{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_71224/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_71224","id":"gutenberg_71224","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/71224","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Biographies","Category: History - American","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Category: Travel Writing","Northwest, Old -- Social life and customs","Ohio River Valley -- Social life and customs","Universalist churches -- Northwest, Old"],"text":"Transcriber\u2019s Notes:\n\nText enclosed by underscores is in italics.\n\nAdditional Transcriber\u2019s Notes are at the end.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nTWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN THE WEST.\n\n\n  BY ERASMUS MANFORD\n\n  CHICAGO:\n  E. MANFORD, PUBLISHER.\n  1867.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n  TO\n  MY CHRISTIAN FRIENDS\n  IN THE WEST,\n  _WITH WHOM I HAVE LIVED_\n  AND LABORED MANY YEARS,\n  THIS VOLUME\n  IS DEDICATED\n\n  THE AUTHOR.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\n  CHAPTER I.\n\n  PAGE 9.\n\n  Parentage and Childhood; \u201cLord\u201d Timothy Dexter; At School; In\n  Haverhill; Shoemaking; Early Aspirations; Converted; Must be a\n  Minister; On a Plank; Attend School; A Long Walk; Studies with J. C.\n  Waldo and Dr. Cobb; First Preaching; With W. S. Balch; First Tour;\n  First Debate; Came out Second Best; Talk with an Englishman about\n  American Coarseness; Conversation on Slavery; In Maryland; Talk with\n  an Episcopal Clergyman concerning Endless Woe not being Taught in the\n  Old Testament; Traveling and Preaching on the Eastern Shore; Return\n  to Baltimore; A Storm; Where Truth Flourishes and Where it Does Not;\n  Another Location; Self and Faith Abused; Preach in Harper\u2019s Ferry,\n  Charleston, Winchester, Va.; A Hard Battle; Cross the Alleghany\n  Mountains.\n\n  CHAPTER II.\n\n  PAGE 33.\n\n  In Pittsburg; S. A. Davis, Wife and Daughter; The West; Preach\n  in Pennsylvania and Ohio; Western Reserve; Talk with a Bigot;\n  Conversation on a Steamboat; Forbidden to Preach; Grave Creek; A\n  Mound; My Study; What is Salvation? Proceedings in Bainbridge; Mud;\n  In Cincinnati; General Harrison; In Rising Sun; Patriot; Preach in\n  Louisville, Ky.; E. M. Pingree; On the Mississippi River; Preach in a\n  Steamboat; In New Orleans; Battle Ground.\n\n  CHAPTER III.\n\n  PAGE 47.\n\n  A Sea Voyage; A Meeting at Sea; Tornado; Strange Vessel; In Texas;\n  Travel to Houston; Hard Fare; The Country; Sleeping on the Ground;\n  Very Thirsty; Must have Water; Colorado River; Sound Asleep on its\n  Banks; Cross the River on Logs; Corn Cake; A Surprise; In Houston;\n  General Houston; The Attorney-General of Texas; San Jacinto Battle\n  Ground; A Pandemonium; Buck Wheat Cakes; Embark for New Orleans; A\n  Condemned Vessel; On Allowance; In New Orleans; A Contrast; Ague and\n  Fever; Up the Mississippi.\n\n  CHAPTER IV.\n\n  PAGE 55.\n\n  Labors of E. B. Mann; N. Wadsworth; Owner of a Horse; Preach in\n  Indiana and Kentucky; A Profane Life; General Clarke; Atheism; The\n  Eyeless Fish; A Presbyterian Minister\u2019s Wisdom; No Hell, No Heaven;\n  Travel in Ohio; Another Preacher Replies; Labors in Dayton; D. R.\n  Biddlecom; George Messenger; R. Smith\u2019s Somersault; J. A. Gurley;\n  George Rogers; Start for Indiana; Battle in Harrison; Universalism\n  an Old Doctrine, and of God; Partialism an Old Doctrine, but of\n  Satan; Grove Meeting; Father St. John: Badly Treated; John O\u2019Kane\n  on his Creed; In Indianapolis; A. Longley; A Horse; Questioned by a\n  Methodist; In Terre Haute; Very Unpopular.\n\n  CHAPTER V.\n\n  PAGE 74.\n\n  Journey in Ohio; Intemperance; General Baldwin; In Columbus; Death\n  Penalty; How to Deal with Offenders; Preach in Newark and Zanesville;\n  Hell Discussed; Mrs. Frances D. Gage; Invited to Settle in Marietta;\n  W. H. Jolly, In Chillicothe; Opposition in Richmond; --. Webber; In\n  Kentucky; Dr. Chamberlin; Opposition in Lexington; Is Universalism\n  Infidelity? A Slanderous Story by a D.D.; In Paris; Excursion to\n  Patriot; A Discussion; Daniel Parker; Cure the Ague; Good Health.\n\n  CHAPTER VI.\n\n  PAGE 87.\n\n  A Journey East; Talk with a Baptist Minister; Preach in Delaware and\n  Centerville, Ohio; W. Y. Emmett; Doors Closed; A. Bond; A. B. Grosh;\n  In New England; On the Sea; A Storm; Methodist Preacher Frightened;\n  Blow the Trumpet; In Philadelphia; In Delaware; In Pittsburg; Return\n  to Cincinnati; Go to Chicago; Bad Roads; In Richmond; Talk with\n  a Quaker; A Spirit Returns to Earth; A Spirit Out of the Body; A\n  Strange Sight; Preach in God\u2019s Temple; Preach in Chicago; Preach in\n  Joliet; Aaron Kinney, an Early Preacher; Bill of Fare; Hard Luck in\n  Magnolia; Why Preach; In Hennepin; Political Humbugs; Opposition in\n  Washington; Justice of God; In Pekin and Tremont; Frozen; A Preacher\n  Replies.\n\n  CHAPTER VII.\n\n  PAGE 103.\n\n  Located in Lafayette; The Christian Teacher Commenced; A Circuit;\n  Society Organized; Meeting-house Built; All Alone; Conflict in\n  Frankfort; Old Testament Doctrine of Punishment; Debate Proposed\n  in Frankfort; Discussion in Independence; Character of my Sermons;\n  Slander Refuted; Debate in Burlington; Endless Woe; Some Voting; The\n  Use of Discussion; A Traveler.\n\n  CHAPTER VIII.\n\n  PAGE 119.\n\n  Debate in Lafayette; Die in Adam; Alive in Christ; This World and\n  World to Come; Battle Ground; In Monticello; A Reply; A Preacher\n  Whipped; D. Vines; S. Oyler; I. M. Westfall; B. F. Foster in Indiana;\n  Revival Poetry; Ladoga Camp-Meeting; Worship; In Michigan City; An\n  Episcopal Preacher; A Wet Ride; Debate in Dayton; Discussion in\n  Jefferson; Everlasting Punishment; End of the World; Second Coming of\n  Christ; Eternal Life; Meaning of Everlasting.\n\n  CHAPTER IX.\n\n  PAGE 140.\n\n  Questioned J. O\u2019Kane in Dayton; He Beat a Retreat; He Replied in\n  Crawfordsville; Three Resurrections, National, Moral, and Immortal;\n  Conversation in West Lebanon; Everlasting, Forever; Kingdom of\n  God; Sin, Error, Suffering not Endless; In Southern Indiana; Why\n  Live a Christian Life? Bigotry in Breckenridge; Discussion with\n  Mr. Dickerson; Calvinism; Arminianism; Universalism; Debate in\n  Chambersburg.\n\n  CHAPTER X.\n\n  PAGE 161.\n\n  Move to Terre Haute; Lecture in Fort Wayne; A Discussion There; Dr.\n  Thompson; Visit Illinois; Opposition; Discussion in Charleston;\n  Prayed For; Called Infidel; Debate in Green Castle; Conditions of\n  Salvation; God\u2019s Will; All are Spirits; Form of the Teacher Changed;\n  J. Burt and J. H. Jordan, Editors; Oliver Cromwell; Foundation of\n  Character; In Many Places; A Celebration; Meeting in the Rain; Fourth\n  of July Celebration; Debate in Martinsville.\n\n  CHAPTER XI.\n\n  PAGE 172.\n\n  Journey into Northern Illinois; Temperance Lecture; Result of\n  Temperate Drinking; Married; Homeward Bound; High Waters; Difficult\n  Traveling; Trouble in Crossing Streams; A Cold Bath; End of the\n  \u201cBridal Tour\u201d; A Hard Ride; Debate with E. Kingsbury; In Northern\n  Indiana; Conversation with an Indian; Dark Man and Dark Night;\n  Explanation of Hebrews ix. 27, 28; End of the World; The Earth and\n  Man.\n\n  CHAPTER XII.\n\n  PAGE 193.\n\n  Discussion in Franklin; Justice of God; What the Gospel Is; Society\n  Organized; Discourse on Total Depravity; Conversation with a\n  Presbyterian Minister on Christian Rewards; Talk with a Catholic;\n  A Methodist; A Presbyterian; A Campbellite; Salvation; A Mormon\n  Sermon; Reply to It; A Journey to Louisville and Cincinnati.\n\n  CHAPTER XIII.\n\n  PAGE 213.\n\n  Move to Indianapolis; Extensive Traveling; Henry Ward Beecher; A\n  Fossiled Calvinist; Supposed to be an Orthodox Preacher; Debate\n  in New Philadelphia; Strife Between the North and South; The Old\n  Convention Dead; The New Convention Organized; Discussion in\n  Springfield, Ill.; Abraham Lincoln; God is Love; Is Merciful; Is\n  Just; Is Holy; Travel in Illinois; Conversation with a Presbyterian\n  Clergyman on the Origin of Hell; In Iowa City, and Other Places in\n  Iowa; Home Again; W. J. Chaplin; Discussion with Benjamin Franklin;\n  Debate in Covington; Discussion with Mr. Russell; Publish the \u201cOne\n  Hundred and Fifty Reasons\u201d; Review of \u201cUniversalism Against Itself\u201d;\n  Publish Another Book; Olive Branch Discontinued; Travel Far and Near.\n\n  CHAPTER XIV.\n\n  PAGE 231.\n\n  Conclude to go to St. Louis; Commence the Golden Era; Association\n  in Crawfordsville; Debate in Dayton; Man in God\u2019s Image; God the\n  Father of All; Man Immortal; Man a Spirit; High Waters; In St. Louis;\n  Why Moved to St. Louis; But Few Friends; First Journey in Missouri;\n  Wet, Hungry, Out in the Cold; In Troy; In Ashley; Four Brothers;\n  In Louisiana; Opposition in London; In Hannibal; Good Friends;\n  Questioned in Palmyra About Slavery; Conversation on Judgment;\n  In Memphis; Questioned; A Presbyterian Preacher Replied; Was to\n  Debate in Newark; Covered with Ice; Missouri River; Discussion in\n  Georgetown; In Southern Missouri; Questioned in Warsaw; In Jefferson\n  City; Hard Work in Danville; Return to St. Louis.\n\n  CHAPTER XV.\n\n  PAGE 251.\n\n  The Golden Era Issued Semi-Monthly; The Missourians; Slave Holders;\n  Travel in Southern Missouri; If Endless Woe is True all Nature would\n  Weep; Region of Iron; Dunkards in Millersville; In Southern Illinois;\n  Philosophy of Christ Being the Savior of the World; Refuse to Debate;\n  Discussion in Carlyle; Inspiration; Our Name; Partialism Approaches\n  Infidelity; Three Downward Steps; Reply to a Sermon; Hayne\u2019s Sermon;\n  Mr. Lewis Debating on his Knees; Written Discussions with two\n  Methodist Ministers; In Northern Missouri; A Preacher Replies; A Log\n  Cabin; Talk with a Slave; Thomas Abbott; Negroes Hung; The Golden\n  Era; Mrs. Manford Lecturing; Let Woman Work; A Circuit in Missouri;\n  Travel in Cold Weather; Debate in Quincy.\n\n  CHAPTER XVI.\n\n  PAGE 277.\n\n  The Golden Era; Extensive Traveling; In Missouri and Kansas; Talk\n  with a Deist in Jefferson City; Moses; The Prophets; Replied to\n  in Pisgah; Talk with a Rum-seller; In Kansas City; In Wyandotte;\n  Conversation with a Clergyman Concerning Christ and his Work;\n  Lectured in Leavenworth; Destruction of Man\u2019s Enemies; In St. Joseph;\n  The Mercy of God; In Kingston; Rich Man and Lazarus.\n\n  CHAPTER XVII.\n\n  PAGE 293.\n\n  The Rebellion Commenced; What Senator Douglas Said; Defenders of our\n  Country; Camp Jackson; Rebel Flag; Great Expectations; Subscribers\n  Lost; Money Lost; All but Two of the Religious Journals Stopped;\n  Could do but Little in Missouri; Society in St. Louis; G. S. Weaver\n  Left; The Unitarian Society; Published Pamphlet on Water Baptism;\n  Discussion with B. H. Smith; Extracts from the Discussion.\n\n  CHAPTER XVIII.\n\n  PAGE 315.\n\n  Discussion in Pontiac; The Apostle\u2019s Faith; His Argument in Romans;\n  Extensive Traveling; In Kansas and Missouri; Price\u2019s Raid; In\n  Ohio and Indiana; Dark Night and Walk in Toledo; Conversation on\n  Destructionism; The Victory; The Death; President Lincoln; Debate in\n  Milford, Ohio; The Restitution an old Doctrine; The Sentiment Wide\n  Spread; At Work in Iowa; Laborers There; Murderers Saved and the\n  Murdered Lost; Intellectual and Moral Growth; What Man Was; What He\n  is to Be; The Victory; Spiritualism; Immoral Preaching; Saved Without\n  Repentance; Preaching a Means of Salvation; A Methodist Minister\n  Believes; The Suicide.\n\n  CHAPTER XIX.\n\n  PAGE 346.\n\n  Last Campaign; In Galesburg, Ill.; The United States Convention;\n  Lombard University; Other Schools; Journey to Missouri; In Macon\n  City; In Brookfield; St. Joseph and Other Cities; Grove Meeting; On\n  the Missouri Bottom; Beautiful Country; Preach in Fillmore and many\n  other Places; Return Home; Anti-Orthodox Preaching; Funeral Sermons;\n  Death; Life; Conclusion.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\n\n  PARENTAGE AND CHILDHOOD--LORD TIMOTHY DEXTER--AT SCHOOL--IN\n  HAVERHILL--SHOEMAKING--EARLY ASPIRATIONS--CONVERTED--MUST BE A\n  MINISTER--ON A PLANK--ATTENDS SCHOOL--A LONG WALK--STUDIES WITH J.\n  C. WALDO AND DR. COBB--FIRST PREACHING--WITH W. S. BALCH--FIRST\n  TOUR--FIRST DEBATE--COMES OUT SECOND BEST--TALK WITH AN ENGLISHMAN\n  ABOUT AMERICAN COARSENESS--CONVERSATION ON SLAVERY--IN MARYLAND--TALK\n  WITH AN EPISCOPAL CLERGYMAN CONCERNING ENDLESS WOE NOT BEING TAUGHT\n  IN THE OLD TESTAMENT--TRAVELING AND PREACHING ON THE EASTERN\n  SHORE--RETURNS TO BALTIMORE--A STORM--WHERE TRUTH FLOURISHES AND\n  WHERE IT DOES NOT--ANOTHER LOCATION--SELF AND FAITH ABUSED--PREACHES\n  IN HARPERS FERRY, CHARLESTON, WINCHESTER, VA.--A HARD BATTLE--CROSSES\n  THE ALLEGHANY MOUNTAINS.\n\nHaving been often solicited, by my friends, to publish an account of\nmy travels and labors in the West, after much hesitation and doubt, I\nhave concluded to accede to their wishes. But before doing so, I will\nsay a little about my early life. Newburyport, Mass., is my native\nplace. My father, whose full name I bear, was from Denmark; my mother\nfrom Amsterdam, Holland. I was the first born of a family of three\nboys, one of whom, Frederick, many years since passed the way of all\nthe earth. The other, James, resides in Texas. My father was a sailor,\nand was lost at sea in a terrific storm, when I was seven years old.\nI have a faint recollection of seeing him two or three times, and the\nonly memento I have of him, is a large pitcher he had manufactured in\nLiverpool with his name and the picture of a ship on one side, and my\nmother\u2019s maiden name and a picture representing Liberty, Peace and\nIndependence, on the opposite side. My mother was left in indigent\ncircumstances, with not a relative in the New World, save her three\nhelpless boys. She married some years after my father\u2019s death, and\nresided till her death, which took place two years since, in Princeton,\nMass. I have then a father, mother and one brother on the other side of\nthe river, and one brother on this side, and not many years can elapse\nere the whole family will be reunited in the land beyond the flood. I\nwell remember the spot where all of us once lived, although I have not\nbeen in Newburyport for thirty years. It was on High street, between\nthe Court House and the residence of \u201cLord\u201d Timothy Dexter. To me,\nthat street seemed a paradise, and it was, and still is, a magnificent\nthoroughfare. It is on high ground, runs parallel with the Merrimac\nriver, overlooks the harbor, and is bordered with rows of grand\ntrees, with fine residences embowered in lawns and flower gardens.\nIn this charming locality, I spent the first decade of my life. Here\nI ran, played, and frolicked with my brothers, and other little\nassociates. The Mall around the Court House, the pond in the rear, and\na neighboring cemetery, were places of frequent resort. On Sunday,\nI attended Dr. Morse\u2019s church, where, I am told, I was christened\nby the good doctor, who was an Episcopalian. But the bud came near\nbeing suddenly blasted. An old-fashioned cent which I put into my\nmouth, slipped down my throat, and was extracted with much difficulty.\nI distinctly remember the circumstance. When the copper was taken\nout, blood flowed copiously from my mouth. My poor mother was much\nfrightened, and I suffered for a short time severely. If my father had\nlived, I should probably have been a sailor. He was first mate of the\nship in which he made his last and fatal voyage, and was to have been\npromoted to captain on his return. I have ever loved the sea, and a\nship is a thing of beauty in my eye. But it was written that the solid\nearth, not the treacherous deep, should be the field of my operations.\n\nOne word about Lord Timothy, just referred to. He was a very eccentric\nman, had many soft spots on his head, but knew enough to accumulate a\nlarge fortune. He built a magnificent residence, which he adorned in a\nvery extravagant manner, with sculpture and pictures. He was very vain\nof his house and wealth. It is said that a stranger, passing his house,\nwas attentively observing it, when Dexter, who was sitting at a window,\nremarked: \u201cDo you not think this is paradise?\u201d \u201cI should,\u201d replied the\nman, \u201cif I did not see the devil at the window.\u201d He was dubbed \u201cLord\u201d\nfor his vanity and ostentation, and the title delighted him as much as\n\u201cCorsica\u201d prefixed to Boswell, delighted the well known biographer of\nthat name.\n\nI commenced attending school at an early age, but have no pleasant\nmemories of school-hours in my native town. My teacher would read a\nchapter in the Bible, and make a long prayer every morning, and then\nwhip and pound his pupils till the time for his evening devotions. If\nI escaped a day without two or three hard thrashings, I deemed myself\nvery fortunate, and I think I was as dutiful as school boys generally\nwere of my age. He was doubtless a believer in total depravity, and was\nsure that nothing but blows and knocks would make a good impression on\nour corrupt hearts.\n\nFrom my tenth to my eighteenth year, I resided in Haverhill, Mass.,\nwith S. George. He was a farmer and shoemaker--made shoes in the\nwinter, and tilled the soil summers, and I worked on his farm and in\nhis shop, except winters, when I attended school. I remember my first\nattempt at horseback riding. I went to live with him in the spring,\nand he soon put me on a horse to ride when ploughing corn. The beast\nwas contrary and spirited. He would go like jehu a few rods, and then\nstop short, and I would go over his head on to the ground. But I was as\nspunky as the horse, and would scramble up, and tell Mr. G. to put me\non again. I was always eager to remount the beast, although he threw me\ntwenty times a day. Since then, I have rode over the Western country\nhorseback, and consider myself a good horseman.\n\nI have said I worked in Mr. G.\u2019s shoe shop; yes, and learned to make\ncheap shoes, but always despised the business, and never more than half\nlearned the trade. My aspiration was to be a _merchant_. Oh, if I could\nonly be a merchant how happy I would be! I dreamed, and planned, and\nbuilt air-castles--would weep over my \u201clapstone,\u201d for being doomed to\nwork at that hateful trade. When I was about sixteen years old, the\nBoston _Trumpet_, a Universalist paper, published by Thomas Whittemore,\nled me to look into Universalism, for up to that time I knew nothing of\nits principles or history. Mr. George\u2019s family, and all my associates,\nattended the Congregational church in the neighborhood, and no body\nseemed to call in question the infallibility of the sermons we heard\nevery Sunday. But the _Trumpet_ opened a new world to my view, changed\nall my aspirations, and I was really born again. I thought no more of\nbeing a merchant--that seemed a contemptible calling,--but must be a\n_preacher_. I devoured the paper, read the Bible, and had many hard\nfought battles with my comrades. I loved them, loved the world, and was\nsure, if I could get the ears of mankind, I could convert all nations\nand people. The world seemed to be a musical instrument, tuning the\npraises of its almighty Author. Thomas Farnsworth was then preaching\nin Haverhill, four miles from where I resided, and I called on him\nseveral times, and he urged me to prepare for the ministry, but I never\nintimated to him that I had such an intention. I kept that to myself.\n\nI was always fond of reading, and my new faith quickened my love\nfor it. I perused religious books, romance, history, but poetry was\nespecially my delight. I remember with what enthusiasm I read portions\nof Dr. Young\u2019s \u201cNight Thoughts.\u201d His grand and solemn thoughts and\ndiction stirred my soul to its lowest depths. I even wrote what I\ncalled \u201cpoetry,\u201d but I am thankful that none of it survives. I have\nnever attempted the \u201cdivine art\u201d since those early days, although\nphrenologists tell me I _ought_ to be something of a poet, as my\n\u201cideality\u201d is large.\n\nWhen in Haverhill, I came near losing my life. I never could swim,\nbut with a plank three feet long, one end pressing against my body, I\ncould paddle far from shore into deep water, without any fear. On one\noccasion, when indulging in one of my aqueous excursions, while in deep\nwater, a comrade, who was ignorant of my helpless condition when off\nthe plank, took it from me, when down I went, but by the aid of other\nboys I reached the shore, and I never went into deep water again on my\nfrail craft. In my boyhood, I was subject to violent attacks of colic\nand sick headache, but otherwise my health was good. My physical frame\nwas small and of fine texture, and consequently I was not very strong,\nand could not cope with boys generally of my age in athletic exercises.\n\nWhen I was eighteen years old, I left old Haverhill, and repaired to\nPrinceton, where I attended school one year, and made considerable\nprogress in English branches. But my purse being nearly empty, I was\nobliged to replenish it before I could further prosecute my studies;\nand having no one to aid me, I went to Boston, hoping something\nwould there turn up in my favor. I knew no one in that city, and no\none knew me, and soon became satisfied I had better try my fortune\nelsewhere. I noticed in a city paper, that school teachers were wanted\nin Eastern New York, and I resolved to go there and seek a school,\nalthough I had only three dollars in my pocket, and it was one hundred\nand eighty miles to the place of destination; but my empty purse did\nnot prevent my making the journey. On foot and alone, I traveled the\nwhole distance. Although my feet were sore, and my bones and muscles\nached, I pursued my weary march, and finally reached the neighborhood\nof Bethlehem--I think that was the name of the place. I found myself\nin the midst of a German settlement, with a people of unknown tongue,\nand of manners and customs all new to me. I remained there but a few\ndays, became distressingly homesick, and resolved to return to Boston.\nRepaired to Albany, where I sold my watch to pay traveling expenses,\nwent on a steamboat to New-York city, and from thence to Boston by\nsea. This was my first tour; this was the beginning of my ramblings,\nbut it was rather an unpropitious beginning. When I went on this\nschool-hunting expedition, my intention was, after securing a school,\nto devote my leisure hours to study, and if opportunity offered, to\nspeak occasionally in public, and thereby prepare myself for what I\ndeemed the chief business of my life. But that Dutch Bethlehem broke up\nall my calculations, and I returned disgusted, but not discouraged.\n\nIn a few days I walked out to Lynn, the great shoe manufacturing town\nof New England, where nearly all the men, women and children are\nshoemakers, and recommenced cobbling, earning enough to defray current\nexpenses, and continued my studies. J. C. Waldo was then pastor of the\nUniversalist church in Lynn, and I soon introduced myself to him, and\nmade known my intentions of preparing for the ministry, and he kindly\noffered me the use of his books, and such instruction as I might need\nin prosecuting my object. I remained in L. six months, working, reading\nand writing, when Mr. Waldo advised me to go to Malden, and study with\nSylvanus Cobb. To Malden I repaired, and made arrangements with Mr. C.\nto reside in his family, and devote all my time to study.\n\nA new era in my life had now opened, and my hopes were buoyant. I\ncould give all my time and thought to study, and I made the best use\nof my advantages. Mr. Cobb was a prominent man in the denomination, an\nable minister, a fair scholar, and consequently well qualified to give\ninstruction. To that excellent man, and his accomplished lady, I am\nunder great and lasting obligations. \u201cI was a stranger and they took\nme in.\u201d May God ever bless them. They now reside in Boston. Mr. Cobb,\nor rather, Dr. Cobb, for he is now a D. D., for many years published\nthe _Christian Freeman_, is the author of a Commentary on the New\nTestament, and of several other useful books. His son, Sylvanus Cobb,\nJr., who is a well known literary writer, was a boy when I was in Mr.\nC.\u2019s family, and the twins, Cyrus and Darius, now ministers, and who\nfought for the Stars and Stripes, during the late rebellion, were born\nwhile I was a member of the household. He had three other students\nwhile I was with him--A. P. Cleverly, G. Hastings, and C. S. Hussey. We\nhad fine times; we talked, read, wrote and declaimed. When we wanted\nto ventilate our logic, we repaired to a neighboring grove, where we\nmade the welkin ring with our eloquence. \u201cThe Orthodox,\u201d said A. P.\nCleverly, on one of these occasions, \u201cwill come to you with their creed\nin one hand, and damnation in the other, and say to you, take _this_\nor take _that_, but one of them you must and shall have.\u201d On Monday\nwe generally went to Boston, two miles distant, and at the _Trumpet_\noffice would usually see Hosea Ballou, H. Ballou, 2d, Walter Balfour,\nThomas Whittemore, Sabastian Streeter, Henry Bacon, T. B. Thayer, all\nnoted men, but most of them are now dwellers of the spirit land. The\ndeparted did a noble work on earth, and long will they be remembered.\n\u201cBlessed are the dead that die in the Lord.\u201d\n\nWhen I had been with Mr. Cobb about three months, he went to the state\nof Maine, and left me to preach for him one Sabbath. My heart jumped\nwhen the first bell on Sunday morning told me to prepare for my first\npulpit services; but I went through the exercises of the day without\nmuch embarrassment. My texts were: \u201cGod is love\u201d--\u201cThey hated me\nwithout a cause.\u201d When Mr. C. returned, he seemed well satisfied with\nmy effort, for he had heard his friends speak of it, and gave me words\nof encouragement. While with him, I preached in Lynn, Haverhill, and\nseveral other places, but devoted most of my time to hard study.\n\nAfter being with Mr. Cobb six months, I put myself under the\ninstruction of William S. Balch, then residing in Claremont, N. H., and\npastor of the church in that place. I found him to be a noble man and\nshall ever remember his many acts of kindness with gratitude. Although\nI was in his family, and received his instruction most of the time\nduring six months, he would receive no compensation. He now resides\nin Galesburg, Ill., and although years are pressing hard upon him, he\nis as faithful in the discharge of his ministerial duties as when in\nearly manhood. When with him, I took my _first preaching tour_, and had\nmy _first debate_. I went up the Connecticut river into Canada, and\npreached in most of the towns on both sides of the river. I performed\nthe journey on foot, and must have walked about two hundred miles. In\none town where I had an appointment, a Methodist minister had one at\nthe same place and hour. We both met in the pulpit. He did not wish to\nspeak, as he was unwell, he said, and desired me to occupy the time. I\nobjected, for I was afraid of him; but as he insisted that I should go\nahead, I delivered my discourse. My text was: \u201cFor if the word spoken\nby angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience\nreceived a just recompense of reward, how shall we escape if we neglect\nso great a salvation which at the first was spoken by the Lord, and\nconfirmed unto us by them that heard him.\u201d Heb. ii. 2, 3. As soon as\nI was through, he seemed to be well enough, took my text, and made a\nlong reply to my feeble effort. He handled me rather rough, but I did\nthe best I could in the way of a rejoinder, but felt that I had come\nout _second_ best. It was not manly in him, an experienced preacher,\nto attack a boy as he did; but I suppose he had rather encounter a boy\nthan a man.\n\nSoon after returning from this journey, I noticed a statement by Otis\nA. Skinner, a minister in Baltimore, Md., in one of our denominational\npapers, that several young men were wanted to preach in Maryland, and\nMr. Balch advised me to go there. Heeding his advice, I went by stage\nacross the Green Mountains to Albany, thence to New-York. In the latter\nplace, I had the following conversation with an Englishman, right from\nhis foggy island:\n\n\u201cI do not like this country,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cWhy not?\u201d I inquired.\n\n\u201cI have many reasons. One is, the people are not refined enough. I did\nnot encounter as much coarseness during the thirty years I lived in\nEngland, as I have in this country the past six months.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou have been very unfortunate in the company you have kept. There are\ncoarse people in all countries, and a man can eat and sleep with them\nall his lifetime if he chooses. But that there are more coarse people\nin this country than in England, I am sure is an error. But what do you\nmean by coarseness?\u201d\n\n\u201cI mean that the _peasants_ do not pay proper respect to _gentlemen_.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, yes; I understand you. Why, sir, we have no _peasants_ in this\ncountry; _all are gentlemen_.\u201d\n\n\u201cI abhor such a democratic notion. Only see how rudely your people talk\nabout the President of the United States. He is called Mr. Jackson, Old\nJackson, Old Hickory. In Europe, we call the king, His Majesty. Don\u2019t\nyou see the difference?\u201d\n\n\u201cI see the difference. The people of this country have little respect\nfor titles, and I am thankful for it; but they have great respect for\n_man_; so much that they deem every man a sovereign; and I hope they\nwill never make such fools of themselves as to single out one of their\nnumber, perhaps the biggest gump in the land, and bow down and worship\nhim, and like cringing slaves, call him \u2018His Majesty.\u2019 God only is\nworthy the title of Majesty.\u201d\n\nIn the cars near Baltimore, I had some conversation with a lawyer,\nconcerning slavery.\n\n\u201cAre you going South?\u201d he inquired.\n\n\u201cTo Maryland. Am from the East, and was never as far south or west\nbefore.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs you are going into a slave-holding state, I should like to know\nyour views of slavery.\u201d\n\n\u201cIn principle I think it is wrong; but I know little of its practical\neffects. I shall be better able to judge of it practically at some\nfuture time.\u201d\n\n\u201cMorally I regard it wrong; nearly all the Southern people so view it.\nBut that slavery is a benefit to the blacks, there can be no doubt. As\nan evidence of this, contrast the condition of the negroes in Africa\nwith their condition in the Southern states. In this country they are\nfar better off than their brethren are in Africa.\u201d\n\n\u201cThey doubtless are in some respects, but I am not sure that slavery\nhas improved them. Living in this country, and associating, to some\nextent, with a superior race, has improved them; but I cannot admit\nthat slavery has done it. You admit slavery to be an evil, and we have\nthe best authority for asserting, that an evil tree cannot produce good\nfruit. It seems to me that you condemn slavery in _principle_ and\n_practice_ when you admit it to be an evil. What effect do you think it\nhas on the whites?\u201d\n\n\u201cDecidedly a beneficial effect. There is more refinement and high-toned\ncharacter in the slave states than in the free states. The people in\nthe South have leisure to cultivate the better sentiments of their\nnature.\u201d\n\n\u201cI repeat, you must be mistaken. If slavery is a upas tree--is an evil\nas you admit--it cannot produce such heavenly fruit. It is not true\nthat the Southern people are more intelligent, moral and refined than\nthe Eastern people. Statistics, from which there can be no appeal, show\nthat there are more school houses, academies, colleges and meeting\nhouses in the East, than in the South, in proportion to the population.\nThere are more persons in Virginia, the best of the slave states, who\ncannot read or write, than there are in six of the most Eastern states.\nFacts are against you.\u201d\n\nI proceeded to Baltimore, and S. P. Skinner, who afterwards resided,\npreached and published the _New Covenant_, in Chicago, advised me to go\nto the eastern shore of Maryland. This portion of the state, and part\nof Delaware, lies between the Chesapeake and Delaware bays. Most of\nthis neck of land is level and sandy, having been, at a comparatively\nrecent period, reclaimed from the sea. Went in a small vessel to\nCenterville. While running down, I had some conversation, on religious\nsubjects, with an Episcopal clergyman.\n\n\u201cThe doctrine of endless punishment is taught in the Old Testament.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is your opinion, but some of the wisest and most learned men\nof your school differ from you. I will read some extracts from their\nwritings on this subject. Your Bishop Warburton, in his Divine Legation\nof Moses, says:--\u2018In the Jewish Republic, both the rewards and\npunishments promised by heaven were temporal only. Such as health, long\nlife, peace, plenty, and dominion, etc. Disease, premature death, war,\nfamine, want, subjections, and captivity, etc. And in no one place in\nthe Mosaic Institutes is there the least mention, or any intelligible\nhint, of the rewards and punishments of another life.\u2019\n\n\u201cMilman, in his History of the Jews, testifies thus:--\u2018The sanction on\nwhich the Hebrew Law was founded is extraordinary. The lawgiver (Moses)\nmaintains a profound silence on that fundamental article, if not of\npolitical, at least of religious legislation--rewards and punishments\nin another life. He substituted temporal chastisements and temporal\nblessings. On the violation of the constitution followed inevitably\nblighted harvests, famine, pestilence, defeat, captivity; on its\nmaintenance, abundance, health, fruitfulness, victory, independence.\nHow wonderfully the event verified the prediction of the inspired\nlegislator! how invariably apostasy led to adversity--repentance and\nreformation to prosperity!\u2019\n\n\u201cDr. Paley, another great man of your church, admits the same:--\u2018This\n(Mosaic) dispensation dealt in temporal rewards and punishments. In\nthe 28th of Deuteronomy you find Moses, with prodigious solemnity,\npronouncing the blessings and cursings which awaited the children\nof Israel under the dispensation to which they were called. And you\nwill observe, that these blessings consisted _altogether_ of worldly\nbenefits, and these curses of worldly punishments.\u2019\n\n\u201cJahn, the best of authority says:--\u2018We have not authority, therefore,\ndecidedly to say, that any other motives were held out to the ancient\nHebrews to pursue good and avoid evil, than those which were derived\nfrom the rewards and punishments of this life.\u2019\n\n\u201cThis is the testimony of able and learned men who have made the Bible\ntheir life-study. Notwithstanding they believed in eternal woe, they\ncandidly admit that it is not taught by the great Lawgiver, Moses, or\nthe prophets.\u201d\n\n\u201cThey do seem to think that doctrine is not taught in the Old\nTestament, and I admit their judgment is entitled to much respect. I\nwill look into the subject.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am glad to hear you express such a purpose. And I am sure that you\nwill agree with those wise men, after a careful examination. If they\nare correct, and the dogma in question is true, is it not amusing\nthat the Old Testament writers say nothing about it? If they had\nbelieved in eternal punishment, they surely would have spoken of it\nin distinct terms, and warned their countrymen of their danger. You\nbelieve in ceaseless woe, and you preach it faithfully, earnestly. You\nare right; you act according to your convictions. And were Moses and\nthe prophets less faithful and earnest? But they did not speak of it,\nand the inference is, they had no faith in the doctrine. But, sir, if\nthat dogma is true, would not God have _forced_ those inspired men to\nproclaim it to a dying world? Would God have permitted the Jews to be\nignorant of so important a matter? What! thousands of immortal spirits\ndaily dropping into a fiery gulf, and not a word of warning given?\nhave no intimation of such a place till they find themselves in its\nfathomless vortex? Believe this who can, I cannot.\u201d\n\nI spent six months in this part of Maryland, traveling and preaching\nall the time. My head-quarters were at Salisbury, and from thence I\nwent east, west, north and south, sometimes on foot, and sometimes on\nhorseback. The liberal faith I advocated was almost totally unknown\nin that region. O. A. Skinner, who had resided in Baltimore, once\ntraveled through there, and delivered a few discourses, but I found not\nmore than a dozen persons, who knew or cared any thing about liberal\nchristian sentiments. It was any thing but a favorable field for\none so young and inexperienced as I was, to operate in. I was tired\nof traveling, and desired to settle where I could devote my time to\ntwo or three places, that I might have an opportunity to study, for\nI well knew my literary needs, and as such arrangements could not be\neffected in that region, I resolved to try some other locality. That\nmy well intended labors had much effect, is more than I can affirm,\nas I have heard but little of the religious sentiments of the people\nsince I left there. Much of the Eastern Shore is a very poor country,\nand were it not for the fish and oysters that abound in Chesapeake bay,\npart of that region would be an uninhabited desert, at least, till the\nsoil was improved, for the farmers in those days merely scratched over\nthe ground, and exhausted it more and more every year. Slave labor\nand _scratch culture_, I have observed, generally go together. And,\nI think it is a fact, that poor soil, unless there are counteracting\ncauses, such as commerce and manufacturing, produces weak heads and\nsterile hearts; and it is also a fact, that the rich sentiments of our\nfaith will not flourish permanently in physical or moral deserts. The\napostles of our Lord spread the gospel among the ignorant and brutal\nnations of the earth, but how soon was it corrupted. Their \u201cdarkness\ncomprehended it not,\u201d and there was soon developed a wretched compound\nof light and darkness, error and truth, sin and virtue, life and death,\nheaven and hell, and this compound corresponded with the intellectual\nand moral culture of the people. Since Luther\u2019s day, the process of\ndisintegration has been going on, and it will, I trust, continue till\nthe dross shall be all separated from the gold, and the former burned\nwith unquenchable fire.\n\nI returned to Baltimore in December, 1836. Encountered a terrific storm\non the Bay, which came near sending the vessel and all on board to the\nbottom. It raged during a bitter cold night, the wind was directly\nahead, and most every wave swept the deck fore and aft. The owner was\non board, the steersman was his negro slave, and he stood to his post\nlike a man the whole of that boisterous and cold night. In the morning\nwe anchored in a sheltered situation, and during the day reached\nBaltimore. Spent several weeks traveling and preaching in the vicinity\nof the city, and from thence went to Hagerstown, Md., which I made my\nhome for six months. Samuel A. Davis had labored in the vicinity some\ntime previous, as a missionary, but receiving little encouragement, had\nmoved to Pittsburg, Pa. I preached in Hagerstown, Woodville, Frederick,\nSharpsburg, and many other places, in many of which I was the first to\nproclaim our beautiful faith, and encountered all sorts of opposition.\nOur ministers who have always labored where our cause is well\nestablished, have no idea of the mean and contemptible opposition a\nlaborer encounters in a new field, where hardly any one knows any thing\nof our faith or its history. At the close of a sermon I delivered in\nFrederick, a clergyman of the place, arose and poured forth the vials\nof his wrath. He said Universalism was the lowest grade of infidelity,\nthat the blasphemies of Tom Paine were purity itself compared to it;\nand that Universalists were the scum of society, that the grog-shops,\ngambling dens, jails and penitentiaries were full of them. Hosea Ballou\nand Walter Balfour died drunkards, and they were the best men the sect\never had. The fellow overshot the mark, and disgusted the people with\nhimself; and the mild remarks I made after he got through, turned the\ntide in my favor. Ever after, I had large congregations in Frederick.\n\nI spoke several times in Charleston, Va., where John Brown was hung;\nalso in Harper\u2019s Ferry, the place he so easily captured, and in\nWinchester, where several battles, during the late rebellion, were\nfought. In Smithfield, Va., I had an exciting season. Went there an\nentire stranger, and delivered a discourse in a school-house, the first\nsermon on the great salvation ever delivered in the place. As soon as\nI said amen, up jumped three men to reply. It was with difficulty they\nagreed on which should first speak. They finally settled that matter,\nand then gave me particular attention. Each of them occupied about half\nan hour, and as the night was short, for it was an evening meeting, it\nwas midnight when they got through. I notified the people that I would\nnotice the arguments of the speakers the next evening. The novelty of\nmy faith, and the attention I received from three of the most prominent\nmen of the town, caused intense excitement, and the whole village, and\nthe region round about, attended the next meeting. My three opponents,\none doctor and two lawyers, were on hand, with paper and pencil, which\nwas ominous of another attack. I noticed the arguments and proofs of\nthe gentlemen, and replied to them in the best way I could. One of them\nhad charged me with denying a judgment day. I stated that I believed\nin a judgment day, yea, in many judgment days. The Bible speaks of\nnumerous judgment days, but they are all _this side_ of the end of\nthe world. When Adam and Eve were condemned and driven out of Eden\u2019s\nbowers, it was a judgment day to them. When Cain was banished to the\nland of Nod, it was his judgment day. When the wrath of heaven burst\non the world and destroyed all but Noah\u2019s family, it was a terrible\njudgment day. The Sodomites experienced the horrors of a judgment day\nwhen they were destroyed by fire. The ten tribes of Israel, when they\nwere banished to the far East, never to return, knew something of a day\nof judgment. When Babylon, Nineveh, and other mighty cities of the old\nworld were destroyed, they suffered the desolations of judgment days.\nWhen Jerusalem was trodden under foot by the Babylonian power, and when\nsubsequently it was burned up, ploughed up, and drenched with the blood\nof its citizens, did it not suffer, what the sacred writers call, days\nof darkness, of gloom, of judgment? The world has been crowded with\njudgment days: all nations and people have sadly experienced their\nsorrows. The Christian dispensation is also termed a day of judgment.\nIt commenced when the kingdom of God was established on earth by the\nSon of the Highest, and will continue, till Jesus shall return the\nkingdom to God the Father, as recorded in 1st Corinthians 15th chapter,\nwhen God shall be _all in all_. It commenced amid sin, error, suffering\nand death, and when it shall end those evils will be known no more,\nbut truth, virtue, life and immortality will be the universal and\neverlasting boon of Adam\u2019s race.\n\nAs soon as I got through, a lawyer commenced reading a long chapter of\nquotations from the Bible, to prove that there was a _devil_. He had\nprepared it with much care, and read it loud and emphatically. It was\nsupposed that a preacher or two in town helped him to his texts, and\ncomments. When he closed, a doctor commenced an harangue, but I begged\nhim to hold on till I had disposed of his brother\u2019s sermon. I told the\npeople that I believed in _many devils_--lying, slanderous, revengeful,\ncruel, superstitious, sectarian devils; that every man was his own\ndevil, and if any of my hearers should become vile and degraded, if\nthey would look into a mirror, they would see a devil. But I had no\nfaith in the devil the lawyer had been preaching about. As soon as I\nhad finished my remarks, the doctor resumed his speech. He launched\ninto the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, and did a large amount of\nspecial pleading, to show that the hell spoken of in that passage was\na place of eternal woe. When he was through, I asked him if he would\nanswer a few questions. He replied that he would.\n\n\u201cDo you regard that passage to be a literal relation of _facts_?\u201d\n\n\u201cI do.\u201d\n\n\u201cHell is there called a _place_. Do you suppose it is a place having\nlength, width and height?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is said to contain _fire_. Do you believe it contains fire?\u201d\n\n\u201cI do, for the passage says so.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe rich man and Lazarus were within _speaking distance_ of each\nother--they talked together. Do you think that heaven and hell are so\nnear each other, that the saved can see the damned, and hear their\ngroans and lamentations?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am not bound to answer that question.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut you promised to answer my questions.\u201d\n\nSeveral voices--\u201cYou must answer\u201d--\u201cYou are getting into a tight place.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, if I must answer it, I will say, Yes.\u201d\n\n\u201cOne more question. Could you be happy in heaven if you should see all\nthe dear ones you now love, roasting in hell? Will you answer?\u201d\n\n\u201cTo be candid, I do not see how I could be happy.\u201d\n\n\u201cI thank you for your candor. According to your interpretation of the\npassage, and it is the common interpretation, heaven and hell, the\nlatter a region of quenchless fire, are _neighbors_, within _speaking\ndistance of each other_, and mankind are to be torn asunder--part\ndriven into hell, and part sent to heaven--husbands and wives divided,\nparents and children, brothers and sisters divided, part in heaven and\npart in hell, and those in heaven will know that half of the world\nare in hell, that their near and dear friends are there. Now, it is\nutterly impossible for there to be any happiness in heaven, when such\na world of woe is within sight and hearing. The passage must be a\nparable--figurative language. Jesus often spake in parables. It is in\nconnection with several parables, and like them is figurative. But\nI have not time this evening to give an explanation of it, but on\nto-morrow, Sunday, at eleven o\u2019clock, will give what I regard to be the\ntrue exposition of that important passage.\u201d\n\nThe discussion had a sensible effect on the hearers; some rejoiced and\nsome were mad. One old gentleman, with streaming eyes, thanked me for\nwhat he had heard. But others were so enraged, that some of my friends\nfeared that violent hands would be laid on me, ere I should reach the\nhotel, and I heard several cry, \u201cSearch his saddle-bags! he is a d----d\nabolitionist! get a rail!\u201d\n\nThe next day my meeting was in a grove, for no house, that could be\nobtained, would hold half of the people who came out. My youth, the\nnovelty of my faith, and the controversy, drew an immense concourse.\nThe people listened with attention and respect, and the meeting was not\ndisturbed by any opposition. I went to the village a stranger to all,\nbut when I left, which was the next day, I had many friends.\n\nI often preached in Harpers Ferry, and generally had large\ncongregations. The town site, and its surroundings, are well known to\nbe remarkably picturesque. The Shenandoah and Potomac, rapid streams,\nhere unite, and roar and plunge through the chasm they have made\nthrough the Blue Ridge. The rocks on both sides are several hundred\nfeet high, and nearly perpendicular. Thomas Jefferson said it was worth\na voyage across the Atlantic to see this wonderful work of nature.\n\nNear Hagerstown, I had a little controversy with a Campbellite\npreacher. We both had an appointment in a _barn_, and the people were\neager to hear both of us speak. He delivered a discourse on his\npeculiar views--dwelt long on the importance of water baptism, which\nhe affirmed was a condition of salvation. In my discourse, I paid\nparticular attention to his water-cure notions, and showed that if he\nwas correct, none could be saved without being baptized in water, and\ntherefore most of mankind would be lost forever, as but a small portion\nof our race are immersed. In his reply he said he did not believe in\nendless misery, but in _annihilation_, and admitted that he had no\nevidence of the salvation of a soul, old or young, in a christian or a\nheathen land, without water baptism. What a gospel! I rejoined. Instead\nof bringing life and immortality to light, it proclaims _eternal death_\nto nearly the whole world; instead of being good news to our race, it\nis a howl of everlasting despair; instead of being a blessing to the\nworld, it is an unmitigated curse; instead of its proclaiming that\nGod is the loving Father of mankind, it announces that He is full\nof partiality and hatred towards most of His creatures. Never again\nprostitute that blessed word, gospel, by calling your partial, cruel\nand revengeful system by that dear name. There is not as much gospel in\nyour creed as there is brain in a mosquito\u2019s head.\n\nOne evening, I accompanied a friend to a Methodist meeting; the\ncongregation was large, and a \u201crevival\u201d was raging in its midst. The\nfirst speaker spoke well and sensibly, but his words fell on dull ears\nand cold hearts. The second speaker was a regular son of thunder, and\nhe did thunder, and storm, and quake, and he made some of his hearers\ndo the same. When he got through with his \u201cexhortation,\u201d he kneeled\nand said, \u201cLet us pray.\u201d He prayed, and half of the assembly prayed\nwith him. He raised his voice, and they raised theirs; he screamed\nlike a maniac, and they did the same; he jumped up and down, and they\njumped up and down. I looked on with utter amazement, having never\nwitnessed such a scene before. As soon as he had finished this part of\nthe performance, he told all to rise to their feet, who wanted to go to\nheaven. I was the only one who did not stand up. \u201cRise to your feet,\u201d\nsaid he, \u201cor you will be damned.\u201d I kept my seat, and though strongly\ntempted to rebuke him, I said nothing.\n\nNear Charleston, Va., I attended, for the first time, a Methodist\ncamp-meeting, and have not since been anxious to renew my acquaintance\nwith such gatherings. It was held in a beautiful grove, and there were\npresent some two thousand people, black and white. During the services,\nthe whites were seated in front of the speaker\u2019s stand, and the negroes\nin its rear. The speakers would talk awhile to their white brethren,\nand then turn on their heels and give the black brethren a broadside,\nand the latter always responded to the condescension of the preachers\nwith a hearty shout. The night was the hour of promise; then they were\nalmost sure of being blessed with copious showers of \u201cgrace.\u201d Sunlight,\nit seems, is not favorable to its descent; it comes more plentifully\nwith moonshine. The night I was on the ground, there were all sorts of\nmanifestations of the \u201cspirit.\u201d Some laughed, others cried, groaned,\nand threw themselves on the ground. I noticed one poor fellow trying\nto climb a tree, and I asked him where he was going. \u201cTo heaven,\u201d said\nhe, and he kept scratching the tree with his finger and toe nails, for\nhe was bare-footed. The preachers and the hearers generally, seemed to\nthink all that hopping, jumping, shouting and screaming, was the work\nof God in converting the souls of the people. Every good thing can be\nabused, and thus become an evil. Religious excitement, when kept within\ndue bounds, is productive of much good, but when it overleaps all\nbounds, and becomes temporary insanity, as it did on this occasion,\nit is prostituted to a very bad purpose. I spent a short time in the\n\u201cpreacher\u2019s tent\u201d where the following conversation ensued:\n\n\u201cJohn Wesley was opposed to such excitement as you have here.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are mistaken,\u201d replied the Presiding Elder; \u201cthat man of God was\nin favor of it, for he knew it was the work of the spirit of God, and I\nwarn you to flee from the wrath to come, before it shall be eternally\ntoo late.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo not get excited, my friend. Let us see what Wesley says about what\nyou call the work of the Holy Spirit. In one of his volumes he speaks\nof the doings of Satan thus:--\u2018Satan strives to push many of them to\nextravagance. This appears in several instances:\n\n\u201c\u20181. Frequently three or four, yea, ten or twelve, pray aloud together.\n\n\u201c\u20182. Some of them, perhaps, may scream altogether, as loud as they can.\n\n\u201c\u20183. Some of them use improper, yea, indecent expression in prayer.\n\n\u201c\u2018Several drop down as dead, and are as stiff as a corpse; but in a\nwhile they start up and cry, \u201cglory, glory!\u201d perhaps twenty times\ntogether. Just so do the French prophets, and very lately the Jumpers\nin Wales, bringing the real work into contempt.\n\n\u201c\u2018Scream no more at the peril of your soul. God now warns you by me. I\nnever scream, I never strain myself; I dare not, I know it would be a\nsin against God and my own soul!\n\n\u201c\u2018Some very unstill sisters, who always took care to stand near me,\nand tried who could cry loudest, since I have had them removed out\nof my sight, they have been as quiet as lambs. The first night I\npreached here, one half of my words were lost through the noise of\ntheir outcries; last night, before I began, I gave public notice that\nwhosoever cried as to drown my voice, should, without man\u2019s hurting or\njudging them, be gently carried to the farthest corner of the room, but\nmy porters had no employment the whole night.\n\n\u201c\u2018There is a fervor which has passed for devotion, but it is not true,\nnot scriptural devotion. It is loud shouting, horrid, unnatural\nscreaming, repeating the same words twenty or thirty times, jumping\ntwo or three feet high, throwing about the arms and legs, both men and\nwomen, in a manner shocking not only to religion, but to common decency.\n\n\u201c\u2018I dislike,\n\n\u201c\u20181. Speaking or praying of several at once.\n\n\u201c\u20182. Praying to the Son of God only, or more than to the Father.\n\n\u201c\u20183. The use of improper expressions in prayer.\n\n\u201c\u20184. The using poor, flat, bald hymns.\n\n\u201c\u20185. Those never kneeling in prayer. (They sat on the floor.)\n\n\u201c\u20186. Your using postures or gestures highly indecent.\n\n\u201c\u20187. Your screaming, so as to make the words unintelligible.\n\n\u201c\u20188. Your affirming people will be justified or sanctified just now.\n\n\u201c\u20189. The affirming they are where they are not.\n\n\u201c\u201810. The bidding them, \u201cI believe.\u201d\n\n\u201c\u201811. The bitterly condemning any that oppose, calling them wolves,\netc., and pronouncing them hypocrites, or not justified!\u2019\n\n\u201cThese are Wesley\u2019s words, and you have been doing here nearly all he\nso severely rebukes. What you call the work of God, he calls the work\nof Satan.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet us pray,\u201d said the Elder, with an awful groan. And such a prayer!\nIt was not praying, but rather the ravings of a mad man, and the crowd\nraved with him. He called me the devil, and said I had slandered\nthe sainted Wesley, and had come there to stop the work of God. He\nbeseeched the Lord, either to convert my soul or send me to hell. When\nhe was through, I told him that his performance was more like the\nravings of a maniac, than the simple prayer of a Christian, and bid him\ngood by.\n\nAfter spending six months in this region, traveling and preaching\nconstantly, and seeing but slim prospect for establishing our cause\npermanently there, and receiving hardly any compensation for all\nmy hard labor, and many privations, I resolved to go to Pittsburg,\nPa. The truth is, I was much discouraged. I had labored one year in\nMaryland, and found but few sympathizers with me or my faith, and had\nnot received fifty dollars for all my toil. I was tired of traveling,\nand longed for an abiding place where I could preach without being\nconstantly on the wing, and where I could pursue my studies. I was not\navaricious, but thought, as I devoted all my time to the ministry,\nI ought to be comfortably supported. I regretted having come to the\nstate, and certainly should not have been there, had I known the\nreligious character of the people, and how few friends we had in that\nregion.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\n\n  IN PITTSBURG--S. A. DAVIS, WIFE AND DAUGHTER--THE WEST--PREACHES\n  IN PENNSYLVANIA AND OHIO--WESTERN RESERVE--TALK WITH A\n  BIGOT--CONVERSATION ON A STEAMBOAT--FORBIDDEN TO PREACH--GRAVE\n  CREEK--A MOUND--MY STUDY--WHAT IS SALVATION?--PROCEEDINGS IN\n  BAINBRIDGE--MUD--IN CINCINNATI--GENERAL HARRISON--IN RISING SUN,\n  PATRIOT--PREACHES IN LOUISVILLE, KY.--E. M. PINGREE--ON THE\n  MISSISSIPPI RIVER--PREACHES IN A STEAMBOAT--IN NEW ORLEANS--BATTLE\n  GROUND.\n\nI went to Pittsburg by stage, stopped at several places on the road,\nand delivered my message. Arriving in that city, I became acquainted\nwith S. A. Davis, pastor of the church there, and publisher of the\n_Glad Tidings_, a paper devoted to the good cause. His church was\nnumerically feeble, for liberal principles had just begun to take root\nin that city as in the West generally. Mr. Davis worked hard in the\ndouble capacity of pastor and editor. He was a pleasant speaker, fair\nwriter, and a very excellent man. His wife, who long since went to the\nbetter world, possessed much talent, and wrote clever articles for\nthe _Glad Tidings_. He now resides in the East, and is still in the\nMaster\u2019s service. His daughter, Minnie Davis, is one of the best female\nwriters in the denomination. She has written several excellent books,\nand contributes liberally to our periodical literature.\n\nI had crossed the mountain barrier between the East and the West, and\nwas then in the Mississippi Valley--merely though on its border. Its\nhills and vales, its forests and prairies, its rivers and lakes, were\nall before me towards the setting sun. Compare the West _then_ to the\nWest _now_. Never since earth\u2019s foundation was laid, has any country\nexhibited such rapid progress in so few years. The West has made a\nthousand years growth in twenty-five years. And is it destined to\ncontinue to grow at that rate? The signs of the times indicate that it\nis even so. The most vivid imagination can form but a faint conception\nof the future greatness of the West. Columbus, romantic and extravagant\nas were his visions, could not have dreamed of half the glory of the\nfuture West. Here fiction has already become fact, and dreams realities.\n\nI effected arrangements to travel and preach in Pennsylvania and Ohio,\nfor I soon learned that our friends were few in the West, and that I\nshould have to travel extensively. I submitted to my fate and went\nto work. Visited several places in Pennsylvania, but meeting with\nlittle encouragement, I passed into Ohio, where I found more friends.\nPreached in many places in the Western Reserve, generally had large\ncongregations, and found many devoted believers in the Great Salvation.\nA large portion of the population of the Reserve were from the Eastern\nstates, and they brought industrious habits, correct moral principles,\nand liberal religious sentiments with them--the right kind of soil for\nUniversalism to grow in. But where wheat grows, there grows chaff, and\nI encountered some intolerable bigotry in that region. In Ashtabula a\nvinegar-faced gentleman accosted me thus:\n\n\u201cI understand you are a Universalist preacher.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou have been correctly informed. Universalism is only another name\nfor the gospel. \u2018A rose,\u2019 you know, \u2018by any other name would smell as\nsweet.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cSweet! Universalism the gospel! It is neither sweet nor the gospel.\nIt is a loathsome spawn from hell, the meanest of all the devil\u2019s mean\nworks, and you ought not to be allowed to teach it to immortal souls.\nI would put a stop to such preaching had I the power.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery likely you would, for you look like a villain. The mark of the\nbeast is on you, and you would, doubtless, like to be about your\nmaster\u2019s business. The world has been cursed a long time with the\nspirit you possess, and with men of your character, and that spirit,\nand that breed are not yet dead. Bigots and hypocrites like you, nailed\nthe Savior of man to the cross, stoned Stephen, murdered the apostles,\nand crucified, burnt, hung, beheaded, and quartered, the saints of God\nin all ages.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf I believed as you do, I would take my fill of sin.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are full of sin _now_.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat do you preach for?\u201d\n\n\u201cTo reform such men as _you_. You may think you are a Christian of the\nfirst water, but you know nothing about Christianity. The name of its\nAuthor is Love, and Christianity corresponds, letter and spirit, with\nthat blessed word. But what do you know about _love_? and what does\nyour fiery creed know about _love_? But you know what _hate_ means,\nand you would pursue all with fire and sword who do not kneel at\nyour shrine. I pray God that you may be converted, that you may know\nthe meaning of love, mercy, goodness, justice, know that they do not\nsignify hatred, cruelty, vengeance, and that God is served when we obey\nthe law of love, not when we hate and devour each other.\u201d\n\nOn board of a steamboat, on the Ohio river, I participated in the\nfollowing conversation:\n\n\u201cI am free to acknowledge, that I cannot reconcile endless misery with\nthe goodness of God, and yet I have to believe in that doctrine.\u201d\n\n\u201cOthers have admitted the same. The celebrated Dr. Samuel Johnson,\nthe great moralist of the last century, admitted that God cannot be\ninfinitely good to the victims of ceaseless woe--so Boswell tells us.\nWe judge of a person\u2019s character by his works. If his works are evil,\nwe infer his character is evil; if his works are good, we infer that\nhis character is good. We are safe in judging of God\u2019s character by the\nsame criterion. If he has built an everlasting hell, and will consign\nhis own offspring to its dismal vaults, to be the victims of Almighty\nwrath, world without end, and all for the errors of a day, it is\nutterly impossible for Him to be _good_, much less, _infinitely_ good.\nGoodness seeks the _welfare_, not the _ruin_, of the subjects of its\npower.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut your argument, if it is sound, proves, that God is not infinitely\ngood, for the world is full of misery. All, the old and the young, the\ngood and the bad, suffer.\u201d\n\n\u201cTrue, there is much suffering beneath the sun, but I think it can be\nreconciled with the goodness of the Creator. Consider, first, how short\nis our stay on earth. Some are here a few hours, others a few days,\nand none but a few years. Suppose there were nothing in this world but\nsuffering, but if an eternity of bliss awaits us on the other side of\nthe river, all the sufferings of earth would afford no evidence that\nGod is not good. For every tear, every sigh, every woe, we should have\nmillions of ages of happiness. But with very few exceptions, if there\nare any, all in this world, enjoy far more than they suffer. There are\nmore muscles in the face for laughing than for weeping, which proves\nthat it is the will of our Creator that there should be more happiness\nin our cup than sorrow. As there is more sunshine than storm, so more\njoy than grief falls to the lot of mortals. But this should also be\nconsidered, most of the suffering men endure, they bring on themselves\nby their ignorance or willfulness. This is a beautiful world, a garden\nof Eden, and if we observe the laws of the Creator, taste not of the\nforbidden fruit, but partake only of fruit from the tree of life,\nthere would be but little suffering in this world.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut we are informed, that man was forbidden to partake of the tree of\nlife.\u201d\n\n\u201cAdam and Eve were forbidden while they were unrepentant and sinful,\nand so are all while they possess such a character. We cannot serve God\nand Baal. If we serve the one we despise the other. We cannot possess a\nsinful character, and a virtuous character, cannot partake of the tree\nof evil and of good at the same time. We are driven from the one when\nwe partake of the other. But if we flee from the deadly shades of the\nupas, touch not, taste not, handle not its poisonous fruit, the tree of\nlife will be accessible to us. We are told that the leaves of the tree\nare for the healing of the nations, (Rev. xxii. 2,) showing, that it is\nnow within our reach. Yes, if we approach it with pure motives, clean\nhands, and reverent steps, we can, even now, pluck its fruit and live.\nBut a flaming sword prevents access to it while we are morally low,\ndebased, groveling.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is a new view of the subject; I will think about it.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs all suffering in this world is of short duration, and as we\nvoluntary bring most we do suffer on ourselves, and as we have reason\nto trust it will all, by our Heavenly Father, be overruled for good,\nand be succeeded by an eternity of blessedness, I cannot see that the\nfew tears, and aches of this brief life militate against the goodness\nof the Creator. I am sure, when we shall have passed through the\nstrifes and conflicts of this world, and can see the past in the light\nof their results, in the light of eternity, we will exclaim, \u2018Love\nand mercy pursued us all the days of our lives.\u2019 But misery without\nmitigation or end, without one ray of hope, nothing but an eternity\nof gloom, and the most intense agony, can never be reconciled with\ninfinite goodness.\u201d\n\nA few miles below Pittsburg, in Virginia--I now forget the name of the\nplace--I stopped one Saturday evening, and told the people I would\nspeak to them the next day, if they would give me a hearing. A citizen\ninvited me to his house, and I delivered a discourse on Sunday morning,\nto a large assembly. In the middle of the afternoon, some ten or a\ndozen persons entered the house where I was stopping, and after being\nseated, the following ensued:\n\n\u201cAre you the man who preached in the school house this morning?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, we have called to let you know that you must not hold another\nmeeting in this town.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy not? What is the matter, gentlemen?\u201d\n\n\u201cYour doctrine is dangerous; it is infidelity, and we want no more of\nit.\u201d\n\n\u201cDid any of you hear my discourse to-day?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, and we don\u2019t want to hear such stuff.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow then do you know it is dangerous and infidel?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe are not here to have a controversy with you, but to notify you that\nyou cannot occupy the school house this evening.\u201d\n\nMy host here informed the gentlemen, that he had an interest in\nthat house, and that I _should_ preach in it if I desired to. \u201cThis\ngentleman,\u201d said he, \u201cis a stranger in this place; I heard his sermon\nin the morning, and although I know nothing about Universalism, he\nuttered not a word I consider dangerous or infidel.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhen you reflect,\u201d I remarked, \u201con the mean business you are here\non, you will be heartily ashamed of yourselves, and your conduct.\nYou admit you did not hear me, and yet you are loud and angry in\nyour condemnation. I am a stranger in this place, and to you; I have\nnever harmed a hair of your heads, and yet you treat me with savage\nrudeness. Is this Virginia hospitality? What do you suppose I teach?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe understand you teach, that there is no God, no Savior, no hell, and\nthat the good and the bad, go to heaven together.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou have been misinformed. My advice to you is, to acquaint yourselves\nwith the principles you so rudely condemn, for you are as ignorant of\nthem as the Hottentots are of English grammar.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe have no more to say to you, except to repeat, that you must not\nagain preach your abominations in this town.\u201d\n\n\u201cI expect to hold a meeting in town this evening, and hope you will\nattend, and learn something of the gospel of Jesus.\u201d\n\nExit the inquisitors.\n\nI held a meeting according to appointment, but that company of bigots\nkept out of the way. They found, however, they could neither rule me or\nthe town, for I had a much larger congregation after their visit than\nbefore. Lectured in Wellsville, and a Methodist minister replied in a\ngood natured manner, and we parted in friendship. Proceeded down the\nOhio river to Wheeling, where I lectured several times, in a Baptist\nmeeting-house, and then went to Graves Creek, on the Virginia side of\nthe river, and there spent two weeks, speaking most every day in town\nor country. C. G. Cox resided there, and preached occasionally. My\nsojourn in this place is a green spot in my memory, for I found some\nexcellent friends, which was really cheering after meeting with so much\nopposition.\n\nThere is an artificial mound here, some eighty feet high, of a conic\nshape, and very steep. When, or by whom it was made, whether by the\nIndians, or a race who preceded them, is unknown, and the mystery\nwill probably never be solved. A few years since a shaft was extended\nthrough the base of the mound, and a broken arch and some human bones\nwere found in the center, indicating that it was a monumental structure.\n\nA great portion of my traveling at this period was on foot. I often\nwalked twenty or twenty-five miles in a day, and delivered a long\ndiscourse at night. Traveling in this hard way, and preaching most\nevery day, I had but little time to read or write. When a traveler\nasked Wordsworth\u2019s servant, to show him his master\u2019s study, he\nanswered, \u201cHere is his library, but his study is out of doors.\u201d\nSo, like him, my study was out of doors. The Bible was my constant\ncompanion, and the portions of it that most interested me, were the New\nTestament, the Psalms, the book of Job, the Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.\nWhen weary, I would sit by the wayside, and study the Book of Life,\nand on resuming my march, would reflect on what I had read, or arrange\na sermon. My discourses were seldom written, neither were they wholly\nextemporaneous, for I often repeated portions of them.\n\nI journeyed to Steubenville, Ohio, where I spoke twice; then to\nMarietta, and from thence to Chillicothe, as I was then bound for\nCincinnati. In Chillicothe, I remained a week, and lectured four\ntimes. While in this place, I had the following conversation with a\nPresbyterian clergyman:\n\n\u201cWhat do you mean by salvation?\u201d\n\n\u201cI mean, deliverance from evil tendencies, thoughts, habits, purposes,\nand all of their long train of results. This is a _perfect_ salvation.\nIt can be only partially enjoyed in this world, at best; it will\nrequire the grace, light and wisdom of eternity to perfect the work.\nIt may be commenced here, but cannot be consummated in this lower\nworld. And this is what the New Testament means by salvation. \u2018Thou\nshalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their\n_sins_.\u2019 Matt. i. 21. \u2018Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the\n_sin_ of the world.\u2019 John i. 28. \u2018Unto you first, God having raised\nup his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning every one of you\nfrom his _iniquities_.\u2019 Acts iii. 25. \u2018There shall come out of Zion\nthe deliverer, who shall turn away _ungodliness_ from Jacob; for this\nis the covenant unto them, when I shall take away their _sins_.\u2019 Rom.\nxi. 27. \u2018There is no _condemnation_ to them that are in Christ Jesus.\u2019\nRom. viii. 1. \u2018Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from\nall _iniquity_, and purify unto himself a people zealous of good\nworks.\u2019 Titus ii. 14. \u2018Because the creature [meaning mankind] shall be\ndelivered from the _bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty_\nof the children of God.\u2019 Rom. viii. 21. These scriptures clearly teach\nwhat is gospel salvation. The recipients of it are liberated from the\nbondage of sin and error; the \u2018chains of darkness\u2019 are broken, and\nthey enjoy a glorious liberty, a glorious deliveration, a glorious\nsalvation.\u201d\n\n\u201cTrue, that is salvation; but the Bible also speaks of salvation from\n_hell_.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe only passage in the Bible where deliverance from hell is spoken\nof reads thus:--\u2018For great is thy mercy towards me; and thou hast\n_delivered my soul from the lowest hell_.\u2019 Psalms lxvi. 13. Here is\nhell, the _lowest hell_, and the writer speaks of salvation from\nit; but this hell is on earth, and the deliverance is a _present_\ndeliverance. David had sinned, and he expressed his sins and their\nconsequences by the term, hell; but he repented, reformed, obtained\nforgiveness, and was delivered from the lowest hell into which he had\nbeen plunged. And it was the mission of Jesus to save the world from\njust such a hell, and from no other.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut the Bible speaks of salvation from hell in the future world--an\nendless hell.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Scriptures no where locate hell in the immortal world. It is\na condition of _moral corruption_, and, the world knows by sad\nexperience, that condition is experienced in this life. The terms,\n\u2018eternal hell,\u2019 \u2018everlasting hell,\u2019 \u2018endless hell,\u2019 do not once\noccur in the good book. But if gospel salvation is deliverance from\nsuch a wretched place, it is remarkable that the sacred writers say\nnothing about it. The truth is, God never made such a horrible place\nas theologians denominate hell, and consequently nobody is exposed to\nits fiery surges, and all this talk about salvation from it, is simply\nidle talk. But men do cherish evil thoughts, purposes, habits, and the\nsalvation the Bible contemplates is deliverance from those real evils.\nHere is a trinity of evils, and to sever them from our souls and from\nour life; to purify our thoughts, correct our habits, and rightly\ndirect our purposes, should be the end and aim of life. But to spend\nlife\u2019s golden moments, trying to dodge imaginary evils, evils which\nexist only in our creeds, and thereby make ourselves miserable, is\nfoolish, is suicidal. The only hell we need fear is _within_ our own\nsouls, not without, and away in yonder world; and if half the effort\nwas made to save the world from that hell, that is made to save it from\nimaginary torments beyond the grave, much more would be accomplished\nfor humanity.\u201d\n\nProceeded to Bainbridge, where I spent several days, and delivered\nfour sermons to an excited people. The doctrine of the Restitution was\nhardly known there, even by name, but all classes attended my meetings\nto hear the youthful speaker, and to learn something of his strange\ndoctrine. Some were mad and some were glad. One minister treated me\nvery kindly, and assisted several times in the services, but another\nwas boiling over with rage, but he heard me through. At the close of\nthe second discourse, he jumped to his feet, and told the people that\nthe speaker believed in no hell or devil, and for my part, he added, I\nwould as soon deny that there is a God or a heaven. I kindly informed\nhim that he was mistaken, that he had not understood me; that I\nbelieved in all the hells and devils the Bible speaks of, and no more;\nthat possibly we might differ relative to the Bible meaning of those\nsubjects, and that it was very uncharitable to assert that I denied\nthe Bible because I differed from him in understanding it. Doing that\nis not denying the Bible, but simply differing from the gentleman. He\nthen dashed into Revelation to prove that the devil was a huge monster,\nalmost equal to the Almighty, had his throne in the infernal regions,\nwhere he reigned, \u201cmonarch of all he surveyed,\u201d and that his eagle eye,\nfrom the center of hell, beheld this earth and all therein, and he\nnot only attended to his infernal duties at home, but was constantly\nbesieging every man, woman and child of earth, and never forsook a soul\ntill it was fairly within the gates of the New Jerusalem. I replied,\nthat there was this difference between the speaker and myself--he was\na _Pagan_ and I was a _Christian_; I believed in _one_ God, and he, at\nleast, in _two_--the God of heaven, and the god of hell. And I exhorted\nhim to abandon his Paganism and embrace Christianity. He cooled down\nsome, and at the close of the meeting gave me his hand. I entered\nBainbridge a total stranger, and departed from it with the blessings of\nmany.\n\nI went to Cincinnati by stage, and oh, what roads! There were no\nrailroads then, not even turnpikes. It was mud, mud, mud, nothing but\nmud; stiff, black, deep mud. I forget how many times the stage broke\ndown, how many horses were killed, or how many times all hands had to\nget out into the ocean of mud, and pry the stage out of the mud. But I\ndo remember, that when we reached Cincinnati, the horses, driver, stage\nand passengers, were covered with rich Buckeye mud. Mr. West was then\npreaching in the Queen city, in a small house, on Walnut street, and\nMr. Tizard and George Rogers were publishing the _Star in the West_.\nCincinnati then contained only twenty-five thousand inhabitants, but\nnow its population is fully two hundred thousand. Still, it was then\n_the_ city of the West. St. Louis and Chicago were then mere villages,\nnow each of them is equal to Cincinnati in population. Surely, western\ncities are great _growers_. Preached several times in C., and made\nmany pleasant acquaintances. I was urged to remain and labor in the\nvicinity, but I had resolved to go South, and no persuasion could\nchange my purpose. I had to learn my mistake by experience.\n\nI went on foot, down the Ohio river. Stopped at North Bend, saw General\nHarrison, who then resided there, and spent several hours in his\ncompany. He was very kind and social. He told me he had thought much\nabout religion, believed in its reality and usefulness, that he could\nnot subscribe to the eternity of punishment, but did not know about\nthe salvation of all; but added the General, \u201cI believe God is just,\nwise, good and merciful, and that all will end well, but what that end\nis to be I know not. I must wait for the developments of the great\nteacher--death.\u201d Soon after, he was elected President of the United\nStates. I saw him several times during the presidential campaign; heard\nhim make his Dayton speech to congregated thousands, and read with\ntearful eyes, the announcement of his death, one short month after his\ninauguration, and have since lingered around his grave, on the banks of\nthe Ohio.\n\nI next went to Rising Sun, Ind., where I preached every day for a week.\nThis was my first advent into Indiana. Since then, I have traveled\nthrough its length and its breadth, and preached in nearly every town\nwithin its borders. Much interest was manifested in the meetings at\nRising Sun, and large congregations attended. One man, I was informed,\na member of some orthodox church, who attended one of the meetings,\nbecame so excited, during the service, that he ate all the tobacco he\ncould find in his pockets--three large plugs. Since then, a society has\nbeen organized there, and a church built. Perhaps the good seed sown\nthen, in after years yielded some fruit. Seven miles down the river is\nPatriot, where I stopped ten days, and delivered five discourses. The\nprincipal families of the place were of the liberal faith, excellent\npeople, and practical Christians. They loved the truth, loved to talk\nabout it, and loved to attend the services of the sanctuary. That place\nwas an oasis in the desert--no controversy, no denunciation, but peace,\nlove and harmony reigned. A fine meeting-house was built soon after I\nwas there, and the society prospered for several years. But pecuniary\nmisfortunes overtaking some of the leading members, and the business\nof the town diminishing, nearly broke up the society. After a pleasant\nsojourn with the Patriot friends, I went to Louisville, Ky., where I\npreached several times in a large hall. I had not been in Kentucky\nbefore, but since then have traveled extensively in that state. In this\ncity, E. M. Pingree lived, studied, labored and died. He died young,\nin the midst of usefulness, loved and honored by all who knew him. He\nwas a strong man, gathered many friends around him, and built up what\nseemed to be a permanent society, but it did not prosper long after his\ndeath, and is now extinct. Gad Chapin was in L. on my first visit, and\nis there still--a patriarch in our Israel.\n\nAt Louisville I took passage on the steamer \u201cCommercial\u201d for New\nOrleans, fifteen hundred miles down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers.\nNothing of much interest occurred on the voyage. I delivered three\ndiscourses, at the request of the captain and passengers, on three\nsubjects--Judgment, Punishment, Salvation--and theological points were\nthe principal subjects of discussion the ten days occupied in going\nto New Orleans. The merits and demerits of Universalism were pretty\nfreely canvassed by all, from the captain to the barber. Captain Rudd,\nthe commander, was of the liberal faith. I met him in after years in\nSt. Louis, where he died of yellow fever. He was a good officer, and a\ngenerous friend.\n\nI arrived at New Orleans in January. Ten days had transported me from\nwinter to summer weather; from where the earth was bound in chains of\nice, and covered with snow, to where mother earth was teeming with\nvegetable life, and covered with a carpet, in which were blended the\ntints of the rainbow. Jack Frost was busy, biting ears and fingers, in\nLouisville, but in New Orleans gnats and musquitoes were fully as eager\nto bite at every exposed point. I heard Dr. Clapp, but he had not then\nembraced the better faith, and I formed no acquaintance with him. I\ntraveled all over the city, and visited the battle ground where General\nJackson gave the English such a drubbing. I wanted to preach on the\nspot, but could not find a door of entrance. No one seemed to care for\nany thing but money, and dissipation. Mammon and Bacchus were the gods\nmostly worshiped. The churches on Sunday were nearly empty, but the\ntheaters, museums, gambling dens, and grog-shops, were crowded. There\nwere doubtless some righteous men there, but to a stranger, they seemed\nto be as scarce as they were in Sodom of old.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\n\n  A SEA VOYAGE--A MEETING AT SEA--TORNADO--STRANGE VESSEL--IN\n  TEXAS--TRAVELS TO HOUSTON--HARD FARE--THE COUNTRY--SLEEPING ON THE\n  GROUND--VERY THIRSTY--MUST HAVE WATER--COLORADO RIVER--SOUND ASLEEP\n  ON ITS BANKS--CROSSES THE RIVER ON LOGS--CORN CAKE--A SURPRISE--IN\n  HOUSTON--GENERAL HOUSTON--THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS--SAN JACINTO\n  BATTLE GROUND--A PANDEMONIUM--BUCK WHEAT CAKES--EMBARKED FOR NEW\n  ORLEANS--A CONDEMNED VESSEL--ON ALLOWANCE--IN NEW ORLEANS--A\n  CONTRAST--AGUE AND FEVER--UP THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.\n\nDesiring to see more of the world, I embarked for Matagorda, Texas,\non board of a brig, bound for that place. A steam tug towed us to the\nBalize, and we were soon winding our way towards the destined port.\nThere were many emigrants on board, going to Texas, to make themselves\nhomes. As soon as it became known that I was a clergyman, I was invited\nto hold services. I stood on the quarter-deck, my hearers, numbering\nabout one hundred, gathered around me--some on deck and some in the\nrigging. My text was, \u201cAnd he arose, and rebuked the winds, and the\nsea, and there was a great calm.