"This day and this night were solemn to me. One young man, by the name of L. Whitehouse, by reputation the wickedest young man in town, one who had often wished me out of the place, one who had despised the saints, came running to me, his face suffused with tears, and said: 'Mr. Badger, can you pray for such a man as I am?' I told him that I could. He was in deep distress. After a time he returned home. At midnight I was aroused from my slumbers by the message that Mr. W. was dying, and that he wished to see me very much. Leaving my room and walking through the darkness of night to visit one who had despised both me and my counsels, I heard him say as I entered the house where he lay, 'I am dying; and the worst of all that troubles me is that I am unprepared to meet God.' Several hours I passed with him; and the more of such scenes I witness, the more I am struck with the folly of men in neglecting salvation in prosperity and health."Arriving at Farmington on the 5th, at L. Peavy's I fell in company with Dr. Hammond, who soon introduced conversation on the subject of religion. He stood on the old doctrine of fatalism, and was what every man ought to be who honestly plants himself on this ground, a Universalist. After he had labored hard (for one must labor hard to support a false doctrine, whilst the truth can support itself and all who believe it,) to prove his theory, I said to him: 'Sir, although you claim to make God a good and merciful being, you make him inconsistent. You prove that he has decreed one thing and commanded another. You allege that he ordained all things. Of course he has ordained them right. But, Sir, are you able to say that all the wars, blasphemy, drunkenness, political and religious contention we have on earth, proceed from your good God?' 'Certainly' responded he; 'it is all for someend. Mortals must experience a degree of misery, to prepare them for happiness. It is best,' continued he, 'to have different beliefs and sects in the world, and what you term religion is merely impulse and imagination, which is good so far as it tends to good among men. The fear of hell which you hold up, moves many to reform, and I think it would not be so well if all men were as I am.' In the last idea I acquiesced. I told him that I never had known the opinions he avowed to work the reformation of any man; that I had not yet met a Christ-like and prayerful person of those views, and that I had known them to be accompanied by much profanity, professed in the grog-shop, and resorted to by the vilifier of practical godliness as a shelter against the solemn claims of Christ upon the heart. I said to him that truth bears good fruits, and that I was sorry that he should labor so hard to prove a doctrine of whose results he had so poor an opinion. Here our conversation closed."6th, I returned to Brookfield; just before I arrived at Middleton Corner I saw a funeral procession slowly moving toward the grave, and being so near the funeral I had attended when going down, it made a solemn impression on my mind. I said, Oh, may I be prepared for a similar scene! The 8th, after attending two meetings, rode to Wolfborough, where I arrived in the evening, much fatigued; the 9th, spoke for the first time to the people at Smith's Bridge; the 10th, returned to Brookfield; the 12th, spoke to the people from Job 20: 17, and though the rain, which fell very fast, prevented hundreds from attending, we had a very good time. At 7 o'clock I attended meeting at Wakefield, and as I visited from house to house on the 13th, I remember to have asked a lady whether she enjoyed the religion of Jesus, to which she replied, 'I do not intend to be a hypocrite;' Ithought her purpose a good one, though her courtesy might have been a little improved. I was every where else kindly received. The 18th, 19th, 20th, 23d, 26th, and 28th, had good and effective meetings, the last appointment being at Epping, where I found the people low in the enjoyment of vital religion, and some who had by experience known the life and power of God, settled down upon their lees, or what, in Calvinistic phraseology, they would call the doctrines of grace. Grace then became my theme. I went so far as to say that not only all men, but beasts, birds, and fishes, were in a state of grace or favor with God, by which they are daily sustained. What oak or rose-bush can grow without the Creator's kindness? The 30th I spoke from Ps. 117: 7, 'Return unto thy rest, oh, my soul; for the Lord has dealt bountifully with thee.' Rev. N. Piper was present, and with many others, spoke, whilst the glory of God seemed to shine in our midst. The 31st I was sick at Mr. B.'s, whose kindness I can never forget. The Lord God alone can know whether I live through another month. If I do, oh, help me to live it more to thy glory than I have lived any month of my life."
"This day and this night were solemn to me. One young man, by the name of L. Whitehouse, by reputation the wickedest young man in town, one who had often wished me out of the place, one who had despised the saints, came running to me, his face suffused with tears, and said: 'Mr. Badger, can you pray for such a man as I am?' I told him that I could. He was in deep distress. After a time he returned home. At midnight I was aroused from my slumbers by the message that Mr. W. was dying, and that he wished to see me very much. Leaving my room and walking through the darkness of night to visit one who had despised both me and my counsels, I heard him say as I entered the house where he lay, 'I am dying; and the worst of all that troubles me is that I am unprepared to meet God.' Several hours I passed with him; and the more of such scenes I witness, the more I am struck with the folly of men in neglecting salvation in prosperity and health.
"Arriving at Farmington on the 5th, at L. Peavy's I fell in company with Dr. Hammond, who soon introduced conversation on the subject of religion. He stood on the old doctrine of fatalism, and was what every man ought to be who honestly plants himself on this ground, a Universalist. After he had labored hard (for one must labor hard to support a false doctrine, whilst the truth can support itself and all who believe it,) to prove his theory, I said to him: 'Sir, although you claim to make God a good and merciful being, you make him inconsistent. You prove that he has decreed one thing and commanded another. You allege that he ordained all things. Of course he has ordained them right. But, Sir, are you able to say that all the wars, blasphemy, drunkenness, political and religious contention we have on earth, proceed from your good God?' 'Certainly' responded he; 'it is all for someend. Mortals must experience a degree of misery, to prepare them for happiness. It is best,' continued he, 'to have different beliefs and sects in the world, and what you term religion is merely impulse and imagination, which is good so far as it tends to good among men. The fear of hell which you hold up, moves many to reform, and I think it would not be so well if all men were as I am.' In the last idea I acquiesced. I told him that I never had known the opinions he avowed to work the reformation of any man; that I had not yet met a Christ-like and prayerful person of those views, and that I had known them to be accompanied by much profanity, professed in the grog-shop, and resorted to by the vilifier of practical godliness as a shelter against the solemn claims of Christ upon the heart. I said to him that truth bears good fruits, and that I was sorry that he should labor so hard to prove a doctrine of whose results he had so poor an opinion. Here our conversation closed.
"6th, I returned to Brookfield; just before I arrived at Middleton Corner I saw a funeral procession slowly moving toward the grave, and being so near the funeral I had attended when going down, it made a solemn impression on my mind. I said, Oh, may I be prepared for a similar scene! The 8th, after attending two meetings, rode to Wolfborough, where I arrived in the evening, much fatigued; the 9th, spoke for the first time to the people at Smith's Bridge; the 10th, returned to Brookfield; the 12th, spoke to the people from Job 20: 17, and though the rain, which fell very fast, prevented hundreds from attending, we had a very good time. At 7 o'clock I attended meeting at Wakefield, and as I visited from house to house on the 13th, I remember to have asked a lady whether she enjoyed the religion of Jesus, to which she replied, 'I do not intend to be a hypocrite;' Ithought her purpose a good one, though her courtesy might have been a little improved. I was every where else kindly received. The 18th, 19th, 20th, 23d, 26th, and 28th, had good and effective meetings, the last appointment being at Epping, where I found the people low in the enjoyment of vital religion, and some who had by experience known the life and power of God, settled down upon their lees, or what, in Calvinistic phraseology, they would call the doctrines of grace. Grace then became my theme. I went so far as to say that not only all men, but beasts, birds, and fishes, were in a state of grace or favor with God, by which they are daily sustained. What oak or rose-bush can grow without the Creator's kindness? The 30th I spoke from Ps. 117: 7, 'Return unto thy rest, oh, my soul; for the Lord has dealt bountifully with thee.' Rev. N. Piper was present, and with many others, spoke, whilst the glory of God seemed to shine in our midst. The 31st I was sick at Mr. B.'s, whose kindness I can never forget. The Lord God alone can know whether I live through another month. If I do, oh, help me to live it more to thy glory than I have lived any month of my life."
