A Short History Of The Methodists... - Media Sabda Org

to depart and be with Christ; and his happiness appeared to increase with his illness. He told his
friends that he had not a doubt of his acceptance with God. His last words were these, "I have lost
sight of the world; come, Lord Jesus, come quickly." We rest satisfied that he ended his sufferings
and sorrows with his life, and believe that the day of his death was better for him than the day of his
birth.
We added 10625 members to the society this year; which was a large number of precious souls
to be brought into the fold of Christ in one year. But it is an easy thing with the Almighty to forgive
sins, and to do a great work in a short time.
There was a change made in the annual minutes this year, and for the first time the usual list of
elders was left out of the minutes, and only those entered who were ordained elders this year.
However, in the stations the elders names were printed in italic.
This was a prosperous year among the Methodists, and the work of God was carried on in many
places, in an uncommon manner, both in the conversion and sanctification of precious souls. Indeed,
the work was so great, that it appeared to be almost incredible among christians themselves who had
never seen any thing to equal it before.
On the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia, it was said that more than 1000 persons were
converted at one camp-meeting which lasted about five days and nights. The account was not merely
a report, but it was given by ministers and people, who were eye and ear witnesses; and who had
taken great pains to ascertain the exact number of those who during that meeting openly professed
to be delivered from the burden of their sins. The preachers appointed different men to attend in
different parts of the congregation, for the express purpose of taking an account of such as got
converted, and to report accordingly; and from their report there were upwards of a thousand
converted at one meeting; and a greater number, at another meeting of the same kind.
If any one does not credit these remarkable accounts, they will feel their objections, and their
objections cannot be removed by any arguments whatever. It will likely be asked, were not many of
these converts deceived? Perhaps they were. We cannot tell certainly. Some of them were but little
known; they were strangers in a strange place. We could only hope the best concerning them. To
their own master they must stand or fall. But the christians who were acquainted with the people
while they were careless about their souls, and were present with them while they were under
conviction, and at the time they professed to be converted, can tell pretty well whether they were
deceived or not. One thing appears to be certain, which is this, that there never was a time among
the Methodists, in any part of the United States, where so many professed to be converted in a few
days, as there were at the meetings just mentioned.
The Eastern Shore has been favoured at different times with very great revivals of religion, and
with a large number of old steady solid christians for many years past; but the revival of religion at
this time exceeded every thing of the kind that had ever been known among them before. It became
quite common to begin their quarterly meetings on Friday, and continue them until Sunday night,
or Monday forenoon; and for some hundreds of people to attend them in their waggons and carts,
and with their tents; and to lodge in the woods by the meeting-houses, while the meeting lasted. It