\u201d I commenced by speaking of the\nstorms to which the sea is subject, and then spoke of that ONE, who\nhas perfect control of its mountain waves, and of the hurricane that\nlashes the mighty deep into such fury. One word from Him turned the\nheadlong tornado into a calm, and the angry surges into repose. Life is\na sea, and we are all voyagers, sailing from port to port. Sometimes\nwe have fair weather, and sometimes foul weather. To-day the sun may\nshine bright, and the air be as gentle as an infant\u2019s breath, and our\nbark may glide smoothly along, like a vessel on the mirrored deep;\nto-morrow, clouds and darkness may gather around, the storms of human\npassion, or of adversity may threaten the destruction of us and ours,\nand in despair we may give up all as lost. But let us remember, through\nthe whole journey of life, that there is One who controls the storms of\nlife as well as the storms of the ocean, and to every troubled heart he\ndoes or will say, \u201cPeace--be still.\u201d A hymn was sung, in which nearly\nall, sailors and passengers, participated.\n\nIn an hour after services, a small cloud was observed in the west. The\ncaptain, knowing what it betokened, ordered the vessel put in trim for\na gale. In a few minutes, the wind was howling through the rigging, and\nthe vessel plunging from wave to wave, as if eager to flee from the\nwrath of the storm-king. The gale continued above an hour, when the\nwind abated, the clouds dispersed, the sun shone bright, and the sea\nsoon became as smooth as a mirror. That latitude, at that season of the\nyear, is subject to such gusts of passion. A few nights after, when I\nwas sound asleep on the quarter-deck, for it was too hot to rest below,\none of these gales crossed our track, and a huge wave breaking over the\nvessel, dashed me across the deck, when I scrambled up, and ran into\nthe cabin, not fancying so unceremonious a sea-bath. One night, a man\njumped overboard, and was lost--he must have been insane. Friends at\nhome probably waited with alternate hope and fear for his return, and,\nperhaps, never knew of his sad fate. At that time, Mexico and Texas\nwere at war, and armed vessels were in the gulf looking after prizes.\nOne day, a large ship was observed in the distance, bearing down upon\nus, without showing colors. Our captain was alarmed. With a pale face,\nhe eyed the stranger through his telescope. We were all fearful it was\na Mexican armed vessel, and that we should be taken into Matamoras;\nbut we were finally relieved by the ship showing English colors,\ntacking eastward and leaving us.\n\nWe sailed up the Matagorda bay a few miles, but the water being\nshallow, I got on board a lighter, and went to a village, the name of\nwhich I do not now remember. When I landed in Texas, I supposed I had\ndelivered my last sermon. I had become tired of wandering about the\nworld, and had had no opportunity to settle before I had concluded\nto quit the ministry. But going to Texas at that early day to find a\nhome, was certainly a wild and foolish project; and I had been there\nbut a short time, when I repented in sackcloth and ashes, for having\ntaken the step I had, and resolved to return to the United States, and\ncontinue in the ministry. I immediately commenced making preparation to\ngo to Houston by the land route, and thence to New Orleans by water.\nThe distance to Houston was one hundred and sixty miles, and I resolved\nto go there on foot. Being informed that there were but few inhabitants\non the road, and most of them in a starving condition, as the Mexican\narmy had the season previous passed through that region, I carried food\nto last me to the end of my land journey. No tea, coffee, sugar, salt\nor flour could be obtained for love or money. Every body lived on fresh\nbeef, without salt, pepper or butter, save here and there an aristocrat\nwho had a little corn meal in his larder. I bought some beef, cut it in\nslices, and dried it in the sun.\n\nWith a good supply of dried beef, and nothing else, a tin canteen,\na blanket and a staff, I commenced my journey, on foot and alone,\nthrough the wild prairies of Texas. I found the country to be nearly\nall prairie, the surface quite level, and the soil rich and deep.\nThe forest trees were generally covered with ivy, which gave them\na melancholy appearance. Live oaks abounded in some localities.\nAlligators flourished in the streams, and Indians, snakes, tarantulas\nand horned toads on the land. I often traveled a day without seeing a\nhuman being or his habitation. When night came on, I would stop, eat my\ndried beef, drink some water, which I had carried, perhaps, all day,\nand then roll myself in my blanket, lay on the ground, and go to sleep,\nnot knowing that there was a human being within miles of me. I was\nfour weeks in going to Houston, and did not sleep in a house one night\nduring that time.\n\nI well remember how I suffered one day from thirst. It was a very warm\nday, and my little stock of water was exhausted at my morning repast.\nI expected to find more of the blessed beverage about noon in a small\ngrove. I reached the spot, but no water was there; the bed where there\nhad been a stream was dry and hard. It was a sore disappointment, for\nI was very thirsty. As I could not eat my dry beef without water, I\npressed towards the Colorado river, which seemed to be about fifteen\nmiles distant, for I could see the timber bordering on the stream.\nI reached the timber a little after dark, but how far it was to the\nriver, I knew not. I plunged into the forest in the direction I knew\nthe stream must lay, as it ran southward. The moon, which had just\nrisen, was my only guide, for be it known, I was on no road. It proved\nto be about four miles to the river, and how I got through, I know\nnot. There was no path, the thick foliage of the forest admitted but\nlittle moonlight, and the underbrush, vines and branches of trees, made\nthe whole distance a perfect thicket. But I went through with a rush,\nregardless of scratches, snakes, or anything else, for water I must\nhave. About ten o\u2019clock, I reached the bank of the river, reflecting\nthe full moon, which had been my guide through the dense forest; and\nnever did a traveler on the Arabian desert behold the long sought pool\nwith more delight. It seemed to be my friend, my savior; and if I had\nbeen an idolator, I should have fallen down and worshiped it. I filled\nmy canteen, and drank till I was satisfied. I then bathed my head,\nface, hands and feet in the glorious river. On the bank I partook of\nmy humble repast--dried beef and water--with a thankful heart. With my\nblanket around me, I laid down on the ground and slept, never better,\ntill the hot morning sun, shining in my face, awaked me, when it was\nabout two hours\u2019 high. I have often wondered how I dared to sleep that\nnight, knowing as I did, that there were alligators in the river, and\nbears, wolves, and poisonous reptiles in the woods. In the morning, I\nagain partook of beef and water, with an excellent relish.\n\nBut a new difficulty now presented itself. A deep river was before me,\nwithout a bridge or a boat, and I could not swim. But cross the stream\nI must by some means. In the first place, I explored the river, up and\ndown, several miles, hoping to find some one to aid me, but not a sign\nof a human being, or human habitation could I discover. I resolved to\nattempt to cross the river on a log, and after much hard work succeeded\nin getting two logs of sufficient size, into the water, fastened them\ntogether with strips of my blanket, and with pole in hand, launched\ninto the river. The stream being quite rapid, my frail craft floated\ndown about one mile, but I safely landed on the opposite shore without\nmuch trouble. After wandering in the canebrakes two hours, I struck a\nroad, and thanked God and took courage.\n\nI soon came to a house, and had the good fortune to obtain a quart of\ncorn, which I ground in an old coffee mill, and made some excellent\ncorn bread of meal and water. I passed through San Felipe, where was\nonce a village, but only its ruins then remained, for the Mexicans had\ndestroyed it. Waking one morning about sunrise, I was amazed by the\npresence of six naked Indians, squatted in the grass around me. I\njumped to my feet; they saw that I was astonished, but I noticed they\nsmiled. Taking courage by that friendly token, I walked up to them, and\nextended my right hand. They offered me the pipe of peace, which was\ngladly accepted. They did not understand a word of English, nor I a\nword of Indian. We talked, however, in gestures. They remained an hour,\nwhen we separated in friendship.\n\nWhen within thirty miles of Houston, I sold my watch for fifteen\ndollars, expecting that I should need the money to help pay expenses\nto the States. After receiving the money, I heard a woman remark, \u201cIt\nwill do him no good, for he will spend it all for liquor in Houston.\u201d\nI suppose she would have thought I lied, if I had told her that I had\nnever drank a glass of liquor. Arriving at Houston, I renovated self\nand clothing, for both were rather dilapidated. Samuel Houston was\nthen president of Texas. I was in company with him several times, and\ndined once in the log-cabin, where he boarded. He was a good talker,\nbut an awful swearer. Oath after oath rolled from his tongue without\nan effort. It is said that General Jackson was an _eloquent_ swearer,\nbut I have doubts of his beating General Houston in that department\nof eloquence. I witnessed his departure for the interior of Texas, to\ntreat with some Indian tribes. The ferryman did not handle the boat to\nsuit the president, and he poured battery after battery of oaths on the\npoor fellow\u2019s head. On leaving, he embraced, after the French fashion,\nhis friends, who had followed him to the boat. I was on the San Jacinto\nbattle ground, a few miles from the city. It was a short but decided\ncontest. The Mexican forces were totally routed, and Santa Anna taken\nprisoner. That battle crowned Houston with glory and honor in Texas.\nThe town of Houston, when I was there, was a moral desert. Vice of most\nevery name and grade reigned triumphant--it was a hell on earth. The\nAttorney-General of Texas, while I was there, roamed the streets half\nof one night, drunk, and hatless, coatless, bootless, daring any one\nto fight with him. The people laughed about it as if it was a trifling\nmatter, and of common occurrence. It is to be hoped that the morals of\nthat place have improved.\n\nWishing to go to New Orleans by water, I went in a lighter down\nBuffalo bayou to Galveston bar, where the steamer was anchored. The\npassage down occupied three days, and that vessel was a perfect\npandemonium--the officers and hands were quarreling or fighting most\nof the time. Dirks and pistols were freely used. Buckwheat cakes and\nfat hog-sides were served to us three times a day. And oh, what cakes!\nThe cook baked them about an inch thick, without any rising properties,\nand put them on the table stone cold. Fine cakes--thick, cold and\nsolid. I finally reached the steamer, and the captain promised us a\nquick passage and good fare. But I soon learned, when it was too late,\nthat the boat was an old, rotten, condemned hulk; that provisions\nwere scarce, and that the captain was a scamp. Time and again the\nengine broke, or some of the running gear. Water and food soon being\nexhausted, we were allowed one pint of water and one Boston cracker\nper day. The fuel being all consumed, we had to burn part of the boat\nto get into port. We were a week in going from Galveston bar to the\nmouth of the Mississippi river, when the trip should have been made in\nthirty-six hours. Fortunately we had pleasant weather, for one such\nsquall as we had going out, would have sent the whole concern to the\nbottom of the gulf.\n\nWhen I returned to New Orleans it was mid-summer, and the city\npresented a very different appearance from what it did when I was\nthere the previous winter. Then business was at its zenith, now at its\nnadir; then the hotels, streets and marts of trade were crowded, now\nthere was plenty of room; then steamboats and vessels were receiving\nand discharging freight for and from every clime, now the shipping was\nvery meager; then the weather was pleasant, now the heat was scorching,\nburning, melting; then it was healthy, now the yellow fever and almost\nevery other fever, was raging. Exposure and hard fare in Texas,\nultimated in ague and fever. I had several chills while in Houston;\nwhen at sea beyond the land breeze, I was free from them; but as soon\nas I inhaled the air from shore, they returned with increased violence,\nand it was two years before I entirely regained my former good health.\n\nI was soon on board of a steamer bound for Cincinnati, and after a\nvoyage of two weeks, landed at Leavenworth, Ind., where I remained\nthree months doctoring for the ague.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\n\n  LABORS OF E. B. MANN--N. WADSWORTH--OWNER OF A HORSE--PREACH IN\n  INDIANA AND KENTUCKY--A PROFANE LIFE--GENERAL CLARKE--ATHEISM--THE\n  EYELESS FISH--A PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER\u2019S WISDOM--NO HELL, NO\n  HEAVEN--TRAVEL IN OHIO--ANOTHER PREACHER REPLIES--LABORS IN\n  DAYTON--D. R. BIDDLECOM--GEORGE MESSENGER--R. SMITH\u2019S SOMERSAULT--J.\n  A. GURLEY--GEORGE ROGERS--START FOR INDIANA--BATTLE IN\n  HARRISON--UNIVERSALISM AN OLD DOCTRINE, AND OF GOD--PARTIALISM AN\n  OLD DOCTRINE, BUT OF SATAN--GROVE MEETING--FATHER ST. JOHN--BADLY\n  TREATED--JOHN O\u2019KANE ON HIS CREED--IN INDIANAPOLIS--A. LONGLEY--A\n  HORSE--QUESTIONED BY A METHODIST--IN TERRE HAUTE--VERY UNPOPULAR.\n\nPartially recovering, I resumed my former work of traveling and\npreaching. E. B. Mann resided near Leavenworth, and labored in the\ncounties in Indiana and Kentucky, bordering on the Ohio river. He also\ndistributed a large number of denominational books. His circuit, which\nwas about two hundred miles round, he traveled on horseback, once a\nmonth. He was not graced by education or refinement, yet his labors\nwere blessed with a good degree of success. He is now dead, and his\nmortal remains repose near Leavenworth, the center of his labors for\nmany years.\n\nI lectured in L. and vicinity three weeks, and then proceeded to\nLouisville, Ky. N. Wadsworth was then residing there, and publishing\na paper called _The Berean_; and at his earnest solicitation, I spent\nthree months in obtaining subscribers for it. Mr. W. was formerly\na Methodist minister, but then cherished a more liberal faith. His\ntalent was above mediocrity, his acquirements fair, was a good man, and\ndevoted to the cause he espoused, and the profession of his choice. He\nwas small in stature, and feeble in health--too small and feeble for\nhis large and active mind. A year after, he moved to Troy, Mo., his\nperiodical was discontinued, and he died of consumption, after laboring\nthere with excellent success, about one year. His widow resides there\nstill, and although she has changed her name, the home of brother and\nsister Sydnor is ever a welcome retreat for our ministers. It has been\nmy privilege to spend many pleasant hours in their company. The humble\ngrave of my early friend is in the Troy cemetery; and I have read the\nbrief monumental inscription on the cold marble at its head, through\ntearful eyes.\n\nI bought a horse of Mr. Wadsworth, and agreed to pay him in obtaining\nsubscribers for his paper. It was the first horse I ever owned, and I\nfelt quite rich, and very independent. I preached in most of the towns\nwithin fifty miles of Louisville, in Kentucky and Indiana. In Salem,\nInd., I delivered a series of sermons. A merchant there told me that\nhis counting-room was his chapel, his ledger his Bible, and money his\nreligion. He was then doing a large and lucrative business. A few\nyears after, he had no counting-room, no ledger, no money, and died\na miserable death--the natural result of so profane a life. General\nClarke, an old Indian warrior, resided near Salem. He attended my\nmeetings, and I was often at his house. He said he had helped steal\nKentucky and Indiana from the Indians. He was an intelligent man,\nbut a zealous Atheist. He admitted that faith in a God of goodness,\nwisdom and justice, and in the immortal blessedness of mankind, was\nmore satisfactory, and yielded more happiness than Atheism; and if\nsuch exalted and benevolent sentiments had received his attention ere\nhis present views had become permanently established, he might have\nembraced them, but now he was too old to learn. I used to rejoin,\nthat his admission was fatal to his creed. If a belief in God and\nimmortality confers more happiness than the denial of a God, and a\nhereafter, that was the best evidence that Atheism was false, and\nreligion truth, for truth always confers more happiness than error.\nVirtue is truth and vice is falsehood, because the former is adapted\nto our nature, and makes us happy, while the latter is a violation of\nour nature, and darkens and deforms the mind. For the same reason your\ntheory, I would add, must be false, and mine correct. Not \u201ctoo old\nto learn,\u201d General. Your body is frail--it has been dying these many\nyears, but your mind is vigorous. Why stop learning? If religion is\ntrue, death, that is fast destroying your body, will not invade your\nmind--that will live to learn forever.\n\nNear Salem was a cave, containing water, in which were fish without\neyes. God creates no superfluities. The fish of every sea, lake, river,\nhave eyes, because there is light in those waters, but the beams of the\nsun had never penetrated that cavern, therefore eyes were useless, and\nhence the denizens of that eternal dungeon, have no visional organ.\nNothing is created in vain; every thing answers some useful purpose in\nthe economy of the Creator. Here is a solid foundation on which to rest.\n\nIn Bedford, Ind., a Presbyterian minister abruptly attacked me at\nthe close of a discourse. \u201cIf the pains of the damned will cease,\u201d\nsaid he, \u201cso will the joys of the saved; for the words that express\nthe misery of the one, express the happiness of the other.\u201d Never, I\nreplied, was a man more mistaken. The Bible speaks of endless life,\nbut not a word about endless death. The terms, \u201cendless death,\u201d\n\u201cendless misery,\u201d \u201cendless woe,\u201d \u201cendless damnation,\u201d \u201cendless hell,\u201d\nfound in the creeds of men, do not once occur in the Bible. Read all\nthat Moses and the prophets, Jesus and the apostles, said or wrote,\nand you will not find those terms once, not even once, in the Old\nor New Testaments. \u201cEndless\u201d life is a Bible term, but those other\n_endlesses_ are wretched fictions. The Bible says, \u201cO _hell_, I will be\nthy _destruction_;\u201d but where does it say, \u201cO _heaven_, I will be thy\ndestruction?!\u201d\n\nFinding but few persons of the liberal faith in the vicinity of\nLouisville, I concluded to go to Ohio. Preached in Cincinnati, Mount\nHealthy, Hamilton, Oxford and Middletown. In the latter place a\nclergyman attended my meetings, and at the close of every sermon\nentered his solemn protest against what had been said. He was a German,\nand in one of his harangues said, \u201cThis fellow believes the fire will\nbe _squenched_, and I believe the fire will not be _squenched_.\u201d But he\nbecame so interested, that he proposed traveling with me a few weeks,\nbut not caring about his company, I did not accept of his proposition.\n\nProceeded to Dayton; and having reference to no one, I called on the\nsheriff, and engaged the Court-house for the next day--Sunday. Wrote\nsome notices of the proposed meeting, and while putting them up in\ndifferent parts of the town, a gentleman introduced himself, who\nproved to be the mayor of the city. He kindly informed me of a man of\nmy faith, on whom I called, and was received with a hearty welcome. I\ndelivered two discourses on Sunday, and on Monday morning was preparing\nto leave town, when several friends called on me, and urged me to\nremain, at least, a few months. The town, they said, had just been\nscourged by a crazy revival, and if I should tarry there awhile, they\nwere sure a good society would be established. I told them I could not\nremain, as I was under obligation to travel to extend the circulation\nof _The Berean_, and must soon have, at least, seventy subscribers, to\ndischarge my obligation to its publisher. \u201cIf that number should be\nobtained in this town, will you tarry with us?\u201d queried the gentlemen.\nI replied, that I would. Notice was given that there would be a\nmeeting that evening. I delivered a discourse, and at the close of\nit, a friend informed the congregation, that I had consented to remain\nthree months, if seventy subscribers should be obtained in town for\n_The Berean_; and in a few minutes the required number were secured.\nWe soon organized a society, a choir, and our meetings were well\nattended during my sojourn in that pleasant town. I wrote two sermons\nevery week, and committed them to memory--did not take the manuscript\ninto the desk with me. The society paid me one hundred dollars for my\nservices. My health not being good, I declined remaining after the\nthree months had expired I stipulated to remain. The society, after I\nleft, built a meeting-house, and prospered for several years. I am not\ninformed of its present condition.\n\nWhile residing in Dayton, I visited Springfield, Centerville, and many\nother places within twenty or thirty miles of the city, in all of\nwhich I delivered my message. In the former place, George Messenger,\na minister of the Common Salvation, was residing, and the society was\nbuilding a meeting-house. D. R. Biddlecom, well known in the West as\na minister of the Restitution, visited me while I resided in Dayton.\nHe was then traveling and scattering the good seed broadcast over the\nland. He now lives in Dayton, and is still engaged in the good work.\n\nTaking leave of my dear friends in Dayton, I proceeded to Cincinnati.\nStopped in Mason, and delivered four sermons. Here I met Robert Smith,\na singular kind of a man, but of considerable ability. He deemed it\nwrong to pray in public, baptize, or partake of the eucharist. Some of\nhis views being offensive to our people, he was often coldly treated.\nThis offended him, and he subsequently joined the Reformers, prayed\nin public, eat bread and drank wine every Sabbath, and taught that\nimmersion in water is a condition of salvation. When I returned to\nCincinnati, J. A. Gurley was publishing the _Star in the West_ in that\ncity. He was an active and enterprising man, possessed respectable\ntalent, and was a forcible speaker. He was a popular preacher in\nthe West, as long as he continued in the ministry. He made himself\na beautiful home near Cincinnati, and lived under his own vine and\nfig-tree. Having made two or three hundred thousand dollars--on\npaper--by Chicago town-lots, he abandoned the _Star_ and the ministry,\nand jumped into the muddy pool of politics. He was a member of Congress\ntwo terms, and when he died, was governor of Arizona. Here I met for\nthe first time, George Rogers, a well known minister of our faith, and\nthe author of several acceptable books. During his brief ministry, he\ntraveled extensively in the South and West, publishing the glad tidings\nof life and immortality. He was a little man physically, but a great\nman intellectually and morally; his voice was feeble, but his words\nwere weighty. He broke down a good constitution by hard labor, and died\nin the prime of life.\n\nMr. Rogers had recently traveled in the interior and western portions\nof Indiana, and advised me to spend a few months in those sections of\nthat state. In a few days I was on the road, bound for Indiana. It was\nthen the middle of May, 1838, and I did not expect to return till the\nlatter part of autumn. Mounting my faithful horse, I rode to Harrison,\nwhere I preached in the evening. As soon as I had said amen, George\nCampbell, a Reformer, expressed a desire to reply. He was told he\nwould be heard with attention. Among other things he remarked, \u201cThat\nUniversalism is a _new doctrine_, and therefore cannot be the gospel,\nfor that is _old_--most eighteen hundred years old.\u201d I replied, that\nit was as old as revelation; and that several of its distinguishing\nfeatures were revealed to our first parents by the Creator. To them\nhe said, \u201cIn the day you sin you shall surely die.\u201d They did sin,\nand they died the death threatened. St. Paul calls it a \u201cdeath in\ntrespasses and in sins;\u201d \u201cto be carnally minded,\u201d he says, \u201cis death,\u201d\nand he terms this death the wages of sin. This is the death--a moral\ndeath--that God threatened the primitive pair; and if we sin we die\nthe same death--no mistake about that. Mark also the important fact,\nthat they were to suffer this punishment in THE DAY they sinned. It\nwas not to be deferred till the next day, next year, or next world,\nbut in the day, when and where they sinned, they were to begin to\nsuffer the penalty of transgression. It is as true now as it was six\nthousand years ago, that in _the day_ we sin we are punished; it is\nas true in this town as it was in the Garden of Eden, that in _the\nday_ we sin we are punished; it is as true of us as it was of Adam and\nEve, that in _the day_ we sin we are punished. Truth is eternal; the\nlaws of God are unchangable, the same yesterday, to-day and forever.\nAs sin and its penalty were chained together in the beginning, it\nis thus now, and ever will be thus. Here then, in the beginning, we\nare taught the _certainty_ of punishment--\u201cin the day you sin you\n_shall_ be punished;\u201d and here also we are taught, that punishment is\n_immediate_--in the day they sinned the penalty was to overtake them.\nThese ancient truths we believe and preach--they are portions of the\ngospel. But my friend, Mr. Campbell, denies all this. He contends that\npunishment is _not certain_, is _not immediate_; that a person may sin\nthree-score years and ten, without being punished, for remember, he\ndenied that God judges in the earth; he said, that was a new doctrine,\none of our heresies, it was not taught in the Bible. He also teaches,\nthat a man, after spending seventy years in crime of the blackest dye,\ncan, by complying with certain conditions, escape all punishment in\neternity, and occupy as high a seat in heaven as St. Paul or St. John.\nIn a word, Mr. C. denies squarely and fully the everlasting truth of\nthe ancient record, that \u201cin _the day_ you sin you _shall_ be punished.\u201d\n\nBut the gentleman is not the _first_ to make that denial, and this is\nnot the first _place_ where this _truth_ has been called a _lie_. He\nhas an ancient precedent, he is following an old leader, has taken\nlessons from an old master. The serpent preached in Eden\u2019s garden just\nwhat the gentleman has been preaching here to-night, with so much zeal.\n\u201c_Ye shall not surely die_,\u201d said his snakeship; God will not _surely_\npunish you; there is a way to escape. Besides, don\u2019t believe a word of\nit, that you will be punished in _the day_ you sin. Mr. C. has taken\nthe serpent\u2019s text this evening, and I give him credit for sticking\nto the text of the father of lies. Our doctrine, then, relative\nto punishment, is not _new_, neither is Mr. Campbell\u2019s doctrine,\nconcerning punishment, _new_. But ours and his came from different\nsources; one is of God, who is the author of truth, the other is of the\nserpent, the father of lies. They are both ancient doctrines, but judge\nye which is true.\n\nThe doctrine of salvation--universal salvation--is not a new thing,\neither, under the sun, as Mr. C. affirmed. Immediately after sin, and\nits dire results, entered into the world, and while the first sinners\nwere yet trembling with guilt in the blissful garden, it was revealed\nto them that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent\u2019s head.\nIt is generally considered that \u201cthe seed of the woman\u201d was the future\nChrist, whose advent occurred four thousand years afterwards. This\n_seed_ was promised through the Jewish patriarchs--\u201cIn thee and in\nthy _seed_ shall all nations of the earth be blessed.\u201d And St. Paul\ndistinctly asserts, that Jesus is here intended. \u201cNow to Abraham and\nhis _seed_ were the promises made. He saith not, And to _seeds_, as\nof many; but as of one, And to thy _seed_, which IS CHRIST.\u201d Gal.\niii. 16. The _seed_, then, promised to our first parents, and to the\npatriarchs, was Jesus Christ. He was to bruise the serpent\u2019s head.\nSerpent, in the Bible, is a symbol of sin. As a serpent is a low,\nvile and cruel reptile, so vice is low, vile and cruel. It worms its\nslimy folds into our thoughts, purposes, character, and life, and is\nsure to poison every thing it touches. But Jesus Christ is to bless\nall nations, by bruising the serpent\u2019s _head_. When we wish to kill a\nsnake, our blows are aimed at his _head_; so Jesus is to crush the head\nof the serpent, that is, destroy sin, and thus _bless all nations_, as\nthe patriarchs were promised.\n\nThree vitally important truths, then, were revealed to mankind in the\nmorning of creation. 1st. Punishment for transgressing is _certain_.\n2d. It is _immediate_. 3d. Sin and its results are temporary, for it is\nthe purpose and promise of God that the seed of the woman shall make an\nend of sin, and thus bless all the nations of the earth.\n\nAs soon as Mr. Campbell\u2019s discourse was disposed of, a Presbyterian\nminister, by the name of Thomas, spent half an hour in trying to prove\nthat countless millions of Adam\u2019s race would be the victims of Almighty\nwrath, world without end. I replied to him, and when we got through it\nwas midnight. The congregation was large, and was so deeply interested\nthat nearly all remained till that late hour. The next Sunday, I\ndelivered two discourses in the Snow Settlement, to immense assemblies.\nThe meetings were held in a grove, and a wagon was my pulpit. In\nBrookville, I also spoke to the people. Father St. John, a venerable\nman, resided there, and for many years occasionally dispensed the word\nof life. His silvery locks are now in the grave, but his soul, I trust,\nis with God. Spent several days in West Union, and although I told the\npeople that God was their Father, Friend and Benefactor, some treated\nme with bitter malignity--threatened to drive me out of town, and even\nto horse-whip me. Since then, a better spirit has prevailed. There is\nnow a society and meeting in that place. Let not the reformer despair\nif his mission is rejected; every crucified truth will rise again, and\ngo on conquering and to conquer.\n\nSpent a Sunday in Connersville, preached twice, and heard John O\u2019Kane,\na noted minister among the Reformers, once. He has, since then, held\nseveral oral debates with our ministers. Not knowing much about the\nfaith of his sect, I asked him the following questions, and received\nthe subjoined answers:\n\n\u201cWhat must we do to be saved?\u201d\n\n\u201cBelieve in Christ, repent of our sins, and be baptized.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat do you mean by baptism?\u201d\n\n\u201cImmersion in water.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you mean to say, that no one can be saved without immersion?\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is no promise that any one can.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is not answering my question. Do _you_ contend that there is no\nsalvation without water baptism?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe New Testament gives us no assurance, that a soul can be redeemed\nwithout baptism.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut what is YOUR opinion?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo matter what my opinion may be.\u201d\n\n\u201cCannot the heathen be saved without being baptized?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have nothing to do with the heathen.\u201d\n\n\u201cCannot children, dying in childhood, be saved without being baptized?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen you admit that _one third_ of mankind are saved without baptism.\nBut you just said, that baptism was a _condition_ of salvation, and\nthat you had no evidence a soul could be saved without complying with\nthat condition. Your system contradicts itself. If God can save one\nthird of mankind without baptism, can he not save the remaining two\nthirds without baptism?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have no evidence that he will.\u201d\n\nSince I had this conversation with Mr. O\u2019Kane, I have often come in\ncontact with persons of his denomination, and they all contradict\nthemselves as he did. They all assert, that water baptism is a\ncondition of salvation, without any qualification or exception. But\nafter they have laid down this platform, ask them if the salvation of\nchildren depends on being baptized, and they will say, nay. Ask them if\nthe heathen can be saved without baptism, and they will give an evasive\nanswer.\n\nI spoke in several of the towns on the National road, between Richmond\nand Indianapolis, and generally had fair congregations. In the latter\nplace, the capital of Indiana, I delivered several sermons in the\nCourt-house, but found only two families of the liberal faith--C.\nVanhouton and A. Longley. The latter was doing business in town, and\npreaching in the neighboring villages on Sundays. He still resides in\nIndiana, and is still preaching the gospel. He is a worthy man, and\na sincere and devout Christian. He has been a minister of the gospel\nabout forty years. My horse being lame, Mr. Vanhouton furnished a colt,\nthat had never been rode, in its stead; but I soon broke him, and he\ncarried me on my mission very pleasantly. When I returned him, five\nmonths afterwards, he jumped with delight. I love a horse, love to ride\nand take care of him. He is a noble animal, and merits kind treatment\nfrom man. But he is often savagely abused. I always want to kick the\nfellow, who ill treats a horse. He has a bad heart.\n\nI lectured in Greencastle several days. A Methodist minister, desiring\nto know more about our faith, questioned me thus:\n\n\u201cDo you believe in the Trinity?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo; I believe in one God, and no more.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat do you think of the person of Christ?\u201d\n\n\u201cHe was a created, subordinate, and dependent being; the Son of God,\nthe Son of man.\u201d\n\n\u201cFor how many did he die?\u201d\n\n\u201cHe tasted death for _every man_,--\u2018Gave himself a ransom for _all_.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cDid he make a vicarious atonement?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo. He came to teach us that God is our Father, Judge and Savior; that\nwe are immortal beings, shall live forever, and that we should love\nGod, and our fellow men.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut did he not come to reconcile God to the world?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt was the mission of Jesus to reconcile man to God, by the influence\nof truth, and his own noble example. God is right, man is wrong, and\nJesus preached, lived and died, to advance man in all things pure and\ngood--to make man Godlike, and hence it is said, that \u2018God is in Christ\nreconciling the world to himself.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you believe in experimental religion?\u201d\n\n\u201cReligion does no good unless we individually experience its blessings.\nIt is not an abstraction, a speculation, but a _reality_, something to\nbe known, felt, experienced; it is a _life_.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you believe in conversion?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes; conversion from error to truth, from sin to holiness, from\ndepravity to purity, from a disloyal to a loyal life. But this\nconversion begins, progresses and is consummated in perfect harmony\nwith the laws of the mind. It is as natural a process as is the growth\nof the body.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you believe in a hell?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe word hell in the Bible has several distinct signification. 1st. It\noften means the grave. 2d. Temporal destruction. 3d. Moral degradation.\n4th. The state of the dead. But hell in no sense is endless in\nduration.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you believe in a general judgment?\u201d\n\n\u201cIn a _general_ and _everlasting_ judgment. All are now judged by the\neternal laws of God, and we rise or fall, are happy or miserable, as\nwe obey or disobey them. This judgment is also everlasting. Through\nall time, and through all eternity, happiness will result from obeying\nthe laws of God, and misery from disobeying them. Entering the spirit\nworld, will not change our natures, and the laws of the Creator are the\nsame there as here.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut do you not believe in a day of judgment?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes; in a day and in days of judgment. Judgment commenced six thousand\nyears ago, and it is not yet closed. \u2018All God\u2019s ways are judgment,\u2019 the\nBible teaches us. Particular calamities befalling nations and cities,\nare called judgment days. The gospel dispensation is termed a judgment\nday.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut do you not believe in a judgment day at the end of time, when the\nimmortal destiny of each of Adam\u2019s race will be immutably fixed for\neternal weal or woe?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, sir; I can find no reason, or philosophy, or scripture for such\na notion. The destiny of each individual will not be determined at\nthe end of time, but it was determined in the purpose of God from all\neternity. Man is immortal, and is destined to become more and more\nGodlike, intellectually and morally, as the eternal ages roll along.\u201d\n\n\u201cAre wicked men punished?\u201d\n\n\u201cIn the language of the Bible, I believe, that \u2018He that doeth wrong\nshall receive for the wrong he hath done, and there is no respect\nof persons.\u2019 \u2018Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not go\nunpunished.\u2019 \u2018God is not mocked; whatsoever a man soweth, that shall\nhe also reap. He that soweth to the flesh, shall of the flesh reap\ncorruption.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cYou deny though, everlasting punishment.\u201d\n\n\u201cI believe in everlasting punishment in the Bible sense of the word,\nbut not in the present popular sense. Punishment is as lasting as sin;\nbut the Bible no where teaches that sin and wrong are immortal.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow long do you suppose punishment will continue?\u201d\n\n\u201cI know not how long. If you can inform me how long men will be\ncorruptible, earthy, sensual, I will tell you how long they will\nsuffer.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you think that in the other world all will be equally happy?\u201d\n\n\u201cThere will, doubtless, be different degrees of purity, virtue and\nhappiness, on the other side of the grave. There must be a moral\nconnection between this life and the life to come. As we end here we\nshall begin there. Character belongs to the soul, and the death of the\nbody will not make a wise man of a fool, or a saint of a sinner.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you believe in the resurrection of the body?\u201d\n\n\u201cI believe in the resurrection of _man_, the _inner man_, that which\nnow lives, thinks, and acts, but not of the body, these bones and\nmuscles, this flesh and blood. This body connects the spirit with the\nmaterial world, but when it shall be withdrawn from this outer sphere,\nand live wholly in the interior world, it will have no farther use of\nthis physical frame. It will be clothed there with a body adapted to\nthat heavenly home.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere is heaven?\u201d\n\n\u201cHeaven is not a _place_, but a _condition_--a condition of wisdom,\npurity, holiness. Heaven reigns in that soul, which is loyal to God.\nThere is a difference between heaven and the spirit world. The latter\nis a _place_--it may be boundless space. Men may exist in that world\nwithout knowing much of heaven, as they do exist in this world without\nmuch heavenly mindedness.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, you entertain curious views. I do not see how you can reconcile\nthem with the Bible.\u201d\n\nI journeyed on to Terre Haute, where I delivered several discourses.\nThis was then a pleasant village, but now it is a large and flourishing\ntown, and one of the most beautiful places in the West. Its spacious\nstreets, flanked on each side by trees, shrubbery, lawns, flower\ngardens and elegant dwellings, give it a charming appearance. It stands\non the east bank of the Wabash river, and on the margin of a rich\nand beautiful prairie. Subsequently a society was organized, and a\nmeeting-house built, but for various reasons, which I need not name,\nour cause, for many years, has been in a feeble condition in that city.\nIt has recently revived under the auspices of the Northwest Conference,\nand an able minister, H. Jewell, is settled in the place. I rode to\nVincennes, seventy miles down the river, and preached in several\nvillages and neighborhoods, in not one of which the doctrine of the\nRestitution had before been proclaimed. The people generally attended\nmy meetings, but I found but few believers in the Great Salvation.\n\nReturning to Terre Haute, I went up the Wabash river, and preached in\nClinton, Eugene, Perryville, Attica, and West Point, places I have\noften since visited. The religious principles I advocated were new to\nnearly all the inhabitants of the Wabash Valley, where I was traveling.\nThere was here and there a believer, but nearly all the people knew\nnothing of Universalism. \u201cWhy,\u201d said a man to me, \u201cyou do not believe\nin the Bible, do you?\u201d When I informed him that I did, he was much\nastonished; and he was perfectly amazed when he was told that I found\nmy faith in the Good Book. \u201cI don\u2019t know what you preach for,\u201d said he,\n\u201cif all will be saved; and as to praying, of course, you don\u2019t pray.\u201d\nThis man\u2019s knowledge of our faith was the knowledge nearly all the\npeople of that region had of it. I was regarded as an infidel, a wolf,\na blasphemer, an emissary of Satan. Women crossed the street when they\nsaw me coming, as if I was a walking pestilence; children passed me\nas if they were afraid, and men looked suspicious when they came in\ncontact with me. But it was not thus with all--far from it. Most of\nthose I met with, though they knew nothing of Universalism, treated me\nkindly, and listened respectfully to what I had to say.\n\nI spent one month in Lafayette and Dayton, places seven miles apart. A\nMethodist clergyman, by the name of Smith, attended my first meeting\nin Lafayette, and gave notice that he would reply in the evening,\nand invited me to attend and reply to him if I saw proper. Each of\nus spoke several times, but I was far from being satisfied with my\ndefense. I considered it a failure, though my friends seemed to think\nI did well. Mr. Smith was a pretty sharp man, an experienced preacher,\nand accustomed to speaking without preparation. He knew he had the\nadvantage of me, and so followed me up for several Sabbaths, and\nseemed determined to drive me out of the country, or shut my mouth.\nWe had five distinct encounters, and in the outcome he got the worst\nof it, for he spent his strength in the beginning of the contest,\nwhile I grew stronger as the discussion progressed. Two years after I\nlocated in Lafayette, organized a society, commenced the publication of\n_The Christian Teacher_, and several years after a meeting-house was\nerected. In the interim of the discussions with Mr. Smith, I preached\nin Dayton. Here a school teacher tried two or three times to demolish\nme, but I survived his attacks. I found some excellent friends in this\nplace, a society was formed, and a few years after a temple was erected.\n\nPreaching, debating, conversation, visiting and riding, occupied nearly\nall my time, and what reading I did was chiefly on horseback. If I\nhad five or fifty miles to ride, I improved the occasion by reading\nsome useful book. I would pass travelers and farm-houses unnoticed. I\nrecollect, after spending a day in riding and reading, I put up at a\nfarm-house, and told the good woman I wanted no meat, tea or coffee for\nsupper. \u201cWhat do you want?\u201d said she, with amazement. \u201cA little bread\nand milk, if you please, and a whole candle, as I wish to write this\nevening.\u201d The candle was furnished, a pig\u2019s face, a cold hoe-cake, and\na bowl of sour milk. She went to the neighboring village, Martinsville,\nand reported that there was a crazy man at her house.\n\nProceeding on my journey, with book in hand, I rode to Logansport,\nwhere I lectured twice. Have preached there often since. We have now an\nelegant meeting-house in this pleasant and flourishing town, built by a\nbequest of Colonel Pollard, who for many years was a prominent merchant\nof the place. He will long be remembered with gratitude for his noble\ngift. Though dead he yet speaks. Men of wealth, in disposing of their\npossessions, would do well to remember religious societies, benevolent\nand literary institutions, and those tried and faithful men who have\ngrown gray in the service of humanity. Such men devote their time and\ntalent to the world, and old age often finds them poor in this world\u2019s\ngoods. Let the rich, when dying, consider them, and the cause for which\nthey have given their all.\n\nNear Plymouth were congregated six hundred Pottowattamie Indians,\npreliminary to moving them to the distant West. I spent several hours\nwith them. Asked the chief where they were going. \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d\n\u201cDo you wish to remain here?\u201d \u201cOh yes, oh yes. I leave the bones of\nmy fathers here; but where will my bones, and those of my children\nbe laid? No matter, no matter. The Indians are doomed.\u201d A father and\nmother buried their child with their own hands. Not a word was uttered,\nnot a tear was shed. \u201cLo, the poor Indian!\u201d In a few more years the\nsun will rise on the last original owner of our national domain. Our\nswords and our vices have been doing their work of death ever since\nthe Indians welcomed the Pilgrims on Plymouth Rock, and they are rising\nin judgment and condemning us. It seems to be a law of nature, that\na subjugated people must either blend with their conquerors or be\nannihilated. The Indians will not unite with us, and destruction is\ntheir doom. The weak, if they attempt to stand alone, fall. Their only\nchance of salvation is in the alliance of the strong.\n\nLectured in Laporte and Door village, and then proceeded to Michigan\nCity, where I also held meetings. I also spoke in South Bend. A\nPresbyterian clergyman opened his battery on me from his pulpit, which\nhas been called the coward\u2019s castle. He said Universalism was false\nfor the following reasons: 1st, It conflicts with the justice of God;\n2d, With the mercy of God; 3d, With the love of God; 4th, With reason;\n5th, With sound philosophy; 6th, With the law of God; 7th, With the\ngospel of Jesus Christ; 8th, With the Bible doctrine of sin; 9th, Of\npunishment; 10th, Of faith; 11th, Of rewards; 12th, Of heaven; 13th, Of\nhell; 14th, Because it is a new doctrine; 15th, The devil\u2019s doctrine;\n16th, A wicked doctrine; 17th, A licentious doctrine; 18th, Wicked men\nand devils preach it. I replied to his long tirade. Our people now have\na society, meeting-house, and a settled minister in South Bend. There\nis also a society and meeting-house four miles from there, at Mount\nPleasant.\n\nI pursued my weary way, on horseback, to Chicago, through swamps,\nover sand ridges, fighting mosquitoes, fleas, gnats and bedbugs. I\nused to think in those days that the region between Michigan City and\nChicago was abandoned in disgust ere it was half finished. And the few\ninhabitants on the route were on a par with the country. They lived\nin a wretched manner, in log cabins on sand ridges, surrounded by\nswamps and stagnant pools. Since then, railroads have improved the\ncountry and the people. Spent three weeks in Chicago, and preached\nthree Sabbaths in an old court-house to large congregations. Chicago\nthen contained about five thousand inhabitants, and was rather a\nhard looking place. There were no bridges across the river, no paved\nstreets, no railroads, and but little business was done, and its\ncitizens did not dream of the splendid career that was awaiting their\nhumble town. I found some zealous friends of our cause, but there was\nno organization, and they had never held regular meetings. While I was\nthere, I visited most of the Universalist families, and was urged to\nsettle in Chicago, but I told my friends that it was my mission \u201cto go\ninto all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.\u201d\n\nLeaving Chicago, I turned my horse towards Cincinnati, and passed\nthrough Logansport, Lafayette, and Indianapolis. I would ride all day\nand deliver a long discourse at night. Returned to Cincinnati the last\nof December, after an absence of six months; and during that time I had\ntraveled twelve hundred miles--all on horseback--delivered one hundred\nand ten discourses, and received for compensation, one hundred and\nfifty dollars.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\n\n  JOURNEY IN OHIO--INTEMPERANCE--GENERAL BALDWIN--IN COLUMBUS--DEATH\n  PENALTY--HOW TO DEAL WITH OFFENDERS--PREACH IN NEWARK AND\n  ZANESVILLE--HELL DISCUSSED--MRS. FRANCES GAGE--INVITED TO SETTLE IN\n  MARIETTA--W. H. JOLLY--IN CHILLICOTHE--OPPOSITION IN RICHMOND-- --.\n  WEBBER--IN KENTUCKY--DR. CHAMBERLIN--OPPOSITION IN LEXINGTON--IS\n  UNIVERSALISM INFIDELITY?--A SLANDEROUS STORY BY A D.D.--IN\n  PARIS--EXCURSION TO PATRIOT--A DISCUSSION--DANIEL PARKER--CURE THE\n  AGUE--GOOD HEALTH.\n\nIn a few days I commenced a journey through Ohio on my ever faithful\nhorse. Lectured in Mason on temperance. I have seen the blasting\neffects of rum drinking, but neither my body or my soul was ever\npolluted by a glass of distilled liquor. Cannot distinguish the\ndifferent kinds of spirits, and have no inclination to know more\nabout them. Rum selling, and rum drinking, are abominations that\nmake desolate the hearts and homes of multitudes; and it is amazing\nthat sensible men will rush headlong to destruction with the bottle\nin their hands and their eyes wide open. The guilty parties in this\nwretched business are, 1st, The manufacturers; 2d, The sellers; 3d,\nThe drinkers; 4th, The authorities that license the traffic; 5th, The\ncommunities who empower the authorities to license. Most of the people\nare guilty, and all suffer more or less, directly or indirectly. But\nlet the friends of temperance labor in season and out of season, to\nreform the people, and banish the curse from the land. Their noble work\nwill not be in vain; God will crown it with success. I also delivered\nseveral sermons near Edwardsville. General Baldwin resided near\nthere--a reliable friend of liberal principles. He was an intelligent\nand influential man, and devoted to our cause. He was one of the first\nto make an effort to establish Universalism in Southern Ohio. Although\na layman he often spoke in public in its defense. Subsequently he moved\nto Illinois; but he carried his religion and zeal with him. He died\nfull of years, and went down to an honored grave.\n\nSpoke in Columbus on religion, and delivered a discourse against the\ndeath penalty. Universalism repudiates the taking of life. It is\nwrong for an individual to kill a man; it is wrong for a state to\nkill a man. But taking of life may sometimes be justifiable. Is this\na contradiction? A wretch enters my house at midnight, and attempts\nto murder my family. Either he must be disabled, or he will kill the\nwhole household. In attempting to disable him I take his life. Am I\nnot justified, although I have violated the command, \u201cThou shalt not\nkill?\u201d An army marches through the land, and takes provisions for man\nand beast, without permission of the owners. Are they not justified,\nalthough they have violated the command, \u201cThou shalt not steal?\u201d A\nvessel enters a port laden with food; the inhabitants are starving, but\nthe owner refuses to sell or give to the starving citizens. Are they\nnot justified in helping themselves, although in doing so they commit\ntheft? They must either steal or die; and of the two evils they choose\nthe least. It is wrong to steal, but it is a greater wrong to die if\none can avoid it. So it is wrong to kill a man, but a greater wrong is\ncommitted when an assassin kills an innocent man. But when a murderer\nis in custody, the safety of no one requires that his life shall be\ntaken. Put him in prison, and keep him there till he becomes a safe man\nin the community, and if he never reforms, keep him there for life.\n\nThe world\u2019s mode of dealing with offenders is radically wrong; there\nis too much of the leaven of revenge in it. They should be treated as\nmorally insane, rather than as criminals. Our penitentiaries should be\nconverted into moral reform schools, and transgressors should be put\nthere, and retained there, till well qualified persons, who scrutinize\ntheir conduct every day, pronounce them regenerated. And he, who may\nbe sent there for stealing one dollar, should remain there till he is\nno longer a thief, and if he resists all efforts to reform him, keep\nhim there as long as he lives. It is better for him, and for society,\nthat he should be thus excluded from the world. Man has no right to\n_punish_ his brother man; God has established laws, and if they are\nviolated punishment is sure to follow; and it is our duty to reform the\nerring. This mode of treatment accords with the gospel, and the spirit\nof Christ, but the penitentiary, the gallows, and the guillotine,\ncorrespond with the spirit of Orthodoxy.\n\nWhen a great crime is committed our blood boils, and we cry aloud for\nvengeance; but a little correct reflection on such occasions will do\nus no harm. The criminal inherited a bad moral organization, and was,\nperhaps, surrounded by evil associates from the cradle to manhood. All\nthis should be considered in dealing with the fallen; but the law of\nman sees it not, considers it not. He is deemed equally as blamable as\nhis associate in crime, who was brought up under the most favorable\ncircumstances. But there is a great difference between the criminality\nof the two. The latter sins against much more light than the former,\nand is a greater criminal in the sight of God. Most of offenders come\ninto this world \u201chalf made up,\u201d and are educated in crime from infancy\nupward. Let the state take them under its special care and keeping;\nprotect society from their depredations, and strive to make better men\nand women of such unfortunates.\n\nPreached in Newark and Zanesville. In the former place a preacher\ndeemed it his duty to oppose me, but he did it in a very gentlemanly\nmanner. The subject of my discourse was _hell_, and the following was\nthe gist of it: 1st. The Bible no where asserts that hell is beyond the\ngrave, and in the immortal world. On the contrary, it teaches that it\nis on the earth. The lawgiver, Moses, locates it here. \u201cFor a fire is\nkindled in my wrath, and shall burn unto the _lowest hell_, and shall\nconsume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of\nthe mountains. I will heap mischief upon them; I will spend my arrows\nupon them. They shall be burned with hunger, and devoured with burning\nheat, and with bitter destruction; I will also send the teeth of beasts\nupon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust. The sword without,\nand terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin,\nthe suckling also with the man of gray hairs. I said, I would scatter\nthem into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from\namong men. To me belongeth vengeance and recompense; their foot shall\nslide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the\nthings that shall come upon them make haste.\u201d Moses here tells his\ncountrymen what would be the consequences if they should be unfaithful\nto the trust committed to them. The Lord would \u201chide his face from\nthem,\u201d \u201cvengeance would overtake them,\u201d \u201cthe day of their calamity\nwould be at hand,\u201d \u201cthey would be scattered into all parts of the\nearth,\u201d \u201cthe sword without and terror within would destroy them,\u201d they\nwould be \u201cburnt with hunger.\u201d All these calamities are expressed by\nthe words, \u201c_lowest hell_;\u201d and the history of that remarkable nation\nshows that the prophecy has been fulfilled. That nation has been cast\ndown to the lowest hell. David testifies that the results of sin are\nnot far off. \u201cThe pains of hell _got hold_ of me; I _found trouble_ and\n_sorrow_.\u201d Jesus said to the scribes and Pharisees, \u201cYe serpents, ye\ngeneration of vipers! how can ye escape the damnation of hell.\u201d Matt.\nxxiii. 33. And then he adds, \u201cAll these things shall come upon _this\ngeneration_.\u201d 2d. Hell is no where in the Bible said to be endless;\nand who has a right to assume that it is endless in duration? Popes,\nbishops and councils have threatened the world with endless torment,\nif it did not bow to their yoke, but thank God our destiny is not in\ntheir hands. 3d. We have no information of the creation of such a\nplace as Orthodoxy proclaims. We read of God creating the heavens and\nthe earth, and all therein, but not a word about his building a vast\nprison in which to torment countless millions of his creatures world\nwithout end. It is blasphemy to charge the God of love with such work.\nGod is good, and all his works are good. When creation was finished all\nthings were pronounced _good_. An eternal hell then is no part of God\u2019s\nwork. Let this be remembered. 4th. The New Testament never speaks of\nany one being saved from hell. It was the mission of Jesus to save us\nfrom _sin_, from _darkness_, from a _lost condition_, from _slavery_,\nfrom the _present evil world_, but there is not an intimation in the\nNew Testament that God sent his Son to save us from a hell of his own\ncreating. 5th. The word hell in the Bible does not signify, according\nto good authority, a place of ceaseless woe. Dr. Adam Clarke, the\nwell known commentator, says: \u201cThe word _hell_, used in the common\ntranslation, conveys _now_ an improper meaning of the original word;\nbecause _hell_ is only used to signify the place of the damned. But\nas the word _hell_ comes from the Anglo-Saxon _helan_, to _cover_,\nto _hide_, hence the _tyling_ or _slating_ of a house is called, in\nsome parts of England, (particularly Cornwall,) _heling_, to this day;\nand the _covers of books_, (in Lancashire,) by the same name.\u201d This\nadmission is fatal to the common received views of hell. 6th. The word\nhell in the Old Testament, is taken from the Hebrew term _sheol_, and\nlearned men of all schools admit, that it signifies the state of the\ndead in general, without regard to their condition. Dr. George Campbell\nremarks as follows: \u201c_Sheol_ in itself considered, has no connection\nwith future punishment.\u201d Dr. Whitby, a profound English scholar tells\nus, that \u201c_Sheol_ throughout the Old Testament signifies not a place\nof punishment, or of the souls of bad men only, but the grave only, or\nthe place of the dead.\u201d Other critics admit the same. 7th. In the New\nTestament, the word hell is translated from the Greek term _hades_, and\nas that is the Greek rendering of the Hebrew _sheol_, its meaning is\nthe same as its corresponding word. Hence Dr. Campbell says, \u201c_Hades_\noccurs eleven times in the New Testament, and is rendered grave once,\nand hell ten times. In my judgment, it ought never in Scripture to be\nrendered hell, at least in the sense wherein that word is universally\nunderstood by Christians. In the Old Testament the corresponding word\nis _sheol_, which signifies the state of the dead in general, without\nregard to the goodness or badness of the persons, their happiness or\nmisery. It is very plain that neither in the Septuagint version of\nthe Old Testament, nor in the New, does the word _hades_ convey the\nmeaning which the present English word hell, in the Christian usage,\nalways conveys to our minds. The attempt to illustrate this would be\nunnecessary, as it is hardly now pretended by any critic that this is\nthe acception of the term in the Old Testament.\u201d 8th. The word hell in\nthe New Testament in twelve instances, is taken from the Greek term\n_gehenna_, and Orthodox scholars thus define that word: \u201c_Gehenna_ is a\nHebrew word denoting a place near Jerusalem, in which the Israelites,\ngiving themselves up to idolatry, sacrificed children to a heated image\nof Moloch, which represented the form of an ox. This place, the valley\nof Hinnom, the Jews afterwards so detested, that they were accustomed\nto cast into it the unburied carcasses of those whom they desired\nto punish with unusual severity. It is called a _gehenna of fire_,\nbecause Josiah, in order to render the valley of Hinnom more odious,\ncommanded that filth and dead carcasses should be cast into it; for\nthe burning of which there was kept a perpetual fire.\u201d 2 Kings xxiii.\n10, et seq. This is the testimony of Dr. Rosenmuller, and it is the\ntestimony of all the learned, belong to what denomination they may.\nThis is the literal meaning of the word, twelve times rendered hell in\nthe New Testament. Figuratively, it refers to the temporal desolation\nthat was soon to befall the Jewish nation. The damnation of _gehenna_\noverwhelmed Jerusalem, the whole land, and the people. Jesus told his\ncountrymen that they had filled up the measure of their iniquity, that\nthe vials of wrath and fiery indignation were about to be poured upon\nthem, that on them would come all the righteous blood their nation had\nspilt. When these things shall come to pass, said Jesus, \u201cthere shall\nbe great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world\nto this time.\u201d He told them over and over, that all these things would\ncome on that generation. Theologians now locate all that in yonder\nworld. They might as well assert, that the Ohio valley is the name of\na place beyond the grave, and the destruction that befell the Indians\ntherein is immortal woe in a _post mortem_ hell.\n\nThe gentleman said I was partly right and partly wrong. I met him\nseveral years after, and he was then preaching the _annihilation_ of\nthe wicked. He had made some progress, for it is certainly better\nto burn men to ashes than to burn them forever. I lectured in\nMcConnersville, and became acquainted with Mrs. Frances Gage, who\nsince then has been before the public as a writer and lecturer on\ntemperance and woman\u2019s rights. Notwithstanding her limited education,\nshe writes good poetry and prose, and is a superior lecturer. She is\na noble woman, and devotes her life to noble purposes. Spent several\ndays in Marietta, a beautiful town on the Ohio river. I was urged to\nremain there, and the society offered me five hundred dollars per year,\na liberal salary for the times, but I declined. I was fearful that\nI could not sustain myself in preaching at one place all the time.\nThe friends there had no idea but I could, but I fancied that I knew\nmyself better than they did. Preached in Belpre. Stopped with General\nPutnam, a descendent of the revolutionary hero of that name--a splendid\nman, and a devoted believer in the restitution of all things. Here\nI also met with W. H. Jolly, an early pioneer preacher. He traveled\nmost of the time through the wilderness of Ohio, preaching in private\nhouses, school-houses, barns, and wherever he could have a hearing.\nHe received but a small compensation, his whole soul was in the work,\nand he was dearly beloved by his fellow believers. He died soon after\nI saw him, but he is still remembered as a devoted and good man. He\nhad a daughter, a young lady, who wrote well for our periodicals. She\nafterwards married, and I do not know what has become of her.\n\nI preached in Richmond and Chillicothe. In the former place the\nmeetings caused considerable excitement, which brought out a preacher\nagainst me. He abused me, my faith, and every body that entertained\nit. He was a regular blackguard, and a son of thunder. My clothes\nbeing rather seedy, the friends, as a compensation for my labor,\npresented me with a new suit, and I went on my way rejoicing. A\nclergyman of the liberal faith, by the name of Wood, resided and\npreached in Richmond. He, however, soon after left there, moved to\nPatriot, Ind., ceased to preach, was, for one or two sessions, a member\nof the Indiana Legislature, and finally died insane. He was a worthy\nman, but was too easily discouraged to be a minister in the West in\nthose days. Delivered lectures in several places in Highland county.\nBecame acquainted with a brother by the name of Webber, who soon after\ncommenced preaching. After laboring about ten years in Ohio, he moved\nto Scotland county, Mo., where he died, after traveling and preaching\nin that state two or three years. His lone grave is on the wide and\nwild prairie. The last time I saw it a frail fence enclosed his resting\nplace, and that, ere this, has probably disappeared.\n\nI returned to Cincinnati May, 1839. Had been absent five months,\ndelivered ninety-three discourses, and traveled six hundred miles.\nThe succeeding nine months were spent in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky.\nDelivered a series of discourses in Warsaw, Ky., which awakened much\ninterest. Dr. Chamberlin, a wealthy and influential citizen of that\nplace, had recently embraced the better faith. He had been a member\nof the Campbellite church, and all who knew him, freely admitted that\nhis new faith had made a new man of him. It expanded his soul, and\nopened his hand and his purse. His wealth, time and talent, and the\nlatter was of a superior order, were devoted to the upbuilding of\nthe truth. He distributed hundreds of volumes of our denominational\nbooks through Kentucky, and was ever ready to aid every effort to\nadvance the good cause. He subsequently moved to Burlington, Iowa,\ndonated to every Universalist society in Iowa one hundred and sixty\nacres of land, and, I think, gave the Lombard College, in Galesburg,\nIll., ten thousand dollars in cash, besides many valuable books and a\ncollection of American antiquities. Lectured three times in Lexington,\nKy. One of the ministers in town delivered a philippic against the new\nfaith; said Universalism was a species of infidelity. I asked, what\nis there infidel about it? It asserts, that there a God, who rules in\nheaven and on earth, and in who we live, move and have our being. Is\nthat infidelity? It teaches that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and\nSavior of the world. Is that infidelity? It declares that God will\nsurely and fully reward every virtue, and surely and fully punish\nevery vice. Is that infidelity? It proclaims that man is an immortal\nbeing, and destined to advance onward and upward forever and ever.\nIs that infidelity? It asserts, that our greatest happiness consists\nin communing with God, and leading a pure and virtuous life. Is that\ninfidelity? Portions of your system, sir, are worse than infidelity.\nYou are a Calvinist, and in the language of John Wesley, \u201cYou may call\nme an infidel, a Turk, a Mahomedan, but don\u2019t call me a Calvinist. I\nhad rather believe in no God than believe he is an _almighty tyrant_.\u201d\nYou believe in a burning hell in which God will plunge most of the\ndead, to be his victims eternally. Is there any thing in the baldest\ninfidelity half as infernal as that? You believe that God creates\nus all totally depraved, not capable of thinking a good thought or\nperforming a good act, and if we do not change our nature, he will\nroast us in hell forever. And then to cap the climax of infamy, you\nteach that God decreed from all eternity, that the victims of perdition\nshould be born totally depraved, should live a wicked life, and in the\nend should fall into the bottomless pit. If your creed is _religion_,\ngive me _infidelity_. To exchange the latter for the former, would be\nexchanging heaven for hell.\n\nI also lectured several times near Lexington, at the request of a\nvenerable man by the name of Taylor, a relative of President Taylor.\nSeveral years after, I heard Dr. Young, a Methodist minister, tell the\nfollowing story in his pulpit at St. Louis, about Mr. Taylor and an\nimaginary clergyman: \u201cThere lived an old and rich man near Lexington,\nKy., by the name of Taylor, who was a Universalist. Some time since,\nhe sent to Cincinnati for a preacher of his choice to come and preach\nfor him, and the preacher having performed his labor, Mr. T. paid him\none hundred dollars. All right; preachers should be paid for their work\nlike other folks. Some time after, the preacher visited him again, by\nMr. T.\u2019s request, and he again paid him one hundred dollars. He did\nright,\u201d added Dr. Young. \u201cWhen the preacher was about departing, he\ntold the old man he needed five hundred dollars, and would be much\nobliged if Mr. Taylor would lend him that sum for a short time. He lent\nit to him, and to this day the debt has not been cancelled. The old man\nrenounced his Universalism, and died a Methodist. If any of you doubt\nthe truth of this story, I tell you it is as true as the gospel, for I\nknow all about it.\u201d I called on the gentleman the next day and asked\nhim if he was acquainted with Mr. Taylor.\n\n\u201cNo.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you know any of his relatives?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut you said yesterday that you knew all about this matter.\u201d\n\n\u201cBrother Kavanagh told it to me, and he learned it from a brother in\nKentucky.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow, sir, I knew Mr. Taylor, and I suppose that I am the preacher you\nreferred to, and I pronounce the whole story, save that Mr. T. was a\nUniversalist, and that I preached in his neighborhood, _false_.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, this took place a _long time ago, before your day_.\u201d\n\nI took occasion to lecture him for telling slanderous tales about the\nliving or the dead on mere hearsay. Mr. Taylor took me to Richmond,\nwhere I spoke twice. Two men came to me at the close of one of the\nmeetings; their hearts were full. They thanked God that the scales had\nfallen from their eyes, and that they beheld the gospel in all its\nheavenly beauty. I also preached in Paris, Flemingsburg, and many\nother places in Kentucky. In one place, I remember that in the middle\nof a sermon I had a hard ague chill, and had to stop half an hour, when\nI resumed my discourse.\n\nThe new meeting-house in Patriot, Ind., was to be dedicated, and\na large party of Cincinnatians employed a boat to take them down\nand back. It was a delightful excursion. We had music and dancing,\ntalking and promenading. George Rogers and E. M. Pingree were of the\nparty--both are now in heaven, I trust. We three did the preaching. J.\nL. Johnson was installed pastor of the church. He had been a Methodist,\nhis faith was now enlarged, but he retained many of his old notions,\nand all his Orthodox phraseology, and consequently he had poor success.\nHe soon left us and returned to his mother church. About this time I\nattended a discussion in New Richmond, Ohio, between Robert Smith, and\na Mr. Fisher, a Methodist layman. Mr. F. was an able man, and better\nqualified to defend his cause than three fourths of the preachers of\nhis order. Both being strong men, the discussion was very interesting.\nDaniel Parker resided there, and had long been in the ministry.\nHe called himself a Restorationist, and would not associate with\nUniversalists. I suppose his views corresponded with those of Elhanan\nWinchester. He was a disorganizer, would not form societies, but was\na very sincere, devout and good man. He preached one evening, and in\nthe midst of his sermon he buried his face in his hands, and wept like\na child. I recollect that he said in his sermon, that he had never\nbelieved in Universalism one minute in all his life. In his old age, I\nhave understood, he joined the Baptist church.\n\nMy health continued feeble, not having recovered from the ague\nengendered in the South, but it did not confine me in-doors a day. I\nhad a slight chill every day, succeeded by an inward fever, which kept\nme in a debilitated condition. Occasionally though I had a violent\n_shake_. Often when riding, I would have an attack of the ague, when I\nwould stop two or three hours, and then resume my journey. I took all\nsorts of medicines, but nothing did me any good. It finally occurred\nto me that breakfast might have some connection with my ague, as it\nreturned every morning soon after eating. I refrained from partaking\nof breakfast for a week, and the ague did not trouble me. Two or\nthree times afterwards my morning ague returned, but abstaining from\nbreakfast always prevented a relapse. I was soon entirely free from it,\nand since then, with the exception of two attacks of bilious fever, one\nin St. Louis, and one in Chicago, brought on in both cases by walking\nand riding in the blazing sun, and preaching too much, I have enjoyed\nperfect health. I certainly have reason to be thankful for the good\nhealth I have enjoyed, and for innumerable other blessings, temporal\nand spiritual.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\n\n  A JOURNEY EAST--TALK WITH A BAPTIST MINISTER--PREACHED IN DELAWARE\n  AND CENTERVILLE, OHIO--W. Y. EMMETT--DOORS CLOSED--A. BOND--A. B.\n  GROSH--IN NEW ENGLAND--ON THE SEA--A STORM--METHODIST PREACHER\n  FRIGHTENED--BLOW THE TRUMPET--IN PHILADELPHIA--IN DELAWARE--IN\n  PITTSBURG--RETURNED TO CINCINNATI--GO TO CHICAGO--BAD ROADS--IN\n  RICHMOND--TALK WITH A QUAKER--A SPIRIT RETURNS TO EARTH--A SPIRIT\n  OUT OF THE BODY--A STRANGE SIGHT--PREACH IN GOD\u2019S TEMPLE--PREACH IN\n  CHICAGO--PREACH IN JOLIET--AARON KINNEY, AN EARLY PREACHER--BILL\n  OF FARE--HARD LUCK IN MAGNOLIA--WHY PREACH--IN HENNEPIN--POLITICAL\n  HUMBUGS--OPPOSITION IN WASHINGTON--JUSTICE OF GOD--IN PEKIN AND\n  TREMONT--FROZEN--A PREACHER REPLIES.\n\nGeorge Rogers had traveled in the Southern states, and was urged either\nto return or send some one to preach to the people. He could not go,\nand at his solicitation, I consented to journey in Kentucky, Tennessee,\nMississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North and South Carolina; and from\nthence I purposed going by sea to Boston, Mass. February, 1840, with\nhorse and buggy, I started from Cincinnati on what I expected would be\na long and hard journey, through a thinly settled region, and among\nstrangers. Crossed the Ohio river, and traveled about ten miles on a\nsplendid pike. But at the end of the pike the sublime and ridiculous\njoined hands. Horse and buggy plunged from the hard, dry and smooth\nroad into an ocean of mud and water. This enlightened me concerning\nthe condition of the roads generally, and after floundering in the\nmud awhile, I succeeded in getting back to dry land, and returned to\nCincinnati, and abandoned my contemplated southern journey.\n\nI then resolved to go East through Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and\nMassachusetts, and in a few days after I recrossed the Ohio river, I\nwas on my way, on horseback, to the noted city of Boston. I performed\nthe whole journey, about one thousand miles, on horseback, and it\noccupied six weeks. I went East to visit my mother, and hurried through\nas fast as possible. But I could not travel very fast, as the roads\nwere in a bad condition, and the weather was often stormy. Preached\nin Woodstock, to large assemblies. Spent three days very pleasantly\nin visiting kind friends, and in talking to the people. A society was\nsubsequently formed and a meeting-house erected. Cyrus F. Wait, then\na youth, attended my meetings. He soon after commenced preaching, and\nlabored faithfully in the ministry till 1865, when he laid down his\narmor and ascended to his God. He lived and labored in Woodstock most\nof the time he was in the ministry, was an efficient preacher and an\nexcellent man. I delivered several sermons in Delaware, and had the\nfollowing conversation with a Baptist clergyman:\n\n\u201cYou preached in town last night, did you?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you are right, I cannot be wrong.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf I am right in my religious views, you are radically wrong in yours,\nfor I expect we essentially differ. If my views of God, Christ, heaven,\nhell, man, rewards and punishments, are correct, you are in error, of\ncourse, wherein you differ from me. Any one with half an eye, and that\nnearly out, can see that.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I am safe if Universalism is true.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are in a lost condition if it is true. He only is safe whose\nlife is in harmony with the truth. Your mind, I perceive, from your\nconversation, is darkened by a false theology. \u2018Know the truth,\u2019 said\nJesus, \u2018and the truth shall make you free.\u2019 \u2018Sanctify them through\nthy truth, thy word is truth.\u2019 Jesus attached great importance to\nreceiving the truth. You are walking in darkness, and see that you do\nnot stumble. Truth is a lamp to the feet, and a guide to the soul. We\ncannot walk safely without that light.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut I shall be saved as well as you if Universalism is of God.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou will be saved when your soul shall be sanctified by the truth, and\nnot till then. Universalism promises no salvation, in this world or the\nworld to come, without purity of heart. Let that be remembered.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut I thought you believed we should all be saved any how.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou thought wrong. There is only one way to be saved, and that is,\nby having our souls baptized with the truth. Those thus baptized _are\nsaved_, heaven now reigns in their souls, the kingdom of God, which is\nrighteousness, joy and peace in the Holy Spirit, is _within them_. That\nis the salvation Jesus lived, labored and died to bless man with.\u201d\n\nDelivered a discourse in Circleville, and formed the acquaintance of W.\nY. Emmett. He has long been known in Ohio as a faithful minister of the\nNew Testament. His father was a Methodist clergyman, but the son has\ngreatly improved on the theology of the father. There are three steps\nfrom extreme error, in religion, to truth--Calvinism, Arminianism,\nUniversalism. Perhaps Br. Emmett\u2019s grand-father was a Calvinist.\nPassing on, I lectured several times in Ashtabula, but sectarianism\ntaking alarm, all doors were closed against me, and I proceeded to\nConneautville. Ammi Bond resided there. He has recently died. His\nministry was confined, chiefly, to the northeast part of Ohio, and\nto contiguous portions of Pennsylvania. His personal appearance was\nattractive; had a well formed head, a Grecian face, and the soul within\ncorresponded with the outer man. From here I proceeded more rapidly\non my journey. Called on A. B. Grosh, Utica, N. Y., who was then\npublishing _The Gospel Advocate_. He possesses fine ability, and is,\nevery way, a noble man. Crossed the Hudson river, at Troy, and after\nsix weeks traveling reached Princeton, Mass., where my mother resided.\nVisited my old home in Haverhill, and shed a tear over my brother\u2019s\ngrave in Plaistow, N. H., attended a Conference meeting in Boston,\nand then sailed from Boston for Philadelphia, in the brig Mary Ann,\ncommanded by Captain Chase. We encountered a tremendous storm--an\nequinoctial storm--which made the vessel roll and plunge at a fearful\nrate, and set the sailors to telling stories of shipwrecks, ghosts,\nand home. The captain, who was a member of one of our societies on\nCape Cod, related the following of a Methodist preacher:--The previous\nseason there was a terrible storm off that coast, and many vessels were\nlost. A friend of his, who ran a vessel between New York and Boston,\nwas out in it, and during the hardest of the gale, in a pitch-black\nnight, he was trying to weather Cape Cod, to get into a sheltered\nposition. He had a Methodist preacher on board. About midnight, when\nit was dark as Egypt, the wind howling, the waves dashing, and the\nvessel plunging, he went into the cabin dripping with salt water, when\nthe preacher said, \u201cCaptain, how are we getting along?\u201d The captain\nreplied, \u201cWe are drifting towards the shore very fast, and we shall all\nbe in heaven before morning.\u201d \u201cGod _forbid_,\u201d said the clergyman. This\nreminds me of a courageous preacher in Indiana. Some boatmen, after\ntoiling all night in a flat-boat on White river, tied up their craft,\nand sought a place to rest. They selected a barn for that purpose. Over\nits floor was a scaffold covered with hay, on which they laid their\nweary bodies to repose. Being much fatigued they slept sound and long.\nWhen they awoke, they found that there was a congregation worshiping\non the floor below, for it was Sunday morning. The preacher was in the\nmidst of his theme--the judgment day, that day for which all days\nwere made. He had got to where the saints were about to be raised, and\nhe, of course, was one of them. \u201cO-ah,\u201d said he, \u201cI want to go-ah; I\nam tired-ah of this wicked-ah world-ah;\u201d and looking straight at the\nroof of the barn, he cried as loud as he could scream, \u201cGabriel-ah,\nGabriel-ah, blow-ah that trumpet-ah, that I-ah may leave-ah this\nungodly-ah world-ah, and go to heaven-ah. I-ah say-ah, Gabriel-ah,\nblow-ah that-ah trumpet-ah this-ah minute-ah.\u201d The boatmen had a tin\nhorn, and one gave a loud blast, which made every worshiper bound to\nhis feet. The preacher stopped short, cast one agonizing glance upward,\nand then leaped through and over his flock out of the barn, and ran\nhome as fast as his legs would carry him. One old lady, in her haste to\nget out of the way of Gabriel, broke a limb.\n\nIn Philadelphia I was introduced to Asher Moore, a well known minister\nin the East. Z. Fuller, for many years an influential clergyman in that\ncity, had recently died. Being anxious to return to my western field of\nlabor, I tarried but a few hours in P. Proceeded over the mountains to\nPittsburg, by railroad and stage, where I delivered several discourses.\nFrom thence I went in a steamboat to Cincinnati; and in a few days, was\non the road to Chicago.\n\nA journey to Chicago from Cincinnati was not as easily, or as quickly\nmade in those days as it is now. Instead of a few hours, it took\nabout two weeks of hard traveling to perform the journey. Instead of\na smooth, iron road, it was about the roughest and softest road ever\ntraveled by man or beast. Parts of it were railway, but the rails were\nunhewed logs, and laid across the track, which endangered the horse\u2019s\nlegs and carriage wheels. Portions of the year it was hard to find the\nbottom of the mud. It was indeed a rough and terrible road most of\nthe way through; and the driver had to keep both eyes open to avoid\nstumps, holes and quagmires, and often with good eyes, and they used to\nthe best advantage, he did not escape shipwreck. Preached in Richmond,\nInd., four times. This is a Quaker town. Had a long conversation with a\npreacher of that order.\n\n\u201cYou do not pray in public?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo; Christ enjoined secret prayer.\u201d\n\n\u201cTrue; but he prayed in the presence of others, and on the cross prayed\nin the presence of thousands, \u2018Father, forgive them for they know not\nwhat they do.\u2019 The seventeenth chapter of John is a prayer uttered\nin the presence of his disciples. The apostle Paul, on one occasion,\nkneeled on the sea shore in the midst of a large assembly, and vocally\ninvoked the divine blessing. And most of good men and good women in all\nages and in all climes, whether Christian or Pagan, have sanctioned\nthe practice. The tongue loves to speak what the heart feels, and\na prayer straight from the heart, often has more influence on an\nassembly than a good sermon. Of course, it is a great sin to pray or\npreach \u2018to be seen of men,\u2019 but praying and preaching with the spirit\nand the understanding, are heaven-appointed means to christianize\nthe soul. There is, doubtless, much hypocritical praying as well as\npreaching, but the abuse of a good thing is not a valid reason for its\nabandonment. You oppose singing, I understand. Why do you?