No day of the month of June passed without an appointment to preach, as a glance at the journal shows; and among the travels recorded, is a journey to Providence, Rhode Island. At Canterbury, on his way, he speaks for the first time of hearing Elder Mark Fernald preach, June 10th, and on the 11th of hearing Elder Benj. Taylor, who addressed the meeting at Canterbury, fourteen ministers and many others being present. He says:
"The 16th, I spoke at the State House, Providence, R. I., and had a good time in preaching and in breaking of bread. The 17th, I rode to Boston, where I also spent the greater part of the 18th, visiting the Museum, which made a strong impression on my mind, and conversing with Mr. Elias Smith, with whom I put up. In the evening I enjoyed a very good time at Salem. The 23d, I went to hear Mr. Burgus, who spoke from Acts 8: 22, in which he stated that prior to prayer or any other duty, men must feel the love of God; also, that all who denied that Jesus Christ had come in the flesh, were false teachers, as are all those who regard him only as a man; for, said he, Christ is the Eternal God: there is none above him. When his afternoon meeting was closed, I arose and told the people I had two remarks to make on the sermon delivered in the morning, one in regard to prayer, the other in regard to Christ. You remember, I said to them, that the love of God was enjoined as preceding every acceptable prayer. I ask you to compare this statement with the order of facts contained in the gentleman's text, which are, 1. Repentance; 2. Prayer; 3. Forgiveness. 'Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.' As none contend that the enjoyment of the love of God precedes the forgiveness of sins, I am amazed at so bold a contradiction of the passage on which the sermon was professedly founded. I then noticed Christ, informing the people that I knew not the sect who held him to be merely a man, for who does not know that the most ultra of the Socinian school place him above all men in the divinity of his spiritual endowments? and what class, I inquired, could more plainly deny Christ than he had been denied a short time previous, by the statement that he is theEternal God? I stated that I believed him to be the Son of God, the great Mediatorial Centre of grace to mortals, and that he has received all power in heaven and on earth. If he is the Father, he cannot be the Son; and if the plain declarations of the New Testament are to be relied on, it is certain that he was dependent on God, and that he knew One greater than himself, to whom he offered worship, and of whom he gave a new revelation.[25]About this time the clergyman saw fit to leave without offering any public remarks. I continued my address. At the close, many spoke of the love of Christ; and though we were deprived of the presence of the clergyman, we had, I think, the presence of God, which was far preferable. The 30th, met an attentive multitude at T. Burley's barn, to whom I spoke in the forenoon, from Ps. 11: 12, and in the afternoon from Eph. 4: 5, on baptism. Many spoke freely. We then retired to a pleasant water near by, where, with great satisfaction, I baptized six happy youth. Here closes one month more. O God, I pray thee to prepare me for all that may await me in the next."
"The 16th, I spoke at the State House, Providence, R. I., and had a good time in preaching and in breaking of bread. The 17th, I rode to Boston, where I also spent the greater part of the 18th, visiting the Museum, which made a strong impression on my mind, and conversing with Mr. Elias Smith, with whom I put up. In the evening I enjoyed a very good time at Salem. The 23d, I went to hear Mr. Burgus, who spoke from Acts 8: 22, in which he stated that prior to prayer or any other duty, men must feel the love of God; also, that all who denied that Jesus Christ had come in the flesh, were false teachers, as are all those who regard him only as a man; for, said he, Christ is the Eternal God: there is none above him. When his afternoon meeting was closed, I arose and told the people I had two remarks to make on the sermon delivered in the morning, one in regard to prayer, the other in regard to Christ. You remember, I said to them, that the love of God was enjoined as preceding every acceptable prayer. I ask you to compare this statement with the order of facts contained in the gentleman's text, which are, 1. Repentance; 2. Prayer; 3. Forgiveness. 'Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.' As none contend that the enjoyment of the love of God precedes the forgiveness of sins, I am amazed at so bold a contradiction of the passage on which the sermon was professedly founded. I then noticed Christ, informing the people that I knew not the sect who held him to be merely a man, for who does not know that the most ultra of the Socinian school place him above all men in the divinity of his spiritual endowments? and what class, I inquired, could more plainly deny Christ than he had been denied a short time previous, by the statement that he is theEternal God? I stated that I believed him to be the Son of God, the great Mediatorial Centre of grace to mortals, and that he has received all power in heaven and on earth. If he is the Father, he cannot be the Son; and if the plain declarations of the New Testament are to be relied on, it is certain that he was dependent on God, and that he knew One greater than himself, to whom he offered worship, and of whom he gave a new revelation.[25]About this time the clergyman saw fit to leave without offering any public remarks. I continued my address. At the close, many spoke of the love of Christ; and though we were deprived of the presence of the clergyman, we had, I think, the presence of God, which was far preferable. The 30th, met an attentive multitude at T. Burley's barn, to whom I spoke in the forenoon, from Ps. 11: 12, and in the afternoon from Eph. 4: 5, on baptism. Many spoke freely. We then retired to a pleasant water near by, where, with great satisfaction, I baptized six happy youth. Here closes one month more. O God, I pray thee to prepare me for all that may await me in the next."
July, 1816. We read of his being at Brookfield on the 1st, of his attending the funeral obsequies of Mr. L. J. Hutchins, at Wakefield, on the 2d, and of his spending the month industriously in the several places of his accustomed labor. Not far from this time there was in his mind a temporary conviction that he would select Providence, R. I., for his permanent residence, as he was anxious to concentrate his labors in one field, and no longer extend them over so wide a surface. Bearing date a few weeks later is a letterfrom Rev. Benj. Taylor, of Taunton, Mass., congratulating him on the change of his condition from single to married life, and earnestly inviting him to make the city of Providence his stand, assuring him that the condition of about thirteen churches within an area of forty miles called for his influence, ability, and zeal in their midst. Though Providence had the preference in his mind over the several places that occupied his attention as a permanent home, circumstances seemed to have ordained a different lot. He never became a citizen of that beautiful city.
July the 17th he was married to Miss Mary Jane Peavy, of Farmington, New Hampshire, daughter of Capt. Anthony Peavy, of that town. The lady that now became his companion in the cares, hopes, and sorrows of life, was of the tender age of eighteen; and though doubtless inexperienced in the trials that belong to the ministerial sphere, having been herself most carefully and tenderly brought up in one of the best of New England families, her devotion to her husband, and to the cause in which he was engaged, during the brief period of her life, was ever worthy of the noblest praise. All the letters and documents of these few years indicate a mutual depth of sentiment and devotional regard. So paramount, however, was the cause of the ministry in Mr. Badger's mind, that the happy and important change recorded of his social relations made no essential vacancy in the accustomed duties of his profession. The days and evenings as they passed were continually laden with his sermons and prayers.
