i
Eichla^'d, Georgia, \
July 7th, 1873. j
J:Wct- P. D. Gold:—
Dear Brother,—Since reading
tlie communications of Eldex’s Denton
and Barker of Texas, and the troubles
about tv.'o seed and especially as re
lated to the devil, I have luul many
reflections and canb well disjulss the
subiect from my mind, and while 1
have no dispositioii to take ]>art with
either of the'Brethren, and iau the
‘nals of controvei’sy, yet I have an
inclination to say something; and,
Avithout knowing exactly what I must
sav—but however, I Avill begin by
saying that I should bo pleased to
hear that any of our Brethren were
contending Avith, or against the devil
—but I am tru’v sorry Avhen I hear
that they are- contending about him.
I am inclined to think that the less
we have to do with the devil, farther
than to resist and point out his wick
ed devices, the better we will be; and,
especially the Minister of the gospel
shonld be very careful to take as lit
tle of the devil with him into the
]mlpit as possible. ISo difference
whether he is self-existent or created,
no difference whether he came from
above or beneath he is here, and Ave
are commanded to resist him. I
have thought the devd did like very
much to be brought into notice and
-r^-ti^ially to hear his Satanic majesty
])roc’aimcd from the pulpit'. So, it
he can get the preachers’ mind charged
Avith some point of his honor’s exist
ence or non-existenee—it matters
not with him, so he keeps the preach
er’s attention directed away from
Christ. I say if he ean do this he
accomplishes an object of this kind,
he deprives the Chnrcu of hearing
the gos})el of Christ, and entertains
them, or ra.ther detains them Avith
some imaginary and fancied views
a.bout himself. And Avhat good
would it do a Christian to prove to
him that the devil was created or
self-existent? luAvliatdireetion Avould
he 1)8 edified to profit? When Ave
])reach the devil Ave do not feed the
flock. You Avill neA’cr see a Brother
or Sister shed a tear Avhen you preach
tlxe devil to them, you Avill never see
their bosoms heaving Avith the emo
tions of love to Christ, you Avill not
see brotherly lo-Am increased, but you
Avill soon see discord and distraction,
Aou Avill see Bretlircn haAm each
oilier by the ears and in circles of con-
A'crsatioii a'OU Avill hear the de\ul
spoken of more than Christ.
I have had some observation of
these things in gone-by-years, have
• seen Brethren Avaring Avitli each other
about the devil, and ucatt have
buoAvn any good results to groAv out
of it. Sec tlie distraction already in
'.fexas—one Churcu dissoB’^cd and
rc-constituted and stands dis-
roniiccted Avith her Brethren. All
oftiiis about the poor old devil and
his seed. 'I once received a letter
from a Brother Baptist in Avliieh he
asked me for my A'le-Avs on some very
knotty ])oints about the devil. I re
plied to this dear Brother, that lie
mii&t excuse me as I had never had ' sure that I would be the next, and
any impressions to preach the devil, j there was a disease in my head that
and so I Avould say to the dear Breth
ren evervwhere, sureh' thereis cnoiish
contained in the gosj)cl of Christ to
employ our Avhole tinu'. If there is
not scope enougli in the Divinity o'l
the Son of Cod to employ onr talent
let us take Paul’s admonition to Titus
and constantly afflnn tliatthey Avhieh
hav’c belicA'cd in Cod should be care
ful to maintain good Avorks. Tjet ns
toll onr Brethren to draAv near to God
and he Avill draAV near to them—-to
resist ihe dcA’il and he aatII flee from
them—and for ns not to ’pursue after
him nor hunt after him—lie Avill re
turn soon enough.
Yours, in tribulation, faroAvell,
I. II. Teat.
Avould kill me and that I would go
to torment. J^fy fatlier Ava.s reading
one night, as aatis his custom to oo,
and I thought if I could read some it
Avould relieve me—ho stopped and
asked me if I did not Avant to rcau.
I told him I did. I ivad some and
CA'ery Avord seemed to condemn me.
I laid down the Bible and Avent out
in the dark, thinking I h.ad sinned
a wav the dav of grace and I felt like
I Avas gone sure
I remained in tins
condition some time AueAviiig the
justice of God in my condemnation,
and feeling condemnation continually.