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Friends in their worship are governed by the _spirit_, and singing\nis an _art_, _taught_ and _learned_, hence they exclude it from their\nworship.\u201d\n\n\u201cLearning to _read_ is an _art_, and yet you read the Bible. Speaking\ncorrectly is an _art_, but you cultivate correct speaking in your\nmeetings. The _spirit_ does not teach you how to read or how to speak.\nMusic is a science of which God is the author, and in studying music we\nlearn of the wisdom of God, and in singing we sing his praise. A good\nhymn sung correctly is a sermon and a prayer; it unites the hearts of\nall who hear, and stirs the soul to its depths. Why do you all wear the\nsame style of dress?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause we abhor _fashions_.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut it seems to me that your people are great lovers of fashion. There\nis a Quaker fashion, and you all, men, women and children, stick to\nit through thick and thin. If one of your members deviates from your\nfashion he is dealt with as an offender. You do not run after every\nfashion, but you adopt the fashion of the times of Charles II., and\nwill make no improvement. I despise fashion more than you do, for I\nconsult my own taste, and not the frivolous whims of crack-brains in\nthe nineteenth or sixteenth century.\u201d\n\nA gentleman here told me a singular story. A physician and a lawyer\nlived in Richmond; they were intimate friends, and spent much time\ntogether. Both were zealous infidels, and they promised each other,\nthat the one that should die first, if he lived after death, would\nreturn to his friend left on earth if he was able to do so. The\nphysician died, but the survivor thought not of the promise, for he was\nsure death had spared nothing of his friend. Several months after the\nphysician\u2019s death, the lawyer was astonished to see his departed friend\nenter his office. He slowly approached the couch on which he was lying,\nfor it was night, and reminded him of their mutual promise; said he\nhad made several efforts before to visit him but failed; told him that\nboth of them were mistaken about death; that _the man_ did not die;\nhe only put off the body and entered on a higher sphere of existence,\nand that most of mankind were in error concerning the second stage of\nlife, that being much more like this world than many imagined. After an\naffectionate adieu, he disappeared, promising to return, if possible,\nbut he saw him no more. The gentleman related the circumstance to his\nfriends, and they, of course, laughed at him, and said he was crazy or\nasleep, whereupon he went before a magistrate and testified under oath,\nthat what he related was strictly correct. He was ever after a believer\nin immortality; he said he _knew_ there was a future life, for he had\nseen one from the land beyond the vale.\n\nA gentleman in Ohio related to me the following: He ran a flouring\nmill, located at the foot of a hill, on the top of which was his\nresidence. His aged father often spent an hour or two in the mill. One\nday he observed him enter the building, with staff in hand, and after\nremaining a few minutes, walked out. Nothing was said by either party,\nand several times they passed within three or four feet of each other.\nStepping to the door soon after the old gentleman went out, he saw\nhis father slowly ascending the hill to the house. He immediately had\noccasion to go to the house, and not seeing his father, inquired for\nhim, and was informed that he was lying down. He went into his room and\nfound him asleep, and was told he had been on the bed a full hour.\n\nAnother intelligent friend related the following: His family and\nanother family occupied one house in an Ohio town--the former the\nfront, and the latter the rear part of the building, and a gate, two\nfeet from the front door, was the entrance to the rear of the house.\nThe gate swung hard on its hinges, and with much noise. About ten\nat night, my informant, from his front door, observed a person on\nthe sidewalk approaching the house; having a peculiar appearance, he\nrequested his wife to step to the door and see who it was. To both he\nseemed a stranger, and both remarked that he made no noise walking on\nthe stone pavement. When opposite the gate, and two feet from where\nthey were standing, he turned and passed through the gateway to the\nrear of the building out of sight. Supposing the gate was open, as the\ntraveler did not stop to open it, the gentleman stepped aside to close\nit, when, to his atonishment, he found it shut. On opening the gate\nhe found that it made as loud a report, and required as much effort\nas usual. Not being able to account for all this, he inquired of his\nneighbor if any one had called, and was answered, nay. That night a\nwoman in the rear part of the building died. It is quite fashionable\nto cry humbug and delusion, when such stories are related; but I do\nnot raise that cry, neither have I a satisfactory explanation of them\nto offer. The history and tradition of all nations and people are full\nof what seems to be the supernatural; and if that part is all false,\nhow can we credit the balance of their history? But most people, after\nall, have, at least, some vague impressions, that the departed have\nsomething to do with the world they once inhabited. And why should they\nnot?\n\nI had an appointment in a Methodist meeting-house in Washington;\nand while the congregation was assembling, the pastor of the church\ntold us we could not occupy the house; such abominable sentiments\nshould not be promulgated in the Methodist meeting-house. I told the\ncongregation, as we were not allowed to occupy the Methodist house,\nwe would adjourn to the house of the Lord--a beautiful grove. This\nbeing an unexpected reply, and part of the congregation being rather\npleased, the preacher good-naturedly said I might say what I pleased\nin the Methodist house. Visited many places where I had before spoken,\nand reached Chicago, August, 1840, where I preached three Sabbaths,\nand then proceeded to Joliet. Lectured there three times. We have now\na society in that place, and a splendid meeting-house. Aaron Kinney\nthen resided in Joliet, and preached there and in the region round\nabout. He subsequently moved to Farmington, Ill., where he and his wife\ndied. He was one of the first ministers of our faith in Illinois, and\nhe labored under many disadvantages. Liberal Christians were few in\nnumber, for the country was thinly populated, and he consequently was\npoorly supported. But he persevered in the good work till death closed\nhis labors. Delivered one discourse in Peru, but did not find a soul\nthat sympathized with me. The congregation was large, but all seemed to\nbe afraid of me. I was informed of a friend, who resided a few miles\nbelow on the canal, which was then being excavated. Spent one night\nwith him; and although he seemed to be a good kind of a man, he lived\nlike a hog. The bill of fare for the night was, 1st, A hot night; 2d,\nA dirty bed; 3d, An army of bed-bugs; 4th, Ditto, fleas; 5th, Ditto,\nmusquitoes. I was glad to leave the dirty hole. Reached Magnolia in the\nnight; and after being refused lodging at half of the houses in the\nvillage, a poor drunken man took me in. He treated me to the best his\ncabin afforded, which was poor enough. Found some friends the next day,\nand delivered several discourses before I left town. A preacher could\nnot let me pass without a hit.\n\n\u201cIf this man,\u201d said he, \u201cis correct, he is a fool for traveling about\nthis new country preaching. If I believed as he does, I would never\npreach again.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy friend,\u201d I replied, \u201cI preach the truth. 1st, Because it is the\ntruth; 2d, Because I love the truth; 3d, Because truth benefits man.\nBut you seem to have more regard for party than for truth. Anything\nthat is not found there you care nothing about, let it be ever so\nvaluable. You need to be baptized with the spirit of truth, for you\nhave been baptized only with the spirit of some party. Jesus, whom you\nprofess to follow, but really run away from, was an ardent lover of the\ntruth. He toiled, bled and died for the truth. He cared nothing about\nparty, but he was as true to the truth as the needle is to the pole. He\nnever varied from it one iota in the darkest hour of his life. When I\nhear men talk as you have to-day, I know that they know nothing of the\nspirit of Christ.\u201d\n\nLectured in Hennipen several times. Dr. Pulsifer had recently moved\nthere from the East, and took much interest in getting up the meetings.\nHave often been there since, and always found him to be a faithful\nfriend. I met here several families which had formerly resided in the\nEast, and were there regular attendants at the sanctuary, but had not\nheard a discourse on the Restitution for several years; and it made\ntheir hearts leap with joy to attend a meeting of their choice. \u201cThank\nGod,\u201d said one lady, \u201cfor the blessed privilege of hearing the gospel\nof our salvation once more, before I go hence. The Lord be with you;\nand may you long live to proclaim the unsearchable riches of Christ to\nfallen, sinful man.\u201d\n\nDuring this year was the noted presidential campaign, when General\nHarrison and Martin Van Buren were candidates for the White House, and\nthe whole country was in an uproar. The air was vocal with \u201cTippecanoe\nand Tyler too,\u201d and log cabins, and cider barrels were moving in all\ndirections at the beat of the drum. The Democrats disdained such\nhumbuggery, and lost the day, but after that they were not a whit\nbehind the Whigs in all sorts of tomfoolery. Whisky, beer, and such\nsenseless exhibitions, often command more votes than a just cause. This\nis a lamentable and humiliating fact, and the evil will continue till\nintelligence and virtue are the ruling spirits of the land. Meeting a\nboy eight or ten years old in the road one day, he cried, \u201cHurrah for\nHarrison.\u201d Wanting some amusement, I said, \u201cYou rascally tory!\u201d \u201cWell,\nthen,\u201d said he, as quick as lightning, and jumping from the ground,\n\u201churrah for Dick Johnson and his black ones.\u201d That was a poser for a\nDemocrat, for Richard M. Johnson, who was the candidate for the Vice\nPresidency on the Democratic ticket, was the father of several darkies.\nIf that boy is living, he is doubtless now one of our stump orators. I\nmade no reply to the little politician, but left him alone in his glory.\n\nLectured in Washington. A preacher delivered a discourse against the\nGreat Salvation. His chief argument was based on what he termed \u201cthe\njustice of God.\u201d The justice of God requires the endless punishment\nof the wicked. Some of my remarks in reply were as follows: What\nthe preacher calls justice is injustice, is malignity, dark, cruel,\ninfernal malignity. Because frail, finite man, worm of the dust,\nsteps aside from the line of duty, and thereby harms himself, and no\none else, the Creator of heaven and earth must pounce upon him with\nthe wrath and vengeance of a thousand tigers, and pursue him from\nthe cradle to the grave, from the grave to the resurrection, from\nthe resurrection to the infernal regions, and there commission the\ndevil and all his crew to keep up the chase through the length and\ndepth of hell forever and ever. Why, justice would turn pale at such\ninjustice. But to make out that such cruelty is pure justice, the\npreacher said that man violates an infinite law, and therefore justly\nmerits everlasting hell-torments. Then the transgression of any law of\nGod deserves endless woe. Breaking a bone, cutting the flesh, eating\nimproper food, are violations of God\u2019s laws, and according to the\npreacher, richly deserve ceaseless punishment. A child or a man steals\na pin; that is a violation of the divine law, and both merit eternal\nsuffering. If disobeying of God\u2019s law merits infinite punishment, then\nobeying of it merits infinite happiness. What then becomes of the\nBible doctrine that \u201ceternal life is the GIFT of God?\u201d Rom. vi. 23.\nIf the gentleman is correct, there are no degrees in crime, guilt or\npunishment. There cannot be if every infringement of God\u2019s law is an\ninfinite offense. He who steals a pin, and he who murders a man, commit\ncrimes of equal magnitude, and both are equally guilty, and deserve\nequal punishment. If one sin merits infinite punishment, ten thousand\nsins can merit no more, and God will punish a man for _one sin_ just as\nlong as he will for a _million_ of sins. All mankind sin, and therefore\nall mankind deserve endless punishment. Who then can be saved, if the\npreacher is right? But, said he, Jesus has made an atonement for the\nsins of the world, has satisfied divine justice, and sinners can escape\nthe penalty due their crimes. How is that? The justice of God satisfied\nwith the sacrifice of Christ? Did Jesus suffer the penalty man merits?\nDid he suffer infinite misery, the few hours he was on the cross? Did\nhe suffer all the pain that all mankind deserve for breaking the law?\nThe preacher must reply, yes. If Jesus satisfied justice for the \u201csins\nof the whole world, original and actual,\u201d as his creed--the Methodist\ncreed--asserts, then will not all be saved? Is not God bound to save\nall for whom Christ made an atonement? If the gentleman is correct--if\nthe law is infinite, if the penalty is infinite, if all deserve\nendless hell-torments, and if Jesus has made \u201can atonement, a perfect\nsatisfaction for the sins of the whole world, original and actual,\u201d all\nare bound to escape, and reach heaven.\n\nBut let the law of God be infinite or finite, man\u2019s _guilt_ is in\nproportion to his _knowledge_ of right and wrong. An idiot may kill\na man, but he is not guilty, for he knows no better. An intelligent\nperson would be deeply guilty for such a deed. Our guilt, then, and the\npunishment we merit, are in exact ratio with our knowledge of right\nand wrong. These facts upset the preacher\u2019s whole theory of infinite\nsin and punishment. Justice does not require so much pain for so much\nsin. To demand that would be vengeance, retaliation, an eye for an\neye, a tooth for a tooth, just what Jesus condemns. Exercising justice\nis giving all parties their due--restoring the equilibrium, making\nthe crooked straight, the rough smooth, causing all flesh to see the\nsalvation of God. It is not destruction, but restoration; it does not\nhurl men from God, but draws them to him; it consigns us not to hell,\nbut exalts us to heaven. This view of justice harmonizes with the mercy\nand goodness of God, and refutes the line of the poet, that\n\n  \u201cA God all mercy is a God unjust.\u201d\n\nLectured in Pekin three times. We have now a good society and\nmeeting-house in this place. It was then a small village, now it is\na large town. Proceeded to Tremont, where I spent several days, and\nlectured four times. At a subsequent visit to this place, I had an\nappointment in Washington, twelve miles north, on a cold December\nSunday morning. The thermometer was below zero, the snow deep, and\nthe wind blowing hard from the north. Started on horseback, and was\nsoon very cold. I walked, ran, kicked, and thrashed my arms, but this\nexercise fatigued me, and I remounted my horse, and soon became very\ncomfortable, and congratulated myself that I should get through without\nfurther trouble. A hole being in one of my gloves, I noticed that one\nof my fingers looked rather pale, and I was not long in discovering\nthat I was actually freezing. It was then two miles to a house, and\nwhen I reached it I hesitated about stopping, I felt so comfortable.\nI finally went into the house, and soon found that my fingers, ears,\nnose, and face were badly frozen. Remained there till the next day, but\nif I had not stopped, I should probably have frozen to death, as it was\nseveral miles to a house, and across an open prairie.\n\nSpoke again in Washington. The preacher I replied to a few days\nbefore, was still howling about the abominations of Universalism, but\nI said no more to him. Went to Bloomington, preached three times, and\ngot into a controversy. The preacher was a strong believer in water\nbaptism--contended that there was no salvation without it. I told him\nthat his creed damned nearly all mankind; that a person might love God\nand his fellow men, like John, believe the whole gospel, like Paul,\nrepent of his sins, like Peter, but unless he was immersed in water, in\nthe name of Christ, he would be lost forever; if he was correct, heaven\nwould be almost empty, hell crowded; Christ redeem but a small portion\nof mankind, while the devil would be crowned with nearly all. The wise\nand benevolent Author of our being bases salvation on principles, not\non rites--not on going into water, eating wafers, drinking wine, or\noffering incense. Love is the fulfilling of the law. God is love, his\nwill is love, his power is love, his spirit is love, his work is love,\nhis law is love, his gospel is love, and our whole duty is included\nin love to God, and love to man. The great need of the world is, more\nlove, and less show and profession; more purity of the heart, and\nless washing of the hands; more soul religion, and less materialistic\nreligion.\n\nI proceeded to Urbana. Met a man hobbling along on one leg. He had\nheard me preach somewhere, and abruptly said:\n\n\u201cIf all are to be saved, what is the use of being religious?\u201d\n\n\u201cI see you have only one leg. I suppose you would like to have two\nsound limbs.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat I should. I would freely give my farm for a leg made of flesh and\nbone, instead of this concern made of wood, iron and leather.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou remarked a moment since, that you hoped you were a Christian, and\nexpected to go to heaven when you left this world. Do you expect to be\na one-legged cripple in heaven?\u201d\n\n\u201cOf course not; all will have perfect bodies there.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, then, what is the use of your troubling yourself about your\nlameness in this world; you will be all right in heaven; you can hobble\nout your three score years and ten, and then all be well with you.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut that is no reason why I should not have a sound body in this\nworld. I want to enjoy all the blessings I possibly can in this world.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy friend, you have answered your question. You want a whole limb\nin this world, if you do expect one in the next. So, we should be\nreligious in this world if we do expect to partake of God\u2019s blessing in\nheaven, for a religious life only is a happy life, a heavenly life.\u201d\n\nI then proceeded to Perrysville, Ind., in the western part of the\nstate. This was the end of my journey, as I did not return to\nCincinnati. I had traveled full eight hundred miles since I left\nCincinnati, and delivered eighty-eight discourses.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\n\n  LOCATED IN LAFAYETTE--THE CHRISTIAN TEACHER COMMENCED--A\n  CIRCUIT--SOCIETY ORGANIZED--MEETING-HOUSE BUILT--ALL ALONE--CONFLICT\n  IN FRANKFORT--OLD TESTAMENT DOCTRINE OF PUNISHMENT--DEBATE\n  PROPOSED IN FRANKFORT--DISCUSSION IN INDEPENDENCE--CHARACTER OF MY\n  SERMONS--SLANDERS REFUTED--DEBATE IN BURLINGTON--ENDLESS WOE--SOME\n  VOTING--THE USE OF DISCUSSION--A TRAVELER.\n\nA new era now commenced in my life. I made Lafayette, Ind., the center\nof my operations, and commenced the publication of the _Christian\nTeacher_, a monthly publication of twenty-four pages, at one dollar\nper year. The first number was issued April, 1841. There were then\ntwo other denominational publications in the West--the _Star in the\nWest_, a weekly, in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the _Philomath Encyclopedia_,\na monthly, in the eastern part of Indiana, the _Better Covenant_ and\nthe _New Covenant_ had no existence, and the _Glad Tidings_ and the\n_Berean_ were discontinued. There was a large field for a publication\nof that kind, and I thought it would do a good work. When the first\nnumber was issued, I had two hundred subscribers, and at the close\nof the first volume, eight hundred subscribers. I owned no printing\nmaterials, but had the work done at the office of the Lafayette\n_Journal_, published by Major Seaman, a zealous Methodist, and an\nhonorable man. He has been in his grave these many years.\n\nIn addition to getting out the magazine, I traveled extensively this\nyear, preaching, and obtaining subscribers for the journal. Wherever\nI went I had no difficulty in introducing it, humble and imperfect as\nit certainly was. But I was not able to make many such long journeys\nas I had heretofore, for I had to be in Lafayette monthly to read\nproof and mail the _Teacher_. I also established a circuit which\nI traveled monthly. It included Lafayette, Dayton, Yorktown, West\nPoint, Perrysville, Jefferson, Independence, Rainsville, Thorntown,\nCrawfordsville, Ladoga, Terre Haute, Lockport, and perhaps two or\nthree other places. The distance round was about three hundred miles.\nIn Perrysville a society was organized this year, and a meeting-house\ncommenced. There was also one formed in Terre Haute, and preparations\nmade to erect a house of worship. In Lafayette, Dayton, and Yorktown,\nthere were also societies established. As I was the only minister in\nwestern Indiana, where this work was going on, I had my hands full.\n\nThe first time I visited Frankfort, I preached in a vacant lot by the\nway-side, as no house could be obtained. The Presbyterian clergyman,\nMr. Taylor, told his congregation that he had rather the cholera would\ncome to town than a preacher of my stamp. A few months after, he\nattended one of my meetings, and replied to my discourse. My subject\nwas the Old Testament doctrine of punishment, and I discoursed as\nfollows:\n\n1. As the Old Testament contains a record of God\u2019s first revelations\nto man, it is reasonable to expect, that the whole truth concerning\nthe consequences of wrong doing would be there clearly stated. 2. As\nthat book speaks of the creation of mankind, and of the introduction of\nsin into the world, infinite wisdom must surely tell the whole truth\nconcerning sin\u2019s direful results--tell when and where, punishment\nis inflicted, and how long it is to continue. 3. The Old Testament\ncontains the law of God. Jesus said, \u201cThe law came by Moses.\u201d Examine\nthe statutes of any state, published by its law-makers, and you will\nfind that the same page that contains the law also contains the\npenalty, the whole penalty, for transgressing that law. Is this\nright, or is it wrong? If it is right for human legislators to write\nthe law and the penalty in the same book, and on the same page, is\nit not right for the Divine Legislator do the same? Would not a king\nbe justly deemed a fool, or a tyrant, who, in publishing his laws to\nhis subjects, should be silent concerning the penalty, or make known\nonly a part of it? Has God revealed the moral law, and is he silent\nconcerning the penalty for transgressing that law? Is man wiser than\nGod? Does the wisdom of earth exceed that of heaven? All admit, that\npart, at least, of sin\u2019s penalty is revealed in the Law Book, but many\ndeny that the whole of it is therein revealed. But why this partial\nrevelation? Why was the world for four thousand years in the dark\nconcerning the penalty of sin? For the forty centuries before Christ,\nwas a vast stream of human beings plunging headlong into a bottomless\npit, and not a warning given of their impending fate, till they heard\nthe stunning roar of the infernal cataract? This is affirmed by many\nlearned divines. They admit that the Old Testament does not teach\neternal punishment, but at the same time they contend, that from Adam\nto Christ, the penalty for transgression was eternal punishment, and\nconsequently all nations and people were during that time exposed to\nthat terrible storm of wrath. Away with such blasphemous imputations.\nWisdom, goodness, justice, assure us, that the great Lawgiver kept\nnought back of sin\u2019s penalty, but revealed the truth, the whole truth,\nand at the same time he gave the law. And here it is in such plain\nlanguage that a child can understand it. I will read from Deuteronomy\nxxviii.:\n\n\u201cIt shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the\nLord thy God, to observe to do _all his_ commandments and statutes\nwhich I command thee this day, that _all these curses_ shall come\nupon thee, and overtake thee: Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and\ncursed shalt thou be in the field. Cursed shall be thy basket and thy\nstore. Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy\nland, the increase of thy cattle, and the flocks of thy sheep. Cursed\nshalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou\ngoest out. The Lord shall send upon thee cursing, vexation and rebuke\nin all that thou settest thine hand unto to do.... He shall smite thee\nwith consumption, and with a fever, with blasting and mildew; and the\nLord shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, _until he shall have\nconsumed thee from off the land whither thou goest to possess it_.\u201d\n\n\u201cMoreover, all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue\nthee till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkendst not unto the\nvoice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes,\nwhich he commanded thee. Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God\nwith joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all\nthings, therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall\nsend against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and\nin want of all things. And thine enemy shall besiege thee in all thy\ngates, until thy high and fenced walls shall come down, wherein thou\ntrustedest. Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not\nenjoy them; for they shall go into captivity. And thou shalt become an\nastonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the\nLord shall lead thee.\u201d\n\nThis language cannot be misunderstood. No lawgiver ever stated the\npenalty for transgression in plainer terms. The Jews, if they sinned,\nwere to suffer in body and mind, in head and heart, at home and\nabroad, till they were consumed from the land. But _beyond the land_\nthere is not an intimation that endless woe would be their doom. That\nthe apostle Paul understood the consequences of sin to be temporal,\nis evident from these words, \u201cFor if the words spoken by angels was\nsteadfast, and every transgression and disobedience _received_ a just\nrecompense of reward; how shall we escape if we neglect so great a\nsalvation?\u201d Heb. ii. 23. The apostle here speaks of _past wickedness_,\nand says it HAD RECEIVED A JUST RECOMPENSE OF REWARD, and the countless\nmillions of the dead consequently were not TO BE receiving it through\nthe ceaseless ages of eternity. They had received a just recompense of\nreward, and were at rest. All the moral elements of the law are as much\nin force to-day as they were when they were revealed to Moses, and the\npenalty is the same now as it was then. Good men are blessed _now_, and\nwicked men are cursed _now_. Goodness blesses the one, and vice curses\nthe other. It is as true now of all who have lived, that they _have_\nreceived a just recompense of reward, as it was in St. Paul\u2019s day and\ngeneration. The Old Testament, from beginning to end, reiterates the\nsame lesson concerning the present blasting effects of vice in all its\nvaried forms.\n\nMr. Taylor, in reply, admitted that the Old Testament teaches, that the\nwicked in _part_ are punished in this world, that they have a foretaste\nof hell this side of the grave, a morsel of what is in reservation\nfor them beyond the tomb. He also admitted, that Moses did not teach\nendless punishment, but the prophets did teach it, though not in as\nclear language as did Christ and the apostles. A future life was only\npartially revealed during the Law Dispensation; it was reserved for\nthe Son of God to fully bring life and immortality to light. So with\nregard to hell; it was obscurely revealed by the prophets, but clearly\nrevealed by the Savior of man.\n\nI rejoined thus: \u201cHell obscurely revealed by the prophets!\u201d And yet,\nMr. Taylor tells us, that from Adam to Christ, multitudes were daily\ndropping into the infernal regions. Hell should have been revealed\nmore distinctly than death or the grave, for it might have been\nshunned if timely warning had been given. Only think of a God of love\nimparting existence to human beings, knowing, that by day and by night,\nfrom the cradle to the grave, they were in imminent danger of falling\ninto a fathomless gulf, there ever to writhe in immortal agonies, and\nhaving his omniscient eye on them during the whole of their earthly\npilgrimage--yet only OBSCURELY HINT to them of their danger. What kind\nof a God, sir, do you worship? But then heaven, he says, was only\nobscurely revealed under the law. I am amazed that a good, intelligent\nand learned man should deceive himself by such sophistry. It may be\nconsistent for a parent in his last will and testament to withhold\nknowledge of a great _good_ for a given period from his children,\nbut he must be a monster to withhold for a moment knowledge of an\n_impending evil_, especially if he knows they may escape it by timely\nwarning.\n\nIt was nearly midnight when the discussion closed, and I spent the rest\nof the night at his house, by his request. The next morning, he prayed\nthat I might be converted to the knowledge of the truth, and then\nproposed a public discussion in Frankfort. The propositions were agreed\non, but the time was not specified, and I never could, subsequently,\ninduce him to name the date for the debate to commence. He put me off\nfrom time to time, and finally the matter was dropped.\n\nAbout this time, I had a discussion in Independence, Ind., with Mr.\nCampbell, a Methodist minister, and that was my first regular oral\ndebate. I had often had _skirmishes_, but this was my first regular\npitched battle, and I went into it with much fear and trembling. I\nhad confidence in the _truth_, but feared I should fail in defending\nit. And to this day, I never commence a discussion without similar\nfears; but when I get excited, and have the measure of my man, I feel\ntolerably bold. The subject of discussion was endless punishment. Mr.\nCampbell was a Scotchman, and pretty wiry. The discussion elicited much\ninterest, and large assemblies listened to it. The following is the\nsubstance of one of my speeches:\n\nThe consequences of sin were revealed to our first parents in the\nfollowing words: \u201cAnd the Lord God took the man, and put him in the\ngarden of Eden to dress it, and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded\nthe man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat,\nbut of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of\nit; for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.\u201d Gen. ii.\n15-17. Here is the first commandment, and the first penalty, and we\nmay expect that a wise, just and merciful God would inform our race in\nits very infancy, of the whole results of wickedness. If eternal woe\nis the penalty, it should have been then and there, at the very gate\nof Eden, proclaimed in distinct and unmistakable language. This the\nwelfare of man, in time and in eternity, required. If man\u2019s everlasting\nweal or woe depends on his choosing evil or good in this world, that\ntremendous fact should have been announced in Eden in such thundering\ntones, that its echo would reverberate down all the succeeding ages,\nthrough every valley, across every plain, over every mountain, so that\nall the living, yea, the dead, should hear it. If belief in endless woe\nis the conservative of virtue, and the denial of it infidelity, that\ndogma should have been proclaimed so loud and so distinct, it should\nhave been so stamped on every heart, that a blazing hell and terrible\ndevils, would have been the first thoughts of childhood, and not to be\nforgotten till the eyes were closed in death, and the heart ceased to\nbeat.\n\nBut what saith the passage: \u201cIn the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt\nsurely die.\u201d Is that all the penalty? Every word of it. Not a syllable\nabout endless death, endless misery, endless hell. Mr. Campbell, who\nauthorized _you_ to put _endless_ before death? You _add_ to the\nword of God, and you know what is said of those who do that wicked\nthing. The punishment was that they should _die_. The Bible speaks of\nnational death, temporal death, death to sin, and death in sin. But\nhere it cannot mean national death, or death to sin; neither can it\nmean temporal death, for Adam lived hundreds of years after he sinned.\nReference, without doubt, is to death in sin, a moral death--death\nto purity, innocence, virtue, happiness, which is symbolized by his\nbeing driven out of the garden. We were all in that garden once.\nJesus took little children in his arms and blessed them, saying: \u201cOf\nsuch is the kingdom of heaven.\u201d But Adam was cast out, and most of us\nshare the same fate. Adam in Eden represents our childhood, and out\nof it our sinful state. This death in sin, which Adam suffered, and\nmultitudes of others suffer, is often spoken of in the Bible. Said\nJesus, \u201cLet the dead bury the dead;\u201d that is, let the dead in sin bury\nthe temporally dead. \u201cYou hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses\nand sin.... Even when we were dead in sin hath he quickened us together\nwith Christ.\u201d Eph. ii. 1, 5. This moral death means a great deal. It\nincludes sin itself, and all its moral consequences--degradation,\ndebasement, condemnation, darkness, hell, and ultimates often in\ntemporal ruin. This soul-debasement results in jails, penitentiaries\nand gallows; in slavery, war and tyranny; in premature graves,\ndesolated cities, and ruined nations.\n\nBut where and when was the penalty to be inflicted? Mark the words:\n\u201cIN THE DAY thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.\u201d Sin and its\npenalty are bound--chained together. It does not read that they would\nnot be punished till the judgment day, thousands of years hence, at\nthe end of time. That is Mr. Campbell\u2019s theory; but the truth is, that\nsin and punishment go hand in hand, at all times, and in all places,\nand if he can prove eternal sinning, I will prove eternal suffering.\nNotice also, that the punishment was _sure_. In the day thou sinneth\nthou shalt _surely_ die. If you jump into the sea, and cannot swim,\nyou must suffer the consequences; if you swallow a dose of poison,\nand it penetrates your vitals, you must abide the result; so he who\ntransgresses the moral law of God, must suffer its blasting, damning\neffects. \u201cYe _shall surely_ die.\u201d Repentance may mitigate the result\nin _part_, but the curse cleaves to the sinner till there is an entire\ntransformation of character. But the penalty is not _endless_, else\nwho can be saved from sin? It was not termed endless when it was first\nrevealed, neither is it called endless in any part of the Bible. The\ngentleman will have to hunt up evidence outside of the book to make out\nendless woe for the sins of this life.\n\nMr. Campbell replied: \u201cThat the death threatened Adam, was death\ntemporal, death spiritual, and death eternal; and although it was not\ntermed _eternal_ in the passage, it was clearly implied there, and\ndistinctly taught all through the Bible.\u201d\n\nI answered: Here are two assumptions. 1. That the death was threefold.\nThere is no such intimation in the passage or elsewhere in the Bible.\n2. That the death is _eternal_. It is not so termed from Genesis to\nRevelation.\n\nBut I have not room for more of that discussion. Mr. Campbell seemed\nsatisfied with his defense of ceaseless woe, and we parted in\nfriendship.\n\nI got along better with this discussion than I expected, and was more\nwilling afterwards to engage in such debates. Many well meaning persons\noppose the public discussion of religious subjects; they think it does\nno good, but much harm; but they do not properly discriminate between\nthe abuse and proper use of discussion. That it may be, and often\nis abused, there can be no doubt; but what good thing can be named,\nthat is not liable to be abused? And it seems that the best of God\u2019s\nblessings, when improperly directed by erring men, are the greatest\ncurses. Fire, water, air, steam, electricity, when legitimately\nemployed, are vast benefactors to man, but when illegitimately\nemployed, they deal death and destruction all around. Man, when he\nanswers the end of his being, is almost an angel, but when his noble\nfaculties are prostituted to base purposes, he becomes a fiend. The\ngospel is the power of God unto salvation, to all who cherish it deep\nin their hearts, but in the hands of wicked men it may deluge the world\nwith blood and tears. So religious discussion, where truth and error\ngrapple, if conducted with proper motives, and in the right spirit, is\na lever of reform; it opens the eyes of the blind, unstops the ears of\nthe deaf, and often takes away the heart of stone and gives a heart of\nflesh; hence reformers in all ages have courted discussion. Socrates\nwas a famous debater, Jesus traveled from town to town, and Paul from\nnation to nation, discussing with the people, and turning the world\nupside down. Luther, by his controversial tongue and pen, sent the Pope\nof Rome, and the Catholic Church, headlong to the gates of their long\nhome. After that tongue was silent, and that pen dry, they rallied,\nand prolonged their existence. Let every subject of human thought be\ndiscussed freely, but kindly, honestly, wisely. It will do no harm, but\nmuch good. But I have observed that it is the advocates of established\ntheories, exclusively, that oppose discussion. They do not want their\nslumbers disturbed by noisy debate; they might wake up and see and hear\nsomething new. Cry aloud, reformers, and spare not; do not be afraid of\nmaking a noise in the sleepy hollows of the earth. Say to all, Awake,\nthink, investigate, judge. The divine injunction is, \u201cProve all things,\nand hold fast that which is good;\u201d \u201cCome, let us reason together.\u201d\n\nThere was so much opposition to liberal principles, that the people\nwanted doctrinal and explanatory discourses, but I always dwelt more\nor less on the moral and the spiritual. Mere doctrinal and explanatory\ndiscourses, without showing the moral and spiritual bearing of truth,\ndo but little good. In almost every place I visited, the preachers\nwere fighting our faith, and slandering its advocates, and our\nfriends wanted me to repel these assaults, which gave my sermons a\ncontroversial character, and some times a peppery flavor. But I always\nkept the great truth prominent in my ministrations, that heaven and\neverlasting life can be enjoyed in this world; that we should lay hold\non them; lay up treasures where moth and rust cannot corrupt, and where\nthieves cannot break through and steal. And I had the satisfaction of\nknowing that not only many minds were enlightened by truth divine, but\nmany hearts were improved by its saving influence.\n\nAnd here I am reminded of another outrageous attack of a Methodist\npreacher, Mr. Cooper, on Universalists, in Independence. \u201cThey are,\u201d\nsaid he, \u201cthe vilest of the vile. The jails, penitentiaries, rum holes,\ngambling dens, are full of them. They defy heaven and blaspheme God.\nThis is their general character.\u201d\n\nI replied: This is all slander, and this lying priest knows it. He\nknows that he bears false witness against his acquaintance, his\nneighbors, the citizens of this place. He sins willfully, maliciously,\nand he had better not let the sun go down on his wrath. All who live\nin this community know that he poured out this day vials of falsehood;\nthey know that some of the best citizens of this county are of the\nfaith he condemns; they know also, that the wicked places he speaks\nof, in this community, are not filled with persons of our faith. He\ncannot name a grog-shop keeper in this county, who professes to be a\nUniversalist; but I can name several advocates of eternal punishment,\nand some of them were once members of his church, who are in that\nkind of business; and for every gambler here, who ever thought of\ncalling himself a Universalist, I can name ten who will swear over\ntheir cards and bottles, that there is an endless hell; and for every\nUniversalist he may produce, who uses profane language, I can produce\nten advocates of eternal punishment, who blaspheme God and heaven\ndaily by their profanity. I want no better evidence of the immoral\ntendency of partialism than the speaker has given to-day; and I am sure\nthat publicans and sinners will enter the kingdom of heaven before\ncharacters of his stamp. I do not pretend, that all who call themselves\nby our name are Christians in life and practice. Are all the believers\nin immortal woe Christians? History says, _no_; every man and woman\nliving on earth will say, _no_. The persecutors and murderers of\nChrist and his apostles; those who pursued the Christians in the first\nand second centuries of the Christian Era, with fire and sword, were\nzealous advocates of eternal burnings. The Catholics who tortured,\nhung, beheaded, quartered, millions of Christians and Pagans, were all\nstaunch believers in hell. Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Puritans,\nand Independents, who hung Quakers, burned witches, and persecuted\nand murdered each other, and the Catholics, were unwavering in the\nfiery faith. Ninety-nine one hundredths of all the thieves, murderers,\npirates, gamblers, rum-sellers, rum-drinkers, are believers in eternal\nwoe. These are facts, which history and observation substantiate. If\nUniversalism had been believed, and preached as long and as generally\nas eternal punishment has been, and if mankind were no better than\nthey are now, I, for one, would be ashamed to boast of its good\nmoral influence. I do not say that all the advocates of eternal\npunishment are reprobates. There are noble and pure Christians in all\ndenominations, many of them, more of that character than otherwise,\nbut faith in hell has yet the first Christian to make. Believers in\nthat cruel dogma, many of them, are Christians in spite of their faith\nin it. The tendency of faith in hell is downward, while the innate\ngoodness of their hearts, and the many truths they cherish, direct them\nheavenward. I do not contend that all believers in the Restitution\nare practical Christians. Would to God they were, but I know they\nare not. But give this divine philosophy time to do its work in the\nworld; give it time to germinate, root, bud, blossom, and yield its\nfruit, before you condemn it. Belief in vengeance has had ample time\nto develop itself in human character, and it has produced its like the\nworld over. Give the doctrine of LOVE and JUSTICE an opportunity to\nyield its legitimate fruit before you cast it out as evil. Besides, the\nimmoral men, who hang at our skirts, were cradled, educated, and grew\nto manhood, not under the influence of our benevolent faith, but under\nthe guns of Orthodoxy, and it, if any creed, is responsible for their\ncharacter. But because Universalism does not do in a day what Orthodoxy\nhas failed to do in years, it is said to be immoral in its tendency!\n\nAbout this time, I had a discussion in a grove near Burlington, Ind.,\nwith Harper Hanna, a Methodist minister, which continued four days.\nI had not been in the neighborhood before the discussion commenced,\nneither had a discourse on the Restitution been delivered there,\nconsequently, the people were totally in the dark concerning our faith,\nand strongly prejudiced against it. On the other hand, Mr. Hanna was\nin the midst of his friends, and had all their prejudices in his\nfavor. It was a daring thing to debate under such circumstances, but\nI went through with it, and had the satisfaction of knowing that I\ndid not labor in vain. I had afterwards monthly appointments in the\nneighborhood. It was amusing to see the people scan me, and watch every\nmotion. If I had been an elephant, I would not have been a subject of\nmore curiosity. The themes of discussion were endless punishment and\nuniversal salvation. In my first speech I said:\n\nPut a man in prison and keep him there one year--that would be a severe\npenalty. Keep him there ten years--that would be an awful infliction.\nKeep him there his whole natural lifetime--that would be dreadful\nbeyond description. But what is one year, what are ten years, yea,\nseventy years of imprisonment, compared to _endless_ suffering in\nhell? Let all the suffering of head and heart, soul and body, that\nall mankind have endured in all ages, and all climes, be combined in\n_one pang_, and that one pang would not amount to as much woe as one\nsoul will suffer if doomed to endure ceaseless misery. The fires in\nwhich the damned will live and move, will be in full blast when this\nearth shall be gray with age, when the flames of the mid-day sun shall\nflicker like the dying taper in its socket, yea, they will continue\nto burn deep into the souls of countless millions while heaven shall\nstand and God exist. That is endless misery; and that is what Mr. Hanna\naffirms, and is trying to prove, will be the doom of a large part of\nmankind. It is a dreadful work to charge the God of heaven with doing;\nto stand up in this beautiful world, amid the manifestations of God\u2019s\nlove, and charge the Author of all these blessings, with inflicting\nan eternity of woe on worms of the dust. I believe in punishment--in\nrighteous, just punishment--but I do not, dare not, believe, that the\nFather of all mercies, and whose name and nature is love, will, for the\nsins of a day, doom innumerable multitudes of his offspring to blow\nthe fires of hell forever.\n\nAt the close of the debate, he adopted a little expedient, that he was\nsure would be a perfect success--to him. He wanted the assembly to\ndecide by _vote_, which party had triumphed in the discussion. Being in\nthe midst of his friends, and relying on the prejudices of the people,\nhe doubted not that an overwhelming majority would crown him victor.\nI was of the same opinion for the same reasons, and hence opposed his\ncrafty maneuver. But being determined that the assembly should vote\nthat he was the hero of the day, he requested all to rise who thought\nHarper Hanna has sustained his propositions. About one fourth of the\ncongregation heeded his call. He looked the picture of amazement at\nso few voting that he was the conqueror. \u201cGet up,\u201d said he, \u201cyou\nmisunderstand me;\u201d and he again called on all to rise, who thought\nHarper Hanna had sustained his cause. Not another one was added to his\nvoting friends. Finding he could drum up no more, he requested all to\nstand up, who thought Mr. Manford had proved that Universalism was the\ngospel. Two thirds of the assembly bounded to their feet. Poor Hanna\nturned pale as death, and uttering not a word, sunk into his chair.\n\nOn my way back to Lafayette, I rode in company with a man who had heard\nof the debate, but did not know me.\n\n\u201cThere has been a discussion,\u201d said he, \u201cin Burlington, on\nUniversalism.\u201d\n\n\u201cDid you attend?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo; it is wrong to hold such discussions. Universalism is a _lie_, and\nevery Christian should call it a _lie_, and have nothing to do with it,\nor its advocates. It is the devil who induces Christians to debate with\nUniversalists. It is one of his schemes to lead souls down to hell.\nSeveral of my neighbors came home from the discussion, advocating that\nwicked doctrine. They were Christians, but I fear they are ruined. Two\nof them say they shall withdraw from our church. Mr. Hanna did wrong in\ndebating with that Manford. He has introduced a viper into this county,\nand I fear some are already stung to death. Well, I did my duty. I\nstayed at home, and did all I could to keep my neighbors at home. But\nthey were possessed with a desire to hear the debate, and the result is\neven worse than I expected. Our minister is going to try to undo the\nevil in our neighborhood. Next Sunday he will preach a sermon against\nUniversalism.\u201d\n\n\u201cDid your minister attend the discussion?\u201d\n\n\u201cHe did; and he says he went there to learn what could be said in favor\nof such a doctrine. He is sure he can convince all that it is as false\nas sin. One of my neighbors says he shall send for Manford to reply to\nhim. But he cannot preach in our church. He may be sure of that.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\n\n  DEBATE IN LAFAYETTE--DIE IN ADAM--ALIVE IN CHRIST--THIS WORLD AND\n  WORLD TO COME--BATTLE GROUND--IN MONTICELLO--A REPLY--A PREACHER\n  WHIPPED--D. VINES--S. OYLER--I. M. WESTFALL--B. F. FOSTER IN\n  INDIANA--REVIVAL POETRY--LADOGA CAMP-MEETING--WORSHIP GOD--IN\n  MICHIGAN CITY--AN EPISCOPAL PREACHER--A WET RIDE--DEBATE IN\n  DAYTON--DISCUSSION IN JEFFERSON--EVERLASTING PUNISHMENT--END OF THE\n  WORLD--SECOND COMING OF CHRIST--ETERNAL LIFE--MEANING OF EVERLASTING.\n\nSoon after this, I had an oral debate in Lafayette, with Mr. Jeffries,\nProtestant Methodist, of that place, which continued four days. One\nof my principal proof-texts was 1 Corinthians, 15th chapter. I spoke\nas follows: This is one of the longest chapters in the New Testament,\nand in it the apostle discourses on very important subjects--on life\nand death, mortality and immortality, the earthy nature and heavenly\nnature. There are two general statements in this chapter. 1st. We must\nall die in Adam. 2d. We shall all be made alive in Christ. I will\nnotice these statements in the order I have named them.\n\n1st. We must all die. \u201cAs in Adam all die.\u201d This does not say we must\ndie because a man by the name of Adam did so and so, six thousand years\nago. Adam is a Hebrew word, and signifies _man_. Job says, \u201c_Man_\nthat is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble.\u201d In the\noriginal it reads, _Adam_, instead of man. That Adam simply means man,\nor mankind, is evident from the account of the creation of our race, in\nGenesis. \u201cLet us make _man_ (Adam) in our image, after our likeness,\nand let _them_ have dominion.\u201d Here the plural verb shows that the word\nAdam is employed collectively, meaning _mankind_. \u201cAnd God created _the\nman_ (the Adam) in his own image: in the image of God created he him;\nmale and female created he _them_.\u201d Here both the application of \u201cmale\nand female\u201d to _the Adam_, and the plural pronoun at the end of the\nverse shows that the man is used generically, and that it is equivalent\nto the first of _mankind_. The word Adam, then, was not a proper name,\nbut an appellative noun for the human species; its application to the\nfirst man, as his proper name, was subsequent and secondary. Hence when\nthe apostle says, \u201cAs in Adam all die,\u201d he means, As in the Adamic\nnature, the earthy, corruptible, mortal nature, all die. Adam means\nmortal man, and all mankind die in that nature.\n\n2d. The other statement is contained in the same verse--\u201cEven so in\nChrist shall all be made alive.\u201d \u201cMade alive in Christ,\u201d is contrasted\nwith \u201cdie in Adam;\u201d and as Adam means the earthy nature, so Christ\nmeans the heavenly nature. Here is universal death in the earthy\nnature, and universal life in heavenly nature. All die on earth and all\nshall live in heaven. But in the Adamic nature is the _germ_ of the\nChrist-like nature, as in the corn is the germ of the future stock.\nIn this chapter the apostle gives this beautiful analogy thus: \u201cBut\nsome man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do\nthey come?\u201d In answering these questions the apostle shows, that the\ngerm of the heavenly man is in the earthy man. \u201cThou fool! that which\nthou sowest is not quickened except it die.\u201d The seed corresponds to\nthe mortal body; the _germ_ corresponds to the spirit in man; and as\nthe sowing of the seed develops the germ into a beautiful and vigorous\nplant, to bask in the sunshine, inhale the air, and drink the dews of\nheaven, so the death of the mortal body quickens the indwelling spirit,\nand it enters with renewed vigor on its immortal and heavenly life.\nThe seed then is an emblem of man; its resurrection an emblem of man\u2019s\nresurrection. Who can deny a resurrection when the world is so full\nof emblems pointing man to that great fact in his own destiny. \u201cSo,\u201d\nsays the apostle, referring to this beautiful illustration, \u201cis the\nresurrection of _the dead_\u201d--all the dead, all who die in the earthy\nnature. In the words, \u201cIt is sown,\u201d the writer seems to refer to the\nseed sown in the ground, still making it an emblem of man. Mankind sown\nin corruption, dishonor, are raised incorruptible, glorious. The second\nbody is more glorious than the first, as the rose is more glorious than\nthe seed. These citations show what the apostle means by the words,\n\u201cmade alive in Christ;\u201d and remember, that all who die in the Adamic\nnature are thus to be made alive.\n\n\u201cThen cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to\nGod, even the Father,\u201d etc. (See verses 24-28). Here we learn what is\nto be destroyed. 1. \u201cAll rule.\u201d 2. \u201cAll authority.\u201d 3. \u201cAll power.\u201d\n4. \u201cDeath.\u201d And mark you, that death is the LAST enemy. My friend\nasserts, that death is NOT the last enemy, but that beyond death, and\nIN HELL, there are legions of enemies to be the everlasting tormentors\nof countless millions of mankind. If the gentleman is correct, death\nis not the _last_ enemy, but rather the _first real enemy_, and opens\nthe door to the fires, furies, and demons of perdition, which will burn\nand lash their victims world without end. Let it also be noted, that\nthe last enemy is to be DESTROYED. The apostle continues his statements\nconcerning the subjugation of all things to God thus: \u201cAnd when all\nthings shall be subdued to God, then shall the Son himself be subject\nto him, that put all things under him that God may be all in all.\u201d\nThis is the END to which mankind are tending, and this consummation\nwill surely be realized. All sin, error, suffering and death, shall be\nabolished; all mankind subdued to God, and God ALL IN ALL. The sum of\nthis chapter then is this--all mankind are mortal, corruptible, and\nmust die; death is destruction to the _body_, but life to the _soul_;\nglory, honor and immortality, are the rich inheritance of mankind.\n\n\u201cThe apostle,\u201d replied Mr. J., \u201cteaches the resurrection of the _body_,\nnot of the _spirit_, and I admit that he teaches the resurrection of\nall the dead, and when that shall be effected the absent spirits will\nclaim their long lost bodies.\u201d\n\nI rejoined: The gentleman tells us, that the writer of this chapter\nteaches the resurrection of the bodies of all the dead. If he is\ncorrect, God will raise the bodies of saints and sinners, Jews and\nGentiles, incorruptible, glorious, heavenly, and when that shall be\ndone, he will unlock hell, and take the deformed, corrupt, wretched\nspirits, that have been imprisoned in that foul dungeon for thousands\nof years, and perhaps millions of ages, and put them into those\nbeautiful, glorious, heavenly bodies. That would be a union of perfect\npurity with total depravity, a marriage of heaven and hell, and two\nbodies so totally unlike would fly asunder like fire and water. The\ntruth is, the apostle speaks not of the resurrection of this mortal\nbody, these bones and muscles, this flesh and blood, but of _the\nman_--the inner, spiritual, real man. This body is necessary, while we\nare denizens of earth. By means of it the spirit is connected with the\nouter world, but when we shall be dwellers of the spirit land, we shall\nhave no further use of these mortal tabernacles.\n\nIn his first speech on the proposition relating to endless punishment,\nMr. Jeffries boasted that he should make short work of me and of my\nfaith. \u201cI have,\u201d said he, \u201cone text to quote, and one question to ask.\nThe text is Matthew xii. 31, 32. \u2018Wherefore I say unto you, All manner\nof sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men; but the blasphemy\nagainst the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever\nspeaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but\nwhosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven\nhim, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.\u2019 And this is\nthe question: If the sin against the Holy Ghost was not to be forgiven\nin this world, or in the world to come, _where will it be forgiven_? I\nonce had a debate with Jonathan Kidwell, and I cited this verse, and\nasked this question, and it brought the discussion to a _close_, for\nMr. Kidwell could neither answer the question nor explain the passage\nso as to save Universalism from total destruction. The debate was to\ncontinue four days, but it lasted twenty minutes.\u201d\n\nI responded as follows: The gentleman pretends that he once \u201cused up\u201d\none man by one question, and one text, and he expects to demolish me in\nthe same easy and summary manner; but the sequel may show that he is\nover sanguine. I will show that the passage on which he so confidently\nrelies to sustain his monstrous proposition, affords it no aid whatever.\n\n1. If the words, \u201cthis world and the world to come,\u201d mean this life and\nthe life to come, as my friend supposes, then _all sin_, save the _one\nsin_ against the Holy Ghost, may be forgiven in the _future state_. The\npassage reads, \u201c_All_ manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven\nunto men.\u201d The parallel passage (Mark iii. 28) reads thus: \u201c_All\nsins_ shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and [all] blasphemies\nwherewithsoever they shall blaspheme.\u201d It is as clear as daylight,\nfrom these passages, that _all sins_, except the _one_ specified, can\nbe forgiven \u201cin this world or the world to come.\u201d If the gentleman is\nright in his application of the passage, _all sins but one_, may be\nforgiven in the future state of being, and his creed is consequently\n_false_, for it asserts that God will not permit a sin to be forgiven\non the other side of the river, but every sin the soul harbors when\nit shuffles off its mortal coil, becomes fossilized, immortal as God\nhimself. He must either abandon his text or his unforgiving creed.\n\n2. The gentleman relies on the word, _shall_--the sin against the Holy\nGhost shall not be forgiven. That word occurs twice in the passage,\nand I wish to call his special attention to where it occurs the second\ntime. ALL SINS SHALL BE FORGIVEN. If _shall_ is to be understood in\nthe absolute sense in one place, it must in the other, and then the\npassage means, that all sin, except that _one_ against the Holy Ghost,\nSHALL be forgiven somewhere, either in this world or the world to come.\nThe passage, then, instead of blasting our blissful hope and cherished\nfaith, that all sin and wrong will ultimately end, strikes a death-blow\nat the gentleman\u2019s creed concerning the immortality of wickedness of\nevery name and grade.\n\n3. It is by no means certain, that \u201cthis world and world to come,\u201d\nmeans this life and life to come. The most learned men of all schools\ntell us, that the passage should be translated, this _age_ and _age_\nto come, meaning the Jewish age or dispensation, and Christian age or\ndispensation. Dr. Adam Clarke takes this view of the words: \u201cThough I\nfollow the common translation, yet I am FULLY SATISFIED the meaning of\nthe words is, neither in this _dispensation_, viz., the Jewish, nor in\nthat which is to come, viz., the _Christian_. _Olam ha-bo, the world to\ncome_, is a constant phrase for the times of the Messiah, in the Jewish\nwritings.\u201d Bishop Pearce says, \u201cRather, neither in this _age_, nor in\nthe _age_ to come;\u201d meaning the Jewish and Christian dispensations.\n\n\u201cAh!\u201d said he, in his next speech, \u201cif the sin against the Holy Ghost\nwas not to be forgiven in the Jewish age or Christian age, when was\nit to be forgiven? The Jewish age commenced in the days of Moses and\nended when Christ was crucified; the Christian age commenced then,\nand will not end till death shall be swallowed up in victory. _When_\nand _where_ can that sin be forgiven? Will Mr. Manford answer that\nquestion?\u201d\n\nReply. The Jewish and Christian ages belong to _this stage_ of\nexistence, and when the Jordan of death shall be passed, we shall not\nbe living in the Jewish age or Christian age, but in the _spirit age_,\n_spirit world_, and the passage does not intimate that sin or any other\nsin cannot be forgiven there. The truth is, that the wisdom, the light,\nthe glory of the spirit world will soon transform every soul into its\nimage. When the sun crosses the equator, on the twentieth of March,\nhow dead the vegetable kingdom lies, horror wide extends his desolate\ndomain. But the sun soon begins to impart his renovating grace to root\nand seed, and the result is, a _general resurrection_ on hill, dale and\nplain. Nothing can resist his influence; all vegetation comes forth to\nnewness of life. So the wisdom and love of heaven, corresponding to the\nlight and heat of the sun of this world, illuminates and warms every\nsoul, and quickens each and all into newness of life. Say not, then,\nthat sin cannot be put away from the soul on the other side of the\nriver. We should not cheat ourselves by delaying to live a Christian\nlife till middle age, or till we enter the spirit land, but in the\nwords of Dr. Watts,\n\n  \u201cWhile the lamp holds out to burn,\n   The vilest sinner may return.\u201d\n\nThe _lamp of life_ will burn forever, and the time or place will\nnever be known, where and when, the sinner cannot return to truth, to\nvirtue--to God. Every tree and shrub is invigorated and developed by\nthe sun\u2019s life-giving beams, so the great spiritual Sun does not shine\nin vain; every soul will be blessed by his divine emanations. In the\nlanguage of the Bible, \u201cAll nations whom thou hast made shall go and\nworship before thee O Lord, and glorify thy name.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou forget,\u201d said my opponent, in his last speech on the above\npassage, \u201cthat those who committed the sin against the Holy Ghost, were\nin danger of _eternal damnation_.\u201d\n\nNo, sir, I have not forgotten that; neither have I forgotten, that if\nthe sin named is absolutely _never_ to be forgiven, the sinner who\ncommits it is not in _danger_ of suffering damnation, but is _sure_ of\nsuffering it, just as sure as he has sinned. There is no remedy, his\ndoom is sealed. These words, then, clearly imply, that the punishment\nnamed may be arrested. This is an important consideration. Again, the\nword, _eternal_ is from the same Greek term that _world_ is, and Dr.\nClarke, as we have seen, says it means _age_, and learned men of all\ndenominations admit it signifies age, time, life-time. I have now\nnoticed every point the gentleman made on this noted passage, and it is\nevident that it affords the dogma of immortal wretchedness no support.\n\nI delivered several lectures at the Tippecanoe battle ground, and\nbecame acquainted with many persons, who have ever since been steadfast\nfriends. This place is six miles north of Lafayette. There is a marsh\non one side, and a small stream, with a narrow bottom, covered with\nthick woods, on the other. The distance from the swamp to the stream is\nabout three hundred yards, and on this narrow belt of ground General\nHarrison\u2019s army was encamped, and the battle fought. No military man, I\nsuppose, would deem that a safe camping-ground in an enemy\u2019s country.\nBut Harrison did not expect the Indians would fight, but rather treat\nfor peace; but he should have been more cautious. He repelled the\nattack, with heavy loss to his army, but if he had been defeated, his\nforce would have suffered sorely, for the Wabash river was in his rear,\nonly one mile distant, and that without bridge or boats.\n\nI also preached in Monticello, and was replied to by a Methodist\nminister. My text was, \u201cGo ye into all the world and preach the gospel\nto every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved,\nand he that believeth not shall be damned.\u201d The gospel, I said,\ncomprises the theological and moral doctrines that Jesus taught. He\ntold men, that God was the Father of the spirits of all flesh; that the\nhigh and the low, the rich and the poor, the wise and the ignorant, the\nblack and the white, the slave and his master, were alike the children\nof God, and belong to and compose one family; that the physical,\nintellectual, and moral bounties of God\u2019s store-house were accessible\nto all, and that the Master of the feast invites all to partake freely\nand live. He had doomed none, and never would doom any, to eternal\nstarvation. \u201cHo, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters,\nand ye that have no money, come, buy wine and milk without money and\nwithout price.\u201d If we are wise and partake of this feast of fat things,\nwe live, are blessed with salvation, and the kingdom of God, which is\nrighteousness, joy and peace in the holy spirit, reigns in the soul.\nBut if we shun the rich provisions of the Father\u2019s board, walk on the\nother side, choose darkness, error and sin, rather than light, truth\nand virtue, woe be to us. Every heavenly principle, every law of God\ncondemns us, till we set our faces heavenward, and turn our steps\nupward.\n\n\u201cThere was not,\u201d said the preacher, \u201cone particle of gospel in that\nsermon. Mankind were lost and ruined by the fall of Adam; the seal of\neternal damnation was _burnt_ deep into the hearts of all, by Adam\u2019s\napostasy, and God became incarnate to make it _possible_ for man to be\nsaved. Those who believe in the incarnate God are saved from hell, from\nthe wrath of God, and the curse of the fall; but those who reject the\ncrucified Jesus, are lost beyond redemption, and the seal of damnation\nwill burn deeper and deeper into their immortal souls; they will be\nabandoned by God, Christ, angels, and all the saints will say, _amen_.\u201d\n\nHe was one of the most orthodox preachers I ever heard. When in the\npulpit, he was always harping on the mysterious jargons of Orthodoxy,\nwith his face elongated, and a countenance bordering on despair; but\nout of the pulpit he was a boy, and a foolish boy too. When preaching\nin Logansport, shortly after General Tipton died, a noted citizen of\nthat place, he cried, \u201cThere, General Tipton, that old sinner, is dead\nand gone to hell.\u201d A son of Mr. Tipton, soon after, met the preacher\non a long bridge at Logansport, and with a whip gave him a pretty hard\nthrashing. He begged for mercy, and promised not to talk in that style\nany more.\n\nDuring the first two years I resided in Lafayette, I seldom met a\nminister of my faith. There were only two others in Indiana at that\ntime, and they were in remote parts of the state, and being aged\nmen did not preach much, but after that time I had more ministerial\nassociates. D. Vines, of Frankfort, spoke some in public, and received\nLetter of Fellowship. His intentions were good, but his qualifications\nmeager. He subsequently became a Swedenborgian, or a Spiritualist, and\nI have lost sight of him. Samuel Oyler, of Jefferson, also entered the\nministry. He preached three or four years in the south part of the\nstate, and then came out a lawyer, and, I understand, he succeeds well\nin that profession. I. M. Westfall, of Thornton, left the Methodist\nchurch, of which he was a lay-member, and commenced preaching without\nany preparation, save strong faith and ardent zeal. He possessed a\ngood mind, and soon became a popular speaker. He remained in Indiana\nabout one year, and then moved to Iowa City, Iowa. He continued in the\nministry till recently. At the present time he resides in Minnesota,\nand is practising medicine. At Perrysville, where I had preached\nmonthly for two years, a meeting-house was erected, and a society\norganized. Being in Oxford, Ohio, I met with B. F. Foster, a young\nman, who had just commenced preaching, and prevailed on him to move to\nPerrysville, and take charge of the society in that place. He, however,\nsoon left P. and located in Terre Haute, where our friends were\nbuilding a fine meeting-house. He has resided in Indiana ever since,\nand is a popular and useful minister. He has been for many years pastor\nof the society in Indianapolis, and at the present time he is State\nLibrarian.\n\nAn Association, embracing the country from Terre Haute to Lafayette,\ncalled the Wabash Valley Association, was organized. The meeting that\norganized it was held in Perrysville, and it was an enthusiastic\ngathering. Seven or eight societies were represented, all recently\nformed. Many went on horseback, in wagons and carriages, thirty, forty,\nand fifty miles. Our friends were alive with zeal, and did not mind\ntraveling fifty miles to a good meeting.\n\nThe United Brethren held a noisy meeting in Warren county, and the\nfollowing lines were very popular with the Brethren, and they often\nsung them:\n\n  The devil is mad,\n  And I am glad,\n      _Glory, O hallelujah_.\n\n  The devil may pout,\n  But I will shout.\n      _Glory, O hallelujah_.\n\nI noticed this meeting, and quoted their popular hymn in the _Teacher_,\nand the Brethren in that county were very indignant. At their next\nmeeting one of their preachers took up the matter. \u201cThat little\nUniversalist preacher,\u201d said he, \u201cthat lives in Lafayette, and prints\nthat Universalist paper, is mad because we sing about his daddy.\u201d\n\nI attended, on a dark and gloomy night, a fanatical camp-meeting of\nthe Methodists, near Ladoga. It was held in a dense forest. When a\nmile from the camp, I heard the noise of the nocturnal worshipers.\nArriving on the ground, the scene that opened to the vision, beggared\ndescription. The whole camp seemed to be in an uproar. Preachers were\npreaching, exhorters exhorting, singers singing, shouters shouting, and\njumpers were jumping. Some seemed to be suffering intense agony, others\nas happy as clams at high water. Some kept their seats, while others\nwere hopping, skipping and jumping like chickens with their heads cut\noff. One man ran past me without looking to the right or left. \u201cWhere\nare you going?\u201d said I. \u201cTo glory.\u201d A preacher screamed as loud as his\nlungs would allow, \u201cThe devil is in the camp, and must be driven out.\nGet the horn, form in line, march round the ground three times, blow\nthe horn, the devil must be driven out, the walls of Jericho shall\nfall.\u201d The procession was formed, the horn was blown, and the march\nwas made. Whether Satan left the camp, and the said walls fell at this\ndemonstration, the master of the ceremony did not see proper to inform\nus. I left the ground about midnight, when the excitement was under\nfull headway, and my reflections while walking back to the village were\nas follows: Is this the proper way to worship God? Does he require\nus to make fools of ourselves, and act like bedlamites? Is religion\nfanaticism? Is regeneration an hallucination? I will not believe a\nword of it. Religion consists in love to God and man. Noise, uproar,\nfanaticism are not worship, are not religion, are not regeneration.\nGod speaks to the soul with the still small voice of inspiration and\nintuition, and the truly pious make but little outward demonstration.\nEmpty wagons make much noise, heavy laden ones pass our streets\nwithout hardly being heard. But then I do not wonder at the noise,\nlamentation, agonizing, and every other extravagance, of these people.\nThey think God is frowning on this world, that his wrath is kindled to\nits hottest pitch, that he has already banished most of the dead to\nthe infernal regions, and that during every moment of time crowds are\ndriven from earth to hell, and that we all stand on the very brink of\na bottomless pit. No wonder the victims of this terrible belief are\nnearly insane. Strange they are not all raving mad. O God, enlighten\ntheir minds concerning thee, whom to know is life eternal.\n\nI visited Michigan City by request, and delivered four discourses.\nThe Episcopal clergyman of the place, took the trouble to go around\ntown, and destroy all the notices of the meetings that were tacked\nup, and to tell the people not to go near me. But large congregations\nattended, and all seemed much interested. In one of my lectures I gave\na history of the \u201crise and progress\u201d of the Episcopal Church. Stated\nthat it was conceived in sin and brought forth in iniquity; that Henry\nVIII., universally admitted to have been the most beastly monarch\nthat ever reigned in England, was the first Episcopalian, and the\nfather of the sect; that church from Henry\u2019s day to this day has been\na proud, arrogant, insolent, overbearing concern; in England it draws\nhalf of its support from unwilling pockets, from those who belong to\nother communions; that it cares not who starves provided its priests,\nbishops, and lords live in indolence, race horses, chase foxes, and\ndrink brandy; it never took but one short step from the Catholic\nChurch, the mother of harlots, and it was now creeping back into the\narms of its old mamma; but there are some live men and women in the\nchurch, and they deplore the stupidity, coldness and old hunkerism of\nthe lifeless body to which they are bound.\n\nThe distance from Lafayette to Michigan City, is about one hundred\nmiles, and for fifteen miles on each side of the Kankakee river, there\nwas not, in those days, a house. It commenced raining on my way to\nMichigan City, when I had reached the south margin of that wilderness\nof prairie, and it poured down in torrents till I made the first house,\nthirty miles distant. It was a swamp nearly all the way, and the\nflood of that day made the road, such as it was, nearly impassable. I\nsometimes thought I should have to return; but about ten at night I\nreached a cabin, drenched with rain, covered with mud, and as hungry as\na bear.\n\nA Presbyterian elder, by the name of Smith, was eager for a debate, and\nhe was gratified. We occupied the Presbyterian church in Dayton, and\nthe poor elder did one pretty hard day\u2019s work. He was frightened out of\nmost of his wits; his nerves were unstrung, and his hand so trembled\nhe could not hold his Bible to read his texts. I pitied him, but dealt\nas hard blows as I could strike. He was disgusted with himself, and\nproposed, a few weeks after, to try again, hoping to do better. We\nspent two days at Rossville, near his home, and he then willingly\nretired without further debating.\n\nA few days after this affair, I spent four days in discussion with\nMr. Coon, a Scotch Presbyterian, and Calvinistic \u201cup to the hub.\u201d He\nwas a prominent man in his church, intelligent, and well educated. He\nsubsequently published a book of three or four hundred pages, against\nthe doctrine of the Restitution, and in defense of eternal punishment.\nThe discussion was held in Jefferson; and though the weather was\nintensely cold, a large number attended. Mr. Coon was a strong man, and\nall were anxious to hear. He had thoroughly prepared himself for the\nwork. It required two or three men to carry his books to and from the\nchurch. I had my Bible, and perhaps two or three other books. He talked\nEnglish, and Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew. Mr. Taylor, a Presbyterian\nminister, who had just closed an eight days\u2019 debate with John O\u2019Kane,\nof the Campbellite Church, was one of the moderators, and he prayed for\nMr. Coon, imploring the Lord to help him on that important occasion.\n\n\u201cThese shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous\ninto life eternal,\u201d (Matt. xxv. 46,) was one of his proof-texts. \u201cIt is\nevident,\u201d said he, \u201cthat this passage teaches the endless punishment\nof the wicked, for the following reasons: 1. It relates to what would\ntranspire at the _end of the world_. This, and the preceding chapter,\nis an answer to the questions, \u2018What shall be the signs of thy coming,\nand of the _end of the world_?\u2019 Matt. xxiv. 3. 2. \u2018These\u2019 were to\ngo into everlasting punishment when Christ would come the _second\ntime_, and that event was to take place at the end of the world. 3.\nEverlasting is from the same Greek word that is rendered _eternal_,\nand consequently the everlasting punishment is to continue as long as\nthe eternal life. If one will end so will the other end. 4. The best\nscholars tell us, that the Greek word here rendered everlasting and\neternal, signifies _endless duration_.\u201d\n\nI replied: Mr. Coon tells us, that his text was to be fulfilled at the\nend of the world spoken of in Matthew xxiv. He is doubtless correct.\nNow, learned men of all denominations tell us, that _world_ there\nmeans the Jewish Dispensation, and the _end_ of the world the end of\nthat Dispensation. Most of them translate the passage, \u201cend of the\nAGE.\u201d It is so rendered by Doddridge, Macknight, Whitby, Pearce, Le\nClerc, Hammond, Wakefield and Kenrick--all learned men, and save one\nor two, advocates of endless misery. The word, _world_ is often used\nin this sense in the New Testament. \u201cNow once in the end of the world\nhath Christ appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.\u201d\nHeb. ix. 24. Christ did appear at the end of the Jewish Dispensation\nfor that purpose. The Jews divided time into _two ages_--the _age\nbefore_ Christ, and the _age after_ Christ. The _first age_ ended, as\nPaul says, \u201cwhen Christ appeared.\u201d The end of _the world_, then, took\nplace eighteen hundred years ago, and _then_ the gentleman\u2019s text was\nfulfilled.\n\n2. When Christ was to come the second time, some were to go away\ninto everlasting punishment. When was he thus to come? In this same\ndiscourse Jesus speaks of that coming, and affirms, that it would take\nplace in _that generation_. \u201cAnd then shall appear the sign of the\nSon of man, ... and they shall see the Son of man coming.\u201d He then\nstates when he would come: \u201cThis _generation_ shall not pass till all\nthese things be fulfilled.\u201d Matt. xxiv. 30, 34. On another occasion,\naddressing his disciples, he said, \u201cBut when they persecute you in this\ncity, flee ye into another; for verily I say unto you, ye shall not\nhave gone over the cities of Israel till the Son of man be come.\u201d Matt.\nx. 27. He would come so soon that the disciples would not be able to\nvisit all of Israel\u2019s cities. At another time he said, \u201cFor the Son of\nman shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels; and then\nhe shall reward every man according to his works. Verily I say unto\nyou, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till\nthey see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.\u201d Matt. xvi. 27, 28. He\nwas to come the second time before some who heard these words would\ndie. He intimated that the apostle John would live to witness this\ncoming. \u201cPeter seeing John, saith to Jesus, Lord, what shall this man\ndo? Jesus saith to him, If I will that he _tarry till I come_, what is\nthat to thee? Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that\nthe disciple would not die; yet Jesus said not to him, He shall not\ndie; but, If I will that he _tarry till I come_, what is that to thee.\u201d\nJohn xxi. 21-23. It requires considerable effort to misunderstand these\nplain declarations. Jesus told his hearers, that he would come the\nsecond time, 1. In the generation in which he lived; 2. So soon the\ndisciples would not have time to visit all Judah\u2019s cities; 3. Before\nsome he addressed would die; 4. That John, the beloved disciple, might\nlive to see him come. In the face of all this testimony, Mr. Coon tells\nus, that coming is _yet a future event_! But the truth is, that coming\ntook place at the _beginning_ of the Christian Dispensation, at the\n_ushering in_ of the Gospel Age, at the _setting up_ of the kingdom of\nGod. The revelator, who was the disciple John, says, he \u201csaw the holy\ncity, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven.\u201d Rev. xxi. 3.\nJudaism had passed away, Paganism was dead, and a new order of things\nhad commenced--old things had passed away, all things had become new.\nThe world had entered on a _new era_. This is what Christ meant by his\ncoming in _power_ and _glory_.\n\n3. The gentleman truly says, that everlasting and eternal are from\nthe same original word. He then _assumes_ that \u201ceternal life\u201d in his\ntext means endless blessedness, and then _infers_, that \u201ceverlasting\npunishment\u201d means endless wretchedness. His assumption and inference\nare alike fictions. According to the New Testament, the Christian, in\nthis world, is in possession of eternal or everlasting life. \u201cHe that\nbelieveth on me HATH EVERLASTING LIFE.\u201d \u201cVerily, verily, I say unto\nyou, he that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, HATH\nEVERLASTING LIFE, and shall not come into condemnation, but IS PASSED\nfrom death unto life.\u201d John v. 24. \u201cThis is LIFE eternal, that they\nmight know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast\nsent.\u201d John xvii. 3. Eternal life is gospel life--_spiritual life_,\nand every Christian man and woman is now in possession of this life.\nWhen a person is _alive_ to every thing holy and good, possesses the\nspirit of Christ, and lives the life of Christ, it may be truly said\nof him, he \u201cHATH everlasting life.\u201d So, when a man\u2019s character is the\nreverse of this, when he is a son of error and sin, it may be truly\nsaid of him, he HATH everlasting punishment. If everlasting life can be\nenjoyed here, cannot everlasting punishment be suffered here? Again,\na person may be a Christian to-day, and consequently in possession of\neverlasting life; but his love may wax cold, he may become a sinner,\nan unbeliever, an infidel; he will then be no longer in possession of\neverlasting life. So, an infidel and a sinner of to-day may become a\nsaint, like St. Paul; he then passes from death to life, from suffering\neverlasting punishment to the possession of everlasting life. But, by\neverlasting punishment, Jesus had direct reference to the temporal\ndesolation that was soon to befall his countrymen at the end of the\nJewish Dispensation. The kingdom was to be taken from them, and they\nwere to be cast out into outer darkness, till the fullness of the\nGentiles should come in.\n\n4. Mr. Coon informs us, that the Greek terms, _aion_, _aionios_, mean\nendless duration. These are two forms of one word. _Aion_ is a noun,\nand _ios_ added to it, forms the adjective. This word occurs in these\ntwo forms three times in the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth chapters of\nMatthew. In the twenty-fourth chapter, the disciples inquired of Jesus,\n\u201cWhat shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the _end of the world_?\u201d\nThese two chapters answer these two questions. Now, _world_ is from\n_aion_, the same word rendered everlasting, and eternal, in the text.\nThere was then to be an _end_ to _aion_. Mr. Coon tells us, that this\nword means _duration without end_, and in the same speech cites the\nsame word to prove that it (_aion_) is to _end_! One passage explains\nthe other. In one place Jesus speaks of _aionios_ punishment, without\nstating whether he means endless or limited time; in the other place\nthe apostles inquire concerning the _end_ of the _aion_, and Jesus in\nanswering their question, tells them, that it _shall end_, \u201cbut,\u201d he\nadds, \u201cthe _end_ is not yet.\u201d Many things would transpire before that\nevent would occur. \u201cHe that endureth to the _end_ shall be saved....\nAnd the gospel of this kingdom shall be preached in all the world for\na witness to all nations; and then shall the _end_ come.... Verily,\nverily, I say unto you, _this generation_ shall not pass, _till all\nthese things be fulfilled_.\u201d Matt. xxiv. 6, 13, 14, 34. We have, then,\nthe word of Jesus for it, that _aion_, and consequently, _aionios_,\neverlasting punishment, may end. I will give the true definition of\n_aion_, according to learned men--all believers in endless woe:\n\nSCHLEUSNER.