In a letter to his brother, dated July 17th, he writes of the gloomy prospects of the husbandman throughout that country, saying, "We have been afflicted with war and with pestilence, and now we are threatened with famine, which is, if possible, a greater evil. I hope the people may learn righteousness whilst these various judgments are abroad in the earth."
When speaking of the funeral of Mr. Hutchins, he says, "There was indeed a great solemnity in this scene. The widow's heart was a fountain of sorrow. The sons wept much, and on the face of one of the daughters sat the serene impress of eternity, whilst all the connections and friends seemed to mourn the loss of a Christian, a patriot, and a worthy member of the community. Several hours before the meeting, I spent in a pleasant grove; my retired moments, which were very solemn, were passed in meditation, prayer, and weeping; at the close of the services the afflicted family manifested to me an uncommon degree of friendship. Though very unwell, I rode to Middleton that day." In speaking of his trials, at the close of this July journal, he says: "It is well for mankind that they know not what the future conceals, lest they might shrink before the approaching conflict. I found in all my trials God's grace sufficient for me. 'In me ye shall have peace,' and to God I make my prayer that he would save me from whatever is unlike himself. 'Make me even as one of thy hired servants.'" There is an inward living current of faith flowing through his mind; nor were there any crises in his life, nor were there any trying positions into which the force of circumstances brought him, that, carefully examined, arefound to be unvisited and unrefreshed by this living water of life in his soul. Like the mystic rock the Hebrew prophet smote, his heart flows out in living water.
August, 1816. "From the 1st to the 20th my time was spent in Brookfield, Middleton, Farmington, attending to reading, writing, preaching, and visiting from house to house. The 20th, had a good and solemn time at Brookfield; being ready to start for R. I., after having a public meeting we held a conference, in which brother Joseph Gooding, in an animating manner, told his religious experience, and requested baptism, which I administered at evening, whilst it seemed as though the heavens were opened and the Spirit descended upon the assembly. We then walked for a half a mile, singing the praise of God. After changing my dress, I rode to the residence of John Chamberlain, Esq., where I was kindly received, and where I found the company of Mr. F. Cogswell, of Gilmanton, whose visits among his brethren were like the coming of Titus in the days of apostolical truth and religious simplicity. The 21st, we rode to Farmington and enjoyed a happy meeting; the 22d, being ready to start on a journey to the South, I asked my affectionate companion which she would prefer me to do,—enter into business, accumulate property, and be respectable in the world, or do the will of the Lord in going forth to preach the Gospel, leaving her at home, and subjecting ourselves to be poor in this world all our days. After a moment's reflection, she burst into a flood of tears, and said, 'I hope you will do the Lord's will, whatever else may happen.' We had a weeping time. The next morning I arose early and bade all my friends an affectionate farewell, not expecting tosee them again for several weeks. Here my trial was very great. I had known what it was to forsake father and mother, brother and sister, houses and homes for Christ's sake, but in leaving one who was so nearly a part of my own life, I found that it exceeded all other trials belonging to the separation of friends. The 24th I went to Deerfield to attend a general meeting. I was there also on the 25th. The 26th it was continued at Candia, and a blessing seemed to attend it. The 27th and 28th, attended the Ministers' Conference at Candia. The 29th, after the close of conference, I heard the Rev. Elias Smith preach at Deerfield, N. H. From several considerations, I was induced to postpone my journey to the South, and, in company with Mr. E. Plan, returned to Rochester and Farmington.Sept. 1816. "From the 1st to the 10th I passed at Farmington, holding several meetings: the 11th, went to Gilmanton; the 13th, in company with Mr. Cogswell, started for the province of Canada, to visit our relatives, and to seek the welfare of Zion. The 14th, arrived at the house of my eldest brother, in Wheelock, Vt., a distance of 112 miles; on Tuesday following, arrived at Danville, held meeting at the Court House, where, favored by the presence of a good assembly and six ministers of the Gospel, I found liberty in speaking the living word. Our minds were mutually refreshed. On Wednesday, held meeting in the north part of the town, and at Mr. Wicker's in the evening, where I was amazed to find Mrs. W. happy and in health, as she had been sick for three years, and had, according to the testimony of herself and friends, been miraculously restored a few days before my arrival. Two years previous I had visited her in her illness, which served to increase my surprise at her present condition, induced, as I was told, by simple compliance in faith with the direction of the Apostle James 5: 14, 15. OnSunday, at Compton, we enjoyed an excellent meeting with old friends, relatives, and acquaintances, and on Monday evening rode to Ascott to visit a company of Christians who had formerly been noted for piety and engagedness, but were now the subjects of delusion. Abundantly had they been blessed of God; but instead of learning humility, they appeared to build themselves up in the spirit of self-righteousness. One whom they styled Apostle and Prophet was to them the highest authority, equal to anything in the Holy Scripture.Hehad revelations concerning all the business to be done by his followers; also his pretended illumination extended to marriages and to the intercourse of the sexes, and when hisipse dixitwas given on these points, immorality was unblushingly practised. Pretending to have personal interviews with angels he had six followers, who, at his command, would fall upon their knees, lie prostrate upon the floor, or walk in a pretended labor for souls. Sometimes he kept them walking for several days and nights without eating or sleeping, when they would frequently faint and fall upon the floor. They often screamed, howled, and barked, making various strange noises, and bending themselves up into many shapes. They most tenaciously held that they were the only true church on earth, and that no person out of their pale was capable of giving them the least instruction. Like all the fanatics I ever saw, they evinced great hatred and spite when opposed, and sometimes they were full of the spirit of mocking. As I had known them when they were respectable young people, and had enjoyed with them the best of Christian fellowship, I could but deeply mourn over the delusion in which they were lost. After spending eighteen hours with them, I bore the most decided testimony I could against their sentiments and procedure. How many are carried away by every wind of doctrine, and allow thepure religion of Jesus, with which they begin, to degenerate into an alloy of earth and passion! Ever may I be kept in the Mediator, where I shall be permanent and uncontrolled by the wild extremes of the age. The week following I spent at Compton, holding meetings in different parts of the town. On Sunday, the 29th, the assembly was large, and we had a weeping time, as I bade them farewell in the name of Him in whom is our hope and love; and on Monday visited from house to house. Being ready to depart on the morrow, and thinking that it was the last time I should repose under my father's roof, my thoughts and feelings were deeply solemn, as I looked out upon the world-wide field of my future labors. My very heart was pained, and the night passed away in almost entire sleeplessness. Here closes the month, and in feelings of the greatest solemnity.(Oct. 1816. Letter to his father. Montpelier, Vt., Oct. 12, 1816.) "Dear Father,—With pleasure I improve a few moments in writing to you, that you may be informed of my good health, and my agreeable visit at Stanstead, Wheelock and Danville. I preached the next Sunday after I left home, at Danville Court House, and in the evening at Major Morrill's. On Monday I came to this town, and held a meeting at the Hall of Esquire Snow; in this place and Calace I have held meetings all through the week. Last Thursday I attended the election. After the Governor was chosen, the ministers of all denominations were invited to his apartment, where all the choicest kinds of drinks were placed before them, and a rich dinner was prepared. Gov. J. Galusha was chosen by a very great majority. He is an agreeable man, and apparently a real Christian. His conduct through the day excited the admiration of the spectators, and it manifested, I think, the spirit of true patriotism and of sound Christianity.I have an appointment here to-morrow and expect that some will be baptized. We intend to start for N. H. on Monday. I am in great haste. Give my love to Mother, Thomas, Hannah and all my friends. God bless you all with life eternal. Farewell."Joseph Badger.""Maj. Peaslee Badger."
