4
CO M.M UNICAT ED. j wm a.(x;OBipIiskc(l bf them—-prill now
I trr to make »n ap[)lication. Who
•^‘IIs that bftlievotb and U baptimi j are the belisyer.! ? “A.s maoj aa were
khall be »avei; but ho that heiieveth
wut chall be damned,” Mark IG: 16
The above i.u the language of ouv
liMtvior Jesus Christ, aiWr he had
•yuimauded his ap(j3ti8S feo go to aii
tho world aud preach th.e gospel to
every erraturc.
The .sujjfxd ol faith
doth he jet hope for it ? But if we I L>orH. 1 thought that uo one ear««-
hofje for that we ae« iK)t, theu do we j for me, not even my father d .e
with patience wait for it. -Ami ws j love ms. I felt so trouhlfKl and rlj>-
iainwJ to eternal lif»'believed,” Acts i kno-vv that all things -work togeth- i pressed I aekerl G«jd with a j-zrat r-r.
13: 48. “And the l^ord added to 1 er for gcxxl t® them t,h;rt love God, to
the church daily, suoli as shouk! l>e
saved,” Acta 2: 47. Then, this would
appear, that the Ijord is the one who
tltem who are the ciillei according to
his purpose: for whom he did fore
know, he also did predestinate to be
ha.s -wrought this, and to those whom conformed to the image of his Son,
he deemed it, shall receive it; and
-belief ?.ud faith are synonymouB 1 those wha receive, receive a gift and
twmC) will 1>€ the first item 1 will a free gift, and it is not received at
ufcil vour attemtion to.
The tsrm is so often misapj
liai
»iiKt it may not be amiss for me to at-
fepujpt an explaimtiou. The first i.s
walled liistoricul faith, which is a sim-
pk assent to the truths ol revelation,
av/i may be found in unregeueratm!
Eiexi, who are .sct-u'.etimce said to bo-
Weve. It rcreive.1 tills denomina-
Uou, not because its objact is lim
itetl
to the hisftirics of tiie .'Kiripturc, for it
eompreliend.s also tha doctrine but
Uv.iause it i.s an assent of the s.ame
bi.nd which ws give to any credible
U.»tory snd i.s a BimpU act of the im-
deraiiniding. Tins is the only faith
ndiich is jwoduced by a rational dem-
fru.stratiou of the truth of revelation,
and heuse we may observe, by the
wsy, that tho.se .mi.oisters who dwell
much upon tiia evidcucea ol religion
aro charged with mia-spendihg their
uinc; bwa.ii.se in the first ]->laca those
svbom they usually labor to convince
outertaio no doubt of chriatianity.—■
And, in tha second place, althougii
the time tiia world claims, when
they sre doing g )od, tfec.,—bat when
dead in tre»pa.«ses and aims. “By
grace ye are saved through faith ; and
tliat not of yourselves it is the gift of
God ; not by -irorks lest any man
they fjhoKld siuececd i.« e.stabh.'^liiug
coaviction in the miiid.s of t heir skep-
U.aai hearers, they vrould oiby make
iach hsilievo :ls were Simon Magus,
abud many others who peri:-:hed in
their .sin.s. The second i.? calieii tem-
[joral faith, .such as peraua.sio:i of the
truths of iMligiou, impreissions upon
id aftections. The
toe conscience and
uaralds of the wiwer i.s illustrative or
this kind of faith, 13. The last
kind off&ith 'Is .saving faith, also jus
tifying faith. The destiuction given
by Paul in hi.s letter to tlie Hebrews,
hi as follows: Now, faith ia the sub-
sbiuce of tilings hoped for, the ovi-
(knee of things not r>oen, (our good Ls
the substance) faith is also tlie confi-
denCvS of things ho[,>e(-l, beoau.s« it .'i.s-
bures us not only that there are such
things but that, through the power
and f-kithfulne/iS sf God, vm shall en
joy thorn.
