Amen and amen!

I was a little concerned for the reputation of E. Ritchie, when Pres. Kimball’s biography mentioned a junior companion that “tried my soul because I wanted to work… and was unable to stimulate him, he being the senior companion.”

I still don’t know who this refers to, but it isn’t my guy, according to the BYU Studies article you unearthed, “I was feeling very blue over the idea of leaving the elders
ritchie phippen hill etc whom I had so learned to love.”

Between Justin’s find and Ardis’ work, I’m learning so much from this post.

As of this morning, all I knew of his mission was that he went and came back. Not 12 hours later, I have a feel for how he spent his days and the kind of missionary he was.

This blog has the best commenters!

He did keep a missionary journal.

http://byustudies.byu.edu/showTitle.aspx?title=5733

I enjoyed your post.

extracts from Liahona: The Elders’ Journal

13 January 1914, 493:

Arrivals: – December 12th, the following named missionaries registered at the office and were assigned to their different fields of labor as follows: … Joseph A. Ritchie, Idaho Falls, Idaho, to the Missouri Conference.

18 August 1914, 126:

Elders N.W. Davis and Jos. A. Ritchie of the Missouri Conference, write as follows: “We have held fifteen meetings and at five open air meetings we had fine crowds and they seemed glad to hear us. One man who has been opposing us ever since we have been here in Puxico, and had said that there was nothing to the Book of Mormon, came up to us the other night after we had explained it to the people and said that he wanted the book for he had decided that there was something to it.”

13 October 1914, 251:

Elders J.A. Ritchie and E.R. Stoddard, who are laboring in Hannibal, report that a Sunday School will be organized next Sunday. All of the Saints and friends are very much interested and a good attendance is assured.

9 February 1915, 530:

Elders Wilford R. Jensen and Jos. A. Ritchie, of the Missouri Conference, writing from Hannibal, report having visited a party whose relatives went West with the Church in early days. At that time she was very much opposed to their doctrine, but since then she has become interested in the Gospel and is desirous of knowing more about it. She is also anxious to learn concerning her relatives who went West. She purchased a Book of Mormon, a Durant and a Voice of Warning, and before the elders left, invited them to come back and hold cottage meetings with her husband and family.

2 March 1915, 575:

Elders Wilford R. Jensen and Jos. A. Ritchie writing from Hannibal, report that they are having continued success in their labors. They have held eight meetings during the week and distributed many books and tracts, and the people are interested in our Gospel message and desire to know more about the Gospel. We have many friends and ivnestigators who have given us a standing invitation to hold cottage meetings with them.

9 March 1915, 595:

Elder Jos. A. Ritchie writing from St. Louis, reports as follows: “We met a young man to whom we had previously sold a book, and was explaining some of the principles of the Gospel to him when his mother came out and thanked us for the way in which we had talked to her son, impressing upon his mind the necessity of making a study of the Gospel.”

20 April 1915, 689:

St. Louis Conference, Central States Mission. Back Row. – J.J. Ryser, M.E. Phippen, J.A. Ritchie, H.E. Peterson, C.M. Jensen, J.C. Henderson. Middle Row. – (Branch Pres. T.J. Martin), Elizabeth A. Ritchie, Mrs. Amy Merrill, M.C. Merrill, Bertha E. Beardshall, O.E. Papworth, Inez Christensen, Pearl Butterfield. Front Row. – S.W. Kimball, T.T. Murdock, (Conf. Pres. O.H. Guymon, Mission Pres. S.O. Bennion; Liahona Editor, Joseph E. Cardon), S.A. Hill, C. Call.

10 August 1915, 106:

Missionaries of the Missouri Conference, Central States Mission. top Row: – I.B. Lloyd, Elizabeth Ritchie, Bertha Perry, Charlotte Baker, Inez Christensen, M.F. Lyman, Bertha Beardschall, Minnie Shaw, Pearl Butterfield, T.T. Murdock. 2nd Row: – L.M. Hawkes, Christian Call, M.E. Phippen, E.H. Asay, J.B. Allen, H.E. Peterson, J.A. Ritchie, W.R. Jensen, J.C. Henderson, W.L. Lindsay, S.A. Hill. 3rd Row: – M.K. Hurd, (Con. Pres. O.H. Guymon, Branch Pres. T.J. Martin, Sr. Lottie T. Bennion, Mission Pres. S.O. Bennion), M.C. Merrill, Amy L. Merrill, S.W. Kimball, Vernetta Lindsay. Bottom Row: – Howard Walker, Geo. F. Yalker, E.O. Roberts, C.W. Hubbard.

28 September 1915, 223:

Releases. – The following missionaries have been honorably released to return to their homes: … Jos. A. Ritchie, Idaho Falls, Idaho.

As I mentioned in a post a few years ago my grandfather Martin Mortensen grew up with President Kimball in the Gila Valley in Arizona.

When he passed away a few years after your great grandfather President Kimball made a personal phone call to my family.

There are a million stories out there about President Kimball doing acts of personal kindness and service like this— and they are all true.