Letter from First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Salt Lake City, Utah - March 8, 1898
Elder Frederick E. Barker, Sydney [Australia]
Dear Brother:
Elder Andrew Smith, Jr., having been honorably released to return home, with the blessing and approval of the General Authorities of the Church, you are hereby appointed to succeed him in the watch care and presidency of the Churches comprising the Australian Mission.
It is your duty to see that the Gospel is preached, as far as possible, throughout all the groups of islands where the Elders now labor, and , as the Lord shall open the way, to seize any new opportunities which may present themselves for the introduction of the Gospel to islands where it has not yet been preached. In short, we desire you to go forth as a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, fully equipped for the discharge of every duty connected with your calling and to preside with wisdom and dignity over all the affairs of the Churches on these islands with full power to regulate everything connected therewith, and to make such changes and appointments as may in your judgment, under the direction of the Spirit of the Lord, be necessary for the welfare, spread and prosperity of the work of God and the warning of the people in the field where you labor, and over which you are appointed to preside.
And that you may be fully sustained and qualified for these high and responsible labors, we beseech God our Eternal Father to endow you with power from on high, and to fill you with his Holy Spirit and all the gifts that pertain to your office and calling, that you may be a blessing and savior to the children of men in your ministry and carry with you an influence and power that shall be felt for good by all with whom you are brought in contact. It is our most earnest desire that you should be an example in humility, in patience, in long suffering, and in all the gifts and graces of the Gospel to all men, that your words may be the words of the Lord to the people whom you address, and that they may feel that there is a power and a spirit accompanying you that is not of man.
We shall be glad to hear from you concerning your labors and the situation of affairs in your field as often as it shall be convenient for you to write, and shall esteem it a pleasure, ourselves, to communicate frequently with you.
Praying God, the Eternal Father to bless you and qualify you for this work to which you are now called, and asking Him to preserve you and yours from the hands of all your enemies, and from every evil during your absence, and to bring you home in purity, peace and love, we remain,
Your fellow servants in the Lord.
[Signed] Wilford Woodruff, Geo. Q. Cannon, Jos. F. Smith
Transcribed by Ruth H. Barker, submitted 2010