The United Brethren

The United Brethren, BY JOB SMITH. It is known that in the year 1840, Apostle Wilford Woodruff was inspired to leave the place where he was preaching, in Staffordshire, England, and with short notice, make a trip by stage and on foot to Herefordshire, to the headquarters of a society called United Brethren. And it is also known that the members of this society, almost without an exception, embraced the gospel, and soon after commenced emigrating to Nauvoo, there being added to the Church, during the next six months, over one thousand souls. A few facts relating to this society, as to their work as a religious organization, their zeal, ambition and personnel, may be interesting at this date and period of the Latter-day work. It is mainly of interest to our young missionaries, as an incentive to seek for and listen to the promptings of the spirit, in the discharge of their duties, so as to find the people who have the disposition and the courage to receive their message. The society called Methodists, as we all know, was founded by John Wesley, who was a regular minister of the Church of England, and who seceded therefrom on account of the dead formality of that church, their prayers, lessons, and general religious exercises being simply the reading of printed forms of prayer, repeated every Sunday — some of them quite absurd and vain to an actively devout mind seeking divine favors. Their sermons, all read from manuscripts, were devoid of the inspiration and zeal of servants of God. John Wesley, being inspired to do good among the English people, and to show the difference between empty formalities and

THE UNITEDIBRETHKEN. 819 real, religious activity, lefVofl^his surplice (a white gown used by the church of England ministers) and set out with earnest, honest desire and f lith to preach the gospel as far as he understood it, for the reformation and salvation of those who would listen to him. Of course, the honest people, especially the poor, soon recognized an honest preacher, and soon a society was formed and preaching places were found, and a great organization was established, called Methodists. Now, all this transpired in the eighteenth century. Later on, and as wealth and popularity filled fashionable chapels and places of worship, formality and fashion deadened the preaching of his successors, and he being now gone, left nothing but his printed sermons to keep his fervor alive. Thomas Kington was a Methodist preacher of John Wesley's stamp, zeal and inspiration. To him the dead influence of formal religion was not sufficient to save a soul. "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish" was his favorite text, and with a revivalist's zeal he, as a Methodist worker, stirred up his hearers and annoyed the more formal and better paid preachers of that denomination — and, as a result, he was expelled. This occurred some time before 1830Methodism had settled down into a rut of self-satisfied formality, which objected to being disturbed by a call to repentance, which was the battle cry of this notable man. But Thomas Kington, though a poor man and expelled by his church, could not be silenced. He had no chapel or church to preach in, but he remembered that the great preacher of Nazareth preached in the open air to the poor and also to the proud; and the poor of Herefordshire were glad to hear Kington, and offered their large kitchens for him to preach in. Other good men felt the touch of zeal to try to persuade people to "repent and believe." A society was soon formed, and at the date of Apostle Wilford Woodruff's visit, it possessed between thirty and forty preachers and preaching places. It had a great many very poor people as its members, and a fe# working men in fairly good circumstances, and one man who might be called wealthy, he being a farmer and owner of some land. It had extended from Herefordshire into Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, and formed into two circuits (or conferences) named after the places where their chief gatherngs were held, called Froom's Hill and Gatfield Elm.

820 IMPROVEMENT ERA. Thomas Kington was the general superintendent, and the chief preachers assembled once in three months to arrange the dates and 'places where each should preach during the following three months. Some were called "preachers" and others "exhorters." A page of my Recollections will illustrate their methods: About this time, (1836), I being about eight years old, one of these preachers came to Redmarley, where I was living at Father Bundy's, and asked permission to hold an evening meeting in his house for preaching. This was granted. This was my first acquaintance with United Brethren. But the preachers were not all brethren, for the preacher that visited us was an unmarried female named Hannah Gittings. Intermittent with her preaching were impassioned appeals for praying by the congregation individually, which seemed to take such hold upon her listeners that several at the same time occasionally might be heard. In due time the meeting closed, and, of course, the lady, needing lodging, was made welcome to stay all night. Previous to retiring she introduced family prayers. Concentrating now her efforts in behalf of the family, requiring each individual to pray vocally, it soon became my turn. I had been used to repeating the Lord's prayer every night before retiring, but that would not do for this occasion. I was compelled, by her entreaties, to make an effort to use my own words, which I did, in praying zealously for the change of heart which she had been advocating; and, sure enough, it had the effect to make me a very anxious candidate for baptism when Apostle Woodruff afterwards arrived. Besides Thomas Kington there were several other men who were very zealous and influential preachers, who devoted most of their time going from branch to branch preaching three times on Sunday and nearly every night on week days, and opening new places. Others were laboring men who, when Sunday came, would walk from five to fifteen miles to a preaching place and hold two meetings, and return in the night. At each quarter-day a plan would be devised and immediately printed for distribution among the members of each branch. On this "plan" was printed the name of each preacher and exhorter, also the name of each village or preaching place in each circuit. Thus there was an interchangeable rotation of preaching places for each preacher, and a change of preacher in each preaching

