CHAP. XII.

 

ACCORDING to appointment, the Ninth General Conference was held in the New Jerusalem Chapel, Friars Street, London, on Tuesday the 16th, and continued till Thursday the 18th of July, 1816=60; when the Rev. MANOAH SIBLY, of London, was unanimously elected President, and Mr. SAMUEL NOBLE, of London, Secretary. Four Ministers, and nine Delegates or Representatives from different Societies, besides many other members of the Church in London and its neighbourhood, were present on the occasion. {254}

Various letters were read, giving an account of the number of individuals composing the respective Societies in different parts of the kingdom, the manner of conducting their meetings, both for worship and reading, together with such information as was deemed interesting to the Church at large. Reports were also made of the formation of new Societies, and of the increased number of readers since the last Conference.
In a letter from the Rev. J. Hargrove, of Baltimore, in America, to the Rev. M. Sibly, the former states his approbation of the plan for arranging the Ministry, as agreed upon at the last Conference, and communicates the intelligence of the welfare and gradual increase of the Society to which he belongs. An advertisement in The Columbian New York paper of January 27, 1816, was also read, announcing the formation of a New Church Society in that city, and their wish to correspond with other Societies and individuals, both in Europe and America.
In consequence of a recommendation and request, on the part of the Conference at their last annual meeting, that the Rev. J. Proud would undertake the duties of a Missionary Minister as soon as convenient, that gentleman reported, that he had performed two journeys, in conformity with his appointment; that he had visited Derby, Manchester, Radcliffe, Worsley, Heywood, Bolton, Huddersfield, Cooper’s Bridge, Middleton, Holcomb Brook, Haslingden, Accrington, Bury, and Keighley; and that in all these places his labours were received with gratitude and affection by the members of the Church, and with evident satisfaction by the numerous strangers who flocked to hear him. The reading of this Report occasioned the most lively feelings of delight in all present, and it was Resolved unanimously,

“That the great success which has attended this first effort to promote the growth of the New Church by the establishment of a Missionary Ministry, is regarded by this Conference as affording the most urgent stimulus to perseverance in that measure. They therefore deem it their duty most earnestly to recommend to all the Societies which have contributed to the formation of a fund for this purpose, a continuance of their exertions, and to press upon the attention of those who may not yet have joined their aid in support of this great undertaking, the consideration of the important use which they will thus strengthen and promote. For it must be obvious, that the uses, which are found to result from the partial institution of Missionary exertions, must be greatly increased, and may be carried to even an incalculable extent, if those exertions can be rendered permanent, and kept in constant activity; and this might easily be effected, if subscriptions to the fund, though small in individual amount, could be made universal.”

Some other resolutions and regulations for the support of the Missionary Institution were passed; after which the Conference proceeded to take into consideration the necessity of keeping and preserving with care, Registers of all persons baptized in the New Church; on which subject the following Resolution was adopted,- {255}

“It having sometimes been found, that persons favourably disposed towards the principles of the New Church are yet fearful of having their children baptized therein, partly from the apprehension that the Register might not be carefully preserved, and partly from the unfounded notion that such Register would not be admitted, according to the law of the land, as sufficient evidence of the age of the child so baptized, whereby his temporal welfare might be injured, it was Resolved unanimously, That it be strongly recommended to the Minister or Leader of every Society Of the New Church, to keep with regularity, and preserve with care, a Register of all persons baptized, distinguishing between adults and infants, and mentioning the date of the baptism, and, in the case of infants, the time of their birth, with the name, place of abode, and occupation, of the parents: and also to endeavour to remove the misapprehension, which is found to exist in the minds of some persons in regard to the legality of such Register, by informing them, that it is admitted in the Courts of Law to be equally valid, as evidence for determining legal questions, as Registry in the Established Church of England.”

The business which presented itself for consideration having been concluded, and the Conference having been led to give its most earnest attention to the means of affording stability and extension to the plan for propagating the doctrines and life of the New Church, by the institution of a Missionary Ministry, it was further Resolved unanimously,

“That while the Conference feel it incumbent on them to urge their brethren to assist in extending the knowledge of the means of salvation, as unfolded in the doctrines of the New Jerusalem, by supporting the Missionary fund, they at the same time feel it their duty to remind them, that the Church within us requires as much care to build it up and extend it, as the Church without us, and that the only way effectually to accomplish the latter object is, to conjoin it with an earnest endeavour to advance the former, by losing no time in elevating the truths which we have received in the memory into the life, and by convincing our less enlightened brother of the inestimable value of the principles which we would press upon his attention, by suffering them to operate, with all their purifying efficacy, upon ourselves. A desire to bring our neighbour to the same opinion, in regard to religious matters, with ourselves, may have place in connection with selfish and worldly loves; but we should never forget, that a zeal thus founded, though it may be of avail as it regards others and the world, will be of no avail as it regards ourselves and heaven: but, on the other hand, if we are zealous against evils and falses, and desirous to remove them, not only in others, but also in ourselves, and are thus careful to cast the beam out of our own eye that we may see clearly to cast the mote out of our brother’s eye, our zeal in this case will promote our own happiness, while it communicates the principles of happiness to others; till at length we shall find all motives connected with the proprium lose their influence over us, and shall come continually more and more into that spiritual and celestial love of uses and of doing uses, into which there is infused, through heaven from the Lord, an inexpressible blessedness and delight, with which no pleasure of a selfish and worldly nature, however prized by the merely natural man, can be compared. Thus will the New Jerusalem descend from heaven indeed, and the tabernacle of God find a real abiding place with men.”

The Meeting being thus closed, the next General Conference was appointed to be held in Full Street, Derby, on the second Tuesday in August, 1817=61.

A letter from an English gentleman settled in Holland, addressed to the President of the Conference, did not come to hand till the Conference was ended. It was, however, received in time to be read at a public meeting, before the brethren from the country had left town. Being very interesting, as coming from a country with which the New Church in Great Britain had hitherto had no communication, the most important parts of it are here given. {256}

“Dear Brethren,            Rotterdam, July 8, 1816=60.
“A number of years has elapsed since our illuminated Seer published the glorious annunciation of our Lord’s second advent in this country, and it might reasonably be expected that this land would become one of the first to acknowledge the high privilege granted to them, in the first display of the heavenly doctrines. But alas! too much like the ancient Jews, who did not acknowledge their only Saviour in his appearance amongst them, the Hollanders (I fear, with very few exceptions,) know but little of him according to the true doctrine. I am (though unwillingly) led to this conclusion from the open avowal, which, through the divine mercy, I have been enabled to make for many years past. It is true, and not entirely unknown to you, my dear friends, that this land has been under the dreadful scourge of desolating war for many years, by divine permission; and so far the order of Providence is generally allowed. In consequence, the minds of men have been kept in a state of great agitation, both on account of their temporal safety and their religious liberty. But the true cause very few can advert to; and even of those few, when one opens and explains to them the doctrines of the Lord, of the Word, and of the New Church, they seem like men amazed, not knowing what reply to make.
“Permit me, however, to inform you, that I have had some interviews with respectable members of the Dutch Calvanistic Church, to one of whom I have communicated some of Mr. Clowes’s small Tracts, followed by the Mediums, the Heavenly Doctrine, and Mr. Hindmarsh’s Seal upon the Lips. I have also consulted with a venerable Minister of the Dutch Arminian religion, and a few days ago had a long interview with him at my house, when I embraced the opportunity to lay before him all the translated works of Emanuel Swedenborg, and at the same time my mind was happily disposed, and in a free state, to explain many essential truths, which I hope and trust were not in vain. At the close of his visit, which, by appointment, was purposely to speak on the heavenly doctrines, he assured me, that, though he well knew the works of Swedenborg were not accepted in this country, he would undertake to translate into the Holland language any of the tracts or books which I might think proper to put into his hands for that purpose. This offer appears to me so much in the order of Divine Providence, that I cannot decline the acceptance of it, as soon as I can see clearly the way for publication.
“Some years ago the Treatise on Influx was published in the Dutch language, with Mr. Hartley’s Preface: two or three copies have fallen into my possession; but they are not now to be obtained. Those that were in my possession, have been given in such direction as appeared to me most likely to be productive of uses: one copy is gone to Batavia, with a Mr. de Loche, who was in possession of some of the Latin works. I have also recommended the reading of Mr. Clowes’s tracts in an English school for young ladies, in this city; and one of the family, with whom we are on terms of social friendship, sometimes meets with us. I have put into their possession the Treatise on Heaven and Hell, and the London Order of Worship, with the free use of other works. We use the London Liturgy in my house regularly on the Sunday, reading a sermon from Mr. Clowes, Mr. Proud, or Mr. Sibly, never omitting the Holy Word, and the Baron.
“And now, my dear brethren, that the One Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Supreme and True God of heaven and earth, and of all worlds, may crown your labours with his most signal blessing, and a more enlivened and prosperous view of the extension of the Heavenly Jerusalem, now descending, is the ardent prayer and desire, of, dear brethren, your and the Church’s sincere friend and servant in all that can promote the knowledge, love, and practice of genuine good and truth,

“CHARLES LEY.”

In addition to Mr. Proud’s general report to the Conference, as already stated, of the two first journeys undertaken by him at their request, in the character of a Missionary Minister, the following particulars are extracted from the First Missionary Report, published in 1817.
As soon as Mr. Proud could make his arrangements with the Birmingham Society, of which he was then the Minister, he cheerfully obeyed the call he had received, and hastened to traverse those spacious fields of the Church, in which numerous little vineyards had already been planted, and were now only waiting for some genial showers from heaven to render them more abundantly fruitful. {257} His first visit was in the month of April, 1816, to Derby, where a Society had been established for a considerable time, through the instrumentality of Mr. Edward Madeley.* It having been publicly announced in the town, that Mr. Proud was expected in the character of a Missionary Minister of the New Jerusalem, the place of worship was crowded whenever he preached. Many Methodists, Dissenters, and others, attended; and it appears, that after his departure, at the end of a fortnight, the impression wrought upon the public mind in favour of the new doctrines was such, that the congregation frequenting the place of worship was increased to double the former number.
* The Society at Derby was formed by the Rev. E. Madeley in the year 1814, but Previously to that time he had opened a Sunday School on the Burton Road, and addressed the children and adults twice every Sunday. He was also the chief agent in bringing the subject of a Missionary Society before the Church, and of finally introducing it to the attention of the General Conference. He departed this life on the 25th November, 1827, in the 49th year of his age, after having served the Derby Society zealously and gratuitously as Leader and Minister for thirteen years.- ED.
His second journey was into Lancashire and Yorkshire, where many Societies had long been established. Manchester forming a kind of centre, from which roads in different directions, lead to the various Societies, Mr. Proud first visited that place on the 30th of May, 1816, and from thence proceeded to Radcliffe, a distance of eight miles, where a neat Chapel is erected solely for the use of the New Church, and also a most convenient room for a Sunday School, in which several hundred children are instructed, and gradually initiated into the doctrines of the New Jerusalem. From Radcliffe Mr. Proud again returned to Manchester, and on the 4th of June, preached in Peter Street, and the next day in the Temple in Salford. After this he visited Worsley, Heywood, Bolton, Huddersfield, Cooper’s Bridge, Middleton, Holcomb Brook, Haslingden, and Keighley; in most of which places he found collected together not only the individuals belonging to the Societies there situated, but many of those belonging to distant Societies, besides numbers of Methodists, Calvinists, Episcopalians of the Established Church, and other Christian professors of almost every name. In general, the crowds that attended were so great, that the places of worship were incapable of holding them. On one occasion in particular, at Holcomb Brook, as soon as Mr. Proud had commenced the service, it was found that some hundreds on the outside of the room could not distinctly hear him; whereupon Mr. Haworth, Minister of the Accrington Society, was called upon, and requested to preach to them at a neighbouring inn. Accordingly the great room was immediately furnished with forms and chairs, a desk erected, and Mr. Haworth, it is said, preached to about three hundred persons, while Mr. Proud was addressing the congregation in the meeting-room, consisting of nearly five hundred. {258}

