LABORS AND SETTLEMENT IN WESTERN NEW YORK.
1817-18.
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 were
quickened 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."
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 crowned with 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 personal address 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 from _such_ a 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 for
_truth_ to 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 succeed in 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."
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 the last
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 to those practical persuasions that
grew out of his views of the individual freedom and responsibility of
men.
"At West Bloomfield, on the 7th," says Mr. B., "I spoke in
the evening, at the house of Mr. French, to an audience who
had never before heard one of my name and sentiments
preach. Mr. Hudson, a school instructor, who, as I
understood, was about to enter upon the study of divinity,
came to me, desirous to converse, he said, on principles,
and accordingly began with a few old questions, which I
judge he had already learned from some clergyman, as I have
often met them in my conversations with that class. He
began in foreordination, and proceeded to the human
sacrifice of Christ, as he contended that what was divine
in Him did not in any respect suffer for men. The assembly
that came together that evening contained several who were
much prejudiced, but at the close many of them came forward
and manifested great satisfaction. On the 8th I returned to
Pittsford, spent there the 9th, 10th, and 11th; preached at
Avon on the 12th, at Lima the 13th, at Norton's Mills the
14th; the 15th returned to Pittsford; the 18th organized
the church, about which time the adversaries of the
reformation took a public stand against us, spread many
reports concerning the opinions and sentiments of Elias
Smith, of Boston, which did us but little harm, as some of
us knew as much as they about his sentiments, and as none
of us felt ourselves accountable for what an individual in
Boston might say or do. The 26th ordained deacons in the
church, and in the evening heard Mr. Moulton, who had just
returned from Ohio; the 27th, after listening to the
faithful voice of Mr. Moulton, we repaired to the pure and
quiet water, where I baptized seven happy converts, and on
the 28th enjoyed one of the best of church meetings."
In this little nucleus his faithful watch-care centered, whilst in
adjoining towns he labored like a missionary of apostolical zeal and
self-sacrifice.
Parting with Mr. Moulton, March 3d, who pursued his way to Canada across
the lakes, Mr. Badger started for the west; paused at Murray, now
Clarendon, Orleans County, N. Y., on the 4th, to hold an evening
meeting; on the 5th, rode to Hartland, Niagara County, where he
addressed the people in the evening; on the 6th, starting at four
o'clock in the morning, and over sleighing almost wholly gone, he
advanced through drenching rain another thirty-seven miles to reach his
appointment at 3 P. M., which he did without eating or drinking for the
day till his end was accomplished. He said: "I was much fatigued, but
this was a good day to my soul. I often find it beneficial to fast and
to pray. In the afternoon the Lord's holy presence was consciously upon
us. About twelve here united as a church, and in the evening we ordained
W. Young to the office of deacon. As Mrs. Young desired to be baptized,
I found it necessary to hold meeting at sunrise the following morning,
when we met a large company to hear the preaching and to witness the
baptism. I found it good to hold meeting before breakfast. In the
afternoon I rode to Ogden, and in the evening addressed a respectable
congregation, who were mostly Presbyterians." This month, he assisted to
organize a church at Murray, which is still united and prosperous. The
locality of the former church was probably at Lewiston, Niagara County,
New York.
Returning to Pittsford on the 8th, he passed several days in social
conversation and public discourse with the Christians of his community,
who were alive in the joy, light and peace of the kingdom of God. On the
14th he attended the funeral of Mrs. Abigail Stiles, who lacked but one
day of completing twenty-three years of an honored pilgrimage on earth,
and who in her sickness, as the fading world grew small and dim to her
vision, longed in fervent earnestness to be more conformed to the Christ
of her faith and love. For the first time since the organization of his
society, the symbolic bread was broken among them on the 16th, to which
many came forward who never before had honored the crucified One in the
silent language of symbol. He preached at Avon on the 17th, in the
residence of a leading officer in the Methodist Church, Mr. Wm. Brown;
at Lima, the 19th; the 23d, attended the funeral of one of his intimate
friends, Mr. J. Johnson, who had fallen instantly dead in the prime of
life; and omitting the details of other appointments, perhaps it may
reward the reader's glance, to consider the following lines.