August, 1816. "From the 1st to the 20th my time was spent in Brookfield, Middleton, Farmington, attending to reading, writing, preaching, and visiting from house to house. The 20th, had a good and solemn time at Brookfield; being ready to start for R. I., after having a public meeting we held a conference, in which brother Joseph Gooding, in an animating manner, told his religious experience, and requested baptism, which I administered at evening, whilst it seemed as though the heavens were opened and the Spirit descended upon the assembly. We then walked for a half a mile, singing the praise of God. After changing my dress, I rode to the residence of John Chamberlain, Esq., where I was kindly received, and where I found the company of Mr. F. Cogswell, of Gilmanton, whose visits among his brethren were like the coming of Titus in the days of apostolical truth and religious simplicity. The 21st, we rode to Farmington and enjoyed a happy meeting; the 22d, being ready to start on a journey to the South, I asked my affectionate companion which she would prefer me to do,—enter into business, accumulate property, and be respectable in the world, or do the will of the Lord in going forth to preach the Gospel, leaving her at home, and subjecting ourselves to be poor in this world all our days. After a moment's reflection, she burst into a flood of tears, and said, 'I hope you will do the Lord's will, whatever else may happen.' We had a weeping time. The next morning I arose early and bade all my friends an affectionate farewell, not expecting tosee them again for several weeks. Here my trial was very great. I had known what it was to forsake father and mother, brother and sister, houses and homes for Christ's sake, but in leaving one who was so nearly a part of my own life, I found that it exceeded all other trials belonging to the separation of friends. The 24th I went to Deerfield to attend a general meeting. I was there also on the 25th. The 26th it was continued at Candia, and a blessing seemed to attend it. The 27th and 28th, attended the Ministers' Conference at Candia. The 29th, after the close of conference, I heard the Rev. Elias Smith preach at Deerfield, N. H. From several considerations, I was induced to postpone my journey to the South, and, in company with Mr. E. Plan, returned to Rochester and Farmington.
Sept. 1816. "From the 1st to the 10th I passed at Farmington, holding several meetings: the 11th, went to Gilmanton; the 13th, in company with Mr. Cogswell, started for the province of Canada, to visit our relatives, and to seek the welfare of Zion. The 14th, arrived at the house of my eldest brother, in Wheelock, Vt., a distance of 112 miles; on Tuesday following, arrived at Danville, held meeting at the Court House, where, favored by the presence of a good assembly and six ministers of the Gospel, I found liberty in speaking the living word. Our minds were mutually refreshed. On Wednesday, held meeting in the north part of the town, and at Mr. Wicker's in the evening, where I was amazed to find Mrs. W. happy and in health, as she had been sick for three years, and had, according to the testimony of herself and friends, been miraculously restored a few days before my arrival. Two years previous I had visited her in her illness, which served to increase my surprise at her present condition, induced, as I was told, by simple compliance in faith with the direction of the Apostle James 5: 14, 15. OnSunday, at Compton, we enjoyed an excellent meeting with old friends, relatives, and acquaintances, and on Monday evening rode to Ascott to visit a company of Christians who had formerly been noted for piety and engagedness, but were now the subjects of delusion. Abundantly had they been blessed of God; but instead of learning humility, they appeared to build themselves up in the spirit of self-righteousness. One whom they styled Apostle and Prophet was to them the highest authority, equal to anything in the Holy Scripture.Hehad revelations concerning all the business to be done by his followers; also his pretended illumination extended to marriages and to the intercourse of the sexes, and when hisipse dixitwas given on these points, immorality was unblushingly practised. Pretending to have personal interviews with angels he had six followers, who, at his command, would fall upon their knees, lie prostrate upon the floor, or walk in a pretended labor for souls. Sometimes he kept them walking for several days and nights without eating or sleeping, when they would frequently faint and fall upon the floor. They often screamed, howled, and barked, making various strange noises, and bending themselves up into many shapes. They most tenaciously held that they were the only true church on earth, and that no person out of their pale was capable of giving them the least instruction. Like all the fanatics I ever saw, they evinced great hatred and spite when opposed, and sometimes they were full of the spirit of mocking. As I had known them when they were respectable young people, and had enjoyed with them the best of Christian fellowship, I could but deeply mourn over the delusion in which they were lost. After spending eighteen hours with them, I bore the most decided testimony I could against their sentiments and procedure. How many are carried away by every wind of doctrine, and allow thepure religion of Jesus, with which they begin, to degenerate into an alloy of earth and passion! Ever may I be kept in the Mediator, where I shall be permanent and uncontrolled by the wild extremes of the age. The week following I spent at Compton, holding meetings in different parts of the town. On Sunday, the 29th, the assembly was large, and we had a weeping time, as I bade them farewell in the name of Him in whom is our hope and love; and on Monday visited from house to house. Being ready to depart on the morrow, and thinking that it was the last time I should repose under my father's roof, my thoughts and feelings were deeply solemn, as I looked out upon the world-wide field of my future labors. My very heart was pained, and the night passed away in almost entire sleeplessness. Here closes the month, and in feelings of the greatest solemnity.
(Oct. 1816. Letter to his father. Montpelier, Vt., Oct. 12, 1816.) "Dear Father,—With pleasure I improve a few moments in writing to you, that you may be informed of my good health, and my agreeable visit at Stanstead, Wheelock and Danville. I preached the next Sunday after I left home, at Danville Court House, and in the evening at Major Morrill's. On Monday I came to this town, and held a meeting at the Hall of Esquire Snow; in this place and Calace I have held meetings all through the week. Last Thursday I attended the election. After the Governor was chosen, the ministers of all denominations were invited to his apartment, where all the choicest kinds of drinks were placed before them, and a rich dinner was prepared. Gov. J. Galusha was chosen by a very great majority. He is an agreeable man, and apparently a real Christian. His conduct through the day excited the admiration of the spectators, and it manifested, I think, the spirit of true patriotism and of sound Christianity.I have an appointment here to-morrow and expect that some will be baptized. We intend to start for N. H. on Monday. I am in great haste. Give my love to Mother, Thomas, Hannah and all my friends. God bless you all with life eternal. Farewell.
"Joseph Badger."
"Maj. Peaslee Badger."