Having thus visited, as Mr. Proud observes, many Societies, and travelled near five hundred miles, he returned to Birmingham on the 24th of June, completing a journey of four weeks within two days; well convinced, that a divine blessing had attended his labours, that the Church is actually upon the increase, and that the humble endeavours of those engaged in the Missionary work will, in the end, be crowned with the desired success.
The next Missionary journey was into Essex, in consequence of a wish expressed by the members of the New Church at Brightlingsea, that Mr. Proud would visit them at their approaching Anniversary, which was fixed for the 29th of July, 1816. But Mr. Proud being unable to go at the appointed time, the General Conference prevailed on Mr. Robert Hindmarsh to supply his place. The Report of this journey was given to the public at the time, which was as follows.
As the rise of a Society of the New Church in the neighbourhood of Colchester had attracted some notice in that large and respectable town, and had even called forth there a professed opponent of the doctrines, in the person of a Methodist Preacher, who had endeavoured to vilify the character of Swedenborg, and make his sentiments appear ridiculous, in a small pamphlet, which had been extensively circulated; it was thought, that it might be useful in checking this opposition, and in improving the attention thereby excited into a serious and profitable inquiry into the real merits of the case, if convenience could be obtained for Mr. Hindmarsh to deliver a Lecture or two in that town. Two friends, therefore, went over from Brightlingsea to make inquiries, who, not being able to find any other suitable place, applied to the Mayor for the use of the Town-Hall, stating the object to be the delivery of a Theological Lecture; and the Mayor, without hesitation, immediately granted the request. Posting and hand-bills were accordingly circulated through the town, apprizing the inhabitants, “that on Friday, the 26th of July, by permission of the worshipful the Mayor, a Lecture would be delivered in the Town-Hall, by Mr. Hindmarsh, from Manchester, on some of the most important doctrines of the New Church, called the New Jerusalem, particularly the doctrine of the Divine Trinity, the doctrine of life, or the way to heaven, and the state of man after the death of the body.” Hereupon, as was afterwards learnt, the Corporation and the Clergy of the town took the alarm, and insisted upon the Mayor’s revoking his consent; which was notified to the inhabitants by counter-proclamations, and the assiduous vociferations of the Town Crier. {259} In the mean time Mr. Hindmarsh, with some friends from London and Manchester, had arrived, but remained without any knowledge of the change till about three o’clock, on the day appointed. On the spur of this emergency a large room was engaged at the Angel inn, a few paces from the Town-Hall, and proper measures were taken to announce the change in the place of delivering the Lecture. Notwithstanding the shortness of the notice, the room was crowded by seven o’clock, (the time of commencement,) almost to suffocation, and many went away unable to obtain admission. The number in the room was supposed to be not less than from four to five hundred.
Previous to the commencement of the Lecture, and after the people were assembled, the landlord informed Mr. Hindmarsh, that he had been threatened with a fine of L40, if he permitted the Lecture to be delivered in his house; and he desired to know if anything of a political nature was intended to be introduced. Mr. Hindmarsh assured him, that his subjects would be purely theological, that he was in no danger of any unpleasant results from the meeting, and that he should stand completely indemnified for anything he might suffer on account of it. The landlord being satisfied with this assurance, told him he might begin as soon as he pleased.
The Lecture is stated by some who were present, to have been of the most clear and convincing description; and it appeared to give much satisfaction to the greater part of the audience. Some few, indeed, near the door, among whom were noticed two or three Methodist Preachers, were heard at times to mutter disapprobation, saying of the Lecturer, “Why, he denies the doctrine of a Trinity of Divine Persons! he sets aside the atonement, the merits of Christ, justification by faith alone, and the resurrection of the material body!” Finding, however, that the company in general was too much engaged in listening to the doctrines of the New Church on these subjects, to suffer their attention to be withdrawn for a moment from them, they at length discontinued their opposition, and remained silent.
When the Lecture was concluded, which lasted an hour and a quarter, one of the Methodist Preachers present asked leave to propose some questions; which being granted, he abused the permission by haranguing those who chose to listen to him, without giving Mr. Hindmarsh sufficient opportunity to reply; who, therefore, seeing a disorderly spirit beginning to manifest itself, and judging that no real good could be done by controversy, prudently put an end to the meeting; earnestly recommending to the company to reflect seriously and without prejudice on the important subjects, which had been laid before them that evening.
The friends from London had with them upwards of 300 of the short Catalogues printed at Manchester, and a few copies of Sandel’s Eulogium, all of which were speedily dispersed among the persons assembled and numerous applications were left unsatisfied. {260} On the whole, there is no doubt that good has been done by the visit, both among those who heard the Lecture, and those who only heard of it. It has also been useful as an experiment, by which the important fact is ascertained, that a congregation may easily be collected to hear the doctrines of the New Church explained to them, in places where those doctrines had previously found no recipients. The impression made would, no doubt, have been stronger, and more likely to be permanent, could another Lecture or two have been given; but no other room being obtainable, and an inn being considered as a place not altogether suitable to the solemn nature of the subjects to be treated of, it was thought better to defer any further proceedings till a more favourable opportunity.
On the Sunday morning following, Mr. Hindmarsh preached at St. Osyth, and in the afternoon at Brightlingsea, to overflowing congregations; and in the evening he met the friends in the Temple there, for the purpose of conversation, when various interesting questions were propounded to him, which he answered in a manner completely satisfactory to the inquirers, and highly edifying to all present.
The next morning, the 29th of July, being the Anniversary of the introduction of the heavenly doctrines into that place, he again preached; after which, upwards of seventy of the friends assembled to dinner in a building fitted up for the purpose, and the afternoon was spent in the communication of intelligence respecting the Church, and other instructive discourse. A gentleman from Colchester was present, who, though not a member of the New Church, expressed great satisfaction and delight in observing the harmony and affection which universally prevailed. He stated, that being absent from Colchester at the time the Lecture was delivered there, on his return he was surprised to find, that the general conversation turned on that subject; and from the many favourable as well as unfavourable remarks, which he had heard made by different persons, he was convinced, that a foundation was already laid for the commencement of a New Jerusalem Society in that populous town, provided an able Preacher or Leader were occasionally sent among them to repeat and enforce the great truths, which had already been proclaimed in their cars.
On Tuesday afternoon a numerous company of the brethren met to tea at St. Osyth, when the time was spent in the same agreeable and profitable manner as on the preceding day. In the evening of Wednesday a large party again met at Brightlingsea, for still further conversation on the great truths of the new dispensation, every meeting appearing to increase the desire among all to know more and more of the heavenly kingdom. {261} The next day Mr. Hindmarsh returned to town, leaving the heart of every member of the Societies at Brightlingsea and St. Osyth overflowing with gratitude and delight for the privileges afforded them, and penetrated himself with corresponding sentiments of affection and esteem towards this simple-hearted and amiable people.
The fourth Missionary journey was undertaken by Mr. Proud in the month of August, 1816, of which he communicated to the Committee at Manchester a very pleasing and satisfactory account. In the course of this journey he visited Manchester, Liverpool, Wigan, Legh, Worsley, Warrington, Preston, Accrington, Huddersfield, Colne-Bridge, Leeds, Hull, and Sheffield. His interview with the friends at Hull he describes as particularly interesting, he having for seven or eight years, while they were without a Minister, and when their Chapel was for a time closed against them until legally restored, supplied them with manuscript sermons, and constantly aided them with his advice, though he never had the happiness of visiting them before he undertook the present journey. At the conclusion of his Report Mr. Proud adds, “I have not the least doubt, but the Missionary office, when conducted upon a well-regulated and orderly plan, so that it can compass and effect the many important circumstances connected with it, will be one of the most extensively useful engagements the New Church has ever undertaken.”

About this time the Rev. Isaac Hawkins, from an earnest desire to witness the growing prosperity of the New Church, and to assist in building her up to the utmost of his power, resolved to visit the different Societies in the kingdom at his own expense. The following account of his journey is taken from the Intellectual Repository, No. 22, and will be read with pleasure.

“Mr. Isaac Hawkins, at the advanced age of seventy-eight years, has, in the months of September, October, November, December, 1816, and January, 1817, paid a friendly visit to thirty-two Societies of the New Church, in the following order: Brightlingsea and St. Osyth, in Essex; Hull, Leeds, Shepherd- House, Keighley, a place three miles from Keighley, Addingham, and Skipton, in Yorkshire; Accrington, Haslingden, Holcomb Brook, Bolton, Blackburn, Preston, Liverpool, Wigan, St. Helen’s, Legh, Worsley, Ratcliffe, Middleton, Heywood, Manchester, and Salford, in Lancashire; Dalton, near Huddersfield, Barnsley, Sheffield, and Darnell, in Yorkshire; Mansfield, in Nottinghamshire; Derby and Leicester; besides a number of individual friends at other places. In making this visit, he has travelled about one thousand miles, preached sixty-five times, and returned to London in perfect health. He expresses himself, in a letter to a friend, highly gratified with the affectionate manner in which he was received by all members of the New Church, wherever he found them. He says, there was, in almost every case, such a sphere of union, that it secured as if he was among his old acquaintances, instead of persons whom he never saw before; and he felt, that the genuine members of the New Church form but one family; a family, of which he has lived to see as many thousands, as there were dozens existing in the world at the time of his first reception of the heavenly doctrines of the New Jerusalem. And he is convinced, that the time is not far distant, when every dozen, which now exists, will be swelled to a thousand, and that the ratio will go on increasing, until ‘the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.’ He sincerely hopes, that every professor of these heavenly doctrines will do all he can, in an orderly manner, towards forwarding this grand work. {262} Some can do it in one way, and others in other ways; but all can let their light so shine before men, that they may see their good works, and glorify our Father which is in heaven; and thus render important uses to the new and rising Church of the Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ.”*
* The Rev. Isaac Hawkins departed from the natural into the spiritual world on the 27th June, 1820. An interesting Memoir of him was inserted in the fifth volume of the Intellectual Repository. He was one of the first individuals to whom Mr. Hindmarsh communicated a knowledge of the doctrines of the New Church, about the year 1785.- ED.

