Part 16 (1/2)
In Cayuga County, he speaks of the labors of Morrill and Coburn as successful; of passing through Montgo by the grave of his worthy early associate in theof his rave;-- with hi man by the name of Joseph Marsh, he returned to Mendon, October 2d
In the autu, Pa, is thus spoken of by Rev J J Harvey, in a recent letter to Mrs Badger:--
”His congregations were large and attentive The sects cried out against his, I was induced, by the opposition raised against this 'great Unitarian heretic, as his eneo and hear for myself Froular hearer, and found ly interested in favor of the persecuted party A others, he preached one discourse on the doctrine of the Trinity This was fortunate for me, because he removed fro the Methodists and Presbyterians had well-nigh driven me I never could understand, and therefore could not believe, their irrational and unscriptural preaching on this subject; I was, therefore, on the verge of rejecting the Bible _in toto_ But, by clear exhibitions of truth, Mr
Badger convinced me of the scriptural and the reasonable doctrine of one God, and of one Mediator between God and men; and on that subject I have never since had a doubt”
From this place he proceeded to Milford, New Jersey, to attend the theological debate held in that town, December, 1830, between Rev
William McCalla, of Philadelphia, and Rev Wm Lane, of Ohio, on the question--”Is the man Christ Jesus the supreme and eternal God?” of which Mr McCalla had the affirative This discussion, attended by a large concourse, and on the fourth day abandoned by the forentleman, in the words, ”I relinquish this debate forever,” was one in which Mr Badger took a deep interest He was one of the Board of Moderators; and, with his peculiar facility at e of the debate, in getting Mr McCalla and Rev S Clough into a contract for a new discussion of the same question, at the city of New York, at a subsequent time, a contract which Mr McCalla, on the fourth day of the debate, took froreat assenificant of his intention not to carry out the purpose therein expressed The coolness, foresight, and shrewdness of Mr Badger on all such occasions were strong and serviceable traits
He spent the principal part of 1831 in the vicinity of his residence, in which time additions were made to his society, which then was in a state of prosperity From special request he visited Stafford, Genesee County, where, fourteen years before, with the assistance of Elder Levi Hathaway, he had organized a san, which, in the language of Mr D Millard, ”was one of the ion of country
Within a few months, he baptized, in Stafford, not far fro er writes:--
”It is now nearly twenty years since I engaged in the great and responsible work of preaching the Gospel I regret that I did not engage in that work earlier, and that I have been no more successful But, with allto encourage me; I have baptized about one thousand persons; I have had the pleasure of seeing twelve of that number become useful rie on earth with joy Of late, I have beenmy embarrassood work, and my heart is warston County, has also been blessed of late I have, within a short time, baptized six persons there In Tompkins County, our brethren have been abundantly favored with revivals In Cayuga County, also, the cause is prospering Elder Morrill has had an addition to the churches of his care of about eighty members, this year”
”Several of our brethren in this country have, the present season, finished their course in this world We have taken sweet counsel with the of the lowly Jesus; we have s of praise and sweet devotion on earth, and now look up with tre confidence and cheerful hope to the time e shall be permitted to join the of praise to God and the Lamb in heaven”
On March 27th, he attended the funeral of Mrs Thomas Pease, of Rochester, one in whom the Christian virtues were said to have shone withof this event, he says:
”While I sat by the bedside of my emaciated friend, and saw her health, her beauty, and relish for life gone, and the strong attach their last claims to a heart which had always responded in emotions of kindest friendshi+p, but which could respond no longer, I heard her in a lohisper say, 'Oh Lord, grant me thy smiles and thy presence, and I ask no more' Here, said I, I see the end of all perfection Oh God, 'Let hteous, and let my last end be like his'
”After I left she appeared much revived in spirit, and made choice of the text on which I should preach at her funeral, which was John 14: 2: 'In my Father's house are o to prepare a place for you' How delightful to see a child of God looking up froone to prepare for his children”
CHAPTER XVII
EDITORIAL LIFE