Faith is a.i :i candle, it anablas us
to take hold of the [irocious promises
(d'rhs scripturce ; y/ithout it we oan-
uot pleads God, by lb the Elders ob
tained go*d report; Iiy faith, or rather
tiu'ougli taith, we unuer.-'tand that the
worlds we-"e framed by the word oi
God ; so that, Lliiug.s which are seen
were not made of things which do ap
pear. By fidtli Aliel offered an ao-
:ptublesaordic«^,Enoch wa3 translated
siiould boast.” Good works are the
fruits of laith, not the cause of it.—
vVhen we are enabled by the Spirit
of God to .see ourselves, -we di.scover
the sinfalne.ss of sin, and often have
used every effort to nrake }:)eace with
an offended God. \Ve are ready to
be baiii.shed from hi.s presence forever,
when all of a sudden we are enabled
to »ee Christ, when a little hope
.spring.sup w'hich enables as to cry to
God for Christ’s sake to have mercy,
save or I peri.sh. A little .st.iU vo-ice
is heard—be not afraid I am with you.
Tho burden is gone, the body re
ceives strength, the heart is rejoiced,
and we are made to believe that G(xi
for Christ’s .sake has pardoned our
sins. The world will say—read the
Bible and believe it. You can if you
■will, be baptized and you will be sav-
«i. I read the Bible but und?tet(xsl
it only as I would other histories—
could receive no «)mfort or un
derstand to any advantage, but after
[ received faith by revelation I weiald
I’iBad the scriptures, not only under-
standin.giy but with much comfort. I
can l(v>k to no other bsit Chri.st, for
there is no osher name Icnown or giv
en un der Iseaven wherebY '»'e mast b«
•saved. How are we to come? “My
sheep hear my voice and they follow
that he might be the first born among
many brothel’s. Moreover, whom he
did predeaiinate, them he also called,
and whom he called, them ha also
justifi&l, and whom he justified, them
he also glorified,
ElXlKOOMBK CoU.M'FY, j
December 27th, 1872. /
Dear Brother' Gold:—
I will, with the help of tha Gird,
try to pen whvat I humbly tru^ he
ha.s done for my poor soul. If I vraa
ever fcroubleil about my sina it waa at
the early age of ten years old. \Ahen
at that age my mother sent my sister
and myself of? on an errand cxie day,
and I took along with me some
parohwl coffee, more thaa I could eat
and I buried it in the :sand, and on
my return -whea I got against it I
told my sister I had done wrong, and
pieced up the coffee and carried it
back and resolved never to do so
again. Brother Gobi, I was troubled
from tba-t day until I was delivered,
at times, about ray sins. Yet, I did
not know' what was the mattiT witis
rns, but whenever I would get angry
wilh mv brothers or sisters or do a-uy
fill heart to give me a good kuoi
evrapanion and then I 'vould hi'v«
some one that did oare for me—:ui«
all my troubles would be to an en.i-
The Ijord answered this request, RS-fii
when I w'alked out to be joined i»
holy wedlock I went with a prayerfol
heart and felt timt I wanted broth*"
Bel! to pra,r for me but could
ask him. I felt that I neede.l prat
er—the change in circumstanesa
no change in ray feelings. 1
misenible everywhere 1 went. My
husband would often ask roe tti#
cause of m-v sadness. I would ted
i/
him I did not know, for it seemte
that I ought to he .satisfieil, tog rjt
willing to do anything you are ab‘*
to do to make me happy. I FTopoti
ed to Mr. Downing to buy laad, thif-
he could not do, but he -vrcrit it
El'j’e‘ombe County, near jjawrenciT
Meefcius' House and rented land free
ancle Williaia lIodgt«. This w^s.
V* fhfng wron.g I would ask the Hard to
ffratifviR;r to me, to be near rny reia-
me,” Ac. A'^ou cannot coma unto
-Noah prepared an Ark, Abraham
obcye] and isojournerl
m a
strange
land—tiie Hind of Promise,
Sarah
couccivcHi .«'crl, Abraham offered up
isuiic, Isaac biassed Jacob—read all
of the aleveiith clnapter Hobrow.s.