One night I thought I never would
sec another day and just before day I
AA'ent to sleej) and dreamed that tlic
"We heartily and affectionately com-' -day of judgment had come, and that
^ I . . /» \ rt'\ » ITT
mend Ihe aucavs of Brother deat
above expressed concerning this root
of bitterness. "Wliile controversy inay
be needful at times, Satan does have
so much of his spirit in it, that avc
I saAV all the saints assembled, robed
in Avhite and praising God,and I Avas
cut off, and Christ a[)pcarcd and told
me I should be Saved, and I aAvoke.
SU XliUCll Ui ‘Un iii iLj uiJ.Lt- ^ • T \ i-
should becareful to keep oui solves out It Avas tne prettiest morning I tnoug'it
of strife.
Sparta, La., Leb. loth, 1873.
Brother Gold:—
I have been confined at home
and to the house Avith bron
chitis, or preacher’s sore-throat, I Avas
taken the second S.iturday in August
last Avith a hoarseness Avhile trying to
])reach. I gradually got Avoi’se ^11
the otli Sunday in September, av!^
I preached my last sermon,., aijd
have not been able to ni’eacli above a
tosv Avhispcr since Yo\mmber, and
may ncAmr be able to tall-c; any more,
so I Avill tiy to Avrite some for the
Laxdaiarks. That is, to give a
reason of my hope in Christ.
I AA'as born in the State of Alabama,
Lauderdale County: my parents Averc
Baptists at my first recollection, and
niOAT'd to ftlississippi Avherc I grew
to manhood, but up to the age of
fourteen I never feared God nor the
devil, and really doubted there being
any sucii Being. ’Though I feared
my parents, for they tried to make me
knoAv my place. So one Sunday AA’hile
they AAmre gone to meeting leaving
me and my older sisters at home, I
Avalked out to tlie road some distance,
and as I Avent this thought struck
me—vou are a miserable, sinner!—I
stopped and looked around to sec
AAdiat AA'as the matter, and it seemed
that 1 had been, and Avas then, the
Avorst being on earth. Right there I
thought I AA’ouid try to pray, and s"'-
lected a place Avhere no one Avould see
me. But Avheii I got theie I thought
some one Avould see me so I Avent
back home Avithout trying to pray.—
Bv this time my parents had returned
from meeting and the preacher stop
ped for dinner, and they all talked
about the meeting, and I tliought
they Avere all good people, but I Avas
a miserable Avretch and deserved pini-
ishiiient. So I remained in this con
dition some (inie, frequently trying to
pray, until it seemed like my prayers
did no good, and I felt afraid, to get
on my knees and try. About this
time a voung man died in the settle-
that I ever had seen, all Avas pe;ico
and joy until I Avent to plougiiing
about tAvo imnrs after Avlien tliis
thought struck me—you arc deceived,
it.is nothing but a dream, your sins
are not pardoned—and then I tried to
pray— Lord, if I am deceived, undc-
ceiAm me ! and that has been my prayer
cA’cr since. There aatis a A’cry eminent
Brother told me that he could not
ha\’e received such a deliveraiu'C, and
itliought I, and prayed carnestly
for a jilainer one but never got it. •
This I received in my fourteenth year.
I AA'as in trouble three months and I
did not unite Avith the Church till in
my twenty-eighth year. I Avent to
Union Chm-ch, Nosenba County, Avas
received and baptized by Brother J.
G. Crelins and have been a poor,
weak member over since, desiring to
do right I hope, yet I find in ray
flesh dAvells no good.