--\u201cAny space of time, whether longer or shorter, past,\npresent, or future, to be determined by the persons or things spoken\nof, and the scope of the subject--the life or age of man; any space in\nwhich we measure human life, from birth to death.\u201d\n\nDONNEGAN.--\u201c_Aion_, time; a space of time; lifetime and life; the\nordinary period of man\u2019s life; the age of man; man\u2019s estate; a long\nperiod of time; eternity. _Aionios_, of long duration; eternal,\nlasting, permanent.\u201d\n\nSCHREVELIUS.--\u201c_Aion_, an age, a long period of time; indefinite\nduration; time, whether longer or shorter, past, present or future;\nlife, the life of man. _Aionios_, of long duration, lasting, sometimes\neverlasting, sometimes lasting through life.\u201d\n\nThis is the definition learned men give the word. I will now show that\nthe Bible attaches the same meaning to it.\n\n1st. _Everlasting._ \u201cAnd I will give unto thee and thy seed, all the\nland of Canaan, for an everlasting possession.\u201d Gen. xvii. 8.\n\n\u201cAnd I will make of thee a multitude of people, and will give this land\n(Canaan) to thy seed after thee, for an everlasting possession.\u201d Gen.\nxlviii. 4.\n\nNow, was this possession to be endless? No, for it ceased long ago!\nBut let me read still more: \u201cUnto the utmost bounds of the everlasting\nhills\u201d--\u201cThe everlasting mountains were scattered.\u201d Hab. iii. 6. The\ngentleman believes that the everlasting hills and mountains will all be\ndestroyed when the world comes to an end!\n\n\u201cFor their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood.\u201d Exod.\nxl. 15. \u201cAnd he (Phinehas) shall have it, and his seed after him, even\nthe covenant, for an everlasting priesthood.\u201d Num. xxv. 13. \u201cAnd this\nshall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the\nchildren of Israel once every year.\u201d Lev. xvi. 34. Was the priesthood\nto be of endless duration? or has it not long since been abolished by\nthe priesthood of Christ? Such, my friends, is a sample of the Bible\nuse of this word.\n\n2d. _Forever._ \u201cHe (Solomon) shall build me an house, and I will\nestablish it forever.\u201d 1 Chron. xvii. 12. This house although\nestablished forever, was long since torn down and destroyed! \u201cFor\nthe land which thou seest, to thee (Abram) will I give it, and to\nthy seed forever.\u201d Gen. xiii. 15. \u201cYou will keep it (the passover) a\nfeast by an ordinance forever.\u201d Exod. xii. 14. Was the observance of\nthe passover to be of endless duration? \u201cThey shall be your bondsmen\nforever.\u201d Lev. xxv. 46. Were they to be bondsmen throughout duration?\n\u201cI went to the bottom of the mountains; the earth with her bars was\nabout me forever\u201d--that is, three days! Jonah ii. 6. \u201cThe righteous\nshall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever.\u201d Ps. xxxvii. 29. Are\nthe righteous to dwell in a land endlessly? \u201cAnd his master shall bore\nhis ear through with an awl, and he shall serve him forever,\u201d--that\nis, as long as he live. Exod. xxi. 6. \u201cAnd they shall dwell in the\nland that I have given my servant Jacob, wherein your fathers have\ndwelt, and they shall dwell therein, forever; and my servant David\nshall be their prince forever.\u201d Ezek. xxvii. 25. This needs no comment.\n\u201cBut Judah shall dwell forever, and Jerusalem from generation to\ngeneration,\u201d--from _genea_ to _genea_. \u201cFor I have told him that I will\njudge his house forever, for the iniquity which he knoweth.\u201d Will the\nAlmighty be endlessly judging the house of Eli? And if to judge forever\ndoes not mean endless judgment, why should to punish forever mean\nendless punishment? Can any one tell? Paul, writing to Philemon, says\nof Onesimus,--\u201cFor perhaps he departed for a season, that thou shouldst\nreceive him forever\u201d--not endlessly, surely!\n\nThis noted passage, then, affords no evidence that punishment will be\ninflicted duration without end. Dr. Samuel Johnson, the great moralist\nand writer of the last century, speaking of this passage, and others of\nlike character, says: \u201cThey may admit of a mitigated interpretation.\u201d\n\nThe discussion continued four days--closed Saturday evening. I\ndelivered a _practical_ discourse on Sunday morning, made no reference\nto the debate, and at the close organized a society. Mr. Coon preached\nin the afternoon, and the discussion was his _text_. He misrepresented\nme, the good faith, and poured out volleys of abuse on all who did not\nsubscribe to his fire and brimstone creed. I replied in the evening,\nand handled Calvinism without gloves, but he kept out of the way.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\n\n  QUESTIONED J. O\u2019KANE IN DAYTON--HE BEAT A RETREAT--HE REPLIED\n  IN CRAWFORDSVILLE--THREE RESURRECTIONS, NATIONAL, MORAL, AND\n  IMMORTAL--CONVERSATION IN WEST LEBANON--EVERLASTING, FOREVER--KINGDOM\n  OF GOD--SIN, ERROR, SUFFERING NOT ENDLESS--IN SOUTHERN INDIANA--WHY\n  LIVE A CHRISTIAN LIFE--BIGOTRY IN BRECKENRIDGE--DISCUSSION WITH\n  MR. DICKERSON--CALVINISM--ARMINIANISM--UNIVERSALISM--DEBATE IN\n  CHAMBERSBURG.\n\nWhen in Dayton on one occasion to fill an appointment, I heard J.\nO\u2019Kane preach an excellent sermon--it was all Universalism. His\nsubjects were the Mosaic and Christian covenants. Moses was the head of\nthe first, and Christ the head of the second covenant; the blessings of\nthe first were _temporal_, and were designed only for the _Jews_; the\nblessings of the second were _spiritual_, including the _forgiveness\nof sin_ and _life everlasting_, and were designed for _all nations_.\nThe whole Jewish nation was blessed temporally, and all nations,\nfamilies and kindred would be blessed spiritually. He dwelt long and\nemphatically on these points--proved and illustrated them in a very\nsatisfactory manner. My friends evidently thought that was pretty good\nUniversalism, as it certainly was. But I was satisfied that it was\nall a _blind_, and I resolved to quiz him a little. As soon as he was\nthrough, I asked the privilege to propound a few questions, and stated\nI should be much pleased if he would answer them.\n\n\u201cAsk as many questions as you please, and I shall be sure to answer\nthem,\u201d said he, in not a very agreeable tone.\n\n\u201cI understood you to say that the blessings of the Christian covenant\nare for all mankind, and that all nations, families and kindreds of the\nearth would surely participate in those blessings. Did I understand\nyou correctly?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, sir.\u201d\n\n\u201cI also understood you, that the blessings of said covenant are\nspiritual--the forgiveness of sin and life everlasting. Did I\nunderstand you correctly?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou did.\u201d\n\n\u201cOnce more. Do you believe that all nations, families and kindreds will\nbe blessed by having their sins forgiven, and with life everlasting?\u201d\n\n\u201cSuppose I don\u2019t,\u201d said he, in an angry tone.\n\n\u201cBut why equivocate? You have just said you did believe this.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou don\u2019t know what I said.\u201d\n\nMr. O\u2019Kane was in a pretty tight place, for it was well known, that\nhe was a staunch advocate of eternal woe. Why he delivered such a\ndiscourse was best known to himself. Perhaps he hoped to catch some of\nour brethren by pretending to be with them in faith.\n\nSubsequently, he replied to a discourse I delivered in Crawfordsville,\nfrom these words: \u201cMarvel not at this; for the hour is coming in the\nwhich all that are in their graves shall hear his voice, and they shall\ncome forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life;\nand they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.\u201d John\nv. 28, 29. There are, I remarked, three distinct resurrections spoken\nof in the Bible--a temporal, a moral, and an immortal resurrection.\nWhen the Bible speaks of a resurrection, we must learn from the context\nof the passage, which of those resurrections is intended. I will\nbriefly notice some passages where these three resurrections are spoken\nof.\n\nIn Ezekiel, thirty-seventh chapter, the prophet is writing of the\nreturn of the Jews to Palestine from Babylon, where they had been\nenslaved for seventy years. The chapter is headed--\u201cThe resurrection\nof dry bones.\u201d I will cite the whole passage: \u201cThe hand of the Lord\nwas upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me\ndown in the valley which was full of bones, and caused me to pass by\nthem round about; and, behold, there were very many in the open valley;\nand, lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these\nbones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest. Again he said\nunto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones,\nhear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones:\nBehold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live; and I\nwill lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover\nyou with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall\nknow that I am the Lord. So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I\nprophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came\ntogether, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the\nflesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above; but there\nwas no breath in them. Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind,\nprophesy, Son of man, and say unto the wind, Thus saith the Lord God:\nCome from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that\nthey may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came\ninto them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding\ngreat army.\u201d Ezek. xxxvii. 1-10. Now mark the explanations: \u201cThen he\nsaid unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel;\nbehold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut\noff for our parts. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith\nthe Lord God: Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and bring\nyou into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the Lord,\nwhen I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out\nof your graves. And I shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live,\nand I shall place you in your own land; then shall ye know that I the\nLord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord.\u201d Ezek. xxxvii.\n11-14. This was a temporal resurrection, and included also a moral\nresurrection. It was the return of \u201cthe whole house of Israel\u201d to \u201cthe\nland of Israel from Babylon.\u201d When in Babylon, they were said to be in\ntheir _graves_, their _hope was lost_, but they were to come up out of\nthe graves, and be restored to their beloved country.\n\nThe same events are also predicted in Daniel xii. 2. \u201cAnd many of them\nthat sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting\nlife, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.\u201d The connection shows\nthis to be the same kind of a resurrection spoken of in Ezekiel. That\nall this was to take place within a few years, is evident from the\nfollowing consideration: 1. The previous verse reads thus: \u201cAnd at\nthat time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for\nthe children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such\nas never was since there was a nation even to that same time; and at\nthat time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found\nwritten in the book.\u201d Dan. xii. 1. This prince Michael was a ruler in\nPersia, while the Jews were in Babylon. He is spoken of in two other\nplaces in that book. \u201cBut the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood\nme one and twenty days; but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes,\ncame to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. But I\nwill show thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth; and there\nis none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.\u201d\nDan. x. 13, 21. It is clear from these quotations, that Michael was a\nprince of Persia, and that he was living when the Jews were in Babylon.\nMark also, that the resurrection, there spoken of, was to occur in\nMichael\u2019s lifetime, when Michael \u201cwould stand up,\u201d and consequently\nit must have taken place long ago. 2. The question was asked, (verse\n6) \u201cHow long shall it be to the end of these wonders?\u201d and the answer\ngiven was, \u201cIt shall be for a time, times and half a time,\u201d (verse 7.)\nIn verse 12, the period intended by these \u201ctimes\u201d is stated to be \u201cone\nthousand three hundred and thirty-five days,\u201d making a little more\nthan four years. \u201cTime,\u201d singular, means one year, \u201ctimes,\u201d plural,\nthree years, \u201chalf a time,\u201d six month. The resurrection, then, referred\nto, was to take place between four and five years from the time the\nprophet saw the vision--another evidence that this resurrection was\nrealized in the return of the Jews to Palestine from the land of their\ncaptivity. 3. Daniel was to live to witness the transpiring of this\nevent. \u201cGo thy way,\u201d said the angel to Daniel, \u201ctill the end be; for\nthou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of these days.\u201d (Verse\n13.) It then seems certain, that this resurrection was to take place\nwithin a few years after Daniel had a vision of it. Two men, at least,\nthen existing, were to live to witness the event--Michael, a prince of\nPersia, and Daniel, a prophet of the Lord, and to behold it they had\nto live only about four years and a half longer. The nation was raised\nfrom its grave, from the dust of the earth, and those who were loyal\nthrough the dark night of bondage, returned to the land of promise with\nglory and honor; but those who were traitors during the times that\ntried men\u2019s souls, returned with shame and contempt.\n\nThe Bible also reveals an immortal resurrection. Says Jesus, whose\nmission it was to bring life and immortality to light, \u201cIn the\nresurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are\nas the angels of God in heaven.... God is not the God of the dead,\nbut of the living, for all--the dead--live unto him.\u201d Matt. xxii. 30,\n32. This is not a physical, temporal, or moral resurrection, merely,\nbut a resurrection to eternal life, and a blissful immortality. The\napostle Paul (1 Cor. xv.) dwells long and emphatically on this glorious\nresurrection. \u201cAs in Adam,\u201d says he, \u201call die, even so in Christ\nshall all be made alive.... It is sown in corruption, it is raised in\nincorruption; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is\nsown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body,\nit is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is\na spiritual body.\u201d \u201cFor this corruptible must put on incorruption,\nand this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible\nshall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on\nimmortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written,\nDeath is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave,\nwhere is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of\nsin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory\nthrough our Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d 1 Cor. xv. 22, 43, 44, 53-57.\n\nThe terms in these passages clearly indicate, that the immortal\nresurrection is the subject of discourse; and that all mankind are\ninterested in it. It is not a resurrection from the grave, or from the\ndust of the earth, for the immortal spirit which now tabernacles in the\nflesh, never dies, except morally, never descends to the grave or dust,\nexcept figuratively, but as the wise man says, \u201cDust shall return to\nthe earth as it was; and the _spirit_ shall return unto God that gave\nit.\u201d Eccles. xii. 7. The body only dies, it returns to the dust--the\nspirit never; it returns to God.\n\nHence my text must refer to some other kind of a resurrection, for it\nspeaks of coming up out of graves, and the connection makes it certain\nthat a _moral_ resurrection is intended. Immediately preceding the\ntext, Jesus says, \u201cAs the Father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth\nthem; even so, the Son quickeneth whom he will.\u201d There is here a\ncomparison between what God was doing, and what Christ was doing.\nGod was raising the dead from mortality to immortality, and Jesus\nwas raising the morally dead and quickening them by his spirit. He\ncontinues to speak of the moral resurrection he was then effecting:\n\u201cVerily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth\non him that sent me, _hath_ everlasting life, and shall not come into\ncondemnation; but is passed from death unto life.\u201d Those whom Christ\nhad quickened by the truth were in possession of \u201ceverlasting life,\u201d\nhad actually \u201cpassed from death to life\u201d--of course, no other than\na moral resurrection is intended. He continues: \u201cVerily, I say unto\nyou, The hour is coming, and NOW IS, when the dead shall hear the\nvoice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live.\u201d Sinners, the\nmorally dead, were then hearing his voice and coming forth to life.\nThis is NOW going on, said Jesus. Then he adds: \u201cMarvel not at this:\nfor the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall\nhear his voice, and they shall come forth; they that have done good,\nunto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the\nresurrection of damnation.\u201d The connection decides that Jesus was\nspeaking of the moral resurrection he was then effecting among the lost\nsheep of the house of Israel. During Christ\u2019s ministry the gospel was\nproclaimed only to the Jews, and they only came forth and were blessed\nby its quickening power; but soon the gospel was to be preached to\n\u201call nations,\u201d \u201cto every creature.\u201d Said Jesus to the disciples, just\nbefore he returned to God, \u201cGo ye into all the world and preach the\ngospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be\nsaved, but he that believeth not shall be damned.\u201d Mark xvi. 15, 16.\nThis is the same subject spoken of in my text. When the disciples went\ninto the world in obedience to their master, they found mankind dead\nin trespasses and sins, buried in the graves of moral degradation,\neven in the dust of the earth. They preached the gospel to the dead\nnations--some who heard it, came forth to life, to salvation, entered\nthe kingdom of God, which is righteousness, joy and peace in the holy\nspirit. Others, who heard it, came forth to condemnation, and this\nis explained thus: \u201cHe that believeth not shall be damned;\u201d \u201cHe that\ndoubteth IS damned;\u201d \u201cHAVING damnation because they cast off their\nfirst faith;\u201d \u201cHe that believeth not is condemned ALREADY.\u201d Similar\nresults have followed the proclamation of the truth in all ages and\nclimes. Let the truth be proclaimed fully and plainly in an ignorant\nand vicious community, and some with joy will receive it, and partake\nof its blessedness; others will rise up in opposition to it, condemn\nit, and wax worse and worse.\n\nThis was the substance of the discourse, but much more was said in\ndefense of the various points here briefly stated. Mr. O\u2019Kane replied,\nbut I have room for only one of his criticisms.\n\n\u201cThe speaker said, that in the immortal resurrection, the dead are\nnot said to be raised from the _graves_, and hence in John v. 28, 29,\nChrist does not speak of such a resurrection, for he there tells us,\nthat the dead shall be raised from the graves. Now, it happens, that\nin the very chapter the gentleman informs us teaches the immortal\nresurrection, the apostle Paul does teach that the dead on that\noccasion will be raised from the _grave_. \u2018So,\u2019 says he, \u2018when this\ncorruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have\nput on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is\nwritten, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting?\nO _grave_, where is thy victory?\u2019 Now which is correct, Mr. Manford or\nthe apostle Paul, for they contradict each other.\u201d\n\nI replied, Mr. O\u2019Kane has my thanks for pointing out what he deems\nan error in my discourse. The word _graves_ in John v. 28, is from\n_muemeia_, which signifies grave, the receptacle of dead bodies, but\nthe word _grave_ in Corinthians, is from _hades_, which means, not\nthe grave, but the state of the dead. The meaning of the two terms\nare very different. One signifying the _place_ where dead bodies are\ndeposited, but the other, the state of the dead. Now the body is not\nburied in _hades_, but it is buried in _muemeia_, and at the immortal\nresurrection the dead come not from _muemeia_, but from _hades_, the\nstate of death. My remark then was strictly correct, that at the\nimmortal resurrection nothing is said about the dead being raised from\nthe grave, _muemeia_. The state of the dead is designated by _hades_,\nand that state or condition may continue but a moment. The term has no\nreference to time or place, but merely to death. When a person dies,\nhis condition is represented by _hades_, and when the spirit returns\nto God, it is delivered from _hades_, meaning the state of death. When\nthe spirit ascends to God, it can exclaim, \u201cDeath is swallowed up in\nvictory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?\nThanks be to God who giveth us the victory.\u201d \u201cVictory, victory,\nvictory!\u201d they exclaim, as they burst the shackles of _hades_, or\nthe state of the dead, and join the immortal band in the land of the\nblessed.\n\nI delivered two discourses in West Lebanon, and spent most of one\nday in conversation with Mr. Cooper, a Methodist minister. Said\nMr. Cooper, \u201cYou say, forever and everlasting in the Bible signify\nlimited duration. The Bible speaks of the \u2018everlasting God,\u2019 and the\n\u2018everlasting life\u2019 of the saints. Now, according to your definition of\nthese words, God will exist only for a limited period, and the redeemed\nin heaven will exist only for a limited period. Your definition\ndethrones God, and blots out heaven.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot so fast, my friend. True, the primary meaning of those words\nis duration, indefinite duration, but how long cannot be determined\nby the words, but by the subjects of discourse. When the Bible\nspeaks of the \u2018everlasting hills,\u2019 \u2018everlasting priesthood of Aaron,\u2019\n\u2018the everlasting possession\u2019 of Judea by the Jews, \u2018the everlasting\ndoors\u2019 of the temple, \u2018the servant serving his master forever,\u2019 you\nreadily admit that those words in those places mean limited time. You\nadmit this, because the subjects of discourse are limited in their\nduration. But when those words are applied to God, and man\u2019s immortal\ninheritance, they signify unlimited duration, because of the subjects\nto which they are applied. But why should everlasting and forever, when\napplied to punishment, bear the meaning they do when related to God and\nimmortal life, rather than the signification they bear when applied to\nthe priesthood, the hills, or the temple?\u201d\n\n\u201cI admit, that when those words are applied to man in _this world_,\nthey signify limited time, but when the Bible speaks of man being\npunished forever, and suffering everlasting punishment in the _immortal\nworld_, they must mean the same they do when it speaks of the\neverlasting blessedness of the saints in heaven, and joys forevermore\nat God\u2019s right hand. Take, for instance, the words of Christ, \u2018These\nshall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life\neternal.\u2019 Now this life and this punishment pertain to the immortal\nworld, and one will continue as long as the other.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut it is by no means certain, that Jesus refers to heaven or hell\nbeyond the grave. The connection clearly shows, that Christ had\nreference to the blessedness of the subjects of the gospel kingdom,\nand the wretchedness of those out of that kingdom, out of the ark of\nsafety. In the connection of the passage, he says, \u2018Come ye blessed of\nmy Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation\nof the world.\u2019 The life spoken of in your text is the life, the\nblessedness of this kingdom, and the New Testament certainly teaches,\nthat the kingdom is established in this world. When John commenced\nhis ministry he said, \u2018Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.\u2019\nWhen Jesus began his work, he repeated what John had said before him,\n\u2018Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.\u2019 Soon after this Jesus\nsaid, \u2018If I cast out devils by the spirit of God, then the kingdom of\nGod is come unto you.\u2019 Again said Jesus, \u2018The law and the prophets\nwere until John; since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and\nevery man presseth into it.\u2019 Near the close of our Lord\u2019s ministry the\nPharisees inquired of him when the kingdom would come, which he and\nJohn sometime before said was at hand. Now, observe his reply: \u2018Neither\nshall ye say, lo here, or lo there, for behold the kingdom of God is\nwithin you,\u2019 or about, or among you, as some, and very correctly,\ntranslate the passage. The apostle Paul defines this kingdom thus: \u2018The\nkingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, joy and peace\nin the holy spirit.\u2019 These citations inform us where and what this\nkingdom is. It is the kingdom of truth and righteousness, that Jesus\nbuilt up in this world eighteen hundred years ago. It is called the\nkingdom of God because its principles are all divine; because the Son\nof God is its king, and to distinguish it from the political kingdoms\nof earth. In this world there are three kingdoms, and three lifes\ncorresponding with those kingdoms: 1st, The kingdom of nature; and the\nlife corresponding with it is physical life; 2d, The civil kingdom; and\nthe life corresponding with it is political, or civil life; 3d, The\nkingdom of God, and its life is spiritual life. You perceive, then,\nthat in the passage you cite, Jesus refers not to heaven or hell beyond\nthe grave, but to the blessedness of that kingdom he labored to build\nup in this world. When the New Testament speaks of the immortal world,\nand heavenly blessedness, it employs different terms. When Jesus\nspeaks on those sublime themes, he says, \u2018In the resurrection they\nneither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God\nin heaven;\u2019 and the apostle Peter calls immortality \u2018An inheritance,\nundefiled, and fadeth not away;\u2019 and the apostle Paul says, \u2018This\nmortal shall put on immortality, and as we bear the image of the earthy\nwe shall also bear the image of the heavenly.\u2019 Remember then, that\na future state of joy or sorrow was not the theme of Jesus on this\noccasion.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut, sin, according to the Bible, will continue as long as virtue,\nmisery as long as happiness, death as long as life, and therefore\nforever and everlasting when applied to one class must mean as long as\nwhen applied to the other class.\u201d\n\nBut my friend, are you sure, that sin, error, misery, and death, will\ncontinue as long as virtue, truth, happiness, and life? I take it, that\nnothing is immortal save what harmonizes with the divine character.\nFor a wise purpose, things may have a temporary existence, that are\nantagonistic to God\u2019s character. They may answer some useful end in the\neconomy of the universe; but when that end shall be gained, they will\ndisappear. The earthquake rends the earth, the lightnings flash, the\nstorm howls, the rain falls, for useful purposes, and those attained,\nthey cease; and their temporary existence, as they result in immense\ngood, is reconcilable with infinite goodness. But an everlasting\nearthquake from pole to pole, eternal lightning, blowing and raining,\nwould be antagonistic to infinite wisdom and goodness. So, moral storms\nand earthquakes answer a useful purpose in this world, and when that\nend shall be realized, they will cease. But the existence of sin and\nwrong eternally would conflict more with the wisdom and goodness of\nGod, than everlasting temporal evils, as the former blast the soul,\nwhile the latter only blast the body. As earthquakes are less frequent\nthan they were in the past ages, and now seldom do much harm, and\nwill probably continue to diminish, and finally cease to rend the\nearth, so moral evil is slowly losing its sway, and its strength will\ndoubtless continue to grow less and less, till righteousness shall\ncover the earth as the waters cover the deep. By beautiful analogies\nwe are taught in the Bible, that all sin and wrong will end. \u201cAnd it\nshall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth\nin Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written\namong the living in Jerusalem: when the Lord shall have washed away\nthe filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of\nJerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the\nspirit of burning. And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place\nof mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and\nthe shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall\nbe a defense.\u201d Isa. iv. 3-5. \u201cThe wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,\nand the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young\nlion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.\nAnd the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down\ntogether; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking\nchild shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put\nhis hand on the cockatrice\u2019 den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in\nall my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of\nthe Lord, as the waters cover the sea.\u201d Isa. xi. 6-9. \u201cFor my thoughts\nare not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.\nFor as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher\nthan your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain\ncometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but\nwatereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give\nseed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall my word be that\ngoeth forth out of my mouth; it shall not return unto me void, but it\nshall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing\nwhereto I sent it. For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with\npeace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into\nsinging, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead\nof the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the briar shall\ncome up the myrtle tree; and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an\neverlasting sign that shall not be cut off.\u201d Isa. lv. 8-13. These are\nelegant passages, perfect word-painting, and you see they teach the end\nof all wrong, and the universal reign of truth and all righteousness.\n\nAbout this time I made a long journey south--down the Wabash river to\nTerre Haute, thence to Indianapolis, Richmond, Madison, and the Green\nRiver region, in Kentucky. The distance to and from was nine hundred\nmiles, was absent three months, and delivered seventy-three sermons.\nThe whole journey was performed by my favorite mode of locomotion--on\nhorseback. I spoke in many places where the faith I advocated had\nnot before been publicly defended, and, of course, met with much\nopposition. In Portland, a preacher in the midst of my sermon said,\n\u201cThat is a lie!\u201d and left the house in a great rage. \u201cStop!\u201d said I,\n\u201cmy friend, and sustain, if you can, your charge. I will yield the\nfloor.\u201d \u201cI will have nothing to do with you; and I warn you to flee\nfrom the wrath to come.\u201d In Boston, near Richmond, an old lady called\naloud for eggs with which to shower me. But none were furnished. In\nPerrysville, an old toper went staggering out of the house, muttering,\n\u201cIt\u2019s good to live by, but it\u2019s not good to die by.\u201d\n\nIn Shelbyville, a man at the close of a discourse remarked, that he\ncould see no good reason for living a christian life if Universalism is\ntrue.\n\n\u201cMy friend,\u201d I replied, \u201cwill you answer me a few questions? If you\nwere sure of heaven would you put out your eyes? run hot lead into your\nears? Would you not rather wish to see and hear in this world?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you were sure of being saved, would you not eat when hungry, and\ndrink when thirsty?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you were certain of going to heaven, would you not love your wife,\nchildren, father, mother, brother and sister?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you expected to go to heaven when you die, when you are sick would\nyou not want to recover?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you were sure of being a happy man next year, would you not want to\nbe happy this year?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you were certain of enjoying good health in old age, would you not\nlike to have good health now?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you were sure of being a true Christian ten years hence, would you\nnot desire to be a Christian this year?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy friend, you have answered your own question as I would, and as any\none would, save a fool. If eternal life is to be our portion in the\nother world, we should lay hold of it in _this world_. If a heavenly\nfeast awaits us on the other side of the river, why not partake of the\nheavenly feast on _this side_? But this, I suppose, puzzles you; you\nthink the Christian is no better off in this world than the sinner;\nthat he treads a thorny path, and is crushed by a heavy yoke, hence the\nquestion, Why live a christian life, if after all, I am sure of heaven?\nThe truth is, the good man, and only the good man, is truly blessed in\nthis world. He enjoys heaven _now_ in anticipation of one beyond the\ngrave. This blissful hope transforms his character into the heavenly\nimage. But there is another reason why we should live Christians if\nheaven is sure. \u2018Godliness hath the promise of the life that now is,\nand of that which is to come.\u2019 He who lives a godly life is not only\nwell paid for it in this world, but he enters the other world with\n_capabilities_ for happiness far exceeding that man who spends this\nlife in sin and folly. This is an important consideration. There are\nthen, at least, two reason why we should be Christians in this world\nif God has promised that all shall finally be redeemed. 1st, We are\nhappier in this world for it; 2d, We shall be happier in the next world\nfor it.\u201d\n\nIn Breckenridge, Ky., bigotry would not allow me to speak in defense of\nthe truth. One preacher took special pains to have every door closed\nagainst me, but sin only triumphed for a season; for when I returned\na house was obtained, and I delivered a long sermon on the sin of\nbigotry. Showed that it was the same thing the world over, in all ages\nand climes, in christian and heathen lands; that it was as cruel as\nan hyena, bloody as a wolf, and remorseless as a tiger; that it had\ndrenched the earth with gore, and covered its surface with the slain\nof human kind; that it had slain Jesus, the prophets and apostles, and\nwas still at its wicked work; and the only reason why bigots are not\nnow crucifying, beheading, hanging, quartering and burning the saints\nof the Lord was, the laws of the land will not let them indulge in such\namusements, but they were doing all they _dare_ do--they were stabbing\ncharacter, suppressing free thought, and persecuting the saints of God.\nI considerably extended my acquaintance by this journey, and obtained\nmany subscribers for the _Teacher_.\n\nSoon after my return, I had a debate with Mr. Dickerson, of Park\ncounty, Ind. He was a Scotch Presbyterian--a Calvinist, and the bluest\nof the blue. He contended stoutly, that all God wills to save, and\nthat Christ died for, will be saved; but, said he, God wills to save\nonly the elect, and Christ died only for the elect, and he supposed\nthat they compose about one tenth of mankind. In one of my speeches, I\nremarked:\n\nMr. Dickerson comes out plainly, boldly, independently, in favor of\nold-fashioned Calvinism. He has no faith in the modern improvements of\nCalvinism; he takes it as it flowed from the pen of John Calvin. He\ntells us, that God _wills_, _purposes_ the salvation of only _part_ of\nmankind. If he is correct, it seems to me, the Bible needs revising,\nfor it certainly teaches that it is the will and purpose of God that\nall mankind shall be saved. The apostle Paul expressly says, \u201cGod will\nhave _all men_ to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth.\u201d\n1 Tim. ii. 4. \u201cHaving made known unto us the mystery of his will,\naccording to his good pleasure, which he hath purposed in himself; that\nin the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together\nin one _all things_ in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are\non earth; even in him.\u201d Eph. i. 9, 10. In these passages the purpose\nof God in the creation of man is clearly revealed. It is his will,\npleasure and purpose to save _all_, to bless _all_ in Christ. Does\n_all_ mean _part_? Is the Bible a riddle? If so, let us finish the\nriddle by saying virtue means vice, truth error, happiness misery, love\nhatred, life death, salvation damnation, heaven hell, Christ Belial,\nand God means devil. This would be carrying out the interpretation\nCalvinism gives the Bible. How a man, standing in the midst of God\u2019s\nworks, and with the Bible in his hand, can for a moment assert, that\nthe Author of all these glories all around, can will and purpose\nthe eternal wretchedness of nine tenths of mankind, is a problem of\nintellectual blindness I cannot solve. Before I can subscribe to such\na creed my reason must be destroyed, my conscience deadened, my eyes\nput out, my ears stopped, and my heart become as hard as adamant. The\ngentleman says, this is an evidence of my carnal mindness; and if I\ncould see with spiritual eyes--he must mean Calvin\u2019s eyes, the eyes\nthat beheld Michael Servetus, burning on a pile of green wood--I should\nbe charmed with the beauties of Calvinism.\n\n2. It was the mission of Jesus to do the will and purpose of God, and\nI have proved that it is God\u2019s will and purpose to save the world--not\none here and there--but the world. Hence the joyous language of the\nangels when they announced his birth: \u201cFear not: for behold, I bring\nyou good tidings of great joy, which shall be to _all people_. For\nunto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is\nChrist the Lord. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude\nof the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the\nhighest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.\u201d Luke ii. 10, 11,\n13, 14. This language does not comport at all with the theory that it\nwas the mission of Jesus to bless only _one tenth_ of mankind. John,\ndirecting attention to Jesus, said, \u201cBehold the Lamb of God, which\ntaketh away the sin of _the world_.\u201d John i. 29. Said Jesus, concerning\nhis mission, \u201cAnd I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw _all\nmen_ to me.\u201d John xii. 32. The apostles understood it to be the mission\nof Jesus to save the world--not one tenth of our race. \u201cWe have seen\nand do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of _the\nworld_.\u201d 1 John iv. 14. \u201cHe gave himself a ransom for _all_, to be\ntestified in due time.\u201d 1 Tim. ii. 6. \u201cAnd he is the propitiation for\nour sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of _the whole\nworld_.\u201d 1 John ii. 2. \u201cAnd, having made peace through the blood of his\ncross, by him to reconcile _all things_ unto himself; by him, I say,\nwhether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.\u201d Col. i. 20. \u201cGod\nwas in Christ, reconciling _the world_ unto himself.\u201d 2 Cor. v. 19. But\nwhy cite more testimony? I could fill my hour with quotations from the\nNew Testament, showing that Christ\u2019s mission was not a partial one, but\nthat it embraced all the sons and daughters of earth. He was born the\nSavior of the world, and he lived, died, arose, ascended, and still is,\nthe Savior of the world. That truth corresponds with his spirit, his\nlabors, his moral precepts, his principles and his prayers. Calvinism\ncrucifies the true Christ, and sets up an impostor, an anti-christ, in\nhis stead. It also denies the true God, and substitutes a monster.\n\nThis speech kindled the ire of Mr. Dickerson. He denounced me in\nunmeasured terms, and marshaled all his strength in defense of\nCalvinism. He was familiar with its strongest arguments, and he paraded\nthem to the best advantage. He said Universalism is Arminianism gone\nto seed, and he denounced both systems with much bitterness. This led\nme to remark--I believe in all the truth there is in Arminianism and\nCalvinism, and there is some truth in both systems. Calvinism says,\nthat all God wills to save will surely be saved--not one lost. Very\ngood; I can say, amen to that. Arminianism says, that God wills the\nsalvation of _all_. Very good; I can say, amen to that. I will put\nthese two truths, and the sequence from them, in the form of a sylogism:\n\n1. Arminianism--It is God\u2019s will, that all men shall be saved.\n\n2. Calvinism--God\u2019s will shall be done.\n\n3. Conclusion--All will be saved.\n\nI cast aside the dross of Calvinism and Arminianism, and retain the\npure gold of both systems.\n\nHe pitched into my sylogism rough shod, and in reply, I gave him\nseveral from the Bible.\n\n1. It is the will of God that all men shall be saved. Proof: \u201cWho will\nhave all men to be saved.\u201d 1 Tim. ii. 4.\n\n2. God\u2019s will is to be done. Proof: \u201cHe doeth according to his will in\nthe armies of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none\ncan stay his hand, or say unto him, what doest thou?\u201d Dan. iv. 35. \u201cHe\ndoeth all things after the council of his own will.\u201d Eph. i. 11.\n\n3. Conclusion--All will be saved.\n\n1. God purposes the salvation of all men. Proof: Eph. i. 9, 10, above\nquoted.\n\n2. God\u2019s purpose will be effected. Proof: \u201cAs I have purposed so shall\nit stand--for the Lord hath purposed, and who shall disannul it?\u201d Isa.\nxiv. 24, 27. \u201cI have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have\npurposed it, I will also do it.\u201d Isa. xlvi. 11.\n\n3. Conclusion--All will be saved.\n\n1. All were given to Christ. Proof: \u201cThou has given him power over all\nflesh, that he may give eternal life to as many as thou has given him.\u201d\nJohn xvii. 2.\n\n2. All shall be saved who were given to Christ. Proof: \u201cAll that the\nFather giveth me shall come to me, and he that cometh to me I will in\nno wise cast away.\u201d John vi. 37.\n\n3. Conclusion--All will be blessed with eternal life.\n\nAbout this time, I held an oral discussion in Chambersburg, Fountain\ncounty, with a Baptist minister--have forgotten his name. I arrived\nin due time, but my opponent did not make his appearance. There was\na large assembly, in a beautiful grove; and after waiting about one\nhour, another minister took his place, and the discussion proceeded.\nHe made one speech, and while I was replying the expected man made\nhis appearance. When I was through he proposed, that each of us make\none speech, and then close the debate; but I insisted that we should\noccupy two days according to agreement. He was rather a weak brother;\nbut he knew the book of Revelation from A to izzard, and all the\nother mysterious portions of the Bible. He could tell how deep was\nthe \u201cbottomless pit,\u201d how large was the \u201cred dragon,\u201d how big was\nhis \u201chead,\u201d \u201chorns,\u201d and \u201ccrown;\u201d could give the exact length of his\n\u201ctail,\u201d that cast to earth the \u201cthird part of the stars of heaven.\u201d He\nwas deeply versed in all that kind of lore, but drank shallow draughts\nof useful knowledge or common sense. But a large number attended the\ndiscussion, and I had an excellent opportunity to talk to the people.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\n\n  MOVED TO TERRE HAUTE--LECTURED IN FORT WAYNE--A DISCUSSION\n  THERE--DR. THOMPSON--VISITED ILLINOIS--OPPOSITION--DISCUSSION\n  IN CHARLESTON--PRAYED FOR--CALLED INFIDEL--DEBATE IN GREEN\n  CASTLE--CONDITIONS OF SALVATION--GOD\u2019S WILL--ALL ARE SPIRITS--FORM\n  OF THE TEACHER CHANGED--J. BURT AND J. H. JORDAN, EDITORS--OLIVER\n  CROMWELL--FOUNDATION OF CHARACTER--IN MANY PLACES--A\n  CELEBRATION--MEETING IN THE RAIN--FOURTH OF JULY CELEBRATION--DEBATE\n  IN MARTINSVILLE.\n\nIn 1843, I moved the _Teacher_ to Terre Haute, ninety miles down the\nWabash river, as I deemed that place a better location than Lafayette\nfor its publication. Also made that town my head-quarters. The country\nnorth and west of Lafayette, in those days, was thinly settled, but in\nthe southern portion of the state, there was a denser population, hence\na better field in which to circulate the _Teacher_. I still continued\nmy monthly circuit on both sides of the Wabash river, from Terre Haute\nto Lafayette, preaching in twenty different places. B. F. Foster was\npastor of the Terre Haute society, and a meeting-house was being\nerected in that place. But soon my services were so urgently demanded\nwest and south of Terre Haute, that I dropped some of the places on the\ncircuit, and supplied the wants of friends elsewhere. I did so with\nmuch reluctance, as there was no one to take my place. There were then\nthirteen societies within that circuit where there was not one when I\nfirst visited that region, and one meeting-house was finished, and two\nbeing built.\n\nAt the earnest solicitation of Dr. Thompson, of Fort Wayne, I visited\nthat place, and delivered a series of discourses. These were the first\nsermons on the Restitution ever delivered in that town, and they\ncaused much excitement. An Episcopal clergyman proposed debating with\nme, and we accordingly spent two days in discussion. The assemblies\nwere large, and, I trust, much good was effected. Dr. Thompson was a\nprominent citizen of Fort Wayne, and an intellectual and christian man.\nThree years after, while a candidate for Congress, he died, lamented\nuniversally where he was known. While on that journey, I preached in\nHuntington, Wabash, Peru, and several other places, where Universalism\nwas hardly ever heard of before.\n\nI took a trip westward into Illinois, and preached in Elbridge,\nParis, Grand View, Brewetts\u2019 Creek, Bloomfield, Oakland, Charleston,\nShelbyville, Cold Springs, Marshall and Greenup. In not one of these\nplaces had the people heard a discourse in defense of \u201cthe restitution\nof all things,\u201d and, of course, my preaching was a great curiosity.\nIn Paris, a minister lifted up his warning voice, but would not let\nme occupy his house to reply. He wanted his people to hear his side\nonly. I, however, made an _expose_ of his sermon in the Court-house, to\na large assembly, and obtained a large number of subscribers for the\n_Teacher_. In Oakland, I found some excellent friends, and subsequently\npreached there monthly for two years. In Charleston, the meetings\nstirred up sectarianism to its depths, and a preacher by the name of\nTichner dared me to debate with him. Not being badly frightened by his\nbluster, I agreed to debate with him four days. The first proposition\nwas, \u201cImmortal blessedness is conditional!\u201d\n\nIn my first speech in the morning, I showed the result of the\nposition, that immortal blessedness is conditional in the sense Mr.\nTichner intended. If he is correct, I remarked, but a small portion\nof mankind will ever partake of that blessedness. 1. All children,\ndying in childhood, are lost, as they comply, in this world, with no\nconditions. 2. Idiots neither believe nor obey the gospel in this\nworld--comply with no conditions here--and will never, consequently,\npartake of immortal blessedness. 3. All who lived and died before\nChrist\u2019s advent, complied with no gospel condition, hence all those\ncountless millions are lost--forever lost. 4. Pagans, Jews, Mahometans,\nsince Christ\u2019s day, have all gone down to their graves, without faith\nin Christ or the gospel, and therefore they are all lost beyond\nredemption. My friend is a Campbellite, and will not admit that any\ncomply with gospel conditions, who are not immersed in water--down\nthen goes Catholics, Methodists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, yea,\nall who are not immersed. If he is correct, only one here and there\nwill be saved, while the mass of mankind, nearly all, will be doomed to\nsuffer immortal agony, for one of his propositions affirms the endless\npunishment of the unsaved. The gentleman may not believe all this--I\ncannot say how that is--but I am dealing with his proposition; and it\ninvolves the ruin of nearly all mankind. I once heard him deliver a\nsermon on the conditions of salvation, and in that discourse he did\nnot intimate that one could be saved without immersion. His creed\nunchurches all but his little sect, and sends all to perdition but his\nparty.\n\nHe had another speech to make before adjournment, and he occupied only\nhalf of his allotted time, but said not a word about what I had shown\nto be the result of his proposition. In my reply, I called attention\nto my former speech, and to the fact that no attempt had been made to\nrefute it, and remarked, that the gentleman must either show that my\ndeductions are false, or abandon his proposition. He must do one or the\nother. He dared me to debate with him, boasted that he would annihilate\nmy faith the first day before noon, and many of his friends are here\nto see him do it. We adjourned till two o\u2019clock in the afternoon. Met\naccording to adjournment. Mr. Tichner and his friends were in trouble.\nThey knew not what to do. They saw that I had their man in my grasp,\nand meant to hold him. I looked on, but said nothing. Finally, one\nof his brethren came to me, and admitted that I had the advantage of\nbrother Tichner, and wished me to release him. The preacher looked\nblue; he did not know which way to turn. I pitied him, and proposed\nthat we drop the first proposition, which we were to debate two days,\nand take up the second proposition--\u201cWill all mankind enjoy immortal\nblessedness?\u201d He readily consented, and the discussion then went on.\nMr. Tichner and his friends were much mortified at the result of\nthe debate. He soon ceased preaching, went to California, and made\nshipwreck of his faith and character.\n\nI lectured in Greenup; and while there, a preacher prayed the Lord,\neither to convert the Universalists, or send them to hell, and he did\nnot seem to care which disposition was made of them. A Presbyterian\nminister in Grand View, delivered a labored sermon against \u201cInfidelity\nin all its forms,\u201d and, of course, \u201cthe grace of God which bringeth\nsalvation to all men,\u201d was one of its worst \u201cforms.\u201d \u201cThat phase of\ninfidelity,\u201d said he, \u201cis the best baited of the whole batch. Read not\ntheir books, their papers, their _Teacher_--hear not their preachers,\ntalk not on that subject with any of the believers in that damnable\nsystem. Pray for them, but don\u2019t talk with them. It is a heresy hot\nfrom hell, and have nothing to do with it.\u201d A Methodist divine in\nShelbyville, gave notice that he would, the Lord permitting, preach\na sermon against Universalism, the next Sunday. But notwithstanding\nthis opposition, I thanked God and took courage. Many rejoiced in the\ntestimony they heard, and resolved that their lives should correspond\nwith the purity of their new faith.\n\nBeing in Green Castle, Ind., I heard a discourse by James Mathes,\nconcerning the conditions of salvation, and at its close, I delivered,\nat his request, a short sermon. Without controverting any of his\npositions, I attempted to show, that all mankind would finally comply\nwith gospel conditions of salvation. When I got through, he proposed\na debate on the subject of my discourse. In due time we met in Green\nCastle, and devoted two days to the investigation of that subject.\nMr. Mathes was, and still is, a prominent man in his denomination. He\nsaid in the discussion, \u201cThere are three conditions of salvation: 1st,\nFaith; 2d, Baptism; 3d, Repentance. He, and he only, who complies with\nthese conditions, is entitled to salvation.\u201d\n\nI answered, If the gentleman on the other side is correct, but a small\nsquad of mankind will be saved, for he earnestly denies, that any one\ncan comply with one of the conditions named, in the other world. We\nmust believe, repent, be immersed in this world, or be lost forever;\nno opportunity for salvation will be granted beyond the grave; God\u2019s\nmercy is confined to this life, but his vengeance will extend through\neternity; his mercy is only the evanescent spark of a flint, but\nhis wrath will burn forever; this life is only the infancy of our\nexistence, but his creed makes it the hinge on which our destiny turns;\nnow, man is a moral agent, but death will destroy that agency, and he\nwill be compelled to lie down in sin and darkness through the eternal\nages; death bounds God\u2019s mercy--beyond it, the righteous will need\nno mercy, and the wicked will be allowed none. I cannot subscribe to\nsuch a partial, malignant and cruel creed. I believe in conditions of\nsalvation, and that a soul will never be deprived of complying with\nthose conditions. The conditions, in sum and substance, are, knowledge\nof the truth, and love to God, and love to man; and no one can be\nsaved in this world or in the next world without that knowledge and\nlove. That is the strait and narrow way; there is no other way to be\nsaved in time or eternity. True, all do not possess that knowledge, or\nexercise that love in this world, but as the light and heat of the sun\nare not confined to this world, but extend to all the worlds in the\nsolar system, so God\u2019s mercy is not exhausted on earth, but extends to\nall time, and to all worlds.\n\nIt is certainly God\u2019s will that all shall be saved and come to the\nknowledge of the truth. (1 Tim. ii. 4.) The gentleman, though, denies\nthat truth in toto. True, he admits, that it is God\u2019s will that you,\nand I, and all who now live on earth, shall be saved, but he contends\nthat all the sons of error and sin, as soon as they leave this world,\nare deprived of all power, of all opportunity, to reform their lives,\nand must lie down in sin and error eternally. But mark the text, \u201cGod\nwill have all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth.\u201d\nIt is God\u2019s will now that all shall be saved. God is unchangeable; he\nis the same yesterday, to-day and forever. Men may change their will,\npurpose, but his will, his purpose, is the same through all time,\nthrough all eternity. It was God\u2019s will six thousand years ago, that\nall should be saved; it is God\u2019s will now that all shall be saved; it\nwill be God\u2019s will six thousand years hence, yea, through the eternal\nages, that all men shall be saved, and come to the knowledge of the\ntruth. As it is God\u2019s will now, that all shall be saved, all are now\ncapable of salvation--none are reprobated, none are cast away; and as\nit always will be God\u2019s will that all shall be saved, all ever will be\ncapable of salvation--none will be reprobated, none cast away. What is\ntrue of God\u2019s nature, character, and will now, ever will be true of\nGod\u2019s nature, character and will, hence the golden gates of salvation\never will be open to mankind. We read that the heavenly city has gates\nall around it, on the east, west, north and south, and that they are\nnever shut by day or by night.\n\nI know it is a very common notion, and Mr. Mathes preaches it, that\nthe ignorant and vicious will have no opportunity to become wiser or\nbetter in the other world; that as they breathe their last breath, and\nheave their last sigh, they will be compelled to remain forever. And to\nprove this monstrous dogma, I have heard persons repeat such home-made\ntexts as these: \u201cAs the tree falls so it shall lie;\u201d \u201cAs death leaves\nus, so judgment finds us;\u201d \u201cIf you die in your sins, where I go ye\ncannot come.\u201d I need not inform you, that these are all spurious\ntexts. Perhaps it will be asked, does not the Bible say, \u201cThere is no\nrepentance in the grave?\u201d Nothing of the kind is in the Good Book.\nAnd even if it were there it would not contradict my position. What\nis in the grave? Nothing but the body, and that cannot repent, in the\ngrave or out of it, dead or alive. Where is the spirit when the body\nis mouldering in the grave? The wise man informs us, \u201cDust returns\nto dust as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.\u201d This\nis the destiny of _all_. The body is from the earth, the spirit from\nGod, and when the copartnership between the body and the spirit are\ndissolved, the body descends, and the spirit ascends; the one to\nits mother-earth, and the other to its Father-God. Man is a spirit;\nChrist and the apostles talked to spirits; I am addressing spirits;\nall revelation--its precepts and promises--are addressed to spirits;\nand when the great Gentile apostle said, \u201cGod will have all men to be\nsaved, and come to the knowledge of the truth,\u201d he was speaking of all\nspirits, whether in this world or in the eternal world, whether in the\nbody, or in the house not made with hands. I repeat, wherever a spirit\nexists _unsaved_, it is God\u2019s will that he shall be saved, and God will\neven work in all to will and to do his pleasure.\n\nMr. Mathes admits, that it is God\u2019s will that sinners shall be saved\nwhile they are in this world, but he contends that it is his will\nthat sinners in the spirit world shall _not_ be saved. Now why this\ndifference? Why is it God\u2019s will that I shall now be saved, and at the\nsame time his will that I shall not be saved beyond the grave, if I\nshould there need salvation? Is not reformation of character a good\nthing any where and every where? I take it, that God\u2019s government is\nthe same in all worlds, and at all times. It is perfect, and therefore\nuniform and unchangeable. He now requires all, and ever will require\nall, to learn the truth, and walk in the ways of life, and therefore he\nnever will _compel_ a soul to lie down in sin, darkness and death, one\nmoment, in time or eternity.\n\nWhen the third volume of the _Teacher_ commenced, it was changed to a\nquarto form, and issued semi-monthly, instead of monthly; and James\nBurt and J. H. Jordan, became associate editors. Mr. Burt was recently\nfrom the East, where he had preached several years. He was a good\nwriter, and a worthy man. He was connected with the paper one year,\nwhen his name, at his request, was dropped, and he ceased preaching.\nMr. Jordan was not a minister, but a school teacher. He subsequently\nbecame a physician, and at the present time, is editor and publisher of\nthe Indianapolis (Ind.) _Gazette_, a daily and weekly paper, conducted\nwith vigor and ability. He wields a strong pen, and is an influential\nwriter. For several years, Dr. Jordan assisted me in issuing the\n_Teacher_, and his contributions were always perused with much interest.\n\nI opened a new field about this time, in the southern part of Indiana.\nLectured in Bowling Green. Oliver Cromwell resided there--a descendant\nof England\u2019s great Protector. He was an aged man, intelligent, and an\nardent defender of the liberal faith. He said the Protector was his\ngreat-great grandfather.\n\nA zealous Methodist class leader tried to reply to one of my sermons.\n\u201cIf your faith is correct, why all this labor? Why form societies,\nbuild meeting-houses, support ministers, or try to serve the Lord in\nany way?\u201d I answered thus:\n\nI understand from the gentleman\u2019s remarks, that he supposes that the\nfear of hell, and the hope of heaven, are the only reasons why we\nshould attend to the duties of life; and according to the confession\nof sectarians generally, these are the moving causes of all their\nchristian efforts; hence their first and last objection to Universalism\nis, that it removes all inducements to live a virtuous life. This\ndegrading objection is in the mouth of nearly all, from the doctor of\ndivinity to the most humble member. If we take them at their word,\nthey organize churches, build meeting-houses, employ ministers, send\nmissionaries to the heathen, to escape hell and reach heaven; they\npray, preach, attend meetings, go among the heathen, to escape hell and\nreach heaven; they deal justly, love mercy, and walk humbly before God,\nto escape hell and reach heaven. According to their own confession,\nthese are the only motives that urge them onward in their christian\ncourse. Now, this is all wrong; they build on a false, dangerous\nfoundation; they build on the sand; they are influenced, governed\nsolely by selfish considerations. They work for pay, and pay they will\nhave or turn rebels. Piety with them is a ticket past hell into heaven.\nNow, this is a wretched foundation for a christian life. In truth,\ncharacter built on such a basis, is hay, wood and stubble, and liable\nto be consumed at any moment, hence so much back-sliding among Orthodox\nchurch members. They stand on slippery places.\n\nUniversalism lays a better foundation, presents better motives for\nliving a christian life. It makes a _reasonable_ appeal to man\u2019s hopes\nand fears, but its strong foundation is in _principle_. It teaches that\nwe should revere the truth, and practice righteousness, because we\nlove truth and righteousness; should love God and man because of the\ngoodness of God and the goodness in man; be truthful because we love\nthe truth, and deal justly with our fellow men because we love justice\nand righteousness. When character is built on such a foundation, it is\nas permanent as the everlasting hills. It takes time to form character\nof this kind, but when the work is done, it is well done. Such persons\ndo not need conversion at every camp-meeting in their county.\n\nLectured in Spencer, Gosport, Bloomington, Martinsville, Morgantown,\nFranklin, Columbus and Nashville. In all these places the liberal faith\nhad not before been preached. But I found in most of them an elect few\nwho had long cherished it amid all sorts of opposition. Faithful souls!\nThey were true to their convictions, though standing alone, targets\nfor bigots to shoot at. In Bloomington I lectured several times, and\na minister tried to point out my errors, as he termed the noblest\nand most glorious of truths. Mr. Labertew, a merchant, and zealous\nfriend, resided there. He subsequently built a meeting-house at his own\nexpense; but there not being sufficient number of believers to act with\nhim in keeping up meetings, he sold it. Held a meeting in Gosport; the\nhouse was full, and several hundred were out of doors; and although the\nrain poured down in torrents, they remained through the services. Here\nI subsequently had many conflicts with those of the partial faith. Near\nNashville I attended a Fourth-of-July celebration. After the dinner\nwas over, and the patriotic speeches made, I gave the people a sermon.\nLectured in Martinsville in the Court-house; a clergyman replied, and\narrangements were made for me to have a debate in that place with Mr.\nScott, a Methodist presiding elder. It was to continue four days. He\nhad recently debated with J. Mathes, and coming out of it victorious,\nall were sure he would make short work of me, and my faith. But they\nwere disappointed. Mr. Scott got mad, and left the rostrum, declaring\nthat he would discuss no more with me. But the moderators persuaded him\nto continue the allotted time. After he got through, another minister\ntried his hand at the work, but many thought he fared worse than his\npredecessor. Weighing about two hundred and fifty pounds, and as fat as\nbutter, he kept in good humor. Lectured in Columbus and Franklin. In\nboth places I soon after had discussions. This was a laborious journey,\nfor it was war, war, from the beginning to the end of it.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\n\n  JOURNEY INTO NORTHERN ILLINOIS--TEMPERANCE LECTURE--RESULT OF\n  TEMPERATE DRINKING--MARRIED--HOMEWARD BOUND--HIGH WATERS--DIFFICULT\n  TRAVELING--TROUBLE IN CROSSING STREAMS--A COLD BATH--END OF\n  THE \u201cBRIDAL TOUR\u201d--A HARD RIDE--DEBATES WITH E. KINGSBURY--IN\n  NORTHERN INDIANA--CONVERSATION WITH AN INDIAN--DARK MAN AND DARK\n  NIGHT--EXPLANATION OF HEBREWS IX. 27, 28--END OF THE WORLD--THE EARTH\n  AND MAN.\n\nIn June, 1844, with buggy and two horses, I commenced a journey into\nthe northern part of Illinois. Preached in Newport, Ind., and became\nacquainted with several devoted believers in the Restitution. Lectured\non temperance in Perrysville. Related the following sad story of a\nfamily, educated to the \u201ctemperate use\u201d of liquor:\n\nThe husband and father was wealthy, educated, and occupied a prominent\nposition in the community in which he resided. In his days of vigor,\nhe held important political and military stations; was an officer in\nthe last war with Great Britain, and after its termination, honorably\noccupied a seat in the legislative hall of his native state. He was\nwhat is called a \u201ctemperate drinker.\u201d His children were instructed by\nprecept and example to be temperate drinkers. The decanters were ever\nfull of the choicest liquors, and all daily partook of the sparkling\nbeverage. All of them despised intemperance, and hated the sight\nof a drunkard. The two sons married into families equal to their\nown; and the daughter, an accomplished lady, was wedded to the man\nof her choice. The father, with joy beheld his interesting family\nsettled around him, highly respected for their intellectual and moral\nqualities, and bountifully blessed with the good things of this world.\nHe was comforted with the reflection that his declining years would be\nblessed by virtuous children.\n\nMy informant, who had spent his childhood and youth in the town where\nthis family lived, after several years absence, returned to the home\nof his early life. He repaired to the residence of the venerable man,\nwhere he had spent many happy hours in bygone days. Enquired for\nbeloved names, for the sons and daughter, the associates of the morning\nof his life. The aged father burst into tears; he wept aloud; he wrung\nhis hands with anguish. The tale was all horror that the trembling\nlips of the old man related. The daughter had disgraced herself by\nintemperance, and was mouldering in a premature grave. The two brothers\nwere ruined by rum-drinking. A short time before, the wife of one of\nthem, after enduring the brutal treatment of her husband for years, had\nfled from him while he was in a drunken fit, and plunged into a pond,\nand was drowned, to escape from wretchedness, and the monster. The wife\nof the other had left him; she would no longer live with the brute. One\nof the sons was at home, but intemperance had made him a cripple and\nan idiot. The mother of the family had long since sunk into a welcome\ngrave, overwhelmed with sorrow. The father was descending with grief\ninto the grave. His expectations were blasted; his hopes were cut\noff. His family, in which was centered his affections, and from whom\nhe expected support and consolation, were miserably destroyed--part\nsunk into a dishonored grave, to hide their shame, and the remainder,\noutcasts in the world.\n\nThe misfortunes of this family, in all probability, originated in\n_temperate drinking_. The seed of sin and death was sown by the father,\nwhile the children were under his roof. A taste for intoxicating drinks\nwas there acquired, and cultivated, and when they left home, they\ncontinued to cherish it, till by degrees it became the ruling passion.\nThe parents and children reaped a fearful reward. What an awful sin\nfor parents thus to vitiate the taste of their children! Let them take\nwarning. They will as surely reap the reward of their evil doing, as\nthere is a God in heaven. For so great a sin to go unpunished nature\u2019s\nlaws must be reversed.\n\nDelivered two sermons in Rainsville. Urged my brethren to live as\nbecometh believers in the best religion ever entertained by men or\nangels. It is all truth and righteousness, and our character and life\nshould be truthful and righteous. It is better to be an Orthodox\nchristian, than a Universalist sinner. We might as well be without the\nknowledge of the truth, as to hold it in unrighteousness. The gospel\nblesses those only who practice it; to such only it \u201cis the power of\nGod unto salvation.\u201d Had a meeting in Montgomery, Ill., and at the\nclose a Baptist preacher sung out a reply. It was decidedly funny. I\nwill not attempt to repeat it, for I cannot do justice to the subject.\nForded the Kankakee river where the city of Kankakee now stands, but\nthere was no city there then--nothing but a wild prairie. The river\nwas deep--deeper than I expected--and there was imminent danger of\nhorses, buggy, and all, being washed down stream. Some men on the shore\nwatched me with much interest, but they could have rendered me no\nassistance if I had gotten into difficulty, as there was no boat near.\nLectured in Bourbonais Grove. It is a French village, and I put up with\nthe principal man of the settlement. He was a Catholic, but said he\nbelieved what I preached.\n\nOn July 3d, in Wilmington, Ill., was married to Miss H. Bryant, by\nRev. W. H. Dean, of Joliet. This lady is a native of New York, and for\na year or two previous to this date, was one of the Principals of a\nseminary in Warrenville, Ill. Left Wilmington with my charge, to return\nto Terre Haute. But the windows of heaven opened, and the fountains\nof the great deep were broken up. The summer of 1844 will long be\nremembered in the West, as the summer of floods, tornadoes, thunder\nand lightning. The whole country was inundated, and traveling was very\ndangerous business. We came near being swept away, on crossing a rapid\nstream, the first day of our journey. Arriving at the Kankakee river,\nwe found it past fording, and nothing but a small skiff with which\nto cross the stream. The carriage was taken to pieces, and carried\nover in parcels, and the horses swam the river. A few miles south we\nencountered Beaver Creek--then a mighty river. Again the buggy was\nferried over by piece-meal, and the horses swam at the side of the\nfrail bark, I holding them by their heads. Every slough was a river,\nwhich we had to ford or swim. A few miles from the Iroquois river,\nwhen far from a house, a terrible storm burst on our heads. There was\nno shelter, and for about one hour we were exposed to one of the most\nviolent storms I ever witnessed. The wind blew a tornado, the thunder\ncrashed fearfully, the lightning flashed sheets of fire, the rain and\nhail poured down in torrents, and to add to the terror of the scene,\nthe trees came crashing to the ground, all around us. We finally\nreached a house on the bank of the river, and were right glad to have\na roof between us and that wild elemental war. There we had to remain\nseveral days, as it was impossible to proceed till the waters abated.\nBut I was very restless, as I had an engagement in Oakland, Ill., and\nhad barely time to reach there without any detention. I had agreed\nto have a discussion in that place with E. Kingsbury, a Presbyterian\nminister of Danville, but that last storm prevented my filling the\nengagement.\n\nThe bridge across the Iroquois river being washed away by the flood,\nthe carriage was again taken to pieces, and ferried over, while the\nhorses swam to the opposite shore. But one of them came near drowning,\nas he became entangled in the top of a tree that had drifted down; he\nwas finally rescued, and we were soon on the way to encounter more\ntrouble. Reached the Wabash river bottom, opposite Montezuma, and found\nit all inundated--the water from one to three feet deep. When about\nhalf way across, in attempting to cross a low place on a corduroy\nbridge, all under water, and not visible, the water being so dirty,\nwe missed the middle of the corduroy, and carriage, horses, bride and\nbridegroom, went over the side into the mud and water. The bride, a\nperfect hero, stood in the mud and water three feet deep, holding\nthe frightened horses, while the bridegroom transferred the baggage\nfrom the buggy to the trunk of a fallen tree, which happily was not\nfar distant. We finally got out of the slough, in a pretty bad plight\nthough, and crossed the river on to dry land, and the next day reached\nTerre Haute--thus ended our _bridal tour_.\n\nMr. Kingsbury, named above, gave notice that he should deliver a\ndiscourse near Oakland, against the doctrine of the Restitution, and\nadded, that he was willing I should reply, if I thought proper, at the\nclose of his sermon. I was in Covington, Ind., the day before he was\nto deliver said discourse, and being detained in crossing the Wabash\nriver till near sundown, I rode most of the night, and reached the\nappointed place a few minutes after he had dismissed his congregation.\nI rode seventy miles, between four o\u2019clock Thursday, and twelve o\u2019clock\nFriday, without any refreshment, and with about two hours rest. The\ncongregation was called together. Mr. Kingsbury furnished me notes of\nhis sermon, and I spoke two hours in reply. He replied, and I spoke\nanother hour. We subsequently spent four days in discussion in Oakland.\nMr. Kingsbury not being perfectly satisfied with his effort proposed a\nwritten debate. He agreed to furnish twelve letters for the _Teacher_.\nHe wrote five, and then gave up the controversy.\n\nI again visited Northern Indiana; and even extended my journey into\nMichigan, preaching wherever I could gather a congregation. Had some\nconversation with an intelligent Indian near Peru, on the Upper Wabash.\n\n\u201cI no believe in your Bible, or your Jesus Christ--not a word of it.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, my friend, do you believe in a God, and a hereafter?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat I do. I believe in the Great Spirit, and that he will take good\ncare of all his children. No man ever killed him, as your Bible says,\nman killed God. He is away beyond the reach of arrow or cross. Who\nbrought God to life if he was killed? You tell if you can.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Bible does not say that God was slain. He is a Great Spirit, and\nin him we all live, move and have our being. You say truly, that man\ncannot harm him. Jesus Christ was not God, but rather a divine man; and\nhe was sent here by the Great Spirit to instruct us in wisdom\u2019s ways.\nBut do you not think God has sent prophets to this world to instruct\nhis children?\u201d\n\n\u201cI do. My nation has had prophets. They taught us to use the bow and\narrow; and how to raise corn, potatoes, and tobacco. We bless the Great\nSpirit for those prophets.\u201d\n\n\u201cGod is no respecter of persons. He has sent other nations prophets,\nand Jesus Christ is one of the wisest and best he ever gave the world.\nHe taught that God is a spirit, and that we should worship him in\nspirit and in truth; that we are all his children; that he loves all,\nis good to all, and ever will be the Father and friend of man. Do you\nobject to that?\u201d\n\n\u201cAll good, but the missionaries no talk so. They say Jesus is God, and\nthat he was killed to save man from his own wrath. I no understand\nsuch stuff, and I no want to. I no believe God is mad, or that he was\nkilled to be made good-natured.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe perfectly agree on that subject. If you will examine the New\nTestament, you will find that it teaches that Jesus Christ was a\nprophet of the Great Spirit, and that he was sent to this world to tell\nus how to live. He came not to quench the wrath of God, or to put out\nthe fires of hell, but to direct our wayward feet in the path of life\nand salvation. His is a glorious work, and we are assured he will do it\nwell. Your nation has likely had prophets, but acquaint yourself with\nthis one ere you reject him.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou tell me new things. I will read the New Testament.\u201d\n\nThe country south of Fort Wayne is flat, wet, and in those days\nwas covered with a dense forest, and the settlers\u2019 cabins were far\napart--in some places, miles apart. I remember, when on this journey,\nof traveling a whole day without passing more than half a dozen houses.\nIt was a dark, gloomy, foggy, rainy autumnal day, and the roads were\nin a wretched condition, in many places nearly impassable, the mud and\nwater being so deep. When it was nearly dark, I met an ugly looking\nfellow, with a gun on his shoulder; and while inquiring of him about\nthe road, I heard a distant noise, which seemed to be from some one in\ndistress. I called his attention to it, and proposed that we ascertain\nwhat was the matter. He seemed to take no interest in the subject, and\nwalked off in the opposite direction. I told him he was an inhuman\ncreature, and that I should try to learn who was making that noise,\nfor some body was surely in trouble; and immediately left the road,\nand plunged into the thick woods, in the direction whence the mournful\nsound proceeded. About a quarter of a mile from the road, I came to\na small opening in the forest, where was a cabin, and in front of\nthe cabin was a fire, and at the side of the fire was a young woman\nironing clothes, and singing a mournful air as loud as she could\nscream. This was the noise I took to be cries of distress. I learned\nfrom her, that the fellow I had just seen was her husband, and that\nthey had been married about two weeks, after three weeks acquaintance.\nI told her about meeting him in the road, and that I believed he was\nnot there for a good purpose, and, moreover, that I was fearful she\nhad married a scamp. Learning from her that it was ten miles to the\nnearest house, I bid her good-by, for I did not care about stopping\nlong in that locality. While leading my horse back to the road, for\nthe underbrush was so thick I could not ride, I heard several times a\nslight noise in the woods near me, but paid no particular attention to\nit. After much difficulty, and many scratches, I regained the road. But\nhad proceeded but a short distance when I became satisfied that the man\nI had just seen was following me, for I could distinctly hear footsteps\nin the woods a few rods at the left. The night being very dark I could\nnot see him, could hardly see my horse; and the mud being deep, and the\nhorse tired, I could travel only at a slow gait. I stopped my horse,\nand peered into the dark, but nothing could be seen. The rascal came\nto a halt when I stopped. I dismounted on the right side of the horse,\nhaving him between me and the villain. Stood there, perhaps, fifteen\nminutes, without either party making the least noise, expected every\nmoment to hear the crack of his gun. He finally made tracks _from_\nme as fast as he could run, and I remounted my horse and proceeded\non my journey. He doubtless intended to rob me, steal my horse, and\nperhaps do worse; but presuming I was armed--but I was not--and seeing\nI was pretty resolute, he did not dare attack me without being sure\nof decided advantage. Being on that road again soon after, I learned\nthat he had fled to parts unknown, leaving his wife, to escape being\narrested for some crime.\n\nThe next day I reached Anderson, and delivered five discourses before I\nleft. At the close of one of the sermons, a Methodist minister replied.\nHe dwelt long on the words of the apostle Paul, \u201cAs it is appointed\nunto men once to die and after that the judgment.\u201d Heb. ix. 28. I\nanswered:\n\nIf the gentleman is correct in his understanding of this passage,\nit demolishes one tenet of Orthodoxy. The passage asserts, that \u201cit\nis _appointed_ unto men once to die.\u201d Now, the creeds tell us, that\ntemporal death is _not_ of divine appointment, but rather contrary\nto the divine will. Man, say the creeds, was created _immortal_, and\nit was the will of God that he should not die; it was the divine\nappointment, that he should live forever. But in an evil hour, Adam,\nthe first man, sinned, and brought temporal death on himself and on\nall his posterity, contrary to the divine appointment. If partialism\nis right here, this passage does not refer to temporal death; and if\nit does refer to temporal death, it is wrong in denying that temporal\ndeath is of divine appointment.\n\nTo what \u201cmen\u201d does the text refer? for it does not say _all_ men\nare appointed to die. Read the second verse following: \u201cFor the law\nhaving a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of\nthe things, can never with those sacrifices which THEY offered year\nby year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.\u201d The pronoun\n\u201cthey\u201d in this verse, as any one can see, refers to the \u201cmen\u201d spoken\nof in the text. The apostle says, \u201cthey,\u201d that is, the \u201cmen,\u201d \u201coffered\nsacrifices.\u201d Now, all men do not offer sacrifices, neither are they\nrequired to. But under the Jewish law, a certain class of men were\nappointed to offer sacrifices for the sins of the people. They were\nthe _priests_, and it is to them, and to them only, the text refers.\nAccording to the grammatical structure of the text and context, the\n\u201cmen\u201d were a class whose business it was to offer sacrifices. It is\ncertain, then, that the apostle does not speak of all men, but of a\ncertain class of his countrymen. And this is confirmed by the fact,\nthat in the Greek, the article _tois_ is before the word men, and that\narticle means _the_ or _these_. Retaining the article, the passage\nreads, \u201cAnd as it is appointed unto _these_ men once to die.\u201d What men?\nWhy, the men appointed by the Jewish law to offer sacrifices.\n\nBut did these men \u201cdie\u201d in their sacrifices? Yes, in the sense here\nintended. For the meaning of the apostle we must heed the connection in\nwhich the passage occurs. In the 16th and 17th verses, speaking of the\nfirst testament of the Jewish covenant, the apostle says, \u201cFor where a\ntestament is, there must of necessity be the _death_ of the testator,\nfor a testament is of force when men are _dead_; otherwise it is of no\nstrength at all while the testator liveth.\u201d It is so now--no _will_, or\n_testament_, is in force till the testator is _dead_. Well, Moses was\nthe testator of the Jewish covenant, and we know that was in full force\n_before_ Moses _died temporally_. What kind of a death, then, does the\napostle mean? Read on: \u201cFor when Moses had spoken every precept to\nall the people\u201d--that is, given them the whole covenant--\u201caccording\nto the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and\nscarlet wool, and myrrh, and sprinkled both the book\u201d--that contained\nthe covenant--\u201cand all the people saying, This is the _blood of\nthe testament_ which God hath enjoined unto you.\u201d This sacrifice\nwhich Moses then offered in the presence of the people, is what the\napostle calls the _death of the testator_. He did not, of course, die\ntemporally, but he shed blood, offered sacrifice, and thereby sealed\nthe covenant, and that he terms the death of the testator. Well, we\nknow that the Jewish priests were set apart, \u201cappointed\u201d to \u201cdie\u201d for\nthe people in the same sense Moses died to seal the covenant. The\nlanguage with reference to Moses dying in his sacrifice, explains what\nis meant by the words, \u201cit is appointed unto men once to die\u201d--they\ndied as Moses died.\n\nThere is reference here to the Annual Atonement of the Jews. On that\ngreat occasion, the priest, who was the most conspicuous personage,\nappeared before the assembled congregation--that appearing was typical\nof Christ\u2019s first coming. The priest then offered sacrifice for the\nsins of the Jewish nation--that was typical of the death of Christ for\nthe world. The priest then disappeared, and entered into the \u201cHoliest\nof all\u201d--that was typical of Christ entering into paradise. In due\ntime the priest reappeared to the people--that was typical of Christ\u2019s\nresurrection--his \u201c_second_ appearing.