YJe have, in a maunor, explained
tiic vilfferent kinds of faith and w’hat
me except my Father draw you. He
that hath heard and learnetl of my
Father comefch unto me. Because ye
are son.s he sends fortii his Spirit
into vour hsArt crying, Abba, Father 1
There is but one principle by v^hich
God can be honored, and that is to
say, that ha will do all his pleasure,
have mercy upon whom ha will liave
me.’cy, &c. The doctrine of grace as
it reigns, works to the praise and
glory of God. All that wo receive
comes through Christ, and if we have
justilying faith, we have peace with
God through our Lord Jesu.s Christ,
by whom also we haveaeoeas by Gitli
into Ids grace whereiu wc .sLaiul, and
rejoice in hope of the glory of Cod:
and not oni'f .so, but wo fflorv in trib-
Illation a!.so, hno’vving that tribula-
feioD worketh patience, and patience
experienoe, and experient'e hope, and
h.opo makoth not asharnsrl—because
the love of God is shed abroad in our
hearts by tha Holy Ghost which k
given unto us ; for wo si'e save-d by
hope; but iiopa that is i»&3u is not
ho|->o; for what a man seotk, wbj
4
forgive me and promise to do better,
hut all of no effect. I delighted in
aiteuding parties and dancing, yet I
felt it was a great sin ; but as often a.s
I went I would beg the Lord to for
give, and thoiiglit when I wa.sohler I
would leave off the practice entirely.
Ofteii wiveii 1 was dancing I -would
l(X)k around at tlite cro wd and won
der if !K!y one felt as condemned a.s I
did. I often made promises to my
dear mother that I would never dance
again, she -would encourage me in the
reaolaftoii and thought it best for me.
Brother Gold, 1 made p-’ornises and
kept breaking them until I could npt
sleep, neitlier could I find rest any
where. AV hen I w’ould close niy
eyes for sleep it seemeri to me that
mv bed would sink into torment,
and I would get up and 'valk my
room, and cry and beg the Lord to
have mercy on me, a poor lost sin
ner. A. short time after this my first
cou.sin asked me to -wait on her ; I
askol if there would be any dancing
and she and yes. I thought I would
,go and it should be my last, think
ing the Lord would forgive me it I
kept iny promise which I intended
to do certain, and told my mother it
■^vas my last tune—ana sure enough
it -was, but my tronbles still increased
and I vrould often ask the Lord what
was the matter -with me, for I thought
after I atoppwl daBcing I would see
some pleasure, but there seenied to
be no enjoyment for rs..e at homa or
abroad. I ftlt like one alone in the
tiong. I promised Mr. I)owaif,if
then 1 would £>e satisfied. Hs .siiio.,
Fannie, I hope you will, for I hat*
to gee you is so much trouLde—-and 1
moved up there, brother Golo,
thinking I was leaving all my trovi-
bles behind me, but how far miatnUv-
en. I was no fartlier from God 'm
one eounty than another, Tho se-i ■'
ond year we came up here, wh.ck
Vljaa i.n 1871, I waa walking the
one da-r asking the
Lord to hav*'''.
mercy on me when I iimrd a v-oiyt,,
saying: Bevive the .strong, (’oanruir-.
world and w’shistl I had sever Ut«a be Iot^ ei* and with child-like siat
the weak, and after sinuera call. .1
felt lighter and (x^mraenetd .sisging^
In a few days after that unde Wil
liam came to see me and asked ms if
I did not want to take the IjANB-
MAF.K8—I told him I did. 1
thoag'nt when ray paper came Icoukd
drown some of my grief by reading^-,
but I wa.s mistaken again—.Sata., told
me I did not have time to reail, thst
1 had better be :it work, and 1 lald
the paper a.side and eonmjenc.'xI
ing again. Brother Gold, 1 .sang us-
til I did not feel worthy t> tfifjg aaJ
was so troublcl I -wanted to raov*
again, and my husband told roe it
.seemed impossible for him to satisfy
me. This hurt ray feeling.^ v»ry
much and I a.skedli;m what i skouM
do, he plainly told ras if I did not
quit studying so much I would oer-
tainly die, and prs[)osed to me to
to see tiie Doctor, perhaps he e«»ald
relieve roe—but I foundno help froui
iiiiH. I would go to preaching and the
preachers would describe my f»cii.ug»:
,so near it would give me a little hopv,
may be I might be a Christian Ixifori*
I die, but I know a chrifitiau neve^'
felt as mean as I do. I would
home ■ praying for mercy, fhr
I felt like I had not a friend isa
heaven nor one on earth except my
darling son Mackey. 1 evsa at
tim^ would feel liko he -was not, aiitl
ivould embrace bins and aak him if