1^
rf •
Hiritv he wsuld ss?v
I ^ V
vchut is the matter with yon? I
'!5uln net »-ell what was th(? matter
with me. Toere was a colored \vo-
wuin living with ras, I started one |
thriy te ask hsr fn prav for me—and |
?kf thoajtht cawre—why notask your |
K.aei* Vid Ham, J feit too unwcM’thy |
tsi !jr) to him, and. even too unworthy |
u? eat. My bnebnnd would often tell j
'.see ait, and told me that I could |
s»ot live unle-^s I did. [ could not j
anvthing except cold water. In
ike mean time I went to see my
f;*oth?.r,'she remarked to me—wliat
is tiic matter n’ith yoa, are you work-
tn;t yourself to dmth ? Oh no!
mother, I am living otT of the good
wercies of God and cold water. The
tir*t week in June 1872 brother Kowe
preiijehed nt Lawrence’s Meeting
House, and 1 west. He took his
t«u;t and preached mj feelings better
rhan I can describe theKi. I tried to
kwm tiie tears hack but }Ould not,
i»«t they were tsars for joy. I felt
fetter than 1 had in a long time. 1
knew 1 had never told any one of
m V ..roub!«s but nay co;n panion, and
I knew lie had not told it, so 1 could
«siiy hoj>e to be a child of Gcxl before
it was too lat-e. I went home pray
ing, when J got to tlie gate I had
.'iuch a burdea come on me I thought
I never would get in the house, al
though I got in and took my Beat
ssasii it crame to me with fore®: Go to
yomr father and fall upon your knees,
sasworthv to be called his child, you
siuf^t seek a serj-vant’s place. I got
tailing fi'om my]
V >■ 4 i
fSjj and t
I 4
he t'f.;-’.::
tomptwl to kill him. I asked liitn !
not to do it for I did not want to j
hurt anything in the world.—1 awoke J
iu as much trouble as ever. I foit i
that 1 was nothing more than filthy j
rags in the sight of a just Gori, and |
said: if [ perish I will pray, and ifj
sent to hell it is just. The last night !
of ray grcjit distress I dreamed tliat 1 |
was walking my yard wringing my j
hand.s and crying for mercy, and I !
heard mv sister asking; the Lord to {
have mercy on her, and I thought
she was like I wa.s when I was bur
dened with my sins, and commenced
singing :
Jesu!!, dear name, how sweet it sounds —
t once was blind but now 1 see,
Was lost but now am found.
And I awoke, my hand was on my
breast and I repeated the words again,
and oh, how happy I felt! 1 tliank-
ed and blessed the Lortl aad closed
my eyes and saw the prettiest white
birds I ever saw going np one from
another, aud I w.is reaching after
them. I awoke rav husband and
told him my burden was gone, my
sins were all Ibrgi ven. I felt like I
never should see any more trouble in
my life, and I wanted everybody to
forgive me all that I had ever done
amiss to them. Everything seemed
so changed—I loved everybody. I
thought 1 would not tell what a
change I had undergone, but I could
not keep it from ray mother—I told
her as soon as I saw her. Slie cxini-
forted me very much and told
'ki
have a home. It was made plain to
me that this was the church—-for,
baptism troubled me so much I could
not sleep. The third Saturday in
October 1872 I went to the ehurch
at Conoho and related my exercises,
w:i3 received and baptized by brother
Bell, and found great relief. I felt
as light as a feather when I w;is
raised up out of the water. I said—
all is well—-for I have done my duty.
Brother Gold, I cannot express ray
feelings as T wish to, if I could it
would be more pleasure to rae than
anything in the worhh But, I feel
to thank God for what little I can
write, and for everything he has ever
done for me. He has opened ray
blind eyes, unstopped my deaf ears,
and softened my hard Heart—where
of T am glad.
Brother Gold, do .vith this as you
think best and all will be well, Atour
unworthy sister in Christ, if one at
all, Fanxip: DotVNING.