"On the 28th I preached again in the town of Gates, where,
on my arrival, I was introduced to a young gentleman, who
appeared to feel that the world held at least one highly
important person in it. In a very consequential manner he
brought forward theological discussion on several subjects,
which might come into the following divisions: 1. That the
sufferings of Christ's humanity atoned for the sins of the
world. 2. That God had foreordained whatsoever comes to
pass. 3. That God is the author of sin. We conversed
somewhat lengthily. But as I was repelled by his manner a
great deal more than I could be attracted by his matter, I
was prompted to end the conversation with a plain
exhortation, in which I urged upon him humility of heart
and the fear of God. We parted; and both from his words and
actions I conclude 'the young man went away sorrowful.'
"At Parma had an agreeable meeting the same evening, and
bidding the family of Mr. Mathers, where I had been a
guest, a kind farewell, went to my appointment at Murray.
At Parma I was much pleased, on arising to preach, to see a
gentleman take his seat the other side of the table, who
commenced writing as soon as I began to speak. In order to
put the blush upon him I offered him the candle near me,
observing that in writing he would need its light, and that
I could easily preach without it. This seemed to frustrate
his writing, in which he did not long proceed, but before
the close of the sermon his head was gently bowed, and the
tears flowed freely from his eyes. At the close he came to
me, and earnestly requested that I would come again. I
found this gentleman to be Judge J., a man of considerable
weight and note in the town. On the 20th I had a joyful
meeting at the Four Corners in breaking bread to the
disciples. The 31st I devoted to the western part of the
town. Thus ends another month, and my soul is happy in
God."
Mr. Badger continues, "The 2d of April, on which day I held
two good meetings at Parma and Gates, I was invited by a
messenger from Mrs. Colby, to attend the funeral of her
son, the next day, who had just departed. I found it duty
to stay. The next morning, accompanied by Mr. Williams, I
repaired to her dwelling and found her to be a woman of
sorrow and acquainted with grief, a person of
respectability and good sense; through all her various
sorrows she had for years lived in the exercise of
religion. Of six children and of two kind husbands she had
been bereaved. The assembly was large, the scene was
solemn. I spoke from Jer. 9: 21: 'For death is come up into
our windows, and is entered into our palaces, to cut off
the children from without and the young men from our
streets.' On the 6th, at Pittsford, which was Sunday, after
administering the communion in the morning, I gave a
farewell sermon, from Acts 20: 32, as I designed to start
on a long tour to the East, to meet my dearest friend, from
whom I had so long been absent. I spent the week in
visiting the places where I had preached; on the 13th, in
the west part of the town, I administered the communion to
a company of disciples, the greater part of whom I had
baptized; and, on the 14th, at my own house, bade adieu to
a company of friends who had come to give me their parting
words of kindness. These indeed were solemn times.
Returning east, very nearly in the same line as I had come,
and holding meetings by the way, I arrived at Farmington,
N. H., the last day of the month, having been absent just
six months to a day. I found my companion in a low state of
health; we mingled our tears together in thanksgiving to
God."
We have in these preceding pages a simple narrative of six months'
preaching, mostly located in the old counties of Ontario and Genesee, in
the State of New York, chiefly the former; and in looking over the
present religious aspects of that fine region of country, it is a
remarkable fact that nearly all the churches that now flourish in these
parts, hailing from the cardinal sentiments already spoken of, are on
the same places and within the circle marked out by these six months'
labors. At that time the county of Ontario extended from its present
southern limit over all the towns between itself and the Genesee river,
including most of the towns named in these last pages of the journal.
In these six months, he, an entire stranger in the land of his labors,
creates the material and organizes it, on which he is willing to rely
for his future support and coöperation, and before leaving the people
whom he had rallied about a common centre, which was religion based on
experience, he decided to return in the summer and to establish his home
in their midst. Accordingly, he made arrangements in the month of May,
whilst in New Hampshire, to return with his family to Pittsford, N. Y.,
which he carried into execution in the months of June and July, not
neglecting, however, his usual industry in preaching whilst in New
England and on his way back to his new home, which he had provided for
himself before going to the east. He turned the country into a campaign
wherever he went, planning out his action into order and system always.
