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  Oregon Portland Mission Alumni

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Tidbits of Mission History


Beginnings of Missionary Work in the Northwest

When the permanently established legislature of Oregon met at Salem in 1854, one of the assemblymen proposed a bill to prevent "Negroes and mulattoes" from coming into the territory. The Bill, obiously a popular one, was amended to include restricting Chinese, "half-breeds", and Mormons as well. And another legislature, in a final gesture of good will, amended it to also exclude skunks. The bill was eventually tabled and forgotten, but it reflected the prejudice of early Oregon settlers and their attitude toward the Mormons, at a time when there was harldy a one in the territory.

A report from David Stuart, an early missionary, declares: "We preached 150 miles up the Willamette River and were mobbed in every place. While we were battling away in Oregon for the Gospel’s sake, our brethren in Washington were having a hot time. An organized mob headed by priests [ministers] and apostates ran the Elders out of the country at the point of the bayonet and ordered the saints to renounce Mormonism or leave the country." He went to Washington Territory to meet his Missionary brothers. He found the Elders had been driven out and the handful of Saints were afraid to recognize him in public or invite him to their homes. "they had all backed out but Sister Louisa A. John [Bozarth], who was neither afraid nor ashamed to invite me to her house, although her husband was in sympathy with the mob. I remained there for two weeks trying to break the yoke of bondage from the necks of the Saints, but all to no purpose."


A Few Courageous and Faithful Members….

While a handful of converts who remained faithful gathered to Utah in the spring of 1858, only Sister Bozarth remained behind, so she was there to welcome the Mormons when they began to migrate to Oregon in some numbers in the late 1880’s and 1890’s. by that time she was a widow but had an indomitable spirit. She died in 1911, and was buried in Woodland, Washington. Such was the hatred against the Mormons even in 1911, that the service was held secretly and officials of the Church had to go later to the burial site in the middle of the night to dedicate her grave. The Relief Society record of the Portland Branch make mention of the death of this pioneer queen and furnish this epitaph:

"When the golden sun in setting and you sleep beneath the sod,

May your name in gold be written in the autograph of God."

In the mission in 1899 (Washington, Oregon, Northern Idaho, and Montana), under Franklin Bramwell’s administration, there were 609 members and 210 children under the age of eight, for a total of 819 souls. This included all those at Baker and vicinity who were formed into the Union Stake 2 years later. Indeed, there were only 57 members and 24 under eight at Baker in 1899. Perhaps for this reason – to build up the L.D.S. community in Oregon – President Bramwell discouraged gathering to Utah on the part of "Saints who already lived in the United States." President Bramwell was succeeded as mission president by Nephi Pratt, son of Apostle Parly P. Pratt. President Pratt is the one who organized the Portland Relief Society in 1903. At the time of organization there were six members, and they met at the home of one of the members once a month.



More Interesting Mission History

Original Oregon Portland Missionaries
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