Called to Serve
His call to serve came during the April 1865 conference. His name was one of 58 called to serve. Jensen's book notes that he "cheerfully" obeyed the call.
He was set apart on May 1, 1865, by either Elder John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, or Pres. Brigham Young.11
E. James left for the mission field before the completion of the transcontinental railroad, and so just making it to Great Britain would prove to be an adventure. Headed east in the summer of 1865, he stopped to visit an uncle, Barrett Clark, in Lockport, Illinois-near Joliet-and at the same time had a chance to see the old family homestead. A letter written to his parents from Illinois tells of the farm buildings erected since his father had visited the site nine years previous, on his return home from England.
Clash of beliefs with uncle
The family's link to the church also put Ezra in between a clash of two conflicting beliefs and lifestyles. Ezra James' dad had entered into a polygamous marriage since the last time Barrett Clark had seen his brother. Uncle Barrett, a non-member, said that the women folks were against it, and said he could not understand how a man could get along with two wives. He also claimed that Timothy Baldwin Clark had become disaffected on the Mormon movement west. Of this Ezra James simply wrote of his grandfather: "I do not know what to make of this."
An account written by Barrett Bass Clark also said that Ezra James visited his cousin, Alvera E. Clark, who was married at the time with one child during his eastward trek. 12
The Civil War was recently ended, but Alvera's husband was still away from home at the time of her cousin's visit, according to Clark's account.
11 Doctrine History 1865:249 and JH May 1, 1865
12 Clark Family History by Barrett Bass Clark
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