On his return he had appointments at the close of each day, and often in
the afternoon. He speaks of an interesting visit at the famous springs
of Saratoga; also of a brief interview he had with the celebrated
Lorenzo Dow on the morning of the 15th, as follows:
"I never before had seen him, but having his engraved
likeness with me, I knew him at once. His countenance had
an expression that might be called piercing. His eyes were
penetrating, his mind was heavenly in its thoughts and
feelings, and his conversation shone with modesty and
sobriety. His appearance, and a few moments of
conversation, made the most serious impression on my mind.
He seemed like an inhabitant of some other region, or like
a stranger and a pilgrim on the earth. As I reflected on
his numerous sufferings and extensive usefulness, I was
led to mourn my own unlikeness to God. How many bear the
name of ministers of Christ, who do not walk as He walked."
The same day he arrived at Pittsford, thus ending a lengthy journey of
much fatigue, and to Mrs. Badger of some afflictive illness; occupied
his new home, and resumed from that time the same industrious action
which had before been so signally crowned with success. He found his
friends steadfast in affection and faith, turned into falsity the
predictions of his enemies, who had said he would never return, and in
company with a very worthy coadjutor, Mr. John Blodget, a minister of
the same evangelical faith, with whom he had corresponded since 1815,
and who had accompanied him from the east, he was now prepared to supply
the increasing demand made upon his labors.
Never until now had Mr. Badger known by experience what it was for a
minister to be involved by domestic cares, and the numerous solicitudes
that cluster about the external well-being of a newly established home,
which in some degree must divert the mind from study and thought; but
which may really prove its own reward by the development of practical
wisdom, and by rendering the experience of the minister more akin to the
daily life of the great majority of those whom he instructs. He whose
experience allows him the most numerous points of contact with mankind,
can best comprehend them, and, with suitable gifts, he can most easily
reach them by a leading, commanding influence. Mr. Badger was one of
those men whom new circumstances and responsibilities could not
frustrate, but which always found in him a new and a latent adequacy,
that only waited for the outward call; and so much did his peculiar
genius of self-mastery and adaptation have its symbol in the cat, which,
thrown from whatever part of the building, is sure so to control the
evolutions as to strike upon its feet, that throughout his life, which
was bold and adventurous, it was seen that new difficulties were always
more than paralleled by new manifestations of power in him. With a
nature everflowingly social, and beyond most persons adapted to domestic
life, he now aims to travel less into foreign parts, and to collect his
energies for a field of action in which he might regard his home as the
centre. The absence of theological sympathy in the world was nothing to
dampen his zeal or cause him to waver, having himself so much
self-reliance and creative power to modify and change society to his own
views and feelings.
In the month of August he attended some general meetings, as they were
called, in different parts; one as far off as Clinton, N. Y., not less
than a hundred miles. By a general meeting, in those times and since, is
meant a meeting of about two days, at which ministers and people came
from a considerable distance around, general notice and invitation being
given. Very frequently, when the weather and season would permit, the
people repaired to the overshadowing groves, where, in the free and open
air, they sang hymns, offered prayers, and devoutly listened to
successive sermons. Often, with an eloquence as natural as the trees
whose leaved branches shaded the multitudes, has the clear musical voice
of Mr. Badger held thousands in listening silence, enchained as by a
resistless spell, whilst he unfolded some great theme of the Christian
doctrine and life. No man who heard him on such occasions would be apt
ever to forget the topic or the speaker. On the 30th and the 31st of
August, such a meeting was holden at Pittsford, at which time Mr. John
Blodget was by suitable services ordained to the work of an evangelist.
Also, in accordance to the usages of the time, a ministerial conference
succeeded it September 1--an association which acted simply as an
advisory body, and for purposes of mutual discussion and consultation.
Such bodies in after years exercised the right of receiving new members,
who were ordained ministers of the gospel, or licentiates. They also
claimed and exercised the right of preserving their own moral purity, by
examinations of character and by expulsion.[28] In this month he
preached much in his own town, a few times at Mendon, attended funerals
at Pittsford and Avon, and baptized at Mendon a few young men who had in
the freshness of life's morning consecrated themselves to pure religion.