The Committee, judging, from the success which so eminently attended the labours of Mr. Proud in the character of a Missionary Minister, that the services of an Assistant Missionary, at least during the winter season, when Mr. Proud could not conveniently travel, might be highly acceptable to the different Societies, thought it their duty to invite Mr. James Bradley, of Manchester, whom they considered as a person properly qualified for the office, to undertake a journey to such places as they should point out. Mr. Bradley, with a humility that does him honour, accepted of the invitation, and soon after proceeded to Sheffield, Darnell, Barnsley, Derby, Mansfield, Leeds, Hull, Addingham, Skipton, and Keighley. This was the fifth Missionary journey undertaken by Missionaries, at the expense of the Committee. The account of Mr. Bradley’s visit to Barnsley, and also to Mansfield, where a small society had been but lately formed, is so interesting, that the reader will no doubt be gratified in perusing it.

“On Thursday, the 7th of November, I went to Barnsley, according to appointment. There I found some hearty friends of considerable intelligence. They had applied for permission to meet in the Methodist Chapel belonging to the New Connexion, but were refused. We therefore met in Mr. Cawley’s house, at seven in the evening, present about sixty in number, who appeared cordially to receive what was said. Mrs. Cawley was formerly a Methodist: while she was in that connexion, she wanted something in the way of information, according to her own account, which she could not find among them. The New Church doctrines had supplied her with it. She said, she had long desired to hear the doctrines preached: and being asked after the meeting how she liked them, she replied, If those were the doctrines of the New Church, they had been her doctrines a long time. Some of the members observed, they were sure she had never heard them preached before: she then said, if she had never heard them preached before, she had felt them. She is a very interesting character, and her company gives great delight to every one. I take her to be about sixty years of age. Indeed every thing which one sees and feels, in visiting the different Societies, is truly interesting. A pretty large Society is likely to be formed here in a few years. The present members are in general very poor, being weavers. They have but few of the Works among them; and in their present condition they can purchase no more.
“I went to Mansfield on Saturday, the 16th of November, and was surprised at finding that I had to preach in the Methodist Chapel on Sunday afternoon. The friends had taken no little pains to procure a suitable place, in which I might deliver a discourse on the important doctrines of the New Church; and having applied to the senior Methodist Preacher in Mansfield for permission to preach in his Chapel, he cheerfully and readily acquiesced, and even promised to give public notice of the same to his congregation. I am informed he is a kind, respectable man: he has read the Seal upon the Lips, and signified his approbation of the work; he has himself laboured much to prove the sole Divinity of Jesus Christ; yet still he holds the doctrine of the atonement, and thinks there is but little difference betwixt the New Church doctrines and those of the Methodists. Under this view he lent the pulpit. {263} I was aware of my delicate situation; and as it is my endeavour to avoid being the occasion, in any instance, of the least disorder, I thought it incumbent upon me to treat of the doctrines so as to give as little offence as possible; at the same time not omitting to give the people as clear a view of them as I could in one discourse, their pulpit having been only lent for the afternoon. My text was in the 7th chapter of John, 24th verse, ‘Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgement.’ As I was situated, I thought I would state the chief doctrines of the Old Church in separate articles, and oppose to them the doctrines of the New, without much argument in favour of the latter, for fear of offence; being conscious that impartial inquirers would see the decided superiority of the New Church doctrines. The congregation, as was expected, was numerous, the Chapel was comfortably filled, the bottom part rather crowded, and no congregation could behave better. The doctrines, no doubt, were new, and caused great surprise and attention. I suppose there were at least four hundred persons present, some say five hundred.
“When I had done preaching, the junior Methodist Preacher stepped up into the pulpit, and desired the people to stay, as he wished to address them on what they had heard. Then, begging me to be seated behind him in the pulpit, he gave out a verse to be sung: after which he endeavoured to confront what I had said in a very vehement and agitated manner. He declared, if there were not three Gods, there were three Divine Subsistences; and though it was a mystery, it must be believed. With respect to the atonement, he said, God’s justice must be satisfied. He denied that the Methodists taught the doctrine of the imputation of Christ’s merits: said such an idea was not to be found in the Scriptures; that man was further from God, than God was from man; yet God had need of being reconciled. He declared that hell-fire was material; and as for heaven, we knew nothing about it: had an angel come down to tell us what it was? He took care that I said no more; begged of me to excuse him, saying it was his congregation; wished my opinions might prevail, if they were true; said I had acted nobly, shook hands with me in the most cordial manner, and bade me farewell.
“Many people (as I afterwards learnt) felt more for me, than I felt for myself. I was confident it would cause a great inquiry into the doctrines of the New Church, and that good would be produced in the end, especially as I had acted in perfect moderation. Indeed a spirit of inquiry has already commenced, and several of the congregation have expressed their approbation of what I advanced. The whole town seems to be in a ferment, and the peculiar circumstances of the case supply matter of discourse to almost every individual who can speak on religious subjects.
“The Society in Mansfield consists of eleven persons, some of whom have read the doctrines for several years. They all appear to be worthy members of the Church, and conduct themselves in such an orderly manner, as to excite no prejudice against the doctrines by their life. An appointment was made to meet the friends alone on Monday evening the l8th, at one of their houses; but this coming to the knowledge of others, about forty assembled, as many almost as the house would hold. After singing and prayer, I sat down and explained the nature of the doctrines to them as well and as plainly as I could. I showed them the nature of the spiritual sense of the Holy Word, and explained the passage of the ten virgins, Matt. xxv. 1 to 12; and also the parable of the man travelling into a far country, ver. 14 to 29 of the same chapter. I shewed them, that the whole tenour of the Word, in its spiritual sense, related to the formation of the will and understanding of man into the order of heaven, and thus to the conjunction of man with the Lord by love or good in the will, by wisdom or truth in the understanding, and by regulating his conversation and actions according to those heavenly principles; and thus that every affection and thought in the natural man, which is hostile to such heavenly life, and capable of being stirred up by temptation, must be subdued. This Lecture was received, I believe, by every one present with great affection and delight. And though I spoke to them more than an hour, and many of them had to stand, yet several said they could have staid all night to hear such doctrine. I told them I had some catalogues of the Author’s Works, in which they would find these things abundantly treated of, to give to those who would accept of them. These they received with the same degree of thankfulness, as they would a present of considerable value. They shook hands with me in the most cordial manner, and seemed heartily to wish that my labours might be made successful. These were strangers to the doctrines before, equally unknown to the friends as to myself. They had, no doubt, heard me in the Methodist Chapel the day before, and I believe a far greater interest was attached to the doctrines by the Methodist Preacher’s opposition, than would have been the case, had he remained silent. One young woman, who attended the meeting, came a considerable distance: she was an hour too soon: she said she must hear me, as she was so much pleased with what she had heard the day before. {264} She further observed, I had told them that they must judge for themselves; and that, she said, was what she liked. Several declared, they felt as if they were ‘made over again.’ Most of them had never heard the Word preached according to the doctrines of the New Church: and they seemed to feel confident, that, if they had somebody to preach the doctrines in Mansfield, they would soon be increased to a large Society. Indeed, I perceive very plainly, that able preachers are much wanted; that the harvest is great, but the labourers are few. May the Lord of the harvest send forth labourers into his vineyard.”

The sixth Missionary journey was performed by Mr. Bradley, who passed over nearly the same ground as he had done in his former journey, besides visiting some other places. He concludes his report with the following observations:

“I am aware, that some members of the New Church think more good is to be done by circulating the doctrines in books and tracts, than by preaching; while others again conceive, that this latter mode is the most effectual in promoting the cause of truth. I am of opinion, that both modes are necessary; that all lawful means of instructing the ignorant are under the direction of the Divine Providence; and that those who prefer spreading the doctrines in a printed form, and those who are chiefly concerned in giving them publicity in an oral form, are equally acceptable to the Searcher of hearts, according to the degree of purity in the motive influencing the doer. We see, moreover, that some being employed in one interest, and some in another, causes all to be pursued with a spirit and vigour essential to the doing any thing effectually. Yet as the grand end is the same, viz., to put mankind into the happy possession of such invaluable treasures, as are the doctrines of the New Jerusalem, the different means should harmonize together, and the persons also employed therein; so that those who possess most strength, and have perhaps more than sufficient for their own undertakings, should exercise the noble prerogative of rendering assistance to such as are comparatively weak.”

After stating the substance of the interesting communications received from the different Missionaries, who have visited many of the Societies of the New Church, the Committee in their Report proceed to lay before the reader extracts from various letters written by members of those Societies, and by others who desire to be visited: from which it is evident, that the accounts transmitted by the Missionaries of the good already done, and likely further to result from their labours, are amply confirmed by the testimony of those who have witnessed the effects already produced; and how anxious some other Societies are to share in the same blessing. The following letter of congratulation and advice, addressed to Mr. Bradley, after his visit to Hull, by Mr. J. King, of that place, dated March 7, 1817, is worthy of being attended to by all Missionaries.

“It gave me much pleasure when I received your affectionate letter, and to hear you were so kindly received by the different Societies of the New Church. According to your desire, I gave your kind regards to all friends in Hull, and they were highly delighted to hear you was well, and likely to be sent out on the Missionary service again, and hope your labours will be crowned with success. It is a blessed thing, to be employed in the Lord’s service. May we all endeavour to fulfil that duty, that we may be found profitable servants before him, acting uprightly and conscientiously towards all mankind, doing all the good we can, as far as our weak abilities may extend. But then we must guard against Flattery, because proprium or self- will is so ready to lay hold of that glittering toy, Vanity, that, if not kept in due subordination, it would soon overpower every good affection, and bring the man down to slavery. The indulgence of one idol would soon terminate in the dissolution of all good and truth, and leave the man as it were a desolate, uncultivated wilderness, where nothing but thorns and briers grow. May the Lord, in his divine goodness and mercy, ever keep us free from every impure affection, thought, word, and deed; and may we all cultivate those heavenly dispositions, graces, and virtues, that will fit and qualify us so as to become proper receptacles of love and wisdom from the Lord Jesus Christ, (who alone is an overflowing fountain of love, goodness, and mercy,) that we may become more and more receptive of heavenly influences from him, to animate and comfort us in our Christian warfare, through this transitory wilderness. {265} Let us endeavour to subdue every evil in heart and life, and constantly endeavour to advance in that heavenly state of blessedness, peace, and love, which the angels enjoy. I am happy to inform you, our Society continues to live in peace and harmony with each other. I would flatter myself, each one endeavours to promote each others good. We meet in love, and with the Lord’s blessing I hope we live in love: when that is wanting, religion is dead.- I hear you are stationed at Leeds and Sheffield for some time. It will give me pleasure to learn what progress the New Church is making in those places; and I should like to hear our Saviour’s words verified, when he said to his disciples, ‘Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest,’ John iv. 35. May the Lord give the blessing, where his divine truths are sown.”

Mr. Madeley, of Derby, on hearing that the Committee were about to publish a Report of the Missionary proceedings, writes as follows, under date of March 18, 1817.