Resuming his journal we find the following on this month. After meeting a large assembly at Danville, on Sunday, 13th, and administering baptism as intimated in his letter, he returned to his home at Farmington, N. H., the 16th, where he resumed his ministerial labor. He speaks of his appointments in different places as being to his own spirit refreshing; and of the sickness of his wife, and of outward trials and burdens as being great. His fine and sensitive nature, with all its composure and heroism, was alive to the influence of surrounding circumstances. Great and trying must have been the difficulties into which his position in the world at times must have brought him. These, however, only proved the strength and competency of the man. He never bowed his manly head in despair. He says, "Amidst all my conflict, in my retired moments I find consolation in trusting in God and in hoping for better days; and before the year shall end, O God, may I be allowed to see great displays of thy power." His clouds were always colored in part with the sun's rays. In a letter to his wife, dated Gilmanton, Oct. 31, he states the cause which commanded all the faculties of his mind:—
"As I am so far on my journey I think it best to continue it. Our parting at this time is no less disagreeable to me than to yourself. If I were to return home, the cross and the self-denial of our separation would not be diminished. We must learn to forsake all for our dear Redeemer's cause. It is not, dear Mary, to please myself or others that I leave you. It is wholly for the benefit of mankind, and for the promotion of the cause of Christ. In a few weeks, if the Lord will, I shall return to your fond embraces. Be composed and reconciled to my absence, and never utter a murmuring sigh at the will of Heaven."
"As I am so far on my journey I think it best to continue it. Our parting at this time is no less disagreeable to me than to yourself. If I were to return home, the cross and the self-denial of our separation would not be diminished. We must learn to forsake all for our dear Redeemer's cause. It is not, dear Mary, to please myself or others that I leave you. It is wholly for the benefit of mankind, and for the promotion of the cause of Christ. In a few weeks, if the Lord will, I shall return to your fond embraces. Be composed and reconciled to my absence, and never utter a murmuring sigh at the will of Heaven."
The journey he was about to take through the States of New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York, led to the selection of the fruitful and pleasant region of the county of Munroe,[26]in the latter State, as his permanent home, a region of country which in conversation he frequently styled "the heart of the world."
November, 1816, leaving Gilmanton on the 2d, and passing through the towns, Salisbury, New Andover, Springfield, Newport, Clairmont, N. H.; through Weathersfield, Cavendish, Ludlow, Middleton, Poultney and Clarendon, Vt.; also passing through Granville, Hartford, Kingsbury, Saratoga, Milton, N. Y., he arrived on the 5th at Galway, where he met a kind reception from many who, like himself, stood on the common faith of one God the Father, one Christ the Mediator, one creed and platform of faith and church polity, the Holy Scriptures of both Testaments, and one common freedom of interpretation and right ofprivate judgment. Here he addressed the people on the evening of the 5th, and rode to Ballston on the 6th, in which place and in adjoining towns, a great reformation had occurred under the public improvement of a very worthy female speaker, by the name of Nancy Gove. He gave to this community one discourse the evening of his arrival. On the 7th he was greatly delighted to meet his old friend and father in Israel, A. Moulton, from the Province, with whom, in his early years, he says, "I had taken sweet counsel in a strange land." Now he again heard his voice in the public assembly, on the same themes as when, in his youthful days, he spoke with so much feeling to his sensitive heart. In Amsterdam, a town of some prominence, in old Montgomery County, he preached to the people on the 9th and 10th, and carried the resurrection light of Christian consolation into the dwelling of Mr. Green, whose guest he was, and whose companion in life was wasting away with consumption. He had a fine faculty to light up a house of sorrow and mourning with hope and cheerfulness. At Milton, Ballston Springs, Charleston, and Canajoharie, he gave sermons; on what topics his private journal does not record, but to those who know his sagacious skill in adapting his subjects and discussions to the assemblies he met, no evidence will be needed to convince them that for the occasion and place they were happily chosen.
Parting with Mr. Thompson and family on the 18th, and passing through several townships, as Minden, Warren, Litchfield and Paris, he arrived at Clinton, Madison County, N. Y., where he spoke on the eveningof the 19th. Continuing his journey through several towns he arrived on the 21st at Brutus, Onondaga County, N. Y., and addressed the inhabitants in the evening of that and of the following day. He speaks of having there met Rev. Elijah Shaw, a man whose labors were then and afterwards greatly successful in leading the people into the inward experience of the vital principles of the Christian religion. Parting with these friends, in company with Mr. Moulton, he visited what was then the village of Auburn, and crossing the lake on a bridge, which he describes as a mile and a quarter in length, came into Junius, and reposed at night in the "handsome village," as he terms it, of Phelps; on the 26th he rode to Farmington, and there saw what in those days were considered the "famous Sulphur Springs," which he describes as a stream running rapidly out of the side of a small hill, in temperature about milk-warm, in smell and medical quality of the nature of sulphur; the waters were clear, and over the current a light cloud of vapor continually arose. I find that Mr. Badger, whenever his eye is arrested by a scene in nature, is sure to group together, in few words, all the essential qualities, and nothing redundant or expletive ever appears in his descriptions, which is nearly always the reverse with persons of unsubjected imaginations. He saw nature quietly and truthfully. The journal of this month closes with the account of several meetings held in Pittsford, since named Henrietta,[27]which was the centre of his early labors in this region of country.
The month of December was assiduously employed in and about the region last mentioned. On the 1st, which was Sunday, he addressed a large assembly for the space of two hours, and at evening, in another part of the town, he spoke an hour and thirty-five minutes to a full house, a considerable number of whom were members of the Presbyterian society. From these meetings several of the people were accustomed to follow him to his lodgings and spend hours in conversation. His personal influence had a power to charm the people; and the statements of scores who still survive him, agree that Mr. Badger's influence as a speaker in those early years was, in this region of country, without a parallel. Communities were carried away by it. Opposition to his doctrine availed little in arresting the popular tide that moved at the lead of his will and word. "In those years," said an aged professional man, to the writer of this biography, "I regarded Mr. Badger as the most popular preacher I ever knew, and I still think," continued he, "that all in all, I never heard a man of so great natural gifts." At Westown, or Henrietta, he ordained deacons in his society, to take a temporal oversight of its affairs, and filling up nearly all the days with social visits and public meetings, the month was one continued earnest effort at bringing souls under the influence of Jesus and of Christianity. A theological conversation between himself and Rev. Thomas Gorton, who lived on the Genesee river, which occurred the 17th, and one with Rev. Mr. Bliss, may perhaps interest the reader. I offer his own words:—
"We conversed for the space of five hours on different subjects. He was indeed very firm, and all who did not think as he did came generally under the name of heretics. At the close he offered against me four objections, which were thus stated: 1st. You believe that the sinner in the reception of salvation is an active creature. 2d. You believe in the possibility of falling from a state of justification. 3d. You cannot reconcile all the Scripture to either of the three systems of punishment for the wicked, neither eternal misery, destruction, nor restoration. 4th. You baptize all who give evidence of their becoming new creatures, provided they are received as such by a church with whom you have fellowship, without any particular regard to their belief or doctrinal principles. Thus ended our conversation. The next day, I understood that this gentleman, in speaking of the communion, (he was of the Baptist faith,) said that it was 'absurd to think of feeding swine and sheep together,' which caused me to mourn that he or that any should have so little charity for other denominations. I preached in his neighborhood the same evening, [he was prevented from attending by a bad cold] and was introduced to Mr. Rich, another clergyman of the Baptist denomination. Asking him to participate in the meeting, I proceeded to speak from 1 Cor. 13: 13:—'And now abideth faith, hope, and charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.' The clergyman witnessed to the truth of my sermon. The 18th I spoke at Avon, the 19th went to Pittsford to administer baptism, the 20th enjoyed a good time in the south part of the town, the 21st had a very cold, disagreeable time at the village, the 22d enjoyed a happy fellowship meeting, the 23d had an excellent communion season in Pittsfield. At Briton, Mr. Chapin, a missionary, after I had spoken, read a sermon nineteen minutes in length, in which he allegedthat in Christ there are two distinct natures united, the human and the divine; that the divinity never suffered, that humanity alone was the world's saving sacrifice. No wonder that he should teach a partial and a legal salvation. The 29th I attended the funeral of an excellent young man, by the name of Dorous Burr, which had on the minds of many a solemn effect. For the first time, I met, on the 31st, Rev. Mr. Bliss, of Avon. I think he was naturally a gentleman, though on this occasion, prejudice against a people with whom he was not acquainted had an overwhelming influence on his manners. Many questions he asked in regard to total depravity, a Triune God, the eternal Godhead of Christ, and many others of the kind which are unnamed in all the Holy Scriptures. Not caring to detail a lengthy conversation, I would say that near its close he observed to me, that my system was composed of Universalism and Deism; to this I replied, that the old contradictory doctrine of fate, originally introduced by the Stoics, and afterwards cruelly applied and industriously propagated by John Calvin and his followers, was the very root and foundation of both these doctrines, and that if I was to take his statement for truth, all the difference to be found between us was this,—that Calvinism is the body of the tree, Universalism the branches, and Deism the ripe fruit, and that whilst he was the body, I was the branches and fruit; and being so nearly related, we should hesitate thoughtfully before we consented to quarrel, reminding him that in the forest body and branches never contend. After some show of clerical importance and authority, enough to remind one that if the world was ruled by narrow-minded ecclesiastics, blood might yet be shed for opinion's sake, our interview closed. On the evening of the same day, I had a good meeting at Mr. Gould's, in which eight or ten feelingly spoke of the loveof Christ, some of whom had never spoken in public before. Here the month and the year close. I thank God for what I have seen, and for what my soul has felt in this month; and though it has been my lot this year to pass through sickness and trials of many kinds, I thank Him that at its close I feel a degree of salvation within, and I can say with Israel's king, 'Before I was afflicted I went astray.' Through all his agencies may God aid me to live more to his glory the coming year than ever I have done. Thus end the reflections and incidents of 1816."