As the brown leaves of October were silently admonishing the world of
human frailty, as nature was pouring out the influences of a calm and
holy peace, Mr. B., untrammelled by creed, and with an Old Book in his
hand, whose leaves had ever held the greatest spiritual lessons for the
human heart, was preaching the salvation of God with a grace and
composure that, in naturalness, would compare with the spirit and scenes
of the creation around him; for emphatically was he a son of Nature,
owned and blessed of her. In this October month, he says:
"I started on the 1st for Hartland, Niagara County, to
attend a general meeting on the 4th, a distance of about
eighty miles from my residence. At Murray, Genesee County,
we had a good meeting. On the evening of the 4th I spoke at
Hartland, and on the 5th the assembly was blessed with the
presence of our God; the conference succeeding it was also
very good. I returned home on the 11th, where I preached
and administered baptism; on the 12th, preached in two
parts of the town, and on the 18th rode through Caledonia
to attend a general meeting at Leroy,[29] which was
attended with signal blessing. At the close, Mr. Hubbard
Thompson was ordained to the Gospel ministry, and a church
of substantial members was there organized. During this
month I preached twice at Mendon, and among the people of
my charge, had many good social meetings. In view of the
fleeting character of this world's pleasures, let us draw
from the well of salvation, let us seek our heart's eternal
peace.
"In the month of November I spent the 1st, 2d, and 3d at
Pittsford, the 4th, 5th, and 6th at Mendon and Lima. At
this time the work of God in no small degree of power
commenced. I baptized on the 8th, Messrs. Thomas Smith,
Allen Crocker, Jeremiah Williams, Nathan Upton; and I now
found it my duty to return to Mendon and to make a stand,
as the minds of the people were inquiring, and their hearts
were moved. I began to travel from house to house, and for
several weeks I held several meetings a day, and in almost
every meeting there were some made free by the Son of God.
Among the incidents of the time, on the 20th it happened
that I met with Mr. Cook, a clergyman of Lima, who
presented me with this text on which to preach, 1 John 3:
16: 'Hereby perceive we the love of _God_, because he laid
down his life for us;'--a text given without doubt to serve
as an embarrassment, inasmuch as the word _God_, which is
supplied by the translators, seems to apply to Him who laid
down his life for us. It was easy to see that, supposing
the pronoun he to refer to the Son of God, who is so often
spoken of in the preceding part of the chapter, the only
inference that follows is, that his death is a display of
God's love, which is the doctrine of the entire New
Testament; or, stripping the passage of the supplied words,
it only teaches that Christ proved his love by laying down
his life for us. I had a fine time in speaking, as the text
was a help and not an embarrassment to my mind. He,
however, made some opposition, and stated that the Eternal
God died on the cross. This was evidently to his own hurt.
"Several of our meetings, held at sunrise, were attended
with good. On the 25th I baptized fifteen who had the
inward evidence that they had passed from death unto life.
This was a day of brightness; and thus, as from the giving
hand of God, the work continued. On the 24th eighteen
united as a church, and December 2d, six others were added
to their number; on the 4th eight were baptized, and thus
in Mendon and Lima the work continues to the joy of the
saints and to the confusion of enemies. A way also opens
into West Bloomfield. At Mendon, for the first time, we had
a blessed communion on the 28th--a communion to which all
who worship God, and who love the way of holiness were
invited, entirely without regard to their different
theories of religion. Many others were also added this
month. In peace the year closes, and I thank the Father of
all goodness for the trials and blessings it has brought.
May the next be illuminated by thy Presence!"
Only observing that since the world begun, _such_ men have always seen
and made others see the fruits of their labors, that the power to make
the frozen soul of the world melt and run in liquid streams, is one that
never leaves its owner friendless or without a sceptre and a helm, I
would proceed to lay before the reader more of his truthful narrative.
From letters received, bearing date 1817, we judge that considerable
success attended the efforts of his fellow laborers abroad; letters from
the Peavys, from Blodget, King, Martin and Shaw; and if space would
permit, we might quote largely from two or three of his own
controversial letters in which he kindly and candidly corrects the
misrepresentations of some opposing clergymen, and with his peculiar
faculty for making others feel the _point_ of his pen when he chose to
do so, he reasons on the principles of his faith. We venture only a
couple of paragraphs from nearly the close:
"That, Sir, which bore with the greatest weight on my mind,
was your manner of introducing this subject before the
people. You say that Mr. Smith, of Boston, is the founder
of the people called Christians, and that I get my doctrine
from his Bible Dictionary. But, Sir, Mr. S. was never the
founder of any doctrine that ever I preached; nor is his
dictionary any more a criterion with me than is that of Mr.