\u201d The priest at his second\nappearing before the people, passed _judgment_ on them, which was, that\ntheir sins were forgiven--and that was typical of the judgment passed\non all who trust in the risen Savior. They behold him the second time,\nthe risen, the glorified Savior, without sin unto salvation. His first\nappearing, was when he came in the flesh; his second appearing, when he\nshowed himself to the world in his spiritual and glorified condition,\nand all who confide in the risen Redeemer, as the way, the truth, and\nthe life, are blessed with life and salvation. To them he \u201cappears the\nsecond time without sin unto salvation.\u201d\n\nI also delivered several discourses in Franklin. A Millerite, at the\nclose of one of them, attempted to show that the New Testament teaches,\nthat this earth will be destroyed. His chief reliance was on Matt.\nxiii. \u201cThat passage,\u201d said he, \u201cspeaks of the end of the world, the\nharvest, and the furnace of fire. It is not figurative language. This\nworld is to be burned up, and then the wicked will be cast into a lake\nof fire. I do not know when all this will take place. It may occur\nto-day, to-morrow, this year, next year; I know not the hour, day or\nyear, but I do know that dreadful day of destruction will surely come,\nsooner, or later.\u201d\n\nI replied: The passage in Matt. xiii. affords the gentleman\u2019s\ndestructive theory no aid whatever. Learned men of all denominations\ntell us, that the \u201cend of the world,\u201d in that passage, is the end\nof the Jewish world, or age; that Christ had no reference to the\ndestruction of this material earth. Bishop Pearce renders the original,\n\u201cEnd of the age, viz: that of the Jewish dispensation.\u201d Dr. Hammond\ntranslates it thus: \u201cConclusion of the age.\u201d Dr. Cappe says, the words\nmean, \u201cThe accomplishment of the age, which in scripture language,\nuniformly relates to the Mosaic economy.\u201d This interpretation is fully\nsustained by the New Testament. Speaking of Jesus, the apostle Paul\nsays: \u201cFor then must he often have suffered since the foundation of\nthe world: but now once in the _end of the world_ hath he appeared to\nput away sin by the sacrifice of himself.\u201d Heb. ix. 26. At the end of\nwhat world was Christ sacrificed? Not the end of this earth surely, for\nit has survived his death most two thousand years. According to the\ngentleman\u2019s logic, this earth was all burned up eighteen hundred years\nago, and it is all delusion that it now exists, turns on its axis, and\nrevolves around yonder sun. In another place the apostle represents\nthe end of the world as having taken place in his day: \u201cAnd they are\nwritten for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world _are\ncome_.\u201d 1 Cor. x. 11. If the apostle Paul was right, my friend here is\nmiserably deluded. The Mosaic world, or era, did end in the apostolic\nage, and it is to that the New Testament always refers when it speaks\nof the end of the world.\n\n\u201cThe harvest,\u201d says Jesus, \u201cis the end of the world.\u201d In the Bible,\nthe end of an era, a city, or nation, is called its harvest. Of the\ndestruction of the city of Babylon, it is said, \u201cFor thus saith the\nLord of Hosts, the God of Israel, The daughter of Babylon is like a\nthreshing floor, it is time to thresh her; yet a little while, and the\ntime of her _harvest_ shall come.... And Babylon shall become heaps,\na dwelling place for dragons; an astonishment, and a hissing, without\nan inhabitant.\u201d Jer. li. 33, 37. The end of that city is called its\nharvest; so the end of the Jewish dispensation is called its harvest.\n\nThe ending of the Jewish age and nation, was to involve the ruin of\nmultitudes of that people. Jesus often warned them of that coming\ncalamity; told them, that unless they reformed they would all perish\nin the approaching storm. That national desolation is called \u201cwrath to\ncome,\u201d \u201cdamnation,\u201d \u201ceverlasting punishment,\u201d \u201cfurnace of fire.\u201d \u201cWhose\nfire is in Zion, and his _furnace in Jerusalem_.\u201d Isa. xxxi. 9. \u201cSon\nof man, the house of Israel is to me become dross: all they are brass,\nand tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even\nthe dross of silver. Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye are\nall become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of\nJerusalem. As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and\ntin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt\nit; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave\nyou there, and melt you. Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in\nthe fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof. As\nsilver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in\nthe midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the Lord have poured out\nmy fury upon you.\u201d Ezek. xxii. 18-22. These passages illustrate the\nmeaning of \u201cfurnace of fire;\u201d they tell us where it is--_in Jerusalem_,\nnot in eternity, as the gentleman imagines. In the text the wicked Jews\nare called \u201ctares;\u201d in the above quotations they are termed \u201cdross,\u201d\n\u201cdross of silver,\u201d \u201clead,\u201d \u201ciron,\u201d \u201ctin.\u201d At the end of the Jewish\nstate, the righteous,--the gold and wheat of the nation,--were saved,\nbut the \u201ctares,\u201d the \u201cdross\u201d were destroyed by famine, pestilence,\nand the sword. This passage, then, certainly has no reference to the\ndestruction of this earth, nor to any calamity to man beyond the grave.\n\nAlthough I find no evidence in the New Testament of the destruction\nof this earth, I conclude from analogy, that it is destined to be\ndestroyed. Everything that lives on the earth has its birth, maturity,\nand death. This is true of every plant, animal and man. And is it\nnot so of the earth? The matter that composes it may be eternal,\nbut there was doubtless a time in the distant past when this globe\nhad no existence. It is supposed that the sun once occupied all the\nspace in which the solar planets are now revolving, and that those\nplanets, with their satellites, were then parts of the sun; but by\nthe operation of the laws of the Creator, governing that immense mass\nof matter, portions of it became detached from time to time, and\ncommenced their revolution on their axis, and around the mother globe.\nThose detached portions are now the planets which belong to the solar\nsystem. If this hypothesis be correct, the earth had a beginning. It\nhas passed through wonderful changes since the day of its birth;--it\nhas condensed, cooled, and become fit for the growth of vegetation, and\nfor the habitation of animals and man. And will it not in time lose its\nvitality like a decrepit old man, and finally die, and return to the\nsun whence it came? Is not this to be the fate of all the planets? And\nwill not the sun himself lose his life, luster and glory, and fall into\nthe vortex whence he came? And will not this decomposed matter again be\nvitalized, and form other globes? And is not birth, growth, death, and\ndecomposition going on, not only among plants, animals, and men, but in\nall departments of the material universe? And has not this process been\neverlastingly going on? and will it not continue to go on forever and\never?\n\nLectured in Columbus several times; and in going there got rather a\ncold bath. Came to a stream, and being informed by a man living on\nits bank, that the water was shallow, plunged into it without any\nhesitation, but soon found that it was past fording and very rapid.\nWhen I reached the opposite shore was wet through, and the weather\nbeing very cold, my clothes were soon frozen from head to foot. Rode\nseveral miles in that condition, and when I reached Columbus, which\nwas in the night, was about as cold as a living man can be. A preacher\nreplied to me in a very bitter spirit, and I took occasion to exhibit\nsome of the contradictions of his brethren, thus:\n\nIt is believed, that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, but\nthat nine tenths of the world will be forever lost. It is believed,\nthat Jesus tasted death for every man, but that millions will receive\nno benefit from it. It is believed, that Jesus will reign till he\nhas subdued all things to God, but that a majority of mankind will\nbe eternally unsubdued. It is believed, that all war is unchristian,\nbut that God will keep up a war in hell forever. It is believed,\nthat capital punishment is wrong, but that God will inflict capital\npunishment on all who leave this world unregenerated. It is believed\nthat we ought to overcome evil with good, but that God will overcome\nit by inflicting an infinite evil. It is believed, that it is the duty\nof man to labor in season and out of season to regenerate his fellow\nman, but that God will defeat his labors by placing multitudes where\nsalvation never can be attained. It is believed, that all mankind\nare brethren, but that a devil will sever that brotherhood, and drag\nmost of our race into the infernal regions. It is believed, that we\nshould love our fellow men, but that God hates nearly all of them\nwith infinite hatred. It is believed, that we should imitate God, but\nif we did so, provided the creeds are true, we should be incarnate\nfiends. It is believed, that there is only one God, but that there\nare three Gods. It is believed, that man is by nature religious, but\nthat he is by nature totally depraved. These, and many others, are the\ncontradictions of what is called Orthodoxy. Can that religion be of\nheaven which so abounds with absurdities and contradictions?\n\nI subsequently had a discussion in this place with J. Wright, a\nCampbellite minister. Salvation, said I, in one of my speeches,\nis the theme of the Bible--of Moses, the prophet, Jesus and the\napostles. But what is salvation from? Mr. Wright says, it is from a\nfuture endless hell, from the wrath of God, and the power of satan.\nHe described in burning words the horrors of that infernal pit he\nwants to save us from. He described it _beautifully_, and I noticed\nthat some of his brethren seemed to be delighted with the charming\npicture he presented. They, doubtless, are sure of a comfortable seat\nin the heavenly mansion, having had their sins washed away in yonder\nstream, and expect to have the supreme satisfaction of seeing us,\nsinners, writhing in the flames of hell, the victims of devils, and\nthe cursed of God. They laugh now in anticipation of this great joy\nto come. I envy them not their spirit nor their hopes. But what is\nsalvation really from? According to the Bible, it is deliverance from\nsin, error, condemnation, moral death. \u201cFor the grace of God that\nbringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying\nungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and\ngodly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the\nglorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ; who\ngave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and\npurify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. These\nthings speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man\ndespise thee.\u201d Titus ii. 11-15. This is a clear statement of salvation.\nIt is deliverance from \u201call iniquity\u201d--soul-purification--and is\neffected by the grace or truth of God, teaching us to \u201cdeny ungodliness\nand worldly lusts, and live soberly, righteously and godly\u201d amid the\nevils of this world. \u201cThese things speak and exhort,\u201d adds the apostle.\nLet this be remembered by those who assert that a _present_ salvation\nis nothing, is not worth striving for, if there are not eternal fires\nbeyond the grave to escape. \u201cLet no man despise you.\u201d Remember this,\nye who despise the message of him, who urges a present salvation, but\nknows nothing of salvation from the wrath of God, nor the torments of\nperdition.\n\nThe first time salvation is referred to in the Bible, it relates to\ndeliverance from iniquity. \u201cI will put enmity between thee and the\nwoman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and\nthou shalt bruise his heel.\u201d Gen. iii. 15. Here we have the cheering\nassurance, that sin, symbolized by the serpent, shall be crushed,\nruined, destroyed, and Adam\u2019s race, consequently, delivered from its\nblasting, deadly embrace--but not a word about salvation from the\nfuture hell Mr. W. talks so eloquently about. In Mal. iii. 2, 3, the\nmission of Jesus is clearly stated: \u201cBut who may abide the day of\nhis coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a\nrefiner\u2019s fire, and like fuller\u2019s soap: and he shall sit as a refiner\nand purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and\npurge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an\noffering in righteousness.\u201d Jesus is the refiner; truth is the fire;\nman, created in the image of God, is the gold; the dross is man\u2019s\nfalsities. As the refiner with his fire separates the gold from the\ndross, saves the one and destroys the other, so Jesus, by the word of\ntruth, the gospel of our salvation, purifies our souls, separates the\nearthy from the heavenly, saves the one and destroys the other. Not a\nword here about deliverance from the flames of hell, or the wrath of\nGod. The earthly father of this soul-refiner was instructed to call\nhis name Jesus, because he would \u201csave his people from _their sins_;\u201d\nand during his ministry on earth, Jesus labored to that end. \u201cReform!\u201d\ncried he, \u201cfor the kingdom of heaven is at hand,\u201d--not the kingdom of\nhell, mark you. We should reform, live pure and right, from _heavenly_\nconsiderations--not from motives of an infernal nature. Nineteen\ntwentieths of the sermons of this age would not be uttered if all the\npreachers understood that text.\n\nAt last, the great Reformer died, and the apostle tells us why he died.\n\u201cHe died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto\nthemselves, but him who died for them and rose again.\u201d 2 Cor. v. 15.\nJesus lived, labored, died, and rose again, that we might \u201clive unto\nhim.\u201d But we are told by the popular creed, that it was the end and aim\nof Jesus, whether living or dying, to placate the wrath of God, and\nsave us from a burning hell. After the Master\u2019s death, the apostles\ncontinued his work, and it is well known that they labored faithfully\nfor the present salvation of their fellow men. The chief of them said,\n\u201cJesus, whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man, in\nall wisdom that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.\u201d\nCol. i. 28. He preached to make men perfect in gospel virtues--not to\nredeem them from a fabled world of woe. The apostle\u2019s words to his\npupil, Timothy, are very comprehensive: \u201cAll scripture is given by\ninspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for\ncorrection, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may\nbe perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.\u201d 2 Tim. ii. 16,\n17. The object of all heavenly influences is summed up in these brief\nwords. To perfect our character, and cause us to abound in good works,\nis the ultimate of revelation. And how much more rational is this than\nthe popular notion, that it is a device to satisfy justice, appease\nheaven\u2019s wrath, and rescue us from hell\u2019s flames.\n\nThe discussion was to have continued four days, but Mr. Wright\u2019s\nfriends closed it on the evening of the second day. He remarked to an\nacquaintance of mine soon after this, that he had rather debate with a\nten-acre field full of sectarians, than with one Universalist.\n\nFrom Columbus I journeyed to Nashville, and delivered three discourses.\n\u201cIt is too good to be true,\u201d said a preacher, at the close of one of\nthe sermons. I remarked, That is the strongest objection I know of\nto this soul-cheering faith. That ourselves, relatives, friends, all\nmankind, are the children of God; that he loves us with a love many\nfloods cannot quench; that we have all commenced a life that is never\nto end, and are destined to grow wiser, and better, and happier,\nforever and ever; that we shall again meet the loved and lost of\nearth, and with hand in hand, and soul linked to soul, forever tread\nthe courts of the New Jerusalem--that all this is our glorious future,\nI admit is hard to believe. That we are born to so rich and glorious\nan inheritance is hard to believe. There are many other blessings our\nheavenly Father has provided for us, we might think the same of under\ncertain circumstances. Had it been our sad lot to have been confined to\nthis date in a dungeon, never to have known father, mother, brother,\nsister, never to have seen the face of a friend, or to have heard the\nvoice of love, never to have seen the green earth, the bright sun, or\nblue sky, and told to-day for the first time, that the beautiful earth\nand star-spangled sky exist as we now behold them, full of beauty for\nthe eye, music for the ear, and love for the heart, and that in a short\ntime we should exchange our dark, damp, cold cell for this glorious\nworld, where we should meet father, mother, brother and sister, would\nwe not be apt to exclaim, \u201cIt is too good to be true!\u201d\n\nA man who has been an Atheist all his life, never heard of a God, or\nof a future life, when told for the first time that there is a God\nwho governs the world, and guides the destinies of men, and that he\nis immortal and will live forever, I say when these facts are first\nrevealed to him, he would likely say, \u201cIt is too good to be true.\u201d A\nfamily that has ever been doomed to want, sickness, disappointment,\nand sorrow in every form, when informed that a kind friend has deeded\nthem a comfortable home, and provided for their future support and\nhappiness, and that within a few days they will come in possession\nof all these blessings, when informed of this they would probably\nunbelievingly exclaim, \u201cIt is too good to be true.\u201d\n\nI am not at all surprised to hear people, who all their life-time have\nlived in the shade and gloom and sorrow of a dark, repulsive, and cruel\ntheology, say, \u201cUniversalism is too good to be true.\u201d There is such a\nvast difference between that partial, gloomy creed, and \u201cthe grace of\nGod which bringeth salvation to all men,\u201d I do not wonder they think\nthe latter too good to be true. It is certainly true, that we do not\nmerit, by any act of ours, such blessings, and are lost in wonder when\nwe reflect on the immense provisions our heavenly Father has provided\nfor us, and nothing short of the best of evidence makes us rest in\nour glorious hope. But our hope is based on a sure foundation--on the\ncharacter, purpose, and promises of God. On this divine trinity we\nfound our faith, and rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory.\n\nBut the doctrine of endless misery is too bad to be true. The theory,\nthat consigns countless millions of mankind to the wrath of God, and\nthe flames of hell, is altogether too bad to be true. Before I can\nsubscribe to such a monstrous creed, I must believe God to be the worst\nbeing in the universe--has no love, mercy, justice, goodness, but is\nthe very essence of cruelty and malignity; I must believe all this\nere I can, for a moment, harbor the thought that he can be the author\nof ceaseless suffering. But while I have reason to rejoice in his\ngoodness, I will cling to the faith the gentleman thinks is \u201ctoo good\nto be true.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\n\n  DISCUSSION IN FRANKLIN--JUSTICE OF GOD--WHAT THE GOSPEL IS?--SOCIETY\n  ORGANIZED--DISCOURSE ON TOTAL DEPRAVITY--CONVERSATION WITH A\n  PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER ON CHRISTIAN REWARDS--TALK WITH A CATHOLIC--A\n  METHODIST--A PRESBYTERIAN--A CAMPBELLITE--SALVATION--A MORMON\n  SERMON--REPLY TO IT--A JOURNEY TO LOUISVILLE AND CINCINNATI.\n\nWhile I resided in Terre Haute, I had a debate in Franklin, Ind., with\nA. L. Edmonds, on the final destiny of man. The discussion continued\nfour days. Mr. Edmonds dwelt long and emphatically on the _Justice_ of\nGod--claimed that it required the endless wretchedness of offenders. I\nreplied as follows, and he dropped that subject:\n\nIt is said that _Justice_ requires the endless suffering of some men.\nThat, although the goodness, mercy, and benevolence of the Deity may be\nin favor of the ultimate happiness of all men, yet his justice requires\nthat the wicked, who die in their sins, should be doomed to suffer\nunending torment. The system of faith into which is incorporated, as\none of its parts, the doctrine of endless punishment, suspends the\nfinal state of men upon the _condition_ they are in when they leave\nthis world. The question is not how they have _lived_, but how they\nhave _died_. This is the point--the pivot--upon which is made to turn\nthe immortal destinies of men. No matter how sinful a man may live all\nhis life--\u201cthough as wicked as Cain, and corrupt as Mary Magdalene with\nher seven devils,\u201d if he only _repent_, believe in the Lord Jesus--join\nthe church--or, in fine, \u201cget religion\u201d just before he dies, all will\nbe well with him--his reward will be heaven. While on the other hand,\nno matter how moral, upright and godly a man may live, though he may\nhave known and _obeyed_ the Scriptures from his youth up to a good old\nage, discharged all his duties as a humble and faithful Christian,\nand been the means of blessing hundreds of his fellow beings, both\ntemporally and spiritually; yet, \u201cif he fall from grace,\u201d and become a\nsinner, even but one day before his death, and die in that state, he,\npoor old man, must go to hell!\n\nThis is a briefly drawn picture of the system advocated by that class\nof men which _seem_ to be such sticklers for justice. If any should say\nsuch a system is opposed to reason, the Bible, and every principle of\njustice and rectitude, all I have to say is, I can\u2019t help it. But it is\nnevertheless a true and faithful representation, so far as it goes, of\nthe orthodox plan of salvation and _damnation_--\u201cnothing extenuated,\nnor aught set down in malice.\u201d Nor all its advocates can do, will ever\nbe sufficient, to make the system appear anything different from this\nrepresentation. Indeed, I do not think they will _try_ to do it,--they\n_believe_ and _understand_ it, as I have described it. Let it stand so\nthen, as good and wholesome Orthodoxy, while I instance a few cases\nfor illustration, that we may be the better enabled to see some of the\nmonstrosities and legitimate conclusions which must forever follow from\nthe above admitted premises.\n\n1. Charles and Henry were brothers--twin brothers; they lived together\nuntil they had attained their twentieth year, when Charles died; and\nas he had made no profession of religion, he was sentenced to endless\npains. Had Henry died at the same time, he would have shared a similar\ndoom, for he was as destitute of religion as his brother; luckily for\nhim, however, he lived until his seventieth year, during the whole of\nwhich time he was in an unconverted state, except the last six months;\nfor the last six months he had lived a pious life, and consequently was\nadmitted, after his death, to heaven.\n\n\u201cThe punishment of sin,\u201d saith my friend, \u201cdoes not take place here,\nbut is deferred until the sinner reaches the spiritual world.\u201d\nConsequently, Henry received no punishment in this world, for his long\ncareer of sinfulness; and it will not be pretended that he received it\nafter he arrived in heaven--he was therefore not punished at all. But\nhow fares it with his brother Charles? He, poor fellow, must welter\nin quenchless flames, for the crimes of his brief existence. Has God\nrendered to these twins according to justice?\n\n2. Two young men attempt the murder of a man for money, and while\nengaged in the foul deed, one of them is killed accidentally, by\nhis comrade, from the discharge of a pistol, and, of course, goes\nimmediately to hell--_to an endless hell_? The other succeeds in\nassassinating his victim--takes his money, which is sufficient to\npurchase a vessel; one is procured, and after obtaining a crew to his\nmind, he launches forth upon the \u201cgreat deep,\u201d an abandoned pirate.\nHark! do you hear those cries which float upon the night air of the\nSouth Sea? They come from a ship in distress. Hark again! those were\nthe cries of women; the young mother, and the \u201cgay guiltless\u201d maiden\nare there. The youth and the man of gray hairs--but the sounds of\nlamentation have ceased--all is over with them. The pirate ship has\nbeen there, and the unfortunate have all been doomed; for alas, they\nhad no religion. Forty years pass, and the pirate is arraigned before\na tribunal of justice--is condemned--and confesses that, besides\nthe innumerable abominations he has committed in his long life of\nwickedness, he has been accessory to the murder of four hundred\npersons! What must be done with him? hell is too good for him! Yes,\nhell is too good for him, and, of course, he must go to heaven. A few\ndays are given him--he repents--and swings from the gallows off to\nglory. There, from his exalted station of bliss, he looks down into\nthe abodes of the damned, and sees scores of immortal, wretched beings,\nsent there by his own hands. Among his unfortunate victims, he sees the\ninnocent girl of sixteen, and the gray-headed father--and there, too,\nis his first companion of crime, who fell ere he completed his first\ndeed of wickedness. Is this justice? the justice of an infinitely just\nGod? Oh mockery!\n\n3. Two men--A and B--avowed enemies, meet in the street. Each is armed\nwith a rifle, and each makes ready to dispatch his enemy. A presents\nhis gun--it snaps; the cap was out of order. In an instant B takes a\ndeadly aim, his rifle discharges, and A is a dead man. B is arrested,\ncondemned and dies; but, as in all such cases, he repented in time to\nsecure heaven, as a reward! Now if A\u2019s gun had not missed fire, he\nwould have killed B, and, of course, sent him to hell, while he might\nhave repented and gone to heaven. But he, poor fellow, must go to hell,\nmerely for the want of a good cap!\n\nThe most abandoned wretch that ever disgraced humanity, can, according\nto this bankrupt system, obtain an easy passport to heaven, by a\nfew minutes repentance just before he dies, while the moral, good,\nvirtuous, humane, yea, the faithful Christian--the laborer in the\ncause of his Master--though he hath worn out a long life in warning\nhis fellows, and inducing them to reform; though he has, according to\nOrthodoxy, been the means of converting hundreds to the belief and\npractice of the Christian religion, yet, if in an evil hour, he be\ndrawn from the path of rectitude--become a sinner, and die suddenly,\nwithout time to repent, he goes to an endless hell! Oh, what justice!\nwhat consistency! Orthodoxy, thou art _not_ a jewel!\n\nOrthodoxy may sing her siren song the world over, it will not alter\nfacts; men are punished here for their sins; and the worst of it all\nis, that these poor wretches, who have been deceived by the song, and\nthereby led into sin, still receive their punishment before they die,\nand often without knowing that it is the reward of their own doings!\nThey will charge their suffering to a cruel fate, hard fortune, or some\nother cause, not knowing that the hand of a just God is upon them! But\nwhether men believe it or not, if they do wrong, they must and will\nreceive their reward; and if their experience fails to undeceive them,\nit may serve to convince those who live after them, that there \u201cis a\nGod who judgeth in the earth,\u201d and that \u201che cannot do iniquity.\u201d\n\nI closed my last speech on the last proposition as follows: I am now\nnearly through with my part in this debate. I have presented the gospel\nto you the past four days as I truly believe it. The word _gospel_\nsignifies _good news_; and it is good news from God to man, from heaven\nto earth. It tells us,\n\n1. That God is the Father of mankind. \u201cHave we not _all_ one Father?\u201d\nAddressing Pagans in Athens, the Gentile apostle said, \u201cWe are the\noffspring of God.\u201d Jesus instructs us to pray, \u201cOur Father, who art in\nheaven.\u201d And he also teaches that our heavenly Father\u2019s love for us\nfar exceeds the earthly parent\u2019s love for his offspring. And the God\nwho inspired him and his apostles to utter such noble sentiments, hath\nsaid, \u201cThe mother may forget her child but I will not forget you.\u201d Is\nnot this good news to the sons and daughters of earth? We are passing\naway from our earthly friends, and they are daily leaving us; and is it\nnot a blessed assurance that we have an ever living and ever present\nFriend, who will never leave nor forsake us? Is not this hope good to\n_live_ by--good to _die_ by?\n\n2. This same gospel also proclaims the good news of eternal life and a\nblissful immortality for mankind. We are the children of God, created\nin his image, partake of his immortal nature; and, commencing our\nexistence in the bud of being, in the cradle of all life, are destined\nto manifest more and more the divinity of our nature, as the eternal\nages bear us onward and upward.\n\n3. And from these cardinal truths, the New Testament draws the logical\ninference, that we should love the Lord our God with all our heart,\nsoul and strength, and our fellow men as ourself. God is the Father\nof all, and his love extends to all, and hence we should be loving\nand dutiful children. We all belong to one family, are members of one\nhousehold, and hence we should be kind, forbearing, and forgiving to\neach other. This is the gospel in letter and spirit, in theory and\npractice; and nothing but this is the gospel. It is all embraced in the\nword _love_--a little word, but the length, breadth, and depth of the\nuniverse are required to express its meaning. God is love, his purpose\nis love, and love will bless his children while immortality endures.\n\nBut there is not a drop of love, nor a note of glad tidings in my\nopponent\u2019s creed. It proclaims it to be the purpose of the Almighty to\nconsign millions of mankind to regions of eternal sorrow, darkness and\ndeath; and those who may escape that dreadful doom, unless they have\nhearts of demons, will forever deplore the sad fate of their earthly\nassociates--those they were required to love as themselves. The words\nlove, goodness, mercy, justice, gospel, good news, glad tidings, should\nbe all stricken from the Bible, if Mr. Edmonds\u2019 creed is true, and\nwords that savor of fire and brimstone, should take their places. Yea,\nthe sun, moon and stars, the refreshing shower, the genial breeze,\nand productive earth, should all tell us of fire and fury, instead of\nlove, goodness and justice, if eternal woe is to be the doom of half\nof mankind. If this terrible dogma is true, it seems to me, that on\nthe blazing disc of the sun should be written in characters as black\nas midnight--_endless woe_; on the pale face of the moon, and on every\ntwinkling star--_endless woe_, that all might read their doom from\nnight to morn, from morn to night; and that every breeze that blows,\nshould scream in our ears so loud that the dead might hear--_endless\nwoe_. But thank heaven, God is love, the gospel is good news, and these\nmalignant creeds are false.\n\nA large number of clergymen of different orders attended the\ndiscussion, and they held evening meetings during the progress of the\ndebate, but all parties were silent on the subjects that were discussed\nduring the day. The disputants were kind and courteous towards each\nother, and their christian spirit pervaded the hearers of all creeds.\nA society was organized in Franklin the day after the debate closed,\nit being Sunday, and I preached in the place monthly for one year. But\nthe distance was too far for me to continue the visits, and as no one\ncould be obtained to take my place, meetings were suspended. The good\ncause has suffered all over the West for want of competent ministers\nto supply the wants of the people. If a dozen faithful pastors had\nbeen located in Indiana in those days, liberal societies would now\nhave been well organized and permanently established all over the\nstate. In Franklin, Columbus, Martinsville, Gosport, Bloomington,\nGreencastle, Ladoga, Crawfordsville, Perrysville, Covington, Lafayette,\nFort Wayne, Richmond, Madison, and in many other places where we have\nno organizations, flourishing and influential societies would now be\nestablished. But ministers could not be obtained, and hence much of the\nlabor of the missionary was of but little avail. Having a paper on my\nhands, I was obliged to travel far and near to sustain it, and could\nnot devote much time at any one place.\n\nA few days after this discussion, I delivered several sermons in\nEdinburg; and one of them was preached in the Methodist meeting-house,\nand the subject, at the request of the pastor, was \u201cTotal Depravity.\u201d\nThe following is the gist of the discourse:\n\nI will first show by the advocates of total depravity, what they mean\nby it. The \u201cPresbyterian Confession of Faith\u201d thus defines it: \u201cThe\nsinfulness of estate whereinto man fell, consisteth in the guilt\nof Adam\u2019s first sin, the want of that righteousness wherein he was\ncreated, and the corruption of his nature, whereby he is utterly\nindisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all that is spiritually\ngood, and wholly inclined to all evil, and that continually.\u201d\n\nThe \u201cShorter Catechism\u201d says: \u201cThe sinfulness of that estate whereinto\nman fell, consists in the _guilt of Adam\u2019s first sin_, the want of\noriginal righteousness, and the corruption of his whole nature.\u201d\n\nThe \u201cBaptist Philadelphia Confession\u201d tells us that \u201cOur first parents,\nby this sin, fell from their original righteousness and communion with\nGod, and we in them, whereby death came upon all, all becoming dead in\nsin, and _wholly_ defiled in all the faculties and parts of soul and\nbody.\u201d\n\nThe \u201cMethodist Discipline\u201d says: \u201cOriginal sin standeth not in the\nfollowing of Adam, (as the Pelagians do vainly talk) but it is the\ncorruption of the nature of every man, that is naturally engendered\nof the offspring of Adam, whereby man is very far gone from original\nrighteousness, and of his _own nature inclined to evil_, and that\ncontinually.\u201d\n\nJohn Calvin, in his explanation of this doctrine, says: \u201cOriginal\nsin seems to be the inheritable perverseness and corruption of our\nnature, poured abroad in _all parts of the soul_, which first makes us\ndeserving of God\u2019s wrath, and then also bringeth forth those works in\nus, called in Scripture, the works of the flesh. These two things are\ndistinctly to be noted, that is, that, being thus in all parts of our\nnature perverted and corrupted, we are now, even for such corruption,\nonly holden worthy of damnation,\u201d etc.\n\nW. W. Perkins: \u201cIn reprobate infants, the execution of God\u2019s decree is\nthis: as soon as they are born, for the guilt of original and actual\nsin, being left in God\u2019s secret judgment unto themselves, they dying\nare rejected of God forever.\u201d\n\nTwiss: \u201cEvery man that is damned, is damned for original as well as\nactual sins, and many thousand infants, _only for original_.\u201d\n\nArthur Hildersham: \u201cThere is in them (infants) a natural proneness,\ndisposition and inclination to every thing that is evil; as there is in\nthe youngest lion, or of a bear, or of a wolf, unto cruelty, or in the\negg of a cockatrice, before it is hatched. You have heard it evidently\nproved, 1. That all infants are sinners and deserve damnation. 2. That\nmany infants have been vessels of wrath and fire-brands of hell.\u201d\n\nHere we have a full, clear, perfect definition of total depravity, as\nheld by Presbyterians, Baptists and Methodists. It is here taught that\nall mankind are by _nature_, \u201cutterly indisposed, disabled, and made\nopposite to all that is good, and wholly inclined to all evil.\u201d Every\nhuman being, according to this theory, that God ever made, is \u201cwholly\ninclined to _all evil_\u201d--to lying, cheating, stealing, murdering, etc.,\netc., etc. All men, then, by nature are liars, thieves, and murderers.\nThis is the character of every infant when it is born into this world.\nMark the words, \u201cThere is in infants a natural proneness, disposition\nand inclination to _every thing that is evil_; as there is in the\nyoungest lion, or of the bear, or of the wolf, unto cruelty, or in the\negg of the cockatrice before it be hatched,\u201d and hence the writer adds,\n\u201c1. All infants are _sinners_, and deserve damnation. 2. That many\ninfants have been vessels of wrath and fire-brands of hell.\u201d\n\nIf these are correct views of human nature, for six thousand years God\nhas been creating totally depraved beings--thieves, liars, assassins,\nmurderers. God is the source whence all crime flows, for he creates\nall mankind _villains_; gives them all an \u201cinclination to all evil.\u201d\nAnd this is not the worst of it--all deserve everlasting damnation,\nbecause God created them inclined to villainy of every name and grade.\nThe definition of depravity given above, means all this, says all\nthis, and to be a true Presbyterian, Baptist, or Methodist, one must\nbelieve all this. But we ask, who really believes a word of it? Who\nbelieves that God is the monster these creeds represent? Who believes\nthat he has cursed us all with an infernal nature, and will then damn\nmillions forever and ever, for being cursed with such a nature? Where\nis the mother who really believes that her infant is totally depraved,\nwholly \u201cinclined to all evil,\u201d \u201ca fire-brand of hell,\u201d and \u201cdeserves\ndamnation?\u201d People may subscribe to such horrid notions, preach them,\nand try to defend them, but who really, heart and soul, believes them?\n\nIf mankind believed that their fellow men were totally depraved, it\nwould destroy all confidence between man and man. Who would trust a\nfellow that he believed was by nature \u201cwholly inclined to all evil?\u201d\nWho would employ such a physician, lawyer or clerk? Who would trust\nsuch a banker, or commission merchant? Who would ride on a railroad,\nor sail in a vessel, that he believed was run by such wretches? If men\nreally believed in total depravity, they would tremble with fear by day\nand by night. They would shun each other as they shun a deadly serpent.\nAnd if that dogma is true, there would be no virtue, truth, purity in\nthe world, but crime of every name and grade would reign supreme. God\nwould not be known, and a devil would be universally worshiped.\n\nAnd then what wonderful transformations, according to the creeds,\nhave sin and grace wrought in human nature. God created man perfect\nin holiness and righteousness. Human nature was then all divine; not\na spot nor a blemish in it. Every faculty of the mind was in perfect\nharmony with every other faculty. Angelic harmony reigned in the\nsoul. But the devil in the shape of an ugly serpent, in one moment,\nruined the best, the most perfect of God\u2019s works, and for the creation\nof which he had exercised his greatest skill. And how easy it was\neffected. One temptation was presented and the work was done. Why, even\nsome of those who are said to be totally depraved, and fire-brands of\nhell, often resist temptation. But mother Eve, holy and divine as she\nwas, succumbed at the first attack, and soon caused her heroic husband\nto do likewise. This one sin transformed Adam and Eve into devils, and\ncaused all their progeny down through a thousand generations to be\nborn devils, \u201cvessels of wrath,\u201d \u201cfire-brands of hell,\u201d and \u201cwholly\ninclined to all evil.\u201d Their nature became entirely changed--changed\nfrom angelic purity to total depravity. According to this theory, sin\nis far more potent than grace. One sin committed by one person, ruined\ncountless millions--unborn countless millions of mankind; but the grace\nof God in one soul sanctifies only that one soul, and perhaps not that\none permanently; he may fall from grace. One sin ruined the world, but\nall the power, wisdom, and grace of heaven will fail to redeem it.\n\nAnd then by doing so and so, it is said another change is wrought in\nour nature--we are restored to the divine likeness, to the purity and\nholiness Adam enjoyed before his fall. This theory of the change of\nman\u2019s nature from purity to depravity, and from depravity to purity,\nis all a fiction. If the nature of man can change from the divine to\nthe infernal, why not change from a man to a _horse_? The truth is, the\nnature of nothing changes from God down to the worm. Every mineral,\nplant and animal has received a definite nature, and never changes one\niota. So with men, their _nature_ is unchangeable--soul and body then\nare the same yesterday, to-day and forever. The body may be diseased\nto-day, but by proper means it may be restored to health, but its\nnature is not changed. So the mind, the soul, may be disordered, and by\nmoral means may be restored to a healthy condition, but its _nature_ is\nnot changed. I am aware that several passages of Scripture are adduced\nto sustain this terrible theology of innate total depravity, and I will\nbriefly show that they refer to nothing of the kind.\n\n1. \u201cBehold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive\nme.\u201d Psalm. li. 5. There is nothing here about total depravity, or\nabout our nature being \u201cwholly inclined to all evil.\u201d All inherit\ntendencies to evil and to good, for mankind are imperfect. We inherit\nthese tendencies, not from Adam, but from our immediate parents. Such\nbiases are _constitutional_, not down deep in man\u2019s _nature_. Besides,\nwe are not to understand these words strictly literal. David uttered\nthem in a season of great debasement. They are hyperbolical like the\nfollowing: \u201cI am poured out like water; and all my bones are out of\njoint; my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.\u201d\n\u201cAnd my bones are consumed.\u201d \u201cAll my bones shall say, Lord, who is like\nunto thee.\u201d \u201cI am a worm and not man.\u201d All this is to be understood\nfiguratively.\n\n2. \u201cWho can bring a clean thing out of an unclean thing? Not one.\u201d Job\nxiv. 4. Of course, the _moral character_ of many is unclean, but what\ndoes that prove about their _nature_? It does not intimate that any one\nis _born_ unclean.\n\n3. \u201cAnd God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth,\nand that every imagination of the thought of his heart was only evil\ncontinually.\u201d Gen. vi. 5. This simply means that the antediluvians\nwere a very wicked people; not that they were born totally depraved,\nfor in the 12th verse it is said, that \u201call flesh _had corrupted his\nway_,\u201d which it could not have done if the Creator had made \u201call flesh\u201d\ntotally corrupt at its birth. They were corrupt by practice, not by\nnature.\n\n4. \u201cThe heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately\nwicked; who can know it?\u201d Jer. xvii. 9. The prophet is speaking of the\nsin of Judah. In the first verse he says, \u201cThe sin of Judah is written\nwith a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond; it is graven upon\nthe table of their hearts, and upon the horns of your altars.\u201d It was\nnot the sin of Adam entailed upon them, it was their own sin, the sin\nof Judah. They had corrupted their hearts, had departed from virtue\u2019s\nways, and had become \u201cdesperately wicked.\u201d We see nothing here about\nbeing created totally depraved.\n\n5. \u201cThey are all gone out of the way, they are together become\nunprofitable; there are none that doeth good, no, not one.\u201d Rom. ii.\n12. This passage clearly proves that men, in the days of St. Paul,\nhad corrupted themselves, not that they were born totally corrupt.\nThey had \u201c_gone_ out of the way,\u201d not _born_ \u201cout of the way.\u201d They\nhad \u201c_become_ unprofitable,\u201d not _born_ \u201cunprofitable.\u201d \u201cTheir throat\nis an open sepulcher, their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness,\ntheir feet is swift to shed blood.\u201d Verses 12, 14, 15. Is this true\nof _infants_? We know it is not. He is not speaking then of man\u2019s\ncondition by _nature_ but by _practice_. In the preceding chapter the\napostle says, \u201cFor when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by\n_nature_ the things contained in the law, these, having not the law,\nare a law unto themselves, which shows the works of the law written _in\ntheir hearts_.\u201d Wicked as men were in those days, \u201cdeceitful\u201d as were\ntheir hearts, and \u201cdesperately wicked,\u201d the law of God was written in\ntheir hearts, and they often did by nature, proving that their nature\nwas not totally depraved, \u201cthe things contained in the law.\u201d\n\nThese are the principle passages that the advocates of total depravity\ncite to sustain their theory; but it is evident they fall far short\nof proving any thing of the kind. They prove, what all know to be\ntrue, that mankind have voluntarily corrupted themselves--some more\nand some less. None are perfect, none are totally depraved, and there\nare all grades and degrees, from the best man to the worst man. And\nas we corrupt ourselves, we can reform ourselves. Corruption and\npurity, right and wrong, evil and good, life and death, salvation and\ndamnation, heaven and hell, are set before us, and we have the ability\nto turn from the wrong and lay hold on the good. But the terrible\ntheory, that we inherit by nature, corruption, evil, death, damnation,\nand hell, from Adam, that they permeate our very nature, corrupt the\nvery springs of our life, constituting us \u201cfire-brands of hell,\u201d and\nthat nothing but a miracle by Almighty God can purify us, and save us\nfrom endless burnings, I reject as utterly false and monstrous.\n\n  \u201cThere\u2019s the marble, there\u2019s the chisel;\n     Take them, work them to thy will;\n   Thou alone must shape thy future,--\n     Heaven give thee strength and skill.\u201d\n\nWhile in Edinburg, I had some conversation with a Presbyterian minister\non religious subjects. \u201cWhy,\u201d said he, \u201cyou contend that Christians are\nrewarded in this world for their piety and virtue. I dissent from you.\nThe Bible teaches me, that Christians are crushed to earth by the cross\nthey bear. Sinners have no such burden to carry.\u201d\n\nI remarked: \u201cIt is true that the early Christians, by their enthusiasm\nin the Christian cause, often incurred the wrath of Jews and Pagans,\nand were sometimes roughly handled. But this was not done because they\nwere good men and women, but because they were deemed enemies of truth\nand righteousness--fanatics of a dangerous creed and party. The world\ndid not know that it was opposing God\u2019s noblemen, and the highest\nreligious and moral truths, hence Christ, when in the agonies of death\nfrom the hands of the unbelieving multitude, cried, \u2018Father, forgive\nthem, for they know not what they do.\u2019 The trials, hardships and\npersecutions they suffered, were incidental to the times, and are not\nthe legitimate results of a holy life.\n\n\u201cAnd here you mistake, my friend. You suppose that the suffering they\nendured are the natural sequence of a divine life. In that you greatly\nerr. The advocates of any unpopular cause, let it be good or bad, right\nor wrong, are sure to encounter opposition. Especially was this so\nin the early days of the Christian era. The nations of the earth, in\nthose times, were ignorant, intolerant, cruel, and bloody--much more\nso than at the present time. The early Christians laid hold of the\nreligious creeds of their day with a strong hand, tore them to atoms,\nand scattered them to the four winds. This was more than the adherents\nof those creeds could bear, and according to the intolerant and cruel\nspirit of the times, they pursued the enemies of their ancient faith\nwith fire and sword. The Christian cause was unpopular; the Christians\nwere an insignificant minority, and the dominant party could not brook\ntheir zeal for what they regarded to be a wretched delusion.\n\n\u201cChristianity is now popular among the civilized nations of the earth,\nand its advocates are very differently situated from what they were\neighteen hundred years ago. There is now no cross for them to bear, as\nthat term was understood in the apostolic times. Those who come nearest\nto bearing it in this country, are those who \u2018trust in the living\nGod as the savior of all men.\u2019 They are often contemptuously, cruelly\ntreated by the dominant parties; but thank God, if they are inclined\nto revive the old persecutions, they have not the power to do so. But\nthe truly good in all ages and climes, are blessed, let their outward\ncircumstances be what they may. Virtue is a divine fount, whence flows\nthe elixir of life; a tree whose fruit heals the nations. The good\nman\u2019s soul is in harmony with truth and righteousness; he lives an\nharmonious, heavenly life.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut I cannot see that there is as much difference in the happiness of\nsaints and sinners, as there is in their character. The latter seem\nto enjoy themselves quite as well as the former, and sometimes even\nbetter.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf the Bible is any authority, you are much mistaken. The wicked,\nin that book, are said to be \u2018servants,\u2019 \u2018captives,\u2019 \u2018strangers,\u2019\n\u2018foreigners,\u2019 \u2018wandering prodigals;\u2019 Christians are said to be\n\u2018children,\u2019 \u2018freemen,\u2019 \u2018fellow-citizens of the household of God,\u2019\n\u2018obedient children at home.\u2019 The wicked are represented as \u2018bearing a\nheavy burden,\u2019 \u2018weary,\u2019 \u2018condemned,\u2019 \u2018dead,\u2019 \u2018blind,\u2019 \u2018hungry,\u2019 \u2018poor,\u2019\n\u2018thirsty,\u2019 \u2018miserable;\u2019 but Christians as \u2018entering into rest,\u2019 being\n\u2018justified,\u2019 \u2018alive,\u2019 seeing \u2018the Son of righteousness,\u2019 \u2018eating the\nbread of God,\u2019 drinking \u2018the water of life,\u2019 possessing \u2018all things,\u2019\nand rejoicing \u2018in the hope of the glory of God.\u2019 The difference between\nthe two classes is clearly expressed thus: \u2018There is _no peace_ to the\nwicked\u2019--\u2018_Great peace_ have they that love thy law.\u2019\n\n\u201cTruly hath the poet said:\n\n  \u201c\u2018Heaven is not a region in the air,\n   Nor hell a gulf we know not where;\n   But heaven is where love and wisdom dwell,\n   Their absence \u2019tis that makes a hell.\n   Love absent--hatred enters in,\n   Guilt and revenge, and every sin;\n   Its smoke of torment still ascends--\n   The deathless worm that never ends,--\n   Till \u201cdeath itself shall die.\u201d\u2019\n\n\u201cThe _outer life_ of the good and bad, may be much alike, but their\n_inner life_ is vastly different. Into one the sunshine of heaven is\npoured, and perpetual summer reigns; into the other, darkness has free\naccess, and winter storms ever howl.\u201d\n\nReturning to Terre Haute on horseback, had some interesting talk with\nmy fellow travelers. The first was a Catholic.\n\n\u201cWhat shall I do to be saved?\u201d I inquired.\n\n\u201cBelieve in the Holy Catholic Church, and obey it in all things.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut cannot one be saved without being a Catholic? If one believes in\nGod, Christ, and obeys the divine law, cannot he be saved if he is not\na Catholic?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is possible he may be; but it is not safe to rest one\u2019s eternal\nall on such ground. The church is the door into heaven, and I have\nno evidence a soul can be saved without passing through that door.\nYou Protestants have great expectations of reaching heaven, but I am\nfearful most of you will land where \u2018the worm dieth not, and the fire\nis not quenched.\u2019\u201d\n\nThe landlord of the house where I dined, was a zealous Methodist. \u201cWhat\nshall I do to be saved?\u201d I asked.\n\n\u201cBelieve in the Lord Jesus.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat must one believe concerning him?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat he is the second person in the adorable trinity, and willing and\nable to save all who come to him.\u201d\n\n\u201cCannot one be saved without believing that Jesus is the second person\nin the trinity?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo. If you do not believe that, you are an infidel, and no infidel can\nbe saved.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you think Catholics can be saved?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy bar-room will hold all the Catholics who will be saved. And as for\ntheir popes, bishops and priests--I would not give a fig for their\nchance. Infidelity is bad enough, but popery is worse.\u201d\n\nIn the afternoon, I fell in company with a Presbyterian, and asked him,\n\u201cWhat I should do to be saved?\u201d\n\n\u201cBelieve in Christ.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat must I believe concerning Christ?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat he will save all he died for.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow many did he die for?\u201d\n\n\u201c\u2018Are there _few_ that be saved?\u2019 \u2018Strive to enter in at the strait\ngate, for narrow is the gate and strait is the way that leadeth to life\nand _few_ there be that find it.\u2019 These scriptures teach that only a\nsmall part of mankind are embraced in the covenant of grace.\u201d\n\nSoon after parting with this man, I fell in company with a Campbellite,\nand I asked, \u201cWhat must one do to be saved?\u201d\n\n\u201cBelieve, be baptized, and repent.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you mean that no one can be saved hereafter, without faith,\nbaptism, and repentance in this world?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have no evidence that any can.\u201d\n\nAlas! I mentally exclaimed, how selfish, contracted and partial are\nthe creeds of men. The Catholic consigns all to hell outside of his\nchurch; the Methodist sends all to perdition who do not believe that\nJesus is the eternal God; the Presbyterian condemns all to everlasting\nburnings, but the elect few; the Campbellite has no hope for any beyond\nthe grave, who do not adhere to his creed, and take water. The truth\nconcerning salvation, is all embraced in a few words. Jesus said, \u201cThou\nshalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, and strength,\nand thy neighbor as thyself.\u201d And one of his apostles testifies that\n\u201cLove is the fulfilling of the law.\u201d Whoever lives in harmony with this\nlaw is saved, let his faith be what it may, and let him belong to\nwhat party he may, or to no party. This is my faith with reference to\nsalvation, and does it not infinitely better correspond with reason,\nand the character of God, than the narrow contracted systems just\nstated by their advocates?\n\nWhere I stopped over night, I heard a Mormon deliver a discourse\nin defence of Mormonism. He was an able man, well educated; and\nhe proved as clear as mud that the Latter-Day Saints are heaven\u2019s\npeculiar favorites. Every good Mormon, when he dies, we were told, is\ntransported to one of the stars, and becomes its king, and will there\nreign over its inhabitants in regal splendor forever and ever. But\nanti-Mormons are consigned to the infernal regions of Pluto, to be his\nsubjects eternally. He also told us, that Christ would come to this\nearth personally within a few years. \u201cI expect,\u201d said he, \u201cto live to\nwitness his second advent. He will be a Mormon, and will empower us to\ndestroy the Gentiles; and when the work shall be well done, the Saints\nwill possess the land. I warn you to flee from the wrath to come;\naccept of mercy while mercy is offered you; for when Jesus comes, he\nwill shut the door, and your doom will be sealed.\u201d He pretended to be\nable to work miracles, and an old gentleman in the congregation arose\nand wished him to restore his sight. \u201cDo you believe I can?\u201d asked\nthe speaker. \u201cI will believe you can when you do the work,\u201d the old\ngentleman replied. \u201cBut do you believe _now_ that I can?\u201d \u201cNo, sir.\u201d\n\u201cThen I will not restore your sight.\u201d\n\nAs soon as he was through the crowd cried, \u201cManford! Manford! Manford!\u201d\nI begged to be excused, but the people insisted that I should pitch\ninto Mormonism, and I finally spent an hour in reviewing it, and the\ndiscourse just delivered. I commenced by remarking, that I wished to\nmake one statement, and to ask the speaker one question. Jesus told his\ndisciples on one occasion, that some of them would live to see him\ncome the second time, (Matt. xvi. 28) and he intimated to Peter that\nJohn would be living when he would come. (John xxi. 23). \u201cNow you,\u201d\naddressing the preacher, \u201ctold us, that coming has not taken place, but\nwill take place in a short time. The question I wish to ask is this:\n\n\u201cIs John _now living_?\u201d\n\n\u201cHe is,\u201d replied the Mormon.\n\n\u201cWhere is he?\u201d I inquired.\n\n\u201cUp North, somewhere. We know he is living, for we have a document\nsigned by him.\u201d\n\n\u201cWill you please show me that document.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is not in my possession; our prophet has it.\u201d\n\nI then gave the history of the rise and progress of Mormonism; exposed\nits knavery, imposture, polygamy. The Mormons present became very\nangry, and one coarse-looking fellow shook his fist in my face. That\nwas the first and last time I ever came in contact with Mormons. I was\nprobably too severe in my remarks; but I was so disgusted at the man\u2019s\ndefense of Mormonism, I gave free utterance to my indignation.\n\nSelf and Mrs. Manford journeyed to Cincinnati. We traveled in a buggy,\nand had a delightful jaunt, as the weather was pleasant, the roads\ngood, and friends plentiful--all except the last, in striking contrast\nwith the other journey we took--the bridal tour. We were absent three\nweeks, and I preached nearly every day. Attended the annual meeting of\nthe Indiana State Convention, where we met many friends from different\nportions of the state. Then proceeded to Louisville, Ky., and attended\nthe annual convocation of the Kentucky State Convention. From thence\njourneyed to Cincinnati, where I bought printing materials for the\n_Teacher_, and then returned home.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\n\n\n  MOVED TO INDIANAPOLIS--EXTENSIVE TRAVELING--HENRY WARD BEECHER--A\n  FOSSILED CALVINIST--SUPPOSED TO BE AN ORTHODOX PREACHER--DEBATE\n  IN NEW PHILADELPHIA--STRIFE BETWEEN THE NORTH AND SOUTH--THE OLD\n  CONVENTION DEAD--THE NEW CONVENTION ORGANIZED--DISCUSSION IN\n  SPRINGFIELD, ILL.--ABRAHAM LINCOLN--GOD IS LOVE--IS MERCIFUL--IS\n  JUST--IS HOLY--TRAVEL IN ILLINOIS--CONVERSATION WITH A PRESBYTERIAN\n  CLERGYMAN ON THE ORIGIN OF HELL--IN IOWA CITY, AND OTHER PLACES\n  IN IOWA--HOME AGAIN--W. J. CHAPLIN--DISCUSSION WITH BENJAMIN\n  FRANKLIN--DEBATE IN COVINGTON--DISCUSSION WITH MR. RUSSELL--PUBLISH\n  THE \u201cONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY REASONS\u201d--REVIEW OF \u201cUNIVERSALISM AGAINST\n  ITSELF\u201d--PUBLISH ANOTHER BOOK--OLIVE BRANCH DISCONTINUED--TRAVELING\n  FAR AND NEAR.\n\nIn 1846, I moved to Indianapolis, the capital of Indiana. It being\nin the center of the state, and the most important town therein, I\ndeemed it a better locality in which to publish the _Teacher_ than\nTerre Haute. It continued to be issued twice a month, Dr. J. H. Jordan\nassisting; and Mrs. Manford writing editorial, helping mail the paper,\nand keeping the books. I was often absent, but the faithful doctor\nand the \u201cbetter half\u201d always sent the _Teacher_ out regularly on its\nmission. Its circulation rapidly increased after this change of base;\nand being in the geographical center of the state, I could reach\nall parts of it with less travel than before. I still continued to\nmake the saddle my home a considerable portion of the time. Visited\nand preached annually, more or less, in nearly every county in the\nstate, and Indiana covers a large territory, being two hundred and\nfifty miles north and south, and one hundred and fifty east and west.\nI also extended my peregrinations into Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois,\nIowa and Michigan. Friends of liberal principles were every where\nmultiplying, more and more interest was taken in the good cause, and\nmy congregations were generally increasing. I was much encouraged,\nalthough my labor at home and abroad was much augmented. I often wished\nI could divide myself into a dozen parts, that I might be in as many\nplaces at once.\n\nThere were but few of the liberal faith in Indianapolis. About the time\nI moved there, B. F. Foster commenced preaching in the city, in the\nold Court House--a dirty and out of the way place. But few attended\nhis meetings, and after one year\u2019s effort to establish a congregation,\nhe returned to Madison, where he had previously resided. C. Cravens\nsubsequently made a feeble effort in the same direction, and failed.\nAfter I left, Mr. Foster returned, and resumed his labors, and has been\nsuccessful in establishing a good society.\n\nHenry Ward Beecher was pastor of one of the Presbyterian societies part\nof the time I resided there, and I found him to be a liberal and jovial\nfellow. Orthodoxy evidently did not trouble him then any more than it\ndoes now, and his hearers sometimes doubted his soundness on the \u201cfine\npoints.\u201d He would occasionally preach politics; and his sharp thrusts\nwould send his democratic church members headlong out of the house. I\nonce asked him if he believed the Creator would eternally punish us for\nthe sins of this life, and he evaded giving a direct answer.\n\nThere was another Presbyterian preacher in Indianapolis by the name of\nGurley--a fossiled Calvinist. He and Beecher subscribed to the same\ncreed, but in faith and spirit they were as far apart as the poles. I\nattended his meeting once, and he thought he would give me a hard hit.\n\u201cI will relate,\u201d said he, \u201chow a noted Universalist died. Ethan Allen,\na revolutionary soldier, was on his death bed. When well, he was loud\nin defense of Universalism. But when he came to die it failed him. His\ndaughter asked him just before he breathed his last, if she should\ncherish the faith he had taught, or that her mother had taught her.\nBelieve as your mother believes, said the dying man.\u201d I met him the\nnext day, and told him that Ethan Allen was an avowed Deist. \u201cIt is the\nsame thing,\u201d said he. \u201cIf you think so, you need not be alarmed about\nyour salvation, for all now admit that children and idiots are safe.\u201d\nThis is the same Gurley who has figured in Washington as chaplain of\nCongress.\n\nSoon after moving to Indianapolis, I had a discussion in New\nPhiladelphia, in the southern portion of Indiana. In going there,\nI stopped over night in a little village; told the landlord of the\ninn that I would speak to the people if he would give notice. As my\nhost was a Methodist, the people inferred the preacher was one of\nhis brethren. \u201cThe Lord is good unto all, and his tender mercies are\nover all his works,\u201d was my text, and I dwelt on the evidences of\nGod\u2019s goodness in nature, providence, and the Bible. I emphasized the\nconclusion, that as God is unchangeable he always will, in this world\nand the world to come, through all time and through all eternity, be\ngood unto all, and his tender mercies be ever over all his works. As\nGod is good to all, he blesses all _now_, and as he always will be good\nto all, he _ever will_ bless all mankind. I did not say that all would\nbe saved, only that God would ever bless mankind. I requested a man,\nwho I was told was a Methodist, to close the meeting. Before praying he\nremarked, \u201cMy brethren, we have heard the gospel to-night in all its\nfullness. Glory to God for such truths. They are the bread of life.\nMay we all feast on them and live forever.\u201d Another said, \u201cI bless God\nfor what we have heard this evening. I have been so near heaven, I\nhave felt like taking the shoes from my feet. Bless God for the word\nof life.\u201d I spent the night with a Methodist brother, and he doubtless\nthought I was a Methodist. I practiced no deception--told the truth\nclearly, boldly. No one questioned me concerning my denominational\nrelations, and I said nothing on that subject. The nature of the\nsoul is in harmony with truth and righteousness, and when the wisdom\nof heaven is unfolded, it is intuitively responded to by men of all\ncreeds, provided their prejudices are not aroused by offensive names,\nor by unpopular truths stated in too pointed terms. If I had told\nthe people I was a Universalist, the whole discourse would have been\npronounced heresy.\n\nAt another time, I was traveling on Sunday; coming to a meeting-house\nwhere a congregation was assembling, I dismounted, and took a seat\nwith the congregation. I knew no one, and I suppose no one knew me.\nThe expected preacher did not appear, and some one arose to dismiss\nthe assembly. I told the people I was a minister and would deliver\na discourse if they wished me to. All seemed gratified to hear a\nstranger, and I talked nearly two hours to about five hundred people. I\npursued the same course I did on the other occasion--said nothing about\nother people\u2019s faith, called what I preached the gospel. I counted\nsome twenty Universalists in the congregation; at least, I judged they\nwere such from expressions of their countenances when I came out were\npretty clear on Universalist ground. I spent the rest of the day with a\nPresbyterian deacon, and he evidently did not suspect I was a heretic.\n\nThe discussion in New Philadelphia continued two days. My opponent was\na Presbyterian minister. We had some skirmishing before the regular\nbattle commenced. I delivered a discourse on Saturday evening, and he\nreplied. He spoke on Sunday morning, and I replied in the afternoon.\nMonday and Tuesday we met face to face, and discussed six hours each\nday, when he retreating left me in possession of the field. The\ndiscussion caused much excitement, for the liberal faith was unknown\nto most of the people--they had no idea that any thing could be said in\nits favor. One man offered to bet his farm that I would not be able to\nmake a second speech. A good society could have been established there,\nbut no minister could be obtained.\n\nThe strife between the Northern and Southern people, which ultimated\nin the late rebellion, disturbed the Universalist denomination in\nIndiana long before the war commenced. The contention though was not\nabout slavery, but grew out of the antagonism between people from those\ntwo sections of country. Southern and Central Indiana was settled\nchiefly by emigrants from the South, and unfortunately they cherished\nprejudices against the Yankees. The Indiana State Convention would\nnot join the United States Convention, because it was controlled by\nNorthern people. Jonathan Kidwell, who had long been preaching in\nthe West, resided in Indiana, was from Kentucky. In his younger days\nhe was a Methodist minister; then a New Light; and finally became\na Universalist. He possessed much intellectual power, and was well\nread on many subjects, although not versed in the technicalities of\nknowledge. He had long resided in Indiana, and was well known. Some\nforty years ago, he had a discussion in Indianapolis with a Methodist\nminister. It was published by Mr. K., and widely circulated. He had\nbeen editor of the _Star in the West_, and while I resided in Indiana,\nhe published a monthly magazine, called the _Philometh Encyclopedi\u00e6_.\nHe was, as remarked, from Kentucky, pro-slavery, and had but little\nlove for Yankees.\n\nSoon after I settled in Lafayette, he commenced a war on Eastern\npreachers, calling them \u201csilk-stocking gentry,\u201d sent out West to\nenlighten the heathen. He complimented me by calling me a \u201cTexan\nranger,\u201d \u201ca conspirator,\u201d and a \u201clittle bishop.\u201d Many of the\nUniversalists in the state were anxious to be connected with the\nUnited States Convention, but Mr. Kidwell and his friends always\nopposed such union. This difference disturbed the harmony of some of\nour associational and conventional meetings, and did much mischief in\nthe state generally. I was young, and doubtless indiscreet in some\nstatements I published in the _Teacher_, but Mr. K. was very coarse\nand abusive in his attacks. The State Convention met in Terre Haute\nwhile I resided there, and one of Mr. Kidwell\u2019s friends reported that\nhe had _fifty charges_ against me, which he intended to lay before the\ncouncil. When motion was made to adjourn, I stated what I had heard,\nand demanded a presentation of the charges threatened. This brought\nG. C. McCune to his feet, and some one proposed the matter be left to\nsix persons, each party choosing three, and their decision with regard\nto the charges be final. Both parties consented. I selected my men,\nbut the other party did nothing. The year after, the Convention met in\nDublin; one of Mr. K.\u2019s friends proposed that I be disfellowshiped on\nthe ground that I pretended to have received a Letter of Fellowship in\nthe East when I had not, and was therefore an impostor. The resolution\nwas laid on the table. I then came out with a long article in the\n_Teacher_ about my troubles in Indiana, and Mr. Kidwell made that\narticle the basis of charges which he presented to the Convention the\nnext year. It met that year in Laconia, in the extreme southern portion\nof the state, and the council was composed chiefly of delegates from\nsome dead societies in that locality. The result was as I expected,\nand rather hoped would be--the council voted me guilty of the charges.\nBut that act killed the Convention. The White River, Wabash and Upper\nWabash Associations immediately withdrew from it, and in a few months a\nnew Convention was organized in my parlor in Indianapolis, and it soon\njoined the United States Convention. The old Convention met once or\ntwice and then died; and about the same time Mr. Kidwell departed this\nlife, full of years; and soon after, his printing office, which was\nthen run by E. M. Knapp, was destroyed by fire. After the new order of\nthings was inaugurated, peace and harmony reigned in our councils, and\nthe good cause was more prosperous.\n\nLiberal sentiments were making some progress in central Illinois, and I\nwas invited to visit that region and hold a discussion in Springfield\nwith a Methodist preacher. I had never been in that portion of the\nstate, and it was a long journey there, for there was no railroad\nconnecting those two capitals in those days. In going to Springfield, I\nstopped at Mt. Pulaski, Ill., and delivered several discourses. It is\non a high mound, in the midst of vast prairies--a beautiful situation.\nHere I met, for the first time, D. P. Bunn, who resided in the place\nand preached there, and in the region all around. He still lives in\na neighboring town, Decatur, and is yet faithfully discharging his\nministerial duties. He is an excellent man, a faithful minister, and\ndear friend. He has labored long and hard in the moral field, and God\nhas blessed him and his labors. Mr. Bunn accompanied me to Springfield.\nArriving there, I found that the preacher who had agreed to debate with\nme, was not inclined to keep his promise, and Mr. Lewis, the most noted\ncontroversalist in that section, was chosen to take his place. He was a\nMethodist minister of much ability, and very zealous in his cause. He\nhad recently had a discussion with Mr. Bunn, and was pretty well posted\nconcerning Universalism. We debated four days in the Representatives\u2019\nHall of the capitol, in the presence of vast assemblies. The discussion\nproduced much excitement in Springfield, and all parties attended it.\nI remember seeing Mr. Lincoln there punctually every day and every\nnight. He often nodded his head to me when I made a strong point.\nLittle did I think, or he think, what was to be his future position and\nhistory.\n\nIn my first speech, I offered some arguments in favor of the\nrestitution of all things. God is love. The Bible says, \u201cGod is love;\u201d\nand all God\u2019s works say, he is love.\n\n  \u201cCould we with ink the ocean fill,\n     And were the skies of parchments made,\n   Were every blade of grass a quill,\n     And every man a scribe by trade;\n   To write the love of God above\n     Would drain the ocean dry,\n   Nor could the scroll contain the whole\n     Though stretch\u2019d from sky to sky.\u201d\n\nAs love is the moral nature of God, well might the great Gentile\napostle exclaim, \u201cI am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor\nangels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things\nto come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other thing, shall separate us\nfrom the love of God, which is manifested in Christ Jesus our Lord.\u201d\nRom. viii. 38, 39. Can love so broad, so deep, so high, so vast, so\nenduring, so mighty, consign countless millions of its creations to\ninterminable agony? Can an ocean of love be the source of an ocean of\nwoe? Can the best tree bear the worst fruit? Can the purest fountain\nemit the most deadly poison? As God is love, while man exists, he\nmust be his friend, his benefactor, his savior. All creeds say God\nis love. The old Pagans extolled Jupiter, called him the great, the\nmagnificent, the glorious Jupiter, but according to their mythology,\nhe was a beastly monster. So modern theologies say God is love, but\nthey attribute to him passions and deeds the devil might envy. God\nis love, and all his purposes, and all his works perfectly harmonize\nwith infinite love. Universal blessedness is the sequence of the\nproposition--God is love.\n\nAs God is love, he is just--just in all his purposes, in all his works.\nWould it be just to force into existence man or angel, knowing that\nexistence would prove an endless curse? Force man into this world,\nforce him through this world, force him into the grave, force him into\nthe spirit-world, force him into an endless hell! That is the programme\nof heaven, concerning millions of mankind, according to popular creeds.\nMan is the victim of all this, if Mr. Lewis is right. Is there any\njustice in this? The whole scheme is black with crime, and reeking\nwith vengeance, as it culminates in the ruin of the universe. Justice\ndoes no such work. Justice is universal right, and it labors to bring\nabout right; and justice will not be satisfied till all mankind are\n_right_--right in character, in condition, in life. Universal salvation\nis the sequence of the proposition--God is just.\n\nGod is merciful. Mercy is only another manifestation of love, and leads\nto the same result. The Bible says much about the mercy of God--he is\nof \u201cgreat mercy,\u201d \u201cplenteous in mercy,\u201d \u201crich in mercy.\u201d His mercy is\nsaid to be universal--\u201chis tender mercies are over all his works.\u201d His\nmercy is everlasting--\u201cthe mercy of the Lord endureth forever.\u201d The\nmercy of the Lord then is great, universal and everlasting. It is by\nthe mercy of God we are now blessed; as his mercy is universal, there\nis no place in the universe where his mercy will not reach us; and as\nit is eternal, the time will never come when he will not bless us.\nUniversal blessedness then, is the sequence of the proposition--God is\nmerciful.\n\nGod is holy. Holiness is a characteristic of love. Holiness delights\nin holiness, in purity, in happiness. Good men are holy in a finite\ndegree, and they pray, and plan, and labor, to extend holiness. God\nis holy in an infinite degree, and he purposes universal holiness.\nWill he then ever place any of us where we cannot be holy, but must\nlie down in depravity, in corruption, in sin, forever and ever? Mr.\nLewis affirms that he will thus dispose of millions of mankind. But\nthat is impossible, as God is a holy being. Here is a man; and because\nhis children are disobedient, he digs a dungeon, chains them in its\ndarkness, feeds them on bread and water; but this is not enough; he\nenters that dungeon morning, noon and evening, and beats them half to\ndeath. He continues this barbarous treatment for days, weeks, months,\nyears, yea, as long as they live. Would you call that the work of\nholiness? God, it is said, will deal infinitely worse than that inhuman\nwretch.\n\n  \u201cFar in the deep where darkness dwells,\n     A land of horror and despair,\n   Justice has built a dismal hell,\n     And laid her store of vengeance there.\u201d\n\nInto this infernal dungeon, we are told, the Creator will thrust\ncountless millions of mankind, swing the door upon them, and there\nthey must remain the helpless victims of every vile passion, not for a\nday, but to all eternity; all grace, mercy, love, withdrawn from them;\ndeprived of all opportunity, of all power, all means to reform their\nlives, and doomed by the holy God to be unholy through the eternal\nages. Say not this is the work of holiness; say not the holy God will\ndo what would be so unholy, so diabolical. As long as God is holy he\nwill seek the holiness of his creatures, and as he is infinitely and\neverlastingly holy, in all places and in all times he will seek man\u2019s\nholiness and happiness. Universal salvation is the sequence of the\nproposition--God is holy.\n\nI spoke on Sunday after the discussion closed, in the Hall, and the\nspacious room was crowded to its full capacity. Mr. Bunn afterwards\nlabored in Springfield, then L. C. Marvin and J. Marvin, his brother;\nthen A. Bosserman, and at the present time, H. R. Nye is the pastor\nof the society. Our friends have a good meeting-house, and liberal\nprinciples have a strong hold in the capital of Illinois.\n\nI journeyed to Alton, passing through Carlinville, Brighton, over the\nprairie where Girard and Virden now stand. There was nothing there\nthen but wild prairie. From Alton I proceeded to Jerseyville, a small\nburg then, but now a beautiful town, and delivered my message. Thence\nto Exeter, Naples, and on to Macomb, through Rushville. In all these\nplaces I spoke to the people. In Macomb we now have an excellent\nsociety and a fine meeting-house. Have often lectured there since my\nfirst visit. Had some talk here with a Presbyterian clergyman by the\nname of Chase, I think.\n\n\u201cYou do not believe in hell; but that is as clearly revealed as heaven.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are mistaken. I do believe in the hell the Bible speaks of, and\nwhich wicked men experience. But I have no faith in the hell of human\ncreeds. God never revealed it; it was developed from the darkness of\nPaganism.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou cannot prove that.\u201d\n\n\u201cI think I can. Nearly all learned men of all denominations admit, that\nthe Old Testament does not reveal an endless hell. But from Moses to\nChrist the Pagans believed in it. As heaven had not revealed such a\nplace, the vain imaginations of men were the father and mother of it.\nHesiod, a Greek poet, who lived eight hundred years before Christ tells\nus, that hell is so far from heaven, that it would take a mass of iron\neighteen days to fall from the latter to the former place. The gate of\nhell was supposed to be guarded by a dog having fifty heads, and to\nmake escape impossible, the horrid place was surrounded by a river of\nfire, called Phlegethon. Virgil, another Heathen poet says:\n\n  \u201c\u2018Here rolls the roaring, flaming tide of hell,\n   And thundering rocks the fiery torrent swell.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe punishment of hell is thus described by the same writer:\n\n  \u201c\u2018Here sits in bloody robes the Fury fell,\n   By night and day to watch the gates of hell.\n   Here you begin terrific groans to hear,\n   And sounding lashes rise upon the ear.\n   On every side the damned their fetters grate,\n   And curse, \u2019mid clanking chains, their wretched fate.\u2019\n\n\u201cOne sinner is bound to a wheel of fire on which he must revolve\neternally. Another is tortured with endless hunger and thirst; he is in\na lake of pure water up to his chin, with the most delicious fruit a\nfew inches from him, but he cannot get a drop of water nor a particle\nof food into his mouth. Danaus\u2019 forty-nine daughters, for murdering\ntheir husbands, were doomed to fill a leaky tub with water, drawn\nfrom a well with a sieve. Another victim of the gods was chained to a\nrock, and vultures fed on his heart and entrails, which grew as fast\nas devoured. Virgil, also thus enlightens us concerning some of the\ninhabitants of hell:\n\n  \u201c\u2018At hell\u2019s dread mouth a thousand monsters wait;--\n   _Grief_ weeps, and _Vengeance_ bellows in the gate;\n   Base _Want_, low _Fear_, and _Famine\u2019s_ lawless rage,\n   And pale _Disease_, and slow, repining _Age_;\n   Fierce, formidable _Fiends_ the portals keep,\n   With _Pain_, _Toil_, _Death_, and Death\u2019s half-brother, _Sleep_.\n   There Joys, embittered by _Remorse_, appear,\n   Daughter of _Guilt_; here storms destructive _War_.\n   Mad _Discord_ there her snaky tresses tore;\n   Here stretched on iron beds the _Furies_ roar;\n   And close by _Lerna\u2019s_ hissing monster stands\n   _Briareus_ dreadful with a hundred hands;\n   There stern _Geryon_ raged; and all around\n   Fierce _Harpies_ screamed, and direful _Gorgons_ frowned.\u2019\n\n\u201cThis, sir, was the Pagan hell--believed by Pagans, preached by Pagan\npriests, hundreds of years before Jesus Christ brought a future life\nto light. Did he teach an endless hell? If so, he taught Paganism,\nnot the wisdom of God. Have I not proved that the dogma of endless\npunishment originated in Heathen darkness? You admit that it is not\ntaught in the Old Testament; that the Jews did not believe in it in\nthe days of Moses or the prophets. But the Pagans did believe in it\nin those days, therefore it was not revealed from heaven, but was the\nproduct of their own deformed minds.\u201d\n\n\u201cChristians do not believe in the Pagan hell, but in the Christian\nhell; the Pagans corrupted the truth.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe hell of modern creeds is as horrible as the hell of Paganism. I\nwill give you some description of hell by Christian authors, and you\nwill admit that I am correct. Rev. Isaac Ambrose, an English divine,\nand a man of great talent, contends that the Heathen did not represent\nhell bad enough. Alluding to the Pagan poets just quoted, he says:\n\n\u201c\u2018Let poets feign of Tantalus\u2019s tortures, Prometheus\u2019s vultures,\nIxion\u2019s wheels, and Charon\u2019s rowing; these are far short to express\nthe pains of those that rage in hell. There plagues have no ease,\ncries have no help, time has no end, place no redemption. It is the\ndark prison where the Tares [the damned] are chained, and the wicked\nbound in fetters of fire and darkness. Are there not wonderful engines,\nsharp and sure instruments of revenge? fiery brimstone, pitchy sulpher,\nred-hot chains, flaming whips, scorching darkness? Will you any more?\nThe worm is immortal, cold intolerable, stench unendurable, fire\nunquenchable, darkness palpable.... What music affords the place but\nroaring and crying and howling? Cursing is their hymns, wailing their\ntunes, blasphemies their ditties, tears their notes, lamentations their\nsongs, screeching their strains; these are their morning and evening\nsongs. What mean these chains and whips, and links and scourges? iron\nchains, whips of steel, fiery links, knotty scourges. Furies shake\ntheir bolts to frighten souls; the irons strike through their ears,\nand the hooked engines tear out their bowels, as if the torment of the\ndamned were the delight of devils.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Oh, what a bed is this for delicate and dainty persons; no feathers,\nbut fire; no friends, but furies; no ease, but fetters; no light,\nbut smoke; no clock nor chimes to pass away the night, but timeless\neternity. A fire, intolerable; a fire, burning, never dying! Oh,\nimmortal pains!... What torment, what calamity can be compared to the\nshadow of this? The wicked shall be crowded together like brick in a\nfiery furnace. There is no servant to fan cold air on their tormented\nparts--not so much as the chink where the least puff of wind might\nenter to cool them.\u2019\n\n\u201cAnother Orthodox poet waxes eloquent in describing the infernal\nregions:\n\n  \u201c\u2018Pale phantoms, hideous specters, shapes which scare\n   The damned themselves, and terrify despair,\n   Gorgons and harpies, and chimeras dire,\n   And swarms of hissing serpents, hissing fire.