“Your letter of the 4th inst. I duly received, and regard it as a manifestation of your desires to extend the blessings, which by the divine mercy of the Lord, are communicated to you. I assure you I give my very hearty concurrence to the measure which you have adopted, and I hope and trust it will prove an effectual method of uniting our resources, and strengthening our cause. We all know, that without liberal contribution it is impossible to send out preachers; and I am of opinion, that this Report will be a means of obtaining those contributions. I therefore wish you good luck in the name of the Lord.- I feel anxious for you to enter on some decisive measure of sending out Ministers. ‘Delays are dangerous.’ We shall not like to hear of the money being put out to interest: I should be better pleased to hear of your being in debt, than of your having a fund in a Bank. Our friends are all expectation; and if we suffer that heavenly flame of love and zeal, which now manifests itself, to sink into apathy, I fear the Church will assume a lukewarm and inactive state, a state which we must allow is very dangerous. It becomes our duty, as well as our privilege, to fan this heavenly desire; so discernible in every countenance, until the blessed name of Jehovah Jesus, as the One Only God of heaven and earth, is openly proclaimed in every town and village in the British nation. Let us, therefore, like the woman in the Gospel, (Mark xiv. 8,) ‘do what we can,’ with eternal ends before us; and may our earnest endeavours to extend the kingdom of our Lord be crowned with abundant success.”

The First Missionary Report concludes with the following suitable and just reflections.

“The Committee having now given their Report of the chief circumstances that have occurred since the institution of the Missionary Ministry, have only further to add, that they have endeavoured to discharge their duty in the best manner they were able. They are fully sensible of the importance of the charge committed to their hands; and they humbly hope, that their services will be found acceptable to the Church at large. But when they consider the efforts which have been made by the Missionaries employed, and the success which, through the divine mercy, has attended their Ministry far beyond the expectations of many, who followed them with their prayers, their hopes, and their fears, they altogether lost sight of their own exertions in the contemplation and adoration of that divine mercy, providence, and power, which has so conspicuously blessed the labours of every one concerned in this great cause. And though they feel themselves constrained to return, their grateful acknowledgments, in the name of the New Church at large, to the Ministers so worthily employed, to the Societies so affectionately receiving them, and to the individuals so cheerfully contributing to the means whereby this great work has been so far effectually promoted, yet will they never cease to join their brethren both in heaven and on earth, while with one unanimous voice they say, ‘Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.'” (Ps. cxv. 1.) {266}

STATE OF THE NEW CHURCH IN FRANCE, IN THE YEAR 1816.

Extracted from a Letter written by a distinguished Member of the New Church in London, to his Friend in America.

“Since I had the pleasure of writing to you in August, I have had an opportunity of seeing and learning the state of the New Dispensation in France; and, though my information is of a very negative nature, such as it is, I shall proceed to lay it before you, as illustrative of that consummation, which seems at this moment to be past its greatest height, and to be in some slight degree tempered by the approaching dawn of a perpetual day. Folly and impiety, among that noble people, seem to have done their worst; and the rapid sale of various new and cheap editions of the Bible, and that in Paris, proves the descent of a heavenly influx, and that there are some humble and chastened minds, who, wearied out with the heartlessness and misery ever attendant on Atheism and vice, at length begin to hunger and thirst after righteousness, and to seek it where alone it is to be found, in the divine source of all consolation, security, and peace. But what may still further prove, that this blessed change has commenced, is the increasing demand for the Latin works of our Swedenborg. The bookseller, who sells the works, Barrois the elder, assured me that he had frequent demand for them, and that, in consequence, he was in the habit of sending for them to Germany, Scotland, and Switzerland, and wherever else he heard of copies to be sold. For a set of the Latin Arcana, (if there was one which I could procure him,) he offered thirty louis d’ors, for a gentleman who had borrowed the three first volumes from the Royal Library. But though these matchless writings had scarcely made their way with individuals, dispersed over the country, I could not learn, nor do I think that any societies have been formed. Indeed, the political state of the country, until the restoration of the present family, would not have authorised such a step. In France, they have but few of the works published in the language of the country, and of those few, most of them very indifferently done. The only two which are correctly done, are, the Treatise on Influx, and the first volume of the True Christian Religion, by our excellent and learned friend, M. Parraud. As the spiritual face of the land is changing, and the trees and shrubs, after a long and horrid winter, are beginning to bud, and put forth their tender shoots, I am in hopes that our friend will soon be enabled, by the divine blessing, to publish the remaining volume of the latter, and a translation of the Parables, which he justly seemed to think would be most beneficial, as introductory to those transcendent volumes of wisdom, which are, perhaps, in many instances, too powerful for the sight, without a gradual preparation. From M. Parraud I learned the names of three receivers of the new doctrines, M. Girault, a’ la Maison Rouge a’ Pontoise; M. Verdier, Cour Saint Loud, No. 8, a’ Angers; and M. Bousie, Passy pres Paris. To the last of these gentlemen I had the pleasure of being introduced.”

About the beginning of the year 1816, an association was formed in Philadelphia, for the purpose of disseminating the doctrines of the New Church more extensively through the United States, and promoting a more general union among the readers of Swedenborg’s Writings. The association took the name of “The American Society for the Dissemination of the Doctrines of the New Jerusalem Church;” and published a Notice in eight Philadelphia Gazettes, and in many other papers, of which the following is a copy.

“NOTICE.

The readers of the Theological Writings of EMANUEL SWEDENBORG, in the United States, are informed, that an association has been established at Philadelphia, under the title of ‘The American Society for Disseminating the Doctrines of the New Jerusalem Church.’ As this Society will correspond with others in Europe, instituted for similar purposes, and derive thence periodical intelligence of the progress of the Church in the East, it is desirable, that as much information as is attainable, relative to the reception of the doctrine; in the Western Hemisphere, should be communicated on our part. We, therefore, warmly solicit the individual members of the New Church, wherever they may be dispersed throughout the Continent, to favour the Society with such communications as are calculated to assist in the promotion of its views. {267}

“In thus making public the existence of an institution, which shall act as the common centre of information at home, and as the common organ of correspondence with Societies abroad, we cannot omit to mention, for the satisfaction of our distant brethren, that the last advices from Europe represent the prospects of the Church as highly encouraging. In England, especially, has the number of recipients most rapidly increased. In Lancashire alone they are estimated at nine thousand, and in each of the cities of London and Manchester, there are three Temples for worship, in which the sole and exclusive Divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ is preached, as a fundamental doctrine of Christian faith. In Sweden, and in Germany too, the doctrines are favourably received; and there is every reason for believing, that the general peace of the world will have a powerful influence in their more extensive dissemination.
“As to the extent of the Church in America, the information of the Society is limited. It is known, that there is in Baltimore an established Church and Pastor; that a house of worship is contemplated to be built in Philadelphia, at an early period; that there is a considerable Society in New York; and that there are numerous individuals in the Atlantic and Western States, and in the interior of Pennsylvania. The Church is evidently spreading in America, and we trust that we shall soon be enabled to collect such intelligence of its extent, as will equal our most sanguine calculations.
“The Society will take pleasure in answering any inquiries upon the subject of books, and will render assistance in the importation of such as are not to be procured in the United States.

“By order of the Society,
“CONDY RAGUET,

“Philadelphia, January 1, 1816.”    “Corresponding Secretary.”

To this Notice were added two Circulars, requesting the friends in different parts of the Union to give it all the publicity in their power, and to communicate to the Society at Philadelphia whatever information they were possessed of respecting the state and progress of the New Church in America.
Some time afterwards the Society published the FIRST RE PORT of their proceedings in the following terms:

“Agreeably to the provisions of the Constitution of the Society, the following Report of its progress and operations is presented to the readers of the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, in the United States and elsewhere.

“The Society having been organized by its election of officers on the first of January, 1816, every exertion was used to give publicity to the act. A Notice addressed to ‘the Readers of the Theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg,’ was published in all the daily gazettes of Philadelphia, amounting in number at that period to eight; and was subsequently inserted in many other papers in the Atlantic cities and interior towns. A printed copy of the same was also transmitted, with a short Circular, recommending a general publicity, to almost every individual of the Church, with whose name we had been acquainted.
“This publication may be considered as the first annunciation of the existence of the New Church in Philadelphia. Although the religious tenets of its members had been previously known to most of their personal friends and acquaintances, and although the name of Swedenborg had been heard by many, yet the great mass of the community were wholly uninformed as to both. The period at which this publication was made was peculiarly fortunate. The state of the public mind was highly favourable to religious investigation, as is evident from the circumstance, that about this time societies for the distribution of the Holy Scriptures were formed throughout the city and its vicinity, and in many other parts of the United States. As might reasonably have been expected, a general inquiry was made as to the principles of this New Church; and whilst some were contented to hear, that its leading features were in opposition to the commonly received orthodoxy of the day, others, who were not disposed to receive as true all the various doctrines which they had heard advanced, without inquiring for themselves, made further investigation; and the result has been, that if they have not embraced the truths of the New Jerusalem, they have at least divested themselves of that prejudice, which has influenced some to traduce and condemn writings which they have never read.
“From the comparatively short period which had elapsed since the introduction of the doctrines into America, we had no reason to expect that their dissemination had been extensive. {268} But our most sanguine calculations were realized in the result. Numerous letters were received from different quarters, informing us of the names of individuals, and of the existence of small societies, professing the holy truths of the new dispensation, of whom we had never before heard; and even in our own immediate vicinity, we were brought to an aquaintance with some devout receivers, who were previously unknown to us. Even yet we continue to hear occasionally of some heretofore unknown friends; and we feel well persuaded, that in the interior of the country there must be many, with whom the channel of communication has not yet been opened.
“Although, when compared with other denominations of Christians, the New Church must acknowledge its numbers to be few, yet it is a source of infinite gratification to reflect, that those numbers are increasing. Still more is it matter of rejoicing to know, that a zeal for the propagation of truth continues unabated amongst its members; and when we consider that every receiver of the doctrines of the New Jerusalem is, in his particular sphere of life, an additional labourer in the vineyard of the Lord, we cannot but be impressed with the idea, that the day is near at hand, when the Lord will no more speak to his people in parables, but ‘will show them plainly of the Father.’
“Under the date of March 1st, a Circular was addressed by the Society to the members of the Church, inviting them, for reasons therein stated, to form themselves into Societies, and to appoint each a secretary, upon whom should devolve the correspondence. This request has been complied with in part; and in order that our friends, who reside at a distance may be enabled to correspond with each other, we shall insert in a future report, a list of the names of the corresponding secretaries, which shall have been transmitted to us.
“The Society further reports, That since its establishment several letters have been received from Europe of a very interesting nature, some of which will be found inserted wholly or in part below:
“That within the last two years Mr. William Schlatter, a member of the Church, has published at his individual expense, for gratuitous distribution, 1000 copies of the Doctrine concerning the Lord; 500 copies of the Doctrine of Life, with the Biography of Swedenborg annexed; 750 copies of the Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture; 250 copies of Proud’s Sermon on the Second Advent, with Dr. Beyer’s Memorial to the King of Sweden; and 250 copies of Sibly’s Sermon on the Resurrection, with two Letters by Mr. Clowes:
“That Mr. Johnston Taylor, another member, within the same period also published, at his own expense, for gratuitous distribution, 1000 copies of A Seal upon the Lips, written by Robert Hindmarsh:
“That the Society has itself published 500 copies of a new Liturgy, and 500 copies of a new Collection of Hymns, which have been adopted by the Churches of Philadelphia and New York, and has undertaken to conduct a Quarterly Magazine, under the title of The New Jerusalem Church Repository, the first Number of which will appear during the present month.
“The Society has also, within a few months, imported from London a considerable supply of the works of Swedenborg, and other publications in agreement therewith, one half of which have already been sold, and the demand for others (particularly the Arcana Coelestia and Apocalypse Explained) has been so great, that they have transmitted an additional order, the execution of which they look for early in the spring. The first Number of the Repository that will be published after the receipt of the books, will contain a Catalogue, with the List of prices.
“The Society has the happiness to announce to their distant brethren, that the New Jerusalem Temple, the corner-stone of which was laid on the 6th of June last, is now nearly completed, and will be ready for consecration during the present month. This edifice, the first in Philadelphia, and the second in the United States, devoted to the sole and exclusive worship of the Lord Jesus Christ, as the Only God of heaven and earth, is situate at the south-east corner of Twelfth and George Streets, and, though small in its structure, is, for neatness and tasteful architecture, universally admired.
“With this exposition of its proceedings, and of the state of the Church, the Society closes its Report, referring for further information to the following documents,”
“Philadelphia, January 1, 1817.”

