M. F. Cowley's Dream and Answered Prayer for Travel Funds
Published October 5, 2026 at 5:47 AM
Contributed by
Millennial Star Research
While serving as a missionary in the Southern States in 1878, M. F. Cowley and his companion, Elder Barnett, traveled from Kentucky toward Virginia. Due to limited funds, they took a steamer to Nashville and then a train to Chattanooga, Tennessee, arriving in the afternoon 'financially stumped.' During their several weeks in Chattanooga, Cowley struggled with loneliness and the difficulty of finding resources. Though he had previously resolved not to write home for money, he reached a point of desperation. In a dream one night, he saw himself receive two letters at the same time—one in a yellow envelope and one in a cream-colored envelope, both addressed in his mother’s handwriting. Despite his initial reluctance, he felt a strong impression to write home for assistance. Thirteen days after sending his letter, he received two letters from his mother at the post office; they matched his vision in every detail, including the specific colors of the envelopes. These letters contained the funds necessary for their work, which Cowley viewed as a direct answer to his earnest prayers, teaching him to be less self-reliant and more submissive to the Lord’s will.
In Their Own Words
“During a six weeks' sojourn in Chattanooga without friends and short of means, I also had a dream which was given to me more than once, and which many Elders also experience, and that was that I was home from my mission before my time; and any Elder who has such a manifestation knows what remorse and sorrow rests upon him while in the dream, and how great the relief when he wakes and finds it is only a dream. But I had another dream of a different nature. I dreamed one night that I received two letters at the same time, the envelope of one being yellow and the other a cream color, and directed to me in my mother's hand-writing. I had previously resolved not to write home for money, but the impression to do so was so strong that I yielded to it. I wrote to my mother, and thirteen days after the letter was mailed, I went to the post office in Chattanooga, and there I received two letters at the same time, the envelope of one being yellow and the other a cream color, directed to me in my mother's hand writing, just as I had seen them in my dream, and these brought the means I needed for. Thus the Lord had answered our prayers, fulfilled the dream, and opened up the way before us.”
— M. F. Cowley, 'Missionary Incidents', Juvenile Instructor
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 20 June 1881 (Vol. 43, No. 25). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1881-06-20_43_25 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Additional sources (periodical research): Matthias F. Cowley, 'Missionary Incidents', Juvenile Instructor (1 May 1881). https://historicalgeneralconferences.weebly.com/matthias-f-cowley.html Full first-person account: Juvenile Instructor, 1 May 1881, Vol. 16, No. 9, p. 104 https://historicalgeneralconferences.weebly.com/matthias-f-cowley.html
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