\u2019\n\n\u201cDr. Trapp thus writes of the rivers of hell and their fiery tide:\n\n  \u201c\u2018Fires spout in cataracts, or in furies flow--\n   In bubbling eddies roll the fiery tide,\n   And sulphurous surges on each other ride.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe Orthodox Pollock gives this idea of hell:\n\n  \u201c\u2018Wide was the place,\n   And deep as wide, and ruinous as deep.\n   Beneath, I saw a lake of burning fire,\n   With tempest tost perpetually, and still,\n   The waves of fiery darkness \u2019gainst the rocks\n   Of dark damnation broke, and music made\n   Of melancholy sort, and over head,\n   And all around, wind wared with wind, storm howled\n   To storm, and lightning, forked lightning, crossed,\n   Of sullen wrath.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe Pagan account of hell is tame compared to the Orthodox\nrepresentation of it. A Methodist elder, a short time since, in\nLafayette, Ind., told his hearers, that hell was so hot, that if a soul\nwas taken out of it and put into a red hot smelting furnace, he would\nfreeze to death in five minutes.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will not talk with you; for you are making sport of a very serious\nsubject.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am merely relating the common view of hell, as it is preached all\nover the land.\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not believe in such a hell; neither do I preach it. The wicked\nwill be banished from the presence of God, there to remain forever.\u201d\n\n\u201cMake hell as mild as you please; put out all its fires, throw away all\nits brimstone, chains and pitchforks, and say, it is only a _condition_\nof sin, darkness, mental anguish, and moral death, and it then is awful\nbeyond imagination. Fire, red hot wheels, boiling lead, as means of\ntorture, give only a faint conception of the horrors of such a state,\nif it is to continue forever. As John Wesley said, \u2018What is gained if\nthere is no material fire in hell, when _all admit_, that if there is\nno material fire there, there is _something worse_.\u2019\u201d\n\nFrom Macomb I proceeded to Burlington, Iowa, and thence to Iowa\nCity. Here I lectured several times. I. M. Westfall was residing and\npreaching there. It was then a small town, but now it is a large and\nflourishing place. Our society owns a meeting-house, and other valuable\nproperty.\n\nLectured in West Liberty, Tipton, Rochester, Muscatine, Washington,\nDavenport, and some other places in Iowa, and then returned to\nIndianapolis by the most direct route. This was a long and laborious\njourney; traveled about one thousand miles, and delivered many\ndiscourses, one third of which were in places where the people were\nentirely ignorant of our faith, and in the rest they knew but very\nlittle concerning it.\n\nA short time before the new Convention was organized, I was in North\nManchester, in the northern part of Indiana, where a youth introduced\nhimself to me, as William J. Chaplin, and said he had walked fifteen\nmiles to attend my meeting. He also stated that he was studying\ntheology, and intended to be a minister. I encouraged him in his\npurpose, and shortly afterwards he delivered his first sermon. He\nhas been in the ministry ever since, and has labored extensively,\nfaithfully, and effectually, in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Illinois.\nAt the present time he resides at Dowagiac, Mich., and devotes most of\nhis time to the profession of his choice.\n\nAbout this time I had an oral discussion with Benjamin Franklin, on\nthree subjects--The General Judgment--Universal Salvation--Endless\nMisery. We discussed each proposition six hours. The debate was\npublished by both parties, and makes a book of three hundred and\nfifty-nine pages. It has had a wide circulation--three edition having\nbeen issued. Mr. Franklin is, for he is still living, an influential\nminister, editor and author, in his denomination. He has resided in\nCincinnati many years, and publishes a large weekly religious paper in\nthat city.\n\nI also had a debate in Covington, Ind., with Mr. French, a Baptist\nclergyman, which continued four days. He was pastor of the Baptist\nchurch in that place, and his people had immense faith in his ability\nto demolish the doctrines of the Restitution. But he labored under\na great disadvantage, as he could not extemporize; and how he wrote\nhis speeches was a mystery to me; he must have worked hard during the\nintermissions. But his labor and wit did not save him. His friends\nwere disappointed with his effort, and he soon after left Covington.\nThe discussion was held in the Baptist meeting-house, and very large\ncongregations listened to the arguments, _pro_ and _con_.\n\nSoon after this, I spent four days in discussion in Park county, Ind.,\nwith Mr. Russell, a Campbellite minister. The neighborhood was chiefly\nof the preacher\u2019s faith; I put up with one of his brethren while the\ndebate was progressing. They all treated me kindly, and we parted in\nfriendship. Mr. R. now resides in Iowa, and is a noted man in his\ndenomination.\n\nIn the midst of this arduous labor, I wrote and published the \u201cOne\nHundred and Fifty Reasons for Believing in the Salvation of Mankind,\u201d\nabout twenty thousand copies of which has been distributed, and I think\nit has done a good work.\n\nAlexander Hall, of Ohio, published a book, denominated \u201cUniversalism\nAgainst Itself,\u201d which was extensively circulated in the West. He\nhas since turned infidel, and says he wrote the book to please the\nOrthodox; he was probably an infidel when he wrote it. But his\nhypocrisy not then being known, and as the book might deceive some of\nits readers, I employed Dr. Jordan to answer it in the _Teacher_. His\nreview occupied a portion of the _Teacher_ for one year, and when it\nwas finished, it was published in book form, making a volume of nearly\nfour hundred pages. An edition of two thousand copies has been sold.\nIt is a strong and vigorous work, and completely answers most of the\nobjections urged in all quarters against the Universalist construction\nof the Bible.\n\nI also published a little book of two hundred pages, called \u201cTruth\n_vs._ Error,\u201d composed of selections from some of our best writers. One\nthousand copies of it were distributed.\n\nIn 1848, I commenced issuing the paper weekly, calling it the _Western\nOlive Branch_. Soon after, I unwisely moved it to Cincinnati, hoping\nit would have a more general circulation if it was published in the\n\u201cQueen City\u201d of the West. But unfortunately, I had a partner, H. Torry,\nwho proved to be a dead weight on my hands, and to throw him off I had\nto dispose of the paper, which I did, to J. A. Gurley, and he connected\nit with the _Star in the West_. After this brief partnership of a few\nmonths, resulting thus disastrously, I returned to Indianapolis, and\ndevoted all my time and attention to preaching. When this transfer was\nmade, the circulation of the _Olive Branch_ was thirty-three hundred,\nand it had been published nearly nine years. I was sorry to give it up,\nbut deemed it best to do so under the circumstances.\n\nThe succeeding eighteen months, I was from home most of the time,\ntraveling in Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio, preaching\nwherever I could have a hearing. On horseback I went from Cincinnati to\nLake Erie, and from Lake Erie to Cincinnati; lectured in Springfield,\nDayton, Columbus, Upper Sandusky, and in many other places. I also\njourneyed west as far as St. Louis, and northwest to Iowa City.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\n\n\n  CONCLUDED TO GO TO ST. LOUIS--COMMENCED THE GOLDEN ERA--ASSOCIATION\n  IN CRAWFORDSVILLE--DEBATE IN DAYTON--MAN IN GOD\u2019S IMAGE--GOD THE\n  FATHER OF ALL--MAN IMMORTAL--MAN A SPIRIT--HIGH WATERS--IN ST.\n  LOUIS--WHY MOVED TO ST. LOUIS--BUT FEW FRIENDS--FIRST JOURNEY IN\n  MISSOURI--WET, HUNGRY, OUT IN THE COLD--IN TROY--IN ASHLY--FOUR\n  BROTHERS--IN LOUISIANA--OPPOSITION IN LONDON--IN HANNIBAL--GOOD\n  FRIENDS--QUESTIONED IN PALMYRA ABOUT SLAVERY--CONVERSATION\n  ON JUDGMENT--IN MEMPHIS--QUESTIONED--A PRESBYTERIAN PREACHER\n  REPLIED--WAS TO DEBATE IN NEWARK--COVERED WITH ICE--MISSOURI\n  RIVER--DISCUSSION IN GEORGETOWN--IN SOUTHERN MISSOURI--QUESTIONED IN\n  WARSAW--IN JEFFERSON CITY--HARD WORK IN DANVILLE--RETURNED TO ST.\n  LOUIS.\n\nHaving disposed of the paper I had published for several years,\nI resolved to move to St. Louis, and establish one in that city.\nAccordingly, in the fall of 1850, I went to St. Louis and issued the\nfirst number of a magazine of twenty-four pages, called the _Golden\nEra_. I proposed publishing it monthly, at one dollar per year.\nReturning to Indianapolis, I remained there till the succeeding spring,\nand then left that place for the new home on the banks of the \u201cFather\nof Waters.\u201d We, that is, Mrs. Manford, baby Mae, and self, with horse\nand carriage, proceeded to Crawfordsville, Ind., where we attended the\nannual meeting of the Upper Wabash Association. Dr. I. D. Williamson\nwas present, and all were much edified with two or three excellent\ndiscourses by that gifted clergyman. Josiah Davis was then residing and\npreaching in Crawfordsville. For many years he was a prominent minister\nof the United Brethren Church; but his faith had gradually enlarged,\nand for three years previous to this date, he had been an ardent\ndefender of the doctrines of the Restitution.\n\nProceeded to Dayton, and there spent four days in discussion with Mr.\nRussell--the same man I had previously debated with in Park county.\nOne of his propositions affirmed that the \u201cwicked will be destroyed,\u201d\nand by that he meant, _annihilated_, soul and body. \u201cMan,\u201d he said,\n\u201cby nature is all mortal; and immortality is only conferred in the\nresurrection on those who are regenerated in this world.\u201d I combatted\nthis materialistic position thus:\n\nAs I read the Bible, man is a child of God, created in his image, and\nis therefore a spirit, endowed with an immortal nature. The account we\nhave of the creation of our race runs thus: \u201cAnd God said, Let us make\nman in our _image_, after our _likeness_.... So God created man in his\nown _image_, in the _image_ of God created he him.\u201d Gen. i. 26, 27. \u201cIn\nthe day that God created man, in the _likeness_ of God made he him.\u201d\nGen. v. 1. It is also said, \u201cWhoso sheddeth man\u2019s blood, by man shall\nhis blood be shed; for in the _image_ of God made he man.\u201d Gen. ix. 6.\nIn the first book of the Bible, then, it is repeated four times, that\nman was created in the image of God. Some tell us, that image was lost\nin Adam, and that all his posterity have been created in the _image_\nof the infernal, but this is not the theology of the New Testament.\nThe apostle Paul says, \u201cForasmuch as man IS the _image_ and _glory_\nof God.\u201d 1 Cor. ii. 7. And another apostle testifies to the same,\n\u201cTherewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men,\nwhich ARE _made_ in the _similitude_ (or image) of God.\u201d James iii. 9.\nWe may then safely affirm, that mankind from the morning of creation\nto the present time, have been created in the _image_ and _glory_ of\nGod. The fish of the sea, the fowls of the air, the beasts of the\nforest, were all created--but not in the image of God. Man only is thus\ndistinguished.\n\nThe record cannot mean, that the _body_ is in the image of God, for\nGod is a spirit. The body rather is in the image of the _earthy_. \u201cAnd\nas we have borne the image of the _earthy_.\u201d 1 Cor. xv. 49. But the\nbody is not the whole of man. There is a thinking, reasoning, willing,\npropelling power within this physical organism. It is designated by\nvarious names in the Bible. It is called a \u201cspirit,\u201d the \u201cinward man,\u201d\n\u201cthe mind.\u201d It is doubtless this inward man that is created in the\nimage and glory of God.\n\nAs we have seen, the apostle asserts, that the outer man, the body,\nis in the image of the earthy. What does he mean? Doubtless that all\nthe elements, laws, forces, of the physical universe are represented,\nimaged in man\u2019s physical form; hence, wise men in ancient and modern\ntimes have regarded man physically as an epitome, microcosm of the\nouter universe. It is then the _inward man_, the _spirit_, that is in\nthe image and glory of God, and consequently all the elements of the\nGreat Spirit are represented, imaged in man\u2019s spiritual organism, but\nin a finite degree. God is a spirit, an immortal spirit, a being of\ninfinite wisdom, love and power. Man\u2019s spirit being in his image, and\npartaking of his glory, must possess all these qualities, but in a\nfinite degree. He is a finite spirit, a spark from the central sun, and\npartakes of the immortality, wisdom, love and power of God.\n\nThe objector has said, \u201cI know man has a body for I see it; but I\ndo not see the spirit you talk about, and cannot believe it has an\nexistence.\u201d Do you not see that this statement lands you in Atheism?\nYou believe there is a physical universe for you can see it, or at\nleast, part of it. But you cannot see God, therefore, according to\nyour reasoning, there is no God. The apostle Paul did not reason in\nthis unphilosophical manner. He said, \u201cThe things that are _seen_ are\n_temporal_; the things that are _unseen_ are _eternal_.\u201d As God is an\ninvisible spirit, and the inward man is in his image, of course it\nmust be invisible to mortal eyes.\n\nThe truth is, all the controlling forces of the universe are as\ninvisible to our material vision, as are God and the spirits which are\nin his image. The laws of gravity, of repulsion, of cohesion, are all\ninvisible; but they are at work in all things, from a pebble to the\nsun. We cannot see them, but we experience their effects every moment\nof our existence. We cannot see electricity, but we behold it rend the\nmountain oak, and melt the hardest metal; we cannot see the atmosphere,\nbut we behold it prostrate the forest, and dash to atoms the work of\nman; we cannot see steam, but we see its effect--it drives the heavy\ntrain on its iron track, and propels the giant ship across the ocean\nagainst wind and tide. So we cannot see God, only as we behold him in\nall his works.\n\n  \u201cGod hath a being, and that we may see\n   In the fold of the flower, the leaf of the tree;\n   In the sun of the noon-day, the star of the night,\n   In the storm-cloud of darkness, the rainbow of light,\n   In the waves of the ocean, the furrow of land,\n   In the mountain of granite, the atom of sand;\n   Turn where we may, from the sky to the sod,\n   Where can we gaze that we see not a God?\u201d\n\nWe cannot see the spirit that inhabits this mortal body, but we can\nbehold its work. It builds up and controls the body; gives strength to\nthe muscles, vigor to the hand, brightness to the eye, manliness to the\nform, and genius to the brain. It constructs our railroads, steamships,\nand performs all the works of art. It employs human bone and muscle;\nbut they are only its servants; the indwelling spirit plans all,\nexecutes all. What the spirit is to the body, God is to the universe. I\ncan as easily comprehend the Great Spirit as I can my own spirit; I can\nas easily understand how God can be present in the whole universe, as\nI can understand how my spirit can be present in the whole body. Take\nthe spirit from the body and the body dies; take God from the universe\nand the universe would die--become an immense corpse. When we know our\nspirit, we know God; when we know our body, we have a philosophy of\nthe universe. Man, then, is godlike in his nature; he is a spirit, has\nthe attributes of a spirit, one of which is _immortality_. If God is\nimmortal, man is, as he is in the image of God. I see no way to avoid\nthe conclusion, if the premise is admitted, and if we deny that, we\ndiscard the plain teachings of the Bible.\n\nWhat has been said concerning man being in his nature in the divine\nimage, is confirmed by the scriptural testimony, that God is the\n_Father_ of mankind. \u201cHave we not all one Father?\u201d Mal. ii. 10. \u201cFor\nto us there is but one God the Father.\u201d 1 Cor. viii. 6. \u201cOne God and\nFather of all.\u201d Eph. iv. 6. Jesus instructs us to pray, \u201cOur Father who\nart in heaven.\u201d \u201cO God, the God of the spirits of all flesh.\u201d Num. xvi.\n22. This is repeated (Num. xxvii. 16) and the apostle Paul (Heb. xii.\n9) quoting it substitutes \u201c_Father_ of spirits\u201d for \u201cGod of spirits.\u201d\nAs God is the Father of mankind, we are his children--his offspring,\nhence the declaration, \u201cInasmuch as we are the offspring of God.\u201d Acts\nxvii. 29. Children always partake of the nature of their parents.\nAs God is the \u201cFather of spirits,\u201d we must partake of his spiritual\nnature--be in his immortal image. This body is of mother-earth and\npartakes of earth\u2019s perishable nature; the spirit is of Father-God, and\npartakes of his immortal nature. And when death severs the connecting\nlink between body and spirit, the earthy returns to the earth whence it\ncame, and the spirit to God whence it came.\n\nIf these premises are correct--if the spirit of man is in the image of\nGod, if God is the \u201cFather of spirits,\u201d it follows that man, with other\nrich endowments, is blessed with an immortal nature, and Mr. Russell\u2019s\nposition, that man is _all_ mortal is incorrect. This heaven-endowed\nspirit is often spoken of in the Bible. When man was created, it is\nsaid that God breathed into his body, and he became a \u201c_living soul_.\u201d\nWe are also told that he formeth the _spirit_ of man within him; (Zech.\nxii. 1) that \u201cthe body without the _spirit_ is dead.\u201d We read of \u201cthe\n_spirits_ in prison;\u201d Jesus on the cross gave up his _spirit_ to God,\ncommitted his _spirit_ to God; when he appeared to his disciples they\nthought they saw a _spirit_; but he told them that a _spirit_ hath\nneither flesh nor bones. We are informed that the Sadducees believed\nin neither angels nor _spirits_, but the Pharisees believed in both;\nand when the latter heard the apostle Paul say, that the risen Christ\nhad appeared to him, they said, if a _spirit_ had appeared to him, they\nought not to fight against God.\n\nFrom all this testimony, we learn that God is the Father of mankind,\nand that consequently we partake of his nature--are created in his\nimage; and as God is a spirit, man is a spirit; as God is immortal, man\nis immortal. Man\u2019s _moral character_ may or may not be godlike, in the\ndivine image. The Christian only is said to be in God\u2019s _moral_ image,\nto be a partaker of the divine character; but it is the _nature_ of\nman I speak of at this time, not his moral character. Children always\nare of the _nature_ of their parents, but their _moral character_ may\nbe very different. So mankind, being the children of God, partake of\nhis divine nature, but their moral character may be ungodly. And it is\nthe purpose of heaven that man\u2019s nature shall unfold till his moral\ncharacter shall be in harmony with the divine as his nature now is.\nCorrupt as may be man\u2019s moral character, he still retains the image\nand glory of God his Father in his soul, but in various degrees of\ndistinctness. Some, by the great apostle, are compared to the sun,\nothers to the moon, and others still to the stars, (1 Cor. xv.) and we\nare taught by the wise man that this divine glory will grow \u201cbrighter\nand brighter to the perfect day.\u201d\n\nFrom Dayton I proceeded to Joliet, Ill., about one hundred and forty\nmiles distant. There had recently been heavy rains, and the bridges\non the Illinois\u2019 rivers were nearly all swept away or much damaged,\nand I had to swim my horse across the streams, or repair the broken\nbridges to get my precious charge over the turbulent waters. We had\nsome dangerous passes through the streams, and over the frail bridges\nI had repaired. In pulling the carriage over one bridge I came within\nan hair\u2019s breadth of being pushed into the creek, and the buggy falling\non me. The flood of this year was not quite equal to the flood of 1844,\nspoken of in a previous chapter, but it probably did more damage,\nas the country was more improved. When I reached Alton, some of its\nstreets were navigable for skiffs, and the levee at St. Louis was all\nsubmerged. But after much hard traveling and toiling we made Joliet;\nand from thence I went to St. Louis alone, leaving Mrs. Manford to\nspend the summer with her sisters in Joliet and Lockport.\n\nSt. Louis at that time contained eighty thousand inhabitants, and was\nrapidly increasing in population, in business, and in wealth. At the\npresent time it contains two hundred and ten thousand inhabitants--an\nimmense increase in fifteen years. It is built on the west bank of the\nMississippi river, eighteen miles below the junction of the Missouri\nriver with the \u201cFather of Waters.\u201d The ground on which this noble\ncity stands, is high and rolling, its streets are well paved, and the\nbuildings generally are of a substantial character, being mostly of\nbrick. Its beautiful site, its central location, its sixteen hundred\nmiles of river navigation, its railroads extended or being extended in\nall directions, the vast agricultural region of which it is the center,\nthe immense mineral and coal fields at its door--these advantages all\ncombined must ultimately make St. Louis one of the largest cities of\nthe world.\n\nSeveral spasmodic efforts had been made to establish a Universalist\nsociety in St. Louis. J. Libbey, G. T. Flanders, N. M. Gaylord had\npreached there, but for two or three years previous to my removal to\nSt. Louis all effort in that direction had been abandoned. I lectured\nin the city occasionally; a society was organized, and the next year G.\nS. Weaver from Ohio became pastor of the society.\n\nI had moved to St. Louis to publish a paper there, and to travel and\npreach in Missouri and in the neighboring states. An immense field\nwas before me, a vast amount of labor was to be performed, and I\nwent to work with a resolute heart. In all Southern Illinois we had\nnot a minister, a meeting-house, nor a society, and, of course, our\nfriends were few and unknown. It was the same in Missouri, with two\nor three exceptions. There were a society and preacher just emerging\nfrom Dunkardism, in the southern part of the state. In Troy we had a\nmeeting-house, but the society was dead. In the southwest part of the\nstate L. C. Marvin had labored some, but then he was not residing in\nMissouri.\n\nLeaving Mrs. Manford in charge of the paper, in September I commenced\na long and laborious journey through Missouri, among entire strangers,\nexpecting to be absent three months. Crossed the Mississippi river at\nAlton, four miles above where the Missouri flows into it, to go to\nCottleville, thirty miles distant, where I had my first appointment.\nThe rain poured down in torrents nearly the whole day, and to add to\nmy troubles I got lost in the woods and swamps at the junction of the\ntwo rivers. Regaining the road, I traveled till dark, and finding that\nI could not reach Cottleville that night, made application at a dozen\nhouses for lodging, but all said, \u201cNo; we are full.\u201d The night being\nintensely dark, the rain falling fast, and the roads in a horrible\ncondition and unknown to me, I resolved to go no farther. Stopped at\na house, called the man thereof to the door, and solicited a resting\nplace till morning. \u201cWe have no room; they will keep you at the next\nhouse.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat are you in this country?--heathens? At ten or fifteen places I\nhave been refused admittance, each telling your story, that I could\nbe accommodated at the next house. Whether you take me in or not, I\nshall go no farther till morning. I am wet, and cold, and tired. It is\nso dark I cannot see my horse, the road is nearly impassable, and I\nam a stranger in the country; I know no one, and no one knows me. If\nyou will not shelter me in your house, I will sit under this tree till\nmorning, for I am determined to proceed no farther to-night.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, well,\u201d said he, \u201ccome in, come in; we will do the best we can for\nyou.\u201d\n\nArrived at Cottleville the next morning, and spoke to the people in\nthe evening. The next day proceeded to Troy, and on the succeeding day\ndelivered three discourses. Found a respectable number of friends there\nand in the vicinity, and obtained forty subscribers for the _Golden\nEra_. As elsewhere remarked, N. Wadsworth resided and preached in Troy\na year or two previous to his death, and I found many who blessed his\nmemory for the beautiful truths he had taught them. Have frequently\nspoken in this place since that first visit, and have some highly\nesteemed friends there. Mrs. Manford often retreated to it from the\nscorching sun of St. Louis.\n\nLectured in Prairieville, Louisville, and then proceeded to Ashley,\nwhere I spoke several times. There were four brothers by the name of\nHendricks residing near this village--all elderly men, of considerable\nwealth, and had long been citizens of the county. If the world were\ncomposed of men of the sterling worth of those brothers, there should\nbe no need of \u201ccamp or court.\u201d It has been my sad duty to perform the\nfuneral service for two of those brothers, and for the wife of one of\nthe survivors. \u201cBlessed are the dead, who die in the Lord,\u201d and the\nliving who make virtue their choice. Lectured in Bowling Green, and\nthen in Louisiana, a beautiful town on the Mississippi river. W. K.\nKennedy, a noble man, and ever my steadfast friend, resided in this\nplace. He served his country through the great rebellion, and soon\nafter he returned home was murdered, as is supposed, on the Mississippi\nriver.\n\nPreached in Frankfort, and passed on to London. As soon as it became\nknown I was to lecture in London, a man went post haste to Hannibal,\nnine miles distant, and brought out a preacher to reply. The moment\nI was through he opened on me pell mell, without regard to sense\nor syntax. He evidently believed it was thunder that killed, not\nlightning. He knew nothing about the liberal faith, but thought he had\nperfect knowledge of it. In noticing his noisy harangue, I cut him\nright and left, and he very considerably \u201csubsided.\u201d Drove to Hannibal\nand lectured four times. Have often preached in that place, and have\nsome dear friends there. The Browns, the Westfalls, and others, I shall\nesteem as long as this heart beats. The latter have a charming home on\nthe bluff overlooking the Mississippi river, embowered in trees, vines\nand shrubbery. All the fruits of this latitude grow to perfection and\nin wonderful profusion on their grounds. There are the apple, pear,\ncherry--the best varieties--plum, peach, grape, and berries of all\nkinds. It is, especially, a delightful summer home, and Mrs. Manford\nfrequently fled to it from the melting sun of St. Louis.\n\nA certain doctor of Hannibal published some very coarse and false\narticles in a St. Louis paper about Universalism: and I replied to him\nin such a manner that he armed himself to shoot me when I was in the\ntown to fulfill an appointment, but his friends kept him from me till\nI had left, and he had cooled off. I knew nothing of the wrath of this\nsecond Achilles till I returned to Hannibal a month after. I was not\nblameless, but hardly merited being shot.\n\nLectured in Palmyra, in the Court-House full of men--one woman only\nbeing present. A preacher said he had one or two questions to ask.\n\n\u201cState your questions and I will try to answer them.\u201d\n\n\u201cAre you from the East?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have the honor of being a son of old Massachusetts.\u201d\n\n\u201cAre you an abolitionist?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, sir; I believe in the abolition of the devil and all his works.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is not what I mean. Are you a political abolitionist?\u201d\n\n\u201cI think every wrong in politics should be abolished, and finally will\nbe.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut are you for abolishing slavery in Missouri, and the other Southern\nstates?\u201d\n\n\u201cI believe negro slavery to be wrong in morals and in politics, and a\ncurse to the white man and the black man; but it is sustained by the\nlaws of the land, I do not expect to do anything unlawful against it.\nBut what is your object in questioning me in this public manner?\u201d\n\n\u201cI wanted to know your sentiments.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou have them on slavery; and now I will give them concerning\nyourself. My opinion of you is, that you are a very meddlesome and\nofficious fellow.\u201d\n\nAlthough, probably, nearly all present were intensely proslavery, for\nPalmyra was always strong in that direction, they generally condemned\nthe preacher for his impertinence, and treated me kindly. I journeyed\nto Tully and lectured several times. Had the following conversation\nwith a church member:\n\n\u201cYou told us last evening, that the common theory of a judgment day, at\nthe end of time, was a delusion. The Scriptures certainly teach what\nyou were pleased to term a delusion.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you think that God judges in the earth?\u201d\n\n\u201cI do. We are in his presence every moment of our earth-life, and he\njudges between the good and the bad; the righteous are exalted, and\nthe wicked are debased. The Bible expressly says, \u2018There is a God who\njudgeth in the earth.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cVery good. You also contend, that at death we are sent to heaven or\nhell. Of course this is not done till we are judged. Civil tribunals do\nnot hang a man and then judge him. He is judged first. The Divine Judge\nsurely does not consign any to hell without a previous judgment. I have\nheard ministers of your faith at funerals tell the mourners, that the\ndeparted have gone to the bar of God to give an account of the deeds\ndone in the body, and that justice will be meted out to them. Do you\nbelieve that we go at death to the bar of God?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is a solemn truth, and we should have that judgment in all our\nthoughts from the cradle to the grave.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou think, I suppose, that there is to be a judgment day at the end of\nthe world.\u201d\n\n\u201cI certainly do; and that is what I understood you to deny.\u201d\n\n\u201cAccording to your theology God will judge the world three times. 1.\nAll are judged in this world, you assert. 2. All are judged at death.\n3. All will be judged at the end of the world. Here are three distinct\njudgments. I, on the other hand, contend, that God judges us but once,\nand that will continue as long as we live. His law is stamped on the\nsoul, and our eternal life will only increase its impression, its\nvividness, and by that immutable law, ingrained in the soul, we are now\njudged, and ever will be judged. If our character is in harmony with\nthat law, peace, bliss, heaven is our portion. If we are disloyal to\nthat law, we are crushed on the iron track. And what is true now ever\nwill be true--obedience ever will lead to heaven, and disobedience to\nhell. Instead of their being three judgments, there is only _one_; and\ninstead of three seasons of judgment, the true judgment is eternal. I\nbelieve, then, in an everlasting and universal judgment.\u201d\n\n\u201cI should like to hear a discourse on that kind of a judgment, for it\nis a new idea to me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will deliver a discourse on that subject this evening.\u201d\n\nTraveled to Memphis, where I spoke six times. Delivered a discourse on\nthe occasion of the death of C. S. Webber, who had departed this life\nabout one year previous. He was from Ohio, and had labored in Missouri\ntwo years. The good cause lost an active and efficient laborer in\nhis death. He was untiring in his efforts, and it was his delight to\nproclaim the unsearchable riches of heaven. At a subsequent visit to\nthis place, a clergyman arose in the congregation, and propounded some\nthirty or forty questions, which he had written for the occasion, and\ndesired me to answer them, which I did as I best could.\n\n\u201cYou teach that punishment is designed to reform the sinner. What\nevidence is there that you are correct?\u201d\n\n\u201cEvery sorrow, every pain, resulting from transgression, is a voice of\nGod telling the offender that he has done wrong, has violated a law of\nthe Creator, and is on the open road to ruin, and urges him to retrace\nhis steps. It is a thunder-clap from the Almighty, reverberating\nthrough the soul and body of the transgressor, telling him of his\nprodigality, warning him to flee from the wrath to come, and begging\nhim to return to truth and duty. Pain is as clearly and as certainly\nthe voice of God condemning vice, and urging the offender to abandon\nthe forbidden path, and walk in virtue\u2019s ways, as any word ever spoken\nby a living prophet. It is God speaking directly to man, face to face.\n\n\u201cHappiness also being the natural and sure result of virtue, is a\ndivine approbation of the christian life; it is the voice of God\nsanctioning virtue and encouraging the good man in righteousness. And\nthis approbation of virtue, and condemnation of vice, is a revelation\nto man in all climes and ages. It is older than the written Bible, and\nis proclaimed to all the sons and daughters of earth, \u2018Day unto day\nuttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no\nspeech nor language, where their voice is not heard.\u2019 Ps. xix. 2, 3.\n\n\u201cTrue, it is often drowned in the clamor of passion, disregarded by the\nignorant, and unheeded by the thoughtless; but its testimony against\nall wrong, and for all right, constantly sounding in the ears, and\nbeing telegraphed through the soul and body of every human being, has\never more or less curbed the passions of the vicious, and promoted\nrighteousness. Happiness is man\u2019s end and aim. For that he toils from\nthe cradle to the grave; and he is assured from his own experience,\nwhich is the revelation from God to man I have been speaking of, that\nvice surely brings misery, and virtue surely brings happiness. This\nfact in every one\u2019s experience has every where lessened vice and\nincreased virtue, notwithstanding passion, ignorance, false philosophy,\nand false religion--flesh and the devil--have blasphemously called it\ndelusion, irreligion, infidelity.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou remarked in your first discourse, that there is an analogy between\nthe earth and man. Is not that infidelity?\u201d\n\n\u201cI can see no infidelity in it. It is best not to be afraid of\nthe truth. That there is a striking analogy between man\u2019s physical\norganism, and the earth of which it is a product, is certainly correct.\n1. The rock of the earth corresponds to the bones in the human frame.\n2. The dust covering the rocky skeleton of the earth corresponds to\nthe flesh spread over these bones. 3. The veins of water meandering\nthrough the earth answer to the purple currents coursing every part\nof the body. 4. The earth has internal fires, the body has internal\nheat. 5. The hair of the head, which is a vegetable, corresponds to the\nvegetable growth covering the earth. 6. The earth is even sometimes\n_sick_, like man, and is only relieved by vomiting forth its feverish\ncontents. 7. The earth is surrounded by an atmosphere; philosophers\ntell us, that every man is enveloped in an atmosphere, emenating from\nhis body. 8. The earth was once in a ruder condition than it is now;\nman was once coarser, more brutal than he is at the present time. 9.\nMan had a beginning--\u2018in the beginning God made the heavens and the\nearth.\u2019 10. This mortal body must die, be decomposed, return to the\nsource whence it came; will not this earth die, be decomposed, and\nreturn whence it came? The gentleman may call this infidelity if he\npleases. He can then finish the chapter of folly by calling summer,\nwinter; heat, cold; light, darkness; truth, error; virtue, vice; and\nGod, devil.\u201d\n\nA Presbyterian minister replied to one of my discourses, and after\nanswering his objections, I proceeded southward, and lectured in Sand\nHill, Milford, Edina and Newark. Subsequently I had an appointment to\ndebate four days with a man in Newark. He was to try to sustain this\nproposition--\u201cUniversalism is no better than infidelity.\u201d But it being\nimpossible for me to reach there at the appointed time, the discussion\ndid not take place, and I never could induce him afterwards to discuss\nthat proposition. I delivered a series of discourses in Newark soon\nafter this disappointment, and thus noticed the gentleman\u2019s proposition:\n\nMr. Matlock, I understand, when he was here to debate with me, told\nyou in what respect \u201cUniversalism is no better than infidelity.\u201d\nUniversalism, he made out, agrees in one or two points with infidelity,\ntherefore he wisely concluded that the whole system is no better than\ninfidelity. Let us see what Campbellism is according to this rule.\nMormonism says, there is a God, and that he will torment millions of\nmankind eternally; Campbellism says the same, therefore Campbellism\nis no better than Mormonism, and Mr. Matlock might as well go to Salt\nLake and marry a dozen of his Mormon sisters. Paganism says, there is a\nburning hell for the wicked; Campbellism says there is a burning hell\nfor the wicked, therefore Campbellism is no better than Paganism, and\nMr. Matlock had better sacrifice his jackass to appease the wrath of\nhis offended God. Catholicism teaches, that the unbaptized will all be\nlost; Campbellism teaches the same, therefore Campbellism is no better\nthan Catholicism, and Mr. Matlock had better join the \u201cmother church,\u201d\nmigrate to Rome, and sanctify himself by kissing the great toe of \u201chis\nholiness,\u201d the pope. Atheism tells us, that man is mortal and must\ndie; Campbellism tells the same; Campbellism, then, is no better than\nAtheism.\n\nBut no system can be farther from infidelity than Universalism. It\nis all aglow with wisdom, justice, mercy, goodness, holiness, truth\nand virtue. It teaches, that there is a God who rules in heaven and\non earth, that man is in his image, and in imitating him we derive\nour chief good, and that we are destined to approximate his adorable\nperfections forever and ever. A person must have a dark and deformed\nmind, who can denounce that spiritual system, and brand it with\ninfidelity.\n\nAt another time in going from Newark to Edina, the rain poured down\nin torrents till I was about half way through, when the wind suddenly\nchanging to the north, and the thermometer fell in one hour to four\ndegrees below zero. When I reached a haven I was encased in a thick\ncoat of ice, and could not get out of the saddle without assistance.\nThe next day I rode thirty miles over the prairie in the face of a\nnorthwest wind, that cut like a razor.\n\nFrom Newark I proceeded to Shelbyville, and spoke several times. Have\noften lectured there since. Thence to Paris, Middle Grove, Columbia,\nin all of which towns I had large congregations. Lectured in Fayette,\nand then crossed the Missouri river, one hundred and sixty miles from\nSt. Louis, and preached in Booneville, a beautiful town on the bank of\n\u201cBig Muddy,\u201d as the Missouri is often called. This is a mighty river.\nIts waters, from hundreds of fountains in the Rocky Mountains, after\ndashing through deep gorges, tumbling over vast precipices, and winding\nover the immense deserts of the far west, all combine and make one of\nthe largest rivers in the world. Although it is here a wide, deep and\nrapid stream, it is nearly two thousand miles to where it pours its\nvast contents into the salt sea. The bluffs on each side of it, two or\nthree hundred feet high, are about seven miles apart, and show what\nthis river has been doing these many years. The clay and rock that once\nfilled that vast channel, seven miles wide, three hundred feet deep,\nand thousands of miles long, has all been floated away in its ceaseless\nand resistless tide--carried south, and helped to redeem Louisiana and\nMississippi from ocean\u2019s dominions.\n\nAbout the finest country in the world is bordering on this river in the\nstate of Missouri. On the north side of the river, from Iowa to where\nit connects with the Mississippi river, and on the south side from\nNebraska, through Kansas to Jefferson City, Mo., the land is rolling,\nwell timbered, and the soil rich, warm and deep. Tobacco, hemp, the\ncereals, the grasses, and the fruits of the temperate climate, grow\nhere abundantly, and as near perfection as in any country. Mighty\ncities will be built on the banks of this great river, a dense\npopulation will throng its shores, and civilization will here attain\nits highest degree of glory.\n\nJourneyed to Georgetown, and lectured several times; a man replied,\nI rejoined, when he said no more. Proceeded to Calhoun and preached\ntwice; thence to Clinton where I spoke three times. This was the limits\nof my journey south. I was in the southwest part of Missouri. The\ncountry was thinly settled, and the adherents of the liberal faith were\nvery scarce. L. C. Marvin had resided in Booneville, and preached some\nin this region, but there was no organization, and little was known of\nour faith. Still my congregations were large, and the people listened\nrespectfully. This is an excellent field for a missionary. It is a\nbeautiful country, and will soon be densely settled.\n\nTraveled east to Warsaw, on the Osage river, and delivered my message.\nOne preacher replied, and another asked many questions, so I had about\nas much as I could attend to. The latter inquired, if we organize\nchurches, build meeting-houses, and ordain ministers; and was much\nsurprised when informed of the number of our churches, meeting-houses\nand ministers. \u201cDo you profess to be Christians?\u201d said he. When I\nreplied, yea, he added, \u201cWell, I did not know that.\u201d\n\nProceeded to Jefferson City; reached there about dark, wet and cold,\nfor it had rained all day. Stopped at a hotel, and inquired if there\nwas an appointment for me; the landlord thought there was at the\nCourt-house. Hastened to the place without supper, as I had no time to\nattend to that, and found the Court-house lighted, and seven or eight\nvery respectable appearing men in the large room. No more came, and\nI delivered a long discourse to that small crowd. When I was through,\nI mentioned the paper I was publishing in St. Louis, and every man\npresent subscribed for it; and I found that they were some of the\nnotables of the state--the lieutenant-governor, secretary of state,\ntreasurer of state, auditor of state, post-master of the town, and two\nlawyers.\n\nThe next day crossed the Missouri river to its north side, and rode\nto Fulton, where I lectured, and then proceeded to Danville. Here I\nmeet with opposition. When I had taken my seat in the Court-house, a\nman arose in the congregation, and wished me to take for my text, the\nparable of the rich man and Lazarus. I spoke one hour on that subject,\nalthough I had rode all day on horseback. As soon as I was through\nwith my discourse on that text, another wanted an explanation of the\n\u201clake of fire\u201d and \u201csecond death.\u201d I accommodated him, when a third\none replied to what I had said on both passages. I spoke another hour,\nand was glad to have some rest. Rode next day to Warrenton, thirty\nmiles, and lectured, and by request, told the people all I knew about\nthe _devil_. One man in the house seemed to think I had not done that\ncharacter justice, and so he added what I omitted with reference to his\nbeing, history, works, character and future prospects. He made him out\nto be a very powerful being, more than a match for the Almighty, and\nthe author of all the sin and woe of this world. I asked the preacher,\nwhence the devil derived all his power to do so much mischief, and he\nwould not condescend to inform me. I asked him why God did not kill the\ndevil if he was such an enemy to him, and he said that was an infidel\nquestion.\n\nI told the people I had not a particle of faith in the devil of the\nMethodist creed, for the gentleman was of that order. It represents him\nas a god--the god of hell--and the good book does not require faith\nin such a god. But there are devils many, that have a real existence.\nEvery evil thought, purpose, passion; every error we cherish, and every\nwicked act we do, is a devil, for each and all of them are enemies to\nour peace, happiness and prosperity. Instead of preaching devils, let\nus go to work and kill those first in our own heart, and then aid our\nneighbors in exterminating those in their hearts. This would be dealing\nwith devils to a good purpose.\n\nAfter riding two more days I reached home. Had been absent three\nmonths, delivered eighty-four discourses, and rode about eight hundred\nmiles. I was well pleased with my journey, for I had made many\nacquaintances, obtained a large number of subscribers for the paper,\nand had accomplished, I thought, some good. Mrs. Manford issued the\nOctober and November numbers of the paper in my absence.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV.\n\n\n  THE GOLDEN ERA ISSUED SEMI-MONTHLY--THE MISSOURIANS--SLAVE\n  HOLDERS--TRAVEL IN SOUTHERN MISSOURI--IF ENDLESS WOE IS TRUE ALL\n  NATURE WOULD WEEP--REGION OF IRON--DUNKARDS IN MILLERSVILLE--IN\n  SOUTHERN ILLINOIS--PHILOSOPHY OF CHRIST BEING THE SAVIOR OF THE\n  WORLD--REFUSE TO DEBATE--DISCUSSION IN CARLYLE--INSPIRATION--OUR\n  NAME--PARTIALISM APPROACHES INFIDELITY--THREE DOWNWARD STEPS--REPLY\n  TO A SERMON--HAYNE\u2019S SERMON--MR. LEWIS DEBATING ON HIS KNEES--WRITTEN\n  DISCUSSIONS WITH TWO METHODIST MINISTERS--IN NORTHERN MISSOURI--A\n  PREACHER REPLIES--A LOG CABIN--TALK WITH A SLAVE--THOMAS\n  ABBOTT--NEGROES HUNG--THE GOLDEN ERA--MRS. MANFORD LECTURING--LET\n  WOMAN WORK--A CIRCUIT IN MISSOURI--TRAVELING IN COLD WEATHER--DEBATE\n  IN QUINCY.\n\nWhen the second volume of the _Golden Era_ was commenced, it was issued\nsemi-monthly, and changed to a quarto form. Its circulation rapidly\nincreased, but I found it rather hard to pay expenses, for St. Louis\nwas, and still is, a very dear place in which to live or do business.\nLabor, rent, paper, commanded high prices, and living expenses were\nabout double they were in Indianapolis. If the people with whom I\nlabored had not liberally compensated me, I could not have kept\nsquare with the world. But I found the Missourians to be hospitable,\ngenerous and liberal; and I shall ever remember with gratitude the many\nkindnesses I have received from their hands. I differed from many of\nthem concerning slavery, and they knew it; but I am not conscious of\nany ill treatment from any one on that account. We often canvassed our\ndifferences, but in the kindest spirit on both sides, and some of my\nbest friends were extensive slave holders. Many good people suppose\nthat every slave holder was a semi-savage; but that is a great mistake.\nSome of the best men and women I was ever acquainted with owned\nslaves. They thought slavery was the normal condition of the black man,\nthat God made him for servitude to the white man. They were educated\nto regard slavery in this light. Their churches, their pastors, their\nschool teachers, so taught them. Slavery, then, was not wrong, but\naccording to the laws of God. Those who know any thing of man well know\nthat the most moral, most Christian people, may cherish intellectual\nerrors without being morally corrupted. But slavery is now dead, and I\nhave met but few in Missouri who are not glad of it. Although in their\nestimation, slavery was right enough, it was unprofitable, perplexing,\nand the bone of contention in the nation, and they are glad the cause\nof so much strife is no more. If slavery could be restored in Missouri\nto-day by the vote of the people, not one in twenty would vote--restore\nit.\n\nDuring the second year I was in St. Louis, I traveled through Southern\nMissouri, Southern Illinois, and into the south part of Indiana. This\njourney occupied six weeks. Lectured in Potosi, forty miles south of\nSt. Louis. A clergyman replied in a very bitter tone. I had spoken of\nthe terrible doctrine of endless woe, and remarked, that if it was a\nfact in God\u2019s universe, it seemed to me, that all nature would utter\ncries of woe. He was offended at the remark. I repeated, that if nine\ntenths of the inhabitants of God\u2019s universe are to howl eternally in\nhell, nature, being all alive with goodness, would utter cries of woe.\n\n  \u201cThe woods would begin and tell it to the doleful winds;\n   And doleful winds, wail to the howling hills;\n   And howling hills, mourn to the dismal vales;\n   And dismal vales, sigh to the sorrowing brooks;\n   And sorrowing brooks, weep to the weeping streams;\n   And weeping streams, awake the groaning deep.\n   The heavens, great archway of the universe,\n   Would put sackcloth on; and Ocean, clothe herself\n   In garb of widowhood, and gather all\n   Her waves into a groan, and utter it,\n   _Long, loud, deep, piercing, dolorous, immense_.\u201d\n\nBut instead of this universal wailing of woe, all nature is praising\nGod for his goodness to the children of men. Oh, what mockery all\nthis would be, if cries of agony, and wails of despair are to ascend\nforever! I cannot subscribe to such a creed if I would, and would not\nif I could.\n\nJourneyed to Iron Mountain, and lectured once. Here is the far famed\nIron Mountain, three hundred and twenty-eight feet high, and at its\nbase covers an area of five hundred acres. How far downward the ore\nextends is not known, but an artisan well, one hundred and fifty feet\ndeep, at the base of the hill, does not reach the limits of the iron.\nIts average yield in the furnace is fifty-six per cent. Near the\nsurface the ore is found in pebbles or lumps, varying in size. Below,\nit becomes more compact and massive.\n\nSix miles south, are other deposits of iron ore, not less rich, and,\nin all probability, not less extensive. One of these is Pilot Knob,\nfive hundred and eighty-one feet high, with a base of three hundred and\nsixty acres. Sixty per cent. of this ore is iron. One mile from Pilot\nKnob is Shepherd Mountain, six hundred and sixty feet high, and covers\neight hundred acres. This hill is penetrated with veins or dykes of\niron ore, running in different directions. The ores obtained therefrom,\nare the magnetic, the specular, and a mixture of the two. The iron\nyield at the furnace is about the same as that of the other hills.\nThere are known to be other very valuable deposits of iron ore in this\nvicinity, besides those I have named; and likely there are others not\nyet discovered, in the adjacent hills. There are also rich deposits\nof lead and zinc in different localities in Southern Missouri. Vast\ndeposits of coal are likewise found in nearly all parts of the state.\nThe truth is, Missouri, in mineral wealth, exceeds any other state in\nthe Union; and the day will surely come when her immense resources will\nbe developed.\n\nPassed on to Millersville, where I found a large settlement of\nDunkards, who had gradually emerged into Universalism. Soon after my\nvisit they dissolved their connection with that sect. They migrated\nfrom North Carolina to that section while it belonged to Spain. A\nbrother by the name of Hendricks preached with them till he died; then\nanother brother of the settlement, J. H. Miller, was set apart for the\nministry, and he dying a year since, --. Miller occupies his place as\nteacher. They do not go abroad for ministers, but select one of their\nnumber for the ministerial office, and he officiates till he is called\nhome, and then another is chosen from the community as his successor.\nThis, probably, was the apostolic method; and these excellent people,\nin christian virtues, and in simplicity of manners, come as near the\noriginal Christians as any since the first century of the Dispensation\nof Grace. When the rebellion raged in the land, to a man and woman,\nthey were true to their country; and being in a very exposed position,\nthey suffered sorely. I was in the neighborhood several times during\nthe war; and at one time some rebels threatened to hang me, but they\nwere told that if an hair of my head was hurt, an hundred men would\ninstantly shoulder their muskets, and rid the settlement of rebels\nforever.\n\nCrossed the Mississippi river at Cape Girardeau, one hundred and fifty\nmiles below St. Louis, and traveled through the southern portion of\nIllinois to Mt. Vernon, Ind., on the Ohio river. Was one week between\nthose points, and lectured ten times. Found but few who knew anything\nabout the doctrines of the Restitution, and could not learn that a\ndiscourse had ever been before delivered in all that region in their\ndefense. Of course the prejudices of the people were strong against\nme, but large numbers attended my meetings, and I was kindly treated.\nRobert Dale Owen attended one of them, and expressed himself favorably.\n\nAt Elizabethtown a lawyer wished to know the _philosophy_ of Christ\nbeing the Savior of the world. I replied thus: Jesus Christ was a man,\na mere man, nothing but a man. But what is a MAN? He is the last, the\nbest, the crowning work of God--the ultimate of the universe, made\nin the \u201c_image_ and _glory_ of _God_.\u201d Jesus is called in the Bible,\n\u201c_The man_, Christ Jesus.\u201d He was _the man_ of men, a _perfect_ man,\nfully developed in all his spiritual faculties--_head_ and _shoulders_\nabove his brothers. Go into a corn-field, and you will find one ear\nlarger than any other ear; it is only though an ear of corn. Go to the\nforest, and you will find one tree larger than any other tree; it is\nonly though a tree. So, Christ was a man, but he was the largest man,\nspiritually, that ever lived; and that _fact_ makes him our teacher,\nour savior. He cannot be otherwise. We cannot teach him; he must teach\nus. He is our heaven-appointed teacher, and all he said, and all he\ndid, is the natural result of his spiritual pre-eminence. If this is\ncorrect his divine mission is based in nature, is based on the throne\nof God, and the gates of hell can never prevail against it. He will\ncontinue his work till all are taught, all are enlightened, all are\nsaved. Greece and Rome had their wise men; but who of the best of\nthem taught and lived as Jesus did? \u201cThou shall,\u201d said he, \u201clove the\nLord thy God with all thy heart, soul and strength, and thy neighbor\nas thyself; bless and curse not; return good for evil; do by others\nas you would have others do by you.\u201d He not only taught this with his\nlips, but his works, his character, his soul, his life, were in perfect\nharmony with such wisdom. He was godlike, thought God\u2019s thoughts,\nspoke God\u2019s words, and did God\u2019s works. Heaven and earth will ever\nproclaim him--\u201cthe Savior of mankind.\u201d\n\nDelivered several discourses in Mt. Vernon, a pleasant town on the\nOhio river, and then proceeded to Evansville, where I also lectured. A\npreacher here replied in a very abusive manner, and I paid but little\nattention to him. This offended the gentleman, and he dared me to a\ndiscussion. I refused to have anything to do with him, as Christ had\nsaid, \u201cCast not your pearl before swine.\u201d\n\nReturned to St. Louis through Booneville, Vincennes, Lawrenceville,\nOlney, Salem, Carlyle, and lectured in all those places.\n\nAbout this time I had a discussion in Carlyle, Ill., with Mr. Stafford,\na Presbyterian clergyman. We were to continue the discussion four days,\nbut he brought it to a close at the end of the second day by going\nhome, as he said, to find a _calf_ that had jumped out of the lot.\nWhether he found the calf I cannot say, as he did not return to report\nhis success. He knew nothing of the liberal faith, save what he had\nlearned from its enemies, and was poorly prepared to meet the arguments\nin its favor.\n\nHe charged our people with denying the Bible, and I replied, We do not\ndeny the Bible. We believe it contains a record of God\u2019s revelation\nto man. We do not say that every book, chapter, verse and letter,\nfrom Genesis to Revelation, is inspiration. The Bible makes no such\npretention. Considerable part of the Old and New Testaments is\n_historical_; and intelligent and well informed men, can write history\ncorrectly without inspiration, especially if they are eye-witnesses of\nwhat they relate. Jesus Christ, \u201cthe author and finisher of our faith,\u201d\nwas guided and illuminated by the Holy Spirit. His soul was in perfect\nharmony with the Great Soul of the universe, hence he said, \u201cI and\nmy Father are one.\u201d \u201cHe who hath seen the Son hath seen the Father\nalso;\u201d hence, truth, from the Fountain of truth, flowed into his soul\nas naturally as water flows into a sponge; hence to do his Father\u2019s\nwill was his meat and drink; hence the wisdom he uttered was the wisdom\nof God. He is then the Way, the Truth, and the Life; the Teacher and\nSavior of man. He is a medium through which God speaks to, and blesses\nthe world. Moses, the prophets, and the apostles, were also divinely\nilluminated, but not in the same _degree_ Jesus was, for he was blessed\nwith the spirit \u201cwithout measure.\u201d Jesus is the central figure among\nthose anointed men. He was \u201cin the form of God,\u201d and in the \u201cexpress\nimage of his person,\u201d by nature and by character. He is a sun, but they\nare stars. You may call this denying the Bible, if you please, but I am\nsure this affirms the Bible.\n\nHe found fault with our name--Universalist--said it was not scriptural.\nI remarked, It is admitted the word is not in the Bible; but the\nidea often occurs in that book. 1. God is the universal Father\nof mankind--\u201chave we not all one Father?\u201d 2. He is a universal\nSavior--\u201cthe Savior of all men.\u201d 3. Jesus is a universal Savior--\u201cthe\nFather sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.\u201d 4. God\u2019s will is\nfor universal salvation--\u201cwho will have all men to be saved.\u201d 5. God\u2019s\ngrace brings universal salvation--\u201cfor the grace of God which bringeth\nsalvation to all men.\u201d 6. There will be a universal ingathering into\nChrist--\u201cgather together all things in Christ.\u201d 7. There is to be a\nuniversal deliverance from earthly corruption--\u201cthe creation shall be\ndelivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty\nof the children of God.\u201d 8. Universal righteousness will finally\nprevail--\u201cby the obedience of one shall many--the mass--be made\nrighteous.\u201d 9. Universal reconciliation shall finally be effected--\u201cGod\nis in Christ reconciling the world unto himself.\u201d 10. There shall\nultimately come a period of universal praise to God, and confession to\nGod\u2019s glory. (Phil. ii; Rev. v. 11). There will be a universal blessing\nof the nations, families and kindred--\u201call nations, families and\nkindred of the earth shall be blessed.\u201d 12. There is to be a universal\nresurrection to a heavenly condition--\u201cin Christ shall all be made\nalive.\u201d\n\nThere is propriety, then, in the name. The Arminians were once called\nUniversalists, because they believed in a universal atonement. We\nbelieve in a universal atonement, and in the universal _efficacy_ of\nthat atonement. In Europe, very learned men, men who master all the\nsciences, are called Universalists. It is an honorable name, then, a\nlearned name, an appropriate name for those who recognize God as a\nuniversal Father and Savior, Christ as a universal Redeemer, and who\nrejoice in the hope of the universal destruction of sin, suffering and\ndeath, and the universal reign of truth, virtue, life and salvation.\nUniversal means catholic. Our church, then, is the true Catholic\nChurch--all of Adam\u2019s race will finally be members of it, and partake\nof its blessings. What is called the Catholic Church is a very partial\nchurch. Notwithstanding the propriety of our name, I seldom use it--it\nsounds a little too sectarian for my taste. Some of my brethren are so\nin love with it, they hitch it to almost every thing. That may be all\nright; but I am not so deeply in love with the name as some seem to\nbe. I had rather be called a godly man than a Universalist, whether I\ndeserve the appellation or not; and I had rather hear my church called\n\u201cthe church of God,\u201d than a Universalist church.\n\nReturning to St. Louis, I lectured in Lebanon, and a man said the\nsentiments I advocated lead through Deism to Atheism. How is that? I\nreplied. I am with the New Testament in believing in a God for ALL, and\na Savior for ALL. Is there any Deism or Atheism in that? Orthodoxy is\nthe first step downward, for it teaches a God for ALL, but a Savior\nfor PART. It makes the first departure from the gospel. Deism is\nanother step in the same direction, for it says a God for _all_, but a\nSavior for NONE. Atheism is at the foot of the ladder, for it proclaims\na God for NONE, a Savior for NONE. There are, then, three downward\nsteps from Christianity or Universalism, to Atheism--ALL--PART--NONE.\nOrthodoxy is the half-way house between Universalism and Infidelity.\n\nBeing requested to visit Florence, up the Illinois river about one\nhundred miles, to hear a discourse against Universal Salvation, and\nto reply if it was proper, I arrived by packet on Sunday at eleven\no\u2019clock, soon after the preacher had commenced his sermon. He spoke\n_three hours_, and made out, he supposed, a pretty strong case. After\none hour\u2019s intermission, I replied to the discourse, which also\noccupied three hours. The preacher, and his congregation, heard me\nthrough; and at candle lighting of the same day, I delivered another\ndiscourse in the same place. In my answer to the gentleman\u2019s discourse\nI offered twenty-five objections to endless misery, and twenty-five\nobjections to his view of a great judgment day; gave twenty-five\nproofs and arguments, that virtue and vice are rewarded in this world;\nfurnished twenty-five reasons from Scripture for believing in the final\nsalvation of mankind.\n\nA few days after this, I lectured in Naples, Ill., and while the\ncongregation were singing the second hymn, a Methodist preacher passed\nme a tract, which I had seen before. Many years ago, immediately after\nHosea Ballou had delivered a discourse in some town in Vermont, Samuel\nHaynes, a Congregationalist clergyman, a gentleman of color, and pastor\nof a white congregation, and of considerable education, ability, and\nmuch wit, arose and preached a sermon from the words of the serpent\nto mother Eve, \u201cYe shall not surely die.\u201d The thing was afterwards\npublished and scattered far and near. The tract the preacher gave\nme was Haynes\u2019 sermon. The serpent is represented as a Universalist\npreacher, and his words, \u201cYe shall not surely die,\u201d as the essence of\nUniversalism. Being in a humor for it, I took parson Haynes\u2019 text for\nmy text that evening, followed his arrangement, adopted some of his\nlanguage, and put the \u201cboot on the right foot,\u201d I spoke as follows:\n\nThe Holy Scriptures are a peculiar fund of instruction. They inform\nus of the origin of creation; of the primitive state of man--his\nignorance, folly and degradation. It appears that he was placed in\nthe garden of Eden, with full liberty to regale himself with all\nthe delicious fruits that were to be found, except what grew on one\ntree; if he ate of that _he should_ SURELY _die on the_ DAY _of\ntransgression_, (Gen. ii. 17,) was the declaration of the Almighty.\nMark the language--he was not to be punished in the _next world_, but\nin _this world_, and on the _day_, at the very _time_ he sinned. Let\nthis be remembered, for it is God\u2019s truth.\n\nHappy were the human pair amid this delightful paradise, until a\ncertain preacher endeavored to convince them that they could sin\nwithout suffering IMMEDIATE punishment, without being punished on the\nDAY of transgression.\n\nWe may attend to the _character_ of the preacher; to the _doctrine_\ninculcated; to the _hearers_ addressed; to the _mediums_ or\n_instruments_ of the preaching.\n\nI. As to the PREACHER, I would observe, he is said by the Bible, to be\nthe lust of the flesh. \u201cLet no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted\nof God, but man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own _lust_\nand enticed.\u201d James i. 13, 14. He is also called the _carnal_ mind,\nand that is ever at _enmity_ against God. Read the seventh and eighth\nchapters of Romans carefully. In Genesis, lust--the carnal mind--is\npersonified and called a serpent, and in other parts of the Bible\ntermed satan, devil and adversary, for those terms mean a deceiver, an\nopposer, and that is the character of the tempter in the human breast.\nThis was the tempter that led the first pair astray.\n\nBut to be a little more particular, let it be observed,\n\n1. He is an _old_ preacher. He lived about one thousand seven hundred\nyears before Abraham--about two thousand four hundred and thirty years\nbefore Moses--four thousand and four years before Christ. It is now\nfive thousand eight hundred and fifty-four years since he commenced\npreaching. By this time he must have acquired great skill in the art.\n\n2. He is a very _cunning_, artful preacher. The serpent, his prototype,\nis said to possess much wisdom and cunning. When Elymus, the sorcerer,\ncame to turn away people from the faith, he is said to be _full of all\nsubtlety_, not only because he was an enemy of all righteousness, but\non account of his cunning and craftiness. He manifests his cunning\nby preaching to the world, that they shall not surely be punished on\nthe DAY of transgression. That is a very pleasing doctrine to the\nwicked. They love to be told that the time of retribution is FAR IN THE\nDISTANCE, especially as that future punishment can all be escaped by\ntaking the benefit of a spiritual bankruptcy, any hour before they die.\nYes, he is a cunning preacher.\n\n3. He is a very _laborious_, unwearied preacher. He has been in the\nministry almost six thousand years, and yet his zeal is not in the\nleast abated. The apostle Peter compares him to a roaring lion, roaming\nabout seeking whom he may devour. He is far from being circumscribed\nwithin the narrow limits of parish, state or continental lines; but his\nhaunts and travels are very large and extensive. Wherever the doctrine\nprevails that the wicked are not punished WHEN and WHERE they sin, the\ntempter is preaching the same sermon he preached to mother Eve.\n\n4. He is a _heterogeneous_ preacher, if I may so express myself.\nHe mixes truth with error, in order to make it go well, or to carry\nhis point. Nobody would bite at his hook if there was no truth on\nit. He quotes fluently from the Bible, but then we must receive his\n_interpretation_. If we dissent from it, all hell is in an uproar, and\nwe must be kicked out of his church, and out of the world, if possible.\nThousands have been burned at the stake, because they would not receive\nhis interpretation of the Bible. He admits we have reason, but then it\nis _carnal_ and not to be trusted; we must believe without the reason\nwhy. He admits there is one God, but there are three persons in the\nGodhead; that is, one makes three, and three one. Christ is the Son of\nGod, and at the same time the Father; God is infinite in wisdom, power\nand goodness, but Christ came to reconcile him to us; God _wishes_ to\nsave all mankind but _cannot_; God _can_ save all mankind, but _wishes_\nto damn some to glorify his justice; God\u2019s _justice_ requires the\nendless damnation of all men, but his mercy pleads for the salvation\nof all, and yet God\u2019s attributes all harmonize. Men are born _totally\ndepraved_, and utterly incapable of doing anything acceptable to God,\nyet it is the duty of men to repent and turn to God; Christ has made an\natonement for the sins of the whole world, but half of the world will\nbe damned eternally for their sins; God is a universal Father, God is\nlove, and yet will mock and laugh at the eternal groans and pains of\nhis children; heaven is the perfection of love, but the saints will\nshout glory, when they see their fathers, and mothers, and children,\ndamned. Yes, he preaches truth as well as error.\n\n5. He is a very _presumptuous_ preacher. Notwithstanding God had\ndeclared on one occasion, in the most plain and positive manner, \u201cOn\nthe DAY thou eatest thereof, shall thou surely die,\u201d yet this audacious\nwretch had the impudence to confront Omnipotence, and say, \u201cye shall\nnot surely die\u201d--on the DAY of transgression--and he is still\nrepeating the old sermon through the length and breadth of the land.\n\n6. He is a very _successful_ preacher. He draws a great number after\nhim. No preacher can command hearers like him. He was successful with\nour first parents--with the old world. Noah once preached to the world\nthat the judgments of heaven would _shortly_ come on wicked men,\nbut the tempter repeated his old sermon, and he made more converts\nthan Noah did. So it was with the cities of the plains. Lot preached\nto them; the substance of which was, \u201cUp, get out of this _place_:\nfor the Lord will destroy this _city_.\u201d Gen. xix. 14. But the old\ndeclaimer told them, no danger, no danger; God will not punish men in\n_this world_, and therefore will not destroy this city, to which they\ngenerally gave heed, and Lot seemed as one who mocked. They believed\nthe Orthodox preacher and were consumed. The father of lies is a very\nsuccessful preacher. He not only made converts of Adam and Eve, the\nAntediluvians and Sodomites, but he has proselyted most of the world.\nNearly all mankind contend that God\u2019s judgments are not in the earth.\nDr. Franklin was about right when he said a lie would travel all over\nthe country, while truth was putting on his boots.\n\nII. Let us attend still more to the DOCTRINE inculcated by this\npreacher. Ye shall not surely die on the day of transgression. Bold\nassertion, without a single argument to support it. The death contained\nin the threatening was, doubtless, _moral_ death. They did die to\ntheir former innocence, to the sweet communion which they had before\nenjoyed with the Father, to all the enjoyments of their beautiful\ngarden of fruits and flowers. The Bible says, \u201cTo be carnally minded\nis _death_;\u201d it is termed a \u201cdeath in trespasses and sins;\u201d \u201cThe wages\nof sin is death;\u201d \u201cYou hath he quickened who _were dead_;\u201d \u201cWe know we\nhave passed _from death_ unto life.\u201d This is the death threatened, and\nthe Almighty assured Adam that he would suffer it on the VERY DAY he\nsinned. But the preacher said, No, all is false, there is no punishment\nin this world, no hell, the wages of sin is not death.\n\nIII. We will now take notice of the hearers addressed by this preacher.\nThis we have in the context. And the serpent said unto the woman, \u201cYe\nshall not surely die.\u201d That Eve had not so much experience as Adam, is\nevident; and so she was not equally able to withstand temptation. This\nwas doubtless the reason why the tempter chose her, with whom he might\nhope to be successful. Probably he took the time when she was separated\nfrom her husband.\n\nThat this preacher has always had the greatest success in the dark\nand ignorant parts of the earth, is evident; his kingdom is a kingdom\nof darkness. He is a great enemy of light. He will not permit his\ndisciples to hear a religious or philosophical discourse, read a\nreligious or philosophical book or paper, that contradicts his\ncreed--they must be like the old knight, read only one side of the\nguide-board, and if they happen to get an idea the old creed don\u2019t\nsanction, they are called heretics. They may think, but not out of a\ngiven circle; they may reason, provided they reason as the preacher\ndoes. And the consequence is, that where the people think, reason\nand read _least_, Orthodoxy has its truest adherents, and where the\npeople think, reason and read _most_, the doctrine of Holy Writ is most\nprevalent, \u201cBehold the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth,\nmuch more the wicked and sinner.\u201d Prov. xi. 31.\n\nIV. The instruments or mediums made use of by the preacher, will now be\nconsidered. Every person, creed and institution, that propagates the\ndoctrine that men shall not surely die on the _day of transgression_,\nis an instrument of the father of lies.\n\n1. Calvinism, Arminianism, Mormonism, Catholicism, Mahommedanism and\nHeathenism, tell us that this world is not one of retribution, that\nGod does not here reward virtue or punish vice. They unite in teaching\nthat this life is a state of probation, of trial, and of course no one\nis punished till his probation ends, his trial is closed. This is the\ndeceiver\u2019s first sermon gone to seed.\n\n2. The preachers of all these isms are also his instruments. They are\nfaithful to their father\u2019s cause, and he is much attached to them. If\none opposes their creed, some of them will at once exhibit the spirit\nof the devil.\n\n3. The earth is deluged with books, pamphlets and papers, teaching that\nmen shall not be punished on the day of transgression.\n\n\nINFERENCES.\n\n1. That the devil is not dead, but still lives, and is able to preach\nas well as ever, Ye shall not die on the day of transgression.\n\n2. Orthodoxy is no new fangled scheme, but can boast of great antiquity.\n\n3. See a reason why it ought to be rejected because it is an ancient\ndevilish doctrine.\n\n4. See a reason why satan is such a mortal enemy to the promises of the\nBible, for it says, \u201cChrist came to destroy the devil.\u201d Heb. ii. \u201cWill\nmake an end of sin.\u201d Dan. ix. \u201cBehold the Lamb that taketh away the sin\nof the world.\u201d \u201cHe is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours\nonly, but for the sins of the world.\u201d\n\n5. He hates the gospel, because it is \u201cgood news, glad tidings\u201d--is\nthe \u201cglorious gospel of the blessed God\u201d--\u201cgospel of the grace of\nGod\u201d--\u201cgospel of our salvation\u201d--\u201cgospel of peace.\u201d\n\n6. He hates the true Christ, because he will save the world from\nsin, error, and death. \u201cWe have seen and do testify that this is the\nChrist the SAVIOR of the WORLD.\u201d When the world shall be saved, satan\u2019s\noccupation will be gone.\n\n7. See whence it was that satan exerted himself so much to convince\nour first parents there was no punishment in this world, because the\ndenunciation of the Almighty was true, and he was afraid that Adam and\nEve would continue in the belief of it, and so not believe in endless\npunishment in eternity--his favorite doctrine. If there was no proof of\npresent punishment, satan would not be so busy in trying to convince\nmen that there was none.\n\n8. We infer that ministers should not be proud of their preaching. If\nthey preach the true gospel, they only in substance preach Christ\u2019s\nsermons. If they preach, \u201cYe shall not surely die on the day of\ntransgression,\u201d they only make use of the devil\u2019s old notes that he\ndelivered about six thousand years ago.\n\n9. It is probable that Orthodoxy will still prevail, since this\npreacher is still alive, and not in the least superannuated; and every\neffort against him only enrages him more and more, and excites him to\nnew inventions and exertions to build up his cause.\n\nTo close the subject. As the author of this discourse has spoken of\nthe character of satan, he trusts no one will feel himself personally\ninjured by this short sermon. But should any imbibe a degree of\nfriendship for this aged deceiver, and think that I have not treated\nthis Orthodox preacher with that respect and veneration he justly\ndeserves, let them be so kind as to point it out, and I will most\ncheerfully retract; for it has ever been a maxim with me, \u201cRENDER UNTO\nALL THEIR DUE.\u201d\n\nThis was too much for the three preachers present so they left in a\nhurry, when I reached the \u201cinferences.\u201d As they were marching out, I\nremarked, \u201cThe wicked flee when no man pursueth.\u201d They intended an\ninsult by throwing that tract in my face; but the new dress in which I\nreturned their tract kindled their wrath; and leaving the house as they\ndid, was an acknowledgment, that they were defeated. The congregation\nfully appreciated the \u201csituation,\u201d and two or three zealous hearers\nclapped their hands as the preachers were departing.\n\nMr. Lewis, with whom I debated in Springfield, sent me word, that if\nI should visit Jerseyville, Ill., his church would be at my service.\nAccordingly, I made an appointment in that place, and Mr. Lewis took\na seat with me in the desk. I told him I was perfectly willing he\nshould make any strictures on my discourse he might see proper. \u201cOh,\nno,\u201d said he, \u201cI have invited you into my pulpit, and it would not\nbe proper for me to reply to your discourse.\u201d In my sermon, I said\nnothing about other creeds, but presented my own faith in as clear a\nlight as possible. Mr. Lewis, at my request, made the closing prayer,\nand such a prayer was never before or since heard, I think. He took\nup my discourse, item by item, systematically, and replied to it. He\nwould first tell the Lord what the speaker had said on a given point,\nand then say, \u201cO Lord, thou knowest that is not true, for by the mouth\nof the prophet Isaiah, thou said\u201d--and then he would quote from the\nBible. Having argued that point to his satisfaction, he would take\nup another subject; and so on till he got through with my discourse.\nHaving finished his reply, I told the congregation I did not like that\nway of debating; but he said, \u201cI would as soon debate on my _knees_ as\non my feet.\u201d Before I left town, we made arrangements for a written\ndiscussion in the _Golden Era_. He was to write twelve letters; but,\nhaving written six of them he sickened and died. I called on him during\nhis sickness, at Jacksonville, and he said, \u201cBrother Manford, if I do\nnot go to heaven this time, I will not work as hard as I have done. I\nhave broken myself down by hard work--by trying to save souls.\u201d\n\nSoon after this, a Methodist clergyman of Indiana, by the name of\nMahan, proposed having a written discussion in the _Golden Era_.\nHe agreed to write twelve letters; but six or seven exhausted his\nresources. Subsequently, he tried his hand at discussion with B. F.\nFoster, in the _Herald_, and was handsomely defeated.\n\nI made a long journey through Northern Missouri into Iowa; thence to\nSt. Joseph; then down to Western, Kansas City, Independence, Lexington,\nBooneville, back to St. Louis. Traveled twelve hundred miles, all\non horseback, and lectured most every day. In most of the towns and\nvillages on this route I had no references, and generally wrote to the\npostmasters to make appointments. The principles of the liberal faith\nwere entirely new to most of the people, and as notices of my meetings\nwere published pretty extensively, large numbers attended, some going\nten, twenty, and thirty miles. I had much controversy in public, and\nmany conversations in private, concerning the new doctrines. Found some\nwho received them with glad hearts, and many others who were disposed\nto investigate before they condemned. Received but little compensation\nfor my labor and time, but obtained many subscribers for the paper.\n\nHave room for only a few of the incidents of this journey. In\nKirksville, a minister asked many questions, and finally came to the\nsage conclusion, that reason was carnal, that I was an emissary of\nthe devil, and that he would say no more to me; but gave notice, that\nhe should reply to my discourse the next Sunday. In Greentop, found a\nsettlement of believers from Tennessee. They were excellent people;\noften visited them in subsequent years; but the war dispersed them,\nand I understand, they are scattered over the plains of Nebraska.\nKirksville, near by, was one of the battle-fields of the rebellion;\nrebel Porter\u2019s forces were there routed and ruined, and the town was\nmuch injured. Colonel Linder, one of my friends, was an active man in\nthe Union cause. I traveled on what was called the \u201cMormon Trace,\u201d--a\nroad from Nauvoo to St. Joseph, the route the Mormons journeyed when\nthey went from Nauvoo to Salt Lake. It was generally through a wild\nregion, but the face of the country was rolling and pleasant. About\nsundown one day, I rode up to a cabin and inquired the distance to the\nnext house.\n\n\u201cTen miles.\u201d\n\n\u201cWill you keep me to-night?\u201d\n\n\u201cI reckon so; the old woman is powerful sick; I have a heap of ailments\nin my cabin.\u201d\n\n\u201cAre there any settlements up the creek?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, yes; right smart sprinkling.\u201d\n\nThere were fifteen men and women belonging to the house, and how we\nwere all to be disposed of that night, was rather a puzzler to me,\nas there were only two rooms in the cabin; but there was really no\ndifficulty on that score. The principal room answered four valuable\npurposes, although it was not more than twenty feet square--it was a\nkitchen, dining-room, sitting-room, and bed-room. True, there were\nonly two bedsteads in it, but when bed time arrived, the floor was\ncovered with blankets, which afforded ample sleeping accommodations.\nI was conducted into the \u201cparlor bed-room,\u201d which was entirely void\nof all \u201cmodern improvements.\u201d It was made of round logs, without any\nweather-boarding, plastering, ceiling, or \u201cchinking;\u201d the stars could\nbe seen through its sides and roof, while its floor was clay, covered\nabout six inches deep with water. In one corner of the pen some stakes\nwere driven into the mud, rails fastened to them, on which a straw bed\nwas laid, with a blanket or two. That was my bed; no, not _mine_, but\n_our_ bed; for soon a big fellow stretched himself on one side of me,\nand he was followed by another, who laid about six feet of flesh and\nbone across the foot of the bed. I was tired, and slept first-rate all\nnight, and crawled out of the den in the morning much refreshed.\n\nMine host said he had been on the frontier all his life; did not\nown the land he occupied--was a squatter--and wanted to sell his\n\u201cimprovements,\u201d to go farther west, where he could hunt bear and\nbuffalo. He said he was a Baptist; and when I told him of my faith, he\ndeclared he did not want to go to heaven if all sinners are to go there.\n\n\u201cBut no sinners will go there; they will be regenerated.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t tell me that; the reprobates will not be regenerated; their doom\nis sealed. I have grace in my soul, and know I am right.\u201d\n\nWhen I offered to pay him for keeping me, he replied, \u201cYou are welcome;\nthe fare was hard, but if you come this way again, give me a call.\u201d\n\nA day or two after this, I rode with a negro a few hours. He was\nreturning from visiting his wife and children.\n\n\u201cWhy do you not live with your family?\u201d\n\n\u201cMaster won\u2019t sell me to my wife\u2019s master, so I live twenty miles from\nher.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow often do you see her?\u201d\n\n\u201c\u2019Bout once a month.\u201d\n\n\u201cDid you ever have another wife?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes; but her master died, and she was taken south, and the children.\u201d\n\n\u201cHave you heard since of her, and the children?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo; don\u2019t know whar they are; may be dead.\u201d\n\n\u201cPerhaps this wife and these children will be sold south.\u201d\n\n\u201cI hope I may die if they be.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy do you not buy your freedom?\u201d\n\n\u201cMaster won\u2019t sell me. I offered him a thousand dollars, and pay him\nin five years, but he would not sell me. Black men can\u2019t do anything.\u201d\n\n\u201cAre you treated well?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes; but I work hard; but I would not mind that if my family were with\nme.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere are you from?\u201d\n\n\u201cVirginia; left thar many years ago.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere are your parents?\u201d\n\n\u201cSold south, long ago.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere are your brothers and sisters?\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t know whar they are; sold to a trader.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you belong to any church?\u201d\n\n\u201cI belong to the Methodist church, and try to preach.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow often do you preach?