Wood a criterion with you and with your brethren. To me,
Brown's, Barclay's, Butterworth's, Parish's, Smith's, and
Wood's are all alike; there is valuable information, and
there are errors in them all, for which I am wholly
unaccountable. For Mr. Smith's errors I am no more
responsible than you are for Mr. Wood's. I am not his
counsellor. I am accountable, Sir, for no errors but my
own; for these I am willing to answer now and at the
Judgment. Still, I shall notice your quotation of Mr.
Smith's writings, for I esteem them incorrect and unfair.
His writings, some of them, are undoubtedly very erroneous;
so are some of Mr. Wesley's and Mr. Fletcher's; but can
this prove that there is nothing good in them, or that
their writings are all bad? Had I selected some things from
Mr. Wesley's Notes on the New Testament, or some sketches
from the Discipline of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and
told the people that these were the faith of all the
Methodists, I should certainly have been unfair, for many
have discovered greater light and have offered their
dissent from these writings. Yet these men were luminaries
for the day that brought them forth. I would not injure the
kind feelings of my numerous Methodist friends; but what
would Mr. R. say, should I go into a place holding in my
hand Mr. Wesley's sermon on Rom. 8: 21, which proves that
the beasts will go to heaven and share in immortality?--or
his sermon on the Lord's Supper, which proves it right, or
which admits the unconverted to the communion?--then should
I say that Mr. R. believes exactly thus, before I had seen
or heard you, would you not call it unfair? This is the
light in which I view your recent conduct.
"In quoting Mr. Smith, you have taken two whole sentences
and part of another, and have so put them together as to
make but one sentence. I think I can satisfy you that this
is wrong, incorrect and unfair. By the same method I can
prove that Joseph Badger should go and hang himself; yet we
both know that the act would be criminal. You find the
word Joseph in Gen. 45: 28, the word Badger you meet in
Ezekiel 16: 10th verse; Matt. 27: 5, affirms of Judas that
'he went out and hanged himself;' this is Scripture. 'Go
and do thou likewise,' is also Scripture. Now, Sir, were
you to collect these Scriptures by using boldly the
principle of which I complain, you have the following,
viz., 'And he went out and hanged himself'--'Joseph Badger,
go thou and do likewise.' By splitting a sentence of one of
David's Psalms, you have the saying, 'There is no
God,'--but who would dare to charge the king with atheism?
I hope, dear Sir, that the plain remarks I have made will
teach you the impropriety of your course, that you will be
constrained to make some handsome retraction, and that you
will never again descend from your high and honorable
station to awaken the prejudices of the ignorant against
those whom God delights to honor and to bless."
In the present day of both genuine and of boasted liberality, we are apt
to think of the old pioneers as more narrow than ourselves. We may be
unjust in this. Mr. Badger and his coadjutors stood on very broad
grounds, their liberality being the liberality of vital religion, not
the liberality of mere intellectual speculation and of doubt. They
_feared_ being a sect. The following lines from Rev. Elijah Shaw, dated
Camillus, December 17, 1817, are an index of the unsectarian freedom of
many minds:
"I will do the same about a Conference that I said I would
do in my recent letter. I am, and have been for many
months, about dead to all denominations on earth. There is
so much done to build up and keep up denominations that I
am sick of it. Many have spoken against 'our religion;' but
are not 'Christian brethren,' 'Christian preachers,' &c.,
as much 'our religion' as anything else? Those who want
such sectarianism may have it. I hate it and leave it
forever."
Perhaps, indeed, it may be said, that the nearer we get to the origin of
denominations, the more catholic we shall often find them. Methodism at
first was not a creed, but rather a large revival of religion in the
world, which asked no man, whether minister or layman, a solitary
question concerning his _belief_. Age may tend to contract sects, as
coal contracts iron and water. The denominational paths of the world are
apt to open somewhat largely; nor in their ending would we say that they
exactly fulfil the descriptions of a tourist, concerning our western
roads, which, he said, opened widely and promisingly under the umbrage
of magnificent trees, but gradually grew narrower and narrower in the
pursuit, till they at last terminated in a squirrel track, and run up a
tree.
