Historical Context

This document, dated December 25, 1931, was written by Evan and his companion, Elder Leland Stephens.

Legal Document Parody as Holiday Cheer

This unique document is a clever, lighthearted parody of a legal deed or last will and testament ("being of sound minds and disposing memories," "bestow graciously and convey voluntarily"). During a period of widespread economic hardship, these young missionaries used humor and formal legalese to send their Christmas greetings, substituting material gifts they couldn't afford with "the riches of our good will."

The Grip of the Great Depression

Dated December 25, 1931, this greeting was sent during one of the bleakest winters of the Great Depression. The line acknowledging their "slim purses" was a very literal reality for Latter-day Saint missionaries at the time. Because missions were entirely self-funded by the missionaries and their families back home, the severe economic downturn meant every penny counted.

Brockton and the Eastern States Mission

Having previously served in Lowell, Massachusetts earlier that summer, Elder Evan P. Call had been transferred south to Brockton, Massachusetts by December. Brockton, known famously as the "Shoe City" for its massive shoe manufacturing industry, was an urban center heavily populated by various immigrant communities and religious denominations. The letter's specific nod to Brockton being "the home of forty-one different churches" highlights how a young missionary from a highly uniform, predominantly Latter-day Saint environment in the West viewed the dense religious and cultural diversity of industrial New England.