140 Years of Jesus in Idaho Falls

In a previous blog, “Sharing the Gospel with Idaho Falls,” [1] I briefly described the revival meetings led by Rev. Terrell C. Newby and his wife Anna K. Newby in Idaho Falls in 1930, and evangelistic meetings led by Native American Paul Grant Wapato in Idaho Falls in 1931.  Since then I have found more information about the first and discovered two additional evangelistic campaigns held in our city in 1931. First, here is a report written by the Newbys during the 1930 Idaho Falls campaign, which gives a picture of what Idaho Falls was like 95 years ago: Well, here we are in the country’s most famous potato patch.   And the very best potato you ever ate at that.   It is truly a sight worth seeing, beginning with the very edge of this beautiful city, driving on out into the well irrigated region in every direction; it is just miles and miles of famous Idaho spuds and when we look on those even rows of find blossoming plants we should think it would cause miles and mil...

  Union Summer Services in Idaho Falls For many of the 60 years 1885 through 1944, churches of Idaho Falls met together for worship at least once during the summer. Starting Monday evening June 22, 1885, joint services of the Baptist and Methodist churches of Eagle Rock were held and continued each night through the week. [1] The pastors of the two churches, Reverends E. B. Bartley J. P. Morris, led the meetings.   At the time, these two were the only non-LDS churches in town, and only the Baptist church had a building. The next notice in an Idaho Falls newspaper of a summer union service of all the evangelical churches, by then numbering seven, was for July 2, 1899 in an announcement of the Episcopal Church, noting that it would be held in the Presbyterian Church. [2] Baptist pastor Reverend A. G. Miller preached to a large crowd at a union service in the Methodist church on July 6, 1902 [3] and at the next monthly meeting of the Idaho Falls Ministerial Association ...