mw
Zion’s Landmark.
13
t^e niini>t('r began to preaeli it seein-
t'd tliat t! e very first word l)e said
was intended for me. [ thoucrht
O
sure'y some one bad told liim wliat I
saiil, and wo(dd bold my *bead down
and wipe iny eyes, and tben looked
around to see if niy father wa.s notic-
tng me. I felt that I did not want
liim nor any one else to .see me, for it
seemed to me that everything I bad
ever done came up before me that
night. Oh, how wretched I was
when they called for mourners. I
would not go up to be prayed for,
but felt like I wanted them to pray
for me. I sat there until preaching
was over aud then went home wretch
ed, begging the Lord for meixy all
the way. After I went in the house
and took a seat by the fire I felt so
mean and wretched that I w-ent out
in the yard and tried to pray, but all
I could say was, “ Lord, have mercy
on me, a sinner !” After retireina: I
ould not sleep; Tasked ray wife to
tell me some of her travails from na
ture to gta(!P. I was then afraid I
woiiild die in the wretched condition
1 was then in and be whirled into
everlasting punishment. I shall never
be able to e.vpress the feelings I had
at that time. I was made to cry out,
''‘Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner;
if thou .seiidest me to hell it is just;
but if thou wilt, oh, Lord, thou canst
make me clean !”
Thursdav night I did not go to
preacliing.but Friday night I did, and
when they trailed for mourners I did
not go lip, but felt like I wanted
them to oray for me. I felt willing
for any one to pray for me then,
Saturday night I went again, arfd
when they called for mourners 1 felt
so wretched and condemned I thought
I would go up and be prayed for, and
did go, and if possible, felt worse
than I did at first. After preaching
I went home and read my Bible, but
every word seemed to condemn me. I
went np to the mourner’s bench to be
prayed for nine time.s, l)ut found no
relief there. Tlie meeting lasted five
weeks. I stopped going to the
mourner’s bench, and went to tlie
woods to look for peace with God.—
While at the mourner’s bench, the
members and the ministers would
tell me to have a little more faith,
and would tell me that I was getting
on very well and that I would soon
have religion.
Oh, dear brother, how could I have
faith unle.ss the Lord would give it?
My very breathing was, “ Lord, have
mercy on me a sinner 1”
Nearly every night the minister
would repeat the tenth verse of St.
Luke, and ,say we could get religion
or let it alone. I don’t believe a
child ever asks for bread unless it
wants it—unle.ss it wants to throw it
away as they believe they can do by
religion. They can get it when they
want it and lay it aside when they
want to.
' One evening when returning home
from my work, it seemed that the
earth would open and swallow me
up. Oh, dear brethren, how awful 1
felt; for three vveeks I did not sleep,
and never eat but little. But I hope
it was the Lord’s will, one night
when I was going home, when everv-
thing looked gloomy, and I was walk
ing along asking the Lord for mercy,
that in a moment my burden was
gone and tlie stars looked fuller than
ever before; everything looked chang
ed and I felt happy; and then the.se
word.« were put in ray mouth.
“ Oh, how I love .fe.su'^!”
I went on home feeling very happv.
When I got there I would not fell
my wife anything of what I had ex
perienced for fear it was all imagina
tion. In a day or two after this
something told me I was deceived
about the whole matter. If possible,
I felt worse than at first. Then I
liegan to ask the Lord for mercy
again. One night I went out in the
yard to ask for mercy and kneeled
down by the wall to ask the good
Lord for mercy, and I do believe (be
Lord heard and answered rnv prayer
that night. After I got up and look
ed around everything looked chang
ed—the stars, the trees and every
thing looked like it was praising
the Lord—and I felt like I could
help praise the Lord with ten tiious-
and tongues. After I went in the
house I felt so lia[)py I could not be
contented, and went out in the yard
again to look at the beautiful stars
and trees, and there felt that I could
claim Jesus as iny Savior.
Up to this time I had not heard a
Baptist preacher in about fifteen
months, so concluded to go and hear
El ler Purvis the first Sunday in
February—and did ^o, and liked
iiim very Mell. As I had been at
tending the Metbodi.st meetings my
mind got to wandering and I did not
know wdiat to do. My prayers were.
Lord, showane thy Church and di^
rect me! I do believe that he heard
myjtrayers and directed me aright.
One nig ht I awoke from my slum
bers and thought I was in a crowd of
Baptists, and felt bajtpy, though con
tinued to ask the Lord to direct me.
One night soon after this I thouo'ht I
was in the Methodist Church in this
place, and thought a young Metho
dist preacher from Williamston wa.s
to preach, who said during the revi
val, that he once kneeled by a sick
man’s bed and when he got up the
man told him he bad religion. I
was torn to pieces and in trouble
again, and believe that it was a warn
ing to me that if I sliould offer to
them I would be thus in trouble. I be
lieve it was a warning for me not to
join the Methodist Church.
On the 7th of March Elders Wil
son and Baker preached in this place.
I went to hear them, and oh how
happy the members did look that
day. And they preached to suit me
—I wanted to be with them all the
time, I could not rest contented un
til I heard them again; so I sent a
note to Elder O’Berry to know if he
would take me out to Cross Roads
the next day. He sent me word that
he would. So we went to hear them
again, and I felt all the time while
they were preaching like I wanted to
follow them. It was there impressed
upon my mind to be baptized, and
every day something would whisper
to me and say, “ If you love me keep
my commandments.”