Letter from a distinguished Member of the Society “Pro Fide et Charitate,” in Sweden, addressed to the Corresponding Secretary of “The American Society for Disseminating the Doctrines of the New Jerusalem Church.”

“Dear Sir,        “Stockholm, July 31, 1816.

“According to the directions of Mr. T-, I take the liberty to open with you a correspondence, which perhaps may be on both sides animating and agreeable; but I am obliged to beg you to excuse my disability in the English Language. {269}
“Restrictions upon the liberty of the press and thinking, as in relation to the constitution of this country, have hindered, since the death of the inestimable Swedenborg, a common embracing of the new holy truths, given him to communicate to the world; only in privacy, some few friends of truth, partly during his life, and partly thereafter, could operate in spreading the light. Persecutions arose, even in 1769, against two reverend gentlemen, of his friends, the doctors in theology, Beyer and Rosen, in regard to their way of thinking. Under the reign of King Gustavus III., arose a greater liberty of religion, and there was established, in 1785, a Society by the name of ‘The Exegetic and Philanthropical,’ for spreading of the truths, whereof his brother, the now reigning King of Sweden, was a member*; and even in 1787, a secret order for the same purpose was established; but they both ceased soon, by political relations. With experience of their mistakes, some friends of truth resolved, in 1796, to form the yet existing Society, Pro Fide et Charitate, whose statutes are inserted in the Intellectual Repository, published in London. This Society was indeed several years without operations, on account of the first-mentioned reasons. However it holds yet its design, God be praised, since the happy changed Government, in 1809, when the liberty of the press and of thinking, even in religion, was confirmed by a new constitution. During this whole time, the New Church of the Lord has indeed gone so little forward, that its members cannot be reckoned over one thousand, the whole country round, but in the satisfying hope of soon having the Writings of the valuable Swedenborg translated in Swedish, for which we are under the greatest obligations to our friends in England, who have subscribed there for a considerable gift, the light of the Lord will, with more facility, spread its divine rays. Sweden, notwithstanding her being one of the most happy countries in Europe, in the course of the last twenty-five years, has been rendered poor in money, as well as in people, in comparison with other nations. This is one of the reasons why we find hitherto only the following writings translated in Swedish, viz: The True Christian Religion; The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrines; A Brief Summary of the Doctrines; The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the Lord, and concerning the Sacred Scriptures; Angelic Wisdom concerning Divine Love and Divine Wisdom; The Treatise on the Nature of Influx; The Hieroglyphic Key to Natural and Spiritual Mysteries; and an Extract from the Apocalypse Explained, with the Method to gain Faith and Love. But, since we have received from the Societies in England, although not sufficient for the purpose, sixty pounds sterling, The Arcana Coelestia, or Heavenly Mysteries, is to be published.
* Charles XIII., who commenced his reign in 1809.- ED.
“The members of the New Church are spread around all parts of the country, but are most numerous in the province of West Gothland, and next in this city. A new philosophy, called by the name of its author, (Schelling, in Germany,) has advanced very much in this country. Its adherents enforce the necessity between a religion and a true philosophy, and so on the contrary. These begin ardently to search in the New Doctrines, as the nearest according to their principles. A particular veneration for the Sacred Scriptures has ever arose from the zealous endeavours of a society for spreading of the Bible. The continuation of the affection to search, created by the former, and the preparation in the general ways of thinking, produced by this latter veneration for the Sacred Scriptures, together with the constitutional liberty of religion, give us rejoicing prospects for the success of the New Church here. I even dare to believe, that much in that way would be done, if the New Church, at least in the capital, possessed a fortune to build a proper Temple, for the public promulgation of the truths; but it would be a charge of more than two thousand pounds sterling; and how will one find bread in the desert? Yet the Omnipotent Lord, who has all means in his hand, will undoubtedly, when the time arrives, find out expedients thereto, although the poverty be general.
“By the liberal principles of the aforesaid Societies in England, we have even received such a sum as eighty pounds sterling, to translate and print the Writings in German; and we have now begun to publish, in that language, The Angelic Wisdom concerning Divine Love and Wisdom. Already are published, in German, The True Christian Religion, one edition at Altenburgh, in 1785, and another in Basel, in 1795, together with The Coronis, The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrines, and The Treatise on the Nature of infux; wherefrom will be found, that also in Germany and Switzerland there are friends of the New Church, however, as here, of a limited number.
“In France are translated The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrines, The Treatise on the Nature of lnflux, and on Heaven and Hell, besides several other Writings for the promulgation of the truths, as, for example, A Brief Summary of all the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg. {270}
“In Denmark, where no translations are yet to be found, are undoubtedly a number of members of the New Church; and in Russia, and especially in the region of Moscow, where we should least suppose it, there are very many friends of the truth.
“These are the notices, which I am at present able to give you. If I may thereby have procured the American Society, and you, dear Sir, any pleasure, I rejoice at it; and may I, in all cases, assure you of the great esteem and direction, wherewith I shall always have the honour to remain,
“My Dear Sir,
“Your most humble and affectionate
“Brother and Servant,
“———-”

Extract of a Letter from the President of the London Society for Printing and Publishing the Writings of the Honourable Emanuel Swedenborg, to the same.

“London, Aug. 5, 181 6
“We rejoice much at the prospect, which peace has opened to us, of cultivating more intimate friendship with those Societies in your hemisphere, with whom we have the happiness to be linked in the same glorious employ, and who are animated by so zealous a disposition to co-operate with their Lord in promoting his great eternal end. The heavenly seed is sown, and we look forward, with confidence in the divine blessing, to its extended dissemination and growth, by such mutual acts of charity and assistance, as will at length associate the great family of mankind in the performance of those distinct, yet concurrent uses, each tending to the o one great end, – the eternal welfare of the whole. In this country, the affection of truth is rapidly spreading. The sale of tracts, from the Writings of our Swedenborg, and in agreement with them, is very extensive among the poorer classes; many thousands, principally by means of hawkers, are sold every year. It is true, that among the learned and scientific, whose minds are steeled against spiritual impressions, their reception has been generally opposed: still we can rank on the honourable side of truth, many eminent for their piety, their learning, and scientific acquirements. Among the Clergy of the Established Church, I have been surprised to hear the many, comparatively, who had embraced the heavenly doctrines with the most devout affection, and who preach those doctrines as their first duty, without fear or molestation. At the head of these, as you no doubt know, stands our excellent and highly enlightened friend Mr. Clowes; a man raised up by the Divine Providence of the Lord to give greater scope to the effects of these incomparable Writings, by his judicious translations, by his own most important publications, and by the purity and brightness of his life. Of these, our friends will have still further proof, in the works which are now sent. They will find many new publications, which we owe to his useful labours. With respect to that most extraordinary work, On the Worship and Love of God, which, though written by our Author previous to his spiritual communications, is still so generally consistent with his subsequent writings, and in a measure so illustrative of them, in tracing the distinctions and progress of the human mind, and so replete with metaphysical and physical discoveries of the highest order, we may surely estimate its translation as a signal benefit to all, who are wise enough to profit by its contents.
“You may perhaps be aware, that all the papers of Emanuel Swedenborg, as well philosophical as theological, were deposited, at his death, with the Academy of Arts and Sciences, at Stockholm, and that, in consequence of some depredations, they have been locked up, and scarce any one has been permitted to see and examine them. It may be interesting to our friends to learn, that, in a very recent letter from Sweden, I am informed, that the whole Collection of Manuscripts at the Observatory is,’ as my friend expresses it, no more guarded by dragons, or enemies to the cause; for Baron S-, whom you know, has purchased, or otherwise procured for himself, the right thereof from all the heirs of E. S., on whose account they were deposited in the Academy of Arts and Sciences. I have this from himself, and am quite sure of procuring from him an order, immediately, if you, or one of you, have a mind to look over them.’
“A subscription has been entered into, in this country, and one hundred and sixty pounds collected, and sent over to the Society Pro Fide et Charitate, established in Stockholm, as a part fund for translating and printing the Writings in Swedish and German. {271}
“Expressing an earnest hope that this communication between the two countries, so happily, under the divine auspices of the Lord, commenced, may grow in satisfaction and delight, as in the performance of reciprocal acts of kindness and useful service, allow me, my dear Sir, to call myself,
“Your friend and brother,
“CHARLES AUGUSTUS TULK.”