Opening the pages of 1818, we find Mr. B. breasting the wintry storms
and treading the snows of January, preaching to his flock at Pittsford,
administering the communion at Leroy, holding forth at Lima and at
Mendon, and attending to the funeral obsequies of departed friends. He
speaks of the funeral he attended on the 19th, of the wife of Capt.
Dewey, at Mendon, as to him a solemn and a joyful day. In the Christian
Herald, January 24, he said:
"It is now glorious times in different parts of this
country. In Mendon, Lima, Groveland, Bloomfield, Leroy,
Hartland, Covington, Cato, Camillus, and Livonia, the
Lord's work is now spreading. I intend in a few months to
give the names of the ministers and churches in this part
of New York. Within one year I have baptized about 100 in
this region of the country. A few of us in these parts are
about to adopt the mode of ordaining elders in each church
to 'rule well,' not merely to see to the 'widows' or
temporal cares of the church, but to have an oversight of
the flock, without being called to labor in _word_ and
doctrine. See 1 Timothy 9: 17; Acts 15: 6; Titus 1: 5; Acts
14: 23. I have learned that it is a small part of a
minister's duty to preach and baptize."
He made a visit to Niagara County in the month of February, which was
attended with good results, whilst his success at home, at Lima and
Mendon was unabated. "A large number was added to the company of the
prayerful." In the month of March, he again preached in West Bloomfield,
a town that seemed to have in it several free and inquiring minds. At
South Lima he baptized five persons on the 11th, the 15th preached at
Mendon, where the prospects of his cause were growing continually
brighter, and on the 22d preached and administered baptism at Livonia.
He now found from a survey of the field of his success that it was best
to change his residence, to take up his abode in the adjoining and
flourishing town of Mendon; and never delaying the execution of purposes
that once were thoroughly formed in his mind, he, with the coöperation
of kind friends, was conveniently located in this town as early as the
20th. The last days of March were devoted to the people of Hartland.
April, May, and June witnessed additions to the fraternity he had
gathered--a fraternity whose aim above everything else, would seem to
have been the cultivation of the powers and the joys of the spiritual
life. They were evidently inspired by sacred feelings, by inward joys of
experience, and so strongly did they love religion, that theology in the
common sense, was to them a very subordinate matter.
In the month of July, in company with ministers D. Millard, E. Sharp,
and J. Blodget, he journeyed to Niagara Falls, attending on the way
three general meetings, one at Covington, Genesee County, N. Y., the
others at Murray and Royalton. At the great cataract, which less at that
time than now, drew travellers from every part of the country, we have
not a distinct record of his impressions. At Covington, June 21st, he
gave a discourse in the grove, from Isaiah 42: 1: "Behold my servant,
whom I uphold, mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth: I have put my
spirit upon him; he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles"--a
sermon which was reported in the religious free press of that day as one
well adapted "to confirm the people in the truth," as one that exhibited
Christ as the elect alluded to in this passage. "Many of the doctrines
of men," said two reporters, "were proved absurd, and ingeniously set
aside. The exhortation," said they, "was as arrows to the unconverted."
August was passed chiefly at home; in September he journeyed to the East
as far as Cooperstown, gave five discourses in Hartwick, and in
adjoining villages preached to large and attentive assemblies. In this
region of Otsego there still flourish societies of the Christian name
and sentiments. In the published reports of the meeting at Hartwick, I
find it stated that Mr. Badger, in a pleasant grove, September 27,
preached the third discourse from James 1: 25: "But whoso looketh into
the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a
forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in
his deed." The reporter adds, "The end of the old law was first noticed,
and the imperfection that pertained to it. 2. The perfect law of liberty
was then portrayed, and the manner in which people might look into it
and continue therein. 3. The blessing promised to the doer of the work.
This discourse was to the saints comforting, and to an attentive
assembly enlightening. The meeting then closed with songs and prayer."
Sunday morning the assembly again convened under the kindly shadows of
the primeval trees. The morning passed away under the speaking of a
somewhat popular orator, Mr. Howard; "in the afternoon," continues the
writer, "J. Badger spoke from Rev. 7: 17; a most glorious theme. When
speaking of the Lamb in the midst of the throne--of his feeding the
saints--of his leading them to fountains of living water; that God, even
the Father, should wipe away all tears from their eyes; the saints
rejoiced in hope of the glory of God, and strangers wept, desirous to
share in the great salvation. The meeting then closed, though the people
seemed unwilling to depart." There is something beautiful in turning
nature into a temple of worship, in mingling hymns with the voices of
the breeze, in speaking and hearing truth within the innocent gaze of
flowers. Their latent influence is a gleam of divinity to all, and
easily mingles with every sincere note that may ever be struck from
worshipful hearts. As I passed through that region of the State in 1850,
there were still many to remember the golden times of the past, and to
them the name of Joseph Badger was still a reverence and a charm.
