings can not keep up their daily demand for the necessaries of life. Wages of labor are not high enough to keep it equal. The little money coming to me from my father who died many years ago I have nearly used up, and used it very sparingly, too. I need a person here who loves truth with all his heart, who seeks the kingdom of God, to embrace the doctrine, and would stand by me and assist me both spiritually and temporally. I have not got a proper person to have a branch organized. Some promised me from time to time they wanted to join, but they delayed the accepted time and turned cold again. If all those who declared that the gospel I preach was the truth had obeyed, the church would number here at present at least twenty. It pains my heart to bring people so far till they have to say it is the truth and then no farther.
Many Brighamites went from here to Utah about a month ago; so the president of the Zürich Branch told me. . . .
J. L. BEAR.
-The Saints' Herald, vol. 20, pp. 643, 644.
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