Actuated by a desire to render the cause which they had embraced, as extensive services as their qualifications and resources would allow, the same Society published by Subscription a Quarterly Magazine, under the title of The New Jerusalem Church Repository.* This work, which was conducted with uncommon ability, met with considerable success for some time, but was afterwards discontinued for want of adequate support.
* Eight Numbers were issued, the last of which was published in Oct., 1818.-ED.
On the 6th of June, 1816, the corner-stone of a new Temple, or place of worship, was laid in Philadelphia, by Mr. Carll, in the presence of a considerable number of the members of the Church. The ceremony was the same as that used on laying the first stone of the New Jerusalem Temple, in Salford, Manchester, on the 19th of September, 1813; consisting chiefly of appropriate passages from the Word, and a prayer suited to the occasion. The building was finished in the course of the year, and on the first of January, 1817, was consecrated by the Rev. John Hargrove, of Baltimore, and the Rev. M. M. Carll, of Philadelphia, who had been ordained on the day preceding. A large assembly of people attended on the occasion, among whom were several members of the New Church from different States.
The following account of the state and prospects of the New Church in America, is taken from the American New Jerusalem Church Repository, for April, 1817, No. 2, p. 125:

“Our letters from different parts of the United States, particularly the Western country, represent the prospects of the Church as of the most encouraging nature. The exertions, which have been made, to disseminate the truths of the New Dispensation, by an extensive circulation of the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, by preaching, and by conversations, have already been crowned with great success. The works have found their way to the libraries of hundreds, who had never before perused them, and the glad tidings of a new and glorious revelation, to all who are disposed to profit by this additional proof of the goodness of the Almighty, has been proclaimed to thousands. Such a zeal in the cause of the gospel, as has been displayed by the members of the Church throughout, cannot fail to be productive of the most happy results; and although the progress of truth must, in its nature, be slow, yet it will be certain. Those, who are acquainted with the very gradual reception of the New Church doctrines in the hearts of persons, who by education or misinformation have formed unfavourable impressions respecting them, can scarcely expect that the accession of professed converts could have been very considerable, during the short period since which the New Church may be said to have had in this country a manifested existence.
“Very little more than a year has elapsed, since its first public annunciation was made in this city, and yet several have been added to our Society, as avowed disciples; while others, again, who are seriously inquiring after the truth, have become partial receivers in a greater or less degree. And what is further subject of great rejoicing is, that since the New Church has taken its stand amongst the religious societies of the land, and proclaimed unequivocally and loudly its acknowledgment of the Sole and Exclusive Divinity of the Lord JESUS CHRIST, an investigation as to the object of worship has occupied no small share of the public attention. Many individuals, especially among the Societies of the Friends and Methodists, have been heard to declare their unqualified belief in JESUS CHRIST as the Only God of heaven and earth; and there is every reason to believe, that this faith, which is the corner-stone of the New Jerusalem Church, will have a wide and powerful influence with many other sects of the Old Church. {272} We ourselves have lately heard from the mouth of a Trinitarian Preacher the expression ‘JEHOVAH JESUS;’ at another time, from a Presbyterian pulpit, that ‘if Jesus Christ was not Jehovah himself, all our faith was vain;’ and again, from the lips of a Baptist Clergyman, that the invitation of Christ, ‘Come unto me, all ye who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest,’ was conclusive as to Christ being one with Jehovah. Such expressions as these, which are by no means consistent with the declared orthodoxy of the Old Church, are manifestations of the strong influence now operating in the spiritual world, to cause genuine truth to break its way forth into the natural world. Individuals are thus, at times, when they suffer themselves to be abstracted from the doctrines of their particular Church, and open their minds to the heavenly influx, made to feel and acknowledge a truth, which, when compared with the dogmas, by which they consider themselves bound to be governed, they afterwards abandon.
“Since the dedication of the New Jerusalem Temple in Philadelphia, on the first of January last, service has been regularly performed therein by the established Pastor, the Rev. M. M. Carll; and it affords us pleasure to state, that the house is usually crowded with hearers. From what we have seen, and from what we daily see, we feel confident; that the Lord will prosper the work which has been commenced, and in his own good time bless his Church with such an increase, as will make glad the hearts of his people.”

Mr. Lewis Beers, of the county of Tioga, in the state of New York, having been unanimously and solemnly called, by the incorporated New Jerusalem Society of said county, to take upon himself the office of Pastor thereof, was, on Sunday, the 19th of January, 1817, in the Temple, in the city of Philadelphia, ordained a Priest and Teaching Minister in the Lord’s New Church of the New Jerusalem. The Ordination service was performed by the Rev. Mr. Carll, after which an instructive and animated discourse was delivered by Mr. Beers.
Soon after the erection of the New Jerusalem Temple in Philadelphia, the ladies of the congregation opened a Sunday School therein for the education of children of all denominations. This institution, no doubt, will be attended with the same beneficial effects, as have been experienced by similar institutions in England, especially if the example should be followed by other Societies in the United States.
A further proof of the growing prosperity of the New Church in America may be inferred from the following communications. A member of the Society in Philadelphia, on occasion of the building of a New Temple in that city, writes to his correspondent in England in these terms.

“We feel it incumbent on us, at this time, to stand forth and acknowledge our LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST as the ONLY GOD of the heavens and earth, and to acknowledge the New Jerusalem Church, and the internal and spiritual meaning of the Holy Word, as explained to all men by his servant Emanuel Swedenborg. We have also some convincing proofs, that our expectations will not prove fruitless; for only a few days ago I received a letter from a Clergyman of the Episcopal Church, in the interior of this State, who informed me, that he had been a reader of Emanuel Swedenborg’s Works for many years, and now thought it time, and his duty, to come out and preach the doctrines of the New Jerusalem. He added also, that he was not without hope there were many of his congregation in a state to receive the truth; and he assured me, that our bold example, and the zeal of our Society, had assisted him in his resolution. This, with many other circumstances of a similar nature, induces us to believe, that we are acting agreeably to order; and we trust the Lord is with us, and will protect and assist us in our wishes and endeavours to promote his cause. {273} There must be now some hundreds of readers in the United States, as I had, through the medium of my regular business last year, an opportunity of sending books to almost every quarter of this rising empire, and particularly to the great Western country, inhabited by men of great independence and intelligence, principally in a gentile state, without the prejudice of old doctrines deeply rooted, which, in the members of the Old Church, it is almost impossible to remove. I think I must have distributed nearly two thousand books, large and small; and most of them were given to worthy men, who assured me they would read them, and afterwards lend them to their neighbours.”

Another correspondent gives the following information:

“At Washington I met only with a few members, who have not as yet formed themselves into a regularly organized Society, but who are nevertheless actively employed in making the doctrines known. A member in that city lately published (for distributing gratis) a few hundred copies of Mr. Clowes’s sermon on the Divine Trinity, and adopted rather a strange method of giving it publicity.* He employed the editor of the National Intelligencer, the official state newspaper published in that city, to make use of the sermon, as an envelope to the paper, by which means it has been distributed all over the country, as this paper has the widest circulation of any in the United States. The consequence is, that in some towns the sermon has been published entire in their Newspapers, under the title of ‘The Rev. John Clowes’s celebrated Sermon on the Trinity,’ which has given occasion to some people to write in opposition to it; but the most interesting fact of all is, that even these cannot agree with one another in the opinions they advance upon the subject, and have begun to quarrel and fight about it among themselves. This, as you may suppose, has opened a wide field for the espousers of the new doctrines to come forward in support of them, and in this they have not been deficient, as there is no lack either of abilities or inclination to exert themselves on such an occasion. The discussion is now going on in newspapers, and is not likely to end soon.”
* Sermon iv., Clowes’s Miscellaneous Sermons.- ED.

But the most important communications are from Mr. C. J. Doughty, Secretary to the Society at New York. He first gives an account of the formation of a regular Society in that city in the following

“CIRCULAR”

“Sir,                            “New York, 1816.
“I have the pleasure to inform you, that the members of the New Jerusalem Church, in this city, have lately organised themselves into a Society for the dissemination of its doctrines, under the name of ‘The Association of the City of New York, for the Dissemination of the Doctrines of the New Jerusalem Church.’
“It is not long ago, when the name of the ‘New Jerusalem Church’ was altogether unknown in this city. It has now begun to attract the notice of the public, and there is every reason to hope, that it will have a speedy and very rapid increase. With the design of advancing its interests, and to diffuse more generally a knowledge of its doctrines, and of the writings of the Honourable Author in which they are contained, we have organized a regular establishment, with proper officers to conduct its business. By making known the existence of this Institution, we shall afford to the public a ready mode of acquiring every useful and necessary information on the subject; a thing very desirable under the present circumstances of the Church, and of the Christian world at large. The great and important object we have in view, cannot be accomplished without exertion; and, as exertion is necessary, so we believe it will not be wanting. To this end, it is imposed as a sacred duty upon every member to make use of every opportunity, by conversation or otherwise, to communicate to all around him whatever knowledge he may have acquired of the heavenly doctrines, having a due regard to time and circumstances; and this duty he is to discharge in the manner best suited to produce its effect. Upon the Society as a body it is enjoined, to open a communication with similar institutions in every part of the world; to communicate and receive all such information, as maybe conducive to the end in view; and to adopt such measures, as shall most effectually bring all persons to a knowledge of that divine truth, which, we do most sincerely believe, is now beaming in the world. {274}

“The state of the Church in this city is certainly as prosperous, as, from our peculiar situation, we could reasonably expect. Our number, to be sure, is not very large, though, under the Divine Providence, we cannot but entertain a hope, that our number, as well as our usefulness, will not long be confined to the narrow limits they have hitherto been. We have service regularly every Sabbath-day, morning and evening, which is sometimes numerously attended by strangers.
“The officers of our Association for the present year, are, Nathaniel Holly, President; Samuel Woodworth, Vice-President; James Chesterman, Treasurer; Charles J. Doughty, Secretary.
“All communications are to be directed to the Secretary.
“CHARLES J. DOUGHTY, Secretary.”

On the 1st of January, 1817, at a meeting of members of the New Church in Philadelphia, it was proposed and determined, that a Convention of the receivers of the new doctrines, throughout the United States, should be held at the New Jerusalem Temple, in the city of Philadelphia, on the 15th of May following, being Ascension Day, for the purpose of consulting upon the general concerns of the Church. Such Convention, being the first of the kind held by members of the New Jerusalem Church in America, accordingly met on the day appointed; when the Rev. J. HARGROVE, of Baltimore, was unanimously chosen President; and Mr. CONDY RAGUET, of Philadelphia, Secretary. Many members of the Church, male and female, from the States of Now York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and Ohio, were present. Mr. John Stirling, of Glasgow, in Scotland, and Mr. Jacobson, from Sweden, also attended the Convention.
The Minutes of the General Conference of the Ministers and other Members of the New Church, held in Friar’s Street Chapel, London, from Tuesday the 16th, to Thursday the 18th of July, 1816=60, were then read, together with the letters and documents therewith published. Whereupon the Convention expressed the approbation and satisfaction they experienced at the zealous and prosperous labours of their brethren in Great Britain in disseminating the doctrines of the true Christian religion.
The Manchester and Hawkstone Reports, from their first publication to the year 1816=60 inclusive, and a number of letters and communications, from various parts of the United States and Europe, on the subject of the Church, were laid upon the table.
A letter was read, from Mr. Wm. Grant and others, members of the New Jerusalem Church, composing the Society of Steubenville, Jefferson county, in the State of Ohio, directed to the Convention, stating that they feel great confidence and interest in the labours of their well-beloved brother David Powell, who has for some years administered the Word to them as a faithful and worthy servant in that vineyard, and expressing their desire that he may be ordained as a Preacher of the New Jerusalem Church, that their Society in future may be more regularly and acceptably supplied with the administration of the Word and the holy ordinances of our Divine Saviour. {275} The Convention took the same into consideration; but conceiving that the great importance of regulating the Ordination of Ministers would require more ample deliberation, than it would be in their power to bestow at the present meeting, and considering that the New Jerusalem Churches of Baltimore and Philadelphia have hitherto with great discretion exercised the power of ordaining Ministers, it was ordered, That the said application be referred to the Rev. Messrs. Hargrove and Carll, with a request that they will favour it with their early attention.*
* It appears, that Mr. D. Powell was afterwards ordained at Philadelphia, on the 20th of May, 1817; as was also, at the same time and place, Mr. Richard H. Goe, of the neighbourhood of Wheeling, in Virginia.