\u201d\n\n\u201cMost every Sunday.\u201d\n\n\u201cIn how many places?\u201d\n\n\u201cFour places.\u201d\n\n\u201cAre you paid for preaching?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe black people pay me a little.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you think your white master will go to heaven?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, yes.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you think slavery is right?\u201d\n\n\u201cI can\u2019t think it is.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow then can you think slave-holders can be saved?\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know how, but I sort of think some of them will be saved.\u201d\n\n\u201cWould you not save all white men and all black men if you could?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat I would.\u201d\n\n\u201cWill not God save them all?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, no.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen you are better than God, are you?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, master, who ever heard of God saving all men? Now, I think of\nit, a man is to preach in Gentryville to-night, who preaches that very\ndoctrine, and I am bound to hear him.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat do the people say about him?\u201d\n\n\u201cThey say he is a bad man, and I believe he is, or he would not preach\nsuch a doctrine.\u201d\n\nHere the negro left me to go to his home, and I saw him at the window\nof the school-house that evening, the picture of astonishment. Met him\nin the street the next day, and he said, \u201cMaster, forgive me for what I\nsaid yesterday.\u201d\n\nLectured in Weston, and became acquainted with Thomas Abbott, who was\nresiding and preaching in that place. He subsequently moved to St.\nLouis, and for several years past has resided in Mt. Vernon, Ind. He\nobeys the injunction, \u201c_Go_ and preach.\u201d He does go, far and near; he\nlabors in season and out of season, in his Master\u2019s service. He has\nalso become a noted debater, and has had great success in preaching and\ndebating.\n\nOn the other side of the Missouri was Kansas Territory, inhabited\nthen only by Indians, but now is a populous state, with several large\ncities. While I was in Lexington on this journey, or at a subsequent\ntime, two negroes were hung for murdering their owner. He had whipped\nthem unmercifully, and they killed him for it. They rode from the\nprison to the gallows, through the principal streets of town, in a\nwagon, on their coffins; white hoods were on their heads, white frocks\nwere thrown over their shoulders, and large ropes were around their\nnecks. On the road to the gallows, the poor creatures sang as loud as\nthey could scream,\n\n  \u201cI am bound for the kingdom;\n   Will you go to glory with me?\u201d\n\nThis scene, take it all in all, was the most abominable, outrageous,\nand disgusting exhibition I ever witnessed. \u201cWhat do you think of\n_that_?\u201d said I to a Methodist preacher, who was looking on with a\nsatisfied air. \u201cThe majesty of the law must be sustained.\u201d That same\nfellow was a hot headed rebel when the war broke out. His name was\nKavanagh; he formerly resided in Indiana. The town was full of negroes;\nbut they were silent; I saw tears in many of their eyes.\n\nAfter publishing the _Golden Era_ four years, I disposed of it to\nThomas Abbott, and he soon after connected it with the _Gospel Herald_,\na paper published in Indianapolis, Ind. It was being issued weekly\nwhen it was sold; but I found, by experience, that a weekly paper of\nour denomination could not be sustained in St. Louis, the expense of\npublishing, and of living being so high. While I issued the paper, I\nreceived hardly any compensation for all my toil; and Mrs. Manford did\nall her work gratuitously, and I could not have hired a person to do\nwhat she did for less than five hundred dollars per year.\n\nThe _Golden Era_ had done a good work, and it was like parting with\na dear friend to dispose of it. Its circulation when it went out of\nmy hands, was thirty-five hundred, I think. Its name had become quite\npopular. Captain Bursie, who was a subscriber, named his splendid new\nsteamer, \u201c_The Golden Era_,\u201d and Bridges Brothers, of St. Louis, who\nwere also subscribers, called a cooking stove they patented, \u201c_The\nGolden Era_.\u201d\n\nBut I did not cease working for the good cause when the paper was\ndisposed of; I rather worked harder than ever. For about two years I\nwas absent most of the time, preaching in Missouri, Illinois, Iowa and\nIndiana.\n\nMrs. Manford was also in the field lecturing, not on theology, but\non temperance, the elevation of woman, and general education. She\ndelivered some excellent lectures on those subjects in Louisiana,\nHannibal, Macomb, and other places. Let woman speak as well as man\nin the lecture-room, and even in the pulpit; let her speak on all\nsubjects of human interest. As she belongs to the human family, she is\nas much interested as man in all intellectual and moral subjects. And\nheaven, having gifted her with a soul, instinct with wisdom, purity\nand goodness, she is well qualified to instruct and moralize her race.\nI know it is quite fashionable for men to flatter women by calling\nthem their \u201cbetter half,\u201d \u201cangel,\u201d but to be indignant and disgusted\nif they aspire to a position outside of the kitchen or nursery. Such\nmen are very polite to women in the street and drawing-room, but are\nwrathy if they will not be their drudges or play things. As woman is\na citizen of the world as well as man, she is entitled to all the\nrights and privileges he is entitled to. The world should be open to\nher intellectual and moral activities, that she may make the best use\nof her time and talent. Let her \u201csue and be sued,\u201d buy and sell, vote\nat the polls, and be president of these United States, if she can get\nvotes enough. England\u2019s best rulers have been queens, and why would not\nAmerican women make good presidents?\n\nAntiquated, and barbarous laws and customs, that have for ages degraded\nwoman, are being modified or abandoned; and the day is not far distant\nwhen she will fill the place in society that God designed, and humanity\nrequires. But it must not be expected that she will come from the\nwash-tub, or band-box, in the one place a slave, and in the other a\npet, prepared fully for her new position and responsibilities. She may\nlong make many blunders, and for a time illy perform her part, all of\nwhich many self-conceited, and self-appointed, \u201clords of creation\u201d will\npoint to and triumphantly exclaim, \u201cDid I not tell you women were only\nfit for man\u2019s convenience?\u201d\n\nI spent three months in the southwest part of Missouri, traveling on a\ncircuit I established in that region. Preached monthly in twenty-five\nplaces, and rode from ten to forty miles nearly every day. Tried to\nget a minister to continue the work but failed. Good societies could\nhave been established in Booneville, Georgetown, Calhoun, Clinton,\nOseola, Leesville, Warsaw, Pisgah, Rocheport--places I visited. I also\nspent six months traveling and preaching in the northern part of the\nstate. Visited twenty-two places monthly for six months, and rode most\nevery day. Spent three days each month at home. I also failed in my\neffort to induce a minister to locate in that region. Clergymen of the\nliberal faith, residing in the free states, were averse to moving into\nMissouri, it then being a slave state. They were not only generally\nopposed to slavery, regarding it as \u201cthe sum of all villainy,\u201d but\nthey had no faith our cause could be permanently established among\nslave-holders. They thought that human slavery and Universalism were\neternally and universally at war with each other.\n\nThe winters of 1855 and \u201956 were about the coldest ever experienced in\nthe West, and I spent both winters in Iowa, traveling and lecturing.\nOften rode on horseback all day when the thermometer was far below\nzero, and delivered a long discourse at night. The Iowa prairies are\ncold places in a cold day, especially to one whose face is northward.\nIf I had twenty, thirty, or forty miles to ride, I always made it a\nrule not to go near a fire till I had finished my day\u2019s travel. Some\nmen I have rode with, must warm themselves by a fire, whenever they get\na little cold, and swallow perhaps a dram of liquor; and I noticed that\nthey always suffered much more from cold than I did. The best method\nfor a traveler, in an arctic day, to get up an internal heat, is, not\nby whisky, not by sitting by a fire a few moments, but by thrashing his\narms, swinging his legs, or running a short distance by the side of his\nhorse.\n\nI had a public discussion in Quincy, Ill., with a Methodist preacher,\nwhich continued four days. Large numbers attended, and much good was\neffected. The day after the discussion closed, which was Sunday, a\nsociety was organized, and soon after a meeting-house was erected. The\nsociety prospered for awhile, under the ministry of J. H. Hartzell,\nnow of Buffalo, N. Y. But he leaving, it was finally disbanded, and\nthe meeting-house sold, and many of its members united themselves with\nthe Unitarian society of the place. Quincy is a flourishing town, on\nthe east bank of the Mississippi river, and is growing rapidly in\nimportance. The river will probably be bridged there within a few\nyears.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI.\n\n\n  THE GOLDEN ERA--EXTENSIVE TRAVELING--IN MISSOURI AND KANSAS--TALK\n  WITH A DEIST IN JEFFERSON CITY--MOSES--THE PROPHETS--REPLIED\n  TO IN PISGAH--TALK WITH A RUM-SELLER--IN KANSAS CITY--IN\n  WYANDOTTE--CONVERSATION WITH A CLERGYMAN CONCERNING CHRIST AND HIS\n  WORK--LECTURED IN LEAVENWORTH--DESTRUCTION OF MAN\u2019S ENEMIES--IN ST.\n  JOSEPH--THE MERCY OF GOD--IN KINGSTON--RICH MAN AND LAZARUS.\n\nAs I have said in a previous chapter, the _Golden Era_, after it passed\nout of my hands, was merged into the _Gospel Herald_, a paper published\nin Indianapolis, Ind., and St. Louis was without a denominational\npaper. This was not contemplated when I disposed of that paper. Mr.\nAbbott was confident, that with my assistance as editor, it could be\nsustained in St. Louis; but experience taught him otherwise. Although\nbeing well satisfied that a weekly paper could not be supported in St.\nLouis, I was confident that a monthly magazine could be, and hence\nin 1857 I commenced a monthly periodical, called _Manford\u2019s Monthly\nMagazine_. It contained twenty-four pages, and the price was one\ndollar per year. By the close of the first volume I had two thousand\nsubscribers--a pretty good beginning. Mrs. Manford was co-editor,\nbook-keeper, and generally assisted in mailing the magazine.\n\nI resolved to again canvass Missouri, Illinois, Iowa and Indiana, for\nthe benefit of the new journal; and from 1857 to the spring of 1861, I\nwas a large portion of the time on the wing. The _Magazine_ was popular\nwith our people, and I had no difficulty in obtaining subscribers. The\narticles were chiefly doctrinal, explanatory, and answers to the ten\nthousand objections usually offered to the liberal faith.\n\nDuring the first year of its publication, I took a horseback journey up\nthe Missouri river into Kansas, and was absent nearly all winter. At a\nhotel in Jefferson City I had the following conversation with a Deist:\n\n\u201cI believe the Old Testament is full of lies, fables and absurdities.\nI would as soon believe \u2018Guliver\u2019s Travels\u2019 to be divine as the old\nBible.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are too fast, my friend. Without pretending that the Old Testament\nis perfect, I find many excellencies in that book. That Moses, the\nprincipal character of it, had a deep insight into many spiritual\nrealities, must be conceded by every candid person. He was born,\nbrought up, educated, and lived till he was eighty years old, in the\nmidst of the grossest superstition. The Egyptians deified the bull,\nthe cat, the snake, the crocodile; and many of their other religious\nnotions corresponded with such debased superstitions. Moses boldly\ndenounced the whole of their mythological abominations; and declared\nthat there was only one God, and that he was a spiritual being, and\nruled in heaven and on earth. The Egyptians believed in a formal\njudgment for every soul after death; Moses taught that God judgeth in\nthe earth. The Egyptians maintained that there was a hell for some\nand a heaven for others over the river of death; Moses taught on all\noccasions that virtue is rewarded, and vice is punished, in this\nworld. These four tenets are the ground-work, the basis, of Moses\u2019\nsystem. He introduced certain forms and ceremonies to be practiced,\ntill a superior LIGHT would bless the world, and his countrymen be\nmore advanced in civilization, and when that Light came they were\nlaid aside. But his doctrines of one God, who rules the universe, and\nrewards virtue and punishes vice, are not obsolete. They are eternal\ntruths, and you say you believe them. You are then a disciple of Moses,\nfool as you say he was. That Moses did not know the whole truth,\nand nothing but the truth, is readily admitted; that all he said and\ndid were not divine, is also admitted; and it is also conceded that\nsometimes his spirit did not seem to harmonize with the forgiving\nspirit of Christ. But with all his imperfections, he was a man among\nmen; he was the tallest man of his day, and his brow was bathed in the\nrising sun, when the world was yet shrouded in darkness.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo that view of Moses I do not much object. But what is called the\nhistory of the Jews, is contradictory, and often much exaggerated.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere may be errors in the Bible history of the Jews, but the\nmain statements are doubtless correct. The writers thereof make no\npretention to inspiration, that I know of. You do not reject the\nhistory of the United States, because some of the writers thereof\ncontradict each other.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, there are the pretended prophets; do you think they were God\u2019s\nprophets?\u201d\n\n\u201cMany events they predicted have taken place. I believe, sir, that\nGod has had prophets in all ages and climes. All history, ancient and\nmodern, is full of the supernatural element. It is found in Grecian,\nRoman, European, and American histories. It is found in the life of\nSocrates, Plato, Origen, Joan of Arc, Swedenborg, Stirling, Lavater,\nOberlin, Wesley, Luther, Murray, and in the life of innumerable other\nworthies of whom the world is not worthy. We find them among the\ndespised and forsaken. They have been spit upon in all the streets in\nthe world. They have been burned at the stake as enemies of God and\nman. But they cared for none of these things; they knew that they were\nwalking in the light of heaven, and all the powers of darkness could\nnot terrify their brave souls.\n\n\u201cWe pity the Indian prince\u2019s ignorance of the fact that water by cold\nis converted into solid ice. He was sure that such a phenomena was\nunnatural, and \u2018contrary to all human experience.\u2019 We know though\nthat it is done; and if we know anything of the history of mankind, we\nmust admit that it teaches that supernaturalism has been prevalent at\nall times. But if we pronounce this revelation of the historic page,\ndelusion, to be consistent we should call all history imposition, for\nthe supernatural is as well attested as any statement of history. The\ntruth is, there is an unseen hand directing all the affairs of the\nuniverse; and man, whether living or dying, in time or in eternity,\nis constantly controlled, more or less, by that invisible power. It\nis man\u2019s natural condition to be in alliance with the spiritual. When\nhe is material in all his hopes and aspirations, coarse and brutish,\nhe is in an unnatural condition, and the spirit of God almost parts\nwith him, and leaves him nearly alone in his sins. But the pure and\ngood are exalted to heavenly places, commune with the spirits of the\njust, and are enveloped in an halo of glory. Some rise so high, that\nthe hand of God is on their brow, and then they see visions, dream\ndreams, heal the sick, raise the dead, and cast out devils. Such are\nGod\u2019s prophets; such were the Jewish prophets, and the world in all\nages has been blessed with the divine utterances of such godly men and\nwomen. Although their brows were immersed in the sun-light of heaven,\ntheir feet were on this earth, and hence we may expect to find their\nrevelations sometimes tinged with the darkness of earth.\u201d\n\nLectured in Pisgah, and a man gave notice that he should reply the\nnext Sunday. I begged of him to offer his objections while I was in\ntown; he would not consent to, but said, \u201cOn next Sunday I will show\nthat you deny the Bible, and teach a bundle of lies.\u201d \u201cName one lie I\nhave uttered to-night.\u201d \u201cYou can not get me into a controversy now.\u201d\nPreached in Booneville, and then proceeded to Marshall, where I spoke\ntwice. Had some talk with a rum-seller.\n\n\u201cDo you think it right to poison and impoverish all you can?\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t poison or impoverish.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou don\u2019t! Every dram you sell poisons and impoverishes somebody. The\nbody is the habitation built for the soul, made in the image and glory\nof God to dwell in; and it is your business from early morn to late at\nnight, to stand in your den and deal damnation to God\u2019s noble work.\nWhat abominable business for a man to engage in! What a life to live!\nWhat prostitution of time and opportunities! I should think you would\nbe fearful that the indignant earth would open its jaws and crush you\nto atoms.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf your doctrine is true I am safe.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs my doctrine is true I would not stand in your shoes for all of this\nworld. You are a curse to yourself, your family, and this town. The\nfires that are consuming you, are scorching all with whom you come in\ncontact.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut you preach that all will be saved, and of course I am included.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou will not be saved in this world, nor in the world to come, till\nyou repent of your sins in sackcloth and ashes, and by the grace of\nGod are thoroughly regenerated. You will have to work out your own\nsalvation; and judging from your business, that you occupy a very low\nplane in this world, morally and spiritually, I fear you will fill a\nlow one in the other land, and will have to work long and hard ere you\nwill know much about heaven. I advise you not to credit the slang of\nOrthodox preachers, that according to Universalism all will be saved\nany how. We believe in nothing of that kind. The pure and good only\nare saved in this world, and the pure and good only will be saved in\nthe immortal world. Now, my friend, permit me to give you one word\nof advice--sell no more liquor, drink no more liquor, engage in some\nhonest calling, and live soberly, righteously and godly the remainder\nof your days. By doing so, you will live better, die happier--you will\nknow something of heaven in this world.\u201d\n\nLectured in Miami, then crossed the Missouri river to Dewitt, where\nI spoke several times. A society was subsequently formed there, but\nthe war broke it up. Held meetings in all the towns on both sides of\nthe river to St. Joseph. In Kansas City lectured five times. This is\ndestined to be a large place. It occupies a central position, and right\nin the way of trade and travel. It is on the bank of the Missouri\nriver, and the Pacific railroad passes through the town. Other roads\nare contemplated, some or all of which will doubtless be built. It is\nalso in the midst of one of the finest agricultural regions of the\nworld.\n\nLectured in Wyandotte, Kansas. This town joins Kansas City, and like\ntwo drops, they will become one--commercially, at least. Its site is\nmagnificent, the ground gradually ascending from the river, and ere\nlong it will be a rich and populous place. An Episcopal minister asked\nme various questions concerning the doctrine every where spoken against.\n\n\u201cDo your people think Jesus Christ was a human being?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe think he was. He certainly possessed a human constitution and\norganization; was subject to hunger and thirst; was weary and cold,\nand was liable to the pains and agonies \u2018flesh is heir to.\u2019 He grew\nfrom childhood to youth, and thence to manhood. Hence the New Testament\nsays, \u2018For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the\nfeelings of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we\nare, yet without sin.\u2019 Heb. iv. 15. \u2018But made himself of no reputation,\nand took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness\nof men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and\nbecame obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.\u2019 Phil. ii.\n7, 8. \u2018And the word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.\u2019 John i. 14.\nHe was a man, and would have died ultimately had he lived in an age of\njustice and toleration.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat was the object of his death?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will answer in the language of the Bible. \u2018For Christ also hath once\nsuffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to\nGod.\u2019 1 Peter iii. 18. \u2018For it became him, for whom are all things, and\nby whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the\ncaptain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.\u2019 Heb. ii. 10.\n\u2018For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death\nof his Son.\u2019 Rom. v. 10. Jesus came, not to appease God\u2019s wrath, or to\nquench the fire of hell.\n\n  \u201c\u2019Twas not to quench eternal fire,\n     That Jesus came and spilt his blood,\n   Not to appease his Father\u2019s ire,\n     But to reconcile the world to God.\u2019\n\n\u201cHis noble example in dying for man, has strengthened the martyr\u2019s\nfaith on many a scaffold, and when chained to many a fiery stake. And\nhe died like them, a martyr to truth and righteousness. He _taught_\nlove to God and man; he _lived_ what he taught, and he died confirming\nhis _teaching_ and his _life_. That precept, that life, and that death,\nhave been a power in the world for eighteen hundred years, and they\nwill be a power in this world in all coming time.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut the Bible talks about man being saved by the _blood_, or _death_\nof Christ. Do you think there was no special efficacy in his blood and\ndeath?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe say that our fathers died to save us from the oppression of Great\nBritain. In the same sense Christ died to save us from the bondage of\nsin, and to cleanse us from all allegiance to despotism. Blood from\nany one\u2019s veins can only cleanse in a figurative sense. It is the\ntruth which Jesus taught that cleanseth the soul; and as his blood was\nshed in attestation of the truth, the Bible refers figuratively to\nthat blood as the efficient cause of our deliverance and salvation. In\nthis sense he \u2018bore our sins and our iniquities,\u2019 was \u2018wounded for our\ntransgressions,\u2019 and \u2018by his stripes we are healed.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cThere are men in high places in our church who entertain similar\nviews, but in my estimation, they are erroneous. I accept the creed\nof the church, that Jesus was God, and of all the sequences of that\nproposition.\u201d\n\nProceeded to Leavenworth, where I delivered four discourses. This\nwas then a small town, but is now a large city, and destined to be\na very important one. We ought to have a minister at work there. A\nlarge congregation could soon be gathered. There are many influential\nfamilies who would give such a man their hearty support. While here I\nheard the following conversation in an adjoining room at an hotel:\n\n\u201cDid you attend the Universalist meeting last night?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo; I have no faith in the creed of that church. What was the\npreacher\u2019s text?\u201d\n\n\u201c\u2018I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ,\u2019 were the words. I must\nconfess, I was much interested. It was the first Universalist sermon\nI ever heard, and I am inclined to think it was the first _gospel_\nsermon I ever heard. I have, all my life, heard about the abominations\nof Universalism, and I supposed it was a mass of corruption. But if\nthat man last night preached Universalism, I don\u2019t know but I must be a\nUniversalist.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat did he say that took you so?\u201d\n\n\u201cAmong other things he said, salvation was not from hell, but from sin,\nfrom error, from mental darkness; that Jesus came not to save us from\neternal burnings, but to make us good fathers, mothers, brothers,\nsisters, children, neighbors, friends, citizens. There is good sense in\nthat.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat did he say about the gospel?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat it is good news from God to man--that all sin, suffering and\ndeath will be ultimately abolished, and that God will be all in all. He\nsaid, that the meaning of the word gospel is good news, and that the\nwhole system corresponds with the signification of the word.\u201d\n\n\u201cDid he say anything about hell? Of course he did not, as there is no\nhell in his faith.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe did not say much on that subject, but gave notice that this evening\nhe would give the Bible doctrine of hell, and you had better go and\nhear what he has to say. The Orthodox view of religion never satisfied\nme, and I am bound to look into this new faith.\u201d\n\nA society was organized at the close of one of the meetings, and this\nman united himself with it.\n\nSpent two days in Weston, Mo., and preached twice. Agreeably to\nrequest, I delivered a discourse on the destruction of the enemies\nto God and man, and took for my text, \u201cThe last enemy, death, shall\nbe destroyed.\u201d 1 Cor. xv. I remarked, 1. Sin is an enemy to man, but\nthat is to be destroyed. \u201cBehold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the\n_sin_ of the world.\u201d \u201cFor this purpose was the Son of God manifested\nthat he might destroy the _works_ of the devil.\u201d Sin, then, is to be\ndestroyed. 2. The devil is to be destroyed. \u201cForasmuch as the children\nare partakers of flesh and blood, he also took part of the same; that\nthrough death he might destroy him that hath the power of death,\nthat is, the _devil_.\u201d Thus, the devil, and all his works, are to be\ndestroyed. 3. Pain is an enemy to man, and that is to be destroyed.\n\u201cThere shall be no more _pain_, neither shall there be _sorrow_ nor\n_crying_, for the former things are passed away.\u201d How false is the\ndoctrine of endless suffering, endless sorrowing, endless weeping. 4.\nHell is an enemy; but the Scriptures teach, that it is to be destroyed.\n\u201cO, _hell_, I will be thy destruction.\u201d And an apostle asks the\ntriumphant question, \u201cO death, where is thy sting? O grave, (_hades_\nor _hell_) where is thy victory?\u201d 5. Death is also an enemy, and it is\nto be destroyed. We read, \u201cHe will swallow up _death_ in victory, and\nthe Lord God will wipe tears from all faces.\u201d \u201cThere shall be no more\n_death_;\u201d and the text asserts that, \u201cThe last enemy, _death_, shall\nbe destroyed.\u201d But how can death be destroyed if millions of mankind\nare to be eternally the victims of death? In the language of Dr. Adam\nClarke, \u201cDeath is conquered, hell disappointed, the devil confounded,\nand sin totally destroyed. Amen! Hallelujah! The Lord God, omnipotent\nreigneth! He shall reign forever and ever!\u201d\n\nNotwithstanding this distinct and emphatic testimony, it is contended\nby many people, with the Bible in their hands, that sin, pain, death,\nhell, and the devil, will eternally prey on countless multitudes of our\nrace; and if you intimate to them that those enemies to our peace and\nhope will be destroyed, they cry, delusion, imposture, infidelity. But\nI trust in God, and believe in the divine promise of the end of all\nevil, and the bringing in of \u201ceverlasting righteousness.\u201d\n\nI also lectured in St. Joseph three evenings. At the close of one of my\nmeetings, a preacher remarked, \u201cYou have been talking about the mercy\nof God, but will not God\u2019s wrath last as long as his mercy?\u201d I replied,\nwithout stopping to inquire what is meant by the wrath or anger of\nGod, the Bible emphatically declares that \u201cHis anger endureth for a\n_moment_, but his mercy from everlasting to everlasting.\u201d Again, \u201cHe\nretaineth _not his anger forever_, because he delighteth in mercy.\u201d\n\u201cI will _not contend forever, neither will I be always wroth_.\u201d Why\nnot? \u201cBecause the spirit would fail before me, and the souls which\nI have made.\u201d Can you give as good a reason why he will be always\nwroth, why he will contend forever, as he has why he will not? Pain\ntends to destroy the sufferer. Let a person endure intense agony,\nand if medical aid does not relieve him, death will soon step in and\ndeliver the sufferer. This is a merciful provision of our heavenly\nFather, to prevent very protracted suffering. The passage just cited\nteaches, that God will not permit any one to suffer long because that\nsuffering would end his existence. \u201cThe spirit would fail before me,\nand the souls I have made.\u201d The soul could not endure _endless wrath_;\nit would fail, or cease to be. Jeremiah asks the question, \u201cWill he\nreserve his anger forever? Will he keep it to the end?\u201d Now observe\nthe answer, \u201cI am merciful saith the Lord, and will _not keep anger\nforever_.\u201d Again it is said, \u201cFor his anger endureth for a _moment_,\nweeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.\u201d The\nprophet Isaiah records, \u201cIn a little wrath I hid my face from thee for\na _moment_; but with _everlasting_ kindness will I have mercy on thee,\nsaith the Lord.\u201d Again it is said, \u201cThe Lord will not cast off forever,\nbut though he cause grief, yet he will have compassion according to the\nmultitude of his tender mercies.\u201d We read the following, \u201cMy mercy will\nkeep forevermore.\u201d \u201cFor the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting.\u201d\nIn one Psalm it is twenty-six times asserted that \u201cThe mercy of the\nLord _endureth forever_.\u201d Hence it is said, \u201cGod is _rich_ in mercy.\u201d\n\u201c_Plenteous_ in mercy.\u201d We also read of his mercy in the plural form.\nThey are said to be \u201cgreat,\u201d \u201cmanifold,\u201d and \u201cover all his works.\u201d\nThe apostle Paul believed in God\u2019s mercy, for he says, \u201cFor he hath\nconcluded them all in unbelief, that he might have MERCY ON ALL!\u201d\n\nFrom all this precious testimony, I conclude that the \u201cwrath of\nGod,\u201d let it mean what it may, will continue but a _moment_, while\nhis mercy is as endless as his own existence. The mother may forget\nthe son of her love, but God will never forget the souls he has made.\nGod is merciful to us to-day, he will be to-morrow, and forever. No\ncircumstance or place can turn his love into hatred, his goodness into\ncruelty. His mercy blesses us in this world, and it will bless us in\nthe world to come. Death cannot change the great love God has for the\nsoul.\n\nDelivered a series of discourses in Kingston, on the following\nsubjects:--\u201cThe Character of God\u201d--\u201cMan as he Is and is to\nBe\u201d--\u201cRewards and Punishments\u201d--\u201cThe Future Life\u201d--\u201cThe Restitution.\u201d\nOur faith was new to the people, as a discourse in its defense had not\nbeen before delivered in the county. A Baptist minister replied to\none of the sermons; he had traveled ten miles to attend the meeting.\nHe dwelt on the Rich Man and Lazarus. Denied it being a parable, and\nsaid it was a literal account of two men in this world, and world to\ncome--one in heaven and the other in hell--and that their fate in\neternity would be the fate of all mankind--part would ascend to heaven,\nand the balance would sink into the regions of eternal fire.\n\nI replied as follows: If the gentleman is correct in asserting that the\ntext is to be understood literally, the following are FACTS, concerning\nthe Hereafter: 1. Hell is a _place_, not a state or condition, but a\nplace; has a local habitation as well as a name; has length, width,\ndepth and highth; in fact, is the penitentiary of the universe. Hell\nis called in the passage, \u201cthis _place_ of torment.\u201d 2. Hell is a\n_fiery furnace_. The rich man says, \u201cI am tormented in these _flames_,\u201d\nand begs for a drop of water to cool his tongue. 3. \u201cThis place of\ntorment,\u201d this region of fire, is within speaking distance of heaven.\nAbraham and the rich man had a talk on some interesting topics.\nHeaven and hell, then, are neighbors. They are located side by side;\nthe division fence being a gulf. 4. If the fate of those two men is\nto be the fate of all mankind, the world is to be divided. Parents\nand children, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, friends and\nneighbors, are to be eternally separated--part to be in heaven, and\npart in hell.\n\nNow, I want to know if there could be any happiness in such a heaven.\nCould parents be happy seeing their children in hell, as Abraham saw\nthe \u201crich man?\u201d Could children be happy, beholding the mother who bore\nthem, and the father who loved them, writhing in the liquid flames,\nthe cursed of God, and the sport of devils? Could the wife behold\nthe beloved partner of her life, suffering immortal agony in the\nfiery furnace, and rejoice and sing praise? I read a few days since a\nPresbyterian Sabbath School report, and the writer states, that \u201cheaven\nwill be made up of remnants of ruined families.\u201d Nearly every family\nwill be ruined--a remnant only will escape the dreadful wreck. To\nexpect happiness in such a heaven, would be like expecting oranges to\ngrow on icebergs. But if the gentleman is right in his interpretation\nof the passage before us, there is just such a heaven, and just such a\nhell; and about every family will be irredeemably ruined, and eternally\ndivided. The nearest approach to such a shocking scene, is a band of\nnaked and painted savages, laughing and dancing around the blazing\nstake, at which their victims are burning. There is your heaven, and\nyour hell, on a small scale.\n\nBut to prevent the denizens of heaven becoming _insane_ at such a\nfrightful spectacle, it is said, their _memory_ will be destroyed;\nthey will not remember they ever had dear friends on earth. Yes, and\nthey will have to have their _eyes_ put out, for Abraham could see the\nrich man. They will also have to be as deaf as adders, else the cries,\ngroans and lamentations of hell will ever be sounding in their ears.\nBut it must be evident to every reflecting mind, that the text is not\nto be understood _literally_, but _figuratively_. It is doubtless a\nparable, a fable, and its _moral_ is one of the most interesting and\ninstructive lessons in the New Testament.\n\nI have not room here for the interpretation I gave the passage; but\nthe preacher, at the close, admitted that the view presented seemed\nreasonable, and was, perhaps, correct. A rum-seller here told me, that\nhe had been through religion, and was satisfied it was all humbug. I\ntold him that he would, perhaps, be improved if religion should go\n_through_ him.\n\nI also lectured several times in Chillicothe. My subjects were,\n\u201cSin\u201d--\u201cDeath\u201d--\u201cHell\u201d--\u201cSalvation.\u201d One man remarked to me, after\nhearing the discourse on Sin,\n\n\u201cJesus says, \u2018If you die in your sins, where God and Christ are, ye\ncannot come.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cMy friend, there is no such passage in the Bible.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, but there is,\u201d said he; \u201cI have read it many a time.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut you are mistaken. The passage you quoted at, reads thus: \u2018Then\nsaid Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and ye\nshall die in your sins; whither I go ye cannot come.\u2019 John viii. 21.\nYou perceive the true reading is very different from your version.\nThese words were addressed to the Jews. A short time afterwards he\nhad occasion to address his disciples; and mark what he said to them.\n\u2018Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me;\nand as I said to the Jews, Whither I go ye cannot come, _so say I\nunto you_.\u2019 John xiii. 33. Now, if Jesus when he told the Jews that\nthey could not go to him, meant they should not inherit immortal\nblessedness, he must have meant the same when he addressed the\ndisciples, for you perceive, he said precisely the same to them. But\nnothing of the kind was intended when he addressed friend or foe. He\nonly meant in both cases, that they could not much longer follow him\nfrom place to place, as they had been in the habit of doing. He was\nabout to depart from this world, and they would have to remain on earth.\n\n\u201cMany of the Jews did die in their sins, but it does not thence follow\nthat they are condemned to sin forever. Because a man sins this year it\ndoes not follow he will sin all his life-time. God is not so in love\nwith sin that he will compel a soul to sin eternally because this life\nwas mis-spent. What would be thought of a farmer who compelled a man to\ncut down every tree in his orchard because he had cut down one tree?\nAnd will the God of wisdom and goodness, compel all to sin eternally\nwho die sinners? If yea, then nearly all mankind will be forever lost,\nfor nearly all die sinners in some degree. The law is, \u2018Thou shalt\nlove the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul and strength, and thy\nneighbor as thyself.\u2019 Now, who obeys that law? But few indeed, I\nfear. Nearly all mankind, then, will be forever lost if there is no\nredemption for those who die sinners.\n\n\u201cBut the good Book teaches, that sin will not debase the soul always;\nbut rather that there is to be \u2018an end of sin.\u2019 Dan. ix. Transferring\nall sin and all sinners to hell would not exactly be destroying sin nor\nconverting sinners to God. It would simply be removing sin and sinners\nto another locality--that is all. Transporting all the drunkards from\nSt. Louis to Chicago, would not be destroying intemperance. It would\nonly be removing the curse from one place to another--nothing more.\nBut when the Bible talks about sin being _destroyed, making an end_ of\nsin, it means just what it says. It does not mean that it will _not_ be\ndestroyed, will _not_ end its reign.\u201d\n\nFrom Chillicothe I journeyed to Dewitt. I well remember of traveling\nthat road at another time. It was one of the hottest days of summer,\nand I rode on horseback, from early morn till late at night, in the\nblazing sun, without a particle of food. About mid-day, I called at a\nhouse to get a drink of water, and the good woman conducted me to the\nback porch where were two buckets of ice and water--one bucket for\nthe white folks, and the other for the negroes, and told me to keep\nmyself to the refreshing contents of the former. Never shall I forget\nthat blessed bucket, and its thrice blessed treasure. I thought of the\nspring in the desert, gushing forth its cooling draught; of\n\n  \u201cThe old oaken bucket,\n   The moss covered bucket,\n   The iron bound bucket,\n   That hung in the well,\u201d\n\nAnd of Jesus resting, as I was resting, at the Samaritan well.\n\nAfter traveling about one week more, I reached home after a long\nabsence; having delivered seventy-five discourses, and rode some seven\nhundred miles--all on horseback.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII.\n\n\n  THE REBELLION COMMENCED--WHAT SENATOR DOUGLAS SAID--DEFENDERS OF OUR\n  COUNTRY--CAMP JACKSON--REBEL FLAG--GREAT EXPECTATIONS--SUBSCRIBERS\n  LOST--MONEY LOST--ALL BUT TWO OF THE RELIGIOUS JOURNALS\n  STOPPED--COULD DO BUT LITTLE IN MISSOURI--SOCIETY IN ST. LOUIS--G.\n  S. WEAVER LEFT--THE UNITARIAN SOCIETY--PUBLISHED PAMPHLET ON WATER\n  BAPTISM--DISCUSSION WITH B. H. SMITH--EXTRACTS FROM THE DISCUSSION.\n\nWhile sitting at the breakfast-table, at a boarding-house in St. Louis,\non the morning of the 14th of April, 1861, it was announced through the\nmorning paper, that the South Carolinians had fired on Fort Sumter. I\nremarked, \u201cThe rebels will rue that traitorous deed.\u201d The landlady took\nfire, and with eyes darting vengeance, said, \u201cWe are _Southrons_.\u201d \u201cIf\nyou are _Southrons_ you need not be rebels.\u201d The whole city was wild\nwith excitement. Americans had fired on their own flag, civil war was\ninaugurated; but how far it would extend, and what would be the result,\nwere problems the wisest could not solve. Would the whole land be\ndesolated? Would treason, with fire and sword, march through the length\nand breadth of the country, scattering death and destruction, where\npeace, harmony and happiness had so long prevailed? Was the sun of the\nGreat Republic about to set, and set in blood, fire and desolation? Was\nour glorious Union about to be rent asunder by profane hands? Where\nwould the division end? Would it be torn in two, twenty, or thirty\nparts? No wonder loyal men and women were excited and alarmed.\n\nA day or two after the announcement of that insane act of South\nCarolina, I heard a man on Fourth street read a private dispatch he had\njust received from Senator Douglas at Washington, \u201c_Tell my friends\nthey must sustain the government._\u201d It made my heart leap for joy, and\nI exclaimed to a by-stander, \u201cGod bless Douglas.\u201d \u201cGod d---- him,\u201d said\nan enraged \u201cSouthron.\u201d In a few days more, President Lincoln\u2019s call\nfor volunteers was published; and then the drum began to beat; and the\nfarmers, mechanics, merchants, doctors, lawyers, preachers, all over\nthe land, left their homes and enrolled themselves, \u201cDEFENDERS OF OUR\nCOUNTRY.\u201d And many a prayer went up to heaven for their protection and\nsuccess. When General Lyon, a few weeks after, marched five thousand\nloyal soldiers through the city and captured \u201cCamp Jackson,\u201d the union\nportion of the population were delighted, but the rebels were dismayed.\nFor weeks a rebel flag had been hanging over a building on the corner\nof Pine and Fifth streets, the head-quarters of treason, and several\nleading papers in the city working to get Missouri out of the Union.\nThese treason plotters, north and south, east and west, had great\nexpectations. One of them said to me,\n\n\u201cWe shall succeed. The South will sustain itself. The North will not\nfight. And having the mouth of the Mississippi river, the South will\ncompel the Western States to join them; we shall have a strong and\nmagnificent government, and the Eastern States may go to destruction\nfor ought we care.\u201d\n\nI replied: \u201cThree or four years of war will open your eyes, if you\nshall have any then to open, with regard to the North and the South. Do\nnot delude yourself with the fancy, that the northern people will not\nfight for the _right_; you will find that they will fight, and as men\nhardly ever before did fight. It is true they greatly prefer the arts\nof peace; but when their country is in danger, the country for which\ntheir fathers bled and died, you will find that the spirit of \u201976 is\nnot degenerated. You do not know what you are about; you are insane.\nYou are disturbing a lion, and by and by he will spring to his feet\nand crush you to death.\u201d\n\nBut after the Camp Jackson affair, and the citizens were taught by\nseveral bloody lessons, to let the soldiers pass through the streets\nundisturbed, we had peace and safety in St. Louis. The rebel element\nwas strong, but it was harmless amid a preponderance of loyalty,\nsupported by an army of the \u201cboys in blue.\u201d But in Missouri, outside of\nSt. Louis, with the exception of here and there a place where soldiers\nwere stationed, there was but little peace, or safety.\n\nI had nearly three thousand subscribers in Missouri, and the Southern\nStates, when the war commenced, and I lost all the Southern, and nearly\nall the Missouri subscribers, by the mails being discontinued, and\nby the general confusion that reigned. My loss was, at least, five\nthousand dollars. Three religious periodicals--Methodist, Baptist and\nPresbyterian--were discontinued at the beginning of the strife. The\nformer was suppressed by General Lyon, for its treasonable utterances.\nThe _Magazine_ and the _Central Christian Advocate_, were the only\nreligious journals that survived the outbreak. The _Magazine_ was\npretty badly crippled, and but for the aid it received from the loyal\nstates, it would have succumbed.\n\nI traveled and preached but little in Missouri during the war. Most of\nthe men were in the army, north or south; some left the state, and the\nfew who remained did not think much about religion. The society in St.\nLouis went to the shades. Mr. Weaver left the year before the war, and\nlocated in Lawrence, Mass., where he has been remarkably successful.\nHe is a noble man, and an excellent pastor and preacher. Before a\nsuccessor to him could be obtained, the war broke out, and that killed\nthe society. Our cause was always feeble in St. Louis. The Unitarian\nsociety was old, numerous, well established, and rich; but instead of\naiding us by its sympathy and co-operation, it stood off as cold as an\niceberg. I hear much of the love Unitarians bear for us, but have never\nseen much evidence of their love. They doubtless would like to have\nUnitarians and Universalists unite, but it must be like the marriage of\nman and woman, according to Blackstone, the twain must be one, and that\none, Unitarian. We are fine fellows if we will allow ourselves to be\nswallowed, head and heels, without kicking.\n\nAbout this time, I published a pamphlet entitled \u201cSeventy-two Reasons\nwhy Salvation is not by Water Baptism.\u201d The Reformers, or Campbellites,\na numerous and growing sect in the West and South, contend, as is\nwell known, that immersion in water is a condition of salvation. This\npamphlet is designed to refute that strange notion. The following is\nthe twenty-eighth \u201cReason\u201d:\n\n\u201cThen said Peter unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you\nin the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins; and ye shall\nreceive the gift of the Holy Ghost.\u201d Acts ii. 38.\n\nIf \u201cbaptized\u201d here refers to water baptism, it is the only place in\nthe New Testament where it is connected with \u201cremission of sin.\u201d And\nshall all that Christ and his apostles have said about sin being\nremoved by grace, hope, faith, repentance, be set aside, because in\none instance baptism and remission of sins are mentioned in connection\nwith each other? But even in this passage Peter tells his hearers to\n_repent_ \u201cfor the remission of sins,\u201d and there is common sense in that\nexhortation. Repentance means to reform, to cease doing evil and learn\nto do well, and when that is done, of course, our sins are remitted.\nIf a drunkard repents, reforms, the sin of intemperance is remitted,\nand so of all other sins--when we abandon them, they abandon us. If\nwe resist the devil he will flee from us. That is what forgiveness,\npardon, and remission of sin means. And that is what Peter means in\nthe above words, as is evident from his address to the people in Acts\niii. 19. \u201cRepent ye, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may\nbe blotted out.\u201d Here baptism is left out, clearly showing that the\nauthor, in the other place, did not mean that water puts away sin.\nThe same is taught by Jesus. \u201cAnd that _repentance_ and _remission\nof sins_ should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning\nat Jerusalem.\u201d Luke xxiv. 47. Nothing about water. The apostle Paul\nteaches the same truth. \u201cWhom God hath sent forth to be a propitiation\nthrough FAITH in his blood, to declare his righteousness, for the\nREMISSION OF SINS.\u201d Rom. iii. 25. Here again baptism has no credit for\nremitting sin; it is done through faith. Again this apostle says, \u201cThis\nis the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the\nLord, I will put my law into their hearts, and in their minds I will\nwrite them: and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now\nwhere REMISSION of these is, there is no more offering for sin.\u201d Heb.\nx. 16, 17, 18. Of course, when the law of God reigns supreme in men\u2019s\nhearts, their sins are remitted, whether they have been baptized or\nnot. It is the law of love that banishes sin, not water baptism. It is\nevident from the above testimony, that water baptism has nothing to do\nin putting away sin, and that the Reformers have departed far from the\ntruth in their notions about the saving influence of water baptism.\n\nAnd here is another error they commit. They are forever telling us\nthat the kingdom of God was set up on \u201cthe day of Pentecost.\u201d Their\nnotion runs about thus--Jesus Christ set up his kingdom on \u201cthe day of\nPentecost.\u201d The key thereof being given to Peter, he unlocked it on\nthat occasion, and commenced baptizing men and women into the kingdom.\nBaptism is the door. Not a living man, woman, or child was inside the\ndoor when Peter opened it. On this theological curiosity we have a\nfew words to offer. 1. We have not a particle of evidence that the\nkingdom of God was set up on that occasion. Peter, who was the sole\nspeaker, said not one word about the kingdom of God, not one word\nabout its keys, not one word about unlocking it, not one word about\nbaptism being the door into the kingdom, not one word about immersing\nanybody into it. If the august kingdom of the living God was really set\nup, opened, dedicated, and Jesus commenced his reign on \u201cthe day of\nPentecost,\u201d it is very remarkable that there is not one word said about\nany of these important matters by the great apostle. Our Reformers draw\nlargely on their imagination for their _facts_ when they expatiate\nabout Pentecost. 2. Water baptism is the door into the kingdom, is it?\nThe kingdom, then, which is purely a _spiritual_ institution, has a\n_material_ door! What an idea! And it was reserved for the nineteenth\ncentury to make that wonderful discovery. 3. If our friends are right\nin their curious notions, we should like to be informed how the first\none got into the kingdom. When Peter opened it not a soul was inside,\nand no one could get in without being baptized. Now, we should like\nto have one of their wise men tell us how the first one got inside.\nDid Peter baptize him in? But Peter was an \u201coutsider.\u201d And will our\nfriends pretend that one _out_ of the kingdom could lawfully initiate\none _into it_? This, though, must have been done, or some one must have\nslipped inside without immersion, and then went to work in good earnest\nputting others through the watery door into the spiritual kingdom. 4.\nIf our friends are right, not one of the twelve apostles entered the\nkingdom of God, for they were not baptized _before_, _at_, or _after_\nPentecost. Not even Mathias, who was chosen after the resurrection of\nChrist, was baptized. They did not enter through this singular door.\nHow then can they be saved?\n\nSoon after this pamphlet appeared, I made arrangements with B. H.\nSmith, pastor of the Reformers\u2019 church in St. Louis, to have a\ndiscussion in the _Magazine_ on the efficacy of water baptism. He\nproposed affirming that \u201cWater Baptism is a Condition of Salvation.\u201d\nHe was to write twelve letters. He wrote seven and then laid aside his\npen, and I could never induce him to write any more. The following is\npart of my reply to his first letter:\n\nYou advocate a proposition that consigns nearly all mankind to hopeless\nruin. You affirm that water baptism is a condition of salvation, and\nconsequently that there is not, and cannot be, any salvation without\nimmersion in water. Your brethren, generally, adopt the same theory.\nRev. Alexander Campbell, well known to be a prominent man in your\nfraternity, distinctly avows your position. Speaking of the \u201cact of\nfaith\u201d which he declares to be immersion in water, he says, \u201cWhatever\nthe act of faith may be, it necessarily becomes the line of demarkation\nbetween the two states before described. On this side, and on the other\nside, mankind are in quite different states. On one side they are\npardoned, justified, sanctified, reconciled, adopted and saved: and on\nthe other, they are in a state of condemnation. This act is sometimes\ncalled immersion, regeneration, conversion.\u201d (_Christian System_, page\n193.) This \u201cact of faith,\u201d you see, is immersion in water, and is\ncalled \u201cregeneration,\u201d and \u201cconversion.\u201d On one side, that is, all who\nare immersed, are \u201csaved, pardoned, justified, sanctified, reconciled,\nadopted,\u201d but those on the other side, that is, not immersed in water,\nare condemned, lost, unpardoned, unsanctified, etc. In one word,\nimmersion is the line between heaven and hell, between the saved and\nthe damned, between those God loves and those he hates. On page 197,\nhe says that \u201cImmersion is _inseparably_ connected with the remission\nof sins,\u201d--\u201cno person was said to be converted until he was immersed;\nand all persons who were immersed, were said to be converted.\u201d The same\nsaving power is attached to immersion all through Mr. Campbell\u2019s book.\nBut, sir, reason, common sense, common justice, and every thing else\nthat even _squints_ toward the true and right, condemn such a theory.\nBut as you appeal to the New Testament to sustain your proposition, I\ntrust I can show you misunderstand its letter and spirit.\n\nYour doctrine of the purifying power of water baptism, is rank\nHeathenism. The Pagans, publicly and privately, used lustral water,\nwhich they thought had the virtue of purifying the soul, and of\nremitting the punishment of sins. \u201cThe Indians,\u201d writes father Jesuit\nBonchet, a missionary to India, \u201csay that in bathing--that is,\nimmersing--in certain rivers, sins are _entirely_ remitted; and that\ntheir mysterious waters, wash not only the bodies, but also purify the\nsouls in an admirable manner.\u201d This testimony, Chateaubriand adds, is\nconfirmed by the \u201cMemoirs of the English Society of Calcutta.\u201d The\nwaters of the Ganges are supposed by the Hindoos, to purify those who\nare immersed in them. This sounds very much like your proposition. The\nCatholics, like yourself, have incorporated this item of Heathenism\ninto their faith. Their General Catechism treats on baptism thus:\n\n_Q._ What is baptism?\n\n_A._ A sacrament which cleanses from original sin, makes us christians\nand children of God; and heirs to the kingdom of heaven.\n\n_Q._ Does baptism also remit the actual sins committed before it?\n\n_A._ Yes; and all the punishment due them.\n\n_Q._ Is baptism necessary to salvation?\n\n_A._ Yes; without it, we cannot enter the kingdom of God.\n\nYou agree exactly with the Romish Church. Both you and that church\ncontend, that baptism cleanses the soul, makes us christians, children\nof God, heirs of heaven. You say, that \u201cbaptism is a condition of\nsalvation,\u201d and the Pope says, \u201cbaptism is necessary to salvation.\u201d\nThe Pagans call the baptismal water, \u201clustral water;\u201d the Catholics,\n\u201choly water,\u201d and your people, \u201cregenerating water.\u201d Mr. Campbell says,\n\u201cNo one acquainted with Peter\u2019s style, will think it strange that Paul\nrepresents as _saved_, _cleansed_, or _sanctified_ by _water_--may not\nhe then call that water, of which a person is born again, the _water_,\nor bath of _regeneration_.\u201d (_Christian System_, page 265.) You will\nobserve that you, the Catholics and Pagans, are beautifully harmonious\nconcerning the saving power of water.\n\nThe savages of the West, appear to be strictly Orthodox in their\nnotions concerning the regenerating influence of water. In the early\nsettlement of the West, two whites were captured by a band of Indians;\nand when on the bank of the Ohio, they were led into the river\nand immersed by their savage captors. The chief then informed his\nprisoners, that this immersion had changed their characters--that they\nwere no longer pale faces, but Indians, and were members of the tribe.\nWe smile at the red man\u2019s absurdity, but let us be careful and not be\nequally absurd. This is the first account we have of a western stream\nbeing deemed a \u201cbath of regeneration;\u201d but since then another people\nhave christened all the rivers, creeks and ponds in the West, \u201cbaths of\nregenerations.\u201d\n\nIn the course of the correspondence, I offered the following objections\nto his theory:\n\n1. \u201cYe are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God\nmade with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, and in thy seed shall all\nthe kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first, God having raised\nup his Son, Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning every one of you\nfrom his iniquities.\u201d Acts iii. 25, 26. This is from Peter\u2019s sermon,\ndelivered on Solomon\u2019s porch, and from which you have quoted in your\nargument. Your position is, that salvation is only for those who are\nimmersed, and as but a very small part of mankind are immersed, but a\nsmall part of mankind will be blessed with salvation. But the above\npassage promises blessedness to \u201call the kindreds of the earth,\u201d and\nwe are informed what that blessing is--\u201cTurning away every one of you\nfrom his _iniquities_.\u201d That is the blessing, and it is promised to all\nmankind. Mr. Campbell, in the book from which I have before quoted,\npage 135, admits the _universality_ of the promise, and says that the\n\u201cblessing is _spiritual_ and _eternal_.\u201d How he or you can restrict\nsalvation to the _few_ who are immersed, with this passage before your\neyes, and this admission, is a mystery.\n\n2. If you are correct, but a _small portion_ of mankind will be\nsaved--only those who are immersed in water. Every child, dying in\nchildhood, every idiot, every Jew, every Mohammedan, every Pagan, every\nCatholic, every Episcopalian, every Methodist, every Presbyterian, must\ngo to hell, if you are right. You deny salvation to every body who is\nnot baptized. If you are correct, hell will be _crowded_, and heaven\nalmost _empty_. My God! what a theory!\n\n3. According to your proposition, a person may spend three score years\nand ten in crime of the blackest dye; may trample under foot the laws\nof both God and man, and receive little or no punishment in this world;\nand by being immersed the last hour of his wicked life, his sins are\nall washed away, and he occupy as high a seat in heaven as St. John\nor St. Paul. Now, the Bible teaches that every transgression and\ndisobedience shall receive a just recompense of reward. (Heb. ii. 2.)\n\u201cHe that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done;\nand there is no respect of persons.\u201d Col. iii. 25. Your theory makes\na \u201crespect of persons;\u201d it says that the immersed \u201cshall NOT receive\nfor the wrong which they have done,\u201d but that wrath and vengeance will\nbe meted out forever and ever on the unimmersed. \u201cFor the Son of man\nshall come in the glory of the Father with his angels; and then shall\nhe reward every man according to his works.\u201d Matt. xvi. 27. Mr. Smith\naffirms, that heaven will render to the _unimmersed_ \u201caccording to\ntheir works,\u201d but the immersed will be saved from the just punishment\nof their sins. \u201cFor we must all appear before the judgment seat of\nChrist, that every one may receive the things done in his body,\naccording to that he hath done, whether good or bad.\u201d 2 Cor. v. 10. Mr.\nSmith denies that God will punish the immersed for the wicked deeds\nthey have done. In fact, his theory asserts that God will not punish\nthem at all, but saves them from the penalty of their sins. This, also,\nis a very serious objection to your proposition, and I hope it will\nreceive from you something besides a laugh.\n\n4. A wretch murders in cold blood a thousand unbaptized, good men, and,\naccording to your proposition, not one of them can be saved--they die\nunwashed of their sins and must be lost. As soon as he has killed their\nbodies, and sent their souls to hell, he attends Mr. Smith\u2019s meetings,\non Olive street, listens to one of his excellent exhortations to come\nforward and be immersed into the fold of God. He gives you his bloody\nhand, makes the good confession, and is immersed at the levee--the\nvery spot where he murdered the men, and some of their dead bodies are\nstill at his feet. His sins are all forgiven, his soul is pure, and he\nis an heir of heaven. But in going back to the sanctuary, he stumbles\nover one of the dead bodies of his victims, falls to the ground and\nbreaks his neck. He complied with the \u201cconditions of salvation,\u201d and\nhis sanctified soul is wafted right to heaven. But the thousand\nvictims of his wickedness, not having been immersed, although they\nwere righteous men, are lost forever. According to Mr. Smith\u2019s theory,\njust such a series of events may occur. One man may kill a thousand\nmen; their souls may all go to hell; and the murderer, by faith and\nimmersion, may be saved from all the consequences of deeds that have\nsent thousands to perdition. The murdered in hell, and the murderer in\nheaven. The outrage and injustice of this is a formidable objection to\nyour proposition. Admit this is an extreme case; but I want to know how\nyou will dispose of it?\n\n[A case much like this occurred in St. Louis soon after this was\nwritten. A condemned murderer \u201cbelieved,\u201d and was marched from his cell\nto the Olive Street church, and was there immersed, and then marched\nto the gallows, _via_ the prison, and if Mr. Smith is right, thence to\nheaven, while his victim likely was sent to hell.]\n\n5. One sin may ruin a soul forever without immersion, but a million\nsins are harmless if followed by immersion. To illustrate: a man\ncommits one sin, and dies without being immersed. You say, he cannot\nbe saved, for immersion is a condition of salvation. Another commits\na million of sins, and is immersed immediately after committing the\nlast one, and, having complied with the conditions of salvation, he\nis saved. Can you see any equity in this? Even if it is possible for\na child, dying ere it attains the age of accountability to be saved,\nsuppose it lives to commit one sin, and dies without being immersed,\naccording to Mr. Smith, it cannot be saved. It sinned _once_ and died\nwithout immersion, died with that sin unforgiven, and consequently it\ncannot be saved.\n\n6. A serious objection to Mr. Smith\u2019s view of baptism, is its arbitrary\ncharacter. There is naturally no power in water, or immersion in water,\nto cleanse the soul; and making its salvation depend on the body\nbeing dipped in water, sets aside all natural and spiritual laws. All\nGod\u2019s commands, in the New Testament, are based in sound philosophy,\nand are in perfect harmony with all nature; nothing is arbitrary;\nall is natural and philosophical. But the doctrine of salvation by\nimmersing the body in water, is in direct variance with God\u2019s method of\ngovernment, and therefore must be false.\n\n7. If Mr. Smith is right, a wonderful miracle is wrought whenever he or\nhis brethren immerse a man or woman in water. Mr. Campbell says, \u201cI am\nbold to affirm that every one of them who, in the belief of which the\napostle spoke, was immersed did, in the very instant in which he was\nput under the water, receive the forgiveness of his sins.\u201d (_Christian\nBaptist_, pages 416, 417.) The believer is cursed with all his sins,\nexposed to the wrath of God and the flames of hell, till the _very\ninstant he is put under water_. When under the water his sins are all\nforgiven, his soul is purified, his nature is changed, God becomes his\nfriend, and the door of heaven is opened to him. All this takes place\nduring the brief time he is under the water. What a miracle! There\nis nothing in the catalogue of miracles equal to it. And then such\nwonderful miracles are being wrought day and night in every stream and\npond in the land. If there is any truth in this theory, Mr. Smith has\nperformed far more miracles than Jesus Christ ever did. His brethren\noften laugh at the Methodists, for their notions about the operations\nof the spirit, and tell them they suppose a miracle is wrought,\nwhenever a soul is converted; but Mr. Smith and his friends believe in\ngreater wonders than the Methodists do, and those too that are not half\nas reasonable and philosophical.\n\n8. This theory suspends salvation on the will and act of another man.\nTo illustrate: Mr. Smith convinces one of his hearers of the truth of\nthe gospel, and he makes application to be immersed that his sins may\nbe pardoned. Mr. Smith does not doubt his faith, but refuses to immerse\nhim--has an old grudge against him--and the man dies the next day,\ndies unforgiven, and enters into the presence of his God with all his\nsins on his soul. Now, Mr. Smith, by not doing his duty, has sent that\nman to hell. It may be said, that Mr. Smith will be sent there too for\nthis sin of omission; but that would not help the poor man who went\nthere before him. If this doctrine is correct, thousands may be lost by\nothers refusing to immerse them. Again: a son or a daughter becomes a\npenitent believer, and desires to be immersed, but the father forbids\nit, and the youth dies unimmersed, and consequently goes to perdition.\nIt may be replied, that God does not require impossibilities, and in\nthose cases he will take the will for the deed. But Mr. Smith affirms,\nthere is no salvation without baptism. If Mr. Smith is right, all such\nunfortunate persons are lost.\n\n9. This system enjoins an impossibility, and then damns a man for not\nperforming it. On the desert a man becomes a penitent believer, but\ndies ere he can reach water in which to be immersed. A traveler in\nthe arctic regions makes the good confession, but freezes to death\nbefore he can melt water enough to be dipped in. All such souls are\nlost, for Mr. Smith and Mr. Campbell tell us, there is no salvation on\nthe desert, nor in the polar regions, without immersion. And this is\ncalled the glorious gospel of the blessed God! A solitary traveler in\nan uninhabited region, exclaims from the heart, \u201cI believe that Jesus\nChrist is the Son of God,\u201d and wills to be immersed; but he is in a bad\nfix. There is no one within an hundred miles to immerse him, and he\ncannot immerse himself. He makes a desperate effort to find somebody to\nimmerse him, as the salvation of his soul depends on his success. But\nhis effort is fruitless, his exertion brings on a fever, and he dies\nalone on the desert. According to Mr. Smith, he goes into the other\nworld a sinner, and as there is no water there to be immersed in, he\nmust be immersed in hell-fire, not for a moment, but for all eternity.\n\n10. It encourages superstition by attaching an extravagant importance\nto immersion. It elevates an ordinance far above every Christian\nvirtue; above faith, hope, charity, love. In fact, it makes almost a\ngod of water baptism.\n\n11. Mr. Smith\u2019s superstitious notions of baptism lead directly to\ninfant baptism--are the father and mother of infant baptism. Speaking\nof the origin of infant baptism, the learned historian and critic,\nSalmasins, says, \u201cAn opinion prevailed that no one could be saved\nwithout being baptized, and for that reason the custom arose of\nbaptizing infants.\u201d Professor Hahn testifies to the same: \u201cInfant\nbaptism arose from false views of original sin, and of the magical\npower of consecrated water.\u201d (_Prof. Hahn\u2019s Theology_, page 556.)\nAnother noted critic says: \u201cThe immediate occasion of infant baptism\nit cannot be denied was its extravagant ideas of its necessity to\nsalvation.\u201d (_Dressler\u2019s Doctrine of the Sacrament of Baptism._)\n\nIt is evident, then, that Mr. Smith\u2019s idea of water baptism is the\nlegitimate parent of infant baptism; and it is a mystery to me that\nhe and his brethren do not baptize infants to save their souls.\nAccording to Mr. Campbell they need salvation. Hear him: \u201cOur _nature_\nwas _corrupted_ by the fall of Adam before it was transmitted to us;\nand hence the hereditary imbecility to do good, and that proneness to\ndo evil, so universally apparent in all human beings. All inherit a\n_fallen_, consequently a _sinful_ nature.\u201d (_Christian System_, pages\n28, 29.) Now, as there is no salvation without baptism, why not baptize\ninfants? Will it not save _little_ sinners as well as large ones? It\nwould not astonish me to learn that Mr. Smith is immersing infants. I\nwonder he has not been doing it these many years.\n\n12. According to my friend\u2019s theology, a man may be full of faith, and\nlove, and good works, but if he has not been immersed in water he is\nin a lost and ruined condition, and on the broad road to everlasting\ndestruction. His faith, and love, and good works, avail nothing without\nimmersion. Stating such a proposition in simple language is enough to\ncondemn it.\n\n13. This theory is worse than infidelity. Thomas Paine, the noted\ninfidel, says, \u201cI believe that religious duties consist in doing\njustice, loving mercy, and endeavoring to make our fellow creatures\nhappy.\u201d (_Age of Reason_, page 6.) According to the theory in question,\nour Creator has no respect for these religious duties, unless we are\nimmersed in water. He will neither bless us with salvation in time or\neternity, if we religiously perform all these duties, unless we are\nimmersed. With all due respect to my friend, I must say, that of the\ntwo systems, Paine\u2019s is the best, as far, at least, as religious duties\nare concerned. My correspondent will doubtless reply, that he believes\nin the duties Paine names, and urges his fellow men to observe them. No\ndoubt of it; but then he spoils his faith and exhortation, by telling\nhis hearers, that the observing of them will avail nothing in the way\nof salvation without immersion in water.\n\n14. This theory is worse than Calvinism. With all its cruelty and\nsavagism, it does not make our salvation depend on immersion in water,\nwhether there is any water to be immersed in or not, whether our health\nwill admit of immersion or not; whether we can find one qualified to\nimmerse or not, and whether if we find such an one he will accommodate\nus or not.\n\n15. We have not a particle of evidence that one of the twelve disciples\nof our Lord was immersed. Matthew, one of the number, thus records\nthe call and acceptance of several of that chosen band. \u201cAnd Jesus,\nwalking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon and Peter, and\nAndrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.\nAnd he said unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.\nAnd they straightway left their nets and followed him. And going on\nfrom thence he saw two other brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and\nJohn his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their\nnets; and he called them. And they immediately left the ship and their\nfather, and followed him.\u201d Matt. iv. 18-22. In the tenth chapter we\nare informed of the other disciples being called. There is not the\nslightest intimation in the New Testament that one of the disciples was\nimmersed when they were chosen by the Master, or at any subsequent time.\n\n16. My friend maintains, that immersion is the door to discipleship, to\nthe kingdom, to salvation, pardon, heaven. If he is right, is it not\nremarkable that there is not a particle of evidence, that one of our\nLord\u2019s disciples entered that door? When some of them were called, they\nwere on the shore of the sea, but not a word is recorded of their being\nimmersed to prepare them for their mission. Never afterward did they\nspeak or write of being immersed, nor did any others refer to it. The\nunavoidable inference is, that they were not baptized in water, and so\naccording to Mr. Smith, their sins were never forgiven, they were not\nsaved, never members of the kingdom of God. But let Mr. Smith and his\nfriends ponder well the fact, that men in those days could be disciples\nof Jesus without immersion. Why not now?\n\n17. This theory is immoral in its influence, as it affirms that the\nunimmersed are under no obligation to do any thing which implies\nspiritual life. The following are Mr. Campbell\u2019s remarkable words:\n\u201cNo prayers, songs of praise, no acts of devotion in the new economy,\nare enjoined on the unbaptized.\u201d (_Christian Baptist_, page 439.) If\nMr. Campbell is right, it is a great sin for any one who has not been\nimmersed in water to perform any of these acts. Ministers, then, of all\ndenominations, except immersionists and their congregations, spend each\nreturning Sabbath, not in serving God, but in open rebellion against\nhim. Christians, all over the world, morning, noon and evening, in\noffering their prayers to God, and singing his praise, are guilty of\nheinous sins. They do what they have no right to do. Their prayers,\ntheir songs, and all their devotions, are so many sins against heaven,\nand for which, by and by, they will be turned into hell. Such teachings\ncan have no other than an immoral influence.\n\n18. On page 204, of \u201cChristian System,\u201d Mr. Campbell has the following\ncurious remark: \u201cAnd we know so much of human nature as to say, that\nhe that _imagines_ himself pardoned, will feel as _happy_ as he that\nreally is so.\u201d This is in reply to an objection, that according to his\ntheory, no one can be saved, pardoned, without immersion in water. His\nreply is, that there is no evidence such can be saved; but they can\n_imagine_ themselves saved, pardoned; can _fool_ themselves into the\nidea that they are pardoned, yet full of sin all the time, and will be\njust as happy as they would be if their sins were all forgiven, and\ntheir souls pure as the angels. Where he got his mental philosophy I\nknow not, but surely not from the Bible. According to this wisdom, a\nman, drunk and wallowing in the gutter, if he imagines himself a sober\nman and virtuous citizen, \u201cwill feel as happy as he that really is so.\u201d\nOr a murderer, with innocent blood on his hands, and murder in his\nheart, if he only imagines he is innocent, \u201cwill feel as happy as he\nthat really is so.\u201d All such absurd notions proceed from the position\nof my friend, that there is no salvation, no forgiveness, without\nimmersion in water.\n\n19. The Scriptures teach that all sin is to be forgiven. \u201cAll sins\nshall be forgiven unto the sons of men.\u201d \u201cEvery plant which my heavenly\nFather hath not planted, shall be rooted up.\u201d The angel told Joseph,\n\u201cThou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from\ntheir sins.\u201d Matt. i. 21. John, the forerunner of Jesus, pointed to him\nand said, \u201cBehold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the\nworld.\u201d John i. 29. Many more passages might be cited, showing that\nall sin is to be forgiven, abolished, taken away, made an end of. Now,\nmy friend\u2019s theory is, that no sin can be forgiven without the aid\nof water baptism. But only a small portion of mankind are immersed,\nand therefore, if he is right, all those scriptures which teach the\nextinction of sin, are so many mistakes. If all sin is to be forgiven,\nMr. Smith is mistaken.\n\n20. \u201cAnd we have seen, and do testify, that the Father sent the Son\nto be the Savior of the world.\u201d 1 John iv. 14. The men of Samaria,\nafter hearing Jesus speak of his mission, went away and said, \u201cWe\nhave heard him ourselves and know that this is the Christ, the Savior\nof the world.\u201d John iv. 42. If Christ was sent by the Father to save\nthe world, and if he saves only the few who are immersed in water,\ninstead of saving _the world_, he will save but a very _small part_ of\nit; instead of doing his Father\u2019s business, he will leave most of it\nundone. How can you reconcile these precious promises with your very\npartial salvation?\n\n21. \u201cNow is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this\nworld be cast out, and I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw\nALL MEN to me.\u201d John xii. 31, 32. According to my friend, we can go to\nChrist only _through immersion_, and as but a small part of all men are\nimmersed, the conclusion is, that only a small part of mankind can go\nto Christ. But this conclusion from Mr. Smith\u2019s premises contradicts\nthe Savior. Jesus says, he will draw all men to him. It is clear\nthat my friend\u2019s theory contradicts the letter and spirit of the New\nTestament.\n\n22. \u201cAs in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.\u201d 1\nCor. xv. 22. When Jesus shall have made an end of sin, saved the world,\ndrawn all men to him, then will all who die in Adam be in Christ. But\nMr. Smith contends that no one can get into Christ, save by immersion.\nThat is a fundamental point with him; but as ultimately all men are\nto be in Christ, he must be mistaken. Try, my friend, to reconcile\nyour faith with that glorious passage. Nearly all mankind die without\nbeing water-immersed into Christ. All children, idiots, Jews, Pagans,\nCatholics, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans, Friend\nQuakers, Unitarians, Universalists, and hosts of other Christians,\nlive and die without being immersed into Christ, and it follows from\nyour proposition, they never can be in Christ; never can be saved from\ntheir sins. None of these, you assert, have their sins forgiven in this\nworld. Pray, tell what will become of us all? You have evaded this\nquestion long enough. I have urged you to let us sinners know what is\nto be our fate beyond the grave. We know what is the condition of all\nthese classes in this world, according to Mr. Smith\u2019s theory--they are\nall sinners, all condemned, all out of Christ, all out of the kingdom,\nchildren of the devil, without God and without hope in the world. Now,\nit surely is not impertinent to insist that Mr. Smith tell us, plainly\nand without equivocation, what is to be the doom of these countless\nmillions beyond the grave. I charge his system with involving the\nendless sinfulness and wretchedness of all these multitudes of Adam\u2019s\nrace. If I am mistaken, let him show wherein I am. Let us have no more\nof this dodging. It looks bad, very bad, on the part of my friend, to\nevade this point as he has done.\n\n23. The apostle Paul writes, \u201cChrist sent me not to baptize, but\nto preach the gospel.\u201d 1 Cor. i. 17. This is surely a remarkable\ndeclaration, if water baptism is a soul-saving institution. If he\nhad believed that water baptism is a condition of salvation, would\nhe have said he was not sent to baptize? According to Mr. Smith\u2019s\nunderstanding, where Paul speaks about \u201cobeying the gospel,\u201d he means\nbaptism. If Mr. Smith is right, Paul was not sent to induce men to\nobey the gospel. Again: Paul labored for the conversion of souls, and\nMr. Smith says, conversion is baptism. Then the apostle was not sent\nto be instrumental in converting men. If the gentleman is correct,\nthe great apostle was not sent to labor for men\u2019s salvation, or their\nconversion, or to induce them to obey the gospel. This all follows, if\nwater baptism is a condition of salvation, for Paul declares, that he\nwas not sent to baptize; that is, was not sent to do the very thing\nthat must be done to insure salvation. This declaration of the apostle,\nthat he was not sent to baptize, is a perfect refutation of Mr. Smith\u2019s\nproposition, that water baptism is a condition of salvation.\n\n24. In looking over Mr. Campbell\u2019s \u201cChristian System,\u201d page 60, I find\nthe following wonderous things, said to be consummated by dipping a\nman or woman in water: \u201cThe change which is consummated by immersion,\nis sometimes called in sacred style, \u2018being quickened,\u2019 \u2018made alive,\u2019\n\u2018passed from death to life,\u2019 \u2018being born again,\u2019 \u2018having risen with\nChrist,\u2019 \u2018turning to the Lord,\u2019 \u2018being enlightened,\u2019 \u2018conversion,\u2019\n\u2018reconciliation,\u2019 \u2018repentance unto life.\u2019\u201d In another place, he asserts\nthe subject comes out of the water as \u201cpure as an angel.\u201d But mark, no\none can be thus purified, quickened, made alive, etc., without water\nbaptism, and yet, St. Paul says, he was not sent to baptize. If that\napostle believed in baptism, as Mr. Smith does, would he have made\nthat remark?\n\n25. Mr. Campbell again says, \u201cBaptism is _designed_ to introduce the\nsubjects of it into the participation of the blessings of the death and\nresurrection of Christ.\u201d \u201cTo the believing penitent, it is the means\nof receiving a formal, distinct, and specific absolution, or release\nfrom guilt.\u201d (page 58.) Baptism is THE MEANS by which God _designs_ to\nconfer all these immortal and heavenly blessings on men, and yet one of\nhis greatest apostles declares, he was not sent to baptize; that is,\nwas not sent to use _the means_ by which alone men can participate in\nthese blessings.\n\n26. Hear Mr. Campbell again: \u201cThe converts made to Christ, by the\napostles, were taught to consider themselves pardoned, justified,\nsanctified, reconciled, adopted, saved.\u201d (page 187.) He then devotes\nseveral pages to show that the _immersed_ only are in this condition,\nor state. Only those who submit to the _act_, as he terms it, of\nimmersion, are in this new and changed condition, and yet the chief of\nthe apostles tells the world, he was not sent to baptize; that is, was\nnot sent to do _the act_ which alone can put men into a saved state or\ncondition.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII.\n\n\n  DISCUSSION IN PONTIAC--THE APOSTLE\u2019S FAITH--HIS ARGUMENT IN\n  ROMANS--EXTENSIVE TRAVELING--IN KANSAS AND MISSOURI--PRICE\u2019S RAID--IN\n  OHIO AND INDIANA--DARK NIGHT AND WALK IN TOLEDO--CONVERSATION ON\n  DESTRUCTIONISM--THE VICTORY--THE DEATH--PRESIDENT LINCOLN--DEBATE IN\n  MILFORD, OHIO--THE RESTITUTION AN OLD DOCTRINE--THE SENTIMENT WIDE\n  SPREAD--AT WORK IN IOWA--LABORERS THERE--MURDERERS SAVED AND THE\n  MURDERED LOST--INTELLECTUAL AND MORAL GROWTH--WHAT MAN WAS--WHAT HE\n  IS TO BE--THE VICTORY--SPIRITUALISM--IMMORAL PREACHING--SAVED WITHOUT\n  REPENTANCE--PREACHING A MEANS OF SALVATION--A METHODIST MINISTER\n  BELIEVES--THE SUICIDE.\n\nIn the spring of 1861, I resolved to move to Chicago, and publish\nthe _Magazine_, in that city. The war was still raging, and I was\napprehensive it would linger several years longer. I could do nothing\nin Missouri, and most of my subscribers were nearer Chicago than St.\nLouis. Accordingly, in May of said year, we bid adieu to the city\nwhich had been our home for many years, and took up our abode in the\n\u201cGarden City\u201d of the West. I had been there but once since 1840, and\nwhat a change had taken place! Its population at the present time, is\nabout two hundred thousand, but in 1840 it did not number more than\nsix thousand inhabitants. And it will doubtless continue to make rapid\nstrides in its onward march. Its lake navigation almost connecting it\nwith the Atlantic ocean; its railroads extending in all directions\nthrough the most productive agricultural region of the world, must\nconcentrate immense wealth and business in Chicago.\n\nOur denomination has two church edifices in Chicago, and two large\nsocieties. Dr. W. H. Ryder is pastor of the first society, and T. E.\nSt. John of the second. Till recently, J. H. Tuttle had charge of\nthe second society. There is also a denominational paper there--_The\nNew Covenant_--published by D. P. Livermore. It has, I understand, an\nextensive circulation.\n\nThere are far more of the liberal faith in this northern region than\nas far south as St. Louis. A large portion of the people are from\nthe Eastern States, and they brought with them rational views of the\nBible and religion. We have meeting-houses and societies all over this\nnorthern section, also ministers at work instructing the people, and\nuniting and concentrating their efforts.