BLUE BIDfiE BAPTIST.
Wm. M. Lee, Editor.
\^0L. 3 NO, 38
DEVOTED TO RELIGION, EDUCATION AND TEMPERANCE.
NOBTH WILKESBOEO, N. C„ JULY 2, 1903.
D. W. Lee, Associate Editor and Monoger.
WEEKLY, 50c. A YEAR.
BAPTIST CHURCH:
Preaching every second and fourth,
.Sunday, morning and evening.
Sunday School 10 A. M.
Prayer meeting every Thursday eve.
Rev. W. R. Biadshaw, Pastor.
METHODIST CHURCH:
Preaching every first and third Sun-^
•lay morning and evening
Sunday School 9:30 A. M.
Prayer meeting every Tuesday evening.'
Rev. J. B. Tabor, Pastor.
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH:
Preaching every third and fourth Sun
'day, morning and evening.
Sunday School 9:30 A. M.
Prayer meeting every Wednesday eve."
Rev. C. W. Robinson, Pastor.
jQ All are cordially invited to attend^
these services.
PREMIUMS POR-^
-^BAPTIST WORKERS.
Doubtless no other Religious paper in
Western Carolina, has grown so rapidly as
the Blue Ridge Baptist. Everyl)odv who
sees and reads its contents has a good" word
to say about it. An easy matter to secure
subseribers. Any body can easily obtain a
valuable present.
We make the following offers:
Tor Two Subscribers-*-
We will mail you, postage paid,-
Goillg to College,- Ulows with the en
thusiasm of a high ideal. We wish it could
be in the Library of every High school,
Seminary .and Academy in the land. Price
50c. Or Likes and Opposites,- a han
dy book for the speaker and writer Price
50c. Both of the above named books for
only 3 subscribers.
for Three Subscribers-*-
We will mail you, postage paid,- 1000
Mythology. Characters Briefly Des
cribed, or lOOO Classical Charact
ers Briefly Described, price of each
75c., or How to Study Literature-
(Special for Literary Societies.) Price 75c.
All three of the above named books for only
5 subscribers.
For Four Subscribers-*-
Wo will mail you, postage paid, a copy
of,How to Attract and Hold an Au
dience.- Every ma>i who speaks in public
should have one, especially Clergymen,
Well bound in cloth and retails for $1.00, or
we will mail you either of the following if
preferred at the same rate. Character
Building,- inspiring suggestions. Price
$1.00. What Shall I Do? 50 profi
table occupations. Price $1.00. The Vir
tues and Their Reasons. Eveiy day
ethics for school and home Price $1
All four of the above named books sent
free for only 10 subscribers.
For Ten Subscribers-*-
We will mail you free,- Interlinear
New Testament (cloth)Price $4.00 or
old Testament if preferred, pric.e the same
;as New. Both the above Testaments foi only
15 ■ subscribers. Every pastor should own
these Testaments and your churches will
gladly help you get them if you ask it.
If you want all the above named books,
send us only 30 subscribers.
Now is your chance to get you a nice, val
uable book or even a Library with very little
effort on your part and at the same time be
helping a good cause. Old subscribers taken
the same as new provided all arrears are
settled. All subscribers thu taken must be
for one year at 50c, paid in advance.
Every body’s shoulder to the wheel while
this offer holds good. Address:
BLUE RIDGE BAPTIST, No. Wilkesboro-
THE LEWIS’ FORK BAPTIST
ASSOCIATION. 6-
As might be anticipated the Sandy Creek
Association organized in 1758 and contain
ing all the Yadkin churches, in 1770 was
completely paralyzed by the Regulators War,
and the battle of King’s Mountain had no re
storative properties. Religion’s Liberty was
won in 1780 and 1781 but it v>as only per
missive for it hud no positive power and sim
ply put the people, and the missionaries who
met them, at ease for persecution now ceased.