It was also Resolved, That a Committee of Clergy and Laity be appointed to inquire whether it be expedient to establish any, and if any, what general regulations for the Ordination of Ministers in the New Church; and that they make report at the next Convention. Whereupon the following gentlemen were appointed, viz.

The Rev. Lewis Beers, and Nathaniel Holly, of New York.
The Rev. Maskell M. Carll, and Jonathan W. Condy, Esq., of Pennsylvania.
The Rev. John Hargrove, and George Smith, of Maryland.
The Rev. Hugh White, and Richard H. Goe, of Virginia.
The Rev. Adam Hurdus, and David Powell, of Ohio.

The subject of raising a fund, for defraying the expenses of a Missionary Minister having been suggested, it was decided, as the opinion of the Convention, that, taking into view the general state of the New Church in the United States at present, the period for adopting such a measure had not yet arrived.
It was then, on motion, Resolved, That the gentlemen attending this Convention be requested to furnish an account of the several Societies of the New Church, which are known to them as existing in the United States, with a statement of the number of members, their mode of worship, the names of the Leaders, &c., as nearly as they can be ascertained, and any other information connected therewith.
Resolved, That the Second Annual Convention of the New Church be held at the New Jerusalem Temple, in the city of Baltimore, at ten o’clock, on the morning of Ascension Day, in the year of our Lord 1818=62; at which all the receivers of the doctrines of the New Church in the United States, who can conveniently do so, are respectfully invited to attend.
Resolved, That it be earnestly recommended to each of the societies and congregations of the New Church in the United States, to send to the future Annual Conventions at least one Delegate, to represent the voice of the said society or congregation, upon matters concerning the general interests of the Church.
Resolved, That where Societies or congregations shall omit to send Delegates, they be requested to transmit to the Convention, in writing, such intelligence respecting their progress, numbers, increase, &c., as they may deem to be useful.

The Secretary then read an article from the Manchester Report, No. XIII., in the words following:

“There is also a Church lately sprung up in America, under the title of the Free Church. They believe in the Unity of God; that God is simply One and Indivisible; and that Jesus Christ is that God. They give charity the pre-eminence above faith, but do not believe the punishment of the wicked will be eternal; for which they quote Isaiah, chap. lvii. verse 16. A Preacher of that Church, Mr. S-, had become acquainted with the writings of E. S.; and, except on the article of the eternity of the punishment of the wicked, gives his most cordial assent to them: but, from what I could learn, I have little doubt of his having already rejected the error above-mentioned. {276} I understand he is a man of uncommon eloquence, together with a prepossessing exterior, and that he has had a liberal education. In 1812, he was in the interior of the State of
New York, preaching the Divinity of the Lord’s Humanity to thousands, who eagerly followed him.”

“The Society are extremely sorry to feel themselves under the obligation of remarking, respecting the Free Church mentioned in the above extract, that, although the doctrine of the Sole Divinity of Jesus Christ is asserted in that Church, yet some of the tenets, maintained by its members, seem utterly at variance with the doctrines of the New Church, as revealed in the Theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg. For, to say nothing of the denial of the eternity of punishments insisted on in the Free Church, it is strongly urged, and this in direct contradiction to what the New Church doctrine advances on the subject of civil government, that ‘Since it has been openly declared and made known to the Church, by Christ himself, that all power in heaven and in the earth (that is, all authority in Church and State) is given into his hands, it is unlawful, in the sight of God, for the saints to acknowledge any other visible political Head; inasmuch as to acknowledge any authority besides the authority of Christ, is to acknowledge another Master besides him, and to refuse the reign of Christ and the authority of Heaven.’ And again: ‘That all other dominions and pretended governments, but his alone, are strictly unlawful and equally sinful before God; being a daring encroachment on the original rights of God; the tyranny of hell, in opposition to the authority and dominion of the Lord.’ (See Circular Epistle from the 9th Concilium of the Halcyon, or Free Church, numbers 11, 12.) The Society, therefore, most earnestly caution their readers against sentiments of so mischievous a tendency, and which, if conceived to be founded in the heavenly doctrines of the New Jerusalem, must, of necessity, not only bring those doctrines into general and deserved discredit, but also expose the receivers of them to the most just and severe penalties of the law. May, then, every receiver of the blessed truths of the New Church be warned, by the above example, against intermingling his own prejudices and pre-conceived opinions with the eternal truth, recollecting the terrible denunciation on the perverted Church of old, where it is written, ‘How is the faithful city become a harlot! Thy silver is become dross: thy wine is mixed with water.’ Isa. i. 21, 22.”

Whereupon it was on motion Resolved,

That this Convention does hereby fully and explicitly declare, that none of the members here convened, nor any of the members of the New Jerusalem Church, with whom they are acquainted, have any connection or communion whatever with the people called Halcyonists or Halcyonites, and who are alluded to in the said Manchester Report.
Resolved, That a Committee be appointed to select, for publication, such parts of the Journal of the proceedings of this Convention, and to subjoin thereto such extracts from the letters and communications laid before this meeting, or which may be received or made prior to such publication, as they may deem useful for general information.

The Convention then adjourned.

Letters from a great variety of places in the United States give the most pleasing information of the progress of the New Church in that extensive country. The following is selected as a valuable specimen of the effect produced, by the publication of the Writings, on the minds of men prepared to receive the divine truths of the new dispensation.

Extract from a Letter, dated “Near Lebanon, Ohio, Feb. 6, 1817.”

“I received your communication, together with Mr. T.’s letter, and was highly delighted in reading the intelligence therein contained. I have been viewing, for many years, the preparations making by the Lord for the spreading of the glorious truths of Heaven and the Church. The first line I ever saw, to my knowledge, was, ‘THAT THE LORD IS THE GOD OF HEAVEN.’ It went like a holy beam of light and heat through my spirit; for prior to this auspicious day, for the term I think of more than three years, I had been a prey to doubts concerning the Divinity of Christ, and particularly the Divinity of the Humanity. I had been a professor of experimental religion many years, having been operated on by the heavenly sphere very young indeed, and I think in my seventeenth year joined the Friends’ Society. {277} Soon after my reception of the truths, my mind was deeply impressed with the vast importance of them for the renovation and re-establishment of the Church on earth. My zeal was considerable, and I probably should have pretty soon commenced teaching the doctrines, but found the science of correspondences, as a key to the spiritual sense of the Word, was almost or quite indispensably necessary, and this appeared an Herculean labour; but I submitted my will to the dictates of my understanding, and by the Lord’s grace assisting, I experienced some small degree of the necessary knowledge of correspondences, and after a lapse of about twelve years, commenced teaching or lecturing from the Word of the Lord. I have had considerable prejudice to encounter, but have endeavoured to turn the other cheek, (or to overcome with charity,) and not rail; and indeed generally, for many years, have wondered at the subsiding of opposition, and the open ear and eye of many, very many indeed, who make no profession of the New Church doctrines. Conversations, upon the essential principles of the New Church, are very common through our country; and as I am pretty far in the decline of life, I have much leisure to visit my neighbours, and converse freely on theological subjects. In those visits I call on any of the Preachers or lay people of any of the Societies, such as Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, Quakers, and often those who are attached to no particular profession of religion, and sometimes Deists. At present there are few here who profess Deism; but we have some Universalists, Halcyonists, and many Shakers. With some of all those different professions I have had conversations, and generally find they are all looking for the coming of CHRIST, except the Deist, and even he expects the amelioration of mankind by the rays of the Sun of Science, thus indirectly bearing testimony to the coming of the LORD JEHOVAH. The Halcyonists derive some principles of theology from Baron Swedenborg, and unite or engraft the false doctrines of annihilation, &c., thereon: but the members or honest readers of the doctrines of the New Jerusalem Church will be preserved from such preposterous doctrines. Indeed the heavenly truths falling into such different mediums, the rays are in some cases truly reflected, and in others refracted; but the Church is the LORD’S, and he will guard the same. Let us all be careful to shun evils as sins against GOD.
“As to the state of our Society here, in our constitution called ‘The Turtle Creek Society of the New Jerusalem Church,’ none are acknowledged regular members, unless they have, at some time or other, been baptized. We are perfectly satisfied, that Baptism and the Holy Supper are perpetual ordinances of the Church; and that the Supper is in particular the most holy act of worship, proving to the worthy recipient an introduction into Heaven, as Baptism is an introduction into the Church.
“We have many in this country, who have a standing in other Societies, and who read some of our books, who profess the sole and exclusive Divinity of Christ, but who positively deny the Divinity of the Humanity, which is a fundamental doctrine of the New Church. One of their principal writers is the Rev. William B. Stone, of the Western country. I now experience, the principal difficulty is in clearly evincing, to the satisfaction of the inquiring, this great truth, they having been accustomed to think of God as Divine, and the Person of Christ as merely Human. However, as they become more and more acquainted with regeneration, they will become more and more enlightened; for regeneration is an image of the Lord’s glorification; and it is a knowledge of the glorification of the Lord’s Humanity, that seems wanting.
“Your Society has our prayers for your welfare, &c.”

About this time a pamphlet was published in Now York, entitled An interesting Correspondence between the Rev. John Johnson, Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Newburgh, State of New York, and Miss Elizabeth Jones, relative to the Change in her Opinions, which occasioned her Dismissal from his Church.
The facts, as collected from this work, are, that Miss Jones, who had been a zealous and attentive member of the Presbyterian Church, had within a few years received the doctrines of the New Jerusalem, and in consequence thereof was expelled from her former communion. {278}

An almost total indifference to religious inquiry amongst modern Christians, (as the Editors of the American Repository justly observe,) seems to have left the right of advancing opinions on matters of faith and doctrine exclusively to the Clergy, and hence the productions of the Laity are scarcely deemed worthy of consideration. To behold, therefore, under all the disadvantages of prejudice, an individual, and one too of the weaker sex, engage in a theological controversy with one of “the Masters of Israel,” is an occurrence rarely to be met with. Miss Jones, it appears, is a lady of very limited education, but who, from an intimate acquaintance with her Bible, and her favourite theological works, has been enabled to wield the weapons of argument with a force almost irresistible. We learn from New York, that the circulation of this correspondence, which soon exhausted the first edition, has been attended with the most pleasing effects. Other editions have been published in Philadelphia, and in England*, it having been strongly recommended as a work well calculated to promote the cause of the New Church.
* An Edition was published in London in 8vo., and one at Manchester in 12mo.- ED.
Another work, in defence of the principles of the New Jerusalem Church, written by a lady at Boston, has also excited the attention of the public, and may really be considered as an extraordinary production from a female pen. It is entitled, Religion and Philosophy United; or, an Attempt to shew, that Philosophical Principles form the Foundation of the New Jerusalem Church, as developed to the World in the Mission of the Honourable Emanuel Swedenborg.* As to the character of this work, it will be sufficient to state the opinion expressed of it, in conjunction with the preceding work by Miss Jones, in the Report of the Manchester Printing Society, for January, 1818, which is in these words:
* This work is by Mrs. M. H Prescott; and a new edition has been recently published by her son, the Rev. T. O. Prescott, now O. Prescott Hiller, and contains a Memoir of the Authoress.- ED.