The 'Laxbmarks come to me regu-
larb/ and are mucli comfort, as it and
the Signs of the Times are all the
preaching I hear, thougli Ave have
regular preaeliing here but I am not
able to go. May God lead you in
the right AATiy is ray sincere desire.—
Farewell,
Yours, in much afiliction,
P. L. White.
Dear Brother Gold:—I Avill now-
give you a second experience, or call
to preach, and I don’t think aiiyliav'e
the rio'ht onlv those that are called of
God, as AA’as Aaron. In my 23ru
year I got married. I then tnoiight
I Avoiild never unite Avith the Church
as there AA^as much contention then
betAveenthe Missionary and Brimitive
Baptists. I thought I Avould read
mv Bible and try to serve God at
liome and take no part Avith either,
but I did not try that mind long be
fore I became troubled exceedingly,and
did not knoAV the ca'.ise, but thought
1 told mv Avife it A'.'as so, ;md site sai.I
it was not—and iliismadi' mucli con
tention and liard-feebngs Iietwecn ns
—i,ut Avhen I reflected I ki oav tiiej 1
Avas wi'Migg. I AA’as in tins si[ii:it;oi!
al)out a year. One evening '.A li'l-e I
I AvaS hoeing corn I AA'cnt io ratlcer a
! secret place and leaned ida' jUiid
Jasrainst ihe neni'c, and tric'cl to iiray,
I and tiK'se are the words of m,y j,rayor
: —Lord, if I am deceived, un-deceive
j mo and show me the wav y(.>n would
j liave ni(’ logo!—so, I A'.'cnfc back to
my hoe, and just as I took hold ''fllie
iielve I hearil these A-ronls-^—try tlm
Sniriis,for ve don’t know' Avliat man-
ner ofBpii’it ye ai’C off!—then I
Avondered Avliether I Avoiild he any
thing or not. The T.oril Avanted me
to he tliinking it Avas to take up tlie
cross and fill a liai'k seat, but, alas ! I
found to t!ic reverse. So I AA'cnt to
tlie lionseand told my Aviie Avliat lavl
taken place, and that I AA'ould ofu>r
to the Church some time, hut mv
eondnet had been had. I must iive
so as to ;min felloAvship. Here i
A f h
must state that I road my Bil)le con-
s'.antlv, every cham-e tliat I had, and
could not keep my eyes of oft it. A
ne'w text AA'ould come to my mind and
Avith ail the beauty in the Avorld, and
I Avonkl read it and feel at the
time tiiat I Avanted every !;ody to
liear, and it seemed to me that my
A’ery soul AA'as led out for the weliaio
of the Church, her peace Avas my
peace. And Avhcii J Avas ba])tized 1
thought and felt that I had done my
duty, and Avent four days rejoicing.—
The the case of Annanias and Sa])p‘hi-
ra A''as presented to me—yon iia\’e
not paid ail the ';>rice, ]>ay that Hum.
hast vowed—^cannot, I am too ignor
ant and illiterate a man, no rcj.'iita-
tion, and Avonld injuretliccansc \Aiueh
Avas very dear to me. I Avept niiudi
and praved to the Lord to relieve me
in some Avay', for my burden Avas great
er than I could hear. SometiiiK'S it
seemed to me that mv heart AA'ould
burst Avithin me. Tlien family AA'or-
ship presented itself, and it Avas no
small matter Avith mo as my Avife Avas
no professor, I tried to get around it
every Avay I co’uld, but I had to taKe
it up or I Avould die. I tried to re
lieve my feeling by talking to the
Brethren. Even my father, avIio Avas
a Deacon, reproved me so that Icould
not stay in that country, bnt sold out
and moved to Louisiana, thinking I
Avoiild keep ray letter in the trunk ;
but before I reached ray journey’s end
I Avanted to find a church of the Brim
itive order, Aviiicli I did, and put my
letter in it Avhere it is iioav. I kept
my feeliiigs hid for some time, and
this text of Scri])ture foIloAved me for
niontlis—-Curse Cod and die—the lan-
it AA as for the neglect of duty. Tins
2,'uaini of Job’s AA'ife-
o "■
-so, before the
trouble greAV till I thought I Avas a
\agaboiid on the earth, not fit to
ZD ' '
live. I imagined that the people
made a fool of me- and pointed the
V —’
ment, and Avheii I heard of it I Avas finger of scorn at mewlierever I Ayent.
Avar I commeiiced talking and AA’as
liberated. I volunteered and Avent off
in the army, (Confederate) having
never tried to preach for OAwr a year..
Through the solicitations of my friends.
I commenced trying again, the
Church sen*- me license Avhile in the
army. I continued trying to preach
till Ave broke up some time after the
surrender.
I haYC been bolding out