THE KENTUCKY TENT by S. Osborn

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jul 13, 1876

THE KENTUCKY TENT.

By S. Osborn

After our good Conference, I set the tent at Hodgenville, LaRue Co., and labored about two weeks there. But prejudice had gone ahead of us, and it was impossible to get a hearing. The undercurrent work of preventing the people from going to hear was carried on to perfection. With but a few exceptions, the people would neither talk on the subject of present truth, nor hear, nor read, and yet they were friendly and sociable in other respects. There was no open opposition.

As it was harvest time, and we could not get access to the country people, we thought best to set the tent in Elizabethtown, and do what we could until the arrival of Bro. Butler. We were sadly disappointed, when we learned that Bro. Butler could not come; but hope the General Conference will send us help. I began meetings here on the 16th inst. It rains so much it affects our meetings wonderfully; yet on Tuesday night, at our last meeting, the tent was about full of attentive hearers. There is the best of order in and around the tent during services, which speaks well for the place. I have offered some liberal rewards to any one who would find a text of Scripture positively asserting the sacredness of the Sunday institution; no one has responded. But one old Presbyterian minister said he thought it strange I would take such a bold stand against the sacredness of the observance of the first day of the week, contrary to the opinions of so many great men. I replied that that was just what we wanted the people to see; it is sustained by the opinions of men only, and not by the Bible.

Hope the Lord will give us the victory here in his name. Pray for us.

S. OSBORN.

Elizabethtown, Ky.