In a written address, to the Conferential Session holden at Hartwick, at
this time, to which two other names besides his own are affixed, some
traces of his mind are visible. In that address is the following truly
catholic sentiment:--
"Remember that this is a free country in which we live, and
we ought to be as willing to let others think as to think
ourselves. Others' rights are as dear to them as ours are
to us, and if a Christian friend does not think as we do it
is evident that we do not think as he does. While we trace
the pages of ecclesiastical history, and view the
uncharitable conduct of priests and rulers in this respect,
we mourn the lack of charity, and feel in duty bound to
warn our brethren against such pernicious practices. 'Let
us stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us
free.'"
The month of October, which was passed at home and in neighboring towns,
brought some additions to his cause; and November, which was chiefly
employed in the same way, was distinguished by a theological debate,
held with Rev. Mr. T., chiefly on the Trinity and on the Supreme Deity
of Jesus Christ. The debate lasted two days; some other clergymen became
in a degree involved in it; and from a minister then present I offer the
following lines:--
"Under all circumstances Mr. Badger possessed a peculiar
command of himself. He never permitted ruffled feelings to
throw him into confusion or derange his clear equilibrium
of mind. His ideas were always clear, and his command of
language full and free. Thus he was always prepared on
every sudden emergency. Some of his best polemical efforts
were called out on the spur of the occasion, and seemingly
without any forethought. This intuitive gift always
rendered him ready, be the occasion what it might that
called him to speak, and especially if to repel the attack
of a religious opponent. Nor did he lack occasions of the
kind. In the first spread of the Christian sentiments in
western New York, public attacks on doctrinal subjects were
common, and clergymen of various orders would frequently,
after the close of an afternoon or evening discourse, rise
and ask questions about the doctrine entertained. On
occasions like these Mr. B. was about sure to leave his
opponent in the condition of defeat. In every such instance
he gained decided advantage and won the sympathy and
influence of the masses.
"In several instances he was called out by challenges for
public discussion. On such occasions he evinced himself a
cool, deliberate, shrewd manager. Often it would be said
among those who heard his speeches, 'What a lawyer he would
have made!' Whilst his opponent was speaking he usually
took down notes, which he could do with great rapidity. Wo
then to his antagonist, where he left weak points in
argument, as Mr. B. was sure to fasten upon them in a
manner that not only exposed them, but completely withered
their effect. He had great skill in making his own
arguments stand out in all their strength, and in stripping
those of his opponent of all their seeming worth or value.
Occasionally, after he had made a solid fortress by candid
argument, he would let loose a volley of sarcasm which was
perfectly scathing, and was very apt to so affect the
opposite party as to produce confusion of mind, one of the
first elements of defeat.
"The Rev. Mr. T----, an aged and able Congregationalist
minister, had sent a request to Mr. B. to call on him when
convenient. Some weeks subsequent, Mr. Badger, in company
with D. Millard, of West Bloomfield, called at his
dwelling, but learned that he was absent. Shortly, as they
passed on, they met Mr. T., to whom they introduced
themselves; Mr. B. acknowledging the receipt of Mr. T.'s
request. Mr. T. soon asked him if he believed the doctrine
of the Trinity, the Supreme Deity of Jesus Christ, and
Total Depravity, to which Mr. B. answered, after drawing
him out on the meaning of the terms he employed, that he
could not endorse all the views which Mr. T. entertained on
these matters. 'I perceive,' says Mr. T., 'that you are
wholly off from Gospel ground.' 'Then you should be alarmed
at our danger and convince us of our errors,' said Mr.
Badger. 'Well, call on me and I will do it,' was his reply.
The time was agreed upon, and about ten days afterward
quite a congregation assembled at the time and place
selected, to hear Mr. T. show Messrs. Badger and Millard
their errors.