■rasas
«5--ws, 1 said, oh! Ijord, what l}ave I
^one to tay father to fall as low to
kirn as that, fi>r I have always been a
dutiful child ? Then it came to me
it wa.s njt my earthly father—but
Bjy hc:ivcnly Father, and 1 will go
*isd ftdl on my knees, for I have nev-
®r iiumb'e.i myself to get on my
knees to pray to him. I went in my
iittie room and feel on my knees and
p»raycd to the Lord to relieve me of
isy heavy burden. When I retired
tiiat night and .ihut ray eyes 1 saw a
house and it looked as ioag as a train
and a man was gitling in the front of
it. He said to me : These windovrs
:-ind doors have all got to be opened
bfthre your sins are forgiven ; and, in
my slumber 1 dreamed I wsus chased
a fence by a red horned beast and I
folt his tongue lick my b.are feet,
and looked down and saw his horns,
and then looked up and thought I was
ashivh as the top of the trees,and than
stretched rriy arms up a.s high as I
oould got tiiem and thought I was
like o’esas was when he was nailed to
the cross, and I thought I had been
through almost as much. I heard
something at my side, and looked
and saw a man and he smiled at me
.and told m-3 to come down that I
six )u!d not bs hurt. I came down
perfectly satisfied, but when I came
down there was a spotted dog at my
left side, then L started to go to my
husband and this dog kept close by
me, and when I got thei-e the dog
turnsd to st nagro. My tnusband at-
she thou.'iht I had great reasoii to
thank and praise the good H rd. 1
remainwi in a haj)py state of feclifig
for a week and three days. The
fourth Saturday in August I went to
Lawrence’s Meeting House and there
seemed to be a seat prepared for me,
but when I looked around rny motii-
er was not there. 1 felt that I want
ed to be with her at Conoho, and I
wunterl to talk with uncle William
Hodges before 1 offered to the church,
I tiiought if he was skatisfied with ray
exercises evarv^body else would be.—
That evening my Savior appeared to
rae wra})ped up in a white sheet, and
said to me: If you don’t go to the
church and be baptized both of your
breasts Khali be taken off with can
cers, and he hanislied and I burst in
to tears, for I felt that it was more
than I coaid bear. After this I
went to sleep, and in my slumber he
appeared in the same way Next day
I was in so much trouble—1 went to
see my dear uncle .and told him of
ray troubles. He was satisfied at ray
relation and admonished me to my
duty. I made up ray mind to go to
the church the uext preacfiing. And
in a short time my darling listlc boy
was token sick and died—it was a
source of great grief. Brother Gold,
but I felt, to thank God that he had
spared rae until it pleased him to
give me a good hope beyond this
vale of teara. Amid ray bereave
ment the Spirit of the Lord I’evived
and enabled me to say ^‘tby will be
done.” My mother appeared to r^e
and told me not to mourn after aay-
thisg in tlii* world for I eheald soon
Standing Pine, Miss.,
January 2nd, 1874.
