C O M M U N I C A T I O N S.
By Jesse Dorcas
"Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another." Bro. Smith;—Having a few names to send you as subscribers for the Review; I would say for your encouragement, that I have been spending for the last two months, about half of my time, in visiting from place to place in Seneca, Wood, and Sandusky counties, Ohio, and I find this field white already to harvest. Wherever I come it is manifest that the Lord has a people, and these have, for a time, felt a burden of soul, such as they have not been able to account for until they heard the Third Angel's Message explained, when their seems to arise before them a reviving light to cheer their weary steps towards the City that hath foundations.31I have just returned home from holding a few meetings in Bascom, Seneca Co., where, I humbly trust, good has been accomplished; we were favored with a good Methodist E. meeting-house, and with an audience of respectable people, to whom we gave as much exhortation as possible in two discourses of about three hours. When we closed, an old grey-headed man, a leading member of the M. E. spoke out and said that we were 200 years too late with this Message, as we could not possibly convert all the churches till the Lord would come. I distributed some books which I pray, may wake up some active minds for God, for there were those there who were deeply interested in the truth, in the way we present it. On my return homewards I passed through the City of Tiffin. While passing a garden I saw a woman, girl, and boy, very busily at work hoeing, raking, &c. They were such intelligent looking people that I concluded to speak a word, and give a book to them, on these great leading truths that fill our hearts, and minds. The woman soon told me that she was a Catholic, and I soon saw that the others were also Catholics. I was really encouraged to labor on in seeing and hearing this Catholic woman talk. She inquired seriously, if I ever knew of a Catholic leaving their church. After a good deal of conversation to the point, on the state of the church, and the end of the world, or age, she cheerfully took a book, (last work of the true church) and promised to read it, saying it could surely do her no harm. She also requested me to call on her priest. This I concluded to do. As I had seen Protestantism, I desired to see Romanism also, to have an opportunity to compare the treatment that these subjects, as well as myself, might receive from the ministers in both provinces; you may be sure I was no welcome visitor, after my mission was known. The scene that passed for about twenty minutes might possibly have caused some faint heart to tremble. But above all things that the priest hated was the chart. He said that we Americans were all a set of fanatical hypocrites, but he said that which astonished him most of all was, that, a fanatic should have the boldness to come into a Catholic priest's house to exhibit pictures, designed to show off the Catholic church. You may be assured that before I got away I had strict orders to leave. From this I passed to the station-house, where there was a room full of respectable looking men, waiting for the cars. On seeing the chart, some wished to know if I had maps for sale, which, when I exhibited they desired an explanation. I proceeded immediately to bring into the range of about three quarters of an hour's discourse as many of the prominent points as I could. When we concluded, one gentleman of christian appearance, made a public confession of his faith in the truth of what was said. Another said that he was afraid he should be converted to keep the Sabbath. They both took books, may the Lord give them a good understanding in his word. O how men and women are bound up in the hypocrites hope, as weak insects in the spider's web! Jesse Dorcas
Fremont Ohio April, 22d, 1856.