There were two causes that rendered the
Sandy Creek bodies powerless, the first of
which was their wholesale dispersion. The
whole body on Deep river and the whole
body at Abbotts creek moved away, but 16
were left at Sandy creek and Little river and
other bodies were left without preachers and
without members or nearly so. Second, Dear
old brother Stearns brought with him some
of his New England ideas of independent
hierarchy and was rather favorable to King
George. It so appears at this time. To say the
least he was not aggressive for freedom in
bis later years and a threat was made of Ex-
communication at the Association in 1769 in
case “any of our members shall take up arms
against legal authority.” It followed upon
the death of this venerabl e man, that there
w^as no one left to command the situation
nor lead the churches. Breed had gone to
South Carolina, Tidance Lane to Tennessee,
Murphy to the Brushy Mountains and the
Virginia preachers were in active conjtest with
the authorities of that commonwealth. There
is the added reason that a state of revolution
is incompatible with Christian effort, TLt
war of Revolution itself continued the full
period of seven years and the agitation that
proceeded and folfovved it amounted to fully
seven years more. This period of about fif
teen years was a stranger to revivals in the
Yadkin Valley and its mountain slopes, and
when revivals did come they were not brought
by the victory of Kings Mountain, nor by
the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown.
We must therefore look to our brethren in
Virginia in order to catch the first revival
vfave that reached the waters of the fast
rolling stream constituting Lewis’ B’oik.
The scene of preparation must be marked
in 1776, the organization of the first offshoot
from the separate Baptists of the Old Do
minion knovvn as the Strawberry Associa
tion. In its early days its talent was the
Pedigos, the Halls, the Stocktons, and the
An thongs. But its Evangelists were Elders
Samuel Hams, William Murphy, Joseph
Murphy and Dalton Lane. Joseph Murphy
was then in the limits of the present Davie
County N. C., and affiliated with the Vir
ginia body from its organization to 1786
when the Yadltin Association was first or
ganized. I his organization had its Virginia
system brought by its Virginia founders.
Joseph Miiphy was the most useful pastor
of the Carolina churches and Robert Stock-
ton of those in Virginia. Indeed its
churches were few bnt its ‘‘arms” were
many. It extended from the Peaks of Otter
in the one state to the Quaker Meadows in
the other, and accurately speaking covered
all the Piedmont territory for the space cf
75 miles wide lying between. These lines
zigzagged with the mountain sides and in
some instances swept beyond them.
It was but natural that this body should
divide at no late day, and after the great re
vival which began on the banks of the James
river in 1785 had swept to the distant homes
of Cleveland C'offee, George McNeil and An
drew Baker in North Carolina, it was pro
posed to take their churches with those un
der the care of Joseph Murphy now num
bering several hundreds and organize the
Yadkin Association. This was accordingly
dona These churches were in very good
condition as to doctrinal fitness for self gov
ernment. Their older members had been
instructed by Shubael Stearns, John Gano,
and during the revolutionary struggle, by
Dr. Richard Farman a refugee f:*om Charles
ton, S. 0. This was probably an intelligent
and cultured body of Christians and fully
competent to conduct their own affairs which
they did.
When organized Elder John Cleveland
became Moderator and John Wright Clerk.
Letters from eleven churches were read and
recorded. This session was held at Pettys
Meeting House, October 13, 1786. The next
year the Association was held at Bennetts
Old Meeting House, Elder Geo. McNeil
Moderator, and Richard Allen Clerk.
But it is not my purpose to do more than
sketch the rise of this Association which
still exists and whose plans in the alphabet
ical order of Associations is now the Fifty
Sixth. Her churches 38 and her communi
cants 3097, although her territory now in
cludes a greater number of Associations and
communicants than we had altogether in
1786 in the boarders of America. It was my
purpose to outline the revival that followed
the proclamation of Peace in 1782 and
which began on the James river in Virginia
and swept westward. The Yadkin and four
other Associations was the immediate fruit
of this work of grace in the borders of the
Strawberry Association. When this work be
gan it burned like a forest fire and while it
spread to the North-westward it soon cover
ed all Virginia. Intact, 1786 was an era of
grace also and the work spread until after the
turn of the nineteenth century. The experi
ences were remarkable and the interest al
most unbounded. There, were very few
churches that did not profit by it. It reached
the Presbyterians and even the few churches
of the standing order were blessed by its
salutary influences. As it always occurs in
a work of God, there were many strange and
extraordinary things said about this re’dval
during its progress and for years after it
ceased. And some things occurred that were
accounted counterfeit in after years. Not
withstanding, while the hand o^ the Lord
prevailed mightily and multitudes w'ere
saved. As it was most generally in Baptist
churches, it was Baptist churches that re
ceived the converts and were blessed by the
ingatherings.
