Mason’s Letter on the Sabbath
By Editor
We regret that Bro. Mason has not furnished us with the original copy of the following letter, but as he has not, we give it as written by him, from memory. Bro. Mason says: "As near as I can recollect, the following is a true copy of a letter written to Eld. Joseph Marsh, Ed. of the Harbinger, Sept. 12th, 1852. FRIEND MARSH.—When last I wrote to you, August 8th, I did not then think that I should have occasion for writing to you so soon again, but circumstances alter cases sometimes you know. I have been studying the Sabbath question for some months past, and when I wrote to you I was firm in the belief that the Sabbath was not binding upon us, but by evidence too plain to be misunderstood I have been constrained to acknowledge the seventh day as the Sabbath of the Lord our God. When I see men like yourself, Crozier, Shelden and Frisbie, who pretend to stand up for the plain literal interpretation of the Scriptures, make such sad havoc of the word of God as you do of 2 Cor. iii, 7—16, with various other passages in the New Testament, it is enough to make the very blood chill in my veins. Take the Harbingers of February 7 and May 24 and compare them with the Bible and see whether you would dare to stand before the Judgment bar of Almighty God with such an interpretation of his word as that. May God help you to see the sandy foundation upon which you stand, when trying to make an abolition of God's law, when it is said that, "Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled."—May God enable you to see the difference between his holy law and the hand-writing of ordinances which was against us, is the prayer of your friend and well wisher. Now I wish to call your attention to an article in the Harbinger of August 28, headed, "Vain Talkers." Now it appears that you have taken the liberty to come out and make a platform of my shoulders for one column and two thirds of slanderous abuse upon the character of a certain class of individuals that you know nothing about, saying that thirteen fourteenths of what they all say, is false. Now my letter did not call for such an answer, neither did I expect it or wish it. I simply asked you to give me an answer, yea or nay, instead of which, your colleague has come out and used language at my expense which it seemed that no Christian would use. Is this doing by others as you would that they should do by you? Is this loving your neighbor as yourself? Bro. R. Randal wishes me to say that he wants you to stop mailing the Harbinger to him and he will send you the money as soon as he can get it.—I, also, request that you will look over your books, and see how many numbers of the Harbinger I have had that I have not paid for, and send me a statement of the amount due you, and I will send the same to you. I feel truly thankful for what light I have received through the Harbinger, but I can go with you no further, and I request you to stop sending the same to me.
H. C. MASON.
Climax, Mich., 1852."