[This was scanned by Stephen Rawlins from an original typed copy of "Memories of Clyde A. Carter and Elva B. Carter", a booklet written by Elva B. Carter for Christmas, 1984, with the help of her daughter Myrna C. Laird, who typed and compiled it.]
Clyde Carter Missionary Experiences
I was called to go on a mission in the spring of 1915 while I was living in Knightsville, Utah, working in the mines of Jesse Knight. I left Salt Lake City for my mission on October 15, 1915, and went to Chattanooga, Tennessee, which at that time was headquarters for the Southern States Mission.
I was assigned to the Florida conference and arrived there on a Saturday morning, just about 10 days after I left home.
Elder Blumell and myself were the only ones to go to the Florida conference. When we arrived in Jacksonville, Florida, there was no one to meet us so we inquired where the mission home was, and arrived there about 9 O'clock a.m. We found one Elder there and he gave us the news that he was alone and that we would have to talk at a street meeting that night. Elder Blumell told him that he would not talk at no street meeting and I said that I could not talk but I would open or close the meeting with prayer. The day soon came to a close and it was time for the meeting. We took a street car into town and the Elder took us to the street corner where we held the meeting. We sang a song and he called on me to open the meeting which I did. Then I thought I would not have to talk as I had opened the meeting with prayer. Well, we sang another song and Elder Warburger turned to me and said Elder Carter you talk first. I had never talked before a group of people before in my life and if I could of done so I would of dropped through the side walk, but as I could not do that I had to do the next best, that is get up in front of those people and say something, so I did. I do not know what I said or how long it took to say it, but it seemed to me as though it was a lifetime. After the meeting the people that were there or I should say a lot of the people that were at the meeting came up and shook my hand and congratulated me! I was so surprised that I did not know what to do. I wondered what I had said that they should be congratulating me for. Well, it turned out that they were all members of the Church and knew that I had just arrived in the mission field. That warm welcome that the saints in Jacksonville gave me at that street meeting sure helped me in my missionary work.
I stayed in Jacksonville about ten days and was then sent into South Georgia where I met my first missionary companion. We labored in south Georgia about one month, then went back in to Florida to spend the winter, and labor among the people of Florida. Most of my time was spent in the country, visiting with the farmers, and holding meetings with them in their homes, and on the street corners. We had many faith promoting experiences among those people. There is one I will tell you.. We were at the home of one of our good sisters, and were eating dinner when she asked to be excused. She left the table and went into another room. In a little while she screamed, and we all jumped up from the table and ran into the room, and she was tied in knots with the cramp. She asked us to administer to her. We did, and before we had finished administering to her, she had relaxed and the cramp had left her and she went to sleep and woke up a well woman. This is only one of many such experiences I had while on my mission.
I was in the country about two or three months, then back to Jacksonville for conference, then back to the country again for five or six months, then into south Georgia for another conference and back to the country. As I said, more of my time was in the country, for only about four months were spent in Jacksonville. I sure did enjoy my time in the mission field. It did not matter where it was country or city, and I thank my Father in Heaven, for the blessing that was mine in filling a mission. It has been a guide to me all my life in living a clean life. May it be the good fortune of every boy or girl who has a desire to fill a mission to be able to do so