From that time Elder Farrell always went to the Clark home on visiting Stanwick, and the family furnished music for the meetings, Mr. Clark playing the violin and singing tenor, and in other ways proving a good and true friend.
When Bishop Morris was released to return home he was succeeded as president of the Birmingham conference by Bishop William H. Maughan. Elder Farrell accompanied him on his first round and introduced him to the Clark family, as being among his best friends. After Elder Maughan had been there about nine months, and had become well acquainted with the Clark family, two of the daughters who had not yet joined the Church induced Bishop Maughan to ask their father's consent for him to baptize them. Mr. Clark impatiently blurted out: "If they talk baptism to me they cannot live in my home."
This was on Sunday evening. On Monday Bishop Maughan, finding it useless to try to reconcile Mr. Clark, left for Birmingham, and on Tuesday Elder Farrell called at Stanwick, in making the round of his conference. On leaving Nottingham, his headquarters, he had left word for any letters that might come for him during his absence to be forwarded to Stanwick, care of Jonah Clark. Sister Clark had told him on his arrival about Bishop Maughan asking her husband's consent to baptize her two daughters, and of his refusal. She begged of him to try, saying that Mr. Clark thought more of him than any other Elder he had met. He told her he would do so.
The next morning when the mail came it brought some letters for Elder Farrell, one of which was from Liverpool. On opening it he learned that President Brigham Young had sent word to the President of the mission to release him to return home, as the person who had succeeded him as tithing clerk for Cache valley was unable to attend to the work, and they wanted Elder Farrell home to resume his position in that respect.
Mr Clark was about to leave home for his work, and when he approached Elder Farrell to bid him good bye, the latter said, "Wait a moment; I want to read this letter to you," meaning the letter he had received concerning his release.
When he had heard it he said, "Well, Elder Farrell, I think more of you than any 'Mormon' Elder I ever met in my life, and if there is anything in my house that you want, all you have to do is to name it, and it shall be yours."
The Elder replied, "Thank you, that is all I want you to say; I don't want your property but here are your two daughters, Annie and Lilla; they want me to baptize them before I leave, and I would not do so without your permission. All I want you to say is 'Yes.'"
He dropped his head into his hands for about one half minute, then said: "Mr. Farrell, if they believe 'Mormonism' with all their hearts, and they want you to baptize them, I say Yes."
The girls and their mother who had been in the next room, listening, rushed in crying for joy, and thanked him for his kindness, and then he cried too, and Elder Farrell couldn't help shedding tears of joy also.
Controlling his feelings, he said, "Mr. Clark, you remember the last five persons I baptized down in the pond of water. Some of the people announced in the newspaper that if I ever baptized any more there they would duck me as long as I had breath. These people know that you don't like the 'Mormons,' and I want you to go out in another direction and find a good place to baptize the girls, and when evening comes you and I can go down and the girls may follow us, and be baptized without the people knowing anything about it."