Believing in the power of the press as one of the strongest agents which, for weal or for wo, is ever brought to bear on the thoughts, consciences, and outward destinies of er and his associates resolved on the e of faith, for the free investigation of Christian theology, and for the furtherance of wider views of Christian brotherhood than had ever obtained under the reign of stern, sectarian dogma The ”Gospel Luminary,” started at West Bloomfield, in 1825, had been, in 1827, reh ably conducted in the eneral in the State of New York, that so more perfectly adapted to the wants of the people could be issued; accordingly the ”Genesee Christian association,” composed of some of the anized December, 1831, with a constitution and officers, for the purpose of publishi+ng, purchasing, selling and distributing such books and publications as the wants of the Christian Connection should, in their judg men in the ministry with libraries and such other ht be within their power; and especially did they contemplate, as their first work, the establishment of a periodical at Rochester, N Y, whose objects were announced to be the vindication and dissemination of Gospel truth, the develop, and the promotion of a faith which should be at the saelical Of this new monthly periodical, D Millard, O E Morrill and Asa Chapin, were the Executive Coer, Editor A prospectus for this work, called the ”Christian Palladium,” a naer, January, 1832, in which he says:--
”The prominent objects of this ill be the defence of the Scripture doctrine of one God and one Mediator, the vindication of free and liberal Christianity, the right of private judgion, and the sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures as a perfect system of church polity In the dissemination of those sacred principles, it will seek no alliance with proscriptive sectarianism, nor will it bow to the _ipsi dixerunt_ of fallible men, or ascribe holiness to any human creed whatever While it inculcates Christianity as it is, it will endeavor to shohat its votaries should be; and while it advocates holy truth, it shall breathe the benign spirit of Hie the necessity of vital piety and holiness of heart, it shall also show that these sacred principles directly tend to the union of Christ's spiritual body, which is the Church In a word, it is not to be a sectarian engine, but a free vehicle of general Christian intelligence”
On the next page, which contains his address to agents, he says, that ”the tiious liberty and iation of Gospel truth, should adopt every laudable measure to further those important and benevolent objects, has unquestionably arrived;” and May 1, 1832, witnessed the circulation of the first nuoodly attire, and in excellence of mechanical execution far in advance, we should say, of any printing we have recently seen fro of pioneers, held in Rochester, October, 1848, to which he was invited, he claimed to have caused the publication of the first book[46]
printed in that place, when Rochester was only a prosperous village
This new era, as we ht great responsibilities in which he had no previous experience, found him an easy master of its difficulties His qualifications for an editor were, an intuitive and accurate perception of the character of the class of readers to whoht serve to enrich his pages from the communications of his correspondents, from publications, and books; a business tact rarely equalled, which gave system and order to every department of duty in his office; and to these I will add two other qualities that in hies that were full of original force, nerve, life and freshness; and to _call out_ the ability of other reat facility in inspiring ordinary men, obscure in life, with the belief that they could write, and often froenius could _e for his paper, did beco and pointed style, of which they need never be ashaet as ood material from uneducated and undisciplined sources as he
In his May nu strain:--
”The present is an era of light, and a day peculiar to prophetic fulfilment Never was there a tihter prospects, and never a day when victory over the powers of darkness was ht, the spread of pure religion, a submission to the doctrine of the Scriptures, in preference of man-made creeds, and the spirit of reciprocal love and Christian forbearance a free inquirers after the word of life, afford indications of the approach of a more brilliant era
”All dissenters froarded as rebels, and all dissenters from ecclesiastical tyranny and oppression have been denounced as heretics and infidels Soe of existence, and some of the purest sentiht, have been sacrificed upon the unholy altar of priestcraft and superstition We should evidently be wanting in charity e to represent all as illiberal who are stationed in the ranks of orthodoxy Such are not our views; for we are convinced that hly appreciate the value of Gospel liberty, and were it not for the anxious watchings of those who 'bear rule,'