I. T., Letter, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, before 16 May 1842. Version published in Times and Seasons, 16 May 1842, vol. 3, no. 14, pp. 790–795. For more complete source information, see the source note for Letter to Isaac Galland, 22 Mar. 1839.
Sir, having been in the habit of late of perusing the “Cross and Journal,” a Baptist periodical published in , Ohio, to search out the pure principles that are advocated by this advocate of righteousness; in my investigations I happened to blunder over the following extracts;—as they were interesting to me, I had the vanity to suppose the[y] might be the same to yourself. If they are, and you should judge them worthy of a place in your valuable periodical, they are at your disposal, together with my reflections upon them.
“Prayer was offered up by Rev. Dr. Jenks, after which Mr. Knapp addressed them in a sermon of an hour and a half in length, from the words of Saul of Tarsus, Acts, 9:6, ‘Lord what wilt thou have me to to do?’. . . . ‘The text is the language of a young convert. . . . . The enquiry is not where you can enjoy the most; but where you can do the most for the glory of God. Some of you in answering this question may be called to preach the gospel, others to go on a foreign mission.”
1. “The first answer is, “take my yoke upon you.” Unite yourselves to the people of God. Join some evangelical church.”
* * * * * * *
5. “Search the scriptures.” “If you have irreligious books, novels, or books on Universalism, burn them up. Make the bible your study. Carry it in your pocket: have it at hand at all times, and as much as possible commit it to memory. Be in the habit of reading it upon your knees, and of looking directly to the spirit of God to enable you to understand it.”
Having perused the above passages, sir, and not being very quick of apprehension, I examined them a second time, when I had the following reflections:—“Prayer was offered by the Rev. Dr. Jenks:”—Well now, that seems to be good—afterwards Mr. Knapp preached from the words of Saul of Tarsus;” “Lord what wilt thou have me to do?” These seem to be good words—they are scriptural words; and I think Mr. Knapp has preached FROM [p. 790]