One man from Meadow, Wash. back in 1899 tries to answer Geistweit’s question . . . (more…)

In The Standard newspaper (Chicago, April 1, 1899), W. H. Geistweit writes a stinging attack on his encounter with two Mormon missionaries. (more…)

As I am reading The Standard  (the first American Baptist weekly, established in 1853, out of Chicago), I am deeply caught up in the historical tension between Baptists and Mormons back in 1899. (more…)

My great, great Grandfather associated himself with the University of Chicago Divinity School back in the late 1800s.

The higher critical scholarship of Europe was making inroads in the seminaries in America, but I like what Pastor W. H. Geistweit of Chicago wrote in The Standard – A Baptist Newspaper (The Chicago Baptist weekly, March 18, 1899).  It is both humorous and provocative: (more…)

“Conversion is something of such great importance that Jesus Christ told the people round about him that if they were not converted they would all perish.

What Conversion is Not.

It is not a change of religion.  A thief may change his overcoat, but he remains a thief.  The coat may have been changed, but not the man.  It is not a change of belief.  There are many people who believe all that the very best Christians believe, but who, in spite of that, are perfect worldlings without a particle of real piety.  It is not the due performing of the forms and ceremonies of religion for the sake of escaping hell.  Nor is it beginning to do good works; a bad heart has to be changed into a good one before it can really do good.  Good deeds on the life of a bad man are like figs that might be tied on to a bush.  They would not make the bush into a fig-tree.

What Conversion Is.

It is a change of heart, leading to a change of inclinations, tastes, habits and life.  It is a complete change of one’s course of life; it is the entering upon an entirely new road.  It is a complete turning upside down of the soul and the entire mortal being.  It is the most wonderful revolution possible, because it drives the devil out of the heart and sets up the Kingdom of God in it.

What are Necessary to Conversion.

A deep conviction of sin wrought in us by contact with men or women of God, or by the reading of the Bible or some writing inspired by the Spirit of God, and made clear by him to the sincere reader.  The conviction of sin is a feeling of deep sorrow that takes possession of the soul as it remembers the transgressions of the past, and as it looks at the evil thoughts, words and deeds with which the life have been filled.

A real, true turning away from, and a definite decision to break away from sin, and to live henceforth in accordance with the will of God as made known to us by himself, in our own hearts, and through the Bible.

An act of surrender to Jesus Christ as a personal Saviour, an act of faith that can be compared to that manifested by a man standing on a sinking ship when he throws himself into the lifeboat.

Saving faith always implies a fixed determination on the part of its possessor to glorify the Saviour by openly confessing the wonderful change that has been wrought in the heart and life by conversion.

Conversion is a Spiritual Event.

It is so wonderful an event that Jesus called it being “born again.”  He told a religious Israelite of his day, who came to ask him about salvation, that unless a man was “born again” he could not enter into the kingdom of God.  On one occasion somebody said to a woman whose husband–formerly an inveterate drunkard–had been converted:  “Has your husband changed his religion, then?”  “No,” was the reply, “it is his religion that has changed him!” [Translated from the French of A. S. Booth-Clibborn]

– taken from The Standard – A Baptist Newspaper (Chicago, February 18, 1899)

How many LDS like the religious American history of the 1800’s?  I really dig it.

I find the Baptist history fascinating (especially the Baptist heritage in my family).

I have stacks upon stacks of The Standard (A Baptist Newspaper) to read through.  I relish it.

Here are some quotes from The Standard (Vol. 46, Number 24, Chicago, Illinois, for Week Ending February 11, 1899):

There were many rooms in Noah’s ark, but only one door.  There are many denominations among evangelical Christians, but there is but one door into the kingdom of heaven, he who says, “I am the door; by me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved.”

And another . . .

When Tennyson went down to spend a quiet holiday in the little seaside village of Mablethorpe, in Lincolnshire, he made his home with two good and earnest people named Wildman.  When he arrived he asked Mrs. Wildman for the news, and she replied, “Why, Mr. Tennyson, there’s only one piece of news that I know–that Christ died for all men.”  And the poet answered, “That is old news, and good news, and new news.”

1.  We arrived in Prineville, Oregon on Thursday of last week for our Wood family reunion.  Guess who were the first two people I saw on the main street?  Two young Mormon elders in their white shirts and ties.  🙂

2.  As I was looking through my grandfather’s library, my uncle, Tom Wilson, handed me a book:  The Letters of an Apostate Mormon to his Son by Hans P. Freece (Copyright, 1908).  Inside the front cover, I see this note written in beautiful cursive,

Bought in Webster City after a chautaugua lecture here.  Anna E. Lee

Anna was my great, great grandmother – a devout Baptist.  I finished reading the book this Wednesday.  Has anyone read this book, too?

1.  Cookies and Cream Dippin’ Dots at the Roaring Springs Water Park is heavenly.

2.  Treasure Valley Baptist Church is ground zero for the Independent Baptist KJV movement in Idaho.  Yesterday, they began their pastor’s school.  I visited the church complex this morning.

He is very positive as he thinks of the recent Slate article.

But as I sit here hanging out at a Holiday Inn in Meridian, Idaho, I yawn over the stereotype post.