"The doctrine of the Trinity was first investigated, each
speaking twenty minutes on a side. Mr. T. led off, and
dwelt much on the awfulness of the doctrine to be
discussed, that none could be Christians without believing
it. He said cases had occurred, where persons impiously
denying the doctrine of the Trinity had been cut off by
fearful judgments sent immediately from Heaven. Arius, for
instance, whose death was sudden and awful, a fate he met
soon after Constantine had recalled him to Constantinople,
from a state of banishment, for rejecting the doctrine of
the Trinity. To this speech Mr. Millard replied stating
that he could not see that any doctrine could be awfully
important which is not even named in the Bible; that he
could see no cause for introducing the melancholy death of
Arius, unless it was to frighten the assembly into the
belief that they would be apt to experience a loss similar
to that of Arius if they should deny the Trinity; and that
Mosheim's Church History contained evidence to show that
Arius was secretly poisoned by his enemies.
"In his next speech, Rev. Mr. T. entered systematically on
the arguments usually adduced on the Trinitarian side. In
justice I would say he did it with ability. Mr. Badger
followed him in four set speeches, and Mr. Millard in
three. They both amply sustained their ground, but Mr.
Badger's adroitness and skilful management were peculiarly
conspicuous to all present. The way he met the proof texts
presented on the opposite side, his critical analysis of a
trio of persons in one being, together with the absurdity
of the two-nature scheme, made a very convincing impression
on the minds of many then present. I should extend this
article too far were I to attempt to give specimens of the
arguments he used. The debate closed that day with an
appointment to renew it one week afterward. At the next
meeting a crowded assembly attended. An able Presbyterian
minister was present, as a colleague with Mr. T. in the
debate. I think Mr. Badger led off on that day. In his
first speech he reviewed the points gained at the previous
meeting. He showed just where the discussion then stood and
challenged the opposite party to attempt a refutation of
the position now occupied by him and his colleague. Mr. T.
and his assistant did their best. They evinced much ability
and preparation for the contest. But Mr. Badger, in
particular, was upon them in every position they took and
every seeming fastness to which they fled. The debate
continued from ten in the morning, with but a brief recess,
till nearly sunset; the four engaged in it taking nearly
equal parts. When about to close for the day Mr. Badger
proposed that if the opposite party desired it, the debate
could be continued another day. Mr. T. declined, as he
stated, on account of ill health. Thus this animated
discussion closed, and I may say with confidence, it left
on the public mind a favorable influence for the
Christians."
In a New England paper, he says--
"But what is the most pleasant, is to see the good union
that exists, and the steadfastness that appears. There are
now between eighty and ninety members in connection with
the church, and as yet there has not been to my knowledge
but one that has brought any reproach on the cause. Our
assemblies have been so large that I have preached in a
grove the greatest part of the summer past, but we have
made a beginning in constructing a meeting-house, and the
prospect is that we shall soon have better conveniences. In
West Bloomfield, a town adjoining this, the work has been
very glorious. Elder David Millard, who had been a few
months in the County, last June, had his mind drawn into
that town, and as the way opened he began to preach and to
visit the people. He immediately saw the fruits of his
labors--was soon joined by Elder E. Sharp, of Conn., who
had formerly preached in the town. The work has embraced
the old and the young, and has been carried on in a
remarkably _still_ and solemn manner. Brother Millard has
had several debates in public and private, on different
subjects; and as the public mind has been much agitated
concerning his opinion of _Christ_, he has written a
treatise of about 48 pages, 12mo, which is now in press,
entitled 'The True Messiah exalted,' which I think will be
calculated to do good. A few weeks since a church has been
planted at Bloomfield, and I think it consists of about
thirty members. Prospects are still encouraging."
He now had an able coadjutor in the field, one whose written arguments
and oral discourses have long been strong barriers to the advocates of
the old Athanasian theology. In December, Mr. Badger visited Canandaigua
and preached to the people; the most of the time was devoted to the town
of his residence, and in supplying the wants of adjoining places.
Speaking of this year in the retrospect, he says: "One year more of my
unprofitable life is gone. In it I have enjoyed myself well, seen much
of God's goodness, attended many funerals, solemnized many marriages,
and at its close am seriously reminded that
"'The year rolls round and steals away
The breath that first it gave;
Whate'er we do, where'er we be,
We're tending to the grave.'"