"We conversed for the space of five hours on different subjects. He was indeed very firm, and all who did not think as he did came generally under the name of heretics. At the close he offered against me four objections, which were thus stated: 1st. You believe that the sinner in the reception of salvation is an active creature. 2d. You believe in the possibility of falling from a state of justification. 3d. You cannot reconcile all the Scripture to either of the three systems of punishment for the wicked, neither eternal misery, destruction, nor restoration. 4th. You baptize all who give evidence of their becoming new creatures, provided they are received as such by a church with whom you have fellowship, without any particular regard to their belief or doctrinal principles. Thus ended our conversation. The next day, I understood that this gentleman, in speaking of the communion, (he was of the Baptist faith,) said that it was 'absurd to think of feeding swine and sheep together,' which caused me to mourn that he or that any should have so little charity for other denominations. I preached in his neighborhood the same evening, [he was prevented from attending by a bad cold] and was introduced to Mr. Rich, another clergyman of the Baptist denomination. Asking him to participate in the meeting, I proceeded to speak from 1 Cor. 13: 13:—'And now abideth faith, hope, and charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.' The clergyman witnessed to the truth of my sermon. The 18th I spoke at Avon, the 19th went to Pittsford to administer baptism, the 20th enjoyed a good time in the south part of the town, the 21st had a very cold, disagreeable time at the village, the 22d enjoyed a happy fellowship meeting, the 23d had an excellent communion season in Pittsfield. At Briton, Mr. Chapin, a missionary, after I had spoken, read a sermon nineteen minutes in length, in which he allegedthat in Christ there are two distinct natures united, the human and the divine; that the divinity never suffered, that humanity alone was the world's saving sacrifice. No wonder that he should teach a partial and a legal salvation. The 29th I attended the funeral of an excellent young man, by the name of Dorous Burr, which had on the minds of many a solemn effect. For the first time, I met, on the 31st, Rev. Mr. Bliss, of Avon. I think he was naturally a gentleman, though on this occasion, prejudice against a people with whom he was not acquainted had an overwhelming influence on his manners. Many questions he asked in regard to total depravity, a Triune God, the eternal Godhead of Christ, and many others of the kind which are unnamed in all the Holy Scriptures. Not caring to detail a lengthy conversation, I would say that near its close he observed to me, that my system was composed of Universalism and Deism; to this I replied, that the old contradictory doctrine of fate, originally introduced by the Stoics, and afterwards cruelly applied and industriously propagated by John Calvin and his followers, was the very root and foundation of both these doctrines, and that if I was to take his statement for truth, all the difference to be found between us was this,—that Calvinism is the body of the tree, Universalism the branches, and Deism the ripe fruit, and that whilst he was the body, I was the branches and fruit; and being so nearly related, we should hesitate thoughtfully before we consented to quarrel, reminding him that in the forest body and branches never contend. After some show of clerical importance and authority, enough to remind one that if the world was ruled by narrow-minded ecclesiastics, blood might yet be shed for opinion's sake, our interview closed. On the evening of the same day, I had a good meeting at Mr. Gould's, in which eight or ten feelingly spoke of the loveof Christ, some of whom had never spoken in public before. Here the month and the year close. I thank God for what I have seen, and for what my soul has felt in this month; and though it has been my lot this year to pass through sickness and trials of many kinds, I thank Him that at its close I feel a degree of salvation within, and I can say with Israel's king, 'Before I was afflicted I went astray.' Through all his agencies may God aid me to live more to his glory the coming year than ever I have done. Thus end the reflections and incidents of 1816."
The opening of the New Year, 1817, as is customary on such occasions, was attended with festivities and social amusements among the young people. And the following incident will readily illustrate the peculiar power which Mr. Badger could wield over the young, as likewise the efficiency of the Gospel as preached by him. On the first day of January he spoke to a large assembly in Pittsford, from the following very significant passage in Ezekiel 36: 26. "A new heart also will I give you." The young people, many of them, called it the best New Year's they had ever enjoyed, and many whose conversions dated in 1816 werequickened and refreshed by the words of the new minister. Great preparations were being made for a ball in the town of Pittsford on the 9th; but it so happened that one of the principal managers and another influential young man were so divinely struck with the sentiments of the sermon given on New Year's Day, that all trifling, gay, or mirthful thoughts were rendered alien to their minds. Within four days they also had to speak of a sweet and rapturous bliss they had found in their newly awakened love to Christ. Instead of attending the mirth of the 9th, they sent the following letter to their companions:
"Pittsford, January 8, 1817."Dear Young Friends,—We were members of your intended party, and anticipated, we presume, as much pleasure as you will enjoy in our New Year's Ball; but to the joy of our hearts, within a few days God has done great things for our souls, whereof we are glad, and instead of attending the ball, we are prompted by our feelings to spend the same afternoon in solemn prayer for the welfare of our fellow youth; and whilst you are engaged in vain mirth, will you remember that we, your companions, are on our knees praying to God, the Friend of us all, for your eternal welfare? We are, with the tenderest regards and love, your friends,"J. Wade,"Nath. Swift."
"Pittsford, January 8, 1817.
