History of the M.E. Church, Vol. IV - Media Sabda Org

His itinerant ministry in the West was extensive and successful down to 1834, when he was
appointed the first editor of the Western Christian Advocate, at Cincinnati, and issued the first
number of that influential paper on the 2d of May. In 1836 he was elected bishop, which office he
has continued to sustain with pre-eminent wisdom down to our day, being for many years the senior
of the episcopate. During the perilous crises of the denomination, in the antislavery controversy and
the southern secession, he has guided the Church with unwavering prudence. In the hour of our
greatest national trial he wrote with characteristic serenity, and a foresight which now seems
prophetic: "I am buoyant in spirit, very seldom feel discouraged. I am hopeful as to the world's
conversion; believing that will be the final result of Christ's Gospel. I am confident that Methodism
will contribute its share in that enterprise; that it will survive all opposition, and triumph gloriously.
I am decidedly hopeful as to our country. I believe that the rebellion will be entirely conquered, the
union of states re-established, slavery abolished, the law vindicated, confidence and social order
restored; that we shall have a stronger government, a greater and better country than ever, more
respected at home and abroad, with a increasing tide of prosperity; and, finally, that the gospel of the
grace of God will have less obstruction, and will operate mere effectively hereafter than heretofore.
It is true, I may not witness all these desired results, for with me 'time is short;' yet I take a lively
interest in them. I desire the prayers of all good people, that the grace of Christ in me may triumph
over all the evils of my fallen nature, and save me in heaven."
Bishop Morris is short in stature, corpulent, with a ruddy complexion, and an intellectual brow;
extremely cautious in speech, and reserved in manners; brief in his sermons, not usually exceeding
thirty minutes, but exceedingly pertinent in thought, and terse and telling in style; among his familiar
friends a most entertaining talker, given to reminiscences of early itinerant adventures and humorous
anecdotes; a man of most wholesome mind, tranquil piety; and soundest judgment. He has
contributed considerably to the literature of the Church in a volume of sermons, remarkable for their
condensed sense, practical appropriateness, and pure and vigorous style; a volume of biographical
and historical sketches of the western ministry, and numerous editorial and other fragmentary
productions. He lingers in broken health, but in the unbroken affection and veneration of the Church.
Another pre-eminent preacher, John P. Durbin, entered the western itinerancy in 1818, though his
name does not appear in the Minutes till 1820. He was born in Bourbon County, Ky. in 1800. His
education up to his fourteenth year was of the commonest kind of the frontier. At fourteen years of
age he was apprenticed to a cabinet-maker in Paris, Ky., and served out his time. In the autumn of
1818 he was converted. One of his young friends was pungently convicted, struggled hard and long,
and was powerfully and suddenly converted in his presence. He assumed that his experience must
be of the same kind in order to be genuine; but as it was gradual and tranquil, without violent signs,
he began to distrust it, when, by a gentle, yet clear impression on his mind, he was convinced that
God, for Christ's sake, had pardoned his sins and accredited him in the Redeemer.
He soon felt that it was his duty to preach the gospel, although he had not yet become a member
of the Church. As if by inspiration, his grandfather, a pioneer of Methodism in Kentucky, said to him
suddenly one day, "Are you not concerned about preaching the gospel?" It was to him like a flash
of lightning in a clear sky. He took counsel of that early frontier apostle, Benjamin Lakin, joined the
Church one week in November, and in the next week another of the apostles of the West, Absalom
Hunt, asked a recommendation for him to the quarterly Conference, where he was licensed to preach,