\n\nSoon after moving to Chicago, I had an oral discussion in Pontiac,\nIll., with Elder Brooks, on Endless Misery and Universal Salvation. In\none of my speeches, I remarked:\n\nThe apostle Paul was certainly a believer in the salvation of all\nmen. Some of his statements of this doctrine are remarkably lucid,\ncomprehensive, and weighty. Take, for instance, the fifth chapter to\nthe Romans.\n\n1. In the eighteenth verse he says: \u201cTherefore, as by the offence\nof one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so, by\nthe righteousness of one the _free gift_ came upon _all men_ unto\njustification of life.\u201d What is this \u201cfree _gift_\u201d to all men? Answer:\n\u201cFor the wages of sin is death; but the _gift of God is eternal life_.\u201d\nRom. vi. 23. Eternal life, then, is given, made sure, to _all men_. Not\nto one here and there; to this sect or that sect; this nation or that\nnation; but to ALL MEN. Let this be remembered.\n\n2. In the next verse of said chapter, he continues: \u201cFor as by one\nman\u2019s disobedience, many were made sinners; so by the obedience of one\nshall many be made righteous.\u201d By \u201cmany\u201d here he means the same as by\n\u201call men,\u201d in the preceding verse, the terms being varied to avoid\ntautology. Parkhurst, in his Greek Lexicon says, \u201cThe word _many_ in\nthis verse, signifies _the many_; that is, the _mass_, the multitude;\nthe _whole bulk_ of mankind.\u201d Dr. Macknight, a Presbyterian critic,\nwrites, \u201cFor as the word _many_ in the first part of the verse, does\nnot mean some part of mankind only, but _all mankind_, from first to\nlast, who without exception are constituted sinners; so _the many_, in\nthe latter part of the verse, who are said to be constituted righteous\nthrough the obedience of Christ, must mean _all mankind_, from the\nbeginning to the end of the world, _without exception_.\u201d The statement\nof the apostle is this--all mankind are sinners, and all mankind shall\nbe righteous. Can universal salvation be expressed in clearer terms?\n\n3. He continues his argument: \u201cWhere sin abounded, grace did much more\nabound; and as sin hath reigned unto death, even so, might grace reign\nthrough righteousness unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord.\u201d\nVerses 20, 21. Sin abounds universally, but grace is much more to\nabound. The grace of God is not only to banish sin from every soul, but\nto bless every soul forever and ever. But how can grace abound more\nthan sin, if millions of mankind are to be victims of sin eternally?\nWill the grace of God, resulting in eternal life, abound in such\nsouls? A valuable building is on fire; the fire abounds in every part\nfrom base to attic. The engines rush to the spot and pour water all\nover the building, and extinguish the devouring flames. In this case\nwhere fire abounded, water much more abounds. But if the water failed\nto extinguish the fire in one half of the building, would water have\nabounded more than fire? So, if the grace of God puts out the fires of\nsin in only half of the universe, will grace abound more than sin? How\nis that, Elder Brooks?\n\n4. The whole creation to be delivered. \u201cFor the creature was made\nsubject to vanity, not willingly but by reason of him who hath\nsubjected the same in hope; because the creature itself shall be\ndelivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of\nthe children of God.\u201d Rom. viii. 20, 21. The word, \u201ccreature,\u201d here\nmeans mankind; the Greek whence it is taken, is rendered \u201ccreation\u201d in\nthe twenty-second verse. The words, \u201cevery creature,\u201d in the commission\nof Christ to his apostles, are from the same term. \u201cGo ye into all\nthe world and preach the gospel to _every creature_.\u201d Mark xvi. 15.\nDr. Macknight and other good critics tell us, that the word rendered,\n_creature_, signifies, \u201c_every human creature_; ALL MANKIND.\u201d Dr.\nThomas White, an English divine of the Episcopal Church, translates the\ntext thus: \u201cFor THE CREATION was made subject to vanity, not willingly,\nbut by reason of him who hath subjected it; in hope that THE CREATION\nITSELF also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption, into\nthe glorious liberty of the sons of God.\u201d Mankind, then, are to be\ndelivered from corruption--from moral and physical corruption--into\nthe glorious liberty of the children of God. The apostle says, this\nuniversal deliverance SHALL be effected, and I believe him.\n\n5. God will have mercy on all. \u201cFor I would not, brethren, that ye\nshould be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your\nown conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the\nfulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved;\nas it is written, There shall come out Sion the Deliverer, and shall\nturn away ungodliness from Jacob: for this is my covenant unto them,\nwhen I shall take away their sins. As concerning the gospel, they are\nenemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved\nfor the fathers\u2019 sakes. For the gifts and calling of God are without\nrepentance. For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have\nnow obtained mercy through their unbelief: even so have these also now\nnot believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. For\nGod hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon\nall. O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!\nhow unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out? For\nwho hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?\nOr who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto\nhim again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things;\nto whom be glory for ever. Amen.\u201d Rom. xi. 25-36. Jews and Gentiles\ninclude all mankind. The apostles tell us, that the blindness of the\nJews is to continue \u201cTill the _fulness_ of the Gentiles be come in,\u201d\nand then \u201c_All Israel_ shall be saved.\u201d \u201cFor God hath concluded them\n_all_--Israelites and Gentiles--in unbelief that he might have mercy\non _all_.\u201d And then he adds, \u201cFor of him, and through him, and to him\nare _all things_, to whom be glory forever. Amen.\u201d No terms can express\nmore forcibly the proposition I affirm on this occasion.\n\nIn the next verse, the apostle adds, \u201cI beseech you therefore by the\n_mercies_ of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,\nacceptable unto God, which is your reasonable duty.\u201d In the previous\npart of his letter to the Romans, as I have shown, he writes of the\n_mercies_ of God for mankind. 1. \u201cThe free gift came upon all men unto\njustification of life.\u201d 2. \u201cMany,\u201d that is, the mass, all mankind,\n\u201cshall be made righteous.\u201d 3. \u201cWhere sin abounded, grace did much more\nabound.\u201d 4. The whole creation shall be delivered from the bondage of\ncorruption. 5. God will bring all the Gentiles, and all the Jews, into\nthe kingdom; will \u201cHAVE MERCY ON ALL; for of him and through him, and\nto him are ALL THINGS.\u201d His next words are, \u201cI beseech you therefore\nby the MERCIES of God,\u201d etc. It is sometimes said by the opposers of\nUniversal Grace, that it has an immoral influence. But the great\napostle beseeches men in consideration of its truth, to live holy,\ngodly lives. He does not say, as some have profanely said, \u201cIf God\u2019s\nmercy will save the world, we have nothing to do; let us then eat,\ndrink and be merry; lie, steal, and murder. It is all right; God will\nsave us any how.\u201d Let every believer in the universal mercy of God aim\nto live a life \u201choly and acceptable to God,\u201d which is his reasonable\nduty.\n\nThese are the statements of the apostle to the Gentiles concerning\nthe extent of salvation; and I, and no other one, can employ language\nexpressing more clearly the Universalist faith. That gifted man was\ncertainly a believer in the \u201cRestitution of all things.\u201d\n\nSince I have been in Chicago, I have traveled and lectured on nearly\nall the railroads running out of the city; have labored not only in\nIllinois, but in Indiana, Ohio, Iowa, Missouri and Kansas. I was at\nwork in Kansas and Missouri when Price made his late raid into the\nlatter state. That was in the fall of 1864. Was in Leavenworth when the\nstate militia were called out to resist the invaders. The people of\nKansas expected no mercy at their hands should they enter the state;\nLeavenworth, especially, would be sure to feel their wrath. The streets\nof the city were guarded, and orders issued, to arrest every straggler\nwho was without a pass. Cannon were mounted on the surrounding hills,\nand every man who could shoulder a musket was required to report for\nduty. I was tempted to go, armed and equipped, to the \u201cfront,\u201d but\nrecollecting I had not fired a gun for twenty years, I concluded I\ncould not do much execution, and so set my face homeward. But how to\nget across the river into Missouri, was the question, as no one was\nallowed to go over without a pass, and I had no pass, and probably\ncould not get one. I, however, rode boldly to the ferry as if I was\non important business, and was passed over without being questioned.\nBut when near Weston, I was stopped by the picket; but the officer of\nthe day soon coming along, took me to head-quarters, where I obtained\na pass to St. Joseph. Leaving my horse with a kind friend, I went to\nSt. Joseph by rail, and thence to the Mississippi river, two hundred\nmiles across the state. Considerable portion of the way being infested\nwith bushwackers, there were thirty soldiers on the train to protect\nus from those bloody scoundrels. The guards fired on two horsemen,\nwho seemed to be fleeing from the rushing train. Both fell, and as I\nlearned afterward, they were killed, and were Union men. The conductor\nthought they were bushwackers, and that class of fighters were shot\ndown like mad dogs, as they deserved to be. Only a few days before,\nand a few miles from that spot, Bill Anderson\u2019s bloody crew stopped a\ntrain, and murdered in cold blood twenty-one of the passengers. All\narmed stragglers on the prairies, were suspiciously regarded in that\nlocality, after that terrible crime was perpetrated. Macon City was\nalive with business, fifteen hundred soldiers being there digging\nditches, throwing up breastworks, and making every other necessary\npreparation to resist an attack, which was daily expected. I went to\nSt. Louis, and found the citizens very indignant at the way General\nRosecrans was managing affairs. Half of a general, with the force at\nRosecrans\u2019 command, would have driven Price out of the state at the\nbeginning of the invasion, when he was yet in the south-east corner of\nit. But Rosecrans\u2019 head being full of whisky and popery, he let the\nrebels do about as they pleased. They overran the best portion of the\nstate, and did an immense amount of harm.\n\nI spent three weeks, in the business of my life, between Chicago and\nToledo, Ohio. Lectured in many places I had not before visited, and\nmuch extended my acquaintance. Had an appointment in East Toledo, a\nsuburb of Toledo, and about three miles from it. It was a dismal\nnight, and the road out there was a dismal road. I started after dark,\non foot and alone, to fill the appointment. The weather was cold, the\nnight dark, and the rain pouring down in torrents. There being no\nsidewalk, and the mud deep, I had an interesting walk. Arriving at\nthe meeting-house, I found it dark, and the door locked; and after\nshivering in the wet and cold outside one hour, and not a soul joining\nme, I returned whence I came. I suppose no one expected I would be\non hand such a night. The next day on the cars, I had the following\nconversation with a fellow passenger:\n\n\u201cI do not believe in eternal punishment. I believe God will _destroy_\nthe wicked, soul and body, root and branch.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhen will he do all this?\u201d\n\n\u201cAt the resurrection. Then God will raise saint and sinner, take the\nrighteous to himself, and burn the wicked to ashes.\u201d\n\n\u201cI congratulate you on the improvement you have made on old Orthodoxy.\nIt is certainly better to burn sinners up, then burn them eternally.\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not believe any one in this world has a spark of immortality in\nhim. We are born mortal, live mortal, and unless we comply with certain\nconditions, we never can be immortal. Immortality is conditional, and\nunless we comply with those conditions, we shall be consumed in the\nconflagration.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat are those conditions?\u201d\n\n\u201cFaith in Christ, is one of them.\u201d\n\n\u201cWill all be destroyed except those who exercise faith in Christ? Is\nthat your theory?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen nearly all mankind will be burned up. The countless millions who\nlived before Christ\u2019s advent--the good and the bad--all consumed in one\npile. All the Pagans, Mohammedans, and Jews who have lived since his\nbirth will share the same fiery fate. All idiots, all children who\nhave died such, will be consumed with them. Your creed is the gospel of\ndestruction, almost universal destruction.\u201d\n\n\u201cI did not say all them would be destroyed.\u201d\n\n\u201cI admit you did not say so in so many words, but no other inference\ncan be drawn from your position. You said no one would be blessed with\nimmortality and eternal life, who did not have faith in Christ in this\nworld. The child, the idiot, the Pagan, the Mohammedan, all lack such a\nfaith here, and the inference is, they will all be destroyed. You are\nashamed to admit in so many words such a horrid idea to me, but that is\nyour faith.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou do not understand me, and you cannot convince the people of the\nWhite House that all will be saved.\u201d\n\n\u201cI understand you and your fiery faith perfectly well. It is worse\nthan Atheism, for it asserts that death is the end of man, while your\ncreed asserts, that nearly all mankind will be raised from the dead on\n_purpose to burn them up_. Atheism is a hundred fold better than your\ntheory. It is amazing to me, that a man with the Bible in his hands,\nand God all round him, can entertain such a terrible theory. You have\neyes, but you see not; ears, but you hear not; understanding, but\nunderstand not. Read the words of truth emblazoned on God\u2019s word and\nworks, accept their teachings, and abandon your fiery creed, your worse\nthan atheistical dogma.\u201d\n\nSpent one month on the Illinois Central railroad, and went south as far\nas Du Quoin, about three hundred miles, and lectured in most of the\nimportant towns, on and near the road. When in Mattoon and Charleston,\nthe glorious news arrived of the evacuation of Richmond, and the\nsurrender of Lee. Up went the banners, and loud were the hosannas.\nEvery body were in the street, shaking hands, and with smiling faces.\nThe terrible war was over, the government was triumphantly sustained,\nand the soldier boys would soon return. No wonder the people were happy.\n\nI was in Ashley, April 14th. Some one said, \u201cHave you heard the news?\u201d\n\u201cWhat news?\u201d \u201cMr. Lincoln was murdered last night!\u201d \u201cIt cannot be so,\u201d\nI replied; \u201cit is doubtless a false report?\u201d But in a few moments,\nthe passenger train came down with its engine draped in black. That\nconfirmed the heart-rending report. As the train approached the depot\nno one spoke--no one could speak. The people turned homeward with\nmeditative steps and down cast look. All over the land, from the\nAtlantic to the Pacific, in city and country, where the sad tidings\nwas conveyed, the people were struck dumb. Mr. Lincoln\u2019s character had\nbeen tested by the most difficult circumstances, and he had proved\nhimself to be a wise, noble, far-seeing man. Every body had confidence\nin him--in his judgment, his uprightness, his patriotism. He was deemed\nthe Savior of his country. No wonder the people were \u201cstricken, smitten\nand afflicted.\u201d And then, the awful news was so different from what the\npeople had just been feasting on. This was victory, victory, victory.\nThe enemy was subdued, and the country saved. That was death, death,\ndeath. The great, the good, the beloved President, was murdered, and\nthat, too, in the very hour of his triumph.\n\nI was at Du Quoin the next day; and it was reported of three men in\ntown, that they had said, \u201cLincoln was served right,\u201d and forthwith\nsome soldiers, who were at home on a furlough, started post-haste,\nand brought them into town. They would have been hung, if it had been\nproved they dropped those obnoxious words.\n\nI had a discussion in Milford, Ohio, with John Sweeney of Chicago,\nwhich continued four days. He was pretty well posted on doctrinal\npoints, and did some good work for his cause. The discussion was\nconducted pleasantly, and I trust profitably to the hearers. He said,\nthat the idea of the salvation of all men was new in the world; had\nbeen entertained but a few years. In my reply I remarked:\n\nThe gentleman greatly errs in asserting that the idea of the final\npurification and salvation of all souls, is a new thought in this\nworld. The apostle Peter informs us, that the \u201cRestitution of all\nthings was spoken by the mouth of all God\u2019s holy prophets since the\nworld began.\u201d Acts iii. 21. It is as old, then, as inspiration, as\nrevelation. And far back in the depths of the past, hundreds of years\nbefore Christ, and outside of the Jewish nation, the \u201cRestitution of\nall things\u201d was cherished by many of the wise and good. Upper India\nwas doubtless one of the first abodes of mankind after the flood, Noah\nor some of his children, having settled there. In the sacred books of\nthe early inhabitants of that country, the redemption of all souls is\ndistinctly stated. Budhism, a sort of Protestant Reformation of the old\nfaith of the people, avows the same destiny for mankind. Padmahani,\nthe Son of the Supreme God, made a vow not to return to heaven until\nall beings should be brought through him to salvation. True, they\nwere to pass through many terrible hells--first, a hell of snakes,\nthen came thirty-two principal hells, and then one hundred and twenty\nminor hells. The road to heaven, according to that old theology, was\ncertainly hard to travel; but I suppose one had better go to heaven\nthrough all those hells than not get there at all. The author of the\n\u201cFriend of India,\u201d gives the following as the views of many of the\npresent inhabitants of that country. \u201cAccording to the Brahmos, God is\na loving Father, and men are his children; to secure happiness, men\nmust avoid sin and subdue the sins to which they are prone. They must\nfulfil all human duty, and especially devote themselves to works of\nbenevolence among the ignorant and poor. For the wrong they do, they\nwill suffer punishment; _but their sufferings are remedial, and will\npurify the soul from all its errors_. Meditation and prayer are to be\nemployed for the same end; and to assist their followers in this duty,\na little book has been published, which is extensively used.\u201d\n\nIn Egypt, the land of ancient wisdom, many of the priests, Dr.\nEnfield thinks, entertained a belief in the salvation of all men. See\nhis \u201cHistory of Philosophy,\u201d Book I, chapter 8. In the old Persian\nmythology, the same idea is contained. It has a God and a Savior; and\nthe latter will finally restore all from the power of satan.\n\nFor three or four hundred years after Christ, many of the leading\nChristian writers were believers in the \u201cRestitution of all things.\u201d\nSays Clement, President of the theological school in Alexandria,\nthe most noted school of the second and third centuries: \u201cHow is he\na Savior and Lord, unless he is the Savior and Lord of all? He is\ncertainly the Savior of those who have believed: and of those who have\nnot believed he is the Lord, until by being brought to confess him they\nshall receive the proper and well-adapted blessing for themselves.\u201d\n\u201cThe Lord is the propitiation not only for our sins, that is, of the\nfaithful, but also for the whole world; therefore he indeed _saves\nall_, but converts some by punishments, and others by gaining their\nfree-will, so that he has the high honor that unto him _every knee\nshould bow_, of things in heaven, on earth, and under the earth; that\nis, angels, men, and the souls of those who died before his advent.\u201d\n\nClement\u2019s great pupil, Origen, was a noted advocate of Universal\nSalvation. He says: \u201cWe assert that the Word who is the wisdom of God,\nshall bring together _all intelligent creatures_, and convert them into\nhis own perfection, through the instrumentalities of their free-will\nand their own exertions. And the consummation of all things will be\nthe extinction _of sin_; but whether it shall then be so abolished as\nnever to revive again in the universe does not belong to the present\ndiscourse to show. What relates, however, to the entire abolition of\nsin and the _reformation of every soul_, may be obscurely traced in\nmany of the prophecies; for there we discover that the name of God is\nto be invoked by all, so that _all_ shall serve him with one consent,\nthat the reproach of contumely is to be taken away, and that there\nis to be _no more sin_, nor vain words, nor treacherous tongue. This\nmay not indeed take place with mankind in the present life, but be\naccomplished after they shall have been liberated from the body.\u201d\n\nA century later, Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, advocated the same faith\nin the plainest terms: \u201cWhat therefore is the scope of St. Paul\u2019s\ndissertation in this place? That the nature of evil shall at last be\n_wholly exterminated_, and divine, immortal goodness embrace within\nitself _every rational creature_; so that of _all_ who were made by\nGod, _not one_ shall be excluded from his kingdom.\u201d\n\nDiodorus, Bishop of Tarsus, in Silicia, A.D. 378, was of that faith.\n\u201cThe wicked,\u201d he says, \u201care to suffer, not eternal torment, but a\npunishment proportioned in length to the amount of their guilt; after\nwhich, they are to be happy without end.\u201d About the same time, lived\nFabius Manus Victorinus. He maintained, that \u201cChrist will regenerate\nall things; through him all things will be purged, and return to\neternal life.\u201d\n\nOther learned, good, and influential men in those early days, believed\nin and taught this truth. I will name Titus, Bishop of Bostia; Basil\nthe Great, Bishop of C\u00e6sarea; Didymus the Blind, and the learned\nand powerful Jerome. In fact, most of the Christians, Orthodox and\nanti-Orthodox, in the first age of the Christian Era, entertained this\nfaith. The writers of those times speak of this faith as if it was not\nquestioned; they offer no labored argument in its defence, and when\nthey do refer to it, it is only incidentally. But darkness was rapidly\ncovering the earth, and gross darkness the people. The enlightened\nand benevolent doctrine of the Restitution was not adapted to the\nsavagism of the dark ages that was then threatening the world, and so\nin the year of our Lord 553, at Constantinople, by the Fifth Ecumenical\nCouncil, it was condemned. From that period till the Reformation of\nthe fourteenth century, the religions of the world corresponded with\nthe ignorance and brutality that prevailed. Our wise, benevolent, and\npure faith, not harmonizing with the savagism of the times, had but\nfew adherents. But in the great religious awakening of the fourteenth\ncentury, it was again entertained, and has been ever since gradually\ngaining in favor.\n\nIn A.D. 1650, Gerard Winstonley, an Englishman, in a book called,\n\u201cMystery of God,\u201d thus writes, \u201cThe whole creation of mankind shall be\ndelivered from corruption, bondage, death, and pain.\u201d He was persecuted\nfor his faith, and thrown into prison. At the same time lived and\nlabored William Earbury, an eminent preacher among the Independents.\nHe was a defender of the same faith. He asked, \u201cWhat gospel, what glad\ntidings is it to tell the world, that none can be saved but the elect\nand believers? Christ came to save only the _lost_, giving the word\nof life to _all men_, that they might believe, a shutting all up in\nunbelief, that he might have mercy on _all_.\u201d \u201cFor the ministry of God\nshall be finished, fully known, and the angel swears by God, that time\nshall be no more; for _all_ shall be taken up into eternity, unto God\nhimself, and God shall be _all in all_.\u201d (_Terror of Tythes_, pages\n175, 244.)\n\nAnother noble defender of the Restitution in those times, was Richard\nCoppin. He was charged with blasphemy for believing in Universal\nSalvation, and he replied, \u201cWhatever is the will of God is not\nblasphemy to affirm. The will of God is the salvation of all men,\ntherefore to say that _all men shall be saved_ is not blasphemy.\u201d\n(_Truth\u2019s Triumph_, page 7.) He confounded his opposers in discussion,\nand that so enraged them, they had him imprisoned. This took place in\n1656. At this time a book by an unknown author appeared, with this\ntitle: \u201cOf the Torments of Hell; The Foundation; And the Pillars\nThereof Discovered, Searched, Shaken and Ruined. With infallible proof\nthat there is not to be punishment for the wicked after this life; for\nany to endure that shall not end.\u201d The author was certainly a man of\nability, and much reading. He gives Orthodoxy some pretty hard hits.\nThis was written over two hundred years ago.\n\nAt the same time lived Jeremy White, a chaplain to Protector Cromwell.\nHe published a book called, \u201cThe Restitution of All Things: or, a\nvindication of the goodness and grace of God, to be manifested at last\nin the recovery of the whole creation out of their fall.\u201d He was truly\na christian man; his soul was imbued with the spirit of his faith.\nDr. Thomas Burnet of that age, was of like faith, and Lord Macauley,\nin his \u201cHistory of England,\u201d says he was a \u201cclergyman of eminent\ngenius, learning and virtue.\u201d In one of his works he writes, \u201cI know\nnot by what means it happens at present, that some divines of a cruel\nand fiery temper are extremely pleased with eternal and infinite\npunishment, and can hardly endure to have the point fairly examined and\ndebated on both sides.\u201d There are some of that kind in the world now.\n\nWilliam Whiston, the well known translator of Josephus, was an\nunbeliever in endless misery. He wrote a book entitled, \u201cThe Eternity\nof Hell Torments Considered.\u201d Archbishop Hare says, he was \u201ca\nfair, unblemished character; all his life he cultivated piety,\nvirtue and good bearing.\u201d He succeeded Sir Isaac Newton as Professor\nof Mathematics, at Cambridge. In his book he offers some cogent\narguments against eternal woe, but I have not time to state them on\nthis occasion. R. Roach, another English clergyman, who flourished\nover an hundred years ago, say, \u201cThen will the general redemption be\naccomplished, and the mediating office of the great High Priest be\nat an end, for he will then deliver up the kingdom thus completed to\nhis Father, that \u2018God may be _all in all_.\u2019\u201d Bishop Warburton, the\ncelebrated author of the \u201cDivine Legation of Moses,\u201d had no faith\nin ceaseless woe. He justly calls the preachers of that doctrine,\n\u201cunmerciful doctors,\u201d \u201cmerciless doctors.\u201d\n\nBut I have not time to cite any more English testimony, that the\ndoctrines of the Restitution have been long entertained by many of the\npurest, best, and most learned of that nation. I will cross over into\nGermany, and see if these sentiments have not been entertained in that\nenlightened land.\n\nAs early as 1590, Samuel Huber, Professor of Divinity, in Wittemburg,\nwas a believer in the Restitution, according to Spauheim, Professor of\nDivinity at Geneva: \u201cWe think,\u201d says the latter, \u201cthe opinion of Huber\non this subject absurd, who about the close of the last century, began\nto publish and defend a universal election of all men in Christ to\nsalvation.\u201d At the same early day our righteous faith had a talented,\nlearned and pious advocate in John William Petersen. He was Professor\nof Poetry at Rostock, in 1677. He was also superintendent at Lubic and\nLunenburg, and court preacher at Lutin. In 1700, he published a work\nin three volumes, in defense of the Restitution, which was extensively\nread, and caused much excitement in Germany.\n\nAt the same time was published a book which has been widely circulated\nand extensively read. It is entitled, \u201cThe Everlasting Gospel,\u201d by Paul\nSeigvolk. It clearly and forcibly advocates the salvation of mankind.\nIt was very popular in Germany, and has been republished at various\ntimes in different parts of Europe. It was also published in this\ncountry as early as 1753. That our divine faith was widely diffused\nin those days, we learn from many other sources. In the _Analytical\nReview_, an English periodical published in 1780, we find the following:\n\n\u201cThe doctrine of the final happiness of mankind, which present the\nprospect of the termination of all evil, and of a period in which the\ndeep shades of misery and guilt, which have so long enveloped the\nuniverse, shall be forever dispelled, is so pleasing a speculation\nto a benevolent mind, that we do not wonder it meets with so _many_\nadvocates. From the _earliest_ period, we doubt not the belief of it\nhas been secretly entertained by many, who, in the face of opposition\nand danger, had not the resolution to avow it. Now, however, it has\nbroken through _every_ restriction, and walks abroad in every form that\nis adapted to convince the philosophic, to arouse the unthinking, and\nto melt the tender.\u201d\n\nThese books, and others of like character, were extensively circulated\nin Germany, and called the attention of the public to the benevolent\nfaith advocated with so much learning and piety. An exciting\ncontroversy was the result; and learned men on both sides put forth all\ntheir strength for and against this controverted doctrine.\n\nBut I have not time to say more about the history of Universalism\nin Germany. Ever since the Reformation, that faith has been gaining\nadherents, and at the present time, it is almost universally\nentertained by the Protestants of that country. Says Dr. Dwight, in\n\u201cTravels in North Germany,\u201d \u201cThe doctrine of endless punishment is\nalmost universally rejected. I have seen but one person who believed\nit.\u201d Not only in Germany and England, but in Holland, Switzerland,\nFrance, Scotland, and in other parts of Europe, the doctrine of\nUniversal Salvation prevailed at an early day, and at the present\ntime is widely diffused. It exists more or less in all the Protestant\ndenominations. There is no sect in Europe called Universalist, but the\nsentiment is found in all sects, and encounters very little opposition.\n\nI also spent three weeks in the north part of Iowa. Lectured in Lyons,\nMarshalltown, Newton, Iowa City, Washington, and in many other places.\nT. C. Eaton, who resides in Des Moines, has labored very successfully\nin the interior of that state. He has long been in the West--has\nresided in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, as well as in Iowa--and wherever he\nhas lived, has always been a faithful laborer in the Master\u2019s vineyard.\nJ. P. Sanford, is in Marshalltown, and is an eloquent speaker, and\nlaborious worker. Some fifteen years since, I was introduced to him in\nBentonsport, Iowa. He was then a Methodist, and asked many questions\nconcerning the liberal faith. Six months afterward he commenced\npreaching, and has been in the ministry ever since. He was in the\narmy two years during the late rebellion, and was captain, colonel,\nchaplain. He has traveled some in Europe, and, it is said, delivers\nsome interesting lectures concerning \u201cthe old country.\u201d He is also a\nnoted masonic lecturer. In Newton met A. C. Edmonds, who resides and\npreaches in the place. He has spent several years in California and\nOregon, traveling and preaching; has also published a denominational\npaper in those states. Our people have a meeting-house, also a society,\nin Newton. In Iowa City, the Universalists own a church edifice, and J.\nKinney is pastor of the society. He is an excellent man, and the good\ncause prospers under his ministry.\n\nI have labored in Iowa, more or less, most every year, for a long time,\nand until lately my journeys were made on horseback. In this way I have\ntraveled over about two thirds of the state. Iowa abounds in good soil,\nand will, in a few years, be a rich and populous country. Now is the\ntime to establish our beautiful faith in that young and vigorous state.\nIt will improve the people spiritually and morally, while they are\nmaking themselves pleasant homes, and developing the resources of the\nland. Said a man to me in Marshalltown:\n\n\u201cDo you think the assassin Booth can be saved?\u201d\n\n\u201cJesus said, \u2018I came to seek and save the lost.\u2019 \u2018They that are whole\nneed not a physician, but they that are sick.\u2019 And the apostle Paul\nteaches, that Christ came to save the chief of sinners. As it was the\nmission of our Savior to save the lost, the morally sick, the chief\nof sinners, I dare not say, that even Booth cannot be saved. But if\nOrthodoxy is true, I had rather have Booth\u2019s chances for heaven than\nMr. Lincoln\u2019s. The latter received his death wound without a moment\u2019s\nwarning, and was not conscious an instant after the fatal bullet struck\nhis head. He belonged to no church, was not a professor of religion;\nand so according to Orthodoxy, died impenitent, unregenerated, a\nsinner, and must be lost eternally. But Booth lived one or two hours\nafter he was wounded, and was perfectly conscious to the last moment\nof his life. And who knows but he repented of his great crime before\nhe expired? And if he did, according to Orthodoxy, he went straight\nto heaven. But if there is any truth in Orthodoxy, Mr. Lincoln had\nno chance whatever, for he died \u2018impenitent.\u2019 If Partialism is true,\nas a general rule, murderers are saved, while the murdered are lost,\nfor in nine cases of every ten, the latter, being killed suddenly,\nwithout any intimation of their doom, and so have not time to say\n\u2018Lord save me,\u2019 are eternally lost; while the former, the murderers,\nhaving timely warning of their fate, and special effort being made for\ntheir regeneration, almost invariably swing from the gallows soundly\nconverted, and so go from the gibbet to immortal glory. It takes\nOrthodoxy to translate the bloody criminal into a saint, and fit him\nfor heaven between his monstrous crime and the halter; but Universalism\nis required to save the murdered, the victim of his iniquity. While\nI was residing in St. Louis, a wretch by the name of Lamb, held with\nhis own hands, his young and confiding wife in the Mississippi river,\ntill she was dead. He was arrested, confessed his guilt, and was hung;\nand on the gallows said, \u2018I have a hope within me that bears me up--a\nhope that I shall live with God, and be happy with him, and that I\nshall sing his praise. I die with a trust in God.\u2019 And Dr. Anderson,\na Presbyterian, his spiritual adviser, published in the papers that\nhe was \u2018satisfied of the reality of Lamb\u2019s penitence.\u2019 Behold the\nabominations of Orthodoxy! That woman belonged to no church, had not\n\u2018got religion,\u2019 and so was banished from the murderer\u2019s hands to the\ndevil, to be the victim of his diabolical cruelty eternally. But the\nincarnate fiend, whom the law called her husband, was transported a few\nmonths afterward, from the gallows to the third heaven, according to\nOrthodoxy.\u201d\n\nIn one of my sermons in Washington, I spoke as follows:\n\nAs man is susceptible of physical improvement, is he not also of\nintellectual and moral? Cannot the soul develop, grow, as well as the\nbody? What a vast difference there is between the infant mind and\nthat mind which has devoted years to intellectual and moral culture?\nThe soul is a germ; and as the germ in the seed, under favorable\ncircumstances, will bud, blossom, and yield a rich harvest, so this\nspiritual germ, if no obstructions interdict, will develop its heavenly\nproportions to perfect manhood. The race, like each individual, has\nits childhood, its youth, and perfect manhood. One individual is a\nrepresentative of the race. As one progresses the rest may. Suppose\nevery human being who walks the earth for five hundred years, should\nmake intellectual and moral improvement, the great end and aim of his\nlife, all other pursuits subordinate to that one, what would be the\nconsequence? Would not Americans and Europeans, at the expiration of\nthat time, be as far in advance of their present condition as they are\nnow in advance of the New Hollanders, Hottentots, and inhabitants of\nthe South Sea Islands? Undoubtedly they would. The whole race would\nthen be in the kingdom of God. Sin would no longer be nurtured on\nearth. There would be no soil for it to grow in. The long hoped for,\nand prayed for, Millenium would be ushered in--all would know the Lord\nfrom the least to the greatest--the lion and the lamb would lie down\ntogether. This glorious era is predicted by Holy Writ, and God\u2019s elder\nScriptures. Revelation and nature unite in testifying that mankind,\nGod\u2019s noblest and best work, and for whom the universe was made, are\nsusceptible of infinite improvement, that they will shine brighter and\nbrighter to the perfect day.\n\nIt may require more than five centuries to produce such results; it\nprobably will; but eternity is before us. Our race is in its dawn only.\nThe morning twilight has just appeared. The darkness of barbarism\nstill lingers in the horizon. The chains of intellectual and moral\ndespotism are still clanking in our midst. But the race, as well as\nthe individual, will reach noon-day. The sun of righteousness will\nmount the zenith, and disperse all darkness and melt all chains.\nSuch characters as Moses, Homer, Plato, Lord Bacon, Shakspeare,\nNewton, Napoleon, Franklin, Washington, Jefferson, Clay, Webster,\nBeecher, Chapin, and a multitude of others in INTELLECT; and such as\nSocrates, St. John, St. Paul, Melancthon, Howard, Channing, Oberlin,\nSpeer, and others too numerous to mention, in MORAL WORTH, indicate\nthe intellectual and moral heights all may ultimately attain. They\nstand out in bold relief from the mass of mankind, indicating the\ncapabilities of human nature. They are pioneers in the intellectual and\nmoral field, and the ground they occupy will ere long be occupied by\nall. They are beacons on the rushing stream of life to pilot humanity\ninto the celestial haven.\n\nThe history of the earth and all therein and thereon, as revealed by\nscience and history, illustrates the law of progress. This earth has\nbeen a theater of life for innumerable ages--how long it is not for us\nto know. Many of the remains of the old world are embedded in the crust\nof the earth; and from them we learn, that from the first appearance\nof life in the vegetable form, up to man, there has been a regular\nprogressive development. The order seems to have been about thus: 1.\nGross matter; 2. Mineral; 3. Marine Plants; 4. Fish; 5. Reptiles; 6.\nBirds; 7. Marsupial; 8. Mamalia; 9. MAN, the flower, the crown, the\nlord of creation. All these classes are interlinked, one hand reaching\nup, and the other down, and all are ascending in the line of the\nspiral, up to man. Every succeeding class is superior to the preceding,\nfrom the first to the last, and each class is moving onward. The last\ntype of the vegetable kingdom is infinitely superior to the first,\nand so of all the other classes. And man of the sixtieth century is\nfar superior to man of the first century. No miracle was wrought in\nbringing any of these species into existence. No law of nature was\nviolated, or suspended; but all, from the lowest grade up to man, were\nbrought on to the stage of life according to perfect and immutable\nlaws, emenating from the great Fountain of the Universe.\n\nMankind in their infancy were ignorant creatures; as much below the\nIndians of the Rocky Mountains, intellectually and morally, as they\nare below us. They wandered, naked, in clans, like the Indians of the\nWest, subsisting on fish, reptiles, and such animals as they could kill\nwith their simple weapons, and on the spontaneous fruit of the earth,\nwithout shelter by night, or protection from the burning sun or pelting\nstorm.\n\nMany centuries after this period, about the time the city of Babylon\nwas founded, although great advancement had been made, yet the mass of\nthe people were as ignorant as are the aborigines of America. There\nwere a few highly developed minds, but the great body of the people\nwere enveloped in mental darkness, of which we can form but faint\nconception--fit materials for tyrants and leaders to make machines of,\nand they freely used them for such sacrilegious purposes. They were\nsubject to their leader\u2019s will; were his bone and sinew; his battle\naxe and shield. He was the head, they the body. At his will they\nsuffered and toiled, lived and died, and when their oppressors\u2019 earthly\ncareer closed, they erected pyramids to perpetuate his fame and their\ndegradation. No effort was made to enlighten and moralize the mass of\nmankind, for their masters well knew that ignorant men made the best\ntools. No advancement would have been made under such unfavorable\ncircumstances had not growth been natural to man.\n\nIf we trace the history of mankind during the rise and progress of\nthe Chaldean, Babylonian, Persian and Roman empires, up to the time\nChrist was on earth, we find, that although ignorance and degradation\nare prominent features of the civilization of those times, yet our\nhearts are made glad with clear evidence of human progress. Every\nsubsequent generation was wiser and better than the previous one.\nTrue, the advancing tide was slow, the current sluggish; sometimes\nobstacles would arrest its progress, and even force it back toward its\nsource, but nature would then redouble her efforts, and sweep away all\nobstacles, and press forward with her immortal freight to sunnier skies\nand fairer climes.\n\nWhen the Christian Era opened, it was the golden age of antiquity. The\npurity of our Savior\u2019s life, his deep and fervent love for mankind, the\nbeauty and life-giving energy of the precepts and truths he uttered,\ntogether with the goodness, zeal and extensive labors and sufferings of\nhis apostles and their associates, gave the human mind an impetus it\nhad not before known.\n\nThe apostles and their coadjutors traversed the Roman empire, which\nembraced most of the known world, and denounced Paganism, and every\nspecies of immorality, and called on the nations of the earth to\nworship the one living and true God, who made and governs the universe.\nThey proclaimed, in obedience to their divine Master, that God was the\nFATHER OF ALL MANKIND; that the latter compose one great BROTHERHOOD,\nand are destined for IMMORTALITY, PROGRESSION and HAPPINESS; and from\nthese cardinal truths they drew these inferences, and enforced them\nwith holy life and eloquent speech--that men should exercise brotherly\nkindness, general benevolence and charity, and aid each other in\ntraveling the heavenly road.\n\nThose holy men did not labor in vain. The human soul was quickened into\nhigher life by the germinating power of truth; and had the gospel been\nretained in its purity, and had the social and political condition of\nmankind been in a higher sphere of development, and had those favorable\nconditions continued to the present time, long ago the Millenium would\nhave been ushered in. But the gospel was corrupted; the social and\npolitical condition of mankind, although in advance of any previous\nperiod, was in a deplorable state. The Roman heart was rotten, the\nRoman empire was corrupt, and before Christianity was proclaimed in\nit to much extent, the empire was tottering on its throne, and shaking\nfrom center to circumference; and these precursors of still greater\nevils filled the world with terror and confusion. The Pope supplanted\nChrist, and Catholicism, Christianity; and the Roman empire, by\npolitical earthquakes, was shaking on its sandy foundation. And to add\nto the terrors and disasters of the times, floods of barbarians came\nrushing from the north, and the Saracens from the east, like the lava\nfrom Vesuvius, that overwhelmed Herculaneum and Pompeii, and buried the\nempire and civilization beneath the flood, and almost extinguished the\nlight and life of Christianity. Those were the darkest days the world\nhad seen for many a century.\n\nHuman progress then received a check from which it was a long time in\nrecovering; but the innate tendency of human nature to move onward\nfinally overcame the mountains that human folly had thrown in its way,\nand after the lapse of several centuries it emerged into the light of\nscience and religion.\n\nThe morning twilight which succeeded that long night of anarchy,\npriestly rule and superstition, dawned on the world in the fourteenth\ncentury. Intellect, which had slumbered for ages, began to throw off\nits lethargy. Universities sprang up in Europe. Science, literature\nand religion began to be studied. Old theories were looked into\nand questioned; and then the martyr\u2019s fires were rekindled by the\nconservatives of that age; for every age has a class who love to stand\nup to their ears in mud at their old landmarks, and threaten all with\ntemporal ruin or eternal damnation, or both, who make an effort to get\nout of the filth into the pure air and sunshine of heaven. This old\nhunkerism I abhor, whether in church, state, or literature. It would\nrepress the energies of the world. Our motto should be--go where the\nstream of truth bears us, regardless of consequences; they should not\nbe feared. Error and ignorance only are real and fearful enemies.\n\nThose early pioneers in the domain of truth, paid dear for their\nindependence and wisdom; many of whom were burned at the stake or\nincarcerated in dungeons. But the truths they uttered were not so\neasily forced out of the world. A pious poet of those times, speaking\nof the disinterment and scattering of Wickliffe\u2019s ashes on the Avon,\nutters this prophetic language:\n\n  \u201cThe Avon to the Severn runs,\n     The Severn to the sea,\n   And Wickliffe\u2019s ashes shall be strewn\n     Wide as the waters be.\u201d\n\nThe martyrs of truth fertilize our soil. The fires that consumed\ntheir bodies lighten our skies. The clanking of their chains, and the\ngroans they uttered, are yet sounding in our ears, and inspire us with\nindignation against despotism of every name and kind. They did as much\nfor human progress by suffering and dying in its cause as they did by\nthe pen, speech, or holy life. Their tears and their blood form a river\nwhich has been meandering through the heart of humanity down to the\npresent time; and all along its margin, little rills have been pouring\ninto it from the hearts and eyes of those who have been persecuted for\nrighteousness\u2019 sake. And the stream that was once small has become\nlarge, and will increase every day as it flows on, imparting vitality\nto the great heart of humanity. Revere those great men. And although\nthey may not have known the whole truth, yet they were far in advance\nof the age in which they lived, were true friends of man, and we owe\nthem a lasting debt of gratitude.\n\nAnd what shall I say of the present condition of the enlightened\nnations of the earth? The truth is, never before did man attain\nthe intellectual and moral eminence he now enjoys; never before was\nthe human mind so active or making such rapid strides. \u201cThe world\nis entering on a new moral cycle. The great heart of humanity is\nheaving with hopes of a still brighter day. The instincts of our\nnature prophesy its approach, and the best intellects of our world are\nstruggling to turn that prophecy to fulfilment. Thoughts of freedom,\nduty, benevolence, equality and human brotherhood agitate the nations\nof the earth; and neither the Pope with his Cardinals and Jesuits, nor\nthe kings with their ministers, can repress it. Were these thoughts\nimprisoned in the center of the earth, they would burst its granite\nfolds, speed onward in their career and fill their destiny. They are\nimbued with a deathless vigor. They must prevail, or the idea of a\nMoral Governor of the universe is impossible, and the divine truths of\nthe gospel a fable.\u201d\n\nOld ideas are being modified, or laid aside without a memento to keep\nthem in remembrance, and new ones from the heavenly mint are taking\ntheir places. The pruning-hook and plough-share are making sad havoc\nof grey-bearded theories. But we must not for a moment suppose that\nthe worshipers of antiquated institutions and ideas, will yield in\nthis struggle without a desperate effort to preserve their idols. And\nno doubt the cry will be raised as of old, \u201cGreat is Diana of the\nEphesians;\u201d and multitudes will shout, \u201cCrucify, crucify, all who are\nnot of our party.\u201d\n\nAll who have eyes must see that changes are taking place every where.\nMen may shut their eyes and prophesy that all things will continue\nas they are; but as Galileo said of the earth, after renouncing his\nphilosophy to save his life: \u201cIT REVOLVES STILL;\u201d so whether we believe\nit or not, the human mind is outgrowing and leaving old errors, which\nhad their origin in barbarism, and is advancing into the region of\ntruth and reality.\n\nBut the old heavens and earth will not pass away without great\nnoise--not until the elements shall be melted with fervent heat, by the\nSun of righteousness. The nations of the earth have long fought with\nsteel and bullet, but now the great battle of ideas is being fought.\nThe old and the new, the past and the present, the kingdom of God and\nthe kingdom of satan, have entered the list; and as sure as the rising\nsun dispels the darkness, chill, and dampness of night, as sure as day\nsucceeds night, will truth triumph over error in this conflict. The\nhay, wood and stubble will be consumed, but the silver and gold will\npass the fiery ordeal.\n\nHad some conversation with a Spiritualist. The Bible, in his\nestimation, is full of lies and absurdities, as unreliable in its\nreligious instruction as an almanac in its weather prognostics. But\nall Spiritualists do not go to that extreme; many of them entertain\nsincere respect for that book, and love to cultivate the religious\nsentiment. I have a great deal of faith in that kind of Spiritualism.\nThe old prophets, Christ and his apostles, and multitudes of the wise\nand good in all ages, have been Spiritualists of that character. Such\nkind of Spiritualism is only another name for Christianity. But with\nthe irreverent and ungodly sort of Spiritualism, I have no sympathy.\nI believe it to be blasting and damning in its influence, and will\nultimately land its believers in rank Atheism. It has already made\nshipwreck of many a man and woman, and its dreadful work in that\ndirection will fearfully increase unless there should be a return to\nreason.\n\nI attended a revival meeting while on this journey, and witnessed some\nextraordinary doings. There was shouting, ranting, screaming, jumping,\ncrying and laughing. The preacher told us, that the lowest and vilest\ncould be instantly translated into saints. I remembered the old song I\nhad heard on such occasions:\n\n  \u201cCome dirty, come filthy, come ragged, come bare:\n   You can\u2019t come too filthy--come just as you are.\u201d\n\nThe preacher did not intend to promote immorality, but no doubt this\ntelling people, that unwashed scoundrels at the end of a long life\nin every crime can be instantly transformed into saints of the first\nwater, and so escape all punishment for a misspent life, has a very\nimmoral influence. A hardened sinner may to-day right-about face, and\nresolve to travel upward hereafter, but he has a long journey before\nhim. But if he pursues it, he will finally reach the heavenly city, and\nwalk its golden streets.\n\nA man at the meeting asked me if a person could be \u201csaved without\nrepentance and regeneration?\u201d I replied:\n\n\u201cYou might as well ask if a man can see without eyes, hear without\nears, think without a head, talk without a tongue, or walk without\nlegs. You misunderstand salvation. It is not from an outward hell, but\nfrom ignorance, error, sin, and all their debasing effects. He who has\nthoroughly repented, or reformed, which is the same thing, _is_ saved,\nnot will be; a regenerated soul _is_ saved, not will be saved at some\nfuture period, and in some other world. Repentance and regeneration\nsweep and garnish the soul, make it a fit habitation for the heavenly\nguest--salvation. Jesus said, \u2018Repent, for the kingdom of God is\nat hand.\u2019 It is always \u2018at hand,\u2019 ready to be established in every\nreformed, regenerated heart.\u201d\n\nSaid another, \u201cIf Universalism is true, what is the use of preaching?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, my dear sir,\u201d I answered, \u201cpreaching is one means by which\nsalvation is effected. God works by means. By means of the sun he\nlightens and warms the earth; by means of the rain he cools and\npurifies the atmosphere, fertilizes the soil, and fills our fountains\nwith living water. By means of natural laws he controls every globe,\nand every particle of matter in the universe. So, by wise and righteous\ninstrumentalities, he blesses man spiritually, and will continue\nto bless him forever and ever. And the proclamation of truth and\nrighteousness, through the christian ministry, is one means appointed\nby heaven to this blessed end. Eighteen hundred years ago Jesus said,\n\u2018Know the truth, and the truth shall make you free;\u2019 and he consecrated\nmen, and commissioned them, to \u2018Go into all the world and preach\nthe gospel to every creature.\u2019 It is freedom _now_ that we need; it\nis salvation _now_, that the proclamation of the truth produces. As\nthe presence of Jesus brought salvation into Zaccheus\u2019 house, so the\npreaching of the gospel brings a present salvation to the soul. Give up\nthe wretched delusion, that the chief end of preaching is to save us\nfrom a hell beyond the grave. It is for no such a purpose. Its object\nis to enlighten and purify man _now_, that he may be happy in this\nworld.\u201d\n\nIn Kimball, I delivered a discourse; and at its close a Methodist\nminister told the congregation that he, heart and soul, believed in the\n\u201cRestitution of all things;\u201d and that he would not part with that faith\nfor the world. He said it was the joy of his life; it made him a better\nman; it prepared him to live, and he trusted that it would be his stay\nand his hope in the hour of death.\n\nI stopped in Moline, Ill., and delivered one discourse. This is a\nmanufacturing place, at the head of Rock Island, and exhibits much\nthrift and enterprise. Said a man to me in the town:\n\n\u201cThe Bible says, no self-murderer shall enter the kingdom of God. What\ndo you do with that passage?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is home-made scripture,\u201d I replied; \u201cthere is nothing of the\nkind in the Bible. Besides, there never was, and never will be, a\nself-murderer. To murder is to \u2018kill _with malice aforethought_.\u2019 A\nman may commit suicide, but that is not murder, for he does not do it\nwith malignity or malice toward himself. For the poor suicide I have\nmuch sympathy. Who can estimate the agony he suffered, to escape which,\nhe took his own life? Have charity for such a poor unfortunate; speak\nnot harshly of him; condemn him not. Jesus would weep over his grave,\nand say, \u2018Father, forgive him.\u2019 The apostle John says, \u2018Whoso hateth\nhis brother is a murderer, and ye know, that no murderer hath eternal\nlife abiding in him.\u2019 1 John iii. 15. This speaks of the _present\ncondition_ of the murderer--not his everlasting condition. No murderer\n_hath_ eternal life _abiding in him_. Of course he has not, or he would\nnot be a murderer. Eternal life is Christ-life, heaven-life; a life of\nlove to God, and good will toward man. A murderer is selfish, cruel,\nbloody, revengeful. A murderous character, and a christian character,\ncannot exist in one soul. But the murderer may reform. Paul was a\npersecutor, assisted in murdering Stephen of blessed memory, but he\nreformed. Jesus on the cross prayed God to forgive his murderers.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut then suppose he dies a murderer, what will become of him?\u201d\n\n\u201cIf the murderer can reform before he dies, why not after he dies? Does\nreason, wisdom, goodness, the Bible say, that if a man leaves this\nworld a sinner, he will be compelled to be a sinner eternally? That is\nan assumption of Orthodoxy; but it never was proved, and never will be.\nWhy does the Bible say, \u2018God will have all men to be saved,\u2019 if it is\nhis purpose that all who leave this world sinners never shall be saved?\nWhy does he call on all to repent, if he intends, that all who die\nimpenitent never shall reform? It is a dreadful thing to live or die\na murderer; but the mercy of God can save him in this world, and that\nsame mercy can save him in the future world.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIX.\n\n\n  LAST CAMPAIGN--IN GALESBURG, ILL.--THE UNITED STATES\n  CONVENTION--LOMBARD UNIVERSITY--OTHER SCHOOLS--JOURNEY\n  TO MISSOURI--IN MACON CITY--IN BROOKFIELD--ST. JOSEPH\n  AND OTHER CITIES--GROVE MEETING--ON THE MISSOURI\n  BOTTOM--BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY--PREACH IN FILLMORE AND MANY OTHER\n  PLACES--RETURNED HOME--ANTI-ORTHODOX PREACHING--FUNERAL\n  SERMONS--DEATH--LIFE--CONCLUSION.\n\nMy last long campaign was in Missouri and Illinois. Left Chicago,\naccompanied by Mrs. Manford, Tuesday night, September 16, 1866, and by\nsunrise the next morning we were in Galesburg, Ill., one hundred and\nsixty miles southward. The United States Convention of Universalists\nwas holding its annual session in that place, and we tarried till its\nclose. Met many clergymen from the East and West I had not before seen;\nand had the satisfaction of shaking hands with W. S. Balch, with whom\nI studied many years before, but had not beheld his face since I left\nhis sanctum in Claremont, N. H., to come West. He is now pastor of\nthe Universalist society in Galesburg. Years have changed the outer\nman, somewhat, but the inner man seems to be as vigorous, generous and\nbrotherly as ever. Brother Balch has noble qualities of head and heart;\nand he has ever been faithful and successful in his high calling.\n\nThe Lombard University is located in Galesburg; and although\n\u201cUniversity\u201d is rather a big name for such an institution--the West is\nfond of high sounding names--it is an excellent school, and is doing\na great work. It combines an academy and college; its doors are open\nto both sexes, they having equal privileges. This is as it should be.\nThe old custom of educating girls and boys apart is all wrong. They\nlearn faster together than if educated separately. A healthy rivalry\nis induced, each sex being anxious to secure the approbation of the\nother; besides, associating together, not less in the school-room than\nat home tends to refine and invigorate both sexes. The property of this\ninstitution is one hundred thousand dollars, and about as much more has\nrecently been subscribed for its benefit. It is destined to exert a\nvast influence in the West in favor of liberal principles.\n\nThe denomination has several other excellent institutions of learning\nin the United States. There is Tufts College, located in Medford,\nMass., four miles from Boston. Its funds and real estate are worth\neight hundred and five thousand dollars. It has a library embracing\nten thousand volumes. In Canton, N. Y., we have two schools--the\nSt. Lawrence University, and Theological School. The University has\nproperty worth one hundred and four thousand dollars. We also have an\nacademy in Clinton, N. Y., called the Clinton Liberal Institute. It has\nproperty amounting to fifty thousand dollars. We likewise have a school\nin Westbrook, Me., three miles from Portland. It is one of the best\ninstitutions in the state, and its permanent fund is thirty thousand\ndollars. The Green Mountain Institute is located in Woodstock, Vt. A\nfine farm is connected with the school, and the average attendance is\nabout one hundred. In Glover, Vt., the Orleans Liberal Institute is\nlocated. From seventy to one hundred pupils attend it, and its friends\nintend to increase its usefulness.\n\nThere are three other educational institutions being established by the\ndenomination. One in Jefferson, Wis. It has so far progressed, that\none term has been held. A fine academy building will soon be erected.\nIn Barre, sixteen miles from Montpelier, the capital of Vermont, our\nbrethren are establishing a school. Fifty thousand dollars have already\nbeen subscribed. In Franklin, Mass., a first class academy will soon\nbe in operation. Dr. Dean, its founder, donated sixty thousand dollars,\nand the trustees have raised forty thousand more. A magnificent\nbuilding is nearly finished on a beautiful site, with ample grounds.\n\nThis is a pretty fair record for so young a denomination as ours; and\nall this has been accomplished in about thirty-five years. But our work\nis only fairly begun in the educational field. More schools must be\nestablished; and those already in operation must be strengthened, and\ntheir usefulness increased. Proper education improves the head and the\nheart, and qualifies us to act with dignity and success our part on the\nstage of life.\n\nSeptember 20th. Mrs. Manford returned to Chicago, and at 5 o\u2019clock\nP. M., I took cars for Quincy, one hundred miles south; and the next\nmorning was steaming across the Missouri prairies to Macon City, sixty\nmiles west of the great river. Most of the country is prairie, high,\ndry and rolling, with good soil, but thinly settled. Saw large herds of\ncattle, horses, mules and sheep, feeding on the vast savannas. Lectured\nin Macon City. A good congregation would immediately be gathered here,\nif a minister could be obtained. Two lawyers, especially, expressed\nmuch anxiety for such an arrangement. Macon is at the crossing of the\nHannibal and St. Joseph, and North Missouri railroads, and is bound to\nbe an important town.\n\nSeptember 22d. Rode to Brookfield, forty miles west. Crossed the\ndividing ridge between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, two of the\ngreat rivers of the world. Most of the country is hilly, timber is\nplenty, and the soil middling. Brookfield is exactly midway between the\ntwo rivers. The railroad company has its machine shops here, and the\ntown is in a flourishing condition. The country around is beautiful\nand productive. It is a charming locality for a home. Rode into the\ncountry the next day, Sunday, eight miles, and talked to the people;\nreturned in the afternoon, and lectured to a fair congregation.\n\nSeptember 25th. Proceeded to Chillicothe, forty miles toward the\nsetting sun, and delivered my message. This is a fine town, and\nimproving rapidly. We ought to have a church here, and could soon have\none if proper effort was made. We always have large congregations here.\nI. M. Westfall, several years since, had a discussion in this place\nwith a Methodist minister, and he made the dry bones shake.\n\nSeptember 27th. Journeyed to St. Joseph, about seventy miles. This is\nthe largest town in North Missouri. It is located on the east bank\nof the Missouri river; has quite a city appearance; the streets are\npaved, and the business houses are chiefly brick, and of a substantial\ncharacter. This, and three other towns within seventy-five miles, are\nstriving for the mastery--Kansas City, Leavenworth and Lawrence. Time\nonly will determine which will win. But there is bound to be one large\ncommercial center somewhere in this region. Which of the four will be\nthat city? I refer to 1875 for an answer.\n\nSeptember 28th. Rode to Savannah, thirteen miles northward, and\nlectured in the evening. R. K. Jones, an active and enterprising man,\npreaches here monthly. Expect to spend three weeks traveling where\nthere are no railroads; and as I have no conveyance of my own, shall\ndepend on a kind Providence, and good friends for transportation.\n\nSeptember 29th. Rode horseback to Fillmore, ten miles; a sprightly boy\nwent with me to lead the horse back; and on the next day, Sunday, was\nconveyed by a friend, to Mound City, eighteen miles, where I delivered\na long discourse at eleven o\u2019clock, in a beautiful grove, and in the\nevening spoke in a school-house, four miles distant.\n\nOctober 1st. Rode a borrowed horse twelve miles, and lectured at\nnight. Was sick two days from excessive speaking. Met a woman who heard\nme in Ohio twenty-five years ago. Am now sixty miles above St. Joseph,\non the Missouri river bottom. The soil is as rich as was that of the\nfar-famed valley of Egypt. Most of the bottom is prairie, and the\nland dry, warm and easily tilled. It is a charming region--beautiful\nbeyond description. A few miles west, the Missouri bluffs in Kansas and\nNebraska are visible. Although barely able to sit on the horse, I rode\ntwelve miles.\n\nOctober 4th. The ride did me good--am all right again. Went in a buggy\nto Oregon, twelve miles, and heard an excellent discourse by R. K.\nJones. About one year previous, I delivered three discourses in this\ntown, the first of the kind heard there, and they caused considerable\nexcitement; whereupon Mr. Smith, a Presbyterian clergyman, proposed\ndebating, to which I consented. We settled the preliminaries; but Mr.\nSmith\u2019s ardor for the discussion soon abated, and the subject was\ndropped. But another party is now trying to get up a discussion with\nme, and they are corresponding with Mr. Summerhill, of Cincinnati,\nOhio, a noted minister in his order, about engaging in it.\n\nOctober 5th. Went to Fillmore--rode part way, and walked part way--and\nlectured in the evening. A society will probably soon be organized\nhere, as we have a goodly number of friends within a few miles of the\nplace. At a previous visit to this town, a preacher replied to my\ndiscourse. There were several clergymen of different denominations\npresent, and they delegated this one to be spokesman. But he yielded\nso much that his colleagues were disgusted and said, \u201che might as well\nhave proclaimed himself a Universalist.\u201d\n\nOctober 7th. A friend conveyed me on Sunday morning, to Whitesville,\neighteen miles, where I spoke on that day twice. Here also a society\ncould be formed.\n\nOctober 8th. A gentleman and lady took me in a buggy to Rochester,\nsixteen miles, where I spoke to a large congregation, but found only a\nfew who sympathized with me.\n\nOctober 9th. A kind friend conveyed me to my next appointment, in\nMaysville, twenty-five miles eastward. He took his three boys with him,\nhe said, that they might see the country for they were all recently\nfrom Ohio. Men and boys were delighted with the country we passed over,\nas well they might be, for it is a lovely land--high, rolling, rich\nprairie. A large number attended the meeting. Probably not a dozen\npresent had before heard a discourse on the Restitution. I hope some\ngood seed was sown, and, that it will germinate, bud, blossom, and\nyield a rich harvest.\n\nOctober 10th. Rode twenty-five miles to-day, and preached at night, and\nthe next day. These were the first sermons on our faith ever heard in\nGallatin. A Congregationalist minister gave notice that he should reply\nto them, two days subsequently. In a conversation with him he remarked,\nthat his denomination were the \u201c_liberals_ of the evangelical school.\u201d\nThey may be in the West, but they certainly are not in the East. Their\ncreed is cold, cruel, intolerant, Calvinism. There is not a particle of\nliberality or generosity in it. It is as rigid as iron bars, and cold\nas icebergs.\n\nOctober 12th. Rode horseback sixteen miles, to Bancroft, and lectured.\nAlthough our liberal faith had not before been publicly taught here,\nI found many friends. A large family by the name of Hendricks, all\nformerly Dunkards, reside here, and they are devoted believers in the\nRestitution. Most of that denomination, I have met with, agree with\nus in the final redemption of humanity, and they are generally truly\nchristian people. Elhanan Winchester once said, \u201cIf God has a people on\nearth, it is the Dunkards.\u201d\n\nOctober 13th. A friend took me to Trenton, eighteen miles, where I\ndelivered three sermons. They were the first of the kind in the town,\nor county, and large numbers attended. A preacher did his best to\nkeep the people away, but he was nearly deserted, for the people were\nbound to hear the \u201cnew doctrine.\u201d I here met a man by the name of John\nMurray, who said he was a distant relative of the sainted Rev. John\nMurray. When I was in Iowa City recently, I found a man by the name of\nWinchester, who is a relative of Rev. Elhanan Winchester, of blessed\nmemory. They have good blood in their veins.\n\nOctober 15th. Conveyed to Lindville, fifteen miles, and preached at\nnight. The people here had not before heard one of our faith. Some\nbelieved, and some disbelieved.\n\nOctober 16th. Rode fourteen miles on horseback, and walked six miles.\nCame to a stream where there was no bridge, and pulling off boots and\nsocks, waded through, and passed on to fill my appointments. Lectured\ntwice in this place, Milan, to full houses.\n\nOctober 18th. Went to Greencastle, fifteen miles, and lectured twice.\nThere is a small society in this village, and two brother preachers are\nresiding near by--W. Brise and G. S. Ayers. It is to be hoped they will\nhereafter devote more of their time to the ministry.\n\nOctober 20th. Lectured in Unionville twice, and once in the\nneighborhood; and the next day was conveyed by a friend to Lancaster,\ntwenty miles still farther onward, where I also spoke twice. The next\nday, rode to Memphis, or rather rode and walked, twenty-five miles,\nwhere I spoke twice, and once in the country. From thence was conveyed\nby a friend to Bentonsport, Iowa, where I took the cars and went home.\n\nI recently heard a discourse by one of our ministers, and he gave\nOrthodoxy an awful cudgeling. I do not like that kind of preaching.\nIt is too much of the meat-axe order. The christian minister should\npreach the gospel in all its fulness--present it in its doctrinal,\nmoral, and spiritual aspect. But cutting, slashing, and banging, at\nthis creed, and that creed, at this sect and that sect, is not exactly\npreaching the gospel. It may be the minister\u2019s duty, now and then,\nunder peculiar circumstances, to handle other creeds without gloves;\nbut let him remember and do his duty in this respect in a loving\nspirit. But there should be but little of this kind of controversial\nsermonizing. Telling people of the beauty and glory of truth and\nvirtue, and urging a practical knowledge of the same, is far better\nthan to be fighting Orthodoxy. It must be admitted, that some of the\nfathers of our denomination, in this respect, have set a bad example.\nThey had too much of the Ishmaelite spirit, and many of us have imbibed\nof it copiously. True, they were assailed by slander and falsehood, in\nprivate and in public, at home and abroad, when they went in, and when\nthey went out; and it required a copious infusion of the Divine Spirit\nto be perfect lambs under such circumstances. And our people in the\nWest and South, especially the ministers, are still pursued with the\nsame maliciousness, injustice and cruelty, and it requires remarkable\ngood nature to be thus treated without striking back. But some of us\nhave rather overdone this matter of \u201cusing up\u201d Orthodoxy. Not, it is\nto be hoped, that we have been actuated by the fiendish spirit of some\nof our enemies, but we spend too much precious time, and waste too\nmuch material, on their creeds. Better present the truth in its native\nbeauty and grace, and the world will soon fall in love with it, and\ntake it to it\u2019s heart.\n\nI had been at home but a few days, when I was called to the southern\npart of Illinois, to deliver two funeral discourses. One of them was on\nthe occasion of the death of Mrs. Middleworth, an estimable woman, cut\ndown in the vigor of womanhood, and in the midst of usefulness. A large\nnumber attended the service; some came as far as fifteen miles. Surely,\nif ever we need consolation, it is when death enters our abode, and\nsnatches therefrom a dear friend. Sensitive ties are then severed, and\naffection\u2019s nerves receive a dreadful shock. The death of a friend is\nlike an untimely frost on an orange grove; it may indeed kill but one,\nbut it blights the whole grove. But death is no new thing under the\nsun. For six thousand years mankind have been dying. It is estimated\nthat sixty persons die every minute. Every hour in the day, week,\nmonth, year, century, thousands of human beings breathe their last\nbreath, and heave their last sigh. All over the world are dying scenes,\nand funeral scenes. An army of the living are employed to bury an army\nof the dead. And this sad work has been going on for sixty centuries.\n\nHow true are the words of the wise man: \u201cOne generation passeth\naway, and another generation cometh.\u201d Death and the grave are never\nsatisfied. The high and the low, the old and the young, the saint and\nthe sinner, must alike be prostrated in death when the king of terror\nhurls his unerring dart. As ocean wave succeeds wave, so generation of\nmen succeed generation, and each in its turn is borne to, and dashes\nand dies upon the fearful shore of time. Every thing on earth speaks of\nmutation and death. The lofty marble monument, erected to commemorate\nhuman genius; the stately palace of wealth, pomp and greatness, are\nbeing crumbled to dust by the busy and untiring hand of time. Saith the\nBible, \u201cAll flesh is grass.\u201d As the grass withereth, and the flower\nfadeth, so with mortal man. The decree has gone forth from the court\nof heaven, and cannot be revoked, \u201cDust thou art, and unto dust shalt\nthou return.\u201d No appeal is admitted; no reversal of the judgment need\nbe expected. _Die we all must!_ But how little is this dreadful fact\nrealized by many! How many spend life as if they believed it would\nnever end! To the accumulation of earthly treasures, or the advancement\nof ambitious schemes, multitudes devote all their energy, all their\ntalent, all their precious time. Unwise men! God made us for more noble\npursuits; and he who devotes all of life\u2019s blessed moments to the\naccumulation of earth\u2019s perishable treasures, answers not to the end\nof his being, is not a friend to himself, but rather his own greatest\nenemy.\n\nBut when the decrees of the Almighty shall be executed; when dust shall\nhave returned to dust, and ashes to ashes, shall we be no more forever?\nWill death never yield his prey? Shall we share the fate of the beetle\nand the worm? Will the tender ties of love and affection, which are\nsevered by the cold hand of death, with weeping eyes and bleeding\nheart, never be reunited? And when we consign our dear friends to the\ngrave, shall we never more behold them? Never more enjoy their society,\nwhich society made a heaven of earth? And when we shall bid farewell\nto earth, and close our eyes in death, shall we be annihilated? Some\nthere are, who answer these important questions in the affirmative.\nSome there are, who tell us, that death is an eternal sleep, that the\ngrave and the worm will devour our all; that we are like the bubble\non the wide ocean, seen for a moment, and then disappear to be known\nno more forever. But thank God, we have reason to hope for better\nthings. We have reason to hope that there is a life beyond this life,\na world beyond this world, where friends will meet, where the great\nfamily of God will meet, to part no more; that on the blissful plains\nof immortality, the severed links of humanity will be welded in an\nimmortal chain, never more to be severed.\n\nWhile in the neighborhood where this service was held, I delivered two\nother discourses, to great congregations. From thence I went to Dudley,\nand delivered another funeral discourse, on the occasion of the death\nof Mrs. Sutherland, a devoted believer in our most holy faith, and an\nexcellent woman. It is sometimes said by the opposers of the Great\nSalvation, that it is good to live by, but not to die by. But it seems\nto me, that what is good to live by, must be good to die by, for what\nprepares us to live, prepares us to die. When the opposer tells me,\nthat my religion \u201cis good to live by,\u201d I thank him for such testimony\nin its favor; but I cannot return the compliment, cannot admit that\nhis creed, let it be what it may, if it denies the essential features\nof the Restitution, \u201cis good to live by.\u201d Is Atheism, which denies a\nGod, and orphanizes the world, \u201cgood to live by?\u201d Is Deism, that denies\na Savior, and doubts an hereafter, \u201cgood to live by?\u201d Is Partialism,\nthat represents God as cruel, revengeful and unjust; as loving some and\nhating others; blessing some and cursing others, world without end,\n\u201cgood to live by?\u201d Men can live with such creeds in their heads, as\nthey can live on horse ham and mule stake; but it is living at a poor\ndying rate.\n\nBut then, this faith so full of grace \u201cis not good to die by.\u201d But\nwhy not? It represents God as a universal Father, Christ a universal\nSavior, and heaven the home to which all are tending. Is not faith in\nsuch a God, such a Savior, and such a Destiny, good in the hour of\ndeath? The truth is, nothing but this can afford peace and consolation\nin that dark and solemn hour. Atheism, Deism, Partialism, are found\nwanting in man\u2019s dying moments, as when in the possession of health and\nvigor. True, many close their eyes in death with blissful hopes, who do\nnot accept the faith of God\u2019s Universal Grace, and for this reason--in\ntheir dying hour they gaze entirely on the bright side of their creed,\nfor it has a bright side as well as a dark side. They think they can\nread their \u201ctitle clear to mansions in the skies,\u201d hence depart in\npeace. But if they looked for an instant on the dark side of their\nfaith; if they considered that they may be mistaken with regard to\ntheir own salvation, and instead of going to heaven may go to hell. And\nthen, around their dying couch are their near and dear friends; and for\naught they know, all of them in a few years will be lifting up their\neyes in eternal torment, and begging for a drop of water to cool their\nflaming tongues--if the dying deemed this possible, and it is possible\nif Orthodoxy is true, would not the thought turn joy into the bitterest\nsorrow, and songs of praise into howls of despair? But the truth is\nadapted to all stages and conditions of humanity. It is our counselor,\nguide, and hope, in the strength and vigor of manhood; our staff in\nsickness and old age; our _all_ when our eyes are closing in death, and\nthe grave is opening at our feet.\n\nAfter speaking in five other places in the south part of the state,\nI returned home; and had been there but two days, when a telegraphic\ndespatch summoned me to attend the funeral of Mrs. Jameson, in Marshall\ncounty, Ill., over one hundred miles distant. When turning away from\nher grave, her husband remarked: \u201cThere is buried one of the best women\nthat ever lived.\u201d That is the best eulogy that can be pronounced over\nthe grave of the dead. The departed suffered for months, by day and by\nnight, the most excruciating physical agony, but not a murmur dropped\nfrom her lips. She knew that sickness was unto death, and she welcomed\nthe approach of the angel of deliverance. A good life and a christian\nfaith, are blessed friends in the sunset of life. As I am writing about\nthe last page of this book, a letter, with a black border, from a woman\nin Missouri is received, announcing the death of her husband, and\nrequesting me to attend his funeral. It was his desire, she writes,\nthat I should do so, and I must respect his dying wish.\n\nThe common view of death, I am satisfied, is too dark and gloomy. When\nwe look upon the cold and rigid form, the closed eyes and pale brow, of\nthe dead, a sense of gloom, and a vague feeling of fear comes over us;\nbut we should remember, that the being that lately animated that now\nlifeless body, is a resident of the \u201chouse not made with hands, eternal\nin the heavens.\u201d But we are oppressed too much by what we see, and have\nnot faith enough in the reality of a life in heaven. And hence it is,\nthat in the chamber of death, at the time of the Holy Passover, bitter\nsobbings are heard, in the place of song of rejoicing; and hence it is\nthat the coffin, our second cradle, is followed to the grave by those\nwho are arrayed in gloomy habiliments expressive of grief and sorrow.\nTo those who have passed into the house of \u201cmany mansions,\u201d death must\nappear in a very different light. The two grand eras in our life below,\nits beginning and its close, birth and death, must be viewed by them as\nreally beautiful and equally divine. The departed know by experience\nwhat death is. They have tasted the cup, and know that it contains, not\na poisonous draught, but the wine of life. They know that this is a\nworld of shadows, not the world above.\n\nWhen the hour of death arrives, the couch of the dying is surrounded by\ninvisible friends, as by those who still abide in the flesh; and one\nhand of the dying is held by those to whom he is now to bid adieu; and\nthe other is taken by those whom the eye of flesh can no longer see.\n\u201cOn the one side, there is weeping and almost despair; on the other,\nthe joyful hymn of welcome. Surely tears are a relief to men in this\nmortal state; and I would not even seem to say that they are wrong. I\nsay only this, that the occasion of our most intense grief, would be no\noccasion of grief, were death understood by us as it is by those who\nknow by experience--by that holy experience--what it is. Were we able\nto follow, with open eyes, those who are dear to us, as they pass away,\nand see them as they are in the Better Land, and know how they are\nsurrounded and employed, we should not mourn as we now do when friends\ndepart, nor should we feel any temptation thus to mourn, and the fear\nof death would be wholly unknown to us.\u201d\n\nThis, I believe, to be the correct view of death; and its general\nprevalence would dispel the gloom that now hangs over the grave, and\nsave the world many tears and griefs. The day will come when the\ninhabitants of the earth, having a proper estimate of death, and\nthe hereafter, will wonder that we regarded death with the gloomy\napprehension we do. When that day blesses the world, there will be no\nmore death, as most of mankind now regard it.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nTo conclude: I have innumerable reasons to be grateful to Almighty\nGod, that I have lived so long, enjoyed almost uninterrupted good\nhealth, had so many friends, and been permitted to labor in the gospel\nministry. Truly, the Lord has blessed me all the days of my life. I\nhave never had but two spells of sickness, and they were induced by\nhard labor in hot weather. Notwithstanding my extensive traveling, I\nhave never met with the slightest accident, and I have journeyed by\nsea and land, in sailing vessels and steamboats, on railroads and on\nhorseback, in stages, and in wagons of all descriptions. Have traveled\nin dangerous localities by day and by night, but a penknife is the\nlargest weapon I ever carried. One more personal remark--I never\nsnuffed, chewed, or smoked tobacco; neither did I ever poison my body\nor my soul with a glass of liquor--do not know whisky from brandy, and\ndo not covet the knowledge.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nTranscriber\u2019s Notes:\n\nPunctuation has been made consistent.\n\nVariations in spelling and hyphenation were retained as they appear in\nthe original publication, except that obvious typographical errors have\nbeen corrected.\n\nThe following changes were made:\n\np. 107: as inserted (now as it was)\n\np. 110: partially obscured word mporal assumed to be temporal (in\ntemporal ruin.)\n\np. 299: art changed to act (the act of)","title":"Twenty-five years in the West","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":115408}