Tent Meeting at Roosevelt by John Norton Loughborough; Roswell F. Cottrell

Publishing Committee · Rochester, N. Y. · Aug 21, 1855

Tent Meeting at Roosevelt.

By John Norton Loughborough; Roswell F. Cottrell

This meeting was well attended, although held in a very busy season of the year, (in the midst of harvest.) The meeting continued over two Sabbaths and First-days. On both First-days our Tent was well filled. Some brethren came in from other places. Our social meetings were spirited and solemn.

After pitching the Tent, we learned that one Eld. Brown, a Protestant Methodist minister, had an appointment to preach, on the second First-day, a discourse on the immortality of the soul, in a school-house near by the Tent. After Eld. Brown's friends learned that we had an appointment for the second First-day, (the time that Eld. B. was to preach,) they commenced circulating reports that we had given out the second appointment on purpose to draw away the Eld.'s congregation. It would be well for such, perhaps, to read the appointment in the Advent Review, which was written before Eld. B. gave out his appointment. As there seemed to be quite an excitement getting up in the minds of the people, some of the Eld.'s friends (as inconsistent as their proposition looked) thought we had better give up our meeting in the Tent, and go to the school-house and hear the Eld. We were not much in favor of a congregation of 1000 going into a small school-house. At this juncture we sent a proposition to the Eld. to preach in the Tent in the afternoon, and we should claim the privilege of reviewing his discourse. To this he consented, and gave a discourse at 1 o'clock, occupying 1½ hours. He occupied his time, 1st. in striving to draw a distinction between immortal, immortality and eternal life. 2d. He quoted a class of texts to show that our eternal life commences here when we believe on Christ. 3d. He claimed there could be no true religion unless based on the immortality of the soul. He wound up by quoting the texts commonly used to show the conscious state of the dead.

We endeavored to weigh all his scripture testimonies, and show the harmonious testimony of the Bible that we are dependent on Christ for eternal life, as the Eld. himself had proved by the class of texts he had quoted to show that our eternal life commences here when we believe on Christ. It seemed to be a hard matter for the Eld. to maintain his gravity because we would not keep up the distinctions he had made between immortality and eternal life.

These meetings held in Roosevelt, we trust, will tell for the advancement of the cause of Christ.

On the second Sabbath we enjoyed the privilege of witnessing five planted in the likeness of Christ's death. One of these had commenced the observance of the Sabbath but a few weeks since. The others had not been long in the way.

At the close of the second Sabbath, we met at the house of Bro. T. Finch, and enjoyed a heavenly season in attending to the ordinances of the Lord's house. J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH. R. F. COTTRELL. Vanburen, N. Y., Aug. 4th, 1855.