Elder Hugh Findlay's providential financial provision

While serving as a missionary in the Shetland Islands, where he had arrived on January 4, 1879, to initiate work in the archipelago, Elder Hugh Findlay was called to preside over the Scotland Mission. At the time this call was extended, he found himself without the necessary funds to pay for his steamboat passage from the islands to Scotland. Demonstrating unwavering faith, he packed his suitcase and prepared to depart, proceeding toward the wharf where he intended to sail despite his lack of resources. As he walked toward the harbor, he stopped at the post office to check his mail. There, he received a letter from an anonymous woman who had read several of his articles previously published in the Millennial Star. In her letter, she expressed her sincere interest in his work and enclosed a five-pound note, which was equivalent to approximately twenty-five dollars in American currency at the time, providing exactly the means required for him to fulfill his assignment.

Fuller account of this event (in the witness’s own words):

I was aware I had to make my way south by way of the Orkneys and most northern points of Scotland, but had not a sixpence to start with. To meet the emergency, however, the last letter of my budget, from an unknown hand, when I had said to myself, no money, unfolded a one pound note. I had written some articles for the Star, which had been read by a lady in the south of England, who, feeling interested in the work, had sent me five pounds, which was about twenty-five dollars, and this was the means of my getting away from the islands.