North Lat. 44, Long 69, 10. North Fox Islands, Vinalhaven, Maine, Aphek & Azubah Woodruff, Honoured Parents As duty And the commandments of God hath called your Son to stand upon the Islands of the sea in defence of the word of God, & the testi- mony of Jesus Christ, I am under the necessity of making use of my pen to communicate all information that you recieve from me, but this is a privilege inasmuch as we can not do it by word of mouth. I would inform you that I recieved a letter from my wife yesterday informing me that she took two letters out of the Office for me, one from you, & the other from Brother Asahel. She gave me the purport of them. I was glad to hear from you, & all the friends & esspecially that the word had the desired affect in Aunt Cossetts family, & with others. I would like to be with you & our friends in Connecticut long enough to build up a Church, but if I cannot be, I pray God to send some faithful servent among you to teach the word. I expect you wish to hear where I am, & what I am doing &c. On the 19th of Aug, in company with Elder Hale, I left Portland on board the steamboat Bangor, foxr fox Islands, Vinalhaven. After travling 100 miles on the steam boat; we took a vessel & was landed on North fox Island at 2 oclok Sunday morning following, entire strangers & about peneyless. We called at the first house & retired to rest, as we had slept none through the day & night. We arose at 8 oclock took breakfast. I then enquire if their was any priest or religion on the Island. they informed us theirre was a Baptist meeting house & church & priest in the centre of the Island, & that there would be preaching to day. In the name of the Lord we hastened to the place. Meeting had commenced. I sent for the deacon to come to the door; I told him we were servents of God, we had a message to the people & wished to be herd. he informed the priest of it. he invited us into the pulpet. After he closed they had a short intermission I then arose & addressed the congregation, and it was amid many peculiar feelings; knowing that it was the first time the voice of an Elder ^of^ the Latter Day Saints, was herd upon one of the Islands of the sea, to set forth the fullness of the gospel. When I closed I gave out several appointments for preaching in different parts of the Island, which was 9 miles long & 2 miles wide containing 800 inhabitants divided into four distrects having four school houses. We presented Mr Newton (this Baptist priest) the Book of Mormon he was mild, did not object to it, said he would read it. In the first fourteen days, we preached nineteen discourses, & the whole Island flocked out to hear. The priest began to see his foundation giving way, he was alarmed & began to cry against us & would not let us have the meeting house. But the excitement ^was^ so great & the people so much in our favor that on Sunday the 27th the people asseb assembled at a school house to hear us