“It would be difficult to give an adequate description of the peculiar excellences, which distinguish each performance; but of this the Society are confident, that they cannot too earnestly recommend them to the perusal of their readers, who will not fail to discover from that perusal, that the ALMIGHTY has still in his Church a Jael and a Judith; [see Judges iv. v.; and the History of Judith;] and that he has again sold Sisera and Holofernes into the hands of a woman.”

MR. CARLL’S MISSIONARY TOUR

Mr. Carll, of Philadelphia, having made a Missionary tour through the Western part of Pennsylvania and Virginia, to the State of Ohio, during the months of July and August, 1817, the following is the narrative of that journey, as published by him: {279}

“July 18.- I embarked on board the steam-boat for Wilmington, at which place we arrived in the evening. Observing some religious tracts on board for the use of the passengers, I embraced the opportunity of depositing a few, relating to the doctrines of the New Jerusalem Church. On the l9th, I arrived at Baltimore, where our friends manifested every mark of kindness and affection.
“On the 20th (Lord’s Day,) I preached in the morning and evening, at the New Jerusalem Temple. The Church was filled on both occasions, and on the latter there were between forty and fifty hearers who stood by the open windows on the outside.
“On the 21st I was joined by my friend Mr. C-, who was to accompany me to the westward. During this day we paid several visits to the friends, all of whom expressed an abundance of love and zeal in the promotion of the glorious cause. We passed the evening at Mr. H-‘s, where a number of the friends were convened. Conversation on the present and future prospects of the Church, interspersed with a few delightful hymns, constituted the agreeable employment of the evening, which was concluded with a fervent petition to the Throne of Grace, by our beloved brother the Rev. J. Hargrove, in which the blessings of Heaven were invoked on our journey.
“On Tuesday the 22nd, we took passage in the stage for Chambersburg, at which place we arrived in the evening, without accident; a distance of 75 miles. During our first day’s ride, the company consisted of a lady of good sense and piety, and a number of gentlemen. We had much interesting conversation, in which the principles of the new dispensation were developed. The lady candidly confessed, that her mind was frequently harrassed and distressed beyond expression, when she reflected on the prevailing opinions of the day respecting the Divine character, and the doctrines of election, predestination, &c.&c.; and found it impossible to reconcile these opinions with the unbounded goodness and mercy of God, as displayed in the world of nature and of grace. The consoling views of the New Church, on these momentous subjects, were opened, and seemed to afford her much comfort. We separated with regret before the end of our first day’s ride; and she having expressed a desire to procure some books, we cheerfully supplied her with such as we had.
“On the 23rd, we left Chambersburg early, and reached the Juniata in the evening. During this day’s journey we discovered that the conversation of the preceding day had not been lost on our fellow-travellers, as they resumed the subject of themselves, and it was continued with increased interest. A number of hymns were also sung, and thus was the tediousness of the way beguiled, and ‘the rocks turned to down.’
“On the morning of the 24th, we arrived at Bedford: at this place and in its vicinity there is a small Society, consisting of seven or eight families, and a few individuals besides. They hold regular meetings in a large and convenient room in the house of J. E., Esq., who conducts the solemnities of the worship. We were most affectionately received by this gentleman, who introduced us to his amiable family, with whom we tarried during our stay in Bedford. Mr. E. has long been a cordial recipient of the heavenly doctrines, and has been instrumental in forming a small circle of friends about him, whose hopes and pleasures are identified with those precious doctrines. We visited several families in the town, some of whom rank among the oldest readers in this country. An appointment was made to preach in the evening at the Court House. The service commenced about dusk, and the house was well filled: perhaps there were present three hundred. I addressed them from these words in Isaiah, chap. xxix. verse 24: ‘They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine.’ Order and attention reigned throughout, and the audience seemed cordially to participate in the solemnities of the service.
“In the afternoon of the 25th, I baptized Mr. E.’s three children; to witness which ceremony the Rev. Mr. B-, by previous invitation, attended. The ceremony was solemn and impressive; after which much interesting conversation took place. I had appointed again to preach in the evening, and we had the gratification to see the house filled. The subject chosen for this occasion was the 11th of Matt and the 3rd verse: ‘Art thou He that should come, or do we look for another?’ To judge from the profound attention bestowed, the discourse was well received, and the Lord was indeed present with us.
“The following day we took leave of our kind friends, and went on seven miles further to a Mr. E-‘s, a worthy member of the New Church. Here I had the pleasure of initiating into the Church, by the sacred rite of baptism, four children. We then passed on to Stoy’s Town, a small village on the western side of the Allegany mountain. Here we were cordially welcomed by our friend Mr. G-, who furnished us with every comfort which hospitality could suggest. The following being Lord’s Day, afforded an opportunity of proclaiming to the people the realities of the new dispensation. {280} There is a small building for worship in this place, to which our friend had liberally subscribed, on condition of its being free for all who profess to worship the Lord Jesus Christ.
“On the following day we proceeded to Greensburg, where we were kindly received by our good friend Judge Young. At this place I preached twice to crowded audiences, married one couple, and baptized a child. After taking leave of our friends at Greensburg we set out for Pittsburg, which is an easy day’s ride; at which place we tarried but a short time, and then proceeded on to Steubenville, in the State of Ohio. At this place there is an organized Society, having at its head a regularly ordained Minister, the Rev. Mr. Powell, which assembles for worship every Lord’s Day. Finding, on our arrival, that the ensuing Sunday had been appointed for the celebration of the holy sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, we were induced to stay until that interesting season should have passed. During our delay, we had preaching five times, and most of the people of the place attended. The celebration of the sacrament took place at the time above specified, at the Court House, in the presence of a crowd of spectators. We availed ourselves of this opportunity of explaining our views of this holy ordinance, in contradistinction to those of the Catholic and Protestant Churches. The very external and literal views of the former, and the more spiritual though mistaken views of the latter, were pointed out; and it was shewn, that this holy rite is not to be considered as a mere remembrance of the dying love of the Lord, but in addition to this, that there is a real communication of those heavenly principles of love and wisdom, to which the bread and the wine correspond. Several of our brethren, who lived at a distance, attended on this occasion, amongst whom were the Rev. Mr. Goe, Mr. B– and wife, of Washington, Pa. There were twelve communicants. Sixteen adults and children were added to the Church, by baptism, in this town.
“On Monday, the 11th of August, I took an affectionate leave of our friends at Steubenville. It was at this place I parted from my excellent companion, Mr. C-, who had greatly contributed to assist and strengthen me in the performance of my duties. I accompanied Mr. Goe on my return to his residence, near Wheeling, where I baptized his amiable wife, and four children.
“On the following day I set off for Washington, Pa., a distance of 25 miles, at which place resides an exemplary professor, whose family has cordially embraced the heavenly doctrines. We were gladly received by Mr. B- and his amiable partner. An appointment had been made the same evening to preach. The Court House was well filled, and one or two Clergymen attended. The following words were chosen as the subject: ‘Behold ye among the heathen, and regard and wonder marvellously; for I will work a work in your day, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.’ From which text occasion was taken to trace the various messages which had been vouchsafed to man, the manner in which these messages had been received by erring mortals; and I concluded by shewing, that a new and more glorious message had been proffered to man, the leading doctrines of which I pointed out. The most profound attention was observed throughout; and at the close, I reciprocated a most cordial shake of the hand with a Baptist Clergyman, who sat near me.
“Having baptized two children at this place, on the following day I set out for Brownsville. Our party was now augmented by the addition of Mr. B-, who heightened the interest of the conversation by the way. We arrived at Mr. McC-‘s early in the afternoon. After receiving every attention and refreshment, which hospitality and kindness could afford, and baptizing his three children, we proceeded on five miles further, to the dwelling of Mr. Goe, sen. It was truly a delightful sight that presented itself on the occasion of the baptismal service at Mr. McC–‘s. Eight lovely daughters and three sons, all members of the same family, were present to witness a ceremony, which they themselves had experienced twelve years before, from the hands of brother Hargrove. Mr. and Mrs. McC- accompanied us to Mr. Goe’s, at which place we arrived early in the evening. Here we delivered a sermon to a number of the neighbours. Mr. and Mrs. Goe are nearly ninety years of age. They are a very interesting couple, and have been devoted to the heavenly doctrines a number of years.
“In the morning we set out for Pittsburg, a distance of 33 miles, at which place we had made an appointment to preach. We had but a small audience at this city, owing to a difficulty in procuring a proper place: perhaps there were fifty persons present.
“On the following morning I took leave of my companions, and set out for home. I delivered discourses at all the places on my return, at which I had preached on my outward journey, attended with circumstances nearly similar to those above related. At Bedford we celebrated the holy sacrament, of which eight persons partook. {281} This solemnity received additional interest from the circumstance of a young lady and gentleman, in the hey-day of youth, surrounded with all the show and glitter which this place of fashionable resort presents, coming forth in the face of the world, solemnly dedicating their affections to the Lord, and thus ‘choosing that good part,’ which the Lord hath said shall not be taken away from them. Three adults were baptized on this occasion; and, during my visit, I preached two sermons, one of which was delivered in the Presbyterian Church, which was politely offered for the purpose.
“Having sent an appointment to brother Hargrove, to preach at Baltimore on the 24th, I was obliged to take leave of those, whose kindness and urbanity had united me to them by every tie of brotherly love.
“We had preaching at Baltimore on Lord’s Day, morning and evening. On both occasions the house was filled. In the evening there were five Clergymen present, of different denominations, to two of whom, after service, I was introduced, and who invited me to visit them.
“In the afternoon I embarked on board the steam-boat, and arrived at home the following day, after an absence of thirty-nine days; during which time I had travelled a distance of near eight hundred miles, had baptized thirty-seven souls, administered the sacrament twice, had proclaimed the heavenly doctrines of the New Jerusalem twenty times, to not fewer than between two and three thousand persons, many of whom had never heard of them before. May the Lord bless these exertions, and cherish the seed which has been sown with the genial warmth and gentle dews of heaven!
“From the order and attention manifested on every occasion, and the interest that was excited, I am of opinion, that this mode of introducing the verities of the New Jerusalem to the hearts and understandings of men, will be peculiarly blessed of the Lord. It cannot be but that, on ground of such diversified a quality, some seed will be received; and although the fruit will depend upon the character of the soil, some producing more, and some less, yet all will ultimately be benefitted. All may not arrive at interior states of perception, owing to hereditary proprium, prejudices, and various states of confirmation in doctrines which have been imbibed by peculiar modes of education; yet all may be strengthened and confirmed in their respect for the Holy Word, the external ordinances of religion, and the great realities of an eternal state of existence.”