p. 93 | TENT MEETING AT MARSHALL

Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Aug 11, 1859

TENT MEETING AT MARSHALL.

By John Nevins Andrews; John Norton Loughborough

ACCORDING to previous appointment in the Review, the Michigan tent was pitched in Marshall, June 16th, and meetings were continued up to July 4th. Interest was manifest in a few, who listened with candor to the word spoken; but with the mass the truths preached seemed only as idle tales. When we look back on the unfavorable circumstances under which this meeting was held, we are glad to learn that any have embraced the truth. Three have already come out understandingly on the truth, and we have hope that others may yet see their duty and obey.

During our meeting a Baptist Association was held in the place. The Presbyterians had a gathering of ministers, and a meeting of several days. And the Methodist bell rang nearly every night for some kind of meeting. When the ministers of the place found that their extra meetings would not keep all their members away, they began to circulate false reports, by which they seemed to keep their members at home. Whether they made up these reports themselves, or took them from the mouths of others, we know not. Said one lady, referring to the preachers at the tent, “I like to hear them preach, but then they tell such stories about them.” That, we suppose, she thought was enough to excuse her staying at home.

During the last week the minds of those who belonged to no sect, were kept diverted from our meetings by a display of fire engines, and making preparations for an independence Tournament. To still further divert the minds of all, an ice cream festival was got up by the Baptist society to raise $300, which they had spent in fitting up their church for the above mentioned association. We could not refrain from thinking of those servants who would say in their hearts, “my Lord delays his coming,” “smite their fellow servants,” “eat and drink with the drunken,” as we saw in addition to the slanderous reports of the ministers a call for all to come to the ice cream festival.

About forty Catholics attended our meetings, and manifested a good degree of interest till their father confessor obliged them to leave. He put them under several days’ penance, but as soon as the penance was over about half of them were back again listening as well as they could on the outside. Much good might be accomplished among this poor ignorant class, if the fear of the priest could be for a time removed. As two women sat one evening listening to a discourse on the destruction of the wicked, hearing that the Devil was to be destroyed, one said to the other, “The Devil is going to be burned up. O, that is good!”

A circumstance happened during this meeting that was such a good illustration of what is generally believed and practiced at the present day that we give it to the readers of the Review. A young man one day came in to spend a few leisure moments with us in the tent. He commenced questioning us in regard to our faith. We asked him if he had attended our lectures. He replied, No; I have not time. Said he, Do you suppose the question will be asked me in the judgment whether I went and listened three weeks to what was preached under a tent in Marshall? He was informed that we supposed in the judgment every one would have to give account of himself to God, and he would probably be questioned as to whether he had read the Bible and obeyed it. “Well,” said he, “I don’t know as it is necessary to read the Bible to understand it. There is so much of the Bible in other books that you can get a very good idea of it from other books. And in fact, we can get up a very good Christian character by seeing how other folks do!” Getting up a Christian character by watching other folks instead of following the Bible is what many professors in these days are doing, although they don’t like to own it.

J. N. ANDREWS. J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH. Battle Creek, Aug. 7th, 1859.