Dear Nephew;—
I I’eceivai your kind latter with a
request I should write an*cher com
munication lor your valuable paper,
Zion’s Land.mauks, as you said you
iiad lost the other one. So I will
commence, but not without a fear and
trembling, for when I see so nlany
able pens used to bring to onr un-
lerstanding the glorie.s of the doc
trine of truth set forth iu the scrip
tures of eternal truth, it makes poor
foav, k'j'.awir.g myself to be so bt-
Pe ami ifa saint the least of all. I
feel to go away back when time com-
raenoed with me when I was quite
young, fourteen or fifteen years of
age. I sa.w I wa.s a sinner against a
good ami just God—.so wa.s all the
rest of Adam’s family : nothing to do
but to get religion wiiich I thought [
could do, Sift I commenced trying —
prayiixg three times a day, and got as
good religion a,s anybody could get
and lived hap:)y a few years in that
condition. A.fter about 3 or 4 years
in this condition 1 became uneasy, so
I thought I could pray and get my
mind at ease onc“e more, but the
more 1 prayed the worse I got. So
every time 1 tried to pray made it
worse and worse until I thought it
was a siu for me to try to pray, so I
wanted to be relieved in some way.—
I thought I had a brea.st complaint
that would kill me—so often i
Mould go to some lonely place and
think the Lord would relieve me but
no relief could i obtain, so I conclud
ed my day of grace had passed, i
was bound to be lost, for it appeared
during these three or four years that
I was at case, that i did commit more
sin than all rny life before. Pray I
could not—I was so ju,stly condemn
ed. I saw no way how God could
save such a sinner as i saw myself to
be, so when I had given up all hope
and thought i wUvS nothing but sin, mv
cry was, Lord save on perish. And
I did believe the Lord would kill me
and I would be tost forever. So.
when all hope was gone my sorrow
and trouble were great, it appeartvl
more th:4.n i could bear—then thos
words were spoken to rnc ; '*‘Go, tliv
sins are forgiven thee;” and, us qui'.-h
as thought my mind was nt ease ruG
I w:is made to rejoice in God fuv Sa
vior with joy I cannot divicribe. i
loved everybod^f and it seemed like i
was as happy as i could be, and tha»
I would never see any more Borrow
and trouble. But, these good and
happy feelings lasted only a few
hours, when i thought i would eo
and see mv dear mother and tell JiCr
all about it. So I started and got
about half way to my father’s house
as full of love and prai.se as l couhs
hold, in a thought those words cam*-
to me—yon are deceived—which lot
me down so low I thouglit I wii,-,
ruinwl and in a worse condition than,
ever, so I ihonght to get my bnrdcv*
hack: but, to be short, i could not.—
Wlien mourning there was something;
within seeming to h-e })rai>sing iny
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ—sc j
M'cnt to mv mother and told her all
about ib but r was not yet satisfial.
r wanted to follow my Savior which
lel me to go and tell it to the KingG
iiou.schold—so I did. When x
got throng!) talking in a wivik way
they received me without asking mo
one que.stion, which I thought i haft
rather they would have asked—i did
not want to deceive these people, s(t s
was baptized by brother Alfred Webb
in Rutherford County, N. (1 Tldr
occurred fifty yc.ars ago—.some thkig-'
one might forget, Imt the.s^, thi,ng“, i
never will foiget, fori believe whm,!
the new covenant v.ms placed in iiv'
it w.as as lasting as the Giver. Anri,
this is done by the Spirit of the liv
ing God, for no man knoweth th^
Father save the Soti, and iu'
to wiiom the Son will revea*
him. He write.s it in their hearts
and prints it in their minds—then
they have a desire and a will to vvoi
shi[) God in spirit and in truth.—
Many are the afflictions of the ehil
dren. Vv^e have to go through great
trials of persecution in this world c:'
sorrow, doubts and fears. As good
Soldiers of the Cro.ss, remember dear
bretfaiam and sisters, wm have the ev
erlasting love of God planted in on-
souls to guide us into all truths and
then a living faith given us tlm;
Jesus our High Priest will perform
all he has promised to do for our ben
efit and hi.s giory. V/hen I joincfJ
the Baptist cliurch there was but one
kind of Baptists—so i have been
ill two rents amang- them ; th« first,
the lMi.ssionaries, and the two-seed
Parker Doctrine. We split in this
State. Brother J. C. Denton, i often
think ofyou, but Btaiid to your po.st
and you have nothing to fear. One
word to brother and sister Gold, as
you may see this, i wrote sometime
back and received no answer from
you. I am so xvell plea.sed to learn
you are among the Old Sehoool Bap
tists and I hope we can truly say; >vc
are no more foreigners and strangers,
but fellow-citizens with the saints and