"Dear Young Friends,—We were members of your intended party, and anticipated, we presume, as much pleasure as you will enjoy in our New Year's Ball; but to the joy of our hearts, within a few days God has done great things for our souls, whereof we are glad, and instead of attending the ball, we are prompted by our feelings to spend the same afternoon in solemn prayer for the welfare of our fellow youth; and whilst you are engaged in vain mirth, will you remember that we, your companions, are on our knees praying to God, the Friend of us all, for your eternal welfare? We are, with the tenderest regards and love, your friends,
"J. Wade,"Nath. Swift."
The letter, it is said, was kindly received, and had a beneficial effect. Mr. B. thanks God for the happy opening of the year, and prays that it may be crownedwith thousands of new-born souls. On the third, at Pittsford, Mr. Chapin, the missionary already spoken of, introduced a disputation on total depravity, which was very soon closed, as Mr. Badger demanded that he should either state his proposition in Scripture language, or definitely explain what he meant against human nature and the human race by the words he employed, alleging that neither the words nor the idea probably intended were contained in the Oracles of God. Thinking that Mr. B. was too severe in his demands, he desisted, with the accusation that he was unfair as a reasoner. It is but repetition to say that all these days were made golden by action, calm but incessant labor. Days and evenings his musical voice resounded on the holy themes of faith, reformation, charity, and peace on earth; many a time, as the still heavens sent down their nocturnal light and shed their holy influence all around, he returned from his precious victories over the hearts of his fellow immortals, pervaded by a love that accords with the silent glow of all that was above and about him. At his communion seasons he caused the sectary to mourn the rigidity of his creed, which did not allow him to come forward, to follow his heart, because of some dry, unvital difference in theological belief. He visits the sick, speaks occasionally in the private mansion of some friend, sometimes in the school-house, in the grove and open air, making the freest use of time and place, regarding them only as servants to his mission. At Avon, Mendon, Pittsford, Pennfield, and Lima, he continued his labors, at times administering baptism in the waters of the Genesee and its tributaries, on which occasions, as on every other where the attractions of an easy personaladdress give grace and impression to the scene, he was uncommonly gifted and happy. Some who had opposed him strongly, were so impressed by the solemnity of one baptismal scene, and by the remarks he there offered, as to retract, at the water's side, the hard words and speeches they had made. "I felt to forgive them," says Mr. B., "for all their unreasonable censures. At Avon I had excellent meetings the 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th; the 12th, had an excellent time at Pennfield; the 13th, returned to Pittsford," and omitting to notice the several appointments that fill up the days and evenings of the month, I would only transcribe from his pages, that "the last week of the month was spent at Lima, the 19th administered baptism, the 27th attended to the holy communion, whilst the glory of God cheeringly shone in our midst, and to the end of this month our meetings were full of interest and of feeling."
Feb. 1817. A temperance sermon to a large assembly was given on the 2d; on such occasions Mr. Badger was exceedingly persuasive and appropriate. He was almost sure to get the sympathy and hearty interest of the most fallen man in the community, could easily gain fromsucha hearing, and at the same time edify and entertain the most elevated men. In later years, in the spring of 1842, he gave a temperance sermon in a village of central New York, where much liquor had been sold, that secured more than a hundred signers to the pledge, and that, with the additional aid of a personal interview with those who sold, actually banished the sale from every store and shop in town. He found a favorite text for such an occasion in 1 Cor.9: 25, where St. Paul, in contrasting the Christian with the Olympian races, and in speaking of the importance of temperance for the success of each, assigns the higher motive of the Christian temperance thus: "Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible." He drew his temperance argument from the highest motive.
With date of Feb. 3d, I find a remarkable letter, addressed to Deacon M. Sperry, of the Presbyterian Church, relating chiefly to the very important subject of Christian Union, which is becoming so popular a theme with the thinking and liberal part of the Christian world. In the extracts that follow, the reader will see what thoughts were common to Mr. Badger as early as 1817, and indeed earlier, for they appeared in his mind prior to his entrance upon the ministry in the autumn of 1812.
"Pittsford, February 3, 1817."Dear Brother,—I am happy in inclosing a few lines to you, which I hope will be received as the fruit of Christian friendship. We have had some opportunity of acquaintance for a few months past, which, on my part, has been agreeable, with yourself, your family, and the church with which you stand connected. It is my motive to promulgate peace and extend happiness in society, and, so far as possible, extend a real union among all the dear disciples of Christ; and as we have become citizens of the same town, let us labor for peace; as we profess to be 'fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God,' let us be one as the Father and the Son are one, and let love for one another be to all men the proof that we are his disciples."In my travels I can say with propriety that I have experienced much sorrow from the 'divisions' that exist among Christians, the party censures that are cast one upon another, and the imprudent conduct that obtains among public and private members of different churches. Such things harm 'the oil and the wine;' by them candid friends are caused to stumble in their way, and the hands of the wicked are strengthened. I have concluded, Sir, that a great amount of the divisions that now exist arose very much from tradition and the different ways in which men have been educated, though we must confess that the instructors or preachers are the principal cause of the divided state of the Church. The censures to which I allude flow often from ignorance, from self-righteousness, from a lack of the 'fear of God before their eyes;' and we may say that true brotherly love will remedy all the imprudent conduct by which brethren of the Christian profession annoy and perplex each other. These divisions do not arise so much from different parts of the doctrine of Christ as many imagine; but from the doctrines and commandments of men, which St. Paul, 2 Tim. 2: 23, speaks of as 'foolish and unlearned questions that do gender strifes;' questions which confuse the minds of thousands, which separate chief friends, and in which often the mind is lost in its deliberations as it turns upon subjects we cannot comprehend or understand; sometimes on things of futurity which do not immediately concern us. Thus we get lost, and the foundation is laid for Deism; and there appears the worst of fruit. It is a matter of joy to me that divisions among Christians are to end at last, 'and there shall be one fold and one Shepherd.' I do not make these observations to cast reflections on any religious people, but because these things have and do greatly occupy my mind."It may not be amiss for me to offer a few remarks on our present circumstances, although it is with great delicacy and tenderness that I would mention things of this nature. Our condition, and the condition of the people in this vicinity at the present time, is very critical. I can truly say that the thought of a division among the faithful ones grieves my heart. I am unwilling that the living child should be divided. I have it in contemplation to lay before you a few propositions for your consideration, as we both have the responsible care of others, and as it is now becoming necessary that I should attend to some regulations that belong to the form of a church. I think it proper to make my feelings known to you, and I seek to know the liberty wherein you stand more perfectly, before I proceed to the organization of a church in this vicinity. I thus proceed to offer my propositions in the hope that they will meet your approbation:"1. I propose that you and I labor to have all the disciples in this vicinity become united in one church."2. I propose that we appoint a time for all who profess Christ to meet and confer on this subject."3. We will agree not to adopt any measures, rules, or doctrines, but what are clearly exhibited in the Scriptures."4. We will not call ourselves by any name but such as the New Testament gives."5. If there are points in the Scripture on which we cannot all see alike, we will not resolve ourselves into disagreement upon them, but each shall offer his light in friendship on the subject, which is the only way fortruthto shine in its various lustre. If we form a society in this manner we shall be in a situation to receive all preachers who may find it in their way to call on us, and to receive the truth, in the love of it, from every quarter.The truth will make us free. The above are a few of many things I shall wish to converse upon when a suitable opportunity presents. With love and respect, I am your servant for Jesus' sake,J. Badger."
"Pittsford, February 3, 1817.