It has always occurred, however, that when
the Husbandman sowed his grain by day that
the enemy cast in his tares ny night, and
these churches had to learn the use of disci
pline as a part of the instruction which God’s
righteousness has provided for the preserva
tion of Gospel Order.
As God’s grace has come to us by his sea
sons of revival, so let us ask Him to remem
ber us again.—W. H. E.
Greensboro, N.C,
Something Very Impressive.
We have told you of the
death, and a very little about the
life of sister Lou Smith, of Stony Eork, N.
C. She still lives in the hearts of the peo
ple, and her works are still following her.
In last Jan. she remarked that she would
not live long. She told her mother that af
ter she joined the church, she became much
troubled-fearing she was not “good i-nough”
to belong to the church. She resorted, to
prayer, and going alone, she at times prayed
out aloud Later, she said, “mother can Je
sus save sinners?” Her mother answered, I
believe he can, and sister Lon’s reply was,
“I know He can mother.” She wrote in her
Tablet thoughts on faith, and on other sub
jects, also quotations from the Bible, which
the, family found.
I will here give them as they were found
in her Ta,blet. ■
“Let us have the faith that makes us right,
and in that faith let us do our duty as we
understand it.”
Her thoughts on one of her young uncles
led her to wri te the following; “Should a
little child like you remember God? Rem
ember now thy creator in the days of tliy
youth. Remember! Doiin Eller!”
“The will of the Lord be done.” “A pray
er from me Lord,” “what wilt thou have me
to do?”
“I am as happy as happy can be.”
Though 1 walk through the valley of the
shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou
art with me; thy rod and thy staff they com
fort me.”
“Look not thou upon the wine when it is
red, when it giveth bis color in the cup,
when it moveth its-df aright. At the last it
bitetli like a serpent, and stingeth like an
adder.”
“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they
shall be called the cbi’dren of God.”
“Blessed are the dead which die in the
Lord.”
“The hour is coming, in the which all
that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
and shall come forth.”
Lou E. Smith.
The foregoing are only a few of her say
ings. She was heard praying aloud for
dear father and mother and the three dear
children who survive; she prayed for Lillie,
George and the baby boy—told them to be
gin to live right while they were young, ami
if they lived to be old they would have a
pleasant life to look back over. She plead
with older and younger to live Christian lives.
Her highest ambition was to do something
for others—to make them better— to make
them happy.
She was one of the most humble and o-
bedient children and Christians I was ever
acquainted with. May others improve by
her example and follow her as she followed
Jesus.
Her Pastor.
P. S.
Her father is one of the most in
telligent Deaf Mutes. He was a student of
the school at Raleigh for the Deaf and
Dumb.
To the Youn^ Girls.
Dear Girls,—Let your lights shine in the
wide world, and walk in the foot-steps of
Christ and let the glory of God be your
greatest desire while on this earth. Teach
your little friends beautiful lessons about
Jesus, teach them to love Him and fear Him,
because He has first loved them. Dear girls,
speak well of your church and praise it, for
it is the light of the world, with which we
should woiship God.
Far above, and over all rests a golden
splendor that we cannot see. It thrills the
heart with a promise tender, of coming glad
ness in days to be.
With every rising of the sun.
Think of your life as just begun.
The past, let lie hurried deep.
And in its grave, there let it sleep.
Never seek to summon back one ghost of
the innumerable host, concern yourself with
but to-day; woo it and teach it to obey your
pure will and wish. Since time began t(-dav
has been the friend of man. ‘Some in blind
ness and sorrow look to yesterday and to
morrow, Dear girls, you to-day have a soul
sublime, and the great pregnant hour of time,
you have God Himself to bind the lovely
twine which holds you close to heaven.
Again, I say go forth to-day and attain the
glory of God in death, which for you will be
Glory forever and forever. My last, dear
girls, I wish to say, when j'our life is done,
you’ll leave the world a shining light till
days and hours-ire gone.
Annie Lee.