THE UNITED BRETHREN. 821 place during three months. Generally speaking they were very impressive preachers, holding their audiences as with a hypnotic influence, frequently causing young persons — chiefly females— to fall down upon the floor in a fit of noisy desperation concerning their supposed awful condition of sins committed and unforgiven. Then would follow a scene of pleading by the preacher that Christ would forgive sins if they would only believe. "Believe in Christ, and you shall be saved." The word "believe" was often and urgently repeated. In most cases, after sufficient pleading, the convert would exclaim, "I do believe," repeated over and over. The preacher would then shout glory, over the saving of a soul, and the young person would spring up and dance around in a noisy fit of ecstasy, occupying considerable time, and suspending all other religious exercise. These scenes, however, were chiefly in evidence at protracted meetings, called love-feasts, watch-nights and special gatherings. Another element productive of interest in religious matters in these days was the reading, by laboring people, of Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. Most scholars of recent years have, doubtless, read the book much as a curiosity; but at the time herein referred to, it struck hard into the consciences and inner lives of the common people, producing more genuine religious thought than all the formal religious preaching done by the various orthodox ministers of that day. There was, beyond all controversy, a deeply devout feeling, devoid of all ostentation, intense opposition to all forms of pride, profanity and every form of immorality. Vocal prayer was urged upon all, and all formal prayer was done away. This was the condition when President Woodruff arrived In President Woodruff's History, by Matthias F. Cowley, is found the account of their receiving his testimony. There are but few now living who can remember the event. The falling-down practice was not declaimed against by the elder, and some young persons who previously had been often affected in this ecstatic delirium, would, after baptism, abandon themselves voluntarily into this condition, whereupon the elder followed the instruction given, and the practice forever ended. Now, as to the personnel of the preachers of this society, it

822 IMPRO VEMENT ERA . is interesting to know that most of them, if not all, became strongly convinced of the truth of the gospel, and all emigrated and became faithful supporters of the Latter-day work. The following are the names of the ones best remembered: John Benbow, whose home President Woodruff first visited, and who, after being baptized, advanced money by which the first English edition of the Book of Mormon and the Latter-day Saints' hymn book were printed. He afterwards emigrated to Nauvoo, assisted the prophet with money, traveled with the exiled Saints to Salt Lake City, and lived a few miles south. John Gailey spent three years following in England, as a traveling elder, with whom, as a youthful companion, I traveled a great many weary miles, emigrated to Nauvoo, and finally settled in Kaysville and died there. Thomas Clark settled in Tooele valley. Charles Price settled at Five Points, near Ogden. Thomas Jones died on the Weber. John Bailey came in Martin's handcart company, was badly frozen, and died in Salt Lake City. John Cheese emigrated to Nauvoo and became a captain in the Nauvoo Legion. John Oakley emigrated and served in Cheese's company. Henry Steed died in Farmington. William Steed died in Nauvoo. John Rowberry became a bishop in Tooele. John Tyler and James Jones, I believe, died in St. Louis. Daniel Browett, member of Mormon Battalion, killed by Indians, on his way back to his family. Robert Harris, of the Mormon Battalion, died in Malad valley. Edward Phillips lived and died at Kaysville. Thomas Oakley lived and died at Paris, Idaho. Thomas Smith (my father) labored as traveling elder in England eleven years, following his ordination, being the chief means of raising up conferences in Worcestershire, Warwickshire and Norfolk, (Norwich) an aggregate of one thousand members, many of whom, or their posterity, are now residents of Salt Lake City and many parts of Utah and Idaho. He emigrated in 1852 and lived and died in Parowan.

THE UNITED BRETHREN. 823 Another peculiarity of the United Brethren was that several ladies engaged in vigorous preaching. Their names were as follows: Mary Steed, who died in St. Louis. Hannah Gittings, who died in Nauvoo. Betsy Hilton and a Miss Holmes. Susan Brooks who became the wife of Apostle Willard Richards and who died in Farmington. Patriarch Thomas Steed, of Farmington, relates that in a conversation with Susan Brooks she told him that on the last Sunday previous to the visit of President Woodruff that she with a companion were walking a distance to fill an appointment for preaching when one said to the other: "What are you going to preach today?" "I don't know, I have preached all I know. What are you going to preach?" ''I, also, have preached all I know. I hope the Lord will send us light." And Elder Steed adds, "This was the condition of nearly all the preachers." Brother Thomas Steed, of Farmington, should be duly credited for much of the information in this paper, as he is about two years older than myself and lived in the Herefordshire circuit, while I lived in the Gatfield Elm circuit. Our memories disagree in nothing. Sugar Housk, Utah. Give Him Useful, Manly Work To Do. "There is no period more critical than the period of adolescence. It is the storm and stress period of a boy's life. You cannot present a Christianity that is made up of don'ts to a boy. He wants to know of something he can do, not a lot of things he must not do. He must have room to work off the energy God has pumped into him."