it up and
called forth your explanation, in his paper of Sept 28th. For my part, I
don't really understand all these things--that as soon as you begin to
advocate the past truths in any of our meetings, these editors are either
writing or visiting you to explain it more fully in their papers, and then
neither party seems to be satisfied. If I were you, I would take a
strait-forward course, and try to please God, if I could not any one
else."

"Well, my son, you know that these two editors have stood by me ever since
1842, and as for elder Himes, he has stood by me and been my warm and fast
friend all these last seven years of joy and trials, and I cannot separate
from him. No, I have told him that I would sustain him and his paper if I
had to carry down our '_potatoes to Boston_,' to raise the means. You see
I must stand by him, and he and brother Marsh will defend and justify my
course and views of bible doctrine; and defend my character from the
aspersions of my enemies, and gladly publish any thing I have to say
against the _Door Shutters_, &c."

"Yes, yes--I know all that, father, but some how or other, these things do
not look right. You began with a strait-forward bible course, and it cut
like a sword with two edges, and that is the reason why these door
shutters, &c., as you call them, believed your testimony, and they think
there is just as much edge to the sword now as there ever was. However,
you have studied the bible much more than I have, therefore I shall not
dispute you, but I cannot see that this people, whom you have been to
visit, are so much out of the way for venturing to go forward, after _your
clear directions to them_, soon after the cry at midnight."

But it may be said that these are what are termed the "No-work Folks." No
sir, they do not belong to that class, although their views are, in most
all other respects, similar. You have been told--or, I have--by one of your
traveling lecturers, that there were but twenty-five of them, all told. He
said they were proclaiming that they were all that would be saved at the
second advent. We have no such view. We believe, what I shall attempt to
prove by-and-by, that there will be 144,000 saved at the coming of Jesus.
Furthermore, we believe that the same commandment which teaches us to keep
the seventh-day Sabbath, also teaches that we may labor the other six days
for just as much as we comfortably need; more than that would counteract
the direction of