"Dear Brother,—I am happy in inclosing a few lines to you, which I hope will be received as the fruit of Christian friendship. We have had some opportunity of acquaintance for a few months past, which, on my part, has been agreeable, with yourself, your family, and the church with which you stand connected. It is my motive to promulgate peace and extend happiness in society, and, so far as possible, extend a real union among all the dear disciples of Christ; and as we have become citizens of the same town, let us labor for peace; as we profess to be 'fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God,' let us be one as the Father and the Son are one, and let love for one another be to all men the proof that we are his disciples.
"In my travels I can say with propriety that I have experienced much sorrow from the 'divisions' that exist among Christians, the party censures that are cast one upon another, and the imprudent conduct that obtains among public and private members of different churches. Such things harm 'the oil and the wine;' by them candid friends are caused to stumble in their way, and the hands of the wicked are strengthened. I have concluded, Sir, that a great amount of the divisions that now exist arose very much from tradition and the different ways in which men have been educated, though we must confess that the instructors or preachers are the principal cause of the divided state of the Church. The censures to which I allude flow often from ignorance, from self-righteousness, from a lack of the 'fear of God before their eyes;' and we may say that true brotherly love will remedy all the imprudent conduct by which brethren of the Christian profession annoy and perplex each other. These divisions do not arise so much from different parts of the doctrine of Christ as many imagine; but from the doctrines and commandments of men, which St. Paul, 2 Tim. 2: 23, speaks of as 'foolish and unlearned questions that do gender strifes;' questions which confuse the minds of thousands, which separate chief friends, and in which often the mind is lost in its deliberations as it turns upon subjects we cannot comprehend or understand; sometimes on things of futurity which do not immediately concern us. Thus we get lost, and the foundation is laid for Deism; and there appears the worst of fruit. It is a matter of joy to me that divisions among Christians are to end at last, 'and there shall be one fold and one Shepherd.' I do not make these observations to cast reflections on any religious people, but because these things have and do greatly occupy my mind.
"It may not be amiss for me to offer a few remarks on our present circumstances, although it is with great delicacy and tenderness that I would mention things of this nature. Our condition, and the condition of the people in this vicinity at the present time, is very critical. I can truly say that the thought of a division among the faithful ones grieves my heart. I am unwilling that the living child should be divided. I have it in contemplation to lay before you a few propositions for your consideration, as we both have the responsible care of others, and as it is now becoming necessary that I should attend to some regulations that belong to the form of a church. I think it proper to make my feelings known to you, and I seek to know the liberty wherein you stand more perfectly, before I proceed to the organization of a church in this vicinity. I thus proceed to offer my propositions in the hope that they will meet your approbation:
"1. I propose that you and I labor to have all the disciples in this vicinity become united in one church.
"2. I propose that we appoint a time for all who profess Christ to meet and confer on this subject.
"3. We will agree not to adopt any measures, rules, or doctrines, but what are clearly exhibited in the Scriptures.
"4. We will not call ourselves by any name but such as the New Testament gives.
"5. If there are points in the Scripture on which we cannot all see alike, we will not resolve ourselves into disagreement upon them, but each shall offer his light in friendship on the subject, which is the only way fortruthto shine in its various lustre. If we form a society in this manner we shall be in a situation to receive all preachers who may find it in their way to call on us, and to receive the truth, in the love of it, from every quarter.The truth will make us free. The above are a few of many things I shall wish to converse upon when a suitable opportunity presents. With love and respect, I am your servant for Jesus' sake,
J. Badger."
This strikes us as a noble effort at organizing into the unity of the pure religion of love and experience, the existing theological divergences of the town; and though the idea was greatly in advance of the religious culture of the persons he sought to reach, it proves the religious elevation of Mr. Badger, and his extreme unwillingness to multiply unnecessarily the number of religious organizations. That mere doctrine, or theological opinion, is not the true basis of the church; that the life of God in the soul should be a bond sufficiently strong to inclose harmoniously the honest intellectual differences of the disciples of Christ, is a truth yet destined to appear in power, in the embrace of which, a church, more truly and influentially catholic than any which has, since the days of the Apostles, figured in the ecclesiastical history of the world, will probably exhibit itself to mankind. But it strikes us as a rich phenomenon, that an idea so great in itself and in its probable results should have lived so steadily in the mind of a minister, at a time when the severe doctrines of Calvin were so widely received, and that it should find in his discourse an expression so calm and various. Many smaller men, in the possession of so great a thought would have made much ado and noise about it, but with him it easily held its place along with other important principles of religious reformation.
It would seem that Mr. Badger did not so succeedin melting down the opinional partitions as to unite the whole religious community into one body, for in the following language he speaks of acknowledging a new society in the town, formed no doubt of the material created by his own recent and successful labors:—
"On the 18th we met for the establishment of a church. The persons present felt a free and a happy union. They were strong in faith. Twenty-five of us took each other by the hand in token of brotherhood and of our sacred union. We acknowledged ourselves as a church of God. Some little opposition appeared, but at the close harmony prevailed. Weapons formed against Zion are never destined to prosper."
"On the 18th we met for the establishment of a church. The persons present felt a free and a happy union. They were strong in faith. Twenty-five of us took each other by the hand in token of brotherhood and of our sacred union. We acknowledged ourselves as a church of God. Some little opposition appeared, but at the close harmony prevailed. Weapons formed against Zion are never destined to prosper."
As early as the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th of this month, we read of his visiting and preaching in the towns of Bristol and West Bloomfield; neither of the congregations he there met having ever before heard a minister preach who professedly hailed from no other creed than the Bible—from no other distinguishing name than that of Christian, and from no other test of sacred fellowship than Christian character. There was a commanding newness, an inspiring originality and freshness in the position he occupied, that, aside from the peculiar abilities of the man, awakened the thoughtful attention of the people. I would here remark, that the denomination—for indeed all great religious movements, however catholic in aim and spirit, do almost necessarily centralize themselves at last into denominational form—with which Mr. Badger stood connected, was the one known in the ecclesiastical history of thelast half century as the Christian denomination; a name taken not from partisan pride, but from reverence to the New Testament Scriptures, which they declared were ignorant of the sectarian creeds and names of the Christian world, and which records a period in the Primitive Church when the disciples were called Christians, a usage which had its commencement under the apostolical ministry of Paul and Barnabas, in the city of Antioch, Acts 11: 26. It was taken in charity, not in exclusiveness, inasmuch as their dearest premises conceded to all who feared God and wrought righteousness, in every sect and nation, not only the name, but what is far better, the character of a Christian. I will here only say that though they allow a wide diversity of opinion, there has ever been a general unity of faith and usage among them, and that in the main, their leading views are sketched in the early opinions of Mr. Badger; opinions formed from reason, religious experience, and Scripture revelation, before he had known of such a people. With the first years of the present century this denomination came into being; and without any one central man to act as their founder or guide, they arose in different parts of the Union simultaneously, and though unknown to each other at first, they soon were drawn into union and concert, by the magnetism of common strivings and of common truths.
At Bristol he speaks well of the courteous treatment of the Rev. Mr. Chapman, the minister of the town, whom he describes as a man of learning; of the full attendance of the people at his appointments, the last of which was principally devoted to the examination of the commonly received doctrine of election, and tothose practical persuasions that grew out of his views of the individual freedom and responsibility of men.