In April 1922, Elder Roberts was appointed president of the Eastern States Mission. He succeeded George W. McCune in this position and presided in the mission until April, 1927. His third wife, Margaret C. Roberts, accompanied him to the mission field.

Announcing his appointment to the mission, President Grant declared that Elder Roberts had already "proved himself an extraordinary missionary." In his new position he had responsibility for directing a mission which included twelve states and had within its bounds 33,000,000 people.

An outstanding product of the missionary system of the Church, President Roberts was an inspiration for his missionaries. To him a mission meant "absolute consecration of one's self to the service of God and his fellowmen, with all folly, lightmindedness and sin eliminated." He expected the missionaries to prepare themselves thoroughly with the tools for their work—to know the scriptures through the means of "mental. activity, intellectual development and attainment of spiritual power." President Roberts was practical, human and friendly. When leaving the field Elders were given a personal challenge.

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There is an interesting story in connection with a book written by President Roberts while presiding over the Eastern States Mission. The Redeemed Hebrew was a monthly periodical published by Pastor A. Silverstein of the Redeemed Hebrew Literature Mission in Binghampton, New York. Lady missionaries working in Binghampton saw the paper and read in it the published letter from a Rabbi in Canada. In this letter the Rabbi set forth reasons for Jewish rejection of Jesus Christ as the Messiah. The Rabbi used the pen name "RASHA." A boxed paragraph, accompanying the letter asked the following: "Who can answer this Jewish scholar? Who will defend Christ Jesus before this Jewish Rabbi? He brings scriptures to prove that there was no need of Jesus."

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Two additional papers were prepared by President Roberts when he learned of the interest which had been shown in the subject. One treatise was on "Messianic prophesies" and the other dealt with the place of Israel in regard to the gospel of Jesus Chist, from an L.D.S. point of view. In 1932 these articles were published in a book entitled Rasha-The Jew.

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On April 2, 1927 President Roberts was released from the presidency of the mission and returned to Salt Lake. On May 30, Decoration Day, 1927, he was present at the unveiling and dedication of the Mormon Battalion Monument and delivered the oration honoring those who made the Battalion trek.

In his office in Salt Lake, President Roberts began the final revision and completion of the 3,024 page work, A Comprehensive History of the Church . . ., published in connection with the centennial celebration of the founding of the Church, April 6, 1830. Roberts was also appointed to the centennial celebration committee.

Roberts' Testimony

It was entirely natural for B. H. Roberts to throw all of his remarkable energy into.a study of the gospel. To him it was the "Church of the Living God again organized among men."s His office in the Seventies made him a "special witness to the truth of God m this dispensation. "As the years multiply upon my head a knowledge of these great truths increase their emphasis in my soul," he said.

His speeches cover almost every phase of the gospel. They are multitudinous, profound, earnest and convincing. All have a common denominator. It is his absolute, undeviating testimony of Christ as the Redeemer of the world, restoration of divine authority, and the Gospel of Christ as the power of God unto salvation.

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His Final Works

Elder Roberts was in poor health the final years of his life. An acute illness in 1931 kept him away from his office for several months and necessitated a serious operation. He presented a weekly series of Sunday evening radio addresses over Station KSL from March 10th to June 30, 1929, entitled "The Falling Away or the World's Loss of the Christian Religion." He treated the subject of "the Great Apostasy and the Restoration of the Gospel" in his characteristic, thorough manner. It was published in book form in 1931, dedicated to the Seventies of the Church.

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In August, 1933, an opportunity came for Elder Roberts to complete an assignment that he had set his heart upon some forty years earlier. By invitation he returned to Chicago as the representative of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the World's Parliament of Religions, delivering an address under the title "The Standard of Peace." He was invited to give a second speech "The Economics of a New Age," on September 4th, before the World Fellowship of Faiths. Both of these addresses were in keeping with the theme of the conference—Peace.

Death and Burial

Elder Roberts was ill when he returned to Salt Lake. Before death overtook him he visited the strike areas of Carbon County with a delegation representing the Civil Liberties Union. His last public appearance was at a meeting in Hotel Utah where he spoke on conditions in Carbon County. After an illness of several days in his room at Hotel Utah, he was taken to the hospital. The following day, Wednesday, September 27, 1933, at 4:30 p.m., complications of diabetes brought a close to his colorful career. He was in his seventy-sixth year.