March 17th Elder Dameron passed
through this place on a preaching
tour. I went out to Lawrence’s to
hear him, but thought I would not
let liim know that I was concerned
about religion at all, but I could not
keep it hid from him. After preach
ing Elder Dameron asked me to go to
Williani.s’ with him the next day. I
went out to bear him; be preached to
suit my feelings; he told my feelings
at Lawrence’s better than I can. I
returned home from William’s Sat
urday evening feeling happy; so
I could not sleep for two nights, and
felt that I could not wait for the reg
ular meeting. My prayers were,
Lord, if I am not fit to be with thy
child ren send affliction upon me so
I may not go to Church !
April 19th Elder Snider jireached
in this place. After preadiing was
over Elder O’Berry had the Church
door opened,* I did not see how I
could go up before the Church, but
the first tiling I knew I was there;
and liow the Baptists could fellow
ship me I could not see. I told a
few words and was received and bap
tized the same evening by Elder
O’Berry. When I came up out of
tlie water I thought my troubles were
all gone—but not so. They soon
came back and told me I was de
ceived. Oh w'retchod man that I
was again. I went home one eve
ning feeling wretched, and went in a
room and shut the door behind me,
and knelt down and tried to ask
tlie Lord to undeceive me. These
words were then forcibly impressed
upon my mind:
Let not your heart within you grieve.
My dear, belo.ved friend :
Yea, tiust in God—in me believe.
Fori have borne your pain.
Dear Biotlier, I feel this mornins:
that I can s^y there lias been a'change
in me, and one that man could not
cause ;and, if not deceived, I love our
Lord and Savior. I often think wliy
he should spill Iiis blood for such a
wretch as I am. And I believe
he has a people on earth, and they
are a peculiar people. If I love any
on earth it is the Baptists.
I will close, tliough 1 could write
more. I desire an interest in all
the prayers of the saints.
I am a sinner saved by grace, if
saved at all. In love,
J. E. 0.
Brooksville, Blount County, Ala.,
July 18th, 1876.
Dea?' Brother Gold:—
I see a few things written in the
editorials of Zion’s Landmark of
July 15th, wdiich seem to be rather
liard sayings against the so-called
Missionary Baptists, which I think
cannot he applied against that people
as a general thing. lama Baptist,
a reader of your paper, also a reader
of the paper published by J. R.
Graves, of Memphis, Tenn. I, as an
individual, stand upon scriptural
grounds, whicli brings me between
the erroneous extremes of the two
wings of Baptists.
Now, when John the Baptist came
preaching in the w'ilderness, he was
called John the Baptist—not John
th.e Missionary Baptist, nor John the
hard-shell or Old School Baptist.—
Hence names amount to nothing when
applied to scriptural Baptists; for
this reason, I claim a right to be
heard by you and all the readers of
the Landmark and all others that
claim to he Bible, obedient Bapftsfs.
I now call your attention to a por
tion of the remarks of hrotfier J. S,
Collins, of Scottshoro’, Alabama.—-
He says: “ Tlie Missionaries are
stultifying the minds of the people of
this country, by trying to prove that
tliey'were the promoters of the revo
lution under Washington, and that
the liberties we have and now enjoy
are trophies of themselves,” &c.
Brother J, S. Collins seems to think
that the Missionaries are telling false
hoods, and are befooling the minds of
the people, &c.
Now, will brother Collins say tliere
were no Baptists during the Revolu
tionary war? Of course not! Will
he say or prove whether they were
the present so called Primitive Bap
tists ? or, whether they were neither
or both ? He cannot .say that the
Old School principle did not exist in
one body at the time of the Revolu
tion. Ifhesaysso, he knows noth
ing of the history of Baptists in that
thing. He cannot say that they
were all Old School in their faith and
belief; neither can it be .said that
they were all Missionaries in faith
and jrractice; and yet they were one
body then, as far as correspondeuoe
went.
Again, brother Collins, in speaking
of the Missionaries,says that they went
out from us, &c. As to a general
view of the division of Baptists, broth
er Collins is wrong again; for it is
well known that the so-called Mis-
s ( nary Baptists were very la gely in
the majority, which enabled them to
hold their ground, and in a great
many itlaces held the Church houses
and books.
The so-called anti-Missionary Bap
tists were forced to bring np their
non-fellow'shi|) resolutions against the
institutions, and left the body, as a
general thing, themselves. Every
Baptist historian knows this to be so.
Now, did this division cause one or
both wings of Baptists to cease being
a gospel Church or Churches, where
both continued in the gospel ordi
nances? We think not! from the
fact that erroneous extremes on hotli
wings brought up the division; and
if it were not for firebrands that are
hurled at each other in an unchris
tian spirit and miserable extremes,
we could be one people in correspond
ence again.
Again: Brother Gold seems to
think that Fuller is our acknowledg
ed leader in the way of missions, doc
trine, &c, Now, I can say of my
self, and I think of all South-Western
Baptists, that the editor is laboring
trader a great mistake. We acknowl
edge no man as our leader, only tho
Great Shepherd of the sheep—Jesue
Christ. The editor thinks we are
ashamed of our origin. If he has an
allusion to our true Bible Missionary
spirit of going into the world and
preaching the gospel to every creat
ure, he is sadly mistaken.
We ought to he ashamed of our ex
tremes where we transcend the limits
of God’s wonk And the anti-Mis-
sionaries ought to be ashamed of
their extremes in not coming to the
measure of Christ’s word, where he
says, go teach all nations, &c.
Again, we have two Missionary
preachers in Africa preaching to God’s